The True Meaning of Starlight

by SaburoDaimando

The True Meaning of Starlight Part 1

It was a beautiful winter evening in the town of New Ponyville.  Ponies across the beautiful municipality were hanging up decorations across houses, buildings, lamps, bridges and so much more.   A number of ponies pulled up a giant tree in the middle of the square, where one pegasi with a light colored coat and a rainbow mane and tail placed a star on tip.

“That's perfect, Rainbow Dash,” Someone shouted, catching the pegasi's attention.

“As it should be,” Rainbow Dash said.   “After all, this is Christmas and we’re waiting for the guests from Zephyr Heights to arrive, Pinkie Pie.”

Down below where the bottom of the Christmas tree was propped up by a giant stand, Pinkie Pie looked up at Rainbow Dash, carrying a green tinsel on her back.  She pulled the tinsel off her back with her hoof before throwing it at a bare street light, where it wrapped itself around from the bottom to the top.

“Well you know me,” Pinkie Pie shouted.  “Just wanting to make this a super duper awesome party of a Christmas preparation.”

“Well duh,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew down to Pinkie Pie's level.  “When it comes to parties, you might as well be the most awesomest party planner of all of planet Earth.”

“Aww,” Pinkie said in an embarrassing, and yet cheerful, tone.  “You don't have to say that.”

“But it's true,” Rainbow Dash said.  “When it comes to Christmas parties, you are one of thee most awesome ponies I know.  In fact, there's no way a party goes horrible when you're in charge.”

Suddenly, there was a sound of a pony screaming to the sound of snow collapsing.  Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash turned to see Minty struggling to pull herself out of a mound of snow with two twigs, some coal rocks, a carrot and a pair of socks sticking near her.

“Minty,” Pinkie Pie said as she ran up to the silly earth pony.  “What happened?”

“I was trying to put one of my socks around the snowman when it collapsed on me,” Minty said as Pinkie Pie pulled her out of the snow.

“Oh Minty,” Pinkie giggled.  “Stuff like this happens.  You don't need to worry about that.”

“But it's my fault,” Minty sighed as she got up on her four hooves.  “If I hadn't touched that snowman, none of this would have happened.”

“No worries,” Rainbow Dash said as spread her wings out.  “Let me show you a way past cool trick.”

Rainbow Dash dug her front right hoof into the snow before she took off in a flash.  She circled around the snow mount, causing it to lift up into the air.  After a few cycles, the snow reformed back into a snowman with the coal forming the eyes and the mouth, the carrot as a nose, and the sock wrapped around its neck.  Immediately, Rainbow Dash hit the snow next to Pinkie Pie, who cheered the rainbow pegasus.

“That was neat,” Minty clapped.  “This must be why you're captain of the Wonderbolts.”

“Oh please,” Rainbow Dash said.  “It took a lot more than that to make me captain.  And hoo boy, is that a long story to tell to you, Minty.”

“But what matters is that we have the snowman back up,” Pinkie Pie said, taking a look at the rebuilt snowman.  “And it looks better than ever.”

Minty looked up at the snowman with the eyes and mouth made out of coal, the carrot nose and her left sock stretched out as a scarf.

“I don’t know,” Minty said.  “I think the scarf should be wrapped counter clockwise.”

But as Minty reached out, Pinkie got in front of Minty and placed her hooves on the light turquoise earth pony’s hooves.

“Oh you don’t need to worry about those silly details,” Pinkie Pie said.

“But Pinkie,” Minty said.  “I don’t think it looks perfect.”

“And that’s fine,” Pinkie Pie said, placing her hooves on Minty’s face.  “It doesn’t need to be perfect just to be festive.  It has to be something hearth warming to give the ponies of New Ponyville something to smile about.  Like our Christmas tree.”

Pinkie Pie directed Minty to the Christmas tree that stood next to them.  It was more than a hundred feet tall with beautiful silver tinsel wrapped around it, decorations that shimmered in the moonlight, and the star atop.

“It’s beautiful,” Minty said.

“And yes, it’s not perfect,” Pinkie Pie said.  “But you don’t need to be perfect for every pony, or every individual.  If you try to do that, you’ll only put yourself under stress.”

“Under stress?” Minty asked.

“Well it’s like what’s going on with Princess Wanda Young.”  Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Minty all turned around to see Rarity approaching them.  She was wearing a violet scarf wrapped around her neck and a small hint of white glitter in her curled mane.

“Rarity,” Pinkie Pie said.  “I didn’t expect you to be out here.”

“Well I’m just taking a break from my new Christmas fashion, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.  “It was a lot of hard work, but I’m not done yet.”

“Not done?” Minty asked.  “How come?”

“Well I have this new idea that I want to come up with,” Rarity said before directing her gaze at Rainbow Dash.  “But, I need a guinea pig to help me out.”

“Oh no,” Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew up six feet in the air.  “You’re not getting me to dress up again.”

“Oh come on, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity laughed.  “I’ll make it worth your while.  Besides, didn’t you always dress in style?”

Those words caused Rainbow Dash to turn away from the other ponies and blush embarrassingly, causing Pinkie Pie to giggle.

“There’s…nothing funny about that,” Rainbow Dash said, hesitantly.  

But as Pinkie Pie giggled, she heard the sound of thrusters fill the air.  She and Minty turned to the north where a large airship descended towards the castle on the outskirts of New Ponyville.

“Pinkie,” Minty said.  “Is that what I think it is?”

“Oooh you guessed it,” Pinkie Pie said.  “That’s the airship from Zephyr Heights.  I heard Princess Pippamina Petals and Princess Zepherina Storm have come to visit New Ponyville.”

“Wait,” Rainbow Dash said, flying up to Pinkie Pie and Minty.  “Did you say Pipp Petals and Zipp Storm?”

“I did,” Pinkie Pie said.  “And Princess Wanda Young and Princess Sunset Shimmer are going to greet them in our fair village.”

Rainbow Dash immediately flew up into the air and started cheering as loudly as possible.

“AWW YEAH!”  Rainbow Dash cheered.  “THE PRINCESSES OF ZEPHYR HEIGHTS!  I HEARD THEY ARE AMONG THE COOLEST PONIES ACROSS ALL OF PLANET EARTH!”

“Oh Rainbow Dash,” Rarity chuckled as Rainbow Dash flew down to her.  “I know you’re obsessed with the Princesses of Zephyr Heights, considering the fact that you and your Wonderbolts put on a spectacular show for them.  But they are only here to attend our Christmas festival.  Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Speaking of which,” Pinkie Pie said,  “I promised the princesses that I would help out with their Christmas decorations.  I was also told Pipp was going to help out with the New Ponyville music choir.  Which means I have to get going.”

WIth a hop, skip and a jump, Pinkie Pie made her way down the streets of New Ponyville, leaving Minty, Rainbow Dash and Rarity behind.  But Rainbow Dash looked at Minty with a smug look on her face.

“I’ll race ya to the castle, Mintster,” Rainbow Dash said.

But before Minty could say anything, Rainbow Dash leaped into the air and flew off towards the castle, speeding past Pinkie Pie.  Minty stood there with a confused look on her face, while Rarity just giggled.

“Hey Rarity,” Minty said.  “Are you sure you don’t want to go with me to the castle?”

“Oh I wish I could,” Rarity said.  “But I must find some pony to help me model for my newest dress.  And I know you’re too busy to help out.”

“That’s true, Rarity,” Minty said.  “Anyway, I’ll see you later.”

With that, Minty made her way down the streets of New Ponyville, following Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie from behind, and leaving Rarity by herself.

“I know I should consider visiting the royal castle,” Rarity said.  “But sadly, I have my own work to do when it comes to fashion.  Though I wonder why Princess Wanda uses nanobots for her dresses?  It doesn't make any sense, whatsoever.”

Up ahead at the castle, the sleek airship slowly made it ways down onto the giant helipad located on the back end of the palace.   Near the back entrance, a human girl named Wanda Young stood tall, wearing a light blue, sleeveless gown, long gloves and socks, and a golden tiara on her head.  Next to her was the brilliant amber alicorn Sunset Shimmer.  Right next to the duo was a purple baby dragon named Spike, who had on a bow tie and a tuxedo with a top hat on his head.  While Sunset and Spike looked calm and collective, Wanda looked nervous.  Immediately, Sunset Shimmer turned her attention to Wanda Young.

“You look nervous, sister,” Sunset said.

“I know,” Wanda Young said.  “This is our first holiday party that we’re throwing for Princess Pipp Petals and Princess Zipp Storm.”

“It’s going to be alright,” Sunset said.  “Take a deep breath, blow out slowly and deeply, and think calming thoughts.”

Wanda slowly inhaled through her lung until her chest filled up.  She breathed out slowly as she had her eyes shut.

“How do you feel, sis?” Sunset asked.

“I still feel a bit nervous,” Wanda Young said.  “Partially because of what I said and also because we haven’t seen Pipp and Zipp in a long time.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Spike said.  “Twilight Sparkle used to have these panic attacks, long before she along with you two became the princesses of the New Ponyville Providence.  Sometimes she still does.  But she knows how to manage it.”

“Too bad she’s not here to experience this,” Sunset Shimmer said.  “She’s going to miss out on our best Christmas holiday ever.”

As soon as the ship landed on the helipad, a staircase materialized from the side down before landing perfectly on the ground.  The doors swung wide open as a number of royal guards made their way down the staircase before reaching the bottom, each carrying a trumpet.  Once their hooves were firmly on the surface, they each put their trumpets into the air and blew loudly into it with a majestic tone.

“Here yee, here yee, royals of New Ponyville,” one of the guards announced.  “Presenting the Princesses of Zephyr Heights: Pippamena Petals and Zepherena Storm.”

Immediately, two pegasi ponies, Pipp Petals and Zipp Storm, made their way out of the doorway of the aircraft before they leaped into the air and slowly glided down towards the surface of the helipad.  They landed softly in front of the royal guards before lifting their heads up.   Wanda Young and Sunset Shimmer walked up to Pipp and Zipp before bowing to the royal duo.

“Princess Pipp Petals, Princess Zipp Storm,” Sunset said before lifting her head back up.  “Welcome to New Ponyville.”

“It’s been awhile, Princess Sunset Shimmer,” Zipp Storm said.  “How are you holding up since becoming rulers of New Ponyville?”

“It’s been hard,” Wanda Young said.  “But I’m doing what I can to guide the ponies through each and every day.”

“By the way,” Pipp Petals said.  “What happened to Princess Twilight Sparkle?  I was expecting her.”

“Well she couldn’t make it because of an uneasy peace going on between the Autobots and Decepticons of Planet Cybertron,” Sunset explained.

“Cybertron?” Zipp Storm said.  “I thought the war between the two sides ended.”

“Well from what she told us,” Wanda Young explained, “Some of the less experienced bots and cons felt a bit trigger happy with the desire to restart the war.  Neither Optimus Prime nor Megatron desires war.  Upon hearing this, Twilight Sparkle volunteered to journey to Cybertron to help out the Eltarian sage named Zordon and his robotic assistant, Alpha Five.”

“I guess Peace on Earth can’t extend well through the far reaches of this universe,” Pipp Petals said.  

“No kidding,” Spike said.  “Twilight’s been gone for a long time, and I do miss her.”

“Oh don’t worry, Spike,” Pipp Petals said as she rubbed Spike on the head.  “We’ll do what we can to cheer you up.”

“Thanks, Pipp,” Spike said.  “But still, I wish Twilight didn’t have to go off to Cybertron and stood here with us.”

“Tell you what,” Sunset said.  “Even though Twilight’s not with us right now, let’s keep her fresh in our minds and help plan out the New Ponyville Christmas festival.  For her, and for the peace she’s trying to keep on Cybertron.  What do you say?”

“Sounds like a great idea?” Spike said.  “Though I wonder if Abigail will be up for it?”

“She will,” Wanda giggled.  “Now let’s head inside.”

Spike leaped into the air with a bountiful cheer before he ran towards the doorway.  Wanda, Sunset, Pipp and Zipp looked at each other and laughed before they followed Spike from behind.

“By the way,” Sunset Shimmer said.  “That’s a nice airship you have.”

“Oh it’s nothing,” Zipp said.  “Just a hunk of junk that our mother gave us when she got her new thunder ship.”

“A thunder ship?” Wanda said.  “I never heard of it before.”

“New engine, new computer system, new bridge, new everything,” Zipp said before taking a look at Wanda’s gown.  “By the way, I’m surprised that you had that on.”

“Oh it’s just to look formal to you both,” Wanda said.

“No need to,” Pipp said.  “Besides, we all know that you like to dress casually just to fit in with the ponies of New Ponyville.”

“Well, as a human that’s what I have to do,” Wanda said.

Wanda placed her left hand on the gold ring of her right hand.  Her gown glowed brightly as it shapeshifted away from its original form before shrinking down.  When it stopped glowing, Wanda’s dress was reduced to a simple form.

“Nanotech, right?” Zipp Storm asked.

“It was something I learned how to control, thanks to the power of this ring,” Wanda said, holding up her right hand, especially on her ring finger where her gold ring was placed.

“One day, you should get me one of those,” Pipp Petals said.  “It would be fabulous.”

“I’ll…think about it,” Wanda said as the group followed Spike through the doorway.

Inside the back of the palace within the ballroom, the stage was decorated similar to outside, with a smaller tree positioned right next to it.  A number of ponies were singing a soothing melody that filled the air, with Starcatcher in front of the group, leading with a baton and her left hoof.  Wanda, Sunset, Pipp, Zipp and Spike stepped inside and observed the choir on stage.

“Wow,” Pipp Petals said.  “That is so hearth warming.”

“It is,” Wanda said.  “But I don’t think it’s perfect.”

“Why so, Wanda?” Pipp asked.

“I don’t know, but there’s something that feels rather off,” Wanda responded as she stroked her chin with a puzzled look on her face.  “Like it lacks some kind of magic.”

“Are you sure about that?” Pipp asked.  “It sounded beautiful.”
“Actually, I was wondering if you could help out in any way possible?” Wanda asked, causing Pipp’s eyes to pop out with delight.

“OH I WOULD LOVE TO!” Pipp cheered.  “Do you have any idea on how exciting this sounds?  Count  me in.”

“Thanks,” Wanda said.  “If your voice can add in that element that felt missing, then it will be complete.”

With that, Sunset Shimmer turned towards Starcatcher and the choir, who continued to sing on stage.

“Okay guys, take five,” Sunset shouted.  “We’ll set you up with Princess Pipp Petals in a few moments.”

In an instant, Starcatcher held her hooves out, signaling the choir to cease singing.  Each member of the choir stepped down from the stage before making their way to the nearby table, which had a number of goodies to eat and water to drink.

“Well I gotta hand it to you, Sunset,” Spike said. “ You went overboard when it came to the break table.”

“Spare no expense,” Sunset Shimmer said.  “Make sure everyone is well treated.  That’s the way of New Ponyville.”

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash flew in from the doorway opposite from the back entrance before flying up to Pipp Petals and Zipp Storm.  Her eyes looked wide and mesmerized as she hovered in the air excitedly.

“OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH!”  Rainbow Dash cheered.  “PRINCESS ZIPP STORM AND PRINCESS PIPP PETALS OF ZEPHYR HEIGHTS!  I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE BOTH HERE!”

Immediately, an annoyed Sunset Shimmer flew up to Rainbow Dash and shouted “Rainbow.  What are you thinking?  We shouldn’t bug the princesses like that.”

“It’s okay, Sunset,” Zipp laughed.  “After all, I’ve been waiting to meet in person the legendary Rainbow Dash, leader of the Wonderbolts of New Ponyville.”

“Oh indeed,” Rainbow Dash said as she struck a pose.  “The mare, the myth, the one and only.”

“And I still remember when you put on that awesome show back in Zephyr Heights,” Zipp said.  “The crowd went nuts with the performances you and your fellow bolts pulled off.  Some say you inspired the pegasi there to fly higher than before.  Even our mom was impressed by your aerobatics.”

“I aim to please Queen Haven, Princess,” Rainbow Dash said.

“But there was one small problem,” Zipp said, causing Rainbow Dash’s smile to flip into a frown.

“One….problem?”  Rainbow Dash stuttered.

“I tried to get your autograph on that day,” Zipp said.  “But let’s say the crowds, combined with you leaving earlier than usual, stopped me from doing so.”

“Oh,” Rainbow Dash said as she pulled out a picture of her on it along with a pen.  “My apologies.  But we got so caught up in our schedule, that we forgot to do that.  Tell you what.  I’ll make it up with one of my personal autographs.”

Rainbow Dash threw the picture of herself into the air before diving upwards.  She clicked her pen and swiped at the picture many times.  Afterwards, she snatched the photo with her left hoof before flying down and handing it to Zipp Storm.

“Here you go,” Rainbow Dash said.  “My super patented, one of a kind autograph.”

Zipp Storm took the autographed photo from Rainbow Dash and looked at it before her face beamed with excitement.

“OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH!”  Zipp Storm cheered.  “I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HOLD IN MY HOOVES A ONE OF A KIND RAINBOW DASH AUTOGRAPH!  I’LL NEVER FORGET THIS DAY!”

As Rainbow Dash and Zipp Storm cheered in the air,  Pipp Petals, Wanda Young and Spike just looked up there with an embarrassed look on their faces while Sunset Shimmer flew down before letting out a depressed sigh.

“I take it back,” Sunset Shimmer said.  “These two know how to gather a whole lot of attention.”

“I don’t know,” Wanda said.  “A part of me wished I had their enthusiasm.”

“Well speaking of enthusiasm,” Spike said as he turned back towards the far end of the ballroom.  “Guess who showed up.”

Sunset Shimmer, Wanda Young, and Pipp Petals turned their attention to the far end of the ballroom, where Pinkie Pie and Minty walked in.  Behind them were the unicorn stallions Danged Spell and Sunburst.

“Pinkie Pie,” Sunset said.  “I was wondering when you would come here to help out with the decorations.”

“Oh you’re right on that, Sunny,” Pinkie Pie said.  “But I also came here because I heard the Princesses of Zephyr Heights are in town.”

“You’re right on that, Pinkie,” Pipp Petals said as she held her hoof out.  “Princess Pippamena Petals, at your service.”

“Pippamena Petals, eh?” Pinkie Pie said as she shook Pipp’s hoof.  “My family calls me Pinkamena Diane Pie.  But you can call me Pinkie Pie.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Pinkie,” Pipp said.  “And I guess those must be your assistants in party planning.”

“Me?  An assistant?” Minty said.  “I came here to meet you and your sister, your majesty.  My name is Minty.”

“Well it’s an honor to meet you, Minty,” Pipp Petals said before she shook Minty’s hoof.

“Actually, Danged Spell and I are the assistants to Pinkie Pie and her epic party planning,” Sunburst said.  “The name’s Sunburst.”

“Yeah,” Danged Spell said.  “When it comes to Christmas parties, we know how to spruce things up.  Get it?”

“Danged Spell,” Wanda, Sunset, Spike, Minty, Sunburst and Pinkie Pie shouted before breaking out into laughter.

“Well that’s a sign that I still got it,” Danged Spell joked.

Suddenly, everyone paused when they heard the sound of a mare yelling out of control.  They turned to the entrance, where a twin-tailed mare named Starlight Glimmer slid on the floor, struggling to retain control.

“STARLIGHT!”  Wanda yelled.  “LOOK OUT!”

With a loud crash, Starlight Glimmer crashed into the christmas tree before it tipped over and fell right on top of her.  Everyone quickly turned their heads away as the tree fell on her.

“Is she alright?” Minty asked.

“I hope so,” Wanda said.  “Poor Starlight has always felt left out when it comes to the holidays.  That and we need this floor de-waxed.”

Wanda Young gently walked up to the fallen tree where Starlight popped her head out.  She held out her hand to the twin-tailed mare, only for Starlight to turn her head away.

“I’m sorry,” Starlight cried.   “I didn’t mean to tip over your tree.”

“Starlight, it’s okay,” Wanda said.  “That’s on me because I overwaxed the floor, and it caused you to slip.”

Starlight looked up and saw Wanda’s hand extended to her.  She reached with her hoof and allowed Wanda to grip it before she pulled her out.  Starlight looked at Wanda in the eyes before wiping the sweat off of her brow.

“Truth be told, I was hoping you could show up,” Wanda said.  “I don’t want you to be alone for Christmas.”

“Yeah, but every time Christmas comes around, I always screw something up,” Starlight said.  “Just like what happened recently.”

“And like I said, that’s on me for overwaxing the floor,” Wanda said as Pipp Petals flew up to Rainbow Dash and Zipp Storm.

“By any chance, could you two take care of the fallen tree?” Pipp asked.

“Say no more,” Rainbow Dash said.  “We got this.”

Immediately, Rainbow Dash and Zipp Storm swooped down and lifted the tree up into the air, placing it back in its stand.  Rainbow Dash immediately screwed the tree in place, securing it tightly, while Zipp Storm flew down and looked at some of the ornaments that were on the ground.

“Hoo boy,” Zipp Storm said.  “Look at this mess.”

Wanda Young looked down at the floor where the ornaments lay scattered.  Some of them looked intact, but others were shattered to pieces.  Wanda immediately turned her attention to Pinkie Pie, Sunburst and Danged Spell.

“Guys,” Wanda said. “We’re gonna need some new ornaments to replace the broken ones, stat.”

“Aye aye, Princess,” Pinkie Pie saluted.

Sunburst and Danged Spell walked up to some of the broken ornaments, levitating a broom and dustpan with them.  Immediately, Sunburst began to sweep up the broken ornaments before picking them up with the dustpan.

“I feel sorry for Starlight,” Sunburst said.  “She has the worst luck when it comes to Christmas.”

“That’s a darn shame,” Danged Spell said as he looked at Wanda Young comforting Starlight Glimmer.  “I’m surprised that she wants to help out.  But everything seems to go wrong for her.”

“That’s why she has us,” Sunburst said as he dumped the broken ornaments into the trash.  “And we’re going to make this Christmas party the best in the history of New Ponyville.”

“You said it,” Danged Spell said as he picked up a ball ornament with his right hoof before he began to squeeze it.  “When it comes to the magic of Christmas across all of planet Earth, and when it comes to this party we’re planning, we’re going to crush it.”

With a squeeze of his right hoof, Danged Spell shattered the ornament, causing its pieces to fall to the ground.

“DANGED SPELL, I NEEDED THAT!”  Sunburst shouted, causing Danged Spell to look down at the remnants of the ornament before he blushed embarrassingly.

“Oops,” Danged Spell smirked.   “My bad.”

As Sunburst sighed before he swept up the pieces of the ornament that Danged Spell shattered, Wanda Young helped Starlight Glimmer to the edge of the stage before sitting down with her.  Spike ran up to the break table and pulled out two cups before placing one under a spout that was connected to a metal drink container.  With the lift of a handle, hot cocoa poured into one cup.  Spike placed the second cup under the spout and poured the second set of hot cocoa inside.

“Starlight,” Wanda asked.  “You look like you want to do your part to make your mark on this holiday.”

“I do,” Starlight said.  “But…I don’t know what I can do.”

“It’s okay,” Wanda said.  “We can figure out something for you to do.”

Immediately, Spike walked up to Wanda and Starlight with the cups of hot cocoa before holding them up.  Wanda reached down and grabbed the two cups before giving one to Starlight.

“Thanks, Spike,” Wanda said.

“Anytime, Princess,” Spike bowed.

“Oh Spike,” Wanda laughed as Starlight took a sip of her hot cocoa.  “You don’t have to be that formal.  Besides, I’d rather be humble to the ponies of New Ponyville.”

“I know,” Spike said.  “But you’re our fifth human to rule such an amazing place.”

“Yeah,” Wanda said.  “But nowhere near the level of the legendary Megan Williams.   Now that was a leader I fantasized about.”

“Hey Wanda,” Starlight asked.  “Do you know of a good task for me to do?”

“That’s actually a good question,” Wanda replied.  “It feels like I am running out of ideas for the Christmas party.”

“Actually,” Minty said, approaching Wanda and Starlight.  “I may have an idea of what I can do.”

“You?” Starlight asked as Wanda took a sip of cocoa.

“Every year, I go to each house in New Ponyville and I leave a pair of my famous hoof-knitted socks,” Minty explained.  

“Isn’t that like breaking in?” Starlight asked.

“Oh no no no,” Minty said.  “Believe it or not, ponies love this kind of approach.  So they often leave the doors unlocked one night so that I leave behind new socks for them to enjoy.”

“It’s true,” Wanda said.  “Even I let Minty leave behind a new pair of socks for me.”   Wanda looked down at her own socks and gloves before she added, “ Though I am fine with the ones I normally wear.” 

“So all I get to do is to go into ponies’ houses and place a pair of socks anywhere?” Starlight asked.

“Not just anywhere,”  Minty said.  “We leave them on the hearth of the fireplace.  Makes them nice and toasty.”

“That does sound festive,” Starlight asked.  “Would it be okay if I joined in?”

“I was hoping you would accept,” Minty said as she and Starlight shook hooves.  “Finish up your hot cocoa and meet me outside the palace.  But take your time.  Hot Cocoa can burn your tongue if you force it down.”

Starlight Glimmer nodded to Minty as the earth pony walked towards the front entrance to the ballroom.  While watching Misty make her way out of the ballroom, Starlight slowly sipped her hot cocoa as Wanda looked on with a smile on her face.

“Now doesn’t that make you feel better, Starlight?” Wanda asked.

“It does,” Starlight replied.  “Once I’m done sipping this, I’ll help out Minty.”

“Best of luck for your sock run tonight, Starlight,” Sunset said.  “And I hope you pull it off.”

“I’ll have to admit,” Spike said.  “I can’t wait to see what new socks Minty has in store for me.”

“I sure hope I can pull off this sock run,” Starlight said.  “If I want to make my mark on Christmas.”

“You will, Starlight,” Wanda said.  “Though I also worry if this year’s Christmas party will go well.”

“So far so good, I’ll say,” Spike said.  “Nothing’s gone wrong at all since we started preparing for the big one.”

“Spike’s right,” Sunset Shimmer said as Rainbow Dash, Zipp Storm, and Pipp Petals flew down to Wanda’s level.  “You have a number of great ponies preparing this Christmas party for all of New Ponyville.  I don’t think anything can go wrong tonight.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Wanda said.  “Maybe I carry too much of Twilight Sparkle’s worry within me.”

“And what you and Starlight have are friends,” Pipp Petals said.  “And as your mother once said: Friendship is Magic.”

“Words to live by,” Wanda said.

“Well, here’s to a great Christmas,” Starlight said, holding her cup of cocoa in the air.  “May it shine well.”

Wanda nodded before she raised her cup in the air and tapped Starlight’s cup with it.  The two pulled their cups back before sipping their cocoa.  

“I’ll say this,” Spike said.  “You two make the perfect friendship here in New Ponyville.”

“That may be a bit of an understatement,” Sunset Shimmer said.

With that, Spike, Pipp, Zipp, and Rainbow Dash laughed while Wanda and Starlight sipped their cocoa.  Nearby, Pinkie Pie, Danged Spell and Sunburst pulled out a fresh set of ornaments from the box before the two stallion unicorns levitated them onto the christmas tree.