//------------------------------// // Switcheroo?! // Story: The Twilight to a New Dawn // by Zeroxdoom //------------------------------//  … It was her         Zero’s eyes widened as he wasted no time trying to unlock his phone, desperate to see the answer he’d been waiting for since he came home this evening. He hardly even ate dinner, much less told his family about how the outing went overall or why he looked so concerned … and a little ragged at that. But even if he did tell them, it’d probably just lead into another conversation about things he’d rather not get into and start another shouting match with his mother while Wind just excused herself from the table and his father tried to find ways to defuse the argument. Though, this wasn’t the first time he came home looking so roughed up. So they more than likely deciphered what happened, and in order to break the constant cycle of cross-examining him, they bit their tongues for the time being until he was ready to talk about it. As Zero was about to open the message, his heart started to race a little. He closed his eyes for a moment as he opened it and felt a cold chill through his body. He reopened his eyes and read the message slowly. I’ve made my decision about what you offered for me. Zero felt both slightly relaxed and a little taken aback by the professionalism of the first message, expecting the answer right off the bat. He began typing back. Zero: Did you have to be so professional about it? You’re kinda keeping me in suspense here. I’m a little new to texting people other than my teachers. ‘Who texts their teachers?’ Zero thought to himself before coming to a quick realization and shaking his head a little at his ridiculous question. ‘I forgot who I was talking to for a moment.’ Zero: Right, right…..But listen, before you say anything else, I still feel bad for the stunt I pulled yesterday and showed you the most uncool side of me. I’ve already accepted your apology and you did your best to make up for it. And it doesn’t affect my decision in any way. ‘As believable as the Dazzlings being actual sirens … actually, Aria and Sonata are pretty cute, so—’ He shook his head for a moment as he was getting distracted and was starting to feel a little drowsy. Zero: Just tell me the answer already…..please. He closed his phone and dropped it on his pillow after he sent his response, taking another moment to prepare for the worse. Maybe he was being a little overdramatic over nothing, but Zero felt as though he already knew the answer, still believing his recklessness put a damper on her decision. But hey, he couldn’t blame her. “I’m such an insensitive idiot …” Yesterday         “You want us … to switch places?” Clyde said, slightly baffled by Zero’s idea.                  “Yeah!” Zero confirmed as he let go of Clyde’s shoulder with a confident grin. “Here’s the plan: After lunch, you and *cough cough* I find some place to do the swap. Then, we go to one another’s classes and once the day is done, you’ll cover for my tutoring session with *cough cough* Twilight and show that I am taking things seriously and showing improvement. Not too much though, or she’ll get suspicious. And after she leaves, you and I meet back up under the bridge by the riverbank and swap back!” Zero rubbed his hands together with a smug smile. “It’s brilliant!”         All of the guys around Zero either gave a deadpan or confused expression at him before Night spoke up.         “If you’d give me a week, I could come up with a whole list of reasons why that plan isn’t gonna work.”                  “How so?” Zero questioned.         “For one, don’t you think that’s a little too much trouble just to get out of tutoring?” Swift said. “And this is only for one session. It’d hardly be enough to convince her you're improving.”         Soul sat back in his chair before he too chimed in. “Not to mention it’s just been a day, and your tutoring only last for two hours. Don’t you think you're overacting? Twilight’s just trying to help.”         “Yeah, but she’s watching me like a hawk—”         Rivet raised a finger. “To be fair—”         “I get it, I have a record on me,” Zero cut him off, “but having her constantly on my *cough cough* back makes me feel restricted and weighted down. And I’m Zero Gravity; I don’t get weighed down. Sure, things make look shaky now, but soon enough everyone’s gonna look at me in a whole new light. Protector of bullies and one of the awesomest people in school.” Zero smirked happily. “To quote one of my favorite villains in video games: ‘I’ll never be just a memory.’”         Night gave a small chuckle. “Well, you're right about that last part. I try forgetting you all the time.”         “See? I’m just that incredible,” Zero boasted as he chewed his rice.         “ … I’m sorry, who are you again?” Soul jested with a smirk.         “Hey!”         Everyone at the table let out a quick laugh or just smirked at the little joke. Night cleared his throat as he was prepared to get back on topic. “Back to the main discussion. This plan is gonna cripple you more than it’s gonna help you … which again, this plan is doomed to fail in …” Night took a moment to count with his fingers, “about fifteen different ways. And that’s only off the top of my head right now.”         “Yeah,” Swift chimed in after a sip of his milk. “Can’t you just talk to her about it instead of making some harebrained scheme?”         “Guys, guys, relax. And keep it down!” Zero shushed. “It’s just a white lie type of plan. If all goes well, everything will be co-co-coooaaAAAACHOOO!”         “Bless you,” said Soul.         Zero sniffed and nodded. “Thanks.”         “I think you're forgetting one important factor in your plan,” Clyde said as he covered his mouth and coughed. “Me saying yes to all of it. Which, by the way, I’m not.”         “Dude, come on. It’ll be over and done with before you know it! It might even be a little fun to switch places. Help a bro out,” Zero pleaded as he clapped his hands together. “You don’t wanna see me in some dumb uniform now, do you?”         “Like Night said, you should just focus on the tutoring and get it over with if Twilight’s bothering you so much. And *cough cough* I’m in no condition, nor am I interested in participating in this crazy plan of yours. I doubt I can even go to basketball practice after school.”         Rivet patted Clyde’s back. “You should just go home early. I’ll let Coach Iron Will know what’s up.”         Clyde nodded. “Thanks, but I’ll manage on my own, Rivet. But if you tell Coach what’s up, I’d appreciate it.”         “No problem.”         Clyde coughed one more time and picked up his tray of food. “See you guys later.” He threw away his food and and exited the cafeteria. Zero groaned in disappointment and slid back in his chair.         “Well, looks like you’re out of options now,” Soul commented. “All you can do now is focus on the tutoring and work hard.”         Zero huffed and rolled his eyes. Ready to throw in the towel, a thought suddenly occurred to him. It was a last ditch effort, but it was worth a shot.         “Hey Rivet, I didn’t catch it, but *cough cough* what was Clyde eating?”         “Huh? I think it was a chicken leg, some corn, an apple and beans. Why do you ask?” Rivet questioned with a raised eyebrow.         “Well, uh … I was making sure he was eating right. You know how the beans taste kinda funny at times,” Zero explained himself.         “Well, Granny Smith’s cooking is a little underwhelming depending on the type of food,” Soul admitted sheepishly. “Whenever I come over for a family dinner, she’s always making me and AJ try some of the new dishes that she wants to make for the school.”         “And?”                  “Some are pretty good … others are … pretty bad.” Soul gave a sickly expression from the memory. “But I don’t have the heart to tell her. And whenever Applejack tries to tell her it isn’t good, they just bicker back and forth. And I use that chance to slip out of things and head for the bathroom.”         Zero rubbed his chin as he took in the intel. “And when it comes to the beans, they’re pretty bad?”         “......Yeaaaaaaah,” Soul once again admitted. With that fact, Night and Swift looked at their beans and slowly pushed their trays away.                  “Noted.” Zero looked away and gave a small smirk that the others didn’t notice as he began hatching a new idea. It was far-fetched, sure, but at this point it was all or nothing. It was like his mother always said, if you truly desire something, your gonna have to put in all the effort possible in order to get it.                    Twilight was sitting by herself at one of the tables in the cafeteria during lunchtime, eating a baloney sandwich as she was lost in thought. She didn’t really care much for having someone sit with her at the current moment, though unlike Crystal Prep, the people here actually offered to sit with her from time to time. She appreciated the offers but ultimately turned them down, neither wanting to get distracted from her current train of thought, nor wanting to get acquainted with someone right now. ‘Ok, let’s assess what I’ve gathered on him so far,’ Twilight thought to herself as she glanced over to where Zero was sitting. ‘Impulsive, ill-mannered, work-shy, and possible signs of a superiority complex? I’ll just put a question mark next to that one.’ She wrote her thoughts down in her notebook. ‘Hmm … as for positives, I don’t seem to have much to go on.’ Twilight tapped her chin with her pencil and tried to remember something from yesterday. ‘Except for what Principal Celestia told me about him….’ After Zero was dragged out of Celestia’s office by White Star, Twilight looked back at Celestia with a concerned look. “He seems … interesting,” Twilight noted. “More along the lines of rambunctious,” Vice Principal Luna chimed in as she entered the office and closed the door behind her. “Sister, this may sound a little harsh, but perhaps we should just send him off to a boot camp. It’ll be a lot easier and he’d be broken within a week, twelve hours at the minimum.” Celestia shook her head. “He may be a bit … unorthodox, but believe me when I say he’s someone who I believe can evolve into a wonderful student. And Twilight here is the perfect person to help him.” “Not that I don’t mind, but why me specifically?” Twilight questioned. “Couldn’t you have gotten a normal tutor with a lot more experience with people like him?” “I could have, but it wouldn’t have boded well. Zero doesn’t seem to respect some of his fellow teachers and mentors or care much for them for that matter.” The principal leaned back in her chair and smiled at her next thought. “Although, he has little to no trouble with his peers and gets along with most of them.” “Keyword being ‘most’.” Luna crossed her arms. “Those he dislikes he tends to get aggressive with.” Celestia sighed. “I admit that his actions are getting out of hand and that I gave him too many chances, but he’s nowhere near as bad as Sunset Shimmer once was, and look how much she’s changed with a little guidance and support.” “Not everyone can change within a drop of a hat. Some people can refuse to change altogether. Until I see some change in his behavior, I will continue to have my doubts about him.” “I understand,” Celestia said with a nod. “If he gives Twilight any problems, I’ll send him to you.” “Excellent. Then Ms. Sparkle, I wish you and Mr. Gravity the best of luck.” Luna left the office and closed the door behind her. Twilight rubbed her shoulder with an unsure look. “I’m … not sure about this now.” “Dean Cadance did tell me you’ve become less and less sociable as of late, so I can understand why you're staring to have mixed feelings about this,” Celestia analyzed. “But I assure you he’s not as bad as my sister makes him out to be.” “What makes you say that?” “For starters, his grades aren’t as deplorable as you might think. His grades in English are surprisingly decent, but his test grades are putting him at risk; the same with science. And he does seem to put himself out there for his peers. For example, I saw him carrying books for Fluttershy, and Coach Ironwill is the one of the few staff members he’s taken a liking to.” Celestia chuckled. “He’s no Pinkie Pie, but he does have a way for keeping things interesting; he’s just your basic diamond in the rough.”         “I … I’ll take your word for it,” Twilight said with a little more confidence.         “Splendid.” Celestia gave a warm smile. “And perhaps you could learn something from him as an exchange.”         “Like what?”         Before the Principal could reply, Zero came back into the office and looked at Twilight.         “Hey, are you two done yet? I’m ready to head out and get this started.”         “Actually, yes, we’re just about done,” Celestia confirmed. Twilight was about to intervene, but Celestia placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.”You’ll find out soon enough,” she mumbled to Twilight with a reassuring smile.                  As far as Zero’s positives go, he had shown to be sympathetic. He told his sister to stay home for her own benefit and did apologize for his bad behavior, not to mention he had an interesting way of perceiving things. And with Twilight’s new study method in mind, perhaps she could finally get him to cooperate and make some actual progress. ‘Perhaps it’d be easier if I just talk to the people he associates with the most,’ Twilight analyzed. Besides the boys he’s currently sitting with, the only other person that came to Twilight’s mind was the same person Zero had been seen often assisting or befriending. Fluttershy. Another candidate was either Trixie or Pinkie Pie, but from the looks of things, getting information out of Trixie would more than likely be challenging enough as she doesn’t seem like the type to cooperate unless it benefits her. And as for Pinkie, she’s the exact opposite. Getting info would prove to be easy. As rumor has it, she knows everyone pretty well. However, she tends to run her mouth a little too much and might even get off topic. With Fluttershy, Twilight had already talked to her on a few different occasions, and with the info she got yesterday. she could safely conclude that there was some connection between her and Zero. Whether it was friendly, romantic, or otherwise, Twilight was sure to at least get some useful information. ‘If things don’t go well with my study method this afternoon, I’ll ask Fluttershy tomorrow the first chance I get,’ Twilight thought with a sigh. ‘Then, I suppose if I can get through to him and help his grades improve by the end of the semester, I’ll just move on to the independant study program like I originally planned.’ The bell soon rang and everyone started to leave the cafeteria. Twilight followed the crowd as she threw away her lunch and headed out. ‘I don’t understand why Cadance wanted me to come here. There’s not much of a reason for me to be here anyways.’ Clyde made his way over to the bathroom as the food from lunch was finally getting to his stomach. He ran into the stall closest to him and sat down as he began doing his business. After a few minutes and a sigh of relief, he was just about ready to head back to class until…. *BANG BANG BANG* “Huh?!” Clyde jumped as he looked at the stall wall next to him, as someone had just banged on it. “Fancy running into you here, Clyde,” someone said in a sinister voice. “I’m gonna make you an offer you simply cannot refuse. For I *cough cough* hav—” “Zero, cut it out. I know it's you.” Clyde rolled his eyes. “It’s only for two hours, man! I need this!” Clyde shook his head and tried reaching for the toilet paper so he could clean up and leave. However, his hand halted as he noticed there was none left. “Looking for something?” Zero snickered as he waved a roll of toilet paper above his head and pulled it away. Clyde furrowed his brow a little. “Ok, that’s just evil,” Clyde commented. “I have class, Zero. Just give me *cough cough* the toilet paper. I’m not swapping places with you.” Zero sighed. “Look, it’s only till five and I’ll never ask to do it again. Just this one time dude, one time. It’ll be over before you know it.” “How are we even gonna pull this off? Try as we may, there’s still the issue with our different eye colors.” “I have colored eye contacts that I borrowed from the cosmetics room.” “Of course you do.” Clyde rolled his eyes. “Still, I’m not in the mood to deal with *cough cough* something so zany. You might as well keep asking me till you're blue in the face.” Zero winced. He was sure this would’ve worked and he was running low on options. He rattled his brain as he tried to think of a solution; otherwise, he was doomed to do another tedious tutoring session. He had to think, and think lightning fast. ‘Think, think, think! What could I use to get Clyde to cooperate?’ he pondered. ‘What do I know about Clyde? He likes basketball … he loves Rarity … not into half of the things I like … uh….’ He was being to draw blanks. That was, until he recycled his thoughts back to Rarity for a moment. From there, it was time for his real last ditch effort. “What if I paid you?” “Excuse me?” Clyde replied curiously. “I’ll pay you fifty bucks to do the swap. That oughta get you to change your mind, right?” Zero said, thankful that Clyde couldn’t see him sweating a little as he prayed for things to go his way. “Now you're trying to bribe me?” Clyde was starting to get annoyed. “No thanks.” “Think of it like a short hour job, twenty five bucks an hour to help a bro out,” Zero explained. “And this way, you can take Rarity out to one of the fancy restaurants in town and have enough money to pay for all the stuff. You help me out, Rarity goes somewhere nice and has a good time, and Twilight doesn’t know a thing. Everyone wins!” It took a few moments as Zero waited for Clyde’s answer, until he heard a sigh. “There’s no stopping you, is there? Fine. I’ll do it,” Clyde finally agreed. “But you have to promise that you won’t try anything with Rarity while you're me.” Zero smiled as he was about to hand Clyde the toilet paper, but he immediately pulled it back for a moment. “Pinkie promise.” “...Seriously?” “Yes, seriously. I wanna make sure you don’t pull a fast one on me after I give you the toilet paper,” Zero said. “As Pinkie once said, losing a friend’s trust is the fastest way to lose a friend forever.” “FOOOOREEEEEVER!!!!!” Pinkie said as she poked her head out of the vent in the ceiling and glared at the two, scaring the both of them. “Pinkie! What are you doing in here?!” Zero exclaimed. “I mean … I don’t mind all that much, but—” Pinkie just merely glared at the two boys before she slowly ducked back into the vent and closed it. “...Wasn’t expecting that.” “You’ll get used to it, trust me,” Clyde said with a small chuckle. “Anyways, let’s do the promise.” “Alright then.” “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” they said in unison as they did the hand gesture necessary for the promise. Immediately after the gesture, Zero handed Clyde the toilet paper as promised, followed by his jacket, shirt, and pants. Clyde wordlessly did the same and after a few moments, the two stepped out of the stalls looking like one another, excluding their shoes, hair, and eyes. “Nice!” Zero beamed as he looked at himself in the mirror. “Not gonna lie, I look pretty good in these.” “I do need to look my best every time I see Rarity, after all,” Clyde noted as he looked at himself in the mirror. “Your clothes are alright, I guess.” Zero handed Clyde the colored eye contacts, but before Clyde could put them in, he pondered something. “What if someone comes in here and sees what's up?” Zero smirked. “Let’s just say the janitor is a total bro.” Outside the boys’ bathroom, the custodian put an “Out Of Order” sign on the door and leaned against the wall while whistling to himself. Just then, Snails came by and was about to enter before the man halted him. “Hey, hey, hey!” the custodian intercepted him. “Can’t ya read the sign, boy?!” “Oops, sorry. I just really have to use the bathroom,” Snails added while holding his bladder. The custodian brushed his nose with his thumb and gave a huff. “Have ya tried usin’ the first or third floor, kid?” “Oh yeah … didn’t think about that.” “That’s because you don’t think much about anythin’, Snails,” the custodian noted. “Now git before you piss all over my floor!” Snails nodded and hurried off to the first floor. Just as he left, the custodian knocked on the bathroom since no one else was around. “Ya done in there yet? The coast is clear.” Soon enough, the two boys walked out of the bathroom, with Clyde looking exactly like Zero and vice versa. The custodian examined the two of them closely and nodded. “Well whaddaya know,” the custodian began. “Now I almost can’t tell who's who.” He turned to Zero and smirked. “Except for that stupid smile on yer face.” Zero snickered. “Right, I’d better pull back on that.” He fixed his face and made it more relaxed as he gave a neutral expression. He took his hands out of his pockets and let out a cough. Thankfully, getting Wind’s cold messed up his voice a little, so if anyone questioned his tone, he had the perfect excuse. “Ok, what about now?” “Much better,” the custodian approved. “But aren’t ya forgettin somethin’?” He held out his hand to Zero. “Oh yeah!” Zero dug through his pocket but then realized Clyde has his wallet and gave an awkward chuckled. “Uh … mind helping me out? I just need fifteen bucks.” Clyde took out Zero’s wallet and handed the money to the man. He brushed his nose with his thumb again and smiled as he took off the out of order sign on the bathroom. “Thanks a lot, Cid.” Zero thanked. “Really appreciate it.” “Anytime. Now mosey on out of here before someone else comes by.” Cid put a toothpick in his mouth and headed off. Zero looked at Clyde and nodded. “Guess I’ll see you later … Zero.” He smirked. Clyde shook his head and headed off to Zero’s class. He entered Mrs. Cheerilee’s class and sat back down next to Twilight. She glanced at him and tapped his shoulder. “Everything ok? You’ve been gone a while,” Twilight whispered politely. Clyde coughed before responding to her. “Peachy. Just drank some water from the fountain after using the bathroom.” “Good, try not to doze off this time. We’re on page fifty three now. I’ll tell you what you missed after class.” She finished her short lecture and picked up the book they were reading. Clyde did the same, silently wishing to get all of this over with. It wasn’t long before the school day came to a close and students were getting ready to go home. Zero casually went to go check on Clyde and, lo and behold, he saw him with Twilight walking down the hallway towards the parking lot. Zero couldn’t help but smirk as everything was going according to plan. ‘Good! She hasn’t caught on,’ he thought to himself. ‘Now I just need to lay low somewhere until five and I’ll be ho—’ His nose began to twitch. ‘I’ll be hom—’ Zero covered his mouth to prepare himself. “AAAACHOO!” “Clyde?” Zero froze as he slowly turned around to the source of the familiar voice. He groaned internally as he had figured this would happen and prayed that it wouldn’t. Standing behind him was none other than Rarity. “What are you doing here?” she began. “You’re supposed to be at basketball with Tyrone and Rainbow Dash.” Zero relaxed himself before he replied. “I’m still feeling a little ill, so I’m not going today. Rivet’s probably on his way to tell Coach Ironwill right now.” He let out another cough. Rarity wore a worried expression on her face. “I completely agree, you simply must get some rest! Even your voice is getting tarnished.” “I was just getting ready to head home, don’t worry,” Zero reassured. “A nice warm bath should do the trick.” Just as he began to walk away, Rarity pulled on his arm. “I’m afraid not, darling. You're coming home with me where I can watch over you and Sweetie Belle both!” “O-oh, no thank you Rarity. I’ll be fine on my own.” “No, no. I must insist that you come along.” She pulled on his arm more and gave him a flirtatious look. “Perhaps after I nurse you back to health, you and I can have some alone time in my room, hmm?” Zero let out a blush at her words. Trying his best not to break character, he responded appropriately. “When you put it like that, how could I say no?” “As I expected,” Rarity giggled. “Now, shall we go?” Zero just gave a firm nod and a smile as he followed Rarity, making their way out of the school. Rarity held his hand as they began walking back to her house, making Zero a little more whelmed. To Zero, Rarity was just a friend. She was very attractive and, admittedly, he was slightly envious of Clyde. She was no Pinkie, and she was definitely no Fluttershy by any means, but still, very pretty. She wasn’t the stereotypical popular fashionista he’d seen in Manehattan where they’re pretty on the outside and vile and nasty on the inside, the normal two faced type of gal that likes to watch others burn and rise to the top. Rarity was thankfully different. From what he’d seen, she was genuinely nice, had a lovely accent, was great at conversations, and to top it all off, generous with a capital G, even offering to help him and Fluttershy at the rescue center the other day despite the amount of homework they got from Ms. Harshwhinny, despite the fact that she didn’t take kindly to walking the dogs and picking up their feces. However, he was a bit nervous. He didn’t have a crush on Rarity and wasn’t the kind of guy to play Mr. Steal Yo Girl, but if she and Clyde weren't dating, Zero would’ve enjoyed every bit of the situation. So if things moved to first or, god forbid, second base, he was going to be in a world of trouble. After small bits of conversation and a bit more walking later, the two made it to Rarity's house. “Here we are~” Rarity sang as she unlocked the door. She gazed around the room for a brief moment. “Hm, looks like my parents stepped out for a bit. Sweetie Belle, are you still here?” “*Cough cough* Yeah, I’m over here,” Sweetie Belle called out from the kitchen. Just like Wind, Sweetie Belle was walking around in her pajamas with a dripping red nose and a sick expression on her face. Rarity gasped and ran over to her as she tossed her bag on the counter. “Whatever are you doing out of bed? You need your rest!” Sweetie Belle let out a cute sneeze before rubbing her nose. “I needed something to drinking. My throat is killing me.” Rarity grabbed a nearby tissue box and gave it Sweetie. “Oh dear, whatever am I going to do with you? I thought mother gave you the cough medicine before I left this morning.” “She did, but I can’t drink that stuff. It tastes awful and makes me wanna puke!” Rarity crossed her arms. “It’s supposed to make you feel better, darling. Don’t be such a child,” she lectured. “If you keep it up, you’ll neve—” Sweetie Belle ignored Rarity and grabbed a bottle of orange juice from the fridge. She tried to walk away from Rarity, only for the bottle to be snatched by her. “Hey!” Sweetie Belle squeaked as she whipped around. “Now you listen here young lady,” Rarity began as she put the juice down. “You should be drinking what mother gave you! Tastes aside, it’ll help you in the long run. Unless of course you prefer to be sick another day and ruin your lovely singing voice.” “My voice will be *cough cough* fine!” Sweetie Belle argued. “I just need to drink something that doesn’t taste like poison or something!” “No, and quit being so stubborn!” The two sisters continued to bicker and Zero couldn’t help but feel a little awkward, yet could relate to what was going on between the girls, as he and Wind did this on a daily basis. ‘Relatable sibling argument is relatable,’ Zero thought with a slightly amused expression. As his mind went back to Wind, the memory from that morning flashed in his mind and it triggered a thought that made him finally decide to intervene. “You don’t have to drink the cough medicine if you don’t *cough cough* want to,” Zero explained. “Ha!” Sweetie pointed to Rarity with a victorious smile. “But you should try drinking something else other than juice, like some tea or water. That should be enough, right?” Rarity nodded. “Or perhaps some soup. I could go and prepare some for the both of you.” “I guess soup would be better. Or anything really other than that medience,” Sweetie Belle said as she finally decided to cooperate. “You should also try gargling your mouth with saltwater to get rid of the swelling and mucus in your throat,” Zero informed. “And take a shower if you want the runny nose to go away.” Sweetie Belle nodded. “Alright, I will. Thanks Cl-Cl-ClyyAAAHCOO!” She quickly did the dracula sneeze to avoid getting Zero even more sick. “No problem, and you should probably get back to bed too; that’s the most important thing,” Zero insisted as he and Rarity walked Sweetie Belle back to her room. Once the task was done, the two teens headed back downstairs. “Thank you for finally getting her to settle down, darling,” Rarity said. “If a basketball player like me wants to stay in the game, I need to know how to take care of myself, obviously. I don’t mind sharing my healthy tips and tricks.” Zero smiled back at her. ‘Nicely done, I helped Sweetie Belle and they both don’t suspect a thing. Double kudos to me.’ He looked at a nearby clock and saw that it was three o'clock. ‘Maybe I can keep this up for another two hours. Heh, might as well play the victory musi—’ Once they arrived at the living room, Rarity planted a kiss on Zero’s cheek as he sat down, shattering his thought process. “Perhaps as a reward, I’ll put on something more suitable and to your liking after I prepare the soup.” Rarity winked at Zero before she left the room and entered the kitchen. ‘Crap! This is going too well! I can’t keep this up!’ He started to panic. ‘If I do too good, she might actually kiss me on the lips! If I don’t stay in character and push her away, everything might fall apart! And what does she mean by “something more suitable”?!’ His mind began to wander at the thought Rarity in a nurse’s outfit with a short skirt and the top buttoned dow— ‘No, no, no, no, no, no! Get your head back in the game! Your friendship with Clyde is hanging by a thread here! No fantasies about Rarity either! But save that cute nurse imagination for Fluttershy,’ he thought as he made a mental note until a certain thought crossed his mind. ‘Speaking of Clyde, I wonder how things are going on his end. Better text Wind and give her the details.’ Zero took out Clyde’s phone and started texting his sister. Zero: This is Dark Wolf calling Sky Huntress, I have a S classed emergency! Respond! It didn’t take long before he got a reply. Wind: This is Sky Huntress, what’s your situation!? And why aren’t you using your phone? Zero: First off, how are you feeling? Wind: Better actually, I still have a cold but the cough is gone. Anything happened at school that I missed? Zero: Nothing too major…..excepted I swapped places with Clyde to escape my tutoring session. Wind: ….. Wind: Wow….just…..wow bro. Zero: Sass me all you want, least I didn’t go downhill shopping cart racing into a pond. Wind: ….We’re even, let’s leave it at that. What do you need? Zero: Before that, is mom and dad home? Wind: Dad’s hold up in a trial still and mom’s doing grocery shopping. Zero took a sigh of relief and typed his response. Zero: Good, next thing, Is Clyde and Twilight downstairs? Back at Zero’s house, Wind peeked out her room and leaned over the second floor railing, seeing that the two had just walked through the front door. Twilight spotted Wind almost immediately. “Oh, Wind was it?” Twilight called out. “Feeling any better now?” Wind nodded. “Yupperoni! I’m feeling a lot better! Don’t worry. Also, can I borrow Cl- I mean, my brother for a moment?” “Of course,” Twilight approved. “I’ll just get everything ready in the meantime. But keep it brief if you can. We’ve got a lot of work to do this session.” “I just need five minutes of his time,” Wind reassured. “Bro, get your butt up here!” Clyde went up the steps to Wind’s room while Twilight sat down on the couch in the living room and organized all of her tools they’d need. Once Clyde entered the room, Wind double checked to make sure Twilight didn’t move from her spot before closing the door. She turned around and slowly pointed at Clyde. “… Clyde, right?” “Damn, busted already,” he responded nonchalantly. “Not exactly. My lazy brother told me what’s what.” Wind picked up her phone and replied to Zero’s message. Wind: They just got here and I’ve got Clyde with me right now. It doesn’t look like Twilight suspects a thing. Zero: Good, but do me a favor and tell him how I’m like. Wind: You mean how you're all show and no substance? Zero: Hi there pot, meet kettle. Wind: YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!! Zero: XD Just do me this solid and I’ll owe you later. Wind groaned before putting her phone away and looking at Clyde. “Ok, since you're low on time, let’s cut right to the chase.” She looked at Clyde closely. “First, look more lazy, like you don’t want to be bothered by lame stuff.” Clyde loosened up a little and tried to look more tired. In truth, didn’t have to try so much given how he was feeling. Wind gave two firm nods as she rested her hand on her chin. “Good, good. And when you talk, try to put more energy into your words and never give a dry response.” “Or I could just talk like how I usually do and if Twilight gets suspicious, she’ll buy that I’m still under the weather,” Clyde said after letting out another cough. Wind didn’t take too long to give it some thought. “That could also work. But at the very least, try and be cool. And when I mean cool, I mean sound like a show-off. But don’t be a total douche either.” “Duly noted,” Clyde agreed. “How about my stunt double? Is everything going okay for him?” “I think he’s doing okay. Otherwise, he would’ve said something by now,” Wind assumed. “Anywho, I think you’re good for now. Let’s get you back on the field.” She opened the door for Clyde as he exited the room. Twilight looked over at Clyde as he came down the steps and smiled. She had her hair back into a bun along with her reading glasses back on. “Okay, if you remember from yesterday, I said we’d try a new study method and see how much progress you can make this time around by trying things more to your style. Are you following me so far?” “Yeah, I got it. What are we gonna try?” Clyde asked. “We’ll start out with the basics.” Twilight handed Clyde a stress ball and an Algebra workbook that he could write in. “The stress ball should help with your fidgeting and keep you from spacing out or getting too distracted. And since you like listening to music, you can play whatever helps you relax, just as long as it’s not too loud, please.”  Clyde nodded as he got comfortable and opened up his workbook. He unlocked Zero’s phone and played some casual piano music he found on the internet, making Twilight raise an eyebrow as she wasn’t expecting it.  When Wind saw that everything was going smoothly, she closed the door and went back to texting Zero. Wind: This is Sky Huntress, I gave the doppelganger proper intel and he’s continuing his mission. Zero: Excellent, continue to be my eye in the sky and report back if something changes. Zero put his phone back down and let out another sigh. He looked at the clock to see that not a lot of time had passed since the last time he check it, as it was only three-fifteen. Just then, Rarity came back into the room with a bowl of chicken noodle soup. But what caught him completely off guard was the nurse’s outfit she was wearing with the top button slightly undone to show off a little skin. “Hu-hu-huAAAACHOO!” Zero sneezed as he was baffled by what she had on. Rarity placed the soup on the coffee table and gave him a tissue. “Don’t worry, darling. Nurse Rarity is on the job.” ‘Out of all the times for my imagination to be accurate….’ Zero thought before forcing a smile at her and wiping his nose. “Just what the doctor ordered.” “Do be careful, it’s rather hot, obviously,” Rarity said as she sat down next to her sick ‘boyfriend’ and was about to plant another kiss on him. However, he was quick to react as he scooted away slightly. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Is there something wrong?” “I’m still sick,” he replied before throwing away his tissue in a nearby garbage bin. “I don’t want you bedridden and risk ruining your beautiful voice too.” Rarity smiled and wrapped her arms around Zero. “True, but you're someone worth getting sick over.” ‘Aw, that’s actually really sweet … but I gotta find a way to kill time and keep her away…. Wait!’ Zero broke out of her hold and got up. “Heh, now I’m starting to feel a little better. I’m gonna use the bathroom.” Before Rarity could get a word in,  Zero ran off into the hallway and found the bathroom once he took a minute to search for it. He closed the door behind him and took deep breaths. “Okay, okay.” He took deep breaths and looked at himself in the mirror. “Wow, I really do look like Clyde.” He shook his head and focused as he glance at the clock. “It’s three-seventeen. Still another two hours before this blows over, but how the hell can I last?” He began scratching his hair a little before glancing at the toilet. He could just stay in the bathroom and waste a decent amount of time, but that wouldn’t be enough. Then he thought of how he always killed time in math class. “Take a nap, duh,” he said to himself as he felt slightly stupid. After wasting time in the bathroom by watching funny videos on Clyde’s phone, Zero finally came back to the living room and saw that Rarity was texting on her phone, still in her nurse’s outfit. He blushed brightly and checked the clock again as it was now three-fifty. He pounded his chest so he could get a grip and get back into character. Sitting back down next to Rarity, he smiled at her. Rarity noted this as she smiled back and put her phone down. “Is everything alright?” Rarity asked. “I’m fine, I think I just need to lay down for a while,” Zero replied as he drank some of the soup. “Perhaps that is for the best. Maybe I could accompany you and let you borrow my bed?” Zero almost spat out the soup after hearing the suggestion and his heart almost skipped a beat. He calmed down and swallowed before turning his head towards her. “A-actually, the couch is fine. Besides, if you're with me, where does it matter where we lay?” Rarity rested her hand on his shoulder as she smiled. “Yes, I suppose that’s true.” In his mind, Zero gave a relaxed sigh as he lay back and began drifting off to sleep while Rarity did the same. He was silently praying that Clyde was having better luck on his end. Twilight continued to monitor Clyde’s progress, assuming it was Zero. So far, he’d been doing decently well. The stress ball wasn’t doing much for him, but the music of the beautiful pianist, Coloratura, seemed to be helping as he seemed relaxed and hadn’t grown too frustrated at any of the problems. ‘He’s made a few errors on some of the questions, but he did manage to get a few answers right.’ She smiled to herself as she stopped the music. “Okay, let’s take a short break.” “So soon?” Clyde questioned as he put his pencil down. “But we *cough cough* barely got started.” “According to the book I read, kinesthetic learners should take a lot of breaks and that working for long periods of time can be counterproductive,” Twilight noted as she stood up. “Another fun fact they said about kinesthetic learners is that they have a habit of bouncing their knee constantly, like you do in class … and like you’re doing right now.” Clyde stopped his knee from bouncing upon the comment. “No I’m not.” Twilight shook her head with a smile. “Nothing to be ashamed of. I’ll go get you some water, and in a little while, we’ll go over the ones you got wrong. You can move around if you’d like.” Clyde nodded and stretched a little as he stood up. Twilight, in the meantime, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before walking back into the living room and holding it out to Clyde. “Drink some. If you wanna get rid of that cold, you’ll need to stay hydrated,”  Twilight offered. “Thanks, my throat was feeling a little dry.” Clyde smiled as he took the water and drank it. As Twilight sat back down on the couch, her mind wandered back to the discussion she had that morning with Celestia. If anyone was going to help him, it had to be her and only her, and she couldn’t let Principal Celestia or her tutee down. Since the session was going so well, she might as well see everything through. Feeling a bit more determined, Twilight took another moment before looking over at her tutee. “You probably don’t want to hear this, but I need to tell you something.” Clyde looked at Twilight as she had gained his full attention. “What is it now?” “I want you to know that I’m not trying to nag, bore, or annoy you with all of this tutoring,” she began. “I’m doing this because you have a lot of unused potential. Principal Celestia sees it, and I’m starting to as well. But changing how the world works will be next to impossible if you don’t learn all there is to know about it and slack off. Nothing gets done that way. So, if you’re as amazing as you claim to be, then you need to prove it.” She gave a honest smile. “And I know you can do it if you could just work with me, please?” Clyde stood there silently as he let all her words sink in. Letting out a long sigh, he finally replied. “Unbelieveable ….” Hearing this, Twilight gave a defeated look as she felt as though her words fell on deaf ears. “Forget I said anything then ….” “No, not what you said,” Clyde corrected as he fixed his hair and put it back to normal. “Zero is. He’s giving you the cold *cough cough* shoulder, yet here you are doing your best to help him.” Twilight gave a confused expression. “Are you … trying to talk in third person like Trixie? “I’m Clyde, not Zero,” Clyde clarified. He looked into a nearby mirror as he slowly took out his yellow contact lenses and showed Twilight his normal teal eyes. “He swapped places with me so he could get out of tutoring today.” “W-what?!” Twilight was completely baffled by this as she shot up from the couch. “Then where is he?” “Don’t know. But let’s ask his sister.” Clyde and Twilight went up to Wind’s room and knocked on her door. She quickly opened the door and looked at the two. “He’s busted?” she asked. “He’s busted,” Clyde replied. “Kinda expected things to fall apart a lot later than sooner. Oh well.” “Do you have any idea as to where he might be hiding?” Twilight questioned.         “No, but I’ll text him and find out.” Wind tried texting her brother to let him know about the bet. After a few minutes with no response, she then resorted to calling him three times, each to no avail. “Looks like he’s busy.” “Then I guess we’re gonna have to wait till five.” Clyde shook his head before coughing a little. “Sorry for helping Zero with his shenanigans, girls.” “Don’t sweat it! I’m actually impressed he almost got away with it,” Wind admitted, slightly entertained. “No, if anyone should be sorry, it’s Zero,” Twilight said with disappointment. “And me, since I’m partially to blame for making him go to such lengths.” Clyde sighed. “It won’t be long before we have to switch back and deal with him. So we’re gonna have to wait in the meanti … ti … AAAACHOOO!!” “Bless you,” Wind and Twilight said in unison as Twilight handed Clyde a tissue. He took it and blew his nose. “Thank you.” A little more time had passed and, along with feeling a little better, Zero was just about ready to leave and meet up with Clyde by the riverbank. But seconds before he woke up, he felt someone poking his side. Slowly opening his eyes, he noticed that the culprit was Sweetie Belle. In addition, Rarity was still resting and cuddling him. “Sweetie Belle?” Zero said with a yawn. ‘Why isn’t she resting? Better question, why did she only wake me?’ Sweetie Belle was looking healthier now thanks to a little bedrest, but what was most notable is that she was examining Zero closely. She picked up their family cat, Opalescence, and placed her on his lap. It didn’t take long for Opal to hiss at Zero and hop off immediately, startling him a little and even causing Rarity to wake up. “Hm? Opal?” Rarity said with a raised eyebrow as she looked at her, Zero, and her sister. “Did I miss something?” “Opal just flipped out on me for some reason,” Zero explained. “But why on earth would she do that to you? She seems to always like you.” “Because that’s not Clyde, it’s Zero!” Sweetie Belle explained as she pointed at him with her eyes narrowed. Trying not to immediately panic, Zero stayed calm and merely tilted his head at her. “What … are you talking about?”         “This can’t possibly be Zero,” Rarity rebuked. “I’ll admit, I’ve mistaken one for the other on occasion, but this is without a doubt my lovely Clyde. He’s so delightful and quite the dresser while Zero is … uncouth, to say the least.”         ‘Hey! … Okay, she’s not wrong, but I’m at the least decent-looking!’ Zero thought as he shot a glance at her.         Sweetie picked Opal up once more. “With a few exceptions, Opal doesn’t really like anyone. And Clyde is one of those expectations. But now….” She moved Opal closer to Zero again, who hissed once more before being pulled away. “And cats can easily tell people apart.”                  “She probably just isn’t in a good mood,” Zero guessed with a shrug.         “Okay, then explain this,” Sweetie said as she took out her phone and showed the two a recent conversation between her and Wind. It started off normally until Sweetie explained that she told Wind some tips about feeling better from their colds and coughs and admitted where she got it from. At that point, Wind spilled the beans about the entire plan and seemed unaware of where her brother was from what they read. Rarity’s eyes widened while Zero retained his composure despite screaming internally.         Rarity shook her head for a moment and pushed Sweetie Belle’s phone away. “This is probably just some prank you and your friends are trying to pull. I’ll have you know I am in no mood for it and I’m positive Clyde feels the same. Now—”         Sweetie groaned and rolled her eyes. “Then ask him something only the real Clyde knows.”         “Very well.” Rarity cleared her throat and looked at Zero. “I’m sure he can remember where and when we had our lovely first kiss, right dear?”         “Sorry, my memory is a little hazy since we had so many great ones,” he replied.         Rarity was about to swoon, but then she gave an awkward chuckle. “But … it was only last year at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. At Tyrone’s party, remember?”         “Y-yeah, my bad.”         Rarity narrowed her eyes slightly. “What’s the name of the song that makes you think of me?” “U-um ….”         “It’s Everlong.”         Zero leaned back slowly as he gave an awkward chuckle. “Well, there’re lots of wonderful song that make me think of you.”         Rarity furrowed her brow even more. “My mother’s name?”         “It’s … um … oh man,” Zero gulped.         Rarity snarled. “Cookie Crumbles.” She shot up from the couch and glared at him angrily. “Zero! Explain this at once!”         Zero put up his hand defensively. “It’s not what you think!” he exclaimed before looking at the clock nearby. It was four fifty-five.         “You can start by telling me what have you done to Clyde and why you’re wearing his clothes!” Rarity shouted in a scary tone until she gasped suddenly. “You weren’t trying to have your way with me, were you?!”         “No! I mean, you're beautiful, but—”         Rarity’s glare intensified. Zero gulped and ran out the door at full speed. Rarity didn’t waste a single moment as she chased after him down the street. “Get back here!!!!” she shouted.         ‘Damn, damn, damn!!’ Zero thought as he turned a corner and sprinted down the street. ‘When Dad told me to be the kind of guy girls would go crazy for and chase me, this isn’t what I had in mind!” As the two ran, they passed by Fluttershy and Night as they were on their way to the animal shelter. Once they took notice of the chase, Fluttershy was the first to respond.         “Oh no, did Rarity and Clyde have an argument or something?” she said with concern in her tone.         “Nope,” Night explained. “Just a plan going downhill.”         “What do you mean?”         “You are going to rue this day, Zero!!” Rarity cried out as she and Zero ran further down the road and passed more pedestrians.         “… Oh,” Fluttershy said.         ‘Guess number 23: Getting chased by Rarity in a nurse’s outfit,’ Night thought to himself before walking off. ‘Called it.’ Eventually, Zero reached the riverbank but didn’t see Clyde there. He took a moment to look back and saw that Rarity was gaining on him with a furious expression. His eyes widened and he sprinted further as he crossed the bridge and entered his neighborhood.         “You can’t run from me!!!” she bellowed.         ‘No time to call him! Just gotta make a break for it and go all the way,’ Zero panicked. ‘And who knew she could run so fast in high heels!?! Can girls even run in heels like that?!” Approaching his house, Zero immediately took notice that he didn’t see a car parked in the driveway, meaning not only that his parents weren’t home, but Twilight had taken her leave as well. He checked on Rarity again and saw that he had managed to get some distance from her, giving him enough time to unlock the front door and get inside before slamming it shut behind him.         “Finally,” Zero panted as he quickly locked the door. “She’s quick, but I’m thankfully much faster. Now I just need to—”         “Confess?”         “I’ll confess after Rarity calms down!” Zero replied before he made a quick realization. “… Wait, who…?” He turned around slowly and saw Clyde, Wind and Twilight standing right behind him with  unimpressed expressions. The fact that Twilight was still here meant her car was actually hidden in the garage and out of sight so they could catch him red-handed. “… I’m in trouble.”         “You definitely are,” Wind commented. “And before you start, our sibling code only applies to our parents, last time I checked.”         “But I told you to hush up! Why’d you tell Sweetie Belle and Twilight?!”         “I didn’t know you were at Rarity’s house!” Wind cried as she threw her hands in the air. “I was just having a conversation with Sweetie Belle, that’s all!”         “And she didn’t tell Twilight,” Clyde corrected. “I did.”         “What?!” Zero yelled but was interrupted by Rarity banging on the door behind him.         “Zero! I know you're in there! Open this door at once!” she roared.         Zero immediately dived behind the couch in the living room as Clyde stepped toward the door. The second he opened it, Rarity stormed in and was about to shout in his face until she fully examined him. “Clyde?! What in heaven's name are you doing here?!”         “Zero will explain in just a minute,” Clyde began before looking at said ‘mastermind’ behind the couch. “But first, I want my clothes back.”         Zero poked his head out and sighed with a defeated look. “Fine ….”         Using his bedroom for a few minutes, Zero swapped back clothes with Clyde and took out his colored contacts before going back downstairs. He was a little annoyed that things had fallen apart right at the end. Meeting back with the girls, he began to explain.         “Okay … In a nutshell, I was trying to get out of tutoring today, and since Twilight wouldn’t get off my back, the first chance I got to have some space, I made Clyde trade places with me for this session, and I figured if he did a good enough job, Twilight wouldn’t hassle me as much anymore with all the tutoring.”         Twilight was ready to speak up, but Clyde cut her off as he beat her to it. “And why were you with Rarity at her house? I thought I told you to stay away from her.”         “I was gonna go hang out somewhere in town, but she insisted on taking care of me since I’m still a little *cough* sick!” Zero argued. “I’m not the one who made her wear the sexy nurse uniform!”         “You rapscallion!” Rarity hissed as she slapped Zero across the face. “You made me kiss and cook for you!”         “OW!!”         “She kissed you?!” Clyde said as his eyes blazed.         “It was on the cheek!” Zero corrected as he held his cheek. “The same one she just slapped! And I didn’t want her to, but she caught me off guard!”         “You could have said something sooner and avoided all this!” Rarity argued as she poked at Zero’s chest assertively.         “I didn’t wanna blow my cover, unlike someone in this room who broke their Pinkie promise!” Zero glared at Clyde. “What about the deal, man?!         “A promise like that isn’t worth anything if it means lying to someone’s face like that.” Clyde responded. “Especially when she only wants to help. If the tutoring bothers you that much, you could have easily just talked to Twilight about it instead of going through all this trouble.”         Pinkie suddenly popped up by the window and shook her head. “And everything was going so well, too.” Everyone glanced at her with a confused expression before she ducked back down in the bushes.  Dismissing Pinkie, Rarity crossed her arms. “At any rate. Now that that’s all settled, I believe this is the part where we take our leave. Coming, Clyde?” Clyde nodded before looking at Twilight. “Sorry about all this.” With that, he went out the door with Rarity. Zero put his hands in his pockets and stayed quiet as he looked at Twilight. He noticed she wasn’t looking at him, but instead was looking at the ground. “Let me guess,” Zero said as he looked away and scratched his head. “I’m gonna have to do an extra hour of tutoring tomorrow. If that’s then-” Twilight just quietly grabbed her things and put them away in her backpack without a word before heading towards the garage door. “Principal Celestia was wrong …. She was wrong about both of us.” Without another word, Twilight opened the garage door and entered her car as she drove away, leaving Zero to just stand there in the living room. Hearing the sorrowful tone in Twilight’s words, despite how vague they were, he couldn’t help but feel so … pathetic, especially since it was clear that she had given up on him. “Dude ….” Wind noticed Zero’s sad expression. “You're not mad at me, right? Cause if you are, I was onl—” “I’m not mad at you, sis,” he replied before walking up the stairs. But before closing the door to his room after he entered it, he clarified his statement. “I’m angry at myself for being so stupid.”