//------------------------------// // School of Friendship. (Part 1 of 3) // Story: Tales from Tinies. // by MrAquino //------------------------------// Various murmurs broke out as Ponyville’s local Tiny village saw something they didn't expect. Strolling along, pulling a wagon, was Applejack… but she was as small as them. She didn't really seem to care what they were thinking, as she stopped in the center, quickly assembled a stand, and pulled out various papers, all as small as them. “Hear ye, hear ye!” She announced. “Get yer kids signed up fer Twilight's new school of Friendship, openin’ soon!” “... Did someone spiked my drink?” One of the people asked. “Is this some kinda prank or something!?” “Since when did they start caring about us!?” “We don't have any cash!” A large crowd starting forming around Applejack most of the people staring her down with angry looks, the crowd didn’t look pleased. “Whoa! Let's settle down here, folks.” Applejack spoke “This ain’t a trick in any way. Ah am yer size, thanks to some poison joke, and Twilight's makin' a new school. She wants yer  kids to get an education.” “Yeah right! What can you teach!?” A woman yelled. “Me? Personally, the importance of bein’ a hard honest worker, teamwork, and bein’ honest.” “We can do that, you know!” A guy yelled. Applejack turned to them and squinted her eyes. “Say… weren't you that fellow that tried to steal mah family's cider recipe last week?” Eyes turned to him with some murmurs. “Uh… th-that was… Bob!” “Right… and as for mah friends, we've got all the stuff needed to help yer kids grow; math, writing, Equestrian history, health, all that dandy.” “How much is this going to cost?” A man asked. “Just your time and trust. We know y'all ain't got much, but yer kids will change that. They'll be livin’ in some specially made dorms, so they'll have a nice place to stay, complete with a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and restrooms for… well, y’know.” “Yeah right! Only breakfast, lunch and dinner for only you ponies!” A woman roared. “Now, now, I know y'all think this is a trick, but I assure you, we won't eat your kids. It'll only be for punishment, but otherwise, yer kids will be free to move around. Twilight's already got a few spells ready if she catches us breakin’ her rules.” “... This is just people, right?” another man asked “It's for everyone. We want yer kids and other ponies to get along and become friends.” Various concerned murmurs were heard. “Look, it's yer choice if you want to send them to our school or not. But ask yourself this: Is this going to help mah kids? Is safety and fear more important than education?” There was a moment of silence. A single woman with a 7 year old girl approached. “... Where do we sign up?” She simply asked. “Can I have a ride too? The girl asked. Applejack chuckled in response. “Right after yer mom signs.” She answered, handing over a resume. A month had passed from Applejack’s mission to get Tiny students for Twilight's school of friendship. While a few parents decided to not enlist their kids, probably out of spite and fear, the majority signed off, but those with multiple kids signed their youngest kid up. Truth be told, it was a bit nervous as, though only AJ had to go to 6 major Tiny villages, this was their only chance to leave a good first impression to these new students. But when the time came near, it was all but apparent that they had to do this. The six major Tiny villages were as followed: Ponyville, Canterlot, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, The Crystal Empire, and Appleoosa. Twilight had everypony, herself included, have a box that, as she described, was bigger on the inside, and looked to be similar to a train to the new students they were receiving. Needless to say, it was different, especially the other addition Twilight had planned in advanced, but wanted to surprise them with. For the villages, it was very nerve wracking to the kids. Each of them had packed their own clothes and necessary bathroom utensils… if they had any. A couple of them brought something personal, a toy, some cards, or a family portrait, they weren't sure how long school was going to last, but they were prepared for a long haul. But they knew who would be arriving, given a description of the pony that was taking them to Twilight's castle. Appleoosa was the only village to easily know who would be picking up their kids, with Applejack proudly stating she would be taking the kids to school. The others were a bit more nervous. Pinkie was the one to arrive to the Crystal Empire. To say kids were afraid of seeing a pink pony arrive in a blur and stop perfectly still was an understatement. Her enthusiasm wasn't exactly helpful, as many of the kids were in the process of saying their goodbyes to their family. It was cleared as, despite being unable to fit inside, Pinkie turned the inside of the box into a party room, complete with snacks and music. It took a few minutes, but the new students enjoyed what was available, not minding if school was like this. Rarity happily traveled to Manehattan arriving at Tiny homes with her own box that was decorated to her style it was fashioned into a bright blue carriage with windows that had purple sheets above them, white wheels on each side of the box and even a door that opened magicly to roll out a long red carpet which Rarity asked and demanded that the kids wiped their shoes before walking on the carpet. Rainbow Dash traveled to Fillydelphia making a record out of gathering the most kids into her box which left her having to travel back to send back some stray adults they had accidently gathered up along with the kids. Fluttershy stayed in Ponyville picking up all the kids she could find who were ready to go as the kids said goodbye to their parents Fluttershy couldn’t help but tear up a bit from seeing the emotional goodbyes from parent to child. Finally, Twilight went to Centerlot, gathering all the students and getting to know them a bit personally. Soon the students all arrived at the brand new school, it didn’t even look like a school it resembled a giant castle with waterfalls even rushing on each side of it with large moute surrounding it giving it off another castle vibe. Some students even saw it as something similar to the Harry Potter Books and movies, with a good few believing they were going to learn magic spells. Their boxes were placed on the floor, allowing all the students to walk around. Starlight watched as the floor was all but covered by tiny students as the rest of the teachers stood by her side. “So many tinies…” Dash drooled at the sight. A quick whack to her head by a newspaper was provided by Rarity. “You know what we said, Rainbow.” Twilight sternly spoke. “We're not going to eat them UNLESS they do something wrong.” “EEE!!! So many new faces!” Pinkie squealed before pulling out a notepad. “Did anypony get their names and birthdays!?” “Oh dear. Should we have done that?” Fluttershy asked. “Ah think we can ask those questions later.” Applejack spoke. “And are y'all sure this will work Twi? Especially with other ponies.” “Funny you should mention that, Applejack.” Twilight replied as her horn glowed, opening the doors. “It's not just ponies.” Walking through the doors was various ponies, but sticking out of the crowd was an orange dragon that looked annoyed, a very shy sky blue changeling, a blue and yellow griffin, a pink Hippogriff, and a small, yet still big yak. The tiny students panicked seeing a barrage of other ponies enter, most looking to be around teenage to young adult. A rather large tiny boy, turned around to run away, but bumped into the face of the yak that had entered. He didn't want to admit, but she looked pretty cute, but being so massive, he was intimidated. She looked at him curiously, almost pondering. “Hmm… Tiny large like yak!” She spoke in a... well, not stupid, but more brute voice… as brutish as something adorable can get. He only shook his head as he got to his senses. “H-hey! I'm not large! I'm just big boned!” “Ha! Yona like large tiny! What might be large Tiny's name?” “... It's Phillip… and Yaks can talk?” “Yaks can talk! Yaks strong, mighty race! Yona make school better for all and show Yaks are better than ponies in learning.” “Uh…. That's neat… I think… are you going to eat me.” She looked confused. “Why would Yona eat Phillip?” “Uh…” “YONA!!!” A loud, near earth shattering scream was heard. Another Yak entered, but he looked more like a traditional yak, garbbed with some golden rings on his horns. “Who Yona talking to!?” “Yona talking to Phillip, Ruthford!” The huge yak looked down at Phillip, his eye looking past through his locks of hair. “Small tiny large as yak! Ruthford like large tiny!” As Phillip sighed from that statement, the smallest tiny, a girl, his behind one of the pillars, backing up… right until she bumped into something. “Eep!” She jumped, turning to see another girl was behind her. “Oh no! I'm so sorry!” “No no, I'm sorry for that! I didn't know you were here!” “It's ok. I'm just not used to seeing so many ponies here.” “Really? I'm just not used to-” A shadow overloomed them. “Ocellus!” A more gentle sounding, kinda nervous voice spoke. Both girls jumped as they turned to see King Thorax looking down at them. “What did we say about changing?” “Ch-Changing?” The little girl asked. In blue flames, the other girl turned into a blue, insectoid pony. She was close to fainting. Thorax lowered his head to her. “Sorry, she's kinda shy.” “Sorry about that.” The other changeling apologized. “I hope you're not mad at me.” She only watched as the little girl fell to the floor. “Wow! What is that!?” An excited voice rang through the place. Ocellus transformed into her human self and hid behind Thorax’s front left leg. Sliding nearby was the pink Hippogriff, who excitedly flapped her wings, getting a good look at her, right before picking up the unconscious girl in her talons. “Ooh! What's this?” “That's a human.” An annoyed and older sounding girl spoke from below. Thorax, Ocellus, and the Hippogriff looked down to see a girl wearing glasses. “And I believe her name is Ellie. Name's Jasmine, if you're wondering.” “Ooh! And what is she!?” The Hippogriff turned her attention to Ocelus. “She's a changeling.” Thorax answered. “Humans can turn into changelings!?” “Other way, Einstein.” Jasmine groaned. She was quickly plucked by the Hippogriff. “Hehehe! You're funny!” “Hey! Put me down, you turkey...chicken… horse… thing!” “I apologize for Silverstream's… eccentric nature.” A somewhat snobby voice spoke, which came from a taller, adult male blue Hippogriff. “Please, once you get to know her, she can be quite the uplifter. She's quite intelligent and wouldn't harm a fly.” During that, in the halls, the now known Dragonlord Ember dragged a smaller, orange dragon by her arm. “Oh come on! I'm starving!” The smaller dragon complained. “Can't I at least eat one?” “For the last time, Twilight said they're here to learn, so the answer is NO!!!” Ember roared. “Pfft! What's the point of being a dragon if we can't eat smaller creatures.” “You already ate all those gems and-” She stopped as she sensed she was being watched. Looking down, they saw a rather lengthy tiny boy, who stared at them with a blonde, bowl cut hairstyle. Ember cleared her throat. “Sorry about that, just need to remind my STUDENT that she can't eat your kind here.” He continued to stare. “... Can I eat this dweeb?” The dragon asked. “Why you little-!” “I would like that.” The Tiny spoke. Both dragons gave a confused ‘Huh?’ as they looked down at him. “Can she eat me? PLEEEASE!?” “Uhh…” “Oh heck yeah!” The dragon cheered. She quickly grabbed him and tossed him into her mouth. “SMOLDER!!! NO!!!” Ember shouted, shoving her hand in Smolder’s mouth, pulling the Tiny out. “NO EATING TINIES!!!” The tiny was soaked in her drool looking around in confusion.    “... Oh come on! I was having fun!” He yelled. “Yeah this dweeb-” Smolder spoke “Nick.” “Nick was just going to become my snack!” “Yeah! And I could tell everyone I was in the belly of a dragon!” Ember only groaned in anger. Watching the scene, a more nerdy looking Tiny boy backed away in fear, not wanting to be eaten by a dragon. He backed up, but bumped into something that was smooth, but hard as well. He looked up, only to see the face of a Griffin looking down at him with a smirk. “Well hello, tiny.” He spoke in.a somewhat nasal voice. The boy tried to run away, but was quickly snagged by the griffin. All he could do was struggle as the Griffin brought him closer to his face, who didn't have trouble holding him in his talons. The Griffin turned his head and looked at the boy with his right eye. “P-please… don't eat me.” The boy.begged. “Hmm… you don't look very filling at all, dweep. I bet you're not even tasty. But oh boy, I can have some fun with you!” “F-Fun? L-like Dungeons and dragons?” “Dungeonsand what!? HAHAHA!!! No. Like this!” The griffin tossed the boy in the air, making him scream he lung out, free falling. All the Griffin did was point a single claw out like a finger, where the kid rolled along in a ball, all the way down to his tail. With only a flick of his tail, the Griffin began to juggle the boy around. “GALLUS!!!” A very old, raspy voice yelled, causing the Griffin to lose his focus and make the boy land on top of his head. While the boy was thankful it stopped, he was dizzy, and wanted to puke. Approaching to the Griffin was an older, vulture headed Griffin that wore a fez. He wheezed and hacked. “Just what the heck are you doing!?” “Relax, Grandpa Gruff,” The Griffin replied. “I was just having with my friend here.” “Oh? And what is your ‘Friend’s’ name?” The tiny wheezed. “Edgar… sir.” “Edgar!?... These Tinies have the strangest names.” “Tell me about it.” Gallus replied. Finally, minding his own business, was a simple earth pony colt with a turquoise mane and yellow-green coat. He laid down on all fours, not wanting to seem intimidating. The kids around him avoided him, but a girl in a rather nice looking polo approached him. “Hey, I'm Kathy.” “Oh, hey Kathy,” The colt replied in a calm, surfer dude like voice. “You're looking quite pretty.” “Aww, why thank you. You look cute yourself.” He blushed at the comment. “Aww, shucks. You're sounding like my mom. My name's Sandbar.” “Sandbar?... eh, it's a name, I guess.” “Attention every… creature!” Twilight announced, as bit unsure what to call everyone. “As the head mare of this school, I am glad to see you all here!” Various cheers were heard. “Now, since today is your first day here, we want you to explore your new place. And since most of you are… well, small, we've made a buddy system. Simply, pick a partner of your choice! They will be your roommate, fellow classmate, and, hopefully, when this is all over, a new friend.” There were some cautious and unsure murmurs from the fellow Tinies as they approached to their new pony partner. This was a dangerous choice, as they could either get a partner that will help them, or a complete jerk. But some ponies immediately picked the partner they had, and it wasn't too different for the others. “Yona and Phillip are going to be great friends!” The yak announced, hugging the big boned boy tightly… who struggled to breath. “Yona… you're… crushing me!” “We're gonna quite the duo, Jazzy!” Silverstream cheered, rubbing the girl against her feathery cheek. Jasmine pushed back against her. “No! Wait! Someone! Help! I'm being kidnapped by a pigeon!” “I'm a Hippogriff, silly!” “Sweet!” Smolder cheered, swiping Nick out of Ember's claws as she licked her lips. “Seems we're going to get along just fine.” “Oh yeah!” Nick added, getting a nosebleed. “Heh, alright, egghead,” Gallus spoke, holding Edgar in his claw. “If you follow what I say, then you and I may, just maybe, become friends.” “... Is it too late for me to go home?” Edgar shivered. “... want to.be partners?” Sandbar simply asked. “Oh yes, please!” Kathy answered with enthusiasm. Ocellus looked down to the now awaking Ellie. “Um… Ellie?” She asked. Ellie squeaked as she got up, seeing the changeling looking at her. “Please! I'm not tasty!” “Uh… I-I don't want to eat you. Princess Twilight said we needed to find a partner, and everyone is taken, so it seems you and I will be together.” Ellie looked around. Sure enough, every giant had a tiny with them, looking a bit cute. She swallowed nervously as she looked to the changeling. “A-alright… you promise not to eat me?” “I… don't think the rules allow it anyway, but I promise.” She gently picked up her partner and walked into the crowd. “I've got a feeling the EEA’s going to be happy seeing this.” Twilight spoke to herself.