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             Equestria Academy: Freshman Year              
                     -by saffronskies-                     
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                   The Shiny Glass Doors                   
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Author's Note
Hi guys! Saff here. Welcome to my first MLP fan fiction (that I plan on completing, anyways.) This first chapter might seem a bit bland, but trust me, I have a lot planned for this story. Im going to do my best writing it. I spent two or three days writing this and edited it three times, so I hope you guys like it!
The Shiny Glass Doors
Twilight Sparkle fastened the knot of her tie and pulled it gently, allowing it to fall against her chest. She stepped back and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her long violet and pink hair fell onto her shoulders, framing her heart shaped face. There were light hints of makeup present on her face. Twilight lightly traced her finger across her bottom lip, which was coated with a thin layer of pink lip gloss and slightly glistened in the bathroom's fluorescent light. It had been a long time since she had put so much effort in to her appearance. It had taken around an hour and a half to get this final product.
Though Twilight would have preferred to sleep instead, it was kind of nice. She felt extremely confident about her appearance for once. As she was double checking herself, Twilight's eyes fell upon the pink sparkling star emblazoned on to the pocket of her uniform shirt. She touched it softly with her index and middle finger, feeling the material against her skin. It was such a small imprint, yet it represented so much. It represented the very reason why Twilight was accepted into Equestria Academy in the first place. Magic.
All people with powers could do magic, but Twilight was found to be extremely talented at it. With years and years of homeschooling, Twilight had been given plenty of time to read books about magic and even more time to practice. She was able to perform wonders with her magic that usually left even the smartest, most talented person baffled. She felt a surge of pride and clutched her shirt pocket. She thought of Celestia and the conversation they had a few weeks before.
Opportunity. Challenge. Victory. Those were few of the many words Celestia had used to describe Equestria Academy. They were the very words that motivated Twilight to apply in the first place. The homeschooling program she had been enrolled in before was special in itself, but a real, private school would look amazing on her record. Of course, most of Celestia's speech she had given Twilight to encourage her to apply for the academy involved making friends, but Twilight had dismissed those words as quickly as they were spoken. She didn't have time for a bunch of friends. When she was experiencing one of the most important times of her life, friends would only get in the way. (Of course, Celestia was an exception.) Her studies were more important, and the thought of continuing them in a prestigious private school made her heart leap with excitement.
Twilight finally pulled herself away from the mirror and went to check her bag, making sure all of her needed materials were packed. She would make a horrible first impression on her teachers if she came to school unprepared on her first day. Binders, folders, notebooks...she seemed to have everything packed, but couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that she was still missing something. Twilight looked around her room, keeping her eyes peeled for any of the school related items she had bought a few weeks before, before spotting the thick book sitting on the nightstand next to her bed. "Oh, right!" She said to herself, quickly swiping the book from the wooden tabletop and sliding it in to her bag.
She had bought the book from a local bookstore a few days before and had devoted most of her time to reading it. The book was titled "Highschool: Everything You Need to Know." This would be her first time going to an actual school, and, Twilight being Twilight, she decided to buy a guidebook to lead her and study it. She had already read the book three times and acquired as much information from it as she could. From classes to electives, Twilight felt that she knew everything that she needed to. Even so, she had made a mental note before going to sleep the previous night to bring the book with her to school. Just in case.
She checked herself in the mirror one last time, smoothing out her navy pleated skirt and running her fingers through her silky hair. When everything seemed to be fine, she quickly swooped her backpack off of the side of her bed and rushed out of the door. Usually, she'd be starting work for her second class by this time. Instead, she was beginning the short walk to Equestria Academy.
She flinched slightly as butterflies began to flutter around in her stomach. Twilight had never been this nervous about anything before. Leaving her homeschooling program and going to an actual place to tend to her studies was such a big change. What if she wasn't able to handle it? Twilight was about halfway to the school when she heard a familiar voice call her name. She stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder, hair swishing. A friend of hers, Spike, was running toward her with his hand in the air. Of course. how could she forget Spike? Though she was so determined not to make friends, she didn't mind hanging out with Spike very much. He was good company and a great help.
Spike stopped running when he reached Twilight, bending over and putting his hands on his knees. His back heaved as he panted, trying to catch his breath. "You...didn't wait for me like you said!" Spike said accusingly. Twilight felt confused for a moment, then facepalmed when she remembered their conversation last night. They had agreed to walk to school together that morning.
"Ah...sorry, Spike. I was caught up in everything and kind of forgot." She scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment. Spike shrugged, beginning to walk in the direction of the school.
"It's fine, I guess. Just don't forget tomorrow. I'm not that easy to forget, you know." He demanded. Twilight nodded, falling into step beside Spike.
"I won't forget, I promise." She said convincingly. They weren't very far from the school now. Twilight could see it in the distance, closed in by a tall grass hedge surrounding it on all sides. It seemed so much bigger in person than it did in the pictures, even when she was standing this far from it. The butterflies from earlier returned and Twilight nervously tucked hair behind her ears. "Gosh, Spike, I'm so nervous! This is the first time I've ever gone to a real school before..."
"Calm down, Twilight. You'll be fine!" Spike pat her back gently in attempt to reassure her. "You're the smartest person I know. A school like Equestria Academy will be a piece of cake for you. It isn't even that hard."
Twilight rose an eyebrow quizzically, looking at Spike with narrowed eyes. "That's because you spend your time reading comic books when you should be paying attention in class. Of course you'd think it isn't that hard." She pointed out. A light shade of pink spread across Spike's cheeks and he folded his arms across his chest.
"It's called manga, not comic books! They're two totally different things." He insisted defensively. Twilight wrinkled her nose.
"I don't see how they're different at all. They're both graphic novels, and they're both a waste of time." Twilight really didn't see what Spike saw in his silly manga and anime. She had found both to be extremely boring with bland plots and uninteresting characters. There had been multiple instances where she tried to get Spike to read real literature, but she had failed miserably. Trying to get Spike to read a real book was like trying to get a wingless bird to fly - utterly impossible.
"You don't think they're any different because you don't understand! Comic books are usually about things like superheroes and have a boring story line with a simple, ugly art style. On the other hand, manga is about a ton of different things and has a beautiful art style. Do you know how hard it is to draw like that? I've been trying for years!" Twilight noticed that the topic had actually made Spike angry. His cheeks were red and his face was twisted in annoyance, eyes blazing like a ferocious fire. Twilight couldn't stop a smile from creeping on to her face. She couldn't believe that Spike was actually getting upset over such a trivial matter as this! It was actually kind of cute. Twilight decided to let Spike win this time.
"Okay, okay. Comic books and manga are different." Twilight agreed, though her opinion hadn't changed one bit from the start.
Spike let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you!" He shouted. Though he had won and the argument was over, Twilight realized that Spike was still tense and looked upset. A look of concern became visible on her face.
"You aren't actually upset about this, are you?" She asked. Spike didn't answer for a couple of moments, but soon sighed loudly.
"It's just..." Spike pressed his lips together. "When you say that kind of stuff, it makes me feel really stupid, y'know? Like you think lowly of me just because I like anime and manga."
Instantly, guilt grabbed hold of Twilight and held her in a tight embrace, refusing to let go. Blood rushed to her cheeks and turned her pale skin a dark shade of red. She put a hand on Spike's shoulder and rubbed it gently. "Oh, Spike..." Her voice was full of sympathy. "I-I'm sorry...I didn't know that I was making you feel like that. Do you really think I'd think lowly of you just because you like different things than I do?"
"Well, yeah!" Spike said it so matter of factly, like it was crazy that Twilight didn't understand. "You're so smart and you like smart people things so much, like science and reading and math. You act like its a crime for me to not like those things."
Twilight twirled a strand of hair around her finger, suddenly finding her shoes interesting. Maybe she had been a bit too mean when it came to discussing their differences. Spike never called her a weird or strange for being so interested in books and sciences, yet he probably heard that from her every single day. Twilight swallowed slightly. "I'm really sorry. It's just...well...I..." She desperately searched for an answer to her behavior, but came up with nothing. She sighed and let her arm fall to her side. "I don't know. There's really no excuse for it. I'll stop, okay?" She promised. A few moments passed and Twilight lifted her head, facing him. "Just remember that I don't think any different of you just because we like different things. You'll always be one of my closest friends."
There was a long silence, each passing second only making the tension between them rise. Anxiety gripped at Twilight as she thought that Spike wasn't going to forgive her, but those feelings soon melted away when he looked up at her and smiled. Any trace of anger or annoyance was now void from his face, and his eyes were bright with happiness. Several moments passed, before Spike coughed nervously and broke the gaze. He scratched the back of his neck, before he stopped walking. He looked straight ahead.
"Come on, Twi, we're here!" Spike quickly took off through the black entrance gate, leaving Twilight momentarily confused.
"Spike, wait up!" She was about to follow her eager friend, but hesitated instantly as she laid eyes upon the school. Eyes widening, her jaw dropped in amazement as she stared at the magnificent scene before her.
The school was beautiful! Twilight had seen plenty of photos online, but none of them compared to the real thing. The building was several stories high and perfectly symmetrical, it's amber bricks seemingly glowing in the sunlight in and beautiful white frames surrounding large windows. The roof had dark navy paneling. Right in front of the school's entrance, there was a beautiful sparkling fountain.
Twilight walked through the gates of the school, seemingly in a trance by it's beauty. She forced herself to snap out of it. Right now, she had to find Spike. She glanced around the courtyard, her eyes peeled for a familiar head of green hair. Unfortunately, there were so many students outside that it was hard to pick out just one person from the crowd. Twilight began to shuffle through the crowd, accidently bumping in to a few people, before she finally spotted Spike behind a tree. Wondering about his peculiar choice of a spot to go, Twilight ran to meet him.
"Spike! Why did you just-" She was cut off when Spike quickly grabbed her and pulled her behind the tree with him. She let out a startled gasp and fell to her knees, the fall causing her glasses to become crooked. Twilight adjusted her glasses before getting to her feet again, putting her hands on her hips. "What was that for?!"
Spike didn't respond. Twilight noticed that he was peering out from behind the tree, his eyes fixed on someone or something. Twilight stood beside him and followed his line of vision, before her eyes fell upon a girl standing near the fountain, happily chit chatting with a group of girls around her. She had beautiful coiled purple hair that bounced with every movement she made. Her eyes were a crystal blue, framed by thick black eyelashes. She wore light blue eyeshadow and had a smile that seemed to gleam.
Twilight could vaguely remember Spike mentioning a crush of his once or twice. She searched her mind for her name. Rarelee? Raremee? Rarity! That was the name! Twilight smirked and rose her eyebrows. "So, that's Rarity, huh?"
"Yeah, it is! Isn't she beautiful?" Twilight could've sworn that she saw hearts appear in Spike's eyes. Twilight saw Rarity turn her cell phone on, looking at the glowing screen for a moment, before waving goodbye to the girls and making her way inside of the school. Spike sighed and turned around, sitting down in the green grass and leaning against the tree.
Twilight squinted. "Have you even talked to her before?" She asked. Spike's eyes widened. He looked at Twilight as if she was a foreign alien creature.
"Are you kidding me? Me, talk to Rarity? Are you insane?" The tone of his voice rose a bit in surprise with every word. "Rarity is way out of my league! Even if I tried to talk to her, I'd probably look like a total idiot." Spike crossed his arms, looking disappointed.
"Well, I bought this really good book that teaches you how to get through highschool. In the section 'Friendships and Relationships,' it says that if you have feelings for someone, you should try to talk to them and get closer to them. So, maybe you should at least try to talk to Rarity?" Twilight suggested. Spike let out a long sigh and shook his head.
"I'm not even surprised that you think a book is going to help you get through all of highschool." He groaned. Twilight's face flushed up in embarrassment. Maybe Spike would understand if she read it himself. Twilight moved to take the book out of her bag, but was interrupted when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Twilight looked up and was met with a pair of pastel pink eyes. Instantly, she got to her feet, a look of joy appearing on her face.
"Celestia!" She exclaimed excitedly. Celestia smiled warmly, wrapping her arms around Twilight in a greeting embrace. Twilight returned the embrace with no hesitation, giving her friend a small squeeze. Celestia broke the embrace after a few moments.
"Twilight Sparkle, my best friend." Celestia said affectionately. "Are you excited to start school today?"
Twilight nodded eagerly, strongly resembling a bobble head doll. "Yes, I'm very excited! But, also a bit nervous. I made a lot of preparations to help me get through the year and learned as much as I could about going to school."
Celestia chuckled softly. She looked down a bit, her wavy multicoloured hair covering the sides of her face like a curtain. "I'm sure you're going to do just fine. Equestria Academy is very welcoming to new students and has an excellent curriculum. There's no doubt that you're going to do just as spectacular attending this school than you did when you were homeschooled." She looked up again, her gaze now directing to the front doors of the school. "Come with me. I have something important to show you. Afterward, I'll give you a tour of the school."
Twilight nodded, watching as Celestia began to make her way to the school. The way she moved was so elegant. Not too fast, but not too slow. Her shoulders were high in the air and her hips swayed with every step. Twilight looked over her shoulder at Spike. "I'll see you later, Spike!"
Spike waved goodbye, a smile on his face. Twilight adjusted her bag and quickly caught up with Celestia, walking beside her. As they made their way to the doors, Twilight glanced around at the beautiful scenery that the courtyard had to offer. The walkways were lined with beautiful flower hedges and the silver brick pathways were sparkling clean, like nobody had ever set foot on to them. Twilight's eyes glimmered. "I can't believe that I'm going to be going to school here..."
Celestia smiled brightly. "I know that you're going to love it. A school like this is perfect for you." They reached the school entrance and Celestia pushed the shiny glass doors open, revealing a rather shocking interior. Twilight felt her jaw drop as she saw the pure elegance of the school. Quartz pillars held the roof of the first floor up. The floors had beautiful blue and purple carpeting, as well as silky curtains of the same color draped over the windows. A chandelier hung from the ceiling above, illuminating the room with a soft yellow light. Finally, a balcony above lead to the second floor.
Twilight almost bumped in to a couple of students as she followed Celestia through the small crowd of people, still fascinated by the utter beauty of the school. She hadn't even realized that they had reached their destination and continued walking down the hall Celestia had lead her through. She stopped in her tracks when she heard Celestia clear her throat. Twilight froze and spun around, spotting Celestia waiting outside of a door to a room with a smirk on her face.
"Oops! Eheh, sorry...I got distracted." Twilight apologized as she returned to Celestia's side. Her cheeks were tinted pink.
"There's no need for an apology, Twilight." Celestia assured her. Her warm expression then hardened to a serious one as she put her hand on the doorknob. She looked at Twilight sternly. "Now...I understand what you are going to find to happen will be a bit confusing and upsetting, but I'd love if you just gave it a chance. School would be much easier and more eventful for you."
Twilight furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, starting to become a bit anxious. What could possibly be waiting on the other side of this door that could be so bad? "I-I can give it a chance." She insisted. Celestia nodded, breaking their gaze and twisting the doorknob. She pushed the door open with one swift movement and stepped inside of the classroom. She motioned for Twilight to follow her inside.
Twilight eagerly followed Celestia in to the room. Inside of the classroom, she found five pairs of eyes staring at her. Inside the room were five different girls.
The first girl had poofy pink hair that went all the way down to her waist. A balloon hair pin seemed to be holding overgrown bangs out of her face. She had large blue eyes that seemed to be constantly sparkling.
The second girl had blonde hair that went down to the midway point of her back. It was tied at the bottom with a red hair tie. Her eyes were bright green and freckles dotted her cheeks like stars.
The third girl had long, silky pink hair that went a couple of inches past her waist. She hid behind her hair like it was a protective curtain. She had gentle blue eyes.
The fourth girl had shoulder length rainbow coloured hair. It was tied back in to a ponytail with a black hair tie. She had big magenta eyes that blazed fiercly.
The final girl had shoulder length purple hair. It was curled perfectly and looked as soft as silk. She had large blue eyes and light blue eyeshadow. Twilight recognized her as Rarity.
Celestia smiled at Twilight. "Twilight, these are some girls that I'd like you to meet." She stated casually. Twilight felt her heart stop the moment that the words left Celestia's mouth. She glanced frantically from the girls to Celestia. No, no, no, no, no! Twilight's first day hadn't even started and she was already in danger of making friends! She had to refrain from jumping back when the blonde girl stepped forward.
"Well, howd'ya do, sugarcube?" The girl had a heavy southern accent. She grasped Twilight's hand and shook it. "Why, Celestia's said so much 'bout you! I'm Applejack. Its a pleasure makin' your acquaintance. We all-"
The girl who had introduced herself as Applejack was cut off as the pink haired girl jumped in front of her, bouncing up and down excitedly. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! You're Twilight, right? Wow, its super extra cool to finally meet you! Celestia told us so much about you that it feels like I'm meeting a super famous celebrity! You were homeschooled, right? I tried homeschooling once, but it was so boring and I couldn't hang out with my friends and I couldn't really go outside very much, and I also didn't have much time to throw-"
The rainbow haired girl stepped forward and put her hand over Pinkie's mouth, who continued talking despite her words now coming out muffled and unintelligible. The girl shook her head. "Don't mind Pinkie. She gets way too excited way too easily." She explained.
Twilight nodded in agreement. She looked at Pinkie, who was still talking despite her mouth being covered. "I can see that." She replied bluntly. The girl put her hands on her hips, thus allowing Pinkie to talk freely again. Pinkie had somehow ended up on the topic of oatmeal.
"Well, I'm Rainbow Dash!" She said confidently. Rainbow flipped her ponytail a bit. "I wouldn't be surprised if you've heard of me already, though. I am the fastest runner on the track team, after all."
Rarity knot her eyebrows together, shaking her head at Rainbow's boasting. She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at the other. "Oh, please, we get it already. Just because you're the fastest runner on the track team doesn't give you a right to boast about it continuously. Not only that, but its more likely that Twilight has heard of me instead. I am one of the most popular girls in the grade."
Twilight could barely keep back an eyeroll. Not only had Rarity shown extreme hypocrisy, but both were acting like being popular was the most important thing in the world. Plus, she doubted that either was that popular. Twilight had only heard of Rarity because of Spike's crush on her. Twilight looked at Rarity. "I have heard of you, actually."
Rarity smiled proudly, flipping her purple coils behind her back. "See, Rainbow Dash? Twilight here hasn't even been attending Equestria Academy for a full day and has already heard of me."
Rainbow Dash let out a small 'tch' and rolled her eyes. She decided to change the subject, looking at the pastel pink haired girl that had distanced herself from the group. "Fluttershy, aren't you gonna say anything to Twilight?"
Fluttershy only stared at the ground beneath her, still hiding behind her hair. She refused to look up. Pinkie Pie bounced over to Fluttershy, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Don't mind her! Fluttershy is just a little, well, shy!"
Twilight felt stunned. For most of her life, her only friends had been Celestia and Spike, and she had wanted to keep it that way. Now, she was being introduced to so many people at once. It was a bit overwhelming and agitating. Celestia knew how reserved Twilight liked to be. Why in heaven's name would she do this without her permission? Twilight was snapped out of her thoughts Celestia put a hand on her shoulder.
"Twilight, these are some very good people that began school here this year," She explained, her voice gentle. "I'd love it if you tried to be friends with them."
Twilight's face fell.
Her highschool fantasy shattered like a piece of glass, right then and there.

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                     Celestia's Sister                     
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Celestia's Sister
Twilight felt as if she could burst like a bubble. She wore an extremely annoyed expression and her face was red from anger. This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't supposed to happen at all! Her new high school life was supposed to be about excelling in her classes and preparing for college, not tagging along with a group of "friends." She flashed a bitter expression at Celestia, who looked at her with pleading pink eyes.
Seeing the look on her face made Twilight's shoulders sag with guilt. Her agitated expression fell from her face and she sighed softly. Celestia is only trying to help me. If I don't make friends sooner or later, getting through high school will be impossible. Twilight thought to herself. She looked over at the group of girls, who were all looking at Twilight expectantly. All eyes were on her. Even Fluttershy had peered out from behind her hair to look at her.
It was impossible to make a clear-headed decision when she was being put on the spot like this. Nonetheless, she knew that Celestia would be able to make it happen even if she declined. Swallowing nervously, Twilight mustered the most sincere smile that she could. "I'd be glad to become friends with all of you." She finally said. The girls all simultaneously smiled, looking genuinely happy with Twilight's decision. Fluttershy had finally looked up, a smile present on her face as well.
Applejack put a hand on her hip, approaching Twilight. "Lookin' forward to gettin' ta know ya, Twilight! Trust me, all of us are really nice people." She pat Twilight's shoulder.
"If you have any questions about Equestria Academy, you are more than welcome to ask us, dear." Rarity added. She batted her thick eyelashes and laced her fingers together. Twilight was taken aback when Pinkie Pie practically tackled her in a hug, squeezing her so hard that she was surprised she could still breathe.
"I'm so so so so so excited to be your very best friend, Twilight! This is gonna be so so so so so fun! We can have awesome parties with cake and cupcakes and really good music, oh, and don't forget balloons! Every party has to have balloons! They also need clow-" Pinkie Pie was cut off by Rainbow Dash, who covered her mouth with her hand like she had done before. Just as she had done previously, Pinkie Pie continued speaking as if people could still understand her.
"You're gonna like being friends with us, Twilight." Rainbow Dash insisted, before casting an annoyed glance at Pinkie Pie. "At least, you will if you can deal with Pinkie yakking your ear off every second of the day." After hearing Rainbow's words, Pinkie Pie finally stopped talking. She simply shrugged in response. After a few moments, Rainbow let her hand fall from Pinkie's mouth. To no surprise, the bubbly girl carried on talking from where she had last left off.
"Yeah, this is gonna be...great." Twilight sounded extremely unconvincing, but she hoped that the girls hadn't noticed. She looked at Celestia in annoyance, who smiled at her gratefully. Twilight jumped when she heard the bell ring, the loud sound echoing throughout the classroom. She heard Celestia gasp gently and watched her quickly stroll to the door.
"Thank you girls so much for helping make Twilight feel welcome," She beamed. "I was hoping to give Twilight a tour, but I suppose that will have to wait for another time. Would one of you girls be so kind as to show Twilight to her first class? I believe that it's Language Arts."
Pinkie Pie jumped up enthusiastically, bouncing up and down. "Oh, I can, I can!" She bellowed. Twilight's disappointment was clear on her face. Now she'd have to listen to more of Pinkie Pie's yammering! She would have preferred that Fluttershy had offered to show her instead, who hadn't said a word since her arrival. Twilight caught sight of her. She hadn't moved from her spot away from the group and had hidden behind her hair again.
"Perfect. I'll see you girls later." Celestia winked at Twilight, before quickly exiting the classroom and jogging down the hall. The other girls began to gather their bags and belongings, looking unenthused about another day of classes. Meanwhile, Pinkie grabbed Twilight's wrist with both hands and tugged her so hard that she was surprised her arm hadn't ripped off. "Come on, Twilight! You don't wanna be late on your first day, do you?" Not letting go of her arm, she used her foot to open the door and took off down the hall. Twilight noticed that Pinkie Pie hadn't even grabbed her backpack.
Twilight attempted multiple times to release herself from Pinkie's grip, but to no avail. With a loud groan, she opted to go over some of the information she had studied in her book. Okay, so, I'll be in a classroom. I'll most likely have an assigned seat and have to sit next to someone. Hopefully not. The teacher is going to go over the plan for that day, then give us a lecture and/or make us take notes or do worksheets. On a rare occasion, the teacher may shown an informative movie or video. Seems easy enough. She thought. Twilight went over the information multiple times. She wanted to be perfectly prepared for her first real class.
Her first real class. Saying it in her head felt weird. Exciting. Refreshing. She had liked her homeschooling program just fine, but this would be an amazing new experience. She couldn't wait! Pinkie Pie stopped running once they reached the classroom and finally let go of Twilight's wrist. Twilight shook her wrist a bit, which now had red marks on it from how strongly Pinkie had held it. "Well, this is Language Arts! It's pretty boring if you ask me, but you look like you really like this kind of stuff!"
Twilight tilted her head to the side. "I'm not sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment."
"Both!" Pinkie said cheerfully, leaning in so close that their noses were almost touching. Pinkie adjusted her bag on her shoulders. "Well, gotta go! Biology awaits! See you later, Twiligator!" She waved obnoxiously, before taking off down the hall in a blur of pink. Almost instantly, she turned back to run the other way. "Went the wrong way!" She exclaimed. Twilight watched her run, a bit astonished by how fast she was. She shook her head and grumbled.
"I can't believe that I have to try to be friends with that person." She grumbled. Twilight took a deep breath as she turned her attention to the door of the Language Arts classroom. She did her best to look confident, holding her shoulders in the air, before grasping the handle and turning it. She pulled the door open and stepped inside of the classroom.
Not all of the students had arrived yet from the looks of it, but most of those who had looked at Twilight curiously. She suddenly became very self conscious, trying her best not to draw any more attention to herself as she went to speak with the teacher.
"Hi, uh, I'm Twilight Sparkle. I just transferred here." She greeted. The teacher had been writing notes on the board, but turned his attention away from the board when he heard Twilight's voice. He put his chalk down and clapped his hands together. "Well, hello there, Twilight! Welcome." He greeted. "I'm Mr. Inkblot. I know that you just came here from homeschooling, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask."
"Thank you, Mr. Inkblot!" Twilight responded happily. "Um, I was made aware that I may have an assigned seat?"
"Oh, yes!" The teacher scanned the room. More students had arrived since Twilight had come to class, so the room was a lot more full than it had been before. The teacher then pointed at a girl in the second row. She was one of the only students with an empty seat next to them. "Why don't you sit next to Diamond Tiara?"
"Okay, thank you." Twilight quickly went to take her seat. Not even a moment later, the bell rang to signal the end of passing period. Twilight began to take her materials out of her bag for that class with her magic. It'd be a bit annoying have to lug such a heavy bag with her to every single class, as Equestria Academy didn't invest any money in lockers since using them took up too much time during passing period. Twilight put the materials on her desk and began organizing them on the tabletop. She was careful not to take up too much space on the desk, as she had to share it with Diamond Tiara.
She was aware that Diamond Tiara had been watching her unpack. Twilight looked over and gave an awkward smile. Diamond Tiara smiled in return, before exchanging a look with a silvered haired girl behind her. Both snickered quietly and Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes, before going to unpack her own bag.
Twilight felt a bit confused as to what had been so funny, but shrugged it off and decided to forget about it. Mr. Inkblot turned away from the board and began to shuffle papers on his desk while simultaneously addressing the class. "Hi everyone! We have a lot to do today, so please no slacking off. There's a test on Wednesday and a project due Friday, which I do hope that some of you guys are at least close to completing." He eyed a specific student sitting near Twilight, who had nothing out on his desk and wasn't even wearing the uniform shirt. She felt a bit appaled that someone could care so little about their academics.
"By the way, we have a new student." He pointed to Twilight and all eyes fell on her. Instantly, her face became red and she hid behind her hair, awkwardly waving to everyone looking at her. "She's been homeschooled for her entire life up until this point!" Mr. Inkblot added.
Twilight heard a few gasps of amazement, but pretended not to care as she arranged the pencils on her desk. A few people began to whisper some questions to her, but Mr. Inkblot ordered them to be quiet. "Anyway, please take out your notes. We'll be reviewing for the test. If you know an answer to a question, don't raise your hand and just shout it out."
The teacher began to ask questions, which were replied to by a bout of shouting from the students. Since Twilight had no notes, she used her magic to take the guidebook out of her bag and look over it again. The shouting was rather distracting, but she was still able to focus nonetheless. However, she couldn't help but listen in as Diamond Tiara turned around and began to speak to the silver haired girl in a hushed voice.
"Did you hear that Luna is coming back to school tomorrow?" Diamond Tiara asked. The girl gasped quietly.
"Oh my gosh, no way! Wasn't she like, kicked out at the beginning of last year for attacking a teacher?" She asked in amazement. Diamond Tiara nodded.
"Yeah, that was her. She like, got charged and went to juvi and everything. She just got out last week." Diamond Tiara sighed. "I can't believe they're letting her back after everything she's done."
Her friend nodded in agreement. "I know!" She said in disbelief. "I mean, she does come from that super rich family. Her mom probably threatened to, like, sue the school or something if they didn't."
"That totally sounds like something she'd do." Diamond Tiara smirked. "I can't believe that someone like her could be Celestia's sister."
Twilight froze, wondering if she had heard Diamond Tiara correctly. Celestia...she had a sister? How come Twilight had never known? She was her best friend, and she didn't even bother to tell her something so important? Twilight had to confirm this. She turned to look at Diamond Tiara. "Wait, Celestia has a sister?"
Diamond Tiara rose an eyebrow at her. "You didn't know that? With how much Celestia talks about you, I'm surprised." She put her arm on the back of her chair. "Then again, Celestia pretends that she, like, doesn't exist."
"Yeah, she's ashamed of her own sister." The silver haired girl explained. "You can't really blame her though. Luna was the biggest troublemaker in the school. She even has a criminal record. I'd be ashamed, too."
"When Luna did go here, it was like she and Celestia didn't even, like, know each other." Diamond Tiara said.
"Girls, I hope that you're talking about the test." Mr. Inkblot's voice caused Twilight to jump and her face to heat up. Was she really already getting in to trouble on her first day? She began to stammer nervously, but Diamond Tiara looked at Mr. Inkblot with bright eyes.
"Sorry, Mr. Inkblot! Silver Spoon and I are just helping Twilight out. It's her first day at a real school and all, so she has a lot of questions."
Mr. Inkblot's stern expression changed to one of happiness. He wore an ear to ear grin. "Well, that's very nice of you." He sure was easy to fool. "In the future, just please save such questions for later and participate when we're having a class activity such as this."
"Of course, Mr. Inkblot!" Silver Spoon said. She waited until he turned his attention back to the review, before looking at Twilight again. "We'll tell you more later, okay?"
Diamond Tiara began flipping through her notebook, ripping out a couple of pages. Judging by the lack of contents from the notebook, Twilight assumed she hadn't taken any notes and decided to jot down some during the review. "Not that we'll have to. You'll find out all you need to know by tomorrow."
Twilight was still rather stunned by the conversation she had with the two girls. The shock from learning that Celestia had a sister, a delinquent one at that, was still evident on her face. The two had been friends since childhood and she was just finding out now? Why Celestia hadn't told her sooner was beyond her. Even if she was ashamed of her sister, Celestia should've known she could trust Twilight with something so big.
Twilight let out a soft sigh and stared at the wooden tabletop. She was definitely going to confront Celestia about this as soon as she could. And as soon as she could happened to be at lunch.
Though she still completed her work correctly and diligently, Twilight could hardly focus in Algebra and even zoned out a couple of times in Biology. The closer that lunch got, the more Twilight found herself thinking about the situation with Celestia. She wasn't even sure how she was supposed to confront her about it. Heck, she didn't know if Celestia would even admit to having a sister! If she had kept such a thing from Twilight for this long, she didn't really see why she would tell her now. Twilight was pulled from her thoughts as the lunch bell rang.
She swallowed nervously, standing up and grabbing her backpack from the side of her desk. She slid her arms through the straps and made her way toward the door. However, she was stopped by Applejack, who she shared the class with.
"Whaddaya think about sittin' with us, Twilight?" Applejack asked. "Lucky fer you, we got an extra empty seat at our table already. And, uh, just so ya know, the other tables aren't exactly welcomin' to new people sittin' with em."
Twilight was going to decline Applejack's offer, before thinking back to this morning. She had agreed to try to become friends with the girls, even though some of them were too obnoxious and stuck up for her taste. "Uh, sure!" Twilight nodded.
Applejack nodded. "Come on, I'll show you where the cafeteria is." She left the classroom with Twilight right behind, her blonde hair swaying from side to side with every step she took. Twilight looked around at the passing people, still not used to being surrounded by so many people for all hours of the day. Were people staring at her? Was it obvious that she was as new as new could get? Twilight bit down on her bottom lip nervously, doing her best to hide herself behind Applejack.
A breath caught in her throat as she saw Celestia walk by her, talking to a small group of people. Twilight stopped walking, watching her mingle in to the crowd of people. Applejack noticed that Twilight had stopped walking and looked over her shoulder, turning around to face her purple haired friend. "You alright, Twi? What's the holdup?"
Twilight took a moment to reply, seemingly caught in a daze. She shook her head and forced a half-hearted smile as she locked eyes with Applejack. "Oh, I'm, um, I'm fine. Just--" She glanced over again quickly, making sure that she knew where Celestia was. "I gotta go, need to um, talk to a teacher. I'll catch up with you later." She practically leapt forward, doing her best to make her way through the bustling crowd without bumping in to anyone. She put her hand on Celestia's shoulder when she finally caught up, causing her to stop walking. The people she had been conversing with stopped walking as well, looking behind them and letting their eyes fall on Twilight.
"Oh, well hello, Twilight." Celestia smiled, tucking a lock of thick, poofy hair behind her ear. "How are you doing?"
"Can I talk to you?" Twilight pleaded. She glanced over at the others that were watching her, narrowing her eyes. "In private, please?"
Celestia seemed taken aback by Twilight's request. She hesitated a bit, struggling to get her words out. "Well, erm, I suppose," She looked at her friends apologetically. "Let's go somewhere that isn't as full of people. Follow me."
Celestia brushed past Twilight, the large group of people making their way to lunch seemingly parting to make a path for her. Twilight hurriedly followed, keen to get to the bottom of this whole sister situation. The mass of people seemed to recede as more and more people reached the cafeteria, making it much easier for Twilight to move. When they reached the end of the hallway, the mob had died down completely. Celestia turned the corner, then stopped in front of a group of lockers. She turned to face Twilight.
"What is it that you need?" She asked. Twilight frowned a bit, leaning against the lockers.
"Celestia...I am your best friend, aren't I? And you trust me more than anyone?" She asked, hurt audible in her voice. Celestia rose an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side.
"Of course you are! Twilight, what's going on?" Celestia furrowed her eyebrows, looking more and more and confused as the conversation continued. Twilight shook her head softly, looking at Celestia with dejected eyes.
"Then why didn't you tell me that you have a sister?" She asked accusingly, folding her arms. "I mean, we've been friends since before I could even walk. I've told you everything about me and you didn't even tell me that you have a sister? What else are you hiding?"
The look of horror upon Celestia's face was unmistakable. Her jaw slightly fell open and she placed a hand on her cheek. "I...how...who told you that?"
"Two girls in my Language Arts class were talking about it. They said that your sister used to go to this school, but got kicked out for assaulting a teacher and was put in juvenile detention. They said that you were ashamed of her." Twilight explained, looking at Celestia expectantly. Celestia was silent for several moments, before she let out a long sigh. She lowered herself on to the polished tiles of the floor below, patting the spot next to her.
"Sit down, Twilight. I have a lot to talk to you about." Celestia's voice was distant. Twilight was momentarily bewildered, but sat down nonetheless. She looked over at Celestia, who looked both afraid and upset. She locked eyes with Twilight.
"Twilight, I am truly sorry for never telling you about Luna." Her voice was extremely sincere. She reached out, squeezing Twilight's hand softly. "You are and always will be my best friend. It's just that...there are some things that I'd prefer to keep hidden."
"But I've never hidden anything from you!" Twilight objected.
Celestia sighed. "It isn't just you. I hide the fact that I have a sister around anyone possible." She reasoned. "You see...Luna...we've never seen eye to eye. I excelled in school and focused on perfecting my grades, while she hardly attended her classes and barely passed each year. I made sure that I abided by all of my parent's rules, while she constantly stayed out past curfew and got in trouble with them. I was always on my best behaviour while she caused trouble and was placed in a juvenile detention center more than once."
As Twilight listened to Celestia's story, she felt the anger and betrayal inside of her being replaced with interest. Celestia took a deep breath, before continuing. "Luna and I argued a lot. We even got in to physical disputes. I was so ashamed and upset that I had such a careless, angry, chaos inducing sister that I never told anyone that I had one. Luna and I never went to the same school; she attended an alternative school for people who had been kicked out of their schools for behavioural problems. Because of that, it was easy to hide the fact that I had a sister. Then, my parents got Luna in to Equestria Academy.
I really don't know how they did it. They never told me. They just explained to me that Luna and I would be attending the same school. When she arrived, she continued her usual trouble making antics and caused havoc throughout the school. I pretended that I didn't know her. I didn't even look at her or speak to her once for the duration of time she attended. However, word somehow got out that she was my sister.
It was very damaging to my school career. Not only did my reputation take a large hit and some of my friends began to distance themselves from me, but my teachers became suspicious of me and gave me lower grades. It was terrible, Twilight. It was embarrassing. Soon enough, she was expelled from school for assaulting a teacher who gave her a bad grade. Shortly after, my parents split. My father won custody of me while my mother won custody of Luna. We haven't spoken to each other since. I'm not even sure where she is right now."
Twilight was dumbfounded for a moment. She rose her eyebrows, trying to make eye contact with Celestia. "You haven't said anything to her since your parents split? Not one single thing?"
Celestia shook her head, refusing to meet Twilight's eyes.
"And you don't even know where she is right now?"
Celestia replied with another shaking head.
Twilight paused. "...Do you even know that she's coming back to this school tomorrow?"
The colour completely drained from Celestia's face. She slowly looked over at Twilight, her eyes wide with horror.
"Luna is coming back?"

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                       Author's Note                       
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Author's Note
I apologise for the lack of updates. I've been very busy with school and other things. Should be uploading this weekend.