The Twilight to a New Dawn

by Zeroxdoom

Reaching out.

It was a cloudy and chilly morning that Friday as Zero, Wind, and Trixie were on their way to school. However, the walk itself was uneventful and quiet as nobody was bothering to make conversation, even though nobody, not even Wind, was wearing headphones. Zero himself had a discomposed expression as he kept thinking about yesterday's fallout. Not only had he possibly crippled his friendship with Clyde and Rarity, but he felt horrible for damaging Twilight’s feelings and having her give up on him. He didn’t care much for how much trouble he got himself into, and he didn’t care if telling his mother what happened would just send him to his grave alot quicker. He was more upset at himself for letting everything fall apart like this and, most of all, for letting Twilight down.

Attempting to break the ice and get rid of the painfully awkward silence, Trixie took a glance at the clouds and looked at Zero. “If you have some sense as a gentleman, would you lend Trixie your umbrella?”

Zero was too busy moping to reply.

“Are you trying to ignore The Great and Powerful Tr—”

“I didn’t bring one,” Zero replied in a calm tone as his voice had recovered from his sickness.

“Unprepared as usual.” Trixie rolled her eyes as she expected some backlash. But all Zero did was walk a little ahead of her without another comment. Trixie raised an eyebrow as she looked at Wind. “What’s wrong with you two?” she asked, noticing Wind was a little bit distraught as well. “You're not bubbly, snarky, or talkative, and it's bothering Trixie.”

“Well, yesterday th—”

“Keep your nose out of it, Trixie,” Zero intercepted once again in the same tone. Wind glanced at the ground and didn’t bother to continue.

Trixie gave an annoyed expression and this time walked passed Zero. “Very well. It’s almost time for Trixie to depart, anyways.”

Upon the comment, the three arrived at the school. Wind and Trixie were about to part ways with Zero until Wind stopped to take a glance at him. She walked back over to him, trying to think of a way to cheer him up.

“Bro, I’m—”

“Save it, sis,” Zero replied. “Don’t worry about me and just enjoy yourself today.”

Wind gulped at the response. “Y-you're sure?”

Her brother only nodded as he turned away away from her. Wind only sighed and give him a quick hug before rushing inside the school.

Zero glanced over at Fluttershy by the statue doing her normal route of handing out fliers for the animal shelter. Once she noticed him approaching, he waved at her with a forced smile, not wanting to make her worry.

However, Fluttershy noted the forcefulness in the smile and raised an eyebrow. Regardless, she walked over to Zero.

“G-good morning, Zero,” she greeted.

“Hey, Flutters,” he replied. “Shouldn't you be wearing a jacket? Winter is starting to roll in y’know, and it might rain today.”

“I-I'm alright. If I start to freeze up, Rainbow has a spare jacket for me,” Fluttershy reassured.

“If you're sure,” Zero said as he looked away.

Fluttershy gave a worried expression after a few moments. Zero didn't really add more to the conversation and just stood there awkwardly. Normally he'd have something to keep the conversation flowing like small talk or something he plans on doing later; he hadn't even bothered to ask how many people had taken a flyer this morning. It just looked like he was distracted by something.

Breaking the silence, Fluttershy spoke up once more. “So, um … got any plans this weekend? Knowing you, you probably have something big planned,” she said with a small giggle, hoping this would pick things up.

“Not really. Just gonna hang out with the bros and continue to be awesome,” Zero stated as he looked down.

At this point, Fluttershy was convinced something was up and she pressed on. “Zero?” she said, facing him.

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay? You seem … quiet.”

Zero hesitated before he replied. “I'm alright. Listen, I’ll see you later, okay?”

“O-okay, but are you sure nothing's wrong?” she asked once more.

Zero looked Fluttershy in the eye and saw her concern. Wanting to turn away and at least take a step forward, he sighed and leaned against the statue.

“I got in trouble again.”

After telling Fluttershy everything that happened yesterday, Zero just gazed at the ground and held his head.

“I never expected all of that to happen! I thought Twilight would be mad, but she looked so … done!” Zero exclaimed in frustration. “I even tried calling and messaging Clyde, but no response, so he's probably pissed at me too. And I'm even more worried about what Rarity would do to me if she sees me.”

“Well, if you give them time to cool off, I'm sure they'll forgive you once you apologize.” Fluttershy put her flyers away in her bag and started to focus more on Zero.

“Maybe, but I hope Twilight forgives me, mainly. Honestly, I just wished she got off my back a little, that's all.” Zero crossed his arms and stared at the gloomy sky.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and looked Zero in the eye. “Zero, she’s doing it within reason. It's like what Night said: you should be more appreciative about it than bothered.”

Zero shifted a little, feeling a little surprised and shaken at Fluttershy's statement.

“Twilight, your parents, and Principal Celestia want to help you become a better version of yourself so you can change the world like you say you want to do. But you're not showing or proving to anyone that you really can do it. That's probably why nobody is taking you that seriously when you say it.” Fluttershy lectured. “So for you to rebel, fight, and go out of your way to get away from the people that want to help you, it's like a …. Oh, how do I put this.”

“A slap across the face?”

“That's one way to put it, yes.” Fluttershy nodded and sighed. “The real world is scary, t-terrifying really. I-if we're not prepared for what's out there, it might eat us whole and some people might even take advantage of you or even—”

“Flutters.” Zero interrupted and pointed at her legs. “You’re shaking.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath and calmed down. Zero took off his jacket and offered it to her. She hesitated but took it and put it on. Even though her shaking was more from anxiety than the cold, Zero thought the jacket might ease her nerves and make her more comfortable.

“Aren't you gonna be cold?” she asked.

“I'll be fine,” Zero reassured, putting his hands in his pockets.

“O-okay. Anyways, I'm speaking from experience,” Fluttershy continued.

This caught Zero by yet another surprise as he tilted his head. “Your grades were awful and you got in trouble a lot?” He took a moment to imagine a bad girl Fluttershy. His imagination consisted of Fluttershy in a motorcycle jacket with her feet on Celestia’s desk and getting in trouble for spraying something inappropriate on the horse statue, completely ignoring the principal as she blew bubblegum. He smiled to himself at the thought as he wished to see that side of her.

“Goodness, no! I don't have the courage to do all that.”

“Dang,” he said with a hint of disappointment, but quickly shot up and changed his tone before she questioned. “I-I mean, dang, this cold front wouldn't let up!” He chuckled awkwardly.

Fluttershy giggled. “Let's go inside.”

Zero nodded and lead Fluttershy inside the school as she started to explain herself.

“Just like how you want to change the world, I wanted to get more people to come volunteer at the animal shelter so they can help more animals who really can't help themselves. But if I wanted to do that, it meant stepping out of my comfort zone and,” she gulped a little and gripped the jacket a little tighter, “actually going around town and handing out flyers to people in person.”

“That definitely sounds like a struggle for you,” Zero commented, completely indulged in Fluttershy’s story. “How was your first attempt at it like?”

Her gaze shifted to the ground. “I broke down.”

“Oh … I'm sorry to hear that.”

“At first, I wanted to do something else or find another way. But Rainbow motivated me to keep going; she helps me hand out flyers even to this day. Soon after, some of the other girls did the same.” Fluttershy started to sound a little hopeful. “And it made me even better when you came along and offered to volunteer almost every day.”

“W-well, I couldn't stand to see you look so lonely and upset when you're trying so hard. So I … just followed my heart,” Zero admitted with a faint blush, doing his best to hide it.

Fluttershy smiled and soon they arrived at her locker. “And I really appreciate everything you do to help. But what I'm getting at is you have to come out your comfort zone in order to make the steps necessary to reach your goals. And we're all here for you if you're ever in trouble. That's why we say you're lucky to have so many people to help you. Because some people have nobody but themselves to rely on.”

Zero was utterly speechless by Fluttershy's words. He hadn’t thought a girl like her would have so much to say on the matter. It felt like something he should be telling her or for him to be the one picking her up when she's down. It was ironic all and all.

She’s … on a whole different level of awesome, he thought to himself. “Fluttershy, thanks. I never thought you'd have so much to on something like this.”

“You actually just reminded me of my brother,” she explained as her gaze shifted away. “E-except, you're much cooler.”

“Ooooh, well, I bet with someone like you busting out an incredible lecture like that, he's probably on his way to be the next big thing, huh?” Zero asked as his toothy grin finally returned. However, he saw Fluttershy appeared a little bothered by the question, almost as if she was annoyed.

“No,” she answered bluntly.

Zero’s smile died a bit as he hadn’t been expecting this kind of response, and judging from the sudden tone shift in her attitude, he’d be treading on very thin ice if he pressed his luck. “Moving on,” he said as he looked away. “I really appreciate what you said to me. It kinda felt like the hug I've always needed or something, but in word form.”

“It's the least I can do for you, Zero, but I think it'd be even better if you took it to heart from now on.” Fluttershy smiled a little. “Okay?”

Zero thought for a moment as he tapped his cheek. “You know something, I can't let this slide.”

“Oh?” Fluttershy tilted her head.

“Just for giving me sage advice, I've decided I'm gonna start helping you hand out flyers in the morning and wherever else you hand them. Just name the time and place and I'll be there.”

Fluttershy's eyes widened a little. “Y-you don't have to do that. You volunteering at the shelter is fine enough. You don't have to pay me back.”

Zero smiled warmly. “You're right, I don't have to. But I want to. This way, I can help grab people's attention and I can spend more time with you.”

Fluttershy gave a faint blush at the last part and a brief moment of awkward silence. “S-s-spend more time with me?”

Zero blushed as well and quickly thought of an excuse. “I-I-I mean, so you can help me learn more about the town and stuff! I'd ask Pinkie or Rainbow, but they're always busy and the guys are usually busy too! So um …. Yeah!”

“Oh, I understand.” Fluttershy nodded. “But we might need to e-exchange numbers so I can let you know where and when to meet me and check to see if you're b-busy or not. So, if you don't mind … could you …?”

Zero’s heart skipped a beat and he blushed a little more. “Y-yeah! Definitely! And tell me yours too, if that's cool!”

“S-sure, of course.”

After the two exchanged numbers, a thought crossed the rebellious boy’s mind. “Hey, do you know if you and the girls are busy tonight?” he asked.

The timid girl pondered​ for a second. “I’m not doing anything tonight, and neither is Rainbow once she's done with practice. But I'm not sure about the others. Why?”

“I was thinking that—”

Suddenly, the school bell rang and everyone was heading for their first period class.

“Dang.” Zero snapped his finger in slight annoyance at the timing. “I'll ask you in second period. Alrighty?”

“Sure, and you’ll be on time for class, right?” Fluttershy questioned him with a raised eyebrow. “No goofing off?”

“I might grab some chicken tenders  across the street if I get hungry,” Zero chuckled, only for his laughter to quickly die out as Fluttershy looked at him with an unimpressed expression and a raised eyebrow. “I'm kidding! I promise I'll be there. But, uh … Flutters?”

“Yes?”

“I seriously appreciate you sticking with me and helping me out,” Zero said as he looked her in the eyes. “You're … incredibly awesome. Like, you’re in a whole league of awesome. I can't express it enough, hehe. And as a bonus, I always wanted to tell you that I think you're—” he gulped before finishing, “—really b-b-beautiful.”

Fluttershy blushed deeply as she stared at him. She looked away with a smile as she moved the hair out of her face. “O-oh, thank you for the compliment, Zero. But I don't think I'm as beautiful as Rarity or the other girls.”

“Don’t say that. I-I think you're the most beautiful girl in town.” Zero compliment and his blush deepened. “Twice as pretty as Rarity, even! I honestly believe that!”

Fluttershy blushed brighter than ever and gave Zero a warm smile. “Thank you, Zero. That's really sweet of you to say. I-I'll see you later.”

“Later.” Zero waved to her as she walked off. Once he was sure she was out of eyesight, he smiled so big it rivaled Pinkie's. Sure, he was still in a lot of trouble, but sharing that moment with Fluttershy was a beautiful silver lining to this gloomy day. And as a bonus, he got her phone number and could hang out with her more often.

Overflowing with joy and with a crimson blush on his face, he started to break dance in the middle of the hallway as he sang a victory fanfare. But once he took a glance at his surroundings, he noticed everyone giving a perplexed look or giggling at him as they walked by. He stopped and was quick to defend himself.

“Hey, you'd be doing it too if you got to compliment your crush and got their number!”

While Zero headed for his first period class, his good mood disappeared faster than it had arrived. When everyone stood up said the pledge of allegiance for the day, Vice Principal Luna called Zero down to her office. He knew his fate was sealed from that moment on and headed there without much delay. He at least wished that he could apologize to Twilight and talk more about what happened yesterday, but he was out of luck as she hadn't come to school today.

Letting out a sigh and looking down a little, he opened Luna’s office door and glanced around. The room was darker than Principal Celestia’s as everything was a different shade blue. The walls, the portrait frames, the desk, even the ceiling and the floor. Luna herself was sitting by her desk typing something on the computer. Zero would've normally commented on the design of the room, but he decided to just take a seat and stay quiet.

“You know why I called you down here, correct?” Luna asked without looking away from her computer.

Zero remembered the warning Luna gave him yesterday and looked down, allowing Luna to continue.

“My sister informed me that Miss Sparkle had difficulty tutoring you yesterday and is now having doubts that you're able to cooperate with her. So, I've decided to look into a boot camp for you instead of sending you to Crystal Prep Academy.”

Zero felt his heart skip a beat at that moment, nearly forgetting the situation he was in besides the one with his friends. Despite Fluttershy's words, his situation at this very moment was a lost cause.

Luna turned the computer his way and started listing off some of the information. “Now, the camp itself is near the Everfree forest and quite a ways away from the city, and they’re tight on security as well. So you can scrap any escape plans you have in mind. You'll be there for ten weeks and should be back by the end of the semester, but we'll give you a week to pack and handle last minute affai—” She looked at the young man and raised an eyebrow. “Are you paying attention, or are you trying to ignore me again?”

Luna noticed that the expression on Zero’s face was completely new to her. Usually, the rebellious teen had either a bored or annoyed expression, and would even space out at times in the process. But for the first time, it looked as if he felt …

Guilty.

All he did was come into the room, sit down, and continue to gaze at the ground. Luna snapped her finger and Zero sat up a little, but kept his gaze down. The Vice President took a moment and corrected her thoughts. For Zero, this was new, but she only saw this type of situation happen one other time: back during the Fall Formal when she was talking to Sunset Shimmer. She had a similar expression on her face, but she was crying a little. She should have been kicked out of school, but decided to follow her sister’s philosophy of giving her a second chance. It was a good call, and Sunset developed into a wonderful student. They even allowed the Dazzlings to return since they were powerless and weren't much of a threat anymore. But at this moment, she wondered if she could give the troublemaker in front of him that same chance.

“Mr. Gravity?” Luna said as she tapped his shoulder, finally getting a reaction out of him as he looked back up.

“I wasn't sleeping I swear,” Zero explained in a sad tone. “I was … coming to terms with the situation.”

“I want to ask. According to my sister and some of your classmates, you have a lot of compassion within you. So why and how is it that you get yourself​ stuck in these situations?” Luna spoke calmly.

Zero thought for a moment before sighing. “I wanted to … prove nothing could bring me down. I’m not trying to get on anyone's bad side. I just like to treat every day like it’s my last and prove I can do things my own way without people forcing me to change my course. I have a plan for my future, and I'm sticking to it. But right now, an awesome friend showed me how badly I screwed up and how insensitive I really am. So if I'm going to be sent away, I'll deal with the punishment … as long as there's WiFi.”

Luna sat up straight. “Well, that's​ quite ironic.”

Zero looked up with a raised eyebrow. “I don't follow.”

“When Ms. Sparkle explained to us what happened,​ she made a request via email asking that we don't send you to a boot camp, but rather have you pick a tutor you can be more comfortable with since it seems like you're​ fed up with her as she felt she was incapable of tutoring someone like you. I wasn't​ going to give you that chance by any means, but now here you are accepting the punishment wholeheartedly,” Luna explained.

“She actually said that?” Zero said, surprised. “I mean, I didn't mean to make her feel bad.” He started scratching his head. “Yet, she still stuck her neck out for me and tried helping me one last time. Ugh, and all I did was give her a slap in the face!”

“Excuse me?” Luna went from a curious expression to a stern one quickly after that sentence.

“I meant I was too insensitive. It's one of those … Metaphors. That’s the correct word, right?

Luna nodded at him. “So, what will you do Mr. Gravity?”

The spiky-haired young man tapped his chin as he took a moment to think about his next move. It wasn't long before Vice Principal Luna saw him form a smile on his face. Thankfully, it wasn't his usual smirk for when he was up to one of his schemes, but rather, a sincere one as it put her at ease.

Zero snapped his fingers with a bit of enthusiasm. “Before we get to that, I'm gonna need a quick favor.”

After classes came to a close that day, Zero rushed down the street and looked around at the houses he passed by as he tried to locate Twilight's address. He’d tried asking Luna for the information, but of course she wasn't allowed to tell him about other students’ info. However, he asked Pinkie and she happily texted him the address after he explained the situation. Oddly enough, she had the address of everyone in the school in case of emergency surprise parties, which was a bit scary to him, but he didn't really mind since Pinkie was Pinkie.

At last, he found the address and approached​ the household. Zero looked at it carefully and was more than positive it was the right place. It was a three-story purple victorian house with a garage on his right side with a silver mini van and a purple car parked in the driveway. It seemed like there was only one bedroom on the third floor, judging by the placement of the window. He also noticed that there seemed to be a strange lightning rod by the chimney and on the garage as well. Looking down, there were small windows at the bottom of the house, making it clear there was a basement. Finally, the lawn looked freshly cut and the steps leading up to the front double doors were clean from any dirt or blades of grass. The same went for the welcome mat that had a star like design in its background.

Zero rang the doorbell and waited patiently for someone to answer the door. As he heard footsteps, he also heard the sound of a dog barking, causing him to tense up for a moment as he didn't feel like dealing with a dog trying to attack him. The door opened and a woman with long violet, rose, and pale gold hair streaks and grayish cerise skin opened the door. She had light purple eyes and blue eyeshadow and wore a dark blue maternity dress and pink slippers. Zero immediately noticed her belly was sticking out despite the rest of her body looking slim.

Don’t stare! Zero​ shouted at himself mentally as he looked the woman in the eye, trying to keep his eyes from drifting. It could be one or the other. But I don't wanna guess wrong and—

The woman giggled with a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, I am pregnant.”

Zero sighed in relief as he chuckled. “Oh, good. And congrats on the baby. I was gonna ask, but I'm​ trying to avoid another tally of people who are mad at me today.”

The woman waved it off. “Don't sweat it too much. You're safe for the time being. So what brings you here? Are you a classmate of Twilight's?”

“Bingo. I came to check on her since she didn't come to school today,” Zero explained.

“Aw, how sweet of you. Yes, she came down with a bad cough this morning and stayed in bed all day, but she's feeling much better now.”

She probably caught it from me yesterday, Zero thought to himself. “Still, is it cool if I come in and see her?”

“Well, I personally don't mind. But I'd better check with my fiance since he lives here.” The woman looked over to the kitchen. “Shining? Could you come here for a moment?”

Zero gave a confused expression as he put his hands in jacket’s pockets. “Wait, you're not Twilight's mom?”

The woman glanced back at Zero. “Huh? Oh, no. I'm her sister-in-law. Well, I'm going to be soon. I don't look that old, do I?”

“No, no, no! You look young and beautiful!” Zero reassured quickly with a nervous smile. “I was just assuming since, um, you have different hair streaks like her!”

“Oh! Well, thank you.” The woman smiled happily.

“What's up, Cadance?” asked an older male's voice as he approached the door and wrapped his arm around her waist. The young man had a muscular build​ to him with pale ivory skin, short hair with a mix of light and dark blue​ streaks, and light blue eyes. He wore blue pants and a black t-shirt with a symbol over his heart. It was a purple shield with a pink six-pointed star in it, with three more blue stars above the shield. Zero noticed he had a ring with a light blue heart on one of his fingers. He also saw that the woman had the same ring on her finger as well.

So they're getting married soon and a baby’s on the way as well. Zero gave a small smile. I’d congratulate them, but I've got heavier objectives. Can't get sidetracked.

“This is one of Twilight's classmates,” Cadance explained. “He wanted to know if he could come in and see her.”

“What for?” Shining said as he turned to Zero with a wary expression.

“Well, long story short, she was tutoring me yesterday and I gave her a hard time when she was only trying to help. And I wanted to talk to her about a few things,” Zero explained as he was starting to get a little impatient. His eyes drifted away from the pair.

Shining thought for a moment as he turned around and looked up the stairway and shouted, “Twily, you've got a visitor!”

“Who *cough* is it?” Twilight's voice called out as it sounded sickly.

“He said he's one of your classmates! Spiky hair, something japanese or chinese on his shirt!”

Zero cleared his throat. “It's Japanese,” he confirmed.

There was a moment of silence before another cough came from Twilight’s room as she responded. “You can send him up!”

Shining nodded before looking back at Zero and he and his wife stepped aside to he allow him in. “Come on in. Her room is on the third floor. Go up to the second floor, then you should see an extra set of stairs at the end of the hallway. She'll be up there.”

“Got it!” Without wasting another moment, Zero made his way up the steps, trying not to make it obvious that he was rushing. But once he got to Twilight’s door, he took a moment to catch his breath before opening it slowly. He saw that the room was a dark shade of blue with a model of the solar system hanging from the ceiling in the center. He noticed that there were four bookshelves around the room, two on each side of a window, one in the bench under the same window and the last one by her bedside. Another noteworthy item he saw was the there was small telescope by the same window on the left. There was also a fish tank next to him, and above it was a shelf of trophies and medals. On his right were several science tools, plants, and a mini fridge. In the corner was a desk that had papers, pencils, a bin of blueprints, and two fancy dual monitors on top of it, all of which were completely organized. And lastly, she had a closet by her science equipment and a Daring Do poster close by her dresser with a picture of a familiar purple and green dog. Her queen size bed had a regular pattern of stars and moons with another circular window above it, as well as Twilight herself holding a tissue box in one hand and petting the same dog that was in her picture frame on her lap with the other hand as it rested.

Not gonna lie, I’m a little jealous of her room. I’d better change my—wait a sec. The young man’s eyes focused onto the dog and he smiled. “Spike!!”

Spike perked up once he saw Zero and jumped towards him. Zero caught the dog and chuckled as Spike licked him. “Hey there, my furry little buddy! So this is where you’ve been!” He looked at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “You're the one that bought him?”

“Yeah. But how do you know Spike? Are you his original owner?” Twilight asked curiously as she coughed and covered her mouth.

“No, I was actually gonna ….” He shook his head for a moment as he didn't want to to get off-topic. “Maybe we can talk about that later.” He put Spike down outside the room and closed the door. He looked at Twilight and sighed as he'd been waiting the entire day for this moment to come, but having finally arrived at his destination, he couldn't help but feel a little choked up. Twilight looked away as she wasn't completely sure what to say either, still feeling partially to blame for putting him in this predicament. Zero took off his backpack and unzipped it as he took out some papers.

“I brought your homework,” he said as he put it on her night stand.

“You did?” Twilight looked back in a bit of surprise. “But I asked Vice Principal Luna to email it to me.”

“I asked her if it was okay if I just brought it over. And as for your address, Ihad a friend dig up your info.” He gave an awkward laugh.

“Pinkie?”

“Pinkie.”

Twilight sighed at the obvious answer and looked through all of the homework sheets to confirm it was everything she was missing. Giving a small smile at the boy in her room, she gave her reply.

“I believe this is everything. Thank you,” she expressed her gratitude. “But why would you—”

“So I can see you in person,” Zero interrupted as he looked Twilight in the eye. The shame that had been assaulting his heart for the past day and a half finally came into light as the sickly bookworm saw the regret, frustration, and discomfort in his face. She stayed quiet as she listened to what he had to say.

“I didn't mean to make you quit, I just wanted you to stop hounding me about school. I didn't tell you outright because I thought you'd just nag at me that this is for my own good. But after that stupid plan, all I did was make things worse and threw all of your efforts back in your face, hurting your feelings in the process. And honesty, that's the last thing I wanted to do to you.” Zero caught his breath as he looked down. “Fluttershy helped me understand what you were doing for me, and the Vice Principal told me you vouched for me to stay in school and get another tutor. And all I can say at this point is … that I'm super sorry … and that you're amazing for doing all that for me.” He gave a smile at her once he glanced back up. “Guess I really can't judge a book by its cover. Even a brainiac outside of a fantasy can be incredible, huh?”

Twilight didn't say anything for a few moments as she looked at her former tutee. Other than a simple thank you, she wasn't completely sure what to say. Looking away, she frowned a little with a sigh.

“Yesterday, when I was tutoring Clyde thinking it was you, what I said was that I wasn't trying to nag, bore, or annoy you with all of this tutoring,” she started to quote. “I did it because you have a lot of unused potential. Principal Celestia sees it, and I want to as well. But changing how the world works will be next to impossible if you don’t learn all there is to know about it and slack off. Nothing gets done that way. So, if you’re as amazing as you claim to be, then you need to prove it.”

 Zero only nodded.

“I'm grateful that you came all this way to apologize and give me my homework, but as much as I'd be willing to tutor you, I don't feel capable enough for the job. Even if you were at fault, I should've let you work with someone you're more comfortable with like Sunset Shimmer or one of your other friends. That's why I'm resigning now so you can have that choice and only move forw—”

 “I choose you,” Zero cut her off once again.

Twilight only blinked in response and adjusted her glasses. “Pardon?”

“Didn't mean to cut you off again. But that's another thing I wanted to tell you.” He leaned against the wall and regained his normal composure once more. “I still want you to be my tutor.”

Twilight still looked confused. “You don't … want anyone else?”

“Weeeeeell,” Zero began as he rolled his eyes. “It would be cool to have Sunset as a tutor, but Soul is always hogging her. And if I get anyone else like Minuette or Flutters, I'd be distracted by their beauty. And as for Trixie … it'd be a disaster. You're the only that's perfect for me.” He gave a toothy grin. “And I already told Luna and it's my final decision, no going back!”

The purple-haired girl gave the idea a quick recap. She admited she was happy at the idea of him being more cooperative about the whole matter, and at this rate, they could both benefit from this if all goes the way it should. Not to mention the added benefit of pleasing Principal Celestia’s expectations. She smiled warmly at her tutee. “Very well. Starting Monday after school, we’ll resume your lessons. And I expect your full attention,” she said, wagging her finger at him in a half-serious, half-joking tone.

“Yes ma’am!” Zero stood straight and saluted, chuckling at his actions until something clicked in his mind and he clapped his hands together, startling his tutor. “Oh yeah! One more thing: as celebration for working things out and to pay you back for watching my back, I wanna invite you to go roller skating with me and my friends since you’re looking a lot better. And don't worry, I'll pay for whatever you need.”

On instinct, Twilight nearly declined. Not because she didn't know how to skate—well, it wasn't the major reason at least—but she still wasn't interested in taking part in any social activities. However ….

If Fluttershy is attending, this could be the perfect chance to ask her about Zero, Twilight considered in her mind. Even if I have his full cooperation, it's better to be safe than sorry.

“Come on, please?” Zero begged as he waited for the answer. “I'll even skate with you if you don't know how.”

“Alright, I'll go,” Twilight accepted as she put her tissue box aside. “I am feeling a lot better after all.”

Zero smiled at this. “Awesome! I'll text the others that you're coming. It's the one on Mistmane Road, so be there at seven.” As he gave Twilight a nod and turned the doorknob, he saw a two shadows at the bottom of the door move away quickly. He deduced that it came from the other side of the door and quickly opened it to see where it disappeared to. He raised an eyebrow as he went down the steps and saw Cadance and Shining Armor standing further down the hallway having a conversation with what looked like forced smiles, though Shining glanced at Zero with a skeptical look in his eyes.

Twilight cleared her throat as she looked at Zero, unable to figure out what he was doing. “Are … you okay?”

Were they eavesdropping on us? Zero thought as the gears in his mind turned slowly as he tried to imagine why. He glanced to Twilight then to Shining before he finally put the pieces together. Did they think I was her …. He gave a dull expression. As if. Twilight’s not even beautiful. I'd give a 6.5 or 7 at best. He looked at the bookworm as she was putting on her glasses. “Yeah, I'm good. See ya!” He went back downstairs and exited out the house as he headed home.

Maybe a 7.5 if she kept the glasses … nah.

Later on that evening, the night sky started to envelop Canterlot as it still looked quite lively. Due to it being the start of the weekend, a lot of students were wandering the town to find activities to do, either alone or with a couple of friends. As Zero waited outside of the roller rink for his friends, he couldn’t help but notice this as it reminded him of how his old home in Manehattan was almost the same way … expected noisier. His father at one point feared that he might complain about the town not being as lively, but in truth, the rebel didn’t mind at all. True, he missed the very active nature of his city life, but it was all in the past now. Besides, the town itself was more positive and happy-go-lucky to the point that it made him feel like he was constantly at peace. Sure, the people could be too mushy at times, but who was he to complain? He’d live.

Looking to his left, he saw Rainbow, Pinkie, Sunset, Fluttershy and Applejack heading his way with Fluttershy and AJ waving to him. Pinkie and Rainbow were already wearing their skates and raced over to him.

“At this point, I’m not so surprised you two know how to skate,” Zero commented as he smiled. “Much less the fact you skated over here.”

“You really shouldn’t be,” Rainbow added as she skidded to a halt in front of him. “So, where’s your date?”

“ … I don’t follow.”

“Twilight, silly!” Pinkie spoke up as she stopped in front of him too. “You said in your text that you managed to get her to come! So where is she?” She looked around curiously.

“She said she’d come. If I had to guess, she’s probably gonna come here at exactly seven, being the bookworm she is,” Zero predicted as he raised an eyebrow at Rainbow. “And it’s not a date, it’s just a fun get-together. She’s not even my type!”

“You do know a date doesn’t have to always count as being a romantic one, right?” Sunset corrected with a playful smile.

“ … I knew that.”

“Nooo you didn’t.” Pinkie circled with with her skates and stuck her tongue out at him. Zero rolled his eyes until he took note of something. “Rarity’s not coming?”

“Nah, she said somethin’ ‘bout taking care of an emergency,” Applejack explained. She playfully punched Zero’s shoulder as she caught the downhearted expression on his face. “But don’t sweat it too much. She’s not one to hold grudges.”

“You know what happened?” Zero exclaimed and held his shoulder. “Also, ow.”

“Fluttershy explained what was going on to us when half of Canterlot heard her screaming your name yesterday.” Rainbow started to snicker. “I wished I could’ve seen the look on your face!”

“Rainbow ….” Fluttershy frowned at her.

“I’m just messing around.” She ceased her laughter as she looked at Zero with a reassuring smile. “But yeah, don’t beat yourself up over it. It’ll blow over by Monday. So just focus more on skating tonight as I make you and AJ eat my dust.”

Zero smiled back and gave a fierce but competitive smirk as he got in Rainbow’s face. “I dunno. I’m a pretty good skater myself, so don’t make me embarrass you, Rainbow Crash!”

Rainbow returned the smirk as she got in his face as well. “What'd you call me, you deadbeat? I can run circles around you blindfolded!”

Applejack’s chance to get mixed in was lost as she took notice of the boys walking up to the rink. She waved at them with a warm smile. “Howdy there fellas!”

Swift, Rivet, Soul, and Night waved back at them as Soul spoke up. “Hey there cuz, you guys still waiting out here?”

“We're still waiting on Twilight to get here. It shouldn't be much longer now.” Sunset checked her phone to see the time. “In another two minutes, actually.”

“It's still pretty nice of you to invite her, Zero,” Swift added as he looked at his friend but noticed he wasn't paying attention to him. “Uh, dude?”

The competitive pair stopped butting heads and Zero took notice of Swift. “Yeah?”

“I was saying that it's cool of you to invite Twilight. How'd you get her to come along?” Swift asked curiously.

“Oh.” Zero put his hand in his pocket and smiled. “I didn't really do anything per se. I just apologized for my scheme and gave her the homework she missed. Plus, I still want her as a tutor, after all. She was there for me just like you dudes say she was doing, and I'm gonna do something for her as thanks.”

“Daaaaw, she’s lucky to have you if that’s the case!” Pinkie commented with a hint of jealously. “Wish I had someone deliver me stuff while I was sick. Like homemade  cookies or cupcakes or even a get well soon cake with someone jumping out of it!”

“Swift can do it,” Zero responded immediately with a grin.

Pinkie gasped. “Really?!”

“W-w-wha?!” Just as Swift spoke up, a sharp pain hit his sides thanks to Soul's elbow “I-I mean, uh … I might … be able to do it if you want. Just not the jumping out part.”

“Aww, thank you Swiftie!”

Swift only blushed violently as he nodded.

“Although….” Zero started as he looked at Pinkie with a smirk. “I could do the same if Swift is chicke—ow, I was kidding!”

Sunset pulled her hand back as she pinched his arm before whispering. “Try to cool it, Mr. Steal Your Girl, and let Swift have this. You don’t wanna look bad in front of Fluttershy, right?”

“I don’t have a crush on Flutters.”

“You’re a nice guy and all, but carrying a girl’s stuff and helping her out with flyers every morning leaves a lot to imply you know.” Sunset gave a smirk at her. “And you make it obvious.”

“ … I chose not to confirm or deny anything,” Zero huffed and looked away. But during this moment, he did a quick head count of everyone that was in the vicinity, excluding Rarity and Twilight, and noticed one other was unaccounted for. “No word from Clyde either, Rivet?”

“Sorry man, I haven’t heard from him.” Rivet shook his head. “But I think he’s probably still sick from yesterday.”

“I hope he’s okay,” Fluttershy worried. “Maybe that’s the emergency she was talking about. She probably went to go treat him, or w-worse, she had to take him to the hospital.”

A chill ran up everyone’s spine as they processed this theory. Applejack took out her phone to text Rarity. “Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. I’ll text Rarity to see if everythin’ is alright.”

“Good idea,” Night agreed as his attention was drawn away by a purple car coming up the road. The gang caught glimpses of Twilight in the driver side as she entered the parking lot.

“Hey, there she is!” Zero spoke happily as he rushed over to go greet her with everyone else following suit. The first thing they noticed was that Twilight was wearing something rather different from her usual attire as she exited the car. For starters, her hair was in a ponytail like how she usually kept it during gym class. She wore a new purple sweater vest with a belt around it, which matched her button down shirt and bow. Her skirt looked a bit different as well, but maintained the same pattern as the last one with a large purple star and small white star surrounding it, yet, it had additions dark purple stars scattered around the skirt and blended in with the background of it. Her boots were completely replaced by plain, light blue, knee-high socks and purple dress shoes. She looked at everyone and gave a meek wave.

“H-Hi everyone,” Twilight uttered as she gave an awkward smile. “Glad I made it on time. I would’ve arrived earlier, but I got caught up with some things.”

Zero smiled back at her. “Wow, what’s with the new look?” he commented.

Puzzled, Twilight looked at her clothes then gazed back at him. “Cadance thought I should look nicer since I’m going out with my classmates. Why, does it look okay?”

“I think it looks really nice on you, Twilight!” Swift approved. “Right everyone?”

“Oh yes, I think it looks lovely on you,” Fluttershy chimed in as well. “I might even like it more than your usual outfit.”

“I never said there was anything wrong. I was just asking what’s with the sudden change,” Zero elaborated as he looked at Twilight closely. “But like Flutters said, it’s an improvement. You look more … Hmm ….”

“Pretty?” Rivet guessed. “Cute? Better?”

“No, no, it’s more so unique. Liiiiike ….” Zero tried brainstorming as he tapped his chin until Pinkie chirped in as she got in between the two suddenly.

“Adorkable!!”

“Excuse me?” Twilight said, confused.

“A portmanteau! You’re adorable and dorky-looking at the same time to Zero!” Pinkie explained. “But in a good way!”

“Hey, that’s perfect!” Zero praised her.

“I … don’t believe that’s an actual wor—”

Pinkie hushed Twilight as she pressed her finger against her lip. She took out a New Edition Collins English Dictionary from her hair and turned the pages until she pointed to the word. Twilight adjusted her glasses and read the definition carefully. “Adorkable: Socially inept or unfashionable in a charming or endearing way. O-Oh, um, thanks I guess?”

“I … think we can just leave it at we all like her clothes and head inside.” Soul added in to change the subject.

Sunset nodded. “Like he said, we just hope you have just as much fun as the rest of us Twilight. Which begs the question: Do you know how to skate?”

“No, but while I was getting ready tonight, I did read up on how to roller skate and the tips and tricks to skating as a whole.” Twilight gave an awkward chuckle as she rubbed her shoulder timidly. “So … there’s that.

“In short, you can’t skate,” Zero summarized with a smile. “No need to worry, because tonight, the tutee has become the tutor, and I shall gladly teach you how to skate like a pro. Then you watch the master work his stuff after I skate circles around AJ, Rainbow and Night!”

“Woah, woah, woah. Who’s skating circles around who now?” Rainbow interjected. “You three are gonna be laps behind me when I’m done.”

“I beg to differ,” Applejack argued back with Rainbow. “And besides, this ain’t about having a roller derby. It’s about having fun, remember?”

Rainbow smirked at Applejack. “Sounds more like you're coming up with excuses so I don’t make you look bad,” she taunted, causing her to earn a glare from the farm girl.

“I ain’t no chicken,” Applejack growled. “And if I wanted to, I could easily keep up with you, whether it’s skatin’ or runnin’”

Rainbow got in Applejack’s face with her signature cocky smirk. “Prove it.”

Zero laughed while crossing his arms proudly. “What’s the point of even trying? With me in the mix, you’ll both just pale in comparison.”

Night shook his head. “The only thing you’ll get out of this is a big L on your forehead for last place, lame, laughable, lackluster. And besides, even if I’m not as fast as those two, I can beat you easily.

“As if!” Zero got in Night’s face as he hissed at him. “If anyone’s gonna have an L on their forehead around here, it’s gonna be you!”

“Whatever you say, just don’t cause a ruckus when we get inside.”

“The only ruckus that’s gonna be heard is you crying for your mommy that the big bad Zero made you look like a chump!”

Some of the others just chuckled at the banter among the four until Soul spoke up. “Can we go inside now?”

“YES!” Zero, Applejack, and Rainbow agreed in unison as they rushed inside.

After the silly banter was finally over and done with and the gang had paid to enter the rink, Twilight finally entered the roller rink with everyone and was immediately hit by bright lights and loud techno music. Around the entrance were those claw machine games and vending machines. Further ahead she saw people by the main counter receiving skates in exchange for their shoes or vice versa. Not too far from the counter, there was the main rink, a food court, an arcade area, and tables for everyone to sit down and take it easy. She glanced up and could see a window to where the DJ was operating the music. While everyone looked delighted and a bit enthusiastic to either get their skates, try out the arcade games, or win something from the claw machine, Twilight wasn’t all that interested in doing any of these other than giving skating a try.

As much as she didn’t want to judge a book by its cover, she was already overwhelmed by everything in no less than ten seconds, and she already didn’t like it here.

Not a fan of loud places, Twilight thought to herself. But, I can manage this. All I need to do is talk to Fluttershy and then I can just make something up so I can leave. Of course, I can’t do it right away, so I’ll have to let some time pass. I guess learning how to skate in the meantime wouldn’t be so bad.

Just as the bookworm finished making up her mind, Applejack took her phone out of her pocket and saw that she got a text. “Good news y’all, Clyde is gonna be A-ok!” she confirmed as everyone sighed out of relief. “Rarity is looking after him right now.”

Fluttershy sighed in relief. “Thank goodness. I guess it really was nothing to worry about.”

“I’m betting he’s getting a lot more than just a little hot soup in bed with Rarity on the job, if you know what I mean.” Rainbow winked.

Sunset only rolled her eyes and smiled. “Let’s just try to have some fun while we’re here.”

“I think I’m gonna try getting something from the claw machine before I hit the rink,” Soul said as he got some change from the food counter. “Thinking about buying something for my baby sister.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Night added. “You’re gonna lose all your money with how persistent you are. Remember that time you and I went to the arcade?”

“That machine was rigged and you know it!” Soul cried.

“There’s still an arcade around here?” Rivet said curiously. “Better question: arcades are still around in general other than places like this?”

“Well, even Manehattan has those payphones lurking about,” Zero tossed in. “But still, I thought arcades were dead too.”

“Me and Thunderlane go to the one by the aquarium in the city sometimes,” Swift explained. “Since there’re little kids always visiting the place, they swarm the arcade whenever they get bored of seeing fish.”

Rivet thought for a moment. “That’s … actually kinda clever from a business standpoint.”

“Hey, less chatty! More skatey!” Rainbow interrupted. “We don’t got all night! So go get your skates!”

“Aye aye, head honcho,” Night mouthed as he got in line. Zero, Applejack, and some of the others followed as well while Soul went to the claw machine. Shortly afterwards, everyone sat by the bench putting their skates on while Zero helped Fluttershy’s with hers as if it were a glass slipper. He glanced over at Swift as he didn’t have his skates.

“Yo bro, you not gonna skate yet?”

Swift scratched the back of his head. “I think I’m just gonna play some of those arcade games over there. I’m a little clumsy when it comes to skating.”

“If you want some practice lessons to get you on the roll again, I know a certain someone that can help!” Pinkie skated over to Swift with as she wrapped her arm around his neck and whispered. “I’ll give you a hint: it’s meeeeee.”

Swift tried not to blush with Pinkie being so close, on top of the fact their cheeks were touching a little. “N-N-No no, it’s fine Pinkie. I’m not up for skating tonight. Maybe next time.”

“Aww, there’s no need to be shy, Swiftie! Besides, I already got your skates on!” Pinkie pointed at his feet.

“What?” Swift glanced down and noticed that his shoes had already been swapped out with roller skates. “W-When did you put my … wait, how do you know my shoe size?”

Pinkie just took his hand and pulled him into the rink. “No time for questions, it’s time for you to learn from the master!” she effused in excitement as they hopped off the rug and flowed into the traffic of skaters on the hardwood floor. Swift tried to glide across the floor as best as he possibly could while his mind was in a complete daze, both from the fear of falling and the fact that he was holding hands with his pink instructor.

“That poor but fortunate soul,” Zero blurted as he watched the two.

“Don’t you mean unfortunate?” Twilight asked.

“He’s holding hands with Pinkie Pie, one of the cutest girl on the planet. Can’t get any more fortunate than that. Unless he finally scores her as a girlfriend.” Zero sighed. “Here’s hoping through.” He turned to Fluttershy and helped her stand up. She nearly slipped forward at first, but thankfully she managed to catch herself without any assistance as she place her hands on the rug at the last second.

“I-I got it,” Fluttershy said, trying to convince the others once she pushed herself back up. She slowly took a step towards the rink until she placed her hand on the wall to stop herself, waiting for a chance to merge onto the rink.

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Ya never told me ya know how ta skate, sugarcube.”

“M-Me and Rainbow skated together a few times. She’s the one who taught me, after all,” Fluttershy explained as everyone saw that her legs were visibly shaking.

“And how long has it been since you skated?”

“M-maybe a year or so.”

Ready to be of assistance, Zero was about to say something until Rivet spoke up. “I’d better skate with you then so you don’t get hurt.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Sunset agreed. “And Zero can help Twilight out in the meantime like he said.”

“What about you, Sunset?” Rainbow mentioned. “Aren’t you skating too?”

“After I get a drink from the snack bar and check on Soul,” she said until they heard Soul yelling in frustration by the claw machine.

“DANG IT! IS THE CLAW MADE OUT OF BUTTER OR SOMETHING?! I JUST WANT THE LIZARD!!!”

Everyone just blinked at this until Rainbow patted Sunset’s shoulder. “He sounds great.”

“You guys go on ahead and warm up. I’ll be there in a bit.” Zero motioned for everyone else to go. Once they nodded and joined Pinkie and Swift onto the rink and Sunset left for the food court, Zero helped Twilight onto her feet. She had learned from Fluttershy’s mistake and managed to stand up with no trouble. However, it was just the first time.

Uneasy and yet balanced, Twilight took cautious step by cautious step around the carpet to get used to the feeling while Zero watched her. As she figured, it felt a little unusual to be moving like this along with actively trying not to bump into or fall on someone. But it was no more than a minute later that she got the gist of it and her tutee—or in this instance, instructor—motioned for her to come by the rink.

“My dear Ms. Sparkle. Would you care to join me hand in hand as we skate the night away?” Zero offered as he held out his hand, trying to be charismatic.

Unimpressed, Twilight took his hand gently and allowed him to take the lead. Once they saw some space in the traffic, Zero stepped onto the hardwood floor and pulled the purple girl with him. Immediately she felt the difference in smoothness between the rug and the hardwood floor. She pitched forward as her glasses came off her face and made her vision blurry, but thankfully, she felt her guide catch her before disaster ensured.

“Hey now, it’s way too soon for you to be falling on your face,” Zero chuckled as he picked up the glasses and Twilight could vaguely see him cleaning them off. He put them back on her face as everything cleared up for her. “There you go! Lucky for you, there’s not a crack or smudge.”

“Thanks. I guess I should’ve seen this coming,” Twilight replied as she tried to balance herself once more on her skates, earning another laugh from Zero.

“Goes to show you that some things need to be experienced for you to really understand them.” He took her hand once more. “It’s cool if you fall a few times. Just try to get used to it and remember what your book said.”

Twilight nodded and allowed him to lead once more. She steadied herself as best as she could while keeping her knees bent and squatting like a sumo wrestler. Gulping, she noticed there was a left turn coming up and she glanced at Zero’s footwork as he turned only his left foot and leaned to the left slightly. Twilight did the same and they carefully made the turn successfully. She smiled to herself and tried to get back into form, but alas, the moment she took her eye off her partner, she put her legs too closely together and felt herself falling backwards. Zero tried to pull her back, but he lost his balance in the process and caused Twilight to crash into him, making the two tumble over.

Twilight groaned at their misfortune as she lay on Zero’s stomach horizontally while the young man himself was lying flat on his back. She was worried for a moment as she thought he hit his head, but the fear vanished once he gave a hysterical laugh and sat up.

“Oh shit, I wasn’t expecting a wipeout like that,” he said with a bit of relief as he helped Twilight up once more.

“You're okay, right?” Twilight worried. “You didn’t hit your head?”

Zero shook his head. “Nope. I was lucky and my arm broke my fall. But are you cool?”

“I’m fine,” Twilight admitted. She hesitated at the thought but decided to speak her mind. “Can we just … go a little slower and stay close to the wall so it’s easier to prevent more falls like that?”

“Oh yeah, that is a good idea. Nice thinking, Egghead!” Zero smiled at her and they proceed once anew.

Thirty minutes later, Twilight started to get used to the feeling at last as she managed to go two or so minutes without slipping or falling. Despite the awkward sumo pose, she managed to keep her balance and perform the left turns just fine. Even if she didn’t learn the whole nine yards of it or skate nearly as well as the others around her, she took this as a small victory nonetheless and felt a tad bit proud. So maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to give it a shot in the end.

But regardless of the achievement, she felt as if her legs were ready to give out from the amount of stamina she used up and the cramp she was starting to feel in her thigh from skating nonstop with her partner. On top of that, she was getting a headache from the blaring music the DJ was playing. At this point, she was ready to complete her original task and go home. She let go of Zero’s hand and slowed down, gaining his attention as he raised an eyebrow.

“I can manage on my own now,” Twilight explained with a bit of heavy breathing. “You can go on ahead.”

“Sweetness!” Zero exclaimed with a small smile. “But you should take five before you suddenly have car … cardcat …. What’s it called again?”

“Cardiac arrest?”

“Bingo! Just be careful of the other skaters, and if you need something, just give me a shout!”

Zero zoomed off on his skates as he tried catching up to the others at a breakneck pace. Twilight watched him go for a moment before quickly making her way out of the rink and back to the benches as she got back on the carpet floor once more. She nearly fell again after being so used to the smooth hardwood that walking on the rough surface caught her off-guard.

Oh the irony, Twilight thought as she sat down at last while catching her breath. She glanced upwards and noticed that Fluttershy was also retreating back to the benches alone. She clumsily made her way over to Twilight and sat down next to her with a sigh.

“Y-you're exhausted too?” Fluttershy asked, feeling winded as she wheezed.

Twilight nodded as she leaned back. “I think I’ve had enough skating for one day. My legs can’t take much more of it.”

“Oh, I understand.” Fluttershy nodded. “I might just take a little break and join the others again.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight finished as she took her roller skates off. The two meek girls sat in a bit of an awkward silence as the two of them weren’t sure how to proceed with the conversation until Twilight scanned her surroundings. She saw that Soul was still by the claw machine with a focused look on his face and Sunset had joined everyone else on the rink. Remembering her original task, she tapped Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“Do you maybe want to get something to drink?” Twilight offered.

“Sure, that’d be nice,” Fluttershy agreed.

After getting her shoes back from the main counter, Twilight went to the food court while Fluttershy got the both of them small bottles of water, handing one of them to Twilight once she sat down on the stool.

“Thank you.” Twilight took the bottle and drank some of it.

“You’re welcome.” Fluttershy sipped some of her water as she watched the rest of the group skate. “Um, are you enjoying yourself okay?”

“I … am, actually,” Twilight said in honesty. “It was nice to skate for the first time and do something like this for a change.”

“That’s good to hear!” Fluttershy smiled at her. “I was concerned at first since you haven’t really commented on anything. Frankly, it just caught most of us off guard that you came at all. I-if you don’t mind me asking, what made you want to join us?”

“Well, my sister-in-law only pushed the thought in my mind after Zero invited me. So in the end, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to give skating a chance,” Twilight explained. “But I was wrong. It did hurt actually, mainly when I fell on my butt a few times.”

Fluttershy giggled. “I fell on my butt a few times out there too. So I know how you feel.”

Twilight returned the laugh before looking out at the rink. She was looking specifically at her tutee skating across the rink and trying his best to catch up to Night, Applejack and Rainbow Dash as he gained on them. She could see the intensity on his face as he was determined to win their little competition. She might have gotten a simple overview of Zero’s character after her conversation with him, but she wanted a firm and better understanding of him from one of his closer friends. At last, it was the time to learn just that.

“Fluttershy, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?

Twilight took a deep breath. “Being Zero’s tutor, I’ve had a bit of trouble understanding him. He seems a bit simple on the surface, but I’m trying to grasp a better idea about him as a whole. But you seem to get along with him just fine, so I wonder if you can tell me anything about him without any of your personal feelings for him clouding your head.”

Fluttershy took a moment to think about the last sentence until she quickly deciphered it and blushed. “N-n-no! No, no, it’s not like that at all. Zero and I are just really good friends. I-I-I don’t love him or anything.”

Twilight gave an understanding nod. “My mistake. But please, can you tell me anything regarding him?”

Fluttershy nodded in return as she put her water bottle down and looked out at the rink. “Well, in short, he’s just … driven. But there’s more to it than that. He’s so carefree and refuses to let anything hold him down. He never complains when he offers to help someone and makes it more so his personal mission to make sure all of his friends are happy. He’s always giving it a hundred percent no matter what, and has such a big heart.” She gave a warm smile. “He’s like Rainbow Dash in a sense: never backing down from a challenge and whatnot. But unlike her, he can be a little—”

“HAHA!”

Twilight looked over at the rink and spotted Zero making the distribution as he managed to pass Rainbow and Applejack while skating backwards with his arms crossed.

Zero gave a sly grin. “Didn’t I tell you guys I’d make you eat my dust? Only ten more laps around before I—woah!!!” He suddenly felt himself falling backwards and crashed into the ground as the three slid to a halt and skated over to him.

“You okay?” Rainbow asked as she kneeled down.

“Anything broken?” Night worried as he tried helping him up.

Zero rubbed his head. “Ugh, yeah, that was definitely a bad idea.”

“Ya wanna lie down?” AJ offered.

“Sure,” Zero smirked as he started skating off to steal the lead, “after I complete the last set of laps!!”

“Oh no you don’t!!!” Rainbow raced after him, followed by Applejack and Night.

“He can be a bit silly at times,” Fluttershy sighed. “And can get himself hurt or in trouble if he’s not too careful. But after talking to him this morning, I sure he’ll take things a bit more seriously in school and tutoring since he understands. But overall, he’s just a wonderful and strong person all around and a great friend to have. Sometimes I wish I had the same level of courage as him, Rainbow or Applejack. But having them always cheering me on or helping me out is enough to give me strength, in truth. I-it’ll make more sense if you just get to know him more.”

Twilight could only nod as she listened to every word carefully. Is this what Principal Celestia was talking about? She wants me to get to know him because it might benefit me? But she said I might learn something from him; what on earth could that be? She let out a tired sigh. No, no. I shouldn’t have pinned my hopes on Fluttershy like this; it’s not like she’s known him all her life. But it did gave me a glimmer of insight towards who he is. I can’t be upset about that.

“Sorry if that was flimsy explanation, but I hope it helped in some way,” Fluttershy prayed.

“It was enough, Fluttershy. I appreciate it,” Twilight thanked as she stood up. “But I’m going to go home now.”

“A-already?” the animal lover asked curiously.

Twilight placed a hand on her head. “The music here is too loud and I’m a little tired. I just want to lie down with a good book right about now. Just tell everyone else what I told you and have a good night.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy agreed. “Drive safe.”

Twilight nodded and she left the building at last and entered the parking lot, breathing a sigh of relief as she escaped the music and bright lights that were flashing. She noticed Fluttershy’s sad tone as she left and couldn’t help but feel a bit of regret.

I probably shouldn’t have left so suddenly like that, Twilight admitted. Zero’s probably going to come looking for me too as soon as he finds out. But I’ll be sure to apologize once I see them on Monday and thank them for the night out. It was actually kind of fun for a little while there.

Just as Twilight reached for the handle of her car door, she suddenly felt something yank her purse and she immediately turned around. A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and prevented her from doing anything as she saw the culprits were three boys who looked to be around her age. They all wore similar clothes, being a regular T-shirt, a vest, and pants with collars on them, each having a blue diamond symbol on them. One of them was short and was sitting on the hood of her car as he was on lookout. The other was a muscular boy with large arms who was holding her wrists tightly. The last one who seemed fairly normal was digging into her purse while holding her other hand. If her guess was right, he might be the boss.

“Hold still! This is only gonna take a moment!” the boss ordered in his raspy voice while examining her purse.

Twilight didn’t listen to him and just kicked him in the groin, making him fall on his knees, though she dropped her purse in the process. She tried to kick the muscular one too, but unfortunately, he saw it coming and brought his knee up to block it, making him chuckle.

“Nice try,” the musclehead said. “Spot, check her purse for money!”

The short one smirked as he jumped off the car and made a grab for the purse. He dumped everything out of it until he saw the wallet on the ground and snatched it. He examined the insides and couldn’t find any money inside.

“She’s broke!” the short one snapped as he tossed the wallet aside. “She has to have some leftover change if she came from the rink!”

The musclehead glared at her. “You have to have something valuable on you!”

Twilight was in a complete state of panic as she quickly replied to them. “I-I-I don’t have any money on me right now! Someone else paid for me to skate! J-just leave me alone please!” she begged as she struggled to get her wrists free while thinking of a way out of this.

The boss pulled himself back onto his feet and growled at Twilight in fury from the assault. “Then you won’t mind if we search your car for some valuables.” He shoved her away from the car door once he picked up her keys from the ground. “Rover, keep her still!”

Twilight wasn’t worried over the fact he was going through her car due the fact she truly didn’t have anything of value to take. She was more so anxious about what they’d do to her afterwards. She wanted to call out for help, but she thought it’d make things worse, and since she couldn’t see anyone in the vicinity, she wasn’t sure if it would be of any use.

Come on Twilight, you’ve got to think of a way out of this. I just need to get out of Rover’s grip. Just wait for a chance.

Sweat rolling down his face, heartbeat increasing, and the burning desire for victory, Zero Gravity was gaining on Rainbow Dash and Applejack while barely staying neck and neck with Night after losing the lead not too long ago. With only a few more laps to go, he gritted his teeth and squatted a little more as he pushed himself forward with his skates and swung his arms with each push. He didn’t manage to shake off his burgundy rival, but he was close to the girls nonetheless as they passed the food counter and were entering the final lap.

He looked around his surroundings and couldn’t help but notice that he hadn’t seen Twilight for a while now, nor had he seen Fluttershy. He was sure he hadn’t lapped them like the others, and he didn’t see them by the benches or the food court.

Where’d they disappear to? Zero wondered. Probably the bathroom, but I wonder …. He double-checked his surroundings and then looked at Night. “I’m gonna take five. I’m starting to burn out here. Win this one for us, my bro.”

“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try my best,” Night replied as he skated on ahead.

Zero exited the rink and gave a tired sigh as he sat down on the bench. He nearly collapsed onto it as his legs were practically screaming at him to rest given how numb they felt. It was definitely enough to make him give off a relieved laugh from the funny and tingly sensation in his legs that made it so he wasn’t sure if he could stand up again. However, he had a mission to accomplish.

Bearing through it, he stood and made his way over to the bathroom close to where Soul was still playing the claw machine. Zero was about to tap him until Soul spoke up.

“Not now, Zero,” Soul said in a stern voice as he moved the claw carefully. “I’m in the zone.”

Zero just waited for Soul to finish his attempt. He actually managed to grab the lizard he was after, but just as the claw was moving to the hole, his prize slipped out of his grip, making Soul give an angry growl.

“Almost had it. Next time for sure.”

“If you’re out of your zone and back to the real world, have you seen Twilight or Fluttershy by any chance?” Zero asked.

“Fluttershy just went in not too long ago.”

“Alright, but what about Twilight?”

“I didn’t see her, actually.”

Zero’s curiosity grew just a tad bit and he pondered the thought. Maybe he just missed her. She couldn’t have left or anything, right? He took out a dollar from his pocket and gave it to Soul. “Thank you, my info broker,” he jested. “There’s my token of gratitude. So try winning sometime for a change.”

“Thanks, I’ll be sure to win something for Sunny!”

“I thought you were getting something for your sister?”

“ … And her too, yeah.”

Zero only shook his head with a smile before leaving Soul be. Deciding to dismiss his worries, he made his way out to the parking lot through one of the side exits just to make sure Twilight’s car was still in the lot and she hadn’t gone home.

While he did spot Twilight’s car, his eyes widened as he saw the Diamond Dogs crowded around Twilight as she was trying struggle out of Rover’s grip and the other two were ticked off about something. Already reading the situation, Zero tried undoing the laces on his skates before they noticed him and started moving closer to the car. But just as Spot noticed him, he quickly kicked off one of his roller skates towards Rover and the bottom of it smashed into his face, making him roar in pain as he let Twilight go. Fido and Spot looked over at the enemy as the young rebel took off his other skate and sprinted towards them.

“Of all places!” Fido got in a defensive stance and waited.

“First Fluttershy, now Twilight!” Zero charged in and kicked Fido in the gut. “I’m gonna have to send you to the pound myself you—ARGH!!”

Fido delivered a right hook into Zero’s eye and the two started getting into a scuffle. Twilight noticed Spot was about to rush in too, but she quickly scanned the ground of all the stuff that was emptied out of her purse and made a grab for a small black box and rushed at him.

“How about some payback for getting in our way one too many times?!” Spot was ready to pounce into the fight but was quickly intercepted by Twilight as she reached over and pressed something against his neck. The moment he felt the sensation of a electric shock, he saw that the former damsel in distress had a taser. The shock caused Spot to collapse to the ground.

Twilight didn’t hesitate for a moment and tased Rover before he had a chance to shake off the pain Zero delivered to him. He also fell down from the shock and one of his legs started twitching.

T-two down! Gotta help Zero with Ro— Just as Twilight was ready to shock the last one of the gang, she saw Fido getting an uppercut to the jaw by Zero himself and then receiving a kick to the face as he tumbled onto the asphalt ground.

“There aren’t any teachers to save you assholes now,” Zero panted as he had pure rage on his face. “So for your sake, you’d better beat it before I beat you into a coma!”

Fido saw Twilight with her taser and shot a glare at Zero. He stood back up and picked up Spot before putting him on his back and grabbing Rover out of the parking lot. Zero eyed them like a predator the entire time until they were out of his line of sight.

Letting out a grunt, he turned to Twilight quickly and examined her for injuries. “Okay, on a scale from one to ten, how bad are you hurt? I’ll be sure to pay them back and double the pain!”

Twilight shook her head wordlessly as she was still trembling a little from the sudden event. Zero dropped the tough guy act and started picking up her belongings on the ground. She slowly kneeled down and did the same before putting everything away in her purse as she looked at him.

“T-thanks. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen if ….”

Her tutee only patted her shoulder gently. “Don’t worry about it. Those guy never really do anything serious or mess anyone up. Honestly, they only rob or steal people’s homework or whatever. But they’re even dumber than me,” he explained after returning her personal belongings. “But I can’t believe you had a taser on you! Those guys dropped like flies and we sent them away with their tails between their legs! You just keep getting cooler by the minute. Say, where’d you get a taser anyways?”

“My brother is the chief of police,” Twilight said quietly as she stood up. “He gave me one in case of emergencies. But are you okay? You got a few bruises on your face.”

“I doubt he got me that good,” Zero waved off. “Probably just the adrenaline, but I don’t feel a thing. But I think my medic of a mom can patch me up. But back to my main point, I’m just happy you're okay. So let’s go back inside and get you some food.”

“Actually, I was planning on going home. It’s why I’m out here to begin with.”

Zero’s smile faded a bit as he stood up. “Oh … well, maybe tomorrow I can make up for things and we can go to the mall and chill out. I know that’ll draw Rarity’s attention and get her to join us.”

“No.This was just a one time thing.” Twilight sighed as she looked him in the eye. “I honestly appreciate your help and helping me skate for the first time. But we’re not friends or anything, so let’s just leave it at that and I’ll see you at school on Monday, okay?”

“Is it that stuff you said about friends not being a necessity?” Zero mumbled as he gripped his fist. “How can you say something so … cold and hollow?”

“I don’t mean to make it sound like that, but it’s true. If you really want to get anyway in life, you need to learn and understand as much as you can so you can get ahead,” Twilight pointed out. “Sure, maybe you can just rely on someone else to do everything for you, but not everyone has that luxury. And you might end up on the street if you're not mindful of where your life is going. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Even if we’re not friends, I at the very least want to help you understand that much. Making friends isn’t something that you should prioritize over everything else. You don’t really need them. I’ve gotten by just fine without any. It’s not like food, water, or air. You don’t need it to survive.”

Zero could only stand there as he gave a sad expression. His heart ached at the reason and his mind overflowed with thoughts as he tried to come up with a response. The cold feeling in his chest returned as he thought her answer to be like a fork scraping on a clean plate, nails on a chalkboard, or listening to his father practice his “Chords of Steel” before a trial—he’d wish he could just be deaf for a moment rather than hear any of it.

Wanting to just scream whatever came to his heart, ready to spit words right back at her with outrage and unleash everything that made his heart race and play the devil’s advocate. Just as he opened his mouth to say something … he did a double take on what she said and gave it some thought, unlike the other day. Zero decided to calm down and say his response.

“You're right,” he began. “Making friends isn’t a necessity. But it’s something that’ll benefit you greatly. They can do so many things for you, make you feel better, give you a chuckle when your bored in class and they do something stupid. Or when your day sucks and they invite you over to hang out and play video games. They’re there for you when everything looks bleak and impossible to do by yourself. And when you have no idea what to do, they’re the people you turn too. If you're introverted, I understand. But there’s gotta be at least someone you trust to talk to.”

“I talk to Cadance and my family.” Twilight took her gaze off him and looked away. “ … And Spike.”

“With Spike, I can tell with some of the pictures you have in your room.”

“Moving on,” Twilight dismissed. “I have my family. That should be plenty of people to talk too.”

Zero huffed. “Yeah, but it wouldn’t kill ya to just trust someone outside of your bloodline other than Cadance. Like the girls, or my friends, or … maybe you and I can be friends.”

“Zero, why are you fixated on me making friends?” Twilight wondered. “You acted like this before when I said I didn’t have any, and now you're doing it again. Is it because you want to be my friend?”

Zero gave her a sad expression and looked away. “I don’t like the idea of someone being alone so much. And seeing you by yourself a lot just … hurts. Being lonely is one of the worst feelings in the world and I hate seeing someone feel that way. But when you're with those closest to you, it’s like having all the pieces to your soul in one place and you cherish the feeling constantly. Philosophical, I know, but I'm speaking out of experience and from the heart. And even though we started out … really terribly, I wanna make up for it. So … if you want, do you wanna be my friend at least, ’cause I see you as mine.”

Twilight gave his offer some consideration and she gave an unsure expression that seemed almost conflicted. She stayed that way for a minute or two as the cold air of the night breezed by them. Zero’s patience was thinning and his worries started to creep up until his tutor snapped out of her train of thought.

“I need a little more time to think about it. Sorry,” she apologized. “Right now, I just want to go home and clear my mind. I’ll text you a reply later.”

“It’s alright, I’ll get off my soap box and you just take it eas—” Zero halted and raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “You don’t have my number, do you?”

“Remember when you gave me your number on the first day of school and swung in through the window?”

“Riiiiiiiiight,” he said as he recalled. “I’m surprised you still have it.”

“I just forgot about it up until recently.” Twilight opened her car door and looked at Zero. “All things considered—and besides those Diamond dogs—I want you to know that … I did have a little fun tonight. So thank you.”

Zero only smiled at her in turn.

“And … you might want to get your shoes back.” She pointed to his feet as he was in just his socks after kicking his skates off during the brawl.

Zero looked down in surprise and gave an awkward chuckle before picking up his skates and letting Twilight drive home. He snuck back through the side door after texting Soul and came up with an excuse about checking on Twilight before she left and said his bruises were from falling on the ground with his skates on. It brought down the mood a bit once they heard about Twilight, but Rainbow and Pinkie upped the mood back into place by deciding for everyone to grab some pizza while Fluttershy tended to Zero’s face, thanks to her carrying a first aid kit with her.

“This might sting a little, o-okay?” Fluttershy held up a tissue dipped in alcohol. “Ready?”

Zero only nodded silently as he was spacing out. Fluttershy slowly placed the tissue on one of his larger cuts and expected her friend to jump or yell from the burn, but Zero only flinched for a second and withstood the sensation. Fluttershy then patted down the other cuts on his face for a moment before wiping them off and placing band-aids on them.

“There you go.” Fluttershy placed the last one on him with a small nod. “You feel okay?”

“Mmhmm.” Zero nodded as he wasn’t really looking at her. He only really nibbled on his pizza.

“Okay, now I know something is up,” Night added. “No matter how bad the pizza is, you're usually munching on it like it’s the greatest thing in existence …. Well, it technically is, but still.”

“I’m not really hungry to be honest.”

“But you're always hungry!!!” Pinkie exclaimed while stuffing some pizza in her mouth. “And it’s stuffed crust!!”

“Well … if you put it that way, I guess I can eat a little.” Zero sat up a little bit more and started eating more of the pizza, but he still seem a bit out of it. Sunset gave a worried look and decided to speak up again.

“Are you sure nothing happened while you were gone?” Sunset asked in concern. “Anything about Twilight or something?”

“I’m … just a little upset she left so soon,” Zero said, which wasn’t entirely untrue. “I just wanted her to open up and enjoy herself.”

“Well, her coming out here is a step forward at the very least. And she did look like she was having fun.” Sunset patted his shoulder with a smile. “I think this is a huge step for her if you ask me. So maybe she’ll open up bit by bit.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Over the next two hours, the night went by slowly as the rush of fun and excitement started to wither away. Zero decided to call it and night and bid everyone adieu once he returned his skates and got his shoes back. As he started walking home, his mind was still distracted from the discussion not too long ago. He anxiously awaited the text and was starting get worried that she might have fallen asleep or that she might have still been unsure on her decision. He couldn’t help but imagine the endless response she might give him, making him forget about everything else at the moment.

Once he arrived home, he saw that his family was eating dinner and decided to join them briefly since he had room for more. His mother of course asked about his bruises, but told the same excuse about getting hurt by falling. He could tell from his mother’s piercing glare that she could see right through him. Zero didn’t really want to lie about the incident to his friends or his family, but he just didn’t want things to escalate right now and preferred to deal with the drama over the weekend or on Monday when his mind was clearer. After a short dinner with his family, he went off to his room without another word and waited on his bed, glancing at the beautiful moonlight coming from his open window.

“What’s taking so long?” Zero asked as he kept glaring at his phone. He started to believe that she was probably going to give an answer in the morning and it’d be better if he just nodded off, until his phone suddenly went off and made his heart jump. He grabbed it off his nightstand and opened it up … only to be disappointed that it was Swift asking him about homework. Annoyed, he quickly replied and dismissed the conversation before lying back down.

He eventually fell asleep for a short period of time before getting another text. Waking up, Zero felt disoriented and nearly forget what drove him into such concern in the first place until he picked up his phone and saw her text.

It’s her, he thought as his heart raced once more. He closed his eyes to prepare himself and prayed that it was the answer he wanted. Opening his eyes, and then the message, he began to read.

Twilight: I’ve made my decision about what you offered me.

A bit taken aback by the professionalism behind the message, Zero was nevertheless relaxed by seeing her text him back. He sat up from his bed and started texting her back.

Zero: Did you have to be so professional about it? You’re keeping me in suspense here.

Twilight: I’m a little new to texting people other than my teachers.

Who texts their teachers? Zero thought to himself before shaking his head. I forgot who I was talking to for a minute there.

Zero: Right, right…..but listen, before you say anything else, I still feel a little bad for the stunt I pulled yesterday and showed you the most uncool side of me.

Twilight: I’ve already accepted your apology and you did your best to make up for it. And it doesn’t affect my decision in any way.

His doubts and worries started to cloud his thoughts at her reply. As believable as the Dazzlings being actual sirens …. Actually, Aria and Sonata are pretty cute, so— He shook his head as he tried to keep his mind together.

Zero: Just tell me the answer already…..please.

He threw his phone down after sending it and took a deep breath as he expected the worst. Despite his heroism and preaching earlier, he couldn’t help but feel like his switcheroo from yesterday might have burned a bridge between them.

I’m such an insensitive idiot, he thought as he facepalmed himself. His phone went off again and he picked it up as he opened it once more.

Twilight: I don’t think we can be friends. I’m sorry. Though we can still be well acquainted. However, I wouldn’t mind getting to know the girls. I did get along with Fluttershy a few times.

Admittedly, the response made Zero tense up for a brief second, but relax after reading the whole thing. Yet he couldn’t help but ask about what bothered him the most.

Zero: That’s great and all! But how come you don’t wanna be friends with me?

Twilight: It’s not that I dislike you or anything, but I don’t feel that connection with you as of right now to really call you a friend. I only really feel comfortable with having Fluttershy as a possible friend since we have talked a few times and she’s easy to communicate with. And possibly work my way around to talking with the others.

Zero: That’s great. At least you’ve decided on trying at least. And I understand your point about me. But if you're willing to give it a go, how about I teach you about making friends and stuff?

Twilight: Teach me about making friends? Seriously? You really don’t need to go above and beyond after what you did for me today.

Zero: We may not be friends, but think of it as my I.O.U. for tutoring me. On top of getting good grades from here on in. I’m gonna help you socialize, I’m practically a social butterfly with all the friends I have. Like me and the guys, Fluttershy and the girls. Twinkleshine, Minuette, and so on. I helped my sister so helping you shouldn’t be too hard, like I’m the one tutoring you.

Twilight: Let’s just take this one step at a time before you get too ahead of yourself, okay?

Zero couldn’t help but smile a little. He glanced at the time and noticed it was a little past ten at night.

Zero: Whatever you say. But we can talk more about the subject on Monday. Oh and you don’t have to worry about picking me up from now on. I don’t mind walking.

Twilight: As long as you’re not late, alright. See you on Monday.

A weight finally off of his shoulders were gone at last, Zero put his phone down with a sigh and laid on his bed. All of his worrying took a lot out of him mentally and his mind was a constant swirl of emotions after that happened tonight.

Wasn’t expecting things to be this rough, he thought to himself, but at least she’s gonna cooperate with me for the most part. I just hope she and Flutters get along. That’ll at least make everything alright in the end and my job would be done. He looked outside his window as a little breeze hit his face. A bit of nostalgia washed over him as he started to feel the autumn breezes were slowly getting colder and colder, telling him that winter was right around the corner, making him recall all the joys of his favorite season.

The cancelled school days, the sound of laughter from little kids as they run around, lying in a warm, comfy bed after rushing back home,nd the greatest thing about it: the snow. The way it feels from the sky, the joy of snowball fights after school with his family and friends. And Wind’s birthday, of course.

But it also harbored one of his saddest memories. Zero glanced over at the picture on his nightstand with two of his closest friends back in Manehattan. Hot Streak … and Snow Angel.

A winter without the both of you is just insane, but I can’t let the idea bother me too much. Zero got up and grabbed his blue jacket and his phone before opening the door and scanning the house. He saw that everything was dark and there wasn’t a trace of anyone’s voice, telling him they all went to bed. He snuck out the room and went downstairs as he ventured out the back door and walked down the street to clear his mind.

I’ll manage without you, but I still intend to change the world in my own way like I promised. Zero looked up at the full moon and gave a determined grin. Maybe it’s impossible, but I refuse to let that stop me. I’m gonna see to it that nobody feels miserable again—I’ll make sure nobody in the world will suffer from loneliness like you once did. So just watch me!

As he ventured down the street and enjoyed the quiet nightly stroll, Zero could faintly but surely hear the sound of a basketball being dribbled around. Looking down the street, he saw someone playing in the basketball court by himself. Curious, he strolled over to see who else was out this late; approaching it bit by bit, his first guess as who this stranger might be came true.

“Clyde?”

Clyde just shot the ball in the basket until he turned towards his friend. “Oh, hey Zero.”

Zero walked around to the entrance of the court and made his way over to him. “I wasn’t expecting to see you out here at this time. You feeling better after … yesterday?”

“Yeah, actually,” Clyde confirmed before picking up the basketball and dribbling it. “I’m finally over being sick, so I came out tonight to shoot around since I haven’t done so in a while.” He shot the ball once again and it went in once again.

Zero scratched his head. “Well, why didn’t you answer my calls or texts then? I know you were under the weather, but I was starting to get worried and all.”

“I never got them, or rather, I didn’t know about them since I lost my phone somewhere in the house and it’s probably dead by now since I didn’t charge it last night,” Clyde admitted before chucking. “I wasn’t really trying to look for it since Rarity was coming over.”

“Oh yeah, AJ got a text from here saying she was taking care of you while were out skating.”

Clyde nodded. “Yeah, but I’ll probably head back soon. Though she might already be sleeping by now.”

“Right.” Zero looked away while putting his pants in his pocket. “Listen, about the whole switch yesterday. I'm really sorry about all of that. I was starting to think you were extremely pissed at me for what when down and I feel like a huge jerk about it.”

Clyde stopped dribbling the ball once he got it back and faced his friend. “I'm not really one to be mad about things that long. It happened and it's over with. So no hard feelings.”

Zero perked up a bit at the response and turned back at Clyde. “Oh.” He let out a sigh of relief. “Well, I'm glad you forgive me. I just hope Rarity doesn't bite my head off if I see her. By the way, here.” He took out fifty dollars from his wallet and held it out to him. “Even if you called off the deal, I still feel like I owe you what I promised.”

Looking at the money and shaking his head, Clyde pushed the money back towards him. “I don't need that. Just keep it. As long as you learned that switching with someone is never a good idea, I'm fine with just moving on with no hard feelings.”

Zero was thinking about insisting, but he didn’t see any point in pushing the matter any further. While putting the money away, Clyde noticed the bruises and bandages on Zero’s face and raised an eyebrow.

“Did you fight someone or something?”

“Huh? Oh, I actually slipped and—” He paused and shook his head. Since everything with Twilight was done with for the night and Clyde wouldn’t blow up about it, there wasn’t much of a need to keep the cat the bag. “Yeah, those Diamond Dogs tried to rob Twilight when she was leaving and I just managed to catch them in the act.”

“I see. And I assume you took care of it?”

Zero gave a proud smile and gave a thumbs up. “Heh, you know it! Twilight even tasered two of them for me. Give her an opening and she ain’t no pushover, let me tell ya.”

“Wow.” Clyde spoke in a bit of surprise. “Seems pretty hectic for just a skating party with everyone.”

“I didn't tell the others because I wanted to keep the drama low for tonight,” Zero explained. “I'll tell them tomorrow now that everything's blown over, especially between me and Twilight.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Clyde agreed. “Unfortunately, I can't really keep anything on the downside since Rarity likes to gossip. Secrets have a tendency to come out when she’s asked to keep them,” he chuckled.

Zero joined in on the laughter. “It can't be helped. Hey, since everything is cool between us now, you feel like playing a little one-on-one in basketball? First to ten wins.”

Clyde dribbled the ball. “Sure, if you want. But I'm going to have to leave right after.”

“That's alright. But is it okay if I walk with you so I can at least talk to Rarity real quick, please?” the young troublemaker pleaded.

“Alright. Unless she's sleeping, of course. I wouldn't wake her up then.”

“Fair enough.” Zero was quick to take off his jacket and put it on the bench next to them as he started to feel like things were quickly going back to normal. Giving a confident smile, he got in a position in front of Clyde and got himself ready. “You know, I was on the basketball team back in sixth grade, so don't be surprised if I wipe the floor with you. Hehe.”

Clyde returned the smile. “As long as you don't constantly brag about it if you manage to pull off a win, I don't care who wins this,” he chuckled.

“Dang it! You're no fun!” Zero said while he went in to go snatch the ball.

The two friends enjoyed a quick game of basketball that peaceful night as just about all of Zero’s worries were put to rest at last. But clouds were slowly creeping in on the two just as the game came to an end. Clyde won with a score of ten to four, and the two just ventured off to his house for the night. Entering the house, the two of them noticed Rarity had indeed fallen asleep and they shut off most of the lights so they didn’t bother her.

“Guess you might have to wait until tomorrow,” Clyde whispered to his friend.

“Looks like it. I'm not gonna make her even more mad and wake her u—”

The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance and it started to drizzle a bit outside. Zero slowly turned to Clyde after glancing outside.

“Lucky we made it back on time. But um, can I just sleep here and not deal with the rain?” Zero pleaded.

Clyde shrugged. “Sure. You can have my room then. I'll stay down here with Rarity.”

Zero beamed a smile. “Oh wow, thanks man. Just lending me your room like that, I'm starting to think Rarity's generosity is rubbing off on you.”

“Possibly,” the young gentleman added as he grabbed a nearby blanket from upstairs and placed it on Rarity. “I do feel like a better person when she's around.”

“Well, she's your girlfriend, so it’s possible she just completes you in a sense. You have that spark in your eye whenever you mention her or something.”

“I wouldn't know, but I definitely feel a lot better when she's near me,” Clyde repeated nonchalantly.

“Alright, no need to be a broken record over your girl.” Zero yawned as he patted Clyde’s back. “But yeah, I really appreciate it man. Thanks.”

“No problem, man.”

Zero went off to Clyde’s room and closed the door behind him. He placed his jacket on the nearest chair he could find and took his shoes off. Finally ready to put an end to this long day that started out completely dreadful, he was happy that it was all ending on a lighter note now that his mind was free of fears and worries from all sides. With the weekend starting up in the morning and the calming sound of rain hitting the bedroom window, the young delinquent gave a satisfied smile as he drifted off into a blissful slumber.

The next morning came along and Zero had received a few angry texts and missed calls from his mother for sneaking out last night without saying anything. He shot her an apologetic text saying he’d come home by noon and talk to her as soon as he got back. He figured he wasn’t going to stay at Clyde’s house for much longer and decided to just wash up in the bathroom and head downstairs.

Final hurdle: talk to Rarity about the switcheroo and try not to get murdered by her. Should be simple enough …. Please let it be simple so I can get on with my existence, Zero worried in his mind.

He took a peek in the living room and saw that Clyde was in the kitchen with Rarity while the fashionista herself was cooking at the stove. Zero gave a weak wave towards the two of them. “Morning you two.” He spoke up to get their attention.

Clyde turned to his friend and waved. “Morning.”

“Oh, good morning, Zero.” Rarity greeted him with a smile. “Would you care for some breakfast?”

My brain says it’s a trap, but …. His stomach growled loudly as Zero only nodded and sat by the kitchen counter with Clyde. “Listen Rarity, I wanted to—”

“You don’t have to worry about it, darling,” Rarity waved off. “Clyde told me you were here and why, so I just wanted to tell you that the whole switcheroo is behind us. Something like that is pretty normal nowadays, especially with being close friends with Pinkie Pie.”

“That is true. Guess I was making a big deal over nothing.” Zero held his chest and sighed before smiling. “Anyways, what have you got for breakfast?”

“I’ve already given Clyde his share with bacon, sausages, and scrambled eggs.” She brought a large bowl over to Zero and placed it down as it was filled with ramen. “But when I discovered you were over, I found a pack of noodles in one of the cabinets and knew that this was something more to your appeal.”

With his eyes lit up in joy, Zero grabbed the nearest fork and smiled brightly. “Aww yeah!! Man Clyde, I envy you for having a lady that cooks for you like this! Can’t wait to get my own fair maiden!”

“Well, you won’t get one like Rarity. She’s one of a kind, after all,” Clyde added as he winked at Rarity, making his friend roll his eyes while the fashionista giggled.

Just as Zero started chewing away at his breakfast, he felt a burning sensation in his mouth after slurping up some of the noodles and tried fanning off his tongue. “Hot, hot, hot!!!!”

Clyde just slid him a glass of milk as Zero chugged the whole drink in a quick gulp. He panted as he rested his head against the table.

“Sorry about that. I couldn’t stop her,” Clyde apologized.

Rarity giggled with a bit of malice. “Although I do forgive you, a little hot sauce prank isn’t too shabby for a little revenge now, is it?” She held up the bottle of said hot sauce. “So, are we even steven?”

Zero groaned and didn’t move his head, but chuckled at the trap he fell for as it was still a good one. “Yeah. Even steven.”