Chapter One/ Introduction- Milk and Eggs

**"I have also seen children successfully surmounting the effects of an evil inheritance. That is due to purity being an inherent attribute of the soul"**

Now young ones I know you like your stories, like The Hearts and Hooves day story or the Hearths Warming Eve story, but this is a different story.

The problems we as a nation faced were quite different than the problems we face today, instead of the one common enemy our great nation faces nearly monthly, back then our greatest enemy was our own pride and prejudice. Of course now the problems of the past seem trivial and unimportant and can rattle's a pony brain on how a pony could judge another pony solely on the appearance of somepony, and not the content of the individuals character. Now you remember from the tale of Hearths Warming Eve of the three races of ponies coming together, and working mutually for everyone's benefit.

But despite the mutual exchanges of goods and services that led ponies to live together in the same towns and cities, for generations ponies lived together but were segregated when it came to schools, housing, bathrooms and even some workplaces, separate but equal was the law of the land but it was barley fifty years ago when ponies decided to desegregate our

facilities and truly live up to the expectations of harmony and friendship. Even now the ponies out west are more prejudice than the ponies out east, but it's not nearly as bad as it was back then, with ponyville smack dab in the middle of the map you can imagine the mixed views and feeling's each individual had.

"Well enough gibber jabber" I said as I lifted my self to my hooves from my red velvet chair and slowly trotted to the dark oak desk and levitated the leather bound book sitting neatly in the middle. I again made the treacherous seven steps to my desk from my comfy chair, I levitated the book to eye level while turning the cover and began reading the same words I had thought about over a thousand times in my head and as I scanned the intrigued faces in front of me, I began to read the introduction aloud.

Now I'm sure you have a lot of questions, about how I got here, why I did what I did and how I'm going to explain what's going to happen next, but I should probably mention that this story has its place in our large expansive universe.....In fact compared to other tales You've heard this one doesn't even compare, but it has its own merit of course, but more importantly the things that happened came during a period of time where the ideals of harmony gave way to hate and prejudice anywhere from the horn on your head to the wings on your back or the lack of either. Can you believe it? There was a time in Equestria where what race you were determined who you were, who you associated with, and who could associate with you. It seems preposterous now of course but back then that's how things where, unfortunately. So I'm going to tell you the truth, the whole truth. The Good, The Bad, and the really Ugly truth, so i felt that not to include this very real and shameful part of our past would have been offensive to the millions in the world who faced, and still face bigotry, discrimination, prejudice, and racism in all its forms.

*Ponyville, Equestria, Year 962*

**COCK A DOODLE DOO**

I awoke to the regular alarming sound of the rooster clucking his vocal cords away and the other loud and obnoxious snores at six forty five a.m. According to the barley visible clock next to me. I rolled off my thirty nine by seventy four twin mattress still rolled up in the thin blanket I was rapped in.

"Uggh good morning *me*, I swear I'm always first one up in the morning and always last one to go to sleep"

I muttered to no one in particular. Without much effort I threw my self back on the bed and attempted to close my eyes. "COCK A DOODLE DOO" screeched the rooster, with the only bit of magic I could muster up I levitated the rusted out horseshoe by the bed and swung it in the general direction of the rooster out of the window above me and heard of the satisfying sound of a **SCHMACK** and **Thump** on the ground outside. I quickly rolled over and attempted again to try to get just ten more minutes please!.

" I know ya up Dawn..."

"Mama Zanya, how are you this fine morning?" I asked with a fine slice of sarcasm .

"I don't have time for ya smart lip, before school ya have to run into town and get tha groceries , I don't have enough milk and eggs for breakfast, your gonna have to get a gallon of milk and a carton of eggs" she said with her classic morning grumpyness.

If you didn't know any better you'd think Mama Zanya was a sweet, kind hearted old mare who truly cared about the "troubled youth" of the south side, but if you lived in the house longer than ten minutes you'll quickly realize that's not the case at all. Mama Zanya is cold, calculating, manipulative sociopath who only cared about two things, bits from the town every month and any alcoholic beverage with a fruity taste, specifically Apple martinis.

"Why didn't we get this stuff yesterday? You went to the store yesterday did you not?" I asked as i stretched all four of my forelegs simultaneously.

"B'cause I didn't buy no groceries I had to buy the paper and pencils and clothes you foals need fo school, you foals are NOT going to be raggedy if I have anything to say about it now get movin!" She said nearly shouting.

Beige. The surrounding walls had a faded beige color surrounded by and I do quote "atrociously horrid portraits of former headmistress's" I mean if old Hooftorian era stuff is really creepy, I wonder if the ponies back then knew how Cree-

"DAWN did you hear me? I need you to go to tha store and get groceries! You starin' at the wall like thats gonna make you go fasta!" She said impatiently.

"Alright, alright geez I'm going" I put the sheet back over the bed and set the my pillow back in its place, grabbed my saddlebags hanging on the wooden shaft at the end of the bed, and lightly trotted to the door, I closed the door and I began trotting down the hall and went around the corner and began going down the stairs. Oh yeah I guess I should mention my name is Dawn Star and I live in an orphanage or because Mama Zanya insisted it be called "Mama Zanya's Home For Exceptional Young Ponies" even though it's more like "Mama Zanya's Home for A Check From Town Hall Every Month" despite my cynicalness she did take care of all of us and without her most of us would be on the street, but then again isn't that a great bargaining tool? Either follow her rules or starve. If you think about it it's not a fair deal but hey, not everypony gets delt the right cards, right?. Well other than the younger ponies who get adopted more quickly and even then you don't know if you have a loving parents or apart of another foster home with another set of foals and a another pony just wanting a check.

I opened the large wooden double door and

quickly felt the cool breeze of the early morning. I quickly shut the doors closed as to not let the cats back in.

"I swear I only did it twice!" I thought to myself I walked down the large brick stairs and on to the gravel road leading towards the large metal gate. As I began trotting down the gravel road I started to think to myself

"Ok, I have ten minutes to get to town, twenty minutes to look for milk and eggs, ten minutes to get back, and it gives me *another* ten minutes to walk to school and be right on time"

walking down the gravel road my mind began to drift not thinking about anything In particular you know love, life, the universe and what not, so I guess that why I didn't pay attention to the red haired mare pulling an empty cart behind her, in front of me.

"Oh heya Dawn! How are you this morning huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?" She grinned in my face rather....friendly? Creepy slightly? With Mellonberry it's hard to tell.

"I'm good Mell, I mean I'm up earlier than I usually appreciate but hey, it's pretty good really" I said trying to force a smile.

" I LOVE mornings! I love the cool air in the morning breeze, the dew on the morning grass, and breakfast! I REALLY love breakfast like eggs, biscuits, pancakes, pancakes with blue berries, Oooh or chocolate! Or straw berries, or just about any fruit,candy,or anything!" She said with her meticulous smile. Coincidently while mell' began naming different types of food I remembered I haven't had breakfast yet and I was starting to get hungry.

"Well anyway Dawn, I was on my way to Sweet Apple Acres to pick up a few sack of apples for Mr and Mrs Cake! I should be getting on back to work! Bye Dawn, Have a good day!" She said as she pulled the empty wooden cart with its squeaky wheels down the gravel road. I looked down the road a head of me and could see the sun just coming up over the mountains to the east and all I could think was

"Maybe It's gonna be a good day"

And I was dead wrong.

I trotted over the stone bridge over the shallow river that ran all over the outskirts of town and as I continued trotting down the road I figured that I should head out to the market to look for the groceries Mama Zanya. I began thinking about the eggs and milk I had to grab so I assume that's why I didn't notice the hoof push roughly in my upper torso knocking me straight on my flank.

"Well, well, well lookie what we got here, Solstice!"

Said the dirty fat Pegasus. Now I don't say that because i particularly hate the Pegassi race, but because of the lack of teeth on both rows of teeth that I could tell from his crooked grin, and not to mention the obvious dirt stains all around his coat, neck, and face. He turned to his lackey next to him, strangely shorter but obviously more dominate than the former.

"Looks like we got our selves a greaseball unicorn, ain't that right Aries?"

Said the short stubby pastel Pegasus.

"Oh, uh I-i really d-don't want any trouble, guys" I tried to mutter while picking my self up from the ground, but not before being shoved right back to my flank.

"Woah, woah, woah so where do you think your goin' huh?" Said Aries the big bulky Pegasus with strangely small wings which surprised me that he could even fly at all.

" I- Uh have to get milk and eggs for Mama Zanya and I should be getting into tow-" before I could even finish I was cut off with Solstices Rusty voice saying "isn't that convenient? You got some bits your gonna let us have to get into town, right? You know there's a toll for your kind" he said with a hiss.

I was tired of dealing with this shit, what made poor ponies think they can rob each other if they happen do be just a little bit less poor than the other? I mean shit, the rich rob us every month but there's not shit we can do about it, I was growing more angry with every passing thought.

"Are ya deaf?" Aries stared to say, "Did you hear me! Do you have bits or no-" before I located a stick slightly resembling a club with the bulky at the top and a slim bottom from maximum gripping capacity how convenient!, but being a unicorn I levitated the club behind the short colt and swung it from behind and watched it connect with the colts head, knocking him out into heap of meat and bones. The short Pegasus laid on the ground cradling his head while solstice stared wide eyed, he started to say

"y-you fu-fucking f-freak, wha- what did you do!"

I- I don't know what happened, I was just sick and tired of this shit. I rose from the ground and wiped the dust off my flank and lower back, I stood over the cowering solstice and said "You did this" as I raised the club above him and swung it down on his left foreleg heard a horrifying **CRACK** and heard the Pegasus Yelp in pain.

"Please! Stop! We was just joking around! Honest!" He began to crawl up in a ball and cry for his mother, that's when I snapped back and realized what I did, horrified at what I did I quickly panicked and tossed the club-like stick in the brushes a few meters away and began galloping as fast as I could towards town and didn't stop.

I began to run out of breath and stopped from a full pace gallop to a full stop. I dropped to my fore knees in the middle of the road, as I tried to gain composure.

"Huh, huh, huh, Guh" is all I could manage to get out, so I took short shallow breaths and noticed my breathing became regular again.

"Ok dawn note to self, if you think your tired and should stop running, you should *definitely* stop running and not continue running." I said out loud with nopony in earshot. I looked down the road and saw the town was just down the road and brought my self to my hooves and began trotting down the road. The dirt roads around and in Ponyville were smoother than the roads on the outskirts, as somepony who as to walk everywhere you can really tell the difference! Despite that I've never have met a Pegasus who liked me, or any unicorn for that matter, I really admired that they didn't have to walk every where.

Even though Ponyville is a fairly small community, like most places we are divided by class and race, meaning that everyhouse south of town hall called respectively the South Side, and every house north of town hall is, you guessed it the North Side. Even though the majority of ponies living here are earth ponies, which makes most of all the working class, being a unicorn your expected to come from money, horn equals money is what most ponies assume, but being an orphan unicorn in a house full of earth ponies, it gets lonely.

The market in ponyville was the heart and soul of the community. Despite where you lived, North or South side everypony came here to buy, sell, or trade goods and products. A few of the establishments in town like The Drunkin Filly or Paddy's Pub was "Earth Pony Only" or "Pegassi Only" who don't take to kindly to a unicorn or, anyone for that matter to walk on in to they're property. But not every place was like that of course, my favorite place personally that let anypony in was Sugar Cube Corner, Mr. Cheesecake and his wife Apricot (Formerly Rosaceae) Cake were good ponies who saw no race and served all who could pay.

As I began walking past the ponies in town, everypony going about they're Dailey business, ponies getting groceries and other assorted items, foals laughing and heading towards the school, I had time to think to myself and began to realize the events that had just happened. Did I overreact? Did they deserve what I did? I mean sure they're assholes but could I have talked my way out of it? The more I thought of it it turned my gut how one side of me couldn't comprehend what I had to do and the other which was satisfied with finally giving those pieces of shit a free lesson in humility. My stomach growled while my mind was deciding whether or not I made the right choice. But first I had to find milk and eggs, that's all I came here for, but of course one distraction after the other can really throw somepony off schedule. As I began scanning for the milk and eggs cart I levitated the saddlebag in front of me and opened the single strap holding all my contents in place which really only consisted of a comb, a few hoofball cards, and a half empty bag of stale carrot chips. I levitated the comb through my hair once down the middle, once on the left side, and once down the right side. I trotted over to the fountain with the mare spitting water from her mouth and looked at my reflection, my light brown hair was slicked back, and my marshmallow white coat was clean as per usual, I noticed my large burgundy eyes and finally gave a half smile, satisfied at what I was looking at.

"What cookin good lookin?" I said to my reflection before levitating my saddlebag back onto my back and began walking into the crowd of ponies.

"Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Equestria imposes arms blockade on Griffish Isles on finding offensive missile sites!" Yelled the young colt standing on a box of newspapers standing on his back forelegs and using his upper for legs rapped around his mouth to amplify his voice, on the corner of the road. He was so over confident in his selling ability he tripped over his hooves and went flailing forward knocking his hat right off, before amazingly catching his balance and catching his news cap mid air while simultaneously rolling forward and landing perfectly on his knees.

The few ponies that had actually paid attention had paid they're courteous bit for they're newspaper for the day and was on they're way.

"I didn't realize that newspaper selling was as entertaining as you said it was" I asked Bubba.

"Dawn! Whatcha doin here? Ain't never seen you out so early!"

Buford "bubba" Blue was non arguably one of my closest good friends, our friendship was a usually uncommon one at the time him being two years older than me and not to mention him being an earth pony and me being a unicorn, but because his daddy was known as the town drunk most ponies, even his own kind looked down on him. I guess that's why we were such great friends, because I was a unicorn and I was born in the wrong social group and his daddy, and his daddy before him that predetermined who he was gonna be.

"Mama Zanya needs me to run into the market and get some milk and eggs, you know fun stuff"

I said while grabbing one of the newspaper and examining it closely

"Equestria Imposes Arms Blockade on Griffish Isles on Finding Offensive Missile Sites!; Celestia Ready for Griffin Showdown!"

"hey, hey, hey ya read it ya but it" he said with the most serious face he could muster up.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah whateva ya greedy dirt peddler, here" I said as I levitated one of the ten bits I had from my bag leaving me with only nine. I flipped the coin in to his already extended hoof,

"And thank ya very kindly, greaseball" he said as he opened his patch pocket on his chest, and dropped the coin making ching sound like it was hitting several other coins but before I could speculate more he started to say.

"Well listen dawn I'd love to stay and chat, I really would but I have newspapers to sell and bits to make, and business to tend to so I'll see ya after school, come bye and we can hang!" He said. Before I trotted off I looked at bubba and said "Oh, and by the way if Solstice or Aries just happen to come bye for any reason what-so-ever I was never here, you haven't seen me, and you don't know where I am, capisce?"

"Ca- wha? And would they be lookin' for ya? You know we stay away from assholes like that?"

"Well it's not like I had a choice" I started to mumble, "well-anyway-gotta go- things to do- places to be, ya know, right" I started trotting faster and faster in to the crowd of ponies. "Well uh ok then, see ya later Dawn" and smiled while he yelled out to me. Over the large roar of the crowd of ponies all i did was wave my left forehoof in the air as I trotted away.

"Getcha some fresh tomatoes! Carrots! Lettuce, celery all ya veggies right here! Straight from the cleanest most well-maintained farm around!" The vegetable merchant with a lit cigarette in his mouth loudly assured everyone within earshot. Not surprisingly there was only a hooffull of ponies looking at the produce and only one older stallion standing in line, but of course I had to wait.

"I think I'll have two heads of lettuce, a carrot shake large, a haychips with extra dip, 7 tomatoes, two celery sticks, one with cheese, and a large beet soda" said the stallion without missing a beat.

The merchant than said "Ok, coming right up, scoot over to the left so I can get to other customers" surprised that he even caught all that because I sure as shit didn't, but it was my turn finally.

"What can I getcha for, son" the merchant asked with a smile while ashing the cigarette in cup in front of him. I noticed it as a Ponyboro Brand cigarette, the best choice for most ponies, cheap, relaxing, cool as hell. I straighten up trying to act as grown as I could.

"Hello sir, I was looking for some eggs and milk and I was wondering if you had any?" I asked with the most serious tone I could make.

"Well, I only have one carton of eggs left but I ran out of milk earlier this mornin', you gonna have to run to the dairy booth up north, Oh and it's four bits for carton" I levitated my bag in front of me and fished out four bits out, leaving me with five bits left, levitating the bits on the counter.

"Thanks sir, have a good day" I said with a smile as I levitated the eggs into the empty right side of my saddle bags and began to trot away from the veggie booth. Then I heard the merchant tell me.

"Ya know your the only unicorn I've eva met who ain't act like the whole world owes em' somethin' and ain't stuck up, i dunno your one of the good ones of your kind" I stopped and turned around trying to take that as a compliment?

"Well, uh, thanks" was all I could say with a half smile before I trotted down the road in more of a hurry than I was originally. As soon as I turned my head I scrunched up my face while sticking my tounge out disapprovingly "Your kind?" I huffed under my breath, as bad as my day was going so far this one sentence always set me off, but staying quite was better than getting beat and arrested for "public disturbance".

I thought to myself while walking and dodging the busy ponies going to work, school, shopping or the farms making the deliveries to the market booths. "I mean I get it! The stereotype of all unicorns is that we're all rich, or a natural stuck up attitude, and where does act like the whole world owes em' something comes from?" I thought to myself deciding not to say my frustrations out loud.

I trotted along with the crowd of ponies looking for the dairy booth. Despite that the market let's everypony in town mingle and shop, but the farther north in town you go you still get dirty looks knowing that most of the time southsiders shopped on the south side and northsiders shopped on the northside, simple right? Most ponies don't cross either side and stay in the intermediate area but if you really need something and it happens to be at a booth on the northside, well let's just say I'm going to try my luck. You know when you walk into a place and you can feel all eyes on you and you just tell your out of place? That's what it's like for a southsider to be walking this close the northside of town.

As I began trotting down the path being extra careful not to step in the wrong place, or look at the wrong pony the wrong way, or step in anyponys way, as I was looking for the dairy booth ignoring the booths prohibiting certain race's of ponies I looked up and say a group of three colts, all significantly taller than I, dragging on cigarette's looking directly at me.

"Shit, ok just keep trotting, just keep trotting, you haven't done nothing wrong you're just trottin' on through just trying to get some milk" I thought to myself while keeping eye contact to the ground and hoping to sweet Celestia that they didn't pay any attention to me.

"Hey! You! Yeah You! Whatchu doin these parts huh?" Said the one in the middle with his slicked back black hair, Richie Rich.

Now let me tell you something about Richie Rich, a while back ago his daddy Stinkin Rich bought a lot of Granny Smith's zap apple jam, and started a business by reselling it. Then for the past few decades and making bits off the Apple Family's hard earned jam! But him and his four sons Buck Rich, Booshie Rich, Fat Stacks Rich and of course the youngest Richie Rich all stand to inherit a lot of dough once ol' Stinkin' kicks the bucket. Now each of the brothers are about ten or so years apart seeing as his daddy is well, to put it lightly, a whore who has a new wife every few years. But back to Richie, if the dynamic Pegassi due wasn't out to get me, you can sure as shit guarantee him and his two lackeys were there to find away to shit on my whole day.

I really didn't have time for this shit. The three colts began walking towards me in unison, Richie in the middle, His lackey to the right, with his dark sunglasses and dark brown hair slightly darker than mine started to say

"Well lookee what we got here! We got our selves a dirty southsider just walkin' all up the way up here!" The bulky earth pony said while throwing his cigarette bid on the ground and stepping on it and quickly lighting up another.

"Looks like he just walked on up here so we wouldn't have to go get one, eh? Said the skinny earth pony to the left, they began to circle me all walking clockwise around me, just laughing and taunting me to do something. They were all wearing they're Ponyville High Varsity jackets.

If your description of a rich north side bully was athletic, privileged, plays hoofball, and has sociopathic tendencies, well you'd be dead right.

Slick Back was the the skinny pony with a gray hide, and long blonde hair, and much to his name was actually a very laid back, chill, drug aficionado, was actually the least worst pony in the group, and the pony with dark brown hair and a beige hide was Sheriff Rosco's son, Biff.

But despite getting the shit kicked out of me on a regular basis I like to pride myself on not taking anymore shit, no not after today if some rich prick thinks they can fuck with me they're dead wrong.

"Hey shit brick, is you gonna just stand there lookin stupid?"

Said Richie as they stopped circling me, he stepped in front of me and looked me in the eye and took a large drag on his cigarette and blew the smoke in my face must have pissed him off when I didn't give him the reaction he wanted, I just stood there and I decided I was going to do something, something that changed my life forever, I was going to stand up for myself.

"Did you hear me shitbrick? I sai-" was all he got out before I waited for his cigarette to be hanging out his mouth and his jaw to be slightly open before I swing my hoof back and with all the energy I had I swung my hoof directly into his mouth knocking his cigarette directly on his tounge and throat. He was looking right at me and went wide eyed coffing hysterically and his lackeys around him looked baffled not able to react at what just happened seconds before, to me everything was in slow motion, I hadn't processed the burn mark on the bottom of my hoof, it must have been the adrenaline I had running in my system. Earlier I had questioned why I had assaulted the two Pegassi harassing me earlier, but now I was more than sure what I had to do, I had to stop taking shit from other ponies. I looked around me and saw that the cigarette in his throat can really catch a pony off guard, but as fast as the adrenaline came was nearly as fast as the adrenaline can start to turn to a fight or flight response, and I just fought so now it's time to flight!

I charged at Richie as fast as I could with the short distance between us and threw my whole body weight against his side knocking him over on the ground and.... There it is! Adrenaline is definitely back!

"Gotta run! Gotta run! Gotta run,run,run!" I thought over and over to my self while galloping south as fast as I could. While galloping and dodging ponies in the way I heard Richie hell out in the background "GET HIM!".

"Shit" I thought, now they're really after me! Why did I choose today to quit taking other Pony's shit! Well option one was get beat up and them take my stuff again or option two being the option I had obviously chosen, "Well it looks like I'll be avoiding them for awhile" I thought while galloping as fast as I could down the road, I had almost cleared the market bye now I was in the south side of the market and I wasn't sure if they had the nerve to come this far south during the sunlight. But that didn't stop me from galloping as fast as I could, not daring to look behind me.

Okay, curiosity got the best of me I looked for a good hide long spot and located a very convenient looking ally behind Sugar Cube Corner. I looked behind me not seeing any suspicious, angry ponies behind me and ducted into the alley.

I leaned against the brick wall and slid down to my blank and finally had time to catch my breath.

I tried to re-steady my breathing again, two times in one day I've been this exhausted, if the track team at PHS wasn't earth pony only i'd totally join! As I leaned against the wall breathing in and out, in and out, I pictured me on the track team. I'd be on the starting line with all the other ponies on the track, Pegassi, earth ponies, unicorns all competing against each other to see who has the best skill. As entertaining as the thought was I was quickly yanked back to reality when I heard the familiar voice of somepony yelling my name.

"Dawn! Where are ya dawn! Come out come out where ever you are!" Shouted Richie.

Him and his lackeys we're farther south than I'd ever seen during this time of day! But much to my surprise they all came wielding wooden Hoofville Sluggers, "Damn it!" I thought to my self "why does it happened to be hoofball season!" I hissed as quietly as I could. I began trotting down the back alley keeping myself to the wall, trotting silently until I was an appropriate distance away from my pursuers to began galloping full sprint down the dark alleyway.

I made my way to Lunar Ave, which was directly Parallel to the street Sugar cube corner was on.

Lunar Avenue was the street next to the market where the first row of houses start from here for about a mile south, these houses were obviously in better condition, renovated, and just plain better than the ones just a few blocks down.

Which isn't surprising really, it's actually really simple the closer to town you are the better your house looks. As I was trotting down the road now hopefully certain that I had evaded my captors, but I wasn't taking any chances, I was heading back to the orphanage, or excuse me, Mama Zanya's Home For Yadda Yadda Yadda, I rolled my eyes.

"Well I got the eggs but was rudely interrupted before I could acquire the milk" I said to myself, maybe Mama Zanya would understand? probably not, she doesn't care much for dilly dally and goofing around. She expects you to do exactly what she wants with out any room for question. That was gonna be a fun conversation.

Of course Mama Zanya wasn't my biggest concern at the moment, between the five ponies that I had pissed of today and the fact that I didn't get the milk like I was supposed to, my main focus was avoiding them like Poison Joke! But more importantly as soon as I cross the bridge it'll just be a hop, skip and a jump back to the orphanage, but making it back is its own challenge. "Ok new plan" I thought to myself "Step One: Get back safely. Step Two: Don't die. Step Three: Repeat steps 1&2 until completed."

"Right, sounds simple enough right?" I asked nopony in particular, as I was walking down Lunar Avenue, I looked down the road to the left towards the market hoping I had escaped my pursuers, but of course I had took my good sweet time walking down the road, to realize that Richie Rich and the bitch group had been walking nearly the same pace I had been going.

"Celestia damn me and my inner monologue!" I hissed while ducking behind the passing onion cart, carried by old stallion with a rake and hoe as his cutie mark, I walked alongside the cart as far as he pulled it south. "Yes!" I thought, "if I just hide behind this cart until I get to the bridge I'll be home safe!" I was smiling and thought my brilliant idea was sound proof until I realized the the old stallion had stopped his cart ten feet ago.

I saw the bridge ten feet down the dirt road.

"Of course nothing ever goes according to plan" I growled under my breath. As I began galloping down the road and over the bridge as fast as my little legs could take me. I began wonder how I'm going to explain why I didn't have any groceries OR why I'm ten minutes late!. "Damn it! I shouted to no one in particular "stupid asshole bullies ruining my morning! And damn that rooster for waking me up!" As I began trotting faster and faster towards the large metal gate leading into the old orphanage. While I was running and shouting at no one in particular I guess I wasn't paying attention to the rooster aiming a rusty horseshoe at me. "And I'm still so hungr-" I started to shout before I heard a large **THUNK** against the side of my head and quickly hit the ground. With a pretty amazing speed one could rival The Wonderbolts with, but the way I hit the ground I barrelrolled not three, not four, but five times before finally rolling back on to my back. I stared at the beautiful morning dawn while my vision started to fade and I swear to Celestia's royal shit, I saw the rooster give me the biggest shit eating grin. And everything went dark.

When I awoke to the bright sunlight, from the darkness of the mild coma I was just in, I had only two things on my mind: I was still hungry and I was late for school...

With the thin line of vision I had I could identify two mares standing over me, one that I could recognize a pasty white hide, I could identify from anywhere, Mama Zanya. Compared to this morning with her bed head hair in curls, and in a pink robe to her hair curled and long bangs on the side of her sandy blonde hair and her peach short dress, with silk whitehoof gloves and matching white hoof pumps.

And the other mare was Mellonberry, rapping my head in a thin white first aid rap, that was located in her cart.

"Well Dawn, I was wondering why it took you so long to get the *two* things I asked you to get, but I as I can obviously tell, you've been here." I could hear the anger in her voice, "But, I got the eggs" I said with a hopeful smile.

"Oh I know, they fell out of your bag and you must have crushed them, ALL of them" I saw her left eye tweak. That's never a good sign.

Then much to my surprise, she took a deep breath and started to say.

"Well it looks like as per usual you couldn't do the one thing I asked, so after I get back from Town Hall I'm going to have to get eggs and milk." She said rather eerily.

"So after you get back from school, which you are late for! You have cleaning duty, all week" she said with her cold demeanor, she huffed and stepped one hoof over the other over me, and began trotting down the dirt road.

"Cleaning duty? All week? Fuck it, I don't even care" I said while looking straight up, my eyes were readjusted, focusing all my strength on trying to get up, I raised my back up planting my hooves on the ground attempting to regain composure, I pressed my hoof to my head when I felt the dried blood on the left side of my face that had dripped to my face , and the splitting pain still radiating from the source.

"Hey Silly! Leave the bandages alone if you wanna feel all better!" Said Mellonberry in her sing-song voice. She lent over to the left to her first aid kit and pulled a Syringe with a red and white cross on the barrel.

"Oh sweet Celestia, I hate needles, no really I'm fine Mel', I just gotta get some rest!" I started to beg.

"Hey just relax, and the pain will be gone in a lickity split!" She said while taking my forehoof and sliding the needle into the first vein she saw.

As scary as a big needle is, I have to admit the effects are instantaneous, to say the least. I felt the radiating pain in my head start to recede, and felt the ache in my bones start to dissipate and I felt good!.

I felt that I had enough strength to pull myself up! But the thought was gone as quickly as it came, because as soon as I stood up my legs turned to jelly and quickly lost balance.

If Mel' hadn't been there to catch me, I probably would've put myself in another mild coma.

"Hey now don't get yourself in a hurry now, you might hurt yourself again!" She giggled as she guided be back to my flank.

"So uh, how did you come across me anyways?" I asked flustered and slightly embarrassed.

"Well, I was getting back from Sweet Apple Acres when I saw you on the ground bleeding in the head! Not sure exactly how ya got your self in that predicament, but I figured I should help" she said matter-of-factly.

"A rooster threw a horseshoe at my head" I said defeatedly.

"Well you know what they say! A rooster always holds a grudge!" She said cheerily as she reattached the harness connected to her cart.

She began trotting down the road pulling the cart like it was featherless.

"Who has ever said that?" I thought to myself.

"And how earth ponies are so strong will forever fascinate me" was the last thing i thought about before levitating my saddlebags on to my back, making sure I had feeling in my forehoof again and finally began trotting to school.

The education system in Equestria is archaic to say the best. See it kind of works like this: If your lower class, most of the time as soon as you get your cutie mark you begin working for your father or you apprentice with another pony with a similar cutie mark or trade. The only exception being of you have above average intelligence there is a program from the Royal Government

Called Upper Bound and you are given a chance at four years preparatory school and another four years of secondary school at a bigger university like in Canterlot or Manehattan, if you pass both test's that is. But on the other side of it if your born in the upper class, it's expected that you attend four years preparatory school and another four years of secondary school. Not exactly equal chance, equal opportunity but oh so lucky for me I was in the upper bound program, if I wasn't my cutie mark of a broom and dust pan would lead me to maintenance for the rest of my life.

Ponyville High School served as the preparatory school in town and was one of the only towns in the area to not have segregated education facilities. Granted fifty percent of the school was earth pony, and was roughly twenty five percent unicorn and an other roughly twenty five percent Pegasus. Despite the stereotype that all unicorns are all "elites" or "stuck up" or even "prude", most of the unicorns in town live closest to the town are of the upper class, even less so in the lower class side of town, again lucky me.

But despite your race only one percent of Unicorns, Pegassi, and Earth Pony are usually families from really old money, I mean really old money, all the way to the founding of Equestria, like The Platinum Family, The Puddinghead's, and The Hurricane Family, those were the big three at the time, but like most things over time they faded into obscurity, all ponies now only remember the good things the families ancestors did, and not the generations of corruption, and the damage that took years to repair from the selfishness of rich ponies greed.

"I really hope the cafeteria mare made some hayfries, or daisy sandwiches"

I mumbled to myself while walking down the nicer gravel road the school had. Ponyville Highschool Consisted of three separate buildings, one long rectangular double story building facing horizontally, a separate shorter building but much wider, that served as a cafeteria, and last building was the largest and oldest was our gymnasium where are beloved hoofball players get to practice, and last but not least the hoofball field was the pride and joy of the Ponyville High School Dodgers, our hoofball team. Now not being the athletic type didn't discourage me from joining the team! It was more like the embarrassment of learning I wasn't talented enough to swing a bat, I mean I understand the concept of the game, turn your shoulders into the swing. Bring your shoulders across your body, following the hips. Remain relaxed until just before the bat strikes the ball. The entire body should uncoil like a spring, from the hooves up through the hips, ending with the turn of the shoulders, but for some reason my natural reaction to a ball being thrown at me is to duck! And when I don't duck, I swing and it's to high, I swing again it's to low, my mind understands but my body has trouble following. Or it could be that most of the team did not exactly appreciate a unicorn being in the team so naturally I was shoved in to the smelliest locker in the locker room and I wasn't found until thankfully the janitor showed up early to his shift and the locker room was the first place he decided to clean that day.

Despite my above average build I was to say at best I was, lanky but being slightly taller than most ponies my age due to my forelegs picking up the slack where my body lacked, I was always an easy target for somepony to pick on me, not saying that everypony is like that of course but the good majority I've met find one imperfection and latch on to and find a reason to hate you, no matter how little or even insignificant the thing they may seem to hate you for its something you have to live with everyday. But for What I lacked in athleticism, size, and just general self esteem I made up for in my knowledge of science, mathematics, and in reading capability, now I'm not saying I'm the smartest pony but I was definitely smarter than most of my peers around me. I've always felt out of place, like I've never belonged. I've always believed that I was destined to roam the earth a loner who never had anypony to care about, and no pony to care rather I was alive or dead. But somewhere in the deep corners of my mind thoughts that I dared not say aloud told me something, it told me that I was destined to do more with my life than the traditional roles that have been set in place for generations.

The two glass doors at the front of the school served as the enter and exit door, past the door was the wooden secretary desk that was in front of Principle Textbook's office, was attended my Mrs. Leaf, was the room in front of the school and behind the administration room had two larger wooden doors propped open by rubber door stoppers,which lead to the main hallway of the north side of the school, followed bye rows of lockers on each side of the wall was only separated by doors that lead to other classrooms. The glass door behind me squeaked open as I stepped into the administration room I saw Mrs. Leaf looking over the highlights of the Equestria Dailey Newspaper. I attempted to hopefully trot past without gaining to much attention to myself. But as always that's never the case for me, I saw Mrs. Leafs bright autumn hair and green eyes peak over her newspaper to see me halfway through the door. "Damn it! So close" I thought to myself. Then with the biggest damn grin I could muster up I turned around and trotted up to the secretary's wooden desk.

"Mrs. Leaf! How are you this fine morning! Talk about some weather, huh? Perfect right?" I said as I stood upright while leaning my right foreleg on the desk.

She stared coolly at me, in fact she stared at me for ten seconds flat before she finally said, "Do you realize its almost third hour?" She said in a near mechanical voice.

Then my grin started to fade, then without giving me a chance to explain myself she said "Students are expected to be on time and not show up to they're own leisure, Oh and get your hoof of my desk" She said without skipping a beat.

I quickly removed my hoof from the desk and planted it back firmly on the ground.

"Well it uh, it's been a rough morning" I said diverting my eyes from the gazing stare of obvious dissatisfaction. She rolled her eyes and chuckled and said.

"If I had a bit for every time I've heard that excuse, you can bet I'd retire and let somepony else do this job"

Lucky enough for me in the awkward starring contest we had just been in the third hour bell rang and that was my cue to get my flank to class.

The crowded hallways compacted with ponies getting things from they're locker and the ones trying to get to class perfectly on time. I personally like to take my good time of course, going to the "unicorn only" restroom to drain the main vain and to look in the mirror to adjust my self, this time noticing the thin white bandage still wrapped around my head, and decided to dispose of it by crumbling it up and tossing into the little trash can at entrance of the restroom. I looked at

The already fading red mark on the side of my head had reverted from its knot that had formed.

But the pain had not fully decimated yet, but the drugs from earlier can really dull the pain! Then i realized that's why a lot of ponies got hooked on stuff like that. I started thinking to myself.

"Huh, I should definitely try to stay of the stuff, I mean I've seen the bug-eyed burned out custodians at the school!" and not to mention the ponies sleeping on the street due to long-term addiction, it's sad but it's mainly former Royal Guards who get hurt in the line of duty and can never really kick the stuff.

Looking in the mirror and finally satisfied with my appearance, with my hair hiding the already fading red mark on the side of my dome, I began to trot out of the restroom to the hallway whenever lucky fucking me just happens to see Richie fuckin-shit-stacks Rich talking to the hoofball Coach Thunderous, a measly twenty feet away, I went cold. I had roughly two minutes before class was going to begin, and another full minute before the coach would be done talking to Richie. So that gave me a solid sixty second head start, I knew if I could avoid him for this class then I'd have the upper hoof in avoiding for the rest of the day. I could feel the anger in his eyes and realizing that I had already wasted five seconds I decided to start galloping in a fast-slow pace, fast enough to avoid Richie and slow enough to avoid confrontation from the nosy asshole hall monitor. I ducked and swerved the dozens and dozens of ponies all walking in the hallways trying to get to they're class while narrowly avoiding colliding with by-passers lingering in the hallway. My Equestrian History class was three doors down! I began to slow my pace, surely I've evaded my nemesis by now! I thought to my self as I approached the door to my classroom and trotted slowly in the class room, I peaked around the corner and from the contents of the classroom only being the seven students that had showed up so far and old Mr. Pepys, our teacher reading a copy of the daily newspaper with his bottom forehooves kicked up on his desk. I trotted up to my seat on the third row, fourth desk and as soon as I sat my flank down I put my hooves on the table making a makeshift pillow and firmly laid my head on my hooves and fell into a well deserved blissful sleep.

The school bell rang at three 'o clock every single day , seven days a week, all the damn time, I mean the school figured instead of adjusting the bell twice every week but to let the bell ring at three regardless of school being in. For a lot of ponies getting out of school, that usually means having fun and hanging out with friends wasting the day away, but for the underclass after school (if not already dropped out) then they get ready for work right after.

Most places require one of two things to get a job. One being that it's your cutie mark and your naturally good at it, the second being having formal education and applying with tons and tons of references, the only exception being of course if you have above average intelligence such as yours truly. That leaves out enough unskilled labor jobs to hand out to ponies without any particular skillful cutie mark's or younger ponies needing a job again like yours truly. But despite my above average inelegance,

I still had to work in order to get money in order to have a roof over my head. Despite how narcissistic and drunk that roof happens to be. I apprenticed the only unicorn blacksmith in Ponyville, Mr Cain Tubal Sir, former Royal Guard Captain but was honorably discharged from the guard twenty-sum years ago after Bnolky Z (also known as Hydrogen cyanide) attack while he was stationed in the Zebra Peninsula.

When the last bell of the day finally rang and all the ponies scattered into the hallways collecting they're belongings and leaving for the day, unfortunately for me it wasn't going to be that simple. Assuming Richie still had a score to settle, I naturally assumed he and his dipshit buddies where waiting on me in front of the school just waiting to get revenge. To confirm my suspicions I exited my last hour class which to be fair was a blow off class, Music Theory. I mean we get it! Music has been one of the fundamentals of Equestria blah blah blah. I peaked down the hallway facing the double glass doors and was proven right once again, but much to my surprise it wasn't just Richie and his two lackeys, their were three other hoofball players standing around waiting to get the pounce on me. Well since I was smarter than below average hoofball players I decided that going around the back door was the obvious option. The last of the ponies left in the hallway were gathering they're belongings without the massive swarm of ponies trotting in each and every direction. I peaked around the door and looked back and forth, back and forth and kept to the left side of the wall as I trotted towards the north-east side of the school towards the exit door that lead towards the separate cafeteria, so as long as I avoid the front of the school and the gymnasium to avoid potential threats I was home free! I thought to myself. I began trotting faster and faster towards the door with a large red exit sign posted on the wooden door, I began to press on the knob when I heard the screechy, most annoyingly voice began to speak from behind me.

"Hey! Dawn! You can't go out that exit door! That's for emergencies only!"

The asshole hall monitor was Clear Skies, the tiny pudgy Pegasus with a god complex due to the principle putting a plastic badge on him that read "Hall Monitor" he suddenly thinks he's the big bad sheriff of the school who is the judge, jury and executioner of PHS. I must admit if he wasn't around bullies would probably find more ponies such as me to harass and belittle. Then I sighed and and faced the angry tiny pony behind me and said.

"Listen dude, this is an emergency I have six angry hoofball players waiting on me in the front, so if you don't mind I think I will be getting on my way"

I started to turn away and began to open the door but he started to speak up again, before he snorted and said.

"Well now I guess I can understand that, but I'm writing you a hall ticket as a formality, no going out any door that isn't the front" he said with a huff while handing me the tiny orange slip. I rolled my eyes and told him.

"Why don't you take your formality and suck a dick dumbshit" I levitated the slip from his hoof and crumbled it up and threw it over his head while beginning to re-walk out the door for the third time not stopping this time while barely hearing him say.

"That's another littering ticket!"

I could care less honestly, it's not like the principle even looks at those little orange slips.

I swung the wooden door one and was led around to the designated smoking area for the students and faculty, which was close enough the cafeteria so the lunchmares wouldn't have to go very far to go on a smoke break, and in perfect distance for the coaches to smoke from here to the gymnasium and on the hoofball field.

I had calculated in my head that going around the back of the school would be the best counter measure to avoid angry hoofball players, but the thing that I had not estimated was Aries and Solstice throwing glass bottles against one of the three the large puke green dumpsters located around the school, making very little effort to actually throw the bottle in the dumpster, but more for the sake of just breaking things while dragging on half lit cigarette's. Assuming they were still angry about the whole hitting-them-over-the-head-with-a-stick ordeal, my natural instinct was to hop in the dumpster not being thrown glass bottles out conveniently near the door. I threw my hooves around the edge of the dumpster and pulled myself up and over the dumpster falling onto the piles of black trash bags leaving me enough room to check and where my old foes were located. While pondering in my head what I should do I heard the terrifying voice of Aries start to say

"Well, well, well lookie what we got here Solstice!" Shit. Shit. Shit. My heart dropped.

"Goddamn it! I was so close!" I rigorously thought to myself pondering my options and quickly saw them diminish.

"Looks like we got ourselves a little hall monitoring traitor, huh Aries?" Solstice said with a malicious grin.

What the hell? Hall monitor? While initially I was terrified I was caught, then set in partial confusion I peaked over the edge seeing Clear Skies cornered between the wall of the school and the two angry Pegassi who stood in front of him. While I had ducked into the trashcan worrying wether or not I was caught, I hadn't noticed Clear Skies walk out moments after I had, but he hadn't had the intuition to hide, but then again he hadn't hit them over the head earlier this morning. Clear Skies started to pull the hall monitor act, but all that really came out was.

"H-hey you guys, you s-shouldn't be breaking the glass o-out here you know, that's a g-good cause for a t-ticket, right?" Aries and Solstice looked each other in the eye and didn't say anything for a moment before bursting out laughing for a solid minute.

"Did ya hear that Solstice? He's gonna right us a ticket!" Aries said barely holding in the laughter.

"Oh I'm sure that tickets not gonna help you out none!" Solstice said while smacking the ticket book out of his hoof sliding it on the ground towards the direction of the dumpster I was hiding in, followed by Aries grabbing him bye his shoulders slamming him against the brick wall.

I heard him yelp in pain and start to stammer.

"No! P-please! There's no ticket! I was just kidd'in around!"

Before he could get another word out Solstice began wailing on him, hitting him in the forelegs, ribs, and head filled bye Aries standing in his hind legs and began kicking him as hard as he could. I felt sick, I had a decision to make, help out Clear Skies and face my adversaries again or leave and not get involved, the decision I made I still regret to this day will never forget because I decided to use him as a scapegoat and slip away from from the dumpster away from anymore danger. I threw my hooves around the opposite end of the dumpster and made sure to drop down one hoof at a time to avoid detection, and began to quietly trot away from the back of the school following the side of the wall as a

better-than-nothing counter measure. The only thing I could hear was the yelps and screams of pain coming from behind me, and I felt my stomach drop as I looked behind me at the two Pegassi beating the hall monitor in pure bliss as I went around the corner hoping that I could avoid thinking about it. Just don't think about it Dawn, don't think of the yelps and whimpers and the sound of them wailing on him to submission.

And with that I began trotting to work.

The Blacksmith I apprenticed for had a large wooden shop with anvils, forge's, and a variety of tools and weapons, Which my journeymen Cain Tubal specialized in. In Ponyville farms were the biggest employer as far as unskilled labor goes, and with every farm help needs farm tools and everybody has to be made and sold somewhere right? And that's were we came in. Cain Tubal was especially skilled in the craft of blacksmithing, seeing as he could craft one hundred and twenty swords and one hundred and ten farming tools in seven days top, you had to assume he had to know what he was doing.

I approached the shop by trotting into the front door and walking in to the foyer that served as a break room and doubled as a place for customers to drop off their equipment or to pick it up. I put on my black leather apron and set my safety goggles atop my head and slipped on my black leather hoofgloves and now that I had my personal protection equipment I was set to head out in to the shop! In the shop I saw Mr Tubal hammering a sword straight probably not hearing me even walk in. The way Mr Tubal levitating his hammer with ease almost seeming weightless was astounding, even after apprenticing with him for nearly three years it still impressed me that he could forge a sword in a hot ass room and not get tired nor get bored of it. Sweat dripped down from his jet black hair to his velvet coat, as he stopped hammering satisfied with his work he stuck the sword back in the forge, removed his goggles and looked at me with his large hazel eyes and started to say.

"Well it looks like you showed up, I started to think you were going to be late" he said with his deep grunted voice.

"Me? Late? Never!" I said to him with the best grin I could muster up. "What a baseless accusation!" I began to start up.

"How could you assume-" before I could finish he cut me off with his grunt voice saying.

"Enough, your at work, so it's time to work so sweep the floor, empty the trashcan, and polish the new builds" His calm demeanor and harsh attitude, could easily be mistaken as "mean" or even "disgruntled" by somepony who didn't know him, but he was a humble, well respected stallion who was known as the local "hard-ass", again not my words.

"Ok got it, Sweep, Empty, Polish" I said while lifting my hoof to my forehoof in a salute.

"Good, And old man Elstar Apple is coming buy for his shipment within the hour, I'm heading into the market to get some smokes, I'll be back later" He said while drying the dripping sweat with the nearby cloth. He started to walk out the door before stopping and only turning his head to his side saying.

"Oh, and make sure you help him load the his crate into his cart, its good manners"

Ya know Elstar might be old, but he was the strongest stallion in Ponyville, Don't get me wrong My Tubal was a strong as well, but he didn't have raw earth pony power built up of years of working on an apple farm.

As I saw the door close I dropped my salute and trotted up to the broom closet sighed, and opened the door levitating the broom and dust pan out of the closet and began sweeping

You wouldn't believe how dirty a blacksmith shop could actually get. I began dusting side to side, piling up the debris, dust and fillings of shredded iron and copper on the floor, and putting it in piles. When I was satisfied with the amount of sweeping I had accomplished ate put the contents of the floor in the trashcan which was already nearly filled or I pushed my hoof down on the trash to push it down to make room for the new addition to the trash. I levitated the top of the aluminum trash can fitting neatly on top, then levitating the whole trashcan as I began to open the front wooden door of the shop and trotted to the front of the shop's front lawn leaving he trashcan for the garbage ponies to collect. I trotted back through the front door and made my way back to the back of the shop where the new builds reset neatly on its wooden rack. I sat down on the wooden stool and began applying the polishing oil, I grabbed the green cleaning rag specifically used for polishing and dabbed the polish on the rag and began wiping the blade, up and down making sure to avoid the handle until after cleaning the blade.

I had only started on three blade before I heard the knock on the door I had been expecting.

I placed the iron sword back on the rack and trotted back to through the shop into the foyer and opened the door seeing Ol' Elstar Apple towering over me with his barley my cigarette in his mouth, even standing in front of the door he was actually slightly taller than the doors actual height.

"Come on in sir, we have your shipment right over here" I said as I ushered him in and trotting over to his crate."

While he had to duck through the door to get in I had focused a lot of my thought on lifting his crate, which was super heavy! Don't get me wrong my telekinesis as alright, but it wasn't certainly the best so to speak.

"Do you uh, need some help?" He asked while lighting another cigarette.

"Nah nah it's ok I got this" I said while channeling as much thought as I could, and with in the minute the large crate began to levitate off the ground. I began trotting toward the door, good! I made it this far just ten more feet from his cart and your solid! Come on you can do it! I began trotting slightly faster than before and finally leveled the large crate on the open end of his cart and finally could relax. I fell back to my flank trying to catch my breath.

"Oh damn, What did you order? If a, you don't mind me asking? I asked while gasping for air.

He began laughing and said.

"Eeyep, I ordered a few hoes" he began to laugh again. Then I started to laugh to.

"Don't let your hoes get dirty now!" I said.

"My hoes always get dirty, that's why I'm always ordering new ones" he said with his old barely toothy grin and we both began to laugh. Then with out missing a beat Mr Tubal had shown up seamingly out of no where and started to say.

"If you keep loosing my hoes were going to have a problem" he said with the most dead serious face, while dragging on a cigarette. Then my grin had started to fade when Elstar intervened saying.

"You know how it goes, hoes are hoes!" He and Mr Tubal began laughing. I was rare to see a pony like Cain Tubal to be laughing, it was a good but rare sight to behold. It's like a double rainbow! Elstar had finished from his laughing fit saying.

"Well now, I have hoes to tend to" he said with a chuckle and closed the back gate of his cart locking it. He hooked his harness on to his back and began pulling the cart seemingly weightless. What is it about earth pony strength?. As I assumed the question could baffle me for eternity my thoughts were cut off my Mr Tubal saying.

"Have you completed your duties?" His grin was gone and it was back to good Ol' serious Cain.

"Swept, Emptied the trashcan, and started to polish the new builds but I only got three done before helping Elstar with his crate of hoes" I said with a smile but I could tell from his lack of a smile I could tell that the joke was over.

"That will be enough for now, I've received word that a client in Appleoosa needs a shipment sent to him as soon as possible, and he needs it personally delivered so you can leave early today after you help load up the crates" He said while flicking his cigarette to the ground and stomping on the bud while trotting towards the door of the shop. Then he began to say.

"So make sure you close up the shop, and I'll be gone for the weekend so you can report back to work on Monday"

"Sounds good boss, so who needs the package hoof delivered? He must be important" I said while trotting behind him into the shop.

"Actually, she's an old friend, so that's why as a matter of fact" he said with his rare sly grin.

"Ohhhhh I get it" I said while realizing what was really going down, Mr Tubal was trying to get some flank!.

I waved Mr Tubal goodbye as he began trotting down the road towards the train station, pulling his smaller cart with a crate in the back. With the early weekend I was given, I decided to relax by reading a nice book in the comfort of the shade of a tree. I began trotting towards the south side library which was a golden oak library, which not a lot ponies actually came to read, but rather served as a hangout or because the librarian was, to say the least, extremely attractive.

The road leading up to the library was relatively abandoned, shy of a few lofts every fifty yards or so, and was east of the market by a brisk trot.

The library itself had been hallowed out of a Golden Oak tree, hence the name, by its original owner a good few decades ago, and was converted to a library by his son who I turn gave his son the library who in turn, sold it to its current owner and moved to Canterlot.

I opened its large red door and began to trot inside the hallowed out tree. The she leaves and shelves of books always astounded me, as a pony who didn't get to read often I always took the opportunity as soon as it presented itself.

The librarian I had mentioned earlier, her name was Hypatia. As she was stacking books on a ladder four shelves up on the west end of the library, her yellow hide and curly dark hazelnut brown hair was neatly done, as per usual, she was one of the only earth ponies who wasn't ashamed to call me a friend, then again she was everyone's friend. There was luckily only three other ponies in the library searching for books. I decided to collect my nerves and trot up to the ladder where she was working.

"Hey Patia, How are you today?" I asked with the skyway grin I could muster up. She looked down from the ladder adjusting her glasses, then as she recognized who I was her face turned into a large grin.

"Dawn! How are you! I didn't know when you'd be able to come back by! I've missed seeing you around here!" She slid down the ladder landing perfectly on her hooves and spun around facing me planting a giant hug.

"Mmmmhhhhh, I-uh missed you to" I said as my face went red. She gave one last squeeze before pulling her self back and asking.

"So what can I do ya for? Are you coming in here to shop or just browse?" She said with what could be mistaken as a seductive grin. Maybe she's just being polite?. Then I'm sure I muttered out.

"Well, Mr Tubal had to go on a delivery, so I luckily got the weekend off, so I figured why not come by my favorite place?" I said with a sheepish grin.

"Well lucky for you! I have a new book that you would just love! I just got it in, it's received a lot of criticism! So I had to snag a copy before they decided to ban it!" She said before trotting over to her desk and brought over a book wrapped in a brown cover. She removed the brown rapping and handed me the book.

"It's called The Catcher And The Pie! It's a really good read!" She said as I scanned the cover.

"Well I'll definitely give it a read! Do you mind if I start reading it now?" I asked.

"That's what I was hoping you'd say" she winked at me before trotting to the book return basket to re shelve. I had trotted to the wooden table, pulled up a chair and began to read the first page.

I had awoke to the sound of knocking on a door, when I had realized that I had fell asleep about a hundred and twenty pages into the book. I looked toward the windows seeing that it was dark outside. Shit, Mama Zanya was going to be pissed if I was late. I bented the edge of the page marking where I was so I could pick up the book later. I looked at who exactly was knocking at the door and saw two police officers standing in front of the door. I quickly moved away from sight, it's not that I've ever had a problem with the police necessarily it's just that some police officers do have a problem with me. I was barely in earshot of what was being said but the closer I got to the door, the closer I was to being seen.

So I had narrowly missed what was being said other than "If you find out anything, please report it as soon as possible, thank you ma'm" the bulky earth pony officer said.

Hypatia closed the door and from the tears on her face, it look like she had just seen a ghost.

"Hey what's going on?" I asked. She didn't say anything at first due to the sobs so it had to of been bad.

"There, there was a murder" she said in in inbetween sobs.

"A murder? Who? What? When? Where? Why?" I had asked her nearly shouting.

"It was at your school, They, they found Clear Skies beaten to death behind the cafeteria"

My stomach dropped. I suddenly felt the amount of overwhelming guilt of what had just happened. She started to say.

"I just saw him yesterday! He just got a new book!" Her sobs were getting worse.

I fell back on my flank realizing that if I had just helped him out he'd still be here! I used him as a selfish way to avoid anymore trouble from them.

This was my fault. They may have actually killed him, but I could've stopped it and I decided to leave.

"I know who did it" I muttered. Patia broke away from her sobs and said.

"What?, what did you say?"

"Aries and Solstice" was all I could manage to get out.

"How? How do you know this? She asked with anger in her voice. I then broke down in front of her confessing that he had followed me to the back of the school and when I had jumped in a dumpster to avoid detection and they decided to start wailing on him.

"I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't know" I blubbered. Before I knew what was happening she had been holding me, and comforting me while I had broke down.

"I could have stopped them, but I was to selfish" I sobbed. Patia began rubbing my mane back in forth.

"This is not you're fault" she said to me. Then she repeated herself.

"Do you here me? This is not you're fault, you understand?" She said in the most serious tone I had ever heard from her. I then pulled myself away from her and stood up saying.

"This IS my fault, I should have done something but I didn't, so I'm going to have to live with that for the rest of my life!"

"It's not about you" she said in a faint whisper. She began to say.

"Somepony is dead and you want to make it about you" she said again but more firmly.

"But I-" I began to say. But she placed her hooves on my face making us look eye to eye.

"Listen to me Dawn Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best." She said calmly. I pulled myself away back to my hooves and trotted back to the table to collect my saddlebags, while Hypatia still sat on the floor of the library. I figured it was about time for me to get on my way, I packed away the book and levitated the saddle bags on to my back and began trotting towards the door. As I came to the red door I turned my head and muttered.

"Thank you" I opened the door and trotted through the space and levitated the door handle to close the door.

The cool breeze of the ponyville night sky was always refreshing, the news of Clear Skies dying really changed my perspective of things, the fact that i could have stopped it, no, no there was nothing I could've done, right? Was there? As I began trotting down the gravel road toward Mama Zanya's I started to ponder the different outcomes that could've happened, but I was leading to the same conclusion every time, I made a selfish decision that got someone killed.

The sunken feeling in my stomach had not decimated at all, in fact, I felt sick. I ran to the side of the road out of the light of the street lamps and emptied what little contents I had left in my stomach. I wiped away the rancid left overs on my lip and wiped it on the grass next to me.

I pulled myself to my hooves and began trotting back towards the direction of the orphanage.

The gravel road was long and narrow and I was barely halfway there. I began to from a trot to a brisk pace, then I began galloping, and when I wanted to go faster I was in a full blown sprint, all four hooves in perfect unison, one hoof after the other. I began getting closer and closer to the south side market when I saw bubba standing in the road standing with his hoof in a stop signal.

I stared to slow down but has fast as I was going I planted all four hooves on the ground thinking I was about to slam into Bubba! But luckily I stopped myself within a foot of Bubba narrowly avoiding a collision.

"Hey Bubba" I said to him but his look wasn't his usual smug grin but rather a concerned look.

"Hey man, you know what's going on?" He asked me getting straight to the point.

"About Clear Skies? I just found out" I said with a sad frown.

"Really? The word going 'round town is you were the last one to talk to him, they're thinking you did it" he said sternly.

"W-what? You think I did it? C'mon man you know I wouldn't do some shit like this! Aries and Solstice were beating the shit out of him!" I said dramatically. I started up again.

"Clear Skies was trying to give me one of those orange tickets but I was going around back to avoid Richie and his band of assholes, to avoid getting the shit kicked out of me! When I saw Aries and Solstice I jumped in the dumpster trying to avoid them!" I soar trying to explain myself.

"Then why was he out there?" He asked me curiously.

"He followed me! But when they started to beat the shit out of him I bounced man! I just left but I swear I wouldn't kill him! Does that sound like me?" I asked him with tears starting to form.

"Hey, hey, hey man I believe you, ok? Don't get emotional on me now, that's just what ponies been sayin' and I couldn't believe it myself" he said reassuringly.

"When did this happen man? I've been passed out at the library for hours and some cops just popped up?" I asked nervously.

"Listen man this is just speculation, they just saying it was you because it's easier to blame you than a Pegassi murdering one of their own" he said trying to make sense of the situation.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! I'm fucked!" I began to panic pacing back in fourth on the road.

"Ok, ok listen we're gonna get you back to my place and get you outta town for bit so we can clear your name" he said calmly.

"Do you know what they do to ponies who kill? I'm not going to make it to court! The Pegassi are going to lynch me!" I said steaming.

"That ain't gonna happen man, listen we have to go, time is not on our side" he said.

I decided he was right and my only chance at survival was his plan, which was better than the no plan I had. We began galloping in the opposite direction toward his house his grandparents left him when they passed.

His house was half a kilometer from the market, which stood as one of the only houses on this gravel road short of the one loft recently built about five hundred meters back. His grandparents old farm house, which actually no longer served as a farm since Bubba sold most all of the stock for spending money.

We trotted on the brick pathway leading to his house from the gravel road, we trotted through the gate of the white picket fence around the perimeter of the farmhouse. He took the key from his pocket with his mouth, and put the key in the door unlocking it, then turning the doorknob entering his house. I quickly followed him in and shut the door behind me.

"Set you're saddlebags on the table" he said straight forwardly.

I did as he said and trotted up to the wooden table in the living room and sat my saddle bags on the table top.

He disappeared around the corner leading to his spare closet in the hallway, leaving me in the kitchen. I decided to take a seat, finally realizing that after all that running, I was tiered!. His large kitchen which, was less used for cooking now-a-days, and mainly used for its endless amounts of pantries, and cabinets used for food.

Bubba reappeared around the corner with from what I could tell was, a sack of apples, a map, a compass and a compact sword In it's black leather sheath. He sat the contents on the table and began packing it into my bag.

"Listen man, I have some basic supplies that are gonna last you for a minute, while I get shit settled, alright?" he said rather calmly.

He took the sword in his hooves holding it eying it before looking at me and saying.

"This was my grandfathers, when he was stationed in the Saddle Arabian dessert he took this Scimitar sword as a trophy, and it's going to be dangerous to go alone. Take this." he said quietly.

"Thank you, Its going to keep me safe, right?" I said reassuringly.

"No. There is no safety to be found in a sword. A sword brings death. It does not give life. It is a responsibility. A burden." He said as a matter of factly. I'll i could say was.

"I'm going to pay you back, you've given me a chance" I said. But he looked me deep in the eye and said.

"This is no gift. It is a curse, I hope one day you will forgive me." He closed his eyes handing me the blade.

During our heart felt moment we hadn't realized the mob of ponies with torches marching down the road, we had only seen the sight due to the growing bright light illuminating from the window in the horizon.

"Shit! They're here for me!" I said frantically.

Bubba realizing we had ran out of time pushed the table over exposing the nice burgundy carpet cover, throwing the carpet cover to the side it had exposed a wooden door smack dab in the wooden floor beneath the carpet.

He opened the door ushering me to get in.

"Listen, I can hold 'me off, get down the stairs which leads to the basement, after that remove the painting on the far side of the right side of the wall which will reveal a lever. Pull the lever and a the bookcase will move. Flip the lever on the other side of the bookcase closing it and the corridor expands about half a kilometer west, which is another half a click to the train station.

"How do you know all this!?" I asked maim with what little time I had left.

"Papa was a moonshiner" he said with his crooked grin.

I climbed down the wooden steps leading down, but before I went all the way down, I turned to him and said.

"Thank you, for everything"

He sadly nodded towards me. He closed the door atop me and from what I could hear he was moving the carpet back into place and was moving the table back in to its legs covering the door, when I heard the banging on the front door. I went to the painting he told me about and removed it from the nail it was hanging on.

The switch sat neatly in the middle with cobwebs all around the empty space, indicating that it hadn't been used in a long time. I grabbed the switch with my hoof pulling it back, and saw as the bookcase begin to move. Oh damn! It worked!. When I sat the painting back into place

I heard muffled yells and the sound of something hitting the wooden floor above me extremely

hard. There were ruffled sounds coming from above, then after a few minutes nothing.

"Fuck it, I'm not leaving till I make sure Bubba's alright, because that didn't sound too good"

I thought to myself. I decided to trot back up the stairs, I'm not getting anyone else hurt for my own selfish gain. I slightly lifted the door up, but was blocked by the burgundy carpet and the table pinning the carpet to the ground.

"Fuck!" I thought. This was going to be hard, can I levitate through objects? Was the question I was pondering in my head. I began to focus on the table and carpet trying to put all my strength into it. I closed my eyes and heard the table gliding the carpet away from the door. Holy shit that worked! I wasn't expecting that. I opened the door slightly examining my surroundings, the house had been hastily pulled apart, with furniture knocked over, and paintings thrown off the wall and a pool of blood with bubba in the middle. I threw the door open and quickly went to Bubba's side and If I'd a known this was gonna be the last time me and Bubba was gonna talk, I'd a thought of something better to say.

"Hey, Bubba" I asked quietly.

"Hey, Dawn. Dawn, listen to me, you have to get outta here" He said.

He looked down at the gore gushing from his stomach. Then he began to speak quietly.

"They beat me pretty bad, why am I bleeding? He asked me.

"You got stabbed." I started to say. Then Bubba said something I won't ever forget. "I don't wanna die" he rasped.

Bubba was my best good friend. And even I know that ain't something you can find just around the corner. Bubba was gonna make it out of this town one day maybe even own his own restaurant or business, but instead he died right there in his living room floor. That's all I have to say about that.

My heart was aching. He was the second pony to die because of me. This wasn't my fault, was it?. If he hadn't gotten himself involved maybe they wouldn't have killed him looking for me? His cold eyes were still open staring me with a deathly gaze. I rubbed my hoof down his eyes closing them, laying his head back down. I trotted back to the open door to the basement, closed the door and levitating the table and carpet back over the door. I trotted past the exposed bookcase going down the corridor, flipping the switch closing the bookcase, I began trotting a few feet before throwing myself to my hooves, hurling the stomach contents that I hadn't realized had still been there. I then began repeating the quote Hypatia had told me.

"Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best." I brought my self to my hooves and began repeating those words as I began galloping faster and faster down the barley lit corridor.

*Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.*