After two hours had finally passed, Twilight was looking over the progress Zero made today. To no one’s surprise, he hardly made any. Twilight sighed as she made a summary of today’s effort.
“Ok, you don’t seem to be a visual learner as you clearly didn’t care to write anything down,” she pointed out. “You only heard about three percent of anything I said to you over the course of this session, so you're definitely not an auditory learner.”
“Wow, you’re just now realizing I’m a shi— I mean, bad learner. I’m crying my eyes out here,” Zero said sarcastically with a bored look.
“I wasn’t finished,” Twilight hissed. “You may be unfit for the first two, but you're leading me to believe that you're a kinesthetic learner, the least common of the three.”
“And that is…. what exactly?”
“You're someone who needs to be creative and dynamic. Someone who learns best when they’re active or doing some activity.” Twilight packed all her things and stood up. “Which is why tomorrow, we’re gonna do something a little different. But for now, our time is up for the day.”
Zero sat up and yawned. “Thank god, that was the most life-draining two hours of my life. Now I can go do something meaningful.”
Twilight rolled her eyes before sighing. As she walked towards the door, she gave Zero a quick wave, and Zero lazily waved back. Before Twilight could open the door, Solar Wind opened it from the other side and walked past Twilight without batting an eye. She was soaking wet and had an unamused look on her face. Twilight was about to question this, but instead she shook her head and walked out the door as she closed it behind her.
Raising an eyebrow at Wind, Zero followed his sister to her room. “Was it raining or something? ‘Cause you look all washed up.”
“Bite me,” Wind retorted. “I’m already in a bad mood.”
“Geez sorry, what even happened to you?”
Wind grabbed a towel from her closet and dried off. “Me and the Crusaders thought it would be a cool idea to go shopping cart racing down a hill, then we crashed into a pond and—”
“Got soaked?”
“More like I was a drowned rat.” Wind changed into some warm and dry clothes as she and Zero went back downstairs and sat on the couch together. “So what was Twilight doing here?”
Zero was about to question how he knew her but then remembered that video from the Battle of the Bands and the Fall Formal. Sure it wasn’t the same Twilight, but the resemblance was uncanny nonetheless. “She was torturing me with flashcards and boring science stuff. I didn’t think I’d get out alive.”
“Oh! So she’s tutoring you. That’s great!” Wind cheered.
“Don’t pa… patro… pietro….”
“Patronize?”
“Yeah, that! “Zero huffed. “Don’t patronize me. I don’t need no tutor. I can pass a test all on my own!”
“Yet you can’t remember how to say ‘patronize.’ ”
Zero crossed his arms and looked the other way. “Shut up.”
Wind laughed as she grabbed two console controllers and held out one to her brother. “Since both of us had a long day, let's play Fairy Tail: Mages and Dra-dra-draaaAAAAACHOO!” Wind sneezed all over Zero as a little mucus got on him.
“Aww, gross!” Zero said in a disgusted tone. “You should’ve done the vampire sneeze!”
“Don’t blame me, I wasn’t expecting it!” Wind sniffed as she wiped her nose. “Why didn’t you just dodge me, huh?!”
Zero wiped his face with Wind’s shirt and gave a snarky smile. “Then I guess I’ll return it to the sender!”
“Don’t use my shirt as a tissue you jerk!” Wind pushed Zero back. “Besides, what are you worried about? Idiots don’t catch colds, remember?!”
“It’s obviously a myth since you have a cold! Besides, you use me as a tissue when you bawled over Titanic!”
“The ending was sad!”
“The ending was predictable!”
Wind growled as she grabbed her controller and turned on the TV. “Fine, I’ll just use Erza and destroy you. The loser has to apologize and buy the winner lunch tomorrow!”
“Sounds fair to me. I’ll use Jellal and toss you around like a rag doll in a washing machine!”
Zero grabbed his controller as the two siblings gave each other competitive smiles. The game started as the two choose their characters and a stage before the match began.
The next morning, Twilight was driving up to Zero’s house so she could take him to school. Sure, it may not have been absolutely necessary to do so, but Principal Celestia told her that Zero had also been late to class several times, sometimes on purpose as he’s been seen wandering the halls a couple minutes before class began. So she thought it would be in Zero’s best interest that he arrives on time from now on.
‘He may not like it, but as his personal tutor, I have to do what’s best for him!’ she thought with determined look. Twilight parked her car into the driveway next to a white minivan and stepped out as she walked towards the door. She gave it a knock and was greeted by White Star moments later.
“Oh, good morning Twilight,” White Star greeted with a warm smile. “What brings you here so early in the morning?”
“Good morning Mrs. Star. I came here to pick up Zero and take him to school,” Twilight explained happily. “I heard that he’s been late to class lately and I want to make sure he gets there on time from now on.”
“That’s so sweet of you. I’m so happy my son has a tutor like you to look out for him.” White Star clapped her hands together and let Twilight inside as she closed the door behind her. “He’s up in his room. I can go fetch him if you’d like.”
Twilight shook her. “No thank you, I’ll go get him.” As she began to walk to the staircase Twilight looked over at the dinner table and saw a man who looked to be Zero’s father reading a newspaper and a few files. She gave a smile and a wave as the man did the same and went back to reading. After arriving at and going up the stairs, she was closing in on Zero’s door until she briefly heard rock music, only for it to be silenced a moment later. Twilight pondered this for a moment as she knocked on his door, only for a her to be met with no response.
‘Huh? He can’t still be sleeping, could he? I know I heard music.’ Twilight knocked once more.
“Come in,” said Zero on the other side of the door.
Twilight smiled and opened the door. “Rise and shin—”
“SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER!!!!”
Twilight saw Zero taking cover on the other side of his bed for a second as he fired a water balloon at her with the slingshot in his hand. Twilight managed to duck just in time and the balloon flew over Twilight’s head and into the living room somewhere.
Twilight look at Zero and furrowed her brow. “What are you doing?!”
“Twilight? What are you doing here?” Zero asked with a confused look.
“I asked first. Why are you trying to hit me with a water balloon?!”
Zero hopped over his bed and walked towards her, still in his pajamas. “Sorry, I thought you were my sister. She usually ambushes me in the morning with a water balloon or something. So I woke up a minute early today and was prepared to get back at her.” Zero peeked out of his room and looked around, noticing that Wind was nowhere in sight. “That’s weird. I don’t see her.”
‘What kind of person starts out their school mornings with a water balloon fight? It’s so unprecedented,’ Twilight questioned. Her thoughts came to a close when she saw that the door next to Zero’s room was opened. The two of them looked over and saw Solar Wind walk out her room with a sick look on her face and crazy bed hair while still in her pajamas.
“Good *cough* *cough* morning,” Wind greeted sickly.
“Um, good morning sis.” Zero returned the greeting with a worried look. “Are you feeling alright?”
“Yeah, you don’t look so good,” Twilight acknowledged.
“What are you *cough* talking about?” Wind argued as she made it evident that her throat was sore. “I’m blooming with energy! Ready to take the world by sto-sto-storAAAAACHOO!”
Zero walked over to Wind and flicked her forehead, causing Wind to wince a little bit and wobble back a step. “You’ll be more of a withered flower if you keep acting tough. Go lie down and get some rest, ok?”
“.....Ok.” Wind sniffled as Zero walked her back to her bed and gave her some covers. Deciding to intervene, Twilight knocked on the already open door and walked over to the two siblings.
“If I may, I have a couple of suggestions as to make you feel better,” Twilight offered as she pulled a book out of her backpack titled “How to Cure a Sickness in Twenty-Four Hours or Less.” Twilight opened the book to a certain page and began listing off a few ideas.
“For that sore throat of yours, I recommend that you gargle your mouth with saltwater to reduce both the swelling in your mouth and the mucus. If that doesn’t help, some alternatives you can try are some cough medicine, water, or tea. While you're at it, do what Zero said and get some bed rest afterwards. Oh, and take a shower as well to fix that runny nose of yours.”
Wind nodded with a weak smile. “Thank you *cough* Twilight, I appreciate the tips.”
“You're welcome…. um…”
“It’s Wind. Solar Wind.”
“You’re welcome Solar Wind.” Twilight smiled as she exited the room. Zero gave a warm smile as well before fistpumping with his sister and following Twilight out the room.
“I didn’t think you carried a get well book at hand,” Zero noted.
“I don’t. I remembered her coming inside soaking wet yesterday and figured she might be sick today, so I brought it just in case,” Twilight explained with a smile.
“Well, thanks for helping her. I really appreciate it,” Zero said before walking to his room with a tired look. “But I’m going back to bed.”
“W-What?!” Twilight followed him to his room and saw Zero flop back onto his bed. “But class starts in the next hour! And I came here to drive you there beforehand so you wouldn’t be late.”
“I never asked you to pick me up, and I prefer walking, honestly.” Zero yawned and rolled over. “And since my sister is sick and unable to battle, I can finally catch some extra Z’s for once. So if you don’t mind, I would like some peace and quiet.”
“But you—”
Suddenly, White Star stood behind Twilight and gave her a tap on the shoulder. She turned around and saw White Star pressing her finger against her lip as a sign to be quiet. She also took notice of White Star’s hair dripping wet with small fragments of a water balloon, making her believe that it was the same balloon Zero almost hit Twilight with earlier. Twilight nodded and watched White Star go up to Zero’s bed and stand there for a brief moment before she slowly lifted her leg up and kicked the bed hard enough to make it flip sideways, throwing Zero against the wall and scaring him awake.
“GET YOUR ASS UP AND GO TO SCHOOL NOW BEFORE I HAVE TO KICK YOU THERE MYSELF!” White Star ordered. “Your tutor offered you a ride to school, and goddamn it, you're gonna take it whether you like it or not! DO YOU HEAR ME?”
“Y-yes ma’am,” Zero responded with all of the covers and pillows resting on his face while he was lying on the floor.
White Star huffed before walking back to Twilight and giving her a kind smile. “If you’d like, you can have some breakfast with us before you leave.”
Twilight nodded. “I’d love to. Thank you very much.”
With that being said, Twilight was about to follow White Star down to the kitchen but gave one last look at Zero. He groaned as he slowly got up and scratched the back of his head while mumbling something to himself in an angry tone. Twilight shook her head in disappointment and headed for the stairs.
‘He is such a child.’
Almost a half hour later, Zero and Twilight finished their breakfast and said their goodbyes to Zero’s parents and explained Solar Wind’s current condition before heading off to school. As the two hopped into the car and prepared to head off, Zero saw Trixie for a brief moment and rolled down the window to exchanged insults with her. Of course, Twilight didn’t have time to waste on such pointless banter and drove off anyways.
Zero thanked Twilight for the ride after arriving at school and went inside to possibly meet up with a friend or two before being bored out of his mind in class. He arrived at his locker and grabbed the textbook, or in this case, his pillow and gave a tired sigh before closing it shut. He looked to his right and noticed Twilight standing next to him.
“Huh? Are you…. trying to follow me or something?” Zero questioned. “‘Cause I’m pretty sure you weren’t there before.”
“I’m just making sure you make it to class on time,” Twilight explained. “You know how Ms. Harshwhinny gets when someone comes to class late, even by a minute.”
Zero gave an annoyed groan as he walked down the hallway with Twilight following from behind. “Like I care. Why don’t you bother someone else for a change? I’m not trying to be rude or anything, but you’re really getting on my nerves here.”
Twilight looked to the ground with a discouraged look as she stopped walking with Zero. “.....I’m sorry. I was only trying to help.”
Zero turned around and looked at Twilight with a guilty expression. “No, I’m sorry if I sound like a jerk right now. But can’t you go hang out with someone else? Do you have some friends to talk about quantum something or whatever?”
“One, it’s called quantum physics,” she corrected. “And two, I don’t have any friends.”
Zero’s eyes widened at her words, almost as if a cold breeze went through his whole body. The hands that were once on the back of his head dropped like noodles and his heart slowly ached. “....What did you say?”
“Quantum physics. It’s the fundamental branch of—”
“No no no, after that.”
“I don’t have any friends?”
“Yeah… that part,” said Zero. “What do you mean you don’t have an—”
“DARLING!”
Suddenly, Rarity tackled Zero from behind and embraced him in a warm hug.
“Clyde my love, I was wondering where you were.” Rarity smiled, making Zero roll his eyes and smile himself.
“Rarity, it’s me…. again,” Zero stated.
Rarity opened her eyes in surprise and released him after a moment before politely dusting off his jacket. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry for the misapprehension Zero… again,” Rarity said with a slightly embarrassed look.
This was the fourth time since the beginning of the school year that Rarity had hugged Zero and mistaken him for her beloved Clyde. But she wasn’t the only one; some of the students and teachers made the same mistake as well by calling one or the other by their counterpart’s name, even going so far as to ask them if they were twins. Thankfully, the confusion was starting to die down little by little.
Zero chuckled and put his hands behind his head. “It’s alright. It’s actually pretty nice to get a good morning hug from a girl at school.”
“Don’t get used to it. This was simply another misunderstanding that’s going to stop, starting right now,” Rarity explained. “The only person who will be receiving my good morning hugs is Clyde.”
“Darn, and I was just starting to feeling special.” Zero half-smiled. “I guess I can always rely on Pinkie to do the job. But then again, she might give everyone else the same treatment.”
Rarity giggled at the thought. “Try not to give her any ideas. Anyways, how are you?”
“I’m awesome, thanks for asking.” Zero pounded his chest in confidence. “But my sister isn’t doing so great herself; she’s pretty sick after crashing into the pond yesterday with the other girls.”
“I figured as much,” Rarity sighed. “Sweetie Belle came down with something herself. Her beautiful voice is all torn up at the moment. And I heard from Applejack that poor Apple Bloom isn’t doing so good either.”
“Yeah, Swift and Rivet texted me saying Scootaloo and Light were under the weather too,” Zero explained. “Must have been a pretty nasty pond.”
“Indeed,” Rarity said with gloomy tone. “I hope the Crusaders feel better soon.”
“Yeah, they give off a pretty youthful feeling when they’re running around, especially when they’re up to no good like me.”
Rarity gave a quick “Mmhmm” as she looked past Zero to see Twilight standing behind him patiently. “Oh, good morning Twilight. I almost didn’t see you there.”
Twilight turned her head to Rarity and was a little surprised at her greeting before preparing one herself. “O-oh, um, good morning Rarity.”
“I was wondering if you’d like to join me and the girls at the spa after school tomorrow,” Rarity offered. “Discord’s cruel joke of a test was simply too stressful for ladies such as ourselves, so I thought a little day at the spa is just the relaxation we need.”
Twilight held up her hand and shook her head. “No thank you, I’m not interested,” she decinded. “I have to tutor Zero tomorrow after school. Besides, Discord’s test wasn’t that bad, to be perfectly honest. And if I wanted to relax, I can do it on my own time.”
“Oh… that’s a shame,” Rarity said with a little disappointment in her tone, something Zero picked up on. Suddenly, Rarity perked her up and gasped. “I almost forgot, I need see if Clyde is ok!”
“Why?” Zero wondered. “Is he hurt or something?”
“No, I remember Sweetie Belle accidentally coughed on him when he came over yesterday. I pray that my Beloved isn’t terribly ill as well!” Rarity took out her phone to call Clyde and began walking to class.
“Anyways, let's head to class before the bell rings.” Twilight began to walk off as well but was stopped by Zero’s arm blocking her path. “What is it?”
“Why didn’t you accept Rarity’s offer?” Zero asked. “Even if you’re not stressed out, it’ll probably be fun to hang out with her and make some friends with the other girls.”
Twilight moved his arm away and kept walking. “I’m just not interested in making friends. I’m more of an introvert.”
“No you’re not! You’re being antisocial,” Zero argued.
“...That’s what an introvert is.”
Zero raised an eyebrow as he tried to remember what introvert meant. He looked up and noticed one of Flash Sentry’s friends looking through a dictionary. Zero quickly asked to borrow it for a moment and looked through it to find the word his tutor spoke of. Upon discovering the word and reading the definition, he tossed the book back to the boy in the glasses and went back to Twilight.
“Ok, so you're an introvert,” Zero acknowledged. “But that’s still not cool! Having friends is like… a necessity!”
Twilight sighed and shook her. “No, knowledge is a necessity, friends aren’t. Just like how your philosophy is that fire is alive, this is my philosophy, and you just need to respect that.”
“But—”
*RIIIIIING*
“Time for class,” Twilight noted as the two entered Ms. Harshwhinny’s class with everyone else.
Zero sighed in frustration at Twilight’s philosophy and the fact that class was starting at such an inconvenient time. Not only did he find her philosophy completely unacceptable, it just felt…. hollow overall. Zero walked over to his seat behind Twilight and plopped down before Ms. Harshwhinny walked in, did the usual attendance, and began her lesson for the day.
During her ramble, Zero took out his phone and tried to play the DS emulator on it but was abruptly interrupted by Twilight taking the phone away from him and pointing to the chalkboard as a sign to pay attention. He huffed and slid back in his chair as Trixie snickered at his misfortune.
“When did I *cough* die and go to hell?” Zero whined as he coughing into his elbow.
Later that day, Zero was sitting with his friends in the cafeteria as he had barely touched his food. After having Twilight constantly watching his every move in class, he felt completely drained. Thankfully, Twilight cut him a break and let him enjoy his peaceful lunch with his friends.
“I swear, she’s gonna be the *cough* end of me,” Zero whined while slouching.
“Dude, it’s not that bad,” Swift objected. “She’s just trying to help you out.”
“Yeah, do you wanna get transferred to Crystal Prep?” Rivet asked while drinking a milk carton.
“Of course not! I heard they're just a bunch of pompous assholes who don’t care about anyone but themselves,” Zero exclaimed. “And their rules are strict beyond belief! But you know what the worst part of it is?”
“The uniform policy?” Soul raised an eyebrow.
“The damn uniform policy, yes!” Zero stood up while popping the collar of his jacket. “A person’s clothing reflects who they are! And being in a school uniform tosses all of that out the window. And besides, who wants to wear something so boring and bland anyways?!”
“It’s not that bad. Minuette used to go there and she thought it was alright,” Night chimed in. “Besides, it might do you some good to learn a thing or two. I’d even go as far as to say that you should be grateful that she’s doing all of this for you without getting much in return.”
“It’s not that I’m ungrateful or anything,” said Zero. “I just don’t want her hassling me about all this tutoring. I appreciate her kindness, and she’s ok for an egghead, but she’s really grinding my gears here.”
“Well, the faster you *cough* *cough* pay attention in class and improve your grades, the faster you can get her off your back.”
The guys turned their heads to the familiar yet distorted voice and saw Clyde walking towards the group with a sick look on his face. He sat down and coughed in his arm before eating his meal.
“Clyde, are you ok man?” Rivet questioned. “You don’t look so good.”
“Yeah, your voice sounds a little scratchy,” Swift noted.
“Don’t worry, I’ll manage,” Clyde replied sickly.
“I’m guessing it’s because of Sweetie Belle, huh?” Zero figured.
“Yeah, I probably should ha-ha-AAACHOO!”
“Gesundheit.”
“Thank you. I should have worn that surgical mask Rarity told me to put on. I thought she was over exaggerating with the whole thing. Heh, now I know better.”
“Speaking of Rarity, it looks like she gave someone another free hug this morning,” Soul added. “Suffering from mistaken identity again, Zero?”
Zero chuckled at the memory. “Yeah, me and *cough* *cough* Clyde do look kinda similar from the back. It’s kinda hard to tell us apart from afar.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” broke in Swift with an analytical look. “Even from a distance, there’s a few noticeable differences between you two, besides the eye color, voice, and clothes, of course.”
Rivet leaned forward and looked at them closely. “Yeah, I see what you mean.”
Both Clyde and Zero tilted their heads as they waited for their response. After a quick inspection, Rivet cleared his throat and began.
“When it comes down to it, you two are a lot more different than you are alike. Zero’s hair is a lot spikier and messier than Clyde’s. Not only that, Clyde’s hair is normal black while Zero’s is jet black. And after hanging around the two of you, I can tell you both have specific styles of movement. Zero likes to walk with either his hands behind his head or in his pockets, but Clyde just keeps his hands to his side like a normal person.”
“And you remember our walk cycles how?” Zero questioned with a slightly creeped out look.
“When you read Daring Do and practice the guitar like me, you tend to notice the little things,” Rivet explained.
“Anyways, to top it all off, you both clearly give off completely different vibes,” said Swift.
The last one didn’t really surprise anyone. Zero and Clyde spend enough time together to know that they were almost polar opposites. From Clyde’s relaxed personality to Zero’s upbeat attitude, to Zero’s taste for anime and Clyde’s personal interest in sports, it frankly baffled some of the other students why they were even friends to begin with.
Zero rolled his eyes and smiled. “Well duh, even if we look alike there’s gotta be some difference between us. Otherwise nobody would be able to.. tell… us…. apart.”
He gave a wide-eyed look as he suddenly had an idea to get out of his tutoring problems. He slapped his hands on Clyde’s shoulder and gave a devilish grin.
“Uh dude, what’s with the creepy smile?” Clyde questioned with a disturbed look, only for Zero to grin even wider.
“Clyde, you and I are gonna trade places!”