It was a beautiful, sunny day in the peaceful land of Equestria. TwilightSparkle and StarStudent were in Twilight's study, casually conversing over potential mythical creatures that could live amongst the Everfree forest, and Spike was trying to catch up on the sleep he had missed out on last night, as he stayed up assisting Twilight in one if her late night study binges. This was the third time this week Twilight had asked him to fill in for Owlicious who was at Fluttershy's cottage, healing his right wing which had been accidentally damaged in one of PinkiePie and StarStudent's mishaps of a prank on Twilight.
Suddenly, an ear piercing shriek sounded a few blocks away. Spike instinctively jumped to his feet, instantly recognizing the distress of his favorite damsel. "Ohmygosh! It sounds like Rarity's in trouble!" he shouted. Twilight's eyes widened instinctively, although noticeably less intrigued by the issue than the young dragon.
"Oh Spike, she's probably just being over dramatic about one of her dresses or something. You know Rarity", she said calmly, unwilling to end the well versed discussion on a topic that had interested her more than their usual study sessions.
"Nonsense Twilight!" Star pronounces heroically. "There's a damsel in distress! I must save our fair maiden from whatever tragedy befalls her! Then perhaps she'll realize that she and I were meant to be!" StarStudent didn't really like Rarity. Not more than the other ponies anyway. He simply loved to torment poor Spike who was quiet taken with their fashion finatic of a friend. Of course, Spike, being the naiive, young dragon he was, didn't know any better, and took this challenge, and every other, to heart, feeling compelled to act in order to preserve any chance he had of being with his sweetheart. Twilight knew that Star was messing with him, and although she thought it was kind of mean of him, she also enjoyed the added motivation competition gave Spike, especially if it meant he was willing to help out even more if it meant Rarity seeing him doing a good job.
"Look pal, Rarity is MY pony! Why don't you go after some other pony? Like PinkiePie! You guys are always pulling pranks together!" Spike denounced. "That's because she and I are good friends, like you and Twilight!" Star shot back, acting defensively. "Well then, why don't you go for Twilight??" Spike asked, annoyed. "Spike!" Twilight scolded, blushing. "Why don't I? Why don't you, mr. "Number one assistant"?" he replied mockingly. "Guys...instead of arguing, shouldn't you two be seeing what she's so upset about?" Twilight asked calmly.
"Well, I was just about to until Spike distracted me!" Star defended, dashing out the door. "You're full of it!" Spike yelled after him, running after him as fast as his little legs could carry him. Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes, but maintaining a smile. While she would have liked to have continued her riveting discussion, she had her priorities straight; friends first.
Much to their surprise however, Rarity was not being over dramatic about a dress or some other simple matter they would normally suspect her of turning into a molehill, but rather, a legitimate issue. They entered to find Rarity's outfits dancing on their own accord, as if haunted by a group of invisible ponies, although Star had a pretty good idea of what was going on. "What in Ponyville is going on??" Spike asked, noticeably stirred up by the eerie display. "I'd bet you money Discord's just tormenting her..." he chuckled "oh right, I don't have any to bet..." "Star! Spikeypoo! Please make him stohohoooooop!" Rarity sobbed. Discord appeared in front of the two boys, wearing a tuxedo, no doubt in theme of the dance he had created. "Ah, StarStudent, Spike! You're just in time for the ball!" He greeted them. Star couldn't help but laugh. He was probably one of the only ones who appreciated Discord's strange actions and sense of humor, unfortunately to the point of being forbidden by Princess Celestia from associating with him for fear of encouraging his insane and potentially destructive behavior. "Pity I came so underdressed!" Star joked. Rarity gasped at his joining in her tormenting. "Star! Stop encouraging him! What would Princess Celestia say?" She exclaimed. Star stood there for a moment, debating on whether he could get away with a little goofing off with Discord, but on the same token, not wanting to disappoint Princess Celestia. After all, he, like Twilight, was one of her most loyal students, and he was determined to prove to her that he was a more worthy accomplice than even her beloved Twilight, on the other hand though, what could possibly go wrong? He would simply keep himself and Discord within at least moderate regulation, and there would be nothing to worry about.
"Oh please! Since when has fashionista Rarity ever chosen to skip out on a ball?" Star teased. "He does make a fair point! It's not like Rarity to miss out on a dance! Why, especially when everypony thought to arrive dressed in attire made by her's truly!" Discord chipped in. "Because by dance, you mean creepy dresses you're making dance by themselves!" Spike protested. "Dance by themselves? You think I'm doing this? Oh please, 'spikeypoo', as if I have the power to make Rarity's dresses get up and dance on their own!" As he says this, his magic takes hold of Spike causing him to dance along with the dresses. "Woah! Hey, cut it out!" Spike yelled, annoyed. "Oh dear! It looks like our dear friend has caught it too! It must be terribly contagious!" Discord taunted. Star laughed at the sight of the reluctant Dragon participating in the madness. "Star, if you don't cease to encourage him, I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to report this to Princess Celestia!" Rarity cautioned. "Oh come off it Rarity! It's only a bit of fun! There's no need to be so uptight..." "It's gone past fun to cruel! You're forcing Spike to dance against his will!" She reared, grabbing the Dragon and in doing so halting the magical hold Discord had on him. "Ah Rarity, nobody likes a snitch... very unbecoming, is it not? What would that say about your reputation?" Star taunted. "Well..." Rarity began nervously, "just as long as nobody gets hurt, I suppose it's fine... And if you could PLEASE let my dresses go, I have some VERY important orders to get done, and I don't want to disappoint anypony!" "Welp, sounds good to me! Come on discord, I hear it's raining cats and dogs outside, we may want to consult our dear friend Rainbowdash about this..." Star said with a mischievous smile. "An excellent idea Star!" Discord replied, taking off his fancy white gloves. As he does so, they turn into doves and fly away. The two trouble makers depart to cause more chaos amongst Ponyville for their enjoyment. "Ugh! I can't stand the thought of those two together!" Rarity exclaims. "Why don't you just tell Princess Celestia? She'll straighten things up!" Spike asked. "Oh but Spike, you know how much her approval means to him... remember last time he thought she was disappointed in him? He nearly spent 2 moons moping about it! I can't do that to him Spike... it would betray our friendship and crush him..." "Rarity, it's for his own good! He's gotta learn his lesson sometime..." Spike protested, secretly wanting to see him get told off by the princess. "Oh Spike... I... no! I musn't! Not unless someone gets hurt in their shenanigans..." Spike rolled his eyes. She was too generous for her own good at times, and he worried that someday it would cause some major trouble, if not today.
Rainbow was asleep on a single cloud isolated from the others, when suddenly she was woken up by the sounds of purring and barking. She sprang up "what in equestria is going on?!" She exclaimed. "Oh, RainbowDash! Thank goodness you're awake!" Discord started sarcastically. "You wouldn't believe it, but as of two minute ago it's been literally raining cats and dogs all over Ponyville!" "It really is quite unfortunate, so we immediately thought to come to our dear Pegasus friend Rainbowcrash to assist us! Oh please stop allowing this dastardly weather Rainbow! Think of the poor Earth ponies!" Star taunted. He stood on a cloud behind RainbowDash thanks to the spell Twilight taught him, allowing him to stand on clouds like pegasi. "Ugh! Discord, Star, why can't you go bother some other pony?!" Rainbow complained, "I don't know if you've realized, but I was just trying to get some peace and quiet!" "Please Rainbow, what is peace and quiet amongst friends?" Star taunted. "YOU shouldn't even be up here! Why can't you just stay on the ground where you belong?!" "Because I much rather be up here in the sky with my dear friend Rainbow" Star protested sarcastically. "Ugh! Get lost will ya?!" Rainbow yelled, "and get rid of your messed up weather while you're at it!" "Well, you heard the pony" said Discord, "get lost and then get rid of this chaos!" "Well, we must respect our friend's wishes then!" Star taunted, "so let us do as she says respectively!" And with that, the two of them disappear into thin air, leaving their mess behind. Rainbow growled, reluctantly flying over to gather some clouds to stifle the precipitation of pets.
The dynamic duo were strolling along Sweet Apple Achres. "Hasn't today been simply swell Star?" Discord inquired cheerfully. "Quite so, my friend! But the fun isn't over yet! I believe we have a scheduled meeting with the 'cutie mark crusaders' in a few moments, why don't we get the old clubhouse ready?" Star laughed. "What an excellent idea!" Discord confirmed. The two continued until they reached the tree house, which, luckily for them wasn't far. Upon entering the makeshift meeting house, Star immediately turned up his nose at the lack of acceptable decor. "Why, this simply won't do! Look around, Discord! There's not a photo here of me or you!" "Surely that's not all there is to be done! I mean, just standing here, it's quite clear that this old thing is lopsided!" Discord protested, flying to one side as if affected by the imaginary slant he spoke of. "We need a more ideal location! Why, how about on top of the Apple family barn!" Discord suggested. "Hah! Wouldn't that be grand! I agree!" Star said happily. The two of them got out of the tree house and immediately set to work on repositioning it.
***
Twilight and Spike walked around Ponyville, shocked at the sight of cats and dogs literally raining down from above. "What in Equestria is going on?!" She demanded. "I'll tell you what!" Rainbow said, angrily swooping down to her, "your friend Star and Discord got together and are causing some serious chaos again!" Twilight gasped. Although she didn't want to, she every word of it. "Well then we'll have to stop them before they turn Ponyville into the chaos capital of the world! Which way did they go?!" She asked impatiently. At that moment, Applejack, who happened to be nearby, dropped her apple cart in shock as she saw from a distance her younger sister's tree house floating over their family barn. "What in tarnation is going on o'er there?!" She demanded. Twilight turned to match her gaze. "Oh my gosh! We have to stop them before they make a mess of the Apple Farm!" Twilight insisted. "Come on Spike! Applejack! Starstudent and Discord are the ones doing it! You have to help us stop them!" She begged. "Heh, y'all don't have to tell me twace!" Applejack agreed, and together they galloped over to the site, but before they could make it, the two jokers had finished this endeavor and had already left for their next exciting project.
***
It was beginning to grow dark, but that didn't bother Star and Discord. They could have their fun any time of day. "Say Discord," Star began as they approached Fluttershy's cottage, "what would you get if you crossed a bear and a bunny?" "What a wonderful idea! Why don't we find out?" Discord replied excitedly. Star quickly found a bunny which he took hold of with his magic, bringing it over to discord who was, likewise, leading a bear over. Once together, the two combined their magic on the animals before the bear could maim them or before the bunny could flee in order to fuse the two creatures together. The combination of the two former a huge rabbit, about half the original size of the bear. However, as the two of them quickly found out, the creature took after the bear as far as its roar, claws, and teeth. "Oh my, that is a beast!" Star declared nervously backing up. "I'll admit, this one's more fierce than I anticipated. Oh well!" Discord yawned loudly, "well, all this fun has worn me out. Hope we can get together again soon Star!" And with that, the deranged Dragon disappeared. "What?! How could you leave me here?!" Star called out, breaking into a run from the creature.
The lights in the cottage came on, and Fluttershy shyly opened her door, dressed in her pajamas. "Oh my goodness, what's going on?" She asked quietly, but with noticeable panic in her gentle voice. "Help me!!" Star called out. "Oh, um.. ok!" Fluttershy replied, nervously fluttering over to the beast and tapping it on the shoulder. Before she could speak, it turned and roared loudly in her face. Her eyes widened, her wings closed up, and she quickly began running away with Star until it had cornered them both against a thorny bush. Just as soon as they thought they were goners, a great orb of light shown above them in the air, casting its light upon the beast, causing it to transform back into a bunny and bear.
The initial relief of the rescue did not last long however. "Starstudent!!" Princess Celestia's powerful voice echoed from above them. Star was overcome with terror almost twice as much as the previous, quickly sinking to the ground, burrying his face in his hooves as the regal Princess descended to the ground in front of him, the brilliant light fading slightly. The other 6 approached the scene from behind her, being the ones who summoned her. "Y-your majesty..." Star began. "I-..." he uncovers his face and begins tearing up, overwhelmed with guilt. "I won't ask you to forgive me... nor will I expect you to... and... I have nothing you can take from me... so I..." he rose to his feet, bowing his head in shame, "I'll accept the punishment I deserve... you may banish me wherever you see fit... it's not like I have a home here to be banished from anyways..." Star sobbed quietly. His friends gasped. "Wait!... you mean, all this time, you didn't have a home?" Rainbow asked in disbelief. Star shook his head. "Aww Star, is that why..." Applejack began, tearing up as well, "I caught you sleeping in my barn that one morning?" "Yes..." Star replied quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you... I just didn't want anypony worrying about me, that's all..." The others had a look of deep concern on their faces, all except for the princess, who's scolding glare had transformed into a sympathetic smile. "Starstudent," she began softly, "you deliberately disobeyed my order to stay away from Discord, but I forgive you." She gently decreed. "N-no your majesty... please, I'm not worthy of your forgiveness..." She stepped forward, putting an arm around him. He flinched as she did so. "No Starstudent," she insisted "as long as you truly want to be forgiven, you will never be unworthy of my forgiveness". With that, Star smiled wiping the tears from his eyes and bowing to her once more. "Thank you, your majesty!" He respectfully replied. She smiled and nodded at him, then turned to the other 6. "I am needed back in Canterlot. I trust you 6 to correct any remaining issues. I look forward to hearing about your progress in a letter." She said before ascending and disappearing in a brilliant flash.
Twilight and the others gathered around Star who was noticeably uncomfortable in their presence after his actions. "Starstudent..." Twilight began "you should've just told us you didn't have a home..." "It's not an issue Twilight, honestly. I prefer sleeping outdoors anyways!" Star protested innocently. "But it gets so cold out some nights!" Rarity insisted. "And that's not even considering the fact that Winter's coming up!" Pinkie argued. "Why it'll be snowing outside soon, which will be TOTALLY AWESOME!! But it would be totally NOT awesome if you're freezing to death out there!!" She continued. "Listen Sugarcube, why don't ya just live in our family barn for now?" Applejack suggested. Rarity gasped at such an offer. "Applejack!! How could you even offer such a thing?! Living in a barn! Why that's SO insulting!!" She protested. "I didn't mean it as an insult Rarity!" Applejack shot back. "I just meant it to be an alternative to sleeping outside! Besides, I didn't hear you offer any suggestions!" She argued. "Well I would love to have Star stay with us, only... well..." Rarity began nervously. "I know, I know, but I can't because I'm a Stallion, not a Mare, and that would simply not work under any condition with any of you..." Star said. The others looked uneasy, knowing he made a point, but still unwilling to give up on finding him a suitable home. "Please, we can talk about this more tomorrow morning, but it's getting late.. I'll be fine tonight, the temperature outside is actually really nice!" Star protested. Twilight was still uncomfortable allowing him to sleep outside, but she knew it was out of her power. "Well... alright Star. We'll get this problem solved first thing tomorrow morning, alright?" She said smiling. "Thank you Twilight" Star replied, also smiling. The friends brought it in for a group hug, then went back to their homes.
Applejack stayed up a few minutes after getting home, watching out the window, pondering on the thought that Star had been homeless all this time. She focused more intently as she saw the silhouette of a stallion walking over, then laying down under one of her apple trees.
After a few moments of watching him peacefully dose off, she grabbed a blanket and went outside, quietly approaching her homeless friend. She gently laid the blanket on him before going back inside and going to sleep herself. Starstudent couldn't help but smile and blush slightly. It was then he realized, home is where your heart is.
