Being Juniper Montage

Chapters

Prologue: The Meanest Girls
01: High School Highs
02: Pieces of a Work
03: The Gravity of the Situation
04: Twilight
05: Friendship Games
06: Just Add Nostalgia
07: Turning Back to the Future
08: Turning Back to the Future, Part II
09: Turning Back to the Future, Part III
10: Social Networking
11: Lone Stars
13: The New Hopefuls
12: Imitating Life Itself

Prologue: The Meanest Girls

A young girl trudged up one of Canterlot Park's hills, narrating to herself with imaginative purpose.

"Daring Do scales the grass-splotched incline with skill and grace! Normally, this would be child's play for the intrepid adventurer, but today, she's carrying precious cargo which cannot afford to withstand a single harsh impact!"

As she narrated, her mind's eye gradually projected the scene in front of her. Golden bricks, frayed and cracked by the ravages of time, lined the imaginary trail she walked. Harsh, thick jungle vines littered her field of view. As she made hacking motions with her arm, and swishing sounds with her mouth, her cutlass paved the way cleanly for her advance.

The girl smiled wide, excited by the challenge. She'd get the relic to the summit temple or die trying. She was Daring Do, after all.

She took more labored steps forward, planting her feet as solidly into the ground as she could. "So, she takes it slow. Slow and steady. Slow, and steady, and—"

"Montage!" A voice called from ahead of her. "We can still hear you back there! What did we discuss?"

The vines and bricks disappeared. Canterlot Cliffs rematerialized, the path upwards now grassy, mossy, and clear as day.

Juniper Montage sighed. The world was normal again. The world was boring again. She hid her disappointment through a chipper reply. "O-oh! Sorry, Suri! I'll be quieter."

Ceasing her speeches for the time being, Juniper could hear three of her classmates talking amongst themselves. Juniper also noticed their outfits. While she herself was wearing suitable beige hiking gear for the trip—along with her official Daring Do Adventurer's Hat, of course—their garments were more elaborate, more suited for a frivolous day on the town than strenuous nature walks.

Clearly only the most fashionable shirts, skirts and flares would satisfy those three. Juniper felt it was odd, but she wasn't about to object. Fleur, Suri, and Upper Crust were her closest friends—by which she meant, they tolerated her presence. Usually. Certainly not enough to invite her to their parties, but they did often allow her to carry their books between classes! Even that small of a privilege was more than she'd ever been able to hope for growing up. Juniper would truly miss them when the four inevitably parted for different high schools next year. She made a mental note to ask them in the near future what their next schools were, so they could all keep in touch.

"Ugh," Juniper heard Fleur saying. "I can't believe even our fathers couldn't get us out of this idiotic nature trip." She saw Upper Crust nod in agreement.

"Pfft. At least you two had a chance at that." Suri Polomare rolled her eyes. "My dad's always 'entrepreneur spirit' this and 'bootstraps' that. Meanwhile I've come up with three new designs this week and I can't show any of them off because I'm too busy wearing this brick of an outfit." Suri stomped her designer boot as the three reached the hill's peak. "Well, let's get this over with."

"Hey, wait up, girls!" Juniper called, gasping for breath. "I'm almost there!" She knew she couldn't fall behind. Not as an official Daring Do Apprentice! The official badge she was wearing right now was direct from the A.K. Yearling Foundation, and she was determined to live up to its standards!

The three girls looked behind themselves, and down the hill. "Ugh. And here comes the Cringe Queen," Juniper heard Suri mutter. Juniper wasn't offended—she admitted her own tendencies were a little silly. However, they were for greater causes! Movie stars were always eccentric. She was just accepting her lot in life early.

At last, Juniper reached the top of the hill. She dusted her hands, joined the other three, and dug into her bag. "Victory!" she said, taking out her video camera. "And now, the spoils."

"Oh my god, Montage," Upper Crust said, "tell me you did not bring that thing with you here."

"Of course, I did!" Juniper said, doing her best not to outright squeal from excitement. "Shots like these only come around once a year! This was the perfect day to come to Canterlot Cliffs!"

"Right, of course. On the brightest, hottest day of the summer," Fleur said, running a hand through her hair.

"You know it!" Juniper bounced. "That just makes today an authentic adventure right out of Daring Do and the Light of Justice! Have you read it? It's the best installment yet!"

"Sorry, I wouldn't know," Suri replied, with a smirk. "Oh, but my four-year-old niece might? My aunt took her to the bookstore on release day. She got to stand in line with all of the other children."

"Really? Then I might've seen her around that day." Juniper walked up to Suri, and held out her camera. "Can you help me take footage, Suri? This is the perfect place for capturing some adventure."

"Oh, I'm sure," Suri said, taking the camera. "Uh, so, what am I doing with this?"

"I'm going to go back down the hill a little. Film me as I come up, track me, and then pan out over the view past the cliffs, okay?" She walked back towards the slope. "Trust me, the footage will be epic!"

"Right. Epic," Suri said, as she and the other two girls giggled at each other.

Juniper picked up a long branch, went down the hill, then started climbing back up. She used the branch as a makeshift cane, poking the ground with every step.

"Daring Do was faced with the most vicious hill she had ever encountered in her entire career," she narrated again. "Not only was it steep, but she found herself surrounded by sun-scorched rock, terrible lizards, and stinging scorpions! Still, she continued, undeterred, for the treasure of Canterlot Cliffs belonged in a museum, not in Dr. Caballeron's grimy hands! Hey, Suri! Are you getting all this?"

"Every compelling moment, dear!" she heard Suri call back, amidst more laughter.

"Great! Undaunted, she takes it step by step, until she reaches the top!" Juniper said, planting her branch at the summit, then walking towards the cliff which would present a glorious view of Canterlot below. "The world is her oyster, and—" Passing Suri, she stole a glance at the camera, and her eyes went wide. "Hey! What gives?"

"Whoops!" Suri said, poking at the black piece of plastic covering the lens. "Looks like you gave the camera to me with the cap on. Understandable rookie mistake." Her sneer showed teeth.

"I did not!" Juniper said, hands on hips. "That would be a rookie mistake, and a rookie is the last thing I am!" She pulled off the lens cap and placed it back in its camera-mounted holder. "Geez. Now we're going to have to film it all over."

"Oh, don't worry, Juniper, dear," Suri said. "This situation will never come up again. I promise."

And with that, Suri let her hands go limp. The camera fell, hitting the ground hard, bouncing off its side, and rolling down the sloped incline.

"No!" Juniper cried, helpless as she watched it bounce off several rocks, spinning on the way down. Small parts of plastic, metal and glass flew off it with each impact. The three girls burst into laughter as Juniper scrambled down the hill as quickly as she could.

"Grow up, Montage! Drop the little kid stuff!" Suri shouted after her. "If you do, maybe in a few years you can shave off some of your weird creep factor! Except, you know, probably not!"

Juniper barely heard Suri's words, or the raucous laughter of the girls. The camera was all that was on her mind, all that she cared about, it was her first camera, it was her only camera, Uncle Canter had given it to her, there was more than just a failed field trip movie on that tape, it had diaries, casual footage, the makings of a demo reel, her life—

She made it to the bottom of the hill, whimpering as she pushed rocks aside, looking around for her camera. It didn't take long for her to find it. Or rather, what was left of it.

It had had no chance—it was absolutely smashed. She picked it up, and looked inside, hoping against hope that the tape wasn't ruined, but of course, it was. Cracks, snaps, holes, every type of damage she could think of had happened.

Her parents weren't going to be happy. Uncle Canter wasn't going to be happy. And they would have to take a number, because right now, she was downright miserable.

Why did she think things would have turned out differently? Why did she think those girls would have turned out any differently?

I was fooling myself this whole time. They didn't like me either. They never did. No one ever does.

She sat at the grassy base of the hill, feeling drops, but not caring as a storm slowly broke out over the city. She cradled the broken camera in her arms, refusing to care, refusing to crack, refusing to cry.

Right up until she did all three.

I can't do this again. Not anymore. No more 'friends'. It... just never works.

And in the midst of her crying, as the rain poured over her she heard a soft, melancholy voice echo through her thoughts:

"I deserve better."

Juniper looked up to the sky, the rain on her glasses blurring her view. Her hands balled into fists, resting on the muddy pavement.

"I deserve to be liked. I deserve to be a star..."

01: High School Highs

A girl in her late teens pointed her phone towards herself, narrating with energetic intensity the moment she saw her face appear on its screen.

"And... action! This is Juniper Montage, live on the scene at Canterlot High School—the place where dreams are made of and friendship flows like wine!"

She paused, and tilted her head. "Well, not really wine, of course, because none of us are of age," she said, laughing. "Anyway, I'm here with my tour-guide and all-around awesome gal, Twilight Sparkle!" Juniper turned the phone's camera view towards a glasses-wearing violet girl in a purple dress.

Twilight gave a shy wave. "Um, hi! I'm glad Juniper decided to take me up on my tour offer," she said, clutching her books in her hands. "I only hope she has as much fun here today as I do every day."

"That's the plan, Twilight," Juniper said. "So, without further ado, let's get this started! You walk, I'll point." She squealed. "One hundred percent synergy, am I right?"

True to her word, Juniper Montage took in the sights of Canterlot High School with her camera as she walked its halls. Twilight walked beside her, wasting no enthusiasm in pointing out every notable destination in painstaking detail.

"This is our wing of specialty rooms." Twilight pointed towards several doors as they turned into a new hallway. "Over here is Home Economics." Juniper looked to her left and saw students engaging in various cooking and baking activities.

Instantly Juniper's mind went to work, imagining a slice-of-life drama revolving around an elite, competitive cooking school. She smiled dreamily as her brain stormed and ideas assaulted her, as easily as turning a faucet. The school could have teams with different food specialties! A sympathetic protagonist! Cooking battles with real stakes (steaks!), perhaps even the slightest bit of sex appeal to get people really invested—

The brick wall hit her muse. It always did, the moment it sensed she was having fun. With a sigh, Juniper forced her mind to throw out the idea. Seriously, what was she thinking? A concept that insane would never take off. She looked back at Twilight—who fortunately hadn't noticed Juniper's diversion due to her having been narrating the history of CHS for the last couple of minutes—and caught up to her.

"Oh!" Twilight said, perking up and thumbing to the right. "Here are our AV rooms. They get a lot of use, especially since a few of our students are known online video personalities." She turned to Juniper, adjusting her glasses, and looking at her quizzically. "Actually, given your hobbies, I never thought to ask. Are you one as well? Are you a content creator?"

"Not really?" Juniper shook her head. "I mean, don't get me wrong—I’ve shot tons of videos! But..." She slouched. "Meh. None of them are anywhere near my personal standards for public presentation. I don't believe in putting anything out there until I feel it's absolutely pitch-perfect, you know?"

Twilight smiled and giggled. "I feel the same way. About perfection, I mean." She leaned in closer to Juniper. "Sunset hates when I say that. Rainbow too, now that I think about it," she continued in a low voice. "They keep telling me to 'live a little.' Be more 'spontaneous.'" She made air quotes with her fingers.

Juniper smiled and giggled back, rolling her eyes towards the ceiling. "Augh, the 'S'-word," she whispered back. "No worse one to have in your vocabulary."

"Hah! Tell me about it."

Juniper walked ahead, looking into several other rooms: supply rooms, science labs, bathrooms. All of them looked just like any school's. Given Canterlot High's reputation, Juniper found it a little odd. She stopped, lost in thought.

"Are you feeling alright?" Twilight said as she caught up to Juniper. "You look distracted."

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'm totally great," Juniper replied, hand on her arm. "It's just that—" Juniper looked around again, then turned to Twilight, doing her best not to appear too nervous. "Okay, please don't take this the wrong way? Because, seriously, I really like what I've seen of your school, so I don't want you to think..." Juniper trailed off, shifting from side to side.

Twilight shook her head and smiled. "Juniper, it's okay. I'm not going to get angry at you just for speaking your mind. Seriously, if I did that, what ground would I ever have to stand on?"

Juniper tittered. "Well, that's just it. Your idea to let me visit the CHS campus today to help me take my mind off things? Totally great suggestion! I really do like it here! I just thought there'd be, you know, more to it."

Twilight tilted her head. "To the school?"

"Yeah. Wait, no! To me being here. Okay, no, not quite that either. Just—" Juniper clutched her head. "Argh! Why can't I ever find the words when I need them? Seriously, I'll know exactly what to say six hours from now. That's how this always works."

Twilight laughed, reaching for Juniper's wrists and gently pulling them down. "It's okay. I think I understand."

Juniper blinked. "You do?"

Twilight nodded, and gestured around herself. "When I first set foot in Canterlot High, everyone was so warm, nice and understanding towards me. It was the first time I felt like people cared that I existed. And, well, I liked that."

Juniper nodded, and looked away. "Yeah. I can sympathize with that."

Twilight walked back into Juniper's field of view. "That by itself would have been enough. However, even after everything that happened because of me at the Friendship Games, they didn't stop caring. They didn't hate me afterwards. The students, the teachers, Principals Celestia and Luna? Just about everyone forgave me on the spot. It was freeing and reassuring, and it made me so happy." Twilight sighed. "Especially since I was halfway to hating myself for what I'd done."

"Yeah." Juniper nodded again, with a heavy sigh of her own. "I hear you there too."

"Still," Twilight said, "I admit it makes a lot more sense when you consider my background. You see, I transferred here from Crystal Prep Academy, and—"

"Whoa! Crystal Prep?" Juniper looked back up to stare at Twilight, her eyes wide and her self-pity completely forgotten for the moment. "The super-school full of stuck-ups who are amazing at, like, everything?" She paused. "At least, that's what I've heard. I've never actually seen the school or its students up close."

Twilight blushed. "It's under new management, so the attitude's a little different there now. But yeah, when Principal Cinch was in charge, it was every student for themselves. I didn't really understand concepts like friendship or supportiveness until I came here." She kicked at the floor. "I was completely alone."

"Whoa, no wonder you wanted to show me this place," Juniper said. "I mean, when you first started raving about CHS, it kept sounding to me like this amazing scholastic paradise. You know, benevolent royalty for principals, floors lined with gold, whole student body having learned the meaning of life and reached ultimate enlightenment?"

Twilight laughed. "CHS isn't quite there yet, no."

"Oh, nowhere near," Juniper said with a sardonic guffaw. She thumbed behind herself. "I mean, heck, that little girl wearing the crown we passed ten minutes ago? Can't prove it, but I get this aura from her that just spells 'trouble'." Juniper straightened her glasses and looked around. "But yeah, it's... this just a normal school. With students who like being here, and who're treating me like they would any other student here, even though I'm not one.

"For me, sure, it's relaxing, but if I'd transferred from where you did?" Juniper shook her head, awed. "Wow. This has to be heaven for you."

Twilight beamed. "You do get it."

The two smiled at each other in a pleasant, silent moment, before Twilight darted towards another door. "Oh! Here are the theater rooms. Music, drama, that sort of thing. They've got extra seats and stages for holding lots of different types of events. Plays, recitals—"

"Cut!"

The single word echoed through the hall—and through Juniper's mind. Within moments, it took her back to happier times.

It took her back to memories of sitting next to her uncle on his studio's set as she watched him steer countless films towards completion, negotiate with the talent, and sometimes work the camera himself. Always with purpose, always with a smile.

Meanwhile, Juniper had supported the staff, the crew, the actors and actresses, and Uncle Canter himself. She'd delivered all the coffees, balanced all of the lattes, and run all the errands. She'd held screenplays, props, and expensive equipment in her hands that most people in her line of hobbyism would have sold their best friends for.

In exchange for her service, the studio had, for all intents and purposes, been her oyster. Every inch, every prop, every set, had been hers to explore, to play in, to study. To feel as if it was where she belonged, no matter what.

Happier times, indeed—no, her happiest. There was no contest.

With all her effort, Juniper forced herself to stop thinking about them. If she reminisced for too long, she would soon have to explain to Twilight just why she was crying in the middle of the hallway.

Canterlot High School re-materialized around her. Good. CHS was happy, too, in its own way. CHS was what she could, and should, concentrate on.

Right now, it was all she had.

Still, Juniper thought, was she hearing things, or was someone shooting a movie close by? She had to know. She did her best to locate the source of the voice. There was a theater room about ten feet away in the direction she felt it had come from. She walked towards it, and peeked in through the ajar door.

Juniper saw the tripod-standing camera, and recognized its design instantly. It was the latest model of the line of consumer cameras she herself had favored, before she'd been gifted her first studio-grade camera in appreciation for a year of hard work. She smiled as the joy of familiarity washed over her, thankful for the temporary happiness.

Aside from the camera, Juniper saw two girls inside. One of them was a rich bright blue, as if someone had turned up the saturation on a television. The other was also blue, but with a more faded complexion. Juniper envisioned turning her imaginary saturation knob in the other direction.

The faded blue girl stood on stage, wearing a pressed blazer, blouse, and pleated skirt which seemed out of place amidst the casual outfits of the other CHS students. Meanwhile, the bright blue girl stood behind the camera, and wore a black-and-white striped full-length dress that Juniper could only describe as "loud". It was almost as loud as the massive pink-lensed sunglasses she also wore. Juniper tried to imagine what utility those could possibly serve, then stopped herself before her brain shut down entirely.

If nothing else, they absolutely looked like interesting characters. Juniper almost wanted to shoot a movie with them herself.

"What's going on?" Twilight whispered, looking in alongside Juniper.

"Dunno yet," Juniper whispered back. "I just got here."

"No, no, no, Sunny!" The girl with the gaudy glasses yelled just then. "We are not starting over from scratch! Not again!" She stomped her foot.

"But we have to!" The girl in the preppy dress protested. "That take wasn't right either! None of them are!"

Wait, were they arguing? Juniper analyzed their body language as they bantered—trembling shoulders, swaying arms, shaking heads, focused and slightly slanted eyebrows. Oh yeah. This was definitely stock argument scene. But why?

"Oh my gosh," Twilight whispered. "I never would have guessed this would happen."

Juniper turned away from the door, and faced Twilight. "Who are they?" she asked.

"Well," Twilight said, "the one with the glasses is Photo Finish. She's the best photographer in Canterlot High, and probably every school in the Canterlot area! She works wonders with a camera and any subject you put in front of her."

"Huh," Juniper said. "Does the molasses-thick accent play a part in any of that skill?"

Twilight shook her head. "Not that we've seen so far. The other girl is Sunny Flare, Crystal Prep's top thespian. Everyone says she's got a guaranteed spot on Bridleway the second she graduates college. Maybe earlier."

"Another CPA'er, huh?" That explained the out-of-place uniform, Juniper reasoned. She looked at the two girls again, peering at the scene before her through a makeshift screen formed by her thumbs and forefingers. "This scenario's starting to make more sense by the second."

"Actually, Crystal Prep and Canterlot High are on good terms these days—and those two even better," Twilight said. "At least I thought that was the case. They became good friends after we all shot the 'Chance to Prance' music video."

"Ugh, that thing," Juniper grumbled, turning back to Twilight. "You realize that plays nonstop on the Canterlot Mall screens that I have to stare at while at my job six hours a day?" Juniper waved her arms. "Those things used to show trailers! They kept me sane during popcorn cleanup runs!"

Twilight gave Juniper a blank stare. "Uh, sorry? I mean, you’re aware my friends and I don’t exactly have control of that, right?"

"Yeah, well." Juniper leaned against the wall and huffed. "Someone at the mall’s getting a therapy bill. And it won’t be pretty when they do."

Twilight chuckled. "My point is, I've seen Sunny and Photo at Sugarcube Corner more than once discussing plays, and even going on photography runs together. They seemed inseparable! I don't know what could have happened to set them against each other like this."

"Hmmm." Juniper put her fingers to her chin in thought. "Well, we won't find out by chatting with each other. Back to the set it is." She looked back into the room, and saw that very little had changed—both girls were still in each other's faces.

"...and it doesn't help that you keep micromanaging every piece of the performance!" Photo clapped her palm into the back of her other hand repeatedly. "Calling for take after take when every single one is completely fine? It is pointless!"

"To you, Photo!" Sunny retorted, hands on hips. "To you!"

"Yes, to me! The camerawoman who has to look at every moment of footage!" Photo stepped up to meet Sunny on stage. "And if one take was bad? Even if several were bad? I can make edits!" She punctuated each of the last four words with claps of her fingers. "That is literally the thing that separates this from theater!"

Sunny stepped forward, getting into Photo’s face. "Well, excuse me if I care about this production a little more than you do!"

Photo recoiled with a dramatic gasp, hand to her heart. "What are you talking about? This whole thing was my idea!"

"Well, then, maybe you should act like it, instead of leaving all the hard work to 'editing'," Sunny said, with a smug grin and patronizing voice.

"Are you saying I—oooooh!" Photo folded her arms and turned her head to the side. "I, Photo Finish, do not even want to look at you right now!"

"Yeah?" Sunny countered. "Well, that can be arranged for as long as you want, because I refuse to work with such laziness!" She punctuated her sentence with a stamp of her foot.

Photo whirled back. "And I refuse to work with such a fickle perfectionist! Photo is finished here as well!"

Juniper and Twilight ducked back out beside the door again. "This is awful," Twilight said.

Juniper nodded. "It is. I've seen squabbles like this before, though, on my uncle's lot. It happens sometimes when classical actors get cast, and I've had to watch him sort it out with them. It's always ugly before they click, for lots of reasons.

"I..." Juniper began, fighting to not say her next words. She fought to ignore the gears spinning in her mind, and the yearning of her heart. She lost handily. "I think I could help."

"Of course!" Twilight said with an elated gasp. "This situation would benefit greatly from your cinematic expertise!"

"Yeah, well." Juniper shuffled her feet, suddenly feeling tired. "I still don't think I should," she said in a quiet voice.

"What? Why not?"

Juniper didn't even try to stop her heart from twisting into knots. That was a battle she'd already lost, in the weeks following her short-lived magical transformation into the worst, most conceited, and most dangerous version of herself.

She wished more than anything that she could forget. Every time she tried, however, she only remembered more vividly. She remembered the power. She remembered all her desires being magnified, twisted. She'd remembered the fear in everyone's faces, and her own confusion. She had it all now! She was a star! Why were they all running away?

It'd been discouraging. It'd been horrifying.

It had been exhilarating.

No! That's all over now! It's not going to happen again, so stop thinking about it already!

Juniper closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to center herself. To push away the memories. Push away the pain. Push away the shame. All those things would eventually come back, of course. They always did. But at least by the time it happened, she could be alone with them. All she had to do was keep them pushed aside for long enough.

Her fatigue magnified.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked, bringing Juniper back to reality.

"Y-Yeah. I'm alright." With a final exhale and misty eyes, Juniper turned to face Twilight. "Look, Twilight. Up until now, being public about my love of cinema has done nothing but get me made fun of, or into trouble. Or, worse, turn me into someone I'm not proud to have been, even before Equestrian magic hit me. I'm not exactly eager to dig any of that stuff back up." She put her hands on Twilight's shoulders, doing her best to make sure Twilight couldn't feel them trembling. "I-I mean, you of all people get me here, don't you?"

A scrunched look of uneasiness lingered on Twilight's face before she finally answered. "Yes and no."

"Wha—" Juniper let go, and stepped back. "What do you mean?"

Twilight folded her hands. "When I transformed into Midnight Sparkle, I absolutely remember my insatiable hunger for knowledge. For discovery. An entire new dimension stood in front of me, ready to scientifically analyze. I didn't just want to, I had to. I couldn't control myself during any of it."

She looked away. "The irony was, all of that came about because being Midnight Sparkle was the first time in my life that I felt I could have real, total control over anything or anyone if I wanted it. I know that sounds awful, but I'd felt so powerless at Crystal Prep. Science was the only thing I could turn to where I felt like it was okay to be myself. It didn't shun me whenever it saw me in the hallways, and it didn't constantly tell me that anything I did wasn't good enough. My love of science encouraged me to always experiment and try new things. It brought me happiness, and got me through that awful place. It didn't hurt me at all."

"You just said all of that science stuff you loved was front and center when you transformed, though," Juniper said. "That's—that's the same thing that happened to me. Just, well, movie-flavored." She put her forehead in her palm. "I'm so confused, Twilight. I have been ever since that day, you know? What do I do? How do I make sense of this?"

Twilight looked back to Juniper, gently pulled her arm down, and held her hands. "I haven't lived your life, Juniper. I haven't had your specific experiences, even if we share a few of the same interests. I get the feeling that pretty soon, you'll have to ask yourself the exact same question I did: was it really the things you love that caused you to do everything you did weeks ago? Or was there something deeper within you, that brought that transformation, that specific side of you, to the surface?"

Juniper looked down at the floor, her mind a hazy blur. "I-I don't know."

Twilight squeezed Juniper’s hands. "And that's okay. It's not a question you'll be able to answer right away. Even now, I struggle with it. But while I do? I use my scientific knowledge, and the desire for more of it, to help the Rainbooms and CHS, and hopefully someday, the world."

Twilight nudged Juniper's face up to meet hers, flashing a smile. "And I'm sure you can do the same with your passions, Juniper. Make others' lives better, I mean. But it's up to you to decide if you want to try. You don't have to force yourself."

Juniper thought for a long time. A latent memory pushed itself to the surface, of the last wrap party she'd attended. They'd ordered catering from Tasty Treat. It had been heavenly. There hadn't been an unhappy face in the building, least of all her uncle's. And knowing that she'd helped make it all happen had been the most satisfying feeling in the universe.

That said, seeing Twilight’s smile, and hearing her words, came close to having the same effect. Juniper made a note to look into Canterlot High's supportiveness courses. They’d clearly worked for the girl in front of her.

"I-I do want to try," she finally said. "I've always wanted to, I think.” She nodded in the direction of the theater room. “But I don't know those girls. What if they don't like me? Heck, what if I make things worse somehow?"

Twilight pointed to the room. "Does it really look like you'd be able to make things any worse than what's happening right now?"

Juniper looked back inside, and watched both girls' faces as they packed their backpacks. Varying mixtures of anger and sadness were present on both.

They look miserable. Boy, have I been there.

Emboldened, Juniper balled her fists and stepped in front of the door. She couldn't bear to stand by and watch any longer.

Just here to help, she repeated to herself as her mantra. I'm just here to help. I just want to help. We're not friends or anything—heck, I don't even know them—but, I don't have to. If I can help, I will.

She gulped.

Emphasis on the 'if'.

Juniper bit her lip, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.

02: Pieces of a Work

Neither Photo nor Sunny paid attention to Juniper when she walked into the theater room—at least, until Juniper cleared her throat. Both of them then looked up from their bags.

"Yes?" Photo asked. "What is it you want?"

"Hey there, you two!" With enthusiasm rousing her heart, a guitar-heavy theme song resounding in her mind, and strobe lights lining the walls that only she could see, Juniper pointed straight at the two girls and flashed her most photogenic smile. "I'm Juniper Montage, at your service!"

Silence overwhelmed the room as Photo and Sunny stared wordlessly at her.

"R-Right. Um." Okay, so overcompensating for her nervousness hadn’t worked for anyone, including herself. The lights faded, and the theme music wound down, bringing her back to the mundane theater room. Juniper rubbed her neck and cleared her throat again, deciding on a humbler approach. "Anyway, I'm really sorry for eavesdropping, but I couldn't help but overhear what was going on. I mean, with your movie project?"

Sunny huffed. "Well, you should be sorry for eavesdropping, because this isn't any of your busi—"

"Wait!" Photo held up her hand. "Juni—Juniper Montage?" She stroked her chin. "I, Photo Finish, have heard this name before, but for the life of me, I cannot place." She looked directly at Juniper. "Did you perhaps attend the last Fearless Photographer’s Conference in Cloudsdale?"

Juniper shook her head.

Photo stepped towards Juniper. "The Manehattan Shutterfest?"

Juniper shook her head again.

Photo stepped closer. "The Fillydelphia Photo Camp?"

Juniper, dreading the consequences, shook her head a third time.

Photo took one final step, putting herself right in Juniper's face. "The Wedding Workshop here in Canterlot?"

"No!" Juniper finally said, her voice frantic. "I've never been to a wedding in my life! I've never been to any of those things you just mentioned!" She paused, looked at Photo, then added in a whisper, "Please don't hurt me."

Photo raised her shades with one finger, stared at Juniper with focused, indigo eyes for several seconds, then let her shades plop back down onto her nose. She stepped back. "All right! Give Photo Finish lifeline, because Photo officially has nothing."

"Does the name 'Canter Zoom' ring a bell?" Twilight said, walking in behind Juniper.

Photo snapped her fingers and gasped. "Ring a bell? It rings a chorus of chimes!" Photo's palms went to her forehead. "Herr Zoom is only one of the world's greatest movie directors! The new Daring Do film was nothing short of fantastic! It felt like I was really there." She looked to Sunny, who nodded in agreement.

"Well," Twilight said, gesturing to Juniper with both hands, "What if I told you that standing in front of you is his niece, in the flesh? She's worked with him for years."

Juniper put her hand behind her head, blushing and sighing in relief. "Oh, it's not that big of a deal. I was just a gofer," she said, quickly learning that it was possible to feel both proud and humble at the same time. She faced Sunny. "In all honesty? I've always wanted to be an actress."

Sunny raised an eyebrow, her expression visibly softening.

"But that's faraway life goals, am I right?" Juniper chuckled. "We're living in the here and now. And right now, I think I can help with your movie troubles. If you're willing to tell me exactly what the problem is."

The room fell silent, until finally, Sunny spoke, turning away from the others. "I don't know. Ask Photo," she said.

Photo threw up her hands. "There is nothing to ask! My only problem is that I am clearly going to go through three whole video cameras before we land on a shoot that Princess Sunny here is satisfied with!"

Sunny whirled back around. "I keep telling you, it never comes out right! If you're not happy with that explanation—"

"No! I am not happy with it!" Photo took a step forward. "Because I am happy with you! Everything I see you do on the stage is complete perfection, and I wish you saw what I saw!"

Sunny hesitated, then sighed. "You really think that, don't you?" she asked.

"Absolutely," Photo said, walking over to Sunny. "And it has been that way ever since I saw you practicing on your own during Chance to Prance! That is why I asked if I could make a movie starring you in the first place! I wanted someone who I already knew had the chops, so then at least I'd be able to—" Photo stopped. "What I am trying to say is, I have no idea why you think none of your performances have 'come out right'. Because that is not close to true." She pointed to the camera. "Not from where I have been standing."

"I..." Sunny faltered.

An idea flashed in Juniper's mind. She stepped in. "Is it alright if I look at your raw footage?"

The other two nodded, removing the flash card from the camera and playing its stored footage on a nearby laptop. Juniper looked at the screen, and watched Sunny on stage, making an impassioned speech while holding an apple to the sky. Every word was perfectly inflected, every ounce of body language clear. Juniper could feel the intensity, down to her bones.

When it was over, she smiled in Sunny's direction. "You really are a fantastic actress."

"I know," Sunny said, visibly doing her best not to blush. "Still, thank you."

Sunny's voice then sounded again from the computer, taking the scene from the top.

"Do you see what I mean?" Photo pointed to the laptop. "You got it in one, Sunny. A couple more takes would be prudent, but there are ten of these on this drive! I am not made of money, to say nothing of time and energy!" She placed a hand on Sunny's shoulder. "And I know it is the same for you."

Sunny clasped her hands together. She looked away, then stepped away.

"Sunny?" Juniper ventured. "What's bothering you about this? I mean, really bothering you?"

"What Juniper said," Photo added, putting her hand to her heart. "You know you can tell Photo Finish anything."

Sunny took a deep breath, and exhaled loudly. "I hate how I look when I'm filmed," she said. "I always have."

Photo scratched her head. "But you get filmed a lot—"

"I know!" Sunny balled her fists. "And I put up with it! But I always, always, hate it." Sunny sat on the desk next to her, and stared at random patterns in the wall. "Whenever I'm on stage, I just know. I know what I'm doing is right and perfect for that stage"—she gestured around the room—"and the audience looking at me, with their own eyes.

"But then I see myself on video, and I can just tell, you know? Whether the camera's standing still or following me, it doesn't understand my pacing. It doesn't understand my body language. Sometimes it doesn't even understand my voice. Every step I take, every move I make, and every line I deliver comes out looking… bad!" She slumped. "Being filmed ruins every performance."

Juniper nodded, an uplifting confidence building in her heart. She'd heard such grievances before. "Cameras are capable of playing a lot of visual tricks," she said, making sure to not sound patronizing. "But at the same time, they only ever capture what the lens sees. Barring what you intentionally leave out of that field of view, and any on-set effects, there's no real 'changing of reality' going on until you get to the editing booth." She pushed her glasses back up on her nose. "My conclusion, then, is that there has to be something deeper going on here. Would you agree?"

Sunny didn't answer.

Photo sat next to her on the desk. "Sunny. I promise you, your acting is fantastic. But based on what Juniper has just said, I am pretty sure that this is... well, my fault."

"What do you mean?" Juniper asked.

"Photo Finish lives up to her name every chance she gets," Photo said pointing a finger upwards. "I can work nothing short of the magicks with a telephoto lens and any subject you put in front of me! I have done this very thing ever since I was a little girl, and nobody will stop me from doing it for years yet. But!"

Photo folded her hands and sighed. "Operating a video camera is another beast entirely! It intimidates me. It controls me, instead of the other way around, and I can't stand it! It was like this during Chance to Prance as well—I stood behind the crazy thing, with no life in me, as I captured life on film, simply hoping I wouldn't mess something up! But I refused to blame myself." She rolled her wrist. "So maybe Photo Finish blames something else. The hardware. The lighting. The script." She looked at Sunny. "The perfectionism of a friend who, in my heart of hearts, I already know truly does care."

"No way, Photo!" Sunny squeezed Photo's arm, shaking her head. "I know your work. You're the best I've seen at being able to capture the essence of a person on film. You'd put even Crystal Prep to shame in that department."

"Thank you, Sunny." Photo sighed again, and looked at the floor. "But you have to admit, even with both of our skills put together, we are completely stuck."

Now certain that she had enough to work with, Juniper dug into her mind's archives. It didn't take long for her to recall one of her most vivid memories from working at her uncle's studio. Specifically, the first time Uncle Canter had ever taken on a classical actor as the star of one of his movies.

A few years ago, Horson Wells had been the rising stage star that everyone was talking about, and with good reason. His commanding appearance, mastery of expression, and reliable work ethic had gotten him rave reviews from theater audiences and stage directors alike. Thus, the entertainment world had celebrated when he'd signed for a role in Canter Zoom's latest film—which, ironically, had a disgraced theater actor as the story's main protagonist.

Juniper smiled as she remembered. The industry and press had learned to never bet against Uncle Canter—he had an uncanny knack for turning even weak ideas into profitable motion pictures, without ever stooping to the lowest common denominator. When word got out that he and Wells were to be working together, they were proclaimed the perfect match.

Nothing could have been further from the truth, however—at least at the beginning. From the very start of filming, the spats between the two of them went on for days, taking a toll on everyone's morale.

She remembered the day it had all come to a head. She had looked around the lot, looked at the crew, only to see dejection. Boredom. Worry, in spades. The movie was going to take so much longer now. How much longer? They'd bet everything on Wells. What if he walked out? They'd have to cast someone else, which would either delay production—or shut it down entirely. Production companies were fickle like that, and besides, the marketing hook was that the star of the film was comically linked to its premise!

The thought of a shutdown had truly scared Juniper. She'd never seen one happen personally. She never wanted that to happen to her uncle. Heck, she never wanted that to happen to a movie, period.

Not on her watch.

Juniper looked at Photo and Sunny again, who looked just as sad as those crew members—to say nothing of just as sad as when Juniper had first walked into the theater room. Pangs of fear stabbed her chest. Have I made things better, or worse? Heck, have I done anything at all?

She looked around the room. Also, where's Twilight?

Indeed, there were only three people in the room. It was then that the reality set in for Juniper. She was on her own. She gritted her teeth.

All right, Montage. You've been here before, and won besides. Time to dig deep. Take the first thing your gut tells you, and let's do this.

She stepped toward the two of them with the first thought that came to mind, and that felt right. "I have one question for both of you," she said. "Why are you filming a stage?"

"Well, that is simple," Photo said. "Photo Finish always shoots people in their natural habitat! Sunny is, of course, most at home on the theater stage."

Juniper nodded. "Sound logic, but what does the scene itself call for? Do you have the script on you?"

Sunny nodded. "I do. Hang on, I'll pull it up." She tapped several keys on the laptop, loaded up the script, and scrolled to the scene she had been performing.

Juniper scanned the scene, her eyes widening the more she read. More ideas flooded her mind. "Sunny, this scene this calls for so much more than a stage! Adverse weather conditions, acoustics, natural lighting, lonely grass as far as the eye can see—this is complex!"

"Proper stages can approximate many of those things, and the audience's imagination can take care of the rest." Sunny scoffed. "It'll do them good anyway."

Juniper turned around, and stood in front of Sunny. "I understand what you're saying, Sunny, and I completely agree." She placed her hand to her heart. "The first time I went to a Bridleway play was one of the most memorable nights of my life. Whatever wasn't on the stage—and believe me, it was an elaborately furnished stage—I mentally added myself. Honestly, that was part of the fun."

Sunny's expression went from defensive to relieved. "You get it, then. What play did you see? If you don't mind my asking."

"Phantom." Juniper blushed. "Sorry about the, uh, casual choice."

Sunny shook her head. "What, are you kidding? It's popular for a reason!"

Juniper squealed. "I totally got that when I saw it! The passion, the strife! I may have survived the experience, but my heart sure didn't!" Juniper saw Sunny smile, and Juniper matched it. "So yeah. I get it. Such is the power of theater. Nothing but love."

Juniper raised a mischievous eyebrow. "However." She took out her phone, and played a scene from classic movie Hinny of the Hills. "When you work with cinema, you have the power to communicate directly into those imaginations. The mind suddenly has less work to do, meaning you can reach their hearts sooner, do some wicked stuff with people's emotions, and then give the mind all new surprises to chew on!" She grinned, showing teeth. "Plus, movies these days are a little more portable than stages."

Sunny nodded as she watched the scene.

"The catch, though," Juniper continued, "is that human vision and machine vision are fundamentally different in how they capture and process the same subject in front of them. To say nothing of what happens when the human brain gets involved."

"Ah!" Photo snapped her fingers. "So, when you look at one through the other, and then to a stage which carries expectations from the audience..."

"Unnatural city," Sunny breathed.

"Bingo," Juniper said. "At least, for some people." She looked at the script again, then called up an app on her phone to check a specific piece of information. Satisfied, she put her phone away again and turned to the others.

"Okay. I have a plan. Today's Thursday? Meet me at the big lamppost in the center of Canterlot Park, Saturday evening at six. Don't even think about this project tomorrow. That way we can all come back to it with fresh minds. On Saturday, if you're willing to take my input, then I promise to prove to you that we can have it all." She raised a clenched fist and smiled.

"What is this plan?" Photo asked.

Juniper smiled wider. "You'll just have to wait and see. Mainly because it involves prep work on my part. Are you in?"

Photo and Sunny looked at each other.

"Photo is in," Photo said. "Sunny, you?"

Sunny sighed. "At this point, I'll try anything." She nodded. "See you Saturday, Juniper."

"Indeed! Sunny, let us stop at Sugarcube Corner. Photo will treat you to a smoothie before we head home."

Sunny's eyes lit up. "Whipped cream? Please?"

Photo laughed. "Of course! What, does Photo Finish look like a barbarian to you?" After a squeal from Sunny, the two closed their bags, and headed out the door. "Until Saturday, Miss Montage—and thank you! We go!" Photo proclaimed.

Juniper watched the two leave, then plopped into the seat next to her with a massive exhale. Talk about tough negotiations! She could still feel her brain sizzling.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. With a startled yelp, Juniper jerked up straight in her seat. Turning her head, she saw that Twilight was back, with an orange girl wearing a blue dress and leather jacket now beside her. "Twilight? Wh—where were you?"

Twilight giggled. "Well, you seemed to have everything pretty well in hand. So, I went to visit Sunset in the library, to tell her about your day." She thumbed over to Sunset Shimmer, who waved.

"Oh! Hi, there," Juniper said.

"Hi, Juniper," Sunset replied. "I hear you've been busy."

"Busy totally winging it!" Juniper pointed to Twilight. "Y-y-you just left me! I was scared stiff!"

Sunset walked behind Juniper. Juniper soon felt Sunset's hands rubbing her shoulders—and suddenly, half of her nervousness was gone. Thin air. Just like that.

"Wow, you're right," Sunset said. "I can definitely feel it."

Juniper relaxed under Sunset's attentions with a soft sigh. "Whoa. Okay. Did not know you had a massage therapist among your ranks."

Twilight grinned. "It's more like she's just a natural with her hands. Ironically." Dodging a playful swat from Sunset, she pulled up a chair and sat down next to Juniper. "Anyway, I still stand by you not having needed me around. We just saw Photo and Sunny in the hallway, and they were seriously happy! They couldn't stop raving about you."

Juniper blushed as well. "R-Really? That's good." She glanced out the theater room door. "I just didn't want to see them sad anymore, I guess." She hesitated. "The punchline is, all of that was the easy part. Now I've got to follow through."

Twilight took Juniper's hands in hers. "And I'm sure you'll do that, too."

"Same here." Sunset squeezed Juniper's shoulders. "If you have any questions, or just want to talk about this stuff? Call up Twilight or myself. We've both been where you are at this very moment."

"Thanks, you guys." Juniper looked out the window. "I sure hope I have it in me to pull this off."

03: The Gravity of the Situation

Juniper shambled into her bedroom early the next afternoon. She tossed her backpack to one side of the carpeted floor, huffed, and looked around.

Wall-to-wall posters from her favorite films captured her view, and her thoughts. Several posters were pasted to the ceiling as well. Juniper basked in their presence: fantasy worlds, action shots, psychological thriller scenes. Simply meditating on their existence never failed to relax her mind after a long day of dealing with the world.

Her eyes wandered over to her computer. Making her usual online rounds could wait, as could her own blog. Her brain still buzzed from work. Right now, she needed an outlet. Some way to relax.

She looked over to the wooden bookshelf in the corner of the room, ceiling-high and filled with high-definition movie discs. A large flat-screen television stood on a counter next to it for maximum convenience. The entire middle shelf held new arrivals she hadn't categorized yet. Tonight was definitely going to be a backlog night.

Though still undecided on her immediate next activity, Juniper couldn't help but smile. She was, at last, back in her sanctuary, filled with the fun parts of being who she was, and of enjoying what she loved.

Nothing like what she had to deal with for six hours a day, four days a week.

"Honies, I'm home," she said to the stuffed animals on her bed, before flopping down onto her mattress amidst them. She reached for her plush of Loco the Bear, star of the Grizzly Conductor children's film series. She'd loved those movies as a little girl, and they were still going even now. In her heart of hearts, she was glad that even today's children could believe that a bear could drive a train—to say nothing of saving the world while doing it.

"Work was so dumb today," she groaned to Loco, hugging him and relishing in his fuzzy softness. "I seriously should find a video store to apply to instead. Then I could make money recommending movies to people, instead of serving and picking up after their sloppy butts." She paused. "Assuming there are any video stores left in Canterlot that streaming hasn't killed."

Loco didn't answer. Which was fair, Juniper decided. He usually didn't.

She put Loco to the side and sighed. At least her shifts were over for the next three days. Which meant she could turn her mind, and energies, towards much more important things.

Juniper got out of bed, took off her striped work apron, and replaced her restrictive—not to mention gaudy—work blouse with a loose t-shirt from her closet. She took a deep breath, and stretched, enjoying the freedom of movement.

Much better. Now she really could think about those important matters. Like her first free weekend in months. The summer blockbuster season was finally winding down, and her parents were gone all weekend for their anniversary. She'd practically had to beg to have a reprieve from shifts this weekend, but it had been worth it. The best of vacations was now hers.

Times like this would normally be when she would pay a visit to Uncle Canter's set, but even if he wasn't between projects right now, that also hadn't been an appealing—or possible—option for months.

For reasons.

She forced herself to abandon that line of thought immediately, and took out her phone, sifting through her calendar. It was a formality more than anything, just to remind herself how free she was right now and hang on what was this thing at Canterlot Park at six on Saturday?

Juniper struggled to remember. Then it hit her. Her hand flew to her mouth as she gasped. "Oh my gosh! I have my first ever film consultation tomorrow!"

She exhaled, and looked across her movie posters once more. Her gaze fell on Jane Blender, the ever-suited mistress of disguise who ran dangerous spy missions for princess and country, and who always got what—or who—she wanted.

"Bet you never forget stuff. Then again, nothing about your life is exactly forgettable," Juniper said to Jane, amidst fannish giggling. "Movie Seventeen, am I right?"

The next twenty minutes consisted of Juniper walking around her room, digging in drawers and closets, and grabbing all her needed supplies, all while humming to herself. Before long, her laptop, multiple spare flash cards, and miniature microphones were safe inside her bag. Meanwhile, umbrellas and a tripod lay inside a nearby box next to it, along with a rolled-up plastic surface to place her laptop on, because she did not trust a public park to have free clean tables one bit. No sense in leaving anything to chance. She wanted to this to be perfect.

"Well, that was easy." Juniper dusted her hands, took out her phone again, and set her alarm for 4:00 pm tomorrow, which would allow her to arrive far ahead of schedule. Canterlot Park was minutes away by bus. She looked more closely at her phone, idly wondering if mobile camera lenses had caught up to professional models yet—

Her palm hit her forehead.

"Duh! Camera? Seriously, how do I even function?"

She rolled her eyes and narrated to the ceiling as she walked back across the room, arms outstretched. "'Breaking news: local cinephile forgets the thing literally required to shoot a movie on the way to shooting said movie! Be sure to sign her up for all of your film-making needs!' Ugh, I'd forget my head if I hadn't been born with it."

She reached the one closet in her room whose door she hadn't opened yet, and opened it. Spare cameras lay in front of her, of all makes, models and sizes, from bottom shelf to top. "Let's see, too old, too new, I don't even know how to work that one yet—aha!" She grabbed a digital video camera from the top shelf, checking its labels. "Sweet, waterproof! Can't believe I finally get to use you." She turned it over in her hands. "Just gotta make sure you don't have any surprise breakage, and then I'll test—"

The words "Property of C. Zoom" appeared, written on the bottom of the camera in fine magic marker.

Juniper fell silent.

Her whole body felt heavier as she stepped away from the closet. She walked to and sat on her bed, staring at the camera, staring at the writing. She then looked at her nightstand. Her eyes wandered towards its drawers.

Before long, however, she was looking through them.

Juniper strode towards the director's office, fists balled, and teeth clenched. As she did so, she could only hear scattered words in raised voices, all the way until she made it to the door. Inching next to it, she listened closely.

She couldn't believe it. They were still arguing. Frustration bubbled from within her.

"I can't believe how many times I was told that being in film would be the 'greatest boon to my career'!" Juniper recognized Horson Wells's voice. "Instead I arrive, and it's amateur hour, every hour!"

"That's on you," Juniper heard her uncle say next. "If you would simply give the way we do things here a chance—"

"I could say the same of you! So much of what goes on here would never fly on stage, and for good reason!"

"And that's exactly the point! Why can't you just be reasonable about this?"

"Why can't you just admit I'm right? I don't even know why you and your studio bother with this racket!"

It had been like this for a whole week, and Juniper officially couldn't take it anymore. She turned the knob and flung open the door. Anger and passion drove her words and actions—her better judgment was excluded from the party.

"Stop it, both of you!" she yelled. "Uncle Canter, you're way better than this! Why is this still going on? Why are you taking all of this from him? I've seen you eject other people for making way less trouble than he has!"

"Juniper, now isn't the time—" Canter began, but Juniper was still on fire. If the crew wasn't going to speak up, she would.

She turned to Horson, and pointed at him. "And you! Get over yourself already! Do you realize what you're doing to the production? What you're doing to the crew by being all selfish like this? They're absolutely miserable! I've never seen them miserable before!"

"That's hardly my fault—" Horson began, but Juniper cut him off as well.

"Yes, it is! Because you're the only one on this lot who isn't happy to be part of the magic we're making here! That we always make here! So, we don't film like it's a stage play. Big whoop! But if you keep whining the way you are, we'll never film at all! Is that seriously what you want? Do you want to kill a movie?" Juniper screamed at the top of her lungs. "Because that's what you're doing!"

Juniper gasped to catch her breath—and only then did her mind catch up with the rest of her. She felt her vision sloshing, water gathering behind her irises. She looked up at Canter and Horson, who were fixing her with dumbstruck stares.

"Oh, oh, my gosh," she said, barely able to get the words out above a whisper. "I-I'm so sorry." She backed away, feeling the shivers, the fear, slowly taking over her whole body, feeling the tears coming on. She braced herself for being tossed out of the studio, being ejected from the one place in her life where she'd ever felt at peace. The only question was, how fast would it happen?

Canter shook his head. "No, Juniper," he said, his voice as soft as his expression. "Please. Stay."

"I..." Juniper bit her lip, sniffled, took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

"It's all right," Canter insisted, stretching his hand towards her with a small smile. "I'm not mad at you. You're the only person in this room who got it right."

Juniper's fear ebbed, little by little, loosening her muscles enough for her to take her uncle's hand, and step to his side.

"This is my niece, Juniper," Canter said. "You've seen her around, getting your drinks and running your errands, but the real role she plays here is far greater." He looked at Horson. "You asked me why we bother. Well, you're looking at her. She's the one who keeps the spirit of this studio alive."

Horson furrowed his eyebrows, studying Juniper. Before long, his face softened as well. "Charmed, my dear," he said.

"Horson, all cards on the table," Canter said, "the fact of the matter is that we cast you specifically because of your skills and experience, to say nothing of your proven dedication. We would never ask you to give up anything about who you are. Because who you are is why you're here, and you're fantastic at being you.

"But just as stage has its rules, so does screen. I know this because, well, I've actually tried directing plays before." His smile widened. "And I got wrecked on those sets. I guess that's why I've been giving you so much leeway. Because I've been so scared of 'doing it wrong' in your eyes. Theater, as much as I love it, intimidates me."

"As much as this studio intimidates me, I'm sure," Horson said, with a faraway look. "To say nothing of the film industry itself. It's all just so big, so controlling. How do you not let it sweep you up and devour you whole?"

"By getting to know everyone here. By trusting in them, and in the medium we work in," Canter replied. "Things stop feeling so big and hollow after that. And we want to get to know you too. The last thing any of us want to do is force you into being someone you're not. Everyone's uniqueness, their personalities, their talents, what makes them special, are all resources for this studio to use, to make the best productions they can."

Horson sighed. "And once more, communication and translation prove to be ever-present facts of creative life. This profession really is nothing but an eternal odyssey of learning, isn't it?"

Canter nodded. "Same goes for all art, really. It's so easy to get caught up in the details that don't matter—all the shallow, surface differences between us. But when we let those distract us, we forget about the details that do matter. Shared goals. Shared passions. Minds, hearts, and skills, all coming together. That's what gets films made. Well, that and lots of money."

Horson chuckled.

Canter smiled down at Juniper, patting her shoulder. Juniper smiled back up at him. "But what really matters, at the end of the day, is that this girl loves movies more than anything, and wants to see every single one made. And she's hardly alone."

"Let us not drag our heels, then." Horson smiled as well. "Canter, Juniper, please accept my profuse apologies. I've been out of line so much since I arrived on set, and it hasn't been fair to the rest of you, or this production. Hardly an excuse, but so much of this is simply new for me. I would humbly request your guidance in the art of working with film."

"Of course." Canter nodded. "And I welcome your input, too. I always ask my crew and on-screen talent to speak up if they have any thoughts on the production, or ideas to make it better." He squeezed Juniper's hand. "And I do mean all of my crew."

Juniper giggled and shrugged. "Oh, you know. When I can."

Canter and Horson laughed. "May I talk to my niece alone for a minute?" Canter asked.

"Certainly," Horson said. "I will let the crew know that I will gladly stay on the production—and apologize to them as well. Hopefully it's not too late for a fresh start."

"I'm sure it isn't. And Horson? Thank you."

"The feeling is mutual."

The two men shook hands, and Horson left, closing the door behind him.

Juniper looked at the door. "I'm glad that ended well," she said. "But I really am sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did."

Canter shrugged. "Maybe not as forcefully as you did. These are always delicate situations." He sat in a nearby chair, which Juniper approached. "But I'm glad you stepped in. And I'm beyond happy you care so much, Juniper. So much of what I do would mean a lot less to me if I didn't know you were watching."

"Of course I care, Uncle Canter," Juniper said, her heart swelling with joy. "I don't just love movies. I'm your number one fan, too!"

That same joy was reflected in Canter's smile. "You are, are you? Well, I guess I've got someone I need to keep happy with every film I shoot."

"Guess you do," Juniper said. "But I'll always be helping you do it. You and me'll be a team forever!"

"Wow, forever? That's a long time," Canter said, stretching out his arms and letting Juniper fall into them. "You know what, though?"

"What's that?" Juniper asked, full of warmth and laughter.

"That sounds wonderful to me."

The good times had been wonderful. The good times had been everything Juniper could ever have wanted out of life. Even with the conflicts, the good times had always been worth it.

The good times had also only lasted for a few years afterwards.

As quickly as Juniper remembered her uncle's warm and smiling embrace, she remembered the day she'd seen him, frowning and arms crossed, standing behind a guard as they ejected her from the studio, possibly never to return.

Banished from her home away from home, after she'd tried, in a fit of stupid jealousy, to sabotage his latest production. Banished from the place where she belonged.

No.

Juniper bit her lip, sniffling.

I can't keep denying what's right in front of me. I banished myself, by doing all those horrible things. The sabotage, the girls, the mall—no wonder I'm stuck where I am now.

She placed the camera on the nightstand, and opened the bottom drawer. She reached inside, her whole body numb to feeling, unable to stop trembling. She took out a framed picture, holding it in front of herself with both hands.

It was a photo of the entire studio crew, on the final day of Horson's movie shoot. They numbered a few dozen men and women—some of them even holding babies that had been born during filming. Front and center, Juniper stood atop a stool, hugging her uncle from the side while smiling for the camera.

I kept thinking nobody wanted me around for so long, that I blinded myself to the people who actually did. Now they really don't want me around.

Her grip loosened. The photo fell to the carpeted floor. She didn't bother picking it up. Instead, she took off her glasses. Her eyes burned as she rubbed them. The familiar lump in her throat was the largest it had ever been.

And I completely deserve it. I deserve everything that happened to me. I deserve worse.

Drops of water fell onto her legs.

I wasn't worth forgiving!

Juniper rolled over on her bed, and fell into her pillow. The tears flowed. The sobs followed—first muted and soft, then loud, hiccupping, and miserable. Nobody was around to hear them, but she wouldn't have cared if they had. Sadness made up her entire world.

It'd been doing that a lot lately.

I'm the absolute worst. A total waste. Who else but a horrible person would hurt so many people? Or throw away everything I had going for myself?

Thick, gray clouds of despair gathered, and danced, in her mind and heart.

I'm not worth anyone's friendship.

As Juniper emptied her lonesome feelings into cotton sheets, the skies outside filled with dark clouds as well, obscuring the last of the afternoon's sunshine.

Maybe I never was.

04: Twilight

Juniper woke up.

She yawned, and stretched, then wondered where she was. The lack of light frightened her for a few moments, but the soft sheets and the familiar silhouettes of her room's desks and appliances eased her fears. She was in her bed, and it was early evening.

That was when she realized: she'd cried herself to sleep.

Juniper sniffled, rolled her eyes, and groaned. It was extra loud amid the silence. The house was still quiet save for her own noises, and light taps against her window. She got up, turned on the lights, walked to the window, opened it, and looked outside.

Thunder boomed as she did so. It was literally a dark and stormy night. Juniper couldn't help but snort at the cliché.

She sat at her desk, not sure what to do for the night, but knowing she had to do something, anything, or else she would go crazy. The last thing she wanted was for her mind to start wandering again. Who knew what other ways it would find to condemn her?

She walked over to her bookcase, and sifted through her movies. Nothing struck her eye as something she was in the mood for. Worse, after a few minutes, all the cases' spines started to blend together.

She huffed, sat back at her computer, and opened an unfinished draft of a movie review she'd been working on for her blog. It was already behind schedule given the tumultuous two months she'd just had, and she had no idea if anyone would even read it in the wake of the more recent Daring Do movie's success. Still, it was worth finishing, if only for herself.

She typed.

"Most people would dismiss Agents of S.M.I.L.E. as just another 'superhero genre flick', and no jury would convict them for it. But those willing to look between the lines, beyond the perfectly pressed suits and cookie-cutter spy plot, and instead concentrate on the interplay of the cast and what the final act does with them, will find one of the most refreshing takes on friendship—"

She stopped typing, her mind unable to form more words. Her eyes lingered on the last one on the screen.

Friendship.

With a forlorn sigh, Juniper's head met her desk. What would I even know about friendship? What right could I possibly have to talk like I know anything about that? What right do I have to talk about anything at all? Who in their right mind would possibly want to listen to me anyway?

She froze.

Oh, no. It's happening again.

She squinted hard, as if the force of her frustration could hold back her tears. She sniffled again, and choked back a sob.

Why won't this stop?

She wiped her eyes, looked up, and reached for her phone. She swiped through her photos. All the recent ones were of herself posing with all the other girls who had "forgiven" and "made friends" with her.

More like all the girls who let me tag along because they felt sorry for me.

Her heart still sinking, Juniper continued to swipe until she saw a picture of herself posing with Twilight from two days ago, at the front steps of Canterlot High. She thought back to Twilight's encouraging, reassuring words. Back to Twilight actually believing in her, and in her abilities. Encouraging her to use them to help others.

It seems like she actually, really cares. Maybe? I don't know. But what else is there to do?

She swiped over to her contacts, reaching Twilight's in short order. She brought up the keyboard, ready to type out a text... then thought better of it. Hearing Twilight's voice would be far preferable to the crushing silence around her. Juniper's finger lingered over the "Call" button, her stomach churning as she hesitated.

What if I'm imposing, getting in the way of—no. Just do it, Juniper. She and Sunset said you could talk to them! And anything's better than what we're doing right now!

She shut her eyes, jamming her thumb twice against the screen—once to call, once more to put the call on speaker. Twilight answered after three rings.

"Hi, Juniper. What's up?" came her chipper voice through the speaker.

Juniper didn't answer.

"Hel-loooooooo?" Twilight said.

Juniper opened her mouth, trying, wanting more than anything to respond. But still, no words came.

"Juniper, seriously." She could almost hear Twilight rolling her eyes. "I can hear you breathing, which suggests that your mouth is quite close to your phone. Meaning if you try the old 'butt-dial' excuse? Not gonna work. I mean, sure, technically, anal breathing is a scientifically-proven and achievable phenomenon, but—" Twilight paused. "Right. Not the point. Also, probably not why you called. Also, still babbling." She sighed. "One day, I'll kick that habit."

Juniper giggled in spite of herself.

"There she is!" Twilight said, giggling back. Her voice softened. "It's okay. Take your time. I'll keep talking if you want. I just realized, this is the first time you've hailed me—usually it's the other way around. I'm glad you did, though."

"Hi, Twilight," Juniper replied, glad as well.

"Hi, there!" Twilight's voice then took on a concerned tone. "I'll admit, I didn't expect to have to coax a greeting out of you. Is something wrong?"

Juniper let another long pause pass as she figured out how to answer. In that span of time, all her self-defeating memories and self-chastisements came rushing back, undoing all the emotional progress made in the last two minutes. Her heart plopped back into her seat.

"Everything, Twilight," she said through deepening breaths. "Everything's wrong, I—" She took several more breaths in a futile attempt to calm herself down. "I just need to talk to someone. I'm so scared."

Twilight gasped. "Are you in danger?"

Juniper trembled. Had this been a mistake after all? She scrambled to not give Twilight the wrong idea. "N-no, everything's fine around me, I just... it's me. I'm not... I don't... I-I just need someone here. Anyone." Her voice cracked, and she gave up trying to hold in her emotions or filter her words. She gripped the phone harder in her hands. "It just hit me, Twilight! All of it, everything at once, everything I've been, everything I've done, I... I'm sorry! It wasn't supposed to be like this! And now I'm totally scaring you, too, and I—" The sobs she'd been holding back finally escaped.

"Don't you dare apologize, Juniper," Twilight said. "Text me your address. I'll be over as soon as I can."

"O-okay." Juniper did so, then looked out the window again. "Wait, it's still it's raining outside."

"And I'm a scientific genius. Just last week I invented an umbrella that sends the rain back up." Juniper could hear the confidence in Twilight's voice. "You see 'storm,' I see 'field test.' Even if I didn't, I can't let a little thing like rain stop me when I have a friend who needs a friend."

For the first time that night, Juniper's mind, body, and heart all relaxed at once. "Okay. I'll get things ready over here. And... thank you, Twilight."

"Thank you for thinking of me. Keep an eye on your phone—I'll text you updates and estimated arrival times periodically. See you soon."

"Got it."

Twilight hung up. Juniper did as well, then put the phone on her desk.

Did... that really just happen? Did I really just reach out for a 'friend,' even after—

Her phone dinged. A text from Twilight showed onscreen.

"This is Message Number One. Expect updates every fifteen minutes. I'm getting some supplies ready on my end for my visit. More to come."

Juniper nodded as she swiped away the text. As she moved to put her phone down, it dinged once more.

"And don't worry, Juniper. Everything will be alright. I promise."

Juniper's heart warmed as she read the words, and she smiled.

Worrying is the one thing I wish I couldn't do, Twilight. Still, thanks.

With a relieved sigh, Juniper walked to her window, opened it, and looked outside. It was still raining, but it no longer had the drab, mood-darkening effect it did before. In fact, things seemed to be getting brighter.

Almost too bright, in fact.

Juniper recoiled as a flash of lightning lit up the sky. Blinded, she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes, shielding herself from even her room's light for several seconds.

She slowly opened her eyes, letting herself adjust to the light again, and turned to her glasses... which now appeared oddly shiny. She blinked, and they looked normal again. Juniper put them on.

Holy cats. I hope that lightning didn't burn out my retinas or anything.

Juniper walked to her closet to pick out what to wear. She had to admit, it was a nice and new feeling, knowing that she would soon have visitors.

05: Friendship Games

An hour and a half later, Juniper had showered, changed into a green casual dress, and tidied up what few things needed tidying up in her bedroom and around the house.

And just in time. True to her word, Twilight had continued sending periodic texts, with the latest one saying that she was minutes away. As Juniper made her final swipes with a feather duster, the doorbell rang. She walked to it, her heart flip-flopping between apprehension and excitement. She hesitated at the front door, put her hand to her chest, and took a deep breath.

Then she opened it.

Twilight was on the other side, wearing a purple raincoat and a smile. Juniper's smile was quick to follow. "Twilight! Come on in."

Twilight did so, taking off her shoes once she was inside. She hung up her coat up on the nearby rack, and threw her arms around Juniper. "Everything okay?" she asked.

"Way better than okay, now that you've made it here," Juniper said, hugging back. "I'm so glad you came."

"Hey, I said I would, didn't I?" Twilight replied.

"Well, yeah, sure, but—" Thunder cut her off. "Ugh. I still can't believe you actually decided to tackle the cats and dogs head on."

Twilight shook her head. "Totally not a factor. For any of us."

Juniper looked over Twilight's shoulder. "'Us'?"

Sunset Shimmer appeared in the doorway, holding pizza and snack boxes in one hand, and an umbrella in the other. She looked clearly distracted by the latter. Juniper followed her gaze upwards, and saw that the umbrella Sunset was holding was physically repelling any water that fell towards it. The water floated back up and around said umbrella, keeping Sunset and the boxes—and for the most part, the umbrella itself—dry.

"Seriously," Sunset said, still staring. "How."

Twilight sighed over-dramatically. "Oh my gosh, Sunset, I told you. It's just aerial temperature manipulation."

"And I told you," Sunset said, "I come from a world where rainclouds are magically activated by touch! Supposedly this thing I'm holding isn't magic, so I need a little bit more to go on here before my mind explodes." She looked at Twilight with a slanted grin. "Or this does."

Twilight grinned back, and rolled her eyes. "Yeesh, one little accident with a robot dog and suddenly I'm a mad scientist with no regard for anyone's safety. Fine, I'll prepare a custom lecture tomorrow if it'll make you feel better. For now, though," Twilight said, grabbing the boxes from Sunset. "Is there a place where I can put these?" she asked Juniper.

"Kitchen's straight ahead," Juniper replied. "Wow, dinner, too? You really went all out."

"Well, of course," Twilight said, smiling. "I guess I should have asked if you were hungry, but I know I never say no to free grub."

"Same here. Universal law," Juniper said, smiling back.

Sunset walked in, hanging up her orange raincoat, and giving Juniper her own hug. "Hi, Juniper. You doing okay?"

Juniper hugged back. "Well, I'm better now than I was even just twenty minutes ago, but that's not saying much."

"I hear you," Sunset said. "This is the first time Twilight's ever called a friendship emergency. I'm actually pretty proud at how fast she's getting the hang of this."

Twilight returned from the kitchen. "Well, you know, I learned from the best," she said, causing Sunset to blush. "And sometimes from Sunset," she added.

Sunset fed Twilight a mirthful sneer. "Okay, you need to run now."

Twilight hid behind Juniper, clutching her shoulders. "Help, Junie! Save me from the mean, mean interdimensional sushi salesgirl!"

"Oh, no, you are not putting this on me!" Juniper said, laughing. She stepped aside to watch to a laughing Twilight and Sunset chasing each other back and forth through the hallway, kitchen and living room.

After their fifth lap, another voice sounded from outside. "Um, hello? Should I still be waiting out here? I haven't heard the signal yet, and I think this umbrella's starting to run out of... whatever's powering it."

Juniper froze as she recognized that voice, clear as day.

"Miniature solar cells powering lithi—" Twilight responded on reflex before gasping. "Oh no, I'm so sorry! Yes, please come in, by all means!"

"Was that voice I just heard who I think it was?" Juniper whispered.

"Maybe." Sunset said. "When Twilight told me exactly what was wrong and why, I suggested we go all the way with regards to bringing support." She motioned to the door. "And here that support is, express from Equestria."

One last girl stepped into the doorway, dressed exactly as Juniper remembered. Purple and lavender top and beanie. Ripped jeans. A smile that could melt polar ice caps. Juniper had been sure she would never see any of those things again.

Before Juniper stood the first person to ever truly understand her, and use that understanding to snatch her from the edge of insanity—to say nothing of a criminal record.

The only good memory from that terrible day she'd transformed rolled its footage in Juniper's mind. Freed from the grip of that awful, awful magic, she was ready to spend the rest of her life detached from the universe, as a social pariah of her own creation. But instead, the girls she'd all but attacked forgave her on the spot, citing all of their own past mistakes in the process.

And then, Starlight Glimmer had approached her. Hugged her. Said there were no hard feelings, especially from her. They'd talked a lot over the next few days. About moving on, and moving between worlds. Juniper still remembered hiding tears when she and the others had seen Starlight back to Equestria.

And now those tears were coming back. Before she knew it, she was at the door, squealing and hugging Starlight as if doing so could anchor her in Juniper's dimension forever. "I can't believe it. You're here!"

"Well, of course," Starlight said, hugging back. "After I heard what was going on? I wasn't about to leave my otherworldly best friend to soak in sadness by herself. You ready for some fun? Because I sure am."

Juniper stepped back, brushing off her dress. "Y-yeah. Fun," she said, her heart still floating on clouds. "Let's do that. All of that."

"I still can't believe Princess Twilight let you out," Sunset said.

"You're right to think that," Starlight said. "She actually had a ton of questions when we got your request." She tilted her head. "And... then the Friendship Map's representation of my cutie mark started hovering around the mirror. Sometimes it would try to go through it, but it kept bouncing off the glass. All of which I thought was a little weird."

She shrugged. "Anyway, when Princess Twilight regained consciousness, she figured that that meant it was urgent, so here I am. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm starting to think we may need to talk to her about placing too much faith in mystical artifacts." Starlight reached outside, pulling in a plastic-sealed mound of fabric. "Ugh. Sometimes I really wish I had my horn on this side of things."

Juniper eyed the plastic container. "Are those sleeping bags?"

Twilight beamed. "Yep."

Juniper blinked. "Why?"

"Um..." Twilight scratched her head. "Sleepover? I figured it was obvious."

Juniper stared in stunned silence.

"What?" Twilight said. "You told me on the way to Canterlot High the other day that your parents were away this weekend on an anniversary trip."

"Anniversary?" Starlight said. "Awwww, that's so sweet."

"I know, right? That's what I said!" Twilight smiled at Juniper. "So yeah. What were you planning to do this whole time? Alone, even?"

"I was originally just going to enjoy the peace and quiet, but something tells me this is the better timeline." Juniper shrugged. "That all said, I just realized that I might not actually ever have had anything resembling a sleepover in my life," she said, her voice lowering in volume with each word.

Twilight gasped. "Wait, seriously?"

"Seriously," Juniper said, clutching her arm and looking away, then turning back. "I-I've seen them in movies, though! Does that count? Please tell me that counts."

She looked back over to the others, only to see Starlight and Sunset shrug. "I've never had one either," Starlight said.

"Only a few myself," Sunset added. "And only within the last year. For obvious reasons."

"Same here, but different reasons," Twilight said with her own shrug.

"Which, sadly, still makes you and Sunset the experienced ones here," Starlight said.

Twilight sighed. "Yeah, it occurred to me on the way here that all of us have kind of led unique social lives until recently?" She twirled her index fingers around each other. "As in, you know, not really any way that could be described as 'active'."

"Which is why we were all completely up for this, Juniper," Starlight said, turning and walking towards her. "Because we've all been where you are right now."

"And when we were," Sunset added, "we were lucky if we had even one person to talk to. Because we were really good at driving others away from us."

"Or closing ourselves off from them." Twilight took Juniper's hands, and looked into her eyes with a sober expression. "So, no leaving anyone out in the cold. Because we all know how that feels."

Starlight hugged Juniper from behind. "Of course, it helps that we all like you, too."

"Hopefully the feeling's mutual," Sunset said. "Otherwise things could get a little awkward."

Officially out of tears, Juniper settled for sniffling, smiling from ear to ear, and relaxing in the warmth of her friends. "It was mutual before ten minutes ago. Now? I'll get back to you when I find the words."

All four laughed, and in the midst of her mirth, Juniper closed her eyes...

...only to be out in the storm.

Thunder boomed, and lightning flashed, illuminating, for a split second, a vision of the three girls who had just happily entered her house, now giving her angry stares.

Juniper opened her eyes with a gasp. None of the others had noticed her trancing off. She managed to force her smile back to its original state to match the expressions of the others.

All smiles tonight, Juniper chanted to herself. Nothing but smiles. Keep the smiles. Keep them on everyone.

She shivered.

Whatever happens, I have to make sure tonight is absolutely, 100 percent perfect.

06: Just Add Nostalgia

"Alright, then, girls, let's get this night started!" Juniper said, with a huge smile and fist raised to the sky. "You know what I realized? This is officially a slumber party just full of nerds."

Twilight grinned. "It really is, isn't it?"

"Yep! And I love it when events have themes! Also, theme songs." Juniper pointed to herself. "Pop culture nerd." She pointed to Starlight. "Magic nerd. I think?"

Starlight grinned and nodded. "Pretty much."

Juniper pointed to Twilight. "Music nerd! Kidding."

Twilight giggled. "I can invite her, if you want."

"Maybe next time?" Juniper said. "Having three whole friends over at once is me diving into the deep end of the pool already as it is. Anyway, that leaves..." Juniper turned to Sunset, and put her fingers to her chin. "Hmm. From what I've heard, you do a little bit of everything, but with no hard specialties like the rest of us... ooh!" She snapped her fingers. "I've got it!"

"You even try calling me a 'liberal arts nerd', and you won't make it to film school," Sunset said with a wink.

"Whoa," Juniper said, stepping back to capture Sunset in a finger-screen. "Totally pictured you in tacky, spiked, all-black leather there for a second." She winked back at Sunset. "Ever give it a shot?"

Twilight burst out laughing. Sunset swatted at her, blushed and rolled her eyes. "Hey, I made it look good. Anyway, you said something about getting started?"

"Right!" Juniper said. "Wanna see my room? That is how this goes, right?"

"Works for me," Starlight said. "I think your house is the only one of our group's I haven't toured yet."

"Oh, yeah. Fixing that." Juniper took the lead, and the four walked upstairs to Juniper's room. It wasn't until Juniper approached the door that she realized just what she'd agreed to do.

She lingered in front of the knob. Could anything go wrong? The room was clean—she'd made sure of that an hour ago. It was completely presentable. But it was also full of... well, herself. Should she go inside first, close the door, and rearrange some furniture? Bare the walls? Clear the area of her film equipment? Erase her browser history?

Oh, wow, yeah, I really should have at least cleared the browser history. At least the computer's off?

She looked back at the others. They looked back at her. As far as Juniper could tell, they looked just happy to be there.

Nuts to it. I almost destroyed a city, and them, and they still came to my house. At this point, I'm not sure anything could drive them away.

She shut her eyes, turned the knob, and opened the door. The next sounds she heard were multiple simultaneous gasps of awe. She opened her eyes, and saw the others rush inside to look at the posters more closely.

And Juniper felt warm all over again.

"Wait a second," Twilight said, darting towards a camera sitting on top of a tripod at the far end of the room. Sunset followed her. "Is this an Avantgarde-brand 'Diminutive Deluxe' video camera? This year's model, even?" She picked it up, handling it gently. "Oh my gosh, it is! 4K, multi-codec, 16-bit audio, even remote operation via Wi-Fi? I've never seen one of these in the wild!"

"Understandable," Juniper said, flipping her hair with one hand and doing her best to appear calm as her heart leapt for joy. "It's technically studio-grade. But this is just my daily driver." She leaned in to Twilight's ear, speaking softly. "You wanna see some real tech?"

Twilight turned to Sunset, bouncing on her toes and giggling like crazy. "S-S-She just asked if I wanted to—"

Sunset snickered. "Hey, cut her some slack, she's new. Learning to keep track of all of your science fetishes takes a few months at least."

"Fair enough." Twilight turned back to Juniper. "Yes, absolutely, yes, please!"

"Right this way, then," Juniper said, leading the girls to the side closet. She opened the door, revealing the collection of video cameras. Twilight squealed loud and long.

"Yikes," Starlight said, dropping a book she had been holding. "Same pitch and everything. It's like I never left Equestria."

Twilight ignored Starlight, darting to the shelves. Amidst excited babbling, she grabbed and examined cameras, one after the other. "She'll be here a while," Sunset said.

"Wouldn't dream of getting in her way," Juniper said, motioning for Starlight and Sunset to follow her, and walking around. "While she's busy, this is the rest of my room. Over there are my wardrobes, and over here's my bed-slash-stuffed-animal-collection."

As Sunset picked up and cooed at a stuffed replica of Lester, the Vacationing Tiger, Starlight pointed to the nearby flat-screen. "What's this large window?"

"Oh, that's my television," Juniper replied.

"You remember the big screen the Daring Do premiere was shown on? That, but room-sized," Sunset added.

"Oh, right." Starlight pointed to Juniper's computer monitor. "So, what's this smaller one?"

"That's my computer," Juniper said. "It's where I go on the Internet, type up blogs, and check social media."

Starlight replied with a blank, silent stare.

Sunset placed her hands on Starlight's shoulder. "There are some technologies Star here isn't acquainted with yet. A lot, actually. Don't worry, I'll get her up to speed soon enough."

"Of course! No worries." Juniper walked over to her shelf in the corner. "Some people have bookshelves, I have a movie shelf. Every single disc holds its own world—sometimes even universe."

Twilight walked over. "Wow, you've got tons of them, too!" She looked the movies over, then froze. "Oh my gosh."

Juniper followed Twilight's gaze. "Oh, did you find something you'd like to see?"

Twilight backed away, playing with her hair. "It's... a little embarrassing."

"Oh, no you don't," Juniper scoffed. She stepped behind Twilight, cutting off any easy means of escape, and folded her arms. "You've been seeing embarrassing sides of me all week. Out with it."

"Oh, all right." Twilight took a deep breath, reached to the shelf, and pulled out a video. The cover showed several multicolored horses standing majestically atop a mountain.

Juniper looked at it, and gasped. "You've never seen the old Transformares movie?"

"I told you it was embarrassing!" Twilight wailed.

"No, no, not at all!" Juniper shook her head. "A little confusing, sure, especially if you were a fan—"

"I had. Every. Toy," Twilight breathed. "Had."

Juniper nodded. "Outgrew 'em and gave 'em away, huh? Totally understand."

"No, my one-hundred-percent collection's still in the—" Twilight met Juniper's eyes, her expression deathly serious. "If I ever go back to referring to them in the present tense, I will be tempted to take them out of sealed storage and play with them again, which would then utterly destroy their resale value, not to mention their physical and archival integrity, and there's a very good chance my psyche might not survive any of those effects," she said, before breaking into manic, breathy titters. "Therefore. Past tense. Had. Basement. Forever."

Juniper blinked. "Whoa. Understood."

Sunset raised her hand. "Still waiting for context." Starlight nodded in agreement.

Juniper faced the two. "Transformares is a show—and toy line—starring lots of girls with different personalities, who have the power to magically turn into horse versions of themselves and back again. They then go on adventures ranging from the mundane to even the interdimensional, all while solving friendship problems for people who can't themselves—" She then noticed Starlight and Sunset shaking, with scrunched lips. "What's so funny?"

"P-P-Pretty unique concept you've got there," Starlight managed to stutter.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Still staring at the two girls, the realization hit Juniper not five seconds later. She gaped, and her palm met her forehead. "Holy crap baskets."

The other three girls burst out laughing, complete with Twilight rolling back and forth on Juniper's bed.

"S-Shut up!" Juniper said, breaking into her own laughs and looking over at Twilight. "I know it went over your head, too! It had to have!" she said, tossing a stuffed lion in her direction.
Twilight caught it, still laughing. "I plead the fifth, now and forever! Also, wow, this little guy's soft."

"I'm wondering if we should ask for royalties," Sunset said.

Twilight giggled and sat back up, still hugging Lionardo, the Cuddly Jungle Assassin, in her arms. "You could, but you'd need a good lawyer. My science powers do me no good in the courtroom."

"Anyhow," Juniper cut in, trying to get the conversation back on track, "it's been around for ages, in various incarnations, but—"

Twilight cut her off. "Gen One for life."

"Yep." Juniper high-fived Twilight, then loosed a dreamy sigh. "Unicus Prime was my hero."

"Eeeee, mine too, mine too!" Twilight squealed. "She was just so nice to everyone, and so smart!"

"Not just book smart, either, but totally sage and wise." Twilight and Juniper pointed to each other. "'Friendship is the right of all sentient beings, Pegatron!'" both chanted, before falling on top of each other on the bed in a newfound heap of giggling.

Sunset looked to Starlight. "I don't think there's any getting them back."

"It's not too late for you and me to escape," Starlight said. "We could just go back to Equestria. Right now. For at least a month."

"Sorry, sorry. Right. Movies. Also, slowly cooling pizza." Juniper held up her copy of Transformares: The Motion Picture. "You never saw this, then, Twi?"

Twilight shook her head. "Nuh uh."

Juniper narrowed her eyebrows. "So, you know... nothing about what happens in it?"

Twilight shook her head again. "Not a thing."

Juniper gaped. "Oh my gosh."

Twilight sighed. "I know, I know."

"No, I'm not making fun of you! I promise!" Juniper's grin was ear to ear as she gripped Twilight's shoulders. "I'm seriously just so happy I actually get to see someone watch it for the first time!" She looked at Sunset and Starlight. "I mean, if that's okay with you two?"

Twilight was in front of Sunset like a shot, with hands folded. "Can we, Sunny? Can we, please?"

Sunset shrugged. "It's not like I haven't watched dorkier stuff since I met you."

"I've only seen one movie ever in my life," Starlight said. "The novelty has far from worn off."

Twilight and Juniper whooped for joy.

Sunset turned towards the door. "I'll get the pizzas, then we can curl up in here, pig out, and watch... horse... girls. Girls who are also horses. Fictional horses, who are also fictional—"

"Let it go, Sunshim," Starlight said, clasping Sunset's shoulder. "It'll hurt slightly less."

"My room's one plan, and a valid one," Juniper said. "However, since a movie's involved?" Her eyes glinted. "Follow me. Sunset, feel free to grab the 'zas on the way."

The other girls nodded and followed Juniper, who led them back down to the first floor, then around and behind the staircase. She opened a door fixed at its rear, then flicked a light switch, revealing another set of metallic steps leading down. "Watch your step, and stuff."

The others nodded again, holding onto the rails as Juniper led them down, down, and further down still, with Juniper getting more and more excited with each step. Finally, they reached the bottom, and Juniper flung open one more door, revealing darkness. "Here we are."

Starlight blinked. "You led us down here to gaze into the infinite void?"

Juniper giggled. "Wait for it."

Juniper flipped a switch on the wall next to her. Ceiling lights brightened, revealing an auditorium, complete with a large screen and armrest-equipped cushioned seats. She crossed her arms with a satisfied smile as everyone gasped.

"It's..." Sunset rubbed her eyes and looked again. "It's a full-on theater! Like, not just a home theater setup—you have an actual movie theater in your home!"

"That we do," Juniper said. "Smaller than an actual cinema, to be sure, but no less on-model."

"Let me get this straight," Twilight said. "Once you have dinner with your date, you could totally go see a movie here. And once the movie's over, the both of you are already in your house?" She rubbed her hands together, cackling. "Efficiency! I love it!"

"Yeah, 'efficiency'. Definitely the right choice of words." Juniper smirked at Twilight. "Go find some seats. Starlight, want to come with me and see how I set things up? You know, more world education and stuff."

"I'd love to," Starlight said.

As Twilight and Sunset examined the seating arrangements, Juniper led Starlight to the console at the back of the auditorium, where both a disc player and a traditional reel player were set up.

"I have a weird feeling that this'll be the only time I'll get to ask something like this tonight," Juniper said, taking the Transformares disc out of its case. "But how's life been for you? Back in Equestria, I mean?

"It's never been dull, I'll give it that," Starlight said. "It's a long story, but I recently stopped our government from completely falling apart due to a sisterly spat."

"Whoa. Those two ruling Princesses you told me about, right? Like Principals Celestia and Luna, but in charge of a whole world?"

"That would be them, yes." Starlight sighed. "What gets me is that the few dozen who know what happened keep treating me like I was some kind of hero for it. Which I don't get. I didn't do anything to deserve it." She shrugged. "You know what really happened? I got angry at the two of them for one minute, and scared for them the next, and that was it. They did the rest and patched things up themselves."

Juniper slipped the disc into the console, and grinned at Starlight. "You do realize I know a classic 'selling yourself short' speech when I see one?"

Starlight blushed. "Yeah, but still."

"But still, nothing! You succeeded where who knows how many else would have failed, right? Just take the win, I say. Bask in the glory!"

"You sound like another one of my friends back home. And, just like I told her, I often have trouble doing that." She smiled back at Juniper knowingly. "And I know I'm not the only one."

"Yeah, well. Be that as it may." Juniper sighed and chuckled, kicking at the floor.

The screen lit up, and Juniper dimmed the lights. She closed her eyes, nostalgia washing over her. "Uncle Canter used to bring reels of his latest works here, and screen them with me." She reopened her eyes, and looked at the ground. "I haven't used this place in almost a year."

Juniper felt Starlight take hold of her hand, relaxing her. She looked back up at Starlight with a happier expression. "That said, this is the first time I've ever been able to share this theater with anyone who isn't my family. I'm glad that it's with all of you."

"And we're all happy to be sharing it with you," Starlight said. "Come on, let's go find our own seats."

"Be right there," Juniper said. "I still need to get us past the previews and navigate the menu."

"Okay."

Starlight headed over to the seats, striking up conversation with Twilight and Sunset. Meanwhile, Juniper fiddled with the control panel's buttons, skipping past all the meaningless advertising fluff. Her finger inched towards the Play button.

"It won't matter what you do for them. It won't matter how nice you try to be."

Juniper froze as she heard the words, echoing in whispers, around her.

"You know what you're risking. What if this ends the same way all your other 'friends' did? Or your uncle?"

Juniper looked around. No one was near her. Which, oddly, made sense, because she recognized the voice as the exact same one from her dream earlier. She was sure of it.

It was a young woman's voice.

Another storm overtook her surroundings. Juniper heard it, felt it plain as day. Tears ran down her face as she saw Starlight, Sunset and Twilight staring at her with disapproving looks once more.

And then, the scene changed, and she was the little girl, back at the bottom of the hill, clutching her broken camera, lost in a million sobs.

"These girls may say they like you right now, but how long until that changes?" the voice continued. "Because we both know it always does!"

Juniper forced the memory from her mind, turned to the wall and splayed her palm on it, pressing hard as she shuddered. "Whoever you are," she growled, low enough so that the others couldn't hear, "could you just quit it already? I don't need you ruining the best night I've had in months!"

She stood still for a whole minute. The voice didn't answer. Juniper exhaled, pressed the Play button, and walked over to the other three girls and the pizza boxes.

"Hey, glad you could join us!" Twilight said.

"Hey, no more outdated previews," Sunset added. "Starting to see the advantages of a home cinema already."

"Glad you approve," Juniper said with a snicker. "Ready to get this show on the road?"

"You bet," Twilight said, straightening herself and staring at the screen. "Wow, I can't believe I'm finally going to get see this movie!"

"That makes two of us," Juniper said. "Hope it treats you right."

Twilight giggled, and grabbed a slice of pizza. "I'm sure it will. I mean, when you get down to it, this is a feature length motion picture for a massive worldwide toy commercial. Simple, formulaic entertainment. How could they possibly screw it up?"

07: Turning Back to the Future

Twilight sat, frozen and mouth agape, as the credits rolled. Only when the feature finished completely, and the lights turned back on, did the other girls notice.

"Twilight?" Starlight said. "What's wrong? Hey, Sunset? What's going on with Twi?"

"Huh?" Sunset looked over at Twilight, then waved her hand in front of Twilight's face. "Wow, I don't know. I've never seen her like this before."

Juniper looked at Twilight, and groaned. "I was afraid the movie would do this to her. Especially when I'd learned she'd never been spoiled on it." She gestured at Twilight with both hands and a sheepish expression. "This, my friends, is the look of a broken fangirl. Been here myself, lots of times. Unfortunately, I don't quite know how to cure it outside of waiting it out."

"I've got something." Sunset left the theater, then returned minutes later with a box.

"What's that?" Juniper asked as Sunset took out a small piece of cake, unwrapped it from its cellophane, and held it under Twilight's nose.

Starlight grabbed the box and read. "'Science Snacks: Guaranteed to Keep You Curious and Experimenting.'"

"They're her secret to late lab nights," Sunset said. "Only to be used in emergencies, but I'd say this counts!"

Starlight blinked after several moments of thought, then looked at the box again."Okay, yeah, these are never going through the portal."

Twilight's nose twitched. The rest of her did so moments afterward. "Creamy filling," she murmured. "One hundred percent pure sugar..." She jolted in her seat. "Whoa! Where am I?" She looked around, then deflated. "Oh. Now, I remember." She turned to Juniper, waving a hand at the screen. "They actually did it. They actually managed to screw it up! My night's totally ruined now, nothing can fix this." She crossed her legs, pouting in her seat and munching on her cake.

Juniper chuckled, then went to the theater console, took out the disc, and put it back in its case. "Aw, come on, it wasn't that bad."

"Not that bad?" Twilight managed between gluttonous bites. "That was the worst debacle of a story I've witnessed in my entire life, and we will never speak of it again!"

Juniper walked back to Twilight, and stood over her with a teasing smile. "Was it really?"

"Yes!" Twilight threw up her hands, tossing the Science Snack across the theater in the process. "You're telling me that didn't affect you when you first saw it? How could you not tell me Unicus was going to die?" Juniper saw Twilight's lips trembling, her eyes mist over, and her shoulders hunch. "S-she had the color drained from her and everything!"

Sunset tugged one of Twilight's hands, coaxing her out of her seat, while Starlight cleaned up. Juniper then gathered everyone at the door, turned off the lights, and led them all back upstairs.

"How could you not have heard about that over the last decade plus?" Juniper said. "That's like never hearing that Mareis dies! Or that Darth Neighder is Hoof Skytrotter's dad!"

"Simple! I lived a very sheltered life—" Twilight stopped in her tracks. "Wait, she what? He's what?"

Juniper looked back at Twilight, more closely this time. She looked genuinely distraught. Levity wasn't working. Once again, as with Sunny and Photo, Juniper decided to try a different approach.

"Starlight? Sunset? Go ahead and warm my room up." She took Twilight's hand. "I want to talk to Twilight for a bit. Transdork to Transdork."

"Sure." Starlight nodded, putting the boxes from downstairs on the table. "You need us, just scream. Goes for both of you, really. Come on, Sunset." The two went upstairs.

Juniper then gently pulled Twilight's hand, leading her into the kitchen. She gestured to the open box on the counter. "Want another Science Snack?"

"Mm-mmm." Twilight shook her head, pouting at the floor.

"Hey. Hey, Twi. Come on, look at me." Juniper nudged Twilight's crestfallen face up to meet hers, and smiled. "You know it's going to be all right, right?"

Twilight hesitated before answering. "Well, of course. I mean, in the end, she's a fictional character. And yet, I let myself get so invested her, for so long. So irrational, so illogical, and yet..." Twilight shook her head and sighed. "I just feel so dumb caring about this so much, even while at the same time, I can't stop caring. I'm sorry, Juniper. I'm not usually like this."

"No, don't be sorry!" Juniper squeezed Twilight's hands. "Look, when I saw that film in theaters as a kid? I was devastated. And so was, like, every single girl in that theater! Even what few boys were there were shaken. The last thing you are is alone in this."

Juniper let go of Twilight and leaned against the kitchen counter with a sigh. "Sudden change always sucks in the moment, especially when you were a fan of the status quo." She gave Twilight a wry grin. "And no, I don't count her consciousness fusing into Hottrot as her not dying, either."

Twilight sputtered into laughter. "Heck, no!" She calmed down just as quickly. "Made for a decent character arc, though? I mean, Hot had a hard time doing anything right, but she had a good heart, and kept trying anyway, so it certainly was a little cathartic when..." She put her fingers to her chin, mulling over her words. "Wow. I guess it did make sense. I mean, massive hole in my heart aside, that was a well-told story."

Juniper smiled from ear to ear. She bounced in place, clenching excited fists. "I know, right? Like, did you see that massive thirty-person debate battle at the end? Talk about a set piece!"

"I'd never heard diplomatic arguments made so well!" Twilight said, matching Juniper's smile. "To say nothing of spoken so well! The voice acting was absolutely fantastic!"

"All proven talent, even for the time," Juniper said. "What'd you think of the soundtrack?"

"Whoa, thanks for reminding me." Twilight took out her phone, tapped its screen several times, then put it back into her skirt pocket. "And bought."

Juniper giggled. "Or heck, what about the awesome way Hottrot escaped that death trap?" She leaned over. "Using science?"

"Okay, now you're just patronizing me," Twilight said.

"Yeah?" Juniper leaned further in, her grin showing teeth. "Stop me."

Twilight looked straight back into Juniper's eyes. "No way."

Both girls giggled again.

"But yeah. I'm happy you still liked it even in the face of That One Thing." Juniper leaned back against the counter again, and stared into space. "That movie was one of those experiences that... really changed me. It opened my eyes to where films could take me, and how they could make me feel. An entirely new universe, through a window right in front of me. It made me want to make my own. But better. And, of course, by 'better', I mean that the girls who I wanted to live would actually live."

"I can get behind that," Twilight said. "I'd love to watch more movies with you, Juniper. I get the feeling I'd learn a lot. We'd have fun, too."

"R-Really?" Juniper said, flushing warmly, and doing her best not to sound too excited. "I-I mean, I'd love that too! Sure, we can set that up. Wow, and here I thought you were the type of girl who just liked doing experiments in her lab all day."

"Not all day." Twilight winked. "One has to sleep sometime."

"Hah! Same here. Though not for a while yet. Anyway, you should go upstairs. Don't want to keep our real-life Transformares waiting. I'll be up as soon as I stash these leftovers."

"Sure," Twilight said, heading out of the kitchen and towards the staircase. "Don't get sucked into another dimension through your fridge."

"Oh, I would so abuse that if it were possible." Juniper said, picking up the boxes and consolidating pizza slices.

"You're not the only one," she heard a new voice say from the kitchen entryway.

Juniper yelped, barely avoiding dropping the pizza box in her hand, then turned to see Starlight. "Oh, thank goodness," she said. "I thought you went upstairs, though."

"I did. Then Sunset and I realized that too much pizza and nothing to wash it down meant we needed water, pronto." Starlight filled two glasses from the faucet, then took a huge gulp. After a sigh of satisfaction, she tilted her head and looked at Juniper. "It's been a while since I've stricken that much fear in someone's heart, though. Everything all right?"

Juniper considered playing it off, but one look at Starlight's concerned face put the kibosh on that idea. "Starlight... have I been doing all right tonight? With this sleepover, I mean."

Starlight came closer. "In what way?"

"I mean... I keep being scared that anything I could do could make the three of you... not like me at any moment. Hate me, even. I keep hearing—"

"Voices in the back of your mind saying you're going to Tartarus if you blink at someone funny, and it's just a matter of time until you do that anyway?" Starlight finished.

"Yes!" Juniper gasped. "I-I mean, the part about the mythological, all-tormenting abyss of no escape, not so much, but..."

Starlight nodded, taking another swig from her glass. "It was for like that for me back in Equestria right after I was... thwarted. Couldn't stop it for weeks. Took a bunch of this world's pony counterparts to get me back on track—and a few unexpected outsiders."

Starlight placed the glasses on the counter, walked in front of Juniper, and nudged her chin up. "What I learned through all my fears and mistakes, is that these are girls who don't give up on you. Especially if you don't give up on yourself." She grinned. "Double especially if you keep knocking it out of the park like what I just saw you do with Twilight."

Juniper blushed. "That one just came to me. Like it did with the two girls at CHS I promised to help yesterday."

"From what I've heard and seen, I have a feeling you have a better eye for understanding people and situations than you might think. Don't sleep on it." Starlight exhaled. "Comes in handy a whole bunch, believe me."

"Think I'm starting to see that a little bit. Thanks, Starlight," Juniper said.

"Of course. Come on, let's go talk to the others. What better way to prove that your fears are just that?"

"Ahhh, there you are," Sunset said as the she saw the two enter the bedroom. She flashed a slanted grin at Juniper. "Twilight tells me she's not broken anymore. Good job."

Juniper chuckled. "Happy to help."

"Which approaches ironic," Starlight said, "given why we're all here right now." She turned to Juniper. "Twilight told me and Sunset that when you called her, you sounded... not good."

"To put it mildly," Juniper said, her heart feeling heavier already. "And I'm sorry for scaring you all, really. I just didn't know what to think, and there were so many feelings at once, and none of them were good, and I've never had any experience handling that before, and…" She trailed off.

Twilight placed her hand on Juniper's shoulder. "And you're not the first. I promise. There's nothing to be sorry about. But we would like to know what's going on, so we can better help."

"After the Friendship Games,” Sunset said, “Twilight and I became friends, and we began confiding in each other, since we had both been touched by magic in ways that we weren't proud of." Sunset and Twilight shared a nod. "It proved to be pretty good for both of us. We both learned a lot about each other, and about emotions we don’t usually share with other people. It really helped both of us out."

Juniper nodded. "That makes sense."

"And when I first visited this world, Sunset invited me over," Starlight said, "and just let me talk about how I felt about my life. All of my life, too, even the stuff I didn't want to think about too much. No judgment or anything. I learned a lot when I did, but beyond that, it just felt really nice."

"We thought about including you back then, but things were weird, and we didn't know you as well as we do now. And I guess, deep down, we maybe were still a little uneasy given what had just happened between you and us?" Twilight said, looking away.

Juniper sighed. “Yeah. That makes sense, too.”

Twilight shook her head. "But I wanted to change that! Because it didn't take any of us long to learn that the worst thing you can do is keep these things bottled up. They always fester, and then come back to you in the worst ways."

"Can also confirm," Starlight added. "In a literal sense. Long story, involves spells gone wrong. But yeah, we want to know everything. That you're comfortable with telling us right now, that is. No judgment anywhere. This is all about sharing. Getting it out there."

"Especially since," Twilight said, "as said before, the four of us are sort of an exclusive club. In a way, we're all we've got."

"I understand." Juniper took stood up, walked over to her bed, and sat. She folded her hands, took a deep breath, and began the unenviable task of putting all the feelings and memories she'd been running away from over the past couple of months into words.

Then, after a long exhale, she spoke.

"I work—well, used to work—at the movie studio on the other side of Canterlot with my uncle, Canter Zoom. I was there for years. My role there was pretty much to just go around making things easier for everyone. Whether that meant getting coffee, making sure props were in the right place, taking supply inventory, you name it, I did it. I guess you could call it an 'extended internship,' because I didn't get paid all that much for it, but really, I would have done it for free. It made the crew and my uncle happy, which made me happy, too.

"But I guess..." Juniper closed her eyes. "Having been there so long, I got it into my head that just because I technically was part of the studio staff, and because I liked movies a whole bunch, that clearly meant I could be part of a professional production on the other side of the camera." She sighed. "You know. Without any professional acting training or experience. Figured I could just cut the line."

She looked up and around for a response. The others simply nodded, still listening, their expressions still neutral. Relieved, Juniper continued.

"When the Daring Do movie deal was inked, I got to know before anybody that Uncle Canter was chosen to direct. I was beyond excited, because her books are just as much of an inspiration to me now as they were when I was little." She looked at Twilight with a small smile. "One might say I have a hard time acting my age."

Twilight smiled back.

"But I'd known for years that I wanted, more than anything, to play as Daring in a movie. Partially because, if I did, then maybe people would finally—" Juniper hesitated. "You know what, not important. Point is, I somehow thought that, given where I worked, and how long I'd been there, I actually had a chance at the role."

Juniper rolled her eyes and huffed. "In the back of my mind, I think I always knew I was being crazy. But I came up with that stupid, stupid 'trouble on the set' scheme anyway." She looked down at the floor, studying strands of carpet fabric.

"I don't know what possessed me to go through with it," Juniper continued, tensing and clenching a fist. "I just knew I wanted something so bad, and nothing else was working! And then Chestnut got picked, a-and I just..." She shuddered and sighed.

The other three girls sat on the bed with Juniper, with Twilight and Starlight gripping Juniper's hands on either side, and Sunset squeezing Juniper's shoulders from behind. The gentle, soothing gestures surprised Juniper, along with their reassuring gazes. They also encouraged her to move forward, past the part where she usually tried to stop thinking about the incident altogether.

"I lost it. I got so jealous and angry. I couldn't think straight at all. And in the end, I hurt so many people," Juniper whispered, feeling her eyes misting. "They depended on me, and I destroyed all of the trust they put in me." She looked over at the others, took off her glasses, and wiped her eyes. "I-I've never had much in the way of friends. But until then, it was fine, because I had my uncle, I had the crew, and I was in a place I loved more than anything, being around what I loved more than anything. And then I just... threw all that out."

Juniper put her glasses back on, got up, walked to her window, and looked outside. She barely noticed the others join her side as she looked out into the far distance, where a lit studio lot could be seen. For the first time in weeks, she forced herself to look at it directly, and withstand the lump that surfaced in her throat when she did.

"The day I was officially expelled from the studio was awful. Everyone who knew what had really happened, looked at me like I'd betrayed them, which I pretty much had. They made sure to avoid eye contact as I was escorted around the set one final time to gather my things. No one wanted to say anything mean, but they still all looked so heartbroken. The rest who were kept in the dark just wanted to ask why I was leaving. But I couldn't say anything.

"Finally, I was escorted out—and the moment I heard the gates slam shut behind me, I knew right then that I had absolutely nobody left in my life." She sniffled. "And no purpose to it anymore, either."

Starlight stepped close and took Juniper's hand. "That's not true," she whispered. "You know that, right?"

Juniper stayed quiet for several moments in lieu of answering Starlight's question. She then closed her eyes, and continued her story.

"Anyway, postscript to this is that I still have a few people on the inside who talk to me through e-mail. They say security's been beefed up. Everything's just that much more tense there now, and probably will be for a while, until they're sure—" Juniper choked on the words. "Until they're sure somebody like me won't happen again."

Starlight leaned over and hugged Juniper. Juniper turned and wrapped her arms around Starlight, feeling a little warmer, a little more at ease, but the lump in her throat getting bigger nonetheless. She'd given up trying to control her sniffles as well.

"I-I just want to make it all go away," Juniper said, her voice now a soft whimper. "Make it like it used to be. If it meant giving up all the time I spent on set, all the way back to when I was younger? I'd do it! This is so much worse! Punish me, sure, but not them, too!"

"Have you tried telling the people on set how you feel about this?" Starlight asked. "Or your uncle?"

Juniper shook her head. "Back then I was too angry. Now I'm too scared. It wouldn't do any good anyway. I've messed up too many peoples' lives, including my own."

"Speaking as someone who's said exactly those words," Sunset said, "I promise you, it does do good. Some people will accept an apology right away, and some won't. Both of those things are completely okay. For most people, though, apologies require time and consistent action for them to stick, but eventually, forgiveness does follow." Sunset placed her hand on Juniper's shoulder. "And trust can be rebuilt."

Juniper closed her eyes, trying to imagine the studio crew welcoming her back—the people she'd betrayed, with barely a hint of remorse at the time—with open arms.

She tried imagining having a heart-to-heart with her uncle, where they talked about things. Where he forgave her. Where life went on, as if nothing had happened.

She tried to imagine facing the girls who had made fun of her for so many years. Who had called her weird, creepy, and useless. She tried to imagine them apologizing, and herself saying that it was all okay. That in the long run, she didn't care what they thought.

She then imagined being face to face with Suri Polomare... and that was as far as she got before she had to stifle a scream. Her body tensed in Starlight's arms. She shook her head, regretful that she'd ever tried thinking back to old times, or dared thinking of better ones.

"What if I don't deserve any of what you just said?" she asked in the tiniest of voices.

Twilight gasped. "Juniper, no! Don't ever think that, please!"

But it was impossible now. Multiple trains of thought—now nightmare scenarios of what she knew would really happen, how those other people would really react, and how she knew she would react as well—careened out of control, every train hurtling towards each other at top speed on converging tracks. She felt dizzy from the sheer anger, the anguish, the screaming in her mind.

Juniper backed out of Starlight's hug, and away from the others, shaking her head to try and clear it. She was only partly successful, but spoke anyway.

"Look, facts are facts. Two of you standing here right now are magical prodigies in your own dimension. By default, you're special people! Ponies. Whatever. The point is, you'll always will be. "And you?" She looked at Twilight. "Outside of my uncle, I can't think of a single more amazing person I've ever met in my life! You're, like, super smart! You're going to win a ton of awards and make the world a better place in a thousand different ways!"

The trains accelerated. Whistles and horns blew, in a futile attempt to stop the inevitable.

"Meanwhile, what am I?" Juniper looked around her room, every poster that met her eyes now a personal condemnation. "The 'pop culture nerd'. Encyclopedia of useless knowledge, fangirl of other peoples' make-believe stuff! On any team?" She drooped. "I'm the mascot, at best. There's nothing I bring to the table. And the rest of the world always knew that, too!"

"That's not what you were telling me the other day." Twilight shook her head. "And I know two girls that you're meeting tomorrow who would say differently, too!"

Juniper tried thinking about Photo and Sunny. How would they really feel about her tomorrow? Going by her track record she knew. Failure visualized itself in her mind, and if there had been any chance of stopping a catastrophe before, it was impossible now.

"Oh, right, them," Juniper said, with a disdainful laugh as thunder rolled outside. "Ugh, I can't believe I dove into trying to be useful to people." She shook her head. "They were wrong to trust me, though. I-I can't be trusted, they should have placed their faith in someone who was worth—"

A chill rushed through Juniper, and her brain buzzed with static. The ability to continue her line of reasoning left her, not that she saw the point of trying anymore.

The trains crashed into each other, igniting a mind-deafening explosion, destroying any hope that might have been traveling within them.

At least the fireball was pretty.

"I... need some air." Whirling around, Juniper strode out of the room.

She barely heard Twilight say, "Juniper, wait!" as she made her way to the front door as fast as she could. She opened the door, and looked outside. While the rain had stopped, it was still dark and windy. She decided she didn't care, and stepped out into the storm.

This was a mistake. All of it was.

She felt the chill again, and hugged herself. The buzzing worsened, becoming a beehive in her mind. I can't believe that for a minute there, I thought having 'friends' around me would actually help. I'm still a lost cause. I'm still useless. And I always will be.

She walked around the side of her house, towards her backyard, where nobody would be able to see her cry in peace. The storm would muffle her as well. Bonus. On the way, she passed by a window—and at the same moment lightning flashed, illuminating her reflection.

And once again, she saw it. Saw her. A long-haired young woman. A smug smile. A face which looked eerily just like Juniper herself, after the longest of studio makeup sessions.

"It is you!" Juniper gasped, and ran the rest of the way to her backyard. The thunder boomed harder. "Why are you here? What do you want with me? You're the half the reason I'm in this mess!"

She slipped on a patch of grass, yelping, and barely managing to stop her fall with her hands. She sat on her heels and screamed, putting her hands over her head, her mind swirling, her heart pulsing, trying to grasp at any semblance of thought or reason, and coming up blank with every attempt.

Why can't you just leave me alone? Why can't everyone? I'm done with this world! I'm done trying to fit in it! I'm done with everything! Just go away!

"Finally," she heard a voice reply through the angry sky, "you're beginning to understand."

Juniper looked up.

That voice.

It was the same voice that had been harassing her this whole time, and now she knew—it belonged to the one thing she'd never wanted to see again as long as she lived, yet which she'd already seen twice in the past hour.

And, once again, there was no one around but herself.

Juniper stood back up with a start. "Seriously! Why is this happening to me?" she shouted, before blinking exactly once.

When she opened her eyes, her backyard, and her house—to say nothing of the rest of Canterlot—were nowhere to be found.

08: Turning Back to the Future, Part II

Juniper rose to her feet and looked around. She soon recognized where she was—the posters of Canter Zoom's previous works, scattered filming equipment, and large mahogany office desk were a dead giveaway.

I'm in the studio. The director's office. But why?

The storm that had been going on all night now raged stronger than ever outside the window. And standing in front of that window, with his back to Juniper, was the one person she had been afraid of approaching for weeks.

"Uncle Canter?" Juniper ventured, taking a step forward.

Canter didn't move. "Why are you here?" he asked.

"I..." Juniper took more steps forward. "I-I was hoping we could talk."

"About?" came another curt reply.

A flash of lightning preceded Juniper's words. "About, well... you know... everything?"

Canter turned around, his expression and voice exasperated. "Oh. You mean about how, once upon a time, I had a loving niece who was also the world's best assistant. Until one day, she decided to become something else."

Straight to the point. Juniper already knew this wasn't going to end well. She stepped back. "I-I said before, though, I'm—"

Canter rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, 'I'm sorry'." He sighed. "It loses its meaning after the tenth time, Juniper. Besides, I'm sorry, too. Sorry I ever trusted you."

Juniper gritted her teeth. If she never heard that word again, it'd be too soon. "I get it, all right? I screwed up! But I want to make up for it! Isn't there any way I can prove myself?"

Canter shook his head, walking to his desk and sitting down behind it. "Sorry, but you've proven way too much already. You only get one chance in this world, Juniper, and you threw it away. The only reason I didn't take stricter action is because you're family, but the industry has no room for saboteurs.

"You've been blacklisted," he said, the words daggers to her heart. "You're already banned from the studio, but I'll need all of the 'indefinite loaner' equipment back from you as well."

A massive clap of thunder boomed. "Blacklisted?" Juniper croaked, barely able to get the word out. She took more steps back. "You... went that far?"

"I didn't," Canter replied with another, longer sigh. "But word gets around. Like I said, family connections are the only reason things aren't worse for you. It took every string I could pull just to get you that job at the mall theater—and look how that turned out."

He looked straight into her eyes. Juniper peered back, hoping to see even the least amount of sympathy in his, and failing. "Make no mistake, Juniper. What you did on the lot, to say nothing of the stunt you pulled at the mall afterwards, is proof positive that Applewood just isn't for you. And now, it never will be."

Juniper felt her resolve crumbling, along with the ability for her limbs to support her weight. "But... but I love film!" she whimpered. "Movies are everything to me! You were a huge reason for that! If that path is closed off to me, what do I even do?"

"That's not a question I can answer." Canter folded his hands. "Look, Juniper, lots of people 'love film', but never end up releasing any. I suggest asking them what they found to do instead."

Juniper's heart froze. "But—"

"This discussion is over. And we won't have it again."

Juniper looked at her uncle, and his unwavering expression, and the reality set in: this Canter Zoom was no longer the loving, supportive man she'd known for years. There was no point in trying to appeal to him. He was no longer on her side. Nearly stumbling over herself, Juniper ran out of the room, wiping away tears.

Nowhere I go is safe! Nobody I know is safe! I'm not safe out of my own mind, or in it! And now I've been—

She stopped.

Wait. Blacklisted? That never happened. Uncle Canter and I never had that talk. That's just...

She gasped.

This is what I've always been afraid would happen.

She wiped the last of the tears from her eyes, only to see darkness wherever she looked. She pushed down the creeping fear and dread, tentatively testing the ground she couldn't see. Mildly relieved that she could still walk, she took a few more steps.

In the midst of step number three, she bumped into a person. With a scream, she jumped back, and saw a young woman standing in front of her.

Once again, she looked a lot like Juniper, except also not at all. She had long green hair fashioned into impeccable curls, had blush and eyeshadow applied in exactly the right places, and didn't wear glasses. She stood before Juniper in a full-length jewel-encrusted sparkling blue dress, visibly proud of her appearance, and commanding of attention.

Upon further reflection, Juniper reconsidered the resemblance—she wasn't sure if she would ever match this woman's level of beauty, even after the longest of salon sessions. This wasn't the towering monstrosity she'd turned into on that fateful day in the mall, but the fashionable diva she'd originally seen when she'd bought the enchanted mirror hours before. She was the perfect picture of a cinematic starlet, Juniper concluded, mentally dubbing her as such for convenience's sake.

It was a look Juniper would have to grow into—and she knew that she wanted to. She just didn't want the personality that came with it. "Who... are you?" Juniper said, blinking and shuddering. She shrank back. "Are you here to hurt me? To take me over?"

Starlet didn't answer, instead, walking around Juniper, never taking her eyes off her. Every step she took echoed in the darkness.

Juniper trailed Starlet's path with her eyes, then shook her head, placing her hand to her temple. This was all so confusing. "Why have you been in my head all night?" she demanded, before an idea struck her. She stopped in her tracks. "Wait a minute. I've heard about you from my Twilight! You're... you're the monster in me, aren't you? Brought to life by magic from another world."

A surge of anger bubbled inside of Juniper, and she clenched a fist. "Everything's been your fault!" she shouted. "The sooner I overcome you, show the world that I'm not awful like you, the sooner I'll be better! The sooner I'll be worth becoming friends with!"

In an instant, Starlet was in Juniper's face with a sneer. Her lips didn't move, but Juniper heard her reply, clear as day.

"Do you really believe that?"

Juniper shivered and shrank back harder, but just as quickly gathered her nerve, and straightened herself, with a defiant glare of her own. "Yes! Yes, I do!"

Her voice slipped into insecure softness. She closed her eyes, and spoke again. "I have to. Everything else I've tried to believe in has... well, backfired."

Starlet nodded, then stepped back. A demure giggle echoed through the blackness. She outstretched her arm towards the void in front of them.

With a single swipe of that arm, the void swished aside like a curtain.

When Juniper opened her eyes, she found herself sitting somewhere soothing and comfortable. She looked around. It was the backseat of a car—no, a limousine? A spacious one, at that.

She felt different fabric covering herself than what she was used to. She looked down, and found that she was wearing a lavish full-length green dress, a fluffy pink scarf around her neck—and she still had her glasses, she saw as she reached up. She sighed in relief, as she enjoyed being able to see.

With the push of a button, she rolled down the window, and looked outside. What she saw made her jaw drop in disbelief. The limo rolled up to the deluxe-sized Canterlot Central Theater—where she could see the entryway packed with crowds of people, held back only by velvet rope.

The limousine stopped in front, her door opened, and a chauffeur's arm reached out to her. Juniper took her hand, and stepped out, seeing a green carpet rolling out in front of her as she did so.

And the crowd exploded. Metaphorically, fortunately—wherever she was, it wasn't an action movie. She heard her name screamed, loudly and often. Camera flashes flared all over. Some of them held up signs with her face on it.

She looked up. The cinema sign read:

"Leaving Everything Behind"
Starring Juniper Montage

The final piece fell into place, and clicked, stunning Juniper on the spot. "This is a premiere," she mouthed in an incredulous whisper. "My premiere."

"Juniper! Juniper!" A high school boy fought his way to the front of the crowd. "I loved you so much in Light of Justice!"

"Do you think you could you visit my school?" said a blushing high school girl who had done the same. "We could... hang out, you know?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "'Hang out, you know'? Bad enough you're trying to ask her out when I was asking her first, but that's your best line?"

"Buzz off! You're just mad because I asked faster!"

Juniper elected to not answer. Instead, she continued down the carpet, ignoring their bickering cries of "Just great, she's leaving now!" and "It's your fault!". As she walked, bewildered, she did her best to tune out the fans and even reporters, though she found herself no less grateful for their presence.

No less happy.

This. This is what I've always wanted.

"It's what we've always wanted," Juniper heard as she reached the end of the carpet. Starlet waited at the lobby doors, wearing a fashionable white movie usher's uniform with green buttons and trim. The voices of the crowd were by now a faint, distant murmur, allowing her to be heard clearly. "And the best part? It can be yours—ours—so, so easily."

"Oh, you can talk like normal people now?" Juniper snapped. "Finally admitting that it was you who's been harassing me this whole time?"

"I needed you to see before I said too much," Starlet said, gesturing towards the closed doors beside her. "I needed you to see everything."

"By constantly hitting the rewind and fast forward on my mind? By making me relive my worst moments? Witness my worst fears in first-person?" Juniper took a stern step forward. "I'm going to ask you, one last time, the same thing I've been asking you all night: what do you want from me?"

"To embrace who you are!" Starlet said. "Embrace what you've done! Stop trying to make everyone else happy! It does nothing for us!"

"But... but I've made mistakes," Juniper said, confusion in her voice. "Real mistakes, that weren't anyone's fault but my own. It's only right that I make up for them, isn't it?"

"And exactly how do you plan to mend the complete mess that's been made of things?" Starlet said, walking up to Juniper and putting her arm around her. "Yes, you could try. But you and I already know how it is out there. You and I know how little people care—and how easily people can hate when you give them the slightest reason or permission!"

Starlet slid around in front of Juniper, sliding her arm off of, and her hands onto, Juniper's shoulders. She stared into Juniper's eyes. "And you know how disappointingly the world we live in is not the movies we love. Out there, the bad guys can win, and usually do."

Her voice slipped into softness. "But here, the world as you dictate. You are, and can be, whoever you wish to be, for as long as you wish to be her. All of the pain, the sadness, people misunderstanding you, fearing you, hating you, whether they deserve to or not..."

She leaned into Juniper, whispering two final words in her ear.

"All gone."

Starlet let go of Juniper, and walked back to the cinema doors. However, even though Starlet was now several strides away, her words lingered in Juniper's heart.

Juniper heard doors unlatching, creaking ajar. She tried to look through the newly opened doorway, but all she could see was a bright white light shining out from it. It was impossible to see anything inside.

"We've tried so many things, and nothing's changed. We've suffered enough, Juniper. There's only one way to escape." Starlet held out her hand, her voice encouraging and inviting. "Let's go see the premiere. Let's go see the universe as it could be—as it deserves to be. Let's be stars together."

Juniper looked back. There were still dozens of people, cheering, chanting her name, saying how much they loved her. They didn't stop for a moment. There didn't seem to be a catch.

This was it. That was all she'd ever wanted. True, she would have settled for far less. For just not being hated.

But worship worked, too. Worked for how tired she was. Tired of it all. Tired of how people hated her, tired of how, even when things were going well for her socially, she could never escape the fears, the nightmares. Tired of losing all hope of those nightmares going away, especially after she pulled her sabotage antics.

And, especially right now, tired of magic.

I'm over the world. Over friends. Over trying to prove myself. Why bother trying anymore?

Juniper's decision struck even her as unnervingly easy, and she elected not to think about it. Thinking had led her to far too many terrible places lately.

"I..." She reached her hand out towards Starlet's, stepping towards her and the door. "Okay. Let's go."

"You've made the right choice," Starlet said with a widening smile—a smile which looked almost relieved. She took Juniper's hand. "You and I will never have to be sad again."

Starlet's hand was cold. Juniper ignored it, her heart swelling with each passing second from the words she'd just heard. "That sounds wonderful," she breathed.

They took the final steps towards the door—and then, Juniper heard a faint voice, growing louder even amidst the buzzing of the crowd.

"Juniper, no! No, please! Don't do it!"

Juniper stopped where she was upon recognizing the voice. "Twilight?"

"Juniper! None of this is real!" Twilight's voice echoed around her. "Please! You have to come back to us! You have to wake up!"

"Come back?" Juniper said, letting go of Starlet and looking around her frantically. "Wake up? Where are you?"

Juniper then saw Twilight running up the carpet. Starlet gritted her teeth, and swept her hand in Twilight's direction. More velvet ropes appeared in thin air. They interlocked together, forming a net that blocked all entry past the box office. Twilight pushed and struggled against them, but the velvet net held her at bay.

"There," Starlet said. "Distraction dealt with."

Juniper shook her head and sighed, backing herself towards Starlet as she looked at Twilight through the ropes. "Sorry, Twi," she said, her voice melancholy. "But I get it now. You shouldn't have bothered forgiving me. Nobody should have. I'm the worst sort of person. I'm a monster." She looked away, and sniffled. "Possibly literally, given the whole magic thing. Anyway, it's time I accepted it. I'm just sorry you took up a lost cause."

She looked back at Twilight, expecting protest. Even if she did, though... well, it was time to see a movie. She reached out to take Starlet's hand again, for the first and final time.

And Twilight spoke.

"You are a monster, Juniper."

Juniper whirled around. "Yes, I am, Twilight! Don't try to argue against me on—" She stopped and blinked. "Wait, what?"

"And so am I," Twilight continued, gripping the ropes. "And you know what? So is Sunset. So's Starlight. Heck, let's throw in Rainbow Dash, Principal Celestia, Fluttershy, even Canter Zoom!"

"Hey, now!" Juniper gritted her teeth in indignance. "Don't you dare talk about my—"

"We all have monsters inside of us!" Twilight yelled, pushing her hardest. "Everyone in the universe! Everyone in every universe! They claw away at our hearts, our resolve, our joy and happiness, and never give us a moment's peace! And when we try to stand up to them, they bring up the pain of the past, or our deepest, darkest fears, and it always, always works! It's horrible! And it's universal! No one's the 'worst sort of person' for it, because in that respect, we're all the same!"

Juniper stood, frozen, watching and hearing Twilight gasp for breath. In retrospect, she should have realized that a science genius would have had such a way with words.

"The way we differ is in who lets their monsters win," Twilight continued. "And the only way they win? The only way we really become them ourselves? Is if we believe them when they try to tell us that that's all we are. But we're not, Juniper. You're not."

Juniper faltered. "But... but I've... but I am, Twi," she choked. "I really am."

Twilight shook her head. "Not to me, Junie. Not ever to me. I've been exactly where you are. I know what it took to get me out of it."

Juniper fell silent.

"The Juniper Montage I know is sweet and funny, and she's exactly the kind of massive dork I wish I'd met sooner. Sure, she makes mistakes. Sure, she blows some things out of proportion. Who doesn't, though? I got silly over a kids' movie tonight—one near and dear to her heart. But guess what? She didn't judge me. She didn't hate me. Because she's done the same thing."

Starlet gritted her teeth, grunted, and snapped her fingers. The ropes holding the crowd back fell away, and they rushed the net, crowding Twilight, doing her best to pull her away. Twilight hung on for dear life.

"Which was why she could understand me! Just like she understood Sunny Flare and Photo Finish! I know she thinks she failed them, but given what I've heard from their own mouths, she's wrong about that too! The Juniper Montage I know is creative and passionate and so many wonderful, worthwhile things! Can all these people say that about you? They say they love you, but do they really?"

"Of course, they do!" The Starlet said, wrapping her arms around Juniper, more tightly than she had before. She pointed to the crowd. "Look at them! Can't you tell they clearly love us? More than anyone in the world ever could?"

The crowd erupted in an affirmative chorus of shouts.

"Juniper," Twilight said, "they may chant your name, but do you know any of theirs?"

The words hit home. Juniper looked amongst the crowd, at the dozens—no, hundreds, of people. She didn't recognize a single face. Even when I hurt Uncle Canter, it hurt me, too. Because we meant so much to each other.

A pendant appeared around Twilight's neck, and her body glowed with a violet aura. The ropes fell away. Starlet gasped, and stepped back—and at the same moment, Juniper felt a sharp pang of intense fear.

"When you go home," Twilight said, "would you feel comfortable calling or texting any of these people out of the blue? Or inviting any of them over to your house? Would you feel comfortable telling them your greatest fears? Do you think they would understand? Because you can do that with me." The sea of moviegoers parted around Twilight, and she stepped forward. "I'll always want to be your friend, Juniper."

Juniper inhaled deeply, not sure what to think. Her body took steps towards Twilight before her mind registered the action. "Always?" she breathed.

Twilight nodded and smiled. "I'll always want to visit you, or for you to visit me. We can watch movies, do lab experiments, go out to eat, take trips around the city or to different ones, or even just walk and talk a bunch. And even if I don't outright love everything you're into, I promise I'll always at least be interested, just because it's part of who you are! And I want that in my life. I want Juniper in my life."

Juniper's mind and heart reeled. No one had ever said those sorts of words to her before. Could she believe them? More than being Daring Do, more than making up for her past, she wanted to believe the words she'd just heard more than anything.

"And so do the other girls," Twilight said, as she and Juniper met in the middle. "They all feel the same way. The question is, do you feel that way about us? It's completely your decision. But it's one you have to make. You have to ask yourself if friends—real friends—truly are what you want.

"I had to do the same. I said yes. And because of that, look where we are. Now we're here, able to talk to each other."

"I-I..." Juniper stammered, looking into Twilight's eyes. "We are, aren't we?"

Juniper reached her hand out.

And then, the fear came back, another knife to Juniper's chest.

"No!" Starlet roared, and tugged Juniper back. "Don't listen to her! You've been here before! We both have! ‘Friends’ are just more people to let us down! To let you down!"

The crowd rushed Twilight again, grasped her again, pulled her back again. Twilight clasped her pendant, and with a relieved smile, waved her hands gently from side to side, gently shifting away the people away from her as if they were weightless.

"How many times have we been here before?" Starlet said. "Do you still not get what will happen if you listen to her? If you need a reminder, then have one!"

Before she could respond, Juniper felt Starlet's hands on both sides of her head. This time, they were freezing.

One blink was all it took. She was in front of her house. Twilight, Sunset, and Starlight all stood before her. Their faces were stern—no, more than that. Each girl's was different.

Sunset looked angry. Starlight looked hurt.

And Twilight stared at Juniper, looking utterly betrayed, and on the verge of tears. Juniper's mind spun. What had she done? What was going on? Why was this always what happened?

One by one, they shook their heads—and one by one, they turned and walked away. Juniper tried to run after them. The ground fell apart under her feet for her troubles, and she fell, endlessly, into pitch blackness.

No! Juniper's mind screamed. Twi! Sunset! Starlight! Come back! Please! I'll do anything you want! I'll promise I'll be a better person! Please don't hate me too! I can't lose anyone else!

Starlet removed her hands from Juniper's temple. Juniper's vision blurred back into focus, along with Twilight in front of her. She gasped for her breath between choked sobs.

It was another vision. It wasn't real. But Starlet had a point. Would it be, eventually?

Twilight shook her head. "We would never hate you."

Juniper gasped. "How did you—"

"You were kind of screaming out loud just now. Seriously, give us a chance. It's okay to make mistakes with friends. We'll let you know when you do, sure, but we'll also know you're just being yourself. And above all, that's what we'll always want.

"There will be some bad times, because we're all human. But they'll always be better when we're together. Whenever you want to be sad? Or angry? Or even a little mean? Be those things." Twilight winked. "We'll ride them out with you."

Juniper perked up with a gasp. It couldn't be. She totally understood that reference. "And... when I get finished feeling all those things?" she probed.

Twilight nodded with a confident and earnest smile. "We'll still be here."

Juniper's grin could have rivaled the sun in size and brightness. She could feel true warmth in her heart for the second time that night, and the first time in years—along with a rising panic. Juniper looked back at Starlet, who was close to hyperventilation. Her gasps rose in volume, until she finally screamed.

"No! You can't!" A white beam of light erupted from Starlet's outstretched hand, engulfing Twilight.

"Yes, I can!" Twilight struggled against it, moving forward at half pace. "And I'm bringing my friend back with me!" She held her hand out in front of herself. Her body re-covered itself in violet light, which then channeled from her palm, pushing Starlet's light backward.

"Don't you realize what you're doing?" Starlet said, her voice cracking. "Don't you realize just how much happier I—she and I—would be here? Get out!" She reared her other, also glowing, hand back. Twilight held up her other hand in kind.

Both of them thrust those hands forward, and suddenly Juniper had the strangest flashback to the first and last time she'd attempted a Neighponese movie marathon. She looked back and forth between both girls, feeling sidelined. Aside from her heart racing a mile a minute, she wasn't even a part of things anymore.

Or am I? Twilight's here. She's even winning. So why am I still so scared?

Her heart raced faster. Words, so many words flooded her mind, so much yelling, pleading, confusion, heartbreak, hope? She clutched her head with her hands as her mind swirled, her heart pinballed, with so many emotions at once, all fighting as intense a battle as Twilight and Starlet were.

Starlet's light doubled in intensity, pushing Twilight's back. "You won't take her!" she shouted. "You won't make her leave me all alone! I'm all she has! She's all I have! I can't lose anyone else!"

The realization hit Juniper like a ton of bricks.

She ran to Starlet, grabbing her wrists and pulling her out of the path of Twilight's light. The two of them fell to the ground. "What are you doing?" Starlet demanded.

"It's okay," Juniper said. "It's alright. I'll go with you."

The light in Starlet's hands dissipated. "What did you just say?"

Juniper flashed a reassuring smile to Starlet, causing the latter's expression to shift from angry to hopeful. The two of them stood back up. Juniper turned, and gave that same smile to Twilight.

"Thank you both. Because of you, I now know what I need to do. And I need to do it now. Otherwise, this'll just keep happening, over and over, friends or no friends." She turned back to Starlet. "Let's go."

"I knew you would do what was best," Starlet said, her voice shaking. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Juniper nodded, and the two walked to the lobby doors.

"No! Juniper, come back! We can make this right!" Twilight ran forward, and clasped Juniper's arm with both of her hands, her voice a pleading whimper. "You don't have to give up! I meant everything I said!"

"I know you did. And I'm not giving up," Juniper said, gently slipping her arm out of Twilight's hold. "But this is something I've been running away from for a long time."

She turned her back to Twilight, resolving not to look back. She could hear Twilight's sobs already—she knew that seeing Twilight's face, whatever it was right now, would hurt too much. She would be convinced to come back, and the cycle would simply continue.

She closed her eyes as she entered the theater, with Starlet at her side.

Twilight's despairing cry of "No!" was the last thing Juniper barely heard before the theater doors slammed shut behind her.

09: Turning Back to the Future, Part III

A figure in a hooded cloak raced across the city rooftops. She barely made a sound as she traveled, and her cloak allowed her to effortlessly blend into the night.

As the figure reached the next rooftop edge, she poured on even more speed, then leapt, clearing the distance to the next building with a soft, flawless landing.

Juniper Montage resisted the urge to squeal as she basked in her newfound agility. Peak human speed, alertness, reflexes—she wondered how long it would be before any of it got old. This was exhilaration she could get behind.

She didn't have long to wonder, however, as she saw several silhouettes on the roof ahead of her. Her anonymous tipster had been correct—4th and Main was where the deal was set to go down after all.

She landed behind the next roof's access hatch, once more as gently as a cat. Nobody noticed her. She surveyed her surroundings—aside from the other people, she spied a sturdy metallic pole perched close to them. Perfect for a sneak attack.

She took out her trusty grappling hook from her cloak, and fired. A clank echoed as it took hold of the pole, alerting a couple of burly men amidst the crowd to the presence of someone else.

That couple was reduced to one in short order as Juniper swung with her rope, and slammed into him with a hard kick to his solar plexus. The unexpected force sent him flying backwards, until he landed, rolled across the roof until he reached the edge, and then fell off the building with a scream.

Lights went up as Juniper landed, and she found herself surrounded by several men. Some shrank back. Others approached.

She smirked in anticipation, cracked her knuckles, and went to work.

One man lunged, slow and lumbering. She dodged, leveraged that dodge into a full 180-degree spin, and kicked him in the head, sending him speeding into two of the other approaching men and knocking all three down.

"Anyone else?" she taunted.

Three more ran in, with no reservations about throwing punches. Juniper blocked their limbs as they came with raised arms, then pushed against another incoming fist with her palms. With a whoop of invigorated joy, she backflipped to get some distance.

However, in the mist of her flip, one of the men caught hold of her cloak. Sensing this, Juniper undid its sash, allowing it to slip off without issue, but also causing her true identity to be revealed the moment she landed. In moments, a young woman in a beige archaeologist's outfit stood before the men.

"Aw, poo. Only four of you pre-reveal this time?" Juniper examined her nails—good, none broken. She unclipped her hat from the back of her shirt, smoothed it out, placed it on her head with a flourish. "Either you're getting better at your standard Slow And Clumsy Attacks, or I'm slacking. Probably both, honestly."

"It's Daring June!" one of them said.

"What are you doing so far from home?" another demanded.

"Oh, you mean what am I doing in Tartarus's Kitchen?" One of the men charged. She jumped, and stomped on his head as he approached, causing him to hit the roof asphalt, hard.

She dusted her hands. "Meh. I saw a lack of justice. Came to see what I could do about it." She tipped her chartreuse spectacles, and flashed a jubilant smile to the rest of the men. "Any suggestions?"

The rest of the men hurtled toward her. Daring June fired her grappling hook and swung again. With her other hand, she took out her trademark stun gun. The few who weren't immobilized by electric darts received kicks to the face or gut as she traveled towards her objective.

"How are you even here? You were supposed to have retired!" she heard one of them shout.

"Yeah, I know that's what the world wanted," Juniper said. "But who's got two thumbs, doesn't give up easily, and isn't afraid to use catchphrases from two decades ago? This chick! Who's about to snatch your prize, by the way."

Her goal was coming up fast—a metallic briefcase that had been lying on the middle of the roof this entire time. She grabbed it at the nadir of her flight, then continued to swing, shifting her weight to ensure her return trip would be even faster.

"Hope you don't mind me borrowing this relic indefinitely!" she said, swinging back the other way towards freedom. One final man poured on the speed, and attempted to catch up to her. In response, Daring took off her hat and threw it, beaning him straight between the eyes.

"You can keep that instead," she said as she unhooked her grapple and flew towards the next building over. "I've got plenty!"

She landed on the next roof, then made her escape, running and darting across several buildings, as quickly as she'd originally approached. Once she was half a mile away, she dusted her hands, opened the box, and took out the shining, golden unicorn symbol.

It took several minutes of looking at it for Juniper's natural high to fade. She'd always had her own ideas and concepts of how Daring Do would work in an urban setting, and now she'd lived one of them. She would be lying if she said that it wasn't everything she'd hoped for.

But it wasn't what she was here for. She sighed as the high of fantasy gave way to the truth of reality.

It was nice while it lasted.

"Cut!" she yelled, as loud as she could.

Several parts of the world around her—the skyline, the people on the ground below—fizzled away into sparkles. The sound of metal scraping against metal echoed all around her. Lights far brighter than before powered on above her. Suddenly the rooftop was no longer a rooftop, but a piece of floor surrounded by four plain navy walls, and multiple cityscape props strategically placed in all directions.

A door opened in front of her.

She walked through it, and left the set.

The studio beyond was dimly lit, and unkempt. What little flickering lights there were showed scattered studio equipment, cameras, and lights, many of which were broken. Multiple broken-down trailers peppered the distance as well.

Juniper passed one closed door with a cracked and crooked sign that barely managed to say "Makeup". She saw another open door could close by. She went to it, and looked inside to see another set: an ancient temple which looked to be at home in any Daring Do book she could care to name.

She saw yet another closed door, went to it, and tried the knob. Finding it unlocked, she opened it and slowly poked her head in. What she saw this time made her gasp: a fully functioning mock starship bridge, complete with digital readouts, a massive cockpit view, and all the buttons one could ever want. Most surprising of all, it looked pristine. Clean.

Unused, Juniper realized. She backed away, and noticed a large sign by the door of the starship set, which read "Montage Movies: Release Schedule", at the top. Juniper gaped as she saw the list of titles following below it, with every single entry stricken through in red magic marker.

Juniper spied one final door at the end of the line. She was almost afraid to go towards it, but she did anyway. She opened the door, and looked inside to see an office—the exact office she'd stood in when living through her fear of being blackmailed.

An icepick struck Juniper's heart. Hunch confirmed, even though she wished to heaven it hadn't been.

That was when she heard the sniffling behind her. Juniper turned around to see a familiar drape of green hair over the back of a canvas chair.

The sniffles turned to sobs, coming from the same direction. Starlet was crying. But why? Slowly, Juniper made her way towards her. As she did so, Twilight's words from days earlier replayed in her mind.

"I get the feeling that pretty soon, you'll have to ask yourself the exact same question I did: was it really the things you love that caused you to do everything you did weeks ago? Or was there something deeper within you, that brought that transformation, that specific side of you, to the surface?"

She thought back to the past few days, where, in multiple instances, she had to change how she acted around other people. With Photo and Sunny. With Twilight herself. Heck, even with the customers at work. She hadn't changed herself, or her true feelings, but she did remember having to temporarily put aside self-centered urges. Her pre-conceived notions of how the world worked.

Only after doing so was she ever able to gain a positive response with the people around her. Only then had she ever able to connect with those people. And in every situation, she'd only been able to connect with them after listening to them. Reading them. Allowing herself to feel how they felt.

It was how certain other people had managed to connect with her, too.

But then again, it never really was about me, was it? Even when I wanted to be Daring Do. Even when was mad at the girls, and at Uncle Canter. Even with my false friends! If I'd only ever looked outside of myself, at any of those times...

Starlet was closer now. Juniper turned her initially slow approach into a determined walk.

I can do the same here. Just like Starlight told me. I can try to understand. And fortunately for both of us, I think I already do.

"I knew it," Starlet said when Juniper was mere steps away. "I knew you didn't really mean to stay. But I didn't want to believe it. You lied."

Juniper shook her head as she stood directly behind Starlet. "Not exactly. Though I admit to leaving out a couple of details."

Starlet shook her head. "You're going to leave me. Forever. I'd say that's a pretty big detail, wouldn't you?"

"If that were my aim, would I have followed you here through the door?" Juniper walked around the chair, and stood in front of Starlet, whose head was drooped in reticence. Juniper reached out, and took Starlet's hand. Starlet flinched, but allowed the contact anyway.

"And I came with you because I'd like to talk," Juniper continued. "Because everything Twilight said about monsters was absolutely right—but she was wrong about something else. As was I."

Juniper tipped Starlet's chin up so that the two met eyes. "You're not a monster at all." She then smiled as warmly as she could. "Hi, Juniper. It's nice to meet you."

Starlet gasped. A faint glow surrounded her. Sparkles radiated, rising above her. At the same time, a pang of hope pulsed in Juniper's chest with an almost crippling intensity.

"You... j-just called me..." Starlet breathed.

Juniper gently tugged, inviting Starlet out of her seat to stand in front of her. She looked over her, feeling a lump forming in her throat, feeling her eyes already burning. This was going to sting a little, Juniper knew. At least a little. But it had to be done.

"Don't be afraid," Juniper said. "Please. I understand what's been going on now. I finally understand what you've been saying to me, telling me, this whole time. I know you've been trying to save me from pain. From sadness. From heartbreak. From the cruelty of the world. If I leave it, if I withdraw completely... it can't hurt me. Right? At least, that's the reasoning?"

Starlet didn't reply.

Juniper shook her head. "You and I really have suffered so much up until now. Because of other people, and because of our own actions. People we thought were friends hurt us. Then we hurt others, and finally ourselves. But when I tried to fix things, I pushed everything I thought I didn't like about myself as far away as possible. And I pushed it all into one convenient image—the image of who I saw on the day I was at my worst. Ironically, on that day, I would have given anything to be that person."

Juniper chuckled, and rolled her eyes. "This is so messed up, you know? I've been, like, obsessing over a desire for friends for so long. Yet in the midst of everything, I forgot the one skill that got me through the old, bad days. I forgot how to be my own friend."

She pulled Starlet closer, and into an embrace, closing her eyes and hugging her as tightly as she could. She spoke with words as soft as her bedroom pillows. "And for that, Juniper, I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me? Can... I forgive myself?"

More sparkles emitted from Starlet, surrounding them, and illuminating the studio for several moments. Juniper closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she let go, and stepped away. A mirror image of herself stood before her, with tears in her eyes.

The twin rubbed her eyes and put her glasses on. Juniper felt a rush of warmth, and knew this time that it belonged entirely to her. It'd been a long time since she'd seen herself smile, really, smile, and mean it.

Even in a mirror.

"I forgive you," the twin whispered, with that smile, and a wink to go with it.

Juniper winked back. "The feeling is mutual."

They embraced again.

After some time, they parted, and Juniper took the time to look amidst the dilapidated studio. "So, is this where the magic happens, huh? This is what happens to all my ideas, movies or otherwise?" She wandered around, with her twin keeping pace. "All these memories, fears, even fantasies—all these works in progress." Juniper spied the list on the wall. "But no releases."

The twin shook her head.

"Because, of course we want things to be perfect—" She stopped, and sighed, forcing herself to accept the truth. "No. Because I've been too scared of the response. Of what other people might think if we ever put all of myself into something. Because..." She felt the other Juniper hold her hand, providing just enough support to say the whole truth. "Because we've been burned before."

The twin nodded.

Juniper turned to her. "Is it okay if I ask something?"

The twin nodded again. "Of course."

"Do we really want to be alone forever? That seemed to be the point behind your whole 'cinema premiere' gambit. Which was ultra-cool, don't get me wrong, but wow, talk about your nuclear options."

"Being lonely is fine!" the twin exclaimed, her voice echoing in the empty studio and causing Juniper to gasp. "It’s better than everything else we've ever tried! It's better than giving all those awful, awful people out there any more reason to hate us!"

"But that's just it!" Juniper said. "Who hates us? Twilight? Starlight? Sunset? Uncle Canter and the crew before we betrayed their trust?"

Her twin's voice cracked. "Before them!"

"Yeah, exactly! Let's face it, preteen kids are socially dumb, and Suri was one time! Yet we never let ourselves open up to anyone after that!" Juniper placed her hands on her twin's shoulders. "Don't you see? Way more of this is on us than we ever wanted to think for all these years."

She saw her twin choke up again. Juniper relaxed, giving her a smile, and placing her palm on her cheek. Acting on a hunch, she swiped her other arm outward, and a projection screen lowered from the ceiling. She faced her other self towards that screen as it began playing choice memories from the last three days of Juniper's life.

"Look. You've been here with me this whole time. You've seen the same thing I've seen: a certain massive dork who's been making a really good case for herself all night. Her and her dork friends. Save for our family, I've never seen anybody else go this far for us, or care about us this much. And then you've got Starlight, and Sunset, Photo and Sunny! I can tell: none of them are like the people I used to try to make friends with. I think these might be the real deal. And... I want to take a chance on them."

Her twin sniffled.

"Maybe I'm making the wrong choice," Juniper continued. "I'm scared too, just saying all this. But if I don't try, I'll never have any answers. I'll never really know whether friends are real things I'm able to have." She held her twin's hands. "I'll always be grateful to you for trying to protect my heart, in your own way. But if there's a chance that it's possible for to have anyone around who likes me for me... then I want to take it." She sniffled. "I've always wanted one, you know? Just one."

The twin looked at Juniper, then away in resignation. "I understand."

Juniper shook her head. "Don't even go there," she said. "I don't want to lose you, either."

With a gasp, her other self perked up.

Juniper chuckled. "Seriously, why would I want to lose any part of myself? Certainly not the part that clearly holds my flair for the dramatic." Juniper gestured around the studio. "I mean, look at this amazing place! Look at the sets here? Plus, clearly, you're where my fashion sense has been hiding. And you're really driven, and motivated, and... well, I guess that means I really am all those things, right?" She stared off into space. "Maybe Twilight was right. Maybe I really do bring some things to the table."

Her twin smiled and nodded.

"So, how about it? Can we just have each other? Without the crazy illusions and the 'join me and we'll rule the empire as me and me' stuff?" Juniper said, complete with jazz hands. "I know we're both scared of... everything. But at least if we're together instead of against each other when we put ourselves out there, we can fill in each other's blanks, and have less to be scared about. And in the end, if we really do become a star, it'll mean something."

Juniper placed her hand on her other self's arm. "We can't force people to like us—and you know what? I know that deep down, we still really wish we could. But we can't. What we can do, though, is be aware of the ones who do decide to love us. From here on out, I want to try showing love back to the people who show it towards us. And I want it to be all of me who tries."

Juniper's twin was silent for a long time, before her expression brightened. "On one condition," she replied.

At those words, the studio lit up with what lights were still functioning. Several machines and cameras, buzzed to life. With visibility clear, Juniper saw that the studio they stood in was just as furnished as her uncle's—and it bore quite the resemblance to it as well.

"Put this place to good use," she heard her twin ask. "Help me bring it back. We're not perfect. Which means none of our works will be. But that's also what makes those works... us. Let's make that work for us," she said with a chuckle.

"So that's where I put my love of bad jokes." Juniper nodded, barely holding in her giddiness as she turned to face herself. "But I like how you think. Deal, and then some. Hug on it?"

As both Junipers shared one final embrace, they shone with another ivory light that spread out from both of them. When it faded, only one Juniper Montage stood in the middle of the studio, with an unparalleled feeling of fulfillment and pride. She closed her eyes and exhaled with a satisfied smile.

"That's a wrap," she whispered.

It took several moments for Juniper's vision to return. When it did, she looked around, and sighed in relief as she saw that she was in her room, and back in her bed.

Then she looked in front of herself, and saw Twilight, Starlight, and Sunset staring at her.

None of them looked happy. The events of an hour ago suddenly came rushing back, and she knew she had a lot of explaining to do.

"Or uh, maybe not," she said.

10: Social Networking

Wow, so, after all the scares, it's finally happened, Juniper thought to herself as she looked across the girls' disapproving expressions. That's irony, right?

Sunset's expression softened the tiniest bit. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"Y-yeah," Juniper said.

"What were you thinking, doing what you did?" Twilight said immediately afterwards, darting forward and gripping Juniper's shoulders. Starlight took hold of Twilight's shoulders, gently pulling her back.

Juniper sighed. Twilight had gone straight to the point, which she had expected, but had still been afraid of. "Twilight, I—" She searched her thoughts, and decided that she was ill-equipped to answer the question as things stood. She decided to even the playing field. "Actually, I have some questions too."

"Which is fine," Starlight said. "I think we've got stories to share all around."

Juniper looked around again. "Also, how come I can still only barely see anything around me?" She felt up to her eyes. "Whoa! Where are my glasses?"

"They were, uh, broken," Twilight said. "Do you have a spare?"

"Nightstand drawer, top shelf," Juniper said. Twilight reached for and retrieved them, handing them to Juniper. She put them on, and the world came back into full focus. "Wow, that's so much better."

She looked at the three again, who longer looked quite so unhappy. Twilight looked more worried than anything, Starlight looked thoughtful, and Sunset looked tired. "All right, exposition time. What happened to me, exactly? Cliffs Notes, if you can."

Sunset sighed and looked away. "Equestrian magic."

Juniper blinked, and her jaw dropped. "Again? You cannot be serious!"

"Yeah, I'm afraid I'm—" was as far as Sunset got before she slumped over with a long exhale. Starlight and Juniper caught Sunset before her head could hit the headboard. "Whoa!" Juniper added, not expecting the sight. "Forget about me, are you all right?"

"I'll be fine," Sunset replied through more deep breaths. "I've just never used my geode for that long before. Or that intensely."

"Geode?" Juniper asked.

Starlight picked up Sunset's pendant. "Stones that Sunset and her friends found in your world's Everfree Forest."

Juniper blinked. "Wait, as in the summer camp?"

Sunset nodded, and sat back on the bed. "The same. I'm sure they're connected to Equestria, I just haven't figured out how yet. Either way, they give us... powers. Mine is the ability to see into hearts and minds of anyone I touch."

Juniper thought back to the day at the mall, when Sunset grabbed her arm. "That explains way too much." She chuckled. "Though wow, that's got to be handy on dates."

Sunset chuckled back, and rolled her eyes. "You and Twilight, I swear." She saw Twilight do her best to hold back a mirthful expression.

"So Equestrian magic took me on Miss Montage's Wild Ride again, huh?" Juniper huffed and rolled her eyes. "Well, that's just prime." She looked at Twilight, who looked away, but finally giggled. Good. The calmer the situation, the better.

Starlight nodded. "You freaked out during our talk, and we saw your glasses glowing when we caught up to you. Sunset got them off the second she noticed, but you'd already fainted. Though thankfully, still with a pulse. Unfortunately, that was when you started glowing. Totally oozing magic. Also, your hair was... well, longer."

Juniper's breath hitched in her throat.

"We carried you back upstairs and put you in bed," Starlight continued. "We didn't want to call the hospital unless we had to because of magic matters, but we would have if it came down to it. Still, your face looked like you were fighting something... and losing."

"I used my geode to look in on things," Sunset said. "You were at some sort of packed movie premiere. The longer I observed, the more I was able to piece together what was going on, and tell the others. At the same time, though, I also had to tell them that I didn't know what to do."

"But, well, Twilight didn't accept that," Starlight said. "She took hold of Sunset's geode, and held on to Juniper, shouting for her not to give up and a whole bunch of other stuff. Then Twilight's geode started glowing along with Sunset's. "Neither of us know how any of that worked. But everything you heard from Twilight in whatever dream you were having, we heard out here."

Juniper blushed, and looked at Twilight, who she saw was doing the same.

Sunset looked into Juniper's eyes. "When you went into the theater anyway, Twilight went just about hysterical. Even when Starlight was the first to see that you had a new... assuredness about yourself, trying to use my geode from then on only ever resulted in static." Sunset paused and sighed. "What you did was very dangerous, Juniper. You know that, right?"

"Not really? It's not like this stuff comes with an instruction booklet," Juniper said.

"I was the instruction booklet, Juniper!" Twilight exclaimed. "I was exactly where you were a few months ago! Tempted by the monster inside me, brought by magic to the surface! It took everything I had, with all my friends behind me, not to give in. But then instead of trusting me, you went with her, and..." She sniffled. "I was sure you were lost to us. To me."

"What?" Juniper shook her head. "No way, Twilight! You and Sunset and Starlight taught me so much better than that! You were all so right—I had to look inside myself. All these months, I hated who I knew I could be when at my worst. I kept wanting to beat that. To conquer it. To make it not exist anymore. But that wasn't the way, because I now know it was me trying to beat myself. That was why I went with her! Instead of 'beating' her... I found another way."

Juniper reached out and clasped Twilight's hand. "If you were the instruction booklet, Twilight, then guess what? You worked. I trusted you all the way, which is why I did what I did. But I couldn't give away what I was planning to do just then. At least, that's what I was thinking at the time." She chuckled. "Turns out when your hearts are linked, subterfuge is kind of pointless."

Twilight tilted her head. "What... did you do?" she asked slowly.

"I went with her—with myself—so we could talk things out. And we did. That's what you wanted me to realize, right? I'm... guessing that's what you did with Midnight Sparkle, too." She looked up at Twilight with a smile. "No wonder you're so at peace with yourself."

Twilight blinked, breathing deep. "I—"

Sunset put her hand on Twilight's shoulder. "You got it in one, Juniper."

Twilight looked at Sunset. The two shared an eye-locking moment, after which Twilight nodded and sighed. "Yeah. It looks like you did."

"And you got there by going with your gut," Starlight said with a grin. "I like it."

"I would have never been able to do so without you there to guide me," Juniper said. "Most friends I've tried to make... tended to give up on me. I'm so sorry for scaring you all. But taking that chance was the best thing I've ever done." She closed her eyes, checking in with her heart. "There's so much more I feel like I can do now."

She chanced flashing a smile. "Besides, if nothing else? In movies, you always need a plot twist. Which means something always goes wrong once before you get to the happy ending."

The others chuckled. "I remember when it was me who gave the friendship lessons around here," Sunset said.

"Yeah, those were the days, huh?" Starlight said, winking at Sunset. She looked at Twilight, then at Juniper, back at Sunset again. "Can I talk to you outside? I want to ask you something."

"Sure," Sunset said, and the two got off the bed. When they were outside, Juniper squeezed Twilight's hands. "Hey. I'm not hearing a storm anymore.

Twilight nodded. "It's just a light shower, now. It's almost nice out."

"You've got an umbrella, right? I'd really love to take a walk and get some real air. And talk with you. If—" She took a deep breath. "If you want to, too?"

Twilight nodded. "I do."

"Great. Meet you downstairs? Pretty sure I'll need a quick costume change."

"Sure thing," Twilight said, getting up from the bed and heading towards the door. She looked back. "Don't fake me out this time," she said with a small smile.

Juniper rolled her eyes and smiled back. "Nothing to worry about this time. Promise."

Twilight left, and Starlight and Sunset came back in, holding a book. Juniper got out of the bed, and looked at her dress. There were some light soil stains—nothing as bad as she'd feared. Still, she would have to throw on something else before walking with Twilight.

For the moment, however, she looked at the other two girls, and the curious book which bore two familiar symbols on it. "What is that? Some kind diary?" She gasped. "Ooh! Is it a book of forbidden spells?" She paused. "Odd. For some reason, magic doesn't sound quite as appealing now as it did a couple of hours ago."

Starlight chuckled. "You were closer the first time. It's more like a communication device." She pointed the book in Juniper's direction. "Whatever I write in this book shows up in another book that's linked to it, and vice versa. In this case, the second book's in Equestria, in Princess Twilight's room. I've been checking in, reporting on how tonight went."

Juniper's eyes went wide. "Oh, wow! So that's how Sunset contacted you in the first place to ask you to come here?"

"Yep. And once tonight's over, I'm letting Princess Twilight know—even with our little magical adventure—just how glad I was to have come here tonight. How many smiles and laughs I've seen in the space of so few hours. Especially from you. Doubly especially given the last time I saw you."

Juniper giggled. "You're not the only one."

"Glad to hear it." Starlight opened at the journal and shuffled past several pages. She grabbed a handful of blank sheets, then ripped them out of the book. Juniper gasped, but Starlight nodded reassuringly.

Juniper's eyes then went wide as Starlight handed her the sheets. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Remember what I said about how I almost couldn't make it here save for the grace of a shiny magic table? Well, that'll probably always prove true, but I'll keep the corresponding pages from the book in Equestria in my room. This way you and I can talk about anything, anytime you want. And it'll be just between us."

"Oh my gosh!" Juniper threw her arms around her friend. "Starlight, thank you so much!"

Starlight hugged back. "Thank you for giving me an excuse to come here. I'm so happy we got to talk some more. I think I finally see what Twilight sees in keeping our connections, so I want to do the same with you. Thanks for helping me figure that out."

"Well, you know, next time you need me to almost fold in on myself, just text me on magic paper, I guess." Juniper chuckled and rolled her eyes.

Starlight chuckled back. "We won't let it get that far."

Beeps and vibrations echoed in the room. Starlight looked at her watch, which was glowing and rattling. "Had a hunch. Guess that was what I had to do over here. At least... the last thing."

"And it only involved bending the rules of yet another ultra-special magical artifact," Sunset said.

Starlight shrugged. "Hey, what can I say? It's what I do."

"Well, given what I'm holding onto here, I'll absolutely keep these secure." Juniper walked towards one of the walls, and peeled aside a movie poster, revealing a wall-mounted combination safe. "Voila!" she said, before unlocking it and putting the pages in.

Starlight chuckled. "That's awesome."

The book itself then vibrated, practically dancing in Starlight's arms. Juniper peered over at it. "What's going on?"

Starlight held the book open—and just barely managed to hold it still—with both hands. "We. Um. May not have warned Twilight that we were going to do that." Words appeared on its visible blank page, at high speed. "Yep. Now she's screaming. In writing. I'll probably need a few minutes."

"I'll talk her down," Sunset said. "It is technically my book as much as hers."

"Great. Could you do it in the guest room? I've got to change for a walk," Juniper said.

"Of course," Sunset said. "Come on, Starlight. It'll probably take both of us for Twilight, anyway."

The two exited, and Juniper closed the door, leaving her alone in her room for the first time in hours. It was strange how such a familiar situation... now felt the slightest bit foreign, and less desirable than the alternative.

She went to her closet to pick out another outfit. There was one last thing left for her to take care of.

11: Lone Stars

Once she changed into her more favored black skirt and purple vest, and made sure she was presentable via the bathroom mirror, Juniper went downstairs. As she approached the kitchen, she heard the dull sounds of metal hitting metal. She went through the living room, and peeked into the kitchen from there.

Twilight was at the kitchen counter, working away at her umbrella with a miniature screwdriver. A tablet sat by her side, and a small bag of tools lay close to her.

Twilight stepped back, studied the umbrella a bit, then went back to prodding it with the screwdriver some more. A wire poked out. Twilight scrunched her face, visibly unamused at the sight. She reattached the wire, then put her tools, umbrella, and tablet to the side, crossed her arms, and slumped onto the counter with a groan.

That got Juniper's attention, and she walked over. "Twilight? Are you alright?"

Twilight looked up and gasped. She turned around to meet Juniper with the speed of a grasshopper. "O-oh, hi, Juniper! I didn't hear you come in. Which is, uh, extra funny since I was expecting you."

"Yeah, sorry." She smiled, unable to avoid blushing as she did. "Though, hey, at least we're even for CHS now?"

Twilight chuckled, also unable to stop Juniper from noticing her own flushed cheeks. "Yeah, I guess we are."

"Yeah." A silence hung over the kitchen as both faces slowly regained their neutral color. Juniper did her best to ignore the current state of affairs by getting a glass of water from the faucet. She took several much-appreciated sips, then walked back to Twilight. "How are you, though? It looked like you were really hard at work just now."

Twilight nodded. "I was. Tonight's first field test of my anti-storm umbrella is technically a success." She sighed. "But the process used appears to be too much for the micro generator I'm using. It never takes very long for it to give out. I'll have to do some redesigning. Still, at least the concept's been proven."

"Wow," Juniper said, peering over the umbrella. "It's amazing that you even managed to invent this, though! I thought you were being silly over the phone when you mentioned it, but you're the real deal."

"I'm never silly about science!" Twilight beamed, then put her fingers to her chin in thought. "Okay, except when I am. But I don't keep track of when I am. Do you think I should?"

Juniper stepped closer to Twilight. "If you want, I'll keep track for you. I know you're a busy girl."

Twilight giggled. "Watch out, or I just might take you up on that."

Silence reigned once again as the two gave each other slanted smiles, and Juniper fought the most epic battle in the history of her life to keep her body temperature under control.

After several moments, Twilight turned her head, a little too quickly, towards the window. It was still drizzling. "H-hey! Want to see it in action?" Her tone turned serious. "I-I mean, if you really are okay with going outside again. I know things didn't work out so well the last time you did. But I really would love to show and tell you how this works."

Juniper gasped. "What? No, I'd love to see how it works, Twilight! Also, real air, remember?"

Twilight giggled. "Yeah, I could definitely use some too. Okay, give me just a second to get things ready and to put all this stuff away—I'd be a horrible guest if I made a mess all over your house."

"Not a big deal to me either way? But thanks for being gracious."

"Of course."

"Do you want some help?" Juniper offered.

"No, it's okay. I've got a special organizational storage system for all my supplies. Go ahead and get ready, I won't be long."

"All right, then. I'll meet you at the door."

Juniper walked out of the kitchen and to the front door, and put her coat on. She put her hand on the knob, allowing herself to calm down, cool down, and thank her lucky stars that she just barely got out of that one without doing anything... well, weird.

She opened the door. A quiet, amply lit neighborhood greeted her, with a minimum of people walking the sidewalks. Now that the worst of the storm was over, some people had finally emerged from their houses, but most were likely still downtown for the weekend nightlife.

Nevertheless, Juniper was grateful for the ability to reflect in silence. If there was one word she would use to describe the night so far, it would be "cluttered." She looked up at the stars, several of which were visible amidst the scattered storm clouds. Stars rarely went away. Thank goodness for their reliability. She closed her eyes with a peaceful smile.

I still can't believe this all happened.

Even with the drama of the last couple of hours, she'd never had laughs like the ones she'd had tonight. To say nothing of talks like tonight. At least not with people her own age. She tried to think back to if she was wrong about that, but all she could come up with were fragments of memories that made her want to not think about it anymore.

So, she stopped. Quite frankly, right now she was perfectly content to just not have to think anymore until sunrise.

"It's really beautiful out here, huh?" a voice said behind her.

Juniper turned to see Twilight. "Yeah, it is. Is it like this near your house too?"

"Yup. Which is why I have a high-powered telescope at my window for when there aren't any clouds."

Juniper gasped. "You have a telescope? Wait, why am I surprised? I do think that's awesome, though. I used to do a lot of stargazing myself."

"Really?

"Yeah." Juniper slouched her shoulders, leaning against the doorframe. "I had a lot of nights to myself growing up."

"Oh, yeah, been there." Twilight nodded. "That'll do it."

Juniper chuckled. "Yeah, but I stopped because of the dumbest reason."

Twilight tilted her head. "Which was?"

"When I took up movies, my cameras' zoom features never really cut it trying to look that high."

Twilight laughed. "I told you it was dumb!" Juniper wailed.

"What? No, not dumb. Okay, maybe a little silly. But it makes complete sense when looking at it through the lens of your changing interests."

"I see what you did there. I still appreciate the night sky, though."

Twilight stepped closer and grinned. "We'll have to make arrangements for you to visit my place, and get you back into stargazing there."

"I'd like that a lot," Juniper said, feeling the temperature battle starting all over again. She was very thankful the front door was open.

"So would I! We'll talk about it more later this weekend. For now?" Twilight held up her closed umbrella. "I hit a minor breakthrough in the last ten minutes, and made a couple of last-second adjustments to increase power efficiency. Which means I'm actually really psyched to show you this now."

"All right! Let's go, then!"

"Yep! Oh, but one last thing before we do?"

Twilight placed the umbrella on a nearby counter—then wrapped her arms around Juniper in a firm, warm and earnest embrace, and rested her head on Juniper's shoulder. Overtaken by equal amounts of surprise and joy, Juniper wrapped grateful arms back around Twilight, grasping her just as firmly.

"I'm so happy you're safe," Twilight whispered.

If they never let go for the rest of the night, Juniper reasoned, she would be just fine with it. "I'm happy to be all right, too—and you're a big reason why," she whispered back.

"Hee. I see what you did there," Twilight said.

"I figured you would," Juniper replied.

The two stayed like that for several more moments before slowly parting. Twilight took the umbrella back, and stepped outside. Juniper followed, locking the door behind them.

They walked in silence, enjoying the near-quiet of the night, while sticking close together under the umbrella. The longer they walked, the more Juniper realized that she was a lot warmer than being outside in the middle of a rainy night would suggest—and for once, it wasn't simply because she was close to Twilight. As they walked, Juniper realized she wasn't cold at all. She looked around, and noticed that there was no rain dripping off the umbrella, either. She craned her head around to verify that that was the case.

Twilight smiled as she observed Juniper's reaction. "Mwahaha! Seeing people enjoy the wonders of science never gets old!"

"That's one word for it," Juniper said, poking at the umbrella fabric and finding it completely dry. "What is going on here? Seriously, why do I feel almost better under here than I do in my central-air-controlled house?"

"Because, Miss Montage, you're currently walking under the proto-prototype Northstar Technologies SparkleMatic Climate Controlled Umbrella!" Twilight crowed. "Patent Pending."

"Do not ask me to say that three times fast."

Twilight giggled. "The concepts exist, of course, but nobody's cracked the technology for mass production or consumer use. That's what I'm working towards. Remember when we had that awful storm a couple weeks ago?"

Juniper nodded. It was the only time in recent memory that she'd been grateful to have a long shift at the movie theater. Still, she'd seen it coming down like crazy out of every mall window, and all the customers who entered looked like soaked cats—even the ones with umbrellas. Not that she'd had a lot of sympathy for them, being who she was back then.

"Well, anyway, that storm utterly drenched me and my friends, even after taking our best precautions. That was the day I decided to take back our hair. So, I started work on this baby."

"Nice. Well, I'm a pretty big fan of my hair, too, so if there's any way I can help, let me know. I want to see this take off. Also, you."

Twilight blushed. "I might take you up on that. But for now, thanks."

The two went back to walking in silence for a while. Soon, the lights of downtown suburban Canterlot flickered on the horizon. Juniper surmised that they were a quarter of a mile from the end of the residential district. Once they got downtown, things would be more crowded, and far more distracting. She decided to speak the rest of her mind before that happened. "Twilight?"

"Hmm?"

"About what happened—a couple of hours ago, I mean. I know we're good, but I'm still sorry about scaring you the way I did. I didn't want to at all. I mean, friendship's about honesty and stuff, right? But I didn't know what to do in that situation. I guess I'm still feeling a lot of this stuff out. What works and what doesn't. But I still feel awful. Especially given your reaction."

Twilight closed her eyes, and took a slow, deep breath through her nose. However, her expression didn't change from the happy one she'd already been wearing up to that point. "It was scary, I'll admit. Even with all my scientific knowledge, Equestrian magic is... beyond me. It scares me. And I honestly thought I was about to lose a new friend to it, in the same way Sunset almost lost me."

Juniper nodded. "I understand."

"I know," Twilight said. "So. Answer me one question, and we'll call it even."

"Sure."

Twilight looked at Juniper. "When you two actually talked it out… what was she like?"

"Really, really scared. And sad. All that ranting, all that bravado... was all because she didn't want to be alone. To be rejected. To be cut off from the rest of me. And it's a good thing I didn't. It would have been cutting out a piece of my heart."

Twilight was silent for a long time before she sighed. "You know, I'm a lot better with logic circuits and artificial intelligence algorithms than I am with... actual human emotions. Almost everything I've been doing and saying with regards to friendship, for a while now, has been me emulating Sunset's example. But after I had time to think about it, I realized that I would easily have done the same thing in your shoes... if I'd been smart enough to think of it at the time."

Juniper blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Twilight took another long time before answering, and Juniper saw her body tense and shudder. "I'll tell you another time. I promise. Just as soon as I'm comfortable thinking about it myself."

"No worries."

"I appreciate it." Twilight relaxed. "But what about you, though? How are you holding up?"

"Honestly? I feel like I've been through the wringer. But slowly getting better. And it's because..."

Juniper stopped walking, and turned around to face Twilight. If she didn't say everything she wanted to now, then forget downtown's distractions—she would implode far before they got there. She made sure to stay under the umbrella, to ignore the trembling of her heart, and to fight through the rest of her body's twitchiness. More than anything, she fought every fear that entered her mind the second it realized she was about to both speak and bare her true self.

Her unshielded self.

"Juniper?" Twilight asked. "Are you okay?"

Juniper took a deep breath, and blocked every single incoming thought. It was time to infodump.

"Way better than okay," Juniper replied. "Thank you, Twilight. For giving me a taste of what it's like to have friends. Like, real, close friends. Even with everything that's, uh, happened, I'm pretty sure this has been the best night of my life.

"And I know I have you to thank for putting it all together. Even if for just one night. Even if it was only because you saw me when I was really... vulnerable. I can't thank you enough. You and the girls didn't have to do any of this, but you did. And that makes you a wonderful person in my book. Someone I can actually really trust."

Juniper shut her eyes tight, fighting to keep her composure, then opened them again when she was sure she could continue. "I've never had a lot of those, and until now, I didn't really think much about how I would eventually keep driving them away. I don't want to make that mistake again, and especially not with you. Not with someone who cared even though they had every reason not to. And I want you to tell me if I'm ever in danger of doing that. Please."

Juniper exhaled. She looked up at Twilight, and saw her lips shaking, her eyes misting. Juniper offered Twilight a tissue while taking one herself. Both lifted their glasses to dry their eyes.

"Thanks for that," Twilight said, before taking a deep breath of her own. "You know, when I first met my other self from Equestria, one thing I quickly learned was that I'm no Princess of Friendship." She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Heck, I'm not even a magically reformed student from another dimension who had a massive revelation about friendship and managed to turn their life around.

"I've had my moments, but when it comes down to it, I'm a scientist who's only recently discovered being sociable, and who still likes staying in her house doing experiments. I've never set up a sleepover for any of my friends before! I've kind of been doing this whole night by the seat of my pants." Twilight paused, looked down, then back up. "Skirt? Wow, we really could use a unisex version of that expression."

Both girls laughed. Juniper felt herself relaxing afterwards. It looked as if all her fears were for nothing after all. A heady feeling of relief washed over her.

"Back at Crystal Prep," Twilight continued, "I was always subtly given the message that I was good for remembering facts, figures, and formulas, but not a good enough person for other people to want to be friends with. Barely a person at all, really. And even though I tried my hardest not to? I..." Twilight looked away. "I know now that I took those messages to heart."

Juniper went from relieved to horrified in seconds. She did her best to keep her expression comforting, to hide the righteous indignance bubbling inside of her, so as not to alarm Twilight. "That's awful," she said, stepping close and placing a supportive hand on Twilight's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. Someone like you deserves way, way better than that."

"Thanks. It was a long time before I was able to tell myself the same thing." Twilight sighed. "At least things ended well enough. I didn't want to dwell on it after I transferred schools, but seeing your transformation a few weeks ago kind of forced the issue. Not that I'm blaming you or anything."

Juniper shook her head. "No, I don't feel that way at all. I'm just sorry I brought up bad memories." She hesitated, trying to figure out if she should continue her train of thought, then decided to just go for it. It was Twilight, after all. Of course, she'd understand. "I don't think I had an entire school working against me, but I've always had my own special brand of crazy. It was easy enough to hide for years—but the moment I discovered I loved movies, I started doing all of my make-believing out loud and in public."

Juniper looked down and sighed. "Being that 'crazy daydreaming movie girl' who acted out scenes at the drop of a hat didn't exactly endear me to a whole lot of people my age. Get called that for enough years, and you get it in your head to... well, really, just take your social ball and go home, you know?"

Juniper saw Twilight take her hand, and looked up to see her nod. "I definitely know," Twilight said.

"And I never looked back, especially when Uncle Canter started shooting movies in Canterlot. He let me start helping out at his studio, and poof." Juniper rolled her eyes. "Problems of the world solved—because I never had to venture out into it."

"And you stay in your bubble," Twilight said, slumping.

"Yup. Until someone, or something, pops it. Hard." Juniper bit her lip. "Wow, am I the only one who notices the two of us get into this spiral of agreement whenever we're talking?

That got a snicker out of Twilight. "You're not. I'd say it extends all the way back to when we first met on the Daring Do set."

Juniper smiled. "Yeah. I remember being so happy to see someone else—not just online, but right in front of me—who was into something I was into, and had the same eye for detail I did. Including when it, uh, came time to foiling certain hare-brained schemes," she added under her breath.

"I felt absolutely awful about that," Twilight said. "I mean, not at the time, because put a problem in front of me to solve and I just go tunnel-vision. But I did later. When I thought about everything that had happened."

"You shouldn't have. I deserved it. But at least it led to tonight."

"Yeah. It actually makes me happy that I took that chance." She looked up at Juniper. "To say nothing of this one. Sunset always tells me that we don't spread friendship to be appreciated for it. But you know what? Appreciation never hurts. Thank you, Juniper. For just... being here, and sharing all this. Sharing yourself. That means so much to me." She chuckled. "And I won't lie, it was a total rush, going all superhero for you."

Juniper grinned from ear to ear, her hesitation completely gone and replaced with courage. She closed the very last bit of distance between herself and Twilight, gently took the umbrella out of Twilight's hands, closed it, and placed it on the ground. No longer protected from the elements, rain sprinkled on them from above. Neither of them minded.

Juniper took Twilight's hands, and looked into her eyes. Twilight looked back, the two of them sharing gazes of awe and curiosity. Through the faint light of the street lamps, Juniper could see Twilight blush—just as hard as Juniper could feel herself doing the same.

"Thank you for being my friend, Twilight." Juniper said.

"Thank you for being mine," Twilight replied. "I know what it's like to be scared to let people in. I think we should promise each other, however, that next time either of us has this sort of problem, we call each other, and tell each other everything. So, we can face it together."

"Definitely," Juniper said. "I don't ever want to lose this connection. Especially since I don't get many. I mean, sure, you can go online and find other nerds like yourself, but the ratio on that working out... well, it's total RNG."

Twilight giggled. "I don't ever want to lose you, either. I meant everything I said back in your dream. I'd be glad to spend time together, almost anywhere or anytime. Because trust me, I can always use more friends to talk to in between quiet lab nights. Sometimes even during—I've lost track of the amount of times Spike gets restless around me."

Juniper giggled back. "I'm so happy to hear all of that. And I'll definitely take you up on all of all of those things you said you wanted to do." She sighed, let go of Twilight, and took a step back. "For now, though, it's been a long night for all of us, I think. Don't know about you, but I totally feel like a comedy before we hit the sack. Which I've got a ton of. What do you think?"

"That's a great idea!" Twilight replied. "Oooh, do you have A Full Family of Strangers? I missed that when it was in theaters."

Juniper's mouth twisted into a sly grin. "Don't be ridiculous, of course I do." She snapped her fingers. "Oh! Another idea! Sweet Shoppe's not far. Do you wanna go grab some snacks for us and the others?"

Twi "hmm"ed. "Eventually. Because now that you mention it, I really feel like a smoothie. There's just one problem, though."

"What's that?"

"I enjoy those way more with my best friends." Twilight stepped back in, standing right in front of Juniper, her blush back in full force. As close as they were, their glasses slowly fogged up in the midst of each other's breaths. "Do you know where I could find any best friends close by at this time of night?"

It was all Juniper could do not to melt in the view of Twilight's partially-obscured smile. "I might know someone."

The two of them set off towards downtown, hand in hand.

13: The New Hopefuls

Juniper took a moment to check that the weather was still holding. Still misty, no terrible winds, and according to her phone, nothing was subject to change for roughly the next half hour. They had ample time for a single take, but also just enough time for one.

"Okay, we're good to go!" she said. "Photo, if you could, point the camera over there, just a little ways away from the pole? Sunny will walk into frame when I give the word."

Photo nodded, and pointed the camera towards a long stretch of grass, holding it until Sunny walked into its line of sight, and then moving it in time with Sunny's practiced steps.

Juniper looked up from the script on her phone. "Disowned billionaire scene, take one and only. And: action!"

Sunny stepped forward, staring at the rain-soaked grass. She stayed there, mute and trembling, looking every bit on the verge of tears. Juniper studied her, ready at a moment's notice to cancel shooting if Sunny wasn't up to it after all.

That doesn't look like what it is, though. It looks like... Juniper's eyes widened, and she stared at Sunny, entranced. A smile slowly spread across her lips as she understood.

"Sunny? Sunny, what is wrong?" Photo looked to Juniper, who was still staring at Sunny in fascination. "Juniper, what did you say to her?"

"Nothing but encouraging stuff, I promise," Juniper replied.

"But this is the first time Photo has seen Sunny like this. And it does not look like the result of encouraging words at all!"

Juniper nodded. "You're right. Which means she's digging deep. I can feel her pain already, and she hasn't said word one yet."

Photo's face scrunched. "Photo is not sure she likes this."

Juniper placed her hand on Photo's shoulder. "Acting is sacrifice in the name of creation. Believe me, Photo, I'm learning things here right along with you."

Just then, Sunny spoke.

"All I wanted to do was make the world better," she said, in a low voice which Juniper clearly heard through her receiver. Her voice was low and shuddering, lamenting and defeated. "Make my world better. Yet what do I get for it in return? Ousted out of my own company by some boardroom stiffs!" She clenched her fist. "Those idiots couldn't be more allergic to philanthropy if it were pollen!"

"Wait, was that last part ad-lib?" Photo hissed to Juniper. "Photo Finish does not remember that in the script!"

"It's not in there." Juniper shook her head. "But I love it. Let it roll."

Photo gave a thumbs-up.

"Everything and everyone I ever cared, about, scattered to the winds!" Sunny held up her handbag, letting it catch the light of the sun. Her voice tinged with whimpering dismay. "And all I have left now is in this single purse."

Juniper heard a gasp close by. She looked over to Photo, only to see her near-twisting her body to get the right angle and lighting. "This is prime, I must capture it!" she heard Photo hiss.

Juniper smiled again. "You're doing great, Sunny," she said into the microphone. "Now, really let yourself go. And remember the pole. Try to make use of it!"

Sunny didn't outwardly acknowledge Juniper. Instead, she paced around for several seconds, miming her hands as she made a show of thinking to herself. "Where do I go from here? And even if I knew where, how would I even get there? I've only ever known one life."

The rain fell in earnest. Sunny raised her eyebrows in notice. With careful, controlled energy, she walked over to the nearby lamppost, and leaned against it with her forearm.

"And it was a life I was perfect at! This is your grand plan?" She shouted to the heavens, her voice cracking in despair. She threw the purse to parts unknown. "I've always wondered why your 'grand plans' involve making bad things happen to good people! To people you've supposedly always approved of!

"Come on then!" she said, her voice growling and defiant. Tell me what you have in mind! Tell me!"

Those last words were a scream which led into quiet, muted sobs moments later. She lowered the volume of her crying over time, until it blended in with the rain, and then couldn't be heard at all.

Sunny stayed silent for several moments, letting the rain provide ambience. Juniper nodded slowly, fists clenched, with a huge grin that persisted on her face long before she noticed she had it. Her own sniffles, as well as Photo's, went unnoticed.

Finally, Sunny stepped away from the pole, shivering and sniffling. She slumped her shoulders, staring at the grass once more.

"Of course, you're not answering," she said, shaking her head. "You never do."

"And cut! That's it!" Juniper clapped her hands together, doing her best not to outright applaud. Sunny, however, didn't react, instead looking just as entranced in sadness as she had before the end-of-scene signal.

Juniper and Photo ran over to her. "Sunny! Sunny, it is over!" Photo said. "The scene is over! You did it! Wake up, girl!"

Sunny jerked, snapping out of her trance. "W-wow," she said, looking around. "Sorry, I-I didn't expect that to get that much into character. I'm not sure what happened, I'm used to always being just a little bit detached from my role, but..."

Photo gripped Sunny's shoulders. "You scared Photo Finish half to death just now!"

"I'm so sorry, Photo. Don't worry, I'm not sad. Well, not anymore. But it was the oddest feeling—I was enjoying being completely in the moment, but I'd also set myself up beforehand to be miserable. It was like a battle taking place in my heart the whole time! But the important question is, were you able to record it?"

Photo gasped. "How could I not?"

"Oh my gosh, Photo!" Sunny said. "Bring Juniper the footage, then! I need to see this."

"You and me both!" Photo said. The camera beeped, and Photo rushed the card over to Juniper. "Okay, here it is!"

Juniper popped the drive in and played the footage. She had to blink and rub her eyes a few times at what she saw. Sunny's full performance remained intact onscreen, but it was a completely different experience watching it on said screen that it had been with the naked eye. There were panning shots, wide shots, and shots from multiple angles—but every transition was smooth, with no jarring starts, stops, or jerks. Every single movement, from both camera and actress looked completely natural.

Sunny looked on as well, studying the footage closely. "It's like I never left my performance. Like I'm still there. Still doing it. Only better! Photo, these sweeping shots and timed close-ups are wonderful! You caught every part of my act."

Further on in the footage, the rain accentuated the scene, with drops visible on the lens, and on Sunny's clothing and purse. At the end of it all, the camera panned upwards, towards the sky, before fading out.

"Sunny's right, Photo," Juniper said. "This is fantastic cinematography. And this is also just the raw footage! Wait until we get it to editing! This won't just shine—it'll sparkle."

Photo blushed. "It was like my body moved on its own," she said. "I didn't even have to think about it! I just knew I just had to capture the exquisite anguish!" She turned to Sunny. "What... what did you think about to make yourself so believably sad?"

Sunny hesitated. For Juniper, the silence may as well have lasted a year.

Then Sunny answered, looking away. "Letting you down. I don't ever want to, Photo. I'm still so sorry about the other day. I don't ever want to have a scare like that again. Can you forgive me?"

Sunny had barely gotten the question out before Photo downright tackle-hugged her, driving both girls out of the umbrella's weatherproofing.

"There is nothing to forgive! You are a gem, Sunny Flare," Photo said, her hands locked behind Sunny's shoulders. A beautiful, perfect gemstone." She pushed up her shades, staring into Sunny's eyes with a wide smile.

"S-Shut up," Sunny said, not even trying to hide the tinges on her cheeks.

"Never!" Photo insisted. "Never while it's true!"

Juniper looked at the two of them, hugging it out in the rain. Her heart swelled with pride, accomplishment, and several other, similar words she hadn't felt in quite some time, but all of which made her feel that maybe, just maybe, she might actually be a worthwhile contribution to the universe. She decided to relish them.

"Juniper!" Photo cut into her thoughts. "Get out here and share the moment!"

Juniper pointed to herself. "Me?"

"Of course, you," Sunny said. "You're just as much a part of this breakthrough as we were."

"Was I, though?" Juniper said, but walked towards them anyway. "I mean, in the grand scheme of things, I just said some nice words. You two were the real stars. That scene came to life because you had all that awesome theater training, Sunny. Which you shouldn't quit, of course."

"Well, of course I won't," Sunny said.

"And Photo, from what I've heard, and what I've seen," Juniper continued, "you've always been the best there is at what you do. You simply needed to get used to a new branch of your chosen medium. What better way to do that than to view its strengths up close?"

"Of course!" Photo said. "Before, it felt like I was being pulled in two directions! But better to pick one and go all in. Just like I do with my stills."

Juniper nodded. "Anyway, I'm just glad I was able to help you out in even a small way. You both just seemed so down the other day. I just couldn't deal, I guess. Not when your problems were in my wheelhouse." She locked her fingers behind herself, looking to the side. "I guess my job's done, now, though."

Sunny blinked. "What do you mean, done?"

Juniper shrugged. "Well, I mean, you two clearly have amazing skills. Even if my coaching did help, I'm not sure what else I'd be needed for." She looked up at the two girls with an earnest smile. "It really was nice meeting both of you, though. Maybe I'll see you around again someday. Either way, I hope you're able to make an awesome movie."

Juniper took a few slow steps back, then turned around. It was done. She'd helped people in need using her talents, and the world didn't end.

It was all she could have asked for, she told herself as she walked towards her supplies, ignoring the tiniest of empty feelings which currently resided in her chest. Sunset would surely render it moot when the two talked later that night. Or, at the least, she'd do her best to. Whether she would succeed was another story.

She felt two hands take both of hers, gripping gently.

"Yeah, no," she heard Sunny say behind her with a scoff. "Sorry, but you're so wrong."

Juniper stopped, taking a deep breath. In that time, Photo and Sunny caught up to her, and stood in front of her with bright smiles, while still holding one of Juniper's hands each.

"W-Wrong about what?" Juniper asked, refusing to assume anything at the moment.

"You weren't just 'saying nice words', Juniper," Sunny said. "You were lending inspiration and knowledge that I never would have been able to find on my own. If you still want to be an actress, I can help you with that. But you know how you were talking about being in your element earlier? Pretty sure you do have an element—but it might not be what you think."

"Photo Finish agrees," Photo said with a nod.

Juniper had to remind herself to breathe. "W-What do you mean?"

"Well, I really was only able to make that scene 'come to life' because you were giving such great guidance! I'm used to just feeling things out myself on stage, but it was so much more enjoyable to see if I could give my very best to what you were asking for. Especially since I knew you wanted the best for the scene as well. And for us."

Juniper's mind spun. "Sunny, I—"

"And you did the same for Photo Finish!" Photo added. "You have the eye for movement, placement, timing, dialogue, emotion! Seeing it in action inspires me, and I greatly enjoyed using the camera's vision to capture yours!" She gripped Juniper's shoulders. "Do you not see, Miss Montage? You have the makings of another Canter Zoom!"

"Or even another Horson Wells," Sunny said. "Have you heard of him? I'm a big fan of him and his movies, and I'm sure I read that he worked with your uncle once. He just made his directorial debut, and it's been a smash success."

"The name rings a vague bell," Juniper said, unsure of whether to laugh or cry. "But wait a minute, you can't mean—" The meaning of Photo and Sunny's words dawned on her, and her eyes went wide. "Me? A director?"

The other two nodded enthusiastically. Juniper's mind boggled. "I-I mean, sure, I've always filmed and acted out lots of little movies for fun, but I never thought much of it. I just had fun doing it."

"For how long, though?" Sunny asked.

"Since I was a little girl, of course." More realization washed over Juniper, and she gasped, putting her hand to her mouth. "Oh. Oh my gosh."

Photo laughed. "And now she gets it! Better late than never, yes?"

"I-I..." Juniper trembled, and felt tears coming on despite herself. Upon hearing her sniffles, Sunny and Photo pulled Juniper into a group hug.

"And even past that, you cared about us enough to help us, even though you barely knew who we were," Photo said. "That sounds like exactly the kind of girl Photo Finish would love to hang out with, and get to know better! If you wish to, of course."

"Yeah, I like your style too. You're nice, but not a sap," Sunny added. "Besides, I'm honestly not sure we can make this movie without you. Working with you is the first time I haven't hated acting in front of a video camera. I know we don't know each other very well, but just like Photo? I'd like to."

Tears fell freely down Juniper's face, but she couldn't feel the despair that usually came with them. Was it possible to cry from happiness? Juniper had never put much stock in the notion until this very moment.

Still, she knew she would have to air some things out up front.

"Look, honesty up front. I'm... still new to this whole 'having friends' deal," Juniper said, hand to heart. "And honestly, without Twilight, I'm sure I still would be. I guess I'm saying, I'd love to take you up on your offer, but it does mean you'd be taking a big chance on me. I've made mistakes with people before. Big ones. And I'm in the middle of learning how to not do it again."

Photo and Sunny nodded.

"We might be able to relate," Sunny said, taking out a tissue and dabbing under Juniper's eyes. "About the whole 'making mistakes with people' thing, I mean. I used to be obsessive about winning, for myself and my school. I didn't care who I hurt so long as I did. I only recently learned that there were better ways out there."

Juniper gasped, fighting not to cry even harder. "I understand, Sunny. Believe me, I do."

Sunny sighed. "Even now, it's still hard for me to visit Photo at Canterlot High. Because it always means I end up talking to Twilight and her friends, and it's hard to keep it together and not just break down into wailing apologies for how I treated her back at Crystal Prep. More so since I know she's forgiven me for all of it."

Juniper nodded. "Yeah, different story, but same ending, over here. Does it get any easier?"

Sunny hesitated. "A little. Over time. I wouldn't mind having someone who's been in the same boat to talk to and make it even easier, though."
Juniper smiled. "I might have someone in mind."

"Good." Sunny looked over to Photo. "And Photo's loathe to admit it, but she'll appreciate having one too."

"The world does not understand the price that must be paid for true art!" Photo proclaimed, then exhaled. "But Photo supposes she has herself to blame when people run away from her and her camera. I am still easing into the habit of arranging shoots instead of simply popping up in peoples' faces. Having a fellow savant in the field of theatrics who also understands what it takes to capture a moment could be... a boon, to Photo. If such a person exists?"

Juniper giggled through her sniffles. "You can photograph me anytime, Finish."

"Aha!" Photo pointed at Juniper, grinning from ear to ear. "Explicit permission! On camera, no less! You cannot take that back!"

"Flash drive's still in the laptop, hon," Sunny said. "Nothing's actually being recorded."

"Pah! Details!" Photo said, pointing to her temple. "The camera of the eye captures all."

The three of them laughed, still hugging in light rain. None of them cared about getting wet by this point, least of all Juniper. All that existed was warmth.

Maybe there is hope for me. Just a little bit. Looks like there's nothing to do but see where this goes.

"All right," Juniper said, wiping her eyes. "You talked me into it. What are we waiting for? We've got a movie to make!"

"Fantastic! It's settled, then." Sunny winked. "Director Montage."

Juniper grinned. "Do me a favor and keep saying that? Because it's growing on me."

As Sunny and Photo babbled to each other about film preparations, it was all Juniper could do to contain her excitement.

I think I finally understand, Uncle Canter. How and why you do what you do. I'm so sorry I hurt you. More than you'll ever know, more than I could ever say. But from here on out, I promise: I'll make you proud.

Juniper looked up to the sky, wiping her eyes again in time to see the rain tapering off, and a rainbow brightening in the distance.

I guess all of you were right after all. Thanks, Sunset. Thanks, Starlight. And especially you, Twilight.

She closed her eyes, completely at peace for the first time in years.

Author's Note

"Being Juniper Montage"
By Team Delightful

Story and Prose
Bookish Delight

Consultants
Cryosite
nanashi_jones
Jondor
ScarletWeather
Mooncalf

Artwork
Gabbslines

Inspiration and Support
Shaxbert
Gojira007
Sciz

Special Thanks
PhycoKrusk

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Juniper Montage Will Return

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12: Imitating Life Itself

Sunset pulled up to the entrance of Canterlot Central Park, and shut off her motorcycle's engine. "Here we are," she said. "As close as I can get without going off-road, anyway."

"No need." Juniper dismounted the rear of the motorcycle's seat, and took stock of her supplies. She nodded in satisfaction upon confirming that her bag, umbrellas, and tripod were all present and undamaged. "Perfect! Thanks so much for giving me a ride, Sunset."

"No problem. If you need a ride to Twilight's next weekend, just toss me a text."

"I may actually take you on up that."

Juniper looked over into the park, as far as her vision would allow. There were as many trees as people, and all of them looked completely at home. Several of the latter were laughing, playing, talking, and doing all sorts of social things that Juniper had seen in countless movies.

It all looked so easy. Even last night's slumber party required her pouring out her heart multiple times to get half of the smiles she was seeing right now.

"Juniper? Everything all right?" Sunset asked.

"Whoa!" Juniper snapped awake. "Oh, wow. Was I that out of it?"

"Oh, yeah. I've seen that look before. On Twilight, on me, heck, even on Rarity sometimes when she's close to a design deadline." Sunset dismounted her bike, and walked next to Juniper. "What's up?"

Juniper closed her eyes, shutting out the distractions of the noisy park and street, and looked into herself. It didn't take long for her to notice the rock band playing in her chest. "I'm still really nervous about this, Sunset. But I have no idea why."

Sunset nodded, but continued to listen.

"I know that what I'm about to do is something I can do. I've done it tons of times by myself. But now that I'm trying to do it for others, there's... something in me that's still scared that I might do more harm than good. Just because I'm me." Juniper scoffed. "Trust me, I know, this makes no sense. This is so dumb."

"Not necessarily," Sunset said.

"What do you mean?"

Sunset leaned against a nearby tree. "Back in Equestria, once upon a time, I was supposed to be Princess Celestia's prized pupil. Help Equestria, help the world. My life was written in the stars—metaphorically—and it was going to be a great one. Sunset rolled her wrist and huffed. "And then, jealousy and ambition took over. I wanted power and glory. Instead, I lost everything, and had to start from scratch."

She turned towards Juniper with somber eyes.

"After I came face to face with the worst side of myself, I had many of the same reactions you did. I was lonely, I was sad, I was scared. And I mean scared out of my mind. Trying to sleep was just the express train to seeing my fears larger than life. Seeing myself hated forever. Friendless forever. Even while, the whole time, I was trying to change. I had to face those fears head-on last winter, in a scandal that framed and turned the entire school against me. Technically, the truth set me free in the end, but..." Sunset sighed, and shuddered. "I felt absolutely exhausted afterwards."

Juniper stepped to Sunset, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"For a long time," Sunset continued, "I was scared that anything I tried in the name of being a friend would be doomed to failure. I felt it was just best to keep what knowledge and talents I did have to myself. That way no one would have to put up with... me."

Juniper gasped. "That's exactly how I feel! I'm not worthless, I'm not talentless, I know I can help, but I'm scared of screwing it up, because I have before. I've done so much worse, been so much worse. How did you get past that?"

"The only way anyone can," Sunset said. "I had to make peace with the fact that what happened did happen, and there was no taking it back—but nothing better would ever happen if I simply stayed where I was. The way to guarantee failure is to never try, and all that."

Juniper sighed. "I was afraid of that."

Sunset nodded. "So was I. But one day I just got tired of being afraid. So, I told myself that even if I couldn't erase it, I wouldn't let my past control me anymore, and then I threw myself towards things. Towards crowds of other people. Towards events. Towards authority figures I'd once defied for no good reason. And every minute of it was scary, until it suddenly wasn't anymore."

Sunset placed her hands on Juniper's shoulders. "The people who accept you are the ones who deserve your trust, and the ones who don't are easy to forget about once you have even one of the former. And if you're really lucky, you find a rock or two. Who knows that just because you get some nice words from someone doesn't mean that's that where supporting you ends. Someone who's willing to stick with you, because you're you."

Juniper thought back to the events of the past week. She was pretty sure she had some rocks—as did a few of her other friends. She smirked at Sunset. "Is that the real reason you and Twilight hang out all the time?"

Sunset smirked back. "It's one of them. But this isn't about me. Several months back, when I was in a similar place as you, something Fluttershy once told me stuck with me." She cupped Juniper's cheek with her hand. "'You're not a bad person. You just made some bad decisions.' They've had their consequences, but you've been working to balance them out ever since, and worrying about them besides.

"A bad person doesn't do that. A worthless person doesn't do that. And a monster doesn't care enough to say or share everything you have this week. You have all the pieces to be amazing, Juniper. You proved that to Sunny and Photo the other day, and to me, Twilight and Starlight last night. This is just, as Twilight would say, the experiment. The field test. And, as Twilight would also say, science doesn't give up."

Juniper's smile widened. "I guess it's time for me to prove that pop culture doesn't give up, either." She reached out to hug her friend. "Thanks, Sunset."

"Anytime," Sunset said, hugging Juniper back. "Hit me up once you're done! I want to know how this went. Whatever happens, we can talk about it. Okay?"

The rock band in her heart had long since morphed into a serenading quartet. Juniper decided that she was just fine with this. "Okay," she said, waving as Sunset rode away.

It only took her ten minutes to reach the center of the park where they'd agreed to meet. She looked at the clearing around her. There was grass as far as her eyes could see, all of it beautiful and swaying in the light breeze. She could also just barely make out multiple scattered people in the distance, in all directions.

However, none of them looked like the people she was waiting for. She looked at her phone. It read 5:57 pm.

Okay, that's fine, Juniper reassured herself. They'll meet you. They said they would. They've still got three whole minutes. Nothing to worry about at all, right?

Juniper sifted through new photos to pass the time. Idle thumbing quickly brought her to her newest picture of herself with Twilight, Starlight, and Sunset. They'd slept in late, then gone out for a pancake brunch before parting ways. They'd talked and laughed, and barely convinced Twilight to not use her experimental insta-microwave gun on her eggs. For a few wonderful hours, she'd felt just like all the people in the park.

She let the memories wash over her until she was positively glowing inside. It had all been so perfect. She wished it was still happening. I guess it is pretty great to have friends. No one prepared me for the times when they're not around, though.

"Juniper!"

A voice snapped her out of her reverie. Juniper did her best to hide her relief as she saw Sunny Flare stride towards her. Thank goodness, they hadn't forgotten after all. She smiled and waved. "Hey! Glad you could make it!"

Sunny nodded. "Sorry I'm late."

Juniper looked at her phone, which read 5:59pm. She tilted her head. "Late? You got here with a full minute to spare."

Sunny huffed, and flipped her hair with one hand. "For Crystal Prep students, that's usually unacceptable. I should have been here before you."

Unable to choose the best one-liner from the long list that entered her mind, Juniper simply giggled it off. "Noted and filed. Either way, one down, Photo to go."

"Oh, she's on the way," Sunny said. "Believe me, you'll know when she shows up."

"What do you mean?" Juniper asked, before her ears—and the entire park—rang with the loudest of proclamations:

"I, Photo Finish, have arrived!"

A single beam of sunlight shone through the clouds above, majestically spotlighting Photo Finish a short distance away, as she pointed a finger to the heavens.

Juniper blinked twice. "Oh."

"Yeah." Sunny rolled her eyes. "I keep telling her to try out for theater."

"Photo is here, and she is ready!" Photo said, running towards the two. "And I have brought the makeup for the star attraction!" Without hesitation, she lifted a powder puff to Sunny's face, patting her cheeks.

Sunny recoiled. "Whoa, hey, easy with that, there!"

"Do not worry, Miss Flare, this is all you get. Mainly because I happened to check the weather report before coming all the way here." She looked at Juniper with a knowing smile. "I know what you are scheming, Miss Montage."

Juniper's grin went sheepish. "Heh. Looks like you got me."

"What do you mean, Juniper?" Sunny asked.

Juniper looked at her phone one last time. "Wait for it."

Drops fell from the sky, with a light summer drizzle following suit, much like last night. Juniper closed her eyes.

A studio materialized in her mind. It was still unkempt, but just a little less so. She saw herself picking up pieces of debris, and setting up fallen lights, and smiled. She looked to the whiteboard of movie releases. Where before it was cluttered with crossed-out scribbles and scrawls, it was now completely clean save for its title.

"Are you sure about this?" Juniper heard in her own voice. "It's not too late to try to find an easier way."

"There isn't one," Juniper wordlessly answered. "Besides, like I said, I have to know. But I could use your help. That way, we'll find our answers together."

"All right. Together it is."

Juniper opened her eyes. Her mind, heart, and vision were all clear. The way she felt right now, she could take on the full force of last night's fears if she wanted to. Not that she did.

Juniper raided her supply stash, taking out a video camera and a large umbrella. It wasn't climate-controlled, sadly, but it would still work just fine for the time being. She held the latter over the other two girls.

"Today," Juniper said, "We're gonna shoot a scene from The Other Side, a work in progress by Sunny Flare and Photo Finish." She looked at the two people she'd just named. "Are you two fresh and ready for this?"

Sunny chuckled. "Quality is always ready. Even after taking a day off, this script has been burned into my mind through repeat performances! I couldn't forget it if I wanted to." Her confident look wrinkled into inquisitiveness. "Though since it's raining, there's really only one scene you could have in mind, isn't there?"

Juniper smiled. "Maybe." She produced a small pin, which she attached to Sunny's lapel. "Waterproof mics. Also, waterproof video camera. Perks of being connected to the industry." She gave the camera to Photo before adding, "Once upon a time," forlornly, under her breath.

Photo turned the camera over in her hands, visibly intimidated. It was just as well, Juniper thought. It would have been expensive, had it not been a gift. "Wait a minute! Photo Finish cannot use this!"

"Sure, you can," Juniper said.

"No, I do not mean in terms of permission! I mean—"

"Neither do I." Juniper held the camera in her hands along with Photo. Don't worry about any of its special features today. I want you to point, shoot, and let Photo Finish take over—and I mean all of her. All her skills in finding the perfect angles. The perfect movements.

"Twilight and Sunset told me how you get your stills. I've seen CHS's Fall Formal and yearbook pictures. I've watched the winning Chance to Prance music video multiple times. And I've seen your passion for myself the other day. All that spirit? Bring it here now."

"All of myself." Photo's eyes widened as she visibly pondered the possibilities. "But will Photo's methods not result in odd footage?"

"Maybe at first. But I know you'll figure out how to adapt your style to cinema. Because I already know you're just that good."

Photo's expression was pensive for several moments, but then turned to a warm smile. "Photo understands," she said, then in a lower voice, added, "and she thanks you."

"Photo is welcome," Juniper said in her most sincere voice. "Here's a tripod, just in case." As Photo set things up, Juniper walked to Sunny, who was looking at the sky and examining a prop handbag. "Hey, Sunny. How are you feeling?"

"Oh." Sunny did a double-take, blinking. "Um. Okay, I guess. A little lost. I don't know..." she said, trailing off.

"Are you sure? You can tell me, you know. Like I said the other day, I'm totally here to help out however I can."

"Well..." Sunny sighed. "I have indeed had this scene in my mind for ages, but this is the first time I have absolutely no idea how I'll pull it off. They may say 'all the world's a stage', and it's something I emphatically agree with, but there literally is no stage here! We're just doing this in the middle of nowhere!"

"You're right. It's not a stage anymore. I'm guessing this feels a lot like a tightrope without a net, huh?"

Sunny slipped her voice low and soft, as if afraid of being heard. "Theater has its rules, Juniper, and I follow them. I'm good at following them. Thus, when I'm on a stage, I don't just feel mastery. I feel safe."

"Of course. Because it's your element. I have those too. And to be frank, none of those elements... involve me being out here." She put her hand behind her head. "I may do a good job of hiding it, but I'm scared out of my shoes right now just standing here."

Sunny gasped. "Oh, no, I'm so sorry! Is there anything I can do?"

Juniper smiled. "You're doing it right now just by being here and humoring me. I appreciate it."

"Well, of course. Photo and I appreciate you going through all of this, too. I mean, it's not like we're close friends. You barely know us."

Juniper gasped as an idea hit her. "That's it!" She snapped her fingers. "Friends! Sunny, when you're talking with your friends, do you worry about... well, how you look around them? How skilled an actress or conversationalist you are? You know, like you are on stage?"

Sunny fed Juniper a quizzical look. "Well, certainly nowhere near as much? But they know me. Also, they know how good an actress I am, and if I ever messed up, they'd be right there for me. Friendship has far fewer rules than theater. And friends are far less strict than an audience full of people who don't know you."

Juniper gestured around the park. "What audience?"

Sunny looked around, saw nobody around them for several hundred feet, and looked confused, for several moments. Then, her mouth and eyes opened wide. "Oh, my goodness."

Juniper's eyes glinted. "Welcome, my dear Sunny Flare, to a set. On a set, unless some people are visiting, whether it's a rehearsal or the actual take, the only people around are those who want to see you do well, and to see you do you well. But even if you don't, we're here to back you up. At my uncle's studio, he always treated the talent and crew right. He also made sure that they were always confident in their abilities and output before we wrapped any production up.

Sunny nodded. "As I would expect from the legendary Canter Zoom, honestly."

Juniper smiled. "In our studio, we have a saying: 'It's not a performance, it's life.' I've heard that theater has something sort of similar, but the meaning is that you're not projecting this scene to an audience. You're not debating it with anyone, you're not forcing its message across. You'll be living it, in the here and now. I've read this script, and I've seen what you're capable of after seeing some of your other performances via HoofTube. I already know you can knock this scene out of the park, but you and I both know it calls for some extreme lamentation. "Meaning..." Juniper hesitated, took a deep breath, then continued. "You really will have to find the sadness inside yourself. The kind of sadness that all of us can universally connect to."

Sunny's face softened. Her eyes remained wide as she remained silent. It was fine, Juniper noted. That face, those eyes, spoke wonders by themselves.

"If you're anything like me," Juniper said, "you have a lot of places to draw from. But it's okay. Remember, though—you have people willing to make the life you're about to live totally worth it. I mean, Photo's right over there, and for what it's worth? I believe in you too."

For a few seconds, Sunny still looked overwhelmed. Then understanding washed over her face, giving way to determination. "The opportunity is ours, then. Photo!"

Photo snapped to attention. "Y-yes, Sunny?"

Sunny's hair flapped in the light, misting breeze as she spoke with a soft, serene voice. "This will be our first and only take. No matter how it comes out. I promise. Are you ready?"

Photo reflected Sunny's determined look in moments. She took off her shades, placed them in her skirt pocket, and set herself behind the camera.

"We go," she said.