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// Chapter 3: Brief Joy 
// Story: Stroke of Luck 
// by Gboyd 
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'A friend's physical gifts are often the ones we cherish the least. Don't use them, you lose them. A friend's unseen bond? Now that's a different story.' ~ Camillia Sajan

Raspberry energy wrapped around the door handle and turned. Warm light spilled onto the landing. Twilight stood there. Her lavender wings hung down in exhaustion, and dark circles painted rings under her eyes. When she saw them, her smile lit up her whole face, and the girls felt their worries wash away. She rushed into their arms. 
Pinkie broke into a huge smile, her limp bouncing back up into it's perky, fun-filled state. She squeezed the alicorn. Rainbow Dash shot around, a crazy prismatic dance around the parlor. She raced back to Twilight and playfully tugged on her wings. "C'mon Twi! We gotta go. I promised you a night fly, didn't I?" 
Twilight opened her mouth, about to respond, but Rarity beat her to the punch. At once, the girls burst into chatter. 
"Did you have fun!?"
"Who did you meet? Oh, did you see Spitfire and Commander Race-Flight?"
"Did you see Lady Rose Petal? Come on, darling--details!" 
"Did you see Flurry Heart?" 
"Were some people big meanies', or were they nice?" 
"What'd ya eat? Were those stuffy hors'de ovrs' better than my good ole' fashioned apple pie?"
"Did you miss our awesomeness?"
"Were you lonely at all?" 
Twilight giggled and shot into the air. "Stop!" She laughed. "I'll tell you, I promise, I will." She stretched, still in the air. 
Rarity stomped a foot in fake rage. "Well no. No no no no no no. That will not do. I need details, darling!"
Twilight laughed again. "I know. I know. But first....." She gave them her signiture, quiet smile and, with a flourish, held out five gifts, wrapped in white with gold ties, Canterlot's color theme. Applejack gasped. 
"You got us gifts?" Rainbow asked in debelief. Fluttershy eagarly flew up and took her gift. Pinkie bounced up and snatched boh hers and Rainbow's, while Applejack's and Rarity's were levitated down to them by Twilight's raspberry aura.
"Ya didn't have ta do this, Twi," Applejack admonished. Twilight dropped to the floor and wrapped herself in lavender feathers, looking sheepish. "I know, but I just couldn't help myself. Besides, they were ony way. And being that I was way behind schedule, I decided to make lemonade and all." She watched their reactions. "Well, what do you think?" 
Rarity tore hers open and squealed. She leapt forward and squeezed Twilight. "Gold fabric!? Darling! This could do wonders for my future lines!" She held Twilight back at arm's length and studied her. "I told you being a royal is everyone's dream." Twilight just laughed. 
Applejack had torn hers open, and was now staring quietly at it. Whether it is was confusion or awe, they didn't know. But tears were sparkling at the corners of her eyes. "Twi? What.... What is this?" 
Twilight slide smoothly from Rarity's grasp, darted Applejack and wrapped her arms around the farm girl. 
"It's a crystalline apple, a hand-chisled in the Crystal Empire. There's a local jeweler in Canterlot who's a close friend of my mom's." Twilight's mother was one of the best jewelists in the nation. "I might have bended his strong will just a bit with my authority as well,"she added sheepishly. She peeled back the paper some more. "That's not all." Applejack looked at her, confused. Twilight just smiled. "Open it." 
"Uh, sugar? It's a crystalline apple made from a rock. Apples don't open," she dead-panned. Twilight winked.
"Leave it to those with specialized knowledge." She tightened her grip on Applejack, clearly eagar to see her reaction. "Rub the surface, like you would a genie's lamp. Trust me." 
Aplekack moved her left hand over the crystal apple, and all the girls leaned forward. A click sounded, followed by cracks spidering around the edge. Applejack gently pried it apart with shaking hands. The apple opened, revealing a ruby red interiir. Sitting in the middle of a velvet cushion was a simple mental hair clip with a bangle at the end. Above the clip, on the ceiling, a crystalline buttercup flower bloomed, showing a delicate yellow intiror. Applejack gasped and whipped around to face her friend. "Twilight---"
"Look inside again," came the response, along with a squeeze of her shoulders. Applejack did as was told. Sitting beside the hair clip sat a small packet of flower seeds. Applejack shot Twilight a questioning glance. Twilight focused her gaze on the ground. 
"I know you're not a gardner, but..... I thought you could plant those. You know.... As a reminder of your parents." There was moment of silence. When Applejack didn't respond, Twilight grew flustered. "I didn't want to bring back any bad memories; I just thought it was a good idea but then I thought about it and realized that it might cause you pain but by the time I realized that it was already too late and--"
Applejack clapped her hand over her friend's mouth. "Stop." Twilight blinked several times. Applejack pulled the now surprised princess into a tight hug. "Thank you,"she whispered. 
A few feet away, Fluttershy had opened her gift and was now staring at it. Rainbow flitted over. "What'd ya get her, Twi?" 
Twilight released herself from Applejack and walked over. "I got her a conventions pamphlet. She can to conventions and speak. Animal shelters are opening up all over Equestria, and I knew it too good of an opportunity to miss." 
Fluttershy shot her a knowing look. "You want me to conquer my stage fright, don't you?" 
Twilight smiled sheepishly. "No? Yes? Ah, fine you caught me--yes! Besides, if you take this opportunity, maybe... Ponies will understand animals more, and... Not be so afraid of Everfree Forest." Fluttershy smiled. 
"Okay." 
Pinkie held her gift high in the air. "Ooh! Me next!" She waited until everyone was watching, and excitedly tore hers open. Without looking at it, she raced around the room like a pink bowling ball. The girls slung wings and clapped hands over ears. Their complaints and groans were lost in Pinkie's din. "EEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHH!!" Without warning, she stopped dead in front of Twilight. "You kept your promise," she said in disbelief. Twilight peered out from under lavender feathers. "Of course I did. I know better than to break a Pinkie Promise." 
At that, everyone looked at Applejack, who folded her arms. "Goin' there are ya?" Everyone erupted into laughter expect for Applejack. She just sat there pretending to be mad. 
"What did you get her, Twilight?" Rarity asked. 
"She got me a travel pass---with Cheese Sandwich's signature! I'm going on his 'World Tour, Parties of Pink'! Free of charge!" A courus of 'wows' sounded. Applejack shook her head again. "Ya didn't have ta to do this, Twi'."
"I know, But I wanted to." Fluttershy wrung her hands. 
"B-but we don't have any gifts for you!" Twilight regarded her with a calm look. 
"Yes, you do." The girls stared at her with bewilderded stares. Twilight beckoned them all forward with a wave, and set off for the stairs. After a trip down the hall, and a few turns, the group faced the throne room doors. Twilight pushed them open. She flew up and twisted and looped around the roots of the chandiler. She faced them, smiling as realization hit them. Rarity's cheeks colored slightly, as it had been her original idea. 
"This is the best gift you could have given me." Twilight let her words sink in for a moment, then turned to look at Rainbow. 
"Dash? You going to open your gift?" Dash blinked several times in surprise, then grinned. She viciously tore into the paper, only to stare at the object with a flat expression. "It's a book," she deadpanned. 
"Not just any book," Twilight said in a sing-song voice. She continued stare at her friend with a mischievous look. "Look closer." Rainbow shot her an inquisitive gaze, and did as told. Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped. "No way!" 
Several 'What? What is it?' s came from the others as Rainbow held the book over her head in glee. "Daring Do and The Haunted Cabinet!" she crowed. She lowered the book and studied the glossy cover. "This wasn't supposed to come out until next year, at least!" She stared at Twilight in awe. "How.....?" 
Twilight fluttered down and sat on the crystal floor, putting her arms on her knees. "I'm a princess, Dash. I can bend a few rules." 
The next thing everyone knew, a rainbow blur rocketed across the room and pinned the princess to the ground. "YOU'RE THE BEST!!" Twilight laughed. She gently pried the pegasus off her. "But that's not the best part." Twilight paused, drawing out the suspense, and enjoying her friends' reactions as they leaned in close. "Open it."
Dash shot her a knowing look, and opened the book, only to nearly drop it in shock. She practically glared at her royal friend, demanding an explanation. Twilight giggled. "I asked Daring Do if I could have as a gift for you. She consented, and I made her a copy. But that's not all. There's an artist in Manehatten who works with Daring. She designed the cover. So, to answer your question, yes this is the handwritten prototype." 
Rainbow threw her hands in the air. "That's it--I'm done!" She whipped around and pointed at Twilight. "You're not getting me anything for HearthsWarming." Twilight rolled her eyes good-naturedly in response. 
There was a moment of comfortable silence as everyone enjoyed their gifts. Rarity looked up and gazed at Twilight, who lay on the floor, wings splayed out and looking completely at peace with the world. That question that has plagued them from earlier riddled her mind now. She desperately wanted to know what had made Twilight late, but she just looked so peaceful. Rarity bit her lip. After warring with herself, she steeled her courage, and spoke up.
"T-Twilight?" Twilight's eyes popped open, clearly hearing the stutter in Rarity's voice. 
"Something wrong?" 
Rarity sucked in a lungfull of air, pre-pared to ask the question. 
Instead-- "Where's Spike?" Rarity blinked in surprise at that coming out of her mouth. Where had that come from?
"Oh, he was tired and decided to hit the sack." Twilight glanced at her friend. "Why?"
Rarity waved a manicured hand. "Nothing, darling!" she exclaimed, hoping to Celestia that she sounded convincing. "Just curious, is all." She let loose a tiny sigh of relief when Twilight shrugged it off. 
Rainbow put her book to the side. "Enough of this." She flew over and began to playfully tug at Twilight's wings.   "C'mon Twi'. Let's go! I promised you a night fly, didn't I?" 
Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but Fluttershy nudged her way up between them, and slung her arms around their shoulders. "Why don't want  we all go?" 
With consent from Twilight, and excited replies, or shouts in Pinkie's case, she, Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy rushed out the door, giggles filling the night. 
Applejack came up beside Rarity, holding her apple. "You were about ta ask her, weren't ya?"  Rarity nodded. Applejack sighed. "I gotta feelin this here situation's gonna be allot more complicated than it needs ta be. " Rarity looked away. 
"If I'm being honest, darling, I'm actually quite afraid of what she would say." 
Applejack quirked an eyebrow. "Whaddya mean?" 
Rarity, realizing her mistake, let loose a tinkle of fake laughter. "Oh nothing, darling! Let's just focus on tonight, shall we?" With a flounce, she was out the door, leaving a bewildered Applejack in her wake. 
Rarity didn't even try to push away the thought this time. As she walked, she studied the group up ahead. A glint of gold winked off Twilight's crown at her, and Rarity growled quietly. 
The stereotypes were true, weren't they? Twilight was from Canterlot after all. And now look at her. Wings, a crown--everything she could ever want. So why would she need them? Rarity clenched her teeth and tried to keep the tear from spilling over. Twilight had used them. Like....  Like tools! Rarity bet her bits Celestia didn't send her to Ponyville--Twilght had to have orchestrated the whole thing herself! Maybe even the elements were under her influence. Rarity wouldn't be surprised. Twilight had the brains to achieve. 
She hadn't been their friend all this time like she claimed. She had used them. She was a fake.