Feeling just a little bit left out...
Starlight Glimmer stood outside the center of town, staring with malice at the only creature that could ruin her day without a second thought.
Timberwolves.
It would be the only creatures from the Everfree Forest without sentience, that would dare to venture into town unprovoked on the last sunny day before the big storm the pegasi had to bring to Ponyville.
She had been planning a picnic with her new friends, but considering how important they thought it was to keep creatures like timberwolves out of Ponyville, they would likely be busy for a while. Leaving Starlight Glimmer to fend for herself.
Again.
She knew they didn't mean to exclude her from things like this, it was apparently just the cost of being friends with the Elements of Harmony. It was hard not to feel excluded though. It almost made her want to get revenge on those pathetic pieces of sticks that called themselves timberwolves...
No.
No, that wasn't her anymore. Starlight Glimmer had friends now. Ponies with friends shouldn't feel the need to take revenge on anything, even timberwolves. Even though they deserved it for ruining the picnic she had spent all week planning.
She sighed and set up the picnic blanket anyway, slowly and meticulously placing the food and drinks she had packed up around the blanket, looking up every few seconds to see if her friends had finished, then back down at her picnic, disappointed to see that they were still occupied.
“Hey Starlight!”
Starlight Glimmer looked up just as Twilight's assistant, Spike sat down on the corner of the blanket. She looked down at him in surprise, she hadn't actually invited him... or at least she didn't think she did, but she was in no situation to send him away. It seemed incredibly pathetic to be spotted sitting alone on a picnic blanket in one of the more crowded parts of town.
“Hey Spike. How are you?”
“I'm great! I've got a bowl full of gems, I finished all my chores at the castle, and it's a really nice day out! There's nothing that could make this day any better!” Spike exclaimed as he pulled out a bowl of rubies and started munching on the one that sat at the top of the pile.
“Well... I mean, wouldn't it be better if our friends weren't busy fighting timberwolves?” Starlight Glimmer asked, quickly pointing her hoof off into to the distance where they could faintly see the Elements of Harmony still battling against several very large and very angry timberwolves.
Spike shrugged. “I guess.”
“I mean ever since I joined you guys here in Ponyville, they've either been off doing whatever that stupid cutie map tells them to do or fighting monsters here in town,” Starlight started with a frown. She tried to keep calm, but her anger easily outweighed her desire to stay calm and collected. “And they never want my help for any of that because I'm not an Element of Harmony like they are!”
Starlight Glimmer stopped and took a deep breath, she hadn't meant to get so loud so quickly, but she was just so frustrated. She had lost a close friend once before, who's to say that her new friends weren't just using these monsters and cutie map trips as an excuse to spend less and less time with her? She wouldn't blame them if they were, after all, she hadn't even forgiven herself for everything she had done.
Spike took another ruby out of the bowl and chomped on it, clearly not sharing Starlight Glimmer's frustration with their shared group of friends.
“Spike, does it bother you that they are always doing stuff without you? Or do you ever feel out of the loop? It feels like the six of them are so close-knit there's no room for you or me or anypony else.” She asked.
“Eh, not really,” he responded between bites. “I mean sure the six of them are super close to each other, but that doesn't mean they don't have time for all their other friends. I've spent time with each of them individually, just because it wasn't at a party or at an invasion of some sort doesn't mean the time you spend with your friends isn't important. Besides, you can't spend every single waking moment with one group of friends, that's just silly.”
“So it doesn't bother you that they save Equestria and go off and do things and you're just sitting by yourself in Ponyville?”
“Nu-uh.”
“What about last week when Twilight and Pinkie Pie went off to solve a friendship problem?”
“Nope, I was busy reading comics and helping Rarity in her boutique that weekend.”
“What about two weeks ago when they had to go to Canterlot to help Princess Celestia with an imminent disaster?”
“Big Mac and I had a hoofball weekend! The big game was on so we followed that while we ate a ton of food that Twilight normally wouldn't let me eat! Plus we got to trade cards.” He leaned in to Starlight Glimmer's ear and whispered, “and between you and me, I sweet talked him out of one heck of a great card.” Before pulling away from the mare and adding, “It was a great weekend!”
“Oh,” Starlight said dejectedly. “I just sat at home, alone.”
“Well that's dumb,” Spike laughed, despite Starlight Glimmer's unamused expression. “Why would you do that when there are literally dozens of opportunities in Ponyville to have fun with lots of new friends?”
“What do you mean?” Starlight asked as she raised an eyebrow. “Our friends went to Canterlot without us! What else was I supposed to do?”
“Well... have you made any other friends here in Ponyville?”
She looked down at the checkered picnic blanket before finally saying, “I don't think the ponies here like me very much.” She took a deep breath and blinked back the tears that had started to prick at the corners of her eyes. “I know that Twilight and them have tried really hard, but I don't think the things I did were forgivable. So, I could understand why nopony is really interested in talking to me. I probably wouldn't want to talk to me if the horseshoe was on the other hoof,” she cried.
“Nopony has talked to you?” Spike asked, scratching his head. “That's strange, the ponies here are the nicest ones I've ever met! None of them have talked to you? Not even the cakes? Or Lyra and Bon-Bon? Or Cheerilee? Or...”
“No!” Starlight Glimmer interrupted. “Nopony here has talked to me unless the girls are around.”
Spike raised an eyebrow and looked at Starlight Glimmer. “It's just super weird to me that nopony here talks to you without Twilight and the girls, that's not at all what the ponies around here are like. Have you tried talking to some of them and getting to know them? You know, like one-on-one? That way when our friends are out of town you have new friends to hang out with! That's what I do.”
“How can I get to know them if they never talk to me?” Starlight cried.
“You could talk to them first. You know, walk up to them and start a conversation.”
Starlight cocked her head and looked at Spike inquisitively. “What do you mean? Why would I do that?”
“To... make new friends? It's never a bad idea to make new friends. Isn't that what Twilight's been telling you?”
“Yes, well... it isn't easy to make new friends you know! It took me years to make new friends!”
“Of course it's easy!” Spike responded. He looked around town and pointed Starlight in the direction of Ponyville's resident school teacher. “Look, there's Cheerilee over there, just go over and say hi! I'm sure she'd love to talk to you!”
Starlight Glimmer's eyes lit up. “You really think so?”
“Absolutely! And if it doesn't go the way you planned, you can always come back to the friends you already have!”
“Yea, I guess you're right,” she replied, feeling slightly more confident. Starlight Glimmer stood up and made her way over to Cheerilee.
Spike diligently watched over the picnic while Starlight was gone and upon seeing his friends, fresh from their scuffle with the native creatures of the forest, gestured for them to sit down with him among the pile of sweet treats Starlight Glimmer had put together.
“Hey girls, how are you doing?” he asked.
“Those timberwolves don't even know what hit them!” Rainbow Dash cheered, punching a hoof to the air.
The girls sat down on the ground around Spike and started to put together small plates of food, as they stretched out around the blanket.
“Did you set up this picnic, Spike?” Fluttershy asked. “Thanks ever so much!”
“Actually, Starlight Glimmer set it up. She went over to talk to Cheerilee, but she'll be right back, and maybe she'll bring some new friends with her!”
“It's so lovely to see her finally talking to ponies for once,” Rarity replied.
“I'll say. Usually she just kinda smiles when the townsponies try to talk to her and keeps movin' on,” Applejack added. “I'm sure they will be glad that her cold shoulder is finally thawin'.” The rest of the Elements, sans Twilight Sparkle, nodded along with Applejack's comment.
“Girls, please! We all know that it's been difficult for Starlight Glimmer to make new friends, it's not easy for some ponies, I'm sure we can all appreciate the strides she's making.”
The rest of the group agreed as they dug into their food.
“Hey... wait a minute,” Pinkie Pie piped up. “I thought Starlight Glimmer planned this picnic for the last sunny day before the storm. Isn't that tomorrow?”
“It's two days of free food with our best friends, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “Don't question it.”
Author's Note
Disclaimer: This was written while I had a little too much to drink and tidied up afterwards, so let me know if there are any grammar and/or spelling errors I missed. Thanks!
