Author's Note

Hi guys! Saff here. Welcome to my first MLP fan fiction (that I plan on completing, anyways.) This first chapter might seem a bit bland, but trust me, I have a lot planned for this story. Im going to do my best writing it. I spent two or three days writing this and edited it three times, so I hope you guys like it!

The Shiny Glass Doors

Twilight Sparkle fastened the knot of her tie and pulled it gently, allowing it to fall against her chest. She stepped back and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her long violet and pink hair fell onto her shoulders, framing her heart shaped face. There were light hints of makeup present on her face. Twilight lightly traced her finger across her bottom lip, which was coated with a thin layer of pink lip gloss and slightly glistened in the bathroom's fluorescent light. It had been a long time since she had put so much effort in to her appearance. It had taken around an hour and a half to get this final product.

Though Twilight would have preferred to sleep instead, it was kind of nice. She felt extremely confident about her appearance for once. As she was double checking herself, Twilight's eyes fell upon the pink sparkling star emblazoned on to the pocket of her uniform shirt. She touched it softly with her index and middle finger, feeling the material against her skin. It was such a small imprint, yet it represented so much. It represented the very reason why Twilight was accepted into Equestria Academy in the first place. Magic.

All people with powers could do magic, but Twilight was found to be extremely talented at it. With years and years of homeschooling, Twilight had been given plenty of time to read books about magic and even more time to practice. She was able to perform wonders with her magic that usually left even the smartest, most talented person baffled. She felt a surge of pride and clutched her shirt pocket. She thought of Celestia and the conversation they had a few weeks before.

Opportunity. Challenge. Victory. Those were few of the many words Celestia had used to describe Equestria Academy. They were the very words that motivated Twilight to apply in the first place. The homeschooling program she had been enrolled in before was special in itself, but a real, private school would look amazing on her record. Of course, most of Celestia's speech she had given Twilight to encourage her to apply for the academy involved making friends, but Twilight had dismissed those words as quickly as they were spoken. She didn't have time for a bunch of friends. When she was experiencing one of the most important times of her life, friends would only get in the way. (Of course, Celestia was an exception.) Her studies were more important, and the thought of continuing them in a prestigious private school made her heart leap with excitement.

Twilight finally pulled herself away from the mirror and went to check her bag, making sure all of her needed materials were packed. She would make a horrible first impression on her teachers if she came to school unprepared on her first day. Binders, folders, notebooks...she seemed to have everything packed, but couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that she was still missing something. Twilight looked around her room, keeping her eyes peeled for any of the school related items she had bought a few weeks before, before spotting the thick book sitting on the nightstand next to her bed. "Oh, right!" She said to herself, quickly swiping the book from the wooden tabletop and sliding it in to her bag.

She had bought the book from a local bookstore a few days before and had devoted most of her time to reading it. The book was titled "Highschool: Everything You Need to Know." This would be her first time going to an actual school, and, Twilight being Twilight, she decided to buy a guidebook to lead her and study it. She had already read the book three times and acquired as much information from it as she could. From classes to electives, Twilight felt that she knew everything that she needed to. Even so, she had made a mental note before going to sleep the previous night to bring the book with her to school. Just in case.

She checked herself in the mirror one last time, smoothing out her navy pleated skirt and running her fingers through her silky hair. When everything seemed to be fine, she quickly swooped her backpack off of the side of her bed and rushed out of the door. Usually, she'd be starting work for her second class by this time. Instead, she was beginning the short walk to Equestria Academy.

She flinched slightly as butterflies began to flutter around in her stomach. Twilight had never been this nervous about anything before. Leaving her homeschooling program and going to an actual place to tend to her studies was such a big change. What if she wasn't able to handle it? Twilight was about halfway to the school when she heard a familiar voice call her name. She stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder, hair swishing. A friend of hers, Spike, was running toward her with his hand in the air. Of course. how could she forget Spike? Though she was so determined not to make friends, she didn't mind hanging out with Spike very much. He was good company and a great help.

Spike stopped running when he reached Twilight, bending over and putting his hands on his knees. His back heaved as he panted, trying to catch his breath. "You...didn't wait for me like you said!" Spike said accusingly. Twilight felt confused for a moment, then facepalmed when she remembered their conversation last night. They had agreed to walk to school together that morning.

"Ah...sorry, Spike. I was caught up in everything and kind of forgot." She scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment. Spike shrugged, beginning to walk in the direction of the school.

"It's fine, I guess. Just don't forget tomorrow. I'm not that easy to forget, you know." He demanded. Twilight nodded, falling into step beside Spike.

"I won't forget, I promise." She said convincingly. They weren't very far from the school now. Twilight could see it in the distance, closed in by a tall grass hedge surrounding it on all sides. It seemed so much bigger in person than it did in the pictures, even when she was standing this far from it. The butterflies from earlier returned and Twilight nervously tucked hair behind her ears. "Gosh, Spike, I'm so nervous! This is the first time I've ever gone to a real school before..."

"Calm down, Twilight. You'll be fine!" Spike pat her back gently in attempt to reassure her. "You're the smartest person I know. A school like Equestria Academy will be a piece of cake for you. It isn't even that hard."

Twilight rose an eyebrow quizzically, looking at Spike with narrowed eyes. "That's because you spend your time reading comic books when you should be paying attention in class. Of course you'd think it isn't that hard." She pointed out. A light shade of pink spread across Spike's cheeks and he folded his arms across his chest.

"It's called manga, not comic books! They're two totally different things." He insisted defensively. Twilight wrinkled her nose.

"I don't see how they're different at all. They're both graphic novels, and they're both a waste of time." Twilight really didn't see what Spike saw in his silly manga and anime. She had found both to be extremely boring with bland plots and uninteresting characters. There had been multiple instances where she tried to get Spike to read real literature, but she had failed miserably. Trying to get Spike to read a real book was like trying to get a wingless bird to fly - utterly impossible.

"You don't think they're any different because you don't understand! Comic books are usually about things like superheroes and have a boring story line with a simple, ugly art style. On the other hand, manga is about a ton of different things and has a beautiful art style. Do you know how hard it is to draw like that? I've been trying for years!" Twilight noticed that the topic had actually made Spike angry. His cheeks were red and his face was twisted in annoyance, eyes blazing like a ferocious fire. Twilight couldn't stop a smile from creeping on to her face. She couldn't believe that Spike was actually getting upset over such a trivial matter as this! It was actually kind of cute. Twilight decided to let Spike win this time.

"Okay, okay. Comic books and manga are different." Twilight agreed, though her opinion hadn't changed one bit from the start.

Spike let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you!" He shouted. Though he had won and the argument was over, Twilight realized that Spike was still tense and looked upset. A look of concern became visible on her face.

"You aren't actually upset about this, are you?" She asked. Spike didn't answer for a couple of moments, but soon sighed loudly.

"It's just..." Spike pressed his lips together. "When you say that kind of stuff, it makes me feel really stupid, y'know? Like you think lowly of me just because I like anime and manga."

Instantly, guilt grabbed hold of Twilight and held her in a tight embrace, refusing to let go. Blood rushed to her cheeks and turned her pale skin a dark shade of red. She put a hand on Spike's shoulder and rubbed it gently. "Oh, Spike..." Her voice was full of sympathy. "I-I'm sorry...I didn't know that I was making you feel like that. Do you really think I'd think lowly of you just because you like different things than I do?"

"Well, yeah!" Spike said it so matter of factly, like it was crazy that Twilight didn't understand. "You're so smart and you like smart people things so much, like science and reading and math. You act like its a crime for me to not like those things."

Twilight twirled a strand of hair around her finger, suddenly finding her shoes interesting. Maybe she had been a bit too mean when it came to discussing their differences. Spike never called her a weird or strange for being so interested in books and sciences, yet he probably heard that from her every single day. Twilight swallowed slightly. "I'm really sorry. It's just...well...I..." She desperately searched for an answer to her behavior, but came up with nothing. She sighed and let her arm fall to her side. "I don't know. There's really no excuse for it. I'll stop, okay?" She promised. A few moments passed and Twilight lifted her head, facing him. "Just remember that I don't think any different of you just because we like different things. You'll always be one of my closest friends."

There was a long silence, each passing second only making the tension between them rise. Anxiety gripped at Twilight as she thought that Spike wasn't going to forgive her, but those feelings soon melted away when he looked up at her and smiled. Any trace of anger or annoyance was now void from his face, and his eyes were bright with happiness. Several moments passed, before Spike coughed nervously and broke the gaze. He scratched the back of his neck, before he stopped walking. He looked straight ahead.

"Come on, Twi, we're here!" Spike quickly took off through the black entrance gate, leaving Twilight momentarily confused.

"Spike, wait up!" She was about to follow her eager friend, but hesitated instantly as she laid eyes upon the school. Eyes widening, her jaw dropped in amazement as she stared at the magnificent scene before her.

The school was beautiful! Twilight had seen plenty of photos online, but none of them compared to the real thing. The building was several stories high and perfectly symmetrical, it's amber bricks seemingly glowing in the sunlight in and beautiful white frames surrounding large windows. The roof had dark navy paneling. Right in front of the school's entrance, there was a beautiful sparkling fountain.

Twilight walked through the gates of the school, seemingly in a trance by it's beauty. She forced herself to snap out of it. Right now, she had to find Spike. She glanced around the courtyard, her eyes peeled for a familiar head of green hair. Unfortunately, there were so many students outside that it was hard to pick out just one person from the crowd. Twilight began to shuffle through the crowd, accidently bumping in to a few people, before she finally spotted Spike behind a tree. Wondering about his peculiar choice of a spot to go, Twilight ran to meet him.

"Spike! Why did you just-" She was cut off when Spike quickly grabbed her and pulled her behind the tree with him. She let out a startled gasp and fell to her knees, the fall causing her glasses to become crooked. Twilight adjusted her glasses before getting to her feet again, putting her hands on her hips. "What was that for?!"

Spike didn't respond. Twilight noticed that he was peering out from behind the tree, his eyes fixed on someone or something. Twilight stood beside him and followed his line of vision, before her eyes fell upon a girl standing near the fountain, happily chit chatting with a group of girls around her. She had beautiful coiled purple hair that bounced with every movement she made. Her eyes were a crystal blue, framed by thick black eyelashes. She wore light blue eyeshadow and had a smile that seemed to gleam.

Twilight could vaguely remember Spike mentioning a crush of his once or twice. She searched her mind for her name. Rarelee? Raremee? Rarity! That was the name! Twilight smirked and rose her eyebrows. "So, that's Rarity, huh?"

"Yeah, it is! Isn't she beautiful?" Twilight could've sworn that she saw hearts appear in Spike's eyes. Twilight saw Rarity turn her cell phone on, looking at the glowing screen for a moment, before waving goodbye to the girls and making her way inside of the school. Spike sighed and turned around, sitting down in the green grass and leaning against the tree.

Twilight squinted. "Have you even talked to her before?" She asked. Spike's eyes widened. He looked at Twilight as if she was a foreign alien creature.

"Are you kidding me? Me, talk to Rarity? Are you insane?" The tone of his voice rose a bit in surprise with every word. "Rarity is way out of my league! Even if I tried to talk to her, I'd probably look like a total idiot." Spike crossed his arms, looking disappointed.

"Well, I bought this really good book that teaches you how to get through highschool. In the section 'Friendships and Relationships,' it says that if you have feelings for someone, you should try to talk to them and get closer to them. So, maybe you should at least try to talk to Rarity?" Twilight suggested. Spike let out a long sigh and shook his head.

"I'm not even surprised that you think a book is going to help you get through all of highschool." He groaned. Twilight's face flushed up in embarrassment. Maybe Spike would understand if she read it himself. Twilight moved to take the book out of her bag, but was interrupted when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Twilight looked up and was met with a pair of pastel pink eyes. Instantly, she got to her feet, a look of joy appearing on her face.

"Celestia!" She exclaimed excitedly. Celestia smiled warmly, wrapping her arms around Twilight in a greeting embrace. Twilight returned the embrace with no hesitation, giving her friend a small squeeze. Celestia broke the embrace after a few moments.

"Twilight Sparkle, my best friend." Celestia said affectionately. "Are you excited to start school today?"

Twilight nodded eagerly, strongly resembling a bobble head doll. "Yes, I'm very excited! But, also a bit nervous. I made a lot of preparations to help me get through the year and learned as much as I could about going to school."

Celestia chuckled softly. She looked down a bit, her wavy multicoloured hair covering the sides of her face like a curtain. "I'm sure you're going to do just fine. Equestria Academy is very welcoming to new students and has an excellent curriculum. There's no doubt that you're going to do just as spectacular attending this school than you did when you were homeschooled." She looked up again, her gaze now directing to the front doors of the school. "Come with me. I have something important to show you. Afterward, I'll give you a tour of the school."

Twilight nodded, watching as Celestia began to make her way to the school. The way she moved was so elegant. Not too fast, but not too slow. Her shoulders were high in the air and her hips swayed with every step. Twilight looked over her shoulder at Spike. "I'll see you later, Spike!"

Spike waved goodbye, a smile on his face. Twilight adjusted her bag and quickly caught up with Celestia, walking beside her. As they made their way to the doors, Twilight glanced around at the beautiful scenery that the courtyard had to offer. The walkways were lined with beautiful flower hedges and the silver brick pathways were sparkling clean, like nobody had ever set foot on to them. Twilight's eyes glimmered. "I can't believe that I'm going to be going to school here..."

Celestia smiled brightly. "I know that you're going to love it. A school like this is perfect for you." They reached the school entrance and Celestia pushed the shiny glass doors open, revealing a rather shocking interior. Twilight felt her jaw drop as she saw the pure elegance of the school. Quartz pillars held the roof of the first floor up. The floors had beautiful blue and purple carpeting, as well as silky curtains of the same color draped over the windows. A chandelier hung from the ceiling above, illuminating the room with a soft yellow light. Finally, a balcony above lead to the second floor.

Twilight almost bumped in to a couple of students as she followed Celestia through the small crowd of people, still fascinated by the utter beauty of the school. She hadn't even realized that they had reached their destination and continued walking down the hall Celestia had lead her through. She stopped in her tracks when she heard Celestia clear her throat. Twilight froze and spun around, spotting Celestia waiting outside of a door to a room with a smirk on her face.

"Oops! Eheh, sorry...I got distracted." Twilight apologized as she returned to Celestia's side. Her cheeks were tinted pink.

"There's no need for an apology, Twilight." Celestia assured her. Her warm expression then hardened to a serious one as she put her hand on the doorknob. She looked at Twilight sternly. "Now...I understand what you are going to find to happen will be a bit confusing and upsetting, but I'd love if you just gave it a chance. School would be much easier and more eventful for you."

Twilight furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, starting to become a bit anxious. What could possibly be waiting on the other side of this door that could be so bad? "I-I can give it a chance." She insisted. Celestia nodded, breaking their gaze and twisting the doorknob. She pushed the door open with one swift movement and stepped inside of the classroom. She motioned for Twilight to follow her inside.

Twilight eagerly followed Celestia in to the room. Inside of the classroom, she found five pairs of eyes staring at her. Inside the room were five different girls.

The first girl had poofy pink hair that went all the way down to her waist. A balloon hair pin seemed to be holding overgrown bangs out of her face. She had large blue eyes that seemed to be constantly sparkling.

The second girl had blonde hair that went down to the midway point of her back. It was tied at the bottom with a red hair tie. Her eyes were bright green and freckles dotted her cheeks like stars.

The third girl had long, silky pink hair that went a couple of inches past her waist. She hid behind her hair like it was a protective curtain. She had gentle blue eyes.

The fourth girl had shoulder length rainbow coloured hair. It was tied back in to a ponytail with a black hair tie. She had big magenta eyes that blazed fiercly.

The final girl had shoulder length purple hair. It was curled perfectly and looked as soft as silk. She had large blue eyes and light blue eyeshadow. Twilight recognized her as Rarity.

Celestia smiled at Twilight. "Twilight, these are some girls that I'd like you to meet." She stated casually. Twilight felt her heart stop the moment that the words left Celestia's mouth. She glanced frantically from the girls to Celestia. No, no, no, no, no! Twilight's first day hadn't even started and she was already in danger of making friends! She had to refrain from jumping back when the blonde girl stepped forward.

"Well, howd'ya do, sugarcube?" The girl had a heavy southern accent. She grasped Twilight's hand and shook it. "Why, Celestia's said so much 'bout you! I'm Applejack. Its a pleasure makin' your acquaintance. We all-"

The girl who had introduced herself as Applejack was cut off as the pink haired girl jumped in front of her, bouncing up and down excitedly. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! You're Twilight, right? Wow, its super extra cool to finally meet you! Celestia told us so much about you that it feels like I'm meeting a super famous celebrity! You were homeschooled, right? I tried homeschooling once, but it was so boring and I couldn't hang out with my friends and I couldn't really go outside very much, and I also didn't have much time to throw-"

The rainbow haired girl stepped forward and put her hand over Pinkie's mouth, who continued talking despite her words now coming out muffled and unintelligible. The girl shook her head. "Don't mind Pinkie. She gets way too excited way too easily." She explained.

Twilight nodded in agreement. She looked at Pinkie, who was still talking despite her mouth being covered. "I can see that." She replied bluntly. The girl put her hands on her hips, thus allowing Pinkie to talk freely again. Pinkie had somehow ended up on the topic of oatmeal.

"Well, I'm Rainbow Dash!" She said confidently. Rainbow flipped her ponytail a bit. "I wouldn't be surprised if you've heard of me already, though. I am the fastest runner on the track team, after all."

Rarity knot her eyebrows together, shaking her head at Rainbow's boasting. She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at the other. "Oh, please, we get it already. Just because you're the fastest runner on the track team doesn't give you a right to boast about it continuously. Not only that, but its more likely that Twilight has heard of me instead. I am one of the most popular girls in the grade."

Twilight could barely keep back an eyeroll. Not only had Rarity shown extreme hypocrisy, but both were acting like being popular was the most important thing in the world. Plus, she doubted that either was that popular. Twilight had only heard of Rarity because of Spike's crush on her. Twilight looked at Rarity. "I have heard of you, actually."

Rarity smiled proudly, flipping her purple coils behind her back. "See, Rainbow Dash? Twilight here hasn't even been attending Equestria Academy for a full day and has already heard of me."

Rainbow Dash let out a small 'tch' and rolled her eyes. She decided to change the subject, looking at the pastel pink haired girl that had distanced herself from the group. "Fluttershy, aren't you gonna say anything to Twilight?"

Fluttershy only stared at the ground beneath her, still hiding behind her hair. She refused to look up. Pinkie Pie bounced over to Fluttershy, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Don't mind her! Fluttershy is just a little, well, shy!"

Twilight felt stunned. For most of her life, her only friends had been Celestia and Spike, and she had wanted to keep it that way. Now, she was being introduced to so many people at once. It was a bit overwhelming and agitating. Celestia knew how reserved Twilight liked to be. Why in heaven's name would she do this without her permission? Twilight was snapped out of her thoughts Celestia put a hand on her shoulder.

"Twilight, these are some very good people that began school here this year," She explained, her voice gentle. "I'd love it if you tried to be friends with them."

Twilight's face fell.

Her highschool fantasy shattered like a piece of glass, right then and there.