Chapter 14: Fame and Misfortune
It was a beautiful day in Ponyville as Chase and Twilight were sharing an afternoon walk together.
"Ah, looks like another beautiful day in Ponyville, honey." Chase said to his wife with a smile on his face.
"Yes indeed, honey." Twilight agreed with her husband as she giggled a bit.
Then a group of little foals came running past, laughing and having fun with each other.
"So cute," Chase remarked.
"Yeah," said Twilight, "Kinda makes me want a foal."
"Well we have Nyx," Chase pointed out.
"I mean a baby foal," said Twilight, "A...little bit..."
Chase smirked.
"Okay...now who's teasing?" Chase asked with a smile and skeptical look.
"I'm not teasing," said Twilight, "Just because I said I was interested doesn't mean I'm..."
SPLAT!
Twilight and Chase looked to see that the latter had gotten some sort of whipped dessert against her leg.
"Hey, who threw that?!" Chase demanded as he looked around.
"Oops," said a light pink filly with a tri-colored cherry red, golden yellow, and magenta mane that was half tied along with a matching tail, "Sorry, Princess Twilight and Master Chase. That was meant for her."
The light pink filly pointed across the other side of the street. There was a mint colored filly with a purple, mint-green, and lime green colored mane and tail that were tied in the same style as Applejack's. She held a banana split on a fore-hoof.
"Incoming!" the pink filly shouted as the mint filly chuckled the banana split.
"Get down!" Chase shouted as he made Twilight crouch.
"Whoa!" Twilight yelped as the banana split flew over all three of their heads.
The banana split then landed on the table of a nearby unicorn that had just finished his meal. He looked at the banana split, shrugged his shoulders, and enjoyed the tasty treat.
"Toola Roola, Coconut Cream, what are you doing?!" Twilight asked firmly.
"Why are you throwing desserts at each other?" Chase asked and then added, "and at us?"
"That was meant for my ex-friend!" said Coconut Cream sternly.
"I'm not your ex-friend," Toola Roola protested, "you're my ex-friend!"
She then grabbed another dessert and tossed it at Coconut Cream. Coconut Cream returns fire with her own desserts. But their efforts were only getting Twilight and Chase covered in splattered desserts, making them annoyed by this.
"Both of you, stop!" Twilight and Chase snapped as they used magic barriers to clean themselves off and block any more oncoming desserts.
The two fillies just winced and stopped fighting as Chase and Twilight sternly looked at them.
"Now, the two of you are going to tell us what's going on here," said Chase, "because this is not how two friends should be behaving right now!" Toola Roola and Coconut Cream just looked at him sadly.
"Well, we were talking about which of our talents are better," said Toola Roola, "I think being an artist is better than being a baker!"
She glared at Coconut Cream who rolled her eyes.
"And I think being good at baking is a better talent!" said Coconut Cream, "I can actually give ponies something to actually eat and enjoy!"
"Ponies enjoy looking at art too you know!" Toola Roola retorted.
"Yeah, until they get bored of staring at it!" Coconut Cream retorted.
"Or, in your case, they get a stomach ache from all the sweets you shove in their mouths!" Toola Roola shot back.
"Oh yeah?!"
"Yeah!"
"Alright, alright, time out!" Chase called out, "No need to start fighting again over this!"
"That's right," said Twilight, "Just because you don't see eye to eye doesn't mean you have to argue or throw desserts at each other." Toola Roola and Coconut Cream sighed.
"We're supposed to be friends," said Toola Roola, "But we can't agree."
"Yeah," Coconut Cream added sadly, "Maybe we're not meant to be friends."
Chase chuckled.
"Don't be silly, you two. Friends can disagree with each other all the time," said Chase, "But that doesn't mean you can't be friends because of it. You just gotta respect each other's opinions and feelings. Honestly, do you two really want to end your friendship with each other?"
Toola Roola and Coconut Cream only needed half a second to look at each other before they gave a loud whimper.
"No..." they both said sadly.
"I guess we have a lot to learn about friendship," said Toola Roola.
"We had no idea that friendships would be so hard," said Coconut Cream.
"No friendship is ever easy," said Chase, "They all have their own struggles. But just because they struggle doesn't mean that they are destined to fall apart. If you really value that friendship, you're not gonna let it fall apart. You gonna strive to make things right with each other."
"Does that mean admitting the other pony was right?" Toola Rolla asked.
"Depends on the situation," said Chase, "but at the end of the day, does losing your friend worth being right?" Toola Roola and Coconut Cream exchanged glances and both shook their heads at the same time.
"I'm sorry," said Toola Roola as she gave Coconut Cream a hug.
"I'm sorry, too," Coconut Cream replied back and returned the hug.
"So you see, friendship isn't always easy, but there's no doubt, it's worth fighting for," said Twilight.
"Same can go for a marriage as well," said Chase as he gave his wife a nuzzle, making her giggle as she nuzzled her husband back.
"Awww!" Coconut Cream and Toola Roola replied and giggled as they held each other happily.
Twilight and Chase just smiled as the two filly walked away. Twilight then kissed Chase's cheek.
"You're really good with handling young ponies," said Twilight, "You don't just tell them how to understand something, you make them think and come to understand things on their own. That makes the lessons more effective and improves their thinking skills. That's my kind of lesson learning!" Chase smiled.
"I try," said Chase, "Your words of wisdom were pretty good too. After all, friendship is always worth fighting for."
Twilight chuckled.
"Hmmm. That sounds familiar," said Twilight and then gasped, "Honey, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Chase pondered and then blinked in realization.
"Doesn't it involve a book we haven't written in for years now?" Chase replied as Twilight smiled back in reply.
Then they both quickly headed back to the castle.
(Scene changes)
The alicorn couple wasted no time heading back to the castle and rushing into the library and began searching through the shelves for something. Twilight was just humming and hmm-ing as she looked about the shelves.
"Honey, have we just done a book-sortation last month? We shouldn't be having this much trouble finding it!" Chase said while looking around.
"Umm...I actually didn't include it in the last book-sortation, sweetie," said Twilight as she kept searching, "No...Aha!"
"You found it?" Chase asked excitedly as he hovered over to his wife.
"Here it is," said Twilight as she pulled out a very old and dusty book from the back of the shelf. Starlight had also walked into the library when she saw the book.
"What is that?" Starlight asked, cringing at the sight of the old book.
"Come on, Starlight," said Twilight as she and Chase landed, "Don't judge a book by its cover. This is the friendship journal my friends and I used to keep. It's filled with all the things we've learned, like..." She turned to a specific page and read it aloud, "Friendship isn't always easy, but there's no doubt, it's worth fighting for."
It was then two pages from the journal fell out. One turned into a pile of dust and another just floated on top of the dust pile. Twilight, Chase, and Starlight just stared at the pile and paper for a second.
"I'll judge a book by its cover just this once," said Starlight smugly.
"Yeah, maybe we better fix that." Chase added with a smirk.
Twilight just groaned irritably and pouted.
*Main theme*
A little later that day, Chase and Twilight had summoned the rest of the Mane fourteen. They were all waiting patiently in their thrones when Twilight, Chase, and Starlight walked into the room.
"Thanks for coming, everypony," said Twilight, "My husband and I got a surprise for you"
"What is it, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked curiously and also anxiously, "Do I need to prepare myself?"
"You won't have to be, Fluttershy." Chase assured with a chuckle as he turned to Twilight and nodded to his wife.
"It's this!" Twilight said excitedly.
Twilight then used her magic to make the old journal plop into the middle of the table. The group had mixed expressions that were either stunned, repulsed, or a mix of both.
"Ugh, what is that thing?" Rarity asked, "Why is it so smelly?"
"Wait a minute," said Pinkie and then gasped as she grabbed the book, "Is this our friendship journal? I haven't seen this thing in forever!"
"Hoo-wee!" Applejack remarked, "It's lookin' a little, uh...overripe."
"I'll say," said Rainbow as she grabbed the book and looked through it until she saw a page covered in rotten apple, "There's a smushed apple in Applejack and Clay's lessons."
Rainbow then turned a the page and found some very, very small text.
"Fluttershy's lessons are so small, you can barely read them," said Rainbow as she leaned into the page to read the words, "And I can't believe Sokka tried to write just as small to go with her lessons."
"I didn't want to outshine her," said Sokka in his defense.
"And I, uh, wanted to leave room for all of you," said Fluttershy timidly. Rainbow then turned the page and found some very fancy writing.
"I-I don't even know what this is," said Rainbow Dash as she showed the page to Rarity.
"It's called calligraphy, darling," Rarity replied, "If you're going to make words, at least make them fabulous." Applejack then grabbed the journal and a page unfolded that was full of holes.
"Looks like you got a little aggressive with your friendship lessons, Rainbow Dash," Applejack remarked.
"And that was when you tried to get into the Wonderbolts a few times over the years." Clay added.
"What can I say?" Rainbow remarked smugly as she took the journal, "When I learn something, I learn it hard."
She then turned a page.
POP WHISTLE!
"I found Pinkie's page," said Rainbow Dash in an unimpressed tone. Pinkie giggled.
"Well, I am surprised!" Pinkie remarked.
Twilight then used her magic to grab the book back.
"That wasn't the only surprise," said Twilight and gave Starlight and Chase a smirk.
The two ponies returned the smirk before they used their magic to lift the book above the center of the table. Together, Chase and Starlight duplicated brand new covers and then filled them up with brand new pages. Everypony watched in awe as the two ponies did their work.
"Ta-da!" said Twilight as the copies floated before them, "Starlight, Chase, and I decided to make one for each of you!" Applejack eagerly grabbed her book.
"That's amazin'!" said Applejack, "A perfect copy!"
"I learned the spell years ago when I needed to make copies of a certain..." Starlight then paused when Sunray, Jade, Twilight and Chase glared at her, even Fluttershy looked worried. Starlight smiled sheepishly as she cleared her throat, "...manifesto."
The others didn't seem bothered about where the spell came from.
"Ahhh! Even better than a perfect copy," said Rarity as she gave her copy a sniff. Fluttershy was just looking through her new copy.
"Oh, I'd forgotten all about this lesson," said Fluttershy.
"Hey that was a good lesson," Sokka remarked since he was on the same page as his wife. Rainbow then laughed as she read her copy behind Fluttershy and Sokka's throne.
"Remember this one from when Chase and I helped Daring Do?" Rainbow Dash replied, ""Never underestimate the power of friends who always got your back"."
"And my personal extension "Trust in your friends and don't go charging headfirst into trouble"," Chase added.
Rainbow just blushed, especially when Fluttershy and Shenran gave her knowing smirks.
"Ah-heh...ehhh..." was all Rainbow could say and his her face in her copy.
"Aww, Cheese Sandwich!" said Pinkie, "Party Cannon! Ah! Birth-iversary!"
"After Twilight and Chase remembered the journal," said Starlight, "I had so much fun reading all the stuff you all learned, I just had to have my own copy. Even Nyx, Jade, Sunray, Trini, and Antonio loved the journal and they have their own copies as well."
She held up a copy of the journal to prove her point.
"And that brings me to the second part of the surprise," said Twilight.
"Wait...there's a second part?!" said Antonio as Chase, Jade, Sunray, and Trini looked confused by this, "You only said you wanted to surprise everypony with their own copy of our friendship journal."
"Yeah, honey. We were supposed to make copies for our whole group." Chase said, not following this.
"Well, I wanted to surprise you too, sweetie," Twilight replied, "My idea. How would you girls and guys feel about making our journal available for everypony? If we can get these lessons into other ponies' hooves, maybe they'll benefit from them."
"Well, I think that's a great idea," said Fluttershy.
"Same here," said Sokka.
"I'm in! Yay!" said Pinkie.
"W-We always said we wanted to," said Applejack.
"Sounds fabulous," said Rarity. Then Rainbow laughed heartily as she kept reading her copy.
"I'm awesome," Rainbow said aloud until she saw everypony either glaring annoyingly at her, "Oh, yeah. Uh, good idea." Then everypony noticed that Chase and his family didn't look as excited about the idea.
"Honey? Is something wrong?" Twilight asked. Chase hummed before he spoke up.
"I'm just worried about how ponies will take our friendship lessons," said Chase, "Until you know what kind of audience you're presenting your work to, first time publication can often get alot of...backlash..."
"Yeah, Twilight. I remembered this one time we saw some authors getting backlashed after he published their own comic books. And let's just say the results were not pleasant for them." Jade added with concern.
"Don't worry, guys. I'm sure everything will be alright. Besides, it's just one idea. How bad can it be?" Twilight asked with a confident smile.
(Scene changes)
A few days later, as some montage music began to play and once the publication red tape had been dealt with, Nyx, Twilight, Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, and Antonio began to distribute copies of the friendship journal to various locations. Their first stop was Cloudsdale. Twilight and Chase both approached a Pegasus vender that was selling books and used her magic to hand him a journal. The vender put the book on the shelf immediately as Antonio left a box with some more copies nearby for restock.
(Scene changes)
In Rainbow Falls, a few more copies of the friendship journal were now on a newsstand that belonged to a little colt. Twilight then gave the paper-colt his own copy and he began to read it immediately. Then she and Chase left some more extra copies of the journal with him. Then they both waved goodbye and headed to their next location. The paper-colt was too busy reading to take notice.
(Scene changes)
The word about the journal soon spread. In Manehatten, a stacks of friendship journals were being placed in front of the display window of a small bookstore. But they quickly disappeared as ponies purchased their copies. In the pony version of Times Square, the friendship journal was being advertised on the main display.
(Scene changes)
Back in Ponyville, there was a huge line of young ponies at the Schoolhouse. They were all excited about getting a copy from Twilight and Chase. Twilight had just given a copy of Dinky when the alicorn couple heard the sound of two ponies arguing. They both looked to see that Toola Roola and Coconut Cream were arguing. The two fillies were standing before a hopscotch court.
"No!" Toola Roola yelled, "I don't wanna play with you anymore!"
"Why not?!" Coconut Cream protested, "You love playing hopscotch!"
"No, you do because you always win!" said Toola Roola angrily.
Chase then gave a loud whistle to get their attention. The two fillies stopped fighting and looked at the alicorn couple.
"Hi there," said Chase.
"Hey, girls," said Twilight, "Couldn't help but overhear. You might want to take a breather, maybe read Rainbow Dash's chapter on Rainbow Falls? It might help." Chase nodded in agreement as Twilight gave them the friendship journal.
"Sure, Princess and Prince," said Toola Roola as she and Coconut Cream held the book and started reading it.
"Thanks, Twilight and Chase!" said Apple Bloom as she held her own copy of the friendship journal, "The friendship journal's makin' us super popular!"
"Oh?" said Twilight with a skeptical look.
"I thought you three learned your lesson about not using our family relations for your own personal gain?" Chase said in skeptical tone.
"We're not, Chase," said Sweetie Belle, "In fact, these ponies aren't asking if we can get them to meet you or Twilight. They're asking about our cutie mark services!"
"Huh?" said Chase, rather surprised.
"We were thinkin' of puttin' together a cutie mark summer camp," said Apple Bloom, "Now, everypony's definitely gonna sign up for it! This is gonna be awesome!" Apple Bloom gave an excited giggle, "Cutie Mark Crusaders, whoo!"
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo walked off.
Chase chuckled, but then noticed Twilight was looking rather upset. Before he could ask why, Starlight appeared. She had apparently heard everything.
"A cutie mark camp is a great idea," said Starlight Glimmer.
"And they could use some positive publicity to promote it too," said Chase, "Their talents can now reach out to ponies outside of Ponyville now."
"Yeah, but the purpose of the journal isn't supposed to be marketing," said Twilight. She then walked off with Starlight and Chase right behind her.
"I get it, sweetie," said Chase once he caught up to his wife, "but marketing is always going to be a small factor when it comes to publishing a book. It might not be a priority, but it is something you need to consider if this journal is gonna reach out to everypony in Equestria." Chase then made a sheet of paper appear, "I know the money isn't important, but you might wanna take a look at this."
Twilight grabbed the sheet with her magic. Starlight looked as well, but their eyes shrunk at what they read.
"Sweet Celestia!" said Twilight, "Are you sure that's not just somepony's address number?!" Chase shook his head.
"From an investment perspective," said Chase, "The friendship journal is a success, but how the journal helps others is gonna take some time before we'll see any real results. All we can do for now is make sure they have the opportunity to get a copy and read it."
"I just hope those foals actually learn something from our lessons," said Twilight worriedly.
"They will!" Starlight replied, "I'm sure ponies all across Equestria will - Whoa!"
Starlight, Twilight, and Chase all yelped and stopped walking when they saw four ponies holding their journals and had really big smiles at them.
"Uh, hello!" said Twilight, "Can I...help you?"
"Were here all the way from Fillydelphia because we got copies of your friendship journal," said the tourist stallion.
"Wow!" said Twilight, "How wonderful! What was your favorite friendship-"
"Will you and Chase sign them?!" the tourist stallion asked as he shoved his journal into Twilight's face. The other three tourists did the same.
"Oh, uh, I guess so," said Twilight as she and Chase quickly signed the covers of each journal.
"So, uhh..." said Twilight, nervously. "what did you think of the lessons?"
"Did you like them?" Chase asked casually.
"Oh, we haven't read them," said the tourist stallion, "These are keepsakes. We gotta them in mint condition. Ha-ha."
He took his copy and placed it inside of a plastic covering.
"Oh..." said Twilight, clearly disappointed as she finished signing the other journals and gave it to the other tourist ponies.
"Wow, that was worth the trip!" said the second tourist stallion as the others chattered while walking away.
Twilight just sighed as Starlight put a fore-hoof on her shoulder as Chase glared at the tourists.
(Scene changes)
Soon the three ponies arrived at the cafe when Starlight decided to speak up again.
"Don't worry, Twilight and Chase," said Starlight, "I'm sure lots of other ponies are being inspired to be better friends."
"I hope your right, Starlight," said Chase with suspicion.
"Well, I for one found the journal terribly illuminating," said a stallion named Diamond Cutter to a pony mare named Daisy.
Twilight then gasped before she and Chase rushed to the bush and sat behind it. Starlight soon followed and sat down on the other side of Mario. All three had their backs against the bush as they quietly listened in.
"I agree," said Daisy, "I'm seeing sides of these ponies I didn't know were there. I only wish they'd left Rarity out. She clearly doesn't belong in that book with the rest of them."
"What?!" Chase said quietly as Twilight and Starlight blinked in surprise. Twilight then leaned out from the bush to watch the two ponies continue to talk.
"Oh, I know," Diamond Cutter replied, "Who does she think she is? Certainly she did a fine job setting up the Ponyville Days celebration, but does she really believe it was a success just because of her?" He then laughed inconsiderably, "The nerve!"
It was then a pony reading a newspaper lowered it. It was Rarity! She had heard everything. It didn't take long before she burst into tears and ran off bawling her eyes out.
"But that's not what she was saying!" said Twilight as she, Chase, and Starlight shared worried looks with each other.
"Rarity!" Chase and Twilight called out.
But Rarity didn't say nothing, but continued crying as she ran two ponies who critized her watched her run off and then just shared unsympathetic looks with each other.
"This just can't be right." Chase said with concern.
"You're right, honey," said Twilight, "Oh, poor Rarity. She overheard all the mean things those ponies were saying. She must be devastated. I'm going after her."
"Same here," said Chase sternly, "Because if I stick around here, I'm tempting to do something I'll regret to those two!"
"Go ahead," said Starlight, "I'm gonna have a chat with these two."
Chase and Twilight nodded in agreement. Then the alicorn couple walked off as Starlight made her way to the two ponies.
Rarity continued to cry and run as she speed through town. Chase and Twilight rushed after her.
"Rarity, wait!" Twilight shouted.
"Please stop!" said Chase.
Then Pinkie tackled Twilight and Chase together to the ground.
"Twilight! Chase! Isn't it amazing?" Pinkie said excitedly, "Our journals are everywhere!"
"Not a good time, Pinkie!" Chase retorted as he and Twilight sat up.
"Pinkie, we've got too-" Twilight tried to explain, but Pinkie wouldn't listen.
"Ponies keep stopping by to tell me my entries are hilarious!" said Pinkie another pony appeared with a copy of the journal. Pinkie turned to sign it, making the pony smile.
"Well good for you," said Chase irritably as he and Twilight stood up and dusted themselves off.
"I even had somepony come all the way from Las Pegasus to say how much he liked my lessons," Pinkie added.
"I'm so glad to hear some ponies are being inspired by the journal," said Twilight.
"Glad you're getting some positive feedback for your lessons," Chase added.
"Hey, look! There's Pinkie Pie!" said Cherry Berry, "The funny one!" Ponies nearby began to laugh.
"Giggly feedback is the best kind!" Pinkie told the alicorn couple.
The surrounding ponies laughed again.
"Well, at least you're getting a positive reaction," said Twilight, "We just saw Rarity, and I'm afraid this journal thing really upset her."
"Aww, that's too bad," said Pinkie sadly. Suddenly the surrounding ponies began to laugh, stunning the three ponies.
"Wait," said Pinkie skeptically, "That wasn't even funny." The surrounding ponies laughed again, leaving the three ponies confused.
"O-kay. Well I guess I'll catch you later," said Twilight and smiled, hoping for a laugh. All she got was silence and a cough from Cherry Berry.
"Seriously?" Chase asked annoyingly.
Twilight just groaned and walked off with Chase just following behind her.
"Yup. Bye Chase and Twilight!" Pinkie called out. But then flinched when the surrounding ponies laughed again. This time, Pinkie was feeling very uncomfortable and walked away backwards from all the laughter.
"Hah! Classic Pinkie!" said a pony named Sassaflash, "Oh, she's even funnier in real life!"
"You've known me for years!" Pinkie yelled, but her only reply was more laughing from the other ponies.
Pinkie then ran off as the other ponies kept laughing without a care in the world.
(Scene changes)
Meanwhile, Twilight and Chase were still making their way to the Carousel Boutique. They figured that if there was any place Rarity would run off to cry, it would be there. Twilight suddenly did a one-eighty and faced her husband.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked with concern. Chase just looked away and said nothing.
"Don't do this, Chase," Twilight warned, "Don't close up and try to hide it. I know what happened back there upset you. Talk to me, sweetie."
Chase opened his mouth to speak when suddenly a piece of paper landed on his horn.
"What the?!" Chase said in surprise as a few more sheets of paper came falling from above. The two ponies looked up to see a medium sized cloud above them and heard a familiar voice.
"Maybe it's time to call it a day," said Rainbow as Chase and Twilight exchanged looks with each other and then hovered up to the cloud. They saw the blue Pegasus with a crowd of Pegasus foals. Their leader was a young but rather outspoken filly named Princess Erroria.
"I wipped out all the Twilight Spawkle lessons 'cause they were getting in the way of the good ones," said Princess Erroria in a proud tone. Rainbow just looks unimpressed while Twilight was shocked.
"What do you mean you skipped the lessons?" Twilight asked the filly, "We've all had valuable experiences."
"Yeah, well I also had to wipe out parts with Chase in Rainbow Dash's lessons," Princess Erroria said indignantly, "All that swappy stuff was really wuining the Rainbow Dash awesomeness!"
"Hey! Chase is what made those experiences so awesome!" said Rainbow.
The filly laughed.
"Why are you swicking up for the guy?" said Princess Erroria remarked, "He's wame compwared to you and his lessons were so mushy!"
The other Pegasi foals chattered in agreement. Chase glared angrily.
"Well, this lame pony happens to be a highly skilled jiu jitsu master, harnesses one of the Dragon Guardians, and represents the Element of Bravery!" Chase said furiously.
The Pegasi foals all blinked.
"Well, if thwart's true, thwen how dwid you become that great?" Princess Erroria said rudely. "Awnd what happened to your grwandfather?"
Chase blinked before he became even more angry.
"Don't you ever insult my husband and his family's legacy!" Twilight said in a stern tone as she hovered in front of her husband.
"Yeah, that's enough," said Rainbow as she pushed two Pegasi ponies to Twilight, "Hey, here's a great idea! Why don't you guys talk to Twilight for a while? So I can back to things like working and napping and, well, pretty much anything else."
Rainbow couldn't help stuttering as she tried to come up with what to tell the foals. Chase wasn't too impressed with her skills.
"Nice out," Chase replied bluntly at Rainbow's poor excuse to be left alone.
"Aw, we don't wanna hear her bowing lessons and who cares abwout Chase anyway?!" Princess Erroria remarked, not caring that both Chase and Twilight were deeply offended and were glaring at her, "Come on! Tell us again about when you met Dawing Do!"
"Again?" Rainbow said with a nervous laugh, "Haven't we already covered that one? A couple dozen times?"
"We can't get enough of it!" said Princess Erroria before adding slyly, "Come on, you don't want to disappoint your fans!"
Twilight and Chase just watched the scene, finding they were quickly disliking this particular filly. Then they were caught by surprise to see that the number of Pegasi foals had doubled in number, all holding a copy of their journals.
"Uh..." Rainbow stuttered as she tried to find an excuse to leave and them saw some black clouds behind her, "It's just that I, uh, really need to get those storm clouds back in their...pens."
"Oh, cool!" Princess Erroria replied, "We'll come along. You can tell us the stowy there." Rainbow just looked rather indignant as the foals all followed after her.
"Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!" the Pegasus foals chanted.
"Rainbow Dash rules, Chase drools!" Princess Erroria called out.
"Yeah!" The same foals shouted in agreement.
Twilight and Chase were left alone and upset.
"Ugh!" Chase grunted angrily, "I don't know what gets on my nerves more with that filly. The fact she openly made all those foals turn on me or the fact she can't take no for an answer."
"I'd say both," Twilight replied, "and we're not gonna let her get away with disrespecting us, especially you and your family's legacy! Now come on!"
Twilight and Chase had just taken off the cloud when they heard more arguing down below.
"What's going on now?!" Chase remarked.
"Over here!" said Twilight as the alicorn couple descended below.
Apparently, four ponies had literally pinned Fluttershy and Sokka against the front door of a house as they were shouting at them. The Pegasus couple held each other protectively.
"Please, just leave us alone!" Fluttershy begged.
"Get back you parasprites!" Sokka yelled defensively.
"Fluttershy, Sokka, what's wrong?" Twilight asked as she and Chase used their magic to move two of the four arguing ponies aside so they could walk up to them.
"We want answers!" demanded a pony named Glasses Stallion.
"Yeah! We're entitled to know!" a mare named Lemon Chiffon demanded as well.
"What is it, everypony?" Twilight asked worriedly.
"Let's just calm down and maybe we can help," said Chase firmly.
"We wanna know why Fluttershy keeps learning the same thing over and over again!" Lemon Chiffon replied indignantly, "Be assertive already!"
"Seriously?!" Chase remarked in exasperation and disbelief.
"Even I've learned more than she has!" a stallion named Wisp added, "Why can't I be in the book?"
"A pony that shy shouldn't even be married for that matter," Glasses Stallion added, "Unless he married her to be his personal doormat!"
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Chase replied angrily as Twilight glared at them. It was then Starlight arrived.
"What? Really?!" Starlight remarked as she lifted Wisp into the air with her magic, "Are you attacking my friend because you want to be in a book?!" Starlight then glared angrily at Glasses Stallion, "And how dare you attack Fluttershy just because she managed to find her special somepony and you can't find your own!"
Glasses Stallion whimpered at that remark.
"It's okay, everypony. I got this," said Fluttershy as she stood up when Sokka stepped forward.
"I treat my wife with the utmost respect!" Sokka snapped, "Who do you think you-"
"I said I got this!" Fluttershy retorted through her teeth as she gave Sokka a stern glare.
"I'm only trying to defend you, sweetheart!" Sokka protested.
"QUIET!" Fluttershy yelled.
Chase, Starlight, and Twilight all winced at seeing Fluttershy yell at Sokka. Sokka looked hurt and most annoyed. Fluttershy then inhaled deeply.
"Listen up!" said Fluttershy firmly, "I am more assertive! And yes, it took me a while to get there. But can you honestly say you could learn something one time and completely change who you are?"
Fluttershy glared sternly at Lemon Chiffon, who cowered back, sweated a bit, and said nothing.
"I didn't think so," said Fluttershy bluntly.
"Wow," said Glasses Stallion, "You're way different from the Fluttershy in the book." Fluttershy smiled.
"I don't know how I feel about that," Glasses Stallion added skeptically. Fluttershy just sighed sadly.
"Talk about dense," Sokka remarked.
"Bud out!" Fluttershy snapped.
"Excuse me?!" Sokka said indignantly, "I'm trying to help you!"
"You can help by being supportive!" Fluttershy retorted angrily as she flew off.
"How can I when you keep telling me to be quiet all the time?!" Sokka snapped as he followed after her.
"I said be supportive, not fight my battles!" Fluttershy yelled.
"Well, excuuuuuuuuuuse me, princess!" Sokka yelled back as the couple continue to argue with each other.
The other ponies continued to grumble with each other. Chase, Twilight, and Starlight were watching the fighting Pegasi couple disappear.
"I've seen Fluttershy and Sokka have arguments before," said Chase worriedly, "But I've never seen anything as bad as this."
"It feels like everypony in Equestria is missing the "friendship" part of the friendship journals," said Twilight.
"More like they're just using what was written to pick us all apart from the inside out," said Chase sternly.
Starlight looked at Chase with concern, but Chase and Twilight were already heading off to the Carousel Boutique before she could ask if Chase was okay.
(Scene changes)
It didn't take long before the three ponies arrived at the Carousel Boutique. The fact the main floor was dark meant that Rarity was hiding inside of her upstairs bedroom. The three ponies quickly and quietly made their way to Rarity's bedroom and slowly peeked inside.
"Rarity, are you alright?" Twilight asked, "Wah!"
Twilight yelped as a roll of fabric that flew past her head.
"Rarity?" Chase asked gently. "WHOA!"
Chase yelped as well as some threads nearly hit his head. The three ponies slowly approached Rarity as she continued working at her sewing machine in the dark and said nothing.
"What are you doing?" Twilight asked.
"WHY I'M CREATING A GOWN, DARLING!" Rarity replied, showing them the gown with a very huge smile on her face.
However, the fact her eyes were wide-eyed, covered in mascara stained cheeks, and her curly mane was messy and wrinkled made Rarity look like a pony who had gone completely insane. Chase and Starlight cringed fearfully at the sight. Twilight was stunned but quickly recovered.
"For what?" Twilight asked calmly.
"I don't know!" Rarity snapped, "I'm stress-sewing!"
She continued to make frustrated noises as she worked.
"Stress-sewing?" Twilight asked.
"When I overheard those two at the cafe," Rarity said as she walked past the three ponies, "I suddenly understood why I've been getting cancellations for days!"
"Cancellations?!" Chase spluttered.
"What? Why are ponies cancelling their orders?" Starlight asked curiously.
"Because nopony likes me anymore!" Rarity replied dramatically as she twisted the head of a mannequin and wrapped her fore-legs around it, "They're boycotting me!"
Rarity then grunted as she rushed over to her bedroom window and opened the curtain. Outside the shop, several ponies were standing outside her window picketing and protesting angrily.
"Oh man, that's not right." Chase said with concern.
"I'm sure if I go out there and talk to those ponies, they'll see that they're being unreasonable."
"No offense, honey," said Chase with caution, "But these kind of ponies would rather slam the door in your face than listen to reason."
WHAM!
"AHH!" Twilight yelped as the Rarity's bedroom door literally slammed into her face.
"Told ya." Chase said bluntly.
It wasn't long before they found out the pony who did that was Applejack. Her mane and tail were a mess, even her hair tye was missing and she had bags under her eyes.
"I need a hundred blankets, and I need 'em now!" said Applejack and then noticed who she smacked with the door, "Sorry Twilight!"
Applejack ran off as the door closed. Twilight still looked like she was still pasted against the door with a long face she shared with Chase as they both glared with the orange pony.
"Right away, pony-who-still-likes-me!" said Rarity as she got to work on her sewing machine as Applejack rush toward a shelf that had some blankets in it.
"I don't need nothin' fancy," Applejack remarked as she grabbed the blankets and put them on her back and rushed out.
"What's the matter, Applejack?" Twilight asked worriedly.
"Where's Clay?" Chase added with concern.
"We're popular, Twilight and Chase!" Applejack said in a mixture of fear and desperation, "We're popular, and we don't like it one bit!"
Chase and Twilight were about to follow her when they noticed that Rarity had gone back to stress-sewing and was still looking very upset.
"You go ahead," said Starlight, "I'll stay here."
Twilight just inhaled and exhaled with Chase before they ran off to catch up with Applejack. Starlight just gave Rarity a sad and worried look.
(Scene changes)
At Sweet Apple Acres, Big Mac and Clay were being forced to carry several pieces of luggage as two ponies wearing some very generic farmer's attire walked about the farmland. The entire grounds were filled with lots of tourists that were wearing similar attires and had taped papers with apple cutie marks on their flanks.
Twilight and Chase arrived to see everything.
Several ponies were just gobbling up apples from nearly buckets and just lazily lounging around the orchard. Two ponies were even hugging apple trees!
Granny Smith had barely served a table with various treats when the ponies devoured them in seconds flat. She looked exhausted as she went to get more food...for who knows how many times that day. Apple Bloom was standing near a barrel as she pushed the tapper to give a nearly pony some cider to drink.
He drank the cup empty and held it under the tap for more. Apparently, it wasn't his first refill cause Apple Bloom gave a frustrated groan as she refilled the cup. Twilight continued to look around the area as she walked up to Applejack. She was handing several ponies a blanket each holding another stack on standby for when Applejack needed more.
"Applejack, who are all these ponies?" Twilight asked with concern.
"They call themselves the Sweet Apple Admirers," Applejack answered, "They say they read my journal entries, and they felt like a part of the family. And now they actually wanna become part of the family!" It was then one pony zoomed up to the orange pony an held a camera to take a picture with Applejack. Applejack smiled in the picture, but she couldn't help but look like she was about to have a mental breakdown.
"You're journal entries?" Twilight remarked.
"Yeah, you know," Applejack continued as she pushed a bucket of apples towards some other ponies that quickly gobbled them up, "all the stuff about how friends are like family and what not."
"And now they all think they can just waltz in here and eat us out of house and home," Clay remarked annoyingly.
"Can't you get rid of them?" Twilight asked.
"And kick out my own family?!" Applejack protested as she hugged two tourist fillies, who smiled at her.
"Applejack, I know you do consider friends your family and such," said Chase, "But these ponies aren't your real friends and family. Not yet at least. They don't even know who we really are and we don't know them yet other than being your fan club. Not to mention all they're doing is taking advantage of you and the rest of the family."
"We can't do that unless we need more help than ever!" Clay responded back wearily.
That's when Applejack saw Granny Smith with a tall stack of dirty dishes on her back that was taller than her.
"Granny Smith, hang on! Let me help!" Applejack shouted as she and Clay then rushed after the experienced mare. Some other ponies hanging around a nearby corral fence saw the orange pony heading in their direction.
"There she is!" shouted an admirer.
"Yee-haw!" several ponies shouted as Applejack ran past and then went back to their own business.
Twilight and Chase watched the whole scene, feeling most upset.
"I wish we'd never released that journal," Twilight said with a sigh that was filled with regret.
Chase held his wife close to him for comfort as she rested her head under his chin.
"We'll find a way to fix this, honey. I promise." Chase said gently as he continued to hold Twilight as she shed a few tears.
(Scene changes)
Once they arrived back home, Twilight and Chase just stayed inside of their bedroom. Chase was sitting on their bed with an angry look on his face while Twilight just sat sadly on a sofa that was placed near their bedroom window.
Twilight just stared outside sadly as Starlight, Jade, Sunray, Trini, and Antonio arrived and walked inside of their bedroom. Apparently, Starlight asked for their help and they volunteered since they were getting angry by the ponies that mocking their family legacy as well as their title of the Elite Ninja.
"There you are!" said Starlight, "Okay, I just left Rarity. I think she's doing better, and-"
Starlight then noticed that Twilight was just staring out of the window while Chase was looking at the ground angrily and wasn't sure if the alicorn couple was even listening to her. But she wasn't offended.
"Oh, boy - Window-staring, huh?" said Starlight, "Was it that bad at Sweet Apple Acres?"
"Guys, please tell us it isn't worse. Is it?" Jade asked worriedly.
"It's bad everywhere," Twilight replied as she walked over to the discarded messy Friendship journal. "I thought I was doing something good. I thought I was helping. I even thought this would help ponies see my husband in a more positive light! How could our friendship journal have led to so much...anti-friendship?!"
"Oh, Twilight, it's not your fault," said Starlight.
"Yeah, I don't blame you for this, honey," Chase said as he approached his wife. "You can't control how ponies think of me or our friends."
"Of course it's my fault!" said Twilight, "If I hadn't the big idea to make copies, none of this would be happening! You even warned me that there might be some backlash and it's really biting back full force!"
"Well, if you guys think that's bad enough, all of those ponies have been demanding to know where Grandpa is and we still don't know where!" Trini said with a hopeless look on her face.
"I'm telling you guys one thing for sure, I'm getting sick and tired of those ponies mocking us for all of the stuff we've done to honor our family's legacy!" Sunray exclaimed angrily.
"Yeah, it is so not fantasico!" Antonio added.
"Nevertheless," said Twilight, "I'm afraid I made life awful for you and my friends!" Twilight tugged on her ears before lowering her head down in shame.
"I really think you're being too hard on yourself," said Starlight Glimmer as Chase held Twilight lovingly in his fore-legs.
"Am I?" Twilight interjected as she gave Starlight an upset look.
KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!
"Oh, this had better be good." Chase said as he rushed off.
Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio, Twilight, and Starlight followed him to the front door. Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio, Starlight, and Twilight wasted no time opening the door and were deeply shocked.
"Oh no…" Chase said in shock as Twilight yelped as well.
There before them was the rest of the Mane fourteen, looking very upset, and behind them several angry ponies who were yelling and shouting loudly. Nyx was with the Mane fourteen for cover.
"Everypony inside! Now!" Chase called out as the fifteen ponies rushed inside.
Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio, Twilight, and Starlight then flinched as some of the crowds tried to come inside as well.
"Antonio, get them to stay back!" Sunray said urgently.
"On it!" Antonio said as he made a yellow blanket appear and whipped it at them to make the ponies back away from the front door, "Back! Back! Back!"
Once they were pushed back enough, Twilight quickly slammed the door shut. She looked at Starlight, who just smiled sheepishly. Twilight then just sighed in defeat.
"Is everypony okay?" Chase asked.
"No!" Applejack replied, looking more ragged and exhausted than before, "We didn't know where else to go! We've got so much cookin' and cleanin' and family-in' to do… We ain't got time for anythin' else!"
Applejack then squatted down as she pulled her stenson hat firmly down on her head.
"Well, you're safe here, sugarcube," said Clay gently as he rubbed his wife's back gently, "Just relax okay."
Applejack only whimpered in reply. Pinkie then appeared from inside of a nearby jar.
"At least ponies aren't laughing every time you talk!" Pinkie remarked, "Not even I want to be funny all the time! I'm telling you, my days of hilariousity-ness-ness...are over!"
Pinkie then ducked into the jar to hide.
"You think you've got problems?" Rainbow retorted, "I know I'm awesome, but I can't even go to the bathroom without somepony trying to tell me how cool I am!" Rainbow landed firmly.
"Pfft, you got it easy compared to everypony else, Dashie," Antonio snorted, "Some of us are getting bashed with harsh words and not taking it well! Just look at Rarity!"
Rainbow did and was instantly disturbed when she saw Rarity wearing a very uncoordinated dress and several hats that were stacked on top of each other. Her mane was still a mess and she still had the face of a mad pony.
"Uh, Rarity?" Rainbow asked nervously, "What are you wearing?"
"My emotions, darling!" Rarity declared, "STRESS COUTURE!"
She also held a piece of measuring tape with her magic to make her point. Fluttershy was just fuming and, to the surprise of Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, and Antonio as well as Twilight, Sokka looked rather unsympathetic.
"I don't know what I'm gonna do if I have to defend myself one more time!" Fluttershy huffed when she noticed Rarity was measuring her with the tape. Fluttershy gave her a very irritated death glare.
"Hmm? Oh, uh, sorry, darling," said Rarity sheepishly, "Force of habit." Fluttershy just kept glaring.
"Will you just back off?" Sokka scolded, "Rarity's not doing anything to you."
"Just shut your mouth!" Fluttershy yelled.
"No!" Sokka shot back, "I've had it up to here with your bad attitude, Fluttershy!"
"Well, excuse me if ponies getting in my face about being shy angers me!" Fluttershy snapped.
"Is is my fault you keep turning down my help like a stubborn mule?" Sokka retorted. Fluttershy gasped.
"I can't believe you just called me a mule!" Fluttershy yelled, clearly offended.
"I didn't not call you a mule," Sokka yelled back, "I called you a selfish, spoiled brat!" Fluttershy was taken aback before she snarled.
"You ungrateful creep!"
"You're the one being ungrateful!"
"If you don't like me being assertive, maybe you shouldn't have married me!"
"If you didn't want me to care at all, maybe you shouldn't have married me!"
"I WISH I NEVER MARRIED YOU!" Fluttershy and Sokka yelled at the same time, "I HATE YOU!"
Both of them looked away, whimpered loudly as tears quickly built up in their eyes. But as soon as they looked at each other. They scoffed at each other in disgust before turning away with their backs facing the other, crossed their fore-legs and pouted bitterly. Chase was left speechless.
"Even when I'm angry," said Chase to Twilight, "I don't remember our fights getting this ugly."
Twilight just gave Chase a sad look and said nothing. Twilight then went to peek out of the window. Fans and critics alike flooded the view, making Twilight cringe as she closed the curtain.
She then looked at the others. Rainbow looked disturbed as Rarity rocked back and forth on her back holding her hind legs with her fore-legs. Fluttershy and Sokka were still pouting and didn't want to speak to each other. Applejack had fallen asleep on the floor with Clay when Pinkie popped out of the jar and crashed landed on top of Applejack, making her yelp and wake up with a start.
Chase was feeling angrier by the minute.
"Okay! Okay! I've heard enough out of this!" Chase said angrily, getting everypony's attention as he sighed deeply. "I know it's hard to believe, but I understand what you guys are going through."
Fluttershy blinked widely before her face scrunched up in rage.
"You don't know anything about what we're dealing with!" Fluttershy exploded, making Chase cringe before he glared at her and said something that he never used on her.
"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" shouted Chase angrily.
Everypony was stunned to see Chase panted heavily in rage as he glared fiercely at Fluttershy.
"Don't you DARE say I don't understand, Fluttershy," Chase continued in a very stern and low tone, "You know as well as that I do. Out of everypony here in this room, I understand how you're feeling right now. I understand better than anypony in Equestria."
Fluttershy felt ashamed, especially as tears began streaming down Rarity's cheeks. Rarity then approached Chase and started crying.
"You know what's it's like," Rarity continued firmly despite her tears, "You know how it feels..." She pointed to Applejack, "To feel like you have to run yourself ragged to make others happy..." Applejack sniffled as tears built up in her eyes. She pointed to Fluttershy, "To feel like you're always having to defend yourself because ponies don't care about your issues and struggles..." Fluttershy sniffled a couple of times as tears streamed down her cheeks. She pointed to Pinkie, "To feel like all ponies can do is laugh at you and never take you seriously..." Pinkie's lips quivered before she buried her face into her fore-legs and cried. She pointed to Rainbow, "To feel like ponies go out of your way to trouble you and never leave you be..." Rainbow nodded in agreement and gave Chase a sad look. Rarity then finally put a fore-hoof to your chest.
"And finally," said Rarity, her tears falling faster, "to feel like everything you worked so hard to achieve is getting torn apart by others simply because they chose not to like or accept you. You've been through it all! And it's proved one thing."
"What's that Rarity?" Sunray asked with concern.
"The rest of us are all weak!" Rarity snapped angrily, stunning the group.
"We're not weak!" Rainbow protested.
"Oh really?!" Rarity snapped furiously and glared at Rainbow fiercely, "Exactly how long has it been since we've been having to deal with our problems? Two days tops?! And look at us! We're all driven to hiding here, angry, frustrated, tired, upset, and even defeated. I don't know about you, but I know deep down that I can't take it anymore! I don't think I can take another day of this. Even you can agree with that."
Rainbow whimpered.
"Y-y-your right," Rainbow stuttered, "I can't take it anymore! But how does that make us all weak?" Rarity snorted.
"It's only been two days," said Rarity, "and we're at our limit. Chase! Chase and his family have been dealing with this for years! YEARS! How long did it take him to completely crumble at the seams? It was years before he gained the confidence to honor his family's legacy! And most of us are falling apart after only two days! He is far stronger than any of us! If anypony can help us get through this, it's him!"
Rarity's tears were falling even faster as she walked up to Chase.
"If there was ever a time I needed your support, it's now!" Rarity sobbed with tears falling out of her eyes.
Chase hugged her close to her for much comfort. Applejack and Clay approached them as they joined in the hug with tears in their eyes. Pinkie, already crying, slowly walked up next. Before she could even ask, Applejack, Clay, and Rarity scooted over so she could join the group hug. Rainbow came over next and just joined the hug but didn't cry. Fluttershy simply watched the group, her lips quivering and tears still falling, before looking at her husband. Sokka was just about to get up and join the group hug.
"Wait!" Fluttershy croaked. Sokka just gave his wife a sad and hurt look. Fluttershy composure began to crumble quickly.
"I'm sorry..." Fluttershy mouth as she broke down and lifted her fore-legs in the air. Sokka wasted no time pulling her in and let her weep into his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, too," said Sokka, feeling his own composure slip, "I didn't mean anything I said. I don't hate you. I want to be with you forever."
"You don't think I'm too shy?" Fluttershy sobbed, her muffled since her face was buried in his shoulder and her pink mane.
"Flutters, my love," said Sokka, "Your shy and timid nature is why I fell in love with you in the first place. I don't care if you ever learn to be assertive all the time. I'll love you always."
Fluttershy wailed and cried harder as Sokka shed his own tears and held her for dear life. Unfortunately, Fluttershy set off a chain reaction which those who were already crying began to cry harder and now Rainbow was crying too.
Starlight just watched the whole scene sadly, wincing as their crying got louder. It didn't help when she looked at Twilight that she was now crying as well.
"Okay...so maybe they are having a hard time with it," said Starlight uneasily before adding in a firm tone, "That doesn't mean you did anything wrong."
"Yes I did," Twilight retorted, "Releasing the journal was my idea, and it backfired in ways I could have never imagined! And I just undid the progress my husband had made in regards to his family's legacy! I'm a terrible wife! All I do is hurt him and now I've hurt all my friends in the process!"
Twilight just sniffled and tried to wipe her eyes.
"It's not your fault," said Starlight firmly, "It's everypony else's! Some ponies are just jerks! Others...well...they're just focusing on the wrong things, and-" Starlight then got an idea and gasped, "Wait here! I've got an idea!"
Starlight then teleported away. Twilight just watched Starlight disappear and then turned to see the rest of the group. Chase was currently allowing Rarity and Rainbow to just rest their heads on his shoulders as he used his magic to brush Applejack's messy mane with Jade's support. Pinkie was just holding Sunray with her head under his chin while Trini and Antonio supported them. Sokka was just rubbing his wife's back as he held her. While they had all calmed down, their tears were barely slowing down. Twilight couldn't bear seeing all of this.
"I can't wait any longer," said Twilight in a firm and determined tone, "I've got to fix this."
Chase heard her and had the exact same firm look on his face.
"You're right, honey. Enough is enough!" Chase said sternly.
The alicorn couple headed toward the front door. The rest of the Mane fourteen lined up behind her as they exchanged worried looks with each other.
"Mommy, Daddy, are you sure this is gonna work?" Nyx asked with concern.
"It has to work, sweetie." Chase responded back to his daughter firmly.
Twilight then opened the door to the still arguing ponies standing outside.
"Everypony, please stop!" Twilight cried out, but the ponies continued to argue as they surrounded her and wouldn't stop.
At least they didn't settle down until a sand colored unicorn appeared with a swamp green mane and tail appeared.
"Princess Twilight, I'm with the Canterlot Chronicle," said the reporter pony, "Quick question - what would you say to ponies who wonder why you moved to Ponyville in the first place?"
"I moved here to learn about friendship," said Twilight as the rest of the Mane Fourteen came out and stood behind her, "That's why the journal even exists. It took some time for me to get the hang of it, but it was each of these ponies standing next to me who taught me the lessons in those journals." The view showed each pony as Twilight said their names, "Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Clay, Sunray, Trini, Jade, Antonio, Sokka, my daughter Nyx, and my loving and handsome husband Chase."
Twilight then pulled Chase forward so he was standing beside her as she held his fore-hoof while Nyx rode on her father's back.
"I've learned so much from-" Twilight continued.
"What I mean is, some ponies would argue that it doesn't seem believable that the fourteen of you would be friends," the reporter pony interrupted, "in fact, it doesn't seem believable that you would choose that stallion beside you for your husband."
""Believable"?!" Twilight spluttered.
"Now you see why my family and I have no respect for the Canterlot Chronicle," Chase whispered in her ear as Twilight's ear bent down to show she was most annoyed.
"Well, sure," the reporter pony continued as he held his copy of the journal with his magic, "I read this journal cover to cover, and I have to say your character would have been much more interesting if she'd stayed in Canterlot. And she'd be far more likable if she hadn't married Chase so you could have Nyx as your daughter!"
"Excuse me?!" Chase snapped offensively. The rest of the group were indignant.
"My character?!" Twilight retorted, "We are real ponies! This journal if a record of things that actually happened to us! We made mistakes, and we learned from them! And what gives you the right to tell me that I shouldn't marry Chase! Chase is one of the most loving and caring ponies I have ever met in my entire life. And having Nyx as our daughter is one of the greatest gifts in our lives. Despite the fact that I took Chase for granted for years on end, he continued to love and support me for years on end without ever asking for anything in return. And that dedication and kindness is what made me fall deeply in love with him! I'm proud to call him my husband and my special somepony. I don't get why you ponies dislike him so much!"
"Well, what we want to know is how is it he and his family continue to carry on their grandfather's legacy!" said one fan pony.
"Ugh! We've been over this!" Sunray said angrily and aggitatedly. "We are always doing it because he disappeared without a trace, and you all are just having no respect to our family's legacy as well as our title of the Elite Ninja!"
"Yeah, well, what about Rarity?" Diamond Cutter demanded, "Are we really supposed to believe everything she wrote in there?"
"Rarity is the most generous and selfless pony you'll ever meet," said Chase defensively, "It takes alot of courage to admit when you've made a mistake and you have no right to tell other ponies whether she learned her lessons or not!"
Behind Chase, Rarity smiled and gave a firm nod in agreement.
"Oh give me a bweak!" said Princess Erorria, "That's why you wanna be Team Dash! She's the only one that didn't weally need to learn anything, because she's was alweady so cool." Chase rolled his eyes.
"You know, I might be awesome and all," said Rainbow as she hovered next to Chase, "But I'm also a girl too! In fact, I have no problem doing this to Chase..." She then gave Chase a hug and said in a sweet tone, "You're the best big brother in the world and I love you."
Rainbow then kissed his cheek and Chase returned the hug. Princess Erroria and the other fillies jaws dropped.
"Chwase is making Rainbow Dash uncool!" Princess Erorria cried out and shrieked. The other fillies booed Chase angrily. Rainbow and Chase were most offended.
"Oh grow up, will ya!" Rainbow retorted as she glared at the fillies.
"Twilight was better before she had wings!" a mare named Pearly Stitch shouted angrily.
"Ugh...that old complaint again..." Chase remarked with an eye roll.
"Fluttershy is just so painfully shy, it's hard to relate!" Lemon Chiffon complained, making a nearby Fluttershy fan uncomfortable, "I mean, come on!"
Sokka snarled as Fluttershy held him back with a fore-leg and shook her head to make him stand down. The crowds began to argue once more. Twilight cringed as things started to get out of control again.
"Wait a minute, everypony!" Twilight cried out.
"Are Pinkie Pie and Applejack related or what?!" Caramel cried out in desperation.
"Listen to me!" Twilight called out and then shouted in her Canterlot voice, "LISTEN TO ME!"
Her voice created sound waves that stunned the ponies and finally got them to stop arguing. Twilight started at the group with her wings open.
[Twilight and myself - Twilight pointed at herself and then at the discarded journal on the ground next to her. She then looked back at the others, who were all still looking rather upset. Twilight then firmly stomped between the crowds as the ponies watched her. As she, and myself, kept singing, the rest of the Mane Fourteen were inspired by Twilight's words and exchanged smiles with each other. Twilight then teleported back to them as we finished our part of the song.]
I never claimed to be perfect
My mistakes are all written in ink
None of us claimed to be perfect
And it's sad if that's what you all think
Our flaws helped to make us special
They bond us and keep us strong
Our flaws are what brought us together
So stop actin' like something's wrong
[Mane Fourteen - Twilight appeared in front of the rest of the group as they started singing. Rainbow and Fluttershy then appeared on screen with backdrops that matched the color of their fur. Then they switched places so they were behind each other's backdrops. The two Pegasi then crawled out from the center divider of both backdrops, sat down and gave each other a hug.]
We're not flawless
We're a work in progress
We've got dents and we've got quirks
But it's our flaws that make us work.
Yeah!
[Mane Fourteen- They stood side by side as they sang and looked at each other. Then the center of the journal was seen. Each of the girls was seen as a reflection in each arm of a six pointed star. Clay and Sokka appeared in the top half and lower half of the center diamond of the star respectively. Chase and his family jumped in the foreground in fighting stances. Then the journal opened for Rainbow's solo.]
We're not flawless
We're a work in progress
So tell me what flaws you got, too
'Cause I still like what's flawed about you.
[Rainbow Dash - She sang and flew across the sky as she reached a giant billboard of herself wearing shades. Her billboard self then continued singing as she lifted her shades and then lowered them again as she posed.]
They say I'm a big shot
That my ego's the size of a whale
My confidence comes off as cocky
But it gives me the courage to fail
[Rarity - appeared on a dark stage sitting on a shadowed fainting sofa, singing with a rather snooty demeanor.]
Sure, I can be a drama queen
A bit stuck up, it's true
[Applejack - As she sang her part, it was revealed Rarity was sitting on her back. Rarity hopped off and gave Applejack a smile.]
And I can be too eager to please
There's such thing as bein' too honest, too, 'cause
[Mane Fourteen - The fourteen ponies sang together as the crowds watched with blank faces. Clay and Sokka appeared on screen with a peach and green colored backdrops respectively. Then they switched backdrops as the kept singing. Then the middle divider flipped over so each stallion came out from behind it. And they gave each other a hug.]
We're not flawless
We're a work in progress
We've got dents and we've got quirks
But it's our flaws that make us work
Yeah!
[Mane Fourteen- They stood side by side as they sang and looked at each other. Then the center of the journal was seen. Each of the girls was seen as a reflection in each arm of a six pointed star. Clay and Sokka appeared in the top half and lower half of the center diamond of the star respectively as Chase and his family appeared in front of them with confident smiles. The book opened up to show Sokka in Chase's dojo.]
We're not flawless
We're a work in progress
So tell me what flaws you got, too
'Cause I like what's flawed about you
[Sokka - Sokka did a few sword exercises and tried to look bold and outgoing. Then his swords disappeared and he was now surrounded by shadow ponies that were glaring at him. He began to feel rather timid and insecure as he cowered back at all the stares. But then Fluttershy helped him stand up so he could stand and sing proudly as she held him lovingly, making the shadows disappear.]
I learned to be strong, brave, and confident
Never show 'em your fear
But I'm really very shy and timid
But my wife gave me confidence and cheer
[Chase - As he sang, he and his family were trying to perfect their moves in light speed until Antonio collapsed. Chase got angry and swiped some broken wood away. Chase then was seen alone under a spotlight surrounded by darkness. But then Twilight and the rest of the Mane fourteen appeared and surrounded in a group hug.]
I am very hot tempered and stubborn
I only want to show I'm worthy
My friends say I've got nothing to prove! 'Cause, yeah
[Mane Fourteen- The fourteen ponies continued to sing as some of the hovering Pegasi just watched them blankly. Pinkie and Applejack then stood against their own backdrops. Then Applejack, Clay, and Pinkie swapped sides with the latter making a funny face. Then the divider flipped over as Applejack walked out and looked around. Pinkie jumped out and pounced Applejack right off the screen.]
We're not flawless
We're a work in progress
We've got dents and we've got quirks
But it's our flaws that make us work
Yeah!
[Mane Fourteen- The fourteen ponies sang side by side and exchanged looks with each other. Then the center of the journal was seen. Each of the girls was seen as a reflection in each arm of a six pointed star. Clay and Sokka appeared in the top half and lower half of the center diamond of the star respectively with Chase and his family in front as they were in fighting stances. The book opened up to show Pinkie in a chasse sofa while a copy of her took notes and wore gaucho glasses on a chair beside her.]
We're not flawless
We're a work in progress
So tell me what flaws you got, too
'Cause I like what's flawed about you
[Pinkie - sat on the chasse sofa as she sang. Then she appeared below after lifting the scene like a window drape. Then she grabbed Twilight and Rainbow in her fore-legs and hugged them. Twilight and Rainbow just gave some very sheepish and nervous smiles on their faces.]
Ponies think I'm all bubbles and laughter
That I don't seem sincere
I might joke around a little too much
But I'm just so happy you're here
[Fluttershy - The scene shifted to look like an under the sea surroundings with a giant clamshell in the middle. The shell opened up as Fluttershy hovered out of it as she began to sing. As she disappeared upward, a constellation appeared in the sky in the shape of Twilight's head.]
It took me a while to be confident
To really come out of my shell
[Twilight - she and the rest of the Mane fourteen appeared. As she sang, the other did a little background singing. Then Twilight gave Rarity a smile.]
But nopony has to be perfect
By now, don't you know us so well? Because, yeah
[Mane Fourteen- As the group sang, Pinkie sang a little higher so her voice stood out a bit more. Twilight and Rarity appeared behind their own backdrops. Twilight was reading as she sang. Then they swapped places, the divider flipped, as Twilight and Rarity appeared. Rarity pulled the book away and they both shared a hug.]
We're not flawless
We're a work in progress
We've got dents and we've got quirks
But it's our flaws that make us work.
Yeah!
[Mane Fourteen - The view panned 360 degrees as the eight ponies stood in a circle and sang. Each of the girls was seen as a reflection in each arm of a six pointed star. Chase and his family appeared in the center. Clay and Sokka appeared in the top half and lower half of the center diamond of the star respectively. The book opened up and all fourteen ponies popped out and posed side by side. But then the book disappeared to show there were still standing in a circle and posing.]
We're not flawless
We're a work in progress
So tell me what flaws you got, too.
[Pinkie Pie]
You got, too
[Mane Fourteen]
'Cause I still like what's flawed about you
The crowd stayed silent as Twilight stepped forward. The rest of the Mane Fourteen stayed behind her as Rainbow and Chase hovered in the air.
"So you see, everypony?" said Twilight to the crowd, "None of us ever claimed to be perfect. Without our flaws, there wouldn't be any friendship lessons to learn. Without our flaws..." The rest of the Mane fourteen exchanged smiles with each other, "There wouldn't be any friendships at all."
And just before the ponies could argue, a light blinded them as Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Pakku Shisho appeared before them. They all gasped as they bowed their leaders. They all stood up and looked at them.
"I couldn't agree more," Princess Celestia agreed. She sighed, "There is no such thing called a perfect story. In every journey, there's a reason and cause to fight and believe for. Twilight, Chase, and their friends are the example for going through their journeys."
"And what makes a pony brave and wise is learning and understanding the flaws," Princess Luna said firmly, "That's what makes these ponies today. And we couldn't be more proud of them."
"We are disappointed in you all," Pakku said in disappointment and annoyance. Ponies looked down while showing scared and worried. He continued, "While I do agree with some of your point-of-views and concerns, there is no reason for you to judge and demand them to please you. If you don't find these stories to please you, create them as your own. After all, these are just books for entertainment and lessons, not for proving who is right and wrong."
Ponies were about to protest and argue, but they stopped as they're realized that it's really pointless to argue and proving who's right and wrong. They chatted in agreement that they dispersed and left the Castle of Friendship and also Twilight, Chase, their family, and their friends. The ponies sighed in relief.
"We are sorry for this mess, Princesses and Pakku. We'd never expect to have worst impact and results." Twilight apologized, "All we want is our Friendship Journal to help and teach them about friendship. I guess I was wrong."
"We all were wrong too," Chase insisted, "If you get blamed, so do we."
Everyone chatted in agreement about Twilight claimed that the mess is her fault.
"Well, I hope you all have learned a valuable lesson about today's events. Because if Starlight hadn't gotten to us when it happened, we might not have been able to come to your aid." Pakku said, moving to the side as Starlight smiled timidly at the group as they were surprised to hear she was the who got the three to the Mane Fourteen's aid before they smiled grateful at hear.
"Well, most ponies have indeed misunderstood and got the wrong idea about the Friendship Journal," Princess Celestia said calmly, "But it did have some good impact on some ponies."
Twilight and her friends were in shock and surprise of what they just heard. She showed and pointed to some of ponies including their own families, close friends, some random supported ponies and even Toola Roola and Coconut Cream. They all smiled and waved to them. Twilight, Chase, their family, and their friends were surprised and amazed of what they just saw.
"I believe that they do understand it." Princess Celestia smiled.
"And if it not for them alerting us of this, you all would have been trapped inside the castle eternally." Princess Luna nodded.
"Indeed. As Celestia has said, there is no such thing called a perfect story; only journey and lessons for ponies to understand, struggle and fight for what they believed in till they reached their distance," Pakku said wisely yet calmly, "I have hoped you keep on learning and spread your morality and lessons to both worlds. I enjoyed reading and learning them."
Twilight and her friends looked at each other before they smiled happily and proudly. They all hugged each other together happily and passionately.
"We will, your majesties." Twilight said with a smile.
(Scene changes)
Nine days later, everything was going back to normal.
Pinkie didn't have to deal with ponies laughing at her anymore and was happily scheduling parties and making them smile.
Applejack and Clay didn't have to worry about ponies forcing themselves into the family and were able to manage the farm, sell apples, and still have time to relax with her true friends and family since the Sweet Apple Admires left them alone completely.
Ponies didn't bother Fluttershy and Sokka about the former's shy nature. Fluttershy could walk about town and ponies wouldn't get in her face about being assertive anymore.
Rainbow finally got her privacy back and enjoyed a nice long nap once the clouds were clear.
While Rarity did lose several regular customers, new customers had come to take their place. So many that her number of regulars doubled.
(Scene changes)
On a small hill, Twilight and Chase were going to have a picnic. They watched the sun slowly setting in the distance.
"I'm glad everything is back to normal. Wouldn't you agree, honey?" Chase asked his wife as she nodded in agreement.
"Yes, indeed. We won't have to worry about anymore criticism. I'm glad that everypony finally understands that." Twilight said with a smile.
Chase chuckled as he pulled his wife in for a loving hug.
"Well I do feel a lot happier now that I've learned to brush those harsh words aside," said Chase, "But you know what else?"
"What?" Twilight asked.
"For the first time in my life," said Chase as he looked into the distance as he held Twilight close to his chest, "I feel like I can look forward to the future now. Those harsh words aren't buzzing in my head anymore. My mind feels at peace now."
Twilight gave him a teary smile.
"I'm glad," said Twilight as she nuzzled the underside of his chin, "but your mind doesn't need to be completely silent. Let these words repeat in your head from now on."
"What words?" Chase asked as Twilight gazed lovingly into his eyes.
"I love you," said Twilight, "Your family loves you. We will love you always." Chase hummed in agreement as the two alicorn cuddled each other.
"And you wanna know what else is great?" said Chase.
"What?" Twilight asked curiously.
"Good things can come out of bad situations," Chase told her, "If you hadn't suggested we released the friendship journal, I might not have found the inner strength to finally say enough is enough. And despite what the rest of our friends and family had to deal with, we've all gotten closer to each other because of it. While it wasn't what you expected, we did get quite a few ponies whose friendships have gotten better thanks to the journal."
Twilight giggled.
"You're right dear," said Twilight, "Everything worked out in the end and even we got closer because of it."
"Yeah, I love you so much my Twilight," said Chase and nuzzled her mane.
"I love you so much, Chase, my one and only," Twilight replied sweetly.
Chase sighed contently as he held his wife a little longer.