The Studying Obsession

by Lhmac

Fear

Twilight stepped out of the grand Canterlot Library, head down, a book within her telepathic clutches. She'd pretty much been pushed out of the library by one of the grey-vested staff ponies though it was nowhere near closing time.

Twilight had pretended not to hear the insistent voice older mare at first, expecting the worker to go away when she realised she was getting nowhere. But the other pony had been continued calling her name as she searched amongst the desks, going so far as snatching the book right out from underneath Twilight's nose to get her to pay attention.

Twilight had been prepared to continue her pattern of ignoring her elder, and was simply going to trot away and find another book, but as the worker retreated towards the check-out desk, Twilight heard enough of the mare's speech to realise it was under Celestia's orders . After that, Twilight Sparkle had been forced to follow the other pony and say her goodbyes to the magnificent building for the day. She couldn't go upsetting her mentor on her first day as a protégé, after all.

Actually, she shouldn't be upsetting the princess at all, teacher or not.

Twilight wandered back in the direction of her home. It wasn't until she approached the schoolhouse that she realised she hadn't told her old friends that she had achieved her cutie mark. School was still in for a few more minutes, but she was sure her teacher, Starlight Charmer, would want to congratulate her on her new position in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He had always encouraged her, after all.

As she neared the front door, she could hear the happy chatter of her old school-fillies and colts as their day of learning drew to an end. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Starlight Charmer's grey nose appearing at the window made her grin, which her teacher returned in kind.

"Look who's here!" he called out to his class, throwing open the door. "The filly who is leaving to be involved in bigger things, Miss Twilight Sparkle!"

Twilight expected some happy sounds from her friends, maybe some light applause from the rest of the room. She would have loved a cheer, but what met her on the other side of the door was a wall of solid silence.

It was as if someone had cast a soundless spell upon the room, but if that was so, the looks on the other ponies' faces wouldn't be stunned.

Twilight backed up a little, at a loss for what to do. Starlight didn't seem to notice the tense atmosphere and nudged her further into the room.

"We're almost finished for the day, you're just in time for the end of the class," he said cheerfully. "If you take your old seat, we can finish up here and have a small party, as if this was your last class here."

His kind voice warmed the young filly's heart, as it always had. The old stallion was the most encouraging pony she knew, so she joined her class, positioning herself at her old desk, despite the uneasy feeling she had about her class.

The party clearly hadn't been everything Starlight Charmer thought it would be. He'd seemed baffled by the sudden sombre mood of his class, and apologised for the lack of excitement from Twilight's peers at her exciting news.

"I never thought my whole class of fillies and colts would be jealous of a friend who achieved such recognition." He sighed. "I hope they will all come to their senses soon, and that you'll forgive them for their reaction."

Twilight walked out of the school house and towards home, her head down. Was it such a bad thing that she had been accepted into the school? Why couldn't her friends be happy for her?

As she passed the playground, she saw Amethyst Star and Moondancer leaning on the swing set. They hadn't seen her as they were facing the other direction, but she trotted over without drawing their attention first.

"Guys?" she asked hopefully.

The two fillies seemed to freeze in place, their backs still to Twilight.

"Uh ... you might not want to talk about it, but I do. What was the problem with the class today? No one wanted to talk to me or congratulate me."

As one, purple and the blue pony turned exceptionally slowly. When they were finally facing her, Twilight caught the fake smiles plastered onto their faces.

"Congratulations, Twilight Sparkle!" they chorused.

Twilight stomped her hoof on the dirt in agitation, kicking up a bit of dust. The two fillies flinched backwards from her display of frustration.

"What is UP with you two?" she demanded. "What is so terrible about me getting into Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns? You knew I was applying, and you were happy for me."

Amethyst and Moondancer looked to one another, then back at Twilight, their gazes clearly fixated on her new cutie mark.

Twilight gave a frustrated sigh. "What is it? Say something!" She raised her voice more than she intended to, and winced herself as the girls took a step backwards. She gave her friends the best doe-eyes she could. "I thought we were friends."

It was Moondancer who ended up being the more confident pony. She stepped closer to Twilight again. "But-but, we heard ..." she trailed off, steeling herself for her next words. "We heard that in your exam you went crazy and created a dragon to tear down the roof, then you turned your parents into plants and zapped your examiners for making fun of you." Moondancer spoke quickly, then closed her eyes, her face turned to the side as if she expected a backlash.

It was Twilight's turn to back away. "You think I did all that?" she asked, tears brimming in her eyes. "You think I did that on purpose?"

The other two ponies moved further away, their bodies pressed to the ground. The two sides stared at one another for a few moments, then it was Twilight who took off at a gallop.

Comments

[Lhmac]

I had the weirdest comment on this chapter elsewhere. I was told it was funny.
I don't know if that person is a little or I wrote it all wrong.

[Twilight_Crow]

Well, the first part is funny, the rest not so much. I'd say you did it right, it was a nice chapter.

[Obalie]

Stupid ponies...especially Amethyst and Moondancer. That was just mean. She's your friend, she just did something awesome, congratulate her!

[khatre]

Twilight's true potential makes Princesses worry.
A room full of colts/fillies? scared beyond words.
Foals lives are built around rules and boundaries.
Twilight ... is the Element of Magic and has no boundaries.

[Fluttermac36]

[Honeytongue]

Man....I am so loving this story more and more. Makes me want to expand more on the background story of my fic.