//------------------------------//
// Ch 4 
// Story: Equestrian Space: The Academy 
// by SymphonicSync 
//------------------------------//

It had been a burden to find her own way to the dorms. Everything was so clear when the she could make sense of the map or there was a long hallway before her. It was when she got turned around or came upon some corners that finding her way became difficult.

It was easier, now, following Asher.

He'd found an itinerary within the guide, complete with a guide between each stop.

She'd somehow gotten lost just after leaving the hangar. Her mind glossed over the incident within the airlock and after. 

There was some compulsion within Asher's mind to speak unless reminded to be silent. He droned on and on as they walked the hallways to the counseling offices. Normally she would have told him to stop, but now... 

It made her feel less alone in these windowless corridors.

His voice also lacked the kirin's usual whine when it came through the filter of the mask. This made it slightly easier to forget that it was him speaking.

"We'll need to sign up for the same classes, of course-"

"I thought you said we were safe here?" She interrupted. 

"Not as a bodyguard thing, as a student thing," he corrected, "it'll be easier if we're covering the same material."

"I'm not here to learn, Asher."

"You are as long as," he paused as they passed a teacher, waiting until they were out of earshot, "other students and staff are around. That includes me. You need to fit in."

She thought back to earlier, when she bumped into the group snickering at her. "You know as well as I do that I'm not the fitting in sort."

"Good thing I'm around, then. At least one of us has creature-skills." 

"I don't want-"

"Since when has wants been important?" His question cut through the air, striking a neglected chord. "As far as I'm concerned, the contract between our fathers stands between us." He stopped in his path and spun to face her. "I'm stuck here, same as you."

She made no comment as she continued to walk past him. 

"The office is here, Gneiss."

"Just get our classes, Asher."

Her claws scraped across the floor panels as she walked away.





Some minutes later, Gneiss found herself in a rather large room. The space was filled with tables and stools, laid out in a grid. Large monitors hung from the walls, displaying a static image of a star field. It obviously wasn't real, but at least it was something. In one corner sat a counter in front of a shuttered opening. 

Some sort of cafeteria, it seemed. She'd seen a few aboard the medical ship. 

Gneiss buried the memory as she wandered to one of the many, many open seats near the center of the room. 

She was alone, but for the first time since boarding the shuttle a full breath entered her beak.

Her world seemed to pause as she focused on the feeling.


It resumed to the sound of a mare speaking, "I'm sorry, but they'll be closed til next rotation." There was a slurp as Gneiss opened her eyes to see a pony drinking out of a mug. She blinked several times, clearing the cloudiness from her vision. 

Had she fallen asleep?

"Oh dear, were you comfortable?" The mare chimed, laying a hoof on the elbow of Gneiss's wing. 

She pulled it back and said "No, I was just leaving."

"Very well," the mare answered, turning to walk away, "Let me know if you need anything, N1C3."

Gneiss wrapped a claw around her wing. She rose from the seat and walked out of the room, mulling over her day.

She was halfway back to her dorm when she realized that the mare had not been wearing a uniform. 

What worried Gneiss far more than that was, though already forgotten, she had seen the mare's face.