I was just about to leave school for the day, the first one back after Hearth's Warming Break, when I heard somepony galloping up through the hallway. "Inova, wait up!"
A sigh escaped me. "What is it, Diamond Heart?"
The light red earth pony filly from some of my classes skidded to a stop next to me. "Well. . . You just look sad and I want to make you smile."
"I'm going home. That's enough for me to be happy."
"Come on, let me walk with you." She looked around for a moment. "Where's Skyla?"
"I dunno. Probably off with her friends planning another raid on a buffet or something. Is there something I can help you with? Math, Equish, or some other topic?"
"Well. . . I've overheard ponies saying mean things about how you forget about your horn and wings-"
"I've heard it too. I'm used to it. I've gotten better about it." I didn't mention the occasional phantom sensations around my forehooves. Nopony needed to know about that recent development, and to that end, I’d told nopony about them.
"-and that's not right. I'm going to give you a hug."
I held up a forehoof to stop her. "No thanks."
"Too bad." She was quick to wrap her forelegs around me in a hug, pinning my foreleg between us.
I just sat there and let her do her thing. "Are you done?"
"Not until you hug me back." She tightened her grip on me a bit.
I waited for her to give up, but when it was clear she wasn't going to, I relented and losely wrapped my free foreleg around her. "Is this good enough?"
"You can do better, but it'll do for now." Diamond let go and so did I. "And I'm walking you home."
"Please don't."
"Oh come on. I already know which house is yours, so I won't get lost." The reminder of how well known my family and I were wasn't pleasant, but I let it slide. "Ooh! What was one of the history topics you were tapping to before break?"
"The siege of Neighenna?" I began telling her about the event as we walked, and I found my mood improving as I talked. The Griffonian Hussars, led by King Steelbeak in person, made their first military move as Equestrian allies there to stop the invading minotaurs at the town, gliding low and fast down the mountainside to strike. Neighenna was saved in the nick of time, and the celebration after was what solidified the good relations between Equestria and the Griffon Empire.
"-and against all odds, the 300 earth ponies held out and pushed back against the 5000 minotaurs, sending them off a cliff and into the ocean below."
"Wow. Inova, why does it seem like it's just the war history you tap tunes to?"
I shrugged without tripping. Somehow. "I dunno, but it's not all of the war stuff." I glanced around, seeing a nice neighborhood that wasn’t mine. "Wait, where are we?"
Diamond looked around and facehoofed. "This is my place. Sorry, Inova. I got so distracted listening to you that I forgot we were walking to your place."
"And I was too busy talking to notice either. Should I just leave, or . . ."
"Come on in. Nightshade ruined your lunch, so you can have a snack here."
"Well-" I was rudely cut off by my own grumbling stomach. "I don't think-" The grumble became much louder, so I relented. "Okay, sure."
"Yay!" Diamond led the way into her house. "Mom, dad, I brought a new friend over!"
"Who is it?" A stallion called out.
"Inova!"
There was a scramble of hooves and panicked voices for a bit before a dark red mare and a light red stallion, both unicorns, ran up to me and bowed. "Hello, Your Majesty."
"Uh, thanks?" I turned to Diamond. "What do I do now?"
"I don't know," Diamond said. "Maybe give them a royal order or something?"
I considered the suggestion for a bit, especially since her parents seemed to be waiting for something like that. "I order you to stop groveling and to treat me like a normal pony."
The mare looked up in confusion. "Wait, you mean we don't have to bow before an alicorn?"
"Who told you that? Nopony's bowed before me like that before, except in court and Canterlot. My parents even made a decree that my sister and I should be treated like normal ponies, but it’s only effective in the Empire."
The stallion looked up in confusion. "Why would they do that?"
"They say it's so Skyla and I know more of what normal ponies experience. If the Canterlot nobility is any indication, they might be right." The trip down there over break had really revealed just how snooty they could be, and how much better my budgeting skills were than theirs. It was kind of depressing, but giving a lecture on basic math to them was fun.
Diamond cut in before her parents could respond. "Can we have some snacks? Inova's lunch got ruined and she's really hungry."
The mare and stallion looked at each other for a bit before she made an offer. "Do you like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? That's all I can do right now."
"I was going to go to the market after Diamond got home," the stallion said.
"Good enough for me," I casually answered. "Can I have two?"
"I'll whip them up," the mare confidently said. "Go ahead and take a seat in the living room."
"I'll go get the groceries." The stallion gave Diamond an affectionate nuzzle before heading out to go take care of the errand.
The two of us sat down on a sofa in the living room. The room was smaller than the one at home, but it still felt very comfortable. "So, what now?"
"We could. . . Well, what do you usually do when you get home? I've got homework."
"I have magic, flight, or hoof coordination lessons," I said. "I do all my homework at school."
"Really?" The mare asked from the kitchen. "You don't practice royal stuff at home?"
"I do that on Sundays at the castle. Skyla has Saturdays."
"That's interesting. What have you learned?"
I let out a brief sigh of irritation. "I've learned that nopony is used to their petitions being picked apart, broken down, or criticized the way I do it."
The mare came in levitating a plate with four sandwiches in her magic. "Could I try my hoof at it?"
"You can try."
She set the plate down, then cleared her throat and made her petition. "Princess, if you're going to be Diamond Heart's friend, I would like you to know both my name and my husband's name."
I put on a show of thinking about it, then a sudden realization hit me, so I looked at Diamond. “Wait, are we friends now? What do friends even do?”
Diamond blinked owlishly at me. “Have you really never had any friends before?”
“No.” As nice as being Lil' Cheese's pen pal was, it was mostly just us complaining about our lives to each other.
“Nopony to laugh with? Nopony to talk to? Nopony to help you? I thought that was just a rumor.”
There was crying all of a sudden. It wasn’t me, and it wasn’t Diamond. It was Diamond’s mom, and she was getting very emotional. “Th. . . That’s so sad! Kindergarten and three whole grades of school with no friends? You must be so lonely, Inova!”
“I’m okay being lonely,” I said, trying to calm down the drama queen. “And I thought dad could get emotional.”
“But it’s not right! Ponies learn so much from each other by being friends. Just think of how much more you could know when you go experience things with even just one friend!”
“But I’ve already got really good grades. Mostly.”
“Not book knowledge. Experiences! Things books can’t teach you! Next time the carnival sets up in the Empire, I’m going to get tickets for both of you and you are going to have fun.” She took a deep breath to calm herself. “Also, you haven’t answered my petition.”
I thought back and realized that she was right. “Oh. Well, I’m here, so I guess I can.” Any objections I had to being Diamond’s friend were fading fast, and I found myself wanting to object less and less as well. The idea of having a friend as it was happening was quickly burrowing into my head and it felt nice. It felt right, somehow. “But before you do, let me congratulate you on being the first to have a petition approved by me.”
She was taken aback by the statement. “I am?”
“Yes. It costs nothing but some time, and I can only see positive long term effects. Start with your name.”
“I’m Ruby Cutter, and I’ve got a talent for making jewelry. My husband, Nicked Artery, teaches surgery at the local medical school.”
“That. . . That sounds like a terrible name for a surgeon.” It was also the first time I’d heard of the Empire having a medical school. “Or a doctor in general.”
“He did lose his license to operate years ago after losing a patient's skeleton, but he can still use his skills on dummies to teach his students. And don't worry, the patient got his skeleton back before anything worse could happen.”
“I see.” I picked up a sandwich and took a big bite of it. “Thish ish gud,” I said around a mouthful of the stuff. The peanut butter and bread were normal, but the jelly tasted like a mix between grape and blueberry, and it was very nice.
“Thanks. I do love it when I get compliments on the simple stuff. I’ll leave you two alone so you can. . . maybe work on Diamond’s homework?”
“In a moment.” I was hungry and the sandwiches were delicious.
Mom gave me a curious look when I got home. “And where have you been that’s got you smiling like that for once?”
I was suddenly aware of the smile on my muzzle that had replaced my normal neutral look. “Well. . . Would you believe me if I said I was at a friend’s house?” My answer was a small bolt of magic that hit my chest and stung just a bit. “What was that, mom?”
“I was just making sure you weren’t a changeling. Did you really make a friend?”
“Um. . . I think she kind of made herself into my friend? She gave me a hug and listened to some of the history stuff I’ve tapped tunes to, and we somehow ended up at her house. She’s an earth pony, but her parents are unicorns. I helped her with her homework and then came home.”
She gave me an inquisitive look. “Is that really all? Meeting her parents and doing homework? What’s her name?”
“Diamond Heart. She. . . She didn’t seem to care that I’m an alicorn, or that I still forget about my wings and horn.”
Mom thoughtfully nodded at my description. “I’d like to meet her sometime. Casually. Maybe her family too. First friends are a big deal, after all.”
“I’ll see what I can do. I’ll just head to my room until-”
“You’re not getting out of wing exercises tonight, young mare. Just because I’m glad you finally made a friend doesn’t mean we aren’t going to work on getting you off the ground.”
I grumbled at my misfortune before putting my saddlebags in their spot by the door and walking back outside. My wing exercises always ended up with two types of crashes: hitting the ground face first or an adrenaline crash after getting a little lift. It always left me feeling very tired and made me fall asleep very quickly.