Typical dinners on campus were less formal than lunch and less hurried than breakfast. Dinner didn’t have as narrow a timeframe for when you could have it. Students could get dinner in the cafeteria anytime between sundown and supposedly midnight—I say supposedly because first-year students and second-year students had dorm curfews that came long before midnight, so I had no way it verifying that they kept serving food that late. There were some other quirks, if you arrived early some of the dishes might not yet be available. If you arrived late some of the dishes might not be available then either, although it would be because they’d be eaten compared to not finished being prepared. Class seatings were more fluid at dinner, and we weren’t required to sit at our class table, even though that was what most of us inevitably did. There were also no professors present at dinner, or rarely present. That meant there was more chance of the random food fight occurring, since there was no authority figure to stand in the way of the chucking of food. There was also the option of taking our dinner to go, which is what my friends and I chose to do.

We took out dinner bundles out to a picnic bench that was set up between the dorks and the main school building. It was night, but there was street lamp near the picnic bench that provided plenty of light—it wasn’t electric, but it glowed when it was dark out all the same.

“So, how are you holding up after that whole meeting with Luna and Newman?” Hannah asked me as we sat down. “You were pretty quiet the entire time.”

“You were quiet, too,” I pointed out. “How are you doing after finding out a drawing got you into school?”

Hannah shrugged. ”She said it was only one factor, not the whole reason .Getting drawn by a storyteller just means I’m special. I can’t be stressed about that.”

“Ah wish they drew meh,” Bright said. “Guessin’ ah ain’t so special.”

“I think because it is the Story that made her draw, and the Story is based on Earth, it wouldn’t know about you or Summer,” I replied..

“I don’t really need to feel special by having somepony draw me. It seems like it could be a bad thing,” Summer said. “Discord said that Harmony and the Story had their hooks in me, just like Hannah and you. There might be the same with you, Bright. You weren’t there for him to see you.”

“Ah’ve seen Discord before, he ain’t never said nothin’ like that,” Bright replied.

“And whatever that stone comes from would be the third hook in me. Maybe whatever is letting the other two talk to each other so I can have visions from Earth while I’m here,” I concluded. “Unfortunately, they aren’t going to say much about that.”

“They said that there pegasus has a spouse that has one, and they blew up some buildin’. That’s somethin’,” Bright pointed out.

“Also means there is going to be another truestone owner somewhere in the area,” Hannah said.

“One that blew up a building,” Summer said warily.

“Well, only once, by accident,” Hannah replied.

Bright shook his head. “We should do somethin’, somethin’ fun.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Hide an’ seek?” Bright suggested.

Hannah shook her head. “Newman said she didn’t want Turnip outside alone at night. Hide and seek would put him by himself.”

I worried about that. They’d mentioned that some people might try to use me if they knew I was connected to a truestone. They’d just told everyone in the throne room that I was. Luna’s guards should be trustworthy, and Sunflower seemed nice enough, but the more people who knew a secret the more chance there was of it getting out.

“How about truth or dare?” Hannah suggested.

“That might be fun,” Summer replied.

“Ah wouldn’t be an Apple if ah were scared of truth or dare,” Bright said confidently.

Hannah smirked. “Great, you can start us off. Truth or dare, Bright?”

Bright raised his head high. “Truth!”

“Who’s prettier, me or Summer?” Hannah asked nonchalantly.

Bright blushed. “Now…that ain’t a very fair question.”

“It’s a simple question,” Hannah replied.

Bright put his head on the table and covered it with his forelegs. “Summer.”

Summer blushed.

Hannah fluttered her lips. “I suppose I asked for that one. I can’t really compete with a kirin. She’s got the exotic beauty thing going on.”

“Sorry,” Summer said, blushing deeper.

“It’s fine. Don’t apologize for being pretty,” Hannah said, waving it off. “Okay, Bright, you can call on someone now.”

Bright uncovered his head. “Hannah, truth or dare.”

“Dare,” Hannah answered immediately.

“That was quick,” I said.

She shrugged. “Figured he was going to turn the question on me, only with you and him. I didn’t want to have to decide which one if you was less homely.”

“Thanks for that,” Bright replied, ears flat. “Uh ..let me think of a dare.”

“You didn’t have something ready?” Hannah asked, amused.

“Naw, was goin’ ta do like ya said,” Bright confessed.

Hannah gave him a pouty face. “Awww, too bad.”

Bright sighed. “Levitate up that there bench ya are sittin’ in without getting’ off it.”

Hannah blinked. “I can’t do that. Not with me on it. You know that. It would be like trying to lift myself.”

Bright shrugged. “Starlight Glimmer does it.”

“Starlight Glimmer is the most powerful unicorn there is,” Hannah countered. “How about I try to lift the one you and Turnip are sitting on instead?”

“Fine, try yer best,” Bright conceded.

Hannah lit her horn and the bench below me was enveloped in her magic aura. The bench shook and I steadied myself on it.

“Whoa!” Bright cried out as the bench continued to shake, almost losing his balance.

The bench rose about an inch or two off the ground and then abruptly dropped. Hannah panted.

“Okay, I managed it. Dare complete,” she said proudly. “You two are heavier than I thought you’d be.”

“It was probably Turnip. Earth ponies have thicker bones,” Summer said.

I shrugged. “Guilty as charged.”

Hannah caught her breath and looked at me. “Well, since you were the one who made that a struggle, you can be next. Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” I chose.

“Tell us a deep dark secret about yourself,” Hannah challenged.

That took me aback. Deep dark secret? I had lots of secrets, and many if them I had promised not to say anything about—promised very important people that I wouldn’t. What could I possibly answer without getting in trouble.

I lowered my eyes. “I forged my parents signature on the permission form to let me attend school here.”

All three of them gaped at me.

“I didn’t expect you to lean that hard into the deep dark secret thing,” Hannah said breathlessly. “What the heck, Turnip?!”

“You ran away from home?” Summer asked in disbelief.

“Ya faked the form that let’s ya be here?!” Bright asked in equal dismay. “They’ll kick ya out if they find out!”

I kept staring down. “Newman knows about it. She got my parents to sign the forms for real. She also made me write a letter apologizing to them. They’re going to come visit during the winter break, and I’ll have to explain myself to them. I’m kinda dreading it.”

*I bet. That is going to be a really awkward conversation,” Hannah said.

“That’s putting it lightly,” I replied.

“You should be sure to thank Professor Newman. It sounds like she saved you from being expelled,” Summer said firmly.

“Mah folks didn’t want meh attendin’ either,” Bright said quietly.

We all looked at him.

“But didn’t your sister attend here?” I asked.

He nodded. “An’ she don’t want to come back and help with that farm. They think they lost her ta this place.”

“Your Aunt Applebloom doesn’t farm,” Summer said.

“That’s different. She still comes by ta help with the harvest, her and her youngins’,” Bright explained. “Candy don’t want ta farm at all. She still comes by the farm ta visit, but there’s…there’s a tension whenever she does.”

“I thought you admired your sister,” Summer said. You always speak highly of her. She hasn’t visited you or you her either, now that I think about it.”

“And you never visit home and your family never visits you here,” Hannah added in.

Bright nodded. “There’s…there’s a tension ta it all. Ah’ll be goin’ home for the break, not sure if Candy will be there. It ain’t her fault; she’s got a job to do, an’ sometimes that keeps her away. That’s why she ain’t visited meh. Mah parents don’ really understand that. Mah aunts do, but they ain’t the ones runnin’ the farm. Aunt Applejack is there and works on it, but she don’t control it, mah parents do. She ain’t never been married; she ain’t continuin’ the family, so the farm can’t belong ta her. Aunt Applebloom could have took the Pear orchards for her an’ her young, but she left them for meh and mah siblings. She an’ her young still help out at harvests. Said it was only right for a pony bearin’ the Pear name ta have ‘em after ah was born.”

It sounded like Applebloom had inadvertently dumped a lot of pressure on Bright by doing that.

“But your parents did sign the permission form to allow you to attend,” I observed.

He nodded. “They ain’t goin’ ta stand in the way if ah want ta attend. They can be mad, but they ain’t stoppin’ me. We Apples have a way of doin’ stuff, and we don’t block others’ choices, even ones we don’t like. Ah promised them ah would return to get mah inheritance when ah retire from the guard. Candy said straight out she tweren’t goin’ ta do that.”

“Sorry to hear all that,” Hannah said sympathetically. “My parents were fully supportive of me coming here. They wanted more for me than being some unicorn working in a junkyard. They taught me to always seize the opportunity.”

I took a deep breath and looked at Summer. “Truth or dare?”

She slumped a little. “Truth. I know what’s coming.”

“Why is your mom here and not both your parents?” I asked.

She rubbed her hoof against the table. “My dad, he’s a good rin, but he’s very protective of me and mom.”

“That just makes his absence all the more strange,” I pointed out.

“Let me finish,” Summer replied. “He can get mad easily if he thinks either of us are being mistreated, and…well…we’re kirin; not controlling our temper has consequences. He wants to be here, but Mom and I convinced him that he would do more harm than good if he were. Mom told him they needed to have somepony looking after the animal hospital back home, and she’d keep an eye on me. Mom and I’ll be going back home during the break. I know it seems I try to avoid my mom, but it is just that she gets to be too much. I do like having her here, and I miss seeing my dad.”

“It sounds like the more things change the more they stay the same,” a new voice said from nearby.

We all looked to see Headmistress Cinch approaching us from a nearby bush.

“Sorry for eavesdropping from behind that bush, but I wanted to hear students being students when an adult isn’t around. It seems like you are just like my own, and the students that have attended this school for generations. May I sit with you?” Headmistress Cinch asked.

“How long were you listening?” I asked.

She raised an eyebrow. “A considerable amount if time, considering I had been relaxing behind that bush already when you came up to this picnic table. May I join you?”

“You can join us,” Summer said, scooting closer to Hannah to give Cinch room to sit.

“Thank you,” Cinch said as she sat came and took a seat beside Summer.

“What were you doing behind the bush?” Hannah asked.

“Relaxing, as I said,” Cinch answered. “I have always enjoyed the evenings here in Canterlot. I was there before the four if you ever sat on that bench, and could not help by overhear all that was said. That particular spot is one that I long retreated to after sunset to sit and gather my thoughts. I haven’t quite found the right spot in the Crystal Empire to replicate the experience. I’m a little surprised…perhaps a little disappointed…that none of your elder students came out to see me. It was well-known back during my tenure here that I would spend an hour or two in that spot every evening, and they used to come to me sometimes when they had problems they didn’t feel comfortable discussing in my office. I thought with my visit that some would take the opportunity, but ..well, it has been some time I suppose.”

“Oh,” Hannah replied, seeming unsure what to say about that.

Cinch looked at me. “Some of the things I heard were concerning, including much about you, but fear not, I am not going to interfere with the situation. Your current faculty seem to be involved and it would be improper for me to try to put a stop to how they deal with things, even if I disagree with some of what I heard.”

“Thank you,” I quietly said.

She looked at Bright. “I recall your sister well. She was quite the troublemaker on campus, often getting into misadventures and clashing with the noble students. If that filly hadn’t been so talented, and I hadn’t thought that she had often been provoked into her clashes with other students, I would have sent her home. Still, I recently encountered her in the Crystal Empire and was pleased to see how well she had taken to her career path. She is a very talented spellcaster with a great deal of integrity, and the guard is very lucky to have her. I fully expect she will ascend the ranks quickly. I hope you follow the same path, albeit with fewer fights and trips to the headmaster’s office.”

“Fewer fights, not no fights?” Hannah asked.

Cinch cracked a smile. “I can respect a pony standing up for themselves and their friends. This school should not be in the habit of producing doormats. Candy Apple accepted her consequences with no argument, but never apologized for standing up for others,—that is respectable. Your human professor has my respect for doing just that earlier today in response to me. I still don’t know how I feel about her presence and the school’s current direction, but I feel comforted in knowing that your faculty is still willing to show that the school’s honor is to be defended.”

“Thank ya for sayin’ that ‘bout mah sister,” Bright said. “Ah thought ya might have been not so nice to her.”

“Why is that?” Cinch asked, seeming genuinely confused.

“Ya’re just so big on tradition, an’ this school has mostly been for nobles. Mah family, we ain’t nobles. Ah thought maybe ya wouldn’t support some outsider. Ya didn’t seem to like earth ponies attendin’”

Cinch looked away. “I see, and I understand how you might have thought that. There were many noble families over the years that believed I would give their foals free passes to do as they wish because of their noble birth. The truth is, this school has always been a potential avenue for social mobility. If a student was low-born, but had the talent, they could use this school as a springboard into better circumstances. While lower-born unicorns have always been the minority at the school, they have always produced some of our most accomplished students. They had to work harder to get into the school, and they had to work harder to prove they belong. They never took their attendance for granted. Still, it was always unicorns, and I’m still unconvinced a full magical education is worthwhile to an earth pony or pegasus…although I had already been exploring the possibility of kirin admission before my dismissal. There is adaptability and there is throwing tradition out the door altogether. I like to believe I am adaptable. I am of noble birth, but I was outranked by almost every other noble in my class and in the faculty. I had to fight to reach a position of authority. No, not every student needs to be a noble, but they should have the tools they need to succeed.”

“Oh,” I said, not sure if she had made me feel any better.

She looked at me. “And you…I won’t discuss your deception with permission forms…that seems to have been addressed already. I would have sent you home, but knowing what I heard about your other ability…you said visions…knowing that, I am unsure what I would have done. I’ve had two students who ended up being seers under my watch here, separated by many years. It is a truly rare ability. The most recent one was still many years ago—Star Singer, that was her name.”

Cinch took a deep breath. “Star Singer could be troubled at times. She always saw the disasters that were on the horizon long before others. She had one really good friend on campus, one that struggled with making friends, Sunset Shimmer.”

We all stiffened at the infamous unicorn’s name.

Cinch nodded. The pair if them seemed only to have each other for friends. Sunset Shimmer was the most talented student I had ever taught, even more talented than Twilight Sparkle. Sunset Shimmer was one of those ponies like your current administration wants to encourage, always pushing past what was traditional, always pushing the boundaries, always making hard decisions. I wonder sometimes if I should have done something to force those two to be friends with anypony than just each other. Star Singer had her visions, and Sunset Shimmer listened. Some of those visions included the vision about Nightmare Moon’s return, which turned out to be a good thing in the end, since that gave us back Princess Luna in the end, but at the time it seemed a portent of doom—it always seemed like portents if doom. She saw the return of Sombra as well. Again, another seeming portent if doom that turned out alright in the end.”

“That’s promising,” Summer said. “It means Turnip’s visions can turn around and make things better.”

“I agree,” Cinch replied. “The point is that Sunset Shimmer only heard those portents of doom, and it impacted her in ways that shaped the world we live in. She went to your world, upsetting a balance that had kept you and us safe from an unimaginable horror. She did this all because she believed there were threats on the horizon that Harmony could not overcome alone, and because of her actions she created a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Cinch stood up and left the bench. “Be careful with visions. Remember they are a tool of Harmony, meant to help bring peace. I don’t know what you have seen, but I can assume it was frightening. Don’t make dramatic choices based on them. It leads to sorrow.”

Author's Note

Echoes of Canterlot

Verse 1:
In Canterlot, as twilight falls,
Four friends gather near the halls,
With dinner bundled, stories shared,
Of visions, stones, and secrets bared.

Chorus:
Oh, the echoes of Canterlot,
Where past and present intertwine,
In Truth or Dare, we learn a lot,
About the ties that bind.

Verse 2:
Hannah's sketch, a fateful draw,
Bright's family farm, tradition's law,
Summer's fire, kept in check,
Turnip's form, a risky trek.

(Chorus)

Verse 3:
Behind the bush, Cinch appears,
A voice from bygone school years,
Of Candy's fights and Singer's sight,
Of Sunset's fall and Luna's light.

(Chorus)

Bridge:
But beware the seer's gift,
For visions can make spirits drift,
In chasing shadows yet to come,
We might lose the battle we've already won.

Final Chorus:
Oh, the echoes of Canterlot,
Where past and present intertwine,
In Truth or Dare, we've learned a lot,
About the ties that bind.
And in the end, we'll find our way,
Through magic, friendship, come what may.