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I Fought The Lore And The Lore Won
May. 16th, 2016 11:55 pmSometimes I really make a mess of things.
Today we were going to have dinner with Princess Celestia. Starlight Glimmer was going to have made the perfect friend, and I was going to be in total control of the whole production, right down to the last detail. That, right there, is the path to madness. I've met too many ponies that have trotted down that path. It's just as well that today, when I tried to choose Starlight Glimmer's friends for her, I really made a dog's breakfast of the whole situation.
Roll back the sun to yesterday, when I instructed Starlight Glimmer, as her next friendship assignment, to make a new friend and to bring that friend to dine with Princess Celestia. I thought I had everything under control, all neatly planned and lined up, like the silverware framing the perfect plates on the neatly balanced settings on the dinner table. Like clockwork. Like a house of cards. And the next day, on schedule, Starlight Glimmer found a friend. My house of cards came tumbling down.
Somehow, much to my dismay, Starlight Glimmer had met and befriended Trixie! Trixie does not live in Ponyville, but the two times that she's come here it's been a disaster. The first time she came to town she had a magic show, half of which consisted of boasting and putting other ponies down. That ended with a constellation stepping on her wagon and Trixie running out of town with just the dress on her back. The second time, she returned to conquer Ponyville with the help of a magical amulet. Again she ran out of Ponyville. This time, she's back to her traveling magic show and she's stopped in Ponyville. Well, I'd forgiven Trixie, but we weren't friends. I wasn't too keen on her becoming Starlight's friend or of her eating with Princess Celestia as my pupil's guest. So I did the wrong thing, I tried to make Starlight Glimmer's decisions for her.
I alienated Starlight Glimmer by showing that I did not trust her to make true friends and by showing that I can hold a grudge even though I claim to have forgiven somepony. I tried to tempt Starlight Glimmer with other potential friends. Even when that failed, I tried to pass them off as Starlight's friends and sat them down with Princess Celestia. As I broke Starlight Glimmer's friendship, she broke her dinner date and I abandoned the Princess in front of an empty plate with three guests and no host. In my arrogance, I tried to control everything. In the end, I controlled nothing at all.
What a fine Princess of Friendship I am.
I had to learn the hard way what I thought I'd known already. Give Starlight Glimmer her own space to learn about friendship, trust her, accept her decisions and stop trying to lead her on such a short rein. It is not an easy lesson to learn.
When I stopped trying to force a wedge between the two of them, the friendship bond between Starlight Glimmer and Trixie rekindled. But as for the dinner, Miss Manege on Dining and Etiquette flew out the window on that one. I will be apologizing to Princess Celestia, and to the three surrogate friends I dragged into this mess, for a long time.
Today's friendship lesson was for me. Let your friends make their own friends in their own time. Trying to make their decisions for them can cause you to lose a friend.
Today we were going to have dinner with Princess Celestia. Starlight Glimmer was going to have made the perfect friend, and I was going to be in total control of the whole production, right down to the last detail. That, right there, is the path to madness. I've met too many ponies that have trotted down that path. It's just as well that today, when I tried to choose Starlight Glimmer's friends for her, I really made a dog's breakfast of the whole situation.
Roll back the sun to yesterday, when I instructed Starlight Glimmer, as her next friendship assignment, to make a new friend and to bring that friend to dine with Princess Celestia. I thought I had everything under control, all neatly planned and lined up, like the silverware framing the perfect plates on the neatly balanced settings on the dinner table. Like clockwork. Like a house of cards. And the next day, on schedule, Starlight Glimmer found a friend. My house of cards came tumbling down.
Somehow, much to my dismay, Starlight Glimmer had met and befriended Trixie! Trixie does not live in Ponyville, but the two times that she's come here it's been a disaster. The first time she came to town she had a magic show, half of which consisted of boasting and putting other ponies down. That ended with a constellation stepping on her wagon and Trixie running out of town with just the dress on her back. The second time, she returned to conquer Ponyville with the help of a magical amulet. Again she ran out of Ponyville. This time, she's back to her traveling magic show and she's stopped in Ponyville. Well, I'd forgiven Trixie, but we weren't friends. I wasn't too keen on her becoming Starlight's friend or of her eating with Princess Celestia as my pupil's guest. So I did the wrong thing, I tried to make Starlight Glimmer's decisions for her.
I alienated Starlight Glimmer by showing that I did not trust her to make true friends and by showing that I can hold a grudge even though I claim to have forgiven somepony. I tried to tempt Starlight Glimmer with other potential friends. Even when that failed, I tried to pass them off as Starlight's friends and sat them down with Princess Celestia. As I broke Starlight Glimmer's friendship, she broke her dinner date and I abandoned the Princess in front of an empty plate with three guests and no host. In my arrogance, I tried to control everything. In the end, I controlled nothing at all.
What a fine Princess of Friendship I am.
I had to learn the hard way what I thought I'd known already. Give Starlight Glimmer her own space to learn about friendship, trust her, accept her decisions and stop trying to lead her on such a short rein. It is not an easy lesson to learn.
When I stopped trying to force a wedge between the two of them, the friendship bond between Starlight Glimmer and Trixie rekindled. But as for the dinner, Miss Manege on Dining and Etiquette flew out the window on that one. I will be apologizing to Princess Celestia, and to the three surrogate friends I dragged into this mess, for a long time.
Today's friendship lesson was for me. Let your friends make their own friends in their own time. Trying to make their decisions for them can cause you to lose a friend.
