I woke up from my quick nap and looked out the kitchen window to see the pegasuses gathering rainclouds and blocking out the moonlight. At first, I was confused on why they were doing that, only to then remember that this was to do with creating a rainfall for environment reasons, although I didn't pay attention the details or the true purpose, I was too busy being random in my mind at the time.

I headed on out to see a few other ponies helping out on the ground, taking down tree branches, I noticed Applejack and Rarity were there too, probably helping out. AJ was lassoing the branches down in her own cowpony way, but Rarity was more interested in making the branches and leaves look fabulous, I walked over to see how they were doing and if they needed help.

"Hey there you two, I see the event with the dragon we had, didn't tire you down." I cheekily said.

"No way, sugarcube. It's gonna take more than a red dragon with a snoring issue to take us down." Applejack bragged.

"Especially when I still get to have my mane still looking fabulous." Rarity added as she used her magic to turn the leaves on a tree branch into pony shaped leaves. "Perfect." she said.

Just then, Applejack lassoed the branch down, this caused Rarity to frown.

"Just take the broken branches down, Rarity. Don't ya'll care about anything other than prettifying?" she asked.

"Somepony has to, you're making an absolute mess of this part of the town, Applejack." Rarity complained.

"Yeah well, the storm's gonna make an even bigger mess if we don't prune all these lose branches, so they don't tumble down on anypony."

"I simply cannot imagine why the pegasi ponies would schedule a dreadful downpour this evening and ruin what could've been a glorious evening."

"Think more practical like will ya?" Applejack asked, "They accidentally skipped a sprinkle season last week, so we need a douse of a downpour to make up for it is all.

"Well, that would explain why the recent days I've had, have been nothing but sunshine." I said to them, before getting back on what I wanted to ask, "But that's not what I came to say, I was meant to ask, do you need my help with anything?"

"Sure we do, could you take those branches on those last few trees down?" Applejack pointed to me the trees with branches.

I nodded as I walked over and used my magic to bring down the branches and the leaves. But then, I felt a drip, looks like it was about to rain, but I didn't mind, I was in my suit and shoes after all.

"Oh no! My wonderfully styled mane will be ruined!" Rarity whined.

"Ya should've hurried up and finished the job already." Applejack said who didn't seem to mind the rain.

I could only giggle at Rarity's battle against anything icky as I finished off my work on the tree branches...but since my random mood was active, I used a small twig to write Santander on one of the branches. I vowed that I would keep it at my house until Equestria starts having credit card technology and that a local branch would be built in Ponyville.

The rainfall was about to really kick in and I started getting a bit soaked. I went to check on Applejack and Rarity who seemed to be not on good terms. I was wondering what was happening between them, until we heard our names being called.

"Applejack! Rarity! Bond!" a voice shouted from afar.

We looked to see that it was Twilight calling for us, "Come inside you three, quick!"

We galloped to Twilight's home and inside, except for Applejack who stopped outside.

"Woah nelly! Is inside a tree really the best place to be in a lightening storm?" she asked.

"It is if you have a magical lightening rod protecting your home like I do." Twilight answered.

"Awww no fair, I want one." I spoke out, randomly.

"Well maybe if you master your alicorn magic, you can have one too." Rarity cheekily replied which made Twilight giggle.

No way, did Rarity just owned me...why that little white marshmallow!

"Come on in," Twilight said.

"Oh, we are most grateful for your invitation." Rarity replied.

"Thank you kindly for your hospitality..." Applejack said before being cut-off as Rarity pointed to her hooves being muddy.

"Uhh, do be a polite house guest and go wash up please, won't you?" Rarity asked.

I heard Applejack muttering grumpily as Rarity and I walked on in and closed the door.

"Some storm, huh?" Twilight asked, "The pegasi ponies sure have outdone themselves this time. I hope you three don't have any trouble getting home."

"It may indeed be a problem." Rarity replied who wasn't sure.

"Probably for me too, since my suit is a little bit soaked at the moment." I added.

"Well, you're both welcome to stay if need be. Spike was summoned to Canterlot to help out on royal business. I'm all home alone tonight." Twilight then gasped, "You and Applejack should have a slumber party, I always wanted one of those."

Oh no, a slumber party where it's all girly and all that jazz. I wasn't a fan of those, not even when my sister tried to get me into them. Twilight noticed my expression and realized I wasn't a mare, I was 100% all stallion baby!

"Oh, but you're a male pony, so this probably won't be your thing."

"I'm afraid not, maybe I should get back to my home..." I said as I opened the door before I was taken back by the noise of the thunder and lightening. The rainfall looked too furious to walk through, so I guess I had to stay here for the time being until the rain subsides.

"That was close, Bond. My library has plenty of books that can be right for you." Twilight suggested.

"Alright then, I'll have a look at some." I replied.

"Good, make yourself at home."

So I went over to the books to see if there were a few that caught my interest as I listened over Twilight's conversation with Rarity.

"Oh! Uh, goodness. Uh, I do believe I have another engagement scheduled for this evening that completely slipped my mind until just now." Rarity laughed nervously. "Ah, silly me, I can't possibly stay here all night - with Applejack."

Twilight walked up to her shelf and brought out a book. She opened the book to Rarity and revealed the contents inside.

"Slumber 101: All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Slumber Parties But Were Afraid to Ask." Rarity read out loud.

"My own personal copy. It's a fantastic reference guide. You should see the table of contents. I've been waiting for a chance to use it, and today is the day! This is gonna be so great!"

"Yes, uh, great." Rarity laughed nervously.

Outside, Applejack was still trying to wash the mud off her hooves using a hose, but she had some trouble with it, I tried not to, but I couldn't resist letting out a giggle.

"Well, let's get started, shall we?" Rarity suggested.

They began to grab, whatever it was they used for face masks, so I decided I would just leave them to their fun. I began looking around at the shelves, seeing if I could find something to read.

"What in tarnation..." I heard Applejack. "Now wait just a goll-darn minute. Ya make me wash the mud off my hooves, but it's okay for you all to have mud all over your faces?"

"Silly! This is called a mud mask. It's to refresh and rejuvenate your complexion." Rarity replied.

"We're giving each other makeovers! Tee-hee!" Twilight added. I heard excitement in her voice. "We have to do it, it says so in the book."

"Slumber 101: Everything You... Oh hey, heh, would ya look at the time. Ah gotta skedaddle on home quick. Ah'm mighty late for, uh, for somethin'. Uh, g'night." Thunder roared outside. "Or maybe Ah'll stay here for a spell."

"Hurray slumber party!" Twilight yelled in excitement.

"Blah. What in the world is this for?"

I heard Rarity sigh. "To reduce the puffiness around one's eyes, of course."

"Puffiness-schmuffiness! That's good eatin'!" Applejack made some loud chewing noises.

"Tee-hee! Isn't this exciting? We'll do everything by the book, and that will make my slumber party officially fun."

"Did you hear that, Applejack? You certainly would not want to do anything that would ruin Twilight's very first slumber party, would you?" Rarity smirked

"Of course not, and you wouldn't either, ah reckon." Applejack answered back.

"So do we have an agreement?"

"You betcha." I assumed Applejack spit in her hoof afterwards.

"Oh! Gross! You know, there's messy and there's just plain rude."

"You know, there's fussy and there's just plain getting on my nerves."

"Fortunately, I can get along with any pony, no matter how difficult SHE may be."

"Oh yeah? Well, ah'm the get-alongin'ist pony ya ever gonna meet."

"That's not even a word."

"This is going to be the bestest slumber party ever! Yay!" I heard Twilight say in the middle of the argument.

I wasn't interested in how the slumber party was going. I was paying attention to a couple of books that caught my eye and I was reading them in the upper floor of the home. It was all quiet at least, away from the girly chattering or whatever goes on in slumber parties nowadays. I was getting into reading a second book I found when I heard screams coming from downstairs, so I went down to see what was happening. Only to see Twilight with her slumber party book.

"Ghost stories, check." Twilight said as she crossed it off in the book checklist."Now, who wants s'mores?"

Finally, something that I could do in a slumber party besides reading away.

"Oh, I do, I do!" I exclaimed.

We went into the kitchen, where Applejack began roasting marshmallows on a nearby fireplace while Rarity was going over the instructions on making a smore.

"Then you place one marshmallow on the top of the chocolate and be sure it's centred - that's critical - and then carefully put another perfectly square graham cracker on the top. And done. Ta-da!"

"Ooo!" Twilight gazed at the treat.

"Nah, ya just eat 'em." Applejack munched loudly on the treat as Rarity stared at her, very annoyed.

Applejack belched.

Rarity sighed. "You could at least say excuse me."

"I was just about to, but you interrupted me." Applejack replied. "Pardon."

I had one that I made myself, Rarity was right, these were tasty.

"S'mores, check. Now the next item of fun we have to do is Truth or Dare." Twilight announced, writing in her book.

"I dare Applejack to do something carefully and neatly for a change." Rarity began fighting.

Looks like it's about to kick off between those two again...

"Oh yeah? Well ah dare Rarity ta lighten up and stop obsessing over every last little detail, for a change." Applejack fought back.

"I think the truth of the matter is that SOME pony could stand to pay a little more attention to details."

"And I think the truth is SOME pony oughta quit with her fussin' so the rest of us can get things done."

Twilight walked over to her book and flipped through the pages. "Um, I don't think this is how the game's supposed to work. You have to give an honest answer to any question or do whatever any pony dares you to do."

"I dares you to step outside and let your precious, tidy mane get ruined again!" Applejack began first.

Rarity gasped.

"You have to. It's the rule." Twilight backed up.

"HAH!" Applejack laughed.

"Fine!" Rarity slowly walked to the door and then outside, letting herself get drenched in the rain. Applejack snickered as she came back in with her mane and tail shivering. Applejack began laughing but was cut short when Rarity walked straight towards her.

"Okay! I dare Applejack to play dress-up in a fru-fru, glittery, lacey outfit!"

Applejack gasped, but she walked away to put on her outfit. When she came back, she was wearing, what appeared to be, a princess outfit.

"Happy?" She asked.

"Very." Rarity, replied, giving a smirk.

"Um, do I ever get a turn?" Twilight asked, trying not to interrupt.

This was getting a bit out of control and if something wasn't done soon, there would be a fallout incoming.

"I dare ya to enter the next rodeo when it comes to town." Applejack commenced.

"I dare you not to enter the next rodeo that comes to town." Rarity replied.

"Umm, could you two stop now?" I asked, but to no avail.

"I dare ya to not comb your mane a hundred times before bed."

"And I dare you to comb yours just once."

Twilight slammed the book down the floor in anger.

Suddenly, Rarity and Applejack stopped and looked at Twilight. I could see that she was a little angry and upset at them both, she then turned and ran upstairs without a word.

"Well, are you two happy now?!" I asked them as they looked, feeling guilty on how they behaved tonight.

"What is your problem towards each other? Why are you acting like this now compared to earlier today?"

Rarity and Applejack didn't seem to reply, which didn't help.

"I'm disappointed in you both. You're part of the seven elements and you should know better than to exchange petty arguments when you're guests in a pony's home who's trying to be close friends with you."

"Ah know that, it's just that Rarity started it by foolin' around with the branches and not taking them down like we were supposed to." Applejack explained.

"Actually, it was you who started it when you criticized the way I behave with everything I do." Rarity snapped back.

"This is exactly what I mean. But right now, there's a purple pony upstairs crying her eyes out who needs her FRIENDS...and whether you like it or not, you're going to help me and cheer up Twilight." I snapped.

"Ya right, Bond. We're sorry." Applejack apologized

"It's not me, you need to apologize to." I said "Afterwards, I think we'll call it a night and try to get some sleep."

"I can agree to that, let's go and help our dear Twilight." Rarity added.

We walked up the stairs to Twilight's bedroom and we saw Twilight on her bed, wiping her eyes.

"Twilight, are you alright?" I asked calmly.

"Why did it had to happen tonight? All I wanted was a slumber party." Twilight cried.

I held out my hooves and pulled her into a hug, which she accepted.

"I know you did, it's just that Applejack and Rarity have been exchanging petty arguments all evening. But they're here now and they have something to say." I then looked at them both, "Don't you?"

I pulled out of the hug as Rarity and Applejack went towards Twilight.

"We do, dear. I'm sorry for my behaviour tonight. I don't know what came over me." Rarity apologized.

"Ah'm sorry as well, Twilight. Ah didn't mean for it to get out of hoof and ruin ya slumber party" Applejack added, apologizing too.

Twilight smiled a little at them both, she got off her bed and hugged both of them separately.

"It's been a long day for us, from sending that dragon away to this. We should get some sleep and I don't think there's anything else that could possibly go wrong." I stated.

Suddenly, lightening struck the tree that was outside Twilight's home. Me and my big mouth...

"Ya see, that's why we needed to take all those branches down in town." Applejack said. "Not spiffy them up."

"But I..." Rarity got cut off.

"Outta mah way missy, times are wasting."

She then opened up the window and pulled out a rope to lasso and tie around the top part of the tree.

"Wait, stop, don't!" Rarity yelled.

"No waiting, no nothin'!"

The broken part of the tree was now balanced with the tied rope.

"And that my friends is what we call gettin' her done."

She then pulled the rope towards her, but the broken part was bigger than we thought and it was about to come crashing down. I knocked Applejack out of the way but I ended up falling with the tree on the bedroom floor and now I was stuck.

"ARGH!" I screamed in pain "MEDIC!" I also shouted out of nowhere.

"Bond!" Twilight yelled, "Can you move?"

As much as I tried, I wasn't able to. "No...I'm stuck-ow!"

"I tried to tell you it would come crashing down in here." Rarity said as she covered her mane with a book.

"Well you should've tired harder." Applejack snapped before noticing Rarity placing books on Twilight's shelf, "What in tarnation are y'all doin' over there?"

"Cleaning up this mess SOME pony made. Who was that again? Oh, right, that's YOU." Rarity responded.

"We gotta do somethin'!" Applejack exclaimed. She tried kicking the tree, pulling the tree with a rope, jumping on the tree, and any other way to get rid of the tree. "Rarity, for pony's sake, stop sweatin' the small stuff and help me get rid of this thing!" Rarity only glanced back and then continued placing the books back. "Ah said hussle over here and help me!" Rarity didn't listen. "Look, ahm sorry, all right?"

"What was that?" Rarity asked.

"Ah said ah'm sorry!" Applejack yelled through the storm. "I shoulda listened to you when you noticed where this here branch would end up. Yer annoyin' attention to detail woulda saved us from this whole mess. But right now, ya need to stop bein' so dang fussy pickin' up all those little things and help me move the one big thing in here that actually matters! Please!"

Rarity finally looked over at the tree when Applejack said that. She looked like she wanted to help, but she was worried about something. "Uh. Uh, but I'll get all icky!" She exclaimed.

"Consarnit! What the... eh... you... Ah mean, yes, ickiness is often a side effect of hard work. But y'all need to get over it, on account ah just can't fix this mess ah made myself. Ah need your help!"

Rarity hesitated for a moment, and then thought. Finally she looked toward Applejack. "Oh. Let's do this."

Rarity walked over to Applejack and they both talked for a moment, sharing a plan. Rarity and Applejack began to get to work. Rarity used her magic to make the tree into a bunch of small ornaments instead. Much to my relief, I was free at last, minus a few cuts and a big one where I was bleeding a little, I wasn't badly hurt.

Applejack was about to kick the bottom of the tree out the window, but she noticed Rarity's look on her face and paused. She placed her feet down and turned around. She grabbed the stump instead and lightly threw it out the window. Applejack closed the window, and the chaos died down. Rarity looked at herself. She was covered in mud and leaves.

"U-ugh. Oh, I look awful" Rarity said.

Applejack thought for a moment and thought up of an idea. She grabbed a couple of the eye pieces used in spas and placed them on Rarity's eyes.

"Better?" Applejack asked.

"Hm, thanks." Rarity responded.

They both hugged.

Twilight helped me to get up and had me looked over and from a small cabinet, she wrapped a bandage around my big cut and a couple of plasters around the small cuts. I was hurting still, but I felt much better with other things that were back to normal.

A few minutes later and we were having fun with a few games, something they should've had all along, I then noticed the time.

"Well, I think it's time I left. The rain has died down a lot, making it tolerable for me to travel home at the moment." I said.

"Awww, but we need a stallion to keep company through the night." Rarity smirked.

"Oh you, Rarity." I then turned to Twilight, "But before I go, I'll happily hear what you've learnt about tonight."

This cheered up Twilight a lot as she found a quill and started to write.

"Dear Princess Celestia, it's hard to believe that two ponies who seem to have so little in common could ever get along. But I found out that if you embrace each other's differences, you might just be surprised to discover a way to be friends after all!" Twilight had finished her letter.

"That I can agree with, well, time for me to leave, goodnight you three." I said to them as I began to leave Twilight's home.

"Okay Bond, have a goodnight as well and take it easy with those cuts." Twilight replied.

"I will indeed."

I then went downstairs, opened the door and left the library, before galloping back to my home but taking care of my cuts and getting inside. It was good to be in my home again after all the girly stuff. Climbing into my bed carefully, I recapped over everything that happened today.

That's two friendship lessons learnt in one day, hard to believe that one minute, we were dealing with a dragon at the mountain with Fluttershy coming out of her shell and the next minute, I intervened in a petty argument before Rarity and Applejack made up and helped Twilight have the best first slumber party ever. Speaking of which, I still didn't find it to be my thing, but it was good to hang out with them as very good friends. I could only think about getting some sleep and never mind thinking of what to do the next day. Next Chapter: Bridle Gossip Estimated time remaining: 27 Hours, 55 Minutes