//------------------------------// // Ash vs. Meet-and-Greets // Story: Ash vs. Equestria: School Blaze // by CTVulpin //------------------------------// “This is too much!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Too much!” “Do you think so?” Rarity asked, taking a scrutinizing look at the long-sleeved teal blouse, long purple skirt that matched her cat’s eye glasses, and the blue ribbon tie she was wearing. “I was hoping that dressing the part would help me feel the part, but now that you mention it...” “You look very school marm-y, Rarity,” Ash said. He tugged at the lapel of the brown tweed vest he was wearing. “A more toned-down approach like this may have been better; I’m almost feeling the part.” “Not the outfits,” Rainbow said impatiently, pressing her nose against Rarity’s. She pulled back and spread her front legs wide to take in the whole entry hall of the School of Friendship. “This,” she declared. “All this! This place is massive, and it has a moat. A. Moat. And a split waterfall framing the main entrance. Statues everywhere, a fancy fountain in the courtyard... Twilight’s Castle is less ornamented than this.” “That’s ‘cuz the castle’s already a big ol’ ornament,” Pinkie Pie said. “Or maybe it’s more of a centerpiece play-set for a new wave of toys in a beloved brand...” “Do we even need all this space?” Rainbow asked. “There’s only seven of us teaching here, and not even all at the same time.” “This school is a Higher Level Educational Facility with no Pony Tribe Specialization and with Attached Student Housing,” Twilight Sparkle said, brandishing her EEA guidebook while Spike and Starlight stacked brochures on the table behind her. “The EEA is quite clear on the types of classrooms and facilities that requires us to have. I’m also looking ahead to when we’ll be able to hire more faculty and need to accommodate a larger student body.” “Plannin’ fer the future,” Applejack said, smiling. “I can’t argue with that.” She tilted her hat down slightly and gave Twilight a coy look. “An’ I’ll just keep my questions about where you found the bits to pay fer all this to myself.” Twilight returned the look. “Let’s just say there are some things a Princess can do without having to ask anypony for permission.,” she said. “And suddenly I’m glad I’m not part of the national treasury committee,” Ash muttered, earning a giggle from Rarity and Fluttershy. “Very funny,” Twilight deadpanned. She glanced up at the clock above the entrance doors. “Just a few more minutes until we officially open. Is everypony ready?” “I think so,” Fluttershy said, “aside from the near-crippling anxiety of having to meet new ponies, wondering if I’ll be a good teacher, possibly having a big mean dragon in my class...” She shuddered and then perked back up, smiling faintly. “You know, just the usual.” “Everything’s going to be just fine,” Twilight said. “Everything about this school just feels… right.” “Well,” Starlight said, setting the last of her brochures down, “if Twilight Sparkle isn’t feeling stressed, you know there’s nothing to worry about.” “I’m a little uncertain,” Ash said. “I feel like maybe we’ve moved too fast, haven’t spent enough time ironing things out?” “Chancellor Neighsay is coming to accredit us on Friends and Family Day,” Twilight said, flipping her book open to a particular page and consulting it, “and Friends and Family Day has to occur before the official beginning of the autumn harvest and the Running of the Leaves.” She clapped the book shut and looked Ash square in the eye. “Right now, that gives us a little over two months to make sure we’re doing everything by the book, and there’s no better way to ‘iron things out’ than to start teaching for real and see where the actual wrinkles pop up.” Ash pondered that for a second, and then nodded. “No plan survives first contact,” he said. “No more doubts here, Princess. We’ll take it one day at a time.” “Yeah!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “Let’s do this!” The clock ticked to the hour and a bell rang out rapidly. “Places, everypony,” Twilight said, walking up to stand in front of the table of brochures and passing her book to Spike to stash somewhere. “This is so exciting!” Pinkie squealed, pronking to her designated spot. “So many new ponies!” The doors of the school opened to admit an orderly flood of ponies and other creatures, headed by an enthusiastic-looking young Yak and a Hippogriff. “Oops,” Pinkie said, “I mean ‘so many new creatures!’” Ash took a few steps back to avoid being bumped by the initial surge of bodies into the room and started to make a comment when he spotted a flash of light blue chitin amidst the press. Eyes narrowed in focus, he tried to find it again through the moving rainbow of bodies, to no avail. “Skvetchte Changeling, I know I saw you...” he muttered too quietly for anypony to hear. “Attention every creature,” Twilight called out, stilling the crowd and bringing Ash’s hunt to a momentary end. “Welcome to the School of Friendship! I’m your headmare, Twilight Sparkle. Please follow Guidance Counselor Starlight to sign in and get your class assignments. Then we’ll show you to your living quarters.” The small sea of ponies began queuing up at the table, and Ash took the chance to resume hunting for the blue Changeling under the guise of helping his fellow teachers corral the herd. Ash spotted something blue creating a bit of an eddy near the stairs and made his way toward it, but it turned out to be a young griffon snarking at a greenish-yellow earth pony who had bumped into him. Ash went to nudge the pair toward the table, only to be interrupted by a rasping shout from the side of the room: “Gallus!” The young griffon sighed wearily and flew over the crowd toward the source of the voice, which had also attracted Rainbow Dash’s attention. Ash looked at the young earth pony and nodded his head toward the registration table, and then walked off to look for the Changleing again. Ash didn’t get far before the front doors of the school crashed open again. Who closed them? Ash wondered before the simply enormous Yak who had caused the ruckus gleefully bellowed “Ponies!” “Prince Rutherford!” Pinkie Pie shouted in reply, popping up into view from the front of the crowd and quickly snaking her way through to meet up with the Yak. Ash headed in Rutherford’s direction as well, hoping to use the wide berth ponies were giving him as a means to check as much of the crowd as possible for disguised ‘lings in one swoop. The young, and much smaller, Yak that had led the initial rush into the school walked up as Rutherford reached for her shoulder and said, “This Yona Yak. She come to pony school. Hah. Make it better.” Yona beamed. “Yak cant wait to meet ponies and tell all about Yakyakistan,” she declared, and the bolted off toward the nearest clump of ponies. The ponies wisely braced themselves to flee or catch the charging Yak, and when Yona stepped on one of her long braids and tripped, they wisely scattered and let her roll by. Ash and Pinkie galloped after the tumbling Yak and caught up just as she crashed into a column and knocked over a bust of a Royal Guard and a bansai tree as well as knocking a banner off the column. Pinkie caught the banner and tree while Ash dived to save the bust from hitting the floor. “Points for the enthusiasm and desire to share cultures,” Ash said, setting the bust back in its place, “but Yak needs to move a little slower in the future.” “Sorry,” Yona said with a sheepish smile. “Here,” Applejack said, coming over and helping Yona stand up, “why don’t I show around before you break everything?” Yona nodded and let AJ lead her away at a safe, sedate pace. “Pretty exciting first day, isn’t it?” Pinkie asked Ash as she nestled the little tree in her mane. She looked at the banner, then up to the nail it was supposed to hang from. “Think you can get this back up there, Ash?” she asked. Ash examined the banner, and then shook his head. “I’m still set to ‘silverware and writing implements only’ right now, I’m afraid,” he said. “Ah well,” Pinkie said, rolling the banner up. “Say, Pinkie,” Ash said, “have you seen any-” “Hey Spike! Ashen Blaze! Come meet Smolder!” Ash turned his head to see Dragon Lord Ember waving at him. “Never mind,” Ash said to Pinkie, “diplomacy calls.” He trotted toward Ember and reached her just as Spike ran up and gave her a hug. “Great to see you, Ember,” Spike said. Ember gave him an awkward pat on the head. “I’m impressed, Ember,” Ash said. “You managed to find a dragon who wanted to come here?” “Of course,” Ember said, folding her arms smugly. “Well,” she amended, “not so much ‘wanted to come’ as ‘the only young dragon I could find who can tolerate being surrounded by ponies all day.’” “That’ll have to do,” Ash said, smirking. “So, uh,” Spike said, looking past Ember, “which one is Smolder?” Confused, Ember turned around to see two young dragons standing behind her: an orange one who stood a head taller than Spike, and the other brown, a head taller again, and looking unusually shy for a dragon. Before anyone could say anything, another figure joined the group with a gentle rebuke on her lips: “Ocellus, we talked about this.” Nearly as tall as Princess Luna, her chitin glossy black, with a stringy blue mane spilling down to her shoulder, pony-like yellow eyes, and a cutie mark of a black, hole-studded heart framed by changeling-green flames, Queen Cabbage Patch approached the taller of the two dragons. Looking abashed, that dragon vanished in a rush of green fire and was replaced by a small Changeling with light blue chitin, flat cyan eyes, and a pinkish, curly frill on her head which matched the wings poking out of the back of the shell on her back. “Remember,” Cabbage said gently, “you need to stay identifiable as a Changeling. It’s polite.” “Ah-ha,” Ash said triumphantly, pointing at Ocellus, “I found you!” Ocellus yipped and scurried away, changing into a small yellow earth pony as she went. “And there it goes again...” Ash grumbled. “Smooth move,” Spike deadpanned. “Ashen Blaze,” Cabbage said coolly, stepping closer to the unicorn. “Cabbage Patch,” Ash returned, just as cool. “When I heard Twilight had picked you as one of the teachers at this school,” Cabbage said, “I almost declined her invitation to send any students at all. Twilight assured me you wouldn’t do anything untoward to my Changelings, though, so here we are. I’m willing to trust you’ll behave yourself.” “A wise General knows when fighting becomes pointless and when to let the diplomats take charge,” Ash said. “I give my word that I will bring no harm to any student at this school, and the only thing that can void a promise from Ashen Blaze is death. I have to ask, though, for my own sanity and the safety of the students, how many Changelings are enrolling?” “Just Ocellus for now,” Cabbage replied. “Of course, you don’t believe me,” she said when Ash made a face, “but it’s true. She’s the only one of her age group who showed any interest in learning about other cultures; everyling else is either focusing on recovering our own fractured lore or finding a specialized role in the Hive Mind. If things go well here, though, I may consider sending my two Princesses, Chard and Kale, next year as part of their training.” “I noticed that Ocellus is blue,” Ember said. “I didn’t know Changelings came in more colors than black.” “We don’t,” Cabbage said, “but some of our younglings have started a trend of inventing more distinctive and colorful versions of their natural forms. I don’t think it’s a bad idea, but it does make it quite clear who has a degree of artistic sense and who… doesn’t.” She smiled ruefully at some mental image she’d unconsciously awoken. “Now,” she glanced over to where Ocellus was trying to take shelter inside Fluttershy’s mane as the young Hippogriff bombarded them with excessively enthusiastic questions, “Ocellus needs some support over there, so goodbye for now.” Ash made a noncommittal noise and turned away, finding himself suddenly nose-to-nose with Smolder. “What’s with that gem on your horn?” the dragon asked. “It’s a magic cast,” Ash answered curtly. “My horn is broken.” “How’d that happen?” Smolder asked. Ash’s eyes rolled back and forth as he considered his reply. “That’s a bit of a story,” he said at last, feeling his irritation at the Changelings fading away. Just then, Twilight flew up above the crowd and announced, “Thank you so much for supporting the grand opening of our school. I hope you’ll all join us for Friends and Family Day to see the amazing progress your students are making.” A cheer went up through the crowd. Ash looked back at Smolder and shrugged. “And that story will have to wait until later, it seems. Time to go claim your dormitory.” Smolder opened her mouth to protest, but Ember whapped her upside the head and pointed, and Smolder sulked off. Ash looked around at the ponies and other creatures filing off deeper into the school, heaved a sigh, and set off in their wake. “And so it begins,” he said.