//------------------------------// // Memories of yesteryear // Story: Purple Haze // by Illusive Shadow //------------------------------// Starlight breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the hot steam of the spa washed over her body. She did her best to relax but often so easily her mind drifted off and when it did, all that came to mind was the past few years. She had never expected she would have ever become a student of friendship, Twilight sure was a strange pony. Even still things had been tough for her, pretending like her past never happened, like she hadn't almost destroyed Equestria. Sure Chrysalis had replaced Ponyville, but that was nothing compared to what manipulating time had caused. She truly had twisted Twilight's hooves to get her to tell her the truth, how bad the consequences of her actions had been. And for what? A single friend who abandoned her. Meeting Sunburst again had also been a challenge, but she was pleased to have faced that shadow, now she simply had moved on. It wasn't that tbey weren't still friends, but she was a mature grown up mare now, with a dark past to boot. She just could not relate to him the way she did as a young fillly. At least Fluttershy and her animal friends always made time for her if she needed somewhere quiet to escape the bustle of Ponyville life. And then there was the spa, she didn't have anytbing like that where she had been living before. She kinda missed her own village, all the ponies there had long forgiven her for essentially stealing their souls and forcing them to do her bidding, she really had gone mad with power, and no matter how many years passed that dark part of her was still there. She had spoken with Luna quite a number of times, especially in her dreams. Truth be told at first it was extremely uncomfortable, having Luna peer into her private world, not that she had ever judged. On tne contrary Luna understood exactly how she felt. Everything she did was because she felt her sister had abandoned her, which in a way Celestia had. Of course neither her or Sunburst lived in Ponyville instead she had been forced by Twilight to face her fears closer to home. Starlight could not help but let out a laugh at the friends that Twilight had tried so desperately to pair her up with. She had at least gotten along well enough with Big Mac, she suspected that stallion had greatly benefitted from her temporary manipulation of his vocal cords, but she could never say that out loud. Still seeing him and Apple Bloom's bond was a beautiful sight. A loud bang could be heard on the door. "Are you going to be in there all day!" Yelled Cranky Doodle. Starlight shot up from the bench as she realized her session must have come to an end. So much sooner than hoped. "Sorry, Cranky" She said making sure her towel was fit snug around her before opening the sealed door. "Sorry Starlight, I just need to be quick, Matilda and I are going away for the weekend and I need to have everything packed by tonight." Cranky Doodle said apologetically. Starlight smiled and waved it away with her hand. The donkey might have appeared mean on the outside but really he had just had a rough past, losing Matilda, his soul mate for so long had been tough on him. It had been Pinkie that had reunited them, probably one of the most impressive things Pinkie had ever done, ruling out non magical teleportation. She lived in the local castle with Twilight, even with her friends visiting most days the large structure was ridiculously oversized for the small town of Ponyville, She had learned that Twilight had lived in a simple tree home when first being sent here, which honestly she would not have minded. Spike did most of the cleaning work, but she helped out where she could, even if it was only magic. But still it seemed so silly to her, getting a giant castle to live in even after failing to take over the world. She began walking toward her best friend in the world, one that truly understood her and always had time for her. "Trixie, sorry i'm late!" Starlight shouted into the small wagon. All she could hear inside was the sound of perhaps the most loudest snoring in Ponyville history. She simply turned around and with her hind legs kicked the wagon. The wagon rattled as tbe sound of snoring was quickly replaced with that of sudden fright. Starlight turned around and froze and waited silently as the rattling inside continued despite the wagon now remaining stationary. A minute later a groggy but fully dressed Trixie exited the wagon with two steaming hot mugs of cocoa in each hoof. "Good morning, Trixie." Starlight smiled brightly. "Hello, Starlight." Trixie mumbled angrily through clenched teeth before handing her one of the mugs. Starlight took a great big slurp from the mug and smiled brighter. "Glad to see you're up so early" "Thanks to you." Trixie replied still unimpressed. "What's all this about anyway?" "I told you, we're going to help out some of the others, especially Fluttershy. Learn some new magic skills and then if we have time we can do some shopping later." "And this all involves me how?" Trixie replied sceptical about the plan for the day. "Oh you are so lazy, comeon I'm sure you'll find something for your show." Starlight said placing the empty mug next to the wagon and galloping off. Trixie let out a long sigh of annoyance. "Fine."