A mid-day sun rose to Celestia's horn peering into the castle's library. She was amazed she even found time this week to meet with Ponder with how much more busy she's been lately. Increasing security and managing the country? Even with Shining's help it was starting to become a nightmare.
Hopefully Twilight will be ready to help with that soon.

" CRAP I DID CALL YOU CELESTIA WHILE IN DISGUISE DIDN'T I?! " Ponder almost shouted.
" It's quite alright Ponder, I remember referring to my myself as Celestia mere minutes later. You are in no trouble. " Celestia now replied, now restored to her former glory by discord.

Their meeting had been going along so well.
What was with that response? Did he value the rules so fervently?
No, there was the incident with Garble. He was no Twilight.

They continued for only a short while. The rest of the conversation was unusually efficient.

Minus the occasional ( Emotional? ) outburst it had been quite the standard conversation with Ponder and his instruction. He was almost like a royal guard ; or more like a cadet.
Massive potential but without the proper training.

Or maybe he DID have some training.
The world he was from did seem very war torn by comparison, if he himself was to be bellied.

At any rate, Celestia had finished ahead of schedule (for once) and decided to talk with Twilight as she had seemed a little more uneasy as of late.

After a short greeting, they sat down to some tea away from everyone else.
" Is something the matter, my student? " Celestia was genuinely curious of the prior
" Well, kind of. " Twilight uneasily replied.
" I don't know? "

" I've been trying to teach them both friendship, but - "
Celestia interjected
" Starlight and Ponder? "
" Ehm Hm. " Twilight nodded.

" But - They don't really seem to be taking much to it. "
" Also - " She took a pause.
" They both seem to want to. Almost feverishly so." Twilight looked to the side in utterance.

" I - think that speaks more to my abilities as a leader - then - "
" Twilight - stop. " Celestia said gently. Twilight still slightly freezing up, but that was to be expected.

" From what I understand you managed to convince a cult leader and a warrior-zealot to not only abandon their way of life, but strive for what equates to the exact opposite! "
" You are no failure. " She replied with calm certainty.

" But- " Twilight was formulating a response.
" Even so - difficulty or not - they're still... "

" They will come around in time, Twilight. "
" I have trust in your - and their abilities. "

Twilight was full of doubt. Written all over her. Such a sad pony.

" I could come and check up on them periodically, if you so wish. If only to add a second set of eyes. "
" Oh! Yes. Please. " Twilight, ever the grateful.

" Plus - " Celestia took a much less serious tone:
" You can't expect them to instantly realize the meaning of friendship with just a single spark in a matter of seconds, can you? "

Twilight almost reflexively hid herself with one of her wings out of embarrassment.
" Well - Um. ", " Yeah. I guess I did do that. " She admitted.

" But I'm definitely not one to be idolized! " Twilight rebuked, in a unstrung, regal tone. The forced strain of the syllables almost got to Twilight herself. She really had pressed that point hard.

" Really? " Celestia slyly asked.
" Because I can think of two ponies who might be closer then you think. "

Twilight stopped for a bit to think.

" Oh - them? Wha - NO! " Twilight said, as she brushed Celestia off.
" They're not idolizing me - There - " Twilight stopped mid sentence.

" Yes? " Celestia asked, as Twilight's eyes twitched around the room.

" Ok. So - lets say they were. "
Celestia let it slide. Advice right now was more important.
" How do you - Hm. Get them to stop? " That last part sent Twilight into a forced smile; as if she had asked something wrong.

" There is nothing wrong with looking up to traits you admire in a pony - a little bit. " Celestia stretched out that last part - and with good reason :
" Perhaps; sometimes even to mimicry. For if they copy you correctly in a area that you excel at that they lack in; everypony wins. "

" But - certainly not forever. " Celestia made an intentionally open-ended statement.
" Wha- what do you mean? " Twilight asked, right on track.

Celestia gathered herself " Having anypony - especially a ex-cultist or a ex-zealot - only work off mimicry - "
Twilight butted in, finishing her sentence: " - Is a bad idea because of the many moving parts of a ponies mind - and the lack of normalcy for them to fall back on! "
There it was.
' That spark. ' Celestia was thinking.

• But , more importantly ; Twilight was back to being Twilight.

She was lucky she had given her some space. She seemed pretty jumbled up last time they met. She wasn't sure this would have worked then.

" I have many more stories and anecdotes on that topic from my years as ruler and similar, if you want to hear them. " Celestia kindly offered.
" Oh, I think I already understand. " Twilight said with cautious confidence. " But - I would like to hear them anyway. "
" If your still willing to tell. "

Celestia couldn't hold back a smile.
" Of course Twilight. "

And so it went.

The tea grew cold, and Celestia was needed back at the castle in Canterlot.
Celestia had to say her goodbyes.

" Wow! So they - just did that? " Twilight said, chirping out laughter in between syllables.

" Yes, Back then, no pony - not even I knew that saliva was not - in fact - a disinfectant! " Celestia said with gusto.

" You'd think they'd learn fast that it was counterproductive... But. - " Celestia stopped. Grew a bit more somber.
" History does tend to repeat itself, doesn't it? "

" Yeah. " Twilight only meekly chimed in on this one, books were not as good as personally experiencing it, after all.

Celestia noticed Twilight's shift in tone and posture
" And - yes - you'd think I'd know better. " Celestia's tone was getting more and more depressed by the second.

" But - apparently it took personally looking at multiple dead ponies for me to finally take this seriously. " She slowly said, head turned down.
She looked back at Twilight, who had a look of shock.

All those years of stress, finally getting to her.
She had realized too late, and now It had hurt yet another pony who didn't need to be hurt.
The gears in her head started to spin wildly as her guard went back up.

" Oh! - Apologies - I didn't mean to - "
" I - didn't know you felt that way too. " Twilight interrupted.

Celestia gasped.
" Tw- Twilight. "
" You should not be held to my standard. You only just became a princess. " She hurriedly said.

" I appreciate your concern. ", " But. "
Celestia's many years of experience had allowed her to regain her composure almost instantly.
" There are things that should be commonplace - of someone my age. "
" I don't mean to sound conceited, but - No pony who hasn't lived as I or Luna can hope to understand. "

Twilight put on forced smile.
She went in to hug her former teacher, and she happily accepted.

" No one's perfect. " She said in earnest.
" Yes. " Celestia agreed.
She let the hug continue on for a short while before retracting her wing. Twilight got the picture.

" Thank you, Twilight. "

Twilight looked back at her mentor, with happiness almost bursting at the seems.

" But I really must be going. " Celestia warmly said.
" That error we discussed won't correct itself, will it? "

She walked out of the library.

" You know they're not telling us what's bothering them! " Starlight was arguing.
" But - If we could just find out what were doing wrong - "
" No. They said they didn't want interruptions, and that's that. " Ponder was unyielding.

" IT WOULD BE SO SIMPLE ! " Starlight's voice was strained.
" And it's not interrupting them if they don't know - " Starlight noticed Ponder's face of shock.
She turned around.
Celestia.

" OH! " Starlight staring sweating.
" Celestia! " Her face now solely only an expression of guilt.

Ponder raised an eyebrow at Starlight, who was much too busy being caught to notice.

" Well Twilight, Ill leave you too it. "
Plainly said Celestia, completely unfazed.

As Celestia walked away, Twilight was walking out.
" Um. " Starlight broke eye contact with her, now to the floor.

" Wha- ? " Twilight had to ask.
" Starlight was considering spying on you two for increased friendship lesson effectiveness. " Ponder autisticly blurted out.

Starlight's gaze rapidly shifted to him, now of daggers instead of embarrassment.
" What? " Ponder got defensive.
" I thought you DIDN'T like to talk about this stuff! ", " So i did it for you! ", " So, you know, so you wouldn't have too? " Ponder waved his hoof around in that last sentence.

Starlight looked disgusted.
Ponder looked back at her, completely annoyed.

Twilight sighed.
She waved goodbye to Celestia, who had been holding formation in the hallway in case anything else was needed.

' Those two might actually be better for you then you might think, my student. ' Celestia was thinking as she was flying off.
' You might just be learning to go with the flow - '

' Or maybe to just " let go. " '

After a short berating from Twilight ( who did not take it personally ) Ponder and Starlight went their separate ways.
It was only a day before Twilight had a new assignment for Ponder.

" The human world? " Ponder asked over a book.
" Yes. We both need to make sure your not being missed. " Twilight said, in her soft but authoritative tone.
Ponder quickly snickered.
" Oh. Alright. So, were going now then? " He said without hesitation or strain.

" I'm not going to leave you there; Celestia Luna and I just want to make sure the balance of that world isn't upset. "
" Yeah. I understand. " Ponder replied to Twilight.

" Don't want them searching for me. " He continued.

' If only he took that state of mind with every pony ' Twilight was thinking.
She couldn't quite put her finger on what ' it ' was exactly.

The trip to the Crystal Empire was a long one. Not much too talk about, at least until they were about to arrive.
A little foal came up next to Ponder, and asked :
" Is this seat taken? My friends don't want to see me. "

" It's not taken. It's empty. " Ponder pointed to the seat beside him.
" Oh? " Twilight, from the next seat over, chimed in.

" Maybe I could help. ", " If your willing to talk about it. "
Twilight smiled back at the foal.

" Well - It's - "
" Oh. Your - Um. Twilight! The new friendship princess! "

" Yeah. That's me. Though I prefer to just be called ' Twilight ' " She replied, awkward smile included.
He ( the foal ) brightened up. " It's my lucky day! ", " We'll be back together hanging out in no time! "

Twilight was getting uncomfortable.
" Well... I can't promise that - "

" I'm LeafShine! " He introduced himself; immediately continuing to his problem:
" I was over there with my friends, " He pointed to the other end of the train car.

" We were all getting along just fine, we even brought in a new friend! "

" That's good. " Twilight said with confidence.

" But- After only a few days they started making fun of me! "
" They called my plant a ' joke ' "
He nudged a unusually good looking tiny houseplant he had brought with him.
Him being a unicorn made the situation ever stranger.

Twilight was impressed. " Well I think you took really good care of that plant. ", " It looks great! "
" well maybe he should marry it! " Was heard from across the train car.

...

" Well, that wasn't very nice. " Twilight finally breaking the silence.
" They called plants and - and me dumb too! " The little foal was now hesitant to speak, his voice now much meeker.

" I just wish we could be friends again. "

" Hm. " Twilight brought a hoof up to her chin for consideration.

Then, suddenly, from Ponder :
" Maybe they were never your friends in the first place? "
ShineLeaf got sad.

" Ponder! " Twilight said half-scolding.

" Wha- Oh. Ok. " Ponder got the memo; but only after a metaphorical 5 weeks worth of business days.
" Do you really think so? " ShineLeaf was looking to Ponder.

" I can't answer that. " He said in monotone.
" Aww. " ShineLeaf was now not only sad, but depressed.

" Just- Let me handle this. " Twilight was still uncomfortable giving ' orders ', but still managed.
Ponder silently pointed a hoof to ShineLeaf, as if to say ' He's right here! '.

As she let that little ' ponder outburst ' go, She continued to think of an answer for ShineLeaf.
Nothing came to mind.
It wasn't looking good.

There... was one thing.

" Maybe there's been some sort of miscommunication. "
" Why not go and talk to them - but leave out assumptions, slang terms, and really get down to it! "

" Thanks princess Twilight! " The little one had forgotten her request. He got up from his seat to walk over back where he was; but it seemingly did not go well.

Within a minute he was walking back to them both, when a ball of paper flew across the car and hit ShineLeaf in the back of the head. He ran to where Twilight and Ponder were seated.
Twilight winced.

Ponder grew angry.

" Im- Sorry. " Twilight manged to say.
ShineLeaf then ran to the next car, silently crying.

Twilight looked over to his former friends with determination while Ponder lifted an eyebrow and got up from his seat.

Twilight was worried about where this might go. Not visibly, but still.

He grabbed the paper ball that was thrown and went back to his seat.

" yeah~ ! clean up the litter! " was shouted from the group of 4 young ponies.
The rest of the train was starting to take notice.

Twilight was relieved.
" Oh. You just wanted to make sure no pony trip- "
" No. " Interjected PonderBright. His eyes darted up to her, then immediately back to his paper ball.
Twilight paused.

He rolled the ball around in his wing a bit.

" Paper doesn't fly that far. "

He unrolled the paper, revealing a rock inside.

Twilight gasped sightly.

She looked to the ' paper ', then to PonderBright, then back to the ' paper ' again.
" How did you? " She said slowly and quietly.
" Experience. " Said Ponder in a very serious tone; matching her volume.

Ponder looked back at her, seeing her look of concern.
" Receiving! Only receiving! " His whisper almost returning to normal volume.

" I'm a lot of things but a bully will never be one of them. " He said with disdain, looking to the bullies while squinting his eyes and gritting his teeth.
Twilight returned their conversation to normal volume. " That's not what I - "
" Wait. Hold on Ponder. "
" There's something I need to do first. " She said with determination.

" Alright. " He said with minor curiosity.

Twilight looked around the train car.
" Guards? " She asked in monotone with moderately high volume.

She went to the car behind her.

The bullies in the car were starting to get nervous.
Ponder looked smugly back at them while giving them a little ' nod ' to maximize the fear factor.

He smirked harder after he could see their faces.

" Guards? " Twilight's eyes were slightly narrowed. Focused.
3 cars down, she instinctively raised one hoof when she saw one. She walked over to him and cleared her throat.

" Oh, Princess Twilight. " He was not surprised to see a regular, Twilight, on the train. She did travel a lot.
" Is something the matter? "

" Yes, actually. There is. "

" Oh. Well then. Lead the way. "
As they started walking, the guard was getting nervous.

" Is it dangerous? " The guardpony asked.
" Oh. no. " Twilight cleared the misunderstanding.
" Sorry. The other princesses usually - "
" No it's fine. I'm - not used to this sort of thing. " Twilight apologized.

The guard did not want to give this up.
" Oh! no. It's entirely my fault. Sorry princess. "

Twilight now understood her mentor's occasional silence when giving out orders.

They walked without talking back to the car she had left.

She stepped in front of the seat with the 4 young bullies, guard in tow.
" Please listen to my story. " She looked to the guard.
" Yes, Princess. " He obediently stated, hoof salute and all.

" I was trying to help a poor little foal rekindle a friendship with this group when they threw a rock at him. "
The guard patiently awaited the end of her story.
" They wrapped it in paper as a disguise. "
She looked over to ponder.

He ( surprisingly ) got the hint and walked over.

He unfurled his wing, revealing the rocked wrapped in standard textbook blankpaper.
The looks on the kids were getting hilariously contorted out of fear.

" We didn't - " One of managed to squeak out. But...
" I don't want to hear it. " Twilight interrupted.

She turned back to the guard.
" I want to you watch these kids closely. Don't let them leave. "
" Yes, Princess. " Twilight continued :
" I told you all this because they can be crafty. Be watchful for any tricks. "
" Yes, Princess. I will be vigilant. "

" I can corroborate that entire story, if need be. " offered PonderBright, head tilted slightly at the guard.

The guard only turned his eyes to meet Ponder. "No need. The word of a Princess will result in immediate conviction, if it comes to that. " He stated.
The bullies winced, while Twilight raised an eyebrow to that.

" Thank you for your service citizen. " The guard continued. " You may go back to your seat : "
" If that is what the Princess wants. "

" Yes. " Twilight said, minor hints of uncomfortableness creeping into how she carries herself and her words.
" That's alright. Thanks Ponder. " She said genuinely.

She walked past Ponder on her way to the other cars.
" I'm going to make sure that foal wasn't hurt. If we arrive at the Crystal Empire before I get back... "
" Just wait at the station. I'll meet you there by flight. "

" He seemed fined to me. " Ponder offered.
" No wobbling, no scratching the back of his head, no blood or clumps of hair - "

" I appreciate your attentiveness, but ... " Twilight was getting choked up.
" Not all wounds are physical. " She had seemingly snapped out of it; now filled with determination.
" This is something I need to do. "

" Oh. " He plainly replied.
" Yeah you definitely don't want me there if that's the case. " He responded with total understanding.

They exchanged an awkward look right before Twilight left to go find ShineLeaf.

Ponder always had a knack for making moments that way.

Author's Note

Author's Note:

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

The darnedest things can come from the darnedest places, huh?
Embrace the chaos.
Discord would be proud.