There's Something in My Office
The past week had been relatively stress free for Twilight. All the students had been getting along and none of the students were failing any of their exams. It was a Friday and Twilight was in her office making up lesson plans for the following week so her weekend could be "her time," time where she could just relax and perhaps catch up on some Daring Do since her duties had kept her from reading for a while.
It was in the afternoon as she was making plans for Pinkie Pie to teach the following week when she thought she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. At first she didn't think anything about it until she thought she saw something fly closer to her. She sighed in frustration, "Ugh stupid flies." She then opened one of her desk drawers where she kept fly swatters for such a situation but once she started to look around, the fly was nowhere to be seen.
She got up and began to look for the fly. She continued to search and she couldn't find it. She then thought that maybe she was seeing things but when she went to sit back down she saw something on her chair that she did not expect, something that terrified her, a ladybug.
She began to panic, "Ah, a ladybug, a ladybug!"
The ladybug then flew up onto her desk and immediately Twilight raced out of her office and into the neighboring office, the one of her guidance counselor. She slammed the door shut and then embraced Starlight and screamed, "Starlight, there's something in my office! You have to get it out of there!"
Starlight was in a state of shock because this was nothing like the Twilight she knew. She initially thought that it might be a changeling but given that the ponies and the changelings get along now, she thought otherwise. Twilight continued to cling to her tightly and after a minute of Twilight clinging to her and breathing heavily, Starlight was able to get her off of her. Starlight was curious as to what was causing Twilight to panic like this. "Twilight," Starlight questioned, "what has you in such a panic? Why are you so scared?"
Twilight screamed, "Starlight, there's a ladybug in my office! You have to get it out of there!"
Starlight couldn't help but snicker a bit over what Twilight told her. She thought to herself, "Seriously, she's afraid of a ladybug of all things?" She knew that she couldn't break down into a full blown laugh. She knew that she had to take on the role of a guidance counselor instead of a friend in disbelief. She asked, "Twilight, did you say a ladybug?"
Twilight had calmed down slightly by this point, "Yes, a ladybug!"
Starlight found the situation rather humorous but she became curious as to why Twilight is afraid of such a harmless creature. "Twilight, why are you so afraid of ladybugs? Did you have a past bad experience with them?"
Twilight was only breathing slightly faster than normal by this point and replied, "Well when I was a filly there was an infestation in my house and Shining Armor told me that their black spots are extra eyes and that they were always watching me!"
While Starlight had only met Shining Armor once, this did not seem like something her brother would do. She asked, "Really, Shining Armor told you this?"
Twilight replied, "He did and he wouldn't lie about things like that!"
Starlight was still unsure about this but she knew that if she was going to help her get past this fear. She took a deep breath and began, "Twilight, I can understand your fear of ladybugs but I really think you need to do something to get past this fear. If you are going to rule this country someday, you can't be scared of something so harmless."
Twilight asked, "But how do I do that?"
Starlight replied, "Well my first bit of advice would be to spend some time in the same room as one. Once you feel comfortable being in the presence of one, you could always get closer to it and ultimately let one land on you. That way you could see that they are nothing to fear."
Twilight's eyes grew wide when she heard this. The very idea of even spending time with a ladybug was causing her to become more nervous again, "But Starlight, it will watch me." She then began to panic more again, "But what if it monitors me, then goes and tells Princess Celestia I'm afraid of it. She might not think I'm fit to be a princess anymore and take my wings away." She once again went into a full blown panic, "And then she'd put me in magic kindergarten!"
Starlight couldn't help but break into a full blown laugh over Twilight's paranoia. Her fear was one thing but these fears of what Celestia would do to her was outlandish. When she heard Starlight's laughing she snapped, "This isn't funny Starlight! That could really happen."
Starlight was wanting to help Twilight but holding back laughs was hard but then she decided to give her some advice, "Twilight, if you're ever going to get over this fear, you have to confront it! You have to go back in your office, ladybug or no ladybug!"
The thoughts of that still scared Twilight but she knew Starlight was right. She did her best to calm herself down and replied, "Alright Starlight, I'll do it."
Starlight replied, "Good. Just remember, it can't harm you and they don't have extra eyes!"
Twilight left Starlight's office and headed slowly back towards her own. When she arrived she noticed that the ladybug was sitting on her desk, watching her. Twilight said to herself, "Ok Twilight, it can't hurt you, it can't hurt you."
The ladybug then took flight and this terrified Twilight. The ladybug then began to speak, "Twilight, it looks like your so-called friend doesn't care that you're scared."
Twilight was close to panicking again, "What do you mean?"
The ladybug replied, "It must bother you so much to know that Starlight is laughing over your fears."
The ladybug then headed towards her causing her to scream and rush back to Starlight's office. Twilight clung to Starlight and screamed, "It's talking to me Starlight, the ladybug is talking to me!"
Starlight was in a state of shock. She knew that Twilight's fears can sometimes get the best of her but this seemed way out there, even for her. She then began to think about what she said about the talking ladybug and became suspicious. She replied, "Twilight, I think I know what is going on. I'm going into your office and confronting this ladybug."
Starlight headed out of her office and stormed into Twilight's office. She was not one bit happy about this and if it was what she thought she was, she knew that the time for an incredibly stern lecture had arrived and if that didn't work, a powerful blast of her magic. When she headed into Twilight's office she noticed that the whole room was filled with ladybugs, including the one on her desk. She took a closer look at it and knew exactly why this was happening.
She yelled, "Discord!"
Discord took on his natural form and replied, "Yesssssss?"
Starlight immediately tore into him, "I can't believe it! I can't believe that you would do this to Twilight." Discord attempted to respond but Starlight continued, "I thought you two were friends yet you turn into something that she is terrified of and scare her."
Discord laughed, "Come on now Starlight, it was just a test! I need to know if she will be ready to rule Equestria after all."
Starlight glared at him and growled, "That isn't your decision now is it?" She paused before ordering, "You're coming with me Discord, you are going to admit this to Twilight and then apologize to her."
Discord sighed in frustration. When they got back to Starlight's office they found Twilight hiding behind Starlight's desk. Starlight saw this and yelled, "It's ok Twilight, the ladybug situation has been taken care of." She then nudged Discord and added, "And someone is here to apologize to you for this."
Twilight got out from behind Starlight's desk and saw that it was Discord. A glare immediately formed on her face as she snapped, "What? You're responsible for the ladybug in my office?"
Discord joyfully replied, "Come on now, you act like I put a quesadilla on your desk!"
Twilight shuddered at the very thoughts of a quesadilla and Starlight immediately noticed this. She asked, "What, you're scared of quesadillas too?"
Twilight shrank back, "Yeah, it's just that they're so cheesy!"
Starlight could hardly believe that not only was her friend scared of ladybugs but that she was also scared of quesadillas. That however was not her primary concern at the moment. Her primary concern was removing the one who was causing Twilight so much stress. She grabbed Discord in her aura and ordered, "Discord, I think you should go. You've caused Twilight enough stress for today already, she doesn't need any more."
Discord sighed, "Oh fine."
He then snapped his claw and teleported out of the school. Once he was gone Twilight embraced Starlight and thanked her, "Thanks Starlight, thanks for taking care of that for me."
Starlight replied, "You're welcome Twilight but I still think you're going to have to face your fear of ladybugs and what was that about quesadillas?
Twilight got a sick feeling when Starlight brought up facing her fears. She did however want to get out of discussing it. She got up and as she was leaving Starlight's office she agreed, "I know but for now, I really need to get back to lesson planning."
Once Twilight headed back to her office Starlight felt a sense of relief. She felt relieved because it did seem like Twilight was open to facing her fears but also that she wasn't going to be afraid of being in her office after the ladybug problem. Just as she thought things were going to be fine she heard a scream come from the neighboring office before Twilight was right back in there with her. She was panicking again, "Starlight, there's something in my office again! You have to get it out of there!"
Starlight was not very happy over this. She yelled angrily, "Ugh Discord, when I get my hooves on you!"
