//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Hijinks Will Ensue // Story: Laughter // by TheLegendaryBillCipher //------------------------------// Starlight Glimmer’s eye twitched and she tried to keep a straight face as she looked between Twilight, the grinning Pinkie Pie, and the tall, spindly Gem in-between them. Even after all the things that happened after she had joined Twilight and her friends, she wasn’t prepared for what Twilight was asking. “Let me get this straight,” she said with a shaky grin. “You want me to teach this…Gem…friendship?” “Of course. You two are a lot alike –- you both lost friends and wanted revenge because of it…and went through great lengths to do so. If Spinel here could learn from anyone while she’s here in Equestria, I feel that she’d learn the most from you and how far you’ve come,” Twilight explained. “Right…and you just narrowly stopped her from destroying all of Equestria? Like…five minutes ago?” In Starlight’s opinion, the Gem seemed far too calm for the so-called averted disaster. “I’ll admit, I may have gone over the top,” Spinel said, placing a hand over her gemstone. “But Fluttershy and that striped pony said they could fix it.” “And why are you here, Pinkie?” Starlight asked, turning to the pink pony. She seemed to be keeping very close to the Gem, which confused Starlight even more. “I promised Spinel I wouldn’t abandon her, and after all she’s been through, I am not breaking my word now, even if I didn’t Pinkie Promise,” Pinkie said firmly. “Besides, we’re a lot alike too!” She gestured between herself and Spinel. “Right.” Starlight huffed and took a sip out of the mug on her desk. She looked to Twilight. “So, you really think this is a good idea?” “Well, what kind of ponies would we be if we neglected sharing our knowledge of friendship with others?” Twilight said, heading to the door. “I’ll go debrief Princess Celestia with Princess Luna.” “Good luck with that.” Starlight sounded like the one who needed it more as she watched Twilight leave. “And I’m going to go make some donuts,” Pinkie said, quickly turning to Spinel. “I Pinkie Promise I’ll be back, alright?” Pinkie crossed her chest and put a hoof on her eye. Spinel nodded, then frowned. “What are donuts?” she asked. “You’ll see!” And with that, Pinkie darted out of the office, leaving Starlight and Spinel alone. “So…I have a question,” Spinel began, turning back to Starlight. “Trust me -- Pinkie does not break her Pinkie Promises. She’ll be back,” Starlight said, taking another fortifying sip. “That’s nice, but…I thought Twilight was the Princess of Friendship? Shouldn’t she be helping me?” Starlight gave a tired smile. “Spinel, I often ask myself that sometimes too.” She walked out from behind her desk. “Well, I guess we should get started on the basic lessons. Spike’s out getting more school supplies right now, but he should be back in enough time to join us. Follow me.” Spinel walked out after her, ducking through the door frame and following her down the corridor. “So this is some kind of…school?” she asked. “Yep. Twilight’s School of Friendship. I’m just a guidance counselor, but I guess that makes me right for your case,” Starlight explained. “And Twilight’s right -– we’ve both nearly destroyed Equestria looking for revenge.” “Is it usually this empty?” “The classes are done for the day.” Starlight glanced back at Spinel. “But, just in case the students are still around, maybe you should shapeshift into a pony again. Twilight mentioned you could do that?” Spinel nodded and glowed pink, reverting down to her pony form once more. However, her look was drastically altered from before: her eyes were still crimson, black streaks stained down her cheeks, and her gemstone was once more upside down. Starlight gave a nervous grin. “Sorry, I’m not exactly as cheerful as I was before,” Spinel said. “What sort of lessons are we talking about?” “Just wait here, and I’ll go to the classrooms and round them up. Pinkie and those other ponies you met, other than Princess Luna and Zecora, are professors here at the school, and they all teach different things about friendship.” Spinel nodded and plopped down in the hallway, though she looked worried. She watched Starlight disappear around the corner and shuddered the second she was out of sight. “Come on, Spinel,” she muttered to herself. “You can trust them…Pinkie doesn’t break her promises…they didn’t abandon you like she did…” As Starlight walked past a broom closet, she heard something rattle inside. Puzzled, she opened it up, only to get shot with a face full of sticky green web and snatched inside. The door slammed shut behind her. Before she realized what was going on, she felt something being slipped onto her horn. She attempted to conjure some sort of spark to cast some light in the dark closet, but found her magic wasn’t flowing. A green flash lit up the closet and the unicorn found herself face to face with the former Queen of the Changelings herself: Queen Chrysalis. She had a look of vile delight on her face, her fangs bared. A green glow emanated from the tip of her horn. “Chrysalis!” Starlight exclaimed, before the Changeling webbed her to one of the supply shelves. “Thought I’d drop by after classes were over and start my plan,” the queen snickered smugly. “Oh, what’s the matter? Twilight’s bestie can’t use her magic?” Starlight looked up at her horn to see that a ring made of black rock was fastened on to the base. With her body webbed to the shelf, she couldn’t reach up to remove it. “I kept some of my throne, just in case I needed to disarm any pesky unicorns…” She leaned in close, and whispered darkly. “Or maybe pesky allicorns.” “This really isn’t the best time,” Starlight said with a sheepish smile, trying to get free from the web. “I’m kind of handling a special case right now and-“ She was cut off when Chrysalis webbed her mouth shut. “Oh, well isn’t that a shame?” Chrysalis said with mock concern. In a swirl of green fire, she changed into Starlight’s spitting image. “Once I’m done draining the love out of this special case of yours, it’s off to pick apart your special friends so they’ll never use their power again! And then I will reclaim my hive, whether it be my own Changelings or an army of you ponies!” She laughed as she left the broom closet, slamming it shut behind her. The left behind Starlight Glimmer could only sigh, and hope that the Gem was as strong as Twilight and Pinkie had made her sound. Spinel perked up when she heard hoofsteps approaching, and seemed immensely relieved that it was Starlight. “Oh, Starlight, there you are,” she said. “Where are the lessons at?” Starlight seemed to recoil at the pony’s appearance, eyeing her from head to tail. “Who are you again?” she asked, clearing her throat. “Sorry, it’s been a long day.” Spinel frowned and stood up. “Spinel. Don’t you remember? Twilight said you were the best pony for teaching me friendship.” “Ah, right, right, right,” Starlight said, looking away. “Like I said, long day.” “Where are the lesson plans? Did you round them up already?” Spinel tilted her head. “Indeed I did,” Starlight said with a smirk. “They’re right this way, if you’ll follow me.” She turned and walked back down the hall, snickering to herself. Spinel raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but followed the unicorn anyway. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something seemed off with the way Starlight was acting. She certainly hadn’t seemed that tired when they had first met. “I must say you have excellent taste in jewelry…even if it is upside down,” Starlight remarked. “Jewelry?” Spinel halted with a frown. “I thought you said Twilight told you a lot about me.” “Oh, s-she did,” Starlight said with a nervous chuckle, turning to her. “She told me you were a very special pony who needed my upmost care.” Spinel took a step back and narrowed her eyes. “Oh, she did, did she?” She took another step back. “Maybe I should get Twilight then…” Starlight hissed -- her prey was wise to the trap. In a swirl of green fire she shifted back to her normal form. “You’re not going anywhere!” she snarled, opening her fanged maw. A purple glow appeared down her throat as she approached Spinel, but nothing else happened. The Gem took a few steps back in return. “Who are you?” Spinel demanded. “And where’s Starlight Glimmer?” “What?” The glow faded and the former Changeling Queen took a step back. “I should’ve drained you of all your love and left you a wiggling weak maggot on the floor! How are you immune?” A familiar, manic grin spread across Spinel’s muzzle. “Oh, you really don’t know, do you?” she asked darkly, startling Chrysalis. “Well, allow me to introduce you to a little game I was introduced to six thousand years ago!” Spinel quickly glowed pink and reverted back to normal, taking form and leaping into the air. “It’s called ‘You’ve been had!’” she roared, launching two fists at the Changeling like elastic missiles. Chrysalis quickly dove out of the way as the punches left holes in the floor. She hissed and lashed out her tongue, intimidated but trying to be intimidating. “Just what kind of monstrosity are you?” she snarled, flaring her wings. “Like I said, my name’s Spinel!” the Gem exclaimed, landing and launching another punch at the Changeling. Chrysalis took to the air to avoid it, her jagged horn glowing green. “And I am Queen Chrysalis! No creature shall make a fool of me!” She fired off a green beam of magic, aimed straight for the Gem’s head. Spinel smirked and stretched herself around the blast as it blew apart the floor behind her. “I think it’s a little late for that.” She launched three of her limbs at Chrysalis, who was able to avoid two out of three -- one of Spinel’s fist swatted her from the air. Chrysalis rolled to her feet and fired off several more blasts at Spinel, who charged forward. The Gem bent and bounced herself around the blasts until she was close enough to land another punch, sending the former queen skidding back. The Changeling looked around quickly as the Gem readied another blow. The hallway was too crowded for any of her larger forms. She’d just have to find something to hold her off, or find some way to leave- Her thoughts were interrupted when the Gem grabbed her by the neck. With an insane look in her eyes, Spinel wound her arm back around, grounding the Changeling against the wall before flinging her back down the hall with the speed of a missile. Chrysalis was barely able to shield her eyes as she was flung out the window and into the school’s courtyard. She rolled to her feet, only slightly injured –- exoskeletons made for decent armor. However, it wasn’t long before Spinel leapt out of the Chrysalis-sized hole and into the courtyard herself, fists clenched. “Where’s Starlight?” she roared. “What did you do with her?” “I got her out of the way, as I will soon do with you,” Chrysalis said with a smirk. In a green swirl of fire, she shifted up into an immense Ursa Minor and roared at Spinel. She swiped at the smaller Gem with her paw, but Spinel sprung out of the way. Coiling her lower body against a wall, Spinel flew full force at Chrysalis and punched her across the jaw. The Changeling stumbled back, stunned at the impact. Spinel took the opportunity to stretch her arms over and grab two fistfuls of fur on Chrysalis’ cheeks. The Gem proceeded to leap into the air and use the elastic momentum to drive her feet into the Changeling’s chin. Chrysalis grunted and fell over, shifting back to normal in a swirl of green fire. She shakily got to her feet, panting as Spinel landed across the courtyard from her. “Had enough?” called the Gem. “Maybe magic can’t beat you, and maybe something big can’t either,” Chrysalis panted. “But how about these apples?” With a sinister grin, she shifted in a swirl of green fire once more. Spinel gasped. Chrysalis reemerged as a green Spinel that slowly faded to the Gem’s normal colors. Her eyes were the last thing to change, turning a manic red. “You think you’re so tough, but now let’s see how you do against yourself!” “Bring it, you big fake,” Spinel growled. She wound back and started rapidly spinning her punches into a semi-tornado, charging the false Spinel. Chrysalis just grinned and bounced out of the way. Spinel chased the Changeling all over the courtyard. Each time Chrysalis tried to land her own blow on Spinel, it was deflected by the Gem’s spinning punches. Eventually, Spinel halted and started bouncing after her imposter, trading elastic punches with her. “What is going on out here?” Distracted, both Spinel and Chrysalis punched one another in the cheek and fell to the ground. They got to their feet to find Pinkie Pie standing there at the entrance to the courtyard. She was holding a big platter of steaming, heart-shaped donuts with half-red, half-pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles. “Pinkie, it’s some weird bug called Queen Chrysalis, she shapeshifted into me!” the Spinel on the right exclaimed. “Oh no you don’t, you imposter,” snarled the Spinel on the left. “She shapeshifted into me! Don’t let her fool you!” Pinkie looked between the two with a frown of worry -- now she knew how her friends had felt after her dip in the Mirror Pool. Her ears drooped. “But…which one of you is actually Spinel?” “You Pinkie Promised me you were coming back!” the right Spinel exclaimed. “Twilight said Starlight was the perfect pony to help me with my problem!” the left Spinel exclaimed. Pinkie sat the donuts down and sighed, rubbing her chin. She narrowed her eyes as she studied each Spinel. “You both look exactly the same…” she said suspiciously. “But I bet Queen Chrysalis wouldn’t have one thing the real Spinel would!” “What’s that?” both Spinels asked. “The location of where Starlight is right now! Mostly because I can’t find her,” Pinkie said with a sheepish shrug. “Well, that Spinel said she was in the broom closet!” the left Spinel accused, pointing at the other. “I did not! You just said that!” the right Spinel said defensively. “Hmm…well, that idea didn’t work.” Pinkie sighed, then abruptly perked up. “Ooh! I know!” She reached into her mane and produced the scythe handle. “What’s that got to do with anything?” the left Spinel growled. “The real Spinel would know where to store this, like she did the first time!” Pinkie called, chucking the scythe handle in-between the two of them. The Spinel on the left hesitated, but the Spinel on the right extended one hand over and snatched it from the air. She tossed it lightly in one hand and smirked at her counterpart. “Yeah, no imposter can fake what a Gem can do.” And with that, her gemstone glowed red and she slipped the scythe handle inside. The Spinel on the left took a step back and hissed, shifting back into Queen Chrysalis. “You win this round, but I will have my revenge on Starlight and her little friends!” she snarled. Flittering her wings, she took off before the Gem could react. Spinel made to charge after her, but Pinkie walked over and stopped her. “Don’t worry, she’s always going on about revenge this and revenge that. We’ve beaten her like twice now,” the pink pony said confidently. “Who was she?” Spinel asked. “That’s a long story,” Pinkie said, stretching over and grabbing her donuts. “Which can be told after we try these delicious donuts!” “And find Starlight?” Spinel took one of the donuts, smiling fondly at the shape and color. “Yeah, we should probably do that too.” Pinkie nodded. She looked around and hummed in thought. “Where should we look first…?” “Maybe in that broom closet the not-me mentioned?” “Great idea!” Pinkie set the platter on top of her mane and proceeded to bounce towards the school door, somehow without knocking off any donuts. Spinel started after her, then stopped. She looked down at her gemstone and set a hand on it lightly. “Pinkie…you’d really trust me with my Rejuvenator back?” she asked. Pinkie paused, holding the door open with her tail as she turned back to the Gem. “That scythe? Well, of course, silly,” she said with a beaming smile. “One of the important lessons Starlight was probably definitely going to teach you is: you gotta trust your friends. And I trust you!” Spinel watched her bounce inside, leaving the door ajar. She smiled fondly, looking down at the donut. Then she frowned as she made her way inside -- what was she supposed to do with it?