//------------------------------// // Lesson Zero // Story: My Little Pony: Friendships and Magic [Season 2] // by Alpha Wolf 4500 //------------------------------// The sun was coming up over Ponyville and Twilight was up early, going through a list along with Bandit, Spike, and Chad. "Quill." She said. "Check." Spike replied. "Parchment." She continued. Chad popped up with the parchment in his mouth like a little puppy. "Check." "Extra ink." Bandit picked up the extra ink for her. "Check." "Extra extra ink." Bandit made another ink appear behind the ink. "Double check." "Great. Now that we've completed the checklist of things we need to create a checklist, we can make my checklist of the things I have to get done by the end of the day. Ready?" Twilight asked as she looked at the four. "What....what are we doing today?" Chad asked as he tilted his head. "There's quite a bit to do today." Twilight answered. "Item one: create checklist of the things I have to accomplish by the end of the day." Spike sighed quietly as Bandit face hoofed and Chad trotted over and looked towards the list. My Little Pony, My Big Changeling too Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh… [Bandit] (My Little Pony) We used to wonder what friendship could be (My Big Changeling too) [Twilight Sparkle] Until you all shared its magic with me [Rainbow Dash] Big adventure [Pinkie Pie] Tons of fun [Rarity] A beautiful heart [Applejack] Faithful and strong [Fluttershy] Sharing kindness! [Lightning Sprint] Motivate the team [Bandit] Heroics makes it all complete You have my little ponies Do you know you're all my very best friends? Later that day, Bandit, Chad, and Spike have been collecting everything they would need for a picnic with their friends they would be having later on in the day. "Let's see…” Spike started as he looked over the list in his claws. “We've already dropped off the cape at the cleaners, returned the blackboard you borrowed from Cheerilee, ordered new parchment and quills from the stationery shop..." Spike said. "Hmm… Seems like we just placed an order for those a few days ago." Twilight remarked. Spike looked back at the long list he was holding, currently resisting an eye roll. "Can't imagine why we go through so many of them." "Ahead of schedule, just like how I like it. And I already know what’s next." Bandit smirked. “Cupcakes!” Chad and Spike said. Spike quickly turned to look at Chad. “Jinx! You owe me a soda!” He said quickly. “You beat me by half a second.” Chad pouted. The four walked into Sugar Cube Corner and Mrs. Cake was the first face they saw, she was putting a sign on a very clean-looking table. "Oh hi Mrs. Cake." Chad waved as he noticed her. Chad had become such a regular at Sugar Cube Corner that Mrs. Cake had the table he sat at specifically reserved for him. She turned around and waved back. "Hello Chad." Mrs. Cake said with a pleasant smile before gesturing to his table. "All set for you." “Thank you Mrs. Cake, but we’re running errands today.” Chad said. “We’re here to pick up the cupcakes for the picnic.” “Cherry-frosted cupcakes, I have it right here.” Mrs. Cakes said as she walked over to the counter and placed a box of it on the top. Bandit opened it up and Spike peered over his head. “Whoa…” Spike said before Bandit lightly pulled him back, to keep him from possibly drooling on the cupcakes. Twilight counted the cupcakes and then looked up confused, counting twenty. “I only ordered 16.” She pointed out. "Oh, I know, dear, but I had extra." Mrs. Cake said, trotting to a counter with a tray of fresh cupcakes on her head, placing it on the counter, she grabbed a few more boxes and trotted back over. “And since Bandit and Chad are my best regulars, I decided to give four extra, free of charge.” Spike tried to grab a cupcake, but Chad smacked his claw away, giving him the soda he owed him as Twilight walked over. “Oh, that was very thoughtful of you." She said politely as Mrs. Cake came back out and joined them at the counter. "It's just some of the icing from the extra cupcakes are getting all over the ones next to them. See?" She pointed out. Bandit looked over to see what she was talking about and raised an eyebrow. “Um. Twilight. They aren’t touching each other.” Bandit said. “You’re not looking close enough.” Twilight told him. “Twilight, my eye sight is better than yours. There is literally no icing from a different cupcake touching the other.” Bandit told her, looking and sounding unamused. Chad rolled his eyes and walked off. Good thing too, because the second he did, Spike dropped his soda and picked it back up, beginning to open it. “You’re just saying that so we’d leave faster.” Twilight insisted. “Twilight, this is very unnecessary. The frosting is perfect, let’s just leave it at that.” Bandit told her. This is when Chad came back, placing paper walls next to the cupcakes to keep the icing from spilling over to the next. “There, problem solved.” Chad said with a smile. Bandit ruffled his mane. “I guess that works.” Twilight said. Bandit closed the box, placing it on his back before looking at the list. “Next thing we have to tackle is-” Bandit was interrupted by a yelp from Spike, who opened the soda he previously dropped, causing it to splash on him. Chad looked at this and started to snicker. “Welp, ‘give a baby dragon a bath' just got added to the list." Bandit chuckled a bit. Chad had his back though, using a towel to cover Spike and then spin him around, making the soda fly off onto the towel. Spike was dry as a bone, and down half his soda, but Chad gave him another soda. “Try not to drop this one.” Chad nudged him. The four of them had returned to the library, their checklist finished from top to bottom. “Looks like that's everything!" Chad cheered as he hopped off Bandit’s back. “Almost everything.” Twilight stated. Spike looked at the list as he hopped off Bandit’s back. “‘Triple-check checklist to make sure we didn't miss anything when we double-checked the checklist!’ Uh… check." Spike said, checking the final check box before clutching his aching claw, dropping the quill and list as he did so. “Ugh… I've been holding that quill so long, I've got a claw cramp." Bandit walked over to him with some ice, placing it on his wrist. “I told you to let me hold the list and quill.” Chad said as he tapped his horn. “This magic rarely tires you know.” “Yeah yeah. Well, good thing we don't have anything to report to Princess Celestia this week… I don't think I could write another word.” Spike complained. Bandit looked at Twilight, hoping she didn’t hear that. Unfortunately, she did, and the panic that set in was written all over her face. "We haven't sent a letter to Princess Celestia this week?!" Twilight exclaimed. "Is that bad?" Spike asked. "No. No it's not." Bandit quickly told him. "It isn't?" "Of course it's bad! We're supposed to send Princess Celestia a letter every week, telling her about a lesson we've learned about friendship! Not every other week, not every ten days, every... single... week!" Twilight said to each one of them. "No Twilight. We don't. We have to send her letters about lessons we learned. There's no time limit." Bandit told her in an attempt to calm her down, but she didn’t do such a thing. Instead, she began rummaging around. “Ohh… Where's my calendar, where's my calendar?!" She exclaimed. Chad pulled it out of a drawer. “It’s right here. Where it always is.” Chad said before it was snatched from his grip by Twilight’s magic. She flipped through the calendar. "When did we send the last one?" she asked desperately. "Last Tuesday?" Chad answered, a bit confused. “And today is…" "Tuesday?" Bandit stopped her flipping right on the day that she was due for a friendship problem, marked with a big, red X. “Argh! Nononononononono!" She raced up to her room and looked out the window, where she could see the sun slowly moving across the sky like a clock hand. "If I don't send her a letter by sundown, I'll be… tardy!" The background flares red behind her, Spike walked over and pulled it away like a scenery flat. Chad looked at Spike. “Tardy means late.” Answering before he could even ask. Twilight flopped onto her bed. “Oh, how could I let this happen? I'm usually so organized. I've never been late with an assignment." She moaned and covered herself with her blanket. Bandit walked over and peeked in where her head is. “Again Twilight, you don’t have to send a letter every week. It’s okay that a lesson wasn’t convenient enough to happen within a week….or day. Mother will understand.” Bandit reassured her. "I'm afraid to take that chance, Bandit.” Twilight said, rolling upright to face him. “This is the ruler of all of Equestria we’re talking about. The pony who holds my fate in her hooves!” “The pony who’s also my mother, and knows how important you are to me.” Bandit told her, but yet again, Twilight was still panicking. “What if she doesn't forgive me?" “She will forgive-” Bandit tried to tell her, but she teleported to Spike and Chad. "What if instead she starts thinking I'm not taking my studies on friendship seriously?" Twilight questioned, the panic starting to increase. “You know she doesn’t-” Chad tried to say. "What if she makes me come back to Canterlot and puts me back in school and makes me prove I've been taking them seriously by giving me a test?!" Twilight yelped, beginning to pace back and forth. "What if I don't pass?!" “Well, why wouldn't you pass-?" Spike tried to ask. “She’s my teacher! Do you know what teachers do to students who don’t pass?” Twilight asked him. “Twilight, breathe for like, ten seconds and-” Bandit tried. But Twilight wasn’t finished. "They send them back a grade! But she won't just send me back a grade. She'll send me back to… magic kindergarten." She stopped pacing and sat down as mental images of young fillies laughing at her filled her head. Chad pulled down on the mental image and it rolled back up, showing Twilight back in the library, sitting the same way as in the kindergarten class. “Twilight, listen to me.” Bandit said. Twilight was so worried she didn’t respond. Bandit walked over and lightly tapped her back. “Twilight.” Twilight turned to look at him. “That’s the most ridiculous assumption I’ve ever heard. And with that list consisting of being banished to the everfree forest over a failed stunt, being banished and then thrown in a dungeon in the place that she banished you to, that is saying a lot.” Bandit remarked. “She isn’t gonna do that. You’re a wonderful student Twilight, you don’t have to send a letter every week for mother to know that.” “You’re right. I have no reason to worry.” Twilight said. Bandit was surprised and began counting on his hooves, then he went from surprised to unamused. He knew what was gonna happen next. “Because I’m going to solve a friend’s problem and get that letter to Princess Celestia before sundown!” “Does no one listen to me?” Bandit asked. Chad and Spike shrugged. “So…..” She leaned over to Bandit. “...got any problems, troubles, conundrums, or any other sort of issues, major or minor, that I, as a good friend, could help you solve?” Twilight asked, speaking rapidly. “Twilight, you’re seriously worrying me.” Bandit said with an ear flop. “Something? Anything?” Twilight asked. Bandit shook his head and she flopped her ears in response. “Then it looks like I’m gonna have to find somepony who does!” She said triumphantly before running out of the room. “Twilight wait!” Bandit exclaimed, but she was already out the door. Bandit got to the edge of the stairs and looked down. “This is not gonna end well.” Bandit said. “This is one of those ‘Bandit, you were right’ days, isn’t it?” Spike asked. “Definitely.” Chad said. Bandit hopped down and headed to the door. As Twilight’s journey for a problem began, The sun advanced a notch as the windmill clicks along and the internal clock continued ticking in Twilight’s head. Down below, Twilight was trotting through town, looking for a problem. “You’ve got this, Twilight. You still have plenty of time to get that letter to Princess Celestia.” She said as she trotted to town “Has to be somepony around here who needs the help of a good friend.” At that moment, Rarity was heard shrieking. “Rarity!" She exclaimed as she ran towards the boutique. Inside the boutique, Rarity was doing more loud screaming and was sprawled on her dressing stand. Twilight kicked open the door, and Bandit, who heard the shriek from his location, tried to run inside but ran headfirst into the doorframe. Making him stumble back and rub his head. Twilight hopped in. “Don’t worry Rarity, I’m here!” Twilight announced as Bandit peeked in. “Why me-e-e-e-e-ee…" Rarity sobbed. "WHYYYY?! Why? Why-y?! And of all the worst things that could happen, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!" Bandit ran in and got to Rarity. “What happened?!” He exclaimed, worried that this was something big. “Are you okay?!” He asked. "I've lost my diamond-encrusted purple ribbon!" Rarity wailed. "I have searched high, and I have searched low. Low and high! High and low! But I can't find it anywhere! Anywhe-e-e-e-ere! How can I possibly finish my latest creation if I can't find it?!" She hopped off the stand, magically brought over a fancy couch, and flopped onto it. Bandit facehoofed and began to look around. "Never fear, Rarity!" Twilight said, "As your friend I'll do my best to help you fi-" “Is that it?” Bandit asked, pointing directly at it, and interrupting Twilight. Rarity looked, seeing the exact ribbon she described, and trotted over to pick it up. "So… you just lost your ribbon?" Twilight asked as Rarity began going back to work. "Mm-hm!" Rarity answered. “So, you’ve got nothing you need help with? Preferably a friendship problem?” Bandit tried to hint at. Rarity didn’t catch the said hint. “No, but I left my measuring tape under the fabric over there." Rarity said, waving a hoof over at a pile of fabrics, and the measuring tape was sticking out of it. "Could you get that for me?" Twilight sighed, disappointed as she magically retrieved the measuring tape and set it near her friend's hooves. "Measuring tape? Sure." Bandit sympathetically patted her back. Rarity heard the sad tone Twilight spoke in and turned to talk to her. "Twilight? Is there something bother-" She attempted to ask, only to see both of them had disappeared. “Twilight? Bandit?” Walking outside of the boutique, Bandit stood in front of Twilight. “Twily. Listen to me.” Bandit said. Twilight looked at him. “I don’t want you to get stressed out over this, especially since Celestia isn’t gonna punish you for not writing a letter.” “Bandit, I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but we can’t waste anymore time. We gotta check with our other friends.” “Twilight-” “Come on. Let’s see if Applejack has a problem we can fix.” Twilight said as she started to trot off. Bandit’s eye twitched and he walked beside her. “Twilight, you can’t just force these problems to happen. That’s not what makes Celestia wants the letters.” Bandit told her. “I’m not forcing the problems to happen, I’m looking for them.” Twilight argued. “Regardless, there won’t be any consequences if you don’t send a letter. Mother will understand, she knows these lessons don’t just pop up out of thin air. That doesn’t make you a bad student.” Bandit told her. “I can’t take that risk Bandit. What do you expect me to do?” Twilight asked him. “Trust me at least? Don’t you trust me?” “No!” Twilight answered too quickly. She was expecting Bandit to ask a completely different question. She finally heard what Bandit asked and gasped. She looked at Bandit, who flopped his ears. “Bandit, I thought you were gonna ask something else, I didn’t mean-” “Save it Twi.” Bandit told her, his voice now a bit deadpan. “I’ll help you look.” “Bandit I’m-” “Our other friends could need some help…..wouldn’t hurt to look right?” Bandit asked her. He did his best to look neutral, but his flopped ears told her everything. Twilight could only look down. “Come on let’s see if Applejack needs some help.” Bandit said as he started moving towards sweet apple acres. Twilight soon walked with him. Over at Sweet Apples Acres, Lightning Sprint and Rainbow Dash were wearing protective goggles and she was busy demolishing an old barn with assorted grunting and karate noises. Applejack was wearing a football helmet and was cowering in a nearby ditch. The two blue pegasi flew around the barn, tearing it apart, and a piece of wood went flying high into the sky. Bandit placed his hoof out to stop Twilight. The wood landed near where Twilight would’ve stepped. The two looked up and saw the duo attacking the barn. “Rainbow and Lightning must be angry with Applejack!" Twilight exclaimed. "They must hate her guts! How wonderful!" Bandit looked at her with a concerned expression on his face. She trotted towards the location as Bandit reluctantly followed. Lightning Sprint and Rainbow Dash zipped back over to the barn in an attempt to attack it some more. "Rainbow Dash, Lightning Sprint! Stop!" Twilight ordered using her magic to stop them. Lightning Sprint and Rainbow Dash looked at her questioningly. "Listen, you two. I know you're both upset with Applejack, but don't worry. Whatever it is that has come between you two, I'm sure that I, as a good friend, can help you resolve your problems." She then released them, dropping them to the ground. “What are you talking about?” Lightning Sprint asked. “Oh Lightning Sprint. You don’t have to hide your feelings from me. I can tell you two had a terrible fight with her.” Twilight said. “Uh-” Rainbow Dash tried to say before Bandit spoke up. “I’ll cut to the chase, why are you destroying that barn?” Bandit asked. “She asked us to.” Rainbow Dash answered. She then turned to the trench Applejack was hiding in. “Right Applejack?” “Yes sir!” Applejack said to Bandit as she took off the helmet she was wearing. “I wanted to put up a new barn, but this one’s gotta come down first. I would’ve asked you if you could do it but Big Macintosh told me you weren’t at the library.” “Dang it. Ah well, nothing I can do about that.” Bandit shrugged, he picked up Twilight by her scruff. Applejack put her helmet back on and looked to the two pegasi. “Get back to it you two.” Applejack said. Lightning Sprint and Rainbow Dash put their goggles back on and spread their wings. “You got it boss/Aye Aye ma’am.” They said at the same time. They flew upwards and got high into the sky. “I’d take cover you two.” Applejack said. “Way ahead of you.” Bandit said as he hopped into the trench and lit a forcefield over the three of them. With a trailing war cry, Lightning Sprint and Rainbow Dash barreled towards the barn and collided with a cataclysmic blast. The debris from the barn covered the force field. It was dropped after it was safe and Applejack hopped out the trench happily. Bandit climbed out with Twilight, who looked a little more disheveled. Bandit looked back at her and was about to say something, but kept silent and climbed out instead. Twilight and Bandit headed for Fluttershy's house. "I can't believe I wasted all that time," she grumbled. "I should have just come here first." She then perked up. "Fluttershy always has some fear she's trying to get over. As a good friend, I'll be able to help her." They walked around the corner and saw a bear roaring in Fluttershy’s face. Bandit was about to jump into action but was caught off guard when Fluttershy suddenly flew under the bear, confusing Bandit, the Bear, and Twilight. As the bear looked in between his legs, Fluttershy rocketed in and landed a flying kick to the bear’s back. As it tumbles through the air, she grabs a hind leg and twists to throw it flat on the grass. Her next move is to yank the leg toward the head, bending the massive body double and forcing a ground-pounding bellow. “Fluttershy?” Bandit and Twilight said in shock. The pummeling continued with a stomp on the back and a hard twist that forces the beefy neck around 180 degrees, after which Fluttershy released her hold. As the bear collapses senseless to the lawn, Twilight’s jaw looks ready to fall off its hinge from sheer disbelief. She shakes her head clear and paces in place. Bandit, on the other hand, was still in shock looking at the bear. “How can this be happening?" Twilight wondered, pacing a bit. "Of all the days she had to stop being such a scaredy-pony, she had to pick today?! What am I going to do?!" She then left. As she left, Bandit’s shock subsided when he saw the bear smiling as Fluttershy massaged his back. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. "You really should have come to me sooner," Fluttershy started, smiling. "You were carrying so much tension in that shoulder." The bear growled happily, and he was clearly more relaxed. Bandit turned to look at Twilight, only to see she wasn’t there. “Twily?” Bandit asked as he looked around. Over at the park, Twilight was curled up on a bench and stroking her tail with one hoof, her hair was still messy from being hit with debris earlier, and her eyes were starting to twitch. "It's fine. It'll all be fine," she mumbled. "The day isn't over yet. But it will be over soon!" She sat up and stared up at the sun, which seemed to shift position like the hand on a clock. She groaned and flopped backward on the bench, staring at a puddle. "It'll be all over!" She wailed. "My time in Ponyville! My advanced studies!" She quickly sat up and began reassuring her reflection in the puddle. "Nono. You're a good student. You can do this.” She encouraged. Her puddle self wasn’t so sure. “Ooh! But what if I can't?” “You can! You just have to keep it together. Keep. It. Together!" She was staring so fixedly at her reflection that she was unaware that the baby dragon walked up with the box containing the cupcakes, the little Changeling with some juice boxes on his back, and the big changeling with a very worried look on his face. “Twilight, are you talking to yourself?” Spike asked. Twilight was so focused on her reflection she didn’t respond. “Twilight?” Chad called as he waved his hoof in her face to get her attention. That did nothing, but the laughter of the foals playing jump rope not too far from them did. She looked up and with an ear twitch, began imagining those fillies laughing at her. That was until Bandit used his horn and popped the mental image like a balloon. “SNAP OUT OF IT!!” Bandit exclaimed in his royal canterlot voice. That was seemingly enough to get Twilight to snap out of it, as well as stop those foals from playing. Bandit turned to look at them. “Sorry, carry on. I didn’t mean to stop you.” He said. The foals all shrugged and went right back to playing jump rope. Bandit turned back to Twilight. “Twilight, look. You’re worrying us. This letter thing is getting to you.” Bandit told her. He scratched the back of his head. “Look. You go try to enjoy the picnic, I’ll try to find the friendship problem.” Spike and Chad began to hand over the cupcakes and apple juice to her, but then she turned to them with a crazed smile on her face. “The picnic!” She picked up juice and cupcakes and ran past them. “I should go see my friends!” “This can only end badly.” Chad said, a bit worried. “Not if I have anything to say about it. Spike, take a note.” Bandit said. “Way ahead of you.” Spike said as he pulled out paper and Chad tossed him the quill. Meanwhile, at the picnic in the park, Pinkie bounced to the location the picnic was gonna be held. She placed the basket down, took the blanket off of it, and watched balloons come out and lift the basket to the sky. Applejack placed down a picnic blanket down as Lightning Sprint rubbed some sunscreen on Rainbow Dash’s back. Fluttershy was looking at Rarity as she fished around in her basket. "Please tell me I did not forget the plates." She gasped when she couldn't find the plates. "I did. I totally forgot them. Of all the worst things that could happen, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!" She magically summoned her couch and fell on it, crying. "Why, why, why… Uh… What?" she asked when she saw her friends giving her ‘Seriously’ looks. "You didn't expect me to lay on the grass, did you?" Rolling her eyes, Rainbow Dash put on her sunglasses and she laid back on the blanket. She was startled when the cupcake box and juice box almost landed on her head, and she saw Twilight grinning in a mad way, and both her mane and her tail were looking really messy. She stood up, with a startled expression on her face. The others joined in the worried/startled looks directed towards Twilight. Applejack was the first to ask about her situation. "You alright, hun?" Applejack asked, with a concerned look on her face. "No!" Twilight snapped, her expression becoming frantic. "I am not alright." This got the other six ponies all looking concerned. "It's just terrible." She said. “Yes?” "Simply awful.” “Yes?” “It's the most horrific trouble I've ever been in and I really, really, really, need your help!" “Are you gonna tell us or keep saying it’s awful?” Lightning Sprint asked, very concerned. Applejack bonked the top of her head. “My letter to Princess Celestia is almost overdue, and I haven't learned anything about friendship!" Twilight exclaimed. Everyone but Lightning Sprint sighed. “That’s it?” She asked. Guarding her head this time, but didn’t get bonked by Applejack. “Oh, thank goodness." Fluttershy said, relieved. "I thought something really awful had happened." Twilight was not happy to hear that. She teleports to her friends, explaining the situation. "Something awful has happened!" she snapped. "If I don't turn in the letter on time, I'll be tardy! TARDY!" Her annoyance was only met with giggles or dismissal. "No offense, sugarcube," Applejack started politely, "but it looks like somepony's gettin' themselves all worked up over nothin'." "This is not nothing.” Twilight argued. "This is everything. I need you guys to help me find somepony with a problem I can fix before sundown! My whole life depends on it!" She exclaimed, wishing that her friends would take her seriously. “Uh-” Lightning Sprint started. “Aren’t you the best friend of her son? This sounds like you’re sweating something small.” Twilight let out an annoyed groan and teleported away. "Wow." said Fluttershy, surprised. "I've never seen Twilight so upset before." "Oh, what a drama queen," Rarity scoffed and shrugged when her friends shot her a look. "Mm. Relatively speaking…" Meanwhile, at Sugar Cube corner, Bandit was pacing back and forth looking at the clock. “I really hope mother got my letter. I’ve looked all over town and haven’t found a single friendship problem.” Bandit said as he looked at the clock. “That clock is ticking and so is that time bomb in Twilight’s mind.” Mrs. Cake came to him with a cherry-grape pie and gave it to him. Bandit took it, gave her a large tip, and walked out. He ate the pies by the slice. “I hope mother isn’t in a meeting right now. I don’t know how long I’ve got before Twilight decides to make a friendship problem.” Bandit said as he ate another slice. That’s when he realized and went wide-eyed. “Oh no!” Bandit began running to the library, still eating the pie on the way there. He got inside and ran up the stairs. He got to the top floor and looked towards a chest that was opened. His pupils shrank. He ran out of the library and took off flying into the sky. Big Macintosh was outside the door with a bag in his mouth walking towards the library before seeing this. He looked up towards the sky. He was confused but shrugged and began walking towards the picnic area. A bird flew out of a tree and landed in her nest, which was in a bush for some reason. As she did, Twilight, mentally unstable by this point, popped out of the bushes, startling the bird before looking towards the laughter of the CMC. The CMC were all playing in a field with a beach ball. Pipsqueak kicked it to Scootaloo while laughing with joy. The ball bounced towards her and she knocked it towards Skeedaddle but before it got to him, Twilight appeared, popping the ball she just popped out of. "Hi crusaders!" She said, completely crazy. "Hi Twilight!" Skeedaddle waved, not noticing her demented look. "Oh, hi, Twilight. How's it go—" Apple Bloom began. "Gr-eat. Just great. You all look like you're doing great too! Looks like three good friends who obviously don't need the help of another good friend. This is Smarty Pants. She was mine when I was your age, and now I want to give her to you!" Twilight said, presenting them with a stuffed toy. "Smarty pants?" Skeedaddle asked as he slowly backed away. "That's right." Twilight said, turning to look at him, her eye twitching. Pipsqueak tugged the hoodies of his fellow Male Crusaders and gestured them to make a run for it. But before they can run, Twilight teleported in their path. They stopped and looked at the fillies, eyes that screamed 'help us!' "She looks.... Great." Scootaloo said, Apple Bloom nodding in agreement. "I really... like her... mane." Sweetie Belle said "She even comes with her own notebook and quill, for when you want to pretend she's doing her homework!" Twilight said, turning to look at them. "That's.....interesting." Pipsqueak said. "That's.....cool." Rumble said unsure. "I just hope the fact that there's six of you and only one of her doesn't become a problem! I'd hate to cause a rift between such good friends.” Twilight said she was completely far gone. Scootaloo made the cuckoo hoof gesture to the others before Twilight looked back at them. “So, who wants to play with her first?" "Pipsqueak." Skeedaddle and Rumble said, moving him forward. "Uh, I would love to. Buuuuuuut....generic excuse? Sweetie Belle can play with her though." Pipsqueak said as he jumped back. "Nonononononono. I think Scootaloo should get to play with her first." Sweetie Belle said as she jumped back. "I'd love to, but, um, you take her, Rumble." Scootaloo said, jumping back and pushing Rumble forward. Rumble backed up and shoved Apple Bloom forward. "All yours Apple Bloom." "Applejack n’ Big Mac say it's important to share." Apple Bloom said as she went back, attempting to shove Pipsqueak forward. Soon enough, they were all fighting to make the other play with the doll. This sent Twilight into a bit of a panic. 'I gotta think of something!' Twilight thought frantically. 'Thinkthinkthinkthinkthink Twilight, think!' She gasped. ‘That's it!’ “Ooh, you're going to like Smarty Pants." She said out loud. "And you're going to like her more than anything." She finished, casting a spell on the doll. Pink hearts began popping out of the glowing doll, as it dropped next to the dust cloud that contained the fighting CMC. The colts were the first to look at the doll. "Whoa!" Rumble said, his eyes turning to hearts. "So amazing!" Pipsqueak exclaimed, his eyes also turning to hearts. "I want it!" Skeedaddle exclaimed, doing the same. "No I want it!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "I need it." Apple Bloom exclaimed. "I really like her mane!" Sweetie Belle said. They were back in the fight cloud to grab the doll. "The 'want it, need it' spell. Works every time. Okay, okay, let's break it up." She said, however, They were still fighting. "I think we can all see that there is an important lesson to be learned here about-" She grunted when she got kicked in the face by one of the fillies. "Ugh! C'mon everyone, we're all friends here, right?" she asked, trying to take away the doll this time. "Don't you think you ought to share?" "No way!" Apple Bloom shouted. Twilight groaned and dove into the cloud in an attempt to get the doll back. She was instead thrown out of the cloud and stopped by something big. Turns out, that something big was Big Macintosh. "Big Macintosh!" she exclaimed happily as she stood up. "Thank goodness! You've gotta help me get that doll away from them!" “Eeyup.” Big Macintosh said as he spotted the doll being tossed around. He placed down the bag he had down and walked to the fight cloud and with no effort at all, grabbed the doll out of the fight cloud. "Oh, thank you so much. Now if you could just give her to me?" Twilight tried to say, He took off. He opened his eyes and he was now under the spell. "Eenope!" “Oh no!” Twilight exclaimed as she watched him run, and then saw the CMC run after them. Big Macintosh was still running from them and the chase got the attention of Mayor Mare. "What's all the commotion about?" Mayor Mare asked. “They’re fighting over that doll!” Orange Swirl said as she was also under the spell, flying over to it. Bon Bon spotted Smarty Pants too. "That incredible, amazing doll!" Bon Bon squealed, also affected by the doll, also under the spell of smarty pants. “Bon Bon, what happened to your voice?” Mayor Mare asked as she looked towards her run at the doll, only to fall under the spell as well. Mares became whammy and began ganging up on the stallion, arguing and fighting for the doll that he was holding out of reach. Rumble kept flying for it, but his hoodie kept getting yanked each time by a mare trying to grab it. Twilight tried to get through the fighting crowd to zap the doll, but she wasn't able to. "Can't… get… a clear shot!" She said. Mares were constantly getting in the way. Rumble finally grabbed the doll and tried to fly off. “Gimme!” Mayor Mare said, jumping up and grabbing it right out of Rumble’s hooves, making him crash in the ground before running off. Seeing Mayor Mare snatch it, Big Macintosh knocked the other mares away in one move. "Eenope!" He ran after Mayor Mare. At the picnic, Chad and Spike got there. "You guys seen Twilight anywhere?" Spike asked. “We just saw her earlier, she said something about-” Applejack tried to say before Chad’s ears twitched, following a noise. “Whatcha hear Chad?” Chad pointed behind them as the noise got louder. They all turned and saw Mayor Mare running from the crowd behind her. "What in the name of all things oats 'n apples is going on here?!" Applejack exclaimed. As the six ponies watched, a pegasus swiped the doll from the mayor, flying into the air, only to be attacked by a second pegasus, and they began fighting over the doll until they dropped it. The doll landed near the group and Chad looked confused. “Smarty-” He asked before Twilight scooped him up and turn his eyes away. “Don’t look at it!” Twilight exclaimed to him. “Don’t look at what?” Spike asked he tried to lean over to look. Luckily, Rarity covered his eyes. "My Smarty Pants doll! I enchanted her and now everypony is fighting over her!" Twilight confessed. "Why would you enchant your doll?" Fluttershy asked her. "Oh, I had to do something! thought if I couldn't find a problem, I'd make a problem! The day is almost over!" Twilight panicked. Applejack turned to the sunset. “Not almost." Applejack pointed out. They all watched the sunset. Twilight lowered her head in defeat. "Twilight Sparkle!" Princess Celestia’s voice boomed from the sky. A bright light appeared high in the sky and the seven mares gasped when it faded to reveal Princess Celestia flying above them, with Bandit next to her. Chad and Spike looked like they were relieved. When she reached the group, she hovered and her horn glowed gold and erased the effects of the Want it Need it spell. The ponies all stopped fighting and the Smarty Pants doll landed before them. Mayor mare walked forward and looked at the doll before blushing in embarrassment, stepping on the doll as she trotted off. The other mares, colts, and fillies went their separate leads, all subconsciously agreeing to pretend this never happened. Except for Big Macintosh, who looked around before snatching up the doll, and ran off, neighing and whining happily. Bandit and Celestia landed in front of Twilight, who was cowering. She couldn’t tell which she was more saddened/scared by. Celestia’s disapproving look, or Bandit’s saddened look of disappointment. “Meet us in the library.” Celestia said. The mother and son flew off to the library. "Goodbye, you guys. If you care to visit, I'll be in magic kindergarten, back in Canterlot." Twilight said as she put Chad down and walked away, saddened. "Magic kindergarten?" Fluttershy asked as she watched her walk away. "Canterlot?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We're never gonna see Twilight again!" Pinkie Pie yelped, alarmed. “We’re losing her!? This can’t be happening!” Lightning Sprint exclaimed. "Uh, what are we gonna do, y'all?" Applejack asked. "Of all the worst things that could happen, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!" Rarity wailed and her friends gave her annoyed looks. "What? I really mean it this time!" “Have you been saying that all day but this was the one time it was appropriate?” Chad asked. “Yes.” Rarity shamefully admitted. Chad rolled his eyes and grabbed Spike before using his horn to teleport to the library. Chad teleported him and Spike to the top of the library stairs, where they looked down at the conversation, out of sight from Twilight, Bandit, and Celestia. "But...but... I'm supposed to send you a letter about friendship every week. I missed the deadline. I'm a bad student! I'm... tardy!" Twilight said. "You are a wonderful student, Twilight. I don't have to get a letter every week to know that." Celestia said. “Really?” Twilight asked. Bandit was gonna say something, but the other seven showed up, with Rainbow Dash rolling to the front. "Wait!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed "You can't punish her!" Pinkie yelped. "It wasn't her fault!" Applejack added. “Just let us explain!” Lightning Sprint exclaimed. “Guys wait-” Bandit tried to say before Celestia shushed him with a wing while giving them a bemused look. "I'm listening." "Please, your Highness," said Fluttershy. "We all saw that Twilight was upset." "But we thought that the thing she was worrying about wasn't worth worrying about." Rainbow Dash added. Applejack nodded. "So when she ran off all worked up, not a single one of us tried to stop her." "As Twilight's good friends." Rarity continued. "We should have taken her feelings seriously and been there for her!" "Please don't take her away from us just because we were too insensitive to help her." Fluttershy told her. "Looks like you all learned a pretty valuable lesson today." Celestia remarked and the six ponies all agreed. "Very well," she continued. "I'll forget Twilight's "punishment" [sneaks a wink at Bandit] on one condition." The mares clamored over each other in anticipation before Celestia continued. "From this day forth, I would like you all to report to me your findings on the magic of friendship when, and only when, you happen to discover them.” She told all of them, though most of that was directed towards Twilight. The seven ponies cheered. Celestia began to walk to the door before Twilight ran over. “Princess Celestia, wait!” Twilight called, making Celestia stop and turn to look at her. How did you know I was in trouble?" “Not only did Bandit, Spike and Chad all send letters to me, but Bandit flew all the way to Canterlot to let me know your fears were getting the best of you. My sons do tell me everything after all.” Celestia told her. That’s when Twilight remembered what she indirectly told Bandit. “E-everything?” She asked. Celestia giggled a bit. “As much as I commend them for taking your feelings seriously, my advice is to trust them a little bit more when it comes to me. He is momma’s little nymph after all.” Celestia winked as the others walked over. Bandit heard what she called him and blushed a bit. “Now, if you will all excuse me, I must return to Canterlot. I'm expecting some mail." Celestia walked out the door and flew off. Chad trotted down with Spike on his back, who had a paper and quill in hand. “Well, they know the drill already.” Bandit said as he ruffled Spike’s head spikes. Twilight smiled at the trio. Later, the group was all sitting in a circle as Spike wrote the letter, leaning against a loafing Chad. "Dear Princess Celestia, We're writin' to you because today we all learned a little somethin' about friendship." Applejack started. "We learned that you should take your friends' worries seriously." Fluttershy said. "Even if you don't think that she has anything to worry about." Rainbow Dash added. "And that you shouldn't let your worries turn a small problem…" Rarity supplied. "…into an enormously huge entire-town-in-total-chaos Princess-has-to-come-and-save-the-day problem.” Pinkie expressed. "Signed, your loyal subjects," Lightning Sprint concluded. Spike finished writing that and was about to write a P.S, but Chad sent the letter with his magic. “Hey!” Spike said. Chad snickered before Twilight looked at Bandit. “I owe you an apology Bandit.” Twilight told him. Bandit looked at her as she spoke. “I should’ve listened to you. And...I never should’ve told you I didn’t trust you.” “Water under the bridge Twily. It may have hurt my feelings at the time, but I know you didn’t mean to say it.” Bandit told her. Twilight walked over and gave him a hug. “You were right.” She told him. Bandit hugged her back.