//------------------------------// // An Unexpected Lesson // Story: Flying High // by arglefumph //------------------------------// When the party was over, and when Twilight had gone through the responses to "Know Your Neighbor", it was time to update the list. Possible Elements of Harmony Bearers 1. Element of Honesty—Scootaloo (confirmed) 2. Element of Kindness—Cheerilee, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie 3. Element of Generosity—Applejack, Carrot Top, Bon Bon, Pinkie Pie 4. Element of Laughter—Diamond Tiara, Screwball, Derpy Hooves, Vinyl Scratch, Pinkie Pie 5. Element of Loyalty—Big Macintosh, Pinkie Pie 6. Unknown Element—? "Hmmm..." Twilight said, going over the list. It looked like Pinkie Pie nominated herself for everything. Maybe the party game wasn't a very good idea for finding the Elements of Harmony. "Hey, you got one of them!" Spike commented. "Looks like the party was a success!" "Yeah, no thanks to you, Mr. Chaos," Twilight said. "Hey, it's not my fault everypony went crazy when they saw those gala tickets," Spike said. "I know you didn't do anything wrong," Twilight sighed. "Still, it ruined the party." "At least we get to keep the leftover food," Spike said. "So, figured out who you're taking to the gala? Got a special somepony in mind?" "Of course not," Twilight said. "I haven't dated since...well, it doesn't matter." "I wouldn't mind taking Sweetie Belle's mother to the gala..." Spike said dreamily. "She was cuuute." "Ew, Spike!" Twilight said. "Sweetie Belle is still in grade school! Her mom must be four times older than you are!" "But she's really beautiful!" Spike said, as if that explained things. "You're still a baby dragon," Twilight said. "No dating until you're at least a teenager." "You're not my mom," Spike said, crossing his arms. "I'm still in charge of you until we find the Elements of Harmony," Twilight said. "Do you want me to tell Princess Celestia that you're chasing after an adult mare who is probably already married?" "No..." Spike said. "I know it would never work out between us. I'm just saying that she's cute." "Well, we're not looking for cute ponies," Twilight said. "We're looking for these ponies. And you know...I think I see a pattern here! The only ponies that were nominated for the Element of Generosity were food-making ponies!" "Food-makers?" "Earth ponies, I mean," Twilight said. "But if that's true...oh my gosh! I think I've got it!" "Got it?" Spike asked. "Got what?" "Hold on, I need to double-check," Twilight said. She flew directly to the reference section of the library. "Please let this library have a copy of The Cutie Mark Encyclopedia!" she said to herself, as she scanned the shelf. "Please, please, NO? Augh!" Twilight let out a sigh of frustration, then flew back over to Spike and the chart. "Never mind," she said. "What was that all about?" Spike asked. "Well, for a second there, I thought I figured out what the missing element is," Twilight said. She pointed at a sketch of the missing element, copied from the stained-glass window Princess Celestia had shown her. "It looks sort of like a star, right?" "Yeah," Spike said. "Except it's red." "Well, unicorns usually have cutie marks about stars and magic," Twilight said. "Sort of like how Earth ponies usually have cutie marks about food or nature." "So that means the missing element is a unicorn?" Spike asked excitedly. "It's possible," Twilight said. "I wanted to check The Cutie Mark Encyclopedia first, but I guess they don't have it. I'll have to see if the Canterlot Library can ship it here." The next morning, Spike and Twilight decided to split up, while investigating the town. Spike wanted to meet all the possible Elements of Generosity, which left Twilight to meet the ponies who were suggested as the Element of Laughter. Twilight soon regretted this decision. Without Spike to serve as a barrier, the ponies in town unrelentingly attacked her about the tickets to the gala. "Twilight, can I come with you to the Gala?" "I'll clean your house if you take me!" "Only the best pony in town should go, and that's me!" "I've always wanted to meet Princess Celestia!" "I made up a song about how I want to go! At the Gala, at the Gala..." And so on. Twilight eventually started tuning them out, so she could focus on the task at hand. Sadly, the ponies that Twilight was meeting with weren't much better than the crowd of gala-lovers. "So, Screwball, was it?" Twilight asked. "BBBBLLTH!" Screwball said, blowing a raspberry at Twilight. "I heard that you're a pretty funny pony," Twilight said. "You like to make ponies laugh?" "Bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy," Screwball said, running her hoof up and down her lips. "Do you know any jokes?" Twilight asked. "I do know one," Screwball said, speaking in a fake, sophisticated Manehatten accent. "A unicorn from Canterlot was putting on a dinner party one night, when a pair of Earth ponies broke in, uninvited. They stomped on the carpet with their muddy hooves, getting dirt everywhere. The unicorn told them to get out of the hallway. They asked if he was trying to get rid of them, and he responded, 'If the shoo fits!'" Screwball smacked the propeller on her beanie and struck a pose. "Get it? Shoo? Like, horseshoe?" "...I get it," Twilight said. "Great," Screwball said. "I was worried that joke only made...horse sense! HA HA! Bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy!" ...NOT the Element of Laughter, Twilight decided. Twilight caught up with the local mailmare, about forty feet above the ground. Derpy Hooves was a gray pegasus with bubbles for a cutie mark, and she wore a pleasant expression on her face. "So, your name is Derpy Hooves," Twilight said. "Why does everypony in town find you so amusing?" "I dunno," Derpy said, in a perfectly normal voice. "To be honest, I'm not that great. I'm sort of a klutz." "Well, what do you do that ponies like so much?" Twilight inquired. "Stuff like this," Derpy said. She screwed up her eyes, then shouted, "MUFFINS!" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "...And ponies find that amusing?" she said. "They find it hilarious," Derpy said, blinking a few times to get her eyes back to normal. "Honestly, I just don't know what they're thinking sometimes. I'm really nothing special, but they act like I'm the best pony in the world." "That does seem odd," Twilight agreed. "Oh well. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Derpy." "You're welcome. See you later, Twilight!" Derpy called. "You must be Vinyl Scratch," Twilight said. "That's me," Vinyl said. "Vinyl Scratch, master of epic wubs! You're the new librarian, Twilight Sparkle." "...Epic wubs?" Twilight asked. "I heard you got an extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala," Vinyl said. "Any chance you could take me? I would love to shake that scene up!" "I haven't decided who I'm taking yet," Twilight said. "That's cool," Vinyl said. "I think my friend's gonna be playing there, so I'll try to get a ticket from her. So what brings you to my pad?" "I heard that you're pretty entertaining," Twilight said. "Is that true?" "Of coooourse!" Vinyl said. "You're not hardcore, unless you wub hardcore, you know? And I wub harder than anypony else!" "Wub?" Twilight asked. "Yeah, let me show you," Vinyl said. Vinyl led Twilight across the trash-covered floor of her apartment to the other side of the room, where some bean bag chairs were a few feet from a set of large speakers. Vinyl left Twilight alone by the speakers, while she went to put a record on the record machine. This ended up being a bad idea. Twilight had never seen speakers before, so started fiddling with them to see what they did. Turning the knobs didn't seem to do anything. Twilight stuck her head inside the hollowed-out area of the speaker on the right. "What is this, some kind of coffee maker?" she asked. "Twi, not so close to the speakers!" Vinyl yelled in warning. *BLAJASHINO!* went the speakers. At least, that's what it sounded like when they exploded and sent Twilight flying into the wall. Twilight's leg started twitching erratically as she slumped to the floor. "Oh..." Vinyl said. "They aren't supposed to do that..." Well, this entire mess has been a complete waste of my time, Twilight thought. Instead of walking, she was flying about twenty feet in the air, in order to avoid being bothered by gala-lovers. I guess the only comedians left are Diamond Tiara and Pinkie Pie. I'm not sure where I'll find them, though... Twilight noticed she was flying near the food market, and she decided to stop by and check on Spike's progress. She landed just in time to see Spike get chewed out by an angry unicorn and upset Earth pony, outside of a candy store. "I know you think you're a hotshot, because you have hands!" the light-green unicorn said. "But keep those grubby things off of our food!" "Bon Bon said I could have a sample!" Spike complained. The Earth pony, who had a curly mane of two colors, shook her head. "I said a sample, not five!" Twilight walked up. "Is something wrong here?" she asked. "Did Spike do something?" "Yeah!" the unicorn said, turning to Twilight. "He's been trying to get free food from our candy store all day!" "I'm trying to find the most generous pony in town!" Spike said. "You know how it is, Twi!" Twilight sighed. "I'll pay for whatever he took," she said. "How much is it?" The green unicorn looked at Twilight's book-shaped cutie mark. "You're the new librarian, right?" she asked. "Uh huh," Twilight said. "I'm Twilight Sparkle." "I'm Bon Bon, and this is Lyra," the Earth pony said, pointing at her companion. "If you're Twilight, that means your dragon buddy here ate about two gala tickets' worth of food," the unicorn said. She held out a hoof. "Hand them over now." "Lyra!" the Earth pony said. "What are you doing?" Lyra grinned sheepishly. "It was worth a shot," she said, chuckling half-heartedly. The Earth pony sighed. "He ate ten bits' worth of food," she said. "But...tell you what. If you sweep the store, I'll let you have it for five." "What a generous offer!" Twilight said. She turned to Spike. "Spike, get to it!" "Huh? Me?" Spike asked. "Can't you sweep the floor with your wings, like you did earlier?" "I'm not the one who ate all of Bon Bon's food," Twilight said. Spike grumbled, as he went into the store, to sweep everything. Lyra followed to keep a close eye on Spike. Twilight shook her head. "I'm so sorry about this," she said to Bon Bon. "He's just a baby dragon. He still hasn't learned how to take responsibility for his actions." "It's okay," Bon Bon said. "So...do you really have tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?" "Just two," Twilight said. "One for me and a guest." "I'd love to go," Bon Bon said. "I've heard the desserts they have there are fabulous! I could try them out and get new ideas for my candy store!" "That sounds nice," Twilight said. "I've never been to the Grand Galloping Gala, myself. I'm not sure what it's going to be like." "Yoo HOO! Twilight!" a regal voice called from the distance. Twilight groaned. She knew that voice. The local "I wish I was from Canterlot" fashion designer, Rarity. Sure enough, Rarity soon appeared. "Twilight! I've been looking all over for you!" she said. "I haven't had a chance to talk to you about the Grand Galloping Gala!" Twilight rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, you want to go?" Rarity laughed. "Do you have to ask? I'd love to go. Sadly, the closest I've ever come to attending is designing the ensembles for some of the guests. Which brings me to my point—" "No, I don't know who's getting the extra ticket yet," Twilight said, in a bored, monotone voice. "I want to make your dress for the—what?" Rarity asked. "The...extra ticket?" "I thought you said you only had two tickets," Bon Bon said. "One for you and one for the dragon." "Spike doesn't want to go," Twilight said. "You mean the second ticket is free?" Rarity asked. She squealed. "This is perfect! You can take me! Oh, the society, the culture, the glamor! It's where I truly belong, and where I'm destined to meet him." "Him?" Bon Bon asked. "Who?" "Him," Rarity said passionately, preparing to go into a monologue. "I would stroll through the gala, and everyone would wonder, 'Who is that mysterious mare?' They would never guess that I was just a simple pony from little old Ponyville. Why, I would cause such a sensation that I would be invited for an audience with Princess Celestia herself, and the princess would be so taken with my style and elegance that she would introduce me to him." "Who are you talking about?" Twilight asked. "Why, Prince Blueblood, of course!" Rarity said. Twilight choked on air. "Prince Blueblood?" she asked. "He's the most handsome, eligible unicorn stallion in Canterlot. Our eyes would meet, our hearts would melt, our—" "Are you CRAZY?" Twilight shouted. "Prince Blueblood is the most self-centered scumbag on the ENTIRE PLANET!" Rarity halted in her tale of romantic courtship. "Twilight, are you okay?" she asked. "No, I'm not okay!" Twilight said, stamping her hoof and flaring her wings. "Do you know what he does to ponies? Do you know what he did to me?" "I didn't know you two were acquainted," Rarity said cautiously. "I wish I never met him!" Twilight said. "I wouldn't wish him on my worst enemy! Which is a stupid thing to say, because he is my worst enemy! I can't believe you have a crush on him!" "Well, I wouldn't say it's a crush," Rarity said. "It's more like...infatuation?" Twilight's face was scrunched up with emotion. "I...I can't do this," Twilight said suddenly. "I have to go. GOOD BYE!" Twilight flew away so quickly that a small wind blew Rarity and Bon Bon's manes to the side. "That was strange," Bon Bon said. "I wonder what the prince did to her." "I don't know..." Rarity said. "But I'm going to find out. Blueblood may be a prince, but Twilight is my friend." *knock knock knock* "Read the sign! We're closed!" *knock knock knock* "Twilight, are you in there?" Rarity called from outside the Golden Oaks Library. "I said we're closed!" *knock knock knock* "Twilight, if you can hear me, I'm coming inside!" Rarity said. She used her unicorn magic to open the door and let herself in. Twilight Sparkle was lying on the couch, covered in tissues. She tried to hide her face when Rarity stepped in. "I don't want to see anypony!" Rarity's heart was panged at the scene. "Twilight...you're crying," Rarity said softly. Twilight looked at Rarity through teary eyes. She tried shaking her head, but her vision suddenly became filled with dark purple, as Rarity ran over and immediately embraced Twilight in a hug. Twilight burst into tears. "Rarity!" she said. "Shhhh, don't cry," Rarity said. "It's okay. Whatever's wrong, I can help you." "You...you can't help me!" Twilight wailed. "I'm hideous and nopony likes me!" "That's ridiculous!" Rarity said. "You are beautiful, and lots of ponies like you!" Twilight shoved Rarity aside. "Just...just go away!" Twilight said. "Leave me alone!" Rarity flipped her mane over her shoulder. It was now messed up, and part of it was covered with tears, but the white unicorn could care less about that at the moment. "Twilight Sparkle, I am not leaving you here like this!" Rarity said in a bossy voice. "You are my friend, and I'm not going to let you suffer alone! I won't leave until you're one hundred percent better!" Twilight sniffed. "I...I can't..." she said. "I can't tell anypony about it..." "I can guess what this is about, you know," Rarity said. "Was it Prince Blueblood? Did he do something to hurt you?" Twilight nodded sadly. "Yes..." she said. Rarity put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Please, tell me what happened," she said. "I promise I won't judge you or do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. I just want to know." "O...okay," Twilight said. She sat down on her haunches and took a deep breath. "I don't...I don't know where to start." "Start at the beginning," Rarity said. "How do you know the prince?" "He...he was my coltfriend," Twilight said. "Princess Celestia warned me to stay away from him, but I...I didn't listen." "Oh, dear," Rarity said. Suddenly, she knew this would not be a happy story. "He was my first coltfriend," Twilight said. "Well, my only coltfriend. I loved him so much...dating a prince...it was like a dream come true." Rarity silently berated herself, for her foolish fairy tale dreams of meeting the prince and falling instantly in love. "I'm sorry," Rarity said. "What went wrong?" "He started pressuring me," Twilight said. "He wanted me to do things I was uncomfortable with. When I said no, he got mad." "Did he dump you?" Rarity asked. "I had a coltfriend like that once, and let me tell you that they're not worth—" "That wasn't it," Twilight said in a small voice. "It...it was worse." "What happened?" Rarity asked. "It was Hearts and Hooves Day," Twilight said. "I snuck into his apartment to give him a surprise gift and..." Tears reappeared in Twilight's eyes, but she kept going. "He was with another mare!" Rarity gasped. "No!" she said. "They were...they were..." Twilight said. She gulped for air; she couldn't say it. "Kissing?" Rarity asked. Twilight shook her head. "They were doing a lot more than just kissing," she said. Rarity hugged Twilight again. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm so, so sorry." Twilight hugged Rarity back. "I never thought I'd get my heart broken on Hearts and Hooves Day," she said. "That was two years ago, and it still hurts like crazy." Rarity patted Twilight's back. "I know just how you feel," Rarity said. "But you can't let that stop you from finding another colt. Just because that scumbag prince used you, it doesn't mean there's not a perfect stallion out there, waiting for you." "You...you really think so?" Twilight asked. "Of course I do," Rarity said. "You are fabulous, Twilight. Don't you ever forget that!" Twilight cracked a smile. "Thanks, Rarity," she said. "It's really sweet of you to say that." "It's the truth," Rarity said. She continued in a business-like voice. "Now come on. We have to go." "Go?" Twilight asked. "Go where?" "To the spa, of course!" Rarity said. "What you need right now is an emergency spa date. I'll pay for it." "Rarity, you don't have to do this," Twilight said. "Tut tut," Rarity said. "It's the least I can do for my friend." Twilight's eyes welled up with tears again. This is what having friends is like? Twilight wondered. To her surprise, Rarity answered; she must have accidentally spoken out loud. "Of course," Rarity said. "Friends stick by each other, no matter what happens." Dear Princess Celestia, I have a friendship report for you. I know that you didn't really send me here to study friendship, but I learned about it today, when my friend Rarity helped me. The thing is, I didn't know Rarity was my friend. I met her once or twice, because she's doing the decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I thought she was okay, but I didn't really like her. She reminds me of some of the snobby ponies in Canterlot who talk with accents and wear crazy clothing. She's also really overbearing when it comes to fashion—when I first visited her store, she made me try on different outfits for over an hour! But today, when I crying and all alone, Rarity came by to help me. Once she heard what happened with me and Prince Blueblood two years ago, she refused to leave me alone, until I was 100% better. And you know what? I am better now, thanks to her. It takes an especially good pony to stick by her friends, even when they're not really friends yet. Rarity is the Element of Loyalty for sure. —Twilight Sparkle PS. Do you know what a "wub" is? I looked in the dictionary, but I didn't find it anywhere.