"ARGGGH!" Several hours later, Star was still sitting in the midst of bits and pieces of the new M.A.I.D. She was no longer pleased with herself, and had only become more frizzled, more rumpled (yet still wonderful and beautiful), a great deal greasier than before, and much more frustrated. "Faith really should have given this job to Starshine, my stereotypically named sister who looks very much like myself. She's so much better with bits and pieces than I am!" Star wailed to the wonderful, beautiful lobby of Paradise Estate. "If only she didn't have that debilitating deformation- it must be so difficult getting about or doing anything with your left hoof attached to your stomach. But I'm certain that she could help me out with this. I think I'll give her a call." Star went to phone and called her sibling, who answered slightly out of breath and in a sing-song voice.

"Hel-lo-o-o-o-o-o!" Starshine ended the greeting on an impossibly high note, close to shattering the windows, and continued to sing during the rest of the conversation. "Ca-a-a-a-n I Hellll-ppp ---- You?"

Star sighed. This was going to be a long conversation. "Yes."

"Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwww?" Starshine was now using a wonderful, beautiful vibrato that was certain to wonderfully and beautifully annoy anyone who happened to be trying to have a conversation with her.

"First of all, you can stop singing. Then, you can come over to the wonderful and beautiful lobby of Paradise Estate and assist me in fitting together these bits and pieces of our new M.A.I.D. as soon as possible."

"Oooooofff cour- Sorry about that. Of course I can come help you. But I'm in the middle of rehearsal for my new album that will fulfill my life's passion of becoming a pop star, and I can't just leave the band and the backup dancers waiting all day. Do you mind if I bring them along? They can practice while I help you put together the bits and pieces of your new M.A.I.D. The wonderful and beautiful lobby of Paradise Estate is big enough for that, don't you think?"

"Certainly. Bring them along- their presence will only enhance the wonder and beauty of the lobby of Paradise Estate. And they can entertain us while we put together the bits and pieces of the new M.A.I.D."

Starshine immediately entered the front doors of Paradise Estate and passed into its wonderful and beautiful lobby.

Star was quite surprised. "My, that was speedy."

Starshine sighed, the wonder and beauty of her day momentarily dimmed. "No, no, we had to let Speedy go. She just couldn't get the rhythms down. Such a loss… Oh, you meant that we arrived in a timely fashion. Well, we WERE practicing just outside on the wonderful and beautiful front lawn of Paradise Estate when you called."

The group trooped in behind Starshine. It included four ponies lugging musical instruments and equipment, three ponies dressed in horribly tacky outfits consisting of overly large amounts of sequins, and one small dragon completely draped in yards of wires and electrical cords strung into a magnificent train that trailed behind him for several more feet. The dragon tripped as he tried (and failed) to move without tangling his burden. "Bloody Hell!" exclaimed the small serpent as he crashed to the floor of Paradise Estate's wonderful, beautiful lobby.

Star was shocked to hear such offensive language from one of Ponyland's smallest and most innocent denizens. Starshine sighed and looked somewhat perturbed and greatly annoyed. Another sigh escaped her lips as the band's drummer giggled inanely. Star looked to her older sister for some explanation, and her sister (ignoring completely her sibling's obsession about answering unasked questions) replied.

"Fireball has just come back from England, where he was helping sign the new record contract. He thought that it would be 'amusing' to teach Spike to swear. You should hear some of the other things he's learned. Actually, I take that back – you really shouldn't. They're rather profane." Star blanched during Starshine's explanation, as she had overheard some of the other expressions that were flowing from Spike's mouth.

"That's it!" exclaimed an exasperated Star. "Give me that duct tape," she demanded of the dragon. Spike, happily cursing all the while, obediently handed the dull silver roll to Star, who promptly taped his mouth shut. "Sorry, Spike, but I just couldn't listen to that any longer. It's ruining the wonder and beauty of my most recent reunion with my respected sibling of the distaff branch, whom I have missed dearly despite the fact that we masticated nourishment in each other's company only marginally over three hours ago."

Everyone in the wonderful and beautiful lobby of Paradise Estate promptly shut their traps and stared at the small white earth pony.

"Heh, heh, guess I've been hanging around Wind Whistler too much lately. What I MEANT to say is that I just couldn't listen to that any longer. It's ruining the wonder and beauty of my most recent reunion with my respected sibling of the distaff branch, whom I have missed dearly despite the fact that we masticated nourishment in each other's company only marginally over three hours ago."

The staring continued.

"Oh, yes, I suppose that didn't help, did it? Here, let me try again." Star took a deep breath and shouted. "I don't want to listen to you cuss while I'm trying to talk to my sister, so SHUT UP!" At Spike's understanding nod, Star ripped the duct tape off of his snout. He winced and apologized.

The current occupants of the wonderful, beautiful lobby relaxed as understanding crept into the expressions of all. The band continued discussing where to best place the instruments and still give the dancers plenty of room for their formations. (If you hadn't guessed by now, the wonderful and beautiful lobby of Paradise Estate was quite large- much like a high school gymnasium, but with the addition of wonder and beauty.) The backup dancers and their sparkly outfits were lounging on the couches, gossiping about the unfortunate Speedy and her dismissal. Spike was trying to untangle himself from the wires. He kept shooting nervous glances in Star's direction, in case she heard him muttering swear words under his breath. He wasn't certain what they meant, but he did know that they caused looks of shock on the faces of others, and he liked that. No one was paying the least bit of attention the bits and pieces of the new M.A.I.D.- they just circled around the large area of floor covered by them and went about their business.

Star glared impatiently at her sister, who was deeply involved in conversation with the choreographer. Starshine, caught completely unaware by the power of her sibling's gaze, was knocked over onto her side. While not quite a Glare of Death (death, or anything more horrifying than mild discomfort, was completely unheard of inside of wonderful, beautiful Ponyland) or even a Glare of Injury, the Glare of Mild Discomfort was quite enough to dislodge Starshine's somewhat shaky footing (she did have one leg attached to her stomach, after all) and make her bump her wings on the table.

Fireball noticed that Starshine had fallen, but only because she had landed on the cymbal-head that he had been reaching for.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes," replied Starshine. "Although I AM experiencing some mild discomfort. I think I'll be fine in a little bit. Would you help me up?"

Fireball was eager to get his cymbal-head back, so he courteously assisted Starshine to her feet (all three functional ones, that is), and she hobbled over to her sister, who was looking satisfied with herself.

"What in the Rainbow did you do that for? I could have been hurt!"

"No, no, I used a Glare of Mild Discomfort, not a Glare of Injury. And it got your attention, didn't it?"

"You could have just asked. What do you need my attention for?"

"Do you remember when I called you earlier this afternoon?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember what I asked you when I called earlier this afternoon?"

Starshine sighed. "Yes."

"Then would you mind terribly HELPING ME TO DO IT!?!"

"Yes," Starshine muttered, but at the threat of another Glare of Mild Discomfort, the threat of which she found mildly discomforting, she relented. "Let's get to work on that new M.A.I.D."

"Good. The bits and pieces of the new M.A.I.D. are over here." Star led her sister to the afore-mentioned area of the floor. "I'll read the instructions and you can figure out how to stick stuff together. You're good at that." Star picked of the photo of Warren T. and turned it over to read the back. The two ponies had stood there for some minutes when Star looked at her sister and raised an eyebrow. "Well? Are you going to start putting these bits and pieces together or not?"

"Would you mind terribly reading the instructions out LOUD? So perhaps I have some idea of where to start?"

"Oh. Uh, sure."

"Why did Faith purchase this monstrosity anyway?" Starshine queried.

"She was tired of fetching delicacies and/or scrubbing toilets, which cut into the time that she could have spent thinking of wonderful and beautiful things to entertain her guests with."

"Ah." Starshine decided to leave it at that, and the two sisters got down to the business of fitting the bits and pieces of the new M.A.I.D. into a completed, functional robot.