"Great, another year. More brats running through these halls, as if we needed more." A lonely ghost floated through the halls, unnoticed by all. He used to have a name, a shape, an identity, now everypony knows him as Spook. The Ghost of Canterlot. Not even Queen Nightmare Moon could tell you how he was still alive...well, alive enough.
Far below him, at the entrance to the Academy, a huge group of young stallions and mares were waiting. In this group, to the far left, Red Chief, an earth pony, sits on a bench, waiting patiently, or what he thinks is patiently. He was a curious sort, a coat so rust colored he was dragged away by a teacher claiming he needed to wash. His eyes were the same color as emeralds and it annoyed him how many ponies commented on that. Red's mane and tail were surprisingly, red. A normal shade of red, contrasted well with his coat. The cutie mark on his flank bore a silver shield with a red apple in the middle, he got it when he defended a classmate against bullies, and then immediately got assaulted by said bullies. He was also shorter than average.
Behind him an earth pony mare was closing in on him. None other than Moonlit Petals. She was bouncing along with a giddy expression, she couldn't believe she was here, here meaning the Academy. It has been her dream to be a hero for forever! Her gran used to tell stories of their ancestor who slew monsters three times the size of a pony. She had a coat of the night sky, dark blue and sparkled. Her mane and tail were a beautiful sheen of purple and her eyes glimmered with a dark shade of pink. Moonlit's cutie mark was a bright flower basked in moonlight. Since she exited the forest, her moonlace disappeared, now replaced with a laurel wreath. Heads turned at the sight of her and she ignored them all, her sight was on somepony else.
"Hello! I'm Moonlit Petals, though you can call me Moony!" She giggled as she extended her hoof to the young stallion in front of her.
Red stuttered, completely in shock that a mare this pretty would ever come talk to him. "Umm...hi! I'm Red! Red Chief that is. I'm from the Apple Clan...yep." He held his mouth shut and prayed that she didn't take him as a fool. Then again, he conceded, he was a bit of a fool. After calming down, he tentatively he bumped hooves, consciously aware of all the other ponies staring at them.
"Nice to meet you, Red!" Moony smiled brightly. "I have a feeling we're going to have so much fun. See you later!" With that, she waved and skipped away. There were a couple of sighs in the crowd after she disappeared into the mass of ponies.
In the middle of the pony congregation, a pegasus stallion stood straight with pride. Deft Stance finally made it. He was on Academy grounds and he couldn't feel happier. He was fulfilling his purpose, the Stance Clan's purpose, of being a hero. His head was fixated on the huge doors that was still stubbornly closed and kept him from his destiny, he shouldn't care any less for the ponies around him. That's how he was trained. Deft was tall for his age, allowing him to see above most of the ponies' heads. His coat was a cloudy gray, streaked with other shades of gray, giving him a layered rock kind of look. His wings were fluffy and wide, great for long distances and maneuverability, he was extremely proud of them. His coat and tail were a blueish gray, and if used correctly, he could melt into the darkness, just like his mentor taught him. His eyes were a dark chocolatey brown, lots of mares fell for it, much to his annoyance. Deft's cutie mark depicted a round rock with wings on either side.
Then a mare bumped into him and things spilled over the ground. He snapped out of his trancelike state and started helping her. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking around!"
"Oh, it's nothing. Really, I should be apologizing." She replied, her voice soft and smooth. After the two of them finally picked up everything, did Deft finally realize that she was not a mare. At least, not your typical mare. She was a kirin and a beautiful one at that. Her coat was black and her scales were a tad lighter, her mane and tail fluff were a stunning royal purple. Her eyes were dark blue and seemed to hold much wisdom. "Apologies, again, it seems my race startled you. Yes, I am a Kirin. My name is Midnight Flame and now I must thank you for helping me clean up."
'Oh...oh, it was really nothing! It was my pleasure." Deft chuckled awkwardly while rubbing a forehoof at the back of his neck. Midnight then continued talking about the laws of magic and how Kirins don't abide by such rules.
At the very back, two ponies stood out. One of which was checking out the other. Twilight Sparkle muttered to herself as she stared at the cloaked figure a few gallops away. Twilight had her disguise on, her purple coat was now a much lighter shade, more of a lilac. Her mane and tail were changed to pink with a few streaks of purple and light blue. Her eyes also changed, the purple was changed into blue. She even changed her cutie mark and now her flank sported a white four pointed star with a purple star behind that so it looked like it had eight points. Around the star were a bunch of sparkles that formed a circle. Inside of the star, there was a blue heart, almost crystalline. She had never gone through so much effort for a disguise before, but it seemed appropriate. She even changed her name to 'Twilight Twinkle', she decided to keep her first name because it was simply easier. She also kept her race, being anything but a unicorn was simply wrong, in her humble opinion.
'Report anything suspicious directly to me. Suspicious as in something...different.' That's what Queen Nightmare Moon said and from the more Twilight looked, that pony was very different. It, because she couldn't tell what gender, was garbed in a very dark and heavy cloak, rendering it nearly invisible if it were not for the hanging lanterns that lined the street. The only thing visible were its hooves which were a dark blue. Despite its different look, nothing seemed else out of the ordinary unless you count anti-socialism which Twilight didn't because she too wasn't socializing. After a solid ten minutes, she decided to drag her attention elsewhere and wait for the doors to finally open.
The pony whom Twilight was spying on knew exactly that he was being watched. Optimal was a unicorn stallion with an aversion to other ponies, specifically those who are dumber than he. He wears his cloak to distance himself from others and also as an added bonus, to keep away the cold. He's more sensitive than others, or at least, that's what he gathered. Optimal's coat was indeed dark blue which complemented well with a lighter blue mane and tail. His eyes were a peculiar shade of purple which entranced his mother when he was born, or so he was told. His cutie mark illustrated his favoritism for dark cloaks as it had an open book with no lettering covered in a dark cloak of a similar design to the one he was wearing right now.
Right now he was watching this buff stallion who was flexing for impressed mares. His blatant manner towards mares annoyed Optimal and he decided to keep away from him else he doesn't know if he could hold himself back before anything bad happens.
Then the huge doors leading to the Academy opened slowly, making no sound. The huge crowd immediately stopped with their chattering and looked upwards at their principal who was none other than Queen Nightmare Moon herself. The pony in question stared at all of them with disdain, letting no emotion show on her face. Internally she was grinning. Today was going to mark a new batch of students to terrorize and traumatize, it was delicious.
"STUDENTS!" She bellowed after a while. She found out that a thundering boom after a strained silence is very effective. Just as predicted, many of them jumped. She made careful note of those who didn't. "TODAY BEGINS YOUR JOURNEY, ONE OF HEROISM AND GLORY! I WILL MAKE YOU YOUR BEST, AND IF YOUR BEST ISN'T ENOUGH, THAN I DEMAND MORE! THE MOMENT YOU STEP INSIDE, YOUR LIFE IS FORFEIT AND BELONGS TO ME! THIS CAMPUS WILL BE YOUR HOME FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS AND UNTIL THEN, SAY FAREWELL TO THE OUTSIDE!" She paused, letting everything get soaked in. From her vantage point, she saw a couple of ponies already crying. Good. "I WILL NOT SPARE ANYTHING NOR SHOULD YOU EXPECT ANY CENSORSHIP. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"
"YES!"
"THAT IS MA'AM TO YOU!"
"YES, MA'AM!"
"YOU ARE ALREADY FAILURES, TANTABUS GET YOUR TONGUE?"
"YES, MA'AM!"
The courtyard was silent. The monarch and her subjects, the crowd and their leader. It was beautiful in a most terrifying manner. Queen Nightmare Moon, Mare in the Moon, The Sandpony, The Pone of Dreams, The Lone Ruler of Equestria, Champion of the Night. This was their principal.
Red gulped as he shuffled along with the crowd. After the dark alicorn turned tail and stalked out of there, did the students began trotting. Red had to canter to keep up and to not stumble on the uneven cobblestone roads. He was terrified, he knew that and accepted that, but he was also proud and hopeful. He got into the most coveted school in Equestria and he was going to learn how to be a hero. He couldn't keep the smile off his face.
Far ahead, Moony was bouncing at the head of the group. Her wavy mane and tail went along with her bounces making it look like waves along the dark sand beaches. Beside her a unicorn in silk clothing trotted along, he was talking and Moony was listening. At least, she was pretending to listen, she wasn't really great at listening, especially with things she didn't really care for. She was grinning too, more of a crazed one than a happy one, at least that's what other ponies tell her, all she knew was that she was happy!
A few paces away from her, Deft was trotting with his head held up high. He made sure every step he took was proper and within measure. This was how he was taught and he was not going to stray anytime soon. His face was cool and collected, but inside he was having a party. Despite the Matriarch saying such celebrations were a waste for the young spirit, Deft couldn't help but think of his own personal party. He was thinking this even when the passed through many doors, a teacher up front giving the tour.
In the back, Twilight was having trouble keeping track of the mysterious pony. They had disappeared during the speech and being a sucker for great speeches, Twilight had no choice but to listen in awe at her mentor. Despite being a principal for many years, 700 plus to be exact, Twilight still found it weird for the bloodthirsty, warm and open-minded, carefree Monarch to be part of the school program. After another look around, Twilight unfortunately lost the mysterious pony and it made Twilight even more angrier than usual, nearly even bucking a chair, but that would have caused a scene.
Halfway through the crown, Optimal slipped away from the weird unicorn who kept staring at him, and snuck through the many ponies during the speech. He felt eyes upon him, yet he kept on going, just like he was doing now. The thought of taking the hero program had him smiling a small smile and thinking lighter thoughts. His dark cloak floated above the floor of the dorm areas.
The guide had brought them through the entire campus in just an hour, give or take, showing them everything they would ever need, but none of the wants. The cafeteria's location was never revealed, nor was the pool. Queen Nightmare Moon has the guides take out certain rooms in the tour to give a challenge to the newcomers while she watches from afar. Red knew of this because he has an aunt who works at the campus, her stories of training were never descriptive but still made fascinating stories and only grew Red's desire to become a hero.
"Now, everypony. This are Class 749 dorms. After I'm dong talking, a number will materialize before you, stating your room. That will be your room for the rest of your time here, there will be no 'take backs' or 'trading'. In every room, there will be two ponies, your dorm mate. The Queen does not tolerate dating, so getting intimate is not advised." The guide then continued with the various rules. Moony wasn't particularly interested in them, she was more fascinated with his peculiar vest. It was a light gray and looked really thin, at the very front of the vest was an orange butterfly and what had Moony's attention was whether or not the butterfly was real. Its wings would sometimes flutter but Moony wasn't sure if it was the butterfly or because the guide was shifting in place. He had a terrible habit of shifting while talking.
"…and that is all. Now, do not be afraid. I will leave you now, do not follow me." The guide stopped talking and trotted away, leaving the students in a confused manner. Then the gasps started. Deft curiously looked at his number, it glowed bright red with a faint orange halo. He had no idea why he paid attention to such colors but it was like the Matriarch liked to say 'be aware, colt. It might save your life one day.' He picked his way through the crowd and made his way to his dorm, Room 041. He glanced to the left and right and was left confused. To the right, it was Room 801, and the left it was Room 001. He shrugged and stepped forward, as if sensing him, the door opened up, allowing him inside.
Twilight was given the number 005. She made one last glance to see if she could find that cloaked pony but was ultimately disappointed. Suddenly self-conscious about how weird she must have looked when she was glancing around with her neck craned weirdly, Twilight ducked down and made her way to her dorm. She didn't step inside just yet and looked behind her, from what she could see, the guide was right. Everypony was getting a partner, yet Twilight didn't get one. She shrugged, deciding that it wasn't all that important. She took a step and the door opened, allowing her access to her home for the next two years.
Optimal was given 321. He peered curiously at the illusion and even batted at it. His hoof just passed through it, leaving the numbers unmarred. He heaved a sigh, prepared himself mentally and found his dorm. On the way there, he nearly bumped into this huge mare and it made him pause. What kind of parents gave birth to his giant? He shook his head, don't dwell on such thoughts, it's nothing but trouble. It wasn't before long till he found his dorm and was surprised to see a rust colored earth pony waiting.
"Hi, I'm Red Chief! Looks like we're dorm mates." He chuckled awkwardly. "That's a cool cloak, like, really cool. What's it made of?"
"Wool. My family has a farm." Optimal answered tersely, on guard about this whole situation.
"Huh, mine too! I'm an Apple, we have apples. Apple farm. We sell them. Yeeaaaah, I'm gonna stop talking now." Red shut up and turned red slightly. The two of them stared at each other before Red finally moved close enough for the door to open allowing him access. Optimal followed closely behind.
Deft barely took a step inside before he was bowled over by a heavy weight. He was so surprised that his instincts failed him and he floundered on the floor, wondering why he wasn't dead.
"Oh, hi! Didn't see you there, I'm Moonlit Petals, though you can call me Moony!" The earth pony extended a hoof and Deft accepted it with hurt pride. He will NEVER tell the Matriarch about this, he would not be able to survive the eternal shame. "What's your name?"
"Deft Stance." He wasn't sure what else to say.
"Oooh, I've heard of your clan. Your ancestors almost destroyed my village once, my gran hates you guys." She smiled sweetly before bounding into the room.
Deft stared after her with absolute horror.