Author's Notes:

What started as a series of one-shots intended as mini continuations to my PoME story, The Chronicler, has evolved into a fully-fledged sequel story. It is intended to be read under a more "studious" light, as themes and ideas will continuously be added and confronted by the characters. Each chapter is meant to teach something new, either in an obvious manner, or subtle one; the meanings I leave up to the readers to interpret. Most chapters will be short, to emphasize the "moment-by-moment" feel, but some will be longer when need be. Consequently, some arcs will be multi-chaptered; some, single-chaptered. Some days may even be skipped, and this will be intentional.

I look forward to any comments that people may leave, in the hope that I will have have, at the very least, accomplished something thought-provoking and worthwhile.

With that being said, please enjoy Day By Day, Moment By Moment.

First chapter pre-read by BRyeMC. Thanks so much, man!

September meant colder weather, but for the first time in six years, Artifex Frost experienced warmth. Not only was the wind gentle and kind, but so were the sun, the clouds, and the very sky. The birds, now, no longer sung a song that haunted him as it did in the past; now, they sung of glorious hymns, and new beginnings.

He silently laughed. It was paradoxical, really. This new beginning wasn’t really new. After all, technically this was his second day of Canterlot High. Only according to paperwork was it his official first. Though, he supposed, it really was the latter case; this was the start of a new life, one borne of happiness and carrying a message of acceptance with it.

Said message seemed to be carried within his backpack, a carry-on item that clung to his yellow jacket, weighed down by all the necessary books and binders. Underneath his jacket was a black-and-white-striped undershirt. The cuffs of his sleeves were rolled down, and were loose around his arms. A pair of skinny, denim-blue jeans and smokey-grey shoes finished off his attire.

Yes, this was the newest start to the newest life; a new wardrobe, and a new attitude, signaled this effectively. His smile perked up slightly.

“Thought of something funny, Chronicler—I mean, Artifex?”

Briefly blowing a strand of icy-blue hair out of his face, Artifex looked to his left, seeing Soul Writer walk with him. In truth, it was more of a slow walk. Frost still suffered from an old limp that, while having rapidly faded in the course of a single day, was still evident in his stride. Beside Writer was Sunset Shimmer, Writer’s girlfriend, and Artifex’s first encounter with Canterlot High’s student body.

Artifex smiled, his cerulean eyes twinkling like a sea of gemstones. “Heh. It’s a hard habit to break, huh?” he said, referring to the title that Soul had called him.

The other boy nodded and blushed a little. “Yeah, I guess it is. Considering how we all called you it for an entire day…”

Sunset spoke up. “Hey, wait a second. Nobody else knows about that, though, right?”

“That is correct, Sunset. Only you two know my actual name.”

“Hoo boy. That’s gonna stir up something.” Soul whistled.

“That’s a strange way to put it, Soul. ‘Hoo boy!’ I could have sworn you turned into Applejack for a moment there.”

“I do not sound like my cousin!”

Sunset, giggling, said, “I don’t know, Soul. You could have a bit of South in you.”

Soul’s blush grew under his friends’ shared laughs. “Alright, alright, that’s enough, you two. Besides, we should get back to you, Artifex. What were you thinking about?”

His smile remained strong and true. “Nothing much. Just remembering.”

“Remembering what?” asked Sunset.

“The past. The present. The future. Anything that ever mattered, anything that changed. Everything that’s led up to now, to us, to me, to here.” He blew out a breath, sharply turning it into a whistle, creating a string of notes that were unfamiliar to the other two. “Hmph. Now that I think about it, that sounds rather cheesy.”

“It’s nice to see you in good spirits, though,” Sunset reminded him.

“I suppose so. It’s a little strange,” he added, his smile ever so slightly faltering. “I mean… for the longest time I had very little to be happy about…”

Soul stopped the group, and grabbed Artifex by the shoulders. “Hey. It’s okay to feel a bit apprehensive about something this new. What’s important is that you try your best to live with it.”

Sunset nodded, then added, “Happiness is a virtue, Artifex, and while it may seem rare for some to have, once you have it, it’s something you’ll always cherish. Even if happiness does some weird things.”

He looked between the two. “Pinkie?”

“Pinkie,” they said in unison, before the three of them erupted into giggles.

“Ah, do you suppose that girl will want to throw me a ‘real-name-revealed’ party once she finds out?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised, Artifex,” Sunset replied. “She can get rather… enthusiastic.”

“Don’t remind me.” He fluffed the collar of his yellow flannel jacket, feeling the sleeves slip a little. Instinctively, he covered his exposed wrists but, once he remembered the company he was in, dropped his hands. “Sorry… force of habit.”

“No need to apologize, Artifex,” Soul assured him. “We understand."

Artifex nodded gratefully. Knowing that his friends wouldn’t judge him made his heart soar.

Friends. Funny how a day ago I’d never thought I’d associate that word with myself. Happiness comes in forms and places you least expect it. Ooh, I should write that down.

He took out his notebook from under his arm, opened it, and jotted the phrase down. Other phrases had been scrawled on the other pages; the longest entry was from last night, and had taken up the better half of the remaining pages. Somehow he managed to both write and walk at the same time, deftly navigating the sidewalk with ease.

“How do you do that?” Soul asked as he finished writing.

He shrugged, smirking a little. “Practice, I believe.”

“Dang. If I could do that, doing homework on the way to school would be a breeze!”

Sunset gave him a half-lidded look. “It would probably be easier to do your homework on the day you’re assigned it.”

“I concur,” Artifex added. “At my previous schools, homework was to be done at home and on the day you got. Hence the name, ‘homework?’”

The other boy frowned. “Aw, c’mon, you guys. Can’t a guy find a workaround without being judged for it?”

Sunset and Artifex exchanged looks. “Sunset, what’s your overall grade again?” Artifex asked.

“A plus.”

The tan boy turned to Soul. “When you’re dating a genius, you’ll be judged harshly no matter what.”

Sunset laughed. “Maybe you should take some compliment lessons from Artifex, Soul. I’ve heard that writers are very romantic.”

Both boys returned rosy cheeks, Soul out of indignation, and Frost out of surprise. “Er… yeah, we’ll go with that,” said Frost.

She laughed warmly. “No need to be embarrassed, Arty! It’s a compliment; girls like it when a guy does that.”

“Arty?” His eyes widened. “Oh, no… don’t tell me that’s my nickname now.”

“What?” Soul asked, tilting his head. “It’s not a bad one.”

Artifex sighed. “No, it’s rather… juvenile, don’t you think? Arty sounds like a kid from…”

“From Manehattan?”

“I was thinking more on the lines of foreign. Germaney, maybe?” He sighed again. “Well, I suppose I can thank the stars that Pinkie won’t be calling me that.”

He caught the exchanges of looks between Soul and Sunset, and he frowned, realizing what they were thinking. “Oh, no. It’s only my second day at Canterlot High. I am not dealing with a silly nickname already!” He then murmured to himself, “Maybe a month into the year…”

Sunset’s grin matched Soul’s, and they shook their heads. “Oh, Artifex. Don’t ever change.”

“Don’t count on it.”