Crumb-y Day

Shining Armor hurried down the empty streets of Canterlot. His school saddlebags thumped against his sides and sweat began to bead under his forelock. He had to get home first. His hooves clicked and clacked loudly on the stone streets as he galloped at full speed. Heart thumping wildly, he reluctantly slowed down to fix a dangling buckle on his school bag.

Spilled homework would mean he would be delayed and if he was delayed that means disaster would strike.

His little sister would get all of the cookies.

Not only would they be scrumptious chocolate chip cookies, but they would be fresh too. That meant gooey moist chips and just the right amount of softness and chewy-ness for the cookie part as well. Aside from that tempting factor, Shining couldn't let himself be bested by a ten-year-old.

After turning a few streets, he came to a medium-sized two-floor house. It wasn't a super extravagant abode like some of the mansions in other sections of Canterlot, but it was home, with its purple curtains, toy-filled backyard, and the occasional bookfort in the centuries-old hallways. He rummaged through his bag, magically pulled out his copy of the house key, and turned it in the lock. The following sound of clicks and turns was just a pleasant reminder of the freedom that came with being a latchkey colt.

Once Shining Armor stepped inside, he snuck into the kitchen and found the mutilated white remains of an Advanced Equestrian Cultures test scattered about the floor's tiled surface. On the counter was a plate of cookies that remained completely untouched, with wisps of warm steam curling off of the crumbly cookie surfaces. Under the plate was a note from their mom, explaining how she and Night Light — Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle's father — would be home late so she made them extra chocolaty cookies for dessert. The terrible-no good condition followed after the promise of treats: they had to be in bed by 9:00 pm.

But none of this was important to Shining Armor. Who cares about chocolaty cookies? His sister had gotten home first and was nowhere to be seen.

His socially awkward, super-smart sister who was afraid of when the books weren't color-coded right on their shelves and cried when strangers looked at her for too long was nowhere! Even more mysterious was: why was there an exam that could only be Twily's laying ripped up on the floor? Twilight Sparkle loved going to school as much as Shining loved coming home from it so that he could play hoof-ball and guards versus griffons with his friends.

Twilight wouldn't rip up a school paper, would she?

He decided to go check upstairs to see what was wrong but not before he shoved some cookies in his mouth.

...

When he climbed up the stairs Shining found a trail of papers, books, pencils, and even a filly sized school bag flung all around the stairwell.

The trail led up to Twily's room, with the door ajar.

"Twily? Are you alright?"

No response.

What if something had—

No, Shining Armor thought. Maybe she is just napping. Or she slipped. I'm going to go in there and see what is wrong. I'm a responsible colt. I know CPR and I can find some of the Princess' guards if something bad really did happen.

He stepped into her room. Everything looked normal. Her bed was made. Her toy chest was open, and her bookshelf was empty.

The bookfort reinforced with blankets in the middle of the room, however, was... sobbing.

"Twily?"

Silence then a faint call of, "B.B.B.F.F?"

Her voice sounded meek and scared. Twilight Sparkle was at the whiny, pitiable stage in the crying process where you just want to burst into tears as well from hearing it and give the sobber more hugs than there are rays on the Princess' sun.

"Twily, are you hurt?"

More sobs.

"...only my pride is..."

"Can I come in the fort?"

"...Okay."

Something was definitely wrong, he thought, she didn't even ask for the password which she normally harasses me for.

Shining Armor crawled inside wiggling around the mock ballistae — which were built out of books — before magically lifting the blanket fraction of the roof off so he could sit up. At thirteen years old, he already was outgrowing his sister's prized fort. This allowed more light to enter the bookfort too, thus revealing a small Twilight with a mussed mane, tear-stained face buried in her hooves, and Smarty Pants clutched in her foreleg.

She didn't look up at him.

Shining gulped. He'd never seen his sister act quite like this before, not even during the times when she got her toys taken away or was told she was reading up too late.

"Come on Twily," he prompted, "tell me what's wrong."

"I'm getting sent to a public academy — to normal magic kindergarten — and I can't be Princess Celestia's student anymore!"

"What?! Who told you this?"

More sobs followed.

"You know... magic kindergarten isn't so bad... the teachers are really nice and they never have bad juice boxes. Plus, I'm sure you'll still get to eat a ton of graham crackers during snack time."

Even though she couldn't see him, Shining Armor forced an awkward it-will-be-okay smile.

"Twily, come on you love graham crackers. L-o-v-e them. Remember that story we wrote? Where you married a graham cracker monster? I still have it somewhere in my room. I'll read it to you until you die of laughter."

Twilight buried her head further into her hooves. "If magic kindergarten is so great why are you in military school?" she huffed cynically.

"You know that answer: I want to be a soldier. Now if you tell me what is really wrong I'll... umm..."

"I'll let you dress me up like a princess again and we can play attack on the book fort. I learned more about architecture today so we can give your bookfort buttresses. Won't that be nice?"

"No."

"Oh, come on! Don't be a party-pooper. I'm sure it wasn't that bad. If you help me clean up the stairwell and kitchen we can have a sleepover in my room. I'll even let you have the top bunk and you can eat as many cookies as you want! Even if you become sick, I'll take the blame. Oh gods, I promise! Just please tell me what's wrong."

She muttered something into Smarty Pants.

"Twily, could you speak a little louder?"

"I SAID I GOT A BAD GRADE ON MY SUPER-DUPER HARD TROTTISH LANGUAGE & HISTORY EXAM!"

"...Twily, I bet it was only a 'C' okay? They aren't too bad! I got them when I was your age. It just means you need to study better for next time. One letter won't determine your life."

"It wasn't a 'C'." Twilight's voice oozed an uncharacteristic grumble, though her age rendered it more on the squeaky side.

She still didn't lift her head.

"Is this fuss all over a 'B'? You've got plenty of 'B's' before." Only after he spoke did he realize he could have been more sensitive to his sister's plight. Shining Armor got plenty of Bs before. Twilight Sparkle was terrified of them. He still remembered when she got her first one — his mother said that Twily's special head-doctor had called her episode a 'panic attack' and it was why she acted as though some big, scary Everfree Forest monster had bitten into her. Sometimes, she would still act like that if one of her grades wasn't higher.

"...It was an 'F'. I won't be able to do a makeup project, either. 'F' means 'failure'! I can't fail! Not now, not ever! Princess Celestia doesn't want failures!"

"Now I see why you are so sad. What did Princess Celestia say?"

"She said she'll help me make a study sheet and then we'll make some flashcards just for the basic history stuff."

"Well that isn't too bad," said Shining Armor, laughing lightly, "Although I doubt you'll ever have to go to Trotland. I had to take a Trottish elective last year, and it was super-duper hard too! Princess Celestia just makes ponies take classes like that because speaking funny is important if you go where other ponies speak funny too."

Twilight Sparkle lifted her head, sat up and clutched Smarty Pants close. Tears were dried on her face.

"Shiny?"

"Yes?"

"Can I have a cookie?"

"Yeah, let me bring the plate up."

He got up and went to the door.

"Shiny?"

Shining Armor paused in the doorway and turned around. "What is it?"

"Do I still get to dress you up like a princess?"

He sighed.

"I don't see why not. I did promise you after all."

Twilight stuck her tongue out and smiled.