Friendship is Some Unexplainable Science and Certainly Not Any Form of Magic, Part Two
It was supposed to be impossible. But there, right before Twilight’s eyes, were words on the page that weren’t there a moment ago—the same tidy, ink-black print she’d seen written in the beginning of the book.
Hello, Twilight Sparkle, the text read. So glad to finally meet you.
That was all Twilight allowed herself to read before she slammed the cover shut. Her mind reeling, she jerked away from the book as if it had burned her and scrambled to her feet. “What the fuck,” she squeaked. “What the fuck was that?!”
Sunset seemed surprised as well, though she was much more composed. “I don’t know,” she answered. “I mean, that’s what used to happen, but I don’t know why it decided to work now.”
“Nothing worked!” Twilight snapped back. “What did you do? How did you set that up?” She grabbed her backpack and clutched it to her chest protectively. “You knew what I was going to write, didn’t you? And you had this prepared ahead of time, to play some sort of twisted prank!”
Then, Twilight realized far too late that she’d started yelling.
The other tables in the cafeteria noticed the commotion, their heads turning toward the once-isolated corner. Slowly, the whispers started up, soft murmurs that grew into a constant and buzzing chatter. I should be nervous, Twilight thought, squeezing her backpack harder in an attempt to shrink behind it. Her face started to burn. Oh. Correction. I AM nervous.
She could feel her heartbeat pounding in her ears as she stood frozen, paralyzed under the scathing gaze of the crowd. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t weave her thoughts together—everyone was looking at her, at the freak who’d harassed the new girl over a stupid book, and now they’d all be justified in hating her more than they already did—
—and then Sunset was at her side, one hand on her waist, her body acting as a shield between Twilight and the crowd.
“Come on, Twilight,” she hissed. “Let’s get out of here.”
Before Twilight even processed what was happening Sunset had pulled her past the crowd and out the cafeteria’s entrance, the chatter of the lunchroom fading behind them. She tried to get a grip on her thoughts, but then Sunset let go of her waist and grabbed her hand instead and all Twilight could think about was how too-warm and too-sweaty her fingers felt.
I don’t know what’s happening, she managed to think as they ran. The sides of the empty hallway seemed to stretch higher and higher as they hurried past. It made her dizzy just looking at them, so Twilight scrunched her eyes shut instead and tried to think. I don’t know what’s going on! I wrote in that book, and then what? It had to be planned, right? It couldn’t possibly be—
“—ilight! Come on, look at me.”
Twilight forced her eyes open, only to come face-to-face with Sunset. Her back was pressed up against something solid—the bathroom wall, she realized—and her lungs suddenly felt like they were on fire. They’d stopped running. And I didn’t even notice.
“Are you okay?” Sunset asked, drawing Twilight’s attention back to herself. She squeezed their linked hands gently, and the action sent what felt like a bolt of electricity up Twilight’s arm.
“Am I okay?” she echoed. The floor of the bathroom lurched—or was that her knees wobbling? “I’m fine! Perfectly fine; why wouldn’t I—”
“Twilight.” Sunset’s hand squeezed again, her voice strained with concern. “I think you’re having a panic attack.”
Oh.
She was underwater now, the pulse of her heartbeat louder than the hum of the fluorescent lights, a steady thump-thump that threatened to drown her. “Oh,” she said, taking a shallow, shuddering breath. I’m hyperventilating. I’m not getting enough oxygen. I can’t breathe. I’m going to pass out.
A hand pressed on Twilight’s shoulder, guiding her down the wall until she was sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest. “It’s okay,” Sunset said, her voice rising over the deafening thump-thump. “You’re okay. Just focus on your breathing, alright?”
“Okay,” Twilight choked out. She tried to take a deep breath, but her lungs wouldn’t listen. Her chest spasmed as it rejected the air, bile burning at the back of her throat. It’s not working. I can’t breathe!
“I’m right here.” That was Sunset again. “I’m not going anywhere. Just breathe.”
Darkness ate at the edges of Twilight’s vision, creeping over her eyes until all she could see was black. Oxygen deprivation, the scientific part of her brain realized, before all of her thoughts dissolved into panic.
“I can’t,” she gasped.
“You can,” Sunset said firmly. She grabbed Twilight’s other hand in hers. “I’m here, Twilight. I’ve got you. Just try to breathe.”
Okay, Twilight thought, a single fragment of coherence bubbling to the surface. Okay. She focused on the feeling of Sunset’s hands and tried again: a breath in, a pause, a shuddering exhale. Okay. Another breath in, another pause, another exhale. Okay. Okay. Okay.
The darkness receded as Twilight counted out her breaths. It became easier with each one, until she realized she’d started breathing on her own again. The storm calmed and her heartbeat faded out of earshot.
Then all Twilight could hear was an empty, ringing silence.
“I’m sorry,” she finally whispered.
“You don’t have to apologize,” Sunset said, her voice soft. She sat cross-legged in front of Twilight, still holding both of her hands. No trace of judgment or anger was visible anywhere in her expression. Only concern.
“I don’t know why I get like that.”
“It’s okay.”
“I’m making you waste your lunch hour on me,” Twilight said, her voice cracking on the last syllable. She tried to pull her hands away, but Sunset grabbed them back.
“It’s not a waste,” she said sternly. She shifted her hands so that her fingers intertwined with Twilight’s. “And you’re not making me do anything. You needed someone to get you out of there, and I was just in the right place at the right time. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
I haven’t?
Sunset was so earnest in her comfort that Twilight didn’t know what to say—she wasn’t used to that. Panic attacks at school were supposed to be spent freaking out alone in the washroom stall. Not with someone who genuinely seemed to care.
“Thank you,” she managed eventually. She squeezed Sunset’s hands back for the first time, then let go. This time Sunset didn’t stop her.
The two sat in silence again. Twilight could tell that Sunset wanted to talk about that, what with the way she kept glancing over at her bag. But I don’t know if I can handle it right now.
Instead, Twilight asked, “What class do you have after this?”
“Physical education,” Sunset replied. “Same as you. Fun, right?”
“Shoot. I forgot about that.” Twilight buried her head in her knees with a groan. “I can’t believe it’s a government requirement.”
“Hey, hey. I’ll be there. And you can always tell the teacher you aren’t feeling well; I’m sure they’ll believe you. Like, no offense, but...” She nudged Twilight’s shoe with the toe of her boot and teased, “You look like you just spent the last half-hour hyperventilating.”
Eyebrows raised, Twilight looked up from her knees. “Funny. How could you tell?”
“Lucky guess?”
Twilight opened her mouth to respond with a sarcastic quip, only for the bell to cut her off. She glanced at the clock above the sink and frowned. 12:55. Lunch is over. She turned back to Sunset and said quickly, “We’ll talk later, okay? I... I promise. Just give me some time. Please.”
“Deal,” Sunset agreed. She pushed herself to her feet and offered Twilight a hand. “Now c’mon. We’ve got a gym class to get through.”
“Well, now I don’t want to get up.”
She took the hand anyway. It felt like Sunset—strong and steady and warm.
“Welcome back to physical education, champs!” Coach Iron Will bellowed. He started to pace up and down on the grass in front of the bleachers, continuing, “Iron Will’s my name, trainin’ students is my game! So who’s ready to have some fun and play some spoooooooorts?!”
Twilight shrank down on the bench as her classmates erupted into cheers. She recognized Rainbow Dash and Applejack up at the front, whooping and hollering like lunatics. I can think of a hundred places I’d rather be than here. At least she had Sunset. Although... Twilight glanced over to her right to see Sunset joining in on the cheers. Ugh. Sports.
Iron Will and three of Twilight’s classmates headed to the gym to grab the equipment, which gave the rest of the class some time to socialize. The weather was pleasant—warm enough to wear gym shorts comfortably—and the soccer field was in pristine condition.
Nice weather isn’t going to be enough to make me enjoy myself, though.
“Don’t make that face,” Sunset said, pulling Twilight from her thoughts. She wore a grin and a gym shirt tied with a hairband that exposed half of her stomach. Twilight was pretty sure it went against the dress code. “Where’s your team spirit?”
“I forgot it at home,” Twilight grouched. She slid further down the bench and crossed her arms.
“But I brought plenty of extra.”
“I don’t need your charity.”
“Boo.” Out of retorts, Sunset stuck her tongue out. “Well, whatever. I can’t force you to have a good time.”
“Oh, that’d be quite an impossible feat,” a voice said from Twilight’s left. “Our dear Twilight here goes as well with ‘sports’ as oil goes with water.”
Surprised, Twilight turned her head to see who’d spoken. A few feet down sat a girl wearing her gym shirt the same way as Sunset, though for some reason it looked far more professional on her. Twilight recognized her from classes she’d had in the past, but couldn’t quite place her name.
“It’s Rarity,” the girl said, seeming to notice Twilight’s hesitation. She smiled and stuck out her hand. “We had English class together last year. I’m glad to finally have the chance to speak with you, you know.”
“Oh,” Twilight said. She shook her hand. “I’m Twilight.” She paused. “You knew that already.”
“Of course! Who doesn’t know you?” Rarity extended both of her hands, her fingers making ‘L’ shapes to frame Twilight’s face in the center. “Principal Celestia’s niece, and quite possibly the smartest student in our year—that’s you, isn’t it?”
Embarrassed, Twilight tried to slouch further in her seat. She was nearly on the floor of the bleachers at that point. “Yeah.”
“You’re her niece?” Sunset asked, surprised. “I thought you said family friend?”
“She is a family friend,” Twilight grumbled. “But she’s close, so she’s an auntie. And my parents call practically everyone ‘auntie’ or ‘uncle’. It’s not a big deal.”
“Hm. Well, if you say so,” Rarity said, a bit of the excitement draining out of her. Then, undeterred, she crossed her legs at the knee and leaned forward. “Now, Twilight, aren’t you going to introduce me?”
“Huh?” Twilight felt herself start to slide off the edge of the bench.
“To your friend, darling.” Her tone was gentle, but slightly exasperated. It was the same sort of tone parents used when explaining things to a particularly dense child. “Pinkie’s up in arms planning her get-together, you know. I’m curious to meet the person who’s gotten her so wound up.”
We’re friends? That was news to Twilight. She opened her mouth to respond, only for Rarity to keep talking.
“Though, I suppose I’m only assuming. I caught a glimpse of the two of you during lunch when I was in the art room—you seemed to be in quite the hurry.”
“You saw us?” Sunset joined in the conversation, leaning behind Twilight to get a more direct line of sight to Rarity.
Rarity nodded. “Only briefly. You ran down the hall at such a frightening pace, I nearly thought something was chasing you!”
“No, nothing like that.” Thankfully, Sunset didn’t go into any further detail. “I’m Sunset Shimmer.”
“Rarity. Charmed.” They were too far away to shake hands without invading Twilight’s personal space, so Rarity settled on a dainty wave. “How are you enjoying your first day at Canterlot High?”
“It’s... been interesting.”
“Oh? In what ways?”
Sunset raised her eyebrows, a mischievous smirk creeping onto her face. “Well, it’s been a lot more magical than I expected.”
Thunk.
Gravity finally pulled Twilight off the bench and onto the floor. Ow! Ass, meet metal, she grumbled internally. Outwardly, she shot Sunset the most withering glare she could muster while sprawled at knee-level.
Thankfully, Iron Will and the other students returned not even a minute later, each of them carrying some sort of soccer-related equipment. The only thing Twilight recognized was the mesh bag filled with checkered balls—she had no idea why they needed pylons, or what the bag of multicoloured cloth was for.
“Alright!” Iron Will shouted. He blew three short bursts on his whistle and yelled, “Now pick up your bootstraps; it’s time to run laps!” Then, when no one moved, he blew the whistle again. “Let’s go!”
Reluctantly the class climbed down from the bleachers and followed Iron Will as he jogged around the field. Twilight found herself at the very back, staring at the heels of Rarity’s sneakers as she struggled to keep up. Sunset had started out beside her, but she’d given up trying to hang back with Twilight and was now nearly half a lap ahead of her.
I think I can taste my lungs. This is the worst!
As Twilight started her second lap, someone slapped her on the shoulder as they ran past—Rainbow Dash, who was leading even Iron Will. Great. Now I’ve been lapped, too.
Not seeing the point any longer, she slowed down to a walk. She really wanted to sit down, but getting a side cramp sounded just as bad as running more. In front of her, Rarity stopped running as well, along with the girl she’d been keeping pace with. They adjusted their pace until suddenly Twilight was walking with them side-by-side.
“Well,” Rarity tried, very out of breath. She wiped the sweat off her brow as elegantly as she could. “I’d say we’ve done quite enough running for today.”
The girl on Rarity’s left ducked her head in agreement. While she wasn’t as out of breath as the other two, Twilight noticed she seemed a little shaky. Parts of her hair had slipped out of her ponytail and were dangling in front of her face. She’s got really long hair, Twilight thought to herself.
“I just don’t know how they do it,” Rarity continued, a little bit of envy in her voice. Twilight followed her gaze across the field to where Rainbow was still going at top speed, Applejack only a few metres behind.
“I’d never be able to run like that,” the other girl sighed. She tried to push some of her hair out of her face without success. “Rainbow used to wait for me in grade school, you know. But I could always tell how much she wanted to run at the front of the pack.” Then, as if just remembering Twilight was there, she added, “Um, you went to our school too, didn’t you, Twilight?”
Twilight nodded. The connection to Rainbow seemed to pull a name out of her memory. Fluttershy. “I remember. She’d always get the most ribbons on track-and-field day.” And rubbed it in everyone else’s faces.
“Except in high jump,” Fluttershy added. She let out a small giggle. “She never quite got enough height for that one.”
“Hey losers! And ‘Shy!” That was Rainbow, zipping up from behind and barrelling past. They’d been lapped again. “Later, losers! And ‘Shy!”
Twilight rolled her eyes and watched Rainbow round the corner of the field. They’d made it back around to the bleachers, she realized, so instead of following she took a right and headed off the field. Cramps be damned, she needed a break.
“Twilight?” Rarity called out after her. “Where are you going?”
“I’m done with this,” she called back. She climbed up the rickety metal stairs and threw herself onto the end of the topmost bench. Oh, sweet relief. My poor legs. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Rarity and Fluttershy had followed her off the field as well.
“But we’ll get in trouble if we just stop, won’t we?” Fluttershy asked.
“Eh.” Twilight didn’t like to play this card much, but... “I’ll just tell Celestia if we do.” Except that I know Iron Will won’t say anything anyways.
“Ooh, how daring! We’d be glad to join you, then.” With a clap of her hands, Rarity strode up the stairs as well and sat down a row in front of Twilight. She then patted the bench beside her expectantly and said, “Come now, Fluttershy. Let me try to fix your hair into something more tidy.”
The bleachers faced directly onto the soccer field, which gave Twilight an excellent view of the rest of her classmates as they ran. She spotted Sunset as she rounded the bend to finish another lap—probably her third or fourth one at that point—and gave her a small wave.
“Quitter,” Sunset called up as she jogged by, a smile on her face.
A few minutes later Iron Will blew his whistle and hollered, “Good hustle! Bring it in!”
The students on the field made their way over to the center, but Twilight made no move to get off of the bleachers. Iron Will stood a good head above everyone, which made it very easy for Twilight to spot the daggers he was glaring in her direction. He looked as if he wanted to shout at her, but for some reason he restrained himself and averted his gaze.
That’s right, Twilight thought, suppressing the urge to gloat. You can’t make me join.
“He really isn’t doing anything,” Rarity said, surprised. She snapped Fluttershy’s hair elastic against her wrist and shot Twilight a suspicious glance. “I wonder why that is?”
“Tenth grade,” Twilight said automatically. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in realization, but Rarity didn’t react.
“What happened in tenth grade?” she asked.
Twilight crossed her arms, a smirk forming on her lips. “He got put on probation that year, right? That’s because of what he did to my class.”
“What he did?”
“He didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer back then,” Twilight explained. “There are things that you can’t expect fifteen-year-olds to do, but he didn’t get that. So during one class, as punishment, we had to run laps the entire period. No breaks, no stopping, no nothing.” She turned to face Rarity and continued, “And you know that kid—I forget his name—who’s got asthma?”
The gravity of the situation finally seemed to dawn on Rarity. She covered her mouth and gasped, “No!”
“Mhm. Turns out when you don’t let the asthmatic kid get his inhaler, there can be some pretty serious consequences.” She stared out at the field and watched as Iron Will started to set up some pylons. “Celestia went on the warpath after that. I almost felt bad for him.”
Fluttershy nodded feverishly. “Oh, I’ll never forget the look on Principal Celestia’s face when she arrived at the field.” She shuddered. “It was terrifying.”
“Yeah. I think she was just really worried, but...” A chill ran down Twilight’s spine as she remembered how her mentor looked that day—calculated, vengeful, and cold as ice. “...Anyways. The kid was fine, at least. I think people mostly remember that day because of the emergency vehicles.”
“Oh.” Rarity blinked, then clapped her hands together. “Oh! Yes, of course. I do recall a commotion early that year, what with the sirens and the horns.”
“Yep. But it was really only the people in my class who knew about Iron Will.”
“Goodness. I mean, I suppose Principal Celestia had her reasons for keeping him around, but...” Rarity trailed off, absentmindedly combing her fingers through Fluttershy’s hair. “Well. I can’t say I’m very fond of him now after hearing about all that.”
“He’s a gym coach,” Twilight said, her voice dry as sand. “No one’s fond of him. Except maybe the jocks.”
The conversation petered out into a comfortable silence. The sun was warm, and it was entertaining enough to watch the rest of the class try and run soccer drills. Twilight also noticed that half the students were wearing blue pinnies over their gym uniform. Ah. That’s what the cloth was for.
She looked over at Rarity, who had started to pull Fluttershy’s hair together into a braid. Her fingers were dextrous, moving with a precision that could only have come with prior practice. Fluttershy sat patiently in front of Rarity, her eyes closed and a small smile on her lips.
They’re pretty good friends, I guess, Twilight thought to herself. She looked back at the field and spotted Sunset’s fiery mane amidst the sea of gym shirts. Is that what friends do, then? Braid each other's hair?
Sunset successfully finished dribbling the ball around the pylons, and threw her hands up with a victorious shout. When she did, another thought bubbled to the surface of Twilight’s mind: Is Sunset my friend?
“There,” Rarity declared, breaking the silence. She looped the elastic around the end of the braid and pulled her hands back. “Oh, it turned out absolutely gorgeous!”
Fluttershy reached behind to feel it, and swept it over her shoulder. The flyaways from earlier had been neatly tucked away, and her face was no longer obscured.
She looked happy, Twilight realized. Like Rarity had done her a favor much greater than just braiding her hair.
“Thanks,” Fluttershy said shyly. She leaned back against Rarity and threw her hands out with a giggle. “I can see, now!”
“And I’m happy to help,” Rarity said. She wrapped her arms around Fluttershy’s stomach and gave her a squeeze. “You have such lovely hair, after all. It’s always a pleasure to have the chance to style it.”
It was such a casual display of affection that Twilight didn’t know what to think. Rarity seemed to be a very touchy-feely person, so maybe that was just her personality, but... was skinship a requirement for being friends as well?
She looked back to the soccer field, partially to gather her thoughts and partially to avert her eyes from the PDA. They’d finished drills and had started a proper game of soccer to finish up the class. Twilight’s eyes were drawn to Sunset again, this time as she jogged up the side of the field to prepare for a pass.
Applejack kicked the ball high into the air, and Sunset jumped up to receive it. It bounced against her chest and dropped to the ground in a controlled manner, where Sunset then maneuvered around the opposing player and kicked the ball away to Rainbow. She started running again, and Twilight found herself staring at the way Sunset’s sleeves had been rolled up to show her shoulders.
Something flip-flopped in Twilight’s stomach, an odd sort of feeling she wasn’t familiar with. She averted her gaze, and the feeling subsided a few seconds later, only to return as she watched Sunset take a shot at the goal.
Huh.
The bell to start the last class of the day rang at 2:30 on the dot. Twilight had barely had enough time to change out of her gym clothes and rush across the building to make it to her next class—English with Mr Magnet.
Thankfully, she’d made it with seconds to spare. Un-thankfully, though, the only remaining seat was right at the front next to a certain someone Twilight dreaded having class with.
“Hey Twilight!” Pinkie Pie chirped.
“Hey,” Twilight sighed. She scanned the room once more just in case she’d missed an open spot—she hadn’t—and sat down next to Pinkie. How on earth will I survive an hour and a half of her?
“Sooooooo.” The word was said in a sing-song way, Pinkie leaning closer to Twilight at the same time. “As head of the social committee, it’s up to me to make sure that new students feel super-duper welcomed, y’know? And I thought to myself, what better way to welcome people than with a party? But the only new student in our year is Sunset Shimmer, which would make things totally awkward if she was singled out in front of everyone—”
Mr Magnet clapped his hands to get their attention. “Good afternoon, class! I hope you’re all ready for a fabulous year together. Now, if we could all just quiet down so I can go over the syllabus...”
Instead of stopping like Twilight hoped she might, Pinkie only lowered her voice to a stage whisper and kept chattering in Twilight’s ear.
“—so I figured I could just have a little get-together at the park with my friends, and then ask her if she wanted to come with. But then I also thought, hey, that Twilight Sparkle seemed to be pals with Sunset already! So maybe Sunset would like to see a familiar face? I guess what I’m trying to say is, are you interested?”
Twilight tried to filter out Pinkie’s rambles from Mr Magnet’s speech. She wasn’t successful. “What?”
“I’m inviting you to hang out after school too, silly.” Confused, Pinkie tilted her head to the side and said, “Hasn’t anyone ever asked you that before?”
“Obviously not,” Twilight replied dryly. It was just Pinkie being Pinkie, but the question still felt like a slap in the face.
“Oh. Well, then this can be your first time!”
Twilight frowned, but considered the proposal for a second. Sure, she survived lunch with Sunset one-on-one, but with a large group of Pinkie’s friends? Maybe there’s a body bag in my locker somewhere.
Pinkie blinked expectantly. “Is being silent Twilight-code for ‘yes’, or ‘maybe’?”
“Sorry, Pinkie,” Twilight said. She tried to sound apologetic and explained, “I, um, have a meeting with Celestia after school. It’s kind of too last-minute to cancel on her.”
“Aw, boo. We could wait for you, though! How long does that take?”
“Um.” Embarrassed, Twilight slid down in her chair and tried, “Two hours?”
“Oh.” The smile melted off of Pinkie’s face and she deflated slightly. “Well, that’s okay. I hope you have a good meeting, at least.” She perked up a bit, and added, “But since you’ll see her, can you tell Principal Celestia I’m reaaaaaally sorry about skipping detention today?”
“What.” Even though it was a question, Twilight said it more as a statement.
“Since I can’t be at the park to welcome Sunset if I’m still at school. Duh.”
“How did you get detention on the first day?”
Pinkie shrugged. “I dunno! But apparently they don’t like it when students borrow the kitchen to make cherry-chocolate cupcakes on lunch break. Who’da thunk it?”
Twilight squinted. Don’t they keep the kitchens locked? Deciding not to question it, she said instead, “I’ll... mention it if it comes up.”
“Thanks!”
“A-hem.” The clearing of a throat startled Twilight, and she jerked her head up to see an unimpressed Mr Magnet standing in front of them. “If you ladies are finished with your conversation, I’d like to start my class now, hm?”
“We’re done!” Pinkie chirped, unfazed. She pulled a pencil out of her hair—or was it behind her ear?—and said, “And we’re doing journaling, right? I love that kinda stuff!”
Mr Magnet raised his eyebrows. He seemed a little impressed. “So you were paying attention after all. How wonderful!” He took a step back and spread his arms wide. “Yes, as Pinkamena said, we shall journal! The prompt is on the board if you need help getting started, but otherwise”—he glanced at the clock—“you have until three o’clock. Now get writing!”
Twilight spared the clock a glance as well. About twenty minutes, then. Her face felt a bit hot from being singled out, but at least Pinkie had salvaged the situation before she had to say anything. To get started she opened her notebook and wrote her name and the date at the top. Then she paused. So what do I write about?
The prompt on the board was no help. She’d already documented what she’d done during summer vacation on her own time, and she wasn’t keen on writing about that again. Of course, she hadn’t written about today’s events yet, but...
A silly idea struck Twilight. She glanced around nervously to make sure no one was watching, shifting her notepad close to her body to hide the paper. When she was sure the coast was clear, she placed the tip of her pencil on the page and took a slow, shaky breath.
Hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle.
Then she set her pencil down and waited.
The words stared back at her almost mockingly. The page stayed exactly the same, which for some reason was both relieving and aggravating at the same time. Feeling stupid, Twilight snatched her eraser and scrubbed out the words with more force than necessary. She was back at square one, then, with only her name, the date and a grey smudge on her otherwise empty paper.
Okay. Let’s try this again.
Eventually, at two minutes to the hour, Twilight had filled out the page. She tapped the end of her pencil on her desk as she went over what she’d written one more time.
Twilight Sparkle
Tuesday, September 5
It’s the first day of my last year of school. My schedule this term is alright: advanced functions, then computer science, then physical education, and then English. I guess phys-ed is my least favourite of them all.
There’s a new student in my class this year. Her name is Sunset Shimmer. She talked to me in the first period and invited me to sit with her at lunch. She seems okay cool nice. We had a good time at lunch together.
That sentence was a lie, but Twilight wasn’t willing to hand in a journal about supposedly-magical books and anxiety attacks.
She’s good at sports too, even if she doesn’t like phys-ed as much as someone like Rainbow Dash. I sat out during soccer today, so I watched the rest of the class play instead. It seemed like she had a good time. She didn’t score any goals but she tried her hardest, which is better than what I did.
I hope that Sunset and I can become friends this year. I’m looking forward to eating lunch with her tomorrow. If she wants to, at least.
Twilight pursed her lips. Most of her journal had ended up being about Sunset, she realized. But that wasn’t too weird, right? It was only natural to want to write about other people.
Probably.
Mr Magnet collected their journals as soon as the clock struck three, and Twilight spent the rest of the class half-listening to his lecture and tuning Pinkie Pie out, just waiting for the day to finally end.
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Why is it that all sports teachers are morons and assholes?
Probably because they are too dumb and unliked to qualify for anything else.
Something like that happened at my school as well, when i still went there.
Not my class, but our parallel class which we usually shared the sporting stuff with.
And then the idiot tried to shake me into participating as well a year later.
I punched him and he ran straight for the principal to tattle on me, appearantly
forgetting that he himself was on thin ice already. I showed the bruise in the form
of his hand on my arm and he was gone the next day.
11368596
Ah, I'm sorry that happened! Glad it worked out for you at least. But yeah, it seems like it's a universal experience that gym teachers are... less than stellar, let's say
Thanks for dropping a comment!
aaaah, gym teachers, how not to hate them? last year he put the whole class running in reverse wearing face masks relentlessly, it was not a pretty class.
Leaving aside that gym teachers are universal idiots, the chapter was incredible, I really thought that Twilight was going to faint, also she seems quite interested in sunset...
i wonder why the book seems to meet twilight and where i found the sunset book
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Hope you don't have to take that class very long. And I'm glad you liked the chapter! It was a fun one to write ^^
Ahh your teacher sounds awful
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well, after every fourth year we denounced him (for that and other things) the director called him into his office and all the representatives lost respect for him, I think we won't see him for a while.
and yes, i guess it was fun writing this chapter
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thanks again for the detailed comment!
In HS I joined the JROTC program in place of gym. I did okay on calisthenics but absolutely sucked at running.
As to the panic attack scene that was legit scary to read.
A few weeks ago I saw a customer at work sitting on the floor with a friend, doing my customer service duty, I asked if she was okay. They had it under control no need to get the management or anything else but I still felt kind of bad that I couldn't be more helpful.
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running is my nemesis lolol, absolute worst gym activity. as to your other point, anxiety is a tricky beast! everyone deals with it differently, and im sure that the person appreciated that you checked on them, even if it felt like you couldn't do much to help ^^
thanks for commenting!
Oh my gosh, English with Steven Magnet? What could be better?
Growing up, I never paid much attention to Rarity and Fluttershy's relationship in the show, but the way you address it makes me realize how cute it is. I can absolutely imagine Rarity braiding Fluttershy's hair, lol. I'm really enjoying how you write everyone, and especially how Twilight processes these behaviors and tries to figure out if they're "normal". It reminds me of myself in high school...sigh...
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ahh tysm! nd gosh yea i love the rara-shy friendship, it’s not super overt in the show like rainbow-pinkie but i like to imagine thats just bc they exist mostly behind the scenes ^^ and im glad twis feelings come off as realistic, high school is a tricky thing to navigate tbh lol
I think there were a great many interesting decisions made with the writing of this next chapter, and each one is sincerely loved!
Like, starting immediately from the last chapter into the journal actually working was incredible, and then moving that into a harrowingly real depiction of a panic attack is a really bold choice to progress the plot and it pays off in a number of ways! Firstly, it's a horrifyingly physical description of a panic attack, and you didn't spare on the introspection that goes on during one of them either. What I've seen a lot of fics do on the site is have a panic attack happen, and then describe it as someone losing control, which may be true for how some experience it, but what's never included is that the person experiencing the panic knows they're losing their grip. So, that was a wonderful touch added to that scene, but, it's made that much more impactful when Twilight experiences this after having what's normal to her challenged. That is, her usual baseline of anxiety spikes up when she encounters something unexplainable while also being confronted with an entire cafeteria of eyes on her while simultaneously having lunch with someone unfamiliar. All of these are alien to her, and all of them culminate in crumpling up in a bathroom. Combining all of these with the fact that it showcases Sunset's empathy which was brought up in the previous chapter, and her genuine care for Twilight, progresses not only both of their developments and characterizations separately but does so too for their relationship with each other. It's a master stroke.
We then progress to the next period which is gym, and it contains two really great decisions that you've made! So, the scene itself with running laps and watching Sunset play soccer is soooo good that I barely have words for it other than it takes me back to watching my crush when I was in the JROTC. What's very intriguing about this scene is that we start seeing the feelings for Sunset stir within Twilight as she looks at the (wonderfully sapphic) couple, Fluttershy and Rarity, which, based RariShy posting btw. It's such a tender moment between the two of them, Rarity braiding Shy's hair and then embracing her, it makes me want to tear up. As much as I do love this inclusion, and how much I love their love, the decision I found to be most interesting is the one about Iron Will. That story about him forcing the students to run laps, leading to one with asthma having an ambulance called on him, is at both times dark and realistic. How many horror stories like this take place every day in high schools across the country, and how many were there when you were going? I know mine had plenty, and twice the amount of rumors too. So that decision to include such a story, which places Twilight in the spot to see PDA, and see something in Sunset that makes feelings churn within her, elevates everything else to an unfathomably high height.
The final bit of praise I have for this work is in the next period, where Twilight writes a journal assignment, and finds that a lot of her thoughts are taken up by this new girl in her life. I find this to be really charming because it really makes Twilight put words to the feelings she's been experiencing for Sunset since the start of the day when they met. It's not only a really great and natural way to round out the first day with these two, but it is a fantastic writing choice because it makes Twilight reconcile all of this, and really think about how she feels and reflect on all of today. It is stunning!
So all of these choices together put the quality of these two opening chapters in such a high position that I'd say it just about touches the clouds! It is truly astounding writing! And as an aside, please forgive me if these are much too long of comments, I really get carried away when praising works like this! I hope it isn't too much, or comes across as somewhat insincere. I always fear writers will get both of these impressions from me. In any case, I'm loving this story so far, and I'm going to dive headfirst into the next chapter!
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oh goodness, please dont apologize for such lovely comments, it's every author's dream to receive such lovely feedback and analysis on their work like youve done! it's truly made my morning to see this, so don't worry ^^ and yea, in this chapter i really wanted to express some facets of my own experience with anxiety--"drowning" is the closest thing i can compare it to, where you are completely aware you're "underwater" and running out of air, but everything has just compounded in a way that even though you know youre panicking, your own body is fighting against you and you cant do anything about it.
honestly, im a rarity multishipper, so there definitely will b rarishy and rarijack and raritwi and whatever else undertones haha. but this specific scenario was also because i found in hs the girls i knew were just. very touchy feely??? especially straight girls, lord knows i nearly combusted countless times with all the hair-touching and lap-sitting and hug-tackles and all that "friendly" pda shit kdfjsldfjldkf
and for iron will, thankfully he isn't based on anyone from my life, but the incident mentioned is one that could be a possible reality, with how sometimes i saw gym teachers force the kids with asthma to participate (one time, someone even had to go to the nurses because he couldnt breathe, but thankfully no ambulance).
again, im so excited to get the comments, and im glad youre enjoying the story! thanks so much for reading ^^
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Oh my GOSH you're actually so right about Rarity and Fluttershy tho! Like, whenever I saw girls, and especially straight girls, doing that exact thing, or like even doing each other's nails at lunch or when a friend of mine would rest their head on my shoulder from behind, I'd always think 'wow, they're sooo gay' or 'I think I'm going to catch fire and turn to ash now' and come to find out, uh, no they're just straight hahaha. It always stumped me, and that includes seeing Rarity and Fluttershy in writing lmao!
i feel called out
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i write from life, what else can i say
Aaand the first inklings of the Romance tag rear their heads. I like how the mane 6 are being brought together one by one, here, and around a revamped Pinkie Party to boot.
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savour the scraps while i leave them cuz a famine is rolling in fastAh yes, the only force that can defeat regular panic: Gay Panic
OMG TWILIGHT'S CURSING
Oof 😭
Damn
YESYESYESYESYES
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Y E S
RUAUFHRFERV if only i had someone like sunset, except im her in most situations 😭 (i spent like 5 minutes trying to remember how to spell except wth)
also, twilight SWEARING ?!?!?!?! thats not smt u see everyday is it.
i wish i could gloat like that, i just fall. really hope we dont do football (soccer) at least this year.
during my first year of highschool (here in britain we start at 11-12) and had a panic attack in P.E. teacher saw and i didnt want to say the real reason (i felt really dysphoric all day and being put into girls and boys kinda set me off) so i said that the people in my group were being rude (which they were-). she said 'well, in high school you have to be mature, its not like primary where you get feelings hurt all the time. you have be a team here, toughen up". throughout that first month, bullied really badly by the same people, their parent got involved, police was called and yeah. gym teachers are shitty basically. another part of it, the safeguarding team practically interrogated me n shit, and since my mom was a HR at the time she got them into deep shit for not following protocol, now they all hate me (massive empath, i can tell) for getting them in quite a bit of trouble, and they cant do anything. they gotta be more lenient now.
anyways storytime over, the way u wrote sparky in this is rlly cool
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ahh im sorry that you went thru that, i hope you are doing better now ;-; thank you for checking out the story!
Mood.
Oh you mean the book not life in general.
The vicious gay thoughts begin.
Eeeeyup. I'm better at spotting them when they are happening nowadays but everything there felt awfully familiar.
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anxietys a beast of its own, isnt it ;-; i hope at least you can go thru most days without it being too bad
why waist
SS'd make Twilight crush on her
fingers interwined
I hear that in America and European countries two girl holding hands fingers interwined means they're gay couples
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ah, ive never heard that before! it’s pretty common for girls to hold hands with their friends, at least where i am (canada), so it’s a bit hard to tell when it happens ^^