"And that's why I know that no matter what, my best friend will always be there when I need him to be, even if we don't agree on things all the time," a small young colt looked to his tall yellow friend, who sat at his desk in the classroom with a gushing smile.

The chubby little colt bowed and stepped forward towards his desk, glancing back as his teacher spoke up. "Excellent report on friendship, and how it can be as strong as brotherhood, Snips. Now who wants to go next? How about our guest from the Big Apple?"

A nervous orange earth pony with freckles splattered across her cheeks nodded with her bangs falling over her eyes. She blew them to one side with a huff before standing up and trotting in front of the class. She shakily held her paper forward, her tail instinctively wrapping over her left haunch as she stood at an angle, concealing her other bare flank. "Hello, my name is Babs Seed, and this is my report on what sisterhood means to me."

The small mare cleared her throat and took a deep, calming breath. She closed her eyes, the words she had written straight from her heart reciting themselves in her mind. Then she cleared her throat and began to speak.

"A-a big sister is like a best friend that knows you better than anypony else in the world. She'll always be there to look out for you when you need her to, and there's nothin' in the world that could come between you. When you have your big sister by your side, you're invincible. Nothin' can hurt you, because she'll be there protecting you from any sort of harm. Whether there's a bully trying to push you around, or you're just having a hard day, your sister will always know exactly what to say to make you smile again."

Babs took another deep breath and let herself smile, her tail falling to its natural position as she continued her speech. "Not every pony in the world is lucky enough to have a big sister to look out for her. I know exactly how it feels not to have one, and that's a world I would never want to live in again. My sister picks me up when I'm down, she helps me get through the walks of life, and she teaches me everything I need to know to be strong like her. Without her, I'd be a completely different pony. I'd be a lesser version of myself, and I'd have nothing to aspire to become."

The filly puffed her chest out and nodded, her green eyes grazing over the attentive students in front of her. "In short: my sister completes me, and she's everything I hope to grow up to be."

"Very good, Babs. That was a lovely speech. Now who would like to go next?" Cheerilee asked as the Manehattan filly trotted to her desk in between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.

The cocky orange pegasus stuck her hoof out and Babs slapped it with her own, each mare smiling. "So how'd I do?"

"Awesomely," Scootaloo replied. "You nailed the whole sisterhood thing. Now I feel bad about my less good speech. Darn it."

"Aw come on now Scoots," Apple Bloom spoke up, peeking over her cousin's head. "I bet you nailed it too."

The proud filly fluttered her small wings and grinned with confidence. "You really think so? I hope so, 'cause Rainbow Dash is one heck of an amazing sister. She gives me plenty to write about!"

"Scootaloo!" Cheerilee scolded. "Since you seem so eager to speak, then how about you go next?"

The pegasus flattened her ears and nodded, blushing as her classmates giggled while she stepped to the front of the room.