“Welcome back, students and faculty of Canterlot High!” Principal Celestia called over the announcements. “I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Years, and I hope you are all ready to get back to work. This is going to be a good start to a new year, I can simply feel it. Now, for the first Period University Prep English class, I would like you to know that your teacher has extended her leave for a while longer. Therefore, Vice Principal Luna will continue to be your teacher. Again, welcome back. Enjoy the rest of your semester.”

“Well, you heard it.” Luna muttered. “I guess I’m here with you for a while longer.” She put a hand to her forehead. “Now, you are free to read your books, and I hope that you are ready to write up your reports soon. There is an updated rubric up here on the desk, please grab one each.”

After each student had gotten one and each student had returned to their place, Rivet turned to Clyde and Swift. “How were your vacations?”

“Good. We had a pretty normal Christmas, and I was at that New Years party.” Swift nodded.

Clyde looked up. “I was there too.”

“Hey, Clyde.” Swift asked. “Were you busy over the break? Because before the party, me and Rivet couldn’t get in touch with you.”

“You know,” Clyde shrugged, “I was a bit busy. There was stuff going on. But it’s all good now.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” Rivet nodded.

The class turned to their books. By the end of the class, Rivet had made it to the end of the book. When the final page was passed, and the story had drawn to a close, Rivet slid the book shut and turned to his notes. Most of his points on meaning and symbols were sound and warranted, now it was up to him to determine which ones he could use in his essay.

At lunch, Clyde called Rivet away from the table for a moment, meanwhile Swift was at the Party Planning Committee meeting. The dull roar of the cafeteria was given new life with the buzz of people discussing their various vacations. The room was full of bright colours, as it always was. The Christmas colours had been taken down, and the walls seemed bare without it.

“What’s up?” Rivet asked.

“I just wanted to introduce you to some friends of mine, since we’ve been hanging out for a few months now.” Clyde replied.

Rivet looked around for anyone new. “Who’s that?”

“Just follow me.” Clyde smiled slyly.

Rivet did as he was told, and followed Clyde to a table. Clyde checked his phone and stuffed it back into his pocket. Then they made a U-turn back towards another table. This table had five girls sitting around it. Rarity was one of them, he recognized the rest from before, and then there was Rainbow Dash. Rivet’s eyes went wide and he stared at Clyde.

Clyde smiled again, putting an arm over his shoulder, almost forcing him to continue forward. Rivet made eye contact with Rarity for a second before she looked to Clyde and smiled.

“Hello, darling!” She smiled.

“Hello, Rarity.” Clyde said, then turned to the others at the table. “Hi girls.”

The group greeted him. When Rainbow Dash caught sight of Rivet, she blushed lightly and turned her eyes away. Rivet reacted the same way.

“Rarity, would you care to introduce your friends to Rivet?” Clyde elbowed Rivet.

“Certainly.” Rarity stood up. “Hello Rivet, I remember you play guitar.”

Rivet’s body language practically seethed with embarrassment.

Rarity went around the table, introducing her friends. When she finally came to Rainbow Dash, the two of them made eye contact and nodded politely at each other. Rarity invited them to have a seat. Clyde took the open seat next to Rarity, leaving only the spot where Pinkie Pie usually sat in, which was right next to Rainbow Dash.

“Have a seat, Rivet.” Clyde smiled coyly.

Rivet quietly sat next to Rainbow Dash, and neither of them made eye contact.

“Hey, Rivet,” Clyde asked, “aren’t you reading those Daring Do books?”

“Oh!” Rarity let out an exaggerated gasp. “Rainbow Dash reads those books. Don’t you, Rainbow?”

“Not so loud!” Rainbow Dash growled at Rarity.

“Oh, right.” Rarity giggled. “You don’t want people to think that you’re an ‘egg head,’ right?”

Rainbow Dash looked over at Rivet, blushed, and stared angrily at the floor. Rarity giggled, nudging Clyde. Rivet stole a quick glance over at Rainbow Dash, who continued staring down at the floor, her eyes scanning around.

“Oh, Rainbow, it’s all in good fun.” Rarity covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

“Maybe I should go.” Rivet stood, feeling the same way Rainbow was, embarrassed and a little on the spot. He did his very best not to blush, but failed in his attempt. Turning up his collar to hide it, he took one step away before a voice stopped him.

“No. You can stay. It’s fine.”

He turned back with surprise at what, or rather who, he learned was the source. Rainbow Dash kept her head down, but sure enough had spoken. Rarity looked over at her with a bit of surprise on her face, Clyde’s face was more one of accomplishment. Sitting back down, Rivet looked back at Rainbow, who raised her head and looked down the table. She shook her head and brushed her hair back.

“I’m not stupid.” Rainbow growled at Rarity. “I can see what you’re trying to do.”

“Rainbow, dear,” Rarity sighed, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sure.” Rainbow huffed.

Applejack spoke up, hoping to change the subject. “How was that New Years party?”

Rarity began giggling uncontrollably and pawing at Clyde. “Oh, me and Clyde shared our very first kiss at midnight.” She let out a dreamy sigh, laying her head against his shoulder. “It was like a page out of a romance book.”

“It was okay,” Rainbow Dash replied, “The food was good.”

“You were there?” Rivet asked, trying to loosen the tension between them.

“Of course I was.” She smiled determinedly. “I’m on the team, and a teammate threw a party, why wouldn’t I go?”

“Did you see my sister?”

“Who’s your sister?”

“She has rainbow hair, like yours.” Rivet pointed to her head, then shyly looked away.

“Oh, her!” Rainbow pointed a finger at him. “Yeah, she was there. She really hit it off with T.”

“Sounds like her,” Rivet chuckled.

Rainbow’s body language relaxed, and Rivet felt himself relax as well. He settled in and took a look around the table at the other girls.

When the bell finally rang, putting an end to the still awkward seating arrangement, they all stood up. Rivet headed towards his locker, but was stopped by a familiar voice.

“Hey.” Rivet turned to see Rainbow Dash.

“Y-yes?” Rivet suddenly became very nervous.

“Would you…” Rainbow thought over her words. “Would you like to come to another game? There’s one this weekend.”

“Yeah.” Rivet nodded, a bit quickly and excitedly. “That would be… Awesome.”

“Cool.” Rainbow gave him a thumbs up and walked off, leaving Rivet to go to his locker for his guitar.

Now his paces were less burdened somehow. He did consciously know why, but he felt more excited to go to the game than he did before. Some part of him knew it for sure, but he tried not to dwell on the idea. After all, ideas like those were not something he had wanted to think about. Or were they? His mind was conflicted on a simple, one syllable word.

Crush.

The buzzing of the crowd and the smell of the gymnasium were a basket of memories to Rivet. He had played in gym, but when it came to watching sports, it was an entirely different idea. The room seemed bigger somehow, and the game itself looked much more complex and chaotic from the audience.

Rivet slid into the bleachers and waited for the game to start, the droning of the crowd was the only sound he heard. Until a girl sat next to him.

“Hiya, Riv.” First Light poked him on the face. “Fancy meeting you here!”

“I told you I was coming.” Rivet replied, staring at her while not moving his head.

“I didn’t tell you I was coming, though. Surprise!” She giggled.

“Why?”

First Light tried to look serious. “Ah, don’t we all ask that question? Why are we here?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

She snickered. “But that’s why it’s funny!”

“It’s not.”

“That’s why!”

“Why what?” Rivet became confused.

“Why anything!” First Light called out, enjoying the randomness of the conversation, reaching up and messing with her hair.

Suddenly, the loud music cut off their talk before it had a chance to get any weirder. The team barreled out onto the court and started doing warm up drills while the crowd cheered. Their skill had improved since the last game, and they were able to perform like never before. Rainbow Dash was like a streak of greased lightning as she charged down the court, hurling the ball at a teammate who laid it up with ease.

He paid attention to Clyde, Swift and Rainbow Dash the most. He noted their specific roles in the game. Clyde was like a wall, unlike a few of the players who were built like them. Clyde made sure no balls got past him, and would get the ball out of his area as soon as he could. Mostly, though, he would pass the ball to a teammate who was open at the right place and time to score. Swift did his best to stay midway down the court so he could set himself or others up quickly. As for Rainbow Dash, she was everywhere. She scored baskets, assisted, blocked and passed. She made it all look so easy.

When Rivet turned to First Light, she was staring intently at one player in particular. He saw a strong, built boy who was quick, and agile. Rivet assumed that this was the Tyrone First Light had been talking about. She messed with her hair more and more whenever Tyrone got the ball, and surprisingly even more when he was surrounded by the other team’s defence. First Light would squeal whenever he scored, and whimper if he lost the ball. Rivet could tell she really had something for him, even if Light had never appeared as the type to get so worked up over a boy. What was he thinking? This was First Light! She would get worked up over everything! A boy was only the most obvious one!

The game ended in a victory for Canterlot. Like the game he had been to before, Rivet was nearly deafened by the noise of the cheering crowd as the buzzer sounded to end the game. First Light jumped up and squealed, her hair looking more like a clown’s pants had been thrown in a blender.

First Light watched the team run into the locker room and jumped from the bleachers to follow them. When she reached the door, she suddenly realized what would be in the room, and quietly waited outside. Rivet smiled to himself about her silly display before leaning back in his seat. He closed his eyes as the buzzing died down. He was far enough up that he would not impeded anyone’s exit, and he could wait for First Light to talk her lungs out to her “bae” as she had taken to calling Tyrone. Rivet had looked up the term on the internet, and only found negative connotations. However, it was a pet name, so he could let it slide.

When people started to leave the locker room, someone called First Light, telling her that everyone was decent for her to enter. She excitedly ran in, calling out for Tyrone. Rivet chuckled and kept his eyes closed, listening to the subtle sounds of the empty room. The quiet sounds of footsteps coming up the bleachers came to him, and his eyes fluttered for a moment, allowing him to see a streak of rainbow.

“I thought you were with Tyrone, Light.” Rivet said, eyes shut again. When no answer came, Rivet opened his eyes to see Rainbow Dash sitting in the bleachers a few feet away from him. “Sorry.” He sat straight, embarrassed at his mistake.

“It’s fine.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “What did you think?”

Rivet looked over at her, his face a little red. “You were… Awesome.”

“Awesome?” Rainbow Dash smiled. “Sweet! What about the game?”

“You blew them away.” Rivet tried to smile back.

“Did we ever!” She laughed. “Hey, have you seen the team jackets?” She pulled at her windbreaker to display the blue jacket. Her number, twenty, was displayed on the left sleeve.

“It looks,” Rivet blushed at the idea of complimenting now, “good on you.”

She blushed slightly in response. Then she turned her head to look down at the court. “Oh, those two…”

Rivet followed her eyes to see Clyde and Rarity kissing in the middle of the basketball court.

“Get a room.” She said quietly, chuckling.

Rivet suppressed a laugh and looked over at Rainbow, who covered her mouth.

“Well…” Rainbow tried to act like she had meant for him to hear, “they should…”

“You’ve never done that?” Rivet asked, on the spur of the moment.

“Have you?” Rainbow shot back, making him blush.

“No. Not even in a more private area.”

“Me neither.” Rainbow punched him on the shoulder. “Get over it.”

“You?”

“What about me?”

“It’s just…” Rivet stammered, looking for words, “I thought since you were so popular… You wouldn’t have any problems with…”

“Boys?” Rainbow finished, looking towards the floor at the same time as Rivet. “Well… Everyone else thinks the same way…”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just…” She sighed. “They all assume that, since I’m popular, and on sports, that I’m… Easy… When I say no to a guy who just wants to hook up and say “I dated Rainbow Dash” or a guy who just thinks I would make good arm candy, they assume I’m just stuck up… None of them know I read books, they think I’m just another female jock.”

“They never even ask?” Rivet stated it more that asked.

“Not one of them.” She shook her head. “It’s never, “hey, what do you do for fun?” It’s always, “hey, wanna come with me to this wild party?” or “wanna date a real man?” or whatever stupid pick up line comes to mind. I never really get a say. Once in a while, I get one who asks me what I like… But I don’t want to risk losing a friend.”

“But sometimes there’s more to gain.” Rivet recited.

“What?”

“Sometimes you have to risk it for something better. Maybe you don’t want to lose one thing, but you might have to for what’s more important.”

Rainbow Dash looked thoughtfully down, smiled and nodded. “You have a point. I’ll remember that.”

“No problem.” Rivet smiled, his cheeks still warm.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash did a double take. “They’re still at it?” She looked down at the court.

“Do they ever breathe?” Rivet coughed, hiding a chuckle. Then he turned away from the couple in the court. “So, how are those Daring Do books?”

“Number four will blow you away.” Rainbow grinned.

“No spoilers!” Rivet warned her.

“No spoilers.” Rainbow agreed, raising her hands. Then she added teasingly, “but it will.”

“I’ll take your word for it. When I get the chance, I’ll read it.”

“Clyde says you were reading them for class.” Her eyes shifted slightly. “What’s it for?”

“I have to analyze a fictional work and provide an essay on specific examples of how symbolism affects the story.” Rivet recited from memory.

“Oh, then you picked the perfect book!” She grinned widely. “It’s full of that stuff.”

Rivet raised an eyebrow. “It’s not too hard to find it, eh? A lot easier than poetry.”

“Way easier.” Rainbow nodded. “These are practically made for analysis! The myths and legends are full of symbols, and the story itself is practically a mirror to some of the legends it talks about.” She blushed, still smiling sheepishly.

“I might need your help on this.” Rivet chuckled. “You seem to be the expert.”

“Not really. But I am a huge fan.” She smiled.

“Hey! How long have you been there?” Clyde called up to the two of them, a tad surprised.

“In his own world.” Rainbow whispered to herself, but just loud enough for Rivet to hear, then called back. “A few minutes before you two started.”

Rarity was visibly shocked, covering her mouth with a hand. Clyde looked over at her.

“Why didn’t you make any noise?” Clyde asked.

“We did.” Rivet shook his head. “We were talking the whole time. Don’t worry, we weren’t watching you or anything.”

Rarity giggled, half out of embarrassment, half out of actual humour at the situation. Clyde put an arm around her and walked to the door, ushering her through the door and following.

“Do you have a ride?” Rivet asked Rainbow.

She shrugged. “No. I walk everywhere. I like the fresh air.”

“Well, would you mind if I tagged along?” Rivet asked, his voice dropping into a shy whisper.

“No problem.” Rainbow Dash nodded, her face showing what Rivet felt.

“What about your sister?”

“She’ll probably be with us.”

Suddenly, Rivet’s pocket vibrated, and he pulled out his phone. He read a text he had received from First Light. “Bae’s giving me a lift. See you at home.”

“Well, that takes care of that.” Rivet sighed, slipping the phone away. “I guess it’s just us.”

Rainbow stood up and dusted herself off. “Then I guess we had better get going.”

“Sure.” Rivet agreed, following her down the bleachers and out the front doors of the school. Snow was still on the ground, but the temperature had warmed since December, and salt had been laid on sidewalks to melt the ice and excess snow. The sky was clear, the stars were in full view, and the moon was full and bright. Rivet’s ears were still ringing from the noise of the game, but the sound of his boot crunching in a small patch of snow seemed to blow the old noise away.

The two of them clicked across the sidewalk, still feeling a little nervous around each other, but the talk from before had given them the ability to feel a little less awkward around each other. Snowflakes shifting in the light breeze were made to look like mist under the streetlamps. Most of their conversation consisted of discussing the Daring Do books, however they did not talk much, and that was fine by them. The silence between them was less awkward as well, and they could handle it.

When they finally had to part ways, they said a quick goodnight, and Rivet headed for home. His spirits were high, and he felt as if he could keep smiling forever. He was excited to go back to the bookstore in the coming weeks to look for the book, and had even arranged to meet Rainbow there to look. She had said that she would look for some other Daring Do books at the same time.