"AJ! Hey, AJ, didja see where ah put mah school bag?" Apple Bloom hollered down the hallway from her bedroom, tossing things aside in her room.

"No idear, sugarcube!" was the yelled response back.

Apple Bloom had spent the past week getting ready for another year of school. All her books and supplies were bought, she had taken a bath the night before, and was wearing a new dress that her big sister Applejack had commissioned Rarity to make the young filly just for the first day of school. She even had a new ribbon in her mane. Everything was perfect...except for this one thing, and so it was with great frustration that she tore apart her room, and then the hallway closet, looking for the new set of school bags that Granny Smith had bought her over the summer break.

Apple Bloom checked the clock on the wall: she would need to leave in a few minutes if she didn't want to be late. She galloped at full speed down the stairs and nearly knocked over Big Macintosh at the bottom. Spinning around, she asked, "Big Mac! Have y'all seen where mah school bag is?"

"Nope." was the red stallion's response.

Trotting into the kitchen, she opened up every cupboard desperately looking for her missing item. She made such a racket that she woke up Granny Smith who hobbled down the stairs, still wearing her nightdress.

"Dang blast it, youngin'! What's with all the gee gosh racket?" she said, walking into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes in light with one of her front legs.

"Oh Granny, ah can't find the bag that yah got for me last week!" Apple Bloom whined, dejectedly sitting down at the table and burying her face in her crossed arms.

"That's no reason to be wakin' up the dead with your hollerin', now is it? Just head out to the barn, and put your what-not's in one of the empty seed satchels. I'll help ya look for the bag when yeh get home tonight."

Apple Bloom lifted her face up from her arms, her nose and mouth wrinkled up in disgust, "Aw, a seed satchel! But Granny, everybody is going to laugh at me!"

"Now, Apple Bloom..." Applejack said, walking into the kitchen, "You know the only whine that Granny Smith tolerates in this house is her famous apple wine. Y'all are gonna be late for your first day back if you don't shake a hoof, so go on now!"

Grumbling, Apple Bloom slowly rose to her feet and, grabbing an apple fritter from the pantry to eat on the way, she made her way to the door.

"Hey!" Applejack called from behind her.

When she turned around, Applejack was smiling and said to her, "Now, don't you go telling me that you're too old a filly to give your big sister and granny a hug before you go."

Applejack managed a half-smile, hugged Applejack and Granny Smith and called, "See you, Big Mac!" before racing out the door.

"Yep!" was his response.

Apple Bloom arrived at Ms. Cheerilee's school right as the bell was ringing and ponies were making their way through the doors. She was making her way up the steps when two familiar ponies stepped in her path, "Look, Silver Spoon! Not only is she still a 'blank flank', but she doesn't even have a proper school bag." said Diamond Tiara derisively to her friend.

"What's the matter, farm girl?" added Silver Spoon, "couldn't get your cutie mark in bad fashion choices?"

"Back off!" Apple Bloom sneered, "Lessen' you want me to stick my hoof where the sun don't shine!"

Diamond Tiara laughed condescendingly and replied, "What's the matter, 'blank flank'? Don't have any manners tucked away in that farm bag of yours?"

"Leave her alone!"

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon turned around to see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle standing behind them in the doorway of the school, their front legs crossed and their eyes shooting daggers at the two bullies.

"Come, Tiara!" said Silver Spoon, shoving past them into the school, "There's no reason to waste our time on these blank flanks anymore."

Diamond Tiara harumphed and stormed after her friend.

"Thanks, girls." said Apple Bloom, walking over to stand beside her friends. "A' course, not that I needed away help. Horsefeathers, if I had half a mind, I'd have bucked those two bullies into next Tuesday."

The three fillies laughed at the thought, before turning around and making their way into the school with the other ponies. As they walked together, Sweetie Belle turned to Apple Bloom and smiled, "I like your dress. Big sis does nice work."

*****

The class was a murmur of activity and chatter, as ponies caught up with their friends about what they did over the summer.

"Settle down now, colts and fillies!" Cheerilee said, walking in front of the board and gently stomping her hoof on the floor to get everybody's attention.

The room quickly quieted down for the well-liked and respected teacher mare.

"Now, we have a new student in our class this year. She and her family moved to Ponyville over the summer from all the way out west in Califoalia. Please welcome Whiteshadow!"

Everybody starting talking at once, and looking around to locate the new pupil. Apple Bloom spotted an unfamiliar filly at the very back on the classroom. She was all white, except for bright blue eyes barely visible beneath a pitch black mane that hung partially obscuring her face. She appeared to be writing something on a sheet of paper with a pencil in her mouth. Apple Bloom also noted - although it wasn't easy to see beneath her desk - that the new pony didn't appear to have a cutie mark either.

"Now, class! Settle down! Whiteshadow, do you think you could stand up and introduce yourself?"

The white pony gently lay down her pencil and brushed her hair out of her face with her hoof. With a slight blush that was easily visible against her white fur, she looked up and said quietly, "No ma'am."

"O...okay." Cheerilee said, smiling, "Maybe some other time. Now, to the rest of you, I expect you to treat Whiteshadow with the same respect that you treat your fellow classmates. Many of you know what it's like to be new, so why not help out Whiteshadow by helping her to be familiar with the school and Ponyville?"

And with that, Cheerilee opened her lesson plan and began the day's lessons.

However, Apple Bloom wasn't paying attention to Ms. Cheerilee at the moment. Despite looking down at her desk so it looked like she was following along, she kept casting backwards glances at the white pony in the back. She had her head down in her folded arms now, with her book underneath it.

"There was something...interesting about this new pony" Apple Bloom thought to herself, as she tried to pay attention to her teacher but her thoughts kept coming back to the new filly at the back of the room.

During one of her quick backward glances, her eyes met the eyes of the white pony and they both looked away as quickly as they could.

Author's Note

I came up with the concept of this story a few nights ago, and I thought I'd give it a try. I hope you enjoy reading it, and I welcome any feedback you can provide!