Twilight Sparkle heard Bob's suggestion to share about her and her friends' lives back in Equestria, and she was more than happy to get the conversation rolling. "In Equestria, I'm on the verge of becoming the next Princess of the Kingdom. Not because I was born into royalty but because I was the most prestigious and ambitious student of Princess Celestia, the sole ruler of Equestria at that time. In the traditional sense, Celestia was a princess, born into royalty, and became ruler over a thousand years ago."
"Wow!" exclaimed Larry, "I had no idea your mentor was that old."
"Yes," said Twilight, "the lifespan of Equestrian rulers far exceeds those of the average pony; I mean, who knows how long I will live. Anyways, Celestia wasn't the only ruler of Equestria. A thousand years ago, Celestia shared monarchial duties with her younger sister, Luna; Celestia would be responsible for controlling the sun, and Luna would be accountable for managing the moon. But Luna got jealous over the praise her elder sister was receiving and took on the identity of Nightmare Moon so she could increase her power by keeping Equestria in a permanent night sky. Celestia used these six artifacts, the Elements of Harmony, to banish her younger sister to the moon, where Luna had stayed for over a thousand years. This banishment was to keep Equestria safe from the wrath of Nightmare Moon."
"Oh my," said Bob, "it's sad when two siblings can't get along and resort to drastic measures to resolve their conflicts."
"There are many examples," said Larry. "Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Romulus and Remus..."
"Ahem," Bob cleared his throat, "not now, Larry, let Twilight finish the story."
"Even amid Celestia's indignancy towards Luna's pride, she was heartbroken that this is what she decided was the best option," Twilight said. "After all those years, Celestia sent Spike and me from our home in the Equestrian capital city of Canterlot to the not-so-faraway village of Ponyville. I ran a library there because books and knowledge are my specialty, especially in astronomy."
"Well, with Celestia operating the sun and you being an expert in stars, it's no wonder that she thought you were the ideal candidate for her successor," said Bob.
"That was a lovely compliment, Bob," thanked Twilight. "The most important goal for me there in Ponyville was to learn more about friendship, and that is how I met Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, but that wasn't my mission yet. That day, Equestria was getting ready to celebrate the Summer Sun Festival, and Celestia assigned me to organize a celebration at the town hall there. From my research, I discovered that Nightmare Moon would be freed from her lunar prison and wreak havoc all over the kingdom; I did my best to warn Celestia. Well, at Ponyville town hall, the prophecy came true, and Nightmare Moon threatened to conquer the kingdom yet again. I learned that night that Nightmare Moon could be put to a halt by using the Elements of Harmony, so my five new mare friends and I made a quick trip from Ponyville through the nearby Everfree Forest to the Castle of the Two Sisters on the outskirts of town. The castle was the old ruined home of Celestia and Luna before the banishment of Nightmare Moon, and unfortunately, we got there at the same time as Nightmare Moon. The Elements of Harmony were five stone orbs that Nightmare Moon smashed; all hope seemed lost! But the broken fragments of the stone orbs were magically put back together since my five friends were embodiments of those five elements. Applejack represented honesty, Rainbow Dash represented loyalty, Rarity represented generosity, Fluttershy represented kindness, and Pinkie Pie represented laughter. The orbs turned into golden necklaces for them to wear, and last but not least, the final sixth element manifested in the form of a tiara: magic. Which was my very own element; with our six elements united, we cast out the evil presence of Nightmare Moon, and the pure, unadulterated version of Princess Luna was back! Shortly after, Princess Celestia came to tell me I had the power to defeat Nightmare Moon all along, but I could only harness that power when I had an experience of true friendship. The power of friendship goes together hoof and hoof with my element of magic, and Celestia and Luna reconciled. Luna was sorry for letting her dark desires get the best of her, and Celestia forgave her for those past transgressions."
"That is such a wonderful, heartwarming story," said Bob.
"Yeah, I'm glad that turned out to be more like Jacob and Esau than Cain and Abel," said Larry. "Or, in other words, the story ended happy instead of tragic."
"So then," Twilight continued, "Celestia gave me my assignment to learn more about friendship in Ponyville. I had gone from village librarian to friendship Princess and head of a school of friendship that Spike and the rest of the Mane Six help teach, to finally becoming Princess of the Kingdom of Equestria."
"Bravo, Twilight!" congratulated Larry, "you did your part to make your kingdom a friendlier place to live."
"Thanks for your support, Larry," Twilight thanked yet again. "It's lovely to make even two more friends at this very moment. Now that I have told my backstory, I think it's time for the rest of my entourage to do the same."
"I'd be more than pleased," said Applejack, "when I'm not teachin' at the School of Friendship, I run ma farm of Sweet Apple Acres along with ma grandmother Granny Smith, ma older brother Big Macintosh, and ma younger sister Apple Bloom. We raise livestock and grow crops of different varieties, but ma main forte is growing apples."
"Bob and Larry, darling," said Rarity, "I run a delightful fashion establishment known as the Carousel Boutique. I design and manufacture the most gracious garments in Ponyville. My piece de resistance is the gowns for mares and fillies on formal occasions. I also help watch my younger sister, Sweetie Belle, who sometimes stays with me at my living quarters above the Carousel Boutique.
"You two will think my background is just awesome!" boasted Rainbow Dash, "my first initial job was helping keep the weather in check, very typical for a pegasus like me. But then I got the opportunity to join the academy for the aerial aerobatic group: the Wonderbolts. Only the best fliers known to ponies and all living creatures of Equestria. I'm also a bigger-sister figure to a filly named Scootaloo, a younger-sister figure to me since we both have no biological siblings. She is also best friends with Applejack's sister, Apple Bloom, and Rarity's sister, Sweetie Belle."
"As you two may have remembered," said Fluttershy, "I'm friends with all of the local fauna in Equestria. I keep the animals fed, clean, safe and well-maintained in our ecosystems. I also run a sanctuary to complete my wildlife tasks to their highest expectations. The animal I bond with the most is my pet rabbit, Angel Bunny. Even though he can sometimes get stubborn and temperamental, we always work it out with my tough but unconditional love. As a matter of fact, we all have pets; Applejack has a dog named Wiona, Rarity has a cat named Opalescence, Rainbow Dash has a tortoise named Tank, Twilight Sparkle may still have an owl named Owliscious, and Pinkie Pie has a toothless baby alligator named Gummi."
"Most definitely!" said Pinkie Pie. "Gummi has proven to be the best pet ever! But that is only a fraction of my crazy, fun, and unusual background. I work and live in a dessert bakery with Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Even though they are earth ponies like me, they have a pegasus son named Pound and a unicorn daughter named Pumpkin, and I also serve as the Cake family's nanny. When I'm not baking scrumptious goodies or teaching the healing properties of laughter at the School of Friendship. I am a party planner for any celebration you can imagine!"
At this time, Larry was listening to Pinkie Pie, lovestruck over this wonderfully wild party pony, as he imagined hearts floating all around him. Bob found this a bit strange.
"Uh Larry," Bob whispered suspiciously, "are you trapped in a trance or something?"
"Oh, sorry, Bob," Larry whispered back, "I just think I might have a mad crush on Pinkie Pie; she is just anything but ordinary."
"Okay, Larry, just don't say or do anything that might creep Pinkie Pie out; we want to look and act in a certain way so that the ponies and Spike can trust us."
"No problemo, Bob," said Larry, who later made eye contact with Spike, "now what about you, Spike? How do you fit into all of this?"
"I'm glad you asked Larry," said Spike. "I am the right-hand assistant to Twilight Sparkle; it all happened when Twilight Sparkle, as a child, was taking a test under the supervision of Princess Celestia to see if Twilight could be accepted into Celestia's School of Magic. Her goal was to hatch an egg; as she was using the magic she learned to hatch that egg, Twilight looked out the window and saw a sonic burst of a rainbow wave, and she successfully hatched the very dragon you're listening to at this very moment. I've been a member of her family ever since. But that's not all. Do you see the symbols on all the ponies' flanks? Twilight received hers that very day; they are called cutie marks. They represent the types of ponies they will become once they reach their full coming of age. In fact, the rest of the Mane Six got their cutie marks on that very day when witnessing the Sonic Rainboom. Applejack got hers when she realized she was better off living on the farm instead of the city. Rarity got hers when she looked into a giant boulder filled with the most precious and delicious gems to decorate clothing. Pinkie Pie got hers when she threw her first party at her family's rock farm to put them all in a cheerful mood. Fluttershy got hers when she realized how she could tend to the beautiful wildlife of Equestria. Rainbow Dash's story is mind-blowing; she got hers while competing in a flying race with other pegasi on top of the clouds above Equestria. She flew so fast it created the Sonic Rainboom the rest of the Mane Six had witnessed. It shows you how the magic of friendship has connected us without us even realizing it."
"Man, you seven just keep getting more interesting and interesting by the minute," said Larry.
"Absolutely," said Bob, "now that you've shared your story, I guess it is time for Larry and me to do the same."