The new class of Cheerilee's student sat in their seats as the bell rang.

As was the usual, everyone seemed awkward and shy. For most fillies and colts, this was their first time on their own in a social setting. Even those who were friends before this class now seemed strange to one another. This included two particular pegasi sisters. Sky and Moon Chaser.

Sky was the older of the two. With a cyan coat and a similarly colored mane should be all but invisible flying in the sky, except for the single patch of black in the front of her mane. Which appeared to be the only thing she had inherited from their father, Shadow. Beyond that one tuft of hair it was easy to tell she was Rainbow Dash's daughter. Even sitting at her desk, nervously glancing around, she still fluttered her wings. Cheerilee prepared herself for a hooffull, remembering her times with Scootaloo and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Moon, however, took after her father a bit more. With a dark purple coat and black and purple streaks throughout her mane, Moon would've been just as invisible as Sky during the night. She, however, had inherited a trait that made her father so good at his detective work. She was personable. She could make any pony tell their whole life story with bare so much as a hello. And her demeanor reflected this. Sitting upright at her desk she looked around to each pony smiling happily at all the potential new friends.

Cheerilee cleared her throat and the class gave her their full attention.

"Alright, class. I know it's your first day and some of you are a bit nervous. But I assure you, this year will be lots of fun. We will be learning lots of new things. Like how to spell our names and all kinds of new games that I know you fillies and colts haven't played before."

The mention of games seemed to spark the interest of most and Cheerilee smiled at their enthusiasm.

"Okay, now, I know that a lot of you don't know each other and to help with that, I want us all to come up, one by one, and say our name and something that we like, something that we don't like, and something we fear. And we'll use those things to find out that everyone in class has at least one thing in common."

This time their faces reflected their fear. No one liked public speaking, especially for a bunch of strangers, but Cheerilee's years of experience taught her that making each pony confront that nervousness helped the children to relax with one another easier and help for bonds just a little faster.

"Just to show you how easy it is, I'll start. My name is Ms. Cheerilee. I like meeting new fillies and colts every year. I dislike when it rains for too long. And I'm afraid of thunder storms."

Some of the children giggled at her fear, a clear sign they had already begun to take interest in who would be next to speak.

"Now, who would like to go first?" Every pair of eyes, save one little pegasus hit the floor. Moon Chaser looked around and at Cheerilee, waiting for whomever would be called upon or volunteer.

Looking down at her seating chart, Cheerilee recognized one name. She'd met the filly once in the market with her mother and she had seemed very bubbly at the time. "How about miss.. Dinky Do? Would you come up and introduce yourself?"

Dinky moved slowly from her desk and walked in front of the class, turning and standing next to Cheerilee. Cheerilee could almost see the poor dear shaking, and coached her appropriately.

"So, what's your name?" Cheerilee smiled at the little filly.

"Dinky Do," she said almost inaudible.

"Well, Dinky, what's something that you like?"

"Umm.. I dunno." Her face was turning red with embarrassment.

"You don't know? Well, what about ice cream? Do you like ice cream?"

Dinky nodded a little. "But I like muffins more."

Cheerilee smiled. Like mother, like daughter. "I like muffins too. What's your favorite kind?"

"Blueberry." Dinky seemed to relax the more she spoke and the children of the class didn't giggle at her bashful nature, for they too were worried about speaking in front of the class.

"Alright, so that covers the like. What's something you don't like, Dinky?"

"I don't like spinach. It always tastes terrible." This brought a smattering of giggles from the class but some appreciative nodding as well. Even in Equestria, no one liked spinach.

Cheerilee laughed, herself. "Alright, Dinky. And what's something you're afraid of?"

"Nightmares. They're always so scary." This brought more nods from the class.

"Very good, Dinky. Class do you think we can give Dinky a little round of applause for being so brave and going first?"

There was a light clapping from the class and Dinky went back to her seat with a smile. As she passed, a seated filly whispered, "I hate spinach too." The both giggled and Cheerilee smiled. This exercise always worked like a charm.

And that was most of their day. The children came up, one by one, telling their likes, dislikes and fears. When she had exhausted the rest of the class she came to her last two fillies, Sky and Moon.

"Alright, Sky. You're turn."

Sky nearly jumped out of her chair. She'd be ready to go for some time now. Turning to face the class, she spoke confidently, "My name's Sky Chaser. I like flying and playing with clouds."

After a few giggles, Cheerilee spoke up. "And what do you dislike?"

"I dislike when cloud get all rainy cuz they're not as much fun to play with." More giggles.

"And what are you afraid of? Certainly not heights."

Sky shook her head. "Nah. Heights don't bother me. But when it's super dark at night, that always kinda scares me."

"Well, it looks like you and Hay Seed have something in common, doesn't it?"

Sky nodded and Cheerilee directed her back to her seat, calling the last remaining filly to the front.

Moon moved happily and without fear. She'd have been just as happy to be first. Taking her position next to Cheerilee, she spoke.

"My name's Moon Chaser. I'm Sky's little sister. I like the stars that come out at night. And I dislike really cloudy night when I can't see them at all."

"And what are you afraid of?" Cheerilee asked.

"I dunno. I'm not really afraid of a lot of stuff." Moon said, glancing up at Cheerilee.

"Well, what about the dark, like Sky?" Cheerilee offered.

"Nope. I was never afraid of the dark, because my daddy showed me his shadow. And shadows only hang out in the dark, and everything in the dark was way too afraid of his shadow so they all went back to the light. So I didn't need to be afraid of the dark because the only thing in it was my daddy's shadow."

Cheerilee was caught by the logic of what Moon had said. "But what about when daytime comes? Where does his shadow go then?"

"It goes back to following him around. He said him and his shadow have a deal. When he's in trouble or scared, his shadow is there to keep him company and scare off anything that might try to hurt him. He said he got my shadow to make him the same deal so I never have to be afraid as long as my shadow is around." Moon spoke with all the conviction of someone completely convinced by her own words.

Innocent logic aside, Cheerilee had to admit that this was an excellent way to deal with the fears of a child. "Well, ask him if he can make the same deal with my shadow. I'd like to not be alone during thunderstorms."

"But you're never alone, Ms. Cheerilee. When it gets dark your shadow just takes up more room to keep all the bad stuff away. When it storms and gets really dark, your shadow is wrapped all around you, like a big blanket. It keeps out the bad stuff and lets the good stuff in, cuz good stuff always happens in the light and he always makes a hole for it."

Cheerilee blinked. She had sincerely never thought of anything like this. Perhaps this would help quell her fear the next time Ponyville had a storm. "Well, thank you, Moon. I feel much better knowing that."

Sky raised her hoof from her desk.

"Yes, Sky? Do you have a question?"

"Yea. Can I change my fear? I'm not scared of the dark anymore."

"Me either," said Hay Seed from across the room.