The early morning classes let out with the tolling of crystal chimes as Lemon Hearts walked through the doors of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. The voices of the students echoed through the sweeping hallways. They trotted past the brilliant yellow unicorn in a rainbow of magic auras and books. She peered out from behind her cerulean mane at the waves of ponies, and sighed.

New school, new you, Lemons. Come on. You can do it.

She took a deep breath, centered herself, gathered her saddlebags in her raspberry-colored magical aura, and stepped out into the crowd. She managed a few steps along the hall, but was jostled again and again. After an uncomfortable moment suspended in the press of ponies, she fell backwards onto the polished marble, spilling the contents of her saddlebags across the hallway.

Nopony seemed to notice. A few of her books slid as they were kicked by uncaring hooves.

Lemon felt a tingle at the corner of her eyes. For a second, she felt her old self coming out, and took a long, shuddering breath. The tears would be next. She pushed the sorrow back. This wasn’t the time for emotional outbursts. She’d been accepted to CSGU, and it wouldn’t do to break down on her first day.

‘Sour Lemon’ is gone. I’m not going to let her out again.

She blinked to clear her eyes, and realized she was staring at a tall, dark green unicorn with an unfurled scroll for a cutie mark.

“Rough start, sunshine. You okay?” His voice was clear and strong, like the striking of a brass gong. “Don’t let them get to you. Competition here at GU can be tough, and nopony likes being seen as weak. It invites… trouble. Here—”

His horn flared to life, engulfing her and all her scattered supplies in his vibrant emerald magic. With a toss of his mane, he stood her up, put all her books, quills, and inkpots back into her bags, and placed them over her again.

Despite the complex shuffling necessary to weave her books out from the sea of ponies around them, and the measured force needed to pull her up off the floor, he didn’t seem at all fazed.

He’s good....

“Uh, t-thanks,” she said, swallowing the lump in her throat. Her old self still threatened to overcome her. “For the help, I mean.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said, grinning. “What kind of example would I be setting for the incoming class if I didn’t take a moment to help?”

They shared a laugh, his full-throated and loud, hers unassuming and quiet.

“You’d better get going, sunshine. Professor Marks doesn’t appreciate tardiness.”

Lemon Hearts froze. “Who?”

He lifted up a small piece of cardstock, and floated it to her. She took it in her magic, and scanned it. It was her class schedule.

“Says here that Lemon Hearts’s first session is Fundamentals of Metaphysics with Professor Top Marks. He does it for all the first-years. Assuming that’s you, it’s in the South Wing, so if you hurry—”

“Oh, gosh! I’m gonna be late!” She crammed her schedule into her saddlebag, and charged down the hallway. She weaved around the mob of students, desperately hoping to beat the chimes. She panicked for a moment upon discovering that she had overshot a turn in the vast halls. It didn’t quite get to the point of using her magic to shove ponies out of the way, but it was a near thing.

She beat the chimes by mere seconds, only making it to the auditorium’s gallery steps before their bright and cheerful ringing sang throughout the school. She fought to catch her breath as she climbed the steps to a relatively unoccupied row near the front. Eventually she managed, as the ponies around her busied themselves with setting up their quills and inkpots.

“Welcome to the Fall Semester, everypony.” The voice was calm and composed, but slightly strained as the unicorn stallion raised his voice to be heard over the settling of his students. He sat at the front of the class behind a mahogany desk. The room quieted down as Professor Top Marks stood, levitated a baton from his assistant’s desk with his magic, and crossed to the center of the room. He was an older pale cobalt unicorn with a short light gray mane. His tweed jacket gave him an air of severity that silenced the few remaining chatty ponies in his lecture hall.

“You are first year students at our Princess’s academy for the best and brightest. You have just started an undertaking that will determine your futures. Rest assured that you, like everypony to come through these halls before you, shall only go as far as your study and practice permit. Your…”

Lemon Hearts tried to take notes, but his speech just. Kept. Going…

She eventually decided to take down the intricate diagrams and lines of equations lining the chalkboards behind Professor Marks. They all seemed to relate to ambient magic and the methods by which it might be channeled. She’d thoroughly copied three of the boards when she noticed the Professor seemed to be winding down.

“… Therefore, it is imperative that you remember the watchwords of the day: discipline, drive, and demeanor. Through these, you will discover your destiny. Though it yet hangs just out of reach, you will grasp it someday. Thank you.”

There was a smattering of half-hearted applause. Lemon Hearts joined in, stamping her hooves on the ground.

Professor Marks cantered to his desk, floated up a glass of water with his magic, and drained it.

“Ah. Better. Now!” He slammed the glass down and swept up a large stack of paper. In one smooth motion, he fanned out the papers and passed one to each pony. As each pony took theirs, he called out their names.

“Allegria. Amethyst Star. Artiste. Balustrade. Briar Patch. Buttered Biscuit. Calliope…”

It went on. Lemon Hearts hadn’t appreciated just how large the class was until this moment. Craning her neck to look around, she realized there must have been thirty or so unicorns here.

“… Floribunda. Frabjous Day. Gaslamp. Gravel Path. Ground Root. Gusty. Halfthorn. Honey Sweet. Horizon Line…”

So many… how in Celestia’s name did I get in if there’s already so many?

“… Juniper Berry. Kilowatt. Lemon Hearts. Lilting Bell. Luminescent. Lyra Heartstrings. Mallomar. Minuette. Moon Dancer…”

And it kept going. Lemon Hearts grabbed the sheet of paper, and read through it briefly. It was a syllabus and—

—What? But I’d hoped— Ooh, ponyfeathers… Mom and Dad are gonna kill me…

Heavy Hearts, her father, had drilled it into her head how important it was to be prepared. Homestead Hearts, her mother, had raised her with a no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners attitude towards her duties. Under their careful guidance, Lemon had become a studious little filly with an eye towards detail.

It’d been that eye that had lead to her disastrous dismissal from the Hoofington Academy, and the nickname ‘Sour Lemon’.

It’d been that eye that had earned her acceptance to CSGU.

It was that eye that had caught that Professor Top Marks had a project due every week until finals, leaving her no time to go home and see her family.

“… Seabreeze. Shining Lights. Suns—”

There was a slight catch in Professor Marks’s voice. He cleared his throat, and continued.

“Sunsong. Tempest Fidget, Twinkleshine. Umbra. Valiant Banner. Wander. Wondergleam. Wren Feather. Yonder.”

He looked at the gallery, catching as many ponies as he could with his gaze. “You have five minutes to acquaint yourself with the syllabus. Rest assured that I know each of your names and faces. Any of you who might claim ignorance of my deadlines would do well to remember that.”

With that, he trotted back to his desk, opened a small tome, and began to read.

Lemon Hearts fidgeted in her seat in the school’s Meeting Hall, waiting for the Dean’s welcome speech to begin. It seemed every unicorn filly in Canterlot was here, from the youngest first years to the seventh-years, ready to graduate and pursue their talents.

“H-hi,” said a quiet little voice beside her.

“Gah!” Lemon Hearts almost jumped out of her skin.

The voice belonged to a pale golden filly with a pink mane. Lemon Hearts remembered seeing her in Fundamentals, but couldn’t recall her name.

“Hey… you….”

The filly cast her gaze downward. “Sorry. I guess we didn’t really meet, did we? I’m Twinkleshine. I was directly behind you in Fundamentals, and—”

Lemon Hearts clapped her hooves together. “Oh, right! The filly who kept applying musical scales to magical Harmonics!”

Twinkleshine blushed a little. “Y-yeah, that’s me. Good old musical me.” She hoofed at the ground nervously.

“What’s the matter?”

Twinkleshine sighed. “I just thought that maybe coming to CSGU would be a new start for me. I’ve always been in one choir or another, ever since I was small. Momma said it’d help get me into a good school.”

Lemon Hearts laughed. “Well, she wasn’t wrong…”

Twinkleshine rolled her eyes. “And she’ll never let me forget it! Anyway, thanks to her, I think of things in terms of music. So I was just trying to draw parallels.”

Lemon looked at the golden unicorn and smiled. “No, it's great! I’d have never thought of harmonic cadence as a vessel for Harmonic magic! That's really clever!”

Twinkleshine blushed a little, and laughed.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by a blue and white bomb landing between them with a cheer.

“Woo! What're we laughing about?” said a voice far too cheerful to be natural. It came from a unicorn with an hourglass cutie mark, and a grin that almost glowed.

Twinkleshine gasped, and broke out laughing again. “Minuette, you scared the saddle off of me!”

Lemon’s heart beat fast enough that she felt a little lightheaded. “Gosh! What was that?”

Minuette nudged her, laughing. “I just felt like making an entrance. You okay?”

Lemon got her breathing under control, and began to chuckle. “You sure you're not part buck-in-a-box?”

Minuette’s laughter became a long series of cackles, and laid her out on the floor.

“You'll have to forgive her. Minuette’s sense of humor is sometimes strange, but she always has a reason.”

A glimmer of recognition shined in Lemons eyes. “Minuette? And Twinkleshine? Did you two attend Miss Apple Delight’s class in Magic Kindergarten?”

The other two looked at Lemon as that same light dawned on them.

“No way—” Twinkleshine said, breathlessly.

“Ah-hah! I knew it! You were the filly who apparated that flask over her head!”

Lemon blushed at the memory. “Y-yeah. Thanks for getting it off of me. I don't know how you managed it, but seriously. Thanks.”

Minuette scoffed. “No big! It was just a proper application of comedy!”

Lemon blinked at her, brow furrowed. “… What?”

Twinkleshine rolled her eyes. “It’s Minuette,” she said as Minuette waived to another group of ponies. “You’ll get used to her.”

“Moony!” Minuette called to two other fillies standing away from the crowd. “Miss Delight’s science class reunion! Let's do it!”

Lemon glanced over, and saw the filly Professor Marks had called Moon Dancer cantering over. As they reintroduced themselves, a stallion’s voice spoke over the crowd. He wasn't very loud, but he had the unmistakable air of authority. As the brisk, cultured voice began, it quieted all other speech until only it echoed off the silent walls.

“Thank you for your patience, fillies and gentlecolts,” said the unicorn at the podium. He was a tall, stately stallion with a gleaming silver mane. His severe suit looked like he’d been dipped in oil. The blacks absorbed the lights overhead, and added a slightly sinister cast to his otherwise handsome features. He could only have been Dean Silver Slate.

“Welcome to the Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, the only academy in Equestria that will push you to become more than you are. My name is Silver Slate, and I am the Dean of Magical Studies, which means I am the highest authority here, barring the Princess herself. This puts me in the unenviable position of being the one to tell you when you've gone too far, and when you've crossed the line. I expect a few of you are already making mental notes to avoid me at all costs.”

There were some laughs, mostly the high-pitched chuckles of the guilty.

“That is why I was chosen for this role. I am harsh, but fair. You will reap what you sow.”

An uncomfortable silence settled around the hall. Lemon Hearts swallowed a sudden desire to shiver.

“However” he said, flashing a genuinely warm smile, dispelling the subtle air of menace that had grown around him. Now he seemed more like a stern uncle. “I would rather be known as the Master of Ceremonies for the upcoming Nightmare Night Masquerade Ball. As is tradition, we will crown the Autumn Liege. Only those with a qualifying grade point average at the midterm will be allowed to compete for the crown.”

He lifted his glasses off his muzzle, and cleaned them before replacing them. “To explain the minimum requirements for a candidate, I give to you last year’s Princess, Sunset Shimmer.”

Behind him, the curtains parted to reveal a gorgeous amber unicorn, with a crisply styled gold-and scarlet mane. She was dressed in a fuchsia gown, and wore a tiara made of gilded leaves and branches. Her muzzle split into a wide, welcoming smile. “Good morning, everypony! Gosh, it’s exciting to be up here, and I thank you for the opportunity to talk about what a great Autumn Liege should be.”

She tossed her mane, teal topaz teardrop earrings glittering in the stage lights. “For those who don't know me, I've won the crown every year for the last two years. To make sure there's plenty of competition, I'm working with Dean Slate and your instructors to make sure we all have a shot at the title of Autumn Liege!”

There was some applause, mostly from the younger students. Lemon noticed everypony from her Fundamentals class looked raring to go, but the older students seemed more subdued.

As she scanned the faces of the seniors, she caught the eye of Green Fields.

He grinned, winked at her, and then turned back to Sunset Shimmer.

Lemon felt a little warm. Minuette nudged her with a chuckle.

“The qualifications have been relaxed some, so even you first-years can participate. All you have to do is maintain a four-point-oh GPA, volunteer for at least one extracurricular event a week, and be ready to demonstrate your special talent at the Ball. At that point, your peers will elect the Autumn Liege. Your professors are watching, so do your best! At the Masquerade Ball, some lucky colt or filly will win the crown, and I can't wait to meet our next Prince or Princess!”

There was a series of popping sounds somewhere above Lemon. Almost immediately after it, ponies all around her were soaked in a rich purple liquid. It evaporated as it poured, disappearing into a heavy purple haze.

Lemon held her breath, and pushed out of the crowd. She hadn't been touched. Those who had looked scared, sick, or sullen.

Until they all started screaming.