Loki looked up at the Canterlot Academy of Excellence in awe as he walked beside Luna, holding her hand to avoid getting separated from her. The building was as grand as the palace itself, with similar tall spires, pristine white marble, and gold filigree in some places. Why someone would waste good gold as trimming for a building was anypony’s guess really. Wouldn’t colorful stone serve the same purpose? Whatever. It’s entitled, ostentatious nobles we’re talking about. As they made their way to the main entrance, Luna stopped, kneeling down and placing her hands on Loki’s shoulder.

“Ok, this is it,” she said, her voice carrying a mix of pride and worry “First day for my little star child.” She looked him over, her motherly eyes catching a slight smudge on his face. She licked her finger and proceeded to wipe it off.

“Mommy!” Loki protested, trying to wave Luna’s hand away from his face. “You’re embarrassing me!”

“Now, now, Loki,” Luna chided as she finished wiping the smudge off. “I want you to look your best on your first day. A first impression is a lasting impression.” She looked him over again, a couple tears of joy streaking down her eyes before she planted a kiss upon his forehead. “You be good ok? Listen to your teachers, don’t cause any mischief, and if you run into any trouble, have one of your teachers call me and I’ll be right over.”

“Yes, mommy,” Loki answered with a smile before hugging Luna tightly. “Drever’s in all my classes, right?”

“Yes, sweetie,” Luna responded as she made sure his uniform was in order. “Fancy and I made sure you two share the same classes.”

“Thank you, mommy.” Loki gave Luna one more big hug before running off into the school, excited for his first day.

“I love you Loki!” Luna shouted to him as he entered the school. Once the doors closed, her anxiety went up a couple of levels. She turned to head back to the castle, nervously biting her knuckle the whole way.

Loki was struck with awe as he made his way to his first class. Impossible as it may have been, the inside of the school was more ornate and lavish, making the outside seem like a common skyscraper. The floor was entirely composed of Bocote wood, polished so well you could see your reflection in it and the walls were painted with a mixture of purple and gold, with tiny flecks of marble in it. The lockers that lined the halls were made of polished steel with gold trim. Subtlety seemed to be a word unfamiliar to these ponies.

Loki looked around and went over to the front office to ask for directions. “Excuse me, ma’am?” he called to the mare sitting at the desk looking over some papers.

“Yes, what is it?” she asked in a somewhat surly tone as her tired eyes locked with his. “Oh, you must be the new colt. Locky, is it?”

“Loki, ma’am,” he corrected. “I’m trying to find my first class.” The mare shuffled through the stack of papers and found his.

“Introduction to History,” she replied, her tone never changing. “It’s down the hall on your right, door number 113. Can’t miss it. Now run along kid.”

“Thank you!” Loki said before running off to his class. Stepping into the room, he quickly found Drever and took the empty seat next to him. “Morning, Drever.”

“Good to see you, Loki,” Drever replied with a warm smile. “I see your mother has finally allowed you to attend. How wonderful that we can now spend everyday together.”

“She even made sure we have all the same classes,” Loki revealed. “Isn’t that great?”

“Absolutely wonder…” Drever started before his gaze was drawn to a silver tinted pony walking into the room. “Oh great. It’s him.” His tone shifted to one of slight anger and despair as this pony made his way further in the room.

“Who is that?” Loki asked in a whisper, noticing Drever’s change in tone quite quickly. “Is he a bully?”

“He could practically be their king,” Drever replied in a snide, low growl. “Silver Buck. He thinks he’s above everypony else here because his grandaddy founded the Academy and that he deserves special treatment.”

“I can’t stand ponies like that,” Loki muttered, frowning as his creative mind began cooking up pranks to take this bully down a few pegs. Drever noticed the mischievous look adorning Loki’s eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I wouldn’t try it,” Drever said in a whisper. “He managed to get one colt here expelled just for cutting in front of him in the lunch line. Most of the teachers won’t do anything because his daddy sweeps it all under the rug.”

“And my mommy’s a princess,” Loki pointed out. “He can’t do anything to royalty, now can he?”

“Well, well, well, what have we here?” Silver asked snidely as he approached the pair. “If it isn’t the mongrel and…” He paused as he locked eyes with Loki. He moved over to his side and looked him over in a manner similar to how a national purebred dog judge would look upon the dogs. “Well this is certainly new, some kind of hairless pony I wager.”

Loki frowned at Silver. “My name is Loki. Loki Starfallen. Son of Princess Luna.” Silver laughed, long and loudly, so hard in fact he had to hold himself.

“You...you think you’re...the idea that she’d…” he tried to speak in between inhaling gulps of and his riotous laughing fit. “The princess’s son? Oh...oh by the Empress...that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day…” He continued his laughing, falling onto his back and rolling round on the floor. The sound of his laughter eventually died down and he straightened himself up. “Oh...you’re...you’re funny.”

“It’s not a joke,” Loki said firmly. Bullies crumbled when stood up to, so he showed him the proof of his social ranking: his ring. “Look at my ring.” Emblazoned on said ring was a yellow sun with the image of a crescent moon atop it. The Royal Family’s crest.

Silver inspected the ring, much like a jeweler would. “Well, so it seems you have some claim,” he sneered before, in a fluid motion, he knocked Loki to the ground and slipped the ring off his finger. “But of course your claim means squat without this little trinket.”

Loki glared at Silver as he got to his feet. “Give that back! It was a gift from Auntie Celestia!”

“No, I think I’ll keep it.” Silver replied as he slipped the ring into his pants pocket. “After all, it suits me more than it does to some circus freak like you and the mongrel over there.”

Loki sucked in several breaths in silence before he suddenly lunged and tackled Silver to the ground, raining punches down on his face and any other surface he could get at. “Give! Me! Back! My! Ring!” Each word was punctuated by a blow stronger than what you’d expect from a boy Loki’s age. Then again, rage is the universal steroid. Many in the class cheered and egged on the brutal beatdown, even Drever found himself shouting for Loki to be triumphant. The joy shared by all was short lived though as the teacher walked into the room and immediately rushed over to end the junior fight club.

“Break it up!” he barked as he wrenched Loki off of his battered and bruised opponent. “That’s enough!” He held Loki by the collar of his shirt, holding the boy away from him as he kept swinging and kicking. “All right, troublemaker: dean’s office! Let’s go!”

“Silver Buck started it, sir!” one of the other colts in the class said, standing up for Loki. “He stole the new kid’s ring!”

“Indeed he did, sir!” Drever said, coming to his comrade’s aid. “I’d be more than happy to speak in his defense.”

“Ok then, all three of you will come with me right now!” the teacher barked as he grabbed Silver by his shirt collar and proceeded to drag him and Loki out of the room.

Dean Fortune had not had the best of mornings. His coffee had been horrible, he’d come into work with a headache, and he had to tackle all the paperwork that came with being the dean of such a prestigious academy. But when three students, a bloodied and beaten Silver Buck among them, were escorted into his office, he suddenly felt like his day was perking up. “So… What happened between you three boys?” he inquired as he propped his elbows on his desk and laced his fingers together. “Let’s start with you, Silver Buck. Finally bite off more than you can chew?”

"That....hairless beast brutally assaulted me without any provocation!” Silver replied, dramatically pointing the finger at Loki. “I demand that this...this...creature be expelled immediately!”

Fortune turned his gaze to Loki. “And what’s your side of the story, Mr… Starfallen was it?”

“Yes, sir.” Loki replied, a hint of nervousness in his voice. “Well I was sitting down with Drever, minding my own stuff, when he came up to us, said mean things, then knocked me down and stole my ring.”

“You hairless creatin!” Silver barked, almost frothing at the mouth. “You brutalized my person!”

Fortune ignored Silver’s outburst and looked at his colleague. “When you broke up the scuffle, did any of the other students speak in either of their defense, Epoch?”

“Well, uh,” Epoch started stammering, the fear in his eyes was palpable. “Well, sir…”

“Epoch. Remember our role as educators, my friend,” Fortune softly said, meeting his old friend’s eye in a silent assurance that Silver Buck no longer had any power over him. Had never held true power over him. “Discipline is called for, and it is our job to mete it out fairly.”

Epoch inhaled a few deep breaths, centering himself and his thoughts. “Yes sir.” He replied. “Many came to our new students defense in the matter. I’m sure you can corroborate them.”

Fortune looked at Silver again, his gaze becoming stern. “Silver Buck. Turn out your pockets.”

“What?” Silver asked, both enraged and befuddled. “I’m the victim here! Look at me! He doesn’t even have a scratch!”

“I will decide who is at fault,” Fortune sternly reminded him. “Turn. Out. Your. Pockets.”

Silver huffed loudly and angrily as he stood from his seat. He reached into his pockets and emptied them on the dean’s desk. Some bits, lint and string were piled on. He reached in again and felt the ring, turning it over in his hand. He turned his gaze to Loki, sneering at him until he lifted the ring out of his pocket and threw it at the dean, not even bothering to make eye contact with him.

Fortune caught the ring and carefully looked it over before passing it to Loki. “Silver Buck, your past transgressions have been covered up by your father, but not this time. I will be writing to Princess Luna about this matter, and I will also be writing to your father explaining to him the exact reasons for your expulsion from this academy.”

“You can’t kick me out of my own school!” Silver protested, his face turning a deep red. “A member of my family has gone here since the day it was founded! I’ll see to it you never work in any sort of academia again!”

“Empty threats from a boy who’s gotten too big for his britches,” Fortune calmly replied. “Your family may have history with this school as its founders, but they’ll still be hard-pressed to protect you and themselves from the severe backlash of stealing from a member of the Royal Family. Hence my letter to Princess Luna. You will not escape the ramifications of your actions today.”

Silver muttered incoherently before, in a rather impressive show of strength for a child his size, flipped the chair he was sitting in over to its side before kicking it then locking eyes with Loki, once more using the dramatic finger point. “This isn’t over, freak!” He bellowed. “I’ll get even with you and that mongrel too! You’ll see! We always get our way in the end!” He then stormed out of the office, slamming the door hard behind him.

Fortune sighed and got a fresh sheet of parchment and dipped his quill in its inkwell. “Epoch. Please escort Loki and Drever back to class. I have a couple of letters to write.” He looked at the boys. “Rest assured, boys. You are not in any sort of trouble. Silver Buck has been a problem student the entire time he has attended this academy. Truth be told, this talk has brightened up my day considerably.” He gave them a warm smile and looked back to his letter. “Now off to class, you two.”

Both boys nodded before turning to leave and return to their day of education, hopefully free of any further trouble. As they entered Epoch’s classroom, the professor took his spot at his desk and cleared his throat. “Class. I’m sure word will spread like wildfire, but you’re likely the first to know. Because of his actions toward Mr. Starfallen, Silver Buck is to be expelled from this academy.” The class applauded and cheered wildly, as if a knight had slain a terrible beast that dogged them endlessly. “Alright, alright, settle down now!” He spoke, trying to restore a little order. The uproarious cheering ceased almost instantaneously as Epoch cleared his throat. “Now then, let us all get on with our lesson for the day. Mr. Starfallen, Mr. Drever, would you please take your seats?”

Celestia calmly sipped a cup of tea as she watched her sister pace back and forth. “Lulu, you’re going to wear a track in the floor if you keep pacing. Calm down. Have some tea.”

“Calm down? Calm Down?!” Luna shrieked, her eyes nearly bulging out of her skull. “My sweet little boy got into a fight on his first day of school, something I feared would happen if I let him go there, and you’re telling me to calm down?!”

“It wasn’t so much a fight as it was standing up to a bully,” Celestia pointed out. “I read Fortune’s letter too. Silver Buck tried to intimidate Loki, and he fought back. End result: Silver Buck is being expelled and Loki is now the most popular student in the school for bringing down a feared bully.”

“He could have been hurt, you know!” Luna responded, the worry in her voice, already at a ridiculous level, now climbed dangerously close to eleven. “I knew...I knew something like this would happen to him. My, my mother’s instinct told me something bad was going to happen and I didn’t listen to it!” Her pacing worsened as she started nervously sweating and gnawing on her knuckles.

Celestia set her teacup down and stood, pulling her near hyperventilating sister into a soothing embrace. “Luna. He’s alright. Mikoda taught him how to fight, remember? And bullies like Silver Buck are nothing without fear from those they torment. By fighting back against a bully, Loki has endeared himself to his classmates. Now he has no shortage of friends. Isn’t that what you wanted for him? To have friends?”

Luna slowly inhaled and exhaled, calming herself with each breathe. “Yes, sister.” she replied, her tone still carrying a slight worry. “I did, but not from this act of violence. It just isn’t done that way. I think he shouldn’t attend anymore, not if it leads to more trouble.”

“Now that Silver Buck is out of the picture, I don’t think there will be any more trouble for Loki,” Celestia said with a confident smile. “Besides. I’m proud of my nephew for turning out to have a bully hunter streak in him.”

“That's’ awfully ironic coming from one as diplomatic as you, dear sister.” Luna remarked as she got herself a cup of tea to further soothe her over worried mother nerves.

Celestia let out a small chuckle. “Oh don’t think I can’t make bullies run away crying with words alone, Lulu.”

Luna lightly chuckled as well before she took a sip of her tea. “Touche, sister. That one colt who bothered me way back when sure didn’t expect you to put him down.”

“He avoided us like the plague for over ten years afterward, didn’t he?” Celestia asked with a smile at the fond memory.

“Indeed he did.” Luna replied, also lost in the memory before she downed her tea. “I just worry about him, Tia. He’s a unique and wonderful child and I’d hate to see his shining star be snuffed out by those who just fear and hate him for no reason other than he’s different from us.” A tear ran down her cheek as her mind became swollen with unsavory thoughts of the things her subjects or others might try to do to Loki.

“He’ll be fine, Lulu,” Celestia softly assured as she wiped away her sister’s tear. “His classmates adore him now.”

“I hope you’re right Tia,” Luna replied, her voice carrying a twinge of doubt as she set down her teacup. “For his sake I hope you're right.”

Loki and Drever casually made their way down the academy hallway, laughing as they headed towards Loki’s locker. “Did you see the look on Dr. Heartstrings when her mixture just blew up right in her face?” Drever asked, cackling almost like a hyena.

“Yeah! And that comment about how she’s had to regrow her eyebrows before?” Loki laughed even harder as he leaned on his locker door to steady himself. Finally calming down, he opened his locker and saw a note sitting there waiting for him.

“A note?” Drever remarked in a curious manner as he picked it up. He unfolded it and skimmed it’s contents. “Hey hero, meet me in the top room of the tallest tower in thirty minutes. Cordially, your secret admirer.”

“Secret admirer?” Loki asked with a tilt of a his head. “A filly wants to meet me?” He felt his cheeks heat with a small blush at the thought.

“I bet it’s that Gilded Clover filly,” Drever responded as he playfully jabbed Loki with his elbow. “I know you like her, like her, Loki.”

“You think so?” Loki asked. “And she wants to meet me alone? Wonder what she could want?” Thoughts consumed by his crush, the young, naive boy raced off to the highest room of the tallest spire to see her. He rushed up the flight of stairs leading to the spire, fueled by the excitement of meeting the filly of his dreams, well the filly of his dreams so far. When he finally reached the top step, eyeing the door, he almost manically thrust it open and burst into the room. His look of joy however turned sour upon seeing the figure standing in the room; Silver Buck.

“Well, well, well I see you got my note,” Silver remarked, a devious smile formed upon his lips as he crossed over to Loki. “How wonderful.”

“What do you want, Silver?” Loki asked with a frown. “Surprised you’re not running away from me like the little coward you are. Always hiding behind daddy’s money while you make other people miserable. You’re not special, you’re a selfish little brat.”

Silver merely chuckled at Loki’s remarks as if they were nothing but water off a duck’s back to him. “You think that a freak like you would scare me off after one little scuffle?” He sneered as he moved closer to Loki in a calm manner. “Well then you know nothing of me at all. See while money is truly the greatest weapon in the world, it pays to fall back on force.” In an instant he broke his calm demeanor and rushed Loki, his fist raised in the air.

Loki shifted his weight and stance while grabbing Silver’s overextended forearm and using his momentum to throw the colt over his shoulder and send him skidding across the floor. “You can’t beat me, Silver.”

Silver lifted himself up wearily, raising his fists into a classic fisticuffs stance. “I will beat you!” He barked. “If I want you beaten, I’ll have you beaten! Even if I have to do it myself!” He charged at Loki once more, rage in his eyes.

Loki let Silver charge, and was ready with a response before the distance was even closed. Time seemed to slow to his eyes as he began his counter. Pillage the nest. He knocked Silver’s punch off course with a palm strike. Clip wings. He struck Silver’s shoulder blades with his palms to stun his arms. Now blunt his beak. As Silver turned to face him, Loki clapped both palms hard against Silver’s ears, making them ring. Crack eggs. He punched him in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. Pinch of salt. Palm strike to nose. Touch of pepper. Palm strike to lower chin. Flip the omelet. Leg sweep followed by shoulder throw. Breakfast is served. He relaxed and dusted himself off as he looked down at the beaten Silver. Where the beating he’d administered in the classroom had been wild and unfocused, this one had been far more surgical and energy efficient. “Give it up, Silver. Your daddy may have money, but mine’s a soldier and taught me how to fight.”

Silver clumsily managed to raise himself up, moaning as he felt his bones and muscles ache. As he got halfway up, he grabbed a small pile of dust up from the wood floor. He turned to face his opponent, throwing the dust into his face, hoping to blind him.

Loki was caught off guard and cried out as the dust got in his eyes. In that moment of vulnerability, he felt himself tackled to the floor. Throwing out his hands, he felt the weight vanish from him, shortly followed by Silver’s scream. A scream that grew more distant. Managing to clear his eyes, Loki saw that he was now alone in the room. Rushing to the open window, he looked out and saw a crowd gathering in the courtyard. Gathering around the very dead Silver Buck.

“Dear Goddess!” one of the crowd shouted.

“He’s dead!” another barked.

“Who was he?”

“It looks like that Silver colt!”

“What happened to him?”

“I think he jumped out a window!”

“Out of my way!” one of the crowd demanded as he pushed his way through the mob. As he got to the center, he laid eyes upon the body and screamed bloody murder. He fell to his knees, sobbing as he crawled to the corpse and cradled it in his arms. Tears flowed from his eyes as he rested Silver’s head on his shoulder. “My son...my beautiful son,” He sobbed before unleashing a cry of anger and sadness. “I demand to know what happened to my son and who is responsible for it!”

Loki trembled and ran out of the room as fast as he could. He needed to find Drever. Nopony but him knew that Loki had gone to that tower room.

Drever stood by his locker, placing his textbooks onto the shelves in order by his class list. Once he had them organized, he closed the locker up. As he turned to leave, he saw Loki running up to him. “Hey Loki, how’d it go with your little marefriend?” He asked teasingly before he noticed Loki’s shocked and sad expression. “Loki, what’s wrong? What happened up there?”

Loki pulled Drever into a small, empty room and looked around to make sure they were actually alone. “It wasn’t Clover waiting for me. It was Silver. He attacked me, I beat him up. He threw dust in my eyes, tackled me, I threw out my hands and the next thing I know he’s fallen out the window,” he explained in hushed whispers. “That ruckus outside is gathered around his body, and his daddy’s calling for blood.” Loki took a gulping breath. “I don’t know how, but I killed Silver. What am I gonna do, Drever?”

“Ok, calm down, Loki,” Drever responded, placing his hands on Loki’s shoulders. “Did anypony else know you were up there? Did anypony see what happened?”

Loki shook his head. “You’re the only one that knew. Silver and I were alone.” He took a couple of breaths. “I’m scared, Drever.”

“It’s ok,” Drever replied, checking to make sure no one else was there. “It’s ok. Now nopony knows about it and if anypony asks, we say we know nothing. They’ll think Silver threw himself out of the tower and you just walk away. Simple. Everypony goes home and you’re off the hook.”

“Is it really that simple?” Loki asked, starting to calm down as he considered Drever’s logic. Since only he and Drever knew he had been with Silver when he died, his alibi was airtight.

“Very simple,” Drever responded confidently. “We just have to remain quiet about it and this will all go away.”

Loki nodded as he calmed down. “Right. We take this to our graves. We never speak of this again.” Drever silently nodded in agreement before he opened the door to the hallway. Both boys exited the room and left to attend their classes as usual, remaining unsuspecting as the made their way down the hall.