The Letter

Life is a little something called, "unpredictable".

you never know what it's going to throw at you.

Most see it as stuff that can be controlled or swayed.

Some see it as just, "some things happen for a reason".

And some are in between.

But in the end, it's all up to you how your life goes. Life is constantly turned upside down at the drop of a hat. But it is up to you how you handle it.

"Everything in life is temporary, but it is up to you and only you, what you chose to make permanent" - Grandma

Over the Moon and Through the Fire

By: Lazzari

The day time filled the Crystal Empire with lots of crystal ponies, their cotes shimmering in the light and making the day even brighter.

Walking along the middle district of the empire was a young pegasus mare. Her grey coat and long dark gray hair shimmering light threw it. She walked along keeping her expression neutral and as she walked towards her home, the sound of running hooves filled her ears. She turned around to see a royal messenger running towards her.

The royal messenger stopped in front of her, panting slightly as she reached into her bag and pulled out a letter. "Miss Lazzari, the princess has requested you attend a royal summons." The mare said as she levitated the letter to her and galloped off.

Laz opened the letter and read it.

Dear Lazzari and applicable family,

I, Princess Cadance, formally request you attend a royal summons to the crystal palace greenhouse garden. many other fillies and colts will be in attendance of this event. At the request of Princess Twilight Sparkle, we ask you bring along any applicable family to this event.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza

Lazzari gulped and closed the letter and walked into her home. She went up to her bedroom and took her saddle bag off and looked in the mirror. She looked over her crystal fur, mane and tail. Lazzari is only a crystal pony because she has crystal pony descendants who had escaped the crystal empire during the wrath of sombra. She felt somewhat weird everytime she looked in a mirror. She was always so used to seeing herself as just a regular pegasus mare. with regular fur and a regular mane and tail. Not in a million years did she think she would ever see herself in crystal form. In her crystal form she had a portion of her front mane draped over her forehead that connected with the rest of her mane that flowed down and over her shoulders. And around her ear was a tuft of mane that curled around her ear a little. Her tail had become more flowy and softer looking as opposed to how she was used to looking.

Laz sighed looking away, she grabbed the letter with her wing and took another look in the mirror. "Man... I almost don't recognize myself like this anymore. It's like i'm not even the same pony..." she said quietly to herself. Laz took another long sigh and then looked to the clock on her nightstand. It read 3:07 pm. What could this possibly be about? Did she do something wrong again? Did something happen with Hemlock again? She had so many questions swirling in her head and it wasn't making her feel any better. She decided it was best to just go downstairs for the time being. Talking to her grandmother always made her feel better.

Laz had been trying to keep out of trouble. She was never really the type of mare that took ponies teasing her lightly. But with this new school and new ponies, she wanted to make a good impression. But it seems to her that most of her efforts were in vain. Most of the young mares and stallions nudged her aside, taking her willingness to let it happen to their advantage. Her size didn't make it any better. Laz was by no means a normal sized pegasus. She was quite small, and her appearance didn't make her any more intimidating than a freshly born kitten. The only thing making her stand out was the two scars next to her right eye, and even then they were sometimes hard to spot if one was not looking hard enough. But like her grandmother always said to her when she was young and still does now, 'it is up to you what you chose to make permanent'.

***

"How was school dear?" a voice came from the kitchen as she sat down on the couch. Laz looked around and her eyes landed on a photo of an older couple in a close cuddle on the beaches of the tropical island of Troughiti. It was An older unicorn mare, with A dark black mane that had streaks of silver in it, and had a Light pink coat and deep blue eyes, and a cutie mark of lipstick and a makeup brush. Also in the photo was a tall, skinny older stallion with a bald head and grey main around the sides of his head, his coat was a light orange and he was also a unicorn. His cutie mark that of a chocolate chip cookie and a cake.

Laz smiled and got up and walked into the kitchen. "It was boring", she said in a monotone voice, but couldn't help a small smile from forming on her lips. She turned her attention towards the older mare from the photo she was just looking at and saw she was stairing at her with a flat look and her ears turned flat. "What, haha?" she giggled trying to hold her laughter a little.

"Do you ever use any other words besides boring to describe your day?" the mare asked while levitating some carrots to the counter, grabbing a knife and beginning to peel them.

"Nope, school is very boring to me... Grandma... Ever since we moved to the empire from canterlot, things have been very different. Everypony is nice to me here. They dont treat me like a low class citizen like the fillies and colts in canterlot did. It's become easier to focus when i'm not turning my back around every five minutes to see who threw a piece a paper at me with their magic. So yeah school has gotten very boring and uneventful." Laz said, her tone a little flat.

"Well I'm glad you like this new school better. I wasn't very fond of the parents of the other fillies and colts either." the older mare scoffed and turned her head to look at her granddaughter with a warm smile. "So what's the letter you have their?"

Laz turned and grabbed the letter from her wing and unrolled it leaning over the island on her back legs. "It's a letter from the princess, she has requested an audience with you, grandpa, dad and I. We are supposed to meet with Princess Twilight and Princess Cadance at 4pm."

The older mares eyes widened and turned to look at the clock as it said, '3:35' pm on it and she gasped. "Dear celestia, why didn't you say so sooner! your father is downstairs in the family room. I'll leave a note for your grandfather to meet us there." She said while using her magic to levitate a sticky note over to herself and wrote on it and rushed upstairs to her and her husband's bedroom.

Laz walked downstairs to see a unicorn stallion with a short black curly mane and a white coat with a hammer and wrench as a cutie mark. She smiled and pulled out the letter. "Dad, the princess has requested an audience with us in 20 minutes, we need to get going." she said while giving him the letter. He paused and took the letter with his magic and read it and looked back down at his papers.

"Uh, ok, uh... just give me a minute I need to finish this last one and i'll be up stairs to go." The stallion said while looking back down at the papers, looking very focused on them.

Laz took a moment looking at the papers and read the top title of one of them as it read 'court ordered' at the top. She sighed and her smile quickly turned into a look of sadness as her ears drooped to the sides of her head. "Do those have anything to do with mom?" she asked sounding a little sad. The stallion looked up at her and sighed.

"Look, laz, your only 13, I don't expect you to be able to understand this yet, but... yes they do. She has requested to spend some time with you and i'm not sure if i want you going to her apartment after what happened last time you were there. It took us forever to figure out how in equestria to get the lice out of your mane with it being cristalised. I know you love your mom, but it's important to know that I truly care about your safety. And considering you got lice last time, and she knew your half sister had it before coming ahead of time I could only imagine what else is unsafe." The stallion took a heavy sigh, seeing his daughters expression change drastically. He set the papers down and walked up to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Tell you what, I'll leave this for now, and i'll come back to it after we meet with the princess, ok?" he asked with a reassuring sound to his voice. Laz looked up at him and smiled.

"Ok, lets go hear what the princesses want." she said as she and the stallion started walking up stairs.

***

Laz and her father and grandmother where walking towards the crystal palace as they heard running hooves behind them. Laz turned around to see the older stallion from the photo running up to them. She stopped and smiled her ears perking up and turning towards him. "There you are, was worried you werent gonna make it." Laz exclaimed earning a sheepish smile from the older stallion.

The older stallion looked towards his wife as he noticed she had an eyebrow raised. "hehe, sorry, got stuck on a problem we couldn't figure out at work." he sheepishly said while joining their walk towards the palace. He look towards laz who was walking next to her father and had a light smile on her lips, and her ears pointed forwards. He trotted up next to her and saw her ears turn outward as he did. "So... Have any idea what this is all about? You didn't get into trouble again did you laz?" he asked with a slight smug look and a chuckle.

Laz turned her head giving him a smarmy look and rolled her eyes with an exaggerated look. "Haha, no, at least I dont think I got into any trouble. A couple weeks ago our Principal told us that Princess twilight was going to be observing our middle school, but she never told us why, so maybe whatever it was, i'm about to find out." Laz said with a hint of curiosity in her voice.

Laz looked away, slightly conflicted with how to feel about the situation. She had always had trouble behaving in school. She had lots of anger issues, and constantly got into fights as a young filly. But that all changed when she moved to the crystal empire three years ago. She had told her grandmother that she was much happier here then she was in canterlot, but she knew the truth. Some of the fillies and colts here are just as bad if not worse than the ones in canterlot. She had made more friends but only on the basis of working hard to change her outlook on how she presented herself to others. Many times changing her personality to try and make friends, and so far that hasn't worked at all. Only two ponies have expressed that they truly enjoy her company while being just herself.... Well sort of enjoyed. She wouldn't say Hemlock 'enjoys' her company, more so tolerates it for the sake of having another friend. Feather on the other hoof always enjoyed her company.

She perked up and her ears turned forward as they reached the front doors of the palace. She took a long sigh and continued walking forward.

***

As they approached the palace, two guards used their magic to open the doors and let them in. Upon arrival they were greeted by a young adult earth pony mare with a quill and paper as a cutie mark. "Welcome! Did you receive a summons letter from the princess?" The mare asked in a very chipper tone. Almost to chipper.

Laz smiled and nodded, "yes we did, what's this event about?" She asked. but the mare simply smiled and pointed sharply.

"The Princesses are eager to speak with you on that matter. Please, follow this hallway to reach to the palace Green house garden and join the others in the festivities!" The mare said while continuing to smile.

Laz took no moment to question it, seeing the mare looked a little put off by the whole situation and walked towards the hallway. Her father trotted up beside her with a worried and nervous look.

"God, I hope this isn't like a party. I hate these things." he exclaimed while keeping his expression a little miffed and his ears flattened.

Laz giggled and nudged him in the arm gently. "Oh, come on they aren't that bad. I doubt there while be a lot of ponies considering we are meeting with TWO princesses." Laz exclaimed, earning and eye role and a chuckle from her father.

"Yeah, yeah, I know i just don't like being around other ponies all that much." he said as they reacher the doors to the garden.

Laz smiled she knew her father didn't really like social gatherings. He was always reluctant to come to them because he was never the social type. But he made an effort for the ones that she really cared about. She knew her dad loved her, and he would make an effort for her. She stopped and looked towards a set of glass doors.

"Well here we go." Laz said as she pushed one door open and into the garden space. She looked out in awh as she saw the garden. She had been to the palace before, thanks to her entire families line of work, but she had never seen more than just the throne room and the palace library while she studied with her friends. The garden was massive It had several assortments of crystal rose bushes, and crystal sunflowers, among other flowers. The garden had a glass covering that let the sun shine threw it. Laz turned her ears a lot listening to the sound of birds chirping and the sounds of talking and laughing. She looked down at the lush green crystal grass and then to the small creek that flowed into a pond with tons of lily pads and flowers around it, with crystal koi fish in it. She was stunned in awh at the beauty of the garden. she turned her ears back and heard the sound of trotting hooves coming towards them. She turned to see a purple alicorn mare with a purple mane with a pink stripe in it, trotting up to them.

"Welcome Miss Lazzari, it is good to see you again! It is a pleasure to finally speak with you formally." Princess twilight smiled warmly, looking towards the three ponies behind laz she smiled. "My name is Princess Twilight sparkle, the princess of friendship. May I ask your names?" Twilight said, a even warmer smile on her face as she looked towards the three unicorns. The older pink unicorn stepped forward with a smile.

"My name is Blush Brush, I work closely with Princess Cadence's royal advisers for property management around the empire. I am also a part time cosmetologist, with with clients all over the empire who buy and use my products." Blush brush exclaimed happily using formality and status to greet the princess. The orange unicorn stepped up next to his wife, a kind smile on his face.

"It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance Princess Twilight, My name is Chocolate Glaze. I am a full time technician with the crystal empires scientific engineering team. I also run my own catering business for baked goods and treats." He said the formality ringing true in his entire action with the princess.

The white unicorn stallion stepped up beside his daughter, a nervous smile on his face as he spoke. "Er... My name is White void. I'm just a maintenance worker for the crystal palace." He said with a nervous chuckle a bit of sweat on his brow. Twilight smiled again giggling a little to herself.

"Well it's so nice to meet all of you! Please we are still waiting on a few other fillies and colts to arrive. Feel free to mingle with the other guests. Your reason for summons will come once all the guests have arrived." Twilight said as she turned to greet the next ponies threw the door.

Laz turned to her family and smiled. "you heard the princess. I'm going to go talk to some of the other fillies and colts. you should go mingle with the other families." with that said, Laz trotted of looking around her surroundings and looked towards the small crowd of gathered fillies and colts, who all did not seem to be interacting, and actually a few seemed reluctant to even be there.

***

White Void stood near the pond looking at the other stallions and mares, some conversing, some just standing off to the side looking a little disgruntled. He looked around some more, seeing his mother speaking with another mare and his stepfather speaking with what looked to be the mares husband. He then turned his attention towards the crowd of fillies and colts. He looked around for a bit until his eyes landed on Laz. She was making a 'Beeline towards another young unicorn mare. He immediately recognized the mare as her friend from school, Hemlock blossom. She was white with a short, fire red mane the swept down the side of her head, her cutie mark that of a flower on fire, the flames being the same shade as her mane, with a few petals falling off of it.

He had remember Laz telling him a lot about Hemlock blossom. Specifically that her talent was that of creating potions and medicines. But he also remembered her telling him the blossom often didn't use her talent in such fashion. More often than not, using her talent to create hallucinogens for herself and others and selling them, or use her talent to create remedies and sell them on the black market illegally. He wasn't sure how he felt about Laz being friends with this mare, Hemlock didn't strike him as a loyal type. but his daughter cared about her nonetheless. Despite all that Laz had spoken very highly of her in several cases, and Hemlock had never given him a reason to dislike her other than her questionable tactics of making bits. She was always very quiet and the type of mare that kept to herself. He was always curious how Laz had befriended her.

But before he could put anymore thought into it, he saw another young mare approach the two. He didn't recognize her but considering the mare and laz both hugged immediately told him that this was another friend of hers. Based on the description Laz had given him of another one of her friends, he assumed this pony was Brooksdale Feather. Laz had often referred to her as just 'Feather', assuming that's what she preferred to be called. She was a dark tan pegasus with a long flowing light brown mane. Her cutie mark that of a judge mallet and small stack of papers lifted upright.

Laz had told him a lot about this mare. She was very special to Laz. She had always spoken very highly of Feather, even more so then Hemlock. He knew Laz and Feather were very close friends as she often hung out with her at Feathers house, and studied with her in the palace library after school. She had told him that Feather wanted to be somepony the upheld the laws of equestria, and kept other ponies safe from wrong doings, or gave justice to those who had committed them. He also remembered her telling him that Feather had very good grades in school and often helped her with her homework in history class. This thought made him happy knowing his daughter was friends with such a young and intelligent mare, but he remembered one more thing Laz had told him about her.

Feather was kind of bad at keeping relationships, whether it be friends or colt friends. She often drove away others with her bluntness and brutal honesty. Leaving him to wonder how such a sensitive mare like his daughter befriended this mare as well.

Although, It did strike him as rather amusing that her two best friends were complete and utter opposites of each other. One of them completely disregarded the law for her own personal gain, and the other wished to withhold the laws of equestria and keep ponies like her from getting away with said actions without consequences. With that thought thoroughly planted in his head, he decided to do a bit of eavesdropping.

***

Laz was making a beeline for one of her best friends, Hemlock Blossom. The young unicorn mare wore an unamused look, one that could rival even her fathers when she did or said something completely stupid. Hemlock was one of few ponies who seemed to understand her. While she didnt share everything with Hemlock, she shared a lot of personal feelings which, in a way, gave Laz the confidence that she could be trusted. Laz smiled brightly as she saw Hemlock turn to look at her, her expression turned from unamused to neutral very quickly upon seeing her friend. Laz new Hemlock very well, and knew that she never was one to smile, and when she did it was because of something that she found very funny.... But... Hemlocks view of funny was more often than not very different than the other fillies and colts her age. Most of her humor coming from the misfortunes of others, or watching others get hurt. Did it sound a little sadistic? Yes. But laz knew Hemlock better than anypony. She knew that underneath all her strange mannerisms, that Hemlock was really a sensitive pony and often took criticism to heart. All though Hemlock often spoke it out and made her discontent much more noticeable than how Laz did.

"Blossom!" Laz used her nickname that only Hemlock allowed her to use.

"Hi laz." Hemlock said in a very monotone voice, but once again Laz did not take it to heart. "Do you know why we are here, this is boring. I just got done schooling some colts who thought they could try and hit on me. Hehe, it was pretty funny, you should have seen the looks on their faces. some others around me found it amusing too." Hemlock exclaimed proudly. Laz was no stranger to seeing other colts hit on her friend, she was by no means an unattractive mare, but for obvious reasons, most other ponies were quickly put off by her different nature.

"No, I was just told to wait by princess Twilight. My family is somewhere around here, did you bring yours? I haven't seen your dad or step mom or step sister anywhere." Laz said, curiosity peeking through a little. Usually the mention of her step mom and step sister earned an eye role and a scoff from Hemlock, but she was shocked when she didn't get one. Only getting a brif glare that was not directed at her.

"No, just my dad. He's somewhere in the sea of mares and stallions. Probably avoiding the other ponies and brooding somewhere." Hemlock said, the unamusement and annoyance ringing all the way through Lazzari's head. Laz knew Hemlock was not very fond of her father's choice to marry another mare after her own mother was pushed out of the picture. The topic of mothers was a very touchy one for the both of them.

"Well I brought my Dad and my grandparents with me, my grandparents are-." She was suddenly cut off by another pony hugging her very abruptly. She turned to see who it was and sighed in relief when she saw the mare that was hugging her. "Hi feather!" Laz exclaimed excitedly immediately returning the hug. Feather was the only pony she ever let hug her. She didn't like being touched, like.... REALLY, didn't like being touched. She seldom let even her own family hug her because of this. Laz knew why but she never liked talking about it with others. Most didn't question it and most didn't bother trying to push the subject as lots of ponies didn't like being touched.

"HI LAZ!!!" Feather shouted almost at full volume, causing others around them to turn and stair. Which immediately got Blossom to hide behind her main, and for Laz to blush a little. Feather quickly covered her mouth, blushing a little herself. "Er, sorry. I guess i'm just excited to be in the company of royalty." She said as a sheepish smile and a brighter blush frosted over her nose.

"Hmph, can't imagine why, all these royals have the same agenda. It's boring and stupid." Hemlock chimed in, earning a sharp glare from Feather.

"And tell me, Hemlock, just how would you know that. Miss 'I don't give a damn about the law'." Feather exclaimed very sharply, giving Hemlock an even sharper glare. Hemlock immediately furrowed her brow and scrunched her nose, returning Feathers sharp glare.

"You don't know me or why I do the things I do, so don't assume that you do!" Hemlock looked to be on the verge of tangling with Feather. Laz had a flat look on her face. Her two best friends absolutely hated each other's guts. She always had to seperate them when they were with her together. They never sat and ate lunch together as a group at school. But that was mostly because Hemlock was usually in detention or making a deal in the mares bathroom. Laz didn't know why Hemlock did the things she did either, whenever the topic was brought up she quickly changed the subject or dodged the question. Laz never pushed the subject after a few tries, assuming her friend had her reasons for doing the things she did.

"Ladies! can we please go a single time together without you two fighting. It's starting to get anoy-," Laz was abruptly cut off by the sound of clapping hooves from the front of the garden. She and her friends all turned to see Princess Cadence up front.

"Alright everypony! Please find your loved ones and gather around. Princess Twilight will be giving her announcement shortly." With that said Cadence turned her attention to her husband, Shining Armor, and began conversing with him and afew of their advisors.

Laz let out a sigh of relief and looked to her two friends. They were still glaring at each other but Feather took the chance and broke off to find her parents. With Feather gone, Laz turned to Hemlock with an unamused and annoyed look. "Blossom... I know you don't like Feather, but do you have to turn every conversation with her into a fight?"

"Psh... whatevs. Not like I give a damn about that goodie two shoes anyway." Hemlock pouted angrily and snorted. She quickly turned away to go find her dad without giving Laz another word.

"Laz?"

Another familiar voice caught Laz' ears, causing her to flinch and grimas heavily. She put on a smile and turned, her attention fully on her grandmother. "Yes?"

"is everything ok? Hemlock didn't look very happy just now." Blush brush said a hint of concern in her voice. Laz' grandmother didn't have as much interaction with Hemlock as her father did. So she didn't know most of Hemlocks mannerisms.

"Yeah she's fine, That's just how she is. Blossom is never one to act happy, but i know her better than anypony out there. She'll get over it" Laz said, plastering a very fake smile on her face. Luckily it was enough to convince her grandmother to drop the subject. approaching from behind was her grandfather and her father. As they sat beside her and smiled.

"Hey Laz, I saw you talking to Hemlock and Feather. I didn't know they were called to. Get any explanation out of them as to why we are here?" White Void asked.

"No. Blossom was just as confused as I was, and before I could ask Feather, she and Blossom started bickering again. I don't know what i'm going to do with the both of them." Laz said with a chuckle, earning another from her father.

"I find it very amusing that your two best friends hate each other's guts and yet you tolerate being around both of them at the same time. How in equestria do you keep them from ripping each others mains out?" Void said with a laugh. Laz smirked and gave him a smarmy look.

"The same way I keep you from ripping your own mane out because of me, a trade secret" Laz said letting out a giggle. Void shot his daughter an amused smile. Knowing the implications of her joke.

Void loved Laz with all his heart. She was his everything, his own flesh and blood. He worked hard everyday for her to make sure she was happy and healthy. Whenever Laz irritated him, he always tried to lighten the mood. He was never good with his temper even as an adult. And his daughter seemed to carry that trate of his, at much less of a degree. He knew that he was quite the hoof full when he was young, giving his mother enough heart attacks and anger spells to last a lifetime in just the span of 18 years. Laz had a more tame anger problem. She wasn't quite able to control it once she had let it run free, but she had gained the ability to stop it before it happened. He wasn't sure how she did that, but it was good enough for him if she was learning to control it on her own. Laz had come a long way after transferring out of Canterlot elementary and into Crystal Grove middle school. Her grades had improved a lot and she had even almost made the honor roll in her 6th year. She was now in her 8th year. the school years end was fast approaching with only 3 weeks left in the school year. Soon she would be moving on to highschool.

....'Moving on to highschool'.... Void didn't want to admit it, but he didn't like seeing his daughter growing up so fast. Sure he was happy seeing the beautiful young mare she was growing to be. but he missed those days of her calling him 'daddy' and jumping up on his back and giggling. That bright and innocent smile she always flashed him when he came to pick her up was always the highlight of his day. His little filly wasn't so much of a 'little filly' anymore. She was a young mare now. She was starting to take interest in other colts. Reading teen magazines and gawked at pictures of the male wonderbolts in magazines with her friend Feather. Specifically Soarin, he knew this because she had a poster of him in her bedroom from a magazine. She loved the wonderbolts and watching them perform, to her was like watching a movie. He knew she didn't want to be a wonderbolt, but she loved watching them perform. She liked a lot of things that were more mature for her age now. Makeup was beginning to be one of them.

"Damnit..." Void cursed silently to himself. He couldn't keep this up, at this rate he'd be crying. He was thinking to much about all of this. His daughter was growing up. He had to come to terms with that fact. He knew she wasn't always going to be His little Laz, but it didn't stop him from feeling the emotions a true father felt while watching their little girl grow up.

His thoughts were cut off by the sound of clapping hooves again. He took a sigh of relief and looked towards the front. Meeting the gaze of the princess of friendship as she scanned the crowd to make sure all ponies were paying attention to her.

***

"Attention everypony. I'm sure you're all curious as to why you were all called here." Twilight said as she scanned the crowd, meeting the gaze of several confused ponies. But she was about to clear this all up.... Hopefully none of the parents took this the wrong way. "I, Princess Twilight, have scattered myself and my friends across equestria in search of young fillies and colts in need. I'm sure you're all wondering what that means. Well allow me to explain a few things first. As some of you may or may not know, I opened my very own school of friendship and allowed creatures and ponies from all across equestria to attend." Twilight looked upon the crowd seeing only a few confused faces, but most where knowing and understanding of this fact. She took a deep breath and readied for the second part of her speech. "I have decided to open another branch of the school of friendship. Only this one is much different than its counterpart. This school will be focused on students who have difficulties in their lives. As I said before I scattered my friends into several small towns and large cities across equestria. The Crystal Empire was my last stop. While in each city, we have gone school to school, watching and observing the behaviors of many students. And all of the fillies and colts here right now have been selected to attend this new school. With the parents and or guardian's permission of course."

Author's Notes:

soooooooo. here we gooooooooo. diving into the depths. I had to end the chapter here because I know if I didn't then there would be like another 5 thousand words.
Some tension there between hemlock and feather there eh? some bottled up emotions seem to be getting to lazzari there. And what about Whit void? hmmmmm i wonder how his story will play into this.

ANYWAY

I know this story has not delved much into the mane 6 in this yet but trust me. they are ALL a very important factor into this story. I don't want to make this story seem like its only about my life and its events. But there is a reason it is starting out this way.

My little pony played a very important role in my life. And i plan on incorporating that into this story VERY HEAVILY .

Something else i should mention. I am dyslexic. I am editing these myself. And plan on continuing to edit them myself. I do not mind having mistakes pointed out to me though. feel free, IF YOU WANT TO!!! Do not feel obligated to. its not a request it is simple permission and understanding that i wont get defensive if you do.

Chapter 2: Our Flaws Make us Real

View Online

Twilight ended her speech and looked on the crowd, still seeing some very confused faces from the parents... But the fillies and colts all looked... angry? No, conflicted. Some fillies and colts looked towards their parents, who were all pondering this new option. Some of them looked scared, and some of them looked worried. Twilight's eyes landed on a set of three ponies that weren't looking at her. But instead were looking towards their filly that had been summoned. Their eyes filled with looks of concern and worry. Twilight looked towards the young filly and recognised her as Lazzari. The young filly she had taken quite an interest in due to her surrounding herself in conflicting ponies that never seemed to get along. But that alone wasn't her reasoning for choosing her.

Lazzari was always smiling. Even in her classes, and of course when she was given a reason not to smile she didn't. But her resting face always seemed to be that of a smile. She always put on an air of kindness. Whenever Twilight saw her interact with another pony, it was always started with a cheerful 'hello', with most of her conversations ending awkwardly because the pony she was talking to never seemed to want to talk to her, or seemed to busy with something else on their minds. But Twilight saw right through her. Well, she didn't have to see it. Even though she could see straight through her smile. There was one day in particular where Lazzari had left her class. She had been walking the halls trying to see if she could see around the school.

***Lazzari***

Twilight walked down the long corridor of the 8th grade hallways of the Crystal Grove middle school. She was walking along quietly, scanning the halls. This school was very driven on the factor of allowing students to find their voices through other mediums. Artwork, Poetry, and sculptures were plastered all over the hallways. She stopped to look at a particular painting. It was of a night sky, riddled with stars, but in the corner was what looked to be the silhouette of a mare looking up at the sky, while sitting in a field of darkened grass. She looked closely at the painting and glance to the right corner of the paining. In a very sharp, white painted line was an insignia. It looked like an 'L', but the lower end of the 'L' was curved down sharply and made a small heart underneath it.

Twilight was ready to look away from the painting, when a door suddenly opened and a young pegasus mare walked out. She didn't even realise that Twilight was standing right there. She instead started running down the hall once the door to her class had closed. Twilight took a moment to look at the door but then followed after the young mare, keeping her distance as to not startle her or make her realise she was being watched. Twilight followed the young mare all the way to a dark and quiet place in the school, that was beyond the grade divided hallways. It looked to be a quiet spot for the fillies and colts to read or study away from the chatter and bustle of the day. But as she grew closer she heard... sniffling? Twilight quickly used her magic to cast an invisibility spell on herself and watched from afar to see what would happen.

Lazzari was curled up, laying on the floor. Her tail was tightly wrapped around her and she was crying. Twilight had yet to see such a weakness from the seemingly always bright and bubbly young mare. She watched even closer as Lazzari suddenly shifted and pulled out a picture from her wing and held it in her hooves. As twilight looked closer, she could see very faint marks of darker outlines in her fur around the back of her hooves. Were those... scars? She couldn't quite tell from her distance, and her crystal cote getting in the way, but the darker fur color was definitely noted. She watched closely once again at Lazzari' face, seeing her wipe the tears away as she stared at the picture.

".... Im sorry dad... I wish I was stronger, like you." Lazzari said in a very hushed tone but just loud enough for Twilight to hear it.

Twilight could feel her heart sinking in her chest. This young mare was definitely different. She always held a strong air to herself. Always trying her best to make other smile or make herself appear as friendly as possible. But underneath all that she seemed to have a side to her that nopony ever saw. She perked up as she saw Lazzari shift again. Lazzari had sat up and stared at the picture more.

"You do everything for me... Your tough and strong and push through the pain to make sure that i'm ok. You do things for me that mom never could.... You always make it better when she's brought up just because you know it always makes me sad.... And no matter how much you try to hide it I can always see it... the silent grunts and groans. the pain you endure just to make sure I can have lunch at school everyday... and make sure I have books for school... and so much more." Lazzari had paused and sighed and clutched the picture to her chest, letting more tears fall again. "I wish I could be that strong... I wish I could look challenges in the eyes like that and hold strong like you do... I wish.... and hope that someday.... i'll be just as strong as you daddy..."

Twilight could feel tears welling up in her eyes as she watched Laz poor her heart out. This was clearly meant to be personal and she felt kind of bad watching it. It was clear to her that these where things Lazzari wished she could say to her father, but could never find the strength to. This young mare... definitely had some other problems. This was just what she was looking for in a pony to attend her new school. She would have to keep a closer eye on this young mare.

Twilight flinched as Lazzari got up, wiped her tears away, took a few long and deep breaths, and tucked the picture back underneath her wing. She quietly stood there for a moment, taking a few more breaths before straightening her posture and putting on another soft smile. She stepped out of the dark corner and walked back in the direction of her class. Twilight was about to reverse her invisibility spell before she heard another quiet sniffle from behind her. She turned and froze abruptly as she came almost chest to muzzle with a young unicorn mare. Twilight didn't move, but she quickly recognized this mare as a student she had already chosen to attend her new school. And she was looking directly at Lazzari.

***Lazzari***

Twilight took another sigh as she looked away from Lazzari's family, who were now all three questioning her. Lazzari was an... Interesting young mare. Based on what she had seen from the young mare already, it appeared that her mother was not in the picture. Twilight didn't know much about her, but that might change if her family decides to allow her to go. She would make quite the interesting student for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, maybe even Rainbow Dash.

Twilight turned again and looked around the crowd for another young mare with fiery red hair that you could never miss. She quickly spotted Hemlock Blossom. She was shifting her eyes very rapidly between her father, who was stairing at the ground and looking as if he was thinking very hard, and the ground. She had a very panicked look on her face, and Twilight new exactly why.

***Hemlock Blossom***

Twilight flinched and backed away, almost no sound coming from her hooves as she did. She watched Hemlock closely. She knew Lazzari and Hemlock were friends, but... why didn't she say or do anything just now if she had seen that whole thing?

"Doesn't that make you feel bad?"

A new voice caught both their ears. Twilight remained silent as to not draw attention to the fact that there was a third pony with the two of them. Twilight looked behind Hemlock to see a dark tan pegasus mare with a brown mane. She wore a look of concern but also slight irritation. She saw Hemlock flatten her expression and she turned to look at the new mare.

"What's it matter to you! You didn't do anything about it either. Your her friend too aren't you!? Eh Feather." Hemlock exclaimed, in a hushed but angered tone as to not draw attention to herself in the hallway.

Feather lightly shook her head. "I was too busy wondering why her closest friend was hesitating to comfort her when she clearly needed it. Why did you hesitate? Is it because you feel you can't say anything that would comfort her? Or is it because your too high off your ass to even form some coherent thoughts, and words that you could possibly say!"

Hemlocks eye twitched. Feather had just jabbed at her very deeply. "To hell with you bitch! You always bring that shit up. Is there ever a moment where you don't hate me!" Hemlock exclaimed, still in a hushed but slightly louder tone.

Feather lifted an eyebrow. "I don't hate you Hemlock, I just question the choices you make. You seem to make a lot of bad ones. Drugs, alcohol, making bits by selling illegal substances. I wouldn't have such a strongly aggressive view against you if it weren't for those things. You don't seem to get or understand that your actions have an effect on others." Feather turned her head in the direction Lazzari had walked back from. "And trust me. Laz is definitely one of those affected ponies. She doesn't tell you EVERYTHING you know. She confides in me a lot too."

Hemlock growled and gritted her teeth. She took a step forward, but paused and scoffed and turned and walked away.

Twilight looked between the two girls. Who was this other mare. She clearly knew both Lazzari and Hemlock. The reason she had chosen Hemlock was because she had caught her in the bathroom, using and selling drugs. but after the whole ordeal just sat and cried for the entirety of a class period. She knew Hemlock had to have some personal issues. But who was this other mare? Hemlock didn't seem to like her very much. But they both seemed to care about Lazzari. She decided to watch this mare as well.

***Hemlock Blossom***

Twilight took another and deeper long sigh. Hemlock was definitely going to be harder to get through too. Some personal lessons From herself and Fluttershy might benefit her. She only saw one pony with Hemlock. She could only assume the stallion sitting next to her was her father. Hell they looked almost identical. same fire red hair and almost same cote color, only her fathers was more grey than Hemlocks. The cherry on top was he was also a unicorn. Twilight watched as the stallion turned to Hemlock and gave her a stern look and proceeded to speak with her.

Twilight looked around some more. seeing the other parents and fillies and colts from the other schools conversing with their children. She was looking for another specific mare. She scanned the crowd again and found what she was looking for. Brooksdale Feather. She was stairing at nothing and looked heavily confused. Her parents were speaking with her but it looked like she wasnt registering their words. She had to think long and hard about choosing Brooksdale. Brooksdale seemed to have an ok family life. But her personal life however, seemed to be in shambles.

***Brooksdale Feather***

Twilight was walking along the cafeteria, smiling at all the students as she passed by. She had asked to sit down at a few tables and listen in on some conversations and ask a few questions and made fun conversation with a lot of them. Most of the students seemed to be of higher class living, but preferred the laid back vibe, and preferred not to flaunt their money, besides having some expensive saddle bags. After leaving a table and watching the lunch hours shift, she saw two ponies emerge. One of them she had been keeping an eye on. The other she had yet to see. It was the mare that had confronted Hemlock after seeing lazzari' breakdown in the halls. Hemlock had called her 'Feather'. the other was a young stallion she hadn't seen before. They didn't head to the lunch line though, instead they stood off to the side. Twilight decided to get closer and watch from afar.

"What do you mean? Am I really that pushy?" Feather asked sounding a little sad and dejected as she pouted at the young stallion.

"No, Feather, that's not what I said." He took a long sigh. "Look, this isnt working out, my friends are starting to get uncomfortable with you around. They don't like how you kind of point the obvious out all the time. And frankly i'm getting tired of it too."

Feather visibly reclined and looked to be on the verge of tears. "Wait, are you breaking up with me?!"

The stallion took a sigh. "Yes I am, i'm sorry. this just isn't for me."

Twilight visibly cringed at the sight. 'ugh, overly dramatic teenage romance'. Twilight was never one for Rarity's sappy romance dramas. Fluttershy always watched them with her. But something was different about this. Feather looked genuinely crushed. Not like the mares in those movies. She watched as the stallion left her standing there. She thought about stepping up to comfort the young mare, but she didn't have to.

"Come on Feather, I saw the whole thing. lets go to our spot. You can have some of my lunch. I'm not that hungry anyway." Lazzari had appeared next to feather, a lunch tray on her wing and she was pulling gently on Feathers arm.

Twilight watched as the two walked away into the 8th grade hallway. She cast her invisibility spell on herself again and followed after them.

After watching them walk for about a minute, they stopped at the very back end of the 8th grade hallway. This area was vacant of any ponies, making Twilight wonder if the teachers knew that the girls were even there. She watched from afar as Lazzari sat down and draped a wing over Feathers back. Feather was a much larger pegasus then Lazzari. But it didn't stop her from trying. Come to think of it. Lazzari's wings where much larger than she had expected. They were more proportionate to that of a normal sized pegasus. It wasn't easily noticed at first but when they were extended it was easy to tell.

"Focus Twilight, focus." She gently put a hoof too her head and watched the girls once more. Feather was leaning into Lazzari' side, and crying, very hard. Lazzari was gently rubbing her back with her wing and saying nothing. She was giving Feather comfort with presence until she felt like she could speak.

After about 5 minutes of crying, Feather finally calmed down. Feather sniffled and burrowed herself into Lazzaris side. Her hooves where tucked in close to her body, her wings wrapped around her, and her tail tucked very tightly in. Without even looking at Lazzari, she spoke.

"That's the 5th one this year.... is it me?... Am i really that bad at being around others... Do I really put on that bad of a vibe?" Feathers tone was very somber and filled with hiccups as she spoke. Twilight could tell that Lazzari was holding back tears herself. From what she had seen from Lazzari so far, she didn't like being touched at all. If her and Feather where close enough to the point of Lazzari allowing her to touch her, then they must be close friends.

"Feather... you are NOT a bad pony. At least to me you're not. You were there for me when I needed it most.... Maybe someday I'll tell you how much it meant to me that you decided to talk to me, but for now just know that I'm always here and i'm not going anywhere. If you ever need a hug, if you ever want advice, anything, i'm always here." Laz rubbed her wing against Feather more and giving her a very warm smile. "Besides, I don't think Dunk was worth it. He's to into his sports and doesn't share many of your interests." Laz flinched as she felt Feathers grip on her tighten. "Er, um, and I'm sure there is somepony out there for you. When he comes along, I'm sure he will be perfect for you."

Twilight watched the two as they stayed there for awhile. This was another reason she was deciding to pick Lazzari. She was always full of happiness and always knew what to say in a time like this. She always had everypony's best interests at heart.

***Brooksdale Feather***

Twilight sighed again. This was going to be interesting. She looked to see several other ponies where looking at her again. She put on a smile and stepped forward again. "Please, I'm sure you wish to get more information." Twilight made a gesture away, pointing towards another group of lined up ponies. " These royal advisors will be happy to give you more information. I wish i could stay and help explain more, but I must be on my way back to Ponyville. I hope to see some of these bright young fillies and colts after the summer is over!" Twilight flashed another forced smile and turned and walked away from the eyes all looking to her. Several royal guards followed her out as she walked threw the second set of doors leading out of the garden.

***

Twilight sighed and drooped her head once the doors to the garden closed. Was this a good idea? Could she make a difference in these young ponies lives. What if things blow completely up in her face. She is, after all, putting ponies who had drug problems and emotional problems into the mix. She had solutions for this... but most wouldn't like them. She sighed and sat down and leaned against the wall.

"Gee Twilight, Could you have been more veag to them?"

A very familiar, feminine raspy voice caught Twilights ears. She looked up to see Rainbow Dash standing in front of her with the rest of her friends standing with her. Twilight flattened her ears and gave Dash a disapproving look. "Rainbow, i'm the Princess of FRIENDSHIP, it might put off the parents to hear such things come from me. I want these kids to have a better future, and I don't think saying, 'some of your kids have drug or other emotional problems' was going to go very well." She sighed, softening her gaze. "Besides, the last thing I want here is for parents to start freaking out. I told the royal advisors not to give any personal reports of specific fillies and colts. They are only to answer questions about the school."

"I don't know Twi, I don't feel very.... comfortable, lyin' to the folks. Just t'aint right. They should know whats going on in their kids lives." Applejack had stepped up, she spoke in a concerned tone. Twilight looked to her and sighed.

"I know... I just feel very weird about this whole thing. I'm all for trying to make their lives better, but...." Twilight trailed off. She had a very conflicted look on her face.

Rarity stepped up. "But?"

Twilight sighed again, this one louder and longer, followed by a very frustrated and loud groan as she flared her wings out. "I DON"T KNOW! I wish I knew why, but I can't seem to shake the feeling that something is going to go wrong here..." She groaned again, quieter this time, and buried her face in her hooves. Fluttershy stepped forward and sat down beside Twilight and rubbed her shoulders.

"Don't worry Twilight, no matter what happens we are all going to be there. We are all here to help. How about you tell us about some of these students you found." Fluttershy said, trying to lighten the mood a bit, while smiling warmly at Twilight. Twilight gave a smile right back at her.

"Well they are all very... Interesting. All of them have some sort of emotional or physical problem, but three of the fillies really stand out. First, there's Hemlock Blossom. She's an 8th year unicorn mare. She has quite the foul mouth, she has difficulty being friendly to others. and on top of it, she has some drug problems. I specifically plan to assign her to Applejack, Fluttershy and myself." She paused, taking another glance around to see her friends where listening intently. She smiled and continued. "There is Brooksdale Feather. She is very blunt and most of the time way to honest. Its gotten her into a situation where others don't like to be around her. I plan on having her take some honesty lessons with Applejack, but i'll mostly keep her to basic courses with friendship. Other than that, I haven't seen any other problems with her. But I have a feeling something else is going on under her brutally honest personality." She paused again and took a long sigh and looked down, frowning. "Then there is Lazzari.... She is... interesting to say the least. I'll have to show you all my report on her to let you have a full grasp of her problems I've seen so far. What about all of you? How did your searches go?" She asked, shifting the discussion slightly.

Pinkie Pie bounced up, smiling really wide. "OH OH OH, I found some pretty interesting ponies that are sure to help the dynamic of the school, so it's not so.... angry, hehe." Pinkie exclaimed sheepishly. Twilight giggled a bit. This was exactly what Twilight wanted Pinkie to do. Without some silly or fun ponies the school would just feel like a war zone.

Rarity stepped up next. "I found a few fabulous young fillies and colts, but I will have to show you my report on two young fillies found In Manehatten." Rarity said while flipping her mane.

"I pretty much found the generic troubled fillies and colts. Nothin' to extreme, but enough to need a small push in the right direction." Applejack said, tipping her hat.

"I found a lot of ponies struggling with confidence. I even found a griffin. I'll have to show you my report on them all." Fluttershy chimed in. They all looked to Rainbow Dash who had yet to say what she found.

"Well Twi, I'll be honest, lots of the ponies I found had the same problems. But one stands out from the rest. He is a weird case. His report is like, 7 pages long." Rainbow said. She looked back to Twilight, who was now in the process of standing up.

"Well girls, it looks like we have quite the challenge on our hooves. So let's not waste anymore time. We should all head back to Ponyville and start preparations around the school. We will receive letters from all the family's who are deciding to allow their student to attend our new school." Twilight said as she and her friends started for the doors leading out to the hall.

***

White Void watched as the Princess left. 'This school will be focused on students who have difficulties in their lives.' Those words just kept repeating in his head, over and over again. He knew Laz had some troubles, but... was it really bad enough to catch the princesses attention? Was Laz hiding something from them? He was extremely confused. But now he was more worried. He turned back to Laz, and she looked terrified. She looked as if anymore questions would break her. He hated seeing his daughter this way, and he wasn't sure what to do. Should he ask her about it? Should he press for details? He was at a complete loss. He sighed quietly to himself and looked back to the ground. No, he shouldn't press her for anything. He can't just make her talk, if anything that will only make it worse. If she wants to tell them what's going on, she'll do it once she's ready. He knew his daughter well. Even if she had been hiding something from them, he still knew who she was as a pony. If she wanted to talk, she'd talk. He turned his head back up and meet her eyes. He quickly changed his expression to an understanding and caring one.

"Laz, why don't we go find out some information about this knew school. Who knows, maybe you might want to go there." He said. He saw Blush Brush give him a disapproving look, but he ignored it. If this whole days events was to tell anything, it was that Laz was not completely honest with how things at school where going. He wanted to get to the bottom of it just as much as his mother did, but he wasn't about to push a subject that clearly made her feel uncomfortable. He got up and walked beside her towards the royal advisors waiting to talk. He recognised a few of them, having seen them running about the palace many times before. He was sure his mother knew them all by name by now. He picked a red unicorn mare and stood in front of her. "Excuse me, but, could we have a bit more information about this knew school. I'm not so sure about all of this. I think having some better details might help the situation a bit." He said, keeping his composure as calm as possible.

The mare smiled and used her magic to levitate over what looked like a pamphlet, and handed it to him. "This will answer lots of questions that don't get answered right here. What do you want to know?" The mare asked in a kind tone, which made Void much more comfortable.

He looked down at the pamphlet and it said 'Friendship Academy' on it. "Well, first, I was hoping to get a bit more background on what Twilight meant by, 'Difficulties' when she spoke."

Laz was staring nervously at the ground. She was freaking out. what had Twilight seen? Was she seriously enough to catch the princesses attention? There were more than enough private moments she had while the princess was there, had she seen all of them? What did her dad think? What did her grandparents think? what in equestria was she going to do? She had so many questions in her head. She was starting to freak out. But she saw how calm her dad looked and it put her a bit at ease for the moment. She just couldn't get a plain read on the situation yet. The red mares voice caught her ears again as she started to speak.

"Well, While the princess was here, she observed many students and many different schools. She was specifically looking for students who may have some troubles in their lives that could possibly be dragging them down, or disturbing their performance at school. Thankfully I know your family, thanks to Blush Brush I've heard alot about Laz here. And while I can not share the Princess personal reports with you on Laz, I can tell you that Princess Twilight saw some things and qualities in her that she would like for her school. Twilight and the rest of her friends weren't just out looking for troubled kids. Having a school full of just fillies and colts that have personal problems would be a bad idea. There were other factors in looking for a student. Lots of factors being how they interact with others. What kind of air does this pony give off. How do they present themselves to others. Among many others, and the Princess saw not just the bad qualities that could be helped with Lazzari, but also many good qualities that could be improved even more. Things such as strong loyalty and extreme compassion and kindness. These qualities will help make the environment at the school much less stressful and make it easier for the students to interact and get along with each other well." The mare finished with a bright smile. Blush brush suddenly stepped up, a look of concern all over her face.

"Wait, Sunbeam, you said Bad qualities. What signifies as bad qualities?" She asked, lowering but turning her ears forward.

"Well, I can say right here and right now Blush, Laz does not have any problems in the more severe categories of focus. Many fillies and colts were chosen based on how their home life seemed or if they had some clear substance abuse problems. I know you and your family, so I know for a fact that you don't have to worry about that. And like I said I can't give you the report the princess has on Laz, but i can tell you what the report entailed. She had seen some emotional things from Laz that could mean disaster for her future if left unchecked. It's not my place to say much on it, but the Princess has requested you not push the matter if she doesn't want to talk about it. She made a clear point to push across that the last thing she wanted was for the students to feel uncomfortable with the whole thing. I hope you understand." Sunbeam said, putting a soft, understanding smile on.

They all looked extremely concerned now. As if this situation wasn't confusing enough. Chocolate Glaze stepped forward this time. He looked very concerned but he hardened his gaze.

"You said other fillies and colts who had clear substance abuse problems. I know I don't have to worry about our little Lazie on that front, but, how does the princess intend to handle these ponies? If they have abuse problems what's going to stop them from using or trying to get others into using as well?" It was a very good question. One Sunbeam was ready for.

"Several therapy sessions and lessons will be held throughout the course of the first month to help the students see the importance of their own health. All the while for the first month they will be chaperoned outside the school by a staff member if they wish to leave the campus. We hae several Experts on site for such matters and you don't have to worry about a thing. Students are being paired together in dormitories based on reports that where given. And of course, separated by gender. The campus is quite large. In the pamphlet I gave you, It has a date and time for after the end of the school year. This is for if you want to tour the campus before hoof and make your decision then." Sunbeam pointed to the pamphlet in White voids magic. "Any other questions?"

Laz turned to look at her family seeing they where all pondering things. She stepped forward, looking nervous. "How involved will, the family's be in this whole process?" Laz asked. She knew her family loved her, but she wasn't sure how involved she wanted her family to be in a personal endeavor. Sunbeam smiled.

"Families are going to be asked to keep their distance. They are all allowed to send as many letters as they wish to their filly or colt and keep in as close communication with them as they would like. A report will be sent out every semester on grades and performance at the school. So the parents or guardians will never have to worry about how their student is doing so far from home." She explained. This earned a sigh of relief from all three of the ponies in front of her and a nod from Lazzari.

Laz internally sighed in relief. She was heavily considering this new option. She took a moment to glance around, looking for her friends. She saw hemlock almost immediately. It was kind of hard to miss her fire red hair against her almost snow white cote. She noticed her father asking her a lot of questions, and she was struggling to answer them. He looked very confused. Laz knew that Hemlock was never one to talk to her family, most of the time she shut herself in her bedroom and played video games alone. That's just what she preferred. At least that's what she thought hemlock preferred. Laz sighed looking around again. The next pony was much harder to find due to her not so unique color patterns.

She looked around harder until her eyes caught a tan color and she fixed on it. Feather was sitting still stiff as a statue while talking to another royal advisor. She looked incredibly scared. She had never seen Feather look this flustered about something other than being broken up with. She couldn't help but wonder why she had been chosen. What did the princess see in Feather? Miss Sunbeam said something about the princess and her friends looking for other qualities in ponies to lighten the mood of the school. Could this be one of the reasons she was chosen?

She sighed and shook her head out gently. She had a choice to make now. She didn't know if she wanted to go to this new school yet. She knew she would have plenty of time to think about it though. She sighed as she turned to her family. They were all looking at her. some concern and curiosity in their eyes. She then realised that she was going to have to try and explain things to them. Just how to do that though?...

Chapter 3

View Online

It had been three weeks, the school was now over, and Lazzari had a lot to think about. Her family had decided to not bring up anything until school was over, upon her request so she could focus on finals. She had a very big decision to make. One that her family made clear they would allow solely her to make. She sighed as she walked out of the school. She thought about saying a possible goodbye to some ponies, but the only ponies she could think to say goodbye to might possibly be going with her.

"LAZ, HEY LAZ!"

Laz's ears shot up so fast that they almost whipped off her head. That was a voice she would never ever get tired of hearing. She turned and smiled immediately as Feather galloped up to her. "Whats up feather?"

"Hey, you down to go to Lunabucks? I'm sooooooo craving a freaking iced white chocolate mocha right now." Feather said, leaning into laz' side gently as they walked.

Laz giggled and nodded vigorously. "School is finally over, cramming is over. I'm just about ready to keel over from exhaustion, I could definitely go for an iced caramel latte." She smiled as she saw Feather giggle. "Especially when it's with one of my best friends."

Feather smiled even wider and blushed a little in embarrassment. "Oh stop it you, I'm not that great." She said sheepishly.

"Yes, you are," Laz said quickly while continuing to look straightforward.

"God, there is no arguing with you, is there, miss Stonewall?" Feather asked sarcastically, giggling more.

Laz chuckled and nudged Feather gently with her wing. "And never forget it."

The two mares giggled and laughed all along their way to the Lunabucks in town, talking and laughing. They had ordered and got their drinks and both sat in the grass area outside the restaurant under one of the crystal trees. The two mares sat and talked for a while, exchanging questions about their classes and classmates.

Laz picked up her iced latte and took a sip, immediately her wing feathers ruffled out as she sighed, content with her drink. Feather smiled as she looked at her. She could always tell when Laz was happy, her wings would always ruffle a bit. Her ears drooped slightly as she thought for a moment.

"Say... Have you thought about the 'Friendship Academy' lately?" Feather suddenly asked, catching Laz a little off guard.

Laz coughed slightly before holding it down. She looked towards Feather and noticed her slightly somber expression and picked up on her tone. "Not really, why?"

Feather sighed as she took another sip from her coffee. "I just don't know if I want to go there... I mean, I'm all for new experiences and such, but I'm just not sure I want to leave my parents behind. You're my only REAL friend at Crystal Grove, but my parents did a lot for me... I'm sure you of all ponies, can understand my dilemma here... Right?"

Laz stared at Feather, her left eye twitching subtly. She took a moment to think about how she would respond. How do you tell your best friend that you don't know how that feels, without it coming off as offensive? "Well, I guess in a way I know what you mean... My dad cares a lot about me and would move mountains for me... but, I don't really have much going for me here. I could have a better chance there, but I could also be leaving and going to something worse." Laz looked towards Feather, her ears were flopped down and she looked incredibly sad. Laz knew this look, that was the look feather gave when she was upset about being confused. Feather was having a hard time making this decision, and so was she. Suddenly a thought struck her. She smiled and turned to look back at Feather.

"Hey! I know what we can do to help us decide! Let's both go on the campus tour together! That way we can both see what would be awaiting us there." Laz said cheerfully. She smiled as she saw Feather's expression change from sad to happy in an instant. "It would also give us a chance to meet some possible classmates!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Laz! That's honestly a great idea. when is it again? in a week from today?" Feather asked excitedly in return. Laz nodded.

"In a week from today." She confirmed. Feather happily clapped her hooves and her feathers ruffled slightly. "Well if I do decide to go, then at least I know I'll have one friend there!"

Laz smiled and turned her head up. Her eyes landed on a clock as it read 4:30 pm. "We should probably both get home before our families start to worry about us. I'll see you at the station in a week." She said getting up and readying to throw her cup away. Feather followed her actions but before she could turn again to say bye, father gave her a big hug. Laz hesitated for a moment, she still didn't like being touched, but for feather, she was always willing. She returned the embrace, tightly hugging her best friend.

"Thanks, Laz... For everything. You always there for me when I need you the most. One day, I'll return the favor to you. You deserve it. You don't deserve half the shit that happens to you... or has happened to you. Your an amazing pony and I hope that you know I'm always here for you." Feather quietly said, holding Laz in the hug for a little longer than usual.

Laz blinked in surprise as she heard the words from Feather. She had never heard such strong feelings from her. Was the announcement of the school bringing this out? Did Feather care about her more than she originally thought? She cared so much about Feather, she always felt like she could talk to her, and she made that clear by spilling her feelings about Hemlock a couple of times... But... She had yet to even speak about her family life with Feather. They had only known each other for a year. The topic of the family hadn't really come up a whole lot with them. She knew that Feather knew about her situation with her mother, but what was all that she said about other stuff? She brushed it off for the moment, just continuing to hug her friend tight with the nice embrace. "Thanks, Feather. That means a lot to me, it really does."

***

Feather sighed, walked into her house, and set her saddlebag on the ground in front of the door. She felt the touch of soft fur against her leg and looked down to see her cat rubbing against her leg. She smiled reaching down and scratching gently right behind her cat's ear and petting her. She blinked as a sound caught her ears. She could hear the sound of clattering from the kitchen. She quickly sniffed the air smiling wide as the smell of her favorite food meets her nose. She quickly trotted into the kitchen to see her father had made grilled fish, with corn and mashed potatoes. She smiled wide as her father turned towards her hearing her hoofsteps.

"Hey Feather, I made your favorite. Where were you?" The stallion asked keeping his tone light.

"Oh, I went to Lunabucks with Laz and we sat and talked for a while." She said making her way over to the table to join her mother. The older mare at the table smiled and looked at Feather.

"Have you thought about the Friendship Academy lately?" The mare asked taking a sip of her water.

"Yeah, actually I and Laz were talking about it just a few minutes ago. She suggested we go to the campus tour together, and then make our decision after." She said, smiling.

"That sounds like a good idea, naturally we will have to come with you on this trip. We want to know and see where our daughter will be staying, if you chose to go to this new school." The mare said, smiling warmly at her daughter. Her father entered carrying three plates on his wings. he set one in front of Feather and the other in front of his wife and proceed to sit across from his wife. He smirked devilishly as he spoke up.

"If you do choose to go, just don't go breaking any hearts." He said smugly. Feather chuckled and shot him a sarcastic look.

"Have I ever."

"HA." Her father chuckled loudly as he picked up his fork. "In all seriousness though..." he paused. "The princess said this school was meant for students who are struggling with life. Is there anything you want to talk about, you don't have to be afraid of talking to us, we are both always here for you." He said, a calm, caring gentle voice to his words. Feather smiled softly at her father's words.

"Thanks, dad, but to be honest I'm not sure why the princess chose me. I personally know two of the other ponies she chose for the school, and my issues pale in comparison to theirs. If anything, I think the princess may have chosen me to be a 'lighten the mood' kind of pony. When we spoke with the royal advisors they said that other ponies were chosen based on personality. So it's possible that the princess realised having a whole bunch of grumpy or sad fillies and colts in one school was a bad idea. I have to be the pony that keeps the mood light-hearted among the frey of grouch." She giggled as she finished, smiling at both her parents. "I'm fine, really. I'm very happy where I am in my life right now, I have two awesome parents, some amazing siblings, and the greatest best friend I could ever ask for."

The two parents smiled at their daughter's words, finding heavy relife in them. The stallion smiled and looked towards his wife. "So, are you wanting to go to the campus tour next week?"

Feather smiled wide and nodded. "Actually, I and Laz were just talking about that at Lunabuck's. We both want to go on the tour together, and make our decision then."

"Well then, I guess it's settled."

***

Hemlock scowled as she walked into her home, grunting as a young stallion nudged her in the shoulder aggressively from behind her, pushing her aside to get in first. "Do you seriously always have to be an asshole!?" Hemlock exclaimed, stomping her hoof on the ground.

"PFSH, maybe if you weren't always such a bitch." The stallion said flatly.

"Gee, thanks Roge, so much brotherly love I'm feeling over here," Hemlock said in a flat unamused tone.

"Whatever." The stallion scoffed and walked towards the stairs, walking up them to go to his room.

Hemlock sighed taking her bag off and setting it on the wall beside the stairs as she walked into the kitchen. She saw her father sitting at the table, looking at the 'Friendship Academy' pamphlet. She ignored it and went to the fridge and grabbed some lunch meat and cheese and other condiments to make a sandwich. Her father noticed the noise instantly and turned his head to look at her.

"So, you wanna go to the campus tour in a week?" He asked, quickly earning a groan from Hemlock.

"Do I have a choice? You're going to drag me to it anyway." She said sharply, earning a glare from her father.

"Blossom, honey, I want this decision to be yours, and yours alone!" He softened his tone and got up and lifted her chin with his hoof. "If you decide to go, you could have a better life. You could make more friends and be happier. I couldn't get what was going on with you, and I don't think I ever will, but believe me, I want you to be happy Blossom. It sucks seeing you alone all the time." He paused and sighed. "And if I'm being completely honest, I know you not happy here. I know you don't like your stepmother and stepsister all too well, and your brother doesn't do a very good job of being a supportive big brother either." He paused again, looking down at her as she let her ears flop down. He took a moment to think and smiled as an idea came to mind. "Tell you what, I overheard while walking home that Laz and feather are going to the tour together. I know you don't like Feather but from what I've seen, she comes with the territory of being friends with Laz. But maybe we could join them for the tour! Who knows, it might be fun!" He exclaimed looking towards his daughter and seeing her expression lighten ever so slightly at the mention of Laz.

Hemlock rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Fine, I'll go"

***

Laz looked into her mirror and just simply stared at herself. She sat her saddlebag on the ground next to her dresser and grabbed her hairbrush and started brushing her mane. She stared into the mirror and just contemplated what to do and say. Her family was all waiting for her downstairs, ready to talk about the 'Friendship Academy'. What would she say though? She knew they were going to ask her about what the princess had said. But was she ready to make such a confession? She sighed as she walked towards her door and glided down the stairs and landed in the living room where her family was waiting.

She smiled and approached them nervously. "Hey so, uh..." She trailed off avoiding eye contact with them. White Void sighed and got up from his seat and approached Lazzari.

"Laz, we had a discussion as a group, and we decided that If you don't feel ready to talk about anything then you don't have to talk about anything. All we want to know is if you want to go to this new school. You're young, but you're smarter than any other filly your age and can make this decision on your own. We just want you to be happy." Void said, placing a hoof on Laz's back gently. Laz smiled warmly at him and looked to her grandparents who nodded in agreement. She chuckled and looked back to her father.

"Actually, Feather and I have decided that we are going on the tour of the school together. After the tour, we are making our decision then."

***

Twilight passed around her castle throne room. All 5 of her best friends and Starlight glimmer were with her.

"Twilight, everything is ready, you need to calm down and stop freaking out so much." Starlight spoke up, but got no response, she furrowed her brow and flattened her ears. "Tell you what twilight why don't we go over the first week of school activitys, we haven't double-checked that list yet." Starlight levitated a scroll over to twilight which got her attention. Twilight took the scroll with her magic and sighed and sat down in her chair at the table.

"Your right Starlight, I need to calm down. Let's just go over this for now." Twilight unrolled the list and looked at the top and looked towards Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, do you have your kindness lesson planed out?" She got a nod in return from Fluttershy.

"Yes, and Discord has agreed to join me on it. I figure it would be good to have a creature that's been helped with kindness, show the students what kindness can do for them." Fluttershy confirmed smiling with a slight blush. Twilight smiled and looked to Apple Jack.

"AJ, do you have your slide show ready?" Apple Jack simply nodded in response. Twilight then looked to Pinkie and rarity.

"Pinkie, Rarity, do you guys have the student party organized and set up for them?"

"Darling, with me and Pinkie in charge or it, the party will be smashing and the talk of the town! I already have the decor planed out and table arrangements" Rarity exclaimed. Pinkie bounced up and shoved a list towards Twilight.

"I already have a list of all the fun and existing party games to play, and all the food is set up for catering, AAAAAAANNND Cheesy is helping me with the entertainment!" Pinkie bounced excitedly and giggled while plopping back into her seat. Twilight smiled and giggled and the display. Finally Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow, where you able to convince Soarin to come to talk to the kids Once school starts? I know it's a lot to ask of him, I know he doesn't like talking, or even thinking about that part of his life, but I really do think his experience could be beneficial to the students." Twilight gave Dash a hopeful look. Rainbow smirked and chuckled.

"It took some work, but I convinced him. I told him about a lot of the students and their struggles, and he, after days of talking about it finally agreed after setting aside his fears of publicly talking about it." Rainbow said, her voice confident and smug. Apple Jack looked towards Dash and grinned snarkily.

"Are ya sure, your "convincing", didn't have anything to do with you being his wife?" Apple Jack jabbed and snickered.

Dash shot a glare towards Apple Jack and pouted while puffing her cheeks out. "AJ, our marriage was not a consideration in the decision. I made it clear that it was his choice and his choice alone." Dash shot back.

Apple Jack chuckled and waved her hoof. "Aw, come on RD, you know I'm just teasing ya. Yall are too cute not to tease."

Rainbow blushed and pouted angrily at Apple jack, but then a smarmy grin form on her lips. "I don't know AJ, You and Rara are pretty cute. Your a bigger deal than me and Soarin are and we are BOTH celebrities." Rainbow chuckled and she got an angry pout from Apple Jack, who quickly shut her mouth and covered her face with her hat to conceal her blush.

"OK, Back on task!" Twilight quickly cut off the conversation as she looked towards Dash. "I'm glad you could convince Soarin, Rainbow. His inclusion with the first weeks events will be helpful in opening eyes to the dangers of what they could be doing to themselves."

"No problem Twi, in all honesty though, once I told him he'd be helping shape the minds and lives of a bunch of young ponies he was 100% on board," Dash said happily, will rubbing her hoof that had a marriage band on it. Twilight smiled and the small display of love displayed by the usually brash and energetic Rainbow Dash.

"Well then girls, We have one week until the campus tour. Be sure your all ready."

***

A week had passed since Lazzari had her discussion with her family. They had all agreed to let it go, understanding that she didn't want to talk about it. They all sat on the platform to the train station, saddlebags in hoof. Laz was sitting with Feather, talking and laughing, Hemlock had shown up and was quietly sitting on the other side of Laz, doing her best to avoid any confrontation with Feather. White Void was talking with his mother and Stepfather, along with Feather's parents and Hemlock's Dad. Other students who had been supposed to the announcement were there as well.

Suddenly a station attendant shouted, "Train to Ponyville arrives in five minutes!"

The girls all jumped and Laz and Feather giggled and bounced excitedly while Hemlock grunted in discontent but smiled. She was just as excited as her friend was and she couldn't hide it.

Feather giggled and nudged Laz. "So, you think there will be any cute colts there?" She asked, giving Laz a sly smirk. Laz blushed and gently shoved Feather away.

"Oh, please, not all of us are eager to see stallions at this school." She giggled and blushed, cracking a smirk. "But I would be lying if I said I wouldn't be hoping for that."

Feather giggled and looked over Laz's shoulder at Hemlock. "What about you Hemlock? Hope to see any attractive mares?" She said, no malice or teasing in her voice. Hemlock looked at her shocked. Feather had asked her a question that was serious? Hell must have frozen over!

"Uh, I guess." She said, hesitating to answer. Laz giggled at her hesitation. It was no secret to her that Hemlock liked mares. She made it very clear the first day they met. It was kinda funny to see her friend all flustered. But before she could say anything, the train pulled up awaiting its passengers.

***

They had all arrived in Ponyville. It was 1 p.m and the train ride had taken five hours to get there. Twilight had treated them at the station and was taking them to the campus.

Laz's eyes widened as she saw the size of the campus. It was bigger than a modern-day university. Off to the side, there were tall buildings that looked like dormitories. The main building itself was large and made completely of crystal. At least she would sort of feel at home. The main access doors were large and made of clear crystal, with an 'FA' on them. Once the doors were opened, Laz's eyes widened even further. This place was huge! The walls were a dark Blue crystal shade and there were pillars of light blue crystal jutting out. As they began walking around, Laz was not paying attention at all to where she was going.

She flinched as she walked right into something very large and... furry? She grunted as she plopped onto the floor on her plot, the fall caused her mane to flow over her eye, obscuring her view. She was a bit dazed, because whatever she bumped into was incredibly large... and hard... She shook her head out gently, pushing her mane out of her face. Her eyes widened, her pupils shrinking in size and her mouth hung agape. In front of her, was an incredibly large pony, er, dragon?

Art by: Foxenawolf

She wasn't quite sure what to make of him. She continued to stare at him wide-eyed as the creature glared at her from above. He looked to be a mixture of a dragon and a pony. He had almost midnight black fur, and his mane was a very dark royal purple shade. He also had a pair of horns that stuck out of his mane on top of his head that was the same color as his fur. His tail was long, thin, and had no hair on it except at the end of it, where a tuft of purple hair whipped at the end. These were all defining features of him, but the biggest one was his size. This Stallion was MASSIVE, easily 5 times the size of herself. She realized quickly that she had run into the bottom of his chest, face first. she remembers that what she had run into felt hard and she quickly scanned him over. He was very built, his muscles were large but didn't look over-pumped. In fact, it didn't look like he lifted weights at all, it just looked as if this was his natural form. She glanced at his sizeds and all her breath left her lungs. His wings where as large as she was! She could feel herself shrinking even closer to the ground as she stared. This Stallion could easily crush her if he wanted and he was giving her a very irritated glare.

Laz was quickly broken from her shocked state when he growled, it sounded deep and very menacing, making his already intimidating appearance, even more intimidating. She quickly looked at his face and saw he was gritting his teeth, but that's not what struck her the most. His top and bottom K9 teeth were very large and VERY sharp. if he wanted he could easily bite something and it would be pierced upon being bitten. She quickly took a weak stance and made herself even smaller curling up on the ground, giving the stallion the most horrified expression she could muster in hopes he would pity her and go away without doing anything.

Then suddenly a green aura surrounded her and expanded into a small shield around her. She blinked looking at the aura, as two larger white legs stood on each side of her. She looked up to see her father standing protectively over her, giving the stallion the sharpest glare he could muster. His teeth were pressed together so hard and his face was scrunched up in a snarl. Void began growling at the stallion, brightening the glow of his magic around Laz.

The mysterious stallions glare and growl instantly went away, and was instead replace with a flat neutral look. He backed up a little giving space between him and the stallion before him. Void growled as he spoke. "You got a problem with my daughter, kid?" He said, continuing to grit his teeth.

Suddenly an older Pegasus mare landed roughly to the ground in front of the large stallion. She had a shoulder-length, black mane and long flowing tail Her fur was a very light Lavender color that blended to dark purple at the ends of her hooves. Her eyes where a radiant golden yellow, and those eyes were glaring right at void. "Do YOU have a problem with my son, cuz from what I saw YOUR daughter ran into HIM." She said in a very protective tone.

The two parents begin to bicker and argue, but Laz was still staring right at the stallion. He wasn't looking at her so this was her chance to get a full, unfiltered look at his face. He was actually quite handsome. He had a very defined jawline, and his eyes where a deep purple that looked like they could gleam in the moonlight. If only he didn't come off as so scary. She flinched very hard and froze as the stallion suddenly turned his attention to her again. Only this time he didn't snarl nor glare. he just looked at her with the unchanged flat neutral expression. He was staring directly at her eyes for a good few seconds, and then his eyes shifted to her wings. She noticed his subtle head tilt as he looked at them. She turned to look at her wings, they were slightly open and shaking. She quickly clamped her wings to her sides, she could almost feel his gaze still on her before she even looked back. His eyes were still trained on her wings his expression changed very subtly in confusion. But before anything else could happen, and she could die of embarrassment anymore, a rainbow blur crossed her vision and stopped right in between the two bickering parents, who were practically screaming at each other.

"OK! that's enough! I expected the kids to fight a little, but I didn't expect this from the parents." Rainbow Dash said in a slightly annoyed but amused tone. She quickly turned her head in Laz's direction first, seeing her shaking and looking a little scared. She ten snapped her head towards the stallion and glared. "Seriously Willow? you couldn't have chosen, oh, I don't know, a less timid looking pony to scare the feathers off of?" She asked, slightly annoyed. "You scare Miss Fluttershy enough with just your size and this filly is smaller than her!"

Laz watched as the stallion, Willow was his name? Like the soft, gentle trees that flowed in the wind? Her attention was pulled away again as he quickly grunted and turned his head away, scrunching his face in annoyance after being scolded by one of the teachers. He took a deep breath and let the air out through his nose, which released some smoke, confirming that he was indeed a half-dragon. He then turned his eyes back to Laz as he stopped scrunching his face and put his neutral, unaffected look back on.

"Sorry if I scared you, but you should really watch where you're going." He said.

Lazzari was completely and utterly entranced by his voice. It was low and deep, not too deep though. It was smooth and soft sounding as well. She blinked as he continued to look at her, he lifted an eyebrow at her as she stared. She quickly shook her head out, realizing that she had almost not taken her eyes off him for almost the whole exchange. She blushed very red in embarrassment, and fumbled to try and find the right words. "Uh, it's ok, I guess," she said, blushing even deeper red as she covered her face with her wing and hid behind her father. He looked at her, puzzled as to what could have gotten his daughter into such a state. He looked back to willow and saw he was rolling his eyes and walking away, his mother slowly turning to follow while still glaring at void.

Void turned to his daughter, his face contorted and scrunch angrily. "What the hell crawled up her ass and played 10 dozen eggs." He mumbled under his breath, loud enough so that Laz could hear it. Laz snapped her head back to her father, wide-eyed and shoved a hoof to her mouth quickly as her cheeks puffed out and air escaped from the sides of her mouth. She tried to hold back the laughter but a few snickers escaped her throat. Void smiled, it always made him happy that he was one of few ponies that could get this reaction from her. He could always make her laugh and could always make her smile, even when she was incredibly sad. He flinched as Rainbow Dash cleared her throat behind them.

Rainbow smiled and chuckled nervously twirling her hooves a bit on the floor. "Heh, sorry about that... Willow is one of our... special case students. He seems very intimidating at first glance, but he's a just a real big softie on the inside. He wasn't too thrilled to be here either. Again sorry about him, it won't happen again."

Laz perked up and stepped up. "Oh, no, I should be the one apologizing, I ran into him while looking around cuz I wasn't looking where I was going. It's not his fault," she said doing her best to defend Willow at the moment. The last thing she wanted at the moment was for her actions to have caused another student to have a bad reputation before school even started.

Rainbow smiled and gave Laz a confident smirk. "Say is your name Lazzari?" She asked calmly. Laz looked at her in disbelief. Not once throughout that whole exchange did her name get said.

"Yes, but... How did you know my name?" she asked.

"Your one of Twilights sp-" Rainbow was abruptly cut off by a tan blur whizzing past her. A young tan pegasus mare was standing in front of Laz, her hooves on lazy cheeks and pressing them together, while squealing.

"GAH, FEATHER WHAT THE-" Laz yelped

"COME ON LAZ! I HAVE TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING!" Feather exclaimed, immediately pulling laz along with her somewhere unseen in the sea of ponies, leaving Void and Rainbow Dash alone.

Over The Moon and Through The Fire

by Lazzari

The Letter

Chapter 2: Our Flaws Make us Real

Chapter 3