Friendship is Magic: The Seventh Element Chapter 152: All Bottled Up, a my little pony fanfic

All Bottled Up

Pony's Log Number 702: I wish Starlight had come to me about her anger issues. I could have told her how dangerous it is to let your anger get...uhh...stuffed up...

One morning at the Castle of Friendship, Starlight and Trixie were in the castle kitchen together. Starlight was busy decorating some teacakes while Trixie was trying to work on a particular spell and was failing to cast it.

"Come on, come on!" Trixie said grunted to a salt shaker she was staring at, "Turn into a teacup!" Trixie then fired a magic blast that made the salt shaker wobble a bit...and nothing else.

"No! Teacup!" Trixie said firmly and fired her magic at it again. The results were the same.

"No! Teacup!" Trixie snapped and tried again, but still all the salt shaker only wobbled from her magic and didn't change.

"No!" Trixie screeched in frustration before looking sadly at Starlight, who was just decorating her teacakes.

"Oh, Starlight!" Trixie whined, "I can't put a trick that's not working into my act! How come it's not working?"

"It could be because you're just yelling "teacup!"," said Starlight as a matter of fact, "and not picturing it in your mind."

"Oh. Yeah, that could be it," Trixie admitted quietly.

"What does your teacup look like?" Starlight asked the cerulean unicorn, "What shape is it? What color?" Trixie just pondered to herself, took a deep breath, and fired her magic at the salt shaker once more and closed her eyes. This time her magic worked! The salt shaker turned into a pink tea cup with a purple handle. Trixie opened her eyes and squeed with delight.

"Whoo! Starlight, I did it!" Trixie said excitedly and hugged Starlight. Her gesture was so fast and so tight that Starlight accidentally squirted far too much icing on top of her teacakes.

"Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Trixie giggled as she continued to squeeze Starlight, "I did it, I did it! Woo-hoo-hoo!"

"Hey!" Starlight protested as she pried Trixie off of herself.

"Teacup!" Trixie called out as she turned another object into a teacup and giggled, "Teacup! Teacup, teacup, teacup!" Trixie turned a few more objects into teacups.

"Tea-cup! Teacup, teacup, teacup!" Trixie continued chanting as she turned three frying pans, a pitcher, two plates, and even a teapot into teacups. Starlight was feeling rather annoyed at Trixie's enthusiasm as she tried to figure out how to clean up the excess icing on her teacakes.

"You know what you need?" Trixie asked Starlight as she appeared beside her, "A teacup!" Trixie then turned Starlight's frosting tube into a teacup...with four legs, a tail, and it was barking. The "teacup" then started barked as it smashed into Starlight's teacakes, destroying them and making a mess as it yapped and ran off. Starlight groaned angrily and glared at Trixie.

"Whoops! I guess I pictured a teacup poodle," said Trixie, "Heh."

"Trixie! You ruined my teacakes!" Starlight told her best friend.

"I just got excited!" Trixie replied, "This is the first time I did a transfiguration spell! Real magic! Come on! Be impressed by me!" Starlight just had a long face as she used her magic to push Trixie away. Trixie then got behind Starlight, grabbed her fore-legs, and waved them about."

"Yay, Trixie!" said Trixie as she imitated Starlight, "You're so great at magic and having good hair!" Starlight couldn't resist a chuckle.

"Good job, Trix," said Starlight, "But I was baking these to give to Twilight, Di, and the rest of the group for their friendship retreat. Pinkie Pie gave me a recipe and everything."

"Oh! You need snacks to give to Twilight?" said Trixie, "I've got you covered." Trixie then hummed to herself she walked about the kitchen looking for something. Starlight just stared sadly at her ruined tea cakes when Trixie dumped a pretzel bag right on top of the mess.

"Problem solved," Trixie said simply. Starlight growled as a red magic cloud rumbled above her horn and then disappeared.

"Not exactly," Starlight remarked with a deadpan look on her face. Apparently, Starlight was learning the hard way how self-centered Trixie could be.

And it was pushing her patience to its limit.

(Main Theme)

Later that day, the Mane eight and Di were at the train station along with Starlight, Spike, and Trixie. They were walked across the station platform as the train gave off a loud whistle.

"I'm so excited about this friendship retreat, Mom!" said Diamond Tiara to the purple pony, her new necklace around her neck, "Thank you again for inviting me!"

"No problem, sweetie," said Twilight, "While the focus of this trip is friendship bonding, I wouldn't mind plenty of mother-daughter bonding too." Diamond Tiara smiled and nuzzled Twilight's side, which made the others smile.

"Aw, aren't they cute together honey?" Fluttershy asked her husband.

"They are," said Shenran, "I'm kind of surprised you're not jealous."

"Oh, Shenran," said Fluttershy, "How could I be jealous of the fact Twilight got to be a mother before me? It wasn't a competition."

"So...you don't wish you could be a mom?" Shenran asked slowly. Fluttershy just sighed.

"I haven't really thought about it lately," Fluttershy replied, "I've been more focused on my..." Fluttershy then whispered quietly as she leaned toward him, "...top-secret idea."

"Gotcha," Shenran replied in very soft but still audible tone, "We're you..."

"Not yet, dear, not yet," Fluttershy replied with a wink. Shenran chuckled and gave his wife a cheek kiss, which made the yellow Pegasus giggle.

"I am so excited for this friendship retreat," Twilight told everypony, "I can't remember the last time we all got together to hang out without having to save Equestria."

"Or get interrupted by a meddling draconequus," Mario remarked, not noticing that Fluttershy gave the alicorn prince a raspberry for the remark.

"Well, we are awesome," Rainbow remarked as the rest of the group boarded the train, "But technically, we weren't the last ponies to save Equestria." Starlight and Trixie smiled. The former was modestly while the latter was just happily.

"I was speaking on a broader sense," Twilight replied as Mario used his magic to scoop up Diamond Tiara into his back.

"Come on, Di," said Mario, "Today, you're my daughter and we're gonna have some fun."

"Alright! Lead the way, Dad!" Diamond Tiara cheered as Mario carried her onto the train. Twilight then turned to speak to Spike, Starlight, and Trixie.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Twilight offered.

"Yeah, I have three comics to get through," said Spike.

"And I promised Trixie we'd practice more magic," said Starlight before walked up to Twilight and saying quietly, "I might be better if the castle was empty, if you know what I mean." Twilight and Starlight smiled sheepishly. Mario, who had gone back to get his wife, heard that last statement.

"Told ya we should've filed for castle insurance," said Mario bluntly as Twilight shot him a glare. Trixie looked indignant and groaned.

"Relax," said Trixie, "If anything breaks, Starlight will just go back in time and fix it!" Starlight just chuckled nervously as Twilight and Mario gave her a glare.

"Kidding," said Trixie sheepishly.

"We'll take good care of the castle while you're gone," Starlight as Trixie nodded in agreement.

"We'll be holding you to that," said Mario, "Come on, honey, let's go. Di wants a double cuddle session from the both of us!" Twilight just smiled and quickly boarded the train. Trixie and Starlight waved them goodbye.

"Have fun on your friendship retreat!" Trixie called out before whispering to Starlight, "What in Equestria is a friendship retreat, anyway?"

"They're gonna bond, share laughs, and if I know them, they're gonna sing a song." Starlight replied in a hushed tone. Trixie giggled.

"We are gonna have so much more fun than them!" Trixie remarked in a hushed tone. She and Starlight giggled as the latter quickly hushed the former. Trixie then noticed that Starlight had the pretzel bag stuffed and hidden inside of her saddle bag. She used her magic to grab the bag and rushed over to the train.

"Twilight, Mario, wait!" Trixie called out. Starlight winced she saw Trixie giving them the pretzel bag, "Starlight has something for you!"

"Huh?" Twilight replied.

"What is it?" Mario asked. Starlight then nervously gave the alicorn couple the bag.

"Here, I, um, brought you snacks," Starlight said sheepishly as Trixie just smiled smugly.

"Oh, how...thoughtful, thanks," said Twilight nervously, "we will...not get hungry on the train."

"Oh, pretzels," Mario remarked as he opened the bag and ate one, "Delicious." Twilight just rolled her eyes.

"It was supposed to be teacakes," Starlight remarked as she shot a look at Trixie, who simply played clueless and looked at her fore-hoof. Starlight sighed, "but...it's a long story. Have a great time!"

"You, too!" Twilight called out.

"See you later!" Mario shouted as his wife closed the train door. Then the train pulled out of the station. Starlight, Trixie, and Spike didn't wait long before exiting the platform and headed back to the castle.

Once Starlight and Trixie were back at the castle, they headed into the throne room to get started with those magic lessons. Spike was just sitting in his own throne reading one of his comic books.

"Okay, Trixie," said Starlight, "what kinds of spells did you want to work on next?"

"Well, every self-respecting magician has a disappearing act," Trixie pointed out, "so maybe we could start with that?" Starlight looked rather worried about the idea.

"Hmm," Starlight pondered, "Nothing just disappears, so that's technically a teleportation spell, and those are pretty hard. Maybe we should start with something smaller." Trixie chortled.

"No-no-no-no," Trixie protested, "The Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie goes big or not at all! Just tell me how you do it."

"Well," Starlight began to explain, "I've always found magic is tied to my emotions. Whatever I'm feeling fuels whatever I'm doing, and the stronger I'm feeling, the stronger the magic."

"Right," Trixie replied, "Like when you were so upset that cutie marks took away your friend, your magic was strong enough to enslave an entire village." Starlight growled silently as the red magic cloud appeared above her head and then disappeared.

"Yep," said Starlight bluntly and sternly, "Thanks for bringing that up."

"See? I'm already learning," said Trixie, completely clueless to the fact she had hit a nerve, "If anypony is gonna teach me how to do a disappearing spell-"

"Teleportation spell," Starlight corrected.

"Whatever," Trixie remarked and nudged Starlight's side with a fore-knee, "I'm complimenting you. And me. We can do this, 'cause we're amazing and magic if friendship and stuff."Starlight laughed.

"I guess we can give it a whirl," said Starlight, "Now, we just need to find you something to teleport." Spike then looked up from his comic book, suddenly feeling like he was being watched.

"Spike!" Trixie called out, "How about it?" Spike chuckled nervously as Starlight got into the foreground.

"Uh, let's pick something, I don't know, not living?" Starlight suggested in a rather desperate tone.

"I mean it won't be as impressive, but okay," Trixie conceded, "Teach away, mini-Twilight." Starlight couldn't resist a groan. Complement or not, she didn't find that pun funny.

Meanwhile, the Mane eight and Diamond Tiara had arrived in Manehatten and had just entered the hallway of a particular building. A stallion wearing a blue visor, shirt, and red glasses, named Ginger Locks, was their guide.

"Welcome to Manehattan Escapes," he told the nine ponies in a very bored tone.

"Ooh, I'm going to start with a facial, and then get my hooves done, and-" Rarity was telling Twilight and Diamond Tiara. Diamond Tiara giggled.

"What's so funny?" Rarity asked the little filly.

"Oh, it's not that kind of retreat," said Twilight.

"Isn't it called "Manehattan Escapes" because it's a deluxe spa where you can escape all of your troubles?" Rarity asked, feeling slightly puzzled.

"I'm afraid not," said Mario in a knowing tone as he walked on the other side of his wife.

"Nope," said Twilight, "It's because we get locked in a room and we have to solve puzzles and riddles in order to escape!" It was then Ginger Locks led the group into a room that was filled with various contraptions and puzzle-solving gizmos and such.

"The clues will lead you to a key to get out," said Ginger Locks from a nearly clipboard on the wall.

"Team-building!" Twilight said excitedly.

"Yeah!" said Diamond Tiara with a smile. Everypony else other than Mario and Applejack just sighed unenthusiastically.

"Should've seen this coming," Shenran remarked.

"Come on, everypony," said Applejack, "This could be fun."

"That's the spirit, Sis," said Mario as he wrapped a fore-leg around his shoulder.

"Could be?" said Twilight, "Some of the brightest minds in Equestria put together these puzzles!"

"And the puzzles aren't boring either," said Diamond Tiara, "I will admit that I thought these rooms would be lame, but then Mom suggested me and Silver Spoon try one out to help us rebuild our friendship. We had a blast and we our friendship got stronger too! I was the one to recommend to Mom and Master that we give a locked room a try."

"That's right," said Twilight, "She's only been my daughter for a short time, but we seem to think alike and enjoy alot of the same things." Twilight then gave her daughter a nuzzle and Diamond Tiara gave her Mom a cheek kiss to say thank you.

"You mean you turned her into an egghead," Rainbow remarked. Diamond Tiara took offense.

"What's Dashie got against ponies who are smart anyway?" Diamond Tiara asked Twilight, using the nickname Mario and the others would use for the blue Pegasus.

"She's just jealous because you've got something she doesn't," Mario remarked, "an actual brain."

"Very funny!" Rainbow retorted, "I can solve a few egghead puzzles no problem."

"I'm just happy to be with all of you," said Fluttershy.

"Aw, isn't my wife the sweetest?" Shenran remarked as he hugged her from the side, making Fluttershy giggle.

"Me, too!" said Pinkie as she appeared between Applejack and Shenran. Then hugged the two ponies along with Fluttershy, "I'm not great at solving riddles, but I'm super great at cheering other ponies as they do it!" Pinkie then zipped away and reappeared in her yellow and pink cheerleader outfit, pom-poms, and hair bow.

"Go, us! Ooo, ooo! Woo-hoo!" Pinkie cheered. Diamond Tiara giggled.

"Yes, yes, woo-hoo," said Rarity quickly in a not-so-enthusiastic tone, "But just so we know, exactly how long will we be locked in here?" Ginger Locks looked at the sheet of paper again.

"A group of griffons set the record for the fastest escape," said Ginger Locks, "It only took them an hour."

"Hah!" Rainbow retorted confidently, "Griffons barely like each other! We're basically the poster ponies for amazing friendships!"

"Don't get cocky," Mario remarked with an eye roll, but Rainbow wasn't listening.

"So get your quill ready, bub!" said Rainbow as she got into Ginger Locks' face, "You're gonna have to write down a new record." Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes.

"Leave it to Dashie to turn this experience into a race," Diamond Tiara remarked.

"Hey, a motivated Dashie is better than a bored and whiny Dashie," Mario remarked, "So let's get started!"

"Right, master," said Diamond Tiara as she put her brown glasses on, "Let's get puzzle solving!" Twilight just beamed and clapped her hooves together.

"That's my daughter who said that," Twilight said giddily. The others just smiled.

Back at the castle, Starlight had finally managed to get hold of an apple and set it on the cutie map table. She then stood beside Trixie, who was in position and ready to go.

"If you master this spell before the others get back, you'd be setting some kind of record," Starlight told Trixie.

"Challenge accepted," Trixie replied with determination.

"Okay," said Starlight, "What you want to do is concentrate on the object that you want to teleport." Spike then noticed that he was in the cross-fire.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go...all the way over here," said Spike as he dashed away so he was behind Starlight and Trixie. Correction: He was at the end of another hallway far away and behind the two ponies. Starlight and Trixie just looked at him before getting back to what they were doing.

Concentrate on teleporting," Trixie repeated, "Got it! Doin' the spell!" Starlight cringed.

"No, Trix, wait," Starlight called out, "not just-"

ZAP!

Too late.

Trixie fired her magic...and made the cutie map table disappear instead of the apple. Starlight was so shocked that she passed out.

(Lose a life fanfare)

Ta-da," said Trixie in a weak but sheepish tone.

Once Starlight had been revived with a green and white mushroom, she was pacing about the room hyperventilating. Trixie just sat lazily in Twilight's throne chair with a face that was completely calm and laidback.

"No-no-no-no-no-no-no!" Starlight said as she continued to panic, "You made Twilight and Mario's friendship map disappear! And probably all seventy of the Flower Sprites with it!"

"Teleport," Trixie corrected in a casual tone. Starlight took offense to Trixie's lax nature.

"Really?!" Starlight snapped.

"Well, it was behind the apple," said Trixie, "It was bound to happen. On the plus side, my magic is getting better! I made a whole table go poof! That was pretty impressive!"

"Trixie, we have to get that map back," Starlight retorted as she got into the cerulean unicorn's face.

"We'll find it," Trixie replied, still remaining calm, "No big deal." While Trixie didn't seem worried, Starlight was still panicking.

"Twilight and Mario are never gonna trust me to be alone in this castle again!" Starlight as she did some more pacing, "What were you thinking?!"

"Teleport, like you told me to," Trixie replied. Starlight's horn began to fizzle with the red magic cloud again.

"No!" Starlight snapped sternly, "You're supposed to concentrate on the object, not just teleporting!" Trixie just closed her eyes and scoffed.

"Well, gee, you probably should have told me all the steps before you let me do the spell!" Trixie remarked. Starlight was taken aback as the red magic cloud above her increased in size and intensity.

"I tried," said Starlight in a hallowed tone, but then she gasped as she saw the red raging cloud above her head and gasped, "I...need a minute." Starlight then rushed out of the room. Trixie curiously watched Starlight disappear, but didn't go after her.

In the castle kitchen, Spike was busy washing all the tea cups when Starlight ran inside and headed straight for the pantry, tossing dishes and other kitchenware about.

"Hey, are you okay?" Spike asked with concern as he saw the frazzled lilac unicorn and the ominous red cloud above her head.

"I will be once I cast a spell to contain my anger in this bottle," Starlight replied as she found herself a glass bottle. Spike just stared at her with a blank expression on his face.

"Wait, what?" Spike said in confusion.

"Do you see this storm cloud?" Starlight asked, "This has never happened before! All this magical energy has to go somewhere, and if I'm not using it to fight a magical duel or bend my friends' wills to obey my every command..."

"Hah, I remember that," Spike chuckled, "it was funny seeing Shenran bounce around like a magi-carp." Starlight gave Spike a deadpan look.

"The point is," said Starlight, "I don't know what my magic's going to do. So I'm hoping if I bottle it up my anger, I won't do who-knows-what to Trixie."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Spike asked, "I seem to recall-"

"What choice do I have?" Starlight interrupted, "I've got to get that map back, and I don't wanna lose Trixie. If she knew what I was thinking right now, she'd probably never talk to me again." Spike just looked at her with concern.

Should I tell Starlight that Mario once tried something like this once? Spike thought, Nah, I doubt it would stop her from doing what she's gonna do so I might as well cut my losses.

"Okay..." Spike said sternly, "You do what you need to do. I'll see if I can find the map somewhere in the castle." Spike then jumped off his stool and headed out of the kitchen. Starlight jut groaned as she put all the red magic into the bottle and sealed it shut with a cork. She then put the bottle into her saddle bags to keep it close in case if any more red magic came out of her horn. She quickly made her way back to the throne room, where Trixie was just playing around with the now eaten apple. She saw Starlight re-enter the room.

"Oh, there you are!" Trixie said when she saw the lilac unicorn, "For a minute, I didn't think you were coming back, and that you might be upset with me for some reason. But then I remembered - you never get mad at me." Whether Trixie was saying to sweet talk herself back into Starlight's graces or was really just being clueless was debatable, but it was enough to make Starlight groan irritably, causing more red magic to surge from her horn, which the lilac unicorn stuffed into her bottle. Starlight then exhaled to recompose herself.

"Nope!" said Starlight with a nervous laugh, "Not mad at all! So, the map is probably in the last place you were thinking of. Where was that?"

"Ooh, great question," said Trixie, "I wish you asked it, like, right after I did the spell. I don't remember anymore." That caused to groan again as more red magic to erupt from Starlight's horn, which she quickly stuffed into her bottle.

"No worries," said Starlight, trying to keep calm, "We'll just take a walk around town. Maybe that'll jog your memory."

"Okay, that sounds fun," said Trixie as she hopped out of the throne and then exclaimed, "Ooh!"

"Did you remember?" Starlight asked hopefully.

"Nope!" Trixie replied, "I've been craving something sweet since I couldn't have any teacakes this morning." Trixie then walked out of th room, unaware she had struck a nerve for Starlight...twice.

"Cinnamon...nuts?" Starlight spluttered, quickly stuffing even more red magic into her bottle as she tried to keep her composure with another exhale.

"You got this, Starlight," she told herself, but deep down she wasn't so sure since Trixie was doing a very good job at pushing her temper today.

Back in the locked room, they had just finished one part of the puzzle when a switch appeared at the upper wall. It was then three barrels appeared that began to shuffle about in a set pattern, the items that appeared on them were a snake, a bit, a spider, and...a puzzle piece.

(Cue Donkey Kong Country "Bonus level" music)

"Looks like one of those match three of the same items to get a prize," said Mario.

"I think I can handle this," said Shenran, "I was always good at these kinds of puzzles."

"You can do it, honey," said Fluttershy.

"Go Shenran! Go!" Pinkie cheered, waving her pom-poms. Shenran stuck his tongue out from the side as he watched the items shuffle about.

"Gotta time it just right," said Shenran as he jumped up and used a fore-hoof to bop a barrel. The pictures stopped shuffling right on the puzzle piece. Shenran then got the same picture on the second barrel. The third barrel was a little faster and the items shuffled in a different sequence. Shenran took a bit longer before going for the punch and matched all three pictures. The barrels shined, merged into one and turned into a genetic puzzle piece, which he grabbed with a fore-hoof.

(Cue "Bonus victory" fanfare)

"You did it, honey!" Fluttershy said as she wrapped her fore-legs around his neck. Shenran then looked around and found a panel on the floor that was exact fit for the genetic puzzle piece. He then placed it down into the panel. Then the ceiling above opened up as several more barrels appeared in various locations of the room. A couple of barrels were on some floating tracks. At the end of the course was a banana made of solid gold.

"Oooooooooooooooooooooooo, Banana!" said a deep ominous voice from...actually nopony knew where the voice came from.

"Now how are we supposed to get to that golden banana?" Applejack asked.

"My guess is that somepony needs to shoot themselves from one barrel to the next until they reach that giant floating banana in the far left corner of the room," Twilight suggested.

"We don't need those," said Rainbow but then found her wings retract and made her land hard on her stomach, she then stood up and found that her wings were closed shut, "Hey! I can't open my wings!"

"This part of the puzzle prohibits the use of flying," said Ginger Locks from outside the room. Rainbow groaned as Mario walked up to one barrel appeared near the ground.

"I'll do it," said Mario.

"Good idea, big brother," said Fluttershy, "A barrel of monkeys was always your favorite toy." The others snickered as Mario glared at her.

"At least I didn't marry a monkey," Mario remarked. Applejack, Twilight, and Diamond Tiara snickered as Fluttershy and Shenran both snorted.

"I'm no monkey," Shenran muttered. Mario smirked as he wasted no time climbing inside the first barrel. The barrel began to rotate about. Rainbow then snickered as she walked up to it.

"Fire!" Rainbow shouted.

BOOM! SPLAT!

Rainbow made Mario fire out of the barrel prematurely. Sending him crashing into the wall not three yards away, leaving him dizzy as he slid back down the floor. Rainbow laughed.

SMACK!

"OW!" Rainbow yelped as Applejack smacked the back of her head with a fore-leg.

"Try it again, Big brother," said Applejack.

"Without the interruptions," said Diamond Tiara, giving the blue Pegasus the stink eye. Mario climbed back into the first barrel. This time, he was able to fire off from one barrel to the next without much difficulty. It was then he reached the final barrel that rotated at a rapid rate. Mario only had one shot to get the golden banana. Everypony was holding their breath, even Diamond Tiara and Twilight were sweating as Mario then launched out of the cannon. It was a perfect shot and he snagged the golden banana in mid air and landed into a soft landing pad below.

"Way to go Mario!" Pinkie cheered.

"Any idea where this goes?" Mario asked as he held the golden banana with his magic. Diamond Tiara blinked and smiled.

"I know where it goes, master," said the filly as she grabbed the banana and headed over toward a nearby wall that had two columns on it. There on the wall was an indent that perfectly fit the banana. Diamond Tiara put the banana into the indent, which made a transparent red ring appear.

"What is that supposed to be?" Rainbow asked.

"A red ring!" Mario, Twilight, and Diamond Tiara said excitedly.

"Mind if I do it, Mom?" Diamond Tiara asked. Twilight smiled and gave a nod of approval. Diamond Tiara jumped through the red ring.

(Cue favorite "P switch" music)

This made eight red bits appear along side of the two columns as well as a timer. Diamond Tiara then showed everypony that she had mastered the wall jump as she picked up all eight red bits. Once she touched the eighth red bit at the top of the right column. A panel opened behind her, leading to a gray warp pipe that returned her to the ground below safely. At the same time, some glass shards appeared out of thin air between the columns.

"Great job, Di!" Twilight told her daughter.

"Thanks, Mom!" Diamond Tiara replied with a smile.

"Applejack, can you help me put this together?" Twilight asked the orange pony.

"Sure," said Applejack. Twilight and Applejack began to work together to find where the shards needed to be put together and got to work assembling a triangle using the broken shards. The others began to scan the area so they could be ready for the next part of the puzzle, except for Pinkie, who kept on cheerleading.

"Woo-hoo!" Pinkie cheered, "Go, Twilight! You can do it!"

"Go, Mom! Go!" Diamond Tiara cheered alongside Pinkie despite not having a cheerleading outfit. Twilight then used her magic to put the last piece of the what was a giant triangle. There was a click and rattling as the panel opened up to reveal a purple gem in the shape of a teardrop.

"Woo-hoo!" Pinkie cheered again.

"Nice work honey," said Mario as he and Twilight shared a high-hoof.

"Hoo-wee!" said Applejack to Twilight as the purple pony grabbed the gem with her magic and the panel closed up, "You solved that triangley thing mighty fast!"

"Twilight holds the record for putting together a five thousand piece jigsaw puzzle in fifty-four minutes," Mario said proudly, "second only to me. Who did it in fifty-three minutes!"

"Oh hush you!" said Twilight, lightly slapping his side. Diamond Tiara and Applejack giggled.

"Uh, does anypony need a purple jewel?" Applejack asked. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Shenran were by a cloth that was covered in gems of various colors.

"Ooh!" said Rarity excitedly, "Plum or boysenberry?" Applejack gave the marshmallow mare a funny look.

"Don't both those fruits means purple?" Applejack asked slowly.

"I thought boysenberry was more in the blue part of the color spectrum?" Diamond Tiara asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, sweetie," said Mario gently, "It's actually on the purple spectrum. It's between grape and blackberry."

"Exactly, twinsie," said Rarity, "but one's a lovely purple and one's...well, icky."

"Boysenberry purple is icky?!" said Diamond Tiara before adding in a posh tone, "Darling, it looks quite fashionable on a stack of pancakes." Rarity and Mario laughed.

"Just put the gem in!" Rainbow snapped, "We're trying to set a record here!"

"No, you're trying to set a record, Dashie," said Diamond Tiara, "The rest of us are having fun!"

"That's right, Di," said Twilight as she used her magic to hand the gem to Shenran.

"Wanna set it in, honey?" Shenran asked his wife.

"Why, thank you, dear," said Fluttershy as she took the gem and set it onto an outline that matched the gem's shape. And Pinkie had mysteriously removed her cheerleader outfit at this point. The cloth retracted to reveal the scroll was hidden underneath it. Pinkie then zipped away and put her cheerleader outfit back on.

"Yay! We solved another clue, 'cause out friendship is so true! Yaaaay, us!" Pinkie sang before jumping into the foreground, "Woo-hoo!"

Back in Ponyville, Starlight was giving Trixie death glares. Trixie hadn't wasted much time getting herself a bag of cinnamon nuts and was stuffing her mouth with them. Plus the cerulean unicorn wasn't taking the search very seriously either. For the moment, the two mares were in the Ponyville Jewelry Store as the shopkeeper, named Clarity Cut, appeared at the main counter.

"Ah, hello, fillies," Clarity Cut greeted warmly, "Uh, how can I help you?" She was then cut off when she caught whiff of Trixie's bag of nuts, "Oh, are those cinnamon nuts?" Trixie put some more nuts into her mouth before speaking.

"Mmm, yes," Trixie answered, "I got from the cart outside." Just outside the window was Bulk Biceps selling various nuts in his own sales cart. "They're delicious. Do you want some?" Trixie held her bag of nuts to Clarity Cut. Starlight was still glaring at Trixie, but something was different about the lilac unicorn. Her bangs that curled lovingly around her horn were now straight and messy. Starlight then pulled the bag of nuts away so she could speak to Clarity Cut.

"Have you seen a big table?" Starlight asked, "Magical map on it, sometimes glowing cutie marks shoot out? Might even see a couple of floating flowers made out of magical gold and have eyes that float about it?" Clarity Cut was rather stunned.

"A big ta-" Clarity Cut stuttered, "Uh, no! Uh, why in Equestria would something like that be in here? Ha!"

"Well, I cast a pretty amazing spell that transported it to the last place I was thinking of," Trixie explained, "but I might have been thinking about how I'd treat myself to a nice brooch instead. Mario gave me quite a sum of bits for my last birthday." Trixie then eyeballed a emerald cut broach that had a gem the same color as her fur.

"Ah, well, no huge table here," said Clarity Cut, "Uh, are you still interested in that broach?"

"Sure!" said Trixie excitedly.

"No! We don't have time for this!" Starlight snapped as she picked up both Trixie and her bag of nuts and carried her away so they were out of Clarity Cut's hearing range. By now her mane and bangs were looking unraveled and messy.

"Twilight and Mario and the rest of the group are gonna be back soon!" said Starlight to Trixie as more red magic erupted from the lilac unicorn's mane, but put the red magic into the bottle and quickly tried to calm down.

"But I'm not upset," Starlight added, trying to sound optimistic, "What's our next stop?" Trixie just chewed on her nuts as she pondered to herself.

Their next stop was Sweet Apple Acres. The two mares wasted no time heading to the barn where Granny Smith was there to speak to them. Starlight wasted no time filling the experienced mare in on their dilemma. Well, at least her dilemma since Trixie was still acting very carefree and stuffing her face with cinnamon nuts. In addition, all the stress and bottled up anger was starting to takes its toll on Starlight's overall appearance.

"Nope, I ain't seen it," Granny Smith replied.

"Are you sure?" Starlight asked worriedly, "It's really, really important that we find it. And it might be here because somepony..." More red magic erupted from her horn, and eventually went into her bottle, as she glared at Trixie, "...was craving apples." Trixie just munched away, not even paying attention to how irritated Starlight was getting.

"I'm still craving them," said Trixie, "They'd go so well with cinnamon nuts!" Trixie then let Granny Smith get a sniff of their nuts.

"Oh, them nuts sure do smell good! Heh-heh," Granny Smith remarked. Starlight then sternly used her magic to toss the nuts away as Trixie raised a hoof as if she cry out "come back" to the now discarded bag of nuts.

"Granny Smith, please," Starlight pleaded, "The table?"

"Well, my eyes ain't what they used to be," said Granny Smith, "but I know for sure if a big ol' table done appeared out of thin air." Starlight just sighed as she and Trixie turned to leave.

"See y'all later," said Granny Smith before adding to Trixie specifically, "and I hope you're being nice to my grandcolt now, ya hear!"

"Of course I am! We settled things!" Trixie protested before saying with a pouty face, "I've been a good girl!" Starlight snorted.

"Yeah, you've been a real angel today," Starlight muttered through her teeth.

Back in town, the teacup poodle Trixie had made appear was still yapping and running about. The teacup poodle had disappeared just as Trixie and Starlight came into view. Trixie was just enjoying her time in town while poor Starlight was looking very exhausted and moody to the point all the curl in her mane, bangs, and tail were now limp and unraveled.

"Darn, I could've sworn it'd be at the ice cream parlor," Trixie told Starlight in a tone that was full of energy, "because it was warm in the castle and I thought I wanted ice cream, and-Ooh! Maybe we should check out the Crystal Empire, 'cause Twilight and Mario's castle is made out of crystals, so I totally had crystals on my mind." More red magic came out of Starlight's horn, which was immediately put into the bottle.

"Okay, we better start moving if we want to make it to the Crystal Empire," said Starlight in a tone that had no energy in it whatsoever. Trixie took notice as Starlight walked away from her.

"Are you okay, Starlight?" Trixie asked with concern, "Because you seem a little, uh, what's the word..."ich-bh-ba". Starlight just groaned and stuffed some more magic into her bottle. However, unlike before, Trixie saw what the lilac unicorn was doing.

"Nope, I am great," Starlight fibbed, though the tiredness in her tone said otherwise.

"Did your saddle bag just glow?" Trixie asked.

"No," said Starlight in a quick but still weak tone.

"Gimme!" Trixie asked as she tried to take Starlight's saddlebags off her back with her magic.

"No!" Starlight protested weakly.

"Give it here!" Trixie snapped.

"Don't!" Starlight retorted.

"What's in this?" Trixie asked but didn't get an answer as the two girls fought and played tug of war with the saddle bags. In the foreground, Bulk Biceps was advertising his nut cart.

"Cinnamon nuts!" Bulk Biceps shouted. It was then Granny Smith and Clarity cut were approaching the cart.

"Ooh, I have had a hankerin' for these all day!" Granny Smith said excitedly.

"Uh, me, too!" Clarity Cut added, "Even since that Trixie came by with 'em." Back with Starlight and Trixie, the two mares were now straining as the tug of war over Starlight's saddle bags continued. Suddenly, the saddle bag recoiled off of Starlight's back and flew to the left while Trixie was sent flying to the right. Time slowed down as the bottle containing the red magic flew into the air and then smashed open in front of Bulk Biceps, Granny Smith, and Clarity Cut, exposing them to Starlight's red magic. Starlight cringed fearfully. The magic immediately infected the three ponies, turning their eyes red and making them snarl angrily as they marched over to Trixie. Trixie was still dazed and had barely recovered when she saw Bulk Biceps, Granny Smith, and Clarity Cut glaring at her furiously.

"Um, why are they looking at me like that...?" Trixie asked nervously. It wasn't long before Granny Smith cupped her fore-hooves together aggressively as she walked up to Trixie.

"You ruined my teacakes!" Granny Smith snapped.

"What?!" Trixie asked in shock and looking rather anxious as she backed away into Clarity Cut.

"You just had to give Twilight those smelly pretzels!" Clarity Cut yelled.

"Were they your pretzels?" Trixie asked confused, "I don't understand."

"You don't pay attention when I'm trying to teach you!" Bulk yelled furiously.

"Starlight, can you help me please?!" Trixie cried out as she ran underneath Bulk Biceps to escape the enraged muscular stallion.

Back in the escape room, something had caught Applejack's eye.

"Uh, Twilight, can you help me, please?!" Applejack asked as she pointed to some suspicious looking set of bricks on the wall. Twilight then used her magic to remove the said bricks. Behind them was a picture of four shapes, a green triangle, yellow square, pink circle, and blue star. Rainbow hovered over to examine it.

"I've seen those symbols! Over here!" said Rainbow as she led the group to a circle that was cut into colored wedges that had shapes on it.

"I call the blue star!" said Mario as he placed his fore-hoof on the colored wedge.

"You can do it!" Pinkie cheered as she put her fore-hoof on the pink heart. Twilight and Rainbow placed their hooves on the other two shapes. This made the wedges light up. A panel on the floor opened up to reveal a golden key.

"Almost there," said Rarity.

"Yeah," Diamond Tiara added, "The end if near once you find the golden key!"

"I've got the key!" said Fluttershy as she took the said object with her mouth and placed it into the key hole of the door.

"Great job, honey," said Shenran as the two Pegasus shared a loving nuzzle.

"This is it!" said Twilight, "I'm so impressed."

"I'm not," Rainbow bragged, "I knew we were the best." The others smiled, except for Diamond Tiara who looked rather uneasy.

"What's wrong, Di?" Twilight asked.

"I still feel like I don't belong in that sentence," Diamond Tiara admitted sheepishly.

"Are you kidding me?" said Rainbow, "You're not just an egghead, but your super agile too. I thought only Mario could wall jump like that and do platforming. You made it look easy. That, in my book, is awesome." Diamond Tiara giggled.

"Thanks, Dashie," Diamond Tiara replied as the two shared a high hoof.

"So now more of this, "I don't belong" nonsense," said Rainbow, "You're one of us now. Got it?" Diamond Tiara nodded as Mario smiled while standing behind her.

Back in Ponyville, Trixie was still in hot water...or was it boiling water...

"You're the worst!" Granny Smith yelled.

"That seems harsh," said Trixie in shock, "and I said I settled things with Mario! Honest! I like him!" Granny Smith only replied by trying to swipe at Trixie, but the cerulean unicorn ducked at the last minute.

"Whoa! Starlight!" Trixie yelped and screamed as she ran for her life, "I don't know what's happening! Starlight, help!" Poor Starlight just held her head low, feeling too drained to do anything. She couldn't even light up her horn without it fizzing out.

"I'm glad Twilight and Mario weren't here to see this," Starlight remarked wearily.

Back at the locked room...

"I wish Starlight was here to see how strong friendships can be when we trust in each other and work together," Twilight told the rest of the group as Diamond Tiara stood next to her and removed her glasses, "You've all taught me so much." The rest of the Mane eight gathered around.

Just like Starlight predicted, they were about to sing a song!

[Twilight - As she began to sing, the room went dark. Then one by one, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Shenran, Mario, Applejack, Rarity, Diamond Tiara, and Pinkie each shined a spotlight on Twilight from various directions. Then the inside of Twilight's head was shown, revealing a large question mark that later turned into a thought cloud of all her friends and family hugging her.]

Friendship used to make me so queasy, queasy
But you made it all so easy, easy
Now I don't have to say what I'm thinking
You already know without even blinking

[Applejack - She pulled wagon filled with apples and the eight other ponies inisde. Apples also rained from the sky above.]

You guys are the apples of my eye

[Rainbow - She flew across the sky at high speed, leaving a huge rainbow colored trail behind her and then a checkered flag appeared at the very end.]

The race that doesn't end in a tie

[Pinkie Pie - She bopped in place as he held a funnel cake with lots of whipped cream and a cherry on top.]

You are the funnel cake of my fair

[Fluttershy - She was picked up by a bear, who cuddled her happily.]

The warm hug of a fuzzy bear

[Mane Eight and Diamond Tiara - the nine ponies walked across a curved surface, except for Rainbow Dash who hovered above them. As they walk to the right, the seasons changed from spring, summer (which Rainbow, Mario, and Diamond Tiara are wearing sunglasses, Rarity wore a sun hat, and Pinkie had an inner tube), fall, (which only Rarity is wearing a scarf), and winter, (which everypony except for Fluttershy is wearing a scarf. Shenran, Mario, and Rainbow are wearing knit caps.).]

Best friends (best friends) until the end of time (of time)

[Mane eight and Diamond Tiara - Then they are all seen picking a partner to lean their back against one another. Mario was against Shenran, Twilight against Fluttershy, Rarity against Applejack, Pinkie against Rainbow, and Diamond Tiara was set up front leaning against both Pinkie and Rainbow.]

We'll have each other's back (backs...backs)

[Mane eight and Diamond Tiara - All nine ponies walked toward the foreground with their eyes closed, starting in the center and then walking off in alternating directions. Diamond Tiara to the right, Mario to the left, Shenran to the right, Fluttershy to the left, Pinkie to the right, Rarity to the left, Applejack to the right, Rainbow to the left, and finally Twilight to the right.]

And let our true selves shine (selves shine)
And that's because...

[Mane Eight and Diamond Tiara - The screen showed Twilight and Rainbow in their own colored squares, then Fluttershy and Rarity appeared to make the screen a two by two grid. Then Pinkie, who was upside down, and Applejack appeared to make it a two by three grid. Then Mario, Shenran and Diamond Tiara appeared to make the screen a three by three grid of singing ponies on screen.]

...everything we need is all right here

[Mane Eight and Diamond Tiara - The group created a nine pony pyramid. The bottom row was Mario, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Shenran. The second row up was Rarity and Applejack. Third row was Diamond Tiara and Fluttershy, who connected fore-hoofs since they were leaning toward each other. The top was Twilight, who stood on Diamond Tiara and Fluttershy's fore-legs on her hind legs and wings open.]

When we're with our team

"Take it away, honey!" Twilight called out, as she and the others were bopping to the music and standing around him.

"Um...okay...here I go!" said Mario, hesitantly at first but then found his confidence.

[Mario - Mario was seen watching the group chatting close by and feeling very nervous. Then he walked up the group as they all gave him warm smiles, making him smile back. Each pony was then seen standing behind Mario as began to glow. The others became clouds while he turned into the sun. Then the view returned to the ground where Mario held a fore-legs Twilight and Diamond Tiara as he sang. Then the others gathered around him for a group hug.]

I used find making friends scary, scary
But I tried, finding you make me happy
Each one of you helps me to shine so brightly
I love you with a bond that's strong and mighty

[Shenran - Shenran held a very tall ice cream cone that had scoops of ice cream that had the faces and colors of each pony.]

You are the scoops of my ice cream cone

[Diamond Tiara - She was seen walking down a forest path and looked up to see stars with her friends', and parents', faces on them. Those stars were shaped into an arrow to point her the way out of the forest and back to the castle.]

The twinkling stars that guide my way home

[Mario - Mario then put a fore-hoof to his heart, his body when turned into a shadow while a heart silhouette zoomed to show all nine ponies looking at a map. Mario then pointed for them to march onward as they all ran off together toward the right with excited smiles on their faces.]

You all have a place inside my heart
A new journey we'll all take part

Best friends (best friends) until the end of time (of time)

We'll have each other's backs (backs...backs)

And let our true selves shine (selves shine)
And that's because...

...everything we need is all right here

When we're with our team

Back in Ponyville...

"Starlight!" Trixie yelled as she ran past the exhausted lilac unicorn and right up a tree to escape the three enraged ponies chased after her, "A spark of magic could be very helpful right about now!" Trixie then covered her eyes as she peeked out of the tree. Starlight tried to light up her horn, but she was too drained.

"I...can't...!" Starlight said tiredly with a grunt.

Back in the locked room as the song continued...

[Twilight - The nine ponies all walked along a large wide rainbow with each walking on a specific color. Shenran was red, Fluttershy was dark orange, Applejack was light orange, Twilight was yellow, Pinkie was green, Rarity was blue, Mario was indigo, Diamond Tiara was violet, and Rainbow was purple.]

I simply can't imagine there'd be a day
Where I wouldn't want to be walking your way

[Twilight - a quill across the screen to show Twilight looking at a checklist. The checklist was then shown to have pictures of the others as she put check marks in the box next to each picture. Twilight then unlocked and opened a door . There were the other eight ponies behind it.]

Whatever new problems there may be, may be
Our friendship is always the door with the key

[Rarity - she walked in place on top of a diamond while the other eight ponies were seen in eight other gems. Rainbow looked annoyed being seen in a gem but the others all smiled.]

You are the jewels in my friendship crown

[Twilight - She then fired a magic blast that exploded in the sky like a firework.]

The sparks that made my world go 'round

[Mane Eight and Diamond Tiara - All nine ponies appeared as firework images in the sky. Then they were all seen riding a boat with Pinkie holding a telescope and Rainbow and Shenran were scouting from the mast above.]

We bring the best out, that's our goal
There's no telling how far we'll go

Best friends (best friends) until the end of time (of time)

We'll have each other's backs (backs...backs)

And let our true selves shine (selves shine)
And that's because...

...everything we need is all right here

When we're with our team

As the nine ponies were posed in the pyramid, the background returned to normal and Ginger Locks appeared from a hidden room in the wall behind them.

"That was lovely," said Ginger Locks, "But, um, you know the game isn't over until you turn the key?"

"Gah!" Rainbow yelped as she dashed out of the bottom of the pyramid, making the entire thing collapse. She then turned the key and unlocked the door.

"Did we do it?" Rainbow asked Ginger Locks. The stallion looked at a clock.

"So close," said Ginger Locks, "You missed the griffon record by two seconds. Probably shouldn't have sung that song."

"Aw, nuts!" Rainbow grumbled in frustration, but then noticed that all but Shenran had fallen on top of Mario.

"Oh for pony's sake!" Mario complained, "Some of you could've fallen on Shenran you know!"

"But we're so used to falling on top of you!" Fluttershy teased. The other girls giggled in agreement as Mario growled inwardly.

"Wait for it..." Applejack snickered as Mario huffed loudly.

"I'm always the fall guy," Mario remarked annoyingly as the others laughed.

"Yeah, laugh it up," Rainbow snorted, "we just lost the record because of that song!"

"Nevermind, Dashie," said Diamond Tiara as the other girls got off of Mario and Twilight helped Mario to his hooves, "Beating that record would have been nice and all, but the important thing is that we all got to be together and have fun!"

"That's right, darling," said Rarity in agreement.

"Especially when we get to turn Mario into a landing pad," Shenran teased.

"Oh...bleh!" Mario remarked indignantly as everypony else laughed. Rainbow just groaned and rolled her eyes.

Back in Ponyville...

"GRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Bulk Biceps screamed in rage as he lifted his nut cart and chucked it right at Trixie!

"NUTS!" Trixie screamed and ran...in the same direction the cart was flying in. She had barely gotten behind a house in the background when...

SMASH!

A shower of nuts fell from the sky as the cart crashed right on top of Trixie. The cerulean unicorn wobbled back into view woozily. She barely recovered when Bulk Biceps came up to her.

"You just do whatever you want to do!" Bulk Biceps yelled.

"Starlight!" Trixie screamed and ran away by ducking under Bulk Biceps, but she skidded to a stop when she saw Granny Smith was in her way.

"And you don't always...(huff)...have to bring up my dark past!" Granny Smith yelled with a definitive huff.

"I didn't know you had one, Granny Smith!" Trixie replied nervously. Granny Smith grunted and slammed her bit pouch onto the ground in front of her. It was then an object boomeranged over Trixie's head. It was the visor that belonged to Clarity Cut. She put her visor back on her head once it returned to her.

"Oh! I just can't believe you sometimes! You make me so mad!" Clarity Cut snapped.

"I barely even know you!" Trixie protested as the three angry ponies surrounded her again, "I don't understand why you're all so mad at me!" Trixie cringed as the three ponies closed their distance from her. Starlight then found the strength to put an end to this once and for all.

"They're not," said Starlight in a very weak tone, "I am." With all her strength, Starlight used her horn to remove the red magic from the three ponies' eyes. She gathered all the red magic back into a very large red cloud. This also allowed Starlight to regain her strength as her mane, bangs, and tail got their curls back. Starlight sighed before finally finding her voice again.

"I'm really...mad at you," Starlight said in a soft tone to Trixie, but it got stronger and louder as she continued to speak, "You lost Twilight and Mario's map table. You make jokes like it's no big deal. It's like you don't even care you could get me in alot of trouble. If we can't find that table, Twilight and Mario are never going to trust me again, and the worst part is you didn't even say you were sorry!" Trixie just listened worriedly to Starlight's rant, but her eyes kept shifting from the lilac unicorn to the raging red magic cloud. She then cringed when Starlight got into her face with a face filled with rage.

"I...I-I'm sorry," Trixie stuttered, "I had no idea you felt that way."

"Yeah! I do!" Starlight snapped angrily but then took a long sigh, which in turn made the red cloud disappear permanently. She then continued speaking calmly, "But to be fair, I don't know how you could've known. I did a spell and bottled up my anger, but when the bottle broke, it infected these three. I'm really sorry. I used magic so I wouldn't use magic. I should have guessed that would backfire." Clarity Cut, Bulk Biceps, and Granny Smith just listened quietly behind Trixie.

"Aw, that's all right," said Clarity Cut, "it was a slow day."

"Yeah, I was gonna get my dentures cleaned before y'all showed up," Granny Smith added, showing her false teeth to prove her point.

"Aaaah!" Bulk Biceps shrieked, "My nut cart!" Bulk Biceps returned with the broken remains of the cart he had tossed at Trixie. Starlight smiled and easily used her magic to repair the cart, better than new.

"Yay! My nut cart!" Bulk Biceps said happily.

"Uh, hang on," said Clarity Cut, "Don't you work at the spa?" Bulk Biceps gasped.

"I'm late for my other job!" Bulk Biceps remarked and then saw everypony else was starting at him, "What? I wear many hats." He then pushed his cart away to the right while Granny Smith and Clarity Cut walked off to the left.

"Not gonna lie," Trixie said to Starlight, "Hearing you and those random ponies say all those terrible things about me wasn't easy. But I needed to hear it. Why didn't you just tell me how you felt?"

"I didn't want to lose you as a friend," Starlight admitted honestly.

"Pfft! Come on!" said Trixie, "It'd take a lot more than that to lose me. Remember what I told you when you confessed to Mario and the others about being afraid that we're going to abandon you. Never gonna happen! Our friendship is stronger than a few angry words."

"And a magical temper tantrum?" Starlight added sheepishly.

"Listen, I'd take that over the boring pony you were becoming any day," Trixie continued as she put a foreleg on Starlight's shoulder, "The Starlight I love is passionate, lively, and yeah, sometimes angry. Those are my favorite parts of you. That and the fact that you forgive me every time." Starlight gave Trixie a teary smile as she quickly wiped her eyes.

"I'll forgive you if you forgive me," said Starlight with giggle.

"Deal," said Trixie, giving her best friend a hug, then she gasped, "I remembered what I was thinking about!" Starlight looked a little puzzled until Trixie guided her to the Ponyville Spa. There inside the main lobby...was the table they were looking for! And Bulk Biceps was busy messaging the back of a customer on the top of it.

"You're kidding me," said Starlight in shock and surprise.

"There's more to it than that," said Trixie, "I was thinking about how glad I am to have met you, and I remembered our first meeting - here at the Ponyville Spa. And now I just have to teleport it back!" Trixie lit up her horn and Starlight cringed fearfully.

"No-no-no-no-no-no-no!" Starlight cried out as she tackled Trixie to the floor to stop her from trying to teleport the map back. Bulk Biceps saw everything, but just shrugged and got back to work.

Back at the castle, Starlight and Trixie had finally managed to get the map out of the Ponyville spa. Well, Starlight used her magic to carry it back to the castle. For the moment, they were trying to set it precisely back into place in the middle of the throne chairs with Spike's help.

"A little to the left," Spike said as Starlight hovered it in the air to set it back down, "Oh, now rotate it just a hair..." Spike didn't have much time for adjustments when the doors to the throne room opened and the Mane eight and Diamond Tiara walked inside.

"Hey, girls! How'd it go?" Twilight asked. Spike cringed. Trixie and Starlight did the same as the latter let go of the table so it made a loud thud upon landing.

"Nothing!" said Starlight and Trixie quickly. Twilight and Diamond Tiara gave them both funny looks. Mario raised an eyebrow at them.

"O...kay..." said Diamond Tiara slowly.

"...What?" Twilight asked slowly. Starlight and Trixie smiled sheepishly.

"What's going on?" Mario asked in a slow but suspicious tone.

"Let's just say," Starlight explained, "I learned a friendship lesson while you were gone." Twilight got teary eyed.

"You've barely graduated, and you're already taking initiative!" Twilight said happily, "Oh...so proud."

"Oh, honey," said Mario as Diamond Tiara giggled.

"We learned about team building and problem solving," Fluttershy told Starlight and Trixie.

"And when not to sing songs!" Pinkie added.

"And that there's more to puzzles than trying to finish them as fast as possible," Diamond Tiara added as the rest of the Mane eight all looked at Rainbow. Rainbow's eyes shifted at all the smiling faces and snorted.

"Ugh...yeah...we did," said Rainbow reluctantly.

"We certainly had a good time," said Rarity, "but I really was looking forward to a spa day, and the Ponyville spa is still open. Anyone?"

"Sounds good to me!" said Twilight.

"I have a coupon!" said Rainbow as the rest of the Mane Eight gave general agreements to the idea. Spike also walked up to them to say he wanted to join them.

"Oh, Mom!" said Diamond Tiara once the chatter settled down, "We can finally do the mother-daughter package!"

"Oooh! I forgot they had that," said Twilight as she nuzzled her daughter happily, "we can certainly do that package together."

"Alright!" said Diamond Tiara and clapped her fore-hooves excitedly. Starlight and Trixie smiled and looked at each other.

"We'll meet you there!" said Trixie as they both gave the group sheepish smiles. Once they others had walked out of the room, Trixie turned to Starlight.

"Quick! Do you have a spell that will make the spa ponies forget that the map was there?" Trixie asked frantically.

"Haven't you learned anything about using magic to solve your problems?" Starlight asked skeptically.

"No," Trixie replied with a smug smile, "If we learned that lesson, how will we ever have fun?" Starlight and Trixie just giggled to each other. Just then Mario peeked into the room.

"By the way," said Mario casually, "Was it hard to getting the map out of the Ponyville spa?"

"Nah, it was actually very...OOP!" Trixie then covered her mouth with both her fore-legs and Starlight cringed. Mario just smirked and then exited the room, saying nothing more as he closed the doors to the room. By that point, Trixie was just staring into space with her jaw hanging open.

"How?! Who? Where?! Why? What?!" Trixie stuttered, "How'd he do that?!" Starlight just groaned.

"Let's just say you and me are gonna be confessing everything to him before the spa treatments are over," Starlight wearily. Trixie groaned.

"Maybe we can just say we're not up for it," said Trixie quickly, "Then make a break for it afterward!"

"TRIXIE! STARLIGHT! WE'RE WAITING!" Mario called out in a sing-sang tone. Starlight groaned.

"Take my advice for once Trix," said Starlight, "There's no escaping Mario." Starlight then headed out to catch up with the others. Trixie whimpered before following the lilac unicorn.

They knew this was going to a loooooooooong night.

Trixie and Starlight both spent their time at the spa waiting anxiously for Mario to speak to them. When he finally did speak to them, he was actually rather calm as Starlight and Trixie told him what had happened during the day. Once they had finished, Starlight and Trixie both were expecting some sort of lecture. Mario didn't give a lecture, but just thanked them for being honest and went back to relaxing with Twilight and their daughter. Trixie felt relieved that Mario hadn't been upset, but Starlight still seemed rather troubled.

Late that night, Starlight was heading toward Mario and Twilight's bedroom. While she knew things were okay between her and Mario, something else was still troubling her. She knocked on the bedroom door, waiting for an answer.

"Come on!" said Twilight in a very cheery voice. Starlight raised an eyebrow as she opened the door, only to get a pillow directly to her face.

"Hey!" Starlight exclaimed as she used her magic to pick up the tossed pillow.

"Oops, sorry," Twilight said with a giggle, "We were having a pillow fight. Ooph!" Twilight was then pelted in the face by a flying pillow.

"Gotcha!" said Mario and blew a raspberry at her.

"You little brat!" said Twilight, "Di, come on, two against one!"

"Yeah!" Diamond Tiara shouted as she grabbed her own pillow.

"Not again!" Mario cried out as the two girls chased him around the room. Starlight just smiled and rolled her eyes.

"I can see your busy," said Starlight, "I'll just come back later..."

"Hold up, Starlight," said Mario as he came to a stop and Twilight and Diamond Tiara both crashed into him, "is something wrong?"

"Um, well, it's about today and..." Starlight said slowly.

"Starlight, it's fine," said Mario, "The table is where it belongs and aside from some rampant anger magic, nothing was damaged that you couldn't repair. So just let it go."

"It's not about the table," said Starlight, "It's about me...bottling up my anger." Mario then looked at her with concern.

"I see," said Mario, "Did you mind if Twilight and Di are here or did you want to talk one-on-one?"

"It's not that I don't want Twilight or Di's help," said Starlight, "But...Spike told me you would understand my concerns since we're both...quick-tempered?" Mario hummed as he looked at his wife and daughter.

"Can you girls handle the pillow fight on your own for a bit?" Mario asked. Twilight and Diamond Tiara nodded as Mario and Starlight headed into the former's special office. They both took a seat on the sofa. Starlight then took a deep breath before speaking.

"Well, Mario, I'm been a little shaken up over what happened with my anger," said Starlight, "I certainly learned that you shouldn't bottle up your anger and to just be honest when your friends upset you. But...seeing all that red magic storming over my horn was really scary. That's never happened before. I figured it was because I didn't have anything to channel my magical energy."

"And that is your mistake, Starlight," said Mario, "that red storm cloud above your head wasn't because you weren't channeling your magic. Your anger was fueling your magic and all that bottled up emotions was causing your magic to boil over and become unstable."

"I see..." said Starlight, "Well, I've always relied on my emotions for my magical power. The stronger emotions, the stronger the power."

"And that's why your magic was spewing that red storm cloud," said Mario, "Because your magic is tied to your emotions, your magic reflects your inner most feelings. Since you were trying to stuff up your anger with Trixie, your magic was reacting to your anger. It's not a good idea to rely on your emotions for magical strength. While it can provide a boost in power, that power can be very difficult to control. I'm sure you saw firsthand how overpowering that magic can be when it infected Granny Smith and the others."

"Yeah," said Starlight, "you're right. And the more I tried to contain it, the weaker I became and soon I felt like I couldn't even stand up. I had no more energy."

"Stuffed up anger can do that to you," said Mario, "I would know. I don't know if Spike told you, but I once tried to use the same spell to bottle up my anger."

"Really?" said Starlight, "Spike...didn't bother telling me you tried that. I'm guessing it backfired on you too?"

"Try destroying half of Canterlot Library from a magical temper tantrum and then passing out for two days," said Mario.

"Did Twilight break the bottle?" Starlight asked.

"Actually, I stuffed so much anger into it, the bottle exploded," Mario replied. Starlight winced.

"So...I guess I'm not the only one who was afraid of losing my friend if I had told them I was angry," Starlight replied, "So we end up stuffing down the anger to the point that it ended up only making things much worse."

"That would be true," said Mario, "You think you're trying to be the bigger pony by not speaking up, but in the end, you're only hurting yourself and then you end up hurting others when the anger takes over." Starlight began to cry.

"I just didn't want Trixie thinking of me as some sort of hot-head," Starlight sobbed, "or that I have anger issues and that would be enough for her not want to be my friend anymore. I hate to admit it, but she got me so mad that I wanted to just grab her by the neck and blast her to the moon!" Starlight bit her lip and then cried harder as Mario held her close.

"Easy there, Starlight," said Mario gently, "You're not a bad pony for feeling like that. You're not the only pony who's felt that way. In fact, Starlight, would you trust me to bring one more pony to talk with you? She actually would understand your situation just as much as I would." Starlight whimpered, but knew Mario was only thinking what was best for her.

"Umm...well...okay..." Starlight said timidly and sniffled as she continued to cry. Mario smiled and teleported away. By the time Starlight had managed to get her tears to stop, Mario had been gone for about two minutes when he reappeared with a rather dizzy yellow Pegasus.

"Fluttershy?!" Starlight exclaimed as the yellow Pegasus recovered.

"This doofus told me you needed help," said Fluttershy, earning a glare from Mario, "What's up?" Starlight quickly summarized what happened that day and how she had been feeling. Starlight couldn't help but start crying again as Fluttershy gave her a gentle smile.

"Oh, Starlight," said Fluttershy, "I know exactly how you feel. There was a time when I was so shy that I would let anypony talk and treat me however they pleased. I figured that I would try to keep peace and just show kindness to others even when they were mean or rude to me, but deep down I stuffing down all my hurt feelings. Then when this minotaur, Iron Will, came to teach ponies how to be assertive by being angry. I began channeling my anger to help me stand up for myself. Because of that, I ended up lashing out at my closest friends when all that anger I had been stuffing down boiled over."

"Was it that bad?" Starlight asked. Fluttershy gave her a deadpan look.

"I told Mario that Twilight would never love him," Fluttershy said bluntly, "and called him worthless."

"Ouch," said Starlight.

"No kidding," said Mario, "but that point is that allowing your anger to channel your actions can be very dangerous, especially if you are using your emotions to fuel your magical power."

"Well, how can I channel my magical power," said Starlight, "if it's not by emotions, how do you channel your magical power?"

"Rather than relying raw emotion," said Fluttershy, "I found my inner strength by finding a drive."

"A drive?" Starlight asked.

"A drive is like a goal or a purpose," Mario explained, "it's something that motivates you to wanna maximize your potential. Like Fluttershy's drive is to always be there for her friends, even if she's afraid."

"That's right," said Fluttershy, "And Mario's drive is to be a complete dork." Mario glared as Fluttershy just smirked at him. Starlight couldn't resist a giggle.

"My drive," said Mario, sticking his tongue out at Fluttershy before continue to speak, "is that I love my friends and I'll do anything to be there for them. It doesn't matter how hopeless or difficult the challenge might be. I'll keep trying to make sure everything is okay. That is what fuels my magical power."

"If you find a similar drive, you can use that to channel your magic," said Fluttershy, "and because that drive is pure of heart and intent, your magic will never overpower you. You'll always have full control."

"And greater control means you'll find your magic is not only stronger, but more precise," said Mario as Fluttershy tossed a bit into the air. Mario smirked and fired a fast magic blast, which struck the very dead center of the bit, leaving a hole in the center. Starlight was rather impressed at Mario's accuracy.

"So...if I focus on doing what is right and being there for others, I can channel my magical strength just like you?" Starlight asked.

"Correct," said Fluttershy, "You're might feel a little weaker at first, but in time you'll find your magic to become even stronger."

"Just always remember," said Mario, "You don't need to be afraid to tell us when you're feeling stressed or frustrated. Take it from somepony who tried to keep to himself. I hurt my friends because it, when my intent was to spare them that grief. Don't be afraid to come to us about your problems, Starlight. We could have helped you with your anger before you felt like bottling it all up was your only solution. Always remember that we're here for you."

"And we love you, too," said Fluttershy.

"Yes, we do love you, Starlight," said Mario, "No amount of anger is going to change that with any of us. And I can assure you Twilight, Diamond Tiara, Trixie, and the rest of our group will tell you the same thing." Starlight shed more tears before she rushed up to Fluttershy and Mario to give them both a hug.

"So...can we start with that magic training tomorrow?" Starlight asked Mario.

"Sure thing," said Mario, "but no rush though. I think you deserve to sleep in after what you've been through."

"Thanks," said Starlight, "Good night you two." With that, Starlight left the room as Fluttershy and Mario smiled at each other.

"Thanks for the last minute help, Flutters," said Mario, "I didn't mean to interrupt your time with Shenran, but...I just knew you could help Starlight."

"Happy to help, big brother," said Fluttershy, "But, if you don't mind, I'd rather fly my way home."

"Need an escort?" Mario asked, "I know you still get a little uneasy flying in the dark."

"I'll manage," said Fluttershy, "but thanks for thinking of me. Good night, big brother."

"Good night, Fluttershy," said Mario as the yellow Pegasus exited out of the room's window and headed straight for her cottage. Mario watched her disappear from the window and then closed it to head back to the bedroom. Little did he know, that a certain cerulean unicorn was watching him from outside the window of her wagon. She had known Starlight and Mario were going to talk and could tell by Mario's smile that he was able to help her best friend.

"He really does care about his friends," said Trixie quietly, "and it would help if Starlight found another way to channel her magic too." Trixie pondered to herself.

"Maybe he can help me be a better friend," said Trixie, "I don't I mind admitting my mistakes to him. In fact..."

"...I wonder if he can help me with my past..."

That was the last thing on Trixie's mind before she went to bed.

Will Trixie discuss her past with Mario?

Only time will tell...

As much as the original story made it seem like Starlight and Trixie got away with what happened, I thought it would be more fun if Mario tricked Trixie into confessing about what had happened to the table. One could speculate how he found out, but in the end, those two had alot to answer for during that spa session. Plus with Mario and Fluttershy dealing with bottled up anger in the past. It just felt right for them to help Starlight out in the alternate ending.

I hope you enjoyed the new puzzles I added for Mario, Shenran, and Diamond Tiara when the group was in the locked room. The barrel slots shouldn't be considered as gambling because nothing was being bet, it was just treated as a match three mini-game. And any long time Donkey Kong Country fan will remember the ever annoying levels where you had to shoot from one barrel to the next. With Diamond Tiara being as agile as Mario now, wall jumping for eight red coins was made just for her.

And, I'll say it again, I am not very good with writing music lyrics. This particular song was very difficult to add parts for Mario, Shenran, and Diamond Tiara. I did my best to be as musically on beat as possible. Hope you enjoy.

Next Time: Mario and Twilight babysit the Flurry! Will Mario's presence make babysitting easier...or more chaotic?

Peace Pony Fans!