Mae Gold arrived on her first day to West Trot High. Ponies around her were crowding the halls telling stories of the previous summer break. It was Mae's first day at the school after moving from Trottingham and already she felt smaller then she usually did. She avoided others paths as she quickly got to her tall locker at the end of the hall, her arms full of texts book and her saddle bag dragging her down. She suddenly drop them all as she fell to the floor, "oops.. guess the new girl stood in my way." a mare laughed and her friends joined in. They walked past, stepping on Mae's books and paper leaving hoof prints. "S-sorry.." she murmured and the mare must have heard something bad because she stopped dead in her tracks and turned back around. "What did you just say?" she asked walking back to Mae, 'N-nothing.. i didn't say anything." Mae whimpered.
Steel walked to his locker, smiling at the dent he had put in it just to show everypony he meant business. He hadn't done anything else after that. One day, a Stallion had called him metal brain and he swung around and put a dent in his locker with his hoof. He didn't like bullies. Bullies bothered him. His brother was a bully. Was. As usual, Steel put his books away and sat on the floor next to his locker alone, daydreaming.
Mae whimpered and nervously backed away, "Wow.. talk about a major loser.. just look at her mane and her color coat? hideous.." the bully snickered as she spoke to her friends as if Mae wasn't there. She finished gathered her books again and struggled to get her locker open, "She cant even open her locker.." the bully helped opened it then suddenly shoved Mae into it along with her books and slammed it shut again. "now stay there and stay out of my way.." the bully left and the laughter of the ponies in the halls took her place.
Steel blocked the bully's path. He stared her down. "See that hole in my locker? I could use your face to make it bigger if you don't apologize for picking on that mare. Or I could make one in yours. Hell, I'm ultra energetic, I could do both." He said intimidatingly. "Your call."
"haha.. so threatening.. to bad it makes you look like a bully as well" she laughed and brushed past, giggling to her group of friends as they entered a classroom.
Steel snorted. "Too bad I actually meant it..." He said, going over to the locker. He touched the lock with his horn and it opened. He pulled the mare out. "It's okay, her daddy will beat her when she gets home. He's found a reason to every night. I used to feel bad for her, until she turned into a jerk." He said. He took her books and papers out and stacked them neatly, laying them on the floor in front of him. He straightened her schedule out on the edge of the row of lockers, then picked everything up for her. "Let me carry these for you. Nobody's gonna mess with the guy who can punch in a locker." He said. "I'm Steel."
"Th-thank you.. um i-im Mae Gold but um call me Mae" she smiled shyly at him and gingerly took her schedule back. "I-i have history first.. a-and its in the room that mare went into.." she said nervously.
Steel laughed and showed her his schedule to reveal that he too had history first. "I'm quiet in class. Especially History. I sleep in History to get rested for the next class...kidding. I sketch stuff for my metalworks class." Steel said.
"You do Metalworks?" she asked just in time for the bell to ring. She looked nervous as they began to walk to class. "I already hate history and it hasn't even started yet.." she muttered
Steel saw tha the two empty seats in the class were next to one another and not close to the bully. "I get to make a friend for once...I think...hmm, good on you, History." Steel said. "Oh, sorry teacher. It was my fault she was late. I took too long to help her get her books." Steel said to the teacher. "Steel, you never talk, but when you do, It's always interesting. That's what your teacher from last year wrote here." The teacher said. "Go sit down. You're not in trouble." "Obviously I am...I hate it when ponies know my name and I didn't tell them." Steel muttered to Mae
Mae giggled nervously and took her seat beside him and took out her history book. She could hear the bullies snickering from infront of the room, "Oh my god.. can't believe she made a friend." one sneered. Mae whimpered and laid her head on the desk. "S-steel? do you think they make fun of me only because I come from Trottingham?" she asked, her accent quite noticeable now
Steel decided to do something mildly evil. He walked past the pony's desk and "sneezed". His hoof hit the desk, leaving a crack. "Oh, I'm sorry...I was getting a tissue." He said, grabbing one, then turned and mouthed. "Bullying solves nothing. Stop making fun of my friend. Or I have to do something drastic." before returning to his seat. He took the Steel coat off his hoof. "There, and I did it nice-ish." He thought.
"Not even a period into the school year and she has a body guard.." the bully said bitterly. The class got started and Mae lost herself in random doodles of hearts. She drew all over her homework unconsciously and when the teacher asked it in, her paper had hardly any words and mostly hearts. "Uh s-sorry.. I got distracted.." she blushed and hurried back to her seat. "Day one and I've already embarrassed myself."
"I like your drawings. You're very good with line definition and shading." Steel said. When the teacher asked for his homework, Steel handed in a paper with a blueprint on it for a ring. He took it back silently and handed in a sheet of paper that said "It's the first day of school and you asked us to turn in homework. Would you like my classwork?" The class laughed as the teacher read it and nodded. Steel handed his notes in.
Even Mae laughed, "I don't think I've ever seen a teacher so annoyed" she giggled. She smiled sweetly at him and for once, she felt something towards him.. something more then a friend but she just couldn't put her hoof on it.
"um.. science in room 12.. great.." she sighed and gathered up her books just as the bell rings. "I really hope I don't have classes with her." she then said under her breath.
Steel worried about Mae the entire time he was in Math. He had higher level science than the rest. He didn't do any of his work, and the teacher made him leave the room. He sat on the floor for fourty minutes, daydreaming.
Mae came out when the bell rung, her head low and her eyes red from crying. The bully, known as Raven walked out behind her and muttered something to her friends before breaking out into a laughing fit. Mae went into a gallop and ran past Steel and out the front door not caring there was 4 more periods of school left.
Steel walked past room 12. He saw Mae crying and ran up to her and wrapped her in a hug, stroking her mane. "What did she do to you?" He asked, placing her books on the floor.
