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Prologue - 00 - Small Beginnings1,936 words
Act I - 01 - On the First Day...7,470 words
Act I - 02 - Please Let This Be a Normal Field Trip7,395 words
Act I - 03 - Metamorphosis6,288 words
Act I - 04 - How Do I Shoot Web?2,655 words

Act I - 02 - Please Let This Be a Normal Field Trip

Act I:
“Origins”
Chapter Two:
“Please Let This Be a Normal Field Trip”

Diamond Tiara closed her phone, shakily putting it in her saddlebag.

Dad's ri-right...just bu-buck up, and concentrate...just like the doctor's said to do... she took a deep, heaving, shaking breath, clenching her eyes shut and trying desperately to drown out the droning noise of foreign thoughts that surrounded her. She rubbed her temples, ignoring the crystals on her hooves for the time being, simply wishing to finally get some piece and quiet.

The sound, however, of the bathroom door opening caught her attention, and she felt her heart flip-flop. The sound of footsteps followed, followed by Silver Spoon calling out.

"Diamond? Diamond you okay? I saw you run in here...you sure you don't need help?"

Diamond bit her lip.

"Do you want me to get the nurse?" Silver called out again, and Diamond quickly shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to have her secret exposed to everypony in the school.

They'd probably treat me like a freak...kick me out... she thought worriedly, only to clench her hooves and stomp on the ground sharply.

Stop it Diamond! Dad said to be strong. Buck up. You're Diamond Tiara Rich, and that means you can handle anything life dishes out at you. Just pull yourself up and move on.

That bit of self-help seemed to do the trick, as the noise decreased noticeably, leaving only Diamond's own, unique thoughts remaining. She let out a tentative sigh of relief.

"Thank Celestia..." she whispered, moving to slip the booties back on her hooves. "Peace and quiet." She leaned behind herself, flushing the toilet to quickly create a cover story. She then slipped out of the stall, and was greeted by the sight of a deeply worried looking Silver Spoon standing by the sinks.

"You okay? You look a little pale." Silver said, and Diamond glanced towards the mirror, noticing that she did, indeed, look rather paler then normal. However, she simply nodded her head, waving her hoof.

"Just a bit of a panic attack, that's all. Nothing major. I think I'm good." she leaned over the sink, taking a moment to calm herself a little more. She set her jaw, slowly straightening out and adjusting her mane. "Don't tell anypony, okay?"

Silver nodded. "Uh, okay Diamond, I won't."

Diamond gave Silver a thin smile. Always a friend. she thought quietly, before straightening up again and heading towards the door. "You coming, Silver?" she asked, and Silver, who seemed to have zoned out, nodded quickly, turning to follow Diamond out of the bathroom, and back into the nest of students.

///////////////////////////////

“Welcome everypony,” the school teacher began, writing his name down on the blackboard. “My name is Bunsen Fizz, and I’ll be your chemistry teacher for this semester.” He then spun around on his hooves, turning to face the students and flicking on the bunsen burner. “Now, chemistry is technically the study of matter, but I prefer to think of it as the study of change,” he said, before launching into a long and impassioned lecture as he began the class.

Towards the center of the room, was Pipsqueak. Sitting a little ahead of him, desk already organized, and watching the teacher with rapt attention, was the mare he had bumped into earlier.

The sunlight caught her mane in just the right way, causing it almost glow with angelic beauty. She chewed on her pencil, staring at the blackboard with her gloriously golden eyes. Her other hoof twiddled with her mane, seemingly independent from the rest of her. She looked like some sort of figure you’d see in an old painting; something unsullied by the rest of the world, floating on a beautiful cloud of sunshine and clouds that--

“Pipsqueak.”

With a start, Pip snapped to attention, looking around to notice everyone in the room was staring at him with slightly raised eyebrows. The teacher’s eyebrow raised and he looked rather bemused.

“Yes sir?” Pip murmured, noticing how stern the teacher seemed. The teacher pointed towards the blackboard, were a complex series of formulas and symbols were written.

“Could you please answer the question on the board?”

Pip’s eyes widened slightly. He hadn’t even the slightest clue what he was even looking at, let alone what it meant, since he’d been so enraptured with that wondrously beautiful filly and--

“Mr. Trottingshire? Answer the question,” the teacher repeated, his voice gaining some edge. Pip stammered for a moment.

“Eh-um-ah… 42?” The entire class started to snicker and Pip instantly slid in his chair slightly. The teacher simply rolled his eyes, shaking his head slowly.

“No, I am sorry to say it’s not 42. However, it was an admirable attempt. Anypony else want to give it a shot?”

Pipsqueak, meanwhile, mentally kicked himself for messing up so badly, barely noticing Dinky raising her hand to answer the question.

“Um... it’s .0422, right?” she said, Pip immediately taking notice of how her melodic voice floated across the room. She seemed strangely tentative however, as if she didn’t want to be noticed, and Pip spotted her shrinking away ever so slightly when the teacher cast his gaze upon her. Fortunately, the teacher gave her a warm smile before nodding.

“That is absolutely correct. Excellent job Dinky.”

Dinky simply blushed, letting that wondrous little bang fall in front of her eyes, and Pip once more found himself staring.

///////////////////////////////

Doctor Cheerilee walked into her lab, letting out a grumbling sigh. She shrugged off her lab coat, idly tossing it asides as she slid into her chair and up to her desk. She opened up a folder she’d been carrying, revealing the presentation she’d shown to Mr. Rich this morning.

She looked down at her research. What was she to do? She had less than a week to create a cure for something that, in her mind, didn’t even need one. She ran her good hoof through her mane in frustration, chewing her lip.

Why does he have to be like this? Why didn’t he just come out from day one and say so instead of leading me on like this?

She held her head in her hoof, rubbing her temple slightly. She always, always tried to keep a positive outlook on things, something that had really helped her after the loss of her arm, but now she found it hard to find anything positive. It was either create something impossible, or lose all her funding, leaving her by the wayside and, most likely, bankrupt.

I have to do something… think Cheerilee… think… she thought, standing up again to walk around the room in frustration. She rubbed the steam where the stump of her right foreleg met the prosthetic. She was so close to finding a solution. So close to regaining what she lost. If only--

“Um, Doctor?” came a mild mannered voice, causing Cheerilee to turn around startled.

“Oh! Fairy Charmer,” she was quick to wipe her worried and frustrated look away with a smile. “What do you need?”

Fairy Charmer, a rather short mare with a strawberry mane and pale blue coat, swallowed. “Well, um, we all kind of noticed you looked rather… stressed when you came back from the meeting upstairs.”

Cheerilee’s expression fell slightly. “Oh. Oh I see,” she said, walking over to sit down, putting the papers back in the folder that she’d left on her desk. “It’s okay. Mr. Filthy--”

She heard a brief chuckle, and glanced up at Fairy Charmer to see the mare covering her mouth with her hoof, obviously trying to repress some giggles. Cheerilee quickly noticed her slip, but let it slide. “I meant Mr. Rich, Charmer. And he just wanted to see if we could get our research up and ready by next week,” she added, sinking in her seat slightly.

Fairy Charmer’s eyes widened. “Next week?! But we haven’t even gotten to testing! How can we get it ready time if we haven’t tested it?”

Cheerilee shrugged. “I don’t know, Fairy Charmer, I don’t know,” she allowed herself a small smile despite herself, sensing the assistants worry. “But don’t worry. I’ll handle that part. Just go tell everypony I’m okay.”

Fairy Charmer nodded slightly. “Yes, Doctor. Do you want me to tell them about the schedule update?”

Cheerilee shook her head. “No, no. It’s a Monday, so I figure their day is already pretty glum. No use getting them extra stressed. Anyways, if anypony holds that responsibility, it’s me. Just go back to work, while I try to work out a schedule in here. Okay? But tell everypony thank you. It really means a lot to know they care.”

Fairy Charmer nodded. “Of course, Doctor. Good luck with the schedule.” And with that, the mild mannered mare closed the door, leaving Cheerilee alone again. Cheerilee sighed, looking down at the formula that was written on one of the papers lying on her desk.

“You’ve been a whole mess of trouble, you know that?” she grumbled, picking the paper up and looking at the formula pensively. “But hopefully, it’ll be worth it. Just got to see if you work.”

///////////////////////////////

Pipsqueak and Featherweight sat at the lunch table, thoughtful examining Featherweight’s meal.

“Kinda wishing ya di’n’t forget yours, don’tcha?” Pip asked, and Featherweight nodded slowly.

“Is it me or does this look like toxic waste?” he asked slowly, tentatively poking the… whatever it was on his plate with his plastic spoon. There was a grotesque slurping sound as the spoon began to slowly seep into the strange fluids, slowly melting away as it did so. If Featherweight didn't know any better, he would say the food was eating his spoon.

The two then looked up from the plate, and towards the cafeteria chef, who was looking at them with lowered eyebrows. Featherweight swallowed.

“Do you think she’s still angry over that whole ‘Ice Cream Freedom Revolution’ from ‘09?” he asked, turning towards Pip, who merely nodded.

“Probably. But then again, I think it’d be pretty ‘ard to forget that monkey…”

Featherweight shrugged. “You know that wouldn’t have happened if you’d brought the hair nets.”

Pip glared at Featherweight for a second. “I thought you were the one responsible for that?”

Featherweight lowered his eyebrows. “No. It was you. That and the tub of lard.”

Pip rolled his eyes. “Alright, fine… but really, she’s starin’ into me soul,” he whispered, motioning towards the chef before looking away. “Stop starin’ and pretend to enjoy whatever the ‘eck that is. Maybe we can escape.”

“You should have packed some lunch, man.” Featherweight countered, lowering his eyebrows. Pip simply sighed, shaking his head.

“Well, it was a ‘ectic morning. Anyways, I’m savin’ up for dinner. Birthday and all. Aunt May’s probably gonna be making shrimp and green sauce, so that’s gonna be worth the wait,” as Pip spoke, he motioned once more towards the chef. “Look, let’s just turn so we can at least get a view of outside. I mean, do you want that old mare starin’ ya down while treating to eat…” he glanced down at their plates, turning slightly green as he did so. “... whatever this is.”

Featherweight gave the chef one last fearful glance before silently nodding. With that, the two stood up, circumventing the table so that their backs were to the chef and her piercing gaze. As soon as they sat down, they went back to glaring at their food, neither really wanting to try and taste whatever it was that was apparently acidic enough to dissolve a plastic spoon.

“So… Pip… trade?” Featherweight asked, turning towards Pip to find him unexpectedly looking out the window, eyes wide and a downright dopey smile on her face. “Pip what are you looking at?”

“Her…” Pip replied, motioning towards the filly sitting under the tree, apparently wrapped up in a book of some kind. “Ain’t she sweet?”

Featherweight raised an eyebrow slightly. “What? That unicorn? She’s okay I guess-”

“Okay?! She walks in beauty, like the night…”

Featherweight blinked. “Did you just quote Byron?”

“So what if I did?” Pip responded, turning back to gaze at the unicorn. “It was the first thing that came close to describing her…”

Featherweight glanced out the window, at the mare and back at Pip. “So…” he began, sliding his plate forwards slightly. “How long exactly have you known her?”

Pip shrugged slightly, the same smile still plastered on his face. “Not long. She bumped into me this morning on the way in,” he sighed deeply, leaning against his hoof. “But her voice sounds like bird song in spring.”

Featherweight suppressed a gag. This was getting downright insufferable. “So, she’s a random mare who bumped into you, and you suddenly think she’s the very sun itself?”

“Yeah… what you said,” Pip answered before letting out a nostalgic sigh and looking down at the table. “But I probably made a terrible impression on her. I mean, I’m not exactly a chick magnet am I?” he motioned towards his glasses. “Didn’t help I royally screwed up in Chemistry today.” his shoulders sagged slightly. “But she was just… just so nice you know? As if she were made out of sugar or something. She wanted to know my name. No filly’s ever done that before,” he sighed again. “But she’ll probably just forget about me. I just wish I could muster up enough courage to talk to her you know? Try to get a better feel for her, see what she likes and all.”

“So why don’t you? Is there like, some magic spell preventing you?” Featherweight asked, raising an eyebrow rather incredulously. Pip shook his head.

“Because I’m a dirty rotten coward, that’s why. I keep imagining a scenario where I’ll talk to her, but it usually ends with her laughing at me and the world blowing up or something.”

Featherweight rolled his eyes. “So what, do you want somepony else to break the ice for you maybe? Like, test the waters or something?”

Pip gave Featherweight a hopeful smile. “You’d do that?!”

Featherweight blinked, quickly shaking his head. “I didn’t say that. I said get somepony else. Not me. I’m a dork remember?”

Pip frowned. “Oh come Feather! Aren’t we both technically dorks? Anyways, you’ve got a sister, so you know what fillies like right?”

“I have Diamond Tiara. That’s totally different.”

Pip’s frowned deepened. “Come on…. help a friend out,” he pressed, before motioning towards the backpack next to Featherweight. “I’ll do your homework for the next week if you do.”

Featherweight glanced down at the backpack. “Well… that certainly is tempting…” he mused, tapping his chin slightly. Pip’s hooves clapped together in a pleading gesture.

“Please please please please please please plea-”

“Ugh, alright, I’ll give it a shot,” Featherweight said, his ears splaying back slightly. Pip’s sad puppy look turned into a big grin.

“Awesome mate! I totally owe ya one!” he gave Featherweight a hard slap on the back. Featherweight winced slightly, rubbing the sore spot.

“Yeah… you do,” he murmured.

///////////////////////////////

Dinky settled down under a random tree, quietly taking out her books. So far, the first day of school hadn’t been that bad. She hadn’t really spoken with anyone, that was true, but that was mostly because she’d been moving from class to class, and the massive oceans of students between classes where honestly a tad daunting to navigate.

One pony, however, that had caught her eye, was that thin little pinto colt that she’d bumped into that morning. The first thing that had struck her about him were how big his eyes were.

Like big chocolates, she thought dreamily, letting out a fluttering sigh. Just like those spots on his coat. She paused, blinking briefly before sitting up slightly. Oh stop it Dinky. You’re acting like you’ve never seen a colt before in your life. She sighed, reaching into her backpack to pull out a book. She started leafing through it, trying her best to focus on the words printed on the paper, but alas, found that her mind kept returning to the colt.

I should probably apologize for bumping into him like that. I mean, I can’t even remember his name.

“Excuse me?” came a voice, and Dinky looked up to see a noticeably thin, lanky, white colt with a light brown mane and very dark eyes standing over her. He wore a black and white sweater vest, and seemed to carry himself rather loosely, as if he were a marionette.

“Uh, my name is Featherweight,” he began, obviously trying to sound charming, but coming off more awkward. He rubbed the back of his neck slightly, and his other hoof rubbed along the ground idly. “I was walking around when I noticed you. I don’t think I’ve seen you here before, are you new?”

Dinky blinked. Somepony else had noticed her. She nodded slightly, and smiled. “Yes, yes I’m new,” she started, closing her book. Simple social interaction shouldn’t be too difficult. At least you have a name now, she thought briefly before continuing her greeting. “I’m Dinky, Dinky Hooves,” she held out her hoof in greeting, and Featherweight leaned down to shake it rather stiffly.

“I’m Featherweight--” He paused, his mouth closing for a moment. “Wait, I already told you that. Sorry.” he was quick to add apologetically, and Dinky simply shook her head.

“No, it’s okay. I get kinda awkward around other ponies sometimes too,” she smiled, standing up and dusting off some stray grass clippings that had stuck to her coat. There was an awkward pause as the two shared awkward glances, with Featherweight looking upwards into the tree briefly while Dinky found herself looking at a random cloud.

“So…” Featherweight unexpectedly said, breaking the silence. “You’re new?”

Dinky shifted slightly, nodding. “Yeah.” There was another pause. Featherweight looked down, idly nudging at a pebble.

“I was…” he started, only to stop again and scrunch up his face slightly. “... I mean… you look good.”

Dinky’s eyes widened slightly, and she couldn’t help but blush slightly as she meekly let her mane flop in front of her face. “Oh, thank you. You, um,” she trailed off, looking for some kind of topic they could discuss, since she could almost feel the awkwardness in the air. She had to find some sort of… something to talk about, if only to try and break the ice with someone.

“Do you have any hobbies?” she ventured, and Featherweight’s expression, which had been a tad downbeat, seemed to brighten slightly.

“Uh, yeah, yeah I do. I do photography. Nothing fancy though.”

“Really? Photography? That’s pretty darn cool,” Dinky replied, and Featherweight shrugged.

“Yeah, I guess. Dad says I don’t really get out enough though.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow. “Really? That’s just what my mom says.” That caused Featherweight to glance at her, eyebrow raised.

“Why’d she say that?”

Dinky shrugged. “Well, it’s just because I’m home schooled--or rather was home schooled.”

“Home schooled huh? That’s neat,” Featherweight frowned. “Not sure if I’d like it. Being cooped inside with my sister all day…”

“I thought you said you didn’t get out much?” Dinky asked, tilting her head slightly. Featherweight nodded.

“I don’t. It’s just my sister is like, a billion times more social than I am. She hates staying indoors.” He then let his shoulders droop. “Can’t really blame her I guess. House is kinda quiet for most of the time. Drafty too.”

Dinky didn’t respond, instead just looking at Featherweight with sympathy. Her home was almost never quiet. The Tardis Tower was almost always abuzz with all sorts of activity. The ever present humming and whirring of her parent’s experiments, her dad’s constant babbling in his thick Scoltish accent. The smell of her mother’s muffins or just the random assortment of millions of sounds, sights and smells that made home feel like home. The way Featherweight was talking, his home sounded more like a large tomb or an ancient castle, someplace lonely, cold and distant.

“Anyways,” Featherweight said all of a sudden, causing Dinky blink. “I kinda wanna tell you that, um, in all honesty, somepony sent me here to talk with you.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow. “What? What are you talking about?”

Featherweight shifted, idly moving to lean up against the tree. “You see that bush over there,” he pointed over to a large bush that sat a couple of meters away. “My buddy is in there. He kinda likes you, and he wanted to know if you were free later.”

Dinky raised her eyebrows. “Why didn’t he just ask me himself?” she inquired, wondering what about her was so awe inspiring to cause a colt to hide in the bushes and have his friend do all the talking. Featherweight just shrugged, dipping his hooves idly pawing at the ground again.

“Beats me. But he hasn’t stopped talking about you. Said he’s sorry for bumping into you this morning. See, that’s him over there” Featherweight motioned towards the bush again and Dinky towards the bush again to catch a colt peering out from it, his brown mane slightly ruffled from the bush and his glasses making his eyes seem even bigger than before. Dinky couldn’t help but blush, and the colt’s eyes widened, his head ducking back behind the bush. Dinky herself now started to feel incredibly awkward. Not only did she have a crush, but he wanted to go out on a date!

“I-Well-Um-” Dinky stammered, suddenly at a massive loss for words at the realization that someone found her attractive. And not just attractive, but they wanted to take her on a date. Sure her own family always said she was pretty, but she’d always assumed it was simply because they were just that, her family. Now she had a secret crush, and the first impression she’d made on him was by nearly running him over. That memory proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, and there was a flash of purple light as a massive portal opened right behind her, sucking her inside in a flurry of panic, leaving a stunned Featherweight behind by the tree.

With another flash, Dinky found herself standing, in all places, the gym. She instantly slapped her forehead. “Stupid powers.” she groaned. “Why’d they have to malfunction now?!” she slumped down on the bench, crossing her forelegs.

Now I definitely look like a dork. she mused dejectedly, only to hear the sound of the school bell ringing. She let out a frustrated groan as she got up and started towards the doors.

“First day of school and I make myself look like a complete dope. Great…” she paused, her hoof already starting to wrap around the handle of the door. She thought back to the colt peaking behind the bush. Pipsqueak.

“Well… I do have a date… right? I mean, if I teleported away like that does it mean I don’t have one?” she paused the memory of Pipsqueak’s face peeking out from behind the bush, bringing a blush to her face. “He did look really cute peeking out behind that bush like that…” Her eyes widened. “I’d better go set that! I don’t want to disappoint him now!” And with that, she swung the door open, diving into the ocean of students, ready to find Pipsqueak.

///////////////////////////////

“So how did it go?” Pip whispered to Featherweight as the science teacher continued to lecture. Featherweight shrugged slightly, tapping his pencil on his desk.

“I don’t know. Soon as I mentioned you she teleported away.”

Pip’s eyes widened. “Teleported away? Really?” He tried to lean close, glancing towards the teacher and her frizzy orange mane briefly. “I thought only expert unicorns could teleport.”

Featherweight shrugged again. “Well, one second she was there, then ‘poof’ and then she was gone. She looked kinda embarrassed when she ‘ported”

“Oh no, she probably thinks I’m some sort o’ psycho stalker freak,” Pip groaned, and Featherweight rolled his eyes.

“Or she just thought the idea of you hiding behind a bush and sending me to talk to her was weird,” he said with some sarcasm. Pip was about to make a comeback when the teacher slapped her eraser against the blackboard, causing the entire class to nearly leap out of their skins.

“And now, students, time for a very, very special announcement!” she said, her voice practically bubbling out of her mouth. “As a way to start this wondrous new semester, I’ve spoken with Principal Wakleflanks, and she’s allowed me to take all of you to RichCorp Labs today, for an immersive, effervescent observational live learning experience.”

The class was silent for a moment, with a chorus of silent blinks being the only response. A random student’s hoof shot up, and the teacher was quick to respond with a brilliant smile.

“Yes?”

“Uh, Miss Frizzle, what does ‘immersive, effervescent observational live learning experience’ mean?”

Miss Frizzle simply smiled a smile that could best be described as manic. “Well, it means we’re going on…” With a burst of inexplicable sparkles and spangles, she hopped into the air, forelegs raised. “A FIELD TRIP! To the bus everyone!” And with that, she practically bounded out the door, her students all trading confused and perplexed glances. Miss Frizzle leaned back in, her smile having shrunk slightly.

“It counts for extra credit!”

That seemed to finally get things moving, as the students all stood up, with Featherweight and Pip sharing glances as they did so.

“Is it me, or is the new science teacher really weird?” Featherweight asked, and Pip shrugged.

“I s’ppose, at least she’s better than last semester. Mr. Flatline put half the class to sleep, remember?” He went about packing his backpack. “On the plus side, this means I can maybe introduce you to Dr. Cheerilee. She works at RichCorp anyways, so maybe we’ll see her there.”

///////////////////////////////

The tour guide, a lanky blue pegasus with a brown mane and glasses turned and gestured to the large, multi-chambered glass tank that was sitting on a table. “Now, what you see here are the fifteen surviving Star Spiders that Professor Honeydew found in the Castle of the Three Sisters, in the wilds of Everfree. Now, if you look closely, you’ll notice that these spiders look a little bit different from normal Star Spiders. That is because Dr. Honeydew has exposed them to high concentrations of magic, enhancing their already substantial mana reserves...”

Pip meanwhile, observed the tank closely. Inside, the spiders all had their own individual chamber, which had long since been enveloped in a nest of webbing. Every so often, a spider would skitter about, its bright blue coloring catching Pip’s eyes. Half a mo’… he squinted, noticing that one of the tanks was empty.

“Now, are there any questions?” he heard the guide ask, and Pip’s hoof bolted up.

“Um, yes, how come there’s only 14?” he asked, pushing his glasses up his face slightly. The guide’s brow furrowed and he looked back into the display tank.

“Oh… well, I suppose one of the researchers is currently working on it in one of the laboratories in the back. This isn’t a zoo you know,” he chuckled, standing back up and adjusting his own glasses, with Pip giving him a glance. “Any other questions?”

Pip was about to speak when another student spoke up, asking something about Bon Particles, which sent the guide on a long tangent. Pip meanwhile, gave the tank another cautionary glance, before sighing slightly and moving away. He drifted through the lab, pausing every so often to get a closer look at anything that caught his eye. One example was the large tank of electric eels that was built into the wall. He watched the eels swim about, little arcs of electricity jumping between each one as they swam along, glowing a bright shade of neon blue as they did so.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” came a familiar voice, and Pip turned to see, of all ponies, Dr. Cheerilee standing next to him, having joined him in watching the eels.

“Oh! ‘ello doc! How you doin’?” he asked. Cheerilee merely shrugged slightly.

“Oh, I’m doing good. How’s my number one assistant?” she asked, turning away from the eels to glance towards him. Pip shrugged.

“Oh, I’m good. Me birthday, actually.”

Cheerilee gave him a warm smile. “Really? That’s great, Pip,” she turned back towards the eels. “Really great.”

Pip noticed almost immediately that something was off about Cheerilee. Normally, she was talkative and engaging. Now, she seemed oddly subdued. And not in a relaxed way, like someone who was simply taking a moment to be quiet, but more like someone who was less than happy. “You alright, doc? Ya look a little glum?”

Cheerilee was quick to shake her head. “Oh, I’m just a little bit tired. Been working pretty hard to day. New frontiers don’t explore themselves.” she turned back to the eels. “Wonderful little things aren’t they?” she asked, and Pip looked back at the dozen or so eels.

“Yeah. Smashing really. Who made ‘em? RichCorp? Or are you just keepin’ ‘em here?”

“Oh RichCorp made them. We’re looking into some potential renewable energy sources and such. Apparently, these eels can generate a couple thousand volts between them,” she then took her pen out of her lab coat pocket with her good hoof, gently tapping on the tank. “The fluid they’re in was specially designed to better conduct the electricity.” She smiled, a satisfied look on her face. “Really a wonder of science.” She then slipped her pen back into her lab coat. “Well, I’d better be off. Things to study and theories to test.” With that, she turned, and started to walk away. Pip turned, waiving towards her.

“Um, hey, I wanted to know, ‘ow’s the lizard thing going. That looked really promising.”

Cheerilee paused, her expression becoming muddled. “It’s good. Making progress. I hope to have something…” Pip noticed her hoof gently rubbing the nub of her other foreleg. “... something soon. Hopefully. Thanks for asking.”

“Sure thing, Doc. Good luck wit’ that.”

Cheerilee’s expression grew a tad brighter, but she still looked tired. “Thank you Pip, I appreciate that.” And with that, she turned and walked away, leaving Pip by the eels. Pip turned back to the eels, his reflection showing his concerned expression.

“Wonder what’s up with Doc,” he mused aloud. I guess work is just getting’ to her. I mean, things haven’t been all that easy… what with the whole lab getting destroyed business.

He turned away from the tank, the sound of the guide’s voice having faded noticeably. He ambled after the group, still looking around the lab, taking in all the wondrous assortment of gadgetry and technology that abounded. It was as if he’d died and gone to science heaven.

“Excuse me,” Pip turned around, making contact with a familiar set of angelic golden eyes. He froze, his eyes wide. Dinky's face was covered with a slight blush, and she bit her lip slightly before speaking. “I, um, I just saw you standing over here, and I thought maybe somepony else should come stand over here so you didn’t look so alone.” She gave him a shy smile, her head dipping slightly, causing that wonderful little bang to drop in front of her eyes again.

“Uh...” was all Pip could manage, his mouth wide and body frozen. Dinky bit her lip, and swallowed.

“S-sorry if I sound weird, I just,” she blushed again, brushing the bag out of her eye. “Well, really I just wanted to apologize for earlier. Y-you know, for running into you and all.”

Pip blinked, his brain finally clicking into gear. “Oh, you mean that? No, you really don’t have to apologize for that.” He said apologetically. "I wasn't really paying attention and-"

“No really, I insist.” Dinky interjected softly, and there was a pause. “If this is getting weird, I can just leave,” she finally said, already starting to move away.

“No, don’t,” Pip said hurriedly, reaching towards her, causing Dinky to pause. “I mean..." Pip's voice trailed off, his brain at a loss as how to continue. He stammered slightly, his hoof tapping the floor slightly. "What I mean is, um, I'd like to get to know you a little better. If, um, that's okay with you." He smiled shyly, pushing his glasses up his nose again.

Dinky smiled gently, and she gave him a slight nod. "That would be great." Her eyes drifted to his backpack. "You like science?" She asked tentatively, motioning towards the EASA patch that was stitched onto his backpack. Pip looked down and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I am," he replied, hefting up his backpack slightly. Dinky's smile grew slightly.

"That's pretty cool. What kind of science do you like?"

Pip opened and closed his mouth briefly before speaking. "Um, well, a wee bit of everything really. Usually chemistry an’ biology though."

"My dad's a scientist, actually." She added, and Pip raised an eyebrow.

"Really? What kind?"

Dinky waved her hand slightly. "Oh a bit of everything. But mostly Quantum physics. My mom helps him a lot."

"That sounds awesome, I mean to ‘ave scientists for parents," Pip responded with a smile, and Dinky gave him a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess its kinda cool..." she trailed off, before asking, "Do you mind telling me what your parents do? I mean, if that's not too much to ask."

Pip's smile faded slightly, and he shifted on his hooves. "Well, me mom an' dad were scientists, but, um they died back when I was ten," he said with a touch of somberness, and he noticed how Dinky's eyes widened.

"Oh wow. I didn't know… I'm sorry. That must have been terrible," she said apologetically, reaching out to put a hoof on his shoulder. Pip gave her a smile, and shook his head slightly.

"No, I'm okay. Me aunt an’ uncle were there, so it turned out alright. Anyways, Uncle Copper says there's no reason for me to be glum. They did a good job being parents, an’ I’ll always remember them, but that was then and this is now.” He shook his head. “Anyway, enough about that. What about you?”

“Huh?” Dinky tilted her head slightly.

“What kinds of science do you like?” Pip clarified, smiling slightly as he tried to steer the conversation into something less dark.

"Oh! Well I like physics," Dinky said, shrugging slightly. "Usually the bigger stuff like quantum mechanics and stuff." She gave Pip a curious look. "You don't think that's weird do you?"

Pip shook his head. "No way! I think that's brilliant! I mean, that's stuff like wormholes an’ time travel! That's just downright awesome! Like somethin’ out of Adventures in Time an’ Space or something."

Dinky’s face lit up. “Oh! Do you watch Adventures?” she exclaimed.

“Are you joking? I love that show!” Pip said happily. “‘ave you seen most recent ones?”

Dinky nodded. “The relaunch?! Yeah of course! I can’t wait to see what they’re doing with Eleven! I mean, I like where they’re going with him.”

Pip tilted his head slightly. “Really? I haven’t really seen much of his work.” he trailed off for a moment. “Uh… did you happen to catch the reboot of To Boldly Go.”

“Oh you saw that too?”

Pip nodded. “You like To Boldly Go?”

Dinky nodded. “Yeah I do! But I prefer the original series. I mean, the reboot is okay, but I feel it could do with a little bit more internal consistency you know? Like, they introduce that Red Matter stuff, but really, it makes no logical sense!”

“Oh you didn’t get that either?! I was wondering how the heck the time travel worked. Like, is the old timeline still around? Or is it totally replaced?”

“I like to think it’s still around, I mean, that makes more sense then completely wiping it out. Maybe like Back to the Future?”

“Oh you like saw that too! I love that movie!”

“Me too!” Dinky practically cheered, and the two of them started on a long tangent, quickly absorbing themselves into the world of movies. However, unbeknownst to the two ponies, crawling along a wall, was a small, black spider.

/////////////////////////

The spider crawled along, seeking out a suitable area to hunker down and start building a web. However, everywhere around it was cold, sterile and dry. It wanted somewhere warm, damp, dark and quiet, just like it’s old home. It skittered along, desperately searching for someplace not completely dominated by light and sound.

Reaching out to the best of its abilities, the spider could find nothing that suited its needs. However, it could detect a small patch of what appeared to be darkness, far away from all the sound and light. If only it could get down.

After anchoring itself, the spider began to slowly lower to the ground. A light breeze caused the spider to drift slightly, but its limited understanding of worry was silenced as it saw it was drifting towards what appeared to be a small, multicolored pillar. From there, the spider felt that it could climb down to the floor without being spotted or killed. Simple.

Once it touched down, it took a moment to get adjusted to where it had landed. The pillar was warm, and had an odd texture not unlike a leaf, but before the spider could move the pillar seemed to shift.

The sudden appearance of a large shadow overhead, colored exactly the same way as the pillar, caused the spider’s mind to come to a realization; this was some kind of animal, perhaps one of the spider’s predators. Fear gripped the spider, but it could not run.

The spider could not run. It had to fight. Running purely on instinct, the spider reared up and sank its fangs into its “predator”.

/////////////////////////

“... So, anyway,” Pip idly massaged the back of his head. “I was thinking... well...”

“Well what?” Dinky asked.

“Well, I know a couple good restaurants downtown, a-and I can get my uncle’s car for the night we can... y’know, go get some food an’ then maybe catch up on Series Seven or somethin’?” She’s going to say no... she has to, Pip thought, a fear only confirmed when the only real reaction he got from Dinky was another blush. She always looked rather cute when she blushed.

“Well, um, I’d have to ask my parents...” she started, idly shuffling her feet. “But I’d love to go out with you,” she added, her voice taking on a tentative tone.

Pip was pretty certain his heart stopped working properly. Did she just say yes?! He managed to contain most of his excitement, for if he had let it out he was certain that he would have attracted too much attention and might have gotten thrown out.

“That’s... that’s great!” he beamed. “I’ll probably ‘ave to ask if I can borrow the car, but then we can-” Pip’s full reply was cut off when he felt a sharp pain stab into the back of his hoof. He let out a yelp, jerking his hoof back sharply, causing it to slam into a nearby table.

“You okay?” Dinky asked, instantly moving towards Pip with concern in her eyes, and lifting up his hoof to inspect it.

“Mr. Trottingshire?” came Mrs. Frizzle’s voice, and Pip and Dinky both looked up, with Pip noticing that everyone was now looking at him. “Is something the matter?”

“Uh...” Pip mind was racing as he looked down at the odd red welt that was forming rapidly. His brain flashed back briefly to the image of the empty tank, and his eyes widened. “Uh, no, I’m good. Just got a wee bit excited. Banged me hand on a table. That’s all,” he gave the teacher a sheepish grin, quickly moving his hoof back to the floor.

“Well, try to contain your excitement next time, and you better wash off your hand in case anything might have gotten on it,” Mrs. Frizzle responded, before continuing with her lecture as if nothing had happened.

Dinky gave Pip a worried glance. “You okay? That looked like a bite…”

Pip turned towards her, giving Dinky his most confident smile. Last thing he needed was to completely break down and have a panic attack in front of the mare of his dreams. “Yeah, sure I’m fine. We’ll just drop by the nurse’s office and check it. Probably nothing.” He gave his best attempt at a laugh, but could see Dinky visibly grow suspicious.

“Well… okay then…” she said, her voice vaguely suspicious. “If you say so.”

Pip just gave another smile, trying his best to ignore the throbbing that was beginning to claim his hoof.

/////////////////////////

“Let’s see,” the nurse said, taking Pip’s hoof, drearily looking it over. She leaned in close, picking up a magnifying glass and briefly looking through it.

“Seems to be a bug bite. How long ago was this?” she asked, glancing up at Pip.

“Uh, well, it was at RichCorp… maybe… an hour ago?” the nurse did seem rather surprised at this, but did not immediately respond.

“Have you felt anything particularly odd? Like, hot flashes or extreme pain?”

Pip shook his head. “No, ma’am. Just a bit of throbbin’.”

The nurse nodded, jotting something down on her clipboard. “I see,” she sighed, clicking her pen and slipping it onto the clipboard. “Well, I don’t see anything particularly out of place, since I didn’t see what bit you. Looks a lot like a spider bite, but if it were anything lethal, say a black widow or a brown recluse, you’d probably already be dead or, at the very least, in a coma.” She then rolled her office chair over to a large container, sliding open a drawer, and pulling out a bright yellow tube. “I’m just going to put this on the bite. If anything changes, call me immediately,” she said, uncapping the tube and rubbing its contents over the bite before slapping a band aid on.

“You absolutely sure?” Pip asked.

The nurse nodded. “Yes. I’ve been dealing with spider bites for twenty years, kid. No worries. Now.” She motioned him towards the door. “Get going or you’ll miss whatever class you probably need to go to.”

Pip didn’t say anything, simply nodding and turning to leave. He was a little shaken at the idea that he had been bitten by some spider, but the nurse had said that he would be okay for now. Then again, she had no way to identify just what bit him, so death by spider still loomed over Pip’s head.

I really shouldn’t get too panicky about it. If anything does go wrong, I’ll just call the nurse... that should be fine.

Author's Note:

This took longer then expected....

Mostly because of my whole freak out about the milk (gosh I suck sometimes).

But anyways, with the help of my buddies, I was able to break on through (TO THE OTHER SIDE), so yay new chapter!

Also, let it be known that the Diamond Tiara scene was written literally RIGHT BEFORE I published this. Like, in the chapter section itself. I figured I needed SOMETHING to show what Diamond was doing, so I figured I'd just pick up right after her phone call. And yes, she does view Silver as a real friend. Their friendship is genuine. I'll try to show that if I can, but obviously Diamond isn't as important as say, Dinky, Featherweight or Pip. She'll appear more, obviously, but she IS going to stay more in the background then most stuff.

Go figure.

And yes, their science teacher IS Mrs. Frizzle. And yes, Mrs. Frizzle DID appear in Captain Equestria, and yes it is the same pony.

Why?

In all seriousness though, it's because she's a Time Lord.

Yeah.

What you don't think that either? I totally think her, Doctor Who and Mary Poppins go out on Friday nights and party up.

ANYWAYS, other bonus points are a cameo by myself as the tour guide (my ponysona at least), and also the fact that their principle is Principal Waxelplax. Why?

Because I just love causing chaos apparently.

And if you're wondering why Pip isn't in a wild panic about the bite, it's because he isn't even sure what kind of spider bit him, and also the nurse blew it off, and he's just not wanting to cause trouble. Hopefully works (obviously it'll bite him in the ass, but what does he know?)

Oh well, I think that's it....oh yeah, Dinky can make portals now