Life New and Oldby thebosscamachoChaptersAn Important History LessonVillainyPublic RelationsWhat Friends are ForAn Important History LessonDress making with Rarity. Animal watching with Fluttershy. Flying with Rainbow Dash. Applebucking with Applejack. Baking with Pinkie Pie. Studying with Twilight Sparkle and Spike. The past few days had been the happiest of my life. I guess I really had forgotten just how good it felt to have to a friend at all. Still, hanging out with these ponies made me see them as just that, ponies. Average, everyday ponies. But Twilight showed me just what happened if these ponies weren't friends, or least if the rainboom didn't happen. Even now, it just didn't add up. How can one group of friends be so important to Equestira. I knew that it was because of the rainboom that Twilight and her friends got their cutie marks at once. Evidently, the story did not stop there, and I needed to know the rest. "Twilight, can I ask you something?" The princess looked up from book. "Of course Starlight." "You know how you showed me that wasteland with the time travel spell? I need to know just what you and your friends did that's so important to Equestria." Twilight closed her book and sighed. "That's a rather long story. Is it alright if I just show you?" "Yes" "Good, because I've been wanting to try out this spell." Twilight walked up to me. "What kind of spell?" "A spell that allows the cast to project memories. I'm going to show you mine. In them are the answers you seek." Twilight explained and began to cast the spell. A screen showing a picture of a grassy field with large buildings in the distance appeared . "What it that place?" I asked. "The campus of Celestia's school for gifted unicorns." Twilight replied. "Really? I wonder if you can see Sunburst from here?" I asked, looking out for him. "Starlight, focus please." "Right, sorry." "Look." the screen showed a tree on a hill. A familiar looking unicorn was reading a book under it. "Wait, is that...?" I wondered in astonishment. "Yep, that's me. Before I became a princess. You'll find I was a very different pony then." Unicorn Twilight got up and ran toward the school buildings. The display screen followed suit. She eventually met a group of three students. "There you are, Twilight! Moon Dancer is having a little get-together in the west castle courtyard. You wanna come?" one asked. "Oh, sorry, girls... I've got a lot of studying to catch up on." Unicorn Twilight replied. Those worlds seemed to have cut deep, since alicorn Twilight made a somber face when she heard them. Unicorn Twilight ran off again. I couldn't believe what I just saw. Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship had been anti-social! The student who spoke sighed. "Does that pony do anything except study? I think she's more interested in books than friends." "Friends? I thought those ponies where business associates of yours." I said astonished. Twilight looked confused for a moment. "I met those ponies when I was a filly, but I got so caught up in my studies, I forgot about them and left them behind without a second thought." Twilight cracked a small smile. "I still can't believe how understanding they were after all those months." Unicorn Twilight ran up the stairs to the top of a tall tower. She burst into the room and started looking through various books. Spike finally gave her the one she wanted. "Ah! Elements, Elements, E, E, E... Aha! Elements of Harmony, see: Mare in the Moon?" "Elements of Harmony?" I asked. I had heard of the Mare in the Moon legend, but not of these. "Yes, powerful artifacts that serve as Equestria's greatest defense. They can only be wielded by a select few. Like, a group of ponies who have a special connection." Twilight put in. I turned to her. "The Rainboom." I said quietly. What I though was an isolated incident of little consequence was beginning to grow into something big. So much so it changed Equestria forever, even if the effects weren't felt right away. So big, the safety of all of Equestria was at risk without the rainboom. "What about the other girls? And just what else does the mare in the moon have to do with this?" "We'll see the other girls later on, but first, what do you know of Princess Luna's return?" Twilight asked. "Not much, I just heard Celestia had a sister all this time and that she was recently reunited with her." Twilight pointed back to her memory of younger self. She was telling Spike what write to Princess Celestia. They got a response almost immediately. Spike read it out-loud. The response was apparently not what Twilight was expecting at the time. "I'm going to fast-forward my memory to a more important part." We watched as Unicorn Twilight and Spike flying a chariot to Ponyville. "This is when I first came to Ponyville." Twilight said wistfully. Unicorn Twilight and Spike went around Ponyville checking on the preparations for the summer sun festival, meeting familiar faces along the way. Then came to a treehouse library, where a party was waiting for them. "You didn't seem to like your friends very much." I commented. "No, but I didn't know them very well back then. What happens next would change that." Twilight replied. The memory now showed all of Ponyville waiting for Celestia to raise the sun. But the princess never came, instead a dark armored alicorn appeared in her place. "Who is that?" I asked. "That is Nightmare Moon. She was Celestia's sister Luna, corrupted by an evil known as the Nightmare Forces. Her goal was to bring eternal night." Twilight answered. "But that would kill all of Equestria, the whole world even!" "I know. Which is why I had to do something to stop her." Unicorn Twilight was running back to library, followed by the mares she had met before. "Thank goodness I didn't have to do it alone." Unicorn Twilight was now reading about the elements of harmony. She and her future friends then left the library to the Everfree forest. We watched as the group made their way to the old castle, and trials they faced along the way. Finally, they arrived. Twilight found the elements, but couldn't make use of them, and was forced to face Nightmare Moon on her own, who then seemingly destroyed them. When her new friends came in, there was a spark in her eyes, and she gave speech about friendship. Shattered pieces from the elements began to surround each pony as she spoke. The pieces then formed necklaces and a large tiara for Twilight. In a blinding flash, a large rainbow descended on Nightmare Moon, leaving a alicorn filly in it's place. Celestia herself showed up and embraced her long lost sister. I stared in amazement. "I...have...have you needed to used the elements since then?" I asked. Twilight changed the memory, showing me various time when various villains tried to take over Equestria, only to be stopped by Twilight and her friends. Seeing all of this, now it wasn't so hard to imagine the wasteland Twilight had showed me coming to be. Twilight stopped the projection and the screen disappeared. I just stood there, taking it all in. "I shouldn't have messed with time." I said finally. "Hindsight is 20/20." Twilight said simply. "Twilight, do you think was I really that much of a threat to Equestria?" The princess pondered this for a moment. "Come with me." she said. "Where are we going?" "Back to that little town you started." Villainy"Do we really have to go there?" I asked. "If you want the answer to your question, yes." Twilight replied. The train came to a stop and we got off. Needless to say, I was pretty nervous. "Don't worry, with me here, they'll open up." Twilight assured me as we approached the town. I could see Double Diamond, Sugar Belle, Party Favor, and Night Glider in front of the nearest house. Night Glider turned to us. "Hey, it's Princess Twilight," she scowled, "And she brought Starlight." "It's okay, my new student has learned her lesson and will behave herself." Twilight said casually, a surprised look forming on their faces. "How are you here?" Double Diamond asked suspiciously. "I will get to that, but first, I need you to answer some questions for me." Twilight answered, "Double Diamond, can everypony ski as well as you can?" "No." "Sugar Belle, can everypony bake as well as you can?" "No." "Party Favor, can everypony throw a party as well as you can?" "Nope." "Can everypony fly as well as you can Night Glider?" "Heck no!" "Notice a pattern there, Starlight?" Twilight asked me. I raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Not everypony can do everything as well as everpony else." "Right, and because of that...?" Twilight gestured for me to finish the sentence. I though about it for a moment. Originally, I thought our differences would jeopardize friendships, so I came up with a spell to rid ponies of them. A looked around me showed that the village was doing better than when I was the mayor. The ponies were genuinely happy, and looking healthier than when they had the equality marks on. Comparing that to my memories of my time here, using the equality marks to suppress everyone down, it was clear that my village was failing and slowly falling apart. Then I remembered that speech Twilight had started that I interrupted. "Everypony has unique talents and gifts, and when we share them with each other, that's how rea—" "We have to share our different talents with each other to make a functioning society. Because nopony can be good at everything, we share what we are good at with those who aren't so skilled in those fields to get we need as a whole. So long as everypony does their part, everypony is happy. " "The same is true friendships. A real friendship is one where ponies can and will embrace their differences. Sure, they may disagree on certain things, but a true friendship is strong than that. In a true friendship, those ponies would be willing to hear each other out and understand the opposing viewpoints. Now Starlight, what happens if you try to get rid of the differences?" "If everypony was lowered to the lowest common denominator, nopony would excel at anything. Society will fall apart because nopony can do anything well." I gasped. "The village would have failed sooner or later, and I wanted to spread my ideology across all of Equestria!" So that was it. I really was as great a threat to Equestria as Nightmare Moon, or any one of those other guys Twilight showed me. I hung my head in shame. So imagine my surprise when I feel a hoof wrap around my back, followed by the warmth of four other bodies. Nopony needed to say anything. After a moment, Sugar Belle spoke up. "Starlight, what happened after we cased you to that mountain?" "I had traversed the tunnel system of that mountain before I found this little village. After I went in, I found my way out on the other side easy enough. I was angry that Princess Twilight and her friends ruined what I had created. Driven by revenge, I spent the next few months stalking Twilight and her friends." "Stalking us?" "Remember when you and those other ponies were in that restaurant in Canterlot? I was there, hiding behind a menu. Since you were a princess, I knew I'd find you there sooner or later. Of course, imagine my surprise when you and Pinkie Pie boarded the train for Ponyville after the party for that Moondancer pony. Then I saw that big castle you're living in and stayed in Ponyville. I saw that weekend your friends spent with that Discord character you missed out on, and the aftermath was delicious." "I'm sure." Twilight replied, a look of revelation crossing her face. "He was one of the baddies who tried to take over Equestria though. I was surprised to see him in that memory you showed me. What's the deal?" "We got him to reform. Well, Fluttershy got him too. It took a while for the rest of us to warm up to him, but Equestria wasn't made in a day." Twilight chucked "He even taught me a thing or two about friendship after my coronation." "The princess of friendship still having to learn about friendship?" I asked. "Absolutely. Who knows? Maybe you'll teach me something about friendship in the near future." "I doubt that." "You never know, Starlight." Twilight said with a wink. "Speaking of reforming, how did you get Starlight to change her mind?" Sugar Belle asked. Twilight spent the next hour describing her ordeal caused by me. I couldn't believe all the terrible futures I had caused. Eyebrows were raised when she got to the part about Sunburst. "Wait, Starlight started a this cult to make everypony equal because her friend moved away?" Night Glider asked incredulously. "Oh sure, it's easy to criticize from the outside. I was a foal at the time facing a problem like that for the first time with nopony to turn to. My parents? Nowhere to be found. Sunburst got into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns when he got his cutie mark. Did I ever see him again? No. Why is that? Because with an education like his, he's some big important wizard somewhere. And there I was, left with nothing. What was I suppose to conclude from that?" I replied. "You could have written to him." "Yes, because that never occurred to me. Too bad it was too late by the time it had." "So you decide that's good enough reason to declare war on cutie marks. I wonder what he would say." "But that's just what made me change my mind. Twilight gave me a speech about how all friendships are important to Equestia, and that there are other ponies I could met and befriend. I realized that odds are, Sunburst had done this very thing, and that he would have nothing nice to say about what I have become." It was silent for a moment. Then Party Favor spoke up. "Well, since your a changed pony, let's have a party to celebrate your return. It'll give everypony a chance to hear you out." I smiled. "That'd be nice." "I think I speak for everypony when I say you'll always have a home here if things don't work out under Princess Twilight's tutelage. Unless you decide to go back to your old ways." Double Diamond added. "Thanks guys." I thought I saw a look of concern out of the corner of my eye on Twilight's face when he had said it, but it was gone as quick as it had come. "Everything okay Princess?" "Yes, let's just enjoy the party." she replied shorty. "If Pinkie is anything to go by, I'll bet Party Favor already has it set up." She was right. Public RelationsBefore I knew it, it was the weekend. I suspected Twilight wouldn't be as busy with her royal duties today and we'd begin our lessons. "Twilight!?" I called, walking through the big halls. "In here!" she replied, opening a door. I ran down the hall until I came to the open door and looked inside. Twilight was packing a saddlebag. "What are you doing?" I asked. "I'm going to Canterlot. Did I tell you about the time I went to an alternate universe?" I shook my head. "Remind me too. Anyway, this universe had many technologies I think would be beneficial for Equestria. As such, I've been trying to reverse engineer them from memory for some time now and would like to discuss there integration into society with Princess Celestia. I even have some working protypes to show her." "What kind of technologies are these?" "Little writing tools that have the ink inside them called pens if I remember correctly, mobile communication devices you can take anywhere, and even the ability to manipulation photographs on a computer." "Computer?" "I wasn't very familiar with them myself, and there are so expensive that's it rare to see anypony with one. I intend to find a way to sell them cheaply, along with everything else I saw in that other world." "That sounds amazing." "And all of it was in a world that does not have magic. Could you believe that?" "No way! Really?" "Really." Twilight paused for a moment. "I wouldn't be able to start your lessons for while. After this, I need to read up on teaching." "You made me your student without any experience in teaching?" I asked shocked. "No, but I was teaching foals some new skills. Teaching an adult pony is something else entirely." "Alright. I'll see if any of the girls want to hang out." I sighed. "What's wrong?" "Nothing, it just that... this reminds me of the time back when I was a foal. Sunburst and I would plan to do something for the weekend, then something cool would tease his curiosity, and we'd end up researching that instead." I paused. "Sometimes I wonder where he is now." A thoughtful look crossed Twilight's face. "Would you reunited with him if you had the chance?" "Well, yes," I replied hesitantly. "Why?" "Just asking." Twilight answered, putting her saddlebag on and walking to a balcony. "I'll be back tomorrow. Spike will be here if you or anypony else need anything." "Okay." Twilight flapped her wings and took off with a jump. I watched as she disappeared into the distance, then turned and eventually found my why out of the castle after some trial and error. Once outside, I made my way into town. As I walked, I noticed ponies stopped and whispered among themselves when they saw me. "Starlight darling, over here!" I heard Rarity call. I turned to face her, and found her with Applejack. I walked over. "Hey Rarity, Applejack, what's up?" I asked. "We're going to the spa, would you like to come with us?" Rarity replied. "Sure, but I didn't take you for a pony who liked the spa, Applejack." "I would usually go with Fluttershy, but she's off visiting Discord this weekend, so I thought my beloved here would be happy to go with me." Rarity said, nudging Applejack. "What about Spike?" I asked. "He wouldn't come near the place after his deep tissue massage. I really should have warned them about that." Rarity replied regrettably. "Ah don't blame him. Ah'd just don't feel comfortable doing all the fru-fru stuff." Applejack added. "It'd help if you came along." "Understandable." I replied, and the two herdmates led the way. As we went, the whispers started again, only this time with surprised faces. "Do you know why they are whispering?" I asked quietly. Rarity looked uneasy. "Well, news got out about Princess Twilight Sparkle now having a student, and naturally ponies wanted to know about them..." "But somepony stuck their muzzle where it didn't belong and got the dirt on you." Applejack finished. I felt my left twitch. "It's okay, it's okay. I can still salvage this situation." I giggled. "Calm down, gal." Applejack soothed, "We've seen a look like that before and it didn't end well." "Indeed, to this day I still wonder how we could have been so inconsiderate to Twilight like that." Rarity added. "But what am I going to do? Nopony will even come near me now!" I said worriedly. "Maybe we can change that." Rarity put in with a sly smile. We soon arrived at the spa. Rarity walked up to a window where a light purple mare with a pink mane. "Hello Lavender, we'll have the usual. Also, I need to speak to Lotus or Aloe." "Of course, miss Rarity." Lavender replied, walking off, "You'll be seen to shortly." We took a seat in the waiting room. Soon, a blue mare with pink hair approached. "Rarity!" She cried joyfully. She approached Rarity and kissed her on either cheek. "So good to see you." "And you." Rarity replied. The blue mare turned to Applejack, a bit surprised. "Miss Applejack, glad to have you again." she said, hugging AJ instead. She turned to me. "Hello miss..." She frowned when she got a good look at me. "Lotus Blossom, aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Rarity asked accusingly. "Of course, welcome to Ponyville Spa. Any friend of Rarity's is a friend of ours. I assume you are Starlight Glimmer, Princess Twilight's new student." "Yep, that's me." "Is it true that took ponies cutie marks?" Lotus asked. "Lotus!" Rarity scolded. "Forgive me, I merely wanted to know the truth. There are many rumors about you going about." Lotus added. "That's okay. Yes, it's true. Princess Twilight showed me who wrong I was. I've been trying to change ever since." I replied. "Actually Lotus, I think you would help her with that. I believe Starlight needs a new look. Something that says, I'm approachable." Rarity put in. Lotus looked at me. "I do see something. Nothing big, just an adjustment to your manestyle." "Wonderful, trust me Starlight, this will do wonders for your image." Rarity added. "I guess." I replied doubtfully. "We'll see soon enough. Come, it's time for your treatment." Lotus said, leading us into the building. "It's pretty crowded in here." I commented. "It does my heart good to see more ponies appreciate the services a spa can offer." Rarity replied as our treatments began. "What do you think?" Lotus asked, holding a mirror to my face. I gazed at my reflection. It was such a small change to my mane, yet I wouldn't have recognized myself if I had not seen her work on me. "I like it. I feel like a new pony." "Glad you like it." Lotus said happily. I got up and walked out the room. Applejack and Rarity were talking when I got there. "Ah really enjoyed that." Applejack said sheepishly. "I knew you would." Rarity replied somewhat smugly. "Do ya think we can do it again sometime?" Applejack asked. "Of course Darling. You just tell me when you're available." Rarity answered. Then she noticed me "Starlight, you look like a whole new pony." "I feel like one. In fact, I feel I can show my face to the world again." I confessed. "A new look does tend to do that." Rarity conceded. "Come dear, let's show Equestria the new you." What Friends are ForSunburst A few weeks after the royal crystalling I got off the train. As per his letter, Sunburst was waiting for me. "Sunburst!" I cheered, rushing over and embracing him. "Nice to see you again, Starlight." Sunburst replied. "Same here. How's being royal crystaller working for you." "It's been fine, so far. Flurry Heart hasn't been as troublesome since her crystalling." Sunburst replied, leading me to the castle. "Good to here." It was silent for a moment. I struggled to think of something to say. "Your letter said you wanted to discuss the time travel spell." "When we get to my quarters." Sunburst replied. "However, there is the matter of starting a cult and using time travel to mess with history." "It's not pretty." "I expected that." Despite this, he showed me some notable sights as we made our way to the castle. Eventually, we made it to the castle. "I just need to check on Flurry Heart." Sunburst lead me to her room. Inside, the little foal was sleeping soundly. "I still can't believe she's an alicorn." I said in disbelief. "Neither can the princesses." Sunburst added. "I've been trying to figure out how it's possible. My current hypothesis is that Cadance's accession to alicornhood altered her DNA." "Sounds interesting." "I'll let you where that investigation leads." Sunburst lead me out of the room and into a nearby study with a bed. "Welcome to my new home." "It's not to different from you old place." "What can I say. Now, shall we get the unpleasantness out of the way?" I explained everything to him. By the time I finished, he had an ashamed look on his face. "All that, just because I left town." "I never made another friend because I was so afraid of of losing them to a cutie mark. I didn't want anypony else to go through that. But over time, I lost sight of that and let the power that came with my "work" corrupt me. But, I know better now." "Indeed. Now, about the time travel spell." "Star Swirl's time travel spell was the basis for it. However, his spell only let the traveler stay for a few minutes at most. I discovered that this was because the spell needed a source of information of where and when they were going. This is because the spell utilizes the use of a space/time continuum stream. Using this knowledge, the spell opens a hole in said stream, and allows the traveler to travel along the stream to where and when they desire. The spell used the travelers mind for this function. However, the equine mind isn't very suited for the job due to limited knowledge of the world at the time, so the spell burns out quickly trying to keep them there. The magic map in Princess Twilight's castle proved to be powerful enough for the job since it had a more detailed description of the location and the history behind it, as well as the world at large." I paused for a moment. "Don't tell Twilight I told you that. I want to see the look on her face when she finds that feature for herself." Sunburst nodded. "I won't tell. All the same, that's ingenues. You probably would have gotten in Celestia's school for gifted unicorns with a mind like that, Starlight." I pondered. "Me? In Celestia's school for gifted unicorns? No way. Everything I knew about magic came from you at the time. You always had to simplify it for me when you showed me a new spell, remember? I highly doubt I'd know enough to get in." "Perhaps." Sunburst mussed to himself. Just then, Princess Cadance walked in. "Sunburst, you're relieved of duty..." She noticed me. "Starlight Glimmer, correct?" "Yes." "Sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances, and that you where nearly blasted." "That's okay." "If you're sure." She turned to Sunburst. "As I was saying, You are relieved of duty for today. I have the rest of the day free." "Thank you, princess." Cadance nodded and left. "I don't suppose you could show me that map." "Sure." I replied. Sunburst led me to the train station. He was actually surprised when he found out we would be going to Ponyville. But once he saw the castle, he understood. "Wow." "Yeah." "Is her highness home?" "No. She and her closest friends are having a spa day." When we reached the main room, saw that the table was bear. "What the?" I asked surprised. Sunburst walked over to it and looked it over. He even scanned it. "You were right." He said after a moment, "This map is a database and is indeed powerful. However, it's not working now because of your tampering with it for the time travel spell. You used it in a way it wasn't meant for, so it made itself inaccessible to prevent further abuse of it's power." "Oh." "It can be fixed, but your magic has be used if you want it to work again." "I'll tell Twilight. I'm sure we'll come up with something." I paused. "What was the map meant for?" "From what I can gather, it's magically linked to the whole planet, similar to how an earth pony has a connection to nature. The map uses this link to detect a certain kind of problem somewhere on the planet, determines who is best suited to deal with it, and calls those individuals to alert them via cutie mark, somehow." I stared. If that's how the girls found me, the irony was not lost. "We can start fixing the map now, if you like. I'm sure whatever we come with can help Princess Twilight." I smirked. "Okay, come with me." I responded, leading him out the throne room. "Where are we going?" He asked. I replied by opening the door, revealing a huge library. His mouth hung open. "OMC, is this Princess Twilight's personal collection?" "Indeed it is. I just hope she hasn't reorganized without telling me." "Cut her some slack. When your close to your books, how they are organized can get boring. Think of it like redecorating your room when your tired of how it currently looks." "You would know. Still, just like old times, right?" "Right. Now, I think the best place to start would be magic interference." Trixie Right after Trixie preforms the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive "Twilight, do you think we can still go that dinner?" I asked. Twilight's eye widened. "Yes, we should!" she exclaimed. We raced back to the castle as fast as we could. When we arrived at the castle, an annoyed Princess Celestia looked at us. I could see Twilight on the verge of a breakdown. Even now, she was struggling to say something. "Don't apologize, just tell me what's going on." she grunted flatly. While Twilight explained the situation, the three other guest excused themselves. When she had finished, Celestia was still not impressed. "Twilight, I expected better off you." "I know, I'm sorry." "No, you don't understand. I'm not upset about the dinner. I'm upset about your motivations." Twilight looked at her confused, and Celestia continued. "I want to spend an evening with my former student and get to know her student. Instead, you turned this dinner into an excuse to impress me. I thought you would have figured out by now you don't have to do that." Twilight looked stunned. "Prin...Celestia, I..."The purple alicorn hung her head. "Your right, I'm sorry. It's just that, after all you've done for me, how can I possibly see you as an equal?" "If that's the case, what did I make you a princess for?" Celestia asked. Twilight looked thoughtful. "Ponies always treat me like a god all the time. Just once in while, I want to be treated like everypony else. Is that took much to ask, Twilight?" "Celestia, I had no idea...actually, it does get annoying with ponies giving me special treatment all the time, I should have made the connection. You came to this dinner as a friend, not my teacher." Celestia smiled. "Glad we can finally put that behind us. Now," she turned to me, "You are Starlight Glimmer, correct? The one that brought Sunburst and helped us put the crystal heart back together?" "Yes." I replied. "I've heard much about you. Most of it was bad, unfortunately. However, your assistance at the Crystal Empire has not gone unnoted." "Good. At least I have that." "That's not all you have. Remember back in the village when I said you might teach me something about friendship, Starlight? Well, you taught me that it does not good holding a grudge against somepony for something they are repentant for." She turned to Trixie. "I should have given a chance. It's just that, you left after you apologized. That left doubts in my mind." "How so?" Trixie asked, intrigued. "A few weeks after you left, my friend Fluttershy was tasked with reforming an old enemy of ours. The rest of us didn't help because we held a grudge for what he did. She managed it in the end. Months later, Discord was tasked with stopping a new threat, but he betrayed us. Only after the fact did I realize if we all had taken the time to teach him about friendship, he probably wouldn't have done it. So now, I was left to wonder if you had stuck to it. You'd be a bad influence on my student if you hadn't, and that'd be the last thing I need." Trixie hummed thoughtfully to herself. "I see, still this Discord and I are different people. But, I guess you were in some regards, you were right to have...hesitations. I shouldn't have dwelled on the fact you were just better than me." "I'm not better than anyone. Pony or otherwise." Twilight replied. "You should have seen the moral low I sunk to earlier today." "You showed me up twice! Once at magic, and once at my own game. Could you blame me if I wanted to come out on top for once." Twilight considered. "Yes. However, I can understand were you're coming from. It seems none of us had the moral high ground today." Celesta chuckled. "The world is rarely as black and white as much as people would like it to be. Any position to take will have it's merits and shortcomings. Took me years to learn that." the white alicorn got up. "I should return to Canterlot now, it's late enough as it is." "Celestia, we can arrange another dinner if you like." Twilight offered. "I'd liked that." Celesia replied, and made her way to the door. "Good night, girls." She paused for a moment. "If you see Cranky again, tell him my hair does it naturally. He'll know what you're talking about." Twilight looked confused, but promise to do so and the sun princess took her leave. Twilight turned to Trixie again. "Would you like to stay the night? I have plenty of guest rooms." Trixie smiled. "A kind offer, Princess. I would very much like that." "For bragging reasons?" Twilight asked. "You can't expect me to change completely." Twilight chuckled. "I guess not. Starlight, show her to the one near yours. I'll teleport her things into the castle storage room." "Thank you, Twilight." Trixie replied, and turned to me. "Let's go." I nodded and led Trixie to the room. "You know, I'm not all that tired." Trixie looked at me. "If you wanted to swap stories, you could have asked." "I'm asking now." Trixie looked thoughtful "Alright." "Great," I said, opening the door to the room. "You can go first." "It started when I first came to Ponyville..." Trixie began. Author's Note I'll be honest, this started as a fix fic. I really didn't feel Twilight's speech near the end of the cutie remark would work. Plus, I really think it would have helped to show Starlight why the mane 6's friendship is so important. Showing her the consequences alone wouldn't work if she didn't understand how they got there. As season six began, I decided to expand from that.
An Important History LessonDress making with Rarity. Animal watching with Fluttershy. Flying with Rainbow Dash. Applebucking with Applejack. Baking with Pinkie Pie. Studying with Twilight Sparkle and Spike. The past few days had been the happiest of my life. I guess I really had forgotten just how good it felt to have to a friend at all. Still, hanging out with these ponies made me see them as just that, ponies. Average, everyday ponies. But Twilight showed me just what happened if these ponies weren't friends, or least if the rainboom didn't happen. Even now, it just didn't add up. How can one group of friends be so important to Equestira. I knew that it was because of the rainboom that Twilight and her friends got their cutie marks at once. Evidently, the story did not stop there, and I needed to know the rest. "Twilight, can I ask you something?" The princess looked up from book. "Of course Starlight." "You know how you showed me that wasteland with the time travel spell? I need to know just what you and your friends did that's so important to Equestria." Twilight closed her book and sighed. "That's a rather long story. Is it alright if I just show you?" "Yes" "Good, because I've been wanting to try out this spell." Twilight walked up to me. "What kind of spell?" "A spell that allows the cast to project memories. I'm going to show you mine. In them are the answers you seek." Twilight explained and began to cast the spell. A screen showing a picture of a grassy field with large buildings in the distance appeared . "What it that place?" I asked. "The campus of Celestia's school for gifted unicorns." Twilight replied. "Really? I wonder if you can see Sunburst from here?" I asked, looking out for him. "Starlight, focus please." "Right, sorry." "Look." the screen showed a tree on a hill. A familiar looking unicorn was reading a book under it. "Wait, is that...?" I wondered in astonishment. "Yep, that's me. Before I became a princess. You'll find I was a very different pony then." Unicorn Twilight got up and ran toward the school buildings. The display screen followed suit. She eventually met a group of three students. "There you are, Twilight! Moon Dancer is having a little get-together in the west castle courtyard. You wanna come?" one asked. "Oh, sorry, girls... I've got a lot of studying to catch up on." Unicorn Twilight replied. Those worlds seemed to have cut deep, since alicorn Twilight made a somber face when she heard them. Unicorn Twilight ran off again. I couldn't believe what I just saw. Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship had been anti-social! The student who spoke sighed. "Does that pony do anything except study? I think she's more interested in books than friends." "Friends? I thought those ponies where business associates of yours." I said astonished. Twilight looked confused for a moment. "I met those ponies when I was a filly, but I got so caught up in my studies, I forgot about them and left them behind without a second thought." Twilight cracked a small smile. "I still can't believe how understanding they were after all those months." Unicorn Twilight ran up the stairs to the top of a tall tower. She burst into the room and started looking through various books. Spike finally gave her the one she wanted. "Ah! Elements, Elements, E, E, E... Aha! Elements of Harmony, see: Mare in the Moon?" "Elements of Harmony?" I asked. I had heard of the Mare in the Moon legend, but not of these. "Yes, powerful artifacts that serve as Equestria's greatest defense. They can only be wielded by a select few. Like, a group of ponies who have a special connection." Twilight put in. I turned to her. "The Rainboom." I said quietly. What I though was an isolated incident of little consequence was beginning to grow into something big. So much so it changed Equestria forever, even if the effects weren't felt right away. So big, the safety of all of Equestria was at risk without the rainboom. "What about the other girls? And just what else does the mare in the moon have to do with this?" "We'll see the other girls later on, but first, what do you know of Princess Luna's return?" Twilight asked. "Not much, I just heard Celestia had a sister all this time and that she was recently reunited with her." Twilight pointed back to her memory of younger self. She was telling Spike what write to Princess Celestia. They got a response almost immediately. Spike read it out-loud. The response was apparently not what Twilight was expecting at the time. "I'm going to fast-forward my memory to a more important part." We watched as Unicorn Twilight and Spike flying a chariot to Ponyville. "This is when I first came to Ponyville." Twilight said wistfully. Unicorn Twilight and Spike went around Ponyville checking on the preparations for the summer sun festival, meeting familiar faces along the way. Then came to a treehouse library, where a party was waiting for them. "You didn't seem to like your friends very much." I commented. "No, but I didn't know them very well back then. What happens next would change that." Twilight replied. The memory now showed all of Ponyville waiting for Celestia to raise the sun. But the princess never came, instead a dark armored alicorn appeared in her place. "Who is that?" I asked. "That is Nightmare Moon. She was Celestia's sister Luna, corrupted by an evil known as the Nightmare Forces. Her goal was to bring eternal night." Twilight answered. "But that would kill all of Equestria, the whole world even!" "I know. Which is why I had to do something to stop her." Unicorn Twilight was running back to library, followed by the mares she had met before. "Thank goodness I didn't have to do it alone." Unicorn Twilight was now reading about the elements of harmony. She and her future friends then left the library to the Everfree forest. We watched as the group made their way to the old castle, and trials they faced along the way. Finally, they arrived. Twilight found the elements, but couldn't make use of them, and was forced to face Nightmare Moon on her own, who then seemingly destroyed them. When her new friends came in, there was a spark in her eyes, and she gave speech about friendship. Shattered pieces from the elements began to surround each pony as she spoke. The pieces then formed necklaces and a large tiara for Twilight. In a blinding flash, a large rainbow descended on Nightmare Moon, leaving a alicorn filly in it's place. Celestia herself showed up and embraced her long lost sister. I stared in amazement. "I...have...have you needed to used the elements since then?" I asked. Twilight changed the memory, showing me various time when various villains tried to take over Equestria, only to be stopped by Twilight and her friends. Seeing all of this, now it wasn't so hard to imagine the wasteland Twilight had showed me coming to be. Twilight stopped the projection and the screen disappeared. I just stood there, taking it all in. "I shouldn't have messed with time." I said finally. "Hindsight is 20/20." Twilight said simply. "Twilight, do you think was I really that much of a threat to Equestria?" The princess pondered this for a moment. "Come with me." she said. "Where are we going?" "Back to that little town you started."
Villainy"Do we really have to go there?" I asked. "If you want the answer to your question, yes." Twilight replied. The train came to a stop and we got off. Needless to say, I was pretty nervous. "Don't worry, with me here, they'll open up." Twilight assured me as we approached the town. I could see Double Diamond, Sugar Belle, Party Favor, and Night Glider in front of the nearest house. Night Glider turned to us. "Hey, it's Princess Twilight," she scowled, "And she brought Starlight." "It's okay, my new student has learned her lesson and will behave herself." Twilight said casually, a surprised look forming on their faces. "How are you here?" Double Diamond asked suspiciously. "I will get to that, but first, I need you to answer some questions for me." Twilight answered, "Double Diamond, can everypony ski as well as you can?" "No." "Sugar Belle, can everypony bake as well as you can?" "No." "Party Favor, can everypony throw a party as well as you can?" "Nope." "Can everypony fly as well as you can Night Glider?" "Heck no!" "Notice a pattern there, Starlight?" Twilight asked me. I raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Not everypony can do everything as well as everpony else." "Right, and because of that...?" Twilight gestured for me to finish the sentence. I though about it for a moment. Originally, I thought our differences would jeopardize friendships, so I came up with a spell to rid ponies of them. A looked around me showed that the village was doing better than when I was the mayor. The ponies were genuinely happy, and looking healthier than when they had the equality marks on. Comparing that to my memories of my time here, using the equality marks to suppress everyone down, it was clear that my village was failing and slowly falling apart. Then I remembered that speech Twilight had started that I interrupted. "Everypony has unique talents and gifts, and when we share them with each other, that's how rea—" "We have to share our different talents with each other to make a functioning society. Because nopony can be good at everything, we share what we are good at with those who aren't so skilled in those fields to get we need as a whole. So long as everypony does their part, everypony is happy. " "The same is true friendships. A real friendship is one where ponies can and will embrace their differences. Sure, they may disagree on certain things, but a true friendship is strong than that. In a true friendship, those ponies would be willing to hear each other out and understand the opposing viewpoints. Now Starlight, what happens if you try to get rid of the differences?" "If everypony was lowered to the lowest common denominator, nopony would excel at anything. Society will fall apart because nopony can do anything well." I gasped. "The village would have failed sooner or later, and I wanted to spread my ideology across all of Equestria!" So that was it. I really was as great a threat to Equestria as Nightmare Moon, or any one of those other guys Twilight showed me. I hung my head in shame. So imagine my surprise when I feel a hoof wrap around my back, followed by the warmth of four other bodies. Nopony needed to say anything. After a moment, Sugar Belle spoke up. "Starlight, what happened after we cased you to that mountain?" "I had traversed the tunnel system of that mountain before I found this little village. After I went in, I found my way out on the other side easy enough. I was angry that Princess Twilight and her friends ruined what I had created. Driven by revenge, I spent the next few months stalking Twilight and her friends." "Stalking us?" "Remember when you and those other ponies were in that restaurant in Canterlot? I was there, hiding behind a menu. Since you were a princess, I knew I'd find you there sooner or later. Of course, imagine my surprise when you and Pinkie Pie boarded the train for Ponyville after the party for that Moondancer pony. Then I saw that big castle you're living in and stayed in Ponyville. I saw that weekend your friends spent with that Discord character you missed out on, and the aftermath was delicious." "I'm sure." Twilight replied, a look of revelation crossing her face. "He was one of the baddies who tried to take over Equestria though. I was surprised to see him in that memory you showed me. What's the deal?" "We got him to reform. Well, Fluttershy got him too. It took a while for the rest of us to warm up to him, but Equestria wasn't made in a day." Twilight chucked "He even taught me a thing or two about friendship after my coronation." "The princess of friendship still having to learn about friendship?" I asked. "Absolutely. Who knows? Maybe you'll teach me something about friendship in the near future." "I doubt that." "You never know, Starlight." Twilight said with a wink. "Speaking of reforming, how did you get Starlight to change her mind?" Sugar Belle asked. Twilight spent the next hour describing her ordeal caused by me. I couldn't believe all the terrible futures I had caused. Eyebrows were raised when she got to the part about Sunburst. "Wait, Starlight started a this cult to make everypony equal because her friend moved away?" Night Glider asked incredulously. "Oh sure, it's easy to criticize from the outside. I was a foal at the time facing a problem like that for the first time with nopony to turn to. My parents? Nowhere to be found. Sunburst got into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns when he got his cutie mark. Did I ever see him again? No. Why is that? Because with an education like his, he's some big important wizard somewhere. And there I was, left with nothing. What was I suppose to conclude from that?" I replied. "You could have written to him." "Yes, because that never occurred to me. Too bad it was too late by the time it had." "So you decide that's good enough reason to declare war on cutie marks. I wonder what he would say." "But that's just what made me change my mind. Twilight gave me a speech about how all friendships are important to Equestia, and that there are other ponies I could met and befriend. I realized that odds are, Sunburst had done this very thing, and that he would have nothing nice to say about what I have become." It was silent for a moment. Then Party Favor spoke up. "Well, since your a changed pony, let's have a party to celebrate your return. It'll give everypony a chance to hear you out." I smiled. "That'd be nice." "I think I speak for everypony when I say you'll always have a home here if things don't work out under Princess Twilight's tutelage. Unless you decide to go back to your old ways." Double Diamond added. "Thanks guys." I thought I saw a look of concern out of the corner of my eye on Twilight's face when he had said it, but it was gone as quick as it had come. "Everything okay Princess?" "Yes, let's just enjoy the party." she replied shorty. "If Pinkie is anything to go by, I'll bet Party Favor already has it set up." She was right.
Public RelationsBefore I knew it, it was the weekend. I suspected Twilight wouldn't be as busy with her royal duties today and we'd begin our lessons. "Twilight!?" I called, walking through the big halls. "In here!" she replied, opening a door. I ran down the hall until I came to the open door and looked inside. Twilight was packing a saddlebag. "What are you doing?" I asked. "I'm going to Canterlot. Did I tell you about the time I went to an alternate universe?" I shook my head. "Remind me too. Anyway, this universe had many technologies I think would be beneficial for Equestria. As such, I've been trying to reverse engineer them from memory for some time now and would like to discuss there integration into society with Princess Celestia. I even have some working protypes to show her." "What kind of technologies are these?" "Little writing tools that have the ink inside them called pens if I remember correctly, mobile communication devices you can take anywhere, and even the ability to manipulation photographs on a computer." "Computer?" "I wasn't very familiar with them myself, and there are so expensive that's it rare to see anypony with one. I intend to find a way to sell them cheaply, along with everything else I saw in that other world." "That sounds amazing." "And all of it was in a world that does not have magic. Could you believe that?" "No way! Really?" "Really." Twilight paused for a moment. "I wouldn't be able to start your lessons for while. After this, I need to read up on teaching." "You made me your student without any experience in teaching?" I asked shocked. "No, but I was teaching foals some new skills. Teaching an adult pony is something else entirely." "Alright. I'll see if any of the girls want to hang out." I sighed. "What's wrong?" "Nothing, it just that... this reminds me of the time back when I was a foal. Sunburst and I would plan to do something for the weekend, then something cool would tease his curiosity, and we'd end up researching that instead." I paused. "Sometimes I wonder where he is now." A thoughtful look crossed Twilight's face. "Would you reunited with him if you had the chance?" "Well, yes," I replied hesitantly. "Why?" "Just asking." Twilight answered, putting her saddlebag on and walking to a balcony. "I'll be back tomorrow. Spike will be here if you or anypony else need anything." "Okay." Twilight flapped her wings and took off with a jump. I watched as she disappeared into the distance, then turned and eventually found my why out of the castle after some trial and error. Once outside, I made my way into town. As I walked, I noticed ponies stopped and whispered among themselves when they saw me. "Starlight darling, over here!" I heard Rarity call. I turned to face her, and found her with Applejack. I walked over. "Hey Rarity, Applejack, what's up?" I asked. "We're going to the spa, would you like to come with us?" Rarity replied. "Sure, but I didn't take you for a pony who liked the spa, Applejack." "I would usually go with Fluttershy, but she's off visiting Discord this weekend, so I thought my beloved here would be happy to go with me." Rarity said, nudging Applejack. "What about Spike?" I asked. "He wouldn't come near the place after his deep tissue massage. I really should have warned them about that." Rarity replied regrettably. "Ah don't blame him. Ah'd just don't feel comfortable doing all the fru-fru stuff." Applejack added. "It'd help if you came along." "Understandable." I replied, and the two herdmates led the way. As we went, the whispers started again, only this time with surprised faces. "Do you know why they are whispering?" I asked quietly. Rarity looked uneasy. "Well, news got out about Princess Twilight Sparkle now having a student, and naturally ponies wanted to know about them..." "But somepony stuck their muzzle where it didn't belong and got the dirt on you." Applejack finished. I felt my left twitch. "It's okay, it's okay. I can still salvage this situation." I giggled. "Calm down, gal." Applejack soothed, "We've seen a look like that before and it didn't end well." "Indeed, to this day I still wonder how we could have been so inconsiderate to Twilight like that." Rarity added. "But what am I going to do? Nopony will even come near me now!" I said worriedly. "Maybe we can change that." Rarity put in with a sly smile. We soon arrived at the spa. Rarity walked up to a window where a light purple mare with a pink mane. "Hello Lavender, we'll have the usual. Also, I need to speak to Lotus or Aloe." "Of course, miss Rarity." Lavender replied, walking off, "You'll be seen to shortly." We took a seat in the waiting room. Soon, a blue mare with pink hair approached. "Rarity!" She cried joyfully. She approached Rarity and kissed her on either cheek. "So good to see you." "And you." Rarity replied. The blue mare turned to Applejack, a bit surprised. "Miss Applejack, glad to have you again." she said, hugging AJ instead. She turned to me. "Hello miss..." She frowned when she got a good look at me. "Lotus Blossom, aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Rarity asked accusingly. "Of course, welcome to Ponyville Spa. Any friend of Rarity's is a friend of ours. I assume you are Starlight Glimmer, Princess Twilight's new student." "Yep, that's me." "Is it true that took ponies cutie marks?" Lotus asked. "Lotus!" Rarity scolded. "Forgive me, I merely wanted to know the truth. There are many rumors about you going about." Lotus added. "That's okay. Yes, it's true. Princess Twilight showed me who wrong I was. I've been trying to change ever since." I replied. "Actually Lotus, I think you would help her with that. I believe Starlight needs a new look. Something that says, I'm approachable." Rarity put in. Lotus looked at me. "I do see something. Nothing big, just an adjustment to your manestyle." "Wonderful, trust me Starlight, this will do wonders for your image." Rarity added. "I guess." I replied doubtfully. "We'll see soon enough. Come, it's time for your treatment." Lotus said, leading us into the building. "It's pretty crowded in here." I commented. "It does my heart good to see more ponies appreciate the services a spa can offer." Rarity replied as our treatments began. "What do you think?" Lotus asked, holding a mirror to my face. I gazed at my reflection. It was such a small change to my mane, yet I wouldn't have recognized myself if I had not seen her work on me. "I like it. I feel like a new pony." "Glad you like it." Lotus said happily. I got up and walked out the room. Applejack and Rarity were talking when I got there. "Ah really enjoyed that." Applejack said sheepishly. "I knew you would." Rarity replied somewhat smugly. "Do ya think we can do it again sometime?" Applejack asked. "Of course Darling. You just tell me when you're available." Rarity answered. Then she noticed me "Starlight, you look like a whole new pony." "I feel like one. In fact, I feel I can show my face to the world again." I confessed. "A new look does tend to do that." Rarity conceded. "Come dear, let's show Equestria the new you."
What Friends are ForSunburst A few weeks after the royal crystalling I got off the train. As per his letter, Sunburst was waiting for me. "Sunburst!" I cheered, rushing over and embracing him. "Nice to see you again, Starlight." Sunburst replied. "Same here. How's being royal crystaller working for you." "It's been fine, so far. Flurry Heart hasn't been as troublesome since her crystalling." Sunburst replied, leading me to the castle. "Good to here." It was silent for a moment. I struggled to think of something to say. "Your letter said you wanted to discuss the time travel spell." "When we get to my quarters." Sunburst replied. "However, there is the matter of starting a cult and using time travel to mess with history." "It's not pretty." "I expected that." Despite this, he showed me some notable sights as we made our way to the castle. Eventually, we made it to the castle. "I just need to check on Flurry Heart." Sunburst lead me to her room. Inside, the little foal was sleeping soundly. "I still can't believe she's an alicorn." I said in disbelief. "Neither can the princesses." Sunburst added. "I've been trying to figure out how it's possible. My current hypothesis is that Cadance's accession to alicornhood altered her DNA." "Sounds interesting." "I'll let you where that investigation leads." Sunburst lead me out of the room and into a nearby study with a bed. "Welcome to my new home." "It's not to different from you old place." "What can I say. Now, shall we get the unpleasantness out of the way?" I explained everything to him. By the time I finished, he had an ashamed look on his face. "All that, just because I left town." "I never made another friend because I was so afraid of of losing them to a cutie mark. I didn't want anypony else to go through that. But over time, I lost sight of that and let the power that came with my "work" corrupt me. But, I know better now." "Indeed. Now, about the time travel spell." "Star Swirl's time travel spell was the basis for it. However, his spell only let the traveler stay for a few minutes at most. I discovered that this was because the spell needed a source of information of where and when they were going. This is because the spell utilizes the use of a space/time continuum stream. Using this knowledge, the spell opens a hole in said stream, and allows the traveler to travel along the stream to where and when they desire. The spell used the travelers mind for this function. However, the equine mind isn't very suited for the job due to limited knowledge of the world at the time, so the spell burns out quickly trying to keep them there. The magic map in Princess Twilight's castle proved to be powerful enough for the job since it had a more detailed description of the location and the history behind it, as well as the world at large." I paused for a moment. "Don't tell Twilight I told you that. I want to see the look on her face when she finds that feature for herself." Sunburst nodded. "I won't tell. All the same, that's ingenues. You probably would have gotten in Celestia's school for gifted unicorns with a mind like that, Starlight." I pondered. "Me? In Celestia's school for gifted unicorns? No way. Everything I knew about magic came from you at the time. You always had to simplify it for me when you showed me a new spell, remember? I highly doubt I'd know enough to get in." "Perhaps." Sunburst mussed to himself. Just then, Princess Cadance walked in. "Sunburst, you're relieved of duty..." She noticed me. "Starlight Glimmer, correct?" "Yes." "Sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances, and that you where nearly blasted." "That's okay." "If you're sure." She turned to Sunburst. "As I was saying, You are relieved of duty for today. I have the rest of the day free." "Thank you, princess." Cadance nodded and left. "I don't suppose you could show me that map." "Sure." I replied. Sunburst led me to the train station. He was actually surprised when he found out we would be going to Ponyville. But once he saw the castle, he understood. "Wow." "Yeah." "Is her highness home?" "No. She and her closest friends are having a spa day." When we reached the main room, saw that the table was bear. "What the?" I asked surprised. Sunburst walked over to it and looked it over. He even scanned it. "You were right." He said after a moment, "This map is a database and is indeed powerful. However, it's not working now because of your tampering with it for the time travel spell. You used it in a way it wasn't meant for, so it made itself inaccessible to prevent further abuse of it's power." "Oh." "It can be fixed, but your magic has be used if you want it to work again." "I'll tell Twilight. I'm sure we'll come up with something." I paused. "What was the map meant for?" "From what I can gather, it's magically linked to the whole planet, similar to how an earth pony has a connection to nature. The map uses this link to detect a certain kind of problem somewhere on the planet, determines who is best suited to deal with it, and calls those individuals to alert them via cutie mark, somehow." I stared. If that's how the girls found me, the irony was not lost. "We can start fixing the map now, if you like. I'm sure whatever we come with can help Princess Twilight." I smirked. "Okay, come with me." I responded, leading him out the throne room. "Where are we going?" He asked. I replied by opening the door, revealing a huge library. His mouth hung open. "OMC, is this Princess Twilight's personal collection?" "Indeed it is. I just hope she hasn't reorganized without telling me." "Cut her some slack. When your close to your books, how they are organized can get boring. Think of it like redecorating your room when your tired of how it currently looks." "You would know. Still, just like old times, right?" "Right. Now, I think the best place to start would be magic interference." Trixie Right after Trixie preforms the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive "Twilight, do you think we can still go that dinner?" I asked. Twilight's eye widened. "Yes, we should!" she exclaimed. We raced back to the castle as fast as we could. When we arrived at the castle, an annoyed Princess Celestia looked at us. I could see Twilight on the verge of a breakdown. Even now, she was struggling to say something. "Don't apologize, just tell me what's going on." she grunted flatly. While Twilight explained the situation, the three other guest excused themselves. When she had finished, Celestia was still not impressed. "Twilight, I expected better off you." "I know, I'm sorry." "No, you don't understand. I'm not upset about the dinner. I'm upset about your motivations." Twilight looked at her confused, and Celestia continued. "I want to spend an evening with my former student and get to know her student. Instead, you turned this dinner into an excuse to impress me. I thought you would have figured out by now you don't have to do that." Twilight looked stunned. "Prin...Celestia, I..."The purple alicorn hung her head. "Your right, I'm sorry. It's just that, after all you've done for me, how can I possibly see you as an equal?" "If that's the case, what did I make you a princess for?" Celestia asked. Twilight looked thoughtful. "Ponies always treat me like a god all the time. Just once in while, I want to be treated like everypony else. Is that took much to ask, Twilight?" "Celestia, I had no idea...actually, it does get annoying with ponies giving me special treatment all the time, I should have made the connection. You came to this dinner as a friend, not my teacher." Celestia smiled. "Glad we can finally put that behind us. Now," she turned to me, "You are Starlight Glimmer, correct? The one that brought Sunburst and helped us put the crystal heart back together?" "Yes." I replied. "I've heard much about you. Most of it was bad, unfortunately. However, your assistance at the Crystal Empire has not gone unnoted." "Good. At least I have that." "That's not all you have. Remember back in the village when I said you might teach me something about friendship, Starlight? Well, you taught me that it does not good holding a grudge against somepony for something they are repentant for." She turned to Trixie. "I should have given a chance. It's just that, you left after you apologized. That left doubts in my mind." "How so?" Trixie asked, intrigued. "A few weeks after you left, my friend Fluttershy was tasked with reforming an old enemy of ours. The rest of us didn't help because we held a grudge for what he did. She managed it in the end. Months later, Discord was tasked with stopping a new threat, but he betrayed us. Only after the fact did I realize if we all had taken the time to teach him about friendship, he probably wouldn't have done it. So now, I was left to wonder if you had stuck to it. You'd be a bad influence on my student if you hadn't, and that'd be the last thing I need." Trixie hummed thoughtfully to herself. "I see, still this Discord and I are different people. But, I guess you were in some regards, you were right to have...hesitations. I shouldn't have dwelled on the fact you were just better than me." "I'm not better than anyone. Pony or otherwise." Twilight replied. "You should have seen the moral low I sunk to earlier today." "You showed me up twice! Once at magic, and once at my own game. Could you blame me if I wanted to come out on top for once." Twilight considered. "Yes. However, I can understand were you're coming from. It seems none of us had the moral high ground today." Celesta chuckled. "The world is rarely as black and white as much as people would like it to be. Any position to take will have it's merits and shortcomings. Took me years to learn that." the white alicorn got up. "I should return to Canterlot now, it's late enough as it is." "Celestia, we can arrange another dinner if you like." Twilight offered. "I'd liked that." Celesia replied, and made her way to the door. "Good night, girls." She paused for a moment. "If you see Cranky again, tell him my hair does it naturally. He'll know what you're talking about." Twilight looked confused, but promise to do so and the sun princess took her leave. Twilight turned to Trixie again. "Would you like to stay the night? I have plenty of guest rooms." Trixie smiled. "A kind offer, Princess. I would very much like that." "For bragging reasons?" Twilight asked. "You can't expect me to change completely." Twilight chuckled. "I guess not. Starlight, show her to the one near yours. I'll teleport her things into the castle storage room." "Thank you, Twilight." Trixie replied, and turned to me. "Let's go." I nodded and led Trixie to the room. "You know, I'm not all that tired." Trixie looked at me. "If you wanted to swap stories, you could have asked." "I'm asking now." Trixie looked thoughtful "Alright." "Great," I said, opening the door to the room. "You can go first." "It started when I first came to Ponyville..." Trixie began. Author's Note I'll be honest, this started as a fix fic. I really didn't feel Twilight's speech near the end of the cutie remark would work. Plus, I really think it would have helped to show Starlight why the mane 6's friendship is so important. Showing her the consequences alone wouldn't work if she didn't understand how they got there. As season six began, I decided to expand from that.
