//------------------------------// // A deal made // Story: Caught and punished // by TheHardie-Boy //------------------------------// The train ride back to Ponyville had some...mixed features. Pinkie Pie was still in her own little world, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were still arguing about which prison cell Starlight deserved, Fluttershy stayed quiet as usual, and Twilight simply took it all in, switching from listening to the argument and looking at Starlight. Starlight Glimmer still had all of her bindings on, and she was currently looking out the window with an expression mixed with anger and regret. ’I can’t believe I got captured so easily,’ Starlight thought to herself. She felt tears moving in behind her glare. ’No way, I am not giving them the satisfaction. Just gotta think about happier times. Like back in Sire’s Hollow, with my dad and Sunburst...no that’ll just make this worse.’ Twilight looked at her with a small bit of sympathy. “By the time we get back, it’ll be way too late to go all the way to Canterlot,” said Applejack. “But if we keep her in Ponyville, there’s less security, and she’ll just escape,” countered Rainbow Dash. “I still think we should make her do manual labor. After all, she did enslave an entire village of ponies. She deserves to feel what that’s like,” Rarity said. “Wait a minute, how do you know about Ponyville’s security, Rainbow Dash?” asked Applejack. “That’s none of your business!” Rainbow shouted back. The three of them began to shout over each other, all fighting for verbal control of the situation. Twilight tried to ignore them, but they just kept getting louder, and louder, and louder, until Twilight had enough. “Stop!” Twilight shouted. Her friends stopped what they were doing and looked at Twilight with shocked expressions. Starlight did not shift at all. “We’re not gonna solve this by shouting!” shouted Twilight. “Well...how do you think we should punish Starlight?” asked Rainbow. Twilight looked over to the bound unicorn again, who still wore the same glare as before, and took a deep breath. She may have seemed angry now, but Twilight remembered how Starlight fell apart back in the cave when her magic was being taken away from her. “You’re all gonna disagree with me...but I don’t really want Starlight to simply be thrown in a prison cell,” Twilight admitted. “See, Twilight agrees with me. Manual labor it is then,” Rarity said with a triumphant smirk. “No...not that either,” Twilight countered. “Well then...what do you want to do?” Applejack asked. “I...I don’t know...but I don’t think she deserves any of those,” Twilight confessed. “What?! Are you crazy?” Rainbow yelled. “You just want to let her go without some sort of punishment?!” Rarity added. “No! Of course she needs to be taught what did she was wrong and why...but I don’t think any of those ways will do it. You girls didn’t see her back in the cave. She broke down. She was devastated, losing her magic,” Twilight told them. “Of course she was. Because now, she can’t use to hurt anypony,” said Applejack. “Applejack’s right. Starlight doesn’t care about ‘learning the error of her ways’; she just wants her magic back,” Rainbow added, sick of having to use that worn out cliche. “You three really think Starlight isn’t the least bit sorry about what she’s done?” Twilight asked. The three of them simply looked at her like she was crazy. “Fine then. I hate to do this, but you three leave me no choice but to pull rank.” “What are ya’ sayin’?” Applejack asked. Twilight sighed. “As the Princess of Friendship, I order you three to stop trying to come up with ways to punish Starlight.” Rainbow crossed her hooves over her chest. “So that’s how it’s gonna be? Fine!” Rarity gave a huff in disgust and turned away. Applejack lay down and pulled her hat over her eyes, giving a small glare as she did. Twilight gave another sigh and turned to her other friends. “What do you two think?” “Oh, I don’t know. I was just listening to the argument,” said Pinkie with a big smile to finish. Twilight rolled her eyes and turned to Fluttershy. “I-I think you’re right about Starlight. I can tell she doesn’t want to admit it, but deep down, I think she knows what she did was wrong. A-And I think that she might be able to make up for what she did if we...gave her a chance,” Fluttershy said. Twilight was filled with relief. “I’m so glad somepony sees this my way.” She got up and gave Fluttershy a small hug. “Anything I can do to help,” chuckled Fluttershy. Twilight backed off a little. “So what do you think we should do? Physically, I mean.” “First, she needs to be taught what she did was wrong and why. Then, I think we just treat her like a friend.” “But how? I can’t do it because I’m too busy with Princess duties. You can’t do it because you’re too busy with your animals. And none of them can do it because, I think it’s safe to say, they don’t want to,” Twilight explained. “What about Sam? You said he was having trouble making friends. Starlight would be a great start,” Fluttershy replied. “Hold on just a second. Don’t get me wrong, I like Sam as much as all of you, but do you really think it’s a good idea to expose him to...her?” Rainbow cut in. “What did I just tell you?” Twilight snapped. “All I’m saying is...Starlight might not be the best...influence on Sam,” Rainbow explained. Twilight shot her a look that just said, “I don’t care what you think,” and Rainbow rolled her eyes and rested her head on her hoof. Twilight turned back to Fluttershy. “I think that’s a great idea, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy smiled in return. Twilight looked out the same window Starlight was looking through. She saw Canterlot in the distance. ’Poor Starlight. You probably think that’s where we’re going, so we can throw you in the dungeon,’ Twilight thought to herself. Starlight looked up and saw the palace in the distance. ’Great. At least Sunburst won’t have to find out what I did.’ Twilight looked back to her friends. “We’re nearing Ponyville. Do you mind giving us a minute to talk?” Her friends all got up and made their way to another train car. On their way out, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack shot small glares at Starlight. Twilight went over and sat next to Starlight and gave her a tap on the shoulder, taking off the deafening spell as well. Starlight winced at all of the sudden noise her ears were filled with and looked at Twilight, who was giving her an earnest smile. Starlight couldn’t say anything, but Twilight saw her confused expression. “Welcome to Ponyville, Starlight!” Twilight said with a cheery tone. Starlight just became more confused. “Okay, I know you probably hate me right now, but please hear me out,” Twilight pleaded. Starlight’s expression changed into one that said, “I’m listening.” “My friends were discussing possibly sending you to Canterlot to be out in prison, but I think that’s a bad idea. You may not realize it, but I can tell you’re at least a little sorry for what you did. That being said, I’m willing to let you try to make up for it. I think that, shown a little kindness, you can become a very nice pony, or at the very least, we can stop being enemies. Basically, I’m saying you deserve a second chance, and here it is,” Twilight explained. Starlight’s expression turned to a scowl. “But...if you’re not willing to make amends or accept that what you did was wrong...I may just have to take this issue up with Princess Celestia. I really don’t want that, but I will if I have to.” Starlight’s gaze moved away from Twilight. ’Second chance? From her? No way, not after taking my magic. But, then again, she kind of has the upper hoof right now. I’ll just have to play along...for now.’ The train stopped, signaling they had returned to Ponyville. “I’m gonna take your bindings off now, except for the suppression ring. Please don’t try any funny business; I don’t want this to be harder than it has to be,” Twilight said. With that, she removed the magical bindings around Starlight’s hooves, and took the gag out of her mouth. Twilight motioned toward the door, and Starlight slowly got up and moving, Twilight following lose behind until they got off the train. Twilight moved next to Starlight. “Would you please take her to the castle while I go sort out her living arrangements?” “Of course, Twilight,” Fluttershy responded for the group. “Thank you,” Twilight said. With that, she ran off in the direction Sam’s house was. Rainbow walked up to Starlight with a hard glare. “Come on.” The six of them walked toward Twilight’s castle, Applejack and Rarity keeping close quarters from behind in case Starlight tried anything. They finally got to Twilight’s castle. It was made of dark blue crystals with a few purple crystals around the top. Starlight couldn’t help but silently marvel at it. “You think this is impressive? You should’ve seen it what it first appeared. It just popped right out of the ground!” Pinkie said, popping up right next to Starlight, making her flinch. “Come on, let’s just get inside,” Applejack said. She went up to the door, bumping into Starlight in the way, and knocked on the big, wooden doors. The doors opened to reveal a small dragon with purple skin and green scales. “Oh cool, you’re back!” “Hey, Spike. Mind if we come in for a minute?” asked Applejack. “No problem. Where’s Twilight?” Spike responded. “She’s off, sortin’ stuff out,” Applejack explained. The six of them made their way inside, Rainbow giving Starlight a shove to get her moving. When Spike saw Starlight, his entire world just stopped. He thought she was just drop-dead gorgeous. “Wh-Who’s th-this?” Spike stuttered. “This is Starlight Glimmer, somepony we met during our travels,” Rarity responded with a small glare towards Starlight. “N-Nice to m-meet you,” Spike said with a dopey grin on his face. Starlight just stared at him, confused. ’A dragon? Why would Twilight have a dragon around here, let alone a baby dragon from the looks of it? Spike stared at Starlight with the same dopey expression on his face. “Spike? You okay there?” asked Applejack. No reply came from the baby dragon. “Spike?” said Rarity. Nothing. “Spike!” yelled Rainbow Dash. Spike shook his head. “So...what now?” “Twilight asked us to look after Starlight until she got back,” Rarity explained. “Look after her? What are you talking about?” Spike asked. “It’s a...long story. We’ll fill you in later. It’s gettin’ kinda late,” said Applejack. Twilight walked up to the house on the edge of Ponyville. It was a simple house, two stories, average size. She saw a light on in Sam’s living room, meaning he was still probably awake, even though it was getting close to midnight. Twilight had been to Sam’s house more than any of her friends, or anypony in general. Sam had only been in Equestria for three weeks now, after a freak accident in both his and her world. Since he arrived, he had been trying to make friends, but most of Ponyville’s citizens were freaked out by his unusual appearance. Twilight and her friends found Sam in the castle, not a day after it appeared. At first, he was extremely terrified everypony until Fluttershy managed to calm him down. He was a bit...less mature than most, but he was really smart and funny once one got to know him. Twilight was one of those few. Sam was nice, but he was still a little weirded out by ponies. Apparently, where he comes from, ponies aren’t quite as...intelligent as humans. That’s what Sam was; a human. Twilight remembered a certain aqua-marine unicorn named Lyra, who was obsessed with humans. In fact, Twilight actually had to verbally convince Lyra to leave Sam alone until he was more comfortable. Twilight snapped herself out of her trip down memory lane and knocked on Sam’s front door. A few moments later, the door opened, revealing Ponyville’s, and Equestria’s, only human. Right now, he was wearing shorts and a torn up shirt. “Hey, Twilight! I see you’re back from your little trip. What brings you here?” Sam asked with a smile on his face. ’Well, at least he’s in a good mood,’ Twilight thought to herself. “You see, Sam, I kind of have something to ask you.” “Alright. Why don’t you come in? It’s freezing out there,” Sam said, shivering. Up until now, Twilight had not taken notice of the cold weather. Now that she did, she shivered as well. “That’s a good idea.” Twilight went through the door and into the house. The living room, as Sam liked to call it, was about half the size of one room in Golden Oaks Library. There was a white couch, a black box that Sam called a “DVD player” whatever that was, a bookshelf, and dark-brown, wooden floors. It was the biggest room in the house, but Sam didn’t seem to mind. “So what did you want to ask me?” Sam said, sitting on a black chair he claimed belonged to his father. “Well, before I ask, you’re gonna need some context on our journey,” Twilight responded. “Oh yeah, you guys just kinda told me you were going away somewhere and that you’d be back in a day or two.” “Okay, so anyhow, we were summoned to a village in the middle of nowhere. All of the ponies had the exact same equal sign for a Cutie Mark and creepy smiles that managed to creep Pinkie out,” Twilight began. “Woah, if it can creep her out, it must have been really weird,” Sam assumed. “I know, right? Anyhow, the village was run by a unicorn named Starlight Glimmer, who had the same equal sign on her flank. She said they represented the fact that nopony was better than anypony else, but we could tell she had darker intentions. She even took ours!” “Well, you have your Cutie Mark now, so how’d you beat her?” Sam asked, intrigued by the story so far. “Well, it turned out that Starlight had kept her Cutie Mark when she took the village’s. We exposed her for her lies and got ours back. She tried to get away, but we caught and brought her back here,” Twilight finished. “So...what does this have to do with me?” Sam asked. “Umm...Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity are convinced she’s an evil pony to her core, but I don’t think that. I think she deserves a chance to redeem herself instead of being thrown in prison, but I can’t just let her go free. Her magic is nearly as powerful as my own, so if I just let her go away, she probably won’t learn her lesson, and get into serious trouble. That being said, someone needs to teach her why what she did was wrong and how she can make up for it,” Twilight explained. “Well, you’re the Princess of Friendship. Why don’t you do it?” “I would, but I’m really busy with all of my princess duties. So...I was hoping...you could?” “Me?! I know almost nothing about friendship! I haven’t even been here that long!” Sam countered. “I know, but none my other friends can do it, and if you ever need help, you can just ask,” Twilight offered. “Why me though? Why not someone like...Zecora or something?” “Because...I also thought it would be a good opportunity for you to make a new friend...even if the circumstances are kind of...interesting. Besides, you’re my best option. I wouldn’t be coming to you if I didn’t think you could do it. I really want Starlight to have this chance, but if nopony agrees to help her, I’m afraid of what’ll happen to her,” Twilight explained. “Look, I’m all for giving her a chance, but I just don’t feel like this is a good idea. I have to go job hunting, I have to buy food, but if I agree to this, it would be like an anchor,” Sam countered. “Like I said, you would always be able to come to me for help, and you know what? I’ll even be willing to pay you!” Twilight exclaimed. “How much?” “How about...two thousand bits a week?” “Woah! How do you even have that much?” Sam retorted. “Sam, please, I’m a princess,” Twilight responded. “I...I just don’t know, Twilight,” Sam said. “Please?” Twilight begged. She then tilted her head and put on a sad frown. Her pupils grew huge, and her eyebrows curved at just the right angle. “Don’t look at me like that!” Twilight tilted her head even more. “For me?” Sam tried his best to resist, but he eventually let out a sigh. “Fine, I’ll do it.” Twilight’s face instantly changed into a smile. “Thank you so much, Sam! You don’t know how much this means to me!” “But on two conditions. One, you don’t interfere unless I ask you two, and two, you...actually, that’s about it,” Sam admitted. “Of course! She’d be under your supervision. You do this however you see fit!” Twilight cheered. “So, you said she was back at the castle? Should we go get her now or in the morning?” Sam asked. “I suppose we could go bring her here now. She’s wearing a suppression ring, so she can’t use her magic,” Twilight answered. “Alright then, let me get some better clothes on, and we’ll get going,” Sam said, making his way upstairs.