*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-*

An alarm chimes as a large body jumps out of it's rest, frantically trying to silence the obnoxious sound of the perpetual, high-pitched ringing that assaulted his eardrums. Shining punches his hoof in every direction, blinding himself with the comforter that he slept under. He swung at the air, only hitting nothing but the dust that flew by. In his mind he only wanted one thing, and that one thing was a mere ten more minutes of peace. His mind came to realize that his ten minute snooze was not going to happen today. In frustration, he ignited his horn and aimed in the direction of the annoying ring.

*-RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-* *KARAKLUCK*

Silence filled the air as the noise that once filled the room was brought to a gritty end as Shining untangled the sheets that obstructed his view. As he removes the blanket from his face, he sees a crumpled heap of metal and glass on the top of the dresser that sat next to his bed. The alarm clock, that awoke Shining every morning since he got it, lied on the floor in pieces. Small gears and cogs littered the floor as well as bits of broken glass. The hour hand was bent out of shape and the bells that sat atop were crushed inwards. The small latch that ensured that the alarm was enabled, was set to deactivate the alarm. But in this case, as Shining shook his head in shame, the alarm was indeed shut down for good.

Shining Armor brought a hoof to his eyes, wiping away any traces of crust and sleep from his eyelids. He yawned as he stretched his hooves far into the air. His jaw moved on it's own, stretching his eardrums as he exhaled with a loud sigh. Finally recovering from his state of pandiculation, his limbs relaxed themselves as his vision came into focus. His eyes ran red as he looked out the window, listening to the birds chirp and sing as they celebrated the coming of the sun once more. The light that pierced through the window began to cause a strain on his visuals, causing a small amount of pain. He shielded his eyes from the rays of the sun that shone brightly in the midst of his darkened room. His only saving grace was that the blinds that covered the window were not entirely open.

"Ugh, this sucks. Why do I always have to have school on the days that I would like to spend time playing hoofball with my friends outside?" He grumbled as he proceeded to clean up the mess he made with the alarm clock. "If I wasn't afraid of the fact that my dad is the Captain of the Guard and my mom is an Equish professor at the University of Canterlot, then I wouldn't mind too much when it came to skipping classes. But since they always stay in touch with all of my teachers, I won't be doing that unless I feel like cleaning up the gymnasium with nothing but a toothbrush and a bar of soap (water sold separately, batteries not included)."

As he telekinetically swept away all traces of the crime he committed against his alarm clock, he dumps the remains into a small bucket to the side of his wall, next to his closet. Before long, the homicidal crime scene that littered his bedside became nothing more than a distant memory. He sighed as he entered his closet, opening a large wooden chest at the bottom. Inside of the chest was exact models of the alarm clock he just previously destroyed in his frustration. He levitated one of the clocks, not caring which one, to his bedside. Winding up the alarm as well as the clock itself, he set the proper time and set his alarm. A slight groan comes from Shining's lips as he mumbles to himself once more.

" *smick* Man this sucks. I go through this every Tuesday morning. Why can't they operate like a normal school would and let us start at around eight-thirty or nine? Is another hour of sleep too much to ask? But nooooooooo, I have to get to school and be in class by seven-thirty on the dot." He sighs as he replaces the clock before he continues his morning rant. "And they don't even let us have a weekend to ourselves. What the hell, I swear that they just try to make our lives a living-"

"Shining! Twilight! Breakfast is ready!" His mother calls out, cutting his rant short.

"Come on slow poke! Smarty Pants can move faster than you!" His younger sister yells out to him as she makes a dash for the stairs.

"Coming! On my way down!" He screams as he looks out the window one last time before making a mad dash for the stairs himself. As he shot out of the room in a blinding haze of white and blue, he closes the door behind him, sending small shock waves through the room. As the shock waves reached the garbage can that sat next to his closet, a small sound was produced from the garbage pail as the sound of his hoofsteps faded into the distance.

*..... tink*

"Have a nice day at school dear!"

"Okay mom!"

"And NO MARES!!!"

"Stop it mom!"

"Oh, and remember to pick up your sister from school this afternoon! She'll be waiting for you!"

"Got it!"

Shining Armor screamed back and forth to his mom as he galloped down the street. He looked away in embarrassment as his mother continued her exchange, quoting on how he was her 'sweet little snugaboo bear'. Hearing those words only made his hooves gallop faster as the neighbors who stood outside picking up their newspapers snickered and laughed at his misfortune.

"Augh, why does she insist on calling me that every morning? It's so embarrassing." He panted to himself as he made his way to school.

Thanks to his current departure time, he knew that he was going to be late if he took his normal route. So he opted for the best route that would lead him to the school the quickest, and it just so happened to be the route that his friend, Azure Sword, took in order to go to the other school across town. Calculating an estimate time of his arrival at the school's front gates, Shining saw a carriage that was head to the direction of the school. He took a mental note of the speed that the carriage was going, and jumped on the rear end as it passed. As he held on to the moving vehicle, he noticed that the school was approaching very quickly. He also notices that the driver was indeed furious at him, shouting out expletives and insults. Shining knew that he had managed to get a free ride on a paying transport, but he also knew that this kind of thing was classified as a misdemeanor. The teen colt paid no heed to the driver as his destination was only a mere block away. He knew that he was breaking the law, but he also knew that breaking a law was a lot easier than dealing with his parents who would be fuming if they had found that their son was tardy to classes. Shining gulped at the possible punishments as they filled his head. Insert guitar solo

Before long, the driver pulled a right turn, heading away from Shining's destination. The young stallion made a daring leap from the back of the moving carriage, landing on all four hooves before he turned back on track. He smiled as the school gates were in view only a mere block away. Smiling as he looked at the gates, he broke into full speed trying to beat the clock. Before long, he made it to the blackened steel gates of the school. Above the archway was a signed that read 'Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns' adorned by two unicorns that stood on their hind legs as if thew were about to charge into each other.

Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns was only a place-title, however the school was indeed filled with a student body of mostly unicorns. There were pegasi and earth ponies that enrolled, but they were only a vocal minority at the school. Many of those who get in as another species are either seeking a school that they can go to without the ridicule of the upper crust citizens or wanting to get the best of their education at the best affordable price. Those who enrolled as a unicorn are often interviewed and auditioned for their entrance exams. The exam was pretty basic: you show what your special talent is, you demonstrate your levitation abilities, show off any special attributes and solve a magical puzzle. But aside from the multi-million-bit budget, the insane school functions, the ruthless knight-core system and the amazing sports programs, it was your basic Canterlot high school.

Shining ran into the courtyard, which was decorated with a myriad of flowers along the walking trail, emerald-green grass and a large central fountain. The other students that stood in the courtyard appeared as a blur to him while he galloped into the main entrance. Inside was a large statue depicting the legendary Starswirl the Bearded that stood in the main hallway. The main hall was a large oval-shaped rotunda that was adorned in gold and ivory. Different colors decorated the halls as they trickled down from the gold-leafed dome. The red represented the first year students (formally known as freshmeats) and it bled into a large hallway that was set downstairs below the main hall. The green represented the second years (sophomores) and it blended into an opposing hall that faced the red one downstairs. The blue represented third years (juniors) and bled into a hallway that was a floor above the main hall. The purple represented the final years (seniors) and their hall was the opposite side of the thirds. There was a trail of silver and black that intertwined into a hallway that stood in front of Shining Armor. That hall was known as the athletics hall. The orange trail bled into a central hallway below the athletics, it led directly into the cafeteria. The gold that remained untouched only accented the center white hall above the athletics, and that was the administration hall. The four stairwells themselves circled around the rotunda, curving outwards and into the platforms above and below. Shining looked at the clock above the athletics hall and noticed that he made it in with plenty of time to spare. With a sigh of relief, he trotted down the stairs and into the green hallway that held many of his classes.

"Hey, well if it isn't Shine-so-bright-that-the-sun-needs-shades Armor. All I see out of you is nothing but pearly whites. In speaking of pearls-"

"Shut it Azure."

"I said nothing on that bro, but I can say this: you've been grinning like that since the day we met at the hotel."

Shining Armor cheeks flushed lightly as he thought back to the night that he and Pearl spent a night together. Before his mind could go into all the details, his friend interrupted the flashbacks to that evening.

"Also, can you tell her that I said thanks for everything that she's done already? Because of her, I finally managed to erase the deficit that my account was growing from earlier last year."

"Wait a minute. Last year???" Shining asks as he looked at his friend with growing concern.

"Yeah. I needed the money because the my parents paid, was a little in the red."

"How much did you owe them? If you don't mind me asking."

"Three thousand bits."

"THREE THOUSAND!? Are you sure that you weren't swimming in the red?" Shining asked trying to comprehend how one could acquire a deficit so big.

"Yeah. And it didn't help that my parents stopped paying my room-and-board."

"So were you homeless?" Shining asked as Azure gestured for the two to keep walking to class.

"Still am, technically. I lived in a closet at the hotel I work in and I don't get paid directly. Everything is transferred to my student account, which in turn pays the debt, which would also allow me to attend on a regular basis. I mean I'm still in that same closet. But now that the debt's been erased, my tuition and my r-n-b has been paid in full for the semester. All I need to do is move my stuff from there and I'll be back to normal."

"Uh-oh." Said Shining as he stopped shy of the doorway.

"What's wrong? What does 'uh-oh' mean?"

"When you say 'back to normal', do you mean-"

"Nah. I'll just be peeking in on the girls here."

"Same old Azure, I see." Shining Armor snides as he opens the door, using his magic.

"Eyeap, that's me! Peeking in on the upper-years until I go blind." Replied Azure as he entered the classroom.

"Pfft, you better be lucky that you weren't expelled for that stunt from last year." Shining commented as he followed his friend into the classroom, making their way to their seats.

"Yeah, but guess what I found out." Azure takes out his notebook and places it on the desk with various school supplies.

"What?"

"You know that alicorn chick I met up with last year, she's actually a foalsitter."

"Are you still on that?" Shining asked while removing from his bag a composition notebook with his cutie mark on the front.

"How many opportunities would a normal guy have in sleeping with a mare who has either a horn or wings? Probable, right? Now think about seducing one who has BOTH, a horn and wings. Those upper-crust boys would be so jealous!"

"...Back to normal, I see."

"Hey, at least I'm allowed to be normal." Azure mumbled as Shining sharpened his pencils.

"Fuck you!"

"Wow, I didn't know you took up on swearing. It sounds kinda weird coming from you." Azure teased as he placed his saddlebags on the floor.

"Heh, you said coming." Shining chimed, mocking his friend.

"AHHHHH!!!! I need an adult! I need an adult! There's a stranger sitting next to me!"

"Not so funny when the stupidity you usually bring is brought to your doorstep, huh?"

"Fuck off, momma's boy." Azure dismissed as he waived a hoof to his friend.

"I am not." Shining argues in embarrassment.

"Are too." Azure rebuts as a large figure stands behind the two, going unnoticed until...

"That's enough from you two." Roared a deep masculine voice coming from the front of the room. A large shadow-like figure towered the two colts as if they were mere ants to a hydra. The figure wore a white shirt, with a red collar and a brown overcoat. He donned a pair of glasses that seemingly glowed phosphorus white in contrast to the black shadow that wore them. Shining and Azure were shaking violently, causing their seats to vibrate. Fear overtook the two teens as they feared for the worst to come. As the shadow pony retreated to the front of the classroom, his face came into view. He was a, earl-gray earth pony with a chiseled jawline and an unusually calm and gentle smile. His eyes were a soft blue and his demeanor was a gentle but forceful one. His cutie mark was a red ink pen and sheet of paper.

"Everypony sit down, shut up, and pull out your pencils. You know what time it is."

A student in the class raised their hoof to acknowledge that they would be speaking. "Um, excuse me Mr. Grade-"

"I do believe I told you to sit down and be quiet, did I not?" He shot down the student's request before the student could even make it out. He closed his eyes and smiled at the student. From a teacher's perspective, he was being nice about it and looked so kind. But from a student's perspective, that look was one of evil and malcontent, punishing anyone who dared to speak against him under penalty of death. The student shivered as he dropped his hoof from the air to his desk-side. Mr. Grade proceeded with his lesson.

"And for those that don't know, then I will expect to see you in study hall this semester. POP QUIZ!"

The class drew a collective groan as the teacher pulled out a large pile of papers to be given out.

*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*

"Okay kiddos, that's it for today's lesson. Those who are meeting for the newspaper club go next door. Ponies who have detention, come to my desk right now."

Students flooded the halls of the Ponyville Elementary Schoolhouse. Everywhere, fillies and colts ran from the end of the hall to the playground to catch the fresh air that awaited them outside. The sun shone brightly in the sky, the clouds were enough to give momentary relief from the sun's rays, the wind was set at a gentle breeze and the afternoon air was filled with the smells of pastries and sweets from not too far down the road. Foals screamed and cheered as they ran to the freedom of the outside air, many of them running back to where they last left off from recess. Two fillies played on the see-saw next to the swing set, four colts played with their toys in the sandbox, and two foal pushed each other on swing sets as the many others cheered when their parents came to take them to their respective homes. Many of them were excited due to the fact that their teachers let them off the hook with no homework for the evening. All was well.

" *snicker* You think that going to the city is where you belong?"

"Wow. You Apples must really do have dirt for brains!"

All was well until two twin fillies by the name of Surf and Turf came into view, and with them was their usual victim. Surf was a lavender-pink filly with a Columbia blue and turquoise mane. Her cutie mark resembled that of a blue-and-white surfboard and wore a yellow hairband. Turf was a cyan filly with a saffron and Jasmine yellow mane. Her cutie mark was that of a purple palm tree and she donned a small pink bow in her mane on her right side. They both took to offend an orange earth pony who's face was covered in freckles. Her mane was blonde fashioned to a ponytail with a small red bow that was tied at the very ends of her mane and tail. Surf and Turf constantly picked on the mare for one reason and one reason alone, her lack of a cutie mark.

"Hey freckles, how does it feel to be the last one in our class to not have her cutie mark?" Surf teased as she and her friend circled the victimized filly as two sharks would to their prey.

"I'm pretty sure she feels like dirt right now. I mean just look at her!" Turf added on before her list of insults continued. "She's so plain looking, her mane is tangled beyond repair, she has those, ughk, ugly freckles everywhere and not to mention, she has that weird, tangy accent that she uses."

"Say whatcha want! Ah don care, not one bit!" The orange filly lashed back as she was put on the defensive.

"What was that?" Turf asked as she mocked the filly.

"WE. DON'T. UN-DER-STAND. WHAT. YOU. ARE. SAYING(ah)! YOU. NEED. TEA-CHER! TEA-CHER. TEACH. YOU! YOU. SPEAK. GOOD!" Surf teased as the two continued to laugh at the orange filly's expense.

"Ah don't need no teacher ta teach me how ta speak! Granny Smith said that ah didn't have ta listen ta y'all-"

Surf and Turf both laughed as they cut the orange filly's statement short. Surf began to speak into the filly's ear. "Granny Smith said this. Granny said that. Granny said, Granny said. Well listen to me. What Granny says doesn't work."

The orange filly shut her eyes and gritted her teeth as she whispered to herself, trying to close off her hearing to the buttered tongue of her grandmother's words. "Sticks an stones can break mah bones, but words can never hurt me."

"Aww, she's trying to find her happy place." Turf mocked with a smirk. "Let's pay this filly with a reality check"

"I'm with ya on this one." Surf agreed. As their approach became menacingly slow, the orange filly repeated the mantra set in her mind as she locked out the oncoming verbal onslaught.

"Sticks and stones..."

"She's nothing, I mean just look at her. She not even worth our time." Surf whispered in her ear as their prey chanted to herself.

"...may break..."

"She doesn't even know the deal on why she's even here, does she." Turf teased, taking a turn at cracking the filly from within her protective shell of words. She continued to chant, drowning out their words.

"...my bones..."

"She's not even gonna have a life of her own. She'll never be interesting. She doomed to a life of a boring and pathetic existence." Surf took a swipe at the filly's mane as the defensive victim stays within her comforting mantra shield, gritting her teeth and holding her head down, hiding her face with her mane.

"...but your words..."

"And not to mention the fact that she take her advice from an old lady! Her brother must be all kinds of stupid because all he says is 'eeyup' and 'eenope'. Is he retarded or something?" Surf asked.

"Nah, that's just the 'dirt-for-brains syndrome' he caught being in the same family with this tree licker here. It's a shame 'cause he cute too, unlike his mud-ugly dog of a sister." Turf answered, hoping to gauge a response from the curled-up filly. The filly's inner voice cracked as she managed to reach the end of her mantra.

...will never...

"Hey, why do you think we never seen her parents?" Turf asked.

"Well it's because they wanted to leave for the city. They didn't want to stay with a failure-of-a-daughter like her. Forced to call something so hideous their 'pride-and-joy', it's so disgusting." Surf answered, landing a low blow on the filly's psyche.

...hurt... And the very last word, disgusting, landed it's piercing blow against the comforting shield of the filly's mantra, disabling her defense as the proverbial walls of her comfort came crashing down. It was as if the world came to a blinding halt as everything that protected her was suddenly abducted from her, leaving nothing but a flood of salty tears in the wake of the fallen fortress. Her shoulders dropped and her eyes could no longer hold back the flood that was to come. Her voice, once strong and defiant, broke into nothing but incoherent letters and sobs. Partial words leapt off her tongue, but could never leave past her fumbling lips. She could only choke on her own breaths as she held her head down, trying not to look into the face of her conquerors.

"Ha! I didn't know that dirt itself could feel an emotion." Turf exclaimed as she looked to the emotionally defeated filly as she choked and sobbed in silence, trying not to unleash wails filled of agony.

"Well, I guess it's true what they say. If you dig in the dirt deep enough, then you can find a well of water that would gush out!" Surf screamed as she removed the blonde ponytail from the crying filly's face, leaving her vulnerable to the world as the tear fell without restraint from her face to the dirt below.

"♪Who's a silly pony? You're a silly pony! Who is? You is, Applejack!♫" The both sang in unison before falling to the ground in laughter, producing tears of their own.

"My word! If you two could spend your free time picking on fillies younger than you, then maybe you could invest some of that time on proper grammar usage!"

The two bullies looked for the source of the voice. Before long, they found that the voice came from a pure white unicorn filly with an indigo mane fashioned into a curl. The two bullies picked themselves up as they found a new prey to pick on. Seeing that this filly was also devoid of her cutie mark, they assumed their formation once again to make ready their verbal barrage. They circled around the unicorn filly as they started to throw their insults at her.

"So, what is a blank flank loser like you doing here in this school?" Surf began as the two continued to circle around the firm-standing Rarity.

"Well, I'm not exactly a loser now am I? My father being a professional athlete and what-not should clue you in." She rebuts with a smile. With that argument resolved, Turf took a shot at the standing filly.

"Well you got that much going for you, at least. But that still doesn't explain how you can't even levitate as much as a single pencil."

"Hmm, now that you mention it..." Rarity smiled as she ignited her horn to pick up two small but sturdy switches behind the two bullies, who now stood in front of her, stopping their circular approach. "...I guess I'm not as well performed as your missing third."

"Yeah, you, like, better recognize." Surf added as Turf walked up to the filly to insult her some more, unaware that the switches that Rarity held up with her magic had managed to creep into position.

"I may not be good at levitation nor am I any good at teaching, I'm more into fashion, but I'd say it's time that you two learned some manners!" Rarity shouted as she took a step forward, a grin forming on her face.

"Oh really little bitch, and what are you gonna do then! Teach us this lesson you have set up for us." Surf spoke in a threatening tone as if she would pounce on the filly at any given moment.

"Okay, lesson one. PICK ON SOMEPONY YOUR OWN SIZE!" Shouted Rarity as she swung the thin slices of wood against the backsides of the two bullies. Surf and Turf screamed in pain as the switches swatted against their bare plots, leaving lines of red and a stinging pain as they made contact with their hind quarters and haunches. The bullies jumped and leapt high into the air, trying to avoid the constant barrage of the wooden objects. Rarity continued her 'lesson' for a well timed three minutes until the bullies themselves had been brought to tears. Rarity looked at them and merely smiled, knowing that justice was served.

"Argh!!! If Sunset Shimmer was here, then you'd be nothing more than a pile of ashes by now for that stunt you pulled." Screamed Turf as they rubbed themselves, trying to soothe the pain. Soon after, the two bullies made a hasty retreat from the area. Other fillies and colts who caught a glimpse of the action applauded and cheered for the standing victor. Rarity, however, wasted no time in celebration as she ran to the side of the saddened orange filly.

"Are you alright?" Rarity asked as she extended a hoof to the downtrodden filly. But as soon she reached within grabbing distance, Applejack slapped Rarity's hoof down in response.

"Ah'm alright! Now git away from me!" Applejack responded harshly trying to hide her tear-ridden face.

"But... I... was only trying to-"

"Help!? NO THANKS! Ah didn't need yer stupid help an Ah don't need it now!"

"But... you-"

"BUT WHAT!? Ya think that helping me is gonna get yer pretty self any closer ta me? Well guess what? Ah managed as long as Ah did without friends an Ah especially don't need yer stupid pity, let alone yer help!" Applejack lunged at the confused filly before her. "Now, GIT!!!"

"Why of all the..." Rarity answered, offended that the filly she helped could be so stubborn. Before Rarity could say anything else, Applejack gave the offended Rarity a sudden hug. Rarity withdrew in surprise as the other colts and fillies questioned what just happened before their very eyes. As Rarity offered to return the hug, Applejack pushed her to the ground as she ran the opposite way. Rarity looked up as her eyes tried to follow the pony that accosted her and pushed her to the ground, but two voices called out to her before she could find out where she went.

"Rarity, dearie! It's time to go!"

"C'mon kiddo! Time's a tickin'!"

Rarity immediately jumped up, dusted herself off and ran to the sound of the her parents voice. The other foals cheered as the hoofball star came into view. Many of them cheered for the large-framed stallion but the others were cheering on their own hero, Rarity. While many waved at Magnus, others waved at the filly who ran to her father and gave him a hug. Some of the teachers looked outside of the window and cheered for the hometown hero. Pearl embraced Rarity as she was released from her father's grip. Rarity, quickly climbed atop her mother's back, pointing to the road that lead to town as if she was a royal issuing orders to her loyal allies.

As the school faded from the view of the two adults, Rarity saw a filly who stood behind a tree, poking her hoof into the dirt as they passed by. The filly looked up to see who was passing by and noticed that the famous hoofball player had come to town, walking alongside his wife. But she quickly turned her head away upon seeing who rode atop their backs. Rarity caught a glimpse of the pony that hid behind the tree and became surprised upon discovering who it was. The orange filly spat at the ground and quickly ran off to the schoolyard. Rarity could only watch as the filly she rescued ran away as fast as she could. Rarity looked at the hoofprints that trailed her and finally looked to the sky above whispering to herself.

"What a silly pony..."

Author's Note

Welp, that's all I can do for the moment. Sorry that this chapter won't be as long as I hoped it to be. Between rehearsals and studio recording sessions, I've been swamped all week. Now I gotta head out to Indiana for this awards festival. By Monday or Tuesday, I should already started on the next chapter. Wish me the best this weekend. ^_^

I'm so fucking nervous!