With one more day left before school goes back in session, Lyra and Bonbon were able to meet Tidal for the first time and take him to Canterlot High for a tour of the school. They decided to take Bonbon’s caravan because it had all wheel drive, since Canterlot received a good amount of snow yesterday. They knew the salt trucks were working overtime clearing the roads, but they wanted to make sure they didn’t hit a patch of black ice on their way there. And they didn’t want to walk on the sidewalks, since they have yet to be cleared. Luckily, the main pathway to the school entrance was being cleared by the school’s cleaning crew. When they arrived at the school, they parked at the curb and got out in the cold, but clear air.
“Here we are. Canterlot High,” Bonbon explained.
“Home to the Wondercolts,” Lyra added.
Tidal was able to see the school better this time than the last. “I walked by here the day before New Year’s Eve and noticed the school. I’m guessing the glass ceiling is where the library is, right?”
“You have a good eye, Tidal,” Bonbon replied. “Our school library is larger than most schools. And it’s the only place where you can reach the roof of the building.”
“We’ve been up there to hang banners at times,” Lyra added. “Most of them were created by Pinkie Pie. She’s our party expert.”
“But don’t be surprised if she pops up out of nowhere,” Bonbon explained. “She has a habit of doing that.”
“Pinkie Pie? I met her at the Sweet Shoppe that same day,” Tidal explained. “She almost shook my hand off.”
“That’s Pinkie Pie for you,” Lyra replied. “Always full of energy and running non-stop. But come on. Let’s get out of the cold.” She started to run on up to the school entrance, seeing that the walkway was clear of snow and ice, thanks to the added salt melt that was applied earlier.
“No doubt the door is unlocked,” Bonbon said. “I hate to be out here in the cold for a while.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Tidal said. “Aunt Tia said that Aunt Luna would be here finishing up on my schedule. Besides, this weather doesn’t really bother me.”
“Let me guess. Because you live up north, right?” Bonbon asked, to which Tidal nodded. “How cold does it get at this time?”
“Close to the single digits.”
Bonbon stopped in her tracks, stunned at Tidal’s answer. Lyra noticed this as she opened the front door.
“Come on, Bonbon. The door’s already unlocked.”
Bonbon shook the thoughts out of her head and made her way inside with the others. Already, they were greeted by Luna, the school’s vice principal. Tidal walked up and gave her aunt a hug before letting go to talk.
“It’s good to finally see you again,” Luna explained. “Your aunt, Tia, and my daughter, Cynder, told me what happened at your old school. But I promise you that you’ll have a better experience here that you did over there.”
“Just as long as she stays out of the way,” Lyra mumbled.
“What was that, Lyra?” Luna asked, giving her the death stare.
“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.”
“Well, I need to get your books ready for your first day here tomorrow,” Luna said. “So why don’t the girls give you the tour, and I’ll have everything ready when you get back.”
Lyra went and grabbed Tidal’s hand and started to drag him around the school. Bonbon started to catch up before Luna stopped her.
“Bonbon, did Pinkie get my message?”
“Yes. She wanted to have this tomorrow, but since Tidal’s birthday is a few weeks away, she understands that Tidal needs to warm up to the school first.”
“Good. I do have one request right now. Do not bring up Sunset’s past and what she did at the Fall Formal. Make sure Lyra understands this. I don’t want Tidal to be reminded of what he went through and get the wrong idea about our school. Are we clear?”
“Yes, Vice Principal Luna.”
Bonbon went on and caught up with Lyra and Tidal as they toured the school. They first went to their lockers and placed their coats away.
“Tidal, you can put your coat in here.” Bonbon opened the locker next to her, displaying that it was empty. “No one has claimed this locker, so it will be fine in here.”
Tidal went on ahead and hanged his coat in the locker before they went on their tour. During that time, they were able to point out some of the class rooms on the first floor before they arrived at the gym.
“And this is where we have gym class,” Lyra said.
Tidal noticed the stage that was in front of them. “You have a low level stage?”
“Yep. We have assemblies in here as well,” Lyra explained. “And Coach Iron Will likes to hold dodge ball during gym class. It’s his favorite sport to give to the students.”
Tidal started to look around the gym. During that moment, Bonbon went up to Lyra’s side.
“Whatever you do, don’t bring up Sunset Shimmer,” Bonbon whispered. “Vice Principal Luna said so.”
Not needing an explanation, Lyra nodded in agreement. Tidal joined back up to them, and they were able to resume their tour. As they walked the hallways, explaining certain classes at each set of rooms, they went upstairs and made their way to the library. And as luck would have it, the doors were unlocked and open.
“And here is the library,” Lyra yelled as she waved her arms in the air. “As you can see, it’s very big.”
“Do you really have to yell in here?”
The group looked up to see a pink lady with purple hair, dressed in a white blouse and green and yellow daisy skirt and brown boots.
“Hello, Miss Cheerilee.”
“Hello, Lyra. Hello Bonbon. And who do we have here?”
“This is the principal's nephew, Tidal,” Bonbon answered.
“I see,” Cheerilee replied. “Vice Principal Luna told me that you would be having a tour of the school today.”
“We didn’t expect to see you here today,” Lyra explained.
“Just getting the last of the books put away that were checked in over the break. I also had to deliver some supplies for tomorrow.”
“Miss Cheerilee also teaches here,” Bonbon explained to Tidal. “Her classroom is not far from here.”
“If you ever need any help finding something in here, just let me know when I’m around,” Cheerilee explained. “Otherwise, one of my student assistants will be able to help you.” She went on back to placing books on the shelves.
“Some of the seniors here are allowed to take a semester as an assistant for one of the teachers or staff,” Bonbon explained as the group was leaving the library. “So if she has to teach one of her classes, an assistant will be here to help out.”
They continued their tour from the second floor and went back down to the first floor as they were finishing up Tidal’s tour by coming up to the cafeteria.
“This is where we have lunch,” Bonbon explained. “Ms. Smith, or Granny Smith as she likes to be called, is in charge of the cafeteria staff. She’s Applejack’s grandmother, another student who attends here.”
“It’s always busy on Tuesday,” Lyra added as she was pointing to the “Taco Tuesday” sign on the wall.
“No kidding,” Tidal replied, not feeling surprised. “Was always like that at my old school. Never bother going there anyway.”
Both Lyra and Bonbon looked at each other and just shrugged their shoulders. But Tidal’s attention shifted to the display that was nearby. Several awards from the past were on displayed, along with a picture and maybe an article with it. And one of them was a swimming trophy that was won by his mother when she attended CHS.
“That first place trophy was earned at the national high school invitational decades ago by Ocean Wave,” Bonbon explained.
“I heard that she helped the principal with the creation of the friendship games when they were students and good friends,” Lyra added.
“Friendship games?”
“Yea. It was created as an event with our rival school, Crystal Prep. But they’re only held once every four years,” Bonbon explained. “But we should be holding them the next school year.”
“Only to lose to them again like always,” Lyra added.
“Why is that?” Tidal asked.
“Even though the first friendship games ended in a tie, Crystal Prep has been winning them ever since,” Lyra explained. “Not to mention every other event that they compete.”
“Luckily, this event was a national event,” Bonbon explained. “I don’t know if someone from Crystal Prep attended this event, but it was Ocean Wave who competed and won the 1500 meter freestyle event, since she was the only one from CHS who competed. She came up second or third in a few other swimming events, but all those depend on speed or skill. This one was based of endurance. And only Ocean Wave had the endurance to win. She even attended the Olympics and became a three time gold medal champion in the 1500 meter freestyle. Even broke the world record on her third time there.”
Tidal was surprised to hear this. “I never knew my mother was a part of this event.”
Shocked came across Lyra and Bonbon’s faces.
“You mean… your mother is Ocean Wave?”
Tidal nodded. “Ocean Wave Blue. I even carry her maiden name as my middle name, Tidal Wave Blue.”
Lyra and Bonbon looked at each other, and excitement came across their faces.
“O…”
“M…”
“GOODNESS!”
“Wait until the rest of the school hears about this,” Lyra explained. “Ocean Wave’s son now attending CHS.”
Tidal just placed his hand in front of his face. “Why did I had to bring this up.”
“What do you mean?” Bonbon asked. “Everyone with be surprised that one of this school’s champion now has a son attending here.”
“That’s just it,” Tidal complained. “When my old school knew about my parents’ past, they though I was getting a pass in school when in fact I was born with a learning disability.”
“What makes you say that?” Lyra asked. “Did you have problems with some classes that you take?”
“Well, I’m good in my math classes, as well as computers. But classes like english, science, and history are a struggle for me. I have to have help in learning the stuff before having a test in one of the classes. It’s remembering the words and explanations that make it a challenge.”
“Well, Lyra is good and science class,” Bonbon explained.
“And Bonbon knows her history classes easily,” Lyra explained.
“Plus, we always work together in our english class,” Bonbon explained. “So how about we tutor you in those classes, since we’re one grade higher than you. I’m sure we have already taken one of those classes in the past.”
“I’m not sure,” Tidal replied, feeling worried about the offer. “It could be the same thing all over again.”
“Perhaps it could help if you tell us what happen in your old school that brought you here,” Lyra asked. “We can buy you a simple lunch from the vending machines nearby if you like.”
Both Lyra and Bonbon displayed a big grin, hoping that Tidal would accept the offer.
Tidal shrugged his shoulders and said, “Why not.”
All three of them went to the nearby vending machines and got some cans of soda and peanut butter crackers before sitting on the floor next to some lockers.
“So, what happened at your old school,” Lyra asked Tidal.
“Started in the middle of my last semester in my science class. We were supposed to do our first group project in the class. Each group was made up of four students. But one group would have to have five students because of the odd number in the class. And each group would have something different to work on that was related to the main topic that we were studying. Everyone in class was able to form a group of four, leaving me as the odd boy out. And it looked like no one wanted me in their groups. So the teacher assigned me to one of the groups, one that had the smartest student in the school.”
“Then wouldn’t that make it easy for you to get by?” Bonbon asked Tidal.
“Not this girl. Her name was Sassy Smarts. A straight-A student in the class who always have high hope for where she wanted to attend for college. But she was more of a spoiled bitch, if you ask me. She had everything she wanted to make the best of her studies. And she always though I was stupid that I couldn’t keep up in class. And it was the first group project that she showed her true colors.
“Our group would work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for two weeks to finish the project to tune in to the teacher. All was fine on the first day, but two days later, they have done more work than I even knew. I was busy catching up on what they did. It wasn’t until the next day, during the evening, that I saw what was going on. I was out for a walk when I saw the rest on my group in a cafe across the street, exchanging notes on what we were assigned in class. When I arrived in class for our group project, they had more that I wasn’t able to learn, and in some way, she was gloating about it in my face while I was trying to catch up again.
“So after class, I talked to my teacher about the fact that they were working on our group project without my knowledge of meeting after school. I requested to be placed in another group that would work with me, but we were already halfway into the project and that it would be a problem for me to learn what the group was working on. So I forced my teacher to let me work on a solo project where I can work on my own pace, if no one wanted me in their group. I even said that I would take any penalty in my grade if I did this. Just let me work on something that I can make sure I could keep up with. He decided to go along and gave me a new assignment after school that I can work on during my own time and would look into another group for the next project in class.
“The class was surprised that I was now working on my own the second week after all that happened, thinking that I would get a failing grade. But when the projects were turned in at the end of the week and handed back to us the next week, I saw that I got a 68 on the assignment. But the shock came in when the highest grade in the class was a 90, which was a ‘B’. And it was Sassy’s group that got that grade. It wasn’t because everyone didn’t do a good job on their projects, but that he gave the entire class a 10 point deduction for not understanding the meaning of ‘group’ project, since no one wanted me to be in any of their groups in the first place, not to mention that the group I was once in didn’t work as a complete group.”
“Sounds like she got what she deserve after how she treated you,” Lyra said. “To get her first B would be a black mark on her record.”
“Not really,” Tidal explained. “All that did was encourage others to side with her because they though I was the problem. She even got her boyfriend, Brutus Beefcake, on my case. He talked trash at first, but started to get physical before I finally decided to retaliate and fight back. I even went through it in gym class. All that did was get us in detention after school.”
“Then he shouldn’t have messed with you in the first place,” Bonbon said.
“You would think he would learn from that, since he became the starting quarterback for the school after the original starter got injured halfway through the first game. He came in and made a huge comeback to win the game. Since then, they were unbeaten during the season, until he started to pick on me. He kept doing it to me every day of the week, sending us to detention after school. That meant that he would have to miss football practice in the process. Thank to that, he got benched on the final game of our regular season. We had zero losses and was facing a team with only one loss, and they went back to their former starter to play the game. The team was handed their first loss, and due to tiebreaker rules, we were forced to being a 2 seed instead of a 1 seed.
“Brutus decided to vent his anger on me and pick on me some more, which lead to more fights and more detention afterwards. And thanks to that, he was benched again on our first playoff game, only to lose to a 7 seed in the process. The school was believed to be the one to go all the way early on in the season. But the newspaper questioned the reason they benched their star QB. Coach’s response was that he missed out on practice in the process the last two weeks. That was all that was needed to get the other students to back both Sassy and Brutus against me.”
Lyra and Bonbon looked at each other without Tidal noticing and had mixed reactions to what they were hearing.
Lyra said, “So… what happened next?”
“Let’s just say that things got a lot worse than before between me and the school. Enough to gain Aunt Tia’s attention and make her way there to look into my actions. During that one moment, she saw the reason to my actions. Someone decided to throw a crunched up can at the back of my hand. When I looked back, I saw Brutus and a few others laughing at me. I threw it back with force, but Brutus ducked, allowing it to hit Sassy in the eye as she was joining them. With Sassy covering her eye, both her and Brutus were angry at me. Brutus went at me, and we got into a fist fight that drew a crowd. I got beat bad, but when Sassy threw in some cheap shots, I dragged her in and threw her into Brutus with what force I had.
“Before Brutus could retaliate, some teachers stepped in and took us to the principal’s office, while Sassy went to the doctor’s office to have her eye looked at. The two of us were sitting there, waiting until the principal came in with Sassy wearing a bandage over her eye. But before the principal made his say on the case, Aunt Tia explained what she saw and wanted to know why they were getting most of the students to pick on me. They tried to give a weak excuse, because I didn’t have much of a reason expect for what happened in science class. But somehow, Aunt Tia didn’t let up. She said that she had to deal with a major issue at this school earlier on and felt that something similar was going on here and wanted them to be up front to their principal.
“Seeing that they weren’t getting a good reason for their actions, both Aunt Tia and the principal went to my science teacher for some answers. After learning what happened in class, as well as what happened with the football team, she could only assume that both Sassy and Brutus were at fault because I had a learning disability and became an easy target. She recommend that I transfer to this school after exams, and to take the exams in private. The principal agreed and decided to send the school a message by suspending both of them for one week, saying that students shouldn’t be bullying others because they have some special condition, making them easy targets.
“At that point, all the students started to back away from me. Brutus and Sassy kept giving me the stare when they came back, but didn’t even bother to come close to me. I’m guessing that they were given a strict warning if they tried to cause more trouble to me. So, I finished my semester classes and took my final exams in private before I started to pack my things and come here. Aunt Tia returned over the winter break to help me move to her house to live in during that time. But I do know this, those two got what they deserve. Sassy’s perfect-A and perfect attendance was shattered, and any chance for Brutus to get a big football scholarship went up in smoke.”
Tidal finished eating his crackers and took a final sip of his soda before getting up and throwing them in the bins next to the vending machines. Lyra and Bonbon decided to do the same when they were finished with their lunch.
“I’m guessing that you didn’t have many friends to help you out,” Lyra asked.
“I never had any friends,” Tidal replied. “Everyone thought I was different during my freshman year. But you can see what they thought of me now. Nothing but a bunch of bullies.”
“Well, we might as well see if Vice Principal Luna has everything ready for you for tomorrow,” Bonbon said.
The girls were able to escort Tidal to Luna’s office, where she had his schedule and books ready for him. And Luna was explained to Tidal about his schedule and where his rooms would be located, Lyra and Bonbon were outside the office talking.
“Man. Just hearing his story about what happen to him is like the total opposite of what Sunset did to us,” Lyra said.
“More like vice versa,” Bonbon added. “She tried to destroy friendships in our school for her personal gain. Tidal was able to get the school together to go against him.”
“Then why did the vice principal want us to avoid bringing up Sunset’s past?” Lyra asked.
“Maybe so that he doesn’t think that’s she’s a victim in this school,” Bonbon explained. “I mean, we have been hard on her since the Fall Formal.”
“But she just caused nothing but trouble to us until Twilight came along,” Lyra explained. “I’m sure he’ll understand.”
“How do we plan to explain the use of magic during that time?” Bonbon asked, to which Lyra had no answer. “I think that would be the problem in convincing him for her actions and our own.”
“I guess it would be best just to keep an eye on him and see how everything plays out for him,” Lyra said. “At least his birthday is a few weeks away. That should give him enough time to get along with the others before then.”
“And maybe we can understand how Tidal’s handling this school from his old one,” Bonbon added.
Tidal and Luna finally came out of the office, with a stack of books for each class.
“I’ll get some of those,” Lyra said, grabbing half of the books that he had.
“All we need now is an open locker to put it all in,” Luna explained.
“There’s one that’s empty next to ours,” Bonbon explained. “He can use that one.”
“Might be a good idea, since his homeroom class is the same as yours,” Luna explained.
“You mean you’re taking Geometry this year?” Lyra asked.
“I did say I was good in math,” Tidal replied.
So all three of them went back to where Lyra and Bonbon’s lockers were located. Bonbon went up to the empty locker and opened it, allowing Lyra and Tidal to place the books inside. Tidal took out his schedule and showed it to the girls.
“Yep. Geometry for first period. And you also have gym as your last class,” Lyra said.
“Looks like we’ll be able to hang out during those times,” Bonbon added.
“Hang out?”
“Yea. You did say that you didn’t have any friends, right?” Bonbon said.
“So why don’t we be your friend,” Lyra added. “At least you won’t have to be alone this time.”
Tidal was a bit hesitant about this. “Well… I guess it couldn’t hurt.”
“That’s what we’re talking about,” Lyra said as both her and Bonbon placed their arms around his shoulders.
“And for starters, you’ll be having Mrs. Harshwhinny for social studies,” Bonbon explained. “She can be strict at times, so you need to stay alert in her class.”
“But don’t worry. We’ll do our best to help you out in your classes,” Lyra added. “We’ll find a way that can get you prepared for those test that you have to take in each class.”
“Before you know it, you’ll past will be history,” Bonbon added. “Well, not like in history class, but you know what I mean.”
“Well, we might as well head on out,” Tidal said as he grabbed his coat and closed the door to his new locker. “I’ll have to bring a lock tomorrow. But I’m sure it will be fine for now.”
“Just as long as the weather is better tomorrow, I’m sure it will be fine until you get here,” Lyra said.
“I don’t know,” Bonbon said. “I’m heard that we might be getting a quick snowstorm overnight.”
“That might make it hard to drive on the secondary roads, unless they have been treated,” Tidal explained.
“What makes you say that?” Lyra asked.
“My father is a weather caster back home. He has tons of experience in cold weather from living up there,” Tidal explained. “His name is Sky Blue. He’s my aunt’s adopted brother.”
“Wait. You mean Sky Blue, the one who witness the thunder snow event couple of years ago?” Lyra asked.
Tidal let out a sigh. “Yea. He works with the Weather Channel at times when a serious storm comes by, since most of the staff of that station lives far south of there. He also did some of the sport science shows at one time. I’m guessing that you’ve seen his works on TV.”
“Actually, we discussed about the thunder snow event in our science class when it happened,” Bonbon explained.
“Yea. I just remember the name from the video and how he reacted when it happened… five times,” Lyra explained. “I know I would be like that if I saw it myself. His name isn’t as big as your mother’s, but I can guess he also attended here as well.”
“He did,” Tidal replied. “In fact, I think this was where my mother and father met the first time. Really don’t know all the details.”
“Well, don’t come blaming us if they find out about your father in science class,” Lyra explained and she took her coat from her locker.
“Yea. I’m sure the teachers there will already know it,” Bonbon added while grabbing her coat as well.
Tidal let out another sigh. “I guess I can live with that. As long as I don’t get pressured by a lot of questions about him. Every weather caster has their own experiences in certain weather events that happen around the world. So I’m sure that it wouldn’t be a big deal like at my old school.”
“Don’t worry,” Lyra said. “I’m sure everything will be just fine here.”
“That’s right,” Bonbon added. “And no doubt you’ll be making friends who see you for you, and not what your parents do.”