//------------------------------// // Canterlot High School Fight Song ("Go, Apes!") // Story: Celestia XVII // by brokenimage321 //------------------------------// I pushed open the front doors of the school and strode out into the golden sunshine. I smiled and nodded at the one or two ponies who called my name, but still made a beeline for the statue on the front lawn—a golden gorilla standing on a square block of marble, which the school had affectionately named “Howie.” I flopped down beside it, dropped my trumpet case and saddlebags, and dug out my lunch. I took a thoughtful bite. It was only the first day of classes, I hoped that the others remembered our spot... I was halfway through my sandwich when I heard hooves clip-clopping towards me. “Ah, Mister Trenderhoof,” I said grandly, without looking up. “So glad you could make it.” “Ugh,” Trendy replied, “Brown bag lunch again? I would’ve thought you were better than that, Your Highness.” I looked up and grinned. “Best damn brown paper in Equestria,” I said. “Made from rainforest wood and spotted owl feathers. Thousands bits a sheet.” “Good to hear our tax money’s being spent well, then,” Trendy said as he sat down beside me, setting his blue plastic cafeteria tray in his lap. I leaned over and give him a quick side-hug. Minuette plopped down on my other side, and wasted no time digging into my lunch for the carrot sticks she knew I’d packed for her. Lemonhearts, close behind her, plunked herself down on the other side of Trendy, took his arm in hers, and leaned her head on his shoulder. Twinkleshine scrambled up onto Howie himself, over the “NO CLIMBING” sign, before settling in. I grinned. Just like old times. Except… I glanced over at Trendy and Lem. “So you’re official now?” I asked. Lem sighed happily. “Since June,” she said dreamily. “Huh,” I said. “Big summer, then?” Twink, above me, scoffed. “You’re one to talk,” she said. “Yeah,” Minnie added. “With that Summer Sun Celebration and all? Fighting Nightma—” Before she could get the word out, I hauled back and slugged her. “Ow,” she yelped, rubbing at her shoulder, “Whadja have to do that for?” “Sorry,” I muttered. “Habit. She’s… sensitive.” Everyone was quiet for a moment. I hesitated, then took another bite of my sandwich. “How’f claffef?” I asked through my peanut-butter-and-marshmallow. Twink groaned. “History test tomorrow,” she moaned. “First day of school, and they’re already laying it on—!” Lem gave her a sidelong glance. “Mr. Letterpress said it’s only a pre-test,” she said. “Nothing to worry about…” “Still!” Twink cried. “It isn’t fair! What right to they have to test us on stuff after we’ve had all summer off? Before we’ve even learned it?” Minnie chuckled, and I grinned. These four, at least, hadn’t changed in the slightest. With everything else that was going on, that was... comforting. Lem leaned forward. “So, Cece,” she asked, “You heard from Twi recently?” I looked sharply over at her, then slowly swallowed my bite of sandwich. “...Yeah,” I admitted. If Lem heard something in my voice, she didn’t show it. “How’s she doing?” she asked. “Been awhile since we’ve heard from her.” “She’s doing fine,” I said. “Just school. Friends. Y’know.” Twink rolled her eyes. “Sure,” she muttered. “Her Ponyville friends—she didn’t even say goodbye—!” “Keeping up with other ponies when you move away is hard,” Minnie cut in. “You try it sometime.” Twink just huffed and leaned back against Howie. Lem squeezed Trendy’s arm, them smiled up at Twink. “If you want,” she said, “You could come with us next time we’re down there. Lyra said she found a nice place of her own, and it’d be fun to visit. And we all could all drop in on Twi.” Now that the attention was safely off me, I took another bite of sandwich—then practically choked when Trendy patted me on the shoulder. “So, how are you doing, Cece?” he asked. “Holding up?” I coughed once or twice, spraying crumbs, then swallowed. “Fine,” I gasped. “Uh-huh,” he prompted. “Go on.” I hesitated. “Band is… alright,” I said. “Practice has been going a little long. W-we’ve got the back-to-school pep rally coming up, so—” “I know that,” Trendy snapped. “Band is band, Same ol’, same ol’. But how are you doing, Celestia?” he asked. “You were closest to Twi, after all… and you haven’t had us over to your place in forever.” He chuckled. “I mean, the Palace is a little stuffy sometimes, but still—” I swallowed again, my mouth suddenly dry. I didn’t know what exactly he was asking, but I knew for sure I didn’t want to answer him. Here, I was among friends—old friends—but school friends. These were the sort of ponies that you could go out for a doughnut with, but not the sort who would let you cry on their shoulder. Not the sort who you could bare your soul to. Not the sort who would reassure you at two in the morning, by letter if they couldn’t be there themselves, that things would be alright in the end, that, somehow, though it looked hopeless now, things would end up working out, eventually. Not the sort of friends who would travel the the literal gates of Tartarus and back for you, if you asked—and not the sort you would do the same for, if you were honest with yourself. In short: they were good ponies. And I liked spending time with them. But there was no way I could answer Trendy’s questions honestly—not in a million years... “Well…” I began. “I…” FWHEEEET! Twink didn’t even wait for the yard duty to call her name. She scrambled right off the statue onto Trendy’s head, spilling her lunch on me and Lem in the process. Lem shrieked in surprise, and Trendy yelped. Me? I took advantage of the distraction to shove the rest of my sandwich in my mouth. No way I could answer questions now. And, while Lem was brushing cracker crumbs off herself, I dabbed at my eyes with the back of my hoof. Just in case. Couldn’t let them know I had anything to cry about, after all. Not these ponies. Tears could wait.