//------------------------------// // Not A Normal Day // Story: The Beauty and the Nerd // by HattieForest //------------------------------// Morning sunlight gave the school a warmth that Twilight did not feel. For the first time in her life, she did not want to go to school. What would she tell Fluttershy when her friend asked what happened? Had Rarity told anypony of Twilight's obvious social failings? Twilight watched Derpy arrive with Pinkie. She tried to make it look like she hadn't seen them, but they had seen her, and were making a beeline for her. Pinkie nearly broke all logical thought with her speed. One moment she was standing just beside and below Derpy, then next she was standing in front of Twilight, grinning. Derpy nearly hit several trees on her way over. She hovered just off the ground, to Pinkie's right. "Hellohihihihello!" Pinkie greeted. "Morning!" Derpy chirped. "Um...Good morning," Twilight offered. "We'regonnahaveapartyforsure!" Pinkie had no bag nor coat, but she produced some invitations nonetheless. "Derpy is helping me spread the word!" Pinkie hopped excitedly. "I know you know that everypony knows that we're having a party, but invitations are so much fun, don't you think? You get one, of course! Here you go!" Pinkie handed an invitation to Twilight. "Saturday! Remember! Directions on the invitation, and you have to bring your party self!" Pinkie gasped. "You do have a party self, right?" "Um..." "Of course you do, everypony has a party self! I didn't have a party self when I was a little filly, so I was very sad, but then I found out about parties, and I found my party self, and we said 'hello', and - ohmygosh! More ponies to invite! Come on Derpy, you get the air, I'll get the sidewalk!" Twilight watched Derpy zip off to the pegasi coming into the school from the cloud walk. She nearly collided with several of them. "Hey, Pinkie -" Twilight began, turning to talk to the pink pony. This was in vain. Pinkie had already ambushed a group of earth ponies getting off one of the school's coaches. Twilight looked at her invitation. No getting out of it now. She was formally invited to a party, so she had to go. A sigh forced its way out. High School truly did not meet her research expectations. Tucking the invitation into her book bag, Twilight began the walk up the school's steps. As she walked she counted each step quietly to herself, as if the numbers would somehow give her the answer to her problems. When she came to her locker she grinned. No map! "Good morning, Twilight," a soft voice greeted. "Morning, Shy," Twilight replied. "Did you get the dress?" "Huh? Oh, yeah, the dress." Twilight shook her head. "Rarity wanted to help me with my sewing." "So you ... I mean, a dress isn't... um..." "For a beginner?" "Yes." Fluttershy studied the floor tiles. "We went with a scarf after some discussion." "Oh, I see." Fluttershy's upper half disappeared into her locker. Twilight took her morning textbooks from her shelf, pushed them into her bag, and shut her locker. "Are you going to Pinkie's party?" Twilight asked. "Yes," Fluttershy said. She finished up, closed her locker, and faced her friend. "Everypony goes to Pinkie's parties. She's such a nice pony. She makes sure everypony is having a good time. Last year, when Rainbow Dash moved here, Pinkie held a party for her. Ponies didn't want to be around Dash since her hair is multicolored the way it is, but Pinkie didn't care! Pinkie made - " The bell rang. Fluttershy gasped. "Oh no! I'm so sorry!" Tears sprung to her eyes. "I've made us late! Oh no..." Fluttershy trailed of miserably. Twilight sighed. That pony really was one of the most oversensitive people she knew. She felt for her though; Fluttershy was the most lovable pony she knew, yet she had few friends simply because she was too afraid to even speak to somepony she didn't know. She was beginning to suspect she had some sort of social disorder- Aspergers syndrome, perhaps? Shrugging off such thoughts, Twilight walked off to class. Geography this time, a subject Twilight usually found fascinating, but somehow the same lack of enthusiasm she had woken up with had followed her there. She was barely even interested when her teacher talked about earth crust movements and how they cause earthquakes. It didn't exactly help that Rarity was in class. Twilight looked at her a few times, a short, as casual as possible glance here and there, clumsily disguised as looking at a window, the teacher's huge globe of Equestria... Rarity just looked straight ahead, not even acknowledging her. Twilight felt disheartened, but reminded herself of the decision she had made the other night: Not to give up, not to let herself be deterred, held back, no matter how cold she seemed. She would find some time when Rarity was not surrounded by her elitist posse, and find a way to talk to her, assure her... Of what exactly? That they were still "friends"? That would be naive, socially clumsy, Twilight realized. They only met the other day. But she had to try. Those eyes; those sad, lonely eyes she had seen steeled her resolve as much as they had the other night. Nopony should have to look like that. Nopony should have to be alone in a crowd. Geology flew by, and as class ended, Twilight hurried to the door, wanting to intercept Rarity, maybe get her to decide a meeting later- "Rarity, I-" Rarity just let out a small "Hmmph.", raised her head high, and walked past her. 'Well, at least she didn't ignore me...' Twilight thought to herself. Feeling a little rejected, she walked out in the hallway. She had a full twenty minutes before magical science, the special class for young unicorns learning to utilize their magic to its fullest, and she felt like... talking to a friend. Just telling somepony about Rarity, how it felt to be treated so coldly, to hear just a few words of comfort. 'I guess I underestimated the need for friends after all.' She thought to herself. Well, she was no worse a pony than that she could change her mind when proven wrong. Trotting off down the hall, she decided to find Fluttershy. The shy pony usually liked the west wing; it had birds, little creatures, and wasn't usually too crowded- special classes and teacher's lounge only, not a lot of regular students. After walking through a few halls with no luck, Twilight thought she heard her voice. Not too strange; this was near the school aviary, where the rare birds were kept. Quietly, she trotted round the corner- and stopped dead in her tracks. There was indeed Fluttershy, far down the hall... pushed up against a locker, by Rainbow Dash. At first she thought the athletic pony was bullying her after all, but when Fluttershy kissed her, long and deep, the rainbow pegasus kissing back, Twilight realized that if this was bullying, then everything she ever knew about bullying was wrong. Twilight's jaw dropped as she watched Dash trail kisses down Fluttershy's neck, the shy pony giggling at the sensation. She had to have made some sort of sound because suddenly, Rainbow Dash looked her way, and the magic was gone. She trotted up to Twilight, angry, looking nothing like the sweet, loving pony she had been only seconds ago. "What're you doing here, huh?" She spat. "Spyin'? Gonna go tell everyone how Rainbow Crash is Rainbow Dyke? You can go to hell!" She was upset, very much so, Twilight could tell- but she looked more flustered than angry. "Well, I'm not!" Dash continued, angrily. "I'm not some stupid filly-fooler, and if you tell anyone I'll buck you in the face!" Taking flight, the pegasus sped down the corridor, down the stairs and away. Twilight blinked. What had just happened? Twilight looked from the hall to Fluttershy, then back down the hall. "I...uh...what?" she managed. Fluttershy gave a mortified squeak. Twilight looked back to her friend to see Shy flattened against the ground, her wings hiding her upper half to the best of their ability. "I...I under...stand if you...don't want ..." Fluttershy's voice went so low Twilight strained to hear. "Could you say that all again but louder?" "I understand...if you don't want to be my...friend...." Fluttershy sniffled. "Why wouldn't I be?" Twilight glanced behind herself. Should she go after Rainbow Dash? So many things she didn't know. Perhaps one couldn't learn everything from a book after all. Fluttershy peeked out from under her wings. "You want to be my friend?" "Why wouldn't I be?" Twilight repeated. "Um...." Fluttershy slowly stood up and traced patterns on the tiles with her hoof. "You are okay with my being ... different?" "What's different about it?" Twilight racked her brain, trying to remember anything anywhere she could have read that stated liking someone of the same gender wasn't okay. Actually, her mind kept giving her studies that showed every single pony liked someone of the same gender in that way at least once in their life. "Oh..." Fluttershy finally made eye contact with Twilight. "So you aren't mad?" "Mad?" Twilight echoed. "No." Confusion clouded her mind. "Oh." Fluttershy gave a small smile. "Alright, so um... oh, Rainbow Dash..." Her whole body seemed to deflate. "Should I apologise?" Twilight asked. "Nononono, let me talk to her. She's been through a lot, and she might see you as trying to trick her." "I would never - " Twilight began, only to stop and remember she almost tested Rarity to see if she was a true friend. Isn't testing the same as tricking? Yet, Twilight hadn't - she had to remember that. Thinking of doing something is not the same as actually doing it. "I hope not... I mean..." Fluttershy trailed off. How come Twilight had managed to avoid awkward silences for years, and now in the span of two days she's had enough to fill her life with awkward silences? "Um..." Twilight wondered if now would be socially acceptable for her to talk about Rarity. She bit her lip. "Did you want something, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked after a moment. "Um...I did want to talk to you, but I am unsure if now would be the socially acceptable time to do so..." Fluttershy sighed. "It's not your fault, Twilight. I'll talk to Dash after school. I have no idea where she is now, and I can't skip class to look for her, because even if I did find her, she would not want to talk." Fluttershy motioned to the Bird Tower. "Want to chat in there? If you help me take care of the birds using your magic, you can send a note to your teacher and ask if you may be excused for that class." "That won't work." "Why not? He may agree." Twilight doubted it. She wrote a note, and sent it zipping off. His reply came far too quickly. Twilight opened the note up, expecting to have detention or some other disciplinary action against her. To her surprise, the note read: "Need a break, eh? Okay, but only this once, and only because you have perfect grades and are Celestia's daughter." Oh no! He thought she was asking for a favor! What now? How can she fix this? Oh no oh no oh no. Fluttershy must have seen the horror on Twilight's face. "What's wrong?" "He thought I was asking for a favor," Twilight said. She felt sick. "A favor?" Fluttershy replied. "You asked if you could practice your magic with my class instead of with yours. I guess...I guess that could be a favor." "Class?" Twilight asked. "Of course, I wouldn't suggest you skip school." Twilight groaned. "I didn't know you had a class. Oh, how do I fix this?" "By not moaning," Derpy said cheerfully, causing Twilight to jump nearly four feet in the air. She turned around and saw students trickling in. Derpy gave her a comforting, if slightly weird, grin. "Moaning helps no one!" With that bit of advice done, Derpy entered the tower. "She's right," Twilight muttered. "It doesn't really help, though, does it?" "You could talk to him after school," Fluttershy suggested. Twilight sighed. Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared between the friends. "Hello!" she chirped. "I can't wait to talk to the birds, can you? We can talk to birds that normally aren't in our part of Equestria, isn't that awesome? I always wondered what it would be like to be a bird! Flying around, singing all day, and eating wiggling wormies, and OH! Eat a hot dog with lots of ketchup! That should do it!" She laughed and bounced into the tower. "Come on, lets goooo! WEEEEEEE!" Twilight wondered how she could talk to Fluttershy with Pinkie in the class. She followed Fluttershy up into the classroom, and was a bit dismayed when Fluttershy brought her over to Pinkie. After the teacher explained what to do - they would be creating bird nests - Pinkie, bouncing back and forth happily in a way only a Pinkie could, babbled about this and that- sugars, cupcakes, parties; her mouth was like a nonstop stream of... pink, that was the only word Twilight could think of. "We can look at the little birdies, and their feathers! Oooh, do you have a hawk? They have such nice colours, even if they are all like "GRR!" and "SKREE!" against smaller birdies, but hawks have to live too, right? And-" "Pinkie." "I wonder if we could get a hawk for our party? That would be super cool! Of course, I don't know if they like punch. DO you think they do? I mean, who doesn't like punch? I never met a hawk that didn't like punch, but then again-" "Pinkie!" "-I never actually met a hawk. DO you think they hate punch, or is that just falcons and eagles? I met a griffin once who just LOVED punch!" "PINKIE!" Twilight shouted. Several other students looked over in irritation which gave way to amusement. Everyone knew what was happening since Pinkie was there, and no one wanted to complain. Pinkie was Pinkie, and that was good. "Yes, Twilight?" The bubbly pony said, blinking at her, smiling that ridiculous smile. "Is it about the party? Are you worried? Do you need me to sing a song? I know just the right one! When I was a little filly and the sun-" Shoving a hoof in her mouth, Twilight forced a reprieve from the never-ending stream of words. "Listen Pinkie, we are talking about something very serious here." Twilight said, staring into Pinkie's cheery eyes. "This isn't about parties, or bullies, or anything like that. I need you to quiet down a little. Can you do that?" "Mmhmmph." Pinkie said, nodding. Removing her hoof from Pinkie's mouth, Twilight turned to Fluttershy. "Are you okay with telling Pinkie, 'Shy?" Blushing just thinking about it, Fluttershy nodded. "Listen Fluttershy, you don't have to feel any pressure about this. We can just talk about this later, in private, if-" "N-no. I want to tell her about it. I want to talk about it." Fluttershy said, sounding surprisingly resolute. "What's going on?" Pinkie said, sounding confused. "What's so serious?" She sounded nervous, Twilight noticed, as if being outside her bubble of randomness and cheer made her deeply uncomfortable. "Listen, Pinkie," Twiligt said, more serious than before, "what we're about to say is a secret until Fluttershy says it isn't so. You mustn't under any circumstances let this slip to anybody, you got that? It's very sensitive, and-" "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Pinkie said, sticking a hoof to her eye. "I'm not telling, Pinkie Swear." Twilight sighed, looking to Fluttershy. She nodded back at her, and Twilight took a deep breath, and said: "Fluttershy is... with Rainbow Dash. Not "friends"-with, "kissing"-with." "...huh? But... wait a second, how does that work? Um..." Pinkie said, puzzled. Fluttershy lowered her head. "No, let me think about it..." sitting up on her haunches, Pinkie put a hoof to her chin, and put on an expression that implied a deep thought process. After about a minute or so, Twilight couldn't take it any more. "Pinkie, what-" "Oooh, I get it now!" Pinkie exclaimed, jubilant. "That's so cute! Does she take you on dates? Do you talk about lots of stuff? Do you, you know, do "things" in be-" "Slow down, Pinkie." Twilight said, firmly. "One question at a time." "Are you dating?" Pinkie said eagerly. "N-not really..." Fluttershy said, looking a little less downtrodden. "I mean, we never went on a date. We usually just go to her place and kiss. A lot. And, um, talk a little. Then she usually wants to kiss again." "Can I just ask..." Twilight cut in. "How? I mean, how did this happen? You and Rainbow Dash do not exactly seem to have a lot in common." "It was last year we first met." Fluttershy explained. "There was this court where the pegasi play air football, and Dash was in the team. I thought she was just like the others. You know, not that nice." "Not that nice", Twilight noted, would be what anypony not so incredibly tactful as Fluttershy would call a stuck-up jerk jock with his or her head in the clouds. "There are some trees next to the court," Fluttershy continued, "and I was minding some birds there. Then, one day, I saw a chick had fallen out. I looked everywhere, for hours, but I couldn't find her. But when I got back, I saw Rainbow Dash, putting the chick back in its nest. It was right after her practice ended, and everyone else had gone ahead, but she had stayed behind. She helped that little birdie." Twilight nodded. If there was any way to appeal to Fluttershy, it would be through small, defenseless critters. (AlthoughFluttershy considered wolverines as belonging to that category as well. It was best not to dwell on it.) "That time, she flew away, pretending she hadn't seen me. But the next time, I caught her after practice, and I thanked her. She seemed not to like me at first, but we somehow got to talking, for hours. After that, we would sit and talk whenever she had time, and I would cheer her on from the sidelines. "Then, like a month later, out of nowhere... she kissed me. I had no idea what to think. I just froze up. Dash thought it was that I was shocked, or disgusted, so she just flew away. She told me later she was crying that night. But the next day, I caught her after her racing practice, and even though she pretended like nothing happen, I didn't let it go. I think that was the first time I decided to fight, and not just curl up and hide whenever somepony gets angry with me." "That's just so... so..." Pinie sniffed, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. "What happened next, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "We had a big shouting match. She said a lot of mean, nasty things, but I could see she was afraid. It was just like with my animals, I could see it in her eyes. So when she had finished shouting, I decided to be a little more assertive and.. I kissed her. The rest sort of followed naturally." "Wow..." Twilight felt so moved. Fluttershy was the one pony she had known the longest- Fluttershy's family was not exactly poor, and they had met at a young age- but she had still had no idea. And Fluttershy had stood up to Rainbow Dash, even when she had been trying to push her away. Her friend was a lot stronger than most ponies gave her credit for, Twilight realized. "I want to throw you a party so badly right now." Pinkie sniffed. "I won't, because I did a Pinkie swear, but that was just the sweetest thing I heard since, I dunno, last Thursday." "You don't think it's weird?" Fluttershy asked, shyly. "Oh, gosh no!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I like mares too! And colts! And mares! I like both kinds, and I never cared what people thought about it!" "Oh..." "I'm happy for you, Fluttershy." Twilight said, nodding. "I just hope Rainbow Dash will treat you well." "Fillies!" the Teacher interrupted. "I'm sure whatever you are talking about it important. But please talk and make your respective nests. Go on!" Fluttershy bent over her twigs and straw, and began weaving them together expertly. Pinkie Pie tapped her hoof on her chin. Twilight raised an eyebrow. Pinkie gave her a smile. "Nest building is fun, don'tcha think?" Before Pinkie could begin another speech, Twilight said: "I don't know, I haven't built a nest before." She began sorting her materials into little piles. Twigs, straw, ribbons, feathers, and string. Twilight looked to Fluttershy. She was done one nest. Twilight looked at Pinkie. She was done four nests. Twilight blinked. "Whoa." "Yeah, it's easy," Pinkie said. "You just do this and this and this, then this and this and then of course this!" Twilight gaped at the finished nest. She hadn't even seen Pinkie move, just the nest building itself. "Uh...yes. I get it." Twilight started to build her own nest, using her magic to weave it together. The result wasn't half bad, though one bird saw it and gave Twilight the evil eye. "So...what did you want to talk about, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked casually. Twilight flinched. Leave it to Fluttershy to see through Twilight's ruse. Twilight knew she had had no business asking Pinkie or Shy to talk about Shy's situation, so she also knew she had no choice to talk about her own problem with Pinkie. It would not be fair to Shy. Pinkie looked expectantly at Twilight. "Whatever it is, its okay, I mean I'm your friend no matter what, well unless you are a serial killer that you know kills ponies or -" "Thank you Pinkie," Twilight said. " - but then again, if you want to be a pretend serial killer and just -" "What?" "- write a story or make a play or something that would be so much fun, being all nasty and meanie and not really being a meanie, because really, who actually wants to be a meanie -" "Do you breathe when you talk?" "- since being a meanie is mean and of course I breathe and -" "Pinkie, please!" "- okay." Pinkie bounced happily. "What do need to talk about?" She grew quiet and hushed. "Is this serious too?" "Yes. And you can't tell anyone!" "Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Pinkie stuck her hoof to her eye. "Pinkie swear!" "Okay, good." Twilight took a deep breath. "I may have hurt Rarity's feelings. I didn't mean to! I wanted to be her friend, and I said some things she probably took the wrong way..." "Oh no!" Fluttershy whispered. "We'll figure it out, Twilight." Pinkie nervously looked around. Everpony else was busy with their nests. Pinkie leaned in close to Twilight and motioned for Fluttershy to come close as well, which she did. "Be hush-like, Glitter is here," Pinkie whispered. "What I need," Twilight mumbled, "Is a how-to book for high school." "There is one, but it was wrote by an old pony, so it doesn't exactly work," Pinkie stated matter-of-factly. "Ooooh, pink ribbons." "What did you say Twilight?" Fluttershy whispered. "I said she could come to my house whenever she wanted, night or day, because she didn't seem to have any real friends." Twilight looked at the ground, tears coming. "It was stupid, and dumb." "I'm her friend," Pinkie muttered. "I didn't mean it," Twilight said quickly. "I was thinking of how cold her house is. It isn't a home. And it made me so sad, that a pony so beautiful on the inside as well as the outside had to live in such a dark place. I hadn't meant she had no friends - I was thinking of her fake friends, Glitter Rain, Lightning Smoke -" "But how can you tell they aren't her friends?" Pinkie almost snapped. "Everypony is good at heart." "Pinkie, some ponies are meanies becuase they want to be a meanie," Fluttershy spoke up. Twilight and Pinkie exchanged surprised looks. "Um...well..." Pinkie started to cry. "I can't..." Fluttershy hurried over and hugged Pinkie. "It's okay, it's okay," she murmured. Several students began looking over at their table. The teacher sighed. "Alright, you three, out into the staircase, now!" Twilight numbly followed Fluttershy and Pinkie into the staircase, the teacher close behind. He shut the door. "I am so shocked and disappointed!" he began sternly. "All three of you are speaking in class and not doing your work! Fluttershy and Twilight, you both are new to Canterlot's Central High School, but your records indicate you both are model students! And Fluttershy, in your months here, you have shown yourself to be an excellent student! Now, why in all of Equestia did you make Pinkie Pie cry?" Fluttershy looked to the ground. "I'm sorry," she said, voice thick with tears. "I'm so sorry." "It wasn't them, Sir!" Pinkie said. "Please, don't -" "It's my fault." Twilight cleared her throat. Time to put her emotions away and become factual. "Everything is my fault. I made Pinkie cry by talking badly of other students, ponies I really don't know - I've been here only a week, I had no right to make assumptions. And please don't punish Fluttershy, she was only comforting Pinkie." "Is this true?" the teacher asked. "Yes," Twilight replied, confused. The teacher raised an eyebrow. "I was talking to your friends," he explained. "Oh." Twilight felt her face grow warm. "Yes," Fluttershy said softly. "Partly," Pinkie said. "Partly?" The teacher looked at the ceiling. "One of those days." He looked back at Pinkie. "Okay. Explain as quickly as you can without getting hyper or missing information." Pinkie took a deep breath. "I like to see only the good in ponies, and Twilight likes to see facts, and we were talking about something she needed help with and I misinterpreted what she said and thought she was being a meanie and I started crying and that's why we're here." "Is this true?" the teacher repeated, looking at each of the fillies in turn. "Yes," Pinkie said. "Yes," Twilight agreed. "Yes," Fluttershy echoed. "Alright. Here's what is happening. None of you have done anything like this before, so I am only giving you a warning. However, if you disrupt my class again, I will give you detention. Understood?" "Yes, Sir," they chorused. "Good." He looked at Twilight as though seeing her for the first time. "Wait a tick. You're not my usual student. Do you have permission to be here?" "Yes, Sir." Twilight pulled the note from her usual teacher out of her bag. He read it, then gave it back. "Two things. Firstly, show notes to the teacher before class begins so he or she knows. Secondly, I will not give you any special attention for being who you are, unlike some teachers. Do not test me. All three of you, back in the class. Now." They went back into the classroom. "Ha!" Glitter hissed at Twilight. "Not so much a pet, now, huh?" "Huh?" Twilight replied. "Pet?" Glitter stared at Twilight for a split second then snickered. "Oh, you really are smart, aren't you?" "She's brilliant," Pinkie broke in coolly. Glitter snorted. Twilight didn't see what was so amusing, but she had a feeling something important was going on. "Come on, Twi." Pinkie led the girls back to their table. Pinkie sat down and looked Twilight in the eyes. "I will help you. Rarity is worthwhile, and you are worthwhile. I think I know what to do!" she grinned. "But first...nests! Yahoooooooo!" Pinkie reverted back to her cheerful self. Twilight glanced at Fluttershy. The pegasus was crying silently. Being called into the hall must have been a nightmare for her. Twilight's stomach twisted into a knot. "Okay, tell me exactly what happened," Pinkie whispered. "Oh, and Fluttershy, don't worry. If you aren't called into the hall once, how can you expect to have the full high school experience?" "I don't want my head in a toilet!" Fluttershy wailed - softly, to Twilight's amazement. "Toilet?" Twilight asked. "Some ponies play pranks by putting other pony's heads in toilets," Pinkie explained. "And it won't happen, Fluttershy. Between Dash, me, and Twilight, you're safe!" Fluttershy nodded. "Now, Twilight." Pinkie exchanged some of her blue ribbons for some of Twilight's pink ones. "Tell us exactly what happened." Twilight whispered the whole visit to her friends. Fluttershy kept silent except for an occasional 'oh no!' and Pinkie nodded and absorbed the whole thing so much like a wise pony, that Twilight wondered if she misjudged Pinkie as well. Did she misjudge everypony? Were Glitter and Lightning really good ponies? Was Rarity's father really a good father? After she was done, Fluttershy tried her best to comfort her. "You know, some ponies just have a hard time showing love. Her father may just be doing what he thinks is best for his daughter. I mean, like any good father." "True," Twilight said. "Sounds like he had a bunch of meanies in his life." Pinkie placed her latest nest in her pile of finished nests. "Maybe he just doesn't know how to love her." "But that doesn't help her, does it?" Twilight asked. "I mean, I can't tell her all this, can I?" "Oh, nononono," Fluttershy said. "She already knows, I think, but if you tell her, it will be like rubbing it in her nose." Twilight groaned. "You mean, by trying to be a friend, I actually just threw garbage on her? Why can't I learn this from a book? Why do I have to learn it like this, with ponies getting hurt?" "Life," Pinkie said simply. "It's life." The teacher looked at his students. "Alright, homework! I want each of you to write an essay on why building bird nests are essential to the way our world works. Please bring your nests to the front, and place them by my desk." The bell rang. Twilight gathered her nests up. She had made only five. Fluttershy had made about twenty. Pinkie...well, Pinkie had a small mountain in her arms. The fillies brought their work to their teacher, and placed their work with the rest of the class'. "Twilight," the teacher called. "Come here please." Twilight felt her stomach freeze up. She held back. Glitter smirked at her. Pinkie stuck her tongue out at Glitter, who didn't really notice until Pinkie made a raspberry. "How rude!" Glitter marched out the room. "Pinkie, don't make raspberries in my classroom," the teacher ordered. "Please leave." "But - " "Pinkie." "Okey dokey lokey." Pinkie trotted out of the room, pulling Fluttershy with her. Fluttershy gave Twilight a sad look. With them gone, Twilight felt suddenly very alone. Was she in trouble? Twilight took a deep breath. "Yes, Sir?" "Since you are not my usual student, you of course do not have to do the essay. Now, is there any particular reason you did not want to go to your normal class?" "I don't understand, Sir." "Are you being bullied?" he asked kindly. "I - um..." Twilight shuffled. What was she supposed to do? Was she being bullied? It seemed more like social problems - a result of her being buried in her books. "I'm having problems with other students, if that's what you mean, but I don't think it's bullying." Twilight sighed. "I'm not socially intelligent. Give me books, give me facts, give me tests - but don't give me a party. I fail at social dynamics." The teacher studied her for a moment. "Your homeroom teacher told me you had nail polish thrown at your head." "Yes." Twilight could still feel the "paper ball" connecting with her head. "And I spoke with several Cafeteria mares. Glitter Rain gave you a hard time for not accepting an invitation, am I correct?" "Well, yes, but -" "Twilight, it is hard to acknowledge you are being bullied," he said gently. "And sometimes a pony who is being bullied will take it out on his or her friends, without even knowing that he or she is doing so." Twilight was about to protest then realised he was right. "Oh snap," she muttered. "Snap, indeed," he said. "Now, I have another class in a few minutes. Twilight, please speak with your regular teachers about this, or your mother, or if you need to, come talk to me. I'm sorry I don't have enough time to properly sort this out with you." At that moment a few students began trickling in. They were at least five years older than Twilight, and for a second she didn't understand. Then she remembered that Canterlot's Central High School shared several towers with one of the universities. These students were the future of Equestia's agriculture. "Thank you, Sir," Twilight said. "I'll get going to my class -" "Twilight?" "Yes, Sir?" "A permission slip for being late." He handed her one. It was so much more official looking than the note Twilight had received from her regular teacher. "Thank you, Sir." Twilight made a beeline for the door, wondering if she had ever wanted to leave a classroom so bad before.