My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Adventures of the Book of Virtue

by ColossalGX

Insomnia-Over

Author's Note:

Author's Note:

My Little Pony: FIM-Hasbro

Oscar: Sesame Workshop

"Omni! Omnifarious, wake up!"

"Ngh!" the blue pony got jerked awake by New Moon. "Hmm…?"

"Just look at yourself!" New Moon spat, "All you do is lie on your side and eat my food and breathe my air! That's as lazy as you can be!"

"That's cause there's nothing to do in this treehouse…" Omni mutter to himself, but then New Moon jerked him up to his feet by the collar.

"This is a library! How about you bring a book down with you once in a while! Or better yet, why aren't you out at the park?"

"Why?"

"Why?! There's a storm coming and we need all hooves on deck clearing out any loose debris! We got the memo this morning!"

"We?! No one even told me! And why aren't you at the park?"

"I'm telling you now! Now get to it!"

---

Omnifarious had no idea how fast it happened but now he's found himself outside the library with the door shut behind him. Sighing, he decided to get himself to the park. He wandered around for a bit until he spotted Applejack near him, to the left. She was twirling a lasso with her teeth and tossing it around hanging branches before yanking them back, snapping the branches off the tree.

Omnifarious trotted up to Applejack. "Hello? Applejack?"

The orange pony turned to the sound of his voice, "Oh, Omni!" she spat out the rope, "Well howdy there. I haven't seen you in quite a while."

"I though I'd come by to help," Omni looked down at the rope, "is there anything I can do? Maybe 'lasso' a few things?"

"You'd like to learn a few rope tricks, huh? Maybe I could help with that."

"You think I could handle a lasso?"

"It's not that hard once you get the hang of it. Let's start with something small. See that branch over there?"

Omni looked to another hanging where Applejack was pointing with a hoof. The bushes looked somewhat like one of those sculptures rich people have in their big gardens. "That branch has a pretty weird shape…"

"Well, too bad it's gotta be taken down," Applejack tossed her lasso onto the branch and put down the hanging rope, "Okay, try pulling that branch there down," Omni took Applejack's rope and started pulling tight, "C'mon, Omni, you got it. Put your back into it!" Omni stood on his legs and tried wrapping the rope around one of his arms thinking it'd give him enough pull to break the branch. It worked, the limb snapping and flying off the tree. But where it went flying too…

WHAP! "Uwagh!"

"Uh-oh…" Omni ran to the white pony that's been sprawled out on her back, her eyes rolling around in her dazed state.

Applejack joined him and saw the same thing, "My stars, Omni, what did you do?!"

"I didn't mean to, it was an accident!" Omni argued.

"Oh, I know it was; I hope she's okay…" Applejack nudged her foot against the pony, "Rarity? Sugar Cube, are you alright…?"

Rarity managed to wake up and shake herself out of her daze, "Ooh, my head…" she groaned, standing up.

"It was my fault," Omni apologized, "I didn't mean to hit your head like that."

With Rarity now aware of Omni's presence, she cleared her senses, and turned to him with a scowl, "Oh, that's not all you should be sorry for…" she picked up the fallen branch with her magic – the same branch with the bush sculpture now broken and disheveled – and then waved it at Omni's face, "What kind of brute would ruin a perfectly placed piece of art! What could you possibly have against topiary?"

Omni fidgeted in place on his feet. He thought Rarity would get a bit upset but he didn't expect her to get upset over something like a tree branch. Suddenly the rope yanked the tree away again.

"Give 'im a break, Rarity. It's just an accident," Applejack said after spitting out the rope that had pulled said flora, "Besides, that branch was hanging off the tree. It had to be taken down. Don't y'all care about nothin' other than prettifyin'?"

"Somepony has to," Rarity huffed, "I'm not the one a making an absolute mess of the town square."

"Yeah, well, the storm's gonna make an even bigger mess if we don't prune all these loose branches so they don't tumble down on anypony."

"I simply cannot imagine why the Pegasus ponies would schedule a dreadful downpour this evening and ruin what could have been a glorious sunny day."

"Think more practical-like, will ya?" Applejack said as she kicked a nearby tree and shook down more broken and loose branches, "They accidentally skipped a scheduled sprinkle last week, so we need a doozy of a downpour to make up for it, is all."

Omni looked up to the sky, where dark clouds were just done being mashed together by Pegasi, who were all now flying off. Omni was still trying to figure out why they even have to make weather when nature could just do it instead… His confusion did not lessen when the clouds started to drizzle a moment after. He didn't think it'd start raining this soon, but a little rain didn't bother him either way.

Rarity on the other hand… "Oh no! My wonderfully styled mane shall be ruined!"

"Ya shoulda hurried up and finished the job already." Applejack muttered as she kept kicking branches down.

"Oh! Ah! Oh! Ah! It's coming down too fast! Ah! Oh! Oh! Ah! Help me!" Rarity began running about like a headless chicken, trying to find shelter.

Omni looked around looking for someplace that Rarity could hide under, until he realized there's a wooden park table right behind them, "Rarity! You can stay under there until the rain stops!" Omni called. As Rarity galloped over to the table he walked over to Applejack, "Do you need any help?"

"I could use all the help I can get." Applejack replied with a small smile.

"Ooh! No, no, no!"

"Something wrong?" Omni had heard Rarity gasp and went to join her.

"I prefer not to get my hooves muddy." Rarity said, pointing under the table where a mud puddle is.

"There is just no pleasin' ya, is there?" Applejack groaned, glancing over at the situation as she kept working, "Everything's got to be just so."

"I really don't know what the problem is…" Omni said, "You're saying you'd rather get you hair wet?"

"Ugh! Of course not!" Rarity scoffed, "But muddying my hooves wouldn't serve any useful purpose, either!"

"You know what…" snorted Applejack, clearly fed up with Rarity at this point, "Y'all wouldn't know useful if it came up and bit'cha!"

"Wait, what did I do?" Omni asked.

"Huh? No, not you, Omni. I'm talking about Rarity."

"See? Even Omnifarious could tell that doesn't even make any sense." Rarity jeered.

"Does so."

"Does not."

"Does so."

"Does not."

"Does so."

"Does not."

"Does so infinity. Hah."

"Does not infinity plus one. Heh."

Omni felt like the odd man out as the two girls stared daggers at each other. Suddenly he could feel the rain falling harder than it had a moment ago, and he could hear a faint rumble of thunder from a distance.

"What say we go our separate ways before one of us says something she will regret?" Rarity offered.

"I reckon y'all are gonna say something you'll regret first."

"On the contrary, I believe it shall most certainly be you who says something you will regret first."

Omni suddenly decided to jump in between them and break the conversation, "Uh, I'm sure no one's gonna say anything, so we better just go on home before the storm gets worse. Okay?" he glanced between Applejack and Rarity, who are still glaring at each other, "So we're going, right? We're not gonna say anything, just go home, alright?!"

Eventually the girls decide to back away, still not keeping their eyes from each other. With them going to their own respective homes, Omni decided to go home as well; however, an abrupt, loud thunderclap sent Omni flying in the wrong direction out of shock, and even called Applejack and Rarity back, hugging each other. Finally Omni fell from the sky on top of them in a heap. "On second thought, we better find some shelter together."

---

With the rain pouring as hard as it is, Omni and Applejack hid under the table for protection, "Heh, nice and dry here," Applejack said, trying to pay no mind to the mud on her hooves, "Sorta…"

"Come on, Rarity, there is still space for you to join us," Omni tried to reason with Rarity, "Please, there's still room, just get over here!"

But it turns out that even rain isn't stopping Rarity from looking for any more shelter, "Oh! Unacceptable!"

"Applejack! Rarity!" Rarity could hear someone calling out for them from a distance. Omni and Applejack crawled from under the table when they called again. They all looked towards the library with Twilight waiting at the open door. "Come inside! Quick!" The three sodden ponies sprinted through the rain and into the house. Except Rarity, who was the only one who made it inside properly, with Applejack and Omni stopping at the door.

Twilight looked at the duo quizzically. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know anything about weather, but don't you think staying inside a giant tree is a bad idea?" Omni asked.

"Omni has a point there." Applejack agreed.

"Not if you have a magical lightning rod protecting your home like I do. Don't worry." Twilight assured, and Omni and Applejack went inside.

But for some reason Rarity walked into their path, "Uh, do be polite houseguests and wash up, please, won't you?" she's pointing at the patches of mud on their feet, and even some splattered on Omni's clothes.

"Wait, since when am I a house guest?" Omni recoiled, "I live here too!"

---

Half an hour before New Moon left…

"You live here?" The black-coated pony scoffed, sitting on his leather recliner, "No, you stay here. I live here! This is my house!"

---

"Be that as it may, I'm sure New Moon won't appreciate you streaking mud all over his floor. It is his library after all."

"She does have a point." Twilight shrugged.

"Let's just get it over with, Omni," Applejack muttered, "Otherwise she'll never hush up…"

Omni followed Applejack out the door. Luckily there's a garden hose right next to the door. They figured it would be a simple wash and go straight back in. But when Omni turned the knob it turned into the fight of their lives. They spent five minutes wrestling for control of the hose. After getting smacked and sprayed, they finally got a handle on it and cleaned the mud off.

---

They went back in the house, waterlogged between the downpour and the hose, but mud-free. But they weren't ready for what's in front of them.

"Holy!" Gasped Omni.

"What in tarnation!?" Exclaimed Applejack.

Rarity and Twilight were sitting in the middle of the main room, with some green goop on their faces.

"Now wait just a goll-darn minute. Ya make me wash the mud off my hooves, but it's okay for y'all to have mud all over yer faces?" continued Applejack, still completely flabbergasted.

"Silly! This is called a mud mask," Rarity said, "It's to refresh and rejuvenate your complexion."

"We're giving each other makeovers!" Twilight giggled, clapping her feet, "We have to do it, it says so in the book." She pulled out a book and showed it to Applejack.

'Slumber 101: All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Slumber Parties But Were Afraid to Ask' was the title… Are all books here have long titles like that?

"Oh hey, heh, would'ja look at the time," Applejack nervously chuckled, "I gotta skidaddle on home quick."

"Uh, there is a lot of lightning out, remember?" Omni asked as Applejack backed away to the door.

"I know but, I'm powerful late for, uh, fer somethin'. Uh, g'night." Applejack sprinted out the door before anyone could question her.

"She'll be back…"

The sky made a thunderous crash outside, not a second before Applejack jumped back inside, "Or maybe I'll sit here for a spell."

"Hurray slumber party!" Twilight clapped giddily.

"Uh, hey, what about me?" Omni asked, "I mean, I'm not doing anything…"

Twilight stopped clapping and lowered her head, trying to figure out how to reply. "Oh, Omni, the thing is…"

"You see, a slumber party is something only fillies could participate in," Rarity answered rather bluntly, "So if you don't mind, we need this room for ourselves for the night."

"She…does have a point." Twilight agreed.

Omni huffed, "Alright, I can always find something else to do."

The blue pony walked back to the basement. But when he got to the door, it was shut tight, and it refused to be open. Locked. Omni hated when things like that happen. "Twilight! Twilight the door won't open!"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Twilight walked to the door, "Omni, next time will you please leave the door open?" she used her magic to turn the knob, but the door still didn't open. Twilight inspected the knob for a moment before she saw something out of place, "Hey, I don't remember a lock being there last time. Wait, what's this?" Twilight spotted a small folded paper wedged behind the knob's frame. She pulled it out and opened it, finding a letter, "'If Twilight Sparkle is reading this then Omnifarious is asking someone to open the door because he's still using that excuse about not being able to use his hooves. I was unable to find you when I left so you don't know that I installed a lock on this door. I won't be gone long so I'll be keeping the key with me so that he won't spend anymore needless time on his back. If for some reason that I'm away for longer than expected, make sure he keeps busy until I return. –New Moon. P.S. As usual don't let Omni touch any of the books in the library. We don't need anymore of my delicate hardcovers lost to his clumsiness.'"

"Now that's just heartless," Omni groaned, "Just because I tore a few pages out of some cookbook doesn't make me clumsy."

"Well, there's not much to do in here, is there?" Twilight sighed, then looked over Omnifarious and his soaked clothes, "Um, you should focus on getting out of those clothes so you can take a bath. We can't have them smelling like mildew.

"Fine then." Omni walked up the stairs to the bathroom. That place was safe enough to take off his clothes while the shower ran. When he finally got the water right, he tossed his clothes into the laundry basket and jumped into the tub and let the water pour over. And with washing with a bar of soap, that's no simple task either, but he managed to get it done. After he washed up, he hopped out of the turn and shook the water off. Who needed a towel when he could do that? But he still needed one for obvious reasons.

He didn't even notice the thunder outside when everything around him suddenly went dark. The storm must've cause a blackout. There's no use trying to spend all night by himself so he walked against the wall trying to get downstairs. He bumped into a few stuff on the way down but he has a grasp on where to go. He could even see a shimmer of light around the corner. Omni followed until the light disappeared; when he found himself what he'd thought is the library. Now all he has to do is walk through to the kitchen…

"AAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!"

A voice cried out, shrill and piercing. Omni suddenly felt a hefty blow to his face, sending his skidding backwards on his rump.

"Ack! Ow!"

The lights suddenly turned back on and Omni was left on his back kicking, holding his face.

"Omni!" Twilight gasped and ran over to him, "Omni, are you okay?! Let me see!" she gently pried his hooves away and saw a small bruise on his muzzle, "What happened!?"

"I don't know!" Omni groaned, "it was too dark to see but I think something hit me!"

"Wait, that was you sneaking behind me?!" Rarity gasped, then scowled at him accusingly, "I never thought you to be so impulsive! Have you no shame?!"

"Why don't you lay off him!" Applejack suggested defensively, "I'm sure he not that kind of colt! It's clearly an accident!"

Rarity scoffed and turned away with her nose up, "Hah! That's no reason to put your hooves on a mare's hindquarters!"

"Ugh! Look, I'm sorry, okay?!" Omni sat up and held him nose, "It's just that it was too dark to see! I didn't know where anything is!"

Rarity didn't look back, her nose still high in disgust, "Nevertheless, ignorance is no excuse for that kind of abuse."

"Okay, that incident's behind us now," Twilight said, trying to stray from the subject, and look towards Omni, "I've just invited Omni to join in on our sleepover!"

That must have piqued Rarity's interest, as she snapped her head back down with a near-panicked expression. "What-? Um, Twilight? Are you sure that is a wise decision, allowing a…colt in a sleepover."

"I'm sorry?" Omni replied, offended, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you know what I mean," Rarity huffed, "Slumber parties are reserved for fillies only. A colt participating in such activities is unthinkable, especially among the fairer gender."

"That's no entirely true, Rarity," Twilight said, skimming through the pages of a book, "It's not exactly encouraged, for sure, but there's nothing about not having a co-ed sleepover."

"B-but…" Rarity's voice faltered, "This is supposed to be a girl's night…"

"Hey, I say we let him 'im join in!" Applejack suggested, if only to spite the white unicorn, "The more here the merrier."

"Sorry Rarity, it looks like you've been outvoted," Twilight said, "Now, who wants s'mores?"

---

Later, the group was all sitting around in the kitchen with marshmallows roasting near an open fire. Omni's marshmallows were the first to be toasted to a golden-brown, and it was the first to retrieve the 's'more' treatment. The end product actually looked like an untidy version of two s'mores attached to each other, with the graham crackers unbroken.

"That's what s'mores look like?" Twilight wondered, looking at the three treats on his plate, "I thought they'd be smaller."

"Well, there isn't any wrong way to do it." Omni's about to take one into his mouth, but the plat was suddenly snatched away.

"I'm afraid that is where you're wrong," Rarity said, holding the plate with her magic, "There's always a right way and a wrong way in doing everything."

"Okay, fine. Just gimme that back. I'm hungry." Omni reached for the plate but Rarity pulled it back.

"This is the first slumber party Twilight has hosted. It's only fair that the meals are properly prepared and served as such," she lectured, speaking to him as if scolding a child, "Not to offend, but these are just too messy to enjoy."

"Um, thanks Rarity, but…" Twilight said, "I'm sure they'd be just as good."

"I'm sorry, but my mind is made up." Rarity dumped the cookies into the nearest trash bin, to Omni's dismay.

"Hey, thanks!" Oscar called from inside the can and munched on the s'mores.

"Rarity!" Twilight snapped, "That is a terrible waste of—"

"Ah-ah!" Rarity cut her off, "It appears I have to take it upon myself to show you how it's properly done. It will be well worth it, I guarantee."

---

And off Rarity went, commandeering the food supplies to give a lesson on how to make proper s'mores that nobody needed,

"Then you place one marshmallow on the top of the chocolate and be sure it's centered – that part is most critical – and then carefully put another perfectly square graham cracker on the top. And done. Ta-da!"

"Okay…" Omni said, "So do we eat now?"

"Please be a little patient. We have quite a few more before we can enjoy it as a full course."

"Nah, ya just eat 'em." Applejack came and ate the thing right off the plate. Rarity turned away in disgust as Applejack belched the crumbs out after.

"You could at least say excuse me." She sighed.

"Aw, I was just about to, but you interrupted me. Pardon."

"S'mores, check," Twilight writ off a list, "Now the next item of fun we have to do is Truth or Dare."

"I dare Applejack to do something carefully and neatly for a change." Rarity chided.

"Oh yeah? Well I dare Rarity ta lighten up and stop obsessin' over every last little detail, for a change." Applejack countered.

"I think the truth of the matter is that some pony could stand to pay a little more attention to details."

"And I think the truth is some pony oughta quit with her fussin' so the rest of us can get things done."

"Um, I don't think this is how the game's supposed to work," Twilight said, trying to diffuse the argument, "You have to give an honest answer to any question or do whatever any pony dares you to do. Omni, why don't you go first."

"Oh. Me? Um…" Omni tried to figure out what to do.

"Here's an idea!" Applejack suggested, "Dare Rarity to step outside and let her precious, tidy mane get ruined again."

Rarity gasped sharply, "No! You wouldn't dare!"

"Rarity's right. Besides, it's Omni's turn so it's his decision," Twilight said and then turned to Omni, "So, what's it gonna be?"

"I dare…I dare Rarity to…"

"Omnifarious, don't you dare!"

"… I dare Rarity to spend 15 seconds in the rain."

"NOOOOO!" Rairty cried, falling back and whimpered.

"You have to. It's the rule." Twilight backed up.

"Hah!" Applejack laughed.

"…Fine!" Rarity huffed, and stepped outside and let herself get drenched in the rain. Applejack snicked as she came back in with her hair and tail waterlogged and straight. "Okay. I dare Applejack to play dress-up in a frou-frou, glittery, lacey outfit."

Applejack gasped, but stepped out of the kitchen for a moment to come back in wearing a puffy blue dress with shocking speed. "Happy?"

"Very," responded Rarity smugly.

"I dare ya to enter the next rodeo when it comes to town."

"I dare you not to enter the next rodeo that comes to town."

"Um, do I ever get a turn?" Twilight asked, trying not to interrupt.

"I dare ya to not comb your mane a hundred times before bed."

"And I dare you to comb yours just once."

"I don't think they're ever gonna stop…" Omni muttered.

Twilight smiled nervously, "I, uh, I think we should check off Truth or Dare and move on," she checked off her list and skimmed through her book, "Let's see what our next fun-fun-fun thing is, shall we?"

"Here's an idea…" feeling their bickering won't go away on it's own, Omni decided to take the initiative, "Hey, girls; think fast!" he grabbed a pillow form the floor and tossed it at the girls, but was caught by Rarity's magic.

"How rude!" Rarity gasped.

"She's right, Omni! That was uncalled for!" Twilight scolded, "What were you trying to accomplish?"

Omni shrugged, "Well, if they're gonna fight all night, why not make it a pillow fight?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Pillow…fight?"

"Oh, please. I am not at all interested in participating in something so crude—" but Rarity cut off when another pillow made a direct hit, Applejack stifling a laugh as she's the one who threw it. "Oh! It… Is… On!"

And just like that, the library was sent into an uproarious haze of chaos as a whole bunch of pillows went flying all over the place, with Twilight and Omni standing in the very middle of it.

"Are you sure we shouldn't just stop them?" Twilight asked, worried.

"They're just letting off some steam. It's not like they'll actually try to—"

"DUCK!" Twilight dropped down avoiding a stray pillow by Omni was too slow to avoid two of them coming from both directions. They simultaneously struck him in the face, putting Omni into a daze. He dropped to the floor beside Twilight, somewhat dizzy.

"Maybe we should take it down a notch?" pleaded Twilight.

"I will if she will," replied Applejack stoutly.

"She started it," responded Rarity with just as much determination.

Both Applejack and Rarity kept tossing more pillows and ended up building up a pile in the middle, which Twilight had to dig her way out, "Maybe we should just call it a night and get some sleep?"

---

Later that night, the girls and Omni turned in inside Twilight's bedroom loft. Rarity and Applejack slept in a spare bed opposite to Twilight's (how they stood to sleep next to each other is a mystery), while Twilight shared hers with Omni. Rarity made some case about how a guy and a girl shouldn't be sleeping together at their age, but Twilight decided not to listen. It's better than him sleeping on a cold, wooden floor.

"Omnifarious…?" Twilight called softly, checking if he's awake.

"Mmhm…?" Omni mumbled.

"About earlier, I'm really sorry for what happened between Applejack and Rarity. I can't believe my first sleepover would turn out so badly."

"Not your fault. It's Rarity who gave me a hard time. I don't know what you ever saw in her."

"Now, don't talk like that," Twilight scolded, "Yes, Rarity may come off as a little…superior, but she's actually real nice. She's not called the Element of Generosity for nothing."

"…I think you lost me back there. What are you talking about?"

"I forgot, you weren't with us until back at the castle. Remember when we used the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon?"

"How could I not?"

"Rarity represents the Element of Generosity. When we traveled through the Everfree forest, we came across a giant serpent whom Rarity gave a scarf to as a gift. It's that act of generosity that earned her one of the Elements of Harmony."

It would've been a touching speech if not for Applejack and Rarity who, apparently are still awake, were arguing again over something or another. Way to ruin the moment… "I need to use the bathroom." Omni crawled out of bed and out to the library.

---

However, the 'going to the bathroom' spiel was naught but a ruse, for Omni was actually heading straight for the kitchen for a snack. While munching on his snack (graham crackers), he listened carefully for the bickering of Rarity and Applejack. Now sure Rarity and Applejack had stopped bickering finally, he decided to go back upstairs. But when he passed through the door, he noticed the girls standing in front of a giant window.

"Did I miss something?!" Omni rushed over to join them and asked. Twilight simply pointed out the window, where Omni took a step closer and spotted a giant tree next door, where it's upper section has been broke off and leaning towards them. "Oh."

"Ya see?" Applejack snapped at Rarity, "That's why we needed to take down all those loose branches in town, not spiffy 'em up."

"But I—"

"Outta my way, missy! Time's a-wastin'." Applejack pushed the window open and tossed her lasso over her head.

"Wait! Stop! Don't!"

"No waitin'! No stoppin'! Doin'!" With that, the rope flew and caught the loose tree at its top, "And that, my friends, is what we call gettin' 'er done." She bit down on the end of the rope and gave one good heave. But all that did was send the tree tumbling down through the window. The girls managed to keep a safe distance. However…

"Omnifarious!" Twilight cried and ran over to the fallen tree," Omni, can you hear me? Are you alright?!"

"…Don't worry, I'm okay." Omni's voice assured from under the branches.

Twilight sighed in relief, "Thank goodness, can you get out?"

"…"

"Omni?"

"Actually, I can't move!"

"Not good!" Twilight gasped, "The tree must be pinning him down!"

"I tried to tell you it would come crashing down in here!" Rarity argued, aiming her exclamation at Applejack.

"She's not wrong about that!" Omni called out from under the tree.

"Well, ya should'a tried harder," Applejack snapped back, then sighed, "I'm mighty sorry, Twilight."

"It's... Well, it's not okay," Twilight sighed, "There's a giant tree branch in the middle of my bedroom, and the book doesn't say anything about having a giant tree branch at your slumber party. Or at least I haven't found that entry yet."

"That's not something you can find in some book, you know!" Omni replied.

"What in tarnation are y'all doin' over there?" Applejack griped.

"Cleaning up this mess some pony made," Rarity replied as she focused on reshelving the books, "Who was that again? Oh, right, that's you."

"We gotta do somethin'!"

"You can help get this thing off me!" Omni groaned, feeling the tree getting heavier. Applejack tried pulling on it with her rope, then kicking it away, then just jumping on it, causing Omni to exclaim, "Hey! I asked you to get it off, not add more weight to it!"

"Rarity, for pony's sake, stop sweatin' the small stuff and help me get rid of this thing!" Rarity only glanced back and returned to shelving, "I said hussle over here and help me!"

Just like before, Applejack was ignored, leaving her straining the tree's weight. Applejack looked at the downed tree, and then at Rarity. Applejack then sighed and said, "…Look, I'm sorry, alright?"

"What was that?" Rarity finally replied.

"I said I'm sorry! I should'a listened to you when you noticed where this here branch would end up. Yer annoyin' attention to detail would'a saved us from this whole mess. But right now, ya need to stop bein' so dang fussy pickin' up all the little things and help me move the one big thing in here that actually matters!"

"…"

"Please!"

That magic word caught Rarity's attention, but she eyed her hooves with a couple of worried grunts, "But I'll get all icky."

"Consarnit! What the..."

"Rarity!" Omni shouted, still straining against the tree on top of him, "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you!" Rarity assured.

"I need you to listen carefully because this is important. Can you do that?"

"Of course! What is it that you need?"

"What I need, is for you to just forget about how not to get dirty and just deal with it!" the blue pony barked, "Getting your hands dirty is just the result of hard work! And no one gets through without getting their hands dirty!"

"Don't you mean hooves—"

"Whatever! This is just a part of life everyone goes through, one way or another and as many times as they need to! You can't just pick and choose the parts you like, Rarity! Whatever work that has to be done, it begins and ends with doing what needs to be done to get the job done; not thinking about how to stay in your comfort zone, because it's not always gonna happen!"

"Now that's deep…" Applejack muttered.

Hearing Omni telling her off like he did, Rarity felt a bit guilty about how selfish she'd been. That's when she's decided to put all that aside and looked towards Applejack. "Let's do this!"

The two girls begin their operation by grouping up to discuss solutions to moving the tree, while Twilight starts off by searching for answers in a book.

"Well, they do have a section about backyard slumber parties," Twilight mused, "Is that what we're doing right now? Does this count as camping?"

"You gotta be kidding me!" Omni whined, trying to keep much of the tree's weight off as he could, "I told you you're not gonna find it!"

In the meantime, Applejack and Rarity broke off and got to work. Backing off to a corner, Rarity took aim and fired a huge dose of magic from her horn, turning the giant tree into a bunch of small topiary bushes. With only the trunk left, Applejack readied to kick it right out of the house; but a stern look from Rarity led her to just drop it through the window. With the window shut, everything was finally calm; except for the fact that the whole room is in chaos, but not as bad as the coat of muck Rarity was stuck under. "U-ugh. Oh, I look awful."

Feeling a little tinge of pity, Applejack took a couple of somehow-still-clean slices of cucumbers and placed them on Rarity's eyes, "Better?"

"Hm, better." Rarity blindly reached out for Applejack and pulled her in for a hug, which the cowgirl gladly accepted. Disaster averted on many different levels.

Nonetheless, Twilight still had her nose in her books. However, her attention was momentarily drawn away when she spotted the pile of bushes "Oh, pretty! Where did these come from? They're not in the book either." With her eyes glued back to her book she missed the part where the pile collapsed when she picked up one of the bushes.

"Would you mind?! I'm trying to get some sleep here!"

"Cumulonimbus?!" Applejack gasped at the sight of the white Pegasus sitting around the bushes, "Wait a minute… Were you sleeping in that tree? In the middle of a storm?!"

"Is that a problem? I don't tell you where to sleep so don't tell me where to sleep!" grabbing his pillow, Cumulo walked out of the room.

"Nice of you to save me." Omni sighed as he rolled off his back, even though he felt forgotten.

"Omni!" the three girls jumped up and gathered around him.

"Omnifarious, are you hurt anywhere?" Twilight asked, concerned.

"Just a little sore," Omni groaned, "It tends to happen while trying to hold up a huge tree trunk,"

Twilight scooped him up and hugged him tightly, "Ow, ow, make that a lot sore!"

"Oh! Sorry!" Twilight loosened her grip, "I'm just glad you're alright…"

"Well, now that all that chaos is over with…" Rarity said, removing her cucumbers, "I supposed there is one thing lift to do…"

"You mean get this whole mess cleaned up before New Moon comes back?" Omni guessed.

"No. Well, yes, but what I mean is, I think it's time I should, ad you'd say, 'eat crow'…" Rarity approached Omni, and shuffled her front hooves, looking down nervously, "Omnifarious, I apologize for my rude behavior earlier. I was a bit…prickly and at times I took it out on you. Can you please forgive me…?"

"…Don't worry about it," Omni replied, "I guess it all worked out in the end."

"Thank you," Rarity smiled, then looked back at Applejack, "But I think someone else owes you an apology. Right, Applejack?"

"Huh, wha?" Applejack became confused until she got a grasped on what Rarity is talking about, "Oh, right… I guess you wouldn't have gotten pinned down by that tree if it weren't for me. What about it, Omni? You forgive me?"

"Like I said, it worked out in the end, didn't it?" Omni said. With that, Rarity opened her arms wide, where Omni carefully leaned in for a hug. Applejack, as well as Twilight, joined in the embrace. Together they melt into the air of peace and tranquility that formed as they held each other in peace and silence.

"…How long are we gonna stay like this? I'm feeling kinda sticky."

---

Sometime later, underneath the library, the Book of Virtues came to life once again with a new entry:

Dear Princess Celestia,

It's hard to believe that two ponies who seem to have so little in common could ever get along. But I found out that if you embrace each others' differences, you'd just might be surprised to discover a way to be friends after all.

And the headlines, something unique, different aside from the previous entries: Perceptiveness/Diligence.