The New World (Cancelled)

by Yin or Yang

The New School Year

Author's Note:

I'm actually going to be carefully outlining this story, so I know how to organize it effectively. Disorganization was what made me realize my last attempt at a long story was doomed to failure, but you can't improve unless you learn from your mistakes. Comments on what you liked and what I could do to improve are all appreciated.

Scootaloo opened her eyes and looked at the clock next to her bed. It was seven in the morning, and she only had an hour before the first day of the school year began. Scootaloo groaned loudly and climbed out of bed. Her mane was messy and sticking out all over the place, as though she stuck a metal object into an electrical socket. She slowly trotted to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, barely caring that she looked like a zombie. Scootaloo cleaned up and once she was out of the bathroom, she was given her breakfast by the orphanage she lived in. Ponyville's orphanage is much larger than one would expect, as the fillies and colts all had their own rooms and the dining area where the children ate had rows upon rows of wooden tables. Scootaloo inhaled her breakfast, a rather mundane piece of toast and fruit, and rushed upstairs to her room to gather her belongings. She catapulted out of the orphanage and outside her two closest friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, eagerly anticipated her arrival.

"Took ya long enough Scootaloo," said Apple Bloom. "I thought you forgot what day it was for a bit."

"It's the first day of school," said a tired Scootaloo. "It'll take me some time to get adjusted to the schedule again."

"I heard that the school underwent some changes," squeaked Sweetie Belle. "I wonder how different it is."

"Well let's hurry and find out," said Apple Bloom.

The three galloped down the dirt road as dust clouds formed behind them as they approached Ponyville Elementary. The three saw a huge building in sight and screeched to a halt, awestruck at the towering brick establishment that was within sight. The three of them rubbed their eyes in synchronization, wondering if Ponyville Elementary had underwent a structural metamorphosis while they weren't looking.

"Did we go the right way?" said Sweetie Belle, concerned at the possibility of being late.

"I think this is Ponyville Elementary," replied Scootaloo. "Look at all the other kids here." Trotting by the three were multiple fillies and colts and even a few griffons, all entering the same building that the three friends saw. The building was two stories tall and had impressively large dimensions. A white staircase led up to the front doors, which the three approached cautiously and proceeded to climb up. Inside there was a long hallway with doors separated at regular intervals, with a tall, muscular earth pony standing next to the front door. The earth pony halted the three with a long, bulky arm whose muscles looked like they could burst open at any minute.

"Name," said the earth pony forcefully. His bumpy face intimidated the children that approached him, but not enough to where they cried out in sheer terror.

"I'm Apple Bloom," she replied. The earth pony opened a rolling locker next to him and pulled out a card with Apple Bloom's name on one side. On the other side was a three digit number, carefully printed out so that it could be read without confusion.

"Go to the classroom that has your number on it." Apple Bloom's card had the number 134, so she trotted down the hallway, looking for the door with her number on it. The guard proceeded to do the same for Sweetie Belle, who managed to get the same number as Apple Bloom, much to her delight. Scootaloo was next, hoping that she would be with her friends, but when she was given her card, her hopes were dashed, as the card had the number 128. Scootaloo sighed and frowned, disappointed that she wouldn't be in the same class as her best friends.

Scootaloo trotted down the hallway and opened the door with her number on it. Inside, there was a chalkboard with a long wooden desk for the teacher and thirty smaller desks for the students. Each desk had a name card on it, which Scootaloo immediately recognized as the assigned seating. She paid no attention to the other students already in the class and sat down at her assigned desk. Scootaloo didn't look at the other name cards long enough for her to know who would be sitting next to her. She stretched out her arms and when the next pony entered the door, she was horrified to see who it was. It was Silver Spoon. Luckily she wasn't with Diamond Tiara, so Scootaloo hypothesized that Diamond must have received a different number than her partner in crime. Silver Spoon looked around at the name tags and stopped upon seeing her's. She was trotting towards Scootaloo, who was praying that she wasn't one of her seat partners, but when Silver Spoon sat in the desk directly to the left of Scootaloo, a wave of anxiety and dread consumed her. Scootaloo waited for Silver Spoon to make some snide remark, but to her surprise she was perfectly quiet, the only thing she was doing was getting out her school supplies and waiting for the class to begin. Soon enough, ponies and griffons filled up the rest of the desks and last, but certainly not least, the teacher, a dark green unicorn mare, entered the classroom and knocked on the desk with her hoof.

"Good morning class," the teacher said. "My name is Spring Leaves." She wrote her name on the chalkboard in neat cursive using her magic. "I have all of your names on my attendance sheet, so when I call your name, I want you to respond." Spring Leaves cleared out her throat. "Let's begin. Armor Plate?"

"Here," a unicorn colt replied.

"Big Hoof?"

"Here," a tall earth pony yelled with enthusiasm, causing the rest of the class to giggle.

This continued one by one, each student responding with "here" or, for those who wanted to be fancy, "present". After a few minutes, attendance of all thirty students had been taken and class could finally begin. Spring Leaves levitated her chalk and wrote on the chalkboard.

"Our first lesson today will be on the history of the three early Equestrian Provinces," said Spring Leaves as she wrote on the board. "Now then, I want you to take notes on this, because I do give quizzes every Wednesday on what we've covered."

The class let out a collective groan, frustrated at the pain of knowing there would be frequent quizzes. Spring Leaves continued her lecture, explaining the three provinces and how they relate to the tale of Hearth's Warming. Scootaloo wrote down what the teacher said in her notebook, as she was worried about what kind of questions would be on the quizzes. As Scootaloo was writing, her pen accidentally slipped out of her hoof and next to Silver Spoon. Silver reached down and gave the pen back to Scootaloo, acting as though the two had just met. Scootaloo continued writing upon getting her pen back until after three hours of history and science lectures, the first bell rang to indicate that their lunch break could begin. The students all rushed out of the classroom and towards the cafeteria at the end of the hallway, a humongous, tiled room with tons of tables and a kitchen off to the far end of the room. The room felt chilly, as cafeterias tend to do. Scootaloo held onto her sack lunch waiting for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who finally approached her. With them was a light red pegasus filly and a young griffon.

"Howdy Scootaloo," said Apple Bloom. "Red Arrow and Tina agreed to eat lunch with us. Come on, it'll be fun."

"Okay," replied Scootaloo. "Let's find a table and go eat."

The five youngsters sat at the nearest table and ate from their sack lunches, pausing after individual bites to chat about their experiences of the first day.

"Sorry that you can't be in our class," said Sweetie Belle. "We've made some new friends as you can see, have you met any new friends yourself?"

"No, not really," said Scootaloo, who sighed in disappointment. "I haven't really gotten the chance to meet with anyone in my class."

"You'll get some new friends. You're too cool for it not to happen."

"I guess. By the way, is Diamond Tiara in your class?"

The other four youngsters groaned in synchronization. "She is," said Apple Bloom. "She's an even bigger brat than before, and I didn't know that was even possible. I'm guessing Silver Spoon is in your class."

"She is, but she hasn't done anything bad yet. In fact, when I dropped my pen, she immediately picked it up and gave it back to me."

"Huh?" yelled Sweetie Belle, her eyes opened up wide in surprise. "Silver Spoon has a heart?"

"Apparently. I don't know if it'll last once she's with Diamond Tiara again."

"Well then who is that over at the other end of the table?"

Scootaloo looked down at the end of the long table and was shocked to see Silver Spoon sitting there, eating lunch all by herself. She didn't look particularly sad or anything, but considering that Diamond Tiara was in Scootaloo's line of sight, it seemed very out of place.

"Y'all don't think she had a break up with Diamond, do you?" whispered a confused Apple Bloom.

"I could go ask her, but I'd rather not," said Scootaloo, thinking of the repercussions of approaching Silver Spoon. "What's your teacher like?"

"He's this really old dude," said Tina. "Thankfully he seems very nice, if absent minded at times. How's yours Scootaloo?"

"Mine gives out quizzes every Wednesday. I actually have to pay extra attention this time, yawn." Scootaloo ironically yawned at the end of her sentence, which made the other four youngsters chuckle. "Yeah, I'm a bit tired, first day and everything. One thing I'd like to ask is why the school is much bigger than before, so does anyone know why?"

"I can answer that one," said Red Arrow. "See, ever since Tirek caused countless destruction to Equestria six months ago, countless ponies from Cloudsdale and Appleoosa were displaced. Cloudsdale because the city in the sky was deemed too dangerous to live, since over a thousand pegasi and griffons died when they lost their flight and over half a million were injured in some way. As for Appleoosa, it was because the harsh desert made rebuilding the huge number of destroyed homes unfeasible. All of the residents of those two places were moved to Ponyville, which is where we are now."

"Thanks for telling me. It must be rough for the two of you to adapt to this new life."

"It's not a problem. Tina and I both recognize that we can't hide from the past, no matter how horrifying it may be."

The five shifted their focus to less serious discussions, such as pop culture phenomena and other things kids tended to talk about. Once their lunch break was over, Scootaloo went her separate ways from her four friends and returned to the classroom. Scootaloo took her seat and once Silver Spoon took her's, Scootaloo couldn't help but stare at the grey filly, curious as to why she didn't eat lunch with Diamond Tiara. She kept her thoughts to herself and the teacher returned to class once everyone was seated and continued her lecture for the day.

---

The bell loudly rang throughout the classroom and all of the students squeezed out the door in large packs. Scootaloo was glad to be behind the rest of the students for once, but she couldn't help but notice Silver Spoon taking her time, waiting for everyone to be out the door. As much as Scootaloo hated to admit it, Silver Spoon was smart to let the craziest students out first. The pushing and shoving to get out of the metaphorical prison of the classroom finally subsided and Scootaloo was outside. She noticed Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle resting by the flagpole, which waved the flag of Ponyville high in the sky, waiting for her.

"Hey girls. Sorry I'm late. I never knew you could squeeze that many through a door," said Scootaloo. "I bet some of them are going to have bruises the next morning."

"Say Scootaloo," said Sweetie Belle in a chipper tone. "How about we head on over to the arcade down the road. It'll be fun."

"I'm with Sweetie Belle on this one," responded Apple Bloom, who adjusted her large pink bow. "Come on Scootaloo."

"I've got nothing else to do," remarked Scootaloo. "Let's get going."

The three were just about to depart until a familiar voice halted the trio. The voice's owner was none other than Diamond Tiara, and this time she had a new partner with her, a white unicorn filly with a striped yellow and white mane. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo turned around and saw Diamond glaring at them intensely, her face scrunched up like an accordion.

"Listen up losers," said a cocky Diamond. "Just because the school is bigger now doesn't mean I still won't find joy in tormenting you." Diamond pointed at her new ally, smugly grinning at the trio. "This here is my new partner in crime, Golden Jewel. She loves tormenting losers like you lot just as much as I do. We couldn't be a more perfect fit."

"I don't care about you," yelled Scootaloo, who could feel an intense fire build up in her small body. "All you are to me is a pest, and what clever name are you gonna call the three of us now that we have our cutie marks?"

"Well for starters," said Golden Jewel in a voice grating to the ears. "Why don't we call you a pegasissy?"

Scootaloo grit her teeth and glared at the two bullies angrier than ever. "I never would have thought that you'd go so low as to make friends with a racist Diamond Tiara."

"It's a fitting name for you," said Diamond. "Now we just need to decide what to call the rest of your ragtag bunch of misfits." Diamond cackled and a sinister smile adorned her face. "Apple Bloom can be mud pony, and Sweetie Belle can be cacophony."

"Diamond Tiara you villain," yelled a voice off in the distance. The voice belonged to Silver Spoon, who dashed in between Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara, scowling at the latter. "Just because you have lots of money doesn't give you the right to call anybody cruel names."

"What are you gonna do about it, traitor?"

"Huh?" gasped Scootaloo and her friends. Apple Bloom did hypothesize that Silver Spoon had abandoned Diamond Tiara, but none of them had expected her to be right on the money. They felt as if they had walked into a parallel universe where Silver Spoon wasn't a jerk, but Diamond Tiara still was.

"You really don't know?" said Diamond, expressing her surprise. "Well you three were always pretty stupid, but here goes nothing. Silver Spoon left me during the summer break because of a plan I had devised to tease you losers. The plan was that we'd find out your deepest, darkest secrets and personal stories and mercilessly taunt you till you cried like the little babies you are, and I'm talking about finding stuff much worse than what the Foal Free Press could do. Silver Spoon approached me and said that I had gone too far, and that we shouldn't make fun of someone for something like that. I did what I had to do and severed any ties with her. Now she's alone and thanks to her bleeding heart, she'll never get any new friends, the fitting punishment."

"Diamond you're the evilest pony I've ever met," yelled Sweetie Belle, tears forming in her eyes from pure rage. "If Silver Spoon proved she was redeemed, I'd be her friend. You all agree with me, huh?" Sweetie Belle waited for an answer and didn't get any. "Oh come on."

"No matter, we'll leave the three losers and the outcast for now, but remember, I'll be watching you, and so will my friend Golden Jewel. Ta-ta."

Diamond Tiara and Golden Jewel trotted away, their laughs a cacophony to the ears. Silver Spoon turned around and looked at the trio, her face one of anxiety and fear. Sweetie Belle approached the grey filly and looked straight into her eyes.

"Silver Spoon, I'll trust you if you can trust me," said Sweetie Belle. "My friends will learn to accept you eventually, but I promise to be nice to you if you can do the same for me."

"I'll be nice to you," muttered Silver Spoon. "Bullying isn't fun anymore. It's a cruel act and I wish I could go back and erase it all."

"I'd invite you with me to the arcade, but my best friends would probably object, so how about we do something tomorrow?"

Silver Spoon smiled ever so slightly, a warm feeling of acceptance entered her heart. "Sounds good to me."

"Perfect. Goodbye, Silver Spoon. See you tomorrow." Sweetie Belle waved enthusiastically at Silver Spoon as she trotted away with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Silver Spoon waved back at Sweetie Belle, tears dropping down from her cheeks onto the pavement below.

---

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had arrived at the arcade. Inside, arcade cabinets with a variety of different games were set up in isles along the room. Glowing neon lights lined the perimeter of the arcade's interior, and a carpet decorated with star patterns ran over the entirety of the floor, which felt fuzzy to the trio's hooves. The three rushed over to the isles that had pinball machines and activated them. All of them focused on their pinball game, but found time to discuss what they had just gone through as they played.

"I still can't believe you were right about Silver Spoon," remarked Scootaloo, her eyes following the motion of the pinball. "Come to think of it, her quiet attitude should have tipped me off, but I'm still mad at how she treated me in the past."

"I know what ya mean," said Apple Bloom. "It's crazy how much everything can change in six months. Were we paying attention during our summer break?"

"Apparently not. I mean, what's next, do we get sent on an epic adventure and we make lots of new friends, some of them famous?"

"Scootaloo, I think that's what they call tempting fate."

"Fate, schmate. I make my own destiny, like winning this pinball, wait, darn it." Scootaloo frustratingly saw the machine flash Game Over at her. "Well, whatever. Say Sweetie Belle, what do you have to say about all of this?"

"Personally, I don't know," she replied. "I've never been a quick thinker, so I'm afraid you'll have to ask someone else. Time will tell, or something like that. Is that how it goes?"

"Why don't we all get some smoothies before heading back home?" Apple Bloom suggested. "I could use one right about now."

"That sounds excellent," both of her friends replied. The three finished up at the arcade and trotted down the dirt road towards Sugarcube Corner, where they would get their delicious fruit smoothie. Things seemed to be returning to normal for the trio, but fate had other plans in store.

Comments

[Jadelynn_Opal]

Dropping this in my Read Later list

*totally hasn't finished s4 yet*

[Raistlin]

Cloudsdale because the city in the sky was deemed to dangerous to live, since over a thousand pegasi and griffons died when they lost their flight and over half a million were injured in some way

Sudden Fridge Horror realization
Also, the whole Tiara-Silver Spoon dialogue seems kinda... forced in my opinion.

[Yin or Yang]

4507574 Thanks for the feedback. I'm still a novice, so I'll figure out how to write better implemented scenes with practice.

[i_am_the_jam]

Minor nitpick.

You'd think that with those 3 running all over Ponyville all summer long, they would have NOTICED their school being remodelled at one point or another.

[NobleValor]

So not only does Scootaloo tempt fate, Apple Bloom lampshades that she's tempting fate. I'm hooked already.