It was storming outside. The rain harshly hit the walls of Friendship Castle, and lightning sounded through the evening. It was actually quite peaceful to Starlight Glimmer. Given the recent fight with Twilight Sparkle, a calm and slow evening was the perfect contrast to almost destroying Equestria. Despite this, Twilight was nice enough to give her a place to stay permanently.
Starlight was sitting at her desk, writing down answers to simple questions, revolving around the basic theories of magic. It was important for her, to periodically check her knowledge, and she may as well pass the time in which she was stuck inside.
It was only her, the muffled sounds of the rainstorm, and the bored scratching of her quill. Starlight’s thoughts almost couldn’t have had more freedom. She mulled over the most mundane topics, like considering a new hairstyle. Eventually her mind turned towards the more suppressed topics. This proved to be for her own detriment, as something else was listening carefully.
“Starlight?” she faintly heard from behind her.
Surprised she spun around and asked bewildered “Who- Who is there?”
There was silence, until she tensed and demanded “Who are you? Show yourself!”
She was sure that she heard someone.
There was silence, until another whisper sounded, “Starlight?”
She looked around the room, asking “Who... are you?”
Nothing answered her, in a clear and deep voice, saying “I am one alike you.”
Confused she asked “You are like me?”
“I can see you carrying the same wounds where I have mine. Your pain is blatant.”
“What pain do you mean? I am not at all in pain.”
“...I can remind you of your pain... with just one word.”
Taken aback at first, she sighed, then inquired “Okay... what word?”
“...Sunburst.”
She winced at this, and hesitated to reply, “Yes... that word...”
“He left you behind.”
A tear formed in her eye. “Yes... he left me... I trusted him... I loved him...” - she gritted her teeth - “but he... he just...”
She forced her tears back.
The voice intervened with understanding words, “I have my own Sunburst. We are both forgotten.”
This surprised Starlight. “We... are just failures... forgotten by those we once loved greatly...”
It asked ominously “Did they ever look back?”
Tears pushed stronger against Starlight’s containment. “No... they never looked back...” - bitterness started to invade her voice - “nor did they hesitate to leave us behind without a second thought.”
The voice grew louder by the slightest bit. “Tell me, did you hear the same vague excuses for why he couldn’t visit?”
She clenched her hooves, and the quill that was still patiently waiting to be lead snapped in two. “Too busy... he needed to study, is what he wrote...”
“Did he also tell you that he could come... next weekend?”
She gasped at how similar their shared pain seemed. Only for a second could she hold back the inevitable sobs. “Yes... he sometimes wrote that, but-”
“We are still waiting for those weekends to come?” interrupted the voice.
She laughed bitterly. “We are fools, thinking that maybe, someday, they will come back...” - she closed her eyes - “but they never will.”
“They never will,” repeated the voice, before it raised its volume. “They forgot their empty promises a long time ago... We did not.”
“He even stopped writing back a long time ago... We thought they would ever... come back?” she asked rhetorically with a huff. “We were so stupid.”
“The silence is known to me as well... We were stupid.”
Starlight calmed down a bit over the seconds. “Yes, we were... but we don’t have to be that way any more, do we?”
“No. That is why I am here. Today we can remedy this,” it said with determination.
She looked up with some hope. “Remedy? How can we do that?”
“...If they aren’t going to love us, then we will teach them to fear us instead.”
Shocked she asked “D- Do you mean... violence?”
The silence spawned fear in her, prompting her to rebut. “As tempting as it may be... I don’t think this is the right thing to do here.”
“...What do you think is the right way?” it asked with noticeable disappointment.
She thought deeply, before explaining “I- I am not sure... what exactly we could do... but I know that fighting them with fire isn’t going to give us the friendships we so desire.”
It groaned in thought. “Tell me, when was the last time you saw him?”
“...It was... long ago.”
“And yet, you cannot forget him?”
With a defeated tone, she admitted, “No... I can’t.”
“So we are left behind, doomed to think about them?” its voice boomed.
“Yes, we still think about our Sunbursts. We cannot get them out of our heads, despite what they did!”
“We cannot forget them, as easily as they did us?”
“NO! WE CAN’T! WE SIMPLY CAN’T! THEIR FACES, THEIR VOICES, EVERYTHING IS STILL LOCKED INTO OUR MINDS!”
“THEN HOW DO WE END THIS?!”
Suddenly, she stopped yelling. There were so many answers in her head, but just one seemed rational. “We cannot continue to suffer... It’s destroying us... killing us on the inside... If they can’t love us... we must move on. We must forget.”
For the first time, the voice sounded unsure, as it genuinely asked “...What if we can’t?”
Memories of their times ran through her. Could she ever forget them?
“...How do we forget?” almost desperately, implored the voice.
She breathed deeply. “It won’t be easy... We can’t let their voices echo through our memory... We must force ourselves to... forget their faces, and voices... even their names...”
A knock came from her door, along with Twilight’s worried voice, asking for Starlight's presence.
Shocked by the sound, she wiped the remaining wetness off her face, and asked “Who is there?!”
“Uh... Twilight.”, the alicorn said, answering the confusing question, considering the amount of inhabitants of the castle at that time.
“T- Twilight, what are you doing here?”
“Starlight, I heard you scream. Could you open the door?”
Resigned, she opened the door to her new mentor, with her magic.
Twilight saw the still somewhat reddened eyes of her student, and asked with worry “What is going on?”
This left her fidgeting with her hooves, and nervously dismissing, “Nothing at all... Do you just want to check on me?”
“Yes, I heard you scream.”
“Well... I suppose... I did, but I am fine. You don’t need to worry.”
“...Are you sure? You can tell me if there is something bothering you.”
She shook her head too eagerly. “No no no no no, I am fine. You can get back at what you were doing,” she said, before giving her most convincing smile.
“...Okay then... you know where to find me... and careful with the quills. I don’t have many left right now.”
Starlight forgot that she was still holding the poor thing, then eyeing it with a sorry expression. “Right... sorry.”
Twilight cautiously withdrew, allowing her to close the door.
She looked around her room once more, as if this time the voice’s owner would reveal itself, but there was no one, and nothing. No matter what she said, there was no answer. Maybe the conflicted entity moved to parts unknown, seeking peace by itself.
However, it has never bothered Starlight ever again.
Author's Note
This was a one day effort... until I noticed that the formatting didn't quite qualify for the upload.
- AFS, 2024
