Anthropomorphism

Chapter Three: New Friends, New Beginnings: Part One

Edited by: TheDaringDone

You were lulled awake by the soft sounds of a violin. Forcing your eyes open, you lazily swatted the 'Off' button on your alarm clock. Sitting up in your bed, you yawned and stretched.

You wearily made your way to the dresser and started rummaging through the drawers, picking out your apparel for your first day at a new school. Jeans, plain black T-shirt, grey blazer...

After getting dressed, you dug out your backpack and filled it with all of your school supplies. With the backpack slung over your shoulder, you made your way downstairs for breakfast, the smell of scrambled eggs with cheese permeating the air along with hints of coffee. Breakfast of champions...

You found your way to the kitchen where your mom was already sitting and eating. She was wearing her dark blue robe, the sleeves nearly falling into her food as she waved you over. You saw a plate of steaming scrambled eggs and a cup of coffee already waiting for you on the table. Your mom looked up from her plate and smiled.

"Good morning, sweetie! Ready for your first day at school?" she said cheerfully.

You sighed as you sat down beside your mom. "It's not my first day at school, it's my first day at a new school. I'm not a foal anymore, mother."

Your mother smiled and pinched your cheek. "You'll always be mommy's little colt to me, sweetie."

Ugh. "Yes, mother," you forced yourself to reply as you took the first bite of your breakfast. Damn, these eggs are good! you thought. You dug into the eggs with abandon, devouring them like the hungry teenager you were. Before you knew it, you had eaten the whole plate without touching your coffee. After taking a swig, you asked, "Is dad still sleeping?"

Your mother nodded. "He had a bunch of important phone calls that kept him up last night. He told me to wish you well on your first day at your new school," she said with a smile, putting extra emphasis on the word 'new'.

"I'll try," you replied after you finished off your coffee. You checked your watch. 8:02am. Plenty of time to get my locker and my schedule. "Alright, I'm heading to school now," you said as you shouldered the backpack that you had left on the floor.

"Do you want a ride, sweetie? I can call the chauffeur..."

Do you want to destroy your social life on your first day, sweetie? No thank you, mother, you thought. Instead, you simply said, "No thanks, mom. I'd rather walk. I need the exercise, anyway."

"Okay, darling. Have fun!"

*****************

You left your house, the brisk October wind cutting into your exposed face while causing some strands of your hair to whip around. Tucking your chin in, you braved the wind and started walking towards your new school.

As you walked, you acutely noticed that the forest surrounding the gravel path that you walked upon felt...off. On Saturday, you didn't feel anything from the dark woods. Today though, with the Sun not fully up, the forest gave off a haunted and malevolent aura that sent chills down your spine. It felt as if the almost leafless branches were reaching towards you, intent on squeezing the life out of you.

It's nothing to be afraid of, you thought to yourself as you increased your pace. All forest's look creepy and menacing before the Sun is fully risen, right?

You tried to find comfort in your words, but the omnipresent feeling of being watched lingered. This is ridiculous, you thought as you forced yourself to slow down. There are plenty of reasons to be scared of something, but this is ridiculous. It's just a forest, for Celestia's sake. Look, there's the road. Just a few more seconds of walking and I'll be-

You thoughts stopped dead in their tracks and you froze on the spot as you heard a deep, menacing growl come from the forest on your right.

"Shitshitshitnononono!" you yelled as your legs moved on their own accord, sprinting towards the protection of the town. When you hit the edge of the road, you stole a glance behind you, sure that some form of terrifying creature was hot on your tail. Instead, the only movement was a few leaves tumbling in the wind.

"What the f-" you started to say, but stopped when you heard a chorus of riotous laughter coming from up the gravel pathway. Fuming, you thought, You gotta be kidding me! Who in their right mind does that to an innocent passerby? Unless...

You quickly put the facts together. Just moved here, first day at school...yep, they're definitely pranking the new kid.

You turned and stormed back up the hill to give the proprietors a piece of your mind. By the time you got back up however, there was no sign that anypony had been hiding in the forest. Son of a...bah! There goes my early day start. I'll be lucky if I get my locker and schedule before the bell rings.

Grumbling to yourself, you continued on your way to Ponyville High School.

******************

Aside from a few strange glances from the ponies in the immediate vicinity when you ran screaming down the hill, the rest of your walk was uneventful. You were constantly looking over your shoulder, expecting somepony to be following you, but nopony was.

You made it to the school a whole five minutes before the first bell was supposed to ring. It looked a lot bigger a couple of days ago, you thought as you walked up the steps to the main entrance. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. How many high school aged ponies could there be in a town this small, anyway?

Opening the door, you felt a rush of warm air greet you, pushing away the chill that had crept up on you. Rubbing your hands together to get the blood circulating, you walked over to the doorway that had a plaque with the word 'OFFICE' above it. Thankfully, the doorway was high enough that you didn't bash your skull open when you walked through.

You briefly looked around, noticing the rather drab, grey walls. There was a tan coloured earth pony wearing a gray top with some sort of jacket draped on her chair. She had short, olive green hair and she was sitting behind the only desk. She had a phone to her ear, so you sat down in one of the red chairs and waited patiently for the call to be over. You couldn't help overhearing the secretary's half of the conversation, though.

"Why won't Cloudchaser be able to make it to school today?"

You heard a mumbled response from the phone.

"Sick again? Well, tell her to get well soon. We wouldn't want her to miss another week of school, would we?"

More mumbling.

"Alright. Thanks for letting us know!" finished the secretary with forced cheeriness. Sighing, she turned to face you. "Can I help you?" she asked with a business-like efficiency, her eyes not leaving the desk.

Slightly unnerved, you replied, "Err, yes. I just moved to Ponyville and I-"

When the secretary looked up at you, her eyes widened. "Oh! You must be Valencia's son!" she said with interest, all traces of her bored and business like tone vanishing without a trace.

Surprised by her sudden mood change, you asked, "You know my mom?"

She laughed. "Only recently. We met at Carousel Boutique, I believe. She told me all about you."

You shuffled your feet uncomfortably. "Good things, I hope." You don't waste any time at all, do you mother?

The secretary laughed and said, "Yep, you're exactly how she described you. I take it that you're here for your class schedule and locker combination?"

You were a bit surprised to find that it was a combination lock: at your old school, you had to bring your own padlock. "Yes, but I was wondering-" you started to say, trying to figure out how your mom had described you.

"Here you go, big guy," interrupted the secretary as she handed you two pieces of paper, one with what you assumed was your class schedule and one with your locker combination. She looked at the clock on the wall and said, "I'd hurry to your first class if I were you. The first bell should be ringing-"

*BZZZZZZZZ*

"...shortly," finished the secretary. Sighing, you thanked her and left the office, looking for your locker. As you walked down the hallway looking for the lockers, you saw a few ponies walking down the halls, some alone and some in small groups.

One of the ponies you passed, a pegasus with yellow fur and a light pink mane, looked at you with undisguised fear. When you met her gaze, she hid behind her hair and seemed to shrink into her woolen yellow sweater. Before you could ask her where the lockers were, she hurried along in the opposite direction.

"I'm not that scary, am I?" you muttered to yourself as you continued to search for your locker. After turning the corner, you caught sight of a row of dull orange lockers. Finally...

You followed the lockers, your eyes scanning over the numbers. Sixty-four...sixty-five...here we are, locker sixty-six. Now, how do I open this bloody thing?

You looked down at the piece of paper that had your combo written on it. It read: 'Turn the dial clockwise three times and stop at the first number. Next, turn the dial counter-clockwise, passing the second number once and stopping on it the second time. Finally, turn the dial clockwise to the last number.'

Sounds easy enough, you reasoned. You grabbed the lock and tried to turn it to the right, but you couldn’t manage to get a good grip on it. Frowning, you tried again, this time putting more pressure on your grip. Your hand once again slipped off, hardly moving the lock.

You turned your hand over and noticed a slight sheen on your palm. Now sufficiently suspicious, you leaned over and inspected the lock. It was coated with a thin layer of the same oily substance. Really?! First day here and somepony's already screwing with me?! you thought angrily. I really hope Pinkie Pie's 'surprise' isn't anything like this...

Letting out an exasperated sigh, you went to the water fountain that was conveniently across the hall. You washed off your hand as best you could, but the cold water didn't help remove the oily substance from your hand. Grudgingly, you wiped your hand on your pant leg, hoping that nopony would notice the slight yellow stain.

You pulled out your schedule and found that your first block was Calculus, in room 103. You didn't mind math; in fact, you were rather good at it. The only problem was that you had no idea where the classroom was. Deciding that aimlessly wandering the halls wouldn't get you anywhere, you asked a passing pegasus for directions.

"Excuse me, do you know where room one-oh-three is?" you asked the charcoal grey pegasus, who was wearing a uniform of a kind that you haven't seen before.

The pegasus stopped for a moment. "You're the new kid, aren't ya?"

You snorted. "What gave it away?"

He laughed, his steel-blue and off-white striped fauxhawk swaying slightly. "I like you, new guy. I do happen to know where the Calculus room is. In fact, I'm heading there now. You can tag along if you want..." he trailed off, evidently asking you for your name. You told him.

"Hmm," said the pegasus. "I think I'll stick to calling you new kid for now. My name's Thunderlane, but you can call me Thunder."

"Nice to meet you, Thunder," you said as you shifted your backpack's weight, following the pegasus. Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted a small group of girls your age walking past looking at you funny. You ignored them, as you were trying to memorize the path from your locker to the classroom.

After walking in silence for about a minute, Thunderlane slowed down and said, "Here we are. I'm sure you'll like Mr. Divide. He's one of the best teachers in the school, in my opinion."

You chuckled inwardly. Mr. Divide! Definitely a math teacher name, you thought as Thunder opened the door to the classroom and walked in, with you following in step. As you crossed the threshold from hallway to classroom, the bell rang. Just in time.

You looked around for a seat, wary of the multiple pairs of eyes watching you. You caught a glimpse of Twilight Sparkle sitting alone, wearing the traditional schoolgirl attire of a violet skirt and button up blouse. There were books piled up high on her desk. She gave you a smile and a small wave when she noticed you. Wait, how is she in my math class? She's got to be at least a year younger than me...

Putting that thought aside for now, you smiled back as you looked for a desk to sit at. As your eyes trailed over the classroom occupants, you realized something: the majority of the students were girls. In fact, aside from you and Thunder, the only other male in the class was the teacher. Weird, you thought. It's probably just this class, though. Now, where can I sit?

Thunderlane had already taken a seat at the back of the classroom, and the only other available desk was next to him. Mentally shrugging, you sat next to the burly pegasus. As you took your seat, the black business suit wearing teacher, a unicorn with a golden brown coat and short-cut maroon hair, got up from his desk and addressed the class.

"Good morning, class! Glad to see everypony this fine Monday morning," said the teacher with a roll of his eyes. He looked to be around thirty-five and he had a slight accent, one that you hadn't heard before. It was similar to a Manehattan one, but different. You heard several groans come from your fellow students as they heard the word 'Monday'. Apparently, the teacher heard them too.

"Glad to see that we're on the same page. Mondays suck."

Laughter.

The unicorn waited for the class to become quiet before speaking again. "I see that you took it upon yourself to start corrupting the new student with your tardiness, Thunderlane,” he said with a grin, causing more muffled laughs. “Welcome to Calculus Eleven. I'm your teacher, Mr. Divide," continued the unicorn, his words directed at you.

"Thanks," you replied. "Sorry for almost being late. I had trouble finding the classroom."

"Yeah, you'd probably still be walking in circles if it weren't for me," said Thunderlane.

Mr. Divide raised his eyebrow. "Thunderlane...helping somepony else? I guess there's a first for everything..." trailed off the teacher, eliciting more giggles from the students and a grimace from Thunderlane.

Smirking, the teacher started to write several equations on the board, using both his hand and telekinesis. You knew that you had to concentrate carefully when you used levitation, but Mr. Divide was writing two completely different questions at once with little to no effort. When he was done, he stepped back and said, "Complete those two questions, then start on assignment number twelve in your workbooks. If you require assistance, you know where my desk is. "

Workbook? Convenient...except that I don't have one.

"Mr. Divide?" you asked.

"Yes?"

"I don't have a work-" you started to say, but stopped when a giant book wafted over to you, dropping on your desk with a muted thump. "Never mind."

You opened up your backpack and pulled out a pencil and a sheet of paper for the whiteboard equations. You copied down the first question and started to work on it.

Seven minutes later, you stared at what you had written.

This is going to be a long class... you thought as you sighed and started on the next one.

****************************************************************

"Remember: questions one through six of assignment twelve are homework!" announced Mr. Divide as everyone started to pack up, as the bell was about to ring. You had just finished question seven, so you were in the clear for math homework.

The bell rang a few seconds after, announcing the end of your prison that was the sixty-five minute class of calculus equations. It seemed that you weren't the only one who felt that way, as your fellow classmates rushed out the door as quickly as they could. You packed your belongings slowly, waiting for the crowd to clear so that you could talk to Twilight and ask her the question that had been bothering you.

Your patience was rewarded as the students filed out of the classroom, leaving it empty save for you, Twilight, and the teacher. "Hey Twilight," you asked. "What grade are you in?"

"Oh! I'm a sophomore," she replied as she used her magic to place all of her books in the book bag that she had around her shoulder. "I suppose that you're wondering what I'm doing in a grade eleven class, right?"

You nodded, as she took the words right out of your mouth.

"Well...I was getting bored in the Foundations of Math and Pre-Calculus class, so they bumped me up to real calculus! It's a lot more fun and challenging!" said Twilight enthusiastically.

You blinked a few times, dumbfounded. "You think that...math is fun?!"

A light blush came to her face. Just as she was about to respond, the teacher cut in.

"Will you two foals get out already? It's hard enough marking these tests without you two lovebirds chatting it up over there!" said Mr. Divide from across the room without looking up from his desk.

An awkward silence coalesced between you and Twilight from the teacher's words. It was broken when he started laughing. "I'm kidding! Man, you kids are easy to embarrass."

Her face red, Twilight finished packing her book-bag without another word to you. As she was about to leave the classroom, she said to the teacher, "See you in fourth block, Mr. Divide."

"Indeed you will, Ms. Sparkle," he replied, even though Twilight was already making her way down the hall.

Sighing, you shouldered your backpack once again. "See ya tomorrow, Mr. Divide," you said as you left the class.

You heard him respond with, "Cheerio!"

Smiling, you pulled out your schedule out of your pocket as you walked down the hall. Holding it up, you read what your next block was. You blinked, then you read it again. Drama?! I didn't sign up for Drama! What the hell?!

Fuming, you started to walk back towards the office with the intent on correcting the obvious mistake. When you were half way there, you stopped, abruptly realizing something.

What am I going to do? Tell them to put me in a different class? Order them to put me in a different class? Act like a snobbish brat until I get my way? Sighing, you turned around and started to walk back towards where you thought the classroom would be. I'm not going to act like a spoiled rich kid, you told yourself. I'm going to deal with the situation like a stallion: suck it up.

You unfolded the schedule again to find out what room your drama class was in. 'Theatre room'. Fair enough.

You adjusted your backpack and started walking down the hallway, looking for the theatre. After only a minute of searching, you spotted a double-door entrance with the word 'AUDITORIUM' painted above it. This must be it, you thought. The level of conversation that you heard through the doors supported your guess.

You opened the doors and took a second to look around, your eyes adjusting to the dimly lit interior. The students were sprawled out along the rows of black, cushioned seats chatting noisily with one another. You noticed that the theatre looked well kept, albeit tiny. The one at your previous school was big enough to hold all sixteen hundred students, while this one looked to hold a maximum of one hundred and fifty.

I guess everypony's just waiting for the teacher, you thought as you took a seat in an empty row in the middle section of the theatre. You sat there drumming your fingers on your leg, waiting for the bell to ring. When it did, the teacher was nowhere to be seen. The students carried on their conversations like nothing was amiss. Confused, you cleared your throat to get the attention of the three girls that were sitting two rows ahead of you.

"Excuse me," you said when you had their attention. "Where's the teacher?"

Two of the girls looked at you for a couple of seconds before turning back to each other, continuing to talk, but in hushed tones. The third one on the right, an earth pony with raspberry coloured hair and very pale yellow fur, giggled. "You must be new to the class. I'm Roseluck, but everypony calls me Rose. What's your name?"

You told her your name, to which she replied, "That's an interesting name. Did you just move here?"

You nodded. Having still no answer to your question, you asked, "So, where's the teacher? This is drama, right?"

Smiling, Rose opened her mouth to reply, but whatever she was about to say stopped in her throat when the double doors burst open and an earth pony with fur the colour of plums staggered through the entrance. You guessed that she was about thirty years old, but she could've been older or younger, as you weren't the best at guessing other ponies ages. You winced as your eyes beheld her neon orange cardigan, along with a lime green skirt.

I don't have any fashion sense, but even I know that those colours don't go together, you thought as the teacher continued along the aisle, her mulberry coloured hair in disarray. When she passed you, she stopped, her hand on her chin, as if she was pondering something.

"Have I *hic* seen you before?" she asked, squinting at you.

"N-no," you replied. "It's my first day here."

She seemed to perk up a little upon hearing that. "Oh! So you're my new *hic* student! I'm Berry *hic* Punch, and I'm your drama teach-*hic* teacher," slurred Berry Punch, her cheeks flushed.

She's...she's drunk!

"Uhh, n-nice to meet you, Ms. Punch," you said with as much politeness as you could muster, as you were unable to believe that the teacher would have the audacity to show up to class in such a state. After your greeting was given, Berry Punch steadied herself by putting a hand against a nearby wall and addressed the now silent class.

"Sorry for being *hic* late everypony. You all *hic* know what to *hic* do! I'll be in my office if anypony *hic* needs me," she said an octave higher than she needed to. A collective "Yes, Ms. Punch," reverberated throughout the amphitheatre.

You watched the tipsy pony stumble down the steps and bring her key up to unlock the door to a small room off to the side. It took her a couple of tries, but she eventually managed, almost falling into the room as it opened. When you heard the door click, the silence of the theatre was broken by all of the students continuing their conversations as if nothing had happened.

You sat there for a few seconds, unable to comprehend what had just occurred. Turning back to Roseluck, you asked, "What the hay just happened?"

She shook her head slowly, a look of pity on her face. "That was Berry Punch, our drama teacher. Well, supposed drama teacher. She comes to class every day while hammered and tells us to do 'the usual'. We don't even know what that is; she hasn't taught us anything!"

You filed away that information for later use. "So Ms. Punch comes to class every day drunk and everypony just sits around and talks?" you asked.

The unicorn sitting to Rose's left answered you. "Well, if you have any work that you need to do, that gets done first. But yeah, we pretty much sit around and talk. It's basically a free block."

How in Tartarus has this gone under the radar for so long? you asked yourself. "Why hasn't anypony done anything?"

Your question was met by several blank stares. Sighing, you rephrased your question. "Why hasn't she been fired for misconduct? Being drunk on the job while she's supposed to be supervising in a public establishment isn't exactly...tolerated," you explained.

"Well...none of the students have actually told on her, if that's what you mean," supplied Roseluck. After seeing the look of disbelief on your face, she said, "We don't want her to get in trouble...she's a nice teacher, even if she is always a bit tipsy."

It's...it’s not the right thing to do, not by our society...but...it’s the kind thing to do. After a few moments of careful deliberation, you finally decided, Hopefully Berry Punch can sort out her alcohol issues by herself.

After a pause in the conversation, you simply nodded and grabbed your math workbook, seeing as you had time to spare and that the questions you hadn't done would inevitably be assigned tomorrow. The three ponies in the row ahead of you went back to their conversation as you continued working on your assigned calculus equations.

***********************

Hmm. If I call that value 'h', then the area of the rectangle with base 'x' and height gives the speed, distance divided by time, a constant-

"Hel-lo?!"

Rose's light voice snapped you out of your math-induced stupor, causing you to blink your eyes owlishly and look up from your workbook at the earth pony who was standing in the aisle beside your seat. "Oh, uhh, y-yes?" you stammered.

Roseluck smiled and said, "The bell rang almost a minute ago. Thought I'd give you a heads up, since you were so engrossed in whatever it is you're doing.”

"Thanks for telling me," you replied as you started packing away your stuff. "I get carried away sometimes."

"No need to thank me! Just helping a fellow student, that's all!" said Roseluck as she walked away.

Ugh, you thought as you packed away the last of your writing supplies and started to walk out of the theatre. Too much math for one day...well, at least I already did most, if not all of tomorrow's work. Hmm, maybe I should go to the library after school and get another book to read in class. I wonder-

"Pardon my interest, but are you new here?" asked a feminine voice from behind you that cut off your thoughts.

"Yeah, this is my first day here," you replied before turning around. "My family just moved here from-" you continued to say, but the words died in your throat when you looked upon the owner of the voice.

Oh sweet, sweet Celestia...

She was a unicorn, her coat the colour of freshly fallen snow, while her meticulously styled mane was a deep, dark indigo. A secretive smile played across her plump lips, and her bottomless, azure eyes seemed to pull you into their depths. She was wearing what you thought was a stylish blouse, the deep indigo vainly attempting to match the same shade of her hair. The wide neckline showed more skin that you thought the dress code could allow. An intricate, swirling pattern drew more attention to the large roundness that was already hinted at by the neckline. Am I imagining this? you thought, unable to believe that such physical perfection was possible.

Your gaze continued its descent, scanning over the luscious curves of her jean-covered thighs. That ass... However, you quickly realized that jeans wouldn't have flaunted her figure as well as they did. What type of pants is she wearing? you asked yourself. You thought back to your old school and what fashions were popular there. Wait, are those spandex leggings made to look like jeans? Her curvy figure made you think 'yes'. You wracked your brain, trying to remember what they were called.

Jeggings! you thought as it finally hit you. You wished you could personally thank the pony that had invented jeggings for the gift that been bestowed upon your eyes. I wish I could see what her cutie mark looks like, you thought without shame.

"Oh, do tell where you're from! I just adore listening to tales from other cities!" said the beautiful girl, causing you to blink repeatedly and look back up to her face. She had a faintly amused expression.

"O-oh, o-okay. I'm f-from..." you started to say again, but your mouth just didn't seem to want to respond to your neural commands. Why is this so difficult?! you pleaded with yourself. Just tell her where you're from!

"...T-trottawa. I'm from Trottawa," you managed to say.

Her eyes seemed to light up at the mention of your hometown. "You're from Trottawa? Oh, is it really as cold as they say up there? I heard that snow falls year round there, even with the weather stations running at full capacity. Is that true?"

"Err, n-not really. It's a bit colder overall, but it doesn't snow all year," you explained. I wonder where she heard that from...

"Wait a minute..." she said whilst narrowing her eyes. "Are you really from Trottawa? You don't seem to have an accent..."

Accent? "A-accent? W-why would I have an accent?"

She tilted her head slightly, as if surprised. "I thought that all the ponies from the most northern parts of Equestria had accents differing from the norm. You're telling me that you don't say 'Eh?' or pronounce certain words differently like 'aboot' instead of about and 'hoose' instead of house?"

"I think that it is a...a...um...Stereotype! Yeah, a stereotype! Like thinking everpony in Stalliongrad drinks vodka,” you explained nervously.

"I'm terribly sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable, darling," apologized the white unicorn. "I'm just simply fascinated with the whole of Equestria outside of our humble little town."

You waved off her apology, by saying, "D-don't worry about it...I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Oh Celestia, did I just ask for her name?!

"Oh, how rude of me! Here I am, asking you all sorts of silly questions and I haven't even told you my name yet! My name is Rarity, and yours?"

After telling Rarity your name, she proceeded to exclaim, "Oh, I recognize your second name! I do believe your mother came in to Carousel Boutique the other day! Her name is Valencia, right?"

Surprised, you nodded and said, "That's my mom, alright. Why were you there? Part-time job?"

"Yes, I work there from four to eight on weekdays and from noon to six on the weekend, with Sundays being my day off," explained Rarity. Why would she tell me, a new student, the specifics of where and when she worked? you thought, wondering what her ulterior motive could possibly be.

Putting the nagging feeling of suspicion aside, you were going to ask how long the recess break was but before you could, a pony wearing a frown poked her head around one of the double doors and said, "What's taking so long Rarity?! You said that you had something to-"

After a few seconds of painfully awkward silence, her frown was replaced by a mischievous smile. "Ohh, I see how it is. You take all the time you need," she said before disappearing behind the door once more. You turned back to Rarity and raised an eyebrow, wondering what that was all about.

"While it was nice chatting with you, I'm afraid I have some...unforeseen errands that I absolutely must attend to. Ta-ta for now!" she said before quickly walking out the doors. You stood there for a couple seconds, unable to wrap your mind around what had just happened yet again.

Not only do I have a drunken drama teacher to worry about, but now I have a bad feeling that I'm the target of some sort of nefarious plot. By Celestia, I hate Mondays. Shaking your head, you walked out the doors yourself and started to walk back towards your locker, thinking about how to remove whatever substance was generously lathered on your combination lock.

***********************************************************

I really hope this works, you thought as you walked towards the bathroom. You were reluctant to even enter the bathroom, but after several minutes of searching for a disposable material to remove the oily substance and finding nothing, you realized that you had to, unless you wanted to carry all of your school supplies around with you all day.

Thankfully, the bathroom was nothing like your old school's; it was well maintained and didn't smell like somepony had died in it. Strangely enough, it seemed like it was hardly used. Maybe there are a lot less guys than girls at this school, you had thought as you started pulling paper towels out of the dispenser. After grabbing what you thought was a sufficient amount, you went back to your locker and wrapped the lock in layers of paper towels. After a minute or so of vigorous cleaning, you figured that it was as good as it was going to get.

You tossed the bundle of paper towels into a nearby garbage can and proceeded to test the lock. It was still a bit slippery, but you could manage. Finally! Damn, what was the combo? You pulled out the same piece of paper and memorized your combination by repeating it in your head. 33, 3, 13. 33, 3, 13...

You followed the instructions, turning the lock to the right three times before stopping on 33. After that, you turned it to the left for one rotation before stopping on 3. You turned it one last time, stopping on the number 13, the lock undoing with a soft 'click'. Just as you started to open the locker, you thought, If whoever did this knows which locker was mine...

Your thoughts were interrupted when the locker swung open and hundreds of small, white balls started tumbling out of your locker, creating a cacophony of plinking and plonking sounds as they bounced out of your locker and into the hallway.

...then they could have done something else, you finished, stunned by the level of noise that the ping-pong balls were creating. When I get my hands on whoever did this...

It took almost thirty seconds for the balls to stop bouncing, slowly coming to a rest beside the lockers and along the hallway. I'm going to have to clean this up, aren't I? you thought miserably. Sighing, you took your backpack off and grabbed the garbage can that was nearby. At least there's nopony in the hallway, you thought as you started to pick up the ping-pong balls and toss them in the garbage. You were so focused on picking up the balls that you didn't notice that somepony was helping you clean up until your hands touched when you both made to pick up the same ping-pong ball.

The hand jerked back when you made contact with it. Startled, you stopped what you were doing and looked over at the owner of the hand. The owner was wearing what you thought was a yellow, homemade, woollen sweater and a simple pair of jeans. You quickly realized that it was the same pegasus that had practically ran away from you when you were looking for your locker. If she's afraid of me, why is she helping me?

"Uhh, hi? How long have you been helping me clean up?" you asked her. She didn't respond, opting instead to make herself look smaller. Wow. Either she's super shy, or I'm just one bad motherbucker.

You tried to coax her out of her shell by asking, "What's your name? You don't have to be shy; I won't bite..."

"F-fluttershy."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" you asked, unable to hear what she had mumbled.

"Fluttershy."

"I still can't hear you."

"M-my name is F-F-Fluttershy," she finally managed to squeak out.

You smiled, glad that you were finally able to get her name. "A pleasure to meet you, Fluttershy." You paused for a few seconds, wondering what question to ask first. You finally decided on the question that you asked before. "How long have you been helping me pick these up?" you asked while tossing a ping-pong ball up and down in your hand.

"I-I was walking down the hall and I heard a loud noise, so I-I went to see what caused it," said Fluttershy, who was now able to magically communicate properly. "When I turned around the corner, I saw all the ping-pong balls everywhere and...started helping you pick them up. The same thing happened to me on my first day here, too..."

At least I'm not the only one who had to go through this headache, you thought as you started throwing the balls away once again. "I really appreciate the help, Fluttershy. It's really nice of you to help someone without being asked."

Your compliment caused Fluttershy to blush and hide behind her long, pink hair. "T-thank y-you," she murmured as she started helping again. "J-just trying to help out somepony on their first d-day..."

**********************************************************

With Fluttershy's help, you were able to gather up and throw away the majority of the ping-pong balls before the break was over. You turned around and prepared to thank her once again, but she was already walking down the hall. When she glanced behind her and saw you looking at her, she increased her pace and disappeared around another corner. Shrugging, you walked back to your locker.

Never have I known somepony whose name is so relevant to their personality, you thought as you started emptying your backpack and placing the contents into your locker. Let's see, what's my next block? You pulled out your schedule and saw that you had social studies as your next class. Social studies? Is that like history class?

As you pondered what lay in store for you in the next block, the bell rang, denoting that your break was over. Grabbing your binder that was full of paper and writing utensils, you made your way towards room 116, your social studies class. You found the classroom in no time at all. This school isn’t so difficult to navigate after all, you thought.

After having been traumatized by your drama class and the mess that was your break, you were a bit more wary upon entering the classroom. When you opened the door and stepped in, you noticed that you were the first student to make it to class, as the only other person in the class was the teacher. She didn't notice you come in, as she was busy writing on the chalkboard, humming a tune.

Her coat was a dark magenta, while her rose pink mane was just past shoulder-length. You couldn’t help but get a good look at her shapely rear end as you walked in the door. You quietly took a single seat near the back, trying to distract yourself from the wonderfully enchanting sight that was your teacher’s backside. The room was white, quite typical when it comes to classrooms. You decided to look at some of the motivational posters, desperately trying to not look at...her.

'Aim for the moon and you'll land amongst the stars!'

'You have a right to be heard, and a responsibility to listen to others!'

'Stand up for what is right - even if you stand alone!'

Despite your best attempts, you found that your eyes kept being drawn back to your teacher. Damn...Teachers should not be allowed to be this attractive... you thought. She was wearing a long, purple skirt, and a white button up shirt. You sighed, putting your binder beneath your desk. Somehow, your teacher heard this and turned around. You almost wished she hadn’t. Her button up shirt was not buttoned nearly enough. Not nearly enough.

"Excuse me, are you my new student? I haven't seen your face before," she said, her voice practically oozing enthusiasm, her green eyes sparkling.

"Uh, yeah. That would be me," you replied, making a conscious effort to not even glance at her chest.

You weren't sure how it was possible, but her eyes seemed to light up even more. "Oh that's wonderful! 'The more students, the merrier!' is what I always say," said the teacher. "I'm Ms. Cheerilee and I hope that you have as much fun learning as I do teaching!"

I know exactly what I'd like to learn from you, your mind said. Thankfully, your mouth didn't say anything that would get you sent to the principal's office, no matter what your mind was thinking. "Yes, ma'am," was all you allowed yourself to say.

You were saved from further interrogation by other students entering the class, with Ms. Cheerilee greeting every single one by name. Once again, you noticed that the gender ratio was extremely one-sided, as you and one other unicorn were the only guys in the class. What the hell is up with the gender distribution at this school? After a quick glance around, you rectified your thoughts. Not that I'm complaining...Actually, I could get used to this...

As soon as the second bell rang, Ms. Cheerilee introduced you to the class. "Welcome back, everypony! As you may have noticed, we have a new student in our class! I hope that everypony does their best to make him feel welcome!"

Your classmates gave you various greetings and welcomes. You thought you heard someone say something about your cutie mark, causing you to blush and stare at your desk. At your old school, you didn't talk about someone else's cutie mark unless you were flirting with them profusely.

Thankfully, the teacher took everyone's attention away from you when she started explaining what the schedule for today's class was going to be. "Since we have a new student, I'm going to quickly go over what we do in a normal day of class. We start by discussing current events, followed by a brief history lesson. Seeing that we just finished our previous research project on the Crystal Empire last week, we will be starting a new one today on our town of Ponyville!"

Heh. Maybe I can find out why the male to female ratio is so unbalanced, you thought.

"So, in the last section of the class, I will be assigning new partners. You will have the remainder of the block to get to know your partner better, and to discuss which aspect of Ponyville you'd like to research," continued Ms. Cheerilee. "But now, it's time to discuss current events!"

This class doesn't seem so bad, you thought as the teacher started picking ponies with their hands up to talk about what was happening around Equestria. This doesn't seem that bad at all...

****************************************************************

You didn't contribute to the event discussion, seeing as how you have been out of touch for the last few days. You learned a couple of important things by simply sitting quietly and listening, such as a holiday called 'Nightmare Night' that was coming up. I wonder if has anything to do with the legend of Night Mare Moon, you had thought absently.

After the discussion, Miss Cheerilee gave a history lesson on the origin of Nightmare Night, which you eagerly listened to. Apparently, the holiday had started from a cult made up of Princess Luna's Night Guards. The guards were rumoured to have tried to summon her every year on the same night, October 31st, without success. One year, the leader of the cult, known only as Blackwing, had spread false rumours regarding Night Mare Moon's return in an attempt to create enough chaos and anarchy so that the spell that had locked her on the moon would weaken enough for her to actually return.

While his plan to free the Nightmare didn't work, the citizens were so fearful of her return that they dressed up as creatures of legend and myth, hoping that their disguises would protect them from her wrath. With the successful chaos that his first rumour caused, Blackwing started another one the following year, saying that everypony had to give food offerings to the Princess of the Night so that she would be appeased.

The ponies had done as Blackwing said out of fear. When Night Mare Moon failed to show up yet again, the cult disbanded. However, the citizens continued to dress in black on the same day, every year and give offerings to the fallen princess' statue. Nopony was sure who started the tradition of giving out candy on Nightmare Night, but it stuck, along with wearing costumes and giving an offering. Eventually, ponies started dressing up as creatures and monsters of the night, such as Manticores, Ghosts, and Windigoes in an attempt to appease Night Mare Moon even more. Even after Nightmare Night became an official Equestrian holiday, ponies everywhere still dress up as scary monsters and give out candy, even to this day.

By the end of the lesson, you were genuinely excited for the upcoming Nightmare Night. What should I dress up as? you wondered as Ms. Cheerilee wrapped up the story.

"...And that's the history of Nightmare Night!" exclaimed the teacher. She checked the clock on the wall and said with surprise, "Oh dear, it seems that that lesson took far longer than I expected. It looks like there's only a couple of minutes left in class!" After thinking for a few moments, she continued. "Okay, here's what we're going to do: I'm going to call two ponies that are going to be partners for the research project and you two will get to know each other a little better. We'll start the research project tomorrow!"

When Miss Cheerilee announced that you didn't have to start the project until the next day, the class responded with a resounding chorus of ‘Yes!’, ‘Alright!’, and ‘Yay!’ You sat and waited for the teacher to say your name as she started calling out pairs.

Your ears perked up when you finally heard your name being called. "-will be partnered with...Fluttershy!" said Ms. Cheerilee happily. Wait, what?! Fluttershy is in the same class as me?! you thought as you looked around, trying to find where she was sitting. She hasn't said a word the entire class!

You finally spotted her sitting alone at the very front of the class. Mentally shrugging, you grabbed your binder and walked over to where Fluttershy was sitting. "Hello again, Fluttershy," you said as you sat in the empty desk beside her.

Startled, Fluttershy made a sound that you could only describe as an 'Eep!' before scrunching up into a ball, tucking her knees into her chest. Sighing, you tapped her on the shoulder and said more softly, "Fluttershy? It's me, the pony that you helped clean up all those ping-pong balls."

Speaking quietly seemed to do the trick, as Fluttershy slowly peeked out at you from behind her hair. "O-oh. H-hi," she said while unclenching her legs and sitting properly in the seat once again."W-why are you h-here?"

Smiling, you said, "Well, it appears that we're going to be partners for the next research project. Something to do with Ponyville, I think. Fortunately, we don't have to think of what we're going to do it on until tomorrow."

"O-oh, okay," she murmured. "What are we supposed to-"

*BZZZZZZZZ*

"Okay everypony, class is dismissed! I hope that you all have fun during the rest of the school day!" said Miss Cheerilee after the bell was finished ringing.

"Well, I'll see you later, Fluttershy," you said as you stood up. You heard a muffled 'Bye' as you walked away, making a conscious effort to not even look at Miss Cheerilee's backside as you strolled by.

Author's Note: Well, here you go. Just shy of 8000 words. I was originally going to make everybody wait until the chapter was done, but I figured that splitting it into two parts would make everyone happier. As always, please point out any errors that you happen to come across.

Special thanks to TheDaringDone for editing like a boss and helping me write out some of the more...err, difficult parts.

Oh, and if anyone can figure out how Applejack is going to be in the story, major props to you. I dropped two of the most subtlest hints that I could manage.
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