Chapter 20: Every Little Thing She Does
One day, the sun was barely rising behind the castle of friendship, Twilight, Chase, and Starlight entered the library. All three ponies still looked rather sleepy. Starlight yawned, followed by Chase, and lastly Twilight.
"Why is it that every time I wake up early on purpose, I feel like most of me didn't even wake up even though I'm out of bed?" Chase asked groggily.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Starlight replied sleepily. Twilight then grabbed a list with her magic and then faced Starlight.
"I've prepared a full day of spells," Twilight explained to the lilac pony, "You've been doing great, but now it's time for a real challenge!"
"On a scale of one to ten, we're cranking things up to level nine," Chase added as he stood next to his wife, "Think you can handle it."
"Oh-ho-ho! It's on!" said Starlight with determination, "Where do we begin?"
"Teleportation," said Twilight with a smirk, "Multiple locations! Try to keep up!"
"And don't take too long," Chase added with his own smirk and then the alicorn couple teleported away.
Starlight then poofed. Twilight and Chase both appeared hovering outside the castle. Starlight then appeared nearby, using her floating magic to stay in the air.
Twilight and Chase then quickly teleported away. This time, they arrived in the middle of the Everfree forest. Starlight shortly appeared standing on a tree branch just a few feet away.
Then Chase and Twilight disappeared. Their next location was underwater. Starlight was so surprised as she appeared beside the two ponies that she quickly held her breath for air. Fortunately, Twilight and Chase's next location was above the water and in an area filled with tall rock columns. Chase and Twilight landed on one ledge while Starlight landed on the other.
Chase and Twilight disappeared once again. They're next stop was hanging upside down from a cave. Starlight appeared right behind the alicorn couple and also hanging upside down. Starlight then noticed the snoozing bats. Twilight and Chase noticed them as well and cringed before the three ponies disappeared.
(Scene changes)
Once the teleportation was done, Chase set up a table with various objects on it.
"Transfiguration!" said Twilight as she fired a magic blast at an apple, turning it into a nest full of eggs.
And a baby chick hatched from one of the eggs. Starlight then fired a magic blast at various objects at the table. She turned some books into a teacup, an ink bottle and quill into a top hat, a candlestick and holder into a carrot dog, another book into a watermelon, a scroll into a teapot, and then some other objects into a banana and a pair of dentures. Starlight's horn was red and smoking from usage and she blew on it to cool it down.
(Scene changes)
Next Chase held a training session. He stands in the center of the rug while Twilight and Starlight sit on the edges, facing away from him.
"The two greatest weapons at the ninjas' disposal are placement and surprise. Today, we perfect a move that utilizes both. Twilight! Invisible Flying Dragon!" Chase said as he charged at Twilight, but she leapt in the air and delivered a powerful kick before landing back on the ground.
Then Chase turned his attention to Starlight.
"Now you, Starlight!" Chase shouted as Starlight got up and performed the same move as Chase charged at her.
Once Starlight landed on the ground, she and Twilight bowed to Chase in respect with a smile as the alicorn stallion nodded proudly to them.
"Very good." Chase said with a proud smile.
(Scene changes)
"Shields!" Twilight called out as she fired a magic blast at Starlight.
Chase fired a blast at Starlight as well. Starlight made a Captain America, or Equestria in this universe, style shield to block the attacks. Starlight smirked deviously and then fired a magic blast at Chase. Chase flip jumped right at the oncoming black and made a whitish shield appear at just the right moment to block the attack. Chase smirked as he uncurled himself, standing on his hind legs to ready for another attack. Starlight then went for another magic blast at Twilight. Twilight used a traditional dome shield to block the attack.
"Honey, double team!" Twilight called out.
"On it!" Chase said as he and Twilight hovered into the air and, together, they fired two long steady magic blasts at Starlight.
Starlight jumped into the air and encased herself into a crystal shaped shield. The magic combined from both Chase and Twilight pushed Starlight's crystal shield across the floor.
Once Chase and Twilight had stopped firing their magic, Starlight smirked from inside her shield and made it explode, which blew away all the books off the library shelves and knocked away some of the tables.
"Heads up!" Chase shouted he and Twilight used bubble shields to protect themselves from the oncoming blast.
Once the blast had subsided, Starlight used her hover magic to land softly back on the ground. The library was a complete mess.
"Whoo! I am on fire!" said Starlight excitedly, "What's next?"
Twilight and Chase lowered their shields and examined the mess.
"Maybe there is such a thing as too much studying," said Twilight sheepishly.
It was then the hanging ladder on a shelf behind her fell over, making Twilight smile sheepishly. Chase just smirked.
"Told ya, honey." Chase said, making his wife blush with a nervous smile.
Starlight just giggled at the couple.
*Main theme*
"Maybe we should call it an early day," said Twilight as she looked at the mess again.
"Whoa, what happened here?" Said a familiar filly voice.
"They must've been practicing magic in here again," Said a familiar dragon voice.
"I guess they must've been teaching Starlight with magic again." A familiar mare's voice said.
Twilight and Chase looked back to see that Spike, Jade, Sunray, and Nyx were peeking inside of the library.
"Must have been some pretty powerful magic," said Sunray.
"You guys can come inside to watch if you want," said Twilight as Sunray, Jade, Spike, and Nyx entered the room and stood beside Twilight.
Nyx couldn't help giving her mother a loving nuzzle on her leg, which Twilight gave her daughter a hug in return. Starlight then cleared her throat to get their attention.
"As you know, speed spells like Accelero are not easy," Starlight explained, "and while Chase and his family can naturally run using their jiu jitsu skills, unicorns like me have speed spells to keep up with them. Not only that, but if done correctly, they allow you to be much more efficient with your day."
Starlight then glowed her horn and zoomed off at sonic speed. Within seconds, she cleaned up and put back all the books on the shelf...and in catalog order.
"Way to go, Starlight!" said Spike.
"That was so cool, Starlight," added Nyx.
"Yeah, pretty awesome." Jade added.
"Not bad." Sunray smirked.
Starlight chuckled.
"I'm not finished," said Starlight, feeling rather confident, "I've discovered a very old spell, Similo Duplexis. When combined with Accelero in just the right way," She made her horn glow and suddenly a perfect copy of herself appeared to the left.
"You can literally be in two places at once!" said the two Starlights together. Nyx, Sunray, Jade, Spike, and Twilight were stunned. Chase gave a long whistle. Starlight then made her copy disappear and sighed contently, "Now I'm finished."
"Looks like you must've mastered it in days. That's amazing." Chase said with an amazed look.
"Indeed," said Twilight as she walked up to Starlight, "I have to admit, your skills with magic really are nothing short of amazing. I'm very impressed." Starlight laughed.
"I've always been something of a natural," said Starlight smugly as she patted the edge of her mane.
"Let's not get carried away, sister," Sunray warned with a smirk.
Starlight just stuck her tongue out at him, but still chuckled to show she was only joking.
"However, it doesn't look like you've tackled any friendship lessons since you met Trixie," Twilight pointed out as she held a clipboard with her magic.
Starlight was stunned. Nyx, Sunray, Jade, and Chase were stunned as well.
"Are you sure?" Starlight asked as she looked at the clipboard, "I could've sworn there were a couple in there somewhere.
"I'm sure," said Twilight with a skeptical look on her face.
"Wait a minute, Twilight!" said Jade, "What about Thorax and Dojo? Starlight did remark that friendship lessons can happen anywhere. Wouldn't that count as a friendship lesson?"
"Yeah, yeah, Jade's right," said Starlight, "That was a friendship problem."
"Maybe so," said Twilight, "But those friendship problems were mostly solved by Jade, Sunray, Chase, Ember, and Spike. Especially when Dojo was under Zhao's spell. So in regards to Starlight, those don't count."
"Oh..." said Jade and Starlight together.
"I see..." said Starlight sheepishly, "Well, I'm really quite busy this week. So many commitments. I'll try and find some time in my-"
Starlight slowly backed up and tried to leave, but Twilight teleported in front of the lilac unicorn to stop her.
"No time like the present!" Twilight said as Spike appeared carrying a tall stack of books and Diamond Tiara stood nearby with her saddle bag, which had some parchments and pencils sticking out of it, "Spike, Nyx, Jade, Sunray, Chase, and I are headed to Canterlot. Princess Celestia wanted me to give her students a quick overview of the history of enchanted objects in Equestria. We'll be back after the presentation, which should be..."
"Twenty moons from now?" Spike remarked sarcastically.
"Tonight!" Twilight shot back as she, Chase, Sunray, Jade, and Nyx glared at the baby dragon.
"It's a quick presentation." Jade said with a smile.
"Sure, you keep telling yourself that..." Spike muttered to himself. Nyx heard but just rolled her eyes at the little dragon.
"You can tackle a friendship lesson today, and we can review your progress when I get back later this evening," said Twilight as she, Chase, Sunray, Jade, Nyx, and Spike walked past Starlight in for foreground.
"Of course!" said Starlight nervously, "No problem! Friendship lesson...On it..."
"Great! Can't wait!" said Twilight as she used her magic to give Spike a tall stack of note cards, "Now, Spike, help me color-code these cards according to theme, place, and object."
Spike just sighed annoyingly. Nyx watched as Starlight nervously walked out of the library. Chase noticed his daughter was watching the lilac unicorn make her exit. He had also seen how nervous Starlight looked and was rather worried about her.
(Scene changes)
Back in her bedroom, Starlight was just reclining on her bed as she used her magic to rotate some shaped blocks. Then there was a knock on the door, which startled Starlight and the blocks she was holding with her magic fell into her stomach and then onto the floor. She quickly sat up and rushed to her desk as Spike, Nyx, and Jade entered. They were both surprised to see Starlight looking rather busy.
"Huh? Huh! Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm," Starlight hummed pretending not to notice that she had guests while reading a book and some notes.
Spike looked rather stunned while Nyx and Jade each had an unamused look on their faces.
"Hey! Twilight, Chase, Jade, Sunray, Nyx, and I are about to head to Canterlot," Spike announced, "Just checking to see if you need anything before we left."
"Yeah, a snack, a hug, somepony to talk to about the fact that you seemed completely nervous about something but are hiding instead of talking about it," Nyx listed out, saying the final suggestion in one breath.
"Easy, sweetie." Jade said gently to her niece before she turned her attention to Starlight. "Starlight, what are you doing?"
"I...was...just trying to decide which friendship lesson I was going to tackle while you four were in Canterlot," said Starlight as she used her magic to pull out her lesson ideas, which were all crumpled up in her little waste basket, "Oh, yep, right, where I just let them a second ago."
"Right…" Jade said with a glare, not convinced.
"In the waste basket?" Nyx added in a deadpan tone, not believing that was an accident. Spike just blew the dust off of the notes and looked at them.
""Bake a cake with Pinkie Pie"," Spike read aloud, ""scrapbook with Applejack", "sew with Rarity"..." Starlight just groaned as Nyx and Jade looked at the lilac unicorn curiously.
""Help an animal with Fluttershy"," Spike continued and then looked at the last lesson with a puzzled look, ""chillax with Rainbow Dash?" What is chillaxing?"
"No idea," said Starlight as Jade groaned and face-hoof herself.
"It's just a slang term used when ponies relax or chill out together," said Jade, "It's just a way of saying you're gonna just take it easy and have some peace and quiet! It's a word the cool ponies say to make themselves sound cooler and such. And I just sounded like Twilight explaining this to you."
"You are kinda turning into her, Di," Spike remarked.
"She's my sister-in-law, Spike." Jade reminded the baby dragon.
"Good point," said Spike. Starlight then groaned again, reminding Spike, Jade, and Nyx why they were there.
"You know, uh, if you're nervous about your friendship lessons," said Spike gently, "It's totally okay to say so."
"Yeah, being nervous isn't anything to be ashamed of," said Nyx, "I get nervous during my friendship lessons too after all."
"It's nothing to be nervous if you are feeling this way, Starlight." Jade said gently.
"Nervous, me?" Starlight remarked and did a fake laugh as she walked up to the three friends, "Oh Spike! Oh Nyx! Oh Jade! You three really are hilarious, ha-ha. You think I'm nervous that I'm gonna fail something as simple as baking a cake?"
"Baking a cake?" Nyx asked, feeling very puzzled.
"Well, if you were, we'd be-" Spike tried to add, but was cut off.
"Silly!" said Starlight, getting into both of their faces, "Twilight just said how impressed she was I combined a speed spell and a duplication spell. That was a challenge. These? Pfft, hah! I could combine all five of these at the same time without breaking a sweat."
Starlight then walked away with a mischievous smirk on her face. Nyx, Jade, and Spike just looked stunned.
"Say what?" Jade remarked, feeling very confused.
"I think you're missing-" Spike tried to say.
"An opportunity to really impress Twilight, even Chase too?" Starlight finished for Spike and then gasped, "Great idea Spike, Jade, and Nyx! I'm gonna get right on that! Good talk."
Starlight then walked out of the room before either the filly, mare, or dragon could reply.
"Starlight is making no sense at all," said Nyx.
"Agreed." Jade said.
"And I thought Twilight was the master of the freak-out," said Spike.
"Should we tell Chase and Twilight about this?" Nyx asked the little dragon.
"Starlight hasn't done anything yet," Spike remarked, "She knows by now that she can go to Twilight or Chase about her nerves. I think all we can do for now is hope for the best." Jade sighed.
"I guess so," said Jade reluctantly, "But I do hope she doesn't do anything stupid."
Spike just sighed and nodded in agreement, but deep down, they knew there was going to be trouble while they were gone. Plus, Jade and Nyx secretly planned on telling Chase about Starlight's nerves later when she had the chance.
(Scene changes)
Once the five ponies and Spike had left for Canterlot, Starlight asked the rest of the girls, Sokka, and Clay to arrive at the castle. She wasted no time explaining her brilliant idea about her friendship lessons to the group.
"So, with your help," Starlight concluded to the group, "I figure these should be done in no time." The rest of the group didn't seem as confident about Starlight's idea.
"You really want to do all these friendship lessons at the same time?" Sokka asked.
"Are you sure this is what Twilight would want?" Applejack asked as well, "And did Chase recommend you do this? Seems like you might want to take your time with each of these."
"Yeah, you're gonna have to take some time to do this, Starlight. You can't always rush things." Clay added in agreement with his wife.
"But by working together as a team," Starlight replied, "we can get them done faster. And isn't teamwork a key factor in friendship?"
Starlight gave them all a rather persuasive smirk. Sokka quivered and then leaned into Fluttershy.
"I know Starlight is good now, but the way she's trying to get us to see things her way gives me goosebumps," Sokka whispered to his wife.
"You know what they say," Fluttershy replied in a quiet voice, "Old habits die hard." Sokka hummed and nodded in agreement.
"I...guess," said Applejack as she and Rarity shared worried looks with each other.
"Super!" said Starlight, "Pinkie Pie, since we're baking, you will be in the kitchen." Pinkie replied by gasping and inhaling excitedly.
"Rarity, Applejack, Clay, you three can set up in the library," Starlight told the three ponies.
"Oh, I don't know that a dusty old library has the proper lighting," said Rarity, "Perhaps we can stay out here in the foyer."
"I thought that Fluttershy, and I guess now Sokka too, and I could work with the animals right here in the foyer," Starlight suggested. Fluttershy had several animals with her and her husband beside her. Harry gave a weary growl to Sokka.
"Me too, Harry," Sokka told him quietly, "Me, too."
"Oh, um, whatever you think is best," Fluttershy replied her shy manner.
"Honey, if you think there's a better-mmph!" Sokka was cut off when Fluttershy put a fore-hoof to his mouth.
"Just be quiet and look cute, dear," said Fluttershy, "As I said before, Starlight, whatever you think is best."
"Great," said Starlight, "Now, Rainbow Dash-"
"It might depend on the animal," Fluttershy continued and interrupting the lilac unicorn and then headed over to an eagle with its wing in a sling, "For instance, this poor little eagle with a sprained wing might be better off up in one of the towers."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure," said Starlight quickly as well as dismissively.
"And these adorable little chipmunks might prefer a nook somewhere," said Fluttershy, "Maybe if you spend some time getting to know-"
"In a minute, Fluttershy," Starlight interrupted, but wasn't exactly listening at all. Sokka and Clay glared at the lilac unicorn, but Starlight paid no attention to them either.
"Uh, I don't know, if we can chillax properly in the castle," said Rainbow, "We need very specific conditions for optimal chillaxing." Sokka went to speak when Rianbow shot him a stern glare, "and the meditation room you made for Chase doesn't count!"
"I was gonna suggest the room where Chase installed the jacuzzi," Sokka said rather bitterly.
"Oooh! Chase's got one of those?" said Starlight with interest, "He never told me about it..."
"Nah!" said Rainbow dismissively, "Doesn't suit my awesome standards of chillaxing."
"Didn't know you had standards," Clay remarked bluntly.
"Grrr!" Rainbow growled.
"Enough!" Starlight snapped and then spoke to Rainbow in a calmer tone, "I just assumed chillaxing could happen anywhere."
"Heh. Shows what you know about chillaxing," Rainbow remaked in her over-confident tone, "Let me do some location scouting." Rainbow then zoomed off before Starlight could answer.
"Okay..." said Starlight slowly as she headed over to Applejack, "it seemed more efficient to start with the scrapbooking, so we can get it out of the-"
"Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh!" Pinkie interrupted as she bounced about, failing all four of her legs in the air, "Can we start with me? We're gonna need time for the cake to bake! After all..."
"And now it's time for silly songs with..." Sokka was interrupted when Pinkie got into his face.
"Sokka, let me just say this once," Pinkie said sternly, "Chase didn't really like my random songs. So please don't you start doing it because he will kill us! Okay?"
Sokka was taken aback by Pinkie's stern look and tone.
"Sorry," said Sokka simply before Pinkie's facial expression soften and she want to being cheerful again.
"It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake-" Pinkie sing-sang until Starlight shoved a fore-hoof to her mouth.
"Uh, we're on a schedule, no time for a song," said Starlight quickly, "We can start with baking, then-"
"But we can't design dresses after you've been baking with Pinkie," said Rarity and added in a hushed tone, "She can be a bit messy." Starlight then turned as Pinkie squirted a large amount of canned frosting into her mouth.
"Mmm!" Pinkie hummed with stuffed cheeks. Starlight and Rarity just stared until the former recomposed herself first.
"Fine," said Starlight, "We can start with the dresses, and then-"
"While y'all figure that out," said Applejack, cutting the unicorn off, "Clay and I are gonna start layin' out the pictures for scrapbookin'. We got a whole lot of time to cover."
"How much is a whole lot?" Starlight asked, feeling rather wearied. Applejack turned around to her cart, which had very tall stacks of books in it.
"We've got at least eighty moons worth of memories to go through," Applejack replied.
"Eighty moons?!" Starlight exclaimed as she zipped up beside her.
"Ugh," Rainbow groaned, "There is nowhere to chillax in this castle! We're gonna have to set up somewhere else."
"You are just way too picky!" Sokka retorted as she walked up to the two ponies. Soon he, along with Rainbow, Applejack, Clay, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were soon arguing all at once. Starlight quickly became overwhelmed.
"Could you all excuse me for...one...second?" Starlight asked timidly before she zoomed off as fast as her legs could take her.
"Wow," said Rainbow, "That pony really needs to chillax."
"Not really," said Sokka, "We're the ones who overwhelmed her." The others just shared sad looks of agreement with each other.
(Scene changes)
It wasn't long before Starlight entered the library and was hyperventilating. She quickly did some controlled breathing exercises to calm herself down.
"Okay, Starlight, You've got this," Starlight told herself, A handful of friendship lessons is nothing compared to the spells you've mastered." Starlight then laughed nervously before the grabbed a book from the shelf and started to file through it.
"Maybe if I cast a little spell to help things along..." Starlight pondered as she read the book, "Something simple and safe. Fiducia Compelus...That's not bad. They would barely notice it, but...is it enough? Oh..."
Starlight then grabbed another book and looked through it.
"Oh...Maybe Cogeria so they're more...open to suggestion," Starlight thought aloud, "Oh, or maybe Cogeria combined with Fiducia Compelus! Yes, that could work nicely! Oh, with a hint of Persuadere to be sure it sticks."
She then combined the three spells into a miniature orb.
"Everypony'll probably thank me for getting it all done so quickly," said Starlight to herself, "And Twilight and Chase will be thrilled I've completed so many lessons. Everypony wins!"
Starlight then launched the orb so it homed directly to the foyer where the seven ponies were located and the orb detonated, causing a bright light to erupt that was so large that it was seen from outside the library.
The a scream came from Clay and Sokka, but Starlight was so busy feeling proud of herself to notice.
"Congratulations, Starlight," the lilac unicorn bragged to herself, "You're a genius."
She then trotted out of the library and looked down at the group from above and gasped. The magic was not only surrounding the entire group. But they were now standing in a complete state of suspended animation.
"Maybe the congratulations were a bit premature..." Starlight said wearily before she made her way down. She then waved a fore-hoof across Pinkie's face, but there was no response from the pink pony.
"Cogeria...Persuadere...Fiducia...Hmm," Starlight pondered as she listed her spells and then realized something, "Ah! Of course! Fiducia Compelus needs a trigger."
Starlight then made her horn and eyes glow white.
"Ponies! Hear my voice and listen!" Starlight called out and made another orb of magic erupt from her horn at the group. Each pony blinked to show they were no longer in suspension, but their shrunken eyes were a sign that the spell she cast on them was still in effect.
"Pinkie, kitchen, Rarity, Applejack, Clay, library," Starlight commanded, "Fluttershy, stay here. Rainbow Dash, find somewhere inside the castle and set up a place where we can chillax."
Pinkie, Applejack, Clay, and Rarity ran off to their respective rooms. Rainbow flew away at high speed so only Fluttershy and Sokka remained. Starlight then blinked.
"Oh! I forgot Sokka was here," said Starlight, "might as well put him to go use."
"Shenran?" Starlight called out as she walked up to the Pegasus stallion.
"Yes Starlight Glimmer?" Sokka asked in a mechanical tone.
"Can you please walk around the castle and watch out for anything suspicious for me?" Starlight asked.
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," said Sokka, "what suspicious things should I look out for?"
"Huh?' said Starlight, but then recomposed herself, "Just walk around and watch the castle okay."
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," Sokka replied and walked away.
Starlight couldn't help but smile. Things seemed to be working out better than she had hoped.
(Scene changes)
She then headed into the kitchen where Pinkie was just waiting for her.
"Let's get to work, Pinkie!" said Starlight as she walked up to the pink pony.
"Okie-dokie!" said Pinkie in a mechanical tone, "What would you like to do first?"
"Uh, what are we supposed to do first?" Starlight asked.
"Whatever you want to do first, Starlight Glimmer," Pinkie replied. Starlight then grabbed a baking book and opened it to a cake recipe.
"In a medium-size mixing bowl," Starlight real aloud, "Beat together eggs, sugar, two teaspoons of vanilla..." Starlight then turned to see that Pinkie had done all the instructions with lightning fast fore-hooves, "mix in flour..." Starlight then watched as Pinkie did just that in one second flat and smiled as she kept reading, "add baking soda, salt, and cinnamon! Hmm, think you can take it from here?"
She pushed the baking book over to Pinkie.
"Take what from where?" Pinkie asked.
"The baking," Starlight replied as a matter of fact, "Just keep following the instructions in the book until I get back." She then walked off toward the kitchen door.
"Abso-tively," said Pinkie, "Instruction following starting...now!" She then used lightning fast fore-hooves to mix and combine the ingredients quickly. Starlight smiled.
"Baking a cake-check!" said Starlight smugly, "Now onto sewing!" Starlight then closed the door and headed to the library.
(Scene changes)
Inside the library room, Applejack and Clay were just sitting quietly at a table waiting for Starlight. Rarity was just using her magic to put her sewing materials on another table when Starlight arrived.
"What do you have in mind, Rarity?" Starlight asked the marshmallow pony.
"Whatever you want to have in my mind, Starlight Glimmer," Rarity replied in a mechanical tone. Starlight then blinked for a moment before grabbing a book on sewing from the shelf.
"Can you make a dress exactly like that one?" Starlight asked as she pointed at the picture.
"Just like that one?" Rarity asked.
"Just like it," Starlight replied.
"Absolutely, it will look perfectly divine," Rarity answered as she took the page with her magic and looked at it.
Starlight walked over to Applejack and Clay with a smug smile on her face until she saw all the photos on the table.
"That's a whole lot of photos," Starlight remarked to the orange pony, "How you usually organize them?"
"However you want me to organize them, Starlight," said Applejack in a mechanical tone.
"Okay," said Starlight and then pointed to a picture of Granny Smith with a pig riding an inner tube in the background.
"Sweet Apple Acres, twenty moons ago," Applejack explained, "Granny Smith was lookin' for her favorite pie tin. She looked in the kitchen, but it wasn't there. She looked in the barn, but it wasn't there."
"And it wasn't long until she lost it from what my wife had told me." Clay added
Starlight quickly grew bored and rolled her eyes.
"Ugh. I don't need every little detail," said Starlight, "Heh. Just sum up the story in one sentence."
"Huh. Turns out Granny Smith didn't know how to make a pig do the backstroke," Applejack replied.
"Uh-huh..." said Starlight in an unamused tone as she walked up to Applejack and Clay from behind the table, "Why don't you guys keep putting these photos in chronological order, and when I come back, you can give me more...highlights?"
"Sure thing, Starlight Glimmer," Applejack replied and got to work with Clay.
Starlight gave the orange pony an annoyed look and then left the library to find Fluttershy.
(Scene changes)
In the foyer, Fluttershy was just standing around and hadn't moved as Starlight came down a curved staircase to see her.
"Fluttershy, where are all the animals?" Starlight asked.
"They ran away," said Fluttershy in a mechanical tone.
"And why didn't you stop them?" Starlight asked in a plain tone.
"Because you didn't ask me to," Fluttershy answered.
"Obviously I wanted you to...never mind," said Starlight in an annoyed tone, "Can you please round up all the animals in the castle and bring them back here to the foyer?"
"All the animals. Got it," said Fluttershy and then hovered away.
(Scene changes)
It was then Rainbow hovered past the foreground and was heading upstairs when Starlight stopped her.
"Did you find a place to chillax, Rainbow Dash?" Starlight asked.
"Sure thing, Starlight Glimmer!" Rainbow replied in a mechanical tone.
"Great. Let me know when it's ready," said Starlight.
"Yes, Starlight Glimmer," said Rainbow as she flew off. Starlight just smiled as she watched Rainbow disappear. Then she noticed from a castle window that Sokka was outside the castle. She gasped and rushed outside. She saw that Sokka had created an indention around the base of the castle from where he had been walking in a large circle.
"Sokka! What in Equestria are you doing out here?" Starlight asked.
"You told me to walk around and watch the castle, Starlight Glimmer," Sokka replied as he kept walking and watching the castle. Starlight face-hoofed herself.
"I wanted you to walk around the castle and do it by walking inside the castle," Starlight remarked irritably.
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," Shenran replied and walked inside. Starlight just rolled her eyes before following. She then noticed that Sokka was now walking toward a dead end and then stopped and stood there. Starlight rushed up to him.
"What are you doing now?" Starlight asked in exasperation.
"You asked me to walk around the castle," said Shenran, "but there's a wall in the way and I can't keeping walking around the castle."
"Ever considered turning around and walking in another direction?" Starlight asked irritably.
"You told me to walk around the castle," Sokka replied, "You didn't say anything about turning around." Starlight growled inwardly.
"Just wait here until I get back then," Starlight snapped impatiently.
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," said Sokka, "anything else you want me to do?"
"I don't know, stare at the wall or something!" Starlight bellowed and stomped off. She had not gone a few feet when...
"Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare..." Sokka said in a long droned out tone.
Starlight just rolled her eyes and groaned.
"Yeah, you knock yourself out there, Sokka," Starlight remarked irritably under her breath.
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," said Sokka, since he had heard the lilac unicorn.
Starlight then winced at what she had just said and before she could turn around and take it back.
POW!
THUD!
Starlight just put a fore-hoof to her head and gritted her teeth. She really didn't want to turn around and see what Sokka did to literally knock himself out.
"Keep it together, girl," Starlight told herself as she tried to calm herself down, "This will all be over soon."
Starlight then took a long deep breath as she went to revive Sokka, quickly used her magic to write down instructions on where Sokka should go walk in the castle and headed back to the library.
(Scene changes)
Once Starlight was in the library, she had gone back to Applejack, Clay, and their scrapbooking. It didn't take long before she was feeling absolutely bored and miserable.
"Granny Smith knew she was gonna need a bigger boat," Applejack continued as she showed Starlight a picture of Goldie Delicious sitting on a bench surrounded by lots of cats, "So Goldie Delicious says, "If you can't say anythin' nice about anypony, come sit by me!"" Applejack then showed Starlight another picture of Big Mac and a pig using mud to hide from what looked like a timberwolf, "Big Mac knew if he just covered himself in mud, the creature wouldn't be able to see him!"
Starlight said nothing.
"Starlight Glimmer," Rarity called out as the lilac unicorn zoomed away to see what the marshmallow unicorn wanted, "I have finished the dress. Isn't it gorgeous?" Rarity showed Starlight...a perfect drawing of the dress in the book.
"What is that?" Starlight asked in surprise.
"You wanted me to make a dress exactly like the one in the book," Rarity replied. Starlight rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Go make a real dress out of fabric," Starlight told Rarity, "exactly like the one in the book."
"Ah, I see," said Rarity as she stomped the drawing with a hoof, "Yes, of course, Starlight Glimmer." Rarity rushed off.
Starlight smiled and turned to leave when she realized she should add one more detail.
"Rarity!" said Starlight, "Make it bigger than the one in the book."
"Of course, darling," said Rarity, "Bigger it is."
Before the marshmallow pony was a mouse, who was ready to model for the dress Rarity would have made from the book. The mouse just shrugged her shoulders once she realized she wasn't getting a dress after all. Starlight then stomped annoyingly up to Applejack and Clay.
"She was just a pony standin' in front of another pony askin for him to love her," Applejack continued while holding another picture.
Starlight just made a long face before exiting the library. She had barely stared walking down the hallway when she bumped into Sokka.
"Sokka!" Starlight snapped, "I thought you were following the trail of note cards I left you!"
"I ran out of note cards, Starlight Glimmer," said Sokka. Starlight groaned.
"What do you want me do to now?" Sokka asked.
"I don't know, dancing, sword fighting, go jump in a lake! I don't care!" Starlight bellowed and walked off.
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," said Shenran and hovered off to go find a lake to jump in.
Starlight then stomped up to the kitchen. She had barely opened the door when she was avalanched by a large mountain of cakes and baking ingredients.
She quickly surfaced and then pushed the items to the side to get inside the kitchen. She was shocked to see that the kitchen was loaded with baked goods and baking ingredients and Pinkie was still using lightning fast fore-hooves to bake at high speed.
"Pinkie, what are you doing?!" Starlight exclaimed.
"Following all of the instructions in the cookbook in order, Starlight Glimmer!" Pinkie answered as she kept working at ultra-high speed.
"I meant just the one cake!" Starlight replied, "I was only gone a few minutes! How in Equestria did you get all of this done so fast?"
"First, I combined three eggs, then I-" Pinkie was then cut off when Starlight encased the pink pony in her magic grip...and used another spell to seal her mouth shut.
"Think the baking lesson is done," said Starlight bluntly as Pinkie hovered in the air next to her. Suddenly, there was a loud growl outside the kitchen.
"Oh, what now?" Starlight asked as she ran out of the kitchen.
Little did she know that Pinkie had another cake in the oven...and it was now starting to burn and smoke was coming out of the oven. Starlight then raced down the hallway with Pinkie in her magic grip. They passed the entrance to the library where Applejack and Clay were still monologuing about pictures.
"They can take our farm, but they can't take our freedom!" Applejack cried out, but no one was there to listen.
Starlight then arrived in the foyer to see Harry and several other animals all huddled up together and trembling fearfully.
"What's going on?!" Starlight asked with concern.
Harry growled fearfully in reply as he pointed to what was scaring them so badly. Fluttershy then walked up to Starlight, covered from head to hoof in creepy-crawly bugs and even had a bat in her mane.
"I gathered all the animals like you asked, Starlight Glimmer," said Fluttershy, "do you know where my husband is?"
Starlight cringed, remembering the last thing she told Sokka. She also dropped Pinkie to the floor.
"Uhh...be right back!" Starlight said quickly before she teleported away. A few seconds later, she returned and dropped a now soaking Sokka on the floor. His tongue was dangling out of his mouth and he wasn't moving. Starlight gently pumped his stomach when...
PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT!
Sokka squirted a jet of water into Starlight's face. Getting her mane wet and a medium fish flopping in her mane. She looked very annoyed.
"You know, Sokka, if you're gonna jump into a lake," said Starlight sternly as she tossed the fish out of her mane with her magic, "I expected you to swim to the surface before you drown!"
"You only told me to jump into a lake, Starlight Glimmer," Sokka replied, "You didn't say anything about swimming."
Starlight growled as she sternly face-hoofed herself.
"Well next time you're in water, you better swim to the surface!" Starlight yelled, "swim like a fish if you have too!"
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," said Sokka.
Starlight huffed when Rarity walked by in the fore-ground. The marshmallow mare then blinked and smirked as she walked over to the still cowering animals.
"Oh yes, this will do nicely," said Rarity as she literally pulled the rug out from under all the animals with her magic, rolled it up, and walked off with the rug.
"A much bigger dress!" said Rarity as she headed back to the library.
"It was the best of apples, it was the worst of apples!" Applejack declared from the library.
"Very beautiful moment I have ever heard." Clay said, making Starlight cringe again.
"I can handle this," said Starlight as she definitively exhaled, "It's just magic, and I know magic." It was then she saw black clouds of smoke forming above her head.
"What's that?!" Starlight asked. Pinkie tried to answer, but her mouth was still magically sealed shut.
"What did you say?" Starlight asked as she removed the spell keeping Pinkie's mouth shut.
"The cakes are burning," said Pinkie, "You left the ovens on." Starlight began to panic.
"We need water!" Starlight shouted as she shook Pinkie about with her magic. Rainbow was fortunately nearby when she said that.
"Yes, Starlight Glimmer," said Rainbow. She then rushed off and within seconds, had gotten several Pegasi to bring in some storm clouds into the foyer.
"Storm clouds?!" Starlight exclaimed.
It was then thunder and lightning clashed and it started to downpour inside of the castle. Harry roared in confusion as the other animals clung to him. The foyer filled with water that made everypony float upward. Sokka began to wiggle about like a fish to stay afloat.
"Look, Starlight Glimmer, I'm swimming just like you told me to!" Sokka pointed out as the water continued to rise.
Soon the rain stopped, the water began overflow, and it poured out of the windows until most of the castle was dry. But there was a small stream on the foyer and a couple of small puddles. Everypony minus Rainbow was soaking wet. Sokka was now flopping on his side in a puddle of water like a literal fish out of water.
Then Applejack then floated by in the mini-stream with a table from the library, soaked and holding another picture in her fore-hoof.
"Big Mac told me," said Applejack to nopony in particular, ""With a whole lot of power comes a heck of a lot of responsibility"."
Starlight just groaned.
"This can't get any worse!" Starlight remarked.
"Oh yes, it can!" A very stern voice said, making Starlight gasp in fear.
Then she saw Chase, Jade, Sunray, Spike, Nyx, and Twilight at the front door. The alicorn stallion and his two younger siblings glared at the lilac unicorn while Twilight, Spike, and Nyx were shocked by this.
"Sweet Celestia..." said Nyx.
"What is going on?!" Twilight demanded.
"I'll tell you what!" said Chase in anger, "The entire castle has gone mad!"
He then saw Starlight and his temper flared.
"Starlight, how many times have I told you not to use a manipulation spell on your friends?!" Chase asked quite sternly.
Starlight gulped with a nervous smile.
"Um, maybe a hundred times?" Starlight squeaked fearfully.
"EXACTLY!" Chase said in a stern father tone as Starlight quickly stood back on her feet and bowed her head in shame.
"You're right, Chase. I definitely should've known better, and I deserved to be punished." Starlight said shamefully. "Eh, some."
Chase walked over to Starlight, still looking very stern.
"And what do you think would be a fitting punishment?" Chase asked as he leaned into Starlight's face, making her stand back a bit and she looked at the mess she made.
"Well, uh I-I should… clean up my mess?" Starlight suggested with a meek smile, but Chase still wasn't convinced as he kept glaring at her. "And then… think about what I did. Yeah. Sounds about right. I was wrong. Wouldn't want to do too much. No worries."
Starlight was hoping Chase would let her off the hook, but it still wasn't enough. Twilight, Nyx, Spike, Sunray, and Jade shared the same stern glare with Chase they sent at Starlight.
"What about being grounded for a week?" Chase proposed, still angry with her.
"Oh, I'm not sure that's-I'm cool with the thinking!" Starlight replied back with a nervous smile. "Really, that's not necessary! Maybe next time!"
It still wasn't enough for her.
"You're grounded for a week!" Chase sternly announced.
Starlight groaned in defeat, and as for that, a pillar collapsed, leaving an even bigger mess as the lilac mare flinched before she froze in place.
(Scene changes)
A couple of hours later, Spike, Jade, Sunray, and Nyx were trying to chase away some of the spiders walking around. A spider than shrieked as Spike swatted it away and removed the nearby webbing it was trying to create.
"I had no idea we had spiders in the castle!" Spike remarked, "I'm never sleeping again!"
"Me neither," said Nyx and whimpered. Spike was surprised.
"You're afraid of spiders too?" Spike asked. Nyx nodded.
"Yeah," said Nyx sadly, "As much as Fluttershy assures me they won't hurt me, spiders still give me the creeps."
"I can understand that," said Spike, "It's nice to know I'm not the only pony who has a fear of spiders."
"Well, don't get yourselves in a twist, we still got more to do." Sunray said as he and Jade cleaned up some cobwebs.
Then they heard some mumbling and found that Starlight was just reading a book at a nearby sofa.
"Maybe if I had reversed the Fiducia Compelus and Cogeria..." Starlight said aloud, "Or maybe I added too much Persuadere..."
Starlight then noticed that Spike and Nyx were staring at her. Sunray and Jade glared at her sternly.
"What?" Starlight asked cluelessly.
"You're really missing the point here," said Spike.
"Yeah," said Jade angrily, making Starlight wince. "Do you really think your spell is the reason you're in trouble right now?"
It was then Twilight and Chase arrived.
"Chase and I finally untangled that mess of a spell and got everypony home," Twilight sighed, "It was really powerful stuff. They're gonna feel that in the morning."
"Yeah," said Chase, "They're gonna experience firsthand what it feels like to have a dozen heavy freight cars run you over at the minimum."
Nyx, Sunray, and Jade cringed. Twilight and Chase then walk up to Starlight.
"Now please try to explain to the both of us how in the name of Celestia things got this out of control," Twilight asked as Chase glared at the lilac unicorn sternly.
"Well, it was the first time I cast that particular spell," Starlight explained, "and I didn't fully think it through. I-I bet if I had reversed-"
"Aw jeez..." Chase groaned as he face-hooved himself.
"I think you're missing the point here," Twilight remarked.
"Told ya," said Spike as he, Sunray, Jade, and Nyx continued to sweep the floors together.
"What made you think that casting a spell on your friends to do your bidding was even remotely a good idea?" Twilight demanded and Chase kept glaring at her.
"Well, when you put it that way," said Starlight sheepishly, "it sounds really bad."
"Ya think?!" Chase snapped.
"That's because it is really bad!" Twilight, Sunray, Jade, and Chase snapped at once.
Starlight could only stammer since she didn't know what else to say. Twilight and Chase both softened their expression when they saw Starlight did look rather flustered.
"Starlight, I'm not mad at you, but I am disappointed," Twilight continued, "You've been doing so well. I just don't understand how a friendship lesson turned into all of this."
"Is there something you want to talk to us about Starlight?" Chase asked gently, "You know you can always come to us and we're here to listen. And I can tell for a fact that this might have been avoided if you had simply spoken up. Jade and Nyx told me she tried talking to you earlier but you kept avoiding the subject."
Starlight groaned sadly.
"Ugh, fine!" Starlight snapped, "You're right Chase. Something has been bothering me! I've been avoiding the friendship lessons on purpose."
"Why?" Twilight asked curiously.
"Yeah, why are you avoiding them?" Sunray added gently.
"I can cast complex spells, but baking a cake with Pinkie Pie freaks me out!" Starlight explained, "And yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds. That's why I didn't say anything. I thought if I just kept wowing the both of you with my magical abilities, you might just...not...notice?"
Starlight walked away a bit as she spoke before stopping and giving them a sheepish look.
"Baking a cake freaks you out?" Twilight asked, rather surprised.
"Yes!" Starlight replied, "Baking a cake, sewing - all of it! What if I was bad at it? I didn't want to be a disappointment to anypony, and I ended up being a disappointment to everypony."
"Starlight, do you think anypony cares if you can bake a cake?" Twilight asked as she walked up to the lilac unicorn.
"But the lesson-" Starlight started to say.
"Was to get to know Pinkie Pie better by doing something she loves," Twilight finished, "It was a friendship lesson, not a baking lesson." Starlight then felt very, very embarrassed.
"Oh," Starlight remarked, "You know, I think I might have missed the point here."
"Told ya," Spike replied smugly as he stood between Twilight and Starlight.
"You know, Starlight," said Jade, finally speaking up, "You might have misunderstood the lesson, but you're fears are anything but silly."
"What do you mean?" Starlight asked, even Twilight had a curious look on her face.
"Chase told us he had the same fears back in the day after Grandpa disappeared," Jade answered.
Starlight and Twilight blinked. The former in confusion and the later in realization with Chase.
"You're right, Jade," said Twilight, "Chase had the same fears as you years ago!"
"R-r-really?" Starlight asked.
"When I wanted to be the leader of the Elite Ninja, I used to be so worried that I wouldn't be good at the things that Twilight and the others liked to do." Chase explained. "I mean I may have been good at martial arts, meditating, and fun. But I still had some more learning to do."
"Which wasn't true," Twilight added. "Real friends don't care if you're good at the same things they like. But if you're willing to try those activities out with them, you might find that you enjoy them as well and get to know more about your friends."
"Which helps your friendship grow stronger," Chase added, "I realized that I didn't have to burn myself out being good at the things they liked to feel accepted, or that they would abandon me if I wasn't good at them."
"Then when will it ever stop?" Starlight asked with tears in her eyes, "When will I finally feel like I'm not one mistake away from my friends just...just..."
Starlight started to cry as Chase pulled her into a comforting hug. Twilight, Spike, Jade, Sunray, and Nyx gave her sympathetic looks.
"I wish I could give you an answer," said Chase gently as he held Starlight. "But when friendship is real and true, you can trust those friends when they tell you that they'll always be there for you no matter what. Friendships are never easy, and they will be tested from time to time, but the good times will always outweigh the bad. And strong friendships will pull through the hard times and get even stronger, not weaker."
Starlight then sniffled and pulled away, wiping her eyes as she gave Chase a smile.
"Thank you," said Starlight, "I guess I needed to hear that."
"Remember Starlight, Twilight and I are always here for you," said Chase, "if something is bothering you or you don't understand something, you need to come to us and talk it out. Even if turns out to be nothing to worry about, you'll feel better speaking up then trying to use magic to solve everything." Starlight chuckled sheepishly and blushed as well.
"Yeah...I guess I need to learn that I don't need to use magic to solve my problems all the time," Starlight remarked timidly as she wiped her eyes.
"Well if what happened today has taught you anything," Twilight replied, "it's that magic can't solve every problem, not matter how gifted we are at doing spells."
"Yeah," said Starlight, "So now what?"
"Now it's time for a pretty advanced friendship lesson," said Twilight, "It's called apologizing."
"Are you sure they'll even want to listen?" Starlight asked worriedly, "They probably hate me right now."
"They might be upset," said Chase, "but they don't hate you, Starlight. These ponies are some of the most understanding ponies you'll ever meet. If you apologize and tell them what you told us, everything will be okay. And they'll assure you what they assured me when I feel the way you do now."
"What was that?" Starlight asked curiously.
"That they are here for you and they'll love you no matter what stupid things you might do," Sunray replied.
"Sunray!" Twilight, Jade, and Nyx shouted with a glare.
"Gee, thanks," said Starlight, slightly offended by the last remark.
"I think he was referring to himself on that last part," said Chase slyly as Sunray glared at him.
Starlight and Twilight giggled as they sandwiched Chase into a group hug. While Starlight felt better, she was still worried.
"Chase?" Starlight asked.
"Yes?" Chase replied.
"Since you want me to be honest," Starlight said timidly, "I'm scared about the apology. What if I say the wrong thing or trip over my words and make things worse?" Chase smiled.
"Don't rehearse it," said Chase, "Just speak from your heart and the right words will come out. It's what I did when I hurt everypony that one time. And things worked out."
Starlight gave Chase a brave smile. Then she remembered something.
"Does this mean I'm ungrounded for a week?" Starlight asked with a hopeful smile.
"No!" Chase said sternly as he pressure pointed Starlight, making her squeal in pain.
This made Twilight, Nyx, and Jade giggle in amusement. Spike and Sunray snickered to each other at the funny sight.
(Scene changes)
Next morning, the rest of the members of the Mane sixteen were sitting together at a pair of tables outside the cafe. They all groaned together miserably as they had bags under their eyes and messy manes, except for Rarity, but she wore sunglasses and a hat to hide her fatigued eyes and mane. Twilight and Chase certainly weren't joking when they said the group was gonna suffer some side-effects from Starlight's spell.
"I don't know what kind of whammy Starlight put on us," Applejack groaned, "but I feel like I got shoved through the Super Cider Squeezy 6000."
"Ya got that right, honey." Clay said as he cracked his neck to the side a bit with a loud groan. "It feels like my neck has been dislocated again."
"Ugh, tell me about it," said Rainbow in agreement.
"I feel like a runaway freight train ran me over," Sokka remarked as he and Fluttershy rested their heads side by side on the table, "while I was underwater. Ugh, it took forever for my ears to unclog last night..." Fluttershy just patted his back gently with a fore-hoof.
"If everypony could speak in a whisper for the next few days, that would be delightful," Rarity asked in a hushed tone, "My head is thumping...!"
"I was up all night calming the animals down and helping my husband get all the water out of his ears," Fluttershy said tiredly as Sokka put a fore-leg around her shoulder.
"Fluttershy, please," Rarity said in a firm but hushed tone, making the Pegasus couple wince, "Not so loud..."
"Starlight's spell made me burn perfectly good cake!" Pinkie snapped, making Rarity cringe, "I never burn cake!"
Pinkie then smashed her face into her side of the tabletop. The impact was so strong that Rarity's shades bounced upward but landed right back on her nose.
"Yeah, about that..." said Starlight as she nervously approached the group alone, "Things got a little out of hand last night."
"Well, ain't that the understatement of the day," said Applejack, her tone filled with irritation and sarcasm.
"Hmph! Tell it to the cake, sister!" Pinkie retorted angrily as she slammed her fore-hoof into the table, making Rarity cringe painfully again as her sunglasses lop-sided.
"Yeah, Starlight. What are you even doing here?! We thought you were still grounded!" Clay said furiously.
"Can we all please argue at a lower volume?" Rarity pleaded as she pulled the front of her hat over her face. If Starlight didn't feel bad already, she certainly felt worse. She remember what Mario and Twilight had told her and started to speak again.
"I really messed up," said Starlight, "I cast the spell because I was nervous about working with you on the friendship lessons."
"Well, here's a friendship lesson for ya," said Rainbow and then yelled, "Don't cast spells on your friends!"
Fluttershy, Sokka, Clay, and Applejack winced painfully and the Pegasi couple covered their ears.
"Rainbow, please!" Sokka barked and groaned.
"Sorry," said Rainbow in a rather bitter tone.
"Believe me, I know," said Starlight, "What I was wrong, a-and I can't take it back. You're right to be upset. But...there's something else I should've told you all before. I...I was also nervous because...because...because I was scared that if I wasn't good enough doing the activities you wanted to do, you'd think of me as a failure and you wouldn't wanna be my friends anymore!"
The rest of the group was stunned. While Pinkie remained indignant, the others had more thoughtful looks on their faces. Starlight was wiping her eyes of some tears that had surfaced before continuing to speak.
"I didn't realize that the point of the lesson was getting to know you all better and not being good at the things you wanted to me to do with you," Starlight continued once she had recomposed herself, "It doesn't excuse what I put you all through, but it's the truth...and I hope one day I can make it up to you. But all I can is...I'm sorry. Now, if you'll excuse me. I've gotta clean the castle covered in wet cake batter and spiders."
Starlight then walked away. It was only a couple of seconds before anypony else spoke.
"That was a pretty good apology," Rainbow remarked.
Applejack pondered for a second before getting up from her seat.
"Honey, you thinkin' what Ah'm thinkin'?" Applejack asked Clay as her husband was beginning to think the samething.
"Eeyup!" Clay said before he got out of his seat.
"Hey, Starlight!" Applejack called out as she and Clay ran over the lilac unicorn and stopped her, "Most of the Apple family photos are still layin' around in the wreckage. I think I'll come along and hunt 'em down."
"Ya can help us out with it." Clay said with a smile.
"Oh, and I feel awful for disturbing all of those cute little spiders and bats," said Fluttershy as she walked up to the two ponies and gave Starlight a wink, "I should check on them."
"Getting all that excess water out of the carpets isn't easy," said Sokka as he hovered up to the group, "I could show you how to dry up a carpet in seconds flat!"
"Ah, yes, and I left some lovely fabric out," said Rarity as she walked up to the group, "I should come and move it to that nice quiet library."
"Uh, I'll come and get those storm clouds out of the bathroom," said Rainbow sheepishly as she hovered up between Rarity and Fluttershy.
"Fine!" Pinkie snapped angrily, making everypony look at her since she hadn't left her seat, "Somepony has to bake a cake to honor all the poor cakes that sacrificed their batter in last night's tragedy!"
Pinkie leaned her head back in dramatic fashion but then smiled to show she was coming to help as well.
"But before we go," said Sokka, "There's one thing you need to understand, Starlight."
"What's that?" Starlight asked nervously, fearing the worst. Sokka then gave the lilac unicorn a hug.
"We love you Starlight," said Sokka gently, "and we will always be here for you. Please come to us whenever you're feeling like this. We can help you deal with those feelings and help you feel better. No need to go casting spells over something like this."
Sokka gave Starlight a wink to emphasize his point." Starlight blushed as she felt her eyes water.
"I just don't want to be left alone," said Starlight in a soft tone as she started to cry.
Starlight sniffled as she tried to get her tears to slow down. The others, minus Pinkie, gave her sympathetic smiles.
"And if you promise to trust us," said Applejack, "We can help you get over that fear. Just like we're helping Chase deal with those feelings too now that he's the leader of the Elite Ninja."
Starlight smiled and gave the group a brave nod. Then they shared a group hug, Pinkie doing so begrudgingly, before heading to the castle together.
(Scene changes)
As some montage music began to play, Rarity showed Starlight how to repair a flag banner that had been torn during yesterday's chaos. While the stitching was visible, Starlight had fine job at her first sewing attempt as Rarity used her magic to hang the banner and the two smiled. Little did they know, was that Twilight, Chase, Sunray, Jade,, and Nyx, who sat on Chase's back, were watching them and taking notes together before walking away.
(Scene changes)
Back in the library, Starlight placed a picture into a book as Applejack and Clay watched and smiled. Starlight then walked up to the orange pony and asked her about one particular picture. Applejack started to talk about it, which made Starlight laugh. Once again, neither pony knew that Twilight, Chase, Jade, Sunray, and Nyx were watching and taking notes in the background.
(Scene changes)
In the basement levels of the castle, Fluttershy was giving the spiders a new home on some webbing hanging above the hallway. Then she and Starlight then walked further down the hall side by side. Behind a corner, Twilight and Jade watched the two ponies and took their notes like before. Spike and Nyx were there as well, but were holding each other fearfully and hoping they would never have to come down this hallway alone.
(Scene changes)
In another hallway, Sokka was showing Starlight how to use a small cloud to absorb a nearby puddle of water. The cloud soaked up the water, getting a little bigger and darker until Sokka let it rise into the air, hovering above Starlight,...
BZZZZZZZZZT!
...and lightning zapped Starlight, leaving her slightly burnt. Starlight glared as Sokka gave an apologetic smile. Starlight then used her magic to move the cloud over Sokka.
BZZZZZZZZZT!
...and now Sokka was shocked and left slightly burnt. Starlight smirked as Sokka glared and then they fell into backs laughing at how silly they looked. Chase, Jade, Sunray, Twilight, and Nyx, while still taking their notes, smirked and rolled their eyes at the two ponies.
(Scene changes)
In the kitchen, Pinkie was alone as she stirred up some new cake batter. Starlight used her magic to place her own bowl of batter next to her and smiled. Pinkie just gave her a glare and turned away as she continued mixing her own bowl of batter.
Starlight looked rather sad and started mixing her own bowl of batter without using her magic. Pinkie pretended to ignore her. Until she saw Starlight was getting flour all over herself. Pinkie looked at her and smiled, which made Starlight blush from embarrassment once the unicorn saw Pinkie was looking at her. Pinkie just smiled and soon the two ponies got to work.
In the background, Twilight, Chase, Jade, Sunray, and Nyx were taking some notes and then walked away. True to Pinkie's nature, she knew the thee ponies had been watching and waited until they left before speaking up to the lilac unicorn.
"Hey, Starlight," said Pinkie.
"What's up?" Starlight asked, her face still covered in cake four.
"I owe you an apology..." said Pinkie.
"No, you don't," Starlight protested as she used a cloth to clean her face, "it was my fault you burnt that cake!"
"True," said Pinkie, "But that doesn't excuse the fact I was being indifferent to why you cast that spell." Starlight grew quiet and said nothing.
"It's okay..." Starlight tried to say.
"No, it's not!" said Pinkie angrily, slamming her bowl on the counter, "No friend of mine is gonna spend their days thinking me or anypony else is gonna abandon them. I'm not like that! I would never turn my back in a friend who needed me. I'm there for Mario when he feels that way. And I will be there for you too."
"Really?" Starlight asked softly.
"Of course," said Pinkie seriously, "I might be over-hyper most of the time, but if you need to confide in me, I will calm down and listen." Starlight just looked away uneasily.
"Starlight, promise me," said Pinkie, "you'll come to talk to me or any of our friends when you feel like this? Okay? Pinkie Promise?" Starlight felt like she wanted to cry. She could see the sympathy and compassion in the pink pony's eyes.
"Okay..." said Starlight with a light sniffle, "I'm just glad you're not mad at me anymore." Pinkie sighed.
"I just take baking very seriously, at least my own baking," said Pinkie, "I champion my reputation on baking cakes perfectly every time and I've never burnt cake in my whole life. Never! I was angry because that perfect record was ruined. But...now that I think about it...it's kind of a silly thing to be angry about." Pinkie chuckled, "I mean...I was gonna mess up sooner or later. There's no such thing as a perfect baker. Anyway, guess my point is that I forgive you. Can you forgive me for ignoring your worries and fears?"
"I already have," said Starlight, "thank you." Starlight and Pinkie shared a hug before getting back to baking a cake the right way. It wasn't a perfect cake by any means. But what mattered was that they made it together.
(Scene changes)
Later that day, Starlight was just sweeping the floors of the hallway when Twilight, Chase, Jade, Sunray, and Nyx walked up to her.
"It seems your apology went well," Twilight pointed out. Starlight sighed contently.
"I'm just lucky to have such understanding friends," Starlight said gratefully, "I did take your advice and told them about my...fears and concerns too."
"What did they say?" Chase asked.
"They'll always be there for me," Starlight replied, "and I can talk to them whenever I feel...worried or nervous."
Chase hummed and gave her a smile.
"Just know we're here for you too," said Nyx as she gave the lilac unicorn a hug, "We love you, Starlight." Starlight chuckled and hugged the filly back.
"I love you all too," Starlight replied, "But it's probably going to be a while before I try to tackle those friendship lessons again." Nyx blinked.
"What do you mean?" Twilight replied, "You've been doing them all day."
"Yeah," Jade, Sunray, and Nyx remarked.
"What do you mean?" Starlight asked before saying sadly, "I've been cleaning up the mess I made by totally failing at friendship."
"Really?" Twilight smirked, "But didn't we see you sewing with Rarity?"
"Yes, but-" Starlight tried to protest, but Twilight cut her off.
"And you, Clay, and Applejack did a great job collecting those photos and putting them in the book," Twilight pointed out as she and Chase walked in front of the unicorn, "Helping animals with Fluttershy, learning now carpet cleaning techniques with Sokka, baking with Pinkie Pie - those sound like your assignments to me."
"And you completed them all with flying colors," said Chase, "After all, you feel closer to your friends after doing those activities, don't you?"
Starlight then smiled.
"Yeah, I do," said Starlight, "I guess that's the whole point of friendship lessons isn't it."
"She finally gets it," Sunray exclaimed as they all chuckled.
"She certainly does," Twilight remarked, "In fact, I think there's just one that you're missing."
(Scene changes)
The group then headed up to a special flat top that Chase had put together so Starlight could complete her friendship lesson with Rainbow. Rainbow and the others were all sitting in their own recliner chairs in a loose semi-circle. Rainbow, Rarity, Chase, Jade, Sunray, and Nyx were all wearing sunshades as they reclined in their chairs. Applejack and Clay had their stetson hats tipped over their faces while Rarity held a sun panel to get a tan. Twilight was using her magic to hold a book she was reading. Spike was the only one without a chair, but decided to recline in the middle of the area, which had been turned into a rather artistic, and magical, water fountain with a ring of water flowing continuously in the air above a shallow pool of water.
"Sun - check, Chairs - check," Starlight said aloud as she walked past Rainbow, "And thanks to a simple Catadupia Levitata spell, we have water. Is that everything we need to chillax?"
"Nope." Rainbow replied.
"No?" Starlight asked worriedly, "What did I miss?"
"Quiet," Rainbow replied in a loud whisper.
"Ah! Right!" said Starlight as she took her seat, Nyx was between her and Twilight and Chase was just to the right of his wife.
"Great job, Starlight!" said Twilight, "Looks like you've completed another friendship lesson." Twilight then sighed contently.
"Starlight's on a role," said Nyx, "I'm gonna have to work harder to catch up." Starlight smiled modestly as Chase chuckled.
"Hey!" Rainbow snapped, making the Twilight, Starlight, Chase, Jade, Sunray, and Nyx flinch, "She completes the lesson when I say she completes it. So less learning and more chillaxing!"
Rainbow put one hind leg on top of the other and got comfortable while everypony else did the same. Starlight leaning back, but felt rather uneasy by all the silence.
"So...How long do we sit quietly?" Starlight asked.
"Oh Starlight!" Chase remarked as he and everypony else chuckled.
