When Tia, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon walked into Sugarcube Corner, Tia couldn’t help but let out a gasp, she had never seen such a place like this.

“This is amazing!” Tia called out in excitement.

“Eh, the first one was better,” Silver Spoon said apathetically.

“Oh,” Tia said, looking down at the ground in embarrassment.

“Look! It’s the blank flanks!” Diamond Tiara said, pointing at Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo sitting in the corner. “Come on girls; let’s go say ‘hello’”

Silver Spoon giggled, Tia however said nothing, but followed anyway.

“How’s it going blank flanks?” Diamond Tiara sneered at the two ponies sitting in the corner.

“We’re doing awesome! Thanks for asking!” Sweetie Bell said with a smile, causing Scootaloo to facehoof.

“What?” Sweetie Bell asked, looking at her friend.

“Don’t you have anything better to do than make fun of us for not having our Cutie Marks?” Scootaloo asked in annoyance.

“Nope! We cleared out our evening schedules just for you!” Silver Spoon said.

“That was considerate of you!” Sweetie Bell exclaimed, causing Scootaloo to facehoof again.

“Shut up Sweetie Bell!” she cried out in frustration.

“Hey! Don’t tell me to shut up!” Sweetie Bell exclaimed.

“Um... Silver Spoon? Diamond Tiara?” Tia asked. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Don’t go anywhere blank flanks!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed.

“We won’t!” Sweetie Bell said, causing Scootaloo to facehoof again. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that!”

Tia, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon walked over towards another end of the room.

“What is it Tia?” Diamond Tiara asked with mild annoyance.

“Um...” Tia began. “Don’t you girls think that you’re being... kind of mean to them?”

“Pfff,” Diamond Tiara exclaimed. “What does it matter?”

“Yeah!” Silver Spoon added. “They’re blank flanks! They’re like, totally not special!”

“Everypony is special,” Tia said quietly, she looked up at both of them, managing the bravest face that she could. “And you two are MEAN!”

Tia stared intensely at the two fillies before her, they looked back, as if they were mesmerised by Tia’s glare. After a few moments, they shook their heads and looked at each other in confusion.

“Maybe... maybe we are mean?” Diamond Tiara said.

“I don’t want to be mean!” Silver Spoon replied.

“You’re right,” Diamond Tiara said, looking at Tia with a frown. “Come on Silver Spoon let’s go say sorry to the blank... to Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo.”

Tia looked at her friends as they turned and walked back over to Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo in confusion. Tia didn’t know it yet, but she had influenced the two fillies’ minds into being nicer.

When the possibility dawned on her, Tia looked around in excitement, if she could get everypony to be nice all the time, it would make Twilight proud of her! It had to!

Tia trotted over towards her friends grinning with accomplishment, she was so happy that she just couldn’t contain it.

...

Sugarcube Corner closed at ten. Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Tia trotted out together, chatting with each other. Tia was beaming; her friends were all getting along with each other!

Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell turned to the south east towards Carousel Boutique. Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Tia went north.

“They’re not bad,” Diamond Tiara admitted. “We could have been good friends!”

“Well now we can all start fresh!” Tia said, beaming with happiness.

“Yeah!” Silver Spoon agreed with enthusiasm.

Tia waved her friends goodbye and went inside the Ponyville Library. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon waved back, and continued on their walk north towards their homes.

After shutting the door behind her, Tia looked up to see that Rainbow Dash was talking to one of the kangaroos.

“... I just want everything to be perfect for Emerald Ordinance tomorrow Sergeant Tebbs! I mean ‘Lef-tenant.’”

Tebbs smiled at her. “Rainbow Dash. I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times! Call me Percy! Besides, the promotion to Second Lef-tenant is temporary at best.”

Tebbs looked towards the door, and discovered the pink maned filly standing at the door. “Why hello! Who might you be?”

Naturally, Tia shied away from the unfamiliar kangaroo.

“That’s Tia, she’s shy,” Rainbow Dash said. “Tia, this is my friend Lef-tenant Tebbs!”

“Percy!” Tebbs reminded her. The kangaroo Lieutenant kneeled down to look at the filly. “It’s very nice to meet you Tia.”

Tia didn’t reply.

Tebbs smiled at her and stood back up. “Well, it’s getting late; I need to be getting back. Good luck with Emerald Ordinance tomorrow!”

Tebbs hopped towards the door, opened it and then quickly shut it behind him. Rainbow waited a few seconds before turning to Tia.

“You could have said ‘hi’!” Rainbow Dash scolded her.

“He’s scary!” Tia cried out.

“He’s not scary! He’s... different,” Rainbow explained. “Everypony... everyone is unique in their own way, but being different doesn’t make them weird! You’re going to apologise for being rude to him tomorrow during the Emerald Ordinance trials!”

Rainbow Dash was very glad that Vinyl Scratch wasn’t around, otherwise she would have made a comment on how much like a mother Rainbow Dash was sounding.

There was a knock at the door, Rainbow Dash went over and opened it; Vinyl Scratch was standing at the door, grinning like a madmare.

“You were just thinking about me weren’t you?” Vinyl Scratch asked. “”Cause I was just thinking about you... in bed!”

Rainbow Dash gave the unicorn before her a blank stare. “You never get bored, do you Vinyl Scratch?”

“Nope!” Vinyl said. “Good thing too, otherwise a huge bomb would fall on the town!”

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking at her friend in confusion.

“You know, because it’s unlikely to happen?” Vinyl said with a grin. “Okay... I’ll admit. It was funnier in my head.”

“Do you want something Vinyl?” Rainbow Dash asked in annoyance.

“Nope! Just waiting for Scootaloo to come through this way, see ya Rainbow!” Vinyl said with a wave she trotted away, leaving Rainbow Dash standing confused in the door step.

“Tia?” Rainbow Dash said. “When you grow up, please try not to be like Vinyl Scratch?”

“By the way!” Vinyl called back. “You sounded like a mother!”

...

Apple Bloom opened her eyes just slightly, light poured in and her eyes took a minute to adjust. She was in a room with white walls, and a white ceiling, and white everything else!

She didn’t know how she got here, she tried to turn her head to get a better look but found herself unable to move. She tried moving her legs, no response; she tried to open her mouth. No response; it seemed that all she could do was look around the room with her eyes.

She had no feeling in any part of her body; it was if her mind had been disconnected from her body entirely.

Then she remembered. She remembered Applejack on top of her, stomping her into the ground, she remembered the feeling of her bones breaking. She remembered Big Macintosh carrying her away from Sweet Apple Acres; she remembered the ride on the VC Firefly tank that carried her to the hospital.

She remembered everything, and she wished that she didn’t.

Apple Bloom felt her mouth begin to move, it was coming back under her control.

“Some...pony!” she exclaimed weakly. Nopony heard.

“Somepony!” she cried again. “Somepony!”

A black Pegasus pony clad in a medical coat walked into the room, discovering that Apple Bloom was awake.

“Oh no...” he said. “You’re not supposed to be awake yet!”

“What?” Apple Bloom asked.

She began to feel her own body again, the intense pain of her condition became noticeable, Apple Bloom started to cry out in pain.

“I need sedatives!” the doctor pony called out. “I need them now!”

A unicorn nurse followed the doctor pony into the room with a syringe full of sedatives.

“You’re going to be all right. I promise,” the doctor pony said, his amber eyes shining at the filly brightly as she reeled in pain. The unicorn nurse stuck the syringe into Apple Bloom’s IV and soon enough, the filly drifted back off to sleep.

“I need to know whose patient this is,” the pegasi doctor said. “They’re not paying attention to her, and as in bad of condition she is, she’s lucky I was around the corner when she started calling.”

“It’s Doctor Asiago’s.” The nurse said.

“Not anymore, you can tell him that I’m taking over.” The Pegasus said.

“Yes, Doctor Nightsinger.”