"I'll go next." Starlight offered, almost instantly regretting it when several wicked grins were aimed her direction.
"Truth or Dare?" Twilight asked, leaning forward in eager anticipation of the answer.
Starlight gulped. "Uh...I...guess...both?"
Everypony exchanged looks and shrugs. Pinkie had done that, so, ok.
"I got a good one for Truth!" Pinkie said, wriggling in excitement. "What's the absolute goofiest, silliest, craziest thing you've ever done??"
"Uh, you mean besides enslaving a town and messing with time travel?" Dash spoke up, her tone light and playful as she gave a big wink at Starlight to let her know she was teasing.
Starlight chuckled a little. She wasn't as bothered by the completely non-malicious teasing anymore. Everypony took care to ensure that their rare jabs about her past mistakes were kept short and extremely light hearted.
"I think that falls under the category of the dumbest and meanest things I've ever done." She returned, with a small smile.
"Soooooo....what's the silliest and goofiest?" Pinkie asked eagerly.
"Well..." Starlight thought on it for a minute. "I guess the silliest and goofiest and craziest...would probably be that time I freaked out over my friendship lessons and, um, kinda turned you guys into mindless ponies programmed to do whatever I told you to." She blushed.
"Oh yeah. That." Dash said, rolling her eyes.
"Ah still remember feelin' like somepony put me through the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000." Applejack said. "An' then hit me over the head with somethin'."
"Yeah...not one of my finest moments." Starlight agreed.
"On the bright side, at least you didn't have a mean meany evil relapse and tell us to go out and conquer Equestria for you!!" Pinkie piped up. She frowned. "Although you did make me burn cake...which is way, way worse than making us conquer Equestria!"
She gave Starlight a brief glare before giggling.
"How is burning cake worse than-?" Dash started, then stopped. "No, you know what? Never mind. I am not going there."
"Well, you learned your lesson," Twilight said, grinning at her student.
"Yes, I did." Starlight said, winking slyly at the others. "Pay attention to how you mix a spell."
"Exactly!" Twilight said. "I'm so glad you learned...wait, WHAT?!"
Her completely shocked and horrified expression sent Starlight into a fit of giggles, and everypony else joined in.
"Oh, that was rich!" Dash panted. "You should see your face, Twilight!"
Twilight huffed. "Yes, well, I'm glad you're amused." She said drily. "I know she's joking."
"Oh, sure you do!" Dash giggled. "That's why you looked ready to have a heart attack!"
Twilight sighed. "Ok. Point taken. Now, does somepony have a dare ready?"
The group sat in silence, frowning as they tried to come up with one. Suddenly, Dash grinned.
"I got one!" She said. "Starlight, I dare you to eat a spoonful of Super Spicy Sauce and not drink water for one whole minute!"
"Well, that's mean." Spike commented.
"Especially since she hates really spicy foods." Rarity added, glaring at Dash.
"Well, if you have a better one...!" Dash huffed.
"I dare you to eat a bite out of a Pinkie Pie Shocking Surprise Special Sandwich." Spike offered, smirking.
All eyes went to Pinkie, who had graduated from giggling to outright hysterical laughter, and shuddered. With the exception of Starlight and the Crusaders, everypony had been on the recieving end of one of those sandwiches.
It had been a miracle that any of them lived to tell the tale.
Pinkie's method of making them was to completely let her randomness take over and put whatever ingredients on them she could get her hooves on. The result was always a very shocking disaster...that usually left the pony who tried it swearing they would never, ever eat any kind of sandwich Pinkie gave them again. Ever.
"Spike." Twilight said. "That's beyond mean. That's just...just...cruel and unusual punishment!"
"Oh, come on, how bad can it be?" Starlight asked. "Its just a sandwich!"
"No, Starlight. It is not just a sandwich." Rarity said, shuddering as she looked at Pinkie and lowered her voice a little. "Its the Sandwich of Near Death Experiences!"
Dash snickered at that...only to grimace at the remembrance of her own run in with the sandwich. It had not been at all pleasant.
"Oh, it can't be that bad." Starlight said. "It sounds fun! Pinkie Pie! Make me one of your Pinkie Pie Shocking Surprise Special Sandwiches!!"
"Okie Dokie Lokie!!" Pinkie giggled, whipping several items from her mane and bouncing over to the picnic basket for some bread(thoughtfully packed by Fluttershy).
Twilight gazed at Starlight for a moment, shaking her head sadly.
"Oh, my poor, poor naive student." She said mournfully, as if said student had just been condemned to execution.
"We shall miss you dearly, darling." Rarity said, with a sniff.
"Yeah, its been nice knowing you." Dash offered.
Starlight rolled her eyes and looked over at Pinkie, who had somehow just made the sandwich in ten seconds and put it on a plate. She gave it to Starlight, who eyed it. It looked pretty ordinary. She picked it up with her magic and took a huge bite(at which point Fluttershy covered her eyes and the others grimaced).
"This isn't so bad." Starlight said around the mouthful, chewing.
And then her eyes grew impossibly wide and she started turning greener than a purple unicorn could be thought to turn.
A mix of awful flavours had just assaulted her taste buds. A strong mint, combined with mustard, ketchup, what tasted like strawberry frosting, bannana, berry, chocolate....and a host of other things. Including pepper. Lots of spicy pepper. She dropped the sandwich and spit her half chewed mouthful out.
"GAAAAAAAAAGH!!!" She screeched, staggering back. "HOT! SWEET! YUCK! WATER! HELP!"
Twilight hastily levitated over a bottle of apple cider, and Starlight snatched it up and downed the entire contents in less than six seconds while the others shook with silent laughter...and simultaneously winced in sympathy. Starlight collapsed on the grass, gasping.
"What...was in...that...sandwich??!" She demanded.
Pinkie giggled. "Here's all I used!" She said, holding out a collection of items.
Chocolate syrup, ketchup, mustard, strawberry frosting, mixed berry jam, pepper...all kinds of stuff. But what got Starlight was the last 'ingredient' she laid eyes on.
"YOU PUT TOOTHPASTE ON A SANDWICH?! WHY IN EQUESTRIA DID YOU DO THAT?!"
"Silly filly!" Pinkie giggled. "So you could clean your teeth while you eat, duh!"
And to the absolute horror of all those watching...particularly Starlight...Pinkie Pie threw the remaining sandwich into her mouth and ate it. She frowned.
"Hmm...could use more chocolate and frosting next time!"
Starlight very nearly lost the contents of her picnic lunch. Dash looked a bit green, and the others didn't look much better.
"Ok..." Rarity said weakly. "Who goes next?"
"That'd be me. I'm actually last." Spike said.
Starlight grabbed another bottle of cider and drank some, still trying to rid herself of the horrible taste of the sandwich. She glared at the dragon.
"You will regret this, Spike." She promised, sourly.
"Hey, nopony made you pick my dare!" He retorted. "You had another option! It's your fault you chose the dare I gave you, not mine!"
Starlight only glared harder, as if she was trying to glare him into an early grave. He rolled his eyes.
"Alright, Spike. Truth or Dare?" Applejack asked.
"Dare!" Spike said, then caught the absolutely evil grin that spread across Starlight's face. He sighed.
"Ooh, I got one!" Scootaloo piped up eagerly. "Spike, I dare you to hold a gem in your teeth for ten minutes and not eat it!"
"Scoots, that's so mean!" Sweetie Belle gasped. Then she giggled. "But I second it!"
"Me too!" Apple Bloom yelled.
"You guys are terrible." Spike said flatly.
"That was pretty good, actually." Twilight said. "We all know how much you love gems, Spike. And I just happen to have packed one for you..." She grinned deviously.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Spike said indignantly. "But, um, can I see that gem?"
Twilight giggled as she pulled it from her saddlebag and levitated it above his head. It was a good sized green gem(Spike's favourite), and his mouth instantly started watering.
"Soooo yummy..." he moaned. Then he shook his head. "Anypony else?"
"Yeah, I have one." Starlight said. "Spike, I dare you...." She paused for dramatic affect.
Spike waited. And waited. And waited. After a full minute, he finally exploded.
"Ugh! Tell me already!"
Starlight grinned wickedly. "I dare you take that gem and-"
Before she could finish, Spike had nabbed the gem from Twilight's magic and was...cuddling it?
"Oh, my sweet, sweet gem!" He moaned, hugging it tightly. "So sweet, so juicy! So delicious! Oh...how I love the way the light sparkles on your crystal green surface! Oh, sweet, precious gem!"
"Well, I was going to tell him to give it to somepony else." Starlight said. "But this...this is gold."
"No, Darling, its an emerald." Rarity said. "And a very, very fine one at that. Spike has impeccable taste."
"Oh, precious gem!" Spike moaned, oblivious to the mixture of incredulous, shocked, and disgusted looks he was getting. "Sweet, tender, succulent, delicious, juicy, amazing, delectable gem!!"
"Oh for Celestia's sake, somepony snap him out of this!" Dash groaned. "This is getting really awkward!!"
"Why?" Twilight asked, grinning.
"Why?! Because he's having a Celestia-darned love affair with a gem!!! A gem, Twilight!!" Dash burst out. "Its even more disturbing and sickening than Pinkie and her short-lived love of Frank the Feather! He's your dragon, Twilight; make him stop!"
"I actually find it quite amusingly adorable." Rarity said, smiling.
"Yeah? Ah'm kinda surprised, Rarity, after your intense affection for...Tom." Applejack smirked.
Rarity glared daggers at her. "I thought we were never going to speak of that hideous, Discord induced incident ever again!" She growled.
"Forget Tom!" Dash snapped. "Focus on Spike! He's the one with the problem now! He's....Sweet Celestia! What the hay?!"
Spike had switched from moaning over his gem to tasting it. He had his eyes closed.
"Mmm...tastes like lime." He mused as he gave it another lick.
"I can't watch this!" Dash groaned, looking ill. "Twilight, please! Make. Him. Stop!!!"
Twilight giggled. "Ok, Dash. Ok."
She reached out and seperated the gem and the dragon.
"Hey!" Spike exclaimed.
"You can have back it later, Spike." Twilight giggled. "Meantime, I don't think this counted as a dare, so we need to give you another one. Without gems involved."
"How about I dare you to drink a bottle of hot sauce?" Dash said.
"Fire doesn't really bother me, Dash." Spike said. "I breathe fire, and I also have the ability to swim in boiling hot lava. Hot sauce doesn't faze me."
"Then I dare you to eat a bite of one of Pinkie's sandwiches!" Starlight said.
"Nope. Had one before."
"Well...then...I dare you to...to..." Starlight tried to think but came up empty.
"I dare ya to tell us a secret about ya nopony knows!" Applejack supplied.
"Good one!" Dash said.
Spike looked a bit ill. "Do I have to?"
"Hey, you picked Dare! You gotta do what you're told!" Dash said.
"Well...ok." Spike said. He thought. "Um...I never told anypony this one. I, um...I'm not really a dragon." He sighed mournfully. "I'm really...a reformed changeling. I replaced the real Spike ages ago."
He looked dead serious. All eyes were fastened on him, all mouths hung open in shocked silence. Dash nearly fell over and Twilight looked ready to stroke out on the spot. Spike looked around and then snickered.
"Gotcha." He collapsed in a fit of hysterical laughter.
"That...was so...mean!" Dash gasped.
"Oh, but your faces!" Spike howled.
He continued to laugh while everypony glared at him. Once he finally calmed down, he took a breath.
"No, actually, one secret that I have that only Pinkie knows, is that sometimes, I show off my muscles in a mirror and tell myself I'm looking real good." He blushed a little.
"Ok, then." Dash muttered. "Spike is officially as weird as Pinkie Pie. Sheesh."
They all sat in silence for a bit, then Twilight spoke.
"If Spike was last, do we want to quit now, or start over?"
"I say we call it quits." Dash said. "Its getting late in the day."
The others agreed and started cleaning up, laughing and talking about today's dares and truths. They had almost finished when a familiar voice rang out loud and clear.
"Just one minute!!! The Great and Powerful Trixie has been listening! I demand a chance to play!!"
Everypony turned, and there, in all her smirking, arrogant glory, stood the blue coated magician. She grinned in Starlight's direction.
"That is, may Trixie please have a turn?"
"Well, since you asked nicely..." Starlight answered, and they all settled back down for a final round of the game.