//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: School Day // Story: My Little Descendants // by Nerdz //------------------------------// The noon sun shone through the windows, illuminating the welcoming classroom. Anti-bullying, cheesy inspirational, and classroom rule posters littered the walls. A smiley-faced sticker adorned every desk. The room was built to accommodate at least thirty students, yet only four desks were occupied. This was Intro Into Goodness. Twilight Sparkle stood at the head of the class in front of a blackboard, reading off questions. She levitated a pointer, pointing at each word as she read it. "Somepony passes you a crying foal!" she read enthusiastically, "Do you: A. Place a curse on it? B. Give it a bottle? Or C. Carve out its heart?" Lady Bug's hoof shot in the air. Twilight's smile grew. "Yes! Lady!" The Changeling lowered her hoof. "What was the first one again?" she asked, smiling. The older mare's smile faltered but never faded. She sighed inwardly, knowing very well that the answers were written on the board. "Anyone else?" she asked hopefully, glancing around. Shade was attempting to steal Flare's pencils, while the latter was doing his best to keep them away from the older colt. On the opposite side of the room, Lady Bug twirled her mane airily around her hoof, and Nyx was busy doodling, hiding the picture behind her books. "Nyx?" The black Alicorn glanced away from the rather detailed pencil drawing of the Element of Magic. "B. Give it a bottle." she stated. Twilight let out a relieved breath. "Correct. Again." the mare chuckled lightly, circling the correct answer in chalk. Flare turned to the filly. "You're on fire today." Nyx rolled her eyes. "It's so easy! Just pick the one that doesn't sound like any fun." she earned a chorus of 'oh's from the other villains. Suddenly, the door opened to reveal a young Unicorn. She was a golden orange in coat, with a cobalt mane that featured turquoise and magenta stripes down the middle, worn in a pixie-cut style, and purple eyes. She wore a simple hock-length green dress. She stepped in shakily, weakly gripping a few papers in a blue aura. The filly made her way towards Twilight, speeding up with a slight squeak as she passed the villain foals. 'Huh,' Nyx thought, 'kid's almost as bad as Mom said Fluttershy used to be.' Twilight turned away from the blackboard, she smile brightening at the site of the filly. She lowered the chalk, finishing up writing the next question. "Hey, sweetie!" she said brightly. "Oh, you've been practicing your magic! You're doing so much better!" the mare encouraged as she stabilized the wobbling papers in her own magic. "T-thank you." the filly stuttered, glancing fearfully over her shoulder as she released her magic. "Y-you need t-t-to sign for an early diss-smissal for Will's ceremony." "Now, class, is the perfect time for me to introduce to you one of the best parts of being good." Twilight levitated a pen towards herself, signing the papers and passing them back to the filly. "Friendship!" she grinned, gently pushing the filly towards the group. "Everypony, meet my daughter, Super Nova!" "Mom!" the filly squeaked, panicked. "Nova, this is Flare, Shade, Lady Bug, and Nyx!" she gestured to each teen respectively. The filly licked her lips nervously. "Um, h-hi. Uh, d-d-don't mi-ind me-e." she gulped. "As you w-were!" With that, she exited in the same fashion that she entered. Twilight then let her smile fall. "Forgive her. I'm afraid I might have told her one-too-many stories about your parents..." she trailed off into a nervous laugh before clearing her throat. "Right then, let's continue! You hear of a royal wedding! Do you A. Crash the ceremony? B. Kidnap and/or impersonate the bride or groom?" Nyx snickered and nudged Lady in the side. The Changeling grinned, knowing that her mother had done just that "Or C. Calmly wait for an invitation." Flare and Shade waved their hooves frantically, wanting to be called on. Using their free hooves, they tried to push each others raise hooves down. Twilight smiled at colts' enthusiasm. She called on the older colt, having seen his hoof shoot up first. "C!" He said smoothly, smirking as the smaller colt slumped down in his seat, "You calmly wait for an invitation." "I was gonna say that!" Flare pouted. "Yeah, but I said it first!" Shade wrapped a foreleg around the younger colt's neck, using his free hoof to noogie the top of his head. Nyx stared forward, her head cocked slightly with a 'see what I have to deal with?' expression. Twilight cleared her throat as the teasing escalated to a full on wrestling match atop the desks. "BOYS!" she shouted, finally causing them to freeze. The colts sheepishly slipped back into their seats, the mare glaring at them all the while. "Sorry Ma'am..." they muttered unanimously. She sighed, shaking her head. "I'm going to encourage you two to burn off that energy on the hoofball field." "Uh, n-no thank you." Flare said shakily. Shade added, "Whatever that is, I think we'll pass." "I know you two have Physical Education next period. I'll expect to hear of you both participating in tryouts." *** The boys soon found themselves on a neatly trimmed field. Bleachers stood at either side, the bigger featuring a large light-purple-and-white banner that read 'GO CANTERLOT WONDERCOLTS' in a swirly gold font, and two yellow goal posts rested at opposing ends of the field. Shade and Flare made their way across the field, the former flashing flirty smirks at the cheerleaders who were lining up to practice, earning a glare from Sunrise, the head cheerleader. They walked slowly, speeding up when the coach blew a whistle. "Alright, gather 'round everypony!" The white stallion shouted. He stood before two bins, one filled with thin yellow vests, one filled with blue vests of the same materials. "You all put on a yellow vest," he gestured to one half of the group of colts, "and the rest of you will wear blue. Yellow vests are offense, blue are defense. Get to your positions!" Will, who wore a yellow vest, made his way to Shade and Flare. "It's really simple, guys. Just get the ball to that end of the field," he pointed to the side opposite of them as they lined up, "and don't get tackled by the guys in the blue vests." The youngest colt's eyes widened. "T-tackled?" he squeaked. The coach blew the whistle and the play started. Flare was immediately taken down. Shade glanced around, he's thieving instincts kicking in. 'Get the ball and get it to the other side. Get the ball and get it to the other side! Just like getting jewels to Dad's store!' Shade's red-eyed gaze landed on the ball in the hoof of a yellow-vested colt. The mist around his eyes gained a more intense glow as he rushed towards the colts, barreling into his side and grabbing the ball. A white Unicorn colt with a yellow and blue mane galloped up. He wore a blue vest. Shade rotated his hips as the colt lunged, causing him to slide right off. Just a few more feet, and he'd crossed the goal-line. He slammed the ball down, twisting and jumping in a victory dance. The cheerleaders, all except for Sunrise, began cheering and flipping. Everypony stopped at the the shrill blare of the whistle. "Get over here!" the coach shouted, prompting the colt to hurry over. A small crowd gathered, hoping that the coach would cut the Isle kids from the team. "I'm not gonna lie to you, kid; you've got a raw talent that I don't see in many ponies. Come find me later and I'll show you something you've probably never seen before: a rule book." Will grinned, clapping the silver colt on the shoulder. Flare finally made his way up, panting. The coach caught his eye. "You ever thought about joining the band?" he asked concerned, earning a chuckle from the silver teen. The yellow colt groaned, flopping on the grass. Will helped the boy to his hooves. "I'll work with him! Don't worry!" The stallion nodded. "Alright, let's run that again!" Shade spun around to find himself face to face with the colt in the blue vest he'd tackled. The colt glared at him, not just from being tackled. Shade watched his expression, recognizing it quickly. It was the same looks he got from the ponies he'd stolen from on the Isle. He smiled, realizing what happened.He'd stolen the colt's position a 'Best Player'. He brushed passed, bumping the colt's shoulder as he walked. The white colt glared at the back of Shade's head as he walked away. When he thought the silver colt wasn't paying attention, he rubbed his shoulder, hissing in pain. *** The day was slowly dragging on, with merely a few classes left. Nyx and Lady Bug stood in front of their lockers in the crowded hallway, Nyx switching her history books for her math books, while Lady was re-applying her mascara. "What do you have next?" Lady asked, careful not to move the top half of her face too much. "Math." The darker filly replied. "You?" The Changeling filly glanced at the schedule she had put up on the inside of her locker door using a few small magnets provided by the school. "Chemistry. Ugh, it's on the other side of the school!" she pointed to the directions that had been printed next to the room number as she closed the mascara bottle. "I better go. See you later, Nyx!" "Bye." The dark Alicorn continued to rummage in her locker, oblivious to the three ponies entering the hallway. Will had changed into a smart looking suit and tie, while Sunrise wore a white dress with a light blue cardigan. They were followed by the white colt, who wore a light purple and white letter jacked with golden trim. The smiles fell from the filly and white colt's faces as the caught sight of the dark filly. "Those foals are trouble." the colt blatantly stated, earning an approving nod from the filly. Will gave them a hard look before glancing at the filly in question, his gaze softening. "C'mon, Sil, give them a chance." he pleaded, turning back to his friend and marefriend. Sunrise scowled, rolling her eyes. "Ugh, Will, look, you're just too trusting!" she took her coltfriend's hoof in her one, adopting a sweeter tone. "I know that your mother fell in love with a mean, ugly beast who turned out to be a pony," she continued, oblivious to the tight-jawed look she was getting, "but in my mom's story, Nightmare Moon was just Nightmare Moon, the pony who, who murdered her sister! My aunt! Know who that was?" she pointed an angry hoof at the filly. "Her mother!" "Exactly! Her mother did that, not her!" Will defended, "I think you're both wrong about them." The yellow filly huffed angrily and stormed away, the white colt leaving shortly after. Will took a deep breath, making his way to the filly, stopping next to her as she shut her locker door. "Hey!" he said, a little too excited. "Hey." she said, doing a better job at keeping her cool. Will quickly regained his composer. "How's your first day been so far?" "Super!" was the obviously sarcastic answer. The yellow colt glanced at the filly's locker door, surprised to see the graffiti covering the surface; a silhouette of what he guessed to be Nightmare Moon, surrounded by star-filled blue smoke. 'Hmm, she must have gotten her cutie mark in art.' "You should really take this talent off the lockers and into the art class." the colt suggested, "I could get you signed up if you want." It was then that Nyx noticed Twilight's kid enter the hall. The younger filly didn't see her watching as she scurried towards the bathroom. She smiled at Will. "Yeah, if you want to take all the fun out of it." She smirked as she twirled on her heels, trotting away towards the bathroom. Will stood frozen as a lock of purple mane swished across the tip of his nose. The scent of watermelon instantly clouded his senses, making him slightly dizzy. A small smile crossed his face as he pressed his back against the locker. Nyx slipped into the bathroom, empty apart from the orange filly alone at the mirror. She stopped checking her mane when she caught sight of the villain foal approaching. She slowly turned around. "Hey! It's Super Nova, right?" the filly asked, uncharacteristically peppy. "Can I call you Nova? I just love, love, love that name!" "T-t-that's-s c-cool..." the filly began inching towards the doorway. "Wait!" Nyx cried, causing the scared filly to freeze. 'Okay, so she doesn't like over-the-top friendly, let's try shyness.' She let her gaze fall to the floor, kicking at the tile with her hoof. "I'm sorry...I guess I was just, you know," she looked up again, "hoping to make a friend. But, you probably have more friends than you need, huh?" "Hardly." the filly whispered sadly. "Really? I mean, your mom's a princess; the Princess of Friendship, no less!" The younger filly sighed, moving to the mirror and staring at her reflection. "Yeah, and I am too, technically, but it doesn't matter. Col- I mean, ponies," Nyx made a quick note of the slip-up, thinking it might be useful later. "ponies only seem to notice Sunrise, because she's an Alicorn and I'm not, because-" "Because your mom is an Alicorn made, not born." Nyx filled in, "She doesn't carry the Alicorn gene." Nova turned to the older filly, surprised. "That's right. How did you...?" she trailed off as the darker filly opened her wings, flashing a sympathetic look. "Oh..." "But, c'mon, I mean, you have your unique style! That's gotta count for something!" "It's not enough! I want to be pretty; to be an Alicorn, but my mom won't do any spells on me, and my magic is so weak! I could never do it myself!" the despaired filly cried. Something clicked in Nyx's mind. She pulled out her spell book, flipping through the different spells. "I might actually be able to help with that...there!" she showed the spell to the orange filly briefly before turning the book back around, beginning to form the spell. There was a bright flash, and when it receded, Nova's mane fell around her shoulders, bangs reaching the top of her eyes. Nova whirled around to face the mirror once again. She stared at her reflection. Was it even her? She looked mature, yet young and fun. She looked, dare she say it, pretty. "Woah..." she breathed, turning back to the dark filly. "I don't suppose you could..." she gestured to Nyx's wings. "I can't do 'big' stuff yet. But maybe your mom-" "I already told you; she won't do it! She says she'd need the Element of Magic to enhance her power enough to make permanent wings." her ears lowered as she adopted a sad expression. "That's it!" Nyx shouted excitedly. "Wha-" "Pull a puppy face! And just look as if your heart's about to just shatter!" Seeing the confused look she was getting, Nyx pulled the face she was suggesting. Her lip protruded slightly, quivering, and she widened her eyes slightly, looking as if she was on the verge of crying. Nova smiled. "That...might actually work." Nyx returned the smile. "And hey, if your mom does decide to give you wings, could I maybe come watch? I've heard it's pretty cool." "After this," the filly gestured to her new mane, "it'd be the least I could do. If I can convince mom, you are so there!" she grinned, hugging the older filly before exiting the bathroom and making her way to her next class. *** Lady Bug stared dreamily at the white colt sitting across from her. He was handsome, with his shining gold-and-navy hair, and his ivory coat, and heart-melting smile. She leaned over to her lab partner. "Is he in line for a throne? Anywhere in line?" Doub glanced up from his work his eyes landing on the colt. "Silver Stocking? He ain't in line for a throne, but he is technically a prince. Prince Blueblood's his dad, but his mama ain't royal. Her name's Blue Belle I think. He got his dad's looks, but he also got the arr-" "He's so perfect!" Lady interrupted, mesmerized by the colt. "Lady Bug," the teacher snapped, "it appears that this lesson is only review for you. Care to share with the class what the electron configuration of gold is?" the stallion gestured to the board. Lady hid her nervousness behind a suave exterior as she made her way up, sneaking out her mirror. She lifted a piece of chalk in her magic, turning to smile at the class. "What is the electron configuration of gold?" she repeated before turning to the board, writing down what appeared on the surface of the mirror, reading it out as she wrote. "That, sir, would be 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d9." she subtly slipped the mirror back into her pocket as she circled her answer. "I see...that is correct." the teacher muttered, "I suppose I shouldn't have underestimated-" "A villain?" Lady filled in with a sweet smile. Her tone became a bit threatening. "Don't do it again." she tossed the chalk to the teacher, sashaying her way to her seat. As she passed him, Silver slipped a note to the Changeling filly. She slipped into her seat, opening the slip of paper under her desk. 'Meet me under the bleachers at the hoofball field after school?' it read in a curly font. The filly smiled, nodding at the colt. Doubloon glanced at the note. After reading it, he scowled, grumpily resting his chin on his hoof as he continued to take notes on the lesson. *** Will and Flare made their way towards the hoofball field. School had finally ended for the day, giving them an opportunity to work on the latter's lack of athletic skill. Will gestured to an unoccupied part of the field where he'd set up a line of cones. "Why don't we start with speed? Just run from this end of the cones to the other, and I'll time you." he pulled a stopwatch from his pocket, readying it with his magic as the other colt got into position. "Ready? Go!" Will clicked the watch as the younger colt let out a shrill yell and sped passed. Seconds later he clicked the watch, stopping it. He grinned; he'd never seen a pony move that fast on hoof before. He glanced up, excited to tell the colt, but Flare was gone. "Flare?" Will called, looking around. He was answered by a fearful yell. His head whipped towards the golden colt who was rushing towards the forest that bordered the back end of the school campus. Confused, he gave chase. Entering the wooded area, he walked deeper, called out every now and again. "Shh!" he heard a whisper coming from a tree. He glanced up to see two dark brown eyes peering at him from the leaves. "Don't. Move." Concerned, Will complied, standing stock still. After a few moments, he heard a series of familiar shrill squeaks. Relieved, the yellow colt laughed as he let the baby bat land on his shoulder. "What are you doing?! It'll kill you!" Flare shrieked in terror, "Bats a blood-sucking demons who want nothing more that to kill! It'll rip out your throat so you can't scream, then it'll drain your blood and-" by this point, the colt had curled into a ball on the branch, rocking himself back and fourth. "Will narrowed his eyes, deeply concerned by the level of trauma being displayed by the younger teen. "Wait, who told you that?" "M-my mother. S-she and h-h-her minions turned into b-b-bat-d-demons." "You've never actually seen a bat, have you?" Will was quiet for a moment. He reached a hoof up to the little bat. "Berry, meet Flare. Flare, meet Berry. My mother opened a series of animal shelters as her first act as a Guardian. Whenever I can, I foster some of the animals, like she did when she was younger. Berry here, well, she's my current charge. She's not a fruit bat, but she was raised on fruit, and she seems to like berries the best, hence her name. Don't worry, you can come down; I won't let her hurt you." After a few tense minutes, Flare slowly began to shimmy down the tree. He stood frozen for a few moments, then carefully reached a hoof out to touch the tiny creature. The bat gurgled as she leaned closer to the colt's hoof. Once she felt the tension in his hoof slack, she flitted over to stand on his shoulder. "Hey, you...you wouldn't hurt anypony, would you." Flare whispered, losing his fear, "No, you, you're a good girl, aren't ya?" Will smiled, feeling the familiar swell of pride he always got after pairing an animal with their perfect pony. *** Lady Bug scurried towards the hoofball field. 'Which bleachers is it?' she asked herself, looking between the large stand and the tiny one. "Hey, pretty filly!"The Changeling filly turned to the smaller stand, catching sight of the very colt she was to meet. Smiling, she made her way over. "Hey. Sorry, got a little lost." "That's totally fine! Big school, bound to happen." Silver flashed a flirty grin. He reached out to brush the filly's mane with his hoof. "Are all the fillies on the Isle as pretty as you?" "I like to think I'm the prettiest. But enough about me," she cooed, "tell me more about you. You're Blueblood's son, right? He's Princess Celestia's nephew, isn't he?" Silver chuckled, shaking his head lightly. "No, that's a common misunderstanding. My family tree traces back to Princess Platinum, who Celestia always said felt like a cousin to her. She mentioned that to my father when he was a colt, and he asked if that would make him her nephew, and some reported heard it, and now everypony think's we're related." "Oh." Lady said, her face falling slightly, sad that she wasn't able to impress him. Silver began to lean forward. "But that's okay...you're not the first to make that mistake..." Lady bug could feel her heart pounding, closing her eyes as she, too, began to lean in. Mere centimeter's from her lips, Silver pulled away, stepping back as the filly, now embarrassed, opened her eyes. "You know," the ivory colt began, "you totally nailed that chemistry problem earlier. You'll have all the nerds in love with you." Lady began panicking as her mother's lessons began pouring through her head. 'You'll never get a stallion that way, you must rely on looks alone if you want to make it in Equestria!' her mother's voice taunted in her head. "I'm not smart!" she said quickly, "Really! I cheated! Look!" the Changeling pulled the mirror from her pocket, "See! I can ask this anything and it will show it to me!" "Seriously? Lemme see that!" the colt flared his magic, roughly snatching the mirror from the filly. His voice hardened. "Show me my cellphone!" he demanded. Lady Bug sighed, tapping him on the shoulder. "It won't work for you, silly." she gently took the green mass back. "That's fine, my father will probably get me a new one." he looked at her, feigning sadness, gesturing to the gold-colored back-pack he'd set in the grass, "I'd love to just stand here with you forever, just talk, but, I've got a ton of homework to do...unless..." "Unless what?" the Changeling asked, a little too excited. "Well, I was thinking, since you have that mirror and all, it wouldn't be too difficult for you to knock out my homework along with yours? Then we could...hang out..." his eyebrows jumped. "Of course! It'd be no trouble at all!" He gently pecked her cheek as he lifted the bag in his magic and dropped it heavily on her back. "Thanks, babe. You're a real peach." and with that, the colt made his way back to the school. Lady Bug sighed happily as she watched him leave. A sudden voice next to her ear caused her to jump. "Ah couldn't help but overhear y'all-" Lady's gaze jerked up to see Doubloon staring at her from in between the slats of the bleachers. "Are you stalking me?!" she growled angrily. "If you wanna be technical 'bout, eeyup. But, Ah'm here to ask you if ya wanted to sit by me at Will's ceremony. The whole school is gettin' to go." the colt climbed down, now standing in front of the filly, "Ah've got a good seat, since Will's mah cousin an' all, and you could meet mah mama and-" "Why would your mother be there?" Doub smiled, happy to have the filly's interest. "All the Guardian's gotta be there, and besides, it's the Representatives of the Elements who preform the ceremony." Lady's ears pricked at this new information. "Are the actual Elements used?" she earned a nod. "Mah mama an' mah aunts'll be dressed in their full regalia. So...will you? Be mah date to the coronation Ah mean?" The filly scoffed as she walked away. "In your dreams, country boy." *** "I cannot believe my mother!" Nova burst into Nyx and Lady Bug's dorm room. Lady sat at the desk, her sewing supplies spread out as she worked on a shirt, while Nyx was sketching on her bed. Nyx glanced up with a raised eyebrow. "What happened to you?" "My Mother happened!I did what you suggested, and you know what she said? She said 'If a colt can't see the beauty inside you and can only love you for your looks, then he's not worth you're time'! Seriously?! What dimension is she living in!?" "Equestria?" Nyx offered with a snort. Lady lifted the shirt she was working on, holding it up for the girls to see. "How's this look?" Nyx barely lifted her gaze. "Cute. Matches your eyes." "I'm never getting a coltfriend!" Nova ignored the blue filly, opting instead to flop down on the Changeling's bed, hoof dramatically placed over her forehead, just below her horn. "I'm gonna die alone!" "Coltfriends," Nyx paused in her drawing to blow away some eraser shavings, "are totally overrated." Lady Bug smirked at her roommate. "And how would you know that, N? You've never went out with anypony." "That's 'cause I don't need to, L. If I was gonna take over the Isle, I wasn't sharing it with anypony. Besides, it's pointless." A sudden look of panic crossed the Changeling filly's face. "I forgot to do Silver Stocking's homework! Oh no! No, no, no, no!" she squealed as she leaped to her hooves and began digging through the gold-colored sack. "That is exactly what I mean." Nyx said, going back to her drawing as somepony knocked on the door. "It's open!" she called out. A golden-brown coated Earth Pony filly walked in. She wore a pale pink blouse and a light blue skirt. Her bobbed mane was brunette, with a magenta streak down the back. Short bangs came down just above her eyes, smartly curled ever so slightly under. "Hey, you're Nyx and Lady Bug, right?" she asked with a slightly cold tone, "My name is Lollypop Swirl. I'm Pinkie Pie's daughter." she eyed the villains suspiciously. "I imagined Pinkie's daughter to be a bit more peppy." Lady commented as she pulled a binder from Silver's back pack. "I see..." she eyed the villains suspiciously, "Anyways, I really like what you did to Nova's mane, and I know you probably hate us, and, well, you're evil, but do you think you could help me out?" she reached a hoof up to touch her bob. "Why should I?" Nyx scoffed. The golden filly used her teeth to pull a small pouch from a pocket in her skirt. "I'll pay you fifty bits." Lady flared her horn and took the bag. "Good answer; I need new materials." she waved a hoof at the impromptu sewing table. The blue "So I'm thinking we lose the bangs, layer it in the back and-" "No, no, I want it...cool." Lollypop interrupted, "Like Nyx's." Nyx raised an eyebrow. "Really?" the blue filly snorted, "Complete with the split ends?" The darker filly glared at her roommate as she used her magic to bring her spell book over to herself. She took a few minutes to find the spell she'd used on the young Unicorn. After mentally making a few changes to the spell, she began to perform it. There was a bright flare of light. Once the light receded, the filly's mane had lengthened to her withers. The once board-straight locks now had a noticeable wave, the magenta streak much more noticeable, while her bangs grew out and curled upward slightly. Lolly quickly turned to the mirror. She frowned at her reflection. Lady walked up, 'tsk'ing. "I know, it's hideous. Tell you what, let's cut it off a-" "No!" the Earth Pony stopped her mid sentence, a smile forming, "I love it! It's just..." she stared hard at her reflection for a few moments before whipping her head around to grab the hem of her skirt between her teeth. With a loud 'rip', she tore a slit up to the bottom of her swirly-sucker cutie mark. She turned to her reflection with smirk. "Now I'm cool." Nyx crossed her forelegs and leaned against her bedpost. "Cool as ice." Nova squeezed past the fillies so she was in front of the mirror. Feeling bold and rebellious, she flared her light blue aura and grasped the hem of her dress, tearing a slit about half as long as the older filly's. She immediately dropped it, her eyes widening in horror. "What did I do?!" she squeaked, looking around at the amused expressions on the older girls' faces. "My mother is going to kill me!" *** Shade did as he was asked and met with the coach after school. The stallion did as he promised and gave the colt a copy of the rule book. After a few moments, the white stallion gazed thoughtfully at the colt. "I was really impressed with you today. You're really good at stealing the ball. You sure you've never played before?" "Never seen a hoofball before today. But I did have to pull some pretty sick moves to get stuff for my father's store." he gestured at his flank, which bore an image of a red gem, "It's how I got my mark." he told the older stallion. But it was a lie. In reality, Nyx had had a small gem lifted off her when they were younger. Normally something like that wouldn't have bothered her, but that gem was important to the filly for reasons the young colt didn't know or understand, and he'd spent nearly the whole day tracking it down and getting it back to her. Once he'd returned it, he felt an overwhelming sense of pride, and then the mark appeared. Nyx agreed to keep quiet, and if anypony ever asked, they were told he'd gotten it after accomplishing a near impossible heist. The mark's true meaning would cause him great danger had it ever been discovered on the Isle of the Forgotten. "I see..." the coach began, "I could really use a tough guy on the team. Most of the others are too 'princely' to get rough." "I know, right?" Shade put on mocking high-society accent "it's all 'Pardon me, ol' chap! Did I bump you?'" his demeanor suddenly changed, becoming dark, "Where I'm from, it's 'Be ready to die.' That's what my father says! The only way to make sure you win is to crush everypony else in-" "Woah, calm down, son!" the stallion interrupted, concerned by the lessons the colt had been taught, "Let me explain what a team is. See, it's, well, it's like a family-" "You don't want to be at my place at dinner time." the colt said darkly. "Okay then, well, how about this. There was a land with three tribes; Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns. The Pegasi controlled the weather, and the Unicorns moved the sun and moon; both did their parts in exchange for food that could only be grown by the Earth Ponies. It worked, barely, for a while, but it wasn't until they worked together that the tribes truly began to thrive, and Equestria was born. A team is just a smaller version of that, a bunch of ponies working together to form something truly amazing." the stallion passed a folded shirt to the colt. Shade looked at the fabric, a light-purple-and-white jersey, his own name written in gold with 'Wondercolts' above it and the number eleven below it. *** Lady Bug, Nyx, and Flare were in the girls room when Shade burst in, whooping and showing off the jersey. Lady was busy doing two set of homework, while Flare was on the floor in front of a laptop with the little bat on his head, and Nyx was sprawled on her bed, flipping through the spell book. After he'd gotten his round of compliments, Shade turned to Nyx. "Lady told me about your plan. Did it work? Is Nova taking you to see the crown?" The dark filly gave him and icy glare, which was much more effective now that she'd removed her glasses. "If it had, would I be going through every. Single. Spell. In this book?!" she slammed the said book shut. "I'm completely out of ideas here!" "Somepony's in a mood..." Flare muttered. Nyx used her tail to smack him, nearly getting bitten by Berry in the process. "Well, excuse me, but my mother is kind of counting on me!" "We can do this!" Shade shouted, gaining everypony's attention. His voice became softer. "We can do it if we stick together." Nyx allowed herself to smile, "We won't back down until we do. 'Cause we're rotten," The other's joined in, "To the core." "Oh, and I found out today that the Elements are used in Will's ceremony and we all get to go. I have absolutely nothing to wear, of course." Nyx stared at her roommate slack-jawed. Before she could say anything, there was a knock at the door. "Hold that thought." she growled as she levitated her glasses onto the bridge of the muzzle, taking a moment to let the spell take effect. She climbed off of her bed, crossing the room and opening the door to see Will on the other side. He brightened when he saw her. "Hey, Nyx! I just came by to make sure that you all were settled in okay, see if you needed anything?" Nyx glanced back into her room, and, seeing everypony shaking their heads, replied, "No, I think we're okay. But, is it true that we all get to go to your coronation?" "Yes! Yes, the whole school gets to go!" "Really? That is so exciting!" she smiled, suppressing a smirk, "Is there any way we can stand in the front row so we can have a better view of all that...goodness?" The colt looked as if he was about to confirm her request, when his face fell as if he remembered something important. "I...I really wish you could, but, up front it's just me, my parents, the Elemental Representatives, and my marefriend." "Your marefriend?" the filly questioned, earning a nod, "I see. Well, thanks anyway. Bye!" and shut the door in the colt's face. She used her magic to set her glasses down and bring the spell book over to her. "I think it's time that 'Willy' got himself a new marefriend." she flipped through the spells for a few second before stopping on a single page, "And I have a love spell."