The Twilight to a New Dawn

Chapters

A Mistaken Confrontation
Forging Bonds
Pass, Fail, or Die Trying: The Chase Begins!
Pass, Fail, or Die Trying: The Test from Hell!
The Tutor and The Delinquent
Idiots Can't Catch Colds...Can They?
Switcheroo?!
Reaching out.
A Great and Powerful Club!
Always Together.
Special: My Neighbor Button Mash.
A Lovely Sunday
One Step Forward, Two Steps back
Confessed feelings
The Big Dance
The Start of Something Interesting.
First Impression
One Step at a Time

A Mistaken Confrontation

Inside the Canterlot High gym a friendly and safe game of dodgeball was being played.

*Bonk*

“My leg!”

…….Then again, friendly isn’t really the best choice of words.

On one side of the court, Zero and five other boys were still standing but out of breathe, on the other side was a single cyan girl with rainbow colored hair standing calmly with a dodgeball in her hand wait for the team to catch their breath and for Thunderlane to crawl to the benches on the side.

“Damn, this girl is pretty good,” acknowledged Zero. As someone as competitive as Zero, He didn’t like to lose in anything he’s good at, especially to a girl. But when the competition gets heated and he’s pushed to his limits, he can’t help but feel excited, so at this point it won’t really bother him if he lost.

“Well that’s Rainbow Dash for you; she’s the captain of every sports team in the school,” said the white haired boy

“Wait, how can you be the captain of every sports team,” asked Zero. “She can’t be that good,”

“Well if you really want to know, I could show you right now,” Rainbow interrupted while tossing the dodgeball in the air and catching it.

“Oh please, you don’t have the balls,” Exclaimed Zero.

“Considering most of the balls on my side of the court, I think I do,” she replied, Zero noticed what she meant and looked at his side of the court to notice there were six balls on his side and twenty balls on her side. “And besides, I don’t need balls to know I’m better than you,”

“You tell him Dash,” shouted one of the students on the bench.

“Thanks T,” replied Rainbow with a thumbs up.

‘Oh she’s gonna get it’ Zero thought as he looked at his teammates and noticed they finished catching their breathes. ‘But considering how well she did during warm-ups, we may be in over our heads. I need a plan.’

“Hey coach,” Shouted Zero. “Is it ok if my team makes a plan?”

“Iron Will doesn’t care if you make a plan if your opponent doesn’t mind!” shouted Iron Will. He was a bulky blue man with a dark blue mohawk. He was wearing a white T-shirt accustomed with a black tie and dark blue shorts.

“I don’t mind, as long as you don’t take too long,” Rainbow replied as she sat down patiently on the ground.

“Awesome, alright guys lets huddle up” said Zero as his team start to gather together. “Ok, since we’re low on time, I’m gonna have to give you code names for the time being,”

They all gave a confused, “Won’t it be easier and quicker to tell you our names instead,” said the burgundy hair boy.

“Well yeah, but it’s much cooler to have code names, ok you,” he pointed to the young man with the cyan colored skin and black hair.

“Yeah?” he replied.

“You’re the Azure hawk,”

“Hmm, I like it,”

“Good, now you with the brown hair,” he said looking at other young man. “Your gonna be the rusty gear.”

“Alright,” he replied.

“Now you….” Zero said focusing his eyes towards the man next to him. He had black spikey hair and gray skin, similar to Zero’s, the only notable difference is his teal colored eyes and his hair is less spikier than Zero’s. “You know, you look an awful lot like me.”

“Well,” the young man began. “Some people tend to look ali-“

“Are you trying to copy my looks?!” Zero accused with an angry look on his face.

“What! No, why would I copy you? I have my own life,”

Zero chuckled at his reaction. “Relax, I’m only kidding, I like to joke around, you’re gonna be the Shooting Star.”

“Ok,” he replied, slightly annoyed by Zero’s joke.

“Next up is you,” he continued as he looking at the burgundy boy. “Your gonna be the lightning Strike,”

“Sweet,” he cheered with a fist pump.

“And last but not least, you with the Danny Phantom hair,” he said looking at the white haired boy. “You’re the Phantom,”

“Neat,” he replied. “So what do we call you?”

“The Wolf,” Zero confirmed. “Now here’s the plan,”

Two minutes later

“You guys got that?” Zero asked as he wrapped up his plan. His team nodded in agreed. “Ok, Operation: Fake Out Break Out is a go!”

The team broke out of their huddle and started to pick up the dodgeballs around them. Everyone was watching in suspense wondering what their next move was going to be, except for Rainbow dash who was completely bored of waiting.

“I’ll let you guys lead. Try to knock me out if you can,” she said while motioning her hand to bring it on.

“One!” shouted Zero as he, Lightning Strike, Rusty Gear, and Shooting Star made a wall and ran towards the boundary line and was getting ready to throw their balls at Rainbow. She was preparing her to dodge just in case one of them would throw their ball a second late, but noticed they pretended to throw the ball.

Zero’s team smiled as the Azure Hawk hopped off of Shooting Stars back and threw his ball at Rainbow, but she managed to deflect the ball with hers and was preparing to retaliate, until...

“Two!”

Zero’s team spread out upon hearing those next words and the Phantom came sliding in between them all. He took aim at Rainbows legs and fired. Unfortunately, she managed to jump in the nick of time and threw her ball at the Phantom.

*Bonk*

“AGH!”

“You’re out,” Iron Will shouted as he pointed towards the bench. The Phantom got up and walked towards the bench holding his head in pain.

“One down, five to go,” noted Rainbow while spinning a dodgeball on her finger.

“Three,” Zero continued. His whole team lined up and threw their balls in the air preparing to spike it with the exception of lightning strike. They all jumped up to strike it but purposely missed except shooting star who, instead of spiking it, punched it higher in the air and over to Rainbow Dash. She was prepared to catch the ball but noticed lightning strike was preparing to kick the ball towards her.

“Four!”

Hearing the order, Lightning kicked the ball towards Rainbow but she managed to duck in the nick of time to catch the ball Shooting Star threw. Rainbow then kicked one of the balls that was by her foot towards Lightning strike and threw the ball she just caught towards the Azure Hawk.

*Bonk*

“OUCH”

*Bonk*

“OW”

“WOMBO COMBO!” cheered one of the students on Rainbow’s team.

“You two are out!” Called Iron Will, “And Clyde. She caught your ball, so you’re out too.” He said to Shooting Star

“Yes Coach,” Replied Clyde as he and the other two walked towards the bench, leaving the wolf and the rusty gear as the last players on their team.

“Alright, last try,” Zero muttered to himself. “Five!”

Zero quickly ran towards the wall and ran up it, only to do a wall flip before sliding down. Zero was quite athletic when he was in Manehattan, always doing parkour with his old friends and was one of the best sports players in his school. For the brief moment he was airborne, Zero threw his ball towards Rainbow before landing. But once again she dodged it by bending backwards, but something went wrong.

Rainbow bended a little too low and fell on her butt, everyone gasped and Zero smiled at the opportunity. “SIX!”

The rusty gear took aim and was prepared to hit Rainbow Dash but…he stopped. Zero noticed this and was confused. “Hurry, take her out,” Zero pleaded.

But it was too late. Rainbow got up in time and threw her ball towards the rusty gear while he was standing there.

*Bonk*

“ARGH”

“Your out!” Iron Will shouted once again, this time everyone on Zero’s team groaned at the call, while everyone on Rainbow’s team cheered.

“So, any last words before I show you what rubber tastes like?” taunted Rainbow.

Zero realized he was out of dodgeballs and teammates, and considering how fast she threw the balls, he doubted he could catch one. Deciding to make the best of it, Zero spread out his arms and smiled.

“I support gay marriage too,”

*Bonk*

Sunset Shimmer walked in the cafeteria with girls with the journal she uses to contact Princess Twilight. She found out her friends and sat down with them, ready to share the knowledge she learned about the two Twilight's.

“So, what’d you find out,” Rainbow said while doing an air guitar solo.

“Someone’s in a good mood today,” noted Sunset.

“Yeah, my team mopped the floor with some of the newbies in dodgeball today, granted I almost lost but Rivet froze up when I was open,”

“Do you think he didn’t hit you because he was afraid to hurt you?” Rarity wondered.

“Dodgeball is like war, it’s either them or us,” said Rainbow.

“I don’t like war,” whispered Fluttershy.

“Any who.” interrupted Applejack, “did ya find out anything from Twilight?”

“I did,” Sunset began as she opened up her journal to the newest entry. “She said she hasn’t entered the portal since The Dazzlings and hasn’t made plans to visit us because of her princess duties,”

“So I guess Applejack was right,” Rainbow acknowledged. “The Twilight here really is a different Twilight,”

“That solves one mystery,” said Applejack.

“But do you think we should befriend her like our Twilight,” Questioned Rarity.

“Duh,” said Pinkie. “Of course we should, I mean why shouldn’t we? If Twilight’s friends with us in her world, then we should be friends with the Twilight in this world!”

“But what if Twilight already has friends,” asked Fluttershy.

“I noticed she didn’t with anyone at lunch yesterday, and during study hall she just read a book the whole time, and nobody studies in study hall!” Pinkie noted. “Besides, there’s no rule in friendship saying you can’t have more friends than you already have,”

“Speaking of yesterday,” Interrupted Sunset. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you at the animal shelter Fluttershy,”

“It’s ok, someone actually helped me,” Fluttershy smiled.

“Atta girl, I told ya someone would come help you,” Applejack praised. “Who was it?”

“His name is Zero Gravity, he’s kind of full of himself, but he’s really sweet,” Fluttershy reassured, causing Rainbow to huff and rolled her eyes.

“Show off,” he muttered.

“Oh please Rainbow Dash, you’re just as boast as him,” said Rarity.

“Hey, we saved the school twice. What can he bring to the table to brag about,” objected Rainbow. Rarity then pulled out her Phone and showed Rainbow a video of the stunt Zero pulled in Ms. Harshwhinny’s class yesterday, once the video ended Rainbow raised one eye brow and shrugged her shoulders.

“So what?” she replied. “I’ll give him credit for doing something impressive, but it’s not enough to be as cool as us, besides I destroyed him in dodgeball, so he’s probably all bark and no bite like Trixie.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” said Applejack. “He’s coming over her right now, and he doesn’t look happy.”

All the girls turned their heads towards where Applejack is looking and saw an angry looking Zero walking over to the table with his fists clenched.

15 minutes earlier

Zero and Wind were walking towards one of empty tables with their food. Wind was laughing hysterically at Zero for what happened in the gym earlier in the day. Zero however, gave a disinterested look due to his Sister’s constant jokes.

“So what was it they said in that one movie,” chuckled Wind. “You got knocked the fuck out?”

“Oh wow, that’s so original,” groaned Zero.

“Well I ran out of good ones, from getting your shit slapped to your ass being grass and that girl being the lawnmower,” She noticed as they both said down at the table.

“What happened to the adorable little tomboy that always looked up to me and was concerned for my safety….and didn’t have so much of a mouth?”

“A dodgeball going 20 mph at your nuts changed that,” she said as she smacked her knee and continued laughing.

“And I’m about to put my boot 20 miles up your ass if you keep it up,” Zero taunted.

“Ok OK, I’m all burnt out,” Wind replied whipping the tears in her eyes. “Besides, I’m probably gonna find a video of it on Mystable,”

“First off, nobody uses Mystable anymore. Everyone switched to Facehoof ages ago,” Zero noted. “Second, if I find out you post any video of me getting rekted, no technician or hospital will fix what I do to you or your phone.

“Oh relax, I’m only teasing you,” Wind replied as she picked up her chopsticks and began eating her rice.

“Sometimes you take it too far.” Zero relaxed as he picked up his burger and started eating silently with Wind.

“…..Also I noted your voice sounds slightly higher after gym, can you think of a reason why,” Wind smiled.

“YOU KNOW WHAT YOU LITTL-“Zero started, only to notice the same white haired young man from dodgeball. “Oh hey, your that phantom guy.”

“Actually my name is Soul Writer, I was wondering if you wanted to sit with me and my friends over there,” He asked.

“Sure, I’ll be back Wind.” Zero said as he got up with his food and waved to his sister before leaving. Zero and Soul walked towards a table where 5 other guys were sitting. He remembered them as the teammates he made that last minute game plan with in gym.

“Hey dude, I wanted to say that was a nice plan you came up with in that dodgeball match,” said the Azure Hawk.

“Thanks Azure, although I hate to admit it, it wasn’t really that good of a plan,” Zero said while sitting down.

“Oh yeah, we never told you our names,” Azure realized. “My name is Swift Justice,”

“I’m Clyde, I play for the basketball,” he added. He was the one with given the code name Shooting Star.

“Name’s Night Chase, I play for track” said the boy was given the name Lightning Strike.

“And I’m Rivet, sorry about what happened in the game,” He apologized. He was given the name rusty gear.

Zero shrugged “I don’t mind, the game was intense and fun, and that’s the way I like it.”

“So what’s your story…and name for a matter of fact,” Asked Soul.

Zero then moved his tray aside and his feet up and pulled a toothpick out of his pocket and into his mouth and gave a serious look, causing the guys to tilt their heads in interest.

“I was the first born child of my mother White Star, and my father Sound Barrier. From the moment I was born, I was destined for greatness. My first cry shook the heavens themselves and then I was approached by the masters of awesomeness. When I was five, I climbed Mt. Everest with one hand; in three hours, while doing a hand stand, and playing a 50 different song on a piano. Then I traveled the world and battled an opponent who could freeze hell just by whistling, swim through land, nap on the surface of the sun and-“

“I CAN HEAR YOUR BULLSHIT FROM HERE,” shouted Wind a few tables away.

Rivet made an awkward cough before speaking up, “I hate to interrupt you awesome tale, but I think your story sounds a little far-fetched.”

Zero sighed before spitting out his toothpick and ignored his sister’s insult, “Alright, I’ll be honest. My name is Zero Gravity; I came here from Manehattan with my parents and bratty but lovable sister. I like meeting new friends, manga, anime, competition, and anything that’s entertaining. I don’t like being bored, bullies or people who are downright negative.”

Zero smiled and gave a thumbs up before continuing. “So if you know somebody who’s in need of a friend or is lonely, give call me. I’m pretty good at brightening up someone’s day or mood.”

Swift and the others smiled, they were happy to know that they had another friend they could rely on when things get rough, despite his cocky nature.

“Well we’re lucky to have you,” said Night.

“Thanks, but since I’m new here I have to ask,” Zero used his hand to motioned all of them to lean close. Once they were close, he continued. “Are there any bullies at this school,” he whispered.

Swift sat back and pondered, “Well the only person who used to be a bully was Sunset Shimmer, I would count The Dazzlings but ever since the battle of the bands, they don’t really bother anyone.”

“Ok first, THE SCHOOL HAD A BATTLE OF THE BANDS?!” Zero shouted upset at the fact that he missed such an awesome competition that he would love to take part in. “Second, who’s Sunset Shimmer?”

“Yeah, it was pretty cool, especially near the end,” Clyde added. “And Sunset is that girl with the red and yellow hair sitting next to my boo over there,”

“You’re what?”

“My girlfriend,”

“Who calls their girlfriend boo?”

“Hey man, it’s my relationship,”

“Sorry, to me it just sounds weird for someone to call their lover by something else like boo or bae, or when they complain when they don’t get that good morning text when they wake up, but I guess it’s fair,” Zero ranted. "Thank god I'm single."

“Anyways,” Rivet interrupted. “Sunset was pretty brutal last year. She blackmailed people, played innocent whenever she got into trouble, even destroying friendships by making up rumors and post videos online and making people look bad.”

“Let’s not forget the time she sabotaged Rarity’s chance for Princess of the Spring Fling,” added Clyde.

“Not to mention that time she got Fluttershy in trouble for bring animals to the school,” said Night. “I mean I know it’s against the rules, but who would want to get Fluttershy in trouble.”

“And then there’s the Fall Formal,” noted Swift. “That was a mess all on its own,”

“Come on guys, can we forgive and forget,” said Soul. “Sure she tried to take over another world with an army, but she saved everyone from The Dazzlings so that evens things out.”

Clyde nodded, “Yeah, she really made a big 180 on her personality Zero. She’s a great pers-“ Clyde stopped and noticed Zero was gone. “Hey where’d he go?”

Meanwhile, Zero was on the other side of the cafeteria walking towards Sunset’s table with an angry look on his face and his hands clenched into a fist. It made him boil hearing how terrible Sunset Shimmer is, once he heard she got Fluttershy in trouble he slipped away from the group while they continued listing all of Sunset’s evil deeds.

Once he arrived at her table he put his boot on edge of it and gave a hateful glare towards Sunset Shimmer and completely ignoring all of her table mates.

“Oi, your Sunset Shimmer, correct?” Zero growled.

“Yes I am, do you need something” she wondered

“I’ve heard about some of the horrible things you’ve done; blackmail, sabotage, fake rumors,” he listed. Sunset began to lower her head as she started to remember all the horrible things she did before Twilight stopped her. Fluttershy was about to speak up and stop Zero but was interrupted when he slammed his fist on the table and startled people within hearing range.

“And worst of all,” he continued. “Destroying friendships,”

“Hey,” Rainbow intercepted as she stood up. “Sunset’s not like that anymore she’s chan-“

“Zip it skittles,” he hissed without batting an eye. “I’m warning you Sunset, if you hurt anyone physically or emotion, we’re gonna have a problem.”

“Hold on now,” Applejack intervened. “There’s been a misunderstanding; sure Sunset did some nasty things back in the day, but now she’s practically family,”

“Applejack’s right,” Rarity began. “Sunset volunteers to help around the school and apologized for her past misdeeds.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie added, “ever since the Fall Formal, she’s not that big meanie she was back then, and she’s super-duper friends with everybody now!”

“So your making up excuses to defend her are you?” Zero assumed as he was too angry to listen to reason. “How do I know you’re not her lackeys trying to-“

“Zero please, it’s not what you think!” Fluttershy pleaded as she finally stood up to defended Sunset Shimmer, causing Zero’s eyes to widen as he failed to notice her and by her words.

“Fluttershy….you with her too,” he questioned. Before Zero could process his thoughts he was grabbed by Soul and Clyde and was pulled away from the girls. “H-hey, what are you doing? I’m not done with her yet.” He said as he was forced to sit back down with the guys.

“Dude, why’d you do that,” asked Clyde trying to hold Zero down.

“What’d do you mean, she’s a bully. And as long as I’m here, nobody is going to get bullied, especially my friends.”

“She’s changed; she even saved the school before,” Soul added.

“Doing some stupid fundraiser to get better textbooks or something isn’t enough to excuse the things she’s done.”

“No just…listen for a minute ok?” said Rivet. Once Zero stopped struggling, both Clyde and Soul sat down and took a deep breathe.

“It started with the Fall Formal….”

One long explanation later

“So let me get this straight,” Zero began. “Sunset is from a world filled with talking ponies.”

“Yup,” they all confirmed.

“She turned into a demon and tried to invade the world she came from with an army of teenagers, which is a stupid plan by the way.”

“Yeah,”

“Was defeat by a pony princess and the girls Sunset’s sitting with now by using the power of friendship,”

“Isn’t my boo amazing,” Clyde praised.

“Not done,” Zero halted. “Then six months later, a group of sirens called The Dazzlings started a battle of the bands,”

“Uh huh,”

“And was stopped by the group of girls along with Sunset Shimmer and a DJ by music.”

“That about sums it up,” Night noted.

“Plus there was talking dog who’s really a dragon,” Added Swift.

“I see,” Zero said while leaning back slowly. “And your sure this is all truth and you guys aren’t on a serious case of drugs that I should probably tell the police about.”

“It’s all true,” Night confirmed.

“Uh huh,” Zero then got up and walked towards his sister and came back with a small carton of milk, then he sat back down and drank it quietly and slowly while the others just stared at him confused. Zero then put up one finger as a sign to give him a minute. Then he quietly put down his drink and gave a blank expression as the others leaned in wondering what he’s going to do. Then Zero inhaled deeply….

And began laughing.

“Aaand he doesn’t believe us, what a surprise,” Soul sighed.

Zero then fell on the floor and banged his hand on the ground trying to get a hold of himself. After two minutes of laughing, Zero finally caught his breathe and sat back down on his chair.

“Yeah right, and I’m Bruce Wayne,” he chuckled while whipping the tears from his eyes.

“We know it’s hard to believe but it actually happened,” replied Swift.

“Don’t get me wrong, I would believe all of it if it wasn’t something as girly as a pony princess who comes through a magic portal from the horse statue outside the school. I would buy it if it had something to do with keyblades or time travel. But like my dad says, I’m gonna need evidence to prove your case.”

Night pulled out his phone and showed Zero a recording of the Fall Formal incident and the climax of the Battle of the Bands. Once the recording ended, Zero sat back in his chair and crossed his arms with an unimpressed look.

“Who’s to say someone didn’t edit the video to make it look like that,” objected Zero.

“Everyone in the school was there, you can ask anyone,” Said Rivet. “Plus would we lie to you,”

Zero put his hands on the back of his head and laid back into his chair was he stared at the ceiling while he gave the statement some thought. He saw no good reason for the others to lie to him. Sure it’s possible that they’re in league with her too, but due to the pleasant aura the school and the guys radiates, he doubts they’d do anything mean spirited. Not to mention Fluttershy was defending Sunset regardless of the fact she got here in trouble.

‘It’s pretty farfetched…but sounds pretty interesting none the less,” Zero thought. ‘I guess I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt for now.’

“Well?” asked Soul while raising his eyebrow.

Zero then looked back towards the group before replying. “Alright I believe you. But I’m still gonna ask everyone including the principal,”

“That’s fair,”

“Now quick question, which table does the Dazzlings sit at?” Zero questioned.

“You’re not gonna cause a scene again are you,” Soul questioned.

“No, but I am gonna keep an eye on them,”

Soul pointed towards a table not too far from them and Zero try to get a good look at the girls sitting there. One girl had an orange afro with yellow straits; another girl had purple pig tails with cyan straits, and the last girl had a light blue ponytail with dark blue straits. They noticed Zero and Soul staring at them and two of them huffed in disgust before returning to their food, except for the girl with the ponytail who smiled and waved.

Zero waved back and smiled before look back at Soul, “So do they have names or what?”

“The one in orange is Adagio Dazzle, the one with pig tails is Aria Blaze, and the one with the pony tail is Sonata Dusk.” Soul explained.

“Not gonna lie, Sonata and Aria look pretty cute,” Zero complimented.

“Well they’re called Sirens for a reason,” Night replied.

“Noted,” Zero said while getting up. “Anyways, I’m gonna go back to my sister. She gets lonely pretty fast.”

“Your sister?” Rivet questioned.

“Yeah, the one with the Japanese writing on her shirt. Her names is Solar Wind, don’t wear it out.”

“Oh, that explains her shirt,” Soul realized.

“What do you mean?”

“Her shirt says ventus in Japanese and ventus is Latin for wind,” Soul explained. “I’m pretty good at literature.”

“Also noted, but she doesn’t have any friends so I don’t want to leave her by herself.”

“Well if she wants, she could hang out with my sister and her friends,” Swift offered. “And knowing my sister, Scootaloo would love to make her a crusader,”

“Aren’t they a little young to be trying to be like Batman,” Zero tilted his head in confusion not knowing what crusader means.

“No, crusader means a person who campaigns vigorously for politica-“

“Aaaand I’m bored,” Zero ignored while picking up his burger and went back to eating, causing Soul to sigh at the fact he was interrupted and ignored in the middle of his explanation.

“Good grief,”

The school bell rang for dismissal and everybody was happy and ready to go home for the day, all except for Flash Sentry. While he was getting his guitar out of the locker he sighed in depression. He missed Twilight deeply, and he was completely unsure when she would be returning. But even if she returns, he doubts they’ll actually become a serious couple, she’s a princess from another world with a lot of responsibilities. And he’s just a junior in high school.

‘Maybe there’s a way for her to stay here with me. And if not, I could probably ask to go with her,’ He thought. ‘Maybe Sunset could do me a solid and ask Twilight for me; maybe I can figure out something by then.’

As Flash turned the corner to walk to his car in the parking lot, he suddenly bumped into something and found himself on the floor; He rubbed his head in pain before replying.

“Ugh, sorry about that, I really need to watch where I’m go-“he looked up and noticed the person he bumped into was none other than Twilight Sparkle herself.

“T-Twilight….it’s you!” he said excitedly while offering her a hand up.

She gave a confused look “How do you know my name, how does everyone know my name.”

“What do you mean; you saved the school twice now. We bump into each other a lot, literally. But that’s beside the point. There’s something I want to as-“

“What are you talking about; I’ve never set foot in this school before and I’ve never seen you before today.” She explained while picking up the books she dropped. “I think you and possibly this whole school are confusing me with someone else.”

Once Twilight gathered her books she walked passed a confused and heartbroken Flash Sentry. Once she was gone, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie showed up to see Flash standing there.

“Flash, there’s something I have to tell you regarding Twilight,” Sunset began.

“Actually, I’m kind…busy at the moment. Tell me another time,” he moped as he picked up his guitar and walked away.

“I wonder what happened,” Sunset questioned as she sensed Flash’s sad mood.

Rainbow shrugged in response, “Probably boy problems, let him blow off some steam and get back to him later.”

“If you say so…” Sunset said depressed while exiting the school.

“Are you alright, you looking pretty down yourself,” Rainbow wondered.

“Yeah, it’s like the sun in your heart actually went down,” Pinkie joked, only to get a glare from Rainbow.

“Sorry it’s just that I’m still a little shaken up from lunch, I’m actually not that surprised that some people haven’t forgiven me,”

“Well you did turn into a raging she demon but who cares, you helped us win the Battle of the Bands and beat the Dazzlings,” Rainbow praised.

“So I guess the story is true then,”

Sunset and company turned out to see Zero Gravity and a girl who appears to be his younger sister standing behind them.

“What do you want,” Rainbow growled.

“Relax; I’m not here to pick a fight,” Zero explained while holding up his hand. “I came to apologize for what happened at lunch, I was just looking out for the people at this school.”

“That’s ok, I can respect that,” Sunset replied.

“At first, I didn’t believe your story about the fall formal or the battle of the bands, but after asking around and hearing you recent conversation, I caved in.” Zero explained while offering a hand shake. “So, are we cool?”

Sunset gave a warm smile and accepted the handshake, “we’re cool.”

“Good, now before me and Wind head home there’s something we’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Ok, sure I’ll gladly answer some of your questions regarding the other world,” Sunset replied.

“Not that, it involves you two,” Wind pointed towards Rainbow and Pinkie. The siblings walked up towards the two and looked at them closely, causing them to feel uncomfortable. Then they took a deep breath and replied in unison.

“WHAT IN THE GOD KNOWN UNIVERSE IS WRONG WITH YOUR HAIR,”

Forging Bonds

During a peaceful morning, Zero and his family was having a nice and calm breakfast together. However, Zero himself wasn’t very calm, as he was wolfing down his waffles. After yesterday’s dodgeball game, he wants to get stronger and keep the competition as intense as ever, and take down Rainbow Dash if he can.

“Mom, One more waffle,” he asked while raising his fork in the air and food in his mouth.

“This is your tenth waffle, how are you not full?!” White Star asked while bringing the extra waffle on a small plate to Zero. “Better question, why are you drinking it with soda, it’s too early and unhealthy for you,”

“You know he eats a lot,” Sound Barrier explained while looking over his case file. “And besides, he almost never gets sick so he’s as healthy as a horse; it’s probably from my side of the family.”

“You know it dad,” Zero responded while drinking the last of his soda. “So how’s the case coming along?”

“Pretty interesting actually, but the prosecutor is obnoxious as always and won’t stop hitting on m-“

Before Sound Barrier could finish his sentence, a knife flew at the table and landed in front of him. When everyone looked at where it came from, they saw White Star looking at them with a peaceful smile.

“If you don’t mind dear, I would like this woman’s name and address so we can have a friendly conversation about boundaries.”

“H-h-honey, the prosecutor is a guy, I was going to say he’s been hitting on my client and she’s doing it to waste time and irritate me” Sound Barrier explained with all the color drained from his face.

“Oh,” she said while taking back the knife she just threw and kissing Sound barrier on the cheek with the same smile, “Good to know.”

Solar Wind cleared her throat to clear the scary and uneasy atmosphere and change the conversation, “So Zero, who are these crusaders you told me about.”

“Not completely sure,” He said while swallowing his last waffle. “But I know Soul’s cousin and Swift’s sister are part of it, and I think they’re will to be friends with you.”

“Really?!” She beamed while slamming her hands on the table in excitement.

“Yeah, I’ll ask them at lunch today so you can meet them all.”

Wind then got up from her seat and gave Zero a hug, “Thank you Thank You Thank you!” she repeated with a wide smile on her face, causing Zero to give a warm smile himself.

“Alright, Alright, you haven’t even met them yet, don’t get too excited,” He noted.

“Maybe I should wear my hair down today; I want to look nice when I meet them,” Wind wondered.

“If you want I can fix it up for you before you leave,” White Star offered.

“Ok,” Wind nodded while walking with her mom to her room.

“If you do, could you hurry? We’re gonna walk to school this time,” Zero explained.

“Why, you don’t want me to drive you,” Sound Barrier questioned.

“It’s not that, I want to walk off all those waffles I ate,” Zero explained while jogging in place. “Plus, you have a case to focus on.”

“Alright, Just keep an eye on your sister kiddo.”

“I will,”

As Zero goes to his room and waits for his sisters’ hair to be done. He laid on his bed and put his on headphones then scrolled through his playlist on his phone and played the song Asterisk by Orange Range so he wouldn’t get too comfortable and fall asleep. In the middle of the song, a light shined in his eye and distracted him. Once he investigated the source, he noted the picture frame on his side table was reflecting the light of the sunrise from the window; he grunted and began moved the picture over slightly.

At that moment he looked at it and smiled, it was a picture of a girl with snow white long hair and skin; her left eye was red and her right eye was violet and wore a pink dress with the Japanese character for fox on it. She had her arms wrapped around a younger looking Zero with black sweatbands on his wrists with the Japanese character for wolf and another boy with bright red hair and skin along with orange eyes and a red shirt with the Japanese character for ignis, they all had band aids on their arms and face and they all had a toothy smile.

Zero then took the picture out of the frame and looked at the back of it and read the poem that was on it.

“Whether it’s hatred, death, or a curse,

pain, suffering, or worse,

through the universe, stars, and beyond,

is our true unbreakable bond,

our feelings burn like an eternal flame,

cause we love each other all the same,

and we’ll always be together,

from now on and forever.”

Zero then put the picture back into the frame and set it back on the table, he always considered it a good luck charm for an everlasting friendship. Of course he didn’t need it since he was positive that Swift, Soul, and the others we’re already cool enough friends. But he didn’t use the charm for himself, it was for-

“I’m all done!” Wind announced while standing by the door way and flipping her hair. “What do you think of my hair?”

Zero gave a cocky smile before replying, “As bratty looking as ever.”

“Oh, come on, be honest,” Wind pouted.

“Fine, you actually look nice,” Zero said while walking pass her and patting her head. “Now come on, we gotta go,”

“Ok,” Wind nodded while following her brother downstairs. “By the way, what were you doing before I came into your room,”

“Just wishing you luck on meeting your new friends,” Zero said while grabbing the doorknob to the front door.

“Aww, you do-“

“HOLD ON A MINUTE,” exclaimed White Star while running down the steps. “Let me search your book bag,”

“Seriously mom?” Zero said exhaustingly, only for White Star to furrow her own brow.

“Yes, seriously.” After the crap you pulled on the first day, I’m going to be checking your bag like it’s an airport,”

“Ugh, fine,” Zero took off his book bag and gave it to her. Once he was clear, White Star gave it back to him and smiled.

“Good, now off you go.” She replied happily while opening the door for them. “Have fun you two, I love you,”

“I love you too mom,” Wind said cheerfully.

“Yeah, yeah,” Zero waved off while dozing off, only to be grabbed by the collar by White Star.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t quite catch that, could you repeat that for me” she said in stern voice.

“I-I mean, I love you mommy dearest,” Zero corrected with a nervous smile, causing White Star to release him.

“Thought so,” she smiled while locking the door behind the siblings.

“Geez, it must be that time of the month for her,” Zero commented with his arms crossed.

“I heard that!” White Star shouted from behind the door. “No video games for a week!”

“Son of a shit,” Zero cursed.

“Two Weeks!”

“Motherfu-“

“Wanna make it three,”

“Zero growled before replying. “No ma’am,”

“You know, speaking of the first day, you still owe me money for that bet,” Wind mentioned.

“Oh yeah,” Zero remembered, only to flick Wind in the forehead, causing her to wince in pain

“OW! What was that for?” Wind asked while holding her forehead.

“That’s for yesterday,” Zero explained. “I don’t mind you poking fun at me, but you cursed at me to the point trucker drivers and sailors would look down on you.”

“Hey, you know I curse a lot when I get excited or frustrated.”

“Yeah, to the point where soap isn’t enough to clean that mouth of yours.”

“What about you, you curse sometimes,”

“One, I’m old enough. And two, the keyword is sometimes.” Zero then put his hands in his pocket and began walking down the sidewalk to school. “As for the bet, your only getting half of the money you won, consider it a penalty for the cursing.”

“Hey, that’s not fair! That wasn’t part of the deal,” Wind barked while catching up to her brother.

“Well life’s not fa-“Zero replied, only to be interrupted by someone walking outside the house next door to his, he recognized the person right away and gave a loud groan.

“Ugh, it’s you again. How did I, the Great and Powerful Trixie get to be neighbors with someone like you?” Trixie ranted while walking up to the siblings.

“Who’s she,” Wind questioned.

“She’s Ms. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, she’s in most of my classes and talks like she owns the school,” Zero replied with his arms crossed and an inpatient look on his face.

“I’m the Great and Powerful Trixie.” Trixie boasted, ignoring Zero comment. “I am the most talented girl in Canterlot High, and leader of the band Trixie and the Illusions. You probably heard a lot about me,”

Wind tapped her chin before giving her an answer. “Nope, never heard of you till now,”

“Well I guess it can’t be helped, you two are new to the school.” Trixie then began walking down the side walk before turn back to look at the two. “Aren’t you two coming?”

Zero sighed and began to follow her with Wind. As far as he knew, there was no alternate route to school and he wasn’t going to ask his father for a ride and interrupt his thought process on his case, he was gonna have to walk with Trixie to school. Just as the thought came to his mind that he could conversate with his sister along the way, he looked over and noticed that she was putting her headphones in her ears and played Bet on It from one of her stupid high school movies.

‘Guess I’m gonna have to listen to music too,’ Zero thought as he took out his headphones.

“Hey,” Trixie said, stopping Zero from listening to music. “Did you bring your science textbook; Trixie didn’t get hers yet and wanted to know if I could borrow yours,”

“Are you kidding me, that book weighs a ton,” Zero complained. “All I have in my bag is some notebooks and a few mangas my mom surprisingly let me bring,”

“What about the homework Ms. Harshwhinny assigned us?”

Zero scratched his head in confusion, “We had homework? I was probably too busy reading, sleeping, or looking outside?”

“Ugh, how did a delinquent like you even get into high school anyways?”

“Well if you really want to know,” Zero started while putting his headphones back into his pocket. “As ghetto as my old high school in Manehattan was, it still had tests and quizzes. But that didn’t stop it from having lame security, so a friend of mine practically walked into the school and checked the teachers’ desk for the answers and memorized it for us. Then when it’s the day of the test, he does something to tell us whats the answers are,”

“You have Trixie’s attention,” Trixie said as she raised an eyebrow. “Continue,”

“Alright, say an answer is A, he’ll scratch his left ear. If an answer’s B, he’ll scratch the right. If it’s C, he’ll scratch his nose. And if it’s D, then he’ll tap his chin with his pencil. But it’d be too obvious if we all got a perfect score, so even if the teachers didn’t care, we would get some wrong on purpose and still got a passing grade. As for the written tests, we were pretty screwed.”

“So you cheated your way up to the top, why am I not surprised,” Trixie gave a cocky smile.

“It’s not cheating unless you’re caught. Therefore, I’m not a cheater,” Zero objected.

“Even if you do manage to cheat your way through high school, you’ll never achieve the level of greatness like some as beautiful and talented as me,” Trixie concluded while flipping her hair.

“Ok, I won’t deny that you’re attractive,” Zero noted freely, causing Trixie to blush slightly. “But, I’ll have you know I do have talent. I’m actually good at reading and writing, not to mention understanding the basics of science, as for my talent I’m very agile due to parkouring back in Manehattan and running up a tree and doing backflips with my hands tied behind my back, and I have a small, but decent sense of philosophy.”

“If you have a sense of philosophy, then why don’t you tell one of your philosophical thoughts,” Trixie requested while she smirked.

“You expected me to give you a quote this early in the morning, you crazy,” Zero yawned. “And as for greatness, I don’t particularly care to be as smart as you or to do well in school; it’s not going to help me achieve what I want in life.”

“Not that I care but what you do expect to do for a living then,” Trixie asked curiously.

“I told you that it doesn’t matter to me, what I want is power so great that it change the very structure of the world,”

Trixie was going to make a snarky comment but noticed Zero eyes after making that statement, his eyes were giving an intense look at the beautiful orange and blue sky, but it looked as if they were looking at something else, beyond the sky.

“What do you intend on-“

“WOOOOOAH!” Zero shouted in excitement as he stopped gazing at the sky and ran passed Trixie at the discovery he made. It was a small white bridge that from the looks of it, you could easily jump down without any leg injuries, but that’s not what caught his attention. On the side was a riverbank with beautiful and healthy grass and water so clear you could see the rocks at the bottom. And to top it all off was the beautiful sunrise in the clear sky.

Zero stared in awe at the sight, he always enjoyed seeing beautiful sites but he's never seen anything this beautiful before. The closest thing to it was Middle Park in Manehattan, but due to the tall buildings in the city he could never see the golden hour at such a sight…that and he was too tired in most mornings to care. As the morning wind blew passed him, he was reminded of some of the only good memories of city.

Six years ago

A young Zero was napping on a tree branch in Middle park, the birds were chirping and people in the distance were either walking around or playing with their friends, away from the constant hustle of the city. Just as Zero took a breathe of relaxation, an acorn hit him in the head, causing him to panic and fall to the ground, when he looked up he saw a kid with bright red hair with the Japanese character for ignis on his shirt tossing another acorn up and down.

“Hot Streak you punk, what was that for?!” Zero questioned while clenching his fist in anger.

“Whats the matter, little Zero can’t handle an acorn,” Hot Streak sassed while grinning. “Hey, he’s over here,”

Hot Streak called out to a girl who was running over to the par, she had with snow white long hair and the Japanese character for fox.

“Zero, we were so worried about you.” The girl panted while holding her knees. “Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“I was sleeping,” Zero shrugged while putting his hands behind his head. “So what’d do you want,”

Hot streak smiled and answered, “Last night I was working out nonstop and threw a punch at my old man, he told me I’m five times stronger than what I was yesterday, now I’m positive I can settle the score with you.”

“Oh yeah?” Zero said while butting heads with Hot Streak. “Well I ran around the park a few times and I feel ten times stronger than yesterday.”

“Then I’m a hundred times stronger than that,”

“I’m a thousand times stronger than that.”

“Actually I’m ten thousand times stronger,”

“Then I’m a hundred thousand times stronger,”

“Well I’m a million times stronger than that,”

“TOO BAD I’M PLUS TEN MILLION TIMES STRONGER THAN THAT!”

“THEN I’M A MILLION BAJILLION TIMES STRONGER!”

“I’M INFINTE PLUS INFINITE TIMES STRONGER!”

“INFINITE PLUS INFINITE IS STILL INFINITE DUMBASS!”

“HAVEN’T YOU SEEN GURREN LAGANN, SCREW YOUR LOGIC AND YOUR DAMN MATH!”

“Guys, why don’t you two do another fight or race to settle this,” The girl advised, hoping the two would stop another one of their arguments.

“Fine,” the two huffed in unison while crossing their arms and looking the other way, only for their stomachs to growl.

“Let’s have a race to the hot dog stand over there; I’m too hungry to fight,” Zero suggested. “The loser has to pay,”

“Sounds good to me,” Hot Streak agreed while getting to position. “Get ready to empty your wallet,”

“Hey, if your gonna talk crap about yourself, at least let me give you a reason to,” Zero smirked while getting to position.

The girl stood in front of the two and held a leaf in her hand. Once she let go of it, the two competitors started at it in with an intense look, once the leaf touched the ground. Zero was flicked in the forehead by Trixie and snapped back to reality.

“Snap out of it,” Trixie demanded, causing Zero to shake his head.

“Oops,” Zero chuckled to himself while scratching the back of his head. “Guess I zoned out there,”

“Why are you so surprised to see the bridge, haven’t you see it already,” Trixie questioned.

“No, why?”

“From this neighborhood this is one of the only routes to the school,” Trixie explained. “I’m guessing you have a short attention span as well,”

“Actually when we’re driven to school, he was sleeping,” Wind explained while hold an earpiece in her hand.

“Anyways, I might just come back here mor-wait a minute,” Zero then gave a curious look at Trixie before continuing. “Why are you still here?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Why didn’t you just go on ahead without me?” Zero gave a sly look and rubbed his chin. “Unless of course didn’t want to be alone,”

“Please, the Great and Powerful Trixie does not need you company, I can walk to school by myself just fine,” Trixie confirmed. “Besides, I only waited because I wanted you repay me for listening to your boring but somewhat interesting life.”

“Just because I called you pretty doesn’t mean I’m gonna take you on a dinner date,” Zero said.

“No you fool, you gonna have to listen about my life,” Trixie exclaimed.

Zero sighed, he could just easily ignore her until he gets to the school like he’s done when teacher’s give him a lecture about sleeping in class, but it was only fair that he listen to her story like she did for him, that and it won’t be a lecture about why history is important in society or something.

“Alright, go ahead,” He approved while they continued walking towards the pathway to school.

“Very well,” Trixie began. “I was born on a Friday…..”

As they arrived at the school students were still outside sitting and talking while others were being dropped off by their parents. Zero was actually surprised at himself for not getting bored at her story, even if it wasn’t all that interesting.

‘Not gonna lie, this walk was actually better than I thought,’ Zero thought. ‘She actually kinda cool when she’s not talking about herself, even I don’t talk about myself this much.’

“And that is how Trixie became the Great and Powerful girl she is,” Trixie finished.

“Perfect timing too,” Zero noted as he noticed they’ve arrived at the school, he looked over at Wind as he noticed she finally took of her headphones, they both nodded at each other before she ran inside the school.

“Your sister seems pretty enthusiastic,” Trixie assumed.

“Well she’s finally gonna make some friends, she has a good reason too,” Zero explained as he noticed Fluttershy was handing out flyers for the animal shelter by the statue, she had a sad look on her face as he noticed that no one was taking one. “Speaking of friends,
I'm gonna go help one out.” Zero said as he begins to run off.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually going to take care of those rodents down at that shelter,” Trixie questioned.

“If I can put up with you, then a few animals should be a piece of cake.” He shouted as he continued running to Fluttershy, Trixie gritted her teeth at the comment and before huffing and walking into the school. As Zero got closer to Fluttershy, he braked right in front of her, scaring her into drop the flyer in her hand.

“Oops, sorry,” Zero apologized with an awkward smile as he picked up the paper.

“It’s ok Zero, good morning by the way,” she greeted. “Do you want to help out at the animal shelter again?”

“Yeah, and to top it all off, I have the money to adopt Spike,” Zero smiled with thumbs up.

“Really, that’s wonderful,” Fluttershy beamed. “I bet Spike will be so happy to finally have an owner, how did you convince your parents to say yes?”

“I did the one of the oldest tricks in the book and told them pets make you healthier and live longer, adults fall for it every time,” Zero chuckled. “Anyways good luck with the flyers, I’ll keep this one as a reminder to help you out after school, Later.” Zero then did a quick two finger salute and walked to the entrance of the school, Fluttershy smiled went back to handing out flyers.

“Canterlot Animal Shelter needs more volunteers, won’t you help an animal that can’t help itself,” she said while waving a flyer in the air, only to notice more people going inside. She was just about ready to pack it in and go inside herself when suddenly she got a tap on the shoulder.

“Excuse me, do you work for the animal shelter,” Said the voice from behind her. Fluttershy turned around as she recognized the voice. It was Twilight Sparkle, but not the Twilight Sparkle she knew.

“Um, yes,” Fluttershy responded softly.

“Oh good,” Twilight said. “You see, my parents want to adopt a dog. But thanks to the move, they’ve be so busy that they couldn’t find the time to look around town and find a pet store, so I was wondering if you could help me with that.”

“Well, if you take this flyer you noticed that there’s an address on there, and it should take you to the Canterlot Animal Shelter, I should be able to help you after school.” Fluttershy explained while giving Twilight the flyer.

“Perfect, I’ll see you then,” Twilight confirmed as she walked to the front entrance. Fluttershy was happy to finally get not one, but two people to come to the animal shelter, in the same day no less. Suddenly the school bell rang and Fluttershy gathered her things and hurried inside so she wouldn’t be late.

It was lunchtime in the cafeteria and Zero was sitting at a table helping Wind prepare to meet her new friends. She went on asking a million questions about if she looked good or what if something went wrong, making Zero more exhausted from each question.

“Ok, last question,” Wind reassured.

“Please let this be a reasonable question,” Zero exasperated.

“What if some zombie apocalypse happens, do I have to leave them behind or do I save them, or what if aliens attack the school when I start walking over there?”

Zero groaned loudly, he was getting ready to respond but then he thought of an idea. “Ok, I got an idea that will calm your nerves.”

“Ok, what is it?”

“First I want you to stand up,” Zero instructed. “Then close your eyes,”

As Wind did what he said, Zero got up and covered her, “Now your gonna walk and I’ll tell you where to turn and stop,” He explained.

“I don’t see how this is helping me,” Wind doubted.

“Well of course you can’t see. Your eyes are closed,” Zero laughed. Causing Wind to sigh at the bad joke.

“Just tell me where to go,” Wind moaned.

After a tedious and very unnecessary walk around the cafeteria, along with a couple of confused looks. Zero finally told Wind to stop walking, when she opened her eyes, she was standing in front of three girls. One girl had red hair with a pink bow on top, she wore a green shirt and blue pants along with orange boots. Another girl had pink and purple curly hair and wore a pink and yellow blouse and boots to match. The last girl had short dark purple hair and wore a black jacket along with green pants and boots and a greenish blue undershirt.

Wind panicked and turned around to give Zero a frustrated look. “You tricked me!” She whispered.

“No, I calculated the how much the sun weighs or whatever,” Zero replied sarcastically.

“You mean the mass?”

“Don’t correct me,”

“But, I’m not ready yet. What if they treat me like those girls from the other day,” Wind doubted as she looked at the ground. “What if…what if they make fun of me, what if they hurt me, WHAT IF THEY CUT MY-“

She was cut off by Zero grabbing her shoulders and looked at her with a determined look.

“Wind, I know I wasn’t there when you needed me, but I’m here now,” Zero confirmed. “We’re not in Manehattan anymore, so if you need anything, I’ll be there.” Zero patted Wind on the head and smiled. “Now show them how awesome the sibling of Zero Gravity really is!”

Wind finally looked up and gave a cocky grin before swatting Zero hand away, “You’re so full of it,” Wind chuckled, only for Zero to join in the laughter. They both high fived each other and Zero began walking away and join his friends. Wind then slapped both of her cheeks twice and took a deep breath. Before turning around and face the trio of girls.

“H-h-hi,” Wind muttered, “I’m new here and I was wondering if I could… sit here with you three,”

The three of them looked at each other before the girl in the bow replied. “Sure,”

Wind smiled with relief and sat down next to the purple hair girl, she was happy they let her sit down but she still felt uneasy.

“Hey, you won’t happen to be Solar Wind would you?” The curly haired girl asked, catching Wind by surprise.

“You know me?” She questioned.

“Yeah, my brother Swift and his friends told us about you,” Said the purple haired girl. “Saying you wanted to make a hundred friends or something.”

“Yeah, that’s me alright,” Wind confirmed, only to get a light punch on the shoulder by the girl in the purple.

“Well let me be the first, I’m Scootaloo,” The purple girl introduced while giving a thumbs up.

“I’m Sweetie Belle,” beamed the curly haired girl.

“And I’m Apple Bloom,” the girl with the bow said.

“AND WE’RE THE CRUSADERS,” they said in unison causing them to get a couple of glares from the tables nearby. Wind was almost blow back by the sudden burst but smiled at the carefree nature by the three.

“Wow, you girls are nothing like those two jerks I met on the first day,” Wind noted.

“Did one of them have purple and white hair and acts like one of those rich snobs,” Scootaloo asked.

“And the other one had gray looking hair with a silver spoon on her,” Apple Bloom described. Wind nodded at the description and the Crusaders moaned, they wished they were wrong with their description and hoped it was someone they wouldn’t have to meet.

“Of course it’s Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon,” Sweetie Belle sighed. “Listen Wind, don’t mind them. They’re just a bunch of jerks who thinks their better than everyone else.”

“That’s like my brother,” Wind added. “Expect he’s not a jerk about it.”

“Well don’t worry, if they bother ya again, we’ll be there to help ya out.” Apple Bloom reassured.

Wind looked upon the trio as they gave an honest smile, the uneasy feeling she had a moment ago dissipated. She felt as if she was under a warm blanket of trust....Trust that was once shattered long ago.

“So this is what it feels like to have friends again,” She mumbled to herself, only for the Crusaders to pick up on what she said.

“Ha, this is nothing,” Scootaloo said. “Once you make a hundred friends it will be even more wild,”

“To be honest, I don’t really care if I make a hundred friends. I just want to start making friends again.”

“What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well...it’s a personal story but-“

“Oh…I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No its fine, I don’t mind telling people secrets,” Wind assured. “Back in Manehattan, I got along with the other kids in kindergarten and grade school, I had tons of friends and we played together all the time.” Wind gave a sad expression before continuing. “Then middle school came along and everything changed, everything was so diverse and people were so mean and rude. My old friends moved away so I tried starting over and making new friends but it only made things worse."

“What happened,” Apple Bloom asked.

“One day a few girls cornered me in a bathroom and beat me up just because I have a fang in my mouth and treated me like a demon. Even as they hit me they called me devil and some other names, saying that I should go back to hell where I belong. They hurt me just for being a little different, then as sick joke…” Wind gripped her hair tightly and tears started building up in her eyes.

“…They tried to shave my hair off. I finally managed to run away but most of my hair was still cut.”

“That’s horrible,” Sweetie Belle cried. “Didn’t you parents do something about it?”

“I didn’t tell my parents because I knew they would’ve made a big deal out of it, and if those girls got in trouble they would take it out on me and probably do something worse. So when I home that day, I told them some of my friends tried cutting my hair but I didn’t go so well and I told them the bruises were from tripping and falling on concrete.”

“What about Zero, he must have done somethin.” Apple Bloom wondered.

Wind shook her head. “He never listened to me, every time I tried to talk to him about it he would brush me off or ignore me, and I didn’t want to make new friends after what happened so for the rest of my middle school life I became antisocial and completely shut out the world. Every day I would just stay in my room and talk to my toys, I only came out of my room just to go to school or have dinner with my family, and even then I barely talked.”

“But your so happy now so what happened,” Scootaloo asked.

Wind wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled. “Zero happened,”

“Huh?” the Crusaders replied with a curious look.

“One day he came by room and asked me if something was wrong and I told him I was fine but he saw through my lie and gave me a hug and said I didn’t have to hide it anymore, then…I let it all out and cried on his shoulder and told him everything that happened and how I felt. He said he was so sorry and that he from now on he would listen to all of my problems and that he’ll be the shoulder I can always cry on if somethings wrong,”

“That’s so sweet,” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “And this may sound rude but, why did he suddenly start caring all of a sudden,”

“To be honest, I’m not too sure myself. But I do know one thing, and this came right out of Zero’s mouth,” Wind said as she gave a wide smile. “No matter how much we fight or mess with each other, to Zero, I’m the one thing he loves more than anything,”

Apple Bloom smiled at the statement, “that’s awfully sweet of him, it kinda reminds me of how much Applejack and Big Mac really loves me, when I was little I used to get mad whenever I get grounded, but now I don’t get as upset anymore cause I know they do it because they love me,”

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “Rarity usually gets mad whenever I bother her when she’s making a dress or helping a customer, but when she’s not hang out with her friends or making out with Clyde, she teaches me how to cook or we go shopping,”

“Now that you mention it, me and Swift do get along pretty well, even if we mess with each other sometimes. I guess besides Rainbow Dash I kinda look up to Swift in a way, even if he is a nerdy goofball,” Scootaloo smiled.

“Yeah, older siblings are the greatest,” Sweetie Belle acknowledged.

As Wind looked over at Zero table and saw him and his friends laughing hysterically together, making her smile knowing that underneath all the insults they trade with one another, they really do love each other.

“They sure are.”

As the school day comes to a close, Twilight Sparkle makes her way to the animal shelter that Fluttershy told her about. Once she arrived, she was meet by loud barking and birds chirping, making her to cover her ears, she looked around and noticed Fluttershy was nowhere to be found. All she saw was some random guy by the counter.

“Excuse me,” Twilight shouted while trying to talk over the animals. “Have you seen-“

The man raised one finger up as a sign to give him a minute then picked up a dog whistle and blew on it, all the dog started to quiet down afterwards and some of the birds started to relax.

“I’m sorry, they usually get rowdy when someone walks in,” the man explained. “Can I help you with something?”

Twilight uncovered her ears and cleared her throat, “Yes, I was wondering if one of your coworkers named Fluttershy was around,”

“No sadly, she said she saw an animal getting injured and needed immediate medical attention or something so she she’s gonna be a little late, I’m filling in for her until she gets back what do you need.”

“Well, I was wondering if there’s a dog I could adopt,” Twilight asked politely.

“Take a look,”

Twilight scanned the room to find the perfect dog for family but it took her a second to think this might be a lost cause, most of the dogs looked very hostile and possibly…unstable. As she got close to some of the cages some of the dogs tried to attack her while other gave a disinterested look to her. Before she was ready to quit, she came across a dog inside a small cage away from all the other dogs, looking inside she saw a purple and green colored dog wagging its and giving off a healthy and peaceful bark.

“What about this one?” Twilight asked while pointing to the cage.

“Spike? Fluttershy found him not too long ago, he’s actually pretty playful unlike the other dogs,” the man explained. “So we keep him away from the others,”

Twilight rubbed her chin as she pondered her thoughts for a minute before continuing. “Is he for sale?”

“Yeah, he’s about 450,”

“Excellent,” She said as she paid the man.

“Pleasure doing business with you Ma’am, would you like an instruction manual on how to train your dog,” he said while holding up the manual.

“No need, I already have a copy of it along with professionals guide to animals and fun facts about dogs. Did you know they recently discovered that dogs can actually see in color, just not as well as we human can,” Twilight explained.

“No actually, I didn’t know that,” The man said almost intrigued.

“Interesting I know, anyways thank you for your business.” She said as she waved goodbye and Spike barked, only for the man to wave back and give a happy sigh.

A few minutes passed by and Fluttershy rushed into the shop with a cat in her arms and rested it on a pillow, nearly scaring the man at the counter.

“I’m so sorry that you had to fill in for me, but this poor defense cat was hit by a reckless driver and I couldn’t bear to leave it all alone like that!”

“It’s ok, I would have done the same,” the man explained. “Is the cat ok?”

“Thank you, I appreciate the understanding, oh and he’s going to be just fine,” Fluttershy reassured as she pet the injured cat. “Oh, did a girl with purple hair come in today by any chance?”

“She a friend of yours?”

“Not….exactly,”

“Yeah, she adopted little old Spike over there, isn’t that great,” the man exclaimed.

“Oh, that’s great news, I’m sure Spike will-“ Fluttershy’s eyes grew wide at a certain realization. “OH NO, this is horrible.”

“What, that Spike got adopted?”

“No!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “A friends of mine wanted to adopt Spike too, I didn’t think Twilight would want to adopt him too,”

“Well to be fair, the dogs here aren’t very friendly,” he noted.

“Well…they did attack my friend the other day,” Fluttershy admitted. “But, what am I going to tell Zero when he gets here,”

Just as she finished her sentence, Zero came sliding into the shop with his headphones in his ears, scaring Fluttershy and the animal in the process, thankful they were silence by Fluttershy putting her hand in the air rather than the dog whistle.

“Nothing like a D-tecnolife to get my blood pump,” Zero said while taking off his headphones, only to meet by the sound of barking yet again. “Oi Fluttershy, ready to get to work.”

Fluttershy began shaking and began rubbing her shoulders, “Um…before that I need to-“

“Oh yeah, before I forget, I wanna see how Spike’s doing, where is that little guy,” Zero questioned as he looked around the room.”

“Zero…Spike got um…” Fluttershy began.

“Oh, is he sleeping, I understand,” Zero figured. “I fell asleep in Ms. Roseluck’s class after I finished reading that boring novel, it wasn’t half bad but the pacing is sooo slo-“

“Spike was adopted!” Fluttershy exclaimed only to cover her mouth after she said the statement.

“….say what now?”

“Someone else came and adopted him today, I should have put him on the reserved animals list. I’m really sorry Zero, I hope you’re not mad”

Zero was about to ask who but he figured that Fluttershy wasn’t in the shop at the time and that they obviously wouldn’t reveal information like that. He lowered his head in defeat.

“No, I’m not mad Fluttershy, just a little upset,” Zero said sadly. “And I came up with the perfect name for him too.”

“What’d ya come up with,” the man asked.

“Either Ichigo or Drago,” said Zero. “Ichigo means number one guardian in Japanese, and Drago is French for dragon,”

“Pretty cool,”

“Um, Zero,” Fluttershy chimed in. “I know the main reason you wanted to come here is to adopt Spike but could you stick around and help out…if you don’t mind that is.”

Zero looked up and gave a soft smile. “Sure, just don’t let those dogs loose.”

“Don’t worry,” Fluttershy said. “First we’re going treat this cat with some medical attention, then we’ll move on from there. Now if you go down the hall, there should be a door that says medical supplies, bring some anesthetic and a few cotton balls,”

Zero cracked his knuckles and grinned. “Alright, let’s get started,” he then ran down the hall to do what Fluttershy ordered.

Back at the school, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna was finishing up the last of their paper work for the day before packing it in for the day.

“Are you ready, sister,” Luna asked.

“Just about,” Celestia replied. “There are a few new interesting students don’t you think?”

“Yes, there are some interesting characters running about, even the Twilight Sparkle of our world finally showed herself,”

“I know, it’s wonderful. She’s a wonderful addition to the Canterlot High. Hopefully there won’t be any more magical incidents like last year’s battle of the bands and the fall formal” Celestia exclaimed as she put the last file in her drawer. “Looks like that’s for today,”

“Wonderful, now let us go home and-“

*Knock Knock Knock*

“Now who could that be at this,” Luna said curiously.

“I’m not too sure,” Celestia said cautiously. “Come in,”

As the door opened, a man with brown skin and red eyes came through the door, he had black and white short hair and a white goatee along with a brown suit and a yellow tie with red polka dots.

“Why hello there Principal Sunshine and Vice Principal Lulu,” The man greeted cheerfully.

“Superintendent Discord,” Luna hissed. “What are you doing here this early in the school year?”

“Well, I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d come over to visit my two favorite Principals,” Discord said with glee.

“I’m in no mood for your jokes Discord,” Celestia sassed. “Tell me what you’re doing here,”

Discord gave a malicious smile before explaining himself, “Well, I have an idea that you just might be interested in.”

The sisters raised their eyebrows and looked at each other before making a decision on whether they should hear it or not, then they nodded.

“It’s a little early in the school to come up with plans…..but we’ll listen to what you have to say.”

“Well of course you’ll listen,” Discord giggled as he began closing the door slowly, making the Principals worry about the decision they made.

“…..Because you don’t have a choice in the matter.”

Author's Note

Quick note: Ignis is latin for fire.

Pass, Fail, or Die Trying: The Chase Begins!

Author's Note

Three things before you start.
1. Sorry it took me so long to update.
~~2. I decide to add a sad tag to the story, its gonna get pretty emotional soon~~
3. I also decided to split this chapter into two parts, I don't like to keep my audience waiting y'know. but I'm sure this chapter will satisfy you guys. :raritywink:

Now Enjoy :rainbowdetermined2:

Edit: Ok so I can't add a sad tag because I have a comedy tag, so disregard the second one...except for the emotional part.

Pass, Fail, or Die Trying: The Chase Begins!

Zero laid quietly on his bed. His room would have been engulfed in darkness if it wasn’t for the beautiful moon light shining through his window. On normal circumstances he would admire the beautiful lighting as he’d listen to some peaceful piano music like Dearly Beloved or something with more emotion like Tsuioku Merry-Go-Round, but tonight he was more fixate on something far more important than something as trivial as moonlighting.

He was waiting for something….or to be more precise, an answer.

Waiting for it was the hardest part, the anxiety of the worst case scenario kept building up in side of him, making his heart beat faster the more he thought about it. But to any other person, the worst case scenario doesn’t seem like a big deal to them; they could easily shrug it off and get on with their lives. If Zero explained it to someone else…except maybe Pinkie Pie, they would ask ‘Why does it matter to you so much’ or ‘how does it benefit you in any sort of way’ or more commonly ‘why do you even care’.

In all honesty, beside maybe satisfaction. It doesn’t benefit him at all, it’s something he couldn’t just leave alone, not for anyone. If Zero just walked away from it, not only would it make his stomach turn, but he’d never forgive himself.

So if anyone asked his response would be ‘it just…hurts too much…’

“What’s taking so long?” Zero said to himself as he looked towards his phone, waiting for it to make a notification sound. He hardly even knows her, but Zero knew she wouldn’t take this long to reply, especially when it’s this late at night. Now that he thought about it, she probably went to bed and thought it would be best if she gave an answer in the morning, or the next time they saw each other face to face. Yeah that was probably i-

“NOT SO FAST!” Shouted his phone, Zero’s eyes widen as he recognized the shout as his notification sound and grabbed it without hesitation. His heart raced as he slowly pressed the power button and watched it light up. Once he unlocked it, He gulped as he checked to see who texted him.

….it was Swift.

Swift: Hey man I forgot to ask, did Dr. Hooves give us any homework this weekend?

Zero narrowed his eyes as he made a response.

Zero: I don’t know or care. Don’t take this the wrong way dude, but could you not text me when it’s almost eleven at night please?

Just as Zero put his phone down, his phone when off again and he checked the message.

Swift: Sorry, I just wanted to make sure, I’ll just ask Rivet.

Zero: It’s alright, no hard feelings. TTYL.

Zero rested his phone once again back on his side table. It wasn’t the message he’d been waiting for, but the short conversation between Swift and him did calm his nerves for a little bit. But it didn’t take long for his anxiety to build back up again.

Zero went back to his old thought process and concluded that she would probably message him in the morning. Either way, he’s been waiting for an hour now and he starting to getting tired. Zero slept for about thirty minutes before his Phone made the notification sound again, Zero grunted as he struggled to pick it up. At the moment he slept long enough to forget what drove him up the wall in the first place. But once he looked at whom texted him, he instantly shot up from his bed and his heart skipped a beat.

…it was her.

Two days ago

It was calm and peaceful afternoon at Canterlot High and everyone was enjoying lunch in the cafeteria while sitting with their friends, talking till their hearts content.

It had been almost a month since Zero’s arrival at the school and he had to admit, the school was pretty heartwarming. The majority of the students were nice and polite, the classes were dull but usually one or two of his friends were in each of his classes, so he at least had someone to talk to. And surprising, the food didn’t suck.

As for Solar Wind, she was enjoying herself as much as her brother. With Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, along with their newest member and Rivet’s younger sister, First Light, they always try new things and occasionally get into trouble. But as long as they had each other they didn’t care and could always bounce back up from whatever punishment came there way.

Meanwhile at the Sunset’s table, things haven’t been going so well, as a small feeling of depression surrounded the table.

The girls have made several attempts to approach Twilight and invite her into their circle of friends, but she turned down at every turn. Even Pinkie tried to throw her a ‘Please be our friend’ party but Twilight still refused. They would have stopped asking the first time but Twilight seemed so...indecisive. As if she wants to say yes but something’s holding her back.

“You think there’s something wrong with Twilight,” Sunset Questioned. “She doesn’t really talk to anyone and has been so reserved.”

“Maybe she just wants to be left alone,” said Rainbow. “I’d hate to say it, but I don’t think she wants friends to begin with.”

“I hope we didn’t pressure her too much,” worried Fluttershy. “Maybe, inviting her to a party was a bit much don’t you think.”

“I doubt it darling,” Rarity noted. “I think we just need to give her some personal space and let her open up on her own, after all she isn’t like the other Twilight who’s the Princess of Friendship. They’re two different people after all”

“Weeeeeeell,” Pinkie objected. “It’s possible that Twilight came through the portal without us knowing, and is pretending to be the Twilight of this world and is lying to us. And that was the case, then why would she do that, it’s seems like a really mean thing to do so-“

Applejack covered Pinkie’s mouth as she continued to talk and gave a half-lid look. “Now that Pinkie brought that up and contradicted her theory, lets change the subject. Have any of y’all notice somethin’ off today?”

The girls gave a confused look before Sunset came to the realization. “Now that I think about it, Principal Celestia didn’t make any announcements on the PA system. She didn’t even do the pledge this morning.”

“That’s pretty rare,” Fluttershy noted. “It’s usually happens when she’s out sick but I saw hear earlier and she looked fine.”

“Not only that,” Rarity chimed in. “But vice Principal Luna didn’t say anything either, it seem rather odd don’t you think?”

“Who cares,” Rainbow shrugged off. “Maybe, their throats hurt or something. It’d probably be fine by tomorrow.”

“I’m not so sure about that Rainbow, I think I smell a rat around here.” Applejack worried, only for Pinkie to move her hand from her mouth and make a loud gasp.

“And that is my theory on where the Sunset Shimmer of this world could be,” Pinkie smiled. The girls tilted their head in both confusion and curiosity.

“…..I’m sorry what?” puzzled Sunset.

Meanwhile at the guys table, Zero was explaining to them the new video game that came out recently called Omega Anime Warriors: Galaxy Edition that he wants them to try out.

“It’s so awesome, we can play as all the coolest anime characters and have an epic free for all!” Zero exclaimed. “We can knock each other through buildings and mountains, create our own characters, and if we want, we can fight in space and throughout the universe! What do you say guys, this weekend at my place, we’ll hangout and give it a shot.”

“Sure, sounds like a lot of fun.” Swift agreed.

“Alright, I’m up for it,” Soul chimed in.

“I got nothing planned, I’m in,” Night confirmed.

“Eh, I dunno Zero. I’m not all that into video games, or anime for that matter,” Clyde admitted.

“Yeah, me either.” Rivet agreed. “I’m gonna have to say no.”

Zero huffed at the two, “Ok, how about around sunset we go out and play basketball then. Then at night we could…watch a comedy show or something.”

Clyde and Rivet pondered for a minute before looking at each other and nodded.

“Count us in,” Rivet approved.

“Nice,” Zero did a fist pump. “I can wait to mop the floor with you guys in both games”

“I’m not sure Zero, I’m pretty good as guard in basketball. You probably won’t even score if I’m not on your team,” Clyde added.

“If that’s the case, then I want you on the opposite team so I can prove you wrong.” Zero announced as he accepted Clyde’s unintentional challenge.

Clyde sighed, “I didn’t mean that as a challenge but alright.”

“Guys, this probably isn’t important but has anybody notice Principal Celestia or Vice Principal Luna hasn’t said anything on the P.A system today?” Night noted.

“Now that you mention it…yeah, she hasn’t even called Zero down the office,” Swift realized.

Zero raised an eyebrow, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, for the past couple of weeks you’ve been getting into a lot of trouble,”

“Name one time.”

One week ago

Zero and Soul were in Dr. Hooves chemistry class working on a class assignment together. They had various test tubes in front of with liquids of different colors while wearing labs coats and safety goggles.

“Now class,” Dr. Hooves began. “What you want to do is mixed the potassium chloride with the water to intensify it.”

Zero was about to grab the potassium when something else caught his eye and picked it up a container filled with what seems to be metal bricks, “What’s this doc?”

“That’s sodium, I wouldn’t recommend pouring too much of it into the water,” He explained. “On second thought, I don’t recommended it at all.”

Zero looked at Soul for a moment before slowly picking up the container of sodium and was getting ready to pour it in until Soul grabbed his hand.

“Zero, he said not to mix it with the water,” Soul recalled.

“Correction, he said he doesn’t recommended it. He didn’t exactly say don’t do it,” Zero explained. “Besides, science is about discovery and curiosity. What’s the worst that can happen?”

One minute later

Zero and Soul were standing outside of the burning classroom with burn marks on their lab coats while their classmates and teacher stared at them with anger as the distant sound of the fire alarm can be heard.

“Hey, you could have told us mixing a lot of Sodium with water makes it explode,” Zero demurred, making Soul facepalm himself.

“….At least we didn’t get any homework,” Zero said with a sheepish smile.

“You burned off Bon Bon’s eyebrows and Lyra nearly killed you for it.” said Soul.

“I said I was sorry!” Zero defended.

“Plus this isn’t the first time you tried something crazy,” Night began. “Remember when you tried barrel surfing in the hallways and crashed into the guidance consular.”

Zero crossed his arms. “Rainbow thought it was cool…”

“Or the time in history class when you threw fire crackers at Blueblood,” Clyde added.

“That was justified; I heard he was going to hit on Rarity,”

“I never said that was bad thing, I’m just saying you got in trouble for it.”

“Thank you, but now we’re getting off topic. Who cares if we didn’t do the pledge or whatever, I could come up with a better one instead of that century old snore fest.” Zero moved his food aside and put his foot on the table and put his fist where his heart is.

“I pledge to be strong. Stronger than the person I was yesterday, and stronger than the person I was the minute before. To keep moving forward and farther than those who would’ve quit. To achieve my goals and surpass the expectations to those who doubted me and those who believe in me. I swear upon my heart, mind, body, and soul that even when things are absolutely impossible or when everyone says it’s pointless. I WILL NEVER GIVE UP!”

The boys stared at Zero with wide eye expressions, unsure on how to respond to the speech.

“Not gonna lie…that was pretty inspiring man,” Rivet said.

“Yeah, I won’t mind changing the pledge to that,” Swift agreed. “It almost gives me the confidence I need to ask out Pinkie….almost.”

Zero sat back down and smiled, “Thanks, I came up with it on the spot. I think it’s pretty useful for people like Fluttershy who have low self-esteem. Speaking Fluttershy, thanks for covering for me at the animal shelter, Night.”

“You owe me one; I had to chase that little devil of a rabbit.” Night hissed. “Plus it slapped me in the face, TWICE!”

“What Rabbit?”

“Angel,”

“But you just said it was a devil.”

“It is a devil”

“So why’d you call it an angel. Last time I checked, angels don’t exactly slap people.”

Night sighed. “You know what, I don’t care, call it what you like.”

Zero chuckled at his respond as he knew what he meant but decided to mess with him.

“Anyways, It’s a cool speech and all but I wasn’t talking about announcements or pledges,” Night pointed out. “I’m saying I’m a little worried about the principals.”

Zero raised his eyebrow. “It’s only been a couple of hours, don’t get so worked up. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you-“

“Don’t you say another word!” Night shouted while shooting up from his chair and giving Zero a deadly glare.

“What? That you’re a teacher’s pet or something?”

“Oh…well no I’m just-“

“He thinks Principal Celestia’s Hot.” Said a blue girl with silver and blue hair as she walked passed the boys with her food.

“MINUETTE!”

The guys began chuckling at Night’s reaction as he was blushing immensely and was ready to chase her down we suddenly they heard the P.A system turn on, grabbing everyone in the lunch room’s attention.

“Good afternoon students,” said a man’s voice on the P.A. “This is your Super attendant Discord here with some urgent news, so I suggest you hush up and listen. I feel as though the students now a days don’t take School as serious as they should.”

All the guys gave Zero a half lid look.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that.”

“The Students at Crystal Prep have very high grades in nearly everything while Canterlot High is falling behind. Not that I care for the rivalry between the two, but I don’t want other schools across the country to look down on us. I want to leave a good impression on the Students and Teachers of the next generation.”

“We get it dawg, you think we’re stupid! What do you want us to do?”

“Patience, I was getting to that,” said Discord. “I’m only going to say this once; when lunch is over I want every student to go to their first period class. If you have gym first period then go to the weight lifting room. Once your there, your teacher is going to pass out a test. This test consists of questions of all kind, from algebra, to history, to science, and so on. So I hope you’ve been studying hard.” He giggled, making some of the students uneasy.

“But now let me get to the good part,” Discord started. “If you fail this test by even a decimal point. Not only do you fail. But this test will bring you grade down to an automatic zero and you’ll be held back! In addition to that, you won’t be allowed to attend any of the school events or participate in any of the school activities such as basketball, track, or school clubs for the ENTIRE YEAR!”

“You can’t do that!”

“That’s totally unfair!”

“How could you do this to us!?”

“What if we all fail?!”

“What am I going to tell my parents!?”

“Does anyone know what time it is!?”

All of the students’ faces were in uproar at the announcement; Not only were they devastated and angry, but they were completely unsure of how hard the questions will be on the test, or how many were there for that matter.

“Now Now, I’m sure you all think I’m the worst human being alive at the moment.” Discord laughed.

“Go fuck yourself!” shouted one of the students.

“And I know some of you are a little cranky at the moment and need to watch their mouths, but I gave it some thought and decided on something. Out of the kindest of my heart, while everyone was busy eating lunch, I may have dropped a book of mine in the middle of a hallway somewhere in the school. That said book contains all the answers to the test, whoever possess the book by the time you’re all supposed to be in homeroom, they get to use it for the test. You can start retrieving it once the bell rings.”

Everyone began chatting with each other for a moment to come up with a strategy. If they cooperate, then they could help each other pass.

“You guys thinking what I’m thinking?” Soul asked.

“Yeah, let’s work together and get the book!” Clyde declared. “We should try to help Rarity and the girls out too. Then we can all pass”

“Let’s not forget our Sisters too,” Swift chimed in. “The crusaders could use some help.”

“Yeah, let’s help whoever we can,” Zero added. As each of the guys came to an agreement, the P.A system came on again and Superintendent Discord spoke once again.

“I want to remind everyone that only ONE person can use the book, no cooperation what so ever, that 'all for one and one for all' nonsense doesn’t fly with me. I have cameras in the hallway watching your every move. If anyone works together at all, either students or the entire group will automatically FAIL! Now remember to have fun everyone. I’ll be sure to play one of my favorite tunes while the hunt begins.” Discord chuckled, “Oh! And you have thirty seconds till the bell rings.”

As Discord’s final rule came into place, the cooperation and alliances of the students fell apart as they were forced to go against each other. The students’ face changed from looks of companionship to worry and determination. Zero and the others looked back at each other with mixed expressions.

“Looks like teamwork’s out of the question,” Said Zero.

“Yeah,” Clyde agreed. “Whatever happens with in the ten minutes of the chase, no hard feelings ok?”

“Right, may the best man win.” Said Rivet.

Nodding in agreement, the guys prepared themselves for the insanity that was to come. Students were already waiting by the door anxiously waiting for the bell to ring and the hunt to begin, while others remained seated so that they wouldn’t run the risk of getting trampled on. Everyone’s eyes gazed at the clock above the door as they waited for the minute hand to hit the ten within the next twelve seconds.

Suddenly some classic music started playing from the P.A system catching Swift’s attention. “Oh hey, is that Can Can by Offen-“

*RIIIIIIIIIING*

“CHARGE!!!!” shouted some of the students as they began running down the hallway at full speed, Trampling over Swift who laid on the floor with shoe marks all over the back of his shirt and was twitching his leg.

“Why does this always happen to me…” he moaned.

Ten minutes till the test

Flash Sentry made his way to the library while the rest of the school ran in other directions, he figured a lost book would logical be somewhere by there. Once he turned the corner, he saw the book sitting right by the library door.

“There you are,” he mumbled to himself as he picked up the book. Upon further inspection, he noticed the book was titled ‘Discord’s answer book for delinquents’. He raised his eyebrow at the title but shrugged it off as it didn’t matter to him.

“Hmm, maybe I should hide it in the library until the last minute,” He thought out loud.

“So you and I had the same idea I see,” Said the voice from down the hall. Flash turned around and saw where the source of the voice came from. It was his friend Swift Justice charging towards him at full speed looking a little tired and slightly dirty from being stepped on not too long ago.

“And what if I did,” Flash said aggressively. “I have the book now,”

“Discord never said we couldn’t take the book from each other,” Swift argued as he got close enough to Swift to get his hands on the book, but Flash wasn’t going to give up that easy as he held on tight to the book, beginning a tug of war on the book.

“Let go! I can’t failed this school year!” Flash exclaimed.

“No, I need to pass in order to participate in the school dances! How else am I supposed to get the chance to ask Pinkie out?!” Swift barked. He’s had a crush on Pinkie Pie for a few years now, but could never muster the courage to ask her out. So he believes asking her to the next upcoming dance would be his best chance.

“Well stop being such a wimp and do it already! And while you’re at it you could LET GO OF THE BOOK!”

“NO, YOU!”

“NO, ME!”

Swift and Flash looked at where the third voice came from without letting go of the book and saw Pinkie standing next to the two with a smile on her face. Flash thought about this from a moment and gave a smirk.

“I’ll do it Swift.” Flash sneered.

“Do what?” Swift questioned. Making Flash tilt his head towards Pinkie who was still standing there. “….you wouldn’t.”

“I’m gonna do it if you don’t let go dude,” Flash cautioned.

“Flash, I swear to god if you even say one word-“

“Whatcha guys talking about?” Pinkie asked.

“Oh nothing,” Flash grinned. “Just that Swift has a-“

*SLAM*

“GHAA!”

Swift released the book as they were tugging on it, letting it hit Flash in the face and cause him to fall to the ground in a daze. The book flew out of his hand and slid down the hallway.

“Oops, it slipped,” Swift said sarcastically with a smile.

“Wait, what was he going to say?” Pinkie Questioned.

“N-nothing,” Swift blushed. “Flash isn’t feeling himself today and is a little delusional isn’t that right, Flash.”

“What, No I’m fine. I was going to say that you-“

*SLAP*

“OW!”

Swift sat on top of Flash and quickly slapped him across the face with a panicked look, making Pinkie look at them in confusion.

“Don’t mind him Pinkie,” Swift reassured as he continued to slap Flash silly. “Sometimes he just needs a few slaps in the face. He usually doesn’t even know what he’s saying when he’s like this.”

“I told you I’m-“

*SLAP*

“No you’re not Brad!”

“My name is Flas-“

*SLAP*

“I’LL CALL YOU WHAT I WANT!

*SLAP*

“WOULD STOP HITTING M-“

*SLAP*

“SHUT!”

*SLAP*

“YOUR MOUTH!”

Pinkie gave a suspicious look at Swift, making him blush at how close she was and sweat at the face that she’s might figure him out. After a moment of anxiety, Pinkie gave a beaming smile and a happy “OK!” before humming and skipping down hallway. At this moment, Swift didn’t care about the book. As long as he could prevent Flash from saying anything about his feelings to Pinkie that was good enough for him.

Nine minutes till the test

Night manage to find the book sliding down the hallway and picked it up in the middle of all the hustle. He was a little curious as to why was it sliding down the hallway, but he didn’t care at the moment. Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry about someone catching up to him since he did cross country, but that didn’t stop him from looking back now and again.

‘Looks like I’m good for now,’ he thought to himself. Making his way around a corner, he ran into someone he’d hoped he didn’t have to encounter, Minutte.

“Geez, out of everyone in the school, you had to run into someone who knows you the most,” Minutte chirped as she stood in his way.

“Minuette, I need to pass in order to participate in cross country. Don’t make this hard for either of us,” Night said as he clutched the book close to his chest.

“I know, I’m not here to stop you.”

“Really? Then why are you standing in my way then?”

“I wanted to warn you that there’s a crazed dentist lurking around the school giving anyone he sees a root canal.”

Night gave a nervous chuckle. “N-nice try, but there’s no way I’ll believe you.” Minutte always teased him about root canal after Minutte’s mother tricked him into thinking he was going to get on during a normal checkup and strapped him down like a mad scientist and got out drills and picks.

Minuette gasped and pointed behind Night. “B-but he’s right behind you!”

“Ok, now I know your toying with me.”

“There you are!” shouted a voice behind. Causing Night to panic and look behind him, only to see a flock of students closing in on him. He sighed in relief as he was thankful it wasn’t a crazy dentist but realized quickly that he need to get away. Just as he was about to run, someone grabbed his leg and stopped him in his tracks and got tackled by the students from behind.

“I tried to warn ya,” Minutte sighed.

“You warned me about a dentist, not other students’ football tackling me!” Night retorted as the other students were on top of him, restricting his movement.

“Eh, whatever. Now toss me that book.”

“No way, I found it fair and square, now its mi-“ Night realized for a moment that he couldn’t feel anything in his hands. “It’s gone…”

“What, where’d it go?!” Minutte shouted.

“I think it flew out of my hand after I got tackled, that or one of these guys have it.” Night said as Minutte looked at the dogpile he was a part of. Deciding to go with the latter of Night’s words, she grabbed one of the students as she began to interrogate them.

Meanwhile, the book had slid down another hallway and into a dead-end, only to be picked up by a scared Fluttershy who wanted no part of all this chaos. Even though she wanted to pass, there was no way someone like her could last through all this madness. The fact that she has her hands on the book right now is nothing short of a miracle if you ask her.

“I don’t want to fail, but I don’t want my friends or any of the other students to fail either. Oh what should I do?” Fluttershy fretted. “Maybe I could just look through the book a little and just slide the book back where it came from, I’m sure that would be ok, right?”

Just as she leaned against the dead-end wall behind her and was about to take a quick peak in the book, something grabbed her from behind. Fluttershy panicked as she managed to struggle free from whatever got a hold of her. Looking back, she saw two hands stick right out of the wall, then two sky blue eyes. Then a whole person just came off the wall. Upon further inspection, she realized the person was Pinkie who was covered in the same texture as the wall behind her.

“Hey Fluttershy, sorry about grabbing you. I was actually trying to grab the book from you,” Pinkie explained.

“O-oh,” said Fluttershy as she was still a little shaken up by Pinkie’s camouflage trick. “Well if you really want to then-“

Without warning, Pinkie took the book from Fluttershy’s hands and threw it down the hallway, making Fluttershy give a confused look.

“W-why’d you throw it, didn’t you want the answers?”

“Of course I do, but not only would I feel really bad if I took it from you and ran off, but I couldn’t imagine what would happen if someone found you and tried to take it from you. Besides, I’m sure I’ll get another chance.”

Fluttershy was going to ask why did she camouflage herself instead of approaching her directly and save her the mini heart attack, but she realized that’d be just the same as asking how and why Pinkie does what she does. So she remained silent.

Eight minutes till the test

Clyde held on the book tightly as he did euro steps to each student that got in his way as if it was another basketball game. He felt slightly bad for some of the students who fell in an attempt to catch him, but he couldn’t stop now as he was worried of someone catching him, so apologies would have to wait. After a few minutes of running he noticed that nobody was chasing him anymore.

‘Good, I’m starting to get tired after all that. Decent exercise for Basketball though,’ he thought. Just then, someone turned the corner he was about to come across. It was his beloved Rarity.

“Clyde my darling, you have the book?!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Yeah, I had hoped I didn’t have to run into you like this,” Clyde replied sadly. He hates the idea of Rarity failing the school year, not to mention being unable to attend any of the dances and see her in any of the beautiful dresses she would come up with. Without any second thoughts, Clyde walked over to Rarity and handed her the book.

“But Clyde! You’ll fail and you won’t be able to play basketball.”

“I don’t care, if there’s ever a choice between you and something else. I’ll always choose you in the end Rarity,” Clyde said with a smile.

“Oh Clyde…” she said with tears in her eyes as they exchange hugs. Discord was watching this through the camera as he had tears in his eyes as well, only to wipe them with a tissue. He pressed the button on the microphone and begin to speak.

“Due to the romance sacrifice of Clyde,” Discord sniffed. “He and Rarity may continue to participate in the race,”

Clyde and Rarity smiled at the announcement as they looked each other in the eye and was preparing to kiss each other….until.

“However, such a moment like that is extremely cliché soooo…..Clyde and Rarity are on the third floor by room 117.” Discord snickered.

Within seconds, a hoard of students started to charge down the hallway Clyde came down from. Clyde gave a stern look before quickly passing the book to Rarity and gave her a quick kiss.

“I’ll hold them off, just keep running and never look back,” Clyde order.

“But-“

“Just go!”

Rarity nodded as she started to run the other direction didn’t dare to look back, she could only hear the distance sounds of roughhousing. As much as she wanted to turn back and help her beloved, she already knew it was too late. It wasn’t until now that she realized how horrible this game of Discord’s really was.

“This is truly sickening,” Rarity complained. “Once this is all over, I’ll have a word with Discord. I know for a fact this won’t slide past Principal CelestiaaaAAAAAAAA!”

Rarity’s thoughts were cut off as the floor became slippery for some reason, causing her to crash into the custodians’ room and lose the book in the process. Opening her eyes after the drastic crash, she was covered in toilet paper, brooms, and all sorts of cleaning supplies. Suddenly the school custodian came in and grabbed the mop that was sitting on Rarity’s head.

“Sorry about the floor,” the custodian apologized.

“Why on earth would you make the floor so slippery and not put a wet floor sign?” Rarity questioned.

“I got paid twenty bucks by some rainbow haired girl who didn’t want it there.”

Rarity didn’t take long to think about who the rainbow hair girl was as she heard the distant sound of laughter from the same girl she was thinking of, making her grit her teeth in rage.

“RAINBOW DAAAAAAAASH!”

Seven minutes till the test

Rainbow Dash smiled as she heard Rarity yelling. Sure she felt bad about tricking her friend, but if she failed she couldn’t participate in any of the sports teams, and there’s no way she gonna let someone else take her spotlight. Making her way downstairs, Rivet appeared before her as he blocked her way.

“Sorry, Rivet.” Rainbow apologized with a smirk. “But I’m gonna need you to get out of the way,”

“Rainbow, please hand over the book,” Rivet plead. “I don’t want to make things difficult for either of us.”

“Oh, really? And how exactly are you going to take it from me. The soon to be captain of every sports team.”

Rivet gulped, he knew using force wasn’t one of his strong suits, not to mention he couldn’t take Rainbow head on. But he knew her well enough to know what her weakness is.

“If you don’t hand over the book…I’ll spoil the ending to the newest Daring Do book.” He declared.

Rainbow furrowed her brow, “Y-you wouldn’t!”

“Last chance, hand it over and I won’t say a word.”

Rivet tried to get close to Rainbow but she backed up slowly and held the book farther away from him.

“Fine then,” Rivet took a deep breath. “Ahuizotl is really Daring Do’s father! He abandoned her when she was a baby to pursue his evil ways and the woman he kidnapped at the end of the book prior was Daring Do’s real mother. And he killed her in the end so she wouldn’t tell her the truth!”

Rainbow gave a wide eyed look as she was processing every word the came out of Rivet’s mouth before collapsing on to the floor in defeat. Not only did she feel broke after hearing the ending, but she couldn’t believe the ridiculous plot twist.

“No…that can’t be true….but-how-why…..THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!” Rainbow cried as she dropped the book. Giving Rivet the opening he needed as he grabbed it and ran.

Rivet ran as fast as he can in hope Rainbow wouldn’t fully realize the bold face lie and track him down. Ahuizotl being Daring Do’s father would be a ridiculous and interesting plot twist sure, but that would raise a continuity error in the series. Daring Do was twenty five and Ahuizotl was thirty one, making it impossible from them to be father and daughter. It’s something Rainbow probably wouldn’t take long to remember.

‘I really hate this chase, I didn’t want to go against my friends. Especially lie to Rainbow and make her upset,’ Rivet thought as he gave as sad expression while looking back down the hallway he came from. ‘Maybe I should go back and tell her the truth, and hopefully we could figure out a way to work toge-‘

*SLAM*

Not paying attention to where he was running, He ran into a classroom that had just been recently opened. Making him fall to the ground in and for the book to fly out of his hands and down the hallway. Coming out of the classroom, Cheerilee looked down at Rivet and dropped the papers she was carrying in shock.

“Oh my goodness are you ok?!” she asked with concern in her voice.

“Mommy, I don’t want to go on a pirate ship in space.” Rivet babbled as he was completely dazed. Suddenly, a young blonde girl came rushing down the hallway and next to Rivet as she picked him by the head with a concerned look on her face.

“Hey bro, are you alright?” the girl panicked. “Talk to me!”

“Hey Light, I can see grandma calling me…”

“What? We’ve never met our grandma! Whoever she is, don’t you dare follow her into the light,” First Light pleaded as she shook him vigorously, Making Cheerilee become more and more concerned for what she caused.

Five minutes till the test

Soul hid himself behind each locker he came across while holding the book tightly to his chest, he was trying his best to make his way to his locker and hide until this whole thing blows over. Sadly it was on the first floor and he was stuck on the second, not to mention students keep running by every so often, making it more difficult for him.

“Alright, the coast is clear,” he said as he began to move out and down the hallway. As he was about to run past the bathrooms, the crusader came sliding out and blocked his way.

“Damn it, I’ve been spotted!” Soul admitted.

“You’re darn right cuz!” Apple Bloom stated. “Now listen up, I’m willing to make a bargain with ya,”

“I’m not interested, Bloom.” Soul said while furrowing his brow.

“Oh really?” Apple Bloom smiled. “What if I told you I have a picture of Sunset in a bikini?”

“…..I’m listening.”

“You fork over the book, and we’ll give you the picture to keep.” Scootaloo explained. “And we won’t tell Sunset anything."

Soul gave the deal some thought before smile. “Ok, but you have to give me the picture first,”

Apple Bloom shrugged, “Fine.”

Soul couldn’t believe they fell for his plan so easily, not to mention his deal. Sure getting a picture of Sunset would be sweet, but it’s not something he would risk failing the school year for. So once they slide the picture over to him, he would make a run for it with the picture in hand. It’s a win-win situation now matter how he looks at it. Apple Bloom carefully slid the picture over to Soul and he was preparing himself to make a run for it.

Upon first glance of the picture, Soul’s eyes felt as if they were practically melting and wished he was blind for the rest of his life. The picture was indeed someone in a bikini, but it wasn’t Sunset.

It was Granny Smith.

The Crusader watched as Soul quickly ran into the bathroom and could only here the sounds of vomiting. After a good minute or so he came out of the bathroom with a sick look on his face before falling to the ground.

“You’re….pure…..evil,” Soul groaned before passing out and dropping the book.

The Crusader beamed in there victory before the all walked towards the book and grabbed it simultaneously, they took a moment to realize that they weren’t supposed to work together.

“Hey! It was my plan so I should have the book.” Scootaloo argued while tugging on to the book.

“Well I was the one who got the photo of granny!” Apple Bloom retorted.

“Why do you even have that with you?” Sweetie Belle Questioned.

“In case of situations like these!” Apple Bloom explained.

As the girls continued to argue, Applejack walked up behind them and shook her head and snatched the book from them.

“Look at you three,” Applejack began. “Y’all should be working together like you did to take it from Soul. That snake of a Superintendent may have our grades on the line, but he doesn’t have our friendship. But at this rate, he’ll destroy that too.” Applejack extended her hand towards the girls and gave an honest smile. “So what’d you say, let’s work together and calm everyone down. Then we’ll march towards Discord’s office and show him our Canterlot High spirit.”

The Crusaders looked at each other for a moment as they thought about Applejack’s word before looking back at her with a resolved look in their eyes. Applejack knew from the look they were giving her meant that they’re willing to cooperate with her.

“She’s just says that so she can get away with the book!” Scootaloo accused.

“Say what now?” Applejack said with a confused look.

“Yeah, I bet she wants to rally up everyone so she can make a clean get away when nobodies looking!” Apple Bloom assumed.

“No I wouldn’t-

“GET HER!”

The Crusaders charged at Applejack as the book was knocked out of her hands as she fell back from the onslaught. The book slid to nearby hallway and hit the boot of Sunset Shimmer as she heard every word that came out of Applejack’s mouth. Once she picked up the book, she turned tail and ran. She was running low on time so she didn’t have the time to rescue Applejack. She needed to get to Discord.

‘Thank goodness I’m not the only one who feels this way,’ Sunset thought. ‘It’s the battle of the bands all over again. One announcement and Discord turned everyone against each other. This has to stop.’

Just then Sunset came to an intersection. Just as she stopped to figure out where to go from there, another hoard of students started charging towards her from the left side. Giving a worried look, she was about to continue down the hall straight ahead of her. But it had students charging from there too, and from the right and from the hallway behind, it didn’t take long for Sunset to realize she was trapped.

“WAIT!” Sunset shouted, causing everyone to brake. “Don’t you see what this chase is doing to us, we’re no better than we were during the battle of the bands, and this time you’re all aware of your actions but you continue to fight each other. Even if our grades are at stake, do you really think Discord is going to hold us all back if we fail and prevent us from participating in all of the school events or tryout for the sports teams?”

Students started looking down in shame as Sunset’s words started to make sense to them, making most of them feel horrible for their actions.

“So come on, let’s march down to the Principals’ office and show Discord what it means to be a Wondercolt, now who’s with me!”

The crowd slowly started clapping and cheering before the entire hallway erupted with whistling as they began chanting.

“WONDERCOLTS, WONDERCOLTS, WONDER-“

“Attention students,” Discord addressed, silencing everyone in the hallway. “I’m terribly sorry for interrupting but I forgot to mention something important. Whoever can get their hands on the book can decide on what they want to change in the school, and it can be anything you want. Tata, oh and you have three minutes left.”

The hallway become absolutely quiet once Discord finished his other announcement. Sunset began sweating nervous as she looked at everyone’s face go from happiness and joy to burning determination once again.

“G-go Wondercolts….” She said nervously while doing a fist pump.

“Grab that book!” shouted one of the students.

The students returned to their rambunctious selves as they charge at Sunset with full speed, crashing to each other and making a huge dogpile in the process. Students struggled to break free from the pile as they tried to figure out where the book when, making each other more frustrated by the second.

“Who has the book?!”

“Hey, get off me!”

“Move it, the books mine!”

“You wanna fight?!”

“Out of the way!”

Suddenly, they heard the sound of someone whistling. Everyone remained quiet for a moment as they look in the direction it came from. Only to see no other than the book resting in the hands of Zero who was giving his usual wide smile.

“Nana nana boo-boo, stick your head in doo-doo,” Zero mocked as he slapped his butt towards the students while making a funny face. “Catch me if you can suckers!” he taunted before running off and laughing, infuriating everyone as they quickly got up and chased him down.

Three minutes till the test

Zero ran as fast he possibly could with a happy smile on his face. If he was being honest, he was just doing this for fun. He didn’t particularly care for the chase and just wanted some excitement like this instead of just sitting around in class. If he could, he would help his friends without a second thought. But he heard the rules, and for once in his rule breaking life, Zero was going to obey them for once and enjoy the adrenaline rush.

He looked behind him and saw the students behind catching up to him fast, then he looked in front of him and saw students closing in. Running low on options, he rammed into the closest door to him and ended up in the gym. Running towards the exit on the other side, he saw all the exits around him were blocked by other students and had nowhere to go. Standing in the middle, the students slowly and carefully closed in on Zero. He was bailiff as to what to do, he would have given up if one of his friends were there but he couldn’t see any of them. So he decided to buy time and to cause more excitement.

“Nobody move!” Zero declared while holding the book above his head. “Take another step and I’ll tear the book into pieces!”

All the students gasped at his threat and ceased movement while giving hateful glares.

“You’re buffing!”

“You need the answers too, idiot!”

“He wouldn’t!”

Zero gave an evil grin as he slowly began tearing out one of the pages, making everyone scream in horror. “Don’t test me, I’m crazy!” he declared as he ceased the tearing.

He carefully watched the students’ movements as he hoped that they wouldn’t get any closer to him. Looking upon their faces, the crowd gave looks of anxiety, rage, and suspicion. Then it changed to a look of….awe for some reason as everyone’s eyes were focused on something else.

“Why are you guys so surprised?” Zero questioned when suddenly he noticed something. “And why can’t I feel the book anymo-“

Zero looked up and noticed the book was being reeled away from him and towards an air vent above him. Once the book reached the top, everyone saw Pinkie Pie gave her usual beaming smile before tossing down the fishing rod she used away and crawled away in the vents with the book, making everyone give either an annoyed or tiring sigh.

One minute till the test

Pinkie looked both ways before kicking the filter off the vent she was in and began running down the hallway. She didn’t notice until now that it was extremely quiet, she couldn’t hear the occasional sound of students running up and down the halls.

“Huh? That’s weird, it’s so quiet I could hear a pin drop.” Said Pinkie. Nearby, pin just so happened to fall off a locker and hit the ground, catching Pinkie attention. “SEE?!”

She started slowing down and took a moment to figure out where she was. Looking at the door nearest to her, she discovered she was right in front of the principal’s office. Not only that, but she had thirty seconds left.

“I guess I win then since no one’s around to stop me,” Pinkie shrugged before looking at the book in her hands. “Maaaybe it couldn’t hurt to take a teeny tiny itty bitty look inside.”

Pinkie looked both ways once more before slowly opening the book, but before she could do so. Another announcement came on.

“I wanted to inform everyone that Pinkie is currently standing outside my office as we speak, and you all have twenty seconds left. Oooo, this is turning into a sudden death round!”

Not even three seconds after Discords final announcement and both ends of the hallway was filled with what looks to be the entire school. Pinkie gave a nervous laugh before disappearing in a puff of smoke and dropping the book in front of everyone. Every student at once glare at the book like their own life depended on it before making one final dive for the book.

“HAND OVER THAT BOOK,” shouted Rainbow.

“NO WAY IN HELL!” cursed Solar Wind.

“I DESERVE IT THE MOST!” Adagio roared.

“MOVE OUT OF THE WAY LAME AND POWERLESS TRIXIE,” insulted Zero.

“WHO YOU CALLING LAME AND POWERLESS YOU DIMWITTED SIMPLETON OF A PEASENT,” Trixie retorted.

“GIVE.ME.THAT.BOOK!!!!” everyone shouted as they all collided into each other. The book however, slid over the office door of the principal’s office. Discord had just stepped outside and gave a smug look while watching the chaos and picking up the book.

“And time is it up everyone,” He announced, making everyone look at him with an exhausted look. “And it looks like everyone had a fun time in my game of chaos, but sadly no one was able to hold on to the prize. But it didn’t really matter in the end either way.”

“What…do you…mean?” Panted Scootaloo.

Discord opened up the book and showed that there was nothing inside. “There was nothing inside from the very beginning!” he laughed as everyone gave a shocked and angry look.

“……..WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” they all shouted.

“Now I’m sure you’re all gonna either complain, yell, or question me.” Discord said before giving a serious look. “But I want to remind you all that the test is very real, so hurry along to your homeroom, I’ll explain everything from there.”

And so, everyone dusted themselves off and started walking away with a depressing and tired aura around them while walking to their designated classroom to prepare themselves for the test made by the sly devil himself, Discord.

Pass, Fail, or Die Trying: The Test from Hell!

After Discord had tricked everyone into a pointless chase, the students had entered their designated homeroom and sat in their assigned seats. The chase render half of the students tired and it didn’t help that they all had just finished lunch.

In all the classrooms, teachers were holding stacks of papers in their hands while waiting patiently for Discord announcement to hand them out. The entire school waited quiet as they were preparing themselves for what Discord had in store, as they were completely unaware of how hard the questions really were. Some of the students even looked like they were ready to crack at any second while others tried to keep a calm demeanor but were showing signs of nervousness like sweating or eye twitching. Finally, the P.A system turned on and Discord finally spoke once again, making half the School jump from the quiet and suspenseful atmosphere.

“Well now, I hope you all had a good and wonderful exercise,” Discord beamed. “And I know your all wondering why I did such a horrible thing in the first place. Well to put it simply, I wanted to see how badly you wanted to pass, I wanted to see how far your determination goes, how much you’ll willing to sacrifice in order to take the easy way out, what students like you would do on instinct after I enforced so many rules. Basically, I wanted to see your reactions.”

“IS THIS SOME SORT OF GAME TO YOU?!”

“QUIT TREATING US LIKE LAB RATS!”

“SCREW YOU, MAN!”

“QUIET!” Discord shouted as he silence the uproar the students were causing. “I’m still in charge here. Even though the exercise was pointless, the test is very real. Teachers, hand out the tests.”

All the teachers slowly handed out the test to all the students and laid them face down. Upon further inspection, the students noticed the test was in a packet as some of them expected it to be. Once the teachers finished handling it out Discord spoke once more.

“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you all how to take a test, but I’ll humor you and go over some things. You only have one hour to complete the test, the test itself contains a total of one hundred questions and none of them are multiple choice or matching. Most of the questions require you to show your work, if you answer the questions without an explanation as to how you arrive at that conclusion, you will not be score, even if it is correct. If you are talking to another person, you’ll fail. If you are caught looking up the answers on your phone, you’ll fail. And if your caught looking at another person paper, say it with me now.”

“We’ll fail,” everyone groaned in unison.

“That’s right,” Discord chirped. “And before I go, I wanted to say something to those who think they’re gonna get away with any cheating. Not only are the teachers gonna be watching you, but so will I. And this isn’t my first rodeo either. Way back in my good old days, I was actually trained to watch people like this, only more dangerous and life threatening. I won’t go into details otherwise we’ll lose track of time, but let me get to the point.”

The P.A system went quiet for a minute until Discord spoke up again with a more serious and intimidating voice than the one from before.

“I can see every breath you make, every muscle you move, I can even tell you how many times you’ve blinked. So don’t try anything funny, my eyes are very sharp and I don’t make mistakes.” He explained in a menacing voice. “Once the second hand reaches twelve you may begin your test. And remember……I’m always watching you.”

With his final statement, Discord managed to shift the atmosphere once again to the point most of the student body nearly became breathless. The students knew cheating would result in failure, but half of them didn’t really expect the test to be a hundred question filled with questions of who knows what, not to mention that there’s no multiple choice. Something like this wouldn’t be so bad if all their grades and chances to participate in school events didn’t hang in the balance, thinking about it all while waiting for a minute to finally pass almost felt like a life or death situation. The second hand came closer and closer to the twelve as everyone watched carefully.

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

One…

“BEGIN!”

The sound of paper being flipped over echoed throughout the school as every student began writing. Some of the students carefully analyzed the first question while others wasted no time answering it and moved on to the next one. In Ms. Roseluck’s class, Soul was the former. The first question seemed too ridiculously easy to be on a test like this, especially if Discord came up with it himself.

‘What’s one plus one?’ he thought to himself. ‘He’s kidding right?’

Soul answered the question before moving on to the next one. The next question wasn’t as easy as the first but it’s not that hard to figure out.

‘Let’s see, Sixty five point forty one times seventy point sixty four.’ Soul patiently solved the problem step by step as he double checked his work before moving on to the next one. He was starting to think this test was another joke of Discord and that all the questions were as hard as he made it out to be, sadly his thoughts were interrupted as the next question flipped his theory on his head.

‘Line B in the diagram indicates the trajectory of a javelin thrown at target C by person A on top of a building 9 meters tall, describe and formulate the trajectory required if target C were positioned at points D,E, and F. Also predict the farthest possible range of the javelin and explain how you arrived at your answer.’

Soul started to become nervous as he tried to figure out the question. ‘This is nuts, I can’t solve this!’ he started to scratch his head before deciding to skip the question for now and move on to the next one. Two seats ahead of him Swift wasn’t doing so hot either, in fact he look like he was about to choke already.

‘How am I suppose to know all the elements of a human body, I’m no science expert?!’ Swift thought as he panicked. ‘Ok, just focus Swift. You can do this. Hopefully I remember this, I think it was Oxygen…Carbon….Hydrogen….Nitrogen…Calcium…Phosphorus…Potassium…Sulphur…Sodium…Chlorine….and Magnesium!’ Swift thought excitedly as he wrote down the question as he gave an internal sigh.

‘Alright, on to the next one. Let’s see….’ Swift carefully read the question as he newly found confidence was shattered once again.

Following the previous Question, what is the exact percentage in the human to each of the elements you’ve stated?

‘……I’m so screwed’

Fifty minutes left

Meanwhile in Ms. Cheerilee’s class, Clyde wasn’t doing so bad himself. He was on the basketball team so it was important for him to keep his grades up. He managed to get through some of the question with easy but others proved to be a problem, like the one he’s on now.

‘Alright, if I remember correctly. Soccer is an abbreviation of the word association that’s found in the full title of the sport “Association football.” after the football association was founded in London in the year 1863.’ He thought as he wrote the question before stopping halfway. ‘…..or was it called Gaelic Football?’ he second guested. ‘Aww man, I can’t remember. I wish this question was about basketball instead, then I would have this in the bag.’

As he took a moment to recap his memory on which one was right, he saw something in the corner of his eye that halted his thoughts. Pinkie Pie seemed to be working on something entirely different, instead of working on the test, she seemed to be coloring something. As Clyde looked closely he saw that she was wearing down the pink crayon a lot and had a determined look on her face.

‘What and why is she coloring during a test, did she finish or somethi-‘

“Young man in Ms. Cheerilee’s please keep your eyes on your own paper before I have to fail you,” said Discord on the P.A system. “You know who you are.”

Clyde flinched as he looked back on his paper and covered his face with his hand. ‘Oh yeah, I can’t get distracted. I need to focus and get back to work, but I wonder how everyone else is faring?’ He thought as he made a quick glance over by the window to see how Rivet, Rainbow, and Tyrone were doing before looking back at his paper so he won’t get in trouble again.

From what he saw, Rivet was biting his pencil out of sheer anxiety and was sweating a little. Rainbow on the other hand had an angry look on her face and her pencil was broken in half. And as for Tyrone, he had his head down and his hands were on top of his head, Clyde focused his hearing and could hear Tyrone breathing heavily in frustration.

‘Doesn’t seem like they’re having much luck either. I just hope we can all make it through this nightmare. Speaking of which, how much longer till this test is over?’

Clyde gave one last glance away from his test to look at the clock on the wall to check the time, He gave a surprised look at how much time had pass before putting all of his focus back on the test and hoped to complete it in time.

Thirty minutes left

While Soul and Swift were putting all of their focus in the test back in Ms. Roseluck’s class, Sunset had her mind on other things. To her this test wasn’t that much of a big deal, sure some of the questions were pretty difficult was a little unfamiliar with a few, especially the history questions. But she studied way harder stuff back in Equestria. Her main question is why did Discord give them such a difficult test in the first place?

‘It doesn’t make sense, why would Discord give us such a hard test near the beginning of the year? I highly doubt he cares about the next generation of the school, and I don’t believe he cares if other schools look down us.’ Sunset pondered as she looked around the classroom to see everyone still focused on the test until someone caught her eye.

Fluttershy was completely nervous and was shaking to the point that she could cause an earthquake if she tried hard enough. Sunset frowned at seeing her friend in such a state, until something click in her mind that made her look back at her test for a moment. Skipping a few questions, she looked at one of the questions that made her even more suspicious of Discord’s motivation.

Could a coin fall off the top of the Kingdom City Building in Manehattan kill someone? Why or why not?

‘A question like this requires some thinking, especially if you want to get it right. But something like this would take up too much time.’ Sunset reckoned as she finally pieced it all together. ‘The test has to be a sham. We don’t have nearly enough time to answer one hundred question on a written test, and even if someone answered them all, they’d had to rush and risk the chance of getting some wrong, and looking at this test, those chances are pretty high. Plus the questions are too hard for most students, even someone with good grades like me had a bit of trouble answering these.’

Sunset had even more reasons to believe this test was a fake, but she had already came to the conclusion that this couldn’t go on any longer. Plus if Discord has anything to counter her main reasons, she has more thoughts swirl her mind that she’s willing and ready to throw at him. As she was preparing to make a stand, an angry looking student beat her to it.

“This test is total bull man!” the young man shouted while pointing at the P.A system. “You can’t just pull something like this on us when the year just started, especially without any warnings! All these questions are too hard, I can understand a senior honors class doing this, but for every student to take it is overboard! What are you gonna do if we all fail, if you hold all of us back the school won’t have room for all the new students! And if you do hold us back, me and my mom will take it up with the school board and get you FIRED!”

The room was silent for a moment as Discord didn’t make a respond. Sunset exhaled as the young man pretty much said half of what she was going to say but in a more aggressive tone, nonetheless he still got the job done. A few more moments of silence passed as the young man gave a confident smile as he took Discord’s silence as a sign of defeat.

“What’s the matter Discord?” the young man smirked. “Cat got your tongue? Run out of bogus rules to enforce?”

Still no response.

“Then I guess it’s true. A guilty dog barks the loudest.” The young man gave a chuckle while picked up his things and began to walk out. Until a small chuckle could be heard from the P.A system, making the young man stop for a brief moment.

“You know what, you’re absolutely right.” Discord agreed. “But you did make some miscalculations, but that’s understandable coming from someone who has D’s in most of his class. Right, Mr. Ringo?”

“How do you-“

“Everything I need to know about you is in your files,” Discord explained. “I won’t reveal anything big, so you can relax. But for someone who has an explosive temper like you to call me out isn’t abnormal in the slightest. You’ve done it to a number of teachers during tests and have been caught cheating several times. Oh and by the way I can confirm that you looked at someone else’s paper at least twelve times and looked at your phone four times, so I knew it was a matter of time before you snapped, that why I haven’t failed you sooner. You’re in no position to call me out when you’re no better yourself.”

“Y-yeah?! Well, y-y-you still can’t do this to us!” Ringo shouted while looking around the room nervously. “When the school board hears what your doing they’re gonna get you good!”

Discord laughed even harder before he spoke in a sinister and calm voice. “The school board knows all too well about what’s going on at the school, I’m the one who convince them to let this happen in the first place. They loved my idea and I intend on giving them a full report after school. And as for the maximum capacity for the school, the newcomers will just have to go to Crystal Prep instead, but why stop there? Some of you could help make room by transferring to Crystal Prep yourselves. Sure your grade will be the same but at least you left room for a lucky new student to take your place.”

Ringo began to sweat even more as Discord continued to shatter his logic as each second passes. As if he was being judged in a courtroom.

“B-but-“ Ringo stuttered.

“And one last thing,” Discord interrupted. “I’ve had this test in the making for about a month now, the reason it took so long is because I took the liberty of calling all of your parents and explained the situation to them. So running home to mommy or daddy or whoever your guardians are isn’t going to help one little bit. So until this test is over, you’re all in my world now. But just because I let Ringo slip up a few times doesn’t mean I’m going easy on the rest of you, if I catch you with your phone or cheating you’re done! Speaking of Ringo, turn in your paper and sit back down until the test is over.”

Everyone in the school was gave a scared look. As the situation became more and more dire. Even the air around them started to feel heavy thanks to him. Ringo hung his head low in defeat as he turned his paper in to Ms. Roseluck and returned to his seat.

“Don’t feel bad Ringo, you were right about one thing.” Discord chuckled. “The guilty dog DID barks the loudest, and it was you.”

Discord laughed hysterically and the P.A system turned off. Sunset started to get a little nervous as she looked at Ringo who had his head down with his hands resting on his head.

‘Oh man, now what am we gonna do? He’s practically ruling with an iron fist now,’ Sunset thought. ‘Now I have nothing on him, and if I try something he’ll probably fail me too. This isn’t looking good at all.’

Ten minutes left

Every student continued to work diligently to pass this test, some of them were sweating like pigs, some of them were confident and maintained their cool, and some of them looked like they were about to cry and give up. However, in Ms. Harshwhinny’s class there was one student who didn’t fall into any of the categories.

Zero Gravity was just sitting at his desk while staring out the window with a completely uninterested look on his face. His test was completely blank. In fact, he hasn’t even looked at it since he first received it and it remained face down on his desk. Zero didn’t care about the test in the slightest, and even if he did, what chance did he have of passing? Ok here’s a better question, why even try to pass? Sure, he could give it a shot and pat himself on the back for trying, but this isn’t something he would care to pat himself for.

Not that he will but if he does pass, it doesn’t guarantee that he’ll graduate. From the looks of things, his grade will just be safe for now until he forgets to turn in a project and watch it drop back down again, so the only upside to passing was that he could attend the school events with his friends. And besides hanging out with the Swift and the others, the pros to passing didn’t really motivate him. Plus he could always sneak in if he’s not allowed to attend, it’d probably be a piece of cake anyways.

If and once he fails, he’ll just be held back, big whoop. If all of his friends graduate he could always just drop out and continue to hang with them after he find some job in a super market or something, and not to long after that, he can make his big move on the world. In the end, only one thing came to his mind when he thought about the test and the school.

Both were completely pointless.

‘Ugh, this is boring.’ Zero thought. ‘It’s a beautiful day outside and I’m stuck doing a stupid test. Why can’t we do something more exciting? Like something competition that tests our determination or drive, or something philosophical that shows off our mortality or makes us question who we really are as a person. Or maybe a free for all brawl! I’d love to go toe to toe with Rainbow, or even Soul. I’d love to see how his Tae Kwon Do fairs against some of the Baguazhang moves I’ve learned. I just wanna do something cool and fun than take some dumb test. Speaking of the others, I wonder how everyone is doing.’

Zero decided to look away from the window to check up on the others, regardless if he gets called out for cheating or not.

The first person he saw was Applejack who seems to be keeping her cool but is also having a bit off a hard time. She was sweating bullets while counting with her hands, obviously working on a hard math problem.

He then looked at Rarity who was in worse condition. Her hair was a little frizzy and had a worried look on her face. This test doesn’t look like it’s doing anyone any favor, especially her.

And as for Night, he looked just as stressed as the rest of the class. However, unlike the rest he quickly breathed in and out before looking back at his work with a focused and determined glare.

Knowing he couldn’t do much to help them, Zero just focused his gaze back out the window. As he continued to stare at the beautiful and clear sky something caught his attention. He looked down and saw three kids running down the sidewalk together, two boys and one girl. He was no genius, but he could clearly see from how young they looked that they were clearly playing hooky. Looking at the smiles on their faces, Zero himself smiled at this as it made him feel a little nostalgic from all the times he cut class with his friends.

‘Heh, that really takes me back…..’ Zero thought as he closed his eyes and began to reminisce about the past more.

Five years ago

A young Zero was sitting down in his math class as paper balls and pencils were being tossed around like it was some kind of warzone. The teacher sat down at his desk as he tried to calm the students down with little effort, almost as if he hardly care at all.

Normally Zero would love to participate in such an event and so would his friend, Hot Streak. But today, neither of them seemed interested in participating at all as they both sat at their desk quietly with a sad look. They occasionally looked at each other to see if one another was ok before staring back at the only empty seat in the classroom.

Suddenly, the classroom door opened and everyone ceased fire for a minute to see who it was. A girl with long snow white hair with a lime green shirt with the Japanese character for Fox on the front and a pink skirt walked in while covering her left eye.

“You’re late,” the teacher pointed out without looking at her.

“S-sorry….” The girl replied softly. “I’ll be on time tomorrow.”

“Yeah yeah, just go take a seat or something,” the teacher waved off in the direction of where the other kids were sitting.

“Ok…”

The girl slowly walked towards the empty seat next to Zero and sat down while staring at the ground and continued to cover her eye, making Zero worried.

“Now that you all have quiet down, maybe we can finally get something done for once,” The teacher said with an uninterested look. “Maybe…..I don’t know, I don’t care.”

As the teacher turned around and started writing something on the board, some of the kids in the row behind Zero were whispering to each other with sly grins. Zero didn’t pay any mind to them or the teacher as he quickly wrote a note and passed it to his white haired friend. She picked it up and read it

What’s wrong with your eye?

She quickly wrote down a reply and passed it back to him.

Don’t Worry, It’s nothing.

Zero looked at her as she gave a fake smile try and erase his worries, he smiled back and looked back at the teacher with a frown. He knew she was lying but he didn’t have the heart to move her arm by force.

Just then, a backpack came flying at the girl from behind and moved the arm she used to cover her eye, revealing a black eye. Zero gasped at her eye as he looked at the back row with a furious look, all of the boys were high five each and said things like “Bull’s-eye” or “Right on target”, Pissing off both Zero and Streak even more. As they were about to get up and teach them a lesson or two, the girl grabbed Zero’s arm and held up her other arm at Hot Streak to halt him. She gave an upset look at the both of them and shook her head, making them drop their angry looks and sat back down with a sigh.

The teacher finally turned around to see what the ruckus was about and saw the backpack.

“Whoever threw their backpack, could they please pick it up and keep the noise down. I’m trying to teach,” The teacher shrugged off.

“Sorry teach, it slipped out of my hand after I tried to pick it up.” One of the boys behind Zero lied with a smirk as he went to pick it up. Turning back to his desk he gave a cocky smile at Zero and the white haired girl before sitting back down.

Zero huffed before looking back at his friend with a worried look as she went back to looking at the ground with a sad look, not attempting to hide her eye anymore but was instead try to hold back her tears. He took out another piece of paper and was prepared to write another note to his friend. He wanted to ask her a bunch of things. Why’d she stop him and Hot Streak, even if he wouldn’t do anything why didn’t she tell the teacher, why’d she hide her black eye from him?

But one important question came to his mind for a millisecond but completely dismissed it. He didn’t need to know how she got the black eye, he was well aware of who’s responsible, and it made his stomach turn just from thinking about it.

So Zero thought about asking her something that she’s not only going to agree with, but something that will make her feel better. Once he wrote down his note and passed it to her, the girl looked back at him with an honest smile and nodded before passing the note to Hot Streak, he also nodded in agreement.

“Hey, I need to use the bathroom.” Hot Streak asked while raising his hand.

“Go ahead,” the teacher said without looking away from the board.

“And I need to get a drink of water,” Zero beamed.

“Drink as much as you like,”

“A-and I need to go to the nurse’s office.” The white haired girl also asked with a smile.

“Don’t get lost on the way,”

And with that note, all three of them ran out the classroom together with their backpacks and booked it to one of the side exits of the school with smiles spread across their face whole time as they headed towards the nearest park without a care in the world.

“You have three minutes left!” Discord announced. Waking Zero up from his trip down memory lane.

Zero shook his head for moment before looking out the window once more and noticed the kids from earlier were walking back the way they came while eating ice cream and laughing together. He went back to staring off into space as one last thought crossed his mind and made him smile once more.

‘Nostalgia is a pretty cool thing.....even if the memories are a little painful.’

Two minutes and thirty seconds left

While everyone but Zero was on edge of the lack of time they had left, Twilight Sparkle wasn’t having any trouble what so ever. In fact, she was breezing through the test with ease. She didn’t participate in the chase for the book and was probably the only one too. She didn’t need a cheat sheet as she had confidence that her own intellectual knowledge was enough to complete the test, plus it was more challenge this way.

‘Ok, let’s see….’ Twilight thought as she tried to answer one of the last questions. ‘According to his church records, William Shakespeare was baptized on April twenty six. And three days was the customary amount of time to wait before baptizing a newborn. So it’s safe to say that he was born in between the twenty third and the twenty six.’

Twilight wrote down the answer along with the explanation before looking over her work ‘I’m sure that answer is satisfying enough, she nodded as she turned the page. ‘On to the final ones.’

“You have one minute left, the clock is ticking!” Discord sang, making most of the students panic and began writing down anything that came to their mind at full speed.

‘NO, I’m only on question fifty five!’ Clyde fretted. ‘Plus I skipped some of them for the time being, I’ll never make it!’

“All done!” shouted a familiar voice, causing half of the students in Ms. Cheerilee’s to whip their heads at the source of the voice. Pinkie Pie was clapping as she finished making a pony version of herself out of paper, making all of the students tilt their head in confusion before looking back at their test.

“You better watch out!” Pinkie exclaimed while pointing towards the pony with a determined look. “There can only be one Pinkie Pie in this world, and that one is me!”

‘That’s…pretty incredible that she made a pony out of complete paper,’ Clyde acknowledged. ‘And it’s the size of the desk. But why did-‘

“Thirty seconds left!” Discord informed. Making Clyde stop thinking about Pinkie and focused back on the test.

The clock was ticking, Students were losing their minds, and some of the teachers looked away in distress as they couldn’t stand to see their students tear themselves apart. As the end came near, the ticking of the clock echoed through the classrooms and everyone’s ears. It was all or nothing, pass or fail, do or die!

And then….it finally came to an end.

“TIME!” Discord shouted. “All pencils down!”

Most of the students complied and did what he said, while some of the others wrote down a last minute answer before doing so. Over in Ms. Cheerilee’s, Pinkie was too busy wrestling the paper pony she made in front of everyone.

“Now Students, I’m positive you all want to know your grades as soon as possible.” Discord bet, “Luckily for all of you, I’m going to tell you all within the next hour who passed and who failed. As of right now, I’ll be coming by each classroom to collect your papers and return to my office. While I’m grading them I want all of you to remain seated until I give another announcement. that is all.”

Everyone raised an eyebrow at his statement, he couldn’t possible grade the entire student body with an hour, especially since each test is a written response with a hundred questions. It wasn’t humanly possible.

Eventually, Discord visited the classroom one by one to collect the papers. Upon entering some of them he was met with a few outburst from some of the students who cursed him out and insulted him, even damming him to hell for putting them through all of the stress. And in return, Discord just smiled and laughed at their words.

However, stopping by Ms. Cheerilee’s class. He gave a curious look towards Pinkie as she just finishing tearing the paper pony into shreds. He saw her working on it during the test but was a little entertain by her work, so he just gave a shrug and went about his merry way.

And so, an hour finally passed as everyone waited patiently for the results. No one dared to say a peep, as they were too focused to hear the announcement. Suddenly, the P.A system turned on and nearly everyone began sweating.

“Students……grab your belongings and report to the auditorium,” Discord ordered in a sinister tone.

Nobody questioned him as they all did as they were told. Even as everyone walked there, the only sound that could be heard in the hallways were everyone’s footsteps and small mumbling, as half of them had a feeling of dread and fear. Not long after, they entered the auditorium and sat down on the bleachers and teachers and staff stood by the entrances. Once everyone was seated, the lights turned off and a small one shined on Discord as he stood on the stage with a microphone.

“Hello everyone, how are we all doing after that fantastic test, hmmm?” Discord smiled while looking at all the faces of the students, most of which were angry and nervous.

“Burn in hell you dick!” Shouted one of the students.

“Oh, I love you guys too,” Discord waved off. “But anyways, the reason why I called you all here is because I wanted to personally see each and every one of your faces as I pass or fail you one by one. Once I tell one of you if you made the cut or not, you can leave and go on home for the day. But for some of you I’m willing to bet that you won’t be coming back.”

Some of the students gulped, as if it wasn’t bad enough, he was going to shame some of the students in front of the entire school like a public humiliation. Before anyone could protest against the idea, Discord continued.

“Without further ado. It’s time to begin,” Discord pulled out a sheet of paper and cleared his throat. Everyone listened carefully and waited for the first name. He took out some reading glasses and looked at the sheet of paper carefully, then he slowly looked up and stared at the students with a menacing glare before going up to a microphone and took a deep breathe.

Then….he smiled.

“You all passed!” he said as he torn the paper in his hand. Suddenly, the lights turned on and balloons and confetti started raining down from the ceiling as a banner opened up in above him that said ‘Congratulations’. All the students gave looks of shock, confusion, and complete happiness.

“What?!” Sunset Shimmer questioned as she shoot up from her seat. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s simple really,” Discord began. “Like Ringo said, the test was shame right from the get go. Your grades weren't on the line at all!”

“Well if our grades weren’t in any real danger, then why’d you put us through all of that!?” Rainbow Dash argued. “Some of us nearly had heart attacks!”

“Well long story short,” Discord began to explain. “Today is my birthday and I wanted to do something special. So thanks to some of my old friends Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna , they allowed me to have a little fun with you guys. So you could say that….oh what’s that phrase you kids use now a days...oh I remember now.” Discord gave a cheeky smile and shrugged his shoulders.

“You’ve all been trolled!”

All the students gap at his words as they looked towards Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna who gave sheepish smiles and waves.

“So it was all pointless?!”

“I don’t care if it is your birthday, I almost cried on that test?!”

“How could you be so cruel?!”

“Now Now,” Discord said as he tried to simmer down and calm everyone down. “While the whole ordeal may be my idea entirely, Principal Celestia made me agree to one condition in order to do all of this, and that is to add two points to you current grades for each question you got correct on the test. For example, if you got five math questions right then you got ten points added to you current math grade. Of course I didn’t want to make things too easy so I made the questions challenging by making them all written response questions and gave you such a short time.”

“But what about those who were caught cheating?” Asked Rivet.

“Those who cheated won’t receive points for any of the hard questions. I can understand why they did it since I used to be a little cheat back in my school years so I put some easy questions that I’m sure anyone could solve.”

‘Like the first question…’ Soul thought. "So then what were you really doing the for the past hour if you weren't looking over the test, cause even you can't grade all of them in such a short period of them, especially a written test?"

"Oh that," Discord remembered "I was actually eating a cake the Principals went to go pick for me from the Sweet Shoppe while all of you were doing the chase I came up with."

"Hold on a second!" Pinkie objected as she stormed onto the stage and gave Discord the stink eye while getting in his face. "What kind of cake?"

"The Black Forrest cake," Discord answered while give Pinkie the same look she was giving him.

"Red Cherries or Black?"

"Black"

"What tradition did you do?"

"Austrian,"

"And what tradition is that

"Eat it while drinking rum."

"And what's the real name of the cake?"

"Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte"

Pinkie offered Discord a hand shake and he accepted as they continue to stare at each other.

"Well played Birthday man," Pinkie said as he released his hand and backed away slowly while she continued to keep her eyes on him. "Well played indeed."

“Anyways, let me summarize all of this,” Discord started as he looked back towards the students. “None of you have failed the test. This was merely just a little event I’ve decided to come up with. I did not call you parents about this, and the school board doesn’t know about this either. And I apologize for any of the stress I put you through. If you want to know what your grades are, report to your homeroom teacher next Friday, they should be updated by then. As long as you all continue to behave yourselves and have good grades you can all participate in the school dances and clubs without any issues. And finally, I wanted to thank all of you personally for making this a wonderful birthday for me and I hope to see you all very soon…….FOR THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF WHAT I’M COMING UP WITH!”

Nobody flinched at Discord’s threat as they knew it was meaningless, finally causing him to frown and sigh.

“Hmph, it’s not fun if you don’t play along.” Discord pouted. “You’re all dismissed, have a good rest of the day.”

Everyone got up and started exiting the auditorium heading towards their lockers to grab some thing and head home for the day, as they were glad that the day was finally over. Although Discord’s trial was nerve wreaking, most of them though it paid off in the end. But some still felt some resent towards him for putting them through so much anxiety. Just as students were about to exit the school, the P.A System turned on and Principal Celestia’s voice was finally being heard once again to make the finally announcement for the day….except this time she didn’t sound so pleasant while doing so.

“Please excuse the interruption. Zero Gravity and Twilight Sparkle, report to my office immediately.”

The Tutor and The Delinquent

Zero headed towards the principal's office like he was told after Discord’s obnoxious test. Most students would be nervous to do such a task, especially if the principal asked them to go there immediately. But for Zero, this wasn't the first time he’d been there over the past month, nor did it intimidate him that she called him in a stern voice. It was probably because she was getting sick of seeing Zero ‘up to no good again’ as some people would describe it. All in all, he knew he was just gonna hear another annoying lecture that’d go through one ear and out the other as he pretended to listen with smiles and nods, nothing new.

But what WAS new, however, was who he was walking there with.

Twilight Sparkle was walking right beside him as she too was called to the principal’s office, making Zero a little curious. He didn’t really know that much about Twilight. He remembered that she helped him with his grand entrance into Ms. Harshwhinny’s class on their first day and that she gave a really long lecture on where the word “phobia” originated from that put him to sleep, so he guessed that labeled her as “pretty damn smart.” There was also that video Swift showed him of Twilight and the others saving the school from Sunset and the Dazzlings; however, Soul explained that she wasn’t the same person and the Twilight in the video was from the pony world like Sunset. Not only that, the Twilight in the video seemed more… sociable than the one standing next to him, making Zero even more curious about why she was in trouble.

Deciding to end the silent stroll and his never-ending curiosity, Zero made an attempt to converse.

“Hey,” Zero addressed. “You have any clue why you were called?”

“I have no idea,” Twilight said as she finally noticed him. “I’m sure I didn’t do anything wrong. Do you have any ideas?”

“Nope, and I didn’t even do anything this time,” Zero defended. “But who cares? Celestia is just gonna give a five minute lecture on the importance of education or some other nonsense like that.”

“The importance of education is not nonsense,” Twilight argued. “Without education, we wouldn’t have most of the things we have today in our day-to-day lives. If humanity didn’t want to learn how the world and the universe work, we’d still be cavemen wondering why fire burns us or how wheels work.”

When Twilight finished rambling, she looked over at Zero and noticed that he wasn’t paying attention. “And you're not listening, are you?” Twilight asked with a disapproving look.

“Huh?” Zero asked after snapping out of his daydream. “Sorry, I got bored and stopped caring.”

Twilight sighed. “Let’s just get to the office.”

After another minute or two of walking, the two arrived at the office. The first thing they noticed was that Vice Principal Luna was standing outside waiting to greet them, making both Zero and Twilight give her a curious look.

“Vice Principal Luna, why are you standing here?” Twilight asked. “And why was I called here? I didn’t do something wrong, did I?”

Luna shook her head and gave Twilight a relaxing smile. “No, Twilight, you're not in any trouble whatsoever,” she explained before frowning and looked at Zero. “However, he on the other hand, is.”

“I’m confused,” Twilight wondered while raising an eyebrow. “Why did Principal Celestia call me here then?”

“And what did I do?!” Zero blurted. “I was just my minding my own business today while hanging out with my friends before Discord decided to pull a Loki on us.”

“All will be explained shortly,” Luna stated. “Twilight Sparkle, please wait out here for a few minutes while my sister talks to Mr. Gravity here.”

Twilight nodded as she sat down on a nearby bench next to the office. Zero gave an uninterested look as he walked up to the office door that Luna opened for him. Looking inside, Zero saw the same golden office that he’d been to about a dozen times now. It came with the usual stuff a principal would have: a calendar with some dates marked, a bookcase, and the large desk with a microphone on top. Zero chuckled as he remembered when he came to the office one time and Celestia had stepped out for a minute, so to occupy himself, he turned on the P.A. system and declared that he was taking over the school and did an evil laugh with some sinister music played from his phone. Sure, he got three hours of detention after he was caught, but he thought it was worth it.

“Something funny Mr. Gravity?” Celestia said in a stern voice while giving an unamused stare.

“Just remembering a hilarious joke I made two weeks ago,” Zero recalled. “Not my best work, but it’s a nice memory to look back on.”

“Well, since you're here, maybe you could share that joke with us.” Celestia smirked.

“Well, I would, but one, you were there, remember? And two, I’ve got a riverbank to chill at, so can we jump into the lecture and—wait, what did you mean by ‘us?’ ”

It took Zero a moment to notice that somebody was sitting next to the empty chair in front of Celestia. He took a few steps forward and the person spun the chair around to look at Zero. He gulped as he immediately recognized the person as his mother, White Star.

“Come on Zero, we all know how much I love your jokes,” White Star hissed with an angry look on her face. “Please tell me what’s so goddamn hilarious.”

Before Zero could do anything, Luna closed the door behind him. Having nowhere to go, he lowered his head in defeat and sat in the chair next to his mother. Zero crossed his arms and looked the other way.

“It’s… nothing, forget it,” Zero huffed. “So why am I even here, anyways? The only major thing I did was join the fun chase Discord came up with and do his stupid test.”

“And that’s exactly why I called you and your mother here,” Celestia said as she took out a blank test packet. “When Discord retrieved the tests from Ms. Harshwhinny’s class, I wanted to see how you in particular did on the test. Then I discovered that you were the only student in her class whose test I couldn’t find among all the others. But not only did I find a test with no name on it, but the test doesn’t have any work or answers written down. Care to explain?”

“Well, I don’t exactly care, nor do I want to explain, but what I do want to ask is what’s your point?” Zero sassed. “Discord said everyone passed, and last time I checked, I was part of that ‘everyone.’ ”

White Star gave a menacing glare at her son before speaking. “The point is that answering at least a few of the questions would have boosted that piece of crap grade of yours!”

“W-what's wrong with my grade?” Zero flinched.

“Only that you’ve been failing all your classes miserably and falling behind everyone else!” White Star explained.

“Hey, that's not true!” Zero argued. “I'm doing great in gym. My grade has to be at the top of the class, maybe even the whole school.”

“.........GYM IS THE EASIEST SUBJECT! IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FAIL!”

“Ah, that's where you’re wrong, my dear mother. If someone decides to do nothing, their grade can drop faster than Pinkie could down twenty cupcakes, so it's not completely impossible to—”

White Star gave a vicious look at Zero to the point he could almost see hellfire right behind her. “......I’m gonna shut up now,” he said while sliding back in his chair in fear.

Celestia coughed to get both mother’s and son’s attention as she took out a couple sheets of paper. “Not only are his grades drastically slipping, but he also has been causing a bit of a ruckus here at CHS. Over the past month and a half, he has swung into a classroom through a second story window using a rope, constantly slept in his classes, excluding gym of course, barrel surfed in the halls, attempted sword fighting with other students on the roof with toy swords and light sabers during class period, attempted—

‘Geez, why does Night have a crush on this lady again?’ Zero thought as he ignored Celestia’s lecture and could only hear her going ‘blah, blah, blah.’ ‘I mean sure, when she's not giving a lecture that I’ve ignored for the millionth time, she's kinda nice. But for Batman’s sake, she's not even attractive!Just look at those lips, and her eyes have crows feet if you look hard enough, not to mention her height. Now I know who's the real villain in Attack on Titan……… Ok, that might have been harsh. Anyways, if Night wants to crush on an older woman, he should look at Ms. Roseluck. She's at least attractive, not to mention she's around her twenties last I heard….Or was it Ms. Cheerilee? Whatever, they’re better to look at than Ms. Beanstalk-

“ZERO GRAVITY!” White Star shouted as she snapped Zero out of his thoughts. “Are you listening?!”

“Of course I was,” Zero replied cooly.

“Then what did your principal say?”

“......Something about the importance of learning, right?”

White Star looked liked she was just about ready to bury Zero alive until Celestia decided to continue listing his misbehaviors. “Moving on. Lastly, he's been messing with firecrackers and proceeding to throw them at a few students he greatly dislikes, setting the chemistry lab on fire, and he got into a fist fight with a few boys last week.”

*Slam*

“That last one is still bullshit!” Zero shouted as he stood up and slammed both hands on Celestia’s desk. “Those Diamond Dog punks were harassing Fluttershy for test answers and homework, so I stepped in and knocked their teeth out. I admit that I did some crazy stuff and I accepted the punishment for all of it, but why did I get in trouble for protecting my friends?!”

“I understand the reason behind your actions, but you wouldn't have gotten in trouble if you’d just contacted a teacher and-”

“And what?” Zero hissed. “So you can give them a lecture on why they shouldn't cheat and call their mommies about what they did?! So they can talk to them, hope they'll turn over a new leaf and be best buddies the next time Fluttershy sees them?! Sorry to burst your happy little thought bubble, but it doesn’t work like that. They'll just go back to the same thing but will be more careful on where to pick their targets! I said it once, and I’ll say it again: As long as I'm here, nobody, and especially not my friends, are gonna be bullied.”

Celestia gave a long sigh before giving Zero the same disapproving look. “Zero, I understand your strong desire to protect those close to you, but it's still considered an assault since you threw the first punch. That's part of the school rules and the state law. However, I did make sure to punish those boys for what they did also. Hopefully they won't be bothering you or your friends for a while.”

Zero sat back in his chair with an unsatisfied look on his face. He knew the Diamond Dogs were just gonna come for him and the others the first chance they got, so Celestia’s words meant almost nothing to him. He looked over at his mother for a brief moment as he was a little surprised that she hadn't drop kicked him into another reality for yelling at his principal. In fact, she hadn't said anything during his whole argument. He glance over at her for a second and noticed that her angry she-demon face was replaced with a look of… worry.

“Back to the matter at hand, I've overlooked your actions too many times now, hoping you would simmer down after a few disciplines and lectures,” Celestia noted. “I'm afraid that you leave me with no other option but to transfer you someplace more refined.”

Zero raised an eyebrow. “And where's that?”

Celestia took out a small brochure and handed it to Zero. “Crystal Prep Academy. It's a little far from here since it resides in the city, but it’s nothing a short bus ride can't fix.”

As Zero and White Star looked through the brochure about the school, Zero felt immediately turned off to the idea once he saw that the school looked too fancy and the students seemed a little stuck-up.

“I can't go here!” Zero exclaimed. “I don't wanna leave all my friends behind. Plus it looks too high class for my taste!”

“That's because they're wearing uniforms,” White Star noted with calm look.

“My point exactly!”

Hearing those words, Celestia gave a confident smile. “I figured you'd say that. That's why I prepared an alternative. Luna, would you send Twilight in, please?”

Luna opened the office door and Twilight walked in. She grabbed a nearby chair and placed it in next to Zero before sitting down.

“Twilight, you currently have the highest test scores, correct?” asked Celestia.

“Y-yes ma’am,” she confirmed.

“And it goes without saying that you also have the best grades among your peers,” said Celestia. “So I was wondering if you’d like to tackle a certain assignment.”

“What is it?”

“Twilight Sparkle, are you willing to be the tutor of Mr. Gravity here?”

Twilight’s face lit up at the idea and smiled. “Me, a tutor? I’d be happy to accept the assignment! I’ve always wanted the chance to teach someone all of my study habits and show them the wonders of learning. When do we start?”

“I'll let White Star decide on the terms,”said Celestia as she looked at Zero's mother.

“Hmm, how about from three to five at my house on the weekdays?” White Star offered. “You two can start today if you want.”

“Excellent,” Twilight agreed before digging through her backpack. “I already have all the necessary materials I need for today. We'll be able to get started right away!”

“Woah woah woah,” Zero halted while holding up his hand. “Nothing against Twilight here, but a tutor, really? Don't I get a say in all of this?”

Principal Celestia gave a half-lid look at Zero before showing him the brochure of Crystal Prep again, making Zero imagine himself in one of their uniforms and shudder. “Ugh, ok, ok, I'll agree to the terms.”

Celestia put the brochure away and returned to her warm smile. “Wonderful. Now that we're all in agreement, I'll let you all be on your way then. Zero, I wish you nothing but the best and look forward to seeing your progress.”

“No problem… Principal Long Legs,” Zero groaned as he whispered the last part under his breath. White Star heard it and grabbed Zero by the collar of his jacket before dragging him out in the hallway. “Ow! Mom, you're stretching the collars!”

“Sorry, I just need to talk to my soon-to-be genius son in private for a minute,” White Star said to Celestia and Twilight with a kind smile before closing the office door and dragging Zero further down the hallway. Once she was sure nobody was around or in hearing range, White Star let go of Zero and faced him. Instead of being filled with enough rage to scare a military sergeant, she looked at him with a look of disappointment and worry. “Zero… what's going on with you?”

Zero stared at the ground with a frustrated look as he refused to answer his mother, making White Star sigh.

“Fine, I'll talk, you just listen,” she began. “Why are you acting like this? I'd hoped that moving here would help you forget about Manehattan, that'd you start focusing on school work and wouldn't grow up to be some punk on the street. Yet here you are, begging for attention and causing trouble to the point that it's become second nature to you!”

“And so what if I am?” Zero mouthed off. “Who are you to tell me who I can or can't be, huh? I'm old enough to make my own decision and future.”

“What future?!” White Star exclaimed as she returned to her angry look. “Being the king of your generation by acting like the same reckless fool of a ten-year-old you used to be?!”

“I don't care about being cool!” Zero argued as he finally looked at his mother with a powerful glare. “I just wanna show my friends that I'll be the pillar of strength that'll always be there to protect them.”

“By getting into fist fights again?” White Star cross-examined. “You remember what happened the last time you got into a fight, right? You-

“It was different this time!” Zero interrupted. “I saw those Diamond Dog guys constantly harassing Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie showed up and stood up for her. It was two against three and I didn't want to see the girls get hurt, so I charged in and beat the crap out of all three of them myself while Pinkie and Fluttershy slipped away to grab a teacher.”

“They did what you should have done from the beginning,” she noted. “I understand why you took action, but you need to learn how to pick your battles.”

“Hey, by the time the teachers showed up, I had already send them running with their tails between their legs,” Zero assured while clenching his fist in front of his face. “If anything, they should be thanking me for dealing with the problem at hand and punishing the real troublemakers.”

White Star gave an exhausted sigh as she looked at Zero with a sympathetic look while putting down her son’s clenched fist. “Zero, you're not seeing the big picture here. If you keep acting like a problem child, you'll only end up in more trouble than you already are. Then, like the pillar you claim to be, you'll just end up crumbling down. Then you won't be able to help anyone, not even yourself.”

Zero clenched his fist tighter for a moment as he looked away from his mother’s eyes and went back to staring at the ground. He knew all too well it wasn't wise to get into fights, especially if he's the one throwing the first punch, but he couldn't give any bully the chance to hurt his friends. He didn't care about the risks or the drawbacks of protecting them; he couldn't allow his friends to be scarred from the pain…… at least… not again.

“Zero,” White Star said in a soft voice. “Do you… still blame yourself for what happened back in Manehattan?”

Zero flinched at her words for a moment before looking back up at his mother with his usual cheeky smile. “Who, me? Yeah right. My name’s Zero Gravity for a reason!” he beamed. “It means nothing brings me down. Manehattan is just, whatever, ya'know? It's all just a stupid city filled with crap I barely care about.”

White Star narrowed her eyes at him. “Then what about Hot Streak? When was the last time you called or texted him?”

“Hot Streak? I'm sure he'll find new friends to sing cartoon theme songs and reenact awesome moments with,” he said as he waved it off. “He’s probably forgotten all about me and moved on like me.”

White Star slowly kneeled down and touched the kanji on Zero’s shirt. “....But you're still wearing the shirt.”

Zero backed away a little defensively for a moment. “I-It's just a cool shirt. Plus the symbolism of wolves represents who I am.”

White Star glared at him for a moment before giving a defeated sigh and standing back up. She was going to bring her up, but thought it was better to stay away from the sensitive topic and let Zero focus on the tutoring for today. “Alright, I'm done interrogating you. Head on back to the house with Twilight and get started on your lessons.”

“Aren't you coming?” Zero asked curiously.

“I'm going to the homeless shelter to do a little volunteer work for a little bit,” White Star explained. “I'll be back by six.”

“Alright then.” Zero nodded before running back to the office to grab Twilight. White Star watched Zero leave with a sad look on her face and prepared to head off herself, knowing all too well of the feelings he was keeping lock away.

‘You’re not fooling me Zero… and you're not fooling yourself either.’

Later that afternoon, Zero was on his way home as Twilight was driving the both of them there. During the car ride, Zero tried to get out of this situation by persuading Twilight to do his homework for him or let him copy her answers on the next big test. Much to his disappointment, Twilight denied all of his requests. Arriving at his driveway, the two hopped out of the car and walked towards the door step.

“Ok, ok,” Zero said as he continued to pester Twilight. “How about if I take you shopping and buy you whatever you want out my dad’s—I mean my wallet and buy you whatever you want while I carry everything?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Look, I appreciate all of your offers, but if you just cheated your way through the school year you wouldn't be learning anything, not to mention you wouldn't really be earning good grades.”

Zero tilted his head. “.....And I should care because?”

“Because it would make you a dishonest person who doesn't understand the value of working hard at getting what you want out of life.”

Zero gave an annoyed groan and took his house keys out of his pocket. “Who cares if people think I'm dishonest? I don't need some stupid diploma to achieve my goal.”

“You can't do anything big in life without a diploma, so if you really intend on achieving your goal, then you might want to focus on graduating before anything. Who knows, you might learn something useful for a change.”

“Don't take this the wrong way, but I already get an earful from my mom and Principal Long Legs, so would you please can it with the lecture and save it for someone who wants to listen?”

Twilight rested her hands on her hip. “All I'm saying is that getting an education is a good thing, and you might even find it to be fun.”

Zero stood there for a moment in shock thanks to Twilight’s words. He then went up to her and gave a suspicious look as he poked Twilight in the arm.

“Uhh, why are you poking me?” Twilight asked as she was clearly uncomfortable. Zero keep eyeballing her until he finally stepped out of her personal bubble.

“Sorry, it's just that I've never heard someone speak such blasphemy in all my years,” Zero explained while rubbing his chin. “You must belong to that species I've heard so much about called Eggheads who think learning and fun go hand in hand.”

“I am not an egghead!” Twilight cried with a frustrated look. “And they're not a species.”

“Geez, I was just teasing. You're no fun.” Zero waved off as he went up to the door to unlock it. Before he could reach the doorknob, the door was swung up open and his father, Sound Barrier, stood before him while holding a shotgun.

“YOU’VE GOT A LOT OF BALLS COMING HERE WITH MY DAUGHTER!” Sound Barrier shouted as the shotgun made a clicking sound, making both Zero and Twilight scream in a panic.

“DAD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Zero screamed. Sound Barrier looked at Zero and Twilight for a moment before dropping the angry scowl and moving the gun away.

“Oh, it's you Zero,” said Sound Barrier. “My bad kiddo, I saw the car in the driveway and didn't recognize it. Then I heard someone trying to unlock the door and thought Wind came home with some older guy and assumed the worse.”

“Why didn't you think it was me?!”

“Cause you can't drive and you don’t seem like the kind of person to let a girl drive you places. Sorry for spooking you two.”

“Your spook nearly made me crap my pants!” Zero exclaimed before looking at Twilight who was still shaking. “Sorry about my dad.”

“N-n-no, it's f-fine,” Twilight stuttered. “It's not every day I get a shotgun pointed at me. Is it ok if I use your b-bathroom sir?”

“Sure!” Sound Barrier smiled. “Upstairs, third door on the right. And while you’re at it, get comfortable and make yourself at home. Kiddo, mind if I talk to in private for a little bit?”

“Uh, sure dad,” Zero agreed as he followed his father and locked the front door. As he walked with his father, he looked at Twilight for a moment and noticed her walking awkwardly. It didn't take long to realize that she must have peed herself thanks to the shotgun. After entering his father’s office, Zero took a seat as Sound Barrier closed the blinds to darken the room and turned on a single lamp as he looked at Zero with a serious glare. “You wanted to see me dad?”

“We need to talk about a few things kiddo,” Sound Barrier said in a serious tone of voice as he walked around the room with his hands behind his back. “First things first, where's your sister?”

“Wind texted me and said she was gonna hang out with her friends after school and will be home by dinner time.”

“And your mother?”

“She's at the homeless shelter for volunteering. She'll be back around six.”

“I see.” Sound Barrier finally took a seat and put his hands together as he kept the same serious look. “Zero, it's time we had a serious talk about one of the most crucial things in life: Women.”

“Women? Why do you want to talk about that?” Zero questioned.

“I'm about to leave to do a little investigating at a crime scene and collect evidence, meaning you and your friend are gonna be alone for a couple hours,” Sound Barrier explained. “And I have evidence that proves you're well aware of the birds and bees, so in case things get… heated between you two, I wanna give you something before I leave.”

“Dad, it's not like th—wait, what do you mean you have evidence?”

Sound Barrier turned the computer to his son and showed him the browser history of a few porn sites. “Next time you get curious about girls, clear your history.”

Zero gave a nervous look. “O-objection! I was dared! It was a one-time deal! Wind must have filled up your history with porn! Yeah, that’s it! She wanted to get me in—”

Sound Barrier chuckled at his freak-out. “Relax, I'm not gonna tell anyone. I did the same when I was your age.” He deleted the history after typing on the computer for a moment. “Except I never got caught.”

“R-right.”

Barrier turned the computer back to himself before looking at Zero and clapping his hands together with a sly smile. “Back to the matter at hand, tell me about your friend out there.”

“Her name’s Twilight Sparkle.” Zero chuckled at the name as it reminded him of the terrible Twilight novels that Wind use to read. “She's some brainiac from my school who's in a few of my classes. Other than that, I hardly know her.”

His father gave a few understanding nods. “Ah, I didn't take you for someone to be interested in smart girls. I thought you liked the energetic and quiet types.”

“Say wha—?” Zero tilted his head with a confused look.

“No no, it's fine. She's pretty cute.” Sound Barrier took something out of his drawer and stood up. “Now remember kiddo, a girl like her is sensitive, so don't do or say anything that might hurt her feelings. Show her how much you really care, prove that you're the man she was destined to meet, and when you feel like it’s time, use this.”

Sound Barrier walked up to Zero and kneeled down with a bow as he grabbed his arm. Then he put something in his hand and crumbled it into a fist before backing away with a smile. Zero looked at him with the same confused look before opening his hand to see the object.

…..It was an engagement ring.

“Dad, we just met! This isn't like one of those crappy love at first sight romance movies! And I'm too young to get married anyways!”

Barrier did a double take as he looked at what he had given Zero. “Oops, my bad.” He quickly snatched the ring back and grabbed something else before putting it in Zero's hand once more. “Here ya go, sport.” Zero looked at his hand again and blushed slightly.

….The item was a condom.

“D-D-DAD, I don't like her that way! She's just my tutor, that’s it!”

“Oh, well that's a shame.” Barrier was about to take back the condom but Zero closed his hand and moved away at the last second, making Sound Barrier raise an eyebrow.

“I never said I didn't want it,” Zero explained. “Besides, I might need it in case I bring over someone pretty like my friend Fluttershy.”

Sound Barrier rolled his eyes and gave a smile as he playfully punched Zero's shoulder as he walked past him with his suitcase. “Just don't become a player or manwhore. Otherwise, your mother isn't the only own who'll dig your grave.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” Zero smiled as he followed his father to the garage and put the condom in his back pocket.

Sound Barrier hopped in his car as he gave a thumbs up to Zero before driving off. As Zero waved back and closed the garage he saw Twilight sitting on the couch and setting up some of the tools needed on the coffee table for today's session. Zero huffed as he walked over to her with a bored look.

‘Man, why did I have to get paired up with someone like her?’ Zero thought. ‘I wish I could've got Pinkie or that girl Night hangs out with, Minuette I think. Maybe then I could have someone cute or fun to talk to, or maybe play video games with.’ As he slumped down next to Twilight, she tied her hair in a bun and put on some reading glasses. She gave Zero a kind smile before picking a book about astronomy.

‘Well, at least she’s not Trixie, and I guess she’s decent-looking for an egghead. Maybe these two hours won't be so bad,’ Zero admitted before sitting up. “Ok, what are we doing first?”

“Well, I thought it'd be best to start off with science,” Twilight stated. “Principal Celestia showed me your grades and I noticed that your Science grade is a little shaky, but it's nothing a little studying can't fix. That, and Science is one of my favorite subjects.”

“Eh, Science got too complicated after elementary school,” Zero whined while scratching his head. “But I still like space stuff; I think it's still interesting.”

“Good, then we'll start with that and work our way into the harder concepts of space so you'll have a better understanding of it.” Twilight opened her book and turned to a page that talked about the planet Saturn. “Get ready to take some notes.”

Zero grabbed a nearby notebook and a pencil. “Alright, I'm ready.”

Twilight nodded. “As we speak, Saturn currently has sixty two moons, and only fifty three of them are named with the majority being fifty kilometers across. While the moons themselves are fascinating, there's one moon that stands out among not only the other moons by Saturn, but all the moons in the Solar System, and that moon is Titan. Titan is the only moon in the Solar System to have its own significant atmosphere. It should also be noted that, like Venus, the atmosphere rotates much faster than its surface. Are you getting all of this Zero?”

“If we're smiiiiiiiling today, come tomooooooorrow will it rain?!” Zero sang as one earpiece was playing music while he was drumming with two pencils. “I'll race through the oceans, and you’ll tear open the skies!”

“ZERO!”

“Huh?” Zero looked over to Twilight with a disinterested look as he paused the song. “What's up?”

“You’re supposed to be listening and taking notes, not jamming out to music, that's what's up!” Twilight scolded as she took Zero's headphones away.

“Oh, my bad,” Zero apologized with a cheeky, yet innocent smile. “You can go back to reading now.”

Twilight gave the young delinquent a suspicious look before turning back to her textbook. “Saturn was well-known to the ancients, including the Babylonians and far Eastern observers. In fact, thanks to its slow orbit around the Sun, which is approximately once every twenty-nine point four Earth days, but who's counting, right?” Twilight giggled. “Saturn earned the nickname ‘Lubadsagush’ from the ancient Assyrians. The name itself mean ‘oldest of the old—”

“YES!”

Twilight jumped at the outburst as she looked over and noticed Zero facing away from her and slouching. He was playing with a paper football and it looked like he was aiming for the fruit bowl at the nearby dinner table.

“With ten seconds left, Zero Gravity has to make another glorious shot in between the apple and the orange to win the game,” Zero mumbled to himself as he took aim. “The shot looks perfect, all eyes on him, the stadium is silent as he gets ready for the kick and—”

Before he could make the flick, Twilight took the paper football at the last second as she looked at him with an annoyed look.

“And Twilight becomes the buzzkill and steals the ball from the kicker, ruining the game for everyone. Twilight Sparkle, how do you respond to the disappointed fans?” Zero said in an announcer's voice while holding up an imaginary microphone to Twilight.

“Zero, you need to take this seriously,” Twilight lectured as she moved Zero’s hand away. “At this rate, you’ll be kicked out of school for sure and—”

“Save it,” Zero halted. “You're gonna say something like, ‘I need to study or I’ll be some bum on the street’ or ‘If I keep it up I’ll come to regret it later’ or some other crap my parents or teachers lectured me about.”

“Could you watch your language please?” Twilight asked politely.

“Fine, my bad,” he apologized. “My point is, I don’t need some stupid diploma to help me achieve my goal in life.”

“And what is your goal exactly?”

Zero leaned back on the couch as he gave a confident smile and stared out the window into the orange sky. “I want to have power so great that it’ll change how the world works!”

Twilight stared at him for a few moments with a confused look. “Change the world? How do you plan on doing something so big without a proper education, much less a high school diploma?”

“With determination likes mine, I can do anything I set my mind to!” Zero boasted. “Besides, I’m pretty philosophical, so I’m sure with a powerful combination of the two, I’m good to go!”

Twilight shook her head and sighed. “It takes a lot more than that to do something that big. And I find it hard to believe that you have any sense of philosophy with the grade you have in reading and writing.”

“Oh yeah?” Zero said with a smirk as he stood up. “Follow me to my room and I’ll show you.”

Twilight became a little flustered at his words for a moment. This was the first time she’d ever been alone with a boy her age, let alone in said boy’s house, so she felt a little uneasy with the idea of going into a boy’s room under these circumstances. Twilight cautiously stood up and followed Zero upstairs, keeping a small distance in case he tried anything funny.

As the two entered the room, Twilight was taken aback by what she saw. Zero’s room was a bit messy as a few remnants of water balloons were scattered around the door. His bed wasn’t made up in the slightest, and some dirty clothes were sitting in the corner of the room underneath what looked to be a mini basketball hoop. However, on the other side of the room was a computer desk that was almost clean, and a well-organized bookshelf by the window was filled with what seemed to be comic books of some sort. Some of the titles were a little strange to her as she walked over to the shelf to get a better look.

“Full… metal… Alchemist?” Twilight addressed curiously. “Naruto, Blue Exorcist, Fairy Tail, Bleach? What kind of comics are these?”

“They’re called manga,” Zero corrected as he went digging through his closet. “They’re Japanese comics that you read right to left.”

Twilight opened of the books and tried reading it the way Zero instructed. She knew countries like China and Japan had different styles of reading but never really tried the style herself. After flipping through the pages, she put the book back and continued to look around the room. ‘Strange,’ she thought to herself. ‘But interesting.’

As Twilight looked around the room a little more while Zero continued searching for whatever it was he was looking for, she looked up to the ceiling and saw a few posters with several cartoon characters on them. But there was one picture that both baffled and offended her slightly.

The picture showed an older-looking Zero with an intense look on his face wearing a tattered jet black robe and green pants. Lightning surrounded his left hand and was holding a black katana with small embers surrounding it in his right. He was leaping off an erupting volcano towards a terrifying dragon whose head was shaped like a Pi symbol that was about to breathe fire at Zero. The corner of the pictured showed the title “The Subject that Howls and Rages!” and underneath it had the name “Heavenly Quill” written in cursive.

“W-what is this?!” Twilight complained as Zero walked over to her with a candle and a box of matches.

“Oh! That’s a drawing my friend online made for me,” Zero chuckled with a grin. “I made a joke about how math is my arch-nemesis and Quill made a mental note of it and drew me this epic masterpiece for my birthday, although he personally felt ashamed of it since he’s an egghead like you and actually likes math.”

“What do you have against math?” Twilight questioned.

“It’s annoying, pisses me off, and it’s more complicated than the entirety of Kingdom Hearts to a newcomer.”

“Kingdom what?”

Zero rolled his eyes. “Never mind. I forgot who I was talking to for a minute.” He walked over to his computer desk as he placed the candle down and lit it with a match. “Could you close the curtains, please?”

Twilight nodded as she did what she was asked and walked over to Zero. The room was nearly engulfed by the darkness as the only sources of light were the small beams of sunlight sneaking past the curtains and the lit candle that Zero was staring at. Twilight looked at the candle and Zero with curiosity. “Why do you have a candle out?”

“It’s part of my example,” Zero explained in a calm voice. “Quick question: what is fire to you?”

“What is fire?” Twilight repeated as she pondered her thoughts for a minute. “It’s the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of combustion that releases heat, light, and other various reaction products. Why do you ask?”

Zero shook his head. “Fire is a lot more than some fancy science words to say it’s gas or that it burns stuff. When you really think about it, fire is alive—or better yet… it’s pretty human.”

“It’s… human?”

“Well yeah, fire and humans are a lot alike. Just like a person, fire moves like it’s dancing. It keeps others warm if you get close to it. It can be beautiful, and it can hurt you and cause destruction just like a human being can. A person can brighten up your day just like how the sun rises up from the darkness of the night to brighten up the world. It can grow just like a person, and when the fire goes out, it dies. In short, fire is more than just ways to burn stuff and heat things up. It’s just as alive as any other human being.”

Twilight gave a surprised look. She was not only surprised at Zero’s poetic and philosophical words, but she was taken aback by the truth to his statement. She knew a lot of facts regarding fire, but she never really looked at it from the same perspective as how he viewed it. It was not only deep, but beautiful at the same time.

“Wow,” Twilight smiled as she gazed at the flame. “I hadn’t thought about it like that before. What made you come up with a conclusion like that?”

“Well, me and my old pal Hot Streak were watching one of our favorite shows and the characters said something about fire that made Streak go a little in-depth about it,” Zero explained as he put his hands near the fire. “At first he said a small flame could easily represent a human’s soul. Then I thought about what he said and went even deeper with his statement.”

Zero blew out the flame and opened the curtains to the window to illuminate the room once more. “That’s how my mind works. I can understand the meaning of a few simple words and be able to think more in-depth about it and take it to a whole new level.”

“In other words, we give you an inch and you’ll take a mile,” Twilight noted

“Something like that, yeah.”

Twilight smiled. “As impressive as your thinking is, it’s still not enough to change the entire world. There’s lot you need to learn before you even try anything big. Now let’s get back to the books.”

“Let me guess, more reading?” Zero groaned.

“Nope, we’re gonna try something even better.” Twilight stood by the bedroom door as she pulled something out of her purse. “Flashcards!” she beamed with a bright smile before heading down to the living room.

Zero’s head drooped sadly as he followed Twilight back downstairs.

‘Great, I bet Dad’s gonna get a kick out of my autopsy report when it says I died from boredom.’

Author's Note

Quick shout out to my friend KillerRobotQuote for not only editing this chapter, but for being an awesome bro! Thanks dude!

Also, I made a little nod to my friend IRL Heavenly Quill and his story Love Behind a Lie. If you like my work, go check it out and give him some love, it's part of the PoME Universe after all.

And Lastly, if anyone was wondering what song Zero was listening to, Here you go!

Idiots Can't Catch Colds...Can They?

Author's Note

And another round of applause for my friend KillerRobotQuote for editing this chapter too! You da man, Yo. You really are, bro! :pinkiehappy:

And if you haven't already, check out his story Chasing a Dream. It's pretty sweet and it's one of the stories that inspired this one. Go give it some love!

Now on with the story! :rainbowdetermined2:

Idiots Can't Catch Colds...Can They?

After two hours had finally passed, Twilight was looking over the progress Zero made today. To no one’s surprise, he hardly made any. Twilight sighed as she made a summary of today’s effort.

“Ok, you don’t seem to be a visual learner as you clearly didn’t care to write anything down,” she pointed out. “You only heard about three percent of anything I said to you over the course of this session, so you're definitely not an auditory learner.”

“Wow, you’re just now realizing I’m a shi— I mean, bad learner. I’m crying my eyes out here,” Zero said sarcastically with a bored look.

“I wasn’t finished,” Twilight hissed. “You may be unfit for the first two, but you're leading me to believe that you're a kinesthetic learner, the least common of the three.”

“And that is…. what exactly?”

“You're someone who needs to be creative and dynamic. Someone who learns best when they’re active or doing some activity.” Twilight packed all her things and stood up. “Which is why tomorrow, we’re gonna do something a little different. But for now, our time is up for the day.”

Zero sat up and yawned. “Thank god, that was the most life-draining two hours of my life. Now I can go do something meaningful.”

Twilight rolled her eyes before sighing. As she walked towards the door, she gave Zero a quick wave, and Zero lazily waved back. Before Twilight could open the door, Solar Wind opened it from the other side and walked past Twilight without batting an eye. She was soaking wet and had an unamused look on her face. Twilight was about to question this, but instead she shook her head and walked out the door as she closed it behind her.

Raising an eyebrow at Wind, Zero followed his sister to her room. “Was it raining or something? ‘Cause you look all washed up.”

“Bite me,” Wind retorted. “I’m already in a bad mood.”

“Geez sorry, what even happened to you?”

Wind grabbed a towel from her closet and dried off. “Me and the Crusaders thought it would be a cool idea to go shopping cart racing down a hill, then we crashed into a pond and—”

“Got soaked?”

“More like I was a drowned rat.” Wind changed into some warm and dry clothes as she and Zero went back downstairs and sat on the couch together. “So what was Twilight doing here?”

Zero was about to question how he knew her but then remembered that video from the Battle of the Bands and the Fall Formal. Sure it wasn’t the same Twilight, but the resemblance was uncanny nonetheless. “She was torturing me with flashcards and boring science stuff. I didn’t think I’d get out alive.”

“Oh! So she’s tutoring you. That’s great!” Wind cheered.

“Don’t pa… patro… pietro….”

“Patronize?”

“Yeah, that! “Zero huffed. “Don’t patronize me. I don’t need no tutor. I can pass a test all on my own!”

“Yet you can’t remember how to say ‘patronize.’ ”

Zero crossed his arms and looked the other way. “Shut up.”

Wind laughed as she grabbed two console controllers and held out one to her brother. “Since both of us had a long day, let's play Fairy Tail: Mages and Dra-dra-draaaAAAAACHOO!” Wind sneezed all over Zero as a little mucus got on him.

“Aww, gross!” Zero said in a disgusted tone. “You should’ve done the vampire sneeze!”

“Don’t blame me, I wasn’t expecting it!” Wind sniffed as she wiped her nose. “Why didn’t you just dodge me, huh?!”

Zero wiped his face with Wind’s shirt and gave a snarky smile. “Then I guess I’ll return it to the sender!”

“Don’t use my shirt as a tissue you jerk!” Wind pushed Zero back. “Besides, what are you worried about? Idiots don’t catch colds, remember?!”

“It’s obviously a myth since you have a cold! Besides, you use me as a tissue when you bawled over Titanic!”

“The ending was sad!”

“The ending was predictable!”

Wind growled as she grabbed her controller and turned on the TV. “Fine, I’ll just use Erza and destroy you. The loser has to apologize and buy the winner lunch tomorrow!”

“Sounds fair to me. I’ll use Jellal and toss you around like a rag doll in a washing machine!”

Zero grabbed his controller as the two siblings gave each other competitive smiles. The game started as the two choose their characters and a stage before the match began.

The next morning, Twilight was driving up to Zero’s house so she could take him to school. Sure, it may not have been absolutely necessary to do so, but Principal Celestia told her that Zero had also been late to class several times, sometimes on purpose as he’s been seen wandering the halls a couple minutes before class began. So she thought it would be in Zero’s best interest that he arrives on time from now on.

‘He may not like it, but as his personal tutor, I have to do what’s best for him!’ she thought with determined look. Twilight parked her car into the driveway next to a white minivan and stepped out as she walked towards the door. She gave it a knock and was greeted by White Star moments later.

“Oh, good morning Twilight,” White Star greeted with a warm smile. “What brings you here so early in the morning?”

“Good morning Mrs. Star. I came here to pick up Zero and take him to school,” Twilight explained happily. “I heard that he’s been late to class lately and I want to make sure he gets there on time from now on.”

“That’s so sweet of you. I’m so happy my son has a tutor like you to look out for him.” White Star clapped her hands together and let Twilight inside as she closed the door behind her. “He’s up in his room. I can go fetch him if you’d like.”

Twilight shook her. “No thank you, I’ll go get him.” As she began to walk to the staircase Twilight looked over at the dinner table and saw a man who looked to be Zero’s father reading a newspaper and a few files. She gave a smile and a wave as the man did the same and went back to reading. After arriving at and going up the stairs, she was closing in on Zero’s door until she briefly heard rock music, only for it to be silenced a moment later. Twilight pondered this for a moment as she knocked on his door, only for a her to be met with no response.

‘Huh? He can’t still be sleeping, could he? I know I heard music.’ Twilight knocked once more.

“Come in,” said Zero on the other side of the door.

Twilight smiled and opened the door. “Rise and shin—”

“SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER!!!!”

Twilight saw Zero taking cover on the other side of his bed for a second as he fired a water balloon at her with the slingshot in his hand. Twilight managed to duck just in time and the balloon flew over Twilight’s head and into the living room somewhere.

Twilight look at Zero and furrowed her brow. “What are you doing?!”

“Twilight? What are you doing here?” Zero asked with a confused look.

“I asked first. Why are you trying to hit me with a water balloon?!”

Zero hopped over his bed and walked towards her, still in his pajamas. “Sorry, I thought you were my sister. She usually ambushes me in the morning with a water balloon or something. So I woke up a minute early today and was prepared to get back at her.” Zero peeked out of his room and looked around, noticing that Wind was nowhere in sight. “That’s weird. I don’t see her.”

‘What kind of person starts out their school mornings with a water balloon fight? It’s so unprecedented,’ Twilight questioned. Her thoughts came to a close when she saw that the door next to Zero’s room was opened. The two of them looked over and saw Solar Wind walk out her room with a sick look on her face and crazy bed hair while still in her pajamas.

“Good *cough* *cough* morning,” Wind greeted sickly.

“Um, good morning sis.” Zero returned the greeting with a worried look. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah, you don’t look so good,” Twilight acknowledged.

“What are you *cough* talking about?” Wind argued as she made it evident that her throat was sore. “I’m blooming with energy! Ready to take the world by sto-sto-storAAAAACHOO!”

Zero walked over to Wind and flicked her forehead, causing Wind to wince a little bit and wobble back a step. “You’ll be more of a withered flower if you keep acting tough. Go lie down and get some rest, ok?”

“.....Ok.” Wind sniffled as Zero walked her back to her bed and gave her some covers. Deciding to intervene, Twilight knocked on the already open door and walked over to the two siblings.

“If I may, I have a couple of suggestions as to make you feel better,” Twilight offered as she pulled a book out of her backpack titled “How to Cure a Sickness in Twenty-Four Hours or Less.” Twilight opened the book to a certain page and began listing off a few ideas.

“For that sore throat of yours, I recommend that you gargle your mouth with saltwater to reduce both the swelling in your mouth and the mucus. If that doesn’t help, some alternatives you can try are some cough medicine, water, or tea. While you're at it, do what Zero said and get some bed rest afterwards. Oh, and take a shower as well to fix that runny nose of yours.”

Wind nodded with a weak smile. “Thank you *cough* Twilight, I appreciate the tips.”

“You're welcome…. um…”

“It’s Wind. Solar Wind.”

“You’re welcome Solar Wind.” Twilight smiled as she exited the room. Zero gave a warm smile as well before fistpumping with his sister and following Twilight out the room.

“I didn’t think you carried a get well book at hand,” Zero noted.

“I don’t. I remembered her coming inside soaking wet yesterday and figured she might be sick today, so I brought it just in case,” Twilight explained with a smile.

“Well, thanks for helping her. I really appreciate it,” Zero said before walking to his room with a tired look. “But I’m going back to bed.”

“W-What?!” Twilight followed him to his room and saw Zero flop back onto his bed. “But class starts in the next hour! And I came here to drive you there beforehand so you wouldn’t be late.”

“I never asked you to pick me up, and I prefer walking, honestly.” Zero yawned and rolled over. “And since my sister is sick and unable to battle, I can finally catch some extra Z’s for once. So if you don’t mind, I would like some peace and quiet.”

“But you—”

Suddenly, White Star stood behind Twilight and gave her a tap on the shoulder. She turned around and saw White Star pressing her finger against her lip as a sign to be quiet. She also took notice of White Star’s hair dripping wet with small fragments of a water balloon, making her believe that it was the same balloon Zero almost hit Twilight with earlier. Twilight nodded and watched White Star go up to Zero’s bed and stand there for a brief moment before she slowly lifted her leg up and kicked the bed hard enough to make it flip sideways, throwing Zero against the wall and scaring him awake.

“GET YOUR ASS UP AND GO TO SCHOOL NOW BEFORE I HAVE TO KICK YOU THERE MYSELF!” White Star ordered. “Your tutor offered you a ride to school, and goddamn it, you're gonna take it whether you like it or not! DO YOU HEAR ME?”

“Y-yes ma’am,” Zero responded with all of the covers and pillows resting on his face while he was lying on the floor.

White Star huffed before walking back to Twilight and giving her a kind smile. “If you’d like, you can have some breakfast with us before you leave.”

Twilight nodded. “I’d love to. Thank you very much.”

With that being said, Twilight was about to follow White Star down to the kitchen but gave one last look at Zero. He groaned as he slowly got up and scratched the back of his head while mumbling something to himself in an angry tone. Twilight shook her head in disappointment and headed for the stairs.

‘He is such a child.’

Almost a half hour later, Zero and Twilight finished their breakfast and said their goodbyes to Zero’s parents and explained Solar Wind’s current condition before heading off to school. As the two hopped into the car and prepared to head off, Zero saw Trixie for a brief moment and rolled down the window to exchanged insults with her. Of course, Twilight didn’t have time to waste on such pointless banter and drove off anyways.

Zero thanked Twilight for the ride after arriving at school and went inside to possibly meet up with a friend or two before being bored out of his mind in class. He arrived at his locker and grabbed the textbook, or in this case, his pillow and gave a tired sigh before closing it shut. He looked to his right and noticed Twilight standing next to him.

“Huh? Are you…. trying to follow me or something?” Zero questioned. “‘Cause I’m pretty sure you weren’t there before.”

“I’m just making sure you make it to class on time,” Twilight explained. “You know how Ms. Harshwhinny gets when someone comes to class late, even by a minute.”

Zero gave an annoyed groan as he walked down the hallway with Twilight following from behind. “Like I care. Why don’t you bother someone else for a change? I’m not trying to be rude or anything, but you’re really getting on my nerves here.”

Twilight looked to the ground with a discouraged look as she stopped walking with Zero. “.....I’m sorry. I was only trying to help.”

Zero turned around and looked at Twilight with a guilty expression. “No, I’m sorry if I sound like a jerk right now. But can’t you go hang out with someone else? Do you have some friends to talk about quantum something or whatever?”

“One, it’s called quantum physics,” she corrected. “And two, I don’t have any friends.”

Zero’s eyes widened at her words, almost as if a cold breeze went through his whole body. The hands that were once on the back of his head dropped like noodles and his heart slowly ached. “....What did you say?”

“Quantum physics. It’s the fundamental branch of—”

“No no no, after that.”

“I don’t have any friends?”

“Yeah… that part,” said Zero. “What do you mean you don’t have an—”

“DARLING!”

Suddenly, Rarity tackled Zero from behind and embraced him in a warm hug.

“Clyde my love, I was wondering where you were.” Rarity smiled, making Zero roll his eyes and smile himself.

“Rarity, it’s me…. again,” Zero stated.

Rarity opened her eyes in surprise and released him after a moment before politely dusting off his jacket. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry for the misapprehension Zero… again,” Rarity said with a slightly embarrassed look.

This was the fourth time since the beginning of the school year that Rarity had hugged Zero and mistaken him for her beloved Clyde. But she wasn’t the only one; some of the students and teachers made the same mistake as well by calling one or the other by their counterpart’s name, even going so far as to ask them if they were twins. Thankfully, the confusion was starting to die down little by little.

Zero chuckled and put his hands behind his head. “It’s alright. It’s actually pretty nice to get a good morning hug from a girl at school.”

“Don’t get used to it. This was simply another misunderstanding that’s going to stop, starting right now,” Rarity explained. “The only person who will be receiving my good morning hugs is Clyde.”

“Darn, and I was just starting to feeling special.” Zero half-smiled. “I guess I can always rely on Pinkie to do the job. But then again, she might give everyone else the same treatment.”

Rarity giggled at the thought. “Try not to give her any ideas. Anyways, how are you?”

“I’m awesome, thanks for asking.” Zero pounded his chest in confidence. “But my sister isn’t doing so great herself; she’s pretty sick after crashing into the pond yesterday with the other girls.”

“I figured as much,” Rarity sighed. “Sweetie Belle came down with something herself. Her beautiful voice is all torn up at the moment. And I heard from Applejack that poor Apple Bloom isn’t doing so good either.”

“Yeah, Swift and Rivet texted me saying Scootaloo and Light were under the weather too,” Zero explained. “Must have been a pretty nasty pond.”

“Indeed,” Rarity said with gloomy tone. “I hope the Crusaders feel better soon.”

“Yeah, they give off a pretty youthful feeling when they’re running around, especially when they’re up to no good like me.”

Rarity gave a quick “Mmhmm” as she looked past Zero to see Twilight standing behind him patiently. “Oh, good morning Twilight. I almost didn’t see you there.”

Twilight turned her head to Rarity and was a little surprised at her greeting before preparing one herself. “O-oh, um, good morning Rarity.”

“I was wondering if you’d like to join me and the girls at the spa after school tomorrow,” Rarity offered. “Discord’s cruel joke of a test was simply too stressful for ladies such as ourselves, so I thought a little day at the spa is just the relaxation we need.”

Twilight held up her hand and shook her head. “No thank you, I’m not interested,” she decinded. “I have to tutor Zero tomorrow after school. Besides, Discord’s test wasn’t that bad, to be perfectly honest. And if I wanted to relax, I can do it on my own time.”

“Oh… that’s a shame,” Rarity said with a little disappointment in her tone, something Zero picked up on. Suddenly, Rarity perked her up and gasped. “I almost forgot, I need see if Clyde is ok!”

“Why?” Zero wondered. “Is he hurt or something?”

“No, I remember Sweetie Belle accidentally coughed on him when he came over yesterday. I pray that my Beloved isn’t terribly ill as well!” Rarity took out her phone to call Clyde and began walking to class.

“Anyways, let's head to class before the bell rings.” Twilight began to walk off as well but was stopped by Zero’s arm blocking her path. “What is it?”

“Why didn’t you accept Rarity’s offer?” Zero asked. “Even if you’re not stressed out, it’ll probably be fun to hang out with her and make some friends with the other girls.”

Twilight moved his arm away and kept walking. “I’m just not interested in making friends. I’m more of an introvert.”

“No you’re not! You’re being antisocial,” Zero argued.

“...That’s what an introvert is.”

Zero raised an eyebrow as he tried to remember what introvert meant. He looked up and noticed one of Flash Sentry’s friends looking through a dictionary. Zero quickly asked to borrow it for a moment and looked through it to find the word his tutor spoke of. Upon discovering the word and reading the definition, he tossed the book back to the boy in the glasses and went back to Twilight.

“Ok, so you're an introvert,” Zero acknowledged. “But that’s still not cool! Having friends is like… a necessity!”

Twilight sighed and shook her. “No, knowledge is a necessity, friends aren’t. Just like how your philosophy is that fire is alive, this is my philosophy, and you just need to respect that.”

“But—”

*RIIIIIING*

“Time for class,” Twilight noted as the two entered Ms. Harshwhinny’s class with everyone else.

Zero sighed in frustration at Twilight’s philosophy and the fact that class was starting at such an inconvenient time. Not only did he find her philosophy completely unacceptable, it just felt…. hollow overall. Zero walked over to his seat behind Twilight and plopped down before Ms. Harshwhinny walked in, did the usual attendance, and began her lesson for the day.

During her ramble, Zero took out his phone and tried to play the DS emulator on it but was abruptly interrupted by Twilight taking the phone away from him and pointing to the chalkboard as a sign to pay attention. He huffed and slid back in his chair as Trixie snickered at his misfortune.

“When did I *cough* die and go to hell?” Zero whined as he coughing into his elbow.

Later that day, Zero was sitting with his friends in the cafeteria as he had barely touched his food. After having Twilight constantly watching his every move in class, he felt completely drained. Thankfully, Twilight cut him a break and let him enjoy his peaceful lunch with his friends.

“I swear, she’s gonna be the *cough* end of me,” Zero whined while slouching.

“Dude, it’s not that bad,” Swift objected. “She’s just trying to help you out.”

“Yeah, do you wanna get transferred to Crystal Prep?” Rivet asked while drinking a milk carton.

“Of course not! I heard they're just a bunch of pompous assholes who don’t care about anyone but themselves,” Zero exclaimed. “And their rules are strict beyond belief! But you know what the worst part of it is?”

“The uniform policy?” Soul raised an eyebrow.

“The damn uniform policy, yes!” Zero stood up while popping the collar of his jacket. “A person’s clothing reflects who they are! And being in a school uniform tosses all of that out the window. And besides, who wants to wear something so boring and bland anyways?!”

“It’s not that bad. Minuette used to go there and she thought it was alright,” Night chimed in. “Besides, it might do you some good to learn a thing or two. I’d even go as far as to say that you should be grateful that she’s doing all of this for you without getting much in return.”

“It’s not that I’m ungrateful or anything,” said Zero. “I just don’t want her hassling me about all this tutoring. I appreciate her kindness, and she’s ok for an egghead, but she’s really grinding my gears here.”

“Well, the faster you *cough* *cough* pay attention in class and improve your grades, the faster you can get her off your back.”

The guys turned their heads to the familiar yet distorted voice and saw Clyde walking towards the group with a sick look on his face. He sat down and coughed in his arm before eating his meal.

“Clyde, are you ok man?” Rivet questioned. “You don’t look so good.”

“Yeah, your voice sounds a little scratchy,” Swift noted.

“Don’t worry, I’ll manage,” Clyde replied sickly.

“I’m guessing it’s because of Sweetie Belle, huh?” Zero figured.

“Yeah, I probably should ha-ha-AAACHOO!”

“Gesundheit.”

“Thank you. I should have worn that surgical mask Rarity told me to put on. I thought she was over exaggerating with the whole thing. Heh, now I know better.”

“Speaking of Rarity, it looks like she gave someone another free hug this morning,” Soul added. “Suffering from mistaken identity again, Zero?”

Zero chuckled at the memory. “Yeah, me and *cough* *cough* Clyde do look kinda similar from the back. It’s kinda hard to tell us apart from afar.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” broke in Swift with an analytical look. “Even from a distance, there’s a few noticeable differences between you two, besides the eye color, voice, and clothes, of course.”

Rivet leaned forward and looked at them closely. “Yeah, I see what you mean.”

Both Clyde and Zero tilted their heads as they waited for their response. After a quick inspection, Rivet cleared his throat and began.

“When it comes down to it, you two are a lot more different than you are alike. Zero’s hair is a lot spikier and messier than Clyde’s. Not only that, Clyde’s hair is normal black while Zero’s is jet black. And after hanging around the two of you, I can tell you both have specific styles of movement. Zero likes to walk with either his hands behind his head or in his pockets, but Clyde just keeps his hands to his side like a normal person.”

“And you remember our walk cycles how?” Zero questioned with a slightly creeped out look.

“When you read Daring Do and practice the guitar like me, you tend to notice the little things,” Rivet explained.

“Anyways, to top it all off, you both clearly give off completely different vibes,” said Swift.

The last one didn’t really surprise anyone. Zero and Clyde spend enough time together to know that they were almost polar opposites. From Clyde’s relaxed personality to Zero’s upbeat attitude, to Zero’s taste for anime and Clyde’s personal interest in sports, it frankly baffled some of the other students why they were even friends to begin with.

Zero rolled his eyes and smiled. “Well duh, even if we look alike there’s gotta be some difference between us. Otherwise nobody would be able to.. tell… us…. apart.”

He gave a wide-eyed look as he suddenly had an idea to get out of his tutoring problems. He slapped his hands on Clyde’s shoulder and gave a devilish grin.

“Uh dude, what’s with the creepy smile?” Clyde questioned with a disturbed look, only for Zero to grin even wider.

“Clyde, you and I are gonna trade places!”

Switcheroo?!

… It was her

Zero’s eyes widened as he wasted no time trying to unlock his phone, desperate to see the answer he’d been waiting for since he came home this evening. He hardly even ate dinner, much less told his family about how the outing went overall or why he looked so concerned … and a little ragged at that.

But even if he did tell them, it’d probably just lead into another conversation about things he’d rather not get into and start another shouting match with his mother while Wind just excused herself from the table and his father tried to find ways to defuse the argument. Though, this wasn’t the first time he came home looking so roughed up. So they more than likely deciphered what happened, and in order to break the constant cycle of cross-examining him, they bit their tongues for the time being until he was ready to talk about it.

As Zero was about to open the message, his heart started to race a little. He closed his eyes for a moment as he opened it and felt a cold chill through his body. He reopened his eyes and read the message slowly.

I’ve made my decision about what you offered for me.

Zero felt both slightly relaxed and a little taken aback by the professionalism of the first message, expecting the answer right off the bat. He began typing back.

Zero: Did you have to be so professional about it? You’re kinda keeping me in suspense here.

I’m a little new to texting people other than my teachers.

‘Who texts their teachers?’ Zero thought to himself before coming to a quick realization and shaking his head a little at his ridiculous question. ‘I forgot who I was talking to for a moment.’

Zero: Right, right…..But listen, before you say anything else, I still feel bad for the stunt I pulled yesterday and showed you the most uncool side of me.

I’ve already accepted your apology and you did your best to make up for it. And it doesn’t affect my decision in any way.

‘As believable as the Dazzlings being actual sirens … actually, Aria and Sonata are pretty cute, so—’ He shook his head for a moment as he was getting distracted and was starting to feel a little drowsy.

Zero: Just tell me the answer already…..please.

He closed his phone and dropped it on his pillow after he sent his response, taking another moment to prepare for the worse. Maybe he was being a little overdramatic over nothing, but Zero felt as though he already knew the answer, still believing his recklessness put a damper on her decision. But hey, he couldn’t blame her.

“I’m such an insensitive idiot …”

Yesterday

“You want us … to switch places?” Clyde said, slightly baffled by Zero’s idea.

“Yeah!” Zero confirmed as he let go of Clyde’s shoulder with a confident grin. “Here’s the plan: After lunch, you and *cough cough* I find some place to do the swap. Then, we go to one another’s classes and once the day is done, you’ll cover for my tutoring session with *cough cough* Twilight and show that I am taking things seriously and showing improvement. Not too much though, or she’ll get suspicious. And after she leaves, you and I meet back up under the bridge by the riverbank and swap back!” Zero rubbed his hands together with a smug smile. “It’s brilliant!”

All of the guys around Zero either gave a deadpan or confused expression at him before Night spoke up.

“If you’d give me a week, I could come up with a whole list of reasons why that plan isn’t gonna work.”

“How so?” Zero questioned.

“For one, don’t you think that’s a little too much trouble just to get out of tutoring?” Swift said. “And this is only for one session. It’d hardly be enough to convince her you're improving.”

Soul sat back in his chair before he too chimed in. “Not to mention it’s just been a day, and your tutoring only last for two hours. Don’t you think you're overacting? Twilight’s just trying to help.”

“Yeah, but she’s watching me like a hawk—”

Rivet raised a finger. “To be fair—”

“I get it, I have a record on me,” Zero cut him off, “but having her constantly on my *cough cough* back makes me feel restricted and weighted down. And I’m Zero Gravity; I don’t get weighed down. Sure, things make look shaky now, but soon enough everyone’s gonna look at me in a whole new light. Protector of bullies and one of the awesomest people in school.” Zero smirked happily. “To quote one of my favorite villains in video games: ‘I’ll never be just a memory.’”

Night gave a small chuckle. “Well, you're right about that last part. I try forgetting you all the time.”

“See? I’m just that incredible,” Zero boasted as he chewed his rice.

“ … I’m sorry, who are you again?” Soul jested with a smirk.

“Hey!”

Everyone at the table let out a quick laugh or just smirked at the little joke. Night cleared his throat as he was prepared to get back on topic. “Back to the main discussion. This plan is gonna cripple you more than it’s gonna help you … which again, this plan is doomed to fail in …” Night took a moment to count with his fingers, “about fifteen different ways. And that’s only off the top of my head right now.”

“Yeah,” Swift chimed in after a sip of his milk. “Can’t you just talk to her about it instead of making some harebrained scheme?”

“Guys, guys, relax. And keep it down!” Zero shushed. “It’s just a white lie type of plan. If all goes well, everything will be co-co-coooaaAAAACHOOO!”

“Bless you,” said Soul.

Zero sniffed and nodded. “Thanks.”

“I think you're forgetting one important factor in your plan,” Clyde said as he covered his mouth and coughed. “Me saying yes to all of it. Which, by the way, I’m not.”

“Dude, come on. It’ll be over and done with before you know it! It might even be a little fun to switch places. Help a bro out,” Zero pleaded as he clapped his hands together. “You don’t wanna see me in some dumb uniform now, do you?”

“Like Night said, you should just focus on the tutoring and get it over with if Twilight’s bothering you so much. And *cough cough* I’m in no condition, nor am I interested in participating in this crazy plan of yours. I doubt I can even go to basketball practice after school.”

Rivet patted Clyde’s back. “You should just go home early. I’ll let Coach Iron Will know what’s up.”

Clyde nodded. “Thanks, but I’ll manage on my own, Rivet. But if you tell Coach what’s up, I’d appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

Clyde coughed one more time and picked up his tray of food. “See you guys later.” He threw away his food and and exited the cafeteria. Zero groaned in disappointment and slid back in his chair.

“Well, looks like you’re out of options now,” Soul commented. “All you can do now is focus on the tutoring and work hard.”

Zero huffed and rolled his eyes. Ready to throw in the towel, a thought suddenly occurred to him. It was a last ditch effort, but it was worth a shot.

“Hey Rivet, I didn’t catch it, but *cough cough* what was Clyde eating?”

“Huh? I think it was a chicken leg, some corn, an apple and beans. Why do you ask?” Rivet questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, uh … I was making sure he was eating right. You know how the beans taste kinda funny at times,” Zero explained himself.

“Well, Granny Smith’s cooking is a little underwhelming depending on the type of food,” Soul admitted sheepishly. “Whenever I come over for a family dinner, she’s always making me and AJ try some of the new dishes that she wants to make for the school.”

“And?”

“Some are pretty good … others are … pretty bad.” Soul gave a sickly expression from the memory. “But I don’t have the heart to tell her. And whenever Applejack tries to tell her it isn’t good, they just bicker back and forth. And I use that chance to slip out of things and head for the bathroom.”

Zero rubbed his chin as he took in the intel. “And when it comes to the beans, they’re pretty bad?”

“......Yeaaaaaaah,” Soul once again admitted. With that fact, Night and Swift looked at their beans and slowly pushed their trays away.

“Noted.” Zero looked away and gave a small smirk that the others didn’t notice as he began hatching a new idea. It was far-fetched, sure, but at this point it was all or nothing. It was like his mother always said, if you truly desire something, your gonna have to put in all the effort possible in order to get it.

Twilight was sitting by herself at one of the tables in the cafeteria during lunchtime, eating a baloney sandwich as she was lost in thought. She didn’t really care much for having someone sit with her at the current moment, though unlike Crystal Prep, the people here actually offered to sit with her from time to time. She appreciated the offers but ultimately turned them down, neither wanting to get distracted from her current train of thought, nor wanting to get acquainted with someone right now.

‘Ok, let’s assess what I’ve gathered on him so far,’ Twilight thought to herself as she glanced over to where Zero was sitting. ‘Impulsive, ill-mannered, work-shy, and possible signs of a superiority complex? I’ll just put a question mark next to that one.’ She wrote her thoughts down in her notebook. ‘Hmm … as for positives, I don’t seem to have much to go on.’ Twilight tapped her chin with her pencil and tried to remember something from yesterday.

‘Except for what Principal Celestia told me about him….’

After Zero was dragged out of Celestia’s office by White Star, Twilight looked back at Celestia with a concerned look.

“He seems … interesting,” Twilight noted.

“More along the lines of rambunctious,” Vice Principal Luna chimed in as she entered the office and closed the door behind her. “Sister, this may sound a little harsh, but perhaps we should just send him off to a boot camp. It’ll be a lot easier and he’d be broken within a week, twelve hours at the minimum.”

Celestia shook her head. “He may be a bit … unorthodox, but believe me when I say he’s someone who I believe can evolve into a wonderful student. And Twilight here is the perfect person to help him.”

“Not that I don’t mind, but why me specifically?” Twilight questioned. “Couldn’t you have gotten a normal tutor with a lot more experience with people like him?”

“I could have, but it wouldn’t have boded well. Zero doesn’t seem to respect some of his fellow teachers and mentors or care much for them for that matter.” The principal leaned back in her chair and smiled at her next thought. “Although, he has little to no trouble with his peers and gets along with most of them.”

“Keyword being ‘most’.” Luna crossed her arms. “Those he dislikes he tends to get aggressive with.”

Celestia sighed. “I admit that his actions are getting out of hand and that I gave him too many chances, but he’s nowhere near as bad as Sunset Shimmer once was, and look how much she’s changed with a little guidance and support.”

“Not everyone can change within a drop of a hat. Some people can refuse to change altogether. Until I see some change in his behavior, I will continue to have my doubts about him.”

“I understand,” Celestia said with a nod. “If he gives Twilight any problems, I’ll send him to you.”

“Excellent. Then Ms. Sparkle, I wish you and Mr. Gravity the best of luck.” Luna left the office and closed the door behind her.

Twilight rubbed her shoulder with an unsure look. “I’m … not sure about this now.”

“Dean Cadance did tell me you’ve become less and less sociable as of late, so I can understand why you're staring to have mixed feelings about this,” Celestia analyzed. “But I assure you he’s not as bad as my sister makes him out to be.”

“What makes you say that?”

“For starters, his grades aren’t as deplorable as you might think. His grades in English are surprisingly decent, but his test grades are putting him at risk; the same with science. And he does seem to put himself out there for his peers. For example, I saw him carrying books for Fluttershy, and Coach Ironwill is the one of the few staff members he’s taken a liking to.” Celestia chuckled. “He’s no Pinkie Pie, but he does have a way for keeping things interesting; he’s just your basic diamond in the rough.”

“I … I’ll take your word for it,” Twilight said with a little more confidence.

“Splendid.” Celestia gave a warm smile. “And perhaps you could learn something from him as an exchange.”

“Like what?”

Before the Principal could reply, Zero came back into the office and looked at Twilight.

“Hey, are you two done yet? I’m ready to head out and get this started.”

“Actually, yes, we’re just about done,” Celestia confirmed. Twilight was about to intervene, but Celestia placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.”You’ll find out soon enough,” she mumbled to Twilight with a reassuring smile.

As far as Zero’s positives go, he had shown to be sympathetic. He told his sister to stay home for her own benefit and did apologize for his bad behavior, not to mention he had an interesting way of perceiving things. And with Twilight’s new study method in mind, perhaps she could finally get him to cooperate and make some actual progress.

‘Perhaps it’d be easier if I just talk to the people he associates with the most,’ Twilight analyzed. Besides the boys he’s currently sitting with, the only other person that came to Twilight’s mind was the same person Zero had been seen often assisting or befriending.

Fluttershy.

Another candidate was either Trixie or Pinkie Pie, but from the looks of things, getting information out of Trixie would more than likely be challenging enough as she doesn’t seem like the type to cooperate unless it benefits her. And as for Pinkie, she’s the exact opposite. Getting info would prove to be easy. As rumor has it, she knows everyone pretty well. However, she tends to run her mouth a little too much and might even get off topic.

With Fluttershy, Twilight had already talked to her on a few different occasions, and with the info she got yesterday. she could safely conclude that there was some connection between her and Zero. Whether it was friendly, romantic, or otherwise, Twilight was sure to at least get some useful information.

‘If things don’t go well with my study method this afternoon, I’ll ask Fluttershy tomorrow the first chance I get,’ Twilight thought with a sigh. ‘Then, I suppose if I can get through to him and help his grades improve by the end of the semester, I’ll just move on to the independant study program like I originally planned.’

The bell soon rang and everyone started to leave the cafeteria. Twilight followed the crowd as she threw away her lunch and headed out.

‘I don’t understand why Cadance wanted me to come here. There’s not much of a reason for me to be here anyways.’

Clyde made his way over to the bathroom as the food from lunch was finally getting to his stomach. He ran into the stall closest to him and sat down as he began doing his business. After a few minutes and a sigh of relief, he was just about ready to head back to class until….

*BANG BANG BANG*

“Huh?!” Clyde jumped as he looked at the stall wall next to him, as someone had just banged on it.

“Fancy running into you here, Clyde,” someone said in a sinister voice. “I’m gonna make you an offer you simply cannot refuse. For I *cough cough* hav—”

“Zero, cut it out. I know it's you.” Clyde rolled his eyes.

“It’s only for two hours, man! I need this!”

Clyde shook his head and tried reaching for the toilet paper so he could clean up and leave. However, his hand halted as he noticed there was none left.

“Looking for something?” Zero snickered as he waved a roll of toilet paper above his head and pulled it away. Clyde furrowed his brow a little.

“Ok, that’s just evil,” Clyde commented. “I have class, Zero. Just give me *cough cough* the toilet paper. I’m not swapping places with you.”

Zero sighed. “Look, it’s only till five and I’ll never ask to do it again. Just this one time dude, one time. It’ll be over before you know it.”

“How are we even gonna pull this off? Try as we may, there’s still the issue with our different eye colors.”

“I have colored eye contacts that I borrowed from the cosmetics room.”

“Of course you do.” Clyde rolled his eyes. “Still, I’m not in the mood to deal with *cough cough* something so zany. You might as well keep asking me till you're blue in the face.”

Zero winced. He was sure this would’ve worked and he was running low on options. He rattled his brain as he tried to think of a solution; otherwise, he was doomed to do another tedious tutoring session. He had to think, and think lightning fast.

‘Think, think, think! What could I use to get Clyde to cooperate?’ he pondered. ‘What do I know about Clyde? He likes basketball … he loves Rarity … not into half of the things I like … uh….’ He was being to draw blanks. That was, until he recycled his thoughts back to Rarity for a moment. From there, it was time for his real last ditch effort.

“What if I paid you?”

“Excuse me?” Clyde replied curiously.

“I’ll pay you fifty bucks to do the swap. That oughta get you to change your mind, right?” Zero said, thankful that Clyde couldn’t see him sweating a little as he prayed for things to go his way.

“Now you're trying to bribe me?” Clyde was starting to get annoyed. “No thanks.”

“Think of it like a short hour job, twenty five bucks an hour to help a bro out,” Zero explained. “And this way, you can take Rarity out to one of the fancy restaurants in town and have enough money to pay for all the stuff. You help me out, Rarity goes somewhere nice and has a good time, and Twilight doesn’t know a thing. Everyone wins!”

It took a few moments as Zero waited for Clyde’s answer, until he heard a sigh.

“There’s no stopping you, is there? Fine. I’ll do it,” Clyde finally agreed. “But you have to promise that you won’t try anything with Rarity while you're me.”

Zero smiled as he was about to hand Clyde the toilet paper, but he immediately pulled it back for a moment. “Pinkie promise.”

“...Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. I wanna make sure you don’t pull a fast one on me after I give you the toilet paper,” Zero said. “As Pinkie once said, losing a friend’s trust is the fastest way to lose a friend forever.”

“FOOOOREEEEEVER!!!!!” Pinkie said as she poked her head out of the vent in the ceiling and glared at the two, scaring the both of them.

“Pinkie! What are you doing in here?!” Zero exclaimed. “I mean … I don’t mind all that much, but—”

Pinkie just merely glared at the two boys before she slowly ducked back into the vent and closed it.

“...Wasn’t expecting that.”

“You’ll get used to it, trust me,” Clyde said with a small chuckle.

“Anyways, let’s do the promise.”

“Alright then.”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” they said in unison as they did the hand gesture necessary for the promise. Immediately after the gesture, Zero handed Clyde the toilet paper as promised, followed by his jacket, shirt, and pants. Clyde wordlessly did the same and after a few moments, the two stepped out of the stalls looking like one another, excluding their shoes, hair, and eyes.

“Nice!” Zero beamed as he looked at himself in the mirror. “Not gonna lie, I look pretty good in these.”

“I do need to look my best every time I see Rarity, after all,” Clyde noted as he looked at himself in the mirror. “Your clothes are alright, I guess.”

Zero handed Clyde the colored eye contacts, but before Clyde could put them in, he pondered something.

“What if someone comes in here and sees what's up?”

Zero smirked. “Let’s just say the janitor is a total bro.”

Outside the boys’ bathroom, the custodian put an “Out Of Order” sign on the door and leaned against the wall while whistling to himself. Just then, Snails came by and was about to enter before the man halted him.

“Hey, hey, hey!” the custodian intercepted him. “Can’t ya read the sign, boy?!”

“Oops, sorry. I just really have to use the bathroom,” Snails added while holding his bladder.

The custodian brushed his nose with his thumb and gave a huff. “Have ya tried usin’ the first or third floor, kid?”

“Oh yeah … didn’t think about that.”

“That’s because you don’t think much about anythin’, Snails,” the custodian noted. “Now git before you piss all over my floor!”

Snails nodded and hurried off to the first floor. Just as he left, the custodian knocked on the bathroom since no one else was around.

“Ya done in there yet? The coast is clear.”

Soon enough, the two boys walked out of the bathroom, with Clyde looking exactly like Zero and vice versa. The custodian examined the two of them closely and nodded.

“Well whaddaya know,” the custodian began. “Now I almost can’t tell who's who.” He turned to Zero and smirked. “Except for that stupid smile on yer face.”

Zero snickered. “Right, I’d better pull back on that.” He fixed his face and made it more relaxed as he gave a neutral expression. He took his hands out of his pockets and let out a cough. Thankfully, getting Wind’s cold messed up his voice a little, so if anyone questioned his tone, he had the perfect excuse. “Ok, what about now?”

“Much better,” the custodian approved. “But aren’t ya forgettin somethin’?” He held out his hand to Zero.

“Oh yeah!” Zero dug through his pocket but then realized Clyde has his wallet and gave an awkward chuckled. “Uh … mind helping me out? I just need fifteen bucks.”

Clyde took out Zero’s wallet and handed the money to the man. He brushed his nose with his thumb again and smiled as he took off the out of order sign on the bathroom.

“Thanks a lot, Cid.” Zero thanked. “Really appreciate it.”

“Anytime. Now mosey on out of here before someone else comes by.” Cid put a toothpick in his mouth and headed off.

Zero looked at Clyde and nodded. “Guess I’ll see you later … Zero.” He smirked.

Clyde shook his head and headed off to Zero’s class. He entered Mrs. Cheerilee’s class and sat back down next to Twilight. She glanced at him and tapped his shoulder.

“Everything ok? You’ve been gone a while,” Twilight whispered politely.

Clyde coughed before responding to her. “Peachy. Just drank some water from the fountain after using the bathroom.”

“Good, try not to doze off this time. We’re on page fifty three now. I’ll tell you what you missed after class.” She finished her short lecture and picked up the book they were reading. Clyde did the same, silently wishing to get all of this over with.

It wasn’t long before the school day came to a close and students were getting ready to go home. Zero casually went to go check on Clyde and, lo and behold, he saw him with Twilight walking down the hallway towards the parking lot. Zero couldn’t help but smirk as everything was going according to plan.

‘Good! She hasn’t caught on,’he thought to himself. ‘Now I just need to lay low somewhere until five and I’ll be ho—’ His nose began to twitch. ‘I’ll be hom—’ Zero covered his mouth to prepare himself. “AAAACHOO!”

“Clyde?”

Zero froze as he slowly turned around to the source of the familiar voice. He groaned internally as he had figured this would happen and prayed that it wouldn’t. Standing behind him was none other than Rarity.

“What are you doing here?” she began. “You’re supposed to be at basketball with Tyrone and Rainbow Dash.”

Zero relaxed himself before he replied. “I’m still feeling a little ill, so I’m not going today. Rivet’s probably on his way to tell Coach Ironwill right now.” He let out another cough.

Rarity wore a worried expression on her face. “I completely agree, you simply must get some rest! Even your voice is getting tarnished.”

“I was just getting ready to head home, don’t worry,” Zero reassured. “A nice warm bath should do the trick.” Just as he began to walk away, Rarity pulled on his arm.

“I’m afraid not, darling. You're coming home with me where I can watch over you and Sweetie Belle both!”

“O-oh, no thank you Rarity. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“No, no. I must insist that you come along.” She pulled on his arm more and gave him a flirtatious look. “Perhaps after I nurse you back to health, you and I can have some alone time in my room, hmm?”

Zero let out a blush at her words. Trying his best not to break character, he responded appropriately. “When you put it like that, how could I say no?”

“As I expected,” Rarity giggled. “Now, shall we go?”

Zero just gave a firm nod and a smile as he followed Rarity, making their way out of the school. Rarity held his hand as they began walking back to her house, making Zero a little more whelmed.

To Zero, Rarity was just a friend. She was very attractive and, admittedly, he was slightly envious of Clyde. She was no Pinkie, and she was definitely no Fluttershy by any means, but still, very pretty. She wasn’t the stereotypical popular fashionista he’d seen in Manehattan where they’re pretty on the outside and vile and nasty on the inside, the normal two faced type of gal that likes to watch others burn and rise to the top. Rarity was thankfully different. From what he’d seen, she was genuinely nice, had a lovely accent, was great at conversations, and to top it all off, generous with a capital G, even offering to help him and Fluttershy at the rescue center the other day despite the amount of homework they got from Ms. Harshwhinny, despite the fact that she didn’t take kindly to walking the dogs and picking up their feces.

However, he was a bit nervous. He didn’t have a crush on Rarity and wasn’t the kind of guy to play Mr. Steal Yo Girl, but if she and Clyde weren't dating, Zero would’ve enjoyed every bit of the situation. So if things moved to first or, god forbid, second base, he was going to be in a world of trouble.

After small bits of conversation and a bit more walking later, the two made it to Rarity's house.

“Here we are~” Rarity sang as she unlocked the door. She gazed around the room for a brief moment. “Hm, looks like my parents stepped out for a bit. Sweetie Belle, are you still here?”

“*Cough cough* Yeah, I’m over here,” Sweetie Belle called out from the kitchen. Just like Wind, Sweetie Belle was walking around in her pajamas with a dripping red nose and a sick expression on her face.

Rarity gasped and ran over to her as she tossed her bag on the counter. “Whatever are you doing out of bed? You need your rest!”

Sweetie Belle let out a cute sneeze before rubbing her nose. “I needed something to drinking. My throat is killing me.”

Rarity grabbed a nearby tissue box and gave it Sweetie. “Oh dear, whatever am I going to do with you? I thought mother gave you the cough medicine before I left this morning.”

“She did, but I can’t drink that stuff. It tastes awful and makes me wanna puke!”

Rarity crossed her arms. “It’s supposed to make you feel better, darling. Don’t be such a child,” she lectured. “If you keep it up, you’ll neve—”

Sweetie Belle ignored Rarity and grabbed a bottle of orange juice from the fridge. She tried to walk away from Rarity, only for the bottle to be snatched by her.

“Hey!” Sweetie Belle squeaked as she whipped around.

“Now you listen here young lady,” Rarity began as she put the juice down. “You should be drinking what mother gave you! Tastes aside, it’ll help you in the long run. Unless of course you prefer to be sick another day and ruin your lovely singing voice.”

“My voice will be *cough cough* fine!” Sweetie Belle argued. “I just need to drink something that doesn’t taste like poison or something!”

“No, and quit being so stubborn!”

The two sisters continued to bicker and Zero couldn’t help but feel a little awkward, yet could relate to what was going on between the girls, as he and Wind did this on a daily basis.

‘Relatable sibling argument is relatable,’ Zero thought with a slightly amused expression. As his mind went back to Wind, the memory from that morning flashed in his mind and it triggered a thought that made him finally decide to intervene.

“You don’t have to drink the cough medicine if you don’t *cough cough* want to,” Zero explained.

“Ha!” Sweetie pointed to Rarity with a victorious smile.

“But you should try drinking something else other than juice, like some tea or water. That should be enough, right?”

Rarity nodded. “Or perhaps some soup. I could go and prepare some for the both of you.”

“I guess soup would be better. Or anything really other than that medience,” Sweetie Belle said as she finally decided to cooperate.

“You should also try gargling your mouth with saltwater to get rid of the swelling and mucus in your throat,” Zero informed. “And take a shower if you want the runny nose to go away.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Alright, I will. Thanks Cl-Cl-ClyyAAAHCOO!” She quickly did the dracula sneeze to avoid getting Zero even more sick.

“No problem, and you should probably get back to bed too; that’s the most important thing,” Zero insisted as he and Rarity walked Sweetie Belle back to her room. Once the task was done, the two teens headed back downstairs.

“Thank you for finally getting her to settle down, darling,” Rarity said.

“If a basketball player like me wants to stay in the game, I need to know how to take care of myself, obviously. I don’t mind sharing my healthy tips and tricks.” Zero smiled back at her. ‘Nicely done, I helped Sweetie Belle and they both don’t suspect a thing. Double kudos to me.’ He looked at a nearby clock and saw that it was three o'clock. ‘Maybe I can keep this up for another two hours. Heh, might as well play the victory musi—’

Once they arrived at the living room, Rarity planted a kiss on Zero’s cheek as he sat down, shattering his thought process.

“Perhaps as a reward, I’ll put on something more suitable and to your liking after I prepare the soup.” Rarity winked at Zero before she left the room and entered the kitchen.

‘Crap! This is going too well! I can’t keep this up!’ He started to panic. ‘If I do too good, she might actually kiss me on the lips! If I don’t stay in character and push her away, everything might fall apart! And what does she mean by “something more suitable”?!’ His mind began to wander at the thought Rarity in a nurse’s outfit with a short skirt and the top buttoned dow—

‘No, no, no, no, no, no! Get your head back in the game! Your friendship with Clyde is hanging by a thread here! No fantasies about Rarity either! But save that cute nurse imagination for Fluttershy,’ he thought as he made a mental note until a certain thought crossed his mind. ‘Speaking of Clyde, I wonder how things are going on his end. Better text Wind and give her the details.’

Zero took out Clyde’s phone and started texting his sister.

Zero: This is Dark Wolf calling Sky Huntress, I have a S classed emergency! Respond!

It didn’t take long before he got a reply.

Wind: This is Sky Huntress, what’s your situation!? And why aren’t you using your phone?

Zero: First off, how are you feeling?

Wind: Better actually, I still have a cold but the cough is gone. Anything happened at school that I missed?

Zero: Nothing too major…..excepted I swapped places with Clyde to escape my tutoring session.

Wind: …..

Wind: Wow….just…..wow bro.

Zero: Sass me all you want, least I didn’t go downhill shopping cart racing into a pond.

Wind: ….We’re even, let’s leave it at that. What do you need?

Zero: Before that, is mom and dad home?

Wind: Dad’s hold up in a trial still and mom’s doing grocery shopping.

Zero took a sigh of relief and typed his response.

Zero: Good, next thing, Is Clyde and Twilight downstairs?

Back at Zero’s house, Wind peeked out her room and leaned over the second floor railing, seeing that the two had just walked through the front door. Twilight spotted Wind almost immediately.

“Oh, Wind was it?” Twilight called out. “Feeling any better now?”

Wind nodded. “Yupperoni! I’m feeling a lot better! Don’t worry. Also, can I borrow Cl- I mean, my brother for a moment?”

“Of course,” Twilight approved. “I’ll just get everything ready in the meantime. But keep it brief if you can. We’ve got a lot of work to do this session.”

“I just need five minutes of his time,” Wind reassured. “Bro, get your butt up here!”

Clyde went up the steps to Wind’s room while Twilight sat down on the couch in the living room and organized all of her tools they’d need. Once Clyde entered the room, Wind double checked to make sure Twilight didn’t move from her spot before closing the door. She turned around and slowly pointed at Clyde.

“… Clyde, right?”

“Damn, busted already,” he responded nonchalantly.

“Not exactly. My lazy brother told me what’s what.” Wind picked up her phone and replied to Zero’s message.

Wind: They just got here and I’ve got Clyde with me right now. It doesn’t look like Twilight suspects a thing.

Zero: Good, but do me a favor and tell him how I’m like.

Wind: You mean how you're all show and no substance?

Zero: Hi there pot, meet kettle.

Wind: YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!!

Zero: XD Just do me this solid and I’ll owe you later.

Wind groaned before putting her phone away and looking at Clyde. “Ok, since you're low on time, let’s cut right to the chase.” She looked at Clyde closely. “First, look more lazy, like you don’t want to be bothered by lame stuff.”

Clyde loosened up a little and tried to look more tired. In truth, didn’t have to try so much given how he was feeling.

Wind gave two firm nods as she rested her hand on her chin. “Good, good. And when you talk, try to put more energy into your words and never give a dry response.”

“Or I could just talk like how I usually do and if Twilight gets suspicious, she’ll buy that I’m still under the weather,” Clyde said after letting out another cough.

Wind didn’t take too long to give it some thought. “That could also work. But at the very least, try and be cool. And when I mean cool, I mean sound like a show-off. But don’t be a total douche either.”

“Duly noted,” Clyde agreed. “How about my stunt double? Is everything going okay for him?”

“I think he’s doing okay. Otherwise, he would’ve said something by now,” Wind assumed. “Anywho, I think you’re good for now. Let’s get you back on the field.” She opened the door for Clyde as he exited the room.

Twilight looked over at Clyde as he came down the steps and smiled. She had her hair back into a bun along with her reading glasses back on. “Okay, if you remember from yesterday, I said we’d try a new study method and see how much progress you can make this time around by trying things more to your style. Are you following me so far?”

“Yeah, I got it. What are we gonna try?” Clyde asked.

“We’ll start out with the basics.” Twilight handed Clyde a stress ball and an Algebra workbook that he could write in. “The stress ball should help with your fidgeting and keep you from spacing out or getting too distracted. And since you like listening to music, you can play whatever helps you relax, just as long as it’s not too loud, please.”

Clyde nodded as he got comfortable and opened up his workbook. He unlocked Zero’s phone and played some casual piano music he found on the internet, making Twilight raise an eyebrow as she wasn’t expecting it.

When Wind saw that everything was going smoothly, she closed the door and went back to texting Zero.

Wind: This is Sky Huntress, I gave the doppelganger proper intel and he’s continuing his mission.

Zero: Excellent, continue to be my eye in the sky and report back if something changes.

Zero put his phone back down and let out another sigh. He looked at the clock to see that not a lot of time had passed since the last time he check it, as it was only three-fifteen. Just then, Rarity came back into the room with a bowl of chicken noodle soup. But what caught him completely off guard was the nurse’s outfit she was wearing with the top button slightly undone to show off a little skin.

“Hu-hu-huAAAACHOO!” Zero sneezed as he was baffled by what she had on.

Rarity placed the soup on the coffee table and gave him a tissue. “Don’t worry, darling. Nurse Rarity is on the job.”

‘Out of all the times for my imagination to be accurate….’ Zero thought before forcing a smile at her and wiping his nose. “Just what the doctor ordered.”

“Do be careful, it’s rather hot, obviously,” Rarity said as she sat down next to her sick ‘boyfriend’ and was about to plant another kiss on him. However, he was quick to react as he scooted away slightly. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Is there something wrong?”

“I’m still sick,” he replied before throwing away his tissue in a nearby garbage bin. “I don’t want you bedridden and risk ruining your beautiful voice too.”

Rarity smiled and wrapped her arms around Zero. “True, but you're someone worth getting sick over.”

‘Aw, that’s actually really sweet … but I gotta find a way to kill time and keep her away…. Wait!’ Zero broke out of her hold and got up. “Heh, now I’m starting to feel a little better. I’m gonna use the bathroom.”

Before Rarity could get a word in, Zero ran off into the hallway and found the bathroom once he took a minute to search for it. He closed the door behind him and took deep breaths.

“Okay, okay.” He took deep breaths and looked at himself in the mirror. “Wow, I really do look like Clyde.” He shook his head and focused as he glance at the clock. “It’s three-seventeen. Still another two hours before this blows over, but how the hell can I last?”

He began scratching his hair a little before glancing at the toilet. He could just stay in the bathroom and waste a decent amount of time, but that wouldn’t be enough. Then he thought of how he always killed time in math class.

“Take a nap, duh,” he said to himself as he felt slightly stupid.

After wasting time in the bathroom by watching funny videos on Clyde’s phone, Zero finally came back to the living room and saw that Rarity was texting on her phone, still in her nurse’s outfit. He blushed brightly and checked the clock again as it was now three-fifty. He pounded his chest so he could get a grip and get back into character.

Sitting back down next to Rarity, he smiled at her. Rarity noted this as she smiled back and put her phone down.

“Is everything alright?” Rarity asked.

“I’m fine, I think I just need to lay down for a while,” Zero replied as he drank some of the soup.

“Perhaps that is for the best. Maybe I could accompany you and let you borrow my bed?”

Zero almost spat out the soup after hearing the suggestion and his heart almost skipped a beat. He calmed down and swallowed before turning his head towards her. “A-actually, the couch is fine. Besides, if you're with me, where does it matter where we lay?”

Rarity rested her hand on his shoulder as she smiled. “Yes, I suppose that’s true.”

In his mind, Zero gave a relaxed sigh as he lay back and began drifting off to sleep while Rarity did the same. He was silently praying that Clyde was having better luck on his end.

Twilight continued to monitor Clyde’s progress, assuming it was Zero. So far, he’d been doing decently well. The stress ball wasn’t doing much for him, but the music of the beautiful pianist, Coloratura, seemed to be helping as he seemed relaxed and hadn’t grown too frustrated at any of the problems.

‘He’s made a few errors on some of the questions, but he did manage to get a few answers right.’ She smiled to herself as she stopped the music. “Okay, let’s take a short break.”

“So soon?” Clyde questioned as he put his pencil down. “But we *cough cough* barely got started.”

“According to the book I read, kinesthetic learners should take a lot of breaks and that working for long periods of time can be counterproductive,” Twilight noted as she stood up. “Another fun fact they said about kinesthetic learners is that they have a habit of bouncing their knee constantly, like you do in class … and like you’re doing right now.”

Clyde stopped his knee from bouncing upon the comment. “No I’m not.”

Twilight shook her head with a smile. “Nothing to be ashamed of. I’ll go get you some water, and in a little while, we’ll go over the ones you got wrong. You can move around if you’d like.”

Clyde nodded and stretched a little as he stood up. Twilight, in the meantime, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before walking back into the living room and holding it out to Clyde.

“Drink some. If you wanna get rid of that cold, you’ll need to stay hydrated,” Twilight offered.

“Thanks, my throat was feeling a little dry.” Clyde smiled as he took the water and drank it.

As Twilight sat back down on the couch, her mind wandered back to the discussion she had that morning with Celestia. If anyone was going to help him, it had to be her and only her, and she couldn’t let Principal Celestia or her tutee down. Since the session was going so well, she might as well see everything through.

Feeling a bit more determined, Twilight took another moment before looking over at her tutee. “You probably don’t want to hear this, but I need to tell you something.”

Clyde looked at Twilight as she had gained his full attention. “What is it now?”

“I want you to know that I’m not trying to nag, bore, or annoy you with all of this tutoring,” she began. “I’m doing this because you have a lot of unused potential. Principal Celestia sees it, and I’m starting to as well. But changing how the world works will be next to impossible if you don’t learn all there is to know about it and slack off. Nothing gets done that way. So, if you’re as amazing as you claim to be, then you need to prove it.” She gave a honest smile. “And I know you can do it if you could just work with me, please?”

Clyde stood there silently as he let all her words sink in. Letting out a long sigh, he finally replied. “Unbelieveable ….”

Hearing this, Twilight gave a defeated look as she felt as though her words fell on deaf ears. “Forget I said anything then ….”

“No, not what you said,” Clyde corrected as he fixed his hair and put it back to normal. “Zero is. He’s giving you the cold *cough cough* shoulder, yet here you are doing your best to help him.”

Twilight gave a confused expression. “Are you … trying to talk in third person like Trixie?

“I’m Clyde, not Zero,” Clyde clarified. He looked into a nearby mirror as he slowly took out his yellow contact lenses and showed Twilight his normal teal eyes. “He swapped places with me so he could get out of tutoring today.”

“W-what?!” Twilight was completely baffled by this as she shot up from the couch. “Then where is he?”

“Don’t know. But let’s ask his sister.”

Clyde and Twilight went up to Wind’s room and knocked on her door. She quickly opened the door and looked at the two. “He’s busted?” she asked.

“He’s busted,” Clyde replied.

“Kinda expected things to fall apart a lot later than sooner. Oh well.”

“Do you have any idea as to where he might be hiding?” Twilight questioned.

“No, but I’ll text him and find out.” Wind tried texting her brother to let him know about the bet. After a few minutes with no response, she then resorted to calling him three times, each to no avail. “Looks like he’s busy.”

“Then I guess we’re gonna have to wait till five.” Clyde shook his head before coughing a little. “Sorry for helping Zero with his shenanigans, girls.”

“Don’t sweat it! I’m actually impressed he almost got away with it,” Wind admitted, slightly entertained.

“No, if anyone should be sorry, it’s Zero,” Twilight said with disappointment. “And me, since I’m partially to blame for making him go to such lengths.”

Clyde sighed. “It won’t be long before we have to switch back and deal with him. So we’re gonna have to wait in the meanti … ti … AAAACHOOO!!”

“Bless you,” Wind and Twilight said in unison as Twilight handed Clyde a tissue. He took it and blew his nose.

“Thank you.”

A little more time had passed and, along with feeling a little better, Zero was just about ready to leave and meet up with Clyde by the riverbank. But seconds before he woke up, he felt someone poking his side. Slowly opening his eyes, he noticed that the culprit was Sweetie Belle. In addition, Rarity was still resting and cuddling him.

“Sweetie Belle?” Zero said with a yawn. ‘Why isn’t she resting? Better question, why did she only wake me?’

Sweetie Belle was looking healthier now thanks to a little bedrest, but what was most notable is that she was examining Zero closely. She picked up their family cat, Opalescence, and placed her on his lap. It didn’t take long for Opal to hiss at Zero and hop off immediately, startling him a little and even causing Rarity to wake up.

“Hm? Opal?” Rarity said with a raised eyebrow as she looked at her, Zero, and her sister. “Did I miss something?”

“Opal just flipped out on me for some reason,” Zero explained.

“But why on earth would she do that to you? She seems to always like you.”

“Because that’s not Clyde, it’s Zero!” Sweetie Belle explained as she pointed at him with her eyes narrowed.

Trying not to immediately panic, Zero stayed calm and merely tilted his head at her. “What … are you talking about?”

“This can’t possibly be Zero,” Rarity rebuked. “I’ll admit, I’ve mistaken one for the other on occasion, but this is without a doubt my lovely Clyde. He’s so delightful and quite the dresser while Zero is … uncouth, to say the least.”

‘Hey! … Okay, she’s not wrong, but I’m at the least decent-looking!’ Zero thought as he shot a glance at her.

Sweetie picked Opal up once more. “With a few exceptions, Opal doesn’t really like anyone. And Clyde is one of those expectations. But now….” She moved Opal closer to Zero again, who hissed once more before being pulled away. “And cats can easily tell people apart.”

“She probably just isn’t in a good mood,” Zero guessed with a shrug.

“Okay, then explain this,” Sweetie said as she took out her phone and showed the two a recent conversation between her and Wind. It started off normally until Sweetie explained that she told Wind some tips about feeling better from their colds and coughs and admitted where she got it from. At that point, Wind spilled the beans about the entire plan and seemed unaware of where her brother was from what they read. Rarity’s eyes widened while Zero retained his composure despite screaming internally.

Rarity shook her head for a moment and pushed Sweetie Belle’s phone away. “This is probably just some prank you and your friends are trying to pull. I’ll have you know I am in no mood for it and I’m positive Clyde feels the same. Now—”

Sweetie groaned and rolled her eyes. “Then ask him something only the real Clyde knows.”

“Very well.” Rarity cleared her throat and looked at Zero. “I’m sure he can remember where and when we had our lovely first kiss, right dear?”

“Sorry, my memory is a little hazy since we had so many great ones,” he replied.

Rarity was about to swoon, but then she gave an awkward chuckle. “But … it was only last year at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. At Tyrone’s party, remember?”

“Y-yeah, my bad.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes slightly. “What’s the name of the song that makes you think of me?”

“U-um ….”

“It’s Everlong.”

Zero leaned back slowly as he gave an awkward chuckle. “Well, there’re lots of wonderful song that make me think of you.”

Rarity furrowed her brow even more. “My mother’s name?”

“It’s … um … oh man,” Zero gulped.

Rarity snarled. “Cookie Crumbles.” She shot up from the couch and glared at him angrily. “Zero! Explain this at once!”

Zero put up his hand defensively. “It’s not what you think!” he exclaimed before looking at the clock nearby. It was four fifty-five.

“You can start by telling me what have you done to Clyde and why you’re wearing his clothes!” Rarity shouted in a scary tone until she gasped suddenly. “You weren’t trying to have your way with me, were you?!”

“No! I mean, you're beautiful, but—”

Rarity’s glare intensified. Zero gulped and ran out the door at full speed. Rarity didn’t waste a single moment as she chased after him down the street. “Get back here!!!!” she shouted.

‘Damn, damn, damn!!’ Zero thought as he turned a corner and sprinted down the street. ‘When Dad told me to be the kind of guy girls would go crazy for and chase me, this isn’t what I had in mind!”

As the two ran, they passed by Fluttershy and Night as they were on their way to the animal shelter. Once they took notice of the chase, Fluttershy was the first to respond.

“Oh no, did Rarity and Clyde have an argument or something?” she said with concern in her tone.

“Nope,” Night explained. “Just a plan going downhill.”

“What do you mean?”

“You are going to rue this day, Zero!!” Rarity cried out as she and Zero ran further down the road and passed more pedestrians.

“… Oh,” Fluttershy said.

‘Guess number 23: Getting chased by Rarity in a nurse’s outfit,’ Night thought to himself before walking off. ‘Called it.’

Eventually, Zero reached the riverbank but didn’t see Clyde there. He took a moment to look back and saw that Rarity was gaining on him with a furious expression. His eyes widened and he sprinted further as he crossed the bridge and entered his neighborhood.

“You can’t run from me!!!” she bellowed.

‘No time to call him! Just gotta make a break for it and go all the way,’ Zero panicked. ‘And who knew she could run so fast in high heels!?! Can girls even run in heels like that?!”

Approaching his house, Zero immediately took notice that he didn’t see a car parked in the driveway, meaning not only that his parents weren’t home, but Twilight had taken her leave as well. He checked on Rarity again and saw that he had managed to get some distance from her, giving him enough time to unlock the front door and get inside before slamming it shut behind him.

“Finally,” Zero panted as he quickly locked the door. “She’s quick, but I’m thankfully much faster. Now I just need to—”

“Confess?”

“I’ll confess after Rarity calms down!” Zero replied before he made a quick realization. “… Wait, who…?” He turned around slowly and saw Clyde, Wind and Twilight standing right behind him with unimpressed expressions. The fact that Twilight was still here meant her car was actually hidden in the garage and out of sight so they could catch him red-handed. “… I’m in trouble.”

“You definitely are,” Wind commented. “And before you start, our sibling code only applies to our parents, last time I checked.”

“But I told you to hush up! Why’d you tell Sweetie Belle and Twilight?!”

“I didn’t know you were at Rarity’s house!” Wind cried as she threw her hands in the air. “I was just having a conversation with Sweetie Belle, that’s all!”

“And she didn’t tell Twilight,” Clyde corrected. “I did.”

“What?!” Zero yelled but was interrupted by Rarity banging on the door behind him.

“Zero! I know you're in there! Open this door at once!” she roared.

Zero immediately dived behind the couch in the living room as Clyde stepped toward the door. The second he opened it, Rarity stormed in and was about to shout in his face until she fully examined him. “Clyde?! What in heaven's name are you doing here?!”

“Zero will explain in just a minute,” Clyde began before looking at said ‘mastermind’ behind the couch. “But first, I want my clothes back.”

Zero poked his head out and sighed with a defeated look. “Fine ….”

Using his bedroom for a few minutes, Zero swapped back clothes with Clyde and took out his colored contacts before going back downstairs. He was a little annoyed that things had fallen apart right at the end. Meeting back with the girls, he began to explain.

“Okay … In a nutshell, I was trying to get out of tutoring today, and since Twilight wouldn’t get off my back, the first chance I got to have some space, I made Clyde trade places with me for this session, and I figured if he did a good enough job, Twilight wouldn’t hassle me as much anymore with all the tutoring.”

Twilight was ready to speak up, but Clyde cut her off as he beat her to it. “And why were you with Rarity at her house? I thought I told you to stay away from her.”

“I was gonna go hang out somewhere in town, but she insisted on taking care of me since I’m still a little *cough* sick!” Zero argued. “I’m not the one who made her wear the sexy nurse uniform!”

“You rapscallion!” Rarity hissed as she slapped Zero across the face. “You made me kiss and cook for you!”

“OW!!”

“She kissed you?!” Clyde said as his eyes blazed.

“It was on the cheek!” Zero corrected as he held his cheek. “The same one she just slapped! And I didn’t want her to, but she caught me off guard!”

“You could have said something sooner and avoided all this!” Rarity argued as she poked at Zero’s chest assertively.

“I didn’t wanna blow my cover, unlike someone in this room who broke their Pinkie promise!” Zero glared at Clyde. “What about the deal, man?!

“A promise like that isn’t worth anything if it means lying to someone’s face like that.” Clyde responded. “Especially when she only wants to help. If the tutoring bothers you that much, you could have easily just talked to Twilight about it instead of going through all this trouble.”

Pinkie suddenly popped up by the window and shook her head. “And everything was going so well, too.” Everyone glanced at her with a confused expression before she ducked back down in the bushes.

Dismissing Pinkie, Rarity crossed her arms. “At any rate. Now that that’s all settled, I believe this is the part where we take our leave. Coming, Clyde?”

Clyde nodded before looking at Twilight. “Sorry about all this.” With that, he went out the door with Rarity.

Zero put his hands in his pockets and stayed quiet as he looked at Twilight. He noticed she wasn’t looking at him, but instead was looking at the ground.

“Let me guess,” Zero said as he looked away and scratched his head. “I’m gonna have to do an extra hour of tutoring tomorrow. If that’s then-”

Twilight just quietly grabbed her things and put them away in her backpack without a word before heading towards the garage door.

“Principal Celestia was wrong …. She was wrong about both of us.”

Without another word, Twilight opened the garage door and entered her car as she drove away, leaving Zero to just stand there in the living room. Hearing the sorrowful tone in Twilight’s words, despite how vague they were, he couldn’t help but feel so … pathetic, especially since it was clear that she had given up on him.

“Dude ….” Wind noticed Zero’s sad expression. “You're not mad at me, right? Cause if you are, I was onl—”

“I’m not mad at you, sis,” he replied before walking up the stairs. But before closing the door to his room after he entered it, he clarified his statement.

“I’m angry at myself for being so stupid.”

Author's Note

Quick shout out to my Editor, KillerRobotQuote for making this chapters as great as it is! You the man bro!

Leave a comment and let me know what you guys think. :twilightsmile:

Reaching out.

It was a cloudy and chilly morning that Friday as Zero, Wind, and Trixie were on their way to school. However, the walk itself was uneventful and quiet as nobody was bothering to make conversation, even though nobody, not even Wind, was wearing headphones. Zero himself had a discomposed expression as he kept thinking about yesterday's fallout. Not only had he possibly crippled his friendship with Clyde and Rarity, but he felt horrible for damaging Twilight’s feelings and having her give up on him. He didn’t care much for how much trouble he got himself into, and he didn’t care if telling his mother what happened would just send him to his grave alot quicker. He was more upset at himself for letting everything fall apart like this and, most of all, for letting Twilight down.

Attempting to break the ice and get rid of the painfully awkward silence, Trixie took a glance at the clouds and looked at Zero. “If you have some sense as a gentleman, would you lend Trixie your umbrella?”

Zero was too busy moping to reply.

“Are you trying to ignore The Great and Powerful Tr—”

“I didn’t bring one,” Zero replied in a calm tone as his voice had recovered from his sickness.

“Unprepared as usual.” Trixie rolled her eyes as she expected some backlash. But all Zero did was walk a little ahead of her without another comment. Trixie raised an eyebrow as she looked at Wind. “What’s wrong with you two?” she asked, noticing Wind was a little bit distraught as well. “You're not bubbly, snarky, or talkative, and it's bothering Trixie.”

“Well, yesterday th—”

“Keep your nose out of it, Trixie,” Zero intercepted once again in the same tone. Wind glanced at the ground and didn’t bother to continue.

Trixie gave an annoyed expression and this time walked passed Zero. “Very well. It’s almost time for Trixie to depart, anyways.”

Upon the comment, the three arrived at the school. Wind and Trixie were about to part ways with Zero until Wind stopped to take a glance at him. She walked back over to him, trying to think of a way to cheer him up.

“Bro, I’m—”

“Save it, sis,” Zero replied. “Don’t worry about me and just enjoy yourself today.”

Wind gulped at the response. “Y-you're sure?”

Her brother only nodded as he turned away away from her. Wind only sighed and give him a quick hug before rushing inside the school.

Zero glanced over at Fluttershy by the statue doing her normal route of handing out fliers for the animal shelter. Once she noticed him approaching, he waved at her with a forced smile, not wanting to make her worry.

However, Fluttershy noted the forcefulness in the smile and raised an eyebrow. Regardless, she walked over to Zero.

“G-good morning, Zero,” she greeted.

“Hey, Flutters,” he replied. “Shouldn't you be wearing a jacket? Winter is starting to roll in y’know, and it might rain today.”

“I-I'm alright. If I start to freeze up, Rainbow has a spare jacket for me,” Fluttershy reassured.

“If you're sure,” Zero said as he looked away.

Fluttershy gave a worried expression after a few moments. Zero didn't really add more to the conversation and just stood there awkwardly. Normally he'd have something to keep the conversation flowing like small talk or something he plans on doing later; he hadn't even bothered to ask how many people had taken a flyer this morning. It just looked like he was distracted by something.

Breaking the silence, Fluttershy spoke up once more. “So, um … got any plans this weekend? Knowing you, you probably have something big planned,” she said with a small giggle, hoping this would pick things up.

“Not really. Just gonna hang out with the bros and continue to be awesome,” Zero stated as he looked down.

At this point, Fluttershy was convinced something was up and she pressed on. “Zero?” she said, facing him.

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay? You seem … quiet.”

Zero hesitated before he replied. “I'm alright. Listen, I’ll see you later, okay?”

“O-okay, but are you sure nothing's wrong?” she asked once more.

Zero looked Fluttershy in the eye and saw her concern. Wanting to turn away and at least take a step forward, he sighed and leaned against the statue.

“I got in trouble again.”

After telling Fluttershy everything that happened yesterday, Zero just gazed at the ground and held his head.

“I never expected all of that to happen! I thought Twilight would be mad, but she looked so … done!” Zero exclaimed in frustration. “I even tried calling and messaging Clyde, but no response, so he's probably pissed at me too. And I'm even more worried about what Rarity would do to me if she sees me.”

“Well, if you give them time to cool off, I'm sure they'll forgive you once you apologize.” Fluttershy put her flyers away in her bag and started to focus more on Zero.

“Maybe, but I hope Twilight forgives me, mainly. Honestly, I just wished she got off my back a little, that's all.” Zero crossed his arms and stared at the gloomy sky.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and looked Zero in the eye. “Zero, she’s doing it within reason. It's like what Night said: you should be more appreciative about it than bothered.”

Zero shifted a little, feeling a little surprised and shaken at Fluttershy's statement.

“Twilight, your parents, and Principal Celestia want to help you become a better version of yourself so you can change the world like you say you want to do. But you're not showing or proving to anyone that you really can do it. That's probably why nobody is taking you that seriously when you say it.” Fluttershy lectured. “So for you to rebel, fight, and go out of your way to get away from the people that want to help you, it's like a …. Oh, how do I put this.”

“A slap across the face?”

“That's one way to put it, yes.” Fluttershy nodded and sighed. “The real world is scary, t-terrifying really. I-if we're not prepared for what's out there, it might eat us whole and some people might even take advantage of you or even—”

“Flutters.” Zero interrupted and pointed at her legs. “You’re shaking.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath and calmed down. Zero took off his jacket and offered it to her. She hesitated but took it and put it on. Even though her shaking was more from anxiety than the cold, Zero thought the jacket might ease her nerves and make her more comfortable.

“Aren't you gonna be cold?” she asked.

“I'll be fine,” Zero reassured, putting his hands in his pockets.

“O-okay. Anyways, I'm speaking from experience,” Fluttershy continued.

This caught Zero by yet another surprise as he tilted his head. “Your grades were awful and you got in trouble a lot?” He took a moment to imagine a bad girl Fluttershy. His imagination consisted of Fluttershy in a motorcycle jacket with her feet on Celestia’s desk and getting in trouble for spraying something inappropriate on the horse statue, completely ignoring the principal as she blew bubblegum. He smiled to himself at the thought as he wished to see that side of her.

“Goodness, no! I don't have the courage to do all that.”

“Dang,” he said with a hint of disappointment, but quickly shot up and changed his tone before she questioned. “I-I mean, dang, this cold front wouldn't let up!” He chuckled awkwardly.

Fluttershy giggled. “Let's go inside.”

Zero nodded and lead Fluttershy inside the school as she started to explain herself.

“Just like how you want to change the world, I wanted to get more people to come volunteer at the animal shelter so they can help more animals who really can't help themselves. But if I wanted to do that, it meant stepping out of my comfort zone and,” she gulped a little and gripped the jacket a little tighter, “actually going around town and handing out flyers to people in person.”

“That definitely sounds like a struggle for you,” Zero commented, completely indulged in Fluttershy’s story. “How was your first attempt at it like?”

Her gaze shifted to the ground. “I broke down.”

“Oh … I'm sorry to hear that.”

“At first, I wanted to do something else or find another way. But Rainbow motivated me to keep going; she helps me hand out flyers even to this day. Soon after, some of the other girls did the same.” Fluttershy started to sound a little hopeful. “And it made me even better when you came along and offered to volunteer almost every day.”

“W-well, I couldn't stand to see you look so lonely and upset when you're trying so hard. So I … just followed my heart,” Zero admitted with a faint blush, doing his best to hide it.

Fluttershy smiled and soon they arrived at her locker. “And I really appreciate everything you do to help. But what I'm getting at is you have to come out your comfort zone in order to make the steps necessary to reach your goals. And we're all here for you if you're ever in trouble. That's why we say you're lucky to have so many people to help you. Because some people have nobody but themselves to rely on.”

Zero was utterly speechless by Fluttershy's words. He hadn’t thought a girl like her would have so much to say on the matter. It felt like something he should be telling her or for him to be the one picking her up when she's down. It was ironic all and all.

She’s … on a whole different level of awesome, he thought to himself. “Fluttershy, thanks. I never thought you'd have so much to on something like this.”

“You actually just reminded me of my brother,” she explained as her gaze shifted away. “E-except, you're much cooler.”

“Ooooh, well, I bet with someone like you busting out an incredible lecture like that, he's probably on his way to be the next big thing, huh?” Zero asked as his toothy grin finally returned. However, he saw Fluttershy appeared a little bothered by the question, almost as if she was annoyed.

“No,” she answered bluntly.

Zero’s smile died a bit as he hadn’t been expecting this kind of response, and judging from the sudden tone shift in her attitude, he’d be treading on very thin ice if he pressed his luck. “Moving on,” he said as he looked away. “I really appreciate what you said to me. It kinda felt like the hug I've always needed or something, but in word form.”

“It's the least I can do for you, Zero, but I think it'd be even better if you took it to heart from now on.” Fluttershy smiled a little. “Okay?”

Zero thought for a moment as he tapped his cheek. “You know something, I can't let this slide.”

“Oh?” Fluttershy tilted her head.

“Just for giving me sage advice, I've decided I'm gonna start helping you hand out flyers in the morning and wherever else you hand them. Just name the time and place and I'll be there.”

Fluttershy's eyes widened a little. “Y-you don't have to do that. You volunteering at the shelter is fine enough. You don't have to pay me back.”

Zero smiled warmly. “You're right, I don't have to. But I want to. This way, I can help grab people's attention and I can spend more time with you.”

Fluttershy gave a faint blush at the last part and a brief moment of awkward silence. “S-s-spend more time with me?”

Zero blushed as well and quickly thought of an excuse. “I-I-I mean, so you can help me learn more about the town and stuff! I'd ask Pinkie or Rainbow, but they're always busy and the guys are usually busy too! So um …. Yeah!”

“Oh, I understand.” Fluttershy nodded. “But we might need to e-exchange numbers so I can let you know where and when to meet me and check to see if you're b-busy or not. So, if you don't mind … could you …?”

Zero’s heart skipped a beat and he blushed a little more. “Y-yeah! Definitely! And tell me yours too, if that's cool!”

“S-sure, of course.”

After the two exchanged numbers, a thought crossed the rebellious boy’s mind. “Hey, do you know if you and the girls are busy tonight?” he asked.

The timid girl pondered for a second. “I’m not doing anything tonight, and neither is Rainbow once she's done with practice. But I'm not sure about the others. Why?”

“I was thinking that—”

Suddenly, the school bell rang and everyone was heading for their first period class.

“Dang.” Zero snapped his finger in slight annoyance at the timing. “I'll ask you in second period. Alrighty?”

“Sure, and you’ll be on time for class, right?” Fluttershy questioned him with a raised eyebrow. “No goofing off?”

“I might grab some chicken tenders across the street if I get hungry,” Zero chuckled, only for his laughter to quickly die out as Fluttershy looked at him with an unimpressed expression and a raised eyebrow. “I'm kidding! I promise I'll be there. But, uh … Flutters?”

“Yes?”

“I seriously appreciate you sticking with me and helping me out,” Zero said as he looked her in the eyes. “You're … incredibly awesome. Like, you’re in a whole league of awesome. I can't express it enough, hehe. And as a bonus, I always wanted to tell you that I think you're—” he gulped before finishing, “—really b-b-beautiful.”

Fluttershy blushed deeply as she stared at him. She looked away with a smile as she moved the hair out of her face. “O-oh, thank you for the compliment, Zero. But I don't think I'm as beautiful as Rarity or the other girls.”

“Don’t say that. I-I think you're the most beautiful girl in town.” Zero compliment and his blush deepened. “Twice as pretty as Rarity, even! I honestly believe that!”

Fluttershy blushed brighter than ever and gave Zero a warm smile. “Thank you, Zero. That's really sweet of you to say. I-I'll see you later.”

“Later.” Zero waved to her as she walked off. Once he was sure she was out of eyesight, he smiled so big it rivaled Pinkie's. Sure, he was still in a lot of trouble, but sharing that moment with Fluttershy was a beautiful silver lining to this gloomy day. And as a bonus, he got her phone number and could hang out with her more often.

Overflowing with joy and with a crimson blush on his face, he started to break dance in the middle of the hallway as he sang a victory fanfare. But once he took a glance at his surroundings, he noticed everyone giving a perplexed look or giggling at him as they walked by. He stopped and was quick to defend himself.

“Hey, you'd be doing it too if you got to compliment your crush and got their number!”

While Zero headed for his first period class, his good mood disappeared faster than it had arrived. When everyone stood up said the pledge of allegiance for the day, Vice Principal Luna called Zero down to her office. He knew his fate was sealed from that moment on and headed there without much delay. He at least wished that he could apologize to Twilight and talk more about what happened yesterday, but he was out of luck as she hadn't come to school today.

Letting out a sigh and looking down a little, he opened Luna’s office door and glanced around. The room was darker than Principal Celestia’s as everything was a different shade blue. The walls, the portrait frames, the desk, even the ceiling and the floor. Luna herself was sitting by her desk typing something on the computer. Zero would've normally commented on the design of the room, but he decided to just take a seat and stay quiet.

“You know why I called you down here, correct?” Luna asked without looking away from her computer.

Zero remembered the warning Luna gave him yesterday and looked down, allowing Luna to continue.

“My sister informed me that Miss Sparkle had difficulty tutoring you yesterday and is now having doubts that you're able to cooperate with her. So, I've decided to look into a boot camp for you instead of sending you to Crystal Prep Academy.”

Zero felt his heart skip a beat at that moment, nearly forgetting the situation he was in besides the one with his friends. Despite Fluttershy's words, his situation at this very moment was a lost cause.

Luna turned the computer his way and started listing off some of the information. “Now, the camp itself is near the Everfree forest and quite a ways away from the city, and they’re tight on security as well. So you can scrap any escape plans you have in mind. You'll be there for ten weeks and should be back by the end of the semester, but we'll give you a week to pack and handle last minute affai—” She looked at the young man and raised an eyebrow. “Are you paying attention, or are you trying to ignore me again?”

Luna noticed that the expression on Zero’s face was completely new to her. Usually, the rebellious teen had either a bored or annoyed expression, and would even space out at times in the process. But for the first time, it looked as if he felt …

Guilty.

All he did was come into the room, sit down, and continue to gaze at the ground. Luna snapped her finger and Zero sat up a little, but kept his gaze down. The Vice President took a moment and corrected her thoughts. For Zero, this was new, but she only saw this type of situation happen one other time: back during the Fall Formal when she was talking to Sunset Shimmer. She had a similar expression on her face, but she was crying a little. She should have been kicked out of school, but decided to follow her sister’s philosophy of giving her a second chance. It was a good call, and Sunset developed into a wonderful student. They even allowed the Dazzlings to return since they were powerless and weren't much of a threat anymore. But at this moment, she wondered if she could give the troublemaker in front of him that same chance.

“Mr. Gravity?” Luna said as she tapped his shoulder, finally getting a reaction out of him as he looked back up.

“I wasn't sleeping I swear,” Zero explained in a sad tone. “I was … coming to terms with the situation.”

“I want to ask. According to my sister and some of your classmates, you have a lot of compassion within you. So why and how is it that you get yourself stuck in these situations?” Luna spoke calmly.

Zero thought for a moment before sighing. “I wanted to … prove nothing could bring me down. I’m not trying to get on anyone's bad side. I just like to treat every day like it’s my last and prove I can do things my own way without people forcing me to change my course. I have a plan for my future, and I'm sticking to it. But right now, an awesome friend showed me how badly I screwed up and how insensitive I really am. So if I'm going to be sent away, I'll deal with the punishment … as long as there's WiFi.”

Luna sat up straight. “Well, that's quite ironic.”

Zero looked up with a raised eyebrow. “I don't follow.”

“When Ms. Sparkle explained to us what happened, she made a request via email asking that we don't send you to a boot camp, but rather have you pick a tutor you can be more comfortable with since it seems like you're fed up with her as she felt she was incapable of tutoring someone like you. I wasn't going to give you that chance by any means, but now here you are accepting the punishment wholeheartedly,” Luna explained.

“She actually said that?” Zero said, surprised. “I mean, I didn't mean to make her feel bad.” He started scratching his head. “Yet, she still stuck her neck out for me and tried helping me one last time. Ugh, and all I did was give her a slap in the face!”

“Excuse me?” Luna went from a curious expression to a stern one quickly after that sentence.

“I meant I was too insensitive. It's one of those … Metaphors. That’s the correct word, right?

Luna nodded at him. “So, what will you do Mr. Gravity?”

The spiky-haired young man tapped his chin as he took a moment to think about his next move. It wasn't long before Vice Principal Luna saw him form a smile on his face. Thankfully, it wasn't his usual smirk for when he was up to one of his schemes, but rather, a sincere one as it put her at ease.

Zero snapped his fingers with a bit of enthusiasm. “Before we get to that, I'm gonna need a quick favor.”

After classes came to a close that day, Zero rushed down the street and looked around at the houses he passed by as he tried to locate Twilight's address. He’d tried asking Luna for the information, but of course she wasn't allowed to tell him about other students’ info. However, he asked Pinkie and she happily texted him the address after he explained the situation. Oddly enough, she had the address of everyone in the school in case of emergency surprise parties, which was a bit scary to him, but he didn't really mind since Pinkie was Pinkie.

At last, he found the address and approached the household. Zero looked at it carefully and was more than positive it was the right place. It was a three-story purple victorian house with a garage on his right side with a silver mini van and a purple car parked in the driveway. It seemed like there was only one bedroom on the third floor, judging by the placement of the window. He also noticed that there seemed to be a strange lightning rod by the chimney and on the garage as well. Looking down, there were small windows at the bottom of the house, making it clear there was a basement. Finally, the lawn looked freshly cut and the steps leading up to the front double doors were clean from any dirt or blades of grass. The same went for the welcome mat that had a star like design in its background.

Zero rang the doorbell and waited patiently for someone to answer the door. As he heard footsteps, he also heard the sound of a dog barking, causing him to tense up for a moment as he didn't feel like dealing with a dog trying to attack him. The door opened and a woman with long violet, rose, and pale gold hair streaks and grayish cerise skin opened the door. She had light purple eyes and blue eyeshadow and wore a dark blue maternity dress and pink slippers. Zero immediately noticed her belly was sticking out despite the rest of her body looking slim.

Don’t stare! Zero shouted at himself mentally as he looked the woman in the eye, trying to keep his eyes from drifting. It could be one or the other. But I don't wanna guess wrong and—

The woman giggled with a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, I am pregnant.”

Zero sighed in relief as he chuckled. “Oh, good. And congrats on the baby. I was gonna ask, but I'm trying to avoid another tally of people who are mad at me today.”

The woman waved it off. “Don't sweat it too much. You're safe for the time being. So what brings you here? Are you a classmate of Twilight's?”

“Bingo. I came to check on her since she didn't come to school today,” Zero explained.

“Aw, how sweet of you. Yes, she came down with a bad cough this morning and stayed in bed all day, but she's feeling much better now.”

She probably caught it from me yesterday, Zero thought to himself. “Still, is it cool if I come in and see her?”

“Well, I personally don't mind. But I'd better check with my fiance since he lives here.” The woman looked over to the kitchen. “Shining? Could you come here for a moment?”

Zero gave a confused expression as he put his hands in jacket’s pockets. “Wait, you're not Twilight's mom?”

The woman glanced back at Zero. “Huh? Oh, no. I'm her sister-in-law. Well, I'm going to be soon. I don't look that old, do I?”

“No, no, no! You look young and beautiful!” Zero reassured quickly with a nervous smile. “I was just assuming since, um, you have different hair streaks like her!”

“Oh! Well, thank you.” The woman smiled happily.

“What's up, Cadance?” asked an older male's voice as he approached the door and wrapped his arm around her waist. The young man had a muscular build to him with pale ivory skin, short hair with a mix of light and dark blue streaks, and light blue eyes. He wore blue pants and a black t-shirt with a symbol over his heart. It was a purple shield with a pink six-pointed star in it, with three more blue stars above the shield. Zero noticed he had a ring with a light blue heart on one of his fingers. He also saw that the woman had the same ring on her finger as well.

So they're getting married soon and a baby’s on the way as well. Zero gave a small smile. I’d congratulate them, but I've got heavier objectives. Can't get sidetracked.

“This is one of Twilight's classmates,” Cadance explained. “He wanted to know if he could come in and see her.”

“What for?” Shining said as he turned to Zero with a wary expression.

“Well, long story short, she was tutoring me yesterday and I gave her a hard time when she was only trying to help. And I wanted to talk to her about a few things,” Zero explained as he was starting to get a little impatient. His eyes drifted away from the pair.

Shining thought for a moment as he turned around and looked up the stairway and shouted, “Twily, you've got a visitor!”

“Who *cough* is it?” Twilight's voice called out as it sounded sickly.

“He said he's one of your classmates! Spiky hair, something japanese or chinese on his shirt!”

Zero cleared his throat. “It's Japanese,” he confirmed.

There was a moment of silence before another cough came from Twilight’s room as she responded. “You can send him up!”

Shining nodded before looking back at Zero and he and his wife stepped aside to he allow him in. “Come on in. Her room is on the third floor. Go up to the second floor, then you should see an extra set of stairs at the end of the hallway. She'll be up there.”

“Got it!” Without wasting another moment, Zero made his way up the steps, trying not to make it obvious that he was rushing. But once he got to Twilight’s door, he took a moment to catch his breath before opening it slowly. He saw that the room was a dark shade of blue with a model of the solar system hanging from the ceiling in the center. He noticed that there were four bookshelves around the room, two on each side of a window, one in the bench under the same window and the last one by her bedside. Another noteworthy item he saw was the there was small telescope by the same window on the left. There was also a fish tank next to him, and above it was a shelf of trophies and medals. On his right were several science tools, plants, and a mini fridge. In the corner was a desk that had papers, pencils, a bin of blueprints, and two fancy dual monitors on top of it, all of which were completely organized. And lastly, she had a closet by her science equipment and a Daring Do poster close by her dresser with a picture of a familiar purple and green dog. Her queen size bed had a regular pattern of stars and moons with another circular window above it, as well as Twilight herself holding a tissue box in one hand and petting the same dog that was in her picture frame on her lap with the other hand as it rested.

Not gonna lie, I’m a little jealous of her room. I’d better change my—wait a sec. The young man’s eyes focused onto the dog and he smiled. “Spike!!”

Spike perked up once he saw Zero and jumped towards him. Zero caught the dog and chuckled as Spike licked him. “Hey there, my furry little buddy! So this is where you’ve been!” He looked at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “You're the one that bought him?”

“Yeah. But how do you know Spike? Are you his original owner?” Twilight asked curiously as she coughed and covered her mouth.

“No, I was actually gonna ….” He shook his head for a moment as he didn't want to to get off-topic. “Maybe we can talk about that later.” He put Spike down outside the room and closed the door. He looked at Twilight and sighed as he'd been waiting the entire day for this moment to come, but having finally arrived at his destination, he couldn't help but feel a little choked up. Twilight looked away as she wasn't completely sure what to say either, still feeling partially to blame for putting him in this predicament. Zero took off his backpack and unzipped it as he took out some papers.

“I brought your homework,” he said as he put it on her night stand.

“You did?” Twilight looked back in a bit of surprise. “But I asked Vice Principal Luna to email it to me.”

“I asked her if it was okay if I just brought it over. And as for your address, Ihad a friend dig up your info.” He gave an awkward laugh.

“Pinkie?”

“Pinkie.”

Twilight sighed at the obvious answer and looked through all of the homework sheets to confirm it was everything she was missing. Giving a small smile at the boy in her room, she gave her reply.

“I believe this is everything. Thank you,” she expressed her gratitude. “But why would you—”

“So I can see you in person,” Zero interrupted as he looked Twilight in the eye. The shame that had been assaulting his heart for the past day and a half finally came into light as the sickly bookworm saw the regret, frustration, and discomfort in his face. She stayed quiet as she listened to what he had to say.

“I didn't mean to make you quit, I just wanted you to stop hounding me about school. I didn't tell you outright because I thought you'd just nag at me that this is for my own good. But after that stupid plan, all I did was make things worse and threw all of your efforts back in your face, hurting your feelings in the process. And honesty, that's the last thing I wanted to do to you.” Zero caught his breath as he looked down. “Fluttershy helped me understand what you were doing for me, and the Vice Principal told me you vouched for me to stay in school and get another tutor. And all I can say at this point is … that I'm super sorry … and that you're amazing for doing all that for me.” He gave a smile at her once he glanced back up. “Guess I really can't judge a book by its cover. Even a brainiac outside of a fantasy can be incredible, huh?”

Twilight didn't say anything for a few moments as she looked at her former tutee. Other than a simple thank you, she wasn't completely sure what to say. Looking away, she frowned a little with a sigh.

“Yesterday, when I was tutoring Clyde thinking it was you, what I said was that I wasn't trying to nag, bore, or annoy you with all of this tutoring,” she started to quote. “I did it because you have a lot of unused potential. Principal Celestia sees it, and I want to as well. But changing how the world works will be next to impossible if you don’t learn all there is to know about it and slack off. Nothing gets done that way. So, if you’re as amazing as you claim to be, then you need to prove it.”

Zero only nodded.

“I'm grateful that you came all this way to apologize and give me my homework, but as much as I'd be willing to tutor you, I don't feel capable enough for the job. Even if you were at fault, I should've let you work with someone you're more comfortable with like Sunset Shimmer or one of your other friends. That's why I'm resigning now so you can have that choice and only move forw—”

“I choose you,” Zero cut her off once again.

Twilight only blinked in response and adjusted her glasses. “Pardon?”

“Didn't mean to cut you off again. But that's another thing I wanted to tell you.” He leaned against the wall and regained his normal composure once more. “I still want you to be my tutor.”

Twilight still looked confused. “You don't … want anyone else?”

“Weeeeeell,” Zero began as he rolled his eyes. “It would be cool to have Sunset as a tutor, but Soul is always hogging her. And if I get anyone else like Minuette or Flutters, I'd be distracted by their beauty. And as for Trixie … it'd be a disaster. You're the only that's perfect for me.” He gave a toothy grin. “And I already told Luna and it's my final decision, no going back!”

The purple-haired girl gave the idea a quick recap. She admited she was happy at the idea of him being more cooperative about the whole matter, and at this rate, they could both benefit from this if all goes the way it should. Not to mention the added benefit of pleasing Principal Celestia’s expectations. She smiled warmly at her tutee. “Very well. Starting Monday after school, we’ll resume your lessons. And I expect your full attention,” she said, wagging her finger at him in a half-serious, half-joking tone.

“Yes ma’am!” Zero stood straight and saluted, chuckling at his actions until something clicked in his mind and he clapped his hands together, startling his tutor. “Oh yeah! One more thing: as celebration for working things out and to pay you back for watching my back, I wanna invite you to go roller skating with me and my friends since you’re looking a lot better. And don't worry, I'll pay for whatever you need.”

On instinct, Twilight nearly declined. Not because she didn't know how to skate—well, it wasn't the major reason at least—but she still wasn't interested in taking part in any social activities. However ….

If Fluttershy is attending, this could be the perfect chance to ask her about Zero, Twilight considered in her mind. Even if I have his full cooperation, it's better to be safe than sorry.

“Come on, please?” Zero begged as he waited for the answer. “I'll even skate with you if you don't know how.”

“Alright, I'll go,” Twilight accepted as she put her tissue box aside. “I am feeling a lot better after all.”

Zero smiled at this. “Awesome! I'll text the others that you're coming. It's the one on Mistmane Road, so be there at seven.” As he gave Twilight a nod and turned the doorknob, he saw a two shadows at the bottom of the door move away quickly. He deduced that it came from the other side of the door and quickly opened it to see where it disappeared to. He raised an eyebrow as he went down the steps and saw Cadance and Shining Armor standing further down the hallway having a conversation with what looked like forced smiles, though Shining glanced at Zero with a skeptical look in his eyes.

Twilight cleared her throat as she looked at Zero, unable to figure out what he was doing. “Are … you okay?”

Were they eavesdropping on us? Zero thought as the gears in his mind turned slowly as he tried to imagine why. He glanced to Twilight then to Shining before he finally put the pieces together. Did they think I was her …. He gave a dull expression. As if. Twilight’s not even beautiful. I'd give a 6.5 or 7 at best. He looked at the bookworm as she was putting on her glasses. “Yeah, I'm good. See ya!” He went back downstairs and exited out the house as he headed home.

Maybe a 7.5 if she kept the glasses … nah.

Later on that evening, the night sky started to envelop Canterlot as it still looked quite lively. Due to it being the start of the weekend, a lot of students were wandering the town to find activities to do, either alone or with a couple of friends. As Zero waited outside of the roller rink for his friends, he couldn’t help but notice this as it reminded him of how his old home in Manehattan was almost the same way … expected noisier. His father at one point feared that he might complain about the town not being as lively, but in truth, the rebel didn’t mind at all. True, he missed the very active nature of his city life, but it was all in the past now. Besides, the town itself was more positive and happy-go-lucky to the point that it made him feel like he was constantly at peace. Sure, the people could be too mushy at times, but who was he to complain? He’d live.

Looking to his left, he saw Rainbow, Pinkie, Sunset, Fluttershy and Applejack heading his way with Fluttershy and AJ waving to him. Pinkie and Rainbow were already wearing their skates and raced over to him.

“At this point, I’m not so surprised you two know how to skate,” Zero commented as he smiled. “Much less the fact you skated over here.”

“You really shouldn’t be,” Rainbow added as she skidded to a halt in front of him. “So, where’s your date?”

“ … I don’t follow.”

“Twilight, silly!” Pinkie spoke up as she stopped in front of him too. “You said in your text that you managed to get her to come! So where is she?” She looked around curiously.

“She said she’d come. If I had to guess, she’s probably gonna come here at exactly seven, being the bookworm she is,” Zero predicted as he raised an eyebrow at Rainbow. “And it’s not a date, it’s just a fun get-together. She’s not even my type!”

“You do know a date doesn’t have to always count as being a romantic one, right?” Sunset corrected with a playful smile.

“ … I knew that.”

“Nooo you didn’t.” Pinkie circled with with her skates and stuck her tongue out at him. Zero rolled his eyes until he took note of something. “Rarity’s not coming?”

“Nah, she said somethin’ ‘bout taking care of an emergency,” Applejack explained. She playfully punched Zero’s shoulder as she caught the downhearted expression on his face. “But don’t sweat it too much. She’s not one to hold grudges.”

“You know what happened?” Zero exclaimed and held his shoulder. “Also, ow.”

“Fluttershy explained what was going on to us when half of Canterlot heard her screaming your name yesterday.” Rainbow started to snicker. “I wished I could’ve seen the look on your face!”

“Rainbow ….” Fluttershy frowned at her.

“I’m just messing around.” She ceased her laughter as she looked at Zero with a reassuring smile. “But yeah, don’t beat yourself up over it. It’ll blow over by Monday. So just focus more on skating tonight as I make you and AJ eat my dust.”

Zero smiled back and gave a fierce but competitive smirk as he got in Rainbow’s face. “I dunno. I’m a pretty good skater myself, so don’t make me embarrass you, Rainbow Crash!”

Rainbow returned the smirk as she got in his face as well. “What'd you call me, you deadbeat? I can run circles around you blindfolded!”

Applejack’s chance to get mixed in was lost as she took notice of the boys walking up to the rink. She waved at them with a warm smile. “Howdy there fellas!”

Swift, Rivet, Soul, and Night waved back at them as Soul spoke up. “Hey there cuz, you guys still waiting out here?”

“We're still waiting on Twilight to get here. It shouldn't be much longer now.” Sunset checked her phone to see the time. “In another two minutes, actually.”

“It's still pretty nice of you to invite her, Zero,” Swift added as he looked at his friend but noticed he wasn't paying attention to him. “Uh, dude?”

The competitive pair stopped butting heads and Zero took notice of Swift. “Yeah?”

“I was saying that it's cool of you to invite Twilight. How'd you get her to come along?” Swift asked curiously.

“Oh.” Zero put his hand in his pocket and smiled. “I didn't really do anything per se. I just apologized for my scheme and gave her the homework she missed. Plus, I still want her as a tutor, after all. She was there for me just like you dudes say she was doing, and I'm gonna do something for her as thanks.”

“Daaaaw, she’s lucky to have you if that’s the case!” Pinkie commented with a hint of jealously. “Wish I had someone deliver me stuff while I was sick. Like homemade cookies or cupcakes or even a get well soon cake with someone jumping out of it!”

“Swift can do it,” Zero responded immediately with a grin.

Pinkie gasped. “Really?!”

“W-w-wha?!” Just as Swift spoke up, a sharp pain hit his sides thanks to Soul's elbow “I-I mean, uh … I might … be able to do it if you want. Just not the jumping out part.”

“Aww, thank you Swiftie!”

Swift only blushed violently as he nodded.

“Although….” Zero started as he looked at Pinkie with a smirk. “I could do the same if Swift is chicke—ow, I was kidding!”

Sunset pulled her hand back as she pinched his arm before whispering. “Try to cool it, Mr. Steal Your Girl, and let Swift have this. You don’t wanna look bad in front of Fluttershy, right?”

“I don’t have a crush on Flutters.”

“You’re a nice guy and all, but carrying a girl’s stuff and helping her out with flyers every morning leaves a lot to imply you know.” Sunset gave a smirk at her. “And you make it obvious.”

“ … I chose not to confirm or deny anything,” Zero huffed and looked away. But during this moment, he did a quick head count of everyone that was in the vicinity, excluding Rarity and Twilight, and noticed one other was unaccounted for. “No word from Clyde either, Rivet?”

“Sorry man, I haven’t heard from him.” Rivet shook his head. “But I think he’s probably still sick from yesterday.”

“I hope he’s okay,” Fluttershy worried. “Maybe that’s the emergency she was talking about. She probably went to go treat him, or w-worse, she had to take him to the hospital.”

A chill ran up everyone’s spine as they processed this theory. Applejack took out her phone to text Rarity. “Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. I’ll text Rarity to see if everythin’ is alright.”

“Good idea,” Night agreed as his attention was drawn away by a purple car coming up the road. The gang caught glimpses of Twilight in the driver side as she entered the parking lot.

“Hey, there she is!” Zero spoke happily as he rushed over to go greet her with everyone else following suit. The first thing they noticed was that Twilight was wearing something rather different from her usual attire as she exited the car. For starters, her hair was in a ponytail like how she usually kept it during gym class. She wore a new purple sweater vest with a belt around it, which matched her button down shirt and bow. Her skirt looked a bit different as well, but maintained the same pattern as the last one with a large purple star and small white star surrounding it, yet, it had additions dark purple stars scattered around the skirt and blended in with the background of it. Her boots were completely replaced by plain, light blue, knee-high socks and purple dress shoes. She looked at everyone and gave a meek wave.

“H-Hi everyone,” Twilight uttered as she gave an awkward smile. “Glad I made it on time. I would’ve arrived earlier, but I got caught up with some things.”

Zero smiled back at her. “Wow, what’s with the new look?” he commented.

Puzzled, Twilight looked at her clothes then gazed back at him. “Cadance thought I should look nicer since I’m going out with my classmates. Why, does it look okay?”

“I think it looks really nice on you, Twilight!” Swift approved. “Right everyone?”

“Oh yes, I think it looks lovely on you,” Fluttershy chimed in as well. “I might even like it more than your usual outfit.”

“I never said there was anything wrong. I was just asking what’s with the sudden change,” Zero elaborated as he looked at Twilight closely. “But like Flutters said, it’s an improvement. You look more … Hmm ….”

“Pretty?” Rivet guessed. “Cute? Better?”

“No, no, it’s more so unique. Liiiiike ….” Zero tried brainstorming as he tapped his chin until Pinkie chirped in as she got in between the two suddenly.

“Adorkable!!”

“Excuse me?” Twilight said, confused.

“A portmanteau! You’re adorable and dorky-looking at the same time to Zero!” Pinkie explained. “But in a good way!”

“Hey, that’s perfect!” Zero praised her.

“I … don’t believe that’s an actual wor—”

Pinkie hushed Twilight as she pressed her finger against her lip. She took out a New Edition Collins English Dictionary from her hair and turned the pages until she pointed to the word. Twilight adjusted her glasses and read the definition carefully. “Adorkable: Socially inept or unfashionable in a charming or endearing way. O-Oh, um, thanks I guess?”

“I … think we can just leave it at we all like her clothes and head inside.” Soul added in to change the subject.

Sunset nodded. “Like he said, we just hope you have just as much fun as the rest of us Twilight. Which begs the question: Do you know how to skate?”

“No, but while I was getting ready tonight, I did read up on how to roller skate and the tips and tricks to skating as a whole.” Twilight gave an awkward chuckle as she rubbed her shoulder timidly. “So … there’s that.

“In short, you can’t skate,” Zero summarized with a smile. “No need to worry, because tonight, the tutee has become the tutor, and I shall gladly teach you how to skate like a pro. Then you watch the master work his stuff after I skate circles around AJ, Rainbow and Night!”

“Woah, woah, woah. Who’s skating circles around who now?” Rainbow interjected. “You three are gonna be laps behind me when I’m done.”

“I beg to differ,” Applejack argued back with Rainbow. “And besides, this ain’t about having a roller derby. It’s about having fun, remember?”

Rainbow smirked at Applejack. “Sounds more like you're coming up with excuses so I don’t make you look bad,” she taunted, causing her to earn a glare from the farm girl.

“I ain’t no chicken,” Applejack growled. “And if I wanted to, I could easily keep up with you, whether it’s skatin’ or runnin’”

Rainbow got in Applejack’s face with her signature cocky smirk. “Prove it.”

Zero laughed while crossing his arms proudly. “What’s the point of even trying? With me in the mix, you’ll both just pale in comparison.”

Night shook his head. “The only thing you’ll get out of this is a big L on your forehead for last place, lame, laughable, lackluster. And besides, even if I’m not as fast as those two, I can beat you easily.

“As if!” Zero got in Night’s face as he hissed at him. “If anyone’s gonna have an L on their forehead around here, it’s gonna be you!”

“Whatever you say, just don’t cause a ruckus when we get inside.”

“The only ruckus that’s gonna be heard is you crying for your mommy that the big bad Zero made you look like a chump!”

Some of the others just chuckled at the banter among the four until Soul spoke up. “Can we go inside now?”

“YES!” Zero, Applejack, and Rainbow agreed in unison as they rushed inside.

After the silly banter was finally over and done with and the gang had paid to enter the rink, Twilight finally entered the roller rink with everyone and was immediately hit by bright lights and loud techno music. Around the entrance were those claw machine games and vending machines. Further ahead she saw people by the main counter receiving skates in exchange for their shoes or vice versa. Not too far from the counter, there was the main rink, a food court, an arcade area, and tables for everyone to sit down and take it easy. She glanced up and could see a window to where the DJ was operating the music. While everyone looked delighted and a bit enthusiastic to either get their skates, try out the arcade games, or win something from the claw machine, Twilight wasn’t all that interested in doing any of these other than giving skating a try.

As much as she didn’t want to judge a book by its cover, she was already overwhelmed by everything in no less than ten seconds, and she already didn’t like it here.

Not a fan of loud places, Twilight thought to herself. But, I can manage this. All I need to do is talk to Fluttershy and then I can just make something up so I can leave. Of course, I can’t do it right away, so I’ll have to let some time pass. I guess learning how to skate in the meantime wouldn’t be so bad.

Just as the bookworm finished making up her mind, Applejack took her phone out of her pocket and saw that she got a text. “Good news y’all, Clyde is gonna be A-ok!” she confirmed as everyone sighed out of relief. “Rarity is looking after him right now.”

Fluttershy sighed in relief. “Thank goodness. I guess it really was nothing to worry about.”

“I’m betting he’s getting a lot more than just a little hot soup in bed with Rarity on the job, if you know what I mean.” Rainbow winked.

Sunset only rolled her eyes and smiled. “Let’s just try to have some fun while we’re here.”

“I think I’m gonna try getting something from the claw machine before I hit the rink,” Soul said as he got some change from the food counter. “Thinking about buying something for my baby sister.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Night added. “You’re gonna lose all your money with how persistent you are. Remember that time you and I went to the arcade?”

“That machine was rigged and you know it!” Soul cried.

“There’s still an arcade around here?” Rivet said curiously. “Better question: arcades are still around in general other than places like this?”

“Well, even Manehattan has those payphones lurking about,” Zero tossed in. “But still, I thought arcades were dead too.”

“Me and Thunderlane go to the one by the aquarium in the city sometimes,” Swift explained. “Since there’re little kids always visiting the place, they swarm the arcade whenever they get bored of seeing fish.”

Rivet thought for a moment. “That’s … actually kinda clever from a business standpoint.”

“Hey, less chatty! More skatey!” Rainbow interrupted. “We don’t got all night! So go get your skates!”

“Aye aye, head honcho,” Night mouthed as he got in line. Zero, Applejack, and some of the others followed as well while Soul went to the claw machine. Shortly afterwards, everyone sat by the bench putting their skates on while Zero helped Fluttershy’s with hers as if it were a glass slipper. He glanced over at Swift as he didn’t have his skates.

“Yo bro, you not gonna skate yet?”

Swift scratched the back of his head. “I think I’m just gonna play some of those arcade games over there. I’m a little clumsy when it comes to skating.”

“If you want some practice lessons to get you on the roll again, I know a certain someone that can help!” Pinkie skated over to Swift with as she wrapped her arm around his neck and whispered. “I’ll give you a hint: it’s meeeeee.”

Swift tried not to blush with Pinkie being so close, on top of the fact their cheeks were touching a little. “N-N-No no, it’s fine Pinkie. I’m not up for skating tonight. Maybe next time.”

“Aww, there’s no need to be shy, Swiftie! Besides, I already got your skates on!” Pinkie pointed at his feet.

“What?” Swift glanced down and noticed that his shoes had already been swapped out with roller skates. “W-When did you put my … wait, how do you know my shoe size?”

Pinkie just took his hand and pulled him into the rink. “No time for questions, it’s time for you to learn from the master!” she effused in excitement as they hopped off the rug and flowed into the traffic of skaters on the hardwood floor. Swift tried to glide across the floor as best as he possibly could while his mind was in a complete daze, both from the fear of falling and the fact that he was holding hands with his pink instructor.

“That poor but fortunate soul,” Zero blurted as he watched the two.

“Don’t you mean unfortunate?” Twilight asked.

“He’s holding hands with Pinkie Pie, one of the cutest girl on the planet. Can’t get any more fortunate than that. Unless he finally scores her as a girlfriend.” Zero sighed. “Here’s hoping through.” He turned to Fluttershy and helped her stand up. She nearly slipped forward at first, but thankfully she managed to catch herself without any assistance as she place her hands on the rug at the last second.

“I-I got it,” Fluttershy said, trying to convince the others once she pushed herself back up. She slowly took a step towards the rink until she placed her hand on the wall to stop herself, waiting for a chance to merge onto the rink.

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Ya never told me ya know how ta skate, sugarcube.”

“M-Me and Rainbow skated together a few times. She’s the one who taught me, after all,” Fluttershy explained as everyone saw that her legs were visibly shaking.

“And how long has it been since you skated?”

“M-maybe a year or so.”

Ready to be of assistance, Zero was about to say something until Rivet spoke up. “I’d better skate with you then so you don’t get hurt.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Sunset agreed. “And Zero can help Twilight out in the meantime like he said.”

“What about you, Sunset?” Rainbow mentioned. “Aren’t you skating too?”

“After I get a drink from the snack bar and check on Soul,” she said until they heard Soul yelling in frustration by the claw machine.

“DANG IT! IS THE CLAW MADE OUT OF BUTTER OR SOMETHING?! I JUST WANT THE LIZARD!!!”

Everyone just blinked at this until Rainbow patted Sunset’s shoulder. “He sounds great.”

“You guys go on ahead and warm up. I’ll be there in a bit.” Zero motioned for everyone else to go. Once they nodded and joined Pinkie and Swift onto the rink and Sunset left for the food court, Zero helped Twilight onto her feet. She had learned from Fluttershy’s mistake and managed to stand up with no trouble. However, it was just the first time.

Uneasy and yet balanced, Twilight took cautious step by cautious step around the carpet to get used to the feeling while Zero watched her. As she figured, it felt a little unusual to be moving like this along with actively trying not to bump into or fall on someone. But it was no more than a minute later that she got the gist of it and her tutee—or in this instance, instructor—motioned for her to come by the rink.

“My dear Ms. Sparkle. Would you care to join me hand in hand as we skate the night away?” Zero offered as he held out his hand, trying to be charismatic.

Unimpressed, Twilight took his hand gently and allowed him to take the lead. Once they saw some space in the traffic, Zero stepped onto the hardwood floor and pulled the purple girl with him. Immediately she felt the difference in smoothness between the rug and the hardwood floor. She pitched forward as her glasses came off her face and made her vision blurry, but thankfully, she felt her guide catch her before disaster ensured.

“Hey now, it’s way too soon for you to be falling on your face,” Zero chuckled as he picked up the glasses and Twilight could vaguely see him cleaning them off. He put them back on her face as everything cleared up for her. “There you go! Lucky for you, there’s not a crack or smudge.”

“Thanks. I guess I should’ve seen this coming,” Twilight replied as she tried to balance herself once more on her skates, earning another laugh from Zero.

“Goes to show you that some things need to be experienced for you to really understand them.” He took her hand once more. “It’s cool if you fall a few times. Just try to get used to it and remember what your book said.”

Twilight nodded and allowed him to lead once more. She steadied herself as best as she could while keeping her knees bent and squatting like a sumo wrestler. Gulping, she noticed there was a left turn coming up and she glanced at Zero’s footwork as he turned only his left foot and leaned to the left slightly. Twilight did the same and they carefully made the turn successfully. She smiled to herself and tried to get back into form, but alas, the moment she took her eye off her partner, she put her legs too closely together and felt herself falling backwards. Zero tried to pull her back, but he lost his balance in the process and caused Twilight to crash into him, making the two tumble over.

Twilight groaned at their misfortune as she lay on Zero’s stomach horizontally while the young man himself was lying flat on his back. She was worried for a moment as she thought he hit his head, but the fear vanished once he gave a hysterical laugh and sat up.

“Oh shit, I wasn’t expecting a wipeout like that,” he said with a bit of relief as he helped Twilight up once more.

“You're okay, right?” Twilight worried. “You didn’t hit your head?”

Zero shook his head. “Nope. I was lucky and my arm broke my fall. But are you cool?”

“I’m fine,” Twilight admitted. She hesitated at the thought but decided to speak her mind. “Can we just … go a little slower and stay close to the wall so it’s easier to prevent more falls like that?”

“Oh yeah, that is a good idea. Nice thinking, Egghead!” Zero smiled at her and they proceed once anew.

Thirty minutes later, Twilight started to get used to the feeling at last as she managed to go two or so minutes without slipping or falling. Despite the awkward sumo pose, she managed to keep her balance and perform the left turns just fine. Even if she didn’t learn the whole nine yards of it or skate nearly as well as the others around her, she took this as a small victory nonetheless and felt a tad bit proud. So maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to give it a shot in the end.

But regardless of the achievement, she felt as if her legs were ready to give out from the amount of stamina she used up and the cramp she was starting to feel in her thigh from skating nonstop with her partner. On top of that, she was getting a headache from the blaring music the DJ was playing. At this point, she was ready to complete her original task and go home. She let go of Zero’s hand and slowed down, gaining his attention as he raised an eyebrow.

“I can manage on my own now,” Twilight explained with a bit of heavy breathing. “You can go on ahead.”

“Sweetness!” Zero exclaimed with a small smile. “But you should take five before you suddenly have car … cardcat …. What’s it called again?”

“Cardiac arrest?”

“Bingo! Just be careful of the other skaters, and if you need something, just give me a shout!”

Zero zoomed off on his skates as he tried catching up to the others at a breakneck pace. Twilight watched him go for a moment before quickly making her way out of the rink and back to the benches as she got back on the carpet floor once more. She nearly fell again after being so used to the smooth hardwood that walking on the rough surface caught her off-guard.

Oh the irony, Twilight thought as she sat down at last while catching her breath. She glanced upwards and noticed that Fluttershy was also retreating back to the benches alone. She clumsily made her way over to Twilight and sat down next to her with a sigh.

“Y-you're exhausted too?” Fluttershy asked, feeling winded as she wheezed.

Twilight nodded as she leaned back. “I think I’ve had enough skating for one day. My legs can’t take much more of it.”

“Oh, I understand.” Fluttershy nodded. “I might just take a little break and join the others again.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight finished as she took her roller skates off. The two meek girls sat in a bit of an awkward silence as the two of them weren’t sure how to proceed with the conversation until Twilight scanned her surroundings. She saw that Soul was still by the claw machine with a focused look on his face and Sunset had joined everyone else on the rink. Remembering her original task, she tapped Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“Do you maybe want to get something to drink?” Twilight offered.

“Sure, that’d be nice,” Fluttershy agreed.

After getting her shoes back from the main counter, Twilight went to the food court while Fluttershy got the both of them small bottles of water, handing one of them to Twilight once she sat down on the stool.

“Thank you.” Twilight took the bottle and drank some of it.

“You’re welcome.” Fluttershy sipped some of her water as she watched the rest of the group skate. “Um, are you enjoying yourself okay?”

“I … am, actually,” Twilight said in honesty. “It was nice to skate for the first time and do something like this for a change.”

“That’s good to hear!” Fluttershy smiled at her. “I was concerned at first since you haven’t really commented on anything. Frankly, it just caught most of us off guard that you came at all. I-if you don’t mind me asking, what made you want to join us?”

“Well, my sister-in-law only pushed the thought in my mind after Zero invited me. So in the end, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to give skating a chance,” Twilight explained. “But I was wrong. It did hurt actually, mainly when I fell on my butt a few times.”

Fluttershy giggled. “I fell on my butt a few times out there too. So I know how you feel.”

Twilight returned the laugh before looking out at the rink. She was looking specifically at her tutee skating across the rink and trying his best to catch up to Night, Applejack and Rainbow Dash as he gained on them. She could see the intensity on his face as he was determined to win their little competition. She might have gotten a simple overview of Zero’s character after her conversation with him, but she wanted a firm and better understanding of him from one of his closer friends. At last, it was the time to learn just that.

“Fluttershy, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?

Twilight took a deep breath. “Being Zero’s tutor, I’ve had a bit of trouble understanding him. He seems a bit simple on the surface, but I’m trying to grasp a better idea about him as a whole. But you seem to get along with him just fine, so I wonder if you can tell me anything about him without any of your personal feelings for him clouding your head.”

Fluttershy took a moment to think about the last sentence until she quickly deciphered it and blushed. “N-n-no! No, no, it’s not like that at all. Zero and I are just really good friends. I-I-I don’t love him or anything.”

Twilight gave an understanding nod. “My mistake. But please, can you tell me anything regarding him?”

Fluttershy nodded in return as she put her water bottle down and looked out at the rink. “Well, in short, he’s just … driven. But there’s more to it than that. He’s so carefree and refuses to let anything hold him down. He never complains when he offers to help someone and makes it more so his personal mission to make sure all of his friends are happy. He’s always giving it a hundred percent no matter what, and has such a big heart.” She gave a warm smile. “He’s like Rainbow Dash in a sense: never backing down from a challenge and whatnot. But unlike her, he can be a little—”

“HAHA!”

Twilight looked over at the rink and spotted Zero making the distribution as he managed to pass Rainbow and Applejack while skating backwards with his arms crossed.

Zero gave a sly grin. “Didn’t I tell you guys I’d make you eat my dust? Only ten more laps around before I—woah!!!” He suddenly felt himself falling backwards and crashed into the ground as the three slid to a halt and skated over to him.

“You okay?” Rainbow asked as she kneeled down.

“Anything broken?” Night worried as he tried helping him up.

Zero rubbed his head. “Ugh, yeah, that was definitely a bad idea.”

“Ya wanna lie down?” AJ offered.

“Sure,” Zero smirked as he started skating off to steal the lead, “after I complete the last set of laps!!”

“Oh no you don’t!!!” Rainbow raced after him, followed by Applejack and Night.

“He can be a bit silly at times,” Fluttershy sighed. “And can get himself hurt or in trouble if he’s not too careful. But after talking to him this morning, I sure he’ll take things a bit more seriously in school and tutoring since he understands. But overall, he’s just a wonderful and strong person all around and a great friend to have. Sometimes I wish I had the same level of courage as him, Rainbow or Applejack. But having them always cheering me on or helping me out is enough to give me strength, in truth. I-it’ll make more sense if you just get to know him more.”

Twilight could only nod as she listened to every word carefully. Is this what Principal Celestia was talking about? She wants me to get to know him because it might benefit me? But she said I might learn something from him; what on earth could that be? She let out a tired sigh. No, no. I shouldn’t have pinned my hopes on Fluttershy like this; it’s not like she’s known him all her life. But it did gave me a glimmer of insight towards who he is. I can’t be upset about that.

“Sorry if that was flimsy explanation, but I hope it helped in some way,” Fluttershy prayed.

“It was enough, Fluttershy. I appreciate it,” Twilight thanked as she stood up. “But I’m going to go home now.”

“A-already?” the animal lover asked curiously.

Twilight placed a hand on her head. “The music here is too loud and I’m a little tired. I just want to lie down with a good book right about now. Just tell everyone else what I told you and have a good night.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy agreed. “Drive safe.”

Twilight nodded and she left the building at last and entered the parking lot, breathing a sigh of relief as she escaped the music and bright lights that were flashing. She noticed Fluttershy’s sad tone as she left and couldn’t help but feel a bit of regret.

I probably shouldn’t have left so suddenly like that, Twilight admitted. Zero’s probably going to come looking for me too as soon as he finds out. But I’ll be sure to apologize once I see them on Monday and thank them for the night out. It was actually kind of fun for a little while there.

Just as Twilight reached for the handle of her car door, she suddenly felt something yank her purse and she immediately turned around. A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and prevented her from doing anything as she saw the culprits were three boys who looked to be around her age. They all wore similar clothes, being a regular T-shirt, a vest, and pants with collars on them, each having a blue diamond symbol on them. One of them was short and was sitting on the hood of her car as he was on lookout. The other was a muscular boy with large arms who was holding her wrists tightly. The last one who seemed fairly normal was digging into her purse while holding her other hand. If her guess was right, he might be the boss.

“Hold still! This is only gonna take a moment!” the boss ordered in his raspy voice while examining her purse.

Twilight didn’t listen to him and just kicked him in the groin, making him fall on his knees, though she dropped her purse in the process. She tried to kick the muscular one too, but unfortunately, he saw it coming and brought his knee up to block it, making him chuckle.

“Nice try,” the musclehead said. “Spot, check her purse for money!”

The short one smirked as he jumped off the car and made a grab for the purse. He dumped everything out of it until he saw the wallet on the ground and snatched it. He examined the insides and couldn’t find any money inside.

“She’s broke!” the short one snapped as he tossed the wallet aside. “She has to have some leftover change if she came from the rink!”

The musclehead glared at her. “You have to have something valuable on you!”

Twilight was in a complete state of panic as she quickly replied to them. “I-I-I don’t have any money on me right now! Someone else paid for me to skate! J-just leave me alone please!” she begged as she struggled to get her wrists free while thinking of a way out of this.

The boss pulled himself back onto his feet and growled at Twilight in fury from the assault. “Then you won’t mind if we search your car for some valuables.” He shoved her away from the car door once he picked up her keys from the ground. “Rover, keep her still!”

Twilight wasn’t worried over the fact he was going through her car due the fact she truly didn’t have anything of value to take. She was more so anxious about what they’d do to her afterwards. She wanted to call out for help, but she thought it’d make things worse, and since she couldn’t see anyone in the vicinity, she wasn’t sure if it would be of any use.

Come on Twilight, you’ve got to think of a way out of this. I just need to get out of Rover’s grip. Just wait for a chance.

Sweat rolling down his face, heartbeat increasing, and the burning desire for victory, Zero Gravity was gaining on Rainbow Dash and Applejack while barely staying neck and neck with Night after losing the lead not too long ago. With only a few more laps to go, he gritted his teeth and squatted a little more as he pushed himself forward with his skates and swung his arms with each push. He didn’t manage to shake off his burgundy rival, but he was close to the girls nonetheless as they passed the food counter and were entering the final lap.

He looked around his surroundings and couldn’t help but notice that he hadn’t seen Twilight for a while now, nor had he seen Fluttershy. He was sure he hadn’t lapped them like the others, and he didn’t see them by the benches or the food court.

Where’d they disappear to? Zero wondered. Probably the bathroom, but I wonder …. He double-checked his surroundings and then looked at Night. “I’m gonna take five. I’m starting to burn out here. Win this one for us, my bro.”

“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try my best,” Night replied as he skated on ahead.

Zero exited the rink and gave a tired sigh as he sat down on the bench. He nearly collapsed onto it as his legs were practically screaming at him to rest given how numb they felt. It was definitely enough to make him give off a relieved laugh from the funny and tingly sensation in his legs that made it so he wasn’t sure if he could stand up again. However, he had a mission to accomplish.

Bearing through it, he stood and made his way over to the bathroom close to where Soul was still playing the claw machine. Zero was about to tap him until Soul spoke up.

“Not now, Zero,” Soul said in a stern voice as he moved the claw carefully. “I’m in the zone.”

Zero just waited for Soul to finish his attempt. He actually managed to grab the lizard he was after, but just as the claw was moving to the hole, his prize slipped out of his grip, making Soul give an angry growl.

“Almost had it. Next time for sure.”

“If you’re out of your zone and back to the real world, have you seen Twilight or Fluttershy by any chance?” Zero asked.

“Fluttershy just went in not too long ago.”

“Alright, but what about Twilight?”

“I didn’t see her, actually.”

Zero’s curiosity grew just a tad bit and he pondered the thought. Maybe he just missed her. She couldn’t have left or anything, right? He took out a dollar from his pocket and gave it to Soul. “Thank you, my info broker,” he jested. “There’s my token of gratitude. So try winning sometime for a change.”

“Thanks, I’ll be sure to win something for Sunny!”

“I thought you were getting something for your sister?”

“ … And her too, yeah.”

Zero only shook his head with a smile before leaving Soul be. Deciding to dismiss his worries, he made his way out to the parking lot through one of the side exits just to make sure Twilight’s car was still in the lot and she hadn’t gone home.

While he did spot Twilight’s car, his eyes widened as he saw the Diamond Dogs crowded around Twilight as she was trying struggle out of Rover’s grip and the other two were ticked off about something. Already reading the situation, Zero tried undoing the laces on his skates before they noticed him and started moving closer to the car. But just as Spot noticed him, he quickly kicked off one of his roller skates towards Rover and the bottom of it smashed into his face, making him roar in pain as he let Twilight go. Fido and Spot looked over at the enemy as the young rebel took off his other skate and sprinted towards them.

“Of all places!” Fido got in a defensive stance and waited.

“First Fluttershy, now Twilight!” Zero charged in and kicked Fido in the gut. “I’m gonna have to send you to the pound myself you—ARGH!!”

Fido delivered a right hook into Zero’s eye and the two started getting into a scuffle. Twilight noticed Spot was about to rush in too, but she quickly scanned the ground of all the stuff that was emptied out of her purse and made a grab for a small black box and rushed at him.

“How about some payback for getting in our way one too many times?!” Spot was ready to pounce into the fight but was quickly intercepted by Twilight as she reached over and pressed something against his neck. The moment he felt the sensation of a electric shock, he saw that the former damsel in distress had a taser. The shock caused Spot to collapse to the ground.

Twilight didn’t hesitate for a moment and tased Rover before he had a chance to shake off the pain Zero delivered to him. He also fell down from the shock and one of his legs started twitching.

T-two down! Gotta help Zero with Ro— Just as Twilight was ready to shock the last one of the gang, she saw Fido getting an uppercut to the jaw by Zero himself and then receiving a kick to the face as he tumbled onto the asphalt ground.

“There aren’t any teachers to save you assholes now,” Zero panted as he had pure rage on his face. “So for your sake, you’d better beat it before I beat you into a coma!”

Fido saw Twilight with her taser and shot a glare at Zero. He stood back up and picked up Spot before putting him on his back and grabbing Rover out of the parking lot. Zero eyed them like a predator the entire time until they were out of his line of sight.

Letting out a grunt, he turned to Twilight quickly and examined her for injuries. “Okay, on a scale from one to ten, how bad are you hurt? I’ll be sure to pay them back and double the pain!”

Twilight shook her head wordlessly as she was still trembling a little from the sudden event. Zero dropped the tough guy act and started picking up her belongings on the ground. She slowly kneeled down and did the same before putting everything away in her purse as she looked at him.

“T-thanks. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen if ….”

Her tutee only patted her shoulder gently. “Don’t worry about it. Those guy never really do anything serious or mess anyone up. Honestly, they only rob or steal people’s homework or whatever. But they’re even dumber than me,” he explained after returning her personal belongings. “But I can’t believe you had a taser on you! Those guys dropped like flies and we sent them away with their tails between their legs! You just keep getting cooler by the minute. Say, where’d you get a taser anyways?”

“My brother is the chief of police,” Twilight said quietly as she stood up. “He gave me one in case of emergencies. But are you okay? You got a few bruises on your face.”

“I doubt he got me that good,” Zero waved off. “Probably just the adrenaline, but I don’t feel a thing. But I think my medic of a mom can patch me up. But back to my main point, I’m just happy you're okay. So let’s go back inside and get you some food.”

“Actually, I was planning on going home. It’s why I’m out here to begin with.”

Zero’s smile faded a bit as he stood up. “Oh … well, maybe tomorrow I can make up for things and we can go to the mall and chill out. I know that’ll draw Rarity’s attention and get her to join us.”

“No.This was just a one time thing.” Twilight sighed as she looked him in the eye. “I honestly appreciate your help and helping me skate for the first time. But we’re not friends or anything, so let’s just leave it at that and I’ll see you at school on Monday, okay?”

“Is it that stuff you said about friends not being a necessity?” Zero mumbled as he gripped his fist. “How can you say something so … cold and hollow?”

“I don’t mean to make it sound like that, but it’s true. If you really want to get anyway in life, you need to learn and understand as much as you can so you can get ahead,” Twilight pointed out. “Sure, maybe you can just rely on someone else to do everything for you, but not everyone has that luxury. And you might end up on the street if you're not mindful of where your life is going. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Even if we’re not friends, I at the very least want to help you understand that much. Making friends isn’t something that you should prioritize over everything else. You don’t really need them. I’ve gotten by just fine without any. It’s not like food, water, or air. You don’t need it to survive.”

Zero could only stand there as he gave a sad expression. His heart ached at the reason and his mind overflowed with thoughts as he tried to come up with a response. The cold feeling in his chest returned as he thought her answer to be like a fork scraping on a clean plate, nails on a chalkboard, or listening to his father practice his “Chords of Steel” before a trial—he’d wish he could just be deaf for a moment rather than hear any of it.

Wanting to just scream whatever came to his heart, ready to spit words right back at her with outrage and unleash everything that made his heart race and play the devil’s advocate. Just as he opened his mouth to say something … he did a double take on what she said and gave it some thought, unlike the other day. Zero decided to calm down and say his response.

“You're right,” he began. “Making friends isn’t a necessity. But it’s something that’ll benefit you greatly. They can do so many things for you, make you feel better, give you a chuckle when your bored in class and they do something stupid. Or when your day sucks and they invite you over to hang out and play video games. They’re there for you when everything looks bleak and impossible to do by yourself. And when you have no idea what to do, they’re the people you turn too. If you're introverted, I understand. But there’s gotta be at least someone you trust to talk to.”

“I talk to Cadance and my family.” Twilight took her gaze off him and looked away. “ … And Spike.”

“With Spike, I can tell with some of the pictures you have in your room.”

“Moving on,” Twilight dismissed. “I have my family. That should be plenty of people to talk too.”

Zero huffed. “Yeah, but it wouldn’t kill ya to just trust someone outside of your bloodline other than Cadance. Like the girls, or my friends, or … maybe you and I can be friends.”

“Zero, why are you fixated on me making friends?” Twilight wondered. “You acted like this before when I said I didn’t have any, and now you're doing it again. Is it because you want to be my friend?”

Zero gave her a sad expression and looked away. “I don’t like the idea of someone being alone so much. And seeing you by yourself a lot just … hurts. Being lonely is one of the worst feelings in the world and I hate seeing someone feel that way. But when you're with those closest to you, it’s like having all the pieces to your soul in one place and you cherish the feeling constantly. Philosophical, I know, but I'm speaking out of experience and from the heart. And even though we started out … really terribly, I wanna make up for it. So … if you want, do you wanna be my friend at least, ’cause I see you as mine.”

Twilight gave his offer some consideration and she gave an unsure expression that seemed almost conflicted. She stayed that way for a minute or two as the cold air of the night breezed by them. Zero’s patience was thinning and his worries started to creep up until his tutor snapped out of her train of thought.

“I need a little more time to think about it. Sorry,” she apologized. “Right now, I just want to go home and clear my mind. I’ll text you a reply later.”

“It’s alright, I’ll get off my soap box and you just take it eas—” Zero halted and raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “You don’t have my number, do you?”

“Remember when you gave me your number on the first day of school and swung in through the window?”

“Riiiiiiiiight,” he said as he recalled. “I’m surprised you still have it.”

“I just forgot about it up until recently.” Twilight opened her car door and looked at Zero. “All things considered—and besides those Diamond dogs—I want you to know that … I did have a little fun tonight. So thank you.”

Zero only smiled at her in turn.

“And … you might want to get your shoes back.” She pointed to his feet as he was in just his socks after kicking his skates off during the brawl.

Zero looked down in surprise and gave an awkward chuckle before picking up his skates and letting Twilight drive home. He snuck back through the side door after texting Soul and came up with an excuse about checking on Twilight before she left and said his bruises were from falling on the ground with his skates on. It brought down the mood a bit once they heard about Twilight, but Rainbow and Pinkie upped the mood back into place by deciding for everyone to grab some pizza while Fluttershy tended to Zero’s face, thanks to her carrying a first aid kit with her.

“This might sting a little, o-okay?” Fluttershy held up a tissue dipped in alcohol. “Ready?”

Zero only nodded silently as he was spacing out. Fluttershy slowly placed the tissue on one of his larger cuts and expected her friend to jump or yell from the burn, but Zero only flinched for a second and withstood the sensation. Fluttershy then patted down the other cuts on his face for a moment before wiping them off and placing band-aids on them.

“There you go.” Fluttershy placed the last one on him with a small nod. “You feel okay?”

“Mmhmm.” Zero nodded as he wasn’t really looking at her. He only really nibbled on his pizza.

“Okay, now I know something is up,” Night added. “No matter how bad the pizza is, you're usually munching on it like it’s the greatest thing in existence …. Well, it technically is, but still.”

“I’m not really hungry to be honest.”

“But you're always hungry!!!” Pinkie exclaimed while stuffing some pizza in her mouth. “And it’s stuffed crust!!”

“Well … if you put it that way, I guess I can eat a little.” Zero sat up a little bit more and started eating more of the pizza, but he still seem a bit out of it. Sunset gave a worried look and decided to speak up again.

“Are you sure nothing happened while you were gone?” Sunset asked in concern. “Anything about Twilight or something?”

“I’m … just a little upset she left so soon,” Zero said, which wasn’t entirely untrue. “I just wanted her to open up and enjoy herself.”

“Well, her coming out here is a step forward at the very least. And she did look like she was having fun.” Sunset patted his shoulder with a smile. “I think this is a huge step for her if you ask me. So maybe she’ll open up bit by bit.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Over the next two hours, the night went by slowly as the rush of fun and excitement started to wither away. Zero decided to call it and night and bid everyone adieu once he returned his skates and got his shoes back. As he started walking home, his mind was still distracted from the discussion not too long ago. He anxiously awaited the text and was starting get worried that she might have fallen asleep or that she might have still been unsure on her decision. He couldn’t help but imagine the endless response she might give him, making him forget about everything else at the moment.

Once he arrived home, he saw that his family was eating dinner and decided to join them briefly since he had room for more. His mother of course asked about his bruises, but told the same excuse about getting hurt by falling. He could tell from his mother’s piercing glare that she could see right through him. Zero didn’t really want to lie about the incident to his friends or his family, but he just didn’t want things to escalate right now and preferred to deal with the drama over the weekend or on Monday when his mind was clearer. After a short dinner with his family, he went off to his room without another word and waited on his bed, glancing at the beautiful moonlight coming from his open window.

“What’s taking so long?” Zero asked as he kept glaring at his phone. He started to believe that she was probably going to give an answer in the morning and it’d be better if he just nodded off, until his phone suddenly went off and made his heart jump. He grabbed it off his nightstand and opened it up … only to be disappointed that it was Swift asking him about homework. Annoyed, he quickly replied and dismissed the conversation before lying back down.

He eventually fell asleep for a short period of time before getting another text. Waking up, Zero felt disoriented and nearly forget what drove him into such concern in the first place until he picked up his phone and saw her text.

It’s her, he thought as his heart raced once more. He closed his eyes to prepare himself and prayed that it was the answer he wanted. Opening his eyes, and then the message, he began to read.

Twilight: I’ve made my decision about what you offered me.

A bit taken aback by the professionalism behind the message, Zero was nevertheless relaxed by seeing her text him back. He sat up from his bed and started texting her back.

Zero: Did you have to be so professional about it? You’re keeping me in suspense here.

Twilight: I’m a little new to texting people other than my teachers.

Who texts their teachers? Zero thought to himself before shaking his head. I forgot who I was talking to for a minute there.

Zero: Right, right…..but listen, before you say anything else, I still feel a little bad for the stunt I pulled yesterday and showed you the most uncool side of me.

Twilight: I’ve already accepted your apology and you did your best to make up for it. And it doesn’t affect my decision in any way.

His doubts and worries started to cloud his thoughts at her reply. As believable as the Dazzlings being actual sirens …. Actually, Aria and Sonata are pretty cute, so— He shook his head as he tried to keep his mind together.

Zero: Just tell me the answer already…..please.

He threw his phone down after sending it and took a deep breath as he expected the worst. Despite his heroism and preaching earlier, he couldn’t help but feel like his switcheroo from yesterday might have burned a bridge between them.

I’m such an insensitive idiot, he thought as he facepalmed himself. His phone went off again and he picked it up as he opened it once more.

Twilight: I don’t think we can be friends. I’m sorry. Though we can still be well acquainted. However, I wouldn’t mind getting to know the girls. I did get along with Fluttershy a few times.

Admittedly, the response made Zero tense up for a brief second, but relax after reading the whole thing. Yet he couldn’t help but ask about what bothered him the most.

Zero: That’s great and all! But how come you don’t wanna be friends with me?

Twilight: It’s not that I dislike you or anything, but I don’t feel that connection with you as of right now to really call you a friend. I only really feel comfortable with having Fluttershy as a possible friend since we have talked a few times and she’s easy to communicate with. And possibly work my way around to talking with the others.

Zero: That’s great. At least you’ve decided on trying at least. And I understand your point about me. But if you're willing to give it a go, how about I teach you about making friends and stuff?

Twilight: Teach me about making friends? Seriously? You really don’t need to go above and beyond after what you did for me today.

Zero: We may not be friends, but think of it as my I.O.U. for tutoring me. On top of getting good grades from here on in. I’m gonna help you socialize, I’m practically a social butterfly with all the friends I have. Like me and the guys, Fluttershy and the girls. Twinkleshine, Minuette, and so on. I helped my sister so helping you shouldn’t be too hard, like I’m the one tutoring you.

Twilight: Let’s just take this one step at a time before you get too ahead of yourself, okay?

Zero couldn’t help but smile a little. He glanced at the time and noticed it was a little past ten at night.

Zero: Whatever you say. But we can talk more about the subject on Monday. Oh and you don’t have to worry about picking me up from now on. I don’t mind walking.

Twilight: As long as you’re not late, alright. See you on Monday.

A weight finally off of his shoulders were gone at last, Zero put his phone down with a sigh and laid on his bed. All of his worrying took a lot out of him mentally and his mind was a constant swirl of emotions after that happened tonight.

Wasn’t expecting things to be this rough, he thought to himself, but at least she’s gonna cooperate with me for the most part. I just hope she and Flutters get along. That’ll at least make everything alright in the end and my job would be done. He looked outside his window as a little breeze hit his face. A bit of nostalgia washed over him as he started to feel the autumn breezes were slowly getting colder and colder, telling him that winter was right around the corner, making him recall all the joys of his favorite season.

The cancelled school days, the sound of laughter from little kids as they run around, lying in a warm, comfy bed after rushing back home,nd the greatest thing about it: the snow. The way it feels from the sky, the joy of snowball fights after school with his family and friends. And Wind’s birthday, of course.

But it also harbored one of his saddest memories. Zero glanced over at the picture on his nightstand with two of his closest friends back in Manehattan. Hot Streak … and Snow Angel.

A winter without the both of you is just insane, but I can’t let the idea bother me too much. Zero got up and grabbed his blue jacket and his phone before opening the door and scanning the house. He saw that everything was dark and there wasn’t a trace of anyone’s voice, telling him they all went to bed. He snuck out the room and went downstairs as he ventured out the back door and walked down the street to clear his mind.

I’ll manage without you, but I still intend to change the world in my own way like I promised. Zero looked up at the full moon and gave a determined grin. Maybe it’s impossible, but I refuse to let that stop me. I’m gonna see to it that nobody feels miserable again—I’ll make sure nobody in the world will suffer from loneliness like you once did. So just watch me!

As he ventured down the street and enjoyed the quiet nightly stroll, Zero could faintly but surely hear the sound of a basketball being dribbled around. Looking down the street, he saw someone playing in the basketball court by himself. Curious, he strolled over to see who else was out this late; approaching it bit by bit, his first guess as who this stranger might be came true.

“Clyde?”

Clyde just shot the ball in the basket until he turned towards his friend. “Oh, hey Zero.”

Zero walked around to the entrance of the court and made his way over to him. “I wasn’t expecting to see you out here at this time. You feeling better after … yesterday?”

“Yeah, actually,” Clyde confirmed before picking up the basketball and dribbling it. “I’m finally over being sick, so I came out tonight to shoot around since I haven’t done so in a while.” He shot the ball once again and it went in once again.

Zero scratched his head. “Well, why didn’t you answer my calls or texts then? I know you were under the weather, but I was starting to get worried and all.”

“I never got them, or rather, I didn’t know about them since I lost my phone somewhere in the house and it’s probably dead by now since I didn’t charge it last night,” Clyde admitted before chucking. “I wasn’t really trying to look for it since Rarity was coming over.”

“Oh yeah, AJ got a text from here saying she was taking care of you while were out skating.”

Clyde nodded. “Yeah, but I’ll probably head back soon. Though she might already be sleeping by now.”

“Right.” Zero looked away while putting his pants in his pocket. “Listen, about the whole switch yesterday. I'm really sorry about all of that. I was starting to think you were extremely pissed at me for what when down and I feel like a huge jerk about it.”

Clyde stopped dribbling the ball once he got it back and faced his friend. “I'm not really one to be mad about things that long. It happened and it's over with. So no hard feelings.”

Zero perked up a bit at the response and turned back at Clyde. “Oh.” He let out a sigh of relief. “Well, I'm glad you forgive me. I just hope Rarity doesn't bite my head off if I see her. By the way, here.” He took out fifty dollars from his wallet and held it out to him. “Even if you called off the deal, I still feel like I owe you what I promised.”

Looking at the money and shaking his head, Clyde pushed the money back towards him. “I don't need that. Just keep it. As long as you learned that switching with someone is never a good idea, I'm fine with just moving on with no hard feelings.”

Zero was thinking about insisting, but he didn’t see any point in pushing the matter any further. While putting the money away, Clyde noticed the bruises and bandages on Zero’s face and raised an eyebrow.

“Did you fight someone or something?”

“Huh? Oh, I actually slipped and—” He paused and shook his head. Since everything with Twilight was done with for the night and Clyde wouldn’t blow up about it, there wasn’t much of a need to keep the cat the bag. “Yeah, those Diamond Dogs tried to rob Twilight when she was leaving and I just managed to catch them in the act.”

“I see. And I assume you took care of it?”

Zero gave a proud smile and gave a thumbs up. “Heh, you know it! Twilight even tasered two of them for me. Give her an opening and she ain’t no pushover, let me tell ya.”

“Wow.” Clyde spoke in a bit of surprise. “Seems pretty hectic for just a skating party with everyone.”

“I didn't tell the others because I wanted to keep the drama low for tonight,” Zero explained. “I'll tell them tomorrow now that everything's blown over, especially between me and Twilight.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Clyde agreed. “Unfortunately, I can't really keep anything on the downside since Rarity likes to gossip. Secrets have a tendency to come out when she’s asked to keep them,” he chuckled.

Zero joined in on the laughter. “It can't be helped. Hey, since everything is cool between us now, you feel like playing a little one-on-one in basketball? First to ten wins.”

Clyde dribbled the ball. “Sure, if you want. But I'm going to have to leave right after.”

“That's alright. But is it okay if I walk with you so I can at least talk to Rarity real quick, please?” the young troublemaker pleaded.

“Alright. Unless she's sleeping, of course. I wouldn't wake her up then.”

“Fair enough.” Zero was quick to take off his jacket and put it on the bench next to them as he started to feel like things were quickly going back to normal. Giving a confident smile, he got in a position in front of Clyde and got himself ready. “You know, I was on the basketball team back in sixth grade, so don't be surprised if I wipe the floor with you. Hehe.”

Clyde returned the smile. “As long as you don't constantly brag about it if you manage to pull off a win, I don't care who wins this,” he chuckled.

“Dang it! You're no fun!” Zero said while he went in to go snatch the ball.

The two friends enjoyed a quick game of basketball that peaceful night as just about all of Zero’s worries were put to rest at last. But clouds were slowly creeping in on the two just as the game came to an end. Clyde won with a score of ten to four, and the two just ventured off to his house for the night. Entering the house, the two of them noticed Rarity had indeed fallen asleep and they shut off most of the lights so they didn’t bother her.

“Guess you might have to wait until tomorrow,” Clyde whispered to his friend.

“Looks like it. I'm not gonna make her even more mad and wake her u—”

The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance and it started to drizzle a bit outside. Zero slowly turned to Clyde after glancing outside.

“Lucky we made it back on time. But um, can I just sleep here and not deal with the rain?” Zero pleaded.

Clyde shrugged. “Sure. You can have my room then. I'll stay down here with Rarity.”

Zero beamed a smile. “Oh wow, thanks man. Just lending me your room like that, I'm starting to think Rarity's generosity is rubbing off on you.”

“Possibly,” the young gentleman added as he grabbed a nearby blanket from upstairs and placed it on Rarity. “I do feel like a better person when she's around.”

“Well, she's your girlfriend, so it’s possible she just completes you in a sense. You have that spark in your eye whenever you mention her or something.”

“I wouldn't know, but I definitely feel a lot better when she's near me,” Clyde repeated nonchalantly.

“Alright, no need to be a broken record over your girl.” Zero yawned as he patted Clyde’s back. “But yeah, I really appreciate it man. Thanks.”

“No problem, man.”

Zero went off to Clyde’s room and closed the door behind him. He placed his jacket on the nearest chair he could find and took his shoes off. Finally ready to put an end to this long day that started out completely dreadful, he was happy that it was all ending on a lighter note now that his mind was free of fears and worries from all sides. With the weekend starting up in the morning and the calming sound of rain hitting the bedroom window, the young delinquent gave a satisfied smile as he drifted off into a blissful slumber.

The next morning came along and Zero had received a few angry texts and missed calls from his mother for sneaking out last night without saying anything. He shot her an apologetic text saying he’d come home by noon and talk to her as soon as he got back. He figured he wasn’t going to stay at Clyde’s house for much longer and decided to just wash up in the bathroom and head downstairs.

Final hurdle: talk to Rarity about the switcheroo and try not to get murdered by her. Should be simple enough …. Please let it be simple so I can get on with my existence, Zero worried in his mind.

He took a peek in the living room and saw that Clyde was in the kitchen with Rarity while the fashionista herself was cooking at the stove. Zero gave a weak wave towards the two of them. “Morning you two.” He spoke up to get their attention.

Clyde turned to his friend and waved. “Morning.”

“Oh, good morning, Zero.” Rarity greeted him with a smile. “Would you care for some breakfast?”

My brain says it’s a trap, but …. His stomach growled loudly as Zero only nodded and sat by the kitchen counter with Clyde. “Listen Rarity, I wanted to—”

“You don’t have to worry about it, darling,” Rarity waved off. “Clyde told me you were here and why, so I just wanted to tell you that the whole switcheroo is behind us. Something like that is pretty normal nowadays, especially with being close friends with Pinkie Pie.”

“That is true. Guess I was making a big deal over nothing.” Zero held his chest and sighed before smiling. “Anyways, what have you got for breakfast?”

“I’ve already given Clyde his share with bacon, sausages, and scrambled eggs.” She brought a large bowl over to Zero and placed it down as it was filled with ramen. “But when I discovered you were over, I found a pack of noodles in one of the cabinets and knew that this was something more to your appeal.”

With his eyes lit up in joy, Zero grabbed the nearest fork and smiled brightly. “Aww yeah!! Man Clyde, I envy you for having a lady that cooks for you like this! Can’t wait to get my own fair maiden!”

“Well, you won’t get one like Rarity. She’s one of a kind, after all,” Clyde added as he winked at Rarity, making his friend roll his eyes while the fashionista giggled.

Just as Zero started chewing away at his breakfast, he felt a burning sensation in his mouth after slurping up some of the noodles and tried fanning off his tongue. “Hot, hot, hot!!!!”

Clyde just slid him a glass of milk as Zero chugged the whole drink in a quick gulp. He panted as he rested his head against the table.

“Sorry about that. I couldn’t stop her,” Clyde apologized.

Rarity giggled with a bit of malice. “Although I do forgive you, a little hot sauce prank isn’t too shabby for a little revenge now, is it?” She held up the bottle of said hot sauce. “So, are we even steven?”

Zero groaned and didn’t move his head, but chuckled at the trap he fell for as it was still a good one. “Yeah. Even steven.”

A Great and Powerful Club!

The Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon was completely exasperated.

She was currently sitting in the library with three other boys during their study hall period. One of the boys, named Snips, was a young man with buck teeth, brown hair, opalish gray skin, blue pants, black eyes, and a black t-shirt with a scissor graphic design on the front. The other boy, Snails, had turquoise-colored hair, black eyes, light amber skin, a green sweatshirt with a snail over his heart and a red shirt underneath, and bright pants. And finally, a handsome young man with bright orange hair, flamingo-colored skin, green eyes sat among them. His jacket was red but had a brown collar with a half-eaten green apple on each side and a white t-shirt underneath. Lastly, he wore a blue trouser hem. Everyone knew him as Applejack’s older brother, Big Macintosh. They were all seemingly a little down in the dumps as they were brainstorming with one another.

“Trixie doesn’t understand why nobody has joined our club as of recently!” Trixie complained, only for Ms. Cheerilee to walk by and hush her. “Hehe, sorry.”

“We’ve tried handing out fliers, but everyone just ignored us! And hanging them up around the campus didn’t really do much either,” Snips explained as he slid back in the chair.

“Even the fliers with Trixie on it and it advertising eating peanut butter crackers with the Great and Powerful Trixie herself?”

“Yes.”

“Hmph! Seems like people don’t recognize a good deal, or club for that matter, when they see one.” Trixie crossed her arm and pouted.

“Um … what about asking your bandmates to come?” Snails asked. “Maybe we can convince them.”

“Trixie already tried, eight times. But Lavender and Fuchsia don’t care much for the club and just find all of it ridiculous!” Trixie explained. “Hmm … Big Mac, have you tried asking your sisters?”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac confirmed with a nod.

“Did they seem interested?”

Big Mac shook his head and sighed. “Eenope.”

They all sighed in unison. The club had been off to a fine start thanks to Trixie’s enthusiasm over it, and within the first week, they had recruited Big Mac. But now, nobody else seemed interested in joining, sadly. And the meetings were even worse if one of the members wasn’t present since things would be boring and uneventful. To say they were a little desperate for new members or a new way to stir things up was an understatement.

“Maybe you guys should try persuading people among the new students here in CHS.” Ms. Cheerilee chimed in as she was pushing a cart of books. “You should just try going up to one of them and ask them if they’ve joined a club or not.”

“A brilliant suggestion!” Trixie shot up happily. “And once they properly meet Trixie, they’ll see that any club Trixie’s a part of must be an excellent one! Right boys?”

“Of course!!” Snips and Snails agreed in unison, but quickly covered their mouths once they realized how loud they were. “Sorry….”

“All is forgiven.” Cheerilee nodded with a smile. “So, the question is, who do you have in mind?”

“Hmm … maybe Button Mash? He’s not in any clubs,” Snails pondered.

“I don’t think Lemon Hearts is in any clubs as of yet.” Big Mac tried to brainstorm more people. “And besides the volleyball club, I don’t think Minuette and Twinkleshine have anythin’ else on the agenda.”

Trixie thought quietly. Let’s see … who's someone who’s not in any clubs, has lots of free time, and can boost the overall status, enthusiasm, and tone of our club? With little regard of how silly is it to others? Think, Trixie, THINK!

“Sorry, but clubs aren’t really my style in all honesty,” Zero explained bluntly as he sat with the guys at the table.

Swift tilted his head. “You sure? I know you're still kinda new to the school, but there’s like a whole bunch of clubs scattered around. There’s bound to be something that catches your interest or gives you a new hobby.”

“You have a good point, I guess.” Zero ate some honey barbecue chips Clyde shared with him. “But I’ve still gotta focus on my tutoring sessions with little Ms. Egghead. And why should I just stick around school to do some activity when I have you guys? We can just go somewhere and have a ball and quit whenever we feel like it!”

“I don’t know about ‘Whenever we feel like it’ since some of us have curfews, I’d like to imagine,” Night commented. “And while I’m not surprised you haven’t noticed, everyone has after-school clubs and activities already.”

“Whaaaat?” Zero replied in disbelief. “Not everyone … right?”

“Well, you already know that I’m on the basketball team with Tyrone and the squad,” Clyde explained. “Swift was on it during sophomore and junior year even.”

Swift finished throwing his tray in the garbage and opened his carton of milk in his hand. “Heh, yeah. But I felt like I wasn’t too good, so I stuck with being in the Party Planning Committee with Pinkie and Soul.”

“Wow, Swift,” Zero started with a small grin. “To think you’d join a club to be with the girl of your dreams even longer than usual. I bet you walk her home and everything.”

“N-n-n-no!” Swift blushed a little as he shook his head. “I didn’t join because of that…. Well, not entirely, anyways. And I don’t always walk her home! Plus, they always need a hand with stuff like dances and events. She even went ahead and asked me personally and Thunderlane said it was a good idea.”

“Well, when you put it like that, how can you say no?” Zero nodded as he understood Swift’s point. “Saying no would’ve probably hurt Pinkie’s feelings and killed your own mood.”

Soul thought for a moment and he tried to get up, only for Zero to speak up. “And don’t you even think about making her ask me just to bait me into it!”

“Damn, read me like a book.” Soul sat back down.

Zero crossed his arms. “What about you, Skywalker Jr.? Why did you join?”

“I was pretty much in your situation and wasn’t in any clubs … then….” Soul visibly stuttered and he started to look pale. “Then I tried sports … and gained Athlemaphobia.”

Zero only tilted his head at the word before he recalled Twilight’s lesson on defining words and used the context clues Soul gave.

Rivet spoke up. “It’s a fe—”

“Fear of sports?” Zero figured out as he snapped his fingers with a smile.

Soul nodded. “It’s the bane of my existence. It’s almost like Rainbow Dash was out to kill me that time.”

Rainbow was currently spinning a basketball in her hand when she suddenly slipped on an apple and the ball spun off her hand and bounced towards Soul.

“Uh-oh. Soul, look out!”

“Huh?” Soul turned around and the ball bounced in his cheeks and knocked him down. “AAAH! See what I mean?”

Zero laughed at his misfortune and Clyde just rolled the ball back to Rainbow Dash. “All kidding aside, you’d better hope the next time you watch a sports game, it’s on TV.”

Soul climbed up from his chair and groaned. “All kidding aside, I hate you.”

“And you’re already aware that I’m on the track team,” Night added in. “And a quick FYI, there isn’t any anime club apparently. Doesn’t look like this school has many anime lovers like you, bro.”

“And just like that like that. My interest plummets.” Zero gave a disappointed sigh. Even if there was anime club, he doubted he would join it right off the bat. The last thing he needed was to walk into was a complete nerd-fest and make him feel uncomfortable. Not that he wanted to judge.

“Don’t be so closed-minded. Just because it doesn’t have what you're looking for doesn’t mean you should write off the idea of joining a club so easily,” Night stated. “Besides, think of it this way: maybe you can gain a new hobby or something from one of the clubs.”

“Yeah, like your sister,” Rivet spoke while finishing his food. “She and my sister joined the Canterlot Movie Club, or CMC for short, with the Crusaders. And according to my sister, she’s joined a sports club yesterday.”

Zero’s eyes widened a little. “Wait, seriously? She never told me that. All she would tell me is that she’s gonna go hang out with the girls.”

“Did you ever ask what she was doing?” Clyde said while throwing his chips away.

“....No, but she should still keep me posted!”

Clyde shook his head.

“Oh yeah!” Zero snapped his fingers. “Riv, what about you?”

“I actually joined the book club for a change.” Rivet scratched his head a little with a sheepish smile. “After reading some Daring Do books, I decided to give reading a shot and share my thoughts with the rest of the club members on this and that. Even reading other novels and the like in the process. Twilight’s in it as well.”

Zero smiled a little. “That’s good. Is Twilight in any other clubs? Do you know?”

“From what Rarity told me, she helped her into the science club, and now she’s vice president,” Clyde verified.

“And she’s in the robotics club as well, according to Flash,” Swift chimed in next with a smile. “Already is she starting to try new things now that she’s started sitting with the girls. It almost feels like she’s always been there.”

“Yeah … it really is a relief,” Zero said quietly as he gave a small but warm smile. Just the idea of Twilight hanging out with others and socializing more and more by the day made him overjoyed inside. Every time he saw her outside of classes and at lunch, she seemed satisfied with herself. During his tutoring sessions after school, he would always take a few minutes to ask if she was happy or had a decent day, to which she always give an honest answer. At this point, aside from the impending doom of his report card and the possibility of his mother kicking him into the sun, he felt everything was perfect. Though speaking of Twilight….

“Aw crap, I just realized. I can’t join clubs anyways.” Zero frowned as he facepalmed. “I still have tutoring sessions with Twilight.”

“Err…. Wait, but if Twilight’s in some clubs, how is it that you still have tutoring sessions?” Soul asked.

“She goes to clubs for an hour or so and meets me by my house that afternoon to get some lessons in,” Zero explained. “If I join a club that doesn’t meet her scheduling, it’ll make things all screwy. And trust me, she gets super panicky about her scheduling.”

Swift pondered for a sec. “You could try asking for a little time off for clubs, depending on which one you join. If you’re doing well, Celestia will allow you to. Or you could lengthen some sessions a smidge or do one on the weekends.”

“Learning … on a weekend?” Zero gave him a puzzled expression. “Does such a thing exist?”

“You did say at one point that Japan and other countries have classes on Saturdays but they’re only half days, right?” Rivet commented.

“Yeah, but I think they only have schools open on Saturdays for club activities and stuff.” Zero confirmed, making Soul tap his chin for a second.

“Actually, that sounds like a great idea. Maybe the school could try that. I think it could work. I’ll go pitch it to Sunset and see what she thinks,” Soul suggested.

“Good luck,” Clyde replied.

Just then, the lunch bell rang and everyone started heading off. Zero followed Night and Swift towards their literature class. “By the way, you two think you can help me look for a club after I talk to Principal Long Legs?”

Swift shrugged. “Sure thing, but I have to be in the Party Planning Committee at three-thirty, so I can’t stick around for long.”

“And I have to be at the track field by four,” Night stated. “But I’ll do what I can too and show you a club you might like.”

“Oh?” Zero raised an eyebrow at him. “You have my attention now at least.”

“And let’s see how long you sustain your patience cause I’ll be keeping it a secret.” Night said as he ended the conversation and headed into the classroom along with his friends. As they did, Snips and Snails were watching them from behind the locker and nodded at each other with a smirk as they slid back into the shadows with a chuckle.

Shortly after, school ended and just about everyone else headed home for the day. Zero had finished his discussion with Celestia and texted Twilight regarding his request. Both of them gave it some thought and allowed him to take the time to go join a club today as long as he agreed to keep them both posted on what he found interesting so they could work out his tutoring sessions later on. At the moment, Zero was wandering around the halls with Swift and Night examining some of the open classrooms and other school areas as they had clubs going on in just about all of them. Drama, art, chess, cheerleading, an escape room club, a zombie survival club, and so on. Even that one Derpy girl was holding a sign by the free hugging club. Zero gave an embarrassed blush as they made eye contact and didn’t have the heart to reject her. Just as they walked up to her, Derpy gave all of them tight hugs and they hugged her back. As they continued onward and waved goodbye, Zero was still blushing and couldn’t fight off his small grin.

“Well, I feel a lot happier today,” Zero admitted happly. “Anyways, you guys basically have a club for everything!”

Swift chuckled a little. “People have all sorts of ideas for clubs, so you never know what kind you’ll see when you peer into the next room.”

“Which reminds me,” Zero gave a goofy smile as he looked around, “what club is Fluttershy in?”

Night immediately caught on to his excitement and sighed, knowing his intentions. “She’s only in one, and you’re not gonna like it.”

“Heh, whatever club she’s in, it’s worth everything,” Zero said confidently. “So take me there!”

Night looked and Swift and he shook his head. He pointed to a nearby classroom and Zero immediately dashed over to the room and barged in as he scanned the room for his beloved.

While he did see Fluttershy in the room almost instantly and was ready to greet her, he saw some of the others students in the classroom as well. He glanced around and his smile weakend a bit as he noticed some of the objects in the room. Yarn, wool, needles, recently made sweaters and gloves, books, and other various tools. He knew on the fly that they all had one thing in common. Zero’s enthusiasm vanished.

It was a knitting club.

“Oh, Zero!” Fluttershy walked up to him. “I never thought I’d see you here of all places. What happened to tutoring today?”

Swift walked in with Night. “He’s planning on joining a club in the school, and we’re showing him around. And he came charging in on this one because he was … curious, yeah.”

“I see.” Fluttershy understood with a nod. “I almost assumed you convinced him to join given how much you enjoyed the club last year, Swift.”

Zero and Night slowly looked at Swift as they were completely baffed. Swift’s face turned red as he was completely embarrassed and looked away from the others and mumbled his only response. “It’s fun to knit, okay?”

Zero chuckled a little. “I won’t judge. Least you can make your own sweater without wasting your money!”

“R-Right….”

“Anyways,” Fluttershy began as she turned back to Zero. “Have you knitted before?”

“Of course I have!”

“No he hasn’t,” Night corrected.

“Okay, I haven’t!” Zero responded, but kept his smile. “But it looks cool enough!”

“Since you’re so interested, I can show you how to knit.” Fluttershy grabbed some nearby yarn and needles for herself and Zero. “First, you have to make a loop with the end of the yarn. Then place the loop on top of the yarn to the side of the loop, like this.” She held it up to Zero and took her time demonstrating. Zero memorized the movements and copied her. Swift got himself a set of tools and decided to help out as well while Night just sat down and looked through his phone in the meantime.

“Next,” Swift continued the demonstration, “pick up the yarn through the loop, but make sure you do it gently and not so much. Afterwards, you want to pull the knot tightly and keep the loop at the top nice and open.”

“Alright, simple enough,” Zero replied with a slightly bored expression, but still doing his best to stay interested on the matter. After thirty minutes had gone by, he was completely drained of excitement as he was trying his hardest not to look disappointed in the club itself and his sorry of excuse for a sock. On the other hand, Fluttershy looked like she was having the time of her life, and even Swift was smiling. Normally, Zero would’ve just let them down easy and say he wasn’t interested anymore. But then, it’d devastate Fluttershy and the other club members even more so. He needed an excuse.

“How it’s coming along you two?” Fluttershy asked eagerly.

“I’m doing okay,” Swift replied while holding up his nearly-finished black and yellow scarf. “Heh, I’m starting to actually miss this. And you Fluttershy?”

“Well, I don’t think it’s that special, but….” Fluttershy giggled and held up a tiny baby blue and purple sweater. “I sure hope Angel likes it. It’ll do him wonders during the winter time.”

“At this rate, all the animals will be nice and cozy thanks to you,” Swift praised her and then glanced at Zero’s work. “Not too bad, Zero. It’s … a snake with multiple tails?”

“‘Bad’ being the keyword,” Zero added dully. “And I was trying to make a sock!”

Fluttershy giggled. “Well, it’s still a good attempt. Why don’t you just start over?”

Zero gulped a little. No way do I wanna be here any longer than I have to, even if Fluttershy keeps me company. This is worse than normal classes!

Night let out a small yawn and looked at the time. “Fluttershy, as much as we’d like to stick around, we are on a tight schedule. And Swift, the Party Planning Committee is about to start any minute, so you oughta get a move on too.”

“A-Already?” Swift exclaimed before looking at Fluttershy and Zero. “Sorry, but I have to get going. I got pulled back into my old habits it seems.”

“It’s okay Swift. You can keep the tools until tomorrow.” Fluttershy waved off.

“It’s fine! Night can guide me the rest of the way.” Zero nodded in joy. Bless you Night! BLESS YOUR SASSY BUT AMAZING SOUL!

“Good luck Zero,” Swift said as he grabbed his things and headed out.

Zero waved him off and glanced at Fluttershy. “We’d better get going too, Flutters. Clubs to see, things to check out. But I enjoyed spending time with you today!” He gave a bright smile.

“I’m glad you stopped by. It’d be nice if you wound up joining us in the end!” Fluttershy beamed almost as brightly as Pinkie normally would, making Zero blush as he scratched his head.

“Don’t worry, I’ll put some serious thought into it.” Zero gave a thumbs up before heading out of the room with Night. Once he turned the corner, he let out a long sigh. “I really, really hate to say it, but that suuuucked.”

“You’re welcome, by the way.” Night said in a deadpan tone. “Everyone but those two saw how bored you were the moment you put the yarn on the needle. But you held out longer than Rainbow did, so I’ll give you some credit.”

“Definitely won’t be joining that club. I’d rather do manual labor at AJ’s farm. Least there I can keep my body moving and still have a hot girl keep me company as I work.”

Night nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”

“...On manual labor, or AJ being hot?”

“Yes.”

Zero just blinked and nodded in return.

“But speaking of keeping your body moving, I think I know the perfect club for you.” Night started leading him off. “You’re athletic, can’t keep still for long, and when it comes to planning in games, I honestly don’t know anyone who plans better than you … mainly because I don’t care too much for the sport or people like that.”

“Sometimes I feel like you’re both putting me on a pedestal and pulling the rug from under me when you talk about me,” Zero pouted.

“Just follow me.”

“CHANCE BALL!”

A volleyball soared over the net and Twinkleshine dashed over. Minuette managed to get in position as she performed a jump set and passed the ball to the other end of the court where Twinkleshine was gunning for. She made a graceful leap and just as the ball came her way, two tall girls came up to her at the net on the opponent's side and tried to block her with their arms up in the air. Chuckling, Twinkleshine saw the opening and spiked the ball between the blockers and onto the ground. The referee pointed to Minuette and her side as they gained the point and they all cheered in unison. Of course, Twinkleshine’s cheer drowned out the others’ as she raised her fists into the air.

“OH YEAH!” Twinkleshine roared. “POW! RIGHT THE KISSER! Not talking so big anymore, huh? Oooooh, I wished you’d try something girl!”

“Twinkle, don’t get too hyped and take your jersey off again,” Minuette said, trying to tame her. “We don’t need any more boys fainting or the coach warning you again.”

“Sorry, you just can’t stop the hype train when it gets rolling. The brakes just stop working when we go full speed,” Twinkleshine chuckled.

“Remind me to never let you drive me anywhere,” Minuette replied with a small chuckle.

Zero watched everything from the gym entrance with Night and the both of them were staring at the game quietly as they observed the girls in their light- and dark-blue jerseys, with Minuette wearing the number eleven and Twinkleshine the number ten. Zero broke the silence with his first comment on the club thus far.

“Volleyball is the best sport and I will fight anyone on that.”

“All because of the girls’ bouncy physics, huh?” Night replied with a small smirk.

“Exactl—I mean no!” Zero quickly corrected and lightly punched Night’s shoulder. “You asshole.”

“Thank you, I’ll be here all week.” Night laughed and lead him in while waving at Minuette. “Excuse us. We’re just here to drop by and steal your drinks.”

Minuette looked over and smiled. “Night, came to get a sneak peek at our practice matches?”

“I bet he’d love to peek at something else,” Twinkleshine muttered with a giggle, only for Lemon Hearts to pinch her back. “Ouch! Not cool!”

“Shh, don’t make things awkward for Minny in front of Night,” said a girl named Lemon Hearts with sky blue hair tied in a ponytail and blindingly yellow skin, wearing a number twelve jersey.

“Actually, I can’t stay too long, sorry to say. I’m actually here because I think Zero should join the boy’s volleyball team.” Night patted Zero’s shoulder.

“Hm.” Lemon Hearts walked up to Zero and examined him briefly. It didn’t take long before she gave an approving nod. “He seems like the perfect guy to be a middle blocker or a right side hitter for the boys.”

“That’s what I think too,” Minuette added. She poked Zero’s arm. “He’s definitely got the muscle. Quick question, are you anything like your name?”

Zero scratched the back of his head. “Like … my name?” He gave a completely perplexed expression until he realized what she meant. “Ah! Zero Gravity! Yeah, I’m good at jumping high thanks to all the parkour I did back in Manehattan. But what the hecky heck does a middle blocker and a right side hitter do exactly?”

Lemon Hearts cleared her throat. “The middle blocker during offense is someone who does fast attacks close to the setter, like Minuette, and usually adjusts to the approach of the ball. On top of that, you need to keep an eye out for the opposing team and make sure they don’t block your attacks and cost your team the point. And on defense, you have to block their attackers, and sometimes even in conjunction with the other plays and make a strong wall!”

“In Zero’s terms, you spike the ball when you get the chance and block your opponents if they try to spike. Get it?” Twinkleshine summarized.

“Got it!” Zero nodded.

“Good.”

“And a right side hitter is someone with good offense and defense all-around who more or less does the same as a middle blocker,” Lemon Hearts explained. “You wanna give it a try?”

Zero tapped his chin and shrugged. “Let’s play.”

The girls nodded with a smile and Minuette stood next to Zero. “Okay, I’ll be on your team, aaaand … Night, you can be our libero.”

“I don’t know what that is, but it sounds special,” Night commented with a cocked eyebrow. “That being said, I don’t have faintest clue on how this game works. Plus, I can’t play a full game. I’ve gotta get to the track field soon.”

“Just one point, please Night?” Minuette begged. “Then you can go!”

Night thought for a sec. “Well….”

Twinkleshine just sighed and pushed the boys towards the court. “It’s not cool for a guy to turn down a girl’s offer. Now go! I’ll explain the rules and we can get to the part where I demolish you.”

After a short summary of the rules of the game and a few minutes to practice passing the ball with their forearms, Zero, Night and Minuette stood on one side of the court waiting for Minuette to serve the ball. On the opposite end of the court was Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and a short girl with a hoodie covering her face, someone Zero didn’t see before. The hoodie was unzipped and showed the number seven jersey underneath. He also noticed it was an amethyst-colored jersey, completely different from the other blue ones. Before Zero could get the chance to ask questions, the referee blew the whistle. Minuette tossed the ball into the air and made a graceful leap as she hit the ball towards the other side. The hooded girl received it perfectly with her forearms and sent it towards Lemon Hearts.

“Perfect receive!” Lemon Heart did a set and tossed the ball near the net by Twinkleshine as she leaped and got ready for a spike.

“Zero, go!” Minuette ordered quickly.

Zero ran up to the net and jumped in front of Twinkleshine with a determined glare as he raised his arms up and pointed his hand downs, ready to block it. But it was Twinkleshine’s turn to smirk as she lightly tapped the ball over Zero’s arms and it started to fall, making Zero’s eyes widen in alarm. “What the?!”

Night, who was on standby at the time, saw this trickery and dived for the ball as he knocked it back towards Minuette. She gave a quick sigh of relief as she passed the ball back over the net.

“Shine! Lemon!” the hoodie girl said as she knocked the ball into the air. Zero was distracted by her voice and noticed it sounded familiar. But he soon saw Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts making a run for the ball while it was in the air. Twinkleshine jumped to go in for the spike and Zero went in for a block once more, but he quickly saw that the ball wasn’t close enough to her hand and Twinkleshine missed the spike. Immediately as Zero landed back on his feet, Lemon Hearts came up next and spiked the ball. Unluckily for her, Minuette jumped in her way and successfully blocked the ball and it was about to crash down on Lemon Hearts’ side. But Twinkleshine panicked and received the ball, making it soar back over to Zero’s side.

“Damn it!” Twinkleshine cursed.

Minuette’s face lit up and looked at Night. “Chance ball! This is it!”

Night nodded and passed the ball by the net. Minuette raced over to her position and did another set. Zero got a running start as he watched the ball and leaped as high as he could. Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts blocked his way, but Zero narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t feel like losing today!” Zero swatted the ball down as hard as he could and it went through Twinkleshine’s arms and made her fall. But just as he thought he scored, the hooded girl received the ball once more and it went back over the net by Zero. He tried to reach for it as he fell but tipped it with his finger and made it go out of bounds before Night or Minuette could get it. The coach blew the whistle and pointed to Lemon Hearts’ side as they earned the point.

“Boom, bam, baby!” Twinkleshine cheered and gave Lemon Hearts a high five and picked up the hooded girl and spun her around. “That’s our Libero! Gilda from Griffonstone High won’t stand a chance at this rate!”

The girl chuckled, and as she swung around, she looked over at Zero and took her hood off, revealing that she was his little sister. “Any spikes you dish out, I’ll catch it, buster.”

“Wind?” Zero exclaimed. Even though he recalled Rivet saying she was in a sports club, he wasn’t expecting volleyball to be one of them. “You’re on the team?”

“Yeppers!” Wind broke out of the hug and gave a confident grin. “I’m the Libero of Canterlot High’s girls volleyball team!”

Zero just looked at Minuette and the others with a blank expression and slowly turned to Wind. “I have questions and I want all of them answered, quick draw style.”

“Shoot.”

“When did you join and why?” Zero started off as he crossed his arms.

“Scootaloo dragged me to a match to watch Rainbow Dash and it look like fun, so I joined two weeks ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, and do Mom and Dad know?”

“I was gonna surprise you like I did just now and invite you to our first game next month, and yes, Mom and Dad know.”

“Aren’t you a little short to play?”

“Libero players don’t need to be tall as they excel as defensive players and receive attacks and serves. They have the quickest reaction time and best pass serves, but we can never spike, block or play at the net. And before you ask, Liberos have to wear a different-colored jersey. ‘Libero’ means ‘free’ in Latin, and we play by a different set of rules and can sub in without any timeouts.”

Zero stood silently for a moment before asking his final question. “When did my little sister become so cool!”

Wind giggled. “Maybe you should’ve been keeping a better eye on your little sister than eyeing girls out of your league.”

“Ooooooh! This little girl is savage! I love her!” Twinkleshine rooted with a fist pump as the others chuckled a little while Zero grabbed Wind and gave her a noogie.

“Ow! Ow! Ow!” Wind cried out as she tried to struggle free.

“That’s what you get for dissing your sibling!” Zero exclaimed in a playful manner. Despite the verbal smackdown Wind delivered, he was honestly proud of his little sister. Ever since they’d moved away from that god-awful school in Manehatten, she’d matured from an introvert who was easily target by bullies to an outgoing sports girl with plenty of friends watching her back. He let her go and gave a happy smile. “I’ll be sure to watch all your games, okay? Keep me posted.”

Wind smiled back. “You better! Sorry about that sick burn.”

Zero waved off. “Eh, what doesn’t kill me will get their comeuppance later.”

Night gave a genuine smile and looked at the clock. “And with that roast and touching moment, I make my exit. See you after school Min?”

“As usual,” Minuette confirmed.

Night smiled and headed off as he gave Zero a peace sign. “Good luck, Casanova.”

Zero stuck his tongue out at him and waved him off, then turned back to the girls and smiled. “Okay, so about joining the team,” he bounced the ball on the ground, “I think it’s pretty interesting, all things considered. I dunno about practicing every day and stuff, but maybe I’ll like it if you girls keep me company or something.”

“Except, you can’t join the team!” a voice called out from behind him.

Wind groaned. “Ugh, oh god … it’s them.”

Zero turned around and looked at Snips and Snails as he scratched his head. “Trixie’s little friends? What’s up?”

Snips and Snails walked over to him as Snips took a deep breath. “You may think joining the volleyball team is a great idea. But! You fail to realize that your grades makes you ineligible to play!”

“Yeah!” Snails chimed in. “It’s a no-go like Tri—” Before he could finish, Snails cut him off and covered his mouth.

“That’s a bunch of bull!” Zero called out as he pointed at them. “I can still play … right girls?”

All of the girls gave sad expressions and shifted uncomfortably until Lemon Hearts spoke up. “That’s how it always works with sports. You need to make sure your grades are ‘C’ or higher.”

“And you’d have to be on the boys volleyball team. Not with us, sadly,” Twinkleshine added. “And that much should be obvious since you almost broke my hand with that spike at the end.”

“Sorry Zero…. You can still practice and come see us, but otherwise,” Minuette sighed, “you getting in isn’t happening.”

Zero frowned and gave Wind back the ball. “And just when I found something interesting … damn it.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Wind hugged her brother, trying to cheer him up. “There’s other clubs you can join without any issues.”

“Exactly!” Snails moved Snips’ hand away in excitement. “We know the perfect club for you. Follow us to the library … if you dare,” he said in a spooky voice before the two boys started walking backwards. They both tripped over some of the water bottles nearby before quickly getting back up and continuing walking backwards, motioning for Zero to follow.

“...He had me at ‘dare,’” Zero replied before following the boys.

After following Snips and Snails to the library, they opened the doors for him and bowed as they motioned for him to go inside, as if rolling out the red carpet for him. Zero would have normally been pleased and walked in proudly, but he had the nagging feeling that he was walking into something troublesome. He immediately saw Trixie sitting down by a computer patiently waiting for him. The moment she saw him, she gave a confident yet very gleeful smile as she stood up and walked over to him. “Zero Gravity, we’ve been expecting you today. At last, it’s so good of you to come.”

I’m feeling very uncomfortable right now and that doesn’t happen often, Zero thought before letting her continue.

“Trixie caught wind of your struggles,” Trixie stated as she placed her hand on her forehand dramatically. “The pain of being a clubless student while everyone else is occupied with after-school activities, leaving you all alone with a tiresome tutor! The nerve of them!”

Is this what I sound like when I’m being dramatic? … Nah. Zero continued to listen as Trixie put her arm around him.

“But this is where your friend, The Great and Powerful Trixie, leads you to the greatest club in the school! Where all of your fantasies can come true as you escape this reality into another. Where you can fight the mightiest of monsters, wield the ultimate power and go on adventures nobody has ever seen before!”

“Are we talking about going through that portal outside of school into the pony world?” Zero asked out of curiosity. “Because if yes, I’m so in!”

Trixie just patted his head. “Another day. What Trixie is thinking about is something more incredible. Trixie commands you to cover your eyes.”

Zero closed his eyes and Trixie lead him towards the back of the library. Once they were back there, she stopped and took a deep breath and hoped for the best. “Here we are, Zero Gravity. Welcome….”

Zero opened his eyes and Trixie, Snips, and Snails posed by a table while Big Mac held up a twenty-sided die. All of them had a warm smile. On the table was the most famous and classic board game, Dungeons and Dragons. Zero cringed a little.

“...to the Roleplaying Club!” they all said in unison, leaving Zero completely silent until Snails spoke up. “Where we go on adventures into new continents!”

“Or seek a king's ransom in gold!” Snips chimed in joyfully. “You can be whoever you wanna be or whatever you wanna be!”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac agreed.

“And our adventures are usually decided by yours truly, the Clever and Creative Dungeon Master, Trixie!” Trixie exclaimed, but was shushed by Ms. Cheerilee again. “Sorry.” She then took out a character sheet. “Usually before you can get into a game and join the club, you have to fill out a character sheet that explains everything about your own character. Our session last for two hours and sometimes three, and we occasionally take breaks so we can eat snacks halfway through. Today we’re having honey BBQ chicken with steamed dumplings, thanks to Snails’ mother.”

“She’s a fantastic cook!” Snips added.

“Indeed she is.” Trixie turned to Zero. “So, what do you say? Ready for one of the Great and Powerful Trixie’s magnificent and incredible adventures?”

“........”

Five seconds later.

“LET ME GO!”

“NOT UNTIL YOU SUBMIT TO TRIXIE’S CLUB!”

“WHY IS HE SO STRONG?”

Zero was struggling to walk down to the school exit in the hallway as Trixie was tugging on his shirt and Snips and Snails were holding his legs back. He gritted his teeth and looked around to find anyone who could help him. But shortly afterwards, Big Mac cut him off at the corner to block his path.

“Big Mac, come on!” Zero groaned as he was quickly getting tired of this. “Why are you guys acting so desperate?!”

“If you’d hear Trixie out and stop running, we’ll tell you!” Trixie demanded. Shortly afterwards, Zero stopped struggling and they all let go of him. Each of them panted for a moment before he sighed.

“Look, I just think … it’s … well….” Zero started off as he had a hard time coming up with the right words to say. In truth, he felt completely uncomfortable with the idea of joining such a club. It was nerdy and a bit childish to play pretend like this and make a club out of it. Not that he was against doing a bit of make-believe and using one's imagination like this, and he didn’t honestly care about his reputation if joining it would make him uncool. It just seemed cringy, silly, and sad, especially with so few members. They were hardly keeping the club stable at this point. But though it was reasons like this that made him avoid clubs to begin with, rejecting them after they’d welcomed him with open arms would make him feel worse than seeing Fluttershy tear up over something. Seeing all the club members with sadness and disappointment on their faces was soul-crushing, making it difficult to say no at all. “I think it’s just … a bit much for me, in all honesty.”

“Elaborate.” Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Trixie is guessing you think it’s silly too, like we’re children playing a little game of pretend! And here she thought you didn’t judge others.”

“N-N-No, it’s not like that in the slightest,” Zero denied as put up his hands. “It’s just not my kind of thing. I prefer reading or playing video games. In fact, I hear my controller calling m—” He stopped as he saw Snips and Snails staring at the ground with a quiet sigh under their breaths. Big Mac, although not easy to read, had a hint of disappointment in his eyes as well. Zero stopped and figured trying to argue back wouldn’t make things easier at all. “Don’t you guys have enough members already? I understand you want more people to be interested and come along, but why me?”

Trixie crossed her arms and spoke in a dejected tone. “We’ve tried just about everything. Flyers, word of mouth, handouts, nothing. And it’s getting tiresome doing these sessions with so few people, we might as well do it at Trixie’s house.”

“Can we?” Snails asked, only for Trixie to shoot him a glare.

“Anyways.” Trixie turned back to Zero. “You’re the best candidate for a new member since you look at your fantasy novels and video games with such interest, not to mention you’re not embarrassed to talk about it like Big Mac. So Trixie would like it if her friend would please join us, or at the very least, try it out.”

“I….” Zero trailed off as he pondered the idea. It wouldn’t kill him to at least give it a go, and at the very least, it would satisfy them. “....Screw it, let’s go on a magical quest!”

“Woohoo!” Snips and Snails cheered in unison as they high fived each other. “Now all we have to do is get into costume and thy adventure can commence,” Snips said as he started speaking like he was from the Renaissance era.

“....Costumes?” Zero questioned.

Snips and Snails nodded as they opened up their lockers and pulled out their costumes. Snails put on a viking uniform while Snips put on an elf costume with fake elf ears and his hair combed to better resemble an elf. Zero looked at the two of them and forced a smile.

“Yeaaaaaah, now you're pushing it a little bit on the roleplaying par—AAH!” Zero was cut off when Big Mac picked him up by his shoulders and brought him back to the library.

“We don’t have all day, nor do we have the time to worry about costumes,” Trixie explained as she started leading everyone back. “We have an hour and a half to impress our new guest. Let’s making it amazing!”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac nodded.

Why am I so nice? Zero thought as he wondered if he did the right thing.

Once they all returned to the library, Zero sat down with everyone and was about to start the game. Big Mac was wearing some football shoulder pads and a helmet. The helmet had horns taped on the sides and the top of it. Trixie on the other hand just had on a purple wizard hat and robe with a star pattern all over it along with a white beard to match her hair. Zero just looked at himself and felt naked due to him being the odd man out as he waited for his chance to participate, taking the time to plan out his character until then. Trixie informed him he could be anything he wanted as long as it wasn’t too over the top or overpowered. Glancing down at the pieces he saw the wizard, the knight, the elf, and the viking approaching a jail cell where he could only guess was where he would make his big entrance. Trixie cleared her throat as the session continued.

“Trixie and her mighty warriors slowly approach the jail cells in the haunting fortress to free the prisoners and lead them away from the dastardly Tirek’s dungeon. However, Syver comes across a certain individual in the back of his cell as he doesn’t seem like an average civilian,” Trixie narrated clearly as she winked at Zero, letting him know his turn was coming. “Time to introduce your character.”

“Who goes there?” Snails asked assertively. “Come out into the light.”

Zero scratched the back of his head and shrugged. “Here it goes….” He took a moment to get into character and gave a confident smirk. “I am … umm … a beast tamer named Zexious Silverheart! I step into the light as I am shirtless with a wolf-like tattoo over my chest, wearing curved dragon teeth necklaces and orange armbands. I glare at you with intimidation and my fangs bearing, wondering who you are!”

Everyone just stared at each other then at Zero as they smiled, knowing he was immediately getting into it. Snails cleared his throat. “I back away in fear and gulp. ‘I am Syver! And these are my companions, Sniperous, Sir McBiggun, and the Grand Wizard Trixie! We are here to defeat the terrifying Tirek before he conquers the land!’”

Zero paused for a moment, then chuckled a little and gave a small grin at a Trixie. “Really? You couldn’t be creative and decided to call yourself Trixie still?”

Trixie blushed in embarrassment. “Hush you! You were doing fine! And get more into the role! It’s better that way.”

Shrugging, Zero looked back at the game and a thought crossed his mind. Well, this is a game where I’m supposed to use my imagination. And now’s a better time than any to just let my imagination run wild. He took a deep breath and imagined himself in the game as Zexious and everyone else in their respective roles. He glared at the group from his cell with the torch being the only source of light for him. He looked at all of them and cocked his head to the side with some attitude behind it. “As if you band of fools can beat Tirek. You’ll need an army to at least make him bat an eye!”

“Trixie will have you know she—I mean, we, have enough power to make him grovel on his knees and make him beg for mercy. With my powers of transmutation and conjuration, McBiggun’s greatsword and brute strength, Sniperous’s ability to conjure different types of arrows, and Syver’s powerful ice magic, I have confidence we’ll end his reign of terror.” Trixie smirked.

“Hmph, well, you do seem like a more put together team. However,” Zexious crossed his arms, “I still have my doubts. Thankfully, I might just be able to lend you a hand, as I too can handle myself in a battle.”

“And what, pray tell, can you do?” Sniperous cocked an eyebrow in disbelief.

Zexious stretched out his hand and used the shadows to create a scimitar. He slashed right through the bars with ease and walked out. “Shadow solidification.”

Sylver and Sniperous looked at him in awe while Mcbiggun tapped his chin, ready to question the obvious. “If ya can break out so easily, why didn’t ya bust out before?”

“If I did that, Tirek might have found out quickly and put me somewhere else. Then I couldn’t keep an eye on the civilians. So I’ve been biding my time, waiting for the perfect distraction to break out and free them. But it appears I have you all to thank. So I’ll help you destroy him as thanks. As for whether or not I remain with you guys is undecided.”

Trixie smiles and nods. “Very well then. We don’t have much time. So, to the throne room!” she said with vitality as she lead them off and directed the prisoners where to escape. Just as they started making their way up to the throne room, however, they saw it was heavily guarded by a swarm of armored orcs by the large gate with purple torches. Trixie and her team stopped as they tried to figure out a way into this epic boss battle with much trouble.

Sylver tried using his ice magic to freeze the orcs in their place. It worked on about half of them, but the others caught wind of what was going on and managed to break free. The orcs searched around for the source of this trickery and spotted the group. McBigguns rushed in and slashed down a handful of them with ease until one of them stabbed him in his belly, making him scream in agony. Trixie went on ahead and conjured up chains to bind them down. She smirked confidently as she turned to Sniperous and Zexious. “Bring them down!”

Sniperous fired three lightning arrows at full speed towards the the orcs. But two of them missed and the orcs broke free. One of them threw an axe at Sniperous and it knocked him back to the wall as he groaned in pain.

“Bastards.” Zexious created a shadow axe and got in a stance. “Okay, what's a cool and original name for an attack? … Aw, to hell with it. Hollow Oblivion!” With a mighty slash, Zexious sliced the final orc in half as the shadows oozed off of the axe and surrounded the orc in a dark sphere and shrank away into nothing.

“Wow….” Sniperous gawked. “That … was kinda overkill. But so sweet!”

Zexious pounded his chest triumphantly. “No big deal. Now, for the big bad boss,” he said as he stormed towards the large doors.

Trixie smiled at Zexious’s enthusiasm and she blasted open the door. Inside was an open room with purple torches dotting the perimeter. In the far back was a man sitting on a throne covered in black, white and gray knight armor. His long horns pointed upwards as he glared at them all with his piercing yellow eyes. He spoke in a cold but well-mannered voice. “Despite the warnings, your fears, and the loss of all hope, you have the nerve to challenge me? I must admit, you're quite the interesting guests.”

Trixie pointed her staff at him. “It's over Tirek. Your reign of terror will not last any longer!”

“No more people will have to suffer! No more hideous creatures will be born! Enough is enough!” Mcbiggun exclaimed with his sword pointed at him, surprising Zexious.

“Damn, never expected all that from him.”

“He likes climactic moments,” Sniperous chuckled. “Really gets him in the mood.”

Tirek slowly sat up and drew his long claymore as it was brewing with purple flames. “Do please go ahead. As my guests you're allowed to make the first move, as it will most likely be you last.”

Sylver was shaking in his boots as he made an ice sword and stepped back. “I'm gonna say … right now … we might be doomed.”

Zexious formed his scimitar and smiled. “Stop the bitching, start the killing. Everyone form up. Weapons out and ready. And let's fight!”

Trixie and Mcbiggun had their sword and staff out and ready as Sniperous notched a lightning and water arrow. Slyver created an ice lance and gave a nervous grin.

“To battle!” Trixie cried out as she and other others let out a battle cry and everyone rushed at Tirek, ready for the for the climactic battle to start and decide the fate of the world.

“Saaaay it,” Trixie said in a teasing tone.

“Okay, okay. It was more fun than I imagined. Happy?” Zero admitted in a bashful tone with a small blush. He was currently walking back home with Trixie as the session for the day had ended the boss was defeated. He was honestly surprised at himself as he hadn’t expected everything to run so smoothly. He felt surprisingly comfortable from start to finish as none of his doubts or concerns ever came into fruition. In fact, he laughed, smiled, and had a complete blast, almost as if he was hanging out with Swift and others. Snips and Snails might not be the types of boys he imagined himself hanging out with, or Big Mac for that matter, but that might change after this eventful afternoon.

“See? And you thought it was silly. A club lead by the Great and Powerful Trixie is not to be dismissed so simply!” Trixie bragged. “As the old say goes: ‘Never judge a book by its cover!’“

Zero smirked a little and spoke in a chivalrous tone “And thus, the Great and Powerful Trixie blesses me with her wisdom!” He did a bow. “I am not worthy of her grace.”

“You may rise Zexious.” Trixie gestured for him to stand up as she giggled. “She’s just satisfied you came today.”

“Well, you’re gonna see me every other time cause I’m in.” Zero stood up with a smile.

“....You mean that?” Trixie said as she was both shocked and overjoyed. “You’re not pulling Trixie’s leg?”

“Dead serious. I actually had a ball today, ate some snacks, talked to the guys a little. And for once, being around you for more than an hour was really nice. And if you’re looking for more members, I think I can get Soul and possibly Pinkie to come in. Soul likes fantasies as much as I do and Pinkie is … well, Pinkie. It might get a little crazy if more and more people pile in, but I’ll see to it that it stays lively!”

Trixie stopped walking and stared at him. “You just joined and you want to help make the club bigger for us? Just like that?”

Zero nodded immediately. “Why not? It’ll benefit everyone!”

“....Trixie has decided to make you Vice President of the club.”

Zero tilted his head. “Just like that? Isn’t it supposed to be a group vote between you and your friends?”

“They’re not Trixie’s friends,” Trixie admitted blunty as she continued walking. “Snips and Snails are just followers if anything, and Big Mac is just a club member.”

Zero started following her as he felt a small shift in the tone of the conversation. “But what about your bandmates?”

“Just bandmates,” Trixie explained sharply.

Zero was a bit afraid to ask the next question, but his curiosity was piqued. “Did you make me Vice President just because or….”

Trixie didn’t say anything at first until she frowned a little and looked at Zero. “Trixie will admit she doesn’t trust or like many people for various reasons. But … Trixie … I grew to like you as I found you and I are kinda alike. Confident in ourselves, unfazed by people’s opinions of us, prideful, proclaiming our greatness to others, and we can both admit we’re overdramatic.”

Zero hesitated before nodding his head in agreement. “Yeaaaah.”

“Plus, you’re the only one other than Wind who cared to talk to me on the way to school where you could’ve easily just kept going and ignored me.” Trixie gave a sad smile. “Ever since middle school I’ve always wanted to start a roleplaying club of my own, but nobody was interested in becoming my club advisor or club members. And it’s a bit dejecting since I’ve loved the game ever since I was little and it has always been my favorite game ever since. Now you’re here willing to make my club better just because…. In truth, I feel like you’re the only person I can trust at school … and I thank you for that and everything you’ve done. But I wanted to know … do you see me as your friend?”

Zero recalled what happened the other day with Trixie giving him a peanut butter cracker as a snack. Before that, he always saw them as playful acquaintances who took a few jabs at each other, but he didn’t think they were anything personal, at least on his end. He gave her a toothy grin and a thumbs up. “I feel like we’ve been friends for a while now, but yeah. I’ll make it official and call you my friend. Of course, I’ll still mess with you.”

“And I’ll still call you a delinquent.” Trixie smiled, a genuine one. “But … thank you Zero.”

“Huh … feels weird hearing you call me by my name for once,” Zero teased with a smirk.

“Oh hush you.” Trixie waved off. “Since you’re in the club now, I’ll come over and help you with the character sheet so you can have a better understanding of what’s what. And also do your costume for you.”

“Sure, as long as your dad doesn’t get the wrong idea and does a german suplex on me,” Zero laughed.

“I doubt he’d mind….” Trixie said before mumbling to herself quietly.

“What was that?” Zero tilted his head.

“Nothing important,” Trixie dismissed quickly before changing the subject. “What about your parents? Are they going to assume I’m your girlfriend and flip?”

“Well, you’re definitely beautiful, soooo maybe.” Zero smirked. “But my dad knows better. But my mom … she might ask questions and eyeball you.”

“Then I’ll see to it that I leave a good impression,” Trixie said with a faint blush as the two shared a chuckle and continued down the pathway back to their neighborhood, together as newly established friends at last.

Always Together.

During the study hall period, Zero and Twilight were in the library as the tutor was giving her tutee a practice review she came up with for the math test that was looming on the horizon, which was reason enough to have him be a hundred and twenty percent ready for whatever the test might throw at him. At this moment, they were currently wrapping up as Twilight slid Zero another flash card. So far, he was on a roll.

“Okay!” Twilight said with a determined smile. “What is the square root of x minus eight equals three?”

Zero examined the problem before writing in his notebook and sorting out the problem. “Can’t take the square root for a negative number so….” he mumbled to himself before making haste with the problem and sorting it out. A minute later he slid his answer to Twilight. “The answer is x equals seventeen.”

Twilight smiled and nodded at him. “Correct.” She looked at the clock and smiled. “And that should do it for today. Unless you’re feeling hungry for some more problems during lunch and I give you my flash cards.”

Zero shook his head and smirk. “My brain is already overflowing with equations. Now it’s time to overflow my belly with food, Ms. Einstein.”

“I’m only asking. After all, who would’ve thought Zero Gravity would turn down a mighty challenge?” Twilight raised an eyebrow with a playful smirk. “Does such a farcical idea exist?”

“Now you look here.” Zero wagged his finger as he eyed her. “I may not know what ‘farcical’ means, but I know it’s important to pick your battles and save your strength for something of greater priority!And that priority is enjoying sloppy joe Friday.”

“Okay, I can’t argue with that logic.”

The two of them shared a quiet laugh before they both packed their things. Zero looked at Twilight and a thought crossed his mind. “Say, I was wondering something.”

“Hmm?” Twilight turned to him.

“The Fall Formal is next Saturday and I was wondering if you were gonna do anything,” Zero asked curiously. “Or if you have a daaaaate.”

“Well … I was thinking about going with the girls as a group, but….” Twilight twiddled her thumbs and looked away. “I’m not exactly comfortable with dances.”

“Not a crowd person?” Zero guessed, only for Twilight to respond with a quick nod. “But with the girls to keep you company, it should be cool, regardless.”

“Y-yes but….” Twilight was still avoiding his gaze, making Zero raise an eyebrow in suspicion.

“You’re hiding something,” said Zero.

“No I’m not,” Twilight denied.

“Yes you are. You’re not looking at me.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Hmm … alright.” Zero shrugged before taking out his Daring Do book for a reading assignment. He opened up to the page where he last left off and gave a small but devilish grin. “Oh yeah, you said it’s time to go. I suppose I’d better mark where I left off,” he said aloud so Twilight could look his way. Her eyes widened as she saw he was about to give the book the dog ears treatment and fold the corner of the page.

“Don’t you dare,” Twilight hissed.

“It’s my book and I’ll do what I want with it.” Zero smirked as he tapped his finger on the corner. “Unless you tell me what’s up.”

“It’s none of your business!” Twilight growled as she tried to take the book from him, but Zero held it up in the air so she couldn’t reach it.

“Aaaaand heeeeere it goooooooes.” Zero was slowly about to fold the corner of the page and Twilight’s pupils shrank.

“Okay, okay!” Twilight exclaimed and Zero gave her the book. She swiped it away and put a purple bookmark in it and closed it before glaring at him. “Use a bookmark next time, you … you….” She was about to say something but Cheerilee glared at her from the first floor of the library. Twilight gave an embarrassed blush and an apologetic wave. Once Ms. Cheerilee looked away, Zero giggled like a little school girl and withheld his laugh before Twilight shoved the book back at his stomach. “I can’t dance. Happy now?”

Zero blinked a couple times and chuckled. “No way.”

“Okay, now you’re starting to be even ruder and I don’t appreciate it.” Twilight narrowed her eyes.

Zero held up his hands defensively. “Alright, I’ll admit I pushed it with the dog ear thing, and I’m sorry. But it’s kinda funny since, well … I’m many things. I’m a fighter, an athlete, a prankster, and a procrastinator, but a dancer is not one of them.”

“”Oh, I see.” Twilight calmed down with a sigh. “It’s probably because I’m not one for parties, nor have I really danced with anyone or participated in one. As the old idiom goes, I have two left feet. What’s your story?”

Zero pushed his hands in his pocket. “I never really was good with dancing on my own. I’d just dance around like I had ants in my pants, if anything. However, my dad thought it’d be smart to at least teach me how to slow dance. Though, I personally wouldn’t mind a few square dancing classes with the Apple’s. Last weekend was a riot when me and Soul went over there.”

Twilight giggled. “I can only imagine. I know how to do the robot, but even then I look like I’m malfunctioning and/or have a few screws loose.”

“Now that I wanna see you do.” Zero held out his hand. “But I should be the tutor for the next five minutes and show you how to slow dance.”

“What?” Twilight was a little baffled. “Why here? Why now?”

“Because you have t—I mean, you should go to the dance,” Zero started to explain. “The girls would be upset if you didn’t show and you should give it a try. It’ll be fun, I promise! And besides, some guy just might ask you out. You’re attractive enough to make someone go gaga for you.”

“I … don’t really see myself as worthy of someone’s attention in terms of aesthetics.” Twilight turned away with a doubtful look. “Compared to the girls, I don’t exactly stand out much, like Rarity or Pinkie or those Dazzling girls.”

“Hmmm….” Zero crossed his arms and pondered for a moment before giving a small smile. “What’s wrong with that?”

“You just said guys wou—”

“I mean, what’s wrong with not standing out?” Zero restated. “Sure, I think Pinkie, Fluttershy, and even Aria are beautiful goddesses. But you’re someone who’s a hidden gem, someone outstanding in every way but but who flies under the radar. I mean, you’re a genius, you’ve got a cute smile, you’re adorkable with glasses on, and honestly, you’re prettier than I give you credit for. It’s crazy that nobody notices how great you are. That’s why I think you’re better off here than at Crystal Prep. With the way most of them treated you there, they never deserved someone as cool as you in the first place. So have a little confidence, will ya?”

Twilight looked back at Zero and was awestruck by his words. She didn’t expected him to spout such kind words or say such wonderful things about her. “Y-You really think that about me?”

“Well, yeah.” Zero gave a toothy grin. “Can’t have an acquaintance of mine look down on herself. Just don’t be like me or Rainbow and let it go to your head. Heh.”

“I won’t … but thank you, Zero.” Twilight smiled warmly with a light blush.

“If you really wanna thank me, repay me with a little dance.” Zero was still holding out his hand and moving it up and down. “My hand is getting tiiiiiired.”

Twilight blushed a bit and looked around. “But we’re in the library. We can’t dance here. Someone might see us!”

“There’s nobody here but us, and we’re on the second floor. Aaaand, Ms. Cheerilee is playing that Fire-something game Swift keeps playing on his phone,” Zero explained as he pointed towards Cheerilee down below playing on her phone. She seemed frantic and smiled in an almost creepy way.

“If I don’t get a five star this time, I’m going to lose. My. MIND!” Cheerilee cried out as she started tapping away on her phone.

Twilight blinked a few times and looked at Zero. “I … guess it’s okay then. But we have to be quiet.”

“Of course, and behind the bookshelves,” Zero said as he took her hand. He paused for a moment and chuckled. “Hehe, this could easily be taken out of context.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and headed behind the bookshelf with Zero. Once they were completely out of sight, Zero took her hand and placed it on his shoulder as he guided her. “Now, if I remember correctly, your left hand is supposed to be on my right shoulder. My right hand goes on your left hip side,” he explained and placed his hand on Twilight’s hip. “After that’s sorted out, we hold hands with the other arms and keep them up to the shoulders.”

Quickly understanding the concept of the slow dance, Twilight made eye contact with Zero once they held hands and did as he instructed. “And now we just dance together, right?”

“A-plus, Ms. Sparkle,” Zero snickered. “Just follow my lead bit by bit. One, two, one, two.” As he took the lead, Twilight took her time to coordinate her moments and footwork with Zero’s. It didn’t take long at all to get the hang of it as she found it fairly simple. She smiled softly as she looked at Zero.

“Well, this isn’t so bad,” Twilight said. “I could get used to this.”

“Yeah, but if you want, you can add a little spice to the mix!” Zero suddenly spun Twilight around for a brief moment before pulling her back towards him.

“W-Woah! Zero! Warn me the next time you do that!” Twilight replied as she felt a little dizzy. She tried taking a step forward and accidentally stepped on Zero’s foot.

“Agh!” Zero held his foot and let Twilight go as he hopped on his uninjured one. “You’re supposed to avoid stepping on other people’s toes! That’s the number one rule!”

“Sorry!” Twilight shook her head to regain her senses. She panicked once she saw Zero backing up into a bookshelf. “Zero, look for the—”

It was too late as Zero bumped into the bookshelf and groaned as he held his head. “ACK! Ow … man, that’s gonna leave a—” Suddenly, a pile of books fell down on Zero’s head and he found himself completely buried with his arm sticking out.

“Sorry….” Twilight apologized with a nervous chuckle. The bell suddenly rang and she took her time taking the books off Zero. “Class dismissed?”

“Classed dismissed….” Zero weakly groaned.

After getting dug out of the avalanche of books and powering through a small migraine, Zero made his way down the hallway and headed towards the lunchroom. He took note of Soul and Sunset having a conversation by the double doors of the lunchroom but didn’t really pay any attention to it as filling his stomach was his first priority. The investigation on the conversation would come later, maybe. After standing in the line to get his food and grabbing what he needed, he sat down with the others and sighed.

“There you are,” Swift said while eating his apple. “What took you so long?”

Zero let out a quiet groan. “Let’s just say an avalanche of books fell on me. But on the bright side, I finally found out where the manga section is in the school.”

“I mean, you could’ve just looked it up on the library’s computer but that’s none of my business.” Night explained with a shrug. “By the way, did you see Soul on the way here? He didn’t come in either.”

Zero motioned for him to wait as he took a huge bite out of his burger to satisfy his belly. Once he swallowed, he gave a quick nod. “Yeah, he’s talking to Bacon head outside the lunch room about something.”

Rivet thought for a moment before his eyes widened a little as he realized. “Can’t blame him for doing so.”

“What’s that mean?” Swift questioned Rivet.

“The Fall Formal is next Saturday,” Rivet noted as he ate his macaroni. “Soul probably summed up the courage to finally talk to Sunset and ask her to the dance. Or ask her to go out with him in general.”

“I hope he gets what he wants,” Clyde said, drinking his milk. “He’s been gawking at her for a while now. But I think he was just biding time so he could make sure he’s in a good position in her eyes so he’s guaranteed a yes.”

“Think it’ll work?” Night wondered until Soul came into the lunchroom with a bright smile and danced his way to the boys, not caring of who looked at him. Sunset ventured off to the bathroom for the time being.

Clyde chuckled a little. “I think it did.”

Zero sat up and went over to Soul. “Dude, what’d you ask her?”

Soul smiled at Zero and looked as happy as a kid at the start of summer break. “I asked her to the Fall Formal and she said yes! And during the dance, I’m gonna ask her to be my girlfriend!”

“YES!” Zero said, completely ecstatic and giving Soul a high five before dancing with him in joy. Despite the fact that he danced like he had something stuck in his pants, he was overjoyed that his friend was going to the dance with his crush. “Go Soul, you the man! Oh yeah!”

Soul laughed before sitting down with the guys and smiled. “Thanks dude. I just hope Granny Smith’s dance lessons pay off. I reaaaaally need to show Sunset what I’m made of.”

“Hopefully better than whatever Zero was doing,” Night said with a small smirk, gaining a glare from Zero.

“I’m surprised they’re not doing the Sadie Hawkins dance tradition like last year. At least I don’t think so,” Rivet wondered to himself.

“What’s the Sadie Hawkins tradition?” Soul scratched his head.

“It’s another name for a girl’s choice dance,” Swift explained. “Pinkie came up with the idea last year and … she asked Caramel instead of me and I just ended up going with AJ thanks to Rainbow hooking me up. But it was still a nice time.”

“Well, I wish you luck this time around. I would definitely ask Pinkie, but knowing how much she means to you….” Zero nodded understandingly.

“Thanks. I appreciate it,” Swift thanked.

“No problem. Though, isn’t the whole Sadie Hawkins tradition kinda lame?” Zero pondered. “Why can’t it be anyone can ask anyone? It’s kinda messed up because Swift could’ve asked Pinkie last year and got his wish. Waiting on your crush to ask you when she probably wouldn’t think of you at all is a cruel and undeserving fate.”

“You do know it’s not a rule, right?” Clyde pointed out. “It’s just a respectable tradition since guys usually do the asking. Some people can just ignore it and do what they want.”

“I did not know that and I appreciate the information, Clyde.” Zero smiled. “But gee, I wonder who you could be going with? It could be just about anyone, like Octavia, or Vinyl, or even,” he gasped dramatically, “the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Your sarcasm is unbelievable today,” Clyde chuckled. “But yeah, I’m looking forward to going with my boo as usual. But I do wonder something about Rivet, though.” He looked at him. “Who are you gonna go with?”

“Er … I’m thinking about … maybe … Rainbow Dash?” Rivet blushed as he felt a little bashful.

“Duuuude, nice choice.” Night gave Rivet a fist bump. “Rainbow is a great girl to go on a date with. But you’d better act fast. Get’em while they’re open.”

“Right,” Rivet said with a chuckle. “And you Night? I can’t really think of who you could go with. It’s anybody's guess.”

“I bet he’s planning on asking his princess, Principal Celestia,” Soul jested.

“Oh Principal Celestia, how beautiful you are with your multicolored hair, those lovely lips, and those tender-looking legs,” Zero said in dramatic tone as he tried sounding like Night, making Soul and Rivet chuckle.

“Oh Zero, how I look forward to kicking thy chair from underneath thou if thou dost not shut thy flipping face immediately,” Night retorted while giving him an irritated glare.

“I’m just messing around. Though, I already know who I’m going with,” Zero replied confidently.

“Same here,” Night replied.

“I’m going with Fluttershy,” they both said in unison.

Zero and Night’s eyes widen at that moment. They slowly put down their food and silence came upon the table. They narrowed their eyes at each other and then turned towards the girls’ table all the way across the lunchroom and looked at Fluttershy. Not hesitating for another moment, they leaped out of their seats, startling the other guys at the table. Everything felt like it was going in slow motion as Zero and Night simultaneously dodged and maneuvered their way past their classmates, occasionally even bumping into a few of them as Zero accidentally knocked Flash Sentry’s food tray in his face and Night slid in between Lemon Hearts’ legs and averted his eyes briefly, all while opera music was playing in the background thanks to Vinyl Scratch who was testing out her new speakers with Octavia’s CD.

Zero came up with an idea and stole a tray from a nearby table and dumped the food off in a nearby trash can. He went up to a lengthy table, jumped up high and got ready to use the tray as a surfboard like in the shows he watched. Unfortunately, he only surfed a few inches and ended up stopping, causing some of the people next to him to glare at him. Zero just ignored them and sat up as he saw Night was in the lead and almost to Fluttershy. He picked up his tray and jumped off the table as he threw it towards him while airborne, praying it’d stop him.

The tray didn’t hit Night as Zero hoped, but it lost its velocity and collapsed towards the ground. Luckily enough, it slid under Night’s foot and he slipped and rolled across the floor. Zero managed to get the lead and a smile crept up on his face as he panted. Night saw this and made one last attempt to stop his friend as he kicked a nearby chair towards Zero, but due to the noise, Zero saw this and leaped off another chair to get away in time and landed by the girls’ table as he panted. All of them gave him a confused look as they noticed the little race that took place, along with the entire cafeteria. The opera music stopped and Zero gave an awkward chuckle.

“Um … you know us guys, always like to horse play when we get bored!” Zero waved off with a forced smile.

“Okaaaaaaay?” Rainbow tilted her head at the awkwardness. “So what brings you here, Shounen boy?”

“I wanted to see if I could borrow Fluttershy for a hot minute. Do you mind, Flutters?” Zero said as he turned to her.

“Not at all,” she said happily. Rarity eyeballed the two and tapped her chin in curiosity while Rainbow raised an eyebrow at this. Zero led Fluttershy out of the cafeteria and as he passed his rival in love Night, he saw him punch the ground in defeat and let out a sigh.

All is fair in love and war my worthy rival, Zero thought to himself as he walked outside with Fluttershy. Once checking to see that the coast was clear, he dusted himself off and looked at Fluttershy.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Fluttershy asked curiously.

“I was wondering if….” Zero began, but trailed off as a new idea came to his mind. Wait … what if I decide to spice things up?he thought before continuing. “...If you’d go to the Fall Formal with me.”

Fluttershy let out a deep blush as her eyes widened. “Y-Y-Y-You’d want to go to the Fall Formal with me? Truly?”

“Absolutely, there’s no better choice!” Zero said as he beamed with a smile.

Fluttershy hid behind her hair timidly as her blush increased tenfold. “O-Oh my, I um … I-I-I’ve never really expected anyone to ask me out, honestly. T-This is, um … I-I’m not sure what to really say.”

“You could say yes,” Zero chuckled. “Just be honest, it’s cool!”

“I-I’ll definitely consider it!” Fluttershy finally answered quickly. “T-Thank you for thinking of me, Zero.”

“No problem. And say, while I got you here, I was thinking that after we hand out those flyers by the mall tomorrow morning, maybe you and I can hang out at the zoo!” Zero offered. “What do you say?”

“Oh yes!” Fluttershy beamed as she moved her hair out of her face. “I actually have a membership pass that’ll get us in for free!”

“Neat! It’s a date then!” Zero confirmed. “I’ll talk to you laters then.”

“Mmhmm!” Fluttershy nodded before walking back to the cafeteria. Once she was gone, Zero watched her go back to her seat and he smiled widely. At last, after a month and a half of waiting, he got his number one wish to go on a date with Fluttershy alone. He stared at the cafeteria door blankly for a minute as he took everything in before cheering out in joy that echoed in the hallways of the school.

“ALLRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!”

Fluttershy went back to the girls and sat down. Just as she did, Rarity had a gleeful smile and was bouncing in her seat a little, while Rainbow had a skeptical expression with her arms crossed. Both of them were looking dead at Fluttershy.

“So what did he ask you?” they said in unison.

“Hm?” Fluttershy cocked her head towards them before giving a sudden blush as she looked away. “Oh, um … Zero just asked me….” She mumbled something, reluctant to draw any attention to herself on the matter, hoping that the girls would let it slide. Unfortunately, the questions were just starting.

“I’m sorry dearie, but could please speak up?” Rarity asked, trying to withhold her excitement.

Fluttershy sighed. “He asked me to the Fall Formal and to go to the zoo with him tomorrow.”

Rarity giggled like a little school girl and clapped her hands in joy. “I knew it! Of course, I almost expected Bulk Biceps or Big Mac to ask you, but Zero was most certainly in my top five guesses with the way he treats you!”

“My money was on Night. But speaking of which, judging from that race, I guess we know the real reason behind it now,” Rainbow added in.

“Indeed!” Rarity smiled. “And to top it off, a nice little date to the zoo! I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to see Zero to be so smooth about it. I thought he’d be more bold like you and ask her right in front of us.”

“As if,” Rainbow waved off.

“Um, girls,” Fluttershy raised her hand to get their attention, “the thing is, I need to think about it first if I really do want to go with him. A-And the date is just a friendly one, not anything romantic.”

“How come?” Sunset wondered.

“It’s not like I don’t want to go with him. I think it’d be really nice,” Fluttershy noted before sipping her milk. “And I’ll definitely go to the zoo with him tomorrow. But….”

“You’re just debating on whether you like him, or whether you liiiiiiiiiiiiike him, right?” Pinkie guessed as she booped Fluttershy’s nose.

Just as Fluttershy was about to explain further, she saw Applejack make an X with her two hands and shake her head, telling her to just shut the conversation down before a certain fashionista and athlete persister her even further. Fluttershy nodded at the other girls and sighed. “You could say that. But at the moment, I’d rather cross that bridge later. Or more so tomorrow.”

“Fair enough. But I do wonder about the rest of you. Aside from Ms. Shimmer who has caught the eye of a certain Writer,” Rarity said with a wink at Sunset.

Sunset rubbed the back of her head with a blush. “I mean, he’s sweet, and sometimes goofy in a cute way. And he likes gaming like me. And we hang out a lot, so why not? Though, for some reason, Sonata keeps glaring at me since we came in.”

“My Pinkie sense tells me a love triangle is a-brewing!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Maybe she’s willing to battle you to the death for him, baring her fangs as she proclaims her love to Soul and believes she’s the better girl!”

“Pinkie, you’re not allowed to read my romance novels anymore,” Rarity replied bluntly.

“I just hope it doesn’t come down to us fighting over him,” Sunset commented. “Or her persuading him to change his mind.”

“My cousin is patient enough to bide his time to ask ya to the dance.” Applejack pointed out with a small smile. “And he keeps asking me about you so I wouldn’t worry at all.”

Sunset smiled with a bright blush.

“Speaking of dates, I’m still thinking about who to go with,” Rainbow said as she leaned back in her chair. “Of course, I could just grab Thunderlane and go with him again like before. Or have a dance off with the cowgirl once again and show her my rad moves.”

“Are you sure about that?” Rarity said as she gave a small smirk. “Because you could always take that one boy in your reading class.”

“Rivet? I mean, I guess it’s an option. He likes Daring Do like me and stuff.” Rainbow shrugged.

“Though I have seen you two strumming together in the parking lot a few times after practice and even in the hallway,” Fluttershy added with an almost playful smile. “And you seem to be enjoying yourself quite a bit.”

Rainbow gave an awkward laugh as she noticed all the girls giving her a small smirk. “He’s good at what he does and he’s cool! Get off my back!”

Applejack let out a laugh before taking a moment to ponder something. “I guess I’ll just keep an eye on Apple Bloom and her friends once I swing around. Those girls are as sneaky as snakes in the grass without any supervision.”

“They can’t be that bad,” Twilight said, finally speaking up. “Sweetie Belle and Wind are responsible enough to avoid bad situations and speak up, right?”

Rarity shook her head. “Sometimes people can’t help but follow the crowd at times. Sweetie Belle is a sweetheart, yes, but that doesn’t expel from being a troublemaker. And Wind is just as back and forth as her!”

“Eeeh, I suppose.” Twilight shrugged before turning to Pinkie. “Who are you going with, Pinkie?”

“I dunno!” Pinkie admitted. “I know a few guys are spotting me since I’ve got some nice curves, but … contrary to popular belief, I’ve had a few itty bitty teeny tiny … mistakes on dates in the past.”

“Like how so?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“Like being too loud in a movie theater and getting me and my date kicked out. Getting banned at a few places, sending a golf ball in my date’s eye. Stuff like that,” Pinkie said as she sank back in her chair with a frown.

“O-oh … I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s cool!” Pinkie beamed back up. “Swift’s been taking me on a few practice dates here and there, so maybe I’ll find a dance partner by next Saturday! If not, I’ll just hit up the DJ booth with Vinyl and spit some sick raps, yo!”

“And Clyde and I are already planning to spend the day at my house to find the right outfits for ourselves! Oh, and of course for the rest of you as well,” Rarity said as she hummed to the idea of making more dresses for her friends, even if it wasn’t anything new, though she was mainly looking forward to some alone time with her beloved. Before her mind wandered too far off, there was one more friend she need to ask concerning her plans for the dance. “Twilight darling, what about you?”

“Me?” Twilight stopped eating as she looked at Rarity.

“Yes, you. What are your plans for next Saturday?”

“Well, I was hoping to go with all of you as a group. But seeing as most of you are going to be busy with your partners or preoccupied with something else, I’m not exactly sure,” Twilight admitted with a sigh. “I don’t even have a clue as to whom to ask to the dance or who would bother to take me.”

“Surely there has to be somebody in mind you want to ask,” Rarity said with a worried tone. “If not, I can easily have Clyde and the boys help look around. Or even just find a way for you to enjoy yourself.”

Twilight pondered this thought. “I suppose so. I’ve just never had a date or even gone to a dance before, so I’m new to all of this.”

“Not to worry!” Rarity resounded. “As your friend, I will use every ounce of my power to make sure you have a lovely time next Saturday, no ifs, ands, or buts about it! I’ll look for anyone who’s available and make you the most fabulous dress imaginable!”

Twilight nodded with a happy smile. Even if things don’t go her way, she was glad that she could count on Rarity to make things up to her. Thinking about how nice it is to have such reliable friends like her and the others, the gears in her mind started rolling.

It was a great idea to give these girls a chance in the end, Twilight thought. If I could, maybe I can think of a way to show some gratitude towards the girls. I could help them study for the upcoming tests next week and have a group studying session on Sunday. Even so, Zero was the one who orchestrated all of this in the first place. I should try and do something for him as well. She glanced over at Fluttershy. If I thought of this sooner, I would’ve asked him to the dance as a thank you. But given his many, many options of girls on his radar, there’s a high chance he’d just say no. I guess if he’s going with the girl he admires most, who am I to stand in his way? Giving a quiet sigh, Twilight stood up as the bell rang and threw her tray away. She was admittedly disappointed that a solid choice for a date to the dance had slipped away so easily, but she accepted it nevertheless and decided to move on.

After all, something things weren’t meant to be. Just to be accepted.

It was a fantastic Saturday in the Gravity house as Zero was currently stepping out of the shower after—for once in his life—waking up early to prepare for his day with Fluttershy. Opening the bathroom, he allowed the steam that collected in the room to spread across the upper floor of his house as he took a brief sniff. He immediately caught the smell of blueberry pancakes, bacon, cinnamon rolls, and peach pie smoothies coming from downstairs which caused his stomach to growl as it was a glutton for breakfast. He saw the beautiful sunlight shine down from the window of his bedroom as he entered it and changed into some clothes once he dried his hair. He put on a dark purple button down short sleeve shirt with an azure dragon design on the back. He put on dark green pants with his usual chain on the side and pulled out a dragon tooth necklace that Snips and Snails made for him for the roleplaying club, along with a dark red bead bracelet on his right wrist with his signature wolf kanji graved on a single black bead. He tied the black laces on his new red boots, then examined himself and made a toothy grin in the mirror before grabbing his keys, phone, and wallet and making his way out of the room. Just as he exited, a familiar theme song played from the living room TV and he danced his way downstairs and he sang.

“It’s a whole new world we live in!”

“It’s a whole new way to see!” Wind joined in happily as she followed right behind Zero. Both of them grinned ear to ear as they continued to sing. “It’s a whole new place, with a brand new attitude!”

“But you still gotta catch ’em all!” sang their father Sound Barrier as he sat on the living room couch, watching the show as he turned to his kids. They all looked at White Star in the kitchen, waiting for her to join in.

White Star just smirked and pointed at them. “And be the best that you can be.”

All of them laughed before coming together at the dinner table once their plates were set up for them and started eating together. White Star and Zero wolfed down their food while Sound Barrier and Wind ate like normal human beings. Halfway through the meal, White Star slowed down and looked at her son.

“You’re certainly eating faster than normal,” White Star remarked before poking his cheek with a grin. “You excited to go hang out with your little boo today?”

Zero only smirked back. “You could say that. Me and her are going on a date to the zoo later! And from there, I’ll make her my official girlfriend!”

“Nice! I see you’re not gonna beat around the bush when it comes to a crush,” Sound Barrier said before high fiving his son.

“Normally I’d suggest you slow things down just a tiiiiny bit and get to know her, but you’ve been patient for once,” Wind added as she chuckled, only for Zero to flick her nose. “Owie!”

Zero stuck his tongue out at her. “Well, I am taking her to the Fall Formal. At least, I hope so. She said she’d think about it, but I’m gonna try to convince her later ‘Cause today will decide what’s what between us!”

“Which makes me wonder. Do you know how you’re gonna ask her out?” White Star questioned as she tilted her head. “It’s important to be yourself and all, but a woman’s heart is a sacred thing. And that sweet Fluttershy’s heart is even more precious ya’know.”

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t need you to remind me.” Zero waved off. “Hers is the most precious heart in all of Canterlot! And I’m gonna win it over. All I’m gonna do is—”

“Wait, wait, wait!” White Star halted him as she fixed her hair to resemble Fluttershy’s. She patted her cheeks to prepare herself for the role and gave an innocent-like expression. “O-okay, go,” she cued while doing a voice impression of Fluttershy.

Sound Barrier withheld a chuckle while Wind just giggled. Zero rolled his eyes and shook his head as he looked at White Star. “Fluttershy, I wanted to tell you that for a while now, ever since I met you on my first day, I’ve always thought you were the most beautiful girl in school. And I’d like it if you an—AACK!!!”

“You dumbass! Don’t drag it on too long like a shitty romance story!” White Star hollered as she held her son in a headlock. “You need to make it clean, short, sweet, and simple!”

“AGH! But I wanna build up the mood! Now let go before you break my neck!” Zero yelped as he struggled out of his mother’s hold.

“Honestly! You should take more advice from your father when he asked me out!” White Star noted as she nodded her head.

Sound Barrier chuckled. “Actually, you’re the one who asked me out the night that trial ended. It threw me off guard completely.”

Zero rolled his eyes. “Well, if she said no, she would’ve knocked you into another reality,” he mumbled.

“What was that now?” White Star said with a warm smiled as she cracked her knuckles.

“N-Nothing Mom!” Zero waved off as he gave an awkward chuckle.

“Hmph.” White Star fixed her hair and put it back to normal. She crossed her arms and looked at Zero. “Seriously though, I just want things to go swimmingly for you. And Fluttershy’s the perfect match for you! She’s sweet, you’re rowdy, but you both have big hearts on the inside. So similar, yet so different.” She ruffled Zero’s hair with a toothy grin.

“And with the way you constantly talk about her and give that ‘love dazed’ expression, I think you’ll treat her just fine,” Wind added as she drank her smoothie. “Besides, she looks like she could use a good boyfriend, but you’ll do I suppose.”

“Better to try my hand at actually dating than dreaming it up like you kissing that poster of Wind Rider in your room.” Zero smirked.

Wind blushed in embarrassment as she covered her face. “H-He’s an awesome actor! Okay?!”

“You loooove him,” Zero joked as he smiled confidently until his phone vibrated. He checked it and saw that Fluttershy messaged him and texted where to meet him. He stood up as his heart started pounding, preparing himself for the event. He looked at his mother and she nodded at him.

“I’ve got my keys and we’ll make this breakfast to go!” White Star nodded as she took her plate of bacon and pancakes and ran to the car. Zero followed her and waved goodbye to his father and sister. He hopped in with his mother as she finished eating and drove off towards their destination. It wasn’t that long of a car drive to the shopping mall where Fluttershy was waiting by the front entrance, already attempting to pass out flyers to anyone that entered. She was wearing a long turquoise dress that stopped near her knees and had her normal three pink butterfly pattern on the right side. She also wore ribbons along her calves that came to a bowtie at the top and peep toe shoes with a butterfly design. Zero blushed deeply as he stared at her as though she was an angel. White Star took note of this and smirked.

“You must actually full-on love her,” White Star said, making her son snap back into reality.

“Yeah, she’s … so perfect,” Zero whispered in awe as he leaned back in his chair. “She’s everything I want in a girl: Beautiful, sweet, kind, beautiful, great to talk to, the perfect person to be alone with. Beautiful.”

“You said beautiful three times.”

“Because she’s just that amazing.” Zero gave a lovestruck expression as White Star rolled her eyes.

“Teenagers and their hormones.” White Star shrugged as she drove up to Fluttershy and gave her a warm smile and wave. “Hello Fluttershy! How’s it coming today?”

“Oh!” Fluttershy turned towards her and smiled happily as she waved at her and Zero. “Good morning Zero! And you too Mrs. Star! Are you heading down to the homeless shelter today to make your famous handmade beef noodles?”

“Naaah, I’m just here to drop off your pal here and race home. Need a little R&R, watch some cartoons … maybe even buy a trampoline. I’ve always wanted one.” White Star rubbed her chin at the thought.

“Hmm … trampolines are nice.” Zero considered for a moment before stepping out. “Go for it.”

“I will! Oh, and Fluttershy, let me take half of those flyers. I’ll cruise around town and spread the word about the animal shelter and give you all the support you need,” White Star offered.

“That’d be wonderful!” Fluttershy beamed before immediately taking a whole stack and handing it to White Star. “Thank you so much for the extra help today! I really appreciate it!”

“I’m surprised you hadn’t asked me sooner. Tell you what, the next time you and Rarity swing by the shelter, make sure to bring some flyers so I can keep spreading the word and getting animals good homes too,” White Star said with delight. “Now, have a good day you two!” White Star smiled before looking at Zero and kissing him on the cheek repeatedly. “Love you my little cinnamon bun!”

“Uuuugh, mother kisses.” Zero wiggled free and wiped off the kiss on his cheek. “Just go already. Shooo!” He motioned her to go.

White Star stuck her tongue out with a mischievous expression as she started heading off. Fluttershy giggled at Zero’s pouty expression. “You’re very lucky to have such an amazing and caring mother.”

“She’s great and all until she’s mad,” Zero argued. “Afterwards, she’s like a noisy baboon that won’t get off your back. It’s so annoying.”

There was sudden screeching noise as Zero and Fluttershy saw that White Star made an immediate U-turn and started driving back towards the two with a vicious expression on her face, making the both of them gulp.

“YOU WANNA SAY THAT SHIT AGAIN?!” White Star bellowed, terrifying the nearby civilians.

“Hey, look! Literally anywhere else but here!” Zero bridal carried Fluttershy into the mall in a hurry before his mother could get a chance to get out of the car. The two ventured into the mall and lived to hand out flyers for another day.

Soon, Zero and Fluttershy were in the center of the mall handing out flyers to anyone that passed by. After two hours of decent progress, the two of them sat down on the edge of the fountain and took a small snack break with Fluttershy taking out a small honeybun and a bottle of water while Zero drank a simple soda. He looked towards Fluttershy and chuckled at the memory of what transpired earlier.

“Sorry about my mom spooking you in a panic attack.” Zero apologized.

“It’s alright.” Fluttershy nodded as she smiled a little.

“But say, I don’t recall you telling me you go to the homeless shelter with my mom. And I definitely don’t recall hearing about Rarity going there,” Zero said with a surprised expression.

Fluttershy chuckled. “Rarity usually goes with me to the homeless shelter since she offered to make them all warm clean clothes for the winter. She also helps you mother cook for them while I just try to counsel them and even sing to them a little.”

“Wow, I knew you and my mom were so sweet, but I had no idea Rarity was kind enough to help out. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next time me and Twilight open up a dictionary I find Rarity’s face next to the word generosity,” Zero said as he pictured the idea. He imagined a mini Rarity waving at whoever was looking up the word. The imagery was cute enough to make him smile.

“Hmhmhm, I certainly wouldn't doubt it,” Fluttershy replied. “I wanted to ask. Is, um … Night okay?”

“Huh?” Zero gave a confused expression until he remembered what happened yesterday. “Oh! Yeah, he was salty, but Rainbow hatched an alternative plan and he's gonna try going with Applejack to the Fall Formal. So he's helping her with chores for today and then taking her out for a nature hike.”

“That actually sounds lovely.” Fluttershy beamed at the thought of her friends out there at the moment. “I should ask them if they come across any woodland creatures the next chance I get.”

“Ditto! Funny enough, I actually envy them a bit. They’re gonna see it all,” Zero said, looking through the glass ceiling of the mall as he gazed at the clear blue sky. “The fresh blue sky, the wind blowing in your face, the green forest as the rays of sunshine peer through the tall trees….”

“The birds chirping, the bushes rustling, the clouds moving by so calmly,” Fluttershy added. “Walking by a clear beautiful lake as they witness the fish swimming about. Maybe even seeing a waterfall along the way and the gorgeous mountain ranges in the distance as they overlook the town.”

“And don't even get me started on the sunset or the glorious night sky,” they said in unison. The two of them looked at each as they were both shocked and spooked by what happened, but they laughed it off after a few seconds of silence.

“Y-your mother actually mentioned that you had a fondness for staring off into space and admiring nature,” Fluttershy noted before biting into the honeybun. Zero sweated a little which made Fluttershy raise an eyebrow.

“She didn't show you any embarrassing photos of me or talk about me too much, did she?” Zero worried as he didn't want his chances with Fluttershy to wither away.

Fluttershy giggled as this was a little familiar to her. “Rest assured, she didn't tell me anything embarrassing … aside from a cute baby picture or two.”

Zero sighed. “Thank God.”

“You know,” Fluttershy began, “you act the same way as Rainbow when it comes to her parents sometimes. She gets so embarrassed of them always supporting her with everything she does.”

“Sounds like me and her are more alike than I figured.” Zero sipped his drink. “But I’m not always embarrassed to be around my mom. Sure she gets me in a headlock once in a while and I say bad things about her at times, but it’s just all in good fun. She’s the greatest mom I can ask for, really. I get a lot of my personality from her,” he said with a warm smile. “What about you? What are your folks like?”

“They’re so caring and sweet! I think they’d really like you. And while they never get angry, they’re … pushovers at times,” Fluttershy admitted with a frown. “Especially when it comes to Zephyr.”

“Zephyr?” Zero started to speculate a little until he made a guess given her tone. “I assume that’s your brother?”

Fluttershy sighed and Zero flinched at little, knowing it was a taboo discussion. “Remember when I lectured you about your tutoring?” Fluttershy began. “It’s because I’m used to having those talks with my little brother. He dropped out of school and is trying to become a hairstylist, but he can’t do so without a cosmetology license.”

“Couldn’t he … find someone that’ll still hire him or something without it?” Zero guessed.

“That’s’s like driving without a driver's license,” Fluttershy ranted on, making Zero jump. “You could, but it’s illegal! And he’s lying around at home like some freeloader. At the very least he could get his GED!” She took a long sigh. “I’m sorry … I didn’t mean to—”

Zero took her hand gently and gave her a warm smile. “I understand. You don’t need to apologize over it. Just be happy that you helped out this slacker.”

Fluttershy nodded with a light blush. “I’ll admit, it’s kinda cute seeing him flirt with Rainbow anytime she’s over,” she continued as she spoke in her normal tone again. “He’s been eyeing her ever since I met Rainbow back in Cloudsdale Junior High when she protected me from some bullies in gym class. After that, we were inseparable. Soon enough, the two of us met the other girls during the freshman fair. We even had the same homeroom together.”

“Well, doesn’t that sound familiar,” Zero said in an almost quiet tone. “I actually became close with someone who got picked on a lot. You actually remind me of her in several ways.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy wondered.

“I had a friend who grew up in a bad home where people didn’t really care for her. Heck, she didn’t even have a name until me and my best friend found her lying around by the trash one day.” Zero sighed. “We made the best out of every day, from elementary till near the end of high school, making the best out of that garbage city Manehatten until my mom decided to finally move.”

“O-oh … I’m sorry to hear that. D-do you still … talk to her or your other friend?”

“One of them died and the other one was in a juvenile detention center by the time I left.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she let out a quiet gasp. She turned away before mumbling another apology, but Zero sat up and patted her back. She looked at him and was surprised to see that instead of lamenting the matter, he was giving his usual smile.

“Sorry, I don’t like to bring up my backstory like that. I know it’d make people depressed and such if I went on about it. I only told you because I didn’t wanna give you the cold shoulder.”

“N-no. I shouldn’t have asked about your personal business like that.” Fluttershy shook her head. “But you … don’t seem bothered.”

“I already cried my heart out last year,” Zero admitted as he gripped his fist. “And yeah, I wish things were different. But knowing them, they wouldn’t want me to be a depressed mess. They’d want me to live my life to the fullest and enjoy every day with my usual smile, make new friends, and so on,” he explained as he loosened his grip. “But it was nice talking about it and getting it off my chest a bit. So thanks Fluttershy. I’m gonna be alright, promise!”

Fluttershy looked at him and gave Zero a gentle hug. “Still … you earned this.”

Zero hugged her back. “I appreciate it. Say, we should get back to work and head out to the zoo in the next hour. Sounds good?”

Fluttershy nodded with a smile and tore her honey bun in half and gave the other half to Zero. Once they finished eating, the two of them eagerly stood up and grabbed their stack of flyers started handing them out once more.

Later that afternoon, Fluttershy drove herself and Zero to the zoo in her animal-themed two-seater car. Along the way, Fluttershy sang a few rhymes to keep her focused on driving, admittedly getting bits of the rhyme stuck in Zero’s head as he sang along. Upon arrival at the zoo, Fluttershy took out her membership pass and flashed it at the booth near the entrance. The man by the entrance immediately recognized Fluttershy and gave a small wave to her. She smiled back with a small wave and led Zero through the gate and down the pathway. His eyes widened as he saw the zoo was surprisingly large, from the aquarium entrance to his left, to the petting zoo further in the back, a reptilian and amphibian house, and even a whale show. Fluttershy smiled warmly as she turned to Zero and tapped his shoulder lightly to snap him out of his daze. He shook his head and came back to reality.

“This place is enormous!” Zero shouted in awe. “They've got frogs, rhinos, little lambs, flamingos, and even pandas! I should've come here with you sooner!”

“I actually come here every weekend to check up on all the animals,” Fluttershy said as she held up her membership pass. “I donated a lot of money to make sure all the animals here are happy and comfortable, so all the workers here decided to repay me and give me a year-long membership pass so I can come whenever I want. Usually it's just me and Rainbow to drop by and check in or just have a little fun in the petting zoo. But I can’t wait to show you everything! Where do you want to go first?”

“That’s the thing! I dunno!” Zero scanned the zoo to see if anything caught his eye and smiled at the pandas. “Well, I always wanted to see a panda … and hug one. Can I hug one here?”

“I doubt it. But I know this adorable cub, Shi Shi, that might be in need of feeding!” Fluttershy said as she took Zero’s hand and pulled him along. “Come on!”

“You don’t have to drag me!” Zero grinned. “It’s close by!”

As the two ventured off, some rustling came from the bushes behind them. Once they were out of earshot, Rarity poked her head out of the bushes. Her getup consisted of a camouflage outfit, though her bright purple hair was still exposed. She took out a pair of binoculars and watched the two run down the pathway together. She grinned happily.

“Things are going a lot smoother than I could’ve imagined,” Rarity whispered. “A date at the zoo may not be romantic, but it’s definitely suitable for Fluttershy. Excellent work, Zero. But I have to see how you go about it.”

“Rarity?”

Rarity jumped a little as she examined the area for the source of the familiar voice. Looking at the bush across the walkway, she saw Rainbow Dash poke her head out and shake the leaves off of her.

“What are you doing here?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

“I could ask you the very same thing,” Rarity wondered as well. “But if you must know, I’m eyeing the soon-to-be couple at the moment,” she explained while pointing towards Zero and Fluttershy. “At this point, knowing Zero, I have a feeling he’s going to make the first move!”

Rainbow crossed her arms. “I hope that’s the case. Casanova over there may have been dogging on Fluttershy since day one, but he’s been eyeing other girls too, like Minuette, Pinkie, and Applejack. I just get the feeling he’s going to break Fluttershy’s heart along the way if he loses interest in her. So I wanna see how he plays thing out.”

Rarity gasped. “You mean to tell me you view it as puppy love? Rainbow Dash, that’s so shallow of you! I can admit that Zero is a far cry from a gentleman: reckless, hot-blooded, immature, obstinate, the complete opposite of Clyde in terms of personality. Laz—”

“We get it, he has flaws. We don’t got all day, you know,” Rainbow replied impatiently.

Rarity cleared her throat. “Apologies. But in the end he has very solid character and is a sweetheart to dear Fluttershy! Carrying her books for her, volunteering at the shelter with her, handing out flyers for her even when she’s not around, on weekends mind you. Honestly, I feel like this is the prince charming she’s been looking for!”

“Eeeeh, maybe. But I think Night might be a better choice for her.” Rainbow shrugged.

Rarity blinked blankly. “Frankly, I don’t see it.”

“I agree with Rarity,” said another voice. They looked around and saw White Star poking her head out of the bushes. She was wearing a decked out camouflage outfit and face paint to match. “My son is the perfect boy for Fluttershy, no question about it!”

“Mrs. Star?!” Rarity jumped and almost fell backwards. “Where’d you come from?”

“This is my son's first date! What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t witness it with my own eyes and make sure everything’s perfect for him? And knowing him, he’s gonna confess today considering his lovestruck expression when he saw her this morning.”

Rarity’s eyes lit up and squealed in anticipation. “Then we have no time to waste! Let’s make haste before we miss anything important!”

“Operation: Zeroshy is a go then! Move out ladies!” White Star said with a drill sergeant voice as she pinched her nose and sank into the bushes. Rarity and Rainbow watched her go.

“Least we know where Zero gets his personality from,” Rainbow commented before following her.

At this time, Zero was smiling and grinning like a little kid while waving at the panda cub as he finally got his attention. The cub looked at him and Fluttershy and waved back playfully.

“He’s soooooo cute!” Zero bubbled. Fluttershy handed him some bamboo sticks from her bag and Zero held up to the fence so the cub could reach it. “Come here Shi Shi. Snack time, little guy!”

Shi Shi crawled over to the both of them and started nibbling on the bamboo. Kneeling down, Zero slowly petted him. Fluttershy kneeled down as well to pet the cub and Shi Shi immediately nuzzled her hand as he recognized her.

“Do all the animals in the zoo know you?” Zero wondered.

“Most of them do. Not only do I donate, but I help take care of the animals here with the staff, especially in the summertime.” Fluttershy rubbed Shi Shi’s belly as he rolled over. “I know most of their names. Like Ripper the Rhino, Peppers the Penguin, and Skyla the Orca whale.”

“There’s an Orca whale here?” Zero asked as he booped Shi Shi’s nose lightly. Shi Shi gave a happy expression and attempted to boop Zero back. Caught off guard, Zero fell backwards and chuckled. Fluttershy watched him fall and smiled.

“Looks like you had a BEAR-able fall.” Fluttershy giggled at her own pun.

Zero shook his head and chuckled. “That pun was bad and you should feel bad,” he joked.

“Oh bear with me, Zero.” Fluttershy winked. Shi Shi just shook his head at the bad pun while the two of them just chuckled together. Rainbow, White Star and Rarity watched from a high up tree branch with the binoculars, Rarity herself aw-ing at how cutely the two were enjoying themselves.

“We just started spying on them,” Rainbow whined. “It’s not like they’re kissing or anything.”

“They’re not kissing yet, you mean!” Rarity corrected her friend. “We just have to be patient and see how it progress from here. Mrs. Star, you know your son well enough. How do you think he’ll proceed?”

“Knowing my boy, he’s gonna do the old cliche,” White Star said as she rubbed her chin. “He’s gonna ask Fluttershy to pull him back up, and then does the you-know-what.”

Rarity tilted her head and tried to imagine what she meant. “Wait … you don’t mean….”

White Star only gave a firm nod as both she and Rarity imagined the scenario.

Fluttershy attempts to pull Zero back onto his feet as he takes her hand, but she isn’t strong enough. Zero uses just a portion of his strength to pull himself up, but he causes Fluttershy to fall onto him.

“O-Ooff!” Fluttershy groans as she lands by Zero’s face. She slowly picks herself back up but sees she has locked eyes with Zero. They both blush as they are mere centimeters away from each other. “S-Sorry, I’m not very strong.”

“It’s cool, it’s … cool.” Zero erases her worries as he places his hands on her side. “Your eyes are so … majestic up close.”

Fluttershy places her hand on Zero’s cheek. “And I never knew you were this handsome before.”

“Fluttershy, I….” Zero begins before he pulls Fluttershy into a romantic kiss. She complies without any resistance as wedding bells are heard in the distance.

“Why that sneaky devil!” Rarity snapped her finger with a smirk. “What else could he be up to?”

“Hmhmhm, such a lady killer. I raised him well.” White Star smiled proudly.

“That’s beyond cliche to the point I wanna hurl,” Rainbow rasped as she turned to see Fluttershy trying to help Zero up. She raised an eyebrow to see if the fantasy would come to fruition while her associates whipped their heads towards the pair. But while Fluttershy did indeed fall towards Zero, she instead clashed foreheads with him and they both cried out in pain and held their heads as she rolled off him. White Star face palmed and growled in annoyance.

“You dumbass! You call that being smooth?!” White Star shouted. “I didn’t raise ya to be—” Rarity and Rainbow covered her mouth simultaneously and pulled themselves back in the leaves of the tree to say hidden. Zero and Fluttershy were too busy with their foreheads to notice.

“Agh…. Why is it that your forehead feels like concrete?” Zero whined as she groaned.

“M-Me? It feels like I hit a wall of steel.” Fluttershy rubbed her temple before examining Zero’s head. “I-I’m really sorry about that. Are you going to be okay?”

“Eh, it aches, but I’ll BEAR through it.” Zero winked at her, making Fluttershy giggle a little. “Bear puns aside, you wanna go see the penguins next?”

“S-Sure.” Fluttershy nodded. The two of them waved goodbye to Shi Shi the Panda and made their way towards the aquarium. Venturing into the building, they navigated their way through the dark corridor for a minute until they saw the beautiful blue water shining through the enormous tanks on the wall. Zero was ready to make a comment until Fluttershy motioned for him to save his breath. She lead them forward as they passed by the crabs, jellyfish, and rock fishes, making Zero examine some of them for a few seconds with silent praises until they went down a flight of stairs. His jaw dropped upon reaching the bottom as he witnessed an underwater tunnel to the other side of the aquarium. The stunning view of the pure blue colors and the different kinds of fish going by was nothing short of incredible, especially with how long the corridor went. He looked at Fluttershy as she gave him a smile and nod as his cue to make his comment.

“It’s so cool….” Zero muttered as he placed his hands on the acrylic glass, watching hundreds of fish, turtles and stingrays swim by. “We gotta get a picture of this!” he took out his phone and smiled. “Come here Flutters, we’ll take a selfie…. God I hate that word.”

Fluttershy nodded and squeezed in with Zero as he stood next to the glass and stretched out his arm to take the picture as they both gave a toothy grin. He looked at the picture and laughed as he noticed Fluttershy’s grin. “I didn’t know you could smile that big.”

Fluttershy gave an embarrassed blush. “Well, Pinkie is one of my best friends, and I hang out with you pretty often. Your smiles might be contagious.”

“I’ll believe that once I can get Clyde to smile like that without Rarity being mentioned,” Zero said before looking at his phone. “Speaking of which, I oughta take a picture of Peppers while I’m at it and send it to Clyde.”

“How come?” Fluttershy asked curiously.

“The dude absolutely loves penguins!” Zero explained. “Though I dunno why. I guess it’s because he has a taste for cute birds or he likes arctic-related animals like polar bears or arctic foxes.”

“Funny enough, Rarity was the one who named Peppers when she came to help me out one time.” Fluttershy soon started leading Zero out of the tunnel as they made their way upstairs and arrived at the penguins exhibit. It was a bit different as they could see the penguins on land and underwater at the same time. Zero and Fluttershy managed to squeeze their way to the front as they got close to the glass. Looking around, Zero tried to spot any penguins that might stand out and be Peppers.

“Which one is him?” Zero asked impatiently.

“He’s that one over there!” Fluttershy pointed over to the smallest penguin who had just come out of the water. He appeared to be barely any older than a baby penguin. He waddled around happily until he noticed Fluttershy, then slid right back into the water and swam over to greet her. Approaching the glass, he waved his flippers at Fluttershy and she waved back before she motioned to Zero to introduce him to Peppers. Peppers tilted his head in curiosity before Zero chucked and waved at Peppers with a toothy grin. He held his phone and was ready to take a picture of him for Clyde, but Peppers swam away suddenly.

“Aww, come on little guy. Just one?” Zero pouted with a hint of annoyance. But Fluttershy patted his shoulder to calm him down.

“He’s just a little camera shy is all.” Fluttershy motioned for Peppers to come back. Peppers slowly swam back to her, whereupon she held up her phone and showed him a picture of Rarity, letting him know the picture was for her. Complying, Peppers floated in place as Zero beamed a smile and stood next to him. Fluttershy scooted in as well before Zero snapped the pic. He turned to Fluttershy and did a graceful bow. “I appreciate the help, oh great animal whisperer.”

“It was my pleasure.” Fluttershy bowed as well to play along with the roleplay. They shared a cute smile before looking towards Peppers. Peppers swam around happily knowing he’d helped out his two friends. He noticed that one of the staff workers had come into the room with a bucket of fish and all the penguins were rushing over, knowing it was feeding time. Peppers waved goodbye to his friends before swimming off.

Zero waved back before walking away with Fluttershy. “How’d you make him listen to you?”

“I held up the picture of Rarity to let him know she wanted to see how he was doing. Which is about half-true. That and he’s smarter than he looks!”

Zero turned around and noticed Peppers take a few fishes and bring them over to one of the baby penguins hiding behind a rock to share with him. “And kinder while he’s at it.”

Fluttershy checked her watch and let out a gasp. “We should hurry! Before we do anything else, I at least want you to see Skyla in her show!”

“Oh yeah, that orca you mentioned!” Zero snapped his fingers before looking towards the sign and saw it directing him towards the small stadium where the show was being held. He took Fluttershy’s hand this time around and pulled her along. “Don’t wanna be too late now!”

As they rushed on ahead, White Star and Rainbow were shadowing them, wearing trench coats, glasses, and fedoras Rarity had lent them from her disguise bag.

“Hmmm, you know something? I’m starting to think he knows what he’s doing,” Rainbow whispered. “I expected him to sway her more with slick compliments and butter her up, but so far … it seems more like they’re just hanging out than on an actual date.”

“You’re right. What the hell is he doing?” White Star hissed. “He should’ve at least put his arm around her when taking pictures with her! Though I suppose he isn’t trying to set off any red flags in her mind. It is a first date.”

“You just really want him to win her heart, don’t you?” said Rainbow.

“I’m just so impatient!” White Star whined. “I know in a first date you’re just enjoying each other’s company and having fun, but part of me wishes he’d at least try someth—” White Star grinned as she rapidly tapped Rainbow’s shoulder and pointed at them. She took note that after they had slowed down and entered the stadium, they were still holding hands.

“Progress has been made.” Rainbow nodded as she narrowed his eyes. “Let’s move in.”

White Star nodded and followed them into the stadium. They shoved their way through the crowd and kept their focus on the couple in the stands. Zero and Fluttershy found an open spot for them to sit right in the front row, also known as the splash zone. Knowing Rarity wouldn’t want to get wet during their little outing, they sat in the upper rows where they could still see the pair clearly.

“Speaking of which, where the heck is Rarity?” Rainbow searched around the crowd. “Did we lose her coming in here?”

“Actually, I don’t recall her leaving the aquarium with us.” White Star tapped her chin until Rarity hurried over to them and sat down with a small smile as she looked through her phone.

“I do apologize!” Rarity waved off before holding up a picture of herself and Peppers. “But I simply had to take a quick picture with Peppers while we were there. Did I miss anythin—” she glanced down at Zero and Fluttershy and gasped loudly. “They’re holding hands now?!”

“That’s what I’m saying!” White Star exclaimed. “It’s progress!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes as the two conversed before returning her focus to Zero and Fluttershy. Soon enough, the show began as the staff came out and Skyla the orca did various leaps out of the water and performed several tricks, wowing the audience in the process. White Star and Rarity forgot about their objective for the most part and enjoyed watching the show. Rainbow Dash on the other hand never took her eyes off the pair and just watched them conversing with each other, watching the show, and giving out playful laughs as they got drenched in the splashes. Sure, her suspicions of Zero were still present, but she’d be lying if she didn’t see a strong possibly of Zero and Fluttershy becoming a couple. She only imagined Night as a better option because she feared the old saying for the both of them: if you marry on the strength of puppy love, you'll end up leading a dog's life. And Rainbow wouldn’t want something like that to happen, for both of their sakes. There were rare moments that some freshman or younger classmate would fall for Fluttershy and do nice things for her, but after listening in on their conversations, they would eventually lose interest in her either because it was a short-lived crush or they found her to be uninteresting and boring. She was thankfully it always died out before they took it any further, but Zero was the only one to go this far and take such an interest in her. But could it last was the proper question.

As the show came to an end, it was nearly an hour before the zoo was set to close. Zero and Fluttershy took the time to hurry along and visit some of the others animals before they had to depart for the day. The trio of spies were still tailing them as it had seemed like this date was nothing more than a little outing. Eventually, Zero and Fluttershy sat down on a bench with a wonderful view of the setting sun as they took a minute to drink a soda. White Star sighed as she and Rarity sat in a bush watching them as the mission was coming to a close.

“Seems like their date is ending on a quiet note,” Rainbow commented with a yawn. “But it seems like everything went alright.”

“I suppose so,” Rarity said with a somewhat disappointed tone. “I can’t really complain, but I do wish their date was a bit more eventful and romantic. At least there's the dance if Fluttershy agrees to go with him!”

“Don’t look so glum now, Rarity. He said he’s gonna confess to her on this date, and the mood is perfect!” White Star smiled. “Come on: the sunset, they’re alone, and the date went smoothly. We just need to be patient. Maybe it’s now, maybe it’ll be when they’re walking home!”

Rarity smiled gleefully as her excitement skyrocketed once more. “So soon?”

Rainbow stayed quiet until she spoke up. “I think I’ve had enough of the spying thing.”

“Hm?” White Star raised an eyebrow. “But … Operation Zeroshy….”

“Zero shouldn’t ask Fluttershy out on the first date!” Rainbow argued. “It’s too soon and he should think about how he feels about her more! I don’t want them going into a relationship without seeing if they actually like each other that way. We don’t even know if Fluttershy feels the same way as him. Shouldn’t we talk some sense into him before things start to go downhill?”

“That … is a fair point.” Rarity tapped her chin at the thought. “Perhaps I should’ve gotten some info from him before the date. Or talked to Fluttershy on how she feels.”

“I did kinda hype it up a bit too much … and influence him to go for it.” White Star sighed. “I should probably—”

“Wait, something’s happening,” Rainbow said as she pointed towards Zero and Fluttershy on the bench as they finished their sodas and threw them away.

“So Zero, this may be a silly question, but did you enjoy the zoo?” Fluttershy asked with a hopeful smile.

“Absolutely! Skyla was definitely the highlight of the zoo!” Zero beamed. “Though to be completely honest, I was kinda startled seeing an orca up close like that. Especially when it splashed me!”

“Skyla wouldn’t harm a fly. Don’t worry,” Fluttershy assured him.

“Still, I can’t believe you helped donate to this place and help take care of nearly all of the animals here so they can be just as happy as they would be out in the wild,” Zero praised her with a smile. “You’re like a goddess of animals at this point. And a beautiful one at that.”

Fluttershy blushed as she moved her hair aside and turned away. “I-I don’t think I’m that great, honestly.”

Zero turned towards her. “Well, not everyone thinks they’re goddess levels of great. But you just need a friend or so to remind you of your greatness. And there’s a lot of amazing things about you: You help animals with every fiber of your being and take care of them as if they were your own babies. And plus, while Twilight helped me bring my grades up and saved me from getting kicked out of school, it was thanks to you that I decided to actually learn from my rebellious attitude. I mean, I still cause trouble, but at least I’m not swinging into a classroom via grappling hook,” he laughed.

“True enough. But I just did what any friend would’ve done when you came to me about the problem. At least that’s what I think,” Fluttershy explained. “Besides, you’ve always been there for me and I think at times it’s only fair I’m there for you.”

“Because you deserve someone to always be by your side,” Zero admitted as he took a deep breath. “You have Sunset, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Twilight, and most of all, Rainbow Dash to be there for you, yeah. But I … I like being the one to always give you strength when you need it.” Fluttershy blushed as Zero held her hand again. Taking a deep breath, Zero tried to find a way to describe his feelings before he finally exhaled and looked Fluttershy in the eyes. “You’re like a beautiful princess and I wanna be the knight that protects you from everything. You’re precious to me Fluttershy, and I want to always be there for you to feel completely loved. And I want to be that person to give you as much love as possible.”

Fluttershy was speechless and Zero just gulped at his own confession. White Star, Rarity, and Rainbow stayed quiet upon the confession. After what felt like an hour, though in reality, only a minute had passed, Fluttershy finally responded.

“I knew … I had a feeling this was the case … and I feel the same. You go out of your way and help me no matter what it is and fend off anyone that bothers me. But it’s not just that. I envy your spirit, like Rainbow and AJ. You three just shake off any hardship that comes at you and almost never seem to give in. Especially you, given what happened to your friends in Manehattan. You’re still giving every day your best and refusing to let anyone stop you. It’s like everyone walks down their own path and there you are running full speed, no breaks whatsoever. And … I feel like running after you at times. And being the one to pick you up in case you do trip, like you’ve done for me, so we can keep moving forward together, going wherever our feet take us. Heh….”

Zero’s eyes widened as he was surprised by her deep words. But he immediately deciphered them and started to form a smile as he was filled with an incredible euphoria.

“But … I-I-I’m sorry to say it … but I can’t.”

And just like that, the moment was lost and Zero’s heart sank.

Zero’s mind spiraled out of control. After everything she had said, he didn’t understand why she had rejected him. It just felt—no, it was—incomprehensible.

“Wh-What do you mean?” Zero asked in disbelief. His distress was clear as day on his face. “Did I do something wrong? Is this going too fast for you? Because we can slow down if you want. I didn’t mean to rush into it like this. I just thought I’d tell you since I really really like you and stuff….”

“Z-Zero….”

“Do you play for the other team or something? Because I can respect and believe it given how close you are to Rainbow and I’d understand if you have feelings for her or something….”

“Z-Zero, please lis—”

“Do you like some other guy entirely? Do you like Night more? Becau—”

Fluttershy placed a hand on his cheek to get his attention and Zero fell silent. He turned his head towards her as Fluttershy appeared just as upset. “It’s none of that. Part of me wants to focus on taking care of my animals and becoming a veterinarian and graduating this year. But the primary reason to be perfectly honest is … I don’t know if I feel the exact same way as you. Because what I’m feeling for you right now isn’t really love…. It’s admiration, mostly.”

“A-Admiration?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I look up to you so much, like you’re my hero more than anything…. But I don’t know if I care about you in the sense to actually maintain a healthy relationship with you. I’d need to really think about it.”

“Then I’ll wait for you,” Zero muttered.

“H-huh?”

“You’re worth the wait.” Zero looked her in the eye. “I don’t care if I have to wait all year, when we’re in our mid-twenties or whatever. I’ll wait until your thoughts are clear and you’re ready so we can be together. So I can love you and make you the happiest woman in the world. And I’ll never look at another girl the way I look at you now. Hell, we can still try to be a couple from here on in and maybe your heart will change!”

Fluttershy bit her lip at the thought and shook her head. “N-no, please don’t do that. Don’t hold yourself back or slow down for my sake. If you did that, I couldn’t be happy knowing someone is waiting on me when I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to make that step. And what’s worse, what if we do become a couple and later on in the relationship I still don’t love you that way? It'd feel like one big lie. Or if you end up waiting for a long time and my answer is still no, I couldn’t bear the idea of hurting your feelings or wasting your time with someone as pathetic as me, ruining everything we have in the end. I don’t want to be your cage when you and I both know that you’re better off being free.” She looked down. “You should let your heart wander and find someone that can and will give you the love that you deserve.”

It was Zero’s turn to shake his head as he slowly glared at the ground. “But … what about you? It’s not fair to you! For you to be bullied and mistreated, you deserve someone to make you feel special! To be treated like the most beautiful, remarkable, and incredible girl in the entire school—no, the entire world! To love you, marry you, hug you and kiss you each and every day! I couldn’t be happy knowing nobody's gonna make you feel that way! Never letting you feel judged, or belittled, or alone ever again! Don’t you want that? Don’t you … want any of that?”

“I already do have it.” She gave him an honest smile. “The girls, the animals here, the animals at the shelter, my parents, my brother, my clubmates, the boys … and you. You all make me feel love each and every day knowing how much you care and offer to help me in my times of need. Especially you. You’d give up and sacrifice so much for my sake, and Zero … I don’t think I’d ever be able to repay you for your kindness and the inspiration you’ve given me. I don’t need a boyfriend to be happy when I already have all of you. And while it pains me to turn you down like this, it makes me happy at the same time knowing you’d be willing to be with me and even marry me judging by your choice of words. It touches my heart…. But if things stay like this, then I won’t need kisses or marriage anything like that. I’ll be just fine in the end and never feel alone. You understand?”

Zero only nodded without looking at her. He wanted to protest but at this point, he knew the battle was over. He slowly pulled his hand away from her and kept his eyes on the ground. They both sat there in complete silence. Nobody made a sound, nobody moved an inch, as if time had stopped completely. Zero couldn’t be angry with her as she had no intention of hurting or teasing him.

“I guess you don’t wanna go to the dance with me either,” Zero asked.

“I-I think it’d be better if I-I didn’t….” Fluttershy mumbled quietly.

“Right … huh?”

Zero noticed something liquid was hitting the ground. Upon closer examination, he saw that it was tears … and they were coming from Fluttershy. He slowly looked up at her face again and saw that she was crying.

“H-heh. Even though … I’m the one rejecting you … I’m the one that’s crying,” Fluttershy wailed. “I-I feel like … I feel like you probably hate me for breaking your heart. It looks like I still r-ruined everything for you and crushed your heart r-regardless…. S-so I’d understand if … you don’t wanna talk to me anymore, Z-Zero.”

Zero blinked for a moment before he leaned in towards her. Fluttershy was about to ask what he was doing until he pressed his lips against hers for a brief moment. Her eyes widened and he pulled away while beaming his usual warm smile.

“B-But I—”

“I will never hate you Fluttershy, and you didn’t ruin anything. I’ll just have to do what I’ve been doing and keep moving forward,” Zero said as he gave her a tissue. “I do feel like a bullet just hit my heart, but a wise man once told me in a manga that rejection is part of a man's life. If you can’t accept it and move on, or at least use it for writing material, you’re not a man at all! And besides, you have a point: I can't be your boyfriend, but being someone's hero sounds pretty awesome. So I’ll always be there to protect you until the day I die.”

Fluttershy blushed brightly from the kiss and smile. She was admittedly jealous once again of his nature to get back on his feet. Of course he was still hurting in the inside, devastated most likely and probably trying to suck it up so that she wouldn’t feel worse, but it didn’t change the fact that his words and smile were sincere and true through and through.

“O-Oh and, um … I kissed you so you’d calm down and … I thought you at least deserved one being how great you are. But I promise not to do that again!” Zero laughed nervously, worrying he’d made thing worse.

“It’s alright Zero. We should probably go now. The zoo is closing in the next few minutes,” Fluttershy said, standing up. “I’ll drop you home.

Zero stood and pondered something. “Actually, let's stop by the Sweet Shoppe and get some ice cream and chill out at the river bank to watch the sunset. I could really use Mrs. Cake’s special sundae. How about you?”

“Well, the date doesn't have to end just yet.” Fluttershy tapped her chin with a playful grin. “I'd say it's the least I can do for my hero.”

Zero was caught off guard by this and blushed with a bashful smile. “H-hehe. Stop it, you'll make me blush…. But, Flutters?”

“Hm?”

“Let’s do this more often, okay?” Zero smiled as the two walked together. “Still friends?”

Fluttershy smiled. “The best of friends.”

Zero laughed and the two started making their way to the exit. White Star, Rarity and Rainbow Dash looked at one another and nodded without another word before dispersing as their mission was over.

Despite the knowledge of their fate, the rebellious young man and the shy animal-lover continued to move forward regardless of the sacrifices they had to make. But they could still smile and endure knowing one simple, unchanging fact.

Even if they weren’t in love with one another, they could still, and always would be, together forever.

Special: My Neighbor Button Mash.

Cranky Doodle’s Algebra 1 class was one of the more humdrum classes in CHS as the teacher wasn’t the type to accept lollygagging, mischief, or anything that didn’t involve focusing on the tasks he’d given his students. The slightest hint of tomfoolery would be cause for any culprit and accomplices to be immediately sent to detention, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. So for most students, this was completely dreadful. Especially for someone like Zero Gravity.

Thankfully, Zero didn’t have this class.

His sister, Solar Wind, was currently sitting in the back row as she was taking down notes and doing what she was supposed to do. Unlike her older brother, she wasn’t someone who would typically mess around in class, at least not normally. She always took school seriously and wanted to make sure she could at least avoid getting yelled at by her mother in the middle of a parent-teacher conference in front of everyone like Zero had, and thankfully she’d never gotten in trouble with Mr. Doodle over the semester so far. Nor were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in this period to bother her, so she was absolutely free from her worries.

With the exception of her neighbor.

The boy on her right by the window wore a red, yellow and peach propeller beanie with lime-colored fan blades. He had dark amber skin, bright amber eyes, a light brown jacket and dark blue shorts. On his white T-shirt was a picture of a directional pad from a game controller. Wind only really knew two things about him: that his name was Button Mash, and the fact that he was always fooling around in any class she shared with him. Wind finished the last assignment on her desk and gave a sigh of relief. Quickly growing bored, she peeked over to see what Button was up to today.

Button was currently taking out his action figures, all of which looked quite dirty. If she had to count them, she’d say there were about twenty-five of them altogether. Each of them looked like they’d fallen in a pile of mud or were just recently discovered.

Wind took a moment to think and she recalled seeing Button in the park yesterday while going shopping with her mother. She thought it was a little strange for someone in her age group to be playing with action figures in public like a toddler, but who was she to judge?

Button then reached under his desk and took out a sealed bucket of water from his backpack, making Wind’s eyes widen. He took out several cleaning supplies such as a toothbrush, paper towels, liquid soap, Goo Gone, and a variety of other tools as he lined up everything properly. He put on some rubber gloves and started getting to work by dropping his figurines in the warm water.

Scratching her head in utter bewilderment, Wind gestured for Button to put everything away before Mr. Cranky Doodle saw him. Normally, Button never got in trouble as he was sitting behind Bulk Biceps. According to her brother, Bulk didn’t do well in this class and needed to retake it in order to graduate. And thanks to his large body, it made it difficult for the teacher to see Button. Additionally, the juniors playing baseball outside for gym made it difficult to hear the splashing and brushing noises Button was making.

It’s no wonder he gets away with pretty much anything, Wind thought to herself. Though one could only imagine what his report card actually looks like. Unless he has a way around that too.

Button simply ignored Wind. He knew she wasn’t a tattletail and just continued cleaning his action figures. First, he dropped all of his toys in the bucket and put an hourglass on the desk for five minutes. Once the sand had reach the bottom, Button took out a single toy and started getting to work. He took out a small toothbrush and added some soap to it before brushing away at it gently, using short, even strokes. After taking his time, he examined it from head to toe and even took out a desktop magnifying glass from his bag and did a proper examination. Wind gave up wondering how he managed to fit all the objects in his bag and was more intrigued by how seriously he was taking this. He reminded her of that one old man who cleaned Woody in Toy Story 2. Maybe it was a possible job for him in the future. He could even sell classic action figures at auctions or something.

Eventually, by the second half of the class period, Button had finished cleaning all of his action figures and smiled happily as they looked completely brand new. Wind smiled and did a quiet clap for him, both for making the toys look like they came right out of the box and for not getting caught or drawing suspicion to himself.

But Button wasn’t done yet.

After putting his toys away neatly, he took out a completely different set of cleaning supplies from inside his desk like polishing wax, fast drying putty, distilled water, and so on. He started putting the putty on his desk gently to cover up any nail holes and other imperfections and used the steel scraper to remove the extra putty and let the remaining putty sink into the desk. After a few minutes, he took out his polishing wax and started polishing his desk.

Wind went back to doing her work as she began to lose interest in Button’s clean freak mood. But she felt something shining in her face and winced. She turned to see what it was and saw Button’s desk was completely spotless. The sun even shone off of it and Button could see his own reflection. But despite this, Button looked unhappy. Wind assumed he had nothing left to clean or do now that he finished sooner than she expected.

That’s when Button turned to her and he smiled. He held up his cleaning supplies and offered to clean her desk with an excited smile. But Wind shook her head frantically and covered her desk before he could get his hands on it. She didn’t want to risk Button getting her in trouble, and unlike him, she didn’t have a tall, bulky person in front of her to shield her from Mr. Doodle. Button didn’t take the rejection well and started putting his things away with a frown as he put head down and just kept wiping his polished desk down some more with a rag. Wind started returning to her work once more, but every so often, she’d glance at him. She couldn’t help but have a bit of sympathy for the poor boy. Yes, he should be doing his work and try to get an education, but she felt like she owed him for always relieving her boredom all the time. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t always enjoy his antics after she finished her work in class or on days where the work was tedious—so ninety percent of Mr. Doodle’s classes. So she supposed letting Button clean something to satisfy him wouldn’t be so bad. That and she didn’t want to be charged with animal abuse for not throwing him a bone.

She took out a blue pencil board to use for a better writing surface, something her father gave her from an Eastern client from last week. She didn’t use it much, but she figured Button could do something with it. She passed it to him and his face lit up. He took it and gave her a heart-shaped lollipop. Wind took it and blushed a little before eating it and letting him get to work. After a few short minutes went by with occasional quiet, squeaky cleaning sounds, he slid the pencil board back over to Wind. She picked it up and smiled as she could see her own reflection in the mirror-like shine. She had to hand it to Button Mash, if he ever got a career in cleaning duties or domestic service, she was positive he’d be a great one.

However, Button’s constant rubbing of the board with his rag had caused it to build up static electricity.Once Wind got her hands on the pencil board,Wind’s hair stood straight up into the air. Mr. Doodle finally noticed Wind’s hair and stopped teaching to see what was going on. The rest of the class followed his glance and they all saw Wind trying to put her hair down as she gave an embarrassed blush, mortified at the attention she was drawing to herself. She shot a glare at Button Mash who had put all of his things away and had out his notebook, worksheet, and writing utensils as if he had been working the whole time to fool the rest of the class so Wind couldn’t blame him.

But Button’s hair was also standing up thanks to the static electricity from the board.

Mr. Doodle just told Wind to stop fooling around and eating candy before he went back to teaching. Wind crossed her arms and pouted as she was ready for her turn to lecture Button Mash after class. But she heard Button chuckling a little because of her hair, which she had to admit looked ridiculous. Wind looked at her hair and then at Button’s before she lost her pouty face and giggled along with him.

As Zero was walking down the hallway with Twilight, they walked past Button Mash and Wind, both of them with their hair sticking up. Zero and Twilight stopped to look at them as they were chatting happily. Twilight raised an eyebrow at Zero wondering if he knew something, to which he only replied with a shrug as he was just as confused as she before the two headed off to their next class.

Author's Note

Phew, Sorry it took a bit to get this special out. Lost my writing mood for a while. I know It's way shorter than my other chapters but I thought I'd keep it short and sweet.

This chapter is actually a parody of a short anime called My neighbor Seki with a similar premise. So I recommend checking it out if you wanna chuckle at something or click the link here to kill five minutes of boredom. :twilightsheepish:

Anyways, time to get back to the main story! See you in the next one! :twilightsmile:

A Lovely Sunday

As the welcoming sun shined down on Canterlot that Sunday, most would take this time to sleep in, relax and enjoy themselves at the end of the weekend. Alas, one fashionista wasn't feeling nearly so relaxed or satisfied this morning as she found herself at an impasse.

She had finished coming up with the designs for the majority of her friends as she wanted to make them some of the best dresses yet since she wanted them to impress the school, and more so any dates they gained this last week. She also took the liberty of making some outfits for the boys. Besides Clyde, it wasn't often she made outfits for any guys for free. While most of them didn't want Rarity to go out of her way, she insisted as this was their last Fall Formal and she wanted to make this one as memorable as the one where Princess Twilight first arrived. Although, at the moment, she was feeling a creative block creeping in.

Given the events of Fluttershy’s date yesterday, Rarity was concerned as to whether or not she was planning on going at all. She didn't seem to be interested in going with anyone else and Rarity was worried that if all the others had dates, she'd feel left out. It’s possible that Night would take her if he found out what happened on Monday, but he just as likely might go with Minuette. So she had to think of alternatives for her, just in case. She wasn’t too worried about Twilight as she promised to find a date for her, so maybe Flash Sentry would do, but the concern was still in the back of her mind.

“You doing okay Rarity?” A cup of mint tea was placed on the table in front of her as she looked up at the source of the voice to see her boyfriend Clyde.

“Just a bit concerned about my friends, darling, but thank you for the morning tea.” Rarity took a sip from it and smiled. “With the Fall Formal coming up this week, I was just worried about the others and their dates.”

“Well, not everyone has to have a date to go,” Clyde argued as he pulled up a chair and sat next to her. “Even if it’s the last one, I think everyone would be content with just coming together and having a good time. Don’t you agree?”

“True, but given how most of the others are going about it, they’re really looking forward to spending time with that special someone, and I had already promised to find dates for the girls if they don’t have any, aside from Applejack. I don’t wanna bring their hopes up only to shoot them down,” said Rarity.

“Knowing your friends, I’m sure they’d understand if you brought up the offer,” Clyde speculated. “But now that I think about it, you girls always do that at the other dances. So I get if you all wanna try something different, so long as you don’t stress yourself out.”

“I’ll try my best not to.” Rarity kissed Clyde on the cheek. “But since you’re here, do you think you can help me find a date for Fluttershy and possibly Twilight?”

Clyde raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Isn’t Fluttershy going with Zero? He was practically bouncing with joy all day long on Friday that he almost reminded me of Pinkie when she drank coffee that one morning.”

Rarity’s pupils shrank at the memory of that incident. “Zero couldn’t possibly have as much energy as she did that day even if he tried. Also, we promised never to speak of that coffee incident again,” she said coldly with a hint of fear in her voice.

“Easy now.” Clyde massaged her shoulders. “Just drink your tea and get your mind off of it.”

Rarity took another sip from her tea and relaxed with a relieved sigh as she came back to reality. “Much better. And to answer your question, I might have … spied on Fluttershy’s date to the zoo with Rainbow Dash and Zero’s mother. I’ll save the details for later, but in the end, Fluttershy turned down Zero’s offer to the dance. So I was wondering if maybe Tyrone or someone else from your team might be interested in taking her.”

Clyde leaned back in his chair and didn’t hesitate to break it to her. “Most of the guys on the squad wouldn’t really be interested in Fluttershy like that. She’s too timid for their taste, and they’ve already have plans and dates in mind from the looks of it. As for Tyrone, he likes more athletic girls like Rainbow so … that’s a no-go for him.”

“Drat.” Rarity tapped her chin. “Hmm … perhaps Bulk Biceps could take her. They seem to get along very well and they’re in a few clubs together. That or maybe even Big Mac, although he might have a line of girls already fighting over him, so I’m not too sure,” she giggled.

“I could ask Night if he still wants to go with her when I see him tomorrow morning,” Clyde added. “As for Twilight, I can’t really think of anyone who would want to go with her. The only boy I see her with is Zero, and even then, he made it clear that he had other girls in mind if Fluttershy didn’t wanna go.”

“I did think of Micro Chips as a strong candidate.” Rarity sipped more of her tea as she finished it. “Although it’s admittedly for a shallow reason as they’re both very intellectual and into scientific research,” she said with a sheepish chuckle before groaning. “I just pray everyone will have a good time with whoever they go with.”

“I’m sure they will.” Clyde wrapped an arm around her. “And I’m even more sure you’ll find everyone a good date. But not if you keep trying to bust your beautiful brain about it. You just woke up after all and already got to work.”

“You make a valid point.” Rarity nodded. “And I do have till the end of the week before the dance. I’ll just ask around Monday morning and get some results then!”

Clyde gave a warm smile. “That’s the spirit and confidence I like to see. While you put that aside, you can focus more on the dresses. In fact,” he sat up and stretched, “I think some Sunday shopping oughta really get some inspiration in you. And we can pick some materials you might need.”

Rarity returned the smile as she stood up as well. “Now you’re speaking my language!” she said gleefully, as she could already feel her creative block will going away with the hour. “A bit of fresh air and shopping will do just the trick, and while we’re at it, a dinner date sounds nice, don’t you think?”

“Heh, whatever you wish. Just as long as it’s not too expensive like,” Clyde laughed.

Rarity waved him off playfully. “Oh, hush you. Worry not, as my friend Saffron Masala will treat us to a more than fair meal. Pinkie introduced me to her some time ago and her cooking is astonishing! You must try it out Clyde,” she praised.

“At this rate, you’re working up my appetite if you’re hyping her up,” Clyde admitted. “But let’s save it for later and get ready.”

“I’ll head into the shower first. Unless, of course … you wish to join me.” Rarity winked at him playfully.

“I have no complaints.” Clyde smirked. Rarity slowly took his hand and led him out of the room and into her private bathroom as they were already off to an intimate start this morning.

Night Chase was panting heavily as he lay back against an apple tree on Sweet Apple Acres. Drenched in sweat from the morning workout he had just finished, he took a moment to catch his breath and could almost feel himself about to cough up a lung. Just then, Applejack had just finished one more lap around the field and stopped by Night as she was barely sweating at all. She wiped off the sweat on her forehead as she held out a water bottle to Night as he weakly took it, instantly chugging down the whole bottle until there was not even a drop left.

Night gasped as he pulled his mouth away. “I swear, when you’re dehydrated, cold water is like a blessing from the heavens for training so hard.”

“Yer welcome, by the way.” Applejack chuckled before drinking some of the water briefly. “Told ya running around the acres would be a darn good idea to improve yer endurance and whatnot. Nobody on our property to bother ya. Nice and juicy apples for you to eat in case you need a break, and the acres goes on for miles!”

“Well, it’s not like I ever doubted you,” Night wheezed before looking out at the field as he watched the beautiful sunrise. The other day when Night was talking to Blitz Squall, the top runner on the boys track and cross country teams, he mentioned that he needed a new place to practice other than the track field and was getting a little tired of running down the sidewalk to practice as he found it a bit bothersome. He had to dodge pedestrians and dogs almost every day, that’s excluding the time he scraped his knee and Fluttershy came to his aid by pure chance. It was then where the conversation caught Applejack’s ear as she was nearby and offered him use of the acres. He was hesitant on the idea as she hadn’t asked for anything in return, but Blitz insisted that he at least give it a chance.

And honestly, it was the probably the best idea of the century. The beautiful sun beamed down on the acres on a clear day mixed in with the breathtaking serenity rather than the hustle and bustle of the town. It was a nice change of pace, especially compared to his days in Manehattan. And frankly, he almost envied Applejack and her family for having this all to themselves. The only downside was he wished Applejack hadn’t shown him up during the morning run and displayed how much endurance and stamina she has.

“Once you stop lookin’ like Winona after a long summer day, yer free to come inside and grab some grub,” Applejack offered. “We’d be happy to have ya, Night.”

“Your kindness and hospitality are unrivaled and appreciated, but I think I’m gonna just sit for another minute or two before I go home for the day.” Night leaned back. “Gotta take care of a poem for homework, and I already know it’s gonna make me got to bed with a headache.”

Applejack chuckled. “English was never really mah thing either. But at least we get room to express ourselves and be more flexible.”

“Fair point.”

“At any rate, ah best hurry back soon. Apple Bloom and her friends are gonna get ready to put on a show for us,” Applejack said as the idea alone made her sound more tired than the morning run itself.

“A show?” Night raised an eyebrow. “You mean like that performance they did in the musical showcase?”

“Nah. It’s just an idea Sweetie Belle came up with for them to try on dresses and get ups to show off for the Fall Formal this weekend with me, Granny Smith, and Big Mac as the judges,” Applejack grouched as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “It starts out fine and dandy, sure, but eventually disagreements happen as Granny gets uptight about how some of them look. It just drags on longer than it should and the whole judging thing loses all purpose. Ya get what I mean?”

Night nodded in understanding. “Stay strong cowgirl, you can pull through one more time,” he said until a thought came across his mind. “I know I should mind my own business, but what about you? Are you going with anyone this year?”

“Eeenope.” Applejack picked an apple from the tree above them. “Nobody bothered askin’ me, so I’m on chaperone duty for my sister’s gang. Course, I could have another dance-off with Rainbow and show her what for.” She chuckled before taking a bite out of her apple.

“.....I could take you to the dance if you want.”

Applejack’s eyes widened slightly and she swallowed her apple before continuing. “Say what now?”

“You’re letting me practice on your property and you even offered me something to eat without so much as considering the idea of asking for anything in return. I know I helped out with some of the chores yesterday, but I felt like they were miniculse at best and didn’t amount to any sort of repayment in my eyes. Especially when I messed up and let most of the chickens loose on the acres and we spend most of the afternoon searching for them and canceled our little nature hike.” Night looked up at her. He was admittedly bothered that he couldn’t think of a way to repay her properly for her kindness. Even if they were friends and didn’t have to be indebted to each other, he thought this was the best course of action to show his gratitude. While he did consider asking Minuette to the Fall Formal, she was more than likely planning on having a good time with Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine. “It’s the least I can do for you. And besides, if you show me some of your moves, we can show Dash a thing or two on the dance floor.” He smiled.

Applejack, who gave a small chuckle at the last part, blushed slightly before tipping her hat down a little to hide it. “Aww shucks, Night. Ya don’t have to go and do that for me. It’s fine. And I told ya to never mind about them chickens yesterday. They usually get out every once in a while anyways.”

“I don’t have to, but I want to.” Night finally managed to stand up on his feet. “But if you’re not interested, feel free to say no.”

“Well….” Applejack began as a smile crept up. “Ah guess there’s no harm in the idea. But if that’s the case, make sure ya have enough stamina after practice tomorrow, cause I expect ya here in the afternoon every day for some brief dance lessons.”

“Dance lessons? Now I’m starting to wonder who’s more generous, you or Rarity,” Night joked.

“Yer gonna need it if ya wanna dance with this cowgirl.” She smirked as she crossed her arms. “If not, this bull might send ya flying straight out the gym if yer not careful.”

Night imagined the idea and was admittedly shaken by the possibility. “I’ll see to it that I get here by five-thirty.”

“Perfect!” Applejack patted his shoulder as she started heading back to the farm. “Thanks a bunch, Night. Ah appreciate it a lot. See ya in school tomorrow!”

“Try not to bust your brain over the whole judging thing.” Night waved at her before walking off. He took a minute to regain some stamina before going for one last run. As he exited the Apple family’s property and entered back into the busy streets of Canterlot, he found himself feeling eager for tomorrow’s lessons and even more so for the dance. He hadn’t been too thrilled about it before since his plans with Fluttershy fell through. But now, things were quickly starting to look up for him.

Just as he turned the corner, Night saw Minuette exiting the nearby boutique carrying some bags. She noticed him quickly and smirked a little. “Well, if it isn’t the running man of Canterlot. What are you doing jogging around on a Sunday?”

“Well excuuuuse me, pearly whites,” Night chuckled before slowing down in front of her. “Am I committing a sin of some sort for doing so?”

“No, it’s just odd seeing you out like this when you're either sleeping in or playing games with your friends online,” Minuette commented. “What’s motivating you to push yourself today?”

“It’s nothing, really,” Night waved off. “Just found a new practicing spot is all.” He took note of the shopping bag and the store she came out of. “You bought a new dress?”

“Excellent deduction my dear Watson,” Minuette beamed. “This is what I’m planning on wearing to the Fall Formal! But sorry, no sneak peeks. Not even for childhood best friends.”

Night smiled and shook his head. “I figured as much.”

“Did you figure out what you’re gonna wear? Or who you’re gonna go with?” Minuette wondered.

“As a matter of fact, Rarity insisted on making a suit for me despite my wishes,” Night grumbled. “Frankly, I’d rather buy my own suit and avoid being a hassle to her. But I digress. And I was planning on going with Fluttershy, but that didn’t work out.”

“It’s alright. I wouldn’t stress it too much since you’ve got till the end of the week.” Minuette patted his shoulder with a small smile. “Besides, you could always go with me if you want.”

“I really appreciate it Minty,” Night replied gratefully before shaking his head. “But you don’t have to worry about me this time around. Just as I was leaving Sweet Apple Acres, I asked Applejack to go with me since she’s always busy being a chaperone.”

Minuette hesitated for a few seconds before speaking up. “Really?”

“Really really.” Night smiled a little at the idea. “She’s even kind enough to teach me some dance moves after practice tomorrow so I don’t look like a complete dork out there.”

“Heh, you’ll always be a dork one way or another,” Minuette giggled before turning away. “Listen, I’ve gotta go meet up with Lyra and Lemon Hearts up the block. I’ll text you later.”

“Smell ya later.” Night took off running in the other direction and waved at her.

As Minuette walked off and was sure her friend was gone, she gripped her shopping bag a little tighter than normal and gritted her teeth in frustration. She took a deep breath and texted her friends that she wasn't feeling well before changing her route and headed home for the rest of the day.

Later that day on the second floor of the Sweet Shoppe, there was immense tension circulating the playroom as Pinkamena Diane Pie stood patiently and quietly in the center, waiting for her prey to make their moves. It was silent now, sure, but it was only a matter of time until they moved or gave away their positions.

They can hide all they want, Pinkie thought to herself as she gave a determined glare. I’m the hide and seek champion. She slowly scanned the room for any hint as to where they might be. The two yogurt-covered high chairs weren’t knocked over, so they weren’t near there. The door remained closed ever since Mr. Cake dropped by, so they couldn’t have sneaked out, thankfully. And so far, every toy scattered around the room was accounted for … with the exception of the rubber chicken.

Just then, Pinkie heard the faint yet familiar squeaking sound coming from the toy chest. She blitzed over in an instant and opened it to see two toddlers dash out in two separate directions, both of whom were covered in yogurt. One was a brown-haired boy with goldish gray skin and brown eyes, and the other was a bright orange-haired girl with bright yellow skin and blue eyes. She also had a bright blue bow in her hair.

“Pound! Pumpkin! You get back here!” Pinkie ran after Pumpkin as the toddler was holding the rubber chicken and giggling. “It’s time for your bath and nap time!!” When she attempted to dive at her, Pumpkin just ducked and made Pinkie crash into a pile of stuffed animals.

“I hope you realize this means war!” Pinkie warned half seriously as she poked her head out from the pile. She scanned the room as saw someone hiding underneath a blanket from the other side of the toddler bed by the window. She noticed it wasn’t there before and smirked as she slowly creeped over to it while mumbling some stealth music.

Once Pinkie was close enough, she leaped over to the other side of the bed in an instant and towered over him before shouting “gotcha!” and pulling off the blanket.

At least, she thought she towered over him as it turned out what she thought was one of them was actually just a pile of toys stacked together.

“Very clever, Pound Cake,” she said, sounding impressed. “You’re getting better at this.”

Just then, she heard the door to the room open and didn’t hesitate this time. She immediately lunged at the door and went in to grab one of the twins, but she instead crashed into the fourth member of their little gang, Swift, who had just entered. He let out a yelp as he fell on his back with Pinkie on top of him

“Oopsie daisy!” Pinkie laughed before quickly shutting the door. “You’re not a toddler.”

“Uuuuugh no, but I am finding it hard to breathe,” Swift groaned before looking at her. He blushed when he realized how close she was to him.

Pinkie quickly sat up and got off. “I’ll say! You were starting to look as red as a tomato!”

“I-I am?! I mean, I was?!” Swift exclaimed before hiding his face. “D-Don’t worry! I’ll be okay now!” He quickly sat up and looked around the room. “Hey, what happened? I thought you were gonna hurry up and get them ready for their bath. I got the tub ready and everything.”

“I was just playing with them for a bit to wear them out!” Pinkie explained. “That way we can make sure they’re extra squeaky clean without them struggling or tussling too much in the bath. Plus, they’ll fall asleep quicker!”

“I see…. Interesting strategy” Swift said as he quickly had an idea. “But I think I have a simpler approach that’ll make this a breeze. You know if there’s any bubble bath soap?”

“Under the sink behind the toilet paper.”

“That’s all we need.” Swift looked around the room and cleared his throat. “Pound, Pumpkin, bubble bath!”

Pound and Pumpkin poked their heads out from under the nearby play table and dashed past Swift and Pinkie as they raced into the bathroom. Swift smiled confidently as he followed them in there with Pinkie not far behind. He saw the little rugrats were already in the tub and impatiently waiting for the bubbles to be added in.

“Works every time.” Swift chuckled and grabbed the bottle from under the sink and poured the liquid into the water. Afterwards, he splashed the water around to quickly make the bubbles form. The twins giggled happily and started playing with them for a bit.

Pinkie elbowed Swift playfully. “Wow, you’re pretty good at this babysitting thing so far,” she commented. “I’m really grateful you volunteered to help me babysit the twins today!”

“Oh, it’s n-no big deal.” Swift scratched his chin before he crouched down and started washing Pound Cake. In truth, it hadn’t been his idea to do this. Flash tossed him the suggestion after hearing that Pinkie occasionally babysat for the twins, so he thought it’d be a good chance for Swift to try and ask her out once the little ones were asleep and nobody would interrupt them.

While Swift wasn’t sure he’d go through with it, he was more than happy to help Pinkie out and spend time with the girl he’d been dreaming of asking out since sophomore year. Sure, he probably never was going to work up the confidence necessary to pull it off since she was way out of his league, but any moment he had to be near her was enough to make him happy.

“Actually,” Swift began, “I’ve been doing stuff like this for a while now. Back when I was little, I was always looking after Scootaloo when my parents were busy.”

“Awww, that’s such an adorable mental image,” Pinkie giggled as she started cleaning Pumpkin Cake. “Little Swifty and Scoots. What was she like back then?”

“You want to hear more?” Swift said, a little surprised. “Well, um … she didn’t know how to stay still, that’s one thing. And anytime I took her to the park, she’d almost always find a way to scratch herself or get hurt. So I had to get used to bringing a band-aid or two. She was a real daredevil, but a tough little booger through and through.”

“You’ve gotta invite me over sometime and show me some baby pics!” Pinkie beamed excitedly. “I’ve gotta see how adorable you both look!”

Swift’s train of thought immediately went and took a detour towards his teenage hormones once Pinkie mentioned the idea of inviting her over and for a moment his mind went to the gutter. “U-um….”

“You don’t need to be embarrassed!” she reassured. “I mean, come on, it’s me you’re dealing with here. Who am I to judge?”

“True,” Swift said until he shook his head and gathered his thoughts back together. Calm down, calm down, just keep the conversation going, he thought before quickly getting back on topic. “Actually Pinkie, if you don’t mind me asking, I … don’t know much about your folks, so….”

“I’m happy you asked!” Pinkie stated and took out a family photo from her hair and pointed to each member of the family. “My parents are actually in charge of a mining company! And I have three sisters: my sister Marble who's a bit on quiet side and a few minutes younger than me! My older sister Maud who graduated from our school last year and is about to go to Starswirl University this spring to become a geologist. She’s hilarious and always cracks jokes that put mine to shame! And lastly, my oldest sister, Limestone! She’s currently going to the university outside of town to be the next project director for the business! She’s a bit on the grumpy side, but between you, me, and the twins, I think it’s because Maud has a boyfriend and she doesn’t.”

Swift just blinked in shock as he was completely surprised by the information he was given and how incredibly different she was compared to the rest of her family, especially with how straight-faced and bored Pinkie looked with the rest of her family back in her childhood. How did Pinkie go from being so stone-faced to … being Pinkie? he thought to himself, realizing he was missing a piece of the puzzle to this info. “So … what exactly made you go from that to … this?”

Pinke pondered to herself as she recalled her favorite childhood memory. She gave a smile at the memory. It wasn’t a wide or bubbly one, but it was rather calm. “It was back when we were browsing around the town to buy food. When I was walking behind my sisters, I noticed there was some loud cheering coming from one of the houses nearby. I took a little peek after they stopped and saw Cheese Sandwich throwing a party for his cousin. Back then, I’d never seen anything like it before. It was a small party, but it looked so lively and exciting and happy—completely opposite from how my family looked. So the next week was my mom’s birthday and I decided to throw a party for her since we’ve never thrown birthday parties before.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet Pinkie,” Swift praised her. “I never expected Cheese Sandwich to be the one to inspire you. I hope he’s doing well in college. But did the party work out well?”

“It went better than I expected! It was the first time we’ve all smiled together back then!” Pinkie said as she finished washing Pumpkin’s hair. “We had all sorts of fun and after the party, things kinda went back to normal. And I hated it, to be honest. Everything was so boring and dull. I love my folks, but I didn’t like how every day played out, especially since we were all homeschooled.”

“You were homeschooled?”

Pinkie nodded. “Up until the start of middle school. The others didn’t really mind too much, but I wanted to branch out and meet other people. So we finally moved to Canterlot and I started living life the way I want to: To make everyone smile as much as I can and throw such memorable parties like Cheese Sandwich does. Hopefully I can do just as great as him.”

Swift smiled at Pinkie and noticed the admiration in her tone. Hearing such a touching story of the girl he’d fallen for made him resonate with her even more than in all his high school years so far. He felt as though he’d fallen for her even more now that he understood the meaning of her smiles a bit more. He thought to himself, Honestly, I think you’re even better than him.

Just as he spaced out, Pound put some bubbles on Swift’s chin as he giggled.

“Ah! Pound Cake!” Swift yelped as he noticed Pound gave him a long foamy bubble beard. Pinkie snorted as she started laughing until Pumpkin reached over and gave Pinkie a long mustache.

Swift and Pinkie looked at each other’s new facial features and giggled at each other before cleaning themselves off and looking at the twins. “I think that’s enough bath time for these two.”

“Time to get these two into nap mode with a story!” Pinkie said while taking them out of the bathtub and drying them with a towel. Just as they were heading out the bathroom together, Swift’s phone rang.

“You go on ahead and get their clothes on. It’s probably my mom checking in as usual,” Swift said as he motioned for her to on ahead as he sat down in the bathroom and closed the door. He checked his cell phone and saw it was Thunderlane. Raising an eyebrow, he answer the phone. “Thunder?”

“So, how’s the babysitting coming along, Swifty boy?” Thunderlane teased with a small laugh. “I heard you and Pinkie were watching the Cake twins alone.”

“It’s actually pretty nice. Mrs. Cake said he’s even gonna pay me later,” Swift explained as he drained the water out of the tub. “I should be out of here soon and we can play some Smash Bros at my place.”

“Just make sure you don’t screw this one up,” Thunderlane cautioned. “You’ve gotta grab a date to the dance before someone like Caramel steals her from you. Again!”

Swift remained silent for a second. He opened the door to the bathroom and peeked out into the hallway just to make sure nobody else was around. With the coast clear, he retreated back into the bathroom and sighed. “I don’t think I’m ever gonna ask her out.”

“WHAT?! Why not?!”

“Well, crossing out the obvious facts that she’s out of my league and I have so little confidence that even a sixth grader would laugh at me, I feel like maybe I just need to let it go and move on, ya know?” Swift confessed as looked down. “We’re already good enough friends that I’m nervous I might make things awkward between us if I told her how I really feel.”

Thunderlane sighed. “Oh come on. Even if that is the case, are you gonna have any closure if you keep it to yourself?”

“Maybe some things are better left unsaid,” Swift argued quietly. “Besides, I’m sure she’s gonna be great with some other guy like you or probably even Flash as a boyfriend.”

“Flash? Really?”

“Flash is pretty cool. Goofy, but still kinda cool,” Swift admitted.

“Ehh, to each their own,” Thunderlane dismissed and returned to the topic at hand. “You could at the very least take her to the Fall Formal. I don’t want you to be the only guy there without a date.”

Swift chuckled. “I doubt I’m gonna be the only loser there. You and Flash are going after all.”

“Hey! I am gonna have a date, so shut it!”

“Still though, I guess you're right.” Swift smiled. “I guess we could just go as friends if I work up the courage. It is gonna be one of our last dances, so I-I’ll try.”

“And there’s the infamous s-s-stuttering,” Thunderlane joked. “You can’t let such a thicc beauty go to the dance alone. Or else someone is gonna play Mr. Steal Your Girl again.”

“Yeah, yeah. Look, I gotta hurry and get back to Pinkie,” Swift said as he grabbed the door handle and opened the door. “So could yo—” Swift suddenly felt like his entire world just stopped as his pupils shrank at what he saw.

Pinkie was standing right in front of the doorway and had an expression of shock mixed with disbelief, leading Swift to realize that she must have overheard his conversation with Thunderlane.

Swift couldn’t move a muscle and felt the biggest chill go through his body. It looked like Pinkie was in a similar state as she was shockingly quiet.

“You still there?” Thunderlane asked over the phone, breaking the immersion. Swift just hung up and put his phone away.

With a small gulp, Swift finally asked, “H-How much … did you hear?”

“J-Just as you mentioned asking me out,” Pinkie admitted softly. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I promise. I was coming back to get Pumpkin’s rubber chicken until….” Her voice trailed off as she looked away.

“O-Oh,” Swift said before he looked back at the tub. Now that it was drained, he saw the rubber chicken resting on the bottom and he picked it up. “L-Let’s get them to bed before anything else.”

Pinkie nodded and the two headed back to the kids’ room. After a short bedtime story and waiting for the twins to fall asleep, Swift and Pinkie headed into the hallway to talk in private. Thankfully, Pinkie didn’t waste any time in getting back to the topic.

“You actually meant what you said on the phone?” Pinkie mumbled to him as she stared at the ground, her hands holding her stomach.

Swift only nodded, too afraid to speak any further. From Pinkie’s posture and tone, he could already tell that the rejection was coming and that she felt bad about the idea. Already was his world going up in flames and armageddon.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t wanna mess anything up.” Swift bit his lip for a moment and leaned against the wall. “If I had just let my feelings go, everything would’ve been alright. Everything could’ve stayed the same. But I just liked you too much and I guess craved being closer to you.”

“But why fall for me?” Pinkie asked as she gripped her stomach tighter. “It’s one thing to be best friends or super ultra best friends, but I’m terrible when it comes to romance stuff. I mess up every date I go on and all the guys I go with are even skeptical to be near me sometimes, which makes sense. It’s not that I mind going to the dance with you or … going out. But I’m scared of your feelings for me changing drastically Swifty. I don’t think I’m too great sometimes.”

Swift’s eyes widened as he finally looked at Pinkie, not expecting this kind of confession. “Wait, what? N-no … no, of course you’re great! I wouldn’t avoid you over a mishap or accident. You just need a bit of help doing these kind of things, that’s all.”

“You say that now, but….”

“Pinkie, I’ve known you since sophomore year,” Swift stated with a bit more confidence in his voice. “You know everyone’s birthday and get them a present, you know they’ll like and sometimes throw them parties, you’re the head of the cheerleading squad and the party planning committee, and some of my friends know about your date incidents and wouldn’t mind the punishment, and I feel the same. The list of things you do can goes on. I-I….” Swift gulped and gripped his fist tightly, no longer worrying about his feelings but rather summoning the courage to tell Pinkie something she needed to hear. “I think you’re the greatest girl in all of Canterlot. And you’ve surpassed Cheese Sandwich in my eyes, if anything. I think he’d be proud of you.”

Pinkie slowly looked up at Swift as the two locked eyes with one another. Swift’s mind caught up to what he had just said and he blushed violently. It wasn’t long before she blushed as well, but it was quickly followed with a warm smile.

“Hey Swift?”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Do you wanna come with me to the Fall Formal?”

Swift felt his heart skip a beat and gasped a little. “R-Really?”

“No guy has ever told me that before. And it’s only fair that I go with you if you’ve had a crush on me for a super long time.” Pinkie rejoiced in her usual cheery tone

Swift scratched the back of his head and looked away. “A-Are you sure I’m really worth it though? I mean, I’m—”

Without any warming, Pinkie leaned in and gave Swift a peck on the cheek, cutting him off once more. “I think you got it backwards, Swift. You're the one who's too good for me.” Pinkie grinned. “So what do you say? Do you wanna go with me?”

Realizing that it was all too good to be true, Swift pinched his thigh to see if he was dreaming. When he felt the brief pain and realized it was completely real, he smiled at Pinkie as the moment he’d been waiting so long for had finally arrived. Just as he was about to respond to her, his phone went off again. He chuckled before taking it out and seeing that it was Thunderlane again. “I better take this.” He accepted the call and put it to his ear. “Thunder?”

“Yeah dude, you suddenly cut off in the call and didn’t contact me back,” said Thunderlane in an almost annoyed tone.

“Heh, sorry about that,” Swift replied. He jolted a bit as he suddenly felt Pinkie holding his hand. He looked at her and the two exchanged smiles. “But everything’s great now.”

The soothing sounds of two guitars could be heard strumming together in harmony as Rivet and Rainbow were playing in Rainbow’s room. Being as it was a mellow afternoon, she had decided to invite Rivet over for some guitar lessons since she wanted to see if she could try different avenues of playing it other than rocking out and bursting the neighborhood’s eardrums. Unfortunately, they were putting on a show for two other people.

Her parents Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof were in the room with them as they had wide smiles on their faces and were enjoying every note they heard from the two. Her mother Windy was a slender woman who had a light blue skin tone like Rainbow and had light scarlet hair with some streaks of orange in it and cerise eyes. On the other hand, her father was much more muscular with a five o’ clock shadow, short rainbow-colored hair, grayish blue skin and amber eyes. Just as the two musicians wrapped up their little duet, Windy and Bow applauded them and threw in some whistling as if they were part of an actual audience. Rivet gave a bashful blush and waved at them to play along while Rainbow only groaned in annoyance. She hadn’t expected them to be home so early today, and they had immediately raced up to her room so they could hear her play up close.

“Encore! Encore!” Windy cheered joyfully. “That was a great duet you two! Even if was just practice!”

“Indeed!” Bow agreed wholeheartedly with his wife. “The number one guitarist in Canterlot is sure to steal the show in her next gig. Speaking of which, when is your next gig sweetie?”

“It’s a working progress, Dad.” Rainbow said in a bothered tone. “Plus, the girls and I are trying to see if Twilight wants to be our new member, so there’s that.”

“I don’t see why she wouldn’t be interested. If I were her and you, the greatest musician in town, asked me to join her band, I’d immediately be awestruck and shout YEEEEES!!!!” Windy shouted as she jumped into the air, startling Rivet and infuriating Rainbow a little.

“Mooooom,” Rainbow hissed with a glare. “If you and Dad wouldn’t mind, me and Rivet would like to finish our practice in peace, please.”

Bow chuckled and headed for the door. “Sorry, sorry. We’ll be on our way out. Keep on rocking sweetie!!” He did a little air guitar solo before he and Windy heading out of the room.

Windy quickly turned around just as she stepped out. “Oh! And you were just as good, Rivet! Keep up the good work!” she said before walking away and giving him a quick wink.

Rainbow sighed as she lay back on her bed. “Finally. Why couldn’t we go to your house again?”

“‘Cause I think this exact situation would happen except with my sister,” Rivet explained as he tuned his guitar. “Lighty always comes into my room without asking and would probably try to interrupt your lessons. I didn’t want you to feel bothered.”

“I guess that’s fair.” Rainbow strummed her guitar casually with sigh. “I hate being the only child sometimes. If I had a brother or sister, at least then they can suffer some of the embarrassment with me and it wouldn’t be so bad.”

“I think it’s kinda nice how your parents love you. I mean….” Rivet glanced out the window as he stopped playing. “To be honest, I don’t get to spend much time with my dad. With him in the air force, I barely get to spend any time with him outside of holidays and such,” he said in a somber tone. He noticed Rainbow scratched the back of her head and turned away from him. He immediately read the mood and shook his head. “My bad, I didn’t mean to change the mood with my personal life.”

“Nah, it’s cool, I get it.” Rainbow turned back to him. “You have a point though: it’s because of them that I managed to get this far, actually.”

Rivet raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. “What do you mean this far?”

With a small smile, Rainbow resumed playing. “Long story short, they knew I had the makings to be as awesome as I wanna be. But as a little kid, I was always nervous to prove myself to others. So they signed me up for a kids soccer team and forced me to go to tryouts. I was scared, they gave me a speech on how to be brave, and then before I knew it, I made the team and become of the best players.”

“I see. Heh.” Rivet smiled a little. “I guess they just wanna prevent you from retreating back to your doubtful state.”

Rainbow nodded. “And it’s cool and all. I really owe them for everything. But sometimes … okay, the majority of the time I’m pretty sure of myself and don’t need them to support me in everything I do, y’know? I just wish they’d dial it back.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you have fans. They’re bound to wear you down at some point. Maybe they’ll leave you alone if you give them an autograph.” Rivet gave an awkward chuckle as his own joke. Rainbow shook her head and giggled at his attempt.

“They’re more like super fans if anything,” Rainbow corrected before tapping her chin. “Then again, Fluttershy feels like a sister to me if I really think about it.”

“Really? What about the other girls?”

“Well, I’ve been friends with Pinkie, Rarity, and AJ since freshman year. Sunset was after the big Fall Formal incident, and Twilight just joined us. But I’ve been friends with Fluttershy ever since the first day at Cloudsdale Middle School when one of my old friends Gilda bullied her and I stood up for her. And ever since, we’ve been inseparable.”

Rivet thought about it and it made sense considering that, out of the Rainbooms, Rainbow was usually seen walking home or to school with Fluttershy. Likewise, Fluttershy could almost always be seen watching Rainbow at practice more than the other girls. Rivet could only imagine what Rainbow would do if Fluttershy’s “secret admirer” got his wish on taking her to the Fall Formal and starting a relationship.

Odds were, they’d either clash or they’d come to a truce.

“Speaking of the music and the Rainbooms,” Rainbow spoke up as an idea came to her, “you’re so good. Why not prep a band of your own once the music showcase rolls around? We could use a good boy band! Heck, you could even be the band leader.”

“I-I don’t really like to play in front of others too often. Especially if it’s a big crowd,” Rivet commented nervously. “Besides, the others don’t play music.”

“Well, they can at least try it out. And so can you,” Rainbow persuaded. “If Fluttershy can manage on stage, I think you can do it too. Besides, it’s all about being brave, eh?”

Rivet hesitated as he gave the idea some thought. Although she had a good point, he didn’t really feel ready to come that far out of his shell to do something like that. But the idea itself was an interesting one.

“I’ll put a pin on it and suggest it to the others,” Rivet conceded in order to change the subject.

“Also Riv, I wanted to ask you something,” Rainbow began as she put her guitar on the side. “Are you going with anyone to the Fall Formal?”

Rivet flinched at the question a little as he blushed, caught off guard by the question. “No, why?”

“Ever since Thursday, guys have been messaging me left and right about taking me to the Fall Formal. And it felt annoying when most of them don’t even really know me,” she said as a blush started to form on her face as well. “And you’re one of the only dudes I feel comfortable enough to take with me since we get along and hang out enough, so … you feel like going with me?”

Rivet stared at her blankly and his expression changed to a warm smile. “You know what’s funny? I was … actually thinking about asking you after practice today. Heck, I wanted to ask you Friday, but I was too worried that I might have bugged you with the question.”

“You’re such a worrywart.” Rainbow shook her head at him with a quick smirk. “But I probably would’ve said yes anyways. At least now guys will finally leave me alone. I dunno how Rarity dealt with it before she met Clyde.”

“Knowing her, she probably just welcomed the attention. So I don’t blame her,” Rivet speculated before turning to the doorway. Rainbow followed his line of sight and saw her door was ajar and her parents peeking into the room, making Rainbow incredibly embarrassed and livid as she shot up from her bed.

“MOM!! DAD!!!”

Windy and Bow opened the door all the way now that the jig was up as the two shared a laugh. “Sorry Rainbow. We had a feeling this was coming and our curiosity got the better of us!” Windy admitted.

“We promise to not eavesdrop any further!” Bow promised with a grin. “But real quick!” He took out his phone and snapped a picture of the moment. “My baby girl’s last Fall Formal date!”

“And congrats on going with her Rivet!” Windy congratulated happily. “With the way Rainbow always talks about you, I’m not—”

Windy was cut off by Rainbow flipping over to her in a flash and shoving a pillow in her face before slamming the door shut and locking it. Rainbow gave an awkward chuckle as she looked at Rivet, who was more curious as to what Rainbow’s mother was about to say.

“So … back to lessons?” Rainbow asked with a forced smile.

Rivet only nodded and pretend he hadn’t heard anything. “Yeah … and we’ll practice at my house from now on.”

Soul sighed in complete bliss. He was spread lazily across the living room couch in a blue t-shirt with ketchup stains on it and his Star Wars underwear while marathoning sci-fi movies on his TV with a plate of chicken nuggets and different kinds of dipping sauce. Being as he didn’t have any plans for the day, he thought this would be a good chance to just kick back and enjoy his lazy afternoon.

With a small yawn, Soul reached for another nugget. Man, this actually is starting to get really boring, he thought to himself as he glanced outside. He noticed that the sky was slowly changing from blue to orange, notifying him that the afternoon was slowly changing to the evening. And it’s starting to get a little late to actually go out and do anything either. I guess I can ask one of the guys if they want to play online with me. Yeah! That’ll be the perfect way to end the day!

Soul reached for his phone but found that it wasn’t next to him. Just as he was about to start searching for it, he heard the doorbell ring. He groaned and rolled off the couch before hopping up to his feet and sluggishly walking over. “Who could it be? It better not be Rainbow trying to steal my bike again,” he huffed, quickly looking through the peephole. He saw it was Sunset standing on the other side of the door.

Oh sweet! It’s Sunset, Soul thought excitedly as his lazy mood quickly changed … until he came to a realization. OH CRAP IT’S SUNSET! Why is she here?! How’d she find my address?! I didn’t tell her that yet! He began to panic before he quickly examined himself as he was a complete slob. She can’t see me like this!! I’ve gotta change! He made a mad dash towards the staircase and bolted up to his room to clean himself up and put on some clothes. Within a minute, he heard Sunset knocking on the door again.

“I’m coming!!” Soul shouted as he slid down the railing on the stairs, only to go too fast and fall off at the end as he crashed into a nearby table and injured his leg a little. He quickly got up and limped over to the door before opening and leaning against it with a forced smile in order to ignore the pain and look cool. “Sunset! This is a surprise! Wasn’t expecting you to be here!”

Raising an eyebrow, Sunset took out her phone. “Umm, you invited me over today and said you wanted to hang out.” She showed him the conversation they had on the phone, proving that Soul had invited her.

“I … did?” Soul said as he tried to remember. He hadn’t used his phone in the past two hours since he made his nuggets. In fact, he couldn’t even find it. But right now, it was neither here nor there since he was getting bored and could use some company at the moment, especially if it was Sunset. “Well, whatever the case, come on in!”

Sunset smiled and walked inside before glancing at Soul. “Why is your shirt inside out?”

“Wait, huh?” Soul looked down and noticed his shirt was definitely inside out. “I, um … I’ll be right back!!” he panicked as he dashed off to the bathroom.

With a small giggle, Sunset sat on the couch and waited for her host to return before seeing the nuggets he left on the table. “Oh hey, chicken nuggets,” she said as she took one and dipped it in some barbeque sauce before taking a bite. She hesitated … then reached in for a few more. But as she was eating, she felt a presence behind her as she quickly turned around. She saw a woman standing there with long, dark blonde hair, pale orange skin and light blue eyes. She had her arms crossed as she looked down at Sunset.

“So you finally came,” the woman said in an almost stern voice.

Sunset quickly put down the nugget in her hand and smiled at her. “You must be Soul’s mom. My name is—”

“Sunset Shimmer,” the woman said. “My name is Dawn Writer. I’m the one who invited you here. Not my son,” she said held up Soul’s phone as proof before she down in a chair next to the couch. Judging by her expression, Sunset immediately could tell she wasn’t exactly in the best of moods. “Word on the block is you plan on taking my son to the Fall Formal next weekend and becoming his girlfriend. What makes you think you’re qualified to take my baby boy to the dance given your … history in the school?”

“O-Oh … I guess you know about that too.” Sunset turned away and rubbed her shoulder as she started to feel uncomfortable. “Well, first and foremost … I think you meant word on the street, not word on the block.” She gave an awkward chuckle.

“I know what I said, missy!”

“S-Sorry, Sorry. And secondly, I don’t blame you for being a little skeptical about all the things I did back then,” Sunset began as she gripped her legs tightly. “The blackmailing, the friendships I ruined, the people I framed, all the bullying, the list goes on. Sure, I helped saved the entire school from the Dazzlings, but that doesn’t erase some of the mistakes I’ve made in the past since a few people around school are skeptical about me still. But I choose to not let it weigh me down as I move forward and atone for my mistakes. And I’m a little surprised Soul asked me out, to be honest. I guess he saw the me of today instead of the me I was, which is part of the reason I … kinda like him just as much.”

Dawn didn’t budge for a moment before giving an approving nod. “Well, at least you didn’t beat around the bush about it. I appreciate it, though I’m still a little worried.”

Sunset nodded in understanding. “It’s okay. If I were you, I’d still be a bit suspici—”

“No, no. I mean about Soul!” Dawn said as her demeanor changed from being serious to a bit frantic. “You’re his first girlfriend and I don’t want things to get a little touchy between you too. I mean, who knows what could happen! He’s growing up too fast and I'm too young to be a grandma!!!!”

Sunset blinked a few times. She definitely made a turnabout all of a sudden.

Just then, Soul rushed back over to Sunset with his shirt fixed and looked more proper. “Sorry! I had to rock Novel back to sleep since I woke her up from a nap…. Mom, why do you have my phone?”

Dawn glared at Soul. “After I heard you had a date to the Fall Formal, I wanted to find out more about who you were going with and went through your messages.”

“You did what?!”

“I didn’t look into too much, I promise.” Dawn tossed the phone back to him. “Also, you need a better password.”

“My password is just fine!” Soul exclaimed before putting his phone away.

“One, two, three, four, is never a good password sweetie,” Dawn retorted, making Soul quickly change the passcode on his phone. “Moving on, I’m just still taken aback by how much you’ve grown. It’s your last year of high school, and now you’ve finally got a girlfriend.” She started to sniff a little before taking out a small scrapbook of Soul over the years and looked through the baby pictures.

“Oh dear god no.” Soul gulped.

“It just feels like yesterday you were dressing up as a Jedi while acting out some of your favorite fight scenes in those Star Wars movies.” Dawn wiped a tear from her eye. “Actually, I think it was yesterday.”

Soul’s eye twitched and Sunset just snickered as she leaned over to see more of the baby pictures. “He actually used to do that, that’s so cute!” Sunset cooed before turning the page. “Dawwww! What’s this one from?” she asked, pointing to a picture of toddler Soul in a Darth Vader suit sitting on the lap of someone dressed as Darth Sidious.

“This one is one of our favorites. That’s when his father took him to go to one of the Sci-fi conventions in town and they met one of the actors of the Star Wars movies,” Dawn explained. “And here’s him taking a bath with Big Mac and Applejack back when they were six! He and Applejack always teamed up during bathtime against Big Mac since he was bigger and tougher than him.”

“So that’s what she and Big Mac looked liked,” Sunset giggled before looking at Soul. “Hey Soul, come look at—”

Soul was currently collapsed onto the couch as he passed out from the embarrassment.

“S-Soul?” Sunset said in a worried tone as she nudged him.

“Uuuugh,” Soul groaned. “I really didn’t want you to see those. It’s embarrassing, and I didn’t wanna look like a total nerd.”

“Oh, heh, sorry about that.” Sunset scratched her cheek. “But don’t sweat, okay? I think you being a little nerdy is cute, honestly.”

“Really?” Soul lifted his head up a little.

Sunset smiled. “I already knew you were a bit of a goofball with a nerdy side. But you’re still a great guy. Part of the reason I said yes to going out with you is so I can get to know the real you more and more, and vice versa. And come on, am I really one to judge?”

Soul returned the smile. “I guess you’ve got a point. Thanks Sunny…. You’re still gonna look at more of my baby pictures, aren’t you?”

“I’m already down the cute rabbit hole and I’m too curious, so yeah.”

Soul lay his head back down and groaned. “You have my permission.”

Sunset patted his head before sitting back down with Dawn and returned to scanning through the adorable baby pictures once more.

One Step Forward, Two Steps back

Staring out her window at the setting sun, Fluttershy couldn’t help but relax as she listened to the gentle soundtrack on her phone through her headphones. Having just finished her homework and worked on some song lyrics for the Rainbooms, she wanted to try and get her mind off of things. Sure, the dance was coming up and she didn’t have a date yet, not to mention she had no idea what Twilight and Applejack were going to do, but her mind just kept rolling back to the elephant in the room.

The date yesterday.

It was the first romantic date in her life so far. And honestly, almost from start to finish it was incredible and wondrous. Sure, it wasn’t like she was swept off her feet, but her heart felt a flutter and she couldn’t stop smiling and laughing from start to finish. Even though she’d been to the zoo over a hundred times now, both by herself and with the girls, Fluttershy couldn’t help but think of the date as one of the most special memories she had at the zoo. Seeing the way Zero smiled at everything, the way he smiled at her, the way he felt about her.

And the kiss….

Fluttershy blushed as she remembered the unexpected moment, placing her fingers gently upon her lips as she recalled the warmth she felt from when he planted his lips on her. Everything in her body just felt alive, like the sorrow she felt from rejecting him had just evaporated completely and was replaced with him trying to say a thousand wonderful words that just made her blissful, all in just a few short seconds. If the kiss were to last a second longer then maybe she would’ve….

No … even though I loved it, it wouldn’t have changed anything, Fluttershy admitted before looking at her phone to stop the music. Even though the date was wonderful, she wondered if Zero was really okay as she spent the whole day contemplating whether or not to text him. Over the course of the morning, however, Applejack, Pinkie, Twilight, and Sunset asked for details regarding the date. Though no text from Rainbow or Rarity, surprisingly. But regardless, she just texted them that she enjoyed herself and that she’d tell them all the details at school tomorrow and felt easier that way instead of going back and forth messaging them.

At the moment, Fluttershy stared at the small selfie she and Zero took by the riverbank where they ate their sundaes in peace yesterday before the date ended. In the picture, Fluttershy gave a cute surprised expression as Zero messed with her and put a small dash of vanilla on her nose at the last second with a playful grin. With a sigh, she went to the private chat between herself and Zero as she got ready to message him.

“Is he really okay though?” Fluttershy mumbled. “I know he doesn’t mind me bothering him, but….” she hesitated before thinking more deeply. She remembered how Zero told her that he lost a friend sometime ago and that another one of his close friends was in a detention center. Even though he said he didn’t feel all that bothered by it anymore, she couldn’t help but wonder. Then after the rejection, she took note of how depressed he looked up until she started crying. He just snapped out of it and waved it off. So she came up with a small theory.

Was Zero only pretending to be strong just to cheer her up?

Rainbow does that sometimes. She gets a little insecure about her feelings and pretends nothing is wrong … and she’s not that good at hiding it. And Zero always valued my thoughts and feelings more than his own most of the time. Fluttershy stared at her phone and started to ponder the possibility. At this rate, she wasn’t getting anywhere with theories and speculations. Deciding to find out for herself, Fluttershy began texting on her phone.

“Yo, yo, big sister.” A young man with pale goldish gray hair in an unkept bun opened Fluttershy’s bedroom door. He had pale aquamarine skin and cerise eyes and wore a hippy vest and a gold necklace that resembled a feather in the wind. He also had bead bracelets on each of his arms, and his pants and loafers looked worn out. “You’ve been in your room most of the day and I wanted to see if you had the flu or something.”

Fluttershy stopped midway and looked at her brother. “I’m fine Zephyr. Just trying to relax at the moment.”

Zephyr sat down on the edge of the bed with a smirk. “It wouldn’t have to do with that little date you had yesterday, now would it? I saw the way you fancied yourself up and figured you were doing something special.”

With a sigh, Fluttershy put her phone down. “The date went great. I was just thinking about my friend is all. He … asked me to be his girlfriend and I turned him down.”

Zephyr rubbed his small beard as he tried to think of who she went with. “You mean that punk-looking boy with the spiky hair that walks you home on some weekends when you both hand out flyers? I’m not too surprised, honestly. He looked like a troublemaker trying to get on your good side since he probably thought you were easy. You turned him down like a boss, am I right?” He laughed, but this quickly got on Fluttershy’s nerves.

“No,” Fluttershy fumed as she glared at Zephyr, killing his laughter. “I turned him down because I only look up to him, not love him. He’s a sweet guy with a great heart, so don’t act like you know the first thing about him.”

“Geez sis…. Sorry.” Zephyr flinched.

Fluttershy sighed and shook her head. “I didn’t mean to snap at you like that, sorry. I’m just a little annoyed at myself because I can’t tell if the rejection hurt him as much as I feared. He said he’d be okay and can find someone else to go to the dance with, but I think he’s putting on a brave face.”

“Ooooh.” Zephyr nodded as he quickly grasped the situation. “What makes you think he’s feeling blue about it?”

“He couldn’t accept it at first,” Fluttershy lamented at the memory. “He said a lot of sweet things to me and gave a lot of implications of what he wanted our future to be like. He said he loved me and was completely serious about it.”

“Sounds kinda like how Rainbow feels about me.” Zephyr smiled at the thought. “Of course she’s just playing hard to get.” He chuckled until he saw Fluttershy wasn’t interested in the change of topic. “Eh, sorry, sorry. Go on.”

“Then when I started crying for feeling bad, he was quick to suck it up and just accept the rejection. Then he kissed me and cheered me up as he wanted to just be good friends. I didn’t think about it too much at first, but knowing him … I just have a strong feeling that he’s still hurt.” Fluttershy looked at her phone and gripped it tightly. “I’m going to call him.”

Just before she could attempt to call Zero’s number, Zephyr snatched the phone from her hand. “Woah now, little sister. I think you’re in need of a chill pill right now. There’s no need to do all that.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy questioned glumly.

“Think about it,” Zephyr began to console her. “If you know this guy as well as you say, then think about it from his perspective. Sure, he’s probably trying to hold it together for your sake, but you shouldn’t bother him about it. He needs time to process this more and think of a way to move on. Probably listen to a sad song, play some video games, watch some porn, and he’ll feel a little bit better.”

“I suppose so, but still….” Fluttershy sighed. “I want to make sure he’s okay.”

“Then check on him tomorrow.” Zephyr gave her back the phone and patted her shoulder. “It’s late anyways, and the both of you need some down time. If I were him, I wouldn’t want you to worry about me. I’d want you to be happy and think about what you’re gonna do from here.”

Fluttershy briefly thought about her brother’s words and she had to admit that he made a good point. Every muscle in her body wanted to contact Zero and discover how he was feeling. But seeing as how it was slowly shifting into nighttime, it would be best to just let everything go until tomorrow and talk about it in person. She looked up at Zephyr and smiled. “Okay Zephyr. I’ll talk to him tomorrow and relax for the night. Thank you.”

Zephyr gave a confident grin. “No problem big sis. Leave it to Zephyr Breeze: The Love Guru, to fix all your needs.”

Fluttershy giggled. “Now if only the ‘Love Guru’ can find himself another girl other than Rainbow Dash to fawn over.”

“Oh please, as if any girl can compete with Rainbow. She just needs to accept her feelings for me and quit being so shy.” He hummed to himself and quickly exited the room.

More like you need to accept that she’s not into you, Fluttershy thought to herself before looking back at her phone. She decided to turn on her TV and play a heartwarming movie for the rest of the night as she was going to put aside her worries and have a nice evening. Though she did realize that she was without any partner to the dance. Knowing Rarity and Rainbow, they’d probably try to make her meet someone. Thankfully, it wouldn’t come to that as she already had someone in mind. She just hoped he’ll say yes.

Even if Zero was afraid or down, he was still attempting to move forward as fast as he could. But now, Fluttershy was ready to do the same and catch up with him.

Once the regular family dinner concluded, Twilight normally would have retreated back to her room that night as she got ready to organize her clothes for tomorrow morning and prepare for bed. But her favorite babysitter and soon-to-be sister-in-law Cadance came over for dinner and made the night all the more interesting for the Sparkle family. And since she was in the vicinity, Twilight decided to borrow a page out of her tutee’s book and do something rebellious with Cadance.

Twilight decided to stay up an hour past her approximate bedtime and play some chess with her.

In her mind, she felt a little naughty at the idea and a tad bit anxious for breaking her habit, but it was quickly suppressed by her conversation with Cadence as it had been a little while since they’d last chatted one-on-one.

Twilight moved her knight in and captured Cadance’s rook. “Are you positive Shining will okay once he moves in with you? It’s not that I don’t trust you or anything, I just—”

“It’ll be fine Twilight,” Cadance reassured as she planned her next move. “I know how much you’ll miss him, but we’re not so far away, you know. We’re only in the city.”

“Knowing him, he’s definitely ecstatic since now he’s closer to the comic book shop,” Twilight said with a small smile. “He has as many comics as I have books, and that’s nothing to scoff at.”

Cadance smirked. “What can I say?” She moved one of her pawns forward. “He likes to support the official releases, the big nerd. And knowing him, he’s gonna try to pop into Crystal Prep more often just to come see me and our little girl.” She rubbed her round belly.

Twilight paused before making her next move as something crossed her mind. “How is Crystal Prep doing nowadays?”

Tapping her chin, Cadance collected her thoughts on how the semester had been so far. “It’s not the same without you. At least for me.”

“Has anyone asked for me? Anyone at all?” Twilight asked with a curious expression, hoping someone other than Cadance had missed her.

“Well, I know Quill misses you,” Cadance confirmed. “He was a little heartbroken when you changed schools and looked a little lonely at first. You, he, and Moondancer used to be in the book club together and really brought it to life in there. It was kinda adorable seeing him interact with you, Moondancer, Minuette and the other girls at lunch. I felt bad when all of you transferred out. But get this: he actually found himself a girlfriend a few weeks ago!”

Twilight’s eyes widened slightly. “R-Really? Who? Do I know her?”

“You recall a girl named Lemon Zest? Wild hair and usually listens to music?”

“Her?” Twilight raised an eyebrow as she was both confused and shocked by this information. “I’ve seen her around, but I wouldn’t have expected Quill to have an endearment towards someone like her. Guess it goes to show how much I’ve been missing. And how about Moondancer?”

“She transferred into the independent study program,” Cadance explained. “I haven’t really heard from her ever since, but from what Quill told me, she’s doing okay.”

Twilight nodded as she spaced out for a moment. Looking back, she regretted leaving the two on their own. If she could, she’d try inviting both of them to CHS. At this point however, Quill was doing fine from the looks of it, and Moondancer was doing who knows what. Sure, she hadn’t viewed them as friends at the time, but if only she had been a bit more open-minded on the idea in the past then things could’ve been different.

“Twilight, do you miss Crystal Prep?” Cadance asked.

Twilight didn’t respond. Rather, she focused on her next move and moved her bishop into the middle of the board. “Just a little. However, I’m happy to be where I am now,” she spoke up, feeling a bit more blissful as she thought about CHS. “The friends I’ve made, the atmosphere. It feels nice to be in an environment where a lot of people care about you and the things they’d do for you.”

Cadance smiled. “You mean like how Zero went out of his way to find your address to apologize for his previous behavior, give you the assignments you missed that Friday, check on you and invite you out to skate?”

“Exactly.” Twilight gave a warm smile.

“Speaking of which, how is he doing now?” Cadance moved her knight near Twilight’s bishop as she threatened to take it.

“A lot better, actually.” Twilight smirked as she guarded her bishop with a pawn. “We cooperated in making his tutoring sessions more interesting. He remembers the books he reads a lot better if he reads them out loud like a play and brings out the emotion of the characters. And if his sister is home, she provides sound effects, like a dramatic reading session. And for science, anything he doesn’t understand I wholeheartedly demonstrate for him. Funny you bring it up too, as he has a math test tomorrow that I’m sure he’ll pass!”

“Sounds like he’s in good hands from the looks of it. Then again, he does have the best tutor in Canterlot,” said Cadance proudly.

“I planned on rewarding him for his efforts if he does well and for introducing me to the girls, but I….” Twilight sighed as she seemingly got lost in thought.

“What is it?” Cadance halted her next move as she noticed Twilight trailing off.

“I … thought about doing something nice for him and asking him to the dance, possibly even taking him somewhere to eat, wherever he wants. But he’s trying to go with one of my friends. And the more I think about it, the more ridiculous my idea seems to begin with.” Twilight turned away from her as she frowned. “Fluttershy is kind and so sweet, understands him better than I do, and is good-looking. The majority of the girls in school have unique charms to them. Even some of the girls in Crystal Prep have something that can get a guy's attention, whether it’s class, personality, or personal features. They each have something appealing to them and I don’t. Even if by some miracle I go with Zero, he’s more than likely going to be bored and envious of other people dancing with the girls he likes that I might ruin the whole dance for him.”

“Why would you think something like that?” Cadance wondered.

Twilight took a deep breath as she collected herself. “I just feel a little insecure. It’s just that … most of my life, you already know I didn’t care much for people trying to get to know me and vice versa. But once I met Zero, sure, he was a little insensitive, but it didn’t take long for him to be interested in me and give me a push in a different direction. And because of that, I met the girls and it opened a new point of view that I never explored before. Now I have friends that want to learn more about me just as much as I want to learn about them and from them. But now it almost feels like he’s ready to move on. If his grades get decent enough, he probably doesn’t need me anymore or will have any reason to talk to me now that he helped me find friends. Sure, the girls give me all the attention I need. Plus, Minuette, Quill and the others at Crystal Prep did what they could to stick with me, but it felt so nice of him to go out of his way for me. A nobody like me, who is the complete opposite of him, and yet he was almost invested in me. I already lost what little friendship I had with everyone from Crystal Prep, and being here at CHS…. I don’t want to lose any more bonds I still have, and I hope he still cares enough about me.”

“You really are Shining’s little sister.” Cadance smiled a little.

“What do you mean?” Twilight looked back at her.

“I think you recall that when your brother and I went to Crystal Prep back in the day, I was one of the most popular girls in school and Shining was one of the dorkiest of kids … and he still is,” Cadance giggled.

“Yeah. He won your heart at the Fall Formal after you rejected one of the school’s biggest jerks,” Twilight recalled. “You two even won Fall Formal King and Queen that time.”

Cadance nodded. “Exactly, but beforehand he always admired me from afar and figured someone like me would never be interested in a geek like him. We’re practically worlds apart in basically everything. Like, our compatibility was below zero. Much to his surprise,” she smiled before she moved her bishop to capture Twilight’s rook, “I thought he was the most adorkable guy in school. He helps people with his homework, walks some of the students’ little brothers and sisters to school sometimes, and was overall a nice guy. But not a lot of people bothered to really get to know him, and anytime I spoke up about what I thought of him, people would often tell me there’s someone cuter or more interesting than some nerd who gets excited over a new comic issue. Even the, admittedly, hottest guy in school hit on me, but I didn’t care or was interested. Any guy who interrupts a halftime show during a football game with a grand gesture of singing a crazy musical number about me is a winner in my book.”

“I don’t remember him telling me about that part,” Twilight said in a bit of shock. “He actually did that for you?”

“I know, I couldn’t believe it myself!” Cadance beamed at the memory. “I was moved to tears and cheered … but the moment was ruined when everyone called him and his friends dorks and laughed at them.” She pouted before shaking her head. “Anyways, my point is, if you think your bonds are in jeopardy or they might not be interested in you, take the leap and do something about it. Talk to him. It’s not over yet, and the odds are, he still thinks about you.”

Twilight thought about her words and recalled what Zero told her in the library on Friday. “He did say some nice things about me just the other day, so you’re more than likely right. I was being a little irrational.”

Cadance placed a hand on her shoulder and gave Twilight a reassuring smile. “It happens to everyone. We get a little self-conscious at times. But don’t let your negative thoughts cloud your head or let how different you are from each other bother you. At the end of the day you care about each other. And if you really feel this strongly about it, that can only mean that you see him as your friend too, right?”

Twilight hesitated. She had to admit that she was being a little stubborn regarding her relationship with Zero. But considering their current interactions and her concerns over what he thinks of her now, it stood to reason that she indeed was darting around the obvious since it was clear to everyone else. She nodded.

“Yes.” Twilight smiled. “He’s my friend … an important one at that, too.”

“I thought so,” said Cadence. “So if you want to do something as a thank you, just do it for him. And tomorrow, just talk to him, okay?”

“Thanks Cadance,” Twilight thanked before looking down at the game. Now that her mind was unclouded and clear, she could wrap this game up and prepare for bed. Looking for an opening, Twilight gave a confident grin and moved her queen near Cadance’s king as he was cornered.

“Check.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie demands you to come with her!”

“Well, the annoyed and moody Zero said no!”

The next day, Zero, Wind and Trixie were walking to school together as they had their early morning bickering as usual. After Zero had joined the role playing club, half of the mornings comprised of having discussions over the dungeons they created and had plans for or thinking about some fun ideas like watching some fantasy movies together as a group to get some inspiration. Wind, on the other hand, just gave her two cents every now and again as she was the third party in the conversations.

But today had been quieter than usual until Trixie demanded a favor.

“Trixie only wants you to come into the Sweet Shoppe for three minutes just to see what they have on their new menu today!” Trixie huffed as she crossed her arms.

“First off, there’s no new menu today! I just texted Pinkie about it and she confirmed it for me!” Zero argued. “Plus, I know exactly what you’re planning. You’re just gonna put on a show of trying to buy something only to conveniently be out of money so that I buy it for you!”

“That’s completely absurd!” Trixie bickered. “Trixie would never be so shallow as to do such a thing!”

“You’ve done it six times before!”

“Wind, tell your brother to come with me!”

Wind gave a little chuckle as she looked away. “I think maybe you two should try and compromise.”

“Tch. Fine!” Trixie pouted. “Trixie didn’t want anymore choco tacos anyways….” she mumbled.

Zero rolled his eyes. “I’m broke, anyways. Besides, if you keep stuffing your face with ice cream and sweets like that, you’re gonna get fat and ug—”

Trixie immediately shot a glance at Zero and stomped on his foot.

“OW!” Zero winced as he glared at Trixie, who turned away with another huff. “Geez, I’m just saying, I didn’t want you to look bad by eating too much.”

“Then word it more like a gentleman, you dunce,” Trixie replied before looking back at him.

“Of course, your highness,” Zero hissed at her. “I feel bad for whoever you take to the dance. They’re gonna have their hands full. Speaking of which, who are you going with anyways?”

Trixie hesitated for a moment before smirking. “Trixie wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise. But she can say that it’s not Snips or Snails, despite their constant begging, pleading, and gift-giving.”

“With an attitude like that, I’m a little surprised they still follow you.” Zero said in a lamented tone.

“Yeah, they really like you so why not just do something nice for them? I feel like you’re being a little mean,” Wind worried a little.

“Hmm, maybe Trixie can throw them a bone as they do appreciate her greatness, but we’ll have to see. But since we’re on the topic, who do you two intend to go with?” Trixie raised an eyebrow at them.

“I’m thinking about going with Button Mash,” Wind confessed. “I was gonna go with the Crusaders, but it seems like nobody is gonna ask him and … he’s a sweetheart.” She blushed as she scratched her cheek.

Trixie smiled a little at this. “Seems like someone has a crush.”

“I do not!” Wind immediately objected before covering her cheeks.

“Don’t be in denial now.” Trixie chuckled before looking at Zero. “And you?”

“Errr….” Zero scratched the back of his head. “I’m not really thinking about it right now. I asked Fluttershy, but things didn’t go the way I wanted to. But I have the rest of the week to think about it and see. Plus, I’m more focused on my math test today.”

“Something other than girls on your mind, and it’s a test no less? That’s a first,” Trixie teased. “But seriously though, it’s understandable. Trixie thinks you can find a date. Although—”

“Wait, I got an idea!” Wind perked up as she snapped her finger. “What if you go with Twilight! Since she’s been helping you study non-stop, once you pass the test and show her how well you did, you can take her as a token of gratitude for all the time and effort she put in to help you.”

Zero thought about it and immediately grinned at this idea. “Wind, you’re a genius! Even though it sucks that I can’t ask out the other pretty available girls, but this is is more important. After all, nobody is probably gonna ask her if Rarity doesn’t set her up. So I make this dance special, just for her.”

Trixie tilted her head in a hint of confusion. “Couldn’t you just get her a cute gift or something like a new novel?”

Zero shook his head with a grin. “Maybe as a bonus, but nah. After everything she’s done to help me, I can’t half-ass this. So I’m gonna show her how much she’s helped me once I demolish that math test. Besides, it’s my third worst enemy, so it’s only fitting.”

“Third?” Trixie and Wind asked simultaneously.

“Math is third, history is second, and first is parent teacher conferences,” Zero said as he shivered at the last one. “The moment I get home from those, Mom is so terrifying that I’d rather fight Wolverine than be in the same room as her.”

The girls giggled at the imagery as all three of them arrived at the school together and went their separate ways as Wind went to go meet up with the Crusaders and Trixie joined up with her bandmates to discuss some new songs. Zero was about to walk past his locker to go meet up with the guys to tell them the news, but he spotted Fluttershy waiting for him there. His heart skipped a beat once she spotted him and it looked like she had been waiting there for a while.

“G-Good morning Zero,” Fluttershy greeted a little more nervously than normal. “How are you feeling today?”

“A little nervous about my test coming up for once, but I’m confident about it,” Zero admitted as he smiled brightly. “What’cha waiting by my locker for? You need some help?”

“N-no. I’m not handing out flyers today or anything.” Fluttershy didn’t meet his gaze as she looked at anything but Zero. “I was just … um … seeing how you’re doing is all. I was worried about you.”

“Worried? About wh—” Zero quickly realized what she meant and it was his turn to look away for a moment before shaking his head. He took a deep breath and looked at Fluttershy. “Oh. That. Look, I told you that it wasn’t a big deal. It’s not like anything will change, okay?”

“I’m still really sorry about everything,” Fluttershy apologized as she gave him a brief hug. “Nobody’s ever said something so impactful and yet so wonderful to me. And I feel horrible for pushing it away. You just seem too okay with things that … I worry that you’re trying too hard to be strong for me. At least, that’s what I believe.”

Zero hugged her back gently before sighing. “Either I’m too easy to read or you know me too well. But you have a point, regardless.” He pulled away and put his hands in his pocket as he finally made eye contact. “I’m not as broken up about it, but it was just discouraging, y’know? Having the biggest crush of your life just turn you down just brings down the mood. It just … wasn’t fair, honestly. I did so many things for you, not expecting anything back. But for once, I just asked for one thing and yet I couldn’t even get that…. But I guess that’s how life is: cool one moment and a jerk the next. Not much we can do about it now.”

“Oh, Zero,” Fluttershy frowned.

“But I managed to keep my chin up because no matter what, I like spending time with you, and I know that we can keep spending time together.”

“Mmhmm!” Fluttershy agreed with a smile. “Besides, you still got one thing out of all of your efforts and kindness. I’m still right here, by your side, and I always will be. Because that’s what great friends are for.”

“Heh, you’re absolutely right.” Zero nodded as he smiled back. “You know, I was scared that you didn’t wanna hang out with me anymore. But there you are worrying about the exact same thing looking like I hurt you instead. I pushed my problems aside because I always consider my friends’ problems and worries more of an issue. I tried to make sure you didn’t have any more worries on your shoulders than you already do.”

“That’s understandable and sweet, but … it’s not good for you to keep your problems to yourself like that. You’re strong, but nobody is invincible. You ought to know that by now based on how many of those comics and cartoons you read,” Fluttershy giggled with a nudge.

“Darn, you really got me there,” Zero admitted with laugh. “How could I be so naive?”

“It happens to the best of us when we’re down.” Fluttershy patted his shoulder. “But next time you have a problem or you’re not feeling yourself, let me be there for you, like the times you were there for me!”

Zero gave a toothy grin and blushed a little. “Sure thing! Guess my brain isn’t feeling super pumped today since I stayed home all day yesterday studying for the math test. It was such a pain.” Zero groaned. “But overall, I’m okay. Thanks for checking on me this morning. It means a lot.”

“You’re welcome Zero!” Fluttershy beamed a little before hurrying off. “I have to get ready for my test in first period, so d-do your best!”

Zero smiled a little as he gave her a thumbs up before opening his locker. Is it just me, or is she becoming more Flutterbold than Fluttershy? Talk about an interesting morning.

Later on that school day in Ms. Cheerilee’s class, Zero sat next to Minuette and Twinkleshine as he had finished taking his math test. While the teacher was grading the tests, the students quietly conversed with each other, though the young delinquent himself was very quiet and uncharacteristically anxious. For the first time in forever, he was anxious to see the test results. It was the first math test wherein he didn’t have to cheat or use his notes if it was an open-book exam, which was very generous of them.

This time though, he was proud of himself for persevering through the test. It wasn’t long, but the short answer questions made him a bit tense. But he was confident in what he’d learned over the past couple of weeks from Twilight so that most of his anxiety was overshadowed by his excitement to see his grade. His eagerness kept his eyes locked on Ms. Cheerilee as she scored everything.

“Hey Spiky, you okay?” Twinkleshine asked curiously as she poked his shoulder. “You awake? You’re not being very chatty today, even for a Monday.”

“Don’t tell me the test wore you down too,” Minuette said half jokingly. “Barely even survived it myself. Sometimes I feel like tests want to give you anxiety. And it doesn’t help that I have another one after lunch.”

Zero gave a impatient groan. “I just wanna know the results. I tried my hardest this time around and I wanna show off how much I’ve grown.”

Twinkleshine leaned over from her seat and placed a hand on Zero’s forehead, making him raise an eyebrow at her. “What are you doing Twinkle?”

“Making sure you’re feeling okay,” Twinkleshine explained a giggle. “Did you stay up all night again watching anime or something, or did you eat a bad breakfast? It’s not like Mr. Tall, Dark, and Spiky to give a damn about grades.”

Zero flicked her arm away and stuck her tongue out at her. “What, you’re my doctor now? I’d rather pull the life support.”

Twinkleshine smirked a little before patting his shoulder. “Whoa, calm down sassy pants, I’m only kidding. I know you’ve been working your butt off, so you’ve got this in the bag my man!”

Minuette nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I’m honestly more curious about your grade than mine. I hope my notes helped you out a little.”

“They helped plenty!” Zero confirmed. “But Twilight was giving me a quick review first period and I did pretty well. She was almost as bouncy as Pinkie thinking how well I might do. Even Ms. Harshwhinny told her to chill.” He chuckled at the memory. “She’s so adorkable like that.”

“You can say that again,” Twinkleshine laughed.

Just then, Ms. Cheerilee stood up with all the test papers. “Alright, everyone settle down. I’m handing back your test results.”

Everyone in the classroom quieted down as Ms. Cheerilee started walking around and placing everyone’s test face down on their desks. Some students sighed in relief, and a few groaned in frustration as they looked at their grades. Zero crossed his fingers as his heart started to race while his stomach felt like a swarm of butterflies. The wait didn’t last very long as Cheerilee walked over and placed Twinkleshine’s test down, then Zero’s, then Minuette’s. The girls didn’t bother lifting up their tests and turned to Zero.

“And the results are….” Zero took a deep breath and swiftly flipped the paper up and looked at his grade at the top.

A sixty eight percent, resulting in a D+.

“W-What?” Zero’s heart sank and he felt like all the noise in the room was muted. He tried to wrap his brain around this and figure out what went wrong. He examined the questions on the front of the test and saw he got a decent amount of them right. But as the test went on, he start to slip up on the some of the harder questions as certain formulas threw him off. He had thought he’d figured them out but made some small errors. And he answered the short answer questions wrong by only focusing on what it was asking of him, missing some of the smaller details of the questions that were needed.

“Ouch,” Twinkleshine winced at the sight of Zero’s grade and spirit. “Sorry Zero. Least it’s better than an F, right?”

“Even so….” said Zero in a glum tone as he stared at his test with a defeated gaze. “All those hours of studying, all that hard work, and this is what I have to show for it? Not even a C.” The more he thought about it, the more Zero’s spirit felt like it was breaking apart. Not only was it because he was ashamed of himself for not pushing himself harder, but mainly because the grade was also a reflection of Twilight’s efforts and tutoring methods. “No matter how you look at it, it feels like Twilight failed too. How I can I ask her to the dance now? I can’t just say, ‘hey, thanks for tutoring me even though I’ve barely improved! Wanna go to the dance as a sign of my appreciation and a way for us to celebrate?’”

“Zero….” Minuette said with a sigh. She glanced at her test and put it away in her book bag. If by any chance she passed, it more than likely would bring down the mood. And given the events of yesterday, she wasn’t really in her best mood either. “Guess we both don’t get what we really want sometimes,” she mumbled to herself.

Twinkleshine looked at the both of them and groaned in frustration. Since they were in class, she couldn’t really tickle Minuette out of her depression without getting in trouble or think of what to say to Zero at the moment to cheer him up. Caring less for her grade at the moment, she just stuffed her paper in her bag and sat down as the three of them sat in silence for the rest of class.

Once the period ended and everyone exited the classroom, it didn’t take long for Zero to see Twilight standing by the door with an excited expression, only to perk up even more once she spotted her tutee.

“Soooo, how’d you do?” Twilight grinned, trying very little to hide her excitement as she reached out her hands. Looking away from her, Zero gave her the paper and a moment of silent went by. “Oh … D+.”

“Twilight, I’m—”

“It’s fine,” Twilight halted him, giving back the paper in the process. “You’ve got some tests coming up as the week goes on, right? You’ll more than likely do better on those than math, given it was your weakest subject. And besides, you’ve almost got a C. Just use this as a means to try even harder as we go!”

Zero blinked at her as he hesitated to respond. Is Fluttershy’s boldness contagious or something? When did Twilight start feeling more confident? Next thing you know, Swift might finally ask out Pinkie. Eh, maybe at the end of the week, he thought as he put his hands in his pocket. “Maybe you’re right, but … I wanted to make you proud and show you how much I’ve grown and learned, only for that hard work to go down the drain. So you’ll have to excuse me if I feel a bit demoralized and a failure at the given moment. That, or my stomach is itching for some food!” Zero gave a weak chuckle before turning away.

Twilight frowned a little. “Zero….”

“Say, I’m a little tapped out from studying all night,” Zero began. “Is it okay we take a break today and maybe study tomorrow?”

“Well, you haven’t had a break yet, so I suppose it’s okay,” Twilight agreed as she looked down a little.

“Great. See ya.” With a quick wave, Zero headed off to the lunchroom, gripping the test paper tightly tightly. His mood started to worsen as time went on, given the small upset of Fluttershy turning him down and now the gut-wrenching feeling of letting Twilight down. Now he couldn’t dare to ask her to the dance with him. He didn’t have the right to in his mind. He’d make it up to her by trying harder in the upcoming tests, but given that he didn’t have to study as hard as this one, would passing them really amount to a proper thank you? Shaking his head, he concluded that worrying about it now was only making him more anxious. Thankfully, lunch was here and he’d be free of worries for the rest of the day as far as he could tell.

“Wait, what?!” Zero exclaimed in complete shock as he sat with all of his friends at the lunch table. They were quick to detect his sour nature and Zero didn’t shy away from explaining his day so far. But when asking about everyone else’s plans, he came to a bit of a discovery. “You’ve all got dates to the dance already?!”

Night shrugged with a small chuckle. “To be honest, I didn’t think I’d see myself prepping for a little country dancing with AJ. But It’s happening.”

“Mine just … kinda happened after I was helping Pinkie babysit,” Swift explained before looking away. “Still, sorry things didn’t work out between you and Fluttershy. But you’re really not gonna ask Twilight?”

Zero shook his head. “I can’t ask her. Honestly, I feel almost ashamed to even look at her. She spent all that time, effort, and hard work getting someone like me to do better in school, not to mention save me from attending a bootcamp!” He sighed as he played with his food. “And I still failed that test.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little hard on yourself?” Rivet patted his shoulder. “It wasn’t a total waste. She got you to take your studies a little more seriously since you actually got upset over a bad grade. Usually you just crumple up your work and play paper basketball or football with Twinkleshine in study hall when Mr. Cranky Doodle is reading a newspaper.”

“Yeah.” Clyde sipped a bottle of water he brought. “I understand how you feel, but you shouldn’t punish yourself like that. Just go as friends or something. It’s not like you to be so moody and depressed.”

“I’ll think it over.” Zero sighed. “But more than likely, Rarity might have even found a date for her, so I might as well just see if anyone else is available.”

“You could go and try asking the Dazzlings!” Soul offered. “I hear that they’re actually looking for guys to ask them out, so you could possibly go with one of them!”

Zero looked up a little at Soul. “Really? Well, I guess it’s worth a try. I did always wanna find a way to hang out with Aria or Sonata.”

“Why not Adagio?” Swift wondered.

“She’s … probably the only pretty girl I’d say no to almost all the time,” Zero said as he shivered. “I want a girl to be all over me, but she’s someone who I feel like might make a good time alone into a night of regrets.”

“I … guess?” Swift said, unsure of the innuendo.

Getting up, Zero started making his way to the Dazzlings table until he took note of something. He saw three lines of guys in the direction by their table and it made him raise an eyebrow. Ignoring the line and commotion, he walked around it till he saw Adagio, Aria, and Sonata as each of them were conversing with a guy with each line leading to one of the girls. An alarm went off from each of the Dazzlings’ phones and each of the guys had to leave, giving the next guys a chance to sit down and speak to them quickly before the girls reset their clocks. However, he noticed Sonata looked uninterested and crestfallen. Raising an eyebrow, Zero moved in to investigate.

“What’s going on here?” Zero asked curiously.

“Speed dating,” Aria explained just as the alarm went off and she shooed the boy in front of her away. “Go dance with that nobody Wallflower, I heard nobodies go well together.” Adagio and Sonata waved their guys off as well as all of them looked down and headed off.

“Geez, throwing shade at Wallflower much?” Zero cringed at Aria’s attitude.

“I’m picky about the guys I’m into,” Aria argued before all three of the girls halted the next guys in line to talk to Zero. “Anyways, what do you want loser? If you want to go with one of us, acquaintances don’t get special passes. Even if you make reading class less boring for me.”

“I was just wondering what the line is for. You gals are looking for dates to the dance as well?” Zero wondered.

“We’ve been getting asked from half of the boys in the student body to go to the dance with us,” Adagio explained. “Notes in our lockers, cupcakes and pies baked for each of us, it was a little much, even for us. So, we came up with a speed dating process to let each boy talk to us for about a minute and see if we like them or not.”

“Isn’t it a little crazy how so many guys wanna ask you out even though you can’t really control people anymore with your singing? And the fact you tried to enslave people and everyone’s not bitter about it?” Zero wondered as he felt skeptical.

“We’re still very much attractive and, compared to Sunset, we didn’t really bully anyone or ruin any relationships,” Adagio explained. “Plus, some boys are dumb and only care about our looks and don’t wanna feel lonely during the dance.”

“Or hiding in their basement while watching porn or something all alone.” Aria shrugged. “Or whatever it is you guys do when you’re lonely.”

Geez, they really like to tear guys apart. Zero winced a little from the comment before glancing at Sonata, who wasn’t really paying him any mind. “And what’s wrong with Ms. Sunshine and Junk Food here?”

“She’s just upset that Soul asked out Sunset and not her,” Aria said while rolling her eyes, making Sonata sigh. “So we’re trying to help her find a guy that she’ll fall for and actually notice her.”

“Another case of heartbreak, huh?” Zero said before patting Sonata’s shoulder. “I was just there myself, so I can get your point. But there’s plenty of cute guys for you to with. You don’t wanna go all alone, do you?”

“No, but … I really wanted to go with Soul,” Sonata whined as she looked at Soul where she sat. “He’s so nice and dorky and cute … and one of the few guys to really talk to me.”

“Well, you’ve got a whole line of guys who’d like to talk to you. And me included!” Zero smiled. “In fact, I’d love to go to the dance with you or even Aria.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet of you Zero!” Sonata perked up a little with a small smile. “But you’d have to join the line!”

“Actually no, you’ve already had your minute with us. Frankly, I liked you more as a bad boy, but you’re too nice for my taste,” Aria said while checking her clock. “Next!”

“What?!” Zero exclaimed. “But that’s not fair! I was jus—”

Adagio snapped her fingers. “Security.”

“Security?” Zero raised an eyebrow before getting grabbed from behind and lifted off the ground. He peeked behind him. “Bulk? You’re their security?!”

“Sorry!” Bulk apologized as he carried Zero back to his table and sat him down with the others. “But um … Adagio promised me a dance if I became security, so … no hard feelings bro?”

Zero sighed. “None whatsoever.”

Bulk nodded with a smile before heading back to the Dazzlings. Zero groaned in frustration as he put his head down on the table.

“So, I take it went well?” Soul joked.

Zero only glared at Soul once before grabbing an orange and squeezing the juice in Soul’s eye, making him cover his eyes and scream as it burned. “No, but that made me feel better.”

Meanwhile over at the Rainbooms’ table, Fluttershy had finished explaining what had happened during her date with Zero on Saturday, taking a moment to process everything. Shortly afterwards, Sunset nodded in understanding.

“No matter how you slice it, I’m just glad you had a good time.” Sunset smiled. “And that you and Zero still have your friendship intact.”

“Honestly, I gotta give him credit. I thought he’d be the type to lash out in anger since he’s been crushing on you since day one,” Rainbow admitted. “But he took the friendzoning pretty well. Can’t say that for most folks, though.” She suddenly winced as Rarity elbowed her side. “OW!”

“I wouldn’t make such a comment if I were you,” Rarity whispered. “Especially when our pink friend hasn’t exactly had much luck with boys lately.”

“Psst, I can hear you,” Pinkie said as she leaned across the table to whisper to the two before giggling. “And it’s cooleo, no need to worry anymore! Cause I’m going to the Fall Formal with Swifty!”

“For real?!” Rainbow exclaimed happily. “That’s awesome!! Good on you, Pinkie! I actually got Rivet to go with me! Now the other boys don’t have to bug me about the dance anymore.”

“I’m happy for you both, darlings. But some of us still need to find a date, like Applejack, Fluttershy and Twilight,” Rarity explained.

“Um … actually, ah did find a date over the weekend,” Applejack said with a faint blush. The others turned their heads at her as they raised an eyebrow. “He insisted on going with me, so ah decided ‘what the heck’ and said sure.”

“Dang. Didn’t think Night would’ve been ballsy enough to ask you,” Rainbow chuckled.

“Did ya pressure the boy in asking me, Dash?” Applejack crossed her arms.

“Well, I did suggest the idea to him, but I didn’t know if he was interested or not,” Rainbow confessed with an weak chuckle. “Besides, I wanted to give him a little nudge. It takes some confidence to ask girls like you out!”

“Ah should’ve figured.” Shaking her head, Applejack frowned in a bit of disapproval before she sighed. “But either way, he did seem like he was genuinely interested, so I’m not gonna turn my back on him.”

“And I actually am planning on going with somebody.” Fluttershy raised her hand.

“Already? But if not Zero, then who do you have in mind?” Twilight questioned.

Fluttershy giggled. “Well, I actually want to keep it as a surprise … if that’s alright with you girls.”

“Ooooh. Keeping secrets now, are we?” Sunset said with a playful grin. “Now I can’t wait to see what happens this weekend.”

“Is it someone we know? Is it a boy or girl? Come on, spill it!” Pinkie barraged Fluttershy with questions as she could barely contain her curiosity. But Fluttershy just shook her head with a grin.

“Sorry Pinkie, you’re just going to have to wait till Saturday,” Fluttershy replied. “Besides, you do like surprises, and were would be the fun in telling you now?”

Pinkie paused before sitting back down and tapping her chin as she thought about this. “You make a good argument. I concede.”

Fluttershy nodded before turning to Twilight. “What about you, Twilight? Did you find a date yet?”

“No, but since we’re on the topic….” Twilight took a deep breath. “If it’s okay with you, Fluttershy … I want to try asking out Zero.”

“Y-You do?” Fluttershy questioned as she came to a realization. “Did … you think about asking him before I went on that date?! I didn’t think yo—”

“No, no, no. It’s alright.” Twilight waved it off. “If you had said yes to Zero, I wouldn’t have been hurt, I promise. But the other day, I realized that it’s thanks to him I came out of my shell and became friends with all of you. Now I know what it’s like to have such amazing friends, so I want to show him how much I appreciate his help and maybe even go out ot eat.”

“Like a—”

“Not like a date!” Twilight immediately repudiated. “Just buying him whatever he wants to eat … or possibly a gift.”

“I think it sounds like a great idea, Twilight.” Sunset smiled. “And knowing him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has something planned for you as thanks for helping him improve his grades.”

Twilight frowned a little. “Well, he got a D on his math test today and wasn’t too happy about it. But maybe he’ll cheer up if he does well on his others tests.”

“Well if I know Zero, he’s not going to give up so easily!” Fluttershy proclaimed with a hopeful smile. “We just have to have a little faith.”

Twilight looked at Fluttershy and nodded in agreement as she returned the smile. Soon enough, the bell rang and everyone started picking up their trays and headed out of the lunchroom. Twilight felt a little more confident and wondered when she should try asking out Zero. Given his mood from earlier, it’d probably be best to just let him simmer for now and find him at the end of the day.

As the day came to a close, Zero was walking up to his locker as he rubbed his chin, pondering to himself who else he could ask.

I can’t believe Twinkleshine, Minuette, and Lemon Hearts said no, too! I mean, I get that they wanna go together as friends, so I shouldn’t be too mad. Still, who else is there? Cloud Kicker is hot, but she’s going with Thunderlane. Maybe Derpy? Hmmm … I’ll put a pin in it. Oh, Wallflower Blush isn’t seeing anyone … or talking to really anybody. I really should try hanging out with her too. Stray dogs should never really be alone.

As Zero opened his locker, he saw a note on top of one of his books along with a present. His eyes widened before getting a little excited, knowing it’d have to be a secret admirer.

Someone has a crush on me! Zero smiled brightly as he did an air guitar in celebration before looking around for a moment. He didn’t see anyone right away, but he slowly picked up the note and opened it as he read it quietly.

“From the day we met, I knew a bond was created.

From the conversations and exchanges, this could even be fated.

You prevent most days from looking gray,

Like the weightlessness that floats my worries away.

“You’re like a sun that shines ever so bright,

Or the moon and stars at the dusk of night.

I want us to be one, strong and undefeated,

Ignoring those who see us as flawed or conceited.

“So turn around and you will see,

Come to the dance with….”

Zero trailed off at the last bit as he was shocked and taken aback, not only from the spirling, yet powerful emotions he felt thanks to the poem, but from who actually wrote it. He turned around slowly to face his admirer as she stood there with a gleeful, yet pure grin.

“.....Trixie?”

Confessed feelings

Zero looked at his secret admirer in complete disbelief as he stared back at the poem and then at Trixie and rinsed and repeated a few more times, still both confused and surprised at what was going on until he was finally able to form words.

“What the … you … but … you actually wrote this for me?” Zero asked as he held out the letter.

“Indeed,” Trixie confirmed with a nod. “Trixie heard you’ve been having trouble searching for a date. So she decided why not do something spectacular and kind as to not only write you a poem, but to get you a gift I’ve been working on?”

Zero looked back at his locker and noticed the present placed neatly inside and picked it up. “How you’d get this in here anyways?”

“Your sister told Trixie the combination.” Trixie smiled. “Now hurry up and open it!”

Zero slowly opened the box and pulled out what was inside. He gasped as he pulled out a curved dragon teeth necklace, orange armbands, and a blood red medieval fur cape. Completely mesmerized by the outfit, he had a huge, yet goofy grin on his face before looking at Trixie.

“Holy shit! It looks so amazing! And you made this for me?” Zero asked in disbelief as he put on the necklace.

“You are the vice president of the Role Playing Club,” Trixie stated. “We must have the best costumes. And take it as a lovely present from yours truly, your secret admirer.” She winked.

Zero was still in awe about his costume until he shook his head to snap out of it and looked at her. “Speaking of that … you actually like me? And how’d you find out about my lack of a date? And what about your date?”

“Well, to start things off, Trixie definitely found you interesting the more we talked, chatted, and bickered,” Trixie confessed. “Trixie … I felt like we got closer and I started to see you as more of a friend as we’re very alike. Someone I can really let my guard down around and who didn’t write me off as a phony magician with a bad attitude. As I mentioned, you’re someone I completely trust and I honestly feel happy being around and seeing every day, so … I grew to like you more and more after you joined my club. I overheard you talking to your friends at lunch about having trouble getting a date and doing badly on your math test, so I decided to do something nice and asked one of my bandmates to finish your role playing design for you to cheer you up and decided why not ask you out to the dance?”

“Oh … wow. That’s … so sweet of you.” Zero blushed heavily and a thought came to mind. “So, this morning … you didn’t speak up about planning to ask me because you weren’t sure if I had plans to ask anyone yet and didn’t wanna risk making things awkward. Am I right?”

Trixie nodded. “To be honest, you were my first choice … my only choice. I wanted my last Fall Formal to be with someone I care about. Not Snips, not Snails, and … well, Big Mac was a passing thought, but I decided against it. I feel like this would be a dance to remember if I went with you. I know it’s a lot to take in, but I wanna know what your feelings are.”

“I’ll be honest…” Zero began with an unsure expression. “It’s a bit to take in. Today has been rocky for the most part and suddenly I find out you feel this way about me….it’s been an eventful monday to say to least so I can’t complain too much...but…”

“But what?” Trixie wondered in an almost worried tone.

“But…” Zero smiled a little as he looked up at her. “This is seriously cool of you to do. I mean, a love poem and a cool costume. Not to mention trying to really break my gloomy mood like this. Who knew the Sweet and Generous Trixie could be this awesome?”

“Trixie is only awesome to those who truly deserve it.” Trixie winked at him with a blush. Zero quickly returned said blush.

“Well, with all of this, how can I say no?” Zero smiled brightly. “I’d love to go to the dance with you, Trixie. And I appreciate the love letter so much that I’m gonna keep it! Thank you!”

“But of course. The Cool and Amazing Zero deserves a date to the Fall Formal. And who else could fit that role better than yours truly?” Trixie smiled genuinely. “Anyways, we’d better get going to the club before the boys get curious. By any chance, did you get Soul or Pinkie interested in our club?”

Zero nodded as he grabbed his backpack and started walking with her to the library. “Soul was definitely on board. But Pinkie can only pop in every now and then since she has her Party Planning Committee. But after the dance she should be more available. But I just hope she doesn’t get on your nerves. Pinkie is wonderful in all sorts of way, but she can be a little much at times.”

“Well, Trixie tolerate Snips and Snails, so she can definitely manage her.” Trixie waved off. “And Trixie is way more wonderful than her,” she huffed.

Zero only chuckled as they headed off. But completely unknown to them, Twilight and Rarity were by the stairwell near Zero’s locker and had heard the majority of what happened. Twilight looked down in defeat as she was planning on talking to Zero first in the hopes of asking him out to the dance, but got there moments after Zero read Trixie’s poem. She’d still hoped to at least offer him a chance to do something special, but she lost her confidence after hearing everything and couldn’t even approach them. Rarity was along to lend her support and watch over everything, but after what transpired she was a little shocked and tried to ponder the next move.

“Curse that Trixie. I wasn’t expecting her to interfere,” Rarity hissed in frustration before she looked at Twilight and patted her shoulder gently. “Darling?”

Twilight only sighed and gripped her fist tightly. “I’m … I’m fine, Rarity.” She loosened her grip and turned to Rarity. “I would just ask him if he wants to go out to eat and get whatever he wants, but I think I’ll just leave him be. I don’t want to make things awkward for him right now. Besides, he was still bothered by his test until Trixie came along, and seeing me now would more than likely bother him all over again. Either way, I think I’m just going to go home.”

“I see.” Rarity nodded in understanding. “But don’t let it get you down. We can still find you a date. Just give it time and let Rarity do the searching. And as for Zero, just talk to him tomorrow, whenever it is that you’re ready. Do you want me to take you home?”

Twilight shook her head. “No thanks. I’m good. Just enjoy yourself today in the science club.”

“Very well. If you’re sure, text me once you’re home,” Rarity said before the two walked downstairs and went opposites ways. “Ta-ta!”

Twilight returned the wave as she started walking home by herself. During her walk home, she took a minute to contemplate her feelings, as for the most part, she felt a sense of heartache and disappointment.

Looks like Zero’s bad luck is rubbing off on me too, Twilight thought to herself. Just as I got the confidence to do something, this happens and brings me back down. I should’ve never waited until the last minute. Now look where you’re at, Sparkle. But it makes sense for him to go with Trixie after all. She’s closer to him than I am. And it’s not too bad. I can still do something nice for him, I suppose. No, it still isn’t enough. It’s like what Trixie said, I want my own experience at the dance to be memorable. I want … wait a second.’

Twilight felt a raindrop hit her head. Then another, and another. She quickly pulled out her umbrella and it soon began pouring. “Shoot! Of all the rotten luck! I knew I was forgetting about something today.”

Twilight knew her house was a bit of a ways away and it was getting difficult to see as the rain was coming down hard. She couldn’t find a bus stop right away, nor could she turn back and take shelter in the school as she was already a quarter mile away. She took out her phone and got ready to text Rarity for a ride, but while she was in the middle of texting, she saw a car pull over and honk its horn at her. She immediately became wary of this and glanced at the car. She saw it was black and had a symbol of a blue shield with a yellow lightning bolt on the hood. The driver’s window rolled down and Twilight saw an old, yet familiar face. It was Flash Sentry.

“Yo Twilight! Don’t just stand there like a deer in the headlights, get in!” Flash rushed her as he unlocked the door.

Twilight looked at him before quickly hopping into the passenger's seat. She had been hoping to get in contact with Rarity, but this was a better option than staying in the rain. “Thanks Flash.”

“No problemo Twilight.” Flash gave a thumbs up as he locked the door and started driving. “What are you doing out here? Did your car break down or something?”

“Sort of. I just complained that anytime I use my car it starts shaking, and my brother decided to take a look at it today for me. He’s not just a good cop, but a good auto mechanic, too. And I was going to take the bus, but unfortunately I can’t really find it out here.”

“Oh, I see.” Flash nodded. “So, what’s your address? My GPS will take us there,” he explained before taking out his phone.

“It’s 9428 Treehouse Lane,” Twilight said. Flash quickly put the address in and began driving down the street as he listened to the GPS’s directions. As they drove, the rain outside was pouring almost as if there was a hurricane coming in. But thankfully, it was becoming easier to see as time went on. But during the ride, Flash would occasionally glance at Twilight as there was an awkward silence between them. Twilight was just looking out the window on her side and staring off into space.

“So … it’s really coming down hard out there, huh?” Flash said in attempt to get a conversation in.

“Mmhmm,” Twilight replied nonchalantly. “According the weather report, it’s going to rain up until eleven o'clock tonight.”

“Seriously? Darn. I was gonna go to the park with the dudes for a bike ride. Guess we’ll have to settle with bowling instead.”

“Bowling is pretty fun,” Twilight added without facing Flash.

Flash bit his tongue as he tensed up a little, unsure of how to continue the chatter. He could continue with the topic at hand, but she didn’t really seem all that interested. So he decided to switch it up. “Yeah, it is pretty fun. Hey, you enjoying yourself at Canterlot High, by the way? At first you seemed like you wanted to keep to yourself, but it looks like all you had to do was find your crowd.”

“I really do like the school, thanks for asking,” Twilight said as she turned to him, finally giving him some attention. “It’s so lively and comforting. Unlike Crystal Prep, I actually have something to look forward to at school besides the education, and that’s seeing everyone there.”

“That’s great!” Flash stated with a smile. “Honestly, being there has been the best three years of my life. Here’s hoping our fourth and final year goes out with a bang! If we’re lucky, most of us will probably go to the same college or university together.”

“Probably,” Twilight guessed before she tapped her chin and pondered something. “Say Flash, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Sure thing, ask away.”

“When we first met, you seemed very excited to see me. Even more than the girls were at first until everyone realized I was a different Twilight,” Twilight explained as she tilted her head at him. “It’s … technically not my business, but did you have an … interest in the Twilight from the other world?”

“W-why do you ask?” Flash wondered.

“Well, Sunset told me you kept asking about her every now and then and anytime you tried talking to me in the past, you’ve acted … odd,” Twilight said with a puzzled expression. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to hear the story from you now that I’ve got the chance to clear the air about this.”

Flash sighed. “No, no, no. It’s cool. Long story short, when Princess Twilight came here, I was … kinda into her. And it looked like she was into me. Plus, we even danced at the Fall Formal together. And we even hung out for a bit the next time she came over to our world after she beat the Dazzlings. So … I kinda fell for her.”

“I see.” Twilight nodded.

“And after that, I haven’t seen her since.” Flash frowned. “I asked Sunset every so often when she’d come back again. But Sunset told me she’s been super busy with being a princess, so she wasn’t sure. She even told me that I was being super clingy about her and I shouldn’t get my hopes up for anything between me and her actually happening. The more I thought about it, the more I realized she had a really good point.”

“Of course, she’s a pony princess from a whole different world and you’re a high schooler,” Twilight disclosed. “I’m not one for romance, but … though making it work might be possible, it’d be incredibly difficult.”

“Exactly,” Flash agreed. “So I thought the best thing would be to just move on and—” He suddenly clammed up for a brief moment. “....I found myself wondering how I’d fare with the Twilight on our side. But quickly realized that unlike the other Twilight, I don’t really know what to talk to you about or anything. And you didn’t really seem interested in interacting with me either, so….”

Twilight quickly understood what he was going on about. It looks like he wants to form a connection with me but doesn’t want to force it, nor does he want to pressure me into it, she thought to herself. I didn’t find him interesting beforehand, but since I am more open-minded now, I ought to give him a chance. He’s still a sweet guy overall. Twilight nodded before speaking up. “Well, I didn’t really give you a chance beforehand. But I’m willing to give things a try now. And besides, we’re in the chemistry club together, so we can talk more science too. Which reminds me, why aren’t you in club today?”

“Well, I’m really behind on my homework and I need all the time in the world to finish it,” Flash explained with a groan. “Cranky Doodle can be such as ass sometimes.”

“Sounds like a certain someone I know,” Twilight giggled. “But if you want, I can help you with it tomorrow if I get the chance.”

“Really? That’d be really helpful Twilight, thanks!” Flash smiled before pulling up to Twilight’s house. “And here’s your stop. Sparkle residence. Thank you for riding with the Flash, your total comes up to zero dollars and zero cents.”

Twilight shakes her head with a smile. “Thank you Flash, both for being honest with me and clearing the air about all of this.”

“Not a problem. I’m glad we talked this out. And um … out of curiosity, I heard from Microchips that you don’t have a date to the Fall Formal this Saturday,” Flash wondered.

“Yeah,” Twilight confirmed as she lamented the thought that she had almost forgotten about until now. “I take it Microchips isn’t really interested either?”

“It’s not that he isn’t interested. He’d love to go, but he has to work the night shift at GameStop and his boss reaaaally needs him,” Flash explained. “But I could take you if you want.”

Twilight blushed faintly and played with her hair a little. “O-Oh, well, um … I guess if you really want to, then sure. Besides, this will help us get along much more quickly.”

“Yeah! It’ll be a blast!” Flash smiled brightly. “But anyways, I’d better get home. I’ll make sure you have a great time on Saturday.”

“I’m sure you will.” Twilight returned the smile. “See you tomorrow.”

Twilight hopped out of the car and shut the door before rushing inside the house. Once she was inside, Flash drove away. Not wasting a moment, Twilight went upstairs to let Rarity know that she’d found a date. While she was happy at the thought, she was still a bit sour about not being able to ask Zero. Thinking back to what happened with Trixie, she felt like the words she told Zero resonated with her own feelings.

I got a date at last and I can worry about asking Zero what he wants another time. But I still feel like…. Twilight thought for a moment as she entered her room and sat down by her dresser. Like I only wanted to go with Zero. I still do, but I’m sure I’ll have a good time with Flash. Zero and I can hang out some other time. It’s okay.

Twilight heard her phone go off and saw Rarity had texted her back and bombarded her with questions and some excited reactions. Twilight smiled at this and started texting her back.

Yeah, it’ll be a great dance. And I hope you have a good time too, Zero.

The Big Dance

It was a rather rambunctious Saturday night in the Gravity household as White Star and Sound Barrier were making sure Zero and Wind were properly dressed for the Fall Formal, which was beginning within the next hour. It was the first time in a long while that the family had to be properly dressed for an event like this. Zero hadn’t attended a dance since the end of Elementary school back in Manehattan and had lost interest in them, preferring to spend the night hanging around the arcade with his friends. Meanwhile, Wind had been too shy to go due to the bullying she went through and her lack of friends. Now, it was time they showed off their classy sides and made good impressions.

In his parents’ room, Zero finished putting on his suit that Rarity made for him and groaned, quickly recalling the reason he didn’t like going to dances or fancy outings as he disliked getting fancied up like this. Whether it was a uniform or a suit, nothing felt more comfortable and cool than normal clothes with a dash of style.

“Gotta admit though,” Zero said as he looked in the mirror. He was wearing a classic fit suit with a black unbuttoned jacket and matching pants, a gray vest with a white buttoned up shirt underneath, a blue striped tie in shades of ocean blue and midnight, and black derby shoes. “Rarity sure knows how to make a guy look fresh. I actually kinda like this.”

“Well, she did tell me that classic suits would be better for you since they’re very comfortable,” Sound Barrier said as he was getting dressed. He wore a dark blue trench coat with a white buttoned up shirt and a dark yellow tie. He smiled at his son. “Besides, it beats buying a three hundred buck suit you’d hate. Either way, getting you into a suit is already a milestone.”

“And the fact I did so without arguing already puts mom is a cheery mood.” Zero chuckles. “Still, I’d better thank Rarity properly when I see her. But what I’m wondering is why are you getting dressed?”

“Simple, I wanna go to the dance with you.” Sound Barrier smirked.

“W-What?!”

“I can’t let you have all the swagger. I gotta get down on that dance floor and show you kids what a man with true game is really like,” Sound Barrier said as he started doing the moonwalk while doing the peace sign over his eyes. “Look at me with my bad self!”

Zero face palmed before laughing and Sound Barrier also joined in on the laughter as well before stopping and explaining himself. “No, but in all seriousness, I’m gonna drive you and Trixie to the dance and your mother is gonna take Wind to pick up her date. Also I wanna meet Trixie’s family for myself since we’re neighbors and all.”

“Well, that’s probably for the best. If you went to pick up Button Mash with Wind, you’d probably take the shotgun,” Zero jested.

“I didn’t mean to scare you and Twilight like that, I’m sorry!” Barrier argued before groaning. “Plus, I’m very cautious of who Wind spends her time with.”

“Button’s a good kid,” reassured Zero. “Just imagine me but more of a hardcore gamer and a bit introverted.”

Barrier just looked at Zero for a moment. “That … makes me even more worried.”

Zero stuck his tongue out at him. “Oh don’t be so critical. I know the kid and he’s a good sport. And he’s not gonna even think about pulling anything. Remember, Mom’s gonna meet him too.”

“Good point.”

Zero and Sound Barrier soon went downstairs after they finished putting on cologne and freshening up and waited for the girls in the living room. Not long afterwards, the girls came downstairs. Wind was wearing a long dark blue lace dress and matching black high heels that she was having a bit of trouble walking in. She also had her hair brushed and let it flow down her back. White Star had a long asymmetrical black dress with black high heels to show off her legs. Her hair was done a bit wavy and she wore red lipstick. Both girls had mascara and black eyeshadow. As they walked towards the boys, White Star winked at Sound Barrier, making him completely speechless.

“So, boys. How do we look?” White Star smirked as she giggled.

“Well, I’m pretty sure you blew Dad’s mind. So that’s a win.” Zero chuckled as he waved his hand in front of Sound Barrier’s face, who quickly snapped out of his trance.

“H-H-Huh? I mean, yeah, absolutely!” Barrier admitted a bit too excitedly before clearing his throat. “I mean, you look astonishing honey,” he flattered her as he blushed.

“But you both do look good either way!” Zero agreed with a smile. He turned to Wind. “When Button sees you, he’s gonna lose his mind!”

White Star’s expression quickly changed to a fierce one as she cracked his knuckles. “He’d better treat you like a goddamn princess and know some self control. Otherwise, this is gonna be his last dance! And I’ll be sure to let him know that!”

Wind gave an annoyed sighed. “Mom, I don’t want you to scare off any boy that I meet! How come you don’t do that with Zero?!”

“Because he’s old enough to know if he doesn’t find the right girl, me and him are gonna throw down.”

Zero nodded. “It’s true.”

“Just … try to be a little nicer and go easy on him, please?” Wind begged with a worried expression. “I don’t want him to stop liking me because he’s gotta worry about getting past the mom who can probably tear a mountain to pieces and the dad who works with the law and has a booming voice.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll try to behave in front of Button and his folks,” White Star replied as she almost huffed.

I’m pretty sure the kid is supposed to say they’ll behave, not the parent in these cases,Zero thought to himself with a small chuckle until he got flicked in the nose by his mother. “Ow!!”

“I saw that look on your face! You thought I was acting like a kid just because I said I’d behave!” raged White Star as she gripped her fist tightly.

“As a lawyer, I can confidently say there’s a plethora of evidence to support the claim that you do act like a child and sometimes even a little immaturely, right now being a prime example,” Barrier argued before smirking a little.

“Unlike most adults, I choose to keep my inner child for the sake of positivity and having fun. But I’m not immature … jerk.” She turned her head away.

Wind and Zero only rolled their eyes with a small chuckle before Wind fixed her hair a little. “Anyways, we’d better get going. I’ll see you at the dance, bro. Maybe then I can get used to wearing these heels.”

“Why wear them anyways?” Zero asked curiously. “Do you wanna impress Button that badly?”

“N-no! I’m just trying to look nice for a change!” Wind admitted as she covered her face and hid her blush.

“Alright you two, enough teasing.” Barrier waved off the argument. “It’s our first fancy outing and we don’t want your partners waiting too long.”

“Yeah, then once we drop you kiddos off, me and your father will go and have our own fun tonight,” White Star explained before wrapping an arm around Sound Barrier with a playful grin.

“Oh, I bet.” Barrier smirked.

“Yep, a good ol’ fashioned game of chess!” White Star announced before pulling out the board game nearby. “It’s about time I finally kick your ass in it!”

“Oh … chess … that kind of fun…. Great.” Barrier said in an almost gloomy tone, which the kids noticed and chuckled at, but to which White Star remained oblivious.

The Gravity family soon headed out with White Star taking the family minivan and driving Wind to Button’s house while Sound Barrier and Zero walked next door to the Lulamoon residence. Once they were sure they looked completely proper one last time, Zero rang the doorbell and waited patiently. A few second later, the door opened up and they saw an older-looking woman standing in the doorway. She had dark brown eyes and dark gold hair that extended past her shoulders and down the upper part of her back in a style very similar to Trixie’s. She wore a dark yellow dress with a white shirt underneath, a white jacket-like blouse over her dress, dark blue leggings, brown high-heeled shoes and a sunflower hair pin. She looked at both Zero and Sound Barrier before pushing up her glasses. “No flowers from either of you? Can’t say I’m surprised from a rambunctious family such as yourselves. Although, at least you both look rather delicious,” she said with a small grin.

“Sorry, I thought about buying flowers or picking some,” Zero confessed with an unsure expression and blushed from the last comment. “But I’m sorta new to being formal and fancy. Probably should’ve asked Clyde and Rarity all about this stuff.”

“And I had already spent money on these suits.” Barrier chuckled awkwardly with a blush. “But um … t-thanks for the compliment. But … d-did you just call us delicious?”

“Oh, I just like to tease is all,” the woman said before motioning them to come inside. “My name is Spectacle Lulamoon. Make yourselves at home, neighbors.”

Zero and Sound Barrier looked at each other as they felt a bit uneasy of Spectacle before deciding to walk inside. The interior of the home looked rather pleasant and similar to their own home, though nicer—clear white walls, potted plants, a flat screen TV, a chandelier, fancier looking furniture, and a fireplace, which their house didn’t have. Sound Barrier looked heavily interested in all of it due to his background in architecture.

“All of this is pretty pricey looking,” Zero acknowledged in surprise. “You must be loaded.”

“In truth, I work as both a nurse and a pyrotechnic,” Spectacle admitted with a bit of pride. “So I make a plethora of money.”

“Interesting. But with jobs like those, you must have a lot of hours on your back,” Sound Barrier worried as he looked at her. “I hope you’re not—”

“Overworked? Stressed? Please, I’ve outgrown such weakness and can handle each job like a pro,” Spectacle replied confidently until she frowned a little. “Though I’ll admit that it is rather difficult for me to get quality time with my daughter, but she does seem happier lately for some reason,” she said before smirking at Zero. “She has told me a lot about a certain young man, after all.”

“Hehe, well, we’ve been hanging out a lot this week,” Zero commented with a small blush. “The club, walking to school together, hanging out at my place. S-So I’m not surprised.”

“But of course, though I won’t hold you boys up. Trixie should be down any moment now. I’ll get you boys some soda in the meantime,” Spectacle said as she headed into the kitchen.

While Sound Barrier kept admiring the place, Zero was about to sit down until he noticed all of the family photos on the fireplace. He smiled. Some of them were just pictures of Trixie enjoying Christmas, performing what seemed to be her first magic show, and in a variety of Halloween costumes.

Looks like she loves Halloween just as much as I do, Zero chuckled before taking notice of something in all of the pictures. Wait … I see a lot of Trixie either by herself or with her mom. But it doesn’t seem like her dad is in any of these. Then again, why would her mom need two jobs?....Never mind, now I get it, he realized as he recalled some key things Trixie said to him in the past. But since he wanted the night to be fun and memorable, he decided to drop the subject.

Still, he thought once more before glancing outside into the night. I hope you’ll have a good time too, Twilight.

Just then, a door on the second floor opened and Zero looked over to the stairs. He was completely speechless and his jaw dropped at the sight of Trixie slowly exiting her room and coming down the stairs. She was wearing a bright, ring detail, one-shoulder, blue and purple dress with dark blue high heels. She also wore white opera gloves with two faux gold bracelets on her left arm and shiny new star earrings. As a nice change of pace, she made part of her hair into a ponytail. As she descended the stairs, Sound Barrier and Spectacle only smiled at the two of them as Zero couldn’t find the words to describe how Trixie looked.

Once Trixie got to the bottom step, she walked over to her date and smirked in pure delight as she gently stroked his chest, making him shiver a bit. “Very dashing. You look more amazing than I could’ve imagined.”

“T-T-Thanks, um … wow. Like … sweet Jiminy Christmas you look like … like….” Zero stumbled on his words.

“A movie star? A model? The girl of your dreams?” Trixie said with pride as she winked at Zero. “I know, I want to look my absolute best for you and only you. You deserve this.”

“Quite so,” Spectacle said as she took out a camera. “Before you two set out, let’s commit this moment to memory and get a picture in.”

Zero slowly nodded and took Trixie’s hand. They stood by the wall and faced the camera as they gave a nice smile. But just before they were fully prepared, Trixie gave a warmer smile and scooted closer to Zero while forcing him to put his arm around her waist. Not wanting the picture to get messed up and risking taking more than needed, he just went along with it. Spectacle took the picture and smiled in satisfaction before taking at least two more along with Sound Barrier.

“Aaaand done,” Sound Barrier confirmed before checking his watch. “Okay you two lovebirds, time to hit the dance floor.”

“Oh, and before you go Zero, come get your soda in the kitchen,” Spectacle said before leading Zero into the kitchen as Trixie followed Sound Barrier outside to the car. Once Spectacle handed him the drink she tapped her chin as she analyzed him. “You know, I’m happy my daughter found someone like you to share her time with,” she said before her tone grew a little worrisome. “Listen, be straight with me. Do you like my daughter? Manners or not, you’re not as energetic as I’ve heard.”

“Well … I’m a little indecisive,” Zero said before looking a little unsure. “I’m a little nervous since this is my first dance in years and Trixie being so … whoa around me. Don’t get me wrong, it feels nice to get so much love from her. She’s so awesome and pretty and … gosh, it’s hard finding the right words to explain how cool she is. But at the same time, I have a feeling in my gut. I guess it’s just a lot to take in since I’ve never had a girl treat me the way she does, so it’s a little weird. So it’s either that or I’m super hungry and can’t think straight. Probably both, hehe.”

“Maybe so, heh. Just make sure both you and my daughter have a good time.” Spectacle pats his shoulder. “And please keep an eye on her for me.”

“I promise! ” Zero affirmed a bit forcefully before taking the sodas and heading out to his father's car and getting in the back seat with Trixie. Not wasting another moment, they quickly headed off to Canterlot High.

While Trixie looked absolutely ecstatic, Zero couldn’t help but feel a bit lukewarm. He thought it might be the dance since it was out of his comfort zone. Or maybe it was his new dynamic with Trixie. As far as he was aware, they weren’t officially together. Or probably he was just really hungry and that was it.

Regardless, something didn’t feel right.

Standing in front of her mirror, Twilight examined herself nervously as the dance approached ever closer. She wore a short bright teal empire waist dress with constellation patterns all over. The color grew slightly darker into more of a turquoise color as it went up to her chest, and she completed the look with matching teal-colored kitten heels. She tied her hair into a bun while two hair strands stook out on each side of her face. She also decided to wear contacts instead of her glasses as she decided it’d probably make her look more attractive.

“Y-You sure I look okay?” Twilight stuttered as she turned towards her mother, Twilight Velvet. She had purple and gray hair straits and her hair styled very similarly to her daughter, clipped with a three star hairpin. She had light blue eyes, gray skin and wore a dark blue blouse with a pink skirt.

“Honey, you look fantabulous!” Velvet assured as she patted her shoulders with a grin. “Your friend Rarity really knows how to make a good dress. It really does show off your beauty, inward and outward!”

“D-Didn’t really think I had much of either, to be honest,” Twilight mumbled to herself before she started to panic a little. “B-But I do want to look decent. Do I have enough makeup on? I am pretty enough without my glasses on, or should I put them back on? What if I didn’t practice my dance moves enough? You know I have the worst dance moves! Or what if Flash doesn’t have a good time, then what do I—”

“Sweetheart, remember what Cadance said. Breathe in.” Velvet did the hand motioned at her chest as she inhaled. Her daughter watched as she did the same. “And out.” She exhaled with a smile. Twilight copied her actions and felt herself relaxing a little.

“Thanks Mom. Since this is my first dance in who knows how long, you can imagine that I’m a bit of a … worrywart,” Twilight said with a small chuckle.

“Believe me, I’m well aware. But I can’t help but feel so excited for you! My baby is going to her big high school dance, and with a boy no less!” Velvet pranced in place as she giggled. “I can’t help but feel excited for you! I’m just surprised you're not going with that boy who came to check on you that one time. Cadance said he seemed sweet.”

“Someone else … managed to get to him first.” Twilight glanced away and looked disheartened for a moment. “But it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get to spend some time with him at the dance at the least. But this Flash boy seems like he won the grand prize of going with you if you want my opinion.” Velvet smiled. “And I’m sure you’ll have a good time with him and all your friends. Just don’t think about it too much and have fun.”

Twilight smiled and nodded at her mother before leaving her room and going downstairs. She went into her living room where her father, Nightlight, was currently focused on a sudoku book and looked completely immersed. He had amber eyes, dark blue combed hair and light blue skin. He was wearing a black button down shirt and khakis while wearing pink bunny slippers. Spike slept next to him, curled up against the fuzzy slippers.

Twilight could only roll her eyes and smirk before clearing her throat to try and get his attention. “Dad?” She saw he still wasn’t looking before tapping her chin and hatching an idea. “Oh no, the pictures on the wall are all crooked!”

“They are?!” Nightlight jumped up before looking over at the family photos on the wall and saw they were still at a perfect ninety degrees. He sighed in relief before glaring at Twilight. “I’d rather you at least get my attention without giving me a heart attack, please and thank you.”

“Sorry Dad,” Twilight chuckled. “But I thought it was the best way given how you get so absorbed in playing sudoku that you forget what and who are around you.”

“Fair enough,” Nightlight agreed before smiling. “But look at you Twilight! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were applying to be a Disney princess or something with how amazing you look.”

Twilight blushed a bit out of embarrassment as she was getting a bit overwhelmed by the compliments. “Thanks Dad, but I don’t think I look that good. But if I can barely manage the attention in my house, I can only imagine what it’s going to be like at the dance. And here comes the butterflies in my stomach. Maybe this was a bad idea.”

“Just relax sweetheart. I’m just glad you decided to go,” Nightlight commented before he snapped his fingers. “Oh, we’ve gotta find the camera before your date arrives! Velvet, do you know you where it is?”

“It’s in the study room!” Velvet exclaimed before rushing off. “I’ll go get it!”

Just as she rushed off, Twilight heard a knock on the door. “I got it.” She went to the door and looked through the peephole. She could see Flash wearing a black single breasted jacket with a red tie and matching pants along with black classic dress shoes. His car was parked out right behind him and he seemed to be holding something behind his back. Twilight took one last deep breath to brace herself.

I can do this. It’s going to be a wonderful night. Twilight smiled and opened the door as she looked at Flash. “Hey Flash!”

“Evening Twilight! You look … whoa….” said Flash, looking completely taken aback.

“Do I look alright?” Twilight worried slightly with a bright blush as looked away.

“You look incredible!” Flash smiled brightly as he complimented her. “The outfit really suits you with all the constellations and all. I really dig it! Also, this is for you!” Flash held out a bouquet of pink roses.

“Oh Flash.Thank you so much. Both for the flowers and the compliment.” Twilight took it with a warm smile before sniffing it. “Come for a minute while I find a vase to put these in!”

Flash stepped inside and immediately heard running from upstairs as Velvet came rushing down camera in hand, startling Flash a little. “I found it and I heard Flash come in!”

“Y-You must be Twilight’s mom.” Flash gave a nervous chuckle before giving a little wave. “It’s a real pleasure to meet you Ma—”

“The pleasure’s all mine, Flash!” Velvet immediately took his hand and shook it vigorously, causing Flash’s body to shake in return. She heard Nightlight give a forceful cough to get her attention and once she glanced over, he was pointing out what she was doing to Flash before immediately letting go of his hand and composing herself. “Sorry about that. I’m just feeling a little—”

“Exhilarated?” Flash interjected while fixing his suit.

“Joyful?” Nightlight chimed in.

“Rapturous?” Twilight added as she walked over.

“I’d say all of the above,” Velvet confirmed. “I’m just excited for my daughter. But I have to say, you look pretty dashing. Guess my sweetie really knows how to pick ’em.”

“Mom, please stop.” Twilight blushed more.

“Oh, I’m only teasing,” Velvet laughed. “But that’s enough out of me, I know.” She stepped back and motioned Nightlight to chat with Flash.

Nightlight got up and walked over to Flash and offered him a handshake. “Sorry son, I hope my wife didn’t startle you much.”

“It’s alright sir, she’s not as lively as a certain party girl in my school.” Flash took Nightlight’s hand and shook it gently. “It’s nice to meet you. Say … you look familiar.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah. Do you know anyone that’s in the police force by any chance?” Flash wondered as he tried to recall his face.

“My son, Shining Armor. He got promoted to the Chief of Police just a few months ago during a big ceremony at the station. Someone in your family’s a part of the force, I take it?” Nightlight deducted as he rubbed his chin.

“Yeah, my dad was a crossing guard before he got moved up to be a patrol office—” Flash suddenly remembered something and a smile crept up on his face before covering his mouth to try to hold back a laugh. “Wait, so, that was you!?”

Nightlight was confused for a moment before he suddenly realized what he was talking about. His whole face flushed red as he covered it with his hand. “And just when I thought everyone had forgotten….”

“What? What happened exactly?” Twilight wondered.

“At the ceremony, your brother started getting super emotional just as he got promoted, but he managed to suck it in,” Velvet explained before giggling at the memory. “But just as everyone started applauding, your father shouted, and I quote, ‘My precious baby boy!’ at the top of his lungs while bawling.”

Twilight blinked a few times. “Well, that doesn’t sound so—”

“And then some of the officers had to drag him out of the room since he was making too much of a scene.”

“Never mind,” Twilight said as she didn’t find it too funny given that she was used to Shining and her father being emotional during ceremonies, yet her mother was surprisingly able to keep some level of composure during said events. “Flash. Let’s get our picture taken and get to the dance soon, okay?”

“Sure thing!” Flash stood by Twilight and made sure he looked okay, so Twilight did the same. Once they were ready, Velvet got her camera out and grinned.

“Now say cheese!” Velvet exclaimed as she raised her finger over the button. Flash smiled as he wrapped one arm around Twilight’s waist, making her jump a little as she wasn’t used to this. She hesitated before placing a hand on his chest and the two of them smiled, giving Velvet the chance to snap the picture and a few more. “Alright, now get out there you two and have a blast!”

“We will!” Flash resounded before he headed for the door and opened it for Twilight like a gentleman. “It was really nice meeting you two.”

“And I, you, Flash.” Nightlight nodded. “You two have a good time!”

“Thanks Dad. And Mom, I’ll keep what you said in mind,” Twilight reassured as she waved goodbye. “I’ll call you if anything happens.”

“Of course sweetheart!” Velvet gave Twilight a quick hug before whispering in her ear. “But don’t have too much fun. I know he’s a cutie, bu—”

“Mom, please stop,” Twilight interjected, almost hissing. And in the moment, she worried Velvet caught on, but she just let her go with her normal smile as she didn’t seem to pick up on her tone.

“Oh I’m just teasing and you know it,” Velvet said as she kissed her forehead. “Go get him, Tiger.”

Twilight looked at her hesitantly then followed up with a nod as she hurried into Flash’s car as they began heading off to the dance. As much as she was worried about what was in store for her at the dance, she was distracted by a variety of mixed, though mostly positive, feelings swirling about in her head. But as time went by, she began dismissing the irrational fears of something going wrong, in favor of the feelings that felt strongest, one of which Pinkie would probably describe as nervouscited. The other strong feeling she felt, however, contradicted the previous, and she couldn’t narrow down the reason as to why.

It was some lack of interest.

As Barrier’s car rolled up to the front entrance of the school, Zero stepped out and looked around. He could see several of his classmates walking up to the entrance and waiting in line to give Cheerilee their tickets so they could get in. They were all well-dressed and much more enthusiastic that normal, given the event. Zero actually started to get cold feet and gulped until Trixie pinched his arm and snapped him out of it.

“Ow!” Zero cried out as he flinched and rubbed his arm.

“Don’t just stand there, you zombie,” Trixie said as she placed her hands on her hips. “Let’s join the line before it gets too long!”

“Well excuse me. After you, your majesty.” Zero rolled his eyes before bowing and motioned for Trixie to lead the way. She smirked before walking on ahead.

“Remember son, mind your manners and have fun.” Barrier gave his son a thumbs up before smirking. “And please don’t do anything that’ll get Spectacle and your mother to team up and destroy you.”

“I’m not that dumb as to knock up Trixie, Dad!” Zero argued.

Barrier only laughed. “You never know kiddo, but good luck.” He drove off now that he’d gotten the last laugh.

Zero shook his head before taking a deep breath and walking over to the line. He saw some students had already gotten in line immediately after Trixie did. Just as he was about to ask them if he could cut ahead to reunite with his date, he recognized the three girls and smirked a little before clearing his throat and making his voice purposely deeper.

“My, oh, my. If you three sexy ladies don’t mind, can I join you?” Zero said in a very flamboyant tone. “Then tonight we can have a harem party at my place.”

One of the girls scoffed as they slowly turned around. “Blueblood, don’t make me shove my heel right in your di—” She stopped as she recognized Zero as it was Twinkleshine. She was wearing a dark purple empire waist dress and had let hair down. “Oh, you little clown.” Her annoyed demeanor quickly changed to an amused one as she punched Zero’s arm playfully.

Zero snickered as he kept the flamboyant tone. “I guess that’s a ‘no’ then. And here I was hoping for some action.” He started laughing and Twinkleshine immediately did the same. Lemon Drops and Minuette turned to look at the two. Lemon Drops was wearing a one shoulder teal dress with matching heels and Minuette was wearing a white mini skirt dress with a strapless top, white lace sleeves and white high heels.

Once he stopped laughing, Zero looked up and noticed the two girls. “But look at you three. You look pretty … good,” he said as he realized Trixie was right in front of them.

“Just good, eh? I’d say we look pretty sexy if anything!” Twinkleshine argued as she posed. “Right ladies?”

“Heh, yeah! But we appreciate the comment Zero.” Lemon Hearts blushed a little.

“Yeah … thanks,” Minuette replied a little dryly.

“But who would’ve thought you actually put on something that didn’t make you look like a hooligan?” Twinkleshine teased. “I swear, as each day goes by, I recognize you less and less. By graduation, you’ll be a teacher’s pet!”

“Like hell I will.” Zero stuck his tongue out. “I’m not gonna be some egghead who thinks learning and stuff is fun. I’m a bad boy through and through!”

“Honestly, I think that it’s good that you’re changing,” Lemon Hearts added with a smile. “Now you don’t get into as much trouble and will grow to be more than just some punk rulebreaker. But at the same time, you’re still the reckless and carefree firecracker we all know.”

Zero smiled and scratched the back of his head. “Well, you know what they say: the more things change, the more things stay the same. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. But who knows, maybe little Twinkle will cool it and finally land herself a boyfriend.”

Twinkle’s eyebrow twitched as she grabbed Zero’s ear and pulled it. “Care to repeat that, you hedgehog?! You have no room to talk when you came here by yourself!”

“Ow, ow, ow! I didn’t, you doofus! I’m here with Trixie!” Zero cried out in pain as he wiggled free.

“You’re here with Trixie?” Twinkleshine said before she, Lemon Drops, and Minuette looked at Trixie, who had her arms crossed.

“Indeed, he’s here with the one and only Trixie!” Trixie as she pulled Zero over and wrapped an arm around him. “Now hands off and don’t bother him!”

Twinkleshine huffed as she rolled her eyes. “We’re just clowning around, geez. No need to be clingy.”

“Don’t mind Twinkleshine, Trixie,” Lemon Hearts fretted as she tried to defuse the tension. “She’s usually like this. B-But you two do look cute together! Right, Minty?”

“Huh?” Minuette said as she looked like she was only half paying attention. “Y-Yeah. They look pretty nice,” she mumbled.

Zero raised an eyebrow and was about to say something. But Trixie pulled him forward as they were at the front entrance. “Anywho, it’s time this majestic duo be on our way!” Trixie beamed as she gave Cheerilee and Zero their tickets and was about to head inside.

“Z-Z-Zero, before you go,” Minuette quickly called out as she reached for him.

“Yeah, what’s the matter Minty?” Zero asked, concerned. “Everything cool?”

Minuette nodded. “I’m okay, but … have you talked to Night at all tonight or have you seen him?”

“He got here a while ago with AJ from what he texted me,” Zero explained. “Along with everyone else. Why do you ask?”

“No particular reason, but I’ll catch up with you later,” Minuette said with a smile.

Zero smiled back, but just as he turned away, he thought he saw Minuette go back to her melancholy look for just a second. But given how excited and somewhat anxious Trixie was, he didn’t want to risk making her mad, so he begrudgingly decided to leave it be and text Twinkleshine later to find out if something was up.

After going down the hallway and feeling the vibrations of what was Vinyl Scratch’s pop music, Zero and Trixie entered the gymnasium and they saw all the main lights were off and replaced with party lights all over the room, illuminating the entire gym. The students were jamming out, dancing among their friends and dates, helping themselves to some of the snacks and refreshments, or just chatting it up with their classmates. Generally, everyone was having a good time.

“Wow, the Party Planning committee really went all-out,” Zero complimented while being taken aback by it all. “Like … damn.”

Trixie glanced at him before gently patting his back. “This is your first dance in a while, right? Try not be so nervous and just loosen up. This isn’t like you.”

Zero looked at her and nodded as he slapped his own cheeks twice to snap himself out of his trance. “Sorry about that. Formal stuff like this isn’t my style so I’m a little nervous. I should’ve prepped myself mentally for this.”

“Oh relax.” Trixie gave him a comforting smile. “You’re here with me, so let’s try to have a good time. Don’t let something like this shake you up. You’re stronger than that.”

Zero smiled back at her and took a deep breath. “Thanks Trixie. You know, you really know how to bring my confidence back up.”

“Well, if you’re not confident, you're definitely not yourself, and I’ve noticed that recently,” Trixie explained. “Fluttershy told me that much.”

“Wait, Fluttershy did what?” Zero wondered as he raised an eyebrow.

“HE MADE IT!” a very energetic and familiar voice called out from nearby. “ZEROOOO! OVER HERE!”

Zero immediately turned his head to see Pinkie on Swift’s shoulders waving at him with her usual grin. Zero smiled brightly as he rushed over while Trixie rolled her eyes as she followed him.

“Gotta say, I wasn’t ready for such an amazing party. Nice work you two!” Zero beamed. Pinkie was wearing an azure, plus-size prom dress and matching blue heels with a yellow hair tie to pull her poofy hair into a ponytail. Swift was wearing a white V-neck, a dark blue waistcoat and black pants with a bright blue tie and black clark shoes. “Say, you guys look cute together. Especially you, Pinkie. I’m almost jealous of Swift!” Zero chuckled.

“Heh, yeah.” Swift nodded. “But you look pretty nifty and sharp tonight yourself man. It’s … a little shocking actually.”

Zero crossed his arms. “Oi, what's that supposed to mean?”

“Well, I kinda expected you to come in something less fancy is all. Something more like what you usually wear,” Swift admitted as he scratched the back of his head. “N-Not to say you don’t look cool and all, but … getting dressed up seems a little out of character for you.”

“Yeah! If anything, I almost thought you’d come in looking like a badass edgelord with a cape or something alongside Trixie!” Pinkie added in.

“You know….” Zero smirked as he tapped his chin. “That doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Could actually be kinda fun. But wouldn’t a cape get in the way of a big crowd like this?”

“Hmm … Oh! Then a tailcoat with a fancy suit!” Pinkie chirped as she snapped her fingers. “Put all that on and nobody would ever see it coming!

“Okay, now that I definitely have to try on.” Zero beamed as he started to imagine himself in such an outfit while walking onto the dance floor as acid jazz music played in the background. “I totally gotta ask Rarity to make me the outfit when I see her!”

“Not to worry, I’ll get to work on it next weekend for you!” said Rarity as she walked over with Clyde. Clyde was wearing a classic black suit and red bow tie with a white undershirt while Rarity wore a black mermaid dress with a blue diamond pattern. “But it’s nice to see the suit I made for you makes you look a like a proper young man.”

Zero’s face turned red a little as he looked at Rarity’s dress. “H-H-Holy shit. You look….” He hesitated as he glanced at Trixie who looked like was ready to kick him if he said something too nice. “....pretty!”

“I think ‘pretty’ is an understatement,” Clyde said while looking at Rarity and smiling.

“Indeed. But I appreciate the compliment regardless, darling.” Rarity flipped her hair with a giggle as she turned to Trixie. “But I must admit, Trixie, your dress is positively marvelous! Who designed it might I ask?”

Trixie grinned proudly. “Trixie designed it herself, of course! After all, Trixie wanted to look perfect once she becomes Princess of the Fall Formal.”

“You wanna be Princess?” Zero said as he looked in surprise, quickly replaced with a guilty expression on his face.

“What girl wouldn’t wanna be Princess of the Fall Fo—” Trixie read the expression on his face and furrowed her brow. “Did you not vote for Trixie?!”

“Well, you see….” Zero gave a nervous chuckle as he looked around to find an out, deliberately avoiding her gaze. “I kinda cast my vote the other day with some of the others. But, um….”

“Besides, even if he voted for you, there’s no way you’d win!” a raspy voice proclaimed as Rainbow Dash walked over with Rivet, Night, AppleJack, Soul, and Sunset. Rivet was wearing a dark green suit and pants along with a yellow tie, and his hair was neatly combed. Rainbow was in a long, high-low dress with a rainbow-colored design, complemented nicely by a thunderbolt necklace. Her hair was tied into a side ponytail and she wore yellow cross ribbons on her legs that began at the ankles and stopped near her knees with matching yellow strap heels.

“Oh, who asked you, Rainbow Dash?” Trixie huffed in annoyance.

“Come on Rainbow, let’s not start anything,” Rivet fretted as he motioned for her to chill. “We’re just here to have fun after all, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Rainbow patted his shoulder before looking at Applejack with a determined grin. “But if there’s anything I gotta win, it’s our usual dance off! And this time, I won’t let Scootaloo and Apple Bloom walk away with the trophy without a fight!”

Applejack was wearing an orange wild night fringe dress with an apple pattern around the waist. She matched it with her usual boots but decided to braid her ponytail for the dance. She smirked at Rainbow. “Ah wouldn’t be so sure about that. Don’t be pickin’ fights you know you can’t win, Rainbow Dash. Ah’ve been practicing for this after teachin’ Night a thing or two. So ya’d better back out now before ah embarrass you in front of Princess Twilight.”

“Say, you don’t plan on dragging Rivet and me on the dance floor now, do you?” Night asked warily. He wore a red, long sleeve button-up shirt with a black tie, along with a grey vest with a light blue rose pattern on the side, black pants, and brown leather shoes. “Not that I’m scared of making a fool out of myself … but I’d really rather not make a fool out of myself.”

“You’re safe, track star,” Rainbow waved off. “This is between us. You can just sit on the sidelines and enjoy the show. You too Rivet.”

“As long as I get to see AJ in action, I’ll enjoy the show plenty,” Night mumbled quietly.

“What’d ya say?” Applejack raised an eyebrow at Night.

“It’s nothing important.”

Zero glanced at Night and remembered how Minuette had been acting earlier before speaking up. “Oh, Night, I forgot to ask, did you see Minuette tonight?”

“No actually, I’ve been looking around for her, but I haven't spotted her yet. Why?” Night wondered.

“Well, she asked for you earlier, and she seemed … kinda off, honestly. Did you screw up or do something?”

“I … don’t think so,” Night said as he tried to recall if anything stood out recently. “But you’re right, she was acting a bit off this week.”

Zero looked at him and pinched his forehead. “Just … try and talk to her later, okay?”

“Of course. Hope she’s not bothered about anything though….” Night started to worry a little.

“Speaking of the princess,” Rarity wondered as she glanced around the dance hall. “Do know happen to know if she’s coming or not, Sunset?”

“I’m afraid she’s not going to make it this time, guys,” Sunset stated. She wore a bodycon halter dress that flowed from red to yellow as it went down with a red and yellow sun necklace and yellow strap heels. “She said she’s got a parent-teacher conference going on tonight at her School of Friendship.”

“Wait, the pony Twi is a mom already?!” Zero sputtered in shock. “Damn, she’s making progress!”

Sunset only chuckled. “No. She’s the principal at the new school she built. She’s hosting it.”

“Oh … aw man. I was kinda hoping she’d make it,” Zero pouted as he crossed his arms. “Pony or not, I’d love to meet an actual princess.”

“Ironically enough, she’s no better a dancer than our Twilight,” Soul teased. He was wearing an all-white suit, a red tie with dark red stripes, a dark blue undershirt and black shoes. “I remember she came for a summer party and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone dance so bizarre.”

“Did you record it?” Zero raised an eyebrow with an intrigued expression.

“I did! Until Sunset and AJ made me delete it,” Soul sighed glumly.

Zero crossed his arms and pouted. “Drat. But that’s fair. But speaking of clumsy dancers, where is that egghead? And Flutters for that matter.”

“S-Sorry I was little late!” said a familiar soft voice. All the girls and Zero were quick to turn to look as they saw Fluttershy walking over with another young man. Fluttershy herself was wearing a light green maxi dress with a light blue butterfly necklace and earrings. The dress had a flower pattern on the bottom and matched her green high heels. She even wore a bit of pink lipstick. “Got a little lost finding Sandalwood’s house … heh…. But does the dress look a-alright?”

“You look thoroughly astonishing!” Rarity gasped as she clapped her hands together.

“Yeah, you look great Fluttershy!” Swift smiled. “I didn’t think you’d go with Sandal here though. Good for you, man!”

“Thanks bro!” Sandalwood smiled. He was a young man with amber skin and light and dark green dreads of hair and emerald colored eyes. He was wearing a dark green modern fit suit with a purple undershirt and a bright yellow tie along with dark brown shoes. “You and Pinkie look stellar together my man.”

“Sh-Shut up.” Swift scratched his cheek and looked away.

Zero didn’t say a single word, feeling a powerful sense of awe and a hint of jealousy as he looked at Fluttershy and this Sandalwood character. He couldn’t help the thought that he could’ve been the one to come with Fluttershy instead of him and shower her with appreciation as he danced the night away with her like something out of a fairy tale, especially when to him, she looked almost like a princess. To have some hippie take his spot and get her to himself….

It’s almost not fair. Zero gripped his fist, only to uncrumple it soon after. But no use in crying over the moment. So long as this punk treats her right, Zero admitted to himself before speaking up with a little more sternness to his tone than he wanted. “Who is this guy anyways?”

“Oh! You two haven’t met properly?” Fluttershy sputtered as she placed a hand on her date’s shoulder. “This is Sandalwood. He’s in my woodshop class with me and helped me make birdhouses for the little birdies at the shelter and used to work at the pet store in the mall with me before deciding to go help his mom in her gardening shop.”

Sandalwood offered a fistbump to Zero and gave a friendly smile. “Pleasure to meet you, dude. Fluttershy here told me about you and how totally rad you are. Plus, I sit two rows behind you in math class.”

Zero fist bumped him back. “Oh yeah. You're also in my class for English and go on and on about peace, love and spirit guides in your essays. Won’t lie though, I actually kinda dig it.” He smiled before turning to Fluttershy. “But Fluttershy, you look so amazing that I … I can’t even find the words to describe you, or if there’s even a word that fits properly.”

Fluttershy blushed a little as she smiled. “Thank you Zero, you look really nice too.”

Trixie remained quiet as she only gave an unsatisfied glance between the two.

Sandalwood looked around for a second. “Say, Swift. Have you seen Flash by any chance? He said he and his date just got here too.”

“And you’d be right, Sandal!” Flash and Twilight wiggled through the crowd together before giving two finger guns at Swift and Sandalwood. “Duuudes! What’s up?!”

“Heh, about time you showed up.” Swift smirked before giving Flash a high five. “You’re looking super fresh though.”

“Yeah, dude. The rest of you don’t look so bad either. All together we probably could be in a cool spy movie!” Flash grinned at the thought. “Like Spy Kids!”

“Y-Yeah,” Twilight agreed with a scrunched up smile as she was trying to keep her nerves in check. She couldn’t help but glance away immediately with a faint blush when she saw Zero.

“Damn, Egghead.” Rainbow smirked. “Way to bring out that inner beauty tonight! That dress is so awesome on you. You even ditched the glasses!”

“Yeah Twilight.” Swift grinned. “You look like if you were your own pretty constellations with that dress on you!”

As everyone else started showering Twilight compliments, Zero felt completely caught off guard by Twilight’s appearance as he couldn’t help but stare at her with his mouth agape. Unlike Fluttershy, where she looked prettier than normal, Twilight almost looked like a completely different person. He wanted to say something to her, anything really. He felt a tightening in his chest as several conflicting feelings bounced around inside him. Soon his eyes actually watered and he continued to stand there, not even slightly sure as to what he wanted to do.

Zero took a massive gulp and after what felt like minutes to him, got ready say something. “Tw—”

Trixie suddenly cleared her throat deciding finally to say something. “Excusez-moi!” she huffed as she got everyone’s attention. “While Trixie doesn’t mind if you all continue your little social gathering, she’d like to remind you all that this is a dance!”

“Trixie does have a point,” Clyde agreed. “Let’s have some fun while we’re here and spend time with our dates. This is our last Fall Formal anyways.”

“Yeah, let’s go make some memories!” Soul smiled. “And who else could capture the moment better than Photo Finish?”

“Um, that might take a while,” Flash said as he pointed to where Photo Finish was taking pictures of each couple or group of friends as there was a long line forming.

“Bummer.” Sandalbar tapped his chin. “What if we try and make an appointment and go then? Think that’ll fly?”

“It’s worth a try! We simply can’t spend the entire evening waiting in line, but I will not miss this opportunity!” Rarity hurried over to Photo Finish.

“Couldn’t we … you know, use a selfie stick or something?” Night suggested. “You can’t tell me you don’t have one hiding in that forest of hair, Pinkie.”

“Of course I do! But Photo Finish takes the fanciest and most memorable pics!” Pinkie explained. “Rarity usually prefers her pizzazz and zee touch and the zee magics!” she said as she mimicked Photo Finish.

“Plus, if we schedule an appointment, it shouldn’t be too bad, right?” Rivet pointed out with optimism.

“Only one way to find out,” Clyde said as he saw Rarity making her way back over.

“We’re in luck!” Rarity announced with a confident grin. “I persuaded her to get me the appointment for ten o'clock! Which is … three hours from now.”

“Well hey, that’ll give us plenty of time to party like there’s no tomorrow!” Flash declared. “Let’s all meet back up later!”

“Good idea!” Sunset agreed as she headed off with Soul. Soon afterwards, everyone started to split off with their dates. Zero and Twilight glanced at each other for a moment before they parted ways as they were about to say something, but Trixie tugged on Zero’s arm and lead him away.

“Come on! I gotta show Lavender and Fuchsia how incredible we look together.” Trixie beamed as she looked a little ecstatic.

“H-Hey! Take it easy on the suit!” Zero whined. “I don’t want Rarity to chew me out over it!”

Twilight sighed at her missed chance to talk to him while Flash picked up on the mood and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Something up Twilight?” Flash asked in a concerned tone.

“U-Up? No! Nothing’s up, besides the ceiling and the colorful lights that is!” Twilight stuttered frantically as she she gave a forced laugh. “I-I’m chill!”

“You know you’re a bad liar, right? And I’ve only talked to you on a few occasions, and ‘chill’ isn’t in your wide and vast vocabulary,” Flash said bluntly. “It’s alright to talk to me.”

Twilight gulped a little before sighing. “It’s just that … this is my first dance and I’m a little nervous. Sure, I’ve participated in more hangouts recently, but going to an event like this is a little overwhelming.”

“Oh, is that all then?” Flash grinned. “Everyone’s somewhat nervous during dances … aside from Pinkie. I don’t think nervousness exists in her world,” Flash said before holding Twilight’s hand gently. “But don’t let it all get to you and just enjoy yourself. Don’t focus on the crowd, let’s just focus on us for now. This is a big night and we shouldn’t waste the moment.”

Twilight looked at Flash and gave a small nod as she smiled. She felt bad for giving him such a half-truth. She was a bit nervous, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t fight off at this point. In truth, she’d just wanted a moment to say something to Zero. But Flash did have a point: there’s time later, and she should focus on the two of them for now.

Or at the least, try to.

As the night went on and just as one of the songs ended, Vinyl Scratch grabbed a nearby microphone and turned the volume down on the speakers before speaking up. “What’s up Canterlot Hiiiiiigh!?” she bellowed as everyone cheered and raised the fists in the air as they faced her. “Now, before we start getting into the slow dances, cuddling, and the crowning, we’re gonna kick off a little mini event at the request of the majority of you! Rainbow Dash, Applejack, hit the center of the gym and everyone be sure to give them some room!”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack faced off in the center as the both of them gave a determined grin. Everyone gave them some room as Vinyl instructed. Night and Rivet watched near the front of the crowd while a few of their friends watched as well.

“Try not to be a sore loser when I blow your mind with my dance moves. I’m sweeping that trophy tonight!” Rainbow boasted as some of her fans started cheering for her.

“The only thin’ your blowing tonight is hot air, but what else is new with ya nowadays?” Applejack quipped as her fans were cheering a little before going “oooooo” at her comeback.

“Come on AJ!” Night cheered. “Make that walking talking pride flag shut up for a change!”

“Is it right to really root for one over the other?” Rivet asked, looking a little unsure.

“Trash talking isn’t gonna hurt either of those two. They’re pretty tough, both in mind and definitely in body. Besides, it’s all in good fun!”

Rivet hesitated before turning to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. He took a deep breath and shouted along with the crowd. “Steal the show Rainbow! Make AJ, um … eat the dirt, that farmer is used to the taste by now?” he said as his taunt grew quieter as he said it.

“Trash talk isn’t your forte now, is it?” Night said as he raised an eyebrow at him.

Rivet gave an embarrassed chuckle. “I think I’ll keep quiet. I’m not trained in the ways of roasting.”

“I’ll teach you some day, young grasshopper,” Night said, pretending to sound like a wise old man before focusing back on the little showdown between the girls.

“Seems like everyone is getting pretty psyched up now!” Vinyl said before setting two records on the booth’s turntables. “Now then, Rainbow Dash, Applejack! I hope you gals are ready to dance your booties off, ‘cause here we go!” she said as she started playing some hip hop music. Rainbow Dash started moving towards Applejack as her arms and torso moved to the beat of the music. She gave her a little smirk before performing the butterfly dance move to start off simple, gaining an eye roll from Applejack as the audience cheered. Just then, she spun away from her as she snapped her fingers in her face to rile Applejack up as the song soon changed to a country tune.

“Yer messing with the wrong Apple, Rainbow,” Applejack fumed as she performed some line dancing moves on Rainbow Dash as she kept her hands on her hips and stomped occasionally to the rhythm, even crossing one of her legs behind the other and slapping the base of the heel in front of Rainbow before tipping her hat. Some of her fans cheered while others gave a “Yeehaw!”

“Go AJ, Go go! Go AJ, go go!! Go AJ, go go!” half the crowd cheered as they clapped on cue together.

“Rain-bow Dash! Rain-bow Dash! Rain-bow Dash!” the other half of the crowd chanted as they raised their fists in the air and shook them to the beat.

As Night and Rivet cheered on their dates as the music switched to hip hop again, Night spotted a familiar white- and blue-haired girl in the corner of his eye as she headed towards the snack table. Deciding to briefly sneak away from the dance off, he made his way out of the crowd and followed the girl before giving her a tap on the shoulder.

“I say, dost mine eyes deceive me or is Minuette actually gonna do the unspeakable and indulge in some soda?” Night jested with a sly grin.

Minuette actually jumped a little as she quickly turned to Night. “H-Hey, it’s not like I’m drinking a whole lot, dunce. How’s about I tell my mom to get you a root canal?”

“Easy there, Princess. Let’s not get hostile,” Night chuckled before examining her dress and giving her an approving smile. “Still though, wow. Gotta say, the dress looks jaw-dropping on you. I can barely believe that it’s you in all that. Guess it was worth the wait.”

Minuette blushed a little as she smiled. “Glad you like it. You look pretty dapper yourself. It’s not often I see you put on a suit considering you’re not a fan of them either. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if you wore a cowboy hat and overalls given your time down on the farm,” she flattered as she playfully knocked on his chest.

“Oh quit it,” Night waved off. “The day I wear any of that is the day Pinkie gives up parties. Say, where's your date?”

Minuette gripped her arm slightly at the question. “Oh, I don’t have one. Decided to come with Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine instead and just go as gal pals. But what about you? How're things between you and Applejack so far?”

“Hm? Well, the dance is pretty cool,” Night said as the crowd behind him started getting louder as the energy shifted in Applejack’s favor. He glanced back and smiled. “And the dance off is pretty hype as hell. The moves AJ practiced with me actually made me look at country music and dancing differently. Dash is probably getting served right now.”

“That’s cool,” she said in an almost empty tone as Night finally picked up on it.

“You okay? Normally this is the part where you’d start getting jiggy with the music and drag me into your madness,” Night said as he looked concerned. “Zero said you looked off earlier when he saw you. Is everything cool?”

Minuette gripped her arm tighter as she felt herself on the verge of an outburst before recollecting herself as she took a deep breath. “Well … I wanted to come here with this guy I’ve had my eye on for a while now. But the next time I saw him, he was already taken by this other girl and I missed my chance to ask him and….” she said as her voice trailed off, deciding to discontinue.

“Ouch … that’s kinda rough,” Night said as he wrapped an arm around her to comfort her. “Is that why you were kinda weird this week? You didn’t talk to me much I noticed.”

“Yeah….” Minuette sighed before she hugged Night gently. “But at least I have you here.”

Night nodded. “Glad to hear it. But maybe this is for the best, don’t you think?”

“Of course.” Minuette smiled a little as she looked at him. “You’re all I ne—”

“I mean, I was in the same shoes as you not that long ago,” Night began. “That day when I competed with Zero to ask Fluttershy out and he beat me to it, I was pretty pissed off and hurt too.”

Minuette didn’t say anything and listened.

“But after, I managed to ask AJ out and spend some time down at Sweet Apple Acres. Not only did I get some good exercise, but she’s a ball to be around,” Night chuckles. “I’m just saying that maybe going with her was for the best after all.”

Minuette’s expression and eyes went blank as she slowly let go of the hug.

“So maybe going with your friends instead was for the best too is what I’m saying. I doubt this guy was that interesting. I mean, who is he anyways?” Night questioned curiously. “‘Cause if he can’t beat my mains in Smash, he’s not worthy of my approval,” he joked, but noticed Minuette was still quiet. “....Minty?”

“NIGHT!” Applejack rushed over to him as she grabbed his arm. “There you are! C’mon, we’re hitting the dance floor!”

“E-Excuse me, what?!” Night complained as he got pulled along. “Didn’t I say I didn’t wanna be caught in the middle of this dance off? The whole school’s gonna see me!”

“After all the practicin’ we did, we’ll be fine. Rainbow’s already got Rivet out there and ah ain’t letting her show me up!” Applejack glared as Night could see her competitive side was showing. He sighed, knowing there was no arguing.

“Fine, just hold down the fort for five seconds, I’m talking to Min—” Night turned back to see Minuette was gone. “Minuette?” he called out as he looked around to see that she was nowhere in sight. “Guess I’ll find her later. Probably went back to her friends to party.”

As Night reluctantly followed Applejack back to the center of the gym, Minuette was long gone as she was already out the front doors of the school with her high heels in hand as she ran home with tears streaming down her face.

Night, you big dummy, Minuette thought to herself as she gritted her teeth, getting sick of keeping her thoughts in her head as the feelings in her chest burst before shouting at the top of her lungs.

“YOU IDIOT!!!!!!”

After two more hours went by and the dance off concluded in a tie between Rainbow and Applejack, much to their dismay, everyone went about the rest of the evening having fun together. At this time, Pinkie and Swift were dancing the night away on the dance floor. Though Swift’s dance moves were questionable, he and Pinkie were having a good time. While this was going on, Fluttershy, Rarity and Clyde took a small breather from all the dancing to chat.

“You know, I’m still a tad bit surprised that you decided to go with Sandalwood of all folks, Fluttershy,” Rarity stated. “I could’ve seen you with Bulk Biceps or Big Mac like the last Fall Formals. Why settle on him this time around?”

Fluttershy twiddled her thumbs a bit before replying. “Well, I used to have a small crush on him for most of the school years, and he was a good friend of mine outside of you girls. The previous dances, he had a date already or just had plans and I didn’t want to bother him.”

“You had a crush on him and didn’t tell me?!” Rarity began hysterically. “But I could—”

Fluttershy immediately put her hand up to silence her friend. “You do have a bit of a track record of interfering with others’ love lives Rarity, which is nice and all, but you and Rainbow tend to get really pushy. So I wanted to keep it my own business,” she said bluntly.

“Not to rub salt in the wound, but she does make a point,” Clyde agreed with a chuckle.

Rarity gave an embarrassed blushed before making a forceful cough. “Yes, well, I must admit I can get a little carried away. At the least, it does seem like you’ve made very fair choices on how you want to handle your love life.”

“Not to mention it’s nice to see some of the other couples get together too!” Fluttershy praised with a smile as she looked at Pinkie and Swift dancing together.

“You’re telling me. About time those two hit it off after all this time,” Clyde stated. “I was starting to wonder if he’d ever do it this lifetime.”

“And here I was thinking the same, but you definitely snagged a cute one this time around.” A voice spoke up behind the three, catching Clyde completely off guard. He turned around to see a young man with similar black hair to Clyde’s but was buzzed off and had a more muscular physique. He was wearing a brown tuxedo and a black bowtie and gave off a bit of a smirk.

“S-S-Shale?!” Clyde gasped in disbelief. “What are you doing here?!”

“Clyde, is this—?” Rarity began to question as she was a bit surprised herself.

“Yup, I’m Clyde’s older brother, Shale, and you must be the lovely Rarity he’s mentioned to me over and over again.” Shale laughed. “I swear, all he ever talks about besides basketball is you. But now I can see why.”

“What are you even doing here, man?” Clyde smiled happily as he gave his brother a brief hug. “I thought I wouldn’t see you till Christmas if I was lucky.”

Shale hugged him back. “Well, that’s a bit of an interesting story, you see.”

“Shale! Where’d you go?!” another voice called out as Sonata Dusk hurried over to the group. She was wearing a light blue mermaid dress and clear heels and she decided to wear her hair down instead of in a ponytail for a change. She pouted as she huffed in slight annoyance. “Don’t go running off like that! So not cool!”

“Sorry, Sonata. I got a little bit sidetracked now that I found my little bro,” Shale said in an apologetic tone.

“Your brother?” Sonata looked at Clyde and scratched her head in a bit of confusion. “You never told me you had one.”

“Yeah … I did,” Shale corrected. “Though you had goofy and lovestruck expression on your face so you probably weren’t paying attention, heh.”

Fluttershy cleared her throat. “So, um … how and why are you here though?”

“Oh!” Shale snapped his fingers as he remembered. “Well, I earned a break from the Guard and was on my way home to Canterlot, but Clyde wasn’t home for me to surprise him. So I decided to go to the park and play some ball.”

“Then I was walking by, hoping to find a date to the Fall Formal and then a basketball hit me in the head and this cutie came to see if I was alright!” Sonata said as she wrapped her arms around Shale and nuzzled him.

“Then one thing led to another and bam! Here we are!” Shale grinned as he wrapped an arm around her. “Sonata’s been a pretty swell gal so far if you asked me. Man bro, you should’ve told me you were going to school with a bunch of cuties. Wish school back home was this great. And it looks like you snagged one of the best of them here!”

“Heh, you know it,” Clyde laughed.

“Well, I am happy to meet you at last!” Rarity beamed as she clapped her hands together in excitement. “If you’re going to be in town for a bit, might I suggest you, me and Clyde have tea at my place as we chat more?”

“Sounds like a great time to me. We can spend the entire day together and go out to eat,” Clyde suggested.

“Oh! Can I come? Pleeeeeease?” Sonata pleaded as she bounced. “I know this really cool buffet in the city that Aria took me to once!”

“Well … shouldn’t be too much of an issue, right? We can make it a double date!” Shale chimed in. “Sounds good, right?

“Eeeeh….” Rarity hesitated as she wasn’t too keen on the idea of Sonata being part of it, but as she glanced at her puppy dog eyes and then turned back to Fluttershy who gave a smile and a simple shrug, Rarity made her decision. “Oh, why not? Could be interesting if anything.”

Sonata beamed as she hugged Rarity tightly. “YES! You won’t regret this, I promise!”

Just then, Principal Celestia had gotten onto the stage and the colorful lights dimmed with only a LED light trined on her as everyone focused their attention as she turned on the microphone.

“I’d like to start off with saying that I appreciate everyone coming out tonight,” Celestia announced. “Things are looking livelier than ever, and I hope we can keep it all up till the end of the night! And now, without further ado, let’s announce the Princess of the Fall Formal.”

On cue, Vice Principal Luna walked on stage holding a box and an envelope. As she approached her sister, she passed her the first envelope as Celestia prepared to announce the winner. “And the Princess of the Fall Formal is … Sunset Shimmer!”

The majority of the gym erupted in cheering, whistles and applause all while Sunset looked completely surprised by the announcement as all eyes were on her. Soul grinned and gave her a pat on the back.

“Go on ahead! You earned this!” Soul effused as he motioned her to go.

Sunset looked at Soul and smiled before going on stage with a slight blush on her face. Celestia opened the box to reveal a faux gold tiara decorated with red jewels. She placed it on Sunset’s head as it shined in the light. “Congratulations Sunset, you’ve earned it this time around,” Celestia applauded with a smile.

“Heh, I suppose so….” Sunset blushed as she looked at all her fellow students thinking back to the other Fall Formals where she looked down on all of them whenever she was on stage. But now after her recent change, this moment felt well-earned. As she waved to everyone, she glanced back to Soul who was giving her a proud smile. She quickly shot him a grin before borrowing the microphone from Celestia.

“I won’t bore anybody with too long of a speech. But I just wanna say that I really appreciate everyone who voted for me tonight,” Sunset addressed. “I also I wanna thank all my friends since the last Fall Formal. I hit the lowest point of my life, but it also sparked the change I desperately needed, and they helped me become the Sunset you see before you. And as Princess of the Fall Formal, I’d like everyone to enjoy the remainder of the dance … and I’ll do the same with my closest friends … and with my prince most of all,” Sunset expressed before giving the microphone back to Celestia and walking off the stage. When she returned to Soul, she wrapped her arms around him as everyone watched with joy.

As Soul hugged Sunset back, Vinyl took it as a cue to play a slow dance song as the bright lines came back on. One by one, the majority of the student body started pairing up with their dates for the night.

Trixie, who was watching everything from nearby with Zero, huffed a little before giving an annoyed expression at her date. “So that’s who you voted for, hm?”

“Well, Fluttershy and Rainbow came up with the idea and suggested to us and most of the other students, who better to be Princess than her?” Zero admitted sheepishly. “Besides, Sunset actually came a long way from being a rotten bully to a gal most should aspire to be. So naturally … I complied. Sorry.”

Trixie kept her brow furrowed and arms crossed until her expression changed into a smirk. “I suppose there’s no use in being spoiled. I’ve got you here with me. That’s all I need. Princesses are overrated nowadays anyways.

“I guess a princess means little to a queen like you,” Zero flattered.

Trixie giggled before placing her left hand on Zero’s shoulder and using her right hand to hold his left. “And what queen would be complete without her king?” she swooned, making Zero blush a bit as he placed his hand on her side as they began dancing like everyone else.

“Heh, I don’t know if I deserve to be one or to be in your presence, your majesty,” Zero joked as he smiled a little.

“Trust me, you’re more than worthy,” Trixie whispered as she gave him a warm expression with her eyes locked onto his, already getting lost in the yellow of his eyes as she was enveloped in the moment.

Zero looked back into her violet eyes as he followed her movements. He tried to think of something to say, but he quickly read the room and saw that everyone was lost in their own moment. Some of the students were lost in each other's gazes, others were just embracing each other’s warmth, and even a few of them were locking lips with one another like Rarity and Clyde or Soul and Sunset. He even spotted Wind and Button Mash dancing together. Button looked extremely nervous, making Zero wish he could take the moment to laugh, but Trixie was quick to place a hand on his cheek and gently turn his attention back to her.

“Don’t worry about everyone for once,” Trixie uttered in a soft voice as she smiled. “Everyone’s on their own stage, in their own moment, in their world. Just for right now and the remainder of the night … focus on us … on me.”

“Sure” was the only word that came out of Zero’s mouth as he obeyed Trixie’s request. He focused his gaze on Trixie and locked his eyes on hers and only hers. As he did, he started to recall some of the times he spent with her. All the walks to school with her, the banter, the roleplays he participated in with her, both at home and in the club—he had to admit, they were nothing but fond memories to him. Then he thought back to her confession the other day and the way she poured her heart out to him like that. After everything that happened between him and Fluttershy, it felt nice for a girl to feel such passion for him. To have someone want to share this enchanting moment in his arms and with him alone. It was astonishing, wonderful even. And he really appreciated everything that was happening right there and right then. And yet, he asked himself one question.

Why don’t I feel anything?

Zero wondered. It looked like almost everyone was lost in their own world, as well as Trixie. But he didn’t felt like he went anywhere. And the more he thought about it, the same question kept playing in his head as if it were on loop.

“Zero….” Trixie breathed, pulling the young man out of his clouded thoughts. “I wanted you to know that … I really appreciate having you with me. This night truly is magical … all because of you,” she said before moving closer to his face and closing her eyes, going in for a kiss.

Zero’s eyes widened and he gasped. His heart skipped a beat and he didn’t know how to respond to this. Not seeing what else he could do, he was about to move in.

Until he saw Twilight dancing with Flash on the other side of the gym. Her gaze met his for only a split second—and it was all he needed.

In that second, everything became clear to him. The uncertainty and indecisive feelings in his heart practically exploded, finally revealing the answer to his question.

“I can’t do this,” Zero spoke quietly, making Trixie open her eyes as she halted her advance with the kiss.

“W-What?” Trixie asked, looking completely confused and a bit hurt. “Am I moving too fast for you?

Zero only shook his head as he pulled his arms away from her. “No, no, you’re fine. Wonderful even. But … all of this is wrong,” Zero said as he turned away from Trixie’s face as he didn’t want to look at her hurt expression. “I messed up.”

“You can talk to me, don’t worry.” Trixie placed a hand on his shoulder as she looked at him with concern. “You and I can still—”

“No!” Zero exclaimed as he backed away from her, gaining a bit of attention from the nearby couples. “Just … stop already, okay? It’s just….” He couldn’t finish his sentence as his mind was clouded in frustration. He hurried off through the crowd and out of the gym.

“Z-Zero?” Trixie said as she stood there alone before looking down and biting her lip. “What did I do wrong?”

Meanwhile, around the same time as the slow dance began, Twilight was blushing as she danced with Flash, though the reason behind it was not for any romantic impulses.

“You know, you don’t have to feel that guilty about it,” Flash reassured as he smiled at her. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Still, I knew I was a klutz when it came to dancing, but I didn’t think I’d kick you in the shin … six times,” Twilight wailed as she kept her eyes on the ground and to her feet.

“Hey, I’m a big boy. I can tolerate a little bit of pain for a lady,” Flash laughed. “Besides, I don’t wanna get mad and blow up on you. That’d be uncool. Let’s just enjoy the rest of the dance.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Twilight said as she looked up to Flash and met his gaze again. “I really have to stop worrying about little things.”

“That being said though, are you having fun?” Flash wondered. “You’ve been kinda … out of it a bit.”

“I-I-I have?” Twilight stuttered.

“You’ve been kinda quiet for most of the night, really. You look as if you have something on your mind,” Flash analyzed. “When you said you were nervous, I figured it was just about the dance. But while we were dancing like no tomorrow, you seemed distracted and almost kinda upset about something. You were like that too when I picked you up earlier. It’s kinda written all over you face.”

Twilight only bit her lip for a moment before trying to think of some way to dismiss his worries, but thinking about how he’d been honest about his feelings with her, she sighed, deciding it was time to do the same. “Flash … I had a good time with you tonight, I really did … but—”

“I wasn’t the one you wanted to go with, right?” Flash guessed.

Twilight only nodded as she continued. “At first, I was actually really excited to go with you since you asked. But as the week went on, I still felt hurt for not getting the chance to ask him out since someone else beat me to it, and it really got to me and made me disinterested in what was going on. Now here I am ruining your night in the process,” she said before looking away from Flash. “And after you went out of your way to cheer me up over and over again. So much for being a good date….”

Flash stared at Twilight for a bit as they kept dancing before giving her a sad smile. “Hey … you did say that you had a good time with me, right?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Then it’s alright,” Flash interrupted as he didn’t sound a bit upset. “I’m just glad I could be somewhat useful and make this dance worthwhile. Like I’m the moonlight shining down on you on a cloudy night! Something poetic like that!”

“Heh, I guess that is one way to put it,” Twilight giggled.

“I’m not gonna be a jerk about it and fight for your heart when it seems dead set on someone else. I tried what I could, but being a man is about letting the girl follow her heart. So just go do what you have to do,” Flash conceded as he sighed. “But I really do appreciate you being honest with me. I was getting more and more worried myself. Thanks Twilight.”

“If it makes you feel better Flash, I think you’d make any girl happy, especially with how perceptive you are. That’s pretty handy,” Twilight stated as it was her turn to reassure him. Just then, she glanced over to Zero and met his gaze for a second as the feeling she had earlier was reignited. After hearing what Flash had told her, she was certain on what she had to do.

“So I was right then,” Flash stated as he noticed who Twilight was looking at. “Mr. Steal Your Girl himself, huh?”

Twilight blushed a bit. “Maybe.”

“I should’ve known he was up to his old tricks as usual. Now he’s about to steal my date.” Flash shook his head, but just then, the two saw Zero making a run for it out the gym. He looked at Twilight and motioned for her to go. She gave him a determined nod and rushed after Zero. Flash only stood there silently as he watched her go before giving a defeated sigh. “You know what they say: if you love something, set it free. Story of my life.”

In the hallways, Zero was leaning against a wall as he was coming to terms with his feelings and thoughts, not sure how to even move forward as he was feeling furious with himself, mainly for putting himself in another hole when he knew he could have prevented such silly mistakes if he had just been honest with himself.

Feeling nothing but regret over the whole situation, he just stared at the clock on the nearby wall. It was nine-fifty and the dance was nearing its end, which meant it was almost time for the group photo.

“Just make it end already,” Zero mumbled in annoyance before seeing Twilight walking up to him. He quickly set himself straight as he walked over to her in return. “Well, done dancing till you drop? Or did you kick Flash again?” he teased, trying to play it cool.

Twilight’s face turned red. “Y-You saw that?”

“It’s important for a dance tutor to keep an eye on the tutee’s moves,” Zero admitted with a smirk. “But it look like you’ve got a waaaaays to go!”

Twilight huffed. “Well, if I’m that bad, it’s thanks to your poor teaching.”

“Hey, that’s a low blow!” Zero pouted. “That’s the last time I teach you anything decent.”

The two exchanged a glare before they shared a small chuckle to relieve the tension they felt a moment ago. Twilight only gave a small smile as her laughter died down.

“So … you couldn’t help but watch me, huh?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Well, um….” Zero stumbled upon his words. “It’s hard not to stare at the prettiest girl in the room.”

Twilight’s face turned bright red as she went silent, not expecting such a comment. Zero stayed quiet in return as he blushed a bit as well, not sure what they would say to each other. The ticking of the nearby clock and the slow music from the dance drowned out the awkward silence until they both spoke up simultaneously.

“I wish I’d gone to the dance with you!” they blurted before getting taken aback by what the other said.

“Wait, seriously?!” Zero asked as he was perplexed. “Since when?!”

“F-For a while now,” Twilight admitted before raising an eyebrow. “But … that doesn’t make any sense. If you wanted to ask me, why’d you go with Trixie?”

Zero put his hands in his pocket and exhaled in a bit of annoyance. “Wind brought up an idea that if I passed my test last week, I should do something nice for you like taking you to the dance. But since I didn’t do too great, I didn’t think I had the right. So when Trixie confessed her feelings to me, I decided to go with her. But I was being too hard on myself and really screwed things up.”

“Guess great minds think alike.” Twilight gave a weak chuckle. “I was about to ask you to the dance as my way of saying thank you for making me come out of my shell. And you kept egging me to go … so I thought why not go with the guy I’m closest to here? But when I heard you were going with Trixie, my opportunity felt robbed. Then Flash asked me next, so….” She looked away.

“Well … it’s not like we can do anything about it now,” Zero stated. “I mean, I’d like to dance, but I don’t wanna hurt Trixie’s feelings any more than I probably did. Plus, it’s almost time to take the group photo before everyone starts going home.”

Twilight nodded. “Guess we should head back in and search for everyone else. Before we go … next time you wanna tell me something, just tell me okay? And … you look really dashing tonight.”

“Thanks Twilight,” Zero smiled weakly. “And … I’ll be honest, I hardly recognized you in that dress. It’s like you blew me through the universe and back with that look. You look just … breathtaking. But I do have one complaint.”

“W-What is it? If it’s about my dance techniques, I swear I—”

Zero shook his head as he walked back to the gym. “Nah … I just think you look more attractive with your glasses on. It completes you.”

Twilight thought about what he said before looking at her reflection in a nearby glass case. “Huh….” she said before heading back to the gym. Not long after the two reentered the gym, they saw that their friends had already met up near Photo Finish to get their picture taken and were waiting on them.

“Hey, right on time you guys!” Rainbow crossed her arms before raising an eyebrow at the two. “Where’d you both run off to anyways?”

“Oh, um … bathroom break?” Zero said with a nod, though Rainbow and some of the others weren’t buying it.

“It’s a long story. We’ll explain it later on,” Twilight said before looking around. “Where’s Flash and Trixie?”

“That’s what we wanted to ask Zero,” Soul said as he looked at his friend. “Because I saw Trixie leaving on her own through the back door in a hurry. Did something happened?”

“I….” Zero looked down as he felt guilty about what he told Trixie before running off. “I’d rather not talk about it right now, okay? A lot has been going through my mind tonight.”

“Oh … alright man.” Soul said before patting Zero’s back.

“And what about Flash?” Twilight wondered as she thought he might have left because of her as well.

“Flash actually came to me and Pinkie before leaving. He said he had to pick up Microchips from GameStop since his mom’s car broke down and had to go,” Swift explained. “And he wanted to tell you sorry, but he’ll come back to bring you home.”

“Oh … good,” Twilight sighed in a bit of relief.

“But now it’s picture time, let’s come on!” Pinkie pulled Zero and Twilight over to the picture and put them together, making the two feel a bit awkward.

“Is everyone ready?” Sunset asked as she was in the center with Soul and the two held hands. Everyone gave a quick yes or a nod, but Zero and Twilight stayed quiet, making Sunset asked once again as she looked at the two. “Twilight? Zero?”

Zero looked at Twilight and she gave a sad smile as she nodded at him. Zero then nodded at Sunset. “Yeah, we’re fine.”

“Then on three!” Photo Finish announced as she got ready to take the picture. “One! Two! … Three!”

As Photo Finish took the picture, most everyone gave their best smiles on cue, but Zero and Twilight couldn’t really muster any genuine happiness at the moment, so all they could really do was give a forced smile for the camera.

Photo Finish took a few more pictures so there could be copies for everyone. Just as she finished and handed the copies to the others, she looked at her watch and saw that the dance was beginning to wrap up. “Times is up! Now, I go!” she stated as she motioned for the gang to move along so she could pack her things up.

“Yeah, looks like it’s time to call it in for the night,” Clyde yawned as he saw most of the students were getting ready to leave. “Wanna get Sweetie Belle, Sonata and my brother and head out, Rarity?”

“Of course,” Rarity agreed before looking at the others. “I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the night and that my dresses and suits made all of you shine tonight! Also, congrats again on winning Princess of the Fall Formal, Sunset!”

“Heh, like I said, I couldn’t have done it without all of you.” Sunset smiled before looking at the photograph, though she raised an eyebrow at Zero and Twilight’s smiles as she detected something off about them. She glanced at Twilight out of the corner of her eye but ultimately decided to let things slide for now.

“Speaking of sister, I’d better go and grab Wind and head on out.” Zero waved to the others. “Thanks again for the suit, Rares.”

“Mmhmm! Though if you ask me, I think this was probably the best Fall Formal yet!” Rarity declared to everyone before kissing Clyde and walking off.

Most of the others agreed and started making their exits as well, but Zero and Twilight couldn’t help but stare at the photo that only served as a reminder that the night could have gone better if things went their way. They glanced at each other once more before going their separate ways for the night.

As it turned out, the dance wasn’t that great at all.

The Start of Something Interesting.

After the events of the dance yesterday, Canterlot was very quiet as everyone was taking the time to recuperate and spend the Sunday settling down and getting ready for school the next day. Surprisingly enough, Zero was in his room doing absolutely nothing as he was not in much of a mood to do anything. Anytime he tried to do something to cheer himself up, he found himself losing interest within five minutes: video games, TV, going on his desktop, reading, or texting his friends. He ended up just lying on his bed in a dark green tank top and shorts listening to music as he stared off into space.

Man, Zero thought to himself with a tired sigh. This weekend sucked. I practically blew it with Twilight and Trixie, yet here I was saying guys in these messes are dumb and need to make the obvious decisions and stop thinking too hard. Romance is such a pain.

Just then, there was a knock on his bedroom door before Wind bounced into the room with a gleeful smile on her face as she skipped over to her brother.

“What’s got you so happy?” Zero said as he sat up.

“Why do you think, silly?” Wind giggled as she sat down on the bed. “I’m still on cloud nine from the dance last night! Who knew they’d be so magical and astonishing! And Button looked so cute when he was nervous!”

“Did Mom happen to scar him for life by any chance?” Zero tapped his chin. “That might’ve been why.”

“Surprisingly, no. When we picked him up, his mom got along with ours pretty well and she actually admitted that she liked him,” Wind explained. “She said it’s because he’s adorkably innocent so she treated him nicely. At this rate, maybe I can tell Mom and Dad that we’re dating!”

“Maybe hold off on that so Dad doesn’t get the shotgun again,” Zero murmured. “But then again, who am I to give advice? Things usually manage to work out for you just fine anyways.”

“Nu-uh! You’ve been doing great given who your date was.” Wind gave a sly grin. “So how did things go between you and the Great and Powerful Trixie? You didn’t say much in the car ride home last night so I thought you were tired; now you gotta give me the juicy details! Did you two make out? Was it awesome? Oooh, I’m so jealous!”

“It—Wait, huh?” Zero stopped himself from the last comment. “Why jealous?”

Wind blushed a little as she let out an embarrassed chuckle. “I-I just thought that she looked super cute is all.”

“I almost forgot you play for both teams.” Zero shook his head. “Anyways, no, we didn’t do anything. She was coming onto me too strong and I just … wasn’t feeling it. It’s hard to explain.” He sighed.

Wind scooted closer before patting Zero’s back to comfort him. “Come ooooon, tell your little sister. It’s been a while since I helped you out of a funk.”

Zero took a deep breath. “So, the thing is … remember when you suggested that if I passed my test last week, I should do something for Twilight?”

Wind nodded wordlessly.

“Well, I ended up doing not so well and didn’t think I deserve to do something nice for her, or even ask her out. So then Trixie asked me at the end of the day and I went with her, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt like I was being dishonest with myself and her and making things sour between us since. Then I discovered Trixie actually wanted to go with me since the beginning because she loved me and I felt put on the spot since my mind was on Twi. So yesterday during the slow dance, I … I ran away like an idiot. I couldn’t take it anymore! When I came back to the dance floor, Trixie up and vanished. Didn’t even send me a text. Neither did Twilight ever since that talk we had in the hall. So I just … feel too paralyzed to do anything,” Zero summarized as he gripped his fist. “My heart is just aching and—”

“It’s almost parallel to what happened between you and Fluttershy, only worse,” Wind interrupted. “But this time, Trixie has feelings for you and you’re the one feeling too indecisive on whether or not you want to reciprocate. But my question is, do you feel bad because you didn’t give Twilight what you want or because you actually like her now?”

“Truthfully … I’m not so sure.”

“If that’s the case,” Wind poked his chest, “instead of thinking with your brain, something you don’t normally do anyways, how does your heart feel about the matter? Ask yourself the real question: Who do you want to be with? What do you want more than anything?”

“My heart, huh?” Zero placed his hand over his heart and focused on how he felt deep down. He took a deep breath and stayed silent.

“Is it working?” Wind whispered.

“I know what I want most, but the issue is, I’m gonna hurt Trixie even more,” Zero admitted as he opened his eyes and gripped his chest. “And I hate getting my hands dirty. This isn’t like with Fluttershy. There’s no way to let her down easy. I’m not even sure if we can go back to being friends. Heh, it’s funny though. Before, I loved flirting with girls and getting their attention, maybe even the idea of them fighting over me so I could feel more loved. I just never knew it could be this rough. I just want some girl to ‘need me,’ but now it’s a whole different ball game.”

“Of course it’s gonna be rough if you're actually thinking about their feelings,” Wind informed. “Most girls like the idea of guys fighting over them and consider themselves lucky. Heck, I wished for it. It’s more of a curse than anything. Love triangles usually end badly because the one singled out suffers the most and has to deal with you spending time with someone else and—” Wind caught herself and noticed Zero looked frustrated. “I-I-I said too much, didn’t I?”

“A little bit, yeah. I didn’t think that far into it. But the longer I take to tell Trixie, the more painful it’s gonna be, not to mention I don’t know if Twilight’s fully ready to be more than … this,” Zero said as he stood up and put on some pants. “Might as well be a man and get this over with.”

“I-I-I’m sorry if I didn’t help much,” Wind lamented. “I just wanted to get you out of a funk. You haven’t been yourself recently.”

Zero smirked at Wind and gave her a noogie with a small smile. “You kidding? You at least told me what I needed to hear and got me out of bed. That’s more than enough, you little squirt.”

Wind giggled and tried to wiggle out of it. “I may be the squirt, but don’t forget which one of us has the better grades!”

“Hey, I’ve gotten smarter!” Zero yelled as he dropped her.

“What year did World War 2 start?” Wind crossed her arms and smirked confidentiality.

“Nineteen thirty nine on September first, and lasted for six years and one day. So, ha!” Zero grinned as he grabbed a pillow and knocked Wind off the bed.

“AAAH! LUCKY!” Wind pouted.

“I’ve got a lot smarter since our previous encounter,” Zero announced proudly. “Next time, I’ll be coming home with straight A’s!”

Wind crossed her arms with an annoyed huff. “Yeah, yeah. Just go fix your harem problems.”

Zero chuckled as he left his room feeling a little better. He went out his front door before looking next door at Trixie’s house. The brief exchange with Wind did cheer him up, but remembering the task at hand brought the guilt and heartache back. He didn’t waste another second thinking or dwelling on it; doing that yesterday cost him the Fall Formal. Now was the time to resolve all of this. Once he arrived at her front door, he took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

Trixie quickly came to open the door and looked upon him with a sad smile. “So you did come after all.”

“Of course I would. I wanted to talk about last night,” Zero began as he looked away. “Listen, I—”

“I messed up. I know,” Trixie stated as she cut him off. Instead of being surprised, Zero just stayed quiet and listened. “I was trying too hard to make you have fun and enjoy ourselves. I didn’t want anything to get in the way of our perfect night. I just wanted all of your attention on me...but I didn’t think about your feelings enough and kept pulling you away from your friends. It wasn’t right.”

“Trixie, it’s okay. It's not—”

“No, it wasn’t okay. I pushed myself onto you and wanted to make you love me as much as I love you,” Trixie admitted as she gripped her fists a little. “But I’ll see to it that I’ll do better. Things started out rocky, but it can get better, right?”

“Trixie, listen—”

“We can be a great couple, just trust me!” Trixie cried out as her composure broke and she began tearing up. “I just wanna hold onto this feeling we have—that I cherish. I don’t wanna lose it just over something silly. I’ll do whatever I can if you give me time, so long as you just stay with me, oka—”

“Stop!” Zero shouted, making Trixie gasp. He sighed before calming down. “I thought I felt the same way, but after last night, and thinking more about it this morning, I realized that I don’t feel the same way as you do at all. I like you a lot, but I’m not in love with you. To me, loving someone is wanting to learn more and more about them, like you’re almost addicted to them and every moment with them is something … indescribable, yet wonderful at the same time. Even looking at them makes you go … ‘wow.’ With Fluttershy, I love being around her and helping her, and she’s great too. But now, if I’m hanging around her or someone else, there’s a nagging feeling in my heart that wants me to be somewhere else, more specifically with someone else … and when I think of that person, it’s not you at all … and I hate to admit that more than anything. I’m really sorry.”

Trixie looked down as tears fell down her cheek. Zero frowned as he was about to say something to comfort her or give her a hug, but froze when he saw Trixie’s expression turn from one of sorrow to complete rage, making Zero’s heart skip a beat in fear.

“Why?” Trixie asked quietly as she gritted her teeth and glared daggers at Zero, tears streaming down her face. “Why isn’t it me? We were meant for each other! We walk to school together, we have so much fun in the Roleplay Club, we’re cut from the same cloth, and you’re the first person I felt like I can open up to! I thought after all this time with people not taking the time to understand my feelings, rolling their eyes at me, or not using a single brain cell to see the real me, I found the one person in this damn town that could love me and make me feel whole! So why must I continue to endure this sense of loneliness? Does anyone really care about me?”

“Trixie….” Zero mumbled as he actually teared up a little.

“Am I truly so unloveable Zero?” Trixie sobbed as she covered her eyes so she didn’t have to look at him. “Is this why my own father would rather leave me and pursue his career than having to deal with a brat such as me? Because he knew I wasn’t worth much? Or how my own mother barely makes time for me anymore? I mean, it’s no wonder why I never really made any friends. So—”

Zero pulled Trixie into a tight hug and held her. Trixie gasped a little and didn’t move, but it didn’t take long for her to hug him back as she cried a little on his shoulder.

“You’re not worthless. This isn’t like you at all,” Zero insisted. “Just because I don’t love you the same way you do me doesn’t mean I don’t want you in my life. I like the club. Hanging out with you is fun, and I would even love to go to one of your magic shows in the future. We can still be friends and I’ll do whatever I can to be there for you. Trixie, you’re still important to me, girlfriend or not. Okay?”

“B-But I still don’t wanna give you up,” Trixie bawled as she gripped him tightly. “It’s not fair.”

“I know how you feel,” Zero stated as he pulled away from her. “I thought Fluttershy was the one for me and when she turned me down, I felt like I had the worst luck ever. But it’s just like you said: we’re cut from the same cloth. That means if I can get back on my feet, so can you. I mean, come on, you’re the Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon, one of the coolest girls in Canterlot.” Zero pulled away and smiled at her. “Don’t let this bring you down. I’ll always be there for you, along with Wind, Snips and Snails, and maybe even your bandmates. You just gotta show everyone the Trixie I know and you’ll be surrounded by people who love you. Then you probably won’t need me as much.”

“You’re wrong about two things though,” Trixie said as she wiped her tears away. “First off, Trixie is not one of the coolest girls. She is the coolest girl in Canterlot! From now until the rest of time, Trixie will see to it that her name is etched into history. You got that?” She gave a sad smile before giving Zero a kiss on the cheek. “Secondly, you’re my first real friend, no matter what, so I’ll always need you.”

Zero blushed a little from the kiss on the cheek.

“But, as head of the Roleplaying Club, I hereby ban you for the rest of the month.”

“W-What? Bu—”

“I think it’d be better if we don’t see each other for the time being, for both our sakes,” Trixie admitted. “Besides, you should spend some more time with whoever your heart’s set on. That way you won’t be confused anymore. And you should start walking to school with them or let them drive you.”

“I guess that’s a good point.” Zero frowned. “I just hope you’re gonna be okay.”

“It’s like you said, I’ll bounce back eventually. But you can’t always be the white knight, Zero,” Trixie explained a bit more confidently. “You just gotta let people stand on their own and trust them. And right now is that time for me.”

Thinking about it, Zero slowly nodded. “If you’re sure.”

“I am. Now then, isn’t there somewhere you oughta be?”

“Yeah,” Zero said with a sad smile. “I’ll see you around, Trixie,” he said before turning away and heading off. As Trixie watched him go, she gave a long sigh before closing the door. Zero never really expected to be someone to turn down a girl who was infatuated with him. The idea alone felt ludicrous unless something was seriously wrong with the girl. But in this case, it had to be done.

And he knows where he has to be from now on.

After wrapping up her homework, Twilight was lying on her bed looking at the group photo from last night, fixated on hers and Zero’s fake smiles. She kept thinking about the conversation the two of them had in the hallway as if it was playing on loop in her brain. She could feel in the pit of her stomach that there were things left unsaid, yet she felt almost too nervous to confront the situation.

I want to ask him, but is now really the best time? Twilight thought as she opened her phone and went to her contacts. I could call him or text him, but what if I’m reading too much into it?

Twilight kept staring at her phone while her thumbs slowly inched their way to the call button, but her phone suddenly went off and received a text from Sunset, making her jump a bit before opening the message.

Sunset: Open the front door.

Twilight took a quick peek out her window and saw Sunset’s car parked out front, proving she was definitely here. She soon went down to the front door and opened it. Sunset was standing by the doorway and gave her friend a small wave.

“Hey Twilight, sorry for dropping by unannounced like this. I would’ve come by sooner, but Soul didn’t wanna stop cuddling back at my place … until his mom came and dragged him home—literally, mind you,” Sunset disclosed with a small giggle.

“Heh, I’m surprised she didn’t spy on you guys during the dance.” Twilight chuckled before a thought crossed her mind. “She actually did, didn’t she?”

“Eeyup,” Sunset confirmed while trying her best to mimic Big Mac. “And here I thought she and I actually bonded enough last week for her to trust me, but I guess moms will be moms.”

“It think it’s kinda sweet, though my mom is more overzealous than overprotective,” Twilight added before getting her mind on track. “But we’re getting sidetracked. You’re probably here because of last night, right? How’d you know something was up?”

Sunset took out the group photo from last night and pointed to Twilight’s and Zero’s smiles. “When you’re the school’s bad girl for a year or so, like me, you know how to make and tell the difference between a real smile and a fake one. It was pretty obvious you both did not look happy at all.”

Twilight frowned before closing the door and sitting down on the steps. “You might want to sit down for this,” she said as Sunset sat next to her and patted her shoulder. Once Twilight wrapped up her story, Sunset wasted no time getting to the meat of the issue.

“Sounds to me like this goes a bit deeper than picking which guy you wanted to dance with,” Sunset addressed. “Though if I’m being honest, I’m not surprised this happened. You two have been studying together almost every weekday, and you don’t talk to any other guys that often.”

“I’m almost sure he feels the same way as I do now. But….” Twilight looked down. “I feel like we might be incompatible. So things might not work out.”

“You think you two are incompatible?” Sunset cocked an eyebrow before laughing. ”Twilight, have you seen our circle of friends lately and who they’re dating? Clyde’s more stoic, calm, and down-to-earth while Rarity’s more chatty, lively, and prone to fantasizing, yet they work well together as a couple. Pinkie’s outgoing, the life of the party, and wild while Swift is awkward, nerdy, and reserved, but they’re still so cute together!

“None of those differences necessarily mean that it can’t work out. You’ve got to give it a try,” Sunset argued. “When I got the hints … okay, obvious implications—that Soul had feelings for me, I wasn’t sure how to take it since my first relationship with Flash wasn’t great. I was a bit uncomfortable with the idea at first.”

“I think it’s kind of cute to be honest.” Twilight smiled. “Your relationship with each other is like something out of a romantic comedy.”

“Feels like it, yeah.” Sunset giggled at the thought. “But after hanging out with him here and there, I realized I had a lot of fun being around him, more than I expected. And when you really get down to it, he’s really open-minded and such a dork half the time that I can’t help but smile. At first, when he asked me to the dance and to be his girlfriend, I felt unsure and nervous, but happy that he asked me. So I decided to say yes, and I couldn’t be any happier. While he doesn’t know it yet, he taught me something I ought to pass onto you.”

“And what’s that?”

“That we shouldn’t think too much on the what-ifs, the negatives, or apprehensions that come up. Just follow your heart and take a chance,” Sunset explained. “Knowing you, I think you definitely need to keep that in mind. Did you even talk to Zero today or were you still debating with yourself?”

Twilight pouted and crossed her arms. “No! You just interrupted me before I could … decide…. Okay, I guess you really do know me.”

“You aren’t exactly an enigma, Ms. Einstein,” Sunset teased with a smirk. “Especially when you geek out. No wonder Zero’s more than likely fallen for you.”

Twilight looked back at her. “I’d question that train of thought, but … Zero did say something to me that no guy has before,” she said as her cheeks turned red.

“Mr. Casanova does have his way of words,” Sunset recalled before nudging Twilight. “But don’t keep me in the dark, tell me!”

“Okay, okay!” Twilight laughed as she nudged Sunset back. “I noticed him watching me at the dance for the most part, and when I asked why, he said, ‘It’s hard not to look at the prettiest girl in the room.’” She mumbled the last bit quietly as her face got more and more red.

“Awwww! That’s so sweet of him!” Sunset beamed. “At this point, I don’t have any doubt that he likes you. But now we can cycle back to you and your thoughts. Are you interested enough to give it a try?”

Twilight thought for only a brief moment, but given how all the pieces fell into place, coupled with what Sunset and Cadance had told her, she already had her mind made up. “First and foremost, I have to talk to him.”

“Sure thing, I’ll step away so you can call him in pri—”

Twilight shook her head. “Not by phone, in person. At this moment, a call or text wouldn’t be appropriate. This is the kind of moment in which I must see him face to face in order to get everything between us across.”

Giving her friend a confident grin, Sunset nodded at her. “Understood. Now go get ‘em, Twilight.”

Twilight smiled at her and gave Sunset a hug. “Thanks for coming by to check on me. I really appreciate it.”

Sunset hugged her back. “What are best friends for? Just be sure to call me later. I wanna hear all the juicy details!”

Twilight pulled away from the hug and gave her a cheeky grin. “Oh, I’ll make sure to tell you all about it if you promise to tell me some stories between you and Soul.”

“You have got yourself a deal Ms. Sparkle,” Sunset agreed before heading back to her car. Twilight in return went to go change before taking a walk in the direction of Zero’s house. Before, it felt as if whenever she took a step forward in putting herself out there, it was always a shaky one.

This time, she felt nothing but conviction in her step.

On his way to find Twilight, Zero made a quick stop and picked up some ice cream. He carried them in a bag while eating one of his own in order to calm his nerves. He wasn’t sure how the encounter would go or what he’d say exactly, but at the same time, he felt at peace. The sky was turning orange as the sun set and the day approached its end. The neighborhood was quiet—unsurprising, given that everyone was preparing for work or school the next day. The final remnants of Autumn leaves were blowing by as October was nearly over and winter was drawing near.

“Man, this takes me back,” Zero said to himself as he approached the bridge over the riverbank, his usual downtime spot. He couldn’t help but stop to stare off at the sunset for a moment as the sky was completely clear and the river sparkled like crystals. He leaned on the edge and took a moment to admire it. “Been way too long since I’ve chilled here for a bit. Heh, then again, whenever I do, all I do is think about the past. Kinda wonder how Manehatten’s holding up.”

As he took several minutes to take in the view, a familiar voice spoke up right by him and his heart started to stir.

“Fluttershy did mention that you always had a fondness for nature and nice views,” said Twilight as she approached Zero with a warm smile. “But I never really took you for a nature guy. Then again, you never cease to amaze me.”

“Oh, Twilight!” Zero blurted out a bit happier than he expected. “I was just looking for you,” he said before offering her the ice cream from his bag. “Wanna talk over ice cream?”

Twilight smiled. “Sure thing. What flavors do you have?”

“Just Sea-Salt Ice Cream!” Zero said before handing her a popsicle and sitting down on the ledge of the bridge.

“Sea-Salt Ice Cream?” Twilight said before sitting down next to him and taking the wrapper off the ice-cream before putting it in the bag so she didn’t litter. She raised an eyebrow before taking a bite out of the ice cream. “Hmm … tastes pretty good!”

“Salty, yet sweet, huh?” Zero grinned as he took a bite out of his. “I got these from Button Mash on the way here. He made them just like how my friends used to back in Manehattan.”

“You and your friends used to make these?” Twilight tilted her head curiously.

“Yup!” Zero confirmed with a bit of a sad smile. “We kinda got the idea from a video game series all three of us loved playing. In one of them, the characters in the game love to eat this ice cream all the time and watch the sunset like this, so we found out how to make the ice cream ourselves and tried it out while sitting on the roof of the apartment building. It was one of the most peaceful and beautiful moments I’ve ever felt. So watching the sunset nowadays makes me feel nostalgic and forget all my problems.”

“Wow.” Twilight thought about what he said before looking out at the sunset. “I do see what you mean. Watching the sunset does feel really nice and soothing.”

“I always thought of the sunset as kinda sad though since it’s usually seen as the end of one day and getting ready to call it in, especially on Sundays since you know school is tomorrow. But at the same time,” Zero looked at Twilight, “I actually feel happier when I watch it here since I can look forward to what tomorrow brings. Every day feels like an adventure in this town. Each day makes me think of what the next one is gonna be like, whether it’s a simple day or something grand. Either way, I really love Canterlot and all the friends I’ve made.”

Smiling, Twilight looked back at him. “That’s a perspective I can get behind since I actually started to feel the same as well.”

“Oh yeah?” Zero wondered as he took a bite out of his ice cream.

“I never was good with people, as you already know,” Twilight stated. “But when I read stories like Daring Do, I felt as a reader, I was part of the adventure myself or part of the group—getting to know the characters, laughing with them, being there during the good and bad times, it felt amazing. Unlike reality, it wasn't that hard to get to know people, and you didn’t have to worry about whether they like you or not, so I never really felt lonely as long as I had a good book close by. But as I got older, I did start to crave actually experiencing it for myself, to have the same kind of wonderful friends inside those stories. Until I attended Crystal Prep, it felt like having friends was only a fantasy, that something that beautiful wasn’t real or a necessity, so I pushed it all away ...”

“Till you started to open up, right?” Zero speculated.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah. Now that I’ve made such amazing friends, I look forward to the future in the same way as you … but I want to experience every day by your side, if you don’t mind,” she said with a blush.

Zero blushed as he stared at Twilight. “You really … mean that?”

“Y-Yeah. I learn a lot from being around you, and you give me the drive to try new things each day,” Twilight admitted. “I admire your courage, your carefree attitude, your charisma, all of it. Overall, it feels like I’ve barely scratched the surface of something wonderful about you that I can feel. Since you see something in me that I’ve yet to see in myself, I want to know why someone like you thinks I’m worth your time. And I … I want to know more and more about you,” she confessed.

Zero’s heart started to race and he couldn’t help but look away bashfully. “C’mon now, I’m cool, but not that cool. I’m just some hooligan who hates seeing people getting sad or lonely and doesn’t like getting bored. You’re a beautiful girl with just as beautiful a brain and the potential to be the world's next Da Vinci or Isaac Newton. If anything, you’re the one who’s incredible. Heck, you just beat me into making a confession!” he pouted.

Twilight couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Well, you know what they say: ladies first.”

“Fair point.” Zero huffed before taking another bite of his ice cream as he gazed into Twilight’s eyes. “But … I am glad you feel the same way as I do, ‘cause when I look at you, you’re not the typical nerdy girl. You’re adorkable, fun to talk to, and I already feel drawn to you. I don’t wanna leave your side, not for another second. So yeah, I’d love to learn more about you too.”

The two of them looked into each other’s eyes and gave one another a warm smile. Zero slid closer to Twilight and she in return rested her head on his shoulder as they continued to watch the sunset in complete peace while holding each other’s hand.

“So … are the Daring Do books just as good as the movies?” Zero wondered.

Twilight’s pupils shrank at the question. “Are the Daring Do bo— Are you telling me you’re one of the people that only watches the movies instead of reading the books?”

“I only saw the movie a few years ago and thought it looked cool! I never read the book because I thought it was kinda lame.”

Twilight gave Zero a stern glare before speaking the next word. “Tomorrow, after school, your house. We’re reading Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. No ifs, ands, or buts!”

“But I—”

“NO BUTS!”

Zero flinched a little from the stern glare as he was almost afraid to argue with her, though a thought crossed his mind and he smirked. “Do I get a reward for complying now that we’re an item? Nobody’s gonna be home for a while tomorrow, sooo ...”

Twilight’s whole face turned red at this as she started to think about what exactly he was implying. “W-W-WHAT?”

Zero burst out laughing as he held his stomach, taking complete delight in Twilight’s reaction. “Hehehe, I’m kidding! God, I love seeing your face like that. It’s so precious.”

Twilight pouted before leaning in and taking a huge bite out of Zero’s ice cream, making his pupils shrink as he looked at his ice cream in shock and distress. He slowly looked back at Twilight who had a cheeky grin plastered across her face. “You did not just do that,” Zero hissed half-jokingly.

“Oh, relax.” Twilight giggled. “We have more anyways!”

“But I gotta savor every bite!” Zero argued. “It’s not every day Button or I make these!”

“Then I—” Twilight was about to make a counter-argument but held the sides of her head suddenly. “ACK! Ice cream headache!”

Zero stuck his tongue out at her as he took a bite out of her ice cream while she was distracted by her brain freeze. “An eye for an eye, and a bite for a bite!”

Twilight glared at him with a small smile. “Hey!”

“You started it!” Zero teased with a laugh as the two engaged in playful banter and soon just normal conversation while they watched the sunset together. It was just a calming moment, much happier than the one they experienced at the Fall Formal.

Now that they’d resolved everything, they could put it all behind them and prepare for the days to come, knowing fully well that they’d face what’s next together as a fresh new couple.

First Impression

Canterlot, a peaceful town where new faces are common, smiles are made, and friendships are born. In a certain home, two new faces are getting ready for their first day at their new school.

*CRASH*

….Once they get their act together.

In a dark room, two figures are glaring daggers at each other while standing on opposite of the room, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"It appears the game is over before it even begins," said a young feminine voice.

“This isn’t a game anymore, this is an all-out war,” said an older male voice.

“Very well, but just remember, war leads to bloodshed.”

“That’s the way I LIKE IT,”

After those words, the two figures chucked a giant object from their hands simultaneously only for the objects to bounce off each other and fly off in different directions. At that moment, the door to the room swung open and the figured at the doorway turned on the light.

“Are you two getting dressed or-

*SPLASH*

what…”

The now illuminated room revealed the two drenched figures; one was a yellow eyed young man with black spikey hair and gray skin wearing a black tank top and shorts. The other was a slightly younger girl with sky blue eyes, dark blue pig tails, and silver skin. She had a fang sticking out on the left side of her mouth and was wearing red panties and a bra. The dripping figure by the door was a orange eyed woman with long silver hair and gray skin, wearing an azure gored skirt and a yellow silk blouson.

“WOULD YOU TWO STOP MESSING AROUND AND GET READY FOR SCHOOL ALREADY!!!” shouted the woman.

“Sorry mom,” the young man laughed as he scratched the back of his head, “we were just finding a way to shower faster without waiting on one another and make it more exciting.”

“Oh that’s sounds like a genius idea, using water balloons to shower yourselves inside your room during a school morning when it’s freezing outside because you two were too lazy to take turns using the shower.”

“See Zero,” said the girl, “I told you she would understand,”

The woman’s left eye twitched before she closed her eyes and took deep breathes “Its ok White Star, just a couple more years of parenting and it will all be over,”

“So is it ok for me and Wind to continue our ‘shower’, please?” Zero asked with a wide smile.

“Sure,” said White Star. “Once you start getting good grades and stop showing off at school then you can have all the water balloons fights you want.”

“But that’s never gonna happen,”

“Then you see my point, now dry off and put some clothes on you two,”

As White Star left the room, Solar Wind chuckled at her mother’s retort only to be hit by another water balloon by her brother; she was ready to return fire only for White Star to come back.

“NOW!” she shouted.

After a few minutes, Zero was walking down the stairs wearing a black unzipped hoodie with a black undershirt with the Japanese character for 'wolf' on it along with dark green pants accustomed with a chain on the side and black strap boots, Solar wind followed behind him wearing purple jeans, black shoes, and a red T-shirt with the Japanese word 'ventus' on it. In the kitchen their father Sound Barrier was listening to a tape while standing in a heroic pose. He was a man with short black hair and skin along with red eyes while wearing a brown trench coat and gray pants.

“My name is Sound Barrier and I’M FINE, My name is Sound Barrier and I’M FINE, MY NAME IS SOUND BARRIER AND I’M FINE!!!” he shouted repeatedly.

“Morning dad,” said Zero, “what’re you doing.”

“Hey kiddo, I’m just listening to this self-confidence tape that my pal Onyx gave me before I left,”

“It’s sound like your trying to hide the fact that you have low self-esteem, which I know you don’t,”

“Well I’m not trying to build it up; I’m practicing for when I point my finger at the witness and shout OBJECTION in the court room today,”

“Well you sound fine,” said Wind slightly uninterested “can you drive us to school?”

“As long as I don’t get assaulted by water balloons while eating breakfast, sure,”

Once Zero and Wind sat down with their father, White Star served them all two pancakes.

“By the way, it’s your first day of high school right Wind,” asked Sound Barrier.

“Yeah, I hope it’s everything I dreamed; musicals, friendships, parties, and cute boys!”

“You’ve been watching too much high school shows lately haven’t you?” Said Zero.

“Ok, then what it’s like for you so far.”

“Well do you remember in The Lion King when Mufasa told Simba about the shadowy place?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s High School; the only difference is we have to go there,”

“Oh yeah? Let’s have a bet; if the school’s nice and not as bad as you make it you owe me 30 bucks,”

“Alright you’re on,”

As they shook hands to seal the deal, Sound Barrier and White Star looked at each other and smiled knowing who was going to win the bet since they were the only ones who saw what the school looked like.

‘I am so winning this bet’ Zero thought to himself while eating the pancakes

‘I am so losing this bet’

Zero and Wind were standing in awe at the school once they stepped out of their father’s car. It was a lot nice than Zero’s old school in Manehattan, it wasn’t gloomy looking or had a sense of hostility, in fact the school was radiant and full of life and most of the students going in were actually happy and full of spirit instead of angry or ready to pick a fight with the first person to walk by.

“Alright you two,” said White Star “I want you to have a great first day, Wind try to make some new friends okay?”

“Yes mom,” she nodded

“And Zero, stay out of trouble,”

“Aw come on, you know I’m a good kid,”

Sound started to chuckled to himself “I don’t need evidence to know that’s bullsh-“

*SLAP*

“OW!”

“Anyways,” Continued White Star. “Enjoy yourselves and try to make a good first impression,”

Once Sound Barrier finish rubbing his cheek, the married couple drove off leaving Zero and Wind in front of the new school, once Zero finish looking at it, he turned his head and noticed Wind’s legs are shaking.

“Nervous much?” he asked

“M-maybe a little,”

“Is it because of what I said about high school?”

“Kinda,”

“listen, don’t worry about it, forget everything I said this morning and do what mom said,”

Wind’s legs stopped shaking and she gave a cocky smile. “Nice try, I’m not gonna forget about our bet, but I will take mom’s words to heart,” Wind then ran towards the entrance and got a couple of glares from the students nearby. “I’M GOING TO MAKE 100 FRIENDS!!!” She shouted before kicking the doors open and running inside.

Zero sighed and smiled “You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family,”

Zero took off his backpack and looked inside to check his ‘equipment’, once everything was in order, he smiled. “Mom did say to make a good first impression,” he said after putting back on his backpack and walked inside the building. Once inside he took out his schedule from his pocket and skimmed through it, he eventually got bored within seconds decided throw it away, behind him a girl with purple skin and strait hair purple with a pink streak saw this. She was wearing a buttoned blouse accustomed with a pink bow near the neck, a dark purple skirt with a pink star on it, and purple boots to match her outfit.

“Um, excuse me,” she called out.

“Yeah?” Zero replied while raising an eye brow

“You dropped your schedule,”

“I know, I don’t need it,”

“Then how are you supposed to know what classes you have?”

“I don’t see why it matters or why you care, back at home it didn’t matter what classes we were assigned, students usually end up in the wrong classrooms but the teacher don’t even do attendance and begin the lesson anyways.”

“Well you’re not at your old school anymore so maybe you should be more considerate about your classes,” the purple girl then picked up the schedule and looked at it briefly before giving it back to Zero. “Oh look, we have first period together,”

“Cool, anyways I…wait you have my first period?”

“Yeah, why?

“I need a favor,” he said with a serious look

“Um, I just met you so it really depends,”

“Ok first, what floor is the classroom on?”

“Second but-“

“What’s the classroom number?”

“058, wha-“

“Is there a window?”

“Yes, why do-“

“Ok, I just need you to open the window during attendance,” Zero then took a piece of paper out of his pocket and wrote down some numbers on it. “Text me when you open the window,”

“Hold on a minute, why do I need to open the window, and why do I have to do it, plus it’s against the rules to use your cell phone in class!”

“Please, I’ll make it up to you if you can do me this one favor,besides you can't get in trouble if you don't get caught”

“Ugh, fine,” She moaned as she took the paper and saved the number to her phone.

“Thanks, see you in class uh…”

“Twilight”

“Got it, later” Zero said as he ran towards the stairway. Twilight sighed as she continued to walk towards her first period class, she passed by a couple of students on the way and got a couple of weird glares, some of the students waved at her and she gave a nervous wave back, some of the students even bowed to her but she continued waving and started walking faster.

“Oh my god it’s her,”

“That girl from the video,”

“Oh yeah, the one who beat Sunset Shimmer,”

“Didn’t she beat The Dazzlings too?”

“Hey is that the princess?”

The students were whispering as Twilight walked by, causing her to become more nervous and uncomfortable, finally she made it to her classroom and sat at her desk. Some of the students came in the classroom giving the same reaction as everyone else she passed by.

‘Why are they all looking at me like that, did I do something wrong?’ she thought to herself. As everyone sat down, the school bell rang and the teacher walked in, ruining the students chance to start gossiping, this calmed Twilight’s nerves. She didn’t know what would happen if the bell didn’t ring sooner, and hopefully she wouldn’t find out. The teacher was a woman with blue eyes, yellow hair, and light brown skin. She was wearing a purple polo shirt accustomed with a pink scarf, gold and purple earrings, a gold necklace, and a long dark purple skirt.

“Good morning everyone, my name is Ms. Harshwhinny; I will be teaching social studies for the year, now before we begin are there any questions before I start attendance?”

“Are we going to do class introductions where we talk about ourselves to the class,” asked one of the students.”

“I don’t really care to know any of you unless you have something to offer, any other questions.”

Twilight begun to raise her hand slowly, “Is it ok if I open the window, it’s a little hot in here,”

Ms. Harshwhinny gave a wide smiled, “Why Ms. Sparkle, I had no idea you’d be joining us this semester, Of course you can,”

“Um, Thank…you?” she replied awkwardly, Twilight figured this was her chance to figure out what’s going on, but right now she just wanted to do the task she was given and get on with the lesson for the day. Once she opened the window she sat back in her seat and texted Zero that she’s done her part, after putting her phone away she noticed Ms. Harshwhinny was about to call her name for attendance.

“Trixie Lulamoon,”

“Present,”

“Twilight Sparkle,”

“Here,”

“Zero Gravity” There was an awkward silence in the room before Harshwhinny repeated herself, “Mr. Zero Gravity,” again, no response. “Alright, I guess that’s everyon-“

“HOLD UP I’M HERE!”

Everyone looked out the window to see the source of voice and saw Zero wearing sunglasses swung in through the window Twilight opened for him using a rope that was attached to the roof of the school. He landed perfectly and stood in a heroic pose as the class watched in awe.

“In the deepest darkness,” he began, “There will always be a light to shine the way, and I plan on being that light and my wings will protect those who need it. The enemy to bullies, the pinnacle of awesomeness, the name that will rock the heavens till they fall and build a new one right out its ashes, Zero Gravity, that’s me!”

Everyone in the classroom started to clap and whistle before Ms. Harshwhinny gave them all a dirty look, Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose and hit her head against the desk.

“Mr. Gravity,” Ms. Harshwhinny began. “Would you care to explain why you rudely interrupted the class with your barbaric, loud and unnecessary entrance?”

Zero then put his hands behind his head and gave a smile, “Just making a good first impression like my mom said Ms...”

“Harshwhinny, and I’m sure your parents wouldn’t mind if I told how you almost got suspended on your first day here, but since nothing is broken, I’m willing to overlook this incident now take your seat.”

“Yeah yeah,” he waved off as he walked towards his seat in the back row.

“Now if there are no more interruptions we can begin today’s lesson,”

Once Zero sat down he rested his chin on his hand and begun to drift off, he doesn’t really care much for the lessons in school unless it peak his interest, which it rarely does. The only reason he had for going to school was to hang out with friends or watch a fight happen, and being at this school for more than 5 minutes he can already tell one of his reasons has been diminished. Everything at the school seemed pretty relaxed and the atmosphere around it feels welcoming.

‘Maybe this school isn’t that bad’ he thought, only to get a tap on the shoulder by a girl next to him, the girl had long silver hair with purple star attached to it along with light blue skin and violet eyes. She was wearing a blue jacket and a purple skirt with a crescent moon and a wand.

“Do you honestly think just because you made a flashy entrance you can outshine The Great and Powerful Trixie?” she asked.

“Probably,” Zero smirked “So what makes you so ‘Great and Powerful'?”

“Trixie can do all sort of things, but my greatest talent is doing magic tricks.”

“Oh you can do magic,” he replied sarcastically “Show me.”

“I would but…I...uh“

“Let me guess, you’re don’t want to blind me with your mysterious powers and you want to focus on the lesson,” he mocked

“What does be the 'light in the deepest darkness' make you psychic or something.”

“No, but it does help me see bullshit.”

Trixie gritted her teeth then gave huff, “Well I don’t have to be great and powerful to help me see you’re nothing but a delinquent,”

“Pretty big talk coming from a phony,”

“For someone like you I’m surprised you know what the word phony means.”

“Oh it was easy; I’m looking at the definition right now.”

“WHY YOU-“

“Ms. Lulamoon and Mr. Gravity, should I stop the lesson so you two may continue your bickering?” Said Ms. Harshwhinny while giving an annoyed glare.

“No Ms. Harshwhinny,” they said in unison.

“Good,” she said as she turned her head and continue writing on the board, Zero and Trixie then stuck their tongues out at Harshwhinny simultaneously and noticed one another in the process and gave a chuckle then continued to glaring daggers at one another.

Later on that day in the cafeteria, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Sunset Shimmer were sitting down at the lunch table waiting for Pinkie Pie to show up.

“Ugh, where's Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash complained, “She said she has big news to tell us,”

“Relax Rainbow,” said Applejack “I’m sure she’ll be here any minute now.”

“But what could be so important.” said Sunset Shimmer as she checked her phone for the time, “lunch is almost over.”

“Do you think it has something to do with what happened in Ms.Harshwhinny's class this morning?” asked Rarity.

“You mean about that guy who swing in through the window on the second floor,” said Fluttershy.

“Oh please,” scoffed Rainbow “I know crazy and not even Pinkie would do something that crazy,”

“HEY GIRLS!!!” shouted Pinkie Pie from the cafeteria entrance speeding towards the group of friends.

“Speaking of the pink devil,” Smiled Rainbow. “Hey Pinkie, whats up?”

“Girls, you’re not gonna believe this, Twilight’s back!” Pinkie cheered.

“Really?” asked Sunset surprised,“she didn’t tell me she was coming for a visit.”

“Maybe she wanted to surprise us?” guessed Fluttershy.

“Did you talk to her at all Pinkie?” Asked Rarity

“I did but she acted like she didn’t know me,”

“Maybe, it’s not the Twilight we know,” explained Applejack “didn’t she mention that there’s an another version of us in her world, so this must be the Twilight of our world…or something like that,”

“You probably right,” Sunset pondered. “But just to make sure I’ll write to Twilight tonight when I get home,I would do it now but I left my book under my pillow.”

“Oh, before that” Fluttershy began, “I was wondering if you can help me at the animal shelter after school today.”

“Sorry Fluttershy, I got bombard with homework and I need to get started as soon as I get home,” replied Sunset.

“That’s ok, I’m sure Rarity wouldn’t mind helping me,”

“I’m terribly sorry darling, but I have to go to the homeless shelter with my mother and help out.”

“And I got to start practicing for the soccer team,” added Rainbow.

“And I have ta start preparing the farm for the winter, you saw how cold it was this morning,” noted Applejack.

“Oh, ok…Maybe I’ll just ask someone else if they’ll volunteer like I do on Wednesdays,” Fluttershy said as she sulked back into her chair, she knew every Wednesday when she hands out fliers for people to volunteer at the animal rescue center, nobody pays any attention to her. Suddenly the school bell rang and everyone began standing up and taking their food with them to the trash.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy, I’m sure someone will help you out,” Applejack said as she rest her hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder before leaving the cafeteria.

“I hope so…” Fluttershy sighed.

As the school day finally came to a close, everyone was either walking home, going to practice, or getting driven home by their parents. Finally, Zero and Wind came out of the front entrance preparing to head home themselves.

“Damn it!” shouted Solar Wind as she clenched both her fists in anger, “Those two girls really pissed me off, where do they get off treating me like that,”

“I told you it was going to be rough,” said Zero. “Besides, not everyone is going to accept you for who you are.”

Wind sighed, “Maybe making new friends isn’t as easy as I thought,”

Zero smiled and rested his hand on her, “Don’t worry, knowing you I’m sure you’ll make a tons of friends before Christmas comes around.”

Wind smiled, “Yeah and when I find those jerks again I’ll show them whose boss!” she then gave three jabs to the air and attempted a spin kick until Zero caught her foot.

“Easy now, as much as I hate to say it you can’t go picking fights with bullies; mom and dad already said so, and I don’t want one of us to get expelled and move again.

Wind huffed and crossed her arms, “Fine I’ll ignore them, their probably all talk anyways. By the way how was your day?”

Zero gave a cocky smile, “Well if you want to know so badly I-“he paused and noticed a pink haired girl sitting down with her face buried in her knees next to a horse statue.

“Hey, do you think she’s ok?” asked Wind as she pointed her finger to the girl.

“No, she must be wonderful,” Zero said sarcastically while rolling his eyes.

“Do me a favor and lose the sense of humor for once,” said Wind.

“Do us both a favor and buy one,” replied Zero. Wind then gave a serious look to Zero punched him in the shoulder, only for Zero to lightly chuckle, “I’m kidding, I’ll go see what’s up with her, you head home.” Wind nodded and started to walk away while Zero decided to approach the depressed girl. Getting a better look at her, he noticed she was wearing a white tank top and a light green skirt with butterflies on it and boots to match. “You ok?” he asked

The girl sniffed before speaking “Why do you care, you probably just going to ignore me like everyone else,”

“Well, it’s not considered ignoring if someone stops to ask you if you’re ok.” Zero replied while crouching down to her level.

“Well…I needed some help down at the animal shelter but all of my friends were busy and I tried asking other people but they didn’t even notice me.”

“Oh, well do you still need any help?”

“Yes, but everybody already left and I’m worried that I can’t handle this on my own,”

“Then I’ll help you,”

She lifted her head up with a surprised look on her face, “Really? You’d do that”

“Oh come on,” Zero grinned. “What kind of guy would I be if I left you here to cry,”

The girl then smiled and whipped the tears from her eyes “Oh, thank you so much.”

Zero stood up and offered her and hand up, once she accepted it Zero then used his thumb and pointed to himself, “My name is Zero Gravity,”

“Wait, your Zero?” the girl replied with a confused look.

“Oh, so you’ve heard of me,” he said while fixing up his jacket and giving a confident grin, “Is the school already spread the word of my awesomeness, are the bullies quaking in terror, or is the school staff already planning some event in my honor,”

“Actually…only very few people know you, I was across the hall from your class and hear you shouting, plus you…kinda scared me.”

Zero then got on his hands and knees and began sulking, “only…a few people,”

Fluttershy then felt awkward for a moment before breaking the silence, “I’m…Fluttershy by the way,”

Zero then stood and used his pinky finger to clean his left ear, “Sorry I was lamenting my crushed dreams, what was that?”

“I’m Fluttershy” she repeated slightly louder.

“Alright Fluttershy, lead the way,”

As Zero and Fluttershy walked inside the animal shelter, they were met with an uproar of dogs barking and birds chirping, causing Zero to flinch slightly but Fluttershy kept walking.

“Isn’t it a little noisy to you?” Zero shouted while trying to talk over the animals.

“No, I’m used to it, they're only like that to newcomers, I consider it a way of saying hello,” smiled Fluttershy.

“Gee, I’m Charmed,” he said sarcastically. “Anyways what do you need me for?”

“Well I need to clean the dog cages today and I need someone to watch the dogs for me,” she noted.

“….Dogs…” Zero gulped as he started to sweat. He doesn’t have a good history with dogs; he has a bit of an unlucky streak with stray dogs chasing him in Manehattan and hoped that it end after kicking a dog in its teeth when it corner him and keep the tooth as a lucky charm.

“Alright, everyone out,” Fluttershy said while unlocking the cage to all the dogs.

“Wait! You’re taking them all out, why not one by one?!” he objected

“I think it would be faster, plus it’s not often they get to play with newcomers,” She smiled. Fluttershy then lead the dogs and a nervous Zero into the play room filled with toys. “Now I want you all to play nice, oh and be careful Zero, some of them like to play rough,” with that note, Fluttershy closed the door behind her. Once closed, all the dogs started to growl at Zero.

“N-n-nice doggies,” he said nervously while backing up into a wall, he then closed his eyes and grabbed the nearest object on the shelf next to him and used it as a shield.

“ By the way,” Fluttershy said while peeking in the room. “Oh you found it,”

“Found what?” he asked as he opened his eyes to see a chewed up toy bone in his hand and all the dogs glaring daggers at him.

“Their favorite chew toy, try to make them share it ok?” she said as she closed the door behind her, leaving Zero alone with the angry dogs.

“Sharing is caring” he chuckled nervously.

30 minutes later

After she was finished cleaning the dog cages, Fluttershy patched up Zero wounds and constantly apologized with tears in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry; I don’t know why the dogs would do something like this, they’re usually so nice to me,” she said.

“Well to them, you’re like a goddess and I’m considered fresh meat,” he noted while rubbing his bite marks. “But I’m glad I helped honestly, anyways I gonna go,”

“Wait there’s still one more cage I need to clean,” she halted “do you think you can watch this one,”

“Well after attempting to balance myself on a shelf only to be knocked off by a pit bull and getting attacked by 20 or so dogs. I don’t see why not,” he said as he got into a crane fighting stance to brace himself for the final dog to come out. Once Fluttershy released him, the small purple and green dog walked up to him and gave an awkward stare before rubbing himself on Zero’s leg.

“Who’s this guy,” he asked while picking up the dog.

“I found him hiding in a box in an alley,” explained Fluttershy, “but he didn’t have a name at the time so I decided to call him Spike for now,”

“Spike? That’s pretty boring don’t you think, why not something like Lancelot, or Eragon, or Dragneel or some more original than Spike.”

“Well, I suppose you could name him if you want, but you would have to adopt him.” She said as she finished cleaning the cage. Spike then started to lick Zero, causing him to giggle. “Aww, he likes you,” she smiled while clapping her hands together.

“Well I would buy him,” Zero said while putting Spike back in his cage, causing Spike to pout and whimper. “But my mom doesn’t want another reason to give her a headache, but I’m sure I can convince my dad with some persuasion and guilt tripping,”

“I understand, but you’ll be back to visit him right?” she asked

Zero crouched down and scratched Spike’s ear as he smiled and wagged his tail. “As long as the other dogs don’t kill me over a chew toy, sure,” he smiled back. “Anyways I better head back; I’ll see you around school I guess.” Zero said as he waved to Fluttershy who, in return, waved back. As Zero started to walk home, he looked up to the sunset and smiled, he was happy to know that the day was finally coming to a close. Even though he might lose the bet he made with his sister, he’s happy to find a more peaceful town than the one in Manehattan, hoping to forget most of his memories from there.

‘At least I can go home and finally sleep in peace’ he thought to himself.

“WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!” shouted White Star. Zero was sitting at the kitchen table eating meatloaf with his family, he forgot during dinner time his family talks about their day and their future plans.

“I….fell down some stairs,” he lied.

“No you didn’t,” objected Solar Wind, “Weren’t you-“

“Shut up before I throw you down a flight,” he retorted.

“It was a dog wasn’t it,” asked Sound Barrier without look up from his food.

Zero sighed, “There were at least 20,”

“20?! What were you doing to provoke at least 20 dogs?” White Star asked.

“It’s kind of a long story,” he replied.

“Does it have something to do with why your teacher called me today about you swing into the class via window?” Commented Sound Barrier.

“No that’s…another story,” chuckled Zero nervously.

After explaining the day he had and getting a long lecture, Zero finally got to take a shower and went to bed. Looking back on his eventful day, he felt like he made quite the impression in Ms. Harshwhinny's class, and to Fluttershy for helping her out at the Shelter, despite being attacked by dogs. All in all, he was looking forward to the rest of the year and the friends he was going to make.

“Not bad for a first day,” he yawned before fall asleep. “Not bad at all.”

One Step at a Time

In a dark alleyway, Fluttershy was desperately running for her life while trying to figure a way out of her situation. She knocked over some trash cans along the way, hoping that it would slow down whatever it was coming after her. Panting heavily and running out of stamina, Fluttershy was almost at the other end of the alley and gave a weak smile as she thought she was free.

Unfortunately, she was cut off by a large robot chimera. It has a three heads, one of them being a lion, the other being a gorilla, and the last being a dragon. Its arms looked like it belonged to the gorilla while the rest of its body was that of the lion with the exception of the dragon wings on its back. Fluttershy jumped back in fear as she began to tremble. She turned around and saw that her attempt to back out the alleyway was pointless as several more robot chimeras jumped out from the shadows and moved closer to Fluttershy. She started tearing up and hugged her knees as she felt completely helpless.

“S-s-somebody please, help!!” she cried out in desperation.

Just before the beasts pounced at her, a shadowy figure dived down from the full moon and slashed one of the chimeras in half. Fluttershy looked over in awe as the figure stood by her. She saw it was Zero in a long black trench coat, wielding a claymore in his hand as he spoke in a cool tone.

“So, you beasts wanna hurt my beloved?” he said while shielding Fluttershy. “Well, I wanna protect every fiber of her being. So, let's compromise.”

The robotic monstrosities let out a fierce roar as they rushed at Zero. He only closed his eyes and within an instant, he was behind the chimeras and all of them stopped moving. The moment he sheathed his blade and opened his eyes, the chimeras fell into pieces. Zero walked over to Fluttershy with a small grin and helped her up.

“Are you alright, my beloved?” he asked.

“I am now.” Fluttershy smiled back with a blush as she stood up. “Thank you, Zero. You're so incredible.”

“I’d do anything for you, Fluttershy,” Zero replied. As the sun started to come out and shine on them, Sunset and her gang rushed over and saw the battle that had taken place. However, Sunset, AJ, Pinkie were in playboy bunny outfit

“That was so chivalrous, darling!” Rarity commented.

“Yeah, you were totally badass! I wish I was that cool!” Rainbow added with some obvious jealousy.

“Hehehe, maybe you can be my knight in shining armor sometime?” Pinkie flirted with a bright blush as she got closer to Zero.

“Hmhmhm, perhaps, my sexy little bunny.” Zero smirked. “But it's no big deal really.”

“Here! We've prepared a feast for you, bro!”

Zero turned and Swift was pushing over a tray of food with the rest of the guys. With one quick sniff, Zero was already licking his lips in joy as he gave an excited smile.

“Aww, you guys are the best, you know that? Come Fluttershy, let us eat with our friends and plan our future together!” Zero exclaimed.

Everyone smiled happily as they started cheering for their hero. However, the more they chanted his name, the more distorted it sounded.

In reality, Zero was fast asleep in Algebra two class as he enjoyed his little fantasy land. Minuette, who was sitting next to him, kept nudging him and whispering his name to wake him up. Unluckily for him, Ms. Cheerilee noticed him and walked over to his desk. She stopped for a moment and glanced at a girl with ivory skin and long pink hair. She wore thick black stockings, a dark yellow shirt, a dark blue skirt and blue boots.

“Excuse me, Twinkleshine,” Cheerilee said as she picked up the textbook on her desk. She turned to her sleeping neighbor and dropped it flat on Zero's desk with a loud clap, scaring him awake.

“GHA!! Robot Chimeras!!” Zero shouted while trying to grab his make-believe claymore, quickly realizing he was free from his dream and looked at Cheerilee.

“If you can’t even be bothered to pretend to write notes, then you can battle your chimeras in Principal Celestia's office,” Cheerilee lectured as she gave Twinkleshine her book back.

“Sorry, I guess I’m low on energy today.” Zero scratched his head in a bit of shame.

“Well, you can’t refuel here in class. Either pay attention or go to the nurse's office.” Cheerilee went back to the front of the room and got ready to erase the equation on the board.

Zero looked over at the chalkboard and raised his hand. “Ms. Cheerilee?”

Cheerilee sighed. “No Zero, you can’t go to the bathroom. You’ll just disappear for the next half hour.”

“Actually, I was going to ask if I missed any notes while I was asleep?”

Half of the class turned their heads towards Zero as a few of them gasped. They were completely flabbergasted. They were used to someone asking if they missed any notes after going to the bathroom or if they were absent or asleep, but never did anyone expect Zero of all people to ask this question.

However, Cheerilee looked at Zero with an annoyed scowl. “Yes Zero, you missed some notes, and I took note that this is the twenty seventh time you’ve fallen asleep and missed something important.”

Zero was a bit taken aback by the response. “Sorry about that, I don’t really remember much when you read out the text to the whole class … and you read a little too slow. So I tried reading it myself and I dozed off without realizing it. My bad.”

“I see. I appreciate you at least trying to stay on task for once, but I think you might want to ask your neighbor about that one,” Cheerilee answered, losing the scowl. “But we’re about to work on some questions in the textbook today, so try and stay awake if you can.”

Zero nodded as he opened his notebook and turned to Minuette. “Mind if I borrow your notes, Minty?”

Minuette slid her notebook to him and place some sugar-free gum on it. “Chewing gum is helpful for keeping people awake,” she whispered to him. “Also, Robot Chimeras?”

Zero smirked as he popped the gum in his mouth and chewed on it. “I was trying to be original. Plus, it looked fierce in my head.”

“Well, too bad you can’t copyright it, cause that’s an idea I just might ‘borrow’ for English later on.” Twinkleshine gave evil grin as she took note of the idea.

“I don’t fully remember what copyright means, but you’d better credit me!”

Minuette was about to say something but shook her head with a smile and decided to just change the subject. “So, what trick are you scheming today? Having a bet with Trixie or one of the guys? Getting a prank ready? No, no, wait. Your ninja training paid off and you're a clone while the real you is goofing off somewhere else?”

Zero gasped dramatically. “Impossible! How could you tell I was a clone?”

“Fool! Because you just admitted it!” Twinkleshine chimed in as she whispered.

“No, I’m such a foolish fool with foolish plans!” Zero put his head down.

Twinkleshine got closer to Zero and whispered in his ear. “Maybe a foolish boy like you could use a whipping on that foolish booty.”

Zero and Minuette covered their mouths as they tried to hold back their laughter at the sudden and kinky comment from her. A full minute later, Zero looked at Twinkleshine and replied back to her with a smile. “I didn’t think you’d get my reference. You play Phoenix Wright too?”

“Just the first four. I never really got into the spin-off one or the 3DS games.”

“I never saw you as a gamer.” Zero wrote his notes down as he chatted.

“Well, I guess you don’t know us as well as you think, Sleeping Beauty,” Minuette pointed out.

“Does that mean I can rely on you to wake me up with a kiss if I fall asleep again?” Zero smirked as he looked at her.

“Maybe not. But I’d gladly scare you awake like Ms. Cheerilee again.”

“Ugh, I don’t need another heart attack,” Zero groaned as he finished writing notes and slid Minuette her notebook back.

Minuette giggled as she took her notebook. “All kidding aside, why the sudden care for notes?” Minuette tilted her head. “You hate math especially.”

Zero smirked and sat up straight. “The old me would’ve just made a snarky comment, pull out a manga and daydreamed for the rest of class. But I won’t stoop to that level anymore…. Well, not often, at least. I’m better than that now, so watch me rise to the top and pass with flying colors, Minty. You too, Twinkle.”

“Are you kidding? You’re hopeless.” Twinkleshine waved off. “I bet you can't even solve the first ten questions for a brand new Coloratura album I managed to snag.”

“Don't you dare spout your trickery and lies while speaking of such an angel,” Zero whispered as he pointed at her. “The new album doesn't come out for the next two wee—”

Zero had silenced himself as he saw Twinkleshine slowly take out the CD from her backpack.

“Ten questions by the end of class or two painful weeks of waiting,” Twinkleshine bargained. “Tick tock, you're on the clock. And show your work while you're at it.”

Zero had already started scanning through his notes as if his life depended on it. Twinkleshine only snickered as her plan worked perfectly.

“Well, looks like you learned something from Twilight after all, Twinkle,” Minuette said a bit surprised at how persistently Zero worked.

“I can make him do my bidding just like how you make Night do whatever you want just by saying ‘root canal.’” Twinkleshine smirked.

“I do not making him do what I want…. I just like to tease him with it.”

Zero flinched as he stopped writing. “Wait, Twilight tutored you too, Twinkle?”

“Oh yeah!” Twinkleshine beamed. “We’ve known each other since elementary school.”

“Seriously?!” Zero exclaimed a little too loudly, making Ms. Cheerilee shush him. “Sorry!”

Twinkleshine nodded confidently as she whispered. “Yep, from first grade all the way up to now. She was usually in at least half of our classes. Always working on her notes, passing her tests, and being the biggest brainiac along with Moony.”

Taken in by this revelation, Zero saw this as a chance to learn a little more about his tutor. “What made her so quiet in the first place? You guys were friends with her, right?”

“Well, not really,” Minuette chimed in to the discussion. “She’s always had her nose in the books, was studying, or if anyone asked, she’d give them a little advice on a subject. If anything, we only got her to hang out with us when we all studied together, and even then, she wasn’t enthusiastic about each session. The only people she really talked to often were Dean Cadance and Moondancer.”

“Hell, Moondancer tried harder than any of us to be her friend and actually grew attached to her,” Twinkleshine explained as she looked saddened. “But she’s the only one who wanted to stay in Crystal Prep with her brother. And ever since we all came here, she turned down every offer to hang out. And Crystal Prep isn’t the friendliest place in the world either, so….”

Zero frowned. “Sounds like your circle of friends isn’t what it use to be. Maybe I can at least get Twilight to start talking to you guys again.”

Minuette shook her head with a smile. “That’s really sweet of you, but I think this is a good chance for her to make some real friends for now. If she doesn’t wanna hang out, we won’t take it personally. So don’t stress it too much.”

“But if you do manage to get her on board, let me know and I’ll set up the operation. We'll call it Operation: The Girls’ Spectacular Get-Together!” Twinkleshine beamed as she winked at Zero, making him chuckle.

“Heh, I'll get it memorized.”

Minuette looked at Zero’s answers for the assignment. “And maybe while you're at it, you should do better at memorizing notes. You got the first three questions wrong.”

“Huh?!” Zero looked through his work. “But I thought x equaled 9!”

“Not with what you did. Here, let me show you.” Minuette pulled the paper over. “On the bright side, you got half of them right. But this one is a bit tricky, so don’t hurt yourself over it. So let’s cut down on the chatter and focus. You ready?”

Zero nodded and smiled as he was bit happy knowing his friends could make class time a lot more bearable without dreaming. “I’m all ears Minty.”

After class ended, Zero caught himself humming a tune as he was still wrapping his brain around the math problems he tried in class a minute ago while scanning through the homework they were given. Sure, he managed to get his hands on the new Coloratura album from Twinkleshine and felt completely ecstatic, but it was only through Minuette’s help that he got it. Technically, it was cheating even if Twinkleshine didn’t make any rules, but Minuette looked at it as a loophole, and he blessed her magnificent soul for it. However, he still felt bad that he couldn’t do it himself after memorizing his notes over and over.

Just as he was losing patience in trying to wrap his brain around the worksheet, he noticed Trixie was putting some things away in her locker. He was tempted to just hurry on by before she said something and broke his concentration. But as he tried, a thought occurred to him.

Oh yeah, I never apologized to her about my crappy mood the other day. And she left early this morning too. Even if she’s a bit annoying, she’s not a bully or really rotten. So I guess saying sorry wouldn’t kill me … hopefully.

Zero walked over to Trixie and took a brief sigh before speaking up. “Hey.”

“Trixie heard that sigh,” Trixie said as she closed her locker and looked at Zero with an unimpressed look. “Still in a bad mood, she sees. Well, Trixie doesn’t plan on having it this early in the week. Especially when she’s about to have her favorite snack, the magnificent peanut butter crackers!” She held them up in front of Zero before putting them away. “Now go on, shoo shoo.”

Zero rolled his eyes. “Look, I didn’t come here to make witty banter with you. I was just on my way lunch and thought I’d tell you something.”

“Well then, get to the point,” Trixie rushed as she crossed her arms.

Zero scratched the back of his head. “I’m sorry for being a little meaner than normal on Friday morning. A lot was going on with me and stuff and I didn’t really feel like talking about it. So yeah, I just hope I didn’t hurt your feelings.”

Trixie huffed. “Trixie wasn’t too bothered by your attitude, but she appreciates the apology nonetheless.”

“Great, cool, glad we got that out of the way.” Zero nonchalantly went back to looking at his homework. “Smell ya later.”

Trixie took note of his attitude once more and narrowed her eyes. “Now what’s the matter with you?”

Zero groaned in frustration as he turned to her. “It’s just my dumb homework. Don’t worry about it.”

Before he could head off, Trixie snatched the paper from him and examined it herself, irritating Zero even more so.

“Can you not snatch stuff from me?!” Zero exclaimed as he took it back. “Geez, were you just born rude right off the bat?”

“Algebra two is a bit frustrating at times,” Trixie began as she lost her arrogant tone. “If you don’t wanna look up the answers like most people, then just go to your teacher during lunch and ask her or him for some assistance. Or even your tutor.”

Zero was taken aback by the sudden advice, and from Trixie of all people. He gathered his thoughts before responding in a bit of an uneasy tone. “The last person I want help from is Twilight. Even if she’s my tutor, I wanna surprise her with the sudden improvement and show her how much of her efforts are paying off.”

Trixie sighed and shook her head. “Listen, I’m gonna tell you a little secret about myself. So don’t tell anyone and listen carefully!”

“Last I heard, Magicians aren't suppose to reveal secrets. And since when does the Great and Powerful Trixie speak in first person?” Zero retorted with a small smile, only to realize Trixie had kept a straight face and wasn't amused. “Sorry. I'll hush.”

“Anyways, I was gonna say that.” Trixie glanced around to make sure the coast was clear. “Even the Great and Powerful Trixie makes mistakes from time to time.”

Zero looked uninterested right off the bat. But nevertheless, he listened carefully.

“Even though I’m currently a master magician, I did have a rocky start and had problems with some of the more difficult tricks. It frustrated me to no end and people only laughed at me! But in the end, all I could really do was keep practicing and practicing until I started to get the hang of it—even stooping so low as to … ask for help from professionals.” Trixie expressed a bit of annoyance at the last part until she mellowed out. “But in the end, I started to finally improve and become the amazing girl You see before your very eyes! The point I’m trying to get at is you have to continue struggling. In my opinion, it's one of the more appealing stepping stones.”

“Struggling is an appealing stepping stone?” Zero said curiously. “How so?”

“Because it feels all the more exhilarating once you achieve what you're after, only to look back at all the hard work you went through and smile and laugh in victory, knowing it all paid off. Heck, even being a delinquent in everyone’s eyes is a perk at times, because once you accomplish something incredible, you’ll blow all of their minds since they’ll never see it coming. Like a neat hat trick. In the end, what's a path to glory without a few bumps in the road. Hmmm?”

Zero stayed silent as he looked at Trixie, completely confounded. He tried to say something clever, but he was baffled. “Wow … you’re actually trying to cheer me up…. Correction, you did cheer me up. Since when did you start to worry over me?”

“Trixie only said all that so your depressing mood doesn’t continue any further and affects Trixie in return. Nothing more, nothing less.” Trixie waved off with a small smile. “Plus, she appreciates your apology, so think of her speech as a thank you.”

Zero smiled and put his paper away. He gave a toothy grin. “I don’t know about powerful, but you are pretty great after all, Trixie. Thanks.”

Trixie smiled back. “Not a problem. Now if you would excuse me, Trixie has places to be. Ta ta.” She turned and headed off down the hallway. Once Zero watched her go, he put his hands in his pockets and ventured off to the lunchroom, only to feel something in his jacket. He slowly took it out and saw it was a package of peanut butter crackers. He was about to question it but only smirked once he put the pieces together in his head. He opened it up and started eating.

Even with their secret revealed, a magician can be full of surprises.

Inside the huge bustle of the cafeteria, Twilight found herself sitting alone at her table once again while eating the lunch her father made for her: A peeled orange, a fresh bottle of milk, some french fries, and a homemade cheeseburger. By now, she would’ve been halfway into the burger as she had a bit of a carving for her father’s cooking, but she was a bit distracted at the moment. She was currently looking over at the table where Fluttershy and the other girls were sitting as they talked and laughed. Twilight just contemplated the idea of actually going over there for a change. She even had flashcard notes for greetings and what to talk about in her pocket as she had spent most of the previous morning working on them and even did a bit of practicing later that night.

She wasn’t lying when she told Zero she wanted to at least try to talk to the girls. And part of her wanted to get to know them, but she wasn’t ready for any possible rejections. It’s possible they only talked to her at the roller rink because Zero asked them to be nice. Or maybe they wouldn’t like her once they got to know her. The more she thought about it, the more nervous she started to feel.

Just then, Zero sat down next to her with his food. “Hey there, egghead. Or should I say boiled egg head ‘cause you’re sweating a little bit,” he commented. “You gonna be okay?”

Twilight snapped out of it and turned to him. “H-Huh?! Oh, it’s you.” She took a few deep breaths. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was thinking about sitting with Fluttershy and the others. I’m just a bit apprehensive.”

“ … ”

“Scared something bad will happen.”

“Ooooh.” Zero nodded as he understood.

“Remind me that we need to work on your vocabulary. And to get you a pocket dictionary,” Twilight commented in a deadpan manner.

“Hey, I’m trying my best here!” Zero exclaimed with a huff. “Why don’t I ban you from using big words I don’t understand?!”

“You can’t ban me from using big words!!” Twilight argued back.

“Well, whatever then. Don’t blame me if I don’t understand half of what you say!” Zero crossed his arms. “Anyways, you need to go over there and try be sociable.”

“Again. Introverted. It’s not that simple for us,” Twilight reminded as she looked over to the girls and gave a more timid expression. Or maybe I’m just overthinking everything. They always tried to befriend me before. And Friday was really nice up until those Diamond Dogs came at me. Twilight took a big gulp. At this point there weren’t really any arguments left that she could use as an excuse. She could only chalk it down to her being scared.

But Zero let out a sigh and patted her shoulder. “You don’t have to do it today if you're not ready. Just stay with me.”

Twilight turned to him. “But you said—”

“That I would help you make friends, not force all of this on you and then carry you to the nurse's office for having panic attack.” Zero explained. “I want you to go when you're completely ready for that big step. And I’ll root for you the whole time!”

Twilight gave a small smile as she started to breathe more easily. “You really are too determined to help me make friends, you know that?”

“It’s because your happiness matters to me.” Zero took one of her fries and ate it. “Minuette and the others told me you were always sticking your nose in your books, hardly talking to anyone and such. And that’s all fine and stuff, but you need to remember that there are things you can’t learn in a book. There’s a whole world out there for you to explore and see with all five of your senses. You just need to get up, take a chance, and go. This isn’t Crystal Prep anymore.” He smiled. “You're in an awe-inspiring school with tons of cool and nice people. It’s the first school that I actually love, and I want you to understand why and how. And in truth, it’s painful seeing you eat all alone. So to quote an author I love: ‘Even when our eyes are closed there’s a whole world out there that exists outside ourselves and our dreams.’ You got it memorized?”

Twilight absorbed his words and took a deep breath. She admitted he was right through and through, and she couldn’t dawdle on the idea forever. “I’ll go when I’m ready.”

“That’s the spirit!” Zero beamed with a fist pump, but in the process his leg kicked Twilight’s backpack slightly and a small yelp came from it. “Shoot, my b—Did your bag just make a yelp?”

“U-Uh, no, no. You're just imagining things.” Twilight gave a nervous smile.

Zero looked down at her bag and patted it a few times. He heard a quiet bark and his curious face slowly evolved into a giddy smile as he looked at Twilight. “You brought Spike to school!”

Twilight panicked and hastefully hushed him as Spike gently poked his head out the bag. He gently licked Zero, making him giggle like a little kid.

“I don’t like to leave him home. Honestly, I don’t go anywhere without him nowadays.” Twilight smiled as she petted him.

“I’ll just chalk it down that you’re a dog lover.” Zero bent over and nuzzled him. “Besides, who knew the goody-two-shoes Twilight Sparkle could be a rule breaker?”

“Excuse me?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t really care to remember the school rules for the most part, but if I recall right, Fluttershy said that pets aren’t allowed on school grounds.” Zero gave her a sly grin.

“Spike’s not a pet,” Twilight clarified. “He’s the focus of my personal research project: Human-Canine Cohabitation, Effects and Implications!” she beamed.

“Whatever gets you through the day, Egghead.” Zero petted Spike one last time before Twilight zipped up the bag so Spike was hidden but could still breathe. Zero picked up his food and looked at Twilight. “And with that, I bid you sayonara.”

“You’re not going to stay here?” Twilight asked with a hint of disappointment.

A little surprised, Zero turned and gave Twilight an inquisitive look. “I would, but I can’t keep my friends waiting. Why do you want me to stay?”

“Well, you eased my nerves and gave me some confidence,” Twilight admitted as she sounded a bit grateful. “It was really sweet of you to do that, so … I wouldn’t mind if you stayed with me a little longer.”

Zero could only give a warm smile as he witnessed Twilight starting to warm up to him a little bit. “Last time I checked, we were just acquaintances. What happened to that, hm?”

“Acquaintances can sit with each other too.”

Zero pouted. “And the sweet moment is gone. But I’ve gotta sit with my bros, so good luck, alright?”

Twilight nodded with a smile and Zero headed off to his table with Swift and the others. He let out a small yawn. “Yo fellas.”

“Hey Zero,” Soul greeted with a curious look. “You look tired.”

“Yeah, but just a little bit,” Zero agreed as he sat down in his spot. “I fell asleep in Ms. Cheerilee’s class by mistake this time. But I had this awesome dream too.”

“What kind of dream?” Swift wondered.

“I was killing these awesome robot chimeras under the full moon while I saved Fluttershy's life. Then the girls showed up and Pinkie and Sunset and AJ were in Playboy Bunny outfits. And you guys made me a huge feast as you cheered for me. Heh, crazy huh?” Zero laughed.

There was a brief silence until Soul did a double take. “Wait, hold on, what was that about Sunset in a Playboy Bunny outfit?”

“Pinkie and Sunset were in Playboy Bunny outfits,” Zero explained once more while eating his mac and cheese. “Oddly enough, AJ too.”

“Why did you dream of them in bunny outfits?”

“Well,” Zero scratched his head as his gathered his thoughts. “Pinkie’s really cute, AJ’s hot and Sunset … I dunno, I guess I thought she might look good in it.”

Night raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t mention Rarity or Rainbow though.”

“Because I don’t think Rainbow is that pretty. Awesome? Definitely. Pretty? Not really. And after that switcheroo incident, I’m not risking another fantasy with Rarity and have it come true. That, and she’s dating Clyde,” Zero dismissed in a nonchalant tone.

Before Rivet and Clyde could say anything, Soul intervened. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you mean Sunset might look good in it? Are you trying to say something about her?”

“I’m saying I didn’t add her in a suit on purpose!”

Rivet thought for a moment. “But from what I remember you telling me, you have lucid dreams for the most part. So you must’ve been able to dream up everything on purpose. Right?”

“Not everything! It was just tossed in!” Zero said defensively. “Plus, I’m not into her like that! Yeah, she’s pretty, but she’s not on my radar.”

Soul narrowed his eyes and motioned his hands to let Zero know he was watching him. “You’d better watch yourself, Zero. I called dibs on Sunset waaaaaaay before any of you guys did … I think … you know what I mean!”

Zero just crossed his arms and huffed until he hatched an idea and whispered to Soul. “I could draw a picture of what she looked like and give it to you.”

Soul tapped his chin. “You are forgiven.”

Clyde sighed. “You two are something else sometimes.”

Zero snickered until he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He dropped the entire conversation as he turned around and watched carefully. The others tilted their heads and tried to see what he was so fixated on.

“What’s wrong?” Swift asked curiously.

Zero smiled happily and he pointed over to Twilight, who was walking over to the girls’ table. “Someone is gonna make some friends.”

It’s no big deal, Twilight. You can talk to them, Twilight told herself as she walked towards the table where Sunset and the others were sitting. Although her own little table wasn’t too far from the others, it felt like she’d been walking for minutes on end, constantly predicting how everything would go down. The possibilities ranged from complete failure and rejection … to a fresh new step into something new in her life.

The more I think about it, the more likely it is they’ll let me sit with them. Twilight started to calm down. They invited me to sit with them on multiple occasions over the past month, not to mention how well things went at the roller skating rink. And if my calculations are right, there’s an eighty-eight percent chance that they’ll allow me sit with them while simultaneously becoming accepted as a new member of their group…. Unless that twenty-two percent chance occurs and they turn me down out of a lack of patience and they lose all interest in me. Twilight started to panic bit by bit. My chances are looking well enough, but the possibility is still there! And what if my flashcards aren’t enough? Heck, I don’t even know what they all like! Maybe I’d better wait another day and gather my thoughts again—”

“Twilight?”

Twilight snapped out of her inner world of ramblings and noticed that she was standing in front of the girls’ table. All of the girls were staring at her with a mixture of raised eyebrows and confused glances, with the exception of Pinkie who was smiling brightly. Twilight suspected that Pinkie had already guessed why she was over there, and it made her chances look brighter.

“Hellooooo, earth to Twilight.” Rainbow waved her hand to get her attention. “You doing okay?”

“I-I-I’m fine! I’m good!” Twilight assured as she tried to remain calm. “I came over here because … because I—”

“You finally wanna sit with us because you had a blast at the roller rink and wanna be friends with us?” Pinkie analyzed perfectly.

Twilight blinked at her before nodding. “Yes, exactly. If that’s okay, that is…. If not, I can go back to my table and leave you be.”

“It’s okay, Twilight.” Fluttershy scooted over to make room as she gave a kind smile, not wasting any time with the decision. “I’d love for you to join us … if that’s okay with you.”

“I’m with Fluttershy,” Rainbow added with a smirk. “It’s about time you came around and joined us. I couldn’t stand seeing you looking all mopey over there!”

Applejack snickered. “Yeah, and we’d be happy to be your friends, and I’m plenty sure that the rest of y’all feel the same way, right gals?”

Rarity gave a firm nod. “The feeling is indeed mutual, yes Applejack.” She then looked to Twilight with an excited smile. “Please, do sit!”

Twilight returned the smile as her fears had subsided with one hurl. She sat down next to Fluttershy. “I appreciate this. Thank you girls so much.”

“Of course!” Pinkie chimed in. “We’re lucky to have you join the Roundtable of Friendship!!”

Sunset giggled a little. “Pinkie, the table isn’t even round. Plus, you don’t have to make it anything official like that.”

Rainbow rubbed her chin. “Maaaaaaybe we could try something like that. We could have a fancy table reserved for us and everything.”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow as she looked unamused. “Y’know, we don’t need to put ourselves on any kind of pedestal, right? We’re great and all, but there’s no need to sho—”

“Every party needs a pooper, that’s why they invited you,” Rainbow sang playfully as she wagged her finger back and forth to the rhythm of the song. “Party pooooper, party poooper.”

Applejack gave her an annoyed glare while Pinkie just giggled. Twilight took this time to take out some flashcards on how to join in the conversation. Luckily, she found one. “So, um … how about this lunch? Delicious right?”

“It is quite alright in my opinion,” Rarity said while eating her salad. “But from what I heard, Crystal Prep has more professional chefs, correct? What’s the food like?”

“It’s toothsome.” Twilight said while reading off her cards. “The chefs prepare their dishes primarily around five-thirty A.M. for breakfast and have everything ready by approximately seven-thirty, giving us hash browns, sausages, muffins, and many others. And they do the same with lunch as they start cooking two hours before our lunch period, so—”

“Darling, I appreciate the finer details, but you don’t need to give me so much info,” Rarity commented.

“Sorry, sorry!” Twilight panicked as she went through her flashcards again as the others gave perplexed looks. Before one of them could cross-examine her, Twilight spoke up once more. “Is anyone struggling with any subjects in class lately?”

“I’m actually pretty good,” Sunset assured happily. “I was having a hard time in Spanish for about a month, but I managed to get through just alright with a bit of studying.”

“Ugh, don’t ask me,” Rainbow groaned as she drank her milk. “Geometry and History are just mind-numbing. Like, I can get geometry, but why do we need to learn history? How is it gonna help us in the real world outside of a museum or something?”

“For one, those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it,” Sunset quoted. “And two, come on Rainbow, you can stomach a little shapes and angles. I can even incorporate it in a way you can understand. After all, who are you to run from a challenge?”

Rainbow smirked a little. “You know, I get you’re egging me on. But you’ve made your point. After school, your place!”

“Sounds like a plan. Just don’t fall asleep on my couch again,” Sunset mentioned.

“Can I come too?” Pinkie asked as she raised her hand. “I could use teeny tiny help in drawing!”

“You wouldn’t happen to be interested in joining just so you can sleep over, now would you?” Rarity gave Pinkie suspicious look. “Because you’re drawing seem just fine.”

“Why so nosy, Detective Rarity?” Applejack jested. “Just leave the girl to her thing.”

“I was merely curious. That’s all.”

Fluttershy stayed quiet as she didn’t have anything to add to the conversation. She looked over at Twilight as she was skimming through her flashcards again. She tapped her shoulder gently. “Um, why do you have flashcards, Twilight? Are you studying?”

Twilight jumped a little. “Um … yep! Just studying for the next calculus test!” she lied through her forced smile. The girls gave a look of disbelief as Fluttershy spoke to the break the ice.

“Are they actually flashcards to study for?” Fluttershy asked. “Because from the looks of it, they seem like flashcards to help keep the conversation going.”

Twilight’s composure instantly broke and she lost her train of thought completely. She looked back and forth between the cards and the girls as she wasn’t sure what to say. But seeing as she was already halfway through the rabbit hole and they’ve accepted her as a friend. She nodded her head in defeat. On the bright side, It wasn’t a total crash and burn so hopefully things can only go up from here….hopefully being the keyword.

“I wasn’t sure what to talk about once I sat down with you all.” Twilight confessed as she put the cards down. “So, I looked into a guide regarding human behavior and psychology, on top of a book on conversations in order to conjure up conversation starters in order to ensure my acceptance into the group and assimilate each of you better….”

“You don’t need flashcards to talk to us, silly!” Pinkie took the flashcards away from her. “Just say whatever’s on your mind and go with the flow!”

“Exactly.” Fluttershy patted Twilight’s shoulder. “I was same way when I first met all of them, except, well, I didn’t have flashcards or books to help me out. I just stayed quiet until I was comfortable around everyone and opened up one step at a time.”

“Besides,” Sunset swallowed the last of her fries as she grabbed Twilight’s attention, “friendship takes time to forge, and just as you worry about what we think of you, we worry about what you think of us. We all want things to work out and right there is the first sign of a good friendship.”

“H-how so?” Twilight asked.

“Dude, you wrote down like a hundred flashcards to start and keep a conversation going.” Rainbow lightly punched Twilight’s shoulder. “That shows how badly you wanted everything to work out and that you cared enough to try.”

“Hear, hear.” Rarity clasped her hands together. “So, why not start a new discussion without assistance from the flashcards, dear?”

Twilight gave a small smile as she was indeed starting to feel comfortable. She gave a nod as she took the flashcards back and put them away. I guess there wasn’t anything to worry about after all. Thank goodness, Twilight thought as she pondered for a moment. “Okay, so, what should we talk about next?”

“Well, I have been wondering how you're enjoying your time in CHS so far,” Fluttershy asked curiously.

“Well, I can say this school is louder,” Twilight commented. “But overall it’s much friendlier and has a nice atmosphere here and more interesting characters lurking about. So I’m satisfied … or rather, I’m actually enjoying my time here more than Crystal Prep.”

“From what I hear, they’re a tad bit rough over there,” AJ stated. “With their strict attitude and determination to be the best. Though I can see Rarity going there.”

“I beg your pardon?” Rarity leaned back, seemingly offended.

“Well, yeah. Private school, uniforms, the whole shebang,” AJ pointed out. “I think it’d actually fit you aside from their bad attitude. What say you, Twilight?”

“U-um….” Twilight shifted in her chair for a moment as she was afraid to speak her next comment. “N-not all of the Crystal Prep students are as bad as you make them out to be … so could you not….”

“Oops!” Applejack flinched at her rude comment. “Sorry about that Twi. I’ll watch my mouth next time.”

“Apology accepted,” Twilight said before pondering Applejack’s other comment for a moment as she tried to imagine Rarity in the uniform and chose her words carefully. “In a sense, yes. But I think she’d look really nice in it.”

“Do you mean that?” Rarity simmered down as she took some time to ponder the idea, smiling a little as each second went by. “Now that you mention it, I could imagine myself in such an attire. Perhaps I could use it to daze—”

“Your sweet darling Clyde,” Rainbow mocked as she clasped her hands together and made a kissy face. “We know.”

“I can see Dash going to Crystal Prep,” Sunset commented, holding in a smirk as she was ready for a reaction.

“What?!”

AJ laughed. “I mean, come on, who else has plenty of determination to win?”

“Not at all costs, mind!!” Rainbow argued. “Fluttershy, back me up here!”

Fluttershy only looked away and drank the last of her orange juice as she played no part in the discussion. Everyone else laughed at the sudden betrayal.

“TRAITORS!!” Rainbow yelled in a bit of anger, not taking kindly to the joke.

Even Twilight herself was laughing as she was enjoying herself. For a brief moment, she felt a lot of joy being there with the rest of the girls. It was an interesting change of pace for her, and she not only made friends with Fluttershy, but with all of the other girls too. Twilight thought it would be one great hurdle to get over, but the issue was far smaller than she ever anticipated and she felt a bit more comfortable as a result. Even more than that, she felt … a lot happier than she imagined, like when she found a book she hadn’t read yet or discovered something so fascinating. Or when her father cooks instead of her mother.

Guess there is something to hanging out with other people for a change. It’s too early to tell, but I think … I think I could get used to this, Twilight thought as she finished her lunch and continued to talk to the girls. Thanks Zero.

At this time, Principal Celestia was peeking into the cafeteria as she observed the students. Seeing everything as peaceful as usual put her heart at ease. Though she was happy to see that Twilight was socializing with Sunset Shimmer and her friends as she seemed to be enjoying herself a lot. She glanced over and saw that Zero was with his friends, but he was so busy studying with them that he had hardly even touched his food. Celestia only nodded as she headed back to her office and left everyone to their lunch period, leaving her to her thoughts.

Now that they’ve rubbed off on each other and learned something fresh, those two are finally moving in the right direction.