Monday, August 24, 2015

2015
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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): You will have a mix of good luck and bad luck today. Don't be discouraged. Take each experience and learn from it.

Early Morning

Today is the first day of school.

I went to bed early last night, so I'm up a bit early today. Before I head to the bathroom for a shower, I check Canterbook.

I smile at that, then glance at my horoscope. It seems rather generic for a horoscope—more like a fortune cookie message.

I select the nicest clothes I brought with me and lay them out on the bed. There are towels and a few toiletries in the bathroom, but I'm going to need to go shopping for a number of things. Perhaps after school. I could probably use a few more clothes too.

I brush my teeth, take a shower, and step out into the hall wrapped in a towel. In a television show, this is where I'd run right into one of the girls living in the dorm.

Thankfully, this doesn't happen, and I return to my room, where I get dressed. I head back to the bathroom to comb my hair, then I pack up my laptop to take to school with me and head down to the dining room.

Assorted pastries, juice, milk, a coffee pot, a platter of toast, and boxes of cereal are all over the table. Pinkie walks in, carrying a serving plate of bacon and a big skillet of scrambled eggs. She's wearing blue jeans, sneakers, and a white T-shirt with blue sleeves; on the front of her shirt, there are three balloons, two blue and one yellow. "Hiya Flash!"

"Mornin' Pinkie," I say. "Who else is up?"

"Rarity's doing her makeup, I think. Applejack's trying to wake up Rainbow. Fluttershy's probably in the shower. Twilight..." She taps her chin with a finger.

"I'm right here," Twilight says from behind me as she walks in, sits down, loads various foods onto a plate, and mechanically starts eating. Today, she's wearing a blue vest over a white blouse, a short purple skirt, knee-high white socks, and brown loafers. There's an interesting pattern on her skirt: a large pink six-pointed star, surrounded by five smaller white six-pointed stars.

I sit down and help myself to eggs, bacon, and toast, making a sandwich out of it. I pour myself a glass of orange juice. "What about Cadance and Shining Armor?" I ask.

"Oh, they usually eat breakfast together at their place," Pinkie says. "And I'm pretty sure they left for school already. They kinda have to get there early." She pauses, then adds, "By the way, it's kinda the school year now, so call Shining Armor 'Coach', okay?"

"And Nurse Cadance, right? Got it." I take a bite of my breakfast, washing it down with some juice.

Applejack ambles in, wearing an outfit identical to what she wore yesterday. I think. I'm not sure if that trio of apples embroidered on her skirt was there yesterday or not. She sits down and pours herself some coffee. "Howdy y'all," she says.

"Not eating?" I ask.

"Already et," she says, taking a sip of coffee. "Ah'm always up at sunrise...old habits an' all."

Twilight stands up suddenly. Her plate is empty except for a mess of crumbs. She turns and heads upstairs.

"What, did she forget something?" I ask.

"Nah, she's gotta walk her doggy before she leaves," Pinkie says as she sits down and starts shoveling cereal into her mouth.

Rarity walks in, wearing a white silk blouse, a knee-length royal purple skirt with three glittery diamonds embroidered on it, and knee-high purple boots. She takes a medium-sized pastry and pours herself a cup of coffee.

"So...question," I say as I make myself another bacon and egg sandwich.

"Yes?" Rarity asks, as she's the only one present whose mouth isn't full.

"I can't help but notice..." I pause. "You all have some kind of...thing on your clothes."

"Thing?" Rarity asks.

I point at her skirt. "You've got those diamonds, Pinkie's got balloons on her shirt, Twilight has stars on her skirt, and Applejack's got apples on hers..."

"Oh, that!" Rarity says. "It's...sort of a thing we do here. Everyone likes to come up with a little emblem, as it were, something that's personal to them. We put them on most of our clothes, we use them on Canterbook..." She smiles. "It's just one of our little traditions."

"Yeah, we've all been doing it since elementary school," Pinkie says. "New kids who come here from other places pick up on it pretty quick." She smiles. "You'll probably come up with something by the end of the week."

"Even a lot of the teachers do it," Rarity says.

I hear a commotion from the stairs and turn to see Twilight setting down a small purple dog with big, floppy green ears. The dog starts running around at the end of his leash, sniffing at everything. Twilight nudges him with her toe. "No, Spike. Come on, we're going outside now." She starts walking toward the front door, and Spike obediently runs ahead of her, wagging his tail.

Rainbow Dash shuffles in, wearing a loose tank top and rumpled pajama bottoms. Her hair is a mess and her eyes are bloodshot. She yawns and slumps down at the table.

"Took ya long enough," Applejack says. "Yer a mess, girl."

"Bite me," Rainbow says. "I haven't gotten up this early in two months." She blinks sleepily at me, then frowns. "Crap, I forgot. Just...watch where you're lookin', okay?"

I wish she hadn't called attention to herself like that. Her tank top is really loose. I can see her tits pretty well...I can even see some nipple. In the interest of self-preservation, because I don't want to get caught staring at Rainbow's tits, I decide I've had enough breakfast and stand up. "So uh...need me to help clean up this mess or anything?" I ask Pinkie.

"Nope, I'm good," Pinkie says cheerfully.

"Then...I think I'll head to school a little early," I say. "I mean, I should probably learn my way around school, find out where all my classes are..."

"Just use the campus map and GPS on Canterbook," Rainbow says. "That's what I do."

"Yes, and your class assignments will be on there as well," Rarity says. "It really does make school life ever so much easier." She brightens suddenly. "Oh! But by all means, don't let that keep you from going ahead early anyway. After all, it couldn't hurt to meet some of the teachers. There are probably some other students there by now already too."

"Well...see you girls at school then," I say, picking up my laptop bag and heading for the door.

I'm halfway to the street when Twilight walks past, holding a baggie full of dog poop and a pooper-scooper in one hand and Spike's leash in the other. "Oh, are you already headed for school?" she asks.

I nod. "I thought I'd leave early, get a feel for the place."

"I'm just about to leave too, as soon as I deal with this and feed Spike," she says.

I pause. "Why don't I wait and walk with you?" I offer.

She blinks. "I...umm...okay." She looks down at Spike. "I'll...just be a few minutes."

I fiddle with my phone while I wait for Twilight. A few minutes later, she's back, carrying her own bag.

As we walk, she says, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why did you send me a friend request?"

I frown. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no...it's fine," she says. "I was just wondering why." She blushes, then adds, "Other than my brother and Cadance, I've...only ever gotten two friend requests. One from you, and one from Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie friends everybody." She looks up at me. "I know it's not because I'm related to Cadance, because I checked and you're only friends with me, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash. So...why?"

I honestly don't know how to answer that. I'm afraid if I tell her the truth, it'll offend her. But I don't think I can come up with an excuse that'll fly...

I decide to be honest. "Because I think you're really cute and I want to get to know you better," I say.

She stares at me, eyes wide. "You...think I'm...what?"

I sigh. "Man, you must think I'm lame."

She stops walking. In a small voice, she asks, "You...really think I'm cute?"

"Well, yeah," I say.

She blushes. "Thank you." She starts walking again. "I mean, I barely even know you and you don't know me at all, so...I really hope you just want to be friends...but nobody's ever called me cute before. So...thank you." She frowns. "Just...don't start stalking me or anything, okay?"

"I'm not like that!"

"Good."

Morning

My very first class of the day is history. There couldn't possibly be a worse way to start the day. Of course, teachers don't really do much teaching on the first day of school, so I snap the lesson outline the teacher is reviewing with us on one side of my screen and open Canterbook on the other.

And what a weirdo our history teacher is! For some bizarre reason, Mr. Turner is wearing a conquistador helmet. Just the helmet...with a regular suit and tie.

Mr. Turner suddenly stops talking. "Really?" he asks flatly. "All of you? Even the new kid? You're all on Canterbook instead of paying attention?"

"I'm multitasking!" a girl pipes up. "See? I've got your outline open."

"Me too," someone else says. A few others chorus agreement.

Mr. Turner sighs. "I'll ignore it today," he says. "But for future reference—and most of you should know this by now—every teacher in this school monitors Canterbook access inside the classroom. We'll know if you're not paying attention in class."

The PA suddenly lets out a chime. A female voice says, "Good morning, students and faculty. At this time, I would like everyone to log into Canterbook for our start-of-term orientation livestream."

For the next twenty minutes, the principal of Canterlot High, Principal Celestia, rambles on about success and dedication and doing your best and making friends and setting goals and things I've heard since seventh grade. I very nearly doze off in the middle of the orientation.

Lunch

When the lunch bell rings, I make my way to the cafeteria.

As I grab a tray and wait in line, I look around. Lunch, like everything else at Canterlot High, has its own unique style. The tables are arranged in loose groups which appear to be populated by like-minded students: Rarity is sitting with a number of well-dressed, primped kids, Rainbow is laughing and chatting with a bunch of jocks, Fluttershy is sitting with a bunch of kids who look like they stepped out of the sixties, and Applejack is at what can only be called the most country table. There's a table full of emo kids, another full of wannabe rockers, one that looks like the Drama Club, and a table way in the back is populated by, for want of a better term, nerds. There are also tables with no discernible theme; it dawns on me that the freshmen all seem to be sitting together, and there's one long table full of assorted misfits.

Then there's a small table, near the front of the cafeteria, where a lone girl sits with two boys. Something about this table feels off to me. The girl is smoking hot, with amber skin, smoldering teal eyes, and long copper and gold tresses that shine like the sun. She's wearing a black leather jacket over a purple T-shirt that has a two-tone sun emblem on the front.

The girl's a total fox, but there's something about the look in her eyes that sets me on edge.

Then there's the company she's keeping. The two boys with her look...well...dumb. And they're kind of on the ugly side. I can't put my finger on it, but seeing two dumb, ugly boys sitting at a table with a really hot chick...and nobody else is at that table...

"Oooh, just don't even go there," Pinkie's voice says quietly from just behind me. I jump in surprise and turn around. Pinkie Pie is...frowning. She has a serious look in her eyes. She looks up at me. "Whatever you were thinking, don't."

"Actually, I was thinking of finding Twilight and sitting with her," I say.

"Oh! Okay, that's a good thing to think about. I think she's still in line, though."

The line moves ahead a bit. "So uh...what's up with the chick in the leather jacket?"

"If you know what's good for you, avoid her. Totally."

"Is she in a gang or something?"

"No, it's...she's just...really mean," Pinkie says. "She bullies people. She's super nasty to people that get on her bad side. Sunset Shimmer is the only person here I won't friend on Canterbook."

A few minutes later, I see Twilight wander off to a mostly empty table and sit down with her tray. It's a good five minutes before Pinkie and I have our lunches and we join Twilight. She seems happy enough to have the company, and Pinkie starts talking about the party she wants to have for me at the dorm tonight.

All through the rest of lunch, I feel like somebody's watching me. I really hope I'm just being paranoid.

After School

Rainbow is in my last class, and she catches up with me at the door as we're leaving. "Hey Flash! Gonna join any teams or clubs this year?"

I shrug. "I dunno. Maybe."

"Cool." Rainbow stretches. "I'm on the soccer team, we're having tryouts this Saturday. You wanna come watch us practice?"

"I would, but I need to do some shopping. I only brought like, four changes of clothes with me, and I've gotta get bathroom stuff."

"That's cool. Well...think about it, okay? Later!"

Evening

I've just finished putting away the last of the new clothes I bought today when Pinkie barges into my room and drags me downstairs. "Hey! Do you mind?"

"Not really!" she says with a cheerful smile.

Everyone is gathered in the dining room. There's a bunch of pizzas, a cooler full of sodas, and a couple dozen cupcakes. There's a banner hanging from the ceiling that says "WELCOME TO CANTERLOT HIGH, FLASH!" and another that says "FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL WRAP PARTY!" There are streamers and balloons everywhere.

I'm a bit rattled. "Wha...what?"

Cadance smiles. "Pinkie Pie put all this together on very short notice," she says. "She does that a lot...you get used to it."

"Pinkie doesn't need much of a reason to throw a huge party," Rainbow says.

I've never been one to say no to a pizza party, so I join everyone. We all talk about our first day of school.

"So, Flash," Rarity says, "have you given any thought to your emblem?"

"Emblem? Oh, that..." I shake my head. "Not really."

"I'd be happy to help you come up with something," Rarity offers. "And once you've got one you'd like, I'll be more than happy to help you put it on your clothes."

"Uhh...sure, thanks."

Come to think of it, I never saw Rainbow's emblem, or Fluttershy's. I steal a quick glance at them; Rainbow's is a puffy cloud with a tri-color lightning bolt, and Fluttershy's is a trio of butterflies.

"So did anybody else notice those two little trolls sitting with Sunset Shimmer at lunch?" Rarity asks suddenly.

"Rarity! That's not very nice," Cadance says.

"Oh yeah, I saw those kids. They're freshmen, aren't they?" Rainbow asks.

"I believe so." Rarity frowns.

"I honestly thought those three were in a gang," I say. "I mean, that Sunset girl looks like she's in a gang."

"Yeah, you gotta watch out for that'n," Applejack says. "She's...trouble."

"Pinkie Pie already warned me."

Shining Armor sighs. "As a teacher, I should be telling you all not to badmouth other students, but...Sunset Shimmer does worry a lot of the faculty." He pops open a soda and chugs. When he comes up for air, he continues, "Thing is, Principal Celestia seems to think she has potential. She doesn't see what a lot of other people see..."

"So, Flash!" Cadance suddenly says in a bright, overly-cheerful tone. "Making friends yet?"

"Starting to," I say.

Rainbow has her phone in her hand. "Looks like so far he's only got me, Pinkie, and Twilight." She blinks. "Twilight? Seriously?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Twilight asks defensively.

"Oh, uh...nothing!"

"Well, you are new in town," Rarity says to me in a consoling tone. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of friends in no time! In fact..." She pulls out her phone; mine chimes a moment later.

"Aw, heck," Applejack says. "Might as well."

The girls all turn to look at Fluttershy. She shrinks back in her chair. "Oh. Um. Oh my." She pulls out her phone; her hands tremble slightly.

I accept all their friend requests. "Thanks," I say. "You're all really making me feel welcome."

By the time almost all the food is gone, the party winds down. Rainbow, Pinkie, and Applejack are watching television in the lounge, Rarity has wandered upstairs for a bath, Fluttershy disappeared into her room halfway through the party (Pinkie mentioned something about Fluttershy's pet bunny rabbit), and Twilight is reading again. I've had a busy day, so I say goodnight to everyone, then head up to my room. I haven't had a chance to do any guitar practice yet, so I spend an hour playing my guitar before I go to bed.