Tales of Friendship

by cronenberg_

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Slice of Life, Anthology, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe
Length: 5361

A new chapter in Twilight Sparkle's life begins.

Note: This is a reboot to the original Friendship is Magic series, some pieces of lore may be change.

When a teenage Twilight Sparkle gets invited to Princess Celestia's new college, the bookhorse is over the moon. And so, she embarks on a new adventure. A kind of adventure that she had never experienced before. A kind of adventure with friends.

Published 2024-11-24 09:20:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-11-27 08:45:55 UTC

S1E1: A New School - Part One (1 - A Look to the Past)

Boom. Another explosion. Ponies were running for their lives, bringing as much as they can. In the center of it, a grey unicorn mare holding a filly and a colt. All three were making it towards the train station.

"Last train to Canterlot! Last train to Canterlot!" the announcer said, making his way towards the last train out of there.

The mare and her children made their way to the train. And then, another explosion, which abruptly ended the dream.

Twilight Velvet bursted out of bed gasping for air, awakening the only filly in the room.

"Mom? Are you okay?" the filly, lavender-coated with a purple mane asked.

"I'm okay, Twilight. Now get back to sleep," her mother said, referring to the filly.

"I can't sleep. Can you tell me a story?"

"Okay, my little pony," Velvet said. She began to tell Twilight a story. A very familiar story.

"Once upon a time, there was a really lovely filly. Her name is Twilight Sparkle."

"That's me!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Yeah," Velvet said.

"She had a really curious mind. And that curious mind led her to great things. She got her cutie mark at the early age of 3 years old. She was destined for great things. One day, her mother told her to pursue every chance she had. And so, she did."

S1E1: A New School - Part One (2 - Canterlot)

The illusion of the story broke, bringing us back into real time. We now have an older Twilight Sparkle, maybe around 16 years old, driving herself through the books of the library.

"Come on, come on! Where's that book on ancient tomes?" Twilight asked, barging through the books in the Canterlot Public Library.

"Twilight, you need to calm down," Velvet said, trying to calm Twilight down.

"Calm down? Calm DOWN!?!? Mom, that test could make or break if I joined Princess Celestia's newly-formed college, and ever since dad died, you said to ME that I needed to pursue my dreams. Now, I need to find out how many questions I got correct in that test," Twilight explained.

"Twilight... come with me."

Twilight groaned. She ended up bringing herself to join her mother, since it would hurt her mother's feelings if she didn't.

"It's been a few days since you've been like this, Twi. I'm starting to get worried," Velvet said.

"I'm sorry. It's just that-"

"No apologies. The past is in the past, Twi. I learned that the hard way..." her mother said, muttering to herself in that last sentence.

"What was that last sentence?" Twilight asked, hearing that last sentence.

"Oh! Uhm... nothing," Velvet replied.

"It's been a while since you did that test, Twi. And you've only grown more anxious since," she continued. "You should take a break. Enjoy your surroundings, you know?"

Her mother was right. Twilight really needed a break. It's been a few days since she did that test, and she's spent more time at the library than at her own house in the past month. The two walked through the streets of Canterlot. It was a lovely afternoon that day. The ponies chattered behind the amazing sunset. Princess Celestia did an incredible job in creating a sunset that day.

Twilight breathed in her surroundings. It was beautiful.

"I forget how wonderful Canterlot looks," she thought.

They later spent their afternoon walking around Canterlot, taking in the sights of the place, and getting some lovely dinner, before returning to their house to sleep.

S1E1: A New School - Part One (3 - A Letter to Twilight)

The very next day...

It was a bright new day in Canterlot.

"Mail's here!" the mailman said.

A certain unicorn rushed down the stairs and opened the door.

"Yes?" Twilight asked, opening the door.

"Mail for Ms. Twilight Sparkle," the mailman said.

"That's me!" Twilight said, grabbing the letter on his hooves. "Thank you!" she continued, closing the door.

She opened the letter, gulping down a massive lump.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I am here to tell you that you can enter my college. Congratulations, you passed the entrance exam in flying colors! You are one of the first students to get a perfect score on that test, which is if I remind you, 250 questions long, covering multiple subjects. Now, you may enter my college majoring in magic.

Your dearest(and latest) headmare,

Princess Celestia."

Twilight squealed in excitement. She was going to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Minds. She was finally, one step closer to her dream. To win valedictorian in the school.

"I made it in! I made it in!" Twilight exclaimed.

Twilight's mother rushed downstairs.

"Congratulations, Twilight. Your dad would be proud," Velvet said.

"If only he was here to congratulate me..."

Her words lowered down the mood. Twilight's father had died since when she was a little filly, around a year old. Twilight's mother never told her how, since she "didn't want to relive that moment again".

"Well, what are you waiting for? Pack your bags! You're going to go on Monday, after all."

Her mother was right. Twilight did need to pack her bags. It was Saturday, after all.

S1E1: A New School - Part One (5 - Roomates!)

The school was beautiful from the outside. It was painted white, and had streaks of yellow flowing throughout the walls. Pillars made their way through the entrance. The school itself was irregularly shaped, often poking out in certain directions.

“Okay… new school. Keep it together, Twilight…” Twilight muttered to herself.

She opened the doors to the place, walking past the ponies talking about it.

“Hello, Twilight! My name is Flashlight, and I’m here to show you the school,” a pegasus stallion, whose name is Flashlight, said.

“Okay… wait, how do you know my name?”

“Of course I do! You’ve been the talk of the staff, Twilight. I mean, nopony has ever gotten a perfect score in the admission exam. Of course, by ever I mean this year, since this is the first year of its existence and-“

“Yeah, I got it.”

“Anyways, do you want me to show you your room? And your roomate, for that matter.”

“Yeah, sure.”

The two walked through the hallways. The school was even beautiful-er in the inside. The halls were decked with decorations. Tapestries and murals flowed through the walls. And of course, the occasional pillar holding a bowl of flowers. They walked up to the dormitories, where they found even more murals. Murals that spanned entire walls, which were an impressive feat. Not only did they managed drawing on extremely long walls, they needed a design, or designs to make sure it flowed nicely.

They approached a door, which read ‘10’. There were two names that were on a metal board below the number.

“Here it is. Just ask me where something is, and I’ll tell you where it is. Just meet me at the receptionist later.”

“Okay. Thank you, Flashlight.”

Flashlight later left to leave Twilight alone.

“Twilight Sparkle and… Pinkie Pie? Well, lets see what this ‘Pinkie Pie’ seems like,” Twilight said, opening the door.

“Hello?”, Twilight said.

“Hi, Twilight! My name is Pinkie Pie! Your my 14th roomate!”

“14th? But I thought we had just began.”

“Yeah, all the others left. I wonder why?”

Twilight groaned. So this was going to be her roomate?

“Okay, I’ll stay with you.”

Pinkie Pie squealed in excitement. Well, how bad can she be?

S1E1: A New School - Part One (6 - Going to Sleep, Being Awake)

“It’s 12 PM, Pinkie. Get some sleep, please,” Twilight sleepily muttered, trying to make a hyperactive Pinkie sleep.

“I can’t sleep! Class is starting tomorrow, I finally have a roomate that likes me, and-“

“Sleep!”

Pinkie groaned. “Fine…” she said, hopping towards the table.

Pinkie had finally slept. It only took them 4 hours, yay! As Twilight had finally closed her eyes, she was met with a strange dream.

"Hello? Twilight, are you there?" a voice called.

"What? Where am I? Who is there?" Twilight asked. She looked around her. She was in some kind of room. Bunch of crystals, in the walls, in the floor, even crystals as the roof.

"I'm running out of time. What matters is that you need to keep your friends close," the voice said, ignoring all of Twilight's questions.

Twilight interjected, "Friends? What are you talking about? I don't know about you, but I don't really have any."

"You will. Very, very, soon..."

"What?" Twilight asked. Suddenly, the floor broke, the walls dissapeared, and everything went black. She let out a yelp, before waking up.

Twilight woke up from her slumber in cold sweat, gasping for breath. "What just happened?" she thought. That dream felt a little too... surreal for it to be just that. A dream.

She slumped out of bed, only to be greeted by a way-too-energetic-to-have-slept Pinkie Pie.

"Hellooo Twilight! Good morning! How was your sleep? Was it comfy? Did you dream?"

Twilight groaned. "I have made a grave mistake in letting her be my roomate..." she thought, walking out of Pinkie's vision.

S1E1: A New School - Part One (11 - Was That a Threat?)

The cafeteria door swung open. It was late in the night, eleven, maybe twelve? A lilac unicorn stepped hoof into the place. She immediately rushed towards the last stall, which read "Sweet Apple Acres". She woke up the mare running the stall.

"Well, Ah'm sorry, Miss. But we're closed righ- OH! Starlight... what are you doing here?" Applejack said, startled by Starlight's sudden visit.

"Tell me everything you know about this... Twilight Sparkle. Something about her intrigues me."

Applejack gulped. She barely knew anything about her. Minus that one time they met, they never actually got to know each other.

"Um... Ah got nothin'."

"Then, would you like to keep tabs of her a little more? I would love to, but I currently have another group of ponies to spy on."

"Are ya telling me to... spy? Starlight, Ah would love to, but... spying is wrong. To spy means that you need to lie. And you know how much I hate lyin'."

"I didn't give you much of an option. Do you want to see your precious Apple Bloom again?"

Applejack gulped. "Uh... okay."

"Very well. I will be seeing you again, Applejack. Wouldn't want the spy to start going away from me, would it?"

Applejack swallowed a massive lump. Starlight had stepped away, going back into the shadows. "Oh Applejack... what are ya getting yourselves in to?"

S1E1: A New School - Part One (12 - Dishonest Applejack)

The next day, Twilight had returned to the stall to get some apple fritters, only to realise that Applejack was not acting... normal. She was sweating, often stuttering between her lines.

"Uh... Applejack? You okay?" Twilight asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Everything is all right, Twilight. Can Ah join your lunch?"

The two talked with eachother for the next few minutes.

"Do ya have family?"

"Oh... yes. They're very lovely. Sure, they might be jerks sometimes, but I love them, and I'd do anything for them."

"Anythin'?"

"Yeah."

Applejack contemplated on those words. She noticed Starlight, who was slowly eyeing on them. "Ah'm sorry, Twi," she thought, a tear running down her eye.

"AJ?"

"Oh! Uh... yeah?"

"You haven't been feeling like yourself. Are you alright?"

"Oh! Yes! Fine..."

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Uhm... Ah think I gotta go. Bye, Twi!" Applejack said, fleeing the scene.

Twilight was left confused. "What has gotten into her?"

Applejack rushed to the bathroom and begins hyperventilating. "I can't do this..." she thought. "But... I have to do it. For my family..."

"You really are a terrible spy," a voice creeped up on Applejack. She knew exactly who it is. Shuddering, she faced backwards, revealing Starlight Glimmer.

"Gah! Starlight... didn't see ya there...!"

"Cut to the chase, AJ. What did you learn about Twilight Sparkle?"

"Uhm... Ah still got nothing..." Applejack said. But, she knew she was lying. And it hurt to do so.

"I'm going to count to three, and if you don't tell me what you know about Twilight, you will join your family."

Applejack gulped.

"One."

Applejack began sweating. Should she tell her? But it was wrong... she was in a dilemma.

"Two."

Her instincts kicked in. She was going to tell Starlight about Twilight.

"Thr-"

"Okay! I'll tell you about her."

Starlight smirked. "We'll talk about it later. Lunch time's over..."

Starlight then left the room. Applejack gulped. "What have I done?"

S1E1: A New School - Part One (14 - The Mystery Begins)

It was another usual day in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Minds. Twilight had aced three tests, Pinkie Pie succeeded in baking a cake within 30 minutes(everypony is still confused on how she did it), Rainbow Dash had consistently gotten first within practice races, Fluttershy was making some serious improvement in her social skills, Rarity had done an incredible job creating a dress for an assignment, and Applejack had a really, really big sale to an older stallion named Filthy Rich. As such, the six mares had decided to celebrate during lunch.

"You know, I'm starting to like you guys," Fluttershy said.

"Remember when Twilight saved us from that falling bookcase? Or when Fluttershy tamed a dragon that set loose on the place. You all are awesome! But not as awesome as me," Rainbow Dash continued.

"Says the person that would've died due to brain cancer a week ago if it wasn't for my egghead-iness."

"Eh. Fair point."

"Wait... what?"

Suddenly, the lights in the hallway they were eating in flickered out. Applejack gulped.

"What's happening?"

"Eh... probably just a light issue."

Suddenly, they heard a scream.

"Who was that?"

And then, the lights switched on.

"Everypony okay?" Twilight asked.

Rarity counted the amount of ponies there.

"Wait... where's Fluttershy?" Rarity asked.

They looked around. Strange, Fluttershy was gone. They looked around the floor they were in, only to find that teir searches were empty. Why would Fluttershy leave all of a sudden? Who screamed? Unless...

"Fluttershy's been foalnapped!"

Everypony in the hallway gasped in shock. Something happened to Fluttershy. But what was it? Well, Twilight was determined to find out.

S1E1: A New School - Part One (15 - Going "Slightly" Insane)

"Twi? I'm baack!" Pinkie exclaimed, opening the door to the room. It had been a few days since Fluttershy's dissapearance, and slowly, even more students had mysteriously dissapeared too. Lessons had since been put on halt, and most students had stayed in their dormitories. Pinkie was shocked to find the room in a mess, papers scattered, and a humongous conspiracy board at the center of the room.

"Twilight?"

"Oh! Hi Pinkie! Don't mind me... just figuring out WHAT THE HAY IS GOING ON?"

"Uhm... Twilight? You need sleep," Pinkie said. Twilight's eyes were baggy, she had a frazzled mane, and she was a mess.

"What? What's sleep?"

"TWILIGHT!" Pinkie exclaimed, Twilight yelping in response.

"Listen to me, Twi. You're going insane. I thought I was the insane one."

"What? No I'm not! I just need to find out why is everypony going missing throughout the school and finding a connecting thread and then I can re-"

"TWILIGHT!"

Twilight sighed in response. "Yeah, you're right. I should get some sleep."

For context, it was 11 in the night.

"I'm just going to freshen up and then we can have a PAJAMAS PARTY!"

"Okay...!"

Twilight looked up to the moon. "Why is this happening? Who is behind all this? Why is whoever doing this... doing this?"

Pinkie took a long time to take a bath. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to an hour. Twilight decided to check the bathroom to see if she was okay.

"Pinkie? You there?"

Twilight opened the door, finding an unconscious Pinkie Pie, being held by a hooded pony with dark blue eyes. The pony's build suggested it was a mare.

"PINKIE!" Twilight lunged towards the pony, but the hooded pony had dissapeared into cyan light.

"I need to tell the others!"

S1E1: A New School - Part One (4 - Train Ride)

Today was the day. Today was the day she went to Princess Celestia's school. The train was pulling up to a specialized station near the school, which was around the outside of Canterlot.

"And so, I think this is goodbye," Twilight said.

"This isn't goodbye, Twi. It's a 'see you later'," her mother replied.

"Yeah... you're right. I'll write you letters!"

"See you, Twi."

"Bye, mom."

The train was about to leave. Twilight boarded onto the train, and waved goodbye to her mother. She was about to begin a new chapter of her life. Her life was about to change forever.

The train ride there was quite normal. Twilight didn't talk to anypony, and she was only writing things in her journal.

"Dear journal,

Today's the day. It's my first day in Princess Celestia's school. I'm currently feeling a flurry of emotions. It's almost bittersweet to me. I'll tell you more about the college later.

She walked out of her carriage to go to the restroom, where she bumped into a unicorn mare. She had a lilac coat, with purple hair with streaks of cyan. She had brilliant blue eyes.

"Oh... uhm... I'm sorry. Let me help you with that," Twilight said, using her magic to fix the things that flew out her saddlebags.

"Oh, it's fine, I could've done that myself," the other mare had said.

"Oh, right... anyways, what's your name?"

"Starlight Glimmer. Yours?"

"Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight took a look at the stuff the other mare had brought. Scrolls, books, and books. Wait, did she say books twice? Well, she wasn't wrong. Starlight had brought a ton of books. It seemed like she was studying magic, too. Twilight decided not to ask Starlight if she studied magic.

They parted and did not see each other for the rest of the trip.

S1E1: A New School - Part One (7 - Day One)

The first day of lessons were... fine! Twilight never saw Pinkie Pie, or Starlight, during their lessons. One of the professors had given them a warm-up test, which Twilight aced. An alchemy professor gave them an example field test, which Twilight aced. Their history professor gave them a pop quiz... which Twilight aced. Hm... a lot of things that Twilight aced today. Anyways, it was lunch, and Twilight was starving. She passed through a poster.

"Flight race? What does that even mean?" Twilight asked, reading the poster that was plastered onto the entrance of the cafeteria.

She passed thourgh stall after stall, unsure on what to get. She was hungry, but she didn't know what to get. There were a lot of options, yes, but there were too much options. Until, she passed through a stall at the end of the cafeteria. And she smelled something delicious. Something that smelled like apples.

"Care for an apple fritter?" an earth pony mare with a Southern accent asked.

"Uh... yeah! Sure...!" Twilight replied, giving the other mare two bits.

"The name's Applejack, yours?"

"Twilight Sparkle."

"Well, howdy-doo, Miss Twilight, a pleasure makin' your acquaintance," the earth pony, Applejack, said, shaking her hands voilently with Twilight.

"Okay... see you later...?" Twilight asked, slowly stepping away, before escaping the scene.

"Huh. What a weird pony."

S1E1: A New School - Part One (8 - Flight Race)

"Isn't this exciting? Are you excited 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited— well, except for the time that I saw you walking into our room and I gasped, but I mean really, who can top that?" PInkie Pie exclaimed.

Pinkie Pie had forced Twilight into seeing the flight race, convincing her, that'll "it'll be fun" and "she'll that make sure of it". Of course, Twilight was not convinced by Pinkie, but she decided to come anyway to not upset Pinkie. The words she heard in her dream was still bugging her, after all. "Keep your friends close." What did that mean? Was this what the voice meant by friends? If so, she must delusional. Friends? Pinkie Pie? Didn't seem like so. However, her train of thought was blocked by the announcer.

"Mares and stallions! Today's the day for Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Minds' first flight race!" the announcer cheered. The crowd soon followed.

"The flight race is one of the most well-respected pegasi traditions. So, its expected that it would pass on to this very school!"

"So, without further ado, let's begin our race!" the announcer exclaimed. The crowd cheered on.

"Ready..."

A sudden swarm of anticipation fell on Twilight. She closed a book she was holding to entertain herself, noticing the multiple kinds of racers. The one that stood out the most, though, was a mare with a rainbow mane and cyan coat. She was wearing a suit that was way too tight for her, indicating that it may be some kind of safety issue.

"Set..."

Twilight felt a sudden feeling of excitement rush on Twilight. She was determined to see the race.

"See, now you're getting it!" Pinkie exclaimed. She was right... for once.

"Go!"

The racers flew out the gate. Literally. The rainbow mare in particular was getting ahead over the others. She was going too quick. Twilight made some quick calculations in her head, and if she was correct, and lets be honest, she probably is, one collision could be fatal for the rainbow mare.

A few minutes later, her fear came true. Veered off course by another racer, the rainbow mare had accidentally hit one of the stands and fell. Twilight ran some calculations in her head again, the quick acceleration change, which body part she should probably check, and more. After the race, she confronted the rainbow mare.

“Uh… hello!” Twilight said, approaching the mare in question.

“What do you want?”

“Well, I saw your crash earlier, and I’m just giving you some advice. You should really get your head checked out. I ran some calculations in my head, and that crash could give you some internal damage in your head. You should check it out on a doct-“

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’ll go to the doctor, just leave me alone, will ya?”

“Okay… it was nice meeting you, I’m Twilight Sparkle, and you are?”

“Rainbow Dash. Now leave me alone!”

“Okay…” Twilight said, slowly walking away from the pegasus. She fled the scene later.

S1E1: A New School - Part One (9 - Doctor Fluttershy)

"Rainbow Dash! Dr. Fluttershy is waiting for you," a voice had said. Rainbow Dash was waiting to get a checkup. She opened the door to the room.

"Uh... h-hello R-Rainbow Dash. M-my name is F-Fluttershy, and I-I'll be checking y-you up to-"

"Alright, just get this over with!"

"Oh... yes. That mare said you should get a scan, right?"

"Yeah. Still think she's a bit... strange, though."

"Okay. Scan. Um... in a minute," Fluttershy said, barging through the appliances at the room. "I signed up to be a veterinarian, not this," she thought. "Okay... found it...!" she said, holding a small camera with her.

"This isn't going to hurt. Just stay still for a second, please."

"Just get this done with!"

"Oh.. yes," Fluttershy said, snapping a picture of Rainbow Dash's skull. Once she opened them, she had put on a horrified face and ran away immediately.

"Okay... a bit strange. Does this mean I can go now?"

Another doctor came into the room. "Rainbow Dash... you have a brain tumor."

"A WHAT!?!?"

"A brain tumor, Rainbow Dash. You'll need to get surgery. Thankfully, the tumor is small, and recently made. That Twilight mare must be some kind of psychic.

"Not a psychic, doc. Just an egghead."

"A what?"

"Nevermind."

Rainbow Dash soon later got a surgery. Thankfully, because of Princess Celestia's school's god-like health service, she was able to make a full recovery within the next few days.

"Should I thank her?" Rainbow Dash asked to herself. She was referring to Twilight.

"I think you should, Rainbow Dash," a voice creeped up to her.

Rainbow Dash let out a startled yelp, only to find that it was just Fluttershy.

"I mean, she did save your life."

"But it wouldn't be very awesome of me to say thank you to a pony I just met!"

"That... isn't an excuse."

Fluttershy was right. I don't know what she's been on, but Rainbow Dash's "excuse" was weak as Tartarus.

"Okay... I'll thank her."

S1E1: A New School - Part One (10 - An Apology and Another Thing Too)

Twilight was met with looks on the way back to her dorm. They were quite strange looks, as if she did something wrong. Eventually, she made it to her dorm.

"Hi, Pinkie."

"TWILIGHT! You're back!"

"Yeah. Anyways, do you know why everypony's giving me looks?"

"Oh, that's because you talked to that Rainbow Dash fella."

"Huh?"

"The flight racers are... not the nicest people. They don't like to be bugged, all of them are incredibly stubborn, and each of them follows a strict routine. So, when you walked up to that Rainbow Dash and talked to her, everypony was surprised you weren't like... demolished or anything."

Twilight suddenly felt a strange sensation overcoming her. And then, she let out something she never had heard in a while. A laugh. Coming from her. Pinkie Pie suddenly smiled right open.

"I did it! I made you laugh!"

"Huh?" Twilight abruptly stopped laughing.

"I made a bet with my sister Maud that I could make you laugh by the end of the day."

"Oh."

"Its just that, you're all so deadpan all the time. You should cheer up for once."

Those words stabbed her like a sword. It sounded familiar. Pinkie Pie was sounding like her mother. Pinkie Pie was right... again. She never had somepony that cared for her besides her family, and it felt... nice. It felt nice to be appreciated by somepony else other than her mom and her brother.

"Twilight? Twilight? Somepony's ringing the bell, she wants to see you."

Pinkie's words had snapped her from her train of thought. "Oh... right."

Twilight opened the door, only to find Rainbow Dash behind it. "Rainbow! What are you doing here?" Twilight exclaimed.

"Thank you."

"Huh?"

"Remember when you told that I needed to get checked?"

"Yeah."

"So, I ended up getting checked, by this lovely mare," Rainbow Dash said, revealing Fluttershy.

"It's really nice of you to be looking out for strangers. If that tumor was inside her brain for longer, she could've died."

"Wait... tumor?"

"Yeah. How insane is that?"

"Yeah..."

"It was nice to have a chat with you. I'll see you again?"

"Yeah, of course!"

"Well then, see you later."

Twilight closed the door. She had inadvertently saved somepony's life. She had let that sink in for a few seconds. She decided to sleep for the night.

S1E1: A New School - Part One (13 - Status Update)

It was a brand new day in Celestia's school. Lessons were about to begin, a new day was arriving, and all that accompanied by a beautiful sunrise. Twilight had woken up early, but Pinkie had always been earlier.

"Hi Twilight! Good morning!"

Twilight was starting to warm up to Pinkie. I mean, being with a crazy person every day and night had to do something, wouldn't it? It had been almost a month since she began her studies, and she's already had created multiple connections to five ponies in particular. Of course, there was Pinkie Pie, whom which Twilight was starting to need her cheers and wackiness sometimes. Then, there was Rainbow Dash, who is still grateful to Twilight for saving her life. Additionally, there was her doctor, Fluttershy, who makes incredible tea, and they sometimes talk about their feelings over some lovely tea. Next, there was Rarity, a unicorn mare whom she bumped into while looking for dresses one day. Her incredible artistic vision proved to be a perfect match for Twilight. And lastly, there was Applejack, who had grown more erratic and chaotic in behavior whenever they meet. Twilight still doesn't know why.

It's been a while since she's seen that Starlight mare. She had been one of the first person Twilight met, and since both of them were majoring in magic, Twilight figured she'd see her the most. However, that observation had proven to be false, as she has never seen Starlight since that little incident over at the train.

To think of it... where was Starlight? She hadn't seen her all month, and-

"Twilight? Twilight?"

Pinkie's voice took her out of her trance.

"Oh! I must've zoned out for a second there."

"Your lessons are about to begin. You should go, Twi."

Pinkie was right. Her lessons began at 8:30, and it was 8:15. "Bye, Pinkie!"

"BYE, TWILIGHT!!!" Pinkie exclaiemd, shouting down the hallway. Twilight only grinned.

Life was good at the school. She'll just report to her journal and- WAIT! She hadn't written in her journal for the past few days! She grabs her journal from her saddlebags, and begins writing. Another perfect day was about to begin, and nothing could possibly go wrong.

S1E1: A New School - Part One (16 - Mastermind Revealed)

"AJ!" Twilight exclaimed.

"OH! Sta- wait.. Twilight? What a-are ya do-doin' 'ere?"

"PINKIE'S BEEN FOALNAPPED!"

"Wh-what?"

"I guess its the same pony that took Fluttershy. Come on!"

"Wha-? O-okay..." Applejack stuttered. She trotted alongside Twilight.

She later got everypony else, to her relief.

"Why did the foalnapper decided to foalnap... now?" Rainbow Dash asked, using a hoof to rub her eyes.

"I know! The rascal is ruining my beauty sleep," Rarity continued.

"GIRLS!" Twilight exclaimed, covering their mouths with their hooves.

"Do you hear that?" Twilight asked. It sounded like a whine. It sounded like a-

"Muffled screamin'?" Applejack said.

The four slowly followed the muffled voice, which brought them to the boiler room.

"Do all villain masterminds in a school setting have to set up their base camp in a boiler room?" Twilight asked.

"What are you waiting for? Lets kick some flank!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, rushing towards the door.

"Hold your horses, RD. We don't know who... or what, is behind that door. I suggest we go slowly."

"Ugh. Fine."

The four mares slowly stepped into the room, carefully making sure that they closed the door quietly. They later stepped towards a balcony, where they saw a barely conscious Pinkie, mouth covered with duct tape, screaming inside what seems to be some kind of mechanical contraption. In front of her, was a lilac-coated mare with a very familiar cutie mark. Then, everything fell into place. Lilac-coated? Dark blue eyes? Unicorn capable of teleportation? Cyan aura? It was the very first mare Twilight met. It was-

"I was expecting you, Twilight Sparkle," the mare turned around, revealing herself to be Starlight Glimmer.

"W-wait. Twi? You know this mare?"

The four were lowered down to Starlight's level, letting out a shriek.

"What do you want from us? Do you want to put us into that... thing?" Twilight asked, pointing towards the metal contraption.

"Oh, that is just for show. What's really going to happen to you three is something else."

"Wait... three?"

"The stage is yours, Starlight," Applejack nervously said, stepping toward Starlight's side.

"A-AJ?"

"Wise choice, Applejack. She's been helping me out on a ton of things. I appreciate her."

"AJ... why?" Twilight asked. Applejack only mouthed out an "I'm sorry" in response, looking downwards, her hat covering her face.

Suddenly, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity felt a jolt, and suddenly everything went black.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Author's Note

To be continued in part 2...

Hoo-wee! The very first episode of Tales of Friendship is complete! I really hoped you all liked this episode, and it took a TON to write. Well, I think I'm going to put you on a stop for now, reasons for in my latest blog. See you later!