"Really?" Flash scowled at the six mares gathered around the crystalline table, his eyes flashing with a mixture of anger and disbelief. "You're going to forgive her for what she's done?"

"Flash, she showed genuine remorse for what she did," Twilight said patiently. "Starlight deserves another chance."

"Genuine remorse?" Flash snorted. "She's a sociopath; lying and manipulating is part of what she does."

"You weren't there when she saw what she did!" Twilight snapped, fed up with her Guard's biting snark and angry snarls. "When Spike and I took her to that last alternate future and she saw the consequences of her actions, she was horrified! She—"

Her speech was interrupted by Flash slamming his hooves onto the table in frustration. "In case you all forgot, I was there the first time we met her; we all were!" He glared around at the six of them in obvious frustration. "She took away our cutie marks; she locked us in that room for thirty-six hours. She tortured us for thirty-six hours!"

Applejack cleared her throat markedly. "This isn't just about you, Flash," she said sternly. "She tortured her villagers for even longer, and even they were willing to forgive her."

"And at least she has a reason for doing what she did," Fluttershy pointed out. "Losing her friend like that must have been hard for her."

"Oh, and that excuses everything she did? Overtaking a village? Leading a cult? Kidnapping? Trying to destroy Equestria?!" Flash spat. "I once read about a serial rapist who molested and butchered a dozen fillies. When he was caught, he said that he did it because his father assaulted him when he was a foal. Should he be pardoned just because he had some pathetic excuse for doing what he did?"

"Starlight isn't like that," Fluttershy answered in a voice of strained patience. "Nothing she did was done out of true malice or greed or hatred. She's not an ordinary criminal."

"And besides," Applejack pointed out. "What would you suggest we do with her? We obviously can't just let her off on her own, not the way she is."

"Make her pay for what she did, of course!" Flash shouted in exasperation.

"She will," Twilight explained. "As long as she's working with me, as my pupil, she will be learning about friendship to make up for what she did, and give her a chance at starting over; a chance that a lot of ponies don't get." She looked into Flash's deep blue eyes; where she normally saw humor, happiness and love, she now saw nothing but anger and vengeance.

"Listen, Corporal Sentry," she stated in a sterner tone. "This is my decision as a Princess of Equestria. As my Guard, you are obligated to follow my instructions. You will help Starlight Glimmer; you will make her welcome in these hallways and in this town, and you will protect her like you would any Equestrian citizen. Do I make myself clear?"

Flash snorted and glanced over at the door to the throne room. Outside, Starlight Glimmer awaited her punishment; how delighted she would be to hear that she wouldn't be getting any.

"Fine," he huffed through clenched teeth. "But as long as she's here, I'll be keeping an eye on her." He glared at the doorway. "A very close eye."

Author's Notes:

The "Phillipverse" of my stories is a "close-to-canon" universe: if it happened in the show, it happened in the universe, with some minor alterations. The Season 6 premiere gave me a minor issue: the inclusion of Starlight Glimmer as what appears to be a new major character in the series forced me to adopt my headcanon in light of this new information.

So I tapped out this story in response to give both myself and my readers an explanation as to how she fits in, and her relationship to Flash Sentry. I don't anticipate Starlight being a major character in the series, but I do have an idea for her that I'm dusting off.