Disclaimer: I do not own "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" or its characters. They are property of Hasbro Studios and DHX Media.

"Starlight and Aurora: The First Step"

By TwilightSparkle3562

Chapter 1

"Please Come Home, Starlight"

It seemed like an eternity since more of her troubled past had come out into the open. Starlight Glimmer, a pony who'd once hid her pain and suffering by running a village according to her own ideas, had come to face to face with a pony that she had despised, because when Starlight needed her friendship the most, she'd been turned away.

Now, after several unforeseen events and circumstances, Starlight and the pony who claimed to be her mother, Aurora Glimmer, were starting to make some sort of progress.

"Well, here we are, Aurora," Starlight sighed, as they sat outside the office of one of Equestria's top psychiatrists, Sweetheart. "Another day, another visit."

"Um, Starlight," Aurora whispered. "Hasn't it occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, you could start calling me 'Mom'? It makes me feel bad when you don't call me by a name that most foals use to address their parents."

"Sorry," Starlight uneasily replied. "I just can't…not right now. Even after everything that has happened: Trixie's incident with the manticore in Canterlot, the revelation about my father's troubled habits to everypony, including the princesses and their guests, not to mention learning who I'm a descendant of. I just don't think that it can happen yet."

Aurora sighed despondently at this and turned away from her daughter. But she knew she couldn't force Starlight to call her "Mom", that was something Starlight would have to on her own time and terms.

At that moment, the door to Sweetheart's office opened and Sweetheart herself peaked out from behind the door. "Hi there," She greeted in her high pitched voice. "Come on in."

Heeding her call, Starlight and Aurora made their way into Sweetheart's office and sat down next to each other on Sweetheart's sofa. Upon sitting down however, Sweetheart had an impressed look on her face. "You know, it's funny," She began. "It seems like only yesterday since the both of you despised each other. You both still have some work to do, but it seems like things are going in the right direction."

"In a sense, yes," Aurora sighed. "But, there is something that Starlight still needs to work on."

"What is that?" Sweetheart asked, as Starlight tried to ignore what was being said around her.

"She still hasn't called me 'Mom' yet," Aurora answered. "Even if it was just once, I would appreciate if she'd call me that instead of my first name."

"Aurora, I'm not ready yet," Starlight cried, giving her mother a sharp look. "You may want me to start calling you that, but that's only when I'm ready. Besides, I'm still trying to absorb all

that's recently been happening with the Changelings returning and all."

Both Aurora and Sweetheart had to remember, that it had been only a short time since Chrysalis had attempted to carry out her revenge plan against Equestria, only to be stopped by Starlight, Trixie, Thorax, and Discord.

"Then, how come you didn't tell me that you were getting a medal?" Aurora asked, trying not to sound too upset. "You could have, I don't know, told me. And I would've been there to congratulate you."

"What do you think that would've done?! Besides that, I wasn't ready for the entire town of Ponyville to know my own mother!" Starlight retorted, much to Aurora's shock!

"It would have been a great first step," Sweetheart interjected, causing Starlight to end the short tirade she was about to begin. "I feel that not letting your mother attend the medal ceremony at the Castle of Friendship, is a sign. A sign that, while you have made some significant progress, there is still a long way to go for the both of you."

Realizing that getting into another pointless fight was not going to do anything, Starlight sighed heavily and surrendered whatever feelings she was harboring at that moment.

"Perhaps, even if it's for one day, Starlight," Aurora suggested. "Could you maybe at least come back home for once…"

"Out of the question!" Starlight snapped in a cold and sharp voice. "Why should I go back to where the pain and misery all began?! Is this all part of your plan to get me to start calling you 'Mom' after everything that's happened?"

"Starlight," Sweetheart spoke up. "It might be good for both you and your mother, if you return to your former home. Not everypony holds animosity against you, and perhaps it might do you some good to reconnect with your former neighbors, and the fillies and colts you grew up with. Revisiting the source of the pain, may finally help you come to terms with it."

"I only had one colt who was a true friend to me," Starlight murmured, turning away from Sweetheart and Aurora. "And both of you know of what happened to him after he got his cutie mark. Do you think that there were other fillies and colts in my hometown who opened their friendship to me? I don't think so. If they had, do you think I'd have still set up that village?"

A disturbed look came onto Aurora's face, and she felt a small tear trickle down her face as she stared blankly at her daughter. "They did open their friendship to you, Starlight," She remarked. "But, you didn't open up in return, and in doing so, most of them forgot about you, when you could have been friends with them. If you aren't going to come home for me, then do it for yourself and wear the medal commemorating you saving Equestria from the Changelings. Please, Starlight, come home for your own benefit."

Starlight absorbed what she had just heard, realizing of the gravity of possibly returning home…her home.


When Starlight returned the Castle of Friendship that night, she conferred not with Twilight, but Trixie in her wagon (since Twilight had already gone to bed, as had Spike.)

"I think it might do you some good, Starlight," Trixie commented, as she stood in front of her mirror, putting on her nightcap. "If there's one thing I've learned from past experiences, it's that it's better to face them, rather than hide behind a cloak of lies."

"Says the pony who was always boastful." Starlight bitterly remarked, recalling the incident with the table map that was still fresh in her mind.

"Look, Starlight," Trixie explained. "All I'm saying is that it's better to face your problems head on. Trust me, when I used the Alicorn Amulet, it was a wakeup call that I needed to be a better pony and be open to others, even though it won't be easy at first. The incident with that bottle and the table map only served as a reminder that I need to redouble my efforts to be a better pony. For the sake of your mother and the sake of our friendship, please go back home for a few days, and open yourself up to those you ignored for such a long time. You can't keep all this bottled up inside you, we both know what happens when you do that. Please, if not for your sake, then for my sake, go back to your old home."

"I…I don't know if I can, Trixie," Starlight nervously replied, pacing back and forth. "My home was a toxic environment to grow up in, and I don't know if I can survive going back into it. So many bad memories and experiences, things I'd rather forget."

"Time heals all wounds, Starlight," Trixie replied, as she climbed into her bed. "But they can't heal unless you start the healing process. That's what I've learned from my years on the road," With a yawn, Trixie then added. "Good night."

Leaving her friend to sleep, Starlight trotted back into the castle, and went to bed, thinking of the inevitable visit to her former home that was about to take place. All for the sake of continuing the mending process between herself and her mother. Was it really worth revisiting all those repressed memories?