Thursdays. A Monday by another name, really. Disguised with a different beginning, but essentially feeling the same. Better than Wednesday, in that it was closer to the end of the week, but not as good as Friday. A day for appointments, dates, dinners, and social gatherings. Thursday.

A day that Artifex was not particularly fond of. Today, though, Thursday had a different reason to be on his dislike list.

For starters, it was raining.

The weatherman lied!

Artifex grumbled something incomprehensible to himself as he stepped outside. On him was a sleek, black raincoat that he had hoped he wouldn’t have to use until a few more weeks had passed. In his right hand was a similarly black umbrella, held above him irritably. He fumbled about for his pocket with his left hand, not wanting to further wet himself.

He glanced inside, where he saw Francis staring through the window. The mouser gave him a look that suggested he found the display highly humorous. Artifex rolled his eyes. “Yeah? Well, you’re just lucky I don’t want you to get wet and smelly,” he muttered, glaring harshly at the cat.

Francis blinked owlishly, then leapt off the couch and out of view.

Artifex nearly slipped the moment he took his first step. Somehow, the rain was coming down even ferociously than minutes before. He looked at the sidewalk, realizing that the water was no longer trickling, but now rushing, down the path. Soon, his side of the neighborhood would be flooded.

He groaned. Getting wet was not on his list of “Things I’d Like To Be.”

Begrudgingly, he stepped off the front of his house and looked up the road. Canterlot High was a good deals away. He could walk, but with this rain and—he had to pause his thinking, as a sudden gust of wind nearly toppled him—obnoxiously powerful gale beating down on him, he thought it unlikely he’d get there on time.

He stumbled, but regained his footing. He glared, frustrated, at the ground, then kicked up a splash of water. The action only further wet him, much to his annoyance.

But boots were on the ground, which meant he had to get a move on. Not quite stomping, but not quite walking either, he moved up the sidewalk, pushing against the hail of rain and wind. A sudden gust caught him off guard, and he heard something snap. Looking up, his eyes widened when he saw that the tarp of his umbrella had been pulled straight up, pulling against the metal arms that held it. Another gust of wind, and the tarp ripped clean off.

He pulled in his arm, staring at the now empty umbrella, incredulous. Something in his mind failed to click. He shrugged, and raised his arm again, positioning the bare mechanism above him as if the tarp was still there.

He began to walk again. The rain pounded against his hood, hitting his body like pebbles. The wind blew more rain in his face, causing him to stop and try to wipe it away, only to further dampen his features.

He gave a gruff sigh. I can’t win…

Something blared in his ears. It was then followed by a familiar voice shouting, “Hey, Artifex!”

Then again…

As he turned, he had to shield his eyes as two, bright lights shined on him. Once his eyes adjusted, he realized it was a car that had pulled up to a stop. In the glare, he made out that it was a fiery red, with yellow-flame streaks blowing up behind the headlights. Behind its windshield, he made out two people: Sunset, who was driving, and Soul, who was sitting next to her.

“Get in!” Sunset called, honking her horn again.

Artifex nodded, and quickly walked over, trying—and failing—to avoid getting hit by more rain. He nearly slipped on his way over.

Hand outstretched, he grabbed the back seat’s door’s handle, and swiftly pulled, nearly propelling himself inside like a missile. To his surprise, the seats were soft and comfy; his landing, while not graceful, was certainly not painful either.

He sat up and reached back over, closing the door with a slam. “Uh… sorry about the mess,” he said sheepishly, once he realized he had gotten a good deal of the seat wet.

Sunset shook her head, smiling at him from the rear-view mirror. “It’s okay, Artifex. It’ll dry out later. Now, buckle up. We've got a little ways to go before we reach school.”

He nodded, reaching over and strapping the seat belt to him. Once he was secured, Sunset took off.

“What are you doing out here in this weather?” Soul asked. He looked back, surprised. “Wait, were you actually considering walking to school?”

“Well, yeah,” Artifex said with a shrug. “There didn’t appear to be any other option.”

“Couldn’t one of your parents have driven you?”

“Not exactly,” he explained. “We only have one car, which I’m not allowed to drive yet. And my parents have to get up really early to drive to their respective places of work. My mom actually has to drive herself and my dad to the city to do that. So by the time I’m awake, they’re not in the house.” He carefully leaned back, trying not to accidentally spill water off of his hood as he let out a sigh. “Really, the only company I have is Francis.”

“Francis?”

“Oh, he’s my cat.” He let out an irritated huff. “Must be laughing his butt off at watching me go at it.”

Artifex saw Soul and Sunset exchange looks. The amber-skinned girl then said, “So you pretty much wake up all alone in the house, huh?”

“Yep,” he responded, crossing his arms.

“Wow… that sounds pretty bad, all things considering.” She hadn’t said it directly, but Artifex immediately knew she was referring to the knowledge she had learned just two days ago.

He nodded sagely, appreciating the indirectness. “To be fair, I’ve gotten used to it after all these years. It was much worse in Manehattan, believe me. Some days they’d get up before the sun was even awake.” Though, it wasn’t like the rest of the city was asleep.

“Wait,” Soul said. “Going back to what you just said. You’re not allowed to drive?”

Artifex looked out the window. The sidewalk moved past them at a slow rate. No one else seemed to be outside.

“It’s… more like I don’t want to,” he finally said. Catching the concerned looks on the couple’s faces, he added, “It’s actually because I’ve been afraid of driving since I was little. Not because of… you know.”

“Ah.” Soul nodded. “Yeah, it’s pretty nerve-wracking in the beginning. Especially in this weather.”

Soul then turned to his girlfriend. “Speaking of which, how are you doing so far, Sunny?”

“Going at this slower pace is definitely helping. But…” She craned her neck, looking out the windshield. “Seems we’re gonna be going a little slower. Look.”

The two other boys looked out, and saw that a line of cars had gathered in front of them. Soul sighed. “Well, if we’re late, at least we won’t be the only ones.”

“Third day of school and late?” Artifex shook his head. “Never thought I’d be in that situation.”

“Don’t worry,” said Sunset, “I’m sure the principals will understand.”

Artifex returned to looking back outside as the others resumed waiting. He wanted to complain a little more, but stopped himself. He watched the water trickle down the window, and saw the streetlight reflect their light off of each drop.

The rain continued to pour.