I do not own the show My Little Pony. All of the characters are original characters of my design. If they share the name of another pony, it is purely coincidental. My ties to the show are very few, with Hearts & Hooves day being the main one. I do not own the songs mentioned either.

Characters Already Introduced In past Stories

Puppet Master (Usually called Hank)- Is slate gray in appearance, with his mane styled in a short bob, with black lines running vertically down its length. His eyes are a soulless black, with neon yellow irises that can actually glow in the dark. His cutie mark is a puppeteer's marionette controller, two pieces of wood crossed over each other with a string on each end. Hank is psycho, and can use magic despite being an earth pony. He achieves this through atom splitting and with aid from his solidified conscience (yes, his conscience is another whole being in his head) which gives him extreme power. This power he rarely uses very wisely, usually just controlling ponies he dislikes and trolling others.

Joyful Noise- A bright sunshine yellow mare with a red oval on each cheek. The front of her mane is like a poofy marshmallow, and the rest a normal free flowing mane. It is pure white in coloring. Her cutie mark is a cherry red single beat note. Joyful Noise is always very happy, upbeat, and willing to do anything that doesn't want to be done. She is Hank's best friend, and the only one who can even halfway understand his insanity. Music references galore!

Cinnamon Bun- A paint earth mare. Her base is like a mixture of hot cocoa and the ripest plum imaginable, with the splotches like that of a browned vanilla cake. She has a splotch over her eyes, front shoulders, and one around her cutie mark. Her hair is super curly and a dark brown, frizzing all over her head. She has a gap in her front teeth, and has a very strong Southern-Jersey drawl. A 100% tomboy. She also has three freckles beneath her eyes. The cutie mark is- you guessed it- a cinnamon bun with lots of opaque icing!

Tommy Mula (Called Tommy, Mula is the last name)- Tommy is a turbo tall lanky mule (the hybrid of a donkey and an earth pony) with the coloring of really pale milk chocolate. Even though he towers over his friends, this skinny lad is actually younger than all of them. A child prodigy, he was sent to college two years early and quickly adapted to that life. His mane and tail are flat and black, and his eyes are large and curious. He is friendly to the point of being annoying. Also, he's Hank's roommate.

Smoulderdash- He is a legit dumb jock, only being there for the sports program. Smoulder is a creamy blue pegasi with abnormally large wings, which makes him the indispensable captain of the college's Hoofball team. His mane is an afro-like dome running partially down his neck, connecting to his lumberjack facial hair. The whole setup is an almond brown. He's a real ladies man, also being a real nincompoop. Smoulder can be a bully at times. His cutie mark consists of a lightning bolt through flames.

Elegant Nightmare- A Discord-like creature with mismatched ears, legs, and wings. But she has dreamy purple chest fluff like a cloud, and a shimmery dusky black base coat. Her mane looks like a bunch of dreadlocks, with bangs flopping over one eye. It has the same coloration as the chest floof. She has a beauty mark behind each eye, and wears eye shadow. Her cutie mark is a foggy mirror. Elegant is obsessed over Nebula to an unhealthy point.

Blanco- He is a pure white unicorn from hoof to nose. Oh yea, he's also blind to the point of seeing nothing, not even shadows. He is a good natured fellow and hard to tick off, but Smoulderdash's stupidity often miffs him. His mane is long with jagged ends, matching his tail. Ironically, his cutie mark is a large eye.

And lastly…..Nebula- A black appaloosa unicorn with an uncanny love of ribbons. His mane and tail are long, free flowing, and glittered with little stars. Nebula has white speckles all down his back, and some on the face. He is sort of feminine, and enjoys creating outfits for his freelance fashion studio. He is prissy, determined, and overly cautious about his mane. Nebula's cutie mark is a large star omitting light. He isn't exactly the biggest fan of Elegant Nightmare, but is willing to stick with her no matter what because friendship ties are the most important thing in his life besides fashion. And ribbons. And maybe glitter.

The setting is a fictional place called Hoofendale College.

Chapter 1

Puppet master widely yawned, arising from a peaceful slumber. After going about his usual morning rituals, he sneaked past a lightly snoozing Tommy. Stepping out the door, Hank was in for an even ruder awakening.

"Wha…what happened here?" He sputtered, eyes wide.

The halls looked as if cupid had eaten seven tons of confetti and glitter before becoming intoxicated on pink paint, then flying drunk while violently puking all over the walls. Who the heck had the time to repaint the walls in one night?!

Tommy poked his head out. "Oh hey! Is it that time again? I love all the lacey hearts! They must've taken forever. Hearts and Hooves day is the bomb."

Hank rolled his eyes at his roommate. "It isn't for a week yet. This is an eyesore."

All of the pinks, all of the reds, were making him nauseous. "Who the hay is in charge of decorating anyway.."

Joyful Noise tackled him in a full blown bear hug. "I am! Do you like it? The hearts took forever! And repainting the halls might've been slightly illegal….But I wanted to go all out. I was thinking, '50 Shades of Pink'." The bright yellow mare giggled, squeezing the life out of hank.

His response was labored wheezing.

She noticed this and quickly released him. "Sorry. I just love this tradition the most. How does it look?"

Hank inhaled gratefully. "I absolutely hate it. It's incredibly tacky, glittery, and a mess. This school tradition sucks. And so do the decorations."

Joy's smile almost broke her face. She knew the more he disliked it, the better it was. The last time she asked him to help, they got in trouble. He was caught pinning actual hearts to billboards. The legit cardiac muscle heart; It was a different kind of mushy.

"If you had any idea where this tradition even started you wouldn't find it so fun anymore." Hank glowered at the glitter-coated floor.

"Wish I could stick around and chat some more, but I gotta speak to Lamm Chop about that play list!" Joy spun and galloped off. "Don't forget to put your number in the choosing bowl!" She shouted over her shoulder.

Puppet Master groaned, slamming his head into a particularly large heart. A shower of sparkles rained down, coating his mane and face.

"Great. Just great." He swallowed his hate, sulking the whole way to the cafeteria.

…...

Tommy was so hyped! "I'm excited. Are you excited? I'm so excited!" He could barely sit still long enough to finish his heart-shaped pancakes. "In less than eight days, somepony is going to call my number and then I can go on an actual first date! Dang, hope I don't screw it up…I hope she's nice."

Beside him sat Teensie-Meenie, a 'Parva Draco'. In Latin, this translated to 'little dragon'. And Teensie was, in a sense, incredibly short. She barely came up to Tommy's knees. The periwinkle blue dragoness had many issues that dealt with her height. Being heard was one, and passing gym was another. But to make up for it, Teensie was completely adorable. From her freckled muzzle, to her frilled ears, down to her two-toed paws. Her belly armor, ear frills, and wing leather was a soft tangerine in color, with a hint of lemon if it hit the light. Teensie also came with a huge crush on a certain mule.

So Teensie-Meenie nodded with his mirthful chatter, admiring how his large ears perked forward just so, how his cocoa powder brown coat hit the lights. With all the stray glitter in the air, a haze surrounded his head. The little dragon sighed dreamily, half closing her eyes, resting her head on the table's edge.

"Are you okay Teensie? You've barely eaten your pancake!" Tommy turned his full attention onto her, concerned. "Sick? Tired?"

Teensie didn't have the heart to tell him that the pancake was the same size as her, and she did eat half of it. "No, it's fine. There's too much red dye and red dye makes me…zoinky. You can have it."

"Aw yea! Thanks!" Tommy reached for more syrup, able to perceive her faint voice easily. "I did it Teensie. I had to run to do it, but my number was the first one in the bowl this year! Take that Smoulderdash." He carried on like he had won the Olympics.

Teensie-Meenie already knew this. She had that slip of paper safely tucked under her wing.

…...

The loudest table, located in the middle of the melee, was the jock's table. It belonged solely to the Hoofball team's members. Smoulderdash, the team captain, had already finished several stacks of pancakes and was attempting to sneak a bit more from Freethrow's plate. Freethrow, a very large, very well built flaxen-gold pony, smacked the Pegasus' hoof away without even glancing up from his book. Most of the entire college called the robust pony Spiff, and he preferred the nickname. His cutie mark was simply a baseball. Spiff snatched the pancake up and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth. Smoulder sulked. "I wanted that."

"Sucks. You shouldn't have bothered me." Spiff licked his lips, flipping the page.

Lamm Chop browsed through an ipod. "Should I add 'Love So Soft', or possibly 'Never Gonna Give You Up'. Hmm….so many choices." Lamm was the only pony who was more buff and colossal than Spiff. They were both linebackers. Lamm Chop was black with a purple hue, like a dark grape lollipop. He had a puffy white mane that looked a lot like a cloud, and a tail that resembled a lamb's. His cutie mark was a sheep arm doing a kung-fu chop. Lamm was a favorite among the college. His super-friendly attitude won over everypony he met.

"Seriously Lamm, just find the cheesiest pop songs you can find man." Spiff snorted. He knew that the darker pony's normal play list contained 98% of that. "I'll have earplugs in the whole week just for the occasion."

"Where is the rest of our team anyway?" Lamm scanned the area, waving to some passing students.

"Sleeping in like normal ponies." Spiff smacked Smoulder's hoof again.

"That's a lie. Or-rio is with Deadbeat at the Goth table. Or are they emo? I dunno." Smoulderdash shook his smarting limb, grimacing.

"Okay, the rest of them are sleeping."

Smoulder switched the subject. "Who do you think got my number?"

"I actually have no idea. It doesn't matter whoever chooses mine. I'm fine either way." Lamm Chop had captured Spiff's plate and was licking the syrup off. The other large earth pony had long ago stopped defending it.

"Anypony but Holler." Freethrow shuddered, causing his many earrings to jingle.

"Aw, why? That deer likes you!" Smoulder teased.

"She's a perv and a sassy little…thing." Spiff slammed his book closed. "I'm departing. Lamm, you're taking that plate up."

"Yessir." Lamm Chop saluted as Freethrow passed.

"I bet Cinnamon Bun got my number." Smoulderdash practiced winking. "Better keep my flirting to a minimum."

Lamm tilted his head. "Yea! Always hope for the best bro! If you don't mind, I'm taking this play list to the head of decorating. Ciao."

Smoulderdash chuckled to himself. "Oh, won't she be surprised!"