The next few days at school was something of an anticlimax. Frosty was still the talk of the class; The colts and fillies hadn't quit talking about how awesome the beach party had been and complimenting Frosty on his "cool trick." To everypony's confusion, Frosty had responded by ignoring everyone retreating to his desk in the far corner of the room, not talking to anypony. After a few tries at being friendly, the other students got the hint and left him be.

He couldn't help overhearing them, though. Today Nyx, Sweetiebelle and a handful of the other students were having a little chatter-fest right in the middle of the room. Flitter was regaling the newer students with stories of her first few days as one of the first changelings in Ponyville; the others were hanging on her every word. "...and the next thing we know Mr. Davenport is hanging from the ceiling fan," she said. "I had no idea earth ponies could jump that high. We probably shoulda knocked louder when we came in the store." Several of the foals giggled.

"And I thought I had a hard time getting ponies used to me," Nyx said with a roll of her eyes. "Did you... have trouble with the Cake twins, too?" she asked curiously. She rubbed her temple, unconsciously adjusting the eye-disguising glasses that were no longer there.

"Well-- kind of yes and no," Flitter said. "There was a scene the first time I went in. Oh, this is the cutest story ever... okay, so my parents and I were in town, right?  My parents were buying up a stock of love-candy at Bon Bon's Bonbons, and some other stuff at the market. I had a couple of bits and I decided to buckle up and go get a cupcake or something at Sugarcube Corner. That's where everypony hangs out, right? I had to go there sometime.

"Anyway I walk in and there Mr. and Mrs. Cake are-- and so are the twins. The Cakes are nice, and try to introduce me to the foals. The colt's on the floor playing with a toy cart, he sees me and hides behind his dad. But the little filly, what's her name, Pumpkin? She takes one look at me and starts howling. I take one step too close, reach out to her with a hoof to pat her back, you know, show I'm okay? And she just jumps out of her mama's arms and runs away, crying her eyes out."

"Awwww," several fillies said sympathetically.

Flitter giggles and waves them down. "No, no, it doesn't end there. So I'm standing there feeling awful, and the Cakes are trying to apologize... and here comes Pumpkin. She's crying, tears just running down her face," Flitter pantomimed streaks of tears with her hooves. "And she's dragging a first aid kit almost as big as she is. She plops down at my hooves and starts putting bandaids over the holes in my legs."

Sweetiebelle's expression was gleeful. She put her hoof to her mouth and pointed at Flitter. "Ohh, she thought--"

Flitter held up one holey leg and pooched out a quivering lip. "She tawt I had a boo-boo," she said. The foals laughed. "She didn't stop till I had "Mister Ouchie" bandaids plastered all over all four legs. Then she patted my foreleg, kissed the last bandaid and said..." she let her eyes swell up into big sad goo goo eyes and pretended to look up. "Aww Beddah?" she snuffled.

The other foals squeed at the adorableness. "What did you do?" Nyx said.

"Do? I darn near melted into a puddle." Flitter flopped over in her seat, head dangling and hooves flopping in the air. "Must.. get help... baby pony... too... cute..."

"At least you're getting along with them," Nyx said a little wistfully. "They still get all fussy and stuff when they see my eyes. I have to wear those special glasses that disguise my eyes whenever I go to Sugarcube Corner."

"Babieth are thilly like that," Twist said. "I have a baby cousin who cries if he thees me WITH glatheth." She pulled off her horn rims and squinted cheerfully at the others. "Do you have trouble like that, Willow?"

Willow blinked, surprised at the sudden question. "Um, well, not really," he said, rubbing his chin. "I mean I've never seen the Cake twins, or a lot of babies, so I dunno. Some little foals do get a little scared of me--" he flared his webbed bat wings. "But really, most of the trouble I get is from grownups." He felt a little embarrassed to admit this.

Far too many of the ponies gathered there nodded knowingly. "Most ponies here in Ponyville are okay," Flitter said. "Most. But some of 'em still look at me like I'm poison."

"Ignore the Flower Fillies. It's not personal with them; Mom says they panic at everything. They even fainted at a bunny stampede once." Nyx sighed and rested her chin on her hooves. "At least Granny Smith stopped trying to trap me under a wicker basket every time I visit Sweet Apple Acres," she muttered.

Spike snorted. "Probably because Lightning Blitz and Sundiver tackled and handcuffed her for assaulting royalty the last time," he snickered.

Ziggy overheard as he passed on the way to his seat. "It is true/I have gotten a stare or two," the pudgy zebra colt said. "Though not half as bad/ as auntie Zecora had."

"Man, some ponies need to get over themselves," Scootaloo said. "I mean, you'd better get used to strange stuff if you're gonna live in Ponyville."

Nyx giggled. "Yeah, that's us, the chaos capital of Equestria," she said. "At least Discord says so."

"Welcome to scenic Ponyville,"  Flitter said dramatically. "Population: Weird."

"Just off the Bizarro turnpike," Applebloom added.

"At the scenic intersection of Fourth and Bananas," Sweetiebelle chipped in. The classroom exploded in smothered giggles.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon came flouncing into the classroom just at that moment. The pink filly took in her classmates giggling like loons and rolled her eyes. "Freaks," she said in an aside to Silver Spoon.

Applebloom sat up, arms akimbo like a wild west gunslinger. (1) "Y'all say that an' smile, sidewinder," she drawled, giving DT an evil grin. The others cackled.

Diamond Tiara snorted. "Come on, Silver, let's sit on the FAR side of the classroom. Whatever they got might be contagious." They made their way to the other side of the room where the rest of Tiara's little hive of Queen Bees was gathered.

"It's too late, Tiara," Flitter sing-songed under her breath. "You've breathed the air, the changes have already started..." she waved her hooves like a zompony at the departing filly. "one of us, one of us...." the others giggled so hard they were struggling to come up for air.

"All right, everypony, settle down." All the colts and fillies scrambled for their seats as Miss Cheerilee came trotting into the classroom. "Even though this is the last month or two before summer--" A cheer went up. "--We still have a lot of work to do and a lot of things to cover." A dissatisfied groan went up. Cheerilee chuckled at the predictable response and went on. "Oh come on, a lot of it will be fun... We have a lot of things to cover today in particular. To start, we have a special guest who's going to speak to you all today, so I want you all to pay close attention. Everyone give a warm welcome to Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Most of the newer students "oohed," star-struck, as the Princess of Magic walked into the room and stepped in front of the blackboard. Tiara's circle of upper-crust followers were especially giddy. "Good morning, class," Twilight said, smiling.

"Good morning, Princess Twilight," the class recited back.

"I have a number of exciting announcements to make," Twilight Sparkle said, beaming. "And a lot of them have to do with you all, my little ponies. I'm sure you've noticed over the past year that things in here have been getting..." she looked around the jam-packed classroom. "Well. A bit crowded." A few foals giggled. "Well, when you come back to school after this summer-- and I know that's a long way to look ahead, but I felt you should know-- you'll be coming back to a whole new schoolhouse. The Princesses and I have decided to fund a major renovation to the Ponyville elementary school. Over the summer they'll be constructing a whole new school building-- one large enough for several classrooms. " Her horn sparkled and a floor plan for a new school building appeared on an easel next to her. "There will be a much larger main classroom, a music room, a science room, an art room and even a small library." The children cooed in appreciation. "There will also be a new, larger playground, with all new equipment-- a jungle gym, swingsets, basketball hoops, tetherball... " this was met with far more enthusiasm by several of the students. Twilight chuckled. "And a large pond. For our... more aquatic students." She waved at Doubloon, who giggled and waved back. "And there will also be several new teachers-- a music teacher, an art teacher and a gym teacher--- to help Miss Cheerilee teach you all."

Snips raised a hoof, frowning. "How will that work?"

"In shifts," Cheerilee explained. "While some of you are taking your regular classes in here, the rest will be taking art or music or gym class, or taking study time in the library. Then the next part of the day, everybody switches off. Oh don't look so worried," she said when several of the tighter-knit groups looked concerned. "We aren't splitting anypony up. We'll still take lunch and recesses and field trips all together, and we'll always start and finish the day as one big group. And I've already met with your new teachers. I'm sure you're going to love them."

"We need to do things this way because of so many ponies moving into Ponyville all at once," Twilight explained. "Miss Cheerilee is a wonderful teacher, but with such a big class, and it getting bigger all the time, she deserves a little help." She looked a little chagrined. "With two Princesses living here now, more and more ponies are going to move here every day. And non-ponies, too. From all over the world. A lot of new things are coming to Ponyville. You children are some of them.

"Which brings us to my next announcement," she said. "Most of you remember the Education Fair we had last year." Many of the children nodded in agreement. "Well, we're going to hold another one-- right at the end of the school year. It's going to have a very special theme this year, too; "Ponyville: The Crossroads of the World." As part of the Fair, we'd like for all of you to do a presentation about the different kinds of people who live in Ponyville."

"You'll be divided up into groups," Cheerilee said. "Each of you will do a report about a different race that lives in Ponyville today. Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns, of course, but also Crystal Ponies, Sea Ponies, Dragons, Zebras, Changelings, Donkeys---"

"Alicorns?" Nyx said.

"Of course! Thestrals too, of course--" Cheerilee paused. "Hmm, am I forgetting any? Oh cows and sheep... "

"What about Gryphons?" Scootaloo said. "Gryphons are cool."

"I don't think we have any living here yet," Cheerilee said, hesitating.

"We have one," Nyx said. "Killdeer-Adder. He lives in Luna's Castle."

"He does? Well how about that..."

"He's Auntie Luna's Skysurfing trainer."

"Hmm. Well then Gryphons too, of course, then. Oh, and I understand there's a Flutterpony colony moving in soon too--- Heavens, I never realized how many different kinds of po-- er, people-- live here these days." She shook her head. "Yes, Doubloon?"

Doubloon put her hoof down. "I'm guessing whatever group I'm in will be on seaponies?" she said.

Cheerilee chuckled. "Yes, that would be the most efficient way. Each group will have one pony in it of the type that their report is. um. About." She winced. "And I hope my old grammar teacher never hears that I uttered that sentence," she muttered in an aside to Twilight. The princess stifled a snicker.

"Now this isn't going to be till the end of the school year," Cheerilee went on. "But I want you to form your groups now. I want you to write down who's in your group on a piece of paper and have it on my desk by the end of the day--"

Among Diamond Tiara's rather dubious gifts was the ability to spot an opportunity a mile away, and strike like a cobra. Her Daddy had been on the inside loop about this 'Crossroads of the World' thing when Mayor Mare blabbed it to him, and he had subsequently blabbed it to her... and she had prepared. "In that case, the Honeybee Club would like to submit our names to do our report together," she said smugly, pulling a sheet of paper with her name, Silver Spoon's, and the other members of her clique already written on it. "To do our report on the Windigoes." She smiled sweetly at Frosty. "With Frosty in our group, of course."

Frosty balked like he'd been shot. "What?"

"How did you know about this, Diamond Tiara?" Cheerilee said suspiciously.

"My Daddy heard about the fair from Mayor Mare," she said innocently. "Oh do say you will, Frosty. It will be ever so convenient..." she pointed to a couple of her loyal Bees. "After all,  Ginger Snap's and Hot Toddy's fathers are both in the Gentlepony Adventurer's Club... isn't that the group that sponsors your Mother's expeditions?... And my Daddy is thinking of joining, so we'll be visiting each other's homes all the time anyway--- it would be soooo awkward if you said no...."

Frosty clenched his teeth. Diamond Tiara's little implied threat had got through loud and clear. Go along with what she wanted or she would take every opportunity to make his mother's life difficult and his life miserable. "Fine," he said. "Somepony was gonna haveta do it, I guess."

Cheerilee and Twilight, who were not completely oblivious to what had just gone down, shared an apprehensive look. "Very well," Cheerilee said. "If you're certain, Frosty?" At the snowy colt's reluctant nod she took the paper from Diamond Tiara and had Frosty sign his name at the bottom. "Well, that's one group picked out," she said. "Anypony else?"

As the hubbub rose in the classroom, Diamond Tiara pulled an envelope out of her bag and passed it to Frosty. "Oh by the way, you and your Mother are invited to a little lawn party my father is hosting next week," she said. "We colts and fillies will be having our own separate little thing, of course. Your Mother already got her invitation, I just wanted to be the one to give you yours. Be sure and wear something nice."

Frosty growled and slumped forward till his head rested on his desk. He didn't need to be a windigo to see this windstorm was gonna suck...

1)how does she know what a gunslinger stands like? How the heck would I know? They have finger holes in their bowling balls, what the heck.