Chapter 3- "Burn in my light."
The reason I wanted to go over by Fluttershy's was because I wanted to get to know her better, no matter how much I denied it. I wasn't really sure what to do until Twilight got back from her class that evening.
"A completely surefire way to get her attention is to talk about animals," she advised. "But watch out for that bunny. It's evil."
So now I stood outside her room first thing in the morning. Sleeping on the dorm room floor in a sleeping bag was uncomfortable, to say the least, but I did get a good night's sleep. I walked up towards the dorm door, took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I heard shuffling like before come towards the door.
“Hello?” said Fluttershy from the other side of the door. “Aj, is that you?”
“Yeah,” I responded. “Sorry for coming so early.” I heard the click of the lock and the door opened revealing Fluttershy. She was wearing a fuzzy green sweater and blue jeans with fuzzy white socks.
“That’s okay,” she said letting me pass through into her room. After sitting down on the couch, she sat across from me, sipped from what I think was coffee, and sighed in delight. “Isn’t today such a nice day?”
“I don’t know, actually,” I admitted. “I haven’t gone out all day.”
“Really?” she asked. “Then how did you get here from the men’s dorm?”
“Oh yeah. Nobody ever told you, did they?” I asked. “Well, I’m not a pony like you might think. I don’t even go to this school. I’m actually a human from a different dimension/time period. I’ve been staying in the girls dorm with Twilight and Lyra-”
“Oh, wow, a human! I’ve never met a human before,” she said excitedly. “What’s it like? Being a human?”
“W-well, it’s not that much different from being a pony, I guess,” I replied. “Except we don’t have wings or magic like you guys do.”
“What do you do for fun?” she asked, being much more outgoing than I thought she could be. “Do you like caring for animals?”
“Well, I like to program things. Not everybody does though,” I explained. “And as for animals… I like cats.”
“I don’t have any cats here,” she said. “I’m only allowed to keep Angel here.”
“Angel?”
“Angel,” she said, motioning to a space behind me. Turning around, I found a small white rabbit behind me. His face was surprisingly cartoonish and frowned up. “He’s my cute little Angel Bunny.”
“Oh, you’re that rabbit Twilight was talking about,” I said. “Notoriously evil”
“Are you hungry Angel?” asked Fluttershy. The bunny bounced around me and onto the couch, a nodding of his head symbolizing his agreement. “Okay then, I’ll go prepare something for you. You just stay with Aj, okay?” The bunny looked at me like I was a problem. He hopped over to my seat and stood next to me.
“Oh yeah, leave me with the devil bunny,” I whispered. “Do you need any help?”
“No, I should be fine,” she assured me. “It should only take me about 15 minutes to prepare. Thank you anyway.” She walked out of the dorm room and down the hall to what I assumed would be some kind of kitchen. I turned towards the bunny sitting next to me, looked him up and down and sighed.
“What do I do now?” I asked him. He blinked at me a few times before twitching his nose, shrugging his shoulders and hopping away. “Yeah, I guess it was pretty dumb of me to ask a bunny a question.”
The door flew open, startling me. Entering the dorm was a person with ash grey skin and wings, dark black hair and similar eyes. He looked straight at me, his face warping to show resentment.
“Who are you?” he asked in a disgusted tone.”More importantly, what are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” I responded. “But if you must know, I’m Aj.”
“Aj?” he asked in the same tone. “I don’t know you. What, are you new here?”
“Somewhat.” The person’s face started showing agitation.
“Don’t play with me, buddy,” he warned. “What are you doing here in this dorm?”
“Well, I was invited over by Fluttershy,” I answered. “Now that I’ve answered your questions, answer mine.”
“You really don’t know who I am?” he asked in disbelief. He placed his left hand behind him and his right high up in the air. “I am Arct Shine, quarterback of the Celestial Flares.” He stood there for a few seconds before adding, “Burn in my light.”
“Uh, yeah,” I said in slight shock. “What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” He repeated, returning to his original form. “I’m here because I saw some chump enter my girlfriend’s room, that’s why.”
“Your girlfriend?” I asked. “You sure about that?” He walked up to where I was sitting before grabbing me by the shirt and lifting me out of my seat.
“Yeah, I’m deadly sure,” he said, pushing me towards the door. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a woman to wait for.”
“Yeah, me too,” I said, not backing down. “So maybe I should stay. Don’t want to just leave such a nice girl with the likes of you.”
For a few seconds, we just stared at each other. Of course, it wouldn’t stay like this. He walked up to me and tried to grab me by the collar once again. I grabbed his wrist, and pulled him into a wall next to me. Shortly after, I pulled him close and brought my left fist to his face. He countered with a right hook across my face, disorientating me. Once I was back to normal, he grabbed me by the throat with both hands and slammed me into a different wall, sending a lot a pain throughout my body. He threw me across the room towards the windows, sending me crashing against the wall. My body became unresponsive as if it was crumpled paper. When he got over to me, I could see him wipe blood from his nose and smile.
“Hopefully you’ll think twice next time before messing with me me,” he yelled as he kicked me in the chest. “See you later, punk.” He got up and walked out of the room. The signs of our struggle apparent and my brain unable to think of what to do next, I closed my eyes, waiting to see what would become of me when I arose.
All I felt was a numb pain. I felt my body ache in a bed that I did not own. As I opened my eyes, I saw the bright light of a dorm room ceiling. I looked to my right, Lyra and Twilight on the other bed looking at each other and talking.
“-he was beat up,” finished Twilight. “Guess he provoked him somehow.”
“Yeah,” replied Lyra. “Fighting the quarterback of any football team is a terrible idea.”
“It was my calling,” I said, grabbing their attention. “I was trained by my dad to never back down.”
“Your dad has a lot to learn from cowards,” said Twilight. “A coward wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said trying to sit up. “Don’t worry, I’ll be up in a few hours. These usually blow over if I move around.”
“How often do you get your flank handed to you?” asked Lyra.
“Flank?” I responded. “What’s a flank?”
“It’s a way to say your butt,” said Lyra. “How often do you get your butt handed to you?”
“Often, yet not often enough,” I said. “Rin always beats me in when she visits my house.”
“Rin is your sister, right?” she asked. “What is she like?” I sighed before bouncing around on the bed.
“She’s a riot, first of all. Hilarious, especially around alcohol. She’s about 6 feet tall, red hair with freckles, pretty attractive too.” I listed. “But she’s also a black belt in judo, and is not afraid to show it.”
“Sounds pretty amazing,” said Twilight. “You must look up to her a lot.”
“Maybe,” I responded. “So enough about me. What happened to Fluttershy?”
“She’s the one who found you down on her floor. She reported your assault to Fleur who reported it to Dean Luna.”
“Dean Luna?” I asked in pain. “Sounds important.”
“Yeah, she is,” said Twilight. “In fact, she’s second only to Princess Celestia.”
“Excuse me,” said Fleur from the door. “Dean Luna has requested the human’s audience. Come with me.” I nodded and tried to get up, my back aching in response. With Twilight’s assistance, I was up and on my way to the office. Once I was in the hallway and out of earshot, Fleur turned her head to face me.
“You okay?” She asked as I limped along. “Come now, I know it didn’t hurt that bad.”
“You’d be surprised,” I retorted. “What exactly does Luna want me for-”
“Dean Luna wants to discuss the rules of this school to you. Make sure you don’t break them anymore,” she explained. “Starting with your living condition.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Mostly because I was the one who reported you to her,” she responded. “Suddenly some random human appears and all the rules go out the window? I don’t think so.”
“I don’t mean to insult you in the slightest,” I assured before asking. “But… can’t you try to have a little fun?”
“When you are someone of high importance like me, you don’t have time for ‘fun’,” she replied. “Through the door please.” I looked up, a door that said Dean’s Office in bright gold letters right in front of me. I took a deep breath and put my hand on the handle before pushed the door open. A voice became clear on the other side.
“Ooh, I can’t to bite into you you succulent devil…” said a voice on the other side of the door. Opening the door fully, I could see a woman with black hair and dark blue skin with a matching pair of wings and a horn. She was laid back with a piece of cheese, probably swiss, dangling a few inches from her face. Once she dropped it in her mouth, she opened her eyes to find me and Fleur looking at her with glares of confusion. She moved the platter of cheese she was talking to and crossed her fingers. “Please come in.”
“Uh, yeah,” I said walking in and taking a seat. “You wanted to see me Dean Luna?”
“Please, just call me Luna. I don’t like the formalities anymore,” she admitted. “Anyway, what were we meeting about?”
“The complaints, I made ma’am,” reminded Fleur. “The ones I pitched this morning.”
“Oh yes, yes, I remember,” she said clearing her throat. “How about we discuss these matters privately, Mr. J?”
“Uh, sure, I guess,” I said nervously. After I heard what she said to that cheese, I wasn’t very sure that she was completely sane. “I don’t mind.” Luna nodded towards Fleur who nodded back. She backed out of the room and closed the door. I heard as the click clack of her heels diminished as she walked away. Once it was nearly miniscule, Luna sighed very loudly and sat back in her chair, bringer her platter front center.
“Nice girl, isn’t she?” asked Luna as she picked between her cheese. “Not great in a position of power. She should really focus on her classes more.”
“Um... “ I stuttered watching her devour her cheese ever so sensually. “I-is there a reason you called Fleur away?”
“Well, it’s mostly because I know Fleur would not allow me to relax in front of her,” she responded pushing the platter to me. “Would you like some? It’s very good.”
“S-sure…” I said picking up an piece of swiss and taking a bite. “So, is there anything you want to talk about?”
“Well, yes actually,” she admitted. “I want to talk about Fluttershy. Why is it that you fought Arct?”
“He was being an asshole,” I responded quickly. “And why is his name Arct Shine? His colors are anything but light.”
“A disrespectful comment and a question about his color scheme?” asked Luna in surprise. “How much more do you want to be cliche?”
“I don’t mean to be,” I said defensively. “It’s just that… Fluttershy is… er, deserves better than Arct. I’m not saying I’m that better person, but I hope damn well that they don’t end up together.”
“Spoken like a true admirer,” said Luna. “Keyword, admirer. Ever since Arct beat you up, most everybody thinks that you’re just some joe shmoe, me included.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked. “I’m not gonna be here long enough to form any kind of relationship with Fluttershy anyway.”
“It’s meant to motivate you,” she responded. “Don’t go down without a fight. Well, another fight, anyway. And, even though you haven’t realized it, you’ve already made an impression on her.”
You’re right,” I said with a chuckle. “I will forever be known as ‘the one who got his ass beat’.” Luna laughed before eating another chunk of cheese.
“You should set out to change that,” she said turning to rifle through her desk. “But first, you should get your mind off of her and on something else. Starting with… the day after tomorrow.”
“The day after tomorrow?” I asked. “What is it?” She flashed a paper in front of my face, a large carved pumpkin looking at me. Underneath it, there were some words. “Come to our haunted house, a foreclosed old warehouse on Carver St, Canterlot. A few special guests will receive a special trip to the abyss!” I looked up from the paper with my eyebrow raised. “And why should I attend a haunted house attraction… in the middle of September?”
“September?” She asked. “No, no, today is October 30th. Nobody told you?”
“Apparently not,” I confessed. “So… I should go to this haunted house?”
“Sure. Ask Twilight. She’s always been in the Halloween spirit.”
“I guess,” I responded. “She doesn’t seem like the type to have any type of fun. However, I have only known her for a day.”
“That’s the spirit,” she said leaning forwards. “One more thing. If Fluttershy confronts you about what happened, tell her not to worry, alright? She has enough to worry about with her classes and her pets bunny.”
“Hm,” I hummed. “Thanks Luna, you’re really helpful.”
“My pleasure.”