//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: Flash Sentry Chronicles: School's in Session 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

Flash was really taking his own lessons about courage to heart as he watched the five other species' leaders rush into the throne room with fury on their faces. One wrong word said by any of them, and all-out war was gonna break out...and Flash knew it was gonna be their fault.

"WHERE YONA?!" Rutherford roared as he reached the throne first.

Celestia was about to speak up, but Ember then interrupted, "You're pretty quick to blame them!" She pointed at Rutherford, who turned to glare at her as they locked heads to push. "What are you hiding, yak?!" Rutherford snorted at this, while Thorax stepped over to try and separate them.

"C-Can we just focus on finding our lost students?"

"Nice try!" Grampa Gruff growled at him, "You grubs are probably hidin' the whole lot of 'em!"

"Please, every-creature!" They turned to Celestia chimed in, "If you can just explain what happened-"

Seaspray stepped up next, "The students left us notes before they disappeared. When the school closed, they didn't want to say goodbye to each other and they claim they ran away to stay together."

Hearing these words, Twilight gasped. "I can't believe it! They did learn friendship!" She shined a smile at this, only for the leaders to glare at her. "Oh...right. Sorry."

"The students couldn't have done this by themselves," Seaspray continued before glaring back at the others. "Some creature is hiding them!" The others now glared at him, the hippogriff growling, "If the niece of our queen is not found soon, I promise there will be retribution!"

"Oh yeah?!" Ember barked back, "Well, my dragons will burn every kingdom until we find which of you is hiding Smolder!"

"Tell it to the griffon army!" Gruff yelled, looking ready to start boxing.

"Yaks fight griffons and dragons!" He then turned to Springer, whose arms were currently crossed watching. "You! Doggy thing! You had students at school! Yak see Yona with them when school closed!"

"Yeah," Springer nodded, "But Ace and Mira aren't missing."

"How can you be sure?" Ember asked, "When was the last time you saw them?"

"This morning," Springer instantly replied.

"Oh," Gruff grumbled, "So then maybe they're the ones hiding Gallus! What, did they tie him up and lock him in that big castle you have?!"

"Hey! I resent that!" Springer growled, Luna quickly flying over to him.

"Calm yourself," she told him before turning to Gruff. "I assure you, Ace and Mira wouldn't do such a thing. Jakhowls are a peaceful race. Kidnapping is beneath them."

Springer nodded, still looking upset as Thorax chimed in, "The Changeling Empire can't afford an international incident. If any creature blames the changelings for this-"

"What are you up to, shapeshifter?!" Ember pointed at him, making Thorax look heartbroken.

"B-But we're friends!" This didn't stop Ember from glaring at him, the leaders now bickering amongst themselves.

As this happens, Celestia quickly leaned over to Flash and Twilight, "Find the students quickly Twilight, or I fear our world will be at war!" Twilight didn't need to be told twice as she and Flash took flight, shooting toward the exit out of throne room with Spike jumping on her back. Flash glanced back at Springer and saw he was still trying to convince some of the leaders of Ace and Mira's innocence, Flash hoping the two young cubs really weren't involved in this situation.

"So what's the plan?" He asked Twilight as they quickly made their way to the Rune Gate, but she didn't say anything. "You do have a plan, right?"

"Honestly...I have no idea what we're gonna do." They then activated the Rune Gate, instantly traveling back to Ponyville. In a flash, they were in their castle and marching through the halls, only for Heart, Soul and Starlight to spot them.

"Hey!" Starlight waved, "How'd things go in Canterlot?"

"Horrible!" Twilight responded, "If we don't do something, war could break out!"

The three's eyes went wide at this. "Because of a school?!" Heart yelped, Twilight shaking her head and explaining the situation. "Okay, that doesn't sound good. We gotta find them."

"But we don't know where they are," Soul added.

"Let's get the others first and see what we can figure out," Twilight sighed, the others nodding as they split up, Twilight, Soul and Starlight going to get Fluttershy and Rarity while Flash and Heart headed off to find Rainbow and Applejack.

"You'd tell me if you knew anything about this, right?" He asked his student, who shook his head furiously.

"I would, I swear it. The only non-pony students I've seen since the school closed are Ace and Mira. Although...those two have been acting weird over the last few days."

"Okay...let's just go find Rainbow and Applejack."

They found the pair at the train station, not looking happy about the whole situation. He quickly explained the problem and the pair looked shocked, the four then going to Sugarcube Corner. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Soul and Starlight were already there, with Pinkie having gotten back before all of them.

"Okay..." Twilight stated as Flash and the girls sat down. "Let's review what we know." They all turned to Spike, who had somehow made a chart with the five missing student's face and names on it.

The dragon pointed at each face as he lifted them all. "Smolder, Ocellus, Silverstream, Yona, and Gallus disappeared together." He turned to the others, who were expecting more, while Twilight told him to keep going. "That's all we know."

"They're probably just off hidin' somewhere," Applejack commented.

Starlight grimaced at this, "Unless they used some kind of spell to disappear."

"None of them have any magic except Ocellus," Flash pointed out, "Do you really think she would know something like that?" Starlight shrugged back, making Flash shake his head, "I'm with Applejack. They're hiding somewhere they think we won't be able to find them."

"Ooh!" Rainbow raised her hoof, "Or they went undercover!"

"Maybe they were attacked by a ferocious shrimp!" Pinkie gasped as she turned to Fluttershy, "Nopony ever expects that!"

The pegasus blinked at her, "Shrimps can attack?"

"Nope! That's why nopony expects it."

"Can we focus please?" Soul asked Pinkie, "I really don't want to have to live through a war...again, if I can help it."

The others grimaced at this, and before they could start thinking of actual solutions, the store's bell rang as somepony stepped inside. It was Sandbar, who trotted inside with an order slip in his mouth. But as he walked in, his eyes saw the chart with the other student's names on it, making him go wide-eyed as his slip almost fell out of his mouth. The others turned to him and he blushed, slowly making his way to the counter with an awkward smile.

"Hi, Sandbar!" Pinkie appeared behind the counter and grabbed the slip he had just put down, running into the kitchen and returning a moment later with a bunch of boxes. "Are you having a party?"

"No!" He yelped, "I'm just uh..." Sweat started pouring down his face, "Really hungry? Yeah...really hungry!" Pinkie gave him a smile as he headed for the door, hearing the others talking.

"We need to think like our students," Rarity commented as the shaking earth pony teen accidently dropped several cupcakes while Pinkie opened the door for him. "If someone told us we would never see each other again, what would we do?"

"Go someplace we could all hang out and eat lots and lots of cupcakes!" The others turned to Pinkie, who shrugged. "What?"

"She might have a point," Flash nodded, "Though maybe with less cupcakes."

As he said that, Fluttershy thought about what they just saw. "Sandbar was friends with all of the missing students...and he just got plenty of cupcakes."

"Huh," Applejack added, "He was at the farm this mornin' pickin' up a wagonload of apples..."

"And I saw him in a shop buying pillows and blankets!"

Rainbow gasped, "He must be taking all that stuff to the other students! We've gotta follow him!" The others nodded and ran for the door, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie all getting stuck in the door thanks to their haste.

"Err...girls?" Flash spoke up as they finally pushed themselves free and splatted onto the ground outside. "I get you don't wanna lose him, but if he sees us acting like that, he might realize we're onto him."

"Flash is right," Twilight nodded as the rest stepped outside. "This mission...requires stealth."

"I wonder where he's going," Heart asked as he flew up, "Ponyville's not that big, and we would have known that a yak and dragon was hiding here."

Soul hummed as she joined him in the air, "Is there someplace around here that not a lot of ponies go too?"

The older ones all heard this and slowly went wide-eyed as Twilight did a small gulp, "Oh dear..."





The Castle of the Two Sisters hadn't had any visitors in a long while, but now the place was alive with excitement as Gallus flew around, laughing his head off before diving down through a hole in the roof. Inside, Ace and Mira were sliding down banisters while Smolder was eating the gems off of some of the old armor. Silverstream and Yona were wandering around, and Ocellus was sitting on some of the steps, surrounded by books.

"Huh," Gallus chuckled, "This place is way cooler than I thought it'd be." Silverstream nodded as Yona ran down the stairs, only to trip on her braid and fall the rest of the way. She didn't let this get her down however, smiling as Ace and Mira slid down the banisters and landed on top of her.

The three laughed as Smolder kept eating, "Even I'm impressed. What's it called again, Ocellus?"

"The Castle of the Two Sisters," the Changling smirked. "I remembered it from class. Princess Twilight's 'History of Pre-Equestrian Friendships.'"

"Yeah," Mira leapt off Yona. "I remember Springer telling Ace and I about this place. Apparently, there's a cave under it that houses the Tree of Harmony."

"That sounds familiar," Gallus raised an eyebrow as Ocellus smiled.

"It was another lesson Princess Twilight told us about. The Pillars of Equestria planted a crystal seed that grew into a tree with the powers of the seven Elements of Harmony."

"Huh," Gallus landed on the steps behind her, "Who knew? School was actually good for something."

"Yona not really like school," the yak grumbled as she stood up. She then smiled and grabbed them all, pulling them into a tight hug. "But Yona like new friends!"

They all groaned as they tried to escape, "Smolder...like breathing!"

"Hey, you guys!" They looked up to see Silverstream looking out a window. "Sandbar's back!" They all headed for the door, soon spotting the earth pony pulling a trio of wagons.

"Cupcakes are best cakes!" Yona cheered before running at full speed, Sandbar screaming in fear of getting run over. Luckily, Gallus flew in and threw one of Yona's braids until her hooves. This caused her to trip over and roll to a stop right in front of Sandbar, the little yak sitting and panting like an expectant puppy.

Sandbar sighed in relief, "Thanks for the assist, Gallus."

Gallus scoffed with a 'too cool for school' look on his face. "I was just saving the cupcakes." They opened the boxes with Gallus and Yona stuffing as many cupcakes as they could down their gullets. Ace joined them as Ocellus flew over to the next wagon and smiled when she saw what was in it.

"Pillows!" She dived into it as Mira leapt on top, the pair sighing as they enjoyed the softness. "How nice! The castle is gonna be so much more comfy."

"And fun!" Smolder laughed as she grabbed one, "Pillow fight!" She threw it at Sandbar, knocking the earth pony down for a moment. She then grabbed another and charged, Sandbar smirking as he grabbed the first pillow and used it to defend himself. The pair laughed at this as Gallus, Ace and Yona watched, only for a buzzing sound to make them look up to see an Ocellus colored bugbear holding a bunch of pillows.

She dropped the pillows on top of the two before body slamming down, the pillows keeping her from crushing the two. They all laughed at this as Mira grabbed a pillow, the others following suit until Silverstream's voice called out to them.

"YOU ALL!" Ocellus turned back to normal as they glanced over at the hippogriff, who had a starry eyed look on her face. "I just found...STAIRS!" She pointed as said pieces of architecture, the others blinking at her.

"I...see." Ace said slowly.

Gallus continued, "Aaaand we care because...?"

"Stairs are awesome!" Silverstream yelled, smiling at her friends. "We don't have anything like 'em underwater, 'cause you know..." In a flash of light, Silverstream suddenly morphed into her seapony form and landed on the stairs. "...no way to climb 'em!"

"Ohhhh," they all realized what she was getting at. They kept forgetting that stuff they take for granted, probably didn't or couldn't exist in the underwater realm she grew up in.

Silverstream transformed back into her normal form and cheered, "This place has everything!" She then showed a frown, "If only my family back home could see it..."

The others grimaced at this, only for Smolder to throw an apple at her, the seapony catching it as Ocellus spoke up, "I wish the other changelings could meet you all. You're not nearly as strange as the stories say."

"Gee, thanks." Smolder chuckled before looking away. "But yeah, hanging out with other creatures is actually...not bad." But as she said that, a rustling sound filled the air, making them turn to a bush. Moments later, an orange creature shot out. One that Sandbar recognized and made him gulp.

"Uh..." Ace scratched his head, "What's that thing?"

"A puckwudgie!" Sandbar yelped, leaping behind Yona. "They're bad news! A bunch of them attacked Ponyville a while back. I was pulling their spikes out of my flank for days!"

"A what now?" Mira asked as Ocellus sighed.

"Am I the only one who didn't sleep through Professor Fluttershy's 'Critters of Comfort and Conflict' class?"

"Not our fault," Ace replied, "Fluttershy's got a very soothing voice. Combine that with a seriously boring lecture and it's a miracle you stayed awake."

The others nodded in agreement as Ocellus turned back to the puckwudgie. "Maybe I can make friends with it!" She transformed into a blue copy of the creature and walked up, making several weird noises. The creature looked at her in confusion, then growled before letting out a horrifying cry as several more puckwudgies shot out of the bushes. They all hissed and prepared to fire their spikes while Ocellus moved back to the others.

"What did you say to them?" Mira asked as Ocellus transformed back to normal.

"Oops."

"Yak plan better!" Yona yelled before letting out a mighty battle roar and charged, only for the creatures to simply spin around and fire their needles into the air. Yona saw them and stopped in her tracks, only for Silverstream to grab the empty pillow wagon and lifted it up above her. It blocked the spines, Yona smiling at the hippogriff before a puckwudgie leapt onto the weapon, Silverstream looking at it curiously, only for Yona to pull her away seconds before she could get a face full of needles. Ace fired an Aura Blast next, knocking the puckwudgie off the cart.

The others tried to back away, but quickly found more of the creatures jumping out of the bushes. The eight terrified students all found themselves getting backed up, the group grabbing the wagons and pulling them together to make a barricade. As they did this, the puckwudgies spun around to point their spines at them before advancing.

"We could use a few more Aura Blasts!" Gallus told the jakhowls.

"We're not as strong as Springer!" Mira barked back, "We can't make more than three or four Aura Blasts at a time right now!"

"That definitely won't be enough to take these things down," Ace added as Smolder threw a pillow at them. But the thing was soon shredded by the needles flying through it, Smolder turning to her changeling friend.

"Think Ocellus! Did Professor Fluttershy say anything about how to beat puckwudgies in her lecture?!"

"Uh..." Ocellus rubbed her hooves onto her head, "I'm sorry, I can't remember!"

Gallus gulped as he picked up a cupcake. "I'm gonna go ahead and guess it's not pillows, apples-" He lifted the dessert up and seconds later, brought it back down to show a bunch of needles sticking out of it. "...or cupcakes."

"Wouldn't class have been about how to make friends with them?" Silverstream asked as Sandbar looked over the wagon.

"Uh...they're getting really close." They looked over the wagons and saw that they were seconds away from being in firing range.

"Yona not scared!" The little yak told them, a smile adorning her face. "Yona have friends!" She held out a hoof and the others nodded, putting their hooves, paws and claws in with hers'. They then looked back at the creatures, now feeling Flash's courage lessons going through them.

Two of the puckwudgies leapt at them, ready to sink their large teeth into the kids. But before they could reach, a rainbow colored blur shot past them, and the puckwudgies were gone. The students blinked and caught sight of the blur, following it as it shot past some trees and pinned the puckwudgies to the trunks. The blur then came to a stop in the air, making Gallus yelp, "Is that Professor Egghead?!"

It was Rainbow Dash, staring down at the creatures as the puckwudgies began to attack her, only for two pegasi to shoot down from the sky. "Armorize!" Flash's voice filled the air as he and Heart appeared as the golden armor materialized onto him. "Flash Cutter!" The pegasus swung his sword and unleashed an energy blade, which smacked the puckwudgies flying.

"Wow!" Smolder's eyes went wide, "Didn't know he could do that." As she said that, another puckwudgie leapt up at them, only for Heart to appear in front of them.

"Fire Smasher!" He swung his bandaged hoof as it suddenly set ablaze, hitting the puckwudgie in the chest. The students gasped at this, only to notice the bandages were now burning. "Ooh, ahh, eey!" He yelped as he pulled the bandages off before turning back to the fight as more puckwudgies appeared.

But as this happened, Flash and Heart stood still, only for the beasts to start glowing and were soon lifted off the ground. Twilight and Starlight galloped in front of the students and brought their horns together, the light of their magic exploding out in a dome-like shield that only effected the puckwudgies and sent them flying. The other teachers of the school soon followed suit, Spike at the front as he breathed fire into his claws and threw them forward. Giant fire claws shot out and grabbed several puckwudgies, lifting them up and sending them flying as well.

"Aw, yeah!" he cheered, only for a few more to leap at him just as Applejack appeared and snagged them in her lasso. She swung them around, narrowly missing Rarity as she was busy tying the puckwudgie's needles up in ribbons and giving them a makeup makeover. One puckwudgie tried to flee, but was then grabbed by some of Fluttershy's bird friends.

"Oh!" She told the birds, "Don't hurt them!" They dropped the creature into her hooves, "Let's just ask them to leave nicely." She hugged the beast as it continued to snarl and roar, the others being distracted from seeing how this ended when Pinkie suddenly appeared while pushing a large cannon. She pointed the cannon up as Rainbow dropped several puckwudgies inside, Flash doing the same. Twilight and Starlight grabbed the rest to place inside as Heart flew over and lit the fuss. Everypony watched as the cannon exploded with a loud and exciting bang, sending a burst of confetti into the air alongside the puckwudgies. The creatures were blasted all over the forest, each equipped with a parachute to ensure a safe landing.

The students were all completely gobsmacked by this, Yona being the one to break the silence. "Not bad!" She then quickly corrected herself, "For pony."

"Wow!" Ocellus whispered, "They're amazing!"

Gallus nodded as Flash dispelled his armor, "I had no idea our teachers were actually cool."

This was met by a chuckle from Sandbar. "I've been trying to tell you!"

"That's nothing," Ace added, "Wait until you see what Springer can do. You'll faint just watching it."

"Did you see that?!" Silverstream cheered, "Rainbow Dash was like voooooom and then werrrrr, and the puckwudgies went flying! And then the birds came and-"

"Yeah," Smolder stopped her, "We all just lived it. But you're right...that was pretty amazing. Even by dragon standards."

"Is every-creature alright?" Twilight asked as she and Soul flew over to them.

"Anyone need some medical attention?" This was met with yeses to Twilight's question and noes to Soul's, Spike panting as he spoke up next.

"You're lucky we got here in time!"

Starlight nodded. "You know, this probably isn't the safest place for a camp-out."

Ocellus grimaced at this, "Um...does that mean you're going to send us back to our homes?"

The others all went wide-eyed at this, Flash rolling his eyes. "Oh, don't give us that look. I invented that look. And no, actually."

"We have another option in mind," Twilight added, the students sharing glances before Gallus asked what they were all thinking.

"We're listening."

"It's pretty clear you've already started learning friendship without your teachers. But we'd like to show you even more...if you'd come back to school." The students grimaced at this, the group sharing another look as they knew they didn't want to be separated again, but the idea of being forced to sit through those boring lessons again felt like an even worse torture than not being able to see each other.

"Not much of a choice," Smolder muttered.

The others smiled at each other before Applejack took off her hat, "To be honest, we felt exactly the same way when Twilight told us she was reopening the school."

Rarity nodded. "But this time, we guarantee it shall be different."

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow cheered, "With class run my way, it'll be two hundred and twenty percent cooler."

Fluttershy nodded and held up her copy of the accursed rule book. "And without the EEA..." She threw the book away, unknowingly knocking out a puckwudgie that had been planning a sneak attack, "...it'll be much friendlier."

The students let these words sink in and still showed frowns on their faces...until Pinkie spoke up. "Plus, all your nations won't go to war if you come back with us! That's a bonus!"

This made the student's go wide-eyed again as Sandbar yelped, "Wait, what's happening?!"

"It's a long story," Flash chimed in, "We'll tell you all about it on the way. That being said, even if you don't come back to school, there's no way you're staying out in the Everfree Forest. Ace, Mira, I'm a little disappointed you didn't tell them how dangerous it is here."

"We did," Ace looked down. "But we thought the castle might at least be safe. It's got the Tree of Harmony super close to it."

"This castle might have been safe once, but that was a long time ago." Twilight took out a piece of paper and a quill, writing on it as she spoke. "And the Tree of Harmony might be a living thing, but I doubt it would intervene in a monster attack." She finished her letter and gave it to Spike, the Mystic Flame Dragon sending it to Canterlot with a single breath while Twilight wrote another one for Queen Novo.

As they walked, Ace noticed Heart's leg and remembered what happened. "Heart, your leg okay?" He turned to him, "We saw the bandage burn off. Hope it didn't do any extra damage to your wound." Heart lifted his hoof up in response, only for everyone to gasp. Heart's fur had grown back, but his hoof now had a scar running down one side and along the top and then up the other side a few inches. Most of them hissed at the sight of the injury, but Flash, Twilight and Spike's eyes went wide and they all shared a glance. They had seen that scar before.

"Ouch," Gallus gulped, "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Uh..." Heart swung the hoof around and stomped it on the ground a few times, every-creature flinching as he did so. "Nope. Can't feel a thing."

"By can't feel a thing..." Soul chimed in, "You mean you can't feel any pain or you can't feel anything period?"

They all grimaced at this, Ace then pinching his hoof, "Ow!" Heart pulled away and glared at Ace, but everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think that's as healed as its gonna get," Twilight sighed.

"So Heart's gonna have that for the rest of his life?" Soul asked, Heart staring at his new marking.

"Congrats Heart," Flash chuckled as he pointed to his own scarred chest, "You got your very own battle scar. Wear it with pride and try not to get another one. I know I don't want another one." They all laughed at this as they continued their march through the forest, eventually arriving at the edge and back in Ponyville. Soon enough, they were back in front of the still locked up school, Twilight's eyes falling onto the padlock keeping it shut. She sparked her horn, ready to open it back up, but Celestia's voice stopped her.

"Twilight!" They turned to see Celestia leading the other species to them. "I was so relieved to get your letter!"

"As was Queen Novo," Seaspray nodded. "Oh, we're just glad you're alright Silverstream!" Suddenly, Gruff flew up in front of Gallus and pointed his talon at him.

"Don't expect a welcome party from me, sonny! It's time you got home!" He reached over and grabbed Gallus' head feathers in his beak, trying to pull him away, but Gallus slapped him away.

"I'm not leaving."

"Whaaaat?! Gruff yelled as Ocellus spoke up.

"None of us are." She then noticed her leader's raised eyebrow and hid behind Smolder. "Sorry, Thorax."

"Yak not understand." Rutherford scratched his head and turned to Ember, "This pony joke?"

"No," Smolder responded, "We're going back to school."

"How?!" Ember asked, "You can't even get inside!" She soon got her answer when Twilight unleashed a burst of magic, hitting the padlock sealing the building up until it completely shattered. As it did this, the magic covering the school faded away and she turned to smile at them all.

"School is back in session!" The students cheered, but that joy quickly vanished when a familiar looking portal appeared in front of the door.

Twilight stepped back as Chancellor Neighsay trotted out of it, the unicorn turning to the remains of his magical seal. He glared at the non-ponies, "Who dared remove my seal?!"

"I did, Chancellor Neighsay!" He shot a glare at the alicorn, but Twilight didn't even flinch and gave him her own stern expression while Flash and the others stood behind her in a united front. "And I respectfully ask you to step aside, or classes will start late."

"Classes won't start at all! The EEA has spoken, and none shall pass!" He slammed his hoof into the ground, actually causing a shockwave.

Yona growled back at him, "Yak pass if yak say! Hmph!" She tried to charge at him, but Ace and Sandbar stopped her.

"This is for the greater good!" Neighsay yelled before pointing at Twilight, "The school was disorganised, the teachers unqualified! And those dangerous and unpredictable 'students' put ponies' lives in danger!" He pointed to the still destroyed tower while the leaders all glared at him.

"I'll show you unpredictable!" Ember hissed before all except Springer marched up, Neighsay flinching from the 'deadly monsters' until Celestia stepped between them.

"Hold on, please!" They all stopped and turned to her, "I'm sure Princess Twilight Sparkle has a good explanation for all of this."

"I do!" Twilight assured her, "It's true that my School of Friendship is EEA-unaccredited-"

"Look!" Spike cheered, "She said it without doing the eye thing!"

"Then it is not a school!" Neighsay got right in her face, but Twilight just smiled and pushed him back.

"It's not an EEA school. It's a friendship school with its own rules. I should know. I wrote the book!" In a flash of light, a giant purple book three times the size of the EEA Guidebook appeared at Neighsay's hooves. The unicorn gasped at this, Twilight then turning to the others. "These students reminded me that every friendship is special, so the way we teach it has to be just as unique." The students all smiled at this as their leaders looked down at them with pride, "My school is going to do things differently."

Neighsay still looked un-stirred by Twilight speech. "Allowing all of these creatures to attend your school, changing the rules for them...it simply won't work!"

Twilight was about to speak up, but Celestia did it for her, "I seem to recall something about earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi doing something similar, don't you?"

Neighsay's face twisted at this, only for Twilight to add, "I promise you chancellor, my school will help protect Equestria."

"Or destroy it!" With that, he leapt back through the portal and they all cheered as it closed.

"Hmph," Gruff crossed his claws, "How is this school going to be any different from last time?" Twilight just giggled as she opened the door, their inbuilt music players began to play. And so, Twilight, Flash and all the others at the school began to sing. It was a song that would explain how different the school would be, about how it would be a safe place for creatures of all different shapes, sizes and traditions to come together and learn about one another. The leaders listened to this and while some were a little uncomfortable with the whole singing thing, they could all see the value of it.

And when the song ended, the point was made. "Ugh, fine!" Ember whined, covering her ears, "If you promise to stop singing, Smolder can stay!"

"Wahoo!" The younger dragon cheered.

"Ugh..." Rutherford sighed, "If dragon stay, yak stay." Yona smiled as Thorax rubbed his charge's head.

"I know you will make the changelings proud, Ocellus."

"You belong here," Seaspray told Silverstream before she hugged him. "Now," she pulled away, "Can you show me those stair things you mentioned?" This question resulted in Silverstream letting out an incoherently excited noise, the young hippogriff pulling him toward the nearest set.

"Springer?" Mira asked.

"Please?" Ace went on as the pair gave him the puppy dog eyes.

"Quit it," the older jakhowl crossed his arms. "I was gonna let you come here before the song anyway."

"YES!" The pair cheered, high-fiving...only for Springer to grab both by the shoulders, making them slowly look back up at the jakhowl, seeing a death stare from him.

"Now...what did I tell you about not going into the Everfree?"

"Uh..." the duo gulped, sweat now going down their heads. "We're sorry?"

As the jakhowl began to lecture them, Gallus smiled at his friends, then noticed Grampa Gruff still flying above him. "What?" The old griffon asked before pointing at him, "You belong at home! You think I care if you've made friends?!" He looked away, but Gallus still had a trick up his claw.

"Please, Grandpa Gruff?" Gruff looked back and saw Gallus give him his own puppy dog eyes, something he had learned from his friends. He let out several whimpers, making Gruff flinch.

"Alright, alright!" He grumbled, "Stop doing that!" Gallus pumped his arm before the students all rushed inside, cheering along the way. Twilight watched this with a giant grin as Starlight stepped up to her.

"Guess I make a pretty good guidance counsellor, huh?"

"Yes!" Twilight nodded, "Writing the rule-book was the most fun ever! I can't wait to start working on the new lesson plans!" A throat clearing from Applejack made her look over at her friends, the princess blushing at them. "...with some help from my friends."

Celestia giggled at this before turning to the other leaders. "Well, I hope this school works, and is proof of how our kingdoms can work together."

"I hope so too," Thorax nodded before turning to the other leaders. "Who knows, you all might want to join the C.D.P.A along with our three kingdoms."

"C.D.P.A?" Gruff asked, "What in the blazes are you talking about?"

"The Changeling, Dragon, Pony Alliance," Celestia replied, "It's a promise between our three nations that if any of them ever need help, the other two will be there when called."

"I was skeptical about it," Ember told the others. "But it sure came in handy when the Storm King guy showed up and caused problems."

"Yes," Seaspray nodded, "I remember Queen Novo telling me about it. I'm sure we of the hippogriffs would love to be part of your alliance."

"Yaks no need help from ponies when trouble show face," Rutherford declared, "But if ponies need yak's help, yaks be there."

"That's great," Twilight cheered while turning to Flash. "The alliance is gonna grow! Isn't that amazing?"

"Yeah," Flash nodded as he turned to see Heart talking to Ace and Gallus. He then saw the scar on the colt's leg and remembered something. "But...maybe they shouldn't join the alliance."

"WHAT!?" Every-creature yelled, all looking at him with wide eyes.

"What are you talking about?! Of course they should join!"

"Just hear me out," Flash responded, "What if instead of them joining the alliance and adding a bunch of new letters to it, we all come together and create something new. Something more than just a promise the help when it's need. A way for the many kingdoms to truly bond with one another."

"What are you talking about?" Ember asked, as Flash trotted around them all.

"Ever since I first came to Ponyville, I've seen time and again things that prove a fundamental fact about the world. Every living thing, be it pony, dragon, yak, jakhowl or anything else, have both strengths and weaknesses." They all raised an eyebrow at this. "Some creatures have a lot of strengths and a few weaknesses, while others have a few strengths and a lot of weaknesses. And I've seen those weaknesses, however small they might be, can get somepony into a lot of trouble."

"Is there a point to all this?" Gruff asked, Flash shining a smirk.

"I've also seen something else. When creatures with different strengths work together, those strengths are made stronger and their weakness almost completely disappear. It's what's allowed my friends and I to all save Equestria so many times, using our strengths to help other's weakness by working together. And that's something I know our kingdoms can do as well." He pointed to the school and the students from all the different kingdoms. "I've seen their strengths and their weaknesses in action." He turned to Ember, "I've seen first hand what Smolder's biggest weakness is. When she's on her own, that weakness will grow and eventually lead to her getting into serious trouble." Ember frowned at this, "But when she works with Ocellus, or Sandbar, or any creature who has different strengths to her, those weaknesses completely vanish."

"Very true," Celestia nodded, "Uniting those with different skills to work for a better future, that's what allowed Equestria to be born."

"So then let's do that," Flash replied, "Instead of simply making an alliance, but remain separate, let's find a way to share everything that's good about our nations and learn from one another. You never know, there may one day be a changeling that wishes to live the way of the yak, or a yak that enjoys the life of a hippogriff or dragon. Let's make a world that doesn't just celebrate multiple different cultures, but a single culture comprised of all the best parts of each kingdom. Instead of having an alliance, let's create..." He gave another look at his apprentice, "A...United Federation...of Creatures."

Those words rang in every-creature's heads, the leaders blinking at the suggestion, only to smile and nod, Gruff even doing so.

"A United Federation of Creatures?" Celestia repeated, "I like the sound of that." The others all nodded in agreement.

"Why don't we wait and see how well this whole school thing works out?" Seaspray suggested. "If at the end of the year, if our students have proven how well they work together, I'm sure Queen Novo will be more than happy to join this United Federation."

"I'm up for that," Ember added.

"Count me in," Thorax raised his hoof.

"Don't think you'll be leaving the jakhowls out," Springer laughed.

"Yaks in!"

They all looked towards Gruff, the griffon rolling his eyes and crossing his claws. "Fine, whatever. If Gallus graduates from this silly school, I'll agree to have the griffons join this silly federation." They all cheered at this, Flash and Twilight high-winging.

"United Federation, huh?" She smiled as Flash shrugged. "I wonder, did you think of this yourself?" Her eyes shifted to Heart, "Or did somepony else give you the idea for it?"

Flash chuckled at this, "I like to think I'm just helping give life to something that would have inevitably happened anyway." They both smiled and looked up at the school, looking forward to when the rest of the students returned, and their lessons could truly begin. A new era for Equestria was just on the horizon, and it would all start with this amazing school.





A few days later...

Heart had just gotten out of his last class of the day with Ace, Mira and Soul. They were gonna join up with Gallus and the rest of their new friends to finish their homework for Pinkie's Laughter Class: Design a party for somepony else in the class. True to Twilight's word, the school really had changed for the better. The classes were truly teaching them important lessons about friendship, each done the teacher's own ways. Flash's Courage Lessons were still a favorite of many students, but now they looked forward to Applejack's woodworking and apple bucking classes, Rainbow's sports theme classes and even Rarity's textile classes.

Every class now had at least one or two students that called it their favorites, but no class was ever called boring or a waste of time.

"Who did you pick out of the hat?" Heart asked his sister as she took out a slip of paper.

"Raspberry Raindrop," she replied, "That should be fun to come up with."

Heart nodded as they stepped around the corner, only to almost bump into somepony. "Whoa!" He pulled back just in time, only to see who it was. "Cozy!"

"Oh," Cozy Glow looked up at him and smiled, "Hi Heart. It's nice to see you again."

"Same here," Heart nodded, "You enjoy being back at school?"

Cozy nodded. "Yup. It's a lot more fun now. I hope I get to stay for a while." The others saw the looks Heart was giving Cozy and smirked at one another, wanting to giggle as his obliviousness.

"Hey," Heart pointed in the direction of the courtyard, "We're about to meet up with our friends and work on some homework. Wanna join us?"

"Sure," Cozy replied as the pair continued. The others followed after them, all smirking as they wondered how life at the School of Friendship was gonna be from now on...and the many adventures that await them.


The End.