Every Little Thing She Does
Pony's Log Number 621: Sis is about to learn the hard way that having total control over a situation doesn't make handling it easier...
One day, the sun was barely rising behind the castle of friendship, Twilight, Mario, and Starlight entered the library. All three ponies still looked rather sleepy. Starlight yawned, followed by Mario, and lastly Twilight.
"Why is it every time I wake up early on purpose, I feel like most of me didn't even wake up even though I'm out of bed," Mario asked groggily.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Starlight replied sleepily. Twilight then grabbed a list with her magic and then faced Starlight.
"I've prepared a full day of spells," Twilight explained the lilac pony, "You've been doing great, but now it's time for a real challenge!"
"On a scale of one to ten, we're cranking things up to level nine," Mario added as he stood next to his wife, "Think you can handle it."
"Oh-ho-ho! It's on!" said Starlight with determination, "Where do we begin?"
"Teleportation," said Twilight with smirk, "Multiple locations! Try to keep up!"
"And don't take too long," Mario added with his own smirk and then the alicorn couple teleported away. Starlight then poofed. Twilight and Mario both appeared hovering outside the castle. Starlight then appeared nearby, using her floating magic to stay in the air.
"Not bad," Mario smirked. Twilight and Mario then quickly teleported away. This time, they arrived in middle of the Everfree forest. Starlight shortly appeared standing on a tree branch just a few feet away.
"Nice," said Mario and then he and Twilight disappeared. Their next location was underwater. Starlight was so surprised as she appeared beside the two ponies that she quickly held her breath for air. Fortunately, Twilight and Mario's next location was above the water and in an area filled with tall rock columns. Mario and Twilight landed in one ledge while Starlight landed on the other.
"Keep it up, Sis!" said Mario as he and Twilight disappeared once again. They're next stop was hanging upside down from a cave. Starlight appeared right behind the alicorn couple and also hanging upside down. Starlight then noticed the snoozing bats. Twilight and Mario noticed them as well and cringed.
"Let's get out of here," Mario said in the quietest audible tone he could muster and they teleported away.
Once the teleportation was done, Mario set up a table with various objects on it.
"Transfiguration!" said Twilight as she fired a magic blast at an apple, turning it into a nest full of eggs. And a baby chick hatched from one of the eggs. Starlight then fired a magic blast at various objects at the table. She turned some books into a teacup, an ink bottle and quill into a top hat, a candlestick and holder into a carrot dog, another book into a watermelon, a scroll into a teapot, and then some other objects into a banana and a pair of dentures. Starlight's horn was red and smoking from usage and she blew on it to cool it down. She then blinked.
"Whoops, I didn't leave anything for Mario," said Starlight sheepishly. Mario then smirked.
"Self-transfiguration," said Mario as he made his horn glow. Mario then turned into a race cart, a helicopter, a train, and a giant mechanical mole with rotating arms and wearing sunshades. He then returned himself back to normal.
"Can you do that?" Mario challenged. Starlight smirked as she turned herself into a mini hot air balloon, a submarine, a mine cart, and a bobsled. Then she returned herself to normal. Starlight then exchanged smiles with Twilight and Mario. The alicorn couple smiled back. Next, the tables were cleared as Starlight, Mario, and Twilight stood equal distances from each other.
"Shields!" Twilight called out as she fired a magic blast at Starlight. Mario fired a blast at Starlight as well. Starlight made a Captain America, or Equestria in this universe, style shield to block the attacks. Starlight smirked deviously and then fired a magic blast as Mario. Mario spin jumped right at the oncoming black and made a whitish shield appear at just the right moment to block the attack. Mario smirked as he uncurled himself, standing on his hind legs to ready for another attack. Starlight then went for another magic blast a Twilight. Twilight used a traditional dome shield to block the attack.
"Honey, double team!" Twilight called out.
"Mario time!" the alicorn prince replied as he and Twilight hovered into the air and, together, they fired two long steady magic blasts at Starlight. Starlight jumped into the air and encased herself into a crystal shaped shield. The magic combined from both Mario and Twilight pushed Starlight's crystal shield across the floor. Once Mario and Twilight had stopped firing their magic, Starlight smirked from inside her shield and made it explode, which blew away all the books off the library shelves and knocking away some of the tables.
"Yikes!" Mario yelped as he and Twilight used bubble shields to protect themselves from the oncoming blast. Once the blast had subsided, Starlight used her hover magic to land softly back on the ground. The library was a complete mess.
"Whoo! I am on fire!" said Starlight excitedly, "What's next?" Twilight and Mario lowered their shields and examined the mess.
"Maybe there is such a thing as too much studying," said Twilight sheepishly. It was then the hanging ladder on a shelf behind her fell over, making Twilight smile sheepishly. Mario was rather stunned.
"Twilight, saying that there is such a thing as too much studying," said Mario in shock, "Now I've seen everything."
"Bleh!" Twilight retorted as she stuck her tongue out at him. Mario returned the gesture and smirked. Starlight just giggled at the couple.
(Main theme)
"Maybe we should call it an early day," said Twilight as she looked at the mess again.
"Whoa, what happened in here?" said a familiar filly voice.
"They must've been practicing magic in here again," said a familiar dragon voice. Twilight and Mario looked back to see that Spike and Diamond Tiara were peeking inside of the library.
"Must have been some pretty powerful magic," said Diamond Tiara.
"You two can come inside to watch if you want," said Twilight as the little dragon and filly entered the room and stood beside Twilight. Diamond Tiara couldn't help giving the purple alicorn a loving nuzzle on her leg, which Twilight gave the filly a hug in return. Starlight then cleared her throat to get their attention.
"As you know, speed spells like Accelero are not easy," said Starlight explained, "and while Mario can naturally ran at high speed, unicorns like me have speeds spells to keep up with him. Not only that, but if done correctly, they allow you to be much more efficient with your day." Starlight then glowed her horn and zoomed off at sonic speed. Within seconds, she cleaned up and put back all the books on the shelf...and in catalogue order!
"Way to go, Starlight!" said Spike.
"That was so cool, Big Sis," added Diamond Tiara, "Master, how fast did she go." Mario, who was using a magic speed detector, had his eyes bugged out.
"Mach 4.1!" said Mario, "That's double my top speed! No wonder she has no problem keeping up with me!" Starlight chuckled.
"I'm not finished," said Starlight, feeling rather confident, "I've discovered a very old spell, Similo Duplexis. When combined with Accelero in just the right way," She made her horn glow and suddenly a perfect copy of herself appeared to the left.
"You can literally be in two places at once!" said the two Starlights together. Diamond Tiara, Spike, and Twilight were stunned. Mario gave an long whistle. Starlight then made her copy disappear and sighed contently, "Now I'm finished."
"That sounds like the spell I used to create my Copy Flower," said Mario as he pulled out a purple flower with the similar design to his fire flower. Starlight blinked.
"You actually made a Duplexis Accelero item?!" Starlight exclaimed.
"Or Copy Flower for short," said Mario as he tossed it into the air. The flower turned into magical dust that landed around Mario. Then a couple dozen copies of Mario sprouted behind him.
"Marios ready to serve you, Princess!" said the Marios as they gave Twilight a salute. Twilight giggled excitedly.
"Me like!" Twilight replied with a smirk, "But I prefer just one Mario for now." The Mario smiled as Mario used his horn to power down, making the copies all disappear.
"Ironically, it took me years to perfect that spell," said Mario and then turned to Starlight, "but you mastered it in just a matter of days! That's amazing!"
"Indeed," said Twilight as she walked up to Starlight, "I have to admit, your skills with magic really are nothing short of amazing. I'm very impressed." Starlight laughed.
"I've always been something of a natural," said Starlight smugly as she patted the edge of her mane.
"Let's not get carried away, Sis," Mario warned with a smirk. Starlight just stuck her tongue out at him, but still chuckled to show she was only joking.
"However, it doesn't look like you've tackled any friendship lessons since you met Trixie," Twilight pointed out as she held a clipboard with her magic. Starlight was stunned. Diamond Tiara and Mario were stunned as well.
"Are you sure?" Starlight asked as she looked at the clipboard, "I could've sworn there were a couple in there somewhere.
"I'm sure," said Twilight with a skeptical look on her face.
"Wait a minute, Twilight!" said Diamond Tiara, "What about Thorax? Starlight did remark that friendship lessons can happen anywhere. Wouldn't that count as a friendship lesson?"
"Yeah, yeah, Di's right," said Starlight, "That was a friendship problem."
"Maybe so," said Twilight, "But that friendship problem was mostly solved by Di and Spike. So in regards to Starlight, that doesn't count."
"Oh..." said Diamond Tiara and Starlight together.
"I see..." said Starlight sheepishly, "Well, I'm really quite busy this week. So many commitments. I'll try and find some time in my-" Starlight slowly backed up and tried to leave, but Twilight teleported in front of the lilac unicorn to stop her.
"No time like the present!" said Twilight as Spike appeared carrying a tall stack of books and Diamond Tiara stood nearby with her saddle bag, which had some parchments and pencils sticking out of it, "Spike, Di, Mario, and I are headed to Canterlot. Princess Celestia wanted me to give her students a quick overview of the history of enchanted objects in Equestria. We'll be back after the presentation, which should be..."
"Twenty moons from now?" Spike remarked sarcastically.
"Seriously?" Diamond Tiara remarked and sighed, "There goes my fillyhood."
"Tonight!" Twilight shot back, glaring at the both of them, "and need I remind a certain filly that she's only coming along because Cheerilee said any pony who could attend the lecture could write an extra credit report." Diamond Tiara smiled apologetically.
"Sorry..." said Diamond Tiara, "I just hope I brought enough parchment for taking notes."
"Don't worry, Di," said Twilight, "It's a quick presentation."
"Sure, you keep telling yourself that..." Spike muttered to himself. Diamond Tiara heard but just rolled her eyes at the little dragon.
"You can tackle a friendship lesson today, and we can review your progress when I get back later this evening," said Twilight as she, Mario, Diamond Tiara, and Spike walked past Starlight in for foreground.
"Of course!" said Starlight nervously, "No problem! Friendship lesson...On it..."
"Great! Can't wait!" said Twilight as she used her magic to give Spike a tall stack of note cards, "Now, Spike, help me color-code these cards according to theme, place, and object." Spike just sighed annoyingly. Diamond Tiara watched as Starlight nervously walked out of the library. Mario noticed the little filly was watching the lilac unicorn make her exit. He had also seen how nervous Starlight looked and was rather worried about her.
Back in her bedroom, Starlight was just reclining on her bed as she used her magic to rotate some shaped blocks. Then there was a knock on the door, which startled Starlight and the blocks she was holding with her magic fell into her stomach and then onto the floor. She quickly sat up and rushed to her desk as Spike and Diamond Tiara entered. They were both surprised to see Starlight looking rather busy.
"Huh? Huh! Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm," Starlight hummed pretending not to notice that she had guests while reading a book and some notes. Spike liked rather stunned while Diamond Tiara had an unamused look on her face.
"Hey! Twilight, Mario, Di, and I are about to head to Canterlot," Spike announced, "Just checking to see if you need anything before we left."
"Yeah, a snack, a hug, somepony to talk to about the fact that you seemed completely nervous about something but are hiding instead of talking about it," Diamond Tiara listed out, saying the final suggestion in one breath.
"I...was...just trying to decide which friendship lesson I was going to tackle while you four were in Canterlot," said Starlight as she used her magic to pull out her lesson ideas, which were all crumpled up in her little waste basket, "Oh, yep, right, where I just let them a second ago."
"In the waste basket?" Diamond Tiara remarked in a deadpan tone, not believing that was an accident. Spike just blew the dust off of the notes and looked at them.
""Bake a cake with Pinkie Pie"," Spike read aloud, ""scrapbook with Applejack", "sew with Rarity"..." Starlight just groaned as Diamond Tiara looked at the lilac unicorn curiously.
""Help an animal with Fluttershy"," Spike continued and then looked at the last lesson with a puzzled look, ""chillax with Rainbow Dash?" What is chillaxing?"
"No idea," said Starlight as Diamond Tiara groaned and face-hoof herself.
"It's just a slang term used when ponies relax or chill out together," said Diamond Tiara, "It's just a way of saying you're gonna just take it easy and have some peace and quiet! It's a word the cool ponies say to make themselves sound cooler and such. And I just sounded like Twilight explaining this to you."
"You are kinda turning into her, Di," Spike remarked.
"Better Twilight than Spoiled Rich," said Diamond Tiara.
"Good point," said Spike. Starlight then groaned again, reminding Spike and Diamond Tiara why they were there.
"You know, uh, if you're nervous about your friendship lessons," said Spike gently, "It's totally okay to say so."
"Yeah, being nervous isn't anything to be ashamed of," said Diamond Tiara, "I get nervous during my friendship lessons too after all."
"Nervous, me?" Starlight remarked and did a fake laugh as she walked up to the two friends, "Oh Spike! Oh Di! You two really are hilarious, ha-ha. You think I'm nervous that I'm gonna fail something as simple as baking a cake?"
"Baking a cake?" Diamond Tiara asked, feeling very puzzled.
"Well, if you were, we'd be-" Spike tried to add, but was cut off.
"Silly!" said Starlight, getting into both of their faces, "Twilight just said how impressed she was I combined a speed spell and a duplication spell. That was a challenge. These? Pfft, hah! I could combine all five of these at the same time without breaking a sweat." Starlight then walked away with a mischievous smirk on her face. Diamond Tiara and Spike just looked stunned.
"Say what?" Diamond Tiara remarked, feeling very confused.
"I think you're missing-" Spike tried to say.
"An opportunity to really impress Twilight, even Mario too?" Starlight finished for Spike and then gasped, "Great idea Spike and Di! I'm gonna get right on that! Good talk." Starlight then walked out of the room before either the filly or dragon could reply.
"Big Sis is making no sense at all," said Diamond Tiara.
"And I thought Twilight was the master of the freak-out," said Spike.
"Should we tell Mario and Twilight about this?" Diamond Tiara asked the little dragon.
"Starlight hasn't done anything yet," Spike remarked, "She knows by now that she can go to Twilight or Mario about her nerves. I think all we can do for now is hope for the best." Diamond Tiara sighed.
"I guess so," said Diamond Tiara reluctantly, "But I do hope Big Sis doesn't do anything stupid." Spike just sighed and nodded in agreement, but deep down, they knew there was going to be trouble while they were gone. Plus, Diamond Tiara secretly planned on telling Mario about Starlight's nerves later when she had the chance.
Once the three ponies and Spike had left to Canterlot, Starlight asked the rest of the Mane eight to arrive at the castle. She wasted no time explaining her brilliant idea about her friendship lessons to the group.
"So, with your help," Starlight concluded to the group, "I figure these should be done in no time." The rest of the group didn't seem as confident about Starlight's idea.
"You really want to do all these friendship lessons at the same time?" Shenran asked.
"Are you sure this is what Twilight would want?" Applejack asked as well, "And did Mario recommend you do this? Seems like you might want to take your time with each of these."
"But by working together as a team," Starlight replied, "we can get them done faster. And isn't teamwork a key factor in friendship?" Starlight gave them all a rather persuasive smirk. Shenran quivered and then leaned into Fluttershy.
"I know Starlight is good now, but the way she's trying to get us to see things her way gives me goosebumps," Shenran whispered to his wife.
"You know what they say," Fluttershy replied in a quiet voice, "Old habits die hard." Shenran hummed and nodded in agreement.
"I...guess," said Applejack as she and Rarity shared worried looks with each other.
"Super!" said Starlight, "Pinkie Pie, since we're baking, you will be in the kitchen." Pinkie replied by gasping and inhaling excitedly.
"Rarity, Applejack, you two can set up in the library," Starlight told the two ponies.
"Oh, I don't know that a dusty old library has the proper lighting," said Rarity, "Perhaps we can stay out here in the foyer."
"I thought that Fluttershy, and I guess now Shenran too, and I could work with the animals right here in the foyer," Starlight suggested. Fluttershy had several animals with her and her husband beside her. Harry gave a weary growl to Shenran.
"Me too, Harry," Shenran told him quietly, "Me, too."
"Oh, um, whatever you think is best," Fluttershy replied her shy manner.
"Honey, if you think there's a better-mmph!" Shenran was cut off when Fluttershy put a fore-hoof to his mouth.
"Just be quiet and look cute, dear," said Fluttershy, "As I said before, Starlight, whatever you think is best."
"Great," said Starlight, "Now, Rainbow Dash-"
"It might depend on the animal," Fluttershy continued and interrupting the lilac unicorn and then headed over to an eagle with its wing in a sling, "For instance, this poor little eagle with a sprained wing might be better off up in one of the towers."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure," said Starlight quickly as well as dismissively.
"And these adorable little chipmunks might prefer a nook somewhere," said Fluttershy, "Maybe if you spend some time getting to know-"
"In a minute, Fluttershy," Starlight interrupted, but wasn't exactly listening at all. Shenran glared at the lilac unicorn, but Starlight paid no attention to him either.
"Uh, I don't know, if we can chillax properly in the castle," said Rainbow, "We need very specific conditions for optimal chillaxing." Shenran went to speak when Rianbow shot him a stern glare, "and the meditation room you made for Mario doesn't count!"
"I was gonna suggest the room where Mario installed the jacuzzi," Shenran said rather bitterly.
"Oooh! Mario's got one of those?" said Starlight with interest, "He never told me about it..."
"Nah!" said Rainbow dismissively, "Doesn't suit my awesome standards of chillaxing."
"Didn't know you had standards," Shenran remarked bluntly.
"Grrr!" Rainbow growled.
"Enough!" Starlight snapped and then spoke to Rainbow in a calmer tone, "I just assumed chillaxing could happen anywhere."
"Heh. Shows what you know about chillaxing," Rainbow remaked in her over-confident tone, "Let me do some location scouting." Rainbow then zoomed off before Starlight could answer.
"Okay..." said Starlight slowly as she headed over to Applejack, "it seemed more efficient to start with the scrapbooking, so we can get it out of the-"
"Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh!" Pinkie interrupted as she bounced about, failing all four of her legs in the air, "Can we start with me? We're gonna need time for the cake to bake! After all..."
"And now it's time for silly songs with..." Shenran was interrupted when Pinkie got into his face.
"Shenran, let me just say this once," Pinkie said sternly, "I really didn't like it when Mario used to intro my random songs. So please don't you start doing it? Okay?" Shenran was taken aback by Pinkie stern look and tone.
"Sorry," said Shenran simply before Pinkie's facial expression soften and she want to being cheerful again.
"It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake-" Pinkie sing-sang until Starlight shoved a fore-hoof to her mouth.
"Uh, we're on a schedule, no time for a song," said Starlight quickly, "We can start with baking, then-"
"But we can't design dresses after you've been baking with Pinkie," said Rarity and added in a hushed tone, "She can be a bit messy." Starlight then turned as Pinkie squirted a large amount of canned frosting into her mouth.
"Mmm!" Pinkie hummed with stuffed cheeks. Starlight and Rarity just stared until the former recomposed herself first.
"Fine," said Starlight, "We can start with the dresses, and then-"
"While y'all figure that out," said Applejack, cutting the unicorn off, "I'm gonna start layin' out the pictures for scrapbookin'. We got a whole lot of time to cover."
"How much is a whole lot?" Starlight asked, feeling rather wearied. Applejack turned around to her cart, which had very tall stacks of books in it.
"We've got at least eighty moons worth of memories to go through," Applejack replied.
"Eighty moons?!" Starlight exclaimed as she zipped up beside her.
"Ugh," Rainbow groaned, "There is nowhere to chillax in this castle! We're gonna have to set up somewhere else."
"You are just way too picky!" Shenran retorted as she walked up to the two ponies. Soon he, along with Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were soon arguing all at once. Starlight quickly became overwhelmed.
"Could you all excuse me for...one...second?" Starlight asked timidly before she zoomed off as fast as her legs could take her.
"Wow," said Rainbow, "That pony really needs to chillax."
"Not really," said Shenran, "We're the ones who overwhelmed her." The others just shared sad looks of agreement with each other.
It wasn't long before Starlight entered the library and was hyperventilating. She quickly did some controlled breathing exercises to calm herself down.
"Okay, Starlight, You've got this," Starlight told herself, A handful of friendship lessons is nothing compared to the spells you've mastered." Starlight then laughed nervously before the grabbed a book from the shelf and started to file through it.
"Maybe if I cast a little spell to help things along..." Starlight pondered as she read the book, "Something simple and safe. Fiducia Compelus...That's not bad. They would barely notice it, but...is it enough? Oh..." Starlight then grabbed another book and looked through it.
"Oh...Maybe Cogeria so they're more...open to suggestion," Starlight thought aloud, "Oh, or maybe Cogeria combined with Fiducia Compelus! Yes, that could work nicely! Oh, with a hint of Persuadere to be sure it sticks." She then combined the three spells into a miniature orb.
"Everypony'll probably thank me for getting it all done so quickly," said Starlight to herself, "And Twilight and Mario will be thrilled I've completed so many lessons. Everypony wins!" Starlight then launched the orb so it homed directly to the foyer where the six ponies were located and the orb detonated, causing a bright light to erupt that was so large that it was seen from outside the library.
(Cue "Wilhelm scream")
That scream came from Shenran, but Starlight was so busy feeling proud of herself to notice.
"Congratulations, Starlight," the lilac unicorn bragged to herself, "You're a genius." She then trotted out of the library and looked down at the group from above and gasped. The magic was not only surrounding the entire group. But they were now standing in a complete state of suspended animation.
"Maybe the congratulations were a bit premature..." Starlight said wearily before she made her way down. She then waved a fore-hoof across Pinkie's face, but there was no response from the pink pony.
"Cogeria...Persuadere...Fiducia...Hmm," Starlight pondered as she listed her spells and then realized something, "Ah! Of course! Fiducia Compelus needs a trigger." Starlight then made her horn and eyes glow white.
"Ponies! Hear my voice and listen!" Starlight called out and made another orb of magic erupt from her horn at the group. Each pony blinked to show they were no longer in suspension, but their shrunken eyes were a sign that the spell she cast on them was still in effect.
"Pinkie, kitchen, Rarity, Applejack, library," Starlight commanded, "Fluttershy, stay here. Rainbow Dash, find somewhere inside the castle and set up a place where we can chillax." Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity ran off to their respective rooms. Rainbow flew away at high speed so only Fluttershy and Shenran remained. Starlight then blinked.
"Oh! I forgot Shenran was here," said Starlight, "might as well put him to go use."
"Shenran?" Starlight called out as she walked up to the Pegasus stallion.
"Yes Starlight Glimmer?" Shenran asked in a mechanical tone.
"Can you please walk around the castle and watch out for anything suspicious for me?" Starlight asked.
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," said Shenran, "what suspicious things should I look out for?"
"Huh?' said Starlight, but then recomposed herself, "Just walk around and watch the castle okay."
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," Shenran replied and walked away. Starlight couldn't help but smile. Things seemed to be working out better than she had hoped. She then headed into the kitchen were Pinkie was just waiting for her.
"Let's get to work, Pinkie!" said Starlight as she walked up to the pink pony.
"Okie-dokie!" said Pinkie in a mechanical tone, "What would you like to do first?"
"Uh, what are we supposed to do first?" Starlight asked.
"Whatever you want to do first, Starlight Glimmer," Pinkie replied. Starlight then grabbed a baking book and opened it to a cake recipe.
"In a medium-size mixing bowl," Starlight real aloud, "Beat together eggs, sugar, two teaspoons of vanilla..." Starlight then turned to see that Pinkie had done all the instructions with lightning fast fore-hooves, "mix in flour..." Starlight then watched as Pinkie did just that in one second flat and smiled as she kept reading, "add baking soda, salt, and cinnamon! Hmm, think you can take it from here?" She pushed the baking book over to Pinkie.
"Take what from where?" Pinkie asked.
"The baking," Starlight replied as a matter of fact, "Just keep following the instructions in the book until I get back." She then walked off toward the kitchen door.
"Abso-tively," said Pinkie, "Instruction following starting...now!" She then used to lightning fast fore-hooves to mix and combine the ingredients quickly. Starlight smiled.
"Baking a cake-check!" said Starlight smugly, "Now on to sewing!" Starlight then closed the door and headed to library. Inside the library room, Applejack was just sitting quietly at a table waiting for Starlight. Rarity was just using her magic to put her sewing materials on another table when Starlight arrived.
"What do you have in mind, Rarity?" Starlight asked the marshmallow pony.
"Whatever you want to have in my mind, Starlight Glimmer," Rarity replied in a mechanical tone. Starlight then blinked for a moment before grabbing a book on sewing from the shelf.
"Can you make a dress exactly like that one?" Starlight asked as she pointed at the picture.
"Just like that one?" Rarity asked.
"Just like it," Starlight replied.
"Absolutely, it will look perfectly divine," Rarity answered as she took the page with her magic and looked at it. Starlight walked over to Applejack with a smug smile on her face until she saw all the photos on the table.
"That's a whole lot of photos," Starlight remarked to the orange pony, "How you usually organize them?"
"However you want me to organize them, Starlight," said Applejack in a mechanical tone.
"Okay," said Starlight and then pointed to a picture of Granny Smith with a pig riding an inner tube in the background.
"Sweet Apple Acres, twenty moons ago," Applejack explained, "Granny Smith was lookin' for her favorite pie tin. She looked in the kitchen, but it wasn't there. She looked in the barn, but it wasn't there." Starlight quickly grew bored and rolled her eyes.
"Ugh. I don't need every little detail," said Starlight, "Heh. Just sum up the story in one sentence."
"Huh. Turns out Granny Smith didn't know how to make a pig do the backstroke," Applejack replied.
"Uh-huh..." said Starlight in an unamused tone as she walked up to Applejack from behind the table, "Why don't you keep putting these photos in chronological order, and when I come back, you can give me more...highlights?"
"Sure thing, Starlight Glimmer," Applejack replied and got to work. Starlight gave the orange pony an annoyed look and then left the library to find Fluttershy.
In the foyer, Fluttershy was just standing around and hadn't moved as Starlight came down a curved staircase to see her.
"Fluttershy, where are all the animals?" Starlight asked.
"They ran away," said Fluttershy in a mechanical tone.
"And why didn't you stop them?" Starlight asked in a plain tone.
"Because you didn't ask me to," Fluttershy answered.
"Obviously I wanted you to...never mind," said Starlight in an annoyed tone, "Can you please round up all the animals in the castle and bring them back here to the foyer?"
"All the animals. Got it," said Fluttershy and then hovered away. It was then Rainbow hovered past the foreground and was heading upstairs when Starlight stopped her.
"Did you find a place to chillax, Rainbow Dash?" Starlight asked.
"Sure thing, Starlight Glimmer!" Rainbow replied in a mechanical tone.
"Great. Let me know when it's ready," said Starlight.
"Yes, Starlight Glimmer," said Rainbow as she flew off. Starlight just smiled as she watched Rainbow disappear. Then she noticed from a castle window that Shenran was outside the castle. She gasped and rushed outside. She saw that Shenran had created an indention around the base of the castle from where he had been walking in a large circle.
"Shenran! What in Equestria are you doing out here?" Starlight asked.
"You told me to walk around and watch the castle, Starlight Glimmer," Shenran replied as he kept walking and watching the castle. Starlight face-hoofed herself.
"I wanted you to walk around the castle and do it by walking inside the castle," Starlight remarked irritably.
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," Shenran replied and walked inside. Starlight just rolled her eyes before following. She then noticed that Shenran was now walking toward a dead end and then stopped and stood there. Starlight rushed up to him.
"What are you doing now?" Starlight asked in exasperation.
"You asked me to walk around the castle," said Shenran, "but there's a wall in the way and I can't keeping walking around the castle."
"Ever considered turning around and walking in another direction?" Starlight asked irritably.
"You told me to walk around the castle," Shenran replied, "You didn't say anything about turning around." Starlight growled inwardly.
"Just wait here until I get back then," Starlight snapped impatiently.
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," said Shenran, "anything else you want me to do?"
"I don't know, stare at the wall or something!" Starlight bellowed and the stomped off. She had not gone a few feet when...
"Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare..." Shenran said in a long droned out tone. Starlight just rolled her eyes and groaned.
"Yeah, you knock yourself out there, Shenran," Starlight remarked irritably under her breath.
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," said Shenran, since he had heard the lilac unicorn. Starlight then winced at what she had just said and before she could turn around and take it back.
POW!
THUD!
(Lose a life fanfare)
Starlight just put a fore-hoof to her head and gritted her teeth. She really didn't want to turn around and see what Shenran did to literally knock himself out.
"Keep it together, girl," Starlight told herself as she tried to calm herself down, "This will all be over soon." Starlight then took a long deep breath as she went to revive Shenran, quickly used her magic to write down instructions on where Shenran should go walk in the castle and headed back to the library.
Once Starlight was in the library, she had gone back to Applejack and her scrapbooking. It didn't take long before she was feeling absolutely bored and miserable.
"Granny Smith knew she was gonna need a bigger boat," Applejack continued as she showed Starlight a picture of Goldie Delicious sitting on a bench surrounded by lots of cats, "So Goldie Delicious says, "If you can't say anythin' nice about anypony, come sit by me!"" Applejack then showed Starlight another picture of Big Mac and a pig using mud to hide from what looked like a timberwolf, "Big Mac knew if he just covered himself in mud, the creature wouldn't be able to see him!" Starlight said nothing.
"Starlight Glimmer," Rarity called out as the lilac unicorn zoomed away to see what the marshmallow unicorn wanted, "I have finished the dress. Isn't it gorgeous?" Rarity showed Starlight...a perfect drawing of the dress in the book.
"What is that?" Starlight asked in surprise.
"You wanted me to make a dress exactly like the one in the book," Rarity replied. Starlight rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Go make a real dress out of fabric," Starlight told Rarity, "exactly like the one in the book."
"Ah, I see," said Rarity as she stomped the drawing with a hoof, "Yes, of course, Starlight Glimmer." Rarity rushed off. Starlight smiled and turned to leave when she realized she should add one more detail.
"Rarity!" said Starlight, "Make it bigger than the one in the book."
"Of course, darling," said Rarity, "Bigger it is." Before the marshmallow pony was a mouse, who was ready to model for the dress Rarity would have made from the book. The mouse just shrugged her shoulders once she realized she wasn't getting a dress after all. Starlight then stomped annoyingly up to Applejack.
"She was just a pony standin' in front of another pony askin for him to love her," Applejack continued while holding another picture. Starlight just made a long face before exiting the library. She had barely stared walking down the hallway when she bumped into Shenran.
"Shenran!" Starlight snapped, "I thought you were following the trail of note cards I left you!"
"I ran out of note cards, Starlight Glimmer," said Shenran. Starlight groaned.
"What do you want me do to now?" Shenran asked.
"I don't know, dancing, sword fighting, go jump in a lake! I don't care!" Starlight bellowed and walked off.
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," said Shenran and hovered off...to go find a lake to jump in! Starlight then stomped up to the kitchen. She had barely opened the door when she was avalanched by a large mountain of cakes and baking ingredients. She quickly surfaced and then pushed the items to the side to get inside the kitchen. She was shocked to see that the kitchen was loaded with baked goods and baking ingredients and Pinkie was still using lightning fast fore-hooves to bake at high speed.
"Pinkie, what you are you doing?!" Starlight exclaimed.
"Following all of the instructions in the cookbook in order, Starlight Glimmer!" Pinkie answered as she kept working at ultra-high speed.
"I meant just the one cake!" Starlight replied, "I was only gone a few minutes! How in Equestria did you get all of this done so fast?"
"First, I combined three eggs, then I-" Pinkie was then cut off when Starlight encased the pink pony in her magic grip...and used another spell to seal her mouth shut.
Wait...there's actually a spell to shut Pinkie's mouth?!
I gotta ask Starlight about that spell later...
"Think the baking lesson is done," said Starlight bluntly as Pinkie hovered in the air next to her. Suddenly, there was a loud growl outside the kitchen.
"Oh, what now?" Starlight asked as she ran out of the kitchen. Little did she know that Pinkie had another cake in the oven...and it was now starting to burn and smoke was coming out of the oven! Starlight then raced down the hallway with Pinkie in her magic grip. They passed the entrance to the library where Applejack was still monologuing about pictures.
"They can take our farm, but they can't take our freedom!" Applejack cried out, but no one was there to listen. Starlight then arrived in foyer to see Harry and several other animals all huddled up together and trembling fearfully.
"What's going on?!" Starlight asked with concern. Harry growled fearfully in reply as he pointed to what was scaring them so badly. Fluttershy then walked up to Starlight, covered from head to hoof in creepy-crawly bugs and even had a bat in her mane.
"I gathered all the animals like you asked, Starlight Glimmer," said Fluttershy, "do you know where my husband is?" Starlight cringed, remembering the last thing she told Shenran. She also dropped Pinkie to the floor.
"Uhh...be right back!" Starlight said quickly before she teleported away. A few seconds later, she returned and dropped a now soaking Shenran on the floor. His tongue was dangling out of his mouth and he wasn't moving. Starlight gently pumped his stomach when...
PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT!
Shenran squirted a jet of water into Starlight's face. Getting her mane wet and a medium fish flopping in her mane. She looked very annoyed.
"You know, Shenran, if you're gonna jump into a lake," said Starlight sternly as she tossed the fish out of her mane with her magic, "I expected you to swim to surface before you drown!"
"You only told me to jump into a lake, Starlight Glimmer," Shenran replied, "You didn't say anything about swimming." Starlight growled as she sternly face-hoofed herself.
"Well next time you're in water, you better swim to the surface!" Starlight yelled, "swim like a fish if you have too!"
"Okay, Starlight Glimmer," said Shenran. Starlight huffed when Rarity walked by in the fore-ground. The marshmallow mare then blinked and smirked as she walked over to the still cowering animals.
"Oh yes, this will do nicely," said Rarity as she literally pulled the rug out from under all the animals with her magic, rolled it up, and walked off with the rug.
"A much bigger dress!" said Rarity as she headed back to the library.
"It was the best of apples, it was the worst of apples!" Applejack declared from the library, making Starlight cringe again.
"I can handle this," said Starlight as she definitively exhaled, "It's just magic, and I know magic." It was then she saw black clouds of smoke forming above her head.
"What's that?!" Starlight asked. Pinkie tried to answer, but her mouth was still magically sealed shut.
"What did you say?" Starlight asked as she removed the spell keeping Pinkie's mouth shut.
"The cakes are burning," said Pinkie, "You left the ovens on." Starlight began to panic.
"We need water!" Starlight shouted as she shook Pinkie about with her magic. Rainbow was fortunately nearby when she said that.
"Yes, Starlight Glimmer," said Rainbow. She then rushed off and within seconds, had gotten several Pegasi to bring in some storm clouds into the foyer.
"Storm clouds?!" Starlight exclaimed. It was then thunder and lightning clashed and it started to downpour inside of the castle. Harry roared in confusion as the other animals clung to him. The foyer filled with water that made everypony float upward. Shenran began wiggle about like a fish to stay afloat.
"Look, Starlight Glimmer, I'm swimming just like you told me to!" Shenran pointed out as the water continued to rise. Soon the rain stopped, the water began overflow, and it poured out of the windows until most of the castle was dry. But there was a small stream on the foyer and a couple of small puddles. Everypony minus Rainbow was soaking wet. Shenran was now flopping on his side in a puddle of water like a literal fish out of water.
"Carp! Carp! Magicarp! Carp! Carp! Magicarp!" Shenran chanted continuously. Then Applejack then floated by in the mini-stream with a table from the library, soaked and holding another picture in her fore-hoof.
"Big Mac told me," said Applejack to nopony in particular, ""With a whole lot of power comes a heck of a lot of responsibility"." Starlight just groaned.
"This can't get any worse!" Starlight remarked. Not two seconds later. Twilight, Mario, Spike, and Diamond Tiara entered the foyer and saw the mess before them.
"Sweet Celestia..." said Diamond Tiara.
"What is going on?!" Twilight demanded.
"I'll tell you what!" said Mario in shock, "The entire castle has gone mad!" He then saw Starlight and his temper flared.
"STARLIGHT KELLY GLIMMER!"
Starlight cringed. Kelly wasn't her actually middle name, but she knew that when Mario did give her a middle name...she was in BIG trouble.
A couple of hours later, Spike and Diamond Tiara were trying to chase away some of the spiders walking around. A spider than shrieked as Spike swatted it away and removed the nearby webbing it was trying to create.
"I had no idea we had spiders in the castle!" Spike remarked, "I'm never sleeping again!"
"Me neither," said Diamond Tiara and whimpered. Spike was surprised.
"You're afraid of spiders too?" Spike asked. Diamond Tiara nodded.
"Yeah," said Diamond Tiara sadly, "As much as Fluttershy assures me they won't hurt me, spiders still give me the creeps."
"I can understand that," said Spike, "It's nice to know I'm not the only pony whose got a fear of spiders."
"Same here," said Diamond Tiara as the two exchanged smiles with each other. Then they heard some mumbling and found that Starlight was just reading a book at a nearby sofa.
"Maybe if I had reversed the Fiducia Compelus and Cogeria..." Starlight said aloud, "Or maybe I added too much Persuadere..." Starlight then noticed that Spike and Diamond Tiara were staring at her.
"What?" Starlight asked cluelessly.
"You're really missing the point here," said Spike.
"Yeah," said Diamond Tiara, "Do you really think your spell is the reason you're in trouble right now?" It was then Twilight and Mario arrived.
"Mario and I finally untangled that mess of a spell and got everypony home," Twilight sighed, "It was really powerful stuff. They're gonna feel that in the morning."
"Yeah," said Mario, "They're gonna experience firsthand what it feels like to have a dozen heavy freight cars run you over at the minimum." Diamond Tiara cringed. Twilight and Mario then walk up to Starlight.
"Now please try to explain to the both of us how in the name of Celestia things got this out of control," Twilight asked as Mario glared at the lilac unicorn sternly.
"Well, it was the first time I cast that particular spell," Starlight explained, "and I didn't fully think it through. I-I bet if I had reversed-"
"Momma mia..." Mario groaned as he face-hooved himself.
"I think you're missing the point here," Twilight remarked.
"Told ya," said Spike as he and Diamond Tiara continued to sweep the floors together.
"What made you think that casting a spell on your friends to do your bidding was even remotely a good idea?" Twilight demanded and Mario kept glaring at her.
"Well, when you put it that way," said Starlight sheepishly, "it sounds really bad."
"Ya think?!" Mario snapped.
"That's because it is really bad!" Twilight and Mario snapped at once. Starlight could only stammer since she didn't know what else to say. Twilight and Mario both soften their expression when they saw Starlight did look rather flustered.
"Starlight, I'm not mad at you, but I am disappointed," Twilight continued, "You've been doing so well. I just don't understand how a friendship lesson turned into all of this."
"Is there something you want to talk to us about Sis?" Mario asked gently, "You know you can always come to us and we're here to listen. And I can tell for a fact that this might have been avoided if you had simply spoken up. Di told me she tried talking to you earlier but you kept avoiding the subject." Starlight groaned sadly.
"Ugh, fine!" Starlight snapped, "You're right Mario. Something has been bothering me! I've been avoiding the friendship lessons on purpose."
"Why?" Twilight asked curiously.
"Yeah, why are you avoiding them?" Mario added gently.
"I can cast complex spells, but baking a cake with Pinkie Pie freaks me out!" Starlight explained, "And yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds. That's why I didn't say anything. I thought if I just kept wowing the both of you with my magical abilities, you might just...not...notice?" Starlight walked away a bit as she spoke before stopping and giving them a sheepish look.
"Baking a cake freaks you out?" Twilight asked, rather surprised.
"Yes!" Starlight replied, "Baking a cake, sewing - all of it! What if I was bad at it? I didn't want to be a disappointment to anypony, and I ended up being a disappointment to everypony."
"Starlight, do you think anypony cares if you can bake a cake?" Twilight asked as she walked up to the lilac unicorn.
"But the lesson-" Starlight started to say.
"Was to get to know Pinkie Pie better by doing something she loves," Twilight finished, "It was a friendship lesson, not a baking lesson." Starlight then felt very, very embarassed.
"Oh," Starlight remarked, "You know, I think I might have missed the point here."
"Told ya," Spike replied smugly as he stood between Twilight and Starlight.
"You know, Starlight," said Diamond Tiara, finally speaking up, "You might have misunderstood the lesson, but you're fears are anything but silly."
"What do you mean?" Starlight asked, even Twilight had a curious look on her face.
"Master told me he had the same fears back in the day," Diamond Tiara answered. Starlight and Twilight blinked. The former in confusion and the later in realization.
"You're right, Di," said Twilight, "Mario had the same fears as you years ago!"
"R-r-really?" Starlight asked.
"When I first came to Ponyville, even when I first became friends with Twilight," Mario explained, "I used to be so worried that I wouldn't be good at the things that she and the others liked to do. I thought that if I wasn't good enough at the things they liked to do that they wouldn't like me or want to be my friends anymore."
"Which wasn't true," Twilight added. " Real friends don't care if you're good at the same things they like. But if you're willing to try those activities out with them, you might find that you enjoy them as well and get to know more about your friends."
"Which helps your friendship grow stronger," Mario added, "I realized that I didn't have to burn myself out being good at the things they liked to feel accepted, or that they would abandon me if I wasn't good at them."
"Then when will it ever stop?" Starlight asked with tears in her eyes, "When will I finally feel like I'm not one mistake away from my friends just...just..." Starlight started to cry as Mario pulled her into a comforting hug. Twilight, Spike, and Diamond Tiara gave her sympathetic looks.
"I wish I could give you an answer," said Mario gently as he held Starlight, "But even I haven't completely shaken off that feeling either. Nopony want to be rejected. And you take that risk with every new friend you make. But when friendship is real and true, you can trust those friends when they tell you that they'll always be there for you no matter what. Friendships are never easy, and they will be tested from time to time, but the good times will always outweigh the bad. And strong friendships will pull through the hard times and get even stronger, not weaker." Starlight then sniffled and pulled away, wiping her eyes as she gave Mario a smile.
"Thank you," said Starlight, "I guess I needed to hear that."
"Remember Starlight, Twilight and I are always here for you," said Mario, "if something is bothering you or you don't understand something, you need to come to us and talk it out. Even if turns out to be nothing to worry about, you'll feel better speaking up then trying to use magic to solve everything." Starlight chuckled sheepishly and blushed as well.
"Yeah...I guess I need to learn that I don't need to use magic to solve my problems all the time," Starlight remarked timidly as she wiped her eyes.
"Well if what happened today has taught you anything," Twilight replied, "it's that magic can't solve every problem, not matter how gifted we are at doing spells."
"Yeah," said Starlight, "So now what?"
"Now it's time for a pretty advanced friendship lesson," said Twilight, "It's called apologizing."
"Are you sure they'll even want to listen?" Starlight asked worriedly, "They probably hate me right now."
"They might be upset," said Mario, "but they don't hate you, Starlight. These ponies are some of the most understanding ponies you'll ever meet. If you apologize and tell them what you told us, everything will be okay. And they'll assure you what they assured me when I feel the way you do now."
"What was that?" Starlight asked curiously.
"That they are here for you and they'll love you no matter what stupid things you might do," Mario replied.
"Gee, thanks," said Starlight, slightly offended by the last remark.
"I was referring to myself on that last part," said Mario sheepishly, "Sorry." Starlight and Twilight giggled as they sandwiched Mario into a group hug. While Starlight felt better, she was still worried.
"Mario?" Starlight asked.
"Yes?" Mario replied.
"Since you want me to be honest," Starlight said timidly, "I'm scared about the apology. What if I say the wrong thing or trip over my words and make things worse?" Mario smiled.
"Don't rehearse it," said Mario, "Just speak from your heart and the right words will come out. It's what I did when I hurt everypony that one time. And things worked out." Starlight gave Mario a brave smile.
Next morning, the rest of the Mane eight were sitting together at a pair of tables outside the cafe. They all groaned together miserably as they had bags under their eyes and messy manes, except for Rarity, but she wore sunglasses and a hat to hide her fatigued eyes and mane. Twilight and Mario certainly weren't joking when they said the group was gonna suffer some side-effects from Starlight's spell.
"I don't know what kind of whammy Starlight put on us," Applejack groaned, "but I feel like I got shoved through the Super Cider Squeezy 6000."
"Ugh, tell me about it," said Rainbow in agreement.
"I feel like a runaway freight train ran me over," Shenran remarked as he and Fluttershy rested their heads side by side on the table, "while I was underwater. Ugh, it took forever for my ears to unclog last night..." Fluttershy just patted his back gently with a fore-hoof.
"If everypony could speak in a whisper for the next few days, that would be delightful," Rarity asked in a hushed tone, "My head is thumping...!"
"I was up all night calming the animals down and helping my husband get all the water out of his ears," Fluttershy said tiredly as Shenran put a fore-leg around her shoulder.
"Fluttershy, please," Rarity said in a firm but hushed tone, making the Pegasus couple wince, "Not so loud..."
"Starlight's spell made me burn perfectly good cake!" Pinkie snapped, making Rarity cringe, "I never burn cake!" Pinkie then smashed her face into her side of the tabletop. The impact was so strong that Rarity's shades bounced upward but landed right back on her nose.
"Yeah, about that..." said Starlight as she nervously approached the group alone, "Things got a little out of hand last night."
"Well, ain't that the understatement of the day," said Applejack, her tone filled with irritation and sarcasm.
"Hmph! Tell it to the cake, sister!" Pinkie retorted angrily as she slammed her fore-hoof into the table, making Rarity cringe painfully again as her sunglasses lop-sided.
"Can we all please argue at a lower volume?" Rarity pleaded as she pulled the front of her hat over her face. If Starlight didn't feel bad already, she certainly felt worse. She remember what Mario and Twilight had told her and started to speak again.
"I really messed up," said Starlight, "I cast the spell because I was nervous about working with you on the friendship lessons."
"Well, here's a friendship lesson for ya," said Rainbow and then yelled, "Don't cast spells on your friends!" Fluttershy. Shenran, and Applejack winced painfully and the Pegasi couple covered their ears.
"Rainbow, please!" Shenran barked and groaned.
"Sorry," said Rainbow in a rather bitter tone.
"Believe me, I know," said Starlight, "What I was wrong, a-and I can't take it back. You're right to be upset. But...there's something else I should've told you all before. I...I was also nervous because...because...because I was scared that if I wasn't good enough doing the activities you wanted to do, you'd think of me as a failure and you wouldn't wanna be my friends anymore!" The rest of the group was stunned. While Pinkie remained indignant, the others had more thoughtful looks on their faces. Starlight was wiping her eyes of some tears that had surfaced before continuing to speak.
"I didn't realize that the point of the lesson was getting to know you all better and not being good at the things you wanted to me to do with you," Starlight continued once she had recomposed herself, "It doesn't excuse what I put you all through, but it's the truth...and I hope one day I can make it up to you. But all I can is...I'm sorry. Now, if you'll excuse me. I've gotta go clean the castle covered in wet cake batter and spiders." Starlight then walked away. It was only a couple of seconds before anypony else spoke.
"That was a pretty good apology," Rainbow remarked.
"Seems like she feels pretty bad," said Fluttershy, "In fact...does anypony besides me get a feeling of déjà vu when Starlight said she was afraid of disappointing us?" The others hummed in agreement, except for Pinkie, who was just thinking quietly to herself.
"That pony has more in common with Mario when it comes to being afraid of letting their friends down," Applejack pointed out, "Reminds me of the time Mario had us all over at his house...and he told us he overworked being good at the things we liked to do just so we would love and accept him."
"You really think Starlight feels the same way?" Rainbow asked.
"She admitted she cast the spell because she was afraid of being bad at the activities we wanted to do with her," said Rarity, "she thinks we wouldn't want to be friends with her if she was bad at them. The difference between her and Mario is that she's afraid to just try something that's out of her comfort zone, but the fear is the same. They're afraid of doing something that would end our friendship. She, like Mario, is afraid that we'll find a reason to abandon her." Applejack pondered for a second before getting up from her seat.
"Hey, Starlight!" Applejack called out as she ran over the lilac unicorn and stopped her, "Most of the Apple family photos are still layin' around in the wreckage. I think I'll come along and hunt 'em down.
"Oh, and I feel awful for disturbing all of those cute little spiders and bats," said Fluttershy as she walked up to the two ponies and gave Starlight a wink, "I should check on them."
"Getting all that excess water out of the carpets isn't easy," said Shenran as he hovered up to the group, "I could show you how to dry up a carpet in seconds flat!"
"Ah, yes, and I left some lovely fabric out," said Rarity as she walked up to the group, "I should come and move it to that nice quiet library."
"Uh, I'll come and get those storm clouds out of the bathroom," said Rainbow sheepishly as she hovered up between Rarity and Fluttershy.
"Fine!" Pinkie snapped angrily, making everypony look at her since she hadn't left her seat, "Somepony has to bake a cake to honor all the poor cakes that sacrificed their batter in last night's tragedy!" Pinkie leaned her head back in dramatic fashion but then smiled to show she was coming to help as well.
"But before we go," said Shenran, "There's one thing you need to understand Starlight."
"What's that?" Starlight asked nervously, fearing the worst. Shenran then gave the lilac unicorn a hug.
"We love you Starlight," said Shenran gently, "and we will always be here for you. Please come to us whenever you're feeling like this. We can help you deal with those feelings and help you feel better. No need to go casting spells over something like this." Shenran gave Starlight a wink to emphasize his point." Starlight blushed as she felt her eyes water.
"I just don't want to be left alone," said Starlight in a soft tone as she started to cry, "Mario's not the only pony who feels that way..." Starlight sniffled as she tried to get her tears to slow down. The others, minus Pinkie, gave her sympathetic smiles.
"And if you promise to trust us," said Applejack, "We can help you get over that fear. Just like we're helping Mario deal with those feelings too." Starlight smiled and gave the group a brave nod. Then they shared a group hug, Pinkie doing so begrudgingly, before heading to the castle together.
As some montage music began to play, Rarity showed Starlight how to repair a flag banner that had been torn during yesterday's chaos. While the stitching was visible, Starlight had fine job at her first sewing attempt as Rarity used her magic to hang the banner and the two smiled. Little did they know, was that Twilight, Mario, and Diamond Tiara, who sat on Mario's back, were watching them and taking notes together before walking away.
Back in the library, Starlight placed a picture into a book as Applejack watched and smiled. Starlight then walked up to the orange pony and asked her about one particular picture. Applejack started to talk about it, which made Starlight laugh. Once again, neither pony knew that Twilight, Mario, and Diamond Tiara were watching and taking notes in the background.
In the basement levels of the castle, Fluttershy was giving the spiders a new home on some webbing hanging above the hallway. Then she and Starlight then walked further down the hall side by side. Behind a corner, Twilight and Mario watched the two ponies and took their notes like before. Spike and Diamond Tiara were there as well, but were holding each other fearfully and hoping they would never have to come down this hallway alone.
In another hallway, Shenran was showing Starlight how to use a small cloud to absorb a nearby puddle of water. The cloud soaked up the water, getting a little bigger and darker until Shenran let it rise into the air, hover above Starlight,...
BZZZZZZZZZT!
...and lightning zapped Starlight, leaving her slightly burnt. Starlight glared as Shenran gave an apologetic smile. Starlight then used her magic to move the cloud over Shenran.
BZZZZZZZZZT!
...and now Shenran was shocked and lift slightly burnt. Starlight smirked as Shenran glared and then they fell into backs laughing at how silly they looked. Mario, Twilight, and Diamond Tiara, while still taking their notes, smirked and rolled their eyes at the two ponies.
In the kitchen, Pinkie was alone as she stirred up some new cake batter. Starlight used her magic to place her own bowl of batter next to her and smiled. Pinkie just gave her a glare and turned away as she continued mixing her own bowl of batter. Starlight looked rather sad and started mixing her own bowl of batter without using her magic. Pinkie pretended to ignore her. Until she saw Starlight was getting flour all over herself. Pinkie looked at her and smiled, which made Starlight blush from embarrassment once the unicorn saw Pinkie was looking at her. Pinkie just smiled and soon the two ponies got to work. In background, Twilight, Mario, and Diamond Tiara were taking some notes and then walked away. True to Pinkie's nature, she knew the thee ponies had been watching and waited until they left before speaking up to the lilac unicorn.
"Hey, Starlight," said Pinkie.
"What's up?" Starlight asked, her face still covered in cake four.
"I owe you an apology..." said Pinkie.
"No, you don't," Starlight protested as she used a cloth to clean her face, "it was my fault you burnt that cake!"
"True," said Pinkie, "But that doesn't excuse the fact I was being indifferent to why you cast that spell." Starlight grew quiet and said nothing.
"It's okay..." Starlight tried to say.
"No, it's not!" said Pinkie angrily, slamming her bowl on the counter, "No friend of mine is gonna spend their days thinking me or anypony else is gonna abandon them. I'm not like that! I would never turn my back in a friend who needed me. I'm there for Mario when he feels that way. And I will be there for you too."
"Really?" Starlight asked softly.
"Of course," said Pinkie seriously, "I might be over-hyper most of the time, but if you need to confide in me, I will calm down to listen. Mario can testify to that! He confides in me all the time." Starlight just looked away uneasily.
"Starlight, promise me," said Pinkie, "you'll come to talk to me or any of our friends when you feel like this? Okay? Pinkie Promise?" Starlight felt like she wanted to cry. She could see the sympathy and compassion in the pink pony's eyes.
"Okay..." said Starlight with a light sniffle, "I'm just glad you're not mad at me anymore." Pinkie sighed.
"I just take baking very seriously, at least my own baking," said Pinkie, "I champion my reputation on baking cakes perfectly every time and I've never burnt cake in my whole life. Never! I was angry because that perfect record was ruined. But...now that I think about it...it's kind of a silly thing to be angry about." Pinkie chuckled, "I mean...I was gonna mess up sooner or later. There's no such thing as a perfect baker. Anyway, guess my point is that I forgive you. Can you forgive me for ignoring your worries and fears?"
"I already have," said Starlight, "thank you." Starlight and Pinkie shared a hug before getting back to baking a cake the right way. It wasn't a perfect cake by any means. But what mattered was that they made it together.
Later that day, Starlight was just sweeping the floors of the hallway when Twilight, Mario, and Diamond Tiara walked up to her.
"It seems your apology went well," Twilight pointed out. Starlight sighed contently.
"I'm just lucky to have such understanding friends," Starlight said gratefully, "I did take your advice and told them about my...fears and concerns too."
"What did they say?" Mario asked.
"They'll always be there for me," Starlight replied, "and I can talk to them whenever I feel...worried or nervous." Mario hummed and gave her a smile.
"Just know we're here for you too," said Diamond Tiara as she gave the lilac unicorn a hug, "We love you, Big Sis." Starlight chuckled and hugged the filly back.
"I love you all too," Starlight replied, "But it's probably going to be a while before I try to tackle those friendship lessons again." Diamond Tiara blinked.
"What do you mean?" Twilight replied, "You've been doing them all day."
"Yeah," Diamond Tiara remarked.
"What do you mean?" Starlight asked before saying sadly, "I've been cleaning up the mess I made by totally failing at friendship."
"Really?" Twilight smirked, "But didn't we see you sewing with Rarity?"
"Yes, but-" Starlight tried to protest, but Twilight cut her off.
"And you and Applejack did a great job collecting those photos and putting them in the book," Twilight pointed out as she and Mario walked in front of the unicorn, "Helping animals with Fluttershy, learning now carpet cleaning techniques with Shenran, baking with Pinkie Pie - those sound like your assignments to me."
"And you completed them all with flying colors," said Mario, "After all, you feel closer to your friends after doing those activities, don't you?" Starlight then smiled.
"Yeah, I do," said Starlight, "I guess that's the whole point of friendship lessons isn't it."
"She finally gets it," Diamond Tiara exclaimed as they all chuckled.
"She certainly does," Twilight remarked, "In fact, I think there's just one that you're missing."
The group then headed up to a special flat top that Mario had put together so Starlight could complete her friendship lesson with Rainbow. Rainbow and the others were all sitting in their own recliner chairs in a loose semi-circle. Rainbow, Rarity, Mario, and Diamond Tiara were all wearing sunshades as they reclined in their chairs. Applejack had her stenson hat tipped over her face while Rarity held a sun panel to get a tan. Twilight was using her magic to hold a book she was reading. Spike was the only one without a chair, but decided to recline in the middle of the area, which had been turned into a rather artistic, and magical, water fountain with a ring of water flowing continuously in the air above a shallow pool of water.
"Sun - check, Chairs - check," Starlight said aloud as she walked past Rainbow, "And thanks to a simple Catadupia Levitata spell, we have water. Is that everything we need to chillax?"
"Nope." Rainbow replied.
"No?" Starlight asked worriedly, "What did I miss?"
"Quiet," Rainbow replied in a loud whisper.
"Ah! Right!" said Starlight as she took her seat, Diamond Tiara was between her and Twilight and Mario was just to the right of his wife.
"Great job, Starlight!" said Twilight, "Looks like you've completed another friendship lesson." Twilight then sighed contently.
"Starlight's on a role," said Diamond Tiara, "I'm gonna have to work harder to catch up." Starlight smiled modestly as Mario chuckled.
"Hey!" Rainbow snapped, making the Twilight, Starlight, Mario, and Diamond Tiara flinch, "She completes the lesson when I say she completes it. So less learning and more chillaxing!" Rainbow put one hind leg on top of the other and got comfortable while everypony else did the same. Starlight leaning back, but felt rather uneasy by all the silence.
"So...How long do we sit quietly?" Starlight asked.
"Oh Starlight!" Mario remarked as he and everypony else chuckled. He then pulled out a book.
"I guess I could read some of my talking train adventures if you want," said Mario as he grabbed the book with his magic.
"Oh! Can you read the one about the train who got sealed away in that tunnel?" Starlight asked.
"If you're gonna read that story," Rarity remarked, "Please don't go comparing that locomotive to me!"
"Why?" Shenran asked, "It's not our fault he was so vain that he hid in a tunnel thinking water would ruin his paint job." Rarity rolled her eyes as the other snickered. Mario just smirked and started reading the story.
"Once, an engine attached to a train, was afraid of a few drops of rain," Mario narrated using a British accent, "He went into a tunnel and squeaked through its funnel, and wouldn't come out again..." The others just relaxed and enjoyed the story in their own way. Starlight just smiled and closed her eyes, trying to make an image of the story in her mind. But something else made Starlight's smile bigger.
The fact she was surrounded by good friends who would always love and care about her.
The transfigurations Mario used on himself are the metamorphosis abilities from Yoshi's Island. The transfigurations Starlight used on herself are the metamorphosis abilities from Yoshi's New Island. The spin jump block Mario did was the Insta-shield from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles.
I hope nopony minded that I made Starlight's apology and lecture a bit more emotional. I didn't want Starlight to come off as a Mary Sue or just being downright clueless. I wanted to show that there was a greater fear behind why she was so worried about failing at the actual activities involved in her friendship lessons. Plus I hope nopony thought Pinkie was a jerk for being rather cold when Starlight confessed her fears and concerns to the rest of the Mane Eight. I was just trying to be consist with the fact Pinkie was the last to forgive Starlight for the burnt cake. I even added a scene where Pinkie explained why she felt so bitter about burning a cake.
And yes, Mario giving Starlight the name "Kelly" for a middle name was a shout out to her voice actor, Kelly Sheridan.
And July 27th will mark the two year anniversary of this story. Thank you for all your support. I was close to quitting just last month, but your support continues to push me forward and keep delivering you new chapters and content. Once again, I thank you all!
Next Time: Looks like Inspector Mario needs solve another case, which will be entitled Turnabout Sailboat. With three contradicting testimonies, finding the truth will be anything but easy...
Peace Pony Fans!