Cute Trouble

by Evowizard25

New School

Aki Hikaru wouldn’t have called himself shy a year ago. He wouldn’t have called himself shy a week ago, but now? Seeing all these strange ponies made him quiver in his fur. He didn’t want to be scared. He knew they wouldn’t hurt him. Hopefully. It’s just, whenever he bumped into a new pony, he wondered to himself:

‘Are they a dark pony?’

He knew it was silly. Miss Pizzelle and Priestess Bon Bon had told him that they were all gone. There were no more dark ponies. They were nice ponies. They wouldn’t lie to him, but his mommy had said that Nightmare Moon was gone forever. Then she came back and…..

“Are you alright, Hikaru?” Miss Cheerilee put a comforting hoof on the shaking kitsune.

Hikaru flinched at the contact, prompting Cheerilee to immediately retract her hoof. “I-I’m fine, Miss Cheerilee.”

Cheerilee gave the young kitsune a concerned gaze, before she nodded. “Very well then,” she looked to her class, her smile returned. “Hello, my little ponies.”

“Hello, Miss Cheerilee.” The class responded.

“I’m very grateful to see all of you doing so well,” Cheerilee said. “In light of….” She paused, thinking over what to say. “Recent events, I thought it would do us some good to start off light this year, especially since we have a new student with us today. Everypony, I’d like you to meet Aki Hikaru.” One of the students raised their hoof. “Yes, Scootaloo?”

“Yeah,” the orange, purple maned pegasus spoke up, looking at Hikaru with a smirk. The pegasus had a scruffy mane and wore a black, leather jacket. Her wings were small, almost deformed in a way. This wasn’t the case for her fangs. While all pegasi had them, Scootaloo’s were massive. They were very prominent and the only creatures Hikaru had known that had teeth like those was that Saber-Tooth Cat he saw at a zoo once. The almost saber-tooth like fangs were especially highlighted when she smirked. “Aren’t animals not allowed in school?”

A silver earth filly with fancy glasses sniggered beside her. A pearl necklace was wrapped around her neck and her cutie mark, a silver spoon, adorned her flank.

Cheerilee narrowed her eyes. “As I was saying, Scootaloo, I’d like for you all to meet your new classmate. Say hi, Hikaru.” She gently nuzzled his head for reassurance.

Hikaru didn’t flinch as badly as the first time at the contact. “Umm, hi everybody.”

“It’s everypony,” Scootaloo commented. “Geez, where did you learn equish.”

“But he’s not a pony,” a yellow, red mane earth filly pointed out. A large, pink bow sat in her mane. Her voice carried a thick country accent. “So he ain’t wrong sayin’ it like that.”

“Apple Bloom is right, Scootaloo.” Cheerilee said. “Now, I think it’s only fair you all say hi back.”

“Hi Hikaru.” The class said, some more enthusiastic than others.

Cheerilee nodded, pleased by their response. “Now that we’ve introduced each other, Diamond Tiara? Could you please come up to the front of the class?”

The little pink earth filly smiled and got out of her seat. She wore a tiara upon her head and her flank, like most of the class, was still bare. She carried herself with poise and her head was tilted upwards. It wasn’t in a ‘I’m better then you way’, more like a ‘I’m important’ kind of way. She stopped and held out her hoof to Hikaru. “Hello Hikaru, I’m Diamond Tiara.”

Hikaru looked at the hoof for a few seconds, causing Diamond to frown slightly. He gulped. He felt silly not shaking her hoof, since he had seen a few ponies do it. It was a pony thing, apparently. He hesitantly took her hoof in his paw and they shook. “Hi.”

“As Head of the Student Council,” Diamond Tiara declared. “It’s my honor to help you have a great first day. I’ll be your honorary buddy until you’ve gotten used to everything.”

“And by that time I hope you two can be the best of friends,” Cheerilee smiled. “Now Diamond, could you be a dear and help him find his seat?”

Diamond saluted. “Yes, ma’am. Come along, Hikaru.” She trotted along until the two of them found themselves in the middle right of the class. She led him to a seat between herself and the filly, Apple Bloom.

“Howdy,” Apple Bloom smiled as Hikaru took his seat. “Ah’m Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara’s buddy. Ah’ll be helpin’ ya out too. If’n ya have a question, ask away. Though, Diamond’s a bit smarter than me. Ask her about the tricky stuff.”

“Pfft,” Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re smart too.”

“Oh would you two just shut up and kiss already,” Scootaloo, who was sitting in front of Hikaru turned back and smirked.

“Yeah,” the silver earth filly turned her head with a smirk as well. She was seated next to Scootaloo. “We all know you want to.” She made a kissing motion.

Diamond Tiara scowled. “Shut up.”

“Why don’t you make us?” Scootaloo challenged and then looked at Hikaru. “Animal, watch where you step. I’m the strongest filly here and you don’t want to mess with me.”

Hikaru shivered in fear under her stare. It was carnivorous and her saber teeth didn’t help distill his fear in the slightest. “O-okay.”

A loud smack came from the teacher’s desk. Everyone turned their heads to the front, sitting down firmly in their seats. Cheerilee was giving them a stern gaze, holding a wooden pointing stick in a hoof. “Now that I’ve gotten your attention, I’d very much like to keep it. Aki Hikaru is to be treated with respect and kindness. Treat him just like how you’d like to be treated. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee.” The class answered.

“Good,” Cheerilee nodded. “And Scootaloo? If I hear one more outburst in today’s class out of you, you’ll be spending the rest of the afternoon in detention. I don’t care if your grandfather is head of the police department, Hikaru is a thinking being like you and me. Keep that in mind.”

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee.” Scootaloo said, less than pleased at being reprimanded.

“Good,” and then Cheerilee’s face broke out into a smile. “Before we begin, let us bow our heads in prayer.” She and the rest of the class bowed their heads. Hikaru bowed his as well, since he didn’t want to upset anyone. The students spoke along with her prayer.

“Princess Celestia, goddess of the sun, thank you for giving me a mind that can know and a heart that can love. Help me to keep learning every day of my life, no matter what the subject may be. Let me be convinced that all knowledge leads to you and let me know how to find you and love you in all the things you have made. Encourage me when the studies are difficult and when I am tempted to give up. Enlighten me when my brain is slow and help me to grasp the truth held out to me. Grant me the grace to put my knowledge to use in aiding our beloved kingdom so that I may repay your benevolence. Amen.”

“Amen.” The rest of the class said, picking up their heads.

“Alright students,” Cheerilee grinned at her class. “Today I have decided to discuss Harmony and what it means for all of us. Does anyone know why Harmony is so important to Equestria?” A silver hoof shot up. “Silver Spoon?”

The silver earth filly beside Scootaloo beamed. “Harmony is the source of power for the Elements.”

“A simple answer,” Cheerilee noted. “But not the entire one. Diamond Tiara?”

Diamond Tiara lowered her hoof. “Harmony is what keeps us all together. It’s how we overcame the Windigoes and built Equestria. It means that we trust each other and treat each other like family.”

“Very good, Diamond.” Cheerilee commented, to which Diamond Tiara sent Silver Spoon a confident smirk. Silver Spoon responded in a scowl. “Harmony is the base of all civilizations. If there was no harmony, we’d be nothing more than savages who cared for nothing else but themselves. It is this concept that defines us and keeps the evil forces of the world at bay.”

Hikaru idly listened through her speech. A lot was on his mind right then, so he couldn’t give Cheerilee his full attention. The first was, even though Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara seemed nice, they were a bit too close for his liking. Actually, all the chairs were. It was silly of him and it never bothered him before. He just felt...trapped.

‘They aren’t going to hurt me. Miss Cheerilee wouldn’t let them and Miss Pizzelle trusts her. Just focus on what she’s saying...But what if I mess things up? Will they hate me? Will they give me to the dark ponies? I don’t want to-’ Hikaru’s thoughts were interrupted by a hoof on his shoulder. He turned to looked at Apple Bloom.

Said filly was giving him a concerned look. “Ya okay? Ya were shakin’ somethin’ mighty fierce there fer a second.”

Hikaru hesitantly nodded. “I-I’m okay.”

“He’s just scared because he knows a ‘Top’ Predator when he sees one,” Scootaloo commented.

“We’ll let you know when we find this predator,” Diamond Tiara quipped, snickering when Scootaloo tensed up.

Cheerilee, who was writing some Harmony principles on the board, cleared her throat. “I would appreciate it if you would be quiet, my little ponies. It’s hard to learn when you’re talking to each other so much.”

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee.” The students complied.

______________________________________________________

“...And this is the swing set,” DIamond Tiara gestured to the swingset on the corner of the school building. Class had been relatively quiet for a while and Cheerilee had given them an early recess. Hikaru was just glad he was outside and not so boxed in by all the new ponies. “Miss Cheerilee commissioned a new one three years ago when the old one was destroyed in a freak storm.”

“He don’t need to know everythin’ about everythin’, Tiara.” Apple Bloom chuckled, rolling her eyes.

“Knowledge is power, Apple Bloom.” Diamond Tiara responded.

“And how much power is he gonna get from knowin’ a swing’s age?” Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow.

Diamond was silent for a moment, tapping her chin. “Well...you’ve got me there.” She scuffed the ground. “Sorry. I just want to be a good buddy for Hikaru.”

“Well he appreciates it,” Apple Bloom nudged Hikaru’s shoulder. “Don’t ya.”

Hikaru had been too preoccupied to notice her talking for a while. He was still nervous and there was one sure fire way that kitsune liked to relieve some stress. Looking over at a white, two toned maned unicorn filly, he mentally grinned. His powers started to form with his idea. Soon, the filly shrieked as her sand castle was overrun by ‘phantom’ mice. He chuckled until Apple Bloom nudged him. He quickly nodded. “Yeah. You sure know a lot.” He hastily responded, just barely hearing what had just been said.

Apple Bloom had looked over at the white filly, frowning. “Hope she’s okay. Don’t see what scared her off though.”

Hikaru momentarily prided himself for his feat, but then he heard the filly’s scream again. Something inside him hurt. It hurt and it scared him like no other. ‘The dark ponies scared me. They pulled tricks on us and I….I’m not a dark pony. I wasn’t going to hurt her. It was just for fun.’ That’s what he told himself at least, but he still felt a tinge of guilt. It was just in his nature as a kitsune to trick others.

Diamond Tiara grinned, posturing herself with pride. “Of course I do. I’m not the number one student in class for nothing.”

“That’s debatable,” a familiar voice said. They turned to see it was Silver Spoon with Scootaloo beside her. “I bet you bought that position just like your daddy bought his.”

“My daddy earned his position unlike yours,” Diamond Tiara scowled, turning on her.

Silver Spoon laughed. “Right.” She dragged out the word, showing how much she really believed that. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“What are y’all doin’ here?” Apple Bloom asked, asked.

“What? Is it a crime to talk to losers?” Scootaloo snorted. The pegasus’s muscles were more noticeable now that she was walking about. It was clear that she was quite fit and there was no doubt in the three’s minds that she could wrestle them to the ground, earth pony strength or not. She hoof-bumped Silver Spoon.

“We’re not losers,” Apple Bloom said.

“Really?” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “Whatever floats your boat. We just wanted to come over and say hi to the animal.”

“I’m not an animal,” Hikaru said, gulping in fear as he realized he just spoke up.

“Neat trick, animal.” Silver Spoon said. “I have a pet parrot that can talk about as well as you. Are we going to send him to school too?” Both of them laughed.

“Shut up and leave us alone,” Diamond Tiara growled.

Scootaloo flexed her jaw, showcasing her large saber fangs. She rolled her shoulders, showing off her muscles through her jacket. “And what are you going-”

She was cut off when a large, red bull suddenly appeared in front of them. The beast roared and the two ponies screamed, before taking off. Scootaloo tripped and conked her head against the swing set. The filly fell the ground.

Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom almost ran screaming themselves, before the image faded. In its place was Hikaru, who was rolling on the ground, laughing. “Hikaru?” They both said in shock.

“I scared them, didn’t I?” Hikaru chuckled, trying to gain his bearing.

Before the two of them could speak, Silver Spoon cut them off. “Scootaloo? Scootaloo are you okay?”

Scootaloo groggily got to her hooves. She clutched her head, which had a bleeding gash on it. She scowled, looking over at Hikaru. “This isn’t over.” She almost dizzily fell to her side, before Silver Spoon used herself as support. The duo walked over to the schoolhouse.

“That was amazing,” Diamond Tiara grinned. “I haven’t seen them so scared since...forever.”

Apple Bloom frowned. “Don’t ya think it was a bit much?”

“They deserved it and you know it,” Diamond Tiara said to her.

“Hikaru, Diamond Tiara, and Apple Bloom,” Cheerilee called out, the two troublemakers by her side. “Come here. Now.” Her voice brokered no room for argument. The stern look she was giving them said the same thing.

“Okay,” Diamond Tiara gulped. “Maybe you’re right about it being too much.”

Author's Note:

Decided to cut off here since I haven't updated in a while and felt like it was a good stopping point till next time.

I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a comment.

Comments

[Honeytongue]

Well, School is certainly going off with an...interesting start.
Looking forward to more.
Also, Baddie Scootaloo has a grandfather whose head/chief of police? Am I suppose to scared?

[Evowizard25]

6092011 Matters. Are you?

[Honeytongue]

6092159
Depends, is he?

[Evowizard25]

6092192 Yep, which gives him a lot of power in Ponyville. He isn't the top dog, as that is Inquisitor Time Turner and Princess Sunset Shimmer and her brother, but he's got enough.

[Honeytongue]

6092232
So you're saying he is a scary police chief? Or that he's Ponyville's police chief?

[Evowizard25]

6092314 Both. You see a little of him in 'The Battle for Ponyville' side story.

[Honeytongue]

6092326
Hmm, okay.
Oh yeah, haven't read that one yet.

[HB_DS2013]

Diamond and Scootaloo switched? How interesting. This puts a new perspective on things.

[howard035]

I think this may be my favorite chapter so far! I love how you've broken up the usual gangs, while keeping the personalities of each pony fairly intact, and I also like that Hikaru's use of illusions isn't presented as harmless.

Oh, and of course the class is religious and state propaganda, classic MLP40K.

[Festus]

‘Are they a dark pony?’

Uh, I think they prefer the term "African-American pony", thank you very much.

I never actually got why you had to switch Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara's roles around. It's like you changed it for the sake of change, is all I'm saying. And Sweetie Belle's not here... guess she'll come around sooner or later. Still a nice chapter, with an ending that gives me flashbacks to my old school days.

Teachers are assholes.

[predatornc]

.....When I saw diamond tiara come up I immiedtly expected her to bully Hikaru....But Scootaloo....wow

[NobodieZ]

Good work on this chapter.

Something inside him hurt. It hurt and it scared him like no other. ‘The dark ponies scared me. They pulled tricks on us and I….I’m not a dark pony. I wasn’t going to hurt her. It was just for fun.’ That’s what he told himself at least, but he still felt a tinge of guilt.

Nice character development for Hikaru.

PS, why did you make Scootaloo the bully for this story?