//------------------------------// // Chapter 30: The School of Friendship Opens (For Real, This Time!) // Story: Starlight Glimmer's First Student: A "Human"?! // by Clockwork2003 //------------------------------// Noah: I know I’ve said this before, but pizza in Equestria is really good. It’s much tastier than pizza on Earth, and the few humans that have visited Equestria so far have mostly agreed with me. This celebratory party is the culmination of everything that Starlight and I have been working on for the past few weeks. I feel very accomplished, which is something I don’t usually feel! I’m on my second slice of pizza, and I was in the middle of having a riveting conversation with Maud Pie about geology on Earth. “Wait, you are telling me that silicate minerals make up 90% of your planet’s crust?” Maud asks, extremely interested in my planet’s natural resources. “I think so? I vaguely remember learning something along that line in high school science class? You’d have to visit Earth yourself and ask some notable geologists.” I reply, trying to do my best to answer Maud’s question. “Well, I know that on Equestria, the planet’s crust is comprised mostly of silicates, closer to 95 percent than 90 percent. It’s very interesting to hear that your planet’s geological structure is close in scale to ours. Now, one more geology question before somepony else needs you.” Maud says. I nod, wondering what she’s going to ask me. “What about rare earth metals? I wrote my Master’s dissertation on those. Any magical properties, too? I know that rare earth metals in Equestria react heavily to unicorn magic, along with magnetic fields!” Maud states, combing through her saddlebag and trying to find the citation that could prove her claim. “Noah, c’mere you silly human! I need to talk to you!” Starlight hollers from across the palace courtyard. I groan in annoyance, and begin to make my way over towards her. “Where the hay do you think you’re going, Noah?” Maud asks, trotting next to me, finally showing me her proof that rare earth metals react strongly to unicorn magic. “GlimGlam needs me for something. Can we continue this conversation another time?” I ask, my “Friendship Graduate” lapel reflecting sunlight. Maud nods sadly. “Yeah…I guess. It’s been so long since somecreature has been interested in geology. I feel like I am not alone. It’s fine. We’ll continue another time.” Maud says, giving Starlight a stink eye. She trots off, and I now give my marefriend my undivided attention. Starlight is sitting at a table with her Great and Powerful chief of staff, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Princess Celestia. She’s probably on her fifth piece of pizza, knowing Starlight Glimmer and her food habits. One thing I’ll never agree with her on is having pineapple on pizza. I find it gross, but she likes it. I mean, who puts pineapple on pizza? I don’t see the appeal! My marefriend waves, and magicks a new chair into existence. “Sit next to me! I was just telling Princess Twilight about how you graduated her program by giving Friendship to somecreature who needs it the most!” Starlight says, beckoning me to sit down next to her. I make my way to the empty chair, and Twilight looks at me with the biggest, silliest smile on her purple muzzle. “I am so proud of you, Noah! You graduated!” Twilight says, extremely happy that I finished her program. I smile at the small act of praise, and Starlight plants an innocent kiss on my cheek.  “And he had a stellar teacher who helped him along the way, if I do say so myself.” Starlight jests. Princess Twilight sighs, and lets out a small chuckle.  “Alrighty. Now, I need you to complete a full metacognition analysis on the Friendship Studies program. You can do it later, but since you are the first human to complete my program, I expect you to take due diligence on this final assignment!” Twilight says, zapping a medium sized portfolio into Starlight’s saddlebag. Meanwhile, Trixie is scribbling something down in her journal, not really paying attention to the rest of us. I am somewhat interested in what she’s writing, but I know what it’s like to be in a full frenzy of productivity. I don’t want to be the human responsible for infinging on her success. A good minute passes, and she finally completes her task. Closing her journal, Trixie notices that I’ve arrived. “Oh, hi Noah! Trixie is very happy to see you! She was just finishing Starlight’s second attempt at the opening speech! Want to take a peek?” The showmare asks me. Starlight taps Trixie on the shoulder, and clears her throat. “Not now, Trixie. Not now. We’re celebrating, not getting work done. Have a slice of pizza! Find your human and have fun!” Starlight cheers, taking an unprincesslike chug of her cider, slamming the mug into the table at full force. She chuckles, and smiles at me. “Don’t worry, kid. It’s nonalcoholic. I want to fly home with you. I made sure to ask for foal-friendly cider today!” Starlight explains, putting me at ease. The last thing I want is to ride my goddess pony home while she’s inebriated! Princess Celestia casts a spell and lifts a spoon into the air. She gently taps it against her glass, and everycreature at the celebration in Celestia’s courtyard quickly redirects their attention to the sun deity. Princess Celestia puts on her statespony look, and a real, genuine smile. “Good afternoon, my friends from Equus and Earth!” Celestia begins, before being interrupted by cheers and merriment. She laughs, and hushes the crowd. It takes a few moments, but eventually all who are present calm down and yield the floor to Princess Celestia. She takes a moment to inhale calmly, before continuing her address; or is she trying to start a toast? “Earlier today, my fellow Princesses Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer successfully argued in front of the Bridle today why the School of Friendship should be allowed to open.” She looks at Starlight and smiles. “Starlight, you are a phenomenal debater, orator, and fact checker. I am sure that Princess Twilight was very happy to have you on her team.” Celestia says, making my marefriend smile. “Twilight. My student, my lovely pupil.” She continues, trying to remain emotionless. I am bad at reading emotions, but I think Celestia is using all of her might to not cry! “You are filling very big hooves as the Princess of Friendship. Not only have you done a stellar job at maintaining Harmony in our land, but you are also spearheading an unprecedented program to share Friendship to creatures here and abroad. Monday is going to be a very big day for you. All of Equestria will witness you and Starlight open the school in Ponyville, and I couldn’t be more proud of you.” Finally, the sun deity redirects her focus to me. She looks at me, and smiles. “Don’t think I forgot about you, Noah!” Celestia laughs. “You are the first human in millennia to ever visit my land. Not only did you quickly learn the Equestrian way of Harmony and Friendship, but you also managed to come out of your shell. I hope you can be a good example of what humanity can show ponykind.” She raises her glass, which I think has champagne in it, and begins a toast. “I dedicate this toast to everycreature who has been an instrumental component of starting this new School of Friendship. Cheers to all!” Everypony (everycreature, since my sister and Shaun were here, too.) raised their glasses in elation and joy, and drank in honor of the Princess’ toast. Starlight taps me on the shoulder, and gives me her usual villainous smile. “You and I are going to have a lot of fun with this school, Noah. Monday is three days away. Are you excited?” She asks me. Am I excited? Of course I am! *** MONDAY: Princess Twilight Sparkle Well, it’s Monday! Today’s the day that I open my brand new School of Friendship. I am very happy that Rebecca went back to Earth over the weekend to explain the whole Hoofibuster debacle to human governments. They were not particularly upset. They said “democracy is complicated”, and they were pleased we managed to solve this issue amongst ourselves. As for the nonpony creatures in Equestria, I received a similar response. Today will be the second attempt at opening the school, and I am sure that it will go swimmingly. I get out of my king sized bed, and go through my usual morning routine. I braid my mane, preen my wings, brush my teeth, and ask Spike to make me breakfast. I was nice to him today, just a slice of toast with peanut butter, and a cup of coffee, black. Dragonflame is a very efficient toasting mechanism! I ought to study its properties further!  Whenever I eat my breakfast, I always read the Ponyville Post. It’s a custom I adopted as a filly, and I stick to it like glue! Today’s headline shows me, Starlight, and Noah, smiling in front of the camera for the school’s opening rehearsal. As always, First Draft does an excellent job at explaining the school, and he was very objective. “Twilight, are you stressed?” Spike asks me, as I finish my coffee. I sigh and nod. “Normal levels of stress, Spike. Nothing serious. Do you know if everypony is going to be at the ceremony today?” I ask him. He grabs my notepad from the dining room, and quickly combs through my notes. “Well, I think the Elements of Harmony are going to be there. I don’t know about Princesses Celestia and Luna. They are probably busy today. Opening ceremony is in one hour. Be there or be square! Also-.” Spike was interrupted by the sound of the drawbridge opening. I trot over to the window, and I see Rebecca mounted atop Trixie. The dynamic duo are clearly excited, both showing large smiles on their faces. “Hi Princess Twilight!” Trixie shouts, finally trotting towards the castle entrance now that the drawbridge is lowered properly!  “Hi Trixie. Always nice to see you. What’s up? Aren’t you and Rebecca supposed to be at the School of Friendship handling the incoming creatures?” I ask, to which Rebecca replies: “Yeah, but there’s something I wanted to tell you.” What does Rebecca want to tell me? I wave them in, and Trixie gallops inside, making her way up the four flights of stairs to my private quarters in the Castle of Friendship. The showmare is in a cold sweat, and her rider is taking care of her mount, giving Trixie a bottle of water when she dismounts. Trixie embraces Rebecca, and smiles. “Thank you so much for the water, Rebecca. Trixie is very happy to hang out with you.” Rebeca smiles, and returns the hug. “No problem, Trixie, my Great and Adorable friend…” “Alright, alright. Enough with the semantics. What’s so important that you two ditched the final preparations for the School of Friendship’s opening?” I ask, quite eager to hear what this “clear and present danger” might be. Rebecca takes a deep breath, and exhales calmly. Trixie does the same, before Trixie begins. “Trixie wanted to tell you that she’s afraid of fusing souls with her rider…” She says sheepishly, very blush. Rebecca laughs, and pets Trixie, trying to calm her down. “Well…kind of, Princess Twilight. I asked her if we could do that unicorn soul fusion thing, so I could learn magic.” Rebecca explains. “Uh-huh.” I say, spawning my notebook and writing down Rebecca’s grievances. “Trixie thinks that fusing souls will make her fall in love with me. I am not of the female persuasion, like she is,  and Trixie thinks that the soul fusion is ethically questionable.” Rebecca says, trying not to laugh. I don’t see what the problem is, exactly? Shaun, the nonverbal human, fused souls with Rarity, and he’s not head over hooves for my friend (at least, I don’t think he is?). I take a minute to think about what Rebecca and Trixie have told me, and analyze all of my  notes. “I am a bit curious why you two didn’t ask Starlight and Noah? They are a fused unit. I’m not fused with a human rider, so I don’t really know enough about it.” I ask, wondering what I can do to help. Trixie looks at Rebecca with a look of concern, and the two creatures try to remain calm. “I wasn’t trying to make this into a whole ordeal, Princess. I just thought learning magic would make my job as your press secretary somewhat easier.” Rebecca says, feeling somewhat remorseful for bringing this issue up front. I wish I was able to do something more to help, but I really don’t know enough about the full human-pony fusion to provide adequate information. I sigh, and provide my answer. “I’ll tell you what, Trixie and Rebecca. I need to find a human of my own. Maybe one of my students will be willing? I’ll provide an adequate lab report and gert back to you two. I need definitive proof that the fusion process can remain platonic.” I explain. Trixie and Rebecca nod, and both smile at me. “Thanks!” They say in unison. Rebecca remounts Trixie, and directs the showpony towards the exit of my castle. “See you two there!” I say, finally ready to depart for the school. Spike waves goodbye to Rebecca and Trixie, and they gallop away. To be completely honest, I didn’t think of the full romantic and platonic ramifications of soul fusion. It does deserve more scholarship! Once I see that Trixie and Rebecca have left the castle grounds safely, I approach my window and spread my wings, trying to get a feel for today’s air currents. Rainbow Dash always tells me to do this before I take off. “Don’t be gone for long, Twilight.” Spike groans, expecting to spend more time with me today. “Oh relax. Today’s just the opening ceremonies. No studies are taking place today. It’s a few speeches, a meet and greet, and a brief luncheon. Nothing serious, I promise!” I say, trying to reassure the young drake. He nods, seemingly understanding of the circumstances.  “Understood, Twilight. Fly safely, and have fun!” He says. I smile at him, before finally taking off towards Ponyville’s own School of Friendship.  The weather today is gorgeous as ever! I am sure Princess Celestia made an extra effort to rearrange the sun and clouds today to be in their optimal positions over Ponyville. If there was ever a day for the weather to cooperate, it’s today! I expect my flight to the School of Friendship to take fifteen minutes. I might as well enjoy the flight! *** Starlight Glimmer: I’m so excited! I am sure Noah is, too! The two of us just finished setting up all the chairs outside the school, and Trixie and Rebecca just made their way back here. I wonder why they bolted towards Twilight’s castle? It must have been important, but I am not nosy enough to ask right now. The Elements of Harmony, save for Twilight, finally arrive and sit down at their respective seats. Each one of their chairs is adorned with their respective Cutie Mark, and their title as an Element. They get front row seats! Lyra, Bon Bon, and Maud Pie arrive as well, sitting in their respective seats as staff of the school. Mrs. Weiss was inside the building a few minutes ago checking something, but she’s back now! “Hi Starlight!” Pinkie Pie says, waving rapidly at me. She’s hyperactive as usual today, it seems! “Hello, are you ready to help me open the school today?” I ask her. She nods vigorously. “Oh yeah, I am super, duper ready! I just hope that Clockwork finally writes something useful and isn’t busy checking timelines and stuff. That unicorn is VERY unpredictable.” Who the hell is Clockwork? It must be a “Pinkie Sense” thing, right? It must be. Pinkie is known for saying things that are crazy and unfounded. It’s nothing to worry about. “Sure, whatever, Pinkie Pie.” I reply. She laughs at me, sticking out her tongue. “I hope you do well with your speech today. It’s going to make me happy!” She says with glee. The rest of the Elements present nod at her analysis. “Yeah, it’s sure to be a crowd pleaser.” Fluttershy adds.  Noah taps me on the withers, alerting me of something. “Starlight. Twilight’s arriving soon. Look at the mulberry entrail in the sky!” He says, pointing his finger at the Princess of Friendship. Noah’s magical detection is certainly improving! Twilight descends gracefully, and is greeted to spontaneous ovation by all ponies present. She is flattered by the praise, but does her best to quiet everypony down, since the ceremony is about to begin. “Guys, guys, seriously, it’s nothing!” Twilight says with a dangerous amount of casualness. Everypony laughs, and sits down respectfully.  I notice that the first of the nonpony students have made their appearance. I see a few yaks, the good changelings, hippogriffs, and the griffon and dragon students. I assume that the humans are still needing to travel via the quantum tunnel, so I will wait a bit longer before beginning my address. Noah looks around at the much smaller crowd and is pleased. “I made sure for today’s event to only have the students and staff, rather than all the dignitaries like last time. It’s much easier to plan and organize like that.” Twilight explains to me. I nod in agreement with her, completely understanding her logic.  “Oh, yeah! I can totally see why. It’s also a lot better sensory-wise for the human neurodivergent students. Noah won’t stop talking about how much he loathes large crowds and the noise that they bring with them.” I say in a bit of a condescending voice. Twilight chuckles.  “Sounds like him, if we’re being honest.” Twilight says.  Her purple alicorn horn lights up, and Twilight is alerted to the quantum tunnels that are placed around the school grounds. They are finally online and running properly! One by one, the twenty five human students exit the portals in groups of five. They are a bit disoriented, at first, but quickly rebalance themselves and find empty chairs in the audience. Twilight spawns a podium, decked with her Cutie Mark. She trots up to the podium, and gently taps the microphone, alerting everycreature that she is ready to speak. “Good morning, my lovely students!” Twilight begins, oh so eloquently. The human students wave, a bit nervous, and the nonpony students wave with no hesitation. “I am so happy to have all of you here today for the first day of my School of Friendship! It’s very pleasant to have resolved all the legal trouble over the weekend. Don’t worry! You all have nothing to worry about today. There’s no classes scheduled. I just wanted to have everycreature here so you can all get acquainted with each other! The first step in Friendship is meeting new creatures! Before I let you all go and introduce yourselves, I’d like to invite Starlight and Noah to say a few words. Can you show them your gratitude? The audience beaks into rapturous applause for my teacher and my rider, and I give the two creatures space to make their way to the podium. Noah is actually wearing dress clothes today. I think Rarity went above and beyond! I approach the microphone and smile. “Hi! Some of you might not know me as well, and that’s okay! I’m Princess Starlight Glimmer, Princess of Justice. I co-run the school with Princess Twilight, and I will be teaching a few classes this semester. With me is my first student, and “rider”, Noah. He’s the first graduate of the program, and is willing to give me a helping “hand” with school! He’ll be very pleased to assist you students with your studies!” I trot back a few steps, and give Noah the floor: “Morning! I’m Noah. I am very good friends with Starlight, and I can’t wait to make new friends! A little secret for you students. Equestrian citizens might be able to do some super fun stuff with Earthlings. I’m sure the humans will explain it all to you in due time. Just stay tuned!” Noah leaves the podium, and Twilight and I make our way to the front door. It now has a rainbow-colored ribbon blockading the entrance. I cast a spell to bring the same giant pair of scissors from last time, and the two of us both envelop the tool in our magic’s grasp. “As the Princess of Justice…” “And as the Princess of Friendship…” “We hereby inaugurate the School of Friendship, and open the institution for study! Have fun learning!”