//------------------------------// // Chapter 47- The first steps to change. // Story: The normal life of Nitpick Bittersweet // by Ryusun //------------------------------// “And then she said, ‘I’ll make you see things in a new light in the coming days’, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?” “Such arrogance, sweetheart!” “And then she leaves me in the middle of the park like if I was the bad guy! IS SHE SERIOUS!?” “Horrible, simply horrible!” “The way she said those virtues was stupid! Might, Honor, Grace, Joy, Tenderness! Who the hell does think she is!? Captain Friendship?” After the date I had with Sunset Shimmer near an hour ago, I decided to vent my frustrations in the only place an obnoxious guy like me could enjoy! The family restaurant was nearly empty and Adagio Dazzle served me the Mocktail with no alcohol in it. “You really take this personal, don’t you?” “Yes! Agghhh! Damn it! Why this kind of things happens to me?” “But in a way, my dear patron, you weren’t at fault in your discussion with her!” Said Adagio with a pleasing tone. “What do you mean by that?” “For starters, if what you say is true about the problems of the school, then she is just assuming that everything is paradise in CHS! And assumed opinions are baseless, and that makes it a false claim!” “Please elaborate more!” “By standing your ground and indirectly defending the minority at the school of what is really happening there, you protected your voice of free expression! And without you taking notice, gained a powerful weapon that can be used against her and awake all the students that oppose the established, new reign of ‘Ideal’!” “Which is?” “The Shadow of Doubt! The Fires of Civil War! You must gather forces to start a revolution and oppose her rule on the school!” “Are you crazy!? That’s busy work! I don’t want to lead people! The only logical choice is to step aside and just bear with it until I graduate!” And with that, I took a long and deep sip to my glass, emptying its content. “Young patron! There must be people in that place that will aid you in the cause! If you don’t stand your ground and make a comeback, Sunset Shimmer will hunt you and her friends won’t stop until you are one of them! And by the looks of it, you won’t last long!” “But if what Sunset said is true, most people in school hate me! I won’t receive support from anyone!” “That’s the magic word, sweetie!” Finally said Adagio. “’Most’ people hate you, but what about the minority? Don’t you have some friends there?” “Yes, my friends from middle school, Lightbulb and Dancer!” “And they agree with Sunset and her vision for the school?” “No… as a matter of fact, Dancer hates her for some personal reason!” “Well, you already have definite supporters without even asking!” “But-“ “Stop saying ‘but’! You are making excuses when you use that word!” “It’s not excuses, is me being realistic! I don’t have enough resources to oppose the Idol Six! I don’t have a motive strong enough to even gather people to the cause!” “Something tells me that Sunset will give you a cause sooner than later! Do you have experience in leading people?” “I was the Champion of the lower class in Crystal Prep but I didn’t want the job in the first place! No-one in the lower class wanted the job and they put my name in it when I was sick in the day of elections!” “How much did you last in the position?” “…uhm, all the year.” “Then don’t be afraid, darling! What are you in reality, a man or a cowering dog? If you let her make her move with complete freedom, she will catch you and will kill your uniqueness! And more importantly, there is only one committee in the whole school, right? The democracy that they preach is fair and just when there are multiple groups that share the power to lead any society in their shoulders! But when there is only one ‘Idol Six’ leading the whole school, that’s not fair and equal! No, no, no!” She caressed my chin with her right hand and slowly explored it until she released me from her touch. “It’s a Monarchy, disguised as a friendly rainbow of placebos! And Sunset Shimmer has the crown! If you have what it takes to help some students in there to fight against the Absolute, then why don’t you do it? You told me the first time I met you that there was nothing wrong with a little competition! I liked those piercing eyes full of crushing intent when you were speaking of Wind Rider’s demise! If Shimmer believes you are enlightened enough to help her in her crusade, why don’t you show her a piece of your mind?” She closed the gap between our faces! Her seductive but pleasant smile full of selfish intent, her eyes filled with inner spirit! Something in her eyes… reminds me of Crystal Prep Academy. “Unleash your inner fire once again, Nitpick! Lead the dispersed minority so they can unite and have a Song of Freedom to spread in the school!” “I don’t know… I had an issue with my self-confidence when I transferred to CHS…” “Whatever happened in the past, it stays there! We are the result of our past deeds, but-! “We don't have to be prisoners of it.” I completed her speech. “Past deeds cannot be altered but the future can be molded with the choices of today! The lessons of the past will forever be there to teach you from where you came from!” “Excellent, sweetie!” Said Adagio with a praising tone. “Be a star! Be a leader! Be a Champion of the common folk once again! It’s not your old school and the circumstances are different, but the goal is the same! Be a man and fight! Don’t let her win that easily!” “Are you a politician? You speak with such aura of evil charisma!” “Hehehe!” Laughed Adagio with a charismatic tone. “I’m just a common elder sister, with an uncommon background! Besides, I must be honest with you! I want you to screw the school a little! Think on your hours of sleep about what I told you today, okay?” “…understood.” I retired from the place after paying for my drink and giving the appropriate tip. Once I arrived home, put my clothes to the laundry and carefully placed them in the cloth rack of the house, I took a shower and then went straight to bed. But I couldn’t sleep! Ideas on how to even start a group to balance the power in school were bombarding my mind. It was a familiar feeling… September 29th, a new week started and I ended up sleeping at one in the morning. I couldn’t think of anything! There was simply no reason to defy the Idol Six. I better behave myself from now on and dissimulate things at school. Doing my daily routine plus safeguarding my now clean tac-shirt in its box, I journeyed through the town to finally arrive school. “What the hell!?” There was a commotion in the school gardens. Members of the soccer team, the Idol Six and Twilight were giving pamphlets to the students. Suddenly, an unpleasant voice was heard. “ALRIGHT, EVERYONE! WE OBTAINED PERMISSION TO CHANGE THE SPORT CLASS SCHEDULES! SINCE AUTUMN IS STILL A GOOD SEASON TO PRACTICE SPORTS ON THE FIELD AND NOBODY LIKES CLASSES ON SATURDAY! WE WILL UNITE THE P.E. CLASSES INTO A FOUR DAYS A WEEK SESSIONS AFTER TWO PM STARTING NEXT WEEK! THAT IS ALL FOR THE MOMENT!” Shouted Spitfire to every group of students while the people I mentioned keep giving to the students the new schedules of our new training schedule. I tried to walk straight to school but someone stood before me, her fiery radiance was more highlighted than yesterday. “Take this, Nitpick!” Not wanting troubles with her, I took the paper and read all its content… I wasn’t happy about it! “Are you serious?” I asked with complete disbelief. “I told you I would make you see things in a new light!” Said Sunset Shimmer with a joyous face. “Look at the power of unity at work! It only took us a few calls yesterday to mobilize the entire sport’s teams of the school to make this happen! Principal Celestia gave us the approval a few minutes ago and now the sport classes will be from Monday to Thursday, two hours a day! What do you think of this?” “You…!” I said angered. “Hehe! Don’t worry! Once we start the actual classes, we’ll have so much fun together! Rainbow finally organized the good things she learned with Wind Rider and will integrate them to the school training! Plus, Saturday classes will be removed thanks to this change! It’s a win for everyone!” WHO THE HELL IS ‘EVERYONE’!? “There is not enough space in the school field to hold all of the students in it!” I said in protest. “You would be surprised, my young student!” Finally, after more than one month and a half of not seeing her once, she was before me. The ruler of the school was taller than me, even than Big Mac just for a few hairs. Her long and soft-like, rainbow colored hair, slender figure, beautiful pearlescent skin and lovely eyes was something unreal for a woman that was a Principal of a school. Principal Celestia put her hands on her hips and observed her surroundings, happy by the results of this early event. “Once again, you are uniting the students of CHS, Sunset Shimmer! I can see lots of happy faces around here! I already made the call to the Town’s Hall and they gave us the approval to use the training fields as a second ground for our students during sport classes. I just came here to inform you that so I’ll take my leave! There is a lot of paperwork to do for Luna and me! The Thanksgiving event is coming soon!” The Principal gave us a small and warm smile and she got back to her office. Sunset Shimmer was happy with this outcome and soon spoke to me once again. “You see, Nitpick? If even the Principal is at our side, what could possibly be wrong with my way of Friendship? But I won’t pressure you! The bonds of the school will convince you sooner than later!” “…We’ll see about that!” I said with negativity and got into school. Fucking damn it… she is taking things to the extreme. Classes started and Ethics was at hand. Mrs. Harshwhinny gave us our test and without any surprise for me, I aced the exam. An 'A plus' was written in my paper and with a little note that practically said that I was really open to various kinds of free thinking. Hehehehe I’m the best! The teacher started to explain why in context some students got wrong their answers and to a degree, I was really impressed with her knowledge. Deciding that it wouldn’t be bad to listen to other’s people opinion who actually knows what they are talking about, I put all my attention on her words. The school bell suddenly played its tune, marking the end of the first class. Trigonometry was next and this one made me feel worried. The test last week was a little harder than I thought and the only comfort I have in this moment is the words of hope that Twilight gave me after the test was over. “My beautiful students…” Said Calculus Bridge with a sad tone. “I’m so sad to see so many low grades in these tests… But don’t worry! We have two more tests to improve your results! Let’s put more effort and enthusiasm and one day, you’ll be as brilliant and dedicated as Twilight Sparkle! I’m sure of it!” He started to distribute the papers to their respective owners, and when my turn finally arrived! FUCKING NAIL IT! NAAAAAIL IT! A ‘B plus’ was my score and I couldn’t be happier with the circumstances. After all, Twilight was the one that made this text more insufferable than what was originally planned in the first place. Speaking of her, she was a little sad, I could feel it. “What’s wrong, Twilight?” I whispered to her. “Everything okay?” “Oh yeah…” She whispered in return. “It’s just about the test score!” “Did you get a bad mark?” I know it is a stupid question after what Santa Calculus said but I didn’t have other thing in mind at the moment. “No, I got an ‘A plus’!” “Then why do you feel bad about that? You aced the test, fucking damn it!” I whispered with annoyance now. “Nitpick!” “What?” “Language!” “Urrghhh…!” “Answering your question, look at Rainbow!” I stealthy stared at her and in her face the sweats of uneasiness were falling through her pores. That’s not good. Physics was next and I could end like her if I got a bad mark there. Calculus explained the answers of the current subject with such detail that now I can safely say that I could improve my mark a little bit next time. Perhaps an ‘A minus’ is not a cocky dream in the long run, I had above average scores in the academy and I was pretty smart. Lunchtime arrived and I got straight to Lightbulb to fulfill the now usual routine; I retrieved my lunch and I paid him the money. Since fifty-three dollars were left from the two-hundred bucks my Mother gave me yesterday, my finances returned to the green zone… in the bare minimum. “Nitpick!” Said Lightbulb with lunch at hand. “We need to talk” I bet he wants to know how I fared with Sunset. Urgghh better start to gather my patience and withstand his backlash when I tell him what happened. “Sure. Where is Dancer?” “She is with Lyra and Bon Bon doing some study sessions in the library. So I’ll join you this time at the backyard.” “You are welcome to my private haven!” We arrived to my spot without delay and after starting to dig in to today’s pancakes, I noticed they were different in a good way. Instead of your typical honey with butter bathed bread they were covered with a crispy-like strawberry marmalade. The consistency gave away that it was a one-hundred percent, natural type so it added to the kudos points to Granny Smith’s cooking. “Now, what do you want to talk with me, Lightbulb? Dancer is not here so you can say speak your mind with free reign” “About Sunset Shimmer.” “If this is about the date, I-“ He raised his hand and politely expressed that I must stop talking. “It’s not about the date.” Said Lightbulb with a tone of discomfort. “It’s about the new schedules of the sports team! This stupid move from the Idol Six is screwing some people on school!” “What? And why don’t you all say that to the Principal? She seems to be a very accessible woman!” “Because the minority is simply too afraid to be pointed out as ‘Mood downers’ or the likes! If they complain with the Principal, well, you experienced our ‘heart-warming’ social news system with Twilight weeks ago.” “So much for ‘friendship’ and ‘democracy’ in this school if you can’t express your mind!” “I am really tired of the idiotic soccer team’s obnoxious training and the Idol Six making the school a ‘friendlier place’ for everyone! I won’t speak names, but some of the students are sick and tired of their recent meddling’s in all activities! What’s next? Make a mandatory charity event and all school must participate in it one way or another?” His voice was slow… but it had a glimpse of anger in it. “Lightbulb… Take it easy.” “But I’m really tired, Nitpick… I know to keep my mouth shut and say nothing! I always go with the flow of things and accept change like… Ufffff Dancer is doing a part time job to make her family have an easier time! And that new schedule ruins her work in some way or another! Perhaps for some of the school students this is an excellent idea what they are doing but they don’t consider that some of us won’t take the…’deep breath’… Bro… is that a dark chocolate bar?” “Yes, I bought in a deal while doing my groceries. Now I call it the ‘Chocolate of Spirit’… sounds cooler according to my friends in the academy.” I opened the envelopment and gave half of the bar to him. We ate the dark chocolate while savoring every moment of it. After that, we slowly ate our pancakes. “Ah… this always hit spot! Thanks, Bro!” Said Lighbulb in his relaxed and reasonable tone. He is back to his everyday self. “No problem! What are friends for, Lightbulb?“ “I need to ask you a favor then.” “Quickly abusing my endless good will, uh?” I said with an arrogant tone. “Don’t be an ass and listen to what I have to say!” “Alright! You know I can be a pretty good listener!” I soon started to drink my chocolate milk. Apple juice was sadly sold out. But oh, this chocolate tastes so good! “Please… destroy the Idol Six!” ‘PLUAH’ “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING!?” “I’m no insinuating that you must destroy their friendship! That would be evil! But I want to make them see reason! I know you can do it, Bro! Rumors about that overrated athlete Rider were spread around school! I don’t know if you know but you have a pretty bad fame in school! At least, socially.” “And what makes you think I can destroy the Idol Six? I don’t have people backing me up to even begin the madness you are asking from me!” “You have me! Dancer and other guys who don’t hold ill feelings towards you will follow you if you start something serious!” “No, Lightbulb! We must bear with it until we graduate!” “Are you saying that!? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? YOU OF ALL OF PEOPLE!?” “I’m being realistic, Bro! I need a reason to do it!” “Then I’ll give you some reasons to think about it! Remember that Dancer was humiliated once by Sunset Shimmer! True, I told you that she got a taste of her own medicine but now she is jeopardizing your friend and other people in school! Also, something tells me that you didn’t enjoy your date in the end.” “No! As a matter of fact, she told me that I was the bad guy in a subtle way. I’m not a trouble maker! I just get pissed when people try to make look things better than they really are! I regret making Pinkamena cry but I don’t regret yelling to her my real thoughts! The soccer team is really being a pain in the ass and they deserve the hate! And the stupid shelter- AH!” And I finally realized! ‘What are you in reality, a man or a cowering dog?’ With great force, shaking the chains of fear in my mind, those seductive words that Adagio said yesterday were resonating with great echo in my newfound thoughts. In a society in which nearly everybody is dominated by somebody else's mind or by a disembodied leadership, there are always glimpses of freedom in the acts of every day’s activities! But what the Idol Six is doing, what they enforce, is nothing more than one single voice guiding the defenseless freedom of choice in school. Why… why they didn’t ask the opinions of all the school in the first place? Why they assumed that everyone would be happy with this change? Adagio was right! Why should I allow them to stomp me for something that wasn’t my complete fault in the first place!? Why I should permit them to tell me how to live my life? Why I didn’t do nothing about it since day one!? I won’t stand that kind of bullshit any longer. “Bro! Did you reflect on something?” “I won’t allow the Idol Six to keep doing things as they please, Lightbulb! Do you know if there are people who could join us?” “I’ll create some secret accounts to make an online poll and see if there exist a healthy number of students that would like to make the soccer practices optional!” “Good, start with that! I’m sorry but until I meet in person the students I’m going to work with, I can’t make any strategies right now!” “I understand! This reminds me of how you made Mrs. Flowershine resign from middle school!” “Must I remind you that I did it because she was already old and sick for her to keep going? Besides, it was a united effort with the help of everyone's ideas in school!” “But you led us, that count for something! And if you can put down a professional athlete, then a group of girls can’t do you any harm!” “Girls are dangerous creatures, Lightbulb! Must I remind you that Fluttershy slapped me a while a go? And Rarity can be pretty harsh when she is mad… seriously, that girl scares me” “Yeah, but it was just a slap and some anger issues! What else can they do? Become super powered heroines and blast you to oblivion with the Magic of Friendship they keep bullshitting about every single fucking day?” “You are right! If we at least make those training sessions optional to everyone, then that would be more than enough for us and I could safely say that ‘Everybody’ will be happy!” The time came to leave my spot. The school bell rang and it was time for the next classes. Taking in account my new decision, I realized that it’s been a while since I planned something that involves school administration. As I took my usual seat in the corner and looked upon the sky through the window, I gripped my fist and came to a conclusion. I can do it! I won’t allow Shimmer and her pseudo-heroine friends to do things as they wants without someone giving an alternative in this place. Nothing will shatter my newfound determination. NOTHING! “My beautiful students! I’m so terrible sad to see that most of the classroom got really bad scores! But don’t despair! We still have two more tests to improve your knowledge in the Physics field! Let’s put more effort and enthusiasm and one day, you’ll be as bright and intelligent as Twilight Sparkle! I’m sure of it!” Heh heh heh heh! You underestimate me, old man! I have great confidence that I did well in my test, as soon as you give me my paper, I’ll prove that… A FUCKING ‘D’!? DID I SCORE A FUCKING ‘D’!? I NEVER GOT ANYTHING LESS THAN A ‘C’ IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! I looked around my surroundings and people were weeping and burying their faces in their desk. Rainbow Dash… poor, lovely and miserable Rainbow Dash. Her eyes were teary and her expression was one of disbelief and hopelessness. The only thing that gave away that she was still sane was that she formed a weak and distorted smile and her chuckles were that of an ironic girl. I couldn’t feel nothing else than empathy towards her. And there was only one culprit in this place, one single, purple individual who was the mastermind behind this slaughter. “Nitpick, look! I aced another test! What did you get? A ‘D’!? Oh Cheeseburger! And by the looks of it, some of my friends didn’t fare well in the test either! Don’t worry! I have a plan to B improve your study capabilities! It’s called: Reading and Highlighting!” TWILIGHT SPARKLE!