Pony Tails

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Stories Never End

As the light of Celestia's sun flooded across Ponyville one morning, Starlight Glimmer awoke from the previous night's slumber. Yawning lightly, the Unicorn rubbed her eyes, greeting the new day.

"Another day, another friendship lesson." She smiled.

As she got out of bed, she spared a glance at a photo by her work desk; It was of herself, Twilight and her friends, Spike, and the ponies of her former village, taken during the Sunset Festival. Starlight couldn't help but smile whenever she looked at that picture. That day was one of the best she'd ever had. The day she'd finally put aside her doubts about being a leader, all the worries about whether she had truly changed for the better. The day she helped saved Equestria from Queen Chrysalis's scheme, and finally made peace with her past.

'What a day that was.' She thought to herself. 'But technically, the big mission started at night, so I guess you could call it twenty-four hours. But what a twenty-four hours...'

After her twisted attempt to bring "equality" to Equestria, and her almost ruining the country through her time-traveling revenge against Twilight, Starlight was proud to have finally done something that had had a positive impact on Equestria. She could only imagine it had felt just as good for Twilight and her friends every time they had saved Equestria.

'And they're batting like, a dozen.' Starlight smiled. 'Then again, who's keeping score?' She shrugged. 'As long as Equestria's safe, does it really matter who's doing the saving?'

Starlight made her way down to the kitchen, where Twilight and Spike were already eating their breakfast.

"Good morning, Starlight." Twilight smiled.

"Morning, Twilight." Starlight grinned. "Morning, Spike."

"Somepony's in a good mood today." Spike declared, getting Starlight some pancakes.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Starlight beamed. "Everything just seems so... perfect lately. There's been no magical catastrophes, no dangerous creatures, no invasions... no trouble of any kind. Just regular, peaceful, day-to-day life."

"You're tellin' me." Spike grinned.

"I'd like to think it'll stay that way." Twilight admitted. "But there's always some crazy thing that pops up when you least expect it."

"I've noticed that." Starlight said drily.

"Thankfully, those events are few and far between, so we can enjoy these moments of peace in the meantime." Twilight declared.

"Oh, I intend to." Starlight chuckled.

"But even day-to-day life has it's moments." Twilight noted. "A lot of exciting things happen here in Ponyville."

"No kidding." Spike nodded. "Remember last year's Applewood Derby? Boy, that was a mess."

"And before that, we had the Bugbear attack, then the delegation from Yakyakistan." Twilight recalled. "It's debatable which event caused more harm to the town..."

"And that's just the tip of the iceberg." Spike noted. "Before that, there was Tirek's attack, the Plunder Vines, Trixie's reign, the Pinkie Pie clone stampede-"

"'Pinkie Pie clone stampede'?" Starlight frowned.

"Long story." Twilight declared. "But the point is, Ponyville isn't such a quiet little town. All the ponies here have their own adventures and stories. Like the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They're always going off on their own little adventures, mostly revolving around helping ponies understand their Cutie Marks."

"They sure are active little fillies." Starlight noted. "I don't remember being quite so motivated when I was their age."

"Me neither." Twilight admitted. "Kids these days..."

"At least they know what they want out of life." Starlight noted. "Speaking of, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Well, me and Spike have to head over to Canterlot for a quick presentation." Twilight revealed.

"Yeah, 'quick'..." Spike snorted.

"We'll be back in a few hours." Twilight smiled. "Until then, why you just... relax, and take some well-earned time off?"

"Okay." Starlight nodded. "Maybe I'll take a walk around town. It is a beautiful day, and I should enjoy it, just in case something crazy happens later."

"I'd say there's about a fifty/fifty chance." Twilight chuckled.

After finishing breakfast, Twilight and Spike set off for Canterlot. Shortly after, Starlight was making her way through Ponyville, sharing "hello's" and friendly waves with the townsfolk she had gotten to know over the past year.

"Hi, Starlight!" Apple Bloom called, as she and her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders crossed her path.

"Hi, girls." Starlight smiled. "What are you up to today? Important Crusader business."

"Nah, we're just headin' over to Sugarcube Corner." Scootaloo declared.

"Pinkie Pie told us she's made a new style of cupcake: raspberry vanilla chocolate swirl!" Sweetie Belle declared.

"Sounds tasty." Starlight smiled. "I might just try one myself sometime."

"Pinkie said they'll probably be in high demand, so we'd better hurry and get sum, fast." Apple Bloom declared. "See ya later, Starlight!"

"Bon appetit, girls." Starlight beamed.

All that talk of baking put Starlight in mind of her old friend Sugar Belle, who was just as good a baker as Pinkie Pie.

'Maybe I should invite her to Ponyville sometime.' She mused. 'Just imagine what kind of culinary wonders she and Pinkie could cook up together...'

As Starlight kept walking, she saw more denizens of Ponyville enjoying the day. Cranky Doodle Donkey and his wife Matilda were sitting on a bench together, while Petunia Paleo was once again digging for hidden treasures.

As Starlight passed by Carousel Boutique, Rarity came outside, disposing of some scraps of fabric.

"Morning, Rarity." Starlight smiled.

"Good morning, darling." Rarity said, elegantly dropping the scraps into her trash can.

"I take it you've been busy today." Starlight noted.

"Oh, just working on a new Spring line." Rarity declared. "...In fact, I could use some assistance. Would you mind modeling my latest work?"

"Not at all." Starlight nodded.

Moments later, Starlight was standing on the runaway of Rarity's Boutique, modeling a powder blue outfit with gold trim and sequins, while Rarity was recalling the time the outfits she made for Twilight and her friends for their first Grand Galloping Gala had earned the acclaim of Hoity Toity himself.

"...And then Hoity Toity told me he wanted a dozen of each outfit by the following Tuesday." Rarity recalled.

"Whoa, a dozen?" Starlight frowned. "Sounds like a really tall order."

"Oh, it was." Rarity nodded. "But I pulled it off. And let's face it, compared to my current rate of business, that was a mere trifle."

"I shouldn't be surprised you've done so well." Starlight admired her outfit. "You sure have a way with fashion."

"Why, thank you." Rarity smiled. "But this ensemble needs just a little something more..." She added a small diamond to the chest area. "Ah, perfect!"

"I'm sure it is." Starlight smiled, gently removing the outfit.

"Let me know if you want one of your own, darling." Rarity smiled.

"Believe me, you'll be the first to know." Starlight grinned.

After leaving Carousel Boutique, Starlight paid a visit to Sweet Apple Acres, finding Applejack carrying some baskets of freshly-bucked apples.

"Need a little help?" Starlight asked.

"Well, thank ya kindly." Applejack nodded. "Got us a pretty hefty harvest this year."

"No kidding." Starlight grunted slightly, as she lifted up a basket with her magic. "Must take a lot of work to harvest all these apples."

"Not so much when ya have friends ta help ya." Applejack smiled. "Ah learned that the hard way a while back..."

Applejack recounted her attempted solo harvest of the apple trees, and how exhausted she had made herself.

"...Once Ah finally put aside mah stubbornness and let mah friends help, the harvest was over in no time." Applejack declared.

"You really tried to do it alone at first?" Starlight snorted, amused.

"Ah know." Applejack said sheepishly. "Not mah smartest idea... but also not an idea Ah've ever repeated."

Starlight and Applejack placed the apple baskets in the barn.

"Thanks again for the help, Starlight." Applejack smiled.

"Any time." Starlight grinned.

"Ah'll remember that fer the next harvest." Applejack declared.

As Starlight headed back to Ponyville, she took the path that neared Fluttershy's home. As she walked by the cottage, she saw Fluttershy having a picnic with Discord.

"Good morning, Starlight." Fluttershy waved.

"Hi, Fluttershy." Starlight smiled. "Discord."

"Morning." Discord raised a teacup, his pinkie claw extended.

"Enjoying the beautiful morning, I take it?" Starlight noted.

"It seemed like the perfect time for a picnic." Fluttershy admitted. "Care to join us?"

"Oh, I'm sure Starlight has more important things to do than crash our private picnic." Discord said awkwardly.

"Now, Discord." Fluttershy tutted. "You're not getting jealous again, are you?"

"Of course not." Discord snorted.

"'Again'?" Starlight asked.

"Oh, yes." Fluttershy nodded. "It was during last year's Grand Galloping Gala..."

"But it's a long story." Discord declared apprehensively.

"I've got nothing but time." Starlight smiled.

"Of course you do." Discord sighed.

Once Starlight made herself comfortable on the picnic blanket, Fluttershy told her the story, with Discord providing his own commentary on the matter.

"So you tried to send this Treehugger mare to another dimension?" Starlight gaped at Discord.

"A slight overreaction, I'll admit." Discord shrugged. "But it all worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"And Discord learned a lesson about friendship, too." Fluttershy smiled.

"I did start to see the merit in having multiple friends." Discord admitted. "And later on, I saw the merits in making new friends. Like you, miss Glimmer."

Discord flashed a shirt on Starlight's body, which had an image depicting the two of them side by side, Discord giving a thumbs up.

"Um... thanks." Starlight said awkwardly.

"My pleasure, pal of mine." Discord winked.

As Starlight continued her path back to Ponyville, she heard a familiar booming noise in the sky. She looked up to see Rainbow Dash practicing her flying. Utilizing her self-levitation spell, Starlight flew up and joined her.

"Hey, Rainbow." She smiled. "Practicing for your next Wonderbolts performance?"

"You know it." Rainbow grinned. "Spitfire even gave me permission to use the ol' Sonic Rainboom!"

"I'm sure that'll be quite the sight." Starlight declared, having seen it for herself near the end of her time travel excursion.

"Oh, yeah." Rainbow nodded. "It didn't hurt that the Wonderbolts have already seen it before."

"They did?" Starlight asked. "When?"

"Back at the Best Young Flyers' Competition." Rainbow explained. "See, what happened was-"

Rainbow quickly recapped the events of that day, culminating with her rescue of Rarity and three unconscious Wonderbolts, with the Sonic Rainboom capping off the moment.

"Wow." Starlight gaped.

"Yeah, it was one of my more awesome moments." Rainbow smirked. "Top three, for sure."

"No wonder the Wonderbolts said 'yes'." Starlight grinned. "A move like that would be a real show-stopper."

"No doubt." Rainbow nodded.

"Well, I won't hold back your practice any longer." Starlight started to descend. "Good luck."

"Who needs luck when you've got skill?" Rainbow bragged.

Once she returned to Ponyville, Starlight decided to stop by Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie was there, working the counter.

"Hi, Pinkie." Starlight waved.

"Howdy-hey, Starlight!" Pinkie beamed. "Anything I can get for you?"

"As a matter of fact, that is." Starlight answered. "I thought I'd try one of those new cupcakes I've heard so much about."

"Comin' right up!" Pinkie passed Starlight one of the cupcakes. "Enjoy."

Starlight took a bite, and enjoyed the triple flavor of the confection.

"Mmm, so good." She smiled. "You've done it again, Pinkie."

"Yeah, making sweet snacks is one of my greatest skills." Pinkie nodded. "Second only to party planning."

"And you're so good at that." Starlight agreed. "I'll bet nopony even comes close."

"Well, there is one pony." Pinkie admitted. "Cheese Sandwich. Did I ever tell you about the time he came to town?"

"No, but I'd like to hear it." Starlight urged.

"Okey-dokey!" Pinkie grinned. "It all started when I was planning for Rainbow Dash's birthday..."

Pinkie ran through the entire debacle, Starlight listening intently. As always with Pinkie, half of what she was saying seemed almost too crazy to be true, but Starlight unerringly took her at her word.

"...So we worked together, and threw Dashy the best party ever!" Pinkie cheered, setting off her party cannon for emphasis.

"Good to know there are more ponies like you out there." Starlight declared. "Equestria could always use more fun."

"That's the code I live my life by!" Pinkie stated solemnly (or as solemnly as she was capable of).

"Lucky for the rest of us." Starlight chuckled as she departed.

As Starlight headed for the castle, she once again took note of all the Ponyvillians enjoying the day, hanging out and making the most of things. Ironically, the mare who had once believed harmony could only be achieved if every pony were exactly the same had come to appreciate the diversity and variety that was all around her.

'I'm so lucky to live in this town.' She thought. 'So lucky that fate brought me to a place like this. A place where everypony has their own story, and their own happy ending.'

Upon her return to the castle, Starlight sat down in the study with a book. Not long after, Twilight and Spike returned.

"Hey, how was the presentation?" She asked.

"It went quite well, I think." Twilight declared.

"Well, and long." Spike rolled his eyes.

"And how was your day?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, I took that walk around town, meet up with our friends, and they told me about old times." Starlight declared. "An awful lot has happened to them, and Ponyville. I almost feel like a pony-come-lately around here."

"You wouldn't be the first one." Twilight smiled. "When I first moved to Ponyville, I had a lot of catching up to do myself, and more than a few local customs to adjust to. The first Winter Wrap Up didn't go quite how I planned..."

Twilight shared with Starlight the story of how she had struggled to help without her magic, and ultimately been made the official organizer of the event.

"That was one of my proudest days." Twilight smiled. "One of many that took place right here in Ponyville. I'm sure you'll have just as many as me to reflect on one day."

"I can only hope." Starlight smiled. "But for now, I think I've heard enough stories for one day. And I'm sure there are plenty more yet to come."

"Knowing this town, you're probably right..." Spike chuckled.

"And not just in Ponyville." Twilight declared. "Everypony in Equestria has a tale of their own to tell. And some that are still waiting to be told."

"And we all write our own stories ourselves." Starlight smiled. "Maybe someday, I'll have some stories of my own to tell a newcomer to this town..."

"I'm sure you will." Twilight nodded. "Sometimes, just telling a story is enough to earn a new friend."

"There's the lesson of the day." Starlight chuckled. "Just like clockwork..."

"Very funny." Twilight rolled her eyes. "How about we get some lunch? I'm starving."

"Comin' right up." Spike grinned.

"I'll be right with you." Starlight nodded, returning to her book. "Got one more story to finish here..."

There were so many stories in Equestria. Tales of love, friendship, and adventure. And as long as that great land continued to exist, there would always be more to tell.

The End... For Now.

(My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and all associated characters are the property of Hasbro.)