//------------------------------//
// 1 - The Stranger 
// Story: Sweetie's Love 
// by SweetieTheBot 
//------------------------------//

"Applebloom?" said Ms. Cheerilee

"Here." Applebloom replied

"Scootaloo?" Cheerilee said.

"I'm here!" Scootaloo replied.

"Sweetie Belle?" said Cheerilee

There was no answer.

"Sweetie Belle?  Is Sweetie not here?" Cheerilee asked, and the students looked around, and shook their heads.

"Nopony has seen Sweetie?"  Cheerilee asked, just to be sure.

As the students shook their head for a second time, Sweetie Belle rushed into the room.  Her mane was astray, and her saddlebag was open.  Papers were flying everywhere.

"I'm-" Sweetie paused to pant. "-here."

***

Sweetie Belle set her lunch tray down on a table, next to Applebloom's and Scootaloo's.  There was barely anything on it, ust a juice box and some daisies.

"Soo, why were you so late today, Sweetie Belle?  You're usually so organized."  Scootaloo said, and took a bite out of her spinach salad.

Sweetie sighed.  "Tomorrow is the last day of school.  I guess my mind was already dead-set on oversleeping." Sweetie replied, and poked a hole in her juice box with the straw.

Yeah, oversleeping.  That's why I was late. Sweetie thought.  The real reason was she'd lost her homework to an angry Opalescence, and she'd been spending all morning looking for it.  She eventually found it, slightly torn up in Opal's bed.

"Ah don't think ah'll ever be able to oversleep.  Applejack has already been gittin' me up bright an' early to help around the farm."  Applebloom complained, and snapped Sweetie out of her thoughts.

"Wasn't it Apple-buck season a month ago?" Scootaloo asked, and Applebloom sighed.

"It's always some sort of apple-season to Applejack."  Applebloom said grumpily, and the two other ponies laughed.

***

Sweetie had barely finished her daisies when she heard the bell ring.

All the students then began to pick up their lunch trays, and throw them into the trash.  It was almost disturbing ho orderly they seemed.  Almost like, worker bees or something.

Sweetie shook her head vigorously.  Come on, summer.  School is driving me crazy. she thought, annoyed.

After all the lunch trays were discarded, and the tables cleaned off, all the students began to file into the exits of the cafeteria.  

It was routine now.  Sweetie Belle knew every student, she knew every hallway, she knew basically every inch of this school.  It would be sad to switch to a new one in September.

As the students filed along, Sweetie saw a flash of teal mane.  Huh?  Who in the hay is that?  I guess I don't know everypony here. She thought, and struggled to get closer to the strange teal-maned colt.  

All the rushing and bustling around made it hard for Sweetie to get a better glimpse at the stranger.  Eventually, she gave up and decided she'd find the pony tomorrow.

***

"And that's dividing fractions with uncommon denominators!" Cheerilee said happily, but the students didn't share her enthusiasm.

Cheerilee's voice was met with a series of groans, but everypony was silent again with a glare from Cheerilee.  

"I just don't know what i'll do with these, these weeds." Cheerilee said under her breath.

Math was the last class of the day for Sweetie, but she couldn't keep her mind on the dancing numbers.  All she could think about was the teal-maned pony.  She was ashamed of herself for being so distracted, usually she was so concentrated. 

This pony better be worth it if it made her wander off from her class.

Sweetie Belle started to put her books back in her saddlebag as soon as the bell rang.  

She walked out with Scootaloo and Applebloom, still trying to find that mysterious teal mane.

Applebloom and Scootaloo were talking about..something.  Sweetie Belle's mind was strained trying to locate the teal mane.  For some reason, nothing else really mattered to her right now.  All she wanted was to talk to the pony.  

Sadly, Sweetie Belle couldn't locate the stranger.  The walk home with her friends seemed to be as gloomy as a rain drizzle, yet it was a beautiful spring day.

***