Unlike the other times that Arceus had been to The School of Friendship, this time the entire foyer was full of all sorts of creatures. Although the biggest difference Arceus noticed was not the amount of ponies. It was the fact that most of the room was completely silent, which was quite a contrast to the usual talk and laughter that had always filled the school when Arceus had been there in the past.

When Arceus finally figured out where all the noise had gone, she felt a pang of shame and embarrassment, which she did her best to hide. They were all scared of her. Most of the students had not-so-subtly moved to the opposite side of the room when they’d recognized her from the newspapers. After a moment, the room filled with light whispering. She could only hear bits and pieces, some of which included things like ‘Wow, the rumors were true,’ and ‘I hope we don’t have classes with her.’

There were a few groups of ponies that hadn’t immediately run from her, and that gave Arceus hope. Although, after taking a closer look at them, she wasn’t sure about how reassured she should’ve been by that.

The first group was a pair of earth pony stallions that brought to mind the expression, ‘opposites attract’. One had a brightly colored appearance and an expressive face, while the other looked depressingly bland and flat in comparison. She knew she recognized the former from somewhere, but she couldn’t put her hoof on where it was from. Those two looked at her not with fright, but with curious, thoughtful expressions.

The second group was another pair of ponies. Well, not actually ponies. One of them was a winged male changeling with particularly notable orange eyes, and the other was a female kirin with a kind-looking face. When Arceus locked eyes with the changeling, he blinked a few times, seemingly surprised to have gotten her attention, then his cheeks turned bright red, and he turned away. The kirin widened her eyes at him in obvious frustration, then looked back and forth between Arceus and the changeling, elbowing him and unsuccessfully attempting to push him towards Arceus. Arceus wasn’t sure what to make of that.

The next group wasn’t really a group at all. It was just one mare, staring her down with questioning eyes. Arceus recognized that look all too well. Ponies who looked at her like that didn’t see her as a pony. They saw her as a research project. At least the mare wasn’t afraid of her though… Right?

The final group that didn’t run from her was by far the largest. It was made up of seven or eight ponies, all emulating an air of class that the rest of the room lacked. There was one stallion who was clearly the clique’s leader, and with a start, Arceus recognized him. She could barely believe her eyes. It was Starcatcher!

Starcatcher and his parents had sent her several good luck charms, and his mother, Princess Moondancer had even sent her a potion or two. Starcatcher was one of the only ponies her age that she felt like she truly knew. He was pretty much the only one who had continued writing to her after she’d replied to his political letter. Perhaps that had only been because her original reply had been a bit more smitten than her usual responses, but she couldn’t be sure. The newspapers that Arceus had read about Starcatcher always described him as self-absorbed and lazy, but Arceus found that hard to believe. It was obvious to Arceus how much time and thought he’d put into each letter he’d sent her.

Starcatcher finally met her eyes, and Arceus blushed fiercely and looked away, similarly to the changeling she’d seen earlier, although Arceus hadn’t been out enough in her life to be able to put two and two together.

“Hello?” Headmare Starlight said. Arceus was surprised to find that while she’d been nervously looking around at her classmates, she and her parents had walked all the way to Headmare Starlight. Arceus shook her head to clear it.

“I’m sorry, what?” she asked.

“I was just saying what a pleasure it is to be your teacher! I mean, Celestia knows we at this school have taught many types of creatures, but we’ve never learned from somepony as special as you,” Headmare Starlight said. Then her eyebrows drew together.

“Did I say ‘learned from somepony as special as you’? I meant to say we’ve never had someone as special as you learn from us,” Headmare Starlight corrected as she laughed at her error. Arceus’s parents laughed a bit with her, but Arceus was not amused, especially with that creepy note in the headmare’s laughter.

“Well, she’s all signed in! I think that’s all I need from you. You can leave now. Thanks for stopping by!” Headmare Starlight said to Arceus’s parents.

“Oh... Okay. Will you be at tonight’s Friendship Counsel meeting? I know you haven’t been to one in quite a while, but you’re always welcome,” Arceus’s mother said.

“Am I? Well isn’t that sweet. As much as I’d love to be there, I just have some other plans tonight,” Headmare Starlight said. To Arceus, her smile seemed fake, but her mom didn’t seem to notice, and her dad was too busy turning furniture into cotton candy to be paying any attention to the conversation.

“Oh. That’s fine,” her mother said disappointedly. Then her mother tapped her father on the back to get his attention, and they both turned to Arceus.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be over in a flash,” her father said. On the word ‘flash’, there was a bright flash of light across the school. It drew a lot of attention back to Arceus, which she didn’t like, but she appreciated his effort to make her feel better.

“We love you, and we really think you’re going to like it here,” her mother said.

Several hugs later, Arceus’s parents were gone, and she was left feeling completely alone while surrounded by dozens of ponies.

Headmare Starlight looked at her and noticed her nervous expression.

“Don’t worry. Let’s just say I have a feeling that you’re going to do great things this year,” she said cryptically. Her expression looked smug. A moment later, it changed back to the fake smile.

“Well, I suppose I ought to make my speech now. After all, you were the last student to get here. I’m sure it was because your mother knows how patient I am no matter what. She and her friends certainly know that about me.” Headmare Starlight’s tone had gotten more and more resentful as she spoke. Then, she seemed to remember that she’d originally been talking to Arceus, and quickly added

“Not that it’s a problem of course! I don’t mind a bit! Go stand with the other students now if you don’t mind.”

Arceus had no problem with that. She was happy to leave that clearly messed-up pony. In fact, now that she thought about it, she was actually looking forward to talking with Starcatcher. She’d been wanting to meet him outside of paper for quite a while. From the way he had written to her, she’d always felt like he understood her in a way that nopony else did.

However, before she managed to get within speaking distance of him, Headmare Starlight had stepped up onto a small podium in the center of the large foyer and begun her speech.

“Attention students! Today is a very special day. Not only is today Orientation Day, but it’s also the beginning of a new era for The School of Friendship. For over twenty years, this school has been a symbol of friendship and equality. It’s something that has brought together so many creatures over the years. We’ve had not only earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, but also changelings, yaks, hippogriffs, griffons, dragons, buffalo, and kirin.

“As you know, Princess Twilight Sparkle founded this school, and then upon her coronation, gave me the official position of Headmare. But, even with her princess duties, she’s always found a way to come here quite periodically to manage certain things. While I would never accuse the princess of being at fault, I regret to say that many students in the past have considered her their ‘true headmare’, and considered me as just a stand-in. Of course, this caused much unfriendly behavior amongst the students.

“But, that’s all going to change this year, because after having a long discussion with Princess Twilight Sparkle, we agreed that from this point on, she will only come to this school either under dire circumstances, or on days when the school is open to the public. I believe that this change is in the best interest of all of you, and I think that it will help expand the implications of this school so that it not only represents friendship and equality, but also learning and experimentation.

“But I’m sure none of you want to stay here all day and listen to me drone on, so please bring any baggage you’ve brought with you to Ms. Scootaloo, and she will take them to your new rooms. Your schedules are still being made, so it will be another few hours before you all receive them. While you’re waiting, please feel free to meet new creatures and talk amongst yourselves. We encourage you to get to know one another.

“And that’s all! Without further ado, welcome to The School of Friendship!”

Author's Note

Hi again! I did some searching, and I've update the cover art source to go to the website that created the art, rather than the google search that I originally found it on, but sadly I couldn't find the original artist. Hope you liked this chapter! If you did, please give it a thumbs up, and make sure to comment with your thoughts.