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                     A Glimmer of Hope                     
                      -by Catpaw616-                       
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                         Chapter 1                         
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Chapter 1
Starlight, still having a little bit of sleep in her eyes, walked down one of the castle hallways that led to the kitchen. She was thinking of getting some haycakes for breakfast. Or maybe some berries that she plucked with Trixie just days ago.
Her ears perked up when she heard noises from one of the libraries. She peeked behind the door and saw Twilight sorting her books from one of her many bookshelves. Starlight started walking up towards her in curiosity, not wanting to speak to her yet.
Then she spotted Twilight taking out a dusty old book from the back of the bookshelf. For some reason, she looked happy once her eyes were set on the old book.
Assuming she heard her footsteps, Twilight started to speak. "Aha! Here it is." Twilight said as she showed the book to Starlight.
Starlight leaned her face a little to get closer to the book. She had never seen it before, and come to think of it, it looked as if no one had seen it for months. It was dusty, the cover and pages were starting to get torn, and not to mention it smelled kinda horrible.
It now made Starlight even more curious. What was so special about this dusty old thing? Was it because it had Twilight's cutie mark on the cover, front and center?
"What is that?" Starlight asked her, a little disgusted by the book's appearance.
"Oh come on, Starlight. Don't judge a book by its cover." Twilight told her with a smile. "This is the friendship journal my friends and I used to keep. It's filled with all the things we've learned. Like..." she stopped when she flipped through the pages. "'Friendship isn't always easy, but there's no doubt, it's worth fighting for.'"
After she said that, the same page that had the quote turned into dust, and a page from the book had fallen to the ground.
"I'll judge a book by it's cover just this once." Starlight told her, slightly amused.
Twilight grumbled and looked down at the mess in disappointment.
Starlight's smile faded. "I guess that book meant a lot to you, huh?"
Twilight drooped her ears. "Of course. We have had so many lessons written in this book. Yet after Tirek, and after I got this castle, we discarded it as if it was a piece of junk."
"Well, at least you found it now." Starlight told her, trying to lift up her spirits.
But that did nothing. "Yeah, I've found it broken, torn, and on the brink of turning into nothing but dust." Twilight said dejectedly.
"Mind if I see the book?" Starlight asked her.
"Sure." Twilight then levitated the book to Twilight.
Starlight opened the book and placed it onto the table. She tried her best to ignore the smell, despite it being strong. Starlight had read through the lessons that Twilight and her friends had learned. She even found lessons that even she didn't even learn yet. No wonder this book was special.
Yet... it had been forgotten for who knows how long. Now it's in this poor, pathetic, rotting state...
"No wonder this book is so precious. It's like a little lesson journal." Starlight told Twilight after spending a few minutes reading what was left of the pages.
Twilight sighed. "I guess so. But still. It's now ruined thanks to my negligence."
Starlight put her hoof onto her chin. Her eyes brightened as she thought of something. "Perhaps I can help."
Twilight started to brighten up as well. "Really? How?"
Starlight shrugged. "I can turn old books back into its original healthy state." she told her. "It's a little trick I've learned throughout the years."
"Would you do that for me?" Twilight now started to smile again. "It would greatly help."
"Of course, Twilight." Starlight nodded. She was more than happy to help her former teacher in any way she could.
Starlight turned to the book. She closed her eyes as she started activating her horn. I hope I still remember this. Starlight prayed silently in her mind. Who knows how long it's been since I've done this spell. Plus, she would never forgive herself if her spell backfired and it destroyed the book that Twilight and her friends had loved so much.
No, I can do this. Starlight told herself determinedly. Making herself guilty would just make things worse.
Determined to not let Twilight down, and still hoping that it worked, Starlight casted the spell onto the book. The book lifted off the table. Then two bright orbs came out of the book; then the orbs were replaced by the new book covers. Starlight didn't even dare to lose her concentration when she heard the sound of pages coming out of the book.
After the pages stopped making noises, she heard three books close.
Starlight peeked open her eyes. She sighed in relief that the spell had worked. What was even better was that she made Twilight happy. She was prancing around excitedly, as if she were a foal.
"Starlight! You did it!" Twilight squealed. "This looks exactly like how it looked, with the cover being slightly different, but amazing job! I knew I good count on you!"
Starlight's heart was filled with pride.
"But, might I ask, why did you make two? I only needed one." Twilight asked, pointing at the second copy of the new book.
"Oh, that was for myself." Starlight explained. "After all, I do want to read the rest of the pages. Ones that are not broken."
"At least you're interested in the book. Usually me and the rest of us were the only ones who would read it." Twilight chuckled.
"Of course. These lessons may be of use in my life one day." Starlight told her warmly. "After all, your lessons had helped me be free from the pony I used to be."
"Glad to be a big help." Twilight blushed in embarrassment.
Then, after a moment of silence, Twilight suddenly jumped after she read some pages of the restored pages.
"I got idea!" she beamed.
"Really?" Starlight tipped her head at the side.
"Like you said, these lessons had helped you improve in life." Twilight started explaining. "Well, what if there are ponies just like you that had trouble with friendship?"
"I doubt anyone would run any more cults in Equestria." Starlight told her, half amused, half annoyed.
"No, I mean, what if the both of us made these copies for all of Equestria to see?" Twilight suggested. "It would be like having me around as a little mini-guide!"
"It could work." Starlight told her before hesitating. "But there is a chance that the ponies wouldn't care for these lessons."
"Oh come on, who wouldn't want to hear any lessons from the Princess of Friendship herself?" Twilight boasted a little.
Starlight just shrugged. "We'll have to see what the girls think. But, I believe in you Twilight." she said while smiling.
"I knew I could count on you." Twilight smiled back. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I will have to tell the girls to come here."
"Great." Starlight said as she started walking besides Twilight. "Should I get Spike?"
Twilight shook her head. "I escorted him to the Dragon Lands, hoping to discuss some friendship things with Princess Ember."
Starlight stopped in her tracks. "Princess... Ember?" Starlight asked, confused. The name did not ring any bells. But then she noticed that Twilight was still walking without her.
"Hey, wait up!" Starlight called out before running to her again.

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                         Chapter 2                         
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Chapter 2
Twilight and Starlight had entered the throne room with happy expressions. While Twilight was still excited about her plans, Starlight had started to wonder how would the others react to seeing their old book again for the first time in months. Probably shocked that they left it in such a state, or most likely disgusted by how much the book has rotted as time went on. Or probably both.
Twilight's friends were sitting on their respective throne chairs. They now had their eyes on her as she walked up to the map.
"Thanks for coming, everypony." Twilight greeted them. "I've got a surprise for you."
"What is it, Twilight? Do I need to prepare myself?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
"It's this!" Twilight responded. She then teleported the book to the table.
"Ugh, what is that thing?" Rarity was the first to speak up, with her voice in a disgusted tone. "And why is it so smelly?"
At least I'm not the only one who noticed the smell. Starlight thought thankfully. But then again, anyone would notice the rotting smell at this point.
She looked at Twilight by her side. She didn't seem too offended by her reaction. Starlight assumed that she was too excited for the plan, or that she had thought of the same thing when she found the book.
"Wait a minute!" Pinkie chirped up. "Is this our old friendship journal? I haven't seen this thing in forever!"
"Hoo-wee! That's lookin' a little, uh... overripe." Applejack commented while putting her hoof on her snout.
"I'll say!" Rainbow exclaimed before grabbing the book from Pinkie. She turned a few pages, before stopping with a confused expression.
"There's a smushed apple in Applejack's lessons." Rainbow Dash told them.
Starlight's ear twitched. How was that even possible?
Rainbow Dash kept turning the pages, until stopping once again. This time, she was squinting at the page.
"Fluttershy's lessons are so small, you could barely read them." she told them once again.
"I, uh, wanted to leave room for all of you." Fluttershy explained as she darted her eyes around with an embarrassed grin.
Starlight rolled her eyes amusingly. Classic Fluttershy.
Rainbow continued to turn the pages. Then she stopped on a page with purple ink.
"I... I don't even know what this is." Rainbow said before letting Rarity look at the page.
"It's called calligraphy, darling." Rarity explained. "If you're going to make words, at least make them fabulous."
Applejack lifted her hooves towards the book. After Rainbow had given the book to her, she saw that the pages were nearly ripped, and one page even extended out of the book.
"Looks like you got aggressive with your friendship lessons, Rainbow Dash." Applejack told her with an unamused expression.
Starlight looked dumbfounded. How can a pony write like that? It had to be because the page deteriorated over time—
"What can I say? When I learn something, I learn it hard." Rainbow Dash said smugly.
Nevermind.
Rainbow flipped the pages once more. Once she flipped the pages, a blast of confetti exploded onto her face.
"I've found Pinkie's page." Rainbow said, unamused.
"Well, I am surprised!" Pinkie responded in her usually bubbly mood.
Twilight levitated the book away from Rainbow Dash. "That wasn't the only surprise." Twilight told them before looking at Starlight as the signal.
Being more confident this time, Starlight activated her horn and did the same spell as last time. The only difference being that she did six copies instead of two. Her friends were watching the spell with their mouths open, and for some, their eyes wide.
After the spell was over, Starlight gave a copy to each of them.
"Ta-da! Starlight and I decided to make one for each of you!" Twilight said proudly.
"That's amazin'! A perfect copy!" Applejack complimented in surprise.
"I learned the spell years ago when I needed to make copies of a certain..." Starlight stopped herself and glanced around nervously. Then she was aware that Twilight was looking at her with disapproval.
She nervously cleared her throat. "...manifesto." she said with a slight smile.
"Even better than a perfect copy." Rarity said pleasingly.
"I'd forgotten about this friendship lesson." Fluttershy commented.
Rainbow Dash laughed. "Remember this one from when I helped Daring Do?" She said as she showed them a page from the book. "'Never underestimate the power of friends who always got your back.'"
"Aww, Cheese Sandwich! Party cannon! Ah! Birth-iversary!" Pinkie exclaimed loudly.
"After Twilight remembered the journal, I had so much fun reading all the stuff you've all learned, I just had to have my own copy." Starlight told them as she levitated her own copy of the book to show her friends.
Twilight now spoke up. "And that brings me to the second part of the surprise. My idea. How would you girls feel about making our journal available for everypony? If we can get these lessons into other ponies' hooves, maybe they'll benefit from them."
After listening to what Twilight had to say, they all nodded in agreement.
"Well, I think that's a great idea." Fluttershy agreed.
"I'm in! Yay!" Pinkie Pie cheered.
"We always said we wanted too." Applejack added in.
"Sounds fabulous." Rarity said.
Then Rainbow started laughing. "I'm awesome." she said when she read a page from the copied book. She saw that her friends looked at her with unamused looks.
"Oh, yeah. Uh, good idea." Rainbow eventually agreed.
"When do you want me to start making multiple copies?" Starlight asked the princess.
"Actually, I was wondering if you could teach me the spell." Twilight suggested to her.
Starlight's eyes widened. "Me? Teaching you a spell? Aren't you an expert at magic?"
"It's true, I am, but I haven't learned every spell in Equestria. I have never seen a spell like that before. Mostly because I wasn't interested in copying books." she added the last part silently to herself.
"The spell is easy. I doubt that will you have a problem with it." Starlight told her. After they said farewell to her friends, they both walked the hallway together, preparing and discussing the copies.
"You're right. That spell was easy!" Twilight exclaimed. After Twilight had instructed her about the spell, Twilight, as expected, was quickly a natural at it. She made 250 copies of the books; meanwhile Starlight had made only 90 copies.
"That's a lot of books." Starlight told her. "How are you going to transport all of these?"
"Simple. I can just teleport one from the castle, to my destination." Twilight told her.
"Oh. Make sure you don't wear yourself out." Starlight warned her while still smiling.
"Don't worry, I'll carry a bunch of them in my bags, then once they're gone. I'll quickly restock." Twilight explained. She then looked outside the window. "No time like the present."
Twilight grabbed 10 books and put them in her bag. After waving Starlight goodbye, she quickly excited out of the castle, and Starlight watched her go with a warm smile.
Author's Note
This one line: "After Twilight remembered the journal, I had so much fun reading all the stuff you've all learned, I just had to have my own copy." made me rewrite a part of Chapter 1. So maybe reread that chapter again :twilightblush: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightblush.png
Anywho, hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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                         Chapter 3                         
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Chapter 3
It had been two days since Twilight had published the books to all of Equestria. Since the publication, everyone seemed to enjoy the book. Maybe the books had been successful after all.
Starlight casually walked around Ponyville, enjoying the beautiful day. During her stroll, she walked by the schoolhouse. She then noticed that Twilight was talking to two fillies. Then she started walking up towards a group of fillies.
Curious, Starlight decided to join in.
As she walked up to the princess, she could now pick up what they were saying.
"We were thinkin' of puttin' together a cutie mark summer camp. Now, everypony's definitely gonna sign up for it!" a filly named Applebloom boasted, while having the friendship book nearby. "This is gonna be awesome!"
Applebloom laughed as she walked off with her friends.
"A cutie mark camp is a great idea." Starlight told Twilight, who looked down.
"Yeah, but the purpose of the journal isn't supposed to be marketing." Twilight told her dejectedly.
The mares left the schoolhouse behind, and walked down one of the many streets of Ponyville.
"I just hope those foals actually learn something from our lessons." Twilight told her, with a tiny hint of concern in her voice.
"They will! I'm sure ponies all across Equestria will— Whoa!" Starlight's message was put to an abrupt halt when a group of ponies, which Starlight doesn't recognize, gazed intently at the princess.
"Uh... hello. Can I... help you?" Twilight asked, confused.
"We're here all the way from Fillydelphia because we got copies of your friendship journal!" one of the ponies told them, clearly excited.
Twilight immediately became happy. "Wow! How wonderful! What was your favorite friendship—"
"Will you sign them?" the same pony asked as they hovered the books over Twilight.
"Oh, uh, I guess so." Twilight answered, a little weirded out. Meanwhile, Starlight gave them confused stares.
"So, what did you think of the lessons?" Twilight asked the group while signing the book.
"Oh, we haven't read them. These are keepsakes." The pony said. He took out a plastic book protector and placed the book inside. "We gotta keep them in mint condition."
"Oh." Twilight said in disappointment after she finished signing the books.
"Wow, that was worth the trip!" another pony said happily.
They walked off while chattering happily.
Twilight sighed, clearly discouraged. Starlight put her hoof on her, feeling bad for her friend.
"I don't get it." Twilight told her. "We've made copies of those books so ponies can learn the friendship lessons that me and the girls have learned. Why are they not reading them?"
Starlight could only shake her head. "There has to be some ponies who have." she told her.
"Doesn't seem like it." Twilight said as she walked off.
Starlight trotted after her. "Did you remember what I said the other day that other ponies wouldn't care for the stories?"
"Too clearly." Twilight told her. "I didn't think you would be right about that."
"Honestly, me either, but here we are." Starlight lightly chuckled.
Twilight didn't share her humor.
Starlight frowned. That didn't help at all. How stupid. She scolded herself in her mind.
Once the two were walking by a café, Starlight tried to give her more support.
"Don't worry, Twilight. I'm sure lots of other ponies are being inspired to be better friends." Starlight said reassuringly to her.
"Well, I for one found the journal terribly illuminating." One of the café ponies said suddenly to another pony, who was at the table with them.
After hearing him, Twilight excitedly hid behind the bush to hear the conversation. Starlight quickly joined her.
"I agree. I'm seeing sides of these ponies I didn't know were there. I only wish they'd left Rarity out. She clearly doesn't belong in that book with the rest of them." the other pony said.
The two looked immediately shocked.
"Oh, I know! Who does she think she is? Certainly she did a fine job setting up the Ponyville Days celebration, but does she really believe it was a success just because of her?" The other pony agreed before laughing in an inconsiderate manner. "Oh, the nerve!"
Afterwards, they heard a paper rustle, and the two mares saw a pony leave in tears. Unfortunately, that pony was Rarity herself.
"But that's not what she was saying! Rarity!" Twilight called out to her friend; she didn't seem to hear her.
Starlight could only watch her friend run away in sadness; and, while she didn't show it, she was deeply angry by how inconsiderate those two ponies could be. They were talking about the Element of Generosity for Celestia's sake!
"Oh, poor Rarity. She overheard all the mean things those ponies were saying! She must be devastated." Twilight told Starlight in shock. "I'm going after her."
"Go ahead." Starlight told her in a firm voice, letting some of her anger out. She turned to the two ponies that had hurt Rarity's feelings. "I'm going to have a chat with these two."
Twilight looked angrily at the ponies as well. She nodded at Starlight before running off.
Starlight took it as a green light, and she marched towards the ponies.
"I hope you're happy." she told them in a calm, but bitter tone.
The mare, going by the name of Lavender Bloom, looked at her with an annoyed expression. "And you are?"
"I don't need an introduction to know that what you did is inconsiderate and rude." Starlight told her. "You literally saw the same mare that you insulted run away in tears, and did nothing."
"So what? It's none of your business." the stallion, named Diamond Cutter, responded curtly.
Starlight breathed in and out, trying to be calm and not let her anger and frustration take over. "It may not be, but you could've shown at least a shred of guilt for what you did. No one should be treated that way. Especially towards Rarity."
"But what we said is true though. If anything, she somewhat deserved it." Lavender told her.
"Is it though?" Starlight raised her eyebrow. "Did we read the same book?"
"Look, why are you even here? It's not like we're going to apologize to her because you say we should." Diamond Cutter asked, clearly wanting her to leave.
"Maybe not. But you missed the point that the lesson was trying to make. And since when did she say that it was all because of her? Have you forgotten that you were talking about the pony that is known for being generous?"
The two remained silent.
Starlight just shook her head. She knew she wasn't going to change the minds of these snobby ponies, no matter how hard she tried. "Look, I won't force you to change your minds. I'm far beyond that now." she tried to explain. "But you have to understand that you can't just say rude things to other ponies like that. What if you were insulted in front of you and laughed about it? I bet it wouldn't feel good, would it?"
The ponies just stared at her.
"Take my advice, or don't. But I know you could've treated her a lot better than that. After all, friendship is magic, right?" Starlight rolled her eyes before leaving the ponies. She knew that she barely convinced them to apologize to her. But at least she expressed how she felt about the situation, and how to fix it. It's their choice whether to take her advice or not.
Deciding that no words needed to be said to them, Starlight trotted to find Twilight, hoping that the situation would get better for her former teacher.