"Alright everypony, settle down!" Cheerilee shouted to get the class' attention.
Every filly and colt in the room heard her and slowly filed into their seats. Everyone except for two, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon. They just kept on chatting away, pretending that Cheerilee never said anything.
"Girls, in your seats." Cheerilee said calmly.
They moaned and trotted back to there seats, but not without giving a raspberry to the CMC, whose seats were in the corner. Applebloom saw this, but never really gave it any spot in her mind. She was getting used to this by now.
"We have a new student today, class!" Cheerilee said cheerfully.
A beige colored colt stepped out from behind Ms. Cheerilee and forced a smile. This colt wasn't comfortable around other ponies, mainly ones that he was going to be stuck next to for the next hours.
"Now, go pick your seat." Cheerilee gave a slight nudge to the small colt.
Hmm... Sit next to people who seem perfectly normal, or sit next to somepony who was easy to make fun of... He pondered this for a few moments. He observed the classroom for a moment, visualizing each ones face when they found out he was a sarcastic one. He noticed Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Rich ones! They're the best!
The colt slid in the desk next to Diamond Tiara, and slowly started to grin.
"Hello, my name is Ace!" Ace said holding out his hoof.
"I don't talk to riff-raff." Diamond whispered behind her back.
"I don't normally talk to spoiled little brats, and yet here I am!" Ace said smiling.
Diamond turned around to try and read Ace's facial expression. Ace always did have that certain poker face that made him unreadable when making jokes. Diamond assumed he was serious and opened her mouth to protest that comment.
"Alright everypony, let's learn our math lesson for the day." Cheerilee turned and faced the blackboard.
Ace was always a whiz in school. He had learned math two levels above his grade.
Diamond noticed Ace was a blank-flank. "Looks like we have another blank-flank in our class."
"Looks like I don't really care." Ace yawned.
"How can you simply not care about something as big as that?" Silver Spoon mouth was agape.
Ace shrugged. "I just don't care."
Ace focused on Cheerilee as best he could, it wasn't easy with yip and yap sitting next to him. Ace could barely remember the last time he heard so much noise from one direction. His right ear probably wanted to just get out of there.
"How about you listen to what the teacher is saying? Or can you not comprehend 2 x 2?" Ace grunted while shifting positions in his seat.
Diamond Tiara looked behind her, with an angry look on her face.
"Whoa, slow down! You might scare the children." Ace whispered, a smug grin on his face.
Diamond Tiara's anger was rising at an insane speed, but Ace just kept his cool and paid attention to Cheerilee. Silver Spoon's eyes were wide open in surprise towards Ace, mainly because he didn't seem to care about being popular, he just danced to the beat of his own drum. Silver Spoon was starting to like Ace.
"I..... hate..... you...." Diamond managed to scrape her teeth together to make out at least those words.
"Mission accomplished then." Ace's arrogance was insulting.
Then the bell rang, time for recess. Ace just picked up his backpack and headed outside. Ace sat down on the bench next to the swing set. That's when the CMC approached him.
"Hey there!" said an obviously excited Applebloom.
"Hey." Ace just stared at the three fillies for a moment.
Ace was a pegasus, but he always wore a jacket over his core that covered his wings. Ace was the only one in the family who was a pegasus. Pops was a earth pony, and mom was a unicorn. Ace observed the pegasus of the group, then looked down at his own wings in shame.
"You're a blank-flank too!" Sweetie Belle said, smiling.
"Yes, I'm pretty sure I've made this simple observation before." Ace said, reaching into his pack.
"Maybe you can get a cutie-mark in comedy!" Scootaloo laughed.
"Yeah, because I'm a real showstopper." Ace stared at all three of them
Ace pulled a guitar out of his bag, and started playing. The melody filled the air with such music, that everypony gathered around Ace to listen and observe him play. Ace never looked up from the guitar. All he did was played the notes to one of his favorite songs; Last to Know.
"Wow, he's really good." Silver Spoon said from the back of the crowd.
Diamond shushed Silver. "He's not that great."
Just as Diamond said that, Ace started singing. You were the first to say, that I was not okay. You were the first to lie, when I was not alright. This was my first love, she was the first to go. And when she left me for you, I was the last to know.
Diamond's mouth was open wide. Silver Spoon and the rest of the class were clapping and howling for more.
Ace continued singing. I'll be the first to say, that know I'm okay. And for the first time, I've opened up my eyes. This was my worst love, you'll be the first to go. And when she leaves you for dead, you'll be the last to know.
Silver Spoon heart was struck. She was officially goo-goo for Ace. Diamond was even impressed with Ace's ability. Everypony was just clapping and screaming at Ace for even more melodies. Snips even walked up to Ace with a pen and paper and asked him to sign his autograph.
"Oh come on people, it wasn't that good!" Ace shouted.
Then Silver Spoon walked over to him and slapped him. "That was the best music I've ever heard."
"Okay, you've made your point, on the side of my face." Ace was rubbing the side of his face.
"No, you're right it wasn't that great." Diamond said in the back.
"That's how I know it's better than I thought." Ace stared at all of his new fans.
Ace just put his guitar back in his bag and walked back to the schoolhouse, followed by his new "friends". Ace put his bag on the rack in the corner. The CMC were following him since he started playing his song. Ace just tried to ignore them following him. Ace sat down, but in a different seat this time; this time he was sitting next to the CMC.
Scootaloo was the first to sit down. "So, you free this afternoon?"
Ace stared at her, terrified of the very thought of going somewhere with another pony. Even though they were in 4'th grade, Ace just found it rather silly to start this drama of relationships. Then again, he'd sung about it, so was he supposed to assume that no one would guess he wanted someone to care for him.
"No, have to perform for a concert." Ace was being honest.
Applebloom came next. "You wanna come help pick apples today?"
"I have to perform in a concert." Ace repeated.
"Which one?" Applebloom had that anxious look about her.
"The Rock of Ages open concert." Ace just stared at his bag where his guitar was being stored.
Finally, Sweetie Belle. "Do you want to..."
"Busy." Ace interrupted.
Ace was getting annoyed by the CMC's ignorance of the situation. He wasn't interested in anyone in the class. Unless of course a form of magic took over his judgement. You know what I'm doing here, right? Ace just looked at the three fillies. Then over to Sliver Spoon, who was staring at him.
Applebloom waved the CMC in a huddle.
"We should try and create a love potion!" Applebloom suggested.
"Of course! Then he wouldn't have a chance to reject any of us!" Scootaloo agreed.
Sweetie Belle just nodded.
Ace just stared worried about the mental health of these poor obsessed fillies. How could anyone like a pony who prefers to keep away from any relationship? Considering he would probably end up in some crazy scenario, he wondered which one he would be most likely to go out with. Applebloom. The answer was simple for him.
Silver Spoon trotted over to Ace with a note. Silver Spoon dropped the note on Ace's desk. Ace picked up the note. It read: See you after the concert, Love, Silver Spoon. Ace was just officially going to go home and cry about how his day had gone. The one filly he liked was still in Manehatten. He knew he was never going to see her again, but still, he wasn't quite ready for another relationship.
Ace waited until the end of school, all of the 4 fillies that liked him staring at him. Ace was the first one out of the class, Scootaloo not too far behind him. Scootaloo was going to follow him to where he lived, so they could give him the love potion. Ace just kept running home, he only stopped once to pick up some records used on a DJ table.
Ace finally stopped at a yellow-green house that had a record on it. Ace stepped inside and heard his mothers usual type of music: dubstep. Oh, how much he hated dubstep. To him it was a series of beeping noises. He liked his rock music much more then any random beeps.
"Hey there, bud!" Vinyl said from the kitchen.
"Hey, mom." Ace just took his guitar out of his pack and headed upstairs.
He went into his room and locked his door, sealing out any dubstep that might dare to knock on his door. Scootaloo was standing outside, listening for any sound. She had a job to do, but would it really hurt to see if Ace was playing?
Sure enough, Ace started playing his guitar and began singing.
He calls the mansion not house, but a tomb. He's always choking from the stench and the fume. The wedding party all collapsed in the room. A semi-resignation to the bride and the groom. This elevator only goes up to ten. Down by the pool, he doesn't have any friends. They were all off in the shower de lance. Say good-bye to the life you made. Say good-bye to all the kids for all the cyanide you drank.
Scootaloo stared at the window to Ace's room. Scootaloo was confused of the meaning of the song, but that didn't change the fact that she loved it. She remembered why she was there, and headed back to CMC's clubhouse. It didn't take long for Vinyl to start gathering people to her club/home. Ace was out of there in seconds, trying to avoid having his ears explode from the beeping.
Ace was getting used to the constant bickering between the two clubs that sat across from each other. On one end was Aunt Octavia, a wonderful composer who was always making new symphonies for all of the refined ponies to hear. His mother's club however, was a simple hangout for drug addicts and alcoholics who where either too stupid to escape before they were deaf, or they were too high to do so. Either way, he promised to never show bias for who gave him the better birthday presents. (Octavia)
"Oh hello Ace." Silver Spoon said from behind him.
"Oh look, the spare tire of the two is here." Ace started to run off to the Ponyville Convention Center.
"Where are you going?" Silver Spoon asked.
"Um......" Ace was thinking of an excuse. "I have to go get groceries."
"Markets the other way." Silver said.
Ace looked at Silver Spoon and gave her his best "Don't mess with me right now, I got crap to do" look. Silver Spoon was not good at taking hints, so Ace ran off to the convention center. Ace personally hated all of the things he had seen in Ponyville so far, maybe the convention center would be different. Wait.... Ace thought. I just told the one filly that's obsessed with me the location where I'll be performing for a crowd of about one thousand.
Ace started to make the beginning of a very long FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU. But was then interrupted by the local florist, Rose. Rose was just staring at the colt, actually rather angrily.
"Did I cross a line?" Ace asked.
Rose just pointed at the crushed flower pot below him. This is the beginning of something funny, or at least, that's my goal.
Rose started chasing after Ace. CUE THE BENNY HILL MUSIC!
Rose chased Ace through Sugar Cube Corner, around Cherry Lane, and below the house of Nif. Rose stopped for a second at Nif's house, and started chasing after Ace once more.
"Alright, I'll pay for the ONE flower pot I broke." Ace said, pulling out 10 bits.
Rose stared at him coldly, took the bits and trotted off. Ace sighed and commented something about how she had been listening to too much dubstep lately. Ace realized that the chase had gotten him closer to the Conventions Center where he would be performing.
"Perhaps I should go back and thank her." Ace quickly shook his head 'no' and walked off to the Center
Then, of course, he ran into the CMC with a bubbling concoction that took a rainbow color. Ace knew that color, it was a love potion.
"Not freakin' likely!" Ace screamed, running off to the Concert.
The CMC had started giving chase, urging him to drink the rainbow-colored drink. Ace had about five minutes to get to the concert, get his gear ready, and play for 3 judges. What? Why are you looking at your computer screen? Go to the next chapter, that's where the action is now!
Ace kept running towards the Center, avoiding anypony else who might want to chase him for a piece of bacon he somehow had on him. He was there! The lights were shining bright above the half-dome, the sound of the crowd was deafening. Ace had made it! He walked through the performers entrance and prepped his guitar for his song.
"Ace Scratch, please come on stage now." The announcer shouted over the intercom.
This is it. This is my chance to be a star, a star that shines brighter than any jewel. Ace thought.
"NOTHING SHINES BRIGHTER THAN DIAMOND!" Ace heard Rarity scream from in back.
"First off, please explain if you said that to my thoughts. Second, if you did say that in response to my thoughts, where did you learn to do that?" Ace was astonished by Rarity's sudden ability to read minds.
"I've known Spike for longer than you've been alive," Rarity started. "You just learn these things."
"So being near Spike somehow made you into the goddess of cerebral thought patterns?" Ace wasn't even sure what he just said.
Before Rarity had a chance to respond, Ace remembered he had to go out and perform. Ace got up and walked on stage, the crowd started roaring upon seeing the young colt. Ace took a deep breath and started to sing.
I could be mean, I could be angry, You know I could be just like you. I could be mean, I could be angry. You know I could be just like you. You thought you were standing beside me, You were only in my way. You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you. You thought you were there to guide me, You were only in my way. You're wrong if you think that I'll be
Just like you. I could be cold, I could be ruthless. You know I could be just like you. I could be weak, I could be senseless.
You know I could be just like you.
The crowd was surprisingly quiet for a few minutes. Then, Ace heard a few lone claps from the crowed, those few turned into even more, and more, and more. Then everypony in the Center was clapping and cheering for the young lad. But, it wasn't because the song, or how good how it was. Ace looked down at his flank and saw a guitar, HIS guitar.
"Well, that's a turn off." Scootaloo said in the background.
"Wait, what did you just say?" Ace's mouth was just about open enough that if you put him upside-down, his jaw would probably hit the moon.
"Nothing." Scootaloo blushed.
Ace decided to ignore the comment coming from behind him, and decided to indulge the crowds delight with him. Before Ace got a chance to say anything, Applebloom ran up behind him and forced a cherry-flavored drink down his throat. Ace got up and looked at the bottle that Applebloom had dropped, it was a red bottle, with a sticker that looked like it had a picture of a medical cross with a bullet through it.
Ace suddenly felt both stronger and faster. "Hey, what was that stuff?" Ace was speaking extremely fast.
"That was a combo of some nuclear materials we found on the road, we needed someone to test it out." Applebloom had the biggest grin on her face.
"Are you kidding me?" Ace was gritting his teeth.
"Yep."
Ace passed out from shock and the CMC dragged him off stage. They all took a turn kissing him backstage. When Ace woke up, he ran home and wrote a letter to Celestia.
Dear Princess,
I learned to never, EVER, trust the CMC. But, I also learned that you just need to have faith in yourself to be successful in life.
From,
Ace Scratch
P.S.
This is normally the mane 6's thing, I just had to do it for the sake of the story.