Two months after Starlight had made up with the ponies of her former village and chose to live with me indefinitely, things were going well. Better than well.
I finally landed work at Ponyville’s Toy Store. It wasn’t paying me one-thousand bits a week like Twilight offered me when she asked me to make friends with Starlight, but I gained more than enough to get by. At this point, Twilight seemed to have gotten over her guilt of “being a bad friend” and isn't giving me bits now.
And here’s something big: turns out, there was a human world that exists outside of Equestria like an alternate universe! However, from how my body looks, compared to how the humans look in that world, I’m from a human world different from that one. Figures. Twilight told me she had known about this world before meeting me, but the portal she claimed to have used to reach it couldn't be activated again for a long time. That made her unsure if it was worth telling me.
But after some kind of crisis happened there, Twilight found a way to create a permanently active portal. She even allowed me to use it! Believe it or not, though, I felt more at home in Equestria, so I spent most of my time in Equestria with Starlight and my friends. Even so, I did use the portal sometimes to eat some of my favorite meats: before then, I mainly had to make do with eggs, beans, milk, and other foods for my protein, though I ate some fish at times.
Lastly, Starlight and I have grown quite close. I would definitely say she’s my best friend now.
Resting in my living room were Starlight and me. Starlight was standing in front of the bookshelf by the wall looking through the books, holding some in her magic. At Rarity’s suggestion to “brighten up” the room a month ago, a large vase of roses was beside one of the room’s windows. Despite it being late winter now, these roses can still grow well, as long as my house stays warm enough.
I was mostly sitting on the couch, but I hopped off to peek out the front door every two minutes or so. In fact, at this moment, I had just taken a peek out and was near the door, rubbing my hands from impatience. While Starlight and I didn’t only talk and listen to music when relaxing in my place, it was time for us to do something new, so she was going to get a surprise today.
Unfortunately, who was bringing the surprise was running late.
“Sam? What’s wrong? You bored?”
“Oh, uh, I’m not bored. I was just...seeing if somepony, uh, someone, was on the way,” I said, turning away from the door to face Starlight. I’ve gotten accustomed to ponies saying “somepony”, so I sometimes say it too by mistake. I still prefer saying “someone”, “anyone”, etc., but from time to time, “somepony” slips out.
“Why? Are you expecting someone?” Starlight asked. Unlike when I accidentally said "somepony", Starlight intended to say “someone.” Like with our other friends, she started using “someone”, “everyone”, etc. around me, but she’ll still occasionally say “somepony.”
I stopped rubbing my hands. “No, no, just...checking.”
Starlight set the books she held back to their spots on the bookshelf.
“You’re done already?” I asked.
Starlight walked across the room to reach where I was, still in front of the door, and looked up at me. It felt like she was staring at me in the eyes. “Sam, you’re hiding something, aren’t you?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Who, me? I’m not hiding anything.”
Starlight squinted her eyes. Maybe because she’s less scared of losing me as a friend now, Starlight will stand her ground more than she used to.
She wouldn’t back down, so I sighed and said, “Okay, you win! I’m waiting for someone to bring us something.”
Starlight’s squinted eyes returned to normal as she smiled. “Really?! Who is it, and why?”
I shook my head. “Can’t say. It’s a surprise.”
The smile on Starlight’s lips grew bigger. “What?! A surprise?! What is it?!”
I leaned down toward Starlight. “If I tell you, it’ll spoil the surprise.”
“Aw, Sam! Don’t be like that! Tell me what it is because I hate waiting! Please?”
“Nope, I’m not telling.” I straightened up, so I wasn’t leaning down anymore.
Starlight’s lips went from an excited smile to a smirk. “If you don’t, you’ll get ‘the face’.”
I gasped. If she gave me “the face” I’d be spilling the beans. “D-Don’t you dare do it, Starlight! Not ‘the face’!”
“Oh, I’m gonna do it!” Starlight’s ears drooped, she frowned, and her pupils grew big. She figured out how I can’t resist when ponies look at me like that, so it became her go-to option when she really wants me to do something.
I turned away toward the door to stop looking at her sad yet adorable face. Starlight spun me back around with her magic, so looking away was immediately shut down as an option.
“No, you know I can’t resist ‘the face’! Cut it out!”
“I will...after you tell me what my surprise is!”
A knock on the door ended Starlight’s interrogation, making her stop with "the face" and it reverted to normal. I spun around to the door and opened it, hoping it was who I thought it was.
On the other side was Twilight, holding in her magic two rolled-up sheets of paper and Starlight’s surprise: a copy of a board game called “Dragon Pit.” Twilight either ran or flew to the door fast or teleported to it, because she was nowhere in sight when I looked out last.
“It’s about time you got here, Twilight. I thought you never ran late for anything!”
“I’m sorry, Sam, but I forgot to add ‘triple-check checklists’ on one of my four daily to-do checklists.”
“Wait, ‘triple-check’ them?”
“Yes. Forgetting to add ‘triple-check checklists’ threw everything off, so Spike and I had no choice but to rewrite the lists.” With her magic, Twilight unrolled one of the sheets of paper, lifting it to show to me. A ton of stuff was written on her paper, so I didn’t even try to read much. The only thing that caught my eye was what she wrote on the top: pick up a copy of Dragon Pit for Sam and Starlight. “See? I had to move ‘write four checklists for next Tuesday’ onto this checklist, then I moved--”
I pushed the paper back down toward Twilight. “O-Okay, I get it. You had something...unexpected come up.” I will never understand why Twilight’s so crazy about checklists, but Spike and the others had already said it’s best to just humor her.
Twilight rolled up the list in midair that she showed me, wearing a sheepish smile. Guess she realized how she got carried away and it embarrassed her.
Starlight was still behind me, so as Twilight was rolling up her list, Starlight walked around me so she could see her. "Hi, Twilight! What are--" Starlight gasped and grinned, noticing what Twilight was holding "--wait, is that a copy of ‘Dragon Pit’?!”
I answered, “Yep! You said you loved playing it as a filly, so I asked Twilight to fetch us a copy for us to play!”
“And I used to enjoy playing Dragon Pit too, so can I join you? Rewriting the checklists cost me fourteen minutes, but I still have an hour and twenty-seven minutes free for it.”
“It’s okay with me,” I said.
“Same goes for me!” Starlight echoed. “I’ve never played with two ponies before, or two...uh...beings?”
“Then let’s set it up on my table. After you two teach me the rules, we can get started.”
I walked behind my father’s chair to push toward the table and sat on it. I wanted to save the couch for Starlight and Twilight to sit in if they wanted.
As I was moving the chair, Twilight levitated the Dragon Pit box on the table in the middle of my room, taking off the box’s cover with her levitation. From the box, she first floated out and set the game board on the table. Then she took out and laid a white six-sided die, red cards, and the game pieces -- a blue, red, and green one, each resembling a dragon -- on my table; the cards were laid on top of each other, face-down, beside the board. I sometimes get the feeling Starlight and Twilight don't fully appreciate just how useful their power to levitate things is. Though, if I were born with that ability, I might take it for granted too.
After Twilight had set up the board and pieces, she and Starlight trotted to the couch, hopped on, and sat beside each other. Lastly, Twilight laid the two rolled-up sheets of paper between herself and Starlight. Those two mares looked pretty cute sitting together.
As for the Dragon Pit board, it had several long, curvy paths crossing it. A mini-volcano was in the center of the board, which the paths cut through. Our pieces, or dragons, would start from a path on one of the board’s corners. The game had several ways to play with different rules, from what Starlight and Twilight said.
After they taught me ‘da rules for one of the ways to play, we were ready to start. I was feeling pretty excited: the last time I played board games was with my father, two years ago.
Starlight giggled, looking like an excited filly about to open birthday presents. “I can’t believe I’m about to play this again! When I used to play with Sunburst, he sometimes lost control of his magic from excitement and knocked the board over!”
The thought of Starlight and Twilight losing control of their magic was something I didn’t even want to think about. “That so? With how much magic you two have, please try to keep your magic under control. I like being...me.”
“I will. Only Sunburst did that, not me. Even if I did, it wouldn’t be bad enough to hurt us or ruin the room or anything.”
“And I would never let my emotions make me lose control of my horn over a game! That would be absurd!” Twilight claimed in a matter-of-fact-type voice.
I said, “Good.”
“But who wants to go first?” Starlight asked.
I placed a finger on my chin. “Uh, how about we let our princess go first, then Starlight, then me?”
“Hehe, Sam, I told you that you don’t have to refer to me as your princess like that. But, if you insist, I’ll go first.”
Twilight picked up the die with her magic (of course) and tossed it on the table. It rolled a few times, coming up “4.” Twilight levitated her dragon, the blue one, and moved it four spaces as she said, “One, two, three, four. Your turn, Starlight.”
Starlight levitated the die that Twilight used, tossed it on the table, and after a few rolls, “3” came up.
Starlight moved her green piece three spaces. “One, two, three. Oh, I landed on a 'draw card' space.” Starlight picked up the top card from the face-down deck of cards. “Nice! I get to move forward two spaces. One, two.”
“Now it’s my turn.” I picked up the die, physically, and tossed it. After some rolls, the die came up “2.” I hoped for something higher. “One, two.”
Starlight said, “Uh-oh. Landing on that space means that someone’s dragon is about to be trapped for a turn.”
A red ball emerged from the top of the volcano and rolled down a path leading to the one our dragons were on. It touched the side of our dragon’s path, so that ball only touched the space that my dragon (red) was on. Immediately, the “floor” below my dragon opened in a manner like a trap door, making it fall into a part of the board under the game path. Too bad we weren’t playing under a set of rules where this is a good thing.
Seeing my dragon fall through the path, Twilight giggled.
Starlight said, “Whew, that was close! Sorry, Sam.”
“Aw, only one turn in, and you two are already getting lucky.”
Both Starlight and Twilight chuckled. After their laugh, Twilight took her second turn and she rolled a “4.”
“One, two, three, four.”
“Now it’s my turn! Oh, I rolled a '6'! Okay, one, two, three, four, five, six. Wow, Twilight and I are leaving you behind, Sam!”
“Not for long, because it’s my--”
Twilight interrupted, “No, no, Sam. Your dragon is trapped for one turn, remember?”
I facepalmed. Couldn’t believe I forgot my turn was skipped. “Oh, yeah. In that case, you’re up, Twilight.”
*After six more turns*
With Starlight’s and Twilight’s dragons only a few spaces away from winning, things were looking bleak for me. It was Twilight’s turn.
Starlight said, “You’re in big trouble, Sam. I’m only five spaces away from winning and Twilight’s only six away. You still have twelve spaces to go.”
“And if I roll a six, I’ll win!” With a big smile, Twilight picked up the die. She can be something of a...nerd, albeit an adorkable one, so I really wasn’t expecting her to get into the game this much. It was both amusing and cute seeing this side of Twilight, though her smile ended once she rolled a “4.”
“Too bad, Twilight, but you’re not winning yet,” Starlight said in a playful voice.
“One, two, three, four. But if you don’t roll a ‘5’ or ‘6’, Starlight, I will have approximately an 83% chance of being victorious, so the odds are in my favor.”
Now that sounded like the side of Twilight I already knew she had: nerdy.
“Here’s for the win!” Starlight picked up the die, rolled it and got “3”, which ended her grin. “Darn it! One, two, three.”
“Well, things are looking good for you, Twilight. I need a '6' just to have a chance!”
I picked up and rolled the die, getting...a “1.” Not even close to what I needed. I groaned and shook my head. “This game hates me, doesn’t it?”
Starlight and Twilight giggled, starting to look like twins now. Seeing them now, you’ll never guess that they once hated each other, or rather Starlight used to hate Twilight.
“One." I was so bummed about my low roll, I didn’t even notice I would get to land on a "draw card" space, until now. "Well, what do you know? Maybe this game does like me.”
Twilight said, “I wouldn’t get my hopes up. I haven’t played this in a long time, but I don’t remember any cards capable of helping you win now.”
Starlight teased, “But try putting your faith in the heart of the cards or something. Maybe it could make a new card magically pop out of nowhere that can help you win.”
If this was a cartoon or anime, that might have been possible. Anyway, I picked up the card and chuckled at what it said. This was going to be fun.
Twilight gasped. “Hold on, did you actually draw something that could help you win?”
“Because the ‘heart of the cards’ thing was a joke!”
“No, but what I did draw is something that would let me play ‘spoiler’.” I showed them my card, making the two mares gasp deeply at what it was.
Twilight pointed at the card. “A ‘capture one player's dragon for one turn’ card? That could be a problem.”
“Yep! With both your dragons so close to the end, this card will let me decide which one of you will win.”
Starlight faced Twilight with a smug smirk. “Sorry, Twilight, but I’m the closest to Sam. I think I know who he’s going to let win.”
Twilight frowned and her ears drooped. She was actually disappointed about losing.
I chuckled, knowing the reaction to one of them was going to be so fun to watch. “And the dragon I choose to capture is yours...Starlight!”
“You see? He--” Starlight’s pupils shrank and her mouth widened “--wait, WHAT?!”
I pointed at Starlight. “Yep, your dragon, Starlight! Even if Twilight rolls a '1' on her next turn, I can’t land on another ‘draw card’ space on my next turn to stop her from winning on the turn after that, so Twilight will win this round!”
Twilight grinned, spread out her wings, and her horn glowed. She laughed in a tone I have never heard from her, though it was cute, as a weak burst of magic sent a gust of wind through the room, blowing off Twilight’s two sheets of paper off the couch and to the floor, unfolding as it did. Starlight raised a foreleg over her face to brace herself from the magic's shock wave. The shock wave did no damage to the room, but it did flip over the Dragon Pit board.
After Twilight's little outburst, she smiled sheepishly. “Oops. Sorry about that, Sam.”
I asked in a teasing voice, “So, you would ‘never’ let yourself get so excited over a game, huh?”
Twilight blushed while fidgeting her hooves. “W-Well, first time for everything.”
Starlight said, “I learned something new about you today, Twilight. You love to win!”
“And it was cute, so you know what that means, right, Twilight?” I stood up and walked around the table to get to Starlight and Twilight’s couch. My eyes were locked on to one of them.
As I walked, Twilight covered her face with her forelegs. She knew what was coming.
“Yeah, like that will save you.” Once in front of Twilight, I gently grabbed her forelegs to uncover her muzzle and booped it. As per the usual, she giggled from it. She put up no resistance, so I bet she was just being playful by covering her face. If Twilight Sparkle really doesn’t want me to do something, she won’t let me do it.
“How could you not let me win? I thought I was your best friend, Sam!” Starlight whined in an amusing combo of a whiny and playful voice.
“I would have, if not for you trying to make me tell you your surprise! Now we’re even. But...” I reached for Starlight’s muzzle to boop her. Somehow, her giggle here was even cuter than usual.
“Hee hee, what was that for?” Starlight asked.
“For whining in a cute way,” I answered.
Twilight proposed, “But that was really fun, so let’s play again! I have more than enough time for it.”
“I’m definitely game for another game!” Starlight said.
I said, “Me too, as long as Twilight keeps control of her magic this time.”
“I will.”
There was a knock on my door.
I went to and opened it, revealing Spike, holding two folded sheets of paper. Twilight said she had to fill four sheets of them, but only had two with her, so the one Spike was holding must have been the other two.
“Hey, Sam, Starlight. Oh, Twilight, I didn’t know you were here too.” Spike walked by me and into the living room, then pointed at the Dragon Pit board. “And you guys are playing ‘Dragon Pit’? When did you get it, Sam?”
“I didn't, Twilight did,” I answered. “You didn’t know she was getting this when you were helping her with those checklists?”
“No, but she must have written it on one of the lists she filled out.”
“And I meant to tell you about it.” More so to Starlight and me, Twilight explained, “Spike and I used to play it a lot, either with just us or with Shining Armor when we were younger. I was running behind, so I left as soon as I finished the two lists I filled out and forgot to tell Spike about it.”
“Heh, you did run out of the library fast as you told me, ‘I’m done, Spike, gotta go because I’m behind schedule!’ after you were done.”
The thought of Twilight running out of her castle in a hurry made me chuckle. Remembering that there was a brown game piece/dragon still in the game’s box, I asked, “Spike, you want to join us?”
“Yeah!” Spike directly faced Twilight with a smile. It was the kind of smile that you have when knowing a big secret about someone. “And let’s see if you can keep your horn under control this time, Twi.”
“Wait, this time?” I asked, holding back laughter from that news. Twilight’s worse at hiding excitement than she tried to let on!
“So she’s lost control of her horn before when she won, Spike?” Starlight asked, covering her mouth, probably giggling over her hoof.
Spike nodded. “Yep, all the time.”
Starlight and I couldn’t hold it back anymore and we burst out in laughter.
At the same time, Twilight’s cheeks turned red. “Spiiiike!”
“What? What did I say?” Spike asked with a puzzled frown. The fact he was clueless about what he just did made Starlight and me laugh even harder.
“Oh, now that is good!” I calmed down and explained, “Spike, Twilight told us that she ‘never’ did anything like that! In fact, it happened right before you got here when she won!”
Spike turned his head back and forth, scanning the room I guess. “Hmm. Guess she’s gotten better control of herself, because she used to wrec--”
“Uh, how about we decide the new turn order? How about me, Spike, Starlight, then Sam?” Twilight interrupted while talking quickly.
“It’s fine by me,” I said with a few more chuckles. I wanted to poke fun at Twilight some more, but she was flustered enough. Didn’t want to risk tapping into that temper Spike said she has, so I laid off her.
Spike walked to the room’s table as I went into the kitchen to grab a chair for him, then carried and set the chair beside the table. As this was happening, with her magic, Twilight levitated her two sheets of paper still lying on the floor, folded them while they were still in the air, and laid them beside her on the couch. She also grabbed the two Spike had, laying them beside her other two. Once Spike was on the chair I got for him and I was back on my father’s chair, we began game two.
*start of turn four*
“Maybe this game doesn’t hate me after all,” I said. “I’m not in last place right now.”
“Yeah, how does it feel, Twilight?” Starlight asked with a teasing smile.
“I’m only trailing Sam’s dragon by two spaces, but it’s my turn and I’ll turn things around.” Twilight picked up and threw the die. “Ha! See? I rolled a ‘6’! One, two, three, four, five, six. And I even landed on a ‘draw card’ space!”
I muttered, ”Lucky.”
“Now let’s see what my card is.” Twilight picked up a card and grinned. “Oh, I’m allowed to move six more spaces, so I’m way ahead of all of you now!”
Spike groaned, throwing his arms up. “You have got to be kidding me!”
Starlight facehoofed. “Seriously, Twilight?”
Shaking my head at the board, I couldn’t believe her luck! “If your luck stays like this, I'm going to be kicking myself for not letting Starlight win the first game.”
Twilight stayed quiet, but her lips curled into a smug smile.
“Well, let’s see if I can stop her lucky streak.” Spike picked up the die, threw it on the table, and frowned at the result. “What?! Only a ‘1’? One.”
“You will get to draw a card, so that low roll could be for the best,” Starlight commented.
“Okay.” Spike leaned toward the cards to draw one. He inaudibly read it to himself and grinned. “Oh, ha ha!”
Twilight asked, “What did you draw?”
“I drew a ‘send one player's dragon to two spaces behind the last-place player's dragon’ card.”
“Oh, and I have a feeling I know who you’re picking!” Starlight said with a smirk as she looked at a now-frowning Twilight.
Spike’s grin grew bigger. “Yep. Twilight, back to last place you go!”
Obviously, Twilight didn’t like this, making her groan. “Oh, come on! That’s where I was before my last turn! That’s not fair!”
Spike stood up and performed a “moonwalk” to further rub it in, making Twilight growl, but Starlight and I laughed. I should have asked Twilight to get a copy of this game sooner.
*start of turn nine*
Spike shook his head at the board, groaning at how a certain alicorn’s good luck returned during the last four turns. “We’re near the end, and I still can’t believe you got back in front of us again, Twilight! I've had nothing but bad luck since I moved you to last place a few turns ago!“
Starlight commented, “I can't believe Twilight's luck either, Spike.”
“Yeah, how lucky can one pony be? You’re not cheating with magic, are you?” I asked, though I really didn’t expect that Twilight would ever cheat.
Twilight tilted her head up with her eyes closed. The way she did it screamed that she was above cheating. “Of course not! I would never stoop to cheating to win our game.”
Spike pointed out, “And we would tell from her horn if she were casting spells to cheat with the dice or cards. She found that out the hard way the first time she tried to do it.”
Twilight’s eyes flew open, her cheeks turned red again, and she shouted, “SPIIIIKE! Seriously?!”
I stand corrected. She has tried to cheat! This bit of news made Starlight and me laugh again; Spike chuckled at busting Twilight again. Of course, Twilight wasn’t laughing and was still blushing and now growling.
“Wait, wait, wait!” I pointed at Twilight. “You, Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, used to cheat in this game?”
“Okay, it was years ago and I only tried to cheat four times! Besides, Spike, it’s not like you never tried to cheat, by moving your dragons ahead when Shining and I weren’t looking!”
Spike stopped chuckling and growled. “And that was because of how you were trying to cheat!”
Starlight and I both had a good, hearty laugh at the former cheaters with us. Twilight and Spike really looked like siblings here. I’ve had a lot of fun with my dad, but as an only child, this kind of stuff was something I never really got to experience much. That made this feel...I can’t really put it into words. It felt great, to be put in a more simple way.
After Starlight and I calmed down, I said, “It’s alright. I tried to cheat a couple of times when playing board games with my father, but he always caught me.”
“And I may have...tried to cheat with my magic a couple of times as a filly. I still wasn’t good with magic without Sunburst’s direct assistance back then, so my attempts just made him laugh.”
“Wow, really, Starlight? I’ve never seen a unicorn as good at magic as you since Twilight when she was still a unicorn,” Spike said.
“Yeah. It was only sometime after Sunburst left when I became able to learn spells by myself because...well, you know.” Starlight frowned and her ears drooped.
“Uh, it's your turn, right, Twilight? If you get a ‘4’ or higher, you’ll win again,” I said. I needed to change the subject, fast, before Starlight started feeling sad over her parents.
“Oh, right! Here I go!” Twilight tossed the die. “Aw, I only rolled a ‘1’! One.”
Spike said, “My turn, and I need a four to land on a 'draw card' space to have a chance! Come on, four!” Spike was eight spaces away for winning, so he needed the cards' help to win now. He tossed the die with a big grin, but it ended fast. “Darn, I only got a ‘3’. One, two, three.”
Starlight picked up the die, needing a “6.” She was smiling again, so my idea to change the subject before worked. “It’s my turn! I just need a ‘6’." Starlight tossed the die and groaned at the result. “No, not ‘5’! One, two, three, four, five.”
I picked up the die. Unlike the first game, I had a real chance to win this time, even if the odds were still against me. “You guys couldn’t, but maybe I can get the win here. I need a '6', but this game owes me some luck!”
“And if you don’t, I will have roughly a 66% chance of winning again.”
“We’ll see.” I rolled the die, got a "2", and moved my dragon up two spaces. However, I landed on a "draw card" space -- the one Spike was aiming for -- so this wasn’t over for me yet. This time, a card could get me the win, unlike when I was in this spot during the first game. “I may have only rolled a ‘2’, but I’m going to get to draw a card, so don’t get too excited yet, Miss Probabilities.” I picked up a card and groaned. Twilight was grinning, probably holding herself back from losing control of her horn again. “Well, I drew an ‘every player moves ahead one space’ card. That’s not going to help me win.”
Because Starlight was the only one that was one space away from the goal, the effect of the card I drew meant she automatically won. When that realization sank in, her lips formed a huge grin and her horn glowed. Just like when Twilight won, Starlight laughed in a tone I have never heard from her, though it was a cheery, cute tone. Also, like with Twilight, she sent a gust of wind from the magic surrounding her horn, forcing Twilight to shield herself with a foreleg.
This wind was a little stronger than the one Twilight accidentally unleashed. In addition to flipping over the board and blowing Twilight’s papers onto the floor again, Starlight made the roses in my vase shake. But again, there was no damage to the room. Once she was done, Starlight formed a big, nervous grin. "Sorry."
I asked, “Uh, you are sure that you’re stronger than Starlight, right, Twilight?”
We all giggled, then Starlight asked, “Do any of you guys want to play again? I can play this all day!”
“I would love to play some more, but I don't think I have enough time. I need to deliver a speech in Ponyville’s Town Square soon and complete the other tasks on my checklists.”
Spike said, “She’ll need my help, so I’ll go too.”
“But I have nothing to do, so I’ll go another round. Just try to keep control of your horn, okay, BF?”
Starlight tilted her head to the side, like she often does when something confuses her. “‘BF’? What does...oh”-- Starlight smiled, figuring out what I meant --“you mean ‘best friend’! And I’ll keep my magic in check, BF!”
Twilight said, “Before I go, I should warn you two about something. If you want to ask our friends to play, don’t ask Rainbow and Applejack. At least, not together.”
“Why?” Starlight asked.
“Those two are super-competitive and hate losing. Asking one of them would be fine, but trust me, you do not want them to play against each other.”
“So they’re that bad, huh?” I asked with a chuckle. “I’ll take that advice.”
“Good.” Twilight hopped off the couch. "If I can, I'll come back and play some more later, but until then, Sam, Starlight, have fun!"
After Twilight picked up her four lists still on the floor, she and Spike left, leaving Starlight and me to play more rounds of Dragon Pit by ourselves, trading wins. Starlight still looked like an excited filly playing it, making her even cuter than usual.
As Starlight Glimmer and Sam continued to play her favorite fillyhood game, Starlight couldn’t help but think about how Sam has been nothing but good to her since they met. If it weren’t for her stubbornness after she was captured, he wouldn’t have had to put her on a leash and even then, it wasn’t his idea. She didn’t blame Twilight’s friends for wanting to do it.
Yet despite all he’s done for her, Sam didn’t want much in return but her friendship. The same went for Twilight, who put herself out there to grant her a second chance. It even extended to her new friends who, once they forgave her, have been great, supportive friends. She has been given so much, but hasn’t given them much back.
In her mind, Starlight decided that the next day, she would change that.