In the same moment as the bell rang, Flurry Heart's stomach grumbled, forming an awkward symphony together with the other sound. She held a hoof at it, looking down with a scrunch of her face. It was time for recess.
Flurry Heart turned towards Sunny Spirit and Sharp Pitch, wearing a cheery smile. “Let's go!” she exclaimed eagerly. “I'm hungry and I really need a sandwich now!”
Sunny Spirit nodded, then Flurry Heart found herself being wrapped into a spontaneous hug by the crystal filly. “I'm glad you're feeling better, Flurry!” She sighed with relief at her friend's neck. Gently, Flurry Heart put her hooves around Sunny and squeezed her tightly.
A smile flashed over Sharp Pitch's face as he watched the scene and how Flurry Heart and Sunny Spirit then galloped out of the classroom at each other's side. He hurried after the two fillies, then took position in front of them as he had caught up.
Behind him, Flurry and Sunny were busy with idle chatter, talking about getting some relaxation and, of course, about sandwiches with peanut butter and tomato slices. Happily, the two of them giggled and laughed, as suddenly, a third pony joined their ranks.
“Hey, I can come with you, right?” Magnolia asked them, a bit out of breath.
Sunny drilled through her head with eyes full of scepticism, an eyebrow raised significantly, but she did not say anything. Flurry Heart, on the other hoof, nodded, giving her new, unexpected friend a smile. Overjoyed, Magnolia leapt forward and placed a kiss on Flurry's cheek, her own cheeks flushing red a little. Her gesture got acknowledged with a gasp of surprise coming from the young alicorn. To their right, the scepticism in Sunny's eyes deepened.
Diligently protected by the guard, the three fillies headed for the school cafeteria, where each of them grabbed a sandwich hastily, then made their way to the schoolyard. As they left the cafeteria, Starry Skies and Fiery Breeze joined them, both of them carrying sandwiches on their backs as well. After quickly exchanged hoofbumps, the group of fillies galloped over the schoolyard and under the first row of trees. As they were surrounded by the thick leafage and the mighty tree trunks, the rest of the schoolyard not visible for them anymore, they slumped down and grabbed their sandwiches.
Flurry Heart, Sunny and Magnolia took seat at a particularly massive tree, the latter draping one hoof over Flurry Heart's back, where she let it rest on one of her wings. Magnolia held her sandwich with the other one and took a big bite out of it. Starry Skies and Fiery Breeze seated themselves at a tree opposite of them.
The first few minutes were mostly spent in silence. The five fillies hungrily ate away at their school lunches and the tiny clearing became filled with sounds of munching, chewing and swallowing. Only when Flurry Heart noticed something about Starry Skies and Fiery Breeze and asked them a question, the silence was broken for some seconds.
“The scrolls we got?” Fiery Breeze asked a question in return, between two bites of her sandwich. “We threw them away,” she explained nonchalantly, her attention staying focused on her lunch. “Starry and me don't care about what that punk says!”
At her side, Starry blushed and an embarrassed expression entered her eyes, but with a hint of glee. “Mhm. We don't need them!” she confirmed, then she continued to munch eagerly.
Flurry Heart's lips formed a smile at these words and, a thankful look of pure sympathy for her friends in her eyes, she took a hearty bite out of her own sandwich.
As the last bits of the sandwiches had disappeared in the fillies' stomachs and the thin paper they were wrapped in laid at their sides, crumpled to balls, Sunny Spirit cleared her throat. Flurry, Magnolia, Starry and Fiery looked over to her, curious as to what the crystal filly had to say. With all attention on her, Sunny began to speak.
“As you all know, the last few days were really bad for Flurry Heart. Many ponies gave her a hard time, especially since her secret is out. Even me.....” For a moment, she appeared to be sunken in thoughts.
Simultaneously, Magnolia removed her hoof from Flurry Heart's back and looked to the side, her face full of shame.
Sunny shook off her paralysis and continued. “And that's why I want to do something to cheer her up.” Once more she stopped and looked over the curious and excited faces of her friends and classmates. “It's almost weekend and soon, Flurry Heart will have two whole days to recover from all of this and relax. I want to join her and hold a sleepover with her and you all can come too, if you want.”
To her left, a visibly moved Flurry Heart gave her best friend a smile of appreciation and gratitude, her eyes tearing up just a little.
Sunny Spirit looked at Magnolia. “Magnolia.....” she began and the pegasus filly twitched. “I invite you too. You hurt Flurry's feelings almost the most and if you really mean what you said, if you really don't want to be a bully anymore but a true friend for Flurry, then you can now make up for what you did and prove yourself.”
Magnolia stared on the ground, avoiding eye contact with the other filly. A few tears glistened in her eyes, but she rubbed them away and looked up, somehow managing to look at Flurry Heart and Sunny Spirit both now. “I-I will come,” she announced, her voice a mere quiet whisper. “I..... I want to help Flurry.” Magnolia gulped.
To her surprise, she suddenly felt Flurry Heart's arm around her neck, getting pulled closer by her. A conciliatory expression of forgiveness was on Flurry Heart's face and she gave Magnolia a short nuzzle on the cheek, causing her to blush and to look away again.
Sunny gave Magnolia a stern nod of approval, then she turned to Starry Skies. “Starry?” The insecure filly looked up at her. “You should come too. Flurry Heart helped you a lot and now you can return something to her for this.”
Unlike Magnolia, Starry Skies immediately replied. “Mhm, I will come!” she confirmed. “I want to make her happy again too.” She averted her gaze from Sunny and met Flurry Heart with a smile, which the alicorn filly returned while still hugging Magnolia, a few tears trickling out of her eyes now.
Last, but not least, Sunny turned to Fiery Breeze, but before she could ask, Starry leapfrogged her. “What about you, Fiery? Do you want to join us?”
Starry snickered a little as the brash filly with the green coat and the fire-red mane answered with a roll of her eyes. “Nah..... I would join and I want to help Flurry Heart too, but isn't there anything cooler we can do? Like, flying together?” Then her face beamed. She jumped up and flared her wings as an idea hit her. “Or we could go to the forge and watch how the new swords and spears get created there! That would be–”
She did not get a chance to finish her sentence as the other fillies around her broke out in laughter, even Magnolia. Furious, Fiery Breeze began to buzz her wings, but before she could express her anger, Flurry Heart stopped her laughing and interfered.
“It's okay if you don't come, Fiery. We know that you like other things more and that's fine.”
The gentle words calmed the hothead and she sat down again, but still kept a slight angry expression in her eyes.
Starry Skies addressed her again. “So, do you want to join a sleepover for once, just to cheer up Flurry?”
Dismissively, the pegasus waved a hoof at her friend. “Nah. Just go and have fun at your girly sleepover without me, this stuff isn't for me. I'm sure I can cheer up Flurry Heart in a different way.”
Starry Skies flattened her ears in disappointment, but nodded acceptingly at Fiery Breeze's decision.
Sunny took the floor again. “That makes me, Magnolia and you, Starry. I think we should already start this evening, right after finishing our homework. Do all of you have time to sleep in the castle tonight?”
Confirmation came from both Starry and Magnolia as Sunny looked at them for an answer on her question.
“Okay,” she said then, happiness ringing in her voice about the smooth organization of the sleepover she had planned for her friend. “Then let's talk about who's bringing what for the weekend.”
Eagerly, the three attending fillies discussed plans for the sleepover. There were a lot of things to think of; they needed to bring snacks, they had to make a decision which games they wanted to play on these two days and, of course, had to come up with strategies how to stay up way past their bedtimes without getting noticed by Flurry's parents. The biggest problem to solve, though, became apparent to them as Starry Skies made a confession.
They had just settled on the most important things, as the unicorn raised her voice. “I..... I don't have a sleeping bag. W-Where should I sleep during our sleepover?” She sounded shaky.
Sunny Spirit looked at her in surprise. “You don't have one? Why?” A little irritated, she raised an eyebrow.
“I never attended any sleepovers so far..... I want to now, to help Flurry, but I don't know how to act at sleepovers and I'm afraid to embarrass myself..... So I never went to any. I never needed to get a sleeping bag.....” Sadness adorning her face now, Starry looked to the side.
Sunny Spirit approached Starry and gave her a pat on the back. “I'm sure Flurry's parents can borrow you one, if they have a sleeping bag left. And if they don't have one, you just slip under the covers with Flurry. I'm sure she won't mind to share her bed for a few nights.” She turned around. “Flurry? That's okay with you, right?”
Flurry Heart did not answer. And just as Sunny had finished her sentence, she noticed that Flurry's eyes were closed. She still had a hoof draped over Magnolia's back, but it was now hanging down loosely and her head was leaning against Magnolia, resting on her neck. Her eyes twitched under the closed lids and deep, although sometimes unsteady, breaths came from her throat. Magnolia looked at her with compassion coming from her eyes.
Sunny walked in front of the sleeping alicorn filly and nudged her gently. “Hey, Flurry!”
Almost in the same moment as her hoof touched her shoulder, Flurry's eyes suddenly shot open and she raised to an upright position; all in one, quick movement. For seconds, Flurry just looked around in bewilderment, eyes widened, then she breathed a sigh of relief as she realized again where she was. Sleepily, she rubbed her eyes until all the grit was out, then yawned.
“Are you ok?” Magnolia put a hoof around Flurry's neck and pulled her a little closer, looking into her eyes with concern.
“Mhm.” Flurry Heart answered in a weak voice. “I just had–” She interrupted herself, rubbing over her eyes again, then yawned a second time. “I was just getting so tired suddenly and then I must have dozed off,” she explained, without looking at the concerned filly at her side.
“We were talking about Starry Skies,” Sunny began again, requesting her friend's attention. “She doesn't have a sleeping bag, would it be okay for you if she sleeps in your bed?”
Surprised, Flurry Heart looked over to Starry Skies, but did not ask any questions. Instead, she nodded. “Mhm. That's fine. It's probably going to be tight, but I think it will work.”
A smile appeared in Starry's face now, replacing the vanishing insecurity.
With this last problem solved, Sunny moved around to face all of her friends again. “Okay, that's settled too!” She let her eyes wander over them. “Does everypony know what to bring?”
“I've got it all!” Magnolia said, smiling at Flurry.
“Me too!” Starry underlined her answer with a grin.
“Great, then we meet together at the castle right at sundown!” Sunny clapped her hooves together in satisfaction.
“Yeah!” it rang out from her friends.
Then all of them got up, taking the crumpled paper balls in the process, and made their way out from between the trees and back into the open space of the schoolyard, Sunny following behind close. Recess was almost over, so it was time to head inside again and to get prepared for the next lesson.
Cheerfully, they talked more about their plans for the weekend and excited laughs and giggles left their throats. The mood was so boisterous and happy, that none of the five friends noticed the familiar figure coming from the entrance of the school building and how it was approaching them fast. Only Sharp Pitch took his spear into his hooves and tightened the grip around it, eyes squinted in grim cautiousness.
In the distance, nopony else than Austere Knowledge trotted up to them. This alone would have already been enough to alarm Sharp Pitch, but what made him nervous about this occurrence, was the thing the heartless teacher hovered casually at his side:
It was one of the neutralization spell scrolls.
Noticing the reaction of her guard, Flurry Heart looked ahead and her and Austere Knowledge's eyes met. He unrolled the scroll and grinned at Flurry, but all of a sudden, his mouth formed a simple smile. Flurry's pupils dilated and a gasp escaped her throat, then Sharp Pitch stepped to the front, blocking her sight.
With the skilled movement of a soldier, Flurry Heart's guard aimed the spear at Austere, the expression in his eyes not leaving any questions about his intentions and what he would do if the situation should escalate.
By now, the unicorn stallion had almost reached the small group. A hastening tempo was in his hoofsteps.
“Don't come closer. Stop right there!” Reinforcing his statement, Sharp Pitch moved his spear forward, just an inch.
The expression in the teacher's face was one between amusement and pity. His horn became lit up by his black aura which, just a second later, got wrapped around the alarmed guard, keeping him frozen in place, unable to move. Then Sharp Pitch felt flung to the side. His eyes grew in terror as he had to helplessly witness how Austere Knowledge stepped right before Flurry Heart.
Now it were Fiery Breeze and Magnolia who did a step to the front. Each of them held a protective wing between Flurry Heart and her teacher. As they were finished preparing their defense of Flurry, Austere Knowledge had reached them. His cold appearance towered over Flurry Heart, who shivered in fear, her eyes fixated on the unrolled scroll. Austere looked over the two pegasus fillies, a friendly smile on his lips that gave both of them shudders.
“What do you want from her?!” Sunny shot a question at her teacher, her face consumed by worry and fear for her friend. She hurried at Flurry's side as well, putting a hoof around her back and holding her tight.
Austere Knowledge ignored her. Turning his attention to Flurry Heart again, he hovered the scroll right in front of her face. From her position, the young alicorn princess could clearly see the words written on the scroll.
“Diruptio Nervus Cerebrum” he read the words for her in a whisper. A grin played around his lips again.
The color vanished from Flurry Heart's face in an instant and she began gasping for air, now tears appearing in her eyes as the shock overtook her.
With as much force as she could, Sunny began to pull at her friend, trying to get her out of the way of the wicked teacher.
Only for a split-second, a satisfied glimmer flashed up in Austere's eyes, then he returned to his friendly smile from earlier. With carefulness, he furled in the scroll again, using his magic, then gently placed it on Flurry Heart's back.
Puzzled, Sunny stopped pulling, her eyes filled with questions over the sudden strange behavior of Mr. Know. Which got only worse as he suddenly lifted a hoof and put it down on Flurry Heart's mane. Slowly, but for once not in a menacing way, he ruffled through it, the smile still on his face.
Flurry Heart's eyes grew wide in surprise.
“These are dangerous times for you, beloved princess, and you need as much defense as you can get.” Austere's voice was unusually soft. “I know you are hesitant to use your magic, but with this scroll, you can defend yourself without leaving any traces. Don't be afraid to use it.” He moved his hoof away, then turned around and, without saying another word, left Flurry Heart and her friends behind. His horn stopped glowing and Sharp Pitch got released from the magical clutches that did not allow him to come to Flurry Heart's aid.
Groaning, he got up from the ground, his head feeling dizzy. He shook it, then he rushed back at Flurry's side. “Are you okay, princess?” He bent down, checking her for any injuries.
“W-What was this?” she stammered, without answering his question. “W-Why did he do t-this?” Her eyes were still widened and a few tears glistened in them still.
Sunny reached out and wiped them away, then tightened the grip around her friend and squeezed her. Worry in her eyes, she looked up to Sharp Pitch. “What did he mean by that?”
“I have no idea what he is up to,” he answered the filly's question. “If a magic user casts one of these spells they leave traces on the body of the victim, which makes it possible to find out who did it. But if a scroll containing the spell is used instead, nopony can trace it back. The magic signature the scrolls leave behind is useless to identify an attacker.”
Having finished checking Flurry Heart, Sharp Pitch rose up again. Sunny followed him with her eyes.
“I don't know why he gave the princess the means to attack another pony in such a way.” His expression showed deep concern. Sternly, he looked down at Flurry Heart. “Whatever happens, only use the scroll if there is absolutely no other way, princess. As soon as this spell got cast, there is no way back. Do you understand this, princess?”
Biting her lip, Flurry Heart answered his glance with her own. “O-Okay,” she answered taut, still stammering.
“Good. Don't forget that I'm on your side, princess. You probably don't need this spell and I will do everything to protect you well enough so that you won't have to use it.” He placed a hoof on her shoulder and smiled at her reassuringly.
Weakly, Flurry Heart answered his smile.
As the bell of the school rang out again, he stashed the spear back at the side of his armor, then looked around. Unnoticed by them, the schoolyard had become empty. They were the only ones left.
“Let's go inside now,” he addressed the whole group of fillies. “We're late.”
Together, the guard, Flurry Heart and her friends set into motion, but not without Flurry occasionally turning around and taking a nervous look at the scroll on her back. She did not know what it was, but she could feel something dark radiating from the scroll. Explaining it with her overactive imagination, she tried to shake them off, but the dark vibes remained.
“I have a very bad feeling about this,” she muttered quietly.