My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship

by Danieru

26. The Worst Night Ever

"Today is the day!" Star Twinkle said determent.

There were only a few hours left until the highly anticipated Grand Galloping Gala would start.

He thought a lot about the princesses words from yesterday and decided to put away his usual behavior for this night. He just wants to have fun with his friends and forget everything else. At least for one day.

He walked his body in front of his mirror on the ground floor and stared at his own reflection. After taking a deep breath his face became more determent before he tried to motivate himself. "Alright, Star Twinkle!
Today you have to focus! No complaining and no avoiding other ponies. You will spend a good time at the gala! You got that?" He said to his own reflection, waiting for an answer to come out.

He then took his white suit out of his closet, that he got from Rarity. He didn't touch the suit since then. Even now he was carefully moving it out of the closet, as if it was made out of paper, carefully watching that nothing would get this white suit dirty.

After putting it on, he took a last look at himself in the mirror and left his house. But he got startled by a voice as soon as he left his house.

"Looking good!"

Star Twinkle jumped after hearing a voice right next to him after he opened the door. It was Steel Hammer, who stood next to the door, looking at Star Twinkle with a mischievous smile.

"Who are you trying to impress?" Steel Hammer asked with a smile on his face.

"What are you talking about? I got this suit from Rarity, for the gala," Star Twinkle explained.

"Hey, I'm just kidding. You look good is what I meant to say. After all, it's really rare to see you in formal attire,"

"Yeah, don't get used to it," Star Twinkle replied, looking away in a little embarrassment.

"The others are probably waiting. You better get going,"

"Yes," Star Twinkle replied before walking off.

"Oh! Star Twinkle!"

"Yes?" Star Twinkle replied after turning around to look at Steel Hammer.

"Have fun," Steel Hammer said in a caring voice.

Star Twinkle took a moment to answer but eventually replied with a smile on his face. "Thanks,"

He then walked away to meet the rest of his friends. But Steel Hammer just realized something, that confused him at first.

"Wait... that wasn't a fake smile...” Steel Hammer realized.

Meanwhile, Star Twinkle was on his way to Carousel Boutique. When entering the Boutique nopony could be found in the main room. But he could hear Spike nearby and followed his voice. Spike was standing in front of a door, bashing against it and begging to come in.

“Come on, you guys. Let me in!”

“What are you doing?” Asked Star Twinkle.

The little dragon then turned around in surprise and greeted Star Twinkle. Apparently, the others won't let him in because they are getting dressed. Star Twinkle found that a little weird, considering that they don't usually wear clothes. Shortly after the door was opened by Rarity.

“I'm sorry, Spike. Some of us do have standards,” she said.

Rarity seemed surprised and even embarrassed to see Star Twinkle behind the door. She was either not expecting him which was unlikely because they were supposed to meet here or she felt a little uncomfortable.

“I can wait outside if you want,” Star Twinkle suggested.

“Ah don't worry. There is no reason to be shy,” Applejack assured.

“That's not what I meant by-” he said before he got interrupted by Twilight.

“Star Twinkle! You look good,” Twilight complimented on Star Twinkle's suit.

“Give us just a moment, darling. Things like that need proper preparations,” Rarity said.

“Yeah about preparations...One of the ponies had to decline to pull the carriage,” said Spike much to the shock of everypony.

Star Twinkle had a hard time understanding what this was all about but he figured that it had to do something with the Grand Galloping Gala.

“Great! Now, where do we get another stallion this late?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

After a few seconds, all eyes were focused on Star Twinkle. He didn't know why but he suddenly had a very bad feeling. "What?" Star Twinkle asked confused.

Later at night...

Then, before he knew it, he was pulling a red carriage, that strangely looked like a giant apple with his friends inside behind him along with another stallion. Star Twinkle didn't know him. He was an Earth-Pony with a yellow coat and a light brown mane.

The carriage was not hard to pull, especially with another stallion pulling it but it still was a little annoying.
His mind was quickly focused on more important things. This Gala is hopefully the first step for him to be more accepting of friendship and how this night would go for him. Spike, who was sitting on the carriage noticed that Star Twinkle was getting more and more nervous the closer they got to the Gala.

"You look nervous," Spike said after inspecting Star Twinkle, who was breathing a little more frequent than usual.

"I am..." he replied nervously.

"Come on, it won't be that bad. It's only the most important in all of Equestria, where only the noblest and elegant ponies will attend to,” Spike assured.

“That didn't help at all...” thought Star Twinkle.

“I don't know about you but I already planned out a lot of activities for tonight. I've gotta show Rarity the crown jewels, and Applejack the Princess's golden apple tree. And Pinkie, we gotta go to my favorite donut shop,”

Star Twinkle wouldn't mind that. He wasn't in Canterlot for quite some time. If it was daytime, he could visit his parents for example. But he came to Canterlot because he wanted to spend time with his friends at the Gala. This visit would have to wait for now.

“Sounds fun,” Star Twinkle said.

“Then let's get moving! Hyah!” Spike said before whipping Star Twinkle and the other stallion with his carriage whip.

“Ouch! Hey!” Star Twinkle exclaimed, giving him an angry stare along with the other stallion beside him.

“Hehe....sorry,” Spike apologized.

Eventually, they arrived at Gala a few minutes later. There were a giant castle and beautiful fireworks. It was bright and shiny it almost felt intimidating.

"Oh, boy..." said Star Twinkle nervously.

But there was nothing to worry about. As much as he disliked big events like this, he at least wasn't alone.

Spike opened the carriage and the girls stepped out, wearing their dresses, that Rarity made for them, while she was wearing the dress that her friends made for her. Spike quickly complimented them on their dresses.
He probably didn't have a chance to take a look at them before. Star Twinkle knew the dresses, though. After all, there were quite some complications when they were made back then.

Everypony took a good a look the castle with highly expecting eyes. They could not believe that they were finally attending the Gala.
“I can't believe we're finally here. With all that we've imagined, the reality of this night is sure to make this... The Best Night Ever!” Twilight happily exclaimed followed by the happy cheers of her friends, who were as excited as she was.

Seeing their excitement calmed Star Twinkle down a bit. But after setting hoof inside of the palace, everypony quickly vanished, leaving Star Twinkle and Spike alone.

"What? Hey! Where did you all-"

But then he remembered. It all came back to him in an instant.
Twilight wanted to spend time with Celestia.
Applejack wanted to earn money for the farm.
Rainbow Dash wanted to meet the Wonderbolts.
Rarity wanted to meet Celestia's nephew, Prince Blueblood.
Fluttershy wanted to spend time with the animals in the royal garden.
And Pinkie Pie wanted to party.

They had plans for this night for a long time now, unlike him.
Of course, they had no time for him, he thought, making him look down on the ground in sadness.

"No! No! No! That is not true! You just keep telling yourself that, Star Twinkle! They planned this night for so long and not letting them enjoy themselves would not be really friend-like," Star Twinkle mumbled almost forcing these thoughts in his brain.

"Alright, Star Twinkle, you can do it! Make some new friends! They don't have to be perfect. You're not perfect! They just need to be willing to at least spend some time with you!"

But then he realized that Spike was offering to spend time with him. He completely forgot about Spike.
At least one of his friends was still there to accompany him. That at least was reassuring.

“Looks like it's just us boys now, Star Twinkle,” Spike said.

“Yeah, any plans on how to spend the evening?” Star Twinkle asked.

“First we need something to drink! I'll be right back!” Spike said before running into the mass of ponies in front of them.

“Hey, wait!” Star Twinkle exclaimed but the little dragon was already out of reach.

He didn't come back for a while and Star Twinkle was just standing near the entrance like a package that was not delivered.

Once again he was alone. What was he suppose to do now? His friends were all gone just when he wanted to spend time with them for once.

He was then playing with the thought to find some other ponies that he could befriend. Instead of spending time with his friends, he should try to find some new ones. While this thought was making him feel uneasy, it also would help him to understand friendship a little better. After all, that is exactly what he planned.

Star Twinkle then walked away from his spot and searched for somepony to talk to. It was just then that he realized how big this event really is. But he also felt a little out of place. There was clearly a big difference between the usual Pinkie Pie Ponyville party and this Canterlot high-class event.

Eventually, he found somepony who was all on her own. A unicorn mare with a yellow coat and a dark blue mane, who looked like she was waiting for somepony. Star Twinkle didn't really care who it was so he approached her to start a conversation.

“Um...good evening, mind if I-”

“Oh! Perfect! I was waiting a while now for you!” She said before Star Twinkle could finish his sentence.

“Really?” He replied confused.

“Yes! Here,” she said trying to give him a glass that she was holding.

“Okay. What am I suppose to do with that?” Star Twinkle asked confused.

“I don't know. Bring it back to the kitchen? I'm no waiter myself, how should I know?” She replied.

“Wait, I'm not a-”

“Oh! Girls there you!” She said before walking off to another crowd of ponies, leaving Star Twinkle confused and annoyed.

It was one of these moments where Star Twinkle would mumble to himself in annoyance but he tried to stay calm. "Things like that happen. Don't worry. Just try another pony. It will work eventually."
Those were only a few words that circled through his mind in order to make him stay calm.

He quickly found another pony standing all by himself. It was a unicorn stallion with a white coat and a black mane.

“Hey there!” Star Twinkle said with a forced smile, trying to hide his desperation.

The unicorn turned around and looked at Star Twinkle, almost inspecting or analyzing him. Then he turned his head in arrogance and walked off displeased.

“What am I not fancy enough for you?” He thought annoyed.

This night was getting worse every moment. There has to be some pony who would like to at least speak to him.

While being caught in his own thoughts again, somepony actually did say something to him.
"Good evening, sir!" Said a unicorn stallion with a dark blue coat, a light blue mane, and a mustache.

While still being annoyed, Star Twinkle realized that somepony was actually offering his company. This was his chance to make at least some progress tonight.

"Yes, good evening to you too!" Star Twinkle replied happily, finally finding somepony who at least seemed like he wanted to talk.

"You look like somepony with a little more style and glamor," the unicorn said.

"I do?" Star Twinkle replied confused.

“Why, yes. This suit practically speaks for itself,”

“Thank you, Rarity,” Star Twinkle thought.

He talked with the unicorn for a few minutes or rather Star Twinkle listened most of the time to what he had to say. He was talking about all kinds of stuff. Some kind of business that he is running in Canterlot. All the ponies that he met along his career, which didn't ring a bell at all for Star Twinkle. All the others events he attended to.

Star Twinkle was setting the bar really low but he had not much in common with this pony at all. But he kept talking. Star Twinkle didn't say a single word after greeting him. It was really awkward.

“Is he not aware that I'm not interested at all in this kind of stories?”

“...So my brother had this incredible idea, which I eventually would have come up with too...”

"Okay, I am lost. I have no idea what he is talking about. Come on! You can't just stand there, nodding the whole time, like an idiot. Just focus and try to add something to this conversation. If you listen carefully, then you will probably find something to say,"

But that was harder than he thought. It became harder to focus on him.

"- But after speaking with the princess herself about this matter, I am sure things will go along smoothly.
Of course, being a successful business pony like me the princess lost no time and-”

"The princess? What did he talk about with the princess? Should I ask her about this guy? But I can't do that while in the middle of a conversation,”

"As my ancestors used to say: Hay can't decide who eats them but you can decide which hay you eat. Of course, being the most successful member in my family things-"

"His mustache looks funny...” Star Twinkle thought looking at his mustache in a hypnotizing way.

"But enough of me. Tell me more about your business,“ the unicorn asked, putting Star Twinkle out of his trance.

"Business?" Star Twinkle asked confused.

"Oh? No business? Maybe a far relative of the princess? Or the son of another famous celebrity?" He asked.

"How did he come to that conclusion?"

"Well, the Grand Galloping Gala is only for the most elegant and successful ponies after all! Just the thought that some simple commoners may wander around in the castle give me the creeps," he said, shuttering for a moment.

“Commoners?” Star Twinkle asked.

"You know. Those ponies who grow up in those less sophisticated backwater places who spend their time working as farmers, or dare I say it, Carpenter!" he explained, shuddering before saying the last one.

Star Twinkle can't say that he wasn't offended by the last sentence. He almost wanted to tell him that this backwater pony got a ticket from the princess herself, just to shut him up. But he came to the conclusion that he didn't want to befriend this guy for obvious reasons.

So it was obvious what he should do. The thing he could do best. The thing he does almost every day. Talk his way out and avoiding the conversation.

"Wait! You hear that? I think my agent is calling me! Sounds important! I'll better go!" He said walking away.

Of course, there was nopony calling him but he had to get out somehow. There was no way that he could befriend somepony who thought like this.

“Well, what do you know. Finding friends is hard. What a surprise,” he said sarcastically.

This was not how he expected this night to go at all. It just wanted him to spend time with his friends even more.

"I wonder how the others are doing..." he mumbled.

There would be no harm checking up on them, he thought. They are probably done with all their goals and were bored now.

He was walking near the entrance and found Twilight, who stood right next to the princess.

"Star Twinkle!" Said Twilight who stood next to the princess, shaking hoofs with everypony who walked up to the princess.

"Hey, Twilight..." he replied.

He noticed how Twilight was shaking everyponies hoof who walked up to her.
He decided to get closer and asked her, whispering in her ear.

"Why are you greeting the guests too?"

"What do you mean? I'm spending a great time with Princess Celestia just like I wanted," Twilight explained with a smile while continuing to shake everyponies hoof.

But on a closer look, the princess was also greeting the guests right next to Twilight. In all the time where Star Twinkle was there, she didn't even look at Twilight.

"Uh huh" Star Twinkle replied with a doubtful look.

“Are you having fun too?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, sure. Having a lot of fun here,”

Of course, that was a lie. He just didn't want to ruin Twilight's fun, even though he couldn't understand how she was having fun like this.

“Alright. See you later then,” Twilight said.

He found Applejack outside who tried to sell her food in order to get some money for the apple family.
She would have some time talking with him, he thought.

"Howdy, Sugarcube!" She greeted. "Having fun?"

"The most..." he replied, making it sound like a little too convincing so that Applejack couldn't tell.
"What about you?" He asked.

"Err...of course! Making a lot of bits for the family as you can see," Applejack said proudly.

Star Twinkle then took a look at a box next to Applejack with only around three bits inside, presumably the money that she earned so far.

"Three bits?" Star Twinkle asked.

"Well, they are all probably not hungry right now. I'm sure the business will run in a few minutes...he he," Applejack replied almost embarrassed.

Speaking of hungry, Star Twinkle hasn't eaten for hours now and took the chance to buy something.

"Can you give me some apple fritters?"

"Sure do!" She exclaimed, handing him over the apple fritters from one of the shelves.

Star Twinkle spent some minutes near Applejack eating his fritters and noticed Rarity, who was in company with another stallion.

It took Star Twinkle a few seconds until he remembered that it was Prince Blueblood. The pony Rarity wanted to meet at the gala.

"Well at least somepony got what she wanted," Star Twinkle said.

The two unicorns were approaching the two earth ponies and Rarity ordered two apple fritters. Applejack seemed happy about that and quickly put two out of her shelf's. Rarity then was hinting at Prince Blueblood so that would pay for them, who in response hinted back at her. This was going on for a while until Rarity gave up.

“I'm going to have to pay, aren't I?” Rarity figured.

But Applejack said that it was okay and that she got Rarity covered.

“Thank you, Applejack. At least somepony here has good manners,” Rarity replied.

Prince Blueblood then took a bite off of one of the apple fritters only to spit it out again.

“Oh! Fritters! Dumplings! Caramel apples! My royal lips have touched common carnival fare! I'm going to the buffet for some... hors d'oeuvres,” Prince Blueblood said, before walking off followed by Rarity.

Star Twinkle saw a little resemblance to the other pony he met before in terms of his character. Just imagining that Rarity wants to spend time with this pony was too much for Star Twinkle. Of course, Applejack was not too fond that he spoke of her food like like that.
In fact, it was angering her.

"I think they taste good," said Star Twinkle, trying to calm down Applejack who didn't seem to happy after Prince Blue blood's words.

“Well, no wonder nopony wants my food. They're fillin' up on those fancy-schmancy vittles. Well, my down-home apples are plenty good enough for this crowd. I'll just dress 'em up a bit and prove it to 'em,” she said before leaving the scene.

This was a sign for Star Twinkle to find some of his other friends to hang out with. After getting inside, he found Rainbow Dash, who stood a few hooves away from the Wonderbolts.

"Hey Rainbow Dash," Star Twinkle greeted in a slightly bored tone in his voice.

Rainbow Dash seemed a little happy to see Star Twinkle. He was surprised by that. He thought that she would not even pay attention to him when she had the chance to hang out with her lifetime heroes. Still, she quickly ran towards him before she greeted him.

"Star Twinkle! Perfect! Do you mind to assist me in something?" Rainbow Dash asked excitedly.

It was either helping her with something or being on his own again so he agreed to help.

"Alright, this will work for sure!" Whispered Rainbow Dash before putting on a mischievous smile.

"What will work?" Star Twinkle asked confused.

But the moment he said that Rainbow Dash kicked him in the air from behind. Star Twinkle panicked in the air but Rainbow Dash caught him again before he touched the ground and stood there as if she just saved the day.

After catching Star Twinkle, Rainbow Dash focused her sight on the Wonderbolts again who seemed to not have noticed all that. She then dropped him on the ground and walked off.

“What was that all about?”

Star Twinkle was still confused what that was going to accomplish but Rainbow Dash was already gone again.
He decided to just leave without asking about the matter. Of course, it was unnecessary annoying so he left before Rainbow Dash came back with another crazy idea.

“Pinkie Pie is always in for a party so she will probably have some time to spend,” Star Twinkle thought.

He then found Pinkie Pie in another hall singing a cheerful song in the middle of the hall. Something about a pony pokey? It was almost too cheerful for him. She probably was having the fun of her life. So Star Twinkle left the hall again in order to not ruin her fun right now

"Maybe Fluttershy wants to spend some time. She probably won't mind when I join her and her new animal friends. Right?" Star Twinkle asked himself while also trying to be optimistic.

He quickly found Fluttershy in the garden but he was a little confused why she was in front of some kind of animal trap. He quickly figured that she must have found it and now she is trying to disarm it or something so that no animal can be caught in it.

"I was not planning to spend the night with some animals...Knowing Fluttershy, she probably won't bother when I accompany her. And even if she was, she would never say it. I don't like being so pushy but it's either that or nothing..." he figured.

As expected Fluttershy was in the garden. But things looked a little strange. There was some weird contraption in front of her.

“I'll catch you yet, my pretties. Oh yes. As soon as one of you little birds or monkeys or bears touches this net... you'll be MINE! MINE!!!" She said laughing maniacally like she never did before.

Needless to say, Star Twinkle was shocked to see this, standing there with an open mouth.

"Aaand nothing it is," he said nervously while slowly backing away from Fluttershy.

"Now what?" He said frustrated.

Star Twinkle already knew that the Grand Galloping Gala would only be a regular party for him since he didn't have a goal, unlike his friends. But that night was no fun at all. It was mostly a waste of time. He just left without saying a word and wanted this night to be over.

He and his friends wanted to meet in a Donut Shop in Canterlot after the Gala was over. There was no surprise that he was the only pony who was already there.

"The others are probably having a lot of fun right now," Star Twinkle mumbled to himself.

He sat in one of the tables and got bored of waiting after just a few minutes. Since it was really quite, he closed his eyes out of boredom. He fell asleep and had a weird dream again. It was the first time after a long time since he had one of his dreams again. As usual, there were no pictures and only voices that Star Twinkle couldn't associate.

Don't try to do everything on your own.

Let me help you.

There is no reason for you to do it on your own.

Am I not your friend?

The words were getting quieter and quieter until he couldn't hear them anymore. Eventually, he woke up again, confused about where he was before he remembered again. But unlike before he was not alone anymore. His friends were at the same table as him now. They also looked a little dirty and tired.

"Slept like a baby colt," Applejack teasingly said.

“Sorry, I must have lost you after getting us some drinks,” Spike said.

“You're all here? Does that mean the Gala is over?” Star Twinkle asked.

There was a short silence on the table until everypony was bursting out in laughter. Star Twinkle wondered what was so funny all of the sudden.

“Not directly,” Rainbow Dash said.

“In fact,” Fluttershy added.

“It was the worst night ever!” Everypony said at the same time.

“You all sound overly happy, saying that,” Star Twinkle said confused.

Eventually, everypony explained the situation to Star Twinkle. Everything went completely wrong and the only thing they could do now was to just laugh it off. Star Twinkle should have tried that too. It would at least help him to cheer up.

“I just hope Princess Celestia isn't upset with us for ruining the Gala,” Twilight said.

“That was the best Grand Galloping Gala ever!” Said Princess Celestia, who stood in the entrance.

“Pardon me, Princess, but tonight was just awful,” Twilight said.

“Oh, Twilight. The Grand Galloping Gala is always awful,”

“It is?”

“That is why I was thrilled you were all attending. I was hoping you could liven things up a bit. And while the evening may not have gone as you planned, I'm sure you'll agree that in the end, it didn't turn out so bad for this group of friends,”

If everypony was behaving like Prince Blueblood and that other ponies that Star Twinkle met at the Gala, then that was actually really easy to believe.

“You're right, Princess. Friends have a way of making even the worst of times into something pretty great,”

“Yeah! Hanging out with friends!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Talking!” Fluttershy added.

“Laughing!” Pinkie Pie added.

“You mean doing exactly what I wanted to do the whole time?” Spike said.

“And exactly what I wanted too,” Thought Star Twinkle.

“Yes, Spike. You were right,” Said Twilight.

“As horrible as our night was...” Applejack said.

“...being together here has made it all better,” Rarity said.

”In fact, it's made it...” Pinkie Pie said.

“...the best night ever!” They all said while laughing.

Was it? He could see how the Princess was looking at him with a smile but he didn't know how to respond to that. If he could spend time with his friends, then this night would have turned a lot better. But it didn't come to that.

They all didn't spend too much time in the Donuts shop and left early. It was already pretty late.

Back home Star Twinkle lied on his bed and went to sleep. He was not really tired but it was late and all he could do was lie down on his bed to think.

“Friends make everything better? They make even the worst times great?”

He looked out of the window into the dark streets of Ponyville.

“Does that mean that my friends can make me happy?
…
I want that...
I want to be happy!
And I want to understand friendship!
…
Alright...
No more complaining.
Starting tomorrow, I will be a friend that can make my friends happy too!”

After those words, Star Twinkle closed his eyes and slept through the night.
Because hopefully the days from now on, will be a little more cheerful.

Now, it was time for him to try to understand friendship.

Because this is what he wants.

Right?

Author's Note:

Now Season 1 is finally over.

I don't know about you but I am looking forward to writing Season 2!

Because finally, the story I had in mind will start to take shape now soon.

And I hope some people will accompany me on this journey ^^.

Also, don't forget to leave a comment for everything that you like or dislike in this story.

See you in the next...err let's call it chapter ^^.

Comments

[Dusk Star Shine]

Well that is Season 1 all wrapped up, I can't wait to see the Chapter Episode for Discord and the Wedding Invasion, but the second one is Season 2's ending so that will be awhile, of course I also can't wait to see the Movie chapters too, I would love to see Star go through the portal with Twilight and see how he would react to the Human world, maybe have Sunset not only steal Twilight's element of Magic but Star's unknown Element too, she could think it would double her power in someway if she took his also.