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Glowing red eyes peered out at the unsuspecting elementary school students at the bus stop, assessing their movements from it's crouching, lurking position behind the azalea bushes. A snort of an exhale was released as the silent watched drew backwards, red eyes narrowing and ears falling backwards. The branches rustled ominously as -

"Efialtes! Get out from behind there, silly!" The red-eyed child made a small sound of protest as his pink-haired guardian scooped him him, hugging the little boy, book-bag and all. "Why were you hiding behind there? You have all sorts of new friends here to meet!" The girl smiled, tweaking one of the boy's ears affectionately before setting him down, nudging him towards the onlooking children. "C'mon, go on now."

Efi gnawed nervously on his knuckle, looking at the other kids momentarily before ducking behind his adoptive mother, dropping his lunchbox as he took to hiding his face in her sweater. "I don't wanna go, Mommy...." he mumbled. He didn't see why he had to leave home! Mommy had been teaching him just fine, and he'd been learning eagerly! Why was he being sent away? Hadn't he been a good boy?

The pink-haired girl, Todi, widened her eyes momentarily, her mouth forming a perfect cherubic "O" as she was almost spun around by the little boy. Slowly, her face formed into her characteristic soft smile and she turned to hug the boy. "Hey, now, it's okay. School's a fun place, promise." She said, her voice a soft, purring hum as she kissed the top of the boy's head. She looked up as, as if on cue, the bus rolled to a stop in front of them. "Have a good day at school, Efi!" she said, smiling as she ushered the boy towards the bus. She waited, waving to the little brown face that was pressed against the glass of the window as the bus as the yellow jalopy sputtered and chugged away.

The little nightmare boy slunk back in his seat, curling up by the window as if he were trying to disappear into the seat. He didn't like this. The bus was so much louder and bigger than the tiny electric car he was so used to. And the kids. There were so many kids! Now, Efi wasn't antisocial by any means; he loved meeting new people. But...there were so many... As the little boy was starting to realize, he didn't do well with crowds. The little boy felt jittery; he just wanted to rear up and flee from all of the loud children. So far, his day was off to a GREAT start.

Sadly, for the little night-prowling horse, the day didn't get much better from there. After trying to cope with the over-crowded area in the "storytime" corner, snack time rolled around. And it was then that little Efialtes realized that he'd forgotten to retrieve his lunchbox. So he had no snack. What so ever. Nap time didn't bode well for the boy either. The little horse was curled up on his mat, tummy growling as he watched the sea of dreams that surrounded him. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the overwhelming images in an attempt to take a nap. Sadly, the dreams were much to loud to be ignored, and the poor little boy didn't get a wink of sleep. So, instead, he curled up on his mat, looking through a picture book in an attempt to ignore the mini-movies playing around him. How long was he going to have to stay here? He wanted to go home!

Thirty minutes and thirteen books later, the teacher roused the other children, ushering them all back to their seats. Efialtes nearly sighed in relief as, one by one, the dreams flickered and vanished. He pushed himself to his feet, making his way back to his desk. There to greet him was a coloring page, sporting an apple and a letter "A". He loved coloring! Maybe today was making a turn for the better? Sitting down and pulling out his box of crayons, the little boy went to working on his worksheet, feet kicking above the carpeted floor happily. Maybe this school place wasn't so bad after all! And that's when it happend.

Efialtes neighed in pain as a little hand yanked the shiny bead none-too-gently from it's braid, ripping some of the plait out with it. Red eyes reddened further, tears welling up and threatening to over flow. He whirled around in his seat, glaring at the little girl who held the bead in her hand, giggling at him. "You sound like a pony!" she said, openly laughing at him. The teacher was already heading over to them, but not fast enough. Efialtes pulled his hand back, striking the other child in the head with a hoof-hard hand. Meanie! She deserved to be hit, stealing his beads that Mommy put into his hair all on her own! And then laughing at him! He let out a snort of air, snatching the bead back. "Mine," he muttered, not even looking up as the teacher stopped between the two tables.

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Todi looked over at her son, who sat in the seat beside her in their small car. "Efialtes, in this family, we do not hit others. Understood?" The girl paused, watching the somber little boy nod solemnly. "Now, when you go back to school tomorrow, you will apologize. I understand she hurt you first, but that's no excuse." She looked over at the sad little child, sighing and reaching over with one hand to ruffle his hair. "Come on now, where's Mommy's beautiful smile? Sure, you made a mistake, but we all do. It's nothing to fret over. Now, besides the little hitting incident, tell me how good your first day of school went." Todi looked away from the road to offer her son a smile.

Efialtes looked blank a moment, red orbs glossy with tears staring out ahead at the road. How good school went? After the day he'd had? No snack, no nap.....and he had to go back to that horrible place tomorrow?

Todi's eyes widened as her son began to wail and cry. Looks like they were going to have a tough twelve years ahead of them.