The next morning was a bit of a stretch from what I was used to. I had been getting ready for school all alone for the past... ever. I had never had to battle for the shower, or race for food so I could get some of it before it was just crumbs left on a plate. It was the most exciting thing I had done in a long time.
Big Mac had already graduated high school, of course, but he still had a lot of work to do around the farm, so he got up just as early as we did, if not earlier. Applejack drove Apple Bloom to school in the mornings, and offered to give me a ride, in order to avoid the bus. I accepted, deciding it faster and less uncomfortable than the bus-ride would certainly be. I would miss listening to my music on the way to school, as listening to it on the ride with Applejack would be rude, but the pros outweighed the cons of the situation.
Apple Bloom offered to ride in the back, with a bit more than a push from Applejack, since she would be getting out first at the middle school, anyway. I briefly considered declining and allowing her to ride front-passenger, but her logic did make sense, so I just went with it.
The ride to school was mostly quiet, save for Apple Bloom telling us (mainly Applejack, but I was addressed from time to time) about what she and her friends had done over the weekend. They climbed trees, went adventuring around the woods, and found something she described as a rusty, old piece-a junk.
After dropping Apple Bloom off and saying our goodbyes, Applejack and I headed towards the high school. “Your sister has a lot of energy,” I said, if only to start a quick conversation for the minute-long drive from the middle school to the high school.
“Yeah,” Applejack began, “You should see her friends.”
I smiled. “I think I’ll pass on that one for now, thanks,” I looked up to see the school rising over the hill it sat atop. “Hey.”
Applejack turned away from the road for long enough that her eyes watched my expression. Nothing odd, but I had gotten a bit more serious. “Yeah?”
“Where do you sit at in the mornings?”
---------------
I tossed my bag to the floor behind my respectful spot around the table. The cafeteria was fairly empty, considering Applejack and I arrived about fifteen minutes before my bus usually got there, which already came very early. The few people inside consisted of a few nerds in the corner of the room, a couple of the popular kids, a couple of others scattered about the room, and myself. Applejack simply dropped me off at the door, saying she would find me after she had a chance to park her car.
I sat down and pulled out my iPad, barely able to get started on my game before a familiar, but entirely unwanted, face appeared before me. “None of your girlfriends showing up today, Sky?”
I barely lifted my eyes to the source. “We’ve been over this, Jingle; they aren’t my girlfriends.”
He leaned back on his heels and crossed his arms, as if he was threatening me. “Well that’s no surprise, I guess.”
“Why?” I half-heartedly questioned. I only aimed to entertain him until Applejack arrived, at which point I was certain he would leave for one reason or another, possibly to go look for my other “girlfriends.”
“After what you did to Henry, who would want to be friends with you?”
He had gotten my attention. “What?” I felt my body tense up, threatening to rise on my feet at any moment. “What did I do to him?”
“Well, you know,” he began, arms coming unfolded as he began to rub the back of his head. “You, kind of, threatened to turn him in to the police if he didn’t break up with his girlfriend, and it was about something he didn’t even do, no less...”
I stopped. It wasn’t a lie, most of it, anyway. But... “How would you know that?”
“Well, Jenna’s going around telling everybody.”
That figured. “They’re together again, huh?”
“Yeah...” Jingle stood there, waiting for me to ask my next question.
“You know that’s not entirely true, right?” I sat, hardly moving a muscle. I didn’t want to move, or breathe.
“Sky, I’ve known you for a long time. I think I would know better than to believe that...” Jingle had known me for a long time, since middle school. I was one of the first people he talked to after moving there. He always was a strange kid, and after some time, he began to play with other kids like him; the nerds and weirdos.
“Yeah, I guess,” We sat there for a while, each of us waiting for the other to start talking. I decided it would be best if I started again. “I suppose you want to know what really happened?” He nodded. I sighed in return. “Most of that is true, but not all of it. I did actually tell Henry I would turn him in if he didn’t break up with Pinkie, but it wasn’t over nothing. You can’t tell anyone this, alright?” Jingle nodded once more, and I brought my voice down to a whisper. “A couple of friends and I were trying to dry off in the school after the football game last Tuesday, because it rained, and we ran into Henry and some other guy inside. They had on some ski masks, for the cameras out front, and saw one of my friends as a threat, I think. Well, they started grabbing her, hitting her, all that stuff. The rest of us rushed there after hearing the shouts, and we started fighting, all of us. I pulled off Henry’s mask, and saw that it was him. At the time, he was dating Pinkie, so the next day I told him that he needed to break up with her, or else I would turn him in to the police. It was only to protect her, I swear. Anyway, Pinkie overheard and ran away, crying. When I turned back towards Henry, he was smiling, like he was happy. Well, not long afterwards, Henry broke up with Pinkie and tried to convince her that it was my fault he did. I still don’t know why, but Pinkie stood up against Henry, for me,” I stopped myself, realizing I was losing myself in my own mixed feelings on the matter. “Whatever, that’s how it really happened.”
We were quiet for a bit longer before Jingle broke the silence. “Uh, Sky?” Jingle began before pausing for a moment, waiting for me to acknowledge his words. “I know we aren’t really friends, but...” He trailed off.
I felt the corners of my mouth turn... up, this time. “Brandon,” I quickly motioned back towards his group of friends. “Get lost, you little creep.”
He smiled, and laughed. “Put in a good word with Rainbow Dash for me, alright?”
“Maybe, if I’m in a good mood,” He then ran off to his friends, who graciously accepted him back into the group. We had always been mean towards each other, even when he first moved to my town. It was just how we acted towards each other. Even if we didn’t talk every day, and I didn’t necessarily consider him my friend, he considered me to be his friend. The thought hurt me, and I shoved it to the back of my mind, where I hoped it would get lost.
Applejack came not long after, possibly just under a minute. I didn’t tell her about Jingle, though, I know I should have. I don’t know how I knew, but she would have enjoyed hearing about me opening up to somebody.
Applejack and I began our idle conversation, which lasted long enough for the bus I once rode to arrive. I looked on as Rarity walked through the hallway from the doors leading to the buses, and, upon catching sight of me, she began towards our table with a stride to her steps. “Sky, you’ve got some explaining to do!”
My heart dropped. “Rarity I-”
“Why weren’t you on the bus today?” She stopped dead in her tracks in from of me with her arms crossed, rather impatiently awaiting my response. “Well?”
I let out a breath, at which point I realized I had been holding since Rarity began speaking. “Well, Applejack gave me a ride to school,” I pointed to the girl sitting across from me, who waved at Rarity awkwardly.
“Oh,” Rarity simply said, dropping her arms, but quickly rising a finger into my face. “You still should have told me! I thought you’d gotten sick again...”
“Huh? Oh... Sorry,” With that, Rarity took her typical spot at the table and struck up a conversation with Applejack, which I paid little attention to.
A few moments later, another presence made itself known. “Hi, Sky...” I turned to see Fluttershy standing behind me. I instantly took notice of her condition. She had bags under her eyes, her voice seemed to be weaker than usual, and her hair looked to be a bit of a mess.
“Uh, hey, Fluttershy... Are you alright?”
She took a seat next to me before giving a reply, which was slow and soft. “Oh, yes... I’m just tired... Angel kept me up all night, because he wanted me to play with him...”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I wasn’t sure of what to say. Fluttershy really seemed to want the bunny, but then it looked like it was overwhelming her.
“Oh, don’t be!... I’m just glad he’s happy at his new home...” Fluttershy began to close her eyes, and I heard a soft snoring coming from her lips.
“Uh, Fluttershy?” I tapped her shoulder.
She jumped a bit at my tapping. “Huh?” She turned to me again, her eyes wide in surprise before allowing them to drop once again. “Oh, did I...?”
I nodded. “Yeah, you fell asleep. Are you sure you’re alright?”
She nodded in return. “Yes, I’m fine... I just need... to...” I watched as she slowly dropped her head onto her folded arms and rested on the table.
I was conflicted with what I should have done. Telling her to go home and get some sleep made me sound like a parental figure, but being tired wasn’t exactly a reason to go home in the first place. Besides, what would her real parents say? I decided to leave her to her own decisions, and let her rest for the next few minutes before the first class started.
The bell rang, and everybody got to their feet and began their way towards friends or to their classes, except one girl. I tapped her again. “Hey, Fluttershy.”
She slowly opened her eyes. “Hmm?”
“Come on. We have to go to class,” She gave little more than a barely noticeable nod before slowly rising to her feet. I threw my bag on my back and grabbed her small, light green backpack before walking alongside her to the end of the hallway where Music Appreciation was held.
We walked in silence, as always, but this time it was for a different reason, which could easily be discovered with one glance towards the girl beside me, who seemed only seconds away from nodding off, even as we walked. Luckily, we made it into the room without incident, and each of us took our respective seats. I gently placed Fluttershy’s bag beside her chair, which she thanked me for, if only barely, and began a game on my iPad. Somehow, Fluttershy was able to stay awake until the teacher began class.
We learned about the same things we always did in that class: music and its history. And, as always, it ended rather early, leaving us students to do as we pleased. I played my game for a few minutes before feeling a light weight hit my right shoulder. Glancing down, I saw Fluttershy’s head resting gently on my arm. Her pink hair flowed down my side, covering almost my entire upper arm. From that position, I could feel the warmth radiating from her body, and her hair was soft and smooth, even despite its unkempt appearance.
I watched her a moment, debating on whether or not I should wake her. I didn’t, as to allow her to get as much sleep as she possibly could. After all, she had a car, and I assumed she drove to and from school. At least, that’s what I told myself...
I quickly glanced around the room. There were a few heads turned in my direction, but none of which I particularly cared for, except one. I looked towards Henry, who was sitting across the room from me, and was practically scowling at the scene before him. I quickly turned away, hoping he didn’t see me look in his direction, though I feared he had.
At the end of class, Fluttershy awoke on her own, hardly realizing the position she was in before letting out a yawn. She certainly seemed more rested than she had been, as she rose to her feet far more easily than she had before. I took a bit of pride in the fact that my arm was what allowed her to sleep so comfortably.
On my way towards my next class, I passed a face I hadn’t seen in a while, and was rather dissatisfied with seeing at the same time, but I knew I would have to confront her eventually. I stopped, just after passing her, and held my breath, only releasing it as I turned after her. This wasn’t like me, and I knew it. I was the kind of person to sit idly by and simply watch, letting things unfold however that might. I knew that this would only drag me deeper into the drama that was high school, but I didn’t care, and I did it anyway. “Jenna,” I said, after having gotten close enough for her to hear me.
She turned around, and instantly seemed to regret her decision to do so. “Sky...” She stopped, only aiming to mock me. “This is a surprise, isn’t it?”
“More or less, after what you’ve been doing,” I was staring her down, not breaking eye contact for any longer than it took to blink.
“Oh, my, and what, pray tell, might that be?” She crossed her arms and leaned towards me.
“Look,” It would have been best for me to be clear and to the point with her. “There’s a girl you’ve been messing with, and I want it to stop, alright?”
Her eyes widened in shock. Her light brown hair swung with her head as she leaned back on her heels. “Oh, is that what this is about? Not about what you did to my boyfriend?”
I caught my breath. Of course I wanted that to stop, as well. I gritted my teeth together before opening my mouth. “No, not about what I did to Henry.”
“Wait,” Jenna held up a hand, practically demanding I shut my mouth. “What girl are you talking about, exactly? There are a lot of ‘girls’ in this school, you know.”
Did she really bully that many girls at school? “Twilight Sparkle.”
“Oh, that girl. Yeah, I don’t think I can do that,” She brought her finger up to her chin in mock-thought.
“Why?” I stood still, mentally preparing myself for her unreasonable answer.
“Well, because she’s the new girl, and she’s just drawing too much attention to herself. So I have to, well, ‘take her down a notch,’” She produced air quotes using her fingers.
I groaned at her pointless reasoning. I quickly realized, however, that in order to beat her, I would have to play by her rules. “Fine then. What can I do to make you stop?”
Jenna smiled. “Oh, now we’re talking!” She took a step towards me, close enough to whisper in my ear. “Meet me after school tomorrow, out back in the parking lot. I’ll have a way for you then.”
She turned and began on her way towards class. “Wait!” I grabbed her shoulder to stop her. She dropped her gaze to my hand, then turned back toward me, her eyes stabbing through mine. I removed my hand. “I’ll go, but only if you stop messing with her entirely, starting today.”
Jenna instantly turned away from me again and raised a hand as she walked. “Fine, whatever!”
I stood there a moment longer, watching as the black-jacketed figure disappeared among the crowd. I didn’t know whether to be glad or depressed. I asked myself over and over, “What did I agree to?”
After stepping through the door, one of the first things that met me was the ringing of the school bell. I had barely made it to class on time, and avoided the teacher’s scolding in the process. I sat in my desk beside Twilight, who looked towards me for only a moment before the teacher began passing out papers.
Twilight and I finished at about the same time. As we sat back in our seats, she turned to me. “Sky?”
I looked back at her. “Yeah?”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t at your table this morning,” The way she began speaking caused me to think it was something vitally important. Of course, it wasn’t in the slightest. “I kind of slept longer than I had meant to.”
I laughed it off. “It’s alright. Don’t worry about it. But, hey,” I convinced myself there would be no better time to tell her the good news. “Jenna shouldn’t be bothering you anymore, okay?”
Twilight’s eyes grew as she stared at me. “Huh? Why not?”
“Well,” I began, before realizing that flat-out telling her wouldn’t be the best course of action, as not even I knew exactly what reason Jenna had for agreeing to leave Twilight alone. I smiled instead. “Don’t worry about it! Just know that she won’t be a problem anymore, alright?”
That sounded worse than I had intended, but I didn’t think Twilight caught on. “Oh, alright. Thanks, Sky,” She didn’t seem too emotional over it. Instead, she took out her book, beginning on the page she had left off on.
I frowned. I’ll admit that I expected some kind of reaction, even if it wasn’t exactly “jumping for joy.” I tried to ignore it as well as I could, and played my games.
Applejack and I talked about little more than my new arrangements at lunch. I was told that I would have my list of chores by the next day, and, despite my persistence, she told me that I shouldn’t do anything that afternoon but relax and get comfortable.
I made case after case, but Applejack heard none of it, simply saying, “What Granny Smith says goes,” and leaving it at that.
Pinkie Pie still wanted nothing to do with me in Culinary Arts, and she made it almost blatantly obvious by her distance from me. She sat almost as far away as she could, hiding her face behind her straightened hair. It was strange seeing her with hair that wasn’t poofy or bouncy, but instead long, and flat. It was almost as if something had changed, inside of her. I began to feel a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, all from knowing that I was the cause of her misery.
We worked out of our books that day, luckily. I didn’t know how I would have handled working in partners again. I barely managed to get by the last time, and now Pinkie seemed worse than ever before. I didn’t know what to say. I could have apologized, but she would never have gone for something so painfully simple.
I finished packing my bag and was one of the first out of the room as the bell rang. I didn’t want to be stuck in there with her any longer than I had to be.
Rainbow Dash met me in the gym after I finished changing. “Hey, Sky, what’s up?”
I didn’t want to ruin Rainbow’s day with my own negativity, so I went with the corniest thing I could think of at the time. I glanced up towards the rafters. “The ceiling.”
After a moment’s silence, I looked back down towards Rainbow Dash, who almost looked to be in pain over how bad my joke was. “Thanks for clearing that up...”
I stood as the coach blew his whistle. “Don’t mention it!”
We finished with warm-ups and began our sport for the day, which happened to be basketball instead of badminton, since the basketball players were supposed to practice in the gym after school on Mondays. Rainbow Dash and I took the same goal we had on the first day we met, and decided to play a small game of one-on-one.
After a shameful defeat by none other than that sports-star herself, we took a small break, where Rainbow decided to question me. “So, still nothing new with Pinkie, huh?”
I sighed, too tired to do much of anything else. “Nope,”
“You know,” Rainbow began, taking the basketball from me and dribbling it between her knees. “I could talk to Pinkie for you. Maybe I can get her to try to talk to you again.”
I glanced towards her. “Thanks, but I get the feeling that would only make things worse.”
“Yeah,” She spoke softly, which was a strange thing to hear from her, but welcomed nonetheless. “So, what are you gonna do?”
I dropped my head to face the ground beneath my feet. “I don’t know... I guess I’ll just have to wait until it all blows over, then try to talk to her,” I’ll admit it wasn’t the best of plans, but it was the one I went with, seeing as Rainbow didn’t have anything better in mind.
“Well, anyway,” She stood back to her feet, throwing the ball at my face, leaving me hardly any time to react to her actions. “Let’s start game two!” I didn’t object in the slightest.