//------------------------------// // Surprise! // Story: School Days // by Dai Kirai //------------------------------// Stormy fidgeted, the room was a stark white with subtle grey lines as if he were in the middle of clouds, all except for the peach pony staffing the reception desk, even the cushions lining three of the walls matched the color. Stormy felt he could breathe easily here, his mind slowly eased. The air in the room even had the right humidity with a cool breeze, just like a pleasant spring day in Cloudsdale. “Sir,” The mare said fruitily, “You don’t need to wait here. Doctor Hoofington will not be available for another two hours.” The words rose and fell in cadence, no word could be missed, similar to how ponies in the market could be heard clearly over any din. In the quiet of the office it penetrated through Stormy’s mind. He looked up at the peach mare, her mane subtly pinker with lime eyes and a gentle smile. “I don’t really have any place else to be and am just happy to have gotten a same day appointment.” This feels nice. “There is the computer lab one floor up, a cafeteria two floors down, the library, the sculpture garden by the portal, Cloudesdale is above us today.” The mare could obviously list off many more places, and would be happy to do so. “Take your pic.” She spoke again after a brief pause, “the sculpture garden probably wouldn’t be a good idea, the mayor of Manehatten is here on some sort of business with Princess Celestia.” The mare mirrored his current mood, content. Or am I mirroring her? Those gentle smile and kind eyes had been on the earth pony the entire time. “Wait…” Stormy had to give his head a little shake. “Cloudsdale shouldn’t be above Canterlot til next week. Did something happen with their schedule?” “That I don’t know.” She shook her head. “If you want to wait here though it would be rude of me to force you away.” “No,” If I can’t get off my rump and do this, I know I will miss something great. Stormy moved his hooves from the pillow to the white, fluffy carpeting and stood. “I have some computer work.” “That’s fine. Just make sure to return before your or appointment or Doctor Hoofington is likely to go back to the lab and be hard to pull out. You might have to see one of the interns them.” The mare gave a silent wink. He couldn’t tell if she did any work behind the counter or was just there to help patients. The door open and closed at the touch of his hoof, there was no doorknob and it secured itself again after he went through, gold letters spelling ‘CLINIC’ emblazoned the outside of the door. Stormy’s hooves clacked on the marble floor, every once in awhile were signs pointing to different places ponies might need, this entire section was dedicated to any pony that traveled to or from Earth. He passed the legal offices before heading up the stairs. The computer lab was completely empty, outside of the single helper off to the side. Stormy went up to the first monitor. Find the power button, turn on screen. The machine clicked and whirred through its startup. It felt so much different than his last visit, not just how quiet and empty this place was but his growing familiarity with computers and lack of trepidation. Within moments he found the internet icon, one of only four, then clicked around with the mouse some trying to find his email site. Despite running through the process on Earth it had been a while. After getting all that out of the way the pegasus pulled up the address book to find Dawn’s address and pulled up the virtual keyboard to type with the mouse. There were hoof add-ons to help type but they were clumsy. Stormy took a shuddering breath. Dear Radiant Dawn, This is Stormy Skies from orientation. With the quarter starting soon I was hoping to meet up with you before classes started.There is this really nice vegetarian grill off campus I would like to take you to. If it isn’t too much trouble. Sincerely, Stormy Skies Click. Email sent. A cold chill went up Stormy’s spine. He checked what mail he had gotten, not checking it since leaving Earth. Stormy, It was a pleasure meeting you over break. I’m setting up a time for the four of us to get together during zero week and I can’t wait. I’m currently looking up travel procedures so we can visit you in Equestria. Orientation was pretty stressful for everyone and I sincerely hope none of us made a bad impression. Kat Stormy backed out to his inbox. He had no idea what to say. There were a few others from Sue and Ed, the UCLA store titled “Tools to help with transitions to Earth and your Education.” which contained mostly computers aides and writing materials with a few miscellaneous supplies. And one from Dawn. Dear Stormy Skies, I am delighted to hear from you and a date sounds wonderful! I am in Canterlot dealing with some family issues so how does dinner tonight at The Golden Crow sound? I know it's a bit fancy but my treat. Xoxo Dawn He stared in horror. She responded. Date. Tonight. The Golden Crow.