The Averageby Short StoriesChaptersWhat Did I Do to Deserve This?Truthfully...Threats Don't Work.Breaking BeautySunset's StratagyWhat Did I Do to Deserve This?"I got a what?!" Twilight stared down at the two pieces of paper that had been perfectly stapled together. Mr. Cranky Doodle looked up from his laptop at her outcry, along with the rest of the class. Twilight didn't seem to care at that point that all eyes were on her and marched up to Cranky's desk; each student leaned forward and craned their necks to see what would happen next. "Mister Cranky, I'm sorry for bothering you at this time, but it's really important that I know why I got a--a--a--" The teacher looked at her with irritation and snatched the test out of her hands. "A 'C'?" He asked quizzically. Gasps rose from the students that were close enough to hear the problem and they quickly whispered the news to their friends and desk partners. It was unlike Twilight to get such a typical score; at least, that's what they heard and knew from rumors of her being the best student at Crystal Prep, passing every exam and test handed to her with flying colors. Twilight's cheeks and ears started to turn red, as if she had just noticed that she and Cranky had an audience behind them. She nodded sheepishly and the teacher sighed as he pulled it closer to get a better look. After several agonizing minutes for the girl, Cranky pushed the paper back to her and flipped the sheet to the second page, tapping two white spaces, one that was supposed to be a short paragraph and another being a sketch, both on how to explain quantum physics. "You didn't answer these." He said. Twilight mentally face palmed herself; she had meant to get back to that question and try to explain it the best she could. Quantum Physics was something she could somewhat understand, but it was difficult for her to explain. Nevertheless, she looked down at them and wrinkled her nose. "B-but...they're only three points...h-how can that add up to thirty?" Cranky sighed and went back to his work on the laptop. "There was only ten questions on the test, Twilight. I'm surprised you didn't notice that before; I had to multiply each problem point by ten, and each student got graded on those two for effort. Since you didn't do them, you simply didn't get any points." He stopped typing and looked at her with no empathy at all. "Does that make sense to you?" "I--I--I guess..." She stammered, her usual quietness starting to kick in. "Is there any way I can make this up?" She heard some creak of chairs as most of the class leaned forward even further. The teacher furrowed his brow and tried not to snap at the sensitive student; he was getting better at controlling his anger but he had had a particularly rough day that day. "No..." he said through clenched teeth, "It's the 26th of May. We get out in five days. There would be no time for me to enter it in with all these other late assignment." He gestured towards five thick piles of paper that were lined up on his desk and, after, at the note sprawled on the chalkboard that said 'NO LONGER TAKING LATE ASSIGNMENTS.' Twilight lowered her head and shamefully retrieved her paper. "Oh," she mumbled, "right." She began walking back to her desk, offering a silent thanks over her shoulder. The minute she sat down, Rainbow leaned towards Twilight and asked in a whisper what had happened. "I got a seventy on my test." Twilight muttered, sadly shaking her head. "He won't let me make it up." Rainbow froze, went to pause her game on her laptop, then looked at Twilight. "You got a seventy out of one hundred?" She asked, flabbergasted. "I got a higher score than you!?" At Twilight's nod, she felt a shout of glee building up inside of her, but once she saw Twilight on the verge of tears, she decided to focus on the situation at hand. "I'm sure you'll get it next time, Twi..." Twilight shook her head again and shifted her chair to face the prism haired girl. "No, Rainbow, you don't understand." She sighed, a little cautious of whether to continue or not. "Ever since kindergarten, I always got a 4.0 average in my grades. This is bound to bring it down to a 3.5, and I just can't let that happen." Rainbow sat straight up, puzzled by Twilight's statement. "How can you get a 4.0 average in kindergarten?" “Nevermind, that Rainbow." Twilight said in frustration. "This C--this average score will ruin my perfect all-A record, then it will stop me from getting into Yale or Harvard, then I won't be the best scientist anyone's ever known, then I won't be able to solve every world disease, all thanks to a stupid, stupid mistake that I got back in the eleventh grade that "ll never be able to erase!" Rainbow held out both hands in a surrendered gesture, trying to block Twilight's worries. "Whoa, Twilight," she chuckled, "I don't think it'll go that far." she hesitated, then leaned forward again, speaking in a lower tone so she wouldn't be easily overheard. "But, if you'd like, I think the girls and I can help you fix this smudge on your perfect grades." Twilight practically jumped out of her desk and wrapped her arms around the sporty girl, so overcome with joy. "Oh, thank you, Rainbow!" She cheered, "thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!" Rainbow chuckled nervously and tried to ease her off, ass the whole class was staring at them again. "Of course I'll tell your brother off for you." She said in a tone that hardly convinced anyone. "What are friends for?" /\/\/\/\ As soon as the bell rang for lunch, Rainbow and Twilight tried to get out the door before anyone else, but, unfortunately, Crank held them back. After a lengthy lecture on why it's important to not disrupt the class with one's problems, they were out the door and in the cafeteria in record time. There, they saw the six girls waiting somewhat patiently for them, their lunch trays nearly empty. "What took you so long?" Pinkie asked, jumping up from her seat. "We've been waiting here for forever!" Dash rolled her eyes in annoyance and crossed her arms. "Mister Cranky held us back." She scoffed, "he gave us this huge lecture on how rude it is to disrupt the class." "Well, why were ya disruptin' the class in the first place?" Applejack questioned as she made room for Rainbow. Twilight sighed and took her seat next to Sunset. "I--uh---" she stammered, "got---got a..uh..a....." "A C?" Pinkie interrupted, causing all six to look at her with shock. Twilight had a hard time trying to pick her jaw off the table, though she didn't know why it surprised her so much; it seemed gossip spread twice as fast in Canterlot High than it did in Crystal Prep, probably due to the amount of friends everyone had. Rarity cleared her throat once no one spoke up after a minute and a half. "Pinkie, don't you think it's a mighty rude of not letting Twilight finish what she was going to say?" She chuckled nervously. "I highly doubt one as smart as her would ever get a C on a test, anyway..." "Nope, she's pretty much right," Rainbow said nonchalantly, causing all eyes to land on her for more information. "Don't ask me," she shook her head, gesturing towards Twilight. "She's the one who knows what happened." Six pairs of eyes turned towards her, each as curious as the last. Twilight slumped down in her chair, still embarrassed from the predicament. "I--uh..." She mumbled, "I missed two problems. I meant to complete them, but it was just so difficult for me to explain. I had no idea those two were graded on effort. If I had--" Sunset placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled. "It's nothing to worry about, Twilight. We all make mistakes from time to time." Twilight took a deep breath and explained to them why it mattered so much to her. Rainbow didn't seem that interested, as she already knew, but the others were particularity engaged, each questioning how she could get a perfect A in kindergarten afterwards, which she brushed off absentmindedly. "Rainbow said she knew you'd all help me." Twilight finished, "and I trust everyone here." She took a sip out of her milk carton before continuing. "So, who would like to help me erase that C?" The six all shared the same confused expression until Pinkie voiced what they were all thinking. "How?" "I dunno." Rainbow answered, "but I'm sure we'll think of something..." Pinkie beamed and stood up, picked up her tray. "Works for me!" She cheered, "I'm in!" Applejack rolled her eyes with a smile and shrugged. She then nodded, her sign of saying she'd help. Eventually, each girl agreed to help the science geek with her problem. Twilight, while minorly shocked at the outcome, was overcome with joy and proclaimed a group hug. Once it was over, she asked what the plan was. "Meet me in here after school." Applejack said, "I think I have a plan that might work out fer ya." Truthfully...Threats Don't Work.After school, the girls met in the cafeteria as planned. Applejack, who helped her granny clean the tables and such for the last period, was already there and waiting. "Bout time ya showed up," she teased, tossed an apple into the air. "Ah was startin' ta think ya left er something." She ignored the glares she got and looked at Twilight. "Have ya tried ‘ta tell Mister Cranky the truth yet? On why you were so upset ya got a C?" Twilight looked at her feet, cupped her hands together. "No..." she admitted, "it...it hadn't crossed my mind." Applejack gestured towards her, placing the apple back in the little apple bin she stood next too. "There's yer problem, Twi." She came over to the girl and placed a comforting hand upon her shoulder. "Ah'm sure if ya tell him why this got ya so rustled up, he'll understand. Heck, he might even let ya retake it." Twilight looked up, hope in her eyes. "You really think so?" "No." The farm girl said, giving Twilight a brief second of shock. "Ah know so. Now, come along. Ah can help get this whole mess cleaned up an forgotten 'fore the activity buses leave." With that, she turned tail and headed out of the cafe, down the hall towards Cranky's class, the other six quickly following after her. In no time at all, they were outside of Cranky's classroom, the door opened just slightly. Applejack pointedly knocked before letting herself and the rest in, much to the teachers annoyance. "Can I help you?" Cranky asked as he tried to control his tone. He had just started the second stack of late papers and felt interruptions would just slow him down. "Why, yes, ya can." The farm girl said somewhat respectfully. "Ya see, Twilight here was tellin' us about what happened today, and we all noticed how upset she was. Ah thought--" "--Is there a point to any of this?" Cranky asked, sliding the paper aside, figuring he wouldn't get anything done with these seven girls here. "Any at all?" Applejack cleared her throat and tried again, fighting the urge to be as disrespectful to him as he was being to them. "Ah thought," she continued, "that it would make more sense fer you to know what Twi was goin' through." She looked over at the shy girl and saw on her face that she didn't particularly want to talk to her teacher at the moment. So, Applejack decided to explain for her. "Ya see, Twi's been gettin' straight A's since she was in kindergarten--how, is lost ta me, but she's worried that this C will bring down her perfect average." Twilight blushed at this, and Cranky frowned. "She's a real smart girl, Mister Cranky, and, if ah were you, ah'd let her make up the test. Ah'm sure she can answer them questions in ten seconds flat, but only if ya give her a chance." Cranky raised an eyebrow, then slid the paper he had been working on before backing in front of him. "Mmmmmm..........no." He said simply. "What?!" All the girls were stunned, minus Rainbow, who thought that explanation AJ gave was a pretty good one; one that, if it had been directed towards Rainbow on why she should enter a fashion show, Rainbow would agree. "What do you mean no?!" Rainbow demanded, gently shoving Applejack out of the way. "What, are you deaf or something? Twilight is obviously upset by this stupid grade, Applejack tells you respectfully and honestly why she's upset, and you still say 'no'? What. The actual--" "Rainbow, you know....it's...you don't have to freak out over it," Twilight said. Rainbow turned towards Twilight, determination etched on her face. "No. You know what? We've tried this AJ's way," she said as she gestured towards Applejack, "now we'll try it my way." She turned back towards Cranky and slammed both hands on his desk. He stared at her, unfazed. "If you don't change Twilight's grade to an A, or let her make up that test, I swear, I'll---" Cranky leaned forward, still unfazed. "Are you trying to threaten me?" He asked. "It might be too late for late assignments to be turned in, but it isn't too late for a day or two of in-school suspension." Rainbow backed off at this, her face turning a little pink. "Uhhh.....yeah....nevermind, I guess..." "If you girls will excuse me, I need to catch up on grading these assignments." Cranky pointed towards the door, letting that gesture speak for itself. They left the classroom quickly and silently, closing the door behind them. Everyone was staring at Rainbow in shock at what she had done, she doing the best trying to ignore the stares. At last, Pinkie spoke up. "Wow, Rainbow. I've never seen you get so uptight about something. Not even sports. What was that?" Rainbow was silent for quite some time, still embarrassed on what had happened. "I...uh.....I guess I don't like it when teachers act that way. He made Twilight nearly cry--not to mention, get all stressed over this and didn't even care, AJ was being nice and told him why, but he was rude in return. I guess I snapped after that or...something...?" Rarity thought about that for a moment, then commented that she'd probably do the same, but she didn't want to advert from her lady-like image. "Although...Rainbow's 'way' did give me somewhat of an idea..." she said, more to herself than the others. "Oh! Me too!!" Pinkie chimed in. "Stay right here," Rarity instructed, "I need to fetch my makeup bag." She ran down the hallway, Pinkie bouncing behind her. Breaking BeautyThey returned three minutes later, Rarity looking better than a model and Pinkie bearing all sorts of spy equipment. "Uh..." Twilight scrunched her nose and pointed at the black jumpsuit and huge orange goggles Pinkie had on, along with the grappling rope she carried. "What's..what's all that?" "Plan 'D', silly!" Pinkie giggled, quickly followed by an "oooo, that rhymed!" Twilight nodded, not sure if she really wanted to know what 'Plan D' was. "And, Rarity?" She asked, gesturing towards all the makeup and new dress she sported. "Care to explain...?" Rarity chuckled at Twilight's naivety, gesturing at nothing in particular. "Twilight, darling, this is the way I do business." She paused, realizing what she had said, then blushed. "In a...respectful manner, of course." She added, almost as an afterthought, "just, come with me, let me try my way of convincing him." They followed her towards the classroom, the five about to go in when Rarity suddenly held out a hand and pulled Twilight in, closing the door behind her. "Uhhh..."Twilight pointed her finger towards the door since she figured her words weren't going to work for her at the moment. Rarity raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Most of them might be a tad...distracting for this to work." She scoffed and flipped her hair, turning around. "Besides, this is just for you, isn't it? They can watch from the outside." She walked up to Cranky's desk, who had been looking quite irritated ever since they came in, yet didn't bother to raise his head, even after Rarity cleared her throat and said his name. She sighed and took the paper he was working on, put it on one of the front desks, and put her hands on her hips; fed up with his attitude. He growled, slamming his hands down on the desk and stood up, about to retrieve the paper. "Whaddya wa--" he stopped mid-sentence as he finally looked at Rarity. He sat back down, forgetting all about the paper. Twilight and him shared the same slack-jawed face, while Rarity gave Twilight a quick wink and continued on with her plan. She walked behind the teacher, picked up the eraser , then walked to the other side of him. "So sorry to interrupt your day again, Mr. Doodle," she sighed, "but, that paper can wait, can it not?" He nodded like a mindless drone and, again, Rarity beamed at Twilight, enthused her tactic was working. Outside the door, five faces pressed against the window, trying to see what would happen next. "And, this silly chalkboard..." she mused, her attention back on the teacher. "Why, you wouldn't want it to be messy for the last couple days of school, would you?" Cranky simply shook his head, staring off into space. As he did, she quickly erased the message on the board and set the eraser down in the little tray. She then did a quick scan through all the papers piled up on his desk until she found Twilight's test. She put it in front of him, putting the other papers on different desks around the classroom in slight fear it would somehow distract him. "Oh, Mr. Doodle," she sighed, doing a fake swoon, "it would make me ever so happy if you'd let Twilight retake her test. I promise she won't disappoint." She got in front of his desk and put on the best face she could. "Would you do that, just for me?" She asked him, "don't worry," she added quickly, "it'll just be our little secret." Cranky, again, nodded, still staring off into space and Rarity wiped the test out from under him before he got out of her spell and handed it to Twilight. She hadn't noticed, however, the classroom door that, while before had been sealed shut, was now slightly ajar, and ten hands grabbed at it, making sure it stayed put as ten eyes watched the scene like it were an entertaining movie. Suddenly, Rainbow pumped a fist in the air and gave a cheer of joy. "All right, Rarity!" This, obviously, startled Rarity, Twilight, and Cranky alike, bringing him out of his trance and making the two girls in the classroom look at him with fear. The first thing he noticed was his desk was clear. Hope started up in his heart before he looked around the classroom, wondering if all of it was finally over. Then he noticed three things all at once; Rarity, handing a sheet of paper to Twilight, the five bulky paper stacks now ten and on half of the classroom desks, and five familiar faces staring at him through the door crack. Rarity and Twilight were soon scrambling over each other to try and get out first as a furious Cranky started stomping about, gathering his papers, staying strangely silent all the while, making the whole experience even more terrifying. Once they were out in the hallway, Cranky turned his head towards them with a gaze that chilled them all to the core. "Stay out of my room when school is over," he said, "don't you ever let me see you in here again." He stood up and walked over to Rarity, snatching the test out of her hand. "It would make me ever so happy," he mocked through clenched teeth. "Understood?" "Oh, yes, I completely--" the door slammed in her face before she could finish her sentence. Twilight, who had been just a foot away from the fashionista, sighed and drooped against a wall. The others shook their heads in disapproval, mainly at Rainbow, minus a certain pink human, who was glancing at Twilight with concern. "Come on, now!" She said cheerfully as she appeared upside down next to Twilight; she loosened her leg's grasp on a low-hanging light and casually slipped down to a sitting position next to her, breaking the laws of gravity for a split second so she wouldn't land on her head. "No need to feel sad when this isn't even over yet!" Twilight, somewhat used to Pinkie's randomness, offered a snort, as she knew the girl was just trying to cheer her up. She looked down at the floor and sighed again. "Didn't you hear what he said, though?" She asked, casting her eyes up to Pinkie once more. "Yeah!" Pinkie beamed, "he was all like 'stay out of my room when school is over.'" As she repeated his words, her face somehow scrunched into an image of the teachers, which was a little horrifying to say the least, and her voice changed to a perfect impression of the owner's. "'don't you ever let me see you in here again.'" Her face and voice returned to normal as she continued. "Then Rarity was all like 'Of course, I--' then the door slammed in her face before she could continue, then--" Twilight put a hand, signaling her to stop. "Yeah, I know," she smiled, "The point is, Pinkie, he said 'don't you ever let me see you in here again.'" She did air quotes around his words, then let her hands relax again. "We might as well give up now." Pinkie raised an eyebrow at her friend pessimist mood. "I don't think you do." She said, her gentle tone covering her harsh words. When she got a confused look, she explained a little more. "Don't let him see us in there again." Pinkie said, "we can go in, we just can't be seen." Her eyes squinted on the last word and her fingers wiggled in excitement. "Uhhhh......" "You're gonna need this..." Pinkie said as she grabbed another spy suit out of her poofy mane and threw it onto Twilight; the scientific girl looked down at herself and noticed she was now wearing the suit. "And this..." Pinkie then gave her a pair of goggles and some grappling rope. "And this." The last item she handed Twilight was a pair of latex gloves. Twilight glanced at Pinkie, curious as ever, yet Pinkie just smiled back and stood up, offering a helping hand. Twilight decided to stand up on her own, brushing herself off with one hand. "What are you planning, Pinkie?" Pinkie dropped her hand to her side and looked at Twilight with a blank expression. "We're gonna break in and get the test back." "What?!" The supplies she carried dropped to the floor in a loud clutter as she lurched forward in an attempt to grab Pinkie by the shoulders. "All we need now is a distraction..." Pinkie turned away from the shocked student, ignoring her cry. Her fingers tapped against each other as her eyes surveyed the hallway on what she could make distracting. Before she could look any longer, Twilight spun her around and looked her in the eye. "You're joking, right?" She asked in a frantic manner. "Tell me you're joking." "Okay." Pinkie smiled, "I'm joking." As she said this, she barely heard a chair roll against the wood and creak under additional weight. She turned her attention towards the door and beamed, thinking distraction found. She shooed Twilight away and turned around to face the girls. She then began pacing back and forth like an army sergeant, hoping she could tell them what to do quick enough before the teacher came out. "Girls," she said, "I'm gonna need you to stall the teacher from entering the room once he leaves." She stopped pacing and stared at them, dead serious. "Make sure he doesn't see us inside." She reached to the side and grabbed a stunned Twilight, raising her grappling hook above her head. "If I don't make it back," she added in a gravely voice, "tell Mrs. Cake to save some pie for me." With that, she let the rope go and she and Twilight zoomed up into an open air duct. Cranky came out of his room two seconds later, saw the five girls still there, and rubbed his temples. ~*~ "What are we doing?" Twilight asked as she crawled behind Pinkie; the tight, metal walls of the duct made her claustrophobia hike up and she was trying er hardest to not freak out and expose them. "We're breaking and entering." She said; Twilight could hear the joy in her words. "Weren't you paying any attention?" Twilight's eyes widened, she stopped crawling. "Pinkie." She said, making the party girl stop, too. "You told me you were joking." Pinkie giggled at Twilight's reaction and continued forward, albeit slower than she was going before. "No, silly, you told me to tell you I was joking." She stopped to looked down at the air vent she had come across; it was over the center of the classroom, but she could see Cranky's desk if she tilted her head just right. Bingo. "So I did." She finished, almost forgetting she was saying something in the first place. She looked back at Twilight, who was still in the same shocked position. Pinkie raised an eyebrow as she skillfully took out the air vent with a screwdriver and led a rope down to a safe height. "You coming?" She asked. "No." She said, "I don't want you or me to get in trouble on my behalf." Pinkie lifted her head at the abrupt tone, decided to shake it off. "Could you at least hold this rope for me so I won't get hurt?" Twilight glanced in her direction, then started crawling towards her, if only to keep the girl somewhat safe. Once the rope was firmly in her grasp, Pinkie smiled and began her way down. ~*~ "What was that noise?" Cranky asked them, looking around to try and see who caused it. All he got was a bunch of nervous faces in return. "Nothing," Sunset said quickly, "nothing of concern." "Really?" He asked, "what's with all this mess, then?" He gestured towards Twilight's dropped spy equipment, "and don't tell me it's 'nothing of concern', because clearly, it's something I should be worried about." "Props," Fluttershy mumbled, causing all attention to go on her. "What?" Cranky asked, the girl's expressions mirroring his question. "Oh, I'm sorry..." Fluttershy whispered, hiding herself behind her hair and the group, her face pink from all the sudden attention. "I'll just...be back here..." Cranky sighed, closed his eyes, trying to calm himself before speaking again. "Just..." he said, gesturing towards the spy equipment again, "just clean this up. It better be gone by the time I'm done at four." He was about to go back to his classroom when a loud crash made everyone jump. It didn't take long for them to figure out it came from Cranky's room, and Rainbow quickly ran towards the door to block him from heading inside. "What was that?!" He asked aloud, fixing his attention on the prism haired girl. "What's going on here?" "Nothing." Rainbow said abruptly. The others shot death glares at her, and she crossed her arms in an attempt to make up for it. Cranky took a step forward. "Why are you leaning against my door, then?" "Uhh..." She cast a pleading look of help to the rest, but they just shrugged helplessly, slightly irritating her. "I'm....leaning against a door?" She asked slowly, "Wow....that's super weird." A nervous laugh escaped her, "I never would have guessed..." "That is pretty weird." Cranky said sarcastically. "Please, Rainbow; just move." Rainbow sighed, knowing she really couldn't do anything else and stepped away, hoping Pinkie would understand. Cranky took a couple steps forward until he was at the door and turned the handle, revealing a slightly shaken Pinkie slinking up to his desk. She turned towards the door, frozen like a deer in headlights once she heard the creak and, once the shock wore off, quickly ran back to the center of the classroom and started climbing up the rope. He noticed that a desk had been flipped over and quickly realized Pinkie must have landed on it if she had used the air duct to get to the classroom. "Pinkie!" He yelled, making the pink girl stop, "what is the meaning of this?!" "Uhhh..." Pinkie looked in all directions, never once meeting his. "Plan D?" Cranky pointed towards the hallway, where everyone else crowded around to see what was going on. "I should have known something was wrong when I saw five of you out there instead of seven." He growled; "now, I'm going to have to ask you and Twilight to get out of my air vents, and out of my classroom." "Can we be above your air vents?" Pinkie asked, another idea hatching inside her. "Out!" Pinkie frowned and slid down the rope, then tugged it twice. "Hey, Twi?" She called remorsefully into seemingly nothingness, "Cranky saw me. You're gonna have to go back and get out on your own." There was no response except for the rope being pulled higher and higher until it disapeered completely and some shifts of the metal as Twilight turned back around. Cranky glared at Pinkie as she made her way out to the hallway. Once there, he told them all he didn't want them anywhere in his classroom from that point forward and slammed the door to their faces. "What now?" Applejack asked, "we tried nearly everything." Pinkie looked down at the floor; she was positive that her plan would had worked; though why she ignored her Pinkie sense of something about to fall; a twitchy leg, was beyond her. "I don't know..." she moaned, "is there anything left to try?" They all pondered over what else to try for the longest time, until Sunset snapped her fingers, a smile on her face. "Well, I know we've tried honesty," she said, "but, why not a different type?" As the girls waited for her to elaborate, Twilight came plummeting out of the air vent, landing on a random mattress Pinkie had somehow placed before they had left. Sunset's Stratagy3:50, Cranky thought, looking up at the clock wistfully. Ten minutes until I can leave and get back to Matilda. He sighed as he looked back down at all the paperwork he had left to do; he had pre-counted it all before and was shocked to find he had 200 papers to grade. That was more than two assignments per student per class, give or take a couple who made sure to get their work turned in on time. And he had only graded ten, thanks to the distracting, persistent seven girls outside that seemed to want to help Twilight out so bad with the two problems. Those girls..., he grumbled to himself, pushing another finished paper aside. Those girls are driving me nuts with they're constant interruptions. Do they not know I'm a busy man? "Cranky?" The call of his name made him look up from his work to see the timid, pink-haired girl standing in his doorway. He sighed, pushed aside the paper he was working on, knowing he wouldn't be able to get anything done if they came in again. He gave up once Pinkie broke in, but failed to admit to the seven teens stalking his classroom. "Yes?" He asked, albeit with a slightly bitter tone, making the shy one recede. "Oh...I...uh..." She hid behind the door, starting to close it again. "N-never--" "No, Fluttershy, it's okay." He heard another voice coax her gently; the door stopped closing, being held at a halfway-open stance as she and, from what Cranky could see, the bacon haired girl continued. "He's not going to get mad again." A small squeak emitted from Fluttershy and, although Cranky hardly knew her, he imagined the girl squatting slightly, trying to roll into a nice, protective ball while also standing up. "B-but..." she whimpered, "w-what if he does?" A small sigh echoed throughout the classroom. "I-I'm sorry, Sunset, but I'm just not that great at negotiating..." He could see Sunset's hair go up and down from the door's window, and a hand goes on Fluttershy's shoulder. "I know," she said gently, "and it was a dumb mistake by me to let you go in and be intimidated by him." She patted her shoulder twice, then gently pushed her aside, so she could get through. "And I'm really sorry about that." A cut off-apology came from Fluttershy, mainly because Sunset had already entered the room and gently closed the door behind her. She faced Cranky's desk with determination and started walking towards it. Oh, goody, Cranky thought sarcastically. Another one. "Mister Cranky," Sunset said, now in front of his desk with a hand on her hip. "I believe you owe something to Twilight?" He narrowed his eyes, a soft growl emitting from him; she held up both hands to show she meant no harm and continued. "Before you freak out on us again, please let me finish." She took a deep breath to steady herself and Cranky leaned back in his chair, the furniture squeaking under his weight. Outside, the girls all looked at Twilight's phone, which had the timer app up; there were seventeen seconds left. Applejack looked at the door and straightened her hat, waiting for the time to hit zero. "You've had a rough day; I get it." Sunset said, "last five days of school, kids starting to act up, I've seen it in all my other classes. And, on top of that, you'd have to deal with us trying to help our friend." She gestured towards the door, speaking as she did so. "we've all had different tactics to deal with this. Applejack's honesty, for example." Applejack walked through the door, leaving it open and walked up to stand on Sunset's right. Sunset smiled, glad that there was no 'technical' difficulties and raised her voice a smidgen so she could be heard from the hall. "Or threats from Rainbow," Rainbow entered and stood on Sunset's left, then crossed her arms as she waited for the girl to finish. As Sunset listed off the different tactics by each girl, they entered as their name was called and alternated sides, Fluttershy being the last to go up on the right, next to Rarity. "..and though you got upset and scared us most of the time, we never gave up. Do you know why, Mister Cranky?" Cranky blinked, not sure if it was a rhetorical question or not. "Because we all wanted to help Twilight out." At the sound of her name, the meek girl entered and went to stand on the left beside Pinkie. "We have literally battled monstrous demons, worse than you can imagine." She leaned forward, placing her elbow on the desk to support her weight. "And you thought we'd back out the first two times." "Yeah, I kind of hoped that." He said blandly. Sunset straightened herself up, going back to her original position. "Now," Sunset said, "are you gonna let her try?" All leaned forward slightly, hoping he'd say yes to get it all over with for him. "Nope." All girls minus Sunset and Twilight furrowed their brows and groaned, sensing this was going nowhere. "Okay," Sunset sighed, "let me try a different way." She looked at Twilight apologetically before continuing. "Remember, during the Friendship Games, when Twilight turned into Midnight Sparkle? Did you see how hysterical she was about getting a C? Do you really want to risk her destroying the world and succeeding this time?" "I--" "If you say 'I don't care', she just might, and we'll all know who to blame." Cranky sighed, slightly scared of what Twilight would do know that he knew that, and also not wanting this to continue for the next four days. He looked up at the clock and saw it was 3:56. "You have four minutes," he said, digging through the stacks to find her test. Once he found it, he handed it to her and looked at the clock again. "Make that three," he grumbled, "don't make me change my mind." The seven girls stared at him, stunned. They had finally managed to crack him! To make him say 'yes!' They shared a look, then all went in for a group hug, shouting out tears of joy as Twilight's eyes formed little pools of happiness. She sniffed and wiped at her tears, reaching for her test. "Thank you so much, girls; you're all just so....so..." they smiled as she looked at each one of them, tears blurring her vision again. "You're all so much more than words can describe...I-I just don't know what I'd do without you!" they went in for another group hug, then Twilight shooed them all away as she finished up the answers. "These are just graded on effort, right?" Twilight asked as she turned it in a minute later, to which Crank nodded. The girl grinned and gave it to him, then left with all her other friends. Cranky watched them leave, then looked down at the test he had just received. "Teenagers," he sighed, smiling a bit. He put her test off to the side in one of the piles and started to pack up. "I wish I had friends like that when I was her age..."
What Did I Do to Deserve This?"I got a what?!" Twilight stared down at the two pieces of paper that had been perfectly stapled together. Mr. Cranky Doodle looked up from his laptop at her outcry, along with the rest of the class. Twilight didn't seem to care at that point that all eyes were on her and marched up to Cranky's desk; each student leaned forward and craned their necks to see what would happen next. "Mister Cranky, I'm sorry for bothering you at this time, but it's really important that I know why I got a--a--a--" The teacher looked at her with irritation and snatched the test out of her hands. "A 'C'?" He asked quizzically. Gasps rose from the students that were close enough to hear the problem and they quickly whispered the news to their friends and desk partners. It was unlike Twilight to get such a typical score; at least, that's what they heard and knew from rumors of her being the best student at Crystal Prep, passing every exam and test handed to her with flying colors. Twilight's cheeks and ears started to turn red, as if she had just noticed that she and Cranky had an audience behind them. She nodded sheepishly and the teacher sighed as he pulled it closer to get a better look. After several agonizing minutes for the girl, Cranky pushed the paper back to her and flipped the sheet to the second page, tapping two white spaces, one that was supposed to be a short paragraph and another being a sketch, both on how to explain quantum physics. "You didn't answer these." He said. Twilight mentally face palmed herself; she had meant to get back to that question and try to explain it the best she could. Quantum Physics was something she could somewhat understand, but it was difficult for her to explain. Nevertheless, she looked down at them and wrinkled her nose. "B-but...they're only three points...h-how can that add up to thirty?" Cranky sighed and went back to his work on the laptop. "There was only ten questions on the test, Twilight. I'm surprised you didn't notice that before; I had to multiply each problem point by ten, and each student got graded on those two for effort. Since you didn't do them, you simply didn't get any points." He stopped typing and looked at her with no empathy at all. "Does that make sense to you?" "I--I--I guess..." She stammered, her usual quietness starting to kick in. "Is there any way I can make this up?" She heard some creak of chairs as most of the class leaned forward even further. The teacher furrowed his brow and tried not to snap at the sensitive student; he was getting better at controlling his anger but he had had a particularly rough day that day. "No..." he said through clenched teeth, "It's the 26th of May. We get out in five days. There would be no time for me to enter it in with all these other late assignment." He gestured towards five thick piles of paper that were lined up on his desk and, after, at the note sprawled on the chalkboard that said 'NO LONGER TAKING LATE ASSIGNMENTS.' Twilight lowered her head and shamefully retrieved her paper. "Oh," she mumbled, "right." She began walking back to her desk, offering a silent thanks over her shoulder. The minute she sat down, Rainbow leaned towards Twilight and asked in a whisper what had happened. "I got a seventy on my test." Twilight muttered, sadly shaking her head. "He won't let me make it up." Rainbow froze, went to pause her game on her laptop, then looked at Twilight. "You got a seventy out of one hundred?" She asked, flabbergasted. "I got a higher score than you!?" At Twilight's nod, she felt a shout of glee building up inside of her, but once she saw Twilight on the verge of tears, she decided to focus on the situation at hand. "I'm sure you'll get it next time, Twi..." Twilight shook her head again and shifted her chair to face the prism haired girl. "No, Rainbow, you don't understand." She sighed, a little cautious of whether to continue or not. "Ever since kindergarten, I always got a 4.0 average in my grades. This is bound to bring it down to a 3.5, and I just can't let that happen." Rainbow sat straight up, puzzled by Twilight's statement. "How can you get a 4.0 average in kindergarten?" “Nevermind, that Rainbow." Twilight said in frustration. "This C--this average score will ruin my perfect all-A record, then it will stop me from getting into Yale or Harvard, then I won't be the best scientist anyone's ever known, then I won't be able to solve every world disease, all thanks to a stupid, stupid mistake that I got back in the eleventh grade that "ll never be able to erase!" Rainbow held out both hands in a surrendered gesture, trying to block Twilight's worries. "Whoa, Twilight," she chuckled, "I don't think it'll go that far." she hesitated, then leaned forward again, speaking in a lower tone so she wouldn't be easily overheard. "But, if you'd like, I think the girls and I can help you fix this smudge on your perfect grades." Twilight practically jumped out of her desk and wrapped her arms around the sporty girl, so overcome with joy. "Oh, thank you, Rainbow!" She cheered, "thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!" Rainbow chuckled nervously and tried to ease her off, ass the whole class was staring at them again. "Of course I'll tell your brother off for you." She said in a tone that hardly convinced anyone. "What are friends for?" /\/\/\/\ As soon as the bell rang for lunch, Rainbow and Twilight tried to get out the door before anyone else, but, unfortunately, Crank held them back. After a lengthy lecture on why it's important to not disrupt the class with one's problems, they were out the door and in the cafeteria in record time. There, they saw the six girls waiting somewhat patiently for them, their lunch trays nearly empty. "What took you so long?" Pinkie asked, jumping up from her seat. "We've been waiting here for forever!" Dash rolled her eyes in annoyance and crossed her arms. "Mister Cranky held us back." She scoffed, "he gave us this huge lecture on how rude it is to disrupt the class." "Well, why were ya disruptin' the class in the first place?" Applejack questioned as she made room for Rainbow. Twilight sighed and took her seat next to Sunset. "I--uh---" she stammered, "got---got a..uh..a....." "A C?" Pinkie interrupted, causing all six to look at her with shock. Twilight had a hard time trying to pick her jaw off the table, though she didn't know why it surprised her so much; it seemed gossip spread twice as fast in Canterlot High than it did in Crystal Prep, probably due to the amount of friends everyone had. Rarity cleared her throat once no one spoke up after a minute and a half. "Pinkie, don't you think it's a mighty rude of not letting Twilight finish what she was going to say?" She chuckled nervously. "I highly doubt one as smart as her would ever get a C on a test, anyway..." "Nope, she's pretty much right," Rainbow said nonchalantly, causing all eyes to land on her for more information. "Don't ask me," she shook her head, gesturing towards Twilight. "She's the one who knows what happened." Six pairs of eyes turned towards her, each as curious as the last. Twilight slumped down in her chair, still embarrassed from the predicament. "I--uh..." She mumbled, "I missed two problems. I meant to complete them, but it was just so difficult for me to explain. I had no idea those two were graded on effort. If I had--" Sunset placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled. "It's nothing to worry about, Twilight. We all make mistakes from time to time." Twilight took a deep breath and explained to them why it mattered so much to her. Rainbow didn't seem that interested, as she already knew, but the others were particularity engaged, each questioning how she could get a perfect A in kindergarten afterwards, which she brushed off absentmindedly. "Rainbow said she knew you'd all help me." Twilight finished, "and I trust everyone here." She took a sip out of her milk carton before continuing. "So, who would like to help me erase that C?" The six all shared the same confused expression until Pinkie voiced what they were all thinking. "How?" "I dunno." Rainbow answered, "but I'm sure we'll think of something..." Pinkie beamed and stood up, picked up her tray. "Works for me!" She cheered, "I'm in!" Applejack rolled her eyes with a smile and shrugged. She then nodded, her sign of saying she'd help. Eventually, each girl agreed to help the science geek with her problem. Twilight, while minorly shocked at the outcome, was overcome with joy and proclaimed a group hug. Once it was over, she asked what the plan was. "Meet me in here after school." Applejack said, "I think I have a plan that might work out fer ya."
Truthfully...Threats Don't Work.After school, the girls met in the cafeteria as planned. Applejack, who helped her granny clean the tables and such for the last period, was already there and waiting. "Bout time ya showed up," she teased, tossed an apple into the air. "Ah was startin' ta think ya left er something." She ignored the glares she got and looked at Twilight. "Have ya tried ‘ta tell Mister Cranky the truth yet? On why you were so upset ya got a C?" Twilight looked at her feet, cupped her hands together. "No..." she admitted, "it...it hadn't crossed my mind." Applejack gestured towards her, placing the apple back in the little apple bin she stood next too. "There's yer problem, Twi." She came over to the girl and placed a comforting hand upon her shoulder. "Ah'm sure if ya tell him why this got ya so rustled up, he'll understand. Heck, he might even let ya retake it." Twilight looked up, hope in her eyes. "You really think so?" "No." The farm girl said, giving Twilight a brief second of shock. "Ah know so. Now, come along. Ah can help get this whole mess cleaned up an forgotten 'fore the activity buses leave." With that, she turned tail and headed out of the cafe, down the hall towards Cranky's class, the other six quickly following after her. In no time at all, they were outside of Cranky's classroom, the door opened just slightly. Applejack pointedly knocked before letting herself and the rest in, much to the teachers annoyance. "Can I help you?" Cranky asked as he tried to control his tone. He had just started the second stack of late papers and felt interruptions would just slow him down. "Why, yes, ya can." The farm girl said somewhat respectfully. "Ya see, Twilight here was tellin' us about what happened today, and we all noticed how upset she was. Ah thought--" "--Is there a point to any of this?" Cranky asked, sliding the paper aside, figuring he wouldn't get anything done with these seven girls here. "Any at all?" Applejack cleared her throat and tried again, fighting the urge to be as disrespectful to him as he was being to them. "Ah thought," she continued, "that it would make more sense fer you to know what Twi was goin' through." She looked over at the shy girl and saw on her face that she didn't particularly want to talk to her teacher at the moment. So, Applejack decided to explain for her. "Ya see, Twi's been gettin' straight A's since she was in kindergarten--how, is lost ta me, but she's worried that this C will bring down her perfect average." Twilight blushed at this, and Cranky frowned. "She's a real smart girl, Mister Cranky, and, if ah were you, ah'd let her make up the test. Ah'm sure she can answer them questions in ten seconds flat, but only if ya give her a chance." Cranky raised an eyebrow, then slid the paper he had been working on before backing in front of him. "Mmmmmm..........no." He said simply. "What?!" All the girls were stunned, minus Rainbow, who thought that explanation AJ gave was a pretty good one; one that, if it had been directed towards Rainbow on why she should enter a fashion show, Rainbow would agree. "What do you mean no?!" Rainbow demanded, gently shoving Applejack out of the way. "What, are you deaf or something? Twilight is obviously upset by this stupid grade, Applejack tells you respectfully and honestly why she's upset, and you still say 'no'? What. The actual--" "Rainbow, you know....it's...you don't have to freak out over it," Twilight said. Rainbow turned towards Twilight, determination etched on her face. "No. You know what? We've tried this AJ's way," she said as she gestured towards Applejack, "now we'll try it my way." She turned back towards Cranky and slammed both hands on his desk. He stared at her, unfazed. "If you don't change Twilight's grade to an A, or let her make up that test, I swear, I'll---" Cranky leaned forward, still unfazed. "Are you trying to threaten me?" He asked. "It might be too late for late assignments to be turned in, but it isn't too late for a day or two of in-school suspension." Rainbow backed off at this, her face turning a little pink. "Uhhh.....yeah....nevermind, I guess..." "If you girls will excuse me, I need to catch up on grading these assignments." Cranky pointed towards the door, letting that gesture speak for itself. They left the classroom quickly and silently, closing the door behind them. Everyone was staring at Rainbow in shock at what she had done, she doing the best trying to ignore the stares. At last, Pinkie spoke up. "Wow, Rainbow. I've never seen you get so uptight about something. Not even sports. What was that?" Rainbow was silent for quite some time, still embarrassed on what had happened. "I...uh.....I guess I don't like it when teachers act that way. He made Twilight nearly cry--not to mention, get all stressed over this and didn't even care, AJ was being nice and told him why, but he was rude in return. I guess I snapped after that or...something...?" Rarity thought about that for a moment, then commented that she'd probably do the same, but she didn't want to advert from her lady-like image. "Although...Rainbow's 'way' did give me somewhat of an idea..." she said, more to herself than the others. "Oh! Me too!!" Pinkie chimed in. "Stay right here," Rarity instructed, "I need to fetch my makeup bag." She ran down the hallway, Pinkie bouncing behind her.
Breaking BeautyThey returned three minutes later, Rarity looking better than a model and Pinkie bearing all sorts of spy equipment. "Uh..." Twilight scrunched her nose and pointed at the black jumpsuit and huge orange goggles Pinkie had on, along with the grappling rope she carried. "What's..what's all that?" "Plan 'D', silly!" Pinkie giggled, quickly followed by an "oooo, that rhymed!" Twilight nodded, not sure if she really wanted to know what 'Plan D' was. "And, Rarity?" She asked, gesturing towards all the makeup and new dress she sported. "Care to explain...?" Rarity chuckled at Twilight's naivety, gesturing at nothing in particular. "Twilight, darling, this is the way I do business." She paused, realizing what she had said, then blushed. "In a...respectful manner, of course." She added, almost as an afterthought, "just, come with me, let me try my way of convincing him." They followed her towards the classroom, the five about to go in when Rarity suddenly held out a hand and pulled Twilight in, closing the door behind her. "Uhhh..."Twilight pointed her finger towards the door since she figured her words weren't going to work for her at the moment. Rarity raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Most of them might be a tad...distracting for this to work." She scoffed and flipped her hair, turning around. "Besides, this is just for you, isn't it? They can watch from the outside." She walked up to Cranky's desk, who had been looking quite irritated ever since they came in, yet didn't bother to raise his head, even after Rarity cleared her throat and said his name. She sighed and took the paper he was working on, put it on one of the front desks, and put her hands on her hips; fed up with his attitude. He growled, slamming his hands down on the desk and stood up, about to retrieve the paper. "Whaddya wa--" he stopped mid-sentence as he finally looked at Rarity. He sat back down, forgetting all about the paper. Twilight and him shared the same slack-jawed face, while Rarity gave Twilight a quick wink and continued on with her plan. She walked behind the teacher, picked up the eraser , then walked to the other side of him. "So sorry to interrupt your day again, Mr. Doodle," she sighed, "but, that paper can wait, can it not?" He nodded like a mindless drone and, again, Rarity beamed at Twilight, enthused her tactic was working. Outside the door, five faces pressed against the window, trying to see what would happen next. "And, this silly chalkboard..." she mused, her attention back on the teacher. "Why, you wouldn't want it to be messy for the last couple days of school, would you?" Cranky simply shook his head, staring off into space. As he did, she quickly erased the message on the board and set the eraser down in the little tray. She then did a quick scan through all the papers piled up on his desk until she found Twilight's test. She put it in front of him, putting the other papers on different desks around the classroom in slight fear it would somehow distract him. "Oh, Mr. Doodle," she sighed, doing a fake swoon, "it would make me ever so happy if you'd let Twilight retake her test. I promise she won't disappoint." She got in front of his desk and put on the best face she could. "Would you do that, just for me?" She asked him, "don't worry," she added quickly, "it'll just be our little secret." Cranky, again, nodded, still staring off into space and Rarity wiped the test out from under him before he got out of her spell and handed it to Twilight. She hadn't noticed, however, the classroom door that, while before had been sealed shut, was now slightly ajar, and ten hands grabbed at it, making sure it stayed put as ten eyes watched the scene like it were an entertaining movie. Suddenly, Rainbow pumped a fist in the air and gave a cheer of joy. "All right, Rarity!" This, obviously, startled Rarity, Twilight, and Cranky alike, bringing him out of his trance and making the two girls in the classroom look at him with fear. The first thing he noticed was his desk was clear. Hope started up in his heart before he looked around the classroom, wondering if all of it was finally over. Then he noticed three things all at once; Rarity, handing a sheet of paper to Twilight, the five bulky paper stacks now ten and on half of the classroom desks, and five familiar faces staring at him through the door crack. Rarity and Twilight were soon scrambling over each other to try and get out first as a furious Cranky started stomping about, gathering his papers, staying strangely silent all the while, making the whole experience even more terrifying. Once they were out in the hallway, Cranky turned his head towards them with a gaze that chilled them all to the core. "Stay out of my room when school is over," he said, "don't you ever let me see you in here again." He stood up and walked over to Rarity, snatching the test out of her hand. "It would make me ever so happy," he mocked through clenched teeth. "Understood?" "Oh, yes, I completely--" the door slammed in her face before she could finish her sentence. Twilight, who had been just a foot away from the fashionista, sighed and drooped against a wall. The others shook their heads in disapproval, mainly at Rainbow, minus a certain pink human, who was glancing at Twilight with concern. "Come on, now!" She said cheerfully as she appeared upside down next to Twilight; she loosened her leg's grasp on a low-hanging light and casually slipped down to a sitting position next to her, breaking the laws of gravity for a split second so she wouldn't land on her head. "No need to feel sad when this isn't even over yet!" Twilight, somewhat used to Pinkie's randomness, offered a snort, as she knew the girl was just trying to cheer her up. She looked down at the floor and sighed again. "Didn't you hear what he said, though?" She asked, casting her eyes up to Pinkie once more. "Yeah!" Pinkie beamed, "he was all like 'stay out of my room when school is over.'" As she repeated his words, her face somehow scrunched into an image of the teachers, which was a little horrifying to say the least, and her voice changed to a perfect impression of the owner's. "'don't you ever let me see you in here again.'" Her face and voice returned to normal as she continued. "Then Rarity was all like 'Of course, I--' then the door slammed in her face before she could continue, then--" Twilight put a hand, signaling her to stop. "Yeah, I know," she smiled, "The point is, Pinkie, he said 'don't you ever let me see you in here again.'" She did air quotes around his words, then let her hands relax again. "We might as well give up now." Pinkie raised an eyebrow at her friend pessimist mood. "I don't think you do." She said, her gentle tone covering her harsh words. When she got a confused look, she explained a little more. "Don't let him see us in there again." Pinkie said, "we can go in, we just can't be seen." Her eyes squinted on the last word and her fingers wiggled in excitement. "Uhhhh......" "You're gonna need this..." Pinkie said as she grabbed another spy suit out of her poofy mane and threw it onto Twilight; the scientific girl looked down at herself and noticed she was now wearing the suit. "And this..." Pinkie then gave her a pair of goggles and some grappling rope. "And this." The last item she handed Twilight was a pair of latex gloves. Twilight glanced at Pinkie, curious as ever, yet Pinkie just smiled back and stood up, offering a helping hand. Twilight decided to stand up on her own, brushing herself off with one hand. "What are you planning, Pinkie?" Pinkie dropped her hand to her side and looked at Twilight with a blank expression. "We're gonna break in and get the test back." "What?!" The supplies she carried dropped to the floor in a loud clutter as she lurched forward in an attempt to grab Pinkie by the shoulders. "All we need now is a distraction..." Pinkie turned away from the shocked student, ignoring her cry. Her fingers tapped against each other as her eyes surveyed the hallway on what she could make distracting. Before she could look any longer, Twilight spun her around and looked her in the eye. "You're joking, right?" She asked in a frantic manner. "Tell me you're joking." "Okay." Pinkie smiled, "I'm joking." As she said this, she barely heard a chair roll against the wood and creak under additional weight. She turned her attention towards the door and beamed, thinking distraction found. She shooed Twilight away and turned around to face the girls. She then began pacing back and forth like an army sergeant, hoping she could tell them what to do quick enough before the teacher came out. "Girls," she said, "I'm gonna need you to stall the teacher from entering the room once he leaves." She stopped pacing and stared at them, dead serious. "Make sure he doesn't see us inside." She reached to the side and grabbed a stunned Twilight, raising her grappling hook above her head. "If I don't make it back," she added in a gravely voice, "tell Mrs. Cake to save some pie for me." With that, she let the rope go and she and Twilight zoomed up into an open air duct. Cranky came out of his room two seconds later, saw the five girls still there, and rubbed his temples. ~*~ "What are we doing?" Twilight asked as she crawled behind Pinkie; the tight, metal walls of the duct made her claustrophobia hike up and she was trying er hardest to not freak out and expose them. "We're breaking and entering." She said; Twilight could hear the joy in her words. "Weren't you paying any attention?" Twilight's eyes widened, she stopped crawling. "Pinkie." She said, making the party girl stop, too. "You told me you were joking." Pinkie giggled at Twilight's reaction and continued forward, albeit slower than she was going before. "No, silly, you told me to tell you I was joking." She stopped to looked down at the air vent she had come across; it was over the center of the classroom, but she could see Cranky's desk if she tilted her head just right. Bingo. "So I did." She finished, almost forgetting she was saying something in the first place. She looked back at Twilight, who was still in the same shocked position. Pinkie raised an eyebrow as she skillfully took out the air vent with a screwdriver and led a rope down to a safe height. "You coming?" She asked. "No." She said, "I don't want you or me to get in trouble on my behalf." Pinkie lifted her head at the abrupt tone, decided to shake it off. "Could you at least hold this rope for me so I won't get hurt?" Twilight glanced in her direction, then started crawling towards her, if only to keep the girl somewhat safe. Once the rope was firmly in her grasp, Pinkie smiled and began her way down. ~*~ "What was that noise?" Cranky asked them, looking around to try and see who caused it. All he got was a bunch of nervous faces in return. "Nothing," Sunset said quickly, "nothing of concern." "Really?" He asked, "what's with all this mess, then?" He gestured towards Twilight's dropped spy equipment, "and don't tell me it's 'nothing of concern', because clearly, it's something I should be worried about." "Props," Fluttershy mumbled, causing all attention to go on her. "What?" Cranky asked, the girl's expressions mirroring his question. "Oh, I'm sorry..." Fluttershy whispered, hiding herself behind her hair and the group, her face pink from all the sudden attention. "I'll just...be back here..." Cranky sighed, closed his eyes, trying to calm himself before speaking again. "Just..." he said, gesturing towards the spy equipment again, "just clean this up. It better be gone by the time I'm done at four." He was about to go back to his classroom when a loud crash made everyone jump. It didn't take long for them to figure out it came from Cranky's room, and Rainbow quickly ran towards the door to block him from heading inside. "What was that?!" He asked aloud, fixing his attention on the prism haired girl. "What's going on here?" "Nothing." Rainbow said abruptly. The others shot death glares at her, and she crossed her arms in an attempt to make up for it. Cranky took a step forward. "Why are you leaning against my door, then?" "Uhh..." She cast a pleading look of help to the rest, but they just shrugged helplessly, slightly irritating her. "I'm....leaning against a door?" She asked slowly, "Wow....that's super weird." A nervous laugh escaped her, "I never would have guessed..." "That is pretty weird." Cranky said sarcastically. "Please, Rainbow; just move." Rainbow sighed, knowing she really couldn't do anything else and stepped away, hoping Pinkie would understand. Cranky took a couple steps forward until he was at the door and turned the handle, revealing a slightly shaken Pinkie slinking up to his desk. She turned towards the door, frozen like a deer in headlights once she heard the creak and, once the shock wore off, quickly ran back to the center of the classroom and started climbing up the rope. He noticed that a desk had been flipped over and quickly realized Pinkie must have landed on it if she had used the air duct to get to the classroom. "Pinkie!" He yelled, making the pink girl stop, "what is the meaning of this?!" "Uhhh..." Pinkie looked in all directions, never once meeting his. "Plan D?" Cranky pointed towards the hallway, where everyone else crowded around to see what was going on. "I should have known something was wrong when I saw five of you out there instead of seven." He growled; "now, I'm going to have to ask you and Twilight to get out of my air vents, and out of my classroom." "Can we be above your air vents?" Pinkie asked, another idea hatching inside her. "Out!" Pinkie frowned and slid down the rope, then tugged it twice. "Hey, Twi?" She called remorsefully into seemingly nothingness, "Cranky saw me. You're gonna have to go back and get out on your own." There was no response except for the rope being pulled higher and higher until it disapeered completely and some shifts of the metal as Twilight turned back around. Cranky glared at Pinkie as she made her way out to the hallway. Once there, he told them all he didn't want them anywhere in his classroom from that point forward and slammed the door to their faces. "What now?" Applejack asked, "we tried nearly everything." Pinkie looked down at the floor; she was positive that her plan would had worked; though why she ignored her Pinkie sense of something about to fall; a twitchy leg, was beyond her. "I don't know..." she moaned, "is there anything left to try?" They all pondered over what else to try for the longest time, until Sunset snapped her fingers, a smile on her face. "Well, I know we've tried honesty," she said, "but, why not a different type?" As the girls waited for her to elaborate, Twilight came plummeting out of the air vent, landing on a random mattress Pinkie had somehow placed before they had left.
Sunset's Stratagy3:50, Cranky thought, looking up at the clock wistfully. Ten minutes until I can leave and get back to Matilda. He sighed as he looked back down at all the paperwork he had left to do; he had pre-counted it all before and was shocked to find he had 200 papers to grade. That was more than two assignments per student per class, give or take a couple who made sure to get their work turned in on time. And he had only graded ten, thanks to the distracting, persistent seven girls outside that seemed to want to help Twilight out so bad with the two problems. Those girls..., he grumbled to himself, pushing another finished paper aside. Those girls are driving me nuts with they're constant interruptions. Do they not know I'm a busy man? "Cranky?" The call of his name made him look up from his work to see the timid, pink-haired girl standing in his doorway. He sighed, pushed aside the paper he was working on, knowing he wouldn't be able to get anything done if they came in again. He gave up once Pinkie broke in, but failed to admit to the seven teens stalking his classroom. "Yes?" He asked, albeit with a slightly bitter tone, making the shy one recede. "Oh...I...uh..." She hid behind the door, starting to close it again. "N-never--" "No, Fluttershy, it's okay." He heard another voice coax her gently; the door stopped closing, being held at a halfway-open stance as she and, from what Cranky could see, the bacon haired girl continued. "He's not going to get mad again." A small squeak emitted from Fluttershy and, although Cranky hardly knew her, he imagined the girl squatting slightly, trying to roll into a nice, protective ball while also standing up. "B-but..." she whimpered, "w-what if he does?" A small sigh echoed throughout the classroom. "I-I'm sorry, Sunset, but I'm just not that great at negotiating..." He could see Sunset's hair go up and down from the door's window, and a hand goes on Fluttershy's shoulder. "I know," she said gently, "and it was a dumb mistake by me to let you go in and be intimidated by him." She patted her shoulder twice, then gently pushed her aside, so she could get through. "And I'm really sorry about that." A cut off-apology came from Fluttershy, mainly because Sunset had already entered the room and gently closed the door behind her. She faced Cranky's desk with determination and started walking towards it. Oh, goody, Cranky thought sarcastically. Another one. "Mister Cranky," Sunset said, now in front of his desk with a hand on her hip. "I believe you owe something to Twilight?" He narrowed his eyes, a soft growl emitting from him; she held up both hands to show she meant no harm and continued. "Before you freak out on us again, please let me finish." She took a deep breath to steady herself and Cranky leaned back in his chair, the furniture squeaking under his weight. Outside, the girls all looked at Twilight's phone, which had the timer app up; there were seventeen seconds left. Applejack looked at the door and straightened her hat, waiting for the time to hit zero. "You've had a rough day; I get it." Sunset said, "last five days of school, kids starting to act up, I've seen it in all my other classes. And, on top of that, you'd have to deal with us trying to help our friend." She gestured towards the door, speaking as she did so. "we've all had different tactics to deal with this. Applejack's honesty, for example." Applejack walked through the door, leaving it open and walked up to stand on Sunset's right. Sunset smiled, glad that there was no 'technical' difficulties and raised her voice a smidgen so she could be heard from the hall. "Or threats from Rainbow," Rainbow entered and stood on Sunset's left, then crossed her arms as she waited for the girl to finish. As Sunset listed off the different tactics by each girl, they entered as their name was called and alternated sides, Fluttershy being the last to go up on the right, next to Rarity. "..and though you got upset and scared us most of the time, we never gave up. Do you know why, Mister Cranky?" Cranky blinked, not sure if it was a rhetorical question or not. "Because we all wanted to help Twilight out." At the sound of her name, the meek girl entered and went to stand on the left beside Pinkie. "We have literally battled monstrous demons, worse than you can imagine." She leaned forward, placing her elbow on the desk to support her weight. "And you thought we'd back out the first two times." "Yeah, I kind of hoped that." He said blandly. Sunset straightened herself up, going back to her original position. "Now," Sunset said, "are you gonna let her try?" All leaned forward slightly, hoping he'd say yes to get it all over with for him. "Nope." All girls minus Sunset and Twilight furrowed their brows and groaned, sensing this was going nowhere. "Okay," Sunset sighed, "let me try a different way." She looked at Twilight apologetically before continuing. "Remember, during the Friendship Games, when Twilight turned into Midnight Sparkle? Did you see how hysterical she was about getting a C? Do you really want to risk her destroying the world and succeeding this time?" "I--" "If you say 'I don't care', she just might, and we'll all know who to blame." Cranky sighed, slightly scared of what Twilight would do know that he knew that, and also not wanting this to continue for the next four days. He looked up at the clock and saw it was 3:56. "You have four minutes," he said, digging through the stacks to find her test. Once he found it, he handed it to her and looked at the clock again. "Make that three," he grumbled, "don't make me change my mind." The seven girls stared at him, stunned. They had finally managed to crack him! To make him say 'yes!' They shared a look, then all went in for a group hug, shouting out tears of joy as Twilight's eyes formed little pools of happiness. She sniffed and wiped at her tears, reaching for her test. "Thank you so much, girls; you're all just so....so..." they smiled as she looked at each one of them, tears blurring her vision again. "You're all so much more than words can describe...I-I just don't know what I'd do without you!" they went in for another group hug, then Twilight shooed them all away as she finished up the answers. "These are just graded on effort, right?" Twilight asked as she turned it in a minute later, to which Crank nodded. The girl grinned and gave it to him, then left with all her other friends. Cranky watched them leave, then looked down at the test he had just received. "Teenagers," he sighed, smiling a bit. He put her test off to the side in one of the piles and started to pack up. "I wish I had friends like that when I was her age..."
