Silent Song

by SonicFan117DASH

The First Day (Finale)

Apparently not.

History class thankfully passed with relative peace now that the ‘Arrogant and Boastful Trixie’’, as Ecco had personally dubbed her, ceased any further attempts at prodding him for any type of reaction. The class as a whole followed the same sequence as the rest; a form of orientation, for lack of a better word, in order to mentally prepare the students for the year ahead and what to expect from the class and so on.

Now, with one final period before school was let out, Ecco practically pounced from his seat as soon as the bell rang and made his way to his last class, silently pleading to Nayru that no further confrontations from random angry girls got in his way. Rounding a corner his goal was in sight and he hastened his pace to claim an empty seat before anyone else arrived. He gave a sigh of relief as he was about to reach for the doorknob.

He had made it.

“Ugh! It’s even uglier than I thought!”

He was wrong. Again.

Ecco’s gaze was now locked with who he thought were the two most unbearable girls he had the misfortune of encountering. Brash, pompous, conceited, materialistic and any other relatable term personified these girls in every way. Their stance, their clothes, everything. Speaking of, Ecco found himself thinking that these two had to be the most inappropriately dressed girls in the whole school, especially for their age. Well, actually just one of them more so than the other.

The first girl had light gray skin with dark gray and white hair tied into a braid. A large pair of cyan spectacles sat on her nose and a pearl necklace around her neck, along with a pearl bracelet on her right hand. Her attire consisted of a purple shirt with some decorative designs on the sleeves, and what looked like to Ecco a flat collar on her shoulders held together by a small elegant spoon ornament. She also wore a large magenta skirt, with a thin white stripe above the hem, that reached down just above her knees. She wore knee length boots the same color as her shirt and sported a cyan bow tied on the top of each one.

The second girl had light pink skin and light purple and white hair that was held in place by a small tiara pin. She wore a black shirt covered by a huge, stuffy yellow jacket with a white fur collar. Her skirt was tight, half the length of the first girl’s and looked like that the fabric was a bunch of small white diamonds sewn together. It was pulled up over her midsection, hugging her frame and revealing a pair of black leggings reaching down to her knees. Her boots were yellow with white fur on the top, and sported anklets of what looked like amethysts. Similar looking gems also served as a pair of earrings and a necklace. Finally, she had a small white bracelet on her left hand.

The two girls were talking the entire time Ecco had been analyzing them. They didn’t seem to notice that he wasn’t paying attention to what they were saying. All he could think about was the sudden realization of the consistency of how the the female students dressed. Tops varied from girl to girl but short skirts and knee-length boots were on nearly every one that caught Ecco’s eye. Few girls had skirts that reached below their knees and he remembered seeing at least one who’s skirt reached her ankles. He couldn’t help but wonder why that was.

Ecco’s thoughts came to a screeching halt as one question forced it’s way to the front of his mind: why is he thinking about this? What does it matter how these females dressed? I didn’t affect him in any way and it wasn’t his business either. It’s not like he was feeling alluded to them-

!!!

That was it. He must be reaching that age where he began to see females in a different way. It completely slipped his mind that it was during this time his age group began the process of bodily maturing and start to search for a mate. It made sense now; his observations of the various females in the cafeteria, the odd feeling of awe and fascination he felt when he laid his eyes on Fluttershy, etc. It all felt alluring to simply lay eyes on them. The sense of dread set in when Ecco concluded that one: he was approaching puberty fast, and two: he may very well have found what made him… eager. And the thought that he had to put up with it for the next four years did nothing to ease his worries.

*SnapSnapSnap*

”HEY! Are you listening to me?!”

Ecco jumped as he was broken from his newfound inner turmoil by a shrill voice that demanded undivided attention. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and found that he was still outside his final classroom and the two snobby brats were blocking his way. The shorter of the two, the pink one, was looking thoroughly agitated while snapping her fingers next to his ear fin. Speaking of which, Ecco found that they were just tall enough to reach his chest. So why did he feel intimidated by them?

“Haven’t you heard a word of what I was saying? You were, like, just gazing into space! Pay attention when I’m talking to you, guppy!”

Correction, Ecco wasn’t intimidated by them; he just wondered why they weren’t intimidated by him. Everyone else besides those he met at the fair had simply avoided him. Yet, these two approached him and must have wanted to establish something like what happened with Grizelda and Lightning Dust. Ecco decided he wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of trying to get him under their thumbs and proceeded to walk around them and through the door to the classroom. It wasn’t polite to be late and he had just found himself in another life-changing situation that he needed to find a way to cope with. One that he somehow needed to inform his mom about when they got home.

“What the-?! Don’t ignore us you overgrown mollusk!”

“Yeah, your mom ever teach you good manners?”

!

The temperature in the room dropped twenty degrees as Ecco slowly turns to stare at the girls. His tail fin and ear fins raised upward, gently waving about as if underwater. If looks could kill, they’d be atoms. Their faces turned pale and they took a step back, trembling. Without another word Ecco faced forward and claimed the first empty seat he saw at the back of the classroom. He didn’t need to see the girls scampering off to know that he’d scared them off for the time being.

Ecco placed his hands over his face and exhaled. He really didn’t want to cause a scene by loosing his temper and he had to will himself significantly to not lash out beyond an aggressive stance. Those two girls nearly made his patience run out and he hesitated to think about what might have happened if he didn’t hold himself in check. To make matters worse, he was pretty sure they would be going to tell someone about this, most likely their rich parents who had enough influence in the city to make his and his mom’s life miserable. He clenched his fists at the thought that he may have sealed both of their fates because of one small loss of composure. How ironic; he did his best to avoid trouble but found it anyway.

Soon enough the class began and Ecco did his best to pay attention to the teacher and stay as inconspicuous from the other students as possible. He knew he stood out and was somewhat pointless to hide but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try. He had already dug himself a deep enough grave.

Ecco felt a tap on his shoulder and at first thought it was his mind playing tricks on him brought on by stress and ignored it. A second tap brought him out of his self loathing and he turned his head slightly to his left and peaked through his thumb and index finger to see who wanted his attention. Ecco jerked his head up in shock as the one who gained his attention made him think he had discovered a human female version of himself sitting in the desk next to him.

This new girl had pure white skin with wild, unkept blue and cyan hair. She was wearing what looked like a white and blue jacket with short sleeves and no hood, and a white skirt (with a black double music note on its side) that looked even shorter, and tighter, than the one on the brat that Ecco scared away, a pair of violet leggings reaching her shins with indigo lightning bolts, bright magenta coverings on her wrists and a pair of blue sneakers. Most mesmerizing of all, however, we’re the enormous black and purple spectacles covering her eyes. Though, Ecco hesitated to call them that as they didn’t appear to have the purpose of assisting the wearer with their eyesight. Rather, they just seemed to shade her eyes for… some reason he couldn’t figure out. There was also some kind of weird device on her head that covered her ears.

This new girl appeared to have been taken aback by the Zora’s reaction but seemed to relax shortly afterward. She smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. Ecco didn’t know how to process what he was seeing. All he could think of was how all that’s happened to him so far had to be a culmination of some sort to test how many unforeseen shenanigans he could handle. If that were the case, he say that he’d breached his limit.

Before he could overthink anything else Ecco then had an afterthought: why hadn’t she said anything? If she wanted to talk to him she could have done the more conventional method and say something directly to him. Yet, she took a subtle route and tapped him on the shoulder. Why was that? The girl seemed to sense his confusion and waved her hand in a way that made Ecco think she wasn’t trying to cause a scene, but to merely greet him. This only served to confuse him further. Why wasn’t she saying anything?

The realization struck Ecco like a bolt of lightning as it became clear to him as soon as he thought up that question: was she deliberately quiet as well? It made sense, seeing as she was using hand gestures to communicate like he was learning to do. He didn’t know why she chose to stay silent but he could tell that she wouldn’t pry him for an explanation. Regardless, Ecco had found recognition from this girl and not just because of their similar colors. Either by fate or an extraordinary series of coincidences, he had found someone who could understand his blight. The music note on her skirt also helped to indicate that she had a passion for music like he did. A common interest in the musical arts. Of what type of music he didn’t know yet but he felt he would find out one day.

Ecco gathered his thoughts back together and forced a small smile towards the girl along with a nod; it was nice to meet her too. The girl smiled back and gave him two thumbs up before holding out a fist. Ecco stared at it for a moment before looking the girl in the eye and raising an eye ridge. She seemed to understand and pointed to his left hand before gently bumping her fists together. This time Ecco understood the gesture. It must be some alternate form of shaking hands. He held out his fist and she tapped it with her own. They both locked eyes one more time before the teacher started taking roll call. After the teacher was done, Ecco glanced back at the girl, “Vinyl Scratch”, as the teacher revealed her name to be, and gave her another smile. She smiled back and Ecco found himself in a much calmer state of mind than when he entered the room.

Turns out that he was not the only music-loving mute in this volatile environment. Ecco could only smile to himself and mentally declare with confidence that he had achieved something he deemed impossible for his first day of school.

He had made a friend.

---

Classes concluded for the day and a certain Zora now found himself struggling through a sporadic combination of crowded halls and frantic students in order to make it back to his locker. He eventually found it and was met with a less than satisfying sight: Flash Sentry. By unfortunate coincidence his locker was located a few feet left of his own and was currently in the middle of swapping objects in and out. Ecco did his best to ignore him and began the procedure himself. It didn’t take him very long and was looking forward to going home and be with his mom.

Closing the locker door, Ecco was surprised, or perhaps not so surprised, to see that Flash Sentry was hiding behind the open locker door. He was probably trying to catch him off guard. Joke was on him though, he expected another confrontation from him if his behavior during lunch was any indication.

“You’ve made quite a reputation for yourself already, beast. You put on some fancy acrobatics in the stairwell, show off during gym class, frighten off two of the most wealthy girls in town, and rumors say you got on the principals’ good sides. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you have plans to rule this school through flattery through music, and sympathy through your supposed muteness.”

Had Ecco the ability to respond he’d probably cut Flash Sentry off and scolded him for making wild assumptions and taking stuff at face value. Some parts of what he was saying were somewhat true, others were not while the rest were only half truths. It irritated Ecco to no end that these humans were trying their best to make a scene and have him come out as the aggressor for no good reason. He had just finished his last class in high spirits and it was being ruined by some stubborn, headfirst fool. Frankly, he’s had about enough of this nonsense.

Ecco threw an annoyed frown in Flash Sentry’s direction before tightening the straps on his backpack and marched off, leaving him in his wake.

“Where do you think your going? Get back here! I’m not done with you!”

Ecco’s only response was to swing his tail fin behind him in a wide arch in an attempt to ward off his pursuer. The sound of heavy footfalls coming from behind him ceased and Ecco used this opportunity to increase his pace toward the front doors.

At that moment a loud chime-like sound emitted from one of those so-called “speakers” high on the walls, followed by a high pitched whine that hurt Ecco’s ears. It was then that the authoritative voice of Vice Principal Luna blasted out of the speakers, “Silent Song, please report to the principal’s office.”

Ecco froze in his tracks as his scales went pale and his heartbeat increased. That was the last thing he had expected, or wanted, to hear.

“Ha! Try and make your way out of this one, shark bait!”

Ecco didn’t hear him. The world around him muffled out as his mind went into a panic. At least, it would have, if not for him steeling his nerves with tremendous effort and breathing deeply while simultaneously resisting the urge to sprint until his legs fell off. That would only worsen his predicament. With no other option he made his way back towards the offices, students left and right laughing and mocking him all the way.

---

Upon entering the principal’s office, Ecco was greeted by a very unfriendly looking middle-aged man in what must be a very expensive business suit. He had lightly tanned skin and shiny black hair. His moderate blue eyes bore holes into him as a familiar pink skinned brat and her equally as annoying minion both smirked in what looked like triumph. With a low, melancholic sigh Ecco knew what was going on. His earlier hunch had proved correct: spoiled rich brat ran crying to her even richer daddy and was about to make his and his mom’s life a living nightmare. Which, in turn would mean bad progress in his sentence to improve his race’s relationship with theirs.

Not if I can help it.

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were observing from behind the former’s desk with uncertain, and mildly disappointed looks on their faces, respectively. No one said a word for a time until the man broke the silence.

“So,” he began in a deep unimpressed tone. “This is the creature who caused trouble for my daughter and her friend.”

“That‘s the one, Daddy,” the pink one butted in with a deceptively whining voice! “Me and Silver Spoon were only trying to be nice to him but then he got all angry with us and swung his fist at us!”

Ecco clenched his eyes shut while he refrained himself from tightening his fists.

“Yeah,” the other girl, Silver Spoon, quickly added. “He’s a mean big brute who should be in an aquarium, not attending school!”

“Silver Spoon,” Principal Celestia scolded! “We are not here to make insults, we are here to handle this situation accordingly and justly.”

“Mr. Orcinus, did you, or did you not, do what Diamond Tiara just described,” Vice Principal Luna asked in a calm but stern voice?

Ecco took a deep breath to compose himself and looked Vice Principal Luna in the eye, shaking his head.

“You big liar,” Diamond Tiara yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at Ecco! “You tried to hit us and snapped your disgusting jaws at us!”

“Inside voice, Diamond Tiara! There is no need to shout.”

Ecco pinched the area between his eyes and exhaled. This was downright ridiculous. These two spoiled brats were causing an uproar when they very well knew they had brought this upon themselves. He had to find a way to rectify this mess soon or it’s bad news for him, his mom, and everyone back at Zora’s Domain. Especially with how the man, Filthy Rich, seemed to hold significant influence, as was proven when a quick glance at Principal Celestia showed her to be slightly nervous as the situation was getting out of hand. She knew the man could pull certain strings if he wanted to and had the riches to make it happen.

Ecco reached into his backpack’s side pouch and pulled out his flash cards. After skimming through them for a bit he soon found the one he was looking for. He pulled it out and presented it to Filthy Rich.

“’What do you want from me?’ Is it not obvious? I demand that you apologize for assaulting my daughter and her friend immediately. Or else I will sue you for everything you have. I will not tolerate my little angel being bullied at school.” Filthy Rich didn’t notice said daughter and friend’s faces morph into devilish grins.

“Now, now, Mr. Rich. Don’t you think you might be overreacting about this just a little? How about I bring up the school’s security feed and see what really hap-.” Celestia was cut off when Diamond Tiara interrupted.

“Actually, Daddy, it turns out that Canterlot’s new resident walking sardine can’t talk,” she spoke ominously while eyeing Ecco’s harp, something that did not go unnoticed by Ecco himself. “So he literally cannot apologize for anything he’s done!”

“Is that right,” Filthy Rich asked, crossing his arms as he did so?

“That’s right. So how about we settle on a trade and call it even?” Ecco’s blood pressure began to rise as he was getting a pretty good idea on what the little pink devil was implying.

“T-that is absurd,” Celestia tried to cut in but was again cut off!

“What did you have in mind, sweetheart,” Filthy Rich inquired?

Don’t. You. DARE.

Diamond Tiara had her target dead to rights and pointed directly behind Ecco.

“His harp!”

Ecco spread his knees and adopted a combat stance, holding one arm ready while using the other to shield his precious harp. Vice Principal Luna stood up from her seat and was about to reach behind her back before her sister held her arm in place.

“Why would you want his harp,” Filthy Rich asked, ignoring the Zora’s reaction? “Were you hoping to learn to play an instrument? I would have scheduled some music lessons for you.”

“I don’t want the harp to play it,” Diamond Tiara replied. “I just like how it looks; the silvery sheen along with those lovely gems embedded in it. It would be far more suited to hang from my bedroom wall as a trophy than be in the hands of a beast.”

’Trophy’? Trophy… Trophy!

“Wait just a minute,” Principal Celestia protested! “I had hoped to sort out this little misunderstanding with level heads and swift compromise. Bargaining an apology by forcing him to give up a valuable and irreplaceable possession was not what I had in mind!”

“I concur,” Vice Principal Luna added while lowering her arm. “Mr. Rich, perhaps if we follow through with my sister’s suggestion and review security footage we can work something out without turning this into a-.”She was cut off when Ecco held out his hand and shook his head. Luna felt mildly offended by being silenced mid-sentence, much less by a student, but said nothing.

Ecco put his hands together and forced the most apologetic look could muster. He looked Mr. Rich, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and bowed slightly, a clear sign he was saying sorry without talking. He then reached into his jacket’s front pocket and pulled out something covered in a velvety looking cloth. Reaching out, he gestured for Mr. Rich to take it.

“What is this,” Filthy Rich asked with an impatient voice? He took the object and untied the bow holding the cloth together. When the cloth unraveled, he let out a gasp that was followed in earnest by four others.

In the hands of Filthy Rich was a large, uncut diamond.

Ecco had to wait a minute or two before Mr. Rich shook from his stupor and look the Zora in the eye.

“A-a-re you j-just giving this to us?”

Ecco gave a firm nod.

Celestia and Luna were too stunned to say anything and could only stare at Ecco in bewilderment.

“All is forgiven!”

Everyone turned to see it was Diamond Tiara who made that declaration, and was currently eyeing Ecco with a newfound fascination. She turned to the principals and said, “It’s all right Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, he proved he was sorry and even presented us with a nice gift to show how serious he is about it. There’s no need to get him into trouble for something he didn’t do.” She turned to her father. “Can we go now, Daddy? Isn’t my hair appointment in, like, twenty minutes?”

Filthy Rich quickly glanced at the nearby clock before wrapping the diamond back up in the cloth and placed it in his suit pocket. He then cleared his throat and regarded Ecco for a moment.

“Well… um… Y-you drive a hard bargain, Sir…Orcinus, was it? *Ahem* I suppose I can let this little incident slide. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.” He was silent for a few seconds before he bid the sisters farewell and walked out the door with his daughter and Silver Spoon in tow.

Ecco smiled politely and nodded at Mr. Rich as he left. Utter deafness fell upon the office as no one ushered a sound. Eventually, Vice Principal Luna broke the awkwardness by clearing her throat.

“Well, that could have gone much worse. I don’t suppose you could explain why you were carrying a diamond of all things-.”

*THUD!*

Celestia and Luna jumped as Ecco suddenly and unceremoniously fell face-down on the floor. A muffled, defeated sigh emitting from him.

The exhausted Zora didn’t make any attempt to get up. He thought he had reached his limits with encounters of pointless idiocy but fate had really proved him wrong. So far today he had been confronted and/or harassed by at least five delusional imbeciles, discovered his own distinct fetish and made a fool of himself by scaring away some rich girls, causing one of said rich girls to call in her richer father to get something out of him. And get something out of him they did. Needless to say, poor Ecco was both physically and mentally drained.

The sound of high heels clacking against the floor signaled Ecco that both women were coming to see if he was okay. He honestly couldn’t bring himself to care. All he wanted to do was lie there until some semblance of normality came back to his life. He would have at least acknowledged their presence, had the office door not slammed open with a familiar voice assaulting Ecco’s ears.

“Sweetie?!”

Ecco’s eyes shot open so fast his eyelids practically disconnected from his face. He lifted his head off the floor and was met face to face with the concerned, baby blue eyes of his mother as she dropped to her knees in front of him. He also took note of the fact that Celestia and Luna were in the midst of getting up from the floor. Ecco assumed that they might have been shoved aside as his mom rushed in.

“I heard the announcement but couldn’t come until I had finished tidying up my classroom! Are you alright?! What were you called in for?! Did something happen?! Is it something I can help with?! WHY ARE YOU ON THE FLOOR?!” These questions and more poured out Cirratum’s mouth at an impressive speed while she simultaneously smothered her son in a barrage of look overs and kisses. Ecco found himself feeling both embarrassed and relieved at being so publicly fretted over by his mom and by said mom’s untimely arrival, respectively.

“Mrs. Cirratum,” Principal Celestia almost shouted as she got to her feet. “Everything is all right. We managed to sort out the problem before things could escalate.”

“Indeed,” Vice Principal Luna grumbled as she dusted off her skirt. “Your son managed to bribe his way out of legal trouble with a random diamond he apparently had on his person- er… Zora.”

“‘Bribe?’ What do you mean by that,” Cirratum asked as she and Ecco stood back up? “And with what? A diamond? He couldn’t have had a diamond of any kind unless it was- wait…” She looked at the principals. “Was the diamond in question pure white and uncut, still embedded in rock?” The sisters nodded. “Was it wrapped in a bright blue cloth with a white bow?” The sisters nodded again. Cirratum looked into her son’s eyes with disbelief. “Sweetie, did you give away that diamond you won from the ‘Best Young Swimmer’s’ competition all those years ago?”

Ecco looked sadly at the floor and gave a solemn nod. Cirratum gasped.

“Sweetheart, that diamond was your good luck charm! You told me so yourself when you brought it home that day. You never went anywhere without it. What could have possibly made you want to give it away?”

Ecco felt terrible and was beginning to feel moisture build up in his eyes. He knew why he had done it but he didn’t want his mom to find out this way. If he felt mentally wiped out before, he may as well be brain dead right now. Both mother and son were soon brought back to the present when Principal Celestia cleared her throat loudly.

“That is exactly what we are going to discuss right now. First things first, how about we see if Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s exaggerations held some string of truth to them…”

Soon after, the whole fiasco was made known to Cirratum. She at first felt thoroughly appalled at the concept of her baby boy doing the things he was accused of. It was then that Ecco and Cirratum were introduced to something called “security cameras” and were able to see how well-observed the whole school could be from one small screen. It fascinated them to no end. With this, they were easily able to see that Ecco did throw a nasty look at the two girls, but were unable to know why he did so without sound; the cameras didn’t have audio processors.

“All that leaves,” began Principal Celestia as she turned back to Ecco, who continued to stare at her computer screen, “Is the question of why did you suddenly acted aggressively towards them? You could have walked right past them and not heed a word from them. Did they say something to set you off in some way?”

The two principals and one Zora teacher awaited Ecco’s response. He quickly turned to his flash cards and tried to find one that would provide his answer. Unfortunately, he had underestimated how so far a small stack of flash cards would take him and wasn’t able to find what he was looking for. He fiddled and skimmed his cards with growing anxiety from keeping his mom and the principals waiting until Vice Principal Luna sighed loudly and said, “I’ll be right back.” When she returned a minute later, she held what appeared to be a rectangular, shiny white board along with a small black marker. She handed them to Ecco.

“This should make a much better way of communicating without all those cumbersome flash cards. It is called a dry erase board. Everything you write on it can just as easily come off with a dry piece of cloth or the tiny eraser provided on the cap of the marker. Now then, can you please tell us what Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon said to you for you to frighten them off and cause this silly nonsense to transpire?”

Gulping, Ecco could detect the impatience in the vice principal’s voice, despite how hard she tried to hide it, so he didn’t waste any more time and wrote down his reply.

’They spoke ill of my mama.’

That small written reply was all that was needed. Principal Celestia looked sympathetic while Vice Principal Luna’s stern look softened slightly. Cirratum took her son’s face in her hands and spoke softly to him.

“Baby, you shouldn’t let what other people say about me set you off. You don’t think I don’t know how protective you are of me? I know you want to protect me but you can’t do that by getting yourself in trouble just because one less than satisfactory person happens to say the wrong words. You let people believe what they want; they are just words and they can never hurt you. They should never hurt you.”

“Your mother is right,” Principal Celestia agreed. “Admittedly, this was inevitable. Students, or teenagers in general, will have their own opinions on Zoras and will never hesitate to voice them. Considering the fact that you don’t speak they will undoubtedly take the opportunity to make it especially hard for you.”

Ecco didn’t feel any more reassured from the Principal’s explanation but he suppose that was something he could work with.

“I don’t know how you would have handled this situation back where you came from,” Vice Principal Luna added, “But here any altercation between students is taken very seriously. You are not in trouble but you came very close. In more ways than one, may I add. Do take care to not cause any trouble for us, yourself or anyone else while you attend our school. Understand?”

While Ecco didn’t appreciate the slight scolding tone he was getting he also lacked the will to care right now. He obediently nodded which seemed to satisfy the vice principal.

“Now then,” Cirratum interjected, “Why don’t you make your way to the courtyard, son? I still have some tasks to complete before we can head home so how about you take this chance to unwind a bit? After school clubs won’t start until next week so there shouldn’t be anyone else here who could bother you.”

Ecco wholeheartedly agreed with his mom’s suggestion before kissing her face, waved goodbye to Principal Celestia, and walked out the door.

---

The rays of the mid-evening sun bared down on Ecco as he laid back against the horse statue in front of the school. He normally didn’t like being outside when there weren’t any clouds but he would take it for the time being.

The overall experience of today’s events was both very enlightening and very overwhelming. He had gained first-hand experience with how teenage humans behaved, learned a mere fraction about how far ahead humans were technologically, and had miraculously made a small number of friends and/or acquaintances. One of which matched both his quiet nature and love for music. At the same time though he discovered that most other people didn’t regard Zoras in a positive way. Grizelda, Lightning Dust, Flash Sentry and Trixie were all proof of that. It didn’t help that they either weren’t going to acknowledge his muteness, or just didn’t care.

Ecco sighed at that thought. Recalling the last few hours he quickly figured that almost all of the mishaps he was involved in could very well have been avoided or rectified more effectively if he had just broken his silence.

If only they knew…

Ecco shook his head. He hated thinking about his past. Sometimes he hated to think at all, but when one lacks a voice your thoughts were all you logically have left to work with. It didn’t make things easy either way.

Speaking of things being easy, it suddenly dawned on Orcinus that he had managed to get out of most of those escapades a little too easily. He had originally thought it might have been sheer luck but he wasn’t as much a believer of luck as he used to be. Maybe it was just mere coincidence that Vice Principal Luna just so happened to have been walking by when Grizelda and Lightning Dust were harassing him. Ecco then wondered, what ever happened to those two anyway? Did they get in trouble for bullying a “special needs” student? If so, they will most likely be out for revenge sooner or later.

That realization made Ecco throw his head back in frustration, his tail fin smacking the surface of the statue for good measure. Just what he needed: some vengeful bullies who wouldn’t be able to see the lack of sense in trying to get something out of him and… and…

Has the concrete on this statue always been this warm?

Ecco turned around to regard the statue more intensely. To the naked eye it was little more than an upright rectangular pillar serving as the base for a statue of a horse rearing up on it’s hind legs. However, to those who were gifted in the arts of powers beyond what can be seen in physical form, particularly mystical powers, there was something about this statue that set off warning bells in Ecco’s head. If there was a source of unknown, most likely untamed, magic located in the middle of a populated area it was a matter of time before things went wrong. And if things involving magic went wrong, everything went wrong.

Ecco closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could. Blocking out as much noise as possible he focused on the statue, trying to pinpoint where this magic was coming from. He felt it directly in front of him, the surface area he was leaning on. He opened his eyes and placed a hand on the statue, the warmth it emitted very comforting. Now that he thought more about it, Ecco swore that this particular section of the statue was much more smooth and refined than concrete; almost like glass. He tapped the surface and sure enough was rewarded with a faint ringing noise that could only come from a glassy surface.

Ecco was beside himself with befuddlement. So much has happened to him in the span of a single day and even then it didn’t seem to be nearly enough for him to handle just a little more crazy stuff. Placing his hands over his eyes, Ecco sighed in resignation to the fact that his life just got that much more complicated.

One thing at a time… please…

If Ecco didn’t find something to distract himself from the ever mounting number of issues he was facing he would surely go nuts. There was only one way that could calm him down right now and while he was hoping to wait until he got home, he would make an exception for today. For good measure he hopped up onto the statue’s base and sat down with one leg dangling over the edge. He reached back and brought forth his beloved harp to rest on his thigh. Holding it in his hands was, to Ecco, the same thing as greeting an old friend, one who has been with him for the longest time and will continue to do so for much longer.

Before he could start, Ecco needed to set the scene in order to play more efficiently. It helped to imagine himself in a place that was fitting specifically for the song he would play. Right now he needed to think of a place where he could let go; be himself and not worry about the world and its woes. The one place where anyone should feel safe and secure after something akin to a long, difficult journey: home. Ecco closed his eyes and played.

It was a picturesque setting that would make most people weep with nostalgia for the simpler times when they were younger. No complications, no complex systems, no worries about the unknown. Just waiting for the next day with too much time on their hands. Happy faces, laughing youngsters, good food, breathtaking scenery, sunny weather, elders reminiscing of days long past, the homey atmosphere that only came with returning to where you once were. The perpetual smell of water, salt or fresh, hanging in the air. A relentless but calm flow of water over smoothed-over stone piercing the otherwise ambient sounds of everyday life. A serendipitous ambiance of love, happiness and peace. Pure paradise.

It ended too soon, as did with most good things, but Ecco felt satisfied with himself. He hadn’t lost his touch even after a stressful day of school. He opened his eyes and just gazed out at nothing in particular. He just wanted to bask in silent pride at his musical prowess. Another job well done. Ecco was so lost in his own little world that he almost didn’t acknowledge the sudden sound of applause coming from below him.

“Bravo! Bravo!”

“Encore! Encore, I say!”

“Bloodeh brilliant!”

“Masterfully done, good sir!”

“That was radical, man!”

“Dude, that was whimsical!”

“Wowie wow WOW!!!”

“My goodness…”

“Well I’ll be.”

“Huh. Not bad.”

Ecco was so startled he almost fell off the statue. Thankfully he regained his balance, and caught his harp with his tail fin before it could fall. He must have been more lost in his own mind than he thought because he could see he had gained a small audience without noticing. Said crowd was comprised entirely of females, including Cherry Crash, Octavia, Fluttershy and her friends, that silent girl he’d met, that girl with the weird red hat (Orcinus gulped nervously upon seeing her), Lyra (a bead of sweat ran down his head), Bon-Bon, and four others whom he either saw during lunch or hasn’t seen before.

“Oh, um… W-we didn’t mean to scare you. You were just so good with your harp we couldn’t help but watch you. P-please don’t be mad at us.”

Ecco waved his hand and shook his head; no harm done. He then dropped down from the statue, strapped his harp on his back, and regarded his impromptu audience. He took out the dry erase board and wrote, ‘How long have you been standing there?’

“Just as you started playing,” replied Rarity. “Your eyes were closed so that’s probably why you didn’t see us.”

Ecco had already figured that last part out but decided not to point that out. He then wrote, ’Why are you all still here? I thought everyone went home?’

“Well,” began Pinkie Pie, “When I heard the announcement of you being called to the office I knew something bad had to have happened to you so I decided to cheer you up by gathering all who were on good terms with you right off the bat while also bringing those who wished to meet you! We were going wait outside the principal’s office to surprise you but you had already left! So I thought if we were quick enough we would catch you before you went home but you managed to surprise US with your music! We hid at first but we wanted to make you and your music feel appreciated so we gathered around the statue and watched you! You looked so peaceful and happy when you played! It almost makes me sad that we had to break you away from that. You were like contempt to the nth degree! Like-like-!”

“PINKIE!”

“Yes, Applejack?”

“Ah think he gets the point.”

“Oh, okay!”

Ecco rubbed his ears a they rang slightly from Pinkie Pie’s barrage of dialogue. Is this how she normally spoke, with this much enthusiasm and speed? Did she even take a breath between sentences? He then noticed one of the new girls step forward. It was one he saw from the cafeteria; the one with light purple hair tied into large pigtails. Now closer up, Ecco could see she also sported a brown vest covering a white shirt and a pair of purple slippers. Finally, a purple star pendant hung from her neck with a gold string. She regarded him with half-lidded eyes and a far away tone of voice.

“Far out, yo. The way you strum your strings reminds me of how a mother caresses her baby. It’s obvious that harp means the world to you ‘cause it’s your baby. Your pride and joy. You’ve got this spiritual aura about you as pure as a freshly blooming sunflower. Love and peace energy flows off of you like pollen. It’s feels so whimsical to be even near you. You’ve got to try some yoga with me sometime. I feel like it would do wonders for ya.”

…

“Don’t mind her, Mister Zora, she means well but she’s not all there all the time.”

Ecco thanked Nayru for the distraction and turned to find the girl with the large green hair to be the one who said that. She wore a bright amber shirt that exposed her left shoulder, a slightly tattered light brown skirt held up by a white belt with a yellow green buckle, light green knee length boots covered in moderate green frills, a small necklace with what looked to be a green-white gem, and finally a large sand colored hat sat atop her head.

“My name is Sweet Leaf and this is Jasmine. I’ve been waiting to meet you all day. I hope I’m not asking too much, but… um… c-could I f-feel your fins?”

Ecco was a little surprised that someone would ask such a question right out of the blue. But then again, he had allowed Fluttershy to do so during the Fair so he didn’t see any harm. He shrugged his shoulders and moved his tail fin in front of Sweet Leaf, who eagerly yet gently held it in her hands.

“So smooth. Though, the purple spots feel strangely harder than the rest of your scales. Wonder why that is?”

There was most definitely a reason for why the purple spots on his fins were more solid but Ecco was yet to feel comfortable enough to provide any explanation. He didn’t realize until too late that someone had moved to grab one of his hip fins protruding from under his jacket, causing him to tense up and stand rigid. The perpetrator turned out to be the overeager Lyra, who proceeded to rub and pinch the fin excessively, much to Ecco’s discomfort.

“Hark! Maiden Lyra Heartstrings, dost thou not see thine pestering is rendering the poor boy vulnerable? Pray, cease thine meaningless prodding at once!”

“Aye. Canny ye see ye’re mortifyin’ th’ lad? Lay aff o’ ‘im afore ye make ‘im mad.”

Lyra didn’t appear to be listening and proceeded to start rubbing her face to the fin. Ecco decided that that was the last straw and aggressively jerked his fin out of Lyra’s grasp, unintentionally yanking his tail fin from Sweet Leaf in the process, barring his teeth at the former when she looked his way. Lyra finally took the hint and scrambled to her feet. She grinned sheepishly and held her hands behind her back.

“Hehe. Err… sorry. Must’ve gotten carried away.”

Ecco raised an eye ridge and held his hands out in exasperation as a means of saying-

“You don’t say,” interjected Bon-Bon!

Yeah, that.

Ecco relaxed his posture and turned to see the last two girls who spoke before he lost his patience. The first was the red hat girl. Other than said hat she wore a black shirt with a similarly colored pair of gloves, a short red skirt with a thick white stripe encompassing the hem and a pair of black and white striped boots. Ecco also noted the treble clef symbol embroidered on the side of the skirt and discovered the same detail on Octavia. Did that make them related somehow or was it just some strange coincidence? Come to think of it, why did it seem that the students and staff at this school, or practically every human he had encountered so far, seem to possess a symbol, emblem or small picture of random things on their clothing? Random things that, for some reason, made Ecco think were special and/or unique to them? He would have ruminated more about this subject if the second girl hadn’t drawn his attention to her.

This girl was the one Ecco saw in the cafeteria with the enormous, curly orange hair. Her skin was a fair shade of peach, with bright blue eyes and pink lipstick. She too wore a black shirt (though with slightly longer sleeves), a cobalt blue skirt that reached halfway down her shins, concealing the true height of her boots that, while also colored black and white, were unmistakably different in design than those on the first girl. A white scarf was tied around the girl’s neck with one end dangling over her front. The emblem on her skirt depicted two faces which were colored white on one half and black on the other. The first face looked as happy as can be while the second looked downright miserable.

“Am hopin’ th’ lass dinny scare ya too bad,” the girl stated. Ecco responded by writing, ‘I’ve had worse’ on his dry erase board. “Anyway, ma name’s Golden Hazel. Ye already met ma friend Watermelody. Pleased tae meet ya.”

Ecco could very barely follow what Golden Hazel was saying due to her heavy accent, but she seemed welcoming enough so he nodded his head and shook hands with her.

“Look at that,” Pinkie Pie shouted joyfully! “You’re making so many new friends already! Betcha thought it wouldn’t be possible on your first day, didja? Well, be glad you were wrong! I feel like the next four years is going to be the best time of your life!”

Ecco froze stiff and his scales paled, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by the others.

“What? Didn’t you know that high school takes four years,” Rainbow Dash asked?

“Honestly, darling, I’d think that would have been made obvious to you when you enrolled,” added Rarity.

“Maybe they don’t have high school where he comes from,” Applejack theorized?

To that, Ecco could only shake his head slowly.

“W-wait, really,” Fluttershy asked in astonishment? “Wow. That’s interesting.”

“Yo,” said Jasmine. “That’s mind blowing.”

“No high school? I so envy you right now,” exclaimed Cherry Crash! “So would everyone else! How does that even work?”

Ecco was feeling dizzy. The weight of the knowledge of the length of the time he will spend at this one building overwhelmed him. His vision started to blur and he stumbled backwards toward the statue. He fell to his hindquarters and he held his head, his breath raising a pitch with every second.

“Whoa there big feller!”

“Ecco?!”

“Heavens above!”

“Are you okay?!”

“Of course he’s not okay, he’s having a panic attack!”

“What should we do?!”

“What can we do?! We don’t know how he functions!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

“What?! We really don’t!”

Ecco’s breathing gradually subsided after a few minutes but he couldn’t help feeling like such a fool. He hadn’t been paying enough attention to exactly how long he and his mom would be away from Zora’s Domain. He knew it’d be more than a year, but four? In hindsight, he probably should have seen something like this coming. Humans and their school districts were already alien to him so it might have been possible that the length of school periods worked in a similar manner. He had already seen and experienced enough human culture to estimate how much he could handle, all in the course of a single day no less, only to find that he’d be doing the exact same thing for the next four years…

Sweet merciful Nayru spare me…

The sensation of a hand patting his shoulder brought Ecco back to the present. His vision began to clear up and he looked to his right to find the final girl, whom he had failed to acknowledge the entire time, was the one who patted him. She was down on her knees and giving him a gentle smile, most likely trying to cheer him up. She was a gray skinned girl with messy, pale yellow hair, misaligned yellow eyes, a pale blue and normal blue shirt with a bright yellow tie, a green skirt, tall socks, and a pair of green sandals. While her eyes were a little off-putting he couldn’t deny they were effective; somehow he was already beginning to feel better just by looking her in the eyes.

Seemingly sensing whatever magic she was using seemed to be working, the girl’s smile grew a bit and she reached into her backpack. From it she revealed what appeared to be a pastry wrapped in plastic. She undid the plastic wrapping and held out the pastry for Ecco. The pastry was simplistic yet unique compared to others he had seen so far. A cylindrical bottom wrapped in decorative paper while the top was more puffed out, sporting little dark spots all around it’s brown surface. The aroma emitting from the pastry promised something sweet and tasty and caused Ecco’s stomach to growl impatiently. Normally Ecco would question why this girl would offer him food out of nowhere but at the same time he wasn’t one to turn down free food. Besides, it looked pretty appetizing for something so small.

Ecco gently took the pastry and observed it one more time before taking a small test bite. The moment his tastebuds registered the explosion of flavor he did what someone might not have expected, but no less welcomed. He shoved the whole thing into his mouth, wrapping paper and all, and lost himself in the euphoria of chocolate chips and buttery bread. It ended too soon but Ecco was satisfied, giving a content sigh after swallowing. He looked the girl in the eyes, placed his hand on her shoulder and nodded his head.

The girl blushed and said, “It’s nothing really, I just don’t like seeing people upset.” Her tone of voice was soft and soulful, almost like Jasmine’s but not by much. “My name is Ditzy Doo by the way, but you can call me Derpy. Everyone else does.”

Ecco was honestly surprised that someone would be comfortable with a nickname such as “Derpy” but he didn’t feel in the mood to judge. This girl had cheered him up and it would be nothing short of blasphemy to call her out on her choice of names. He was about to reach for his dry erase board to say something to her but he suddenly felt his left hand being held by another. Ecco looked to his left and found Fluttershy had taken a similar position as Derpy and was now looking him in the eye with a look of great concern and worry.

“I-I know it’s scary,” she began in a low whisper. “The pressure is unbearable and you feel like the slightest mishap could be your last, especially since all of this is new and unfamiliar to w-what you’re used to.” She gulped and took a deep breath before continuing. “But if-if it m-makes you feel any b-better, a-at least y-you won’t be alone, sh-should the w-worst come to pass.”

Ecco could practically feel the same fear and anxiety he had radiate off of Fluttershy and couldn’t help but nod in both agreement and sympathy. Her words made him realize that for all his fears and woes, there was probably someone who had it worse than him. While it made sense that he was only one of many new students with concerns of the future and burdens of high expectations, one had to consider that he, being a Zora, brought on a whole new level of difficulty that made him think should at least be notified by someone who could do something about it. Selfish as it may sound, Ecco would be lying if he didn’t think he and his mom deserve some form of guarantee of a quick and painless process for what they were in for.

Looking past Fluttershy and Derpy, Ecco swiftly concluded that he might have already found his guarantee of a quick and painless process; in the form of the group of girls still surrounding him. He may have just finished his first day of school but by some miracle these girls unknowingly made sure of it having a favorable conclusion. As had come to terms with many times before now, today was only the beginning, but now he at least knew he wouldn’t be alone during his time at this school. Neither would his mom.

Ecco smiled at that thought and got back to his feet, helping both Derpy and Fluttershy back up as an additional sign of gratitude. A thought suddenly struck him out of nowhere and he was about to address the silent girl-

”SURPRISE HUG!!!”

He had known she was there the whole time. He shouldn’t have been so jumpy when he was just beginning to feel better. He knew he should have expected something like this considering her behavior in the past. But somehow, Ecco failed to keep his calm as Lyra, once again, caught him off guard. With an almighty leap, the frightened-out-of-his-skin Zora propelled himself to the top of the statue, clinging to the horse’s head for dear life. Lyra, in the meantime, was momentarily flung upwards from her still holding onto Orcinus’ torso but soon gravity took hold of her when she lost her grip, and consequently landing roughly on her back.

“Oof!”

The rest of the girls all but groaned and face palmed at the scenario, but Bon-Bon went a step further and dug into her friend. Which, had he been paying attention, would have made Ecco realize was just an alternate way of combining “shouting and lecturing.”

Ecco had to take a few minutes to compose himself. He felt both annoyed and embarrassed. For all the pride that came with being a Zora it was an inevitable fact that, at the end of the day, Ecco was still a teenager. And he had just made himself look ridiculous in front of a bunch of teenage girls. A fact that only solidified itself when he heard more than half of them struggled to stop giggling. How indignant. He eventually maneuvered himself to slide down the horse’s back and land in front of the group, crossing his arms unhappily at Lyra.

Bon-Bon stepped forward. “I’m sorry if Lyra upset you. I hope you can forgive her in time.” Ecco didn’t react and continued to glare at Lyra. “Although,” she added. “If it makes you feel any better I’m just as excited about having to spend high school with a real Zora.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie Pie agreed! “And even when times get tough you can always rely upon your friends to be there for you! And like I said before: You’ve made so many friends already in just one day! This calls for a celebration! How about I throw you that party I promised?!”

Ecco was gobsmacked. A party? Just for something as minuscule as a gathering of companions?

“What?” Pinkie looked puzzled an Ecco’s surprised expression. “Has no one thrown you a party before?” Ecco wrote out, ‘None besides my parents for my birthday.’ He refrained himself from adding, ‘but that was a long time ago…’ Pinkie Pie gasped. “This simply will not do! I’ll see to it that this party shall be one to remember! There’ll be balloons, streamers, music, and lots and lots of cake!”

Ecco was starting to feel overwhelmed again by Pinkie Pie’s seemingly limitless energy. She spoke like making others happy was the only thing that mattered to her. It flattered him a little to hear this one girl talk about throwing a party just for him. He was hesitant, of course. Not just because he was still uncomfortable with crowds, but also considering all that has happened to him so far and he’d hate to see that she received negative reception from the students who disliked him. He would have naturally began to overthink stuff and decline the offer out of fear of both their safety, had he not visibly perked up at the mention of cake, and inadvertently fueled Pinkie Pie’s enthusiasm.

“That’s correct-a-mundo! Word has reached my little Pinkie ear that you like to eat! And based on what I saw during lunch you most certainly do! You must really like that food you brought with you, huh?”

Almost like it had a mind of its own, Ecco’s mouth stretched out in large smile and he eagerly wrote on his board, ‘My mother’s cooking is to die for!’

“Aww, that’s so sweet! Your mom packed your lunch for you! That just goes to show how much she loves you!” Many of the other girls agreed.

Damn straight!

“So, whadaya say?! Will you come to the party?! If you’d like, it doesn’t have to just cake. I can set out a whole buffet for you and you can try to see what kind of foods you can eat! Please, please, pleeeeeaase say you’ll come! Pretty please with an even prettier cherry on top of the already pretty pudding?” Pinkie Pie then proceeded to open her eyes as wide as possible (probably wider than should be possible), put out her bottom lip and stare into Ecco’s very soul.

Well… Ecco certainly wasn’t going to say no to that face. He gave a quiet chuckle and nodded.

“YIPPEE!!! Alrighty then, I need to start making arrangements. Where to set it up, make the invitations, gather ingredients, and so much more! I’ll let you know when it’s ready but in the meantime you be a good boy and try not to get in trouble, okay? Well, BYE!”

*ZOOM!*

With that, Pinkie Pie seemed to fling herself into the air and rocket away in a stream of pink, completely defying the laws of gravity.

I knew already she was an oddball, but sweet loving Nayru…

Author's Note:

I won’t lie: this chapter serves as an unintentional self-inserted rant about Equestria Girls’ character designs. Seriously, what the actual heck, Hasbro? Aren’t these movies and shorts supposed to be aimed at children and not preteens?

Anyway, I feel bad for making you wait this long between chapters. I’m not going to make excuses like how hard life has been, time-consuming work, lack of inspiration and/or motivation, etc. To make it up to you, I have devoted as much time as possible into this chapter to give you as much to read as you can. I hope I didn’t overdo it but I’ll take my chances.

Hope you’re enjoying the story so far and as always, any pointed out misspellings, misplaced commas and grammatical errors are greatly appreciated. Have a good day.