Starfire was having a hard time getting the class settled. The room was alight with the screams of over-excited, hyperactive young fillies and colts.

‘Curse that Pinkie Pie, and her extra sweet, double icing, sugar-filled cupcakes,’ thought the zaffre blue stallion as he scanned the carnage that was taking place in front of him. The classroom was a mess, the tables overturned and workbooks littering the floor. ‘She just HAPPENED to be giving out free samples directly outside the school, didn’t she?’

The unicorn gave Cheerilee a nervous half smile and smoothed back his medium length, blonde mane. It was drenched in sweat.

“They’re just getting it out of their systems!” he called out to the back of the room, towards the frowning teacher, over the high pitched voices of around fifteen sugar-fuelled children. Starfire hadn’t been working as a student teacher here for long, but he hadn’t seen Cheerilee frown before now. She just didn’t seem the sort to get angry. That means everything was going horribly, HORRIBLY wrong.

Cheerilee, ducking to avoid Scootaloo racing past her on her trademark scooter, the bucket on her head obscuring any sort of vision whatsoever, called back, “If you ever want to become a fully trained teacher and earn your certificate, you’re going to have to learn how to deal with these situations! Because if not, then...”

Starfire couldn’t hear a word the pink earth pony was saying, mainly because one of the students, Applebloom, had decided that he just HAD to hear her little club’s theme song, at the top of her voice, directly in his left ear. He cringed, scanning the pre-teen apocalypse that had befallen the small classroom. Sweetie Belle was scooting across the floor, her blank flank thrust high into the air, stuffing dictionary pages into her mouth. Twist was dancing to the orchestra of squeaky shrieks that assaulted his ear lobes from every direction, shaking her head so violently that he imagined her spectacles would fly right off her face. Young Dinky Hooves had wrapped herself up in a map of Equestria and appeared quite content lying there, doing a very good impression of a sausage roll. Near the back, Snips and Snails had managed to stick themselves together with chewing gum. Again.

Starfire sighed, wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, then turned his attention to the clock. School wasn’t over for another three hours. He felt his stomach tighten as Cheerliee’s gaze burnt into his skin. This was going to be a VERY long day...

Suddenly, amidst the wreckage that was once called a classroom, the unicorn saw something move at the window. A blue blur, just there for a second, then gone. He continued to stare at the window whilst Applebloom launched a full martial arts assault on his legs. A few moments later, the blue blur returned, then stopped at the paint splattered window. It was a light blue pegasus, the early afternoon sun bouncing off his black, square-rimmed spectacles. His wings were a blur, keeping him hovering in place about a meter from the ground. He held a small, rolled up parchment in his mouth, and was banging on the window with his left hoof, imploring that he be let in.

At least that’s what Starfire assumed he was saying, anyway. Between the unholy noise in that classroom, the fact he had a roll of paper in his mouth, and the fact that he was behind several inches of soundproof glass, all the student teacher could make out was, “Hmpfh!”

‘Oh, thank Celestia,’ the unicorn muttered under his breath. Stepping carefully over a cowering Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, he reached the window and pulled it up from the bottom. The Pegasus fluttered into the room, landing carefully on all four hooves.

“IMP LOOFS LIMP OOVE GOF UHR HOOPHS FUH!” He mumbled incoherently.

Starfire, narrowly dodging a flying cupcake, levitated the scroll out of the blue stallion’s mouth. “What?”

“I said, 'it looks like you’ve got your hooves full!'” he called back, barely allowing himself to be heard over the ruckus.

“You think?” the unicorn wheezed sarcastically. He looked over at Cheerilee, signifying that he knew the strange pegasus pony that moments earlier had decided to fly in through the window of an elementary school. He then turned his attention back to his friend. “Weatherstorm, what kept you?”

Weatherstorm rolled his light blue eyes and threw back his jet black, gelled-up mane. “Huh!” he scoffed, almost insulted. “I have a social life too, you know.” The newcomer had a soft spoken, rather posh sounding accent. He pronounced his words deliberately, as though he took great pains to make every syllable count. It suited his characteristics well.

“Look me in the eyes and say that again without smiling.” The unicorn replied, dryly. His nerves were shot.

The pegasus pointed to the floating scroll, wrapped in a blue aura emanating from the tip of Starfire’s horn. “I was writing THAT. You know, to keep them occupied?”

Starfire winked at his light blue friend. “It took long enough. I hope it's good, 'Stormy. Helping me find some other way of keeping this lot settled is not how you'd want to spend your afternoon."

Weatherstorm frowned. He disliked being called ‘Stormy’ by his friends and he disliked the notion of spending all day with these little brats even more. He placed a hoof to his chest, which was swelled with pride. “My dear Starfire, you have absolutely NO faith in me. After all,” he said, looking to his cutie mark, “who here earned their cutie mark for writing?”

Starfire looked back at his own cutie mark: three shooting stars. “You have me beat there.” He smiled. Having been subjected to several hours of non-stop chaos, the chap was clutching at straws. “Let's just hope this is one of your finer works. These kids can be hard to please, believe me.”

“Ah, well...” Weatherstorm bobbed his head from left to right, as though making a decision. “Not my BEST work by any means. But I’m sure it’s enough to keep this juvenile lot entertained, at the ver...”

The pegasus didn’t have time to finish his sentence as a cupcake exploded against the side of his face.

This caused a groan of disgust from the unfortunate victim, and a collective gasp from the class. Starfire mentally reminded himself that he was placing his future job in the hooves of a stallion that climbed through elementary school windows and got bullied by children.

The dark blue unicorn cleared his throat loudly, trying to grab the attention of the still laughing fillies and colts. He pointed to Weatherstorm who was wiping icing from his glasses, picking crumbs from out behind his ears and flicking cupcake mixture out from his neon-blue streaked mane and tail. “This,” he loudly announced, “Is a very special guest, my good friend Weatherstorm. He works at the Ponyville Express paper. Isn’t that exciting, kids? Isn’t it? Children...” It was to no avail. Anarchy continued to reign supreme. All law and order of the schoolhouse had well and truly broken down.

Cheerilee, holding a quill in her mouth, scored a big ‘X’ on a page. Starfire didn’t know what exactly this meant, and he didn’t want to find out.

He turned to his friend, desperation evident in his eyes. “Help me out here...” he whispered.

"Your class, your problem. This is far from MY job on the line."

"PLEASE."

"Fine. But I'm afraid to say that you owe me for this, yes indeed." Weatherstorm turned to the class. “Uh... I’m taking autographs, so... form an orderly queue, please?”

This was met with another projectile cupcake to the face. Wiping the treat from his face with his hoof, Weatherstorm screamed, “AND I’M ONE OF THE PONIES THAT SAVED EQUESTIA FROM... NIGHTMARE MOON!” he cackled the name evilly, throwing his hooves out in front of him like a zombie and moaning, “OOOOHHHHH!”

This caught their attention. As quick as a flash, tables were put upright and behind them sat fifteen little angels, looking sickingly sweet.

“You mean princess Luna?” Scootaloo asked politely, a pretty little halo forming over her head. “I’ve met her, you know. And she really is quite a dear.” The angelic little angel mimicked the blue stallion’s voice, holding her head high. Some snickering circulated from the back.

“No. Nightmare moon.” Repeated Weatherstorm, signifying to Starfire that he should unravel the parchment. Story time had begun. “Completely different pony.”

Sweetie Belle chimed up. “No they aren’t. I met her last Nightmare Night. She wasn’t scary...”

“She was fun!” Pipsqueak finished her sentence.

“Do shut up and listen, everypony.” Weatherstorm demanded. “For the story which Mr Starfire here, one of the heroes of this epic tale, is about to tell you, will chill you,” he shivered, “Spook you,” he looked from left to right wearily, “And...” his voice was a hushed whisper now, “Give you Nightmares for the rest of your little lives.”

This caused a collective cheer.

Weatherstorm had done his part. Ponies could say what they wanted, but he knew how to put on a decent show. He sat on the edge of Cheerilee's desk and nodded to his unicorn friend, who was unravelling the scroll. Starfire could take it from here.

'Thank you,' mouthed the the dark blue unicorn, giving him a nod of appreciation. He just hoped that this would hold their attention long enough to get through the rest of the day without incident. Hopefully Weatherstorm peppered in some morals here and there for the students to take note of, preferably about respecting their elders.

He cleared his throat, and then began to read. “The town hall...”