[For friendship marks, see here.]

Starponys: Friends with Unicorn Syndrome

At age 16, Nightlight Sparkleheart is training to become a princess -- the Princess of Friendship. She shows a classic case of "Unicorn Syndrome": She loves math, science, and spell programming (no magic; this is sci-fi). Unfortunately, she has a hard time opening her heart to someone else. She can be quite shy by nature, but then she can love to talk about her favorite things.

In the beginning, her big brother White Night Shiningheart (age 26) is one of few who have managed to capture her heart. Her two other friends include Phoenix the little dragon boy (age 13) (nicknamed "Fee-Fee Weefie") and Princess Skylight Sparkle (Skysparkle). Having a heart that can be broken is something she can hardly make rational sense of. Yet part of her can't help but find it alluring, like something that "hurts so good".

Nightlight is a powerful unicorn learning under the wings of Princess Skysparkle. She is being co-mentored by her big brother, who is training to become the Prince of Friendship. Nightlight's brother is also a powerful unicorn. Nightlight is arguably more powerful than her big brother, but she is less competent at controlling her powers.

Making friends requires the willingness to be vulnerable. This is something those with Unicorn Syndrome are naturally afraid to do. Nor does it naturally make logical sense to them. These are subconscious feelings that Nightlight cannot quite put her hoof on at first. Unicorn Syndrome, similar to disorders on the autism spectrum, comes with an overwhelming desire to feel in control. Making friends means taking the risk that things will get messy.

Her obsession with controlling her environment may overlap with OCD -- making for more of a perfect storm (another common attribute of those with Unicorn Syndrome, though OCD is a distinct syndrome in itself).

Indeed, Nightlight herself is an embodiment of the struggle it takes to love a troubled person. She may scream and break things when things don't go her way. On rare occasion, her mane may catch fire and burn up her fursuit (pony clothing), leaving her naked and humiliated. Deep inside, she doesn't like hurting anyone very much. Her sometimes terrible temper is something that scares even her.

It is hard for Nightlight to be generous. It doesn't feel terribly rational to her, not fully appreciating the friendship she can receive in return. That is -- unless it makes her feel like a hero. The thought that she could become the Princess of Friendship makes her feel like a hero! When people treat her like a princess, she might be more than happy to do a favor.

There are some things Nightlight gets obsessed and perfectionistic about -- arranging favorite toys, arranging favorite books, mastering favorite spells, fine-tuning a drawing, and rewriting essays and stories. Whatever she's not obsessed with organizing, however, she may leave in a big mess. Even then, her mess may have a logical order that helps her find and retrieve things quickly. She has naturally straight hair, but she wavers between wanting to keep it neat and embracing a bedhead.

White Night, on the other hand, tends to be obsessed with organization. He doesn't have Unicorn Syndrome -- but he often shows signs of OCD. His OCD sometimes clashes with his sister's ASD -- which can cause severe distress for both. Despite his obsession with neatness, he enjoys some of the messiest games.

The Starpony Kingdom (Stellequestria) is ruled by three Princesses and one Prince. All four of them are winged unicorns ("alicorns") -- arguably the most powerful of their kind. Princess Skysparkle is the main ruler. Her co-rulers are the following: her son Prince Endearment Heartwings, her niece Princess Twilight Teatime, and Princess Honeymoon. (Honeymoon is a distant descendant of Princess Stellaluna: twin sister of Skysparkle -- who got banished to the moon 432 years ago. Twlilight Teatime is Stellaluna's daughter.)

Now that Nightlight is 16, Princess Skysparkle is sending Nightlight off on a special quest. She is to live as a normal mare in a normal house in one of the nearby pony villages. To become the Princess of Friendship, she must learn to live as one of her fellow ponies, without relying on her privileges as a rich girl.

Nightlight was born into a rich family. Her brother, on the other hand, can remember when their family was struggling to buy a good home.

To make friendship seem like a great adventure to Nightlight, White Night has managed to recast the problem. He says, "We're studying the science behind what makes two ponies bring joy to each other's world!"

All this time, Nightlight has been living in her parents' palace in the Royal Village (Stellequestria [City]). The Royal Village has the close-knitted sense of community associated with a village, even though it is really a city now. Fortunately, Nightlight won't be going too far away. She will be going to one of the outer towns: Friendsville.

Friendsville is about 30 miles north-northeast of the Royal Village. Right around here, the Royal Highway (Skysparkle Highway 1, a cross-country highway) intersects with Friendship Circle (Endearment Highway 145), a giant heart-shaped beltway surrounding the Royal Province. Just east across Fountainheart River is the Wildfree Forest, a Royal National Park (aka the "Untamed Forest").

Nightlight will not be alone in her search for friends. David Starlyre, at age 18, is another prince in training at the Royal Academy. He also has Unicorn Syndrome, and he was a lot like Nightlight just 3 years ago. But now he is exceptionally mature for a stallion.

It is relatively easy for Starlyre to make friends with girls. Many girls have a way of overcoming his natural shyness. It is much harder for him to make friends with stallions. Most stallions seem much further behind in appreciating the power of friendship -- not offering the environment we really need to share our feelings.

For him to open his heart properly, Starlyre needs an environment that makes him feel safe. In reality, we all probably do -- but Unicorn Syndrome can come with an overwhelming desire to feel in control of one's own environment.

Starlyre sometimes gets obsessed with routine and organization (overlapping with OCD), a trait he shares with his friend Precious Sapphire -- though it might sometimes be more extreme coming out of him. Starlyre's form of Unicorn Syndrome sometimes clashes with Nightlight's -- and this can cause severe distress for both. Despite his obsession with neatness, he enjoys some of the messiest games.

Starlyre is an earthbound pony, but he still has some cartoonish superpowers. In addition, he is a skilled spell programmer. He cannot execute spells himself, but he can help unicorns compile spells and focus their powers. He also has some of the most beautiful lyre-playing skills. Through his lyre skills, he's slowly developing a seemingly magical way of relaxing his fellow creatures -- including some dangerous enemies!

Starlyre was sent on the same basic mission three weeks earlier, and he has made five new best friends -- a circle of marefriends who are ready to welcome the new unicorn in town.

As far as superpowers are concerned, Starlyre is arguably near the back of the pack -- despite his fairly cartoonish resilience, limited ability to pull cartoonish gags, and limited sixth sense. Even Precious Sapphire, the most delicate-looking of the group, can punch out some much bigger, stronger opponents. Starlyre doesn't really mind getting beaten by a girl -- but it kind of bothers him, at first, to have to be rescued by one.

On his own, Starlyre has a rather limited amount of special powers. But when he is properly tapped into the power of his friendship with the marefriends, he can be the knight he really wants to be for them -- and the knight they really want from him! The more humble he becomes toward the mares -- the more he accepts being a "little big brother" -- the more he gets lifted up. The more he learns how to put them above himself, the more willing they are to follow him as a big brother.

From the outset, he's an awfully humble stallion. Yet -- despite his exceptional maturity, he comes to realize he still has a long way to go. White Night follows the same basic character development -- as he keeps maturing as a big brother and a father figure. Both of them take a little too much pride being the knights in shining armor -- sometimes needlessly endangering themselves when there are mares better equipped for the lifesaving job. Sometimes they take so much pride in giving advice to the mares -- that they fail to ask for advice from the mares.

Phoenix the little dragon boy is only 13 years old. Yet he also functions as a little mentor for Nightlight. Unlike her, he is very much outgoing. He bonds with the marefriends much more easily than she does. He immediately has a crush on one of the mares: Precious Sapphire.

Phoenix is literally one of the most heartwarming dragons. He has a special fire breath that can warm people's hearts, without burning them. He can blow regular fire, as well -- but his most special power is his signature fire-spell -- known as blowing a fire-kiss! He is also learning to use his fire-kiss to send and receive letters -- along with brief voice messages (and, later, brief visions).

From his crush on Precious Sapphire, Phoenix feels the vulnerability of his own heart. Even though he has a heart that can be broken, Phoenix would not trade it for anything. As far as he can see, the risk of pain is where the ultimate joy lies (though sometimes it "hurts so good"). (Precious Sapphire seems to have similar feelings for Phoenix, but she wants to keep her distance a little, since she is a teenager.)

The five marefriends are the following:
* Sonic Rainbow Heartboom (aka "Rainbowbarf") (17) (superpowered pegasus -- can potentially break the sound barrier -- can influence the weather in surprise ways with the butterfly effect of her stirring up and punching through the air)
* Sparklefire (17) (superpowered earthbound pony -- capable of performing wild cartoon gags)
* Dragonshy Flutterstrike Honeyprickle (17) (pegasus with weak wings, but has a "Soft Stare" and a "Hard Stare")
* Precious Sapphire (aka "Octamare") (17) (unicorn with great talent for remote sensing -- especially for finding treasure; also has martial-arts skills that might let her punch out much bigger, stronger opponents -- along with mannerisms that might woo or cow dangerous adversaries)
* Applewood Tenderwolf (17) (earthbound pony, but has great sling and lasso skills -- along with earth and environmental engineering skills; can make crops, and possibly animals, grow extra fast -- for multiple harvests; also developing the ability to buck her way through solid rock)

Rainbow Heartboom's two best marefriends are Sparklefire and Flutterstrike. Sparklefire and Flutterstrike usually seem like the sweetest, most affectionate girls. Sparklefire is loud and outgoing, usually in the mood for a party. Flutterstrike is shy and soft-spoken, and she prefers quiet get-togethers.

Unfortunately, these two girls each have a monster haunting them inside -- a dark side that scares even them. Sparklefire and Flutterstrike love to share their love -- and they desperately want people to love them back.

When Flutterstrike is desperately trying to win a person's or animal's affection, she occasionally turns into a crazed stalker. With her Hard Stare, she can strike fear into just about anyone -- when she finds the nerve to do so. She hardly ever exercises this power; she has a rather timid nature, and it takes great courage for her to rise to the occasion.

On occasion, Sparklefire feels stabbed in the back -- and the heart -- by a false promise (especially a "Sparkly Promise"). When this happens, she may act as though a dark spirit has possessed her (with the voice to match). In this state of mind, she is madly determined to force the other person to keep their promise.

Nightlight might easily overpower both Sparklefire and Flutterstrike. Even so, the scary sides of these two can be intimidating to her -- just as she is strangely afraid of lightning and thunder. Nightlight herself can occasionally snap when things don't follow the rules she expects the world to work by. All three of them are ashamed of the times their worst feelings have taken possession of them.

Sparklefire and Flutterstrike don't like to talk about it, but their own parents loved to hate and punish them. Sparklefire comes from a rich family, but that big mansion in Manesborough felt more like a big prison. Flutterstrike was born to a poor family in Foalstown.

Manesborough is the most prestigious district of Equopolis, like Manhattan to New York. Foalstown is an independent town embedded in the great big city of Equopolis. This town is known among the locals as a secret hotbed for organized crime -- a message that has not quite reached the rulers of the Starpony Kingdom. Princess Skysparkle has had her head in the clouds. She cannot see how corrupt much of her administration has become.

Flutterstrike's parents worked for Mr. + Mrs. Smith's Steelworks -- the big company owned by Sparklefire's parents. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have secretly been taking advantage of immigrant workers and other folks who don't know their rights as citizens. Overall, they have been part of the quasi-criminal upper class of Foalstown. Meanwhile, Flutterstrike's parents were quasi-criminals of the lower class.

Flutterstrike's parents despised her for her weak wings, even though they hardly ever used their own wings for sustained flight. Their favorite child was her little brother, who would get to beat up on her.

Sparklefire's parents were always trying to straighten out their firstborn daughter's naturally curly, puffy hair. But her hair naturally refused to cooperate -- and she would be severely punished for this.

Finally, Sparklefire's parents were temporarily successful straightening out her hair -- but only because they made her snap. (When she snaps, her hair will spark and flare, as if it is short-circuiting.) Feeling completely heartbroken and betrayed, Sparklefire rampaged throughout her parents' house (breaking things to signify how they shattered her heart), packed up her stuff, and ran away.

Flutterstrike ran away when her parents turned from quasi-criminals to hardened criminals. She and Sparklefire ran away at about the same time. They took a train to Friendsville, hoping that would be the place where they could make the friends they never had.

As we keep learning, only the power of friendship can set us free from our tainted natures. Princess Skysparkle believes the world was created for friendship, and so does Nightlight's brother (as do all four rulers of the Starpony Kingdom). As Nightlight lives as a princess living as a commoner, she keeps thinking of how the Creator of Friendship sent his own son to live in a similar manner.

Rainbow Heartboom has a mischievous streak she must overcome -- but she is surprisingly understanding and sympathetic. She is becoming an ultimate example of a loyal friend. With her help -- along with the help of David Starlyre and Phoenix -- Nightlight learns to share her deepest feelings with Sparklefire and Flutterstrike.

Sparklefire and Flutterstrike also learn to share their deepest feelings with Nightlight. They have shared much of their feelings with Rainbow Heartboom, but not quite everything they need to share. Through this newfound solidarity, Nightlight starts to grow as the leader of friendship.

Up to now, it has been awfully hard for Nightlight's big brother and her parents to raise her. In fact, her parents are usually scared away from their own mansion! Nightlight is so much more powerful than them. In the past, they often fell helplessly to her tantrums. They have had to rely on their much more powerful son to discipline her. The trauma has partially reduced the parents to a childlike state, and White Night has had to act as a caretaker for them.

Oftentimes, even White Night cannot quite control her. He and his parents have had to challenge a lot of common wisdom about the need to control children. White Night has learned to approach his little sister as a friend -- appealing to her desire to be a hero and a princess, rolled up into one. Now that Nightlight is 16, her sense of friendship has truly started to flap its wings.

All four parties have had to cope with their own limitations. In the process, they are about to successfully raise a mare with Unicorn/Asperger's Syndrome -- who will become their new ruler and friend! It will take about a year, but this is one unicorn on the verge of earning her crown and wings!

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By the way, these ponies are not naked. At the very least, they are wearing fursuits over their actual fur.

Again, everything that looks like magic is actually a mysterious form of science fiction.

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Starponys: Crowns of Friendship (C) and (TM) of M. Wayne Howell (starponys87@gmail.com), along with all characters therein.

Slackey Pro © Font Diner – https://www.fontdiner.com
Pony © RodrigoTypo – https://rodrigotypo.com/

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Visual Description:

"STARPONYS" in all caps, spelled with a "Y". The font is slightly oblique, and it evokes a bubbly personality -- with the "R" and "Y" having pony-like tails. Both the "R" and the "O" contain a heart-shaped hole, and the "O" is overlain with a tall golden yellow six-point star. "STAR" is colored a bluish cyan; "PONYS" is colored a pinkish magenta.

"Friends with Unicorn Syndrome" is in title case. It is in dark violet-blue, and it is a playful angular font resembling letters cut out of paper. "Friends" has a golden yellow star to dot the "i". The word "with" has a magenta-pink heart to dot its letter "i". "Unicorn" is dotted with a golden yellow star. "Syndrome" contains a heart inside the "o".