The Town of Friendship

Twilight was a bit unnerved. She had suddenly become surrounded by lots of ponies that she didn’t know, and she was more than a little nervous about meeting them. Her knees shook, and she tried to regain control of them. She didn’t want to appear as if she lacked self-confidence, but being a prostitute for so long had taken every ounce of bravery out of her. For her, meeting new ponies meant meeting new paid sexual partners, and she had to remind herself that the Town of Friendship didn’t work that way.

Applejack, Apple Bloom, and their cousin had taken to each other like bees to honey, and Twilight couldn’t help but feel happy for them. They were chattering away, sharing story after story of their journeys and how they had found the Town of Friendship. Twilight caught part of their conversation, and discovered that Braeburn had gone A.W.O.L and been on the run from the law for the better part of two years. One day, he stumbled into these woods and happened to peek down the small entrance to the underground village. He crawled in, and his life had been completely transformed.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” A voice at Twilight’s shoulder suddenly asked.

The purple pony started a bit and looked to find Starlight standing there. “Yeah, it is,” she said, “I mean…I had no idea that ponies could be this amiable with each other.”

Starlight nodded. “The process of making friends is a delicate one, but with practice, anypony can master it! You’ve got an advantage though, Twilight.”

“I do?”

“Indeed. You’ve already made your first friends. The ponies you came here with will make excellent additions to our little group here, and they have you to thank for it. Their friendship with you will be iron bound. I can feel it.”

Starlight smiled and Twilight felt warmer around her. The other unicorn certainly put her bits where her mouth was when it came to friendship. She exuded it, and the ponies in her village seemed to be genuinely happy. Everywhere Twilight looked, she saw ponies forming bonds with each other, and she could tell that they were sincere about it. She saw fillies and colts running and playing together, while their parents kept watch from a short distance off. She saw the adult ponies, mares and stallions alike, speaking about things other than sex, violence, and the forced praise of Queen Lilly.

“It really is just as wonderful as all I heard in Canterlot,” she breathed.

“Yes, it is,” Starlight said, “but enough standing around. You’ve got new friends to meet!”

“New friends?”

Starlight nodded, and then beckoned Twilight to follow her. While she was nervous about leaving her traveling companions, Twilight did as Starlight requested and trotted along behind her. They went through the rows of small homes, built meticulously by hoof throughout the village’s existence. Twilight smiled at the quaintness of it all, even though they were simply piles of rock and dirt. Friendship existed there, and that brought the homes to life. Their simplicity was their beauty, and Twilight suddenly wanted very much to reside there.

They trotted out of one row and found themselves in a rather large town square. Twilight noticed that the town hall was the biggest building there, and it could be seen throughout the entire village. She assumed that Starlight made speeches from there; grand, eloquent presentations about the power and wondrous nature of friendship. It all seemed so mythical, yet so utterly real, and she nearly pranced with joy.

“You must speak quite a lot,” she said.

“Me?” Starlight asked, “oh, no, Twilight. I don’t speak to large groups of ponies. The town hall is simply my home and the centerpiece of our entire operation.”

“Operation?”

“Yes,” Starlight said, “our purpose is to drive friendship levels up throughout Equestria until we can form a precipice upon which Lilly’s entire regime might tumble down. Then we can restore Equestria back to normal. We can end the war with Saddle Arabia, and peace and friendship can be resumed.”

Starlight led Twilight into the town hall, and had her sit in their waiting area. She disappeared behind the rock wall and returned a moment later with two ponies. One of them was a very beautiful mare, with a bright white coat and a purple mane done very stylistically. The other was a Pegasus mare with a soft yellow coat and a very long pink mane. Her wings were folded up against her flank, and she looked very nervous.

“Twilight, I’d like you to meet Rarity and Fluttershy, two of my top assistants here in the Town of Friendship.”

“Darling, it’s so wonderful to meet you!” The white mare said, with an accent that Twilight just couldn’t place for the life of her, “we’re always happy to meet new ponies here!”

“Oh, um, yes,” The yellow one said softly, “welcome.”

“I’m sorry about that, Twilight,” Starlight said, “Fluttershy doesn’t talk very loudly until she gets comfortable around you.”

Twilight noticed that Fluttershy was blushing rather hard, so she thought she might try and make herself seem friendlier. She stepped forward and held out her hoof. “I’m Twilight Sparkle,” she said.

The yellow Pegasus slowly held out her own hoof and Twilight shook it. She could tell that the timid pony was beginning to open up just slightly, and she wondered how in Equestria she had ever gotten to be Starlight’s assistant. “So…what is it you ponies do for fun?” She asked.

“Oh, anything, darling!” Rarity said happily, “we chase our own dreams. Why, I make beautiful dresses, and I have a store here in town!”

“Ah…so you’re a fashion designer?”

“Yes, indeed, I am! It’s been my passion for quite some time, darling. I discovered it while I was a prostitute in Manehattan.”

“You prostituted there?!” Twilight asked in horror, “I heard that the ponies there are vicious when it comes to sex!”

“Oh, darling, you don’t know the half of it. I was beaten and left to die on more than a few occasions. I also remember having my bits stolen from me numerous times. But I kept going. I couldn’t do anything about it, so I became as complacent as everypony else in Equestria. But one day, a fellow worker invited me to a secret meeting of ponies, and everyone there was as friendly and jovial as anything. I quickly got involved, and found out about this place.

My heart was set on traveling here, but it wasn’t easy. The first three times I attempted to escape from Manehattan, I was caught and sentenced to a beating and prison time. I’ll never forget my blood on the ground after the guards were done whipping me. But prison? Prison was worse. I was taken outside every day and forced to continue my prostitution work, but in even worse conditions. I slept with every dirt riddled beggar Manehattan had to offer.

But then, one day, right after one of my prison sentences was finished, I decided to try again. Only this time, I didn’t try and sneak out. I fought my way out. I bit and slashed at the guards, and I believe I seriously maimed one of them, until I found myself outside Manehattan’s gate. I quickly darted off into the woods and, darling, I never looked back. I knew I wanted some friends, some love, and a place to design dresses. So I came here…and my life has never been the same.”

Twilight winced as she noticed the scars and bruises that dotted the pretty mare’s back. She looked as if she could win many beauty contests, were it not for those scars. But the scars simply speak of everything she had to get through in order to make it here, she told herself, she must truly believe in the power and magic of friendship. She instantly garnered a lot of respect for her new acquaintance and vowed that she would be friends with her.

“But what about you, Fluttershy?” She asked, turning to the other pony, “what’s your story?”

“Oh, um, well, I was one of the ponies who wasn’t deemed worthy of being a prostitute. So Lilly sent me to work on a dirt farm on the ground! It was miserable. We farmed dirt from sunup to sundown, and we weren’t allowed to speak with each other unless it was on dirt related business. I would return to my room every night absolutely exhausted and wanting so much to meet and make friends with new ponies.

One day, I went out to the dirt farm and I saw the cutest little squirrel! I smiled, as it was the most pleasant thing I had seen in days. I bent down and, to my surprise, I found that I was able to understand its chittering and chirping! I was so happy, because I had a new animal friend. Since I couldn’t make friends with my fellow ponies, I decided I would try and make friends with every small creature I could. I would sneak out to the woods at night, trying desperately to find new animals to bond with. I ended up with an entire group of lovely friends!

But then…oh…then the farm’s forepony found out about my escapades and caught me one night. She tossed me into the barn’s holding cell and forced me to eat slop with the pigs! She called me such awful, horrible names, and told me that I was worthless. Oh! It was terrible! I spent two months in that barn, going from the pig slop to the cell and back again. Then the forepony took me out and put me in a pasture with cows, and told me I was nothing more than a cud chewer.

That’s when I decided that I had enough of her! So, with the help of my animal friends, I managed to escape deep into the forest. I ran and ran and ran and just kept running. I didn’t look back. But I hadn’t packed anything, so I had to forage for berries and nuts just to survive. Thankfully, I ran into Starlight in the woods one day and she brought me here. She fed me and took me in, and I’ve never left.”

Twilight’s mouth was open in shock at Fluttershy’s story. No wonder the pony was so timid! Yet, amidst all that nervousness, there was a great sense of boldness. Once again, Twilight felt a deep respect for her fellow mare, and she vowed to know her better and create a strong friendship with her. She knew that she had found a spot where friendship abounded, and she couldn’t have been happier.