Why Should I Prefer Anyone Else?
Starlight, Starlight, Starlight
I hear the voice and groan, rubbing my eyes as light blinds me and pushes me back into bed. But I feel another force tug at me, convincing me to wake up and just get the day over with; just get out of bed and do whatever it is I need to. With a sigh, I finally manage to open my eyes and hear just what I have to.
"Come on, you've slept in and you're almost late for work." When I just lay in bed thinking about what I'm hearing, I hear her say, "Are you alright, Starlight? You were so tired last night."
I sigh again, quite heavily. Then, I slowly turn to face her. "And it's not like... I'm any less tired right now."
"Sorry for waking you up, then. If you're not feeling too well, you don't have to come today. I mean, you haven't had a single day off since the school started," she tells me softly.
And then I try to smile, but fail, too weak to do it. "I want to. I... I can make.." my raspy voice manages to whispers as I collapse in bed. I feel warm, comforting hooves around me as I lay back down and cover myself in my sheets once again.
"No. No, Starlight, no. Just stay in bed and take a day off to heal. You need and deserve it," Twilight scolds me softly, concerned.
I want to fight back, to argue with her, but I can't find the strength in me to do so. "You... You're right," I sigh, almost falling asleep. I would've if she hadn't placed an ice pack on me last minute. It gave me chills, spine-tingling and alerting. I want to lift it from my head so it isn't so cold against me, but I'm too weak to even use my magic. I guess that means I should stay home.
Twilight might've said something to me, but I'm not sure because I'm in tons of mental pain, and I'm concentrating so hard just to keep that feeling out. I watch the door close behind her, just like my eyes do on their own.
Starlight, Starlight, Starlight
I open my eyes to see faces staring at me from above. I can't count them right now; I feel dizzy and unsteady although I'm literally lying down.
Starlight, Starlight, Starlight
All voices from different ponies. They confuse me. I can't understand who's saying what, or who is even talking. I can hardly even tell what is being said clearly. I can count now, luckily. If I'm not mistaken, there are three ponies there.
Starlight, Starlight, Starlight
Pretty sure that was my own voice this time, mentally telling me that I need to get up and hear whatever it is they all have to say.
Starlight, Starlight, Starlight.
When will you ever learn to understand others?
I sit up, a sensation of tingling or something of heat overcoming me as I begin to feel hot. Somepony's magenta magic aura grabs hold of the blanket and pushes it to the side of my bed. It feels cooler, but not cool enough. Whatever. I shake my head to hear them a bit more clearly.
"Starlight, are you alright?" I just nod, hugging a nearby pillow to help me cease the pain. Twilight doesn't think that's enough, though. "Do you want dinner? You've been in bed all day."
I'm shocked. I don't feel hungry at all, and I don't feel overly fatigued like I usually do when I oversleep. I open my mouth to talk, glad that I'm finally able to. "Sure."
I guess that makes Twilight feel a bit better, as she wears a concerned smile and walks out the door. One of the other ponies, Sunburst, follows behind her. The final, Trix, stays behind to care for me. I yawn and crawl back into bed, not bothering to cover myself with a blanket. "Starlight," I hear, "you don't have to sleep all day." I smirk.
"But I want to."
"Come on, your best friend wants to do something more than just stay here." That was when Twilight and Sunburst walked in with a tray and soup.
I place the soup on the tray, and the tray on my lap. "Yeah, but my best friend isn't sick in bed, and she can easily move around and have fun. Meanwhile, I am. I want to stay in bed and heal."
I start sipping the soup, making a face. "Best friend?" Twilight asks. "Trixie?"
"Oh," I say aloud when I realize my mistake. "Oh."
Sunburst catches onto it too. "I thought I was your best friend? You know, since we've been friends since foalhood."
"Oh," I repeat. "Oh. Crap. I..." I look at each one of them individually. They all have good reasons to be considered my best friend. "Yeah. Just..." They all stare at me, waiting for an answer. "You're all equally great friends! It's not like best-"
"You're just not telling us because you don't want to hurt anypony's feelings," Trix says with a roll of her eyes. "But we're just curious; we won't be too offended if you choose someone who's not Trixie."
It's my turn to roll me eyes, just like the rest of them do, but they nod in agreement. We all get the point. "You're all my best friends. You're all amazing!"
"Okay, okay, we get that," cam Trixie's voice. "But who's your best, best friend?"
My eyes widen in shock and I grab some soup so I can eat that instead of answering them. I eventually sip too much, because I start to gag and some soup spills on my bed. "Oops," I cough out.
Twilight teleports them all away, presumably into the laundry. There are also new sheets on my bed. "It's fine. Nothing major-" she starts, as I cover my mouth. I feel something in my throat, something that might just-
Twilight manages to teleport a trash bag in front of me just in time. I use it to vomit in as I wipe my mouth. "Oopsies." She laughs. She grabs the trash bag and throws it out. Then, she does that weird thing ponies do with their eyebrows when they're trying to hint at something. But what could she be...
Oh no. I groan. "Twilight, just because you're helpful doesn't mean you're a better friend than Trixie or Sunburst!"
She gasps. "Why would you ever jump to that conclusion?"
"Wait," Trixie says, rubbing her chin. "Weren't you and Spike a thing?"
I blink. What. The. HELL??
Twilight seems to take that as a yes. "You prefer Spike over me?" She looks heartbroken. "I reformed you, for goodness sake! Spike was just... there."
"Of course," Sunburst says professionally, resisting the urge to roll his eyes and laugh, as I can clearly see. I roll my eyes and resist a giggle myself. "But Starlight's been my friend since we were foals. Back then, we were best friends forever! We promised, even through the times we may have... broken the promise. We've pushed through. We've been best friends, forever—"
"And we still are!" I interrupt. "You all are. I don't need-"
And with that, going on for about a good thirty minutes, a whole speech and debate club starts between the three of them, as they all explain their good reasons for why they should be my best, best friend. Sunburst has been my friend for so long, Twilight was the one who taught me to accept friendship once again, and Trixie understands my guilt for evil past deeds. I soon feel overwhelmed with it all and just teleport out of my room.
I land in the School of Friendship, which is almost as bad as being in the castle. But I forgot that it was already past dinnertime. That meant only students with homes incredibly far away were here. But they were here, roaming the halls of the school. "Hey, Starlight!" Sandbar greets. "Did something happen? We didn't see you around today."
I smile and nod. "Just a little sick. It's fine. I needed a break from the castle, so that's why I'm here. How are you all doing?"
They all answered positively, and I nod in aknowledgement. I'd rather stay here and talk to them, making up for the time I lost today, but I have to go back and apologize sometime. When I'm ready to face my friends again, I sigh. "Well, hopefully, I'll see you tomorrow. But I have to be heading back now. See you later!" They all wave and I teleport back into my room. They're still busy arguing. It's all about me.
"Hey!" I shout as loud as possible, almost killing my throat. "Can you guys shut up? You're making my headache worse than it already is! I might as well choose my own door as my best friend at this point!"
They each eye each other, guilty, and remain silent for a little while. Twilight's the first to speak up. "Sorry, Starlight. It's a lot to put on you, especially since you've got a fever while we're doing the argument. It was just some silly little foals' argument, one that we were overcompetitive in."
"Yeah, Twilight's right. We should've just accepted and agreed with what you had said, not letting opinions get the better of us. We all just think you're an amazing friend," Sunburst agreed.
Trixie was the last to speak. She just shrugged. "Trixie is very sorry. Basically everything that they said."
I nod, sitting back on my bed and giving them an air hug to prevent the spread of germs. "You're all great friends, and I could never choose between you. Nor do I want to. I'm sorry I made it feel that way, best friends. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to rest my ill body."
They all laugh and leave my room quietly, forgetting to shut the door. I can hear them debating in the halls, quietly, but at least it's not next to me. I sigh and pull up the blanket, trying to fall asleep.
"Hey," I whisper to my door with a smirk. "Mind giving me a bit of privacy here?"
