“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
Come the second week of school, all Twilight heard in the halls between classes were discussions about the Welcome Back Ball. Mares talked about dresses and trends for the new autumn season, and the stallions mused who they would like to take as dates.
Twilight looked forward to the day of the dance for entirely different reasons. While Moondancer was a quiet and considerate roommate, the walls and ceilings of the dorm were too thin for Twilight’s liking. Sudden thumps from above, or loud conversations and laughter from next door went a long way in irritating Twilight while she was studying.
The dance would also provide Twilight a night of practicing her magic in her room instead of trying to find the most isolated area on campus and praying nopony walked in on her. She had been following Princess Celestia’s instructions, relaxing her body and mind before casting spells. It proved highly effective, allowing Twilight to practice some of the more complicated spells her classes had been studying. However, she could only get herself to relax half of the time. Every time she thought she heard hoofsteps, the paranoia of another pony discovering her broke her concentration entirely.
But, come Saturday, she would have an entire evening of silence while the rest of the school squandered their time at a frivolous festival. She didn’t begrudge anypony for wanting to go. School functions—as much of a distraction as they could be—were a great way to bring the students together and raise morale.
Twilight simply wanted no part in it.
She did feel a little bad when it came to Moondancer. As the week slipped by, she grew increasingly nervous, looking paler than Twilight thought possible for her complexion.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the dance?” Moondancer asked again Wednesday night.
Twilight turned the page in her Enchanting Enchantments! Vol. 3 textbook. “Sorry, Moondancer. Maybe I’ll go to the next one.”
Moondancer wasn’t the only pony trying to convince her to go.
As Twilight hurriedly ate her lunch on Thursday so she could get to the library before class, Lyra, Vinyl, and Minuette sauntered up to the table. The amicable smiles on their faces told Twilight they wanted to be social, and all she could do was hope she wouldn’t have to intervene on behalf of Moondancer again.
Moondancer had stopped eating as the Class Zero members approached, spoon halfway to her mouth. “Uhh… hello.”
Minuette gave her the winning smile she had first greeted Twilight with. “Hey there! Have we formally met? I’m Minuette, and these are my friends, Lyra and Vinyl.”
Moondancer gave a shell-shocked sort of nod. “O-of course I know who you are. You’re the best in the school, Miss Minuette! I remember the speech you gave at the entrance exams! It inspired me to do my best!” Each of Moondancer’s sentences came out faster than the previous one.
Lyra gave an equally large grin. “Yeah, that sounds like something Minnie would do. I always said she could be an inspirational speaker. Or a cheerleader. Too bad there’s no cheer squad for the academic decathlon or magic dueling clubs.”
“Please, I would never join anyway. I know how catty those mares can be.” Minuette tapped her chin. “But the outfit would be cute though…. Anyway, Twilight, Rarity tells us you aren’t going to the ball on Saturday.”
Twilight breathed deep through her nose to stop herself from sighing in irritation. “I’m sorry, but dances aren’t something I see myself going to. I would rather be doing something productive.”
Minuette opened her mouth, froze for a split second, then closed it and nodded. “Okay. I’ll respect that.”
Lyra gaped at her. “Wait, that’s it? You’re not going to badger her like you did Twinkleshine? You’re giving up just like that? You feeling okay, Minnie?”
“Yep! Feeling peachy-keen!” She gave an honest smile. “But, I won’t pester Twilight into doing something she isn’t comfortable with. All I can say is that, I think you’d have a lot of fun, Twilight.”
A whole night of social interaction with a group of strange ponies while loud music blasted around her? That was near the bottom of Twilight’s ‘fun’ list. “I appreciate you respecting my decision, Minuette,” she said cordially.
“Of course. The girls and I were going to go hang out after class this afternoon. Would you like to at least come with us to that. You’re more than welcome to join us, Moondancer.”
Moondancer’s eyes widened to saucers. “Oh, I… I don’t… I mean, I would like to… but…” She dissolved into quiet murmurings.
Twilight looked down at the remainder of her lunch. On one hoof, she had already wasted valuable time today chatting with these girls and wouldn’t get that head start on her Language Arts paper she had hoped for. On the other, that was what Saturday was for.
“Sure, I’ll join you,” Twilight said. It would make up for not going to the dance.
Minuette did a little prance. “Yaay! Meet us at the front gate at four. Come on, girls!”
“See ya soon, Twi! Lyra said. “This way, Vinyl!”
Vinyl, who had not said a word, gave Twilight and Moondancer a grin before turning after Lyra.
“So, would you like to come along?” Twilight asked Moondancer.
Moondancer swallowed a lump in her throat. “I couldn’t! That’s all of the school’s best students in one place! Do you know how intimidating that is?”
Twilight shrugged. “Sure, they’re the best students, but trust me, they don’t act like it.” It was only after she said it that she realized how condescending it might have sounded. “It’s up to you, but I’m sure you’d be fine.”
Of course, that was if Moondancer could get through the evening without saying something to put the others on edge. Twilight noticed Rarity and Fleur had not visited them again since their last conversation.
After lunch, Twilight had her Mathematics class, then stopped by her room to drop off her book bag. Moondancer walked in a few minutes later, still looking nervous.
“I can’t do it,” she said, collapsing into her desk chair. “I don’t want to embarrass myself. And it’s going to take all my social energy to go to the dance this weekend. I might as well save it.”
Twilight nodded in understanding, and at a quarter to four, she set out alone to the front of the school. A purple scarf lay coiled around her neck, something she appreciated when the first gust of wind hit her.
The front gates were wide open, the occasional pair or group of students walking through them. Twilight waited patiently under the nearest tree to the gate, watching the leaves fall. In a week’s time, the trees would be bare. Canterlot’s weather factory would then create a nice rainstorm to sweep all the leaves off the street, as they did every year.
Twilight didn’t have to wait very long for her classmates to show up. They all filed down the street, chatting breezily with one another. Twilight noticed Blueblood and Trixie were absent from the group. Not that she minded too much.
“Hey, look who’s punctual,” Lyra said. “She might give you a run for your money, Minnie.”
Minuette just smiled and kept trotting, pulling Twilight into their little group as she passed. “Your little friend decided not to join us?”
“No. She was a little too nervous.”
Fleur muttered something, but was politely shushed by Rarity.
“That’s all right,” Minuette said, leading them out the gate, “maybe next time. I’m super glad you decided to come though! All work and no play makes us dull ponies!”
“You sound like my parents,” Twilight grumbled.
Their party of six walked through the neighborhoods, over the bridge, and into the heart of the city. Being a cool and cloudy evening, the streets weren’t as crowded as normal. Ponies out and about had begun to wrap themselves in scarves and thin coats.
Pumpkins large and small were on display at several fruit stands, some of them already carved with images of rearing unicorns, castles, and magic sparkles.
“They’re getting ready for the Unity Festival early this year,” Lyra said. She pointed to large pumpkin. “Oh, that one has a really good carving of the castle in it, Vinyl!”
Vinyl didn’t look. She merely bobbed her head, like she did at all of Lyra’s commentary. Twilight flicked an ear in confusion. Was Vinyl being rude? Or was she just so used to Lyra’s non-stop talking that she knew Lyra wouldn’t take offense if she ignored some things? It was hard to read Vinyl’s expression with those sunglasses of hers.
They stopped first at a fabric store, so Rarity could gather a few last minute supplies to finish the dresses for the dance. Twilight gawked when Rarity came out, levitating multiple bags of cloth, ribbons, and sequence.
“Do you make dresses for every social occasion?” Twilight asked.
“I certainly try,” Rarity said, batting her eyelashes.
“But, how do you have time to properly study if you’re… you’re…” Twilight wanted to say ‘frivolously wasting your time’, but settled with, “playing dress up?”
In hindsight, it wasn’t much better, but it made Rarity titter amusedly. “It’s called multitasking, Twilight. ‘Playing dress up’ is how I unwind and relax. And when I’m devoid of inspiration—which can happen at a moment’s notice—I throw myself back into my studies.”
It wasn’t as if Twilight didn’t comprehend being able to multitask, she could read several books at once, it just seemed like dressmaking was so important to Rarity and demanded a good amount of time. How was Rarity this far up the educational ladder?
Instead of doughnuts like the last time Twilight had ventured out with them, they went to a hayburger restaurant on the corner of a busy intersection, and took seats outside on the terrace.
“The perfect place for stallion watching,” Rarity said. The other mares giggled.
Twilight stared at them, raising a deadpan eyebrow. “That’s why you wanted to come out?”
“Aw, c’mon, you stick in the mud,” Lyra said, “It’s harmless fun. We sit here, eat a burger, ogle some stallions we think might make good dates, and maybe, just maybe if we’re daring enough, we’ll ask him out.”
This is inane, Twilight thought, pulling the menu toward her. Cheesy hayfries and a caramel milkshake almost looked good enough to justify her coming out today.
“Oooh, he’s cute,” Minuette said, pointing to a long maned blonde stallion strutting past.
Lyra shook her head. “Nah. He looks too much like Blueblood.”
“Honestly, guys, Bluey isn’t that bad,” Minuette said.
“To you,” Fleur said, “because he doesn’t hit on you every chance he gets.”
They took a pause from stallion watching to look at their menus. Twilight, having decided what she wanted minutes ago, sat with one hoof propping her head up. She tried to find something interesting to look at that wasn’t the passing pedestrians, stallion or otherwise.
Her eyes continuously roved over Lyra and Vinyl, who were sitting right across from her. Vinyl hadn’t touched her menu, but Lyra had hers levitated between them and appeared to be reading it to Vinyl.
“I’m getting the hayburger supreme! ‘Deep fried, smothered in our secret sauce, and piled with your favorite veggies!’ How does that sound?”
“Like I’ll be rolling you out of here in a wheelbarrow,” Vinyl said with a smirk. “I’ll just have the classic and some hayfries. What kind of drinks do they have?”
Everything snapped into place, and before she could stop herself, Twilight blurted out, “Oh, you’re blind!”
She took solace in the fact that nopony else, apart from their approaching waiter, was out on the terrace with them. Everyone froze and stared at her, and Fleur let out a disgruntled sigh and pressed her hoof to her forehead.
“Another one with no tact.”
Twilight felt like she had jumped into a fireplace. She shrunk into her seat as low as she could go a muttered, “Sorry. I just… ahem… forget I said that.”
None of them, aside from Fleur, looked angry, or even disgruntled, merely stunned at Twilight’s outburst. In fact, Vinyl made a small snort of amusement.
“Wow, I thought you had figured that out days ago.”
Some of the tension melted away. Lyra made a weak chuckle, as did Minuette. Everyone else stopped sitting with their shoulders raised. Twilight lifted herself up a fraction of an inch. She watched Vinyl, not daring to say anything yet.
“Yeah, I’m blind,” Vinyl said casually. “Have been since I was about three. One bad accident and, poof, all gone. I mean, I can still see some vague shapes and shadows, but other than that, it’s just a lot of gray.”
Her horn flared up, the same shade as her magenta sunglasses. “I’m real good at the echolocation spell though. Helps me turn those shapes into outlines so I can see where stuff is. And of course, I’ve got Lyra.”
Lyra gave a sheepish wave. “Yeah, me and Vinyl have been BFFs forever. I felt super bad when I found out she was blind, that I kinda smothered her and tried to help her with everything until she told me to calm down. Now I just help her with easy stuff, like keeping all her tools organized, setting up her sound equipment, and describing things for her.”
Vinyl grinned. “She never stops talking, so I always know where she is.”
Twilight gave a numb nod. She was glad Vinyl was taking this all in stride, yet her insides still squirmed with guilt. Looking back at her menu to double check what she wanted only provided a minor distraction. Twilight felt she should say something, but had no idea what, and the longer she waited, the smaller the window for appropriate responses became.
“Well, umm, the fact that you’re in Class Zero is even more impressive, right?” Twilight remembered using those same words when she learned Fleur was half earth pony. She followed up with, what she hoped was, a sincere smile.
Vinyl snorted again, while Fleur gave Twilight a look that bordered on contempt. Twilight instantly stopped smiling and turned her head to examine a flower pot. The awkward silence came to an end when their waiter stepped forward to take their orders.
Twilight no longer felt hungry, but ordered her fries and milkshake anyway. When the waitress left, she resumed staring at the potted plants, while Lyra pointed out another stallion walking by.
I should have stayed home, she thought, both to continue studying and avoid embarrassing social situations like this. She now had even more sympathy for Moondancer.
Twilight was glad when their food arrived, it gave her something to focus on rather than staring blankly into space. She ate slowly, her stomach still bubbling with mortification.
Minuette gave her a gentle nudge and smiled. “Relax, Twi,” she said in a low voice so the others couldn’t hear, “you’re not the first person to make a faux pas about Vinyl’s vision, and I doubt you’ll be the last.”
“Mmm,” was all Twilight could think to say. Her being counted among the number of rude and ignorant ponies Vinyl would have to deal with didn’t make her feel any better.
Their late lunch came to an end half an hour later, and they began their walk back to campus, Twilight lagging behind.
“I think I’ll just go to the dance by myself this year,” she heard Rarity say. “I’m too busy finishing up these dresses anyway to worry about a date.”
“A date would be nice though,” Minuette said wistfully. “But, as long as you’re all there, I’m sure we’ll have a good time!”
Twilight tried not to roll her eyes at the cheesiness of it all. As soon as they had passed through the gates, she took a shortcut through the trees back to the dorms. She had almost reached the doors when she heard a voice behind her.
“I’m guessing you didn’t have that good of a time?”
“Gah!” Twilight jumped and spun around. Minuette was standing by the last tree, a sympathetic smile on her face. Twilight looked around. None of the other girls were anywhere in sight.
“How did you…?” Twilight shook her head. “No, not really. I should have stayed inside.”
“Twilight, what you said really wasn’t that bad. Trust me, Vinyl isn’t going to hold onto this. You shouldn’t either,” Minuette gently.
Twilight cringed, her own words playing back in her ears. “Easier said than done. And it wasn’t just that. What did anyone even accomplish by going out today?”
“Accomplish?” Minuette tapped a hoof to her chin. “Well, Rarity got more dress supplies. But, Twilight, when friends hang out, they don’t have to accomplish anything. They just have to have fun, enjoy each other’s company, you know?”
Seeing as Twilight had experienced neither, she considered the afternoon wasted, but telling that to Minuette’s face seemed just as rude as blurting out Vinyl’s blindness.
Minuette seemed to read her well enough though. “Listen, I’m sorry you didn’t have a lot of fun. But, I hope you won’t let this one instance turn you away from hanging out with us more. We’ll do something really fun next time, I promise.”
The smile she gave seemed genuine enough. Twilight decided to at least meet her halfway and say, “I’ll think about it.”
Minuette nodded happily. “Great! Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Twi!”
Twilight waved her off before heading inside. Minuette’s smile contrasted well against Fleur’s scowl and Lyra’s look of second-hoof embarrassment. “Well, at least one of them doesn’t hate me.”
“Relax your mind, Twilight.”
“Yes. Sorry, Princess.”
“No need to apologize. Just relax.”
Twilight kept her eyes close, willing herself to dive down and find her ocean of magic. She could see it glimmering in the darkness, but everytime she got close, the events of yesterday would flash before her inner eye, and she would cringe.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to concentrate harder. With a final push, she made contact with her reserve of power, feeling her horn tingle.
“Now,” Princess Celestia, “hold onto that connection. Your magic is going to try to surge forth, but remember, you are the one in control. You decide how much power you want to use.”
Indeed, now that Twilight had found her magic, it was trying to rush out of her. She funneled the energy to her horn and could hear magic crackling and popping over her head.
“Tame it, Twilight. It’s yours to control.”
It was a balancing act. Twilight fought to keep the connection without the magic rushing up to explode out of her. She forcefully shoved it back down to get the popping to stop, but realized she was pushing herself away from the source as a result.
“Just relax, Twilight.”
“Relax, Twi, you’re not the first person to make a faux pass about Vinyl’s vision…”
Twilight’s eyes snapped open. A magenta blast shot from her horn, bounced off the ceiling, and hit the silver teapot sitting on the table between her and Celestia. The teapot grew six metal legs and started to scuttle around, steam puffing from its spout.
Celestia’s horn blinked gold, and the teapot returned to normal. She lifted it up and poured her and Twilight new cups of tea. “Is something wrong, Twilight? You seem distracted today.”
Twilight massaged the base of her horn. Managing her magic left her with a dull ache. “Not really. I just… I sort of embarrassed myself yesterday. Now, I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Ah, I see.” Celestia sipped her tea. “Yes, the wrong things we do have a habit of sticking with us longer than the right things. If I may, what did you do that troubles you so much?”
Twilight looked down at her cup, her ears folding back. “I… I didn’t know Vinyl was blind, and when I realized, I sort of just blurted it out in front of everyone.”
Celestia nodded in understanding.
“I mean, Vinyl didn’t seem to mind, and Minuette said it was no big deal, but really, who does that? I just pointed out her disability! I’m sure she doesn’t need somepony else reminding her about it! And the looks everypony else gave me! I knew going out with them was a bad idea, but I did it anyway! Sure, Minuette still likes me, but from what I can tell, she likes everyone!”
She wasn’t sure when, but at some point during her rant, Twilight had gotten to her hooves. She sat down again and took a long sip of her tea. It felt good to get that off her chest, she just wish she hadn’t unloaded it on the Princess.
“Do you know what I like to see, Twilight?” Celestia said once Twilight had finished drinking.
“Umm, no, what?”
“Ponies who reflect on their actions. It means they’re willing to mature and grow.” She gave Twilight a motherly smile. “I know you didn’t mean to put Vinyl Scratch on the spot like that. And having interacted with her, I can assure you, she is quite… I believe young ponies use the term ‘chill’. I am certain she’ll take it in stride.”
Twilight looked down again. “I mean, I guess.”
“Did you apologize after realizing your mistake?”
“Kind of? It wasn’t really a formal apology. You’re right, I should give her one,” Twilight said before Celestia could say anything.
Celestia chuckled and nodded. “Good. And just because you had one undesirable outing doesn’t mean you should shut yourself off from doing it again.”
Twilight circled her hoof around her teacup. “Minuette told me something similar,” she murmured.
“Minuette is a very smart mare. As are you, Twilight. Though, even you can admit, your social skills are a little lacking.”
Despite Celestia’s kind tone, Twilight still flinched. “Y-yes. It’s just… easier to spend time with a book instead of other ponies. Besides, I’m sure I’ll contribute more to society with my studying, not my social circle.”
Celestia gently shook her head. “I see no reason why you can’t do both.” She stood up and walked over to a portrait hanging on the wall of the circular room they were practicing in.
“Do you know how many friends I’ve made in my long life, Twilight?”
Twilight cocked her head to the side. “Um, no?”
Celestia smiled at the portrait. A bright pink pegasus with a messy blue mane smiled back at her. “Neither do I. I lost count a long time ago. But, I treasure each friendship I made. Everyone I met taught me something new, about myself, about the world, about friendship.”
She looked back at Twilight. “Now, do you know how Discord was defeated?”
Twilight straightened up. “Yes! You and the five other heroes used the Elements of Harmony on him and turned him to stone!”
“Correct. And do you know how the Elements work?”
“Oh, umm…” Twilight tilted her head to the other side. “They’re the most powerful magical artifacts in existence, aren’t they? So, magic?”
“In a sense.” Celestia walked over to Twilight and lowered her head to whisper into Twilight’s ear. “Would you like to hear a secret?”
Twilight nodded fervently.
“Friendship is magic.”
Celestia lifted her head, smiling at Twilight’s befuddled expression. “In my opinion, it’s the most powerful magic of all. That’s how we defeated Discord all those years ago.” She carried herself to the window and looked at the pink and orange sky.
“All of ponykind: unicorn, pegasi, and earth ponies would be so much stronger together. I’ve seen individuals from each race come together and form lifelong friendships. But as a whole, they’re all still too hesitant.”
Twilight watched her, unsure of what to say. It wasn’t like she was against the idea of making friends. She just had more important things to do. And if yesterday was any indication, she was bad at it.
Celestia returned to her seat across from Twilight. “I instill not only magic lessons in my students, Twilight, but friendship lessons whenever I can.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. Oh no.
“So,” Celestia smiled in a way that made Twilight certain she could read minds. “When we aren’t practicing magic, I would like you to try and make some friends, get to know at least a couple of your classmates. I promise you, your life will be richer for it.”
“But, but, but!” In lieu of an actual retort, Twilight felt stammering might prove her case of why she thought this was a poor idea.
Celestia’s volume didn’t increase, and her look didn’t harden, but she said in a firm voice, “No buts. Consider it part of your education under me. Not something to be graded on though, and I don’t want any written assignments. You alone will know how much you’ve truly progressed from this.”
“But, I’ve already shown that I’m not good with social interactions,” Twilight said, bordering on a whine.
“And the only way you’ll get better is by doing it again.”
Twilight wanted to drop her head against the desk, but considering there were cups of hot tea sitting on the surface, she settled for hunching her shoulders and sighing deeply.
Celestia placed a lump of sugar in her tea and stirred. “Sunset had a similar reaction. Then, Minuette showed up and they’ve been best friends since.”
Twilight knew there was no way out of this. Even if it wasn’t going to be graded or properly evaluated, it was an assignment from the Princess. Who was she to say no? But how did she even go about doing this? Did she just walk up to somepony and ask if they wanted to hang out? Twilight supposed she already had Moondancer. She was always asking Twilight to spend time with her.
“Might I recommend going to the school dance tomorrow?” Celestia asked. “It’s put on mostly to welcome new students.”
“I don’t know,” Twilight said, heart starting to beat faster. “There’s going to be a lot of ponies there. And I was going to spend tomorrow studying and writing one of my essays.”
Celestia hummed quietly to herself. Her horn lit up, and a wrinkled old parchment suddenly appeared next to her. “How about I make a deal with you? You go to the dance for one whole hour, and I’ll let you read some of Starswirl's earliest notes on his magical theories.”
Twilight’s eyes enlarged to dinner plates and her jaw hit the floor. Sweet, ancient, arcane knowledge floated right before her, written by Starswirl the Bearded no less! All she had to do was attended a social function for an hour.
The Princess drove a hard bargain, but Twilight nodded, only because her vocal chords no longer wanted to function.
“Excellent.” Starswirl’s notes disappeared, and Celestia took another sip of tea. “One day, I’ll be able to encourage friendship without the use of bribery.”
Despite what she had told everyone, Twilight found herself getting ready for the Welcome Back Ball on Saturday evening. If there was any consolation other than ancient writing from history’s greatest sorcerer, it was that Moondancer no longer had to go alone.
“I’m so glad you’re going!” she said for the third time as she pulled her mane up into her topknot. “I was worried I was going to stand in a corner all night. At least now I’ll have someone to talk to.”
Twilight nodded, running a brush through her own mane. She hadn’t told Moondancer about the bribe, or that she was only going to be there for an hour. She didn’t intend to ditch Moondancer, but Twilight was not going to stay a minute longer than she needed to.
From her closet, she pulled out a simple pink gown her parents had packed for formal occasions. It had fake diamonds sewn into the hem, and puffy shoulders.
Moondancer wore a large purple ball gown with even larger sleeves than Twilight’s. Twilight didn’t know much about fashion, but she thought Moondancer might be overdressed by the way she waddled more than walked. Her thick glasses didn’t help either, but Twilight kept her thoughts to herself.
At a quarter to six, they left their dorm and headed for the grand ballroom in the back of Harmony Hall. Students flocked toward the dance in pairs or in groups, some dressed casually, others wearing extravagant dresses and suits.
An archway of balloons stood before the doors to the ballroom, gold and purple like their uniforms. A banner reading, ‘Welcome home!’ hung just inside the large doorway. Inside, the lights had already been turned low, so it was hard to see anything, but Twilight could make out a large oval room held up by six marble pillars. Streamers coiled from the chandelier in the center to the pillars and wrapped down to their base.
Hundreds of small balls of light floated around the room, flickering in different colors. Twilight held a hoof out as one passed by. It was pleasantly warm.
“Will-o-wisps,” Professor Inkwell said, hobbling toward Twilight. Save for a pearl necklace, she hadn’t dressed up for the occasion. “The friendly kind. Professor Forethought has a collection of them in the greenhouses. Gives a bit of atmosphere, eh?”
“Yes, they’re very nice,” Twilight said politely. “I’m surprised you’re here, Professor.”
Professor Inkwell let out a hoarse laugh. “Why should I let you sprouts have all the fun? Maybe I can’t move the way I used to, but I still like a good party. But, I’m here to make sure it doesn’t get too good, if you know what I mean.” She chuckled again.
Students congregated on the outer edge of the dance floor, talking and getting snacks from the long table against the wall. Against the back wall of the room, a turntable and sound system had been set up, and to Twilight’s surprise, she saw Vinyl and Lyra doing soundcheck.
“Excuse me,” Twilight said to Moondancer and Professor Inkwell, who had started a small conversation about matter transference.
Twilight strode down the middle of the dance floor. When she got to the center, the marble vanished beneath her hooves, replaced by verdant grass and bushes, yet, she could still feel the stone beneath her hooves. She looked up to see the pillars were covered with vines and branches, and the walls had melted into thick canopy.
The other students, ‘oooh’d’ at the sight around them, waving their hooves through the illusions. Twilight followed suit, stepping through a very convincing bush like it was air. It was some of the best illusion magic she had seen.
She finished making her way to the back wall just as Vinyl slipped on a headset and adjusted her mic. “Ready, Lyra?”
“Hang on,” she said, dropping to cables from her magic. “Twilight’s here.”
Vinyl looked in her direction. “Oh hey! What’s up, Twi?”
Twilight rubbed her fetlocks together. “Umm… well, I wanted to formally apologize for what happened on Thursday. I really didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable in any way.”
Vinyl lifted the mic away from her mouth. “Geez, are you still on that?” She hopped down from the DJ stand and felt her way toward Twilight. Lyra quickly nudged a few things out of her way.
“Twi, do you want to hear a story?” Vinyl asked, putting a hoof around Twilight’s neck and bringing her close.
Twilight locked up for a moment, but forced herself to relax. “Sure?”
“It’s my first day of second grade. I just moved here from Fillydelphia, so I’m the new kid, you know? It’s recess and my aide goes off to use the bathroom real quick. He tells me not to go anywhere, but I’m like, seven, I’m not gonna listen. So, I go off and try to pretend I’m still normal and stuff, usin’ my echolocation to try and see. Then, wham, I walk straight into somepony.
“Next thing I know, some crazy filly is yelling at me and jabbing me with her hoof, telling me I should watch where I was going and only an idiot would bump into her. She goes on and on, and finally asks me if I’m blind or something. I tell her yes.”
Vinyl snickered. “That shut her up real quick. My aide comes over and asks what happened, and now she’s apologizing so hard, she starts crying and promising to make it up to me. You wanna know who that filly was?”
Twilight’s eyes drifted over to Lyra, whose face was very pink.
“I… um, had some anger issues back then.”
Vinyl clapped a hoof against Twilight’s back. “So yeah, don’t sweat it. Nopony has ever come close to being as bad as Lyra when she first met me. And look, we’re best friends now.”
That was the part of the story that confused Twilight. How did Vinyl become best friends with someone who had acted so belligerent toward her at first? Was that how friendship worked? Vinyl was so relaxed and calm, while Lyra talked a mile a minute and was so excitable.
Twilight couldn’t piece it together. She shook her head and moved on, at least feeling better about what she had said. She felt a little bad about the embarrassment shifting to Lyra, though Lyra seemed to have already recovered because she was enthusiastically digging through the collection of records.
“So, you’re DJing the party?” Twilight asked.
Vinyl nodded. “Like, I love building things, but music is my true passion. I usually DJ small parties, but Minuette put in a good word for me, so the event committee agreed that I could host this!”
“That’s really cool!” Twilight looked at the turntable and sounding board. “Did you build all this?”
“Yep. Took awhile, and Lyra was a great help, but I finished it last year. Having a setup I built from scratch helps me know where everything is.”
“But, I’m always right behind her if she needs help!” Lyra said proudly, wearing several records around her horn.
“Lyra, I told you not to do that, you’re going to scratch them,” Vinyl said, not even looking in Lyra’s direction.
Lyra pouted but gently removed them and set them in their proper packaging.
Twilight bid them farewell so they could finish their soundcheck. A few minutes later, a steady beat bounced off the tree-covered walls, and students flocked to the dance floor.
“CSGU, make some noise if you’re ready to par-tay!” Vinyl said over the mic. The crowd made an ecstatic cheer in response. Vinyl whooped and started mixing sounds, nodding her head to the beat. It was a far cry from the calm demeanor Twilight normally saw.
“Yeah, she’s like a whole different mare whenever she’s on stage.”
“Gah!” Twilight jumped, finding Minuette standing next to her. “When did you…?
“Having fun yet?” Minuette asked. She wore a wavy blue dress, the same shade as her coat, and like Professor Inkwell, had a string of pearls around her neck.
“I mean, the party just started. The illusion effects are nice though.”
Minuette nodded. “Trixie spent all day putting illusion spells around the room.”
“Trixie did this?”
“Yes, she did, Sparkle,” a haughty voice said from Twilight’s other side.
She jumped again at Trixie’s appearance. But, whereas Minuette appeared silent as a specter, Trixie had come in a puff of blue smoke which she now waved away. Instead of a dress, she had on a purple cape and hat decorated with stars and moons. She lifted her chin and gave Twilight a gloating smirk.
“Trixie is glad you’re impressed. Not that she needs your approval. But go ahead, be amazed at Trixie’s illusionary prowess. She doubts you could do much better.”
Minuette furrowed her brow. “Trixie, there’s no need for any of that. It’s not a competition.”
Trixie waved an airy hoof. “Yes, yes, of course. But if it was, Trixie would be winning. Just something to think about,” she said with a final smirk. In another puff of smoke, she vanished.
Twilight folded her ears and sighed. She still wasn’t fully on board with making friends, but she wished Trixie didn’t hate her.
Minuette patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t mind Trixie. She’s just… Trixie. She’ll come around eventually.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Minuette put a hoof around Twilight’s shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. “Cheer up, Twilight! It’s a party! Hey, I know what’ll turn that frown upside down! How about some snacks?”
What is with these ponies and physical contact? Twilight nodded her head in the hope Minuette would let go. It worked to an extent; Minuette released Twilight from her hug, but took her hoof and guided her to the snack table.
It was quite a spread. Vegetables, hummus, glazed oats, chips and salsa, cubes of cheese, stuffed mushrooms, and a large punchbowl.
Twilight levitated a few delectables onto a plate, then shuffled awkwardly out of everyone’s way. As she reached one of the moss covered pillars, it shimmered and dissolved, turning into a palm tree. The grass beneath Twilight melted into white sand, and the far wall fell back into a midnight blue ocean. The ponies gave a loud cheer at the change of scenery, and Vinyl began to play what Twilight could only describe at tropical dubstep.
“Honestly, what’s the point of making these dresses if there isn’t going to be a consistent theme?”
From the crowd, Rarity and Fleur emerged wearing their beautiful ball gowns. Rarity’s was pink with golden frills decorated with gemstones. It had a lacy v-neck, and sleeves that went down to her elbows. Rarity had even given herself a golden tiara to top it off.
Fleur’s was similar, only sky blue with pink frills, and no tiara. She and Rarity were certainly the best dressed of everyone there.
“Twilight!” Rarity hurried toward her, her bottom lip out in a pout. “You told me you weren’t coming. I would have made you a lovely dress.”
Twilight didn’t directly meet Rarity’s eyes. “It was a last minute decision.”
“Well, I’m glad you decided to come out anyway. You’re having a good time, yes?”
Twilight took a bite of her mushroom to save herself from having to answer. Her action was proven redundant a second later.
“Ladies! What are you all doing gathered around the table?” Blueblood strode toward them, straightening his boutonnière and flashing them his charming smile. “You should be dancing with me.”
“Pass,” Fleur said bluntly.
Rarity lifted a hoof to her mouth and giggled. “No thank you, Blueblood.”
He turned his attention to Twilight and wiggled his eyebrows. “What say you, my sparkling flower? Shall we become the envy of the dance?”
Mouth still full of mushroom, Twilight shook her head.
Blueblood actually deflated a little. He turned his head to the side and muttered, “Come on, somepony has to say yes.”
Minuette smiled in sympathy. “Come on, Bluey. I’ll dance with you.”
As she took Blueblood’s hoof, his face went bright red, like a bad sunburn. “O-oh, okay!” He allowed Minuette to drag him to the dance floor.
As soon as they left, Moondancer came and stood next to Twilight. “This is, um, nice, I guess,” she said.
“It would be better with a proper theme,” Rarity said. “But, no use crying over spilt milk. Come, Fleur, let’s get back to the dance floor!”
Fleur nodded and followed Rarity’s lead, not sparing a glance back to either Twilight or Moondancer.
Twilight finished picking at her plate. An hour had surely passed by now. Twilight could see why other ponies would enjoy functions like this. Everyone on the dance floor seemed to be having a good time, and even those lingering along the invisible wall were talking and laughing heartily.
Yes, Twilight could see the appeal, but as she already knew, this wasn’t for her. There were too many ponies, the music was too loud, and Twilight wasn’t even sure what she was supposed to do. But, she had kept her promise to the Princess. And if Minuette invited her out again, Twilight supposed she could attend.
“Umm,” Moondancer said, bringing Twilight out of her thoughts. Her cheeks had a faint rosey tinge to them. “You, um, don’t want to dance or anything, do you?”
Twilight looked to the dance floor then back to Moondancer. “No thank you. I’m actually heading back to the dorms now.” If it wasn’t too late, she could still get a little homework done.
“Oh, then, let me come with you. I’m kinda done here, too.” She and Twilight slipped out just as the scenery morphed to an open grove surrounded by red and gold trees.
“I talked to Professor Inkwell for a while,” Moondancer said halfway to the dorms, “so I guess I had a good time.”
Twilight nodded. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. But parties aren’t my thing.”
“Same.”
When they reached their room and relieved themselves of their dresses, Twilight asked, “What did you and professor Inkwell talk about?”
Moondancer’s face lit up as she launched into an explanation of matter conversion and advanced transfiguration. Twilight listened with rapt attention, taking occasional notes and adding on to what Inkwell had told Moondancer. Soon, their conversation left the topic of magic and moved onto magical creatures, like Timberwolves and dragons. Moondancer told Twilight the urban legend of a dragon sleeping in the catacombs beneath the city.
Twilight scoffed. “The Princess wouldn’t let a dragon sleep this close to Canterlot. Besides, their snoring creates a massive amount of smoke. Somepony would have smelled it by now.”
“Maybe. But remember, the catacombs are a labyrinth and extend deep into the mountains. It could just be really well hidden.”
They talked about places they wished they could go someday, like the Gaia Sunfalls in the Crystal Empire, and maybe even one of the ruins lying in the Everfree Forest south of Canterlot.
Before Twilight knew it, it was past eleven, and she had barely worked through a page of her history book. She sighed, disappointed her plans for studying had been reduced to nothing. Yet, as she watched Moondancer tuck herself into bed, Twilight thought, maybe the day hadn’t been completely wasted.
If this is what it’s like to have a friend… maybe it’s not so bad.