Just when I thought I couldn't hate her more, there she was.
Starlight Glimmer, sitting nonchalantly, glaring at me as if I were the one who did something bad and not the other way around. Yeah, whatever. Thing is, the look on her face actually looked genuine. And, get this, she looked scared. I don't get it. She sure is a great actor, I'll say that much. She fooled her whole village that she actually believed in equality.
I ran into her at Sugarcube Corners. She was disguised as somepony else. If I hadn't called her out and forced her to expose herself as Starlight Glimmer, I'm not sure Pinkie Pie would ever have figured it out. Pinkie just laughed about it. I can't say the same for myself. I return her glare and drag her outside into the snow. "What the hay are you doing here?" I spit.
Starlight stands up and brushes herself off. "I was eating a cupcake. At least until you dragged me out here. Come on, it's cold; I wanna get back inside now." As she walks off, I grab her tail and pull her back. She bites her lip and groans.
"Listen here, Starlight, you know what I mean. What are you here for? Surely it's not some cupcake," I say, still glaring daggers into her mixed expression.
In a monotone voice, Starlight confesses, "No, I wasn't here for a sweet. I'm here for revenge. I've been here for a while now. I just needed to know what meant the dearest to you and your best friends. That way, I have something to challenge you with."
I blink. I just put Tank away for the winter. Maybe, just maybe, Starlight knows he means the most to me. But I try to keep it a secret, just in case she doesn't yet know. "That's not nice."
"Who said I was nice?" she challenged. Oh, she's good.
But I still don't like her, not one bit. "Nopony. And that's why you're a terrible pony. I wish you would-"
"I wish you would care more for one of your friends over your turtle," she sneers. Oh. No.
I stammer, "I- I care about my friends! A lot!"
She smirks at me and giggles, an almost foal-like laugh. "But your tortoise. He's going to..."
"Don't you dare-"
"It depends. It all depends," she interrupts. "I would fight you insteda, but I know you like a good battle. I can't have you being pleased with yourself. Plus, it often hurts more to see pain done to others. At least others you care for."
I would cry, but I'm strong. I have to be. So I scream. "You monster! You psycho! Why would you? Why..."
"Not..." she continues, shrugging. She still seems scared. I hold my breath. She sure is stubborn. Just like...
I laugh. Maybe it's time to be nice. Maybe she'll be nice too, even if there's not much a chance. "You remind me of myself, Starlight. It's painful. Just please, don't do this. You know as well as I do how much he means to me."
"Yeah, I do," she sighs, looking away. Turning back, she yells, "And that's exactly why I want to do it! It's equal revenge, is it not? You and your stupid friends took away the ones I cared for most! Why can't I do the same? Why can't I just do away with you all?"
I shout. "That's not how it works! Wait, what? You genuinely cared for those village ponies? You weren't just... enslaving them like some evil dictator?"
"Of course I cared! Everpony has some motivation, don't they?" she sobs. "I found Double Diamond, I gave him a chance. And then I found more of them, ponies who wanted friends, just like me. I felt that I had to give them a chance, despite all the failed chances I gave in the past. Because they were willing to be my friends. And I was just so alone and they gave me a place and I gave them one back and- and- and then... YOU RUINED OUR FRIENDSHIP!"
"You're still-" I trail off and take a deep breath. I know arguing won't do much. Be nice, Rainbow, I tell myself. You can be kind, like Fluttershy always does. "You gave too many chances. You were alone? What, bullied? Ponies failed you?"
Starlight wipes her tears, her real, genuine tears. She nods and explains, "My family. I grew up without a mother, and so my dad had to work extra to support the both of us. We barely saw each other, and then we just drifted apart. He sensed it, and was a fool to think his daughter was fine being sleep deprived just to see her father every morning, to do chores early on! I didn't care if I saw him again. He was annoying, and I wish we had stayed drifted apart. I would never have met you. So I ran off later, much later.
"And I gave a second chance to ponies at school. They were mean, okay? And the nice ones all had their own friends. They had no time to be with a 'monster' like me. And the teachers weren't mean, they just treated me as if I were invisible. Until Sunburst. He was my first and maybe only friend. And we got along fine, so I thought the chance wasn't wasted. Until that fool ran off and left me behind and... and..."
I look at her. It's a lot to take in, a whole life of pain in just a few sentences. "And then you did all that stuff Twilight and my friends and I found you doing."
"Yes, and... I'm sorry."
"I trust you and forgive you. And I'm sorry, too," I smile. "For taking away those who gave you a second life. But you do realize that it was wrong to do what you did, don't you?"
She nodded. "So," I ask her, "do you always like talking about feelings?"
"Nope," she chuckled. "But sometimes it feels good to let it out."
"In that case," I tell her with a smug smile, "do you know how it feels to have your cutie mark removed? It's awful, just awful. I'd tell you how it feels, but it's kinda hard to explain in words, you know?"
Author's Note
Long time since I've made one of these stories.
Part of The Reformation Series
