Rocky's Days in Canterlot
Rocky was living peacefully in a town that only had Pegasi and earth ponies in it, the Pegasi controlled the weather and delivered seeds to the earth ponies, who planted them into the ground. Rocky's parents, Clay and Sandy, were edaphologists, which was studying how soil influences plants, they planted different types of seeds into different types of soils every day and reported their findings when their experiments were complete, it was to see which food and plants grow best in which type of soil. Rocky was helping his parents planting the seeds and was enjoying his day, he was going to be an edaphologist like his parents, he truly enjoyed the work, and liked watching the Pegasi clear the skies, the town did not have any unicorns in it, they never visit it, the only vistors they ever get is Derpy, who cannot see right and flies into the town by mistake several times, and the Pie family, while Pinkie Pie did not come due to her being in Ponyville, the rest of the family did, and Rocky would often work with Maud Pie, since Igneous Rock Pie and Cloudy Quartz spoke words Rocky did not understand, Limestone Pie was too aggressive, and Marble Pie was too hard for him to understand since she did not speak, while Rocky watched how the soil affected plants, Maud Pie watched how the soil affected rocks, this was because Clay and Igneous Rock Pie were childhood friends, and stayed in touch.
Rocky was working with Maud Pie for the day and they were experimenting with plants and rocks, Maud Pie also puts Boulder on the soil to see if he liked it,
"Boulder likes this soil." Maud Pie said,
"I guess everyone's got a companion." Rocky said, he liked Maud Pie due to her stoic attitude, he did not like people who were short tempered and emotional,
"Maud, do you get along with Limestone?" Rocky asked,
"Sometimes, but not so much, usually, Marble tries to calm her, but if she can't, then I have to, I do respect her though, she is my big sister, after all." Maud Pie replied, Rocky smiled at what she said,
"I've never seen Pinkie before, what's she like?" Rocky asked,
"Nothing like us, while Limestone is mean, Pinkie is nice, while I keep my emotions to myself, Pinkie wears hers on her sleeves, and while Mable is quiet, Pinkie is loud, she's also a pink pony instead of a gray one like us." Maud Pie replied,
"Not what I expected to hear." Rocky said,
"It surprises many, she's in Ponyville right now, the Apple family is there too, they run a farm, it is possible that we are related to one another." Maud Pie replied,
"Did you guys make an apple pie in celebration?" Rocky asked jokingly,
"No, we just shared traditions." Maud Pie replied in her typical deadpan tone, but had a smile on her face,
"Maud Pie, get over here, we've got work to do here!" Limestone Pie said in her typical stern tone,
"I'm coming, Limestone." Maud Pie replied, and she walked over to her.
Rocky kept working with the plants and hears walking, he sees Igneous Rock Pie and Cloudy Quartz,
"Thou moving to Canterlot tomorrow, yes?" Igneous Rock Pie asked,
"Yes, I'm going to miss this place." Rocky replied,
"Why art thou moving there for?" Cloudy Quartz asked,
"Mom and dad, there's a type of soil there that's nowhere in Equestria, they were contacted by their bosses to go there and experiment with it to see what type of plants grow best in it." Rocky replied,
"Thou hast thy wish of good luck, your father is a good stallion." Igneous Rock Pie said,
"You shalt see unicorns upon your arrival." Cloudy Quartz said,
"Unicorns?" Rocky asked, Igneous Rock Pie and Cloudy Quartz nodded,
"Rocky, it's bedtime." Sandy called out from the house,
"Coming, mom. Well, this is goodbye, farewell to you and your family." Rocky replied,
"Farewell." Igneous Rock Pie and Cloudy Quartz said together, and they leave with their three daughters and Rocky goes to bed and sleeps.
Morning comes and Rocky has breakfast, Clay and Sandy already packed up and were ready to leave to Canterlot, the earth ponies and Pegasi say their goodbyes to them and they leave the town.
The family arrives into Canterlot and settle into a house that they already rented, they did not plan to stay for long, they were going to do their jobs and then leave the city, they were uncomfortable with the setting,
"Well, here we are." Clay said while sighing,
"Yes, I don't like how this place looks." Sandy replied,
"How long are we going to be here?" Rocky asked,
"That depends on our work and how long it takes." Clay replied,
"Remember, Rocky, most ponies here are unicorns, and this will be your first time seeing them, they have something called magic, they use their horns to cast them, it might be new to you." Sandy said, Rocky nodded while smiling, this magic thing caught his curiosity,
"Well, go on out, Rocky, you'll be attending school tomorrow, and be back by sunset." Clay said, and Rocky walked outside.
Rocky walks around outside and sees the unicorns using magic for everything, they were cleaning, building, drawing, writing, and so on, Rocky was able to notice that they needed the horns on their foreheads to cast magic, he knew that he could not cast magic, but had magic in making food and plants grow, he walks around and looks around curiously. Rocky soon bumps into a unicorn, he looks and sees a purple male unicorn with a white mane and tail,
"Sorry." Rocky said,
"What are you doing here?" the unicorn asked,
"I live here." Rocky replied,
"Be gone, earth pony, this place is for magic users only." the unicorn said, Rocky walked away quickly, realizing the unicorn was not friendly.
Rocky keeps walking around and sees a female white unicorn in front of him, she had a sky blue mane and tail,
"What do you want, ground filth?" the white unicorn asked,
"Ground filth?" Rocky asked,
"You earth ponies work in the field, and cannot cast magic, therefore, you all are ground filth." the white unicorn replied,
"What about Pegasi?" Rocky asked,
"They fly, but do not cast magic, therefore, they are flying garbage, them and you ground filth are not welcome here, get lost, before I throw you into the glue factory." the white unicorn replied sternly, Rocky gets scared and runs away.
Rocky runs around and the unicorns shove him around, one adult male unicorn punches him with his left front hoof and Rocky falls, he then proceeds to walk over him,
"Agricultural scum." the unicorn muttered, Rocky runs back home and sees Clay and Sandy have already unpacked,
"Rocky!" Sandy said in shock as she ran to him to examine the marks on him,
"What happened to you?" Sandy asked,
"One of the unicorns punched me to knock me down and then walked over me." Rocky said, Clay and Sandy were uncomfortable, they realized that they were not welcome in Canterlot,
"Well, get some rest, Rocky, you have school tomorrow." Clay said, Rocky nods and goes to his bedroom and sleeps.
Rocky wakes up the next morning and has breakfast, it was a salad with hay and a glass of water, Rocky wore two brown saddlebags with his cutie mark on it and headed to school.
Rocky arrives at school since it was the only one in the area and it was labeled, Rocky checks the classes and sees his teacher was Mr. Sensei, Rocky walks to his class while unicorns glare at him and jeer about him behind his back.
Rocky enters Sensei's class and stood in front of the unicorns,
"Oh right, we have a new student today, everybody, his name is Rocky, and as you all can see he's a ground filth." Sensei said,
"What a hideous looking pony." a female unicorn said,
"Ground filth, in our class?" a male unicorn asked,
"Yeah, he doesn't have a horn, a sign of his inferiority." another male unicorn replied,
"I bet he grew up on a farm, he's too dumb to understand anything academic." a female unicorn said, the class laughed,
"Introduce yourself, Rocky, but make it quick, none of us are interested." Sensei said,
"My name is Rocky..." Rocky said with a smile,
"Boo." all of the unicorns replied,
"My parents study the soil to grow food and plants." Rocky said while not smiling anymore,
"Boo." all of the unicorns replied again,
"I'm here because of my parents' job and we'll be leaving when they're done." Rocky said quickly,
"Boo." all of the unicorns replied loudly,
"Okay, now go take a seat, and don't taint my class with your earth pony abilities." Sensei said, Rocky walked around to sit in a seat, but the unicorns put their supplies in several empty seats with their telekinesis so Rocky could not sit in it, the only seat available was a seat to the left side of the classroom, in the center of a row.
Rocky sat and grunted with the sun going into his eyes, the unicorns laughed at him, Rocky's eyes adjusted and he takes his supplies out of his two saddlebags but the unicorn beside him to his left uses his telekinesis to take his saddlebag and supplies away,
"Hey!" Rocky said as he tried to get them back, but the unicorn behind him used telekinesis to hold him up, the unicorn moves Rocky's saddlebag and supplies to the other side of the room, the students and teacher laugh, Rocky glares at him and the other unicorn lets him go,
"Take your seat, Rocky, you can have your things back after class, if you can get it back." Sensei said while the other unicorns snickered, all he had was a pencil, he gets his assignment and Rocky writes with the pencil in his mouth, the unicorn behind him uses telekinesis on his head to mess up his writing, the other unicorns laugh again, Rocky inhales and exhales sharply to focus, he bent his head down farther so the unicorn could not see what he was doing, he also put his right front hoof over his face so the unicorns in front of him and to his right could not see him either, he finishes the assignment and Sensei picks them up while the bell rung,
"Lunchtime, head on to lunch, guys." Sensei said, and they all go.
Rocky walks with the others to lunch while the other unicorns shove him around and force him to the very back of the line, Rocky tried to fight back, the unicorns used magic to hold him back, Rocky had to wait for a long time to get his lunch,
"Where's your lunch money?" the lunchpony asked,
"But they didn't have to pay." Rocky replied,
"Earth pony and Pegasus tax." the lunchpony said, Rocky was shocked,
"I don't have any money with me right now." Rocky said,
"Bring it next time." the lunchpony said, and Rocky left, the unicorns use telekinesis on his hooves to trip him and they take his lunch away and eat it, the other unicorns laugh at him, Rocky glared at them, he was very angry on the inside, but Clay and Sandy have taught him to keep his anger in control, because if he acts on impulse while angry, not only will he lose control of himself, he will also do something that he will regret, Rocky stood up and just left the cafeteria.
Rocky walks outside while hungry, he hears more unicorns using their magic and an angry male voice,
"Hey! Give it back!" the male voice said, Rocky sees two unicorns run out while holding a hay and cheese sandwich with telekinesis, the other unicorn holds the guy chasing them back and they throw him outside onto the floor while running away, Rocky was surprised at what he saw, it was a Pegasus, he had a sky blue coat, yellow eyes, a short white mane and tail, and his cutie mark was three symbols, the left was a blue water drop, the right was a gray tornado, and the one in the center and above the other two was a yellow lightning bolt. The Pegasus growls at seeing his lunch stolen, Rocky runs to him,
"You okay?" Rocky asked, the Pegasus looks and sees him,
"An earth pony?" he asked with surprise, Rocky nods,
"They stole my lunch too." Rocky replied, the Pegasus was sympathetic since the same thing just happened to him, he stood up and faced him,
"I'm Rocky, and you?" Rocky asked,
"Storm." the male Pegasus replied while smiling, and the two shook each other's front right hooves,
"Today's my first day in here." Rocky said,
"Really? Today's my first day in this school too." Storm replied with surprise, he asks "Why did you come here?"
"My parents are edaphologists, they are studying how soil affects the growth of plants, they're doing it to see what is the best type of soil for growing different types of foods." Rocky replied,
"Really? My parents are horticulturists, they're using different types of weather clouds in different environments to see how different types of plants and foods grow from the ground." Storm said, Rocky was interested,
"My parents moved here to see how food and plants grow in a type of soil only in this city." Rocky said,
"That's why my parents moved here, they're here to see how different types of weather affect the growth of food and plants in a type of soil only found here, in Canterlot." Storm replied, Rocky smiled, he has already made a friend,
"What are the name of your parents? My dad's name is Thunder, and my mom's name is Rain." Storm said,
"My dad is Clay, and my mom is Sandy." Rocky replied, the two smiled at one another.
The bell rings and class was to resume, the two walk to class,
"You know, they called earth ponies here ground filth." Rocky said,
"Lucky you, they call the Pegasi flying garbage." Storm replied,
"I also heard someone call me agricultural scum." Rocky said, Storm was a bit disgusted,
"Well, my class is this way." Storm said,
"Alright, until next time." Rocky replied, and Storm heads to class; Rocky walks to his class by himself and sees the door was locked, he looks and sees the unicorns locked the door with the magic to leave him out, they chuckle, the bell rings and they unlock it and Rocky goes in,
"You're late, Rocky, you have detention." Sensei said,
"But they..." Rocky said,
"Don't care, detention." Sensei replied, Rocky glared at him and went to his desk, he looks and sees his pencil was missing, he looks around and sees it on the floor, he notices that a unicorn has broken his pencil in half, he looks for his saddlebags and supplies and sees they were gone, Rocky sighs and tries to improvise,
"Rocky, since you don't have your supplies right now, you're going to have to do the classwork as homework." Sensei said, the unicorns laugh at him, Rocky looked down sadly.
The bell rung and Rocky does detention, it was thirty minutes of staring at a wall doing nothing, he could not move or speak, since it would make him have more detention, he walks around the school to look for his supplies after detention ended. Storm soon joined him when he saw Rocky walking around,
"Can you believe this? My supplies have been stolen." Storm said,
"Yeah, mine have been stolen too." Rocky replied,
"I'm already starting to hate these unicorns." Storm said,
"So am I, this is only my second day in Canterlot, and they're treating me like garbage." Rocky replied,
"Yeah, same here." Storm said, the two soon find their saddlebags and sees their supplies were gone, the two glare and carry it and go home,
"Want to come to my place? My parents like meeting the new friends I make." Rocky said,
"Sure, I've got classwork as homework since my pencil was taken, we can work together." Storm replied, Rocky smiled and the two head to Rocky's house.
Rocky and Storm enter Rocky's house and hear a conversation, they hear adults laughing and conversing, they see Clay and Sandy were two adult Pegasi, a male and a female. The male Pegasus had a light yellow coat, blue eyes, a long sky blue mane and tail, and his cutie mark was a black thundercloud with a yellow lightning bolt coming out of it. The female Pegasus had a sky blue coat, yellow eyes, a long white mane and tail, and her cutie mark was a black raincloud with light blue rain falling out of it.
"Oh, Rocky, you're late." Sandy said,
"I got detention, and my supplies got stolen." Rocky replied, Clay and Sandy were shocked,
"For what?" Clay asked,
"For not getting back to class on time after lunch, the unicorns locked me out of the room, and didn't let me in until the bell rung, and since they took my pencil, I got classwork as homework." Rocky explained,
"What? They did the exact same thing to me." Storm said,
"Wait. Rocky, who is this?" Sandy asked,
"Storm, Rocky and I became friends today." Storm replied, the two laugh,
"Wow, what a coincidence." Clay said, and the two Pegasi look,
"Mom? Dad?" Storm asked with surprise,
"Hey, son, we made new friends at work today." Thunder said,
"Yes, we also know about Rocky, Clay and Sandy told us about him, I didn't think you actually end up befriending him." Rain said, Storm chuckles,
"Well, we have homework, so Rocky and I will be busy." Storm said,
"Really? Please, let me help since it's getting late." Thunder replied,
"Really? Thank you." Rocky said with a smile, and they do homework while Thunder helped them, Sandy and Rain made a meal for Rocky and Storm since their lunch got stolen at school,
"Are you and mom having any better luck with the unicorns, dad?" Storm asked,
"No, they're treating us with disdain, we have to wait for unicorns to do everything before we can do anything, and Pegasi and earth ponies are paid less bits than unicorns at work." Thunder replied, Rocky and Storm were relieved that they were not alone, their parents were having trouble as well, they eat their meals and continue, Clay came over to help them with their homework shortly afterwards,
"Dad, how long do we have to be here?" Rocky asked,
"Well, if things go right, about two weeks to a month." Clay replied, Rocky was a bit uneasy at the response.
Rocky and Storm finish their homework and put in their saddlebags,
"Rocky, what's your teacher called?" Storm asked,
"Sensei, and yours?" Rocky asked,
"Master." Storm replied, Rocky was a bit dumbfounded at the name; they hear Sandy and Rain laughing while they converse, the others hear them talking about some of their previous experiments, they finish and Rain walks to them,
"Let's go home, Storm, it's getting late." Rain said, Storm nods with a smile,
"See you tomorrow." Storm said,
"Alright, bye." Rocky replied, and Storm and his family left.
Rocky had a headache from dealing with his classmates at school today, he had one more day at school before it was weekend, he went to bed and fell asleep immediately.
Rocky wakes up the next day and has breakfast, he runs to school to get there early and was the first in class, he kept his homework and pencil in his mouth, he puts his homework on the teacher's desk, the other unicorns come in and turn in their homework, Sensei gave them their work and Rocky did his work while a male unicorn across the classroom uses telekinesis to take his pencil away, the classmates laugh at him, he then reaches over to the unicorn sitting to his left and takes his pencil,
"Hey!" the unicorn said,
"Rocky! Return his pencil at once!" Sensei said sternly,
"And they can take my supplies?" Rocky asked,
"They have rights." Sensei replied,
"What kind of rights?" Rocky asked, Sensei was speechless,
"Unicorn rights." the unicorn to his left said,
"And what would that be?" Rocky asked, the unicorn was speechless as well,
"The ability to use magic." the female unicorn behind him said,
"Earth ponies and Pegasi have magic too." Rocky replied, the female unicorn picked him up with telekinesis while looking at him angrily,
"Don't you ever speak to me like that." the unicorn said,
"Why?" Rocky asked,
"You're a stallion, I'm a mare, you have to obey me." the female unicorn replied,
"Your gender doesn't make you superior." Rocky said, the female unicorns in class use telekinesis while they walk to him angrily and proceed to stomp on him with their hooves, Rocky grunts from the pain, the female unicorns stop and Rocky gets up just fine, but lost the pencil due to a unicorn giving it back to the male unicorn that sat beside him; due to him to being an earth pony, a farmer, and used to roughhouse with the others in his hometown, he had more strength, stamina, and endurance than a typical male earth pony his age. Rocky noticed that the hits from the unicorns were a lot softer than a hit from a Pegasus or an earth pony, but he wondered if that was because his attackers were all females, because female Pegasi and earth ponies are usually physically weaker than males.
Sensei has the class do some outside work, and said they can play and have recess when they finish, the unicorns use telekinesis to put all of the work on Rocky while they run to go play while Rocky is forced to work, he hears grunting and sees Storm was working as well, he was flying and carrying a carriage filled with trash, he had a few hoof marks on him. Rocky runs to him,
"What happened to you?" Rocky asked,
"The unicorns in my class beat me up for refusing to believe that females are better than males." Storm replied,
"Me too, the female unicorns beat me up when I said to a female unicorn that her gender doesn't make her superior." Rocky said,
"Really? The male unicorns beat me up in my class." Storm replied,
"Did it hurt, Storm?" Rocky asked,
"A little, but they're not as strong as a Pegasus or an earth pony when fighting." Storm replied, Rocky realized something,
"You know, Storm, the female unicorns hitting me were a lot softer than a Pegasus or earth pony hitting me, I think we found a weakness." Rocky said,
"What would that be?" Storm asked,
"Unicorns are physically weaker than us Pegasi and earth ponies." Rocky replied with a smile,
"Hey, you're right." Storm said when he thought about it, balls are thrown at them and they are hit in their faces,
"Less talking, more working." a male unicorn said, while the other unicorn students laughed at them who having to do their work, Storm growled at them,
"Stay calm, Storm, you'll do something you regret if you give into your anger." Rocky said,
"But still. They treat us like trash and get away with it? That doesn't sound right to me." Storm replied,
"Let's keep working, let's keep observing them too, let's see if we can find anymore flaws in them." Rocky said, Storm agreed and they finished cleaning the trash outside with Storm flying with it on his back and Rocky pushing it forward, recess was over by the time they finished, they go back to their classes while panting.
Lunch comes and Rocky and Storm had their lunch taken and eaten again, the two went on with the day hungry, they brought their pencils with them so their classmates would not break them this time, the two go out of the cafeteria to go get water, a female unicorn was drinking from it, but another female unicorn runs and cuts in front of them,
"Uh, ma'am." Rocky said,
"Mares first, ground filth." the female unicorn replied without turning around,
"But we were here first." Storm said,
"Oh, great, flying garbage is here too." the female unicorn replied, Storm and Rocky glared at her, the female unicorn drinking finishes and the one in front of them goes and drinks, she did not stop until the bell rung, the two were unhappy and went to their classes.
Rocky goes to his class and was the first one in, he decided to lock the door in retaliation of yesterday, the unicorns go and they see the door was locked, a male unicorn uses telekinesis to unlock it and opens it, Rocky quickly hid behind the door, Sensei was the last one in and he closed it with telekinesis, the bell rung afterwards and Rocky walked to his desk, the unicorns did not notice he was in the whole time,
"Okay, class, get out your math books, and Rocky, you'll have to share with somepony." Sensei said, the unicorns refused to share with him and made him fail the assignment, class ended and Rocky quickly walked outside and Storm joined him,
"Finally, weekend." Storm said,
"Yeah, I don't like these unicorns." Rocky replied,
"What were the unicorns in your hometown like?" Storm asked,
"There aren't any unicorns in my hometown." Rocky replied,
"I already came up with a term for them: horned weakling." Storm said,
"I can see how you came with that, they have horns, and they're physically weaker than Pegasi and earth ponies." Rocky replied,
"Exactly." Storm said with a smile on his face,
"You coming over today?" Rocky asked,
"No, my parents want me home today." Storm replied,
"Okay, my house is this way, bye, Storm." Rocky said,
"See ya, Rocky." Storm replied, and the two went their separate ways.
Rocky arrived home and heard Clay and Sandy complaining,
"Can you believe that? I have to pay money to use the bathroom, while the unicorns can use it for free." Clay said,
"It's not just you, Clay, Rain had to pay money to use the restroom, too." Sandy replied,
"I have never dealt with unicorns like these before." Clay said,
"Me neither, the unicorns we last worked with were nice and friendly." Sandy replied, Rocky did not believe that, Clay sees him,
"Oh, Rocky, didn't see you there, son, how was school?" Clay asked,
"I got beaten up by girls because they said I have to obey them because of their genders, and I said their gender doesn't make them superior. They also forced me and Storm to do manual labor outside while they played, they stole and ate my lunch again, a girl cut me and Storm in line because of this 'mares first' rule, and they would not share school books with me, which made me fail an assignment." Rocky replied, Clay and Sandy were shocked,
"Is everything been alright, son?" Clay asked,
"For now, but I am losing my patience already." Rocky replied,
"We understand, we'll try to work as fast as we can if this continues." Sandy said, Rocky knew it was going to continue,
"Do you have any homework today?" Clay asked, Rocky shook his head,
"Wait here, I'll go make you something." Sandy said, and she went to the kitchen, she made Rocky a meal and he ate it, he went to bed an hour later,
"You think this will affect him badly in the future?" Rocky overheard Sandy ask,
"I don't know, but I hope not." Clay replied,
"Well, he's off tomorrow, let's let him try something on his own in the city tomorrow." Sandy said,
"I agree, I hope he doesn't run into trouble." Clay replied, and Rocky fell asleep before he could hear anymore.
Rocky wakes up to his fourth day in Canterlot and eats breakfast and drinks water, Sandy gave him several bit coins,
"Go have fun, Rocky, and try to be careful." Sandy said,
"Thanks, mom." Rocky replied with a smile, he opened the door and saw Storm standing in front of him and smiling,
"I had nowhere to go, so I thought I'd hang out with you." Storm said,
"Sure." Rocky replied happily, and the two together.
Rocky and Storm walk together while looking around the city, the unicorns exclaim in disgust at seeing them,
"Where are you from, Storm?" Rocky asked,
"Cloudsdale." Storm replied,
"Did you encounter any other pony before you came here?" Rocky asked,
"Earth ponies, I didn't encounter any unicorns until I moved here." Storm replied, Rocky chuckled.
The two see ponies lined up to buy a ticket for a magic show performed by Trixie, the two were excited and run into the line, they wait a few minutes and were next, they see an old gray unicorn with a white mane and tail,
"Two tickets please." Storm said while he had bits in mouth, the unicorn glared at them,
"Look behind you." the old unicorn said, the two do and see adult unicorns waiting in line,
"Adults and teenagers come first, back of the line, you brats." the old unicorn said,
"But why?" Rocky asked,
"Us grown-ups have actual lives, unlike you spoiled rotten walking pieces of trash, plus, Trixie doesn't like kids, so back of the line, or no ticket at all." the old unicorn replied, Rocky and Storm glared at him and went to the back,
"Every time a new teenager or adult comes into line, you two have to go behind them." the old unicorn said, Rocky and Storm groaned in annoyance, they went behind every adult that came into line, once when they got to the front, tickets were sold out, and the old unicorn was gone, the two glared and walked away.
Rocky and Storm walk around and look around the city,
"Can you believe this place, Storm? There has been nothing but trouble since you and I moved here." Rocky said,
"I know, right, first they mistreat us because of what type of pony we are, next, our gender, and now, our age, what's going to be next?" Storm asked, and he bumps into a pony,
"Oh, sorry." Storm said, he and Rocky look and see he was wearing a black business suit, a black top hat, a monocle on his left eye, and had a black upturned moustache, they can tell he was a young stallion, just out of his teens,
"Watch your tongue! You are speaking to a rich and wealthy pony!" the rich unicorn replied,
"Uh, we're just trying to walk by." Rocky said,
"You should be grateful to be in the presence of a wealthy pony." the rich unicorn replied, he asks "What do you two do for a living?"
"I experiment with growing plants in different types of soil." Rocky said,
"I experiment with weather to see how it affects the growth of plants in different types of soil." Storm said,
"*gasp* Lower-class! How dare you taint my radiance of social superiority with your lower-class aura! Be gone! Before you contaminate the rest of the higher-ups with your impure social class! Go!" the rich unicorn said, and the two leave in anger,
"Of course, social class." Rocky said,
"I've only been here for four days, and I'm already sick and tired of this place." Storm said,
"Yeah, me too." Rocky replied,
"Let's go to my house this time, I hope you like it." Storm said,
"I hope so, too." Rocky replied, and he follows Storm.
The two go to Storm's house and they see Thunder and Rain at a food stand,
"What? We have to pay more?" Rain asked,
"Pony tax, Pegasi and earth pony have to pay extra." the female merchant replied,
"But why?" Thunder asked,
"Because you Pegasi and earth ponies are inferior ponies, unicorns are the best because they can use magic, now pay the tax, or you get nothing." the female merchant replied, Thunder and Rain reluctantly paid and bought hay,
"Can you believe this? Not only are we and the earth ponies paid less than the unicorns, but we also have to pay more for everything." Thunder said,
"I know, it's almost like the unicorns hate the Pegasi and earth ponies, I want to finish our job as quickly as possible and get out of this place, it'll be better for all of us." Rain replied, and the two were out of earshot before Rocky and Storm can hear more, the two were sympathetic but keep walking, they were soon at Storm's house.
Rocky looks around Storm's house and sees a lot of clouds in jars,
"Is that a collection?" Rocky asked,
"Yeah, my mom collects clouds, there are several unique types." Storm replied, Rocky looks at them in awe,
"Did you have any friends in Cloudsdale?" Rocky asked,
"Plenty, my parents are friends with the Shy family, Mrs. Shy lets my parents use her garden for their work sometimes, although my parents do wish for their son to change sometimes." Storm replied,
"What's his name?" Rocky asked,
"Zephyr Breeze, he's a lazy bum, I heard his sister is a lot better than him, though." Storm replied,
"My family is friends with the Pie family, they use the soil to see how it affects rocks, they have four daughters, though I've only met three of them." Rocky said, Storm chuckled,
"Come on, I'll show you around." Storm said, and he shows Rocky his house.
Rocky looks around and sees a lot of pictures of Storm's friends, he also had a picture of him going to a Wonderbolts show, one thing that truly caught his mind were two black thunderclouds shaped like hooves in Storm's room,
"What's that?" Rocky asked,
"Lightning gauntlets, I made those as a class project when I was younger, but we were keeping it, so I made it out of thunderclouds so it can shoot out lightning when I clap my hooves together, it also doubles as a self-defense weapon." Storm replied, Rocky was very impressed, he sees nothing else that caught his interest,
"Are there unicorns where you live, Storm?" Rocky asked,
"No, I'm from Cloudsdale, only Pegasi can walk on clouds, but due to my parents' job, I move around a lot and meet lots of earth ponies, this is my first time meeting unicorns." Storm replied,
"Well, you have wings, maybe you can outfly them." Rocky said,
"There's a problem, two in fact, the first one is unicorns can fly if they use telekinesis on themselves, and the second one, the one that really worries me, is that some unicorns know a spell that allow them to walk on clouds, so if I try to stay on a cloud, one those unicorn bullies can cast that spell and chase me." Storm replied, Rocky was worried as well, Storm soon got out a red ball and flew to Rocky,
"Wanna play catch?" Storm asked,
"Sure." Rocky replied, and the two walked outside.
Rocky and Storm played with the ball since they had nothing else to do, while Rocky threw the ball hard and it pushed Storm back a bit, he was able to catch it, and he was faster at throwing the ball, which kept Rocky on his hooves, the two keep playing until a white zap hits the ball and pops it,
"Hey!" Storm said as he and Rocky looked from where it came from, they see a male adult unicorn,
"Only unicorns are allowed to play outside, go back home." he said, and he walked away, Rocky and Storm glared at him over the fact that they cannot play outside,
"I don't think we have a choice, Storm, we have to stay home tomorrow." Rocky said,
"That's stupid, I'm tired of these rules." Storm replied, Rocky agreed but he went home without saying anything, he laid in his bed and looked at the ceiling, longing for his hometown, he just laid there silently while thinking about the unicorns, he did not like them at all, he fell asleep afterwards and woke up in the middle of the night, Clay and Sandy were already asleep, so Rocky just laid there and stared at the ceiling.
On the eighth day of Rocky's time in Canterlot, he went to school and had the usual problems, he and Storm had to work outside because the unicorns gave all of their work to them while they played, and when it came to reading books, the other classmates can choose, but Rocky could not since the teacher would choose for him, he was not very good at reading books, it hurt his eyes,
"Hey, guys, look, ground filth over there is illiterate." a male unicorn said across from the classroom, the other unicorns laugh, Rocky ignored it, he took a few breaks while reading, some of the unicorns threw paper balls at him as well, Rocky dodged most of them, the unicorn behind grabbed the back of his head and shoved it into his desk, the unicorns laugh at him, Rocky picks his head up and grabs the unicorn behind him and shoves his head into his desk, it was loud and it broke the desk, the unicorn's head was stuck,
"Rocky, detention! You're being a bully right now!" Sensei said,
"Yet, he can do it to me?" Rocky asked,
"Unicorn rights, Rocky." Sensei said,
"Not this again." Rocky replied, the unicorns laugh at him for being in trouble, so did the unicorn with his head stuck in his desk,
"Little help, guys?" the unicorn asked, and the unicorns use telekinesis to take him out, and Rocky just continues with his day, it was lunchtime and he and Storm get their lunch stolen and eaten again, just like everyday, the two head out but two unicorns outside use telekinesis on them and force them to drink from the water fountains, they were chugging a lot too, they let them go after about a minute and they run to the bathroom, but the unicorns use telekinesis on them and hold them up when they were right in front of the bathroom, they struggle to break free but could not, they wet themselves after about ten minutes of struggling and the unicorns put them down and walk away while laughing, the two glare at them,
"Storm, I think I came up with another term to describe the unicorns: lazy snob." Rocky said,
"Oh, I get it, because they're not doing any manual labor, and they're looking down on us for being a Pegasus and an earth pony." Storm replied,
"Exactly." Rocky said, and they go on with their days and the unicorns laugh at them for wetting themselves until class ended, and Rocky went home after doing detention, he did his homework, and went to bed from being exhausted, just like every day.
On the fourteenth day of being in Canterlot, the bullying has died down a bit recently, but the female unicorns still bullied him for being a male a few times, he was a bit more comfortable and brought his two saddlebags to class with him, his supplies were in it, he walks with Storm and sees he had his saddlebags as well, they were white while Rocky's were brown, the two head to their classes and Rocky's saddlebags and supplies were taken once again, lunchtime comes again and Rocky and Storm have their lunches stolen and eaten, and are forced to chug water again, the unicorns were forcing them to wet themselves every day since the first time they did it, they just do since they cannot fight back, and they are let go,
"Hey, uh, Rocky, I was wondering about something." Storm said,
"What?" Rocky asked,
"What do the unicorns provide for us to survive?" Storm asked,
"What do you mean?" Rocky asked,
"Think about it, the earth ponies grow food in the ground, and the Pegasi control the weather for it to grow, and they also provide water, what do the unicorns do?" Storm asked,
"Hey, you're right, I haven't thought about that." Rocky replied,
"See? They don't provide anything for our survival, we can probably still survive on our own if they went extinct." Storm said,
"Yeah, probably." Rocky replied, and lunch ended and they went back to class.
Rocky just did his work for the day and sees his supplies and saddlebags were taken out of class again, class ends and he walks around the school to look for it, Storm joins him and sees his saddlebags were taken as well, they find it after a while but look on in shock, not only were their supplies stolen, but the bottom of their saddlebags were also cut open, making them unusable,
"They cut our saddlebags." Rocky said,
"That's it, I've had it with this place." Storm replied,
"I agree, it's time that we fight back." Rocky said, Storm agreed,
"That reminds me, I came up with another name for them last night: deformed forehead." Storm said,
"Wow, so did I: brain tumor." Rocky replied, Storm laughed a little, and the two carry their saddlebags back home, their parents were shocked at seeing their cut saddlebags, they look at and see it was unable to be fixed, they have tried to speak with the unicorns' parents a few days ago, but their parents refused to listen to them, Rocky just fell asleep and felt he was ready to fight back against the unicorns.
The fifteenth day comes and Rocky goes to class, it was the same, the unicorns take his pencil and break it, the females cut him in line, and something new happened today, a male unicorn was giving cupcakes to the classmates as a treat, but he skipped Rocky on purpose, Rocky tried to confront him about it, but the unicorn got violent and beat him up, Rocky was not hurt physically from his attacks, he waited until lunchtime and did not get lunch, neither did Storm, the two stood outside and waited.
A male unicorn and a female unicorn were walking forward, the male unicorn had a black coat, a red mane and tail, red eyes, and his cutie mark was a fireball. The female unicorn had a white coat, a blue mane and tail, blue eyes, and her cutie mark was an ice cube, the male unicorn was from Rocky's class while the female unicorn was from Storm's class,
"Oh look, it's ground filth and flying garbage." the female unicorn said,
"Nice to see you too, horned weaklings." Rocky replied, the two unicorns were shocked,
"You... you... agricultural scum!" the male unicorn said,
"Keep it to yourself, lazy snob." Storm replied, the two unicorns were horrified at what they were called,
"Winged abomination!" the male unicorn said,
"Deformed forehead." Storm said,
"Hornless dummy!" the female unicorn said,
"Brain tumor." Rocky replied, the two unicorns gasped in shock and ran away crying, Rocky and Storm smiled; lunch ended and the two got detention for their behavior in the hallway, and extra homework as punishment, the two went to Storm's house and Clay and Sandy were there with Thunder and Rain,
"Rocky, you should be more subtle when dealing with your bullies." Clay said,
"Are you saying that I can't fight back?" Rocky asked,
"No, you can, just don't be so direct, and don't do the same things they're doing to you, that'll make you no different or worse than them." Clay replied, Rocky nodded and he and Storm did their homework together while Rain helped them, Rocky went home with Clay and Sandy while the unicorns glared at them, some also flung trash at them with their magic, they just head home and Rocky sleeps in his bed without eating or drinking anything.
The sixteenth day comes and Rocky has breakfast and heads to class, the unicorns lock him out of the class, so he hides under the door so Sensei does not see him, lunch comes and Rocky quickly ran to the cafeteria, so did Storm, they ate their lunches before the unicorns came and they went out, they tried to go back to their classes but see two male unicorns in front of them, one was red, and one was purple, they were older too,
"What do you two little brats want?" one red unicorn asked,
"Can we pass?" Rocky asked,
"No, older unicorns only." the purple unicorn replied,
"Why do you guys see yourselves as the best?" Storm asked,
"We're unicorns, we're the best, we defend Equestria from threats." the purple unicorn replied,
"What do you guys provide for survival?" Storm asked,
"We just told you, we protect this land." the red unicorn replied,
"I mean as in food or water, like earth ponies and Pegasi." Storm asked, the two unicorns glared at him,
"We don't need to, unicorns are too special for such things." the red unicorn replied,
"Even if you can use magic, it still takes energy, just like everything else." Rocky said,
"If unicorns go extinct, we won't be able to protect you guys from outside threats." the purple unicorn replied,
"If earth ponies go extinct, you won't have any food, and won't have the energy to protect us." Rocky said, the two unicorns were shocked,
"If Pegasi go extinct, they won't be able to control the weather, and won't provide others the water that is needed to grow the food earth ponies plant. I know there is a spell that allow unicorns to walk on clouds, but I think only a very few know it, and they don't have the energy to move all the clouds around Equestria by themselves." Storm said, the two unicorns were speechless,
"Well, what do you guys do?" Storm asked, the two unicorns were nervous and sweating,
"What... what do you mean?" the red unicorn asked,
"The earth ponies plant food for them to grow and feed others, and the Pegasi use the weather to make them grow, and by extension, provide water for ponies to drink, what do you unicorns provide to other ponies for surviving?" Storm asked,
"We told you, protection." the purple unicorn replied,
"But if the Pegasi or earth ponies were gone, then food would not grow, and there would be no water, and thus, you guys would not have the energy to defend us in the first place." Rocky said, the two unicorns exclaim in shock,
"You can't defend yourselves without us!" the purple unicorn said,
"We can improvise, another thing I noticed is that you unicorns are nowhere near as physically capable as Pegasi or earth ponies, you guys are weak and slow when compared to us." Storm replied, the two unicorns were sweating,
"Is that why you guys hate me and him? It's because you're jealous?" Rocky asked,
"No! We have magic! We have books! We're smarter than you!" the red unicorn replied,
"Okay, but you still lack brawn, where I come from, we get things done without magic." Rocky said,
"I bet all the unicorns in your hometown hated you." the purple unicorn replied,
"There are no unicorns in my hometown." Rocky said, the two unicorns were shocked,
"I traveled a lot with my parents due to their jobs, I never seen a single unicorn until I came here." Storm said, this angered the unicorns, they were about to attack but the bell rung, class resumes and Rocky and Storm go through the usual bullying and head on home, they sleep after having a meal, they were hoping they can leave soon.
The eighteenth day comes and it was a weekend, Rocky overheard his parents say their work was almost done, much to his happiness, he decided to stay home since the unicorns either bullied him for either being an earth pony, being a male, being a kid, or being a lower social class, he hated Canterlot, knocking is heard at the door and Sandy opens it,
"Uh, hi, we want to see Rocky." a female voice said, Rocky stands up and walks to the door while Sandy walked away, he saw a female unicorn from his class and the rich unicorn from before, they use telekinesis and pull him out of the house while he grunts and tries to break free.
Rocky is brought far away from his house and sees Storm being put with him, he sees a male unicorn from Storm's class and the old unicorn who would not let them go to Trixie's show, they hold them with telekinesis and then use telekinesis on other things, the two look and see bath towels, the two look and see they were wrapped around soap bars, the four unicorns start hitting them with the soap bars in the towels, they grunt and endure it since it hurt, the four stop after a while and walk to them,
"Unicorns are superior." the male unicorn said,
"Mares are better than stallions." the female unicorn said,
"Us adults are more important than you kids." the old unicorn said,
"Lower-class like you are unimportant." the rich unicorn said, and they walk away.
Rocky and Storm groan in pain,
"You alright?" Rocky asked,
"Yeah." Storm replied, the two stand up and walk to their houses, their parents treat their wounds and decided that it would be best to keep them in, Rocky just laid in bed in boredom since he had nothing to do, he was hoping Storm was alright as well, he only went out to have his meals and went back to bed, he slept while longing for his home.
The twenty first day comes and Rocky has breakfast,
"Good news, Rocky, our job is done, we're leaving tomorrow morning." Sandy said, Rocky was happy, he has had it with this place,
"One more day, Rocky, we just have to get our next soil to test, and we're moving there immediately tomorrow, we'll pack up once when we get home." Clay said, Rocky was happy, he finished and he walked to school, he arrived into class,
"Okay, class, today is Rocky's last day, he's leaving tomorrow." Sensei said, the unicorns booed, Rocky was confused,
"Now we'll have no one to pick on." a female unicorn said,
"What about Storm?" another female unicorn asked,
"Today's his last day too." a male unicorn replied,
Rocky was happy for Storm, the two were leaving soon, the unicorns take Rocky's supplies away and they throw paper balls at him, Rocky dodged them a bit easily, so the unicorns began using telekinesis to throw some of the desks at him, he ducked and they hit each other, the unicorns tried to use telekinesis to grab him but Rocky ran around and they could not get him, Storm joined him and two ran out of the school while the unicorns chased them, the two ran home and hid.
Rocky hid in his house since Clay and Sandy were not home, he hid under his bed and listened closely, he did not hear anything, but he hid just to be safe, Rocky looks back on his time in Canterlot and has grown to resent the unicorns, he fell asleep from exhaustion of his time in the city.
The door opens and Rocky wakes up,
"Okay, it's time to pack up." Clay said, Rocky sighed in relief that it was his parents, he peaks out from under the bed and looks at the sun to see the time, he realized his school has not ended yet, so he just hides and waits, he checks again and sees it was still not time, he checked a third time and saw it was, he headed down to go see his parents but sees that packing up has exhausted them, and they have passed out, Rocky chuckles and finishes packing up for them, he then went to go sleep in his bed.
The last day comes and Rocky was happy, he was leaving Canterlot, he has breakfast and he and his family get ready to leave, but knocking was heard at the door, Rocky was nervous and Clay opened it, but was relieved when he saw it was Storm, Thunder, and Rain, he and Sandy walked over to them,
"I guess this is goodbye." Thunder said,
"Yeah, it was a great honor working with you two." Clay replied, Thunder and Rain smiled,
"Our next area for experimenting is back in Cloudsdale, how about you guys?" Rain asked,
"Ponyville." Sandy replied, Rocky's attention was caught,
"Wait, Ponyville? That's where Pinkie Pie lives." Rocky said, Clay and Sandy were surprised, but also excited to meet Igneous Rock Pie's final daughter,
"Well, if there's one thing I learned, it's unicorns are a bunch of jerks." Storm said,
"I agree, I'm never befriending a unicorn." Rocky replied,
"Yeah, me neither." Storm said, their parents were shocked,
"Guys, not all unicorns are like that." Clay said,
"Really? Because every unicorn I've met has been a jerk." Rocky replied,
"I'm surprised you don't hate girls, adults, or the rich after living here." Storm said,
"That's because a lot of female Pegasi and earth ponies I met are actually friendly, same with old Pegasi and earth ponies, and the rich ones." Rocky said, Storm smiled,
"Well, we should get going, we don't want to be late for our next area." Rain said, the others agreed and they all hugged one another and Storm, Thunder, and Rain flew out of the city.
Rocky, Clay, and Sandy leave Canterlot by walking out of the city and they head southwest to Ponyville, Rocky leaves without even looking back or at the citizens, he keeps walking and arrives into Ponyville, his family did not have money for the train due to the unicorns taxing his parents to pay extra, Rocky just keeps walking and eventually arrives into Ponyville, being full of nothing but resent and hatred for unicorns.
