In Ponyville, it was the end of a really long day for Twilight and her friends. They had just finished up with a friendship problem, and Twilight invited them all to her castle for a snack.
" Nice work, girls." She told them.
Rainbow Dash hovered tirelessly in the air.
" Man I'm beat." She said, stretching out her legs.
" I'm so glad we got to help those ponies out." Fluttershy spoke with a sweet smile.
" Yeah, but I would have liked to fight off some dragons or a scary, horrific monster." Rainbow Dash complained.
" Our job is to solve friendship problems, not rescue missions." Applejack told her.
" Just saying." Rainbow replied, shrugging her shoulders.
" Well I quite enjoyed it. Especially the marvelous little shops they had there." Rarity raved, wearing a new shiny silver necklace she got from there.
" Of course! That party I threw for them really put a smile on their faces!" Pinkie cried cheerfully.
" Yes indeed." Rarity agreed.
She turned to Twilight.
" How about you, dear?"
Hearing Rarity talking to her, she got out of her blank state.
" It was great. Like Fluttershy said. I'm happy that we could restore that town's friendship and love for each other back." She said with a soft expression.
Applejack's stomach suddenly growled. She laughed in embarrassment.
" I guess all that friendship solving left me hungry."
" Don't worry, I have Spike already on it." Twilight assured her.
" Where's Starlight?" Applejack asked.
" Probably helping Spike." Twilight answered.
" It's not cookies, cakes, or pies is it? Because I had WAY too much of those at the party." Rainbow told her.
" Why? I could eat chocolate all day!" Pinkie declared.
Applejack looked at her like she was nuts.
" That's gross."
" Not if you're a baker!" Pinkie said, not at all phased by her comment as she smiled cheerfully at her.
" No. It's not that type of snack at all. But I will leave some desserts out just for you, Pinkie." Twilight added.
" What did you have in mind?" Fluttershy asked.
" Dafidill daisy sandwiches and tea."
" Wonderful idea, Twilight. We need to eat some real food after consuming all the sweets." Rarity replied.
The tired and hungry ponies entered the dining room where they were greeted with stacks of sandwiches and cups of hot tea. They sat down and dug in right away.
" These sandwiches are delicious." Applejack said.
" Totally!" Rainbow Dash agreed, taking a huge bite out of hers, causing the sauce the squirt out and land on Rarity.
" Rainbow, please!" She shouted, totally repulsed by her table manners.
She leviated her napkin and used it to wipe her face.
Spike then came in, holding a tray filled with cupcakes and cookies.
" Here you go Pinkie. Twilight knew you'd like these." He said, setting the sweets in front of her.
" Thanks Spike!" She told him before faceplanting into her sweets.
As the ponies ate, Starlight entered the room.
" Mind if I join you?" She asked shyly.
" Of course, come on in!" Twilight said, smiling at her.
Starlight smiled awkwardly as she took a seat right next to Twilight.
" Have a cookie!" Pinkie insisted, handing one to her.
" Thank you." Starlight smiled, taking a bite out of it.
While the ponies chatted, Twilight didn't engage much in their conversations.
" Is something wrong, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, taking notice of her odd behavior.
" No." Twilight answered as she stared down at her plate.
" Are you sure?"
" I'm fine, Fluttershy. I've just been thinking."
Catching the attention of the rest of her friends, they all chimed in.
" Thinking about what? What are next friendship mission will be?" Applejack asked.
" I can't tell you right now. Let's just get back to our snack." Twilight uttered and took a bite out of her sandwich.
Leaving her friends confused, they awkwardly returned to eating.
When everypony was finished, they all left for home and to bed.
" Goodnight!" Twilight said, her and Starlight waving goodbye.
" Goodnight!" They all replied back.
When the castle doors shut, they turned to each other.
" Twilight's been real quiet tonight. Even more quiet than Fluttershy." Said Rainbow Dash as Fluttershy glanced at her, annoyed.
" I'm sure she'll tell us about what's going on in the morning." Applejack assured them.
" Now let's all head for bed."
In the castle, Twilight and Starlight were putting Spike to bed. They tucked him in and gave him a goodnight kiss.
" Goodnight, Spike." Twilight whispered.
" Pleasant dreams." Starlight whispered also.
Spike yawned and quickly fell asleep as the two ponies quietly shut the door behind them.
" So, how was the friendship mission?" Starlight curiously asked.
" Great." Twilight dully said.
" You don't sound very enthusiastic about it. Didn't you have fun?" Starlight questioned, wondering why her friend was acting this way.
" I did. I'm just tired is all." Twilight spoke.
Her and Starlight walked down the hall and into the throne room. Starlight stared marvelous at the map.
" It must be fun going on these missions." She said, still staring at the map.
She then looked up at Twilight.
" Do you think the map will ever call me?" She asked, though she knew her question was pointless.
Starlight had caused lots of trouble for her friends in the past. She took away cutie marks from an entire village that she ran, and tried to ultter time so that her friends never got their cutie marks, which ultimately almost caused the destruction of Equestria. She was still very guilty about it. Why would the map choose a pony like herself anyway?
Twilight knew what she was thinking and saw the uncertainty and pain in her eyes. She gently tilted her head up to hers and smiled with kind eyes.
" It will. It's just waiting for the right moment." She told her, which made Starlight feel a little better.
" Well, I'm off. Goodnight." Twilight said and left.
Starlight too headed for bed. In her room, Twilight flopped in her bed and stared blankly at the ceiling, thoughts running through her head until she finally drifted off to sleep.