//------------------------------//
// Recovery 
// Story: Welcome Back, Night Spark 
// by Unicorncob 
//------------------------------//

Star Shade dragged her suitcase behind her as she walked through Ponyville, frowning and trying to avoid speaking to anypony. She wasn’t feeling too ecstatic about this new arrangement her parents and Princesses Celestia and Twilight had made for her; she didn’t think she was in that dire need of friends.
And yet, there she was, walking toward the School of Friendship. A place she always thought was made for those who were either too introverted or too awkward to know how to socialise. She wondered for a moment which one she was. Probably a mixture.
At least she got to take some time to recover and then enjoyed a peaceful summer break, practicing and researching different forms of magics. Safe forms of magic; She vowed to stay far away from dark magic for a long time, no matter how curious she got.

She wasn’t going to go through that again. If she didn’t see Night Spark again, it’d be too soon. Just remembering her name made her uneasy. She and her parents dared not to tell the Princesses about their relation to the witch; the last thing they wanted was suspicion.
She shook her head and she kept walking down the path toward the School. There was nothing she could do now but make the most of the situation.

She stared in awe as the School of Friendship came into view. It was definitely an impressive looking place, set in front of some hills and waterfalls and surrounded by lush countryside. The School was practically built over a pond, too. Much more impressive than just another building on the city street that the School for Gifted Unicorns was, as much as she liked it there.
She looked around her as not only Ponies, but Changelings, Yaks, Griffons and even Dragons were approaching the School. She swore she even caught a glimpse of a Hippogriff.
This would definitely be more interesting than staying surrounded by Unicorns, she figured. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all?
She walked forward toward the front doors, trying to avoid eye contact with anycreature for the time being. She could start making friends when she felt the need to.

As she crossed the stone bridge leading to the door, and pictured herself hopping across the surfaced stones in the pond, she spotted a Dragon ahead of her. Female with red and gold scales, and looked to be around her age if she remembered her Dragon physiology.
She flinched as the reptilian creature tripped on an incline and collapsed in a heap, dropping her books all over the platform. Some looked at her with pity, some giggled.
She blinked as she spotted one of the dropped books was hanging off the edge of the platform, daring to take a dip into the pond. And if there was one thing Star Shade hated, it was ruined books.
“Oh no!” The Dragon gasped, and set the stack she’d regathered on the ground before practically diving for the dangling book. “No no no no!”
The Dragon froze as a navy blue aura of magic surrounded the book, and she looked back to see Star Shade’s horn glowing the same blue.
“It’s okay,” she assured her, “I’ve got it.”
“Oh, thank you,” she said, standing up and taking the book from the air. “You’re a lifesaver! Or, well, a booksaver.”
Star Shade shrugged. “Yeah, well, I know what it’s like to lose a good book to water damage. It’s why I never drink while I read anymore.”
The Dragon gave a nervous, awkward grin. “I hear that. Your first day too?”
“Yup,” said the Unicorn, returning the grin, and held out a hoof. “I’m Star Shade.”
“I’m Ruby,” the dragon replied, wrapping her claws around the hoof and they shook. “You wanna be friends?”
Star Shade shrugged. “It’s the School of Friendship, I think we’re kinda obligated to be friends now.”

The two walked together into the School, unaware of the black raven watching them from the tree.