//------------------------------//
// Chapter Five: Training 
// Story: CRISIS: Equestria - Divergence, Book 2 
// by GanonFLCL 
//------------------------------//

Curaçao had never considered herself somepony that got caught up in emotions. Even when she experienced significant urges to act on impulses, she always managed to reign it in and maintain her composure. Only Gray was better at keeping her emotions in check and she'd only ever lapsed once. So, Curaçao prided herself on being able to maintain her cool in any situation.

It was taking every ounce of effort she had to do just that as she sat in behind Dawn's desk that morning. Using her shapeshifting magic, she'd been taking the guise of her youngest sister these past several days in order to interact with the Committee so that those not secretly loyal to their family would not become suspicious about her absence. She could easily mimic Dawn's behavior and personal quirks because nopony else knew her sister better than she did. The disguise was flawless. Absolutely flawless.

As such, Treasurer Vendetta didn't notice anything off about her whatsoever, and spoke with her as he always did with Dawn. "It's wonderful to see you this morning, signorina," the smooth-talking pegasus said. He'd dressed in a needlessly elegant tuxedo for this private video call, even adjusted his lightning to include candlelight. "You're looking as lovely as ever, like a beautiful ray of sunshine. Sei bellissima."

Curaçao felt her stomach turn with disgust. 

She knew plenty of ponies that could be considered loathsome, but she didn't have any hatred for any of them, with the exception of this stallion. That tended to happen when somepony had once been barely within a hair's breadth of sexually assaulting the mare you loved. If it ever happened again, she fully intended to carry through with the threat she'd delivered to him then, and then some.

But she had a role to play, and she would not let her utter revulsion towards the Treasurer show on her face or come through in her tone.

Gardez le calme et continuez, she told herself.

"Your compliments are much appreciated, Treasurer Vendetta," Curaçao-as-Dawn replied, fighting the urge to do so through clenched teeth. "I believe, however, that the purpose of this private meeting was not intended to be about complimenting my physical appearance. I possess additional business matters to attend to this morning, so if we could proceed?"

Vendetta grinned slightly. "That's what I like about you, girasole: you're a true professional at heart, and yet so… affable. Your predecessor was always rather cold, hard as it was to tell through the computer filter. You're much warmer, no? Warm as a summer's day in the south."

Curaçao bit her tongue hard to prevent herself from gagging. "Treasurer Vendetta, if you would, please?"

"Ah, perdonami, non ho potuto trattenersi." Vendetta made a show of looking over a datapad document, scrolling through it and everything. "To business then. I know that the Committee has already voted to proceed with your peace proposal, but I believe you're aware that our guidelines permit votes to be overturned with a majority vote of seventy percent."

"I am cognizant of this information, Treasurer. If five members vote to overturn a prior covenant, then said covenant will be invalidated unless brought to another vote and passing with the same seventy percent majority." Curaçao tilted her head. "Are you implying that you wish to petition the Committee to vote in favor of repealing the peace proposal?"

"Sì, lo sono," said Vendetta with a nod. "I hope that you understand that this is purely a business matter, signorina. I know that your heart is set on the issue, but I must do my duty in maintaining the economic stability of New Pandemonium City, and peace would shatter that stability."

"As you have reiterated time and time again, Treasurer," Curaçao huffed. "Admiral Hotstreak and Chairpony Champagne have already put forward the accusation that you are merely apprehensive about your personal financial interests. That hardly seems equivocal with a concern for the city's stability."

Vendetta shook his head. "That may be so, but I could be considered a sort of… anthropomorphic representation of our city's economy. What affects me affects the city, and Miss Dawn, I don't feel I am exaggerating when I say that dismantling the NPAF fleet and ceasing weapons development will crush the stock market."

"Do you theorize that it could plunge the city into a recession?"

"Oh yes. And that's without considering any potential reparations those pirates will unjustifiably demand from us. In order to preserve our stability, I must fight this peace proposal through every avenue possible, and I fully intend to do so. It's my duty to do so."

Curaçao nodded. "As you are well within your right to do. I must inform you, however, that some members of the Committee have already committed to the cause and initiated undertakings in an attempt to lay the groundwork for further steps. Director Underhoof, for example, has already informed me of efforts to withdraw all external resources and direct them inward."

"I understand that she's become concerned with the strings of disappearances in some of the poorer Mid District neighborhoods," Vendetta said, raising an eyebrow. "Any news on that front yet?"

"None, unfortunately. They are seemingly unconnected, nor are they connected with the reports of similar disappearances in the Outer Districts."

Vendetta waved that away with a hoof. "Miss Dawn, per favore, but nopony cares about what happens in the Outer Districts. Ponies disappear out there all the time; it's just a fact of life."

"Perhaps that perception should be adjusted, then," she added with narrowed eyes.

He ignored her. "Well, if I can put my two bits in, I think that going through with this peace proposal might only exacerbate the issue. If ponies are deciding to emigrate to our new… 'ally', then surely any disappearances in that time may be more difficult to investigate. Wouldn't you agree?"

Curaçao steepled her hooves. She hated that Vendetta, despite his selfish slimeball tendencies, made a good point. "Director Underhoof has expressed a similar concern, but possesses confidence in her ability to address that concern if resources are taken from unnecessary fields and redirected to her department. If military spending is reduced, then she could potentially come into the allowance of funding required."

He grunted. "That all depends on how the Committee votes to diversify the budget, and I remind you that as Treasurer, I have the potential to force budgetary concerns to come to the same seventy percent majority vote before approval. I'll utilize that privilege if I need to if it makes Underhoof change her vote for peace."

"A shrewd tactic, but again, fully within your right. You play a dangerous game though, Treasurer; your tactics skirt the line of what is considered acceptable amongst the Committee. It sets a precarious precedent."

"Where's the fun in life without a little… danger?" he asked with a smirk.

She grunted. "However, I fail to see why you experienced a desire to present this plan of action to me. I cannot vote in any potential deliberations, and it is within my interests to inform the rest of the Committee of your intentions.."

"Well, it is as I said: I hoped to make it clear that I am only doing it because it is my duty to do so. I do not wish for there to be bad blood between us," Vendetta said with a sly grin. "I don't want anything to come between us, capisce?"

Curaçao had to bite her tongue again. "I understand, Treasurer Vendetta, and I can assure you that your opposition will not be interpreted as a personal attack."

"Meraviglioso," Vendetta said, putting his hoof over his heart. "I am glad to hear that, signorina. Il mio cuore si gonfia di sollievo—my heart swells with relief."

Curaçao hoped that his heart would suddenly swell so much that it exploded inside his chest. But she nodded in response as if no such thought had entered her head. "Very well. If there is nothing else, Treasurer, I remind you that there are other tasks I must attend to."

"Of course, of course. You are a very busy mare, I understand. Enjoy the rest of your day, signorina," Vendetta said with a smile. "I'll be in touch."

Curaçao nodded and turned off their video connection, then waited a few seconds to be absolutely sure that the call had ended and that she was alone in Dawn's office. As soon as she was certain that nopony was watching her or listening in, she shifted back into her normal self and let out an angry breath. She wanted nothing more than to take a shower right at that moment to wash off the pure sleaze she felt covered in.

After taking the time to breathe and center herself, she hopped out of the chair and made for the door, heading out and down the hall towards the tower's elevator. She knew she had other work to do right now, but she needed to make a crucial stop first. So, she rode the elevator down to the fiftieth floor of the tower, where there was only one accessible room: the office of the Shadow Associate's secretary, Shroud.

Curaçao didn't need to knock, and just entered without so much as a word, for now at least. Shroud's office was rather small, because it only really needed room for her desk and computer station, from which she could take care of virtually everything and anything that Dawn might require of her. These days it was Curaçao who made most use of these services, if only because she knew how to put it to better use.

In recent months, though, Curaçao had seen to it that the office had been given some more heart, if only because she knew it would help clear the air and relieve stress. There wasn't a lot since there wasn't much room for anything, but it got the job done: a comfortable couch for Shroud to relax on when she took her breaks; a few potted plants—real ones, imported—to add a touch of color; a mini fridge and water cooler so that Shroud didn't need to request things from the kitchens all the time.

A door on the opposite side of the office from the entrance led into Shroud's apartment, which was kept conveniently close so that Shroud had the absolute lowest possible commute from where she lived to where she worked. Considering her apartment's computer had the same access as her work computer, it was really just a formality.

Shroud herself was sitting behind her work desk rapidly typing away, her hooves moving at speeds that still impressed Curaçao to this day. She was a cute, pink-coated unicorn with a red mane not unlike Curaçao's own, and she dressed herself in a clean, pressed dress suit and skirt, ever the professional despite rarely having visitors. Months ago, she had visible bags under her eyes; they'd been slowly disappearing as of late.

She brightened immediately when Curaçao entered. "Oh, hey Curie. What's up? How were your meetings?"

Curaçao didn't say a word, just walked over to Shroud's desk and leaned in to kiss Shroud lovingly on the lips. She smiled into the kiss when Shroud gave a little peep of surprise, then pulled back and nuzzled Shroud's ear gently. "I just needed to see you, ma petite framboise. Je t'aime, you know that?"

Shroud absently licked her lips as Curaçao pulled away. "I love you too, Curie. This is quite the surprise, though. You usually don't drop by until lunch, and you've got at least two hours before then. Is something wrong?"

Curaçao grunted. "Non, I just had the pleasure of a meeting with Treasurer Vendetta."

"Oh no," Shroud grimaced. "Bad, huh?"

"Ouah, you have no idea. Dawn downplayed just how 'friendly' Vendetta is with her." Curaçao shuddered and blanched. "I feel disgusting having to play along with it."

"Ew. They're not… um…"

Curaçao shook her head. "Dawn doesn't even realize what his intentions are, and Vendetta probably thinks she's just playing hard-to-get. I wish I could just put an end to the whole thing. Quelle pagaille!"

Shroud frowned and put her hoof on Curaçao's shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Do you want to take a break? I can always take an early lunch if you want."

Curaçao smiled and set her hoof on Shroud's. "Merci, ma chérie, but non, I still have a lot of things to do before lunch that cannot be rescheduled."

"Nonsense, I can reschedule anything you need. Just let me work my magic and anypony that had a meeting with you won't even notice that the times have changed."

"You are too good to me," Curaçao chuckled, stroking Shroud's hoof. "And I appreciate it, but I can't. We'll meet for lunch though, at our normal time. I'll be alright until then; I just needed a little… how do you say, 'pick-me-up'?"

"Well, I'm glad I'm able to help," Shroud said with a grin.

"Always." Curaçao kissed Shroud's cheek, then turned for the exit. "Until later, mon amour. I was thinking… ratatouille?"

"Ooh, that sounds great. Crème Brûlée makes the best ratatouille." She gave Curaçao a little wave. "See you later, Curie."

Curaçao waved farewell to her fillyfriend and headed out the door, then boarded the elevator with a sigh. She really did want to just stop what she was doing and take a break for a moment, if only to let herself relax and regain her focus for the rest of the day, but her next task wasn't exactly too difficult or time-consuming, but would be difficult to reschedule. Shroud might be able to fool ponies that made appointments through her, but Velvet and Pedigree were explicitly expecting her before lunch and would definitely notice if she rescheduled.

Six floors of the tower had been completely restructured to accommodate several new tenants. The circumstances as to why these young colts and fillies were living in the tower was… complicated, to be blunt. Curaçao was still a little bothered by the entire situation, but she definitely didn't hold it against the youths. 

The long and short of it was that these thirty-four young ponies were products of genetic engineering plus a magic infusion process with the intention of creating agents that could aid her father in his work. The foundation of that project was later used, along with the timely and unexpected arrival of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, to then create Curaçao and her sisters. There was an underlying sensation of kinship there between her sisters and these youths, and so Dawn and Velvet had seen to it that they would no longer inhabit a cold, sterile laboratory.

As Curaçao disembarked from the elevator, she came to the topmost of the six floors that had been set aside, which was structured as a sort of common area not unlike Pandora Tower's official lounge. At the moment it was mostly empty; only about a dozen of the young ponies were present, all of whom were seated on comfortable seats as they watched an educational video on the big screen television set against the far wall.

Besides them, Pedigree and Velvet were also present, observing the youths. Pedigree had his datapad in his hoof and looked to be busy adjusting figures and making notes, while Velvet just watched the colts and fillies as they watched their program, a warm smile on her face.

"Bonjour, Overseer. Bonjour, Velvet," Curaçao said quietly as she approached. "How are you this morning?"

"Hey sis," Velvet said, not taking her attention away from the young ones just yet. "Been a good morning so far. I'm still getting the hang of making out class schedules and stuff, but I think I'm getting better at it. It's much easier splitting these munchkins up into groups, lemme tell ya."

"I will say that Miss Velvet's educational curriculum more than meets the city's required standards," Pedigree said without taking his attention away from his notes. "They are advancing quickly enough that by this time next year they should be caught up with the city average in their age group, and if this pace continues they would qualify for university-level courses one or two years in advance of the standard."

"Oh la la, that is quite an accomplishment," Curaçao said with a grin in Velvet's direction. "Bravo, Velvet."

Velvet scuffed her hoof on the floor and grinned. "Thanks." She then glanced towards Pedigree and gave him a little smile. "Pedigree's been a real peach, though. I don't know if I could've done it without him. Or without the rest of you girls chipping in here and there."

Curaçao nodded. "It is the least we could do for these young ponies, oui? I am glad to hear that they are progressing so well." She also glanced at Pedigree. "I assume that has something to do with their engineering? Not to disparage Velvet's efforts, but these accomplishments seem extraordinary for ponies so young."

"Not to brag, but yes, that does play a part in it," Pedigree said, adjusting his tie briefly before turning his attention fully on her. "The Shadow Candidate program was designed to produce ponies that possessed a high capacity for learning and absorbing new skills and information. Our students are genetically superior to the average pony their age, I guarantee it."

Curaçao resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The Overseer was still a little bit too detached and clinical regarding how he treated the young ponies, but had definitely gotten a lot better over the past several months. Velvet was a better influence on him than she had any right to be; Dawn had figured Velvet would turn out to be a terrible influence, but such was not the case.

"So, what did you have to show me today?" she asked, looking between the two. "Nothing urgent, I hope?"

"Oh no, nothing like that," Velvet said, brushing that concern off with her hoof. "But Dawn asked me for frequent status reports, and we were scheduled to give one to her today. Buuut, since she's off playing ambassador, we figured we'd give it to you! We've finally got things figured out enough to feel confident with everything, so we're gonna give you a little tour."

"Ah, Dawn was to visit you down here and tour your facility then?"

"Ha ha, no," Velvet chuckled. "Dawn doesn't have time for that. We were gonna just send her a written report detailing all the stuff we've been up to. All Dawn cares about is results, you know that."

Curaçao frowned. "Oui, je le sais. Well, I'm glad that you want to give me a tour, then. I'd very much like to see with my own eyes how things are going."

"Don't worry, it won't take long," Pedigree added with a nod. He gestured out at the colts and fillies watching the television. "As you can see, we've implemented a robust, automated educational system. After every video, I will typically field questions to clarify issues with the students before proceeding to the next batch of course material in the curriculum."

"We're hoping to get, like, some actual teachers in here eventually," Velvet said with a smirk. "It's kind of rough trying to teach so many different subjects to so many little ponies and deal with the other parts of our curriculum, y'know?"

"By which we mean the safe and practiced development of their innate magical abilities," Pedigree clarified. "The program supplements what would normally be simple physical education, but the nature of their training is a more delicate procedure and thus requires a delicate touch." He indicated for Curaçao to follow back towards the elevator. "Come, we'll show you."

As they boarded, Curaçao asked, "No troubles with their training, I hope?"

"A few little hiccups here and there with trying to figure out side effects of their abilities," Pedigree said, glancing at his datapad. "Some of them here and there have not yet displayed any powers, though I am hopeful they'll show some potential soon. Better that we push them now and figure it out rather than having a sudden, unctrolled outburst later on."

"Agreed," Curaçao noted, remembering from the dossiers that some of these little ponies had powers that could potentially be dangerous if not carefully accounted for. 

One colt, for example, apparently had inherited the ability to generate energy blasts from his eyes; if unfocused, he'd be a danger to anypony they came into contact with. This was the case for many of them: potential dangers to others as well as themselves. It broke her heart that they still had to treat these youths like weapon test subjects at times after all these months, but the safety of the colts and fillies was paramount.

The elevator only descended one floor, to the official testing facility, which was composed of a series of sealed rooms made up of see-through glass-like material that Pedigree called "starglass", which was supposedly extremely magic resistant; even the most powerful recorded unicorns in history had trouble even cracking it, the sisters' father included. Pedigree assured everypony that there had only been one recorded unicorn ever actually breaking starglass: Golden Dawn.

Dawn would never let anypony forget it.

There were six chambers on the floor, each of which currently contained a young colt or filly that seemed to be patiently awaiting the arrival of their instructors and caregivers. Curaçao assumed that the ponies not here in the training facility or upstairs in the learning facility were in their rooms on the three floors below, probably enjoying some freetime or doing homework.

"For today's tour, we chose at random from our students that had reached a satisfactory level of development," Pedigree said as he shuffled through his notes. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Velvet. "Or perhaps not at random, it seems. Miss Velvet made an adjustment to the schedule that I was unaware of."

Velvet nodded and grinned. "Yup." She leaned close to Curaçao. "Just a few of the 'first picks'. The ones we all named first, I mean. Like my little Caramel! I'm just so proud of him, y'know? He's gotten really good!"

Curaçao raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? Oh! Yes, I remember that you were attached to the little one, oui?"

"Sure am!"

"I've tried to dissuade Miss Velvet from taking favorites," Pedigree grunted as she unnecessarily straightened his tie. "It sends a poor message to the other students, in my opinion."

"Oh don't be such a grump, Pedigree," Velvet said, rolling her eyes. "I love all my students equally, and anypony that says otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about and can take a dive off the tower roof for all I care. I just think this kid's special since he's the first kid we got to see. Y'know, when you pushed him so hard he almost broke his nose?"

Pedigree frowned. "Yes, I remember. I truly am sorry—"

"Oh pshaw, I'm just giving you a hard time, I know you're sorry about it." Velvet smiled at Curaçao. "So, ready to meet today's trainees?"

Curaçao returned the smile and nodded. "Oui, commençons."

Pedigree and Velvet showed Curaçao over to the first of the training chambers, inside which was an earth pony colt with a light brown coat and a dark brown mane, with a touch of dark gray on his muzzle. He was wearing a form-fitting silver jumpsuit. As the trio of adults approached, he gave them a little smile and a wave; he seemed slightly nervous, but less so when Velvet returned the gesture.

"This is Caramel Rye, originally designated as SC Two-Eighteen, renamed by Miss Velvet," Pedigree said. He gave Velvet a brief look. "Incidentally, I'm going on record that I'm of the opinion that some of the names you and your sisters have chosen for these colts and fillies are rather silly or childish. Not at all befitting their nature."

Velvet harrumphed. "Oh? Why, what's wrong with Caramel Rye, huh? He likes it, that's all that should matter!"

"I just feel that names more suited to their talents and capabilities would have been more fitting."

"What would you have named him?"

"Well, considering his capability to weave in and out of shadows, perhaps Shadow Weaver might have been more appropriate."

Velvet rolled her eyes. "Oh my stars, what is with everypony and shadows, huh? Shadow Associate, Shadow Candidates, shadow this, shadow that. Did Daddy have an obsession with shadows or something? I mean, he even hired a secretary named Shroud!" she added. She then paused and glanced at Curaçao with an apologetic smile. "Uh, n-not that I'm making fun of your fillyfriend's name, sis."

Curaçao smiled inwardly, knowing full well that "Shroud" was just a codename given to every secretary their father had ever had, but Velvet's point still stood: Shroud was a goofy name and it did make their father sound a little obsessed with shadows.

"I suppose given the true nature of his position as Nihila's Warden, it makes sense to have named so many things after concepts related to darkness though, oui?" Curaçao asked, tapping her chin.

"Huh… yeah, I guess."

Pedigree glanced between them both. "I think I might be missing a key piece of information here that you're not going to tell me."

"Eh, it's on a need-to-know basis, bud, and you don't need to know," Velvet said, patting his cheek gently. "Also, 'Shadow Weaver'? Blech. Ridiculous. Drop the 'Shadow' and you might have something."

Pedigree snorted. "What, just 'Weaver'? Now that sounds ridiculous. Like something some desperate kids came up with in about five minutes."

"I dunno, it sounds kind of nice to me. Not as good as Caramel Rye, though." Velvet paused, then cleared her throat. "Wow, we, uh… went off on a tangent, didn't we?" She turned to Curaçao. "Sorry, sis."

"Ce n'est pas un problème," Curaçao giggled. "Please, carry on."

Pedigree cleared his throat. "I believe we have established this already with all of our students, Miss Curaçao, but for posterity's sake, I'll give you a refresher: Caramel Rye possesses an expression of Umbramancy magic which allows him to literally 'move' through shadows." 

He then directed his attention into the room. "Caramel, would you please demonstrate your abilities for Miss Curaçao here?"

As he said this, he pushed a button on the keypad near the door, which shut off the lights inside the room completely. He waited about five seconds, then turned the lights on again. 

Little Caramel Rye was no longer in the room.

"Boo!" came a voice from behind Curaçao.

She feigned surprise—young ponies were predictable enough that she figured he'd try something like this—and jumped ever so slightly. "Oh la la! Quelle surprise! You are a sneaky little colt, non?"

"Heh heh, sure am, Miss Curie," Caramel said with a grin.

Velvet giggled and pulled Caramel in for a hug. "You're getting so good at this, Caramel! I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks, Miss Velvet," the colt said, sounding only slightly embarrassed by the hug.

Pedigree ignored the display and continued talking to Curaçao. "The suit that Caramel is wearing, incidentally, was designed to counteract the side effect of his abilities, namely the severe and potentially-lethal drops in body temperature."

"Ah, yes, I remember that," Curaçao said with a nod. 

The last time she'd seen the colt use his abilities he'd been in severe pain afterwards. Dawn and Velvet had demanded measures be taken, and Pedigree had definitely delivered; Caramel seemed to be none the worse for wear. If anything he seemed rather comfortable.

"In anticipation of future growth spurts," Pedigree continued, "I have crafted the suit out of a flexible, form-fitting material that will grow with him. While more expensive initially, it will drastically save on costs over time; I anticipate a net savings of over two hundred thousand bits by the time he is of adult size, particularly as he is predicted to be above average in height and muscle density."

"Bravo, Overseer," Curaçcao said with a smile. She then looked elsewhere, towards the other five eagerly-waiting ponies, before turning back to Pedigree. "Shall we continue?"

"Indeed." Pedigree turned to Caramel. "Caramel, you may return to your room now, if you wish, or you may visit the upstairs leisure area so long as you do not disturb the coursework of the other students."

Caramel glanced between Pedigree and Velvet. "Can I stay and watch, Overseer? Please?"

"Sure you can, kiddo," Velvet said with a wide smile. "Curious to see what the other students can do?"

"A little bit, yeah," Caramel said, looking a little embarrassed. Curaçao could tell there was more to it than that; he'd developed a bond with her sister that genuinely melted her heart.

Furthermore, she was impressed with his social development. The last time she had spent time with the majority of these colts and fillies—nearly nine months ago—they were barely more than three years of age and only a few of them could speak well enough to carry on a real conversation; this was the result of Pedigree's former training regimen, which amounted to little more than simple commands and concepts and focused more on physical training.

The fact that Caramel was not only speaking clearly but also emoting properly astounded her. Curaçao wondered how many other students had progressed similarly, and how far some of them had come along.

"Well, moving on then," Pedigree said, shifting through his notes as he led the group over to the next chamber.

Inside was a unicorn colt with a peach-colored coat and a spiky orange-and-gold mane that looked sort of like a campfire. He was wearing a little brown jacket over a plaid shirt and sported a set of goggles with green-tinted lenses which looked more like overly-large glasses; not the snazziest of outfits, but he was just a young colt.

Velvet had insisted on letting the youngsters choose their own styles for now to see what kind of clothes they liked and how they wanted to touch up their manes and tails. Naturally, being a bunch of young colts and fillies, very few of them even came close to looking presentable. Eventually they'd all learn, but that was far from a priority right now, and wouldn't be for at least a few more years when the youngsters would be old enough to be given free reign of the tower.

Insipid would have a field day showing all these young ponies how to properly dress for their preferred "look".

"This is Sunspire, originally designated as SC Two-Oh-Seven, renamed by Miss Dawn," Pedigree stated. "His magic infusion has manifested as the ability to 'see' magical signatures. A rather unique expression of frankly commonplace magical ability, but effective nonetheless." He nodded into the chamber. "Hello, Sunspire."

"Hello, Overseer," the colt replied with a nod, briefly adjusting his goggles.

"His abilities don't seem dangerous," Curaçao noted. "Is there a need for him to be in the starglass chamber?"

"Not particularly, no, but we like to ensure that all of the students are treated equally to foster camaraderie," Pedigree said evenly. "Most of the students actually don't have abilities that present a danger to themselves or anypony else, but it seemed prudent to use the same facilities for everypony."

"Understandable," Curaçao said with a nod. She then turned to Sunspire. "So, you can 'see' magic?"

The colt nodded. "Yes, Ma'am. All magic has, uh… a 'light'. That's what it looks like to me."

"Oui, unicorns' horns do glow when they utilize magical spells."

"Uh-huh, but, um… so do the other students when they use their magic." Sunspire pointed at Caramel, who gave him a little wave. "When Caramel goes into the shadowy place, I can still see him moving."

"Really? Interesting. Even Dawn wasn't able to notice where he was when he was moving about," Curaçao noted. "Can you see any magic around us now? I am curious."

He lifted his goggles briefly. "Yup. I can see a little shininess on your coat, Miss Curie. You used magic earlier today." That confused him. "But… you're not a unicorn…"

Curaçao blinked. "Ah, oui, I have special abilities like your classmates do. I have been using it all morning. You can tell?"

"Uh-huh. But, um… it's going away now. I can't see it anymore."

"He's likely picking up on the residual magic particles leftover from your transformations," Pedigree explained. "In the initial stages of the project, before the transition, I had anticipated his potential use as a tracker. With training, he'd be able to sniff out a unicorn's magic no matter how they tried to escape him."

"Well, thankfully we are not using him for such a purpose anymore, hmm?" huffed Velvet. "He'll make the decision on how he wants to use his abilities."

"Naturally."

Curaçao then gestured to the colt's eyes. "Do the goggles help him use his ability?"

Sunspire shook his head. "They don't help with my powers, no. They help when I'm not using them."

"Hmm?"

"Sunspire's ability to 'see' magic is something he can't 'turn off', so to speak," Pedigree said. "The goggles allow him to see normally while wearing them, essentially filtering out the magical signatures around him. I learned early on that constant use of his abilities causes minor to severe cephalgia. Er, headaches."

"So they do work similarly to glasses, in a manner of speaking." Curaçao smiled at the young colt. "I believe my sister Dawn would very much enjoy working with somepony with that sort of ability. She is fascinated with magic, you see. Do you like magic, Sunspire?"

The colt smiled back. "Uh-huh. Is your sister nice? I only ever met her once, and she seemed nice."

Curaçao hesitated briefly, deciding on how best to twist her next words. "She is… dedicated to her work, and has good relationships with those who show that same dedication. So if you work hard, she will very much appreciate that."

Velvet leaned over and whispered, "Nice save."

"Merci," Curaçao whispered back. She turned to Pedigree and nodded. "I don't think that any further demonstration will be needed, Overseer."

"Very well," Pedigree replied. He turned to Sunspire and opened the door to the chamber. "Sunspire, you may return to your room now, if you wish, or you may visit the upstairs leisure area so long as you do not disturb the coursework of the other students."

"Oh boy! I'm gonna finish reading that book Miss Velvet gave me," Sunspire said as he ran off towards the elevator.

Curaçao watched the colt run off, then turned to Velvet. "Book?"

Velvet nodded. "Oh yeah, that little guy likes reading like you wouldn't believe, and he's reading above his age level. I don't think it even matters what it's about, honestly. I thought I'd test it out by giving him a book about professional wrestling, y'know, to see if he was a snooty snob like Dawn is?" 

"Oh?"

Velvet shook her head and laughed. "He's eating it up. Asked me yesterday if we had more."

"Huh. Quel enfant particulier."

"Moving on," said Pedigree, leading them to the next chamber.

In this one was a unicorn filly with a creamy brown coat and a long, bright pink mane that she'd accessorized with a wild assortment of mane clips, the largest being a pair of star-shaped ones near her ears. She wore a simple, frilly blue  blouse. Unlike the two colts thus far, she wasn't just sitting still and waiting her turn, but moving about the room like she was trying to dance. "Trying" being the operative word; she was… enthusiastic, but unskilled.

"Ahem," coughed Pedigree to get the filly's attention, causing her to stumble. 

She then immediately sat up straight and looked at the adults—and Caramel—with wide eyes.

"This is Razzle Dazzle, originally designated as SC Two-Twenty-One, renamed by Miss Insipid," Pedigree explained. "She received an infusion of Mesermancy magic, which is… well, I think it's better if Miss Dazzle demonstrates." He turned to the filly. "Miss Dazzle, is there anything we can get for you?"

The little filly tapped her chin briefly, then gasped and pointed at Curaçao's beret. "Can I have that hat? It looks really pretty. Please?"

Curaçao, without hesitation, took her beret off her head. "Absolument, ma petite tarte mignonne," she said. She turned to Pedigree and gestured for him to open the door. "Well? What are you waiting for? Let me give it to her."

Pedigree chuckled lightly and shook his head. "You don't really want to give her your hat, do you Miss Curaçao?"

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I? She asked so nicely."

Velvet chuckled and took the beret from Curaçao and put it back on her head. "That's Razzle's power, Curie. It's hard to really explain it, so like, the best we've come up with is that she is just really charming. A total cutie pie that can get you to do whatever she wants just by asking super nicely."

Curaçao blinked, then glanced at Razzle briefly before touching her beret. "So… that was her influencing my mind?"

"Yup!" Razzle said with a big smile. "I really do like your hat, Miss, but I think it's probably too big for me. Maybe I can get one just like it someday."

"I'm sure we can make that happen, can't we?" Curaçao asked Velvet—who was still giggling quietly—and Pedigree. She then paused and looked back at Razzle. "Sacré bleu! That really is an impressive ability." She turned briefly to Velvet and Pedigree again. "And concerning. But why are you two not affected?"

"We learned early on that her ability has a key weakness: it only works on you if you don't know she's using it on you," Pedigree said with a nod as he looked over his notes. "As Miss Velvet and I are acutely aware of her power set by now, we've developed an immunity. It might take time for you or anypony else to do the same, but it will happen over time."

"So long as I am aware of the possibility?"

"Correct. Fascinating, isn't it?"

Curaçao nodded, running her tongue under her lips. The ramifications of such an ability were tremendous from a political or business standpoint. It was lucky that she and her sisters had made a pact to prevent these little ponies from ever being used or abused in any way; somepony could use powers like this for truly evil acts. Razzle included; she'd need to receive proper guidance in ethics as she grew older.

"I think we've gotten our point across," Pedigree said. He then turned to Razzle and opened the door to her chamber. "Miss Dazzle, you may return to your room now, if you wish, or you may visit the upstairs leisure area so long as you do not disturb the coursework of the other students."

"Can I use the big TV in the upstairs room?" she asked as she left the chamber. "I wanna watch Prettiest Princess Adventures!"

"The other students are currently watching an educational program," Pedigree said, shaking his head. "If nopony is using the smaller television, though, you might be able to watch it there."

"But I wanna watch it on the big screen!" Razzle's eyes widened like a puppy's, and Curaçao found her heart beginning to crack. "Please?"

Velvet cleared her throat and gave Razzle a look. "Razzle, what did we say about this? Hmm?"

Razzle pouted and sat back on her haunches. "That 'no' means 'no'…"

"Very good. It's an important lesson that you should remember all through life, okay? Taking advantage of others is wrong." Velvet ushered Razzle off gently with her hoof. "Now go on and see if you can use one of the smaller TVs."

"Okay, Miss Velvet…" She then waved at Curaçao. "Nice to see you again, Miss Curie."

Curaçao smiled and nodded. "Likewise, Miss Dazzle." As the little filly stormed off and boarded the elevator, Curaçao turned to Velvet, hoof to her temple. "Je suis impressionné! I wanted to step in and demand that you let that little filly use the big TV to watch her cartoons."

"Believe me, it's not easy. I mean, it's not just her powers that make it hard to say 'no', y'know?" Velvet said with a happy sigh. "She's just the cutest little thing! Did you see those puppy dog eyes! I thought Insipid gave good puppy dog eyes, but that Razzle, she's got our sister beat."

"Incidentally," Pedigree interjected, "Miss Dawn asked us to designate roles for the 'mentorship' program that she envisioned, wherein one of you would assign yourselves to some of the students for personal training and education once they're old enough."

Curaçao raised an eyebrow. "Dawn never mentioned this to me."

"She didn't?" Velvet asked, head tilted. "Typical. Well, Pedigree and I agreed to it, at any rate. Dawn suggested it, but I put a little bit more thought into it than she did."

"Go on, I'm listening." 

"So, I figure that in a few years, it might be a good idea if we take some of these youngsters under our wings directly, teach them a few things and help them develop socially, y'know? Pedigree and I only set up the curriculum to educate them and train them in using their powers."

"And they need to develop other skills that would be allowed to any colt or filly in the civilian educational system," Pedigree said. "We'd consider them extracurriculars and they'd be based on life skills rather than formal education."

"Cooking, acting, movies, fashion, sports, comic books, music, and whatever else we can think of!" Velvet finished with a big, big grin.

"Well, that sounds like a wonderful idea," Curaçao said with a smile. "I must commend Dawn—"

"Uh, no, Dawn wanted to do it so that we can single out which of the kids are better suited for certain tasks. Her concern was more 'career training', y'know?" Velvet said, rolling her eyes. "I made sure that there was a social aspect to it, too, and that they have a choice in what they want to be when they grow up. We cannot have these kids growing up like her, now, can we?"

Curaçao nodded just so, remembering well how Dawn had reacted to Gray's "attitude" a few days ago. "Agreed. But why bring that up now?"

"Oh, because we actually figured Insipid would be an ideal choice to mentor Razzle," Velvet said matter-of-factly. "Some of the other kids, too, of course. It wouldn't be a one-on-one mentorship. Probably teach them all about fashion trends or something, if there's interest in it."

Curaçao blinked. "Are you… sure that's a good idea? Specifically for Razzle?"

"I know what you're thinking: 'wouldn't Insipid tank the economy by buying that little filly everything she wants?'" Velvet said. She then tapped her head. "On the contrary, I think Insipid has the exact right kind of personality to be able to say 'no' and teach Razzle how to keep her powers in check. 

"Think about it: Insipid can pretty much get whatever she wants, right? She's got the money, the body, the charm, everything. Despite all that, she works for a living, and she loves what she does. I know you haven't gotten to see her much lately, but I have, and lemme tell ya, you'll agree with me once you do."

"Huh… well, far be it from me to judge your decisions, Velvet. This is your project, and I think you know what you're doing," Curaçao said with a smile. 

"Aww, thanks, sis, that means a lot."

"Moving on," Pedigree coughed, moving past the two sisters towards the next chamber.

Inside was a pegasus filly with an ash-colored coat and hot pink mane, which somepony—probably the filly herself—had cut into the vague approximation of a mohawk. She wasn't dressed in much besides a jacket that she wasn't even wearing properly; her legs weren't in the sleeves. She also had a large pair of fuzzy earmuffs over her ears. She seemed to be taking a nap.

"Rebel Noise, originally designated as SC Two-Thirty-One, renamed by Miss Havoc," said Pedigree; Curaçao noticed he was speaking a little more softly than usual. "The magic she's been infused with has granted her a command of Audiomancy, specifically manifesting as the ability to generate sonic blasts with her voice."

"Hence the name," Velvet said with a sagely nod, also speaking quietly. "Havoc's names are kind of on-the-nose, just the way Pedigree likes them."

"A little unrefined for my tastes, but she certainly did encapsulate their power sets in their names, yes," Pedigree huffed.

"Why are we speaking quietly?" Curaçao asked, following along.

"As noted, all of the students' powers come either with some manner of drawback or weakness," Pedigree stated. "Some of them are mundane enough to escape notice, or might just be superficial. We haven't discovered them all yet, actually," he said, sounding concerned. He gestured towards Rebel. "Miss Noise's Audiomancy infusion came with an unfortunate feedback loop. She has sensitive hearing. Very sensitive."

"Hence the earmuffs," Velvet noted.

"Oddly enough, she is unaffected by her own abilities, but reacts poorly to the noises generated by others." Pedigree adjusted his tie briefly. "I've been working on some method of filtering noise properly so that she can still hear normally, but it's… a complex problem. I'm still working on it."

Velvet shrugged, looking a little disappointed. "We've kind of settled on the earmuffs for now, same like we did for Sunspire's goggles. I'm working on getting somepony to teach her wing language, too, since I know Gray and Havoc aren't totally fluent. Just temporary fixes to hopefully-not-permanent problems."

"Actually, I could help with teaching her, if that is something you think will help," Curaçao said."

"You know wing language, sis?" Velvet asked, genuinely surprised.

Curaçao chuckled. "Ma sœur, I am fluent in eight different languages, including pegasus wing language, and possess a fundamental understanding of three others which I am slowly getting better with. If you wish to have any language teachers for your curriculum, you only need to ask."

Velvet nodded rapidly, a big grin on her face. "You're the best, sis. I'll take you up on that."

"So, does Miss Noise here like to nap a lot?" Curaçao asked with a grin.

"Yeah. I've caught her sleeping in class a few times, too," Velvet said. "She's barely met Havoc more than a few times, but I think you're looking at her biggest fan right here. She watches recordings of that championship game all the time. She tuckers herself out practicing flying around like Havoc." She let out a breath, feigning exhaustion. "Not easy taking care of a kid that won't sit still."

"Well, it was a good game," Curaçao said. She cleared her throat gently. "I think I'd feel bad waking her up for a demonstration, to tell the truth."

"Naw, that's fair. To be honest, it's probably for the best: the starglass is magic resistant, not soundproof."

"Correct. It would block a majority of the magically-generated sound waves, but we'd still hear enough of it to require protective ear coverings ourselves to prevent potential injury," Pedigree stated. "I have them with me, if you change your mind later."

"I'll consider it," Curaçao said with a nod. "Let's let her rest for now, hmm?"

"Moving on, then," Pedigree said as he led them towards the next chamber.

Inside this one was an earth pony colt, his coat and mane slightly different shades of bright green. He wore a simple long-sleeved jacket and nothing else, but he at least wore it properly. He was sitting attentively while he waited for the adults to reach his chamber, and if anything seemed a little shy. Also in the room with him was a large concrete block; he was the only pony with anything in the chamber other than himself and his clothes.

"This is Green Guard, originally designated as SC Two-Eleven, renamed by Miss Skies," Pedigree stated, no longer whispering. "The magic infusion has gifted him with enhanced strength and stamina, well beyond that of our other students, which I remind you were all engineered with peak physical and mental capabilities in mind."

"Gray named her portion of the kids after their colors," Velvet whispered with a little grin. "Very straightforward, kind of like herself, right? We all kind of have this little theme going."

"As I recall, you named your selection after foods," Curaçao noted. "Also like yourself, hmm?"

"Yeah yeah yeah."

"Hello, Green," Pedigree said with a nod, which was silently returned. "Could you show us a demonstration of your strength, please?"

The colt nodded, then looked at the concrete block, drew back his hoof, and with a single strike he shattered it into pieces. It hadn't looked like he'd even put a lot of effort into it, nor did he seem to be in any pain or discomfort afterwards.

"Impressive," Curaçao said with a nod. "He did not even strike at the weaker points within the brick to make it easier on himself." She smiled at the colt and gave him a little nod. "Well done."

He nodded back without a word, and with hardly so much as a smile.

"He's a quiet one," Velvet whispered. "Prefers to keep to himself a lot, doesn't interact much with the others. I think he just needs to break out of his shell, that's all. I mean, a lot of these kids do, but some more than others."

"Does he have any sort of 'drawbacks' like the others do?" Curaçao asked.

Pedigree nodded. "A mundane one, yes: he's completely colorblind, monochromacy. He can only see in shades of gray."

"Ah, I see. Not to disparage his unfortunate handicap, but it sounds as though some of the students did not suffer as drastic drawbacks as others."

"That's quite true, and likely has to do with how well their bodies absorbed the magical infusions, which really came down to matters of chance. As you know, the vast majority of the youths… did not survive the process," Pedigree quietly reminded her, tugging at his collar. "A tragedy, to be sure."

Curaçao frowned and nodded; Velvet did the same, hanging her head. "Oui, une tragédie."

Pedigree opened the door to the chamber and gestured for Green to exit. "Green, you may return to your room now, if you wish, or you may visit the upstairs leisure area so long as you do not disturb the coursework of the other students."

Green gave a nod and then walked past the adults towards the elevator, though Curaçao did notice him glancing back in their direction as he went. He was a quiet one, to be sure, but she could tell he was also a curious sort.

"Moving on now to the last student of the morning," Pedigree said as he led them towards the last chamber.

Inside was a golden brown pegasus filly with a curly strawberry-colored mane. She was dressed in a cute little black blouse and a matching, small-sized hat suitable for a tea party; very fancy for a filly her age. As the adults approached, the filly leapt to attention and gave a little smile and a wave, particularly at Curaçao, which was returned just as eagerly.

"Marée de Rêve, originally designated as SC Two-Twenty-Two, renamed by, well, you, Miss Curaçao," Pedigree said as he skimmed his notes. 

Curaçao smiled inwardly. All of the colts and fillies she'd named had names like hers: exotic and pleasing to the ear. Marée's name in Romantique translated more literally as "Dream Tide". There was a tangential connection to her inherited powers there, but not so on-the-nose as Havoc's choices were.

"Marée's magical infusion manifested as an expression of Illusiomancy," Pedigree continued. "Specifically an odd expression of the traditional concept of illusory images. Such images look undeniably realistic to the eye, but are intangible, similar to a hologram. Marée is capable of manifesting that trait in her own physical body, making herself fully intangible, yet still visible to the eye."

Curaçao nodded; she didn't need as much of a refresher for Marée, but was glad for it nonetheless. She gave the little filly a smile. "Hello, Marée. How are you doing today?"

"Great, Miss Curie!" said Marée with a grin. "How are you?"

"Very well, Marée, merci. Are you up for a demonstration for us?"

"Sure thing! Watch this!" Marée walked right up to the wall of the chamber, took a deep breath, bit down on her tongue in concentration, and slowly pressed her hoof against the wall. Though it took a few moments, her hoof phased straight through it without any trouble at all. "See? Look!"

"Bravo, Marée, bravo," Curaçao said, stamping her hoof with approval. She briefly turned to Pedigree. "Overseer, I thought these chambers were magic-resistant? How can she phase through them?"

"They're resistant to magically-generated force, Miss Curaçao," Pedigree said with a nod. "A magical energy blast or something to that effect would be nullified or significantly reduced in effectiveness. It doesn't outright nullify magic; there isn't a substance in Equestria that can do that that we know of. The closest to it is the metal obidium, but that still responds to magic to some degree."

"As long as it keeps the students safe, then, that's all that matters." Curaçao smiled and nodded at Marée. "You're coming along well with your training, chérie. How about your schooling, hmm?"

"I did all my homework for tomorrow," Marée said with a grin and a satisfied nod, popping her hoof in and out through the wall rapidly and swirling it around.

"Très bon! You are a responsible filly, non?" Curaçao nodded at Pedigree. "Well, I'm satisfied with the demonstrations. I think we can let Marée go for the day, Overseer. I'll need to speak further with you and Velvet on your progress before lunch, hmm?"

Pedigree nodded, then opened the door to the chamber. "Miss Marée, you may return to your room now, if you wish, or you may visit the upstairs leisure area so long as you do not disturb the coursework of the other students."

"Yippee!" Marée cheered, leaping into the air and fluttering her wings.

To Curaçao's surprise, the filly didn't float so much as almost immediately plummeted right back down, as though she'd simply jumped and forgotten to fly. Instead of landing on the floor, however, she phased right through it, much as she'd been demonstrating with the wall.

"Aiiee!" the filly screeched as she tumbled out of sight.

"Oww! What's goin' on?!" shouted the filly, Rebel, from her chamber behind the adults.

And thus Curaçao got a demonstration of that filly's sonic powers, for her shout was so loud and potent that it tore through the chamber and shook the walls ever-so-slightly. It was loud enough that she, Velvet, Pedigree, and Caramel each had to cover their ears to prevent any further pain. Curaçao hated to think what it would've sounded like had they been right next to her chamber, or if these chambers didn't resist the magical output.

Velvet recovered most quickly and hustled over to Rebel's chamber to calm her down; Curaçao's ears were still ringing so she couldn't hear anything just yet and had to shake off the sensation. It was as though she'd been standing too close to an explosion or had somepony blaring a bullhorn in her ears.

Once she could hear properly again, she turned to Pedigree, who was also in the midst of recovering, as well as dejectedly picking up pieces of glass from the screen of his datapad. A glance down at Caramel told Curaçao that he'd been affected too, and he looked to be on the verge of crying.

"What just happened?" she asked Pedigree, more than a little cross. "I thought Marée's training was doing well enough to avoid accidents like this?"

"Ah, it has been, yes, but Marée sometimes forgets her limitations," Pedigree said, running a hoof in his ear. "An unintended drawback to her powers is that she cannot fly while using them. A severe handicap until she can learn to overcome it, but we've had little luck so far. I've tried to tell her not to try doing both at the same time, but—"

"But when she got excited… merde. She lost focus." 

Curaçao walked into the chamber, where the only signs left of Marée were her clothes, which obviously weren't as intangible as she was. She'd speak with Pedigree about developing a suit that would duplicate the filly's magic to phase through things alongside her, much as her own suit—his design, incidentally—shifted shape when she did.

"We need to find her," she said, stepping out of the chamber and moving towards the elevator. "She fell down through the floor, so hopefully she hasn't gone far. Is there any failsafe in place to prevent her from falling through the entire tower? Tell me there is."

Pedigree tugged his collar. "There is. She'll either be on one of the dormitory levels or the supply depository level. The entire facility was carefully coated with enchantments courtesy of Miss Dawn herself to ensure that no magical energies could leave the facility, to prevent accidents and potential damage to the tower's structure."

"Then we'll split up. You take the level immediately below us, and I'll take the one below that." 

She turned to Velvet as she walked by; her sister was currently making sure Rebel was calm and collected. "Velvet, can you take the floor below mine?" she spoke via their telepathic bond.

"Sure thing, sis," Velvet said aloud, but quietly, with a nod. "That's Rebel's dorm floor anyway, I'll take her back to her room while I'm there."

Caramel leapt up and down next to Velvet. "Ooh, Miss Velvet, can I help? I wanna help. Please?"

Velvet considered Caramel for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "You're a good kid, you know that? Sure you can help. Do you think you can handle the supply room?"

"I can do that!" Caramel said with an excited jump.

Rebel groaned at the sudden exclamation. "Stop being so loud, Caramel, sheesh…"

Caramel put a hoof to his lips. "Oops. Sorry, Rebel." He then smiled at Velvet, and in an exaggerated whisper, repeated, "I can do that."

Velvet smiled and tousled his mane. "Go on then, kiddo, I'll be right behind ya."

Caramel hustled to catch up to Curaçao and Pedigree as they boarded the elevator, giving Curaçao a smile and a nod. She smirked and returned the nod, glad to see Velvet was having such a positive influence on these kids already. 

She knew it had been a good idea to be… insistent with Dawn that Velvet be given this responsibility.


*****


Caramel had been down to the supply floor a few times before. All of his classmates had to know where everything was, just in case they needed something. Miss Velvet had started giving the students chores in the past month, which nopony really liked, but everypony loved Miss Velvet anyway even if she made them clean their rooms and tidy up when they made messes.

He checked into the different supply rooms one after the other in his search for Marée, but so far hadn't found anything, or anypony. At least not until he reached the bathroom supply closet, where they kept all the towels and toilet paper and other stuff needed to keep the dorm bathrooms clean and well-stocked. They all had to share, after all, and so they all needed to treat them right.

At first, Caramel just glanced inside and did a quick once-over, and prepared to leave when he didn't see anything strange. He could save time by not turning on the lights, because he found that he could see in the dark a lot better than his classmates could. 

Sometimes it hurt his eyes to try and Overseer Pedigree scolded him for not wearing his suit's protective goggles, but he was getting better at remembering to put them on. He didn't have them now, of course, so it was a little uncomfortable, but finding his classmate was more important.

Just before he closed the door to the room, though, he heard a thunk and saw a hint of movement in the back of the room. So he headed inside instead, creeping carefully just in case it wasn't Marée, but a stranger—Miss Velvet made sure everypony knew not to talk to strangers if she wasn't around, even if they seemed nice.

But it was Marée. Or at least, her butt, which was sticking out of a basket of clean towels for anypony to see, which made her look pretty silly. She was kicking and trying to get herself out of it, but wasn't having any luck. It didn't seem to Caramel as if it should be so hard to get out, but she was probably scared and making it harder for herself.

"Marée? Are you okay?" he asked carefully.

The sudden noise made her jump and bump the basket into a nearby shelf, whereupon it rolled away. She groaned from inside but stopped moving now. "Caramel? Is that you?" she asked, her voice muffled.

"Yup! Do you need a hoof?"

"Please?"

He hopped over and grabbed hold of her hindlegs, then carefully tugged until she popped out of the basket safely. Her head was wrapped up in a towel, but now that her hooves were free she could easily unwrap it and take a big breath. Caramel took one too, relieved that his classmate was okay. She smelled like fresh linen, which was nice.

"Thanks," she said, sounding more than a little disappointed.

"You're welcome," he replied. 

He noticed the sad look on her face, mainly that her eyes were a little red and her cheeks a little wet. She'd been crying. So he slowly sat down next to her and set a hoof on her shoulder; Miss Velvet taught him and all the other students that when a friend looked like they were hurt or scared that you should do what you could to help them, no matter what. She said it was one of the most important lessons she'd ever learned in her life.

"What's wrong?" he asked, being as calm and polite as he could.

"I was so happy to see Miss Curie and then I went and messed up…" Marée muttered, kicking the towel hamper away as if it were responsible. "She probably thinks I'm a stupid dummy…"

"No she doesn't," Caramel reassured her, giving her a big grin. "We all mess up sometimes. Miss Curie will just be glad you're okay."

"You think so?"

"Sure! She's Miss Velvet's big sister, and Miss Velvet is the bestest, nicest pony there is, so her sisters have gotta be pretty nice too, right?"

Marée sniffed and nodded, giving Caramel a small smile. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

"Are you okay, though? You were crying…"

"Yeah… I just got kinda scared. I never fell like that before, and I couldn't focus right like the Overseer taught me. I couldn't even get out of that dumb hamper without you helping me…"

"It'll be okay, Marée. You'll get better with practice! Did I ever tell you how I hit my nose when I first started practicing?"

"No?"

"Yeah! I think the Overseer was pushing me to do better, but I wasn't really ready for it and I bumped right into a wall!"

"Were you okay?"

"It hurt a lot," he said, not quite remembering exactly how much it had hurt, but knowing that it did. "But I met Miss Velvet after that and then everything felt fine! And we all got to meet her and her sisters and they gave us names, remember?"

Marée smiled and nodded. "I remember. That was a pretty good day. Miss Curie was very nice to me and the others." She giggled briefly. "You know it took me three days to learn how to say my new name?"

He smiled widely. "Wow, that's really good! I heard it took Lumière five! He still forgets to put that little thing above the 'e' when he writes his name on homework."

She laughed again. He liked it when she laughed.

Caramel stood up and offered her a hoof to help her up. "C'mon, let's go find Miss Curie and let her know you're okay."

She smiled and accepted his help. "Thanks, Caramel…" She wrapped a towel around herself—Caramel had only just realized she didn't have any clothes on, and Miss Velvet said they had to have clothes on all the time!—and gestured towards the door. "Let's go!"

The two walked back to the elevator, which opened just as they were approaching. The adults were much faster at searching through the dorm rooms.

Miss Curie beamed when she saw the pair. "Marée! Thank the stars. I am so glad to see you're safe," she said, approaching and checking to see that Marée was alright. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Marée shook her head. "I bumped my nose when I came in through the supply room," she said, rubbing her nose. "I landed in a hamper."

"Oh dear. Well, we'll just have to get that booboo taken care of, won't we?" Miss Curie said with a teasing grin.

"I'm sorry I messed up, Miss Curie…" Marée muttered.

"Oh non, non non non, you do not need to worry about that, chérie. You are still learning. Everypony makes mistakes when they are young, oui? You will only get better with time." She pulled Marée in for a little hug.

Miss Velvet quietly scooched up next to Caramel and abruptly tousled his mane. "Good job finding her, Caramel," she giggled. "You're a regular hero."

Caramel beamed up at her. "Thanks, Miss Velvet! Happy to help!"

He then glanced at Marée as she and Miss Curie broke their hug, and they smiled at one another in that brief moment. Caramel wasn't sure why, but he was really, really happy that everything had turned out okay and that he'd found Marée. He hoped that maybe after this, they could be friends. He'd like that very much.