CW: Intense bullying and violence.
The start of the next school day was going normally as Ponny padded to the doorway to the school, hoping that it all goes well for her, unlike yesterday. Her backpack slung over her shoulder, she smiled happily as she prepared herself for this day to go swimmingly well.
The small Primid gingerly walked down the halls to her locker, which was located right next to the Melee fighters, where Mr. Game and Watch's locker will always be.
However, as she walked up to twist the combinations on the lock, she turned her gaze to see... a piece of paper.
Curious as she was, Ponny turned her head to the paper, but what she was met with was something awful. In bold words, it read go home, Primid!! with a crude drawing of herself on the center.
Ponny, already hurt badly by this note, forcefully yanked her locker door open to retrieve her belongings and stormed off to class for the day.
She entered the classroom and sat back down at her desk, trying to shrug off every ounce of sadness she felt, but what didn't help was the fact that her desk was behind Lucario and Wolf.
Before class started, Ponny opened up her backpack and took out her Eevee plush and hugged it tightly, hoping to be comforted by its mellow softness and serenity.
The two Brawl fighters were whispering in their ears and looking right at the small Primid, followed by giggling and chuckling. One of them stood straight up and asked, "what's with that Eevee doll you have? Do you not have any friends, so you carry around a stuffed animal?"
Ponny shook her head. "Comfort animal," she replied meekly, shaking a bit and holding Mrs. snugglefuss close. Wolf and Lucario laughed a little and turned their heads back to the front of the class when Mr. Aries Frost entered the room.
With his necktie all bent up and sweat beading from his forehead, the cyan fighting Alloy wiped it away with a spare handkerchief in his pocket.
"Sorry for my attire this morning, class," he gasped, huffing in and out for breath. "I was jogging this morning and I didn't realize I had to be here during this time. Anyway, let's get on with our lesson." As Aries took out a marker and started writing something on the whiteboard, Ponny put her Eevee plushie back into her backpack.
The small Primid was aware of words being written on the board, even as far as to calculate a few in her head to answer the problems. Aries was writing Sudden Death on the whiteboard, along with a few numbers underneath it.
"Sudden Death occurs when any VS mode match ends in a tie. A tie happens when at least two characters or teams have the same final score at the end of a Time match, the same amount of stocks at the end of a timed Stock match, the same amount of coins at the end of a Coin Battle, or the same total score at the end of a Bonus match," the teacher explained.
"In an untimed Stock match, Sudden Death is possible if all remaining characters lose their last stock on the same frame."
Ponny stood up straight as she listened well to the Fighting Alloy's lesson, even feeling some butterflies in her stomach for when he's about to ask a question. Aries Frost turned his attention to the class and asked, "can anyone tell me what happens when you remain on this mode for too long?"
Everyone looked blankly at the teacher until someone from the back row raised their hand. The fighting Alloy turned his gaze towards Ponny and called on her.
The small Primid gulped as she prepared herself to speak, and then took in a few breaths. "Bob-ombs fall from the sky, blowing up the players," she said, her voice small and squeaky. Aries's face brightened and smiled underneath his light blue visor.
"Very good, Ponny!" The fighting Alloy chirruped. The small Primid continued talking.
"Recently, the frame closes in." The teacher beamed lovingly and then went back to his lesson.
"Okay, so now we will move on to Damage ratios and the steps you need to take in order to complete your Classic route on an intense level," Aries instructed as he turned back to his whiteboard.
He was jotting down some sentences on how to counter and side dodge.
However, as he was finished writing, the bell rang loudly, alerting his ear-like horns. "Class dismissed!" He squeaked. "Head off to lunch!!"
Lunchtime had rolled around when every fighter had dispersed into the cafeteria, a vast majority of them either heading to the vending machines or the buffet line.
Ponny, with her lunchbox in hand, scanned the lunchroom for an empty table.
Spotting the one at the far end of the table two rows beside the table where the Ultimate fighters sat, Ponny took her seat there. She zipped open her box and grabbed out plain-looking food, since any other types of food made her sick.
Amidst the crowd of fighters eating and chatting, the Brawl fighters were in the lunchroom with their trays in hand.
They too scanned the room for any empty tables, until they came across the small Primid sitting by herself. Among their surprised faces, one of them let off a mischievous smirk.
"We should remove this Primid from our table," Ike said, clutching his hands tightly onto his tray. The rest of them stalked up closer to Ponny, who was already eating away at her lunch. Looking up in curiosity, she noticed Ike and a handful of the Brawl fighters looming over her menacingly.
"We want this table," Snake hissed, "give it to us."
Ponny shook her head abruptly. "Here first!" She snapped back, standing her ground. While this stand-off was continuing between the Primid and the Brawlers, Pokémon Trainer looked over Snake's shoulder and saw Ponny's lunchbox, which had the Subspace Emissary symbol on its center.
"Hah! You let people see you carry that around!?" He sneered. "No wonder they don't want to associate themselves with you."
From the next table over, the Ultimate fighters were bearing witness to the spectacle. They each started showing signs of disappointment at the Brawlers for their ongoing abuse towards their new housemate.
"You guys, stop it!" Inkling said. The others did the same to try to intervene, but the Brawlers ignored them as if the pleading noises of the Ultimate fighters were just white noises. Ponny continued to stand up to them, as her red Primid eyes were glowing aggressively.
"...Sit with me, if you want," she croaked, her voice becoming loud in the wind.
"You think we want to be seen with you!?" Wolf growled, exposing his fangs and unsheathing his claws. Silent tears fell from Ponny's eyes as she talked more.
"Find another table."
Lucario stepped out of the crowd of Brawl fighters and said, "look, we don't wish to have a conversation with you, now leave!!"
Fear striking through her heart, Ponny reluctantly packed her lunch back into her box, while also trembling from the towering height of the Aura Pokémon. However, as soon as she placed her uneaten plum inside her lunchbox, Wolf scoffed.
"You're taking forever!!" He snapped as he grabbed the small Primid's lunchbox and threw it on the floor, an entire batch of her food flying into it.
Ponny was then pushed onto the ground by Lucario, as well as Pokémon trainer crushing her wheat sandwich in one stomp. The Brawl fighters began to laugh and chuckle at the Primid as she continued picking up her lunch.
Shaking horribly, Ponny threw the food back into her bag, only for King K. Rool to come and help her.
"Let me help you with that," he said as he gave Ponny her lunch back from the ground. As she finished, K. Rool helped her up from the ground and escorted her to his table. She sat down next to him and Piranha Plant, but began to cry.
Min-Min and Joker were close to comfort her as she had a good sob in Hero's shoulder.
"Everything's going to be okay," K. Rool said as he handed Ponny his melon slice. "You can have my slice here." The small Primid smiled a bit and took the food out of the Croc King's hand, eating it gingerly.
Meanwhile with the Brawl fighters, they were giggling and whispering at the Ultimate fighters, while also scoffing in disgust. "If they wanna hang with the Emissary spawn, then go ahead," Toon Link hissed angrily.
During break time, a few handful of the Ultimate fighters were inside the office of Principal Madeira, a male white fighting Alloy with a loose bang of hair swooping in front of his face and a dark green suit.
He sat in his chair with a worried scowl. Right now, he is facing Incineroar, Piranha Plant, King K. Rool, and Hero.
Madeira was drinking from his glass of water as he talked with the Ultimate fighters. "Brawlers have been bullying the Primid, right?" He asked, slumped back into his chair.
K. Rool nodded and then said, "not only did they kick her out of a table she was sitting at, but they harass her on a daily basis. Just last week, they've been plotting on how to hurt her even more!"
The white Alloy took a deep breath and recollected everything he had been told.
After a deep thought, he then answered, "thank you for telling me. We take issues like this seriously. Although we can't really do anything at this time until the harassment continues, I'll keep an eye out." As Madeira escorted the Ultimate fighters out of the office, he closed the window blinds and hobbled over to the picture frame of Master Hand.
By staring at it, he felt a twinge in his gut, knowing that he would have to summon the creator himself and, with a lesser extent, Allison. Despite his hard work in providing a safe learning environment for every fighter here in Smash Kingdom, the white Alloy knew that if anything was let out of line, he would be a new item in Master Hand's collection.
No, he can't risk it or else he would have to stay morphed into a trophy for the rest of his life. The images of people who failed Master Hand turned into trophies shook Principal Madeira to the core as he stared at his hands.
He could already imagine the soft, gold color spreading across his body, and onto his face, completely cutting him off.
That was until he shook the feeling off and sat back down at his desk. Taking off his glasses, the white fighting Alloy sighed deeply and then asked himself, "why do the shy, disabled ones always get bullied?"