With Princess Twilight herself leading the lesson, things went along about as you'd expect. All the students were sitting in alphabetical order, all neatly arranged according to the head-mare's lists. Everycreature had their books out and were meticulously taking notes, though admittedly not as much as Twilight herself would do. There were charts and graphs plastered all over the chalk-board before them, and Twilight herself, smiling happily as she paced up and down the thing, pointed to many a statistic and page, emphasising each and every statement she made. But, she was not alone here today, as Rainbow Dash was also present, smirking slightly as her more academic colleague carried on with her lesson plan. But, this brief reprieve from her duties did not last forever, as Twilight soon turned to her, gesturing for her to come over.

"Rainbow? Would you care to discuss how your story relates to all of this?"

Though a little taken aback at first, Rainbow soon got into a proper groove for it, clearing her throat and taking a step forward, looking to the students before speaking aloud.

"Well, it all happened a while back, just around the time Twilight first came to Ponyville. My old friend, Gilda, she came over to visit me after having been away for a real long time."

A grimace came to her as she dwelt on that memory.

"Things were going well at first...but then I realised she was becoming kind of a bully to my other friends. Things...didn't go all that great between us after that."

Then, after a brief pause, a smile returned to her.

"But a few years later, when me and Pinkie went over to Griffonstone, we met up again. We had a bit of a face-off, but after a dangerous and exciting mission down a nearby chasm, she pulled through, and we were friends again!"

Twilight nodded proudly, stepping forward herself and speaking up in a firm yet reassuring tone.

"Let Rainbow's story serve as an example to you all, my students. Friends may go through many difficult times, and may even separate from one another..."

Her smile widened.

"...but if you work at it, and manage to get past those difficulties, you'll find your friendships will become stronger than ever before!"

Many students were clearly interested in that story, and were eagerly writing down notes in their books. But, amidst all this, there was one who apparently had something to say. Silverstream had her claw straight up in the air, going "ooh" several times over. Twilight, who recognised a question waiting to be asked when she saw it, giggled slightly before addressing her.

"Yes, Silverstream?"

Here, however, Silverstream hesitated, and quickly glanced over to Sandbar who, thanks to the alphabetical seating, was close by. The stallion, by contrast, was himself writing notes, and so didn't notice this look by his Hippogriff friend. Silverstream, glancing from him to Twilight and back again, eventually settled on Twilight, before starting to ask what she needed to.

"Um...I have kind of a "what if" thing to ask about all of this, if that's okay?"

Twilight's smile widened further still, and she happily clapped her hooves together.

"Ooooh! A hypothetical scenario? How delightful!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes to that, but said nothing as Twilight assumed her more professional appearance, clearing her throat slightly.

"I mean...go ahead."

Again, Silverstream cast a nervous glance in Sandbar's direction, and when she looked back to her head-mare, she started asking her question with a suspicious lack of her usual positive tone.

"Well...let's say there were two best friends, who maybe knew each other since they were kids, and they met up after a really, really long time."

Twilight was nodding to this, but as the question was being asked, Ocellus, Yona, Smolder and Gallus looked to Silverstream with nervousness of their own. Sandbar, meanwhile, was simply starting to look uncomfortable, but said nothing as the pink Hippogriff continued.

"And let's also say that one of these two friends started acting...well...mean. As in...really mean. Meaner than anycreature should be. The kind of mean that just hurts really bad."

She nervously poked the ends of her claws together.

"If the other friend, the one who was hearing all that, decided to...well...end their friendship...would that be...um...okay? You know...under the circumstances?"

Twilight blinked, looking somewhat taken aback that her student would ask such a question. For a moment, she looked over to Rainbow, who just shrugged her shoulders, before turning back to Silverstream, assuming her prior smile.

"Well, I realise that a situation like that would be very difficult, but, as you all heard from Rainbow, ending a friendship may well only be a temporary thing."

Shutting her eyes, she took on a look that suggested absolute confidence in what she was saying.

"After all, friendships are important. And while one friend may be trying at times, cutting them out of your life is by no means the answer. For as we should all come to learn here at this school...friendships can last forever."

"...You're wrong."

Instantly, Twilight's eyes snapped open, and she scoured the collection of students before her to find the one who had spoken. It was Sandbar, who was simply looking down at his notebook right now. They way he'd said that, it didn't sound like he was angry or sad. It just sounded, for lack of a better word, resigned. Though looking a touch uncertain, Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"I...I realise that it may take a lot of work to hold onto friendship, but you'll always find that it's worth it."

But Sandbar, now slowly raising his head, looked her right in the eye.

"...You're wrong."

The same words, and the same tone. He'd meant what he'd said, and all the other students, his friends especially, looked to him with utter bewilderment. For nocreature had ever said such a thing to their head-mare during one of her classes like this, yet there he was, saying exactly that. Twilight, naturally, was completely shocked to have been spoken to in such a way, and Rainbow too was pretty confused as to what was going on. But then, before anycreature had a chance to say anything, the school bell suddenly rang, which shook Twilight out of her shocked state. As she watched her students start to pack away their books, she assumed, at least for the moment, the image of the professional teacher.

"Yes...um...I want you all to read chapters two-through-four tonight and make notes. Study hard and...well...enjoy the rest of your evening."

The other students began to trickle out of the lecture hall, but all the while, Twilight kept her gazed fixed on Sandbar. When he began to move away from his spot, however, Twilight halted him with her words.

"Mr Sandbar...could you stay behind after class...please?"

Her eyes drifted over some of her other students also.

"...And your friends as well?"

Sandbar stopped where he was, as did Ocellus, Gallus and the others. The remaining students walked out, unsure of what to make of all this, but never saying anything about it, all while those six remained. Eventually, the lecture hall was vacated, save for Twilight, Rainbow and the six youths. Now alone here, the youngsters made their way to the front of the class, practically lining up in front of their head-mare, and Twilight herself, after looking them over, made sure all the other students were gone, lest anycreature listen in on this private meeting. Eventually, she focused her gaze on Sandbar specifically.

"So...would anycreature like to tell me what that was all about?"

The group looked to one another, with Ocellus especially keeping her eyes on Sandbar, seeming particularly concerned for him. Eventually, and after enduring the inquisitive stare of her teacher, Silverstream was the first to speak.

"It was my fault, Princess! Just a silly little thing I thought about, no need to worry about it!"

But Twilight wasn't buying it, and raised a single eyebrow to show this. Silverstream looked away from her, unable to look her teacher in the eye, and Twilight, in response, let out a long sigh.

"Look...whatever it is...it's clearly bothering you all. If you tell me...I'll be able to help you."

Sandbar, who had been looking down at the ground this whole time, slowly looked back up to the head-mare, and Twilight, in turn, looked to him. The two stared at one another for a minute or two, and at the end of it, Sandbar began to speak, albeit with a somewhat hesitant tone.

"I...I had a friend. Comet. We hadn't seen each other since we were kids, and...he came to visit me the other week."

Twilight nodded, and Rainbow, walking beside her, cocked her head to the side.

"And...things didn't go so well?"

Sandbar frowned, glancing away from them briefly.

"Things started okay...until he met Ocellus."

The young Changeling, upon being mentioned, also looked away, looking like she was clearly uncomfortable about something. But, as before, she said nothing as her boyfriend continued.

"Comet was...not happy about meeting her. When I told her she and I were close, he...he..."

Slowly, he looked back to Twilight, his eyes narrowing.

"...he was...disrespectful of her."

Twilight started to gain a look of discomfort about this story, her eyes quickly darting over to Ocellus, who was still looking away from her. Eventually, Twilight looked back to the lone pony among her students.

"Disrespectful how, exactly?"

Here, Sandbar hesitated, and looked over to Ocellus. The Changeling, for her part, glanced back to him, her expression softening. For a moment, she looked to each of her friends, and after a short while of just thinking the matter over, she let out a sigh of her own.

"It's...it's okay, guys. You can tell them."

Twilight, sensing that she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear, stepped forward, trying to speak as openly and calmly as possible.

"Whatever it is...it won't leave this room...you have my word."

With that assurance given, the other students, after quietly giving each other nervous looks, began to speak. Silverstream was the first, and was followed shortly afterwards by Yona, Smolder and Gallus. As they spoke, they began to paint a picture of the events that had transpired just a few short weeks ago. Twilight and Rainbow listened patiently, and as time went on, their expressions turned to shock, horror and even a degree of revulsion. The students described everything that had happened, every hateful word that had been thrown to Sandbar and especially to Ocellus. Rainbow, hearing this, looked like she wanted to break something, but Twilight, by contrast, listened with a look of shame upon her face. After a while, the story ended, and all that was left was a long and uncomfortable silence between them all. A silence that Twilight eventually broke.

"...I see."

Rainbow, as one would expect, turned to her alicorn friend, and appeared to be very angry.

"Let's call that little punk back here! Nopony says things like that to our students and gets away with it!"

But Twilight, of course, dealt with this with a far cooler head, and soon, her eyes focused on Ocellus. The young Changeling had been silent through her friends' telling of the story, but it was obvious to anycreature that she was still upset over what had happened, and for good reason. Taking a step forward, Twilight placed her hoof gently upon Ocellus' shoulder, gaining her attention.

"I'm...I'm so sorry, Ocellus. You didn't deserve to have such things said to you."

She frowned slightly.

"What was said...it was inexcusable. I wish...I wish my people were better than that...but I know from experience how deep that kind of hate and mistrust can go."

Ocellus, ever so slowly, gave a nod.

"Th...thank you, Princess."

Twilight nodded back, and then looked back to Sandbar. It was his anger over all this that had sparked this meeting, and now he stood silent. The retelling of the incident had upset him just as much as it had upset Ocellus, and he continued to look bitter and raw over it. Twilight, in a similar move to before, walked over to him.

"Sandbar..."

The young stallion looked to her, prompting her to continue.

"I'm sorry...that your friendship ended."

Sandbar, for his part, tried his best to keep his feelings under control as he responded.

"I...I meant no disrespect earlier, Princess, when I spoke up in the lesson. I just...I just..."

Twilight sighed, giving a slight nod.

"...I understand."

Sandbar, after a while, looked to his teacher, and seemed, of all things, worried.

"Are...are you going to ask me to reach out to him again?"

And here, Twilight understood the crux of his feelings from earlier. The way he'd said what he'd said, and the way he'd seemed so utterly opposed to what she was trying to teach. She couldn't blame him, not after what she'd heard, but at the same time, she knew she had a responsibility to be as honest with her student as she could.

"In my time...I've come to see all sorts of peoples become friends...even those who were once enemies."

She cast a brief glance to Rainbow, who gave her a silent nod, before looking back to her students.

"I have come to believe that anyone can be friends with anyone...and that even friendships that have become strained and broken can be healed, given enough time."

Her gaze focused on Sandbar.

"In fact, if I'm being completely honest here...in recent years, that notion hasn't simply been a belief for me...it's become more akin...to a rule."

To that, Sandbar started to hang his head, with the other students looking to him. Twilight, for a time, stayed quiet, but then, after thinking the matter over, she gave yet another deep sigh.

"But...funny thing about rules..."

Like with Ocellus, she placed her hoof upon Sandbar's shoulder.

"...there are always exceptions to them."

Sandbar looked to her, surprised, as indeed did the other students. Twilight, thinking over how best to say what she needed to, instead just spoke from the heart.

"Sandbar...your friendship ended for a reason...a good reason. Comet hurt you, and more importantly, he hurt someone you cared about. You have every right to be angry with him, and to not want to see him again."

A brief pause, and then she continued.

"I believe in friendships enduring...but if you've decided that you don't want yours to continue...I cannot call you wrong for choosing that."

Sandbar was more than a little surprised to hear what he was hearing, as were the other students, and Twilight, seeing their faces, soon gave a small smile.

"If you were worried that you were being a bad student of friendship...then please know...you're not."

She looked to the others.

"You stood by them. People you hadn't known that long...yet you stood up for them even in the face of one you once called friend."

The Princess then looked back to the young stallion.

"You did something a true friend would do, and for that...you should be proud of yourself."

Sandbar, though still astonished that she was saying this, nevertheless gave a nod of thanks to her words. Twilight, after nodding back to him, turned her attention to Ocellus, and here, her expression became far more serious.

"And Ocellus...words can never make right what was said to you. And since it's unlikely Comet himself will say this...let me offer you my profound apologies for the way you were treated."

Ocellus smiled to her teacher, giving a slight bow of her head.

"Thank you, Princess. I...I'm grateful to you for that."

Rainbow, stepping forward, looked to her Changeling student with utter seriousness.

"And if anycreature gives you trouble like that again, you come to us, okay kiddo?"

Ocellus nodded, giving a silent promise to do just that. And Twilight, soon afterwards, looked to the others.

"That goes for all of you...alright?"

The group nodded to that, and Sandbar, hesitating for just a moment, stepped forward.

"Th...thank you, Princess. I can't say...how much I appreciate you saying this."

Twilight smiled, giving a quick nod to her student.

"Don't worry, Sandbar...it's what we're here for."

The mood of the room lifted up from what it had been at the start of this whole debacle, and after a few moments, Sandbar and Ocellus looked to one another, smiling warmly. It was a sweet and tender moment between them, and one that all the rest of them couldn't help but be happy about. When the moment was over, the young couple looked back to their royal teacher, giving yet another bow of their heads in thanks to what she'd said, and Twilight, glancing up to the exit door of the lecture hall, soon widened her own smile as she regarded her students yet again.

"Now then...if that's all taken care of...I believe you six have a few chapters to read through."

Next Chapter: Coming Clean Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 2 Minutes