Twilight was nervous. It was Sunday, so it was her turn to supervise Jax, and she already had everything planed out.
“Let’s go over the schedule one more time.”
“Alright.” Spike answered as if he expected her to say that. “First, we go get Jax. Then you show him all of the experiments you started thanks to him, from light pollution to air pollution and see if he has any additional input. Then we eat lunch…” Spike paused to yawn. “Twilight, how do you know he’s even eaten breakfast? It is pretty early. The sun hasn’t even risen yet."
“Good point Spike… We should have thought of that before we ate breakfast. Alright, we go to Jax' house, we let him eat breakfast, then we come back here. Write it down Spike.”
“On it. Alright, go to house, eat breakfast… There.” He finished scribbling the new points down.
“See Spike? This is why you double- and triple check the list.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know Twilight. Why are you making a list anyway? You don’t do it when you go out with your other friends…. You do see him as a friend, right?” He asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.
“Spike! Of course I do!” That much should be obvious. “I just… the last time I didn’t make a list for Jax… he ended up on fire! It looks like they finally stopped joking about it, I don’t want them to start again.”
“Actually, you didn’t make a list when you made that pen thing either, and that went fine. Come on Twilight, I know you better than that. What’s this really about?” Twilight quickly got over her surprise. Sometimes she forgot how observant Spike could be.
“Well… I don’t…” she bit her lip, before finally spilling what had been on her mind. “I don’t know what to do about this….”
“What do you mean? You’re just going to hang out for a day. Seriously Twilight, you’ve tried hanging out with friends before.” Spike said as if it should be obvious.
“That’s not what I’m talking about Spike… I mean, the whole thing with Sombra. Normally when there is a problem, the girls and I use the elements, or I use some magic or I try to talk about it or something… but because of Jax’ body we can’t risk using the elements on him, and I can’t use my magic. I could try to talk, but I would be talking with Jax as much as I would be talking with Sombra, and that just doesn’t feel right. Jax already knows about friendship, he’s already made friends and he is without a doubt good. Talking about friendship to him seems a bit…” she struggled for the right words, but then just turned towards Spike. “You know?”
Spike shrugged. “It can’t hurt to do it anyway.”
“…I guess it’s better than not doing anything…. That’s what’s really making me nervous. But if… if Sombra does succeed in possessing Jax, what are we supposed to do? We can’t use magic on him, but he has already shown that he can… wait, Jax’ body would probably react to that as well…. So what is there to do?”
“I don’t know. Rainbow could probably take care of him if he can’t use magic.”
“Spike! That’s Jax’ body we are talking about. We can’t just ask her to damage it.”
“Fine, then Applejack can use her rope. Look, Twilight, just focus on today. Hopefully we’ll never have to see Sombra take over.”
“You’re right Spike. Today must go perfectly. Let’s go over the list one more time!”
Spike groaned.
***
“And we have everything for you to make mushroom-spinach-bean soup?” Twilight asked to be sure. They were walking towards Jax’ house with their groceries, deciding that they might as well buy them on the way. The sun was properly over the horizon now.
“For the last time Twilight, I’ve never heard of such a soup so I’ll be mostly experimenting. But yeah, I think I can make it work with what we have.” Spike answered from behind the grocery bags. She had offered to carry at least some of it, but Spike insisted he could handle it.
“Alright Spike,” she relented as they arrived at the door. Twilight turned towards the home and began to knock.
The door swung open almost instantly to reveal Jax… a very tired looking Jax. That was actually and understatement. His mane was ragged and pointed in all directions. His eyes looked like they could barely keep themselves open, and the bags under them told a story of lack of sleep. She wasn’t too certain, but he also looked a bit paler than the last time she had seen him.
Twilight wasn’t certain that she had ever looked so tired herself, even after an all-nighter. For some reason, he was wearing a black cloak that covered all of him. Or rather… it would have if he didn’t have the hood down. It might just be because he was cold, but she had a feeling that there was something more to it.
She tried to exchange a worried look with Spike, but he was still buried in grocery bags and didn’t seem to notice anything wrong.
“Twilight!” Jax exclaimed in something that sounded like… tired excitement. “To what do I owe the honour?”
“Well it’s my turn to…” she drifted off, unsure what to call it.
“Guard me? Oh yes… already Sunday then? Yes, come on in. I was just about to make breakfast, if you want some.”
‘Guard’ didn’t sound quite right, but in lack of a better word, she went pass him, into the joint living room/kitchen. She caught a glimpse of Mr. Bear sleeping on the bed when she went pass the open bedroom door.
“Oh hey Spike. Didn’t see you there.”
“You look terrible.” Spike stated bluntly behind her.
“Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.” The sound of a door closing resounded as she made her way over and sat by the table. Spike soon joined her after he had put the bags down, and Jax went back to the kitchen and looked inside the fridge.
She noticed that the back of his cape was decorated with moonstones, sparkling merrily at her. Rarity really outdid herself. It looked beautiful.
“So what do you need? I still have a couple of apples left, I have some carrots, onions… potatoes… cheese… eggs… and some other stuff. All fresh, except the apples.”
“Oh, we’ve already eaten breakfast. You can just make some for yourself.”
“Alright.” He started peeling an onion. She couldn’t help but wonder what he was making.
She studied him while he made food. Besides looking tired, he didn’t look all that happy… but she couldn’t figure out if it was simply because he was tired. It was pretty clear he hadn’t been sleeping well. His movements were sloppy, and he dropped items more than once. She would have caught them in her magic, but she didn’t want to risk using it so close to him. Who knew what would happen when he was like this and came in contact with magic?
Making food might be a generous term for what he was doing. He was just cutting seemingly random things and putting them in a bowl.
“What are you making?” She asked when her curiosity got the better of her.
“Fruit salad.” He answered as if it was obvious. All excitement from his voice was completely gone and he just sounded very tired.
“Fruit salad… with onions, carrots, apples, and cheese? The only fruit you added were apples….”
He paused, but then shrugged and continued. “Salad with apples then. I should have bought some lettuce now that I think about it.”
Spike slowly raised his claw to his face and sighed. “There’s experimenting with food, and then there’s just putting random stuff in a bowl. I think even Twilight would be able to make a better meal than that.”
“Hey! I know how to make basic sandwiches and… uhm.”
“Yeah, and that’s only because I taught you. You were always too busy studying, when you should have spent some more time in the kitchen with mom. Like me.” He pointed at himself with a claw, pride clear in his voice. Looking back now, maybe spending some more time with mom would have been nice. They really should visit her and dad soon.
“Well you’re not the one who’s going to eat it, so I don’t believe it matters much.” Jax interrupted as he came over with the bowl and a spoon.
Twilight dropped the retort she had ready and watched Jax with interest instead. He raised a spoonful of the… salad… and put it in his mouth. After a couple of crunchy bites, she finally asked, “how does it taste?”
“… Crunchy. Just the way I like it, though a little dry… wait, let me get some….” He went back to the fridge and came back with milk, but no glass.
“Wait you aren’t going to…?” She said in surprise, but her question was answered when he poured the milk directly into the bowl. She and Spike watched in stunned silence as he raised another spoonful of… whatever that was. She had made some bad meals while Spike was out or sleeping, but never had she made anything so weird. Maybe it was a human thing?
“How… how did it taste with milk?” Spike finally asked when Jax was finished swallowing.
“… Exotic.”
“So… bad?”
“… It’s an acquired taste I guess. At least it isn’t dry anymore.” He took another bite.
“Is this the first time you've tried living alone? If it isn’t, how did you survive? Should I come cook for you?” Spike asked him. She was proud of him for offering to help. She would have offered the same, but as he had pointed out… her cooking skills weren’t the most advanced.
“I’ve lived alone before, in my world we had these frozen packages with finished meals in them, and no, I’ll survive. I promise not to make this anymore….” He made a face as he took another bite, but kept chewing.
After a couple more bites he snapped his fingers in the same way Discord does when he uses magic, making them both jump, and pointed at Twilight. “Rainbow Dash.”
“No? I’m Twilight, remember?” Maybe she should be more worried about him, if he could remember her name one minute and forget it the next.
“No, I mean, I forgot all about her yesterday. We need to go see her today.” He explained.
“… Yes. Of course.” It was a good idea to go see Rainbow Dash, and she wasn’t going to argue against it… she just hoped it didn’t mess up her schedule too much. She should have made more room in it to accommodate his wishes. It was a rookie mistake, and now she would have to either give up the schedule or make major changes to it. She took a deep breath. She didn't need the schedule. It was like Spike had pointed out... Jax was a friend, and friends don't make schedules when they go out.
She would just remember the most important parts of it... it would do.
***
“Hey Rainbow!” Jax exclaimed, excitement back in his voice.
“Jax!” He proceeded to bump her hoof. Twilight entered the small hospital room behind Jax, while Spike had gone to the castle with the groceries. She was immediately overwhelmed by a strong smell of different flowers. “Twilight as well. I thought you two were never going to visit.” Rainbow joked with a grin.
She went over and sat down on her haunches. Jax had taken the only chair.
“Yeah, sorry, I meant to be here both the day before yesterday and yesterday, but…” Jax scratched the back of his head awkwardly and she soon followed suit.
“Yeah, me too… I got a bit too engrossed in an experiment. Sorry.”
Rainbow waved them off with a hoof. “Ah that’s alright. Fluttershy, Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity have been covering for you. Not to mention a ton of other ponies. I’m pretty popular, you know.” She adopted her cocky grin.
Some ponies would say that Rainbow was a bit full of herself. Twilight knew that there was so much more to her though, and apparently so did Jax, because he just laughed and agreed with her.
“Of course you are. A pony as awesome as you? I bet this room is crowded by noon.” Judging by all the flowers and get-well-soon cards scattered across the room, that wasn’t much of an exaggeration.
Twilight could practically see Rainbow’s chest swell. She could understand why they were such good friends if Jax was willing to stroke her ego as much. He wasn’t on Scootaloo’s level, but on the other hoof maybe that made his comments more earnest. It certainly sounded more natural than if she had tried saying the same thing.
In either case, it was good to see him laugh and smile. Maybe things weren’t as bad as she had assumed.
“Have you read any of the Daring Do books I gave you?” Rainbow asked him.
“I’ve been meaning to, but things have been… intense.”
“Alright I’ll forgive you this time, but don’t wait too long with reading them! I want to hear what you think of them. I’m sure Twilight would enjoy somepony else to talk about them as well. Right Twi?”
Twilight nodded and smiled “Of course.”
And so the conversation continued until noon.
Rainbow did get some more visitors, but most of them awkwardly backtracked when they saw Jax in the room. While she did notice the drop in Jax’ mood at those points, Rainbow Dash did as well and was quick to pull it up again. And some ponies did come that didn’t mind at all.
They left Fluttershy, Pinkie, Derpy, and Flitter to take care of Rainbow, and exited the room.
Just for Jax to stand face to muzzle with Big Mac, or as close as they could get with Jax being so tall. Twilight could see there was something unresolved between them. Jax’ scowl and Big Mac’s refusal to look Jax in the eye was enough of an indication.
The pressure kept building as they just stood there, until Big Mac finally took a step back from the door, and Jax had enough room to walk past him, which he did with hurried steps.
Twilight rushed after him. He still had a scowl, and as she watched, he raised the hood of his cloak, hiding his face in shadows.
Twilight didn’t like it one bit. “Did… did Big Mac do something to offend you?” She ventured. She couldn’t remember any problems between them when they worked on the farm… Now that she thought about, they hadn’t worked together the last couple of days. Not since Jax was taken over by Sombra, as far as she remembered.
Jax suddenly stopped and took a deep breath. “It’s nothing.” He said in a gentler tone than she would expect. When he removed the hood, she was surprised to see a broad smile on his face. On closer look though, it was clearly forced.
“Are you su-?“
“Let’s… let’s go back to your castle. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it from the inside. I mean, you can’t enter town without seeing it from the outside, a real eyesore that doesn’t fit at all with the rest of the town… uhm, no offence.” He started walking again without waiting for her answer. “It’s nice to have my little cabin by the woods. Thanks for the bed by the way, it’s very comfy.…”
Twilight followed slowly, not really listening as he continued talking. It sounded to her like he was just trying to distract her. At least he wasn’t frowning anymore.
Maybe her surprise later would cheer him up.
***
“... been on my mind for a while, but I finally managed to make my own light bulb,” Twilight proudly showed off her invention after her lengthily explanation of how she failed again and again until she finally got inspiration. “that not only reduces light pollution, but also costs less energy. We are going to stop this problem before it even begins!” She smiled excitedly at Jax, who actually looked quite impressed.
“Wow Twilight. Making your own light bulb for the sole purpose of stopping a potential problem I told you about. Don’t let anypony tell- anybody tell you that you aren’t driven to protect Equestria from monsters and common problems alike.”
Twilight smiled proudly. Jax seemed to be in a better mood, and he took to her academic explanation better than all her other friends combined. He actually listened and tried to understand what she was saying.
“I actually think I remember something about a similar solution being presented back… back on Earth, but for some reason it never really took off. Saving money on bills and saving the environment apparently wasn’t enough to change anybody’s habits… You have a plan for that?”
“Well… no. I’m going to start by introducing my light bulb to the academics of Canterlot to see if they have anything to add. But even if we don’t take the light pollution into account, it’s still a way to save bits for the government, so I don’t think they’ll be against replacing, or at least gradually replacing, the light bulbs in all major cities as a beginning.” Of course this was the government… things were never easy with the government. Well… worst case scenario, she would have to use her status as Princess. It was for a good cause after all.
“Alright, if you know what you are doing.” He gave her a small smile. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but are you working on something for air pollution as well? I know this world is far from having that sort of problem, but I think the same can be said for the light pollution and here we are with a new light bulb to fight the problem.” His smile broadened. It was good to see something that looked like his usual smile.
“I have been trying to work on something, but I’ve mainly focused on the light pollution.” She took out some blueprints she had on a shelf. She had learned about making artifacts, a very well covered class in Celestia’s school, since it was dangerous to go into unprepared, but she had never tried to make anything this big and advanced. This was work more fit for an engineer.
One of the blueprints was of an existing train, the others were different solutions she had tried. “Since trains are the main source of coal-burning, I decided to start there. I tried to replace the burning of coal with burning of magic, which I theorize would be harmless for the environment. Of course I would need more data, but even if we suppose it is, I’m having trouble with designing it so it would easily fit instead of the coal burner.”
Jax looked thoughtful. “I think burning magic would be a bad idea. As far as I understand it, only unicorns would be able to feed it then.”
“Well… yes, that is another problem. I’m not sure were the energy could come from otherwise though.”
“… I think it would be best to use electricity. Do you have generators?” Twilight nodded. They weren’t used as much as magic, but especially earth ponies in far off villages used them. At least those that weren’t too traditional. “I’m not an engineer, but I think cars back on Earth have generators attached to the wheels, so they make energy as they drive. They just need enough to start.” He scratched his growing beard. “At least I think they do.”
“How… how do… how do they…” she grabbed her head with her hooves in an effort to sort her thoughts. So many questions….
“Let me just make sure you understand. I’m neither an engineer nor a car enthusiast. I only know common stuff.”
She quickly prioritized her questions. “If they need energy to run, how are they started? Do humans all walk around with generators to start their… cars? Or is there a manual generator in every car to start it?” She stopped the tirade of questions, hoping he could answer.
Jax gave a short laugh. “No. We have something called batteries. Batteries are…” He started before she could ask, but paused to think. “I guess they are a metal casing around a chemical that can… save? Retain? That can store energy for later use.”
She quickly wrote everything down. Spike was off making dinner, so she couldn’t have him do it.
When she looked up again to ask him more questions, he looked at her with tired eyes. “… Thank you. I will have to discuss this with other ponies who know a bit more about electricity and engineering, and it will probably take years, but from what you told me, I think we have the time.” She smiled softly at her friend. He looked relieved.
“I have a surprise for you in a bit, but before that… can I try to talk with Sombra? I mean… he can hear everything we say, can’t he?” She asked, a bit unsure.
Jax looked apprehensive, but nodded nonetheless. “This will probably be weird. I’ll tell you if he answers. I don’t think he will though….” He clenched his jaw hard for a reason Twilight couldn’t understand. The last sentence was said almost in spite.
“Alright….” She cleared her throat and straightened up. She had become pretty good at friendship speeches, if she had to say so herself, so this should be no problem. “Hello Sombra. You probably remember me from that time-“ She stopped herself. Bringing up his defeat might not be such a good idea… and it’s not like they had really met, except when she arrived at the Crystal Empire. “I mean… my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am the Princess of Friendship.” She smiled at Jax, who was looking at her passively. She couldn’t really blame him.
“Now, I know we didn’t start off on the right hoof the last time we met, with you trying to take over the Crystal Empire, and me stopping you…” she just mentioned it anyway. She should have written down her speech, why did she think she could do this the way she had it in the past? This didn’t feel natural at all. “… but I hope that we can start over.”
She thought about what she had just said. She had never felt so awkward while giving a friendship speech before. It just didn’t feel right.
“… Twilight.” Jax finally uttered in disbelief after a length of silence. “Why do you want to start over with Sombrero? He is literally trying to mind rape me and steal my body.”
“Oh! I should probably have started… okay let me try again.” She cleared her throat.
“Sombra. I know that you’re… I know you… you are evil! But you don’t have to keep being evil… and when you don’t… uhm” She was starting to sweat worse than that time Celestia presented her with a pop-quiz. Why was this so hard? She looked at Jax’ blank expression. She could do this.
She straightened herself again. “Everypony deserves a second chance.” She grabbed on to the statement like a drowning rat. Luna had received a second chance, Discord had gotten a second chance, and Sombra deserved it as well. It was a good start. “So, if you feel like… like giving up… no, like forsaking your evil ways, and try to give friendship a chance, I will be ready to give you that second chance.” She said with a bit more confidence… but… it still felt empty. She looked at Jax. Jax looked back at her. “So?” she finally asked.
“So?” he parroted.
“So… did he answer?”
Jax blinked a couple of times. “Oh, you’re done? No, not a peep, as far as I can tell.”
She sighed deeply. She should have known it would be like this. She really couldn’t do it.
Luckily Spike bailed her out. “Food is ready!”
“Oh good, it’s almost time for your surprise.” She smiled excitedly at him. He returned the smiled with one of his own, though it was a bit faint.
They entered the dining hall side by side. It smelled fantastic, the subtle smell of mouth-watering mushrooms hang in the air, with only a barely noticeable fragrance of spinach and beans, almost entirely hidden under other ingredients. She didn’t know how, but Spike had a way in the kitchen that she lacked. He could make even a simple sandwich into a piece of art. Other than them, the room was empty of both guards and maids, just like she’d requested.
“Smells great, Spike.” Jax commented. “What kind of soup is this?”
The middle of the table held a rather large canister, clearly made for soup. Spike didn’t use it that often because he complained it was too big, but he had apparently made an exception. They both sat down, and Spike bowed in a grand fashion, like he was unveiling some great work of art.
“Ladies and gentlecolts, it is my pride, no, my honor to present to you, probably the first of its kind… The mushroom-spinach-bean soup… uhm, to be renamed at a later date." He took of the lid, spreading the pleasant fragrance even further.
“Hah, well that’s a weird combination, but it smells great. Let’s try it.” Jax hoofed Spike his bowl, which was promptly filled. Twilight got her bowl filled as well, and Spike filled his own bowl last.
“Enjoy.”
Ponies normally didn’t use utensils, but she knew Jax had been very insistent on his need for them, back when he lived in the castle. She enveloped her own spoon in her magic, and made sure to blow on the warm soup, unlike Spike who could slurp it down as it was.
Her eyes widened slightly as the taste overwhelmed her mouth. She knew Spike was an excellent cook, but this was beyond what she thought he could do with her request. The soup itself wasn’t too watered down, but not too thick either. Beyond the ingredients in the name, he had also added pasta, and a plateau of powdered ingredients she couldn’t identify, that he had mixed to complement each other perfectly. She was just about to compliment it, when Jax beat her to it.
“Holy- This is great! I had my doubts when you said it had spinach and beans in it, shows me to underestimate your cooking skills. Maybe I will accept your offer to come cook for me. Jesus. Can I have some of this to take home?”
Spike visibly blushed at Jax’ enthusiasm, but she could also see his chest swell with pride. “It’s nothing really, it’s all about finding the right mix of ingredients. I’m glad you like it though. I’ll make sure to pack some of it for you.”
“He is right Spike. This is great. Well done.” She gave him a big smile, which made him blush more.
Twilight was excited. This was going better than she expected. She waited for him to finish his bowl, and then his second bowl.
“Ahh… that was great.” He sighed, looking more content than he had all day.
“I have some good news for you.” She finally revealed.
“Oh? Is this the surprise you were talking about? I was expecting cake but ah well.” He gave her a teasing smile, with that spark in his eyes that she hadn’t realized she hadn’t seen in a while.
“Yes, this is the surprise.” She gave him an excited smile. “You don’t have to eat meat anymore!”
“Wait, what?”
She barely heard him as she started pacing back and forth in front of the table. “I’ve been studying omnivore behaviour, which unfortunately is a very limited topic, but I couldn’t exactly scan you to find the information I needed, but it turns out that everything you need to supplement your diet beyond fruit and basic vegetables that I’ve seen you eat is in mushrooms, spinach, and beans. Isn’t this great?! You don’t have to kill innocent animals to survive anymore!” She finished by looking at him for confirmation. She expected him to be happy at the news, she really did… instead he looked at her with a hurt expression.
“I… didn’t think you minded me eating meat?” He almost whispered.
“Well…” She started a bit confused. “I wasn’t going to say anything when I thought you didn’t have a choice, the same way I don’t tell Fluttershy to start feeding her carnivore friends with vegetables. They don’t have a choice… you do. You’re not a carnivore, you’re an omnivore… you actually can survive without meat. Isn’t this… isn’t this good?” Why wasn’t he happy? He didn’t even seem surprised.
“But… what if I like eating meat? What if I don’t want to stop?” His voice sounded hoarse.
Twilight was confused. What was he talking about? “You like eating the flesh of innocent life? Life that could have continued if you didn’t-“ She suddenly gasped, as a horrible realization hit her. “You knew. You knew and you lied to everypony about it, you even told them in the paper that you didn’t have a choice!” He stood up as if she had hit him, the chair falling behind him.
Then his face distorted in anger. “Yes I fucking knew! I knew but I didn’t want to give up something I enjoyed so I lied! And it’s not like I go around killing Fluttershy’s friends, it’s just some stupid fish!”
Twilight slammed her hoof into the table, unable to believe what she was hearing. “So fish don’t deserve to live but you do?! What kind of thinking is that? You don’t even need to kill them to live, you’re just doing it for your own enjoyment!” She felt sick. She couldn’t even blame Sombra for Jax’ behaviour, since he hadn’t even been around back then.
“Oh don’t act so high and mighty! Every apple you eat are trees that will never be! Plants don’t deserve to live as much as animals? Everything in the world lives of off the death of another living being!” He slammed his hand on the table as well. Spike looked from Twilight to Jax, worry clear on his face.
“First of all, Changelings live off love and Tirek lives off magic, second of all, that’s not the point! I told you I was fine with it if you didn’t have a choice, like I have no choice to live off plants and fruit!
“You don’t know that because you didn’t even fucking ask them before they were blown away to oblivion! As far as we know changelings need normal food as much as they need love. Or maybe they just enjoy the taste of love?! You have made no tries to find out!”
“I have too! You try to find a race that can change their appearance to be anything! They don’t want to be found!” Tears stung in Twilight’s eyes at the jab on her pride. She really had tried to find a changeling to befriend, but no matter where she looked, there was no sign of them. It was like they had just disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. “And don’t change the subject! This is about you wanting to kill an innocent creature for your own pleasure like some kind of-!” She stopped herself before she could utter the last word that she would regret saying forever, but she could see by his stunned silence that he knew exactly what she about to say.
He turned around, but not before she saw just how hurt he looked. “Jax, w-wait, I-I didn’t mean-“
“Maybe…” He interrupted her, his voice shaking. He started moving towards the door. “Maybe I’ll go back to the Everfree, where I can be the monster you won’t accept!” He slammed the door behind him.
Twilight looked at the door as it started blurring more and more, until the tears finally started falling, making a wet path on her muzzle.
Spike was there before she even realized that she was crying. He hugged her tightly, and she held onto him like he was the only thing that would keep her from drowning. She had never had an argument this severe with any of her other friends. She was completely lost as to what to do.
“Give him time.” Spike said soothingly as he stroked her mane. “I don't think dropping it on him like that was a good idea, but maybe with time...."
Twilight nodded meekly. She felt stupid for not thinking this through. Once again she found herself feeling… like she wasn’t suited for being the Princess of Friendship after all. There was so much she didn’t know yet… so much she still needed to learn.
Maybe, after she had reconciled with Jax, if he even wanted to, she could write another friendship report to Celestia. That would probably make her feel better.