Luster Dawn sat in her tent, thinking, when it happened.
She was pondering on how to convince the villains the value of friendship without forcing it when she suddenly felt a strong sense of sleepiness. It only took a few seconds for her to collapse, becoming completely unconscious.
She awoke in a strange void. There was no ground to stand on, yet she was standing anyway. There were endless swirls of cyan colors, sporting what looked like stars. She didn't get to turn her head to marvel at the sights, because suddenly, a small magenta light appeared in front of her. It started getting brighter, causing Luster to turn her head anyway, close her eyes, and shield them with a forehoof.
Finally, the light faded, and Luster saw that, in its place, was Princess Twilight Sparkle.
"Princess!!!!!" Luster shrieked. She ran over and hugged her mentor, who hugged back in a warming tone. However, when Luster stepped back, she noticed something different about her mentor. She looked a lot more... sparkly. And she seemed a little see-through too.
"What are you doing here?" Luster said excitedly. "How-Why-What..."
What Princess Twilight did next shocked Luster. She didn't help Luster answer any questions. She said only one thing:
"Come with me."
Luster didn't question the Princess. As soon as Princess Twilight turned and walked away, Luster galloped toward her before slowing down and walking by her mentor's side.
The void suddenly started changing. The swirls suddenly intensified into waves until a familiar landscape was formed: the campsite. It looked like the way it was when Luster first arrived, with only the fire ring and two of the four logs being the only things there.
"Sit down, my pupil." The Princess said. Again, Luster did as she was told and sat on a log. Her mentor sat on the log across from her.
"Why... are we here?"
"So I can help you. Yes, this is your friendship problem. But while I was watching you, I soon saw conflict."
"You were... watching me?"
Princess Twilight nodded.
"I wanted to know how you were progressing. Those villains were the toughest of the tough after all. They hated friendship after all. But at the same time, they made a point: You can't force friendship. That point eventually brought you internal conflict. So when you were asleep, I decided to help. Give you some of my personal advice."
"O-ok?"
"You said to them you saw potential. I think so too. Although forcing friendship is wrong, it couldn't hurt to get through to them."
"How?"
"Learn about them. Figure out every reason they have for being bad. Every reason for vengeance. And every reason to hate friendship. Then, tell them the actuality of it: their lives would be different if they learned friendship. They wouldn't feel abandoned. They wouldn't feel betrayed. If they also learned to give instead of take, they would learn that if they kept taking, there would soon be nothing left. Nothing to take or destroy. Just pure emptiness. If they learned friendship, however, there would be an endless amount of power to gain. The power of friendship.”
“But they won’t listen to me!”
“Then dig into their past. Figured out what made them that way. And then show them the good sign of things. After all, friendship is better to learn when it’s not being forced. Like they said, you have to be willing to learn friendship. In order for them to be willing, you have to get through to them.”
“Oh... ok.”
Silence. A silence that Luster broke a few seconds later.
“There... is another thing. You probably know this, but I still have confusion. I still question why the map would call somepony like me after being asleep for so long? These villains LOATHE friendship. I have only valued it for a month. And yet, the map brought US together. Like Spike said: I have only known and VALUED friendship long enough to STILL be in the writing letters phase!”
“That may be true.” The Princess said. “But every two days, you would have learned a lesson about friendship. I haven’t even given you due dates. They came at a coincidental pattern. When I delivered letters explaining what I learned about friendship, it would have taken longer to find and deliver them. I once freaked out because I couldn’t get a friendship lesson delivered on the due date. Of course, the due dates changed to ANY time I learned something. And I was probably overreacting. But you... you have delivered lessons at a QUICK rate 24/7. For ME, it would be rare for lessons to be delivered only two days after the last one. You know more than you think you do, Luster. I believe in you.”
Luster wiped a tear from her eye.
“Thank you Princess. That means a lot to me.”
“Any time, Luster.”
“So... what am I gonna do now?”
"So far, you have done a few things that are going to help you."
"What are they?"
"You will know when the time comes. However, let me give you a tip: When you wake up and leave your tent, the villains may or may not want to be left alone."
"If that is so, is there anything I could do?"
"If I were you, I would try to give them a little chuckle, if you know what I mean," said Princess Twilight, giving Luster a wink. "I wish you luck, my student."
Suddenly, Princess Twilight and the whole area surrounding Luster illuminated in a blinding glow. Luster squeezed her eyes shut and covered them with her forehoofs, but the light was still as bright as the sun. And it continued getting brighter and brighter.
And then Luster woke up.
She sat up and found herself back in her tent. She could still see the sunlight through the fabricated walls surrounding her and her sleeping bag.
Once again, she had a hard time processing everything that had been said to her. But if the Princess gave her suggestions on how to deal with the villains, she figured it would be worth a shot.
And then Luster sat up and opened the tent.