//------------------------------// // Incident One: Why It Can't be Easy // Story: Ponyville Adjusts To Starlight // by The REAL Mister Pkmn //------------------------------// Starlight Glimmer, protegé of King Eclipse, was having a bit of trouble getting used to Ponyville. This was evident by the fact that she still felt a bit awkward whenever one of the townsfolk would call her name. She tried being more… personable… but, one cannot easily change the way they hold themselves in society. As the saying goes, “Old habits die hard.” Ponyvillians themselves were having trouble getting past that, but at least they were trying. The day started with Starlight trying some new exercises to control her anger. Let’s see how this works out… My Little Pony, My Little Pony, Ah, Ah, Aaa~ah! My Little Pony! Friendship used to mean nothing to me, My Little Pony! But now with you around me, I start to see! Exuberant laughter, Tough through scrapes, True to our word, A kind gesture, A giving heart, Truest vision of art, And magic makes it all complete! My Little Pony! I’ll trust in my new friends! A piercing yell echoed across the town. “ARGH!” ...It seems the exercises aren’t working. Go figure. “Why? Why isn’t this technique working?” We zoom in to Starlight’s new residence in Ponyville, which is only barely complete enough to be lived in. Some walls were still missing, so the majority of Ponyville could hear her, not that she cared at that moment. Some of her friends had other opinions, however. “Calm down, Starlight. You’re letting the small things get to you again. How about we get your mind off things for a while, huh?” Starlight turned to see that Berry was the one that spoke. She almost flipped her lid at her, but remembered that she shouldn’t do that to a friend. She tried to keep as much of her anger out of her voice as she could manage, which wasn’t all that much at the given moment. “And what would you guys suggest for that, hm?” The group thought for a moment, and Thunder Blitz was the first to reply. “Let’s get to know each other a little better. After all, only some of us knew each other before the extravaganza.” She placed a hoof to her chest. “I think I should be going first, since I proposed the idea.” Thunder paused a bit, gathering her thoughts before continuing. “Before I met Crescendo, I was living in the Cloudsdale Orphanage. Back then, I was ostracized by my peers, being the only thestral foal in the city. But I soon found a friend in Crescendo, who brightened my sorry day. It was from then on that I strived to stick by her, no matter what.” Somewhat touched by the heartfelt story, Starlight gave the idea some thought. She shrugged. Might as well, she supposed. She cleared her throat, and proceeded. “I know that all of you knew me by my reputation before all this. But allow me to answer a few questions you might have. I was ignored by my parents when I was young, and any friends I had back then left me in the dust when they obtained their Cutie Marks. I was bitter about this until I earned my Cutie Mark and became Eclipse’s student. After that, my parents started taking notice of me, though my former friends never got back with me. I still was pretty against friendship for the longest time, thinking it was why I had such pain.” She shook her head. “I know better now, thanks to all of you. Though I may get angry at some -relatively small- issues sometimes, just know that I’m trying to accept you in.” Seeing that Starlight had opened up a bit, Crescendo Dream followed up with a little bit about herself. “My story isn’t all that spectacular, honestly. I was raised by parents who loved music, and in turn taught me the same.” The others had all thought of something by now, and Cherry Cobbler decided to be the next to speak up. “Serenity knows me the best out of all of you- but even she doesn’t know this. I was a sickly child when I was younger, prone to being bedridden. My parents thought that I would never make it, as frail as I was. However, they found out what they were doing wrong- as they were regular Earth Ponies, they couldn’t have known the special dietary needs to keep a Crystal Pony healthy. Of course they fixed this oversight, just before I met Serenity. In fact.” Letting go of the fact that Cherry had only told her this now, Serenity decided to continue with what she had planned on sharing. “Cherry knows me pretty well, but to the rest of you, I’m pretty much a stranger. As an only child, I was pretty spoiled in my youth by my parents. Before I met Cherry, I was sheltered, unallowed to interact with other children. But it was our chance meeting one day while I was out that got me to think more about others, instead of seeing them as inferior like I’d been raised to.” Noticing the attention had shifted back to her, Berry collected herself before opening up. “I know most of you probably know of my reputation as a ‘party mare’, but what you probably don’t know is that I sample the drinks at parties to see if I can use them for inspiration for drinks at my bar. My sister Cheerilee thinks it’s just an excuse to party, but why not have fun while improving your work, right?” While the group of friends were discussing that, Starlight smiled. Berry had been right. All she’d needed was a little distraction to calm down. Though she couldn’t help but wonder what Maestro would’ve added in to the conversation. As if on cue, a letter appeared in front of the group. They gathered around to read it. "Dear girls, “Sorry that I can't be there to share in person, but the life of an artist of my caliber is a demanding one, to be sure. I'll visit when I can. “Your friend, Maestro Spectrum" Eye twitching, Starlight started to fume. The girls stepped back. This was going to be harder than they thought...