//------------------------------//
// Arc 22-2: What a Miserable Life This Is 
// Story: My Little Pony: One as a Family.  "Trials of Friendship" 
// by SaburoDaimando 
//------------------------------//


	What A Miserable Life This Is



A loud scream echoed through Canterlot Castle in the early morning, shaking the foundation.  Inside, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Eleanor Young and Majordomo Kibitz ran through the halls, looking around frantically.
"They're gone," Princess Celestia yelled.  "All of them.”
“Where are they?” Princess Luna shouted, looking around.  
“Wanda, Sunset, Pinkie, Starlight,” Princess Cadance shouted.
“I’m afraid I see no sign of any of them,“ Eleanor Young explained.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Princess Celestia said.  “Last night, we tucked them all into bed to prepare for a new day, and now they’re gone.”
“I have to agree, “Majordomo Kibitz said. “It’s not like for the little ones to step away in the middle of the night.”
“Maybe they’ve gone to the Golden Land,” Princess Luna said.
“I’m afraid not,” Princess Celestia explained.  “The ground bridge portal to the Golden Land is only activated by you, me, Princess Cadance or Chancellor Cinch.  There is no way they can go into the Golden Land.”
“Well where do you supposed they are?” Princess Luna asked.
“I’m not sure,” Princess Celestia said.  “It’s not like Wanda or the other kids to just disappear without a trace.  Besides, Pinkie Pie wanted to open a second Sugar Cube Corner shop here in Canterlot.”
Suddenly, they heard the sound of a doorbell go off at the Grand Foyer.  Princess Celestia immediately darted towards the door while Luna, Cadance, Eleanor and Kibitz followed from behind.
“Sister,” Princess Luna shouted.  “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to check to see if that’s Wanda or the others at the door,” Princess Celestia said.  “Wait here.”
As Luna, Cadance, Kibitz and Eleanor came to a stop, Princess Celestia bolted down the hall to the Grand Foyer, where she walked up to the entrance and opened the door.
“Wanda, is that you?” Princess Celestia asked.
But Wanda was not outside.   Instead, Shining Armor, Silver Banks, Firelight Glimmer and Canter Zoom stood out there in complete distress.
“I’m not Wanda,” Shining Armor said.  “But we have a situation on our hooves.”
“What happened?” Princess Celestia asked.
“It’s Twili,” Shining Armor replied.  “Last night, I decided to stay with mom, dad, Twilight and Spike at the hospital.  But when I woke up, Twilight was gone, and I felt a little woozy when I opened my eyes.  The same happened to mom and dad.”
“Twilight’s missing?” Princess Celestia said.  “I don’t believe this.”
“I can also report that my own daughter Golden Lace has disappeared,” Silver Banks said.  “She came home from your palace last night in a good mood, and when I woke up somehow in a drowsy mood, I realized she was gone.”
“I brought Canter Zoom here because he’s having a problem down in La Maresa,” Firelight Glimmer said as Canter Zoom stepped forward.
“Sometime after I got done with my recent studio work, I took my niece home and tucked her into bed,” Canter Zoom said.  “When I somehow woke up still feeling tired, my niece was gone.  Even worse, the interior of my studio was trashed completely.  Now I don’t know where Juniper Montage is and the entire shoot is ruined.”
As Canter Zoom broke down crying, Firelight Glimmer held him tight and looked up at Princess Celestia.
“Oh no,” Princess Celestia said.  “Now this problem has gotten even worse than I expected.”
“What do you mean by that, Princess?” Firelight Glimmer said.
“I’m afraid to say this to you,” Princess Celestia explained.  “But every youngling that was in this castle had disappeared, including your daughter Starlight Glimmer.”
Firelight’s jaw dropped down.  He released his hold from Canter Zoom before screaming into the air.
“STARLIGHT IS GONE?” Firelight yelled.
“I don’t know why she’s gone missing,” Princess Celestia explained.  “Nor do we know why Wanda and the others are gone.  Even Abigail and Spike have gone missing.”
“Princess,” Firelight said in a panic.  “I trusted you to look after Starlight Glimmer, and now she’s gone.  What do you have to say about that?”
“Easy Mr Glimmer,” Shining Armor said.  “I already lost Twili and Spike and they were close to us when they were taken away.  Same with Mr Banks and Mr Zoom with their respective kids.”
“He’s right,” Princess Celestia said.  “We need to find out what happened to the missing youngsters and get them back.”
But before Firelight Glimmer could say anything, his phone began to ring.  Firelight pulled his video phone out of his pocket, tapped the screen and placed it near his ear.
“Firelight Glimmer speaking,” Firelight said.  “Do you have any news about my missing daughter?”
“We do not,” The voice on the phone said.  “But I’m afraid I have some bad news.  Someone broke into the graveyard of Sire’s Hollow and destroyed your brother-in-law’s gravestone.”
Firelight Glimmer allowed the phone to drop from his hoof before falling down onto his knees.  His eyes looked watery as he struggled to hold it in.
“Mr Glimmer,” Princess Celestia said.  “Are you…..alright?”
Shining Armor held Firelight close before turning towards Princess Celestia.
“Princess,” Shining Armor said.  “We need to form a search party to find out where they’ve gone, and get them back before it’s too late.”
“On it,” Princess Celestia said.
Immediately, Princess Celestia pulled out her video phone and tapped the screen for a bit.  Immediately, Prince Blueblood showed up on the video screen.
“Aunt Celestia,” Prince Blueblood said.  “You looked distressed.”
“I’m afraid I have some bad news,” Princess Celestia explained.  “The younglings that I have been looking after including your cousins Wanda Young and Sunset Shimmer, along with Twilight Sparkle, Golden Lace, and Juniper Montage, have gone missing since last night.  I need you to form a search party to locate where they’ve gone.  Can you do that?”
“I can do so,” Prince Blueblood said.  “But we also need the help of the Wonderbolts to make sure we get them back.”
“Will do,” Princess Celestia said.  “I’ll contact Chancellor Cinch to inform the public about their disappearance and Captain Airazor to help you look for them.”
“Don’t you worry, Princess,” Prince Blueblood said. “We’ll get them back.  Blueblood out.”
As Prince Blueblood disappeared from the screen, Princess Luna ran up to Princess Celestia.
“Sister,” Princess Luna asked.  “What happened?”
“Dear sister,” Princess Celestia explained.  “I’m afraid our missing youngling situation has just gotten worse with the confirmed disappearance of three more younglings: Juniper Montage, Golden Lace and my faithful student Twilight Sparkle.”
“What are we going to do now?” Princess Luna asked.
“Contact Argyle Starshine and give him the lesson plan for the four remaining students at school today,” Princess Celestia said.  “I’ll let Chancellor Cinch and Captain Airazor to inform them of their disappearance.”
“Will do,” Princess Luna said.   “It’s going to take all of us to get them back.”
“It will,” Celestia said.

But back at Daisy Joy Tech, tens of hundreds of  students marched slowly through the hallways, depressed and joyless.  Many of them walked into separate classrooms as if their mood was broken completely.
In one of them, Wanda Young, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Golden Lace, Juniper Montage, Misty Brightdawn, Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk sat in separate chairs, nervous about their day.  Behind them were three earth ponies, each with cuffs attached to their hooves.  One had a light greenish gray coat, a shaggy moderate aquamarine mane and tail, and a potted plant for a cutie mark.  One had a very light yellow coat, a mane and tail consisted of a grayish crime to light magneta gray and light gray streaks, and a cutie mark consisted of three leaves and five berries.  The third had a pale amaranth coat, a mane and tail consisting of two shades of moderate raspberry, and a daisy for a cutie mark.
“Wow,” Wanda said.  “We’re the only ones here.”
“And truth be told, I thought the school wasn’t as dark and dreadful as it used to be,” Golden Lace said.
“What do you mean, Lace?” Twilight asked.
“Before my dad took me and Juniper away from here, the school only pretended to have a pleasant feeling that gave that illusion,” Golden Lace said.  “Now it just resembles something worse than a prison.”
“You mean like the infamous Al-Colt-traz?” Starlight asked.
“Far worse,” Misty said.  “I once went on a tour with big brother Sombra into Al-Colt-traz.  It was a very depressing place to be in.  And yet, this place makes Al-Colt-traz look like a paradise.”
“To think, they tried to sugarcoat this place when we were last here,” Juniper Montage said.  “Guess they’ve stopped trying altogether.”
“Hey Lace, Juniper,” Starlight asked.  “Who are the three ponies behind us?”
“Actually, I also know who these three are,” Misty replied, pointing to the three earth ponies who were only minding themselves.
“The first one in green, that’s Wallflower Blush,” Juniper Montage said.
“The second one with a yellow coat is Vignette Valencia,” Golden Lace said.
“And the magenta-color pony is Gloriosa Daisy,” Misty Brightdawn said.
Starlight Glimmer attempted to get up from her desk, only to be pulled back down for some reason.  She attempted again, but to no avail.
“Those desks are magically enhanced to keep the person seated,” Misty explained, much to Starlight’s disappointment.  “You won’t be able to get up until the teacher disables them.”
“Well that’s a bummer,” Sonata Dusk said.  “How the hay are we supposed to use the bathroom if we can’t move from our seats?”
“That’s not possible without the teacher’s say-so,” Misty explained.  “And the teachers normally don’t do that.”
“Oh for crying out loud,” Pinkie Pie shouted.  “Even the La Maresa school wasn’t that cruel.”
Sunset Shimmer looked at Wallflower Blush, who just stared down at her own desk.
“Excuse me, Wallflower,” Sunset said.
But Wallflower Blush ignored Sunset Shimmer’s voice and continued her focus on the desk.
“If you’re trying to get Wallflower’s attention, don’t bother,” Vignette Valencia said.  “She’s not one who speaks much.”
Twilight Sparkle turned to Golden Lace and asked “Lace, weren’t you friends with those three?”
“We were,” Golden Lace said.  “But I think after Juniper and I left thanks to Princess Luna and my father, we wound up unintentionally abandoning them.”
“She’s got that right,” Gloriosa Daisy said, causing Twilight to turn towards her.  “We felt abandoned by Golden lace and Juniper Montage when they left Daisy Joy Tech.  Since then, the headmare turned this place into an absolute prison with the intent of making everyone miserable.  In fact, she even hired a warden and an officer from the place formerly known as the Coltsom Detention Facility to help turn this school into a real prison.”
“That is despicable,” Wanda said.  “How come no one knows about what happened to this place?”
“You can thank the bureaucrats for that,” Vignette Valencia explained.  “The Senators, the press, and the ponies of Manehattan were either bribed or blackmailed into keeping their silence about this place.  Even the most Canterweb savvy of ponies were silenced when they found out about this place.”
“What about the parents who find out about the truth?” Aria Blaze asked.
“My parents were committed to an insane asylum after they learned about its transformation and tried to get me pulled out,” Vignette Valencia said. 
“Mines have gone into hiding after they found out about this place,” Gloriosa Daisy said.  “I just want to see if big brother is alright.”
“I don’t like this place, one bit,” Adagio Dazzle said.  “A school that treats its students like literal prisoners, and no one is allowed to talk about this place.  What kind of insane place is this?”
“My dear, it’s a lot worse than you can imagine.” Everyone turned their attention to the teacher’s desk, where Officer Blue Heat marched on over and sat down with a smug grin on his face.
“That’s the teacher?” Wanda asked.
“Officer Blue Heat is one of the many Coltsom guards who now occupy this school,” Misty said.  “And he enjoys failing students.  We often call him Blue Grin.”
As everyone looked at Officer Blue Heat, he got up from his seat and pulled some papers out.
“Okay class,” Blue Heat said.  “You have a test today and I expect it to be done in ten minutes.  It should be a simple one.  Once your test is on your table, you are to start on it right away.  No cheating, though it wouldn’t matter if you cheated or not.”
With his grin still in plain view, Blue Heat got up and placed the test on each desk, plus a number 2 pencil.   Each youngling immediately picked up their pencil and looked down at it in confusion.  But when Golden Lace looked down, her eyes looked puzzled.
“What in the world?” Golden Lace said.  
“They didn’t even provide us with the material to study for this test,” Misty explained as Blue Heat placed her test paper down.  “It’s like this for everyone.”
As Blue Heat placed Wanda’s test down on her desk, Wanda picked up her pencil and looked down, only to crack a small smile.
“Strange,” Wanda thought to herself.  “For some reason, I know all of these answers.”
Wanda immediately placed her pencil down on the paper and began to mark in her answers as Blue Heat placed more tests on the desks of the other students.  Blue Heat turned to Wanda and looked intrigued.
“Hmm, I underestimate this one,” Blue Heat said.  “For a Man’s Cub, she has a good sign of intelligence.  But does it matter if she’s smart or stupid?  I see no difference between the two.”
After Blue Heat placed the last test on the desk, the other ponies looked down and picked up their pencils, struggling to mark their tests down with the exception of Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer.
“This isn’t hard,” Twilight said.  “I know a good portion of these answers.  How hard could this be?”
As the other ponies carefully marked in their answers, Wanda marked her last part of the test before flipping the paper over and placing the pencil down.  Blue Heat, noticing Wanda’s speed and efficiency, walked up to Wanda’s desk and picked up the test.
“Done already?” Blue Heat said.  “You’re pretty fast for a Man’s Cub.”
But Wanda said nothing as she looked down at her desk, ignoring Blue Heat’s response.  Blue Heat kept his smile bare as he walked back up to the desk.

Later, after everyone had finished their tests, Blue Heat looked over the tests while the entire class sat there, nervously.  He looked up at the students with his grin even more sinister.
“I’m sorry to have to say this,” Blue Heat said.  “But I’m afraid you all…FAILED!”
“What?” Sunset Shimmer yelled.
Immediately, Blue Heat pulled out a giant stamp and stamped all of the tests with the word “FAILED” on it.  He picked those tests back up and walked them back to the students before tossing them on the desk.
“Told ya,” Misty said.  “It doesn’t matter if you know the material or not, he’ll still fail you like how the teachers here fail every student in this school.”
“She’s right,” Blue Heat said as he placed Wanda’s test back on the desk.  “It wouldn’t even matter if you were the smartest pony in the universe, or the smartest ape, I would have still failed you even if you knew all of the answers.  Though I’ll have to give credit to the chimp for getting the fastest time on today’s test.  It was a rather amusing form of entertainment.”
“ENTERTAINMENT?” Adagio Dazzle yelled, catching everyone’s attention.
“Sister, not in front of the class,” Aria Blaze said.
“My dear, are you being disruptive?” Blue Heat said, amused.  
“Oh that’s an understatement,” Adagio Dazzle said.  “We were taken from our homes with no warning, put in this miserable place without Princess Celestia’s consent and are forced to take tests on the assumption that we will fail regardless?  This isn’t a school.  In fact, even a prison is more pleasant than this mess.”
Blue Heat just laughed before he said “Oh I’m sorry.  But I’m afraid that’s grounds for….DETENTION!”
As Blue Heat walked back to his desk, Adagio yelled “DON’T YOU DETENTION ME YOU SORRY SACK OF TRASH!  YOU ARE AMONGST THE WORST PONIES I’VE EVER MET AND…”
“Oh cool it,” Blue Heat smirked with his hoof over a button.  “Anyway, enjoy your time in detention.”
With one press of the button, Adagio Dazzle’s desk moved from its position, carrying the earth pony with it.  Adagio screamed as the front door opened and the desk carried her out of the room and down the hallway.  Everyone sans Misty, Wallflower, Vignette and Gloriosa just stood there as Adagio Dazzle left the room.
“Sister, no,” Sonata Dusk yelled as she reached out.
“Are there any more objections?” Blue Heat asked.
Everyone just stood there, completely quiet.
“Very good,” Blue Heat said.  “Now let us prepare for our lesson plan for today.”
As Blue Heat reached below the desk to pull some papers out, Wanda turned towards Aria Blaze, who’s trying to calm a crying Sonata Dusk.
“That was our leader,” Sonata Dusk cried.  “She told us what to do and now she’s gone.”
“So this is what happens to ponies who act out of line?” Wanda asked.
“It is,” Gloriosa Daisy said.  “Sometimes, the teacher will pull you into detention for his own amusement.”
Starlight sighed and said “Now how are we going to get out of this mess?”
“I wonder what mom and dad are thinking about me being gone?”  Pinkie Pie said.
“The same can be said of the parents who care for us, Pinkie,” Golden Lace said.  “And I know the one parent I can truly blame for getting us in this mess.”
“Gold Banks,” Juniper Montage said.  “What she did wasn’t nice.”
“You’re right on that, Juniper,” Golden Lace said.

Later that day in the Headmare’s Office, Officer Blue Heat knocked on her door, causing Ms Honey Twist to open it.
“This better be good,” Ms Honey Twist said.
“I think you’ll be surprised, headmare,” Officer Blue Heat said.  “Check the info for Wanda Young’s test after I failed her and the rest of those delinquents.”
Ms Honey Twist swung the door open as Officer Blue Heat walked into the office.  She sat down in her chair and typed a few buttons on her personal computer.  The screen turned on, pointing to Princess Wanda Young’s own test with the word “FAIL” on it.  But when Ms Honey Twist looked closely at her answers, she looked surprised.
“Well, it looks like we have an actual valedictorian on our hooves,” Ms Honey Twist said.
“Three of the other new students have almost similar test scores,” Blue Heat said.  “But I’m more curious about the intelligence of that monkey.”
“So am I, regardless of the fact that you failed her,” Ms Honey Twist said.
“As per your orders, Headmare,” Blue Heat explained.
“As per my orders,” Honey Twist said, curious.  “And I am also aware that a pony yelled out an objection to this policy and she was sent to detention.”
“Confirmed,” Blue Heat said.
“Perhaps it may be time for this orangutan to join her friend in detention through an incident that is no fault of her own,” Ms Honey Twist said.
With a few more presses of the button from Ms Honey Twist, Marcie Pan and Fawn Doo showed up on the main screen, turning their attention to the Headmare of the school.
“You called, Headmare?” Marcie Pan asked.
“Lunchtime will be soon, my precious,” Ms Honey Twist said.  “I want you both to start an intentional food fight there and make sure you blame the human known as Wanda Young in the process.  I’ll be waiting.”
“It will be done, Headmare,” Fawn Doo said before they disappeared from the monitor.
Ms Honey Twist turned towards Blue Heat with a smile on her face.
“I want you to inform your partner Warden Steel Bolt to prepare to arrest Princess Wanda for starting a food fight,” Ms Honey Twist said.  
“It will be done,” Blue Heat said.
“And one last thing,” Ms Honey Twist said.  “Once the deed is done, bring Marcie Pan and Fawn Doo up here as well.  I have a surprise for them that will catch them off guard.”
Officer Blue Heat smiled even more and said “Headmare, I know what you’re talking about, and I can’t wait to do that.”
As Officer Blue Heat walked out of the room before closing the door, Ms Honey Twist sat there, anticipating the moment.
“Enjoy your last moments as Junior Wardens, Marcie Pan and Fawn Doo, for your usefulness is at an end,” Ms Honey Twist said.

Meanwhile, far away from Daisy Joy Tech, in the ruins of the Coltsom Detention Facility, Hoops, Dumbbell, Score, Flim and Flam just sat there, relaxing and observing the silence.
“This is life,” Hoops said.  “No rules.  No responsibilities.   No worries.  We’ve got this place all to ourselves.”
“And we still have plenty of food rations left in this prison,” Flim said.  
“Maybe we should go out and swipe some food when we run out,” Score said.
“That might be something,” Hoops said.  “Or maybe we should go to Zephyr Heights and spray paint on the walls there.”
“Yeah, but wouldn’t that upset Princess Wanda?” Dumbbell asked.
“That would,” Hoops said.  “But then again, we’re the irredeemable Scrappies and she’s just one ruler.  She needs to realize that we’re not meant to be living the same life she was.”
Suddenly, Rolling Thunder and Short Fuse burst into the mess hall, holding up a video tablet with a news report on it.
“Hey Hoops,” Rolling Thunder said.  “Get a load of this news.”
Rolling Thunder flew up to Hoops and gave him the video tablet.  Hoops looked down and his face was caught off guard.
“Princesses gone missing,” Hoops read.  “Wanda, Sunset, and various other fillies vanished without a trace.”
“Do you suppose it’s related to the bill that Gold Banks wanted to pass?” Short Fuse asked.
“You mean the one that forced Wanda to attend Daisy Joy Tech if they passed it?” Flam asked.
“Exactly,” Hoops replied.  “The very place where two of the students broke out and they were declared expelled.”
“Do you think they were taken there out of spite?” Score asked.
Hoops jumped up onto his four hooves and said “I have a feeling they might.  The stupid adults can’t tell the forests from the trees.”
“Maybe we should go there and trash the place up like we did here at Coltsom?” Rolling Thunder said.  “Besides, I heard Warden Steel Bolt and Officer Blue Heat are working there.”
“Great idea,” Hoops said.  “Let’s go down there and cause a scene they won’t forget.”
Hoops, Dumbbell, Score, Flim, Flam, Rolling Thunder and Short Fuse got themselves ready before they ran down to the end of the mess hall ruins and out the door.  They ran as far as they could until they left the abandoned building and out of the gates of the Coltsom Facility ruins.
“To Daisy Joy Tech,” Hoops announced.  “Let’s have the best fun we’ve ever had.”
“YOU SAID IT!”  The other Scrappies cheered.


	To Be Continued in…


	The Price of Detention