A School Between Two Worlds

“Scorpan, where are you?” Lily’s voice echoed around the ruins of the sanctuary. His only company was his reflection, repeated countless times in the endless mirrors. Scorpan was nowhere to be found. If he wasn’t here that means he was outside, with the students. Lily can’t let that idiot get seen.

Lily jumped through the mirror on the pillar and came out from the school’s statue. The sun greeted him with its feeble rays. He filled his lungs with fresh air and let it out to relax a bit. There was no trace of Scorpan. Unconsciously, his hands reached for the pendant. He couldn’t believe Scorpan left him alone here.

“I thought you would never come out,” said a woman in front of the school, making Lily flinch.

She threw up the black cloak that covered her tall, slender figure – head and a half taller than Lily. It flied to the sky as it expanded, slowly covering its entire immensity. Stars birthed within it, illuminating bit by bit the black sky. But it wasn’t until a gigantic, silver moon appeared that Lily could see the creature in front of him.

Her fangs shone in a proud smile in her small muzzle. “Feel honored, The Queen of the Night stands before you.”

Lily felt his heartbeats when he heard the tittle she used. “N-Nightmare Moon!?”

Nightmare Moon’s mane and tail, crafted with the night-sky itself, undulated ethereally around her. Parts of her body were covered with a navy blue armor that left room for her colossal, jet black wings. A belt with hanging pieces of cloth barely covered her hips. Nothing of her voluptuous curves was left to imagination. The symbol on her prominent hips was at full display: a purple night-sky with a blue crescent moon.

Her piercing, cyan eyes traced her own body. “All men put the same face you have when they look at me.”

The winged amazon rose in the air, lifting a huge amount of wind with each flutter. Her long horn lit with a cyan glow that illuminated the crown behind it – right between her pony ears.

Lily stared at her, petrified.

“That weak mirror wasn’t able to turn me into a human, so I took the liberty of play a bit with my body.”

“That’s impossible, the princesses vanished you to the moon!”

“Princesses? I think you are confused. Doesn’t matter, what I need from you is not your knowledge, but your loyalty.”

Lily clenched his fists. “I have nothing to do with a dark creature like you!”

“I’m a Queen! If I want something I just take it.” Nightmare Moon adopted a softer tone. “I’ve been in this world for over a year. I just want some company.” She landed and showed him the back of her hand. “Come here, show me some chivalry.”

Lily summoned his hornsword and shot right on her hand. The bullet passed through her like she was a shadow in the mist of the night.

Nightmare Moon let out a sight of resignation. “I don’t know why Amore parasites a fool like you. How stupid do you have to be to give up the magic in you?”

Her horn conjured a barrage of cyan lightning to Lily. The sword vanished as he summoned his shield. The lightning struck against it. With a yank of the shield, Lily deflected her attack.

His hand quivered after such a powerful attack. Looks like I can only use one weapon at the time…

Lily looked to his opponent as all his hopes fled in terror. An alicorn. Climax of evolution. Perfection made flesh. Only a fool or a dead man will dare to confront them. Even so, there is no other way out for him. He clenched his teeth and stabbed her with his eyes.

Lily ran to her, his sword back in his hand, ready to slice her jugular.

Nightmare Moon warped in front of him, making Lily hit her armor. She barely felt the clash. One of her hands grabbed Lily’s shirt and threw him up twenty meter away from the ground.

The stars were engulfed by Nightmare Moon’s magic and one by one they went to him.

Lily summoned his shield.

The stars collided with the shield, exploding at contact. The succession of explosion brought Lily down to the ground. His back was crushed against the ground. His body was exposed to an intermittent rain of stars that exploded when they touched him. Each star burned his skin like blazing coals.

Lily’s decadent figure rose from the hole, wincing in pain. Without delay, his hornsword was in his hand. Four luminous bullets flew toward the alicorn. Nightmare Moon’s body turned into mist. All the bullets passed through her.

She slowly walked toward Lily as her body materialized. Lily summoned the halberd and prepared the axe blade to slice her head. The distances shortened and Lily swung the weapon. Nightmare Moon turned into a mist that flowed behind him.

She grabbed Lily’s forearm. “See? Without magic, you are defenseless.”

She applied a bit of her strength. The bone broke like if an elephant had stepped on it. Lily let out a cry of pain that inspired Nightmare Moon to pull his arm until it separated from the shoulder joint.

She warped to the roof and said indifferently, “That’s your punishment for trying to hurt your queen. Desist now!”

The pain knocked Lily to his knees. His bones were nothing but splinters. His whole arm shivered. The skin below his gauntlet was inflamed and purple. He tried to move his arm, but it seemed like if it wasn’t part of his body.

Lily lifted his agonizing gaze to the queen. She was looking at him like if he was a broken toy. He bit his lips in an attempt to contain his anger. That bitch is going to pay!

“Heal that easy for me, but you–”

“Shut up!”

All the veins in Nightmare Moon’s neck were about to explode. “How you dare to interrupt me!?”

Thunders joined the shout of the alicorn as a thick mist rose around the campus. The mist flowed as it adopted the bizarre form of a mixture of animal parts joined by intestines and vertebrae. Vulture wings, crocodile heads, giraffe necks, spider eyes, elephant tusks. The mist adopted an infinity of twisted shapes.

A giant blue whale tail came out from the mist and fell above Lily. He avoided it rolling to his left. But the shooting pain in his whole body made him fall.

A human vertebral column came out from the tail. At the other end, a hippopotamus head opened its huge mouth to catch Lily with a set of fangs as big as him.

The hippopotamus sunk its fangs in Lily’s body. With him in its grip, the vertebrae tossed themselves straight to the school and crushed him against the wall. Nightmare Moon’s horn lit the stars on the heaven. All of them came down to him at the same time. The school couldn’t resist the explosions and collapsed over Lily.

With a flash of her horn, Lily’s agonizing figure appeared in front of Nightmare Moon. His clothes moved like if they were liquid, fixing themselves and swallowing the blood that bathed Lily’s body. Drops of blood escaped from his mouth as he coughed madly, twisting in pain on the floor. His vision was turning darker, his body colder.

Nightmare Moon watched how Lily struggled to breathe as he twisted like a snake. “I decide between life and death. Every word that comes out of my mouth is worth more than anything you can imagine. Never interrupt me again.”

A ray of light descended from the moon to Lily. The light caressed his body, warming it. His wounds closed. His right arm was completely restored. Lily felt a fraternal warmth inside of his chest.

“You would not have suffered that much if you had not dropped your magic.”

Hold on a sec, Lily lost Hope’s magic but not Amore’s. He slowly rose to his feet to see the alicorn’s eyes closer. The false generosity of this monster would never touch him. She was a menace for him and the entire world.

Lily pointed a finger at her. “Let’s end this.”

A waterfall of light burst out from Lily’s pendant. In front of him appeared the Crystal Heart, relic among the relics, which had answered the call of its princess. It cracked and broke releasing a blue light that expanded beyond the black sky. The light became an aurora that covered the sky with a curtain of colors that danced between the stars and made the moon shine in a rainbow of lights.

Nightmare Moon looked open-mouthed to the beauty her night had become.

Seven shards came out from the heart, one for each color of the rainbow. They went behind Lily. A black orb came out from the alicorn’s chest and joined with the shards behind Lily. A light enveloped them and transformed them into eight crystal swords that presented themselves the same way a peacock opens its tail.

“It’s over,” said Lily in a burst of confidence.

The black sword ran to her. Nightmare Moon stood still, waiting for the sword with a confident grin, her body already immaterializing.

The sword buried in her neck.

Her eyes came down as they quivered. Her neck had been cut and a stream of blood slid down her armor. The sword exploded in hundreds of shards that buried in her eyes. She tried to cry but the crystals split her trachea apart. The blood kept flowing incessantly.

Before her horn could lit, the red sword flew to her and cut her horn. Nightmare Moon fell on her knees as she pressed a hand on her neck.

The green and blue swords went behind her and plunged into the muscles between her wings and back, their explosion holed her wings. The last four swords joined in flight toward her armor. They clashed against her chest, sending the dying alicorn against a tree.

The battle was over. The almighty Queen of the Night has been defeated.

Lily panted with his hands on his knees. All his energy had been consumed by the aurora. Use the power of Princess Amore always pushes him to the limits. But as long as he has that, no matter what sort of aberrations lies in this school, nothing will stop him.

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, only to see something in front of him: a smiling Nightmare Moon.

Lily slowly opened his eyes, regaining conscience. He tried to move, but his body didn’t respond. Once his head cleared, he noticed his hands and legs were glued to a window above the school’s entry by Nightmare Moon’s magic.

Lying her back on the school statue, Nightmare Moon looked at him with the eyes of a mother when she wakes up her son. “Did you sleep well?”

“This is impossible! I saw you die!”

“I’m such a drama queen, aren’t I?” Nightmare Moon walked closer to him. “The only reason I let live a menace like you is because I plan to use you. Now I’m going to let you go and you’re going to be quiet. Understood?”

Amore’s magic had failed him! Lily was in shock. Nightmare Moon had more power than the Crystal Heart. His mind was completely blank…

There is no way to defeat an alicorn.

Some seconds of silence passed before Lily lowered his head. “Fine… you win.”

Nightmare Moon warped him in front of her. She brought her face closer to Lily’s ear. “Excellent,” she whispered, electrifying Lily’s spine.

She hugged him and stroked his hair as she slightly pressed his head against her armor. “Look up,” she said with a tender voice. “Look how your magic beautifies my night. Soon it will be admired for all eternity.”

“That won’t be there for long.”

The aurora that painted the sky slowly disappeared, leaving the moon illuminate the world with its silver light.

“Oh, pity.”

Lily tried to leave Nightmare Moon’s grip, but she pressed him harder against her.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you enjoy my company?”

“What do you want from me?” he growled.

“I need some help to get a certain item. Even if these Mirages dare to take me into their twisted reality, they don’t have the bravery to reveal themselves to me. I want you to dive into the chaos and retrieve something I long for: The Amulet of the Alicorn.”

Nightmare Moon put a finger on Lily’s chin and lifted his head until their eyes met. “I have something that will help you.”

She broke the hug and took some steps back. Her horn lit up as her eyes turned completely white. An orb of cyan light came out of her horn and went to Lily. The orb came inside of him, making him levitate. A strong light came from Lily’s pendant as he descended gently to the ground. A warm, pleasant sensation ran through his body.

Lily explored his body with his hands. “What was that!?”

“I’ve given you some of my power in exchange of your loyalty. That way you won’t be killed that easily. Serve me well, and I may consider give you… more.”

The moon disappeared while the sun consumed the artificial mantle that covered the sky.

Nightmare Moon’s horn covered her whole body with magic until she adopted the form of a human. Her armor turned into a white blouse, black heeled-boots and a black mini-skirt that let part of her Cutie Mark exposed.

“You turned into a human!”

“My magic as no limits. Besides, I rather not to show my horn and wings when I’m outside a Mirage. I have a reputation as a teacher, you know?” She walked up the stairs. “Once you had wiped the drool off your mouth, you should leave, it’s getting late. And the Mirage is about to disappear.”

“Wait, I wanna ask–”

“Not now, I’m tired and I have to take care of the students in detention. Just make sure to remember that from now on you are The Paladin of the Eternal Night, my personal guard,” she said mockingly as she walked into the school.

What could he say or do in a situation like this? He slowly turned around to the statue of the mare that now was sitting, staring at him with her lifeless eyes. “What the hell is wrong with this school?”

As the day returned, so did the students. They materialized of shadows that emerged from the ground and walked around like they always do. Everyone passed by Lily and the statue, without noticing how the mare looked at each one of them. When the sky took the reddish color of the afternoon, the mare adopted its original position. Lily gawked at the bizarre show, earning the stares of some students.

He sighed. This isn’t what I signed for.

Lily had no choice but to go home for today. Tomorrow will be a new day…

A rainbow of red to brown decorated the well-kept houses around Lily. The whole street he walked was impregnated by the smell of the hundreds of pumpkins that grew in front of every house. Lily would give anything for one of his mom’s freshly-baked pumpkin pies right now. He was on his way home, following his phone’s GPS as he tried to recover from the traumatic experience he had been through.

Who is crazy enough to hire Nightmare Moon, terror of Equestria, as a teacher? Though, you have to be even crazier to fight her… What is she doing in Canterlot City in the first place?

On the good side, Lily now has an evil mistress looking after his back. She even gave him a part of her infinite power. As long as he does what she wants, he will be safe. Still, goodbye freedom.

After four minutes walking from school, Lily met a street filled with houses that could be easily mistaken by mansions. His new home was in front of him. Vines wrapped around the columns of the porch, giving the house an elegant touch. Some more plants at the entrance and it will be perfect. Using his new keys, Lily opened the door and came inside.

White and red were the colors that adorned the house, plus a floor made of glossy black tiles. The whole house was painted white while the walls were decorated with paintings of sunsets and red flowers that matched with the color of the plinths. The succulent pine aroma filled every corner.

The living room was full of luxurious furniture that invited Lily to walk the red carpet to a paradise of comfort. From there, he could see the dining room where a large, ebony table with ten chairs was. Eat there will surely make him feel lonely. The coach in front of the fireplace and the TV of the size of the whole wall was a better place to eat. His old grand piano, full of scrapes and scratches, reposed quiet next to a bookshelf where his collection of Daring Do’s books was. Both things where in perfect shape, so everything was fine. Lily should thank his uncles for the good work they have done with the house. It looked just like a five-star hotel’s penthouse.

Lily sat down on the couch that sank his body into its white softness. He put his feet on the coffee table and took out his cell phone to call Filthy Rich, his uncle. But it was his aunt, Spoiled Rich, who answered.

Lily, my baby! What take you so long?

“Problems at the airport. Thanks for taking care of the house.”

You will love how I decorated it. Oh, I also made sure the yard was clean for your garden. Just don’t bath in the pool. The temperatures are going down and I do not want you to get sick.

Lily picked up the remote and turned on the TV to do some zapping. “Thanks, auntie.”

I’m attending some business with my husband, honey, I have to hang up. Once we have returned, we will pay you a visit. Filthy told me to remember you that you have a match next Thursday. Take care of your cousin while we are out, okay? Oh, and don’t let her eat that disgusting public school’s food. Bye, sweetie.

Lily hung up and turned off the TV. It was getting late and the fridge was empty. If he doesn’t want to die of hunger, he would have to get food. So before his body and the couch fused, Lily left his home.

As he went into the city, the houses were being replaced by huge buildings and skyscrapers. A lot of people came out of nowhere, crowding around him. All the loud conversation and noises reminded him of his old home – only the casinos were missing.

Canterlot City was like an onion. Not that it looked like one, but it was made up of layers. The first one was the outskirts where farms and crops abounded. The second layer was the rural zone that increased its status the closer it was to the center. Then, the industrial area. And finally, the heart of the city: The Crystal Boulevard, and, in the epicenter of the city, stood the Crystal Palace, home of President Discord.

Lily went into a supermarket and bought enough food to survive the whole week. As he walked to the cash machine, he saw a magazine where his mother appeared. It was the three-months-ago edition of the Dancing Mares comedy magazine. That issue had a mini top ten of the milfs that have left an apple on the Fame Tree in Applewood. Lily searched for the woman in fifth position.

Pink Heart aka The Nemea Lion, the queen of the ring. Mother of two at age of nineteen. Famous fighter who dominated the ring and crowned herself as the female MMA world champion with only twenty-two years. Not happy with this, she also got the belt in tree more different fighting disciplines. Her victories opened her the gates to the world of modeling, where her Amazonian body turned her into an idol of multitudes. The climax of her career arrived the day she fought and defeated the masculine boxing champion, earning an excellent place in the world of brawl for women. Unfortunately, she left behind the life of the stars to dedicate herself to being a full-time mom, because, according to her, nothing she had achieved can compare with the love of her children.

Lily put his meal into the microwave and went behind the bar in the kitchen, which was filled with bottles of all kind of liquors, to take out the rest of the food from the bags. This maybe was the first time he missed his sister; one sure get used to live with a slave. The microwave ringed and Lily picked up his food. He sat down on the couch and ate quietly while he watched a documentary about bees. Once he finished eating and took care of the dishes, Lily took out his phone and called his mum, Chocolate Cookie.

She answered the video-call.

“My baby, you finally called!” she said cheerfully with a glint in her chestnut eyes. Her long, black hair was glued to her brown skin as drops of water slid down her damp body. Chocolate adjusted her white bathrobe. “Camera kiss!”

They both kissed the cameras’ lens at the same time.

“Hi, mummy, how’s everything?”

Chocolate sighed. “Awful, honey, I’m sick of this day. My sweetheart leaves the house. We lose a patient in the operating room and I had to tell the family.”

“Cheer up, ask mom for a massage, or Orchid; she spends the whole day doing nothing.”

“Orchid is out with her boyfriend. But what about you? I told you to call me as soon as you get to the house, look at the time. Let me call your mom.”

“Honey, Lily’s on the phone!” she shouted.

Lily could hear the footstep of his mom as she ran from the kitchen to her bedroom.

She snatched her wife’s phone and jumped into the bed, almost crushing it. “Tell me everything! Tell me everything!” said Pink Heart, Lily’s biological mother, as she rolled on the bed. The amazon that made the bed creak had tan skin, wavy, pink hair and pink eyes. Over her blue blouse, she wore her favorite, pink apron with the image of a smiling lion.

Lily spent the rest of the day telling his moms everything that had happened to him today, except some minor, magic details that could make them believe their son was crazy. Time flied as the three of them talked in peace. Lily felt a hole in his stomach as he spoke. The idea of living alone no longer seemed so pleasant. Just like when he started middle school, now he was far from home, from his garden, from the people he loved. But this was his choice, besides, the farther his family is from him, the better. Not that he enjoys it, thought.

Lily said goodbye to his mothers as he climbed the stairs to the second floor. The accumulated fatigue made him yawn. His body was destroyed. At the end of the stairs was a white corridor with a long, red carpet that led to three bedrooms, a bathroom, the studio and the master bedroom. Finally, he will get the room he deserved.

When he came into his new, giant room, Lily saw something that made him force a smile: a diploma hanging on the wall, exactly as it was in his old bedroom. Iron Will’s “From Macho to Minotaur” summer camp. Five summers under the care of a psychopath that made children pass through military training oriented to the Crystal Marine. No wonder Lily ended up in a military school before CHS. That place prepared him for everything, but thank goodness those days were over. However, worse ones will come.

If the princesses knew about this school and the Mirages, all of this would have end before it could start. But no, Princess Amore had to pick him. Maybe it was the work of destiny, maybe it was nothing but chance, but what do was certain is that, the day when Hope warped Lily to Equestria, not only Hope’s wish could be fulfilled, his too. Only Amore knows the location of an object so hidden that not even Daring Do herself has been able to find: The Magic Sphere of Khum. An object with the power to cure any disease.

With it, Lily could escape from the legacy of his family: Cancer. Until then, Amore will be parasitizing him to keep his body stable.

Lily took off his clothes and fell like a log into the warm comforter of the king-sized, red-and-white bed. Five seconds later, he had succumbed in a dreamless, deep sleep.

The phone’s cruel alarm woke Lily up. Lily got up and stretched his body as he yawned. He could use some extra minutes of sleep, but he can’t be late today no matter the cost, even if that means looking like a zombie, so he took a quick shower to refresh himself. When he put his clothes back on, the dual-colored turned blue. Down in the kitchen, Lily fried two eggs and ate them with toasts and a glass of milk. He picked up his black backpack and put Daring Do book for Rainbow inside. Everything was ready.

Lily left the house, receiving on his face one of the first rays of the sun. His appearance grabbed the attention of a girl with white-and-blue hair and blue skin and eyes. She wore a green shirt with a white jacket over it, white skirt, and green knee-high boots. On her skirt she had the image of an hourglass.

“Hey, are you our new neighbor?” she asked.

Lily introduced himself.

“It’s awesome having more neighbors of my age around,” she said. “This place looks dead from time to time, except when Berry Punch throws one of her parties. Super crazy. Going to school?”

Lily nodded. “Canterlot High School.”

The girl gasped. “That’s my school too! My name is Minuette, your new neighbor. Come, I’ll show you the way!”

They spent the whole walk to school talking to each other, mostly Minuette because there was no way to make her shut up. Minuette told Lily she had rented her house with her friends: Twinkleshine, Lemon Heart and Moon Dancer, who were already in CHS. Moon Dancer goes to a different school, one that Lily knows very well: Crystal Prep.

A few minutes left to start classes. Lily and his new friend stood next to a statue of a golden horseshoe with the school’s name where Minuette kept telling him more things about the school and the neighborhood. Lily could feel his head throbbing.

Certain rainbow-haired girl spotted them and ran to their side. Without even say hello, she stood in front of Lily with her hands open as she repeated incessantly, “Gimme, gimme, gimme!”

Minuette looked at her with a raised eyebrow as Lily took out the book from his backpack. He gave it to her. “Be careful with it.”

Rainbow swept it from his hands and hugged it, tears coming out of her eyes. “I finally have it!” she shouted with all the strength of her lungs.

An eep as loud as the flutter of a butterfly came out from behind the statue. A yellow backpack flew off and fell behind some bushes. The three of them looked to the source of the sound. It was Fluttershy, who was shaking on the ground in fetal position.

Rainbow helped her up. “Sorry, Fluttershy, didn’t see you there.”

Fluttershy brushed some dust off her skirt. “It’s okay, thank you for helping me,” she said as she looked around.

Her eyes widened in shock once she saw how her backpack was running up the stairs to the school. She sprinted toward it. “No! Come back here!”

Minuette and Rainbow exchanged the same horror look Fluttershy had. “Grab that backpack!” they shouted as they followed Fluttershy. Lily joined the pursuit with no idea of what was happening.

The backpack was about to clash with the entry door when a blue-haired boy opened it. The backpack passed between his legs, almost throwing him down.

The boy had to grab the doorknob so he wouldn’t fall down the stairs. “What was that!?”

“Flash!” shouted Rainbow. “You let the backpack go inside.”

Fluttershy stared with tears in her eyes as the backpack ran all over the school.

Minuette patted her on her shoulder. “I’ve heard there are good teachers at Griffin High.”

Rainbow pushed the doors with a growl and ran after the backpack.

“What’s in there?” asked Lily.

“My little friends from the shelter.”

“Umm, you’ll see…” Flash rubbed his head. “I just saw the vice-principal walking around here.” That comment was enough to get everybody back on track, even Flash.

The five of them ran after the backpack as they dodged the other students and teachers who got in their way. Seven times they were told not to run in the hallways. Rainbow, who was completely unreachable by the other four, was about to pick up the backpack when a gray-skinned, blond girl came out of a corner and clashed with her – they both landed on their butts.

The girl looked up to see her essay tube flying. “My nitroglycerin!”

An explosion painted the whole corner in black. All lockers burst open. Rainbow and the girl were perfectly camouflaged in the black spot until they opened their eyes and started coughing.

Fluttershy saw in the distance how the backpack had stopped and began to shake. This gave her strength to run at the speed of sound, lifting a black tsunami that cleaned Rainbow and the other girl. She gently grabbed the backpack and opened it, letting out a small group of little animals.

“It’s all okay, my little ones, it was just a noise.” She moved away from the stain.

Lily, Minuette and Flash helped Rainbow and the blond girl to get up. A scream made everyone’s hearts to freeze. Panic made Fluttershy glue her back to a locker.

“What happened here!?” A woman, very similar to Nightmare Moon, but with lighter tone of skin and hair was approaching them, her turquoise eyes narrowed at them. She wore a purple shirt with a white collar that had the image of a crescent moon, purple pants, silver, high-heeled shoes, and crescent moon-shaped stud on her left ear.

Like Fluttershy was at the other side of the corner, the woman couldn’t see her. Rainbow jerked her head in the direction of the bathroom. Fluttershy stared at Rainbow, confused, teeth shaking in fear. But when she saw Minuette imitate Rainbow, she knew what her friends wanted. She painted a “thank you” with her lips and hid in the girls’ bathroom.

“Vice-Principal Luna, you look lovely today. New haircut?” said Flash, trying to calm the beast.

She stood in front of the students with her neck veins in full display. “The five of you come with me!”

The same way sheep are led by a shepherd dog, Luna guided the five students to the Principal’s office. All of them knew how screwed they were, especially Lily, who barely could breath. Celestia will banish him to the moon for sure.

Inside of the office, Celestia gave them a look of absolute disdain. “The cause of the explosion, I imagine,” she said looking at Lily. He tried to look away to avoid a heart attack.

Someone knocked the door.

“Can I?” Nightmare Moon came into the office. “Oh, I’m already inside,” she said as she walked to Celestia’s desk. “I think we made a little mistake.” She cleared her throat. “Walking around the school, I ran into a street cat. These summa cum laude students offered to catch him to avoid problems, but it looks like it was too much for them. So, please, let them go, they only wanted to help me.”

Celestia looked at her sister. Luna was silent as she looked into the students’ eyes, which glittered like the eyes of a stray puppy. “Fine, you can go.”

The boys ran out the office before she could change mind. But Celestia commanded Lily to stay. Rainbow hummed him the beginning of Toccata in Fuga as she left. The entire world froze for Lily. He gulped as he stood under the view of not one, but three alicorns. He swept away with his shaking hand the cold sweat on his forehead.

A smile drawn on Celestia’s face. “Congratulations, I see you’ve made a lot of new friends. Kinda noisy, but friends after all.” She looked at Nightmare Moon. “You seem to be right, Miss Moon, he would be much better at 3-A.”

Nightmare Moon tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Just a hunch.”

“Class 3-A is the only third year classroom where we only have four male students,” said Luna as she drew an X on a calendar.

“Well, we now have five in all five classes. Miss Moon, can you take Holylight to his classroom, please?”

Nightmare Moon slid a hand over Lily’s shoulders, giving him goosebumps. “Come with me, Holylight.”

Lily said goodbye to the principals and left the office with Nightmare Moon. When they closed the office’s door, Celestia’s secretary stood in front of them. She had white skin and brown hair and eyes, and wore a white shirt with a red tie, brown skirt, red high-heeled shoes and glasses. She had the image of an ink bottle on her skirt.

Her eyes sparkled as she took Lily’s hands in hers. “I didn’t believe Celestia when she told me Holylight Ray would be studying at this school.” A light blush formed in her cheeks as she adjusted her glasses. “I’m Raven Inkwell, a fan, yours and your mother’s, she had been a huge inspiration for me.” She gave him her agenda. “Can you give your autograph, please?”

“Of course!”

Who would have thought that he would have a fan in the faculty sector? Well, what Lily does is considered the national sport: Jousts. And they are totally awesome! The thrill of seeing two knights face to face, both wrapped in armors as heavy as the horses they ride. Two-meter-long lances waiting to be broken on their opponent’s body. Strong horses capable of carrying a mountain behind them. There are no words to describe the adrenaline and tension of being inside of one of those armors.

Raven sat on her chair as she hugged her agenda like if it was made of solid gold. She gave Lily a piece of paper with the location and combination of his locker. Nightmare Moon offered to take him there.

“I didn’t know you were famous,” said Nightmare Moon.

“I wish I was.”

“Mmhhmm. So, tell me, do you like the school?”

Lily frowned at her. “It’ll be much better if you weren’t watching me.”

A smile crept on her lips. “I’m just making sure nothing happens to my teacher’s pet. Remember that if you help me… I’ll help you in many different ways.”

Lily opened his locker, the A-113. Inside were a pair of blue-and-yellow pants, a sweater and a top-tank. Each piece of clothing had a golden horseshoe with the name of the school.

“Those are the summer and winter uniforms. You don’t have to wear them if you don’t want to. Class 3-A starts Thursdays with physics.”

Lily left his backpack inside of his locker and took the books he would need for the lesson. “Thank you for helping me with the principals, by the way.”

Nightmare Moon smirked and walked away. “Your classroom is on the second floor. What a pity you don’t have Latin today.”

Although Lily had some questions to ask her, he thought it was yet too soon to confront her. Maybe his relationship with the monster could be better than he had expected.

Lily went to the main lobby and, from there, to the second floor. Rainbow Dash passed by his side as she read the book, dodging the crowd of students as if she was dancing.

“Hey, Rainbow!”

“Detention?” she asked without taking her eyes off the book.

Lily came by her side. “Nah, Principal Celestia put me in the same classroom as you.”

“That means you’re in the best classroom at school.”

“The best? Why?”

Rainbow closed the book. “Duh, I’m in it.”