Substitute Sanity

Apple Bloom stared nervously at the clock, continually shuffling in her seat.  The big hand was on the five, and the little hand was near the eight; Miss Cheerilee always arrived—at LATEST—at eight o’clock sharp.  The colts and fillies sat silently in their desks; the same question was on everyone’s mind, but no one had the desire to outright say it.

Sweetie Belle happened to notice her friend’s uncomfortable movements.  “Do you need to use the little filly’s room?” the unicorn kindly asked.

“Naw,” Apple Bloom replied, still swaying side-to-side in her desk.  “Ah’m just not feelin’ too good about Miss Cheerilee not bein’ here.”

“Shh!” Scootaloo hushed her two friends from her own desk.  “Don’t mention it too loudly!”

“Don’t’cha think you’re bein’ a bit superstitious?” Apple Bloom asked the pegasus.  “Why don’t’cha go draw a circle in the dirt an’ stand in it, if you’re so scared.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” Scootaloo snapped back.  “It’s Miss Cheerilee; where the heck is she?!”

Diamond Tiara let out a dramatic, huffy sigh.  “It’s been forever since class was supposed to start.  Since Miss Cheerilee isn’t here, can we just leave?”

Almost as if on cue, the classroom’s door swung open, and in trotted Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn looked sleep-deprived, with her mane unkempt and dark circles under her eyes, masked somewhat by her purple color.  Hovering next to the tired-looking mare was a binder filled with so many pieces of paper that several were jutting out at weird angles.

“Hello, class!” Twilight said happily, holding back a giggle.  Despite her appearance, the unicorn was full of energy.

“Huh?  Twilight?” Sweetie Belle questioned.  “What are you doing here?  Where’s Miss Cheerilee?”

Twilight took a breath, having sped over to the schoolhouse as fast as she could.  “Sorry you’re finding out on such short notice, but I discovered just yesterday that I was going to teach you guys.  Cheerilee is dealing with family matters right now, and asked Pinkie and I to substitute.”

“You and Pinkie?” Scootaloo asked, finding it hard to believe.  “You mean Pinkie Pie?”

“Well, she only asked for me, but…” Twilight trailed off.  As she set the binder onto Cheerilee’s desk, she glanced around for any sight of the pink mare.  Though Twilight had initially complained about Pinkie coming along, by now she’d gotten over it, and was fine with Pinkie helping out…wherever she was. “Anyway!  When Cheerilee asked, I went ahead and spent the rest of the day writing up a syllabus; then I realized that it was way too long, so I had to spend extra time condensing the lecture.  And here it is!”  She proudly showed off the thick binder to the students.

The amount of papers made Scootaloo uncomfortable.  “…That’s the condensed version?  Just how many days is Miss Cheerilee gonna be gone for?”

“Oh, she’s only left for about a week,” Twilight replied.  “I know that this seems like a bit much, but I’m sure if we persevere the next few days, we can cram it all in in time for the test!”

“There’s gonna be a test?” Diamond Tiara spoke up.

Twilight was mildly surprised that Pinkie was nowhere to be found, but set the matter aside.  She looked up at her new students, all with varying degrees of enthusiasm, and picked up a piece of chalk with her magic to begin the day’s session.  “Let’s start today off on a high note!  Good morning class!  My name is ‘Twilight…” she wrote her name down on the board as she slowly spoke her name, “…Sparkle.’  I’m going to be your substitute teacher for the next week.  Now, while I would like to play an activity where I get to learn all of your names, I’m afraid we don’t have the luxury of time to do so.”

Scootaloo slumped into her chair and crossed her arms.  “Aw, man!” the pegasus complained under her breath, “I just prepared my story for what I did this weekend!”

“While I’m teaching you,” Twilight continued with a giddy smile, “you shall refer to me as ‘Miss Sparkle,’ okay?”

It was Diamond Tiara’s turn to cross her arms with a small huff.  “Great.  It’s one of ‘those’ substitutes…”

“Let’s dive straight into the lesson then, shall we?” Twilight asked.  With the chalk already hovering in the air, the unicorn scraped it across the board to draw out a few pictures of bottles and odd-looking herbs.  “Today, I will be teaching you all about potions.”

Apple Bloom, along with several other kids, sat up a little straighter in their seats.  “Really?  What kinda potions are we gonna make?”

Twilight furrowed her brow.  “Make?  Oh, nonono, you’re not going to be making any potions—I’m just going to teach you about them!”

The entire class let out a loud, sad groan and slumped into their chairs.  “Awwwww.”

Just then, a voice started from the back corner of the classroom, making everyone turn around to see the source of the bubbly—but disapproving-sounding—voice.  “Wow, Twilight.  I let you teach on your own for three minutes and you’ve already made it an anti-fun-fest.”

“P-Pinkie?” Twilight stuttered, looking at the mare.  “…How the heck did you fit in that tiny drawer?”

Despite the drawer being only five inches in height, Pinkie wasn’t even cramped up in it; only her upper torso was showing, even though there physically wasn’t any room for the rest of her legs.  “I slept here overnight so I wouldn’t miss any of the substituting.”

“You SLEPT in that drawer?!”

“I overslept in it, actually,” the pink pony scolded herself.  “I’m surprised I slept for that long, too—I mean, I came here at three yesterday, for Pete’s sake!”

“I’m not surprised; when I went to find you later yesterday, you were nowhere to be found,” Twilight replied flatly.  “…Wait—you were in that drawer since THREE IN THE AFTERNOON?!”

The foals were sitting quietly, their heads going from the front of the classroom to the back as Twilight and Pinkie’s exchange continued.

“Well, I didn’t have anything else to do—I found out which bush scratched me, so all I had to do was teach him a lesson and then come here to wait for tomorrow!…or, today, rather.”

Twilight was about to ask how in the world Pinkie discovered which bush scratched her, but thought better of it and decided to end the conversation at that.  “…A-Anyway, class, this is your co-substitute teacher, Pinkie Pie.”

Pinkie smiled largely and leapt out from the tiny drawer.  “…and you guys can call me whatever you like!  Or ‘Mrs. Dr. Professor Pinkamena Diane Pie the First’.”  Pinkie stopped next to Twilight in the front of the room, turned to face the students and promptly sat down on the floor.

The kids all stared at Pinkie for a second, and then looked back at Twilight with confusion in their eyes.  Twilight sighed.  “Just call her ‘Miss Pie’.  And no, she’s neither a doctor nor a professor…are you?”

“Twilight, look at the time!” Pinkie asserted, pointing at the clock in the back of the room.  “Fifteen minutes have already been wasted!  Let’s get this potions lab out on deck already!”

“Lab?” Twilight questioned, followed by excited smiles from the students.  “I don’t even have any ingredients!  I was only going to explain how they work!”

“What’s the point in lecturing if the kids don’t get any hooves-on experience?  Let’s go find Zecora!  I bet she has plenty of stuff we can use!”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.  “Zecora’s got tons of different potions ‘n ingredients!”

Twilight quickly weighed her options in her head.  Thanks to Pinkie, the kids can’t think of anything but physically making potions today; if she keeps trying to rebut, Pinkie’s going to eventually resort to moon logic that the kids will thoughtlessly accept as a valid reason…

With her ears back, her head low, and a scowl on her face, Twilight gave in to peer pressure.  “Fine.”

Everyone, including Pinkie, cheered.  “YAY!”

“But you’ll have to go find her, Twilight,” Pinkie added.  “Not only can you do it faster by teleporting, but I don’t even know where Zecora lives!”

“Wha—how can you not know?!”

“I’ve only been there once,” Pinkie replied nonchalantly.  “You’ve gone there tons of times!”

Twilight’s resistance was becoming even greater; she wanted Pinkie to go so she could actually get some teaching time in.  But since the gears had already begun to turn, there was no way out of this.  “Pinkie…are you sure you can handle an entire classroom of foals by yourself…?” she said, looking back at the students, all of whom had their most innocent smiles on.

“Twilight,” Pinkie declared, “if I can handle loud, demanding babies, these kids’ll be no problem!”

The innocent smiles wavered.  “Gee…” Scootaloo said, “thanks.”

“I’ll be back soon,” Twilight said as she started for the front door.  “Don’t get too out of hoof, alright?”  Pinkie nodded, and Twilight started teleporting in short bursts toward Zecora’s place in the Everfree forest.

After Twilight was gone, Pinkie’s giddy smile spread out even further and she looked toward her unsure class.  “Alll-righty, kids!  Whaddya wanna do first?”

The foals blinked blankly in confusion.  “Huh?” Silver Spoon asked.  “You want us to choose what we do?”

“Don’t you want to do something?” Pinkie questioned.  “C’mon, anything!”

The kids looked at each other, unsure.  They’ve never had this kind of choice before.  “Uh…” Sweetie Belle started, but trailed off before she could say anything else.

“Okay…” Pinkie said, disappointed with the class’s lack of zest.  “Does anypony have any questions ol’ Miss Pie can answer?”

Though getting to Zecora’s had taken only ten minutes by teleport, Twilight had to first wait five minutes for the zebra to return to her house, fifteen minutes for her to get supplies Twilight deemed ‘necessary,’ and then another twenty-five minutes walking all the way to the schoolhouse.  Twilight was just happy to be back, but when she reached the front door, she was hesitant to open it.

“What is wrong, my little presenter?” Zecora asked the unicorn.  “Why the sudden hesitance at the door to enter?”

“I have no idea what to expect,” Twilight replied.  “Pinkie’s in there with the class.”

Zecora smiled knowingly.  “Ah, yes, your friend Pinkie Pie.  Do not fret—I’m sure nothing could go too awry.”

“You don’t know her like I do,” Twilight replied, opening the door with her head turned away and one eye closed.  When she didn’t hear any loud chaos or noise from inside, she opened her eyes and took a look.  What she saw astounded her.

Pinkie was sitting at the front of the room, sitting at Cheerilee’s desk with a book in front of her and speaking to the students, all of whom were taking careful notes.  When Twilight took a dazed step into the classroom, everyone looked up to see who had entered.

“Oh, hiya, Twilight!” Pinkie said enthusiastically.  “Took you a whole hour to get back, wow!”

When Twilight looked at the complex diagrams and equations on the blackboard, her slacked jaw dropped even lower.  Despite already knowing the answer to her own question, the astonished mare just had to ask.  “Pinkie…what the heck are you teaching the kids…?”

“I’m teaching them the word ‘arbitrary,’ silly!” Pinkie answered.  “Sweetie Belle asked, so I looked it up in this dictionary here and gave a few examples to how it’s used in a sentence!”

The book in front of Pinkie glowed pinkish-lavender and flew in front of Twilight’s face.  “Pinkie—this is a book on the theories behind quantum gravity!  The definition Sweetie Belle’s looking for is ‘based on random choice or personal whim, instead of any reason or system.’  You’ve gone and used the mathematical explanation of the word!”

“Whatever gets the job done!” Pinkie cheered obliviously.  “Well class, since Twilight’s back with Zecora, I suppose we should get started on that potions lab!”  The class whined, but started to eagerly put away their papers and pencils.  “Don’t worry!  You can hand your theories on cold fusion and perpetual motion generators up to the front of the class for me to collect; hopefully, we’ll have time later this week to finish the lecture.”

“C-Cold fusion?”  Twilight walked to the front of the room and leaned in next to Pinkie.  “You’ve been teaching them theoretical cold fusion?!  How?—and I thought you said a substitute’s job was to let the class have fun!”

“But Twilight, we all had fun learning the word ‘arbitrary’!” Pinkie said happily.

Before Twilight could open her mouth to argue, Zecora stepped into the classroom, her different potions ingredients all packed into saddlebags on her back.  “Class, I’ve been recruited to assist in today’s potion to make.  It is a simple brew, one whose purpose is to stay awake!”  Her words made the students look at each other, somewhat confused—whether from her rhyming or indirect way of speaking.

“So what’re we learnin’?” Apple Bloom said excitedly.  “What potion to ‘stay awake’?”

“A fairly simple potion, Apple Bloom,” Twilight said, shaking away her astonishment and confusion.  “A potion that keeps a pony’s mind sharp and awake for three hours.  I’ve had my fair share of times making a batch, so it shouldn’t be too hard to judge your accuracy!  Now choose a partner and get in a station, class,” the unicorn declared to the scattering students, everyone trying to find someone to join as quickly as possible.  “You can have up to three in a group if you want.”

Zecora and Pinkie passed out six different herbs and items to each group.  “To ensure you gain some knowledge from this lab,” Twilight announced, “only four of these six ingredients actually make the correct potion.  If you use the wrong ingredients, the potion isn’t going to work; if you do it right, I’ll allow you to keep a small sample you made, should you need for a long night’s studying!”

“Gee…thanks,” Scootaloo said under her breath.

“Hey,” Sweetie Belle whispered, nudging her two friends to get their attention, “Apple Bloom’s worked with potions before!  Let’s make something even better than an alertness potion!”

Apple Bloom shrugged.  “Yeah, but we’ve only got six ingredients—plus, Ah’m sure Twilight would make sure the two wrong ones couldn’t be used t’ make somethin’ else.”

“Now then, class,” Twilight announced from the front of the room, all eyes on her, “each of you have your six ingredients.  I will hand out a paper that shows several other potions, what they do, and what’s needed to make them.  With that information, you must infer which four of your ingredients are used for our focus potion.”

The entire class let out a loud “awwww” in protest.

When the Cutie Mark Crusaders got their paper, they immediately pushed it towards Apple Bloom for examination, hoping there was an alternative potion to make.  The earth-pony filly avidly read the ingredients used for the other kinds of potions described, hoping they could make one other than Twilight’s.

As they looked it over, Sweetie Belle suddenly chimed up, pointing excitedly.  “Look at this one!  It’s a hivemind potion!”

“A what?” Apple Bloom asked.

“‘Hivemind’ means multiple ponies sharing the same thoughts!” Sweetie Belle announced proudly, holding her head up high.

“Good job, Sweetie Belle!” Twilight said from behind the girls, making them jump in surprise with a yelp.  “Knowing what that potion is will help you out a lot in making our focus one!  They’re both based on altering the brain.”

“But why’d you put such a complicated word on here?” Scootaloo asked.

“To challenge you, of course!” Twilight said with a smile, making the three hang their heads low and sigh.  A colt from across the room called out for Twilight.  “Hold on, coming!” Twilight said, leaving the fillies to work on their own.

Scootaloo stared down the hivemind potion on the paper.  “Apple Bloom, y’think you can make this?  I bet Twilight would give us so many more points if we could!”

“…Looks like it needs five ingredients,” Apple Bloom replied thoughtfully.  “Four we have, and one we don’t.”

“Well?” the pegasus said angrily, “What’s the one we’re missing?!”

“…Looks like we have a ‘leaf struck by lightning,’ the ‘stem of a Mind Flower,’ ‘liquid lavender,’ and a ‘lost fox fang.’  All we need is…hey!  All we need is ‘the juice of a zap apple’!  We’ve got some leftover zap apples in th’ cellar at th’ farm—if Ah can somehow get one, we can make Twilight a hivemind potion!”

“A hivemind?” Pinkie said from right behind the girls, making them jump with a yelp.  “What’s a ‘hivemind’?  Is that anything like an ‘arbitrary’?”

“Uh,” Sweetie Belle said, stuttering for words.  “No, uh, we were just…we wanted to make a different potion—a better potion, so Twilight would be even more proud of us!”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo joined in, “but there’s one ingredient we need that we don’t have.”  The filly gave an exaggerated pout.

“Well, that’s no good!” Pinkie exclaimed.  “Whaddya need?  Maybe ol’ Miss Pie could help ya out!”

“Really?” Sweetie Belle asked, all three fillies making puppy-dog eyes.  “Because that’d be a huge help!”

“Sure thing!” Pinkie said happily.  “I love surprises, and I bet Twilight’ll be happy to see how great you guys do!—Oh, and by the way, Sweetie Belle,” Pinkie suddenly added, “I like where you’re going on your idea for a reactor; it looks very promising!”

“What about mine?” Scootaloo butted in.  “I thought surrounding the reactor with cobalt-59 would work to absorb all the neutrons released during the tritium fusion!”

“Perhaps, but the neutron bombardment would also probably transmute the cobalt-59 into cobalt-60, which would in turn have high potential for creating a miniature nuclear bomb,” Pinkie replied casually.  “A kind of ‘cobalt fallout,’ if you will.”

The pegasus reeled back a step.  “Oh…I see.”

“At least, I’m assuming, based on what I read in that dictionary.”  Pinkie brushed the matter aside to return to the original conversation.  “So, whaddya need me to fetch?”

“We need one of mah family’s zap apples,” Apple Bloom said.  “We’ve got some stored in our cellar; jus’ tell mah sis we need one, and Ah’m sure she’ll let ya have it.”

“Oh, I’m sure she will!” Pinkie said as she hopped towards the door.  “Jackie did say she owed me a favor anyways, after I solved that whole ‘apple problem’ she was having!”

Twilight rang a small bell she had on Cheerilee’s desk.  The loud ringing caused all the commotion coming from the students to stop, and they all quietly looked to Twilight.

“It’s two-thirty,” Twilight stated.  “Time to show me what you’ve got, guys!  Zecora, if you would be so kind as to assist me with the judging?”

“It would be rude not to go and see what they’ve brewed,” the zebra replied.

“Oh, oh!” Pinkie exclaimed, jumping in front of Twilight’s view, “What about me?  I wanna judge, too!”

“Uh, no offense, Pinkie,” Twilight laughed, “but it’s probably best you don’t go anywhere near a potion that keeps you alert.  You’re hyped enough as it is.”  At that, Pinkie shrugged and took a seat at Cheerilee’s desk, watching enthusiastically with all the other students, as Twilight and Zecora walked around the room to observe how well each group had done.

“It is easy to tell if this potion’s done right,” Zecora mentioned to the kids.  “Made wrong, its orange color will only be slight.”

Snips and Snails glanced down at their bubbling bowl of purple muck.  Twilight just gave the A-Okay to the group ahead of them, and she was about to view their monstrosity.  Before the unicorn could see it, Snips jumped in front of the potion.  “Uh, Miss Sparkle, hold on a second!  It’s, uh, it’s not—”

“I think we seriously messed it up,” Snails mindlessly added.

When Twilight saw the bowl, her ears folded back and she took a step away.  “Oh…my.  Um…Zecora?”

Twilight moved out of the way for Zecora to see; the zebra stared at the ‘potion’ as if it were death itself.  “If a pony were to consume such,” Zecora stated ominously, “their tummies, they would certainly clutch.”  She reached in her bag for a lid, and placed it over the bowl; Twilight could’ve sworn she saw an eye open from the goo just before being covered.  “If it exists much longer, a fight against it we would lose.” Zecora then picked the bowl up and made for the door, talking to herself.  “I must stop it before it grows, for nothing can stop the…”

Her sentence was cut off when she closed the door behind her.  Twilight turned to Snips and Snails; they were both pale in the face.  “Yeah…I don’t think you guys are taking your potion home today…”  She gave the two a generous score on her clipboard and walked to the next group.

Aside from the enormity the two colts managed to create with only six ingredients given, the rest of the potions were relatively well-made.  Here and there, a pony had used the wrong item, but Twilight was giving everyone high marks, as everyone had done exceptionally well for a first try.

When Twilight and Zecora reached the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Twilight’s face scrunched at the sleek, silver potion in the girls’ bowl; Zecora noticed as well, plus the extra ingredient on their table.  “Ah,” she said with a knowing grin.  “It appears these fillies have gone a step beyond, and made a different potion that does not correspond.”

“…Wait a minute,” Twilight said, looking closer at the bowl of liquid.  “This is the hivemind potion!”

“Yup!” Apple Bloom said happily.  “All we needed was a zap apple t’ make it, so we decided t’ get one an’ make it!”

“Yeah, but this potion’s ingredients were already listed in front of you,” Twilight criticized.  “That immediately takes out half the work for you.”

For the girls’ sake, Zecora defended their actions.  “Though they knew the items to what this potion needed, the technique to brew it is very difficult—and yet they’ve succeeded!  I think that fact alone deserves a positive grade, even though the directions were failed to be obeyed.”

Twilight, on the other hand, was hesitant to give points out to ponies who didn’t follow directions.  “We can’t be certain that it was done well enough, Zecora.  I’ll give it a taste-test, just to be sure.”

Sweetie Belle’s brow furrowed.  “Are you sure that’s a good idea, Miss Sparkle?”

“As long as none of you drank any of it,” the unicorn replied, to which the girls all shook their heads.  “The hivemind effect lasts an hour, and only occurs to those who drink from the same potion; if only one pony drinks it, nothing will happen.  A good hivemind potion has a very distinct, sweet aftertaste.  The potion looks perfectly fine, but if you go and deviate from my directions, you’re going to be graded much more strictly.”

Twilight levitated the bowl and took a small gulp, then smacked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, pondering the taste like a wine-tester.  After making several weird faces, she smiled at the three.  “Wow, that’s sweeter than I’ve ever had before.  Good job girls, your recipe’s flawless!”  She scribbled a score on her clipboard while the fillies beamed at their success.

When Twilight walked away to examine Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s work, the Crusaders were startled by Pinkie, who had somehow gotten right behind them.

“Is this really as sweet as Twilight says?” Pinkie asked the girls in a whisper, a giddy smile on her face.

Apple Bloom shrugged.  “Ah dunno; all Ah did was make the stuff.”

“Also,” Scootaloo added, with her eyebrow cocked and a smile on her face, “I’m pretty sure Twilight wouldn’t approve of sharing a mind with you, Pinkie—no matter how long the potion’s effect would last.”

Pinkie gawked at the silver liquid.  “But it looks so tasty…”

Twilight walked up to Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara’s potion to examine it.  “Alright girls, let’s see what you’ve—”

“Whoa,” a bubbly, cheery voice said in Twilight’s head, “Twilight, is that you?”

The sudden look of utter horror on Twilight’s face sent a shiver down Silver Spoon’s spine.  “M-Miss Sparkle?” the filly asked, “…are you okay?”

Twilight’s head whirled around to look at the three fillies she’d just graded.  Standing next to them was Pinkie…holding the cup of hivemind potion.  Unlike Twilight, Pinkie looked completely indifferent.

“Pinkie…?” Twilight said to the mare carefully.  “…What did you just do?”

“We told her not to!” Scootaloo quickly shot in, making sure their teacher wouldn’t blame them for what just happened.

“Twilight!” Pinkie’s voice exclaimed in Twilight’s head, “This is so cool!  I can hear your thoughts, which means you can hear mine, too!”   Pinkie’s facial expressions changed along with what she was thinking.  “IsthisbecauseofthatpotionTwilightbecauseIjustdrankitandittastedSOsweetandnowwecanheareachothersthoughtsand—”

Everyone looked on, extremely confused, as Pinkie continued to make weird faces at Twilight, who was cringing on the floor and pressing her hooves against her temples.

“MAKE IT STOP!” Twilight shouted.  “PIIIINKIIIIEEE!”

The party pony’s mind was literally going a mile a minute.  “—sotheotherdayIwastalkingtoFluttershyandwecameacrossthistree and I was all like: ‘Remember that time Dashie said you were a tree—”

As Twilight continued to flail on the floor, Zecora gathered the children and ushered them out the classroom.  “Quickly children, before this becomes worse!  I must find a way to make their minds not converse!”

“—andinthedictionaryIreadhowgravitationalwavesgivenoffbyblackholescouldbe—”

The kids couldn’t help but chuckle at the tinfoil hat crudely wrapped around Twilight Sparkle’s head.  Their laughs were cut short, though, when the unicorn faced the class with a look so resentful, it was a wonder none of them dropped dead on the spot.

“You sure you wanna wear that, Twilight?” Pinkie asked.  “It was so much fun speaking to each other without having to actually speak!  …Also, that look totally does not suit you.”

Twilight glanced to Zecora for help.  “Is this seriously the best you can do?  I can’t wear this for a whole hour!”

“I’m afraid there isn’t much of a choice,” the zebra replied.  “Unless you want to keep hearing your friend’s mind’s voice.”

Eyes widening in fear at the thought, Twilight clamped the makeshift helm tighter onto her scalp.  “I think I’ll just endure it for now.”  The unicorn let out a defeated sigh.  “Class is dismissed early for today.  I need to go home and rethink my life for a bit.”

“…But what about tomorrow?” Apple Bloom asked.  “Are ya still gonna teach ‘n all?”

“I can’t not teach,” Twilight replied.  “I gave Cheerilee my word, after all.  Let’s just…be more careful, alright class?”

“We’re not in trouble, are we?” Scootaloo asked, feeling guilty about the potion her group made.

“No girls, it wasn’t your fault this happened—not entirely, at least.  I’m the one who decided to drink the potion, after all.”  The school bell clanged loudly, signifying the end of another day of learning.  Twilight collapsed onto the ground, her mind drained from the five minutes of shared thoughts between her and Pinkie.  “I need a good night’s sleep is all; tomorrow will turn out much better, I’m sure.”

One after another, the ponies sifted out from the small crowd around Twilight; in ten minutes, only the purple unicorn was left, still lying down on the schoolhouse doorstep.

“One day down, Twilight,” the mare said to herself.  “At least this day is over with; there’s no way the rest of this week will by anywhere near as bad as it was today…

…

I just jinxed myself, didn’t I?”