As luck would have it, the incident with Cozy Glow occurred only a couple weeks before graduation. Needless to say, the little psycho wouldn’t be graduating with her class. To say she was being held back would be a gross understatement. Still, the other students would be graduating, including the six students who had helped to stop Cozy Glow, with the aid of the Tree of Harmony.
I do my best to keep my ear to the ground when it comes to important ponies and the like in Equestria, so I figured, seeing as how I sort of owed them for getting me and everypony else back their magic, that I should meet Twilight’s little Affirmative Action group. If nothing else, AJ would naturally be attending the graduation ceremony, and I wanted to see her hard work pay off.
There was of course, another matter that I wanted to run by Twilight, but that could wait until later.
That morning, I went with Applejack up to the school. The place was bustling, not only with the graduating alumni, but also proud parents, friends, and even a few members of the press. This success story had certainly put to rest any concerns Neighsay or his ilk might have had left. Speaking of, the now more open minded jackass was here too. And I’d promised AJ that I’d at least be civil; friendship is magic and all that jazz. As I said before though, he had seemed to have realised the error of his ways.
Heading inside the school, AJ and I parted, she to attend the graduation ceremony itself, and I to seek out Neighsay to see about mending previously burned bridges.
I’d talked about him with Dad a few days ago. Apparently, he had taken something of a political hit in the aftermath of what happened. While he may have renounced his bigoted views, it had had the unintended side effect of bringing back to light his very serious cock up from when the school first opened its doors. If you recall his...colourful comments, sparked a major international incident that nearly sent us hurtling out of several alliances and possibly to war. He was now reaping the proverbial whirlwind. Still, the word was he’d recover in time. But for now, his reputation had taken a bit of a pasting.
Heading into the main hall, I found he wasn’t present at the graduation reception. A little bit of detective work led me to find out that he was apparently somewhere out on the grounds, The guy didn’t exactly strike me as the type to attend parties that much, certainly not ones planned and hosted by Pinkie Pie. That and he did rather have egg on his face at the moment, considering it was a pony rather than any other creature that tried to turn friendship into a weapon.
Still, I am a firm believer in Twilight’s philosophy and teachings. Yes, he made a mistake, and yes, he was a racist ass. But he had seen the error of his ways. And if it weren’t for him, Celestia, Luna and half the Royal Guard wouldn’t have turned up at the crucial moment. If nothing else, we were both intellectuals and stallions of reading. So I decided to seek him out.
Stepping away from the reception, I walked out into the beautiful courtyard, with the large fountain in its centre. There were several trees dotted about the perimeter, some of which could trace their ancestors to Sweet Apple Acres. It was under one of these trees that I found Neighsay. He was, as ever, decked out in the deep red robes of Equestrian Education Association and his medallion hung from his neck. At the present, he seemed to be deep in thought, but he looked like he could use some company. I put my own lessons on friendship into action.
“Chancellor,” I said as I walked up. The teller stallion looked up from his thoughts and made eye contact with me.
“Oh, it’s you,” he said after a moment, his voice reminding me somewhat of the late Orson Wells. “Blade Star, wasn’t it?” I nodded.
“My friends call me Bones,” I replied, smiling slightly. Neighsay thought for a moment.
“Oh, you are a doctor then?” he asked.
“No,” I replied. “Ah’m just an apple farmer who dabbles in magic from time to time. You’re the first pony to recognise the origins though.” The chancellor’s face became downcast again.
“I suppose you are here to gloat,” he said glumly. I shook my head as I sat down next to him under the tree.
“Not really my style,” I replied. “Although I was happy to hear that you have renounced your previous views.”
Silence hung in the air for a moment. There was no tension between the two of us. But he was feeling quite the fool.
“If it’s any consolation,” I said. “Ah once thought as you did, at least towards changelings. Even after the peace, Ah still doubted that they could be trusted. Ah even went and developed a spell to harm them, and only them, if they ever tried to attack Equestria again.”
“What changed your mind?” Neighsay asked. I thought for a moment.
“There’s a saying on my old world, chancellor. Judge a man not by the colour of his skin, but by the content of his character. Ah realised that not all changelings are bad, just as not all ponies are good. Celestia knows we have learned that this past year. The Pony of Shadows, the traitor Tempest, and now Cozy Glow; all ponies.”
“There are calls in Canterlot for me to resign from my position,” Neighsay said solemnly. “And I must admit that I am considering it.” I turned to face him.
“Not that it’s any of my business, chancellor. But I would suggest you remain in your current post.”
“Why?”
“You have learned from your mistakes,” I replied. “And irregardless, you are a gifted administrator. You now have the ability to reshape the EEA into a more constructive force, rather than a constraining one. The school could be the model for the future EEA standards.”
“You are rather forgiving, Blade Star,” Neighsay commented. “Considering that I insulted your friends, your family and almost brought this nation to ruin.” I shrugged my shoulders.
“Ponies in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” I replied simply as I got to my hooves again. “Anyway, please come back to the reception, sir. Ah’m sure the graduating class would be glad to see ya again, as would Princess Twilight and her fellow professors.”
And so, Neighsay accompanied me back to the little shindig Pinkie had thrown for the new alumnus. Now that he was no longer slinging racial insults and constantly sniping at Twilight’s teaching methods, he was actually quite tolerable to be around. In the manner of ponies, they welcomed him back without trouble and soon enough he was talking with some of the visiting parents, and I might add, extolling the virtues of this institution.
In addition to head of the EEA, the new graduates had returned, having gotten their diplomas. I wonder what friendship studies gets you, probably a BA, let’s be honest. Although, as magic is a science in Equestria, and friendship is magic, it may well be a BSc. Twilight’s six top students were chatting with their professors. I knew each of them through Applejack, who had told me more than a few tales. Firstly, there was Gallus the griffon, then there was Smoulder the dragon, one of Spike’s closest friends, Yona, who hailed from Yakyakistan, Silver Stream, a hyperactive hippogriff, Ocellus the young, shy changeling, and finally Sandbar, the earth pony of the group. Each of them were dressed in their robes, with mortarboards on their heads, the tassels now hanging from the right hoof side to show their transition from undergraduate to graduate.
I wonder if Twilight would be doing a masters program, or even PhD studies.
While our paths had never crossed, I knew quite a bit about each of them through AJ. Gallus reminded me of my best friend from high school; a touch headstrong and cocksure, but ultimately a good guy. Ocellus in contrast, well, that was me in high school. Shy as hell, nervous, and fond of libraries. She’d come out of her shell quite a bit this past year by all accounts. I decided to go over and say hello, Ocellus was chatting with AJ anyway.
My marefriend spotted me and waved me over. I guess, being the only other pony in here with a cowpony hat, I did rather stick out like a sore thumb. Trotting over, I joined pony and changeling.
“Ocellus,” Applejack said kindly. “This is my coltfriend, Blade Star.” I smiled at the young changeling and touched the brim of my hat.
“Ma’am,” I said cordially. Ocellus smiled back.
“Ocellus and Ah were just talkin ‘bout Fluttershy’s animal sanctuary,” AJ explained. She did have a fair bit in common with Fluttershy, with her shyness and adorability being the two top contenders. Never thought I’d see a changeling as cute and adorable, I must say. But with their still fairly recent transformation, their species has become a lot more aesthetically pleasing, more so if you listen to some of the taboo rumours floating around the Badlands.
It was then I realised something; these six kids seemed to mirror one of their professors. Ocellus, as I said was a lot like Fluttershy, Silver Stream had some commonalities with Pinkie, Smoulder could be headstrong and brash like Rainbow, Yona’s strength certainly tallied with AJ, and Gallus if nothing else, judging by the way he styled his feathery hairdo, had some commonalities with Rarity. Only Twilight and Sandbar didn’t match up. But then again, from my brief interaction with him, he was, without a doubt, the single most boring pony in the history of Equestria. He made Father Stone seem entertaining and full of life!
And let’s be honest, the world doesn’t need another Twilight Sparkle. It’s bad enough with Starlight here and Sunset in that weird other world as it is!
Still, the idea entered my mind, considering that the Tree of Harmony seemed to have channelled it’s power through them, that these six may constitute another potential team. We’d had the Pillars, the Elements, Starlight’s merry band of misfits; it couldn’t hurt to have another group on hoof.
Turning back to the conversation at hoof, I began to talk with Ocellus. Like I said before, she reminded me of myself at that age.
“So, what are ya thinkin’ of doin’ next now that y’all have graduated, Ocellus?” I asked curiously. “Headin’ back to the hive, or do ya fancy stayin on in Equestria a mite longer?”
“I’m not quite sure yet,” the changeling answered in a sweet, soft voice, that again reminded me of the Element of Kindness. “Headmare Twilight said that I could go back home and help spread what I’ve learned, or encourage other changelings to come and study here.”
“Well, Ah’m sure Thorax would love that idea,” I agreed. “Ah actually had the pleasure of meetin’ him about a year or so ago now.”
“Oh really?” Ocellus asked. I nodded.
With that, we fell into the usual routines of polite conversation. Applejack went away to talk with Rarity at some point or another, leaving me to chat with the changeling. Meeting Ocellus I think, was the final nail in the coffin for my issues when it came to changelings. If I did have any issues, they were Chrysalis only, and not because she was a changeling. To come back to what I had said to Neighsay, I had judged the content of her character, and found it more than a little wanting.
After talking with Ocellus for a while, she introduced me to her other friends. It was a little strange, meeting creatures that I already knew so much about, and yet was only meeting for the first time. It kind of reminded me of when I first met Twilight and her friends a few years ago.
After that, I mingled for a bit, running into AJ again and getting introduced to a few other pony students. I was surprised at the variety of students, both in their ages and their places of origin. You had everything from young foals who were around Cozy’s age, to nearly full grown ponies who would be going off to university.
Having enjoyed the party for a fair while though, I decided that it was high time to go and see this institution’s headmare; one Twilight Sparkle. The alicorn had been surprisingly absent from the party following the actual graduation ceremony, and according to Pinkie, who I ran into at the punch bowl, she was in her office with Spike. You’d have thought that after all these years, Twilight would have learned to stop shunning parties and friendships in favour of studying.
I needed to have a chat with her anyway, so I promised Pinkie that I’d go fetch her, and drag her back here by the scruff of her neck if I had to.
I didn’t really know my way around the school all that well, so it took a little bit of work to find Twilight’s office. The place could certainly have done with a few more signs or maps posted about here and there. If nothing else, it would help the new students next year. I made my way past the various classrooms, including one that had apple trees growing in it, which I assumed to be Applejack’s, and then ended up in the library.
Here, I did get briefly distracted and took a few moments to have a quick browse. While I was looking around, I accidentally stumbled on an open grate. Looking down, I realised that it had to lead down into the catacombs under the school. I knew from AJ and the others that the Tree of Harmony had extended its roots underneath the building. It was this fact that ensured that Cozy got what was coming to her, and restored all the magic to its rightful owners.
For a moment, I considered venturing down there to take a look for myself. But having seen ‘It’ amongst other films, I didn’t particularly fancy going down there. And between you and me, I didn’t fancy encountering the avatar of the tree again. Particularly as last time it had almost trapped Twilight’s six top students down there as part of a test. So instead, I activated my magic and carefully replaced the ornate metal grate, lest some unlucky student accidentally stumble down there again. After all, Cozy’s plan would never have got off the ground if she hadn’t had somewhere like that to open the rift.
Heading out of the library, I struck out along one of the more open corridors and up a couple flights of stairs. It occurred to me that Twilight’s office would probably be up there somewhere instead of on the ground floor. Eventually, after much searching, I found myself before a large pair of double doors. Their imposing nature suggested somepony important behind them, so I rapped on the door with a hoof.
I heard a couple of voices from within, and a moment later, the door unlatched and Spike appeared. He smiled as he looked up at me.
“Oh, hey Bones,” he said brightly. “What brings you here?”
“Hey Spike,” I replied in kind. “Ah was just wonderin’ if Ah could talk to Twilight for a minute. Got somethin’ Ah wanna run by her.” With a nod, Spike stepped to one side and opened the door wider to let me in.
Heading inside, I found a large, neatly kept office. The place evidently doubled as a staff room or meeting room too by the look of it. Twilight was sat at her desk, scribbling away at some scroll or another. As I walked in, she set these to one side, got up and trotted over to me.
“Twilight, Ah thought ya learned way back when ya stopped nightmare Moon,” I said. “Ya can’t skip out on parties just to study all the time.” Twilight took my gentle teasing with a chuckle.
“I promise I’ll come back down in just a few minutes, Blade Star,” she promised. “But I still have to finish writing up my report for Princess Celestia.”
“You’re writing up a friendship report like old times?” I asked with some nostalgic joy. But Twilight’s face fell.
“No, it’s for your dad,” she said, before adding. “About Cozy Glow. It’s more a statement really.” Walking over to her, I gave the alicorn a brief hug.
“Twilight,” I said. “Some ponies choose to cast themselves adrift. Ya can’t save the world.” I realised the stupidity of what I’d just said. “Ah mean, Ah know y’all have helped save the world...what...ten times now, but ya know what Ah mean, right?”
Luckily, my hoof in mouth moment made Twilight and Spike giggle and lifted her spirits a bit.
“Anyway,” I went on, carefully changing the subject. “Before ya do finish up here, there’s somethin’ Ah wanted to run by ya.”
“Oh, what’s that?” she asked, now curious as ever.
“Well,” I said. “Ah’ve been studyin’ magic for a few years now. Ya helped me learn the basics, and without wantin’ to boast, Ah’ve gotten pretty good at it. But there’s only so much ya can do on your own. So Ah was wonderin’, how would y’all feel about taking me on in a research position. Ah’d do some teachin’ as well, of course. Celestia knows you girls could use an extra set of hooves for when ya next get called away on a friendship mission.”
I was rather pushing the boat out here, but I’d been dwelling on the idea for some time. I’d been quite the academic back home, and I’d considered staying on in university after I graduated to do my masters and PhD. Plus, with all my knowledge of the show, along with my existing knowledge on magic, I figured that I had some pretty good credentials.
Still, it was a big ask, and I could see that I’d caught Twilight slightly off guard. For a moment, I figured I’d overstepped the mark and was about to take my request back when Twilight came to a decision.
“Well, that is a compelling argument,” Twilight agreed. “And I suppose I could take you on on a provisional basis.” I grinned at that.
“The salary won’t be much good,” Twilight added. I smiled.
“Twilight, Ah’ve got few concerns in this world, bits ain’t one of ‘em.”
“Alright then,” Twilight eventually agreed. I suppose I could give you an office and fund a couple of your projects. Provided of course, that it relates to the magic of friendship. And you’ll have to teach at least two classes a week once the new term starts.”
“Ah think Ah can manage that,” I said confidently with a nod.
And so, the two of us, with Spike in tow, left her office and headed back downstairs to where the party was still bustling. I rejoined Applejack and explained my proposal to Twilight. I’d already planned out the work pattern for myself. As it would only be part time, like her own teaching job, there would still be plenty of time for me to tend to the farm with her and Mac, whilst not sacrificing my social life. Applejack had just one reservation.
“Ya sure you’re okay with teachin’ kids, Bones?” she asked. I simply nodded.
“Sure AJ,” I replied. “Ah mean, how hard can it be?”