Sandbar, Gallus, Smolder, Silverstream, Ocellus, and Yona were all gathered in the school library after class. They'd just learned that Headmare Twilight's class on the Magic of Friendship was going to have a big test the next day. And with the exception of Sandbar and Ocellus, everyone in the group was worried about their chances. Gallus in particular was really worried since his grades were the lowest among his peers in that class.
Sandbar had proposed a group study project and an emergency cram session. And the library seemed like the most suitable place to conduct it. But with how much was at stake on the test the next day, and with the students themselves under pressure as finals were lurking around the corner, it didn't take much for arguments to break out and tensions to flare up.
It was hardly a surprise when Gallus snapped first, glaring directly at Silverstream. "Would you please cut it out?"
"Cut what out, Gallus?" Silverstream innocently replied as she tapped her paw on the desk.
"That!" Gallus gestured a claw to Silverstream's paw. "That constant 'Tap, tap, tapping'! It's getting on my nerves!"
"Well how do you think I feel with you constantly tapping your claw?" Smolder remarked as she turned toward Gallus.
Yona stomped a hoof down. "Friends not fight! Yona want friends to get along so Yona can go back to studying."
Gallus just groaned. "Easy for you to say, you're not the one whose entire academic future is riding on this! And I don't know a thing about pillars, or elements, or anything like that," He put his claws to his face. "Ugh, I'm so gonna fail. I'm gonna have to be held back."
"Well, that wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it?" Silverstream innocently questioned. "I mean, if you failed, wouldn't that mean you'd have to stay for summer school? You wouldn't have to go back to Griffonstone."
"I'd come and visit you if I could find the time." Sandbar encouraged.
But the young griffon only shook his head. "Knowing Headmare Twilight, she'll just make me do an essay I can take back to Griffonstone. But I'll be stuck in the same class while all of you move on."
Ocellus blushed. "Actually, I might end up in a more advanced class. Headmare Twilight says I'm so smart that I may not need the basics. The only reason I'm staying in this class is because I want to be with all of you."
Smolder snorted. "Not all of us are so lucky, you know. I'm in kind of the same boat as Gallus here, I need a decent grade on that test tomorrow, or I'm probably gonna flunk Headmare Twilight's class. Dragon Lady Ember won't like that at all, I'll never hear the end of it."
"Yona want friends to pass, Yona want to be with friends," Yona pleaded. "Yona not wanna have to be in different class from friends. But yaks not fail on purpose, yaks always give one hundred percent in everything!"
Sandbar smiled as he scooted closer to Yona. "That's actually a pretty good motto to live by, Yona. It's something we could all strive to do. Even I haven't always been giving this class my all, I guess sometimes even a pony like me can take friendship for granted," Then he took a deep breath. "But for now, let's just chill. It's only one test, it's not the end of the world. I'm sure Headmare Twilight will give us plenty of extra credit opportunities so we can catch up."
Just then there came a familiar giggle, and the six students turned to spot the familiar figure of Cozy Glow as she was perched high above on a ladder. "Golly, that's so sweet of you to think that way, Sandbar. It's almost heart breaking how you're spending so much time with these other creatures, trying to help them understand friendship."
"Says you, Cozy," Sandbar frowned. "I heard you weren't doing so hot in friendship class either. You had to get help from the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
"Exactly, because ponies help other ponies. That's what friendship is all about," Cozy Glow replied with a sickeningly sweet grin. "It's nice of you to try and extend it to the other creatures, but let's be honest they don't have what it takes. Who could blame them? Given their upbringings, how could anyone expect them to understand friendship at all? It doesn't come naturally to them like it does to us ponies."
Gallus and Smolder turned their attention towards Sandbar, and even Ocellus, Silverstream, and Yona were all starting to look unsettled. Sandbar fought back a lump in his throat. "Don't listen to her, guys, she's just jealous."
Cozy threw back her head at that statement and gave a hearty laugh. "That's a good one, Sandbar. Me? Jealous of the likes of you? I have all the friends I need, and I can make more whenever I want. You think you're something special just because you made friends with transfer students."
"I don't think I'm special because of that. Our friendship is what makes us special!" Sandbar retorted with an angry glare. Even he was starting to get annoyed by Cozy Glow's behavior.
"Sure, keep telling yourself that. Whatever helps you sleep better at night," The little pegasus remarked with a rather devious smirk upon her face. "It's just so inspiring to see you try. Heck, it's so inspiring to see you all try to understand friendship, even though it just isn't in your nature. If not for Sandbar, no one would ever associate with the likes of you and you'd be forgotten. But by all means, tell me I'm wrong. I'm just a kid too, I'm still learning about friendship. Even if I must say I'm doing a better job at it than all of you at the current moment."
Cozy's words were like venom, slow to seep in but once they did they hurt like nothing else. And naturally when one was hurt, one reacted to it according to his or her own nature. In Yona's case, that involved a rather up front approach. Smoke billowing from her nostrils, the young yak stomped right up to Cozy Glow (who had landed a short time earlier) and pushed her down. "Pony is getting on yak's nerves! Why pony have to be so cruel?!"
"You know what, Yona's right," Smolder questioned. "Why are you picking on us? You sound just like that Chancellor Neighsay, and anyone who gets under Ember's skin can't be very nice."
"Cozy, don't tell me you're secretly in cohoots with that disgraced chancellor!" Sandbar exclaimed. "Headmare Twilight and Prince Shining Armor say he's misguided and nothing but trouble. We're not even supposed to speak about him."
Cozy stood up, brushing off the dirt from her coat as if nothing had happened at all. She seemed completely oblivious to the ice cold stares she was being subjected to. "Trust me, I have no connections to that chancellor. He was dumb enough to flap that big mouth of his until it got him into trouble. And I know it's not right to speak ill of somepony after they've already destroyed their reputation," She paused, before adding. "I'm simply a realist. I deal simply with facts. And here's a fact for the six of you. You think you'll be friends forever? That your bond will last the ages? Don't kid yourselves, you'll all be lucky if you remember each other even five years from now, let alone when you're all old and wrinkly."
"Liar!" Silverstream bellowed at the top of her lungs which made everyone step back. It was rare to see someone as bubbly and cheerful as her get so mad, and only Gallus had ever seen this side of her before. The hippogriff flew right up to Cozy Glow so the two were face to face. "You don't know what any of us have been through! If you had to fly or swim a mile in my steps you wouldn't last five minutes! I thought ponies were nice, nothing like that nasty Storm King who tried to rule over us with fear. But I guess any species is capable of cruelty under the right circumstances! Ponies like you make a part of me wish I'd never left Mount Aris with my brother!"
Ocellus was quick to add. "My nation's former ruler tried to make an example out of me, she tried to brainwash me into being her loyal servant! Not a day goes by where I don't dread her coming back, fearing that everything I've enjoyed under King Thorax could be taken away!"
"You may be an orphan, but that doesn't give you the right to be so cruel to us! Don't act like you're the only one who's ever had it rough!" Smolder declared. "You may not think our friendship is so special, but it doesn't matter what you think. We're here, together, and we're gonna prove you wrong!"
"Well, suit yourselves then," Cozy Glow replied as she climbed back onto the ladder. "I've got shelf stacking duties to tend to anyway. Go ahead and spend all your time trying to understand friendship. You'll see, someday you'll admit that I was right and you were wrong."
Sandbar only shook his head. "That day will never come, Cozy! Prince Shining Armor believes in us, and we've been tested in a way you'll never understand."
At that, Cozy's ears pricked up. "Oh really?"
"Yeah, but if we told you you'd think we're crazy," Sandbar replied with what seemed like a knowing grin. "Now if you wouldn't mind, some of us are trying to study. And we don't want to be interrupted."
With a humph, the little pegasus reluctantly obliged the request. "Those six are a problem," She thought to herself. "If I'm to truly to stand a chance, they'll need to be taken care of somehow," But if anyone had been watching closely, they might have seen her lips quiver ever so slightly. "Maybe they can help me? Maybe there's something to their bond after all?" But as quickly as the thought entered her mind it was dismissed. "No, they wouldn't understand. None of them could! I don't have a choice in the matter! I've been bidding my time for long enough! All I need now is a way to ensure that all potential threats have been 'taken care of' as the instructions were. Sorry, guys, but this time friendship isn't going to save you. And neither is that pesky prince."
But the very next day, Cozy found herself being called into the guidance counselor's office. And she knew that could only mean trouble, for by now it was no secret that Shining Armor had taken the place of the original counselor (who remained on the road).
The only thing more terrifying than meeting the prince face to face for Cozy, was meeting his young daughter, Flurry Heart. Despite having less magical surges now, the young alicorn was still unpredictable.
Shining Armor sat in a desk chair, staring directly at Cozy as she entered the office. "You know why you're here, right? I don't need to name names, several students informed me of your... less than friendly nature the other day."
Cozy gulped. "L-look, I-I can explain, honestly. I mean, golly, I don't know what came over me."
Shining Armor frowned. "I'm not buying it, Cozy. You can't play innocent with me. I've had plenty of experience from raising my daughter to know when somepony's got something they're trying to hide."
Cozy seemed to break out into a nervous sweat. "W-who me? What would I have to hide? I'm a cute, innocent, orphan filly. That's all there is to it."
"Then why does it seem that I can't find any record of you in any sort of orphanage?" Shining questioned the filly. "And why is it that you're trying to sew doubts among your fellow students? Even my sister's starting to become concerned, she's worried that she may have made the wrong call choosing you to be her teaching assistant."
Cozy gulped again. "So maybe I sort of... forged some documents and told a few tall tales. No harm no foul, right? You're not gonna turn away a cute and helpless little filly like me on a whim, are you?"
Shining shook his head. "Of course not, Cozy. I'm not heartless. Which is why you're only going to get a week's worth of after school detention, and you're going to be cleaning all the chalkboards in all the classrooms."
The little filly nearly gasped. "What?! You can't expect me to do all of that by myself! This school is so big, there's more classrooms here than anywhere else in Equestria!"
"Well perhaps you should've considered that before you decided to be a brat," The prince scolded Cozy. "The students you were picking on the other day were very concerned, your words cut deeper than you realized. And in an environment that is supposed to teach the values of friendship, the last thing this school needs is for anyone to be lecturing others about whether or not friendship is in their nature. You leave me no choice but to take these harsh measures. Is that clear?"
Cozy reluctantly nodded her head. "Y-yes sir, Prince Shining Armor, sir. I... understand."
"Good, at least we understand each other," Shining smiled and then offered. "If there's ever anything you want to ask me about, I'm right here. I don't want you to think you need to keep secrets, but at the same time I don't want you to think I'm forcing you to talk."
"No thank you, I'm good!" Cozy insisted and quickly sped away without saying another word.
Flurry Heart had witnessed the whole displayed, and the gears in her tiny little head were turning. Something was definitely off about that pony her daddy had been talking with.
Shining Armor seemed to know what his daughter was thinking as he lightly stroked her mane. "I know, Flurry. Cozy is definitely not normal. There's something very strange about her," He commented as he put a hoof to his chin. "Ever since I first made contact with her she's felt 'off'. For the life of me, I wish I knew why."
Unknown to the prince or his daughter, a very anxious Cozy was breathing a sigh of relief in a closet not far from the guidance counselor's office. "That was too close," She commented to herself. "He might be on to me," Then she looked down at her hooves, which seemed to briefly flicker and fade before they became solid once again. "I can't wait much longer! I need to find a way to get that nosy prince out of the picture soon!"