Lucidity - An MLP Fanfiction

So Apparently Kids Can Be Racist Against Zebras

        The air was tense as the encounter began.

"Sombre."

"Grenadine."

Immediately after walking into the classroom, Sombre Flame and Sunbeam Spirit had entered right behind Grenadine and hew new friend.

"It looks like you two got kicked out of your training classes," Grenadine teased. "What, were you two both too much of a royal pain to deal with?" The Umbrum smirked at her clever wordplay. The princesses did not.

"Excuse you," Sunbeam began. Her braid from primary school seemed to have been traded out with a long ponytail. She tossed the yellow, orange, and red ponytail over her shoulder as she spoke. "We simply decided to integrate ourselves into the lower class society. We couldn't let our people suffer from you walking among them."

Grenadine bared her teeth. "Why, you little-"

"Looks like I haven't been properly introduced to you two," Snow intercepted the argument, diffusing the situation with a soft smile. "I'm Snow Spellcaster. I'm new to the school system, but I'm sure it'll be fine with you two here, correct?"

Snow had never met the royals. He had only ever heard rumours from his spot in the forest. Nana advised against getting involved in Equestrian politics. Said the system was corrupt. Grenadine had yet to teach him how horrid the Princess of the Sun and Princess of the Moon really behaved.

"Oh, of course!" Sombre feigned kindness, overexaggerating her speech, sounding sickeningly sweet. "I'm Sombre Flame,"

"And I'm Sunbeam Spirit," The white Unicorn added on.

"And the wonderful witch next to you is Grenadine Gross. She's the one who's responsible for the removal of us from public school." Sombre and Sunbeam stared at the peach Umbrum with looks that could have been deadly.

Grenadine scoffed as a few others entered the room.

"How about we finish this later, hm?" Sunbeam smiled mockingly at the peach mare, taking a seat toward the back of the classroom. Sombre followed her and sat down as well.

"You removed them from school?" Snow asked in astonishment.

"No! Well, kind of," Grenadine's eyes flicked around the room, settling on two seats near the window. "Let's sit down and wait for the professor. I'll tell you before she gets in."

The two walked over to the seats, taking their place before Grenadine began to ramble on about her magic and the issue with it when she was younger. Snow knew about her lack of complete control, but he had never gotten the full story before. When Grenadine had explained her magic to Snow's grandmother, the mare had left out the part about harming the princesses. Instead, she had simply given a suggestion as to her issues in grade school. As the Umbrum explained it, the Zebra hybrid stayed silent, his face forming small reactions at each point in the story.

"Morning, everyone!" A voice called from the front of the room.

The professor had arrived. She was a dark brown pegasus with large red glasses. Her mane was a very pale red, tied back into a bun, the same with her tail. Her Cutie Mark was a script, tied up with a ribbon and wax seal. An approachable teacher, but likely a no-nonsense type.

"My name is Grammar Lee, but you will all call me Ms G. For the next one hundred and eighty days I will be your instructor. I'm currently passing out the syllabus that will guide you through my class."

Ms G continued her spiel about her classroom expectations, receiving a fair amount of groans from the students. At the end of the speech, each student had three papers in front of them. A syllabus, a schedule for the next month, and the first homework assignment.

Grenadine sighed, looking over everything. She stopped when one of the assignments for the month would be a history of magic, including Dark Magic. Not once in her entire schooling years had Dark Magic been discussed inside of any classroom. Would this give Grenadine a leg up, or would she get caught when the assignment began? Ignoring the thoughts of possible punishment, the peach Umbrum packed her things away and waited for the class to end.

Lunch period seemed to take forever to get around to, what with Ms G giving speech after speech about class expectations and "mutual respect for each and every one of your peers." The bell had finally rung and Grenadine left with Snow on her tail.

Sombre and Sunbeam were chatting away, talking about some of the more promising Unicorns they saw, the cute Pegasi boys, and-- of course-- Grenadine and her new friend. It was as if the two girls were nothing but books filled to the brim with gossip, their pages nothing but rumours, false facts without research. Grenadine tried to ignore them.

"Oh, Sombre, wouldn't it be a shame if Grenadine Gross happened to lose her temper again?" Sunbeam taunted, raising her voice from across the lunchroom. There was a lack of supervision in the corner where the princesses were sitting. "I would just hate it if she had to be removed this time. Dark Crystal Magic is forbidden, after all."

The grey Unicorn smirked in response. Were these two only able to enjoy themselves if they were bringing someone else down? "Oh, it would be a shame. She worked so hard to... to do what? Nothing? Oh, maybe it wouldn't be such a shame if she left."

Grenadine growled under her breath, trying her best to block out the rude remarks from the royal Unicorns sitting a few tables down. A small crowd had gathered around the area that wasn't directly between the two parties in conflict.

"Hey, calm down!" Snow called out, attempting to snuff out the flame of anger that was growing in Grenadine. "Grenadine never did anything purposefully to you. She had a bout of anger once. Is that really a reason to bully her for the rest of her life?"

There was silence. It was unusual for someone to talk so confidently to the Princesses of Night and Day. Grenadine chuckled when she saw an empty glass bottle on the seat next to Snow. He must have used one of his potions to gain some ground before talking, she thought. Maybe he can make something to help with my "bouts of anger" as he put it.

"Oh, shut up you witch!" Sombre shouted. There were a few gasps in the cafeteria. Were there really no adults present in times of conflict? "You don't know anything about your little friend. Go back to the forest with your stupid crystals."

Grenadine couldn't take it. She let her anger get the better of her and began to conjure up the same spell that she had used so many years ago. There was a bright flash of green where Grenadine's eyes lit up, but this time there was something else there. Her magic bubbled like it was boiling around her horn. She cast the spell at the feet of Sombre, Sunbeam attempting to jump out of the way. It was in vain, as the Umbrum moved her magic to the feet of the Princess of the Day, trapping her as well.

Dark crystals came up from the ground, branching off like roots. Students in the cafeteria screamed, running away. Someone must have called a teacher, because suddenly Ms G was in the room, ordering the children to evacuate the premises.

"Grenadine Grim!" Ms G shouted. The four remaining ponies in the room were completely silent, Grenadine only just coming down off her of her magic high. Her horn stopped bubbling and she looked Sombre in the eye in defiance. Ms G was having none of it. "Miss Grim, you're coming to my office. Now."