Friendship is Magic: The Seventh Element

by Master Mr B

"When the sixth element is revealed, a special element can appear that is a combination of the other six. It serves as the controller that bounds the power if the six elements together. But nobody, not even the royal sisters, have ever uncovered this...Seventh Element..." Follow my OC as he takes part in the adventures of FiM. And possibly win the heart of Twilight Sparkle...

108. Amending Fences

Amending Fences

Pony's Log Number 512: I felt like I drove them away. Twilight outright took them for granted, especially one particular pony. Either way, we both have alot to answer for...

One evening, Twilight was sitting comfortably on a sofa in one of the castle rooms. Mario was sitting beside the sofa and was using his magic to brush his wife's mane. Twilight was just letting him brush it until she turned and noticed him nuzzling the lower half of her mane against his cheek.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Nuzzling your mane," said Mario, "it's so soft and beautiful." Twilight giggled and let Mario have his moment. Mario had gotten back to brushing it when Spike walked into the room wearing a handkerchief on his head, light blue and white apron, and some yellow gloves on his claws.

"You know the worst thing about you being the Princess and Prince of Friendship?" said Spike with a sigh as he pulled his yellow gloves off, "The dishes."

"At least they were your problem tonight," said Mario.

"Very funny," said Spike, "It's your turn tomorrow."

"Fine," said Mario as he finished brushing Twilight's mane,

"Thanks for taking care of that, Spike," said Twilight, "After three events in one week, I really needed to relax with a good book."

"And all that stress got my wife's mane all frazzled," said Mario, "But thanks to yours truly, it's soft and shiny again." Twilight chuckled.

"Thanks dear," said Twilight as the couple shared a quick kiss.

"It's kinda funny, isn't it?" said Spike to Twilight as he reached behind a pillow, grabbed a book, and reclined against said pillow, "All these ponies comin' to you and Mario for advice about friendship, especially Twilight?"

"What's funny about that?" Twilight asked as she put her book away.

"What do you mean?" Mario asked as he sat on the opposite end of the sofa.

"You know," said Spike, "'cause you used to be famous for being such a bad friend." Mario cringed painfully and looked away nervously.

"What are you talking about?" said Twilight, "I had good friends in Canterlot! Especially that cutie sitting on the sofa over there." Mario blushed at the complement.

"Come on, Twilight," said Spike, "Look at the wall. D'ya see any photos from before we went to Ponyville? Even Mario has a few photos with the old group in Canterlot and most of them are without you! And look at you now - the Princess of Friendship." Twilight looked at the pictures on the wall, which featured herself with Mario and the rest of the Mane eight. She took a hard look at her coronation and wedding day photos to see that Spike was right. Her old friends from Canterlot were nowhere to be seen.

"This is a disaster!" Twilight gasped as she paced about, "All my old friends! I can't remember any of their names right now! But do you really think that they think I'm a bad friend?!" Mario just looked away and said nothing.

"Honey?" Twilight asked more firmly. Mario just looked sadly at her.

"Tell me the truth," said Twilight, "I wanna know what you think." Mario just sighed.

"I can't really say what they think about you as a friend," said Mario slowly.

"Yes...and?" said Twilight, wanting Mario to tell her the whole truth.

"But...you weren't a good friend to me in those days," said Mario quickly but bit his lower lip.

"Thank you for being honest with me," said Twilight gently and then sighed sadly to herself, "if you felt I was a bad friend, then they must think so too."

"I didn't mean-" Mario stuttered.

"Well, I only meant that you've come so far," said Spike, "You're a great friend now, a good wife to Mario, and-"

"Oh I feel terrible!" said Twilight as she stopped listening to both Spike and Mario, "I've gotta make it up to them!" Twilight then rushed out of the room.

"Honey, where are you going?" Mario asked.

"Pack a bag, Spike and Mario," Twilight told them both, "We're going to Canterlot!" Twilight then took off and then came back again, "And make a list of my friends' names. Uh, correction, our friends' names." Twilight then took off as Spike groaned.

"Aw, me and my big mouth," said Spike annoyingly.

"It's for the best, Spike," said Mario with a long sigh.

"What do you mean?" Spike asked curiously. Mario just looked at the little dragon sadly.

"You know that after my accident," Mario explained, "that I kind of pushed them away and closed off from them. I still spent time with them, but I never tried to open up to them about anything. I often wondered if they even cared about my feelings at all since they never tried to reach out to me. They didn't even visit me when I was in the hospital. I still wonder if I'm the reason they decided not to care..."

"Are you talking about how our current friends helped you learn that you could love them because they're your friends?" Spike asked.

"Yeah," said Mario quietly, "I still don't know if they did or if it really is my fault that they never did. I never bothered to ask. I never thought I had a right to ask...now that I know that real friends do love and care about you. I hope to finally get some answers."

"So...I guess this trip to Canterlot has some importance to you as well," said Spike.

"Yeah," said Mario, "I've been putting off asking for years, but maybe it's time I finally get some answers. And let them know how I feel. I just hope they can't give me some peace of mind...or closure at least." Spike just sighed. He knew he was in for a trip that was going to be filled with lots of drama.

(Main Theme)

It was late that evening as Twilight and Mario flew into the city grounds of Canterlot. Spike was riding Twilight's back as she made a smooth landing.

"You have definitely become a very proficient flyer my love," said Mario.

"Thanks dear," said Twilight as she sighed sadly.

"Come on, Twilight," said Spike as she jumped off her back, "You're getting worked up about nothin'."

"Easy for you to say," said Mario quietly as they looked around the area.

"The only logical place to start is at the beginning," said Twilight as she looked toward a familiar tower.

"Is that...our old headquarters?" Mario asked. That was what Mario had always called Twilight's old home back in the day. Twilight nodded as they made their way into the tower. It wasn't long before Twilight found that she still had her old house key and the doors opened. Inside, the place was covered in a thick layer of dust and some cobwebs.

"Oh. It's exactly how we left it!" said Twilight as she looked around. Mario looked about as some dust hit his nose and he sneezed.

"I don't remember it being this dusty though," said Mario. Twilight then headed over to an open book that was covered in dust. She blew the dust away and recognized the pages.

"Look!" said Twilight, "It's Predictions and Prophecies! And it's still open to the Elements of Harmony!" Spike then looked around and found a dusty and banged up package as well as a destroyed teddy bear on the floor.

"And here's the present I was gonna give Moon Dancer!" said Spike as he picked up the teddy bear first, "Huh. Guess she won't be needing that." Spike tossed it aside and then grabbed the battered package, "Hey, look! The rest of it's still here!" Twilight then walked past him from the background and towards the giant window.

"How could I have let this happen?" Twilight said to herself as she looked out of the window sadly. Mario nearly opened his mouth to answer but bit his lip to stop himself.

"Come on, Twilight," said Spike, "Princess Celestia gave you and Mario an assignment. Nopony could blame either of you for that."

"But look at the way I left this place," said Twilight, "It's a total mess!"

"You mean we," Mario corrected, willing to take responsibility for the mess.

"No, dear, just I," said Twilight as she leaned her face against the glass of the window, "Just like this place is a mess. It's just like how I left my friendships."

"Not all of them," Mario pointed out.

"Yeah, but you still had to say you hated for me to realize how bad a friend I was," said Twilight sadly. Mario sighed.

"I thought you forgave me for that..." Mario replied quietly.

"You, yes, but myself, not really," Twilight replied, "But I don't need to let things get that far this time around. I've gotta make it up toooo...uh..." Twilight looked at Spike and Mario with a sheepishly smile on her face. Mario resisted rolling his eyes.

"Oh! Uh, Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, Lyra Heartstrings, and Moon Dancer," said Spike as he listed the girls' names off.

"Yeah. Them," said Twilight as she continued to look out the window. Mario wrapped a fore-leg around her as she leaned her head against his neck.

Next morning, Spike was fast asleep on top of a stack of books with on open book resting on his head. Twilight, wearing a saddle bag on her back, and Mario, with his usual magic saddle bag on his back appeared in the fore-ground.

"Spike! Come on!" said Twilight, "We've got work to do!" Spike groaned as he stretched from his stack of books.

"Have you been awake all night?" Spike asked.

"Pretty much," said Mario, "Twilight was doing her own stuff while I did some housecleaning. I didn't finish, but at least the place is more presentable."

"Thanks dear," said Twilight as she grabbed some papers with her magic while talking to Spike as well, "I did a little research, and I think I know where we can find Minuette! This is one of my friends, right?" Spike and Mario just gave her a unamused look.

It didn't take them too long to find a building that had hour-glass shaped windows and an hour-glass shaped door on it. Twilight knocked on the door.

"Uh, it's not too late to forget I opened my big mouth," said Spike sheepishly.

"No, Spike, I'm glad you opened your big mouth," Twilight retorted, "These ponies have probably been suffering ever since I left. Wondering why their supposed friend would treat them so badly!"

"And they're probably wondering why I was never close to them like I am with our current friends," Mario added. It was then the front door slowly opened.

"Minuette?" Twilight asked as she stepped forward to peek inside.

"Are you there?" Mario asked. It was then a baby blue colored pony with two toned dark and lighter shades of blue mane and tail appeared with a big smile on her face. Some ponies thought as was dentist or associated with toothpaste.

"Twilight Sparkle! Mario Star!" Minuette exclaimed with a laugh and made Twilight and Mario back away, "You old so-and-sos! What are you doing here?!" She looked back to see the baby dragon behind her, "Hey, Spike!" Spike just waved back.

"Just look at these wings, huh?!" said Minuette with a giggle, making Twilight impulsively open her wings, and then turned to Mario, "And the same for you! How many stallions can brag that they've got wings as amazing as this?" Mario chuckled. He had forgotten how much Minuette used to be the optimist of the group.

"Hey, grab a picture of me and the royal couple, will ya?!" said Minuette to Spike as she used her magic to shove a camera into his claws, "It's still so amazing to say that. Royal couple." Minuette giggled again, "Guess persistence really does pay off doesn't it, Mario?" Mario and Twilight blushed, but for different reasons.

"I tried to tell my co-workers we used to be friends back when," said Minuette with another giggle cause this pony was loved to giggle, "But they never believed me!" Twilight and Mario just looked at Spike, who shrugged his shoulders and went to focus the lens on the camera. Twilight and Mario sat on the edges of the photo with Minuette sat between them with a huge smile on her face.

"Wait-wait-wait!" said Minuette, "I want separate pictures with each of them. Mario, you step aside for a moment. Twilight, really fluff 'em up, huh?" Minuette giggled excitedly as Twilight opened her wings fully and the blue unicorn leaned in front of her with her huge smile and her fore-legs in the air. Twilight just smiled timidly as Spike took the picture.

"Your turn Prince Mario!" said Minuette as she had Mario do the same picture pose and Spike took the picture of her and Mario. But there was one exception.

"Say the old catchphrase!" Minuette mouthed through her smile.

"It's a Mario time!" the prince said and winked at the camera. Minuette squealed happily through her teeth as the picture was taken.

"So what are you doing here?" Minuette asked curiously, "I mean, I know you and Mario are here all the time, but you never come to see me." Mario opened his mouth to speak when Minuette cut him off.

"Hey! I just had the greatest idea!" Minuette continued, "You wanna go see Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine?"

"Of course!" said Twilight, "Our old friends!"

"It'll be great!" Minuette said with another giggle, "Come on! Let's fly! Get it?" Minuette chuckled to herself as she trotted ahead.

"This is perfect!" said Twilight, "I can apologize to all three of them at once!"

"And I can do the same," said Mario as the royal couple went after them.

"Let's hope they're not as traumatized as Minuette," said Spike, not hiding the sarcasm in his tone.

It wasn't long before the group had reunited and was now sitting at the table at Donut Joe's shop. Spike was sitting at the counter talking with Donut Joe. Twilight and Mario were with Minuette, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts. Twinkleshine was a white furred pony with pink mane and tail. Lemon Hearts was a yellow colored pony with baby blue mane and tail. They were all laughing and enjoying themselves as they shared a plate loaded with delicious donuts on it.

"She did," said Minuette, "Twinkleshine literally spit out her oats when she heard you and Mario were the Princess and Prince of Friendship!"

"We saw you both at the coronation," said Twinkleshine, "That was some shindig!"

"You did?" said Twilight in surprise.

"Yeah," said Mario, "I said hello to them during the after party."

"What made Twinkleshine literally stop breathing was then Princess Celestia announced "Princess Twilight Sparkle and her handsome husband Prince Mario Star," said Minuette, "I mean we all knew Mario was madly in love with you. But...we had no idea you felt the same way."

"I...kind of tried to keep it to myself for a long time," said Twilight, "mostly because it wasn't until later that I realized that didn't need to chose between love and my studies. I could have both! But...if I'm being completely honest, by the time I was really falling for him, he was all that mattered to me." Mario kissed her cheek and the other giggled.

"Tell us, Twilight," Twinkleshine asked, "when did you realize you liked Mario?" Twilight chuckled.

"It was the summer after our first year in magic school," Twilight replied. The three unicorns felt their jaws hang out in shock.

"Wait...was that when you invited Mario to stay at your house all weekend?" Lemon Hearts asked.

"Eeyup," said Mario, "You see...Twilight and I were playing a little indoor tag with her Mom. Twilight accidentally bumped into a shelf and it started to fall down. And she was underneath it."

"Mario dived in and saved me," said Twilight, "and it was then I realized how cute he really was, and how cuddly he was since he was holding me. I said thank you and kissed him on the cheek." The three unicorns cooed excitedly.

"No wonder Mario was always around you so much growing up," said Minuette, "and when did you two realize that it was love?" Twilight and Mario then told their love story. While Mario wanted to skip over the Gala and Discord's corruption, Twilight didn't leave any details out. She even included how her stuffing her feelings down led to her using the "Want it, Need it," spell and finally confessing in tears she needed him. Then Twilight explained how they took things slowly, started dating, and how her feelings went from "I need him" to "I'm in love with him." The three unicorns listened with wide but very intrigued smiles on their face.

"So...when Mario was being held captive by Chrysalis," said Twilight, "I knew I had to come clean or Mario would lose his love to the changelings. That's when I found my courage and told him that I loved him. At the same time, we found out that Mario has love magic that can create special spells and other abilities."

"Impressive," said Minuette, "You two really are like a fairy tale. You both went through so many harsh challenges and struggles to finally realize that you were meant to be with each other forever and live happily ever after." Twilight and Mario just blushed and smiled at each other.

"Once we were together," said Mario, "the idea of being with each other forever was already something we both wanted. The very night we got our wings, I proposed to Twilight and she said yes. Since we were going to be crowned as the new Prince and Princess, Mom figured we could be wed that same day as the coronation since everypony would be there to celebrate."

"Smart idea," said Twinkleshine, "Plus it made the after party even more fun and exciting."

"I wanna know who found that little filly who sang at the after party," said Lemon Hearts, "that filly could sing and the song was really good."

"That was Sweetie Belle," said Twilight as Mario ate another donut, "she's a close friend of ours who has quite a crush on my husband. She even wrote the song herself."

"Wow," said Minuette," Is she a composer?"

"Afraid not," said Mario, "Despite her musical talents, she hasn't gotten her cutie mark in it."

"I see," said Lemon Hearts, "Probably has a different destiny. I'm sure she'll figure it out in good time."

"I just can't believe you girls were there and I never noticed," said Twilight.

"Sure!" said Twinkleshine, "We see you and Mario all the time!"

"You remember our old friend, Lyra, right?" Minuette giggled, "She lives in Ponyville too."

"I remember," said Mario, "I see her all the time when I make deliveries."

"We noticed," said Minuette, "You always did love your trains. We're always over there visiting her. Or she's coming over here!" She giggled again as she split a chocolate chip donut into two, "We've thought about asking both of you to join us from time to time, but we just sorta figured you'd moved on." Mario and Twilight both felt like they had gotten a hard slap in the face when they heard that.

"Oh," said Twilight sadly.

"I...see," Mario added in the same dejected tone. There was a brief pause as the three unicorns noticed how sad the royal couple looked. Lemon Hearts cleared her throat.

"So what brings you two by anyway?" Lemon Hearts asked, "All those times you've come back to Canterlot, you never had donuts with us before." Mario and Twilight exchanged looks with each other.

"Should I..." Mario proposed.

"It's alright dear, I'll go first," said Twilight as she sighed, "Well, uh, you see...I came to apologize." The three unicorns were left stunned as Minuette swallowed the piece of donut she had been eating.

"For what?" she asked curiously. Twilight looked nervous as Mario held her fore-hoof.

"Before I left Canterlot, I didn't really appreciate my friends," Twilight explained, "And that's because I didn't know how important friendship was. But I've learned so much since I moved to Ponyville. I learned what is means to be a good friend and that I certainly wasn't one to the three of you. So for all the pain I caused you, I am truly sorry." There was a brief silence before the three unicorns burst out laughing. Twilight and Mario were left stunned.

"Oh, come on, Twilight!" said Minuette, "Sure, it might've stung a little bit when you and Mario ran off to Ponyville without saying goodbye, but it's not like we weren't used to that from you! And we figured you kept Mario busy like you always did."

"Yeah, we didn't take it personally," added Twinkleshine.

"But it's really good to see you now," said Lemon Hearts. Twilight just smiled, relieved that everything was okay. Mario still looked rather glum and didn't smile.

"Mario?" Lemon Hearts asked, "what's wrong?" Mario just bit his lips, unsure of what to say.

"We're not mad with you either," said Twinkleshine, "We know how much you love Twilight and your efforts obviously paid off. She married you! We're happy for you."

"Thanks..." said Mario sadly, "but my apology isn't just for not keeping in touch with you all as much as I should have. Mine has to do with...when I was a big racer...I...said some harsh things..."

"Mario, you apologized for that a long time ago," said Minuette.

"We forgave you way back then," said Twinkleshine.

"Why bring this up now?" Lemon Hearts asked. Mario felt his eyes water as Twilight patted his shoulder to encourage him to speak his mind.

"Because the reason I stopped opening up with you guys after my accident was because I didn't think I was good enough to be your friend," said Mario.

"Mario...why would you feel like that?" Minuette asked with concern.

"Back in the day," Mario explained as he felt his tears build up in his eyes, "I used think that if I ever wanted my friends to love and care about me. I had to just share my compassion, sympathy, generosity, etc to other ponies and give above and beyond. By sharing my love with others, I hoped that maybe somepony would find me worth loving back. I also tried my best not to get into fights and quarrels. I would just take the blunt of it or try to make peace because I didn't want to give anypony a reason to not want me for a friend anymore."

"That sort of explains when we did get upset with you, you used to get really shy and guilty about it," said Twinkleshine, "But Mario, did you really think that we would just stop being your friend just like that, even if we disagreed or got into a fight."

"Yes," said Mario as his tears began to stream down his face, "Besides, I really hurt you all when I got my big ego. After I had my accident and was able to cry and scream my anger out, the only thing in my mind was that I blew it. You had no reason to be my friend anymore. In fact, when you never showed up to visit me in the hospital, I was never mad at you. I was mad at myself. I drove you away and I didn't think I could ever earn your forgiveness. That's why it took so long for me just to say sorry. It wasn't that it took me that long to realize my mistake, but..."

"...you thought we wouldn't forgive you and that we would just...reject you," said Lemon Hearts sadly. Mario began to cry as some soft sobs escaped his mouth.

"I used to think that in order to be loved I had to give 99% of it and only expect 1% back," Mario said in a broken tone.

"What?"

"Seriously?"

"Are you kidding me?!" said Lemon Hearts, Minuette, and Twinkleshine together.

"It wasn't until years later, after Twilight broke my heart, that I learned that I didn't have to expect so little for myself," Mario croaked, "and that it's not selfish to want to be loved. Real friends will love you back without you having to trying to earn it. And that I can love my friends because the love I share with my friends is different from what I have for my wife. So I guess what I wanted to say was..." Mario felt his composure break.

"I'm so sorry if I ever made you feel like I didn't care or that I didn't try to open up about all of these fears and insecurities with you," Mario sobbed, "I was just afraid of being rejected and I didn't want to make you girls think I was being a jerk because I had feelings for Twilight. You girls were my friends then and you still are now. I love you guys." Mario then just let himself cry as Twilight held him close. The three unicorns sat before him and put a fore-hoof on his shoulders. Mario looked at them with tear filled eyes, seeing nothing but warm smiles on their faces.

"Mario, we want you to know that we were never angry with you," said Minuette, "in fact, we owe you an apology."

"F-f-for what?" Mario hiccuped.

"We had actually tried to visit you after your accident," said Twinkleshine, "But Moon Dancer got frightened after she looked into your room and saw you exploding at Spitfire. We didn't try again after that, but...that was our mistake."

"If there was ever a time you needed a friend, it was when you were at rock bottom," said Minuette, "we could have help you pick up the pieces."

"Would you have..."

"We don't care if you had learned to walk again or were stuck in wheelchair forever," said Lemon Hearts, "You're our friend and we will always love you!"

"Yeah, we're sorry we made you feel like we didn't care," said Twinkleshine, "Just because we didn't know how to help you doesn't mean we couldn't have tried. We were just short-sighted, not angry with you. Can you forgive us?"

"Of course," said Mario, "You're my friends too. I'm also sorry if my crush on Twilight annoyed you so much..."

"Oh that was just us being jealous and immature," said Minuette with a giggle, "We were always rooting for you, even if we said otherwise."

"We're so happy that Twilight realized just how special you are," said Twinkleshine, "We can tell that she really loves you."

"He's my Schmoopy-woopy-cuddily-teddy-weddy bear!" Twilight cooed giddily. Mario just blushed annoyingly as the other unicorns burst out laughing. Then they gave him a group hug.

"Always remember that we love you and are here for you too, Mario," said Minuette, "We're your family."

"I will and thank you," said Mario with a smile as he sniffled and wiped his eyes as the three unicorns returns to their seats. Mario was definitely feeling much better.

"Speaking of family," said Twilight, "Mario actually found out about where he comes from."

"Really?!" said the three unicorns excitedly, "where are you from?"

"It's not what you'd expect," said Mario, "You see...I'm part of the Apple family." The three unicorns gasped and uttered comments of amazement.

"So that would make Applejack..." Twinkleshine asked since she knew of the orange pony.

"My little sister," said Mario.

"Cool!" said the three unicorns together.

"And your parents?" Lemon Hearts asked as Mario sighed sadly.

"They passed away many years ago," said Twilight, "Sometime after Mario stopped trying to find them." There was a brief silence before Twinkleshine smiled.

"I'm sure they're very proud of you, Mario," she said sweetly, "and you've got plenty of friends who love you to fill that empty space in your heart." Mario blinked that Twinkleshine even knew he felt that way, but was pleased at her perception.

"Hey! Anypony up for a blast from the past?" Lemon Hearts asked the group.

"Is it a good memory?" Mario asked a tad worried.

"Totally!" said Lemon Hearts, "Come on!"

It wasn't long before the group of ponies and Spike arrived at an old building. Twilight and Spike walked forward and looked inside of the window. Twilight gasped.

"It's our old science lab!" said Twilight, "I have so many great memories of this place! And while I never showed it, honey. Some of those memories were with you." Mario blushed as the other girls giggled.

"Remember when Lemon Hearts got her head stuck in that beaker?" Minuette said as Twinkleshine and Mario chuckled. Lemon Hearts just gave them an annoyed look.

"Still have no idea why you stuck your head in that beaker to begin with," Mario remarked to the yellow unicorn. Twilight couldn't help but feel a little left out. She had some memory of that little incident, but she did have her a memory of her own coming in mind. Suddenly as she looked inside the building, she could see their old science lab professor as several fillies and colts were gathered around chatting and asking the professor questions. Then young Lemon Hearts was running about with the beaker on her head as young Minuette and young Twinkleshine chased after her. At a nearby table were three unicorns. Two of them were reading a book, the first was young Twilight while the other was a butter colored filly with an orange mane and tail that had a lilac and violet streak in them. In fact her mane and tail style were exactly like Twilight, the filly's name was Moon Dancer. They two were discussing their books together.

"But according to this book, you're supposed to add the sodium chloride first," said young Twilight.

"I read ahead," said young Moon Dancer, "and to make a proper salt lick, you need to add the molasses first."

"Well, I read ahead too, Moon Dancer," said young Twilight in a rather arrogant manner, "and I'm sure it was sodium chloride first."

"Oh, I've got the wrong book," said young Moon Dancer before adding dryly, "that's so hilarious." It was then young Lemon Hearts, young Minuette, and young Twinkleshine ran behind them as the two went back to reading when young Mario, sitting across from them and wearing safety goggles, was using his magic to hold a beaker with some potion in it and had a very durable plate with a homemade butter cookie on it.

"Add just two ounces of this potion to the cookie," young Mario said quietly, "and..."

BOOM!

All young Mario got was a small explosion that startled young Twilight and young Moon Dancer and had left the cookies in ashes and his face covered in black soot.

"UGH! Not again!" young Mario groaned as he shook the soot off his face.

"What seems to be the problem?" young Moon Dancer asked with a cute smile on her face as she walked up to him.

"Um...I'd...rather not say," said young Mario, "You'll probably just laugh at me..."

"Oh, I would never laugh at you, Mario," said young Moon Dancer, "You're so intelligent."

"T-t-t-thanks," said young Mario, rather frazzled by the complement, "Well...I'm trying to create a special spell. One that would allow me to become temporarily invincible."

"Ugh, this again..." said young Twilight annoyingly. Mario just looked sad as young Moon Dancer gave the purple pony a glare..

"Well, I believe that you'll figure it out," said young Moon Dancer, "as famous writer Hoofmer always said: If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again. I know you can do it."

"Thanks Moon Dancer," said young Mario. Moon Dancer giggled happily in response.

"Hey, if you're not busy helping Twilight," said young Moon Dancer timidly, "do you think we could..."

"Hold that thought!" young Mario interrupted as he stepped before the approaching young Lemon Hearts, "Halt! How about we get that off your head?" Young Lemon Hearts just sat down as Mario grabbed the beaker with his fore-hooves instead of his magic. Young Moon Dancer just watched with interest.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee-YAH!" young Mario grunted as he pulled the beaker off, but he pulled so hard that when Lemon Heart's head was free, he went flying a few yards back, landing with a hard thud. When he landed, everypony except young Twilight and young Moon Dancer was laughing since the beaker was now stuck on young Mario's head.

"Oh come on!?" young Mario groaned in annoyance as he sat up. Young Moon Dancer walked up and pulled the beaker off his head.

"Thanks Moon Dancer," said young Mario, "What did you want to ask me?" Young Moon Dancer blushed and looked away.

"N-n-never mind," she replied shyly. Mario just blinked before he used his magic to hand her a sheet of paper.

"These are my notes for the salt lick," said Mario, "I'm sure you could use them." Young Moon Dancer smiled as she took the notes with her magic.

"Thanks, Mario," young Moon Dancer replied, "You're very sweet." Young Moon Dancer couldn't help but blush a bit.

"Um...your welcome?" said young Mario uneasily before the two finally returned to the table and young Twilight pulled him over so they could get to work. Back in the present, Twilight watched as her vision of the past concluded as the rest of the group was just chuckling with each other.

"By the way," said Minuette, "Did you ever perfect that invincibility spell?"

"Oh, he certainly did!" said Spike, "Catch Mario!" Spike then tossed a star cookie, which Mario caught and ate it up.

(cue favorite invincibility music)

The three unicorns oohed and awed as Mario sparkled and glowed various colors of the rainbow.

"Took me years, but the result was totally worth all that trial and error!" said Mario he did a few spin jumps in the air as the three unicorns cheered. Twilight just smiled as she looked back at her now invincible husband when she remembered something.

"Whatever happened to Moon Dancer?" Twilight asked as Mario's invincibility cookie wore off.

"Moon Dancer?" Lemon Hearts exclaimed.

"Yeah, you know, our other friend," said Twilight.

"I think she used to have a crush on me," Mario added.

"Oh, right!" said Twinkleshine, "Moon Dancer! I remember her!"

"I wonder what she's up to," said Lemon Hearts.

"Yeah, I always liked her," said Minuette, "We just sort of lost touch after you and Mario left."

"I think she went to live out by the stadium, didn't she?" Twinkleshine asked.

"Well, let's go see," said Lemon Hearts.

"Lead the way, Lemons," said Mario, "Come on, honey!"

"Lemons?" Twilight asked.

"I came up with nicknames for them just like I did with our friends on Ponyville," said Mario, "I call them now Lemons, Twink, and Minnie." Minuette giggled.

"I came up with my nickname," said Minuette, "Now we really feel like family now!"

"Mario always was like the big brother of the group," said Twinkleshine.

"And I'm proud to call you three my honorary sisters," Mario replied as Twilight giggled in agreement.

Soon the group arrived to a house that had a very run down appearance, along with a run-down yard and broken up fence.

"This...is Moon Dancer's house?" Mario asked with concern.

"I think this is the place," said Minuette, "Didn't used to look like this, though." Twilight and Spike looked rather worried. Mario suddenly felt rather sad as he sat down.

"What's wrong honey?" Twilight asked.

"This yard, this house," said Mario sadly, "It...it looks like somepony who has lost all their hope...so much sadness and bitterness..." Mario put a fore-hoof to his head as Twilight hugged him from the side. The three unicorns were rather surprised by Mario's remark.

"I...didn't know you were into auras, Mario," Twinkleshine replied.

"He's not," said Twilight, "It's his love magic. He apparently can sense a troubled heart nearby and it makes him feel sad."

"And I want to see if there's anything I can do to help," Mario added. Twilight then approached the door and knocked it. Twilight then knocked again only for her fore-hoof to smash a hole in the door. Twilight peeked into the hole, only to see a familiar pony looking back at her. Twilight gasped and backed away. The front door slowly creaked open.

"Moon Dancer?" Twilight asked.

"Is that you?" Mario asked. There before them was a familiar butter colored unicorn, but she was now wearing black glasses on her face, a worn black sweater, and had the bangs of her mane tied up with a beaded hair tie. She also had a very stern look on her face.

"What do you want?" Moon Dancer asked rudely, "I'm trying to study."

"It's us! Your old friends!" Twilight announced as a dynamic background appeared as the five ponies and Spike smiled for her.

"Mario," Lemon Hearts muttered through her teeth, "Do the old pose! Moon Dancer used to love it!" Mario hummed.

(Cue Mario 64 "You got a star" fanfare)

Mario twirled in place on his hind legs and posed a jump in mid air with a neon star above his head. However, Moon Dancer wasn't impressed.

"Ugh!" she groaned loudly and slammed the door, killing the moment for Mario and rest of the group.

"That's old Moon Dancer, all right," Minuette chuckled nervously, "She always did like her books. Hey! Kinda like you used to be, huh?" Minuette giggled to herself as Twilight and the rest of the group had worried looks on their faces.

"Exactly how I used to be," said Twilight before looking at Mario, "Right dear?"

"Uhh..." Mario stuttered before sighing when Twilight glared at him, "Yes...can you stop making me make you feel worse?"

"Sorry," said Twilight, "just feeling guilty I guess." It was a few days later, Moon Dancer was making her way to the Canterlot Library. Across the street, Twilight, Minuette, and Spike were sitting at a cafe table together. Each of them were wearing some sunglasses on their faces as they held menus in their fore-hooves, or claws in Spike's case.

"Come on, Twilight!" Spike sighed in exasperation, "We've been watching her for three days! Library, house, library, house. That's it!"

"I have to agree with Spike, honey," said Mario, "I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish keeping your distance from her."

"Observation, dear," Twilight answered as she used her magic to lift her shades onto her forehead, "If you've been watching her like I have, you'll have noticed something. Nopony looks at her or says hello or even gives her a smile. It's like she doesn't even exist. Was she always like this?"

"Well, she always was a little shy," Minuette replied, "But for a while there, she was really starting to come out of her shell. Remember when she threw that party?" Twilight just blushed and shrugged as Mario snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, right, I think you and Mario might've been busy that day," said Minuette.

Flashback

Twilight and Mario were walking side by side when they were stopped by Twinkleshine, Minuette, and Lemon Hearts, who stood appeared before them.

"There you are, Twilight! Mario!" Twinkleshine called out cheerfully, "Moon Dancer is having a little get-together at the west castle courtyard. You wanna come?" Mario smiled. He had known about Moon Dancer's little party for a few days.

"We'll be there for sure," said Mario, for he had promised to get Twilight there one way or another, "I can't wait to..."

"Oh sorry, girls," said Twilight, "I've got a lot of studying to catch up on. Plus Mario and I are busy today." Mario went agape. This was the first time he was hearing this when Twilight dashed away.

"Could you excuse...could you excuse me please?" Mario replied to the stunned girls sheepishly before dashing after Twilight, "Twi...Twi. Twi!" The other girls just looked indignant as they watched both unicorns disappeared.

End flashback

Back in the present, Twilight just stared into space with a devastated look on her face.

"Thought she finally might be letting her guard down a little with that party," said Minuette, "We invited her out a few times after that. But she was always too busy studying. So, eventually, we just stopped asking."

"I see," said Mario quietly as Minuette went back to reading her menu.

"I had no idea that party was so important to her," said Twilight.

"I certainly did," said Mario quietly.

"Then care to explain why you didn't bother to tell me?!" Twilight demanded but then winced when Mario gave her the stink eye.

"Twilight, I love you very much," he said in a firm tone, "but when you get a train of thought, idea, anxiety, or whatever. You never listen to a word I say." Twilight sighed.

"I know that's a bad habit of mine," said Twilight sadly, "but I had no idea that it could've caused this."

"I figured Moon Dancer would be hurt," said Mario, "But I didn't expect anything as bad as this." Twilight then stood up with her fore-hooves on the table.

"I've gotta find a way to make it up to her!" said Twilight.

"Honey," Mario warned, "just remember that all you can do is apologize to her. You can't force her to..."

"I'm sorry, but your loving wife is focused on a mission and is no longer listening to a word you're saying," said Twilight with a monotone and cute smile on her face, "Please save your energy while I go make Moon Dancer happy no matter what it takes. Goodbye!" Twilight then teleported away before Mario could reply. Mario growled in annoyance.

"I hate it when she gets like this," Mario grumbled as Minuette giggled.

"Guess something's never change," she replied, "right, Spike."

"You got that right," Spike replied as the two snickered at Mario's expense. Mario just set the menu standing up in front of his face and sulked.

Back in the library, Moon Dancer was just busy reading and taking some notes with her magic. Twilight quietly walked inside and looked around. It wasn't long before she found Moon Dancer and smiled. She quickly pondered before coming up with an idea. As Moon Dancer continued her note taking, Twilight decided to casually walk by in the background.

"Oh, my gosh!" Twilight gasped in surprise, "Moon Dancer?! Is that-"

"SHH!" the other ponies hushed sternly. Twilight felt embarassed and quickly zoomed off and hid behind a shelf. She then noticed a thought bubble appear with Mario in it. It wasn't the real Mario, but rather her innermost thoughts had decided to appear looking like him to get Twilight's attention.

"That was dumb!" imaginary Mario remarked. Twilight just glared discreetly, made a pin appear, and popped the thought bubble.

As Moon Dancer continued to read, Twilight decided to try approaching her again from the background and took a seat beside her.

"Moon Dancer, can I talk to you for a min-" Twilight tried to ask.

"Shh!" Moon Dancer retorted, but Twilight smiled smugly and pointed upward with a fore-hoof. Moon Dancer looked up to see that they were inside a barrier of some sort.

"What is this?" Moon Dancer demanded.

"Eh, a bubble of silence," Twilight replied casually, "I haven't seen you in a while and I thought it might be nice to catch up."

"For what purpose?" Moon Dancer asked rudely.

"You know 'cause we're friends," said Twilight. Moon Dancer just used her magic to shoot a magic beam at the bubble, making it pop loudly.

"SHHH!" the other ponies retorted sternly. Twilight tried to retort, but got a death glare from Moon Dancer in reply. Twilight just felt indignant as her thought bubble with Mario inside reappeared.

"It was a good plan," said imaginary Mario, "But apparently getting Moon Dancer to speak to you is another challenge entirely."

"Well, do you have any better ideas?" Twilight asked angrily.

"Get me a break! I'm your inner thoughts!" imaginary Mario retorted, "I'm not the real Mario!"

"Then why am I seeing Mario in my thought bubble?" Twilight demanded.

"Because you know he has always been your voice of reason," said imaginary Mario, "despite the fact you never listen to me or him!"

"GRR!" Twilight growled.

"Who are you talking to?" Moon Dancer asked irritably as Twilight blinked and found her thought bubble had popped.

"Eh...heh...nopony..." Twilight said sheepishly before zooming away.

It wasn't much longer before Moon Dancer had finished reading one book and was looking around for a second. She had just used her magic to pull out a book when she found Twilight looking at her with a cute smile on her face from the space the book had been.

"I'm really sorry to bother you," said Twilight, "I was just hoping we would go outside and talk for a bit." Moon Dancer replied by glaring at Twilight and putting the book back on the shelf, which was right over Twilight's face. She then stomped off. Twilight just peeked over the other side of the book shelf with a stunned look on her face.

"Pushing, pushing," imaginary Mario said with an eye roll.

"You know what," Twilight retorted, "I'd really appreciate it if you'd get lost and leave me alone!"

"Fine," imaginary Mario retorted as he put on a trilby hat and grabbed a suitcase, "That's the last time I bother helping you!"

"Is that a promise?" Twilight retorted as imaginary Mario sternly popped the thought bubble himself, making Twilight flinch for a moment before she snorted to herself.

Now that Twilight had supposedly cleared her mind, she went on with her next idea. As Moon Dancer was reading another book, she had just turned the page when she noticed on one of the pages a basic black and white drawing of an alicorn on it. It was of course Twilight herself.

"I'm sorry I skipped your party," Twilight whispered.

"EEEEEEEEK!" Moon Dancer screamed and shut the book.

"SHH! QUIET!" The other ponies retorted sternly again. Moon Dancer quickly recovered and growled irritably as she opened the book.

"Why won't you leave me alone?" Moon Dancer demanded angrily, not noticing that other ponies were watching her supposedly yell at a book and were giving her funny looks, "I'm trying to study! You've got the wrong pony! I don't have parties!"

"You did once," Twilight whispered back, "And I was so caught up in my own studying that I didn't take your feelings into account."

"Look, Twilight Twinkle-" Moon Dancer retorted.

"Sparkle," Twilight corrected, slightly annoyed.

"Whatever," Moon Dancer remarked with an eye roll, "I just need to be alone so I can study without some crazy pony trying to make friends, all right?!"

"Fine!" said Twilight as she walked across the page importantly.

"Wait," said Moon Dancer, "How did you get into my book like that?" Twilight just gave her a smirk. That had been her backup plan the entire time. Now the two ponies could talk.

"I've been studying a new studying technique," Twilight explained as she and Moon Dancer walked across a bridge on the way to her old tower, "I can only do it for a few minutes, but you'd be amazed how much you can pick up when you're actually in a book!"

"It's one of Hayscartes' methods," Moon Dancer pointed out.

"You know Hayscartes?" Twilight asked.

"Of course!" said Moon Dancer, "He's a genius!"

"I have a copy of his Treatise on Ponies, you know," Twilight told her. Moon Dancer just gasped with interest as Twilight lead the butter colored unicorn to her old tower and walked inside.

"Honey, I'm here and we've got a guest!" Twilight called out. Moon Dancer froze stiff as her heart skipped a beat.

"Did...did...did you just say "Honey, I'm here"?!" Moon Dancer asked in shock. She then gasped when she recognized the alicorn flying down to them from the upper floor to Twilight. Even with the wings, Moon Dancer knew who it was.

"Hey Moon Dancer," said Mario as he gave Twilight a kiss on the cheek, "Glad to see you again." Moon Dancer blinked as her glasses slid down her nose. She quickly readjusted them with her magic.

"Wait...M-M-Mario? You...you and Twilight...are a couple?!" Moon Dancer exclaimed in shock.

"More than that," said Twilight, "Mario is my husband." Moon Dancer was stunned.

"You and Mario...are married?!" said Moon Dancer in a deadpan tone.

"Guess you missed our coronation and after party?" Mario asked. Moon Dancer blinked before putting on a very blunt looking face.

"I guess I did," said Moon Dancer bluntly.

"I see," said Mario, not believing her answer but decided not to push the issue, "Well, guess you can say that my persistence paid off. Twilight fell in love with me and we've been happily married ever since." Twilight nuzzled his cheek as Mario chuckled. Moon Dancer just stared for a moment before she glared at the two.

"Remind me why I'm here?" Moon Dancer asked annoyingly. The royal couple pulled away as Twilight cleared her throat.

"Because I wanted you to see this," said Twilight as she gestured for Moon Dancer to follow her upstairs. Moon Dancer did, but not before giving Mario the stink eye. Mario winced at the look as Moon Dancer followed Twilight upstairs.

"That was a...bitter look," said Mario to himself, "and...was that a bit of...hatred?" Mario pondered to himself as he headed upstairs where Moon Dancer was looking around in awe.

"What is this place?" Moon Dancer asked.

"This is where I used to live and where Mario used to study and do research projects with me," said Twilight, "You mean, I never had you over?" Moon Dancer was too busy looking at Twilight's book collection to answer that question.

"Wow! A first edition of Principles of Magic!" Moon Dancer remarked as she pulled it out of the shelf, "Hey, didn't I give you this?" Mario winced and started whistling innocently.

"Maybe?" Twilight replied sheepishly.

"I did!" Moon Dancer replied as she opened the book, "I even wrote something! "To my friend, Twilight Sparkle. Thanks for introducing me to the classics". I can see by the fact you left it here that it meant a lot to you." Twilight and Mario could easily sense the sarcasm and bitterness in Moon Dancer's tone as she closed the book.

"In our defense, Moon Dancer," said Mario, "Our first home in Ponyville did get blown up and nearly all but a small selection of books got destroyed. Your book would have been lost if we had taken it with us."

"Not if it had mattered that I had given it to you," Moon Dancer retorted bitterly.

"Look," said Twilight as she walked over to the butter colored unicorn, "I didn't bring you over here for even more poignant reminders of what a bad friend I was. My husband has already made that crystal clear to me over the years."

"I'll bet," Moon Dancer muttered under her breath.

"I brought you here to give you this," said Twilight as she present Moon Dancer with a spare house key, "You can come here whenever you want and study to your heart's content."

"Really?" said Moon Dancer as she used her magic to collect the key.

"Certainly," said Mario, "My wife and I hardly ever visit this place and we'd hate to see all these books just sit on the shelves not being used. You could use them more than us."

"But first," said Twilight, "you gotta do something for me and my husband?"

"What?" Moon Dancer asked skeptically.

"Have dinner with our old friends tonight," said Twilight.

"I'm covering the bill," Mario added, "You can get whatever you like, dessert included."

"I can't," said Moon Dancer as she dropped the key, "I'm reorganizing my biology scrolls."

"Mario and I have been spending a lot of time with Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts since we've been back," said Twilight as she put a fore-hoof on her side, "They really miss you."

"Plus I've been wanting to talk to you about something that has been bothering me since I left Canterlot," Mario added, "I've already settled things with the others, including Lyra back in Ponyville."

"Look, I already told you!" said Moon Dancer as she swatted Twilight's fore-hoof away, "The last thing I need is a bunch of ridiculous friend-making keeping me from studying!" She then started to leave when she walked past Mario.

"And as for whatever you wanted to discuss with me," said Moon Dancer to the prince, "Go tell it to somepony who cares!"

"Ouch..." Mario whimpered, feeling very hurt.

"Considering who you married, you should be used to it!" Moon Dancer shot back as she headed toward the front door.

"Moon Dancer, wait!" said Twilight, "A wise pony once told taught me that there's more to life than dusty old books!"

"I tried friendship and it's just not for me," Moon Dancer replied as she went to open the door to leave, "Now, if you'll excuse me..." Twilight pondered quickly when she got another idea.

"What if I taught you Hayscartes' method?" Twilight proposed. Moon Dancer stopped to look at her as Twilight used her magic to tell her a paper saying when and where they were having dinner.

"Fine, see you tonight," said Moon Dancer bluntly before leaving and slamming the door. Twilight just sighed with relief before heading upstairs to see Mario looking rather dejected.

"Honey?" Twilight asked gently.

"I'll be okay," said Mario bravely as he headed for the front door, "I just gonna go for a short flight and I'll be back in time to wash up for dinner."

"Okay," said Twilight, "And honey?"

"Yeah?" Mario asked in a soft tone.

"I do care about your feelings and what's on your mind," said Twilight, "You know that don't you?" Mario sighed.

"Yes I do," said Mario, giving her a sad smile, "I'm not upset with you. I'm just hurt by what Moon Dancer said. I'll be back later."

"Sure, dear," said Twilight gently as Mario walked sadly out of the tower. Twilight just sighed, inwardly hoping that things would be better later tonight.

Later that night, the six ponies and Spike were all sitting at a large round table at a rather nice restaurant in the heart of Canterlot. While everypony was glad that Moon Dancer had shown up, they were all having a hard time making conversation with her, except for Spike who was just keeping quiet and stuffing his face.

"So, uh, what are you studying these days?" Minuette asked the butter colored unicorn.

"Science, magic, history, economics, pottery," Moon Dancer replied, "things like that."

"Yowza!" said Minuette and chuckled, "You planning on being a professor or something?"

"No," said Moon Dancer bluntly.

"So you're just...studying," said Minuette.

"Sure you don't have a goal in mind," said Mario, "Even when Twilight used to study, she had originally hoped to be a professor or the librarian of Equestria's next greatest library."

"And what were your goals?" Moon Dancer asked, "Besides becoming Twilight's poodle or lifelong slave?" Mario winced at the rude remark before recomposing himself.

"A wanted to run my own business, and I actually succeeded in three major ways," said Mario, "I run my own small railway delivery system in Ponyville, I'm partners to the world's greatest party planner, and I'm business partners with Rarity."

"Wow!" said Twinkleshine, "I always wondered if you would ever come out of the dark regarding your sewing abilities. Do you design outfits too?"

"Indeed I do," said Mario, "Twilight's dress at the last Gala? My own design." The others oohed and awed impressively. Moon Dancer felt most annoyed.

"Can I go now?" she asked rudely.

"Moon Dancer, please," said Twilight.

"It's all right, Twilight," said Minuette, "We're having a good time. Right, everypony?" The others just murmured sounds of uncertainty in reply.

"So, uh...Spike," Minuette continued to try and keep the conversation going, "tell Moon Dancer that story 'bout how Twilight had to read a book about doing a sleepover!" Spike inhaled to speak.

"Slumber 101?" Moon Dancer asked, "I've read that."

"Oh! Really?" Twilight chuckled, "Well, did I mention I took Mario hostage during the party?" Mario blushed as all but Moon Dancer laughed.

"Did Mario look good in make-up?" Lemon Hearts asked.

"That and the curlers we put in his mane and tail made him extra cute," Twilight added as all but Moon Dancer laughed again at Mario's expense.

"You always enjoyed treating Mario like dirt didn't you?" Moon Dancer remarked. That got everypony to stop laughing and there was an awkward silence.

"Well, uh," Twilight stuttered, trying to come up with something to erase the awkwardness in the air, "did you know Lemon Hearts works at the Canterlot Palace?"

"Uh, yeah. It's true," said Lemon Hearts, "I do big events mostly. State dinners, that sort of thing."

"Remind us to ask for your help next time Canterlot hosts a summit," said Mario, "Last time my wife and I were up for three days trying to get everything ready ourselves and it lead to some...unfortunate consequences."

"I said I was sorry," said Spike annoyingly, "It's not my fault dragon sneeze trees upset my sinuses."

"I wasn't going to bring you up, Spike," said Mario with a glare at the little dragon. Another moment of awkward silence presented itself.

"Ugh!" Moon Dancer huffed before stomping away.

"Moon Dancer, we haven't ordered dessert yet!" Mario called out.

"Stuff it up your ear!" Moon Dancer shouted. Mario cringed and just looked most upset. The buttered colored unicorn was already out the door by the time Twilight had helped Mario recompose himself and the royal couple teleported out of the restaurant, but not before Mario handed Twinkleshine the bits needed to pay for their meal with tip.

"Moon Dancer!" Twilight called out but the butter colored unicorn kept walking and ignored her. Twilight and Mario then teleported in front of her.

"You gotta give a friendship a chance!" said Twilight.

"And you're obviously upset with us, especially me," said Mario, "Can't we talk this out?"

"Dah! I gave friendship a chance a long time ago," said Moon Dancer sternly, "It didn't work out then - it isn't gonna work out now!"

"Moon Dancer please..." said Mario.

"I don't wanna hear it!" Moon Dancer yelled as she angrily stomped away. Mario and Twilight both looked hurt. It was then Spike arrived shortly after.

"Twilight, Mario, are you all right?" Spike asked as he saw the purple pony's eyes were filling up with tears.

"No," said Twilight, clearly upset, "No, I'm not." Mario could see Twilight was about to cry.

"Honey..." Mario asked gently.

"How on earth did you put up with that from me all these years?" Twilight asked as tears streamed down her cheeks, "getting brushed off like that really hurts. Why? Why would you let me do that to you? And for years on end?"

"Because I love you," said Mario quietly but also honestly, "and at the time, I was afraid to speak up about it because I thought you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore. The idea of you telling me to get lost forever was far more painful than being turned down or treated poorly all the time. I know now that I don't need to be treated that way to have a friend love me back. I'm sorry that you have to learn how hurtful it is when you used to treat others like this, but...sometimes you don't realize how much you hurt others until they treat you in the same manner. I've had to deal with that myself if you remember that time Rainbow Dash's ego was at an all-time high."

"I remember," said Twilight with a slightly broken tone, "I figured it felt like a slap to the face, but...if she's that angry with me. I can't imagine how hurt you were inside." Mario pulled Twilight in for a tender hug as Twilight cried quietly on his shoulder.

"I'm not gonna lie and say that it the pain wasn't that bad," said Mario, "Yes, you did hurt me deeply treating me like that, but as I told you before, you were a different pony. You've come so far since then and now you know just how valuable friendship is and you've learned how valuable love is. We've learned to love and appreciate our friendships as well as each other."

"I still didn't treat you as well as I should have," Twilight sobbed.

"Listen, honey," said Mario, "you're not perfect. Neither am I. We both have bad habits that we struggle to change, but that doesn't mean you're a bad friend or a bad wife. I mean...do my flaws and bad habits make me a bad husband?"

"Of course not!" said Twilight as they pulled away and looked at him with watery eyes and tear stained cheeks.

"Then you don't need to feel that way about yourself either," said Mario as he used a fore-hoof to wipe Twilight's cheeks, "and you beating yourself up about all of this won't make things right, especially with Moon Dancer. All you can do is say you're sorry and then its her choice whether she forgives you or not. It's just like when I wanted to be honest with you about my feelings. I couldn't expect you to accept it or return it. All I could do was be honest and hope for the best."

"That doesn't make me feel better," said Twilight sadly as she turned to walk away. Spike, who had been just watching and listening this whole time, decided to speak.

"W-where are you goin'?" Spike asked.

"I don't know Spike," said Twilight sadly, "I really messed this one up. That party was everything to her. I can only imagine what it must've felt like when I didn't show up." Twilight, Mario, and Spike then noticed that the purple pony had left them to the west castle courtyard. Twilight and Mario looked to see another vision of the past manifest before both their eyes.

Flashback

Moon Dancer was setting up for her little party. Back then, she looked the same as she did as a filly, except she had her black glasses on and her bangs were down. Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and Minuette had just arrived.

"Hey, Moon Dancer!" said Minuette, "Look at this spread, huh?"

"Thank you so much for coming!" Moon Dancer said happily.

"Of course," said Twinkleshine, "We wouldn't miss one of our best friends' parties!"

"Is Twilight coming?" Moon Dancer asked excitedly, "And Mario too? I think I'm ready to tell him how I feel! Oooh! Maybe he'll finally stop gushing over Twilight once he learns there's a pony who truly loves him! I can't wait to say those three words and make him my special somepony!" There was a long silence as the three unicorns winced. Moon Dancer didn't need long to figure out the answer.

"Oh. Okay," said Moon Dancer sadly but then blinked, "Wait, maybe that was just Twilight! I'm sure Mario will..." The three unicorns cringed and looked away again. Moon Dancer than figured that if Twilight wasn't coming, neither was Mario.

"Oh...I see..." said Moon Dancer, now feeling heartbroken.

"Hey, we'll still have fun, right?" Minuette chuckled nervously.

"Sure..." said Moon Dancer in a tone that had no emotion in her voice as she walked sadly away.

End Flashback

It was then the vision disappeared and Twilight just looked more glum.

"If there was only a way to undo the damage," said Twilight sadly. Mario sighed.

"You can't change the past, dear," said Mario sadly, "take it from somepony who had his own regrets." Twilight pondered and then smirked.

"Honey, I have another idea," said Twilight, "But...I need your help to make it happen. Will you help me?" Mario sighed.

"Before I agree, what exactly is this idea?" Mario asked skeptically.

"I'll explain along the way," said Twilight, "right now, we're gonna need one more pony's help. And I know just who can help us." Twilight hoped that once Mario heard about her idea that he would agree with it, and indeed he did.

Next morning, Minuette had just arrived outside of the tower Twilight and Mario were staying in. She knocked on the door and then leaned in once she didn't hear a reply.

"Huh. Guess they must've gone back to Ponyville," said Minuette casually and turned to leave. But then she noticed something in the distance. It was Twilight and Mario. The former was doing a bit of a super-pony pose as she flew with something pink on her back and Spike was hanging onto Twilight's tail for dear life. He had once again made the mistake of riding Twilight's back instead of Mario's, especially since Twilight wasn't used to carrying anything bigger than Spike on her back.

"Wheeeeeeeeee!" Pinkie screamed.

"Huh?" Minuette exclaimed in surprise.

"Whoooooaaa!" Pinkie laughed despite the fact that Twilight was coming in way too fast for a safe landing.

"INCOMING!" Mario called out as he saw Minuette in front of them since Mario couldn't break Twilight's momentum. It was too late, Twilight collided with Minuette and they all crashed landed into the grass below.

"Ugh, and I thought we had finally gotten past the crash landings," Mario groaned.

"Sorry dear," Twilight groaned.

"That was awesome!" Pinkie exclaimed as she jumped into the air and hovered about by twirling her tail like a propeller, "We gotta go flying more often, Twilight! Same for you, big brother!"

"Sure thing..." Mario said wearily.

"There you are!" Minuette laughed and already recovered from the crash, "I thought you both threw in the old towel and headed home! Then again...Mario throwing in the old towel? Sounds kinda weird now that I think about it..." Minuette just giggled to herself.

"We did head back home," said Twilight, "But not to throw in the towel, we went to get our secret weapon. Minuette, meet-"

"Hey! Pinkie Pie!" said Minuette excitedly.

"Hi, Minuette!" said Pinkie as the two ponies shared a warm hug with each other, "Twilight, Mario, you didn't say Minuette would be here!"

"We didn't know she was looking for us," Mario replied honestly.

"You two know each other?" Twilight asked in surprise.

"Oh, sure!" said Pinkie, "She was one of Cadance's bridesmaids! We hang out all the time when she's in Ponyville! Didn't you know that? Sometimes Mario would join us, but he was always rather quiet since we tended to do most of the talking."

"Oh, r-r-right," said Twilight uneasily but was struggling to remember Mario ever telling her about that.

"Ha! And you call yourself the Princess of Friendship!" Pinkie teased and gave Twilight a playful jab, "Oh! Minuette was also the one who came up with Mario and I's spirit cheer." Pinkie then jumped to the side and squatted down.

"Ready..." said Pinkie.

"...Yeah!" Mario said as he mirrored her position. Then the two shared a high hoof with each other and posed on their hind legs.

"Party time!" they shouted together. Minuette squeed with delight as Pinkie walked up to her.

"Twilight and Mario briefed me on the way here," said Pinkie the baby blue unicorn, "We'll fifteen bags of confetti and as many hooves as we can get."

"Let's go!" said Minuette excitedly, "We can pass by the donut place on the way!"

"Don't forget this!" said Mario as he gave a TOOT-TOOT with his horn and made several freight cars appear behind him. Minuette and Pinkie smiled as they jumped into the freight car that was actually a few feet away from the rest of the train.

"Now we can round everything and everypony pony up in style," said Pinkie.

"Just one question if we're gonna ride this train, Mario," said Minuette with a smirk on her face.

"What's that?" Mario asked.

"Have you got some bootlaces ready?" Minuette giggled as Pinkie snickered. Pinkie had heard about the bootlace incident. Mario groaned loudly as the two ponies laugh. Mario then got a devious smirk on his face as he banged into their freight car hard and connected it to the rest of the train.

"AHHH!" the two ponies yelped as they fell into their backs from their freight car being bumped.

"Hey, we want a proper engine!" Minuette complained as she and Pinkie sat back up.

"Not a spoiled brat prince!" Pinkie added as the two snickered, even Twilight was chuckling. Mario just rolled his eyes and pulled the train into town. Twilight and Spike watched them disappear before the latter turned to Twilight.

"And what are we gonna do?" Spike asked the purple pony.

"Just come with me," said Twilight confidently as her plan was now underway.

Elsewhere, Moon Dancer has just exited the Canterlot library when she noticed some books laying on the ground. She knelt down so see what the covers were.

"Ooh! A Brief History of the Wagon Harness!" said Moon Dancer with interest and then looked at another book on the floor, "Huh? The Life and Times of Morari the Maneless?" She then picked up both books with her magic. She then noticed a long trail of dropped books on the ground and started to pick them up one by one. It wasn't long before Moon Dancer had two very tall stacks of books. She then looked up and gasped, which caused her to drop all the books at her sides. She noticed the area was covered in decorations.

"What is this?" Moon Dancer asked as she readjusted her glasses.

"It's a party," said Twilight as she and Mario appeared with party hats, "For you." Twinkleshine, Minuette, and Lemon Hearts appeared as well, also wearing party hats. Spike then pushed a large cake over the group.

"Surprise!" Pinkie shouted as jumped out of the cake, wearing her own party hat, and put one on Moon Dancer's head. She also stuck a noise maker into the butter-colored unicorn's mouth.

"Come on in!" said Twilight.

"It'sa party time!" said Mario. Moon Dancer then spat out the noise maker in her mouth definitively.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Moon Dancer as she crushed the party hat with her magic, "I don't do parties." Moon Dancer started to walk away before Twilight teleport ported in front of her, which caused the purple pony's hat to fall off.

"I know," said Twilight, "And Mario and I think it's our...no...it's my fault. Back when we were in school together, you invited me and Mario to a party. I was so focused on my studies that I didn't show up. And I was the one who said Mario couldn't come either."

"Big deal!" Moon Dancer retorted sternly.

"It was a big deal," said Twilight as she presented the party to the butter-colored unicorn, "and now that I realized how important friendship is, I'd like to make up for my mistake with a new party. A party in honor of my friend Moon Dancer!" Twilight then grabbed a swinging stick for a piñata and offered it to Moon Dancer, "Please, you've got to let me make this up to you." Moon Dancer just glared as she took the stick with her magic.

"And you think this is gonna do it, huh?" Moon Dancer asked irritably as she headed to the piñata.

"Uh, yes?" Twilight asked sheepishly as Mario walked up to her.

"Well, sure, why wouldn't it?" Moon Dancer replied sarcastically as she lightly batted the piñata with the stick and then pointed it at Twilight and Mario, "That was only the first time I put myself out there, and then you didn't even bother to show up! Then you both left town without saying goodbye even though we were supposed to be friends!" Moon Dancer's voice broke and she began to cry.

"I was humiliated!" Moon Dancer croaked, "I felt like I wasn't important! I never wanted to let myself be hurt like that again!" She sternly pointed the piñata stick at the three other unicorns, making them wince, as she made Twilight sit down and lean away, "Those three finally convinced me that I had value! That other ponies might like me and want to be my friend! And you. Didn't. Show. UP!"

"Moon Dancer please..." said Mario gently.

"And YOU!" Moon Dancer yelled as hot tears streamed down her face, "You're worse than Twilight! Did you ever stop to think that maybe she WASN'T meant to be your special somepony?! That MAYBE you're special somepony was right in front of your face?" Mario just looked at her sadly.

"Moon Dancer, I knew you had a crush on me," said Mario.

"What?" Moon Dancer said in a dark tone.

"I knew you liked me, but I couldn't return your feelings," said Mario, "My heart was already with Twilight. There was no way I could've tried making it work with you or anypony else, because nopony deserves to be..."

SMACK!

Moon Dancer smacked him hard across the face.

"...a second choice," Mario finished as Moon Dancer looked at him in rage.

"I hate you, Mario Star!" Moon Dancer shouted, "You're need to find love would have been a lot less painful if you had just stopped gawking over Twilight and moved on to somepony who actually DID love you! That pony was me! Not like you ever cared! Instead, you continued to pursue a pony who treated you like nothing but a slave and a doormat. Suddenly she realizes that she loves you and you just accept her? Just like that? JUST. LIKE. THAT?!" Mario just whimpered, clearly shaken by the fact Moon Dancer was lashing out at him.

"You're the dumbest pony I've ever met in my entire life, Mario Star!" Moon Dancer vented in rage, "You're stupid! You're a...a...an idiot! GAHHHHH!" Moon Dancer then threw herself away from the group, buried her face into her fore-hooves, and wept loudly and bitterly. Twilight and Mario had never felt so terrible in their entire lives. The rest of the group felt sorry for their now weeping friend. Pinkie looked worried but then got an idea and whispered it to Spike, who quickly walked off. Twilight and Mario both approached the weeping pony as the former put a fore-hoof on her shoulder.

"You're right," said Twilight, "This party can't make up for the way I hurt you. But please, don't let my mistake be the reason you can't be friends with anypony else."

"She's right," said Mario, "And let me just say that I am very sorry for hurting you. I never meant to let my crush on Twilight make you feel like you weren't important. I should've at least taken your feelings into account. But you're right, you were there for me alot more than Twilight was back in the day."

"Then why wasn't I good enough?" Moon Dancer asked as she looked up at the royal couple with eyes filled with tears.

"You were good enough," said Mario, "It's just my heart was with Twilight, despite how she treated me. But that didn't mean that I didn't care you at all."

"You...cared about me?!" Moon Dancer asked, feeling mixed emotions hearing Mario say that.

"You're my friend," said Mario, "and just because I loved Twilight didn't meant that I wasn't allowed to love my friends. You're were always there to talk to me and encouraged me when we were younger. You certainly did know how to be a good friend Moon Dancer and I'm very grateful for that."

"That's not true," Moon Dancer croaked, "I wasn't there for you after your accident and I stopped trying to talk to you too."

"After how stuck up I acted, I didn't blame you for not wanting to care anymore," said Mario.

"No, I did care!" Moon Dancer sobbed, "I even tried to visit you at the hospital, but I saw you have a tantrum and I ran away. I lost the nerve to try again and by the time I wanted to try, you were already recovering and hanging out more with Spitfire. But my feelings for you still grew. I was so happy when you wanted to still be my friend and I hoped it would be something more. That party...I was going to confess my feelings to you, but...I guess it was for the best you didn't show up. I would have only gotten my heart broken. You didn't love me. I wasn't special to you!"

"Moon Dancer, it might not be romantic, but are special to me," said Mario, "That's why I wanted to talk to you this entire time. I knew I broke your heart, despite my efforts to spare your feelings. I knew that you liked me and never tried to let you down easy. You don't need to be my special somepony for me to say this. Moon Dancer, as my friend, I love you and I think you're beautiful." Moon Dancer sniffled as a small smile appeared on her face.

"You mean that?" Moon Dancer hiccupped, "You're not just saying that?"

"I do mean it," said Mario as he helped Moon Dancer to her hooves.

"We were your friends then and we'd be honored to be your friends now," said Minuette on behalf of herself, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts. Moon Dancers just sobbed and sniffled as she tried to wipe her eyes.

"You don't need to feel alone, Moon Dancer," said Mario as Twilight put a fore-hoof on her shoulder, "Take a look over there!" Moon Dancer looked and there before her were three familiar ponies. The first was a teal colored pony with light and dark grey mane and tail, and her mane was in a bun and wearing orange glasses. The second pony was peachy pink colored with a tri-pastel orange colored mane and tail and wearing a headband as well as violet colored glasses. The third pony looked just like Moon Dancer, but had a lighter orange and purple streaked mane and tail, both of which were in buns.

"What?" Moon Dancer exclaimed when she saw them, "That's the librarian! The bookseller! My sister!"

"You've got a lot of friends, Moon Dancer," said Minuette as they all gathered around her. Moon Dancer smiled, even though the tears in her eyes hadn't stopped.

"I'm sorry, Moon Dancer," said Twilight as she and Mario stood behind the butter-colored unicorn, "We've faced magical creatures, the end of Equestria, all sorts of things. But seeing how our actions affected you, that was one of the worst feelings we've ever had."

"Neither of us ever wanted to hurt you like this," Mario finished, "We're both deeply sorry." Moon Dancer sobbed a bit as a warm but teary smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you, Twilight. Thank you, Mario," said Moon Dancer, "I never realized how much I needed to hear that." She then turned to face the others.

"Now come on, everypony!" Moon Dancer announced boldly, "Let's party!" She whispered timidly to Pinkie, "Right?"

"Right!" Pinkie replied as she got her party cannon and fired it upward.

POP WHISTLE!

"YAAAAAAY!" everypony cheered. The party lasted all afternoon and late into the night. Pinkie and Lemon Hearts shared a giant cake. Moon Dancer started chatting with her three guests/friends about some books as Spike got some more punch. Then Spike was taking his turn of playing "Pin the tail on the pony" with Twilight, Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, and Mario. Then the disco ball rotated as several ponies chatted and danced with each other. They were all surprised when Pinkie played a hip-hop version of the Mario's theme song and Mario did a solo routine. Then Twilight and Mario did a little ballroom routine, which was impressive for the old group since they never knew that Twilight liked to dance. Eventually, things started to die down and Moon Dancer gave her three guests a hug goodbye and thank you as everypony else started cleaning up the decorations.

"I think it's time for us to go, Moon Dancer," said Twilight as she, Mario, Spike, and Pinkie arrived.

"Thank you both for helping me make some new friends," said Moon Dancer, "Even if they are my old friends." Mario, Twilight both gave Moon Dancer a warm hug as Pinkie bounced about happily behind them.

"Oh, while I was chatting with everypony," said Moon Dancer, "I found these in my mane." Moon Dancer reached into it and pulled out two Flower Sprites. The two Flower Sprites then floated over Mario and Twilight. The royal couple smiled and jumped up to collect them.

(Cue "You've got a Flower Sprite" fanfare)

The two Flower Sprites floated down to the two alicorns, they grabbed them, twirled on their hind legs and posed.

"WOO-HOO!" they shouted as the two Flower Sprites floated into Mario.

"What are those things?" Moon Dancer asked curiously.

"This is a Flower Sprite," said Mario as he made one appear above his head, "They contain sources of magic from the Tree of Harmony itself. They're still fairly new and we don't have alot of information about them. Would you like to keep one for your studies? We could use a pony to study them further."

"Could I?" Moon Dancer asked excitedly as Mario nodded and the Flower Sprite floated into the butter-colored pony's mane.

"Wow, it feels so warm," said Moon Dancer, "I never knew the magic of friendship could feel so...comforting."

"Well it's actually the combination of the magic of friendship and the magic of love as well," said Mario, "Always remember that no matter how long or how far apart we are from each other that our friendship will last forever." Moon Dancer smiled as she gave Mario another hug.

"I'm so sorry for lashing out at you like I did," said Moon Dancer, "I was jealous and...well...I didn't like the idea of you letting Twilight take advantage of you so she would love you. But Twilight told me that you did put your hoof down with her and that she fell in love with you because you're a sweetheart, which I always knew, and not because you acted like her servant. I am glad you two found love with each other and that Twilight appreciates you for who you are and not just for the fact you always wanted to help her. She also mentioned something about you being her Schmoopy teddy bear or something like that."

"Well, she's my snuggly-wuggly, cutie-patootie, sweetie pie," Mario cooed.

"Mario!" Twilight said as she blushed deep red.

"Now we're even," said Mario as they all laughed.

"Well, I guess my point is that I am happy for the two of you," said Moon Dancer, "I can't wait for your next visit."

"Oh. We'll come back and visit soon," said Twilight once she had recovered.

"That would be great!" said Moon Dancer, "You've still gotta teach me that Hayscartes technique!"

"Deal," said Twilight.

"Um, Moon Dancer?" said Spike as he walked up to the pony with his package, "It got kinda banged up, but here's a little something I wanted to give you back at your first party." Moon Dancer grabbed the battered package and opened it. She nearly cried tears of joy at what was inside. It was picture of the old Canterlot group when they were still in school. Lyra was in the picture and, of course, Twilight was reading and not even looking at the camera. Moon Dancer couldn't help but chuckle at the fact she was just looking at Twilight and Mario was giving her stink eye as he squatted in front of the table.

The picture now hangs on a nearby wall inside of her home. Moon Dancer now spent time with the other three unicorns doing many things, such as playing hoofball together in her front yard. She promised to clean up her house and yard, but wasn't in a rush to do. All that mattered to her was that she had friends again and her life was so much better because of them.

One evening, Moon Dancer had just come back from the library when she found the mailpony delivering her a letter. While she had friends again, it was still rare for her to get mail. Moon Dancer used her magic to grab the letter and headed inside before opening it.

Hey Moon Dancer

It'sa me, Mario! Woo-hoo!

Heh...yeah I couldn't resist. But this letter is more than just a simple "hey, I was thinking of you and thought I see how you're doing" letter.

You see...alot of great ponies have created their own magical items and relics over the years. Some have become great sources of power that have been used for both good and evil. And, I would like that create my very own amulet that would boost a pony's natural magic and mobility without putting them at risk of being corrupted or being used for evil purposes. Sounds like a tall order, but that's where you come in! I could use somepony to help research and come up with the spell necessary to make such an amulet a reality. After all, who's ever heard of an amulet that has such power but has its own fail safe? It's never been done before, but I would be honored to be able to say you had a role in making such an amulet a reality.

Please write back if you're interested. And please keep this research project quiet for now. Not even Twilight knows about this and I want to surprise her when we can actually create a prototype.

Love, Mario.

P.S. I'm also trying to come up with a name for it.

Moon Dancer smiled excitedly and immediately started writing back to say she would be more than happy to help Mario with the project. She then began to ponder about what to call the amulet.

"Hmm, an amulet that boosts the magic and mobility of a pony," said Moon Dancer to herself, "dual purpose amulet, which would require two gems to function. Two gems...double the gems...hmm...I got it!" Moon Dancer then finished her letter and wrote down her idea of what to call Mario's special project.

Project: The Double Gem Amulet

And that concludes an extra dramatic version of Amending Fences. Alot of loose ties and broken bonds were certainly fixed during this episode. Plus another two Flower Sprites! And...unlike the original show, Moon Dancer will have a larger role in this story as she helps Mario with his new project. You'll just have to keep reading to see when Moon Dancer and Mario complete this Double Gem Amulet. Kudos if you can figure out what Video Game ability its parodying.

Moon Dancer's situation is actually very close to home for me. I didn't think friendship was for me either for many years because ponies said I was special but treated me otherwise. In fact during my school years, all I did was study and was very anti-social. It wasn't till I graduated that I found the courage to make friends again and those friends encouraged me to write this story that you all enjoy. Friendship is Magic!

And I really loved the old Canterlot group. As much as I'm hoping they'll get some screen time in Season 9, I am planning on having them return for a future intermission episode or two if anypony is interested.

And before I get questions about it from the message board or reviews. YES, I will be adding "Best Gift Ever" to my story, but I won't be writing it until right after the season 8 finale.

Next time: the Mane eight will face their greatest challenge yet in the dream world! And I've got a BIG SURPRISE waiting for you all in this chapter. It is sure to blow your minds!

Peace Pony Fans!