//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: First Day at the School of Friendship // Story: The Adventure of the Apex Legion // by DeffBwade //------------------------------// Previously on The Adventure of the Apex Legion "Well, as Princess Twilight said, I'm Sandbar," he said. "Name's Gallus," Gallus said, even though I already knew his name, but...no point in nit picking the details. "I Yona Yak," the yak said. "I'm Ocellus," the bug girl said. "Smolder," the orange dragon said. "I'm Silverstream!" the hippogriff said excitedly. "And in case you don't know who we are," the diamond pony said, "I'm Rarity." "I'm Applejack," the apple pony said. "U-um...I'm Fluttershy," the butter pony whispered, but I kinda have good hearing, so I was able to hear her name. "Rainbow Dash!" Professor Pride Parade said proudly, "Fastest pony in Equestria and member of the Wonderbolts." "Starlight Glimmer," the glimmer pony said. "I'm Pinkie Pie! And I just love, love, looove meeting new ponies," the cotton candy pony said excitedly like Silverstream before pointing to Princess Twilight and the small dragon, "And that's Twilight Sparkle, but everypony knows who she is. I mean...she is a princess after all. And of course there's her number one assistant, Spike." "Name's Apex Legion," I said, "But you can just call me Legion." "Y-you all really consider me a friend?" I asked, "Even though I met you not even a day ago?" "Of course," Ocellus said, "You stood up to Chancellor Neighsay when he was being mean to me and every Changeling out there." Maybe...maybe Princess Celestia was right. Maybe I will fit in. I made up my mind at that point. "I'm going to attend the School of Friendship." The Adventure of the Apex Legion Written by DeffBwade Chapter 4: First Day at the School of Friendship After doing all the school paperwork mumbo jumbo and shit (most boring thing I've done in this world so far by the way), Princess-er...should I say Headmare...Twilight finally accepted me into the School of Friendship. She provided me with all the supplies I needed, like pencils, erasers, highlighters, etc., but get this. Instead of using pens, this world uses quills and bottles of ink. Truly going old school, I see. And also, it was pretty nice of Headmare Twilight to provide me with the usual supplies. Back on Earth, you had to go out and buy your supplies and...*sigh*...I don't even know why I'm telling you this. You should already know. I mean, you are from Earth...right? Whatever. Another thing that was pretty cool was that this school had dorms, for those whose homes aren't in Ponyville. I'm already experiencing living in a dorm room before my brother, and he's like two grades ahead of me. Take that! We even have a curfew at 10:00 P.M. Not that I mind much as I don't really go out as much, but seeing as this world's technology level doesn't include computers, that might change. You're gonna go crazy, aren't you? Oh yeah. Big time. As for who my roommates were, they were the ones I just met: Sandbar, Gallus, Yona, Smolder, Silverstream, and Ocellus. Girls will be on one side of the dorm room and boys will be on the other. Although, I had some obvious worries about three boys and four girls living in the same room, and I'm sure others had the same worries as me. But, despite puberty and teenage hormones, I trusted myself and the others that nothing will happen. Hell, we're all too young to be doing something...like that. My room had the basic essentials: a bed with a pillow and blanket, a small desk with a lamp, and a shelf. I had to use some of the bits Princess Celestia gave me to buy some toiletry stuff: toothbrush, toothpaste, towel, etc. I soon found out that showers were communal, meaning the boys had to shower together. It was a bit worrisome, but seeing as we're all...ahem...we're all naked (I think it's best not to think about it), I'm not that concerned. Thank god I'm not anyway. I don't want it to be like Science Camp again. What do you mean? Well...like here, the showers back at Science Camp were communal, and I was worried about having my schlong out around others, my friends no less, that also have their schlong out, so...um... Wait hold on. Are you...are you seriously telling me that for an entire week at camp, you didn't take a single shower?! Uh...no comment? That's fucking disgusting dude! No. What was disgusting was when I used the bathroom for the first time in this body. I entered the bathroom and saw the usual. Stalls, sinks, and no urinals. I found it weird that there would be urinals since ponies are quadrupeds. Then again, there could be bipeds like Smolder attending this school as well. I approached one of the urinals and saw that they were more lower to the ground and a bit smaller than the ones back on Earth. One big question ran through my mind. "How do I do this?" I knew ponies had these muscles called sheathes, and their schlongs were retracted, which in my opinion just sounds weird. Then again, I lived my entire life with non-retractable schlongs. So how do I take it out then? After a few minutes of thinking and attempting, I finally stood up on my hind hooves in preparation to go number one. It turns out my positioning was wrong, or I wasn't aiming correctly, as I didn't hear the sound of pee hitting water, but more like pee hitting a wall. "Oh boy. Aw geez. Oh that's not good," I said as I slowly stepped back and observed the damage, "Oh that's definitely not good." I then heard the bathroom door open and turned my head to it. I saw Spike standing in the doorway with a mop, one of those janitor buckets, and an expression that said "what the fuck happened here?" We just stared at each other for a few seconds before I walked over and grabbed the mop from him. "D-don't ask," I simply said before I started cleaning my mess. I woke up the next morning to the sun shining through the window. I yawned and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I slowly got up. I always had a mental alarm clock, making me wake up as early as 6:00 A.M. It's quite handy to have. Gives me plenty of time to get dressed and eat breakfast. Although, I don't think it's healthy for me to wake up so early when I go to sleep as early as midnight. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was around 7:00 A.M. I got of my bed and walked over to my desk, where my saddlebag and all of my supplies laid. I picked up my class schedule and read it. "Okay, let's see here. From 8:30 to 9:15 I have Equestrian History with Headmare Twilight (fuck), from 9:20 to 10:05 I have Arts and Crafts with Professor Rarity (fuck yeah), from 10:10 to 10:55 I have Farming class with Professor Applejack (interesting), then from 10:55 to 12:00 is lunch, from 12:05 to 12:50 I have Animal Care with Professor Fluttershy (never been one for animals but okay), from 12:55 to 1:40 I have Athletics with Professor Dash (cool), and finally from 1:45 to 2:30 I have Comedy Class with Professor Pinkie (sweet...no pun intended)." Seems like a pretty standard schedule, other than the fact you end at 2:30 instead of 3:00. You still have about an hour and 30 minutes to spare before classes start. What do you wanna do in the meantime? I think I'm gonna explore Ponyville. Might as well get familiar with the environment while I have the time until I start learning shit. Should probably get some breakfast as well. Haven't really eaten since...well...since before I came to Equestria. "I see that some of Ponyville are also early risers. How interesting." As I walked through Ponyville, I saw some of the residents also walking around. Some are opening up their stores, some are opening up small stands, and the rest are just minding their own business. I saw a trio of earth pony mares opening up a flower shop, an earth pony stallion opening a store that looks like it only sells quills and sofas (what the fuck), and a couple of mares sitting on a bench. One of the mares was an earth pony with a light apple greenish gray coat, artic blue eyes, a cobalt blue mane and tail with very light fuchsia stripes, and a cutie mark of a trio of candy wrappers. She was sitting down like a dog would on all fours. How cute. The other was a unicorn with a very light aquamarine coat, gamboge eyes, a pale, light grayish cyan mane and tail with white highlights, and a cutie mark of a lyre. And she was sitting like...like a human would. It was...awkward to look at. ... "I'm just...I'm just gonna ignore that." Same here. Ponyville had quite a few interesting buildings. One of which was a building that literally looked like it was made of sweets. The roof looked like it was made of gingerbread and was covered in frosting, there was the shape of a pony holding up a candy cane, and there was small tower that looked like a cupcake with candles on it. There was a sign near the front entrance with an image of a cupcake on it, so I assumed it was some kind of bakery. "Oh. Perfect. I could go for a couple of sweets. Hopefully they have croissants, or maybe a chocolate chip muffin." I entered the building with the jingle of a bell, and indeed, it was a bakery. I walked over to the counter and immediately my eyes sparkled and I could feel my mouth on the verge of watering at the sight of the many treats on display. I saw cookies. I saw pastries. I saw...pretty much what you would usually see at a bakery. I'm pretty sure I pressed my muzzle up against the glass at this point. Now, I'm not usually a sweets kind of guy, I was more into chips, but god damn did all of these look good! "Holy shit. I don't which of these to pick." How about the chocolate croissant. Oh, oh, wait! There's a chocolate chip muffin. How about a cupcake? I see chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, and-is that a sugar cookie? Holy shit. That is a sugar cookie. I fucking love sugar cookies. Especially those pink frosted ones with the sprinkles on them. Oh yeah, those are really good. "You should try the Double Chunk Chocolate Chip Cookies. They're one of my personal favorites," a familiar voice said, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked back up to see Professor Pinkie standing behind the counter with a big smile on her face. Now, never in my life have I ever called a teacher by 'professor,' so I'm not really sure if I should at this moment. No, no. We're outside the classroom right now, I don't think there's any need to. But as I sign of respect, I decided to go with... "Good morning, Ms. Pie," I said with a smile. "Oh silly, there's no need to call me 'miss,'" she said with a giggle, "You can just call me Pinkie. All of my friends do." "Uh...sorry," I said, rubbing the back of my head, "Force of habit. My mom always taught me to say Mr., Ms., or Mrs. when talking to an adult." "Well then, your mom raised such a polite colt," she said, patting me on the head, "But like I said, you don't have to call me 'miss.'" "I'll probably just refer to you as 'professor' then once we're in the classroom." Holy shit. That was so good. That bakery, which I learned was named Sugarcube Corner, had some of the best sweets I've ever had in my life. I got a buttered croissant, a chocolate chip muffin, and a sugar cookie. I know it's quite a lot, but I haven't eaten since yesterday, so... By now, after doing a little more exploring of Ponyville, it was around 7:35, so I figured it would be a good idea to head back to my room to prepare for classes today. In fact, it's important that I prepare. It's my first day after all. Do you all know that feeling you have whenever you start your first day at a brand new school? Well, I had that feeling right now. No matter what, whenever I go to a new school, I first say to myself that it'll be easy peasy and that there's nothing to worry about, only for the anxiety to come to me when I have to go up to the front of the class to talk about myself. "Breath in. Breath out. Come on Legion, you can do this. You just have to be yourself." You mean completely and utterly retarded all the time? ... Yes. I finally arrived back to my dorm room, just in time to see Ocellus exiting her room. I kinda expected for her to still be wiping the sleep from her eyes and give a mumbled greeting to me. Instead, she looked kinda excited for today actually, saddlebags prepared and ready. "Hey Ocellus," I said. "Morning Legion," she said, clearly wide awake. "What are you excited about?" I asked her. "Why wouldn't I be excited? It's a brand new day of school. And that means new stuff to learn," she said all giddied up. "Ah. So she's one of those people that's excited to learn new things. Interesting." Heh. Nerd. Hey man. Just because she's excited to learn new things doesn't mean she's a nerd. Sure, she's shy, but she still has social skills and she's not really a bore. I mean, she can shapeshift into stuff for pete's sake. If anyone's a nerd here, it's me. I'm a pretty quiet kid. "You're quite the bookwork, aren't you?" I asked with a chuckle. "I am!" she said before going from excited to slight nervousness, "T-that's not a bad thing? Right?" "Of course not. Knowledge is power," I reassured her before putting on a derp face and imitating that guy with the Lamborghini, "You know what I like more than flying? Knowledge. That's why I have 3,000 books on my shelf. I read one book a day." This made her giggle and my god...her giggle was adorable. The other dorm rooms opened and, like I expected, the others walked out with sleep still evident in their eyes. I don't know if I should be concerned that they're waking up when classes start in about an hour. Then again, we all literally live at the school. I don't wanna bore you with every single detail of how my first day went (and also because I'm lazy), so here's a summary of it. And if you wanted the details...too bad. I-I wanted the detai- Too bad! Shut the fuck up! First class of the day was Equestrian History with Headmare Twilight. Great. It's not that I dislike Headmare Twilight, it's that I think history is just...boring. I'm more of a math kind of guy because you can't just know the answer automatically, most of the time at least. You gotta work out the problem and really get that brain moving. With history, it's just a matter of knowing your facts. The classroom was...pretty nice actually. It was pretty much an amphitheater, but indoors. I was seated next to Sandbar and a few other random ponies at the front of the classroom. We all had pencils and notebooks for writing any notes. Our lesson of the year was about a pony named Nightmare Moon. Oh. Sounds intimidating. It all started a long time ago, when Princesses Celestia and Luna ruled together in peace and harmony. Every morning Princess Celestia would raise the sun, and every morning Princess Luna would raise the moon. Wait, what? Did you just say that the two Princesses raise the sun and moon? I thought the same thing. That's just not possible. The planet is constantly rotating as it rotates around the sun and the moon rotates around the planet. There's no way the two Princesses can actually move them. What are they, goddesses? *Sigh*. Then again, different world, different rules. I probably shouldn't question it either. It could be considered common knowledge. Anyway, ogether, they maintained balance throughout Equestria. However, as time went on, Princess Luna grew jealous as ponies cherished and played throughout the day while they slept throughout the night. Fed up with her sister, she refused to lower the moon one night. At that moment, the bitterness in Princess Luna's heart transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon. She vowed to bring eternal night upon Equestria. Woah. I know right? She just went all Venom on our ass. And bring eternal night? That would kill everyone due to the cold and the crops not growing. Reluctantly, Princess Celestia harnessed the Elements of Harmony and defeated her sister, banishing her to the moon, which is what many ponies used to refer as 'the Mare in the Moon.' Wait, what?! That's just fucked up. Banishing her to the moon? How did she not die to the freezing temperatures or lack of oxygen? Since then, Princess Celestia took responsibility of raising the sun and moon. However, it was prophesied that in a thousand years, Nightmare Moon would be free and seek her revenge. Did you just say a thousand years? That's what Headmare Twilight said. Holy shit, they really are goddesses. Now let's skip to just a few years ago, when Headmare Twilight was simply a unicorn and first arrived in Ponyville. She knew of Nightmare Moon's return and tried to warn Princess Celestia, but she merely told her to not worry about it and focus on making friends while checking on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. At the time, she merely saw friends as a waste of time. But once she discovered how nice having friends is, she, as well as the rest of the professors, became the current wielders to the Elements of Harmony. With Professor Applejack representing honesty, Professor Fluttershy representing kindness, Professor Pinkie Pie representing laughter, Professor Rarity representing generosity, Professor Rainbow Dash representing loyalty, and Headmare Twilight representing magic. Together, they defeated Nightmare Moon and brought Princess Luna back." After the lecuture, I was a bit slack jawed at that point cause holy shit. I just found out that my professors are practically super heroes. I wouldn't say super heroes. Sure. Just ordinary ponies who saved the world from complete destruction. However, some ponies say that not all of Nightmare Moon was defeated and that her spirit still lives on. Some have theorized that it rests deep within the Everfree Forest due to its chaotic nature. Oh. That's...reassuring. My thoughts exactly. I even said it out loud nonchalantly, but Sandbar told me not to worry and that Twilight and her can stop her if she ever returns. Up next was Arts and Crafts with Professor Rarity, and let just tell you how excited I was. Art is one of favorite subjects back on Earth. It really gets that creative mind flowing, there's no wrong answers, well sort of, and I'm free to make whatever the fuck I want, with limitations of course. Imagine giving your art teacher a painted, detailed picture of...I don't know...a dick. Thanks for putting that image in my mind. Bro. We have a dick, or my like I have a dick and you just see it everyday. And you're welcome. The classroom had a pretty interesting design to it. It was basically just a bunch of chairs around one of those things you use to present something to class. I forgot what it was called. A podium? Whatever, it's not important. Up on the podium thing was Professor Rarity, wearing red glasses and seemed to be in deep concentration while working on a dress. I can see that. Stitching most likely requires focus. As everypony else arrived, including Gallus, Professor Rarity levitated the dress to a closet. Professor Rarity greeted us and explained that in her class we will express our thoughts, imagination, and feelings, whether physical or emotional, through visual representations and blah blah blah, you get the idea of what art is about and how it works, so I'll skip just ahead a bit. Twenty-five minutes of explaining and going over our supplies later, Professor Rarity assigned us to choose a partner and to sketch them in our sketchbooks. Gallus and I unanimously picked each other cause why not? Ten minutes later, the professor told us to stop and show our partners. I'm just gonna be honest, my sketch was absolute shit. The lines were all squiggly and a lot of stuff were out of proportion, like one of his eyes was bigger than the other, and one of the pupils was almost as big as the eye itself. I thought you said you were good at art. You try drawing someone with your mouth! In fact...do it right now! Draw me with your mouth and let's see if you're any better. ... Shut up. When I showed it to Gallus, he just told me not to worry and that it's better than his artistic skills. He just drew me as a stick figure. The next class was Farming with Professor Applejack. I always wanted to see what farming was, because it seems interesting and I want to help the planet. Back on Earth there was actually a farming club at my school. I just...didn't think I had the time to be a part of it and attend its meetings. Her classroom actually looked like what you would see inside of a barn, only with the addition of a chalkboard and a large apple tree. How did it even get any sunlight? Bigger question is why would anyone plant such a large tree indoors? I don't know. This is Professor Applejack we're talking about. With the addition of farming, she also teaches us the importance of honesty and how lying can lead to friendships breaking up. Please, I lied to my friends a bunch of times...for shits and giggles...and we're still friends. I'm pretty sure she meant lying for...you know...not shits and giggles. Our first task was to simply plant a sapling in a pot. Very simple right? Well...it mostly was. I partnered up with Yona, and...she ended up tripping and spilling the pot just when I was about to water the sapling, spilling dirt everywhere and a little bit on me. Needless to say, she had a sad face as she kept apologizing to me and the professor, but we assured her it was okay and that it was just an accident. After all, it wouldn't considered farming if you didn't get your hands dirty. After lunch, I had Professor Fluttershy's Animal Care class. Animals are living creatures too, and it's important that I learn how to take care of them...I guess. Her classroom was filled with plants, a balcony, and a shit ton of birds and butterflies. Our objective? Simply observe the animals and study their behaviors around each other and other creatures. That's it? Just...watch the animals? Yep. That's pretty much it. Silverstream had a good time. She flew around the animals with a smile on her face and trying to play with them. It was amusing. But other than that, class was a little bit boring but interesting, so let's skip ahead. Now Professor Dash's Athletics class, that was interesting. Her classroom was pretty much a gym, with a rack filled with dumbbells, a basket full of balls, a display case of trophies. Spoiler alert, they all had Professor Dash's name on them. She does seem to be the boastful type. There, we played one of the most classic and intense games to ever exist in schools throughout the world, and apparently the universe, dodgeball. Oh shit. It was an intense war. Unicorns weren't allowed any magic and the pegasi weren't allowed to fly. Ponies from both sides dropped one by one, while the survivors cried (not really) over their fallen comrades. I was one of the last ones standing. Due to having a small frame, I was able to easily dodge ball after ball, but I had the strength of a mouse, so I didn't get much hits. And also because I'm still trying to get used to this new body. Now that I think about, I need to get some lessons on how to fly. After a while, I was the only one on my team standing. There was one more on the enemy team as well. I had to either catch the ball, somehow trick the enemy into getting hit, or keep dodging until they give up. Unfortunately, the last one on the enemy team was Smolder, and she was ruthless, as well having an advantage as she was a biped and having claws. I think you can piece together what happened. The final class was Comedy with Professor Pinkie. Do I even need to explain what her classroom looked like? She's a party planner. Think of confetti, streamers, balloons, whatever you see at a party, and put that inside of a classroom. So...alcohol, loud ass music with profanities, and random people making out? What? What kind of parties have you been to? What? That's typical teenager stuff. I'm not really a social person, okay? So I wouldn't know. Anyway, her class was just a blast. I mean, who wouldn't want a teacher that's both a baker and a certified party planner? One of her activities involved cupcakes! Before we could eat any, she told us it was not meant for eating, but for sharing. She told us to approach one of our classmates, say one good thing about them, and then give them our cupcake. The person we complimented then does the same thing, and then so on. A unicorn filly, Citrine Spark I believe was her name, told me that I have a nice mane. The spikey mane is pretty cool. Unfortunately, I didn't really know anypony, so I complimented the one creature I'm familiar with, Ocellus. I approached her with a smile and told her that she's a really nice changeling. You should've seen her face when I said that. She did that adorable giggle again and blushed a bit. Guess she's one of those people that don't like being put in the spotlight. The same could be said to me, only she's shyer. And that's it. That's how my first day at the School of Friendship went. I met some new ponies and I've gotten to know my friends a bit more, and what they were like. Sandbar seems like the easygoing, laid back kind of guy. He's kinda tame when compared to the others' personalities. Gallus seems to be the sarcastic and snarky one, kinda like that old griffon, but kinder. Not that I'm calling him a bully or anything. Yona is the one that's very innocent and a bit clumsy at times. I do like her broken English and speaking in the third person. It's quite amusing. Smolder is that one friend that's tough and competitive. I can imagine her being in a lot of sports. Silverstream is just extremely hyperactive and bubbly. Again, quite amusing. And finally, there's Ocellus. In regards to her, I guess you can say she's kinda like me. Sweet, always there for her friends, shy, although she seems shyer than me, you get the point. I laid down on my bed and smiled as my eyes started to slowly close. Only one thought ran through my mind as I drifted sleep. "I think I'm gonna like it here."