Friendship is Shining: Clash of The Iron Mares

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Peer Pressure

"Alright class," Miss Feather Bloom said. "That ends class for today. I'll see you all tomorrow."

With that, the students started to get up from their desks and grab their bags. Some moved quickly, practically up and out the door before the teacher had even finished dismissing them. Others at a slower pace, taking their times so as not to get caught up in the rush, and walking with their friends as they went.

Twilight, however, was not really moving. She was still sitting at her desk, staring at the teacher.

"Twiley?" Pound asked. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Twilight replied, looking up. "The teacher just wants to see me after class is all."

"What did you do?" Pumpkin asked.

"Are you kidding?" Pound asked Pumpkin. "This is Twiley we're talking about. She doesn't get in trouble at school. If anything, she could probably correct the teacher's work."

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. Where did this idea of her being some sort of school genius come from? Yes, she was smart. She was well aware of that fact. The schoolwork came pretty easily to her most of the time. If not, she just had to go back and read over what they were being taught again. But she was still learning. She did not know more than the teacher. If she did, she probably would have been able to skip ahead.

Although it would be kind of neat if she were able to be working on a doctoral thesis at her age. Doctor Twilight Sparkle.

"She said I wasn't in trouble," Twilight finally said. "Just wanted to talk to me about something."

"Okay," Pound said. "Well, we'll wait outside for you then."

"By the way," Pumpkin added, "if it turns out she lied, Pinkie Pie knows a really good lawyer."

The pair of siblings then left, watched by a rather confused Twilight Sparkle. One part of Twilight wondered what Pinkie Pie needed a good lawyer for. Did somepony have a restraining order on her, or maybe had her arrested from criminal trespassing? Maybe there was an incident with the party cannon and either bruising or eye trauma. There were quite a few possibilities if Twilight really thought about it.

Another part of Twilight wondered why her friends would think that she would need a lawyer. She was just going to talk to the teacher. Even if Miss Feather Bloom did lie about Twilight being in trouble, what was the worst that could happen?

Twilight would have to stay after school, working off her punishment. Her family would be so disappointed, that they would disown her, kicking her out in the street. With no home of her own, she would not be able to study and do her homework, causing her grades to suffer even further, and possibly forcing her to be held back a year. That would mean that all of her friends would move on, leaving her behind. Plus, it would end up limiting her college choices, taking the most prestigious and exclusive off the table. That was even assuming she would be able to go. After being disowned, she would have no financial support from her parents, and that same mark on her record would make her ineligible for most scholarship. Twilight would have to get a job to pay her way through college. That was assuming she had any money left after paying bills and buying food. She could already see herself stuck at some coffee shop, working long hours for little money as some pony got upset that the order was not exactly what they wanted with thirteen thousand four hundred and twenty-seven different descriptors used to expressing what it was supposed to be. There was no way she could remember all of those. How could any pony tell the difference anyways? And what if one of her former friends came in and did not even recognize her?

"Twi--"

"I DON'T WANT TO WORK AT STAR BUCK'S FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!" Twilight shouted.

There was a fluttering noise that drew Twilight Sparkle from her panicked imaginings. Blinking, she found the teaching now standing directly in front of her, wings spread and green eyes wide. The sight of Miss Feather Bloom surprised sent a feeling of embarrassment through Twilight.

"Sorry," she said with a slight smile. "I was just... uh... thinking about... something..."

"Yes," Miss Feather Bloom said slowly before taking a deep breath and tucking her wings back.

"Now Twilight, there was something I wanted to speak with you about."

Here it comes, Twilight thought, bracing herself. Good-bye academia.

"Some times," Miss Feather Bloom stated, "our school uses a peer to peer tutoring program. It is not for all, but there are times when student will be more comfortable opening up with one of their own, or a student who recently had to learn the same thing will find it easier to explain to another.

"You are a very intelligent filly, Twilight. You ask a lot of questions, your grades are very high, and you seem to have a very strong comprehension of the material. Were it not for the fact that the quality of your work here in class is comparable to what you turn in with your homework, I would almost think that an older pony -- such as your brother -- was helping you. To that end, would you be interested in becoming a peer tutor, Twilight?"

"Me?" Twilight blurted out. "A tutor?" Shifting in her seat, she thought about it.

It would not really be all the different. She already helped Pound and (occasionally) Pumpkin with their homework. Especially when it was something she seemed to have a pretty quick comprehension of. So having to explain it to others was something she had a little experience with. It would really just mean that she would have another pony in their study group and would probably have to explain things more often. Plus, doing so now would give her an advantage to become a tutor when she was older, which would probably look good on her transcripts and college applications.

She might even get her cutie mark from it.

Would a tutoring cutie mark be different from a teaching one? If so, what would it possibly look like?

Twilight then remembered that the teacher was right there, looking at her and waiting.

"Sure," she finally blurted out. "I would love to help out my fellow students if I can."

"Wonderful," Miss Feather Bloom said with a smile. "I will speak to the students you may be tutoring and have them meet you tomorrow after school. I'm sure they will appreciate your help."

A smile formed on Twilight's face as she grabbed her stuff and left her desk. She headed out, a feeling of excitement in her. She was going to be able to help some ponies. Not like her brother did or anything, but still. If things went well, they would excel in their classes because of her. Maybe even some day, they would be thanking her for her help as they received some sort of award from Princess Celestia.

Outside stood Pound and Pumpkin Cake. The twins turned to Twilight as she approached, moving to join her.

"So what happened?" Pound asked.

"Nothing bad, I guess," Pumpkin added.

"Not bad," Twilight nearly squealed out. "Good. Great even. Miss Feather Bloom asked me to be a peer tutor." She clapped her forehooves together excitedly. "Just think. I'll get to help another pony enjoy the fun of learning."

"Well we better get what we can from you before you go all professional," Pumpkin said.

"Just don't forget us little ponies," Pound added with a smile.

"Don't be silly," Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not going to become famous for becoming a tutor. Besides, I could never forget my best friends..." Pausing, she turned to look at the pair of them. "...I wanna say: Squash and... Gram?"

Judging from the looks on their faces, neither Pumpkin nor Pound found the joke very funny.

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Twily becoming a peer tutor? Interesting.

[Comickook]

Excellent job on the exchanges, emotional content, humor and future chapter set-up in this chapter. I'll definitely be looking forward to more of this as soon as time and inspiration will allow.

[CrowMagnon]

Gee, I wonder who she might be called upon to tutor, and if it would lead to awkward hilarity?

Nice little chapter. I'm very intrigued to see how it plays out, and how it might tie in to Shining's side of the story.

[ShadowLDrago]

Judging from the looks on their faces, neither Pumpkin nor Pound found the joke very funny.

Sounds about right.