//------------------------------//
// Ch 2-The New Student 
// Story: The Mystics 
// by TheMysticBrony 
//------------------------------//


The New Student


        Fang blinks at the young mare in front of him and, with a soft smile, helps her up onto her hooves. He looks into her big purple eyes that seem to pierce through his very being. 
Wow, her eyes are beautiful, Fang thinks as her voice soon snaps him back to reality.
        "My name’s Scootaloo, w-what's yours?" Scootaloo says, looking at him, but turns her gaze towards Apple Bloom. 
        "My name is Fang. It’s nice to meet you, Scootaloo." Fang looks at her, then at the mares next to her and smiles softly as Scootaloo, who quickly realizes she hasn't introduce her friends.
        "Oh yea, these are my friends, Sweetie Belle—" She points one of her wings toward Sweetie Belle who smiles, "and Apple Bloom—" pointing her other wing at Apple Bloom as she tilts her hat in greeting. 
Nodding in greeting to them both, Fang looks at the clock that hangs overhead underneath the banner at the entrance, before turning back to the mares in front of him and politely saying, "I am happy to meet the three of you, but I need to get to my room. I am pretty beat from the train ride here. Maybe I will see you girls later?" 
He smiles once more before picking his saddlebag up and walking up the stairs. He gets half way up the stairs, before turning around to see the three mares speaking to Twilight in hushed tones. Scootaloo glances over her shoulder to look at him but quickly turns away, seeing him turn around, looking down at her. She trots quickly out the door with, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle follow close behind her, waving  to Twilight as they go. 
        Fang watches them go before making his way up the stairs, repeating what Twilight mentioned to him earlier, "Okay, go up the stairs then turn left and follow the hallway..." 
Turning to the left, he follows the hallway. As he looks around, he notices several rooms with large marble doors with number printed above the doors. Numbers from 200-220 range to his left but only odd while his right has evens. The hallway sparkles with colors of red and blue from the windows at the end of the hallway. Astonished by the beauty of the scene, Fang's mind spins with happiness and warmth. 
He shakes his head as he remembers what he was trying to do in the first place, "After I turn left, it should be the third door on my left." 
He counts the doors until he comes to door number 203. Looking down at the key, the number 203 can be seen etched in the hilt. Unlocking the massive marble door, he opens it with a mere push, revealing a medium-size room. As he trots in, he notices a bathroom is toward his right with everything he could need. From uni-soap bars, toilet, and shower with a sliding glass door and shower handle. He looks around the room seeing a double bed with a wooden, but sturdy, headboard. The linings are a bright white with deep purple bed sheet and pillows neatly tucked in next to the frame. Fang sets his saddlebag in the closet across the bed and turns around to see a small kitchen with a stove, microwave, and four cupboards. A medium-sized fridge sits next to the stove. 
        Fang smiles and walks over to a window, pushing its purple shades aside, allowing the moonlight shines to coat the room in a soft white glow. Yawning, Fang crawls into the bed. The stars stay in sight as Fang slowly closes his eyes, letting sleep take him. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        The class chatter rings in Scootaloo's ears in Magic History. She sits at the edge of the class next to Apple Bloom and  Sweetie Belle who are talking about the club sign-ups for next year’s semester.
        "I'm definitely going to be captain of the martial arts team this time! Flare better watch out cause I'm not holding back!" Apple Bloom exclaims with determination.
        Sweetie Belle softly laughs at her friend’s enthusiasm, " Oh yea, he better watch his back! I hope more ponies sign up for the chorus. We could really use another solo singer. Heck, maybe even a colt will sign up."
        Scootaloo chuckles, joining in the conversation, "That would be a first. No colt that I know would join the chorus even if their colt-hood was on the line." The three friends share in a laugh giving off soft smiles. 
A cough interrupts the class's chatter as Mr.Hoofstein walks in with his nose and head up with a cup of coffee floating beside him, only to set it on his desk. He looks to the class and clears his throat before putting his glasses on. "Good afternoon, class. Before we start today's lesson, I would like to introduce a new student." He turns and ushers in the student with his hoof. 
Scootaloo puts her hoof on her cheek, bored, but soon snaps her head up as Fang walks into the room wearing a new, blue saddlebag. He stops next to Mr.Hoofstein and picks up a stick of chalk, writing his name on the chalkboard. He then turns and bows to the class, saying, "Hello, my name is Fang. It’s nice to meet all of you."He straightens back up and smiles.
What is he doing here? Scootaloo thinks to herself as she looks at him, straightening herself up. Her heart speeds up and her ears lay down onto her head. She hears giggling and snaps out of the spell she seemed to be under. She turns and notices Apple Bloom leaning toward her.
        "Some pony has a crush," she smirks at Scootaloo. 
        "I do not!" Scootaloo glares at Apple Bloom, getting red in the face, turning away with a grumble.
        "I was only playing with ya," AppleBloom softly nudges her, giving off a smile, then turns back toward the front.
Mr. Hoofstein looks at Fang, ushering, "Fang, why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"
Fang nods with a smile. "Sure, hmm... let’s see. Well, I am 18 years of age. I tend to enjoy traveling to see different things. I like hot weather, but I guess what my favorite thing to do is meet new ponies." 
        The class gives their greetings before Fang starts walking over to a free seat up in the third row and sits down. He looks around then opens his notebook, listening to the lesson. Scootaloo stares at him puzzled. 
Why is he here? A colt that we just met yesterday enrolls to our high school the next day? She shrugs and closes her eyes to take her scheduled nap of the day. Maybe I am just overthinking this. Whatever. He is just another colt in the school.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The bell rings as Mr. Hoofstein finishes his lesson over magic used in the cave pony era. Fang writes the last of his notes before trotting out of the class, behind the rest of his classmates. He looks around the hallways, seeing colts and mares alike walk back and forth to classes and events. He takes a deep breath in the new atmosphere of being in high school. I never thought it would feel so.. different being a student. He thinks as he turns around and starts walking down the hallway soaking in everything from voices, smells and different color ponies. He passes a large bulletin board but suddenly stops and trots back. He looks up, seeing letters and flyers for different club sign-ups. There were what seemed like hundreds to pick from. Looking over them, he sees advertisements for the chess club, chorus, band and several sports teams that just made his head spin.
Maybe I should sign-up for some of these. It would make getting used to this school thing easier for sure, but which ones should I choose? He thinks as he looks them over. As he looks, his eyes jump from one to another then stops. He smiles taking down a flyer for the school’s martial arts club. It reads:, "Looking to show off your skills in martial arts? Well, this club is for you! Tryouts for belts today and tomorrow, so don't miss them!
"This is perfect! I am a bit rusty after all," he says with a smile. He hears some hoofs come up behind him and turns around. A colt with a light red coat and orange mane with a yellow stripe going down the middle and a sharp red horn, trots up and chuckles looking at Fang then the flyer. 
        "Oh, you shouldn't waste your time newbie. That club is for the strongest ponies in the school, not  some little weakling that just transfered," he gives off a smirk as two more colts get on either side of Fang, snickering. Fang glances around to look at the one to his left seeing a light purple shade of his coat and blue mane. His cutie mark is a spiral with a horseshoe in the middle. The one to Fang’s right has practically the same color coat but with a dark purple mane. His cutie mark showing a four leaf clover with a horseshoe. Fang sets down the flyer as his shoulders tense up from being surrounded by the three colts.
If they want to cause trouble, I'm not going down without giving them some bruises to remember me by. Fang thinks as they snicker at him.
 "Hey, back off, Flare! " The red-coated colt turns his head and chuckles as both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom step between him and Fang. "I knew you were a coward, but come on! You guys would start a fight over some pony picking up a flyer? Well, if you mess with him you mess with us!" she exclaims as Scootaloo joins in on the left side of Fang. With a moment of silence, Flare looks at the mares in front of him and laughs, flicking around.
        "Oh come off it, Apple Bloom! We were just having fun with the new kid" As he starts to walk away, both his goons nudge Fang in the shoulder as they walk by.
        Fang relaxes his muscles and takes a breath from the tension lifting off his shoulders. He nods to Apple Bloom with a smile. "Thank you, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. So what’s that colt’s problem anyway? All I did was look at the flyer."
"He is just a bully who thinks he owns the school because he is captain of the martial arts club. But this time I'm gonna beat him!" Apple Bloom says as she puffs out her chest. Scootaloo picks up the flyer behind Fang and hands it back to him. 
Nodding his thanks, Fang puts it in his saddlebag as Scootaloo asks, "So are you gonna try-out? I bet you could shut him up." 
"Yea, I am. Especially after he thought he could push me around like that. Well, if I knew where the tryouts were, that is." Fang rubs the back of his head with his hoof with a soft chuckle. 
Apple Bloom takes his other hoof and pulls him toward where the Flare walked away and says, "I can show you, I mean I'm going to tryout after all." She looks back at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. "You two want to come along and watch? School hours are over anyway."
"I can't, I need to get to the chorus auditions. Whoa! Speaking of which, I need to go!" She starts running down the halls and turns left, waving a goodbye to her friends.
Scootaloo walks up to them and shrugs, saying, "Sure I can go. I have nothing else better to do anyway." 
They begin walking toward the gymnasium. Within minutes, they are able to hear cheers and whistles. Fang looks up at the red gymnasium doors before reaching his hoof out to push them open. Almost immediately he sees two ponies fighting one on one on a mat with white tape making a boundary around the two ponies. They walk over to an older, grey stallion with a black mane and a cut going across his lower front hoof. He blows his whistle as a colt hits the mat. 
The stallion raises his hoof, looking down at a clip board, and calls out, "The match is over! Good fight you two. Alright, the next two fighters are Lucky and Marco." He waits until both colts are ready then blows the whistle again, starting the fight. Each of them throw blows of both kicks and punches. 
Fang watches them then turns to Apple Bloom,asking,"Are there any rules I need to know about before I have my fight? Like no below the belt or something?"
Apple Bloom turns yelling in reply over the cheers and boos, "The rules aren't that hard to remember, but most of the time they don't really matter. The rules of fighting in this school are no hits below the waist and if a pony gets knocked out of the ring they lose. Also, if one pony gets knocked off his or her hooves before a finishing blow can occur, then they lose as well." Fang nods, looking back to the ring as the fighters continue, but is interrupted by the whistle ringing in his ear.
        "Okay, that’s enough! Everyone take 5 and the try-outs will continue."The stallion turns around, sees their group and trots over. "You here to try-out, son? I need somepony to go up against Flare in the final match.”
        "Hey, what about me coach? I wanted to fight Flare!" Apple Bloom says.
        "Apple Bloom, you are the toughest mare in this entire school. You are already in my list of ponies to make it. Besides, you fought against Milky Way last try-out.”
Apple Bloom laughs and tilts her hat, "That is true. Oh well." She nudges Fang softly in the shoulder "Kick his little ass for me, won't ya?"
"Good, now do you know all the rules of the way we fight at the school?" Coach asks. Fang nods at Coach then turns to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.
        "You two gonna watch my match?" 
        "Oh yea, this is something I can't miss!" says Apple Bloom. 
        "Eh, I guess." says Scootaloo. 
Fang smiles at them both as they walk up into the stands and sit down. Fang’s stomach starts filling up with butterflies from being so nervous. 
Is this excitement? Or am I just really nervous?  He thinks as he looks up at the mares. His eyes wander over to Scootaloo trying to see if any excitement or smile would sprout onto her face. Before he could find out, the sound of voices began to fill the room as the ponies begin to fill up the gym stands once again, screaming as if at a concert. But when the fighters from earlier trot in, the crowd hushes rather quickly. 
It remains silent as Flare walks in with a red sweat jacket on. He grins as he walks onto the mat. The crowd goes wild in cheers as he raises his hoofs in the air. He blows kisses up to the stands off screaming mares, yelling his name so loud that they almost blowout Fang’s eardrum. The spectators then begin chanting his name. The coach nudges Fang out to the mats with his hoof, blowing his whistle to silence the crowd. 
"Alright, for the final fight for today's try-outs is between our previous captain, Flare..." When he says his name, the spectators scream and cheer, making the coach blow hard on his whistle to quiet everypony again before continuing, "And a brand new student Fang!" The crowd howls at a loud "boo" as Fang walks into the circle, turning to face Flare.                
        "You can do it, Fang! Kick his ass!" Fang looks up to see that Scootaloo and Apple Bloom cheer down to him. He smiles at them and nods, focusing his gaze on his opponent. He stands up on his hind legs and gets into a stance. He stands sideways with one front leg bent towards his back while the other points toward Flare. 
Flare smirks, standing up on his hind legs and slamming his front hooves together, "So you showed up after all, Fang. Well, I guess I have to beat you down in front of all these ponies."
Fang looks back at him without saying another word as the whistle is blown for them to begin. They begin to walk slowly in a circle never taking their eyes one another before Flare jumps in, throwing a right hook, only to be blocked as Fang moves his shoulder, leaning into Flare, hitting him in the chest with four left jabs before uppercutting him with his right hoof. Coughing, Flare jumps back, whipping his hoof across his chest, but before he could strike back, Fang lunges at him, swinging a roundhouse kick towards Flare's head. Luckily for him, Flare ducks in time but doesn't notice the quick low kick, knocking him off his hooves making him land on his face. Flare furiously looks up only to see Fang, who recovers his balance after the low kick, then throws a punch down at Flare, only to be stopped before it hits his eye, sending a gust of air blowing past Flare’s mane with great force. Stunned, Flare's head falls back down onto the mat as his nose bleeds from hitting the mat from the quick low kick that was delivered. 
        The coach blows the whistle and shouts, "That’s it! Fang, you win the tryout match!" 
Fang looks up at the bleachers only to hear stunned silence except from Apple Bloom and Scootaloo who run up to him.
"Wow! Where did you learn to fight so well? I mean no pony has ever caught Flare off guard like that before!" Apple Bloom says with excited eyes, practically dancing.
"Seriously, looking at you, Fang! I wouldn't have thought that you had that in ya," said Scootaloo who softly nudges him with her wing.
        "Thanks, and my father taught me how to fight. He knew a lot of hoof based fighting styles." Fang said, panting as they walk back to the sidelines. 
The coach walks over to him and holds out a hoof. "I haven't seen a fight like that in a while. You are welcome to join, Fang. We hold practices every weekend at four o'clock and we have daily workouts after school here in the gym. Don't be late." He then walks away toward Flare who still lies on the mat.
        "Awesome! I'm in!" Fang smiles as the three ponies high hoof in excitement. Scootaloo hands him a towel with her wing.
        "You know for such a quick fight, you are covered in sweat," she says with a teasing tone.
Fang takes the towel and starts whipping off the sweat on his forehead and shoulders. "Hah yea, I was a little nervous with everypony looking at me." He looks up at both of them and softly smiles. "Your cheers helped a lot, though. Thank you, guys."
Apple Bloom slugs him in the shoulder, "Don't mention it. What are friends for? Hey, we should go tell Sweetie Belle how Fang stomped Flare."
Scootaloo laughs, "She would so get a kick out of that." She grabs Fang’s leg, pulling him into a run as they race out of the gym towards the chorus room. 
"Let’s go!" Scootaloo says.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scootaloo, who is practically glued to Fang, and Apple Bloom turn down the corner they begin to hear singing and music. Scootaloo raises her ears a little bit as they get closer. "I wonder who's singing. I hope we haven't missed Sweetie Belle's turn. She always has the most upbeat music that you can dance to."
Fang's ears twitched at the idea of Sweetie Belle singing upbeat songs, "Looking at her, I thought she would sing more slow dance songs."
        "Well, you, sir, have bad guessing skills," Scootaloo teases as they push the door open to see a light green mare bowing after finishing her song and walks off stage, allowing the next mare to come on. 
As Fang walks in, he is astonished with how big the auditorium is. Thousands of rows of red, leather-coated seats going up two floors. Looking toward the sparkling wooden stage with a candy red curtain and every color light hanging down from the raptors, he spots three ponies at a table with several mares sitting behind them. More than 25 rows are filled with mares whispering to each other over the last performers’ song. 
As they walk down to sit in the front row, away from the mares, the three ponies sitting at the table call the next mare to the stage, "Sweetie Belle, it’s your turn." 
        Fang looks over toward the stage while clapping ensues as Sweetie Belle comes on stage. Apple Bloom whistles loud and sharp making Sweetie Belle turn and wave at them, giving off a large smile from seeing her friends. She then takes a deep breath and stands in front of the microphone, saying, "I wanted to sing a song that my sister Rarity used to sing to me whenever I was down on myself. I hope you enjoy it."
She begins to sing with a soft tone as lights come on, focusing on her as she closes her eyes, absorbed in the rhythm of her song. Fang closes his eyes as he listens, tapping his hoof to the beat of her music. He looks back up to her as she stands on her hind legs, clapping her free hooves together. When she does this, everyone raises theirs and does the same, clapping them together with smiles on their faces. The lights then begin to change color and circle around her as the;
Na Na Na Na Na Na
I'm no beauty queen
I'm just beautiful me
As the song pics up she raises her voice letting out a long note and picking up the tempo. Her body sways to the beat as if on an unseen river boat going down a small stream. The lights glow around her until finally they rest on her once again as she softly comes to a close in her song. She steps back then bows with a large smile going across her face. The crowd cheers and claps like rolling thunder. She steps down from the stage and walks over toward Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Fang. 
Panting, she says, "Hey guys, whatcha think?"
"You were incredible, like always!" says Scootaloo as she hoof bumps her breathless friend.
"Getting better every year. Oh, guess what Fang did to Flare during the tryouts!" Apple Bloom says, pulling Fang over to her with a hoof wrapped around his head.
"What he do?" Sweetie Belle says curiously.
"He kicked Flare's sorry ass like it was nothing! You should have seen it. He was so fast and his punches were like lightning." Scootaloo says, trying to mimic what Fang did on the chair she was sitting in before she walked over, "He was all like Bam! Blam! Sit down!" Scootaloo says with her version of jabs.
Fang rubs the back of his head, embarrassed by the praise. He turns his head, seeing one of the judges walk out of the auditorium before turning around to see his three friends laughing about the fight.
"He seriously dropped Flare so fast that he didn't even get up off the mat! Man, I wish I could have recorded that. It was amazing!" Apple Bloom said. 
Fang turns a little red from all the praise. "I wasn't that amazing. It was just a fluke that I was able to get in that close when I did." 
Scootaloo looks at him. " Pssh, please! You totally flattened him with skill." She bumps him with her side, giving off a soft smile. 
Fang smiles back at her then turns as Sweetie Belle sighs, "I was really hoping we had a colt tryout this year. No colt showed at all. They were thinking of adding some duets into the acts, but it wouldn't really work without a lower tone of voice."
        "Yea, I see what you mean, but oh well, there is always next time." says Apple Bloom, trying to encourage her disappointed friend.
Fang looks at them for a moment then toward the group of mares that were in the stands. He put his hoof to his chin in thought but is knocked back to reality as the door from outside the auditorium shuts as the judge comes back and sits down. Fang sighs before speaking, "I can try-out if you like. My mother and I would always sang short songs to pass the time." 
Sweetie Belle's head pops up, looking at him in surprise, "Wait, you sing? That’s awesome! You should so try out! It’ll be so much fun!" She runs over to the judges, grabbing Fang by the hoof. 
"Here is another pony that wants to try out, if it’s not too late." Sweetie Belle says excitedly as one of the judges nods to her with a smile, ushering him onto the stage.
Fang looks out to the crowd and freezes for a moment, then takes a deep breath, looking over at Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. He looks at Scootaloo's eyes then blinks as he takes another deep breath before beginning to sing softly. 
The lights turn  a dark blue as he sings with still air as everyone listens with attentive ears, not wanting to miss a lyric. Scootaloo listens, closing her eyes as she listens to his soothing voice, softly, tapping her hoof to the beat of his song. Her body begins to sway to his lyrics, absorbing the moment while the soft piano plays. As he finishes, she opens her eyes and meets his as he turns to face her. His eyes are clouded with some grief but he smiles and bows. As he raises his head, his warm gaze returns along with cheers and claps from his song. Sweetie Belle walks up the stage, jumping with excitement.
"That was incredible! We finally have a colt that has an amazing voice! You totally should join the chorus! Pleeeeeease!" She looks at him with large, puppy eyes as he chuckles with a smile.
        "Well alright, but I am not wearing any tights," he teasingly says as they walk down off the stage.  
Scootaloo walks up with Apple Bloom, nudging him with her shoulder. She says, "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"
Fang chuckles then smiles. My first day has been something to remember and with my new friends I hope it's everyday, Fang thinks to himself as he and his new friends walk to the exit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, in Canterlot, Celestia and Luna sit on their thrones, waiting in silence, watching their entrance door. Soon Twilight walks through, coming up to the throne, bowing before standing to speak. "You wanted to see me, Princess Celestia? Is something wrong?"
Celestia looks at Twilight and gets up, walking down to her with Luna at her side. She sighs then begins to speak, "Have you heard of the Mystics?"
        Twilight nods, "Yes, I have, I read about them when I was here. Although, the record that I read says that they were killed by  Shining Armor and you when I was only a filly."
        Celestia looks at Twilight for a moment then says, "That may be true, but we have had some reports in kingdoms throughout Equestria with some strange occurrences. When the royal guard went to investigate, the teams that were sent never returned." She looks down with her eyes closed. "When we finally found the teams, all that was left was armor and ash. Witnesses said that strange blue fires were seen and have burnt down several buildings. The fires were something they have never seen before. They couldn't be put out or even controlled. We began to track these fires and, unfortunately, it led us to something tragic..."
She looks off toward a window facing Ponyville. She takes a moment then continues, "We believe that whoever is causing these fires is in Ponyville." Twilight gasps only to be hushed by a flick of Celestia's wing, "That isn't all the information we have gathered. In the latest report, the eyewitnesses claimed to have seen a white earth pony leave the scene. His or her mane was coated in blood, their right front leg was covered in dark blue flames and..." She pauses once more, straightening again, “the eyes glowed blue, just like a Mystic’s."