Canterlot High: Ventures in Adolescence

by Horatiojones

Getting Settled

Spike walked into the office, his bird cage and bag in one claw, the three girls trotting single file in his footsteps, quite willing to let the dragon be the first to enter the school. Brutus had already arrived, and was now sitting atop his trunk, waiting for something to happen. Caduceus was standing next to a wall, seeming to try to blend in with it, and, if not for his red mane and tale, would have been doing just that.

Upon seeing the large dragon body walk through the doors, light glinting of scale and talons, two things happened, Caduceus hid behind his bag, and Brutus leapt at the dragon, aiming to stop the quite brazen attack that, in his mind, was occurring. He believed that he could handle, or at least delay a dragon, having learnt some fighting technique from his sister.

Caduceus, on seeing the griffin leap at the dragon, fainted, his eyes rolling back into his head. The sheer fear and excitement building up inside of him caused his brain to shut down. He dropped down behind his bag, his small body completely disappearing.

Sadly for Brutus, he was mistaken in his belief that he could handle a dragon. Instead, the young griffin found himself hanging by his tail in the dragons left claw, decidedly dazed from a punch to the head, being eyed by the purple and green dragon. It occurred to him that he had actually at one point known a purple and green dragon, but he was much smaller than this one.

“Spike, is that you?” Brutus asked, grinning in amusement, and relief, when a look of confusion and agreement appeared on the dragons face.

“How the Tartarus do you know my name? The only griffin I really know was….Brutus, is that you?” the dragon asked cautiously, his face betraying his delight in the hope of a positive answer, though he noticeably left the griffin hanging, dangling in the air, its eagle head an inch or two above the linoleum floors of the school office.

“Yeah, it’s me, wow, you got big. Hey, um, do you reckon you could put me down, your kind of destroying any cred I hoped to create.” Brutus replied smiling hopefully, before eyeing the ground. He soon found himself kissing it when Spike dropped him on his beak. The griffin stood up, rubbing his face, moaning in pain.

“Watch out for the beak, it’s kind of sensitive” he complained. Spike apologised, before turning and introducing his friends, who had just walked in. The three young mares all looked at the griffin, showing interest in the second griffin they had ever seen.

“So, how did yah all meet, Spike?” Asked Applebloom, who was eyeing the griffin, surprised when he did just the same, although he was also smiling in a very disarming manner.

“Brutus here is the son of the Griffland ambassador, we used to play together when he was just a chick, and I was a baby, it was a lot of fun. We haven’t seen each other in a while though. How have you been, by the way, and when did you start learning how to fight, you might have gotten the jump on me, if I hadn’t been learning for a while myself” Spike replied, talking to his friends, while placing the cage, still clutched in his other claw, upon the ground, causing Ember to croon appreciatively.

“You’re the son of an ambassador, oh my, that must be very interesting” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. Brutus paused, looking at her, as if trying to see if she was serious. When he realised she was, he began laughing loudly, guffawing, eventually ending up lying on the floor, rolling around in laughter clutching his wings to his side. Scootaloo meanwhile, having lost interest in talking to the griffin once she had found out that he was some stuffy politician’s son, had seen Caduceus from her vantage point a few feet of the ground. She flew over to him and began poking him.

“Hey dudes, I think you broke this guy” she called out to the two other males in the room. Spike walked over, and was about to pick him up, when Brutus poked him from behind, the dragon stopped, and turned to his old friend, who began whispering in his ear.

Having discussed what they were going to do, the two boys positioned themselves just above Caduceus; Spike had his maw wide open, showing rows of serrated teeth, while Brutus spilt apart his beak, the sharp point gleaming in the artificial light filling the room. Eventually, after a few moments of this, the young stallion awoke, his head rising, positioning himself even closer under the two predatory faces, his eyes still closed. When they did open, they immediately shut again, and he slowly started back peddling, whilst trembling in fear. Brutus and Spike where surprised by just how terrified he seemed, they had expected him to cry out in surprise, and then get over it, instead of him being reduced to near tears.

Brutus was the first to speak up “hey buddy, don’t worry, we aren’t going to eat you or anything, I just thought it would be funny” Spike nodded his head, agreeing with his friend. They both walked towards Cad, who stepped backwards to every step of theirs forwards, before finally hitting a wall, and stopping. Spike reached out a claw, Brutus did the same.

“Friends?” they asked quietly, understanding only then how very much the small stallion feared them. Caduceus slowly reached out his hoof, which was first grasped by Spike, then Brutus in turn.

“Sure, I guess” he responded, wiping some of his red mane out his face while he did it. After a short pause, the three girls walked over, and asked him why he was so afraid of Spike and Brutus. Caduceus shuddered, and mumbled something about not being fond of predators.

“Oh, right. I’m Spike; this is Brutus, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.” Spike said, pointing at each creature in turn, as he introduced them.

“I’m Caduceus, my family call me Cad” He responded, before shaking hooves with the three girls, his entire body being visibly shook when he and Applebloom shook hooves. Brutus seemed shocked, his beak spread in an O formation.

“Your names Caduceus and your family call you Cad? Well, we can’t have that, your new name is Deus, that cool?” he said, scratching his beak, trying to seem wise. Spike seemed to agree with this name, and nodded encouragingly.

“Yeah actually, I do like the sound of that” ‘Deus’ responded, his eyes lighting with joy at the fact he now had a friend who wanted to give him a cool nickname. The six new friends smiled together, looking at each other, wondering how they had so suddenly become companions.

“So, I wonder where everybody else is” Scootaloo pondered aloud, as each creature in the office looked around themselves, noticing only then that they were the only ones in the room. Shrugging, Spike went and rang a bell on the desk, and then went back to Ember’s cage, and pulled him out. The phoenix alighted himself on the dragon’s shoulder, then nuzzled his owner’s snout.

An elderly earth pony mare walked in, her head held high. She gasped in shock for a moment, at seeing the griffin and dragon in the room, but she almost immediately corrected herself. She looked at the six of them, each in turn, before harrumphing and sitting herself behind the reception desk.

“You do know that you were only meant to arrive later today, yes? You are much too early, everypony, err, body else will be arriving this afternoon. But, I suppose, you are here now, I may as well take your names. You are obviously Spike, and you must be Brutus, but who are the rest of you four, hmm?” she said, pulling out a quill and parchment. The four ponies introduced themselves, as the mare ticked their names of on her parchment.

“Well, now that you are here, you may as well get settled… Yes Master Spike, what is it?” she questioned, after Spike had raised his arm.

“Sorry but, how did you know who I am, and who Brutus is?” Spike queried.

“Well, you see young po… dragon, you are the first dragon student, or anything really, we have ever had, and well, though we have had griffins in the past, it is by no means a regular occurrence, in fact, I believe the last griffin we had here at Canterlot high was your sister Gilda, Brutus” she explained. The four Ponyvillians all gasped in shock when the mare said Gilda, but quieted down once Brutus gave them a confused and questioning look.

“I’ll explain later” whispered Spike to Brutus.

“Now, as I was saying, I will show you to your rooms, you may as well get settled in before starting orientation, considering you’re here so early” she continued, then began trotting towards a large door, motioning for them to follow.

The six picked up the belongings and began walking behind the mare, stepping into two lines of three, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Deus, leading up the rear, and Scootaloo, Brutus, and Spike in front of them. Scootaloo stood by Brutus, and asked him where he had learned to fight, explaining that she and Spike had been taught by her mother, Rainbow Dash, the former Wonderbolt, and also a third black belt in hoof style fighting.

“My sister taught me, she’s a former Peace Keeper, so she knows some moves. I really wish you and she could have met, Spike, her and your sister where around the same age, they might have got along, and we could’ve hung out together more” he explained, then reacted, stopping suddenly, as if Scootaloo’s words had just sunk in.

“Your mother is Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolt who left because she found it, ‘boring’. I mean, firstly, oh my Griffid, you have to introduce us, and secondly, isn’t she a bit young to be a mother?” he continued excitedly.

“Well, may as well get this out of the way, she adopted me, my real parents are dead” she responded, in a straight and decisive manner, like a prepared speech. Brutus quieted up at that point, and the rest of their walk was spent in silence.

Sweetie Belle was chatting with Deus, talking about magic, while Applebloom walked alongside them, groaning in an annoyed and bored manner. Sweetie Belle told her new friend how she was only really able to do music spells right now, such as the one pony band, or the amplification spell, her levitation wasn’t great, but she thought, and had been told, she would get better with age. Deus, became much more animated than he had been before, talking about magic seemed to bring out the best in him.

He explained how he had actually gotten his cutie mark from helping a younger filly with a healing spell he had seen his father use, and ever since then he had been voraciously devouring every medical magic book he could find, and his levitation was actually pretty good for someone their age. Although, he only said this after Sweetie Belle had asked if he could help her with her bag, and he had immediately lifted it alongside his own.

Soon the six found themselves at a huge grey stone building which had, in large calligraphy letters, “Stallions” written on it. The building, though it could easily be considered a manor, especially considering it had been one before, was at least seven stories high, with a quite obvious balcony jutting out from the roof. Every three metres horizontally and four metres vertically, a large window showed into the separate rooms. All of the building was covered by creeThe mare that was leading them, paused, and directed a hoof at the building.

“Firstly, this is the male boarding house, females are not allowed inside the building, and, if this was to occur, severe punishments would be meted out, the opposite goes for the female boarding house. Any other questions you may have about this and other arrangements will be most likely explained during orientation. Secondly, it is three pon… I’m ever so sorry about my constant slipping, I really will have to get used to this” She said, smiling apologetically at the two non-ponies in the group. They just shrugged and said they were used to it.

“Now, it is three creatures to a room, although in your two cases it is somewhat different in that, you will have a quite a bit larger room, I believe that a kitchen has been built in, and that you have been told you will be cooking for yourselves, yes?” She questioned. The two non-vegetarians looked at each other, smiled, and nodded back at her.

“Excellent, we are sorry about this, but we here at Canterlot High have learned from experience that someponies don’t react well to seeing meat being eaten” she explained, again looking at them apologetically. She was met by the same, “were used to it” line they had used before.

“Anyway, I believe it is on the top floor, which is also were most of the Pegasus room, though this is merely a choice because of the landing balcony installed upon the roof, makes it easier for them to reach their rooms. Now, Master Caduceus, I believe you may want to choose a room on the lower floors, of the seven, as I know how tiring stairs can be to unicorns. Alright, well, in you go. Spike and Brutus, your rooms are quite obvious, and they have the sign ‘Special’ written on them. Now, I will show you three mares to your quarters, it is slightly further away, owing to the fact that mares were only allowed at the school many years after it started” she continued to explain, finishing the last part in a slightly bitter tone.

While she headed off with the Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, the three males walked inside the huge building, Spike pushing a large door open with the cage still held firmly in his hand. They walked into a huge living area, with the walls lined with portraits, leather couches abounding, with an impressive fireplace in the exact centre of the room, more a brazier than anything, though a chimney descended from the roof.

Deus stared at the splendour, while Spike and Brutus merely walked past him, quite used to this kind of opulence, and started to ascend a set of stairs that where in a room that was connected to the living area. After a short while, Deus ran after them, his bag floating in front of them, he walked to the first room he saw, closest to the living area, and dumped his belongings, before walking up the stairs. Not really concerned with how his living area looked, other than making sure it had a wardrobe for clothes, a bed, and a desk, he was more curious to see the room that the school had set up for his two friends.

He soon caught up to them, his lack of bag allowing him to ascend the stairs quicker than the other two, especially Brutus, who had eventually gotten down and begged Spike to help him with his trunk. Brutus was now walking up the stairs in front of Spike, his chest balanced on his back by Spike, who was walking behind him, one claw carrying the cage and his bag, the other balancing Brutus’s chest, while Dues followed up behind him, looking at Ember, his face plastered with an excitedly happy grin.

Eventually, they reached the seventh floor, where Brutus collapsed, his chest heaving, and dropped his trunk. He rested for a few moments, while the other two waited for him to catch his breath, looking at him awkwardly.

“What? It’s really heavy, let’s see you carry it up all those flights of stairs. It’s made of oak and everything” he groaned out, before grasping a handle with his tail, and walking down one side of a large corridor, looking for a room marked special, dragging the trunk behind him. Spike and Deus followed him, walking to one end of the corridor, and then turning around and walking to the other, eventually finding it right next to another set of stairs which claimed to lead to the roof.

“’Special’, really? We can’t have that can we Spike, no. Friend, heat up a claw, where going to properly name this room” Brutus said. Spike looked confused, but eventually, he brought up a pointer claw, and heated it up with flame, causing Deus to jump back in fright, having evidently forgotten dragons could do that. Spike’s claw became glowing hot and Brutus then stood on hind legs and whispered into his ear. Spike nodded, and approached the board that said “special” on it, removing it from the door; he gouged out a word into the opposite side of the wood sign, and then replaced it upon the door. He leaned back, and the three friends admired his handy work. Deus laughed, shaking his head, wondering about the two boys he had just agreed to be friends with.

For written on the board, now hung upon the dragon and griffin’s door was the word “Predators” written in calligraphy matching that used to write stallions on the door to the house.

The three adolescent mares followed their guide throughout the school and, fearing the worst, were happy to find their own boarding rooms were only a few minutes further away from the school. Applebloom and Scootaloo were tiring, having had to help Sweetie Belle with her bag, all the way to the office from outside the school, along with carrying their own. Eventually, though, they arrived at a Manor that was a mirror image of the stallion’s, if slightly less old looking, and also had the word “Mares” in calligraphy written on it.

“Here we are girls; I hope you enjoy your time at Canterlot High” the elderly mare said, then, to a chorus of thankyou’s and goodbyes, she left, trotting back in the direction from where they came. The three girls, hefting their bags, walked in, and stared, amazed at the splendour they found. Though, unknown to them, it was set up in a much similar styles to the stallion’s manor except for the portraits on the wall depicting mares, it had a much more cleaner feel, and smelt slightly better. Eventually, after gawping at the room for a few moments, the three decided to wander around and find a room. They had agreed, before even coming to the school, to stay as roommates. But, after being told of the arrangements, with Pegasus on top, and earth ponies and unicorns spread between the middle and bottom, they conferred and decided that they would go for one, directly in the middle, a perfect compromise for all three of them.

They walked up the stairs, and stopped on the third floor, and chose the room, which was the same distance from the bathroom and the stairs. This was no case of luck though, rather, through the use of pacing, it was measured out perfectly. Applebloom opened the door, and gasped, followed by similar gasps from Sweetie Belle and Applebloom.

“It’s, it’s hideous” Sweetie Belle stuttered out, before falling into a randomly appearing reclining lounge. They trotted in, the lounge disappearing, and stared at the drab green curtains, the exact same colour as the three bedspreads, each a simple metal frame, with a thin mattress, and similarly thin pillows upon it. Their wardrobes, built from age old wood, nicked and covered in blue tack, where simple squares, that hit the roof, while the desks, matched each wardrobe to an exact T, each wardrobe identifiable with the desk used by the same occupant.

“Wahl, I guess it could use some TLC” Applebloom said, as she dumped her bag on the middle bed, dropping it from her teeth. Scootaloo, meanwhile, had just gaped at her new bed, dumbfounded. Then, unexpectedly, she began to cry. Great torrents of water, an emotional outpouring, something neither girl had seen from Scootaloo except for on two occasions, when she was adopted, and when she got her cutie mark, yet those were tears of joy, these were clearly tears of sadness.

“What’s wrong, Scoots?” Sweetie Belle asked. Trotting over to her friend, her bag forgotten, she wrapped her hooves around her neck. Applebloom rushed over and glomped her friends, hugging them tightly.

“It’s exactly like the orphanage, even the bedspreads are the same” Scootaloo cried, nuzzling her friends.

“Don’t worry Scootaloo, nothing will happen to you” Applebloom reassured her. Much to Applebloom’s surprise, Scootaloo started giggling, then Sweetie Belle, and finally she too began to giggle, just deciding to join in.

“Why are we laughing” she giggled out. Scootaloo, quickly, unlocked herself from her friend grasp, flaring her wings, and smiling brightly.

“I think you spent far too much time with Zecora, Applebloom” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes on her hoof. Sweetie Belle nodded alongside her friend, before going and getting her bag.

“What do yah mean I was spending tah…? Are yah serious? Scootaloo and you, that’s a rookie rhyme, seriously, she rhymed orange onetime” Applebloom said, and then began laughing again, her friends soon joining her.

“Thanks girls, I needed that” Scootaloo said once they had finished chuckling. She pulled her bag to the wardrobe, and opened it.

“SHREEK” she screamed, and then leapt back, her body covered in a quite obviously fake pony skeleton. She calmed down soon after, throwing the skeleton to the floor, she saw there was a note attached to it. She picked it up, then placed it on the floor, and began to read what it said out loud.

“Welcome to Canterlot High, hope you have fun” she read aloud to her friends. She smiled, now knowing it was just a good natured joke. She picked up the skeleton, and turned around, beginning to do a slow dance with it. This gathered even more laughter from her friends.

“So, where do you think I should hang the stud” Scootaloo asked, laughing even louder when Sweetie Belle paled at her suggestion.

“You are not, I repeat, not hanging that in this room Scootaloo” Sweetie basically screamed. Scootaloo, in response, merely flew up, and began placing it at various points on the wall above her bed. Sweetie Belle yelled out, and began running towards her friend, who blew out her tongue, and flew out of Sweetie’s reach.

“Seriously though, the school handbook said we could paint it how evah we want. I think ah’ll handle that part, yah got any idea where we could get some better sheets and stuff, Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo said, growing tired of her friend’s antics. Sweetie paused in her ministrations against Scootaloo, brought a hoof to her chin, and tapped it against it, thinking, eventually she gasped, and ran to her bag.

“Rarity said that if it was anything like what it was when she came here, I would be wanting these” she explained to her bewildered friends, as she pulled out a box from her bag. She broke it open, and began pulling out three sets of single bed satin sheets, and accompanying pillow sheets.

“See Scoots, this is nothing like an orphanage, and yah know why? Cause yah’ve got us” Applebloom explained, as she walked over and grabbed a set of sheets, pulling them open with her teeth, she smiled, when she saw Rarity had decided to personalise them. The sheets she had pulled out where a purple and orange mix, that actually blended quite nicely, in her humble opinion as an artist. She saw at the base of the doona, a monogrammed cutie mark, Scootaloo’s had been placed there.

“I think these are yours” she said to Scootaloo, who was holding what were quite obviously Sweetie Belle’s sheets. They each found their own respective sheets, and made their beds, Scootaloo was closest to the window, Applebloom was in the middle, and Sweetie Belle was next to the door.

“You know what girls, I think we’re going to have a lot of fun here” Scootaloo said.

Welp, if you want to know why this chapter took so long.....I'm just going to say, I had a really, really bad month, many things happened and well, I didn't have much time to write. From now though, I should get a chapter out once or twice a week.

Actually, I wanted to ask, What would you guys prefer, 3-4K word chapters every week, or half a week, Or 10-12K chapters every week or two?

Comments

[Thorlol]

Pretty good chap, I'm wondering how long it takes for someone to sneak into the others dorm

[Gagster]

I was hoping you continued this.
Just put out whenever you can.

[Colbalt White]

maybe the 3-4k words everyweek wouldnt kill me
plus i thought youve given up on the story im just glad that youre starting it again

[LunarGuardian]

i say bring the big chapters

[Horatiojones]

1186889
I've been meaning to ask, Who is the person in your image?
He kinda looks like the guy from Cowboy Bebop (his name escapes me right now).

[Uniame]

I would like to see a regularity of the smaller chapters, However seeing the occasional 10k+ would be nice.
Regardless of anyone's preference, we would like to see you write what you are comfortable with.

[Max]

i hope spike remain his swag off, or the mares will jump to him

[Gagster]

1191913 It's Rainbowdash.