//------------------------------// // WHAT is THIS? // Story: Twilight Finds a FanFic // by starcoder //------------------------------// “WHAT?!?” Spike heard Twilight’s shout from the kitchen, where he was washing the dishes, while Twilight was all the way upstairs in her bedroom. He threw off his gloves and sped to where Twilight was. Spike ran as quickly as he could, arriving breathless. “What… the… mat… ter…” he asked, panting. He saw Twilight enraged at something, and Starlight giggling beside her bed. “I don’t understand,” he said once he caught his breath. “Is this funny or tragic?” “Well,” Twilight declared, “It’s definitely not funny. But it might not be too tragic.” Starlight laughed even harder when she heard Twilight say that, so hard that she fell on the ground. Starlight stood up and wiped a tear, breathing a satisfied sigh. “I’m not sure why I find it so funny, but it is!” she said through more laughs. “What is it? What’s so funny?” Spike asked, now more curious than ever to find out what was going on. “Not funny,” Twilight corrected, glaring mostly at Starlight. “Right,” he nodded. “The totally not funny thing. What is it?” Starlight levitated a silver rectangular object over to Spike. Fascinated, he touched it with his claw. To his surprise, it glowed brightly. Neither Starlight or Twilight seemed shocked, though. “Apparently, it’s called an ‘iPad’ or a ‘tablet’. They have these things back on the other side of the portal, and Twilight made an Equestrian version!” Starlight said, clapping her hooves. “We found this app of Equestrian stories, and there is one we found that I think is funny.” Spike’s mouth was now “o” shaped, as he was incredibly intrigued by this. Equestria was new to technology, but if it was possible, then ponies could have access to all sorts of things! Starlight took the iPad back and tapped a few things, then placed it on Spike's lap. Spike read through the story and burst out laughing at some parts. Starlight actually joined in at some parts. Twilight was still in the same room as them, so she heard and saw this. Twilight was still pretty angry that Spike and Starlight actually enjoyed the book. It was making fun of her for Celestia’s sake! “What did you think, Spike?” Starlight asked, trying to keep a straight face. Spike tried, too, but he couldn’t. “It was so funny!” Spike giggled. Twilight glared at them both, then rolled her eyes. “Well, EXCUSE ME if I’m not a fan of this story!” “Why didn’t you like it?” Starlight asked, thinking for the first time about Twilight’s feelings. Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know? I thought you might understand. You’re treated just as badly as I am in this story. It sounds like whoever wrote it was making fun of us! Mostly me!” Starlight giggled. “That’s the point, Twilight. I know I’m kind of, well, evil in this story, but the author goes about it in a funny way. You know that that’s what a comedy is, right?” Twilight shrugged, and then she gasped, blinking a few times. “Who is the author, anyways?” she took the tablet from Spike and eyed it mysteriously, looking around the screen for the answer to her question, until she did. “Okay, I think I need to have a friendly discussion with this ‘ThePinkedWonder.’” Twilight said, crossing her arms, then unfolding them. She lifted the screen to her face to check that she didn’t make a mistake reading it. “Wow, that’s a kind of weird name.” “Uh, Twilight? I don’t think that’s their real name,” Spike noted. “Oh,” she chuckled sheepishly. “Right. Well, I guess I should talk to my friends about this story.” Starlight facehoofed. “This may not go well,” Starlight said, sharing a look of suspicion with Spike. “I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Fluttershy commented. Pinkie Pie hopped around Rainbow Dash, who was on the ground, laughing and pounding the ground. “I think it’s actually really funny!” she shouted before she joined Rainbow on the ground. “I love the way the author weaves the word to describe what happens,” Rarity added. Twilight just scowled, her eye twitching. Applejack tilted her head at Twilight. “Everything alright, sugarcube?” Twilight took a deep breath. “It’s just that I’m not a fan of this story. It kind of bothers me how they, well, make fun of me.” “Honestly, I don’t see anything to like,” Applejack said, getting a smile from Twilight. “I just don’t see what’s so great about these new fancy thingamabobs.” Twilight frowned. “I meant the story, Applejack. What did you think about that?” “Oh, I don’t know. I’d have to say, it’s probably nine out of ten,” Applejack said, walking away and sitting on the bench with Starlight and Spike. “I’ve got no darn idea why y’all make such a big deal about it anyways.” Twilight groaned and threw the tablet onto the ground, storming off. Luckily, Starlight caught it in time, that way they could look at more stories. They reviewed the story about Twilight’s friendship speech, pointing out the parts that most likely made her angry. Twilight’s friends collaborated on something to make Twilight feel better. Twilight heard a knock on her door. She opened it to find her friends. They were holding the tablet, and a sheet of paper. “Sorry we didn’t have any empathy when we first read the story,” Fluttershy apologized. “Yeah,” Rainbow Dash added, “sorry about that.” Starlight levitated the paper and dropped it on Twilight’s pillow. Twilight picked it up and skimmed everything her friends had written. She smiled. “Thanks, everypony. I kind of like the newer version. But actually, I had some time to think about it, and I’ve realized that I haven’t really been fair. I should have accepted that some stories are meant to make fun of things, to entertain others.” Her friends grinned. “I think we’ve all learned something today,” Starlight said, teleporting a scroll and a quill. “Since Spike isn’t here right now, I can write the letter today.” Dear Princess Celestia, Today my friends and I learned a very important lesson. We learned that sometimes you need to accept that different ponies have different opinions, and be open to others’ thoughts. We’ve learned to respect others’ views. But I think overall, we’ve learned how important it is to not let views get in the way of having fun.  Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle