//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - First Day of School // Story: Servant of the Queen // by A bag of plums //------------------------------// “Do you have everything you need?” Psithyra and Ebony Wings stood at Silver Rose’s door, methodically going through her Crystal Prep approved backpack, unpacking and repacking every single item. There were considerably more items in there than the school’s provided list had, and Ebony wanted to make sure that everything was in place for her daughter’s first day at school. “Did you add on to the list, sister?” Psithyra glanced at all the extra items that she didn’t think were on the list at all. “That pack going to kill her back.” “Yes I did,” Ebony said dourly. “And a few extra pounds of weight aren’t going to kill her. Isn’t that right, Silver?” “Yes, mother,” Silver said, trying her best not to fidget in her new uniform. It had been pressed and washed the day before but it still itched. For the new persona, Chrysidea had elected to use a few tricks with gel and a comb to make her hair straight and shorter after dyeing it in stripes of grey and pink. Her skin itself had been dyed a mauve color, while she chose to wear red contacts. A plain black choker with a silver rose on it adorned her neck. “You look wonderful, my favorite niece,” Psithyra chuckled and watched Silver try to fit everything in the bag. It didn’t look like it was going to work. “Are you sure she needs all that, Ebony? A whetstone? Really?” “I doubt they provide them at this academy, Psithyra. What if she needs to sharpen a knife?” “We’re trying to enrol her, not start a school stabbing,” Psithyra groaned with exasperation. “So that means no shurikens either. Honestly, why did I let you have the packing list?” “Maybe it’s because I know best?” “That is so not true,” Psithyra clucked her tongue in irritation. “Silver, dear. Would you take out all the deadly weapons and leave them here? You know, luckily, I happened to pass by. Your mother would've gotten you expelled on the first day, and more likely than not, arrested.” “Well excuse me for worrying about my child’s safety…” Silver Rose nodded and set about placing a Swiss army knife, a handful of shurikens, and a ceramic kitchen knife onto the bed, along with three whetstones and a straight razor. From beneath her skirt, a tiny one-shot pistol was pulled, along with a small bandolier of bullets. “Chrysalis…” Psithyra growled. “What?” “Next time, I’m doing the packing.” The drive to Crystal Prep Academy was relatively short, as the Wings’ estate was only about ten minutes away by car. With Silver Platter at the wheel, the schoolgirl gazed listlessly at the documents she was meant to submit to the principal, whose name according to this paper, was Abacus Cinch. “Your destination, young mistress,” the man said as the black car stopped by the school gates. “Thank you, Silver,” Silver said, realizing that they now shared the same name. With one last nod to her butler, she opened the car door and joined the rest of the students who were streaming into the glittering campus ahead of them. Immediately, a few curious gazes were drawn to her, and the smell of curiosity spiked momentarily, smothered by the overwhelming spicy flavor of ambition. The moment passed as Silver Rose made her way into school, heading straight for the principal’s office. The floors in the school building were unnecessarily polished, buffed up to an unnatural state of reflectiveness. It was said that the entire school was carved from some manner of semi-precious stone, but Silver didn’t think much of that particular rumor. Instead, she simply kept climbing the steps and ignoring any looks that were shot her way, just like her mother had taught her to behave at movie premieres. She soon found the principal's door on the third floor, sitting in the middle of a landing. It was almost too hard to miss. Silver pulled at her blazer to straighten it before knocking on the door. There was a brief moment of silence, then the door swung open, revealing the face of a young woman with pink skin and vibrantly multicolored hair. Happiness, and a hint of surprise wafted off this woman and Silver immediately liked her. “Hi there,” she greeted with a handshake as Silver walked in. “You must be Silver Rose. We’ve been expecting you. I’m Dean Cadance, and I’m sure you’ve heard of Principal Cinch.” She directed the girl’s attention to the older woman at the desk. The rest of the room, as reported by Ebony Wings, was dark and dimly lit with a single bulb on a string. She sniffed; the rest of the room didn’t smell nearly as nice; there was the heavy and oppressive scent of something she couldn’t quite place, like slightly sour milk mixed in with something akin to the spiciness of ambition, only this woman seemed to have taken it to new extremes. The rest of the dingy room was occupied with a wall of foul-smelling trophies and a single empty chair. “Welcome, Ms. Rose,” the woman spoke with a low voice. “I am Principal Cinch.” She paused, as if expecting something. “Good morning, Principal Cinch,” Silver said, correctly guessing the principal’s intentions. “I trust you had no problems getting here?” Cinch said with a sticky sort of smile. “Please, do take a seat. I’m sure we’ve got quite a bit to discuss.” Going anywhere near Cinch was not something that was high on Silver’s to-do list, but nonetheless she obeyed, sitting down across from Cinch and trying not to breathe through her nose. “Now, I trust your mother must have explained to you why she enrolled you in this most excellent institute of fine learning,” Cinch said. “But I doubt she gave you a fine history of the school’s successes, which I will now show you. The school was first founded, by one Addeline Crystal, who took it upon herself to teach students…” What followed was what Silver would later label as an epic study in tedium, with Principal Cinch carrying on and on about her school’s reputation and legacy, and how the school had never been better than it was now. Dean Cadance remained at the back of the room, smelling softly of nerves and boredom. “...and as such,” the principal continued. “All our students here harbor the very highest qualities of excellence. I trust you’ve got that quality to yourself too, Ms. Rose? Your mother is, after all, an award-winning actress.” “Yes, Principal Cinch,” Silver said obediently. “I’m glad to be in such a historic and storied school.” “Excellent.” The principal leaned back and adjusted her glasses. “Dean Cadance, would you bring her papers forward?” The nicer school head walked over with a file with Silver’s name on it. “In here, you’ll find everything you need to start your studies in Crystal Prep. Your schedule, school rules and guides, and even a notebook can be found inside. And I believe you have something for me.” “Oh, yes, Principal Cinch.” Reaching into her bag, Silver easily found her enrolment papers and handed them to Principal Cinch, who stamped each one with her own personal seal before putting them aside. “Well, that concludes your introduction to Crystal Prep Academy,” Cinch stood up, signalling the end of the meeting. “Second period should be starting any time now. Have a good day, Ms. Rose.” Dean Cadance opened the door for Silver, waving goodbye as she proceeded to her second period class. According to the timetable, she had ancient history now and the classroom was somewhere on the second floor. It was no trouble finding the room, since it was all a matter of matching the correct room number with the one on her timetable. The dry, flaky taste of boredom intensified as she neared her destination; that wasn’t a good sign, even if it was mixed with a faint aftertaste of curiosity. Silver Rose lifted a hand and rapped her knuckles on the door, waiting for a response. “Come in,” a clipped, masculine voice intoned. Silver did as she was told, quietly pushing the door open and stepping inside. The rest of the class had turned to watch her entering, but she was used to being stared at. It happened at pretty much every movie premier that her mother took her to. “Ah, you must be Ms. Silver Rose?” the teacher said. He had short, jet black hair gelled back to bare his forehead, and sharp, birdlike features. One hand held a collapsible pointer while the other held an open book. “I was told that you were coming, though I didn’t expect it to be during the class. I’m Mr. Fowl and welcome to ancient history.” “Thank you,” Silver said automatically. She ignored of all the stares that were playing across her like a cluster of laser sights, but she couldn’t block out the sudden upswell of curiosity and the fainter smell of happiness. Most of the students seemed pleased that Mr. Fowl had been interrupted, even though their faces remained stoic. “Class,” the teacher turned to face them, directing a hand toward Silver. “This is Silver Rose, and she’s your new classmate. Do make her feel welcome. Silver, there is an empty seat over there beside Canvas Splash.” Silver had already noticed the pink haired girl sitting beside an empty desk. The girl’s hair was tied up on the left side of her head with a ribbon; it kind of looked like the head of a paintbrush. The new girl immediately guessed that Canvas was probably a painter or at least an artist. “Heya, new girl,” she greeted as Silver pulled the chair out to sit beside her. “You already know my name, and I know yours. Well, welcome to CPA.” “Thanks,” Silver said again. She had already learned a set of responses to reply to, as instructed by her mother. This was going to be a lot easier than she had first anticipated. “Okay, back to our lesson class.” Mr. Fowl didn’t seem to be particularly bothered by the unenthusiastic glances of his students. “Silver, for your information, we’re currently studying the ancient colonies of the Middle Ages. Now, before a king was established, there were close to a hundred villages inhabiting this very city of Canterlot itself. Each village had very little interaction with one another, but some still managed to establish trade routes between each other. Now, can anyone explain to me how these villages were run?” Immediately, every hand in the room shot up into the air. “Uh… Sugarcoat?” their teacher pointed to a bespectacled girl with white hair tied up into two tails at her sides, along with one more tail at the top of her head. She was seated two rows in front of Silver Rose. “Village elders, Mr. Fowl,” she stood up and pushed up her glasses, an almost bored expression scrawled across her face. “Sometimes a single person, sometimes multiple.” “Correct, Sugarcoat,” he nodded and got back to the lesson. Silver Rose listened, attentively as he went on about how the villages were all so disorganized that a single bandit attack could sometimes wipe out an entire town. After that, different kings took up roles across the land, ruling over separate provinces. Eventually, a single kingdom was made and a new king united Canterlot, keeping the people safe and at the same time, ruling over them, just or unjust. History was something Silver Rose had enjoyed since young. Sometimes before bed, her mother would tell her tales of the past, most of them involved her mother duping her way through sticky situations or brutally disposing of someone who had seen through her act. Once Aunt Psithyra had come along, the stories got more interesting, though now, Silver knew her mother had made up things in a couple of her stories. She didn’t mind terribly; the end result was always the same. The bell rang shortly, dismissing the students to their next class. “What’s your next class, Silver Rose?” Canvas Splash asked as she dumped a blue file into her backpack. “Have you had a tour of the school?” Silver shook her head. The whole ‘get enrolled in high school’ thing had been done so quickly that she hadn’t even been informed of the school’s name until last night. “My timetable says I have chemistry next.” “Aw, that’s a shame. I don’t have chemistry till sixth period. Well, I can show you the way if you like!” Silver followed Canvas Splash with a discreet sniff. This girl smelled calm enough, although even that was hard to discern through the strong scent of acrylic paints that wafted from her backpack. Something had definitely ruptured in there when Canvas had shoved her file in. “Well…” Canvas said as she pointed out all the different rooms on the way to the chemistry lab. “These are the music rooms, the art rooms, the literature class, philosophy, and… here you are! The chemistry lab!” she bowed and gestured to a door on Silver’s right. “You have fun, Silver Rose. I’ll catch you later, maybe!” Silver waved back at Canvas, whose bag had begun to turn green at the bottom, before turning her attention to the science labs. She had already memorized the way here from history, although even that was ultimately unnecessary: the labs had a faint sulfurous smell that she could have followed from the front door. She was almost in when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. “Hey, you’re the new kid, right? Ebony Wings’ daughter?” Silver Rose turned around, coming face to face with a girl with blue hair and a pair of goggles atop her blue haired head. This was the first student here that didn’t seem to have the same sense of properness about her. She had a bowtie like all the other girls, though she didn’t seem to bother trying to tie it properly, and her socks seemed to be three sizes too big, dropping down towards her boots. “Ye-es?” Silver said hesitantly. This was something that she hadn’t completely prepared for: her mother’s celebrity status among peers of her age. “Woah!” the girl yelled in her face, startling her for a second. “That’s sooooo cool! I never knew she had a second daughter! I’ve only ever seen Moonglade with her in the news!” “Oh yeah. Her. Right,” Silver felt the beginnings of beads of sweat start to form on her brow. “She’s home-schooled.” “Yeah, that’s what we knew, but what I never knew was that there was a second daughter! It’s so awesome! It’s like you’re a secret daughter no one knew about!” “Haha, is that so?” Silver rubbed her left wrist unconsciously while trying to come up with a way to end this conversation as quickly as possible. “I’m Indigo. Indigo Zap!” the girl reached out a hand for a shake. “Silver Rose,” Silver took the hand and gripped it firmly, just like she’d seen her mother do countless times. “Yikes,” Indigo winced once they let go. “You’ve got one hay of a grip there, Silver.” “You shouldn’t be picking on the new kid already, Indigo,” the girl from before, Sugarcoat, said as she walked into the class. “And you’re going to be late if you keep standing there.” The air began to grow crisper, like the smell of fresh lettuce, as they followed Sugarcoat into class, mixing with the faintly tangy smell that suffused from Indigo. There were all kinds of new smells and tastes here at Crystal Prep, and it was all she could do to keep up and try to put them all to memory. Of all these new smells, one familiar scent was noticeably absent: the smell of love. I’ll have to work for it, she decided. The teacher, whose name was Mr. Beaker, didn’t seem too enthused about the idea of a new student coming in. A man of middling height who smelled unpleasantly of sulfur, he gestured vaguely to one of the empty seats and began his lecture on subatomic particles. Silver found herself sitting next to a weedy boy with white framed glasses and a scruff of a beard on his chin. “Hi, I’m Trenderhoof. You must be Ebony Wings’ daughter?” “That’s right,” Silver shook his hand, making sure to go easy on the grip this time. “First day here.” “You know,” he scratched at his chin. “I actually do a lot of research on celebrities and never once have I encountered your name, Silver Rose. Only your sister’s. Your mother must’ve done a really good job keeping you out of the spotlight.” “I was, uh, living with my aunt for the past few years,” Silver said, getting out her notebook. “Just moved back a little while ago.” “Ooh, you have an aunt as well that I haven’t heard about?” Trenderhoof whipped out a notebook and pen. “You wouldn’t mind me asking a few questions, would you?” “Quiet over there,” Mr. Beaker barked. “Right, sorry, Mr. Beaker,” the boy stowed his notebook and faced the front. He quickly whispered over again. “But Silver, if I may, I would love to write an article about you.” Silver Rose gave Trenderhoof an awkward smile before turning back to the lesson. Next to her, she could hear Trenderhoof texting on his phone, and the smell coming off him was that of excitement and anticipation. By the time lunch came around, Silver was feeling a lot less incognito. Wherever she went, there were whispers and fingers pointed, and even quite a few photos taken. She had opted to sit by herself, but Trenderhoof had quickly found her, positioning himself across from her with a smile. “Hello, Silver Rose,” he greeted warmly. “It’s me again, Trenderhoof.” Silver repressed a sigh while loosening her grip on her knife. “Hello, Trenderhoof,” she said, trying not to sound too annoyed. He didn’t taste like malice after all, only over enthusiasm. “What brings you here?” “I hope I’m not disturbing you, but if you have time now, I would like to ask you a few questions. You know, for my article!” The boy’s smile widened, his notebook and pen already ready by his food tray. “Is this for like, the school newspaper or something?” “Nope!” he shook his head, that shiny grin growing wider. “It’s for an actual magazine! Cosmarepolitan, have you heard of it?” Silver had heard of it. Her mother liked to use it and other such glossies as kindling in the fireplace on cold winter nights. “Fine,” Silver said, finding the thread of love that Trenderhoof had exposed when he had been talking about his magazine. “Why not.” “Excellent!” The next few minutes were spent answering all kinds of questions the boy threw at her, like why her mother had kept her a secret, why only her sister was being homeschooled, why they chose to enroll her here at CPA, and even what her favorite food was. Silver Rose answered as well as she could, making sure all her replies lined up with the alibi she and her family had developed. “Thank you so much, Silver!” the boy said, barely able to contain his happiness. “This was a great scoop! If you ever need anything, help with anything, feel free to ask! I owe you one.” “I’ll keep that in mind,” Silver inhaled deeply as Trenderhoof left her table, her tongue picking up on the gratitude that the boy had left in his wake. Not as filling or sweet as love, but certainly far better fare than she’d been fed so far today. As she sat there finishing up her lunch, Silver Rose only had so much time to herself before a group of three girls arrived, sitting across from her without lunch in their hands. Silver remembered the girl, Sugarcoat, from before, but she hadn’t talked to the other two yet, though she did recall seeing them in one or two of her classes. One of them had purple hair tied up into a ponytail, while the other had short mulberry hair, along with a flashy sun-like hairclip on her head. Each of them had a shield-like badge on their attires, with a dark lightning bolt in the middle. “So, Silver Rose,” the mulberry haired girl spoke, folding her arms as she leaned her elbows on the table. “How’s your first day at school been so far?” Silver could smell pride all over her, as well as a tinge of superiority. She clearly thought she was better than her. That wouldn’t have bothered Silver, but the other girl was also radiating off some hostility, which didn’t taste all that good. She definitely wasn’t here to welcome her to school. “It’s been fine so far,” Silver said with a courteous nod of her head. “Not quite the same as with my private tutors, but hey, that’s how school is, right?” “Private tutors?” the girl scoffed. “Well, that’s how it is when you’ve got everything taken care for you, isn’t it? I’m sure you think you’re levels above us, is that right?” “Not necessarily,” Silver said evenly. “I’m sure that I have much to learn about Crystal Prep,” Silver got to her feet and extended a hand. “But I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage. Who are you girls?” “We’ve met,” Sugarcoat said, but didn’t extend her hand. “Sugarcoat. You know me, I know you, so we don’t need to say anything.” “I’m Sour Sweet, how nice to meet you!” The girl with the purple ponytail took her hand and shook it firmly. “Don’t you forget that.” The one in the middle didn’t get up, nor did she accept Silver’s hand. “I’m Sunny Flare, and don’t think me giving you my name means anything. Let me tell you something, Silver Rose. Around here, we’re the best of the best. Don’t even think for one second that you’re better than us, because we’ll prove you wrong. We don’t care if you’re the daughter of an acclaimed actress. Out here, you’re on your own. No connections.” After that mouthful, she got up and straightened her blazer before turning around and strutting off with Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet following behind shortly after. Silver Rose sat there, tasting a whole cocktail of pride, ambition, and even a slight tinge of jealousy instead of her meatloaf, wincing as she watched the girls leave. Most of the cafeteria had turned to look at her, but Silver did her best to ignore their stares, instead, concentrating on her lunch, which was almost done. The meatloaf was a far cry from her usual lunches back at the estate, but Silver managed to finish it all just as the bell rang for them to head back to class. Food was food, after all. She hoped the rest of the day would go by smoothly without another incident like this.