Intermission #1

Pony's Log Number 200: Being the element of love...I have no problem sharing that love with ponies, but is it wrong to want some for myself...

Mario had just confessed his feelings for Twilight. The purple pony had wasted no time making a fast exit as she ran for her life out of the donut shop and disappeared. Mario was just frozen stiff as he held the red rose with his magic. The others were just as stunned but also sad at what had happened.

"That...didn't go as planned," said Fluttershy worried. They were then taken aback when they heard chuckling.

"That's not happy laughter," said Pinkie with concern as Mario just gave them all what was clearly a fake smile.

"Should have seen this coming," said Mario, still chucking, "She's never given me the light of day for years you know. I couldn't expect her to love me back...or see me that way. Would have been nice if she only said she saw me as a brother or as just a friend. There's plenty of love to give from that..." His smile soon faded as his eyes began to fill with held back tears.

"But no, she couldn't even give me that much," said Mario as his voice broke, "I spent my whole young pony life trying to prove that I was good enough for her! As a friend and as someone who loves and cares about her from the bottom of his heart! And what do I have to show for it! NOTHING!" Large hot tears streamed down Mario's face as he dropped the rose and stomped it with a fore-hoof . Then he teleported away before anyone could stop him. The rest of the girls had concerned looks on their faces as Princess Celestia sighed.

"Oh Twilight..." she said sadly as she lifted the smashed rose. Even she hoped that Twilight would have come around and might have liked Mario, but even she didn't expect Twilight to just take off like she did. All she knew was that she had one flustered student and a son with a broken heart.

It wasn't much longer before the rest of the ponies had returned home. They had hoped to speak to Twilight but found that she had teleported home via a note attached to their carriage. Mario was nowhere to be found. While they had considered searching Canterlot first, Pinkie said that the best place to look first would be his house. The others had learned by now that while Pinkie's logic was still questionable, it was best to take her word for it, even if it meant backtracking to Canterlot in the morning. It was well past midnight when they had arrived back home, removed their damaged gala outfits, which Rarity said she would mend in the morning, and made their way towards Mario's house. Spike had fallen asleep on the way home and they had already taken him home. They considered speaking to Twilight, but found the library dark and the purple pony already fast asleep with her gala dress tossed in a corner, much to Rarity's dismay. Once they made their exit, Pinkie wasted no time approaching the front door to Mario's house as she pulled out a key and put it into the lock.

"Did you steal his key again?" Rainbow asked suspiciously.

"Uh...no," said Pinkie indignantly, as she held the key and showed the still attached note on it, "Mario gave me this key." Rainbow looked at the note.

"Happy Birthday Pinkie Pie, my door is always open when you need a friend, Mario," Rainbow read aloud, "Well that is his handwriting." Pinkie opened the door and found that everything was quiet. They only needed to take a few steps inside before they found Mario just sitting on the sofa looking very depressed. Rarity was also relieved so see that Mario had set his suit neatly on another sofa.

"Mario," said Pinkie gently, "Are you okay?" Mario just felt his lower lip quiver as he looked at the five girls.

"If you feel weird seeing a grown colt cry, then please just..."

"Shh!" said Fluttershy gently as she hovered over to him and took a seat on the sofa, "we came here because we know you need a friend. And we're not leaving until you let it all out." Mario didn't want to burst out crying, but he couldn't help it. His heart was broken and he felt lonely. Mario sobbed loudly for quite some time until he calmed down. Everypony else just stayed quiet until Mario's sobbing settled down and he was just shedding plenty of tears.

"Don't be sad Mario," said Pinkie, "I am sure Twilight didn't mean to hurt you."

"She still doesn't appreciate me," Mario whimpered, "I tried so hard to be a good friend to her and show just how much I genuinely love and care about her, never asking for anything in return. I...I just had hoped that...she would have loved me back. It didn't have to be romantic, why not just cause I'm her friend? I know I'm the Element of Love, and I should give that love freely and unconditionally, but...is it so wrong to want a little back? Love should be a two way street. I don't mind giving 99% even if it means I would actually get 1%. At least it's something..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Applejack interrupted, "now hold on just a minute there, sugarcube. Who said you'd need to give so much of yourself and get so little in return?" Mario just stared for a moment.

"Nopony," he answered, "But isn't that what unconditional love and care is? Free love without expecting a return?"

"True," said Rarity, "But that doesn't mean that's all you should get."

"Well asking for more always felt selfish," Mario sniffled, "after all, I don't want to come off as demanding. I mean..." Mario began to feel his tears increase.

"What is it darling?" Rarity asked as she stood closer to him, "You can tell us." Mario whimpered twice before finding his voice.

"All I want is to be loved and accepted," Mario croaked, "Rarity heard exactly what the elite think of me. I've put up with that my whole life. Just trying to find somepony who would just love and accept me despite being an orphan found under some rubble. I don't have any family and all my efforts to try and find anyone related to me ended up in a dead end. I mean, I had mom and my big sister but...I don't see Mom that much for obvious reasons...my big sister went to study abroad years ago and I never really hear from her anymore. Aunt Luna still keeps to herself so...I'm on my own, feeling like nopony loves me." Everypony just looked at him sympathetically.

"Didn't you have friends back in Canterlot?" Fluttershy asked.

"A few, but...I never felt comfortable confiding in them that much," said Mario, "after I got my ego from being a track champion I had pushed them away. They took a while to really forgive me for it. I don't blame them, but...there were times I really needed them when things felt so bleak..."

"Bleak...how?" Rainbow asked.

"When I first got into the accident," said Mario, "I was told I've never run again, let alone rock. How would you feel Rainbow Dash if you got hurt so bad that a doctor told you that you would never fly again, meaning goodbye Wonderbolt dream forever?" Rainbow could feel her eyes wanting to water, but she managed to stop herself.

"That...is bleak..." Rainbow said sadly.

"Point is...they weren't there for me until I finally started to recover," said Mario, "I felt like if I wanted any love from anypony then I'd just have to earn it..."

"And that is where you are wrong, Mario," said Fluttershy, "real friends would never make you earn their love. They would give it to you because they care! You shouldn't have to ask for it." Mario sniffled a bit.

"Then...why have I never heard any of you tell me?" he asked sadly, "Twilight isn't the only one who never tells me that. I mean...I know I never said it, but it was because I didn't want to be misunderstood...or sounding like I wasn't being committed to my feelings for Twilight."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh...so that's why," said Pinkie.

"What?" Mario asked.

"When we had our chat," said Pinkie, "I wondered why you didn't say that you loved me. It was because you didn't want to be misunderstood or cheating on Twilight." Mario nodded as few more tears left his eyes.

"Mario, we understand how you feel with Twilight," said Applejack, "and we know that you care alot about us, too. We would understand completely if you said you loved us, because we know it's because we're your friends."

"I've wondered why you never said anything," said Rarity, "and now I see why. You have a big heart Mario and we all love that about you. If you wanted to be loved, you don't have to earn it. Your my best friend Mario. I love you." Rarity walked up to him and gave him a hug. Mario felt a warmth in his heart as he hugged her back.

"I love you too," said Fluttershy, "You're my big brother after all and I'm so sorry if my teasing made you feel like I didn't. You just make it easy for me to be myself. I feel...confident when you spend time with me..." Fluttershy gave him a sisterly kiss by the side of his head before giving him a hug. Then Pinkie kissed the other side and hugged him as well.

"I know I am still getting over my crush on you," said Pinkie, "But I do sincerely love you, too. I don't want to see you so sad. I want to make you happy again...by finding what makes you happy, and not just myself." Mario just smiled as he started to cry again, giving the group a little squeeze.

"Oh Mario..." said Fluttershy as she soon was crying.

"Oh darling, it's going to be okay now," said Rarity, now shedding her own tears.

"Yeah, you don't need to search for love anymore," Pinkie added, crying as well, "You have it right here...with us." Applejack just sighed quietly before she heard some sniffling near her.

"Are you crying Rainbow Dash?" she asked surprised.

"No! Just...something in my eyes!" Rainbow snapped.

"I'm sorry Rainbow," Mario sobbed, "I didn't mean to tarnish your awesomeness." That broke the floodgates for the blue pony as she hovered over and tilted his head so they were making eyes contact.

"You see these tears," Rainbow snapped with a cracked voice, "If I didn't love you, do you think I'd be crying for you right now?" She then found a spot to hide her face and as she joined the group hug. Applejack was the last to join, not because she didn't care, but she really didn't want to cry in the open.

After all, she cries in the inside.

Not this time, even when she had seen so much hurt and pain from others she cared for, she had never shed a tear for them. Not even for her friends. Yet for Mario, she was freely shedding open tears by the time she made her way to the group. Why she felt like she could with him was anypony's guess.

"I love you too, sugarcube," her voice cracked and now they were all crying together in a big group hug. It was a couple of minutes later when they broke away, wiping away their tear stains. Mario sniffled, his eyes red and cheeks sticky, but he gave them a smile.

"Thanks everypony," said Mario, "I never knew how much I needed to hear you say that. It might not fully mend the ache in my heart, but at least it hurts less. I love you guys." They all smiled as Mario just sighed.

"You know, even if Twilight doesn't return my feelings," said Mario, "It be nice if she at least cared for me the way you all do."

"I'm sure she does," said Fluttershy, "Just give her some time and when she's ready, she'll talk to you about all of this."

"You think so?" Mario asked.

"We know so," said Applejack, "There is no way Twilight would throw away all those years you two spent together over something like this. Just give her some space and things will take care of itself." Mario just hummed to himself before using his horn to turn on a light and grabbed a scroll to write something.

"What's that for?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm writing a note to Twilight that we should spend time doing our studies alone for a while," said Mario, "I just don't think I'll be able to work with her if I'm feeling like this. So...I think this would be best for now."

"And when we have get our group hang outs?" Applejack asked concerned.

"I'll do my best to not make things awkward," said Mario, "Just because I'm hurt doesn't mean I can't still be nice to her right?" The other's smiled.

"That's the right attitude," said Rarity, "Will you be okay now, darling?"

"Yeah," said Mario, "this is gonna hurt for a while but, at least I have friends who love and care about me to get me through this." The other five smiled as they shared another group hug.

Next morning, Mario was just about to leave his house to deliver his note when he opened the door. There before him was the one pony he didn't want to see right now.

"You're really late!" said Twilight sternly, "We needed to start working on the next set of magic studies first thing in the morning!" Mario just snorted before taking a deep breath.

"I'm sorry Twilight," said Mario, "But I'm doing an independent project today."

"Independent project?" Twilight said surprised.

"Yes, studying the proper ratio of humor and seriousness when making morning muffins with Pinkie Pie," said Mario, "Now if you'll excuse me, those muffins are not gonna back themselves and I'd like to give Muffins Hooves a nice warm morning muffin when she takes her break from her mail route.

"What kind of study is that?" Twilight asked indignantly.

"It's called "Learning the Magic of Friendship With Someone Who Actually Cares About Me"," said Mario as he handed her the note, "And I'll be doing more of these projects with the rest of our friends from now on. See you later." Mario then stomped away and headed towards Sugarcube Corner. If he had looked back, he would have noticed that after Twilight read the note a pair of tears streamed down her face. She then made the note disappear before heading sadly back to the library without another word.

Over the course of a few weeks, things had definitely changed for both Mario and Twilight. For Twilight, Mario no longer studied with her and she spent her studies alone. While the first week or so conversations between the two were rather awkward whenever the group got together, as time went on, they were able to have small chats with each other. Those chats made Twilight feel like things were returning to normal and that dreaded night had been forgotten, until he made his leave. Mario never stuck around to hang out with her anymore, unless they were with the rest of their friends. She never blamed him for not asking to hang out anymore, but deep down she missed having him around. Even with constant pushing from Spike to speak up, she could never find the courage to do so. All she could do was blame herself for ruining their friendship, often crying herself to sleep at night.

As for Mario, he still cared deeply for Twilight, but since she never bothered to try and apologize, he only helped her out when necessary, no longer going out of his way for her like he used to. He poured more of his time and energy with the rest of their friends. He felt much happier with them, whether it was working with Rarity, racing with Rainbow Dash, animal tending with Fluttershy, baking with Pinkie Pie, or just helping out on the farm with Applejack. The last one being one of his favorite places to go. He couldn't really explain why Sweet Apple Acres made him so happy, but Applejack seemed to understand.

"Them apples sure can make a pony feel right at home," she said to him one day, "Kind of why I knew my true calling in life was here."

"I feel like I'm meant to be here too," Mario added, each exchanging smiles as they watched the sun set that day.

To make things even better for Mario, the five ponies finally asked what he liked to do. The first thing he revealed with his large scale toy train set that he kept in the basement as well as his collection of various trains he had saved over the years. They learned that he loved playing Monopoly and racing toy carriages and race karts no bigger than a foals hoof. He even invited them to join him on one of his exercise and parkour routines. While not everypony enjoyed all of his interests, he was touched that they were willing to try and enjoy them for his sake at least once.

The biggest reveal was the talking train stories he had been writing. They all encouraged him to publish them once he read one of the stories aloud. Within just those weeks alone, the first series was the number one children's book in Equestria. Even Spike had his own copy, including the Cutie Mark Crusaders. He could remember one time Sweetie Belle got teased for having the book at school. While the stories were meant for foals, they were supposed to be family stories. Sweetie Belle as well as the Mane five encouraged him to write more and the second series book was nearing completion.

His friendships with the Cutie Mark Crusaders grew as well. He could say he was closest with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Scootaloo seemed to deem the idea of "getting closer" too sappy for her, but deep down she really enjoyed his company, especially when they would race each other.

By the end of those few weeks, Mario truly saw those five ponies as more than just his best friends, but his family. They hadn't wasted any time calling him their big brother on occasion and he saw them all as his little sisters. He had even started addressing them by a nickname, thought most of them were nicknames that had been used before. While they struggled to find a nickname for him, he didn't mind not having one. There wasn't much anypony could do with the name "Mario" anyway. Rainbow once proposed "Sonic pony" but it didn't last.

Today was a beautiful day as Mario and the other six ponies were going to have a picnic together in the park for lunch. The blanket and other goods were getting set up by Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity. Fluttershy was just practicing bird calls as Rainbow arrived with Mario. The blue pony hadn't wanted to come for some reason and Mario finally convinced her to do so.

"I still can't believe I agreed to that bet!" Rainbow complained as they approached the picnic blanket, "I feel so ridiculous right now!"

"Oh come on, Dashie," said Mario, using his new nickname for her, "You look beautiful. As I recall from your "guide to awesomeness", being awesome also means looking it too. At least it's just an accessory and not an entire cutesy outfit. I gave you mercy."

Rainbow just snorted through her nose. Yesterday, they had been playing a round of Monopoly when they made a bet that the loser had to do whatever the winner asked. Mario had agreed to risk getting stuck wearing a tutu for a day and Rainbow said she would wear something girly. Just when Rainbow thought she was going to win, the dice betrayed her and she lost a few turns later. Now she was entering the park wearing a giant soft light pink bow in her mane. The others giggled when they saw her.

"Well, look whose trying to be a cutie patootie today," Pinkie teased.

"Are you going to one of Sweetie Belle's tea parties later, dear?" Rarity added.

"Or maybe y'all trying to get a colt to notice you?" Applejack said and they all snickered as Rainbow just felt herself growing angry and moody.

"That's enough you guys," said Mario, "Rainbow might be more of an athlete, but she's still a girl. She's allowed to be cute when she feels like it." Rainbow just looked at him stunned.

"What are you doing?" she asked a little more harshly than she had intended.

"Sticking up for my sister," Mario answered plainly.

"I lost a bet," said Rainbow, "Getting tormented is part of losing a bet!"

"That may have been your intention," said Mario, "But I just wanted you to feel comfortable embracing your girly side in public. There's no shame in that. Any colt who told you otherwise must have a head like a coconut."

"Why a coconut?" Twilight asked.

"Hard on the outside, but mostly hallow on the inside," said Mario, "Plus whenever they try to think, the juices flow out of their ears and they go..." Mario then made funny faces and sounds as they all laughed.

"Yeah, you're right," said Rainbow once she settled, "thanks Mario, you're very sweet." Then without even thinking, she leaned her head against his shoulder. Not a very Rainbow Dash thing to do, but as mentioned earlier, Rainbow always felt more comfortable showing her softer side when he was around. The other girls just smiled, except for Twilight who was just glaring a bit.

"Why are you jealous?" said Pinkie as she scooted next to her unexpectedly, "You had your chance but you let your nerves get the better of you. In fact, you let the fact Mario liked you ruin your date with him before it even got started!"

"WHAT?!" Mario shouted in shock as he stood forward.

"YAH!" Rainbow yelped since she toppled over after Mario had gotten up. Pinkie then realized her mistake and slapped both her fore-hooves over her mouth. Mario walked directly up to her, glaring at her the entire time.

"Pinkie..." Mario warned, "What do you mean Twilight knew before I told her?"

"Uh, did...did I say that? I...I meant...Twilight should've known!" Pinkie stuttered as she chuckled sheepishly, "We all knew and...how could she miss the obvious?" Mario just glared as Pinkie smiled, sweat dropping from her face.

"It's not her fault," Twilight jumped in, "at her birthday party I overheard you telling Pinkie how you felt about me." Mario just looked rather stunned.

"We saw that before your date she was getting nervous and..." said Applejack before Mario suddenly put two and two together.

"So you knew?" Mario said, now very upset, "You all knew she was overwhelmed with the truth and didn't even bother to tell me?!"

"Well, we all thought it was just her typical freak out and she was just overreacting," Rainbow retorted, "You know how Twilight gets. Besides, would it have mattered if you did know?" Mario gave her such a fierce glare that it actually made Rainbow cower a bit.

"Of course it mattered," said Mario with a hallow tone, "I would have just called the whole date off if I had know it was gonna make Twilight that upset. If the fact I loved her was enough to send her into a panic attack, I would have just held off saying it and made more of an effort to show her that me loving her was nothing to get your mane all out of shape. but instead, you guys just let me go through with it and I ended up looking like the biggest loser in all of Equestria!" Mario raised his voice as he spoke and then shouted angrily as he finished. He panted heavily at them all as they just gave him sad faces. Mario hadn't even noticed that poor Twilight was the most upset. As if the guilt when the subject came up didn't hurt her, the fact Mario said "loved" really hurt. There was just a long silence before Mario stomped away.

"I can't talk to any of you right now," Mario snapped angrily, "Enjoy your lunch without me!" Mario then took off before anypony could stop him. Pinkie was fighting not to cry when Rainbow flew up to her.

"Do you know whose got the biggest mouth in the world next to you?" Rainbow shouted when Pinkie burst into tears. It didn't take long for the death glares of everypony else to get Rainbow to feel rather guilty and embarassed as she stopped hovering and lowered her head.

"Me," Rainbow said sadly, answering her own question.

A couple of hours later, Mario could be seen riding what appeared to be a floating rail bar made from his own magic as he headed out of Ponyville. He was just grinding on it to pass the time and get some of the anger out of his system, but he couldn't help but feel furious at the six ponies.

"Secrets and lies," said Mario as he kept his balance on his hind legs, "it's nothing but secrets and lies with these ponies. They make you think that they care about you, but then they slam the door in your face and hide things from you!" Mario then made a few jumps from one magic rail to the next and kept grinding, but soon found that even some exercise grinding and platforming wasn't helping him feel better.

"Oh horse apples," Mario retorted before ending the rail and setting up some floating rings. he hoped off the end of the rail, boosted through the rings and made a perfect landing on all four of his hooves. He just sighed to himself and just walked slowly, feeling rather glum until he noticed something in the distance. He picked up his pace and saw that it was a train, or to be more accurate, the back end of a train. The second to last coach has derailed so the train had gone to the station with its front coaches. Those in the back two coaches were now stranded. Mario was surprised to see that it was Cheerilee and some of her students sitting a short distance away.

"I knew it! I knew it!" said a familiar voice as Mario approached the group and soon felt someone slam into one of his fore-hooves, "I told you Mario would come and save the day!" Mario didn't even need to look down to know that it was Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom looked just as happy to see him as was Cheerilee. The others were less than thrilled. Of course Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon just looked indignant. (Well Silver tried to crack a smile but Diamond shut her down with a glare...instantly.)

"What seems to be the problem?" Mario asked as Sweetie Belle held onto his leg and Cheerilee arrived.

"The train got derailed and we've been stranded here," Cheerilee explained, "we were leaving for three day trip to Canterlot as part of our history studies. Unless we can find another way to get there, this trip just might have to be cancelled." Some of the other students groaned in disappointment.

"Don't worry everypony," said Sweetie Belle, "I'm sure Mario can help us."

"Oh puh-leeese," Diamond Tiara remarked with an eye roll, "What exactly can your prince in shining armor do?"

"Alot," said Mario sternly before giving Sweetie Belle a smile, "Don't you worry Sweetie Belle, everything is going to be alright."

"Squee!" said Sweetie Belle excitedly as she hopped on all four of her hooves as Mario headed over towards the derailed coach. Using his magic, he set the coach back into the track and then used his strength to push the two coaches and caboose backwards carefully to examine the tracks.

"So there's the problem," said Mario as he leaned his head down. Some of the other younger ponies approached.

"What is?" Scootaloo asked curiously. Mario pointed a hoof at what appeared to be a stretch where the warm sun had bent to rails of the tracks.

"This stretched piece of track is the reason the coach derailed," Mario pointed.

"Oh great," said Diamond Tiara bitterly, "Looks like we're not going anywhere until it gets fixed."

"Now don't give up hope so easily," said Mario, "I've worked with real rails before. Just stand back and cover your ears." The young ponies backed away a bit as Mario focused his magic. With a painful screech, Mario unbent the rails so they were nice and smooth again.

"All fixed," said Mario, "Now the tracks are safe to use again."

"Hoorey!" shouted several of the young ponies.

"Don't go cheering just yet," said Diamond Tiara, "We still need a train to pull us to Canterlot."

"Why not ask Mario?" said Silver Spoon.

"What?!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed.

"My Dad told me that you once pulled the big express," said Silver Spoon as she walked up to him, "could you pull the train for us please?"

"It's been a while," Mario pondered, but deep down he needed a place to get away from Ponyville for a while and Canterlot was a good first choice, "But sure, I can try." Before long, Mario used his magic to create a large version of the harness he used to pull his trains in Ponyville. As soon as Mario was coupled on, everyone else got inside the two coaches.

"Do you best Mario!" said Cheerilee as she peaked her head out the window.

"Well everypony, you might as well get comfortable," said Diamond Tiara, earning a few glares, as she reclined on the edge of her seat, "Cause we're not going any..."

RUMBLE!

"EEK! Oomph!" Diamond Tiara was given the shock of her life as the train car lunched forward a bit, knocking her off her chair.

"Uh, Diamond Tiara," said Apple Bloom with a smug smile on her face, "We're not staying still." The spoiled filly as well as several other students were in shock as Mario easily made the train move forward. It wasn't much longer before Mario picked up speed and the train was running at a fast but smooth pace down the track. Bridges and scenery flashed by, the young ponies began to cheer, and within a few minutes, they reached Canterlot station. Everyone, including a very reluctant Diamond Tiara, said thank you to Mario and Cheerilee was most impressed.

"I'm glad to see that all those tales about you pulling big trains wasn't just a pony's tale," said Cheerilee, "thank you for getting us here safely."

"Anytime," said Mario. Thanks to his speed, they had managed to get to the station in record time. For the rest of the train had just reported its missing coaches when he arrived. Once the back part of the train was re-coupled, it left the station. Mario watched it disappear before sighing to himself and headed into the city. He didn't bother to make his way to any of his old Canterlot friends or go see if Princess Celestia was in her castle. He had just headed straight for the sculpture gardens to take walk. While helping out Cheerilee's class helped brighten his spirits, he was still feeling very betrayed and angry.

"If this is what the magic of friendship is all about," said Mario to himself bitterly, "Then maybe I don't want any part of it."

Interesting theory

"Who said that?" said Mario, standing on his hind legs as he stood on guard and looked around. But he didn't see anything.

"I guess skipping lunch is making me a little cuckoo," Mario told himself, "I'm hearing thing."

Trust me, you don't need to be hungry to be cuckoo.

Mario then heard an ominous laugh. He felt rather annoyed...and a bit frightened.

"Who are you?" he said bravely, "You got alot of nerve mocking me from a hiding place. Show yourself!"

I don't need to. You can't catch me even if you wanted to.

Mario gritted his teeth and charged deeper into the sculpture garden. He continued to search about, listening as the voice continued to laugh and mock him. then he came to a particular part of the garden where he found his six friends all gathered around just before a statue of some sort of mutated serpent-creature.

"Wuh?" Mario exclaimed, "what are you guys doing here? How'd you know I'd be in the garden?" Mario's felt a chill down his spine when the six ponies all gave him death glares.

"Bleh," said Pinkie sternly, "why would I waste my time wanting to make you happy?"

"Once a pity, always a pity," said Rarity, "Your fashion sense was always atrocious."

"Wanna know why I'm so sassy with you?" Fluttershy snapped, "because you're not even worth being given any respect."

"You think you're such an athlete with your speed and jumping tricks," said Rainbow, "you're all show, no skill!"

"You think we actually love you?" said Applejack, "Well the honest truth is that we can't stand you!"

"I don't know why in your tiny little brain you would think I would ever wanna be in love with you," said Twilight, "you're not worth my time! Or anypony's time! Nopony will ever love the likes of you!"

With every word that was said Mario could feel his heart break piece by piece. Tears streamed down his face as he hunched to the ground holding his head with his fore-hooves.

As you can see, the magic of friendship really isn't that valuable is it? Not to you at least.

"That's not true," Mario croaked, "This has to be some sort of dream! I just need to wake up! I just gotta!" Mario pinched himself several times, but despite the pain he wouldn't wake up. The others just rolled their eyes at him and walked away.

"Guys wait!" Mario called out desperately but was ignored.

Why bother with them? They don't want you and you don't need them!

"Yes I do!" Mario shouted with a broken voice.

You don't need them!

"I do need them!"

You don't need them!

"I...do...need..." As Mario tried to repeat himself, all those insults and the lies he had been told began to flood into his mind. It was overwhelming as the doubt and fear soon began to wear him down.

You don't need them!

"I...need..."

You don't need them!

"I...don't..."

You don't need them!

"...don't...need..."

You don't need them!

You don't need them!

Here is a view of Mario's eyes, closed tightly and flooding with un-wiped tears that began to open. The once eyes of shinning chocolate brown were now replaced with a dull and lifeless shade of gray.

"I don't need anypony..." Mario said in a bone chilling tone.

Muwhahahahahahahahahaha!

One down...six to go...

There you have it, the filler for the end of Best Night Ever and the prelude to Return of Harmony.

Alot of fans requested this route for Mario Star, but I have my own plan for his role. Its not gonna be easy since I've never had my main character participate on the antagonist side so go easy on me. But Season 2 is about to begin!

Peace Pony Fans!