//------------------------------//
// Chapter I - Chances 
// Story: How Love Works 
// by HypernovaBolts11 
//------------------------------//

	But, the next day, it was back to work. Houses began popping up on the land encircled by the wall, dozens of them, hundreds of them. 

After a while, even my sisters moved out of the castle, into sorority houses, save for the purples, who were still being trained by one of the best drill sergeants in the land, Rainbow Dash. I also took lessons from her, sword fighting, running laps, trying to make my wings work, and wrestling with the purples.

Each time a new clutch hatched from my parents, they would take care of them, until they turned five, and were moved into a new sorority house.

My tutor became the public schoolteacher, and the clutch born after me —the oranges— was placed in the same grade level as me, so they followed me everywhere I went. They got their own home, and flocked to school every weekday, where they spent their time pestering me about who was prettier or how cute I was.

This is where the story really starts, when I am sixteen years old, starting my senior year in high school. This was the year the first pony would move to the city with the intention of staying. 

I grumbled incoherent things as I walked into the classroom, which was full of other changelings. The teacher sat at the front of the room, behind a large desk. Her blue eyes filled with welcoming as I stepped towards her. She smiled and said, "It's always nice to see you again, Toothless."

I smiled at her and reached a hoof into my bag, pulling an apple out of it, and setting it on her desk. I said, "And too you." I lowered my head ever so slightly and turned to face the other students. I frowned as they all erupted into a clamorous frenzy, breaking the silence that had accompanied my entrance.

All of them were my sisters, the clutch born after me. Their eyes and armor plates were a solid orange color, and their wings buzzed excitedly as I made my way to the back of the room, blurring into masses of orange. They turned to each other and spoke frantically about me.

I pinned my ears against the sides of my head, and sighed as I took my seat at the back of the room. I noticed that there was an empty desk to my left, and assumed that one of the oranges had fallen ill. It wasn't like them to miss a chance to see me. I set my bag down on the floor, and pulled out a spiral bound notebook.

Suddenly, a collective gasp filled the room, and all fell silent, save for a hurried breathing. The bell rang, signaling the start of class. I heard a deep, feminine voice, tired and hurried, say, "Nailed it." The source of the voice moved towards the back of the room, and as I looked up, my eyes widened.

I could feel my heart rate accelerate from a perfectly healthy thumping to nearly frightening pounding. I felt as though my heart could burst out of my chest, and I found myself unable to speak. I froze, sitting there, staring dumbly at the new creature. My silver eyes were open so wide they started to burn, and I had to remind myself to blink, then breathe.

A pony, covered from hoof to head in soft, lemon yellow fur, sporting a pair of well preened avian wings, was standing right in front of me, holding my gaze with her camouflage brown eyes. Her chest was heaving as she recovered her breath, and her mouth was open enough for me to see her perfectly white teeth. Her flowing mane and tail were the same shade of red as faded roses.

Her cutie mark —as my parents had called these symbols— was a pink flower, with three leafy vines spreading out in various directions. Where the middle of the flower should have been, was an oval, with the upper third colored black, and the rest a vibrant red. Down the middle of the red area was a thin white border, which also separated the black from the red sections. Five black dots were placed in the red area, one directly in the middle of the white line.

I found myself getting lost in her eyes, and my cheeks flushed a bright shade of iridescent blue. I wanted to look away, out of modesty or embarrassment, I could tell, but didn't find myself able to move. I didn't really want to move, or take my eyes off of her, this beautiful creature who had just walked into the classroom.

My ears began to burn as my blush deepened, and her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink in turn. I couldn't understand why she'd be embarrassed for staring at me, as I wasn't much to look at.

I was just another changeling. With black chitin, holes all over my legs and in my bat like wings, a solid blue hue to the gossamer plates, which folded like those of a luxurious fan. My armor was a flashy shade of bubblegum pink, and my fangs weren't even big enough to show with a closed mouth. My frills were nothing impressive, and my tail was the same silver as my eyes. My horn was pointed, curved, and well polished, shimmering slightly in the sunlight pouring through the windows.

I opened my mouth to say something, but came up with, "Um..." I looked down and my blush deepened. That was a new level of smooth for me. My ears felt as though a piece of kindling was being held to them. "I... Hello. I... I hope you don't mind me, being an awkward grub and all," I finally managed.

The pony sat down at the empty spot next to me, and looked down at her desk. She said, "I don't mind, so long as you can put up with me." She and I sat there for a while, and the class seemed to take notice of this, as my sisters all fell quiet, something they'd never have done under normal circumstances.

Finally, I swallowed hard, and turned to face her. "I'm Toothless, and I hope my sisters don't give you any trouble," I said. I reached a hoof towards her, offering her to shake it. I smiled nervously, my blush having finally faded. I glanced at the changeling in the row in front of mine.

All of the orange eyes in the room were darting back and forth between the pony and me, giving us anything between warning glares and shocked looks. I held their gazes, and, in a burst of courage I'd never found before, emitted a small growl. "Leave me alone for once," I snarled.

They all looked away, either up at the ceiling or at the teacher.

The pony's hoof held mine, and she said, "I'm Ladybug Spring, and are they all your sisters?" She seemed to think that wasn't the case, because she sounded amused. She shook my hoof and held my gaze again. She smiled a bit, showing her perfectly white teeth.

My blush returned, and I said, "Um... Actually, a decent majority of the city is made of my siblings." I rubbed the back of my neck with my right hoof, careful not to touch my frills. "I'm willing to assume you've met my parents." I closed my eyes, and returned her smile, mine more nervous than hers.

The space between us seemed to thicken, and the scents of various emotions trickled up my nostrils. I had been told that ponies gave off more emotion than changelings, not that they felt any more, but I'd never considered the implications of such a notion. Now I could only sort through the feelings she felt, trying to dissect her opinions of me.

It wasn't easy, and, as biology class came and went, I had only confidently identified two emotions from her. I knew that she felt both curiosity and interest towards me. I couldn't untangle the many knots and puzzles of her mind. As the class came to an end, it occurred to me that I could simply ask her.

I felt silly for not thinking about that sooner, but we parted ways once the bell rang. I stopped in the hallway to look over my shoulder, and spotted the faint rose color of her mane, then blushed when I caught her gaze. I looked forward again, and made my way to the next class.