Family
Granny Smith raised her hand. “It was me. I voted to let Sunset stay.” She eased herself up out of her chair and, leaning against it for support, faced the fellow members of the Canterlot High School Board of Education.
A chorus of noises spread throughout the room as each member tried to overcome their exasperation and find the right thing to say. Discord leaned back in his chair, placing his arms behind his head. Somewhere, someone might have heard a ding! sound. “There’s one,” he chuckled to himself. He sidled his way over to Granny and patted her on the shoulder. “Thank you,” he whispered to her quietly.
“But—why?” Blueblood sputtered. “What’s made you change your mind?”
“Well, I reckon that we don’t have the full picture here. Discord showed us that, and although ah don’t exactly agree with his methods,” she turned to glance at him, which he met with a careful smile, “I still think we should talk a little longer. Ah honestly don’t know if I fully believe the girl should be allowed to stay, but I want to make sure we all know the whole picture.”
“That’s it?” asked an increasingly irate Blueblood. “You just want to extend the conversation? Look, Mrs. Smith, we all admire the time and effort you’ve put into this district over the years, but this is really not the time to do this—”
“And when’ll be a good time, Blueblood?” Granny cut off. “From what Mister Discord has shown us here, this girl has been pushed around by people—er, ponies—her whole life. It’s no wonder she’s been led down the wrong path; nobody’s wanted anything to do with her, at least when they have nothing to gain from it. I’m just sayin’ that with this new information, I can’t so easily boot out a remorseful girl with a troubled past like a stray mutt.”
Filthy Rich cleared his throat. “Miss Smith, you know I have much respect for you, but I think you’re letting some emotional bias seep into your argument here. Sunset is not some ‘remorseful girl’ and her ‘troubled past’ includes a massive bullying operation that played out right underneath our noses—which was successful, might I add.”
Shining Armor nodded in agreement. “I understand feeling sorry for the kid, but I can promise you she wouldn’t be acting so remorseful if she hadn’t been caught. Expelling her will do her some good.”
Granny Smith shook her head. “Throwing her out on the street won’t do anything to help her. What this girl needs is a family. At least a group of friends to keep her under control, and adults to help her understand the consequences of her actions instead of just dropping her.”
“Is it really fair to give her that luxury, after everything she’s done?” said Fancy Pants. “Sunset is responsible for quite a bit of strife within other families—including your own, if Applejack’s account of Sunset’s actions is to be believed. Does she really deserve a new family, when she’s destroyed so many with her actions?”
“What do you mean, destroyed?” retorted Granny. “If ya ask me, if a high school girl was able to ruin a friendship or family beyond repair, and they still haven’t made up after her actions were revealed, then they were doomed in the first place. Real family forgives one another, or it just wasn’t meant to be. Ah jus’ think everyone deserves the chance for a family, even—no, especially—folks like Sunset.”
“Well I don’t,” Blueblood growled, shooting out of his chair. “And I can’t believe this, Mrs. Smith. Can’t you see what you’ve done, now?”
“What, exactly, have ah done, President?” Granny’s gaze hardened at Blueblood.
Blueblood jabbed a finger at Discord, who threw up his hands in mock obedience. “You’ve legitimized him! By taking him seriously, you’ve let him wedge his way into our debate, and now we’re stuck.”
Discord snickered. “Why, how could you say such a thing, Blueblood? I’ll have you know that I have always been completely legitimate!” Upon saying that, Discord’s figure started to fade away, as if he was turning into a ghost. “Oh no! I’m delegitimizing! Help me . . . !” His wail died out as he faded away from the room.
A pause. “. . . what?” Blueblood uttered.
“Sorry, just a silly joke,” a voice whispered in his ear. Blueblood jumped out of his skin and turned around to see the fully formed draconequus right up in his face. “Gah!” he screamed.
“Oh, you’re just too easy, Blueblood!” cackled the draconequus. “At least put up a little fight!”
Blueblood’s face reddened in anger. “I’m so tired of this insolence! I’m going to the restroom. Come get me when some common sense returns to this room.” He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
The rest of the Board sat in silence for a few seconds, all watching the door. After a few beats, Discord sighed. “He’s one odd fellow, isn’t he?”
Granny placed a hand over her heart and sat back down in her seat. “Ah, Blueblood’s always had a hot temper. You really need to go easy on ‘im, though.”
Discord stroked his goatee mischeviously. “Perhaps he needs to cool down a bit . . .”
“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Shining Armor suspiciously.
“Oh, nothing, nothing,” Discord responded. “So where were we?”
“Well,” Filthy Rich said, “We appreciate the emotional appeal Miss Smith, but I think it is clear the rest of us are steadfast in our opinions. I’ll remind you that we’ve expelled other students for smaller transgressions. Ultimately, school policy still dictates that her actions are grounds for expulsion.”
“As far as I’m concerned, this situation might be a bit beyond school policy,” Granny retorted.
“It won’t be to the parents and community who we have to respond to, unless we plan on revealing the nature of this other world to them as well.”
“Fair enough,” Granny said, leaning back into her chair. “But ah still think she deserves at least some more time for discussion.”
“Don’t forget,” said Fancy Pants, “there wasn’t a single witness who could explain how Sunset’s plan was actually intended to unfold. Unless we can prove that the hole in the school is not directly Sunset’s fault, she’s an open-and-shut expulsion.”
Granny Smith nodded. “That’s true. But what if—”
A yell echoed out from the hallway.
“What in tarnation . . .” Granny muttered before the door swung itself back open with a loud bang.
Blueblood stood in the doorway, his whole body soaked in water, fist clenched white. “Discord.”
Discord, currently reclined in his chair and taking a draw from his pipe, turned to face Blueblood. “Yes . . . ? Oh my, Blueblood! You look horrible! Whatever happened to you, you poor thing?”
“Well, just the funniest thing,” Blueblood said. “I turned on the faucet to wash my hands, and it started shooting out water like a fountain. How could that have happened, I wonder?”
Discord gasped loudly. “Why, that’s just the worst, Blueblood! Perhaps the sink realized that you left the room with quite a hot temper, and needed to cool down.”
Blueblood’s eyes lit up in fury. “You’ve gone too far, Discord. I’m not putting up with this anymore.”
“Oh?” the Draconequus challenged. “And what are you going to do about that?”
“I’ll be right back.” Blueblood turned around and stormed back into the hallway.
“Where’s he going?” asked Shining Armor.
Discord shrugged, a lazy smile crossing his face. “To have another cry, maybe?”
“No, that’s not it,” said Fancy Pants.
“Well, what is he doing then?” asked Shining.
“The first thing Blueblood does when he can’t solve a problem by himself. He gets his Auntie to solve it for him.”
Blueblood strolled back into the room, and took a seat back at the front of the table, a smug grin on his face. Upon seeing who was behind him, Discord’s expression literally fell off of his face, and his complexion turned as blue as ice.
In the doorway stood Principal Celestia, a steely glare aimed at the draconequus. “We need to have some words, Discord.” She turned briefly to other members of the board, and her expression softened. “Why don’t you all take a quick break? Blueblood, go dry yourself off.”
The rest of the members quickly shuffled out of the room as Celestia advanced on Discord, her expression growing darker by the second. The draconequus let out a terrified “Meep!” as the door slammed shut behind them.
The members of the Board stood in confusion from the other end of the door, wondering if they’d start to hear a shouting match. However, even with Blueblood placing his ear directly on the wooden door, he couldn’t make out a word they were saying.
“Oh, whatever,” he grumbled, turning away and heading down the hallway. “I’m going to dry off.”
Fancy Pants eyed the door apprehensively. “Does anyone else think Celestia acted a bit odd in there?”
“I was about to say the same thing,” said Filthy Rich. “I don’t think the normal reaction to seeing that thing is to tower over it like she caught a kid stealing from the cookie jar.”
“That’s because she’s clearly seen him before,” said Shining. “How else would she know to refer to him as Discord?”
Granny rubbed her chin in thought. “She did say she asked ‘im here . . .”
“We need to figure this out,” said Shining Armor, “Because if Celestia’s on his side, then I have a feeling things are not going to get any easier tonight.”
“When this break is over, I say we confront them about it,” said Fancy Pants. “That way we can at least continue the meeting with as much awareness as possible of what’s really going on.”
They all nodded in agreement. Shining took a step away from the door. “I’m going to head to the washroom too, while we have the time.”
“Don’t poke the bear, if you can help it,” Fancy Pants said.
Shining nodded in thanks and made his way down the hallway to the restroom. Although whatever fountain Discord had turned the sink was fixed, the floor was still drenched in water, and Shining made a note to dry off his shoes before he left. Blueblood stood near the paper towel rack furiously rubbing the legs of his drenched suit in what was probably a futile attempt to dry it off.
At the sound of Shining’s entrance, Blueblood turned to him. “Oh, hello,” he said, swapping to his other leg. “Can you believe what’s going on out there? Or in here, for that matter?”
“I think my eyes still need to recognize it’s reality before my brain can,” Shining responded, choosing to lean against the wall near the door instead of wading in the water any farther. “Hey, I’ve got a question for you.”
Blueblood stopped drying himself and straightened out. “Ask away. Let me guess . . . personal issues? Something to do with Cadance, right?”
Shining chuckled and rubbed the back of his head bashfully. “Ah, well, there’s some relation to it.”
“Well, Cadance and I don’t see each other very often anymore ever since she moved to Crystal Prep, but I do know she’s about as romantic a type as they come. You’re going to have to sweep her off of her feet, literally,” he added.
Shining smiled in response. “Trust me, I know. This is more about Celestia, actually.”
“Ah, still worried about Auntie’s approval? I was just messing with you earlier, you know,” Blueblood said. “The fact that you’re here today, and appear to have a good head on your shoulders, is going to be enough for Auntie.”
“Oh, wow, well . . . thanks for that,” Shining said. A silence settled between the two. “Um . . .”
“Cat got your tongue?” asked Blueblood.
“No, I’m just a little surprised, is all. I thought you’d have been, well, less eager to reassure me.”
Blueblood shrugged. “Cadance was quite bothersome to deal with when she was younger, but she’s gone on to do her own things. I don’t feel the need to fuss over her, so long as she doesn’t try to come back to CHS and interfere with my school,” he added. “And considering that she’s fresh at Crystal Prep, I doubt that’s going to happen anytime soon. So if you know what you’re getting into with her, then I won’t stop you.”
“Well thanks,” Shining responded. “Hey, have you thought about that story Discord gave us about Sunset? And how this alternate Celestia took Sunset under her wing?”
Blueblood’s face darkened immediately at the mention of Discord, and he returned to furiously scrubbing off his coat. “What of it?”
“Well, I’m just asking because you know Celestia better than any of us. Do you think that’s something Celestia would do—just take in some girl and treat her like her own child?”
Blueblood sighed heavily. “I . . . I hate to admit it, unfortunately . . . but I can see it.”
“Really? When has she done that?”
Blueblood glanced up at him. “Come on,” he scoffed. “Do you really think Cadance is actually related to Celestia?”
Shining facepalmed. “Oh, right. Yeah, I should have thought of that one. I just assume they’re related because of how close they seem.”
“Exactly,” he said. “I mean, I’m not even her ‘nephew.’”
“What?” Shining exclaimed. “You’re not related to her either?”
“No, no, don’t get me wrong,” Blueblood hastily added, “I’m related to her, I’m just not her nephew. Celestia’s only sister is Luna, you know. And I sure am not the child of that bundle of joy.”
“Well, why do you call her Auntie then?” asked Shining.
“It rolls off the tongue a lot easier than second cousin once removed,” he explained. “And really, she was just like an aunt to me when I was growing up. That’s just who Celestia is. She gravitates towards the people who need her, whether they’re related to her or not. So, to get back to what you were asking initially, it does seem like Celestia to take this girl under her wing. I just wish she would have followed through with it so we didn’t have to clean up her mess,” he groaned.
Blueblood threw away the paper towels and, resembling a moderate sense of dryness, headed toward the door. “Ready to go see what’s up next in this circus?” he asked Shining.
Shining pushed himself off the wall and joined Blueblood for the door. “I suppose so.” He snagged a couple extra paper towels and, as they stepped out of the restroom, quickly wiped off the bottom of his feet. “I’m sure the janitor’s going to have a fun day tomorrow.”
As the two headed back down the hallway, they approached to the sound of an animated conversation between Filthy, Fancy, and Granny.
“It just seems a bit, predatory, is all,” Granny said warily.
“No, no, Mrs. Smith, there’s nothing predatory about it, it’s business,” Filthy Rich explained. “If anything, I’m investing in the future of Canterlot City. Trust me when I say, this city is going to expand like you won’t believe. Even in the next five years, I can see this place becoming an epicenter for commerce. And it would be foolish of me not to make sure Barnyard Bargains wasn’t right at the heart of that.”
“I completely agree,” added Fancy Pants. “I know lots of folks who are thinking about starting a business downtown. The commercial sector is going to grow quite quickly within the coming years, if I were to bet on it.”
“Ah just don’t think it seems right to just kick all of these businesses out, then, instead of helping them get back on their feet,” Granny responded.
“Well, think of it like this: if their business isn’t doing so great, we buy their building off of them which will be enough for them to relocate or close down shop. And a few years down the road, when a whole lot of new businesses want to come by, who has got the best spot in town? Barnyard Realty.”
“But didn’t you just say the reason these shops are going under is because Barnyard Bargains is driving them out of business?”
Filthy shrugged. “That’s just the nature of the game.”
“Don’t we have more important things to talk about?” Blueblood butted in. “Are they almost done in there?”
Fancy Pants shook his head. “We haven’t heard a peep since you’ve been gone, but the door’s still locked. Rich here was just regaling us with his latest business expansions.”
“I can get into the residential side of it, if you’d like,” Filthy added.
“No, please, ah’ve heard enough,” insisted Granny.
Just at the end of her sentence, the door in front of them creaked open slightly, and Principal Celestia’s head peeked out. She offered them a small smile. “I apologize for that. You can come on in now.”
As the Board entered the room, they were all shocked beyond words to see the draconequus sitting upright in his chair, his goatee and hair slicked into a formal shape, and a three-piece suit buttoned all the way up his slinky form. He stood stock still and stared straight ahead, making no acknowledgement at the entrance of the other members.
Principal Celestia moved to the far left corner of the room, just off to the side of Discord. She placed a spare chair in the corner against a metal filing cabinet and sat down, crossing her legs. “Now, Discord, I believe you have something you’d like to say to the Board, and especially my nephew here.”
“Yes,” Discord said coldly, the mischievous growl gone from his voice. “I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to the Canterlot High School Board of Education, as well as Board President Blueblood. It was not my intention to torment, belittle, or bully the members of the Board into agreeing with my position, but to merely persuade them using my unique set of magical capabilities.” He bowed his head as deep as the table would let him go, before quickly sitting back upright.
“And?” Celestia asked menacingly.
Discord broke character for the first time and let out a slight grumble. “And, ‘if I am to do such a thing to any member of the Board in the future, this meeting is off and Sunset will be expelled, end of story’.”
Celestia smiled and leaned back in her chair. “Good.”
The other members, astonished at the display, had nothing to say. A delighted smile flashed on Blueblood’s face. “Oh, that’s wonderful news! Say, Discord, why don’t you dunk me in some water once more, you monstrous freak—”
Celestia immediately turned to Blueblood and pointed a finger at him with just as much steel as she did Discord. “And you better not get any ideas. Treat each other as equals for the few hours you need to interact with each other. Got it?”
Blueblood threw up his hands and sunk deeper into his seat. “G-got it.”
Filthy Rich turned to Celestia. “Excuse me, Principal, but how do you know Discord?”
Celestia sighed. “I had intended for him to aid this discussion by providing his unique perspective, but it appears I placed too much trust in him. I apologize for that, and I’ll be staying for the rest of the meeting to make sure that nothing else occurs that’s out of order.”
Discord snapped his fingers and his hair puffed back out, his suit disappearing. “Oh, Celly, I just wanted to help in the only way I knew how,” he pouted.
“Then you clearly have a lot more to learn,” she rebutted.
“Hold on,” Shining interrupted, “I can’t just accept this so easily. Why do you know Discord? Like, really?”
“That’s quite a long story,” Celestia responded. “But in short, all you need to know is that our agreement is very particular, and I will keep him in as much control as possible from now on.”
Discord pouted again. “You’re no fun.”
“Enough of this,” said Blueblood, getting himself out of his stupor, “Let’s get back to business. Where were we?”
“Currently four in favor of expulsion, and two against,” Discord said.
“Right,” said Blueblood. “Mrs. Smith, would you care to elaborate—”
“Hold on,” Shining Armor interrupted. “I’d like to address something else, in the hopes that we can lay this whole matter to rest without too much more debate. There’s an important part of this case I haven’t mentioned, but since things have clearly gone off the rails, I say it’s all fair game at this point.”
All eyes turned to Shining. “Well, go ahead,” said Blueblood.
“As you all know, the police conducted several interviews about what happened last Friday,” Shining explained. “All accounts from the students were consistent with one another, but until just a while ago, they were assumed to be impossible. The police don’t take ‘magic’ as an answer, as you’re all aware.
“But there was something that still isn’t possible, even if we accept what we know of ‘magic’. One fatal slipup that, my guess is, was made by Sunset Shimmer to enact her plan. There was a mysterious girl who enrolled in this school just a few days before the Formal, and then miraculously endeared herself to the students enough to ‘win’ the Fall Formal crown, according to all the students we interviewed. I think there’s a scam going on here, and that Sunset may not have been working alone.”
“Well who was this girl?” asked Blueblood.
“Her name is Twilight Sparkle,” Principal Celestia spoke up. “She enrolled just a few days before the Formal and did indeed win the crown. However, I can assure you that she and Sunset were not on friendly terms.”
“Okay, so what’s suspicious about it?” asked Blueblood.
“It’s the name of this girl,” said Shining. “She is not actually ‘Twilight Sparkle’. The real Twilight Sparkle, a student nearby, has a rock-solid alibi for the whole week of the Fall Formal. My guess is, whether or not she was working with or opposed to Sunset, this girl just used that name as cover. She happened to match the rough appearance of Twilight Sparkle, and assumed her name in order to keep herself undercover.”
Discord was leaning back in his chair, a large smile cast upon his face. “Oh, Mister Armor, you smart cookie! Are you sure that it wasn’t Twilight Sparkle at the scene? Because I can promise that it definitely was.”
Shining leaned forward eagerly. “I am dead certain that whoever was at that scene was not Twilight Sparkle.”
Discord leaned forward to match him. “Why?”
“Because Twilight Sparkle is my sister. And I don’t recall her enrolling in CHS last week.”
The other members gawked in shock at the revelation, completely surprised at the sudden development. Discord, however, was unfazed by Shining’s gotcha.
“Oh, you police officers, molding the evidence to fit the story, instead of the other way around. Have you forgotten what we’ve been discussing, Shining? Really, after all that about the alternate world. I figured you would connect the dots.”
Shining furrowed his brow. “What are you getting at?”
“It’s magic!” he exclaimed. “You know that Celestia here has an equal counterpart in Equestria. Why couldn’t this Twilight Sparkle have been from Equestria too?”
Shining scoffed. “No way. Not in million years would Twilight Sparkle be able to win the admiration of a whole school in one week. You’re just making things up now.”
“Oh, I’m being completely honest, and she definitely can,” Discord said mischeviously. He turned to Principal Celestia with manic glee. “Permission to take them on another trip?”
Celestia paused to think it over, but eventually nodded her head with a sigh. “So long as you take me with.”
“No problem at all!” Discord cackled, and with a snap of his fingers, the Canterlot High School Board of Education found themselves hurtling through dimensions once more.
Stats
Page generated in 0.016 seconds
Total duration
979 users online
32,184 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
That’s understandable. I thought it was gonna be something stupid.
He’s not wrong. I love that granny smith seems to be the heart of the group, but I feel like granny isn’t really listening to what the others are saying. You shouldn’t let those emotions take the drivers seat. Plus, if what fancy pants says is true then, not expelling sunset will only cause more problems.
He’s not wrong.
I don’t know if I can 100% agree with that, but I guess it depends on the family.
That was a good chapter goodluck with the next one.
Ooh, where's Discord gonna take to discreetly (or maybe not so discreetly) prove that a Twilight Sparkle is capable of being more than a nerdy bookish shut-in with next to no friends. I can't wait to find out!
:)
excellent story so far
but why the cliffhanger
I absolutely love the fact that this story is basically ‘Twelve Angry Men’ but Equestria Girls-themed
11321614
It’s like a whole untapped genre!
Glad to found this story from your new chapter that came out. This is amazing story so far and I hope we get to see it completed
hells ya, I am happy to see an update
Yay, update! Heh, I wonder how Shining will react if Discord shows him his pony LSBFF
Wonderful to see more of this. And I do have to wonder which Celestia we’re working with… though Discord doesn’t seem this cowed by the alicorn. These two must have quite the history.
Also, I loved the Shining/Blueblood interaction. Those two can be surprisingly fun together.
In any case, eagerly looking forward to more.
This part REALLY gave me the giggles lol
Discord getting put in his place was very much needed! There really was a danger of it becoming just an exercise in him bullying the rest into agreeing with him out of sheer frustration. And to use Celestia for it this way, good choice. Worked out very well, gave us some additional characterisation for Blueblood, Celestia, and Discord himself.
11321368
Agreed. This is dangerously close to blaming the victim; she's all but saying the human!Mane Six had it coming. Also, should we be asking how her current relationship with the father of her daughter-in-law is right now? I doubt Grand Pear and she have been talking overly much the last few decades. Or at all.
Anyways, yes, Granny Smith is appealing to some vague emotion, but the others have some actual logical arguments on their side, including the simple fact that other students have been expelled for far, far less. Hmm... looking back, it might actually be her own actions regarding Pear Butter that lead her to her current stance. If she'd been less of a stubborn ass and made peace with Grand Pear back in the day, Pear Butter most likely wouldn't have been disowned by her father and birth family.
11323515
We also have to think about the aftermath. If the expelled and current students found out about sunset not being expelled there’s gonna be chaos. Plus, her logic about sunset being lead down the wrong path doesn’t even make a lot of sense.
Ah, so nice to see this story again. The inclusion of Celestia to keep Discord in line was smart as well, as other commenters have noted.