“… and that is how rule one point six of the Model Rules of Heroism affects rules three point four, and eight point three.” Tantabus stopped jabbing the piece of chalk against the board and stepped back. There was hardly a bit of black left on the board. His head scanned over the class. “Any further questions?”
Mouths, wings, horns, and claws ached across the classroom. Everyone’s brains throbbed against their skulls. They all silently thanked Equestria for the reprieve. Some, like Pinkie, even slumped into their seats. Dash, along with Bulk and Derpy, had passed that point long ago and had settled with just attempting to listen to Tantabus’s lecture with half-open eyes.
Glances at the clock spread confusion and dread throughout the room. There were a good fifteen minutes left of class even though all the material from last night’s reading had been covered. The shadow of a pop quiz loomed over the class.
“Well,” said Tantabus, noting the tension in the room, “if there are no questions, then we can move on to…” The class collectively inhaled. “… choosing your class representatives.”
Half the class nearly fell out of their seats. The rest sighed in relief. Both Dash and Sunset grinned.
“Woohoo!” Pinkie exclaimed while rising up on her chair. “Oh, this’ll be great! We’ll make posters, have debates, give cool spe—”
“Ms. Pie! Sit down!” Tantabus shouted. Pinkie blushed and sunk back to her seat. Commanding the full attention of the class once more, Tantabus produced a stack of papers and spread them out to the class. Each sheet had a row of blank boxes next to everyone’s name. “This will be a simple matter. Just check whoever you want for President. Second place will get to be Vice-President. If, by chance, there is a tie, then the tied candidates will each give a short speech. I presume there are no questions?”
No one responded to him.
“Good,” he said. “You have five minutes.”
Dash had already scrawled a big check mark next to her own name. Twilight scanned over the list and muttered to herself. With a smug grin, Sunset checked her own name. Maud blinked and put down a check. Spike smiled and easily checked the box next to Twilight’s name.
Fluttershy glanced between Dash, who was lying back with her legs behind her head, and Twilight, who was still staring at her unmarked sheet. With a gulp, Fluttershy filled in a box and flipped over the sheet so no one else could see.
At the same time, Rarity bit her lip and looked around as Fluttershy had. With a deep breath, she checked a box.
Furrowing her brow, Twilight finally managed to check a box.
A minute later, the room was silent. Tantabus scanned over the class before lifting the sheets up from everyone’s desk and floating them in front of his face. After a moment, he separated them into three groups of five, and left one sheet to float separate from the rest. “Hmm, interesting. It appears we have a three-way split. Ms. Shimmer, Ms. Sparkle, and Ms. Pie, I’ll need you to give a speech if you’d like or you may concede. Normally, I’d just move right onto the speeches, but since there are three of you, you may have the lunch period to think it over.”
“Aw, what the hay?” Dash whined. “Are you sure you counted those right, teach?”
“That’s Professor, Ms. Dash,” Tantabus replied. “And yes, it was fairly easy to count the single vote you got.”
Dash turned bright red, crossed her hooves, and pouted.
Sunset turned to face Twilight. Her glare had Concede! written clear as day on it. Twilight inhaled through her nose and shook her head. With a scowl, Sunset swung back around.
Twilight then glanced at Pinkie. The way she was shaking did not alarm Twilight, but the tense expression on her face did.
~~~
“I can’t think of better ponies to lead the class,” Applejack said between taking bites of her vegetable pot pie. “You and Pinkie are sure to kick Sunset’s flank…” Her eyes grew a little dull. “Wouldn’t have minded getting at least a vote though.”
“I don’t know.” Twilight stirred some peas around with a spork. A glance around the room revealed Sunset busy eating her meal and looking with disgust at Rainbow Dash shoveling cake down her throat. Maud observed both of them and blinked. “Sunset always had a way of getting ponies behind her.”
“Yeah, but that was before coming here.” Spike chomped down on a sapphire. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then spied Rarity sprinkling jaspers on her salad across the table. “You don’t mind how those taste?”
“Oh no,” Rarity replied. “They’re some of my favorites.”
“Too pungent.” Spike bit through another sapphire. “Ever try topaz? It’s like jasper, but way less strong.”
“Perhaps it’s just an acquired taste,” Rarity chuckled. She then glanced left. “Pinkie, dear, are you alright? You’ve barely touched your… well, I guess it’s both dessert and main course.”
Pinkie stopped tracing a hoof through her cupcake’s frosting and looked up. “Oh, uh, yeah, I’m just… just thinking about my speech. Um, hey, Twilight, could I talk to you?”
“Oh.” Twilight blinked at the sudden request. “Sure, what is it?”
“In the hall?”
“Ah-ha.” Applejack grinned. “Gonna think up some impressive strategy to double-team Sunset?”
Pinkie offered a small grin. “Something like that.”
Twilight noticed Pinkie’s lips were trembling when she got up. Twilight followed after her and into the hall. They kept walking for a bit until they were a good distance away from where anypony could hear them. “Alright, Pinkie, I thought we might be able to team up and then let the class decide from there who should be president, so le—”
“I want to concede, Twilight.”
Twilight flicked her ears. “What?”
Pinkie rubbed one leg against the other and kept her eyes toward the floor. “You have to be super serious and cool to be a leader. I just like having fun. Sunset may not be the nicest pony, but like you said, she has a way of getting ponies behind her.”
“But so do you, Pinkie.” Twilight took a step closer, but Pinkie drew back. “It’s only been a few days but you’ve tried to make every day of class enjoyable, even when Tantabus is breaking our backs. Plus, you’re great at organizing, like how you set up that party. The votes prove that the class believes you can be a good leader. I mean, that’s why I vo—”
A shrill alarm rent through the air. Twilight and Pinkie’s ears popped a second before something outside crashed into the ground, shaking the floor and rattling the windows. Twilight seized up.
Did something break through the school’s security? That can’t be! We have one of the strongest barriers in Equestria! Twilight rushed over to the window to get a view of what had landed outside.
Just as she caught a glimpse of a crater in the school’s courtyard, the floor rumbled again. She twisted her head to the left. A stampede of students exploded from around a corner, headed straight for Pinkie and Twilight.
Twilight yelped and latched onto Pinkie just as the stampede washed over them. They were lucky to be caught up in the wave of students rather than trampled under their hooves. Twilight felt herself being squeezed from all directions, but she managed to flare up her horn and focused on the classroom. Remember the safety instructions! Gotta get to th—
A tuft of Pinkie’s tail tickled Twilight’s nose and broke her concentration. “Pinkie! What are you doing!? We need to move before we get crushed or attacked by whatever i—”
“It’s nothing bad!” Pinkie shouted. She jabbed her tail, which poked out a few feet away in the crowd and had taken on a zigzag shape. With a grunt, she managed to pull her leg out of the stampede and jabbed it at the window. “Look!”
Craning her neck to look outside again, Twilight spotted a figure in the middle of the crater. It was hard to make out all the details amidst the swirling dust, but she could see the figure was trying to get back onto its hooves. Through the debris, Twilight glimpsed wings, a blue uniform, and bolts of yellow.
She looked back at Pinkie. “We need to tell everypony it’s okay before somepony gets crushed in this stampede…” A glance revealed a spot of pink hair and the tips of yellow wings alongside a Stetson hat. A gem-like glimmer was also spotted amidst the surging crowd. “.. or worse.”
“Tw-twilight…” The crowd pressed in around Pinkie. Her eyes sharpened and locked onto the PA system still blaring the alarm. A grappling hook blasted out of the crowd and pulled Pinkie upwards. She swung and grabbed Twilight. Dangling on Pinkie’s leg, Twilight stared at Pinkie from below and marveled at her stern expression. “Twilight, can you patch me into the PA system?”
With a nod, Twilight lit up her horn. “This might sting a bit.”
A string of purple aura zipped out of Twilight’s horn and jabbed Pinkie in the neck. Pinkie winced, but kept a firm grip on Twilight and her grappling rope. The aura sprung from Pinkie’s neck and darted into the nearest PA speaker.
There was a harsh crackle and a loud whine that made everyone flinch. One by one, the PA speakers lit up with a purple glow. Then, Pinkie smiled. Her voice reverberated throughout the school. “Attention, everypony! Have no fear! If you’ll just take a quick peek at the courtyard, you’ll see we’ve got a special guest! He’s brave! He’s dashing! And, my personal favorite, he’s got a big love for pie! It’s Soarin of the Wonderbolts!”
The takeover of the PA system had turned the stampede into a static crowd, but now they all switched direction and pressed up against the windows. In the middle of the crater was a battered yet still-on-his-hooves Soarin. Faculty members flew and galloped toward him, their harsh expressions dissolving into a mixture of relief and annoyance.
“Looks like he was practicing a little too hard,” Pinkie giggled. “So, nothing to worry about and no need to panic. Have a nice afternoon, everypony!”
~~~
“Well,” said Tantabus, looking over the class, “I imagine our little disruption may have made formulating speeches somewhat difficult, but perhaps it was an advantage as well. Although it seems we have some absentees despite a lack of injuries.” Everyone shuddered when Tantabus’s gaze fell upon Fluttershy and Dash’s empty seats. They relaxed only slightly when his attention went to Sunset, Twilight, and Pinkie. “Are you prepared to speak?’
Sunset grinned. “Of course.”
Twilight bowed her head. “Yes.”
Pinkie smiled. “Yepperoni!”
“Ms. Sunset, why don’t you speak first?” Tantabus offered.
“Gladly.” Sunset got out of her seat and marched to the front of the class. “First off, I just want to say that if this had been an actual attack today, I would have taken it on. Nopony is laying a hoof on this school while I’m here.”
Sunset’s glare shifted to Twilight and Pinkie. “As for my opponents, you’ve seen for yourselves they’re not built for leadership: they hesitate and they hold back. We may not face life-threatening issues on the student council, but we’re still in charge of the class. Ask yourselves, do you really want ponies like that running the class? That’s all I have to say. Thank you.”
With a smirk, Sunset strode back to her seat.
“Ms. Sparkle, you’re next,” said Tantabus.
Taking a breath, Twilight stepped forward and faced the class. “Hello, everypony.” She waited just long enough in silence for some sweat to curl down the side of her face. “Um… I’ve never really given one of these before, so please bear with me. First, I’d like to respond to my opponent by saying that even if I hesitate or hold back, I do it because I think of the consequences of my actions. In battle, hesitation may be bad, but on a student council, we need to think our thoughts through and come up with plans that will improve our classroom experience.
“Furthermore…” Twilight leveled her gaze at Sunset. She also silently thanked Celestia that Dash was apparently playing hooky. “My match yesterday shows that I have good strategic planning skills.”
Some heads in the class nodded in agreement.
“However,” Twilight inhaled and continued, “I don’t believe I’m the best candidate running today. If I’m voting for anyone, I’m voting for Pinkie Pie.”
Sunset’s expression soured, Pinkie’s eyes widened, and the class filled with murmurs. Tantabus slammed a hoof down to quiet everyone. He turned his focus on Twilight, signaling for her to continue.
“I suppose I should explain myself,” said Twilight. “Today, when faced with a calamity, Pinkie was able to keep a cool head and came up with a solution that calmed everyone down. I was just worried about her and my friends, but she was able to both save me and alleviate the situation. That’s what a true leader does: rise to the occasion and work to benefit everyone, not just their friends.”
Pinkie let out a slow clap which was joined by Maud, and then Applejack and Spike. One by one, the rest of the class joined in until Tantabus gave another stomp.
“That being said…” Twilight, blushing from the applause, averted her eyes to the ground. “I wouldn’t mind being your vice president! Thank you!”
Twilight rushed back to her seat, face steaming and heart thumping in her chest.
“Ms. Pie.”
Tantabus’s words echoed in Pinkie’s ears. She did not jump out of her seat. Rather, she slowly placed one leg on the floor, followed by her other three. Her head was at an angle so that her mane dangled in front of her eyes. When she reached the front of the class, she took a small intake of air, almost like a sniffle.
“I’m…” Her voice faltered. “I’m not the best at speeches either. I like setting up things so other ponies can have fun… and I like having fun myself. That’s why…” She gulped. “That’s why I thought I wouldn’t be a good leader. I thought being a good leader means being serious and organized like Sunset or Twilight, but…”
The class held its breath at Pinkie’s pause. Her odd demeanor had caught them all by surprise and now held their attention. When she raised her head to reveal her usual wide smile, the tension in the classroom melted away.
“Twilight showed me that today I can be a leader too. I’m quick on my hooves and I’d do anything to keep everypony safe. I also have like five gazillion ideas for stuff we could do for like weekend trips or volunteer work. Oh! We can’t forget the Fall Festival or the Spring Fling! Plus, there’s Nightmare Night, Hearth’s Warming Eve an—” Pinkie slapped a hoof against her mouth, lowered it down to her chest, and took a breath. “My point is, I’m really happy for those that voted for me already, and I’d love to be your class president and have even more fun with all of you!”
The class let out a roar of applause. Pinkie’s mane was blasted back and looked even frizzier than before. Her smile stretched from ear to ear, even while a few tears dotted her eyes.
~~~
“A good showing from all of you.” Tantabus glanced at the fourteen sheets of paper floating in front of him. Seven were gathered in one group, four in a second, and three in a third. “Now, to the results. Congratulations, Ms. Sparkle, you are our vice-president.”
Twilight blinked in surprise but then smiled and bowed her head. Sunset wrinkled her nose.
“And your class president is…” Tantabus let his shadows creep along the floor and form a thin sheen over the windows, dimming the room. The students waited on the edges of their seats. Tantabus lit the room back up with a flourish of his shadows. “Ms. Pie!”
The room erupted in cheers. Pinkie was left stunned in her seat, even while Twilight, Spike, Applejack, and some of the other students rushed over to congratulate her.
Sunset remained in her seat and crossed her hooves. She scowled and stared down at her desk.
“Sunset,” Rarity said, breaking Sunset out of her sulking. “I’m sorry things didn’t go your way this time, but I know you have good leadership skills.”
“Tch, damn straight,” Sunset snorted.
“Twilight and Pinkie, well, there’s just something about them.” Rarity glanced over at the two while they celebrated with the others. Sensing Sunset glaring at her, she jolted back. “Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to show everypony your skills.”
And maybe take a little bit of your edge off, Rarity thought while some sweat collected on her face.
“Oh!” Pinkie cried out and marched ahead of the crowd that had gathered around her and Twilight. Raising a leg high, she beat at her chest. “I have my first proclamation as president!”
“Ms. Pie, I am fine with this small celebration, but we must now get back to class. We’ve had enough distractions as it is today,” said Tantabus.
“But it’s about Fluttershy and Dashy!” Pinkie jabbed at the two empty seats. “I wanna make sure they get back to class and I bet Twilight would be perfect to find them.”
“You want Ms. Sparkle, one of the more promising students, to look for Ms. Dash and Ms. Fluttershy, two students that I have noticed have some discipline issues?”
“I’ll make sure to take super extra detailed notes for all three of them until they get back!” Pinkie then traced a cross over her heart and plopped her hoof right on her eye while swearing, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
“Very well,” Tantabus sighed. “I would have requested faculty to find them, but I trust Ms. Sparkle not to dally.”
When Twilight felt Tantabus’s attention on her, she jumped out of her seat and bolted for the door. “I’m on it!”
“Check near the infirmary!” Pinkie called out.
What are you planning, Ms. Pie? Tantabus thought.
~~~
Twilight stood at the corner of the hallway. In the middle of the hall to the left were the doors that led to the infirmary. Twilight gave a snort and the noise echoed through the empty air. She had checked all the adjacent halls, the courtyard, and the nearby rooms with the help of a clairvoyance spell, but she had seen neither hide nor hair of Fluttershy and Dash. Resolving herself, she made her way closer to the infirmary.
If they had been hurt, Tantabus wouldn’t have been so mad about their absence. Twilight drew close to the doors and lit up her horn. A peek might help.
To Twilight’s eyes, a part of door turned translucent and she gazed inside. The cots were all empty save for one. Nurse Redheart stood at its foot, but its patient was obscured by a curtain, so Twilight could only make out Soarin’s outline. Still, being this close to a member of the Wonderbolts gave her the jitters.
Then, Redheart glared straight in her direction. Before Twilight could even yelp, Redheart was at the doors. She thrust them open, throwing Twilight back. The clairvoyance spell was in effect for a brief second, stripping away Redheart’s skin. The sight rocketed Twilight’s heart up into her throat.
Redheart shook her head. “One thing or another with you, isn’t it, Ms. Sparkle? Given your situation, I expected you to understand more than your peers the importance of patient privacy. And, shouldn’t you be in class?”
“S-sorry.” Twilight wobbled to her hooves and gave her head a shake. “I’ve been assigned to look for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash since they haven’t come back to class. I thought they might be here, but looks like it’s ju—”
Through the window on the other side of the infirmary, Twilight caught sight of the tip of a blue wing.
“Ms. Sparkle.” Redheart moved her head so she was looking straight at Twilight. “Did that sudden cancellation give you
backlash?”
“Oh, um, no.” Twilight lowered her eyes to avoid looking at the window. “I’ll, uh, go look elsewhere if they’re not here.”
“And please try not to get hurt in the process.”
~~~
“Rainbow Dash, she’s going to spot you,” Fluttershy pleaded. She hovered below Dash and out of view from the window. Above her, Dash continued to peek inside, trying to get a better look at Soarin.
“Darn it,” she muttered. “That stupid curtain is getting in the way.”
“Well, can’t say I’m surprised. Under different circumstances, I’d be willing to go pretty far to see a Wonderbolt too.”
Both Fluttershy and Dash’s heads darted down. Twilight smiled back up at them with a jittery grin. “I mean, don’t get to see one of the number five ranked heroes every day.”
“Tw-Twilight!” Fluttershy yelped. She bolted down to the ground. Her legs shook and her hair stood on end. “We… we were just…”
“Save it, Fluttershy, we’re caught.” Dash glided down but stayed airborne. There was a small spark in her eyes when she looked at Twilight. “Unless you’re here to catch of glimpse of one of the most awesome heroes in Equestria too.”
“I wish,” Twilight dared to chuckle, unsure what to make of Dash’s mood. “Actually, I’ve been looking for you two since you didn’t come back to class. Tantabus probably isn’t going to be too happy, but I’ll try to cover for you.”
Dash narrowed her eyes. “In exchange for what? Our votes? Pretty sneaky of you, Twi.”
“What?” Twilight yelped. “I’d never blackmail you like that! Besides, we already voted.”
“Oh dear,” Fluttershy whimpered. “Please tell me you didn’t lose because we were absent.”
“It’s no problem, Fluttershy. Pinkie managed to win and I’m gonna be vice president.” Twilight scratched her mane. “I just hope I can keep up with her.”
“Can you keep up with anyone?” Dash muttered. A glare from Fluttershy made Dash stiffen. “I, uh, mean… you, um, like the Wonderbolts too?”
“Of course!” Twilight flashed a solid grin this time. “I don’t keep up with the Derby much, but I love hearing about their shows and their acts of heroism.”
“Why don’t we talk about this on the way back to class?” Fluttershy suggested.
“Sounds good,” said Twilight. “The longer we wait, the more Tantabus is going to scold you anyway.”
The three of them made their way back inside with Twilight and Fluttershy on the ground while Dash remained in the air.
“So, if you’re really a fan, who’s your favorite?” Dash asked.
“Fleetfoot,” Twilight answered.
“Fleetfoot?” Dash repeated with a wrinkled nose. “But she’s slow.”
“But much more technical,” Twilight countered. “Her handling of the Winter Wrap Up Caper was an incredible use of weather manipulation that ensured the thieves were caught with minimal damage. That could have been a disaster with less skilled weather manipulation.”
Twilight mentally kicked herself for saying anything related to weather. Her inner fangirl had clouded her thoughts.
Dash remained relaxed while continuing to fly by Twilight’s side. “Ah, that was pretty cool, but nothing compared to Spitfire when she took down the entire Klugetown Kat Gang on her own.”
“So, I’m guessing she’s your favorite?” Twilight asked.
“Hay yeah!” Dash pumped a leg. “She’s got the speed, the moves, and the awesomeness. Not even the other Wonderbolts come close to her. I bet she’d be number four or three on her own.”
“You think she’s even better than Sha—” The look of pure dread in Fluttershy’s eyes and the slicing motion she was rapidly making across her throat cut Twilight off. “Er, better than Soarin?”
“Well, is he the leader?” Dash snorted.
“Fair point.”
The two of them continued the discuss and argue over the Wonderbolts all the way back to the classroom. Fluttershy stayed quiet, but smiled. A few feet away from the door though, Dash came to a stop.
“Something up, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked. Please tell me she’s sensitive about the post-Flair d’Mare uniform designs.
“Twilight, about yesterday…” Dash’s lips trembled a little. She floated to the ground and lowered her head. “Don’t think I’m forgiving you for holding back there. I… I got a little out of hoof though, so…”
There was a pause and Dash brought her head lower, but Twilight could still see the red on her face. “I understand, Dash. You’re all the more reason I need to try harder and master that spell.”
“Well, duh.” Dash flipped her mane back and displayed a grin once more. She gave Twilight a jab in the shoulder. “And next time, I’m not gonna fall for tricks like that, okay? You better be ready to face me head on.”
Twilight nodded and grinned. “Right.”
A shadow slithered across the ground. Tantabus’s head rose up with his eyes materialized and glared at all three of them. “What did I say about dallying?”
~~~
“So,” Redheart asked. “Care to explain what you were doing that got you going fast enough to crash through our barrier?”
“Wish I could,” Soarin groaned. “Everything right before the crash is a blur. Last time I try whatever that was without a partner to back me up.”
Up in the rafters, Redheart and Soarin reflected off eight eyes. The spider peered down, its fangs twitching and glistening with a few drops of venom that glowed teal. It turned to scurry into the shadows, revealing two horizontal slashes on its abdomen. Then, it vanished into the darkness.