//------------------------------// // Day 2, Part 2 // Story: Starlight Glimmer's Canterlot High Vacation // by Toon4Thought //------------------------------// Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer, both in helmets, zoomed down the road on her motorcycle. Starlight held onto Sunset’s shoulders for dear life, desperately trying to keep her focus away from the hard pavement. The ride was most certainly invigorating, and the open grass areas made her feel somewhat safer compared to the hustle and bustle of the city, but none of that did anything to ease her fears of crashing at any moment. Just after they passed the school and made a left turn, there was Pinkie’s house. Starlight did not waste any time in getting back on the ground, despite the kickstand being down. “Yep, I told you it’s not for everyone,” Sunset said, amused at her friend’s dizziness while placing both helmets onto the driving seat. “Honestly, at this point I think I’d prefer the walking,” Starlight replied, trying to regain her composure. The instant Starlight walked through the doorway, she was treated to a refreshing breeze of cool air. She also, however, sensed some loud music from upstairs. She timidly dropped her head and began shaking her legs. “Come on…” Sunset said with a slight grin, taking Starlight’s arm in her own. “You can totally do this.” Starlight sighed, then nodded coolly at Sunset. Walking upstairs, Sunset added on, “Think of it as a friendly party. Just a li-ttle bit noisier.” The pop tune, complete with the catchy, overly peppy rhythm and annoyingly unbeat voice, was as expected the first thing that stood out to Starlight upon entering Pinkie’s room. But as it turned out, it ended up being the least noteworthy thing among everything. Pinkie Pie was lying on her bed with some weirdly folded device on her lap. Rarity had her “cell phone” in front of her and Twilight, both sporadically giggling at whatever they were watching. Starlight found it amazing how little she knew about cell phones despite how much she had heard of them in the past day and a half. What caught her eye the most, however, was what Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow were all doing. They were each holding a multi-buttoned remote connected to a larger box, which seemed to be active on the nearby monitor - none of which struck her as even remotely familiar. Pinkie, obviously the first to notice them come in, immediately grinned and jumped out of her bed. “Girls, Sun Shim and Star Glim are in the house!” she announced with her arms raised to the ceiling. As everyone gave their hello’s (albeit with Applejack and Rainbow keeping their eyes glued to the screen), Starlight gently felt an arm wrap around her back. It turned out to be Sunset’s, reminding her to let go of the butterflies in her stomach. Even though she hasn’t known the other girls too well, she was happy to know that Sunset was always there to make her feel better. Closing the door behind her, Sunset walked towards Rarity on the opposite side of the room. Starlight, however, found it best to simply watch what everyone was up to. She had never been to a sleepover this large before, and certainly never one with all this unfamiliar technology. As Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack resumed their activity, Starlight gingerly climbed onto the bed and huddled her knees into her chest. Pinkie Pie was using yet another digital device, which seemed interactive -- much like the computer she saw at the library, but more compact and handy. She was communicating in a manner similar to how the girls used their cell phones - I think they called it ‘texting’? However, the name of the recipient was so jumbled, including what Starlight sworn were some numbers, she couldn’t even try to pronounce it. So, she instead turned to the large monitor directly in front of the bed. It was full of premade graphics that, unlike yesterday’s movie, filled the entire screen as well as three characters in a physical battle. Starlight gathered from the fragments she watched that they were playing a game of some kind; not necessarily one sports-oriented, but certainly more active than Spike’s weird board games. After a few minutes, a winner had been declared. “Hah, I told you I have the best hand-eye coordination!” Rainbow bragged. “Sure, ya do,” said Applejack, rolling her eyes. “Never mind that I’ve won the three fights before that.” Rainbow remained unfazed. “Those were just flukes. Now I can beat you with my eyes closed! Or at least Fluttershy.” “Well, it’s not like she’s really the fighting kind. At least she stepped up and actually played this time.” “I’m over here, y’know…,” said Fluttershy with a grimace. “Anyway,” continued Rainbow. “I would like more of a challenge next time. In fact…” She turned to Starlight Glimmer, much to the Equestrian’s surprise. “How good are you at video games?” Starlight blinked naively before responding. “I really can’t say; I haven’t exactly heard of these… video games.” Rainbow briefly gaped open her mouth. “Man, are you missing out!” she exclaimed, grabbing Starlight’s arms and pulling her toward the setup. She then handed her a fourth controller. “Don’t worry about keeping up. I’m too awesome to be beaten anyway; just try it!” Starlight finally got a good look at the controllers they were using. The multitude of buttons and control sticks immediately left Starlight confused, but the sympathizing Fluttershy was quick to assist her. “The A button performs the main functions, B does a special move, the control stick moves your character, and these side triggers pull up a temporary shield.” Starlight kept her blank look, moving her head back and forth between Fluttershy and the controller.. “…Just push these buttons to make your character attack ours,” said Applejack. “Hold the controller like this.” She extended her arms to Starlight, showing how her index fingers were on the triggers, the left thumb on the control stick, and the right thumb on the A button. It took Starlight half a minute to get into proper position, but felt much more comfortable about holding the controller when she finally did. “There ya go,” said Applejack with a hint of pride. “Alright, now what are we waiting for!” said Rainbow with pure anticipation. “Pick your character, Starlight, and let’s get going!” The still-nervous new player picked the first magic-related character she could find, and before she knew it, there her character stood with the other three on a high-tech-looking battlefield. But there was no time to admire the scenery like there was before, she had to fight. Rainbow immediately went after Applejack, who tried to catch the athlete by surprise. Applejack managed to get in the first hit, but the reflexes of both Rainbow herself and her character made the farmer take more damage in the first minute. Meanwhile, Starlight Glimmer simply stayed in the corner trying to get the hang of using her controller, mindlessly fidgeting her fingers as best she could while trying to make sense of her moves. This stopped after two minutes when she found the other three players suddenly gang up on her. She obviously couldn’t handle any of these, let alone all of them, and said overwhelment resulted in her character’s damage meter go from 0 to 60% in a matter of seconds. Without thinking, Starlight frantically ran away as best as her limited knowledge of the controls could allow, but in the blink of an eye found herself falling into a pit. “Wait… what just happened?” she quickly said, surprised at how suddenly it all happened. “You lost one of your three lives. Just keep focused,” said Rainbow, not taking her eyes off the screen. Taking her advice, Starlight diverted all of her focus to the screen. Trying her hardest to regain her composure before Fluttershy’s character reached her again, she recalled the shy girl’s quick advice and decided to focus on one button at a time, pushing the control stick in the direction of the nearest opponent. She took a quick downward glance to review the locations of the A and B buttons, and as soon as she went back to the screen she saw Fluttershy was right on her tail. She hit the A button once, twice, thrice, and once more. And upon the final press, all of a sudden her opposing fighter got violently pushed back to the other side of the map. Starlight didn’t care that she got hit just as much herself immediately afterward; she was satisfied that she was already getting the hang of the game. Everyone went down a life within the next minute and a half. Rainbow and Applejack had the least damage and were still focusing on each other more than anyone else, so Starlight diverted her attention to Fluttershy. She held the B button for a solid second, and much to her surprise, she dealt a blow so huge that her opponent flew to the other side of the map. “…Did I just do that?!?” Starlight said, her eyes wide in shock. “Yes,” said Fluttershy. “Don’t let it get to your head, though.” Starlight blushed a little bit. She tried to play it safer by staying a distance away from the rest, as she was down to her last life. However, she wasn’t safe for long -- Rainbow, who had just knocked another life out of Applejack, targeted her next. The first-timer mashed her A button frantically. Much to her surprise, the rapid-fire punching managed to trap Rainbow for a couple seconds, only for her to immediately strike back after Starlight’s attack had stopped. Once Starlight’s character landed, she found herself alongside Fluttershy once again, high on damage and in danger of flying off screen. She remembered her shield all of a sudden, and attempted to alternate between that and her special moves, trying to find the right opportunity to strike when an opening comes up. Unfortunately, from her perspective it never did, not at all helped with her inexperience limiting how fluidly she moved and attacked. Fluttershy quickly caught onto her pattern, and landed an upwards move the instant Starlight’s character jumped above her own, flying her off screen and making her the first one out of the match. “Looks like I’m out,” Starlight said, slightly defeated. Nobody responded, thanks to how fixated they were on the match. Fluttershy didn’t take too much longer to run out of lives herself, leaving Rainbow and Applejack by themselves. “That was... alright, I guess. I can’t say I’ve done anything like that before. Which probably explains why I did so badly.” “Oh, don’t sweat it.” Fluttershy said in her inherently reassuring voice. “It takes everyone at least a few tries to get a good handle on this game. In fact, I only really started to get good when you first joined in.” Starlight’s mouth perked up, just before a “Yeee-haww!” was heard all throughout the room. “Those three were just flukes, huh?” Applejack said smugly. “Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I’ll totally make up for it next time.” Fluttershy prompted Starlight back to her controller, who took the animal lover’s word in giving it another shot. Despite the more picturesque setting this time around, the match still ended with the same results. However, Starlight; having held up a little longer this time, chose to go one more round. This kept repeating for another six matches, as she seemed to perform a little better each time. She managed to get third place on her fourth and fifth plays, but even when she got last yet again she clearly put up more of a fight compared to earlier. Applejack and Rainbow Dash kept swapping wins for the majority of the run, but then in the last match, out of nowhere came Fluttershy; striking both of them away and for the first time claimed victory for herself, much to her shock and everyone else’s amazement. After that, Starlight felt her mind being to rush and feel dizzy from all the action that went on. Thus, she put her controller away, stating that she was too tired to continue playing. The others ultimately agreed, and just like that, the game was shut off. The three all lied down right by the closet, with Applejack and Rainbow pulling out their cell phones. The room had gotten so quiet all of a sudden that it became clear things were starting to wind down. “Hey, how about we show you that music video!” Rainbow Dash suggested, almost out of nowhere. Starlight’s curiosity peaked. She had heard bits of it during her first visit at the mall, but she was never able to really take the time to watch the whole thing. “You know what… sure,” she smiled. “Right on it!” Pinkie Pie said eagerly. A quick clatter of keys later, all of a sudden a new interface appeared on the ‘television’ thing, which was quickly accompanied with a blast of music. All eyes turned on the screen, a few hushes traveling across the room. The fun, bouncy, techno rhythm immediately appealed to Starlight, and she became enamored toward the soul in Sunset’s voice as soon as she began to sing. Twilight Sparkle’s voice brought a similar vibe, and… wait, were those wings on her back? And those pony-like ears… Her suspicions were almost immediately confirmed as the spotlight began to shine on the rest of the cast, with everyone else in their group boasting pony ears as well as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy having their own sets of wings. She quickly glanced back and forth between the screen and the girls, looking increasingly confused with each turn. Sure enough, she wasn’t at all crazy for only now noticing such oddities. But once the chorus hit, the flowing choreography and unbelievably catchy tune was enough to grab her back in. She found herself beating her head in tune with the beats, and kept her eyes glued as the various dance moves left her mesmerized in just how flexible their bipedal bodies could get. This went on for about a minute longer, before finally fading out. Once the video had fully ended, Rarity faced Starlight to ask, “So, what did you think?” Starlight looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds with clasped hands, trying to pick one emotion to settle on among the sea of conflicting ones she had in mind. She spoke the instant she returned to a more neutral pose. “Pretty neat song, and I loved all the dancing. But…” She struggled in figuring out how to get the next part out, ultimately stuttering. “…what in the world was up with those wings and ears?” “Oh, you mean those awesome pony additions?” Rainbow boasted, before being interrupted by Sunset. “Allow me, girls,” She went around the bed to sit right next to Starlight. “So, whenever we display our elements of friendship in a way that impacts other people, we end up sprouting these little bursts of magic. We call it ‘ponying up’.” Starlight winced. “Yeah, that phrase was Rainbow and Pinkie’s idea. But anyway, this usually happens when we play music as part of our band, because music seems to leave a strong impression by its very nature… at least, that’s what I’ve been led to believe.” “So… it’s some kind of magical reaction?” asked Starlight, still confused. “I guess you could say that,” said Sunset, in a thinking pose. “How does the magic here even work, anyway? I’ve only seen it a handful of times in this world, and all of them didn’t seem to have much of a controlling force to it. Not to mention being reminded of it is making me honestly start to miss my own magic; you wouldn’t believe half the spells I’d show you right now if I could!” She became increasingly loud and somewhat tense, until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. “One thing at a time, please,” Sunset chuckled. “It’s kind of a long, complicated explanation. I’d like to tell you all about it, but I don’t want to thrust it all upon you.” “Oh, don’t worry,” Starlight reassured. “I love talking about magic, especially to fellow experts.” Sunset’s face perked up with glee, but she once again crossed her arms and tried to keep her face controlled... only to fail. “Well, allow me to explain…” Starlight eagerly listened with open ears as her fellow magical expert explained where it came from, how she has taken it upon herself to keep stray forces under control, and how she and her friends got their geode powers. The others threw in their own little remarks and quips every so often. Once she got to Camp Everfree, Twilight excitedly brought up how the magic allowed her to vanquish her inner Midnight Sparkle. They both, however, made sure to leave out the actual moments they went full demon, not wanting to look sinister in front of their visitor. “…And that’s why I worried so much about huge magical forces yesterday,” Sunset finished, looking more despaired than she did for the rest of the talk. “If what happened with the mirror is any indication, there are still huge bursts roaming around, and I’ve yet to fully figure it out.” Starlight let it all sink in, eyes wide in awe and mouth gaped in surprise. “Wow. I’ve spent all of my life focusing on how I control my magic. No wonder you felt so pressured, I’d hate to be in a position where I have no idea what I even could expect next.” “Well… that’s how I did feel,” said Sunset, who right then lifted her moods and put herself right next to Starlight. “But when you saved us from Juniper Montage’s mirror, I was reminded that, even when we’re in trouble, there was still nothing I had to worry about. It was scary, sure, but I knew that you were there for us, and sure enough, thanks to you it all turned out better than even I had expected.” “Wow…” said Starlight, surprised at her impact on Sunset. “My friend, you are the one who said I should focus more on the positives that are currently happening. And you being with us is definitely a huge positive.” Starlight’s expression went from astonished to proud and comforted. She always knew she had a fantastic friend in Sunset Shimmer, and the fact the opposite was true only made that feeling even stronger. Everyone else in the room, even Twilight, found it adorable, with Pinkie giving a “D’awww” at their bond. The only reaction this got, however, was Sunset backing up a little bit to avoid coming off as awkward. “In fact,” Sunset continued, now announcing to the entire room, “I know I’ve expressed this enough, but I really do love all of your company. You girls are the best things that have ever happened to me. And the fact we’ve added yet another fantastic member to the group each few months just makes it even better.” She gestured her hand toward Starlight, who blushed. Everyone grinned and gave their own joyful reactions toward the heartfelt statement, changing Starlight’s uneasiness to comfort. These girls really were just like her own group of friends, and she loved them all the more for it. “Well, I told you my story,” said Twilight afterward, moving to Starlight’s other side. “How about we hear one of yours?” “Yeah, I want to know more about your pony life!” Pinkie beamed. Starlight was partially caught by surprise, but then remembered the promise she made to Pinkie earlier. She returned to her thinking pose, trying to recall a story to tell that didn’t involve mind control or other forms of manipulation, but thankfully there was one recent one that had none of that. “Well, there is one that… is I guess pretty cool.” Starlight said with slight hesitation. Everypony- err, body had all of their eyes laid on her, eager to listen to what she had to say about her magical adventures. The attention once again proved somewhat nerve-wracking, but she took a quick, deep breath and after a brief pause, finally began. “I guess it all started when my old village invited me to their annual Sunset Festival…” “Sunset festival, you say?” Pinkie snickered, giving an eerie look at Sunset. “…Yeah, I wish,” Sunset rolled her eyes. Starlight continued, slightly bothered at the early interruption. “Anyway… I was both excited and…” She clasped her hands while moving her eyes to the back of her head, “…kind of sort of afraid to see them again.” Most of the other girls snickered to themselves, except for Sunset who simply patted her back for relief. Starlight continued telling her story, her passion and the girls’ interest only increasing as she discussed her friend Trixie and how her unique gang successfully infiltrated the Changeling Hive. It all peaked when she got to the part where she was able to get Thorax to not only dethrone Queen Chrysalis, but usher in a whole new era for the Changelings altogether. The pride in Starlight’s eyes and inflections became over the top to the point where it was almost humorous to them, but at the same time they couldn’t help but cheer for her as well. “…And so, with the Changelings reformed and all my friends by my side, I led the festival without a hitch!” Starlight finally completed, feeling the most confident she had been all night. At first, everyone simply had their mouths gaped open, with their other facial features carrying ambiguous messages. This made Starlight slightly nervous, but after a few moments of silence, those concerns were quickly alleviated when Rainbow finally spoke. “…Whoa.” She said, her emotion remaining unchanged. “That… was… the most AWESOME story ever!!!” “It so totally was!” Pinkie screeched. “Your world sounds so amazing and magical, with all those fascinating changey-things and Discord and the flying pigs…” “Calm yourselves, darlings,” said Rarity to Rainbow and Pinkie, with a slightly annoyed look. “Oh… sorry,” said Pinkie, finally changing to a more indoor voice… only to immediately break out of it. “But you have to admit, it was all fasci-mazing!!!” Rarity rolled her eyes, then looked back at Starlight with a friendlier look. “Still, I do have to agree that it sounded like quite the adventure.” “My favorite part was how it was all solved through kindness,” Fluttershy sighed blissfully. “Yeah… of course you’d be into that lovey-dovey stuff,” Rainbow Dash trailed. Starlight was full of flattery, so much that a light punch to her side caught her completely off guard. She turned to see Sunset, full of approval. “Even as someone who knows how Equestria works… I was sure impressed with a lot of that story. I really do have a great friend in you, Starlight.” “Says the girl who helped save the school from sirens and a camp from a power-hungry counselor,” Starlight said with a sincere yet playful grin, who then punched Sunset back. “Hey, you don’t want to get physical on me!” Sunset said spiritedly. “I’d like to see you try!” They both once again gave each other a slight yet noticeable embrace, lightly giggling at each other’s company. “Well, as long as you’re done with all that affection,” Applejack mused, “I think we ought to all share some stories. I doubt any of them will top Starlight’s, but I know the others got a real kick out of the little bass incident.” Twilight adjusted her glasses. “The bass incident? You’ve caught my interest.” “Oh yeah, that’s a good one,” said Sunset. “Would you like to hear it?” Starlight didn’t expect the question to be brought up to her, but she enjoyed her company so much that she did not care in the slightest. “Sure!” And for the rest of the night, the girls each shared an eye-opening story of their own. Some of them were humorous, others were heartfelt. But each one made her even more glad she chose to stick around and become actively involved with the sleepover.