"Okay, new school, new people, new everything. I...I can handle this."
Spike's nervousness was clear, as he gently tugged on the hem of his sweater-vest, giving a loud gulping sound as he did so. Whatever else you could say about Canterlot High, there was no question that it was busy. Boys and girls from all the differing years were rushing in and out of those doors, smiling, chatting and just otherwise looking like they fit right at home here. Spike, by contrast, stuck out like a sore thumb, standing right in front of the place, in-between the great horse statue and the front doors, as if paralysed to do anything else. First day jitters were nothing new here, but this kid looked too terrified to taken even a single step forward.
"...I...I can't handle this!"
He'd have probably just spun around and run right then and there, had it not been for the sudden and unexpected hug he now received from someone behind him.
"Surprise huggies!"
"GAH!!!"
Though immensely taken aback by this, the youth soon looked over his shoulder, only to find the sweetly-smiling face of Twilight looking back to him. Though far calmer than he was a moment ago, Spike still let out a deep and exhausted-sounding sigh.
"Geez, sis! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Twilight, giggling slightly, adjusted her glasses before finally speaking to him.
"Oh, I'm sorry. But I just couldn't help it! I mean..."
Again, she smiled, lunging forward and embracing the boy in another hug, pressing her cheek against his.
"...my baby brother is finally here! At Canterlot High!"
Though Spike enjoyed a good hug from his sister as much as anyone, the exasperated look on his face made it obvious to anyone that this was, at best, a nice distraction from the stress he was feeling.
"Twily, I know you're trying to make me feel better, but..."
Twilight didn't need to hear him finish, for as she let go of him, she regarded him with a softer and warmer smile than before.
"I know going to a new place can be tough. Trust me, I felt the same way when I came over from Crystal Prep myself. But I promise you..."
She gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"...your time here will be wonderful."
Spike wanted to believe her, and at the very least he was able to give her a smile of his own, but again, as he looked to all the other students, he sighed.
"Crystal Prep wasn't the nicest place, sure, but...things here seem so...all over the place!"
A chuckle caused the two siblings to turn, wherein they saw the smirking face of Sunset Shimmer.
"Trust me, kid, you don't know the half of it!"
The two smiled back to her, Twilight especially so, and as Sunset finally reached them, she looked to the spectacled girl with particular interest.
"So, think your brother can handle it?" she asked with a hand on her hip.
Twilight placed a finger to her chin, pondering that.
"Hmmm, I don't know. He might need some help."
Spike, who already knew these girls well, recognised that they were deliberately being coy about this, and so eyed them suspiciously.
"Okay...what have you done?"
Giving another chuckle, Sunset stepped over to him, giving him a playful ruffle of his hair.
"Oh, not much, but we figured it'd be good for you to meet up with some other kids your age here, so we made and...arrangement."
Spike, growing justifiably nervous, and after readjusting his ruffled hair, raised an eyebrow.
"What sort of arrangement?"
Giggling, Twilight merrily clasped her hands together.
"Well, Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity all have little sisters here, and they have this special club for other students their age."
Here, Sunset raised a finger.
"Ah, I think you mean their special association, Twilight."
Hearing her, Twilight gave a knowing smirk.
"Oh yes, how silly of me. Their 'totally serious' association for the young students here. And it just so happens they're reaching out to some other newcomers here. So, I decided you might do well meeting up with them."
The boy, folding his arms after hearing all this, grimaced briefly, then slumped his shoulders in mild defeat.
"Well...I guess it couldn't hurt to meet up with some other kids. Might be fun...maybe."
Chuckling again, Sunset gave him a playful punch on the side of his arm.
"That's the spirit! A bit of a half-hearted spirit, but spirit all the same!"
Spike frowned to her, but said nothing as he instead watched his sister looking to the redhead with more than a little adoration.
"Thanks for suggesting it to me, Sunset."
Sunset, in turn, smiled lovingly right back to her, reaching forward and taking Twilight's hands into her own.
"Hey, I was happy to help."
Twilight blushed, especially when Sunset suddenly leaned forward and gave her a tender kiss upon the cheek, leading to both girls giggling like love-struck idiots shortly afterwards.
Staring down into the swirling vortex, Celestia and Discord had suddenly been struck with nothing short of utter shock. As the loving scene of those two girls played out before their eyes, they both slowly blinked, as if completely bewildered by what had just transpired. Slowly however, Discord was the first to get himself back to his senses, and soon gave a sly side-look to his royal companion, who continued to look on with surprise over this alternate incarnation of her two students.
"Well...that was...quite something," she finally remarked.
Tittering, Discord took a quick sip of his tea before adding his own comment.
"My dear Celestia, you wouldn't, by any chance, be opposed to such a union...would you?"
Celestia frowned back to him, but rather than play his game, she merely smiled, sipping her own tea and speaking back in that calm and regal tone she was famous for.
"On the contrary. I am quite pleased the two girls have found somebody special in their lives. I hope they're very happy with one another."
Her words were genuine, and while Discord was somewhat annoyed at being unable to get under her skin in this particular instance, he nevertheless nodded in agreement.
"Oh, certainly! Nothing sweeter than young love, after all!"
Leaning closer to her, he took on a more "Discordy" look of mischievousness.
"Although...I do hope this acceptance of yours doesn't have anything to do with those piles of romantic fanfics you write?"
Slowly, Celestia looked over to him, narrowing her eyes so her gaze was as sharp as a dagger.
"You...saw...nothing."
Spike, naturally, was feeling more than his fair share of awkwardness. After all, as much as he liked Sunset, seeing your older sister kissing her girlfriend out in public would cause anyone to want to look away, and the blush he bore as he tried to focus on anything else made that feeling clear. But after a while, he recomposed himself, looking back to the two with the slightest of snarky looks.
"So...finished?"
Sunset, still looking to Twilight with amorousness, chortled.
"For now."
Spike rolled his eyes, but then smiled again as he regarded the school.
"You know...this might not be so bad. I mean, if you like this place, Twily, then...maybe I can do good here too."
Twilight gave the widest smile yet, moving over and embracing her brother one more time, and this time, Spike actually hugged back. Sunset smiled too, looking on at the embracing siblings, and as the latter two parted, Twilight spoke to the younger with genuine confidence.
"Trust me, little brother...Canterlot High will be like no place you've ever been."
Spike opened his mouth, ready to thank her for her words of encouragement, only to be stopped when, just then, there was a loud crashing sound. Everyone around, including the three of them, turned to see what appeared to be a young lady falling out from a window on the upper levels of the school, plummeting right down into the bushes below. Spike, of course, was horrified by this, and so immediately began to rush forward. However, and to his immense confusion, he was kept from this by a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Sunset, looking on with, strangely enough, amusement. Spike was confused, as anyone would be, but then began to hear a new voice.
"Gah! You pesky little squirrel!"
Turning again, the boy looked on to see the fallen girl, who apparently had the poofiest-looking pink hair he'd ever seen in his life, suddenly get up from the bushes and, after brushing off some stray bits of broken glass from her skirt, looked up and shook her fist angrily.
"YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THE LAST OF ME!!!"
Looking upwards, Spike saw that there was indeed a small squirrel on he edge of the broken window, who squeaked loudly before ducking back into the room. The pink-haired girl screamed loudly then, to Spike's further shock, dived forward, smashing through a window on the ground floor, most likely in pursuit of the critter. And all while, all the other students just went about their business like nothing had happened. Spike, blinking slowly, gradually turned back to Twilight and Sunset, who responded to this with simultaneous shrugs of their shoulders. After taking a moment to take in all of this, Spike sighed, adjusted his sweater-vest slightly, then looked to his sister.
"Well, if nothing else...you're right about this place being different."
Discord, looking on with wide eyes at what had happened, slowly developed into a look of pure joy, rubbing his paws together with great enthusiasm.
"Oh...this is gonna be fun!"