The soft voice barely travels in the School of Friendship’s atrium. “Hello there. I’m your teacher. I hope you enjoy class.”

“Um,” Pinkie Pie whispers loudly to Doug as Fluttershy flutters from one marble statue to another. “She knows those aren’t the students, right?”

Doug makes little effort to conceal his eye roll. “Yes, Pinkie, I’m pretty sure she knows.” He offers the wavering pegasus an encouraging smile. “She’s getting better!”

Fluttershy’s limbs shake as she glances at the bust she just left. All of a sudden she zips back, bowing contritely. Her words come out all in a rush. “But if you don’t like it, that’s okay, too!”

Doug sighs as Fluttershy limps off. “So close.” He intercepts her before she can slink off too far, reassuring with a hug and squeeze. “You’ll get it!”

“Mm,” Fluttershy coos, snuggling up close.

“Pretty soon,” Pinkie Pie whispers loudly to Fluttershy, “he’s going to catch on that you’re messing up on purpose.”

“I can’t hear you,” Fluttershy whispers back. “I’m too busy getting prepared for all those new students we’re going to have.”

Pinkie Pie’s eyes go wide as she realizes it’s nearly time; she levitates into the air, then disappears with a puff of confetti.

“Eeyup.” Doug turns to the rest of the mares, all gathering for the first day at the School of Friendship. Chrysalis looks out of place, as does Spoiled Rich; both loiter in opposite corners by themselves. Tables line the walls, topped with stacks of folders and signup sheets. Another has refreshments spread out and a large punch bowl. “Y’all ready?”

“As Ah’ll ever be, and Ah’m just here for moral support!” Applejack chuckles as Twilight stops frantically flitting from table to table making sure everything is perfect.

“It’s going to be fine,” Twilight reassures, as much for her fellow teachers as herself. She fondly caresses one of the many decorations before dropping next to Doug and Applejack. “Everything about this school just feels… right.” She embraces Applejack, breathing in the earth pony scent as if it might be the last time. “Even if you are only going to be coming around once or twice a week.”

Rainbow Dash dips down from awkwardly buzzing near the ceiling. “Hey, as long as they don’t associate me with being a professor?” She sticks her hoof out, inviting the others in.

“You used ‘associate’ correctly,” Trixie teases with a friendly snicker. Azure prods cerulean before lavender, gamboge, and tan join. “I think they’ll know you’re an egghead regardless of how long you spend with them.”

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash exclaims as Pinkie Pie pronks over, adding pink, and wheeling a cannon behind her. Fluttershy brings yellow to the growing pile after apologizing to a portrait for leaving. “I write reports all the time! Sometimes that stuff just sinks in!”

“Methinks the mare doth protest too much.” Rarity winks as Rainbow Dash huffs out a dejected sigh. A white hoof joins the others, clad in a simple yet elegant half-dress in the school colors of pink, purple, and teal; it matches Doug’s shirt and shorts, and certainly doesn’t look like she threw the ensemble together at the last minute. A pleated skirt covers her back half, and her normally long curls are tied up to better keep them from the horde of ponies soon to stomp through.

Twilight shifts the focus merely by straightening to her new, slightly taller height, her wings spreading slightly from her sides. “I know it’s not some grand adventure against the forces of evil, but this could be the most important thing we’ve ever done.” She motions, to the surprise of the others, for Spoiled Rich and Chrysalis to join them. “And that includes all of us.”

She has to give credit where credit is due, Spoiled Rich certainly looks grateful for the invitation, yet somehow still gives off the impression that she is doing them a favor by deigning to join their impromptu huddle.

Chrysalis makes no such effort to mask her reaction, that Twilight’s encouragement instead reveals a weakness that might spread if she gets too close. Yet she stalks over anyway, towering over everypony, and scowls rather than stick her hoof in.

“~We’re waiting~” Pinkie Pie trills, beaming up with enough smile for both of them.

Chrysalis glares down, grinning that fangy, malevolent grin, only to find that her ebony hoof has joined the others. She stares at it, unsure how it got there, as it dips down with the other nine.

The bells of the School of Friendship ring for the first time, high and cheerful, sounding their summons as Twilight and the others raise their hooves in celebration. The smirk on her muzzle suggests she orchestrated this timing intentionally and perfectly, everything still going to plan, and they fan out to their respective tables.

“New ponies!!”

The front doors burst open, a kaleidoscope of colors flooding the room. Pinkie Pie furiously pronks around the middle as earth ponies and unicorns wash past her, speaking twice as fast and employing three hooves as hoof-shakers but still coming up short.

Pegasi flock to the ceiling, crowding around Rainbow Dash and Doug at their table of extracurriculars. Fluttershy cowers behind him rather than at her spot one table over, several ponies curious at the conspicuous absence at the Kindness table, but at least the signup sheet is in clear view.

On the other side of the atrium, Applejack’s table of refreshments is a popular stop, all the ponies clustering on one half and occasionally venturing to the punch bowl in the middle. Rarity fills glasses from next to the farmpony while greeting any who come near. Spoiled Rich gets a sizable amount of traffic, if only because it’s the next place to go, or perhaps because she is raffling a dozen signed copies of Triumph’s How to Make Friends and Influence Ponies to anypony that signs up for her classes. That certainly gets ponies excited, or perhaps perturbed, though the boisterous atmosphere keeps any disagreements from escalating.

Trixie tries to draw ponies from Spoiled Rich, though her marvels lose their efficacy with the empty Laughter table between them and a dozen other things to focus on. She still gets a fair number to witness her Generosity magic in action, fireworks and conjured tricks galore. Chrysalis dares anypony to approach her with a sinister smile, hooves steepled beneath her fangs, and a blank sheet that might as well be for signing away your soul.

Twilight Sparkle hovers in the center, gleefully watching everypony mingle. After most of the ponies have streamed through, she spots five creatures entering; they look quite out of place and unsure of what to do.

Well, one of them has an idea: short Grubber’s white and gray quills tickle as he slips under ponies and makes a beeline to the refreshment table. The cerulean griffon heads the opposite direction, toward Rainbow Dash, though he stays on the ground; ponies give the gruff creature a wide berth, made difficult by their sheer numbers. Same with the orange dragon, though she lingers by the entrance with her back to the wall, clawed arms crossed, occasionally glaring outside. Silverstream has no such compunction; the pink hippogriff takes to the air, claws grasping at every little decoration and detail that she hasn’t seen before - and that’s practically everything. A large brown yak stomps forward, mesmerized by Trixie’s spectacle, her long braids threatening to tangle her hooves with every step.

Twilight clears her throat, drawing everycreature’s attention. “Welcome to the School of Friendship!” She grins, slowly descending until she stands on her table, careful to miss all the papers. Heads turn, fireworks pause, and they all give her their full attention. “I’m your headmare, Twilight Sparkle. If you need any assistance signing up for your classes, please, don’t hesitate to ask. We’re all happy to help! Once everycreature is squared away, we’ll show you to your living quarters.”

Doug watches with a bemused expression as, when Twilight finishes her brief speech, a light green stallion bumps into the surly griffon. Gallus, if he remembers right from Grandpa Gruff, and he thinks the elderly griffon is somewhere around here. He’s been complaining up and down Ponyville the last day, much like Prince Rutherford, and he can’t wait for them to go back home. Mostly for Pinkie Pie’s sake; the crazed party planner is even more stressed and wired up than normal, trying to see to their constantly increasing demands.

“Excuse me,” a young-sounding voice comes from below. Doug glances down; the owner of said voice is a small pink pegasus with a curled mane to rival Rarity’s, held together with tidy white bows. At first he thinks it’s a filly, except she has a cutie mark of a red rook. She bubbles out cheerfully, with a touch of hesitation, “Are you a professor here?”

“No,” Doug quips. “I just decided I’d stand around behind this table and hope ponies sign up for any sort of extracurricular activities.”

“Hey!” Gallus objects. “That’s my joke!”

At first Cozy Glow looks confused. “Really?” She then decides to ignore Gallus, because that’s what Doug is doing. At least that green stallion is able to console him and the two slink off, just to run into the irate Grandpa Gruff. “So you… aren’t a professor?”

“Correct,” Doug answers jovially. “Just here to help with extracurriculars. By the guidelines-”

“~The Guidelines~” a seraphic voice heralds, though it turns out to just be Twilight holding up the EEA book with a reverence normally reserved for Princess Celestia raising the sun.

Doug is surprisingly good at ignoring the things going on around him, such as the big yak tumbling over her braids and smashing into a group of ponies, knocking them down like bowling pins complete with *strike* sound effects. Twilight rushes off to help with that.

“-I’m technically an assistant teacher, not a professor.“ He motions to a small insignia stitched into his shirt. “You need a teacher to co-lead, though the student is expected to do the princess’ share of the work as far as scheduling and picking activities. ‘Assistant teacher’ is enough for those purposes. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and myself will be helping out with that. By the way, I’m Doug.”

The pink pegasus nods, appearing to follow along. “Cozy Glow.” Behind her, a statue topples over, bringing with it a curtain and a potted plant, the lot only saved by Pinkie Pie’s quick reflexes.

“So,” Doug continues, motioning to the empty signup sheet, “are there any activities that you’re interested in? You can put your name down, with your interests, and if there are enough ponies then we’ll get you together and see what happens. Or sign up for somepony else’s group. But, if you’re confident, and want to show some leadership, then you can start one on your own.”

“Really?” Her tiny wings buzz excitedly as she grasps the closest quill. She twiddles it nervously, suddenly unsure. “And you think this will be a good way to make friends?”

A humongous yak squeezes through the door, barely able to fit his massive horned helmet. He bellows something, and stomps a bunch, only placated by Pinkie Pie’s intervention. Then the smaller yak steps up, mumbling, before she too begins stomping.

“Yeah!” Doug grins, pushing forward a sheet for her to fill out. “You going to start a chess club? I’d enjoy that!”

A shadow fills the hall as the doorway gets blocked by a single orange pupil. It scans the room, narrowing, great puffs of smoke curling around the walls. The small orange dragon huffs her own cloud of smoke before stepping over, staring off at a different wall while Dragon Lord Torch’s deep voice lectures her.

“I-if you think other ponies would like that.” Cozy Glow sighs, oddly dejected. “Most ponies don’t want to play with me.”

“Hey,” Doug encourages, drawing a hopeful glance. “I think you’ll find the ponies around here a lot more accepting than others, and very willing to try new things.” He motions at her flank. “Is it because your cutie mark is a rook?”

General Seaspray steps in next, looking just as entranced by the many goings-on as Silverstream. Eventually she notices him, zipping down and bowling him over with a huge hug. She bounces back up, him a tad slower, and practically drags him over to meet Twilight and the rest of the ponies.

She shrugs. “Most ponies call it an EP. You know, an earth pony?” Her head hangs down. “They say that’s why I win all the time. I-it’s not fair! Why should I lose just to make them feel better?!”

Twilight Sparkle starts singing, and pretty soon everycreature follows along. Only Doug and Cozy Glow seem exempt from the medley, a fact he seems none too disappointed by.

“Well, I’d play, except-” Doug starts off, apologetic, until Pinkie Pie zips by and deposits a chess set in front of him, fully set out. “...Never mind.” He grins at the small pegasus, shuffles two pawns and holds them out. “Want to play?”

Cozy Glow returns a grin just as cocky, hops onto the table to avoid everything going on behind her, and taps one hand.

Next Chapter: Ch. 97 - Grand Spectrum, Part Four Estimated time remaining: 16 Hours, 37 Minutes