It was early in the morning in Ponyville, but one occupant of the crystal castle in the middle of town was already up and about: That pony was Starlight Glimmer. She had already had a small breakfast for herself and was now in the castle library, smiling to herself when she was able to find it without trouble. "Wow, I'm getting good at this!" She said to herself. "Can't believe I used to get turned around just trying to find any room at all. Still think this place could use a map, though. Too many broom closets."
Then the unicorn mare let her wandering eyes observe the rows and rows of books all neatly stacked around her. She'd been coming to this room a lot lately to do her own studies. "Now let's see, where was that book again?" She asked herself as she lit up her horn and began to pull books off the shelves one by one. It took her a little while to find it, but when she did her eyes lit up like stars in the night sky. "Aha, here it is!" The book had an innocent sapphire blue cover and just looking at the title wouldn't convey anything to make it special: Special Spells and Secrets: Tips and Tricks For Aspiring Unicorns. It seemed to just be a book for advanced magical studies, but Starlight Glimmer knew better.
Flipping through the pages, the unicorn with a grayish-purple coat loosely read over spell after spell. She'd already tried a small hoofful of them and had been impressed. "Just wait until I show Twilight I've been doing studies all on my own!" She thought to herself with a smile. "Maybe I'll even impress her enough to get her off my back about my friendship studies," She shuddered a bit as she thought about it. "It's not like I don't wanna learn about friendship. But the last time I had to do a lesson on my own it... didn't go so well." She could well remember what had unfolded with Trixie, the memories still fresh in her mind.
A part of Starlight felt guilty for doing this when she knew it was friendship she was supposed to be studying. But to be fair, Twilight hadn't said other studies weren't allowed. And magic was what had helped the once evil unicorn befriend Trixie in the first place, and had played a fairly big role in helping her reconnect with Sunburst. So a few advanced spells here and there surely wouldn't hurt. Twilight was bound to have learnt just as advanced spells if not even more advanced ones.
Eventually, Starlight found a spell she wanted to test out. In fact, she found a whole bunch of spells she wanted to try out all at once. Picking just one to do would be hard. So why should she have to choose? "I'll just try 'em all!" She thought to herself as she lit up her horn.
Unbeknownst to the curious unicorn, she was not the only inhabitant of the castle awake at this current moment. Twilight and Spike had also woken up and were on their way to the library at that very moment. Neither knew yet what Starlight Glimmer was up to.
But the conversation was still turning to the unicorn that had been living with the alicorn and the dragon for quite some time now. Spike was the first to bring it up. "You know, Twilight, it's kind of funny. Starlight's been living with us for over half a year at this point. I didn't think I would get used to having a big sister," Then he giggled. "Although, from the way she acts, I'm kind of thinking she should be a little sister."
"Come now, Spike," Twilight lightly scolded. "Starlight means well. She is getting better at not always acting immature and rash. She's come a long way from the pony she was when I took her under my wing. She seems to be slowly getting more confident in her abilities."
Spike reluctantly commented. "I know, and that's what worries me. She does remember that she's supposed to be learning about friendship and not magic, right? Because it seems like more and more often, she's trying to study magic of some kind."
Twilight replied. "She had to learn some magic to help me fix the map. But she broke it, so it was her responsibility to help fix it," And she added. "Plus, I couldn't help it if I needed some back-up to broadcast the Applewood Derby. And besides, she's been getting along well enough with all of our friends. Not to mention the fact that she's got her own friends in Trixie and Sunburst. She even stood up for Thorax in the Crystal Empire."
"Yeah, having her on my side was a big help," Spike agreed. "Even so, don't you think maybe it's time for a progress report to see if she's taking her friendship studies seriously? She did try to weasel her way out of one the first time she met Sunburst."
Twilight waved a hoof and dismissed the concern. "Oh, Spike. That's only because she was nervous about having to tell Sunburst about her past. She's put that all behind her now, I'm sure," Though the young alicorn hesitantly added. "Still... I guess it has been a long time since she had a friendship assignment to tackle. Even with everything that's happened, she should've found time for at least a lesson or two."
Just then, pony and dragon heard the sound of muffled horn blasts and a thud coming from the library! It sounded like some kind of battle was going on just beyond the library doors! Horrified at the prospect of another intruder, they ran faster and faster until they reached the library doors!
Twilight lit up her horn and flung the doors open as wide as they could! What she saw was not at all what she was expecting!
There seemed to be two Starlight Glimmers, both looking exactly the same. And they were currently engaged in a battle of some sort in which one had conjured up a shield with her magic.
By chance, that was when one Starlight looked back and saw that she had company! "Twilight?!" She gasped!
The other Starlight took advantage of the opportunity and fired off a blast at her wide open opponent!
The first Starlight was thrown into the book shelves and groaned as she struck them, books falling on top of her and burying her in a small pile!
Twilight Sparkle moved quickly after that! Using her own magic, she dispelled the clone and rushed to the original Starlight's aid. "Starlight, are you okay?!" She asked her student, checking her all over to see if she was hurt in any way, shape or form.
Starlight Glimmer groaned as she slowly stood up and shook her entire body. "I'm fine, Twilight. A little sore, but I'll live," Then she blushed, looking around at the mess she'd made of the library. Books were scattered everywhere. "Although, it looks like we'll have to... er... clean up."
Twilight could only sigh. She hadn't anticipated her student being quite this... aggressive in pursuit of her own magical knowledge. Yet even she couldn't have suspected what the real reason for Starlight's private studies was.
"When you told me you'd been doing solo studies, Starlight, I didn't think you meant it like this." The young alicorn somewhat frowned as she looked at her student.
Starlight blushed. "Sorry. It's just that... magic has always been where I've felt at home. It's not like I was studying brainwashing spells or anything."
Twilight simply commented. "I guess not, and I never said you couldn't study magic on the side. If you'd asked nicely, I could've gotten a space set up for you," She then grinned. "In fact, I wouldn't mind going up against you once in a while if you wanted to see how far your magic can take you. After you were able to keep up with me in the past, I realized my own magical combat skills were kind of lacking."
The unicorn gulped a bit. "I still think you were holding back. If you'd really wanted to, you could've easily destroyed me then and there."
"And then you wouldn't have come to learn about how wonderful friendship can be," Twilight remarked. "You've certainly come a long way from then. You don't hate cutie marks anymore, and you've been hanging out with my friends quite often."
"Only when you're around," Starlight confessed. "Well, aside from when Pinkie Pie practically begged me to come with her to Manehattan. That was certainly an adventure I'll never forget."
The young alicorn nodded. "I heard all about it, Starlight. In fact, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about today," Then she looked around the library. "But we'd better get the mess you made sorted out first. I hadn't planned on making today re-shelving day, but I suppose I can bump it up a week after making a few adjustments to my schedule."
However, Starlight Glimmer got an idea as her horn began to spark! "Actually, I know of a better way to put things back where they belong. Let me show you," She began rushing all over the library, hastily picking up books in the blink of an eye and placing them back on their proper shelf in a matter of seconds. "Speed spells like Accelero are not easy. But if done correctly, they can allow you to be much more efficient with your day, as you just saw."
"Whoa, that was impressive, Starlight!" Spike remarked with amazement!
The unicorn mare with a grayish-purple coat just grinned. "If you thought that was impressive, wait 'til you see this new spell combination I just perfected. It combines Similo Duplexis with Accelero, and if they're used in just the right way," Suddenly, a second version of the mare appeared beside her and the two said in unison. "You can literally be in two places at once!"
"Cloning, huh? Didn't Pinkie Pie tell you what happened when she tried that?" Twilight pointed out to her student.
Starlight nodded. "She did, which is why I've only tested it with one copy right now. There don't seem to be any side effects so far, but then again I haven't tried going beyond two. That could take magic on your level, Twilight."
Twilight nodded back. "Probably, though even I would've never thought of combining spells the way you just did. You certainly know how to think on your hooves," Then she used her magic to pull out a clipboard, and after eyeing it she declared. "Though, I just realized yesterday that you apparently haven't tackled any friendship lessons at all since you met Trixie."
At that, Starlight Glimmer gulped and took a step back. "R-really?" She briefly stammered. "I could've sworn there were a couple in there somewhere. Has it been that long already?"
"Unless there's something I missed, which I doubt, this list doesn't lie," Twilight explained before putting the clipboard away. "Look, I know you've been busy since Trixie came along. So much has happened: Rainbow Dash became a Wonderbolt, Rarity opened a new boutique in Manehattan, we got the map working again and of course there was the whole 'Guys' Night' incident. But there's no reason why you shouldn't have found the time to at least start on one friendship lesson or even two. I even gave you some suggestions, didn't I?" She delivered the question with a quirked brow.
Starlight seemed to shrink from Twilight's gaze, almost like she was trying to hide something. But she managed to maintain a somewhat sincere smile while replying. "You did, yes. I'll... get right on them! Guess they just slipped my mind." She gave a slightly nervous laugh as she finished that sentence.
"Great! No time like the present!" The princess smiled. "In fact, today would be an excellent day to tackle a friendship lesson all on your own! Think of it as a friendship pop quiz if you will."
"You mean, this isn't like when you tasked me with making a new friend for an important dinner?" The unicorn questioned. "I can choose what I want to do?"
Twilight nodded. "You're the one who's supposed to be learning, and any good student should take the initiative to learn all by themselves," And she added. "Besides, it'll give you more freedom since there's no real deadline. Although, since Spike and I are going to be away, a progress report by tonight would be appreciated."
"Why? Where are you going?" Starlight questioned with concern. "Why can't I come along and tackle the friendship lesson at another time?"
"Because," Twilight explained. "I've been asked by Princess Celestia to give her students a quick overview on the history of enchanted objects in Equestria. And Spike, as usual, is there to help me manage my notes. Don't worry, though, we shouldn't be gone for too long. We should be back after the presentation, which should be..."
"A week from now?" Spike appeared to only slightly joke.
Twilight grumpily replied. "Tonight. It'll be a quick presentation and lecture, especially when I take your suggestion to condense my notes," She then said to her student. "So when I come back, I hope to see you at least having started on a friendship lesson. You don't even have to take those suggestions I gave you if you've thought of something else. Trust me, there's always something friendship related going on here in Ponyville. As long as there's at least two other ponies left, somepony's gonna be having some kind of problem with a friend of theirs."
Reluctantly, Starlight agreed to what her teacher had asked of her. "Of course! No problem!" She seemed to nervously chuckle and then took off while declaring "I'll get right on it, Twilight! I swear! You won't even need to check in on me, that's how good I'll be at... whatever friendship related thing it is I end up doing."
But as soon as the mare was out of sight, Spike sighed and commented to himself. "She's going to get herself into trouble, I just know it."
Twilight, by chance, happened to have overheard the remark. "Come on, Spike! Have a little faith in her! She is your big sister, after all. And don't forget, it was your suggestion that I let her learn at her own pace instead of always trying to set up lessons for her. I'm only doing this because I need to know she's taking her friendship studies seriously. But I'm sure I'll have nothing to worry about," She then changed the subject as she gestured to a stake of note cards. "Now why don't you help me color-code these cards according to time, place, and object."
"Fine." The little dragon reluctantly agreed. But he couldn't shake the feeling that Starlight Glimmer was heading for trouble. He'd seen this kind of nervous behavior before, and he knew from experience that whenever the unicorn acted like it it always resulted in something unexpected happening.
Later that day, Starlight had retreated to her own bedroom within the castle. Kites and kite flying equipment lay scattered on the floor, and the unicorn was currently occupying herself by levitating some blocks within the bluish-green glow of her horn. Near her bed was a framed picture of a unicorn that looked kind of like Trixie, except it was in black and white. And near that framed picture was an equal sign with a red circle and line drawn through it.
Briefly, the unicorn's thoughts turned to Trixie and to Sunburst. "Would they really understand?" She thought to herself, recalling her experiences with the only ponies besides Twilight she considered in that small circle of "true friends". Then she shook her head. "No, I can't ask them for help! Sunburst is busy and Trixie... she's got her wagon and her tours. I have to solve this on my... somehow."
Just then, the once evil unicorn's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door! Frantically, she dropped the blocks and rushed over to a small desk with scrolls nearby! She proceeded to pull out some small note cards Twilight had given her, the suggestions for possible friendship problems that Starlight had yet to consider. And by coincidence, each of them involved one of Twilight's friends. The same friends that Twilight said were also Starlight's, but Starlight wasn't sure how true that statement really was. There was still much about them she didn't know if the way Rainbow Dash's reaction to a Wonderbolts question had been any indication.
The door to the bedroom opened, and in strolled Spike.
Starlight made it look like she was busy pondering the suggestions Twilight had given, murmuring and humming to herself while trying to appear to be deep in thought. The notecards floated in the soft glow of her horn. "Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm. Decisions, decisions. So many choices, so little time." She intentionally made the comments aloud.
Spike just cleared his throat to catch Starlight's attention. "Hey there. Just checking in before Twilight and I leave for Canterlot. You need anything?"
The unicorn mare playfully grumbled. "Come on, Spike. I'm not a little filly who needs foalsitting. I'm a grown mare, I can take care of myself. If anything, you're the little kid around here."
The little dragon snorted. "I'm not that little and you know it," Then he commented. "Come on, you know you can talk to me. You've done it before. Twilight doesn't always pick up on those little things you try to hide."
"Who, me?" Starlight blinked in seeming innocence. "What would I possibly have to hide? My life's an open book now. I don't have a care or worry in the world. The only problem I've got right now is figuring out which of these possible assignments to do."
Spike raised an eyebrow as he looked at the unicorn. "Oh really? Is that why you haven't acted on them even though Twilight gave them to you weeks ago?"
"Y-yes. That's totally the reason why." Starlight answered in the hopes it would send the little dragon away.
It didn't, Spike just seized the note cards and noticed the little drawings of five mares, one for each card. And they corresponded to what Twilight had in mind for helping that mare out. "Let's see here: 'Bake a cake with Pinkie Pie', 'Scrapbook with Applejack', 'Sew with Rarity' 'Help an animal with Fluttershy' or 'Chillax with Rainbow Dash'. What even is chillaxing anyway?"
Starlight Glimmer shrugged her hooves. "Don't ask me, I haven't got a clue. Rainbow says a lot of words I don't really understand, and she's not the only one who does it."
Spike blinked slowly. "Riiiiiiight," Then he looked back to Starlight and in a gentle tone of voice he said to her. "You know, uh, if you're nervous about your friendship lessons, it's totally okay to say so. Twilight will understand, just like she's understood everything else you've done," He then coughed into a claw. "Eventually, anyway."
But in response to Spike's "accusation" Starlight threw back her head. "Nervous, me?" She tried to laugh as sincerely as possible, but it didn't sound very convincing. "Oh, Spike, you really are hilarious. You and your little brother jokes. I swear, Twilight lets you get away with so much that I never could when I was growing up," Then she boasted. "You seriously think I'm nervous that I'm somehow gonna fail something as simple as baking a cake? With Pinkie Pie no less? She lives in a bakery for pony's sake, how could the two of us mess it up?"
The light purple scaled dragon rolled his eyes. "You tell me, you're the one who hasn't done it. If all of these are really so simple, then you should've been able to do them all by now. So come on, just pick one and get it over with if you're not nervous! You've got all day."
"I will then, you'll see!" Starlight insisted as she puffed out her chest! "I'll do so good on my friendship assignment that you and Twilight will realize you were wrong to ever doubt me! And then you'll see that magic isn't the only thing I'm great at!" And with that, as if to make herself heard, she picked up the note cards and trotted away to seemingly make a decision.
Spike could only groan and put a claw to his forehead. His little hunch had been right, Starlight was bound to get herself into trouble now. "And I thought Twilight was the master of the freak-out." He muttered to himself while also resigning himself to the fact that this time he wouldn't be around to keep Starlight Glimmer from doing something crazy.
Starlight Glimmer thought she had done a good job of masking her fears and insecurities around Twilight and Spike. At least, that's the way it seemed when they both left for Canterlot and left her alone in the castle without either of them asking her which friendship assignment she was going to do.
Yet once the unicorn was confident in the knowledge that she would be all alone, and that she had a full day (more or less) to tackle just one friendship assignment for Twilight, her confident mask crumbled. Instantly, she started to panic and hyperventilate. That is, until she gave herself a good smack across the face with a hoof! "Come on, Starlight! You've gotta pull yourself together!" She said to herself. "You can do this! A hoofful of friendship lessons should be child's play compared to those spells you mastered."
All she had to do was pick just one of the five assignments and commit to it. But there in lie the problem, picking one was immensely difficult to the unicorn. She read through them again, just to see if maybe she could rule any of them out now that time had passed. But Starlight didn't know enough to know whether any of the five mares would be unavailable or no longer were interested in whatever Twilight wanted her to do with them.
"Think, Starlight, think," The unicorn mare declared while pacing back and forth, trying to think of a solution. "There's got to be a way to tackle these assignments and impress Twilight. Just one isn't gonna cut it," Then she remembered Spike's comment about how she could've had them all done by now if they were so easy. That was when an idea came to her mind! "Of course, the answer's obvious! I'll just do them all at once, I should be able to find time to work with everypony," She smiled, then lit up her horn in preparation for a teleportation. "Let me just make sure."
The first stop for Starlight on her journey was Sugarcube Corner, more specifically the upstairs loft that served as a bedroom for Pinkie Pie. Fortunately for the unicorn, the pink party pony was around.
"Hi, Starlight!" Pinkie greeted with a smile while bouncing over. "Haven't seen you outside the castle lately."
Starlight Glimmer smiled back. "Sorry, I've been meaning to get out more but I've been busy. But I'm here now," And she immediately asked. "Wanna bake a cake? Any cake at all is fine."
Pinkie broke out in a grin that spread from ear to ear! "Sure thing, Starlight! After all..." She started to sing. "It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake-"
Starlight put a hoof to Pinkie's mouth to silence her. "Sorry, I'm on a bit of a schedule. No time for a song." She somewhat apologized.
Pinkie Pie removed the hoof as she told the unicorn. "That's okay, we can save the song for when we actually start baking!" Then she declared. "Hope you don't mind getting a little messy, or in my case a lot messy!" And she began to bounce away. "I'll just make sure I don't need to watch the Cake Twins, unless you'd rather help me with that?"
"No! Never in a million years! Those two drove me crazy the first time I met! I have no idea how you manage to keep them under control!" Starlight Glimmer exclaimed! "I'll stick with baking a cake." And she then lit up her horn and teleported away. That was one assignment she'd committed to, hopefully she would still be able to fit the other four in without too much trouble.
Next up was Sweet Apple Acres, and it was Starlight's good fortune to come across Applejack right as the stetson wearing earth pony had finished with her daily applebucking. "Howdy, Starlight," She greeted while wiping the sweat from her brows. "If you're here for an applebuckin' lesson I'm afraid you're too late, Big Mac and I already got the whole orchard covered."
"Actually, Applejack," The unicorn mare suggested. "What about that scrapbook you were working on? You know, the one Twilight wanted me to help you with?"
The farm mare blinked for a moment, before remembering what Starlight was referring to. "Oh yeah, that. Well if you've got time, I reckon we can at least get started on it. Got a whole lot of memories to go over and a lot of time to cover."
"That's okay, as long as it won't take all day," The unicorn commented. "I already promised Pinkie Pie I'd help her bake a cake."
"Really?" Applejack inquired with concern. "You sure you got time for that and my scrapbook?"
Starlight somewhat nervously nodded. "Think I can manage. Why don't you go ahead and get set up, and I'll join you as soon as I have the time?"
"Well... alright, I guess," Applejack agreed. "Just be careful with your commitments, sugarcube. I know what it's like to think you can multitask only to find out you've gone and bit off more than you could chew." Still, she trotted away to the farmhouse to get her scrapbook, and that was Starlight Glimmer's cue to teleport away.
Rarity was hard at work in her workshop at Carousel Boutique, even wearing her ruby red sewing glasses and having her trusty tape measure around her neck. But it was fortunate for her that she had a brief break in her sewing when Starlight teleported in. "Starlight Glimmer, what a nice surprise. Can I help you with anything?"
The grayish-purple coated unicorn eagerly smiled. "Actually, I should be asking you that question. Seeing as Twilight thought it'd be a good idea if I helped you sew a dress or something."
The fashionista smiled back. "Why certainly. I'd be honored to have a helping hoof. In fact, I have a special project I was thinking we could do together, although it'll take a while. As I always say: You can't rush fine art."
"Fine by me," Starlight agreed. "Just don't be surprised if I have to duck out every and now then. I'm also helping Applejack with her scrapbook and baking a cake with Pinkie Pie. Never a dull moment for me!"
Rarity nervously blinked. "Are you sure that's wise, darling? I'd understand if you already had other commitments."
But Starlight protested! "No no no, Rarity! I can manage! You're the expert, so why don't you come up with a design for us to work on and I'll swing by later to start working on it?"
"Starlight, it's okay if you don't have the time," The fashionista tried to assure her friend. "I'm sure we could always wait until tomorrow and-" But before she could finish her sentence, she saw that Starlight Glimmer had already teleported away. "Oh," She commented and then sighed. "Well, guess you're really gonna go through with it, Starlight. 'The customer is always right'." And so she prepared to start on a small side project she had been saving for just such an occasion as the one now presented to her.
Despite beginning to grow just the slightest bit tired from constant teleporting, Starlight Glimmer still managed to reach Fluttershy's cottage with little trouble. "Hope this isn't a bad time," She said to the animal loving pegasus. "But I was thinking I could help you help one of your animal friends."
"Sure, Starlight," Fluttershy agreed. "I've been up to my neck in critters in need of care lately, so it's always nice to have a friend help me out."
"I thought you weren't the town's vet?" Starlight blinked. "Was I mistaken?"
Fluttershy shook her head from side to side. "Not at all. I'm no veterinarian, but I am still certified to care for critters in need: Big and small alike. My cottage is like an unofficial sanctuary," Then she suggested. "So, which animal do you want to help me with? I've got lots of candidates."
"Whichever one's gonna take the least amount time to care for!" The unicorn urgently spoke up. "I need to have time to help Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie."
"Oh my!" Fluttershy exclaimed in disbelief! "That doesn't sound like a good idea to me! How are you ever going to find time to manage their problems as well as mine?"
"I'll... I'll think of something, I'm sure!" Starlight insisted with a nervous laugh. "So just pick a critter I can help quickly, and I'll come back later to help you with it." Then she teleported away before Fluttershy could say anything more to her.
So it was that an almost out of breath Starlight Glimmer showed up at Rainbow Dash's cloud house, and only just remembered to cast the cloud walking spell before she would've fallen straight through.
Fortunately, the brash speedster was around. "You okay, Starlight?" She questioned upon seeing the troubled look on the unicorn's face. "Haven't seen you like this since... well... I can't remember."
"Oh, I'm fine! Really!" Starlight nervously insisted and immediately questioned. "Would it be okay if we 'chillaxed' or whatever it is?"
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah, definitely. After all, you look like you really need to chillax. You look as if you're about to collapse."
"Sorry," The unicorn panted. "Just got a lot on my plate today! Hopefully, I can squeeze in a chillaxing session with you while I work on helping the rest of our friends. It's gonna be a little tight, but I think I can manage. So, lay it on me. How do I go about chillaxing? How long will it take?"
Rainbow frowned. "As long as it needs to. We can't just chillax wherever and whenever we feel like it, that's not how it works," She got up from her bed and stretched her wings. "I'm gonna have to scout out a more suitable location for optimal chillaxing, preferably down on the ground so we won't have to worry about the cloud walking spell failing. And trust me, when we really get into the chillaxing vibe, we're gonna be there for a while." She proceeded to grab what looked like a sleeping bag and sunglasses.
"Okay, you get set up and I'll... check on the others!" Starlight Glimmer replied as she lit up her horn again. Then she teleported away yet again, this time heading back to the castle.
The rainbow maned pegasus could only shake her head. "That pony seriously needs to chillax before she hurts herself."
Poor Starlight now found herself in a rather unfortunate predicament. She'd already gone and committed herself to multiple friendship lessons that were all going to happen at more or less the same time. Just teleporting to each friend had been exhausting enough, and she hadn't even started on any of the lessons yet. But she knew she had to start on them, she'd already promised Twilight.
Besides, she had gone and boasted to Spike about how easy it would be to do a friendship lesson. She couldn't go back on her word now.
"Why'd I have to go and open my big mouth?" Starlight Glimmer complained to herself as she took a moment to readjust her mane and tail to an unfrazzled state. Her friends would know something was up if she showed up in such a messy state.
Once that was done, it took the unicorn another moment or so to compose herself as she took several deep breaths again. If only she had picked one instead of all five. But time travel wasn't a possibility.
"What am I gonna do?! What am I gonna do?!" Starlight commented as she paced back and forth within the familiar confines of the castle's front hallway. Time was passing, she had to make an appearance to the others sooner or later.
Then, suddenly, an idea came into the young mare's mind. She remembered those spells she had combined together earlier in the day. "Of course!" She giggled to herself. "I found a way to be in multiple places at the same time. And it'll be like I was always there, nopony will ever know!" Then she took a deep breath. "I just gotta concentrate, I can do this."
Concentrating deeply, Starlight Glimmer lit up her horn and surrounded her entire body. She had just perfected the combination of Similo Duplexis and Accelero. Eventually, she saw a perfect replica of herself appear beside her. "Great! It works!" She declared but the glow around her horn and body didn't fade. Just two Starlights wouldn't be enough for today. She was going to need more, enough to cover each friend.
At last, five Starlights (including the original) stood in the Castle of Friendship's front hallway. You wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at them which one was which, they were completely identical in every way.
The original Starlight smiled as she said to herself. "Congratulations, Starlight. You're a genius," And now it was time to give the copies their orders. "Hear my voice and listen!" She declared in the most dramatic tone possible! "Each of you is going to be given an assignment, and each of you is to carry it out. When it's done, report back to me here at the castle so that it'll seem like I was there all along."
"Yes, Starlight." The four clones all said in unison.
The original unicorn smiled. "Excellent. Now I can chillax with Rainbow Dash, that should be easy enough," Then she turned to the other Starlights and approached each of them one by one. "I want you all to do whatever you're told to do by the pony I assign you to work with," From left to right she then said to each clone. "Starlight One: Go to Sugarcube Corner and help Pinkie Pie bake a cake. Starlight Two: Go to Sweet Apple Acres and help Applejack with her scrapbooking. Starlight Three: Go to Carousel Boutique and sew a dress with Rarity. Starlight Four: Go to Fluttershy's cottage and help her help an animal, any animal."
"As you wish, Starlight." Each of the copies declared all at once.
"Excellent!" The original Starlight Glimmer smiled, though her smile didn't last long when she saw the clones were just standing around with blank expressions on their faces. "Well, what are you all standing around here for? You've got your orders, get out there!"
But the first Starlight clone replied in a matter of fact tone. "We do not know the location of any of those places you just mentioned. We only know what you have told us." And the other three Starlights nodded in agreement.
The original Starlight frowned and bit her lip while sighing. "Ugh, fine. I'll show you each the way, but we have to be sneaky about so that nopony will suspect anything."
"And how will we get in touch with you?" The second Starlight clone questioned.
"You can all teleport! Remember the castle and teleport back here as soon as you are finished with your assignments," The original Starlight explained to them. "Now come on! We're wasting time standing around here." And she grabbed each of the clones with one of her hooves, then teleported away to direct each of them to their designated locations.
The first Starlight clone was brought right to the doorstep of Sugarcube Corner as the other Starlight clones were kept hidden in a nearby bush.
The original Starlight explained to the clone. "Remember, do whatever Pinkie Pie tells you to do."
"'Whatever Pinkie Pie tells me to do'." The clone repeated.
"Exactly," The original Starlight declared and then rang the doorbell. "Good luck!" And she teleported away to help the other clones.
Pinkie Pie opened the door mere seconds after the other Starlights had disappeared, thus she wasn't aware that she was dealing with a clone. "Oh, Starlight, you're here! I was starting to think you'd changed your mind," She giggled and led the unicorn inside. "Are you ready to bake a cake with yours truly? We're gonna make the bestest cake ever!"
Starlight just replied in a flat and relatively emotionless tone. "I am ready, Pinkie Pie."
The pink party pony was quick to respond. "You can just call me, Pinkie, you know. You've done it before."
"Yes, Pinkie," Starlight nodded in reply. "Let us bake a cake together."
"Now you're talking!" Pinkie eagerly declared as she led Starlight along by the hoof, the two soon arriving at the first floor kitchen. Various ingredients had been set up on a table top alongside a cook book that was red and white in color (styled into alternating squares). "Okie dokie, let's get to work!"
"What do we first, Pinkie?" Starlight questioned even as her tone of voice didn't change.
The pink party pony simply replied. "Simple, we're going to follow the instructions of the cook book."
Starlight repeated. "Follow the instructions of the cook book."
"Hey, I just said that!" Pinkie Pie remarked with brief concern, before bouncing over to the cook book. "Oh well, at least that means I know you're paying attention."
Starlight Glimmer nodded as she continued to flatly state. "Paying attention."
Pinkie smiled. "Yes, Starlight. Paying attention is important," She then eyed the cook book and read aloud. "Alright. Step one: In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat together eggs, sugar and two teaspoons of vanilla." Just as she finished saying that she thought she heard the sound of eggs cracking and sugar and vanilla being poured into a mixing bowl. But when she looked she saw nothing, Starlight was just standing there with a blank expression on her face.
The unicorn questioned the earth pony. "What do we do next?"
If Pinkie was at all concerned by the way Starlight was acting, she didn't show it outwardly as she just turned back to the cook book and continued to read. "Step two: Mix in flour," This time, she knew something had happened because where that had been a full sack of flour before there was now nothing. Deciding to test her new discovery, she glanced her blue eyes back to the cook book before turning back to Starlight and saying. "Step three: Add baking soda, salt and cinnamon!" Sure enough, she saw that Starlight was indeed doing what the cook book said to do.
"What next?" Starlight inquired as her expression did not change.
But just then there came a thump and a bump from upstairs. Pinkie Pie was certain the sound was coming from the Cake Twins' nursery. "I need to go check on the twins and make sure they're okay," She told Starlight while moving the cook book towards the unicorn. "But I think you can take it from here."
Starlight questioned with only slight concern. "Take what from where, Pinkie?"
"Duh, baking the cake of course!" The pink party pony pointed out. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon! In the meantime, you can just follow the instructions of the cook book, and make sure to do them in order. Trust me, you don't wanna do them out of order. I tried it once and the results were... not pretty."
The unicorn mare with a grayish-purple coat nodded. "Follow the instructions of the cook book in order, got it."
Convinced that everything would be just fine, Pinkie left the kitchen and rushed upstairs to find out what the twins had done that had made those loud noises. "Oh, I hope they didn't break something again!" She said to herself.
The second Starlight clone was brought to Sweet Apple Acres, more specifically to the farm house. And after the original Starlight had knocked on the front door, she left with the other clones as the second clone just stood there. She already knew she was to do whatever Applejack wanted her to do.
Applejack opened the door, and she too had no way of knowing that she was working with a copy of Starlight rather than the original. "Hey, Starlight," She greeted while ushering the unicorn inside the farm house. "Got done bakin' with Pinkie Pie already? That was fast."
"Done baking with Pinkie Pie." Starlight nodded in a flat tone of voice.
Applejack smiled as she brought her friend into the living room, sitting down on a well worn (but still comfortable) couch. "Great! That means we got plenty of time to work on my scrapbook!" Though she then questioned. "You don't got somewhere else to be, do you?"
"Don't have somewhere else to be." Was all Starlight Glimmer responded with.
"O...kay," The farm mare blinked slowly, before gesturing to the various photos that lay scattered across a small table nearby. "Well, these are all the photos I wanna put in my scrapbook. Any ideas on how we should organize 'em?"
Starlight simply questioned. "How do you want to organize them, Applejack?"
Applejack was hesitant for a moment. She hadn't been expecting that sort of reply. Still, she quickly settled on a response. "Well, how about I just tell you about each one and then we'll decide where to put 'em?"
"Tell me about each one." Starlight demanded in a flat tone of voice.
So the stetson wearing earth pony did, first pointing a hoof to a picture of Granny Smith looking to the camera with a most puzzled expression while a pig was floating by in a small river on what appeared to be an old pie tin. "Oh, I remember this one," She chuckled. "You'll never believe this, Starlight! A few months ago, Granny Smith was lookin' for her favorite pie tin. She looked in the kitchen, but it wasn't there. She looked in the barn, but it wasn't there," Upon noticing that the unicorn didn't appear to be interested (let alone asking for more details), she decided to sum it up. "Well, I guess you don't need to know the whole story behind each of 'em. Otherwise, we'll be here all day. How about I just give you a short summary?"
"Give me a short summary." Starlight agreed.
Applejack did so after nodding. "Turns out Granny Smith didn't know how to make a pig do the backstroke," She set it aside and turned to another picture, this one depicting Big Macintosh hiding in the mud of the pigpen in the middle of the night. She summed it up. "Big Mac knew that if he just covered himself in mud, the creature wouldn't be able to see him!" Yet still, she wasn't getting a reaction from her friend. Were the photos and the memories contained within them really that boring to others?
Rarity was the next pony to unknowingly be visited by one of the Starlight Glimmer duplicates. She hurried downstairs after hearing the familiar jingling of the bell. And soon, her sparkling blue eyes beheld the sight of her fellow unicorn: Starlight Glimmer. "Ah, being fashionably late I see," She said with a wink. "Well it can't be helped, you were busy baking with Pinkie Pie and scrapbooking with Applejack. But I assume you found time to work with me?"
"Found time to work with you." Starlight nodded and said nothing more.
Satisfied with the answer, the fashionista smiled. "Simply splendid, darling! Now come on, let us adjourn to my workshop and we'll get started on the sewing."
Starlight nodded again in agreement. "Get started on the sewing."
"Exactly! Glad we understand each other," Rarity declared and led her fellow unicorn up the stairs and to her workshop. She then put on her ruby red sewing glasses and prepared her trusty tape measurer. "Now then," She cleared her throat. "I have several different projects to consider. Or did you have something in mind for us to work on together?"
The other unicorn just replied. "What did you want me to have in my mind, Rarity?"
"You... don't have an idea?" The fashionista questioned with concern.
Starlight didn't even shake her head as she answered. "Don't have an idea."
Rarity was a bit surprised by that statement if the slight quiver to her lips was any indication. But she quickly recovered as she let out a sigh. "Well, I suppose it is hard when you're not a fashion pony like I am. Still, sewing at least is relatively simple once you know what you're doing."
"What are we doing, Rarity?" Starlight Glimmer inquired even though her tone of voice hadn't changed once since she'd started speaking. It was still flat and relatively emotionless.
The unicorn with a pristine white coat put a hoof to her chin, deep in thought for a moment. Then she floated over a fashion magazine and flipped through its pages, until finally she stopped on one depicting a green coated earth pony model of noticeably tall stature. She wore a dress that drooped down to the back hooves as it consisted mostly of alternating light and dark yellowish-brown squares, a dark brown belt around the shoulders and a bead like collar. "This dress is relative simple enough to make. We shall make a dress just like this one."
"A dress just like this one." Starlight agreed as she eyed the sketch in the magazine.
"Exactly!" Rarity declared with a wink and a smile. "You get started gathering the materials while I get the sewing needle and threads."
"Gather the materials." Starlight declared and then went off to do just that.
The fourth and final Starlight look alike was brought to Fluttershy's cottage as the original Starlight then retreated to go look for Rainbow Dash and "chillax".
Fluttershy suspected nothing when she saw Starlight Glimmer slowly approaching the pegasus' cottage. In fact, Fluttershy came out to meet the unicorn halfway. "Oh, Starlight. I didn't know if you could make it. I guess you found time to help our other friends?"
"Found time to help our other friends." Starlight flatly stated.
"Oh... that's good," Fluttershy agreed despite a little bit of concern for the fact that her friend didn't seem to be talking very much. She didn't dwell on it though as she led the unicorn inside. "That means you have plenty of time to help me. I'm sure we can find an animal you can help me care for."
"An animal I can help you care for, I understand." Starlight appeared to nod ever so briefly, though her overall tone of expression did not change.
But then the animal loving pegasus remembered something. "Well, there might be a bit of a problem. I wasn't sure when or if you'd get here, so I didn't want to disturb my animal friends. But now that you're here, you can help me round them up. All of them."
"Round up all of the animals." Starlight agreed.
"Yes," Fluttershy commented as she headed out the cottage door. "And then bring them back here."
Starlight simply replied. "Bring the animals back here." And then set out to carry out her designated assignment.
Meanwhile, the original Starlight Glimmer momentarily forgot what Rainbow Dash had told her about finding a chillaxing spot on the ground. She blushed with embarrassment upon remembering that statement, though. And she teleported away from the cloud house and started her search on the ground.
It didn't take too long for the unicorn to find her pegasus friend. Rainbow had gone ahead and set up on a small hill not too far away from her cloud house. She'd even set aside a separate folding chair next to the one she was seated in, and she hadn't taken off her sunglasses.
"So, you ready to chillax?" The brash speedster inquired as she got up and briefly stretched her limbs. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't have time with everything you had on your plate."
"Oh, don't worry, I found a way to take care of all those other problems," Starlight giggled and grinned. "And now I've got all the time in the world to learn how to chillax. So, lay it on me, what do we have to do?"
"Simple, really," Rainbow Dash declared while gesturing a hoof to the chair beside her. "Just lay down and forget about everything for a while. It's not a simple process, it's a state of being. We'll chillax together for however long I decide and not a minute longer."
The unicorn mare obeyed, trotting over and laying down in the folding chair the same way she saw Rainbow laying. Then she put her hooves around her head and leaned back, taking in the rays of the afternoon sun. Was it really this simple? Well, if so then that should mean the other hers were doing just as well as with their assignments.
Starlight Glimmer smiled and sighed as she felt her worries leave her for the time being. "Chillaxing is a success!" She confidently thought to herself. "Now I'll just wait for the other mes to complete their tasks, then I'll teleport back to the castle in plenty of time to clean up before Twilight and Spike get back. Maybe I should make copies of myself more often if they're this helpful."
Back at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was only now getting around to making her way back to the kitchen. "Phew," She declared to herself as she wiped the sweat from her brows. "That sure was a close call. Pound and Pumpkin Cake really have to learn not to wait 'til the last minute when they have to go potty."
As the pink party pony pranced back downstairs, she silently wondered how well Starlight Glimmer was doing. After all, Pinkie had been gone for longer than she had anticipated. That potty emergency had come on rather unexpectedly. But the cake should've been nearing completion by now. All that would be left do would probably be to put into the oven to bake.
However, when Pinkie entered the kitchen, her eyes widened as her jaw dropped open in disbelief! "What in the name of pink?!" She exclaimed!
Starlight wasn't working on one cake anymore, she seemed to be working on multiple cakes all at the same time! She was repeating the same steps over and over again for each one!
Immediately, the pink coated earth pony trotted up to the unicorn and demanded! "Starlight, what are you doing?!"
"Following all of the instructions in the cook book in order, Pinkie." The unicorn explained without looking up from the cook book or ceasing her rapid cake assembly.
Pinkie Pie moved to snatch the cook book away! "You were just supposed to make one cake for us to bake, Starlight! You're gonna make us run out of ingredients, and Mr. and Mrs. Cake will have to go shopping for more," She then demanded. "How in the wide world of Equestria did you manage to get all this done so quickly? I was only gone for a few minutes tending to the twins."
"I just followed the instructions in the cook book like you asked me to." Starlight Glimmer declared without a change in her expression or tone of voice.
Pinkie sighed. "Well, I think our little baking session is just about done," She frowned upon seeing how messy the tabletop was. "You've made quite a mess! Even Pound and Pumpkin Cake weren't this messy the first time I helped them bake something! Oh, it'll take forever to get the kitchen cleaned up!" Then, she sniffed the air as a rather troubling smell reached her nostrils. "Is something burning?" She questioned.
Starlight seemed to nod as she explained. "The oven is still on. The first cake should be done by now."
A look of horror flashed in Pinkie's eyes as she raced over to said oven and opened it! Thick, black smoke poured out of the oven and into her face, causing her to choke and sputter. "I can't believe it! You burnt the cake! A good baker never burns cake!" She angrily remarked. "Now we'll have to start all over with another cake!" And then she sighed. "Oh, I shouldn't have left you all alone."
Meanwhile, at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack was having her own problems with what she thought was the real Starlight. Namely the fact that she had been talking briefly about photo after photo, yet none seemed to prompt a reaction. It was going to be difficult to decide where to put what without feedback.
So Applejack kept on trying, presenting various photos that grew increasingly outlandish and bizarre. "And that's when Granny Smith knew she was gonna need a bigger boat," She declared with a chuckle as she showed a photo of her grandmother rapidly swimming away from what looked like a shark fin. "'Course, it was all just Big Macintosh. He likes to mess around in the water sometimes."
Starlight said nothing and just motioned for the picture to be set aside.
Applejack sighed, moving on to the next picture. This one depicted Goldie Delicious as she was surrounded by cats while sitting on a bench. "So Goldie Delicious said: 'If you can't say anythin' nice about anypony, come sit by me. I'll listen.'" Yet that too didn't prompt a reaction.
The farm mare went through picture after picture, showing each one to Starlight while providing a brief summary: "Ma was just a pony standin' in front of another pony, askin' Pa to love her. Least, that's what she always told me. Granny Smith declared: 'They can take our farm, but they can't take our freedom!' It was the best of apples, it was the worst of apples. Big Mac once told me: With a whole lot of power comes a heck a lot of responsibility. And you know, he was right."
Still, Starlight spoke not a word as she sat there, silently staring at Applejack as the pictures were presented and then set aside.
The stetson wearing earth pony lost patience, pounding the table with a hoof! "This has gone far enough, sugarcube! If you weren't interested in helpin' me with my scrapbook, you could've just said so. You didn't have to lie to me!"
"I did not lie to you. You summed up the photos like I asked you to," Starlight Glimmer declared. "I am now ready to sort them however you want me to sort them."
Applejack almost pulled out her mane hairs in frustration! "That's why I've been tryin' to engage you, so we can decide what photos belong where! But if nothin' interests you, how the heck am I supposed to decide for you? I might as well just be placin' 'em there with my eyes closed!"
"Placing them with your eyes closed," The unicorn commented as she got up to retrieve a glue stick, and then put her hooves over Applejack's eyes to cover them. "I shall do as you wish, Applejack."
But the farm mare removed Starlight's hooves and snatched up the glue stick! "That wasn't a request, Starlight! What in the hay has gotten into you?!"
Rarity was also facing her own troubles with her Starlight duplicate. She had gathered the necessary sewing supplies and was prepared to help her fellow unicorn with sewing and stitching.
But to the surprise of the fashionista, she was presented with a drawing that resembled the dress she had shown off in the magazine. "What in the name of Celestia is this?!" She gasped!
Starlight simply stated. "It is a dress just like the one in the magazine, Rarity. I made it for you just like you told me to."
Rarity's left eye twitched ever so slightly as she frowned. "I didn't mean copy the dress in a drawing! I meant make an actual dress with actual material!"
"Oh." Was all that Starlight had to say in response.
The fashionista unicorn just sighed. "Well, now I want you to make a real dress out of fabric, exactly like the one in the magazine."
"Yes, Rarity. A real dress exactly like the one in the magazine." Starlight replied as she started gathering up materials.
But Rarity frowned anew upon seeing how small Starlight was going to make the dress. So she told her fellow unicorn. "Make it bigger than the one in the magazine, Starlight. I don't design dresses for mice, you know."
"A dress bigger than the one in the magazine," Starlight nodded and turned her attention to the nearest source of fabric she could find, in this case the curtains by the window in the workshop. "Yes, a much bigger dress."
Rarity was horrified and nearly screamed when she saw her curtains be surrounded by the bluish-green magical glow of Starlight's horn! "Darling, what do you think you're doing?" She sternly scolded. "I have plenty of fabric rolls for you to use. You don't have to steal my curtains to make a big dress!"
"I was just making the dress like you told me to, Rarity." The unicorn with a grayish-purple coat declared. It didn't seem if as she comprehended why her friend was so upset or why stealing curtains was not an okay thing to do.
The unicorn with a pristine white coat then questioned. "Are you sure you don't have anything else that you need to work on? If you're going to make a dress with me, you need to keep your mind on that task and stay 'In The Zone' as it were."
"Stay 'In The Zone'." Starlight flatly repeated.
"Are you seriously going to mimic everything I say?" Rarity groaned with annoyance. "I swear, Sweetie Belle is less trouble than you despite all the times she steals my supplies for her own little 'projects'."
And even Fluttershy was beginning to run into her own problems with what was (unknown to her) a copy of Starlight Glimmer. For as she returned with the animals she had managed to round up, the pegasus was perplexed to see even the likes of Harry the bear and other mighty creatures start to shake with fear!
The reason for this sudden onset of fright was soon revealed as Fluttershy spotted Starlight standing by the road, covered from head to hooves in snakes, spiders and other things that crawled around on the ground.
Yet the unicorn didn't seem the least bit bothered by this as she just flatly declared to Fluttershy. "I have gathered all of the animals and brought them here like you asked me to, Fluttershy. I am now ready to help you help them."
"Oh no!" Fluttershy protested with a shake of her head. "Those animals were fine where they were, Starlight. You didn't have to disturb their homes and bring them here. I just meant the animals that always come to my cottage for assistance. But now we can't help them because you've frightened them all."
"I am sorry, Fluttershy," Starlight flatly apologized. "I was simply doing what you told me to do. I did not mean to cause you any trouble."
The animal loving pegasus sighed. "Well, just stay here and make sure the other animals don't run away. I'll have to return all these snakes and spiders to their rightful homes," She then shook her head. "I thought you knew better than this."
The unicorn simply replied. "I shall do as you command. I shall watch over these animals for you. Or do you wish for me to help you return the snakes and spiders to their homes?"
"NO!" Fluttershy sternly scolded with a glare. "You have already helped enough on that end. I don't need you causing any more trouble for these poor critters. Just stay there and make sure all the animals I gathered stay there as well. Then maybe we'll have time to help them calm down."
"Yes, Fluttershy, as you wish," Starlight Glimmer declared while marching over to the other animals. "They shall not be allowed to leave here."
The animal loving pegasus mare proceeded to apologize to her animal friends. "I'm so sorry about all of this. Next time I guess I'll have to be more specific with Starlight when she's helping me."
And while all of this was ongoing, the real Starlight Glimmer was enjoying her chillaxing session with Rainbow Dash.
Or at least, the mare was until she felt an ominous tingling in her horn. Something was up with all of those duplicates she had sent them! It appeared that the spell enabled her to share a mental link of some kind as the clones, seeing as she could sense that each of them was declaring that they had experienced trouble with their assignments.
Starlight rose from her chair as she turned to Rainbow Dash. "Well, thanks for that chillaxing session! Definitely feel better! Gotta go now, bye!" She hastily declared before lighting up her horn and teleporting away!
"Hey! I didn't say we were done!" Rainbow shouted in protest, but her words failed to reach the unicorn in time.
Starlight Glimmer teleported back to the castle and quickly summoned all the clones with her magic. "What happened?!" She questioned them. "I thought I told you all to do whatever you were told to do by the pony I assigned to each of you."
"We did exactly what you told us to do, Starlight Glimmer." The duplicates all stated at once.
"Then why does it look like you all had problems?" The original Starlight frowned, taking notice of a particular detail about each clone: The one sent to Pinkie Pie was covered in flour and egg shells, the one sent to Applejack seemed to have a blank stare, the one sent to Rarity had a tiny dress held in her magic and the one sent to Fluttershy had markings that indicated snakes and spiders had been crawling all over her.
Again, however, the copies just stated. "We did exactly what you told us to do."
"I followed the instructions in the cook book like Pinkie Pie told me." The flour and egg shell covered Starlight said.
"I had Applejack sum up the photos she wanted to put in the scrap book." The blank staring Starlight declared.
"I made a dress exactly like the one Rarity showed me." The dress holding Starlight stated.
"I gathered up all the animals that Fluttershy told me to gather." The Starlight with markings explained.
The original Starlight Glimmer groaned. "I didn't mean literally do everything they told you to do," And then she lamented. "Great, now my friends are gonna think I did all of this. I mean, I kind of did but... you know what I mean," Putting a hoof to her forehead she complained. "How am I gonna make this up to them without letting them know what was going on? How could things get any worse than this?"
As if in answer to that question, at that very moment the castle doors flung open and in strolled Twilight and Spike. Twilight immediately caught a glance of the five Starlights, and when she did she was anything but pleased! "What is going on here?!" She furiously demanded of her student as her eyes narrowed! "Starlight, what have you done now?!"
Sheepishly, Starlight dispelled the clones with a flick of her horn as she tried to defend herself. "Uh... this... isn't what it looks like?"
"Nice try." Was all Twilight said in reply, and the way she delivered it conveyed more than more words could about the trouble her student was in.
So it was that Starlight Glimmer reluctantly told her mentor everything, explaining what purpose the clones had served and how it had all gone so wrong.
"So let me get this straight," Twilight spoke up as she questioned her student a short time later. "You decided to do five friendship lessons at the same time, and you then decided to use magic to create copies of yourself in order to juggle all those lessons? And because you told those copies to do whatever they were told to do, they took that literally and made a mess of things with our friends?"
Spike put a claw to his face. "I was afraid this would happen! It's just like when Twilight freaked out over not having a friendship lesson to report to Princess Celestia! Seriously, Starlight, sometimes I almost can't tell you and Twilight apart."
Twilight simply shook her head from side to side and sighed deeply. "Despite what you might think, Starlight, I'm not mad with you. Not like I was the last time you did something like this behind my back. But I am disappointed. I thought I taught you better than this. I thought you had learned by now that you can't use magic as a shortcut to solve your problems."
"But you use spells at the time!" The unicorn weakly protested.
The young alicorn nodded in agreement. "Guilty as charged. And I can't begin to tell you how many times that's come back to bite me in the rump. That's why I don't want you making the same mistakes," Then she commented. "But what I'm really disappointed on is the fact that I apparently can't trust you to learn on your own. I gave you a simple instruction: All you had to do was pick just one friendship assignment. It didn't even have to be those suggestions I gave you. Just one would've been enough for me to know you were taking your studies seriously. You didn't have to impress me."
Starlight shuddered. "I'm sorry, Twilight. Really, I am. I kept meaning to do a friendship lesson or act on those suggestions you gave me. But..."
Spike was the one to ask. "But what, Starlight? There's something going on here that you haven't told Twilight about yet," He snorted. "I thought we were past this. I thought you learned after the whole Sunburst fiasco not to keep secrets from Twilight."
The unicorn mare gulped and swallowed hard, looking almost a deer frozen in spotlight. Reluctantly, she forced herself to confess. "You keep saying that they're our friends, that your friends are my friends too. But are they really? Would they have ever befriended me if you hadn't practically declared us friends on day one? They didn't see me at my best, they only saw me at their worst."
"Starlight, it's all in the past. You were forgiven," Twilight pointed out. "My friends and I were willing to forgive Discord even after he betrayed us and sided with an enemy. Friendship is all about second chances, after all. Didn't you learn that from Trixie's visit?"
"I know! I know! It's so silly and stupid!" Starlight tearfully confessed. "I know I should be better than this! I know I should be above such thinking! But it just keeps coming back no matter what I do! And it seems like whenever I try to take the lead on my own when it comes to friendship, it always goes wrong! I tried to weasel out of meeting Sunburst, I didn't tell you where I was when I was hanging out with Trixie and now this. What if you're wrong about me? What if I can't really change?"
"Hey, don't go there!" Spike protested! "You stood up for Thorax in the Crystal Empire all by yourself. That alone is proof that you have changed, that you're not who you used to be," And he added. "And if anyone knows what it's like to be hard on yourself, it's me. I've been where you've been, and you're the only one who can stop beating yourself up about it. There's goodness inside of you, so why do you believe it's not there?"
Starlight Glimmer could only reply. "I wish I knew, Spike. I want to believe I've changed. But that's not easy to do when I was given six friends in the blink of an eye and told that everything I'd done before didn't matter any more."
There was a long pause afterwards as Twilight and Spike silently exchanged looks, as if daring the other to speak. At last, it was Twilight Sparkle who broke the silence as she simply told the troubled unicorn. "Well, at the least you owe your friends an apology for all of this. Regardless of how you feel, they've let me know in no uncertain terms that they consider you a friend. And I do too. And part of friendship means owning up to when we hurt our friends, whether we mean to or not. It's never easy. Trust me, I speak from experience on that. But it's something we must do."
Starlight reluctantly sighed in agreement. "Fine. You're right. I do have to apologize," She began to light up her horn. "And maybe it's not too late for me to salvage something from those assignments." Then she teleported away.
Starlight Glimmer went about spending the rest of her day apologizing to the five mares she had unintentionally harmed with her actions. And she did her part to make up for it with each of them: Whether it was helping Pinkie clean up the mess in Sugarcube Corner's kitchen, helping Applejack decide on an order to put the photos in for the scrapbook, making a proper dress with Rarity, tending to the animals that had been frightened with Fluttershy or spending what remaining daylight time she had chillaxing with Rainbow Dash.
As night fell, Starlight returned to the castle to deliver her unofficial progress report to the alicorn to whom she owed so much.
Twilight was waiting for her student when she returned to the castle. "How'd it go?" She asked in a hopeful tone of voice.
"About as well as it could've, I guess," Starlight declared in a sincere tone of voice. "At least they still seem willing to be friends, more or less," Then she asked. "So, when's my next friendship assignment? What will you have me learn next?"
"Actually," Twilight declared with a smile. "I think you need a break, a chance to truly rest and take your mind off things. You haven't had that since you've become my student, there's always been something keeping you busy. So I've arranged for you to stay in the Crystal Empire for a while. You'll be able to see Sunburst, and Princess Cadence will keep an eye on you. And when you're ready, you can come back and resume your friendship studies."
"Really?!" Starlight Glimmer asked with her heart a flutter. Upon receiving a confirming nod from Twilight she questioned. "So, when do I leave?"
"First thing tomorrow. Or actually second thing tomorrow. First you'll have a going away breakfast with Spike and I," Twilight explained. "After all, you're part of the family. And we'll miss you while you're gone."
Spike then teased. "Say hello to your boyfriend for us. Maybe you two will be able to go on a date."
Starlight playfully rolled her eyes. "You ever gonna grow up, Spike?"
The little dragon playfully teased back. "I will when you will."
"Very funny, Spike." Was all the unicorn could bring herself to say. At least she knew one thing she'd be happy to get away from for a while. And regardless of teasing, she most certainly was looking forward to seeing Sunburst again. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too busy with foalsitting Flurry Heart and would thus have time for her.