Cory and the gang approached the administrators office where one of them knocked on the door.
"Come in." said a voice.
As they entered they found themselves face to face with Principal Celestia herself. She was a rather attractive looking educator with a posh, yet long hairdo that seemed to cover her back and a professional attire best suited for her occupation. On her jacket was what looked like an emblem of a sun, almost like the one on Princess Celestia, to which Twilight told of to Cory on multiple occasions. Her workspace was a rather adequate one, complete with pens, a marker board, a lamp and a few other business related items
"Um..are you the principal?" Cory asked as he stepped forward.
"Yes." She replied calmly yet professionally. "How may I help you?"
"This is our dear friend Cory." Jolene replied. "He's that kid we've been looking for."
"Oh, so you finally found him. Congratulations!" Celestia said as she got out her chair to the filing cabinet. "I'll inform the school charity committee they can put down those missing posters."
"You got the whole school to look for me?"
"It was the least we could do." Tony replied "You mean the world to us."
"Thanks." Cory replied surprisingly yet affectionately.
"So what brings him here?" Celestia asked.
"He's here to see if this school works out for him." Camden replied "He's been through a lot and is gonna need all the help he can get."
"That's what I've heard." Celestia replied. Then she walked back to her desk and pushed the intercom button.
"Luna can you come in for a second?" She asked.
"Wait, did she just say Luna?" Cory asked.
"Yep." Katie replied "She's the vice principal here."
"Boy, it's no wonder I could've been better off here."
At that moment, the door swung open to reveal vice principal Luna in the flesh. Her skin and hair color was almost that of Princess Luna's, only slightly lighter. On her short sleeved turtleneck was an emblem similar to that of Luna's cutie mark. In her hand was a small clipboard with a pen attached to the top.
"So who's the lucky boy?" Luna asked.
They all gestured to Cory.
"Just sign here and we'll give you a visitor's tag." She replied
Then she placed the clipboard on the desk, to which Cory promptly signed away. Celestia and Luna looked at his signature as their eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"You're full name is....Capricore?" Celestia asked.
"Is that a problem?" Cory asked.
"Not at all." Luna replied, to which she put his name on a sticker and gently placed it on his shirt.
"Alright. you're all set." Celestia said.
A smile fell across Cory's face as he and his friends were escorted to the door.
"Oh, and if you need us." Celestia hollered "Our door's are always open." To which she ironically closed the door.
"Well, she seems.... friendly." Cory acknowledged as they all walked towards the direction of the school library.
"Are you kidding?" Rachel replied "She's the nicest administrator we ever had."
"She's always open to other students opinions." Katie added. "If only every school principal was like that."
"Alright guys." Cory said with confident. "Lets find this library and get some books to study."
They all nodded as they walked in almost perfect unison.
Meanwhile, three young female students, about the same age as Cory and friends, were busy volunteering for the school librarian: Miss Cheerilee. Applebloom was on a ladder sorting a few books by title and theme, Sweetie Belle was at the doorway putting a few flyers on the nearby bulletin board, and Scootaloo was down on her knees fixing some computer malfunctions.
"Thank you so much girls for helping out." Miss Cheerilee said as she entered the scene.
"No problem Miss Cheerilee." Applebloom replied "Always glad to some extra credit for our grades."
"By the way, did you all hear?" Miss Cheerilee added "They finally found that Cory boy the school's been looking for."
"Really!?" Scootaloo asked as she hopped to her feet. "That's awesome!! Where did they find him?"
"Not sure, but I believe they just found him today."
"That's great news!" Squeaked Sweetie Belle as she put the last flyer up. " So when do we get to meet him? From what those five students told us, he sounds like a really swell guy."
"I believe right about now." Jolene answered upon entering the scene with her companions.
"Jolene!!" Shouted Applebloom as she ran up to her.
"Hey AB!" Jolene shouted back as she ran up to her.
The two embraced in a big hug as they clicked each others legs in what looked like a secret foot shake.
"So how ya been?" Applebloom asked "It's been a month since I last saw you!"
"I know, right?" Jolene replied "We should really work together more often."
It was at that moment Applebloom saw Cory standing behind Jolene's back.
"Oh, this here's our friend Cory we've been talkin about." Said Jolene. "Cory this here's..."
"Applebloom. I know." Cory replied "And the other two must be Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo."
The three of them dropped their jaws upon hearing this.
"How did you.."
"My friends told me." Cory lied as he made a little wink to them.
"So where can..."
"SHHHHHHH." Miss Cherilee said as she silenced them.
"So where can we find some good books to study?" Cory asked in a library toned voice.
"What kind of books?" asked Scootaloo.
"Basic skills books." Camden replied "You know, reading, writing, math, history..."
"Oh, you mean textbooks." Sweetie Belle replied. "They're in the back."
"Thanks." Cory replied as he quickly walked towards the end of the library. His friends followed him from behind.
For the next 30 minutes, all nine of them spent a good chunk of time gathering and collecting any text books that would suit their needs. Some were of the math department, others were of writing curriculum, and few were on the subject of science. But perhaps the ones Cory would need the most dealt around world history, given the fact he had resided in a different world for some time. Soon, they had full cart of books and instruments for the purpose of studying. They carefully stacked them together and headed towards the door.
"So what's all this for?" Asked Applebloom.
"Well." Cory replied "There's a test coming up that I struggled on and I want to prepare myself for it again."
"Oh." Sweetie Belle squeaked "You mean that required basic skills test we all gotta do?"
"Basically." Katie replied with a chuckle.
"Can we come too?" Scootaloo asked "I think we might get extra credit for tutoring."
The gang thought for a moment.
"Eh, why not?" Jolene replied "Hop aboard."
And so Cory, his friends, and the three human CMC scurried out of the library and into the hallway.
"Alright, now all we gotta do is find a big old space to practice some problems." Said Cory as they all paced from corridor to corridor with the cart by their side.
"Don't worry." Tony replied "There's plenty of classrooms with vacant space. All we need is to ask someone to..."
Suddenly, Tony spotted a girl with a frizzy hairdo similar to Pinkie Pie's. Her attire look like a combination between a birthday cake and Pippi Longstocking, complete with boots that belonged in a pie shop. She was putting streamers and stickers all over the locker bay for another upcoming event on the school grounds.
"PINKIE!!" Shouted Tony in a rather Italian accent.
The girl turned to face them, clearly caught by Tony's attention. She threw her items in the air and waved her arms like a maniac.
"TINKIE!!" She shouted back with a voice that could be heard a hundred feet away.
"COSI BUON VEDERV!!" Tony shouted.
"E STATO UN MESE!!" Pinkie shouted back.
Then they ran towards each other and engaged in what was the clearly the most complicated secret handshake anyone could conceive.
"Oh, Cory." Tony said as he turned to his other friends. "This is my clown partner I was talking to you about. She's..."
"Pinkie Pie." Cory answered back. "I know."
Pinkie let out a big gasp and grabbed cory by the shirt.
"Are you psychic?!!" She asked.
"No, I just heard you two say each others names out loud."
"Pinkie." Tony continued. "This is my friend Cory. The courageous kid I was talking to you about."
Pinkie took a moment to examine Cory's body, like a scientist checking out a new specimen.
"Hmmm." She said "He sure looks like a rascal to me Tinkie."
"Tinkie?" Cory asked.
"That was my clown name." Tony replied bashfully.
"Yeah!" Pinkie replied "Ever since the fall formal, we took part in almost every special event in town together. Wanna see one?"
"Maybe later." Katie replied "We got some studying to do."
"Ooooo, Can I come?" She asked.
"I don't know." Cory replied "We could use some entertainment during our breaks."
"That's the spirit!" Tony said as he firmly patted Cory on the back.
"Say." Pinkie Pie added "I know a great place to study! Follow us!"
Tony and Pinkie grabbed Cory by the arms and took him down the hallway while his other friends followed. Moments later, they found themselves in the middle of the school art studio. It was everything Cory had hoped for. Complete with art utensils, slabs of clay, Cans of every hue and color, and stacks for inspiration and innovation, It truly was an adequate safe haven for any starving artist. There was canvas upon canvas of different paintings and sculptures, crafted by some of the best talented students at Canterlot High. If only he could display his own work here. Here he could've blossom with the fullest potential, rubbing elbows with students of his kind. But this was not the time to reminisce on what might have been. Now was the time to freshen up with what his mother taught him. His friends, the human CMC and Pinkie Pie cleared the floor of desks and any subsiding residue, cleaned the nearby marker board of doodles and sketches and, and placed the books and writing material front and center.
"Alright guys." Cory said with a confident voice. "This is our time! Let's make it or break it!"
And with a deep breath, they all sat down and read, with Cory leading the way.
They started off with a few basic math problems on the board, such as equations, geometry solutions and integers. Next, they worked on their writing skills: putting together paragraphs filled with grammar, punctuation and spelling errors and figuring out what to fix. Following was reading the history and reading textbooks, filling their brains with knowledge of events from days gone by and predictions of what may or may never come to pass.
But soon it was time to take a breather, and Pinkie and Tony knew just what to do about that. They cleared the front of classroom, took a few instruments from the classroom nearby, put some paint on their faces, and engaged in a novelty clown act.
"You are gonna love this!" Jolene said to Cory as they all scooted front and center.
What struck Cory the most was how they were able to engage with their props in almost perfect unison. Not one of them seemed to be making a mistake. And if they did, it was all part of the act.
So, this cycle of study and play went on for the next few hours till about the end of the school day. It was at that moment the laughter and murmur caught the attention of Twilight's four other human friends.
"Gotta hand it to ya." Human Applejack said as she leaned at the door. "Pinkie and Tinkie really made ya smile."
Cory jumped a few feet back at the sight of Twilight's human friends. Aside from their species, they were almost identical to their pony counterparts, right down to the hair.
"Hey guys." Human Rainbow Dash said. "We're just next door practicing for our band when we heard you guys."
"Wait, you guys are in a band?" Katie asked.
"Yeah, don't you remember that battle of the bands incident?" Applejack asked.
"We we're kind of searching for Cory by that time." Jolene replied back.
"You guys really got to be more in tune with what's going on around here." Said Rainbow Dash.
"It's so great to finally meet you guys." Cory said as he approached them.
"Oh, this must be that Cory of your's you've been talking about." said Human Fluttershy. "It's so great you finally found him."
"Oh, it is." Rachel said. "We found him about a week ago and he's been living with Twilight."
"Well that is a...hold on." Said Rarity.
"Maybe you shouldn't have mentioned my mom." Cory whispered to Rachel. "I don't think they..."
"It's not that." Rarity replied "It's him."
By 'him,' she was pointing towards Camden. It was at that moment he and Rarity gave each other envious stare. The two walked up to each other and looked disapprovingly at one another.
"Camden." Rarity said sternly.
"Rarity." Camden replied sternly.
But moments later, the two of them let out a big laugh and gave each other a rather friendly pat on the back.
"You were always neck and neck with me." Camden said with a smile.
"Oh please." Rarity replied with a laugh "You were constantly trying to be one step ahead."
"Wait, I thought you two were enemies." Cory said in confusion.
"The proper term Cory dear is worthy adversary." Rarity replied.
"You can't really have a proper without some proper competition." Camden added.
"We just want to say we're really sorry about your friends sad past." Fluttershy said "I hope the poor dear's alright."
"Actually I've never been better." Cory replied "I got adopted by Twilight and pony Applejack."
"That is aw...wait. Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked in puzzlement.
"How's that even possible?" Applejack asked.
"Well..." Cory replied with a sigh "You see....." But just as he opened his mouth Pinkie started to speak.
"You entered Twilight's world after running away from Stiffson academy and a shack you and five other friends used to hang out in was actually be a portal that transported you to Equestria. There, you were found by pony versions of Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle where they took you to pony Applejack's house and made you a stable boy and pony Rarity's personal driver and in addition you found this amazing talent of your's where you can turn anything into a work of art. Now at first you were hesitant to talk about your sad past and how you struggle all the time with math, reading and writing and stuff, but after a bit of coaxing you were able to talk it through and get the help you needed. Twilight became your after school teacher and Pony Rainbow Dash became your personal trainer and eventually Twilight and Applejack's family decided to adopt you and make you part of their family and now that you've reunited with your friends and improved greatly on your basic skills, you followed Twilight back here so you could settle a score with Stiffson Academy and pass a test you couldn't before." Pinkie described to which she make a smile that enveloped her face.
Everyone in the room stood in disbelief with dropped jaws and flailing arms.
"How did you...you know what? I don't even want to know." Cory replied as he snapped back to reality.
"Whoa! Whoa! Back up a second!" Rainbow Dash intervened "You went to Stiffson Academy?"
"We all did." Joanna replied "We were kinda hesitant to mention that to y'all."
"That's the most downtrodded school in the whole country." Applejack added with a surprise inflection in her voice.
"And it's been giving our town of Canterlot a bad name." Said Rainbow Dash.
"Well, Why cant the state just shut it down?" Rachel asked. "It doesn't seem that hard."
"Former students and faculty have tried numerous times through court and union." Rarity explained. "But they just can't seem to prove it to the head of the U.S department of education. Oh Stiffson might be nasty, but they do know how to keep their dark secrets in check. "
"Well then, I guess I'll have to take my test here." Cory responded. "I mean, after all. I always wanted to be a student at this school."
"Well, shucks." Rainbow Dash replied with a smirk as she approached Cory. "From what your friends told us, you are one tough kid."
"Hey, why don't we all help you for the test?" Applejack proposed "It's only a few days away and you need all the help you can get."
"I don't know." Katie responded. "Don't you guys need to go home."
"We got plenty of time." Rainbow Dash replied "Plus during breaks you can listen to our band."
"Sounds good to us." Camden replied. "Cory. Lead the way."
And so for the next two Cory and the group of old and familiar individuals huddled up in the school's art studio, engaging themselves in a wide variety of basic academic subjects, comprised of games, quizzes, music, creativity and above all friendship. Even Sunset Shimmer decided to swing by and help along, with Twilight keeping a watchful eye on her actions. Every hour or so, they would give each other breaks, listening to the serenade of the Rainbooms or laughing at other Pinkie and Tinkie skit.
Soon, it had been a day and a half of work, progress, play, and game, and they all agreed they needed somewhere else to go. So, while Twilight and Sunset were off with their appointed, Pinkie invited the rest over to a slumber party. Now this really brought Cory. It was just like the old days, when he and his five friends all came to each other's houses, as if they were all a family, sleeping under the same roof, sharing all of the same hopes. The party was no different from the study session, filled with math related games, athletic, backyard sports, and a reading of all kinds of stories and tales. It was hard to believe one was really studying. It felt more like he was playing that preparing for something. But regardless, each hour of the session was one where he regained any forgotten knowledge of a subject at hand. Even in sleep, he felt confident. He didn't mind the snores of the others surrounding him, nor did he mind they were all crammed together in one room. He felt warm like a bear in a den of his brothers. For with all the support in that space, he was more and more ready to tackle the tallest of obstacle, and triumph his greatest fear.
"So..." Said Applejack as she slept next to Cory "You got adopted by Twilight and the Apple Clan."
Cory nodded back.
"Gotta say, couldn't've picked a better family."