However, waking up wasn't an easy thing. It never was. Except for today… Today you woke up at an appropriate time. It was morning.
You raised yourself up and rubbed your eyes and looked at your clock. "Morning? Heh, that explains why nobody came and woke me up yet. What time is that class thing supposed to start anyway?"
You get up and stretch with another yawn. You take a look in the mirror and smiled. You felt that things were going to go more smoothly now that you had a better handle on things. "Heya bud, how you doin?" You winked at yourself with a smirk. That's all you needed, a night's sleep.
Suddenly, your ears perk up when you hear yelling coming from the living room. "LET ME OUT OF THIS, YOU BUFFOON! WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO TREAT ME THIS WAY?! HOW DARE YOU MAKE A MOCKERY OF ME!"
It was Chrysalis, she was yelling about something. Discord? Suddenly, Your floor door pops open as Discord steps up through it, holding a pet carrier… With Chrysalis in it. She was raging mad.
But Discord just calmly put down the carrier as he looked at himself in the mirror and adjusted a tie he had around his neck. "Spiffy"
"ANON! LET ME FREE! LET ME FREE RIGHT NOW! IF YOU'RE MY FRIEND YOU WILL NOT LET ME BE STUCK IN THIS STUPID FUCKING CAGE! LET ME OUT!" Chrysalis started slamming at the door with her head "LET ME OUT!"
"Discord...really? That's messed up" You weren't amused, even though somewhere in the back of your mind, it was kind of funny.
Discord was changing the color of his black tie to red as he answered you with a bored tone. "How? I explained to her the situation and she refused to take part. This was the only way to even get her up here"
"In a pet carrier?!"
"Better than a air carrier, am I right?" Discord winks as he finishes with his tie. Ugh, that was a bad joke.
"I HAVE A RIGHT TO REFUSE THIS! I AGREED TO BE HIS SISTER, NOT BE STUCK EXPLORING OUR 'FEELINGS' IN SOME DUMBASS CLASS! ANON! GET HIM TO STOP RIGHT NOW!"
Damn, she's usually a lot more calm than this. Being humiliated and subdued by Discord must be one of her buttons. "Chrysalis, I hate to say it. But this might be just what you need to see the good side of things."
Thinking about it now. Mrs. Muffin Top is pretty motherly, probably because she is a mother. And she was very kind and sweet to boot. Maybe if Chrysalis sees how regular pony families are, she'll see how terrible it'd be to tear them apart.
Chrysalis's eyes narrowed angrily at you as her tone became low and cold. ".....So that's how it is."
"Oh please, Chryssy. Don't be so icy about it. I really don't want to go at all either. Surely you even realize that me having to compromise on what is most definitely a punishment is something I don't want to do. But seeing as it is a family affair, you have no choice but to attend. Because you're right. You agreed to be Anon's sister. And well, this would be something Anon's sister would do." Discord said as he went over to the portal door and opened it to the cottage.
"Except I have nothing to do with this punishment! I should be exempt from it!" Chrysalis barked at him.
"No can do. The whole thing falls apart if you're not there and acting as the kindly pony 'Nymous' " Discord said as he bent down to look at Chrysalis through the cage. She just looked at him with eyes of death.
"Why should I even help you? You're not offering anything in return" She tells him.
"Chrysalis, Please. Just do it for me? Please? As a friend? Can you at least see this as part of our game? I want you to see how nice and loving pony families can be." You plead with her.
"As part of our game? Hah!" Chrysalis scoffs "You squandered that on the party. It should be my turn to show you my side of things this time."
Chrysalis...
Fine, she wanted it to be "turns"? Then yours wasn't up with. "..Except you got drunk at the party. Do you even remember most of it?"
"What?" Chrysalis asked, she seemed surprised by your question.
"Do you remember a lot of it? Or just bits and pieces?"
Chrysalis actually stopped to think, but then she gave you an annoyed scowl. "What does it matter?"
"Because if you can't remember that much from it then it doesn't really count. I also remember paying a lot of my debts through that single sitting of Goodfellas."
"W-what?!" Chrysalis actually seemed rather baffled, if only because she must be trying to recollect the actual going ons of the party.
You nod, giving her a soft concerned look. "Yeah, fucked off and paid you, remember? If anything, you owe me another try, right?"
"Absurd, so what if I did do that? Who cares? I'm not doing this" Chrysalis said as she scrunched up her face. Sore loser...
"Come on, Chrysalis. I showed you a good movie, gave you a good drink, and we had a good time. You can't do this for me?" You give her a wide smile. "Please?"
She didn't say anything for a moment, and then she looked to Discord. "And you need me for this? Of course you do." Chrysalis then looked back at you. "Considering your case, I suppose I can do it just to get past this situation. Of course..." She looks through her cage, right at Discord with a wicked smile. "Don't be surprised if Nymous shows that she's a better caretaker than her bumbling adopter."
"Hmm? Oh OHHH" Discord snickers. "I get it, you're thinking of upstaging my parental caregiving, is that it?"
She shook her head. "That's not difficult since I'm the mother of many. No, I'm simply saying that you should watch what you say Discord. Or.."
Chrysalis changes into her Nymous form and speaks in distress "I'll have to reveal just how stressful being your daughter really is" She then looks at him with confidence "So much so that I can take better care of Anon than you can"
"Oh, cute. But I wouldn't overdo it, Chryssy. Anon is still closer to me than he is to you. You tell something that doesn't sound correct to anypony else and...." Discord snaps his talons in front of her. "Everypony might see you as an exaggerator. Sure, still elegant and sweet. But just not tuned in the way of how I and Anon live. In other words, they'll think you're just being over reactive."
"Ohh, you think Anon would choose you over me, hmm?" Chrysalis looks up at him with an arrogant smirk.
"Well, Anon." Discord looks to you for reassurance. "Surely you wouldn't let her cause any issues. You wouldn't back anything she says that would make me look bad, right?"
Unfortunately for Chrysalis, you couldn't let her make anything up or exaggerate any of his negative traits. It'd just make everything into a train wreck. But you also couldn't let Discord just run all over her either. "Discord, I'll speak up if she tries anything on you. But just the same, you can't go being an asshole either."
But then they both spoke up at you.
"Seriously, Anon? It's not every day I can have some fun with the queen of the changelings in public. Why would you ruin that?" Discord puts his arms to his side as he looks down at you with disapproval.
"Forget him! What about me? What about you? Wouldn't you want a chance to show how abusive he can be towards you? What about our friendship? Does it not mean anything to you?" Chrysalis wanted you on her side one hundred percent. Of course, just so she could have control of the situation.
"It means a lot to me. And Discord, there's always a time and a place for fun. This whole thing happened because things got out of hoof, remember? I just want to get through this as a normal family. That's all. Meaning..." You look at Discord with a hard stare. "Shenanigans at an absolute minimum" You then look at Chrysalis. "Please, just this once. Just be my sister, ok? I just want this to work out. I know, in essence, you might feel you have no reason to comply. But, if we're friends, you'll do this just this once for me. What do you say?"
Chrysalis looked like she was contemplating. She was silent for a few moments before finally backing down. "Fine, I'll do this for you. I won't even ask for anything in return. And do you know why?"
Did you want to ask? "Why?"
"Because there's no way Discord could get through something like this anyway. And I want to watch him crash and burn." She started cackling.
"Says you. I too will agree with your conditions, Anon. I'll be an absolute darling." A halo appears over Discord's head as he grins. "If only to see Chrissy's face when she sees how well I pass this class."
Chrysalis didn't scoff or mock him. She just tapped at the door. "Fine, whatever you say. Now will you let me out?"
You sigh. Here we go.
You got what you wanted. But only because one wanted to see the other fail hard. Discord snaps his talons yet again, making the pet carrier disappear, allowing Chrysalis to stretch.
"Finally, now let's get this over with already so I can get to gloating" She said as she checked her legs and straightened her mane.
"...Umm, you do know this is more than just one day of class, right?" You ask her
"I already assumed that, Anon. It doesn't change the fact that I want it done as soon as possible. And besides..." Chrysalis looks at Discord with sheer arrogance. "It may very well just last a day"
"Bla bla bla bla" Discord mocks her by flapping his paws about like a mouth "Typical Chryssy, going all in without a clue as to what her hand even looks like. Now, I'm ready to be the perfect father and pick up your dear aunt from her cottage. Are you ready?"
"Oh, I'm so ready for this that I wish I could record the entire thing for nightly viewing" Chrysalis said, arrogant as ever.
You were just hoping this wouldn't turn into something that would cause Ponyville to explode. "Let's...just be civil..alright?" That's all you could hope for as the three of you go to greet Fluttershy.
You three stand in front of the door as Discord knocks. "Ohhh Fluttershy! Are you ready to go, my dear?"
Chrysalis was already disgusted. "Oh Discord. Normally I wouldn't care. But just seeing you say that unironically makes me feel ALMOST sorry for you. That's just...fucked up"
Discord shakes his talon at her. "Ah ah. A very long time ago I had to get onto Anon about his use of such vulgar language in public. I know you're getting used to it, but let's not use it out in the open alright? As much as I'd love everypony to see you as a foulmouth failure, we have appearances to keep. Or has that somehow become too difficult for the queen of the bugs?"
"Hmph, nice deflection you pompous freak. Fine, but get on with it already! What's taking her?" Chrysalis was already impatient.
"Come on everypony, let's just relax and..OHMP! HI AUNT FLUTTERSHY!" You are interrupted as you give an awkward smile to Fluttershy.
She just came out right in the middle of your sentence with a happy smile on her face. "Anon, Nymous, Discord!" She says, hugging all three of you. "I'm so happy to see you all ready already. Especially you Discord, it really shows that you want to improve as a father"
Discord smiles warmly at her as he returns her hug. "Well, you know me. I'm so perfect that I have to find a way to improve somehow to go beyond even that"
She giggled "Oh Discord. And Anon..." Fluttershy looked to you with a smile "You didn't give your sister any trouble getting out of bed, did you?"
Before you could say anything. Chrysalis put her hoof on your head and gave Fluttershy a warm smile. "He was actually up before I was. It made me very happy to see him ready for the day. A colt shouldn't be spending their day sleeping anyway, it's a bad habit. Although I haven't lived with my new father long, I ever so wished he would have taught Anon a little better. But he's not a bad father by any means, I suppose it's really just my opinion."
"Oh, Anon, I'm so proud of you" Fluttershy gave you a gentle happy hug. You loved it of course, but while Chrysalis made you look good, She was already poking at Discord. Because Fluttershy turned to her and nodded in agreement "It's not a bad opinion, Nymous." Fluttershy looked up at Discord with a motherly expression of slight disappointment. "I really do want you to get Anon out of that habit if you can Discord. It really isn't healthy at all."
Discord was already visibly peeved for just a moment before he picked you up and scratched your head gently with his paw. "I don't want to be too strict on him, Fluttershy. He's still so young and he manages to do what he needs to do just fine. If you really want me to work on it however, I can set up a special curfew for him."
Ugh, now this was embarrassing and you knew he was lying. He'd never go through with that, or at least not keep it up for any long period of time.
"I do, but I don't want you to be strict on him either. Just something in the middle will work." She then looks at you with concern. "And don't you worry, Anon, It's not because I think you did anything wrong. It's just to help you get on a healthy sleep schedule."
......Ugh. You just nod as Discord puts you down. "I know, Aunt Fluttershy." You just rub your head under hers to show you understood.
"Well, we all should be going now so we don't end up late. Oh I can't wait! I've heard so many good things about Mrs. Muffin Top that I know by the end that everything will work out!" Fluttershy said with excitement.
You certainly hoped so. Because as you all made your way, you could already feel the tension between Chrysalis and Discord.
When you all arrived, the rest of the class already seemed to be there. all on different places sitting on the floor. But you also noticed the class wasn't very large at all. You could see the back of two trenchcoated adults and a trenchcoated foal. Mrs. And Mr. Cake. Mr.Cake holding Pumpkin and Mrs. Cake holding Pound. Thunderlane and Rumble? Why even? Yeah...there was barely anyone here. What gives?
As you all walked in, Discord froze at the door, he didn't seem comfortable stepping inside.
Fluttershy turned around, and wondered why Discord had stopped. "Discord? What's wrong?" She asked him.
"O-oh nothing, nothing at all. I'm just tired from walking, is all" Discord was lying of course.
Fluttershy hovered upwards and gave Discord a gentle hug "Discord, don't be nervous, alright? You're a great father. You're going to do fine."
Discord eased up almost immediately as he slowly wrapped his arms around Fluttershy. "Well, it's certainly not that. But if it was, I'd feel a lot better about my abilities as a father right now thanks to you"
Chrysalis just looked back and scoffed silently. "This will be too easy."
With Discord's nervousness mostly quelled, you all decided to sit down next to the odd trenchcoated family. You sat in front of Fluttershy as she embraced you as Discord sat on her right, Chrysalis on her left.
You looked over to the trenchcoated ponies. they were wearing hats, and wore sunglasses, which was odd at first. But just looking at the color of their faces and manes. Holy shit, it was the Rich family. Haha....oh shit...
Finally, Mrs. Muffin Top enters the room from the kitchen class with a large plate of muffins. There must have been at least thirty of them, they smelled fresh and oh so good. "Good morning, everypony. I'm Mrs. Muffin Top, don'tcha know. And welcome to parenting class and-" But then she gets interrupted by Discord.
"Excuse me. But what’s with those two? That can't be that colt's father, he's much too young. Maybe I'm in the wrong class and-" But then Mrs. Muffin top interrupts him right back.
"Ahrm, that's easy to answer, Mr. Discord. 'Parenting Class' is just a term. Really, this class is all about communicating and working together with those you'd even feel you'd be a father to. Or to just learn a few pointers in being a parent. I don't like to be narrow in my views, don'tcha know. I like to help as many ponies as I can, as long as their willing to learn." She tells him, shutting him up quickly.
"You see me as your son?" Rumble looks up at his brother.
"W-what?! no no..it's just. Ya know, Mom and Dad said this would be good for us." Thunderlane seemed embarrassed. Was that it? Were they there because of their parents?
And what about the Riches? Diamond Tiara was taking peeks at you, but they were being awfully silent.
"Now, before we begin, I'll take roll call even though..." Mrs. Muffin Top giggled. "There aren't many of you to begin with. Golly, if it was the city, I'd have this entire room filled. Anyway, in no particular order. Thunderlane and Rumble?"
"Here!" They both say
"Mhmm, Mr. and Mrs. Cake! And of course their beautiful baby foals" She says.
"Here! Present!" They say, as the babies giggle and laugh.
"Miss Fluttershy, Mr.Discord, Nymous, and Anon?" She calls out.
You all let out a collective "Here!"
"Mr. And Mrs. Rich, And Diamond Tiara?" She calls out
"WHAT?!" Spoiled yells out as she looks at her husband with anger "YOU GAVE OUR REAL NAMES?!"
Mr. Rich just gave a confident nod. "Yes indeedy, it's not as if we came here because we're currently having problems, honey lamb. I just thought it'd help us communicate better as a family. Besides, you heard Mrs. Muffin Top. This kind of class doesn't mean you're some bad parent."
Spoiled just groans as she removes her hat and sunglasses "I swear, if there's anything in the papers tomorrow about this, I'll make sure that entire publishing company is crushed right into the ground..."
Diamond Tiara paid no heed to her parents however as she smiled at you and waved sheepishly and whispered "Hi, Anon",
You just gave her a confident smile as you waved back, it made her blush so adorably.
"Uh hum...erm. Finally on the list. Umm..hmm. 'Time Turner'. Gosh, I could have sworn it said family at the end, don'tcha know. Is there a time turner family pres-" Mrs. Muffin Top is once again interrupted as her door bursts open. Time Turner enters the class with soot all over his face and mane. He was cleaning it off with a towel as he dragged a desk and seat into the class.
"Hold on, Hold on!" He says in his whimsical British accent "Pardon me, I'm sorry I'm late. I had some trouble with an experiment and lost track of time. Won't happen again, I assure you." He moves the desk inside and looks to Mrs. Muffin Top first before taking a look around. "Excuse me, Mrs. Muffin Top, but where would you think this desk needs to be placed? I don't wish to get in anypony's way but the lack of furniture in this classroom is a tad disorienting."
"W-we don't use desks here" Mrs. Muffin Top looked at him oddly. This was off for her.
"You don't? That's preposterous! How am I to make notes?!" Time Turner was surprised by this.
"...We..we don't copy notes here, hun. As a parent, you need to learn all of this naturally, don'tcha know."
"Well, hrn. I am capable of learning 'naturally', of course. But having notes would be oh so much more efficient. Would you please make an exception?" Time turner asks her, as politely as he can.
"I-I suppose..." Mrs. Muffin tilted her head to look behind him. "May I ask where your family is?"
"Family?" Time Turner asked "What about family?" He seemed confused.
"Well, Mr. Turner. While this class has a very loose meaning of 'parenting', I still expect you to bring a son, or perhaps a young brother perhaps? A nephew maybe?" Mrs. Muffin Top has clearly never ran into anything like this before.
"Oh no, no no." Time Turner shook his head. "I didn't sign up for this class to better my relationship with any family member. I signed up so I may learn the science of family bonding and parental technique. I feel it will help me with my latest research!" Time Turner announced with great interest in the craft.
Mrs. Muffin Top didn't know what to say to that. "I-I see, well that is a new one. I guess that's ok, in case you ever end up with a little one of your own. But, no desk. I like to keep the classroom clear, don'tcha know"
"I see...hrmmmm." Time Turner pondered on this. "I suppose that will be fine. I do have a phenomenal memory. I'll simply write any notes I can remember after class. Alright then, just give me a moment and..." Time turner grabs the desk and starts to drag it back outside, causing everyone's ears to ring and ache from the scraping noise. He then comes back in and sits down at the corner of the room, everyone, including you, giving him a quick vicious stare that he remarkably is ignorant to. "There we are, I'm ready to learn professor!"
"I'm not a-....never mind. I-it's at least good to see you all here" Mrs.Muffin Top, you could tell, was now slightly out of her element. Not due to Discord, but by a guy who had no family to bring.
"Now then, I like to open every first day of class with a small explanation on why you're here. Now, you don't need to stand up and say anything if you don't want to. But I like to think it'd make everything go more friendly and smoothly, don'tcha know." She explains.
Time Turner immediately speaks. "So, would it be correct if I explain why I'm here again?"
"I....no, you're fine, Mr.Turner." Mrs.Muffin Top may have let him in, but she seemed uncomfortable about it. Maybe because someone being here just to learn in the sake of science didn't seem pure to her.
"Oh oh, I'd like to speak if you don't mind" Mrs. Cake raised her hoof.
Mrs. Muffin Top just nods at her with a smile. Giving her the ok.
"Well, me and my husband are here so we can be better prepared for the future. We only want to be the best parents we can be for our little Pound and Pumpkin." Mrs. Cake says with pride.
"That's right. When it comes to our children, we only want to do our best for them." Mr. Cake announces as well.
Mrs. Muffin Top nods with a smile. "Well now, that's very sweet. I really do wish the best for the both of you. I can tell by your faces that you both really mean it. Now, Anypony else? Perhaps you, Mr. Discord."
"Huwhat?! I refuse. You can't make me say anything about why I'm here!" Discord immediately becomes defensive.
"I-I wasn't making you, Mr.Discord. I was simply asking. Hrn, Anypony else?" Mrs. Mufiin Top asks, immediately taking away the attention from Discord as to not cause a scene with him.
"I would!" Nymous raised her hoof.
Mrs. Muffin Top smiled at first "Oh, yes? Nymous?....Hmm" Mrs. Muffin Top's smile lessened when she looked at Chrysalis's face. she didn't know exactly why, but something felt off about what she was looking at.
"I'd like to just say that despite my father having to serve in this class as a punishment, I hope that it teaches all of us to be closer as a family. He has many faults, I admit. Some may even say he's simply a terrible nightmare creature. But I don't, he's the first father I've ever had that actually cares, even if sometimes he can be quite needlessly childish himself. And I just want to say that we can't wait to learn everything we can from you." Chrysalis explains with an almost contorted evil grin.
Discord was fuming already. But Fluttershy just clapped her hooves with a wide smile, seeing nothing wrong with what she said. "That was very nice, Nymous. I agree, Discord does have his faults. but deep inside he's one of the sweetest and most caring draconequus I ever met."
You just sigh. Not only was he the ONLY Draconequus she ever met, but Chrysalis already was making more headway than he was. And here you were hoping things would just be civilized.
Mrs. Muffin Top, she didn't know what to make of it. Was that sincere? Or was this seemingly sweet pony being malicious. She was internally doubting her talent. and for the sake of everyone else, she clapped as well "Very well said, Nymous. Would anypony else like to speak?"
"Ahrm, I'd like to say a thing or two" Filthy speaks up, as Spoiled puts a hoof to her face.
"Please don't say anything embarrassing..." Spoiled whispers to him.
"Don't worry dear, it'll be quite alright" He whispers back
"Go ahead, Mr. Rich" Mrs.Muffin Top says.
"Why thank you kindly. Ahrm, I'd just like to say, for the sake of the entire Rich estate, that understanding how to be a better father than I already am is imperative for our future. My darlin' little princess deserves parents who are able to help her strive and succeed. I want to see her grow while my beautiful wife and I are able to guide her down the right road through life the best we can. And of course, to be able to understand my dear Diamond Tiara better in case there's some sort of horrible misunderstandin’. I would never ever want to make some sort of decision that would only end up hurting her, never ever." You can tell by his expression and the tone of his voice that he was telling the truth.
Even Spoiled's expression changed, she smiled, then hid it from view. She didn't say anything, but she was hiding her admiration for her husband.
Diamond Tiara just got up and hugged him. "Oh, Daddy!"
Even Mrs. Muffin Top was shedding a tear at the genuine care Mr.Rich exhibited. "That's so beautiful." she had to pull out a handkerchief to blow.
Time Turner was silent, simply observing. Rumble and Thunderlane seemed to have found it just a tad too mushy.
"It's so beautiful.." Fluttershy was tearing up as she cuddled you close "Isn't it ,Anon?"
It was, honestly. "Yeah. it really is."
You also noticed Chrysalis, she was staring. No doubt subtly feeding.
"Well, I can tell my entire class are all such wonderful and caring ponies. It makes me so glad. Now before we start our first lesson, would anypony like a muffin? they're fresh, don'tcha know." Mrs. Muffin Top gently pushes her plate forward to allow everyone in the room to grab a muffin.
Time Turner didn't take any, instead remaining where he was so he could pay close attention. Thunderlane and Rumble took three muffins each without hesitation, even having a bit of a struggle when they end up grabbing the same third one. Mr. Rich took three, and handed the other two to Spoiled and Diamond.
Mr. Cake stood up and grabbed two, and when he returned, he broke off small pieces of his own muffin to give to Pound and Pumpkin as he gave the other whole muffin to Mrs.Cake, who gave him a kiss in return.
Seeing the nice gestures from Mr. Rich and Mr. Cake. You decide to grab four muffins and bring them back. However, trying to carry all four makes you wobble and trip.
At first everyone gasped.
And as you inevitably fell forward to fall on your head, you felt something catch you. Not someone… It was Discord. He had caught you with his paw stretched out a few feet to catch you as the muffins float above.
"Careful there, son. You nearly tripped." He says as he gently sat you up straight and carefully put the muffins back in your hooves.
Fluttershy thought it was very heroic of Discord and complimented him before she sighed from relief. She also thought it was very courteous of you to bring all the muffins by your lonesome and gave you a gentle pat on the head as she took her muffin. Discord, only wanting to copy that good nature, says the same thing. However, when you try to pass it to Chrysalis...
"Oh, I'm not very hungry for muffins." Chrysalis states as she continues to undoubtedly feed off the love emanating in the room.
Discord spoke up when he heard that, trying to sound as hurt as he could. "Oh, Nymous, your brother went through the trouble of getting that muffin for you. He even fell in his attempt. And you're just going to deny his offer?" Then Discord gets louder for everyone to hear. "YOU'RE GOING TO REFUSE THE MUFFIN HE NEARLY BONKED HIS OVER FOR? OH HOW VERY VERY-"
But before Discord could finish, Chrysalis snatches up the muffin from you and slams it into her mouth. At first, she nearly barfs. But she holds it in and swallows and takes a few breaths as she smiles at you with a very weak smile. She clearly ate something she didn't like too quickly. "T-thank you, Anon. T-that was deli-delicious. A-and what I meant was that I wasn't very hungry for muffin, b-but I'd eat it for you."
"My mistake." Discord grins evilly as he looks forward, a halo appearing above his head.
Wait… Did he trip you up on purpose, knowing Chrysalis would initially refuse? This really was going to be a disaster, wasn't it?
"Well, I'd like to announce the results of the first lesson." Mrs. Muffin Top announced.
"Hrn?" Time Turner, among everyone else, was the most confused. "Pardon me, but I don't believe a lesson was even taught."
"Ahh, that's the magic of family, Mr. Turner. In cases like this, not all lessons need to be taught through words, don'tcha know." Mrs. Muffin Top explained. "Sometimes, you only need to make an observation and then explain what one did wrong. And I'm happy to say everypony passed!"
Nobody, including you, even knew if you should cheer or not.
"Well, everypony but Thunderlane and Rumble" She said with a hearty giggle
"What?!" Rumble said, confused
"How did we fail?! What did we even do wrong? What did everypony else do right?" Thunderlane couldn't even fathom what went wrong.
"The muffins." Mrs. Muffin Top said in a simple tone.
....The muffins? The muffins… Nobody knew what that meant.
Waaaaaiit. You actually can figure this one out. It's the way they acted. Typical Mr. Miyagi Saturday shit.
You raise your hoof to Mrs. Muffin Top. "I think I can explain why they failed."
Mrs. Muffin Top examined your face as she came out from behind her desk. She could tell you definitely had something on your mind. "Oh? Go ahead, hun, tell us." She said in a sweet tone. "If it's obvious to you, then hopefully they will be able to understand what happened."
"Anon, do you really understand?" Fluttershy asked you, a little worried you were about to do something embarrassing to yourself.
"I think I do. In fact, I'm pretty sure I do" You stand and walk forward a few steps, and clear your throat. "The reason they failed is because everypony else who took the muffins were thoughtful and kind about it. They thought about the others rather than themselves. And nopony complained either. And not only did Mr. Cake bring the muffins to his wife, they both shared some with their babies. And then there's Dad, who was quick enough to catch me. I don't know if that last part counts but I'd like to think it does. Meanwhile, Thunderlane and Rumble just made very selfish grabs for the muffins. I think they even fought over one...that's the right answer, right?"
Mrs. Muffin Top gave a gentle smile as she gave you a very gentle pat on the head. "Hun, you really are a hero colt. Nopony has ever managed to figure out the lesson until I explained it first. You are absolutely correct"
FUCK YES! You turn to Fluttershy with a giddy smile. "Did you hear that, Aunt Fluttershy? I got it right!"
"Yes you did! I'm so proud of you, Anon!" Fluttershy opened her legs to you for a hug. And boy, was it soft and cuddly. You didn't care who saw.
".....Oh..." Rumble looked down, feeling shameful "...I guess I did get kinda mean about it."
"Hey Rumble, don't worry about it I.." Thunderlane's ears drooped, he knew what he did. "It's my fault. Really, I really should have set a better example for you. Here, you want this muffin? I already ate all the other ones."
"Huh? Umm..no. I think you should have it" Rumble gently pushes the his hoof with the muffin away back to him.
"Mr. Thunderlane, Maybe you can try something else, hm?" Mrs.Muffin Top makes a motion of pushing her own hooves apart like she was slowly tearing something in two.
It took him a moment, but he finally understood. "Oh um, well. If you don't want the whole thing. M-maybe we can just share and..." Thunderlane pulls the muffin in half and holds it to Rumble. "eat it together"
"Yeah, that'd be pretty cool" Rumble slowly took it, feeling a little better now. Feeling happy about his brother's nice gesture.
"That's my, Anon!" Diamond Tiara cheered as she trotted over to you and dived into you, making you fall into Fluttershy. She just nuzzled her head under yours happily. "It's that kind of princely wisdom that'll make you the greatest husband ever!"
Fluttershy, although finding it adorable, flinched from that, as did Mr. Rich. Spoiled Rich didn't seem to react. She just stared, observing. You thought you saw a smile on her face, but it was faint.
You were just blushing. The motherly warmth of Flutters on your back. The blushy, sorta "boner inducing but better not because you'll die if you do, because someone in this room will kill you" kind of warmth at your front. This was the life.
"I hope I'm not being a nuisance by saying this but, I never took a muffin. Does this mean I pass? Or fail? I understand what's going on. But I'd also like to pass this class as well through my own merit and I feel like I may have failed the lesson" Time Turner speaks up from his corner. He really didn't know his place in the lesson.
And it seemed Mrs.Muffin Top had nearly forgotten about him. Hell, you did. "Oh, Well, Mr. Turner. I suppose since you have nopony to share a muffin with, then that means you technically pass if you understood the lesson that Anon figured out." She said he passed, but even her tone didn't sound so sure.
"Ahh I see, since I could not properly participate, merely understanding the lesson is enough to pass it. Yes, haha! This is easier than I thought. Yes! Then let us continue then!" Well, at least he sounded pretty happy with himself.
"Diamond, dear. Please come back. There's a place for affection and this isn't the place. A little is fine, but we're here to learn...apparently." Spoiled called her back. She didn't mind her daughter showing affection to you, but it was too much at this point. And she could see that her husband, who was at one point, totally ok with it. Has become on edge lately due to the fear things have moved too fast.
"Yes, mother..." Diamond Tiara doesn't risk a kiss on your nose in front of her parents as she trots back to her them and sits in front of Filthy. She didn't want to leave of course, but she didn't want to upset her parents either.
"Actually, Mrs. Rich. She's fine where she is as the next lesson will have the adults separated from their younger kin. We will sit back and observe the children while we talk and get to know one another. I think it's a great way for everypony to understand one another and help empathize with everypony." Mrs. Muffin Top states, but this seemed to irk Spoiled.
"Excuse me, but what does that even mean? Are you honestly suggesting I converse with some of these ponies?" Spoiled was showing her...well...spoiled side. Seems she was only willing to tolerate so much.
"Come now, darlin'. None of these ponies are bad, and Discord is quite an amazing gentlecolt. And besides, this class is for all of us, including Diamond Tiara. You can do this this once, can't ya?" Filthy tries to appeal to her. He didn't want there to be a problem and yet he didn't want his wife to feel insulted in anyway. "The lesson might be more important than either of us realize. And this IS Mrs. Muffin Top. She's world renowned."
"Yes, I agree!" Both Discord and Chrysalis let out at the same time. And upon doing so, looked at eachother with angry faces as they both realized they were trying to one up one another.
"We should all listen to Mrs. Muffin Top and-" they both stopped again. And waited as they stared at each other silently before they both yell out. "Get ready for this very important lesson we're about to learn!" Both Chrysalis and Discord yell at eachother. Both of them just wanted to kiss ass to make themselves look better than the other, but ended up doing it at the same time, with the same words.
Realizing this. It took all your will to not laugh because it was adorably hilarious. Fluttershy just found it off, she was thrown mentally off balance by the fact that despite it being a nice thing to say, it looked like they were just trying to say it to be mean to each other. "W-well, I'm ready..I think"
"Yeah, this doesn't seem so bad. I think we can pass this lesson. Right, Rumble?" Thunderlane says with full confidence.
"Totally. Plus I get to hang out with the hero colt! It'd be awesome if he gave me a few pointers." Rumble said with enthusiasm in his voice. For you, that felt kinda bad. But, then again, it was just him really. One doting fan isn't too bad.
"What about us? Our little Pound and Pumpkin aren't exactly old enough to do any conversing" Mrs. Cake said, feeling a little unsettled she can't truly participate in the next lesson.
"That's not going to be a problem, right?" Mr. Cake asks, he was wondering if there was someway to properly fully participate "Well, actually. We're not leaving the classroom, right? We can just leave them right here, that way they can kinda absorb how the foals interact with each other. That kind of thing works...right?"
"It can. Foals' minds absorb more when they are younger, don'tcha know. It's kind of like a sponge. Or at least that's what they say. And I'm sure there's nopony in this classroom who'd want to hurt any of them so I don't see a problem with it." Mrs. Muffin Top agrees with Mr. Cake, and allows the twins to sit in with you and the other foals.
And with that. The parents moved to one side of the room to watch as you and the rest of the foals decided to sit next to the twins in a circle. However, there was one more issue that needed to be sorted out.
"Nymous, shouldn't you be over there with the rest of the little foals? Hmmm?" Discord says with feigned innocence.
Chrysalis wanted no part in actually being around the foals. And being a "Teenager", she wished to be with the other adults. "Don't be...ahrm" She was about to sound more crude than she should be, she didn't like the false tone in Discord's voice. She took it as being equated to a child. But she also knew she had to calm down as to not seem like a twat. "Well, I am nearly an adult. Shouldn't I be here to observe my brother and the other foals."
"Hrnnn.." Discord pondered as he stroked his beard. He then turned to Mrs. Muffin Top to confirm. "Now, excuse me if I'm wrong. But, Mrs. Muffin Top, for the sake of the lesson. Since she's my daughter, she must be among the other foals. Correct?"
Mrs. Muffin Top nods "Yes indeedy." She then looks to Chrysalis with a gentle unassuming smile, and yet, she was paying attention very closely to Chrysalis's face and reaction as she spoke. "For the sake of the lesson, you actually need to be over there with the other foals. You're not quite an adult yet, hun. And since you're not the parent, you can't exactly be in the parent circle."
Discord's smile became wider, and more cruel. He didn't say a word, but he looked to Chrysalis with pure victory in his mind.
Admittingly, Discord has had a better foothold thus far. Showing up Chrysalis at nearly every turn. But only because he was the "father" figure.
Chrysalis was taken aback. She didn't want Discord to win something like this. Even if she was disguised, she didn't want to be compared to a mere child. "A-aunt Fluttershy, let's be reasonable. It won't be long until I am an adult, and perhaps even a parent. Don't you think it's a tad ridiculous to have me sit with the foals? It's not that I don't deeply care about them, I do. It's just, it's seems a tad insulting."
But it looked like Fluttershy would be taking Discord's side on this one. But not really for Discord, but because it was part of the lesson. "I'm sorry, Nymous, but this IS a class after all. But you shouldn't be embarrassed, we're all learning very important things today and it will help support our family if we just follow Mrs.Muffin Top's instructions"
Chrysalis tensed up. She looked to Discord, who waves happily at her, and her eyes slowly shifted to Mrs. Muffin Top. "But..."
"She's right, Nymous, but don't worry. I don't think anypony here sees you as a small foal. But my lesson stands, and it's very important too. Look at your brother, he seems to have attracted the favor of that young filly over there. Don't you think, as his big sister, that you should help guide those two?" Mrs. Muffin Top asks. Now she knew something was off. That "Nymous" seemed rather deceptive despite what she's been told. But she wouldn't press into it. Not until she has observed her for a longer period of time.
One of the reasons she couldn't be so sure however, was the fact that Discord was seemingly being malicious in his kind words. It also made her think that perhaps she was trying to say that there was more to Discord than he was letting on. But she just couldn't be sure. Both Discord and Chrysalis were so out of the norm for her. But for now, the lesson was the most important thing.
Chrysalis was silent as she looked over to you. She kept herself from muttering or saying something insensitive.
When she collected herself a few moments later, she said "Yes, although I have been doing that since I arrived in Ponyville. Perhaps that is why I felt I should be here. But no, you're right. I should be with them...with him. To always guide him towards the right path. Excuse me..." Chrysalis starts to walk over to your group as she looks back at Discord one last time.
He was stealthily holding up a sign with his tail, raising it just beside his leg that said "LOSER!". And that's when she showed actual anger in her expression. It was just for a moment, but she was getting tired of getting shown up. But even she had no idea how to get the upper hand right now. And that was truly aggravating her to no end.