Chapter 3: Lesson Zero (S2:E3)
My Little Pony: Nine Elements
Book 2
Written by Brandon Nell and Blake Hawkins
Chapter 3: Lesson Zero
One week after Discord was sealed away, Twilight and Spike were making a checklist early in the morning.
“Quill,” Twilight said. Spike placed several purple quills on the desk.
“Check,” the dragon said.
“Parchment,” Twilight said.
“Check,” said Spike as he placed more parchment on the desk.
“Extra ink,” Twilight said.
“Check again,” Spike said as he placed an ink well on the desk. He then placed another. “And the extra extra ink.”
“You remembered what I was going to say,” Twilight smiled. “That’s everything set up for before we start the checklist for things that need to be done before the day ends.”
“And now, we get started on making that,” Spike said.
“Right,” Twilight said. “Thank you, Spike. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She hugged the little dragon close. “If it wasn’t for you, Discord would still be free.”
“Hey,” Spike smiled. “It’s what I do.”
Later, Spike finished the list.
“Well done, Spike,” Twilight smiled. “We better drop my cape off at the cleaners first.”
“Good call,” Spike said, writing that down. “We should also return the chalkboard you borrowed from Miss Cheerilee.” He picked that up. “And pick up quills and parchment from the stationary shop.”
“Right,” Twilight said. “With all of the lists we make, it helps to have more in stock.”
“Personally,” Spike said. “I wouldn’t mind a way to make lists without using up parchment.”
“Like what?” Twilight asked curiously.
“I don’t know,” Spike admitted. “Maybe a tablet that can be used to write lists as long as we need and as many lists as we need.”* Spike had a look of contemplation. “I think I’m spending too much time with Pinkie.”
“Well,” Twilight said. “Until such a thing does exist, we’ll all have to work with what we’ve got.” She levitated Spike onto her back. “And of course, picking up the cupcakes for our picnic this afternoon.”
A little later, Twilight and Spike had dropped off Twilight’s cape at the cleaners, returned the chalkboard, and picked up the quill and parchment order. They soon arrived at Sugarcube Corner to pick up cupcakes. Mrs. Cake placed the box on the counter. She opened them to reveal thirteen vanilla cupcakes with raspberry frosting.
“Uh, I only ordered twelve cupcakes,” Twilight said to the plump mare.
“Yes, I know, dear,” Mrs. Cake responded. “Although, I had extra batter when I was baking this batch, so, I decided to make it a baker’s dozen.”
“You had extra?” Spike asked in surprise.
“I sent Pinkie to collect ingredients,” Mrs. Cake explained. “The list was quite long, so, she’ll be a while.”
“Oh, that explains it,” Spike said. They suddenly heard a grumbling noise that Twilight assumed was Spike’s stomach.
“I guess it’s about time for your snack, Spike,” Twilight said.
“This might surprise you,” Spike said. “But, that wasn’t my stomach.”
“I’m afraid that was mine,” Mrs. Cake admitted. “I’ve been working on those for a while and with my sweet tooth, I was tempted to have the extra one myself.”
“If that’s the case,” Spike said. “You can have it if you want, Mrs. Cake.”
“Well, that’s pretty sweet of you, dearie,” Mrs. Cake said as she helped herself to the extra cupcake. She then gave Spike a few donuts. “Here, you can have these for your snack, ‘Element of Unity.’”
“Thanks, Mrs. Cake,” Spike smiled. “Looks like this is the last free round for my coupon.” After Discord’s defeat, the Cakes gave Spike and the Guardians of Harmony a coupon for one free round of any baked treat a day for a week as appreciation for their part in saving Equestria.
“You’ve been so wonderful, Mrs. Cake,” Twilight smiled.
“Don’t mention it,” Mrs. Cake said. “We at Sugarcube Corner take pride in satisfying our customers.” She then rubbed her belly. “Our motto is never trust a skinny chef.”
“Isn’t your husband a skinny chef?” Spike asked.
“It’s a sensitive topic for him,” Mrs. Cake said. “That’s why he mostly handles the serving while I handle the food preparation.”
“Well, we should-” Twilight began, before she caught sight of the icing on the cupcakes. “Oh, dear.”
“Is something wrong?” Mrs. Cake asked.
“I just noticed that some extra icing ended up on a cupcake,” Twilight said. “And I don’t want to feel that any of our friends aren’t getting as much icing as another.”
“I’m pretty sure Pinkie’ll be the only one having any issue with that,” Spike said. “Besides, knowing her, she’ll eat more cupcakes than anypony else at the picnic anyway. With or without extra frosting.”**
“Hmm,” Twilight considered. “Yes, I suppose that’s true. Thank you, Spike. You saved me from spiraling.”
“That’s what I’m here for, mom,” Spike said. Mrs. Cake gave a little squee.
“How precious,” Mrs. Cake smiled. “I can hardly wait until our little one calls me ‘mom.’”
“You have foals on the way?” Twilight asked.
“No,” Mrs. Cake clarified with a minute trace of disappointment. “Not yet at least.*** I won’t go into details because of Spike.”
Twilight took the hint and carried Spike and the cupcakes away.
“Do you think they’ll have foals, mom?” Spike asked.
“The way those two love each other,” Twilight said. “I’m surprised they don’t have foals already.” I can tell by the slight disappointment that they’re trying, Twilight thought to herself.
Soon, they returned to the Golden Oak Library.
“Alright, it looks like we’ve got everything sorted out,” Spike said.
“Almost everything,” Twilight said.
Spike looked back over the list. “‘Triple-check checklist to ensure we didn’t miss anything when we double-checked the checklist.’ Check.” Spike suddenly grunted in pain.
“Are you alright, Spike?” Twilight asked with concern.
“I’ve been holding that quill so long,” Spike said. “I’m getting a claw cramp.”
“Thank you for your efforts all the same, Spike,” Twilight said. “I’ll get you some potassium-rich foods to help relieve you of your cramp.”
“Thanks, mom,” Spike said. “I’ll need the rest, especially since we don’t have anything to report to Princess Celestia this week.”
At those words, Twilight went stiff.
“We haven’t sent a friendship letter to Princess Celestia this week?!” Twilight gasped.
Spike grew a bit confused. “So?”
“What do you mean, ‘so?!’” Twilight said, panic present in her voice. “I’m supposed to send a letter to Princess Celestia every week telling her what I learned about friendship!”
“But, in the past year alone,” Spike pointed out. “There’s been two periods where you go for months without sending a letter and things have been fine. Why’s this any different?”****
“That’s two strikes on me already, Spike,” Twilight said, worriedly. “What if I miss this one and it’ll be my last strike and I’m out?!”
“I highly doubt that’ll happen,” Spike said. “If she hasn’t punished you for missing this many deadlines by now, odds are she never will.”
“She’s not only my teacher, Spike,” Twilight said. “She’s also one of the rulers of Equestria! She holds my very fate in her hooves! If she thinks I’m not taking my lessons on friendship seriously, she might send me back to Canterlot and make me prove that I have been taking my lessons seriously by giving me a test! What if I don’t pass?!”
Spike was concerned for his mother. “You’re psyching yourself out!”
Twilight tried hard to keep herself together. After a moment of panicked panting, she slowly started to regain her composure.
“You’re right, Spike,” Twilight said after she calmed down. “That’s not going to happen. Because I’m going to find somepony with a problem and help them before the day is over!”
Spike could only groan in frustration.
“So,” Twilight said. “Do you have any problems, troubles, conundrums, or any perplexities, major or minor, that I, as a good friend, can help you with?”
“I still have that claw cramp,” Spike said.
“That, I can do,” Twilight said. “It may not be letter to Princess Celestia-worthy, but, I can at least help you with this.” She gave him a banana.
So, Spike ate the banana. He then flexed his claw and he didn’t feel any pain. “Any other things I can help with?” Twilight eagerly asked.
“I’m good, but, thanks,” Spike said.
Twilight sighed in defeat.
“Well,” Twilight said with newfound determination. “If there aren’t any problems here, there must be another friend I can help out there.” She headed downstairs and left the library.
Spike could see where the situation was going and decided to do something about it. “I need to do something before things get worse,” he said as he went to the writing podium to draft a letter.*****
Later, Twilight was strolling through town.
“Okay, Twilight,” she said aloud to herself. “If I walk through Ponyville, I should come across at least one of my friends who might need my help.” She heard a familiar scream. “That sounds like Rarity! She must be in trouble!”
Twilight made her way to Carousel Boutique and found Rarity lamenting something.
“Why~?” Rarity sobbed. “Why did this have to happen?! Where could it possibly be~?!”
Twilight saw an opportunity to solve a problem.
“What’s going on, Rarity?” Twilight asked. “Is there a problem?!”
“I’ve lost my diamond-encrusted purple ribbon!” Rarity wailed. “I have searched high and I have searched low! Low and high, high and low. But, I can’t find it anywhere! I can’t possibly finish my latest creation without it!”
Kind of disappointing it’s such a minor problem, Twilight thought. But, beggars can’t be choosers. She stood triumphantly. “No need to worry, Rarity! I, as a good friend, will do my best to help you fi-”
“Oh, there it is!” Rarity interrupted with a smile.
Twilight couldn’t believe the problem was resolved before she had a chance to do anything.
“So, you had just lost your ribbon?” Twilight double-checked.
“Mm-hmm,” Rarity confirmed.
“And now you found it?” Twilight double-checked again.
“Correct,” Rarity said.
“So, you’re good?” Twilight said, beginning to back away in disappointment. “You don’t need anything else?”
“Well, there’s a couple of things,” Rarity admitted after thinking about it.
“Yes~?” Twilight said, regaining hope with cartoony stars in her eyes.
“Firstly, I received a shipment of emeralds this morning,” Rarity said. “I put aside a basket of them for Spike. Ideally, I’d deliver it to him myself, but, this creation has me preoccupied. I should have it ready before our picnic this afternoon. Could you possibly deliver the basket to him?”
“Oh,” Twilight said as she saw a basketful of emeralds on Rarity’s desk. “Okay.” She levitated the basket to her. “The other thing?”
“I left my measuring tape on my desk,” Rarity said. “If you wouldn’t mind levitating it over to me?”
Twilight was so disappointed, she didn’t even care if Rarity received it neatly. So, she levitated her measuring tape closer to Rarity’s peripheral vision.
“There you go,” Twilight said. “See you at the picnic later, I guess.”
Rarity noticed something seemed to be bothering Twilight, but, the lavender mare left before she could inquire what it was.
“Oh, dear,” Rarity said to herself. “I hope she’s alright.”******
After a quick stop at the library to give Spike the basket, Twilight was walking through town again.
“Okay,” Twilight said to herself again. “Maybe Rarity’s alright, but, there has to be somepony else who needs my help.” She spotted Pinkie carrying groceries on her back. “Pinkie! Maybe she’ll need help with her groceries. A perfect chance to help her.” She trotted to the party mare. “Hi, Pinkie. I see you’ve got quite a lot of groceries to carry. I’ve come to help you put them away.”
“Nah, it’s okay,” Pinkie said bluntly. “I’ve got everything under control!”
“You do?” Twilight asked.
“Yep!” Pinkie said, oblivious to Twilight’s distress.
“Oh,” Twilight said half-heartedly. “Okay.” And she walked off again.*******
After walking a bit, she saw Rainbow smashing a barn on Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight gasped.
“Rainbow is destroying one of Applejack’s barns!” Twilight exclaimed. “Rainbow must be mad at Applejack! She must hate her guts! This could be the perfect opportunity to help and learn about friendship!” She hurriedly galloped towards the cyan pegasus and used her magic to grab her by the tail.
“Hey!” Rainbow yelped. “Twilight, what are you doing?”
“Listen, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “I know you’re upset with Applejack, but, that’s no reason for you to destroy her property. Whatever issues you have between her are sure to be worked out easily.”
Rainbow was lost in the conversation.
“Uh, Twilight?” Rainbow asked. “What are you talking about?”
Twilight laughed coyly. “Rainbow, you don’t have to hide your feelings from me.”
She hurriedly set up a chaise lounge and set Rainbow on it. She even put on a pair of glasses and did her mane up in a professional looking bun, giving her a psychiatrist look. She cleared her throat.
“Now,” Twilight started. “Take a deep breath and tell me what happened between you and Applejack. What issues do you have with her?”
“I don’t have any issues with Applejack,” Rainbow said. “Not right now, at least.”
“You don’t?” Twilight asked, her mane bun came undone with surprise. “Then, why are you destroying one of her barns?”
“Because she asked me to while Caramel’s picking up building materials with Ash,” Rainbow explained. She then called over to Applejack, who was hiding in a trench nearby. “Isn’t that right, AJ?”
“That’s right,” Applejack confirmed while wearing a crash helmet. “We’re fixin’ ta put up a new barn, but, this one has ta come down first.”
“Can you even afford to put up a new barn?” Twilight asked.
“With the bits we got from stoppin’ Discord, we can,”******** Applejack said. “Plus, the wood in the original barn’s too rotten ta refurbish, so, we’re sellin’ it fer firewood. Get back to it, RD.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Rainbow called out. She then flew up for the finishing blow.
“Best take cover,” Applejack said to Twilight.
Rainbow then started to charge down, causing Twilight to yelp in surprise and leap into the trench next to Applejack. Rainbow crashed into the barn, creating a rainbow mushroom cloud.
“Yee-haw!” Applejack called. “Thanks loads, Dashie!”
Twilight groaned in frustration before heading off.
“Hey,” Rainbow said. “Did Twilight seem a little off to you, Applejack?”
“Yeah,” Applejack responded. “Wonder what’s botherin’ her.”*********
A bit later, Twilight was making her way to Fluttershy’s cottage.
“I don’t know why I didn’t think to come here first,” Twilight said to herself. “Fluttershy is always worrying about something. Perhaps helping her overcome a fear of hers will help.” She made her way to the yellow pegasus’ home and met a sight she wasn’t prepared for in the back yard. Fluttershy was face to face with a large brown-furred bear. It roared at her angrily. Fluttershy dashed underneath it between the legs. The bear was surprised with Fluttershy’s speed. Easy to say that Twilight was, too, going by the fact that her jaw dropped. She’s wrestling a bear?! she internally exclaimed. Fluttershy then kicked the bear down. She then lifted one of the bear’s back legs and was applying intense pressure on his back. And she’s winning?! The sight before her did little to alleviate her concerns. She then walked off in defeat. Had she stayed longer, however, she would have come to discover that Fluttershy wasn’t wrestling the bear. Instead, she was giving him a heavy-duty massage.
“You really should have come to me sooner, Harry,” Fluttershy said gently. “You were carrying so much tension in your shoulder.”
Later, Twilight was on a bench stroking her tail. With all of her stress, strands of it were parting out of place.
“It’s fine,” Twilight said with feigning confidence. “It’ll all be fine~ The day isn’t over yet.”
Twilight was so nervous with sweat and tears that a puddle had formed close by her. Twilight, being alone at the moment, was talking with her reflection on the surface of the puddle. In her panicked state, she started talking to herself.
“But, it will be over soon!” Twilight said nervously. “It’ll all be over! My studies, my time in Ponyville, all of it! No, Twilight. You’re a good student. You’ve got this! Oh, but, what if I don’t! You do! You just have to keep it together, Twilight. Keep… it… TOGETHER!”
Spike had arrived in time to see Twilight’s sanity slip.
“Mom, it’s okay,” he said gently. “I’m here.” Twilight heard the sound of laughter and began hyperventilating. “SNAP OUT OF IT!” Spike shouted.
“Huh-?!” Twilight stammered, shaking herself out of her panicked state. “What?”
“You’re worrying me, mom,” Spike said. “You’ve been so stressed, you forgot about the picnic.”
Twilight gasped. “The picnic! I’ve got to go. They’ll be worried about me. Come on, Spike.” She levitated Spike onto her back and carried the cupcakes with her magic. The little dragon was still worried.
Hopefully, they’ll learn something from her, Spike thought to himself. They might have better luck comforting her.
Meanwhile, Twilight’s friends were setting up the picnic when Rarity spoke up.
“Have any of you seen Twilight earlier today?” she asked.
“Rainbow n’ ah did,” Applejack answered. “She looked a might upset ‘bout somethin’.”
“That’s been the case with me, too,” Rarity said.
“Hopefully, there’s something we can do to help,” Fluttershy said kindly.
Suddenly, Twilight and Spike arrived. Twilight was rather disheveled as she let Spike slide down her back.
“Hey, Twilight,” Applejack said softly. “We saw ya walk off in a huff earlier. Ya doin’ okay?”
“Define ‘okay,’” Spike said.
“It’s because I’ve learned of something awful,” Twilight said worriedly.
“What is it?” the mares asked.
“I haven’t sent a friendship report to Princess Celestia for this week yet!” Twilight explained.
The response of the mares wasn’t what Twilight and Spike were hoping. They all sighed in relief.
“Is that all?” Rainbow said. “I thought it was some major emergency or something.”
Spike was frozen in place as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Twilight, however, was able to react.
“This IS a major emergency!” Twilight exclaimed. “If I don’t turn in this letter on time, I could be in serious trouble with Princess Celestia!”
“Twilight, darling,” Rarity said. “In the past year alone, there’s been two periods where you went for months without sending a letter.”**********
“Yeah,” Pinkie agreed. “Why’s this any different?”
“Yer gettin’ worked up over nothin’,” Applejack said.
“This isn’t nothing!” Twilight exclaimed. “This is everything! I’ve got to find a friendship problem to fix before sunset!”
Pinkie, however, found the idea of Twilight sweating such small matters amusing.
“Oh, Twilight,” Pinkie said. “You’re such a crack-up!”
“Sorry, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “But, yer sweatin’ the small stuff. Why don’t ya sit down n’ enjoy our picnic lunch?”
Twilight was even more frustrated that her friends wouldn’t help her and left off in a huff without bringing a still shocked Spike along. After a few steps, she teleported away.
“I’ve never seen Twilight so upset before,” Fluttershy said.
“You don’t think we’ve upset her, do you?” Rarity asked. Suddenly the sound of a kettle boiling could be heard. “Who’s in charge of the kettle?”
“I didn’t bring a kettle or anything for it to boil on,” Pinkie said.
They turned to find the source of the sound. It was Spike, turning red with anger. “Uh-oh…” was all the mares had time to say before Spike suddenly started shouting.
“WHAT THE TARTARUS IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU?!” Spike shouted at a volume so loud, their manes were blown back. “Do you even realize what you’re doing?! Twilight’s asking for help and you’re ignoring her! Friends don’t do that to their friends!”***********
“Well, come on,” Applejack said shakily. “She, o’ all ponies, should know how forgivin’ Princess Celestia is. She wouldn’t do anythin’ drastic over somethin’ minor.”
Spike reverted to tranquil fury while pointing at them. “True,” he admitted. “The princess has forgiven much worse than missing a self-imposed deadline, but, that’s no excuse for what you’re all doing right now!”************
“Spike’s right,” Fluttershy said as Spike’s words sank in. “It’s only been a week since our fight with Discord. Twilight isn’t allowing herself proper recovery time.”
The words sank in with the other mares, too. Rarity was next to speak up.
“It is true,” Rarity said. “That mess with Discord COULD bring about a certain degree of PTSD, which could certainly make Twilight believe things to be a lot worse than they actually are. Still, we shouldn't have been treating her like a foal. I just hope we can get to her before she actually does something rash.”*************
“With her teleportation spell,” Applejack stated. “She could be anywhere in town. She’s the only one o’ us that can teleport.”
“So, what can we do?” Rainbow asked.
“Here’s a productive suggestion,” Spike said. “We split up and look all over town.”
“N’ once we find her,” Applejack said. “We’ll all give her a heartfelt n’ meanin’ful apology.”
“What about the picnic?” Pinkie asked.
Spike pinched his brow. “For crying out loud, Pinkie,” he said. “My mom’s sanity is hanging by a thread and food is your main concern.” He then threw his arms out. “The picnic’ll have to be rescheduled until we get Twilight some help.”
“Good call, Spike.” Applejack said. “Thanks fer settin’ us straight. Come on, y’all. Let’s fan out n’ search fer our friend!”
After the mares split up, Spike made a beeline for the library. That’s the most likely place she’ll be, he thought. If she’s not there, I can at least send another urgent letter to the princess.
Inside the Golden Oak Library, Twilight was looking out the window while sitting on her bed.
“Clock is ticking, Twilight,” she said to herself. “Clock… is… ticking!” It was clear that Twilight was on edge. “Keep it together, Twilight.” She then focused her attention on a nearby chest in her room. “Well… if I can’t find a friendship problem… I’ll make a friendship problem!”
She levitated something out of the chest and teleported out just as Spike made his way to the room.
“Mom?” Spike called. No answer. “Doesn’t sound like she’s here.” He made his way to the podium. “Either way, I have to alert the princess.”
A short time later, Twilight peeked out of a bush to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders playing with a rubber ball. They were all laughing happily as they passed the ball from one filly to the next. Suddenly, the ball had Twilight’s magic aura. The fillies looked confused as it expanded and warped out of its spherical shape.
“What in–” Apple Bloom started before the ball exploded. The fillies yelped in surprise, not just because of the ball exploding, but, also seeing Twilight in her unhinged state.
“HeY, gIrLs!” Twilight said.
“Oh!” Apple Bloom said in surprise. She was unsettled by Twilight’s appearance, but, she still remained polite. “Hi, Twilight. How’s it go-” Twilight cut her off.
“Oh, GrEaT!” Twilight said. “JuSt GrEaT!” Her eye twitched.
“Uh, Twilight?” Scootaloo said. “Are you feeling okay?”
Twilight ignored the question. “I hAvE sOmEtHiNg FoR yOu ThReE~” She levitated something beside her. It was a dusty gray pony doll with dark gray strands of yarn for her mane and tail. The doll also had lopsided dusty button eyes and a pair of blue pants with white polka dots. It was clear that the pony doll hadn’t been touched, let alone played with, in years. One of the button eyes was loose. “ThIs Is SmArTy PaNtS,” she explained. “ShE wAs MiNe WhEn I wAs A fIlLy AnD nOw I’m GiViNg HeR tO yOu!”
The fillies grew more disturbed.
“Uh,” Scootaloo said uneasily. “She’s… great.”
“Yeah…” Apple Bloom said with equal uncertainty.
“I really like her… mane,” Sweetie Belle said, unsure of what exactly to say.
“That’s the best you could come up with?” Scootaloo whispered.
“What did you expect?” Sweetie Belle whispered back indignantly. “I’m nervous. It doesn’t help that Twilight’s acting all crazy and I’m being put on the spot.”
“ShE eVeN cOmEs WiTh HeR oWn NoTeBoOk AnD qUiLl,” Twilight continued, giving the girls the aforementioned accessories. “FoR wHeN yOu WaNt To PrEtEnD sHe’S dOiNg HeR hOmEwOrK!”
Once again, the Crusaders found themselves scared and confused.
“Gee, Twilight,” Apple Bloom said. “That’s, uh… great.”
“Yeah…” Scootaloo put in.
Sweetie Belle couldn’t think of anything to say. Apple Bloom gave her a gentle tap on the shoulder and restated her statement earlier. “I really like her… mane?” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom facehoofed in response.
“I jUsT hOpE,” Twilight added. “ThAt ThE fAcT tHaT tHeRe ArE tHrEe Of YoU aNd OnLy OnE oF hEr DoEsN’t BeCoMe A pRoBlEm! I sUrE wOuLdN’t WaNt To CaUse A rIfT bEtWeEn SuCh GoOd FrIeNdS~! So, WhO WaNtS To PlAy WiTh HeR fIrSt?”
“Twilight’s going crazy,” Scootaloo whispered to the other fillies out the side of her mouth.
“Goin’?” Apple Bloom responded likewise. “She’s there.”
“Why don’t you play with Smarty Pants first, Scoots?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Oh, no,” Scootaloo said. “You should play with her first, Sweetie Belle. After all, you really like her mane.”
The Crusaders began trying to get each other to play with the doll when neither wanted to. Twilight saw that her plan wasn’t working.
I’ve got to think of something, Twilight thought to herself. She then remembered a spell she came across in her studies that would make anypony other than the caster become obsessed with whatever object was enchanted by it just through eye contact. I’ve got it!
“Oh, you’re going to like Smarty Pants,” Twilight said as her horn illuminated. “You’re going to like her more than anything~!” Her horn projected a stream of magical hearts to the doll.
Once the spell was cast, the Cutie Mark Crusaders got a look at Smarty Pants. One glimpse of the doll and the fillies’ eyes turned to hearts. They had fallen victim to the spell.
“I want it~!” Scootaloo said.
“Ah need it~!” Apple Bloom said.
“I really like her mane!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
The Crusaders then proceeded to wrestle each other over the doll.
“The ‘want it, need it’ charm,” Twilight said with a smirk. “Works as well as the spell book said. Okay, girls. Let’s break it up. I think we all learned an important lesson about-” However, the fight continued. “Come on, girls. We’re all friends here. Don’t you think you ought to share?”
“No way!” Apple Bloom said.
Twilight then remembered the books warning that ponies under the spell become single mindedly obsessed with the enchanted object to the point they can’t be reasoned with and even resort to violence to claim it.
“Oh, no…” Twilight said worriedly. “I think I made the problem too big. I have to undo this spell quick!” Unfortunately, this was easier said than done. With the fillies fighting each other, she couldn’t get a good shot of Smarty Pants. Fortunately for her (at least at the time), Big McIntosh was walking across the grassy plain. Twilight quickly made her way to him. “Hi, Big Mac. Think you can get that doll away from the Cutie Mark Crusaders without looking too deeply at it?”
Big McIntosh looked at the situation. “Eeyup,” he said.
So, with little effort, he grabbed a hold of the scruff of Smarty Pants’ neck. Twilight sighed in relief.
“Thank you, Big Mac,” Twilight smiled. Her smile fell flat when she saw the stallion’s eyes become hearts. The three fillies broke their fight apart and chased after Big McIntosh.
“Hey!” Apple Bloom called out. “Give her back!”
“She’s mine!” Sweetie Belle called.
“Not if I get to her first!” Scootaloo growled.
Twilight became more distressed as she remembered that the book also warned that the spell grew more powerful the more ponies fell victim to it.************** “Oh, no!” Twilight moaned. “What have I done?!” Within minutes, nearly the whole town fell victim to the spell.
Meanwhile, Spike and Twilight’s friends regrouped, neither having any success in finding their friend.
“We searched practically everywhere for her,” Fluttershy said. “Where could she be?”
“Well, look on the bright side,” Pinkie said. “How bad could things have gotten in an hour?”
Pinkie spoke too soon as she saw various ponies charging towards Big McIntosh, the stallion still holding onto Smarty Pants.
“Does that answer your question?” Spike asked flatly.
“You don’t suppose Twilight had anything to do with this, do you?” Rarity asked.
“It’s both the ladybug and quesadilla incidents all over again,”*************** Spike said.
“Uh,” Applejack started. “We’re goin’ ta have ta talk ‘bout that at some point where there ain’t a disaster. What in the hay is goin’ on over there?”
Twilight’s doll landed nearby and Rainbow turned to look at it. Fortunately, a quick-thinking Twilight turned her away just in time.
“Don’t look at it!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Don’t look at what?” Rarity asked.
“My doll!” Twilight exclaimed. “I put an enchantment upon it, but, things got completely out of hoof!”
“Why would you enchant your doll?” Fluttershy asked, hardly able to believe the situation reached this severity.
“Because none of you bothered helping me,” Twilight said. “I decided to take matters into my own hooves! But, my desperation made me forget warnings about the enchantment! Now, there’s no way I can fix this and the day’s almost over!”
“About that,” Applejack started. “Twilight, we’re-”
“Twilight Sparkle!” a familiar voice exclaimed.
Up above was Princess Celestia. She had an expression on her face that was a cross between firmness and determination. With a bright flash of light, the enchanted ponies came back to their senses. Most of the ponies looked at the ragtag doll on the ground. Mayor Mare even blushed with embarrassment. The crowd separated, silently agreeing to never discuss this again. However, Big McIntosh looked to make sure there were no witnesses and discreetly took Smarty Pants away. Princess Celestia then landed before Twilight.
“Meet me in the Golden Oak Library, Twilight,” Princess Celestia said sternly. “There’s something I must discuss with you privately.”
And with that, Princess Celestia turned and walked to the Golden Oak Library. Twilight sighed sadly. As she walked, she turned back towards her friends.
“Goodbye, girls,” she said. “If you care to visit, I’ll be in magic kindergarten in Canterlot.” As she trotted off, she added, “Thanks for nothing.”
“Magic kindergarten?” Fluttershy asked, a heartbroken tone in her voice.
“Canterlot?” Rainbow added, her voice also having a heartbroken tone.
“Oh, no,” Pinkie said sadly. “We really are terrible friends! We’ll never see Twilight again!”
“We cannot allow this!” Rarity said. “We must do what we should have done!”
“Will it even matter at this point?” Applejack said.
“The way I see it,” Spike said. “You can sit around and wallow in your guilt or you can do what you should’ve done and attempt to be there for my mom. If it doesn’t work, you can at the very least say you put in the effort.”
“For Twilight,” Fluttershy said. “I choose option B. Come on, everypony!”
At the library…
“I know I shouldn’t have put the ‘want it, need it’ spell on my Smarty Pants doll,” Twilight said before a stern-looking Princess Celestia. “But, I’m supposed to send you a letter every week. I missed the deadline. I’m a bad student. I’m… tardy.”
Celestia wore a calm expression. “Twilight,” she said. “It’s not mandatory for you to send a letter every week. It never was.”
“I-it wasn’t?” Twilight stammered.
“No,” the princess assured. “In the past year alone, there’s been multiple months-long intervals between letters. In that time, have I punished you for missing these self-imposed deadlines?”****************
“Well,” Twilight said. “No, but, I was worried that if I missed this one, you would be mad at me.”
The princess sighed. “Twilight,” she asked. “How long have you been my student?”
“Since I was six years old,” Twilight answered. “A little over a decade now.”
“In that time,” Celestia said. “Have I ever given you the impression that I lose my temper over something like forgetfulness?”
“Well,” Twilight said. “No. It’s just… I didn’t want to let you down is all.”
At that moment, the Golden Oak Library’s front door slammed open. Spike and Twilight’s friends came in. Celestia and Twilight focused their attention on the five mares.
“Wait!” Rainbow called.
“You can’t punish Twilight!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“It wasn’t her fault!” Applejack added.
“Yes, it was ours!” Rarity included.
“I’m listening,” the princess said.
“Please, your highness,” Fluttershy said. “We all saw that Twilight was upset about something.”
“But, we didn’t think what she had to worry about was even anything worth worrying about!” Rainbow added.
“So,” Applejack continued. “When she stormed off and teleported in a huff, none o’ us tried ta stop her until Spike set us straight.”
“As Twilight’s good friends,” Rarity added. “We should have taken her feelings seriously and been there for her with or without prompting.”
“Please don’t take her away from us just because we were too insensitive to help her,” Fluttershy concluded.
“And you didn’t take her feelings seriously before?” Princess Celestia asked.
“Of course we didn’t,” Pinkie said. “We knew you wouldn't do something as severe as Twilight seemed to think over something as minor as missing a deadline. And SHE probably would know that too if she weren't still recovering from the fight with Discord.”
“She might have been making a mountain out of a molehill,” Rainbow added. “but, yeah. She wouldn't have resorted to anything drastic if we had actually took the time to try to calm her down. Spike was right: we were treating her like a foal. We should have been doing a better job taking her fears seriously, especially with that PTSD stuff Rarity mentioned. Even if A FEW of the worries of others might SEEM silly to us at times, we have to keep in mind that, sometimes, a few of our worries might also seem silly.”
“We would be looking for somebody to talk our concerns over and we should give the same courtesy,” Rarity concluded.*****************
“Hmm,” Princess Celestia said after they finished. “It sounds to me like all of you have learned a valuable lesson about friendship today.” The five mares nodded. She then smiled knowingly. “Very well. I’ll forget Twilight’s ‘punishment’ on one condition.”
“Anything!” the mares eagerly accepted.
“From this day forth,” Princess Celestia decreed. “I would like you all to report to me your findings on the magic of friendship, when, and only when, you happen to discover them. Gaps between them will only be an issue if they exceed five years.”******************
The mares agreed and they happily cheered, knowing that Twilight would still be living in Ponyville with them. At that moment, Twilight had a thought.
“Princess Celestia,” she said. “How did you know I was in trouble?”
“Spike sent two messages to me throughout the day,” the princess explained. “He made me aware that you were letting your fears get the better of you. I commend him for taking your feelings seriously from the start.” Spike nodded modestly. “Now, if you will excuse me, I must get back to Canterlot. I’m expecting some mail.” Princess Celestia winked at the ponies and Spike. She then opened the doorway to the balcony and she flew up to the mountain-mounted castle.
Spike promptly made his way to the writing podium. “Everypony ready?”
“We sure are,” Applejack smiled. She then modestly took off her hat. And this was the letter they all wrote.
Dear Princess Celestia.
We’re writing to you today because we all learned a valuable lesson about friendship. We learned that you should take your friend's worries’ seriously, even if you think what they have to worry about isn’t worth worrying about. And, that you shouldn’t let your worries turn a small problem into a very big one.
Signed, your humble subjects,
Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie.
Spike finished writing the letter, rolled it up, and sent it away with his fire breath. Pinkie had a worried expression on her face. “Let me guess,” Spike said flatly. “You’re worried about the picnic?”
“No,” Pinkie said. “And it’s not about any parties, either.”
“Oh,” Spike answered in surprise. “Then, what are you worried about?”
“What if,” Pinkie said. “We forget this whole lesson, something worse happens, and the princesses can’t fix it that time?”
“Do you seriously think we’d forget something like this?” Rainbow asked.
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Spike said. “You all forgot that friends are supposed to be there for their friends today, which caused the problem in the first place.”*******************
Rainbow, after a few seconds, simply stated, “Yeah, we’re idiots.”
“Luckily,” Spike said. “I asked the princess for a little something in my first letter to her as part of a contingency.” He held up an inkwell.
“Ain’t that the inkwell that came with that toy Twilight had?” Applejack asked.
“No,” Spike said. “This is what I asked the princess to get. It’s memory ink.”
“What does it do?” asked Fluttershy.
Spike explained, “Scholars would use this ink to write messages on their hooves to ensure they wouldn’t forget those messages.”
“Ah,” Rarity said, getting the idea. “So, you’re thinking that we write down this idea with the ink so that we wouldn’t forget what we learned today.”
“Bingo,” Spike nodded. “And the best part is that even if the ink gets washed off, if any of us forget this lesson for any reason, the message will reappear.”
The mares all smiled at how pragmatic their youngest friend was.
“Everypony, put your hooves out into a circle,” Spike said. They all did so and Spike wrote “Smarty Pants,” on each of their hooves and his own claw.
“Thanks, Spike,” Rainbow said.
“I’m including myself to ensure fair play,” Spike said.
“Good idea,” Pinkie said. “You do know a lot, but, everypony makes mistakes, even the best of us like you.”
“Ya may be younger n’ us,” Applejack said, rubbing his head. “But, sometimes, ya show more maturity n’ most adult ponies.”
“He really does,” Twilight said. She then gave him a loving nuzzle. “Thank you, Spike. Like I said this morning, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“So say us all,” Rarity agreed.
“Twilight,” Fluttershy said. “We’re really sorry about before.”
“It’s fine,” Twilight said. “In retrospect, I probably could’ve handled you picking today to stop being such a scaredy pony better.”
“Hmm?” Fluttershy said, confused. “I’m still a scaredy pony. It’ll probably be a long, long, long time before I'm not one, especially with help from my friends. What made you think I wasn’t a scaredy pony?”
Twilight became confused herself. “I saw you wrestling a bear and winning,” she said.
“Wrestling a…” Fluttershy started before blushing. “Oh, Twilight. I wasn't wrestling the bear. I was giving Harry a massage.”
Twilight was having difficulty processing this. “If you were massaging him, why were you so aggressive?” she asked.
“If you ever tried to massage a bear,” Fluttershy said. “You would know.”
“She ain’t kiddin’,” Applejack said. “Ya know them soft pretzels at Sugarcube Corner?”
“I’ve grabbed a few for Spike and myself when we need a little salt in our diet,” Twilight said. “Why?”
“Ah tried givin’ Harry a massage as gentle-like as ya please,” Applejack explained. “N’ mah legs ended up lookin’ like that.”
“Oh,” Twilight winced. “Well, I’m sorry for making that assumption, Fluttershy.”
“That’s the thing about assuming,” Rainbow said. “It makes an ass of you and me.”
“True,” Twilight said. “It seems we all have a lot to learn, especially with my jumping to conclusions.”
“This time,” Rarity said. “We’ll all be learning about friendship together.”
With that, the mares and Spike all hugged each other. Pinkie even eased up on her usual hugging strength.
End of chapter.
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If this is for the Canterlot Wedding….THANK YOU!
Seriously, this is something I ALWAYS hated.
Celestia, Twilight friends and even Spike abandoned her and didn’t even BELIEVE or take her side
Spike been with her for so long and at this point the other members of the Mane 6 known Twilight for a long time now, and the fact they didn’t believe their own friend and own student (in Celestia case)
Has always put a sour taste in my mouth
11654018
It was. In my take, Spike and the Mane 5 will be replaced by Changelings before the rehearsal.
11654021
See THAT is what’ve should’ve happened and would’ve made more sense in the canon
11654023
I also had the memory ink to remind them.
I love how Spike was in the story. And how the main six what to. How they considered twilight's feelings. And learn the friendship lesson together. And how Twilight and Spike on Mom and son still. And how it reflexes Spike the Bone dragon of how Spike was calming Twilight down just like how Spike the bony dragon did. And keep up the good work I love your story so far. And please make more chapters. And I love how you betrayed the cmcs also. And thank you for the story.
11654032
You mean portrayed.
Right.
11654038
I haven’t actually read Spike the Brony Dragon.
You should it is a good story. I will recommend it. And keep up the good work please and thank you. And please make more I love you work.
11654043
This stuff takes time.
OK and thank you for the story.
Wondering for Canterlot Wedding if Rarity's Mystic Eyes of Detail and Applejack's lie detecting abilities in this version will also play a factor in the figuring out that evil Cadance is an imposter? Heck with you stating the Guardians of Harmony (minus Twilight) will be replaced by Changelings before rehearsal, is it possible those abilities would be a factor in Chrysallis trying to get rid of Rarity and Applejack as quick as possible to avoid getting found out?
11654076
Rarity and Applejack don’t know Cadence very well at that point, so, Rarity wouldn’t be able to notice anything unusual about her behavior and Applejack’s Mystic Eyes have to be consciously activated. Besides, changelings would be smart enough to find workarounds.
That was a great chapter!
G5, let me guess.
Love the foreshadowing. They will have their babies soon.
Also loved how everybody got some kind of reward for defeating Discord.
Glad the others were portrayed better than they were.
That part was unexpected for me where he blew up at the others
(Top Cat voice) "Don't you ever think of anything but food? We've got more to worry about than a picnic".
Also loved the foreshadowing of "A Canterlot Wedding" and I'm glad that the Mane Fie and Spike will be replaced by changelings because that makes a lot of sense.
11654018
Let's not forget that it also led to many fanfics where Twilight abandons everybody or turns evil.
11654150
When Sunset returns, actually.
11654152
I ain’t going that route.
11654161
I know that. I was just pointing it out. I mean: It's gotten really old already, right?
11654164
Yeah.
11653651
That looks great!
Who made those?
Are you planning to do Ponyville confidential?
11654181
I didn’t. I don’t have the talent for it.
11654182
Absolutely not! No! Never! Land of a thousand Nopes! Nein! Nyet!
11654187
How come? You could have it where Spike tells the mane 6 that might be going too far with their anger towards the cmc.
11654185
I wasn't referring to you?
I was wondering to who else that isn't you that did those credits.
I see the memory ink is how Spike finds out there is imposters?
11654196
There’s the hypocrisy of the Mane 6. They enjoy embarrassing gossip about others, but, they only start disliking it when they’re being gossiped about. Not only that, but, said gossip came from a newspaper for a school they don’t even go to. Plus, Twilight, who’s supposed to be the most levelheaded of the Mane 6, childishly put up a force field around the library, ignoring the fact that someone BESIDES the CMC would come. Plus, not a single one of them thought to ask the CMC for their side of the story (being blackmailed into posting more gossip). There’s also Rainbow making it rain on the CMC, which is just cruel. I mean, seriously, the Mane 6 have defeated Nightmare Moon and Discord at that point, yet, they start acting like foals over a school newspaper?! That’s a complete loss of character development!
11654203
Spike gets replaced by a changeling the same time as Twilight’s friends.
Hello there. Thanks very much for getting the next chapter up. REALLY appreciate you going to the effort, especially on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. And, also, thanks very much for liking a few of my ideas enough to use them. The foreshadowing concerning the Cake Kids was really good as well as the foreshadowing for other future episodes. Definitely liked Spike helping the rest of the Mane Six realize how badly they messed up AND the reason Celestia was needed to fix the mess. Especially loved the end with Twilight's hugging Spike.
REALLY looking forward to more of this.
11654222
Thanks.
This worked out better. Even though the girls dismissed Twilight fretting over nothing, they still should've looked at it through her POV and calmed her down in a much better way. And at least Spike got them to see much earlier on how Twilight was feeling from this
11654271
Yeah.
11654206
I've always felt that that particular episode was one of the weakest, as every single character (including Cherilee, who should have been adult enough to realize how DT's character was so power-driven and snobby) seemed to lack any intelligence. The CMC's should at least taken their problems to Cherilee at the very least and explain how they're being blackmailed.
Lesson Zero is just pure Twilight. Much alike to the episode where she is visited by her future self, only to end up worrying herself over nothing...
11654283
Yeah.
11654283
Pure Twilight is one refers to as Twilighting as the other characters do by season 9:
Also sensing that the tablet foreshadowing is for when Twilight and Spike visit the human world in Equestria Girls (with pony Sunset likely trying to integrate modern Earth technology with Equestria once she returns there).
11654344
Bingo.
11654021
Wonder if the memory ink on them taking Twilight's paranoia more seriously will affect the 2017 movie also seeing how that also had them (except Spike this time) leave Twilight after a bad argument over her stealing Queen Novo's pearl and the Mane 5 goofing around and not taking the threat as seriously as Twilight? Granted that was more a case of wanting some space to cool off since the next scene with the Mane 5 after they leave Twilight and Spike does have Applejack mention wanting to check in on Twilight (even before that when she left Twilight, Pinkie simply just said she didn't wanna talk to her now meaning she likely just wanted space) even before Spike tells them about Twilight being captured by Tempest Shadow.
11654448
We'll have to wait and see.
11654451
Fair. Also on the subject of the 2017 movie, will Sunset, Starlight, and Trixie also be accompanying the Mane 6 + Spike on their journey there since they are part of the Guardians of Harmony here (with the movie between seasons 7 and 8, and those three already joining the group long before then)?
11654469
Yes.
11654336
Aaaannnnddd, you missed my point. What I was referring to was not season nine, but rather normal Twilight in her most OCD form. Read my words again, plz.
Nice job, I liked how Spike made the girls see sense, instead of what happened in the end of the tv version.
11654867
Thanks.
11654207
So he is just cocooned like in TWABA?
Oh...
11655609
It makes more sense than him abandoning his mother figure.
Oh boy lesson zero
Aka the TWILIGHTING moment
11656969
How about my take?
11655615
Still just him being hostage like that just like in the season 6 finale is an issue though..