I was unsure what I had done, or what higher power I had offended to deserve it, as I sat behind that rickety wooden desk in that small one room schoolhouse. Shame was a new feeling, and I was only vaguely aware of why I was feeling it, thoughts turned to being crammed into a desk clearly too small for me.

Like I was too old or too grown to be there. I also questioned the need for the desk in the first place, it would have been easier to do... whatever it was we were going to do somewhere more comfortable.

But It was Twlight's idea, and so that's what we did. I could have done without Twilight's idea, I could also have done without the shame.

...and the introspection, the inner conflict, and the headaches.

"Maggie, are you listening?"

I wasn't.

"Yes," I lied.

The other pony frowned. I could also have done without Cheerilee's disapproval. I added that to the list. I could have done without the list.

I didn't add that to the list.

"Maggie!" the pony yelled suddenly, my head jerked to face her.

"You're still not listening," Cheerilee admonished, "I know this isn't the most interesting material but it's important for you to learn how to interact properly with other ponies."

"Sorry."

She sighed, "It's okay, I'm... just a little frustrated, let's call it a day for now."

On that, she had my full support. I was, initially, almost excited about the prospect of learning, if not for learning's sake, then perhaps for the answers I might find. Hours in that small room behind that small desk, however, had taken their toll on my body and my mind.

I could hear my joints pop and my spine crack as I stood out of the chair and stretched. It was a welcome change from the compressed misery and I was going to relish it. Relish; I was reminded of lunch that day, my stomach rumbled, I hadn't eaten in hours.

That was as foreign a concept as any, being hungry. At any other time I'd have been grazing almost constantly with no real end, but since the change I'd had times of being hungry, times of being full, eating actually well defined meals.

And Relish. I was definitely a fan. I had initially misunderstood the purpose of the substance as we sat around that round wooden table before 'class' had started, and Twilight had brought out a spread of various breads, jams, vegetables and... pickle relish.

The smell drew my immediate attention, even as Twilight and Cheerliee chatted away about... something. I wasn't paying attention, my nose was guiding my attention, and my attention was had. The Jar was my prey, and I was the predator, my eyes locked onto the open lid and I advanced.

Closer, closer, I stalked the unassuming little Jar, my nose inched closer... and my hooves sprang out, passing entire inches across the surface of the table, and The Jar was in my grasp. Twilight and Cheerilee stopped talking, their heads turned towards me-

It was too late, my tongue shot past my lips and i scooped the entire contents of The Jar into my mouth. My mouth exploded in a cacophony of flavor, bitter yet sweet, crunchy: delicious. My eyes widened and my muscles went slack; this was good heaven.

I scraped the rest of The Jar with my tongue and deposited the contents into my mouth; my only regret was that there wasn't more. I heard a plate clink, my eyes turned up.

Twilight was staring at me, mouth agape, "That... is what I was talking about, Cheerilee."

I blinked, confused as to what--

I blinked and shook my head, felt the softness on my face and took a step backwards, lost in my memory I'd walked directly into Twilight's flank. Her face was tinged red as she stared at me with a disbelieving look.

"Maggie."

I cringed, that tone spoke volumes by itself and how did I know that? She stared at me for a second, maybe two or three, and then closed her eyes and turned her head away. "Nevermind," she said.

I felt like this was another one of those things I didn't get yet, like the relish, oh my the relish, or the toilets. Or the showers. Or table manners. Or... most everything.

We started walking again and she kept looking over her shoulder, checking to see that I was paying attention. I was not; I was hungry. I wanted to stop, I wanted to smell the grass, smell the flowers and the trees!

I wanted to eat them. I wanted to latch onto a chunk of some poor pony's lawn and force it down my throat-hole with reckless abandon. I wanted to dive into the flower bed and slide along it from a run and jump, scooping up all of the delicious little flowers in my mouth and filling myself with the delightful flavor of tulips.

I shook my head, my imagination was getting away from me again, it seemed like that happened when ever I spent any time with the Pink One, and Twilight had been leaving me with her when Applejack wasn't available.

I dared not even think her name, as though the mere act could summon her. I shuddered, while all of this was new and unnatural for me, I felt as though even by this measuring stick she was far above and beyond.

She had even gone into song, and I felt some strange compulsion rise up in me to join in, though I was able to hold it back, if not from force of will, then from force of fear. It was not that I felt she meant me harm, I simply could not deal with her... other-ness.

I caught myself licking my lips while thinking of the delicious food growing all around me. Twilight stopped again, I noticed because I was still staring intently at her flank. I wasn't about to run into her again. She looked at me in what I can only describe as abject horror.

As clueless as I was, I wasn't that clueless, and the implications quickly entered my brain as my eyes shot wider, and then it happened; my savior. My stomach let out an unfathomably powerful gurgle to signal my hunger, and Twlight's expression shifted immediately.

"Oh, are you hungry? I guess it has been a while since we've eaten anything," Twilight started, acting as though the previous five seconds had never taken place. For that I was grateful. "What do you want to eat?"

I smiled, at least I think I did; facial expressions were still a little difficult. I mulled over all of the culinary possibilities, the various flavors and scents and textures I'd experienced, I thought hard about it. My choice, however, was a foregone conclusion.

"Can we have relish?"

Author's Notes:

Look, I did some more!