//------------------------------//
// Starlight Glimmer 
// Story: Second Thoughts 
// by starcoder 
//------------------------------//

I wake up, scared, sitting on cold snow. I shiver and think of the last words Princess Luna said to me. Just tell them, Starlight. They will listen. She helped me realize I was wanted, and that by running away, I've been hurting a bunch of ponies. Just as much as I have myself. I glanced at the village below me. Just one look at the scene is enough to tear my heart to pieces.

They're all having fun together, and I even see Spike having fun with them. Wait, Spike? Gosh, they're all looking for me! This makes me start crying as I now see that I matter more than I thought. MUCH more than I thought. You know, friends can do a lot, and can be hurt if their friend is hurt. Honestly, it hurts just to think about it. I can't take it any longer, and so teleport away from any of this.

Landing on the bed in the room that's mine, I let the pillow soak up the rest of my tears. I feel like there are more tears, so I hop off the bed and walk towards the bathroom to maybe clean myself up. With a torn expression, I stare at myself in the mirror. That's when my face of disgrace suddenly turns to shock. I'm a mess! My mane is covered in snow, my face is tear-stained, and I look really tired for some reason. I splash my face with water and brush off the snow with my hooves. It doesn't exactly work, though, so I grab a hairbrush and use it to straighten and clean my straggly hair instead of using my hooves. It's a lot more efficient.

After a while, my hair looks decent again, in its new, unequal form. I walk back to my room and sit on the bed for a while, messing with things and arranging the room to look more like my own. Call me greedy, but it feels pretty good to accept what Twilight generously offered me. I hop off the bed as I hear a sound coming from the entrance of my room. As I turn around, I realize that the door is open. Standing there are six friendly ponies and their sweet dragon. I smile and run to Twilight, embracing her, as tears of joy start flowing down my cheek. She returns the hug and I feel everyone else join in, too.

I hear the familiar voice of Princess Luna in my ears again. They are now your friends, are they not?

Oh, yeah. Big time, I think in response.

"You're okay!" she exclaims, making me blush lightly. After a short pause, she asks, "Are you okay?"

With a slight laugh, I shake my head no. Although, my words do contradict my actions. "Mhm," I reply. "A lot better now that you’re all here. Ever since I had that nightmare, I’ve been wanting to talk to you."

They probably don't know what I'm talking about, but Twilight starts stuttering out of the blue. “Are you… Did you…”

"Did I what?" I ask, tilting my head. Maybe something about where I'd gone. Shoot, I was going to have to fill them in on everything eventually.

“Have you left your room ever since you came back from wherever?” she finally asks. This relieves me. I don't know why, but I really don't want to tell Twilight about any of what happened. Either way, my blush deepens and I nod, facing away from her. I'm sure this is going to lead her to ask about where I went. Ugh.

She was rather suspicious, still. "Really?"

"To use the bathroom," I clarify. She still seems to want more details, so I answer, "Only to use the bathroom."

"When did you return, exactly?" Man, she's not holding back with these questions.

"Um, around a few hours ago?"

Twilight opens her mouth. I'm almost dreading the next words, but luckily, Spike intervenes. I breathe a sigh of relief as I listen to his next question. "Woah, woah. Hold up. You said you wanted to talk to us about something?"

With a bit of reluctance in my voice, I anser him. "Yeah. I feel like I’ve been upsetting you lately. All that shouting, all that running away business. I’m... sorry." My gaze shifts down to my hooves, which are poking at the ground.

Twilight lifts my chin up and looks me in the eyes. She wears a warm smile on her face, and I can tell it's authentic. "Luckily, we all forgave you for what you did in the past. Which means we can forgive you again. Those are things you shouldn’t have to feel sorry about. All that matters now is that you’re back."

"It’s good to be back," is all I have to say. I figure I'll supply all the details during lunch. Oh yeah. I'm going to have lunch with them and not feel guilty about it. I'm sure in due time, all that guilt will go away. Right now, I know I'm going to just accept whatever Princess Twilight throws at me. I'm her friend now.

I know for a fact that they can help you. Came the voice from Princess Luna. And I know for a fact that this was true.