Hopes and Dreams at Canterlot High

by Rainbow Sparkle

Chapter 2

The ride to Canterlot was, for the most part, relatively uneventful. They made only two stops along the way, one for the humans to take a bathroom break and the second for everyone to grab a bite to eat. All the same, Frisk was enjoying themselves a ton as they rolled by and through places they’d never been, taking in everything with a smile on their face.

But once they reached Canterlot itself… that was when the excitement on the bus reached its fever pitch, and not just for Frisk. They all pressed themselves to the windows as they took in the city streets, from the sparse but beautiful outskirts, to the cozy looking suburbs that made up a fair portion of the city, until finally they reached the core of the city.

Canterlot City Hall was tucked almost smack dab amongst the many skyscrapers, corporate offices, and apartments that made up the beating heart of their new home. It was here they were stopping first, to begin looking over the many housing options the city had available for the various individuals and groups.

“Your Majesties, Ambassador Frisk.” Mayor Mare said however once she’d brought the bus to a stop. “I’ve personally arranged a few options for you to choose from, so if you’ll follow me to my office, I can show them to you.”

Frisk could only giggle a bit at the almost bashful, embarrassed reactions that got from both of them. “R-Really, there’s no need to treat us any different…” Asgore rumbled softly, rubbing the back of his head.

“Nonsense!” Mayor Mare replied with a brilliant smile. “Your people still see both of you as important leaders of your community, and even if you’ve left the realm that was your kingdom for so long, you are both still royalty. No reason not to get a bit of preferential treatment.”

“Besides, ya wouldn’t want to make all the hard work I did a waste, would you~?” She offered with a bit of a teasing glint in her eyes. Toriel simply snorted but shook her head in amused resignation, while Asgore tried and failed to come up with a reply to that. Frisk’s own chortling certainly didn’t help the King much.

Following Mayor Mare off the bus, the three of them all gazed in a bit of wonder as they were led into City Hall. Where the City Hall for Ebott had seemed rather drab, boring, and utilitarian, Canterlot’s City Hall was more akin to a small monument. Both on the outside, where it reminded Frisk of buildings from the capital, to the inside, where the walls were painted with a rich cream color with dark mahogany trim. The main hall was tiled in something resembling marble, and there was a painting of horses riding about beautiful, untouched plains on the doomed ceiling above them.

It wasn’t a terribly long walk to the Mayor’s office, located on the second floor of the building's east wing. Her office was large enough to hold the three of them with room to spare, and had several interesting trinkets and knick knacks scattered about. Frisk was half tempted to inquire about a few of them, but Mayor Mare quickly strode behind her desk and pulled out a map of the city and several papers.

“Alright, now, I understand the situation between the two of you.” She said, glancing to Asgore and Toriel, the former fidgeting slightly while the latter simply nodded. “So unless you two actively want a place to live together, I was thinking I could offer you both your own place.”

“Separate places are… Probably the better choice.” Asgore said reluctantly, earning a nod of approval from Toriel.

“If possible, someplace close by, in case his Majesty needs additional help with getting things sorted for our people.” Toriel noted with a dry smirk, Asgore blushing a bit as Frisk chimed in with,

“Would make it easier for me to come by and visit him whenever I wanted too!”

Mayor Mare smiled and nodded at that, pointing out three areas of the city. Two of them were in the suburbs, one was closer to the city core. Mayor Mare glanced at each of them and said, “There’s some nice houses here, and they’re within walking distance of the school, something I figured all three of you would appreciate.”

Toriel and Asgore both nodded, while Frisk shrugged a bit. They’d rode a bus and walked to school before, and both had their benefits. And so long as the teachers were even half as good as Toriel at their job, Frisk was sure they’d enjoy their time there.

They listened as the Mayor listed the other areas, and even pulled out some pictures of houses and larger apartments. But the area close to the school happened to have a house that in some ways, reminded Toriel and them of the former’s home in the Ruins. Which meant it was no surprise at all that Toriel chose it as the one the two of them would be moving into. Asgore himself picked a smaller home nearby, one that Frisk saw came with its own greenhouse.

Some things never change, hehe. They thought to themselves as Mayor Mare beamed at them, coming round the desk as she exclaimed,

“Excellent choices! Now, there’s a few things I need to speak to his Majesty about, but if you two like, just head outside and talk to my secretary, we can find someone who can take you to the house and help bring your things down!”

She offered her hand to both of them, giving them a firm shake as she said, “And let me make it official. Welcome to Canterlot, your new home! I look forward to hearing all the new memories and new friends you make, and hope you’ll come to love Canterlot as much as I do!”

Toriel and Frisk couldn’t help but smile, giving Mayor Mare’s hands a firm shake. “We’ll be sure to share them with you as we make them.” Toriel said, Frisk giving a nod before tugging at Toriel’s sleeve.

“C’mon Mom, lets get going! I wanna get unpacked and start checking out the school and the neighborhood!”

Chuckling, Toriel nodded. “Alright, alright. We’ll be on our way in but a moment.

-*-

The house itself was in a nice, quiet suburb and was only three blocks away from the school. The building was painted in a soft, pastel purple, with mossy green roofing tiles almost making it look like the roof was covered in soft plant matter. A smaller second floor sat atop the larger ground one, with a small garage attached to the latter. A small, sky blue car was already parked there, with a note that it was a gift from the city to the Queen.

“They really went all out, didn’t they?” Frisk asked, earning a nod from Toriel as a city official helped them bring their boxes in.

“All part of their effort to make us feel at home~” Toriel said with a shrug and a smile, picking up a box as well before moving over to thank the driver and the city official. Frisk couldn’t help but beam, finding the difference in reactions here in Canterlot both refreshing and reassuring.

No one’s called them freaks, no one’s made fun of them or tried to hurt them in any way. Haven’t heard anyone say they should go back Underground… yup, I’m liking this city already!

Frisk wasn’t as naive as before, not after a year of seeing how many people could be so prejudiced. Still, this gave them quite a bit of hope that all the Monsters of the Underground would be able to build roots here, and live happy and joy filled lives.

“C’mon Frisk!” Toriel called out. “No need to make these nice people do all the work after all!”

“R-Right!” Frisk shouted, moving over to the back of the truck and grabbing three of their boxes, making sure they were securely stacked before marching them on into the house.

Getting everything moved into their new home took no time at all. Toriel didn’t have much, and Frisk had never been the sort interested in having too many things. Unpacking took a bit longer, but before long all their boxes were empty. Frisk made sure to leave a nice big section of their new bedroom’s wall open and free of anything, eagerly looking forward to filling it and a few scrapbooks with so many more memories.

“Are you ready Frisk? I’ve got everything I need to present to the school!” Toriel called out from downstairs. Frisk darted out to the top of the stairs, smiling as they saw Toriel with her handbag and a few folders tucked under her arm.

Skipping down the stairs, Frisk nodded their head vigorously. “Yup, everything’s unpacked and exactly where I want it! Ready when you are!”

Beaming, Toriel led the way down the street, having already told Frisk with it being a nice, sunny day there was no reason to use the car. Seeing as Frisk enjoyed taking walks with their mother, they happily linked hands with hers and went along at a brisk pace.

The pair of them drew some attention as they walked, but not of the bad kind. While some seemed surprised or confused when they saw Toriel, most seemed to either simply accept and give polite nods or waves, or became interested and walked on over to introduce themselves and ask some questions. Of which both Toriel and Frisk were more than happy to provide answers to.

Doing so though did have the side effect of stretching what should have been a fifteen minute walk into an hour long one. But Frisk didn’t mind in the slightest. Not even a full day in, and their time here in Canterlot was leaps and bounds better than the reception they’d gotten in Ebott.

It did mean it was closer to four in the afternoon by the time they reached Canterlot High. As they walked past the courtyard and into the main entryway, Frisk found the place to be a tad underwhelming. For supposedly being one of the top schools in the state, the place seemed rather… Plain. Unassuming. Rather typical in fact.

But appearances can always be deceiving. Don’t judge a book by its cover. And at least the school wasn’t giving them a bad first impression. Maybe when the school year was in actual full swing it’d be quite a bit different.

For now though, the school was largely empty. As they made their way towards the Administration Office, they passed a classroom or two that had some students and a teacher in them. Frisk figured of the two, one was for Summer School, as quite a few of the students looked like they’d rather be somewhere else. The other looked like some sort of club holding a meeting. Maybe it was the Student Council? They knew some took care of things even over Summer Break.

Arriving at their destination, a quick query with the secretary had them walking into the Vice Principal’s office, where a woman with hair that reminded Frisk of a field of stars was going over a pile of papers. She looked up, blinking briefly in surprise at Toriel before a smile quickly graced her face.

“Well hello there! Would I be right in assuming you are the Ms. Dreemurr who called earlier?” At Toriel’s nod, her smile widened a bit as she said, “You’re a lot fluffier and adorable looking than I expected. When I heard the Mayor was inviting Monsters into town, I was expecting something a bit more… scary. Do all Monsters look like you do?”

Frisk quickly chimed in here. “No, Monsters are really varied, but don’t mind how any of them may look. They’re all really friendly, kind, and fun to be around!”

“And you must be Frisk.” The woman said, inclining her head as she continued, “And I don’t doubt that, otherwise the Mayor wouldn’t have extended an invitation. Still, it is wrong of me to just base my expectation of the term for your people.”

Standing up, the woman offered her hand to them both. First Toriel, then Frisk. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Vice-Principal Luna, sister of Principal Celestia and the one who tends to handle the more bureaucratic side of things around here. My sister is more of a ‘people’ person.” She then looked back to Toriel as she asked,

“So, if I recall the details of your call earlier, you want to enroll Frisk for the upcoming school year, and you wish to apply for a teaching position correct?”

They both nodded, with Toriel offering the folders she’d been carrying. “That is correct. I brought a record of Frisk’s education, both from their time at Ebott Academy and the homeschooling I’ve done for the last year.”

“Well, I’ll happily take those and give them a look over, though enrollment isn’t for another two weeks.” Luna said, tucking them under her arm and humming a bit. “As for a teaching position, we might have one open, though we’ve had a few applicants already. But if you’d like, I can do an interview for you and go over your qualifications.”

“And what about me?” Frisk asked. “If enrollment hasn’t started yet and you’re interviewing my Mom, should I just sit out in the office and wait?”

“Ah not to worry. Before I begin that, you can meet with my sister. She’s currently supervising a practice for our soccer team, since the coach is away for family matters.” Luna replied with a smile. “I’ll have Ms. Inkwell take you out to meet her, and Celestia would likely enjoy giving you a tour and hearing more about you and the Monsters.”

Frisk smiled. “I can tell her. And I’d be just as happy to share as much as you’d like with you or any of the teachers. Anything I can do to help make things easier for the Monsters and the folks here.” They rubbed the back of their head a bit as they added, “It is kind of my job as Ambassador after all.”

Luna gave a nod, and Toriel leaned in to ruffle Frisk’s hair. “I don’t know how long this will take, so once you’re done meeting Principal Celestia, feel free to head home or explore the neighborhood. Just remember to be back home by eight o’clock, alright my child?”

Frisk gave a vigorous nod, then left the two adults to talk as they headed back into the main office. Frisk walked up to the desk, checking the name plate at the front to make sure they had the right person. Finding they did, they asked, “Vice Principal Luna told me you could take me to Principal Celestia, are you free to do so?”

Ms. Inkwell looked up from her work, and gave a curt nod. “Of course, just give me a moment to save my work, then I can take you to her.” With a few keystrokes, she dealt with whatever it was she was working and stood up. The smile she gave was more brusque and almost business-like, but Frisk didn’t mind it. The secretary carried the air of someone who always strove to be professional first.

Following her through the school, they saw a student or two here and there, but otherwise the place remained rather quiet and empty. Frisk found themselves wondering if anyone else ever found it weird to be inside a school building when the school year was out, even if they had good reason to be there.

Fortunately, Frisk didn’t have to deal with the oddity of such for long, as they were lead outside behind the school, where several athletic areas were visible. Only one of them was in use at this time though, a soccer field where about two dozen students were practicing or catching their breath on the sidelines.

Given the name of the Vice Principal, and the rather unique hair she sported, it wasn’t all that hard for Frisk to spot the woman who they could only assume was Principal Celestia herself. Her hair that looked like it resembled the colors of an aurora, and her being just as tall as Toriel, certainly had something to do with it.

“Principal Celestia?” Ms. Inkwell called out as they drew closer, drawing her attention away from the field as Celestia quirked an eye at the two of them, a warm and rather radiant smile gracing her features. “Ms. Dreemurr was told to come and meet you while her mother speaks with Vice Principal Luna.”

Frisk didn’t bother to correct Ms. Inkwell, it wasn’t the first time they had been mistaken for a girl. And since it didn’t bother them in the slightest, there wasn’t a need to say anything. Instead they simply smiled up at Celestia and offered their hand as they said, “I’ll be attending this fall. It's a pleasure to meet you, Principal.”

“Oh, so you must be Frisk, the Human who helped free the Monsters from the Underground.” Celestia said, surprising Frisk a bit. She smirked as she knelt down, taking their hand and giving it a firm shake. “I’m good friends with Mayor Mare, and she told me all about her invitation to you and the Monsters of Ebott. So I made sure to do some homework of my own.”

Frisk just nodded, still a bit caught off guard as Celestia stood back up and nodded to Ms. Inkwell. “You can go on back, Raven.”

Ms. Inkwell blushed a bit but simply gave a curt nod to both of them before heading back into the school. Celestia in the meantime turned back to Frisk, humming a bit as she asked,

“I’ve spoken with your mother Toriel once before, during a video call with Mayor Mare. Do you have a preference for how to be addressed?”

Blinking, Frisk shook themselves out of their stupor and shrugged. “I don’t really mind. I’ve always just accepted whatever folks were most comfortable with.”

Celestia gave a nod. “Well since school hasn’t started yet, I’ll stick with Frisk for now. And Mx. Dreemurr when you are officially one of my many students. Feel free to call me Celestia.” Frisk nodded in kind, smiling as Celestia glanced back out to the students, quite a few of whom had paused to take a break and switch up the players.

“I’d offer a tour of the school, but well, I can’t leave these students unsupervised.” Celestia remarked, smirking a bit. “And besides, I’ll be giving one out to all new students the week before classes start, and I can assure you it's much more enjoyable with others.”

“They seem to be managing on their own just fine.” Frisk said as they watched them for a moment. Celestia simply chuckled.

“That’s because I’m here. And well, Miss Applejack is also a big help with keeping folks on task. As is Rainbow Dash, at least when sports are involved.” Frisk noted how her gaze became directed to two individuals in particular, both of whom stood out, but for different reasons.

Frisk had seen folks with many different skin and even hair colors. What they had never seen however, was the hair of whom they could only assume was Rainbow Dash. Her hair was a literal rainbow, and honestly, Frisk found themself having a sudden craving for Skittles just looking at it.

The other girl was immediately noticeable on account of the stetson hat she was wearing. Her attire practically screamed “Farm Gal” at minimum and “Cowgirl” at maximum.

“Are you the athletic sort Frisk? Would you be interested in joining their practice?” Celestia asked, eyes flicking briefly to them.

Rubbing the back of their head, Frisk said, “Well, sort of? I like playing sports but am not particularly good at any of them. Except gymnastics.” Frisk then frowned, glancing up to Celestia as they asked, “Hey wait, isn’t this practice for the soccer team? Would they really let me play and practice with them when I’m not even a student yet?”

Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle at their query. “This is an open practice, any students interested are free to join. As for you not being a student yet, a minor detail. You’ll be one in a month, won’t you?” At Frisk’s nod, she smiled, reaching down and ruffling Frisk’s hair.

“So then don’t worry about it. After all, I didn’t hear a no in there.”

Now it was Frisk’s turn to chuckle. “You have a point. Alright, I’ll go see if they’ll let me join up. Worst that happens is they say no, right?” At Celestia’s gentle nod, Frisk went ahead and jogged on over, attracting the attention of both the girls the Principal had mentioned. Both of them eyed Frisk up, with Rainbow Dash doing so for a bit longer, a hint of familiarity in her gaze as they both flashed a friendly smile their way.

“Well Howdy there partner!” Applejack said, giving a tip of her hat. “Can’t say I’ve seen ya around school before. New in town?”

“Yup! Just moved in today! Name’s Frisk.” Frisk said, offering their hand, squeaking as they got a very enthusiastic and firm handshake that left them quaking just a bit afterwards. Rainbow Dash snickered, coming over and helping by placing a hand on their shoulder.

“Easy there on the new kid, AJ. Especially if they’re here to join in the practice.” She stuck her tongue out at Applejack, who just smirked and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I don’t know, with how much you can sometimes run the team ragged, might be a mercy on her.” Rainbow Dash simply shrugged in reply, turning to look at Frisk as she said,

“I’m Rainbow Dash, Canterlot High’s number one athlete, but you can just call me RD. This is Applejack, the second best athlete and my best friend in the whole school.”

Applejack rolled her eyes at Rainbow Dash’s boasting. Instead she asked, “So, ya here to watch or ya wanna join in? We could actually use another player if you're up for it.”

“Look out!” One of the other students yelled, as a soccer ball came right for them. Frisk just grinned and leapt up, sending it flying back with a light smack of their head. They turned to both of them, smirking at their impressed and surprised expressions.

“If I just wanted to watch, I’d have stayed over by the Principal.” Frisk replied, turning and jogging off to meet the rest of the players. Rainbow Dash and Applejack shared a glance, RD smirking while AJ just shook her head.

“I like her already.” Rainbow Dash said with a laugh. “Can’t help but feel I’ve seen them somewhere before though…”

Applejack just snorted and shrugged. “Maybe ya saw her on a team from another school?”

“Maybe.” Rainbow Dash muttered, before shrugging as well. “Whatever, doesn’t matter. Hope she’s interested in joining the team! Could use another player with that kind of attitude!”

“Why not wait til after the first week of school? Tryouts aint til the middle of August anyways.” Applejack asked, but Rainbow Dash had already run off to join the rest of the group. She couldn’t help but shake her head and smile.

“Always a hundred miles a minute with her.” She then looked up and yelped as it looked like the players were getting ready to start a new practice game. “Hey! Hold your horses, wait for me!” She shouted, before jogging over to get in position.

Comments

[Starkeeper_Ponyfic]

I am kind of a huge fan of any pronouns Frisk, I'm gonna have to work that into my next UT fic/AU :0