"Can you at least wait for me? I'm pretty sure you don't even know where you're heading!" Twilight yelled as she tried to catch up to the red and gold haired boy in front.
"The key says 154 so the locker has to be on the first floor. It's not my fault you're out of shape. Too many days in front of books? Is that why you have to wear glasses? How much of nerd can you be?"
"Can you stop calling me that? What did I ever do to you?"
The comment made Sunset stop and turn to face the source of his bad mood. The girl in question was caught off guard as he approached and stared her down. The anger in her disappeared caused by the nickname she'd been called and replaced by a mixture of feelings, one of which she knew as fear.
"Don't. Ever. Yell at me, got it?" Sunset said with a piercing green eyed gaze.
Twilight simply nodded and let out a squeak.
"Good, now I don't want anything to do with you just like you want nothing to do with me. Frankly, the less I see and hear you the better. The Dean might have told you to keep an eye on me but that doesn't mean it has to be from being right next to me. Show me to my classes for now and then leave me the hell alone."
Throughout the small monologue Twilight had been pushed towards the lockers as the boy loomed over her. Students began to trickle in and saw the spectacle only to ignore it as it didn't pertain to them. Sunset stepped back and pointed towards the hall to which Twilight nodded. They stopped by his locker to drop off some of the books and headed to the first of classes on the list. Twilight took her seat as Sunset was left to talk to the teacher.
"Sunset Shimmer, I presume?" spoke a rather uptight looking woman that reminded her of Cheerilee.
"Yea, that's me."
"Hmm." she scrunched her face slightly. "This is the syllabus for the year. Since you've come in as a transfer ignore the first two pages and continue from the fourth activity on page three."
The syllabus was at least twenty pages long front and back and packed with various assignments. There were also dates for tests and labs that seemed to count as mid-terms and finals. It had everything pertaining to each of her AP classes instead of just one.
"Wait a minute. What is this?"
"That is the syllabus for all the classes Mr. Shimmer. You are free to tackle it as you see fit but they all have a deadline. I teach every AP class in this school as there are very few who meet the requirements to join such a course. The lessons given in the classroom are just refreshers for those that feel they need the extra help or those that want to sit in for such things. Otherwise you may use the school facilities to work on your assignments or further your education as long as your work is turned in."
"So I don't have to stay in class at all as long as I get all of this done? What happens if I turn everything in that's on this syllabus early?"
The teacher took a minute to look questioningly at him before responding. "Though not impossible, if you do happen to turn everything in early then you may only show up for the required exams and further your education through individual studies. If you wish to learn more about such things then Twilight Sparkle will be able to inform you as she's the only student thus far to do such a thing."
Taking a moment to look at the only other person in the room he saw Twilight hide behind a book after giving a nervous smile their way.
"How long did it take her to do that?"
"If memory serves, it took her a month to finish everything. She only comes here for the morning's announcements and attendance."
"A month huh? That's pretty good. Nothing I can't beat though."
"Excuse me?"
"You're excused. Now, since you know I'm here and I can work on this as I please, I'll be heading to the library to get started on all of this." he tucked the papers away into one of the textbooks and walked out as the teacher sat slightly shocked.
It wasn't until he was near the end of the hallway that he heard footsteps coming up behind him and turned to discover Twilight following close behind.
"What do you want?"
"I'm in charge of you while you're here so I have to make sure you don't get into trouble. Sunset, you can't just talk to a teacher like that."
"Oh? and why not? It's her job to be teaching me but frankly with the way things are right now it looks like I'm the one that'll be doing that instead. Besides, this suits me just fine in the end. Not only do I get to work on everything early, I get to spend the days doing it on my own without anyone around to distract me. If everything works out I'll be done with this by next week."
"A week? You've got to be kidding. It took me about a month to finish all of that. There's no way you'll be able to do it in just a week." Twilight said with a slight amused look.
"Are you saying I'm dumber than you?" he raised an eyebrow as he tried to bottle the small fury the comment incited.
"What? No! I-I'm just saying that, since you're new and all, you might be underestimating the work. I know that it took me a bit just to clear it and, while I have no doubts you can do it, I'm just saying that it's pretty impossible to finish that quickly."
"So you weren't saying it, you were implying it."
"No! I-"
"Shut it. In case you haven't noticed I have slight anger issues and your voice alone is enough to spark it. I don't want to hear your excuses and I certainly don't want to be around you more than I have to. So, show me where the library is located so I can ignore you and the rest of these idiots."
"You could try asking nicely."
"That was me asking nicely. So hop to it Sparky."
"Sparky?"
"You rather I call you four-eyes instead?"
"No. Fine, whatever. I have business there as well so I'll at least be able to work while keeping an eye on you."
Twilight led the way as the two headed for the library as the halls were quickly being crowded by the students heading towards their classes. Sunset watched as the frail girl kept dodging out of people's paths and being pushed aside without ever saying anything other than an apology towards the culprits. It was a laugh to think that a girl like this was one of the many possibilities the loser of a princess could have been. The thought alone made him smile at the image only to be brought back by some new voices.
"Watch where you're going loser!" A girl with straight silver hair yelled as Twilight fell backwards to the floor.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Twilight said trying to collect herself as the other girl's friends stood around her.
"Well, you did and now my uniform has a smudge on it. I hope you've got your wallet on you because this one was custom made."
"I don't have any money on me right now but-"
"She doesn't have any money on her. Can you believe that Ivory?" a rather snide shorter girl with dark maple pigtails.
"Maybe there's another way we can make her pay for it?" suggested a short haired shapely girl with green and black streaks.
The look from the three of them was one Sunset knew well. It was the same look that he had given to many girls who were the concentration of her anger back in Canterlot High. It would always end with them either running away in tears or being blackmailed for a yet unknown future purpose. It was sickening to say the least as to the lengths he used to go in order to reach his goals. When did everything change for him? Was it when he ran away? Or was it long before that?
"Is there a problem here ladies?" he finally said as the other three were closing in on Twilight.
"Mind your own busi- I mean, hello there." the girl who was the leader of the group said as she faced him. The scowl on her face vanished and was replaced with a slightly seductive smile. "I'm Ivory, I haven't seen you around before."
"Sunset Shimmer, and yea I'm new here just transferred in today."
"Well, I since you're new maybe I can take the time to show you around?" Ivory snaked an arm around his as the other two girls nudged her to introduce them. "Oh, and these are my friends Amber." she said waving a hand towards the girl in pigtails. "And Minty Lace." she motioned towards the other girl.
"Hel-" the two echoed each other only to be cut off.
"That's not important right now. What is important is that I show you around so you can get to know the place better. Maybe even use some of that time to get to know each other?"
Her friends stood by in anger not wanting to cause a scene as Ivory was trying her best to use pretty much the usual tricks Sunset had used to get closer to Flash. It was flattering, to say the least. Very flattering but, the fact of the matter was that he didn't want anything to do with anybody at the school. Still, it was best to just play along in order to not draw any unwanted attention.
"That sounds great, I've been wondering where the library is and Sparky here was showing me the way. Though, now that you're here I guess that means I don't really need her to guide my way."
All three of the girls turned to look at Twilight who was trying to wipe the dust from her skirt. She noticed their stares and looked away trying her best to not be the center of their attention once again.
"You mean to tell me you know this loser?" asked Amber.
"Well, not really since I've only just met her today. She's supposed to be my guide for the rest of my time here since we have all the same classes."
At that statement, Ivory let him go and stepped away next to her friends. They looked at each other and some form of agreement passed between them.
"If that's true then that means you're in the AP course?" The shapely girl known as Minty inquired as she took a step forward.
"Yea, I am. Is that a problem?"
"No! Uh, sorry we have somewhere to be. Don't we girls?" Ivory motioned for them to reply to which they nodded.
"Weren't you going to show me where the library is?"
"No, maybe next time. We have to uh... get to class. Bye."
Sunset watched them walk as fast as they could away from him. The halls were once again empty save for him and Twilight. He turned to the girl with a confused look on his face to which he only got an awkward smile.
"Something's up here. What was all that about?"
"Well... the AP course is pretty much for the top students of the school, and since the school itself is mainly filled with rich kids, the course is pretty much full of the richest and smartest ones. The regular course students tend to leave them alone since they don't want to get involved with anyone with that kind of background."
"Really? Wait, then why were they picking on you? Aren't you like the top student of the school?"
"My family isn't really rich per say. We're more middle-class than rich; I got in through a scholarship so they think I'm pretty much easy prey."
"Well, you certainly act like it. The way you handled that situation screams that you're practically a doormat. Can't say I blame them for trying to get a rise out of picking on you since you don't do anything other than just roll over and take it."
Twilight looked as her body shook slightly. By the looks of it, she was trying her best to hold back tears and it wasn't really working. Sunset felt a little responsible for it but didn't do anything about it. It wasn't his problem and he was going to keep it that way. Whatever happened to this girl was no concern of his and Twilight being who she was made it doubly sure of that.
"Let's go already Sparky. I ain't got all day to wait for you to show me around."
"R-right." she sniffled "Sorry, I just... never mind. Let's go." She wiped her eyes before continuing on with Sunset close behind.
The library itself was a wonder. It was quite possibly twice the size of the one in Canterlot High and unlike that school had several students actually reading the books instead of only utilizing the computers. It sent a shiver down his spine as he walked by a cart with returns to see some limited editions available to the students.
"I'm definitely going to like this place a lot better."
"You like to read too?" Twilight asked with a twinkle in her eyes. "What's your favorite genre? Who's your favorite author? Do you have a specific kind of book you enjoy or do you read anything at all? Is there-"
"Shut up!" he yelled causing the other students to look up from their tasks and a collective hush aimed his way. "I thought I told you to leave me alone. I've got work to do and from what you said earlier so do you. So how about you go and do that before I really lose my patience with you."
"O-okay. I'm sorry, I just wanted to talk-"
"Well, I don't. The less you know about me the better because I certainly don't want to know anything about you. Now, if you don't mind, I have a syllabus to finish before the end of the week. Come get me when it's time for lunch since I'll be stuck with you despite my protests."
He walked away before Twilight was able to protest about being treated like a maid and headed towards the back of the library to sit down near a window. The light of the sun shined through the glass that made the books facing them shimmer slightly. It was a wonder to behold for someone like Sunset. While captivating it was also enough to cause him some mild irritation.
He put down the books and papers he had along with his backpack on the table and sat in huff. Libraries were always one of the few places that would be able to calm him down since his days in Equestria. That line of thought was reinforced once Celestia had taken him in as a student. The days he had spent at the royal library buried in dusty tomes and scrolls in order to further his understanding of magic was something he'd never imagine being able to do. However, the irritation would always creep right up as the memory of those times meant thinking about the nag herself.
"Damn her, even after leaving, she still has a way of ruining everything." he muttered opening the books and flipping pages as he got out pen and paper. "When am I ever going to be free of you?"
He was grateful for the silence the library held while working on the assignments which, even with all the talk of their difficulty, he found rather tame compared to things he was used to when trying to create a spell from scratch. The tasks seemed tailored to outright challenge students at every turn and yet they were easy enough to finish for someone like him.
Time meant nothing as he worked and students came and went. There were some (mostly just the female students) that would interrupt him to talk or try and introduce themselves. At this he would just push them away saying he had more important things to do or used the fact he was in the AP course to scare them off. It was fine with him to be left alone to his work; it was one of the reasons he transferred schools. That and the fact that those girls were waiting for him in order to "look after" him.
"What a joke." he said with deep seated malice. "What the fuck do they know about magic? It was all that meddling princess that even got them to tap into it. Do they seriously think they'll be able to do anything? Bunch of idiots."
The thought of needing help from such a clueless and useless group of teenagers was enough to make him stop working in frustration. He looked around to find himself alone as the tables around him were devoid of people. The shelves hid this side to the rest of the library as the sun indicated it was already past noon. The silence, warmth, and smell of the place calmed him immediately. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath he lay his head down on the table as he pushed the piles of paper and books away.
"S-----, have you gotten used to your new accommodations?" The large alicorn asked as she walked into the rather lavish room.
"Princess Celestia! I, uh, I was just uh..." the foal stuttered from the middle of the room.
It had been a sudden change of environment. From the being cold and generic walls of the school's boarding house, to the large and intimidating room inside the palace walls. The room itself was filled with silk, satin, and anything else that marked it as a room fit for royalty. It was unnerving to say the least for the child that grew up with practically nothing to their name.
"Is something wrong?" Celestia asked walk closer towards the middle of the room.
"No! I mean, it's nothing. I guess I'm just not used to all of this yet. I've never really truly had much for myself so to speak until they accepted me at the school. Jumping from that place to here is just..."
"What do mean? Where have you been living before you were accepted?"
The child seemed to freeze at the question. Something about it caused a fear rise from within and Celestia could sense it even if it was easily seen. She sat next to her protege and wrapped a wing around the small frail figure.
"S-----, now that you are my personal student I wish to know about you. About your life thus far and about your aspirations for the future. You're free to talk to me about anything and I'll always be there to listen. Can you please tell me where you've been living?"
"I-I didn't have anywhere specifically. I kept moving around because of other ponies constantly trying to pick on me. Sometimes I spent nights under bridges and other times I slept in the woods with a makeshift shelter."
"Were you always alone during such times? Have you never had a home?"
"I've been by myself for as long as I can remember. I don't know who my parents are or why they even had me if they just threw me away. I took the entrance exam for the school because I heard the students lived in a dorm. I was never really interested in furthering my studies. I just wanted a bed to sleep in for the first time in my life. I'm sorry Princess, I don't think I'm the right kind of pony to be your student."