The Big Book Of Small Storiesby LordOfTapeChaptersStronger Than You Thought (Applejack's Poem)Let The Music Flow (Vinyl Scratch's Poem)No Matter What (Luna's Poem)Always Keep Your Head Held High (Derpy's Poem)Love Will Always Find A Way (Bon Bon's Poem)Your Closest Bonds (Gilda's Poem)Every Little Bit Counts (Fluttershy's Poem)The Audience Will Follow (Sweetie Belle's Poem)We're Family Now (Zecora's Poem)Catch Me, Squirt (Scootaloo's Poem)A Wonderful Son (Spike's Poem)Stronger Than You Thought (Applejack's Poem)Stronger Than You Thought (Applejack’s Poem) Ah look down o’er the rollin’ hills All ma apple trees are in full bloom Each tree, filled round and round with fresh apples Each tree jus’ waitin’ to get bucked ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Everypony else is inside, sleepin’ to their heart’s content More peaceful ‘an a bundle a bunnies in a haystack S’nice outside, all here by my lonesome Mighty peaceful here as well, the tranquil farm is silent an calming ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buckin’ apple trees ‘ere at the farm has been ma whole life E’er since Ah was a little filly E’er since I came back from Manehattan, leavin’ the Oranges behind Ah knew Ah wanted to live with the family on the farm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sweet Apple Acres was the finest, most well run apple farm in all Equestria ‘S interestin’ to think that one day Ah’m gonna hafta take over S’not that Ah aint ready, but it always hurts t’ think a why The day Ah start runnin’ the show is gonna be the day that Big Mac caint ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wasn’t often Ah thoughta Big Mac passin’ But these here mornin’s Ah had the whole wide world to maself Jumbled ma head up more an a drunken rattlesnake in a tornado But Ah managed, somehow ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ T’was pretty nice, sittin’ there on the hill I rested ma orange hoof against one a the trees Even the light tap caused a single, small apple to fall down The lil’ red blob hit me square on the noggin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Gosh darnit” I angrily told off the tree, though it couldn’t respond “A bit stronger than ya thought ya were AJ?” chuckled a deep, familiar voice Ah turned ma head to make sure Ah wasn’t hearin’ things Ah wasn’t, “Mac, what’re you up for?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Big Mac let out a hearty laugh “Aw AJ, y’aint known I’m up this early everyday?” He couldn’t be tellin’ the truth, jus’ couldn’t Ah’ve been comin’ here e’er since Ah was a little filly, never saw ‘im once ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Mac, now doncha go an lie to your sister now” “T’aint lying, sis; E’ery mornin’ afore sunrise” he smiled I looked incredulously at him “But Mac, Ah’ve –“ ‘e cut me off “I know AJ, I know” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not only had Ah been taken aback by having somepony else outside But it was ma brother, an ‘e never told me; Ah felt a might betrayed in a sense “Big Mac, why dincha say somethin’?” I asked of him “Y’all sounded like ya wanted t’ be alone” he replied, as if the answer was plain, clear as day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh” Ah shrugged back a bit, feelin’ bad Ah accused him, “That’s mighty nice of ya” “Eeyup” he smiled “Course,” he continued “If there was some’in you wanna talk about, I’m here” Big Mac was always caring for other ponies, ‘specially his kin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ah di’nt think Mac would appreciate my talkin’ to him about the farm So Ah shook ma head, a concealin’ frown drooping across ma face “Nah Mac, Ah’m fine, S’all right” Ah di’nt like lyin’, specially to Mac; it felt wrong ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Big Mac waited for a moment ‘E knew me too well, bein’ ma brother an all When Ah was lyin’, Ah couldn’t hold Always felt better tallin’ th’ truth ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Ya caught me Mac, there is somethin’” “Eeyup” “But t’aint that big a deal” “Nnope” the tone in ‘is voice was tellin’ me he disagreed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ah was trapped, Mac wasn’t gonna let me go without tellin’ ‘im “Mac Ah’m sorry, Ah’ve ju’s had a right plenty bunch a things t’ mull over” “Y’all c’n tell your brother”, ‘e hugged me Ah started t’ tear up, and the little droplets fell down onta Mac’s big shoulders ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What’m Ah gonna do without ya Macintosh?” I sobbed He hugged me a might harder “Is that what this is about AJ?” “Ah sure as hay wish it weren’t” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ma brother let go and looked me square in the eyes “Follow me” he says, guidin’ his hoof out yonder We walk down th’ green and familiar hills aways until we get to a tall, old apple tree Tree was thick as Sunday molasses an’ as tall as all Canterlot ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Y’all remember this tree, AJ?” he asks Ah stare at it for a long time, turnin’ ma head, tryin’ to git a better view “Ah don’t reckon Ah do” “This ‘ere tree” he starts “was the first tree you e’er bucked” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The memories flow back into ma head Ah was a real young filly, maybe as old as Applebloom now Big Macintosh was standin’ there talkin’ to me “Give it a real good buck” he tells me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ah put all ma power inta ma legs an bucked as hard as Ah could The big tree shook a bit ‘an down came the apples Apples went everywhere Big Macintosh lifted me up an’ cheered me on ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Tree’s grown up now AJ, why doncha give it a buck?” Tree was a lot smaller then, lot easier t’ buck Ah wasn’t sure if Ah’d be able to buck it “Are ya sure Big Mac?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Eeyup” he said with ‘is customary response Ah wound up Bucky Migilicutty an’ Kicks Mcgee real good Fwoosh, Ah sent ‘em flyin’ into that tree, instantly knockin’ all th’ apples onta the ground around us “Looky there, Ah did it!” I yelled excitedly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Jus’ cause the tree’s gone and grown don’t mean you ‘avent too” ma brother smiled “What do ya mean by that?” “AJ, you’ve been buckin’ bigger apple trees every single day” He was so matter o’ fact, Ah wasn’t sure how to take it ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What do ya mean, Mac?” “E’er since you could buck, you’ve been buckin’ bigger an’ bigger trees” “Well Ah guess so, but –“ ‘e cut me off again “When Applebloom learns t’ buck, she’ll do it too” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Th’ thought sank in and ma mind whirred about like a jackrabbit in a cactus farm “Growin’ up means plenty more ‘an you think, little sis” “You’re right, Big Mac; It does” “But” he counters, smiling “It don’t mean that when ya grow up you lose your family” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ah’m still heavy at heart on the idea of not havin’ him around Ma face shows it better ‘an the sun shows a shadow in the desert day “AJ, everypony’s gotta go someday” He lifts his hoof up to ma chin and raises it so Ah’m lookin’ ‘im square in th’ eyes again ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Ah aint goin’ anytime soon, Applejack” “’An there aint no use worryin’” “But Big Mac, Ah don’t want you t’ ever go; how will Ah deal with it?” Ma dark red brother keeps his steady gazin’ in my eyes, makin’ sure I was listnin’ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “AJ, you’re an honest, hardworkin’ pony here” “T’aint nothin’ gonna stop you from doin whatchu gotta do, ‘n t’aint nothin’ that c’n tear a family apart” Ah looked at him, grateful for his words and love, but still a bit unsure “How are ya so sure, sugahcube?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “S’like I’ve always said, sis ‘You’re a lot stronger than you thought’” Let The Music Flow (Vinyl Scratch's Poem)Let The Music Flow (Vinyl Scratch’s Poem) Boom boom boom boom The blasting bass continues to pump in my mind Boom boom boom boom Why won’t it stop? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It’s been day in, day out partying the entire month I haven’t gotten one good night’s sleep; I’ve barely even gotten to rest my head I don’t know how much more of this I can take Heck , I don’t even know when any of this is going to end? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now don’t get me wrong here I love doing parties, absolutely love it The enthusiastic crowds, the omnipresent music, the incandescent lights, the name-making show That kinda scene always makes me feel so…at home ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once that diamond stylus needle hits my vinyl record I just break out into the most pumping beats my bass can handle, and some it can’t You can hear my speakers blasting out the raddest tunes all night long Everypony wants to party like Vinyl parties ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boom boom boom boom Ow, my head’s still ringing I just laid the finishing touches on one of Pinkie’s birthday bonanzas The crowd screamed my name, but I could barely hear them ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The music had already taken over, every being in the room entranced by the rhythmic beats All that remained was the bass in the background I still left the stage smiling on the outside, big grin and wide open eyes Inside though, my mouth turned downwards in a teary frown, and my eyes drooped sleepily ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Being a musician wasn’t all it was cracked up to be Sure, there was the fame, the goal that everypony aspired to There was the celebrity recognition, finally being able to live the dream And of course, there were the stallions, all the cute stallions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ But in the end, it still wasn’t enough It couldn’t cancel out the work and endless effort poured into each day Get up too dang early, go to bed far too late Always have something in your ear, be it music or recording demands ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I guess it just goes to show that too much of a good thing can be bad Because right now, there’s no fighting this routine This feeling inside, it’s tearing me apart I want to leave the music scene for good, but I just can’t leave my fans ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sure, DJ-ing was in my blood, it was my cutie mark after all And there would be all my fans that I’d be letting down I had the money, I had the so called ‘life’ But I didn’t have the peace of mind ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What to do? Should I give up what I love because I can’t handle it Or push through because I have to for my fans Knock, knock, knock ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The knocking startled me “Who’s there?” I asked, my own words even ringing in my sensitive ears Octavia responded the soft voice on the other side of the door “Can I come in?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As much as I wanted to be by myself at the moment Octavia’s calming company was always nice to have She was my best friend, and a fellow musician She would always cheer me up, even if she only stayed for a moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Sure thing” I forced a smile The door opened and Octavia walked in with her cello in a case In her other hoof, she held a bouquet of roses with a note “What’re the flowers for?” I asked her ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “One of the stallions from the soiree wanted to give them to you” She shot me a bit of an annoyed look, “But you had already left the stage” I scuffed my hoof across the ground, looking downwards trying to avoid eye contact “Vinyl, you love meeting with your fans after a good show; what’s wrong?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Of course she had to ask, Octavia knew me too well and cared too much “I felt a little sick” I replied, hoping she would buy it If she ever found out I wanted to quit music, I don’t even know what she’d do She walked over to me and gingerly put her hoof on my forehead, avoiding my horn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Hmm” she pondered for a moment “You seem fine to me” she replied incredulously “Well I didn’t then” I pouted “Scratchy, tell me what’s wrong; I want to help” she lifted a soft smile across my face with her own ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I don’t know Octavia, I just can’t take the stress anymore” She nodded her head in agreement If there was ever another pony to understand the stress of the music business, it would be her After a short pause, she asked of me “So what are you going to do then?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I didn’t want to answer that question I hadn’t even fully answered it to myself, let alone anypony else “It’s ok” she prodded “You can tell me” I debated it vigorously in my tired brain and decided I would answer her, if only to make it stop ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I think I want to quit DJ-ing” Octavia chuckled a bit, “Vinyl, it’s your cutie mark; you love being a DJ” “I know Tav, I know, but I just can’t take this constant noise anymore!” My yelling collapsed my own ears, and I succumbed to the inevitable headache ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Argh!” I yelled in pain, holding my pounding head in my hooves “Scratch!” Octavia yelled back, probably wanting to help, but only making it worse She held me in her arms for a moment as my mind returned to its normal frequency I slowly lowered my hooves, “Thanks Tav” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Is it just the noise, Vinyl? Does the noise hurt too much?” she whispered quietly “Yes” I reply “I just can’t clear my head, I can’t think straight” “Do you think you’ll be able to listen to me for a little while, or should I come back later?” “No” I speak back, a little louder than the whispers but not so loud I would hurt myself “Stay, please” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Vinyl Scratch, you are an amazing DJ, with musical prowess so far above all the other fillies and colts” “You’re famous Scratch, and fame has it prices” “There are some things that you need to learn to understand and deal with accordingly” “Most of all, you can never let your fans down; I mean, what kind of message would that send them?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Usually Octavia’s words were filled with some kind of bright optimism and hope Now she was just lecturing me on how not to quit I thought she might’ve reacted this way, and her affirming the idea that I had to stay didn’t help “Tav, that’s not really what I wanted to hear” being completely truthful ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But” she continued, interrupting me although still at a whisper “Anypony and everypony understands that each job takes a good deal of work to perform” “If you were to take a break, nopony would judge you on it” “And personally, I think you need a break” her purple eyes smiling at me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There were her words of healing, the sympathy I was so desperately searching for It didn’t change the fact I still had the largest tour ever going on though “I can’t just quit in the middle of a tour Tav” “Perhaps that is so, but I believe it’s perfectly reasonable for you to take a break and get some rest” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I let down my sweet shades and placed them on the cedar table next to me My eyes were baggy and dark, visibly showing my lack of sleep The one shimmering red in them was getting dimmer by the day “Octavia, I can’t leave the partying, I can’t leave the fans, I can’t leave the music” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Nonsense” she scoffed, unwavering in her opinion “If Vinyl Scratch needs a day off, then the DJ-PON3 party bus here can make that happen” “But the fans -” I started, being cut off by her speech “The fans will understand Vinyl; please just get some sleep” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The worry in her eyes showed me that although adamant, all she really wanted was to help I still couldn’t shake the depressing feeling though If I quit I would keep my sanity, but let down everypony who’s ever cared for me Octavia saw my doubt, and she let out her hoof with the roses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Why don’t you read the note?” I guessed it couldn’t hurt, only being a tiny piece of paper, so I opened it up What was written on the heart shaped card made tears well up in my eyes Octavia smiled because she knew that I finally understood what she was getting at ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Dear DJ-PON3, our favorite DJ” “You are the craziest party animal we’ve ever known, and are always ready for another wild shindig” “As much as we love to party hard with you, we believe that everypony needs a little time off” “So we are willing to send you off to the Balehamas for a little rest and relaxation” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “We hope when you come back, you will be ready to party hard all over again” “Sincerely, your biggest fans” Inside the card was a ticket to a cruise liner sent for the Balehamas A gigantic, genuine smile leapt across my face ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But why in the world –” I started to say, cutting myself off as I looked at Octavia’s face She wore a smirk trying to contain her inner joyful laughter “You knew, didn’t you?” I joked at her “I had my suspicions” she chuckled suspiciously ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “So is this all real?” “One hundred percent!” she squealed, leaving my ear drums banging again I grimaced at first, “But what about the tour?” “Oh Vinyl, you can finish the tour after you get back” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I didn’t even care to ask if it was ok with my manager My fans themselves wanted to give me a break, and they were the ones who mattered Octavia, my closest and most loving friend made it happen There was nothing to keep me from being happy now ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Now Vinyl, I still want you to get some sleep, ok?” she whispered My tired eyes rose a bit and the slow smile revealed itself once again “Ok Tav” I walked over to my bed and hopped in ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Octavia walked over and pulled the satin covers over me, keeping me warm She opened up her case and pulled out her prized cello She readied the bow and began to play a quiet melody The soothing sounds trotted across my weary ears, releasing me from the ever bustling noise of the bass ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As I fell into my slumber, I heard her whisper in tune “Oh-oh-oh-oh, Let the music flow” No Matter What (Luna's Poem)No Matter What (Luna’s Poem) It’s been a long time since I last set foot here These looming castle walls are almost intimidating To think that I had once been so big Yet now, I am so small ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I once stood above all other ponies Greater than even my own sister I was once a power so forceful and destructive That should anypony try to rebel, I could have crushed them in an instant ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now that I look back upon it Why would I ever want to do that? What purpose would it serve to hurt my subjects? For what reason should I ever try to harm my friends? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There really was no reason I was merely filled with hatred Hatred and jealousy; burning, dooming jealousy And it consumed me entirely ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The day I lost my mind, I lost their trust How could anypony look me in the eye, Especially when those eyes were blackened with deceptive destruction? Why would anypony even want to talk to me? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I grew cruel with my power I tormented the Equestrian people, and my own sister It was no wonder that she fought back It was no wonder that she banished me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thinking back upon my actions, I can feel nothing but sorrow Sister told me that she forgave me But I did not believe her Not after what I had done ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The silver moon rose to the peak of the night sky The golden sun faded back into the infernally banished day The oceans crashed with waves of such ferocity that the land itself shook violently “Truest Night Eternal, Reign Over My World!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The words rang clear in my mind Although they were over a thousand years old, I could still hear them as if I was speaking them now I shuddered at the thought Nightmare Moon could not return, could she? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Recollections of Nightmare Night played through my mind Everypony was scared; no one wanted to be friends Of course, it was all made ok with the help of Twilight Sparkle But still, even a millennium later and the ponies had not forgotten my wrath ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What was I to do? I was lost here in this new world Lost between being the feared dictator and the loved princess Did I truly belong here? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My ponderings had brought me to a large room It was made of the finest marble and gold Any one room in our castle could be made of these of course, but this room was different There was a looming statue of pure gold in the center ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I looked up at the piece of art, amazed It was of my sister, the grand Princess Celestia It was the only object my vision observed Gigantic and beauteous, it only made sense for all else to fade to the background ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “It would only make sense that my sister would be praised as such” I spoke aloud “Well I always try to do my best for my ponies” chuckled a voice from behind I removed my eyes from the statue before me and whipped around It was my sister, all clad in her usual princess garments ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Sister, I had no idea you were there” I apologized “It’s alright Lulu” she smiled, her soft words breezing across my ears “I’m glad to see you’re finally losing the old royal Canterlot voice” “Yes, well, your faithful student was very helpful in that effort” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was still a bit embarrassed from being startled and interrupted by my sister and was blushing “Is everything alright Lulu?” she asked I was going to respond with obvious confirmation, only having been slightly ashamed of my words But then I remembered that Celestia always had some wise words of wisdom ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I decided it would be better to tell her “Actually sister, I was wondering if I could talk to you?” “I’m right here Luna, what is it?” I fought to phrase the words correctly in my mouth The sentence formed came to be an accurate selection ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I am quite lost Tia; I do not belong in this new world of Equestria” My big sister frowned, she eyes showing more sorrow than anything else “Why would you say that Luna?” “Because” I answered “It is true” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What foolishness could possibly make you believe that Luna?” Her speech struck me as odd Why shouldn’t I feel lost? Everything here was new to me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Sister, this world is so far from the one I once knew” “I know, it must be hard not to recognize anypony” “It’s not that, it’s just…” I trialed off “Just what?” she prodded ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What do the other ponies think of me, sister?” “The other ponies all love you Luna” “Why would you think otherwise?” “But how do they not know I might turn back into Nightmare Moon?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My regal sister shot back, shocked by the thought “Luna, I am so sorry, what have I done to wrong you this time?” she pleaded “I do not wish for any more arguing to go on between us, please, let me apologize” Her eyes showed true and genuine apology, she actually thought she had done something wrong ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Sister, no, you have done nothing wrong” I assured her “I just don’t feel like I belong here anymore” “Things are too different, it’s all just a bit too much” “And…it hurts to think about everything I’ve missed because of what I did” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Celestia gazed down upon me, her large mane causing sparkles to beam around her face She extended both of her hooves and pulled me into her She held me in a warm embrace, and I returned it All of her hugs made me feel better, bringing a cozy, fuzzy feeling to course through me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She began to address me “Luna, listen to me” “We both understand that what happened a thousand years ago was a huge challenge to overcome” “We said some things, and we fought, as sisters always do” “But that is all over now, Nightmare Moon is gone” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I tried to smile, but I was not convinced “Even if that is so, the things that I did –” my sister interrupted me “Lulu, those are all in the past now” “I forgive you, and so does all of Equestria” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forgiveness and acceptance Those were the only two things I could ever ask for My sister knew, she could see it, she listened to me She was offering both, and happily so ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Sister” I started, a full smile now displayed “Thank you” “Luna, you know we forgive you, why do you worry?” “I do not believe the other ponies are as accepting as you, Tia” I softly jested “Luna, have you lost your eyes?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her rhetoric confused me Was there still a part of this conversation I had not yet grasped? “What do you mean Tia?” I asked of her “Just look behind you” she grinned ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I turned my head once more, reverting back to my original position in the hall I had not expected anything different, just the same golden statue of my sister But this was not so As my head halted its turn, my body following, I captured the view of the entire room ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Right next to the grand, golden Celestia, was another statue This one was almost as tall, and made entirely of the finest silver In the same regal pose as the elder, this silver statue exhibited the qualities of another royal alicorn This statue was of me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Celestia walked up next to me, “Do you see what the ponies did for you?” I gazed longingly at my magnificent statue, shimmering in the dim light of the room “As soon as you returned, the royal architects began their work on making this statue for you” “They did all this for me?” I beamed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh little Lulu, when will you learn?” The two of us shared a hearty laugh I looked back up at my older sister lovingly I hugged her once more, recapturing the same fuzzy feeling as before, “Thanks Tia” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Lulu, promise me you’ll remember one thing” Her voice was serious, but not harsh “What is it?” I squeaked, still feeling bubbly from our sisterly moment Celestia’s eyes lessened in intensity, and her face became soft once more ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I will always love you” she said “No matter what” Always Keep Your Head Held High (Derpy's Poem)Always Keep Your Head Held High (Derpy’s Poem) Today is the day I go visit Rarity at the boutique She’s got a lot of makeup and dresses Rarity always spends her time making beautiful dresses for beautiful ponies I hope she can make one for me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I know I’m not as beautiful as the other ponies My mane isn't as fancy My coat is a dull grey And my eyes, my eyes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I don’t know if there was a day when I havn’t heard “Hey Derp-Eyes, watch where you’re going!” Or “You’re late again? Dumb mailmare” The hateful verbal assaults never seem to stop ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I can never go out in public with my daughter without somepony insulting me Even if they just turn away in disgust for my eyes I can see them do it, even though they think I can’t I can see them all just fine ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My daughter, Dinky, always asks me why other ponies avoid us I never really know what to tell her How could I ruin her happy, blissful childhood with the harsh realities of adulthood? It was all I could not to run home and cry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today would be different though Rarity would make me a dress A gorgeous gown that would leave all the other ponies stunned beyond belief Or, at least draw their spiteful attention away from my eyes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The more I thought about it, the worse I felt I took it to myself to focus even more on my surroundings as I trotted down to the boutique I could still see all the ponies look down as I went by My heart grew heavy, and my pace slowed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Could I ever change these mare’s opinions? Did it even matter in the long run? My heart sank completely, crushing my stomach and lungs I felt sick, my grey visage shading green ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I quickly took to the skies My being sick in public could only further the other ponies jokes for me I had to find somewhere to sit down and relax myself I noticed a small pond not too far from the road and flapped my wings fast ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The pond was bright blue, reflecting the clear day’s sky You could see the trees behind it flickering in the wavy water The mixing colors pooled themselves into a vortex of entrancing wonderment Even I, an ugly old mare of grey, could appreciate the spectacular beauty that nature holds ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As I gazed upon the small body of water, my aching insides began to soothe I could breathe regularly again, and my stomach loosened its knot Even my heart began to rise again Perhaps I would be able to complete my journey after all? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The water had been rippling due to the wind from my wings, causing the mixing colors But it soon found itself resettling in its original peace As the water joined in a harmonious accord with time, the natural scene froze and the pond became still The reflection I received from the now still pond upset me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Instead of the trees and sky I admired, only my face remained Mirrored against the placid reserve, I stared into my own being One eye stared that is, the other gazing off longingly to the distance The ever present, but never attainable distance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Truly I was a sight to see No normal pony could look as odd as I do No normal pony could be as much of a freak as me The heavy feeling returned to my heart ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I sat down on the edge of the water My flank nestled into the warm sand On any other day, I may have enjoyed the nice weather, but today was not the same A few droplets of liquid sadness feel from my deformed eyes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The tears hit the calm pond like a fire storm hits a hay stack No more could the water maintain a reflection Instead, it constantly shifted and churned, distorting the beauty in the surrounding area Now, even the trees were freaks like me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A soft hoof politely tapped my shoulder I wiped the tears from my face as I turned I hadn’t noticed anypony here before, and wasn’t expecting anypony to care even if they were The face that met me was not only familiar, but seemed happy to see me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Why, Ms. Derpina, what ever has happened here?” The beauteous white unicorn’s smile turned to an immutably concerned frown “Why in the heavens are you crying?” She asked of me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was stunned and unsure of how to answer “Well, I, I, I just don’t know what went wrong Rarity” “Oh Derpina, what awful events have transpired at this rustic oasis?” Her genuine concern for my well being surprised me, seeing as how so few ponies were even nice to me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Even with her expression, I did not believe that she would care for my personal problems So I answered “I was sad because you weren’t at the boutique” “I had hoped to buy a nice dress from you today” Rarity giggled and put her hooves around me to give me a hug ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “My dear Derpy, is that all?” “I, um, yes” I stammered “Ah well I truly do apologize, most sincerely really” “As you can see, I was merely partaking in this gorgeous day’s weather” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Yeah, it’s really nice outside today” “Oh quite! But I do suppose I’ve been outside long enough as it is” “Why don’t you head over to the boutique with me and we shall arrange the perfect ensemble for you!” I stood up from my seat in the sand and smiled back at Rarity ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She led the entire trip to the boutique I followed closely behind, trying to stay out of the other ponies views It was not very effective unfortunately, and they still stared I guess when you have the most beautiful pony next to the ugliest pony, it really shows ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thankfully the trip was short, and I didn’t have to suffer through much When we walked in, Rarity gingerly closed the door and turned around She looked me square in the eyes, as best she could, and sternly asked me “Hmph” she grunted “What ever was that all about?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I don’t know what you mean Rarity?” I replied, confused “The staring?” she clarified “Why was everypony reacting to your walking by?” Scared and embarrassed, I tried to shift it “Maybe they were staring at you?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh no, absolutely not” she shot back “I KNOW when ponies are looking at me, my dear” “But those ponies were focused all on you” I shrunk away, Rarity’s rising temper was frightening ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m sorry Rarity, I didn’t mean to cause any trouble” “Oh Derpina, I’m sorry” she apologized “It’s very un-ladylike for me to raise my voice, especially at such a wonderful guest” “Wonderful?” I piped up ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But of course, do you not agree” “Those ponies sure don’t” I sighed Rarity frowned again, this time with more disappointment then sadness “Are those ponies making jovialities about you” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I nodded my head in shame “They think I’m a freak, because of my eyes” The pristine white unicorn gasped in astonishment “How awfully dreadful of them! Insulting a poor mare for her uniqueness!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “It’s not unique, it’s just weird” I sulked “My dearest Derpina Hooves, you are most certainly not ‘weird’!” she retorted quickly “But all the ponies say ---” she cut my pitiful rationalizations off “The other ponies do not define your most outstanding character” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I could not respond, my heavy heart choking my throat The prestigious tailor took the lead and pulled on my hoof “Follow me” she said She brought me to her designing room ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She waved her hoof across the room saying “Gaze upon my many works of the utmost beauty and style” I did my best to see everything, the many bright colors and patterns blinded my eyes “They are all very nice Rarity” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh Derpy, they are far more than nice, they are magnificent” She was right, but I said nothing more She let out a light sigh, followed by a quick chuckle “But they aren’t what is truly beautiful here” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What she was saying was so out of line for her, it befuddled me “What do you mean, Rarity?” “See here, my dear” she said, pulling me to the window “What do you see?” she asked “I see a big green valley, I think some trees in the distance, and its sunset right now” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Isn’t it a marvelous sunset?” she smiled I looked out further at the colorful sky I hadn’t realized how late it had gotten, but still enjoyed the swirling colors in the dusky sky “It is” I replied longingly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She pulled once more on my hoof to the counter of her dresser She lifted up a small picture and held it to my face “And what do you see here?” “It’s you and your family, Rarity” I answered her, wondering where she was going with these questions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Exactly!” she exclaimed “Do you know why these are more beautiful than all of my dresses put together?” She didn’t even give me time to answer as she only move forward “They are more beautiful because they are both completely natural” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “My family belongs to me and me alone” “We are naturally together and love each other for we are family, no matter what” “And this picturesque scene outside of my humble abode” “It is the truest beauty of nature” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I tried to understand, but hurtful words still plagued my thoughts “Derpy Hooves” Rarity nudged “Nature inspires these dresses” “When I am lost for ideas or designs, I gaze out of my window, or talk to this photograph” “They can always give me the answers I seek” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “These dresses may be beautiful, but they can never match the beauty from whence they came” “Only nature holds that title” “And my dear, you are by far, the most beautiful mare nature has ever created” My friend grinned as she concluded her speech ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But Rarity, if that’s true, then why do they make fun of me?” I asked of her I was still not convinced that I had any real worth Rarity stood strong in her opinion though “It is unfortunate, but nature is not always appreciated as it should be” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “And you, Derpina Doo Hooves, are the most splendid beauty of nature that I have ever seen” My disconnected eyes beamed by her words She was the first pony to say anything remotely nice to me, especially to that extent Once more, the solid object in my chest melted away and I felt light inside ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Rarity, do you really mean that? That I’m beautiful, even with my eyes?” “But of course! And your eyes make you all the more stunning” she beamed “And I truly hope you won’t pay any more attention to those worthless hooligans ever again” I laughed a little, further my newfound happy mood, “I won’t Rarity” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Good” she nodded “Always keep your head held high, Derpy” Love Will Always Find A Way (Bon Bon's Poem)Love Will Always Find A Way (Bon Bon’s Poem) Love is a funny thing It makes you feel all wibbly-wobbly inside You can’t control who you fall in love with either It just, happens ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That’s how it worked for me at least I never really wanted to find my special somepony It wasn’t more than a passing thought That was, until she came along ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A beautiful minty green unicorn with a mane of blue and white She could play a melody that would soothe a raging dragon And her voice would bring a shaking earth into a harmonious accord But most of all, she was unique, unlike any other pony ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Perhaps that is why I fell in love with her Seeing her sitting her flank on the bench The mare was filled with wonderment and exciting new possibilities; intriguing me, perplexing me even Unfortunately, not everypony sees love the same way ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It all started after the Nightmare Moon incident here in Ponyville She was new in town, and came in looking for something to eat Although not quite as famous as the Cake’s pastry shop, my candy confectionaries were well known Everypony with a sweet tooth, young and old, came into my store looking for a bag of tasty treats ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She was no different than the rest back then, heading into my shop “Hey, can I get this small bag of chocolates?” she asked quizzically, almost unsure if the question was ok “That’ll be four bits please” I smiled back The mysterious pony pulled out two bits and then began to frantically search herself for more money ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was then that the realization hit me; I didn’t know this mare So I decided to ask her, “I haven’t seen you here before have I?” Still rummaging through her bag, she hastily replied “Nope, just moved here” It was surprising the hear that she moved here and wasn’t visiting, as there weren’t any houses for sale ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh? Where did you move into? I don’t remember seeing any houses for sale” As I spoke, the unicorn began to blush, turning her minty coat from green to red She looked like a lit up Hearths Warming tree “Well, uh, you see, I, uh don’t really have a house per say” she replied, words stumbling from her mouth ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Then where on earth do you live?” “Well, I’m kinda hard pressed for bits, so I’m looking around to see if there’s anywhere I can crash” “At least for a night” she frowned, her own situation displeasing her previous pleasant mood Against my better judgment, I offered a deal to the lost unicorn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Considering you don’t have the bits to pay for that chocolate” I began “Why don’t you work for me to pay it off, and maybe earn some extra money too?” A beaming smile, bright-flashing white, shot over her face, her eyes widening far past their average size “You really mean that!?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Of course, you seem like a nice enough pony” The minty mare bounced up and down all over my store, making me extra thankful for the slow day She scooped up the bag of chocolates in her foreleg and bounced straight out the door Chucking at first, I realized that I needed to give her a schedule of when to be here ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I ran out the door as quick as I could, only to find my new employee sitting happily on the bench outside I stared at her for quite some time, my head tilted in inquisition She sat on her flank, with her hind legs hanging off the front of the bench, a sight I’d never seen before The unicorn looked back at me and waved happily; I could feel a light smile work its way across my face ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I hadn’t realized it, but I was staring at her for quite sometime She began to give me an odd look, as if to tell me subliminally to stop I shook my head, blinking my eyes rapidly to snap myself out of the trance I trotted over to her bench seat to ask her about her, sitting position ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Excuse me, but, why do you sit like that?” The bubbly pony answered “Because it’s fun!” “I’ve always enjoyed doing things that are outside the norms” “Being an average, everyday pony is boring” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her blatant self expression showed me that she was not afraid of being criticized or bullied Her proud nature and fun loving personality drew me in somehow I didn’t know what she did, but whatever it was, it worked I just had to know more about my new employee, my new friend ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You said you needed a place to stay, isn’t that right?” “Mmhphm” she garbled contently while chewing on her chocolate pieces “Well why don’t you stay with me? You are working for me after all” Chocolate still in her mouth, she hopped off of the bench, bouncing crazily across the street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I couldn’t help but laugh this time She took the time to pause her fanatic antics for a moment and laugh with me Still laughing hard, I posed the question to her “What IS your name?” Settling down from the uproar, but still chuckling, she replied “Lyra; Lyra Heartstrings” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was the beginning of a great friendship, actually, more than friendship now I took her in and set up a sofa in the extra room upstairs for her to sleep on She worked hard every day, earning her pay like a honest, hard working pony The days went by like the usually did, but this time around I had a friend to pass the time with ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was glad to have company, as it often did get lonely in the shop Things kept up for a while, until one day when I heard something I wasn’t supposed to Two fillies had just bought some candy, but as they were leaving I noticed they had left one of their bags I snatched it up quick and ran outside to give it to them ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As I opened the door and trotted behind them, I overheard the elder “Two mares shouldn’t be living together, it’s just weird” I stopped in my tracks, a surprised look formed on my face causing the bag to drop from my mouth Did they think that Lyra and I were together? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Confused and agitated I went back into the shop to confront Lyra It was true, I had some unexplainable feelings for the mare, but I never openly displayed any intimacy “Lyra” I tapped her on the shoulder “Can I ask you something?” “Sure” she agreed with her usual wide grin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “How do you, um, feel about me?” I stuttered over a few words “You’re my best friend, Bon” she smiled encouragingly “Oh, yeah, good” I sighed, somewhat relieved yet still feeling a stiffening sadness “That’s what I thought” my eyes lowering towards the floor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What is it? Did I say something wrong?” a concerned tone in her voice “I just, no, nothing really” I tried to respond, but my emotions got the best of me My green friend blushed, just like she did on the first day we met, and slowly walked closer to me Before I knew it, I felt the warm sensation of another pony’s lips on my cheek ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You know, I wouldn’t mind being more” her eyes gazing right into my own The once cloudy storm of emotions and thoughts that rattled throughout my heart and mind faded Only one feeling remained, and that feeling was love Love for a wonderfully unique unicorn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We took our relationship slow, neither one of us having been in one before It started off with simply going to the park to relax and enjoy the day with one another She shared all of her greatest desires with me, all of her secrets Her love for the unconventional bemused me, and I became enthralled in her endeavors ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She moved to Ponyville from Canterlot where she worked as a traveling acrobat She could walk on only her back hooves, and had a perplexing ability to grip things with her hooves Her movements were often awkward, but she explained that it is merely hard to do Everything about her old life just made me want to know more ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Of course, such avid and numerous adventures had a downside We received plenty of hateful glares from other mares and stallions Two mares being in a relationship together was not only unconventional, but also looked down on Each day it would get worse, people avoiding us or even ceasing all communication ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was able to deal with it for the most part, until they started getting physical Some young colts threw stones through the store’s windows, shattering glass everywhere After the incident, fewer and fewer ponies came back to buy candy We were quickly going bankrupt ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Lyra, we’re running out of money” “I know Bon, I know, but there’s nothing we can do” she frowned “But we need business, I can’t just close down the shop” Lyra said nothing, but came over to hug me and keep me close ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I went to sleep that night, almost crying at our poor situation My sleep did not relieve me of my problems either, I was tossing and turning the entire night When I awoke, I hoped for the comfort of my dear Lyra, but there was no one else in bed My body jolted awake and I searched the shop frantically, calling out her name ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I searched for days, but there was no Lyra to be found It didn’t take long for the town to learn of Lyra’s disappearance To my dismay, few ponies cared They were all far more concerned with a huge party planned for Friday night ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My only thought was, perhaps there will be somepony there who knows where Lyra is? I waited another day, alone inside my suffering shop It was sorrowful, my shop and I were both withering away without the one thing that made us special Friday night did come though, and I made my way, ever so slowly, to the grand party ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I got there just as they announced the bands playing “Tonight we’ve got a hot new band playing their brand new song, Playing My Heartstrings!” “Let’s give it up for Scratching Symphonies!” The crowd cheered louder than a passing train, nearly bursting my eardrums from their booming chants ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The curtains on the stage opened, and to my surprise, Lyra stood in the front, gripping her golden lyre The music began to play, a battle between orchestra and electronics, constantly vying for control Lyra’s harmonious lyre strokes graced my ears and lifted my tried soul back to its hooves Everypony listened intently to the swaying music of both opposing sides, entranced in the tune ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ During a lull in the ever pressing tone of the piece, Lyra placed her lyre on the stage in front of her and walked towards the unoccupied microphone “Hey there everypony” she chuckled “I know that a lot of you have had problems with me in the past, and I’m sorry for that” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m in love with another mare, yes” “She is just as wonderful and beautiful and caring as any stallion could be to me” “I know what I and my marefriend have isn’t normal” she sniffled twice, water falling down her face “But I don’t see why there needs to be any cruelty towards her” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You’ve all known Bon Bon your entire lives, and have always enjoyed her great candies” “Why does the fact that she loves me have to change that? “She is still the same old Bon Bon you all knew, the same Bon Bon you were friends with” “So I guess, what I’m asking is that you all just give us a chance” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I had never expected Lyra to do something like this, however it did fit her well I rushed my way through the crowd, trying my hardest to get to the stage When I finally made it, Octavia helped pull me up, smiling I headed straight for Lyra, running into her so fast I nearly knocked her over with my embrace ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Lyra” I sobbed “I thought you left me” My musical mare patted me on my head, “I’d never leave you Bon, not in a million years” “I just had to find the right way to get everypony in one place so that I could tell them this” I laughed, both of us were smiling now, something I hadn’t done in quite some time ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyra turned her attention back to the apprehensive crowd Many of them had equally large smiles on their faces, although there were some disapproving frowns “I don’t know if we’ve changed your minds everypony, but I am thankful you listened” “And Bon” she took in a deep breath “No matter what, I can tell you this” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her heart opened to me, the same as when we first met, and she said “Love will always find a way” Your Closest Bonds (Gilda's Poem)Your Closest Bonds (Gilda’s Poem) Stupid, stupid ponies! They don’t know the mistake they’ve made messing with me I’ll mess them up so bad, they won’t even be able to see straight Especially that stupid pink one ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They humiliated me in front of a whole crowd They humiliated me in front of Dash Stupid, stupid ponies They’re all so, so lame! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I can’t believe I ever thought Dash would make a good friend Everyone knows ponies are so soft and lame I guess I thought Rainbow was different I guess I had been wrong all along ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I spotted a small clearing the vast stretch of trees that revolved around the clustered forest There was a lake or pond clearly visible through the gap in the trees Lakes were supposed to be calming, right? Well, my wings needed a rest anyways ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I landed with a slight squish on the cool, mossy ground My sharp talons easily dug into the soft covering, slicing the delicate roots from below Each step was the same, squishy yet leaving a trail of small cuts behind me I gazed out towards the lake ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was a normal lake, nothing special, placid and blue like any other I removed my eyes from the tree line and gazed down upon my reflection in the body of water My face was a mess, covered in party gags and some cake But that didn’t bother me, no, the reflection itself wasn’t an issue ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was angry, my entire body was tensed up with unending fury But that fury wasn’t directed at the ponies It was directed at myself I was infuriated, angry, frustrated with myself ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There was only one other time I truly felt like this It was such a long time ago, almost lost beneath the newer, fonder memories Back when I first started flight school life more than I could handle Until good ol’ Dash showed up and snapped me outta my rut ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was an alright kid, never wanted to make trouble, always did my best to learn new flying techniques Other students weren’t so keen on following the rules like I did though They made fun of me for practicing and studying, always taunting me or even beating me up Every day was awful, I couldn’t avoid the onslaught of bullying ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One day is tricks and techniques class, I tried doing one of the more complicated tricks It didn’t end well, my wings tied up and I fell to the ground The other students didn’t even bother trying to catch me, But Rainbow Dash zoomed in and caught me before I hit the ground and broke my wings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From there, I did my best to keep Dash around She was the only real friend I made at that dumb school We hung out every day after class, flying or chilling on a cloud She showed me that there really were some ponies out there worth hanging onto ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When I told her about all of the bullying, she showed me how to pull pranks We spent the rest of our years there pranking the other ponies and griffins There was laughter and contentment, but underneath it all, I grew cold and resentful I was truly happy to get back at those stupid bullies for what they did to me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In my life, it was be tough or get crushed Dash helped me grow tough, but I over did it She was fine with it then, because she didn’t like the other students either, but now Now it’s different, we aren’t in flight school anymore ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I sighed at the thought of having lost the only true friend I ever made The wind from my beak blew into the water causing ripples to shoot out from the center My reflection became distorted and I turned away The ripples in the water made more sense than my reflection did, but they changed, I didn’t ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Excuse me beast of lion and bird, is it you that I just heard?” called out a voice from the forest “Who’s there? Don’t make me come after you” I threatened A zebra walked out from behind the cover of the darkened wood She was wearing some gold bands and carried a sack upon her back, and didn’t seem like trouble ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Violence is not what I seek, for I choose to be quite meek” “Why are you here? Isn’t this place, I dunno, dangerous or something?” The zebra laughed at my response, and pointed to her pack with her hoof “Here I have my pack of goods, to bring back to my house in the woods” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Well I still don’t get what you’re up to” I retorted, trying to stay intimidating “As I said, you could be heard, your voice is loud, with every word” Her rhyming was getting on my nerves really quick, then again I was already mad “I didn’t say anything” I spat back angrily ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “This is true, they weren’t said, but rather thought, inside your head” I looked at the black and white horse blankly Could she really have been reading my mind? “What’re you talking about you creep?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I am no creep as you say, just observant, are you ok?” she asked, letting on that she could read my face “It’s none of your business, I’m fine” I scowled I tried walking away, but the zebra wouldn’t stop following me “Beat it, I don’t need some tagalong loser zebra!” I screamed at her ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Foolish here, you should not be, all alone in the forest Everfree” she warned “I’ll be fine, it’s just a bunch of tr –” a loud roar from behind cut me off “What was that?”I whimpered, although I tried my best to keep my composure She noticed and trotted up quickly “T’was a beast quite large in size, let us go to my hut and stay inside” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hearing the enormous monster had been enough to keep even a bold natured griffin like me out Her hut wasn’t too far, and the walk was hastened by our imperative pace When we got inside the wooden abode, I let out a sigh of relief I noticed she had been looking at me, and realized that she had seen me scared ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You tell anyone about this and I swear” I threatened again, shaking my fist in the air for emphasis The forest dweller laughed again “Not in the slightest, do I believe a kind griffin like you, would hurt me” Her words took me by surprise, as no one besides Dash had ever called me nice “What makes you think I’m nice, crone?” I replied, trying to continue with my insults ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “However tough and mean you act, your soul will reflect your true self back” she smiled This random zebra was the first being to ever see past my tough façade Her smile was heartfelt and real, it almost made my emotional walls of steel snap Could this random stranger really care about a jerk like me? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m not nice,” I continued on to see what she would say “I’m a jerk” “Perhaps that is what your mouth says, but it is not what your mind portrays” “Inside you feel you feel you have done wrong, and do believe a piece of you is gone” The rhythmic words pierced through my remaining barriers, I couldn’t hold back any more ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Shut up! Shut up! I’m not that weak little girl anymore, I won’t have you make fun of me like this!” “It’s not my fault Rainbow Dash grew soft and lame with her dumb pony friends!” “I’m still tough, I can still stick up for myself! I only need to care about me, just me!” My breath was heavy and panting, shoulders tensed as I stood on my hind legs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The zebra did not react, she remained purely calm and relaxed She waited patiently for my rage to subside, and then began to speak, softly but with intent “As a child you were scorned, and because of such, a friendship was born” “From that friendship, your one became two, and as you got older, your friendship also grew” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Those who once adored you would do so again, if you were the one they once called friend” “But bitter as your soul has grown, you still have hope to find a home” “Too long have you believed her reason was all because of petty teasing” “For the truest of friends will stick together, in hail or rain or any kind of weather” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She concluded her small speech with a bright smile and light chuckle My body relaxed and I began to understand what this zebra meant At least, I thought I captured the message of her rhyming I finally dropped my malicious facemask and grinned a truly happy grin for the first time in ages ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With a deep sigh, I mustered up the will to thank her for her kind words and caring attitude She pointed me in the direction of Ponyville and told me I would be able to leave the forest easily I had to go and find Dash, if for nothing more than to apologize I wasn’t sure if she’d even see me, but Zecora the zebra, as she was called, assured me that she would ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I opened the door and spread my wings, ready to lift off to the skies above the green labyrinth I looked back at Zecora, waving and smiling; I had made a new friend today Lifting off, I was trying to think of what to say to Dash when I heard her call up to me from below “If you’re wry and you lie, then your friendship will die!” she yelled ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But if you’re true in what you speak, your closest bonds you are sure to keep!” Every Little Bit Counts (Fluttershy's Poem)Every Little Bit Counts (Fluttershy’s Poem) “Oh come now Angel, you really need to eat your food” Angel is such a stubborn, little bunny He always fights everything I say, whatever it is Lately it’s been harder to keep up with his demands and the other animals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I nudged the bowl further, but he wouldn’t have it “Please Angel, for me?” I begged He simply pouted and turned himself away I was beginning to lose my patience ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This was surprising though, as I wasn’t one to get annoyed so easily It was only a small lunch after all, it shouldn’t have me this worked up He tapped his foot rapidly, the thumping beating repetitive noises into my head This only drove me further to anger ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I took in a deep breath My lungs filled and my mind eased, if only for a moment Then the animals outside growled and chirped, buzzed and called My stress release failed due to their incessant calling ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There were so many animals, so many creatures to care for Each one with its own specific needs; a habitat, food, special care They all needed me to stay alive and well, I just couldn’t refuse I just couldn’t turn one animal away ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another thumping noise starts bouncing around the room What now? I can’t seem to find the source of the noise, but I feel myself shaking A short look at my hooves tells the story ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As I shook nervously, my hooves beat against the floor, tapping out my frustration I started to scare myself, unable to cease my fervent shaking Trotting statically to my kitchen, I searched for something to calm me nerves The mirror on the wall elaborated on my pains with hurtful detail ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not only was I shaking like jello in an earthquake, but I was a mess My mane was disheveled and my coat dirty The bags under my eyes told easily of my inability to sleep, trying to help the nocturnal residents I was also incredibly skinny, skipping my own meals in favor of theirs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What in the world am I to do? There are so many creatures to help and I can’t just leave them now No, I’ve already taken them in, that would be awful and rude of me But did I have any other choice? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Knock, Knock, Knock The door was beating too, ah so much noise! “Fluttershy?” called out a distinctive male voice I had a visitor, but I couldn’t possibly let them see me like this ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I walked slowly to the door, hoping maybe they might think I wasn’t home But surely I wouldn’t just not open the door, I still couldn’t bring myself to be uncouth I opened the door slowly, and sure enough he was still there “Hey Fluttershy!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “How’r you today Spike, Peewee?” I ask the small purple dragon and his phoenix friend “We’re fine, how’ve you been?” the bubbly dragon returned “Oh, well I um, I’ve been, um, just fine.” My voice trembled, capturing the feeling of my shaking body As much as I tried to hide it, I couldn’t stop my body from shaking ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Fluttershy, are you, are you shaking?” he wondered worriedly “Well um, you see, it’s that, yes.” My voice fading off in shy admittance “What’s wrong?” his scaly arm reached out as he put his hand on my shoulder His hand was cold, as dragon’s usually are, but somehow it felt a little warming ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Taking in the biggest breath that I could, I began a rant bigger than anything I’d ever said before “There are so many animals in the world and they all need a little help sometimes” “I am that help, so I find them wherever they may be and treat them well until they get better again” “But now there are just too many of them, and I can’t leave them to fend for themselves out there!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The look on Spike’s face showed that he wasn’t expecting me to go off like that He didn’t respond, and it made me afraid I had offended him I knew that I shouldn’t throw my problems onto other ponies Nopony needed to hear me complain about the things that I did, that wasn’t fair at all to them ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m sorry Spike, I didn’t mean to yell like that” Almost smiling, he replied “If you call that yelling then I wonder what your whisper is like” His remark caused me to blush I suppose I wasn’t that loud after all ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Should I have been louder?” I asked him “Fluttershy, I wouldn’t worry about that right now” “What you should worry is yourself, I mean your trembling for Celestia’s sake!” The worried expression on his face made me feel worse for having upset his good mood ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh I’m sorry Spike, you don’t need to stay here and listen to me” It looked as if he took offense to my apology as he shot back “Fluttershy, I’m not leaving” He was stern and stubborn with his words, not backing down for a moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Why haven’t you asked anyone to help you with the animals?” “I don’t think anypony needs to waste their time helping me, I’ll do just fine myself” “Obviously that’s not true; you definitely need help” The thought of not being able to help all of the animals made me feel even worse ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My condition wasn’t getting any better, but Spike continued speaking “You know, I used to think I didn’t need any help” My ears perked up as he began his story “When we first moved here, Twilight and I, we had a lot of organizing to do” “I mean, have you seen that library? It’s huge” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Anyways, Twilight was always busy doing something and never had time to fix the place up” “One day, she left and asked me to finish everything up by the time she got home” “At first I thought I could do it, but things went downhill from there” “There were so many books, and the shelves were so high, I was falling all over the place” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But Spike, what does this –” he interrupted me to finish “By the end of the day I was shedding scales thinking Twilight would be awfully mad at me” “I was curled up in a corner, panicking when Twilight opened the door” “When she walked in, do you know what the first thing she did was?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Did she scold you for not finishing? I know Angel gets mad at me when I don’t finish things on time” “Haha, of course not,” he laughed “She calmed me down and made sure I was ok” “Then she told me that everything would be alright and helped me finish organizing the library” “Do you see where I’m going with this?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spike’s story did seem rather important, but I hadn’t exactly caught his point “No, I um, don’t think I do” The frazzled dragon slapped his forehead, “The point is, I’m going to help you out anyways” “But Spike, it’s really not necessary” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He laughed at this, I blushed again “I think it’s necessary, so I’m going to help anyways” he smiled I didn’t want to refuse such a generous offer of his time, but I didn’t want to be a bother Spike wouldn’t have any of it though and went straight to work ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spike sat me down, placing a blanket over me to stop my trembling I tried to get up and help, but he wouldn’t let me do anything I felt so helpless, unable to do what I had been doing for so long Oddly enough, it was a refreshing feeling, like a giant weight had been lifted off my shoulders ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I decided to accept Spike’s help and just laid there in my chair, warming up After some amount of time he came back to check on me “Feeling better?” he asked, a caring smile surfacing his face “Much better; thank you Spike” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I fed all the animals and helped patch up the flamingo’s wing” “Oh, I also fixed up the chicken coop and cleaned the badger dens” “Spike, you know you didn’t have to do any of this” The small phoenix named Peewee that Spike had brought with him flew onto Spike’s shoulder ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It cooed as Spike proceeded to pet it Turning back to me he said “No, I didn’t, but I was glad that I could help you out, even just a bit” “I know you have a really tough job here with the animals, so just remember you can take a break” A light smile started to form on my face as well, relieving the once constant pressure of work ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Besides,” he continued “No matter how small it is, every little bit counts” The Audience Will Follow (Sweetie Belle's Poem)The Audience Will Follow (Sweetie Belle’s Poem) It was such a beautiful morning Nice, quiet, tranquil Not to mentioning the brightly shimmering sun in the east I was sure nothing could ruin my day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was the first one awake, and took the time to idly enjoy my bed It was comfortable and I was snug I wondered if my family was as happy as I was And that’s when I decided it ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I would make them lunch! Not just any lunch, but a huge picnic So I hopped out of my cozy mattress and ran downstairs, careful not to wake anypony up The kitchen was void of others, as I thought ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What to make?” I asked myself I opened the pantry door and found bread, waiting hopefully in the front for somepony to eat it Sandwiches, perfect Bread in hoof, I trotted over the nearby fridge ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Opening it, I found some cheese and butter from yesterday’s grocery trip I glanced over at the black stove, then back to the cheese Grilled cheese would be even better! I rushed the ingredients to the table ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What goes well with grilled cheese? Tomato soup! Duh Realizing the tasty treat would make this the best picnic ever, I went to reach for a pot above the stove The cabinet with the pots was too high for me to reach, so I stacked two chairs atop one another ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That’s when things went wrong I lost my balance and crashed onto our floor The noise was loud enough to wake up the entire family Who of course, came running downstairs to check out ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh my, what in dear heavens has happened?” my sister gasps “Dearie, are you alright?” asks my mom “Yeah, I- ow” I recoil as I try to get up “I think I banged my head” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What could you have possibly been doing Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asks My eyes shift rapidly across the floor I had wanted it to be a surprise “Well,” I started “I was gonna make us a picnic, so we could all have lunch together” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My dad walked over and patted my head, lightly though just in case I did bang it “Aw Sweetie, you know you didn’t have to do that for us” “I know, but I thought I could surprise you” “Well this was definitely a surprise, little sister” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m sorry a knocked all the pots over” “Don’t be honey, we’ll help you clean it up” “And then can we go on a picnic?!” I piped up, ecstatic now that my parents weren’t angry Mom and dad shot each other an ‘I’m sorry Sweetie Belle, but’ smile ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m sorry Sweetie Belle, but” called it “Your father and I are meeting with two friends of ours” “We’ll be in Manehatten all weekend, we thought you knew” My bubbly smile dissipated with the unfortunate news Even with the wonderful weather and grilled cheeses, I still wouldn’t be able to play with my family ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Maybe your sister can go with you?” they offered Rarity shook her head disappointingly “Sorry Sweetie, but I’ve got a huge client from Canterlot coming today, I simply cannot miss him” “It’s ok” I lied, sighing heavily “I understand” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The three of them went on to get ready for their days while I remained behind in the kitchen Nothing left to do, I just finished the grilled cheese sandwich I was going to make for myself And since I had already gone through the trouble of getting the pot I made some soup as well ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mom and dad packed their bags and left to Manehatten Rarity went up to her room with supplies I knew Rarity, and when she had a client, she didn’t usually want me around ‘Just in case’ she’d say ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So with that in mind I set off to the clubhouse with my lunch beside me in a tiny knapsack It was a short walk to our clubhouse, and when I got there, it was completely silent The walk had been quiet too, and I wondered where everypony had gone Without anypony there to give me an answer, I settled for the fact that I enjoyed the silence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was really sad though, I had had a new song that I wanted to sing to Rarity and my parents I thought they might enjoy a little family day tribute Now I doubted they’d ever hear it Soon enough, the silence unnerved me and led me to create my own sounds ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh mom and dad, why do you make me feel so sad” “All I wanted was to sing a song to you, but you never knew” “Oh, my sister Rarity, why couldn’t you stay with me?” “Why couldn’t you play with me, am I old news?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “All I wanted was an audience, to show that I could represent” “My prestigious family-ey-ey” “All I wanted was smiling ear, a pony who would care to hear” “The singing of Sweetie-ie-ie” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh wow, Sweetie B, you’re amazing!” called out a familiar voice The voice took me off guard though, making me jump and shriek off key My friend laughed at this “Scootaloo!” I yelled “What’s the big idea?!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Still laughing she said “Nothing, I just thought you sounded cool” She rethought her words for a second and then rephrased “Well, not cool really, but you sounded good” I raised a suspicious eyebrow at this, “What do you mean?” “Rainbow Dash is cool, she’s like, the best of the cool ponies, but your song was just, good” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Thanks Scootaloo” I snapped sarcastically “Hey, I don’t mean it was bad, just not cool” I decided I would take her words as compliments instead of insults, because I knew she meant well Still, I hadn’t planned on anyone listening to that song ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My idled mind started wondering if she heard the whole thing And if she did, did she understand what I was singing about My orange pegasus friend noticed my unresponsive look and waved a hoof in front of my face “Helooo, anypony home?” she joked ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I shook my head awake, “Yeah, I’m here” “You doing alright Sweetie Belle?” she asked, sounding very concerned It was unusual for Scootaloo to seem concerned as she wasn’t much of one for mushy girly things She liked to stay tough and courageous, so seeing her show a softer side threw me off ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Since I still had said anything, she pressed further “So was that true? What you said about an audience and your family and stuff?” My eyes hit the ground again, looking for answers although the grass couldn’t talk “Yeah, I guess, I mean it’s true, but whatever” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Pah, lier” she spat “You don’t have to hide it you know, I understand” “You do?” I questioned her, unbelieving in her enthusiasm “Yeah, I always wish I had more time to spend with the ponies I care about” “And even though I don’t sing, I always want more ponies to watch me do tricks on my scooter” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scootaloo understood after all I guess I shouldn’t doubt my friends when they say they want to help But even though my purple maned friend expressed similar feelings She still didn’t tell me how to solve my problems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Wait, Scootaloo” I spoke up “Yeah?” “So how do you deal with those feelings?” Scootaloo tilted her head inquisitively, as if it was an answer I should already know ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Taking note of my blank stare and obvious unknowing of the situation, she replied “Hmm, I can’t really say I’ve done much about it at all” My jaw dropped slightly in confusion, what great advice “Then how do –” she cut me off ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I mean, you don’t have to do anything about it at all” She had piqued my interest with the continuation of her explanation, so I kept quiet “I guess I just took some advice and applied it to both problems” “What advice?” I wondered, trying to figure out where she was getting all of this ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Rainbow Dash once told me that if you just keep being awesome, ponies will watch you” “Ponies like to see other ponies do cool things” “So I took it as if you keep doing what you always do, ponies will eventually have to see you” “You can’t just be kept in the dark forever right?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As Scootaloo talked of her ever endeared mentor, her own face brightened up With each word, her smile infected me with a new sense of hope I had gotten discouraged by my family earlier, but my friend was helping me see a new light However, one half of my problem was still left unanswered ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “So what does that have to do with being with your family?” Realizing she had missed that part, the pegasus back tracked “Oh, right! It’s that same thing!” she exclaimed “What?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “If you keep on being a good friend, or sister or daughter or whatever, you’ll get your chance” “All the ponies you know are like an audience” “Keep on doing what you do, and eventually they’ll show up” Feeling her response was sufficient, she sat down on my picnic blanket, grinning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I thought over what my friend had said She seemed very confident that she was right about everything So confident in fact that she took a bite out of my grilled cheese sandwich “Hey, that’s mine!” I called her out ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She paused mid chew, her face so odd looking that I instantly cracked up “Spo cn Ji hag it?” she asked, her voice muffled by the melted cheese in her mouth “Sure” I laughed as she swallowed my lunch I didn’t mind too much, I still had my soup after all ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two of us enjoyed the lunch I prepared on my picnic blanket The day was still as memorable as it was in the morning, and I was happy for the blue sky Scootaloo and I decided to go and find Applebloom so we could all play together As we packed up the blanket, Scootaloo reminded me of her advice with a deviously tinted smile ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Remember Sweetie Belle, just be awesome and the audience will follow, whoever they are” We're Family Now (Zecora's Poem)We’re Family Now (Zecora’s Poem) It was a beautiful spring day Absolutely everything was going my way The sun was brightly shining in the clear sky Yet something was bothering my restless mind’s eye ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No, it was not the forest Everfree With its many stacks of tall, grown trees Although, all things be due considered It could have been the ground, ‘twas littered ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With sticks and stones and broken homes Of creatures of the sky, since flown With rocks and staggered, shattered boulders No longer could these mountains shoulder ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The weight of a world so large and heavy Perhaps, I had just not been ready Too engage upon this journey Was I in too much of a hurry? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This land was quite so unforgiving When I first attempted to begin a living The creatures fierce and earth so wild ‘Twas scary for me, at the time, a child ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With my own hooves, I built this home To shield me from all things to come And slowly over time I filled it With potions, brews, all I could get ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I tried to practice what I learned But now I see, for true home, I yearned For at the ripe old age of eight My tribe left me to my destiny, fate ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now I stand here, house and home behind I feel like a walk; where to this time? Perhaps I’ll go to the ocean’s shore Or maybe knock on a neighbor’s door ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They have seemed to warm up much to me After all, a demon is something that I not be Still they do, from moment to moment Stutter backwards in fear, unknowing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have grown to see it is quite alright As the unknown can cause such a fright But I find myself losing my track of thought There are just too many troubles to spot ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What purpose does a stranger contain In lands of unfamiliar terrain? What concoction can I brew To show them all my worth has been proved? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And what of traveling far, the distance great To a tribe long since forgotten…wait! Indeed they would accept me back I have accomplished every task ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’ve mastered every zebra spell From aacalula to zukvanzell I have survived and thrived, alive And charted out each divine night sky ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The creatures all, I claim to tame Not a single one, won’t yield to my name From timber wolf to hydra spawn Fearsome cockatrice only make me yawn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ursa Majors and Minors alike Are friendly when treated just right And dragons, though they breathe both fire and smoke Are nothing to me, but a scaly joke ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As I sit and reminisce, of the past my soul does miss I can do little but dismiss, my hopes and aspirations as this Zairba lies those miles away, to walk the path, id surely stray Even with all I’ve gained to this day, for me to make it, there is no way ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This rock on which my flank does rest, is my home so I must make the best But what of mother, father and siblings, in my ear, their voices still ring A drop of water, wet and salty, falls from my eye; stopping, halting Every thought I could have had; a poor zebra am I, with no mom or dad ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quickly behind me is a rustling; a creature, four legs and a tail is bustling It is unfamiliar, but not to me, rather to these creatures of Everfree The steps are small, and quite reserved, for the one who makes them is concerned For deadly, yes, this forest be, to my little pony, but not to me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Zecora? Zecora are ya outside?” the worried voice did cry “Indeed I am” to her, I replied Following the sound of my voice, the filly Quickly trotted up, quite silly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Ah stumbled through some poison joke on ma way here” “I can see that; to the hut, my dear” The troubled child found her way, though it was littered with cries of ‘woah!’ and ‘hay!’ As though she did indeed walk swiftly, her tiny legs were wobbly and trippy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Now what could cause you Apple Bloom, to come here to me now, so soon?” “Mah friends were all busy ‘n stuff, Ah was hopin’ you ‘n me could play again” The child of yellow seemed rather excited And to have company, I was truly delighted ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I shall have for you, a fix, quite quick; potions such as these are made, lickity split” “Thank ya kindly, Miss Zecora” The filly smiled at me with her big eyes Shimmery, vivid, truly a child’s guise ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Falling flatly upon the floor of mine, the filly asked “Hey what were ya doin’ outside?” I thought carefully of how to address, “Just examining a few trees and rocks, I guess” “When ya finish up with ma potion can we go play in the lake?” With such an ecstatic visage, how could I refuse that face? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Indeed we may, child of Apple, but first, there is poison joke we must battle” Hoof over hoof and drop over drop The bottle I filled was now seen at the top Though usually the cure must be taken as a bath, another old remedy could be imbibed, and it hath ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Within a few seconds of taking a sip, the flustered filly’s legs began to sit back at her hips Once the whole bottle had been taken aback, Apple Bloom’s body was safely on track “Well look’it me! I’m as right as rain on a Sunday mornin’” Though cured, the red-maned child bounced without warning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Happy as she was, I still sighed It did not do me well, to a friend I had lied Quicker than I could have assumed She picked up on my frown, that smart Apple Bloom ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What’s wrong? Ain’t ya happy that we cn’ go t’ the lake now?” I tried to agree, but it was all I could do to not frown “Child I am sorry indeed; the troubles of my mind are something you don’t need” The perplexed little girl tilted her head, wiping in front of her face was her mane of red ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But Zecora, ya can’t play if ya ain’t feelin’ well” she explained “Tell me little one, do you know what does me pain?” “Well Ah know, we cn’ jus’ whip up some real special brew to fix ya, right?” “No, I do not believe that will work this night” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Maybe Granny Smith knows what cn’ help ya?” “Ah to have assistance from a family, that would be the –” She interrupted, it was the first time I had been cut off for months since - “What about your family, could they do som’in’?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “My family and I, we no longer talk; how’s about the two of us take a walk?” I needed some time away from the hut; Bloom agreed we could trot to the lake, so the door I shut “Why dontchu jus’ go and write em’ a letter?” “I do not believe that would make things any better” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Somepony like you did som’in’ bad? Ah don’t believe it” “Our customs are from Zairba and Equestria are different” My companion sat down and pouted For once, her actions were a mystery, shrouded ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Little Bloom, why do you do as you do? For you to sit still, is the world at it’s doom?” “Nah but Ah don’t see why anypony’s gotta get kicked out fer no good reason!” “Perhaps you will learn, with the turn of a new season?” “What in tarnation’s that supposed to mean?” the debatably insightful little filly did scream ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “When you have grown and become older, you will understand the weight that I have on my shoulders” “So it that why they sent ya away to Ponyville, cause you got old?” “No my dear, it is because I didn’t do as I was told” “You see,” I continued “As my story unfolds; understand, as a little Zebra, I was quite bold” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And so I did talk, while we trotted and walked Being sure to keep on the path I had blocked From all of the dangers the wild did hold For to me, this little filly was more precious than gold ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was to her and her alone I regaled My past and the reason for telling my tale By the time I had finished, I could tell she had listened For the lake we had passed for at least twenty minutes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Zecora, does this mean ya wouldn’t be here if they din’t make ya leave?” “Yes Apple Bloom, that is as true as these trees” As my answer entered her ears, it did seem That across her perplexed face, a smile did beam ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Why could this mean child, that at my misfortune you smile?” Before she would answer me, she jumped into the lake It was the only one not filled with monsters for goodness sake No reply to my question was problematic at best, was this some sort of challenge, or trial or test? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Resurfacing from the crystal clear water I know She shouted, “Hey I found something cool down below!” But before she could once again dive under water I yelled out real quick, to make sure I would stop her ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Why is it that after my story you grinned, when you saw with your eyes the pain that I’m in?” “Because Zecora, if you never left, I woulda never met ya here!” “This is true, I can see that my mind had much fear” And once more I stood upon a blank rock, lost for a moment in my mind, full of thought ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “So are ya gonna jump in or what?” called my friend Although I did something, I never did reply in the end I just ran to the lake, full of new hopes and new dreams For the family I thought of was not what it seemed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here is this forest of old and of new, was a life that I made, and a home for it too I had made for myself a large group of hearts, at the center, was this filly, so cheerful and smart Though in leaving my old self behind, it did hurt, my new self only needed these few little words They came from the mouth of a friend, and so sound ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You n’ me Zecora, we’re family now” Catch Me, Squirt (Scootaloo's Poem)Catch Me, Squirt (Scootaloo’s Poem) I have wings for flying But they are too small for that My wings aren’t strong enough to lift me Even though I am small as well ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I stand alone, gazing into the day lit sky It is a bright cyan blue; the porcelain white clouds are scarce As I stare up, I see a figure, blue as the sky itself It soars right past me, the blazing winds blowing my mane in an untraceable pattern ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The illustrious figure leaves behind a shimmering rainbow trail Although she continues to move forward, the rainbow remains A testament to her prowess and skill I truly wish I could do the same, I wish I could exude such greatness from myself ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She is my role model Strong willed, confident, capable Caring, adventurous, but most of all, loyal I want to be like her, I want to be everything I’m not ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She continues her routine into the blue yonder Her wings spread wide open to propel her ahead She is always moving ahead, always getting better each day I look back at my own pathetic wings, “Sigh” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How will my tiny orange wings ever be able to keep up? How will I ever reach my goal and touch the endless sky? A voice calls out to me, alone on my hill with the sky “What’s up, Squirt?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I look up, surprised that I was noticed My cyan idol lands atop the hill in front of me Her multicolored mane flowing from the light breeze Her presence leaves me stunned, lost for words ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She tilts her head, confused as to why I haven’t replied I bow my head, my cheeks reddened with embarrassment “Are you alright, Squirt?” she wonders Avoiding eye contact, I look back at my wings and sigh once more ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My idol looks at my wings in response She pauses to think for a moment, placing her hoof upon her chin In no time her eyes open wider than the skies themselves She holds out her hoof and beckons me forward ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I raise my own in return, still ashamed and shaking She grips it tenderly and pulls me up upon her back Taken aback, my senses startle My body tenses up, fright taking over, all five senses still extremely vivid ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her wings spread; she scuffs her hoof across the ground In moments, we arc into the air I hold on for dear life, my hooves gripping her shoulders tightly The blue mare does not slow, instead her speed continues to quicken ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Are you ready, Squirt?” she asks I cannot find anymore to say than “I hope” My eyes close, but everything is still fresh in my mind Even closed, my eyes are still very much open ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The terror besieging my mind is unrelenting and beads of sweat drip down my face My purple mane is becoming even frizzled from of the fierce winds I try to hold on and stay calm, but it is a useless effort There is nothing beneath my hooves ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The wind is still blowing in my face; that much has not changed The gale feels cold, yet soothing, slowly releasing the tension held tight in my body Not only that, but it exhilarates me as well, turning the tension into adrenaline A smile works its way across my frightened visage ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The adrenaline pumps into my veins I begin to pick up speed, pushing myself faster than I could ever go on my scooter I hold my arms out in front of me, outstretched as if to grab the sky ahead of me The very same sky that I was now flying past ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Even through all of the excitement, I could feel an odd sensation My back constantly moved up and down, tugging on my body It moved itself with such grace and ease I had barely noticed I knew I had recognized the feeling, but from where? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The thought struck me like a lightning bolt My wings! My wings were flapping! I was finally flying! A joyous scream echoed from my mouth “I can fly! I can fly! Watch me soar!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No sooner had I spoken that I began to see the ground The vast valleys beneath my hooves were lush with greenery Seeing my favorite hill, I slowed As I came to a halt, I made out the silhouette of a figure ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was my inspiring idol, waiting for me Astonished as I was, I still continued to smile She was smiling as well, a certain kind of smile permeating her face She was proud, proud of me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Look Rainbow Dash, I can fly!” I exclaimed “How did it feel, squirt? Well, I shouldn’t call you ‘Squirt’ anymore now should I, Scootaloo?” Words could not form in my mouth, and only a laughing smile remained visible I was truly happy, my fillyhood dreams had been finally been attained; I could fly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rainbow Dash, my idol, my role model, my friend, embraced me When she released, the two of us sat down on the lush grass It was sunset now, and the sky’s blue had faded Now the sky was made of reds, yellows, oranges, pinks and purples ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pointing to the sunset, she asks me “What do you see, Scoots?” It took a moment to think, and the answer I found was “I see the end of the greatest day in my life” Rainbow looks at me, smiles, and responds “No Scootaloo, it is the beginning” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “The beginning of what?” I wonder “The beginning of the greatest adventures of your life” she laughs “Always fly higher, always be better than your best, and most importantly, always believe in yourself” My eyes teared up, never before had she talked to me with such compassion and caring ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With that, Rainbow Dash opened her wings and flew out towards the setting sun Wiping off my tears of joy, I looked up to see her become the once unattainable silhouette This time, I too opened my small orange wings and flew after her “Rainbow Dash, wait up!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Catch me, Squirt.” A Wonderful Son (Spike's Poem)A Wonderful Son (Spike's Poem) “Really Rarity? You’ll go on a date with me?” She stared back at me with her shimmering azure eyes “Of course, my little Spiky-Wiky” “I’ll se-se-see you Saturday then” I stumbled ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Saturday it is” she nodded “Oh and Spike?” “Yes, my sweet Rarity?” “Spike” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Yes, what is it?” I asked again “Spike” she continued on “Rarity, are you o-” “Spike!” a loud yell erupted into my ears ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “AHH” I screamed, jumping up from my previous position “Spike wake up already, I have some very important errands for you to run” I wiped the muck away from my tired eyes “Oh, it’s you Twilight” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Of course it is Spike, who else in Equestria would it be?” she snarked sarcastically “I wish it was Rarity” I grumbled beneath my breath “What was that?” Twilight raised her eyebrow in suspicion “Nothing” I waved her off ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She gave me a list of things to pick up from the market I took it begrudgingly, still angry that she woke me from my nap I could’ve been on a date with Rarity right now! I just stormed out of the library, parchment in hand ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marching out, I took a quick look at the list Even if I was mad at Twilight, I should still help her with the groceries The first thing on the list was cherries The town square market should have some ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Why should I get her cherries though? Why should I bother getting anything on the list? She always interrupted something I was doing for some weird or stupid task It’s not fair! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If I was in my own, I bet I could get all the sleep I wanted Ooh, and I could eat gems too! And I could stay up as late as midnight even! I could do anything without Twilight around to keep me busy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Even though I was thinking about leaving I already promised Twilight I’d get the things on the list Cherries were cheap, then carrots and some other salad ingredients The list wasn’t short, but everything was close to each other ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “The last item on the list” I said aloud to myself “A book from Cheerilie” Ugh, now I had to go over to the school I was not in the mood to walk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All the way I continued thinking about how much better I’d be without Twilight No rules, no books, no anypony else Just me, myself, and my gems That’d be the life ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It didn’t take all that long to reach the schoolhouse It wasn’t during teaching hours, so I let myself in “Hey Cheerilie, are you here?” I called out in to the seemingly empty building There was no response ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I figured she must have left and gone home So I started to do the same As I turned though, I heard a crash coming from another room I ran quickly to see what had happened ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When I looked into the room, I found a purple pony piled underneath a stack of books It was Cheerilie I darted to her quick, and removed the literature as fast as I could “Are you ok, Cheerilie?” I asked ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The dazed earth pony took a moment, but regained her consciousness Her eyes darted around before finally settling on me “Oh Spike, thank you so much” she extolled “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been here” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “It wasn’t anything Cheerilie” “Just helping a pony in need” She smiled at me caringly I felt some of my inner rage burn away inside ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Well there must be a reason you’re here, am I correct, Spike?” she pondered “Yeah, Twilight sent me out to get a book from you?” “Oh yes, Equestrian History: The Building of Cloudsdale” “Do you have it? I’d really just like to get back home right now” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The teacher looked at me quizzically “Why the rush Spike?” I asked myself whether or not I should tell her about what happened I figured a small explanation couldn’t hurt ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “It’s not much, I just got woken up is all” A feeling bubbled in my gut and my body forced my mouth to continue on “But it’s not just that, it’s all the little stuff Twilight makes me do” “Every day, I’ll try to do something and she’ll come barging in, making me do something for her instead” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More rage filled my lungs and smoke started fuming from my nostrils “She can be so overbearing and protective and ARGH!” “I just wish that I didn’t live with Twilight anymore!” My scream echoed through the small school library ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cheerilie stepped back, shocked I scrunched up, trying to make myself smaller and less intimidating I felt so bad for scaring her like that “I…I’m sorry Ms. Cheerilie” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her eyes softened and she spoke to me calmly “Spike, do you really not want to live with Twilight anymore?” Having previously made the decision, I replied “Yes” with authority The young teacher shook her head ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Spike, do you know why Twilight cares so much for you?” The question struck me as odd I had never thought of that before “I uh, well, no” I stumbled ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “She hatched you when you were just an egg you know” “She shares a very deep, emotional connection with you” “I know that” I replied bluntly “But she doesn’t have to be all, you know” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh but Spike, how do you think Twilight would take it if you left?” Again, Cheerilie’s short sentences baffled my mind I never bothered thinking about it from Twilight’s point of view Would she even be sad? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I don’t know, Ms. Cheerilie” “You are like a son to her Spike” “A cute, dragon child” “How do you think any mother would take one of their kids running away?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But I’m not actually her –” The purple pony stopped me with her hoof “Yes Spike, you ARE her son” “You mean the world to that girl” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her words sounded so sincere I thought about all the good times I had with Twilight in the past Those times with just the two of us Playing outside, watching the stars, going out to lunch, practicing with magic ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Me and Twilight did everything together Sure, I guess we had our arguments, disagreements But we stayed the course, and we’re still the best of friends No, we were more than friends ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My heart started to pump in my chest It resembled my reaction to Rarity, but this was a bit different The pumping had a different beat, and my body felt more relaxed I began to understand my real connection to my own purple pony ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I laughed a bit as I realized how stupid I was being by getting so upset over being woken up How could I ever want to leave Twilight? What once seemed so clear an answer now fuzzed out inside my brain I had to apologize to Twilight for being rude earlier ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Ms. Cheerilie?” I began “Yes, Spike?” “How do you know all that? About Twilight and I?” She smiled at me and patted my spines ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m a teacher Spike, I just know these things” “But… how?” I had to know “Just look at Twilight when she’s with you and see her smile” “You’ll understand what I mean” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cheerilie’s kind words of wisdom had brightened my day I thanked her and grabbed the book With a touch of finesse, I checked the last box on the list It was nice to know there were ponies out there like Cheerilie, so willing to help others ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I helped her patch up the library by putting all the books back It was simple, mostly because I have to do it at home all the time I walked out the door to begin my trek home Only a few feet away, I hear Cheerilee call back to me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Spike!” she yells out “You’re a wonderful son!”
Stronger Than You Thought (Applejack's Poem)Stronger Than You Thought (Applejack’s Poem) Ah look down o’er the rollin’ hills All ma apple trees are in full bloom Each tree, filled round and round with fresh apples Each tree jus’ waitin’ to get bucked ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Everypony else is inside, sleepin’ to their heart’s content More peaceful ‘an a bundle a bunnies in a haystack S’nice outside, all here by my lonesome Mighty peaceful here as well, the tranquil farm is silent an calming ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buckin’ apple trees ‘ere at the farm has been ma whole life E’er since Ah was a little filly E’er since I came back from Manehattan, leavin’ the Oranges behind Ah knew Ah wanted to live with the family on the farm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sweet Apple Acres was the finest, most well run apple farm in all Equestria ‘S interestin’ to think that one day Ah’m gonna hafta take over S’not that Ah aint ready, but it always hurts t’ think a why The day Ah start runnin’ the show is gonna be the day that Big Mac caint ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wasn’t often Ah thoughta Big Mac passin’ But these here mornin’s Ah had the whole wide world to maself Jumbled ma head up more an a drunken rattlesnake in a tornado But Ah managed, somehow ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ T’was pretty nice, sittin’ there on the hill I rested ma orange hoof against one a the trees Even the light tap caused a single, small apple to fall down The lil’ red blob hit me square on the noggin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Gosh darnit” I angrily told off the tree, though it couldn’t respond “A bit stronger than ya thought ya were AJ?” chuckled a deep, familiar voice Ah turned ma head to make sure Ah wasn’t hearin’ things Ah wasn’t, “Mac, what’re you up for?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Big Mac let out a hearty laugh “Aw AJ, y’aint known I’m up this early everyday?” He couldn’t be tellin’ the truth, jus’ couldn’t Ah’ve been comin’ here e’er since Ah was a little filly, never saw ‘im once ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Mac, now doncha go an lie to your sister now” “T’aint lying, sis; E’ery mornin’ afore sunrise” he smiled I looked incredulously at him “But Mac, Ah’ve –“ ‘e cut me off “I know AJ, I know” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not only had Ah been taken aback by having somepony else outside But it was ma brother, an ‘e never told me; Ah felt a might betrayed in a sense “Big Mac, why dincha say somethin’?” I asked of him “Y’all sounded like ya wanted t’ be alone” he replied, as if the answer was plain, clear as day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh” Ah shrugged back a bit, feelin’ bad Ah accused him, “That’s mighty nice of ya” “Eeyup” he smiled “Course,” he continued “If there was some’in you wanna talk about, I’m here” Big Mac was always caring for other ponies, ‘specially his kin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ah di’nt think Mac would appreciate my talkin’ to him about the farm So Ah shook ma head, a concealin’ frown drooping across ma face “Nah Mac, Ah’m fine, S’all right” Ah di’nt like lyin’, specially to Mac; it felt wrong ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Big Mac waited for a moment ‘E knew me too well, bein’ ma brother an all When Ah was lyin’, Ah couldn’t hold Always felt better tallin’ th’ truth ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Ya caught me Mac, there is somethin’” “Eeyup” “But t’aint that big a deal” “Nnope” the tone in ‘is voice was tellin’ me he disagreed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ah was trapped, Mac wasn’t gonna let me go without tellin’ ‘im “Mac Ah’m sorry, Ah’ve ju’s had a right plenty bunch a things t’ mull over” “Y’all c’n tell your brother”, ‘e hugged me Ah started t’ tear up, and the little droplets fell down onta Mac’s big shoulders ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What’m Ah gonna do without ya Macintosh?” I sobbed He hugged me a might harder “Is that what this is about AJ?” “Ah sure as hay wish it weren’t” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ma brother let go and looked me square in the eyes “Follow me” he says, guidin’ his hoof out yonder We walk down th’ green and familiar hills aways until we get to a tall, old apple tree Tree was thick as Sunday molasses an’ as tall as all Canterlot ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Y’all remember this tree, AJ?” he asks Ah stare at it for a long time, turnin’ ma head, tryin’ to git a better view “Ah don’t reckon Ah do” “This ‘ere tree” he starts “was the first tree you e’er bucked” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The memories flow back into ma head Ah was a real young filly, maybe as old as Applebloom now Big Macintosh was standin’ there talkin’ to me “Give it a real good buck” he tells me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ah put all ma power inta ma legs an bucked as hard as Ah could The big tree shook a bit ‘an down came the apples Apples went everywhere Big Macintosh lifted me up an’ cheered me on ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Tree’s grown up now AJ, why doncha give it a buck?” Tree was a lot smaller then, lot easier t’ buck Ah wasn’t sure if Ah’d be able to buck it “Are ya sure Big Mac?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Eeyup” he said with ‘is customary response Ah wound up Bucky Migilicutty an’ Kicks Mcgee real good Fwoosh, Ah sent ‘em flyin’ into that tree, instantly knockin’ all th’ apples onta the ground around us “Looky there, Ah did it!” I yelled excitedly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Jus’ cause the tree’s gone and grown don’t mean you ‘avent too” ma brother smiled “What do ya mean by that?” “AJ, you’ve been buckin’ bigger apple trees every single day” He was so matter o’ fact, Ah wasn’t sure how to take it ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What do ya mean, Mac?” “E’er since you could buck, you’ve been buckin’ bigger an’ bigger trees” “Well Ah guess so, but –“ ‘e cut me off again “When Applebloom learns t’ buck, she’ll do it too” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Th’ thought sank in and ma mind whirred about like a jackrabbit in a cactus farm “Growin’ up means plenty more ‘an you think, little sis” “You’re right, Big Mac; It does” “But” he counters, smiling “It don’t mean that when ya grow up you lose your family” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ah’m still heavy at heart on the idea of not havin’ him around Ma face shows it better ‘an the sun shows a shadow in the desert day “AJ, everypony’s gotta go someday” He lifts his hoof up to ma chin and raises it so Ah’m lookin’ ‘im square in th’ eyes again ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Ah aint goin’ anytime soon, Applejack” “’An there aint no use worryin’” “But Big Mac, Ah don’t want you t’ ever go; how will Ah deal with it?” Ma dark red brother keeps his steady gazin’ in my eyes, makin’ sure I was listnin’ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “AJ, you’re an honest, hardworkin’ pony here” “T’aint nothin’ gonna stop you from doin whatchu gotta do, ‘n t’aint nothin’ that c’n tear a family apart” Ah looked at him, grateful for his words and love, but still a bit unsure “How are ya so sure, sugahcube?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “S’like I’ve always said, sis ‘You’re a lot stronger than you thought’”
Let The Music Flow (Vinyl Scratch's Poem)Let The Music Flow (Vinyl Scratch’s Poem) Boom boom boom boom The blasting bass continues to pump in my mind Boom boom boom boom Why won’t it stop? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It’s been day in, day out partying the entire month I haven’t gotten one good night’s sleep; I’ve barely even gotten to rest my head I don’t know how much more of this I can take Heck , I don’t even know when any of this is going to end? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now don’t get me wrong here I love doing parties, absolutely love it The enthusiastic crowds, the omnipresent music, the incandescent lights, the name-making show That kinda scene always makes me feel so…at home ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once that diamond stylus needle hits my vinyl record I just break out into the most pumping beats my bass can handle, and some it can’t You can hear my speakers blasting out the raddest tunes all night long Everypony wants to party like Vinyl parties ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boom boom boom boom Ow, my head’s still ringing I just laid the finishing touches on one of Pinkie’s birthday bonanzas The crowd screamed my name, but I could barely hear them ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The music had already taken over, every being in the room entranced by the rhythmic beats All that remained was the bass in the background I still left the stage smiling on the outside, big grin and wide open eyes Inside though, my mouth turned downwards in a teary frown, and my eyes drooped sleepily ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Being a musician wasn’t all it was cracked up to be Sure, there was the fame, the goal that everypony aspired to There was the celebrity recognition, finally being able to live the dream And of course, there were the stallions, all the cute stallions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ But in the end, it still wasn’t enough It couldn’t cancel out the work and endless effort poured into each day Get up too dang early, go to bed far too late Always have something in your ear, be it music or recording demands ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I guess it just goes to show that too much of a good thing can be bad Because right now, there’s no fighting this routine This feeling inside, it’s tearing me apart I want to leave the music scene for good, but I just can’t leave my fans ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sure, DJ-ing was in my blood, it was my cutie mark after all And there would be all my fans that I’d be letting down I had the money, I had the so called ‘life’ But I didn’t have the peace of mind ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What to do? Should I give up what I love because I can’t handle it Or push through because I have to for my fans Knock, knock, knock ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The knocking startled me “Who’s there?” I asked, my own words even ringing in my sensitive ears Octavia responded the soft voice on the other side of the door “Can I come in?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As much as I wanted to be by myself at the moment Octavia’s calming company was always nice to have She was my best friend, and a fellow musician She would always cheer me up, even if she only stayed for a moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Sure thing” I forced a smile The door opened and Octavia walked in with her cello in a case In her other hoof, she held a bouquet of roses with a note “What’re the flowers for?” I asked her ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “One of the stallions from the soiree wanted to give them to you” She shot me a bit of an annoyed look, “But you had already left the stage” I scuffed my hoof across the ground, looking downwards trying to avoid eye contact “Vinyl, you love meeting with your fans after a good show; what’s wrong?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Of course she had to ask, Octavia knew me too well and cared too much “I felt a little sick” I replied, hoping she would buy it If she ever found out I wanted to quit music, I don’t even know what she’d do She walked over to me and gingerly put her hoof on my forehead, avoiding my horn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Hmm” she pondered for a moment “You seem fine to me” she replied incredulously “Well I didn’t then” I pouted “Scratchy, tell me what’s wrong; I want to help” she lifted a soft smile across my face with her own ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I don’t know Octavia, I just can’t take the stress anymore” She nodded her head in agreement If there was ever another pony to understand the stress of the music business, it would be her After a short pause, she asked of me “So what are you going to do then?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I didn’t want to answer that question I hadn’t even fully answered it to myself, let alone anypony else “It’s ok” she prodded “You can tell me” I debated it vigorously in my tired brain and decided I would answer her, if only to make it stop ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I think I want to quit DJ-ing” Octavia chuckled a bit, “Vinyl, it’s your cutie mark; you love being a DJ” “I know Tav, I know, but I just can’t take this constant noise anymore!” My yelling collapsed my own ears, and I succumbed to the inevitable headache ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Argh!” I yelled in pain, holding my pounding head in my hooves “Scratch!” Octavia yelled back, probably wanting to help, but only making it worse She held me in her arms for a moment as my mind returned to its normal frequency I slowly lowered my hooves, “Thanks Tav” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Is it just the noise, Vinyl? Does the noise hurt too much?” she whispered quietly “Yes” I reply “I just can’t clear my head, I can’t think straight” “Do you think you’ll be able to listen to me for a little while, or should I come back later?” “No” I speak back, a little louder than the whispers but not so loud I would hurt myself “Stay, please” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Vinyl Scratch, you are an amazing DJ, with musical prowess so far above all the other fillies and colts” “You’re famous Scratch, and fame has it prices” “There are some things that you need to learn to understand and deal with accordingly” “Most of all, you can never let your fans down; I mean, what kind of message would that send them?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Usually Octavia’s words were filled with some kind of bright optimism and hope Now she was just lecturing me on how not to quit I thought she might’ve reacted this way, and her affirming the idea that I had to stay didn’t help “Tav, that’s not really what I wanted to hear” being completely truthful ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But” she continued, interrupting me although still at a whisper “Anypony and everypony understands that each job takes a good deal of work to perform” “If you were to take a break, nopony would judge you on it” “And personally, I think you need a break” her purple eyes smiling at me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There were her words of healing, the sympathy I was so desperately searching for It didn’t change the fact I still had the largest tour ever going on though “I can’t just quit in the middle of a tour Tav” “Perhaps that is so, but I believe it’s perfectly reasonable for you to take a break and get some rest” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I let down my sweet shades and placed them on the cedar table next to me My eyes were baggy and dark, visibly showing my lack of sleep The one shimmering red in them was getting dimmer by the day “Octavia, I can’t leave the partying, I can’t leave the fans, I can’t leave the music” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Nonsense” she scoffed, unwavering in her opinion “If Vinyl Scratch needs a day off, then the DJ-PON3 party bus here can make that happen” “But the fans -” I started, being cut off by her speech “The fans will understand Vinyl; please just get some sleep” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The worry in her eyes showed me that although adamant, all she really wanted was to help I still couldn’t shake the depressing feeling though If I quit I would keep my sanity, but let down everypony who’s ever cared for me Octavia saw my doubt, and she let out her hoof with the roses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Why don’t you read the note?” I guessed it couldn’t hurt, only being a tiny piece of paper, so I opened it up What was written on the heart shaped card made tears well up in my eyes Octavia smiled because she knew that I finally understood what she was getting at ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Dear DJ-PON3, our favorite DJ” “You are the craziest party animal we’ve ever known, and are always ready for another wild shindig” “As much as we love to party hard with you, we believe that everypony needs a little time off” “So we are willing to send you off to the Balehamas for a little rest and relaxation” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “We hope when you come back, you will be ready to party hard all over again” “Sincerely, your biggest fans” Inside the card was a ticket to a cruise liner sent for the Balehamas A gigantic, genuine smile leapt across my face ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But why in the world –” I started to say, cutting myself off as I looked at Octavia’s face She wore a smirk trying to contain her inner joyful laughter “You knew, didn’t you?” I joked at her “I had my suspicions” she chuckled suspiciously ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “So is this all real?” “One hundred percent!” she squealed, leaving my ear drums banging again I grimaced at first, “But what about the tour?” “Oh Vinyl, you can finish the tour after you get back” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I didn’t even care to ask if it was ok with my manager My fans themselves wanted to give me a break, and they were the ones who mattered Octavia, my closest and most loving friend made it happen There was nothing to keep me from being happy now ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Now Vinyl, I still want you to get some sleep, ok?” she whispered My tired eyes rose a bit and the slow smile revealed itself once again “Ok Tav” I walked over to my bed and hopped in ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Octavia walked over and pulled the satin covers over me, keeping me warm She opened up her case and pulled out her prized cello She readied the bow and began to play a quiet melody The soothing sounds trotted across my weary ears, releasing me from the ever bustling noise of the bass ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As I fell into my slumber, I heard her whisper in tune “Oh-oh-oh-oh, Let the music flow”
No Matter What (Luna's Poem)No Matter What (Luna’s Poem) It’s been a long time since I last set foot here These looming castle walls are almost intimidating To think that I had once been so big Yet now, I am so small ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I once stood above all other ponies Greater than even my own sister I was once a power so forceful and destructive That should anypony try to rebel, I could have crushed them in an instant ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now that I look back upon it Why would I ever want to do that? What purpose would it serve to hurt my subjects? For what reason should I ever try to harm my friends? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There really was no reason I was merely filled with hatred Hatred and jealousy; burning, dooming jealousy And it consumed me entirely ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The day I lost my mind, I lost their trust How could anypony look me in the eye, Especially when those eyes were blackened with deceptive destruction? Why would anypony even want to talk to me? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I grew cruel with my power I tormented the Equestrian people, and my own sister It was no wonder that she fought back It was no wonder that she banished me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thinking back upon my actions, I can feel nothing but sorrow Sister told me that she forgave me But I did not believe her Not after what I had done ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The silver moon rose to the peak of the night sky The golden sun faded back into the infernally banished day The oceans crashed with waves of such ferocity that the land itself shook violently “Truest Night Eternal, Reign Over My World!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The words rang clear in my mind Although they were over a thousand years old, I could still hear them as if I was speaking them now I shuddered at the thought Nightmare Moon could not return, could she? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Recollections of Nightmare Night played through my mind Everypony was scared; no one wanted to be friends Of course, it was all made ok with the help of Twilight Sparkle But still, even a millennium later and the ponies had not forgotten my wrath ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What was I to do? I was lost here in this new world Lost between being the feared dictator and the loved princess Did I truly belong here? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My ponderings had brought me to a large room It was made of the finest marble and gold Any one room in our castle could be made of these of course, but this room was different There was a looming statue of pure gold in the center ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I looked up at the piece of art, amazed It was of my sister, the grand Princess Celestia It was the only object my vision observed Gigantic and beauteous, it only made sense for all else to fade to the background ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “It would only make sense that my sister would be praised as such” I spoke aloud “Well I always try to do my best for my ponies” chuckled a voice from behind I removed my eyes from the statue before me and whipped around It was my sister, all clad in her usual princess garments ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Sister, I had no idea you were there” I apologized “It’s alright Lulu” she smiled, her soft words breezing across my ears “I’m glad to see you’re finally losing the old royal Canterlot voice” “Yes, well, your faithful student was very helpful in that effort” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was still a bit embarrassed from being startled and interrupted by my sister and was blushing “Is everything alright Lulu?” she asked I was going to respond with obvious confirmation, only having been slightly ashamed of my words But then I remembered that Celestia always had some wise words of wisdom ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I decided it would be better to tell her “Actually sister, I was wondering if I could talk to you?” “I’m right here Luna, what is it?” I fought to phrase the words correctly in my mouth The sentence formed came to be an accurate selection ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I am quite lost Tia; I do not belong in this new world of Equestria” My big sister frowned, she eyes showing more sorrow than anything else “Why would you say that Luna?” “Because” I answered “It is true” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What foolishness could possibly make you believe that Luna?” Her speech struck me as odd Why shouldn’t I feel lost? Everything here was new to me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Sister, this world is so far from the one I once knew” “I know, it must be hard not to recognize anypony” “It’s not that, it’s just…” I trialed off “Just what?” she prodded ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What do the other ponies think of me, sister?” “The other ponies all love you Luna” “Why would you think otherwise?” “But how do they not know I might turn back into Nightmare Moon?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My regal sister shot back, shocked by the thought “Luna, I am so sorry, what have I done to wrong you this time?” she pleaded “I do not wish for any more arguing to go on between us, please, let me apologize” Her eyes showed true and genuine apology, she actually thought she had done something wrong ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Sister, no, you have done nothing wrong” I assured her “I just don’t feel like I belong here anymore” “Things are too different, it’s all just a bit too much” “And…it hurts to think about everything I’ve missed because of what I did” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Celestia gazed down upon me, her large mane causing sparkles to beam around her face She extended both of her hooves and pulled me into her She held me in a warm embrace, and I returned it All of her hugs made me feel better, bringing a cozy, fuzzy feeling to course through me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She began to address me “Luna, listen to me” “We both understand that what happened a thousand years ago was a huge challenge to overcome” “We said some things, and we fought, as sisters always do” “But that is all over now, Nightmare Moon is gone” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I tried to smile, but I was not convinced “Even if that is so, the things that I did –” my sister interrupted me “Lulu, those are all in the past now” “I forgive you, and so does all of Equestria” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forgiveness and acceptance Those were the only two things I could ever ask for My sister knew, she could see it, she listened to me She was offering both, and happily so ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Sister” I started, a full smile now displayed “Thank you” “Luna, you know we forgive you, why do you worry?” “I do not believe the other ponies are as accepting as you, Tia” I softly jested “Luna, have you lost your eyes?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her rhetoric confused me Was there still a part of this conversation I had not yet grasped? “What do you mean Tia?” I asked of her “Just look behind you” she grinned ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I turned my head once more, reverting back to my original position in the hall I had not expected anything different, just the same golden statue of my sister But this was not so As my head halted its turn, my body following, I captured the view of the entire room ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Right next to the grand, golden Celestia, was another statue This one was almost as tall, and made entirely of the finest silver In the same regal pose as the elder, this silver statue exhibited the qualities of another royal alicorn This statue was of me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Celestia walked up next to me, “Do you see what the ponies did for you?” I gazed longingly at my magnificent statue, shimmering in the dim light of the room “As soon as you returned, the royal architects began their work on making this statue for you” “They did all this for me?” I beamed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh little Lulu, when will you learn?” The two of us shared a hearty laugh I looked back up at my older sister lovingly I hugged her once more, recapturing the same fuzzy feeling as before, “Thanks Tia” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Lulu, promise me you’ll remember one thing” Her voice was serious, but not harsh “What is it?” I squeaked, still feeling bubbly from our sisterly moment Celestia’s eyes lessened in intensity, and her face became soft once more ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I will always love you” she said “No matter what”
Always Keep Your Head Held High (Derpy's Poem)Always Keep Your Head Held High (Derpy’s Poem) Today is the day I go visit Rarity at the boutique She’s got a lot of makeup and dresses Rarity always spends her time making beautiful dresses for beautiful ponies I hope she can make one for me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I know I’m not as beautiful as the other ponies My mane isn't as fancy My coat is a dull grey And my eyes, my eyes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I don’t know if there was a day when I havn’t heard “Hey Derp-Eyes, watch where you’re going!” Or “You’re late again? Dumb mailmare” The hateful verbal assaults never seem to stop ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I can never go out in public with my daughter without somepony insulting me Even if they just turn away in disgust for my eyes I can see them do it, even though they think I can’t I can see them all just fine ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My daughter, Dinky, always asks me why other ponies avoid us I never really know what to tell her How could I ruin her happy, blissful childhood with the harsh realities of adulthood? It was all I could not to run home and cry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today would be different though Rarity would make me a dress A gorgeous gown that would leave all the other ponies stunned beyond belief Or, at least draw their spiteful attention away from my eyes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The more I thought about it, the worse I felt I took it to myself to focus even more on my surroundings as I trotted down to the boutique I could still see all the ponies look down as I went by My heart grew heavy, and my pace slowed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Could I ever change these mare’s opinions? Did it even matter in the long run? My heart sank completely, crushing my stomach and lungs I felt sick, my grey visage shading green ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I quickly took to the skies My being sick in public could only further the other ponies jokes for me I had to find somewhere to sit down and relax myself I noticed a small pond not too far from the road and flapped my wings fast ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The pond was bright blue, reflecting the clear day’s sky You could see the trees behind it flickering in the wavy water The mixing colors pooled themselves into a vortex of entrancing wonderment Even I, an ugly old mare of grey, could appreciate the spectacular beauty that nature holds ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As I gazed upon the small body of water, my aching insides began to soothe I could breathe regularly again, and my stomach loosened its knot Even my heart began to rise again Perhaps I would be able to complete my journey after all? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The water had been rippling due to the wind from my wings, causing the mixing colors But it soon found itself resettling in its original peace As the water joined in a harmonious accord with time, the natural scene froze and the pond became still The reflection I received from the now still pond upset me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Instead of the trees and sky I admired, only my face remained Mirrored against the placid reserve, I stared into my own being One eye stared that is, the other gazing off longingly to the distance The ever present, but never attainable distance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Truly I was a sight to see No normal pony could look as odd as I do No normal pony could be as much of a freak as me The heavy feeling returned to my heart ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I sat down on the edge of the water My flank nestled into the warm sand On any other day, I may have enjoyed the nice weather, but today was not the same A few droplets of liquid sadness feel from my deformed eyes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The tears hit the calm pond like a fire storm hits a hay stack No more could the water maintain a reflection Instead, it constantly shifted and churned, distorting the beauty in the surrounding area Now, even the trees were freaks like me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A soft hoof politely tapped my shoulder I wiped the tears from my face as I turned I hadn’t noticed anypony here before, and wasn’t expecting anypony to care even if they were The face that met me was not only familiar, but seemed happy to see me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Why, Ms. Derpina, what ever has happened here?” The beauteous white unicorn’s smile turned to an immutably concerned frown “Why in the heavens are you crying?” She asked of me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was stunned and unsure of how to answer “Well, I, I, I just don’t know what went wrong Rarity” “Oh Derpina, what awful events have transpired at this rustic oasis?” Her genuine concern for my well being surprised me, seeing as how so few ponies were even nice to me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Even with her expression, I did not believe that she would care for my personal problems So I answered “I was sad because you weren’t at the boutique” “I had hoped to buy a nice dress from you today” Rarity giggled and put her hooves around me to give me a hug ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “My dear Derpy, is that all?” “I, um, yes” I stammered “Ah well I truly do apologize, most sincerely really” “As you can see, I was merely partaking in this gorgeous day’s weather” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Yeah, it’s really nice outside today” “Oh quite! But I do suppose I’ve been outside long enough as it is” “Why don’t you head over to the boutique with me and we shall arrange the perfect ensemble for you!” I stood up from my seat in the sand and smiled back at Rarity ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She led the entire trip to the boutique I followed closely behind, trying to stay out of the other ponies views It was not very effective unfortunately, and they still stared I guess when you have the most beautiful pony next to the ugliest pony, it really shows ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thankfully the trip was short, and I didn’t have to suffer through much When we walked in, Rarity gingerly closed the door and turned around She looked me square in the eyes, as best she could, and sternly asked me “Hmph” she grunted “What ever was that all about?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I don’t know what you mean Rarity?” I replied, confused “The staring?” she clarified “Why was everypony reacting to your walking by?” Scared and embarrassed, I tried to shift it “Maybe they were staring at you?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh no, absolutely not” she shot back “I KNOW when ponies are looking at me, my dear” “But those ponies were focused all on you” I shrunk away, Rarity’s rising temper was frightening ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m sorry Rarity, I didn’t mean to cause any trouble” “Oh Derpina, I’m sorry” she apologized “It’s very un-ladylike for me to raise my voice, especially at such a wonderful guest” “Wonderful?” I piped up ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But of course, do you not agree” “Those ponies sure don’t” I sighed Rarity frowned again, this time with more disappointment then sadness “Are those ponies making jovialities about you” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I nodded my head in shame “They think I’m a freak, because of my eyes” The pristine white unicorn gasped in astonishment “How awfully dreadful of them! Insulting a poor mare for her uniqueness!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “It’s not unique, it’s just weird” I sulked “My dearest Derpina Hooves, you are most certainly not ‘weird’!” she retorted quickly “But all the ponies say ---” she cut my pitiful rationalizations off “The other ponies do not define your most outstanding character” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I could not respond, my heavy heart choking my throat The prestigious tailor took the lead and pulled on my hoof “Follow me” she said She brought me to her designing room ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She waved her hoof across the room saying “Gaze upon my many works of the utmost beauty and style” I did my best to see everything, the many bright colors and patterns blinded my eyes “They are all very nice Rarity” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh Derpy, they are far more than nice, they are magnificent” She was right, but I said nothing more She let out a light sigh, followed by a quick chuckle “But they aren’t what is truly beautiful here” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What she was saying was so out of line for her, it befuddled me “What do you mean, Rarity?” “See here, my dear” she said, pulling me to the window “What do you see?” she asked “I see a big green valley, I think some trees in the distance, and its sunset right now” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Isn’t it a marvelous sunset?” she smiled I looked out further at the colorful sky I hadn’t realized how late it had gotten, but still enjoyed the swirling colors in the dusky sky “It is” I replied longingly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She pulled once more on my hoof to the counter of her dresser She lifted up a small picture and held it to my face “And what do you see here?” “It’s you and your family, Rarity” I answered her, wondering where she was going with these questions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Exactly!” she exclaimed “Do you know why these are more beautiful than all of my dresses put together?” She didn’t even give me time to answer as she only move forward “They are more beautiful because they are both completely natural” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “My family belongs to me and me alone” “We are naturally together and love each other for we are family, no matter what” “And this picturesque scene outside of my humble abode” “It is the truest beauty of nature” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I tried to understand, but hurtful words still plagued my thoughts “Derpy Hooves” Rarity nudged “Nature inspires these dresses” “When I am lost for ideas or designs, I gaze out of my window, or talk to this photograph” “They can always give me the answers I seek” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “These dresses may be beautiful, but they can never match the beauty from whence they came” “Only nature holds that title” “And my dear, you are by far, the most beautiful mare nature has ever created” My friend grinned as she concluded her speech ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But Rarity, if that’s true, then why do they make fun of me?” I asked of her I was still not convinced that I had any real worth Rarity stood strong in her opinion though “It is unfortunate, but nature is not always appreciated as it should be” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “And you, Derpina Doo Hooves, are the most splendid beauty of nature that I have ever seen” My disconnected eyes beamed by her words She was the first pony to say anything remotely nice to me, especially to that extent Once more, the solid object in my chest melted away and I felt light inside ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Rarity, do you really mean that? That I’m beautiful, even with my eyes?” “But of course! And your eyes make you all the more stunning” she beamed “And I truly hope you won’t pay any more attention to those worthless hooligans ever again” I laughed a little, further my newfound happy mood, “I won’t Rarity” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Good” she nodded “Always keep your head held high, Derpy”
Love Will Always Find A Way (Bon Bon's Poem)Love Will Always Find A Way (Bon Bon’s Poem) Love is a funny thing It makes you feel all wibbly-wobbly inside You can’t control who you fall in love with either It just, happens ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That’s how it worked for me at least I never really wanted to find my special somepony It wasn’t more than a passing thought That was, until she came along ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A beautiful minty green unicorn with a mane of blue and white She could play a melody that would soothe a raging dragon And her voice would bring a shaking earth into a harmonious accord But most of all, she was unique, unlike any other pony ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Perhaps that is why I fell in love with her Seeing her sitting her flank on the bench The mare was filled with wonderment and exciting new possibilities; intriguing me, perplexing me even Unfortunately, not everypony sees love the same way ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It all started after the Nightmare Moon incident here in Ponyville She was new in town, and came in looking for something to eat Although not quite as famous as the Cake’s pastry shop, my candy confectionaries were well known Everypony with a sweet tooth, young and old, came into my store looking for a bag of tasty treats ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She was no different than the rest back then, heading into my shop “Hey, can I get this small bag of chocolates?” she asked quizzically, almost unsure if the question was ok “That’ll be four bits please” I smiled back The mysterious pony pulled out two bits and then began to frantically search herself for more money ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was then that the realization hit me; I didn’t know this mare So I decided to ask her, “I haven’t seen you here before have I?” Still rummaging through her bag, she hastily replied “Nope, just moved here” It was surprising the hear that she moved here and wasn’t visiting, as there weren’t any houses for sale ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh? Where did you move into? I don’t remember seeing any houses for sale” As I spoke, the unicorn began to blush, turning her minty coat from green to red She looked like a lit up Hearths Warming tree “Well, uh, you see, I, uh don’t really have a house per say” she replied, words stumbling from her mouth ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Then where on earth do you live?” “Well, I’m kinda hard pressed for bits, so I’m looking around to see if there’s anywhere I can crash” “At least for a night” she frowned, her own situation displeasing her previous pleasant mood Against my better judgment, I offered a deal to the lost unicorn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Considering you don’t have the bits to pay for that chocolate” I began “Why don’t you work for me to pay it off, and maybe earn some extra money too?” A beaming smile, bright-flashing white, shot over her face, her eyes widening far past their average size “You really mean that!?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Of course, you seem like a nice enough pony” The minty mare bounced up and down all over my store, making me extra thankful for the slow day She scooped up the bag of chocolates in her foreleg and bounced straight out the door Chucking at first, I realized that I needed to give her a schedule of when to be here ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I ran out the door as quick as I could, only to find my new employee sitting happily on the bench outside I stared at her for quite some time, my head tilted in inquisition She sat on her flank, with her hind legs hanging off the front of the bench, a sight I’d never seen before The unicorn looked back at me and waved happily; I could feel a light smile work its way across my face ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I hadn’t realized it, but I was staring at her for quite sometime She began to give me an odd look, as if to tell me subliminally to stop I shook my head, blinking my eyes rapidly to snap myself out of the trance I trotted over to her bench seat to ask her about her, sitting position ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Excuse me, but, why do you sit like that?” The bubbly pony answered “Because it’s fun!” “I’ve always enjoyed doing things that are outside the norms” “Being an average, everyday pony is boring” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her blatant self expression showed me that she was not afraid of being criticized or bullied Her proud nature and fun loving personality drew me in somehow I didn’t know what she did, but whatever it was, it worked I just had to know more about my new employee, my new friend ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You said you needed a place to stay, isn’t that right?” “Mmhphm” she garbled contently while chewing on her chocolate pieces “Well why don’t you stay with me? You are working for me after all” Chocolate still in her mouth, she hopped off of the bench, bouncing crazily across the street ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I couldn’t help but laugh this time She took the time to pause her fanatic antics for a moment and laugh with me Still laughing hard, I posed the question to her “What IS your name?” Settling down from the uproar, but still chuckling, she replied “Lyra; Lyra Heartstrings” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was the beginning of a great friendship, actually, more than friendship now I took her in and set up a sofa in the extra room upstairs for her to sleep on She worked hard every day, earning her pay like a honest, hard working pony The days went by like the usually did, but this time around I had a friend to pass the time with ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was glad to have company, as it often did get lonely in the shop Things kept up for a while, until one day when I heard something I wasn’t supposed to Two fillies had just bought some candy, but as they were leaving I noticed they had left one of their bags I snatched it up quick and ran outside to give it to them ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As I opened the door and trotted behind them, I overheard the elder “Two mares shouldn’t be living together, it’s just weird” I stopped in my tracks, a surprised look formed on my face causing the bag to drop from my mouth Did they think that Lyra and I were together? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Confused and agitated I went back into the shop to confront Lyra It was true, I had some unexplainable feelings for the mare, but I never openly displayed any intimacy “Lyra” I tapped her on the shoulder “Can I ask you something?” “Sure” she agreed with her usual wide grin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “How do you, um, feel about me?” I stuttered over a few words “You’re my best friend, Bon” she smiled encouragingly “Oh, yeah, good” I sighed, somewhat relieved yet still feeling a stiffening sadness “That’s what I thought” my eyes lowering towards the floor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What is it? Did I say something wrong?” a concerned tone in her voice “I just, no, nothing really” I tried to respond, but my emotions got the best of me My green friend blushed, just like she did on the first day we met, and slowly walked closer to me Before I knew it, I felt the warm sensation of another pony’s lips on my cheek ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You know, I wouldn’t mind being more” her eyes gazing right into my own The once cloudy storm of emotions and thoughts that rattled throughout my heart and mind faded Only one feeling remained, and that feeling was love Love for a wonderfully unique unicorn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We took our relationship slow, neither one of us having been in one before It started off with simply going to the park to relax and enjoy the day with one another She shared all of her greatest desires with me, all of her secrets Her love for the unconventional bemused me, and I became enthralled in her endeavors ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She moved to Ponyville from Canterlot where she worked as a traveling acrobat She could walk on only her back hooves, and had a perplexing ability to grip things with her hooves Her movements were often awkward, but she explained that it is merely hard to do Everything about her old life just made me want to know more ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Of course, such avid and numerous adventures had a downside We received plenty of hateful glares from other mares and stallions Two mares being in a relationship together was not only unconventional, but also looked down on Each day it would get worse, people avoiding us or even ceasing all communication ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was able to deal with it for the most part, until they started getting physical Some young colts threw stones through the store’s windows, shattering glass everywhere After the incident, fewer and fewer ponies came back to buy candy We were quickly going bankrupt ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Lyra, we’re running out of money” “I know Bon, I know, but there’s nothing we can do” she frowned “But we need business, I can’t just close down the shop” Lyra said nothing, but came over to hug me and keep me close ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I went to sleep that night, almost crying at our poor situation My sleep did not relieve me of my problems either, I was tossing and turning the entire night When I awoke, I hoped for the comfort of my dear Lyra, but there was no one else in bed My body jolted awake and I searched the shop frantically, calling out her name ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I searched for days, but there was no Lyra to be found It didn’t take long for the town to learn of Lyra’s disappearance To my dismay, few ponies cared They were all far more concerned with a huge party planned for Friday night ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My only thought was, perhaps there will be somepony there who knows where Lyra is? I waited another day, alone inside my suffering shop It was sorrowful, my shop and I were both withering away without the one thing that made us special Friday night did come though, and I made my way, ever so slowly, to the grand party ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I got there just as they announced the bands playing “Tonight we’ve got a hot new band playing their brand new song, Playing My Heartstrings!” “Let’s give it up for Scratching Symphonies!” The crowd cheered louder than a passing train, nearly bursting my eardrums from their booming chants ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The curtains on the stage opened, and to my surprise, Lyra stood in the front, gripping her golden lyre The music began to play, a battle between orchestra and electronics, constantly vying for control Lyra’s harmonious lyre strokes graced my ears and lifted my tried soul back to its hooves Everypony listened intently to the swaying music of both opposing sides, entranced in the tune ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ During a lull in the ever pressing tone of the piece, Lyra placed her lyre on the stage in front of her and walked towards the unoccupied microphone “Hey there everypony” she chuckled “I know that a lot of you have had problems with me in the past, and I’m sorry for that” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m in love with another mare, yes” “She is just as wonderful and beautiful and caring as any stallion could be to me” “I know what I and my marefriend have isn’t normal” she sniffled twice, water falling down her face “But I don’t see why there needs to be any cruelty towards her” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You’ve all known Bon Bon your entire lives, and have always enjoyed her great candies” “Why does the fact that she loves me have to change that? “She is still the same old Bon Bon you all knew, the same Bon Bon you were friends with” “So I guess, what I’m asking is that you all just give us a chance” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I had never expected Lyra to do something like this, however it did fit her well I rushed my way through the crowd, trying my hardest to get to the stage When I finally made it, Octavia helped pull me up, smiling I headed straight for Lyra, running into her so fast I nearly knocked her over with my embrace ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Lyra” I sobbed “I thought you left me” My musical mare patted me on my head, “I’d never leave you Bon, not in a million years” “I just had to find the right way to get everypony in one place so that I could tell them this” I laughed, both of us were smiling now, something I hadn’t done in quite some time ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyra turned her attention back to the apprehensive crowd Many of them had equally large smiles on their faces, although there were some disapproving frowns “I don’t know if we’ve changed your minds everypony, but I am thankful you listened” “And Bon” she took in a deep breath “No matter what, I can tell you this” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her heart opened to me, the same as when we first met, and she said “Love will always find a way”
Your Closest Bonds (Gilda's Poem)Your Closest Bonds (Gilda’s Poem) Stupid, stupid ponies! They don’t know the mistake they’ve made messing with me I’ll mess them up so bad, they won’t even be able to see straight Especially that stupid pink one ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They humiliated me in front of a whole crowd They humiliated me in front of Dash Stupid, stupid ponies They’re all so, so lame! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I can’t believe I ever thought Dash would make a good friend Everyone knows ponies are so soft and lame I guess I thought Rainbow was different I guess I had been wrong all along ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I spotted a small clearing the vast stretch of trees that revolved around the clustered forest There was a lake or pond clearly visible through the gap in the trees Lakes were supposed to be calming, right? Well, my wings needed a rest anyways ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I landed with a slight squish on the cool, mossy ground My sharp talons easily dug into the soft covering, slicing the delicate roots from below Each step was the same, squishy yet leaving a trail of small cuts behind me I gazed out towards the lake ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was a normal lake, nothing special, placid and blue like any other I removed my eyes from the tree line and gazed down upon my reflection in the body of water My face was a mess, covered in party gags and some cake But that didn’t bother me, no, the reflection itself wasn’t an issue ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was angry, my entire body was tensed up with unending fury But that fury wasn’t directed at the ponies It was directed at myself I was infuriated, angry, frustrated with myself ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There was only one other time I truly felt like this It was such a long time ago, almost lost beneath the newer, fonder memories Back when I first started flight school life more than I could handle Until good ol’ Dash showed up and snapped me outta my rut ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was an alright kid, never wanted to make trouble, always did my best to learn new flying techniques Other students weren’t so keen on following the rules like I did though They made fun of me for practicing and studying, always taunting me or even beating me up Every day was awful, I couldn’t avoid the onslaught of bullying ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One day is tricks and techniques class, I tried doing one of the more complicated tricks It didn’t end well, my wings tied up and I fell to the ground The other students didn’t even bother trying to catch me, But Rainbow Dash zoomed in and caught me before I hit the ground and broke my wings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From there, I did my best to keep Dash around She was the only real friend I made at that dumb school We hung out every day after class, flying or chilling on a cloud She showed me that there really were some ponies out there worth hanging onto ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When I told her about all of the bullying, she showed me how to pull pranks We spent the rest of our years there pranking the other ponies and griffins There was laughter and contentment, but underneath it all, I grew cold and resentful I was truly happy to get back at those stupid bullies for what they did to me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In my life, it was be tough or get crushed Dash helped me grow tough, but I over did it She was fine with it then, because she didn’t like the other students either, but now Now it’s different, we aren’t in flight school anymore ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I sighed at the thought of having lost the only true friend I ever made The wind from my beak blew into the water causing ripples to shoot out from the center My reflection became distorted and I turned away The ripples in the water made more sense than my reflection did, but they changed, I didn’t ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Excuse me beast of lion and bird, is it you that I just heard?” called out a voice from the forest “Who’s there? Don’t make me come after you” I threatened A zebra walked out from behind the cover of the darkened wood She was wearing some gold bands and carried a sack upon her back, and didn’t seem like trouble ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Violence is not what I seek, for I choose to be quite meek” “Why are you here? Isn’t this place, I dunno, dangerous or something?” The zebra laughed at my response, and pointed to her pack with her hoof “Here I have my pack of goods, to bring back to my house in the woods” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Well I still don’t get what you’re up to” I retorted, trying to stay intimidating “As I said, you could be heard, your voice is loud, with every word” Her rhyming was getting on my nerves really quick, then again I was already mad “I didn’t say anything” I spat back angrily ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “This is true, they weren’t said, but rather thought, inside your head” I looked at the black and white horse blankly Could she really have been reading my mind? “What’re you talking about you creep?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I am no creep as you say, just observant, are you ok?” she asked, letting on that she could read my face “It’s none of your business, I’m fine” I scowled I tried walking away, but the zebra wouldn’t stop following me “Beat it, I don’t need some tagalong loser zebra!” I screamed at her ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Foolish here, you should not be, all alone in the forest Everfree” she warned “I’ll be fine, it’s just a bunch of tr –” a loud roar from behind cut me off “What was that?”I whimpered, although I tried my best to keep my composure She noticed and trotted up quickly “T’was a beast quite large in size, let us go to my hut and stay inside” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hearing the enormous monster had been enough to keep even a bold natured griffin like me out Her hut wasn’t too far, and the walk was hastened by our imperative pace When we got inside the wooden abode, I let out a sigh of relief I noticed she had been looking at me, and realized that she had seen me scared ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You tell anyone about this and I swear” I threatened again, shaking my fist in the air for emphasis The forest dweller laughed again “Not in the slightest, do I believe a kind griffin like you, would hurt me” Her words took me by surprise, as no one besides Dash had ever called me nice “What makes you think I’m nice, crone?” I replied, trying to continue with my insults ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “However tough and mean you act, your soul will reflect your true self back” she smiled This random zebra was the first being to ever see past my tough façade Her smile was heartfelt and real, it almost made my emotional walls of steel snap Could this random stranger really care about a jerk like me? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m not nice,” I continued on to see what she would say “I’m a jerk” “Perhaps that is what your mouth says, but it is not what your mind portrays” “Inside you feel you feel you have done wrong, and do believe a piece of you is gone” The rhythmic words pierced through my remaining barriers, I couldn’t hold back any more ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Shut up! Shut up! I’m not that weak little girl anymore, I won’t have you make fun of me like this!” “It’s not my fault Rainbow Dash grew soft and lame with her dumb pony friends!” “I’m still tough, I can still stick up for myself! I only need to care about me, just me!” My breath was heavy and panting, shoulders tensed as I stood on my hind legs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The zebra did not react, she remained purely calm and relaxed She waited patiently for my rage to subside, and then began to speak, softly but with intent “As a child you were scorned, and because of such, a friendship was born” “From that friendship, your one became two, and as you got older, your friendship also grew” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Those who once adored you would do so again, if you were the one they once called friend” “But bitter as your soul has grown, you still have hope to find a home” “Too long have you believed her reason was all because of petty teasing” “For the truest of friends will stick together, in hail or rain or any kind of weather” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She concluded her small speech with a bright smile and light chuckle My body relaxed and I began to understand what this zebra meant At least, I thought I captured the message of her rhyming I finally dropped my malicious facemask and grinned a truly happy grin for the first time in ages ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With a deep sigh, I mustered up the will to thank her for her kind words and caring attitude She pointed me in the direction of Ponyville and told me I would be able to leave the forest easily I had to go and find Dash, if for nothing more than to apologize I wasn’t sure if she’d even see me, but Zecora the zebra, as she was called, assured me that she would ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I opened the door and spread my wings, ready to lift off to the skies above the green labyrinth I looked back at Zecora, waving and smiling; I had made a new friend today Lifting off, I was trying to think of what to say to Dash when I heard her call up to me from below “If you’re wry and you lie, then your friendship will die!” she yelled ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But if you’re true in what you speak, your closest bonds you are sure to keep!”
Every Little Bit Counts (Fluttershy's Poem)Every Little Bit Counts (Fluttershy’s Poem) “Oh come now Angel, you really need to eat your food” Angel is such a stubborn, little bunny He always fights everything I say, whatever it is Lately it’s been harder to keep up with his demands and the other animals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I nudged the bowl further, but he wouldn’t have it “Please Angel, for me?” I begged He simply pouted and turned himself away I was beginning to lose my patience ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This was surprising though, as I wasn’t one to get annoyed so easily It was only a small lunch after all, it shouldn’t have me this worked up He tapped his foot rapidly, the thumping beating repetitive noises into my head This only drove me further to anger ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I took in a deep breath My lungs filled and my mind eased, if only for a moment Then the animals outside growled and chirped, buzzed and called My stress release failed due to their incessant calling ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There were so many animals, so many creatures to care for Each one with its own specific needs; a habitat, food, special care They all needed me to stay alive and well, I just couldn’t refuse I just couldn’t turn one animal away ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another thumping noise starts bouncing around the room What now? I can’t seem to find the source of the noise, but I feel myself shaking A short look at my hooves tells the story ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As I shook nervously, my hooves beat against the floor, tapping out my frustration I started to scare myself, unable to cease my fervent shaking Trotting statically to my kitchen, I searched for something to calm me nerves The mirror on the wall elaborated on my pains with hurtful detail ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not only was I shaking like jello in an earthquake, but I was a mess My mane was disheveled and my coat dirty The bags under my eyes told easily of my inability to sleep, trying to help the nocturnal residents I was also incredibly skinny, skipping my own meals in favor of theirs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What in the world am I to do? There are so many creatures to help and I can’t just leave them now No, I’ve already taken them in, that would be awful and rude of me But did I have any other choice? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Knock, Knock, Knock The door was beating too, ah so much noise! “Fluttershy?” called out a distinctive male voice I had a visitor, but I couldn’t possibly let them see me like this ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I walked slowly to the door, hoping maybe they might think I wasn’t home But surely I wouldn’t just not open the door, I still couldn’t bring myself to be uncouth I opened the door slowly, and sure enough he was still there “Hey Fluttershy!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “How’r you today Spike, Peewee?” I ask the small purple dragon and his phoenix friend “We’re fine, how’ve you been?” the bubbly dragon returned “Oh, well I um, I’ve been, um, just fine.” My voice trembled, capturing the feeling of my shaking body As much as I tried to hide it, I couldn’t stop my body from shaking ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Fluttershy, are you, are you shaking?” he wondered worriedly “Well um, you see, it’s that, yes.” My voice fading off in shy admittance “What’s wrong?” his scaly arm reached out as he put his hand on my shoulder His hand was cold, as dragon’s usually are, but somehow it felt a little warming ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Taking in the biggest breath that I could, I began a rant bigger than anything I’d ever said before “There are so many animals in the world and they all need a little help sometimes” “I am that help, so I find them wherever they may be and treat them well until they get better again” “But now there are just too many of them, and I can’t leave them to fend for themselves out there!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The look on Spike’s face showed that he wasn’t expecting me to go off like that He didn’t respond, and it made me afraid I had offended him I knew that I shouldn’t throw my problems onto other ponies Nopony needed to hear me complain about the things that I did, that wasn’t fair at all to them ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m sorry Spike, I didn’t mean to yell like that” Almost smiling, he replied “If you call that yelling then I wonder what your whisper is like” His remark caused me to blush I suppose I wasn’t that loud after all ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Should I have been louder?” I asked him “Fluttershy, I wouldn’t worry about that right now” “What you should worry is yourself, I mean your trembling for Celestia’s sake!” The worried expression on his face made me feel worse for having upset his good mood ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh I’m sorry Spike, you don’t need to stay here and listen to me” It looked as if he took offense to my apology as he shot back “Fluttershy, I’m not leaving” He was stern and stubborn with his words, not backing down for a moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Why haven’t you asked anyone to help you with the animals?” “I don’t think anypony needs to waste their time helping me, I’ll do just fine myself” “Obviously that’s not true; you definitely need help” The thought of not being able to help all of the animals made me feel even worse ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My condition wasn’t getting any better, but Spike continued speaking “You know, I used to think I didn’t need any help” My ears perked up as he began his story “When we first moved here, Twilight and I, we had a lot of organizing to do” “I mean, have you seen that library? It’s huge” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Anyways, Twilight was always busy doing something and never had time to fix the place up” “One day, she left and asked me to finish everything up by the time she got home” “At first I thought I could do it, but things went downhill from there” “There were so many books, and the shelves were so high, I was falling all over the place” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But Spike, what does this –” he interrupted me to finish “By the end of the day I was shedding scales thinking Twilight would be awfully mad at me” “I was curled up in a corner, panicking when Twilight opened the door” “When she walked in, do you know what the first thing she did was?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Did she scold you for not finishing? I know Angel gets mad at me when I don’t finish things on time” “Haha, of course not,” he laughed “She calmed me down and made sure I was ok” “Then she told me that everything would be alright and helped me finish organizing the library” “Do you see where I’m going with this?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spike’s story did seem rather important, but I hadn’t exactly caught his point “No, I um, don’t think I do” The frazzled dragon slapped his forehead, “The point is, I’m going to help you out anyways” “But Spike, it’s really not necessary” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He laughed at this, I blushed again “I think it’s necessary, so I’m going to help anyways” he smiled I didn’t want to refuse such a generous offer of his time, but I didn’t want to be a bother Spike wouldn’t have any of it though and went straight to work ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spike sat me down, placing a blanket over me to stop my trembling I tried to get up and help, but he wouldn’t let me do anything I felt so helpless, unable to do what I had been doing for so long Oddly enough, it was a refreshing feeling, like a giant weight had been lifted off my shoulders ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I decided to accept Spike’s help and just laid there in my chair, warming up After some amount of time he came back to check on me “Feeling better?” he asked, a caring smile surfacing his face “Much better; thank you Spike” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I fed all the animals and helped patch up the flamingo’s wing” “Oh, I also fixed up the chicken coop and cleaned the badger dens” “Spike, you know you didn’t have to do any of this” The small phoenix named Peewee that Spike had brought with him flew onto Spike’s shoulder ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It cooed as Spike proceeded to pet it Turning back to me he said “No, I didn’t, but I was glad that I could help you out, even just a bit” “I know you have a really tough job here with the animals, so just remember you can take a break” A light smile started to form on my face as well, relieving the once constant pressure of work ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Besides,” he continued “No matter how small it is, every little bit counts”
The Audience Will Follow (Sweetie Belle's Poem)The Audience Will Follow (Sweetie Belle’s Poem) It was such a beautiful morning Nice, quiet, tranquil Not to mentioning the brightly shimmering sun in the east I was sure nothing could ruin my day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was the first one awake, and took the time to idly enjoy my bed It was comfortable and I was snug I wondered if my family was as happy as I was And that’s when I decided it ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I would make them lunch! Not just any lunch, but a huge picnic So I hopped out of my cozy mattress and ran downstairs, careful not to wake anypony up The kitchen was void of others, as I thought ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What to make?” I asked myself I opened the pantry door and found bread, waiting hopefully in the front for somepony to eat it Sandwiches, perfect Bread in hoof, I trotted over the nearby fridge ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Opening it, I found some cheese and butter from yesterday’s grocery trip I glanced over at the black stove, then back to the cheese Grilled cheese would be even better! I rushed the ingredients to the table ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What goes well with grilled cheese? Tomato soup! Duh Realizing the tasty treat would make this the best picnic ever, I went to reach for a pot above the stove The cabinet with the pots was too high for me to reach, so I stacked two chairs atop one another ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That’s when things went wrong I lost my balance and crashed onto our floor The noise was loud enough to wake up the entire family Who of course, came running downstairs to check out ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh my, what in dear heavens has happened?” my sister gasps “Dearie, are you alright?” asks my mom “Yeah, I- ow” I recoil as I try to get up “I think I banged my head” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What could you have possibly been doing Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asks My eyes shift rapidly across the floor I had wanted it to be a surprise “Well,” I started “I was gonna make us a picnic, so we could all have lunch together” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My dad walked over and patted my head, lightly though just in case I did bang it “Aw Sweetie, you know you didn’t have to do that for us” “I know, but I thought I could surprise you” “Well this was definitely a surprise, little sister” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m sorry a knocked all the pots over” “Don’t be honey, we’ll help you clean it up” “And then can we go on a picnic?!” I piped up, ecstatic now that my parents weren’t angry Mom and dad shot each other an ‘I’m sorry Sweetie Belle, but’ smile ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m sorry Sweetie Belle, but” called it “Your father and I are meeting with two friends of ours” “We’ll be in Manehatten all weekend, we thought you knew” My bubbly smile dissipated with the unfortunate news Even with the wonderful weather and grilled cheeses, I still wouldn’t be able to play with my family ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Maybe your sister can go with you?” they offered Rarity shook her head disappointingly “Sorry Sweetie, but I’ve got a huge client from Canterlot coming today, I simply cannot miss him” “It’s ok” I lied, sighing heavily “I understand” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The three of them went on to get ready for their days while I remained behind in the kitchen Nothing left to do, I just finished the grilled cheese sandwich I was going to make for myself And since I had already gone through the trouble of getting the pot I made some soup as well ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mom and dad packed their bags and left to Manehatten Rarity went up to her room with supplies I knew Rarity, and when she had a client, she didn’t usually want me around ‘Just in case’ she’d say ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So with that in mind I set off to the clubhouse with my lunch beside me in a tiny knapsack It was a short walk to our clubhouse, and when I got there, it was completely silent The walk had been quiet too, and I wondered where everypony had gone Without anypony there to give me an answer, I settled for the fact that I enjoyed the silence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was really sad though, I had had a new song that I wanted to sing to Rarity and my parents I thought they might enjoy a little family day tribute Now I doubted they’d ever hear it Soon enough, the silence unnerved me and led me to create my own sounds ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh mom and dad, why do you make me feel so sad” “All I wanted was to sing a song to you, but you never knew” “Oh, my sister Rarity, why couldn’t you stay with me?” “Why couldn’t you play with me, am I old news?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “All I wanted was an audience, to show that I could represent” “My prestigious family-ey-ey” “All I wanted was smiling ear, a pony who would care to hear” “The singing of Sweetie-ie-ie” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh wow, Sweetie B, you’re amazing!” called out a familiar voice The voice took me off guard though, making me jump and shriek off key My friend laughed at this “Scootaloo!” I yelled “What’s the big idea?!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Still laughing she said “Nothing, I just thought you sounded cool” She rethought her words for a second and then rephrased “Well, not cool really, but you sounded good” I raised a suspicious eyebrow at this, “What do you mean?” “Rainbow Dash is cool, she’s like, the best of the cool ponies, but your song was just, good” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Thanks Scootaloo” I snapped sarcastically “Hey, I don’t mean it was bad, just not cool” I decided I would take her words as compliments instead of insults, because I knew she meant well Still, I hadn’t planned on anyone listening to that song ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My idled mind started wondering if she heard the whole thing And if she did, did she understand what I was singing about My orange pegasus friend noticed my unresponsive look and waved a hoof in front of my face “Helooo, anypony home?” she joked ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I shook my head awake, “Yeah, I’m here” “You doing alright Sweetie Belle?” she asked, sounding very concerned It was unusual for Scootaloo to seem concerned as she wasn’t much of one for mushy girly things She liked to stay tough and courageous, so seeing her show a softer side threw me off ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Since I still had said anything, she pressed further “So was that true? What you said about an audience and your family and stuff?” My eyes hit the ground again, looking for answers although the grass couldn’t talk “Yeah, I guess, I mean it’s true, but whatever” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Pah, lier” she spat “You don’t have to hide it you know, I understand” “You do?” I questioned her, unbelieving in her enthusiasm “Yeah, I always wish I had more time to spend with the ponies I care about” “And even though I don’t sing, I always want more ponies to watch me do tricks on my scooter” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scootaloo understood after all I guess I shouldn’t doubt my friends when they say they want to help But even though my purple maned friend expressed similar feelings She still didn’t tell me how to solve my problems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Wait, Scootaloo” I spoke up “Yeah?” “So how do you deal with those feelings?” Scootaloo tilted her head inquisitively, as if it was an answer I should already know ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Taking note of my blank stare and obvious unknowing of the situation, she replied “Hmm, I can’t really say I’ve done much about it at all” My jaw dropped slightly in confusion, what great advice “Then how do –” she cut me off ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I mean, you don’t have to do anything about it at all” She had piqued my interest with the continuation of her explanation, so I kept quiet “I guess I just took some advice and applied it to both problems” “What advice?” I wondered, trying to figure out where she was getting all of this ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Rainbow Dash once told me that if you just keep being awesome, ponies will watch you” “Ponies like to see other ponies do cool things” “So I took it as if you keep doing what you always do, ponies will eventually have to see you” “You can’t just be kept in the dark forever right?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As Scootaloo talked of her ever endeared mentor, her own face brightened up With each word, her smile infected me with a new sense of hope I had gotten discouraged by my family earlier, but my friend was helping me see a new light However, one half of my problem was still left unanswered ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “So what does that have to do with being with your family?” Realizing she had missed that part, the pegasus back tracked “Oh, right! It’s that same thing!” she exclaimed “What?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “If you keep on being a good friend, or sister or daughter or whatever, you’ll get your chance” “All the ponies you know are like an audience” “Keep on doing what you do, and eventually they’ll show up” Feeling her response was sufficient, she sat down on my picnic blanket, grinning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I thought over what my friend had said She seemed very confident that she was right about everything So confident in fact that she took a bite out of my grilled cheese sandwich “Hey, that’s mine!” I called her out ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She paused mid chew, her face so odd looking that I instantly cracked up “Spo cn Ji hag it?” she asked, her voice muffled by the melted cheese in her mouth “Sure” I laughed as she swallowed my lunch I didn’t mind too much, I still had my soup after all ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two of us enjoyed the lunch I prepared on my picnic blanket The day was still as memorable as it was in the morning, and I was happy for the blue sky Scootaloo and I decided to go and find Applebloom so we could all play together As we packed up the blanket, Scootaloo reminded me of her advice with a deviously tinted smile ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Remember Sweetie Belle, just be awesome and the audience will follow, whoever they are”
We're Family Now (Zecora's Poem)We’re Family Now (Zecora’s Poem) It was a beautiful spring day Absolutely everything was going my way The sun was brightly shining in the clear sky Yet something was bothering my restless mind’s eye ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No, it was not the forest Everfree With its many stacks of tall, grown trees Although, all things be due considered It could have been the ground, ‘twas littered ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With sticks and stones and broken homes Of creatures of the sky, since flown With rocks and staggered, shattered boulders No longer could these mountains shoulder ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The weight of a world so large and heavy Perhaps, I had just not been ready Too engage upon this journey Was I in too much of a hurry? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This land was quite so unforgiving When I first attempted to begin a living The creatures fierce and earth so wild ‘Twas scary for me, at the time, a child ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With my own hooves, I built this home To shield me from all things to come And slowly over time I filled it With potions, brews, all I could get ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I tried to practice what I learned But now I see, for true home, I yearned For at the ripe old age of eight My tribe left me to my destiny, fate ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now I stand here, house and home behind I feel like a walk; where to this time? Perhaps I’ll go to the ocean’s shore Or maybe knock on a neighbor’s door ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They have seemed to warm up much to me After all, a demon is something that I not be Still they do, from moment to moment Stutter backwards in fear, unknowing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have grown to see it is quite alright As the unknown can cause such a fright But I find myself losing my track of thought There are just too many troubles to spot ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What purpose does a stranger contain In lands of unfamiliar terrain? What concoction can I brew To show them all my worth has been proved? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And what of traveling far, the distance great To a tribe long since forgotten…wait! Indeed they would accept me back I have accomplished every task ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’ve mastered every zebra spell From aacalula to zukvanzell I have survived and thrived, alive And charted out each divine night sky ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The creatures all, I claim to tame Not a single one, won’t yield to my name From timber wolf to hydra spawn Fearsome cockatrice only make me yawn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ursa Majors and Minors alike Are friendly when treated just right And dragons, though they breathe both fire and smoke Are nothing to me, but a scaly joke ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As I sit and reminisce, of the past my soul does miss I can do little but dismiss, my hopes and aspirations as this Zairba lies those miles away, to walk the path, id surely stray Even with all I’ve gained to this day, for me to make it, there is no way ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This rock on which my flank does rest, is my home so I must make the best But what of mother, father and siblings, in my ear, their voices still ring A drop of water, wet and salty, falls from my eye; stopping, halting Every thought I could have had; a poor zebra am I, with no mom or dad ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quickly behind me is a rustling; a creature, four legs and a tail is bustling It is unfamiliar, but not to me, rather to these creatures of Everfree The steps are small, and quite reserved, for the one who makes them is concerned For deadly, yes, this forest be, to my little pony, but not to me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Zecora? Zecora are ya outside?” the worried voice did cry “Indeed I am” to her, I replied Following the sound of my voice, the filly Quickly trotted up, quite silly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Ah stumbled through some poison joke on ma way here” “I can see that; to the hut, my dear” The troubled child found her way, though it was littered with cries of ‘woah!’ and ‘hay!’ As though she did indeed walk swiftly, her tiny legs were wobbly and trippy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Now what could cause you Apple Bloom, to come here to me now, so soon?” “Mah friends were all busy ‘n stuff, Ah was hopin’ you ‘n me could play again” The child of yellow seemed rather excited And to have company, I was truly delighted ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I shall have for you, a fix, quite quick; potions such as these are made, lickity split” “Thank ya kindly, Miss Zecora” The filly smiled at me with her big eyes Shimmery, vivid, truly a child’s guise ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Falling flatly upon the floor of mine, the filly asked “Hey what were ya doin’ outside?” I thought carefully of how to address, “Just examining a few trees and rocks, I guess” “When ya finish up with ma potion can we go play in the lake?” With such an ecstatic visage, how could I refuse that face? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Indeed we may, child of Apple, but first, there is poison joke we must battle” Hoof over hoof and drop over drop The bottle I filled was now seen at the top Though usually the cure must be taken as a bath, another old remedy could be imbibed, and it hath ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Within a few seconds of taking a sip, the flustered filly’s legs began to sit back at her hips Once the whole bottle had been taken aback, Apple Bloom’s body was safely on track “Well look’it me! I’m as right as rain on a Sunday mornin’” Though cured, the red-maned child bounced without warning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Happy as she was, I still sighed It did not do me well, to a friend I had lied Quicker than I could have assumed She picked up on my frown, that smart Apple Bloom ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What’s wrong? Ain’t ya happy that we cn’ go t’ the lake now?” I tried to agree, but it was all I could do to not frown “Child I am sorry indeed; the troubles of my mind are something you don’t need” The perplexed little girl tilted her head, wiping in front of her face was her mane of red ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But Zecora, ya can’t play if ya ain’t feelin’ well” she explained “Tell me little one, do you know what does me pain?” “Well Ah know, we cn’ jus’ whip up some real special brew to fix ya, right?” “No, I do not believe that will work this night” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Maybe Granny Smith knows what cn’ help ya?” “Ah to have assistance from a family, that would be the –” She interrupted, it was the first time I had been cut off for months since - “What about your family, could they do som’in’?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “My family and I, we no longer talk; how’s about the two of us take a walk?” I needed some time away from the hut; Bloom agreed we could trot to the lake, so the door I shut “Why dontchu jus’ go and write em’ a letter?” “I do not believe that would make things any better” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Somepony like you did som’in’ bad? Ah don’t believe it” “Our customs are from Zairba and Equestria are different” My companion sat down and pouted For once, her actions were a mystery, shrouded ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Little Bloom, why do you do as you do? For you to sit still, is the world at it’s doom?” “Nah but Ah don’t see why anypony’s gotta get kicked out fer no good reason!” “Perhaps you will learn, with the turn of a new season?” “What in tarnation’s that supposed to mean?” the debatably insightful little filly did scream ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “When you have grown and become older, you will understand the weight that I have on my shoulders” “So it that why they sent ya away to Ponyville, cause you got old?” “No my dear, it is because I didn’t do as I was told” “You see,” I continued “As my story unfolds; understand, as a little Zebra, I was quite bold” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And so I did talk, while we trotted and walked Being sure to keep on the path I had blocked From all of the dangers the wild did hold For to me, this little filly was more precious than gold ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was to her and her alone I regaled My past and the reason for telling my tale By the time I had finished, I could tell she had listened For the lake we had passed for at least twenty minutes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Zecora, does this mean ya wouldn’t be here if they din’t make ya leave?” “Yes Apple Bloom, that is as true as these trees” As my answer entered her ears, it did seem That across her perplexed face, a smile did beam ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Why could this mean child, that at my misfortune you smile?” Before she would answer me, she jumped into the lake It was the only one not filled with monsters for goodness sake No reply to my question was problematic at best, was this some sort of challenge, or trial or test? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Resurfacing from the crystal clear water I know She shouted, “Hey I found something cool down below!” But before she could once again dive under water I yelled out real quick, to make sure I would stop her ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Why is it that after my story you grinned, when you saw with your eyes the pain that I’m in?” “Because Zecora, if you never left, I woulda never met ya here!” “This is true, I can see that my mind had much fear” And once more I stood upon a blank rock, lost for a moment in my mind, full of thought ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “So are ya gonna jump in or what?” called my friend Although I did something, I never did reply in the end I just ran to the lake, full of new hopes and new dreams For the family I thought of was not what it seemed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here is this forest of old and of new, was a life that I made, and a home for it too I had made for myself a large group of hearts, at the center, was this filly, so cheerful and smart Though in leaving my old self behind, it did hurt, my new self only needed these few little words They came from the mouth of a friend, and so sound ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You n’ me Zecora, we’re family now”
Catch Me, Squirt (Scootaloo's Poem)Catch Me, Squirt (Scootaloo’s Poem) I have wings for flying But they are too small for that My wings aren’t strong enough to lift me Even though I am small as well ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I stand alone, gazing into the day lit sky It is a bright cyan blue; the porcelain white clouds are scarce As I stare up, I see a figure, blue as the sky itself It soars right past me, the blazing winds blowing my mane in an untraceable pattern ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The illustrious figure leaves behind a shimmering rainbow trail Although she continues to move forward, the rainbow remains A testament to her prowess and skill I truly wish I could do the same, I wish I could exude such greatness from myself ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She is my role model Strong willed, confident, capable Caring, adventurous, but most of all, loyal I want to be like her, I want to be everything I’m not ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She continues her routine into the blue yonder Her wings spread wide open to propel her ahead She is always moving ahead, always getting better each day I look back at my own pathetic wings, “Sigh” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How will my tiny orange wings ever be able to keep up? How will I ever reach my goal and touch the endless sky? A voice calls out to me, alone on my hill with the sky “What’s up, Squirt?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I look up, surprised that I was noticed My cyan idol lands atop the hill in front of me Her multicolored mane flowing from the light breeze Her presence leaves me stunned, lost for words ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She tilts her head, confused as to why I haven’t replied I bow my head, my cheeks reddened with embarrassment “Are you alright, Squirt?” she wonders Avoiding eye contact, I look back at my wings and sigh once more ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My idol looks at my wings in response She pauses to think for a moment, placing her hoof upon her chin In no time her eyes open wider than the skies themselves She holds out her hoof and beckons me forward ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I raise my own in return, still ashamed and shaking She grips it tenderly and pulls me up upon her back Taken aback, my senses startle My body tenses up, fright taking over, all five senses still extremely vivid ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her wings spread; she scuffs her hoof across the ground In moments, we arc into the air I hold on for dear life, my hooves gripping her shoulders tightly The blue mare does not slow, instead her speed continues to quicken ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Are you ready, Squirt?” she asks I cannot find anymore to say than “I hope” My eyes close, but everything is still fresh in my mind Even closed, my eyes are still very much open ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The terror besieging my mind is unrelenting and beads of sweat drip down my face My purple mane is becoming even frizzled from of the fierce winds I try to hold on and stay calm, but it is a useless effort There is nothing beneath my hooves ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The wind is still blowing in my face; that much has not changed The gale feels cold, yet soothing, slowly releasing the tension held tight in my body Not only that, but it exhilarates me as well, turning the tension into adrenaline A smile works its way across my frightened visage ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The adrenaline pumps into my veins I begin to pick up speed, pushing myself faster than I could ever go on my scooter I hold my arms out in front of me, outstretched as if to grab the sky ahead of me The very same sky that I was now flying past ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Even through all of the excitement, I could feel an odd sensation My back constantly moved up and down, tugging on my body It moved itself with such grace and ease I had barely noticed I knew I had recognized the feeling, but from where? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The thought struck me like a lightning bolt My wings! My wings were flapping! I was finally flying! A joyous scream echoed from my mouth “I can fly! I can fly! Watch me soar!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No sooner had I spoken that I began to see the ground The vast valleys beneath my hooves were lush with greenery Seeing my favorite hill, I slowed As I came to a halt, I made out the silhouette of a figure ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was my inspiring idol, waiting for me Astonished as I was, I still continued to smile She was smiling as well, a certain kind of smile permeating her face She was proud, proud of me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Look Rainbow Dash, I can fly!” I exclaimed “How did it feel, squirt? Well, I shouldn’t call you ‘Squirt’ anymore now should I, Scootaloo?” Words could not form in my mouth, and only a laughing smile remained visible I was truly happy, my fillyhood dreams had been finally been attained; I could fly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rainbow Dash, my idol, my role model, my friend, embraced me When she released, the two of us sat down on the lush grass It was sunset now, and the sky’s blue had faded Now the sky was made of reds, yellows, oranges, pinks and purples ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pointing to the sunset, she asks me “What do you see, Scoots?” It took a moment to think, and the answer I found was “I see the end of the greatest day in my life” Rainbow looks at me, smiles, and responds “No Scootaloo, it is the beginning” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “The beginning of what?” I wonder “The beginning of the greatest adventures of your life” she laughs “Always fly higher, always be better than your best, and most importantly, always believe in yourself” My eyes teared up, never before had she talked to me with such compassion and caring ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With that, Rainbow Dash opened her wings and flew out towards the setting sun Wiping off my tears of joy, I looked up to see her become the once unattainable silhouette This time, I too opened my small orange wings and flew after her “Rainbow Dash, wait up!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Catch me, Squirt.”
A Wonderful Son (Spike's Poem)A Wonderful Son (Spike's Poem) “Really Rarity? You’ll go on a date with me?” She stared back at me with her shimmering azure eyes “Of course, my little Spiky-Wiky” “I’ll se-se-see you Saturday then” I stumbled ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Saturday it is” she nodded “Oh and Spike?” “Yes, my sweet Rarity?” “Spike” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Yes, what is it?” I asked again “Spike” she continued on “Rarity, are you o-” “Spike!” a loud yell erupted into my ears ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “AHH” I screamed, jumping up from my previous position “Spike wake up already, I have some very important errands for you to run” I wiped the muck away from my tired eyes “Oh, it’s you Twilight” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Of course it is Spike, who else in Equestria would it be?” she snarked sarcastically “I wish it was Rarity” I grumbled beneath my breath “What was that?” Twilight raised her eyebrow in suspicion “Nothing” I waved her off ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She gave me a list of things to pick up from the market I took it begrudgingly, still angry that she woke me from my nap I could’ve been on a date with Rarity right now! I just stormed out of the library, parchment in hand ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marching out, I took a quick look at the list Even if I was mad at Twilight, I should still help her with the groceries The first thing on the list was cherries The town square market should have some ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Why should I get her cherries though? Why should I bother getting anything on the list? She always interrupted something I was doing for some weird or stupid task It’s not fair! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If I was in my own, I bet I could get all the sleep I wanted Ooh, and I could eat gems too! And I could stay up as late as midnight even! I could do anything without Twilight around to keep me busy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Even though I was thinking about leaving I already promised Twilight I’d get the things on the list Cherries were cheap, then carrots and some other salad ingredients The list wasn’t short, but everything was close to each other ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “The last item on the list” I said aloud to myself “A book from Cheerilie” Ugh, now I had to go over to the school I was not in the mood to walk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All the way I continued thinking about how much better I’d be without Twilight No rules, no books, no anypony else Just me, myself, and my gems That’d be the life ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It didn’t take all that long to reach the schoolhouse It wasn’t during teaching hours, so I let myself in “Hey Cheerilie, are you here?” I called out in to the seemingly empty building There was no response ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I figured she must have left and gone home So I started to do the same As I turned though, I heard a crash coming from another room I ran quickly to see what had happened ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When I looked into the room, I found a purple pony piled underneath a stack of books It was Cheerilie I darted to her quick, and removed the literature as fast as I could “Are you ok, Cheerilie?” I asked ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The dazed earth pony took a moment, but regained her consciousness Her eyes darted around before finally settling on me “Oh Spike, thank you so much” she extolled “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been here” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “It wasn’t anything Cheerilie” “Just helping a pony in need” She smiled at me caringly I felt some of my inner rage burn away inside ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Well there must be a reason you’re here, am I correct, Spike?” she pondered “Yeah, Twilight sent me out to get a book from you?” “Oh yes, Equestrian History: The Building of Cloudsdale” “Do you have it? I’d really just like to get back home right now” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The teacher looked at me quizzically “Why the rush Spike?” I asked myself whether or not I should tell her about what happened I figured a small explanation couldn’t hurt ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “It’s not much, I just got woken up is all” A feeling bubbled in my gut and my body forced my mouth to continue on “But it’s not just that, it’s all the little stuff Twilight makes me do” “Every day, I’ll try to do something and she’ll come barging in, making me do something for her instead” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More rage filled my lungs and smoke started fuming from my nostrils “She can be so overbearing and protective and ARGH!” “I just wish that I didn’t live with Twilight anymore!” My scream echoed through the small school library ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cheerilie stepped back, shocked I scrunched up, trying to make myself smaller and less intimidating I felt so bad for scaring her like that “I…I’m sorry Ms. Cheerilie” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her eyes softened and she spoke to me calmly “Spike, do you really not want to live with Twilight anymore?” Having previously made the decision, I replied “Yes” with authority The young teacher shook her head ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Spike, do you know why Twilight cares so much for you?” The question struck me as odd I had never thought of that before “I uh, well, no” I stumbled ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “She hatched you when you were just an egg you know” “She shares a very deep, emotional connection with you” “I know that” I replied bluntly “But she doesn’t have to be all, you know” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh but Spike, how do you think Twilight would take it if you left?” Again, Cheerilie’s short sentences baffled my mind I never bothered thinking about it from Twilight’s point of view Would she even be sad? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I don’t know, Ms. Cheerilie” “You are like a son to her Spike” “A cute, dragon child” “How do you think any mother would take one of their kids running away?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “But I’m not actually her –” The purple pony stopped me with her hoof “Yes Spike, you ARE her son” “You mean the world to that girl” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her words sounded so sincere I thought about all the good times I had with Twilight in the past Those times with just the two of us Playing outside, watching the stars, going out to lunch, practicing with magic ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Me and Twilight did everything together Sure, I guess we had our arguments, disagreements But we stayed the course, and we’re still the best of friends No, we were more than friends ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My heart started to pump in my chest It resembled my reaction to Rarity, but this was a bit different The pumping had a different beat, and my body felt more relaxed I began to understand my real connection to my own purple pony ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I laughed a bit as I realized how stupid I was being by getting so upset over being woken up How could I ever want to leave Twilight? What once seemed so clear an answer now fuzzed out inside my brain I had to apologize to Twilight for being rude earlier ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Ms. Cheerilie?” I began “Yes, Spike?” “How do you know all that? About Twilight and I?” She smiled at me and patted my spines ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m a teacher Spike, I just know these things” “But… how?” I had to know “Just look at Twilight when she’s with you and see her smile” “You’ll understand what I mean” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cheerilie’s kind words of wisdom had brightened my day I thanked her and grabbed the book With a touch of finesse, I checked the last box on the list It was nice to know there were ponies out there like Cheerilie, so willing to help others ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I helped her patch up the library by putting all the books back It was simple, mostly because I have to do it at home all the time I walked out the door to begin my trek home Only a few feet away, I hear Cheerilee call back to me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Spike!” she yells out “You’re a wonderful son!”
