Fluttershy awoke to the soft but sudden thumping of Angel's foot on her chest. "Nng... Angel?" She groaned as she stretched out her arms and yawned. The rabbit hastily pointed to his owner's alarm clock which read 7:05.

"Oh my gosh!" She almost screamed. "I'm sorry I can't brush your coat this morning, Angel, but I have to get to school!" She said quickly as she quickly got dressed and threw her bag over her shoulder. "I'll be back as soon as classes end and I'll brush you twice as long as usual, I promise!" She said as she quickly made her way out of her small apartment complex and walked swiftly to Canterlot High.

She got there just in time, taking her seat just as the bell rang. She sighed in relief as she sat down, and began to take out her things she would need for the lesson.

The teacher, Professor Discord, spun around in his large leather swivel chair to face the class with a sly grin, stroking the long gray strip of hair on his chin with a slender hand. "Good morning, class. Are we all ready to learn some psychology today?" He chuckled.

Fluttershy nodded enthusiastically, but most of the class seemed to still be half asleep. Fluttershy prepared herself for whatever plan Professor Discord had plotted to wake up his class.

The tall, slender teacher simply surveyed the room for a moment with his red eyes. Fluttershy seemed to be the only one awake and alert. He saw this and, knowing she was a delicate girl, motioned for her to cover her ears. As she did so, he took in as much breath as he could and yelled, "SEX!"

The class roared to life in an instant, sounding of both screams of surprise and immature laughter. Professor Discord grinned as he followed his exclamation with a calm, more quiet explanation. "That's right class. Today we will be studying how sexual activity and desires affects the psyche."

The class reaction was a mixture of a minimal amount of groans and complaints and far more cheers and snickers. The tall professor grinned as he turned on the projector. "Which brings me to the first theory we will look over today, the Oedipus Complex."

This was going to be a long day.

"... And that, class, is why the Elektra Conflict is superior in every way to the Oedipus-" *RRRRRINGGGG* ".... Ah, well it seems that I've rambled quite a bit. No homework tonight, class!" Professor Discord exclaimed as enthusiastically as his students after the statement; he hated grading papers.

Fluttershy smiled softly as she walked to her next class: English with Mrs. Harshwhinny. She walked four doors down from Professor Discord's room into the bland, gray room that was her English class.

"Hello, class. I hope you all remembered to bring your composition notebooks today. If not, please take one from my desk and write your name on the check-out sheet. I will deduct your points afterschool today unless you stop by at lunch to make up the points." The teacher scowled as students without their notebooks did as instructed, heads held low.

To Fluttershy, English went by quickly because she was so good at reading and writing. She happily packed up her things as the class bell rang, and she attended her next three classes before lunch.

As she was walking to her regular lunch spot with Bulk and Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy noticed a large group of students screaming in what seemed to be a circle. The students seemed to be watching a fight unfold. By the time she got over to the excited teenagers, the crowd had grown from a small group into a mob. She could hear cheers and words of encouragement being yelled from the sea of students, along with strings of adolescent profanity.

The two fighting in the center of the ring formed by the surrounding students were none other than Rarity and Applejack. The young fashionista was side-stepping AJ's lunges, trying to calm the farm hand.

"Applejack, please!" Rarity begged. "Stop trying to hit me! I wouldn't be able to bear having a hideous welt on my face!" She was panicking now, as she was running out of space to move out of the way of the farm girl's relentless strikes. She was beginning to back into the wall of students on one side of the circle.

"Oh, there's gonna be more'n one bruise on that face o' yers, Miss Priss!" She screamed as she tackled Rarity to the floor and started pulling her hair whilst also smacking her hair against the concrete.

The crowd roared at a new volume, obviously excited at the sight of Rarity getting her head repeatedly pounded into the very hard and unforgiving ground of the school's quad. Anyone who hadn't already pulled out their phone to take a video did so at that point, and the more Rarity's skull was bashed into the concrete, the louder the crowd screamed for more.

Rarity shrieked like a banshee and desperately tried to get out of AJ's grip. "Ow!!! M-My hair!!! MY HAAAAAIR!!!"

Fluttershy was shocked! Two of her best friends were fighting! 'What should I do?' She asked herself. 'If I step in and try to stop them, I might get caught in the middle of it; but I can't just let them fight, can I? Oh, what am I supposed to-' Fluttershy was jolted from her thoughts when she heard an authoritative voice yell from outside the circle.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" Yelled Vice Principal Luna. She yelled so loud that her voice echoed multiple times throughout the large quad. Every sound from any and all students at that moment ceased completely. The crowd of students parted like the Red Sea so their Vice Principal could make her way to the two students who caused the uproar. Both Applejack and Rarity had looks of complete fear on their faces as she approached them. With surprising strength for such a small frame, Canterlot High's Vice Principal heaved both girls on to their feet simultaneously; Applejack by the neck of her flannel button-up, and Rarity by the back of the infinity scarf around her neck. Applejack attempted to hide herself as she looked around at the crowd of students and found a very angry looking Big Macintosh looking her straight in the eyes from the back row of the circle. Luna saw this, and deemed it part of Applejack and Rarity's punishment to embarrass her further. She looked over her shoulder and spoke to the large country boy with a smile. "Big Macintosh, if you would be so kind as to escort these two young ladies to Principal Celestia's office."

With an unfazed expression and nod, Big Mac answered with a stoic, "Eeyup." And grabbed the girls in the same places that Luna had. As he dragged them through the hall to Principal Celestia's office, he looked sternly at Applejack and his voice was firm, intimidating. More so than usual. "Sis, ah wanna have a word with ya when we get home." As he finished this statement, he placed both girls on their feet at the door of the Principal's office. As Mac walked back to the quad, both the cowgirl and fashionista gulped nervously at what was to come.

Neither of them said anything, too frightened to initiate any sort of interaction with Principal Celestia, as they knew that by now she already knew what they had done. They simply stood there next to each other silently in the doorway.

This, ultimately, only delayed the inevitable. For after a minute of simply standing there, Principal Celestia slowly opened the door. Contrary to what the two girls were expecting, Celestia was extreme calm, and when she spoke, her voice was soft and smooth. This scared Applejack and Rarity even more. "Girls, there you are. Please, let's head to my office. It seems we have much to discuss." She said with a sly grin, as she let the two nervous girls to her office.

The two teenagers looked at each other, exchanging nervous glances as they sat down in the two chairs set in front of their Principal's desk. The air was thick with tension and anxiety, almost able to be tasted. What worried them even more was the fact that Celestia was looking at them with a calm, almost happy look that they knew had to be a facade.

"Now, then." She said as she straightened a small stack of papers on her desk. "Would one of you care to tell my why the fight between you two broke out?" As Celestia asked this question, the smile never left her lips. It was enough to chill someone to the bone. The two girls across from her were almost visibly shaking in their chairs with fear of what was to come.

After seeing that neither of them would answer the question, she let out a small chuckle. "Alright then. Well, given that I have no motive behind why the fight started, I suppose I'll just have to start with some punishment. I can't have this type of behavior at CHS, you ladies know this perfectly well, I'm certain." Finally, the kind smile and tone was replaced with a disapproving frown, and a lower, more intimidating voice. "Both of you will be suspended for 5 school days, and the work you miss while you are out must be completed 3 days after your return. And neither of you may continue your club activities for the remainder of the school year. Applejack, this unfortunately means you are no longer the president of the riding club. And Rarity, you must step down as president of the fashion club. I'm sorry, girls, but I must make sure this behavior is not repeated. And if it is, I'll have no choice but to expel both of you." She crossed her arms and leaned forward, lowering her brow to scowl at them both. "Do I make myself clear, ladies?"

"Y-yes ma'am." Applejack managed to get out, just barely above a whisper, a stoic, faraway look on her face, while Rarity just stared at the wall; with tears welled up in her eyes, she looked ready to cry profusely.

And cry she did.

"No... More... F-fashion club?" She managed to say between exagerated sobs before her eyes shut tight and she began to wail. "WAAAAAAAAAH!" She stood from her chair and ran outside the office, crying obnoxiously all the way to her dark purple Porsche convertible before shutting herself inside it and sobbing even louder, the sound barely muffled from the confines of her car windows.

Applejack silently got up and walked out of Celestia's office, out of the school building, and to the Apple Family Truck, where Big Mac was waiting, leaning on the drivers seat door with his arm, a sprig of wheat in his mouth. He saw his sister approach, and got behind the wheel, Applejack joining him without a word, sitting in the passenger's seat.

After about five minutes of silently driving, Big Mac sighed tiredly and began what he knew was going to be a very long, very awkward talk with his younger sister. "So," he began in his deep, southern droll, "can you explain to me why you thought it was a good idea to get in a fight at school? You know we don't do that in our family, AJ. The Apple family never encouraged violence. Didn't Ma and Pa raise us better than that?And Ah thought you an' that Rarity gal are friends anyways. You ain't never been one to fight with yer friends. Ah jest can't believe you'd go an do somethin' like-" At this point, Applejack was fuming in her seat, and she decided she'd had enough.

"Jest shut it! First off, don't you EVER bring up Ma n' Pa again! Second, ah fought Rarity 'cause she wouldn't listen to reason when ah told 'er not to be SCREWING BOYS in her house while APPLEBLOOM WAS THERE! Y'know what ah cain't stand about you, Mac? You only open yer mouth when yer correctin' someone, 'cause you think yer soooo smart jest cause you hardly ever say nuthin' besides 'eeyup' and 'eenope' and that's sposed ta automatically mean that you're really some great thinker or somethin' like that, and yer not! So ah don't wanna fuckin' HEAR IT!" By the time AJ had finished her rant, tears of anger were streaming down her face.

Mac pulled over and quickly curbed the car, stepping heavily on the brake pedal before turning the engine off. His chest heaved with a heavy breath as his hands tightened into fists. "Listen here, AJ." Mac started at a volume he had probably never spoke at before now. "Ah've never thoughta myself as a particularly smart man, and Ah ain't never tried to make myself look smarter'n anyone else. Now Ah know yer upset, with just gettin' suspended an' all, but you gotta calm down. This ain't like you, AJ. Ah know ur mad with what that Rarity gal did while Applebloom was with her, an' Ah don't know much about it, but trust me when Ah say Ah'm mad too, an' even though yer mad at her, like Ah said, it ain't like you t'just start throwin' fists. An' this cryin' an' screamin' ain't like you either. So jest calm down." Although he was not yelling, he was definitely loud enough to intimidate his sister, and his words made her feel deep pangs of guilt. The more Mac talked, the further AJ sank into the warm leather of the truck's seat. Bye the time he finished talking. She looked as if she was being sucked into the seat.

Mac finished his speech with a huff, and from this, AJ knew he was done speaking. The rest of the ride home was uneventful. The second that Mac stopped the car at Sweet Apple Acres, AJ got out and walked into the house. Granny was sitting in her rocking chair, and she did NOT look happy. "Applejack." She said as she looked into her Granddaughter's eyes with disapproval. "Ah got a call from yer Principal."

AJ held her breath and looked down as she took her Stetson off her head. Holding it right at the brim with both hands to her chest. Granny rocked a few more times in her chair before continuing.

"Ah ain't mad. Ah'm disappointed. Go ta yer room. And ya stay in there until ah call ya down fer breakfast tomarre mornin'."

".... Yes'm." AJ said with a quiet, shaky voice. The house was silent, save for the thumping of AJ's boots as she walked upstairs to her bedroom, and the creaking of the rusty hinges of the door to her room as she walked in and closed it. She set her Stetson on her nightstand, laid on her bed, and stared up at the ceiling with tears in her eyes.

Mac heard Applejack's door shut as he walked into the house. Granny Smith gave him a weak smile. "So, how'd the talk on the ride over here go? I'm assuming not well; she didn't look too happy when she came in'ere."

"Eenope." Mac said as he looked down and shook his head. "Ah'll go git some dinner made." Granny smiled weakly again as Mac walked into the kitchen, rocking gently in her chair.

As he rolled up the sleeves on his red flannel so that he could cook, he heard a small voice call his name from the kitchen's doorway. "...Big Mac? What's goin' on? Why's Applejack cryin' in her room? And what's Granny disappointed about? Is everything gonna be alright?"

As he heard this voice, finishing up dinner, Mac sighed and responded gently without turning to face his youngest sister. "Everythang's fine, Bloom. Sit down, 'kay? Ah got a plate o' steak an' apple pie with yer name on it."

Applebloom perked up at those words. "Apple pie? Woohoo!" She ran swiftly to her seat and licked her lips. "Ah love Granny's pies!" Ah, childhood; the stage in life when dessert solves any and all problems.

Upstairs, however, Applejack still had her problems to deal with. She had lost Rarity as a friend. Gotten suspended, kicked off the riding team, and worst of all, disappointed Granny. She curled up into a ball and cried until she fell asleep. She did not dream that night.

Author's Notes:

Well, after a bunch of unfortunate delays, here's the newest chapter. (FINALLY) I personally thought this was really fun to write, albeit challenging.

As usual, leave a big thumbs up if you're enjoying the story, and make sure to check out Ringmaster's account and leave him an awesome comment on his page or something like that. He deserves it! The next chapter is coming VERY soon.

Deuces!