People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing. - Will Rogers
That event was traumatic for all of them, especially at that age. However, things got back into their usual routine. The morning lessons from mother as the Eyes gazed through the classroom window, the arts and activities that followed for the rest of the day, the weekly visit from Mr. Kevin, and the bi-weekly visit to Dr. Cerebral’s office. This continued for several months after Fins disappeared. They were young, adaptable, and moved on; all except for Fizz. It wasn't certain if she began to distance herself, or if the rest began to leave her alone, but any socializing with her brought up questions and concerns for her sanity.
“Fizz, where did you get that?” Mother interrupted her own class to point out the clay figurines that Fizz was playing with.
“Oh these? I made them; they are my friends. I made friends” Fizz chuckled as she continued to play with them and conduct interactions between the clay characters.
“Fizz, this is class time, and we don’t play with clay in class time.”
“Oh, they aren’t clay, they are my friends, and they don’t have class time.” Fizz never even looked up from her toys, and continued to lightly mumble the imagined words of her projected clay personas.
“Now is not the time.” Mother was stern as she stuck out her hoof towards Fizz’s small desk. “Hoof them over please; you’ll have to play with them later.”
Mother had already tried reasoning with Fizz during an earlier incident that day, and it proved futile to try and convince Fizz that her friends were just clay. So, in order to save time, Mother would argue on the topic about the rules that were being broken, rather than spend an hour showing that clay friends are still only clay.
Dr. Cerebral may have also tried to show Fizz reason and reality. If he did, it failed.
“But” Fizz pleaded “They’re my friends.” Fizz finally looked up from her desk, and directly at her mother. The other fillies remained quiet. The last incident proved to be unpleasant and regretful. An attempt from Harmony to show sympathy was met with a scorn from Fizz; the rest of them learned from this example and let Fizz condole her own feelings.
Mother had become aggravated and impatient towards Fizz’s developing behavior. In a quick swipe, she took the clay figurines off of Fizz’s desk and promptly set them in a desk drawer.
“Now…” Mother continued with her day’s lesson and pointed back at the blackboard, only to be startled and interrupted by an enraged Fizz.
“YOU CAN’T TAKE AWAY MY FRIENDS!!!!” Fizz pounced onto Mother’s desk, pulled the drawer completely out of its slot and emptied it of contents.
The classroom was all in shock; eyes wide and jaws agape. Class time was supposed to be an orderly time, a quiet time, and a time to sit still regardless of how squirmy or squirrelly they felt.
“Young lady, you sit back down in your seat this instant!”
You could tell Mother’s emotions by what she called her daughters by. If she called them by their numerative designation, then you knew she was in the mood for business; if she called them by the name she gave, then she was comfortable; but if she called out “young lady”, then you knew she was mad and that something was very wrong.
Flutters glanced to her left. Sport just stared as the filly on the desk and Mother shared a frightful glare. In front of Sport sat Sassy, who seemed genuinely interested at the recent development. Directly in front of Flutters sat Valed, who had propped an open book on its side, and hidden her face in it. Next to Valed sat Harmony, who had hidden under her desk as if an earthquake had struck. To her right, Flutters saw Vie, who showed complete disinterest in the incident.
“You don’t take my friends!” Fizz began to pull out another drawer as she stood on Mother’s workspace.
“You…” In a single motion, Mother blocked the drawer from being pulled out again and pointed a hoof in Fizz’s face “will show me the proper respect!”
Fizz just ducked her head under Mother’s hoof and stuck it in the desk drawer.
“What are you hiding in here? Are any of my other friends in here too? Is this where you’ve been keeping Fins?!”
Flutter’s cybernetics showed otherwise, but the room felt ten degrees colder with those words. Even Vie startled up at that remark. Mother looked in horror as her daughter poked her head back up and stabbed a piercing glare into Mother’s eyes.
“Well?! Is it?”
Mother nearly collapsed as her limbs grew numb. Fizz was able to pry the drawer loose from Mother, pushing her into a corner. The fillies just stared as Fizz continued to dismantle Mother’s desk. It was so frightful and violent, that none of the fillies heard the door swing open, and two of The Eyes stormed through. They nearly startled the fillies as they flew by and pounced on Fizz, quickly restraining her.
With her hooves held behind her back, Fizz was dragged over the desk and towards the door. Mother became alert again and quickly ran up beside The Eyes, nearly pushing them over. Flutters could see Mother repeatedly mouthing the word “No” over and over as she ran over. One of The Eyes blocked Mother as they reached the door, and motioned for her to stay.
“Please?!” Mother pleadingly begged as she limply grabbed towards an unreachable Fizz. Just outside the door was Kevin with his hoof held device, his posture was depressed as he turned to follow the seized and screaming Fizz down the hall.
Mother sat there inside the doorway; her head hung so low, it nearly touched the floor.
“Class… dismissed” she sobbed, unmoving from where she laid.
The next day, there were only six seats in the classroom.