Life In Allspark Wells

by The Fraudulent Brit

The past seven months have been quite the experience for Apple Bloom. Learning about and bonding with her uncle Ironhide, tap dancing with her boyfriend Tender Taps, helping her new sister Sideswipe, befriending Marble Pie and Rattrap, and in general, exploring her new home of Allspark Wells. But that was only the beginning. Currently being posted on Fimfiction first.

22. Nightshade

Life in Allspark Wells

Part 20; Nightshade

Stirring from her slumber, Double Shuffle rolled over her bed as she lazily slapped a button on her clanging alarm clock. Blinking the last vestiges of sleep from her eyes, the blue girl took a deep breath as she pepped herself up with a determined, "Another day, another chance to make some noise." Taking a deep breath, she tossed the covers off of her and sprang up from her bed, declaring, "Look out world, here comes Double Shuffle!"

No sooner had the young hoofer said this than the sound of her older brother's voice called out, "You mind toning it down a notch Double Shuffle?" Letting out an embarrassed chuckle, Double Shuffle apologized, "Sorry Tender." Taking a deep breath, the blue dancer turned to her closet and asked herself, "Now, what to wear today?"

Ten minutes later, and Double Shuffle had settled on an outfit for the day. She'd chosen a red button shirt over a black sleeveless top, black pants, and a pair of black oxford dress shoes. Her hair was done up in braided pigtails, and she'd even added a red bow at the end of each braid. Glancing at the reflection in her mirror, the blue dancer gave a confident smirk as she remarked, "There we go. Good enough to go on stage."

Double Shuffle received her answer in the form her stomach rumbling. "Heh. Guess I better head down and get some breakfast." Making her way to her desk, the young hoofer scooped up her school supplies, shoved them into her backpack, and slung it over her shoulder as she made her way towards her bedroom door.

The Kitchen

Entering the kitchen, Double Shuffle found her mother, Soft Shoe, already grilling some sausages. Before she could greet her mother, the blue dancer was distracted by the sound of a cat meowing. Turning to see who it was, Double Shuffle found an orange tabby cat walking up to her before he began to affectionately rub himself against her leg, letting out a gentle giggle, she greeted, "Good morning to you too Skimbles. You hungry?"

Skimbles gave his answer with an affirming, "Meow." Double Shuffle nodded as she replied, "Alright. Let's get you some breakfast." Making her way to the cupboard, the young hoofer reached down and picked up the large bag of cat food and carried it across the kitchen. She then poured the bag's contents into a silver bowl that rested on the ground. Setting the bag down, Double Shuffle remarked, "There you go Skimbles. Bon Appetit."

As Skimbles began to nibble away at his breakfast, Soft Shoe greeted her daughter, "Good morning sweetheart. You sleep well?" Nodding, Double Shuffle answered, "I slept like a baby." Moving her pan of sausages off the stove, the yellow shoe cobbler replied, "Good to hear it. I've got breakfast just about ready, though I'd appreciate it if you helped get the table set." Nodding, Double Shuffle replied, "You got it mom."

A few minutes later, Double Shuffle had set the table as Soft Shoe served up some sausages and apple slices for herself and both of her children. No sooner had she done this than Tender Taps, clad in a purple shirt, black pants, black dress shoes, and slicked back hair, entered the kitchen as he lazily greeted, "Morning mom. Morning Double Shuffle." Turning to face her son, Soft Shoe replied, "Good morning to you too sleepy head."

As Tender Taps sat down next to his sister, Double Shuffle asked, "You look tired. Everything alright?" Nodding, the orange hoofer replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just didn't sleep super well." As he took a sip of apple juice, Tender continued, "Doesn't help that I got a math test today. I'm kinda nervous about it." Feeling for her brother, Double Shuffle rested her hand on his shoulder as she reassured him, "Hey, you got this." The older Tap sibling smiled as he replied, "Thanks sis."

Soft Shoe interrupted the siblings' banter with a gentle yet stern, "You better eat up. I don't want you two running late for school." Double Shuffle nodded as she picked up the pace, quickly cutting up her sausage before shoving the pieces into her mouth, leading Tender Taps to add, "Not that much of a rush." The blue girl could only swallow her mouthful as she sheepishly replied, "Heh. Sorry."

Still, they were burning daylight, and Double Shuffle didn't want to be late for school.

Gamma Omega Middle School, A Short While Later

Stepping out of her mother's car, Double Shuffle turned to face her mom as she bade, "See you later mom. Love you." From inside the car, Soft Shoe replied, "Love you too." As her mother drove off, the blue girl walked, or rather flapped and shuffled her way to the school's entrance.

Once she was inside, Double Shuffle began to make her way towards her homeroom, all while she performed a few shuffle hop steps down the halls. As she danced through the halls, the blue hoofer couldn't help but notice several sets of eyes turn to her. 'Oh yeah.' Double Shuffle thought to herself. 'I forgot that stupid rule about dancing in the hallway.'

At that moment, the young hoofer was caught off guard by the sound of a familiar voice remarking, "That was some pretty fine footwork there." Turning to see who it was, Double Shuffle was pleasantly surprised to see Featherweight. The cream boy was dressed in a white shirt, brown pants, and black and white sneakers. As the young hoofer lit up, Featherweight continued, "You've got pinpoint precision."

Double Shuffle Pulled her friend into a tight hug as she replied, "Good to see you too." As she released him, the blue hoofer asked, "How's your morning going so far?" Shrugging, Featherweight replied, "Not too bad. I got up a bit early to develop some pictures I took a while back." He then began to awkwardly scuff his foot as he continued, "If you'd like, I can show you sometime." Double Shuffle couldn't help but begin to blush as she replied, "I'd… Kinda like that."

The awkward moment was interrupted by the sound of a bell ringing, signaling that students had only a few minutes to arrive at their homeroom class or be tardy. Sighing to himself, Featherweight lamented, "I better get going. See you later?" Double Shuffle nodded as she answered, "Yeah. See you later. And remember…" Both kids then simultaneously said, "Don't start no shit, but don't take none either." With that, the two friends parted ways as they made their way to their homeroom classrooms.

Homeroom

Seated at her desk, Double Shuffle found herself focusing on her notebook, specifically the choreography she'd written down. Feeling her feet quietly tap the floor beneath her, the young hoofer muttered, "Let's see, should it be spank shuffle shuffle step or…. No, it should be spank flap flap step stomp." Allowing a small smirk to form on her lips, she tried her combination out, trying not to make too much.

Sadly, the girl in front her turned her head and rudely asked, "Hey, you mind cutting that out? I'm trying to read here." Double Shuffle let out an awkward chuckle as she apologized, "Heh. Sorry." As the other girl returned to her reading, the blue hoofer sighed as she thought to herself, 'Guess I'm the only one around here who enjoys a good beat.'

At that moment, the teacher, a woman with yellow skin, green hair, and a dark blue blouse and skirt, stood up from her desk as she greeted, "Good morning everyone." Double Shuffle and the rest of the class replied with a simple, "Good morning Miss Greenlight." Now that she had everyone's attention, Miss Greenlight straightened herself as she said, "Now, I want you all to know that we have a new member of our homeroom." Focusing her eyes on someone in the back of the class, she called out, "Nightshade? Would you please come up here?"

Turning to see who it was, Double Shuffle saw someone stand up from the back row and begin to make their way to the front of the class. Once they had made their way up to the front, the blue hoofer was able to get a good look at them.

This new student, Nightshade if she heard correctly, had gray skin, green hair that had two ear like spikes on the back, and yellow-green eyes. They had rectangular glasses and wore a dark cream button shirt that had the upper few buttons unbuttoned, a loose black tie, black leather gloves, suspenders, black pants, and brown zip up boots. As Double Shuffle squinted her eyes, she could even make out the two earrings in each of their ears as well as black lipstick. Taking this in, the blue dancer thought, 'He looks kinda cute. I think.' After all, Nightshade seemed to look like a boy, but something about them didn't exactly scream "teenage boy."

Turning to her pupil, Miss Greenlight asked, "Would you like to introduce yourself?" Taking a deep breath, Nightshade nodded as they turned to the class and introduced themselves with a polite, "Hello there. My name is Nightshade." They then hesitated for a moment as they said something that caught the rest of the class off guard.

"And since it's best to get it out of the way, I go by they/them pronouns."

As the rest of the class took this in, Double Shuffle thought to herself, 'They them pronouns? I've never heard of someone doing that before, at least exclusively.' After all, she'd referred to people as "they" if she didn't know who said person's identity, but this? She'd never heard of this before.

Double Shuffle was distracted from her thinking when one of her classmates raised her hand and asked, "Does that mean you're nonbinary?" Nodding, Nightshade replied, "Yes. I am nonbinary." Taking this information in, the blue hoofer thought to herself, 'Well, at least that's a name to go with his… I mean their thing.'

One of her other classmates, a boy, bluntly asked, "So does that mean that you use a girl's bathroom or something?" Hearing this, Nightshade groaned as lamented, "I prefer neutral bathrooms, but, if necessary, I can use a boy's room. Ok?" Double Shuffle noticed the resignation in their voice as she thought, 'I've got a feeling that wasn't the first time someone has asked that question before.'

Miss Greenlight then spoke up with, "Now then, I understand that this is possibly a new experience for you, but I would really appreciate it if you all tried to use the proper pronouns with Nightshade. Am I clear?" taking this in, Double Shuffle nodded as she replied, "Yes ma'am." Several other students nodded and otherwise replied to their teacher's statement.

Satisfied, Miss Greenlight turned to Nightshade and said, "Thank you. You may take your seat." The green haired student nodded before making their way back to their desk." Once Nightshade had returned to their seat, the teacher said, "Now then, you'd all better get ready for your first class."

Taking this in, Double Shuffle turned to face Nightshade. To her surprise, they noticed her and gave her an awkward smile as they waved at her. 'Oh man. They see me.' The blue dancer thought to herself. 'Don't do something stupid. Just act naturally.' Acting on impulse, Double Shuffle waved back at her green haired classmate.

At that moment, the bell rang, signaling for everyone to make their way to their first class of the day. Sighing, Double Shuffle scooped up her stuff and stood up from her desk as she began to make her way to the door. Turning around, the blue dancer tried to find Nightshade, only to find herself overwhelmed by the swarm of other students making their way to the door as well.

'Oh dear.' Double Shuffle thought to herself. 'I'd better scram or else I'll cause a traffic jam.' Darting out of the way, the blue dancer began to make her way to her first class, hoping she could make it before the bell rang again.

Later that Day…

Walking into her math classroom, Double Shuffle rubbed her hands in her eyes as she groaned, "Ugh, it's not even lunchtime yet, and I'm already bored." The blue dancer walked over to her desk and sat down as she mumbled, "Man, today has been a slow day."

From behind her, Double Shuffle heard a familiar voice remark, "Hope I'm not the cause of it." Turning to see who it was, the blue dancer found herself locking eyes with Nightshade. As they sat down next to her, the blue hoofer nervously reassured them, "Oh, of course not. Just part of the normal day around here." She then reached into her backpack and pulled out a notebook and her math textbook as she continued, "Just… you know… numbers and letters and stuff." Hearing herself, Double Shuffle thought, 'Why am I blabbering like an idiot?"

Letting out an amused chuckle, Nightshade replied, "I know the feeling. Reminds me of when I was in third grade. My teacher was the most unimaginative bore I've ever met. He had no passion for anything." They then noticed Double Shuffle's notebook and remarked, "I like that sticker you have. That some sort of metal plate or something?"

Looking at her notebook, Double Shuffle eyed the sticker of a toe tap she'd placed on it at the beginning of the school year and replied, "Oh that. That's just a toe tap. You know, from a tap shoe?" Intrigued, Nightshade asked, "Really? You're a tap dancer?"

Hearing someone show curiosity for her dancing, Double Shuffle lit up as she exclaimed, "Yeah! My whole family are dancers actually! There's me, my brother, both of my parents and…." As she continued, the blue girl noticed that Nightshade had been caught off guard by her enthusiasm. She then let out a sheepish…, "Heh. Sorry about that. I uh…. Get a little carried away."

Smiling, Nightshade reassured her, "It's alright. My parents say I can get the same way sometimes." They then reached into their own backpack as they pulled out their own notebook as they lit up and explained, "These are some designs I've been working on." As Nightshade opened their notebook, Double Shuffle found themselves impressed by what she saw.

There, drawn on the piece of paper, seemed to be technical sketches of some type of drone. For the most part, it was a simple design, limited to a skeletal box that would float in the air thanks to four propellers. 'Well, I'll be.' Double Shuffle thought to herself. 'Not quite as fancy as some of those stuff I've seen on the internet, but seems to be a solid design.'

Turning to their friend, Nightshade asked, "You like it?" Nodding, Double Shuffle replied, "It's pretty good. I think you've got the touch man." Hearing this, the green haired teen let out a dejected sigh as they closed their notebook and set it back in their backpack.

'Uh oh.' Double Shuffle thought to herself. 'I must have said something. Let's see, "pretty good?" I mean, maybe that could have been a bit too harsh. What about the…' IT was then that she figured it out. 'Oh, maybe it was the "man" part.' Deciding to try it, Double Shuffle turned back to Nightshade and apologized, "Oh, Sorry for saying "man." I hope it wasn't too…."

"It's alright." Nightshade interrupted. "I know I'm a bit of an oddity. Kinda hard to keep a low profile when you're not really like everyone else." They then let out a small sigh as they added, "After a while you get used to it."

Taking this in, Double Shuffle impulsively replied, "You aren't the only one. I've had people call me crazy or way too old fashioned being a tap dancer." Hearing this, Nightshade let out an amused chuckle, leading the blue dancer to ask, "Uh… What's funny?"

Sighing, Nightshade explained, "I don't think having a hobby, however cool it is, that people find odd is the same as having your identity disrespected." When Double Shuffle tilted her head in confusion, the green haired teen bluntly stated, "Look, I'm not a "boy" or a "man." I'm… Me."

"Oh." Double Shuffle said. She then thought to herself, 'Oops. I forgot his… I mean their request to be referred to with they/them pronouns.' Scratching the back of her neck, the blue dancer apologized, "I'm sorry. I've never met someone… someone like you before, so forgive me if I mess up with your…"

Before Double Shuffle could finish her apology, the two kids were distracted by the sound of their teacher's voice call out, "Simmer down. Simmer down everyone." The blue dancer turned her head to see who it was, she was greeted by the sight of a man with green skin, golden hair, and a blue suit that could only be her math teacher, Number Cruncher.

"Now then everyone…" Number Cruncher began. "We will pick up where we left off with…."

The cafeteria

Taking a bite from the apple on her tray, Double Shuffle sighed as she thought to herself, 'I can't believe Nightshade could turn like that.' Indeed, the green haired teen hadn't said another word to her since she accidentally called them "man." Swallowing her mouthful, the blue girl remarked, "Heck, the moment the bell rang, they just ran off."

Pausing for a moment, Double Shuffle realized that she'd correctly used the right pronoun for Nightshade, leading to her remarking, "Wow. I used the right word for them." Scratching her chin, the blue dancer reached for her carton of milk as she continued, "But what about other terms? I know "man" doesn't really fit with him… I mean…"

Groaning as she allowed her head to fall to the table, Double Shuffle could only groan, "Damnit! I keep messing up!" Taking a deep breath, the young hoofer scolded herself, "You know what they said. Gotta use their preferred pronouns."

Before she could ponder her predicament any further, Double Shuffle was distracted by the sound of the bell ringing, signaling that lunch was over. Sighing, the blue dancer gathered up her trash and made her way to the trash can, tossing it all away as she made her way towards her next class. She just hoped she could make it up to Nightshade.

Later that Day

Sitting outside the school, Double Shuffle scanned the horizon for her mother's car. "Come on." She muttered to herself. "She should be here by now, unless she got busy with fitting a client." Sighing to herself, the blue hoofer could only complain, "I just wanna go home and practice."

It was at this moment that the young girl heard the sound of someone's voice mockingly call out, "Look at this! Girly guy here likes drawing!" Hearing this, Double Shuffle remarked to herself, "Who's that?" As she turned to see what was going on, another voice, this one Nightshade's, called out, "Give that back you prick!"

As she turned to see what was going on, Double Shuffle found herself staring at a gang of older boys who were surrounding Nightshade. One of them, a vaguely familiar boy with purple skin and red hair, was ripping pages out of a notebook as he gloated, "What are you gonna do about it wimp?"

Seeing her friend being picked on by the bullies made Double Shuffle's blood boil. 'Well, here we go again.' She thought to herself. Straightening her shirt, the blue dancer stomped up to the group as she demanded, "Leave my friend alone!"

When Nightshade and the gang turned to face her, Double Shuffle warned, "I don't know what you lot are doing, but you'd better stop right now." The purple bully walked up to her as he mockingly asked, "What are you gonna do about it? Tattle on us?" As the rest of the bullies laughed, Double Shuffle felt herself begin to faulter as she thought, 'Oh. These guys probably don't care if they get in trouble.' Still, she felt she had to do something, and it was at this moment that she made yet another mistake.

Taking a deep breath, Double Shuffle called out, "All I know is you're picking on Nightshade, and he's my friend, so I won't let you hurt him!"

The moment those words escaped her lips, the blue dancer mentally kicked herself as she thought, 'you idiot! You just….' She was interrupted by the sound of one of the other bullies calling out, "Teacher's coming! Let's scram!" Indeed, a teacher Double Shuffle didn't recognize was walking up to the group, a stern expression plastered on his face. Seeing him approach them, the purple bully ordered, "Beat it boys!" As they fled, he turned to Double Shuffle as he warned, "This isn't over twinkle toes!"

Running up to the green haired teen, Double Shuffle asked, "You alright Nightshade?" As she extended her hand, however, Nightshade slapped it away as they scolded, "What did I tell you?! I told you I'm not a boy for Primus's sake!" Gathering up their possessions, they continued, "Can't you just get it through that thick head of yours?!"

Hearing Nightshade criticize and belittle her despite standing up for them, Double Shuffle couldn't help but allow her frustration to briefly take over as she shot back, "Hey, I'm sorry for using the wrong pronouns again, ok?!" As the green haired teen stepped back in surprise, the blue hoofer sighed as she replied, "Sorry for blowing up at you, but please try to cut me a little slack. It's been a long day and…"

"I have to go." Nightshade interrupted. Looking at Double Shuffle, they bluntly stated, "I don't want to say something I'll regret. I'm sorry." Before the blue hoofer could say anything at else, Nightshade ran off, leaving Double Shuffle caught off guard, confused, and depressed.

"Well, this sucks." The blue dancer groaned to herself. "I called them the wrong pronoun again, I pissed them off, I…" Letting out a groan of frustration, Double Shuffle kicked the ground, sending a small puff of dust into the air as the teacher walked up to her and asked, "I saw some older boys messing with you and your friend. Everything ok?"

Shrugging, Double Shuffle could only reply, "Not really. Nightshade just ran off to Primus knows where, not to mention I accidentally called them a boy again and…" At that moment, something in the corner of her eye caught the young girl's attention. Turning around, she found Nightshade's notebook lying on the ground. Bending down to pick it up, she found that several pages had been ripped out.

Taking a deep breath, Double Shuffle could only lament, "And I think I messed up today." All she could do was begin to pick up the discarded pages and hope she could give them back to Nightshade tomorrow.

Tap Family Studio, Later That Evening

Stomping her feat against the wooden floor, Double Shuffle let out her pent-up frustration as she danced alone in the studio. Once she'd gotten home, the young hoofer had changed into a pair of loose black pants, striped off her red button shirt, and slipped on her black and yellow oxford tap shoes. Normally, she'd stick with one of her many pairs of all black shoes, but right now, she needed something to lift her spirits, leading the young hoofer to bust out the pair gifted by her father.

Normally, Double Shuffle saw getting to practice after school as a chance to relax and unwind, but right now, she just needed an outlet to vent her frustration. As she began to turn, the young girl lost her balance, tripping over her feet and stepping a few steps forward in an attempt to catch herself. Allowing her frustration to boil over again, Double Shuffle slammed her feet into the wooden floor as she groaned, "Ugh. Now I'm tripping over myself! Today has been the worst!"

At that moment, the studio door opened as Tender Taps popped his head in as he asked, "Everything alright in here?" Turning to face her brother, Double Shuffle bluntly answered, "I'm fine. Just been a long day." The older boy shook his head as he stepped into the studio and replied, "I know you're lying. I heard you angry dancing and practically screaming." Walking up to his sister, Tender Taps asked, "So please, tell me what's going on."

Sighing in resignation, Double Shuffle lamented, "I just can't hide anything from you, can I?" Tender Taps let out a small chuckle as he replied, "Because I know you. Especially since you slam all your weight onto the ground when you're angry dancing." Scratching the back of her neck, the younger hoofer added, "Yeah. Guess both of us can tell the difference."

Taking a deep breath, Double Shuffle explained, "Ok so, there's a new kid in my homeroom and math class, and their name is Nightshade." As she sat down against the wall, Tender Taps asked, "Is Nightshade giving you any trouble?" Shaking her head, the blue dancer replied, "Oh, of course not. They're actually really smart and pretty cool. It's just that they don't like it when…."

"They're nonbinary?" Tender Taps asked.

Caught off guard, Double Shuffle replied, "What? How'd you know that?" Tender Taps smiled as he explained, "You kept using "they," and I just sorta took a guess." Nodding, the young hoofer continued, "Well, that's the problem. I just… I accidentally called them a boy, or at least said, "he," and they got angry with me, and when I tried to apologize, they just got all upset with me." Sighing, she finished with, "I feel like a jerk."

Sitting down next to his sister, Tender Taps reassured her, "You're not a jerk." He then asked, "I take it Nightshade is the first nonbinary person you've met?" Nodding, Double Shuffle replied, "Yeah. What does that mean anyway?" Pausing for a moment, Tender Taps answered, "Well, I can't entirely answer that, but the important thing is that a nonbinary person doesn't identify as being either male or female. This means that, when talking to or about them, they prefer using pronouns like they, them, and their." He then paused for a moment before adding, "Some might also accept other pronouns, but from what you've said, it sounds like Nightshade prefers simply they/them."

Taking this information in, Double Shuffle asked, "So me accidentally calling them a boy would be like calling you a girl?" Tender Taps shrugged as he replied, "More or less. Again, I'm not Nightshade, so I'd leave how they identify to them." He then added a gentle, "And to remember to use the right pronouns."

Sighing, Double Shuffle replied, "Yeah." She then asked, "So, how'd you know this?" Smiling, Tender Taps replied, "One of my friends in theater class is nonbinary. They're name is Power Ballad, and they came out when the school year started." Letting out a small chuckle, the older boy continued, "I was able brute force their pronouns into my head pretty quickly, but some of my classmates took a little longer to catch on."

Taking this information in, Double Shuffle asked, "So all I have to do is just tell myself that they're "they" over and over again?" Nodding, Tender Taps replied, "Yup. I'm sure Nightshade will appreciate the gesture, and after a while, it'll become second nature." Starting to feel a bit better, Double Shuffle asked, "You think they'll forgive me for… you know…" Taking his sister's hand, Tender Taps reassured her, "I'm sure they will."

Giving her brother a hug, Double Shuffle said, "Thanks Tender." Hugging his sister back, the orange hoofer replied, "No problem Double Shuffle."

Standing up, Tender Taps said, "Now, I gotta get some studying done, but after that, I think I might do a little practicing too." He then gave his sister a mischievous smirk as he asked, "You did get you're homework done, right?" Nodding, Double Shuffle replied, "Yeah. There wasn't much today anyway." The older boy then said, "Alright, I'll be back in a bit. Please don't wear yourself out too much."

As Tender Taps left the studio, Double Shuffle rose as she remarked, "Guess that's all there is to it. Just keep doing it 'till you get it right." Smiling to herself, the blue hoofer continued, "Guess it's kinda like dancing. You keep at it until you get it right, then keep at it 'till you can't get it wrong." Looking down at her feet, Double Shuffle continued, "Speaking of getting it just right, I think I need to work on turning."

Taking a deep breath, the blue dancer began to strike across the floor as she muttered, "flap heel heel. Flap heel heel…."

Homeroom, the Next Morning

Walking into her homeroom, Double Shuffle was surprised to see that there weren't too many other kids. The young hoofer had arrived early, wanting to see if she could find Nightshade so she could make things up to them as well as give them back their notebook. Scanning the classroom, she began to look for her friend as she thought, 'Please be here.'

It didn't take long. Nightshade was seated next to the spot where Double Shuffle had been sitting the day before. They were reading a book while scribbling notes down on a sheet of paper. The green haired teen was dressed in a similar outfit as the day before, the only noticeable difference being an off-gray shirt rather than a dark cream one. Taking a deep breath, the blue girl whispered, "Well, here goes nothing."

Making her way to her seat, Double Shuffle sat down as she tentatively said, "Hey." Not even looking away from their book, Nightshade simply replied, "Hey." Nodding, the blue girl thought to herself, 'At least they're not too angry from yesterday.' Double Shuffle then reached into her backpack as she presented their notebook and said, "You… uh… forgot this yesterday." As Nightshade turned to find their notebook, the blue dancer added, "I tried to get as many of the lose pages as possible."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Nightshade replied, "Thanks Double Shuffle. I was sort of in a rush yesterday." Double Shuffle nodded as she replied, "Yeah. Yesterday was… certainly something." Pausing for a moment, the young hoofer knew what she had to do, and began, "Look, about what happened yesterday…"

"I'm sorry for snapping at you."

Caught off guard by Nightshade's statement, Double Shuffle asked, "What?" Turning to face their friend, the green haired teen explained, "I lashed out at you, and that wasn't ok." Taking this in, the blue girl thought, 'Well, that's rather nice of them.'

After hesitating for a moment, Double Shuffle replied, "That's… that's sweet of you and it's alright. Actually…" Taking a deep breath, she apologized, "I'm sorry for accidentally calling you a "he" yesterday. You're the first nonbinary person I've ever met, and I kept…." Struggling to find the right words, she simply said, "I'm sorry."

To her surprise, Nightshade took her hand as they reassured her, "It's ok." As Double Shuffle took this in, the green haired teen continued, "I've changed schools so many times because I kept getting crap for being… being me, so I guess I got overwhelmed with someone actually wanting to be my friend. I didn't want to say anything that could push you away for good."

Feeling her heart soar, Double Shuffle pulled Nightshade into a tight hug as she squealed "You're my friend!" Releasing them, the blue dancer reassured them, "Don't worry, I won't misgender you again." Taking a deep breath, she began, "This is Nightshade, they are a genius, and they are my friend."

Allowing themselves to giggle, Nightshade replied, "Thanks Double Shuffle. You're pretty cool." They then asked, "So, if I may ask, how'd you start dancing?" Lighting up, Double Shuffle began, "Well, as I said, it all started with my parents, but for me, it started…."

And so, the two teens chatted as they gave their friendship a proper start. After all, what better place for a proper start than Allspark Wells?