//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: There's Always a Catch. // Story: Welcome to Equestria // by james_the_unicorn //------------------------------// It was a new day at my new school, and I felt a little anxious about starting now. Not that I was excited, but just the opposite, I was extremely nervous! It was my first day at Canterlot High, just after transferring from Crystal Academy, which really was an awesome school. Few bullies, lots of great girls, cool guys, and fun teachers. I fit in so well, and I was popular around the school, excluding the few jocks that loved to try and break me, but I always had friends to support me. This school is different, though. I have no friends at Canterlot High, so I’m an easy target... I shouldn't give up so easily, though. I just need to take a leap of faith and hope I can find someone to befriend quickly. I breathed in, my chest aching lightly, as if I completely forgot to breathe on the way there, and I nodded to myself. "Let's do this". I fixed my black over shirt and fixed my red and white hat, then step in through the entrance. The cold air of the building blasted into my face, and my over shirt flared out behind my back from the gust of air that escaped the doorway. Right away, the school looked beautiful to me. The walls and ceiling were bright and colorful, the trophy cases lining the halls were all giving a radiant glow, and the hallway was already filling with some kids. I smiled and stepped through the halls, looking for my first classroom. "102... 103... 104, Math." One of my favorite subjects, that’s great! I walked in and saw that some kids were already seated, some were in the back listening to music, and gathering around one girl with a pair of blue headphones and glasses, I think they were fuchsia. She was obviously sharing her music with the crowd and it was so loud that, from the distance, I could hear the bass of her music. "Wow, that’s some awesome music," I decided not to join, however, because the crowd was big and I didn’t think it was wise to start in a big crowd. I looked around more and saw one seat was open beside a girl with rainbow hair, and another girl with purple hair... I took a deep breath and sat in the seat. "Hey, you’re the new kid, huh?" I realized the rainbow haired girl was talking to me and I nodded. "Yeah, I just transferred from Crystal Academy." Great, what have I just done?! "Crystal academy? Isn’t that place a little high-end?" I shrugged "I was lucky enough to get a scholarship, but I couldn’t keep up this year, so I had to go somewhere else for now." "Sweet! I got into Canterlot High with a sport's scholarship. I don't mean to brag, but I have wicked skills." she seemed full of herself, but I almost enjoyed the pride she had. "I-I ever did enjoy sports that much, but lots of people back at Crystal Academy were really into them. Any chance you could give me some help?" She grinned and was about to say something, but before she could say anything, the other girl interrupted. "DID YOU SAY CRYSTAL ACADEMY?!" the girl with purple hair was sitting on my other side, and seeing how wide her blue eyes were, she was obviously interested in the topic. "Yeah, I was there my first two years!” “I've heard so many stories about that school and I hear it’s one of the finer places to go!" I guess my luck didn’t fail me at that moment. Someone actually liked my old school! "Haha, it is really nice, I’ll tell you about it later if you want." She smiled with a gasp, "please do!" I laughed a little and saw her dress "Wow, I’ve never seen this kind of dress before, I like it." She looked down, "This old thing? It was just something I threw together myself" "You made that?!" "Of course! It’s not too hard, really. Just a silk skirt with-" "French-style edges and violet stitches that blend but give it an eye-catching detail" The rainbow haired girl face planted her face into the desk mumbling something about 'dress talk'. "My, my, don’t you know your way around a dress?" I blushed a little "I’ve spent some time with girls and I picked up some stuff overtime." The purple haired one smiled, "Finally, a boy who understands a thing or two about fashion. My name's Rarity, and that’s Rainbow Dash over there." "Sup" Rainbow Dash said, while still face down on the desk; "Nice to meet you both. My name's James." I couldn't believe how smoothly that went, but then four more girls came in. Another purple haired girl with pink highlights, wearing a pair of glasses, a girl with a long blonde ponytail, a girl with pink, wild hair and a huge grin on her face and a girl with pink hair who immediately saw me and looked away so her hair would block me. “Hey, Rainbow, hey Rarity, who's the new student?" "Hey, Twilight. This is James, he seems cool, but apparently likes the stuff Rarity likes; what guy does that?!" Twilight nodded and shook my hand "it’s nice to meet you, James!" "Nice to meet you too, Twilight." The first pink haired girl saw me and jumped up screaming "NEW CLASSMATE!!!" "Pinkie Pie, settle down, this here kid needs a proper greeting!" "Sorry, Applejack! HI! I’m pinkie pie! I’m so glad to meet you! Where are you from?! What’s your favorite food?! FAVORITE MUSIC?! FAVORITE ANIMAL?! FAVORITE PARTY?! FAVORITE-" she was pulled away by Applejack and I couldn't help but laugh. "it's really nice to meet you Pinkie pie," "And my name's Applejack. From Sweet Apple Acres." "Sweet Apple Acres? My school used to serve apples from your orchard! Those were the best apples I've ever tasted!" "Aw, shucks! Hey, maybe one day I'll bring ya' over to see the farm for yourself! You can see all the magic happen!" She winked and tipped her hat with a laugh, obviously happy about the idea. "Really!? That would be great!" Twilight looked over to the other pink haired girl "Fluttershy? Don’t you want to say hi?" She looked over and stared for a second before walking over and slowly extending her hand"U-um, hello... my name's... Fluttershy" I smiled and took her hand, "James, it’s nice to meet you," As I looked into her soft blue-green eyes, my heart almost leapt out of nowhere... I’ve never seen such beautiful eyes... I shook my head and finished shaking, realizing I was about to seem creepy. Fluttershy saw how I acted and giggled a little, and then took a seat with the rest of the girls. It looks like I’ve already made 6 new friends in one class, maybe I’ll have a shot in this school after all! The bell rang and I started walking to my next class, while putting on my headphones to listen to my music, when i bumped into the girl with blue hair and fuchsia glasses. The impact caused me to drop my headphones, which were still playing. The girl was kind enough to pick them up, but first she tried them on and listened... then she handed me the headphones with a grin "awesome wubs, dude!" Wubs...? "Thanks, dubstep is one of my favorite genres, but it’s hard to find good dubstep songs nowadays." Her glasses flashed and she smirked "c'mon down to room 200 after school, and I’ll show you my own work!" "Thanks! I will!" We proceeded to the next class, talking about music; even her friend with black hair and a cello in tow joined the conversation. I was actually making friends left and right! This was amazing! ************************************************ It was the end of the day, and I’ve made a lot of friends... Mostly girls though. I should probably get a guy to hang out with soon... but these girls are more relatable to me for some reason... I don’t know. It’s time I head toward room 200 to meet up with Vinyl. I walk half way, but find myself at a dead end. "Ugh, I got lost?!" "Hey." I turned around and find three big guys in my path. One wearing a black over shirt like mine, but with a pair of blue glasses. One wearing a red flannel shirt and blue jeans. And the middle was a kid with a black, white, and red stripe jacket and blue hair. The middle kid stepped forward and the other two followed. "You the new kid?" "Yeah, James, I’m a transfer student." The guy with glasses pouted "and ya think just because you’re a transfer student you have the right to come in and start hitting on my girl?!" The big one in jeans pouted as well "Eeyup, and my sister too?" "The name's Flash Sentry, that’s Big Macintosh and Neon Lights, and you were just hitting on my crush, Twilight!" "h-hey, wait a minute! I was just trying to make some friends here! I didn’t know they were your girls!" "Hey, I saw the way you looked at Vinyl, you obviously had a thing for her!" "Eeyup, and nobody hits on my sister without my approval, first! I saw the guys step forward and I gripped my backpack's handle, "I didn’t want to do this... but I guess I have to." I swiftly swung myself full circle, and flung my heavy bag into Flash Sentry, who got pushed into Big Macintosh, meanwhile, I swiftly ran past Neon Lights and made a run through the hallway of the school. "Don’t just stand there, Neon, GET HIM! You too, Big Mac!" I ran even faster, my legs felt like they were barely catching up with the rest of my body because I was running so fast. "Get back here!" Great, looks like I already lost popularity with the guys- "OGH!" I bumped into someone and fell back "Ah! Oh, I’m very sorry, I didn’t mean to-" "That's alright, child, you just weren't looking where you were going." I looked up to see that I had bumped into a tall woman with deep blue hair and a business style dress on. I think she was the vice principal. I could hear the boys getting closer. "Get back here!" The three boys ran up and suddenly stopped "V-vice Principal Luna!" I was correct! "Were you three boys chasing after this kid? You should know better than to pick on the transfer student!" "S-s-sorry, vice principal, b-but-" "Now go before I start calling up your parents!" Without hesitation the three guys ran down the hall in fear. "Thank you, vice Principal Luna; I really needed the help back there." She smiled and pat my shoulder gently, "If anyone's giving you anymore trouble, just come tell me, okay?" "I’ll keep that in mind, thank you very much!" I walked off, taking a deep breath of relief. I might not have to worry about them after all. I stepped out the door to the afternoon sun and the cool breeze of the late autumn. It was a refreshing experience after all that running. I stepped down the steps and walk up to check out the equine statue in the front of the school, the front of the statue was bright and reflective, I could see my face, crystal clear in it. my black hair hidden under my red and white, beanie-like cap, my black over shirt waving in the breeze, my red eyes staring back at me, and my hand which was placed on the smooth, cold surface. I enjoyed seeing myself in this mirror... which was more than I can say for seeing Flash Sentry, Neon Lights, and Big Macintosh, walking up to me from behind! "There you are!" I swung around, only to find Flash Sentry grabbing me by my soft black over shirt. "I’m not done with you, yet, newbie!" I struggled, and got myself out of my over shirt, backing up into the statue. "Hey! I thought you got over it!" I wanted to call for Luna, but I knew she wasn't able to hear me. All I could do now, was look up into the sky... wait... stars...? There are three stars in the sky around the moon, but it's in the middle of the day! What’s going on?! "No way, newbie, my friends and I are going to teach you what happens when you mess with our girls! ... and his sister." "Eeyup!" "Let’s do this, already!" They stepped forward and I pressed my back against the statue, but it slowly felt warmer and warmer. "What the-..." The surface behind my back suddenly turned into thin air and I felt my body fall backwards through the statue! I screamed in surprise and spun around a little, my eyes clamped shut and my body curled up like an armadillo. But soon I opened my eyes and saw something truly amazing... I looked around at where I was, and saw myself floating through some sort of space, which was filled with colors and shapes. It was an entrancing sight, and I found myself somewhat hypnotized, but soon I passed out from the shock. That was my last memory of the world I came from.