//------------------------------// // Arrival // Story: School of Love // by HauntingSpiritRisingMoon //------------------------------// Cactus lazily watched as Trottingham came in to view. It was huge, and he could see many ponies there, each with many accessories and clothes. He felt somewhat under dressed, but he ignored it as the train slowed down. He walked off the train, and headed down the crowded streets. To say he received some stares was an understatement. He was awfully burly for a unicorn. He had had no magical training from his family, so he was trained to act as an Earth pony. He had to train himself in magic. As he walked he admired the scenery. There were huge buildings, and plenty of shops and apartments. He sparked his horn as he spotted some dead flowers on the ground. 'Probably a bad date, or something...' He brought them closer to his snout, and carefully used his magic to bring them back to life. He jumped as he heard a whistle behind him. "Wow, that's some powerful magic you got there." Cactus turned to see a zebra walking along side him. "Thanks. It's what Ah got my Cutie Mark for, after all." He moved the flowers toward the white rose on his flank. "Heavy accent, I see." The strange pony replied. "Not from here?' He shook his head. "Nope. Came all the way from Marejavneigh village. My family are corn farmers." He continued walking, and he noticed the suitcase on the stallion's back. "Who are you? And where ya goin' with a suitcase?" The zebra smiled at him. "Name's Black Stripe. I'm off to Tarvus Academy. You?" The unicorn smirked. "I'm headed there too. My name is Cactus Fruit." The two continued in silence as they entered the campus. It was filled with ponies. Some large groups, some small, some loners. A set of houses was seen in the distance. "Those must be the dorms." Black Stripe nodded. "Yeah. First, though, we should probably find out who our roommates are." They entered, and greeted the mare at the front desk. "Hello." She said in a kind voice. Cactus could tell instantly from her half-lidded eyes and posture that she was flirting. "How you two fellas doing?" Black put a hoof to his forehead. "Not now, Sweet Dream. Can you just tell us who our roommates are?" The mare sighed. "Fine." She checked a piece of paper. "Says you'll be with a pony named Cactus Fruit." Cactus chuckled. "That settles me then! I can't believe my first friend here just happens to be my roommate." The tow exited the building, heading towards the dorms after she had given them their room number. Cactus raised an eyebrow at him as they entered the apartment. "How do you now her?" Black rolled his eyes. "She's my friends older sister. My friend, Shining Star isn't coming here though." The two decided who got what room, before Cactus excused himself for the bathroom. Black smiled at the stallion as he exited the room, before the zebra walked towards Cactus' suitcase. Black had a bad habit of checking through luggage. He could never explain why, but he loved venturing through other ponies' stuff. He opened it and gaped down at the inside. There was a bunch of books, and some photos. That wasn't what had caused the zebra to look surprised though. There was a small flag. And it was colored like a rainbow. Black quickly shut it. 'Okay, just pretend you never noticed...' He thought. 'Unless he gets a crush on me..! I'll just let him down easy....' It was too late. "Were you looking through my stuff?" The zebra whirled around to see Cactus, an angry look on his face. "Um... Uh.... No...?" Cactus stared at him for a bit, then shook his head. "Don't look through my stuff. And in case you are worrying, Ah'm not interested in zebras." Cactus walked past Black and started unpacking. "So..." Black said awkwardly. "You're-" Cactus cut him off. "Yes. Ah'm gay. Get over it." The zebra shut up. -------------------------- Cactus carefully walked out of the classroom. He always did every thing carefully. As he exited the room, he held his books before him in gray magic, not watching where he was going. It was inevitable really. THUMP! A stallion's voice was heard as Cactus lost his magic grip and his books were dropped to the ground. "Oh no! Are you alright!?" Cactus looked up and spotted the stranger. He was an odd pony. He was a small unicorn, as most were in this school with a bright orange coat that contrasted his baby blue mane and tail. His eyes were dark orbs like the one from Sasuneigh from an old anime called Narucolt. His Cutie Mark was a blurry image of an oasis. The stranger's horn was glowing with silver magic as he picked up the dropped books. The burly unicorn's metaphorical wings suddenly outstretched. "Y-Yeah. Ah'm fine." The books were floated over to Cactus, who caught them in his aura. "Hi. I'm Mirage." The stallion spoke in a friendly tone, but it was quiet, as if he was shy. Cactus tore his gaze away from the area around Mirage's Cutie Mark. "H-Howdy. Ah'm Cactus Fruit. Nice to meet ya." Mirage smiled. "You too. It was kind of funny, I was actually looking for you!" Cactus raised an eyebrow, and resisted the urge to smile. "Oh?" Mirage blushed heavily. "N-Not like that! I-I just saw that you were struggling in the math and science part of the lessons, and felt like you should have a tutor, considering you're new and all." Cactus allowed a small smile to peek through his tough demeanor. "Sure, I'd like that." The two then went their separate ways, unaware of the events that would occur because of those words.