Twilight spent seven minutes leading Delta, Sigma and Theta from the library to Ponyville Elementary. Once they were there, she walked up to one of the classrooms and checked to make sure it was Cherilee's room. When she saw light cerise teacher talking to the class, she waited until she stopped speaking then knocked on the door. Cherilee glanced over and saw Twilight. She smiled at the class and excused herself, knowing Twilight wouldn't drop by just to say hello. When she stepped outside she saw a bald green unicorn standing next to her with a small smile on his muzzle.
"Er, Twilight? Who is this?" Cherilee asked curiously.
"This is Delta." Twilight said, and Delta bowed his head.
"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Delta." Cherilee returned the bow and smiled at him.
"The feeling is mutual." Delta nodded politely.
"So what can I do for you today?" Cherilee asked happily.
"Have you heard about my friend Church?" Twilight inquired.
"Ah, the stallion who's staying with you. I also believe that the mare that bullied those bullies is there too, right?"
"Tex." Twilight nodded, then shook her head to get back on topic. "Anyways, he has two little brothers that have come in from out of town and we wanted to register them in your class."
"Well class is almost over for today, but I suppose they could go in and introduce themselves while we get them written in." Cherilee said, looking around to see the two colts, but only saw Sigma standing a few feet away from Delta. "Where's the other one?"
A muffle came out from behind Delta and Cherilee raised her brow. She then saw a purple tail with red and blue strands flick to the side.
"Sorry about Theta, ever since he moved he's become a bit nervous." Twilight said.
"You don't have to be shy, Theta." Cherilee said, trying to befriend the little one. "Once you get to know me you'll learn I'm easy to get along with."
Theta peeked out from behind Delta, saw Cherilee's smile, then hid back behind him. Cherilee giggled at the nervous colt, then nodded at Delta and Twilight.
"Theta, Sigma, you can go into the class and meet the other children while we get things set up for you." Twilight said, beginning to walk towards Cherilee's office.
Theta slowly walked towards the door of the classroom, looked inside, yelped, then ran back behind Delta.
"How many are there?" Sigma asked.
"I don't know." Theta muttered, trying to remember. "I only looked for a second, but I think I saw at least three."
"There are far more than three in there, but don't let that discourage you." Cherilee said, walking next to Theta. He let out a high pitched squeal and darted behind Sigma. She shook her head playfully. "Come on, I'll get the introductions started. Twilight, bring Delta to my office and I will meet you there in a minute or so.
"Okay." Twilight nodded as she began walking away with Delta. She saw Theta's eyes poking out from behind Sigma and smiled encouragingly at him.
"It's nice to meet you two." Cherilee said as she bent low to the ground to be at their eye level. "What did you say your names were?"
"I am Sigma, and it is an absolute joy to make your acquaintances." Sigma said politely.
"I think the class is thinking the same thing." Cherilee smiled weakly, seeing that Theta was still timidly hiding behind Sigma. She needed to say something to break the ice. "What was your name?"
Theta peered out, mumbled something to the class, then returned to his spot behind Sigma.
"What was that?" A colt called out from the back
"Theta." Theta coughed from behind his orange sibling, then cleared his throat. "My name is Theta."
"That's a nice name, isn't it class?" Cherilee asked awkwardly.
"If you say so." Another colt said from the back and the two laughed.
"Don't be mean, boys. Theta is being very brave for coming out here." Cherilee said, then looked at Sigma. "Feel free to tell the class about yourselves. I have to go for now, but class is over in less than ten minutes, so once you're done you can all leave."
Sigma nodded at Cherilee and she trotted out of the class and made her way to her office.
"Delta, it's not polite touching other people's things." Twilight chastised the moss-green stallion as Cherilee walked in.
"Sorry for the wait, the class seems to be-" Cherilee stopped when she saw Delta had organized everything on her desk neatly.
"Sorry about him, he's... a bit compulsive." Twilight said, then laughed at herself when she realized the irony of her statement. He must be really compulsive if she thinks he is.
"That's quite alright, I've been meaning to clean up anyways." Cherilee said, taking a seat behind her white oak desk. "To get started I have to ask; are you Theta and Sigma's legal guardian?"
"No, I'm not." Twilight said as she and Delta sat in two of the five chairs in front of her desk. "But Delta is their cousin and he's staying over at Sweet Apple Acres where he is watching them until we can clear out the basement."
"Are they running an inn there now? I've been hearing more and more stallions are taking up residence there."
"You heard that?" Twilight asked nervously.
"Yes, the Mayor's assistant as well as some odd pony, I think he's the new Tax Collector."
"I believe the Mayor asked the Apples to house them until they find a place to stay."
"Does Delta work with the city too?"
"No, I am just a family friend. Epsilon is currently unable to watch them due to him being ill, so I requested that I temporarily stay with the Apples so I may look after them.
"Epsilon?" Cherilee repeated questioningly.
"It's just a nickname." Twilight said quickly.
"Interesting one at that." Cherilee noted.
Inside of the classroom, Theta and Sigma stood silently as the entire class watched them in silence, waiting for them to talk. Sigma looked at the clock behind him and watched the clock ticking. With a shrug, he turned his attention back to the classmates, but now he saw a pair of fillies giggling at him.
"What's wrong with their eyes?" Diamond Tiara asked in a hushed voice.
"I know. They look like something from a freak show." Silver Spoon laughed loudly, looking over at Theta. "Look at the purple one. His eyes look like a lava lamp."
Half the class started laughing. Theta lowered his head ashamedly and took a step back, wishing he could just disappear. Sigma saw how difficult they were making it for Theta, but didn't react instantly. Instead, he cast his gaze around the class, seeing which ponies were laughing and which weren't. The ones that were laughing were now his enemies.
"What's with the orange one?" Silver Spoon asked, seeing Sigma looking around dumbly.
"Maybe he's too stupid to realize when he's being laughed at." Diamond Tiara suggested, making the class laugh more. "I mean, he doesn't even have his mark yet!"
"I can assure you my intellect is far superior than yours, my dear Tiara." Sigma said coldly, reading her body language as she glared at him. He noted that when they made remarks, most of the class followed. He noticed the semblance of a chain of command, where Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were at the top. To gain his classmates respect he would have to knock them down a few pegs. "The reason I don't have my marking is because I have a wide variety of talents, I simply haven't chose which one I want to excel at yet."
"Aw, did we strike a nerve, blank flank? You don't have to be jealous just because you don't have your cutie mark yet." Silver Spoon smirked.
"Jealous?" Sigma echoed, then shook his head at her. "I hardly think so. Your cutie mark is a spoon, so either you're a cutlery maker or one that's special talent is cuddling with another, both of which are quite mundane and tasteless to be honest. I can't really see those being useful jobs down the long road. I, however, have hundreds of possibilities while you're strapped down to being useless for the rest of you life. So get your kicks by pretending to be something you aren't now, because you surely won't get them later when my brother and I have reasonable and respectable talents while you're stuck with nothing."
The class burst out with laughter and raised their hooves, pointing at the flustered Silver Spoon.
"Do you have any comments?" Sigma asked, turning to glare daggers at Diamond Tiara. "I'd be more than happy to explain to you why your cutie mark is just as bad, if not worse than hers."
"I'm okay." Diamond Tiara said, shrinking in her chair.
"Are you sure?" Sigma asked, taking a step towards her.
"Yes, I'm sure!" Diamond Tiara yelped.
"Well then I'd appreciate it if you apologized. That is, unless you want me to-"
"I'm sorry." She said quickly, trying to end it and change the subject before Sigma said anything about her.
"Not to me. I could care less than what you say to me." Sigma growled, glancing quickly at his brother who was still ignoring everything. "I want you to apologize to Theta."
Theta heard what Sigma said, then opened his eyes and turned to him to make sure he heard right. Sigma flashed him a small smile, then turned back to Diamond Tiara and nodded at her, telling her it was either this or being embarrassed.
"I'm sorry I brought up your eyes." Diamond Tiara said quietly.
"Will it happen again?" Sigma asked firmly. Diamond Tiara shook her head violently. Sigma smiled darkly at her as the bell rang. "A wise decision."