The Town of Friendship

Twilight fell in love with friendship. There were no two ways about it. She absorbed all the knowledge that the experts in the town had to offer, and she read book after book on the subject. Her heart resurrected from the gloom of prostitution, worthlessness, and depression and blossomed into a full pantheon of the Elements of Harmony, which, as she found out, were as real as the nose on her face. She became a trusting, confident friend, and the ponies in town all said that she was a complete asset to their own experiences. She seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to being a good friend, and she showed it everywhere she went.

She was also pleased that her original group was getting along so nicely. Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Braeburn quickly became the go-to ponies regarding apples, apple trees, and all things related to the fruit. They even planted the first ever subterranean apple orchard, on the outskirts of the village, under one of the many holes where the sun shone through. It allowed for lots of plant life to grow there, and indeed, created an extra layer of happiness for everypony.

Rainbow Dash quickly started a team of expert fliers, dubbing them the Wonderbolts, after an old elite squad from Cloudsdale. The original Wonderbolts had been destroyed in Lilly’s quest for “progress,” and Dash had been heartbroken. She hoped to get to fly with them one day, but that dream had seemingly been crushed. But now, she not only got to fly with them, she got to lead them and control their destiny. They performed shows all over town, and the fillies and colts were especially excited whenever they came around. Something special always happened, and the young ponies would bounce around cheerfully at the hooves of their parents, squealing about wanting to be Wonderbolts themselves. Some of them would have to be gently reminded that they weren’t Pegasi, but they still made plain their ambitions.

Rose Hoof became the most popular author in the town, birthing book after book on subjects of a wide variety. She wrote a history of Equestria (that hadn’t been tarnished by Lilly and her collectivist propaganda), stories about Celestia and Luna, an autobiography, and even a cookbook. The ponies flocked to the stores whenever they heard about a new publication, and ate it up. The fact that Rose didn’t charge many bits for her work made things even better, and soon, her business was thriving. She even took to writing books for foals, and soon, every foal in town was itching to dive into her books. She also always made time for signings, and she loved to see the smile on a young one’s face whenever she touched her quill to their copy.

Soon enough, a year went by. Twilight and her friends thought that, if there truly was a heaven as some ponies said, it was right there. Nothing ever went horribly wrong, and Starlight ran a tight ship. Nopony got in who looked like they would leak something, and nopony went out with the town’s sensitive information. Even so, they were always willing to welcome the weak and hurt ponies who were trying to escape the madness of the regime. Twilight soon saw a lot of her old prostitute colleagues living in the village, and they seemed incredibly happy.

One day, Twilight was on her way to her new job as a teacher in one of the town’s friendship schools. She adored teaching almost as much as she had learning. But now it was up to her to educate the foals on how to be good friends, and respectful of other ponies. Let’s see, she thought to herself, I’ve gotta give them a test on the element of generosity tomorrow. Hm…I don’t wanna make it too difficult, but then again, I do wanna make sure they’ve studied their little tails off for it.

She was lost in thought, and blindly turned a corner when she suddenly ran into somepony. “Oh my gosh!” She said as she got back to her hooves and helped the other pony up, “I am so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going!”

“No, that’s alright,” the stallion responded, “it was my fault.”

“No, no,” Twilight said, smiling nicely, “it was mine. I should be more careful.”

She stopped and gave the stallion a good once-over. He wasn’t particularly handsome or debonair looking. He just looked like a simple pony. He had a brown coat and a dusty mane with bright green eyes. She was almost taken aback by just how much he blended in with the surrounding buildings. It was almost like a natural camouflage. Oh, dear! She told herself, how many times have I taken this route to school? Have I passed him every day and I didn’t even know it? Oh, he must think I’m an awful pony!

She was about to apologize when he spoke up. “You’re Twilight, right? Twilight Sparkle?”

“Yeah,” she said, “how’d you know?”

“My younger brother’s in your class,” he said, “he goes by the name of Excavator.”

“Excavator, yes!” She said as she recognized the small brown foal, “but I didn’t realize he had any siblings. He’s never mentioned them.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t get mentioned a lot. My name’s Mud Hooves.”

“I’m pleased to meet you,” Twilight said, “and I’m sorry about running you over.”

“It’s okay,” Mud said, “I know I don’t exactly stand out much.”

Twilight looked up at the giant clock in the town square and saw that she would be late if she didn’t hurry along. “I’m so, so sorry to cut this short,” she said, “but I have to get to class. Please, come over to my house for dinner sometime. It’s the least I can do.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Mud said, “and I’ll definitely take you up on that offer.”

“We’ll discuss details later,” Twilight said, “it’s awfully nice to have met you. Bye!”

“So long!” He said as he watched her trot away. Wow, he said to himself, the other stallions had mentioned what a cute pony she was, but I never expected to meet somepony so utterly breathtaking! I know love at first sight doesn’t exist, but…if I had to pick a mare to be with…I’d want to be with her.