"Alright then, it is settled!" said the peace-talker with a pleasant voice. "Who would like to start?"

"Me, of course!"

There was a blur of colors in the air as the rainbow-maned mare somersaulted through the air and landed right in front of the vending machine with what sounded like a thunder clap.

"Hello there everypony! Name's Rainbow Dash, and I'm the Ultimate Speedster! I'm the fastest flying pegasus in the world, future Wonderbolt, and the only pony ever who pulled off a Sonic Rainboom! That's how I got my cutiemark, by the way. Isn't it awesome?"

She turned around and struck a dramatic pose so everypony could see her cutiemark. I, however, was just staring off into space, lost in thought. A Sonic… Rainboom? I got my own cutiemark that day! I was failing an entrance exam for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, when suddenly there was a blast of colors and I got so startled that my magic overloaded. I hatched my dragon assistant Spike that day, and did some… crazy things by accident. So that rainbow explosion… that was Rainbow Dash?! About nine years ago?! How did she pull that off! She truly had to be the Ultimate Speedster if she broke the sound barrier.

"So yeah, anyway, if any of you wanna challenge me to a race, don't even bother."

"I won't," said somepony bitterly.

"What else… Hmm…" Rainbow Dash stopped for a second, before flaring her wings. "Oh, right! I was born in Cloudsdale, but I spent some years living in Ponyville. It's a village near Canterlot, you can see it when you look down from the edge. In free time I practice my tricks… and nap. Mostly. Okay, I think that's it!"

And with that, she took off to the air and landed on one of the tables.

"Hey, don't step on that!" exclaimed somepony.

"Relax, my hooves are clean. Besides, I get a pretty nice view from here!"

Our peace-talker was probably about to ask for the next volunteer, but yelped in surprise as something flashed right in front of her. The blue magician mare called Trixie popped out of nowhere, and didn't waste any time.

She pushed her hat up with her right hoof, gave us all a cocky smile, and revealed her purple eyes, sparkling with confidence.

"Come one, come all, to see the breath-taking might of the Great and Powerful Trixie, The Ultimate Illusionist! Come see the greatest feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!"

And with that, she released a barrage of magical fireworks to the air. Colors flashed, exploded and burned patterns into our eyes as Trixie propped herself on her hind legs and unleashed dozens of sparks from her hooves.

She looked so impressive right there, taming the arcane energies and channeling them into all those spells. I caught myself envying her talent, even though my brain was telling me that it was all pretty basic spells that I could pull off with roughly 15% greater efficiency. But Trixie wasn't about numbers and research at all, that much I could tell just from her spellcasting methods. It was bombastic and energetic, over the top and beautiful. I was a scientist, but she was an artist.

She eventually ended her performance and I realized that I wasn't the only one enamored by her magic. Most of my classmates had their gazes fixated on her, the pink colt even had his mouth wide open. The peace-talker stomped her hooves with a patient smile on her face. We joined her one by one, and the room was soon trembling with our enthusiastic stomping. Trixie had a wide smile on her face, bathing in attention and praise.

"Showoff," said Rainbow Dash. I only now noticed her look of mild disgust.

Trixie laughed boisterously, then locked gazes with her new rival. "Oh, you are one to talk. Do you feel threatened? Do you fear that your empty boasting will fade in comparison with the Great and Powerful Trixie?"

"Ladies, may I have a word?" The peace-talker's voice was warm and calming, yet forceful in a subtle way. They both turned to her, and she continued. "Please remember the purpose of this introduction game. It would be very unfortunate if we grew distant instead of growing closer, and some more taciturn members of our group could feel uncomfortable introducing themselves in a hostile atmosphere. For the sake of us all, please refrain from such rivalry, at least for now. You may settle your differences later, in private."

She punctuated her speech with a charismatic, cute smile. Oh my gosh, stallions must be all over her if she can just make a smile like that on the spot.

Rainbow Dash folded her wings and begrudgingly sat on the table. "Fine."

"Hey, at least don't SIT on the table, for Celestia's sake!"

"Oh will you shut up?"

"E-ehm."

Oh, of course. The peace-talker just asked us to avoid conflicts, and they started bickering just two seconds later. Both sides of the conflict went silent in embarrassment.

"Before I was so rudely interrupted," said Trixie, "I was in the middle of introducing myself. Well. I was originally born in Manehattan, but as soon as I reached adulthood, I started travelling all around Equestria on my glorious tour! My goal is to become the most prominent star on the night's sky, the most famous pony in Equestria! My hobbies include travelling, studying magic, and of course, putting up glorious performances for loving audiences like you! That will be all."

She walked graciously away from the vending machine. The pink colt let out a loud "wooo!" and started stomping again. Some joined him, although very reluctantly. Yeah, apparently I wasn't the only one who liked her better when she was just showing off her magic.

"Excellent! Who shall be next?" asked the peace-talker. Ugh, I was getting sick of calling her that.

I suddenly got an idea and raised a hoof. "Umm, if it isn't too much trouble, could you introduce yourself? It is just… You are already such a memorable classmate, and we don't even know what to call you…"

"Yeah! Tell us about yourself!" said the stallion in overalls. Blue Ray nodded enthusiastically. Oh no, she bewitched him too? Come on, Ray!

"Ah! How kind of you all!" exclaimed the peace-talker, her grateful smile shining like a sun. The mood in the room changed. Stallions, most of them anyway, were paying more attention than ever. She owned them. She owned them with that smile. "Very well, I shall introduce myself. My name is Fleur Dis Lee, although I am better known under my nickname of sorts, Fleur de Lis. The place where my family and heart reside is here, in Canterlot. My Ultimate talent is diplomacy, and I cannot stress how grateful I am for every opportunity I was given to cultivate it. I absolutely adore travelling, much like our amazing showmare Trixie. For me, nothing feels more fulfilling than discovering other ponies' way of life, their culture, their customs, their traditions. I believe that will do for a short introduction, so: Fleur de Lis, the Ultimate Diplomat. I am honored to meet you all."

And again with her cute smile. She was so enchanting, with her sleek body of pure white and with her lovely light pink mane. I was very confident in my sexuality, I liked stallions exclusively. But still I wanted to write romantic poems about her. I was pretty sure that Fleur could make any mare play for the other team if she wanted.

"Woooah."

"So amazing, Miss Fleur!"

"You are the river that washes away all grime, the flower of the sweetest fragrance…"

Fleur let out an amused, adorable giggle. Damn it, woman, that is just an unnecessary overkill.

"My my, you gentlemen are so flattering! Especially you, such a poet! Would you mind introducing yourself next?"

The stallion in question gasped. "Honor! Such an honor! My spirit animal is purring!"

He immediately jumped out of the crowd, right next to Fleur. Then he suddenly started acting all dignified, as if trying to hide how excited he was to be there. I found it somewhat hard to take him seriously.

He was a grass green earth pony with dark brown dreadlocks. His cutiemark showed a Yin-Yang symbol, which as far as I knew originated in Griffonstone. He was slightly chubby and had a loopy look on his face all the time, even though he was acting all serious. I suppressed a giggle and let him speak.

"Welcome. Living from rivers, undisturbed by the strongest wings, nurturing and serving flora and fauna alike, I am Limpid Lake. I came upon this world in the year of the Puma, which became my companion on my spiritual journey. This academy recognizes my natural connection to… nature, and thus I earned the title of Ultimate Naturalist."

…

"Um, I have run out of words."

"It's okay, Limpid Lake, that was a very eloquent introduction. Thank you," said Fleur with her signature smile. Limpid deflated like a balloon and walked away from the vending machine. His introduction evidently didn't go the way he was picturing it, poor guy.

"Ugh, this is such a snorefest. I'm leaving," said somepony. They sounded like a mare, but had an incredibly rough, gravelly voice. Fleur, taken aback by this sudden remark, exclaimed: "Wait, we don't even know you yet! It would be unfor-"

The small sandy mare was already on her way to the door. She didn't stop or turn her head, but she did raise her voice considerably, interrupting Fleur. "Does it look like I care?! I'm not gonna suffer through this bullshit!" She opened the door, then finally turned her head to reveal a rough, scarred face, surrounded by a surprisingly striking brown mane. "If that's so important to ya, I'm Twitch. The Ultimate Fighter. Done."

And with that, she slammed the door with a shocking force, leaving us all speechless. The awkward silence lasted a solid thirty seconds.

"Umm… What's her problem?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"So many mares with attitudes," remarked a turquoise stallion who I didn't know yet.

"That was the dipshit lady!" the pink colt informed us. Several chuckles could be heard in the crowd.

"I am sure Twitch will come around eventually, even if she is a little ferocious," Fleur assured us. "And will Tot He Tei please hear me out? Polite ponies do not use that word starting with dip. It is very crude and offensive."

The pink colt jumped in shock. "Oh no! Tot He Tei didn't want to be crude and offensive! He is so sorry, so sorry, you Fleur! He will never say it again!"

"Why are you talking like that?" asked the stallion in overalls.

Fleur just smiled. "Allow me to explain. Tot He Tei, as one can deduce from his name and mannerisms, comes from one of pony tribes in Zebrica. In his culture, blank flanks are forbidden to refer to themselves in first person. They earn that right when they get their cutiemark, and they also earn the right to change their name. Hence the misunderstanding earlier. When Trixie referred to herself in third person, Tot He Tei assumed she hadn't earned her cutiemark yet. Isn't that right, he?"

"Yes yes!" said Tot He Tei, jumping in excitement. "You Fleur understand so much, Tot He Tei is lucky you are here!"

"Now that I think about it, we have already started introducing him without even realizing it!" Fleur let out a gentle laugh. "Would he like to finish it?"

"Yes yes!" Tot He Tei galloped in front of the vending machine and started jumping in place like a tiny ball of pure energy. "Tot He Tei comes from very far away! He is part of Zaruna pony tribe! He is very good at painting, he loves painting! Princess Celestia loved his picture of her, so she invited him here! He is called Ultimate Painter now!"

"Aww, you are simply adorable!" said a gray mare with a cello on her back.

"He thanks you!" Tot He Tei squeaked.

"That's all cool, but I thought this was supposed to be high school? How old are you, kid?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

"Tot He Tei is twelve!" His statement caught us all by surprise.

"Interesting…"

"What the heck?"

"Good for you, getting here so early! You must be a real foal prodigy."

"He's too young for this, don't you think?"

"Travelling, living and studying abroad, isn't it too much for a little colt?"

"Now now," said Fleur, "I am sure that Tot He Tei earned his place here and that he can handle any challenges that face him. He has our support after all, right?"

"Yeah! Um… support!"

"This flower whispers the truth."

"I can help you with studying, if you ever find yourself in trouble."

Tot He Tei was ecstatic over this show of support, even though it was almost forcibly elicited by Fleur. "He thanks everyone so much! He will appreciate all help, extra you, if you help with studying, mister… um?"

"Oh, that's right. I haven't introduced myself yet. Guess I'll go next, huh?"

It was that turquoise unicorn who has been staying quiet up until now, except for a sarcastic remark here and there. I was willing to bet that ponies in the past argued over his coat color and whether it was green or blue. His mane was a common light brown, just long enough to cover the back and sides of his head. He had a small black scarf around his neck and his intense yellow eyes were burning right through us. His face looked… strangely feminine, almost cute. He had a golden X for a cutiemark, almost as if his flank was hiding a treasure. I covered my mouth, trying not to laugh at the absurd image in my head. Then I remembered that Blue Ray was supposed to be good at treasure hunting, and my self-control almost broke right there.

The turquoise unicorn took Tot He Tei's spot in front of the vending machine and started talking.

"Nice to meet you all. My name is Thunder Roar. I know, not a fitting name for this cute face, but that's what I'm stuck with. Call me Thunder or Roar, your choice. My Ultimate Talent is interesting in a way, it doesn't mean anything on its own, but it makes talents all around me stronger. I can help you improve, give you a useful feedback, train with you, help you prepare for exams. They call me Ultimate Critic-"

"Uhk!"

Thunder stopped dead in the middle of the sentence. "I… cannot say that I wasn't expecting this reaction from some of you. But don't worry. I may be a critic, but I will not laugh at you, or belittle you. My goal is to help, not to boost my ego with condes-"

"Tsk."

"…Alright then, moving on. I like ponies that are eager to improve and share their talents with the world. I dislike arrogant ponies that lack any kind of self-awareness and just shove their talents into others' faces. I hope that most of you will turn out to be the former. I think that's all, thanks for listening."

He walked back into the crowd and headed straight for a mare that's been hiding in the back. She was wearing a purple cape, old-fashioned gray hat and big red glasses. And she was the one who interrupted him twice.

"What's your deal?" he asked her silently, with a touch of annoyance in his voice. She snubbed him and turned the other way without a word. In response, he shook his head and stopped paying attention to her.

So many conflicts, and we have all just barely met… If it wasn't for Fleur's diplomatic prowess, we would be at each other's throats in a matter of seconds. I guess competition would be normal in a school where everypony is a prodigy of some kind, but I didn't feel good in this collective. I didn't feel good at all.

"So, who shall go next?" asked Fleur, scanning the whole group with her eyes.

"Don't look at me, I've already introduced myself to everypony!" said Blue Ray jokingly.

"I believe that I don't need any introduction either," said Kunai from somewhere. She was invisible again…

"Kunai is the Ultimate Shadow, by the way," said Blue Ray. "That's what she does, just so you guys know."

"Um, is it okay if me and my friend introduce ourselves together?" asked the stallion in overalls.

"I don't see why not, it will make our 'game' progress a bit faster if nothing else," said Thunder. "Don't know about others, but my head is starting to hurt from all the names. Sorry if I forget any."

"I don't think that it will be any problem, nopony will expect you to memorize it all right away," smiled Fleur. "Alright, the next introduction will include two friends!"

Two stallions walked in front of the vending machine. One was the brown stallion in overalls that spoke up every once in a while, and the other one was a light red unicorn with slightly darker red mane and fiery eyes. The red one had a cutiemark in shape of a glass bottle, but I couldn't see what the brown one had because of his clothes.

"So yeah. I'm Bewilderer, the Ultimate Mechanic."

"And I'm Phoenix, the Ultimate Chemist."

"We met in Fillydelphia when we were just little foals, and we formed a team that invents stuff."

"Bewilderer and I have invented a lot over past few years. For example, we're behind the flying machine for non-pegasi, spell dampener used mainly for security purposes, and energy jello used in some modern machinery."

"By the way," said Bewilderer, "I might as well tell you guys right now. This thing I'm wearing on my head is a wig." And with those words, he took his red 'mane' down and showed us his burned head.

"Aaagh!" screamed the gray mare with a cello.

"You're scary! He is scared!"

"That must have been a horrible accident," said Fleur, her right hoof covering her mouth.

"Tsk. If you asked the Great and Powerful Trixie, I would grow your hair back. For a price, of course."

"I got used to this wig, thanks," said Bewilderer, putting it back on his head and covering the nasty injury.

"He's been like that since he was fifteen," said Phoenix.

"So I think that's it. Bewilderer…"

"And Phoenix…"

""The Ultimate Inventor duo!"" They said that last sentence in unison, both striking epic poses like two weird superheroes. Then they trod away, leaving the stage for somepony else.

Blue Ray tilted his head towards me and whispered: "Hey, don't you think it would be time for you to go out there?"

I haven't introduced myself yet! My heart jumped when I realized that I would eventually have to go to that dreaded vending machine and say something to the group of Ultimate students. One of them was a critic, and more then enough were competitive and confident in themselves. Oh my gosh, I was about to blow it, everypony was going to laugh at my ineptitude… Even that little colt from overseas managed to do it, and I just knew that I was going to freeze and stutter like hell! Oh no, oh no…

"I think we are nearing the end!" said Fleur. "How many of us are left? Three, four?"

"Five exactly," said the blocky gray stallion in a stoic manner. "The mare in purple cape who seems to despise Thunder Roar, the gray mare with cello, the yellow pegasus who grins like a moron, that purple filly hiding behind Blue Ray, and yours truly."

I wasn't hiding!

…

I was totally hiding. Blue Ray let out a boisterous laugh and stepped aside, leaving me out in the open. Traitor. "Come on, Twilight, don't be shy."

"I… I…"

"Twilight, was it?" Fleur directed her gaze towards me and gave me a patient, heartwarming smile. "I assure you, there is nothing to worry about. I will not let anyone mock their classmates, and I am sure you have a lot of interesting things to share with us!"

"I… Okay." I can do it. Fleur wasn't going to let anypony mock me. I was safe.

I walked in front of the vending machine, trying to calm myself down. Come on. Even Tot managed it. Limpid Lake fumbled a bit and nopony laughed at him. I just have to say a few words.

"Umm… so hello, everypony. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am the Ultimate Spellcaster."

And then I froze. I noticed that Trixie was glaring daggers at me. I tried to go on, but I froze. She looked like she was ready to murder me.

I just barely collected myself and continued. "I, um, come from Canterlot, I graduated Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and became Celestia's personal protégé…"

Her glare grew in intensity with every word I said. It was pure hatred, beaming from her eyes straight into my soul and strangling me with cruel contempt.

"Oh my, a personal protégé of Princess Celestia, how wonderful!" exclaimed Fleur. "That is an admirable feat, I am getting jealous!"

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Fleur. I regained my composure once again and continued. "My talent is magic itself, which means I am not restricted to any single field, I can cast pretty much any spell with difficulty index 8 or lower…"

THE GLARE. I am pretty sure Trixie was silently casting some terrible curse right now. Oh please stop, stop looking at me, stop…

"I like… I like studying over anything else. I love acquiring new knowledge…"

"Cool!" I jerked when I heard that. I saw Thunder Roar looking at me with a small smile. He winked, as if to say "you can do it."

"And I hope I can be… friends with everypony here… Gah, will you stop it? Trixie, stop it!"

"I. Am. Not. Doing. Anything." Her words were like poison flowing in my ears and dissolving my brain. I felt like I was going to faint.

"Is it a requirement to have a sworn rival in order to be accepted here, or what?" said a yellow pegasus with a wild orange-yellow mane, one of the few ponies who haven't been introduced yet.

"Holy cow, you look just like Spitfire!" shouted Rainbow Dash, immediately taking off to the air and landing right next to him.

"No way, you're a Wonderbolt fan too?"

"Am I?! Dude, I plan to join them as soon as I graduate from here!"

"Sick! I could never do it, too little wingpower. But if you ever visit Los Pegasus, I'll show you how I tame the waves!"

Their conversation shifted the attention away from me. I slowly moved on my wobbly legs, sneaking back to Blue Ray. It was done. I would not go back there again, not in thousand years. He smiled at me, calming me down a little. I still couldn't forget that Trixie's death stare, though. If I'd never see it again, I would be a happy little filly.

"Oh, we kinda stole the spot, huh? Well, I was waiting for an introduction anyway, let's do this!"

In a fashion very similar to Rainbow, the yellow pegasus jumped right in front of the vending machine and struck a pose that showed off his cutiemark: A simple wave symbol.

"Sup. My name's Sunny Day. I kinda keep to myself unless somepony talks to me, some ponies told me that it weirds them out how I suddenly explode, so sorry if I just did that to you. I live in Los Pegasus, the best damn city in the Equestria! I'm the Ultimate Surfer, and a bit of a local star. I even got some contracts from Applewood as Spitfire's stunt actor-"

"Wait, what?!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"You heard me right! I'm a great stallion, but I can play a lady too…" he said in an over-the-top sexual voice, eliciting a short laugh from the audience. "Well, Spitfire already gets enough danger as it is, doing her tricks. I make sure that she doesn't have to risk her neck in her movies as well. But still, surfing is my number one hobby, and my Ultimate Talent! I love exotic drinks and sexy girls. Hear that, Dashie?"

"Eeek! What did you just call me?! Don't call me that!" Rainbow was so obviously flustered that she might have as well painted her face red.

"Call you what? Sexy girl?"

"No, I mean… Yes, no, I… Ghhhh!"

"You're cute when you're mad."

"I'm not cute!"

Oh my Celestia. He's been silent for this whole time, and then he suddenly cracked a lewd joke and started hitting on Rainbow. This guy was wild in every sense of a word, it was… weird that he's been hiding in the crowd for so long. He really was a living bomb. Hide, then explode.

"So anyway, who's next?" asked Sunny Day out of nowhere. There was a brief silence. Then there was a slightly longer, awkward silence.

"I thought it would come to that. We went through all the gregarious and confident ponies, and all that's left are wallflowers," remarked Thunder Roar.

"May I? If nopony else volunteers, I will gladly go next." It was that gray mare with a cello. She had well-groomed dark mane, a treble chef for a cutiemark, and a cute little bow tie around her neck. She walked with calm dignity, emitting an aura of refinement.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Octavia Philharmonica. I come from Manehattan, the city of lights, and I already have a solid reputation as the Ultimate Musician. I am most well known for my collaborations with one and only DJ-PON3, which tend to produce a unique mix of classical and electronic music. My most favorite hobby besides playing cello would probably be calm talks over a cup of coffee."

"Oh, I know the waves you emit. Pure, loving melancholy of the strings," said Limpid Lake. He… probably meant that he knew and liked her music.

"Thank you," said Octavia. She bowed her head a little, then left the stage. Oh, the empty space in front of the vending machine was hardly a stage, but she somehow made it feel like one.

"Only two ponies left!" said Fleur excitedly. "Who will go first?"

"I'm A. K. Yearling. The Ultimate Writer," said the mare that acted so cold toward Thunder Roar earlier. Oh, I see. She must've had a bad experience with critics in the past…

Waitaminute, A. K. YEARLING?!

"I work alone, I don't really like company. Please don't disturb me unless it is urgent, thank you." She didn't even walk to the vending machine, she just stood in the back, making everypony turn their head. "That is enough for an introduction, right?"

She was here. A. K. Yearling, the author of amazing Daring Do series, was here! With me! She was in the same class! I could hardly contain my excitement! I absolutely loved her work, I've read everything she's ever published. She was a recluse though, there was never any interview with her, no signing event, nothing. Until now, I didn't even have any idea what she looked like. I can't believe it. A. K. Yearling. Is here. With me. I totally forgot my traumatic introduction, this was the best day ever.

"Not every introduction has to be elaborate. Speaking of which, I should get this over with," said the blocky gray stallion. He was the last one to be introduced. He walked to the stage, and I saw that his cutiemark was a black square with diagonals.

"I am Caesar, the Ultimate Mathematician. Which apparently means I am the only one who can count sixteen students. The world is just one large mathematical problem to me. Born in Cloudsdale. Like: Order. Dislike: Chaos."

And that was it. It didn't even feel like an introduction, he just spat out information and went on his merry way.

"That concludes our introduction game! Thank you all so much for participating!" said Fleur. "Now you can freely chat with others and get to know each other better… Where are you going, Caesar?"

"I am leaving. I am not interested in socializing."

"I will not force you, but this is a great opportunity to grow closer to your classmates. Everypony will be here…"

"That buffoon Twitch left before our game was even finished. And Kunai is gone too." She was gone? When did she leave? How did Caesar notice? Their Ultimate talents were messing with my head!

Caesar left without another word. Fleur looked a little bit down for a second, but then her chipper attitude came back.

"Oh. Well then, we are missing three ponies, but we can still make this work splendidly! I am sure we will-"

"Wha-ha-ha-ha."

That voice… it wasn't anything like the voices I've heard up until now. It was rough, weirdly upbeat, and… predatory. I had an urge to run just from hearing that malicious laugh.

"Well aren't you all going along just wonderfully. I am terribly sorry to interrupt this camaraderie, but we are running on a strict schedule!"

Everypony heard it. It wasn't natural. It wasn't us. It wasn't coming from anywhere. And it was terrifying.

It growled playfully. I am sorry, this was the only way I could describe it. Growled playfully. My blood was freezing from that. "Oh, I am terribly sorry, this is supposed to be an official announcement, isn't it? Ehm, ehm, let me try again. To all students: Please assemble in the main classroom for a meeting. If you are unsure of where the main classroom is, Blue Ray or Twilight Sparkle will gladly lend you a hoof. Don't be late! Wha-ha-ha-ha-haa."

And it stopped. The thing that was talking stopped talking. Only dead silence followed.

"What… was that?" asked Rainbow Dash timidly.

"What is this silliness? The Great and Powerful Trixie disapproves!"

"A predator, lurking in the shadows…" whispered Limpid Lake.

"I thought the meeting was here, in the cafeteria?" said Thunder Roar.

"Tot He Tei is scared! He doesn't want to go to classroom!" Octavia and Fleur were immediately by his side, comforting him.

"Don't worry, Toothy. We will protect you," said Octavia in a sweet voice.

"Toothy?"

"Do you like that nickname?"

"Nickname… Toothy… Toothy Nickname is scared!"

We were all scared. That dark feeling I had ever since waking up, it grew with each passing second. Now I knew what it was: Dread. That subtly horrifying sense of something wrong. Something was wrong with this whole school from the very first second.

I felt a hoof on my back and jumped, startled. It was Blue Ray.

"Relax. I won't let anything happen to you." He said it with such a calm determination that I had no choice but to believe him. I took a deep, shaky breath, and nodded silently.

"It's fine, they are probably scaring us for giggles," said Sunny Day. He was the only one still smiling.

Fleur was gently caressing Tot He Tei's blond mane, while looking around her at the same time. "My friends, please, let us not lose our temper. We should go to that classroom and see what that announcement was about."

"Whoa there, that could be a trap!" exclaimed one of the inventors. Darn it, I already forgot his name!

"Do you see any other option?" asked Thunder Roar.

"Well… There's one! Just… not going there!"

"Feel free. But I have a feeling that opposing whoever made that announcement will make you no good."

"Let's just go, okay? I'll lead the way," said Blue Ray in an uncharacteristically demanding voice. What happened to him? He was suddenly so calm, so serious…

And so we all left the cafeteria and went to the classroom. Nopony was in any rush, quite the opposite. The heavy atmosphere was weighing on us like a huge bag full of solidified tears. Blue Ray went first, I lagged behind in the back, right next to gloomy Fleur. Tot He Tei started crying and Octavia had to carry the poor colt on her back. I saw him bury his head into her mane, disheveling it and making it wet with his tears.

I didn't even know why, but I felt like crying myself.

The foreboding laughter was still resonating in my head.

It was about to get much, much worse.

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Author's Note

Let's face it, there's too many characters here! There is no way people can relate to such a bloated cast!