//------------------------------//
// S7 E14: Fame and Misfortune (What If?) 
// Story: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 6 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
//------------------------------//

Twilight was trotting through Ponyville, enjoying the fine Spring day. It had been quite a while since any major events had happened (the last one she could recall involved helping Pinkie Pie with some stubborn yaks) and things had been peaceful.

But all of a sudden, the peace of the Spring day was disturbed, as Twilight found herself having to avoid barrages of ice cream! "What the-?!" She exclaimed, turning her attention to the source of the disturbance!

"Oops. Sorry about that, Twilight," Lyra apologized. "That wasn't meant for you. That was meant for my ex-friend Bon Bon. Or should I say Special Agent Sweetie Drops?"

"I'm not your ex-friend, Lyra, you're my ex-friend!" Bon Bon hissed, hurling ice cream at the green coated unicorn.

Twilight refused to let the ice cream battle go on any longer, largely because she herself was getting caught in the crossfire. "Both of you, stop!" She protested, throwing up a shield barrier to stop anymore ice cream missiles. "I'd expect this kind of behavior from children, but not from the likes of you. You're both fully grown ponies, and it's time you started acting like them."

"Yes, Princess Twilight." Lyra sighed.

"Sorry, Princess Twilight." Bon Bon also sighed.

Twilight smiled. "That's better. Now will the both of you please tell me what this is all about? You two are the bestest of best friends, everypony in towns knows that. What in the name of Celestia could be causing you two to have an ice cream fight?"

Lyra pouted and folded her hooves across her chest. "Well if you must know, a certain somepony decided it would be a good idea to go back to her agency and start working undercover again, without telling me."

Bon Bon firmly replied with. "Lyra, I let you join me that one time, but this is different. S.M.I.L.E is an off the books agency, and the work we do is very dangerous. If anything happened to you because of me, I'd never forgive myself."

"Aw come on, Bon Bon. I don't need you watching over me, I can take perfectly good care of myself you know." Lyra snorted.

Bon Bon sighed. "I'm sure you can, Lyra. But I need to be free of distractions if I'm going to do my job. Besides, somepony has to keep an eye on my niece and my sweet shop while I'm gone."

"Why do you even want to work for S.M.I.L.E again anyway?" Lyra questioned. "Twilight and her friends can always handle anything that comes their way."

"Because S.M.I.L.E keeps the small threats at bay before they become big threats," Bon Bon answered. "We are the last line of defense against things like the bug bear."

Twilight listened intently, and then commented. "If I may butt in, it seems like this is a failure to compromise. Bon Bon, you need to understand that Lyra is a part of your life, and like a good friend she wants to help you out from time to time. Surely, if she tags along on a mission or two, or even just gets a desk job at the agency, there's no harm to that, right?"

"I... guess not." Bon Bon agreed.

"And Lyra," Twilight added. "You need to trust Bon Bon to be able to handle things on her own, and to have a life independent of you if need be. Friends don't always have to do everything together to be friends. It's not the amount of time you spend together, it's how you spend that time together that counts."

"I suppose that's true," Lyra concluded and looked across to Bon Bon. "Sorry for the fighting. Can you ever forgive me?"

Bon Bon smiled and hugged Lyra tightly. "Oh, what the heck? I can't stay mad at you, you big silly unicorn."

Lyra smiled, even as she declared. "We're still going to have to talk about your double life, you know. I thought we had things worked out, but it seems there are some details we overlooked."

Bon Bon agreed. "Well, we'll work through them together, because that's what best friends do," Then she said to Twilight. "Thanks for your help, princess. You seem to have a knack for sorting out these friendship problems."

"What can I say, I've had years of experience," Twilight replied. Then all of a sudden, a light bulb of sorts went off in her head! She'd gotten an idea! Taking off at a break neck speed, the princess rushed to her castle and shouted! "Spike?! Spike?! Where are you, my son?!"

"I'm right here, Twilight. You don't have to shout," Spike called, appearing in the hallway. "Something the matter?"

Twilight shook her head. "No time to explain, Spike. I need you to send a letter to Princess Celestia, tell her I need copies of every friendship report my friends and I ever sent to her, and I need them A.S.A.P!"

"What for?" Spike pondered.

"I'll explain later, right now I need to find something!" Twilight declared and dashed off to the castle library! "Come on, come on! Where is it?!" She remarked, tossing aside books with her hooves (though using her magic to carefully sort them into piles, so it would be easier to place them back in their assigned spots later).

Having heard the commotion, Starlight entered the library, ducking under the flying books as necessary. "Twilight? What are you doing? I haven't seen you this worked up in ages." She questioned the alicorn.

Twilight didn't respond to Starlight's question, for at that moment she shouted! "Aha! Here it is! Right in the last place you'd think to look!" She pulled out a well worn (and quite dusty) book that had a purple colored horseshoe logo on it along with a golden spine.

"Forgive me for asking the obvious but, what is that... thing?" Starlight asked Twilight. "I've been in this library hundreds of times and never seen such a book before."

Twilight giggled and snorted. "Oh Starlight, this is no ordinary book. Oh no no no, it's so much more!" Holding the book in her hooves she proudly declared. "Within the confines of this journal, are a series of friendship lessons my friends and I learned before I got my new castle. Heck, even Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders got to write some entries."

"And that's important because?" Starlight questioned in a most uncertain tone.

But before Twilight could explain, Spike shouted out! "Hey, Twilight! You've got mail! Lots and lots of it!"

Twilight smiled and rushed back into the hall, finding Spike surrounded by an entire mountain of scrolls. "Yes! This is just what I needed!" She happily declared. "Now I just need one more set of documents, and I'm golden!" She trotted off to find her friends, leaving Spike and Starlight to wonder just what had gotten into the princess.



Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity were all quite surprised when Twilight not only asked them to come to the throne room, but to bring along any records they had of the lessons they'd learned after Twilight got her new castle. They obliged of course, but they still wondered what Twilight had in mind.

They soon found out, for Twilight slammed a very familiar book down on the table map.

"What's that old thing doing here?" Rainbow Dash wondered aloud.

"And why is it so smelly?" Rarity added, plugging her nose with a hoof.

Twilight smiled as she eagerly explained. "I was wondering for the longest time what to do with this journal after we stopped using it. And eventually, I forgot we even had it. But today, after helping to solve a friendship problem right here in Ponyville, I realize that there are so many ponies all over Equestria that could benefit from studying the lessons we've learned over the years," She proudly added. "But just the entries we wrote in this journal wouldn't be enough. So I took the liberty of adding all the lessons we learned after we stopped using it, and tossed in the friendship reports we sent to Princess Celestia. Every last one of them!"

Spike groaned. "She's not kidding. I thought for sure I was gonna get sick again, belching up all those scrolls like that." The little dragon remarked.

"Not that this isn't nice, Twilight, but exactly how is one journal supposed to go all over Equestria and back again?" Rarity questioned the alicorn. "Especially in its current condition."

But Twilight giggled. "Oh Rarity, I never intended to send this journal out there. It's seen better days. But with a little help from Starlight, I've made duplicates of the journal. All of them in pristine and polished condition, so they're good as new! They'll fly off the shelves like they're the newest Daring Do book!"

"Goodness, it must've taken a lot out of Starlight to make so many exact duplicates of the old journal," Fluttershy commented. "But she doesn't look like she's worn out one bit."

"It was pretty easy, actually," Starlight confessed. "I used that spell before when I had to er... make quick copies of a certain..." She paused and coughed into a hoof before adding. "Manifesto. Compared to that, making copies of this journal was a piece of cake."

"And that brings me to why I gathered you all here," Twilight chimed in. Looking at all of her friends, she asked them. "Whaddya say? You willing to spread the magic of friendship and have the pages of the journals put to good use? I wanted to make sure you're all on board with this, because chances are that once ponies read these journals, we'll all become household names. We'll probably have fans from every corner of Equestria, and might even have letters written and addressed to us."

"We'll be horse famous!" Pinkie proudly declared!

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "I've got plenty of fans as it is, seeing as I'm a Wonderbolt and all. A few hoofffuls more won't be anything I'm not used to."

"And you know, we originally did plan on having others find that old journal and learn from us," Fluttershy commented with a smile. "Besides, now that I've got my sanctuary, I'm more than okay with ponies knowing my name. Some of them might even write to me for help with animal problems."

"Oh what the heck, guess I'm all for it too," Applejack nodded in agreement. "But you did make sure to get Apple Bloom and her Crusader friends' permission to use their entries too, right?"

"Yup, and Spike as well," Twilight added. "Heck, even some of Starlight's lessons are getting put into the journals. We're all going to be included."

On the subject of Spike, Rarity couldn't help but comment. "And you're one hundred percent sure Spike and the Crusaders are okay with this? I am of course worried about what they might think of Spike, seeing as he's the only dragon among us, and he's still a 'baby' dragon."

"Maybe in dragon years, Rarity. But for me at least, Spike's a big dragon and he's more than capable of taking care of himself," Twilight reassured her fashionista friend. "He's been part of my life for many years, and if anyone has a problem with him, they can take it up with me. After all, what mother wouldn't stick her neck out for her son?"

"Twilight, not in front of Rarity, please!" Spike playfully whined. "I already said I don't mind being in the journal, you don't have to embarrass me."

"I meant no disrespect to you, Spikey-Wikey, darling," Rarity commented. "As long as you're okay with it, so am I. I just hope ponies don't get the wrong idea about you, or us for that matter."

Now it was Starlight's turn to laugh and smile. "Come on, Rarity. I thought you and the girls were pretty weird the first time I met you, but now I'm part of the circle of friends and I can't imagine my life without you all. Considering all the stuff I've seen since moving to this town, you seven are hardly the weirdest. If anything, they're probably gonna have it out for me. I'm still kind of the outsider in all of this."

"No need to sell yourself short, Starlight," Pinkie declared to the unicorn. "Don't forget, you're friends with two of my sisters. That makes you an honorary Pie in my book, and we Pies stick together and look out for each other no matter what."

"So then," Twilight spoke up as she cleared her throat. "I take it there are no objections? Nopony has any other concerns they want to bring up?" No one answered. "Good!" Twilight smiled. "Now there's just one more thing I need to ask all of you."

"What is it?!" Twilight's friends all asked.

"Can you help me get these journals out to all the book stores and stands?" Twilight sheepishly asked. "Even with my wings I can only go to so many places."





The seven ponies (as well as Spike) traveled all over Equestria to promote the release of the journals. Book stores and stands in every city and town were glad to accept copies.

The journals sold fast. Within days of them being put on shelves and display stands, eager ponies descended in huge waves to scoop up a copy. After all, when the journals featured the written accounts of Princess Twilight and those closest to her, no one in their right mind could possibly object to wanting one.

Newspaper articles from cities such as Las Pegasus, Applewood, Southern Equestria, Baltimare, Fillydelphia, and even the Crystal Empire all wrote about the journals. By the end of the week, they were all that social circles were talking about. Some even declared that it was the hottest sensation since Princess Twilight was officially crowned just a few years ago.

But as always happens when ponies start to gossip, the discussion inevitably turns in directions that were not intended. And when attention is given to public figures, it's not always automatically positive.

Twilight, her friends, and Spike, were all about to learn this the hard way.

It all started about two weeks after the journals were first put up in book stores. Nowhere were the journals more talked about than in Ponyville, the very town that Princess Twilight and her associates called home (and had known as home for many years).

Everywhere Twilight went, it seemed that someone had a copy of the friendship journal and was talking about to anyone who would listen. Naturally, it was impossible not to overhear at least parts of the conversation, even when she knew it was not polite to eavesdrop.

Over a chorus of laughter from several ponies, one smartly dressed stallion declared. "I must say, I found the journal to be an enlightening experience. But I have to ask, just what is it that Rarity saw in Trenderhoof of all ponies? If her attempt at romance with a prince fell flat, why would she expect different results with a different object of affection? And just where does she go off thinking she's so fabulous anyway? Organizing the Ponyville Days Festival had nothing to do with her appearance. And yet she's the Element of Generosity?"

A simply dressed mare replied to the stallion. "Did you miss the part where her friends learned not to question her judgement when it comes to fashion, even though she was willing to make new dresses for each of them according to what they wanted? That sounds awfully generous if you ask me. You wanna talk about somepony who doesn't know what she's talking about, might I suggest Fluttershy. How come after she learned to stand up for herself and stop being such a scaredy pony, she still didn't want anything to do with Nightmare Night?"

Another mare retorted. "Hey, I'm with Fluttershy, Nightmare Night's not my cup of tea. All those foals running around, screaming their heads off? Not for me, thank you. And I can't believe Pinkie Pie is the honorary friendship ambassador to the yaks, all she ever seems to do is throw parties and do things that nopony even understands. I don't even think she's being truthful about growing up on a rock farm. A pony that crazy coming from such a dull place? She must think I was born yesterday."

"Speaking of dull," A tall, yellow coated stallion with blue eyes commented. "I find Applejack's entries to be rather dull if we're being honest. Just what does she mean by 'Friends are your family'? I've made many friends, but none of them are like family to me. And she doesn't even explain if Pinkie Pie is related to her or not, she just says they might be related. Isn't there someway she can prove it for sure?"

The first stallion declared. "Rainbow Dash is the one who seems to have a hard time proving she deserves everything she's got. How did a pony as ego-obsessed as her ever get into the Wonderbolts? And does she honestly think she's fooling anypony with her 'Daring Do is real' nonsense? Everypony knows Daring Do is a made up hero, and A. K. Yearling's stories are full of feats that would be impossible for a real pony to do."

The simply dressed mare added. "Personally, I don't get what Spike and Starlight Glimmer are doing in that friendship journal. They hardly ever seem to be part of the group. Spike's supposed to be Princess Twilight's son, and Starlight her student. How can she say they're her friends when clearly they're not?"

The other mare concluded by saying. "Well regardless of some 'questionable entries' and writing choices, I think we can all agree that the journal is quite worth checking out. I myself have learned a thing or two from reading it, and it sure beats the countless gossip magazines on ponies like Sapphire Shores or Countess Coloratura."

Twilight was unsure of how to feel about the conversation she'd overheard. She'd never intended the journal to become a subject of debate about her friends personal qualities. It wasn't supposed to be a biography. And it wasn't a work of fiction to be debated as if her friends were characters in a made up world. But at the same time, ponies seemed to enjoy it, so who was she to complain? She could always correct them if they got out of hoof.

Still, the young princess became more than a little concerned. "I hope this isn't how most ponies are discussing the journal. I don't want them getting the wrong idea about my friends," She thought to herself. "Maybe I should've been more clear about what the journal was intended to be?"

But at that moment, Twilight's thoughts were interrupted as Starlight came trotting up and declared. "Uh, Twilight, I think we've got a problem."





Not far from the cafe from where Twilight had overheard the conversation about her friends, she was shocked to find a whole bunch of ponies young and old alike, and from all three of the pony races, and they seemed to be arguing rather furiously. One side held up anti-Rarity signs, complete with an image of the unicorn inside a red circle with a line through it. And another side held up pro-Rarity signs, some even wore t-shirts that said things like "Rarity's number one fan" and "Defenders of Rarity" in large letters.

"Everypony knows that Rarity is by far the weakest link of the friendship chain," A member of the anti-Rarity group declared. "How many times has she cared more about her ego than about those friends she claims to care so dearly about?"

"Don't forget how she strings Spike along and plays with his affections, rather than tell him straight up it'll never work," Another member added. "If you were smart, you'd all switch your allegiance to Princess Twilight. She was cool even before she got her wings."

But a member of the pro-Rarity group marched right up to the anti-Rarity group and shouted. "Twilight may be a princess, but she doesn't do squat anymore! When was the last time you ever saw her act princessly?! Rarity on the other hoof, runs three successful boutiques!"

"And as for Spike, haven't you ever heard of letting them down gently?" Another member remarked. "Besides, she's maybe just waiting until he's a little older and ponies a little bit more accepting, before she and Spike decide to become a thing. Nopony batted an eye when a donkey and a mule got married!"

"See what I mean?" Starlight whispered to Twilight. "Things are getting out of hoof. And if somepony doesn't do something about it soon, I will. I don't like seeing my friends being treated this way."

"Easy, Starlight," Twilight cautioned, throwing up a wing to block her student. "No need to do something drastic. What everypony needs is just a quick little talking to. It's partially my fault for not anticipating this outcome sooner."

The two sides continued to argue with each other, their shouting match threatening to boil over into something worse, when Twilight cast a spell to amplify her voice and declared! "SILENCE!" So loudly that all stopped to look at her. "That's better," Twilight said with a sigh. "Now will everypony kindly stop with this nonsense? You can both like and dislike parts of the journal. But you are talking about actual ponies in actual life, their lessons are intended not for you to discuss and argue like kids, but for you to learn from them. The journal is to promote friendship, not to undermine it."

Starlight came trotting up with a stern glare on her face. "I suggest you all listen to what Twilight has to say. Because she just so happens to be one of the ponies who wrote lessons in that journal. You wouldn't do this to A. K. Yearling if she were here, or Princess Celestia if she wrote a book."

"You're one to talk, you got a second chance you didn't deserve!" A member of the pro-Twilight group hissed at Starlight. "In fact, far as I'm concerned, you're just like Twilight before she got her wings. But unlike Twilight, you get away with bad behavior!"

Starlight flinched and recoiled in horror at the accusation! Painful memories of her many magical screw-ups came flooding back to her in an instant! She found herself at a loss for words!

Twilight quickly came to her pupil's defense. "I don't disclose the details of her punishments to the public. She's my student, and I make sure that when she does wrong, she's held accountable for it. But none of you have the right to judge her for her mistakes, when all of you have no doubt made similar ones," She said quite sternly, stomping a hoof down. "You don't have to like that she's living with me, but I won't have you insulting her to my face! The same goes for the rest of my friends, including my son, Spike! Whatever problems you have with them, be civil and polite about it! And don't go around acting like you're somehow better! The purpose of the journal was to teach friendship, and I'm starting to see that the moral was lost on ponies like you," In a calmer tone of voice, she then added. "You're giving other fans of the journal a bad name. Even those who might normally agree with you. So what do you all have to say for yourselves?"

The ponies reluctantly disbursed a moment later, none of them daring to say a word. Twilight, for her part, sighed. "I'm sorry you had to see and hear that, Starlight. I know not all fans are like those ponies. I just didn't think it was possible to interpret the journal so harshly, and to lose sight of what it was trying to teach."

"Well, cheer up," Starlight encouraged. "So a few ponies got the wrong idea. You can't help that. And didn't you learn from Rarity that you can't always please everypony?"

"True, true," Twilight considered. "I just hope my friends can be more civil in dealing with their critics. Shouting like that wasn't the best way to get my point across," Then she began to turn. "I'd better go check on the Cutie Mark Crusaders and make sure they haven't run into any of those nasty groups." In her mind she was hoping. "Maybe the students there will have learned something from the journal."





Twilight arrived at the front yard of the school to find that everything was as it should be. Compared to the scene near the cafe, there were no loud and bitter arguments, and no debates. All she could see, was a couple of interested colts and fillies huddling around the Cutie Mark Crusaders. But Twilight wasn't worried, she knew they'd learned their lesson about abusing their connection to her.

But then suddenly, she overheard what sounded like angry chatter coming from around back. Curious, the princess tiphoofed towards the source, finding a crudely drawn hop-scotch figure in the dirt. And there were Ruby Pinch and Dinky Doo, the two of them looking at each other with narrowed eyes and frowning faces.

"For the last time, my answer is no! I don't wanna play with you anymore!" Ruby Pinch hissed.

Dinky Doo replied. "Why not, Ruby?! You love playing hopskotch!"

"No, you do because you always win, Dinky!" Ruby remarked and turned her head. "Why can't we play something else for a change?! Something I actually have a chance at winning!"

"Oh come on, it's not my fault you're so bad at everything!" Dinky angrily commented to Ruby. "Mom always says you'll never get better at anything if you don't try."

Ruby retorted with. "Of course your mom would say that. Your mom's weird, always crashing into things and losing letters."

"Hey, don't you talk about my mom like that!" Dinky stomped her hoof down in protest!

Twilight decided it would be best to intervene before anypony said or did something they'd regret. "Hey, girls. Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your little 'argument'," She apologized. "Might I suggest you take a breather? Perhaps read an entry or two from this journal? I'd recommend Rainbow Dash and Applejack's chapter on The Running of the Leaves, I think it might help."

"If it'll get you off our backs, sure," Ruby replied, and then said to Dinky. "Maybe later we can read the Rainbow Falls chapter, and you can tell me how your mom got drafted to be Rainbow Dash's replacement with her poor eyesight."

"Oh, you'd be surprised at how well she can see." Dinky chuckled, and she and Ruby went off together, a copy of the journal held up in Ruby's magic.





Twilight came back around to the front, only to come face to face with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Apple Bloom spoke up. "Just wanted to thank ya', personally, Twilight! Your friendship journal's gotten a ton of our classmates interested in our little club."

"Oh, is that so?" Twilight questioned.

Sweetie Belle nodded. "And thanks to Diamond Tiara's advice, our club is now like a business. We've got a ton of potential new clients lined up."

Scootaloo then added. "But your journal's really popular around here too. Ponies can't stop talking about you, and about your friends. They're all talking about who they think is the best. But of course, you know me, I'm in Camp Rainbow Dash one hundred percent!" She eagerly buzzed her wings in excitement.

"That's... lovely, I guess," Twilight commented, unsure of what else to say. "But you do know the purpose of the journal isn't supposed to be solely for marketing, right? It's supposed to be educational."

"So, who says it can't be a little of both?" Apple Bloom protested. "We're enjoyin' the free publicity, 'cause we know it ain't gonna last long. You and your friends should too. Trust me, in a couple of weeks, ponies'll forget all about the journal. And we'll go back to just bein' known as The Cutie Mark Crusaders. But until then, we're enjoyin' our fame."

"Besides, even Miss. Cheerilee is getting in on the publicity," Sweetie declared. "She's started using it in class as examples of what we can achieve if we strive to live by the virtues upheld in the Elements of Harmony."

"O..kay then," Twilight reluctantly replied. "Well, as long as you remember what the purpose of the journal is, I guess there's not a problem here." And with that, she left.





Twilight caught back up with Starlight on the path in the center of town, informing her about what she'd witnessed down at the school. "I just hope those foals actually learn something from our lessons. They're the ones most likely to learn by example. Young minds are especially vulnerable."

"Oh, they will! Give it time," Starlight encouraged Twilight. "I'm sure ponies all across Equestria will—" But then suddenly she and Twilight found their path blocked by a quartet of ponies! "Whoa!" Was all Starlight could bring herself to say.

The one on the left was a blueish-grey unicorn stallion with similar colored eyes. He had brown hair covered by a dark blue cap. Next was a unicorn mare with a dull-brownish coat, blue eyes, and a braided mane and tail in light shades of pink and blue. The third was an earth pony stallion who was the tallest of the group. His coat was grey in color and he had a wavy black mane, grayish-green eyes, and a red necklace. And finally, there was a unicorn stallion a light yellow in color, wearing a two shaded purple jacket. He had blue eyes hidden behind a pair of black glasses, and sported a neat, sea-green mane. All four ponies had copies of the friendship journal in their possession.

For a moment Twilight didn't say a word. She just looked at the ponies and tried to judge their intentions from the looks on their faces. Then she broke the silence as she reluctantly asked. "Uh, hello there! Can I... help you?"

"We're here all the way from Fillydelphia because we got copies of your friendship journal!" The blueish-grey unicorn stallion declared!

Twilight felt herself swelling up with pride! "Wow! How wonderful!" Convinced she'd made a difference in these ponies lives she decided to ask. "What was your favorite friendship—"

"Will you sign them for us?!" The stallion asked, as all four copies of the friendship journal were presented to Twilight!

Not one to turn down eager fans, Twilight agreed without hesitation. Using her magic to hold a quill and sign her signature in each journal. "So, what did you think of the lessons?" She asked the ponies. "Any lessons that resonated with you? Maybe a favorite lesson you'd like to share?"

But the stallion just laughed. "Oh, we haven't read them. These are keepsakes. So we gotta keep them in mint condition, know what I'm saying?" He proceeded to cover his journal in a special case intended for preservation. And the other ponies did the same as he laughed. "Ha-ha."

"Wow, that was so worth the trip!" The light brown coated unicorn mare exclaimed! And then she and the other ponies in the group departed.

Twilight, for her part, just sighed and hung her head. "Autograph hounds. Just what I didn't need to see. The journals aren't like Daring Do books or Power Ponies comics. They're not supposed to be collectors items. I'm starting to wonder if I didn't advertise the journals properly or something."





Twilight soon found herself sulking in the same cafe where she'd overheard ponies debating the contents of the journal not even half a day ago. Already it seemed like so many of the cafe patrons were consumed by gossip surrounding the journal. Babbling on and on about things they'd overheard and talking about who they felt was truly "the best".

The princess sighed, slumping her head down onto a table as she muttered in defeat. "It feels like everypony in Equestria is missing the 'friendship' part of the 'friendship' journals. Maybe it was wrong to put so much content out there for ponies to consume and call it a 'journal'."

Just then, a loud swoosh broke the alicorn out of her downtrodden state. She looked up, and nearly fell backwards in surprise at what she saw!

There was Rainbow Dash, zipping past at a frantic speed! She was clearly being pursued by what seemed like a ton of pegasi old and young alike! All of them chanting things like: "Tell us about your Sonic Rainboom! Are the rumors true?!" and "What do you mean Daring Do is real?! Isn't she a made up character?!", or even "You're a Wonderbolt now! Can you tell us what Spitfire's embarrassing nickname is?!"

Rainbow Dash shouted back! "For the last time, stop asking me all these questions! Go bother somepony else! I gotta get back to work, chasing those storm clouds away before they band together!"

Twilight immediately flew up to her friend's rescue. "What is going on here?! Why are you all nagging my friend when she has more important things to do?!" She demanded.

"We wanna hear more about her awesome exploits that she wrote in the journal!" Ponies eagerly replied! "Rainbow Dash learns the best lessons, because she's the only one who goes on adventures or gets to do cool things!"

"We've all done incredible things," Twilight retorted. "And if you all read the journals in their entirety, you'd know that," Then, raising up a wing she told the gathered crowd. "I get it. You're all very impressed with Rainbow Dash and you wanna show your appreciation. But this is beyond what's appropriate, bugging my friend when all she wants to do is her job."

The crowd reluctantly dispersed a moment later to varying curses and groans of frustration. Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief, wiping some sweat from her brows. "Thanks, Twilight, you're a life saver!" She declared, all but hugging the alicorn. "I'm used to mega fans, but nothing like this! Not even my parents were this obsessed."

"You didn't happen to mention the whole story behind your adventures with Daring Do, did you?" Twilight asked the cyan speedster, looking all around to be sure the coast was clear. "If you gave away her secret identity in the journals, we could be in big trouble with A. K. Yearling."

Rainbow shook her head. "Have a little faith in me, Twilight. Of course I wouldn't expose the truth about Daring Do. All ponies know is, I met her and we went on adventures together, during which I learned lessons about friendship," She then pondered. "I wonder if Quibble Pants got a copy of the journal."

"Let's hope not. Knowing him, he'd come here to talk at length about what he thought about the lessons," Twilight chuckled, and changed the subject. "Don't you have some storm clouds that need to be chased away?"

"Oh my gosh! I totally forget!" Rainbow exclaimed and zoomed off! "Oh please, don't let them have joined together!"





When Twilight landed back on the ground a short time later, she was surprised to see Starlight picking a pony up with her magic and scolding. "I can't believe you! Fluttershy's one of my friends, and here you are, pestering her for no good reason!"

"I just wanted to ask why she doesn't wanna take part in Nightmare Night festivities, not even a party," The pony replied. "If she can be friends with someone as crazy and chaotic as Discord, why should something like Nightmare Night be something she doesn't like? It doesn't make sense."

"I just wanna know how she got that sanctuary up and running without any help from the 'experts'," A random pony from a gathered crowd shouted. "Pinkie Pie says that Hard Hat and the others were being stuck up jerks. But what does she know? She's a party pony, not a construction worker. She only met Hard Hat once."

"And speaking of Pinkie Pie," A third pony chimed in. "What's the deal with her and Applejack?! Are they related or not?! You can't just leave it at 'Nopony knows'. There's gotta be some kind of test you can run to prove or disprove a connection!"

"Why are you all doing this to my friends?" Twilight protested to the ponies, glaring at them. "Does it really matter if Pinkie Pie is related to Applejack when the connection is already so faint as it is? Fourth cousins twice removed is as faint as you can get before you can't say there's much of a connection. And if Fluttershy doesn't want to participate in Nightmare Night-"

But Fluttershy cleared her throat and spoke up. "Thank you, Twilight, Starlight, but I'm more than capable of standing up for myself. I took assertiveness lessons for a reason," Looking her critics firmly in the face, the pegasus then declared. "I gave it a try and decided it was not for me. There's nothing wrong with that. I didn't say I wasn't going to be involved in the holiday at all, or pretend it didn't exist. It's true I used to be scared of Nightmare Night, but I'm willing to bet each of you have things you were scared of once upon a time that you wouldn't want others to find out about. Yet you don't hear me judging you for it, do you?"

An uncomfortable silence fell over the crowd, everypony had been intimidated into silence.

Fluttershy just went on to say. "Now you're quite welcome to disagree with my decision, and if you want to take part in Nightmare Night, I'm not gonna stop you. My friends understand and respect my decision, as I respect their decision to enjoy Nightmare Night each year. So unless anypony has something else they want to ask me about, I'll be leaving." And she trotted off with a straight look on her face.

"Wow," The glasses wearing stallion from earlier declared. "She's way different from the Fluttershy in the book. It's like she suddenly grew a spine."

Twilight just sighed unhappily and thought. "Which you'd know about if you read all of her entries more thoroughly."





On her way to Carousel Boutique to check up on Rarity, Twilight happened to stop by Sugarcube Corner. She was shocked to see a line stretching all the way out in the door and down the street! Did everypony suddenly want treats?

Twilight soon got her answer, for she was tackled by a pink blur! "Twilight, this is going horribly wrong!" Pinkie frantically exclaimed, panting heavily! "Sugarcube Corner's packed to capacity, because everypony wants me to plan parties for them!"

"I thought that's what you did for a living, Pinkie?" Twilight questioned. "You plan parties everyday."

"Yes, because I have time to plan them!" Pinkie explained! "I have time to gather information and find out who likes what and who to invite and not to invite! But now I'm so booked, I'm planning multiple parties for the same day at the same time! And what's worse, nopony actually to buy anything from Sugarcube Corner and support the Cakes, they just wanna see me! It's getting so bad that Pound and Pumpkin Cake can't take a nap because of all the noise!"

Twilight looked back towards the huge line that had formed. Was it her imagination, or did it seem to have suddenly gotten longer? "Have you thought about shifting the load to other party ponies, or maybe cancelling some parties?" She suggested to Pinkie.

"I've tried, but I don't know how to get in touch with Cheese Sandwich, and these ponies aren't taking no for an answer!" Pinkie protested. "i don't know what to do, Twilight! You've gotta help me!"

But there was no need for the princess to take any action, for at that moment Mrs. Cake loudly cried out! "I'm sorry, everypony, but Pinkie Pie is on an official party planning break! And Sugarcube Corner is now closed to all non-paying customers!" Much of the crowd scattered in a heartbeat, only a few stragglers hung around.

Pinkie gulped. She knew that Mrs. Cake was not usually a pony to raise her voice. "Ooh boy, sounds like Mrs. Cake is super peeved! Excuse my language," The party pony declared. "I'd better make sure she's alright. Publishing those journals is starting to look like a bad idea."





Now more concerned than she had been earlier in the day, Twilight frantically rushed to Carousel Boutique! She had yet to see either Rarity or Applejack, and she could only hope that they were not suffering the same fate as the rest of her friends (though she did find it a bit odd that no one had yet said a thing about Starlight. But then again, it seemed like a lot of ponies hadn't read the journals all the way through, and Starlight's entries came late into them).

Starlight was waiting for Twilight at the boutique entrance. "I've tried knocking and ringing the door bell," She informed Twilight. "But Rarity won't answer. I think she's holed up in her workshop for whatever reason."

Twilight gulped. "Oh no! Don't tell the journal entries are affecting her too."

"I'm almost too afraid to find out," Starlight said with a nervous laugh. "But I guess we'll have to find out, whether we like it or not."

The two ponies made their way up to Rarity's workshop, the entire boutique was ominously silent, as if it were completely unoccupied. But that couldn't be the case.

Pushing open the door to Rarity's workshop, Twilight nervously called. "Rarity, are you alright?" Then she let out a yelp as something flew past her head and impacted the wall behind her with a smash!

Rarity was clearly present, and the sound of the sewing machine whirring away indicated the fashionista was hard at work on something. But that something was, Twilight had no idea. "What are you doing?" She asked her friend.

Rarity spun around, revealing that she was not even wearing her ruby red sewing glasses that she wore whenever she made something. Her eyes were shrunken, her mane was frazzled, and her make-up was clearly running as could be evidenced by the grey streaks streaming down her face. "Why, I'm creating a gown, darling!" She loudly proclaimed!

"For what?" Twilight asked.

Rarity only replied. "I don't know! I'm stress-sewing!" She forced the fabric through the sewing machine amidst heavy sounds of frustration.

"Stress-sewing?" Starlight questioned.

Rarity nodded. "I've got so many orders from the 'Rarity Forever' fan club, I've had to funnel them through Canterlot Carousel and Rarity For You just to keep up," She explained. "Oh, my poor hooves have never worked this hard before. And poor Sassy and Coco, I hate to dump so much on them on such short notice."

"Why are you taking on so many orders, Rarity?" Starlight inquired of her fashion loving friend. "Surely, these fans of yours can wait if you're backed up on more important projects."

But Rarity only hugged one of her gawdy dresses tightly and proclaimed! "And go out of business?! I think not! Without their support, my detractors would have me forced to close up shop for good!" She opened a blindfold to reveal a huge group of ponies with anti-Rarity signs standing in front of the boutique, and they were arguing with ponies that had pro-Rarity stands.

"Relax, Rarity," Twilight advised with a smile. "I'm sure if I just go out there and talk to those ponies, they'll see that they're being unreasonable."

But at that very moment the door opened again, Twilight letting out a yelp as she was pressed up between the door and the wall, as Applejack came bursting in! She looked quite exhausted, even her mane and tail seemed to have gone a considerable amount of time without care! "I need a hundred blankets, and I need 'em now!" She panted, and then apologized. "Sorry, Twilight."

"Right away, Applejack! This is just what I needed to break away from all these dress orders!" Rarity declared, setting to work on her sewing machine.

Applejack, however, just opted to take some rolls of fabric down from a nearby shelf. "I don't need anythin' fancy, just a few hooffuls of blankets'll do."

Having managed to peel herself away from the door, Twilight asked her farm friend. "What's the matter, Applejack?"

Applejack panted and confessed. "I'm popular, Twilight! I'm popular, and I don't like it one bit! This group callin' 'emselves 'The Sweet Apple Acres Admirers' showed up and now they're askin' me 'bout Rara, or you, or any other celebrity pony I happen to know. Or they just wanna know 'bout the time I went missin' after the rodeo in Canterlot and ended up in Dodge Junction. Heck, they're even askin' my brother 'bout the time he posed as Cousin Orchard Blossom to compete in the Sisterhooves Social with Apple Bloom."

"And nopony wants to hear about any of your stories or lessons?" Starlight concluded.

"Nope, they all think I'm a one trick pony who only cares about family and apples," Applejack complained. "And the worst part is, I can't get 'em to leave! And neither can the rest of my family!" And then she departed the boutique, leaving Twilight to feel as if she'd just had her heart crushed into a million tiny pieces.





Disappointed and downtrodden at the damage her decision had done, the princess of friendship did the only thing she felt was sensible in this situation and retreated back to her castle. She was starting to regret ever publishing those journal copies and compiling all those friendship reports. It seemed like all it did was cause more problems than it might have fixed.

But right as she approached the steps of the castle, she was shocked to find a mob of angry ponies had already gathered! Spike was currently fending them off! "For the last time: Yes, I am adopted. Yes, Twilight legally filed the paperwork to do so. Yes, Starlight's living with us. Yes, technically she's no longer Twilight's student. Now will you all stop complaining that we're all one and the same? We're not the same at all!"

"Oh no, not you too, Spike!" Twilight frantically exclaimed, rushing up to the little dragon.

"I'm afraid so, Twilight," Spike sighed. "At first it wasn't so bad. The ponies who showed up here were nice and civil, they just wanted to know if you were around to sign their journals. But then more ponies showed up and it started spilling over into a discussion about what my role is, and why we ever let Starlight into our lives."

"And how long have you been dealing with this without me?" Twilight asked Spike.

"Probably almost since you left the castle this morning," Spike concluded. "I haven't been able to get a moment's rest, let alone tend to the fan mail."

Twilight almost gasped upon hearing that! "Fan mail?! You mean there are ponies who still like us?!"

"Yup! They're writing in from all over Equestria!" Spike boasted! "And some of 'em even made the trip to Ponyville just to see you!"

But Twilight just groaned. "Normally I'd be all for it. But I'm not in a good mood today, I've been dealing with crazy mega fans and fan clubs, and it's turning into one big mess!" She scooped Spike up and rushed through the doors of her castle to seek comfort inside!

Outside, the crowd of ponies shook their heads in confusion. Just what had gotten into the princess of friendship?





Twilight, Spike, and an exhausted Starlight (who arrived at the castle via teleportation) were not alone for very long before there came a knock at the castle doors.

Twilight opened it and saw Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity all looking upset and worn out. Behind them, it was possible to hear varying shouts of joy and frustration from the crowd.

Once inside, it didn't take long for the five ponies to all start arguing and complaining. Applejack was the first to speak up. "I just don't understand it, why are they doin' this to me?! I don't just wanna be know for my ties to whatever celebrity they care about," The farm pony snorted. "And they're makin' it impossible for my family to do our chores! They're gonna drive us out of business!"

"They've sucked all the joy out of party planning!" Pinkie complained. "Something I didn't think was even possible until now. And what's even worse is that they've made the Cakes mad, I've never seen Mr. and Mrs. Cake so worked up before."

"You think you have it bad?" Rainbow bitterly remarked. "Now I can't even do my job or go five inches without somepony telling me how awesome I am, or asking me for dirt on the Wonderbolts. It doesn't matter how many times I tell them no," Then she looked across to Rarity, who was wearing a rather tacky and hastily thrown together outfit that consisted of a long, flowing dress, and a stuffy hat. "Uh, Rarity, what are you wearing?" She asked the fashionista.

"My emotions, darling! Stress couture!" Rarity loudly replied. "If I'm going to be a public spectacle, I might as well look the part."

With a glare in her eyes, Fluttershy complained. "Ponies keep hounding me, and I don't know what I'm gonna do if I have I to explain myself one, more, time!" She then noticed Rarity floating some measuring tape around her neck, and the pegasus turned and glared at her fashion loving friend.

Quickly realizing her mistake, Rarity hastily apologized. "Oh, sorry, darling. Forcive habit."

"I was lucky to even get in here. It seems like my very presence puts ponies on edge now," Starlight remarked with a frown. "And just when I felt like I was finally fitting in around here."

"This is all my fault," Twilight sorrowfully declared, hanging her head and letting out a long sigh. "I got the 'bright idea' to gather up all those friendship lessons and publish them in the journal, then make copies of it. I thought it was a good idea, a chance to leave a lasting impact on Equestria for generations to come. But it looks like it was all a mistake. Ponies don't seem to care about the friendship lessons, they just wanna use the book for their own pursuits."

"Twilight..." Spike began, reaching a claw out to her.

Twilight just shook her head, looking out a castle window at the huge crowd that continued to linger. Various signs, posters, and even balloons decorated the landscape. All the while, ponies could be heard bickering back and forth, shouting all sorts of things at each other.

"What are we gonna do, Twilight?" Starlight asked with concern. "We can't all stay in this castle forever."

"But if we step one hoof outside, those crazed fans will all but tear us to shreds!" Rarity complained. "They'll either ask us a ton of questions, or ask us to sign whatever random merchandise they've acquired!"

"If only there was some way to get 'em to leave." Applejack pondered.

"What do you think, Spike? You're always the one to come up with ideas in a tight spot like this," Twilight suggested, turning to where she expected to see the baby dragon. But he wasn't there, it was like he had vanished. "Spike?" She called. There was no reply. Twilight began to worry! "Has anypony seen Spike?!" She asked with alarm!

A tense silence fell over the room as Starlight replied. "No. I thought he was with you."

The seven ponies frantically searched the entire castle from top to bottom, searching for any sign of Spike. But there was not a trace to be found, it was like he had vanished into thin air!

Rarity let out a gasp and nearly fainted! "He must've gone out to face the crowds on his own, just like you said he did at the royal summit!"

"Oh no!" Twilight exclaimed with alarm, her eyes widening! "Why would he do such a thing?!"





Just then, there came a frantic knock at the castle door! "Oh, what now?!" Twilight complained. "Like it wasn't bad enough being surrounded by mega fans and losing track of Spike!"

But a familiar voice called out. "Twilight, open up, quickly!"

Twilight's heart skipped a beat, there was no mistaking who that voice belonged to! Without a second thought, she rushed straight to the castle door and opened it.

Spike strolled in, but he wasn't alone. Several familiar faces followed him, including: Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, The Cakes, Cheerilee, The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, Lyra, Bon Bon, Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, and tons of school colts and fillies.

"I couldn't let you give up on your dream so easily, Twilight!" Spike firmly and proudly declared. "The Twilight Sparkle I know wouldn't throw in the towel just because someponies got the wrong idea about your friendship journals. That's why I knew I had to go out there, and find ponies who'd actually read them in their entirety."

"But, how did you manage to get past the crowd?" Fluttershy asked the dragon.

Spike smiled. "Easy, I snuck out through a back window. I just couldn't do it on the way back since not everypony is small enough to fit through a window."

"All of you learned something from the friendship journal?" Twilight reluctantly asked, hoping beyond hope that Spike was being truthful and hadn't just been making up something to cheer her up.

"Eeyup, we sure did." Big Macintosh nodded.

"If only I'd have heard these lessons sooner," Diamond Tiara happily declared. "I might have stood up to my mother so much sooner than I did."

"And we wouldn't have that nasty falling out." Silver Spoon added with a smile.

Lyra hugged Bon Bon tightly as she declared. "We were having a hard time trusting each other, even after you broke up our argument the other day."

"But reading your friendship journal, we came to understand that trust and honesty are important virtues for any friendship," Bon Bon added. "And that sometimes, keeping a secret does more harm than good."

Octavia smiled. "Take it from a pony who's been where you seven are now, you can't let all the negative publicity detract from the positive publicity. You're always going to have fans who support you, and others who can't stand you. The important thing is not to let it get under your skin."

Cheerilee added. "I myself learned more than I ever imagined learning through those journals, and the same holds true for a lot of my students. I hope you'll make another edition someday, when you've got even more lessons to write down and record."

"And as long as you're doing that-" Ruby Pinch began.

"-It doesn't matter if someponies miss the point of the journal," Dinky Doo added. "My mother always says: Focus on the positive differences, and try not to worry too much about the negative differences."

With tears of liquid pride welling up inside her, Twilight pulled Spike close and gave him a big wing hug! "Oh Spike, what would I do without you?!" She proudly told the little dragon.

Spike blushed. "Aw shucks, it was nothing, really. But would you mind letting go? You're kind of crushing me."

"Oh, right. Sorry about that." Twilight chuckled and ended the hug. Now it was her turn to blush.





"But what about all those ponies out there? They're not gonna go away anytime soon." Applejack spoke up.

Twilight sighed and took a deep breath. "There's only one thing we can do. Go out there and face them head on. We'll have to be civil and polite, and do our best not to let them get to us," And she then added. "There's no reason why we need to punish all our fans for the actions of the most vocal members. We don't know for sure that everypony thinks like them."

So the seven ponies (along with Spike) reluctantly trotted out of the castle, prepared to face down the hecklers and sign autographs or whatever other sort of merchandise that would be presented to them.

But when they got out there, the group was surprised to find that the crowd had dispersed entirely. Whereas just a short time ago it had been so loud you could barely hear yourself think, now there was not a sound to be heard.

"Where is everypony?" Pinkie wondered aloud.

As if to answer the party pony's question, a quartet of ponies came trotting up. Twilight recognizing them at once as the collectors from Fillydelphia who'd asked her to sign their copies of the journals. "They got tired of waiting for you to come out and went away." The blueish-grey unicorn stallion explained.

"And we wanted you to know, we're not like them," The dull-brown coated unicorn mare added with a nod. "We finally got around to reading those journals because we each reserved an extra copy to keep for ourselves."

The tall, grayish earth pony chimed in. "We didn't like all of the entries, there were some we thought could be done better. But we just wanted to let you know, we think the journals were a wonderful product. Truly a one of a kind."

Twilight beamed with pride upon hearing this! "Thank you so much! You have no idea how glad I am to hear that."

Then the yellow coated unicorn stallion finished. "We'll be sure to tell all our friends about the journals, and the lessons we learned from them. But we also understand you have your own lives and want to be left in peace."

"So if you'll excuse us, we'll be heading back to Fillydelphia now. But we hope to see you all again someday," The blueish-grey unicorn stallion declared and then turned to his friends. "Come on, everypony, let's go home." And they did just that.

"Well, today was certainly an 'adventure' I'll never forget." Rainbow Dash commented.

"You think things will go back to normal before long?" Starlight asked, hopefully.

Twilight nodded. "And even if they don't, at least we can all rest comfortably knowing we've made a difference in so many ponies lives."