He should've expected it-part of him did expect it, actually-but there was a strange sense of awkwardness whenever Sparky was around.
It took him almost two days to realize why that was.
He had, in a way, confessed his feelings for the lavender mare. The same feelings that had, inexplicably, vanished into thin air.
Well... not completely. He still cared for her, but... he didn't love her in the way he had before. It was strange, and... well, it frightened him. The whole story about the Elements's control over them might've been conjured up from the fear within him, but...
Did it have an actual basis in reality?
No... no, but the answers were still out of his reach. There was no point in searching for answers, especially not while he was cooking breakfast.
Although... there was something about this situation that bugged him, even as he idly flipped the pancakes he was cooking. Something about it was familiar. Not in the sense that he'd dealt with it before, but in that he'd read about cases like it in the past. The problem, then, was that he couldn't figure out where he'd read about them.
Was it in a history book? A criminal file? A fantasy novel?
He didn't know.
And that unnerved him.
Well, things weren't all bad. Starlight was fitting in quite well, much to his delight.
Though when lunch came around the day of her arrival, she'd very nearly eaten everything he'd had in stock! He hadn't realized that her appetite would be quite so large, and, from the look on her face, she hadn't either!
It didn't bother him, though. He was just happy his sister was eating properly, sleeping properly, and living properly again. Actually, not again, but for the first time, if she was telling the truth about her life before the Facility.
Her mother had died due to complications during her birth, and her father, loving though he was, was often out of the house at work. By the time she was six, she was taking care of herself more than her father was. She was a very smart filly as well, excelling in school almost without thought, which drove away a lot of the other foals who'd lived in Sire's Hollow at the time.
Only one pony, a colt her age, had decided to befriend the know-it-all blank-flank. A colt named Sunburst who promptly abandoned her and vanished off to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns without so much as a goodbye when he received his own cutie mark at the age of seven.
She was alone again, and had developed a resentment towards cutie marks. The resentment in question would've kept festering, had she not been foalnapped and brought to the Facility the month before her eighth birthday.
However, her old resentment for cutie marks had disappeared entirely when, after they'd escaped and gone their separate ways, a traveling magic troupe stumbled across her, and she earned her mark performing magic they taught her.
While the troupe hadn't wanted to take her along with them-they'd been too full, apparently-they had decided to leave her with some of their old magic tomes, hence the saddlebags she carried with her. They were fairly small, at first glance, but apparently they'd been spelled to be thinner, while still retaining a large number of pages. He supposed it made sense for a small traveling magic troupe to use that kind of spell to make moving easier.
Still, he'd taken a leaf through the books they'd given her, and found them almost entirely incomprehensible. The magic within them was astonishingly complex, yet still provided a good grasp of the basics.
It made him wonder exactly who this 'magic troupe' were.
Regardless, hearing the story of her life before, and some of it from after, the Facility was interesting, and it brought to light the fact that very few members of their family talked about their pasts before then. It made sense, but it was still somewhat regrettable that it was the case.
He, of course, reciprocated. He told her about his two elder siblings, his loving, but strict father, and his doting birth-mother. Of being a sickly foal who enjoyed his blanket too much and was woefully naive to the ways of the world. Of learning about the duties of a Clan Head, which he may or may not have become depending on whether his four-year-elder brother or two-year-elder sister croaked or not. Of playing in the snow and ice-skating. Of fearful days where his sickness grew worse.
Talking about all those things put into perspective how much he had changed in his life. It was funny, looking back at it like that. He wondered what his life would be like if he'd never been taken. Or if he hadn't been the Champion. Or even if he'd met Sparky earlier on.
What if?
Regardless of his thoughts, it was finally Tuesday, marking the first week since Discord had been resealed in stone.
Emerald frowned at the thought, plating the pancakes. Discord had told him about his initial sealings, all of which had involved this... Tree of Harmony.
No, he corrected himself, The ponies call it the Tree of Harmony, but he was very clear that its name was the Tree of Order.
Yes, apparently his previous sealings had him stuck into the Tree, but Luna and Mother had turned him to stone instead, for some unknown reason. Something that he, and the girls, had ended up repeating.
He wondered if it was an 'intent' thing? Had the previous Bearers before them known about the Tree and thus were able to seal Discord within it?
But, then... why didn't Mother and Luna know?
Then again, Mother had never mentioned anything about a Tree when she taught him history. It was entirely possible she only knew of it in passing, or, at least, didn't know of its role in sealing Discord.
Nevertheless, didn't that mean that Discord would be free again one day, able to recall his previous defeats once more?
He swallowed, setting the prepared breakfast out onto the table. That wasn't a pleasant thought.
Then again, if he did free himself, then it would be long after his death.
His permanent death, that is.
He sighed. Was it worth going to therapy after all that?
...
Nah, he'd be fine.
"Breakfast is ready you two, get your flanks down here!" he shouted, hearing a pair of tired groans in response. He scoffed at that, and decided to clean up a bit while waiting.
About five minutes later a pair of tired fillies trudged down the stairs, their manes completely unkempt, appearing closer to bird's nests than anything else. Seeing Wisp like that was no surprise, since she did it everyday, but Emerald was a tad stunned that Starlight let it happen. Then again, she wasn't exactly used to caring about it.
Eh, whatever. Long as they cleaned up before heading out, he really didn't care how they looked right out of bed.
"Mornin' you two," he snarked, putting away the cleaned dishes, "We've got pancakes and fruit. You girls want juice or water?"
"D'we have milk?" Wisp asked,
"Yes."
"Can I have that?"
"Sure. Glim?"
"Don't call me that."
"Whatever you say, Glim."
Starlight growled at him, and sighed,
"I'll just take... actually I'll have some juice."
He nodded and got them their drinks, before settling down and setting his own plate. Wisp did the same across from him, but he noticed that Starlight was hesitating quite a bit, not that he was entirely surprised.
"Take some," he ordered simply, stabbing a blueberry with his fork. Starlight swallowed, eyeing his and Wisp's plates, seemingly counting how many they'd taken, before copying his number.
He scowled and, with a deft flick, added three pancakes to her plate.
"Wha-?"
"You need to eat more," he snapped, scowling, "You've been living on the streets for six years. You might've had to ration your food then, but you don't need to worry about that anymore. Eat as much as you want." She swallowed, staring at the fruit bowl,
"B-but-"
"No. Buts."
She glanced up at him, nervous, before her jaw suddenly set, and she loaded about ten strawberries onto her plate as well as three more pancakes. He smirked, watching the way she suddenly began gulping down her food,
"It's not going anywhere, you know?" he added, causing her to freeze in place, "Taste it. Don't inhale it."
"Yeah!" Wisp agreed, "We've got plenty of food, Big Sis Starlight!"
"What she said," Emerald said, swallowing, "'Sides, you'll need your strength for today." Both Starlight and Wisp blinked,
""What are we doing?"" they chorused, before glancing at each other and giggling.
"Since she doesn't have school today, Wisp and I are going to show you 'round Ponyville," he said, "You'll be living here from now on, so it only stands to reason that you know how to get around," he explained, "Who knows, you might find something interesting in town. Maybe you'll make some friends, or even choose to get a job," he paused, and tilted his head, "That's not to say you have to get a job. If you were on your own, yeah, but you don't need one as long as you live with us. Believe me-" he added when she went to protest, "I have more money than I'll ever spend in my lifetime."
"I... I don't know..." Starlight said. He only shrugged,
"Like I said, you don't have to get a job. If you want a job, go ahead. I'll even help you, if you want," he offered. Starlight smiled as she bit into a strawberry,
"That... sounds nice, actually," she said, swallowing, "So when are we heading out for the tour?" she asked. Emerald shrugged,
"Soon as-"
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
He blinked, his sentence cut off by a loud knocking against the door. He frowned, setting down his utensils. Who the fuck would be at his door at this hour?
He marched over to the door, his ears twitching. Someone his size, a pony, with a... hat? His brow furrowed, and he opened the door,
"Applejack?" he asked, staring at the mare on his doorstep, "What are you doing out here this early?" The farm mare, who had been in the process of raising her hoof to knock once more, smiled,
"Mornin'!" she chirped, receiving a half-hearted 'Morning' in return, "Anyhow, I came by ta let ya know that the girls an' I were thinkin'o havin' a picnic later taday, an' were wonderin' iffin you wanted ta come by!" she said. Emerald hummed,
"Well, I appreciate the offer, but I'm planning on showing Glim around town with Wisp," he explained. Applejack brightened,
"Now that's a mighty fine idea!" she said, "Maybe ya'll c'n come down ta the Ponyville Park later! That's where we're havin' the picnic, an' I'm sure the girls would love ta have the three'o ya come by!"
"Ooh! Can we, Bro?" Wisp asked excitedly. He turned back, raising a brow at her,
"You want to?" he asked, earning an eager nod, "Hmm... how 'bout you, Glim? Does a picnic sound good to you?" Starlight growled,
"It would sound better if you stopped calling me that," she grumbled, but nodded, "Sure, sounds like fun." He nodded, and turned back to Applejack,
"Guess we'll meet you there. What time?"
"Oh, 'bout four. Don't worry 'bout bringin' anything," she added, leaning to look past him at Starlight, "Think of it as us givin' ya a good welcomin' ta Ponyville!" Starlight laughed,
"Sounds like a deal!" she said. Applejack nodded, and turned back to him,
"Great! I'll tell the girls. See ya then!" she chirped, turning and walking off, waving back at him. He returned the wave,
"See you," he replied, before shutting the door. He turned back to Wisp and Starlight, smirking, "Well, today seems to be off to a good start," he muttered, "I was worried something stupid would come up."
Starlight tilted her head,
"'Something stupid'? What do you mean?"
"Oh!" Wisp spoke up, "Crazy things happen all the time here in Ponyville!" she said with a smile. Starlight blinked,
"What... kind of crazy things?" she asked hesitantly.
"One time, an Ursa Minor came running into town," Wisp began, ignoring-or not seeing-the horrified look on Starlight's face, "Then the entire town went super crazy over a bunch of tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala. Then there was this huge fashion show in town, and even the Princesses came!"
"Don't forget the incident with the cockatrice."
"Cockatrice?!"
"Oh yeah! Emerald got turned to stone then broke out an' scared the cockatrice away!" Wisp supplied. He nodded,
"That's right. There was also the time Luna came down for Nightmare Night, and, after that, I had to deal with some Diamond Dog Mutts who had enslaved a bunch of ponies."
"Yeah, then you guys went to Appleloosa, and everythin' was pretty calm for a couple'a days," Wisp remarked, curiously.
"Then the Gala came along, followed by Hearth's Warming and Winter Wrap Up. Then the whole fiasco with Discord, and... well, here we are," Emerald finished. He blinked, and glanced at Starlight.
She was staring at them, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.
"Y-you're kidding!" she shouted, disbelieving, "All of that happened?! You've only been here a year! No," she added, "Not even a year!" she amended. Emerald smirked, and shrugged,
"What can I say? It's rarely ever dull for long 'round here."
Starlight shook her head, laughing.
"That's insane," she said, smiling, before she nodded, "If life in Ponyville is really like that, I think I'm going to enjoy living here!" He smirked,
"You say that now, but I'm sure you'll change your mind when a different primordial god of chaos decides to break out."
They finished breakfast relatively quickly after that, with Starlight eating nearly double what she'd had already, something that had the mare profusely apologizing to Emerald, who, of course, ignored it.
"I really don't care how much you eat, Glim," he said when she'd apologized again, "As long as you're happy, healthy, and safe, I. Don't. Care."
He cleaned up after that, waving off Starlight's attempts to do so, before he'd announced that they were heading out.
"So Wisp," he asked once the three of them were showered and out of the house, "Where do you think we should visit first?" The filly stuck out her tongue, putting a hoof to her chin in thought,
"Hmm... maybe we could introduce her to your friends before the picnic?" she suggested. His brow raised at that,
"Oh? I'm surprised you're not-... You just want an excuse to visit Sugarcube Corner, don't you?" he asked, deadpan. She smiled up at him innocently,
"Yep!" He sighed, but smiled,
"Figures."
"Sugarcube Corner?" Starlight asked, "Is that a sweet shop?" He shook his head,
"No, it's a bakery. It's also where I work as a cashier." Starlight blinked,
"You... a cashier?" she asked, smirking, "What happened to having more money then you could spend in a lifetime?"
"It was my cover," he deadpanned, then frowned, looking away, "A cover... I don't need anymore," he added, glancing down at his bare hoof.
That was right. His disguise was gone and rendered obsolete when he was revealed as Champion. He no longer had a reason to work at Sugarcube Corner, now that he didn't need a cover for his closeness to the Bea-the other Bearers. He clicked his teeth. It was annoying, but if he quit working at Sugarcube Corner, it would free up his schedule and...
Wait, did he even need to patrol anymore? If anything tried to attack the Elements, then he'd be one of the targets. It was, perhaps, the best position possible to deal with threats towards the Elements. No better way to attack the enemy than by being their target, after all.
He shook his head, tossing those thoughts aside.
He could deal with all that later. Right now, he had a tour to give.
"You've already met them," he began, turning to Starlight, "though, I'm not sure it was really a 'meeting', right?" She nodded,
"Yeah, it was more of an... interrogation. And not a very good one," she muttered, "I... guess it makes sense to meet them properly, since you're friends with them," she added. He nodded,
"Alright, so where to first? We've got Sugarcube Corner, The Carousel Boutique, The Golden Oaks Library, Sweet Apple Acres, Rainbow Dash's house, or Fluttershy's house," he listed. Starlight nodded, tilting her head,
"Hmm, how about Fluttershy's house?" she asked, smirking, "I've heard she's our new cousin, so it's only fair we see her first!" He nodded,
"Good choice. C'mon then, We can show you some places on the way."
And so they were off towards town, leisurely making their way down the path.
"So Em," Starlight began, "How are you liking Ponyville?" she asked, "Wisp obviously likes the place-" she smirked down at the blue filly, "but you haven't said much about it." He hummed,
"Well... it is a nice little town," he admitted, smiling softly, "The ponies here are nice as well, if a little skittish. I don't really mind living here, and I'll definitely be sad if I ever have to leave," he added, before frowning, "It... I like this town." Starlight nodded,
"It really does seem like a nice place," she said, looking around at the buildings as they entered the town proper, "Definitely way better than the streets back in Manehatten." Emerald's teeth clenched as she said that, but let out a breath and relaxed.
"Yeah. You'll never have to worry about that again, Glim," he promised, smirking at her growl. They passed through town in relative silence after that, broken occasionally by Emerald or Wisp pointing out a specific building to Starlight.
"That's Bon Bon's Sweet Shoppe."
"Ooh! There's the arcade!"
"You can see Town Hall from here, the building near the center."
"That's Quills an' Sofas!"
"Do they only sell two things?"
"Yeah!"
"There's a couple restaurants over there. Horte's Cafe is the one I tend to head over to during lunch."
"There's even a hayburger an' pizza place too!"
It was nice, showing Starlight around. She seemed to really enjoy it as well, given the awestruck look in her eyes. Though he wasn't a fan of how much she was staring at the pizza place, but he wouldn't say no if she asked to go there at some point. Yet.
About ten minutes of walking later, and they arrived just a little out of town towards the fork in the road.
"Fluttershy's cottage is just down here," he pointed down the right path, "Sweet Apple Acres is the other way, so we'll head there next," he said.
"Got it!"
As they made their way down the path to Fluttershy's cottage, there was a large, and expected, increase in the number of animals roaming about. Everything from squirrels and rabbits to little frogs and lizards could be seen skittering about. Small groups of porcupines and skunks and all kinds of different animals meandered about, some of them spotting them and making sounds at them that could've been greetings or threats. He didn't know.
"Fluttershy is very good with animals," he explained, "she's Ponyville residential hermit, but she is also one of the go to ponies in town for information on animals of all kinds, even before the Ponyville Vet."
"She's also really shy," Wisp added, "uhh... most of the time." Starlight chuckled,
"Really? Who'd've guessed?" she asked sarcastically. The cottage soon came into sight, and it wasn't long until they were at the door. He gave it a few quick knocks, hearing the customary 'Eep!' from inside, followed by the soft hoofsteps approaching the door.
It cracked open a bit, revealing a teal eye,
"Oh! Hello Emerald," Fluttershy greeted softly, opening the door wider, allowing them to actually see her face. She tilted her head at them, "Umm... what are you doing here? Is something wrong?" she asked, looking worried. He shook his head,
"Not at all," he said, causing her to relax. He gesturing for Starlight to come closer, "This is Starlight Glimmer, I'm sure you remember her," he said, smirking. Fluttershy turned a faint red,
"Oh, um... yes," she admitted, fidgeting slightly, "Umm... me and the girls, well... i-it wasn't the nicest introduction..." she murmured.
"That's why we're here!" Wisp said eagerly, "We wanted to give everyone a nice hello since you had that weird first meetin'," she explained.
"Oh, that's nice," Fluttershy said, "I, um... well I hope we can get along!" she added sincerely, looking at Starlight, who smiled,
"Me too!"
Emerald smiled,
"Well, good to see you two are off to a friendly enough start," he began, "Unfortunately, I'd like to get everyone introduced before all the questions start, if that's fine with you?" he said, turning to address Starlight towards the end. She blinked, and looked like she was going to protest, but stopped,
"... Yeah, that makes sense," she said after a moment, "It'd be a lot easier to do everything at once than to repeat it, over and over," she agreed. He nodded,
"Exactly," he said, turning to Fluttershy, "so, we'll be seeing you and the others at the picnic later today. Feel free to ask questions then if you have any. It was good to see you, cuz, but we'll have to cut the visit short," he said. Fluttershy nodded,
"That's okay," she said, smiling, "It was nice to see you too."
With that, they turned around and walked off, leaving Fluttershy to whatever it was she was doing before their arrival.
They made their way back down the back, where there were slightly fewer animals wandering about.
"She seemed nice," Starlight said suddenly, "but she didn't seem as shy as you two were implying."
"Probably because she knows me and Wisp," Emerald pointed out, "If it had just been you two, then..." he trailed off leadingly. Starlight sighed,
"Yeah... you've got a point."
They started down the other path once they reached the fork in the road, and hardly before a minute passed they were already beginning to see the distant farm in all its grand glory.
"Holy Faust," Starlight breathed, "That is one big farm."
"Oh yeah," Emerald agreed, chuckling, "And to think, they've only got two ponies around to harvest it all." Starlight's eyes bugged out at that,
"Only two?!" she asked, incredulously, "That's-that's insane!"
"Well, they don't do it all at once, of course," he said, smirking, "They do it over some time, and I'm sure they call in relatives of they really have to hurry."
"Still..." she muttered as they approached the front gate.
Emerald's eyes scanned the property before him, searching for a streak of orange. He didn't find it, but he did spot a pair of red and yellow ones.
"C'mon Big Mac! I've done all mah chores!" the high-pitched southern twinge that was Applebloom's voice shouted, "Can't I go an' hang out with Sweetie Belle an' Scootaloo?" There was a deep sigh from the larger red stallion, who idly rubbed at a dark mark, a bruise, on his face.
"Applebloom, ya know what happened a couple'a days ago," Macintosh explained, looking down at the small filly, "I know Applejack an' her friends took care'o everythin', but that don't mean it's perfectly safe out there yet." Applebloom's cheeks puffed up,
"O'course it's safe!" she countered, "Applejack said so, an' ya know she ain't the kind ta start lyin' like that!"
"I'll have to agree with Applebloom, Mac," Emerald said, making himself, Wisp, and Starlight known. Macintosh flinched slightly, and turned them,
"Oh, howdy there Emerald," he greeted, and nodded at Wisp, "You too, little missy," he glanced back at Emerald, brow furrowed, "Mind explainin' whatcha mean there?"
"Everything is safe, especially in town," Emerald began, "The Elements of Harmony got rid of Discord's magic all over the planet, and Ponyville was right in the center of their blast. If anything, Ponyville is the only place on the planet that wouldn't have to worry about his magic or its aftereffects."
"Yeah, what he said!" Applebloom eagerly agreed. Macintosh frowned at him, before sighing and turning to Applebloom,
"I... guess that's true. Alright, Bloom, ya c'n spend time with yer friends, but-" he added when Applebloom started cheering, "Ya gotta promise me that ya'll will be careful. I don't wanna hear 'bout you three headin' inta the Everfree again, an' ya know Granny wouldn't either." Applebloom winced at that, looking embarrassed,
"I know..." she muttered, rubbing her leg. Macintosh stared at her for a moment, then nodded,
"Good. Now go on," he said, shooing her off, "Have fun."
"Yeah! Thanks Big Mac!" she cheered, before running off, "See ya later!"
The older stallion stared after his youngest sister for a moment, before turning to Emerald,
"So, what brings ya by?" he asked,
"Just showin' my sister around town," he answered, gesturing to Starlight, "Brought her around to give her and Applejack a proper introduction. Know where we can find her?" he asked. Macintosh hummed for a moment, then nodded,
"Eeyup. She's 'round the east side'o the orchard. Probably near her ol' clubhouse," he said, "Ya can't miss it." Emerald nodded,
"Thanks Mac," he said, "Alright, let's go then," he added to Wisp and Starlight.
They made it about ten steps, before Emerald stopped, and turned back to Macintosh,
"Hey Mac!" he called,
"Hmm?" was the other stallion's response. Emerald gave him a wicked grin,
"Sorry about the bruise, by the way!"
Emerald was still smirking a bit as they wove through the trees.
"How does anyone find their way through these?" Starlight grumbled, "It's like a maze! And not the good kind!"
"Well, they have lived here their entire lives," he pointed out, "I'd imagine they've memorized where everything is." A flash of orange caught his attention, and he pointed towards it, "This way."
Just as he'd thought, they spotted Applejack staring wistfully at an old, broken down tree-house from where it hung. There was a vague smile on her face, one that told him she was currently in the middle of remembering something.
Shame.
"Hey Applejack," he called,
"Agh!" she yelled, darting forward, landing face first onto the ground. There was a groaning noise, before she raised her head and glared at him. He smirked, brow rising,
"Uh... sorry?"
"Very funny," she said, rising to her hooves, "So, besides scarin' the hooves offa me, what brings ya'll 'round?" she asked, glancing at Wisp and Starlight.
"Well," Starlight began, "Em here thought it would be a good idea for me to meet you all." Applejack frowned,
"But we already-"
"You chased me across town," Starlight deadpanned, cutting her off, "I think we can both agree that that isn't the best first impression somebody can get." Applejack's jaw hung loose for a moment, before it closed, and she nodded,
"Ya got that right," she admitted, and stuck out her hoof, "Well then, it's nice ta meet ya, Starlight! Name's Applejack!" she greeted, tipping her hat. Starlight giggled, and took the offered hoof,
"And it's nice to meet you too, Applejack!"
"So, whatcha doin', Miss Applejack?" Wisp asked, looking up at the tree-house curiously. Applejack sighed, following her gaze,
"Aw, I was jus' rememberin' when I was yer age. I used ta play in this thing all the time," she said, smiling fondly, before it turned into a frown, "But the ol' thing ain't seein' any use now, so we're prolly gonna hafta get rid'o it."
"Why don'tchu just fix it?" Wisp asked. Applejack laughed a bit at that,
"Well, I'd love ta do some work on it, but there ain't a reason," she explained, almost sadly, "It ain't gonna be seein' any use any time soon."
"Well... what about your sister?" Starlight suddenly asked. Applejack blinked,
"Mah sister? Ya've met Applebloom?" she asked, idly. Starlight waved her hoof in a 'so-so' motion,
"I saw her talking to the red stallion, uh... Macintosh?" she asked, earning a nod, "Right. She wanted to hang out with her friends, but he was worried that things were still kind of dangerous after Discord's escape. Why don't you just give her the tree-house so she and her friends can spend time on the farm where you both know where they are?" she suggested.
Applejack stared at her for a moment, then smiled,
"Now that is a good idea!" she gushed, laughing a bit, "I can't believe none'o us thought of that!"
"Well, they aren't exactly the safest group in Equestria," Emerald said, smirking, "If anything, they just might knock this thing down during one of their... 'Crusades'." Applejack laughed,
"I wouldn't be surprised!" she said, smiling, "Welp, I gotta go tell Granny that I'm thinkin'o givin' Bloom the ol' tree-house. Ya still comin' 'round fer the picnic?" she asked.
"Yeah!"
"Definitely."
"Totally!"
"Great!" she said, "See ya then!"
This was going well. Astonishingly well. So well, in fact, that Emerald was certain that something was going to happen to completely derail his plans for the day.
"Damn, this place looks like an actual gingerbread house!" Emerald chuckled, finding Starlight's awestruck gaze amusing,
"It is a bakery," he said, trying to throw those previous thoughts away. Starlight shook her head,
"This is... are all the businesses in Ponyville so... easy to spot?" she asked,
"Yeah, pretty much," Wisp answered for him, smiling, "It makes it really easy to find them!"
"Because in a small town like Ponyville, it's pretty hard," he added sarcastically, then turned to the building, "Anyways, Pinkie Pie works here as a baker, and she's our next visit. A word of caution, she's... excitable, so don't be surprised if she jumps you, saying something about throwing you a party," he warned, "And... try to be prepared to answer a lot of questions very quickly," he added.
But still, even though he was trying to ignore those thoughts, he just knew, even as they made their way into Sugarcube Corner, he was sure something was going to pop out an-
"Hey Emerald!" Pinkie shouted, popping into his field of vision, startling Starlight, who yelped and fell onto her flank. He glanced down at her, smirking,
"Hey Pinkie," he said, turning to address her, "How are ya?"
"I'm great!" she cheered, smiling widely, "I have so many games planned for our picnic this afternoon, it's gonna be amazing!" He chuckled,
"I'm sure it will, Pinkie," he said, then jerked his head towards Starlight, "You remember Glim, yeah?" She smiled and nodded,
"Yep!" she chirped, "She's the pony me and the girls chased around Canterlot!" she supplied happily,
"Uhh... yeah, that's me," Starlight said, awkwardly smiling at the chipper mare, "Uhh... I'm Starlight, it's... nice to actually meet you?" she said, phrasing it more like a question even as she stuck her hoof out.
It was a decision she quickly regretted, as Pinkie eagerly took the offered hoof in both of hers, shaking it wildly,
"Hi Starlight!" Pinkie began, "It's so good to finally meet you, even though we already met in a really funny way! We totally chased you all over Canterlot! I thought we had you a buncha times but you just teleported away! That was so cool! What was it like?! Did it go all 'buzzz-WOOSH' or 'zrrrp-POP'?! I've never seen anybody teleport before, except Twilight that one time?! Ooh, do you like magic like Twilight?! Also, what's your favourite colour?! What's your favourite ice-cream flavour?! What's your favourite party game?!"
Starlight just blinked and took the onslaught of questions with wide-eyes and a gaping mouth.
"Uhh... It's kinda disorienting the first time, neither, uhhh, yeah sure, light blue, chocolate, I don't have one?"
Emerald stared at her for a moment, honestly surprised she actually managed to answer each of Pinkie's questions on the first try. He then shrugged.
Oh well, it was bound to happen.
He turned to Starlight and Wisp,
"Would you two like anything while we're here?" he asked. Wisp didn't answer, only jogging towards the front counter, where an amused looking Mrs. Cake sat. Starlight bit her lip, eyeing the displayed sweets, before nodding shyly, "Then order," he said, giving her a gentle shove.
Starlight stumbled a bit, and sent a glare back at him, but it melted into a shy smile when she turned back to Mrs. Cake.
He turned to Pinkie in the meantime,
"So, anything interesting happen since we've been back?" he asked, Pinkie stuck her tongue out,
"Hmm... nope!" she chirped, "Althooooough, Mrs. Cake said Twilight was acting kinda funny earlier," she added.
"She was!" Mrs. Cake suddenly said, turning back from the window, "She put in an order for a dozen cupcakes an' Carrot and I had some extra leftover, so I gave her a baker's dozen instead! She was all put off about it, and was worrying about one cupcake having too much frosting!" she said,
"Yeah, isn't that crazy?!" Pinkie asked, "There's no such thing as too much frosting!" He scoffed,
"Maybe to you," he said, and looked over to the other two mares, "Have you two ordered yet?" he asked.
"Yep!"
"Uhh... yeah?"
"Good. We'll get those and head over to Rarity's. Alright?"
"Okay!"
"Sure?"
He wasn't surprised at Wisp's ordered cupcake, but the lemon bars Starlight grabbed were surprising. It was, again, more proof that he knew less about his family than he'd like.
Even so, it didn't bother him. With Starlight living with him and Wisp now-likely permanently-he'd have quite a lot of time to learn about her as the days went on.
Once the two of them finished their treats, they were off once again. The trip around Ponyville was taking longer than he'd anticipated, and they only had another hour until they needed to head to the Park for the group picnic.
Given that he doubted Rainbow would be home, and that in that case he'd have no clue where to find her, this was probably going to be their last stop, and the introductions would have to be finished then.
"Wow," Starlight breathed once the Boutique came into sight, "I know you called it the Carousel Boutique, but... I didn't think it would actually look like a carousel!" she said, eying the circular building in surprise. He chuckled,
"Hehe, well you know ponies. They like their names to be a little on the nose, most of the time." Starlight frowned, and nodded,
"Yeah... you're not wrong," she said, "Still..."
They approached and ventured through the door, the gentle-but still kind of annoying-ring of the bell filling the room.
"Oh! I'll be right there!" Rarity's voice called from the back room.
"Wow..." Starlight breathed, examining a few of the ponyquinns laying around, "these outfits are amazing..."
"Well, Rarity is one of the best designers I've ever met," he said, "and Sapphire seemed to agree with me, so it's not all that surprising."
"Oh, you flatter me far too much, Emerald," Rarity called, appearing through the door, drawing everyone's attention, "Though I am glad to hear that there is another pony who enjoys my-erk!" Rarity suddenly froze upon sighting Starlight.
Starlight froze in return, though she seemed to have done so more out of confusion than anything else.
It took nearly a minute, but Rarity did eventually speak,
"Y-you're..." she swallowed, then gave Starlight a rather shaky smile, "W-well... I must say, you've cleaned up rather well, dear," she said nervously. Starlight blinked, and relaxed,
"Umm... thank you?" she said, still visibly confused, until a look of realization crossed her face, "Oh! Right, you, uh... you saw me while I was... yeah..."
"She was a mess, wasn't she?" Emerald remarked idly, earning a 'Hey!', which he ignored as he wrapped a leg around Starlight, "But you'd be surprised what a good shower and some soap can do after going nearly six years without."
"I-... Yes, I imagine that that is true..." Rarity provided, before giving a gentle shake of her head, "Well then, what brings the three of you by? You-" she pointed at Emerald, who was now confused, "oh I know why you're here, Emerald, but is there anything you two need?"
Starlight broke away from the still confused Emerald,
"Uh, well, we just came by so I could give everyone a proper 'hello', you know?" she said, "Umm... I'm Starlight, it's nice to meet you," she said, sticking out her hoof. Rarity stared at the hoof for a moment, before giving it a single, quick, shake, and quickly retracting her hoof,
"Oh, well it's a delight to meet you as well, dear. Though-" she added, a twinkle appearing in her eye, "are you sure there's nothing you'd like? A formal dress? A delightful hat? Perhaps a scarf for when it gets chilly?"
"I-I, uh... I don't really know anything about dresses or... anything related to fashion," Starlight admitted nervously.
"That's fine!" Rarity gushed, gesturing over to a series of racks on the other side of the room, "Those are all of my latest designs for the Spring, and some for the Summer. Why don't you take a look and see if there are any you like?" she offered, and then turned to smile at Wisp, "Perhaps Whisper would like something as well?"
Wisp blinked up at Rarity, and shook her head,
"No thanks, I don't really like dresses all that much," she said. Rarity tittered,
"Well, you certainly don't need a dress. There are a lot of things that I have in stock. Shirts, blouses, socks, saddles, capes, and a whole variety of other things," she explained simply, "But you'll find that everything here in the Carousel Boutique is chic, unique, and magnifique!"
Emerald blinked at her, and stifled a chuckle.
She was really trying to sell something to a thirteen year old?
Then again, said thirteen year old's brother had money, and was probably willing to spend it for her, so he suppose he couldn't blame her.
Wisp just stared at Rarity, deadpan,
"You just wanna talk to Emerald alone, don't ya?" she asked bluntly. Rarity sputtered a little,
"O-of course not! It would be incredibly rude of me to-"
"So that's a yes?"
Rarity's mouth closed with an audible click,
"Y... yes, I would like to speak to your brother in private," she admitted after a moment. Wisp nodded,
"'Kay. C'mon Big Sis, maybe you'll like somethin' here?" she asked, jogging over to a stunned Starlight, who she promptly dragged over to the aforementioned clothing racks.
Rarity turned to Emerald, looking embarrassed,
"W-well, your sister is... very perceptive."
"Oh I know. You should've seen her when she was two," he said, nodding, "I couldn't speak any Equish but she still managed to understand me when I introduced myself, say... what I believe was my name, and even told me her name. All without a tongue as well," he praised.
Judging by the way Rarity's face paled slightly at that last part, he probably didn't do as good a job as he'd thought.
"I-... I see," she said, holding a hoof to her throat as she swallowed, "L-let's get started then, shall we?" she asked, levitating a small bunch of fabrics, needles, and measuring tape over to herself. Emerald's brow raise, even as the measuring tape flew around him, carefully avoiding touching him,
"What are we getting started on, exactly?" he asked,
"Why, your suit of course!" Rarity said, as if it was obvious, "I already have quite a few designs in mind, as well," she added, holding up a few coloured bits of fabric against his coat. Emerald frowned,
"I... already have a suit, Rarity. You made it, remember?" Rarity scoffed lightly,
"Oh that was for the Gala, darling! A large, formal event. Oh no, you need a suit for a far more casual outing. I doubt you and Twilight would have anything less for your first date, after all," she said teasingly. Emerald regarded her, confused,
"I'm... not going on a date with Sparky," he said. Rarity looked at him as though he were crazy,
"Oh my, you haven't asked yet? Silly colt, you can't keep a mare waiting like that!" she admonished, before smiling, "Not to worry though! Having your suit prepared early will help me design something for Twilight. Oh you two will be the talk of the town when I'm done, I tell you!"
Emerald frowned, swatting away the measuring tape and fabrics, causing her magic hold over them to fail,
"Rarity," he began firmly, "I am not going on a date with Sparky, nor do I plan to in the future." Rarity sighed, and gently shook her head,
"Oh dear, you're embarrassed, aren't you?" she asked gently, placing a hoof against her heart, "I understand, of course. Why, I recall the first time I confessed to a colt I liked. Oh dear, I was so embarrassed as well!" she said, her cheeks turning red, "I was such a mess indeed. It wasn't until my mother and father calmed me down that I regained the courage to face him. Unfortunately, the relationship never went anywhere, but I do know how hard it is the first time, Emerald."
Emerald sighed, and shook his head,
"I... appreciate the attempt at helping, Rarity, but I don't have feelings for Sparky."
Now Rarity was smirking, and even went so far as to place a hoof against his shoulder,
"Now now, there's no need to hide it, Emerald. We all heard it, you know?" she asked, and shook her head, "Running away from your feelings won't do you any good, now-"
She was cut off when Emerald straightened himself, bringing him to his full, not-insignificant height. He glared down at the shorter mare, who now looked extraordinarily nervous,
"Rarity," he began softly, but with an undercurrent of warning, "I. Do not. Have feelings for Sparky," he intoned, then relaxed and looked away, "I did," he admitted, "but not anymore."
Rarity stared for a moment, her mouth opening and closing without sound. Eventually, she managed to speak,
"Wha-what do you mean?" she asked. He only shrugged,
"I mean what I said. I don't have feelings for Sparky, anymore. I... I don't know why," he admitted, "but... after I..." he licked his lips, and sighed, "when I woke up in the hospital after... that, I didn't feel anything for her. I just felt... empty, hollow when she was around. I still care about her," he said, seemingly causing Rarity to relax, "but no more than I care for the rest of you."
Rarity could only stare at him,
"W-well, that's... that's..." she trailed off for a moment, before sighing, "I... suppose that makes sense."
"It does?" he asked, surprised. She nodded,
"Well... to a degree, yes. You are the only one I know of who has managed to..." she swallowed, gesturing towards his chest, "survive having a spear to your... I-I can't imagine what sort of trauma would be left over from such an event. I-I suppose it's only natural that things would change for you after... that incident."
That was... right. Yes, that was probably it. He hadn't thought about it-was trying to avoid thinking about his death entirely to be honest-but that did seem to be the most likely reason for his missing feelings.
Still though, there was something in the back of his mind telling him that that wasn't the case.
But... what else could it be, then?
He shook his head.
No... no. Thinking about it further would do nothing more than make him worry and become paranoid. More paranoid than usual, that is.
"Have you two picked anything?" he asked, turning away from Rarity, any desire to converse with her dying with those thoughts.
"Er... no, not really," Starlight said, sounding uncomfortable.
He could understand why, as Wisp had, somehow, forced the elder mare into a frilly sunflower yellow dress that really did not look very good on her.
"I told ya it needed the bows!" said filly scolded. Emerald chuckled, his ill feelings fading away as he watched them bicker,
"Alright you two, that's enough. The picnic isn't too far off. Get out of that dress and let's get going, alright?"
"Oh my!" Rarity suddenly gasped, having glanced at the clock when he mentioned the picnic, "You're right! Oh I have to get my things ready!"
The three of them were quite promptly thrown out, Starlight's dress being ripped off of her in the meantime, before the door to the Boutique slammed shut behind them. A 'Sorry, we're closed!' sign popped into the window as it did so.
He blinked.
"That was..." Starlight muttered, and trailed off,
"Yeah," he said, shaking his head, "We've still got about forty minutes. There's still some places we can show you."
"Like the schoolhouse!" Wisp provided, earning a nod from Emerald,
"I suppose that is someplace we can show you. Though I don't know why you'd need that particular information..." Despite his thoughts, he didn't disagree.
They were off once more, but they only made it about halfway through town before something... odd happened.
"Emerald!" the familiar voice of Sparky called from behind him. He blinked, and turned to face-
He froze at the sight of the mare walking up to him.
Oh, it was definitely Sparky, but her mane and tail were frizzy beyond belief, with hair sticking out in every direction, causing the pinks and purples of her mane to mix, like some sort of rat's nest. Her eye was twitching slightly, and she looked exhausted. There were bags under both her eyes, but they were still shining with a strange sort of mania.
In short, she looked... unhinged.
"Uhh... hey Sparky?" he ventured regardless, "Did you... stay up all night or something?" he asked lightly. She smiled at him, though it was far too wide, and far too crooked, for one of her smiles. She looked like a raving axe murderer with that grin,
"Nope!" she chirped, swaying on her hooves slightly, "I've just been walking around, talking to all my good friends!"
Emerald spared a glance over at Wisp, who looked just as unnerved as he was.
"O...kay?" he said, "Are you... feeling well?" he asked.
"I'm perfect!" she chirped, her ear twitching, "Just perfect! Why?" she asked, her smile widening as her eyes hyper focused on his, "How has your day been? Any problems, conundrums, dilemmas, anything that I, as a good friend can help you with?"
".... Nooooo...?" he said hesitantly, eyes roaming over her form, "Though... I just might if things keep going this way," he added.
"Perfect!" Sparky gushed, darting forward way into his personal space, the distance between their faces cut down to mere inches, "What can I, as a good friend, do to help?!"
"Well... you could tell me what's got you acting so... unhinged, for starters." Sparky only blinked, that crooked smile not leaving her face,
"What do you mean? There's absolutely nothing wrong! Nope! Nothing at all! I'm just trying to help out all my good friends with their problems today!" she said happily. He only stared at her, before sighing,
"Listen, Sparky, I don't say this often, and I tend not to mean it when I do, but... you're scaring me."
Now that seemed to have caught the mare's attention, and it was, thankfully, in a way that he could understand.
All at once, her manic expressions-the twitching of her eye and ear, the smile, that kind of thing-vanished, replaced by honest confusion,
"I am?" she asked,
"You're scaring me a little, too," Starlight added,
"Yeah, Miss Light, you're really freaky right now," Wisp supplied helpfully. That caused Sparky to blink, and thankfully lean away from him, falling onto her flank,
"I... I am?" she asked again. Emerald could only sigh,
"Alright, spill it. What the fuck is the matter with you?" The question got her to refocus her attention on him, but whatever calm had overcome her wore off, as her hooves immediately flew to the sides of her head,
"Oh no!" she shouted, "I've wasted so much time!" she added, scrambling back to her hooves. She nearly ran off, but a quick motion on his part, and her tail was firmly planted beneath his hoof. Her tail strained for a moment, before snapping her backward, her flank colliding with the ground, her back striking his chest moments later.
"Ugh..." she groaned. Emerald huffed, spun her around, and placed his hooves against her shoulders,
"I said, spill it," he growled, "don't make me say it again."
Sparky only stared at him, worriedly, her eyes darting to and fro in a panic. She was even wringing her hooves for Faust's sake!
"I-it's terrible!" she finally said, lurching forward to grab him around the middle. He stiffened slightly in surprise, but relaxed,
"Yes?"
"It's awful!"
"Yeees?"
"Absolutely horrible!"
"Yeeeeeeees?"
"The worst trouble I've ever been in and pleascanyouhelpme-he-he?!"
"Just fucking tell us!" Starlight shouted from beside them, looking aggravated, yet nervous.
"It's Tuesday!" she shrieked.
Emerald only blinked at that, and he had a feeling that Starlight's brain had suddenly short-circuited.
"Umm... yeah?" Wisp said, speaking what they were all thinking, for the most part.
"It's Tuesday-!" Sparky repeated, "and I haven't sent Princess Celestia a friendship report!" she clarified, "The Princess wanted me to send her a friendship report every single Tuesday, but I don't have one for this week! With all the Discord stuff that happened, I was too distracted to realize I needed one, and if I don't send one in by sundown, then I'll be tardy!" she whined, looking up at him with her watery purple eyes.
That was... expected for her, actually. If she viewed this... 'friendship report' nonsense as some sort of assignment, then, yes, of course she was freaking out about a perceived deadline.
But... she'd been here almost seven months before his arrival, and there had been plenty of weeks, days, even a month or two in which nothing-that he was aware of-had happened to warrant one of these... 'reports'
"Uhh... why is this an issue now?" he asked, deciding to voice his thoughts, "I can't imagine you've managed to learn something new about friendship every single week since your arrival here. Especially not with how clueless you tend to be still."
Sparky tensed up around him, before one of her hooves unwrapped, and idly began rubbing against him, in a fashion similar to kicking at the ground like an embarrassed foal.
"W-well, I always managed to learn something small by watching the girls interact with each other. N-nothing big, but I always made sure to properly analyze what I saw, document the situation in which it occurred, record the frequency-"
"I get it," Emerald cut her off. His lips thinned, pressing against each other as he thought.
This was... annoying. Sparky was blowing this thing way out of proportion. She was one of the best students that Canterlot had ever seen, and her record only supported that. One late assignment, which he doubted that this even was, wouldn't be able to hurt her in the long run.
But, then again, it would sully whatever reputation the mare had managed to, unwittingly, build and that could prove damaging in some way.
Still, this was a non-issue, as far as he, and literally anyone other than her, was concerned.
But she was concerned. She viewed this as a legitimate problem, and he would be remiss to disregard this just because it wasn't his problem.
First step, calm her down.
"I'll help you, but-" he said, and quickly put up a hoof to silence her before she could speak, "-only if you promise that you will listen to me, and calm down."
Sparky's mouth clicked shut and, after a moment, she nodded, albeit a tad timidly.
He gave her a slightly condescending pat on the head,
"Alright, now please let go of me," he said, not even feeling the spark of loss he once felt when she let go of him, nor the warm amusement of her beet red face.
"So, you believe that this... 'report' of yours is about to be overdue, yes?" she nodded, "Alright... now, are you sure that today is your deadline?" Sparky nodded firmly,
"Of course!"
"Alright. I don't want to be rude, but you've jumped to conclusions before, Sparky," he said, causing her to wince, "So I'll ask again. Are you absolutely certain that today is the deadline?"
Sparky swallowed, and, for a moment, she seemed unsure. After a moment, however, she nodded firmly,
"Yes!"
He nodded,
"Okay. You've talked to the others?" She nodded, again,
"Y-yes, though none of them had any problems they needed help with," she admitted, wilting slightly, "The closest I got was with Rarity, but she had just lost her ribbon... which she found a couple seconds after telling me about it."
"Interesting, but not what I meant. I meant, have you talked to them about this issue of yours?" She blinked,
"Ah... no," she said, pressing her hooves together, her ears flicking slightly, "I guess... I wasn't thinking?"
"Duh," Wisp deadpanned, causing the older mare to flush.
"W-well, I was just so focused on finding a friendship problem, that I guess... I forgot?" she defended weakly. Emerald shook his head,
"Well, that hardly matters now. C'mon, let's head to the park and wait for the others to show up," he suggested, "Five other ponies, one of them is bound to have some kind of idea as to how we should go about this."
"You're kiddin' me, right?" Applejack asked, smiling at them.
Emerald sighed, and dragged a hoof down his face.
He should've expected this. A part of him had, actually.
Really, why in the world had he thought these mares would care about this issue any more than he did? The facts remained simple.
This was not an issue.
The only issue lied with Sparky's perspective on the whole thing.
But, of course, these mares, somehow, don't realize this despite being of mostly average intelligence.
"Wha-this is serious!" Sparky defended, obviously offended at Applejack's response. Rainbow just laughed,
"Yeah, sure it is, Twi," she said sarcastically, snorting as she failed to hide a smirk.
"I'm just glad that nothing terrible has happened," Fluttershy said gently, giving a soft smile to the group. Emerald could practically hear the indignation going through Sparky's head, even if it was outwardly suppressed by aggravation,
"This is terrible!" Sparky snapped, advancing slightly on the five, "I haven't learned anything about friendship in the past week, and if I don't send in my letter by the end of today, then I'll be tardy!!" she concluded, standing on the tips of her hooves to gain height, though it only brought her to eye level with most of her friends.
The girls looked at each other for a moment, and, as one, began to snicker.
It wasn't meant to be anything bad, Emerald could tell. It was just them finding Sparky's worry over something so small, amusing. To be fair, it was funny, seeing her panic over the little thing that Sparky thought was a problem. Still, she thought of it as a problem and, to be completely honest, he wouldn't want anyone laughing at something that he thought was an issue. Let alone for those laughing at it to be his friends.
With that in mind, he wasn't surprised by the way Sparky's face began turning red, her lips puckering into an angry grimace.
She was distracted, thankfully, by Applejack,
"Sugarcube, I think yer jus' gettin' a little werked up over nothin'," she said gently and honestly. It was a genuine and innocent statement, but one that Sparky took wrong in more than one way.
Sparky's cheeks puffed up in indignation, and she shoved Applejack away,
"This! Is not! Nothing!!" she snapped, "This is my whole life!" she added, darting her gaze between each of them, "I need you all to help me find somebody with a friendship problem before the sun goes down! My entire life depends on it!!" she screeched, her gaze finally landing on Pinkie. After that outburst, she was breathing heavily, and looked more aggravated than he'd ever seen her.
Her eyes were wild again, twitching almost in time with her ear. She was shaking, fidgeting as she moved, looking around at each of them.
She really did think this was a problem, didn't she?
"You lot can quit playing around," Emerald snapped, stepping forward just as Sparky was about to speak. Rainbow snorted,
"What? Are you buying this?" she asked, smirking, before she thrust a hoof out a Sparky, "C'mon! She's freaking out over a letter! You heard her, right?" she asked. Emerald scowled,
"I heard her asking for my help," he replied coolly, "I don't see why her needing help with a letter is important. All that matters is that she asked me for help." Rarity only tutted,
"Now, now, there's no need to go making a mountain out of a molehill, darling," she admonished gently. Emerald's scowl worsened, but before he could speak, Sparky interrupted,
"Fine!" she shouted, "Fine! If you girls won't help me, then I'll just-I'll just-!" she struggled to speak for a moment, shaking wildly, before huffing and almost violently brushing passed Emerald, face beet red and mouth set in a firm line.
He spun around, a hoof reaching out to grasp her shoulder,
"Sparky, hold-"
A flash of brilliant purple light, and she disappeared.
"-on a... minute..." he trailed off, and sighed.
He stood for a moment, staring at the spot where Sparky teleported, before turning to the girls, face set in a grim expression. His mouth opened, prepared to scold the mares before him, but he found the words stuck in his throat. His mouth clicked shut, and he sighed once more.
He couldn't scold them. Not when he, too, had refused to take her seriously at first. He had decided to help her, yes, but he hadn't actually committed to the idea that this... report of hers was of any importance.
But hearing the way she spoke, hearing the way she all but begged them to help her?
No, this was serious. Not in the grand scheme of things, but to Sparky. And, frankly, that was all the reason needed for him to act.
With that thought in mind, he sent one final, scathing glare at the girls, before trudging off, intent on finding where ever it was that Sparky had disappeared to.
-----
Starlight watched Emerald walk away, feeling more than a little tempted to follow after him.
But she didn't. And neither did Wisp, for that matter.
She glanced down at the small blue filly next to her, and wasn't surprised to find her glaring-it looked more like a pout when she did it, but Starlight wasn't about to tell her that-at Twilight's friends.
Honestly, she would've been glaring at them with Wisp, but just glaring at them wouldn't help solve this issue.
"Jeez, what's his problem?" Rainbow asked, glaring slightly at Emerald's retreating form. Starlight scoffed, bringing attention to herself,
"You should be asking yourself that," she said with a frown, before shaking her head, "I mean, honestly! One of your best friends in the world walks up to you and asks for your help, and you laugh in her face?" she asked.
Perhaps it was because of her wording, but she noticed a few of the girls, Rainbow Dash included, wince.
"Well, a little letter isn't really a big issue, now is it?" Rarity asked a bit uncomfortably,
"Neither is a missin' ribbon," Wisp snapped, pout-glaring at Rarity, "but you sure seemed to think so when Miss Light came by to help."
Now that seemed to cut deep, if the way Rarity genuinely recoiled away from her was something to go by.
"N-now that's a tad uncalled fer, don't ya think?" Applejack asked, giving Wisp a scolding look, one no doubt practiced extensively on Applebloom. Wisp only sneered at the older mare,
"So is laughin' at someone who was just askin' for help," Wisp retorted, before huffing and spinning around, "Whatever, I'm gonna go help Miss Light an' Big Bro," she said, all-but-stomping off.
The group of six were silent, until Starlight sighed, getting up to follow her.
So much for a second first impression.
"Clock is ticking, Twilight! Clock. Is. Ticking!" she mumbled to herself, giggling as she stared out her window.
The sun was still high in the sky, oh, but not high enough! There was only so much time left in the day, time she was quickly running out of!
She needed a problem, and with a problem, a solution!
"Ugh!" she groaned to herself, pacing in a circle over her bedroom floor, "Keep it together, Twilight!"
Yes, together. Together, as in, one piece. Not like the way her life was going to shatter if she didn't get her letter in on time! But, there were no problems in sight, and that was a problem! Oh, but not the kind she could solve, of course, no no no, not in the way she wanted to! Her friends didn't help her, oh no, not. A. Single. One!
She perked up suddenly, a wide smile spreading across her face as she turned to an old, bright baby blue chest sitting against her bedroom wall.
But that was fine! After all, if she couldn't find a friendship problem, then she could make one!
-----
Laughter. Oh that sound, that dreadful sound! She knew it well, very well, very very very well!
It was the same sound they used to make whenever 'Twilame' fell to the ground, or whenever 'Twicry' had her big, stupid glasses taken by a pony so much bigger than she was!
But they weren't laughing at her, so that made the sound sweet, innocent, and perfectly okay!
Not like her friends, no no no! They were happy to laugh at her, just like they did!
That was okay, though! Everything would be juuuuuuust fine once she got her letter in to Princess Celestia!
She just needed to solve this friendship problem, first!
She teleported in front of the fillies she'd found, smiling down as nicely as she could at Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.
"Hi giiiirrls!"
They must have been having a rough day, since they looked unhappy to see her.
She couldn't imagine why, though!
"Uh... H-howdy Miss Twilight," Applebloom greeted politely, "How's it-?"
"Grrrreeaat!" she chirped, "Juuuust great! I gotta say-!" she added, innocently beginning to stalk around them, "you three are looking like you're just a bunch of good friends having a great time, and who obviously don't need the help of another good friend! Right?!" she asked.
She backed away a little, and brought out the first step of her plan.
Smarty Pants!
"This. Is. Smarty Pants!" she introduced, gently holding the old doll out to the girls, "She was mine when I was around your age!" she added, bringing the doll close for one final nuzzle before she enacted her plan, "And now! I want to give her to you!" she finished, thrusting it back out for the three to take.
"She's... great?" Scootaloo said, obviously very excited to see her,
"Uh... yeah, great," Applebloom added, already overcome with jealousy,
"I... really like her... mane?" Sweetie Belle interjected, refusing to let the others come between her and Smarty Pants!
Yes! It was working! Nobody could possibly resist Smarty Pants' charm!
Now, to seal the deal!
"She even comes with her own notebook and quill, so you can pretend she's doing her homework!" she revealed excitedly.
Yes! This will ensure that these fillies will be so overcome with jealousy, that they're bound to fight over Smarty Pants!
After all, she'd loved the little doll her entire foalhood-and still did, actually, but that wasn't important right now-so it only stood to reason that these three would as well!
"That's... uh, yeah that's great!" Scootaloo said, looking everywhere but at her and Smarty Pants, no doubt trying to resist the sheer charm of the doll,
"Yeah... great," Applebloom agreed,
"Uhh...." Sweetie muttered, only to receive a pair of hooves to either side, "Ow!" she snapped, then looked back at her and Smarty Pants, "Uh, I mean, I really like her... mane?"
"I just hope the fact that there are three of you and only one of her, doesn't become a problem or anything!" she said innocently, smiling up into the air, "I'd hate to cause a rift between such good friends!"
Her neck cracked a little as she whipped her head back to face the Crusaders, who all stiffened at her action,
"So! Who wants to play with her first?!" she asked, holding the doll closer to them.
"Uh," Applebloom began, causing Twilight lean forward, "uh... How 'bout you, Sweetie Belle?" she asked, which got Twilight to freeze, "ya know, cuz ya like her mane so much!"
Twilight blinked. That wasn't-
"Oh no! I think Scootaloo should play with her first!" Sweetie Belle disagreed, carefully backpedaling away from Smarty Pants,
"What? No way, Applebloom should totally go first!" Scootaloo added, jumping forward to grab Applebloom's hoof.
Twilight watched in a mixture of confusion and rising panic as the girls began to fight. But not over the doll as she'd planned, oh no!
They were fighting over who didn't get to play with her precious Smarty Pants!
That wasn't good! Not at all! In fact, that just might be the worst possible thing that could happen!
Think Twilight! she shouted at herself, C'mon, c'mon, c'mon...! That's it!
She turned back to the girls, her smile lighting up further,
"Ohoho... You're going to like Smarty Pants, and you're going to like her more than anything!"
Power built up in her horn, twisting and churning to her desire. She felt the spell she was weaving pulse once, twice, before she unleashed it.
Her magic immediately took the form of a small trail of hearts, shooting straight towards her old doll. The first heart struck it dead on, and the other soon swirled around the old doll, filling it with magic.
There was a snap, and she felt her spell's effect latch on to Smarty Pants, and her grin widened.
Like a switch that been flipped, the girl's fighting ceased-
"I want it!"
"I need it!"
"I really like her mane!"
-and it began once more, now with Smarty Pants at the center.
Twilight let out a giggle, clapping her hooves together eagerly as she congratulated herself.
The Want It Need It spell! Works every time!
She cleared her throat,
"Okay girls, break it up!" she shouted cheerfully, reaching a hoof to snatch Smarty Pants from them, "I think there's an important lesson to be learned-agh!" she grunted when three different hooves impacted her side, sending her tumbling. She shook her head, and blinked, "Umm..."
She swallowed, and stared at the three quarreling fillies with worry.
"Okay, um... g-girls there's really no reason to fight, I mean, aren't we all friends here?" she asked gently, "Don't you think you ought to share?" she asked hopefully.
Her hopes were dashed immediately when three heads snapped to face her, all sporting minor scrapes and scuffs,
"""NO!"""
Twilight groaned and dragged a hoof across her face.
This... was quickly turning out to be a bad idea. She frowned and leapt forward, hooves stretching towards her old doll. She was met by almost five hooves in opposition, each working in tandem to tug and pull her old doll in a separate direction. She grunted, and leaned back, only for their four-pony tussle to tip over her head.
The sudden motion startled her into letting go, and she was flung away from the fillies on the return roll. She collided with something soft yet firm, and very distinctly pony-like.
Her head snapped up, immediately expecting to find a pair of scolding blue eyes, only to be met with a pair of curious green ones.
"Big Mac!" she gasped, spinning around to face the larger stallion properly, "You've got to help me!" she implored pointing angrily at the fillies, "We have to get that doll away from the girls!"
Big Mac stared at her for a moment, before his eyes locked onto the fighting fillies. His mouth, which was wrapped around the handle of a bucket, turned downwards into a frown. He set the bucket down, and nodded,
"Eeyup."
With a level of calm and grace that probably came with having two younger siblings, Big Mac walked over to the three fillies, reached in, and snatched up the Smarty Pants doll without issue.
Twilight sighed, feeling herself relax.
"Oh thank goodness," Twilight breathed, walking towards him, before she reached out to take the doll, "Thanks for the help, Big Mac, now if you don't mind giving that to me-"
Apparently Big Mac did mind, since he twitched away from her, and started running away,
"Eenope!"
Twilight blinked, immediately confused.
"Hey, get back here!'
"I want that doll!"
"I really like her mane!"
She sighed, her hoof coming up to her cheek with a harsh smack.
"Right... the Want It Need It spell..." she muttered. She shook her head.
Okay, Twilight, this is... Well, it isn't good, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Yes, you used the Want It Need It spell on the Cutie Mark Crusaders and accidentally got Big Mac caught up in it too, but you can fix this! You just need to get that doll back before anybody else sees it!
She nodded to herself, plan set.
"Okay! You four need to-" she paused, "Uh... where did everyone go?" she asked herself.
She spun around, but found herself alone. All that she could see were the numerous amounts of trees customarily found at Sweet Apple Acres, but no ponies. She couldn't even hear any of them either.
She frowned.
If she couldn't hear them anywhere near here, then that must mean...
Dread overtook the studious unicorn as she stared down a nearby path leading back into Ponyville.
"Uh oh."
Emerald expected a lot of things to have happened in the time it took him to arrive back in town. Fires, monsters, magical mishaps, really, anything could have happened in the short span of time that Sparky had been out of sight.
What he found when he arrived in town, however, was... nothing. Absolutely nothing had happened. Ponies were still milling about, their days obviously unobstructed by whatever insanity that usually followed the girls-and him, if he was being honest-like a moth to the flame, despite how late it was getting.
Still, it was a good sign. It meant that Sparky hadn't the time to do anything, and it meant that he had the time to stop her.
He bolted down to the library-where else would the mare go in her current state?-only to find the door locked shut. That, of course, wasn't much of a deterrent for him-and he'd have to apologize for breaking in later-but the state of the library had him stopping in his tracks.
Books were strewn to and fro all over the floor. Papers and quills joined the multitude of books, some of which were sitting, soaking, in a large puddle of ink. He noticed that there were some smaller circles of splattered ink, though the pattern in which they were laid meant that Sparky had, at some point, started tracking the stuff around the room. One of the bookshelves even had a missing shelf, he noticed.
"Oh... this can't be normal," Starlight's voice filtered through his right ear, just as the mare appeared by his side,
"She's... really not okay, is she?" Wisp asked, glancing up at the older stallion. He only shook his head,
"No... no she isn't," he said, frowning. His ear twitched, and his frown grew more pronounced, "She's not home."
"Where is she?" Starlight asked. Emerald huffed, and stepped forward,
"Not sure, but we we're definitely not finding anything around here," he said, already turning to leave.
The three of them left the library behind, but still continued on their search.
"So, if not the library, then where would Twilight be?" Starlight asked, causing Emerald to scoff,
"Normally I'd say either in the market, or over at one of the others' house, but with everyone out for the picnic the latter is obviously not much to go on."
"Hmm... maybe someone back in the market saw Miss Light?" Wisp suggested. Emerald nodded,
"It's as good an idea as any. C'mon."
He doubted they'd find her, since Sparky had teleported back home. Even so, it was a good idea. In this town, no one could go anywhere during the day without someone seeing them. Even if she'd teleported home, he was sure someone had an idea as to where she might've gone.
Unfortunately, it didn't look like he'd be getting any answers, since the entire market place was completely void of townsfolk.
"Uhh..." Starlight began intelligently, "A-am I seeing things?" she asked, looking around, confused, "'Cause I'm pretty sure this place was full not even five minutes ago!"
"Well, seein' is believin'?" Wisp muttered, unsure,
"Yeah, and we're not seeing shit," Emerald added, frowning, "Either Pinkie's throwing a surprise party and we weren't invited, or something is very wrong here."
"I hope it's the party," Wisp said,
"I don't."
Emerald growled, walking forward. The entire market place was abandoned and, judging by the myriad things left laying over the ground-mostly buckets of produce and some bits-it was sudden and abrupt.
There were a lot of hoofprints on the ground as well, though this was the marketplace, so that was normal. What wasn't normal, was the fact that the most recent prints were all heading in the exact same direction. Namely, back towards the park.
Focusing his hearing, he could make out the faint sound of hundreds of pounding hooves off in that direction as well.
"Somethings going on back at the park," he announced, frowning growing more pronounced, "Whatever it is, it's attracted everyone in town to it."
"D'you think it's a monster?" Wisp asked,
"Sparky couldn't find a problem, so making one isn't out of the question," Emerald agreed, but he shook his head, "No, all I'm getting are hoofsteps. A lot of them, but nothing beyond that."
"Well, we aren't figuring it out standing here!" Starlight chirped, beginning to head off towards the park, "C'mon!"
Emerald... had no idea what he was looking at.
He, Starlight, and Wisp had finally made their way back over to the park, only to find everyone in Ponyville brawling.
He wished he was only kidding, but, there, right in front of him, were piles of ponies all punching the palookas out of each other for no discernible reason! He could see everyone in town, ranging from the Mayor, to Ditzy Doo, to Bon-Bon, Lyra, the Crusaders, even Macintosh! They were all rolling on the ground, fighting each other.
Well, by fighting he meant pushing each other, pulling hair, and generally just hitting towards the chest and legs.
In fact, the only ponies he couldn't see involved-aside from Starlight and Wisp, of course-were the girls. Still, it was concerning seeing everyone fighting like this. Was Sparky responsible?
Starlight frowned, her horn flashing,
"Huh... everyone's being affected by an attraction spell. A really strong one, too." Emerald hummed,
"An attraction spell?" he asked. Starlight nodded,
"Yeah, they're... pretty self explanatory. Cast the spell on an object or person, and everyone but the caster will suddenly find themselves more attracted to the object. Weak ones tend to just draw the eye, while the super powerful ones cause heavy obsession and possessiveness."
"That doll is mine!"
"Get away from my doll!"
"I really like her mane!"
Emerald turned to Starlight,
"Like that?" he deadpanned. Starlight only sighed,
"Yeah, like that." Emerald sighed, and turned back to the brawl.
Everyone was being affected by one strong attraction spell. Was it some sort of cursed artifact? Had Sparky gone out and found one to try and 'solve' a problem for her little report?
"Can you find whatever the spell was cast on?" he asked. Starlight nodded, her horn beginning to glow,
"Yeah, shouldn't be too hard," she said, eyes scanning the area, before they narrowed, "Alright, I think I've got it?" she said, sounding unsure. A few moments passed, before her horn forcibly brightened, and a small, bright blue orb suddenly shot out towards them.
Sitting within the ball of magic, was a small, gray unicorn doll. It had a dark gray mane and tail made of yarn, a pair of blue pants with white polka dots, and a pair of mismatched buttons for eyes. It was clearly fairly old, but also visibly loved, if the various multicoloured patches it sported meant anything. It was a foal's doll, and whoever it belonged to had really seemed to love the little thing.
So why did it have a strange enchantment on it?
"She's got the doll!" someone shouted, causing the fighting to stop. The three of them froze momentarily, and stumbled slightly as a massive wave of ponies suddenly rushed up and towards them.
Starlight yelped, her horn glowing brighter, just as a massive wall of blue light erupted in front of them. The ponies crashed into it, letting out pained groans as they slid off of it. It didn't stop there, however, as the wall suddenly spun into a dome, trapping even the pegasi and bringing everyone together.
It looked uncomfortable.
Emerald and Wisp turned to Starlight, who was now looking astonishingly sheepish.
"Eheheh...? Oops?" Emerald shook his head,
"Can you undo this?" he asked, causing Starlight to blink,
"Well, of course I can, I'm the one who made the dome-"
"I meant the doll."
"Oh. Yeah, I can fix that too," she said. She turned to the doll still in her possession, before focusing on it. The orb surrounding the doll flashed white, then red, before fading back into the normal light blue.
Right after that, the orb, and the dome, faded away. The doll fell to the ground, just as the captured townsfolk all fumbled over each other.
Emerald watched the lot warily, but chuckled when a fair few of them looked around, flushed, and ran off. The most notable of the lot were the Mayor, who had tried, and failed, to simply brush everything off, and Macintosh, who only stared at him and Starlight for a moment, before chuckling and walking off.
"Well, that was-oh what is it now?" he asked, swapping subjects when he saw Starlight's expression. She was staring down at the doll, an expression of distaste on her face.
"The doll was enchanted with the Want It Need It spell," she explained, "It's..." she licked her lips, "it's not the worst spell. It only works on inanimate objects, and its effects stop working if you look away from it long enough. But... that doll was enchanted not even an hour ago, so..."
"Sparky enchanted it?" he asked, frowning at the innocent looking doll. Starlight nodded,
"Unless there's another unicorn in town strong enough to cast a spell that can affect the entire town, then yeah."
He frowned, and went to speak, when a brilliant flash of white light lit up the park, and-
"TWILIGHT SPARKLE!"
Emerald winced slightly, the booming sound of Mother's Royal Canterlot Voice echoing out over the area.
"Is that Princess Celestia?!" Starlight asked a little loudly, rubbing one of her ears vigorously. He nodded,
"Yeah, and she doesn't sound too happy," he muttered, eyes dancing over the park.
There.
Hovering gently over a familiar group of six, he spotted the large alicorn staring, disapprovingly, down at them. She looked around for a moment, as if expecting something. She seemed confused for half a second, before her gaze locked onto him, Starlight, and Wisp. She nodded at them, and turned back to the group of six.
"Meet me in the library," she ordered, her voice easily carrying in the mostly silent air. With that command given, the Princess flapped her wings, and took off in the direction of the mentioned meeting place.
Emerald turned to Starlight and Wisp,
"Well, you heard her. Let's get going."
Starlight and Wisp nodded, turning to head back to the library. Emerald moved to follow, but stopped as his hoof brushed against something.
He looked down, finding the doll that started this whole mess. It was just... laying there, it's button-eyes staring up into the night sky.
He wasn't sure why he did it, but he gently scooped the thing into his hooves, and, just as gently, stuffed it into the space between his body and wing, before following his sisters back to the library.
The three of them made it to the library after Mother, but before Sparky and her friends.
He was surprised when, upon entering, he was not met with the absurd mess that they'd spotted earlier, instead finding a perfectly pristine library, where a regal white alicorn was waiting for them.
She glanced up from her thoughts, and brightened a tad at seeing them,
"Oh! Hello you three," she greeted warmly, "I suppose I have you to thank for clearing up whatever mess Twilight had created by mistake?" she asked. Emerald nodded,
"Uh, yeah. Starlight recognized what was goin' on and fixed it," he said, giving the suddenly shy mare a pat on the back, which also served to shove her forward a bit. Starlight sent him a brief glare, which was wiped away when Mother chuckled,
"I'm glad to hear it!" she said, smiling down at the light purple unicorn, before her eyes started scanning her, "Hmm... you seem to be doing quite well, Starlight," she noted, her smile widening. Starlight nodded, timidly,
"Er, yeah!" she said, awkwardly, "Um, Ponyville's a pretty nice little town. I-I haven't gotten to know it yet, but it seems like a nice place to live!" she said, then tilted her head, "Er... panicking unicorns, aside, that is." Mother nodded,
"Yes, Ponyville is a lovely little town," she agreed, "I knew it was a good decision, giving this land to the Apple Family," she added, smiling fondly, before a frown overtook it, "As for Twilight's actions... well, I suppose I only have her and myself to blame."
"Whatcha mean, Miss Celestia?" Wisp asked, tilting her head. Mother gave them a weary sigh,
"Spike sent me a letter, explaining what was happening," she began, holding a hoof to her cheek, "It would seem that Twilight mistook my request for her friendship reports as a weekly scheduled 'assignment', rather than the irregularly scheduled one it was intended to be. It is my fault for not being clear enough, though the fault does also lie with Twilight for not checking with me to make sure," she said, then sighed, "Even so, I should have been more clear from the start. I've taught Twilight for most of her life now, so I should have been aware of this issue and taken the necessary steps to prevent it."
"I knew it!"
The quiet voice caught Emerald's attention, and he turned to find the hatchling carefully watching them from behind the other door. He thought about calling out to him, but chose not to.
If the hatchling wanted to hide from something, so be it.
The door behind them opened, admitting a depressed looking Sparky into the room.
"Ah, there you are, Twilight," Mother said, "I do hope you've learned your lesson from all this," she said. Sparky gave her a morose nod,
"Y-yes, Your Highness," she said, eyes not leaving the floor, "I-I'll go pack..." she added, already trudging over to the staircase. Mother blinked at the seeming non-sequitur.
"Pack?" she asked, brow rising, "What would you be packing for, Twilight?" Sparky froze for a moment, before speaking,
"For... when you send me back to Canterlot... and magic kindergarten," she said, as if the words themselves pained her. Mother only stared for a moment, looking genuinely lost.
"... Twilight, I'm not sending you anywhere," she said. Sparky's head shot up immediately, and she spun around to face Mother, looking stunned.
"Wh-what?!" she asked, "B-but I'm supposed to send you a letter about friendship every week!" she protested, "I-I missed the deadline! I'm a horrible student! I'm tardy!"
Mother only stared down at Sparky, a fond, if slightly exasperated, smile blossoming on her features,
"Twilight, you are one of the most wonderful students I've had the pleasure of teaching," she said, "I don't have to get a letter every week to know that. In fact, I was quite surprised you managed to send one in every week, if I'm honest."
Sparky stared up at the Princess, a look of honest bewilderment on her face,
"R-really?"
Mother smiled, and opened her mouth to speak-
The door slammed open, causing five different ponies to come spilling into the room. One of them, Rainbow it turned out, lunged forward, crashing into the ground between Sparky and Mother,
"Wait!" she shouted, bringing the conversation to a halt,
"You can't punish her!" Pinkie added, taking a stand in front of Sparky as well,
"Yeah, it wasn't her fault!" Applejack shouted, coming to a stop next to Sparky.
Mother stared at the three new additions, her face quickly forming into a mask, one he recognized from her sessions at Day Court,
"I'm listening," she said, though Emerald noticed the slightest upward twitch of her lips.
"Please, Your Highness," Fluttershy began to beg, "We all noticed that Twilight was upset-"
"But we thought that the thing she was worryin' about wasn't worth worrying about!" Rainbow added, her ears folding downwards,
"So when she ran off, not one'o us went an' tried ta stop her!"
"Except Emerald," Pinkie added quickly,
"Indeed," Rarity continued as though she hadn't spoken, "and as her friends, we should've taken her feelings seriously and been there for her!"
"Yeah," Applejack agreed, a self-deprecating grin worming its way into her face as she turned to face his group, "Wisp sure gave us scoldin' 'bout it, too," she said.
Emerald's gaze snapped to his littlest sister, who had promptly turned red in embarrassment. His eyes narrowed.
She scolded them? And I missed it?! Fuck!
"Please don't take Twilight away from us, just because we were too insensitive to help her," Fluttershy begged, looking up at the Princess with watery eyes.
Mother only stared at Fluttershy, before her gaze slowly roamed over the nine of them. Her eyes locked with his last, and an almost smug grin overtook her features,
"Well, it certainly seems like you all learned a valuable lesson here today, some more than others," she added, almost as an afterthought, "hmm... very well!" she announced suddenly, gently walking passed the group, "While I never intended to remove her from Ponyville-" there was a chorus of 'What?!', but it went ignored, "-however, I'd be willing to forget her punishment entirely, on one condition."
"A-anything!"
""Of course!""
"Whatever you say Princess!"
Mother smirked, and twirled around to face them all,
"In return for Twilight's punishment being revoked, I'd like you all to report to me your findings on the magic of friendship-" she leaned forward, looking directly at Sparky, "-when, and only when, you happen to discover them," she added, cheekily.
Emerald sighed. That was... simple, and easy. Actually. The girls having to write these stupid reports would make sure that whatever lesson they learn sticks for good, and-
"That includes you as well, Emerald."
... Shit.
---
---
~Dear Princess Celestia,
We're writing to you today, because we all learned a little something about friendship.
We learned that you should always take your friends' worries seriously.
Even if you don't think they have anything to worry about.
And that you shouldn't let your worries turn anything from a small problem-
-into a big, huge, entire-town-engulfed-in-chaos-so-that-somebody-else-has-to-come-and-save-the-day problem!
signed, Your Loyal Subjects~
P.S. Fuck you, why do I have to write these too?! I didn't even learn anything!