CHAPTER 8
 
                                             Gilda's Got Game
                                                   ***
 
Gilda the Griffon waited patiently outside Twilight's cottage until the last pony had left the secret summit. Pinkie Pie had hung around for ages giving her friend suggestions for different holidays to start and celebrations to throw.
 
"Thanks, Pinkie," Twilight said as she walked her to the door. "I'll certainly consider making Gummy's birthday an official holiday." Gummy was Pinkie Pie's pet alligator.
 
"Great!!" Pinkie squealed. "He'll be so excited when I tell him the news!"
 
All of a sudden, a crazy noise stared sounding from Pinkie's watch. "Gotta go, Twilight! I totally forgot about the house-warming party at Berry Punch's new place!' With that, Pinkie bounced off into the distance, singing a song. [i]"Oh, the bestest cottage is a warm one! A cottage that is filled with frieeends! So let's warm this house and fill it up with a party that never eeeends!"[/i]
 
"Finally! I thought those ponies would never leave," Gilda said, swooping down from a cloud and landing softly in front of Twilight. "Productive meeting, Twilight?"
 
"Hey! How did you know about the meeting?" Twilight asked suspiciously. It was supposed to be secret.
 
"I have my ways," Gilda said, pacing around Twilight. "And I listened to the whole thing. Didn't sound like your friends had any good ideas for your kingdom...."
 
"So what, Gilda?" Twilight sassed back. "You think you can do better?"
 
"I'm just trying to say that if [i]I[/i] were a princess like you–I wouldn't be listening to anypony's suggestions. I would do whatever I wanted! Make my kingdom all about Gilda!" The griffon cackled and flew off into the clouds again to cause some mischief elsewhere.
 
Twilight brushed it off. Nopony in their right mind would take advice from Gilda, the notorious bully. Twilight still trusted her best friend the most. And why shouldn't she? They have proven themselves to be honest and loyal.
 
But then again, they didn't have years of magical study with Princess Celestia under their belts like Twilight did. And her friends had never even lived in Canterlot, so it was silly to expect them to know very much about being royal.
 
Twilight went back inside her cottage and looked into a large cerulean-colored chest. It was filled with her new gowns and jewels from the coronation. None of it seemed like hers. Twilight removed a tiara from its velvet case and placed it gently on her head. She looked in the mirror. The sparkling white diamonds and red rubies shone brilliantly. The tiara made her stand a little taller.
 
Maybe Gilda had a point. Maybe the secret to leadership was listening to your own heart instead of everyone else's. Isn't that what Cadance had said?
 
If she was going to be real princess, maybe she just needed to start acting like one.
 
                                                   ***
 
The aimless search for the Crystal Heart Spell was beginning to wear on Twilight even though she was doing he r best to try to act like a princess. She still didn't know where or how to look for it. It was making her crazy!
 
She even felt like she was hearing voices, which was never a good sign. For example, that morning in the Ponyville marketplace she'd asked Cheerilee which type of berries she should buy. Cheerilee had suggested the blackberries, but Twilight could've sworn she'd heard a voice coming from a stack of creates saying, "Who cares what [i]she[/i] likes? What kind of berries do [i]you[/i] want, Twilight?"
 
Later, when Twilight was looking after the Cutie Mark Crusaders–Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle–she'd heard it again. They'd all been in Ponyville Park, deciding what afternoon activity to partake in. Twilight was getting frustrated because she really wanted to read the fillies a story from one of her favorite books, but all they wanted to do was jump rope. She was sitting by, watching them, when she heard the voice again. "Look at them!" it whispered. "You know what's best for them and they didn't even listen to you. You're the [i]princess[/i], for Celestia's sake!"
 
She'd looked around but hadn't seen anypony who could have said it.
 
It was so odd. Ever since Gilda the Griffon planted the idea in her head that she shouldn't listen to her friends, Twilight had started to feel that everyone else's opinions were wrong. But was Gilda right?
 
Twilight decided to trot through the forest in hopes of clearing her head. The serene green trees and silence were usually comforting and helped her work out any problem she was having at the time.
 
She was only alone for a few moments, however, before a loud crash signaled the presence of another, familiar pink pony,
 
"There you are!" Pinkie Pie shouted through the tree. "I have been looking aaaall over for you! I want to show you my awesome plan for the new kingdom's holiday celebrations...and also play and hang out and eat cupcakes and all that super-duperiffic great stuff!"
 
"Thanks, Pinkie. But now isn't a good time," Twilight said calmly. "I'm sort of busy taking a walk." She motioned to the leafy path ahead of her.
 
"Okay! Will you be busy in ten minutes?" Pinkie asked, walking alongside her and smiling wide with excitement.
 
"Yes," Twilight replied. She was really starting to get frustrated now. She wanted be alone.
                                                                         ^ Actual grammatical error
"Okay! What about in twenty minutes?!" Pinkie asked. She though everything was a game.
 
"No! I'm busy now, I'm busy in ten minutes, and I'm busy in twenty minutes. I'm busy [i]all[/i] of the minutes!" Twilight snapped. Her necklace began to dim, the colors churning. "Can't you see I don't have time to talk about your silly little parties?"
 
"What?" Pinkie Pie slumped to the ground, hurt. "Sorry to both you, Twilight. I was just trying to help. I guess I'll leave you alone and go where somepony wants me."
 
"Finally!" Twilight sneered. "That's the best idea you've had yet!" As she trotted off into the distance, Pinkie began to wonder what was really going on with Twilight Sparkle.
 
This time, she didn't think it was something a party could solve.
 
 
                                                CHAPTER 9
 
                                           A Head in the Clouds
                                                   ***
 
Twilight Sparkle was planning to ask Rainbow Dash if she'd seen Gilda the Griffon anywhere. Even though the two of them were no longer the best of friends, Rainbow always saw most of the comings and goings of the residents of Ponyville. There were great views of the whole town from up in the clouds, so she might know.
 
Maybe talking to the griffon again would shed some light on the situation. There had to be more to what she tried to tell Twilight the other night after she crashed the secret meeting. Or maybe not. But a princess should listen to everypony, Twilight told herself. Especially because she still hadn't thought of a way to find the spell.
 
Rainbow Dash was sitting on a cloud high in the sky. She appeared to be arguing with a large group of Pegasi. She didn't hear Twilight trying to call her from below. [i]Good thing I have wings now[/i], Twilight thought, taking off. She enjoyed rush of cool air as she soared into the sky. It was fun to be an Alicorn!
 
"I have herded more cloud today than all you slowpokes put together!" Rainbow Dash shouted at the other Pegasi. "My skills are second to nopony!"
 
"If you're so good, Rainbow Crash, why don't you help out the rest of us?" a big stallion named Hoops shouted back. His cutie mark was three basketballs.
 
"Rainbow!" Twilight called out, but Rainbow didn't notice.
 
"You asked for it!" Rainbow shot back at Hoops, and took off into a showy barrel roll. She gathered a nearby cloud, combined it with two others, and then jumped onto it. A heavy flood of rain poured out the bottom of the massive cloud like a waterfall.
 
"Just call me Commander Hurricane!" Rainbow yelled grinning from ear to ear.
 
"Rainbow Dash!!" Twilight yelled a little louder. Why wasn't Rainbow listening? A princess was trying to speak to her! Twilight frowned. "Rainbow! Listen to me!"
 
Rainbow Dash finally noticed her friend hovering there, looking a little strange. "Oh, hey, Twilight! Are you here to talk about my awesome plans for the new royal guard?"
 
"No." Twilight rolled her eyes like answering Rainbow's question was really hard work. "Have you seen Gilda?" Rainbow cocked her head to the side. Twilight was acting really weird, and the color on her necklace were swirling around.
 
"Are you okay?" Rainbow asked.
 
"Of course I am! Now, have you seen Gilda or not?"
 
"I think she's down by the farm with Trixie," Rainbow said. "The two of them have been spending a lot of time together lately. If you ask me, it smells like trouble. Mixing pranks and magic is a bad idea, right, Twilight?"
 
But Twilight Sparkle didn't hear the last part, because she was already off, flying towards Sweet Apple acres. She didn't even say "thank you."
 
 
                                                CHAPTER 10
 
                                        Drinking the Lily pad Slime
                                                   ***
 
A good patch of leafy foliage was always ideal for spying. That was precisely the reason why Twilight Sparkle often found herself hiding behind tree trunks and peering through hedges while doing various sorts of field research.
 
Today, Twilight crouched low behind a bush near the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. She had spent the last ten minutes watching as Gilda and Trixie rolled a barrel of fresh cider from the stacked-up stores and dumped it onto the grass. [i]Glug[/i], [i]glug[/i], [i]glug[/i]. The cider spilled out quickly. Why anyone would waste the precious cider was beyond Twilight's understanding. Yet the two of them snickered as they began to fill the empty barrel with some gloopy green gunk that resembled the lily pad slime from Froggy Bottom Bog.
 
"These ponies will never know what hit 'em!" Gilda laughed triumphantly. "This might be one of my greatest pranks yet!"
 
Trixie joined in "And once the unlucky ponies who get a cup of 'cider' from this barrel take a sip, I'll swoop in and perform a magnificent spell to save them from the horrible taste!" She cackled. "Personally, I think it's funnier not to save them...but whatever you want, Trix!" Gilda said. "This partnership is really working out." The two of them high-fived.
 
"Hey!" Twilight shouted from the nearby bush. "You two!"
 
Gilda and Trixie scrambled to cover up the barrel, and both stepped in front of it to create a shield. The looked all around but didn't see anyone until Twilight climbed out from behind the bush. A couple of wayward twigs were still stuck in her mane.
 
"What are you, the undercover cider police?" Gilda sneered. "Do you take all your orders from Applejack now? Or are you finally giving some orders of your own, like a real royal pony, eh?"
 
Twilight puffed up. She was a little bit offended. "Well, if you [i]must[/i] know, I couldn't care less what you do with that cider," Twilight said, even though she knew she would definitely tell Granny Smith which barrel was filled with slime later. "But I'm here because...because...I wanted to ask you about..." Twilight couldn't seem to find the worlds to ask Gilda the Griffon for help.
 
Trixie tapped her hoof on the grass impatiently. She was still wearing her purple magician's robe and pointy hat covered in stars. "The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't have all day, Twilight!" She was clearly still a little bitter about the time Twilight accidentally revealed her to be a fraud in front of all of Ponyville. Trixie probably didn't feel so "Great and Powerful" after that.
 
"What were you talking about the other night at my cottage?" Twilight asked Gilda.
 
The griffon crossed her arms and shrugged casually. "I was just saying that if [i]I[/i] were a princess, nopony would be allowed to tell [i]me[/i] what to do." Gilda put her claw on Twilight's shoulder and dug in a little too sharply. "What is it that [i]you[/i] want to do, Twilight?"
 
"I want to..." Twilight hesitated. It was a little strange to be asking for Gilda's opinion on the matter. But she [i]was[/i] right. Why was Twilight spending all this time and energy trying to listen to her friends in Ponyville, when she herself knew exactly where to find the answers–the one place she always felt completely at ease, no matter where in Equestria she was? "I want to go to the library! The Crystal Empire Library!"
 
Gilda nodded in satisfaction. "I'll admit–the library thing is a little weird. But the Crystal Empire sounds awesome! Right on, Princess Twilight! You always know what's best."
 
A moment later, Twilight's jeweled necklace began to cloud and darken even more. The transformation was so brief and subtle that Twilight didn't even notice.
 
But there was definitely a new determination in her eyes. And it was a little scary.
 
                                                   ***
 
All that Twilight could think about now was that huge library in the Crystal Empire. It held hundreds of old books! There was no way the spell wasn't hidden in the pages of one of them. She couldn't wait to dive into her studies and hide away with her books for as long as it took.
 
"Thanks for your help, guys," Twilight told Gilda and Trixie. "I have to go to the Crystal Empire right now!" Twilight spread her wings and took off into the air.
 
"That sounds so totally awesome! I'm coming, too," Gilda said, flying alongside her. "Is everything really made of crystals? What are the ponies like there?" Gilda began to imagine all the innocent victims whom she could play her pranks on. It was going to be so funny!
 
"Trixie will go with your, too!" Trixie exclaimed, trotting beneath them. She pictured a whole new city of ponies who had never seen her "Great and Powerful" magic act yet. It was going to be glorious!
 
The two lackeys followed as Twilight soared through the air, winding through Ponyville and unaware of everything in her. Fluttershy, who was leading a line of baby ducklings back to their mother at the pond, noticed Twilight approaching. "Oh, hi, Twilight!" she said very quietly. She smiled and waved. "I'm so glad you're here! I came up with some new ideas for the baby-animal sanctuary that I wanted to share with you...."
 
But Twilight didn't even see her and swooshed right past. She was going so fast that Fluttershy's pretty pink mane blew out from the gust of wind Twilight's wings created. Rarity watched the scene unfold in pure shock. Who was this pony and what had she done with their best friend, Twilight Sparkle? Twilight always stopped to talk with her friends. Then Rarity noticed that the Cosmic Spectrum gem on Twilight's necklace had lost of some of its luster. This was a bad sign.
 
"Oh, Fluttershy!" Rarity said, trotting up to her. She was carrying a large sketchbook in her pack. It was full of new outfit designs she had been drawing all morning for Twilight's imaginary kingdom. Even though she'd been annoyed after the meeting she still wanted to help her friend.
 
"Do you think she heard me?" Fluttershy squeaked sadly. "Twilight would never ignore somepony like that on purpose, right?"
 
But before Rarity could mention the necklace, Gilda the Griffon called out on them. "Twilight is a princess now, you guys! She's off to the Crystal Empire and doesn't need a bunch of silly Ponyville friends like you holding her back. She told me so herself. So leave her alone!" Then she took off into the sky after Twilight.
 
Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged a worried look. "We'd better go find Spike," Rarity said, looking to the sky. "He'll know what to do."
 
 
                                                CHAPTER 11
 
                                            Rallying the Hoofs
                                                   ***
 
Golden Oaks Library looked like it was occupied–the lights were on inside. But Rarity and Fluttershy had knocked on the door three times and got no answer. "Is anydragon home?" Fluttershy whispered, her voice barely audible, as usual.
 
Rarity scoffed. "You're never going to get his attention like that! Watch and learn, darling." She stood up straight and cleared her throat.
 
"Spiiiiike! Are you theeeeere?" Rarity trilled into one of the front windows. A split second later, Spike flung open the door. "Hi, Rarity!"
 
Fluttershy wasn't offended that Spike hadn't greeted her. Everypony knew Spike had a major crush on Rarity. At least it had gotten him to open the door. He was holding a large tub of ice cream and looked like he'd been crying.
 
"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.
 
"Twilight left me behind again!" Spike wailed. "She went back to the Crystal Empire and didn't even tell me! I had to hear it secondhand from Cranky Doodle Donkey. He said he was walking by Sweet Apple Acres on his way home and heard her talking about the trip with Gilda and Trixie."
 
"Unfortunately, it's true," Rarity said, entering the cottage. "We saw her leave."
 
"No good-bye or anything," added Fluttershy. "Just whoosh! And gone."
 
"I think we can all agree that Twilight has not been herself today," Rarity said. Spike and Fluttershy nodded. "And I think that necklace is to blame!"
 
"Huh?" Spike and Fluttershy were equally confused.
 
"Last night I was trying to explain that even though Cosmic Spectrum is a beautiful gem, it can be very dangerous if it is exposed to too many negative feelings. It absorbs them and makes the pony wearing it feel worse!"
 
"Oh no!" said Fluttershy. "Poor Twilight."
 
"I knew it wasn't her fault!" Spike jumped up in the air. "We have to go save Twilight. Together?"
 
"Together!" shouted Rarity and Fluttershy. They all nodded in agreement. Now all they had to do was find Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and pinkie Pie and explain to them what had happened. The sooner they rallied the troops, the sooner they could hop on the Friendship Express to the Crystal Empire for a rescue mission.
 
 
                                                CHAPTER 12
 
                                               Crystal Clear
                                                   ***
 
"Look, I don't care what the two of you do–" Twilight snapped at Gilda and Trixie. "Just stay out of my way and don't make any trouble!"
 
Twilight was almost to the Crystal Empire Library when she ran straight into Shining  Armor. "Twily? I thought you went back to Ponyville!"
 
"I did, but now I'm back again!" Twilight said, shifting from hoof to hoof anxiously. She was itching to look through those books. She just knew the answer was in there somewhere.
 
"Great! You should come have lunch with me and Cadance in the castle," Shining Armor said.
 
"That's so nice, but I don't have time–maybe tomorrow. I have to go! Talk to your later!" Twilight said, cantering past him.
 
He watched in confusion as she ran off down the street and around the corner. Normally, she was excited to see him. It was very odd behavior, especially for Twilight....
 
Shining Armor took off towards the castle. He had to find his wife, and he had to find her fast!
 
                                                   ***
 
It was a familiar scene for Twilight, sitting in an accidental fort made up of large, glittery books. She hungrily flipped through the pages of one called [i]Ancient Spells of the Crystal Empire: Volume Four[/i]. After the first three volumes, she had begun to feel discouraged, but she soldiered on. The Crystal Heart Spell just had to be in there somewhere!
 
"Twilight! Are you in here?" Princess Cadance called out, her voice echoing throughout the cavernous library. Shining Armor had come to her straightaway after seeing his sister act so bizarrely. Something wasn't right, and he knew Cadance could help.
 
"Yes, I'm in here," Twilight sighed loudly from inside her book fort. She didn't want to see Cadance right now. She felt embarrassed for not making any progress at all with the spell. Cadance peeked through a gap in the precarious towers of books.
 
"Oh dear, Twilight..." Cadance shook her head. "It's just as I suspected."
 
"What is?" Twilight whined. "Me being as big of a failure as I am? A pony with no leadership skills whatsoever?" Twilight hung her head in defeat. "Celestia should just go ahead and revoke my crown now."
 
"No, no, no. You're not a failure," Cadance said. She pointed her hoof at Twilight's neck. The Cosmic Spectrum wasn't shining at all anymore. "Look! You're gotten so down on yourself and those around you that the necklace is magnifying your negative feelings!"
 
The young princess looked down at the gem, stunned. "I didn't even notice that the necklace had changed...." Twilight suddenly thought of all her friends back in Ponyville. Rarity had tried to warn her about the gemstone, but Twilight had been so distracted trying to find the spell that she didn't even listen.
 
Actually, Twilight had dismissed all of their ideas. She suddenly thought of Pinkie Pie's cake day, Applejack's family dinner time, Rainbow Dash's Pegasus royal guard, Fluttershy's baby-animal sanctuary, and Rarity's kingdom fashions. The ideas didn't seem so bad now. Her friends were only trying to help her like she'd asked them to. And how did she thank them? By ignoring them and thinking only of herself.
 
"Oh, Cadance, I've been so horrible to my friends!" Twilight said, standing up. Several nearby books toppled over like a set of building blocks. "All I have been doing is thinking about what I want and not listening to anypony else's ideas!" The necklace began to glow dimly. "I have to go find my friends right now and apologize!"
 
Princess Cadance grinned as she watched Twilight gallop out of the library. She knew Twilight was on the right track again.
 
 
                                                CHAPTER 13
 
                                             PFF to the Rescue
                                                   ***
 
"Where do you think she'll be?" Applejack said as the five ponies and their babydragon companion made their way through the front gates of the Crystal Empire. The last time they'd all visited was during the Crystal Fair. Everything looked just as pretty and shiny as it had before. Rarity sighed, satisfied by her sparkly surroundings. "Why am I not a Crystal pony?" she lamented, remembering how her coat had become temporarily glittery when they'd recovered the Crystal Heart. Unfortunately, the effects had worn off.
 
"What's that?!" said Pinkie Pie, pointing to a large crowd of Crystal ponies gathered near the fountain. "Whatever it is, it looks like fun! I gonna go see!"
 
All of a sudden, a bright flash of white illuminated the sky. [i]Pop![/i] A loud noise rang out. It came from the direction of the crowd. "Come on, everypony!" Applejack shouted, leading the way.
 
Applejack shoved her way to the front. A red-and-white-striped tent was set up. massive posters hung on the sides, praising the talents of THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE, MAGICIAN EXTRAORDINAIRE. Gilda the Griffon stood outside the tent on an old apple crate. "Step right up! Step right up, Crystal ponies!" Gilda shouted, "Get yer tickets now! Step right up to see Equestria's most talented Unicorn–the Great and Powerful Trixie! Only three bits each!"
 
A yellow pony with a golden mane handed Gilda her money and entered the tent. Pinkie Pie looked around excitedly. "Oooooh! Does anypony have three bits I can borrow?!" She jumped up and down.
 
"Don't they know it's a scam?" Rainbow Dash said in disbelief. "I can't believe this!"
 
Gilda continued on, unaware that the Ponyville crew was standing in the crowd. "Trixie is so powerful that she once defeated an ursa major–all by herself!"
 
A couple more Crystal ponies paid Gilda and entered the tent.
 
"Hey, that's not true!" said Fluttershy. "It was Twilight who did that. Well, she took care of an ursa minor, anyway."
 
"I can't stand by and watch this anymore," Applejack said. She trotted to the front of the crowd and hopped up onto another crate. "Crystal ponies! Do not pay to see this show! This griffon and Unicorn are con-ponies who are trying to steal your bits!"
 
A low murmur broke out through the crowd.
 
"What are you doing here?!" Gilda spread her wings and screeched. "First you don't know to take a hint when Princess Twilight wants to get rid of you! And now you are ruining our show? You five are the worst ponies in all of Equestria!"
 
Trixie peeked out of the tent to see what was going on. The Crystal ponies all watched the scene with their jaw open. This was more of a show than they'd bargained for!
 
"Nopony wants you guys here!" Gilda yelled. But she couldn't have been more wrong.
 
"That's not true!" A voice pierced through the crowd and interrupted the argument. "The are my best friends, and [i]I[/i] want them here!" Twilight broke through the mass of Crystal ponies and trotted over to her friends.
 
"What are you guys doing here?" Twilight asked. She couldn't believe they had come all this way.
 
"We came to rescue you, silly!" Pinkie Pie said matter-of-factly.
 
"I told them all about the necklace," Rarity explained. "We knew that you weren't being yourself."
 
"The Twilight we know would never be mean to her friends!" Fluttershy said.
 
"Or ditch us for those two!" Rainbow Dash added, motioning to Gilda and Trixie. The two of them were now bickering over whether to continue on with the show.
 
"I'm so sorry, you guys! I though that listening to my own heart meant choosing whatever things [i]I[/i] wanted in the kingdom." Twilight smiled, and the necklace began to glow. "Now I know that a princess is not defined by the things she chooses for her kingdom. All that matters is how she treats other ponies, especially her friends." She leaned over and pulled them all into a group hug. "Princess or not–we are all equal ponies!" Twilight said.
 
"Oh my, Twilight!" Rarity squealed. "Look at your necklace!"
 
Sure enough, the gem began to glow brighter than ever before. The light was low and pulsating, like a true beating heart. Nearby, the Crystal Heart grew brighter as well. It was almost as if the two jewels were linked by some invisible force. The ponies watch in awe as a gigantic, glittery rainbow suddenly burst forth from the center of the Crystal Heart. It arched directly into Twilight's necklace!
 
"Ooooooh..." everypony watching the scene cooed.
 
"Hey, look at that!" Rainbow shouted. "There are worlds on the Crystal Heart!"
 
Twilight knew it right away. The Crystal Heart Spell had finally revealed itself to her. She trotted over and admired the words, which were lit up in shimmery gold. She took a deep breath and began to read them aloud:
 
                                        "FRIENDSHIP IS THE CREED.
                                        IT HAS BEEN FROM THE START!
                                        IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO LEAD–
                                        WITH YOUR CRYSTAL HEART!"
 
Twilight's coat sparkled as the spell took its effect on her. [i]Of course![/i] she thought as she read the words. Friendship had always been the answer to her problems. Why did she think it would be any different once she became a princess? Twilight looked around at the crowd of Crystal ponies cheering her on, her best friends standing next to her, and her brother and Cadance looking proud.
 
Twilight finally felt like a real princess.
 
                                                   ***
 
"Happy Cake Day, everypony!" Pinkie Pie shouted with glee, skipping through the center of Ponyville. Since returning from the Crystal Empire, Twilight had started using all of her friends' suggestions as practice for being a real leader someday. It was working out perfectly. Everywhere Princess Twilight looked, pony families were enjoying the special Crystal berry cupcakes and pies together. "Happy Cake Day!" they said to one another happily.
 
The Cutie Mark Crusaders had even made a banner that read PONYVILLE CAKE DAY! and hung it across the front of the town hall. "Great idea, Princess Twilight!" Mr. Cake shouted from the treat cart. "These things are selling like hotcakes!"
 
"They are hotcakes, dear." Mrs. Cake laughed.
 
"Don't thank me!" Twilight said, walking over to where her friends sat on the grass, enjoying their own Crystal berry cakes. "Thank Pinkie Pie! She has the best ideas!"
 
Twilight took a small bite of her cupcake, careful not to let her tiara fall off her head. Wearing it still took some getting used to, but everypony in town really liked it when she did. "In fact, [i]all[/i] my friends have the best ideas."
 
Rarity smiled and winked at her. "So do you, [i]Princess[/i] Twilight. So do you!"