video } the wonderful part of the mess that we made we pick ourselves undone

[truefriendship]

[Starlight's not used to these devices or much about this place, but it's just like learning new magic. She's sure she can do it. After a few minutes of fiddling with a hoof, she turns it on, using her magic to hold it out in front of her.

Slightly upside-down, but she hasn't noticed.]

Greetings. My name is Starlight Glimmer. I am a newcomer here. I have read all your pamphlets and other resources, it's all very informative, but none of it answers my real question.

[She hesitates, then pushes through.]

...is this a friendship test?

Comments

[entreats]

[ There's a small pause where Ange most likely is considering if talking magical unicorns are used to this level of danger.. ]

What, have you been fighting things often?

[truefriendship]

I don't know if I'd call it often, but I've had a magical battle or two.

[Really, she's more likely to be the danger than be in danger herself, but that seems like a good later conversation. Or a never conversation.]

[entreats]

Well, be prepared for a lot more.

[ And that's even just the stuff you can fight here.. ]

A whole lot more of those than friendship tests, at least.

[truefriendship]

[She tries not to look too relieved. She's aware that's probably worse than having to deal with friendship problems, but she's great at magic. She could do magic all day and... well, that's kind of the problem, isn't it?]

How many of them are solved through the magic of friendship?

[entreats]

[ There's a literal moment where Ange just seems completely dumbfounded for once at the question. It's a very rare occassion, congratulations, Starlight. It takes a moment or two before she finds her words again. ]

Most problems are usually.. not solved through the magic of friendship. If they were, I would have been dead ten times over.

[truefriendship]

Are you bad at friendship? [She sounds a little too excited about the prospect.] I mean, it's okay if you are. I'm... clearly not the best at it either.

[entreats]

This is the first time I've been asked that so bluntly.

[ Not that she thinks Starlight means it badly, she just can't help but point it out in her deadpan sort of way. ]

But.. Hmm, I'm pretty sure most people would say I'm bad at it. I guess.

[truefriendship]

Seems like my world's pretty unique in how we treat friendship.

[entreats]

Is it such a huge thing where you come from?

[ That's the kind of world she'd never want to live in. ]

[truefriendship]

Well, we have a whole castle of it and a princess dedicated to solving friendship problems, so... yeah. It's saved all of Equestria a bunch of times too.

[entreats]

Your world sounds really weird. [ It comes out of her mouth really quickly - like it's just her first unfiltered thought at hearing that.

At least she does bother to add, after a moment-- ]

No offense.

[truefriendship]

[It's a little offensive.]

My world is normal. This place is weird.

[entreats]

[ It definitely is. ]

I won't fight you on that last one. This place is just about the weirdest thing I've seen, and that's saying a lot. [ Bulky goat butlers were a pretty normal thing back home. ] But so many things having to do with friendship would be a strange concept even where I come from.

[truefriendship]

Sounds pretty lonely.

[Okay, even she can admit that the fact that without friendship, Equestria would have been many times over destroyed is a bit much. She wouldn't have believed it without seeing it first hand, thanks to a time travel revenge plot. But even before she'd become friends with Twilight and started to learn how to be a good friend, friendship had been important to her.

She'd just gone about it in about as terrible and wrong-headed a way as possible.]

[entreats]

[ Yeah, she.. doesn't have any good retort for that. Because she is super lonely and sad, but no way she's ever going to admit that. So Ange is going to immediately flip this around. ]

Well, it probably sucks to be here for you too in that regard. You must have a lot of friends back home. [ If friendship is such a big deal. ]

[truefriendship]

Uh, yeah. [Sort of. She's friends with Twilight, and Twilight's friends. She's friends with Sunburst. As of now, she's friends with Trixie. But...

It's still pretty hard. Too many ponies know her past, and judge her for it. And she can't really blame them! But it's hard to be friends with somepony who thinks you're going to brainwash them or steal their cutie mark.]

Well, one of them is here! Do you know Sunburst?

[entreats]

The other pony? [ Not like there's a lot of them around.. ] I talked to him once before. He'll probably be glad to not be the only pony surrounded by a bunch of humans anymore.

[truefriendship]

Yes, I can imagine.

[Even being one of two is disorienting. Poor Sunburst, to have been on his own all this time…..

She just hopes he's actually talked to the humans and not just lost himself reading.]