Silver Wish hated Mondays.

Mondays meant work and a day at the desk, answering to annoying customers and hearing the drawling professor for hours on end. Mondays meant no more parties until the next weekend. She flipped her white hair away from her eyes in one swift motion. She yawned, her pink mouth opening wide and her orange tongue lolling lazily out of her mouth.

Professor Potts barked her name in his gruff, loud voice. Silver Wish squeaked and closed her mouth with a taut snap. "Am I boring you?" he said in a satirical tone, his fake apology making Silver Wish sink lower in her seat. She wished she could melt away from the class' judgmental gazes.

"Well?" the gray professor jutted out his lower jaw, attempting to hide his wrinkles and seem more threatening. Silver Wish had no idea how menacing Professor Potts could look; if this was his most terrifying state, she couldn't imagine how horrifying he could look when he was really pissed off.

She looked down at her hooves. "Um, no sir," she said quietly. "Just really tired," she averted her blue gaze from his pink gaze. She flattened her ears against her skull and tried to block the murmur and whispers of her peers.

Silver Wish had wondered why she had to take Psych. She didn't see how that applied to her career choice of a State Temp, but she begrudgingly took the class anyways, despite the long hours of sitting in a stool and taking notes continuously on a sheet of lined paper. If fulfilling her life long dream meant one semester of stupid classes, then so be it.

Potts continued to drawl in his monotonous voice as he occasionally flipped through the textbook (that was handed out at the beginning of the semester) that read The Social & Psychological Studies of the State.

She let out a puff of air and flipped through her own copy of the textbook, paging through the table of contents until a page that consisted of large black letters. Attention: This textbook is property of the University of Canterlot Central and of the State of Mėnulis. Distribution or copying of this book without authoritative permission will be punishable by a fine no less that 6,000 bits and no greater than 10,000 bits as well as revoked license of stay. Silver Wish sighed and continued to flip through the book, her eyes scanning the page for something interesting.

Pages upon pages of tiny black text shifted down and all over the page like birds in a flock. She tapped the top of the page gently with her hoof, and the title of: The Continuing Study of Rebel Mindset and Psychological State. Hello, she thought, her ears perking up. She tapped the title, and the page flew open to an array of old newspaper scans and text that slowly scrolled down the page.

Studies of the lesser type of ponies which are commonly known as "Rebels" are being continuously studied and tested on in the Royal Canterlot Laboratory by top physicians. Many of these "Rebels" are unruly and provocative, and they stay in groups called Troops. Troops: noun and/or adj. A group of rebellious delinquents and criminals that plot against the well-being of the state. Adj: A word to describe a disobedient or loud/obstreperous group of ponies. "Miss Wish!" Potts' voice cut through her moment of reading, and she shot her head up so as to face the fuming Professor that was glaring up at her. She ducked her head.

"What. Are. You Doing?" he spat out each word like it was bile in his mouth, spittle flying all over the protesting students in the unfortunate first row. She looked down from her elevated seating and pursed her pale lips.

"I was reading my textbook," she said. "Sir," she added, her blue eyes darting back and forth between him and her desk. He frowned and tilted his chin in the air, his pink eyes glaring at her behind his spectacles. She felt her face go hot as the students around her snickered once more. This was too much embarrassment for one day.

He finally sniffed and said very slowly: "No more interruptions or I'm writing you up," he warned, his head sinking back to the first row's eye level. She nodded quickly and shut her textbook with a snap.

–-

She was glad class was over; another few minutes in the stuffy room would have driven even the most studious pony insane. She clipped her saddlebag shut and trotted down the classroom stairs. Professor Potts was at his desk, scribbling down something on a piece of notebook paper, his eyes darting from the new feed screen to the paper.

It had taken Silver Wish longer than expected to pack up her books and notes; the occasional bump on the shoulder and maybe a kick that sent her textbook flying to the floor had hampered her usual early leave out the door. She was the last student in the classroom, just her and Potts and the class board that had the State's emblem rotating on it like it was in a never ending microwave.

"Silver Wish," Potts called softly before she made her way out the door. She inwardly groaned and slowly trotted over to Potts' desk. Her steps echoing throughout the empty classroom. She halted before she ran into the desk, not daring to meet his eyes.

Potts sighed and leaned forward, his rose eyes looking up at her. His gaze was laced with annoyance and exasperation. The large, wide windows on the wall behind him let in a back light that shaded his gray face even more. It made him look older and even more grumpy than he already was. "You're not the only one who dislikes my class, you know," he sighed.

Silver looked down and bit the inside of her cheek. "Now, why I called you over here," he picked up the paper he had been writing on, holding out to her. She took it from him and opened it. The paper had numbers listed next to past assignments. Assignments she had missed. Silver felt her jaw jut out slightly as she closed her eyes, letting out an annoyed sigh.

"Your marks aren't as good as they should be, Silver," Potts said slowly, picking up a pile of tests from the corner of his desk, pulling out a quill and a News Tablet, scrolling through the screen. "I know if you try, you'll ace my class with flying colors," he looked up at her from behind his glasses. "All of the marks in your other classes are flawless," Potts said coldly, his lips pursed in a straight line. Silver bowed her head.

"At this point, you'll fail my class," he growled. "But, we have our final project coming up; an oral report," he said, setting down the quill and scrolling the tablet down. "So, I decided that I'm going to give you the assignment early, so I know you will have enough time to finish it," Potts sighed and paged through what looked like the Marks Database. After a few moments of scrolling, he let out a small 'ah' and clicked on something.

"I picked the topics early," he clicked his tongue and looked up at her, handing her a slip of paper. Silver looked at it and opened the paper. She felt her jaw drop.

"The Lunar Rebellion? But that's like, impossible to research!" she gawked. The Lunar Rebellion was a challenging subject to study, and very little imformation was given. All Silver knew was that President Luna overthrew the previous dictator, and that she turned the previous Griffin Kingdom and Equestria into the State of Mėnulis.

No other information was given, other than long, confusing paragraphs about the economy and the dictator, Queen Celestia. Potts sighed. "I want to challenge you, Silver," he said quietly, setting down his tablet and rubbing the back of his head. "I think you can do it, given the right motivation."

"What motivation would that be?"

He looked up at her with no intention to sound light or nice. "If you don't pass this project, you're failing my class, as well as your chance to become a State Temp."