My Little Short Stories: The Princess of Friendshipby Paradise OasisChaptersProlouge: The Princess of Friendship's LegacyLearning CurveSpike remembers: Hot cocaInterruptionsBanquet disasterRegretProlouge: The Princess of Friendship's LegacyThe seeds of Ponyville's present... are buried in Equestria's past. Ponyville; four hundred years after the time of the mane six... Her books... they were the mare's greatest treasure, that filled the room all around her. Books on magic, books on history, books on things on both things fiction and fact. Long before she had earned her wings, this mare loved having the repository of all pony knowledge right at the tip of her hooves. And the largest and most elaborate room in her luxurious Ponyville castle, was the library that held all of the books that she had collected over her long alicorn lifetime. One thing that was truly certain, was that everybody knows that these ancient tomes were the princess of Friendship's greatest treasure. "Which means," Princess Pink Sparkle thought to herself, reading from the dusty old tome she had discovered in the castle's ancient library, "she was a far greater princess than I." As she wandered through the halls of Celebration Castle, the little pink earth pony with a shining heart cutie mark could only look around at her surroundings, and sigh. Being the latest in the royal line of Ponyville princesses, Pink was set to inherit this palace, along with leadership of the town, from her mother, Princess Wisteria. But the little filly was unsure if she could handle the burden, let alone if she could even be a Ponyville princess without screwing it up. "Ohhh, I'd much rather be playing hopscotch with my friends in town, than sit on some dusty old throne and rule!" The little thirteen year-old-filly thought to herself, trotting away from the library, and back down the hall to the royal study. "How do I even know I'm going to be any good at it, anyway?" Most of the servants had taken off for the holiday, and her mother was in Ponyville overseeing the day's festivities, so Pink didn't expect to run into anybody in the palace today. The endless corridors of Celebration Castle were vast and maze-like, filled with dusty old furniture, and antiques from long before even her mother's time. But as she forlornly trotted though the hallways of this ancient castle, Pink Sparkle failed to notice the sound of two scaly feet came plodding up behind her. "Um, excuse me, Princess Sparkle?" A high pitched, posh voice called out from behind her. "But you seem a bit lost, may I be of some assistance?" "YEEK!" The little princess squeaked, nearly jumping out of her coat. Spinning around, she recognized the small blue dragon standing behind her. "Oh, Spike, it's only you!" The little filly sighed with relief, recognizing her family's oldest servant. "Oh, I wasn't lost. I know this castle like the back of my hoof; I did grow up here, after all." "And I've been here since this castle was first grown- er, built, I mean." The dragon quickly corrected himself. "And let me tell you, it looked better back in my day! Back then, the castle looked like a giant crystal tree, instead of the big and girly mess it is now. Yes sir, Celebration Castle was quite a different place, back when the princess of friendship ruled Ponyville!" "Yeah, the princess of friendship, my great ancestor who was the first princess of Ponyville." Pink Sparkle rolled her eyes. "I've heard all about her a million times... and how could I possibly live up to that kind of reputation? I could never be a princess as good as she was!" "Oh, well now, I wouldn't say that! She may have been a great princess, my dear, but as she herself would've pointed out, the princess of friendship was far from perfect." Spike the dragon replied with a chuckle. "Actually, she was just as worried as you are about being able to do her best, and trying her hardest!" "Oh yeah?! And how would you know?" The princess scoffed, narrowing her eyes at the dragon. "I know you've been serving our family an awful long time, but even you can't possibly be that old!" "My dear Princess Pink, I'll just have you know that I am well over a thousand years old by dragon reckoning, and I started my career as a number-one assistant to the princess of friendship herself." Spike snorted. "And I can tell you more about her than anybody alive in Ponyville today." "Wait a sec... you, like really knew her?!" Princess Pink suddenly got excited. "Ohmygosh, you have so got to tell me everything! What was she like? What were her hobbies? Did she play hopscotch? Did she like rainbow juice or milk with her cookies? What was her favorite-" "Now just wait a minute, here! One question at a time!" Spike sighed, exasperated. "You know what? I think instead of telling you about the princess of friendship, my lady, I think I'll just show you." Motioning for the young princess to follow him, the old dragon led Pink Sparkle to a bookcase in the library, where he pulled out a book titled 'friendship is magic', and the princess heard a soft *click*. The bookcase swung open, revealing a set of stairs, that the small dragon began to climb. "Hey,I've been in this library a thousand times, and I never knew those stairs were there." Pink whispered in awe. "Hey, where does this passage lead, anyway?" "To the only chamber in this whole castle that wasn't remodeled after the princess of friendship passed away." Spike replied, a tinge of sadness echoing in his voice. "This room has not been used in over three hundred years." The dragon pulled an old, dusty tarp off of a table and some chairs, revealing six thrones, and a large crystalline table. Pink Sparkle put her hooves on the large table's surface, and it magically lit up at the earth pony's touch. "Ohhhhh," The princess whispered, staring at the map of the landscape before her. "So pretty..." "In ages past, this was called the cutie map, and it was used to show the princess of friendship and her handmaidens where they could find friendship problems." The dragon explained. "But you can use it to see events of the past, that transpired in this very castle... or the library that preceded it." "Really? That is so cool!" Pink Sparkle squealed, sitting down in the mane throne with the princess of friendship's cutie mark on it. "Okie dokie, cutie map! Show me stuff about the princess of friendship!" And as Spike sat down on the small throne next to hers, the surface of the table began to shimmer and shift, revealing moving images of the past.... Learning CurveMy dear Pink Sparkle, if we're going to talk about the Princess of Friendship, we should start with her very first friend... "Attention class, may I have your attention please?" the teacher spoke to her students, standing in front of the class. "Now, we have a new student in our classroom today, and I want you all to make her feel welcome." "Wow, a new classmate!" Minuette giggled, looking over to her friend, Lemon Hearts. "You, like, think she's from Canterlot, or from another school somewhere else?" "Oh, it's probably some new girl from some place like Ponyville." Twinkleshine piped up from behind them. "Ohhh, I'd love to go there and see all the cute animals on the farms!" "Gee, I hope she's nice!" Lemon Hearts added with a laugh, looking over to the filly with her face buried in a book next to her. "Hey Moondancer, what do you think the new filly will be like?" "Oh, It's probably that new wonder student I overheard them talking about when I was trotting by the teacher's lounge. The one's who is the princess' personal student." Moondancer snorted dismissively, not even bothering to look up from her book. "I've heard something about her hatching a dragon's egg or something... and I really can't say I'm very impressed." "Moondancer, I don't think anything impresses you." Minuette laughed, rolling her eyes. "How can you NOT think a being able to hatch a dragon was awesome?!" "It's probably just some story cooked up to make Princess Celestia's personal student look good." Moondancer shook her head. "She probably got into this school because she's the princess student. I doubt she passed the test, and earned her way in like we did." As the students whispered to each other, a little purple unicorn filly with a striped mane trotted into the room. "Class, this is Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's personal student. I want you all to be nice to her, and make her feel welcome!" The little filly quietly trotted over to the nearest empty seat, which just happened to be right next to Moondancer. Twilight waited hesitantly for a few moments before Minuette spoke up. "Hey, so you're Twilight, huh? Nice to meet you!" The toothpaste-colored filly greeted her excitedly. "I'm Minuette, and these are my friends, Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine!" "Oh, hello!" Twilight replied, giving the three other fillies a small smile. "It's really nice to meet all of-" "Oh wow, so you're Princess Celestia's student!" Lemon Hearts exclaimed. "That's so cool! How did you meet the princess? How much magic has she taught you?" "Well actually, I just started taking some basic lessons from her highness," Twilight replied. "but I have read some books about-" "Have you learned any really cool spells?" Twinkleshine squealed. "Maybe you could teach us some magic!" The three fillies continued to talk with the new girl, as Moondancer buried herself deeper and deeper into her books. When the others finally lost interest and went back to mess around the teacher's desk. Twilight sat there in silence for several minutes, before finally speaking up to the other filly. "Umm, excuse me..." she asked Moondancer. "but would you mind if I took a look at the other book you've got there?" Moondancer looked out from behind her book, raising an eyebrow. "Sure, go ahead." The unicorn filly shrugged. "Knock yourself out." Twilight sat down beside her, and picked up the books. The two fillies were both deep into their reading, when Twilight spoke up again. "Say, I just started reading about unicorn history, and I'm really fascinated by all the powerful pony wizards and sorceresses there have been." Twilight looked up from her book at the other filly. "I'm especially impressed by the great wizard, Hayscartes." "Hayscartes? Pshhhh!" Moondancer rolled her eyes, pointing a hoof to a page in her book. "Oh, please! He was barely a second rate magician! Now, Starswirl the Bearded, that was a wizard worth his horn! Nopony could create a spell like he could!" "Starswirl the bearded?" Twilight asked, looking over Moondancer's shoulder. "Oooo, I've heard about him! Didn't he explore the caverns of Maretonia?" "Actually, it was called Mirtania then." Moondancer corrected her, levitating another book up for Twilight to look at. "Here, take a look at his biography, it's really incredible!" The two little fillies hit it off instantly, and began spending all of their free time together. They would be busy studying, practicing simple spells, and working on school projects together. Oh, the two often hung out with Twinkleshine, Minuette, and Lemon Hearts; and the group even made a new friend, Lyra Heartstrings. But while those three were busy having fun and getting their heads stuck in lab beakers, The two other unicorn fillies poured all their time into their studies. The two were so focused on their studies, they didn't notice the influence they were having on each other. "Hey Twilight, have you ever, like, noticed how much you and Moondancer are alike?" Minuette giggled. "I'm mean, the two of you are practically like twins!" "WE ARE NOT!" the two replied in unison, both yelling in the same voice and tone. "Why would you even SAY that?!" "Oh yeah, I can totally see it! Same mane style, same tail style..." Lemon Hearts agreed. "You're like twins, or something!" As the years passed, the two buried themselves more and more in their studies, to the point their other friends stopped asking them if they wanted to hang out outside of school. By the time the fillies reached their teens, though, the two magic nerds were starting to take interest in other things. When they were both fourteen, they had decided to have a study-sleepover at Twilight's house, when Moondancer came to an interesting revelation.... "Bye, mom! Bye, dad! I'm off to pick up Cadence for the prom!" Shining armor declared, putting on his letter jacket, and trotting out the door. "See ya later, Twily!" Moondancer watched the older teen stallion go, her eyes focused on his backside a little longer then they probably should have. "Uhhh, what are you staring at?" Twilight asked in confusion, looking up from the textbooks they had scattered all over the kitchen table. "That's just my brother, leaving for his date." "Oh, I was just admiring Shining Armor's... superior anatomy," Moondancer replied, adjusting her glasses to hide her reddening face. "You know, for a unicorn, he has muscles as big and tight as an earth pony." Twilight stared at the other mare in confusion for a moment, before realization dawned on her. "You think Shining Armor is hot!? EWW!" Twilight stuck her tongue out, in horror and disgust. "He's my brother, that's so totally GROSS!" "Oh, really?" Moondancer asked, lowering her glasses to stare at her friend. "And what about those muscle stallion calenders you have hidden in your textbook covers, Twilight? Or those musclebound stallion pin-ups you keep hidden in your-" "OKAY Okay! Keep it down, would you?" Twilight whispered, afraid her parents would overhear. "Let's... let's just get back to our studies, okay?" The two fillies learned magic together, but as time went on, they became so buried in their studies, that friendship almost seemed to become of secondary importance. Oh, the two were still friends, of course. But as time drifted on, the two fillies began to drift apart.... until the day Princess Celestia sent Twilight away. "How could she just leave, HOW?!" Moondancer cried out in sadness, after everypony had left her party. "She didn't even say goodbye! What kind of friend is that?!" And with Twilight leaving her behind, Moondancer was left feeling alone. Twinkleshine and the other fillies tried to cheer their friend up, but she would open herself up to other ponies no longer. And so, the future princess of friendship, had managed to break the heart of her first friend... "Wait, you mean the Princess of Friendship did that? But... I thought she was a perfect pony, who never made any mistakes!" "This should show you, my dear Princess Pink Sparkle, that nopony... nobody, as you ponies say today... is really perfect. But now, let us take a look into how this first broken friendship resolved itself..." Spike remembers: Hot coca(Flashback written by Le Vallet1, many thanks) "Oh come on, Spike! I don't just want to here about how the princess made mistakes! I want to hear about some of the good she did." Pink Sparkle demanded. "You said you were the princess's number-one assistant. Before you go on with the depressing stuff about Moondancer, don't you have any stories about the good moments in her life? The happier times?" "Well, of course there were happier times! She was the Princess of friendship, after all." Spike chuckled. "she had plenty of friends, and plenty of times she enjoyed spending time with those friends, my little princess." "But what about you? Do you have any personal memories of the time you spent with her?" Pink Sparkle asked, looking back down at the cutie map. "Anything you can tell me about the kind of friend she was to you?" "Well, let me think... there are quite a few times that come to mind," Spike replied thoughtfully. "But if one want one incident in particular, there was this one time, around Hearth's Warming Eve, that really sticks out in my mind..." And as the dragon spoke, the cutie map began to shift and move, as it told the tale in the scaly assistant's heart... “Come on, Twilight! You’ve got to try it!” pleaded Spike. It was a cold, snowy winter day in Ponyville. Coated and wearing scarves and woolen hats, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Spike were having a walk at the town square with several bags floating in Twilight’s magic with them and Spike holding one seemingly too large for him. “Spike, you know I’m on a sugar-free diet. I’ve been having too many sweets and sugary treats since I moved in Ponyville. I don’t think Equestria needs its first ever obese princess in history,” said Twilight, “Besides, we’re supposed to go for a Hearth’s Warming shopping, not having hot chocolates.” “I know, Twi. But you haven’t had any hot chocolates since we left Canterlot! I tried one at Magical Friendship Cafe and it was so good! You have to try one, please!” said Spike. “No, Spike –” Twilight wanted to refuse but stopped when she saw Spike giving her puppy eyes, which wasn’t usual for him to do so. Twilight finally relented. “Uh! Fine! I guess once a while would not hurt my diet,” she huffed. With a small cheer, Spike showed her the way to the aforementioned cafeteria. “Here you go, Your Highness. Two cups of hot chocolate for you two,” the waitress announced while putting two cups of hot chocolate in front of Twilight and Spike. Spike licked his lips, grabbed his teaspoon and started scooping the steaming, thick semi-fluid chocolate and put it in his mouth. Twilight breathed in, smelling the chocolatey smell of hot, mouth-watering goodness coming out of her cup. She levitated her spoon, scooped up a bit of the thick liquid chocolate and put it in her mouth. It was hot. And her taste-buds exploded in ecstasy. She looked at her cup with as if worshiping the very thing inside it. “Where have you been in my whole life!” Twilight exclaimed. She shoveled her hot chocolate to her mouth in gusto, scalding feeling in her mouth be damned. “Nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom!” She threw away her spoon and licked the rest of her hot chocolate from the cup, moaning with delight. She opened her eyes and found every other pony and Spike staring at her with their mouths agape. Twilight blushed and giggled with embarrassment. “Sorry, I just think that this hot chocolate tastes so good!” After paying the cafeteria (and giving the waitress tips), Twilight and Spike went back to the palace. Once inside, Twilight had one thing in her mind. “Spike, I will have another cup, no, mug of hot chocolate,” Twilight declared. Spike was starting to feel worried now. “But Twilight, what about your diet?” he asked. Twilight shook her mane and went on her way to the kitchen. “Forget my diet! I want that hot chocolate now!” she said and then she teleported. Spike already had an idea where Twilight teleported to. He ran down the corridor and reached the door leading to the kitchen. Already there was a growing chocolatey aroma coming from inside the kitchen. Spike quickly opened the door and found Twilight heating and mixing milk and cocoa in a cooking pot with a manic gleam in her eyes. Spike stared disbelievingly at the now empty pot of cocoa. “Twilight, I was saving that cocoa for Hearth’s Warming night reading,” Spike groaned. He then sighed. “It’s okay, you can have that one. I’ll buy another tomorrow.” Spike glumly went to leave the kitchen when a half-filled mug of hot chocolate floated right under his nose. He looked up, seeing Twilight smiling at him with motherly care. “Don’t worry, Spike. I decided to fill half a mug of hot chocolate for both of us instead of having it all for myself. Seeing you saddened over me having the last bit of cocoa you were saving for your night reading made me realize how selfish I was acting and for this I apologize,” Twilight explained. “Now, let us both drink hot chocolate and read a Hearth’s Warming story together.” And so, Princess Twilight Sparkle and her number one assistant Spike the dragon went to the lounge to read a good Hearth’s Warming story and have a nice, thick hot chocolate. "So, the two of you had a warm moment over hot cocoa?" Pink Sparkle asked, as the images from the map faded. "That was so awesome! She must have been a really, really great friend!" "Well, she tried to be, and she always treated me with respect," Spike replied with a wistful smile. "But there were times when she wasn't as good of a friend to ponies, and what happened with Moondancer." "Yeah, you never did tell me how that turned out." Pink Sparkle pointed out. "What exactly did happen with Moondancer?" As if responding to Pink Sparkle's question, the map began to shift and move once more... Interruptions".... And that's how Twilight worked out things with Moondancer, apologizing and throwing her a new party, with the help of her Ponyville friends. Now, did you want to hear about another of the Princess of Friendship's amazing adventures?" "What was it like for the two of you when you first arrived in Ponyville? Did you two start building Celebration Castle then?" "No, that actually came a year later. But as to how we reacted to first moving here, I can tell you a story from right after Twilight and her new friends defeated Nightmare Moon... "Well, here y'all go, Twi," Applejack stated, as she and the other girls helped move the rest of her stuff into the Golden Oaks library. "Ah think we got everythin' now, so we'll all jest be moseying along." "Thanks girls, I really appreciate all of the help." Twilight replied, as the other five fillies trotted back out the door. "And I really want to thank all of you, and everypony else in town, for making Spike and I feel so welcome!" "Oh, Tish Tosh! Think nothing of it, Twilight!" Rarity reassured her new friend, and she levitated the last box she was carrying to the floor. "It can be hard being the new girl in town! We just wanted to make you feel at home in a new place." "I'll always feel at home with you around, Rarity." the baby dragon replied, hearts filling his eyes. "You're the nicest fashionista I've ever met!" "Aww, such a little sweetheart!" Rarity cooed, patting the little dragon on the head. "See you later, little Spikey Wikey!" Ummm, Spike? Who is that mare in the image? And are you staring at her with those goofy eyes?" "Huh? Oh, never you mind about that, Princess! You're too young to worry about such things!" "Uh huh, riiiiight... that's the same way mom looks at dad, when they tell me to go to my room at night." "I did not need to hear that about your mother, Princess Wisteria. Now, would you please be quiet, and watch the story?" After Rarity had left, the shy yellow pegasus pony came forward, saying her goodbyes to Twilight. "Umm, thank you so much for helping to save our princess, and Equestria." The timid little filly told her. "You should stop by, and see the animals sometime." "Why, thank you, Fluttershy." Twilight smiled, hugging her other new friend. "And I'm planning to order a whole bunch of new books on animals. I hope you'll come by, and check out sometime." "Wait, a Pegasus living in Ponyville? I thought Starsong was the only Pegasus who lived in this town!" "Sigh... yes, there used to be a whole lot of Pegasai and unicorns in Ponyville, before the three tribes broke apart once more. Now, Princess Pink, would you please stop asking questions, and just watch?!" Then, a blue Pegasus followed the first one out, waving a hoof to Twilight as she left. "Catch ya later, Twi!" The blue filly said, trying to sound cool. "We should totally hang out again soon!" And lastly, a pink filly with a pink mane when cartwheeling out the door, shouting excitedly. "Gee Twilight, that was so totally a lot of fun!" the hyperactive mare giggled. "We''l have to throw you a moving-in party tomorrow! Followed by a first week in Ponyville party, then we can-" "Fluttershy? Pinkie Pie? Spike, I know ponies by those names! Pinkie Pie looks the same, but what happened to Dashie?! How did she get wings?!" "Princess, for the last time, would you please be QUIET!" "....Okay, shutting up now..." As she watched her new friends go, Twilight Sparkle thought about how much her life had changed since moving to Ponyville. She had made friends for the first time in her life, besides Shining Armor and Cadence, of course, and realized how an important aspect of her life had been missing. All of her new friends were so incredible; Applejack with her hard work and plain living, and Rarity with her creativity and sense of style. Rainbow Dash's coolness, and Fluttershy's gentle compassion. Twilight had despised Pinkie Pie's annoying nature at first, but the unicorn was eternally grateful that Pinkie had thrown that 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, which had led to their great quest, and the beginnings of their friendships. All four ponies each brought something different to their little group of friends, as if each added their own unique ingredient to the mix, creating a wonderful friendship stew. And as a student, there was so much about friendship her friends could teach her. Each one was like taking a separate class at university, each enriching her life and knowledge more than it had been. Looking back on how isolated she had made herself at Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle had never realized how such a major aspects of a pony's life had been missing from hers. She almost despised the arrogant, book-obsessed filly she had been, the pony who dismissed friendship as a waste of time. The magic of friendship was something that had become very important to the little bookworm filly, and she was extremely grateful to have it in her life now. Still, she was determined to treat her study of friendship, the way she treated every other research project and form of study she had worked on. Twilight Sparkle was a very studious student, covering every detail, and meticulously detailing every aspect of any given topic of study. And she was determined to study and understand every aspect of friendship, and report all of her findings back to her exalted teacher, Princess Celestia. And there was no time to start a project like the present! "Spike, would you come here, please?" Twilight called out to her assistant. "I want to take some notes on the things I want to take notes on friendship." "Coming, Twilight!" Spike replied, as he came running up with a quill, ink, and parchment. "I'm all raring and ready to write!" "Say, Spike? " "Grrrr, what is it, my princess?!" "Was that little purple dragon really you? I mean, you're all taller and blue now, what happened?" "AARAAGGHHHHHHH!" Banquet disaster"Spike! Aw, come on! I said I was sorry! Please, tell me more about the Princess of Friendship? Pretty please?" "Oh, very well, but you'd better listen more carefully this time! Anyway, maybe it's time I told you about a time when Princess Twilight had to make some very difficult decisions ... but no at all the kind you'd expect." "Princess Twilight, should we hang the red curtains, or the green ones?" The unicorn servant asked, levitating his clipboard as he spoke. "We don't know what would please our guests more, and the decorators wanted your opinion." "No no no, don't use either the red or the green!" Twilight replied quickly, levitating on of her books of foreign customs in front of her. "The red is a sign of war to the Yaks, and the changelings take the green as an insult! Use the blue curtains instead!" "Princess Twilight, the caterers wanted to know if you wanted to serve the guests on silver trays, or gold ones?" Another servant asked, as the first pony walked away. "They need to know, before they start prepare the main course and entree." "Use the silver trays, not the gold ones." Twilight replied hurriedly, flipping through another book. "The griffin envoys would take one look at anything golden, and clean us out!" The princess of Friendship was busily running around her castle, approving the various dishes that had been prepared, and giving the okay for the decor and furnishings. Twilight was to host the first international friendship expo, inviting all of the species she had friends with over the years. And with the other princesses all busy with other affairs, it had fallen to the youngest and most inexperienced alicorn to carry out this most important event for all of Equestria. But, just as every other time Twilight needed help, her friends were, as always, there for her. "Hey Twilight, where y'all want us ta put these dessert trays?" Applejack asked, carrying one of the heavy trays on her back. "Rarity doesn't want us ta put them in the center of the tables, so we kinda have nowhere ta put them." "Oh, put the trays at the END of each table, A.J.." Twilight replied. "That way, the servers can uncover them after the guests finish all the other courses, and they'll be in hoove's reach on every table." Everpony there was hard at work on their own tasks; Rarity was busy directing table placement, while A.J. and Pinkie Pie were helping prepare the food in the kitchen. Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts were practicing for their performance after the banquet, while Fluttershy was preparing her bird chorus for their performance before the meal. Everything seemed to be going perfectly... but the neurotic princess of friendship couldn't help but worry that somethign was goign to go terribly, terribly wrong. "Fluttershy, make sure to place several newspapers under your bird choir's perch, I don't want them making a mess in here!" Twilight Spun around. "Pinkie Pie, get those hidden Party cannons out of the main hall! One of them could go off in a Yak or Dragon's face, and we could have a war on our hands!" "Twilight, darling! Do please calm down." Rarity spoke up, trying to reassure her friend. "We're all doing our best here, and having you getting so upset out certainly isn't helping matters." "That's Rarity? But, the only Rarity I know is Princess Rarity of Unicornia. She and I play together a lot. And that unicorn is saying 'darling', that's how Rainbow Dash usually acts. Why-" "Princess, you said you wouldn't interrupt..." "Oh, sorry... go ahead..." "As you wish...but do try to remain silent while we observe, if you please?" "I'm so sorry, Rarity." Twilight sighed, shaking her head. "I'm just... so worried that this whole thing could go really, really wrong. Things always, always just seem to go wrong with us!" "Now Twilight, that is so completely and entirely unfair!" Rarity protested angrily. "Just because we almost went to war with the yaks, lost the Griffin's greatest treasure down a bottomless abyss, and interfered in the Dragon's competition to pick a new leader, doesn't me screw things up very time we encounter a new culture! I mean, do you honestly think we can't go a single event without messing things up?" "Hey girls, lookie here!" Pinkie Pie cried out excitedly, as she and Applejack carefully wheeled a giant, ten-foot-tall cake into the room, with Fluttershy working to steady the top. "We worked on this double chocolate and triple fudge cake, and I think it turned out juuuust perfect!" "Yes, it smells so wonderful!" Fluttershy exclaimed, staring down at the cake with hungry eyes. "I just can't wait to enjoy this yummy cake at the end of the banquet!" "See, Twi? Everything's goin' fine!" Applejack laughed, as they wheeled the cake to the center of the room. "Ain't nothin' gonna ruin this here shindig, no way-!" "Oh no, I took that last turn too fat!" Rainbow Dash called out, diving in from the skylight above. "LOOKOUT BELOW!" The Pegasus was going so fast, she couldn't stop herself, and plowed straight into the massive cake below her. The towering baked good rumbled and collapsed in on itself, splattering cake and ponies all over the room. "AHHHHH! HELP ME!" Fluttershy cried out as she was buried beneath a tidal wave of fudge. The terrified mare was buried up to her hooves in a chocolate mess. "MMMMMPH!" "AIEEEEEEEEEE!" Pinkie Pie shrieked, crying instead of laughing, as icing splattered all over her face. "Oh, Ranbow Dash, you really take the cake!" "All my hard work!" Rarity cried out, as the decoration were covered in cake goop. "Ohhhhhhhh-!" The delicate unicorn fainted, landing on the floor with a loud THUD! "Whoah, Nelly!" Applejack gasped, staring around the room in surprise. "We ain't never gonna get this mess cleaned up in time!" "Oh yeah Rarity, nothing can go wrong.... heh heh...." Twilight squeaked, eye twitching nervously, as she looked around the disaster that was the banquet hall. Then, her mind snapping she collapsed to the floor, and began to act like Ponyville's flower pony trio when they faced a crisis. "THE HORROR! THE HORROR!" "Good Grief! She got more freaked out than my mom does during a crisis! Did everything work out with the friendship dinner thingie?" "Indeed it did, Princess Pink! Twilgiht and her friends managed to pull together, and save the whole event, as you shall soon see..." RegretSpike, could you tell me about a sad time for the Princess of Friendship? One where she couldn't see or magic her way out of a problem?" Actually, there was a time like that, When Twilight had been pushed to her absolute limits, and lashed out in anger at the ponies who cared about her the most..." "Well, maybe I would've been better OFF without friends like YOU!" The words are barely out of her mouth, and already she regrets them. The gasp, heartbroken look on Pinkie Pie's face, the looks of disapproval and disgust in the other three's eyes... she hadn't meant to say it, but she had been under so much pressure... and it just came out. Now, she would take it back in an instant, if she could. But fate just isn't that kind, unfortunately. "Pinkie..." "I just can't talk to you right now." The pink filly starts to slowly trot away from her, followed by her other friends, and Twilight's heart shatters into a million pieces. With only Spike still standing beside her, she turns and slowly trots away. Her friends, the ponies who had stood by her ever since she had first arrived in Ponyville, she had lashed out at them in anger, and had broken their hearts, as much as she had broken her own. Oh, she tried so hard to justify her actions to herself; she had watched her home be invaded and her mentor turned to stone. Her friends had trusted a shifty feline con man, who betrayed their trust, and tried to sell them out at the first opportunity. They befriended a group of Pirates, only to have the pirates sell them out to the Storm King's minions. Everypony outside of Equestria had proven themselves untrustworthy, so she was doing what she had to do to save her home, family, and friends. She tried to steal Queen Novo's pearl. In that one instant, she betrayed everything. She betrayed her friends and her family, she betrayed all of the lessons and wisdom her mentor Princess Celestia had given her, she betrayed all of the countless friendship lessons she had learned ever since she had earned her element of magic and defeated Nightmare Moon. In trying to save Equestria, she had betrayed friendship, harmony, and everything good her homeland had stood for. But worst of all, Twilight Sparkle had betrayed herself. She was supposed to be the Princess of Friendship; the pony who was the ambassador of friendship to all of the other species of the world, to show them how the magic of friendship had helped ponykind so very much. And instead of trying to reach out to the sea ponies and touch their hearts with friendship, she had plotted against them, sending her friends to distract them, while she tried to steal their greatest treasure. Then, when her friends had actually managed to win over the queen, she had ruined everything, and lashed out at the very ponies who had stood behind her through everything. And right now, Princess Twilight Sparkle felt like the scrum of the earth. As she climbed up the rocky outcropping, Twilight felt the full force of the guilt hit her like a tidal wave. Her friends, who had always been there for her, who had taught her more about friendship then anyone else... she hadn't trusted them. Through all the pain and frustration, she didn't have faith in her friends to actually carry out the task she had given them, and winning the sea ponies over so she didn't have to steal the pearl. Twilight Sparkle, who had experienced nothing but mistrust and betrayal on this journey, had lost faith in her friends to succeed, and in doing so, the princess of friendship had lost her faith in friendship to save the day. By trying to steal the pearl, and yelling at her friends, the princess of friendship had become no better than the Storm King, or Tirek, or Sombra, or any of the hundred other unredeemable foes who committed horrible deeds to achieve their own ends. And that knowledge haunted the young alicorn far more than scolding from her mentor could have. And now, having betrayed the sea ponies, there was no way to save Equestria. Her homeland, her family, and everpony she cared about would now be forever enslaved by the Storm King's empire. She had failed, in her anger and pride and desperation, she had failed to everypony who had been counting on her, and all she could do was keep running from the storm king's forcesKeep running until they finally caught up with her, and stole her alicorn magic like they desired to. It was only a matter of time, before the Storm King was victorious, and Twilight's failure was complete. And as the princess wallowed in her own misery, her Assistant Spike came up behind her, hoping to cheer the mournful alicorn up. "Twilight... it's okay." He mutters, trying to reach her. "You'll figure it out." "No, I can't!" The alicorn weeps, not bothering to look back at him. "I ruined everything! There's no chance to save Equestria now!" The tears flowed from her eyes like twin rivers. "It's all my fault!" Finally giving in entirely to her own despair, the young alicorn princess's feels nothing but a wave of regret, guilt and sorrow that threatens to tear her little pony body apart. The cool and cruel world seems to close in, like an iron cage dropping down on top of her from above.... and that was truly the worst feeling of all. "Oh no, that's so sad! Was the princess of Friendship able to make up with her friends, and save the day again?" "Of course she was, Princess Pink. We wouldn't be standing here is she hadn't managed to triumph, and defeat the enimies who threatened Equestria... but that is enough for one day, little princess. You best get along to your lessons now, and I will tell you more some other time. "
Prolouge: The Princess of Friendship's LegacyThe seeds of Ponyville's present... are buried in Equestria's past. Ponyville; four hundred years after the time of the mane six... Her books... they were the mare's greatest treasure, that filled the room all around her. Books on magic, books on history, books on things on both things fiction and fact. Long before she had earned her wings, this mare loved having the repository of all pony knowledge right at the tip of her hooves. And the largest and most elaborate room in her luxurious Ponyville castle, was the library that held all of the books that she had collected over her long alicorn lifetime. One thing that was truly certain, was that everybody knows that these ancient tomes were the princess of Friendship's greatest treasure. "Which means," Princess Pink Sparkle thought to herself, reading from the dusty old tome she had discovered in the castle's ancient library, "she was a far greater princess than I." As she wandered through the halls of Celebration Castle, the little pink earth pony with a shining heart cutie mark could only look around at her surroundings, and sigh. Being the latest in the royal line of Ponyville princesses, Pink was set to inherit this palace, along with leadership of the town, from her mother, Princess Wisteria. But the little filly was unsure if she could handle the burden, let alone if she could even be a Ponyville princess without screwing it up. "Ohhh, I'd much rather be playing hopscotch with my friends in town, than sit on some dusty old throne and rule!" The little thirteen year-old-filly thought to herself, trotting away from the library, and back down the hall to the royal study. "How do I even know I'm going to be any good at it, anyway?" Most of the servants had taken off for the holiday, and her mother was in Ponyville overseeing the day's festivities, so Pink didn't expect to run into anybody in the palace today. The endless corridors of Celebration Castle were vast and maze-like, filled with dusty old furniture, and antiques from long before even her mother's time. But as she forlornly trotted though the hallways of this ancient castle, Pink Sparkle failed to notice the sound of two scaly feet came plodding up behind her. "Um, excuse me, Princess Sparkle?" A high pitched, posh voice called out from behind her. "But you seem a bit lost, may I be of some assistance?" "YEEK!" The little princess squeaked, nearly jumping out of her coat. Spinning around, she recognized the small blue dragon standing behind her. "Oh, Spike, it's only you!" The little filly sighed with relief, recognizing her family's oldest servant. "Oh, I wasn't lost. I know this castle like the back of my hoof; I did grow up here, after all." "And I've been here since this castle was first grown- er, built, I mean." The dragon quickly corrected himself. "And let me tell you, it looked better back in my day! Back then, the castle looked like a giant crystal tree, instead of the big and girly mess it is now. Yes sir, Celebration Castle was quite a different place, back when the princess of friendship ruled Ponyville!" "Yeah, the princess of friendship, my great ancestor who was the first princess of Ponyville." Pink Sparkle rolled her eyes. "I've heard all about her a million times... and how could I possibly live up to that kind of reputation? I could never be a princess as good as she was!" "Oh, well now, I wouldn't say that! She may have been a great princess, my dear, but as she herself would've pointed out, the princess of friendship was far from perfect." Spike the dragon replied with a chuckle. "Actually, she was just as worried as you are about being able to do her best, and trying her hardest!" "Oh yeah?! And how would you know?" The princess scoffed, narrowing her eyes at the dragon. "I know you've been serving our family an awful long time, but even you can't possibly be that old!" "My dear Princess Pink, I'll just have you know that I am well over a thousand years old by dragon reckoning, and I started my career as a number-one assistant to the princess of friendship herself." Spike snorted. "And I can tell you more about her than anybody alive in Ponyville today." "Wait a sec... you, like really knew her?!" Princess Pink suddenly got excited. "Ohmygosh, you have so got to tell me everything! What was she like? What were her hobbies? Did she play hopscotch? Did she like rainbow juice or milk with her cookies? What was her favorite-" "Now just wait a minute, here! One question at a time!" Spike sighed, exasperated. "You know what? I think instead of telling you about the princess of friendship, my lady, I think I'll just show you." Motioning for the young princess to follow him, the old dragon led Pink Sparkle to a bookcase in the library, where he pulled out a book titled 'friendship is magic', and the princess heard a soft *click*. The bookcase swung open, revealing a set of stairs, that the small dragon began to climb. "Hey,I've been in this library a thousand times, and I never knew those stairs were there." Pink whispered in awe. "Hey, where does this passage lead, anyway?" "To the only chamber in this whole castle that wasn't remodeled after the princess of friendship passed away." Spike replied, a tinge of sadness echoing in his voice. "This room has not been used in over three hundred years." The dragon pulled an old, dusty tarp off of a table and some chairs, revealing six thrones, and a large crystalline table. Pink Sparkle put her hooves on the large table's surface, and it magically lit up at the earth pony's touch. "Ohhhhh," The princess whispered, staring at the map of the landscape before her. "So pretty..." "In ages past, this was called the cutie map, and it was used to show the princess of friendship and her handmaidens where they could find friendship problems." The dragon explained. "But you can use it to see events of the past, that transpired in this very castle... or the library that preceded it." "Really? That is so cool!" Pink Sparkle squealed, sitting down in the mane throne with the princess of friendship's cutie mark on it. "Okie dokie, cutie map! Show me stuff about the princess of friendship!" And as Spike sat down on the small throne next to hers, the surface of the table began to shimmer and shift, revealing moving images of the past....
Learning CurveMy dear Pink Sparkle, if we're going to talk about the Princess of Friendship, we should start with her very first friend... "Attention class, may I have your attention please?" the teacher spoke to her students, standing in front of the class. "Now, we have a new student in our classroom today, and I want you all to make her feel welcome." "Wow, a new classmate!" Minuette giggled, looking over to her friend, Lemon Hearts. "You, like, think she's from Canterlot, or from another school somewhere else?" "Oh, it's probably some new girl from some place like Ponyville." Twinkleshine piped up from behind them. "Ohhh, I'd love to go there and see all the cute animals on the farms!" "Gee, I hope she's nice!" Lemon Hearts added with a laugh, looking over to the filly with her face buried in a book next to her. "Hey Moondancer, what do you think the new filly will be like?" "Oh, It's probably that new wonder student I overheard them talking about when I was trotting by the teacher's lounge. The one's who is the princess' personal student." Moondancer snorted dismissively, not even bothering to look up from her book. "I've heard something about her hatching a dragon's egg or something... and I really can't say I'm very impressed." "Moondancer, I don't think anything impresses you." Minuette laughed, rolling her eyes. "How can you NOT think a being able to hatch a dragon was awesome?!" "It's probably just some story cooked up to make Princess Celestia's personal student look good." Moondancer shook her head. "She probably got into this school because she's the princess student. I doubt she passed the test, and earned her way in like we did." As the students whispered to each other, a little purple unicorn filly with a striped mane trotted into the room. "Class, this is Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's personal student. I want you all to be nice to her, and make her feel welcome!" The little filly quietly trotted over to the nearest empty seat, which just happened to be right next to Moondancer. Twilight waited hesitantly for a few moments before Minuette spoke up. "Hey, so you're Twilight, huh? Nice to meet you!" The toothpaste-colored filly greeted her excitedly. "I'm Minuette, and these are my friends, Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine!" "Oh, hello!" Twilight replied, giving the three other fillies a small smile. "It's really nice to meet all of-" "Oh wow, so you're Princess Celestia's student!" Lemon Hearts exclaimed. "That's so cool! How did you meet the princess? How much magic has she taught you?" "Well actually, I just started taking some basic lessons from her highness," Twilight replied. "but I have read some books about-" "Have you learned any really cool spells?" Twinkleshine squealed. "Maybe you could teach us some magic!" The three fillies continued to talk with the new girl, as Moondancer buried herself deeper and deeper into her books. When the others finally lost interest and went back to mess around the teacher's desk. Twilight sat there in silence for several minutes, before finally speaking up to the other filly. "Umm, excuse me..." she asked Moondancer. "but would you mind if I took a look at the other book you've got there?" Moondancer looked out from behind her book, raising an eyebrow. "Sure, go ahead." The unicorn filly shrugged. "Knock yourself out." Twilight sat down beside her, and picked up the books. The two fillies were both deep into their reading, when Twilight spoke up again. "Say, I just started reading about unicorn history, and I'm really fascinated by all the powerful pony wizards and sorceresses there have been." Twilight looked up from her book at the other filly. "I'm especially impressed by the great wizard, Hayscartes." "Hayscartes? Pshhhh!" Moondancer rolled her eyes, pointing a hoof to a page in her book. "Oh, please! He was barely a second rate magician! Now, Starswirl the Bearded, that was a wizard worth his horn! Nopony could create a spell like he could!" "Starswirl the bearded?" Twilight asked, looking over Moondancer's shoulder. "Oooo, I've heard about him! Didn't he explore the caverns of Maretonia?" "Actually, it was called Mirtania then." Moondancer corrected her, levitating another book up for Twilight to look at. "Here, take a look at his biography, it's really incredible!" The two little fillies hit it off instantly, and began spending all of their free time together. They would be busy studying, practicing simple spells, and working on school projects together. Oh, the two often hung out with Twinkleshine, Minuette, and Lemon Hearts; and the group even made a new friend, Lyra Heartstrings. But while those three were busy having fun and getting their heads stuck in lab beakers, The two other unicorn fillies poured all their time into their studies. The two were so focused on their studies, they didn't notice the influence they were having on each other. "Hey Twilight, have you ever, like, noticed how much you and Moondancer are alike?" Minuette giggled. "I'm mean, the two of you are practically like twins!" "WE ARE NOT!" the two replied in unison, both yelling in the same voice and tone. "Why would you even SAY that?!" "Oh yeah, I can totally see it! Same mane style, same tail style..." Lemon Hearts agreed. "You're like twins, or something!" As the years passed, the two buried themselves more and more in their studies, to the point their other friends stopped asking them if they wanted to hang out outside of school. By the time the fillies reached their teens, though, the two magic nerds were starting to take interest in other things. When they were both fourteen, they had decided to have a study-sleepover at Twilight's house, when Moondancer came to an interesting revelation.... "Bye, mom! Bye, dad! I'm off to pick up Cadence for the prom!" Shining armor declared, putting on his letter jacket, and trotting out the door. "See ya later, Twily!" Moondancer watched the older teen stallion go, her eyes focused on his backside a little longer then they probably should have. "Uhhh, what are you staring at?" Twilight asked in confusion, looking up from the textbooks they had scattered all over the kitchen table. "That's just my brother, leaving for his date." "Oh, I was just admiring Shining Armor's... superior anatomy," Moondancer replied, adjusting her glasses to hide her reddening face. "You know, for a unicorn, he has muscles as big and tight as an earth pony." Twilight stared at the other mare in confusion for a moment, before realization dawned on her. "You think Shining Armor is hot!? EWW!" Twilight stuck her tongue out, in horror and disgust. "He's my brother, that's so totally GROSS!" "Oh, really?" Moondancer asked, lowering her glasses to stare at her friend. "And what about those muscle stallion calenders you have hidden in your textbook covers, Twilight? Or those musclebound stallion pin-ups you keep hidden in your-" "OKAY Okay! Keep it down, would you?" Twilight whispered, afraid her parents would overhear. "Let's... let's just get back to our studies, okay?" The two fillies learned magic together, but as time went on, they became so buried in their studies, that friendship almost seemed to become of secondary importance. Oh, the two were still friends, of course. But as time drifted on, the two fillies began to drift apart.... until the day Princess Celestia sent Twilight away. "How could she just leave, HOW?!" Moondancer cried out in sadness, after everypony had left her party. "She didn't even say goodbye! What kind of friend is that?!" And with Twilight leaving her behind, Moondancer was left feeling alone. Twinkleshine and the other fillies tried to cheer their friend up, but she would open herself up to other ponies no longer. And so, the future princess of friendship, had managed to break the heart of her first friend... "Wait, you mean the Princess of Friendship did that? But... I thought she was a perfect pony, who never made any mistakes!" "This should show you, my dear Princess Pink Sparkle, that nopony... nobody, as you ponies say today... is really perfect. But now, let us take a look into how this first broken friendship resolved itself..."
Spike remembers: Hot coca(Flashback written by Le Vallet1, many thanks) "Oh come on, Spike! I don't just want to here about how the princess made mistakes! I want to hear about some of the good she did." Pink Sparkle demanded. "You said you were the princess's number-one assistant. Before you go on with the depressing stuff about Moondancer, don't you have any stories about the good moments in her life? The happier times?" "Well, of course there were happier times! She was the Princess of friendship, after all." Spike chuckled. "she had plenty of friends, and plenty of times she enjoyed spending time with those friends, my little princess." "But what about you? Do you have any personal memories of the time you spent with her?" Pink Sparkle asked, looking back down at the cutie map. "Anything you can tell me about the kind of friend she was to you?" "Well, let me think... there are quite a few times that come to mind," Spike replied thoughtfully. "But if one want one incident in particular, there was this one time, around Hearth's Warming Eve, that really sticks out in my mind..." And as the dragon spoke, the cutie map began to shift and move, as it told the tale in the scaly assistant's heart... “Come on, Twilight! You’ve got to try it!” pleaded Spike. It was a cold, snowy winter day in Ponyville. Coated and wearing scarves and woolen hats, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Spike were having a walk at the town square with several bags floating in Twilight’s magic with them and Spike holding one seemingly too large for him. “Spike, you know I’m on a sugar-free diet. I’ve been having too many sweets and sugary treats since I moved in Ponyville. I don’t think Equestria needs its first ever obese princess in history,” said Twilight, “Besides, we’re supposed to go for a Hearth’s Warming shopping, not having hot chocolates.” “I know, Twi. But you haven’t had any hot chocolates since we left Canterlot! I tried one at Magical Friendship Cafe and it was so good! You have to try one, please!” said Spike. “No, Spike –” Twilight wanted to refuse but stopped when she saw Spike giving her puppy eyes, which wasn’t usual for him to do so. Twilight finally relented. “Uh! Fine! I guess once a while would not hurt my diet,” she huffed. With a small cheer, Spike showed her the way to the aforementioned cafeteria. “Here you go, Your Highness. Two cups of hot chocolate for you two,” the waitress announced while putting two cups of hot chocolate in front of Twilight and Spike. Spike licked his lips, grabbed his teaspoon and started scooping the steaming, thick semi-fluid chocolate and put it in his mouth. Twilight breathed in, smelling the chocolatey smell of hot, mouth-watering goodness coming out of her cup. She levitated her spoon, scooped up a bit of the thick liquid chocolate and put it in her mouth. It was hot. And her taste-buds exploded in ecstasy. She looked at her cup with as if worshiping the very thing inside it. “Where have you been in my whole life!” Twilight exclaimed. She shoveled her hot chocolate to her mouth in gusto, scalding feeling in her mouth be damned. “Nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom!” She threw away her spoon and licked the rest of her hot chocolate from the cup, moaning with delight. She opened her eyes and found every other pony and Spike staring at her with their mouths agape. Twilight blushed and giggled with embarrassment. “Sorry, I just think that this hot chocolate tastes so good!” After paying the cafeteria (and giving the waitress tips), Twilight and Spike went back to the palace. Once inside, Twilight had one thing in her mind. “Spike, I will have another cup, no, mug of hot chocolate,” Twilight declared. Spike was starting to feel worried now. “But Twilight, what about your diet?” he asked. Twilight shook her mane and went on her way to the kitchen. “Forget my diet! I want that hot chocolate now!” she said and then she teleported. Spike already had an idea where Twilight teleported to. He ran down the corridor and reached the door leading to the kitchen. Already there was a growing chocolatey aroma coming from inside the kitchen. Spike quickly opened the door and found Twilight heating and mixing milk and cocoa in a cooking pot with a manic gleam in her eyes. Spike stared disbelievingly at the now empty pot of cocoa. “Twilight, I was saving that cocoa for Hearth’s Warming night reading,” Spike groaned. He then sighed. “It’s okay, you can have that one. I’ll buy another tomorrow.” Spike glumly went to leave the kitchen when a half-filled mug of hot chocolate floated right under his nose. He looked up, seeing Twilight smiling at him with motherly care. “Don’t worry, Spike. I decided to fill half a mug of hot chocolate for both of us instead of having it all for myself. Seeing you saddened over me having the last bit of cocoa you were saving for your night reading made me realize how selfish I was acting and for this I apologize,” Twilight explained. “Now, let us both drink hot chocolate and read a Hearth’s Warming story together.” And so, Princess Twilight Sparkle and her number one assistant Spike the dragon went to the lounge to read a good Hearth’s Warming story and have a nice, thick hot chocolate. "So, the two of you had a warm moment over hot cocoa?" Pink Sparkle asked, as the images from the map faded. "That was so awesome! She must have been a really, really great friend!" "Well, she tried to be, and she always treated me with respect," Spike replied with a wistful smile. "But there were times when she wasn't as good of a friend to ponies, and what happened with Moondancer." "Yeah, you never did tell me how that turned out." Pink Sparkle pointed out. "What exactly did happen with Moondancer?" As if responding to Pink Sparkle's question, the map began to shift and move once more...
Interruptions".... And that's how Twilight worked out things with Moondancer, apologizing and throwing her a new party, with the help of her Ponyville friends. Now, did you want to hear about another of the Princess of Friendship's amazing adventures?" "What was it like for the two of you when you first arrived in Ponyville? Did you two start building Celebration Castle then?" "No, that actually came a year later. But as to how we reacted to first moving here, I can tell you a story from right after Twilight and her new friends defeated Nightmare Moon... "Well, here y'all go, Twi," Applejack stated, as she and the other girls helped move the rest of her stuff into the Golden Oaks library. "Ah think we got everythin' now, so we'll all jest be moseying along." "Thanks girls, I really appreciate all of the help." Twilight replied, as the other five fillies trotted back out the door. "And I really want to thank all of you, and everypony else in town, for making Spike and I feel so welcome!" "Oh, Tish Tosh! Think nothing of it, Twilight!" Rarity reassured her new friend, and she levitated the last box she was carrying to the floor. "It can be hard being the new girl in town! We just wanted to make you feel at home in a new place." "I'll always feel at home with you around, Rarity." the baby dragon replied, hearts filling his eyes. "You're the nicest fashionista I've ever met!" "Aww, such a little sweetheart!" Rarity cooed, patting the little dragon on the head. "See you later, little Spikey Wikey!" Ummm, Spike? Who is that mare in the image? And are you staring at her with those goofy eyes?" "Huh? Oh, never you mind about that, Princess! You're too young to worry about such things!" "Uh huh, riiiiight... that's the same way mom looks at dad, when they tell me to go to my room at night." "I did not need to hear that about your mother, Princess Wisteria. Now, would you please be quiet, and watch the story?" After Rarity had left, the shy yellow pegasus pony came forward, saying her goodbyes to Twilight. "Umm, thank you so much for helping to save our princess, and Equestria." The timid little filly told her. "You should stop by, and see the animals sometime." "Why, thank you, Fluttershy." Twilight smiled, hugging her other new friend. "And I'm planning to order a whole bunch of new books on animals. I hope you'll come by, and check out sometime." "Wait, a Pegasus living in Ponyville? I thought Starsong was the only Pegasus who lived in this town!" "Sigh... yes, there used to be a whole lot of Pegasai and unicorns in Ponyville, before the three tribes broke apart once more. Now, Princess Pink, would you please stop asking questions, and just watch?!" Then, a blue Pegasus followed the first one out, waving a hoof to Twilight as she left. "Catch ya later, Twi!" The blue filly said, trying to sound cool. "We should totally hang out again soon!" And lastly, a pink filly with a pink mane when cartwheeling out the door, shouting excitedly. "Gee Twilight, that was so totally a lot of fun!" the hyperactive mare giggled. "We''l have to throw you a moving-in party tomorrow! Followed by a first week in Ponyville party, then we can-" "Fluttershy? Pinkie Pie? Spike, I know ponies by those names! Pinkie Pie looks the same, but what happened to Dashie?! How did she get wings?!" "Princess, for the last time, would you please be QUIET!" "....Okay, shutting up now..." As she watched her new friends go, Twilight Sparkle thought about how much her life had changed since moving to Ponyville. She had made friends for the first time in her life, besides Shining Armor and Cadence, of course, and realized how an important aspect of her life had been missing. All of her new friends were so incredible; Applejack with her hard work and plain living, and Rarity with her creativity and sense of style. Rainbow Dash's coolness, and Fluttershy's gentle compassion. Twilight had despised Pinkie Pie's annoying nature at first, but the unicorn was eternally grateful that Pinkie had thrown that 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, which had led to their great quest, and the beginnings of their friendships. All four ponies each brought something different to their little group of friends, as if each added their own unique ingredient to the mix, creating a wonderful friendship stew. And as a student, there was so much about friendship her friends could teach her. Each one was like taking a separate class at university, each enriching her life and knowledge more than it had been. Looking back on how isolated she had made herself at Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle had never realized how such a major aspects of a pony's life had been missing from hers. She almost despised the arrogant, book-obsessed filly she had been, the pony who dismissed friendship as a waste of time. The magic of friendship was something that had become very important to the little bookworm filly, and she was extremely grateful to have it in her life now. Still, she was determined to treat her study of friendship, the way she treated every other research project and form of study she had worked on. Twilight Sparkle was a very studious student, covering every detail, and meticulously detailing every aspect of any given topic of study. And she was determined to study and understand every aspect of friendship, and report all of her findings back to her exalted teacher, Princess Celestia. And there was no time to start a project like the present! "Spike, would you come here, please?" Twilight called out to her assistant. "I want to take some notes on the things I want to take notes on friendship." "Coming, Twilight!" Spike replied, as he came running up with a quill, ink, and parchment. "I'm all raring and ready to write!" "Say, Spike? " "Grrrr, what is it, my princess?!" "Was that little purple dragon really you? I mean, you're all taller and blue now, what happened?" "AARAAGGHHHHHHH!"
Banquet disaster"Spike! Aw, come on! I said I was sorry! Please, tell me more about the Princess of Friendship? Pretty please?" "Oh, very well, but you'd better listen more carefully this time! Anyway, maybe it's time I told you about a time when Princess Twilight had to make some very difficult decisions ... but no at all the kind you'd expect." "Princess Twilight, should we hang the red curtains, or the green ones?" The unicorn servant asked, levitating his clipboard as he spoke. "We don't know what would please our guests more, and the decorators wanted your opinion." "No no no, don't use either the red or the green!" Twilight replied quickly, levitating on of her books of foreign customs in front of her. "The red is a sign of war to the Yaks, and the changelings take the green as an insult! Use the blue curtains instead!" "Princess Twilight, the caterers wanted to know if you wanted to serve the guests on silver trays, or gold ones?" Another servant asked, as the first pony walked away. "They need to know, before they start prepare the main course and entree." "Use the silver trays, not the gold ones." Twilight replied hurriedly, flipping through another book. "The griffin envoys would take one look at anything golden, and clean us out!" The princess of Friendship was busily running around her castle, approving the various dishes that had been prepared, and giving the okay for the decor and furnishings. Twilight was to host the first international friendship expo, inviting all of the species she had friends with over the years. And with the other princesses all busy with other affairs, it had fallen to the youngest and most inexperienced alicorn to carry out this most important event for all of Equestria. But, just as every other time Twilight needed help, her friends were, as always, there for her. "Hey Twilight, where y'all want us ta put these dessert trays?" Applejack asked, carrying one of the heavy trays on her back. "Rarity doesn't want us ta put them in the center of the tables, so we kinda have nowhere ta put them." "Oh, put the trays at the END of each table, A.J.." Twilight replied. "That way, the servers can uncover them after the guests finish all the other courses, and they'll be in hoove's reach on every table." Everpony there was hard at work on their own tasks; Rarity was busy directing table placement, while A.J. and Pinkie Pie were helping prepare the food in the kitchen. Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts were practicing for their performance after the banquet, while Fluttershy was preparing her bird chorus for their performance before the meal. Everything seemed to be going perfectly... but the neurotic princess of friendship couldn't help but worry that somethign was goign to go terribly, terribly wrong. "Fluttershy, make sure to place several newspapers under your bird choir's perch, I don't want them making a mess in here!" Twilight Spun around. "Pinkie Pie, get those hidden Party cannons out of the main hall! One of them could go off in a Yak or Dragon's face, and we could have a war on our hands!" "Twilight, darling! Do please calm down." Rarity spoke up, trying to reassure her friend. "We're all doing our best here, and having you getting so upset out certainly isn't helping matters." "That's Rarity? But, the only Rarity I know is Princess Rarity of Unicornia. She and I play together a lot. And that unicorn is saying 'darling', that's how Rainbow Dash usually acts. Why-" "Princess, you said you wouldn't interrupt..." "Oh, sorry... go ahead..." "As you wish...but do try to remain silent while we observe, if you please?" "I'm so sorry, Rarity." Twilight sighed, shaking her head. "I'm just... so worried that this whole thing could go really, really wrong. Things always, always just seem to go wrong with us!" "Now Twilight, that is so completely and entirely unfair!" Rarity protested angrily. "Just because we almost went to war with the yaks, lost the Griffin's greatest treasure down a bottomless abyss, and interfered in the Dragon's competition to pick a new leader, doesn't me screw things up very time we encounter a new culture! I mean, do you honestly think we can't go a single event without messing things up?" "Hey girls, lookie here!" Pinkie Pie cried out excitedly, as she and Applejack carefully wheeled a giant, ten-foot-tall cake into the room, with Fluttershy working to steady the top. "We worked on this double chocolate and triple fudge cake, and I think it turned out juuuust perfect!" "Yes, it smells so wonderful!" Fluttershy exclaimed, staring down at the cake with hungry eyes. "I just can't wait to enjoy this yummy cake at the end of the banquet!" "See, Twi? Everything's goin' fine!" Applejack laughed, as they wheeled the cake to the center of the room. "Ain't nothin' gonna ruin this here shindig, no way-!" "Oh no, I took that last turn too fat!" Rainbow Dash called out, diving in from the skylight above. "LOOKOUT BELOW!" The Pegasus was going so fast, she couldn't stop herself, and plowed straight into the massive cake below her. The towering baked good rumbled and collapsed in on itself, splattering cake and ponies all over the room. "AHHHHH! HELP ME!" Fluttershy cried out as she was buried beneath a tidal wave of fudge. The terrified mare was buried up to her hooves in a chocolate mess. "MMMMMPH!" "AIEEEEEEEEEE!" Pinkie Pie shrieked, crying instead of laughing, as icing splattered all over her face. "Oh, Ranbow Dash, you really take the cake!" "All my hard work!" Rarity cried out, as the decoration were covered in cake goop. "Ohhhhhhhh-!" The delicate unicorn fainted, landing on the floor with a loud THUD! "Whoah, Nelly!" Applejack gasped, staring around the room in surprise. "We ain't never gonna get this mess cleaned up in time!" "Oh yeah Rarity, nothing can go wrong.... heh heh...." Twilight squeaked, eye twitching nervously, as she looked around the disaster that was the banquet hall. Then, her mind snapping she collapsed to the floor, and began to act like Ponyville's flower pony trio when they faced a crisis. "THE HORROR! THE HORROR!" "Good Grief! She got more freaked out than my mom does during a crisis! Did everything work out with the friendship dinner thingie?" "Indeed it did, Princess Pink! Twilgiht and her friends managed to pull together, and save the whole event, as you shall soon see..."
RegretSpike, could you tell me about a sad time for the Princess of Friendship? One where she couldn't see or magic her way out of a problem?" Actually, there was a time like that, When Twilight had been pushed to her absolute limits, and lashed out in anger at the ponies who cared about her the most..." "Well, maybe I would've been better OFF without friends like YOU!" The words are barely out of her mouth, and already she regrets them. The gasp, heartbroken look on Pinkie Pie's face, the looks of disapproval and disgust in the other three's eyes... she hadn't meant to say it, but she had been under so much pressure... and it just came out. Now, she would take it back in an instant, if she could. But fate just isn't that kind, unfortunately. "Pinkie..." "I just can't talk to you right now." The pink filly starts to slowly trot away from her, followed by her other friends, and Twilight's heart shatters into a million pieces. With only Spike still standing beside her, she turns and slowly trots away. Her friends, the ponies who had stood by her ever since she had first arrived in Ponyville, she had lashed out at them in anger, and had broken their hearts, as much as she had broken her own. Oh, she tried so hard to justify her actions to herself; she had watched her home be invaded and her mentor turned to stone. Her friends had trusted a shifty feline con man, who betrayed their trust, and tried to sell them out at the first opportunity. They befriended a group of Pirates, only to have the pirates sell them out to the Storm King's minions. Everypony outside of Equestria had proven themselves untrustworthy, so she was doing what she had to do to save her home, family, and friends. She tried to steal Queen Novo's pearl. In that one instant, she betrayed everything. She betrayed her friends and her family, she betrayed all of the lessons and wisdom her mentor Princess Celestia had given her, she betrayed all of the countless friendship lessons she had learned ever since she had earned her element of magic and defeated Nightmare Moon. In trying to save Equestria, she had betrayed friendship, harmony, and everything good her homeland had stood for. But worst of all, Twilight Sparkle had betrayed herself. She was supposed to be the Princess of Friendship; the pony who was the ambassador of friendship to all of the other species of the world, to show them how the magic of friendship had helped ponykind so very much. And instead of trying to reach out to the sea ponies and touch their hearts with friendship, she had plotted against them, sending her friends to distract them, while she tried to steal their greatest treasure. Then, when her friends had actually managed to win over the queen, she had ruined everything, and lashed out at the very ponies who had stood behind her through everything. And right now, Princess Twilight Sparkle felt like the scrum of the earth. As she climbed up the rocky outcropping, Twilight felt the full force of the guilt hit her like a tidal wave. Her friends, who had always been there for her, who had taught her more about friendship then anyone else... she hadn't trusted them. Through all the pain and frustration, she didn't have faith in her friends to actually carry out the task she had given them, and winning the sea ponies over so she didn't have to steal the pearl. Twilight Sparkle, who had experienced nothing but mistrust and betrayal on this journey, had lost faith in her friends to succeed, and in doing so, the princess of friendship had lost her faith in friendship to save the day. By trying to steal the pearl, and yelling at her friends, the princess of friendship had become no better than the Storm King, or Tirek, or Sombra, or any of the hundred other unredeemable foes who committed horrible deeds to achieve their own ends. And that knowledge haunted the young alicorn far more than scolding from her mentor could have. And now, having betrayed the sea ponies, there was no way to save Equestria. Her homeland, her family, and everpony she cared about would now be forever enslaved by the Storm King's empire. She had failed, in her anger and pride and desperation, she had failed to everypony who had been counting on her, and all she could do was keep running from the storm king's forcesKeep running until they finally caught up with her, and stole her alicorn magic like they desired to. It was only a matter of time, before the Storm King was victorious, and Twilight's failure was complete. And as the princess wallowed in her own misery, her Assistant Spike came up behind her, hoping to cheer the mournful alicorn up. "Twilight... it's okay." He mutters, trying to reach her. "You'll figure it out." "No, I can't!" The alicorn weeps, not bothering to look back at him. "I ruined everything! There's no chance to save Equestria now!" The tears flowed from her eyes like twin rivers. "It's all my fault!" Finally giving in entirely to her own despair, the young alicorn princess's feels nothing but a wave of regret, guilt and sorrow that threatens to tear her little pony body apart. The cool and cruel world seems to close in, like an iron cage dropping down on top of her from above.... and that was truly the worst feeling of all. "Oh no, that's so sad! Was the princess of Friendship able to make up with her friends, and save the day again?" "Of course she was, Princess Pink. We wouldn't be standing here is she hadn't managed to triumph, and defeat the enimies who threatened Equestria... but that is enough for one day, little princess. You best get along to your lessons now, and I will tell you more some other time. "
