Author's Note

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o4HP_siTz3-Vzv4q0NvyWQ2ewykhpRMGyBt7juPFLU8/edit?usp=sharing

Greetings, friends! Please feel free to point out any spelling or grammar errors we have, but be gentle. It would be greatly appreciated. Also if you think there are any possibly totally unrealistic elements that could not possibly be canon and ruin the reading entirely, absolutely let us know.

~Jaya Ballard, Task Mage

PS: Don't sugarcoat anything. He's fat and he'll eat it.
~VintageRaven

Calm Before the Storm

“Cryss! Come on, you’re gonna be late!” The urgent shout, coming through a door and two flights of stairs met deaf ears, as the pony in mention, Crystal Cross, sat staring into a mirror with unfocused eyes, her normally well-kept two-shaded blue mane in disarray.

It was yet another morning for yet another day in school, the exact thing she did not need then or at any moment since about a month previous. Crystal was not having the easiest of times. Here she was, almost fourteen years old, a single child, and part of the Cross family: a noble bloodline, praised by many, known by all as being the premier medical unicorns in the entirety of Equestria.

She had been attending Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns for the past three and a half years, but, much to the disappointment of her family, the young Cross was struggling. After breezing through her first two years of basic knowledge with little to no effort, Crystal began courses in healing magic and anatomy, but there she began to see her problems. Within those subjects, she noticed she just never felt comfortable, did not understand things like she used to, and learned about half as fast as everypony else. On top of that, Crystal had not earned her cutie mark yet. No matter how many times her parents told her she was just a ‘late bloomer’, the creamy pink unicorn always got the feeling that she was on the wrong path.

Crystal cocked her head, the reflection mirroring her action. She sighed deeply, closing her eyes then letting her head droop. What the hay is wrong with me… Why can’t I succeed like I used to? To put it simply, she felt lost, though she was unwilling to admit it to anypony. It would only bring more suffering to her troubled life. Already, there were a multitude of other unicorns at school who were taking shots at her because she could not seem to uphold the family standard. In the struggle for fame and recognition, she was fighting an uphill battle, and losing. It was tarnishing the pristine reputation she had started with.

The loud rapping of a hoof on her door broke her depressed trance. Crystal stood, collecting herself. “Yeah mom, I’m coming!” Hefting her saddlebag filled with textbooks she loathed to no end, the pink unicorn trotted to the door, her magical glow enveloping the doorknob as she unlocked it, then opened the door, to be greeted by the irritated glare of her mother, Rose.
“Cryss, you simply cannot allow yourself to be late like this. It is incredibly unbecoming of you! What were you doing anyways?”

That was the question Crystal dreaded the most. There was no easy way she could break it to her parents that she believed healing wasn’t her path. So she did not. “I was… thinking. Planning out my schedule.” It was a lame excuse, and she knew it. Her schedule rarely ever deviated from a certain routine that had been set when she was much younger. Such was the life of nobility: doing the same boring things over and over again.

Still, her mother simply sighed, and started to make her way back down the stairs.“Then try to plan faster next time. Now get a move on; school is important.”

“Yes mother…” Crystal grumbled, following her parent down the stairs. Yet another day full of time wasted in something she felt no commitment to…and yet another day without breakfast. Starting strong already…
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“Hey! Cryss Crossed!” She heard the shout well before she saw who was shouting it, but knew exactly what would come next. Steeling herself, Crystal forged on into the main yard at the center of the School grounds.

“Come on, Cryss! You gonna respond, or have you gotten dumber since yesterday?” The taunt came from a crimson unicorn standing to the side of the entrance to the school grounds. His two friends snickered.

“I have nothing to say to you, Silver,” came her snapped reply. The medical student was not in the mood to deal with those foals on this in particular. ‘Those foals,’ meaning one Silver Star and his friends, the first of many who had taken to making her life unlivable because she received special attention due to her elevated noble status and family history.

Crystal kept walking. So did the three tormentors, surrounding her and keeping pace.

“Oooohhh! Blank-flank’s a bit salty! What’s a matter? Finally getting to you that you’re not worthy to even stand in your family’s shadow?”

Crystal twitched slightly. Regardless of how much she tried to ignore the harassment, sometimes their remarks got to her. She reached the stairs leading up into the main entrance hall, and there the bullies broke off, still shouting up to her.

“See ya in class, Cryssie!”

Another long day about to begin…
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The bell rang, and Crystal was ready to kill herself.Or somepony else. She hefted her saddlebags and left the classroom, her last straw of patience very close to breaking. After six and a half hours of being verbally jabbed at and not being able to fight back, plus all the work she had to do, the pink unicorn was desperate to escape to the confines of her own room. As she circled the stairs down the tower with all the other students, an older grey stallion stepped out into her path.

“Aha! Miss Cross! I was looking for you!” It was Professor Fraust, who had taught her since her Beginning Medical Magics course. A kind old pony, who, normally, Crystal would be happy to talk with, but not at that moment.

“Oh, hey Professor. What is it?” She replied, filling her voice with as much fake enthusiasm as she could muster.

“Well, there was something I’d like to discuss. Do you have a moment?” he queried.

Crystal sighed invisibly. No, I have neither the time nor the patience for whatever it is you have to say, old stallion. Now let me go so I can cry in peace… “Sure, I guess.”

Fraust led her into his classroom, shutting the door behind them. “Okay, so, Miss Cross, I’ve noticed a…oh, how to put this… It seems you have a slight lack of interest in class. I just don’t see you as engaged as the other students here. Not only that, but…well, I’ve noticed you are a rather slow learner. Now, granted, you’re a bright pony, easily smarter than many here, so I’m curious, is there something wrong? Something I can help you with?” The old stallion raised his eyebrows, smiling gently. They were noticing what was going on with her. It was becoming evident that she had no idea what she was doing, or what she wanted to do.

Forcing her lips into a smile, Crystal shrugged. “No, I…I don’t think so. I mean, maybe I’m just…a bit tired right now. I’m not sure. Could just be a few off-days. I’m sure it’ll get better though, but thank you.”

“You sure there’s nothing wrong? Remember, my doors are always open if you need assistance,” the Professor offered. He liked Crystal, not just as a student, but as a pony. She had always been energetic and ambitious, and so her recent obvious struggle seemed highly unusual. Of course he had only the best intentions with his questioning, and in any other scenario, Crystal would not have hesitated to tell the truth. But, due to her family’s reputation, she just couldn’t confide with anypony that she felt healing was really not her destiny.

“Yes, Professor, I think that I should be fine, given a few days,” she lied, but convincingly enough that the Fraust simply nodded.

“Alright then. Thank you for obliging me. I believe that should be all. Have a wonderful rest of your day, Miss Cross.” Crystal gave a small wave of her hoof, then headed out of the classroom.

By now, most ponies had already emptied out of the school, save for those participating in clubs or other activities, so the halls were blessedly clear. She made her way down the stairs of the tower and out of the school building, attempting for the most part to avoid social contact, which she successfully did. While the young medical pony had two friends whom she knew she could trust, there was still no desire to speak with anypony about her emotional state.

Making her way off the castle grounds and onto the public streets, Crystal slowed from a hastened trot to a calm walk, looking up at the city around her. Canterlot was a magnificent place, with high spired buildings surrounding the humble shops and apartments that littered the capital of equestria. In her mind, she called it home, but in her heart, something felt amiss, as if this noble city was not truly where she was meant to be, that it did not fully represent who she was. Just one more item she added to the mental list of her confusion.

The walk was short, and it was not much longer that she came upon the front steps of her family’s larger than average home. Crystal pushed the door open as quietly as possible, hoping to avoid any interaction with either of her parents, and began sneaking her way towards the stairs.

“Oh, hey Cryssie! I didn’t hear you come in! How was your day?”

Damn.

“Fine, like any other day. Nothing worth noting.” Crystal drearily responded to her mother’s question. Again, all she wanted was to escape to her room and enjoy the lack of company. Loneliness was golden.

“Do you have much homework?” asked her mother, as she walked into the room, dandelion yellow mane tied back in a tight bun. She had obviously just gotten home from work.

“Yes,” came Crystal’s blunt reply. The less she had to talk the better.

“Ah, okay. I’ll let you get to that, then.” Her mother smiled, turning to leave the room. “Oh, and Crystal, your father won’t be home till late, they were overloaded with paperwork because of that accident in the cloudsdale factories.” But Crystal did not hear. She was already up the stairs and in her room.

Closing the door and locking it, she dumped her saddlebags unceremoniously off to the side of her relatively unkempt room, then sat down on the edge of the bed to clear her mind. Her thoughts turned to those who relentlessly pursued her to make her life miserable.

All those things they say to me: about being a failure, about not being worthy… maybe they’re right. Maybe there really is no hope for me. I could be the weak link in my family; the dead branch on a tree of gold. And to think of all the hope everypony has for me, all the expectations for my life… My family wants to see me as a proper young filly, my teachers want me to excel past my capabilities, and those foals just want me out of the way. There’s no way under Celestia’s sun I could please them all…

Putting a hoof up to her face, she closed her eyes, shaking her head. No, no, I don’t have to please them all. I don’t have to do anything for any of them. I’m going to live my life as my destiny tells me, and so far, it’s told me… nothing… other than that I have homework. Sighing, Crystal stood up again. Pulling paper and her textbook from her bag, then sat down, readied a quill, and began to read.