Life is a little something called, "unpredictable".
you never know what it's going to throw at you.
Most see it as stuff that can be controlled or swayed.
Some see it as just, "some things happen for a reason".
And some are in between.
But in the end, it's all up to you how your life goes. Life is constantly turned upside down at the drop of a hat. But it is up to you how you handle it.
"Everything in life is temporary, but it is up to you and only you, what you chose to make permanent" - Grandma
Over the Moon and Through the Fire
By: Lazzari
The day time filled the Crystal Empire with lots of crystal ponies, their cotes shimmering in the light and making the day even brighter.
Walking along the middle district of the empire was a young pegasus mare. Her grey coat and long dark gray hair shimmering light threw it. She walked along keeping her expression neutral and as she walked towards her home, the sound of running hooves filled her ears. She turned around to see a royal messenger running towards her.
The royal messenger stopped in front of her, panting slightly as she reached into her bag and pulled out a letter. "Miss Lazzari, the princess has requested you attend a royal summons." The mare said as she levitated the letter to her and galloped off.
Laz opened the letter and read it.
Dear Lazzari and applicable family,
I, Princess Cadance, formally request you attend a royal summons to the crystal palace greenhouse garden. many other fillies and colts will be in attendance of this event. At the request of Princess Twilight Sparkle, we ask you bring along any applicable family to this event.
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza
Lazzari gulped and closed the letter and walked into her home. She went up to her bedroom and took her saddle bag off and looked in the mirror. She looked over her crystal fur, mane and tail. Lazzari is only a crystal pony because she has crystal pony descendants who had escaped the crystal empire during the wrath of sombra. She felt somewhat weird everytime she looked in a mirror. She was always so used to seeing herself as just a regular pegasus mare. with regular fur and a regular mane and tail. Not in a million years did she think she would ever see herself in crystal form. In her crystal form she had a portion of her front mane draped over her forehead that connected with the rest of her mane that flowed down and over her shoulders. And around her ear was a tuft of mane that curled around her ear a little. Her tail had become more flowy and softer looking as opposed to how she was used to looking.
Laz sighed looking away, she grabbed the letter with her wing and took another look in the mirror. "Man... I almost don't recognize myself like this anymore. It's like i'm not even the same pony..." she said quietly to herself. Laz took another long sigh and then looked to the clock on her nightstand. It read 3:07 pm. What could this possibly be about? Did she do something wrong again? Did something happen with Hemlock again? She had so many questions swirling in her head and it wasn't making her feel any better. She decided it was best to just go downstairs for the time being. Talking to her grandmother always made her feel better.
Laz had been trying to keep out of trouble. She was never really the type of mare that took ponies teasing her lightly. But with this new school and new ponies, she wanted to make a good impression. But it seems to her that most of her efforts were in vain. Most of the young mares and stallions nudged her aside, taking her willingness to let it happen to their advantage. Her size didn't make it any better. Laz was by no means a normal sized pegasus. She was quite small, and her appearance didn't make her any more intimidating than a freshly born kitten. The only thing making her stand out was the two scars next to her right eye, and even then they were sometimes hard to spot if one was not looking hard enough. But like her grandmother always said to her when she was young and still does now, 'it is up to you what you chose to make permanent'.
***
"How was school dear?" a voice came from the kitchen as she sat down on the couch. Laz looked around and her eyes landed on a photo of an older couple in a close cuddle on the beaches of the tropical island of Troughiti. It was An older unicorn mare, with A dark black mane that had streaks of silver in it, and had a Light pink coat and deep blue eyes, and a cutie mark of lipstick and a makeup brush. Also in the photo was a tall, skinny older stallion with a bald head and grey main around the sides of his head, his coat was a light orange and he was also a unicorn. His cutie mark that of a chocolate chip cookie and a cake.
Laz smiled and got up and walked into the kitchen. "It was boring", she said in a monotone voice, but couldn't help a small smile from forming on her lips. She turned her attention towards the older mare from the photo she was just looking at and saw she was stairing at her with a flat look and her ears turned flat. "What, haha?" she giggled trying to hold her laughter a little.
"Do you ever use any other words besides boring to describe your day?" the mare asked while levitating some carrots to the counter, grabbing a knife and beginning to peel them.
"Nope, school is very boring to me... Grandma... Ever since we moved to the empire from canterlot, things have been very different. Everypony is nice to me here. They dont treat me like a low class citizen like the fillies and colts in canterlot did. It's become easier to focus when i'm not turning my back around every five minutes to see who threw a piece a paper at me with their magic. So yeah school has gotten very boring and uneventful." Laz said, her tone a little flat.
"Well I'm glad you like this new school better. I wasn't very fond of the parents of the other fillies and colts either." the older mare scoffed and turned her head to look at her granddaughter with a warm smile. "So what's the letter you have their?"
Laz turned and grabbed the letter from her wing and unrolled it leaning over the island on her back legs. "It's a letter from the princess, she has requested an audience with you, grandpa, dad and I. We are supposed to meet with Princess Twilight and Princess Cadance at 4pm."
The older mares eyes widened and turned to look at the clock as it said, '3:35' pm on it and she gasped. "Dear celestia, why didn't you say so sooner! your father is downstairs in the family room. I'll leave a note for your grandfather to meet us there." She said while using her magic to levitate a sticky note over to herself and wrote on it and rushed upstairs to her and her husband's bedroom.
Laz walked downstairs to see a unicorn stallion with a short black curly mane and a white coat with a hammer and wrench as a cutie mark. She smiled and pulled out the letter. "Dad, the princess has requested an audience with us in 20 minutes, we need to get going." she said while giving him the letter. He paused and took the letter with his magic and read it and looked back down at his papers.
"Uh, ok, uh... just give me a minute I need to finish this last one and i'll be up stairs to go." The stallion said while looking back down at the papers, looking very focused on them.
Laz took a moment looking at the papers and read the top title of one of them as it read 'court ordered' at the top. She sighed and her smile quickly turned into a look of sadness as her ears drooped to the sides of her head. "Do those have anything to do with mom?" she asked sounding a little sad. The stallion looked up at her and sighed.
"Look, laz, your only 13, I don't expect you to be able to understand this yet, but... yes they do. She has requested to spend some time with you and i'm not sure if i want you going to her apartment after what happened last time you were there. It took us forever to figure out how in equestria to get the lice out of your mane with it being cristalised. I know you love your mom, but it's important to know that I truly care about your safety. And considering you got lice last time, and she knew your half sister had it before coming ahead of time I could only imagine what else is unsafe." The stallion took a heavy sigh, seeing his daughters expression change drastically. He set the papers down and walked up to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Tell you what, I'll leave this for now, and i'll come back to it after we meet with the princess, ok?" he asked with a reassuring sound to his voice. Laz looked up at him and smiled.
"Ok, lets go hear what the princesses want." she said as she and the stallion started walking up stairs.
***
Laz and her father and grandmother where walking towards the crystal palace as they heard running hooves behind them. Laz turned around to see the older stallion from the photo running up to them. She stopped and smiled her ears perking up and turning towards him. "There you are, was worried you werent gonna make it." Laz exclaimed earning a sheepish smile from the older stallion.
The older stallion looked towards his wife as he noticed she had an eyebrow raised. "hehe, sorry, got stuck on a problem we couldn't figure out at work." he sheepishly said while joining their walk towards the palace. He look towards laz who was walking next to her father and had a light smile on her lips, and her ears pointed forwards. He trotted up next to her and saw her ears turn outward as he did. "So... Have any idea what this is all about? You didn't get into trouble again did you laz?" he asked with a slight smug look and a chuckle.
Laz turned her head giving him a smarmy look and rolled her eyes with an exaggerated look. "Haha, no, at least I dont think I got into any trouble. A couple weeks ago our Principal told us that Princess twilight was going to be observing our middle school, but she never told us why, so maybe whatever it was, i'm about to find out." Laz said with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
Laz looked away, slightly conflicted with how to feel about the situation. She had always had trouble behaving in school. She had lots of anger issues, and constantly got into fights as a young filly. But that all changed when she moved to the crystal empire three years ago. She had told her grandmother that she was much happier here then she was in canterlot, but she knew the truth. Some of the fillies and colts here are just as bad if not worse than the ones in canterlot. She had made more friends but only on the basis of working hard to change her outlook on how she presented herself to others. Many times changing her personality to try and make friends, and so far that hasn't worked at all. Only two ponies have expressed that they truly enjoy her company while being just herself.... Well sort of enjoyed. She wouldn't say Hemlock 'enjoys' her company, more so tolerates it for the sake of having another friend. Feather on the other hoof always enjoyed her company.
She perked up and her ears turned forward as they reached the front doors of the palace. She took a long sigh and continued walking forward.
***
As they approached the palace, two guards used their magic to open the doors and let them in. Upon arrival they were greeted by a young adult earth pony mare with a quill and paper as a cutie mark. "Welcome! Did you receive a summons letter from the princess?" The mare asked in a very chipper tone. Almost to chipper.
Laz smiled and nodded, "yes we did, what's this event about?" She asked. but the mare simply smiled and pointed sharply.
"The Princesses are eager to speak with you on that matter. Please, follow this hallway to reach to the palace Green house garden and join the others in the festivities!" The mare said while continuing to smile.
Laz took no moment to question it, seeing the mare looked a little put off by the whole situation and walked towards the hallway. Her father trotted up beside her with a worried and nervous look.
"God, I hope this isn't like a party. I hate these things." he exclaimed while keeping his expression a little miffed and his ears flattened.
Laz giggled and nudged him in the arm gently. "Oh, come on they aren't that bad. I doubt there while be a lot of ponies considering we are meeting with TWO princesses." Laz exclaimed, earning and eye role and a chuckle from her father.
"Yeah, yeah, I know i just don't like being around other ponies all that much." he said as they reacher the doors to the garden.
Laz smiled she knew her father didn't really like social gatherings. He was always reluctant to come to them because he was never the social type. But he made an effort for the ones that she really cared about. She knew her dad loved her, and he would make an effort for her. She stopped and looked towards a set of glass doors.
"Well here we go." Laz said as she pushed one door open and into the garden space. She looked out in awh as she saw the garden. She had been to the palace before, thanks to her entire families line of work, but she had never seen more than just the throne room and the palace library while she studied with her friends. The garden was massive It had several assortments of crystal rose bushes, and crystal sunflowers, among other flowers. The garden had a glass covering that let the sun shine threw it. Laz turned her ears a lot listening to the sound of birds chirping and the sounds of talking and laughing. She looked down at the lush green crystal grass and then to the small creek that flowed into a pond with tons of lily pads and flowers around it, with crystal koi fish in it. She was stunned in awh at the beauty of the garden. she turned her ears back and heard the sound of trotting hooves coming towards them. She turned to see a purple alicorn mare with a purple mane with a pink stripe in it, trotting up to them.
"Welcome Miss Lazzari, it is good to see you again! It is a pleasure to finally speak with you formally." Princess twilight smiled warmly, looking towards the three ponies behind laz she smiled. "My name is Princess Twilight sparkle, the princess of friendship. May I ask your names?" Twilight said, a even warmer smile on her face as she looked towards the three unicorns. The older pink unicorn stepped forward with a smile.
"My name is Blush Brush, I work closely with Princess Cadence's royal advisers for property management around the empire. I am also a part time cosmetologist, with with clients all over the empire who buy and use my products." Blush brush exclaimed happily using formality and status to greet the princess. The orange unicorn stepped up next to his wife, a kind smile on his face.
"It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance Princess Twilight, My name is Chocolate Glaze. I am a full time technician with the crystal empires scientific engineering team. I also run my own catering business for baked goods and treats." He said the formality ringing true in his entire action with the princess.
The white unicorn stallion stepped up beside his daughter, a nervous smile on his face as he spoke. "Er... My name is White void. I'm just a maintenance worker for the crystal palace." He said with a nervous chuckle a bit of sweat on his brow. Twilight smiled again giggling a little to herself.
"Well it's so nice to meet all of you! Please we are still waiting on a few other fillies and colts to arrive. Feel free to mingle with the other guests. Your reason for summons will come once all the guests have arrived." Twilight said as she turned to greet the next ponies threw the door.
Laz turned to her family and smiled. "you heard the princess. I'm going to go talk to some of the other fillies and colts. you should go mingle with the other families." with that said, Laz trotted of looking around her surroundings and looked towards the small crowd of gathered fillies and colts, who all did not seem to be interacting, and actually a few seemed reluctant to even be there.
***
White Void stood near the pond looking at the other stallions and mares, some conversing, some just standing off to the side looking a little disgruntled. He looked around some more, seeing his mother speaking with another mare and his stepfather speaking with what looked to be the mares husband. He then turned his attention towards the crowd of fillies and colts. He looked around for a bit until his eyes landed on Laz. She was making a 'Beeline towards another young unicorn mare. He immediately recognized the mare as her friend from school, Hemlock blossom. She was white with a short, fire red mane the swept down the side of her head, her cutie mark that of a flower on fire, the flames being the same shade as her mane, with a few petals falling off of it.
He had remember Laz telling him a lot about Hemlock blossom. Specifically that her talent was that of creating potions and medicines. But he also remembered her telling him the blossom often didn't use her talent in such fashion. More often than not, using her talent to create hallucinogens for herself and others and selling them, or use her talent to create remedies and sell them on the black market illegally. He wasn't sure how he felt about Laz being friends with this mare, Hemlock didn't strike him as a loyal type. but his daughter cared about her nonetheless. Despite all that Laz had spoken very highly of her in several cases, and Hemlock had never given him a reason to dislike her other than her questionable tactics of making bits. She was always very quiet and the type of mare that kept to herself. He was always curious how Laz had befriended her.
But before he could put anymore thought into it, he saw another young mare approach the two. He didn't recognize her but considering the mare and laz both hugged immediately told him that this was another friend of hers. Based on the description Laz had given him of another one of her friends, he assumed this pony was Brooksdale Feather. Laz had often referred to her as just 'Feather', assuming that's what she preferred to be called. She was a dark tan pegasus with a long flowing light brown mane. Her cutie mark that of a judge mallet and small stack of papers lifted upright.
Laz had told him a lot about this mare. She was very special to Laz. She had always spoken very highly of Feather, even more so then Hemlock. He knew Laz and Feather were very close friends as she often hung out with her at Feathers house, and studied with her in the palace library after school. She had told him that Feather wanted to be somepony the upheld the laws of equestria, and kept other ponies safe from wrong doings, or gave justice to those who had committed them. He also remembered her telling him that Feather had very good grades in school and often helped her with her homework in history class. This thought made him happy knowing his daughter was friends with such a young and intelligent mare, but he remembered one more thing Laz had told him about her.
Feather was kind of bad at keeping relationships, whether it be friends or colt friends. She often drove away others with her bluntness and brutal honesty. Leaving him to wonder how such a sensitive mare like his daughter befriended this mare as well.
Although, It did strike him as rather amusing that her two best friends were complete and utter opposites of each other. One of them completely disregarded the law for her own personal gain, and the other wished to withhold the laws of equestria and keep ponies like her from getting away with said actions without consequences. With that thought thoroughly planted in his head, he decided to do a bit of eavesdropping.
***
Laz was making a beeline for one of her best friends, Hemlock Blossom. The young unicorn mare wore an unamused look, one that could rival even her fathers when she did or said something completely stupid. Hemlock was one of few ponies who seemed to understand her. While she didnt share everything with Hemlock, she shared a lot of personal feelings which, in a way, gave Laz the confidence that she could be trusted. Laz smiled brightly as she saw Hemlock turn to look at her, her expression turned from unamused to neutral very quickly upon seeing her friend. Laz new Hemlock very well, and knew that she never was one to smile, and when she did it was because of something that she found very funny.... But... Hemlocks view of funny was more often than not very different than the other fillies and colts her age. Most of her humor coming from the misfortunes of others, or watching others get hurt. Did it sound a little sadistic? Yes. But laz knew Hemlock better than anypony. She knew that underneath all her strange mannerisms, that Hemlock was really a sensitive pony and often took criticism to heart. All though Hemlock often spoke it out and made her discontent much more noticeable than how Laz did.
"Blossom!" Laz used her nickname that only Hemlock allowed her to use.
"Hi laz." Hemlock said in a very monotone voice, but once again Laz did not take it to heart. "Do you know why we are here, this is boring. I just got done schooling some colts who thought they could try and hit on me. Hehe, it was pretty funny, you should have seen the looks on their faces. some others around me found it amusing too." Hemlock exclaimed proudly. Laz was no stranger to seeing other colts hit on her friend, she was by no means an unattractive mare, but for obvious reasons, most other ponies were quickly put off by her different nature.
"No, I was just told to wait by princess Twilight. My family is somewhere around here, did you bring yours? I haven't seen your dad or step mom or step sister anywhere." Laz said, curiosity peeking through a little. Usually the mention of her step mom and step sister earned an eye role and a scoff from Hemlock, but she was shocked when she didn't get one. Only getting a brif glare that was not directed at her.
"No, just my dad. He's somewhere in the sea of mares and stallions. Probably avoiding the other ponies and brooding somewhere." Hemlock said, the unamusement and annoyance ringing all the way through Lazzari's head. Laz knew Hemlock was not very fond of her father's choice to marry another mare after her own mother was pushed out of the picture. The topic of mothers was a very touchy one for the both of them.
"Well I brought my Dad and my grandparents with me, my grandparents are-." She was suddenly cut off by another pony hugging her very abruptly. She turned to see who it was and sighed in relief when she saw the mare that was hugging her. "Hi feather!" Laz exclaimed excitedly immediately returning the hug. Feather was the only pony she ever let hug her. She didn't like being touched, like.... REALLY, didn't like being touched. She seldom let even her own family hug her because of this. Laz knew why but she never liked talking about it with others. Most didn't question it and most didn't bother trying to push the subject as lots of ponies didn't like being touched.
"HI LAZ!!!" Feather shouted almost at full volume, causing others around them to turn and stair. Which immediately got Blossom to hide behind her main, and for Laz to blush a little. Feather quickly covered her mouth, blushing a little herself. "Er, sorry. I guess i'm just excited to be in the company of royalty." She said as a sheepish smile and a brighter blush frosted over her nose.
"Hmph, can't imagine why, all these royals have the same agenda. It's boring and stupid." Hemlock chimed in, earning a sharp glare from Feather.
"And tell me, Hemlock, just how would you know that. Miss 'I don't give a damn about the law'." Feather exclaimed very sharply, giving Hemlock an even sharper glare. Hemlock immediately furrowed her brow and scrunched her nose, returning Feathers sharp glare.
"You don't know me or why I do the things I do, so don't assume that you do!" Hemlock looked to be on the verge of tangling with Feather. Laz had a flat look on her face. Her two best friends absolutely hated each other's guts. She always had to seperate them when they were with her together. They never sat and ate lunch together as a group at school. But that was mostly because Hemlock was usually in detention or making a deal in the mares bathroom. Laz didn't know why Hemlock did the things she did either, whenever the topic was brought up she quickly changed the subject or dodged the question. Laz never pushed the subject after a few tries, assuming her friend had her reasons for doing the things she did.
"Ladies! can we please go a single time together without you two fighting. It's starting to get anoy-," Laz was abruptly cut off by the sound of clapping hooves from the front of the garden. She and her friends all turned to see Princess Cadence up front.
"Alright everypony! Please find your loved ones and gather around. Princess Twilight will be giving her announcement shortly." With that said Cadence turned her attention to her husband, Shining Armor, and began conversing with him and afew of their advisors.
Laz let out a sigh of relief and looked to her two friends. They were still glaring at each other but Feather took the chance and broke off to find her parents. With Feather gone, Laz turned to Hemlock with an unamused and annoyed look. "Blossom... I know you don't like Feather, but do you have to turn every conversation with her into a fight?"
"Psh... whatevs. Not like I give a damn about that goodie two shoes anyway." Hemlock pouted angrily and snorted. She quickly turned away to go find her dad without giving Laz another word.
"Laz?"
Another familiar voice caught Laz' ears, causing her to flinch and grimas heavily. She put on a smile and turned, her attention fully on her grandmother. "Yes?"
"is everything ok? Hemlock didn't look very happy just now." Blush brush said a hint of concern in her voice. Laz' grandmother didn't have as much interaction with Hemlock as her father did. So she didn't know most of Hemlocks mannerisms.
"Yeah she's fine, That's just how she is. Blossom is never one to act happy, but i know her better than anypony out there. She'll get over it" Laz said, plastering a very fake smile on her face. Luckily it was enough to convince her grandmother to drop the subject. approaching from behind was her grandfather and her father. As they sat beside her and smiled.
"Hey Laz, I saw you talking to Hemlock and Feather. I didn't know they were called to. Get any explanation out of them as to why we are here?" White Void asked.
"No. Blossom was just as confused as I was, and before I could ask Feather, she and Blossom started bickering again. I don't know what i'm going to do with the both of them." Laz said with a chuckle, earning another from her father.
"I find it very amusing that your two best friends hate each other's guts and yet you tolerate being around both of them at the same time. How in equestria do you keep them from ripping each others mains out?" Void said with a laugh. Laz smirked and gave him a smarmy look.
"The same way I keep you from ripping your own mane out because of me, a trade secret" Laz said letting out a giggle. Void shot his daughter an amused smile. Knowing the implications of her joke.
Void loved Laz with all his heart. She was his everything, his own flesh and blood. He worked hard everyday for her to make sure she was happy and healthy. Whenever Laz irritated him, he always tried to lighten the mood. He was never good with his temper even as an adult. And his daughter seemed to carry that trate of his, at much less of a degree. He knew that he was quite the hoof full when he was young, giving his mother enough heart attacks and anger spells to last a lifetime in just the span of 18 years. Laz had a more tame anger problem. She wasn't quite able to control it once she had let it run free, but she had gained the ability to stop it before it happened. He wasn't sure how she did that, but it was good enough for him if she was learning to control it on her own. Laz had come a long way after transferring out of Canterlot elementary and into Crystal Grove middle school. Her grades had improved a lot and she had even almost made the honor roll in her 6th year. She was now in her 8th year. the school years end was fast approaching with only 3 weeks left in the school year. Soon she would be moving on to highschool.
....'Moving on to highschool'.... Void didn't want to admit it, but he didn't like seeing his daughter growing up so fast. Sure he was happy seeing the beautiful young mare she was growing to be. but he missed those days of her calling him 'daddy' and jumping up on his back and giggling. That bright and innocent smile she always flashed him when he came to pick her up was always the highlight of his day. His little filly wasn't so much of a 'little filly' anymore. She was a young mare now. She was starting to take interest in other colts. Reading teen magazines and gawked at pictures of the male wonderbolts in magazines with her friend Feather. Specifically Soarin, he knew this because she had a poster of him in her bedroom from a magazine. She loved the wonderbolts and watching them perform, to her was like watching a movie. He knew she didn't want to be a wonderbolt, but she loved watching them perform. She liked a lot of things that were more mature for her age now. Makeup was beginning to be one of them.
"Damnit..." Void cursed silently to himself. He couldn't keep this up, at this rate he'd be crying. He was thinking to much about all of this. His daughter was growing up. He had to come to terms with that fact. He knew she wasn't always going to be His little Laz, but it didn't stop him from feeling the emotions a true father felt while watching their little girl grow up.
His thoughts were cut off by the sound of clapping hooves again. He took a sigh of relief and looked towards the front. Meeting the gaze of the princess of friendship as she scanned the crowd to make sure all ponies were paying attention to her.
***
"Attention everypony. I'm sure you're all curious as to why you were all called here." Twilight said as she scanned the crowd, meeting the gaze of several confused ponies. But she was about to clear this all up.... Hopefully none of the parents took this the wrong way. "I, Princess Twilight, have scattered myself and my friends across equestria in search of young fillies and colts in need. I'm sure you're all wondering what that means. Well allow me to explain a few things first. As some of you may or may not know, I opened my very own school of friendship and allowed creatures and ponies from all across equestria to attend." Twilight looked upon the crowd seeing only a few confused faces, but most where knowing and understanding of this fact. She took a deep breath and readied for the second part of her speech. "I have decided to open another branch of the school of friendship. Only this one is much different than its counterpart. This school will be focused on students who have difficulties in their lives. As I said before I scattered my friends into several small towns and large cities across equestria. The Crystal Empire was my last stop. While in each city, we have gone school to school, watching and observing the behaviors of many students. And all of the fillies and colts here right now have been selected to attend this new school. With the parents and or guardian's permission of course."
Author's Note
soooooooo. here we gooooooooo. diving into the depths. I had to end the chapter here because I know if I didn't then there would be like another 5 thousand words.
Some tension there between hemlock and feather there eh? some bottled up emotions seem to be getting to lazzari there. And what about Whit void? hmmmmm i wonder how his story will play into this.
ANYWAY
I know this story has not delved much into the mane 6 in this yet but trust me. they are ALL a very important factor into this story. I don't want to make this story seem like its only about my life and its events. But there is a reason it is starting out this way.
My little pony played a very important role in my life. And i plan on incorporating that into this story VERY HEAVILY .
Something else i should mention. I am dyslexic. I am editing these myself. And plan on continuing to edit them myself. I do not mind having mistakes pointed out to me though. feel free, IF YOU WANT TO!!! Do not feel obligated to. its not a request it is simple permission and understanding that i wont get defensive if you do.
Chapter 2: Our Flaws Make us Real
Author's Note
Slight trigger warning. This chapter does not have any excruciating details but it does have a lot of sad and deep emotions. they won't be a deep dive but i can tell you now, i had a very hard time writing this chapter because of said emotions.
Chapter 2: Our Flaws Make us Real
Twilight ended her speech and looked on the crowd, still seeing some very confused faces from the parents... But the fillies and colts all looked... angry? No, conflicted. Some fillies and colts looked towards their parents, who were all pondering this new option. Some of them looked scared, and some of them looked worried. Twilight's eyes landed on a set of three ponies that weren't looking at her. But instead were looking towards their filly that had been summoned. Their eyes filled with looks of concern and worry. Twilight looked towards the young filly and recognised her as Lazzari. The young filly she had taken quite an interest in due to her surrounding herself in conflicting ponies that never seemed to get along. But that alone wasn't her reasoning for choosing her.
Lazzari was always smiling. Even in her classes, and of course when she was given a reason not to smile she didn't. But her resting face always seemed to be that of a smile. She always put on an air of kindness. Whenever Twilight saw her interact with another pony, it was always started with a cheerful 'hello', with most of her conversations ending awkwardly because the pony she was talking to never seemed to want to talk to her, or seemed to busy with something else on their minds. But Twilight saw right through her. Well, she didn't have to see it. Even though she could see straight through her smile. There was one day in particular where Lazzari had left her class. She had been walking the halls trying to see if she could see around the school.
***Lazzari***
Twilight walked down the long corridor of the 8th grade hallways of the Crystal Grove middle school. She was walking along quietly, scanning the halls. This school was very driven on the factor of allowing students to find their voices through other mediums. Artwork, Poetry, and sculptures were plastered all over the hallways. She stopped to look at a particular painting. It was of a night sky, riddled with stars, but in the corner was what looked to be the silhouette of a mare looking up at the sky, while sitting in a field of darkened grass. She looked closely at the painting and glance to the right corner of the paining. In a very sharp, white painted line was an insignia. It looked like an 'L', but the lower end of the 'L' was curved down sharply and made a small heart underneath it.
Twilight was ready to look away from the painting, when a door suddenly opened and a young pegasus mare walked out. She didn't even realise that Twilight was standing right there. She instead started running down the hall once the door to her class had closed. Twilight took a moment to look at the door but then followed after the young mare, keeping her distance as to not startle her or make her realise she was being watched. Twilight followed the young mare all the way to a dark and quiet place in the school, that was beyond the grade divided hallways. It looked to be a quiet spot for the fillies and colts to read or study away from the chatter and bustle of the day. But as she grew closer she heard... sniffling? Twilight quickly used her magic to cast an invisibility spell on herself and watched from afar to see what would happen.
Lazzari was curled up, laying on the floor. Her tail was tightly wrapped around her and she was crying. Twilight had yet to see such a weakness from the seemingly always bright and bubbly young mare. She watched even closer as Lazzari suddenly shifted and pulled out a picture from her wing and held it in her hooves. As twilight looked closer, she could see very faint marks of darker outlines in her fur around the back of her hooves. Were those... scars? She couldn't quite tell from her distance, and her crystal cote getting in the way, but the darker fur color was definitely noted. She watched closely once again at Lazzari' face, seeing her wipe the tears away as she stared at the picture.
".... Im sorry dad... I wish I was stronger, like you." Lazzari said in a very hushed tone but just loud enough for Twilight to hear it.
Twilight could feel her heart sinking in her chest. This young mare was definitely different. She always held a strong air to herself. Always trying her best to make other smile or make herself appear as friendly as possible. But underneath all that she seemed to have a side to her that nopony ever saw. She perked up as she saw Lazzari shift again. Lazzari had sat up and stared at the picture more.
"You do everything for me... Your tough and strong and push through the pain to make sure that i'm ok. You do things for me that mom never could.... You always make it better when she's brought up just because you know it always makes me sad.... And no matter how much you try to hide it I can always see it... the silent grunts and groans. the pain you endure just to make sure I can have lunch at school everyday... and make sure I have books for school... and so much more." Lazzari had paused and sighed and clutched the picture to her chest, letting more tears fall again. "I wish I could be that strong... I wish I could look challenges in the eyes like that and hold strong like you do... I wish.... and hope that someday.... i'll be just as strong as you daddy..."
Twilight could feel tears welling up in her eyes as she watched Laz poor her heart out. This was clearly meant to be personal and she felt kind of bad watching it. It was clear to her that these where things Lazzari wished she could say to her father, but could never find the strength to. This young mare... definitely had some other problems. This was just what she was looking for in a pony to attend her new school. She would have to keep a closer eye on this young mare.
Twilight flinched as Lazzari got up, wiped her tears away, took a few long and deep breaths, and tucked the picture back underneath her wing. She quietly stood there for a moment, taking a few more breaths before straightening her posture and putting on another soft smile. She stepped out of the dark corner and walked back in the direction of her class. Twilight was about to reverse her invisibility spell before she heard another quiet sniffle from behind her. She turned and froze abruptly as she came almost chest to muzzle with a young unicorn mare. Twilight didn't move, but she quickly recognized this mare as a student she had already chosen to attend her new school. And she was looking directly at Lazzari.
***Lazzari***
Twilight took another sigh as she looked away from Lazzari's family, who were now all three questioning her. Lazzari was an... Interesting young mare. Based on what she had seen from the young mare already, it appeared that her mother was not in the picture. Twilight didn't know much about her, but that might change if her family decides to allow her to go. She would make quite the interesting student for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, maybe even Rainbow Dash.
Twilight turned again and looked around the crowd for another young mare with fiery red hair that you could never miss. She quickly spotted Hemlock Blossom. She was shifting her eyes very rapidly between her father, who was stairing at the ground and looking as if he was thinking very hard, and the ground. She had a very panicked look on her face, and Twilight new exactly why.
***Hemlock Blossom***
Twilight flinched and backed away, almost no sound coming from her hooves as she did. She watched Hemlock closely. She knew Lazzari and Hemlock were friends, but... why didn't she say or do anything just now if she had seen that whole thing?
"Doesn't that make you feel bad?"
A new voice caught both their ears. Twilight remained silent as to not draw attention to the fact that there was a third pony with the two of them. Twilight looked behind Hemlock to see a dark tan pegasus mare with a brown mane. She wore a look of concern but also slight irritation. She saw Hemlock flatten her expression and she turned to look at the new mare.
"What's it matter to you! You didn't do anything about it either. Your her friend too aren't you!? Eh Feather." Hemlock exclaimed, in a hushed but angered tone as to not draw attention to herself in the hallway.
Feather lightly shook her head. "I was too busy wondering why her closest friend was hesitating to comfort her when she clearly needed it. Why did you hesitate? Is it because you feel you can't say anything that would comfort her? Or is it because your too high off your ass to even form some coherent thoughts, and words that you could possibly say!"
Hemlocks eye twitched. Feather had just jabbed at her very deeply. "To hell with you bitch! You always bring that shit up. Is there ever a moment where you don't hate me!" Hemlock exclaimed, still in a hushed but slightly louder tone.
Feather lifted an eyebrow. "I don't hate you Hemlock, I just question the choices you make. You seem to make a lot of bad ones. Drugs, alcohol, making bits by selling illegal substances. I wouldn't have such a strongly aggressive view against you if it weren't for those things. You don't seem to get or understand that your actions have an effect on others." Feather turned her head in the direction Lazzari had walked back from. "And trust me. Laz is definitely one of those affected ponies. She doesn't tell you EVERYTHING you know. She confides in me a lot too."
Hemlock growled and gritted her teeth. She took a step forward, but paused and scoffed and turned and walked away.
Twilight looked between the two girls. Who was this other mare. She clearly knew both Lazzari and Hemlock. The reason she had chosen Hemlock was because she had caught her in the bathroom, using and selling drugs. but after the whole ordeal just sat and cried for the entirety of a class period. She knew Hemlock had to have some personal issues. But who was this other mare? Hemlock didn't seem to like her very much. But they both seemed to care about Lazzari. She decided to watch this mare as well.
***Hemlock Blossom***
Twilight took another and deeper long sigh. Hemlock was definitely going to be harder to get through too. Some personal lessons From herself and Fluttershy might benefit her. She only saw one pony with Hemlock. She could only assume the stallion sitting next to her was her father. Hell they looked almost identical. same fire red hair and almost same cote color, only her fathers was more grey than Hemlocks. The cherry on top was he was also a unicorn. Twilight watched as the stallion turned to Hemlock and gave her a stern look and proceeded to speak with her.
Twilight looked around some more. seeing the other parents and fillies and colts from the other schools conversing with their children. She was looking for another specific mare. She scanned the crowd again and found what she was looking for. Brooksdale Feather. She was stairing at nothing and looked heavily confused. Her parents were speaking with her but it looked like she wasnt registering their words. She had to think long and hard about choosing Brooksdale. Brooksdale seemed to have an ok family life. But her personal life however, seemed to be in shambles.
***Brooksdale Feather***
Twilight was walking along the cafeteria, smiling at all the students as she passed by. She had asked to sit down at a few tables and listen in on some conversations and ask a few questions and made fun conversation with a lot of them. Most of the students seemed to be of higher class living, but preferred the laid back vibe, and preferred not to flaunt their money, besides having some expensive saddle bags. After leaving a table and watching the lunch hours shift, she saw two ponies emerge. One of them she had been keeping an eye on. The other she had yet to see. It was the mare that had confronted Hemlock after seeing lazzari' breakdown in the halls. Hemlock had called her 'Feather'. the other was a young stallion she hadn't seen before. They didn't head to the lunch line though, instead they stood off to the side. Twilight decided to get closer and watch from afar.
"What do you mean? Am I really that pushy?" Feather asked sounding a little sad and dejected as she pouted at the young stallion.
"No, Feather, that's not what I said." He took a long sigh. "Look, this isnt working out, my friends are starting to get uncomfortable with you around. They don't like how you kind of point the obvious out all the time. And frankly i'm getting tired of it too."
Feather visibly reclined and looked to be on the verge of tears. "Wait, are you breaking up with me?!"
The stallion took a sigh. "Yes I am, i'm sorry. this just isn't for me."
Twilight visibly cringed at the sight. 'ugh, overly dramatic teenage romance'. Twilight was never one for Rarity's sappy romance dramas. Fluttershy always watched them with her. But something was different about this. Feather looked genuinely crushed. Not like the mares in those movies. She watched as the stallion left her standing there. She thought about stepping up to comfort the young mare, but she didn't have to.
"Come on Feather, I saw the whole thing. lets go to our spot. You can have some of my lunch. I'm not that hungry anyway." Lazzari had appeared next to feather, a lunch tray on her wing and she was pulling gently on Feathers arm.
Twilight watched as the two walked away into the 8th grade hallway. She cast her invisibility spell on herself again and followed after them.
After watching them walk for about a minute, they stopped at the very back end of the 8th grade hallway. This area was vacant of any ponies, making Twilight wonder if the teachers knew that the girls were even there. She watched from afar as Lazzari sat down and draped a wing over Feathers back. Feather was a much larger pegasus then Lazzari. But it didn't stop her from trying. Come to think of it. Lazzari's wings where much larger than she had expected. They were more proportionate to that of a normal sized pegasus. It wasn't easily noticed at first but when they were extended it was easy to tell.
"Focus Twilight, focus." She gently put a hoof too her head and watched the girls once more. Feather was leaning into Lazzari' side, and crying, very hard. Lazzari was gently rubbing her back with her wing and saying nothing. She was giving Feather comfort with presence until she felt like she could speak.
After about 5 minutes of crying, Feather finally calmed down. Feather sniffled and burrowed herself into Lazzaris side. Her hooves where tucked in close to her body, her wings wrapped around her, and her tail tucked very tightly in. Without even looking at Lazzari, she spoke.
"That's the 5th one this year.... is it me?... Am i really that bad at being around others... Do I really put on that bad of a vibe?" Feathers tone was very somber and filled with hiccups as she spoke. Twilight could tell that Lazzari was holding back tears herself. From what she had seen from Lazzari so far, she didn't like being touched at all. If her and Feather where close enough to the point of Lazzari allowing her to touch her, then they must be close friends.
"Feather... you are NOT a bad pony. At least to me you're not. You were there for me when I needed it most.... Maybe someday I'll tell you how much it meant to me that you decided to talk to me, but for now just know that I'm always here and i'm not going anywhere. If you ever need a hug, if you ever want advice, anything, i'm always here." Laz rubbed her wing against Feather more and giving her a very warm smile. "Besides, I don't think Dunk was worth it. He's to into his sports and doesn't share many of your interests." Laz flinched as she felt Feathers grip on her tighten. "Er, um, and I'm sure there is somepony out there for you. When he comes along, I'm sure he will be perfect for you."
Twilight watched the two as they stayed there for awhile. This was another reason she was deciding to pick Lazzari. She was always full of happiness and always knew what to say in a time like this. She always had everypony's best interests at heart.
***Brooksdale Feather***
Twilight sighed again. This was going to be interesting. She looked to see several other ponies where looking at her again. She put on a smile and stepped forward again. "Please, I'm sure you wish to get more information." Twilight made a gesture away, pointing towards another group of lined up ponies. " These royal advisors will be happy to give you more information. I wish i could stay and help explain more, but I must be on my way back to Ponyville. I hope to see some of these bright young fillies and colts after the summer is over!" Twilight flashed another forced smile and turned and walked away from the eyes all looking to her. Several royal guards followed her out as she walked threw the second set of doors leading out of the garden.
***
Twilight sighed and drooped her head once the doors to the garden closed. Was this a good idea? Could she make a difference in these young ponies lives. What if things blow completely up in her face. She is, after all, putting ponies who had drug problems and emotional problems into the mix. She had solutions for this... but most wouldn't like them. She sighed and sat down and leaned against the wall.
"Gee Twilight, Could you have been more veag to them?"
A very familiar, feminine raspy voice caught Twilights ears. She looked up to see Rainbow Dash standing in front of her with the rest of her friends standing with her. Twilight flattened her ears and gave Dash a disapproving look. "Rainbow, i'm the Princess of FRIENDSHIP, it might put off the parents to hear such things come from me. I want these kids to have a better future, and I don't think saying, 'some of your kids have drug or other emotional problems' was going to go very well." She sighed, softening her gaze. "Besides, the last thing I want here is for parents to start freaking out. I told the royal advisors not to give any personal reports of specific fillies and colts. They are only to answer questions about the school."
"I don't know Twi, I don't feel very.... comfortable, lyin' to the folks. Just t'aint right. They should know whats going on in their kids lives." Applejack had stepped up, she spoke in a concerned tone. Twilight looked to her and sighed.
"I know... I just feel very weird about this whole thing. I'm all for trying to make their lives better, but...." Twilight trailed off. She had a very conflicted look on her face.
Rarity stepped up. "But?"
Twilight sighed again, this one louder and longer, followed by a very frustrated and loud groan as she flared her wings out. "I DON"T KNOW! I wish I knew why, but I can't seem to shake the feeling that something is going to go wrong here..." She groaned again, quieter this time, and buried her face in her hooves. Fluttershy stepped forward and sat down beside Twilight and rubbed her shoulders.
"Don't worry Twilight, no matter what happens we are all going to be there. We are all here to help. How about you tell us about some of these students you found." Fluttershy said, trying to lighten the mood a bit, while smiling warmly at Twilight. Twilight gave a smile right back at her.
"Well they are all very... Interesting. All of them have some sort of emotional or physical problem, but three of the fillies really stand out. First, there's Hemlock Blossom. She's an 8th year unicorn mare. She has quite the foul mouth, she has difficulty being friendly to others. and on top of it, she has some drug problems. I specifically plan to assign her to Applejack, Fluttershy and myself." She paused, taking another glance around to see her friends where listening intently. She smiled and continued. "There is Brooksdale Feather. She is very blunt and most of the time way to honest. Its gotten her into a situation where others don't like to be around her. I plan on having her take some honesty lessons with Applejack, but i'll mostly keep her to basic courses with friendship. Other than that, I haven't seen any other problems with her. But I have a feeling something else is going on under her brutally honest personality." She paused again and took a long sigh and looked down, frowning. "Then there is Lazzari.... She is... interesting to say the least. I'll have to show you all my report on her to let you have a full grasp of her problems I've seen so far. What about all of you? How did your searches go?" She asked, shifting the discussion slightly.
Pinkie Pie bounced up, smiling really wide. "OH OH OH, I found some pretty interesting ponies that are sure to help the dynamic of the school, so it's not so.... angry, hehe." Pinkie exclaimed sheepishly. Twilight giggled a bit. This was exactly what Twilight wanted Pinkie to do. Without some silly or fun ponies the school would just feel like a war zone.
Rarity stepped up next. "I found a few fabulous young fillies and colts, but I will have to show you my report on two young fillies found In Manehatten." Rarity said while flipping her mane.
"I pretty much found the generic troubled fillies and colts. Nothin' to extreme, but enough to need a small push in the right direction." Applejack said, tipping her hat.
"I found a lot of ponies struggling with confidence. I even found a griffin. I'll have to show you my report on them all." Fluttershy chimed in. They all looked to Rainbow Dash who had yet to say what she found.
"Well Twi, I'll be honest, lots of the ponies I found had the same problems. But one stands out from the rest. He is a weird case. His report is like, 7 pages long." Rainbow said. She looked back to Twilight, who was now in the process of standing up.
"Well girls, it looks like we have quite the challenge on our hooves. So let's not waste anymore time. We should all head back to Ponyville and start preparations around the school. We will receive letters from all the family's who are deciding to allow their student to attend our new school." Twilight said as she and her friends started for the doors leading out to the hall.
***
White Void watched as the Princess left. 'This school will be focused on students who have difficulties in their lives.' Those words just kept repeating in his head, over and over again. He knew Laz had some troubles, but... was it really bad enough to catch the princesses attention? Was Laz hiding something from them? He was extremely confused. But now he was more worried. He turned back to Laz, and she looked terrified. She looked as if anymore questions would break her. He hated seeing his daughter this way, and he wasn't sure what to do. Should he ask her about it? Should he press for details? He was at a complete loss. He sighed quietly to himself and looked back to the ground. No, he shouldn't press her for anything. He can't just make her talk, if anything that will only make it worse. If she wants to tell them what's going on, she'll do it once she's ready. He knew his daughter well. Even if she had been hiding something from them, he still knew who she was as a pony. If she wanted to talk, she'd talk. He turned his head back up and meet her eyes. He quickly changed his expression to an understanding and caring one.
"Laz, why don't we go find out some information about this knew school. Who knows, maybe you might want to go there." He said. He saw Blush Brush give him a disapproving look, but he ignored it. If this whole days events was to tell anything, it was that Laz was not completely honest with how things at school where going. He wanted to get to the bottom of it just as much as his mother did, but he wasn't about to push a subject that clearly made her feel uncomfortable. He got up and walked beside her towards the royal advisors waiting to talk. He recognised a few of them, having seen them running about the palace many times before. He was sure his mother knew them all by name by now. He picked a red unicorn mare and stood in front of her. "Excuse me, but, could we have a bit more information about this knew school. I'm not so sure about all of this. I think having some better details might help the situation a bit." He said, keeping his composure as calm as possible.
The mare smiled and used her magic to levitate over what looked like a pamphlet, and handed it to him. "This will answer lots of questions that don't get answered right here. What do you want to know?" The mare asked in a kind tone, which made Void much more comfortable.
He looked down at the pamphlet and it said 'Friendship Academy' on it. "Well, first, I was hoping to get a bit more background on what Twilight meant by, 'Difficulties' when she spoke."
Laz was staring nervously at the ground. She was freaking out. what had Twilight seen? Was she seriously enough to catch the princesses attention? There were more than enough private moments she had while the princess was there, had she seen all of them? What did her dad think? What did her grandparents think? what in equestria was she going to do? She had so many questions in her head. She was starting to freak out. But she saw how calm her dad looked and it put her a bit at ease for the moment. She just couldn't get a plain read on the situation yet. The red mares voice caught her ears again as she started to speak.
"Well, While the princess was here, she observed many students and many different schools. She was specifically looking for students who may have some troubles in their lives that could possibly be dragging them down, or disturbing their performance at school. Thankfully I know your family, thanks to Blush Brush I've heard alot about Laz here. And while I can not share the Princess personal reports with you on Laz, I can tell you that Princess Twilight saw some things and qualities in her that she would like for her school. Twilight and the rest of her friends weren't just out looking for troubled kids. Having a school full of just fillies and colts that have personal problems would be a bad idea. There were other factors in looking for a student. Lots of factors being how they interact with others. What kind of air does this pony give off. How do they present themselves to others. Among many others, and the Princess saw not just the bad qualities that could be helped with Lazzari, but also many good qualities that could be improved even more. Things such as strong loyalty and extreme compassion and kindness. These qualities will help make the environment at the school much less stressful and make it easier for the students to interact and get along with each other well." The mare finished with a bright smile. Blush brush suddenly stepped up, a look of concern all over her face.
"Wait, Sunbeam, you said Bad qualities. What signifies as bad qualities?" She asked, lowering but turning her ears forward.
"Well, I can say right here and right now Blush, Laz does not have any problems in the more severe categories of focus. Many fillies and colts were chosen based on how their home life seemed or if they had some clear substance abuse problems. I know you and your family, so I know for a fact that you don't have to worry about that. And like I said I can't give you the report the princess has on Laz, but i can tell you what the report entailed. She had seen some emotional things from Laz that could mean disaster for her future if left unchecked. It's not my place to say much on it, but the Princess has requested you not push the matter if she doesn't want to talk about it. She made a clear point to push across that the last thing she wanted was for the students to feel uncomfortable with the whole thing. I hope you understand." Sunbeam said, putting a soft, understanding smile on.
They all looked extremely concerned now. As if this situation wasn't confusing enough. Chocolate Glaze stepped forward this time. He looked very concerned but he hardened his gaze.
"You said other fillies and colts who had clear substance abuse problems. I know I don't have to worry about our little Lazie on that front, but, how does the princess intend to handle these ponies? If they have abuse problems what's going to stop them from using or trying to get others into using as well?" It was a very good question. One Sunbeam was ready for.
"Several therapy sessions and lessons will be held throughout the course of the first month to help the students see the importance of their own health. All the while for the first month they will be chaperoned outside the school by a staff member if they wish to leave the campus. We hae several Experts on site for such matters and you don't have to worry about a thing. Students are being paired together in dormitories based on reports that where given. And of course, separated by gender. The campus is quite large. In the pamphlet I gave you, It has a date and time for after the end of the school year. This is for if you want to tour the campus before hoof and make your decision then." Sunbeam pointed to the pamphlet in White voids magic. "Any other questions?"
Laz turned to look at her family seeing they where all pondering things. She stepped forward, looking nervous. "How involved will, the family's be in this whole process?" Laz asked. She knew her family loved her, but she wasn't sure how involved she wanted her family to be in a personal endeavor. Sunbeam smiled.
"Families are going to be asked to keep their distance. They are all allowed to send as many letters as they wish to their filly or colt and keep in as close communication with them as they would like. A report will be sent out every semester on grades and performance at the school. So the parents or guardians will never have to worry about how their student is doing so far from home." She explained. This earned a sigh of relief from all three of the ponies in front of her and a nod from Lazzari.
Laz internally sighed in relief. She was heavily considering this new option. She took a moment to glance around, looking for her friends. She saw hemlock almost immediately. It was kind of hard to miss her fire red hair against her almost snow white cote. She noticed her father asking her a lot of questions, and she was struggling to answer them. He looked very confused. Laz knew that Hemlock was never one to talk to her family, most of the time she shut herself in her bedroom and played video games alone. That's just what she preferred. At least that's what she thought hemlock preferred. Laz sighed looking around again. The next pony was much harder to find due to her not so unique color patterns.
She looked around harder until her eyes caught a tan color and she fixed on it. Feather was sitting still stiff as a statue while talking to another royal advisor. She looked incredibly scared. She had never seen Feather look this flustered about something other than being broken up with. She couldn't help but wonder why she had been chosen. What did the princess see in Feather? Miss Sunbeam said something about the princess and her friends looking for other qualities in ponies to lighten the mood of the school. Could this be one of the reasons she was chosen?
She sighed and shook her head out gently. She had a choice to make now. She didn't know if she wanted to go to this new school yet. She knew she would have plenty of time to think about it though. She sighed as she turned to her family. They were all looking at her. some concern and curiosity in their eyes. She then realised that she was going to have to try and explain things to them. Just how to do that though?...
