Pony Tails

by Bluecatcinema

A Filly At Heart

Starlight made her way through Ponyville marketplace. Spike was in Canterlot on important business, so she had offered to pick up groceries for Twilight.

"...And half a dozen asparagus spears, please." She told one of the stall owners.

"Here you go." The stallholder passed her the spears. "That'll be ten Bits altogether."

Starlight used her magic to give the stallholder his payment.

"Thank you, come again." The stallholder smiled.

"I will if these cherries taste as good as they look." Starlight joked.

Having gotten everything on Twilight's list, Starlight made her way back to the castle, her saddlebags full. As she walked through the streets of Ponyville, she crossed paths with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Hi, Starlight!" Apple Bloom.

"Hi, girls." Starlight smiled.

Starlight had been introduced to the trio not long after becoming Twilight's student, both individually, and as a group (as Twilight still took the time to tutor them every so often). In Starlight's opinion, they were a rambunctious bunch, but also a very likeable group of fillies.

"What's up?" Scootaloo asked.

"Not too bad." Starlight declared. "Just been doing a little shopping for Twilight."

"Is that part of your friendship lessons?" Sweetie Belle frowned. "Because I'm not really seeing the lesson here..."

"No, I offered to get this stuff." Starlight chuckled. "Twilight may be my teacher, but she's also my friend. And from what I understand, friends help each other."

"What's it like bein' Twilight's friendship student, anyhow?" Apple Bloom asked. "Twilight's been teaching us too, but just stuff like potions and fixin' stuff."

"I'll bet friendship lessons are a little bit trickier." Sweetie Belle added.

"They can be." Starlight admitted. "But lucky for me, I have a great teacher, and good friends to help me."

"Yeah, Twilight is a real good teacher." Scootaloo nodded.

"The best." Apple Bloom agreed.

"She sure is. I just hope you don't resent me for taking up so much of her time." Starlight joked.

"No way." Scootaloo chuckled. "Besides, we have a ton of stuff to do with our time."

"Like crusading to help other ponies understand their Cutie Marks!" Sweetie Belle added.

"And how's that been going?" Starlight asked.

"Well, we don't exactly run into ponies with Cutie Mark problems all the time." Apple Bloom admitted. "But when we do, that's when we leap inta action!"

"Oh, yeah!" Scootaloo nodded.

"Remember last week, when we met that colt with a feather Cutie Mark?" Sweetie Belle recalled. "He thought it was because his special talent was bird calls, but we figured out he was actually pretty good at taking care of birds."

"Good catch." Starlight smiled. "You three really have a knack for this sort of thing. I know a little about what it's like to look at Cutie Marks the wrong way..."

The CMCs were unaware of Starlight's past, which was just fine with her. Her friends had deemed it unnecessary to make her darker days public, and she saw no reason to argue, since making friends would be so much harder otherwise. But she had no problem sharing minor details of her past with others.

"It's kinda ironic." Apple Bloom grinned. "We spent so much time trying to get our Cutie Marks, and now here we are, helping other ponies figure out what theirs really mean."

"Yeah, life's funny that way." Starlight nodded. "I, for one, never saw myself becoming the student of the Princess of Friendship. Not even close..."

"What did you see yourself becoming?" Scootaloo asked.

"It... doesn't matter now." Starlight shrugged awkwardly. "Because what I have now is way better than what I thought I wanted before."

"Us too." Sweetie Belle grinned. "We've always been close, but none of us imagined we'd actually share a special talent."

"But we do." Apple Bloom grinned. "And Ah think Ah speak fer all of us when Ah say we ain't complainin'."

"It's like destiny itself decided we oughta be BFFs!" Scootaloo cheered.

"'Course it did." Apple Bloom nodded.

"Crusaders forever!" Sweetie Belle declared, as the three of them bumped hooves.

"You're a lucky bunch of fillies, that's for sure." Starlight smiled. "Luckier than most."

"That's us." Apple Bloom nodded.

"We are pretty lucky, huh?" Scootaloo grinned.

"Thanks, Starlight." Sweetie Belle beamed. "That's a really nice thing to say."

"From one proud student of Twilight to three others, you're welcome." Starlight beamed. "Keep up the work."

The Crusaders smiled proudly.

"Well, It's been great talking to you girls, but I've got to get going." Starlight declared. "As nice a teacher as Twilight is, she probably doesn't have a high threshold for tardiness."

"We wouldn't know." Apple Bloom shrugged. "We always manage to show up on time."

"But there were some close calls." Scootaloo pointed out. "Remember last winter? The snow drift incident?"

"Don't remind me." Sweetie Belle shuddered. "I nearly turned into an ice cube. Good thing Twilight had the heat turned up..."

"Well, I've no intention of testing her." Starlight admitted. "Bye, girls!"

"Bye!" The Crusaders echoed, as Starlight continued on her path home.

"Nice kids." Starlight smiled to herself.

Starlight finally reached the castle soon after, and made her way into the kitchen to deposit the groceries. Twilight happened to be there herself, enjoying a sandwich.

"Welcome back, Starlight." Twilight smiled. "I'm guessing there were some long lines at the market?"

"Actually, I ran into the Cutie Mark Crusaders on the way back." Starlight declared. "We got to talking, and I guess I sort of... lost track of time."

"I don't blame you." Twilight smiled. "I know from experience that those three can be very... diverting."

"They are a very special group of fillies, though." Starlight admitted. "Like you and your friends, they all got their Cutie Marks at the same time. And those Cutie Marks are so similar to each other. I've never seen anything like it. The old me would have... almost approved of that."

"Cutie Mark magic is a powerful and mysterious thing." Twilight nodded. "But those three were true friends long before they got those Marks. They were determined to find their special talents, and no matter how many times they failed, they just kept on trying... together."

"If only I could have been more like them when I was their age." Starlight sighed. "After Sunburst got his Cutie Mark and went to magic school, I was devastated. I spent more than one lonely night cursing my own blank flank... before I decided Cutie Marks were the real culprit."

"You were just a filly at the time." Twilight consoled her. "And I've seen what can happen to even an adult pony when they're left behind by their closest friend..." Twilight's thoughts turned to her old friend Moondancer. "It can really leave some severe emotional scars."

"I guess in a way, I stayed a filly for a long time after that." Starlight mused. "I never really grew up. Even when I was plotting to create a utopia of equality, I was just a filly at heart. All that time, I focused on my own childish ideas of what the world should be like. I made my own little playground, out in the middle of nowhere, and threw tantrums whenever somepony who wouldn't play things my way showed up... like you and the others."

"Don't keep beating yourself up over that, Starlight." Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder.

"Trust me, I'm not." Starlight assured her teacher. "All that's in the past. I know that now. I'm just pointing out how different I was back then."

"Well, that's true." Twilight nodded. "And you've changed so much since then."

"Thanks to you, Twilight." Starlight smiled. "You helped me finally grow up. That selfish little filly is gone now, and a new, better mare has taken her place."

"She sure has." Twilight nodded. "But just because you're an adult doesn't mean you can't act like a kid sometimes. Just look at Pinkie Pie. She plays around like a little filly all the time. And that's what makes her so much fun to be with."

"I've noticed." Starlight grinned. "And I've heard Rainbow Dash can be quite the prankster."

"That's putting it mildly." Twilight declared. "And even I have my moments. You should have seen my last birthday party. I really cut loose that night..."

"You? Cut loose?" Starlight smirked. "I'll believe that when I see it..."

"Oh she of little faith." Twilight rolled her eyes. "But believe me or not, the lesson still holds true: A little fun can go a long way. Just because you're my student doesn't mean it should be all work and no play."

"I'll try to keep that in mind." Starlight nodded. "But for now, I think I'll put away these groceries."

"Here, let me help." Twilight offered. "It's only fair, since you're the one who bought them, and carried them home."

"This is definitely one time where work is more important than play." Starlight joked, as they put away all the groceries. "Do I get extra marks for arranging them in alphabetical order?"

"No, but I will make sure you get an extra helping at dinner tonight." Twilight smiled.

"Now there's an incentive..." Starlight chuckled.

The next morning, Starlight was taking a walk through Ponyville park. Suddenly, a ball bounced over to her.

"Huh?" She looked down.

"Hey, Starlight!" Apple Bloom called, as the CMCs rushed over.

"Well, hello again, girls." Starlight smiled. "What are you up to today?"

"We were just playing ball." Scootaloo declared. "It kinda got away from us for a second there."

"Sorry." Sweetie Belle added.

"That's okay." Starlight assured them. "No harm done."

"Don't suppose ya'd like tah join us?" Apple Bloom asked. "We could play some two on two."

"Yeah, right." Scootaloo scoffed. "I'm sure Starlight has some important grown-up stuff to do."

Starlight considered Twilight's advice for a moment.

"You know what? I think I will join you." Starlight nodded.

"Really?" Sweetie Belle smiled. "Great! I call Starlight on my team!"

"No fair!" Scootaloo pouted. "Why should you get her?"

"Because I called it." Sweetie Belle smirked.

"Yep, she did." Apple Bloom agreed.

"Eh, whatever." Scootaloo shrugged. "You're goin' down anyway."

"We'll see about that." Sweetie Belle declared. "Right, partner?"

"You said it, partner." Starlight grinned.

"Then let's go!" Apple Bloom kicked the ball.

"Get ready to lose!" Scootaloo teased.

"Not today!" Starlight tapped the ball lightly with her hoof (not wanting to be too rough with the fillies).

"This is when bein' from a family of apple buckers comes in handy!" Apple Bloom declared, kicking the ball hard.

"Nice." Sweetie Belle declared. "But we're just getting started."

"You tell 'em, Sweetie." Starlight chuckled.

Starlight deeply enjoyed herself playing with the CMCs. It had been so long since she had played like that. It reminded her of all the good times, before her life went off in such an awful direction. And she loved every minute of it.

'Guess I still am just a filly at heart.' She thought, as she headed back home. 'Not that's there's anything wrong with that. Not anymore, at least..'