50 Years after the portal between Earth and Equestria opened, a young anthro does her best to get through her first year of college while dealing with the hassles of her everyday life.
(Dark tag added due to minor themes and language that will likely pop up from time to time, may remove in the future if needed) (Removed Dark Tag for the time being, if/when such themes come up I will re-apply it)
Takes place on modern day Earth.
Fifty years after the portal between Equestria and Earth opened, humans and ponies have managed to merge their two cultures together, letting each species live among one another and, in some cases, form strong relationships. Thanks to the combined efforts of pony magic and human science, these families have given birth to children. In more recent years, pony/human hybrids, dubbed “anthros”, have started becoming more of a common sight in some regions, but still a rare sight in others. Along with their rarity, it has not been uncommon for Anthros to suffer from hate and discrimination from less welcoming members of the communities.
Despite this, many of the Anthros have managed to overcome the discrimination they’ve face and go on to become more successful in life in their still rather young lives.
Melody, a young thestral anthro, has just been accepted into Aurora Academy, the largest multi-species school in the country. Now she has to deal with balancing classes, friends, hobbies, and trying to deal with her roommate.
“Melody!” A voice shouted, followed by someone pounding on the door to the bedroom. “Melody Bell Sharpe, get up this instant or-”
“I’m up, I’m up,” another voice called from beneath the covers of the bed. After a moment, the door opened just as Melody sat up.
“Joder, mamá, usted no tiene que golpear la puerta con tanta fuerza. (Fuck, Mom, you don't have to hit the door so hard.)” Melody, a young anthro thestral, yawned as she sat up and stared at her mother.
“Cuide su lenguaje! (Watch your language!)” the human, a middle aged woman with light tan skin, snapped, making her daughter tense up. The woman held an annoyed expression for a moment, before sighing. “And if I didn’t, you never would’ve woken up on time.” She raised an eyebrow. “Or did you forget what day it is?”
Melody blinked several times before her eyes widened. “Oh crap,” she whispered, twisting and trying to jump out of bed, before yelping as she got tangled in the covers, causing her to fall face first into the soft black carpet below. “Ow,” she muttered, her voice muffled by the carpet.
Her mother sighed once more before turning around. “I’ll be making breakfast in a few minutes, come down when you’re ready,” she said as she closed the door and made her way back down the stairs back to the kitchen.
“What am I going to do with her,” she muttered as she poured a cup of coffee.
“You’ve done just about all you can,” her husband, a gruff thestral stallion, said from his spot at the table. “She’s a grown mare now, we don’t have to spend all our time making sure she makes the right choices in life.” He pushed himself from the table and trotted over to her, wrapping a wing around her as he stood on his hind legs. “You’re still worried about what happened back in middle school, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am,” she said, looking at her husband. “Shield... what if it happens again? Last time it took her so long to get over it.”
Midnight Shield looked down for a moment, before answering. “Maria, you have to remember, not only is she going to one of the greatest interspecies schools in the country, she’s not going alone.”
Maria sighed and turned to him, offering a weak smile. “You’re right. Her closest friend will be there with her. He was there for her when it happened last time. And if, God forbid, it happens again, I’m sure he, or even some friends she might make while at school, will no doubt be there for her then.”
Midnight Shield nodded and pulled his wife into a hug, the human returning the gesture. They held each other like this for a moment, before the sound of hooves hitting the hardwood floor caught their attention as Melody, still in her pajamas, stepped into kitchen trying to carry two suitcases.
“Okay then. Looks like I’ve managed to pack everything, I’ve got enough clothes to last the first couple weeks in these cases, and the rest, save for what needs to be washed, have been packed in boxes, along with my books, games, CDs, etc.,” she said, walking past her parents and dropping her bags by the doorway, before shrugging off her backpack. “And I made sure to pack all the paperwork and the supplies I’ll need for my time at the academy.”
“¿Todo? (Everything?)” her mother repeated. “Toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash?”
“Sí mamá,” Melody sighed.
“Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, moisturiser for your wings?”
“Yes,” the teenager repeated, before adding under breath “I won’t even need the moisturiser till winter, though.”
Her mother ignored her last comment. “Your medications? Aspirin? Eye drops? Anxiety meds-”
“Mom!” Melody exclaimed, her tail twitching in annoyance. “I’ve got everything, I packed it all yesterday, checked last night, and checked again just before coming down here. I can follow a simple list mom.” She tossed the pack on top of her other bags. “Besides, it's been a couple years since I last had an anxiety attack.”
“I know, but you still have little ticks here and there, especially when you’re in crowds,” Maria said, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. “The doctors said that while it might not be necessary, it’d be better to at least keep your prescription on hand just in case.”
Melody hesitated for a moment, before sighing as her shoulders slumped. “I know, it’s just… I hate the thought of taking them. They make me feel so weak and… helpless,” she said, dropping her voice to a whisper at the last word.
Without a word Midnight Shield wrapped a forelegs around his daughter, catching her off guard. “That is the biggest load of horse apples I’ve heard in my life. You aren’t weak, and you certainly aren’t helpless.”
“Your father’s right,” her mother added, joining in on the hug. “You’ve always managed to overcome any obstacles you’ve faced in life, and if it was too much for you to handle on your own, you always had friends to stand by your side and help you along the way.” She smiled down at her daughter warmly. “Always remember, you are many things, but you are neither weak, nor helpless.”
Melody smiled at her parents as tears began to form in her eyes, before throwing her arms around them. “T-thanks,” she stammered, tightening her grip. “I love you both.”
“We love you too,” Maria said, holding her daughter for several moments before finally letting go and looking down at her. “Now then, I’ll finish cooking breakfast while you go get dressed, okay?” Melody nodded and grabbed one of her suitcases before heading back upstairs.
Once back in her room Melody quickly tossed her suitcase onto her bed and threw it open, withdrawing a change of underwear, jeans, a plain white shirt, and a simple charcoal jacket. Tossing her old clothes in the hamper, Melody quickly dressed herself, taking care to prevent her wings from catching on anything. Once she was done, she gave herself a quick once over before nodding and turning to the mirror placed by her closet. With a sigh, she grabbed her brush and turned slightly to bring her tail into view.
"Lucky ponies," Melody muttered for what had to be the thousandth time. "They don't have any trouble reaching their tails." She finally managed to twist herself in a way that she could grasp her tail while running the brush through the black hairs, wincing at a few stubborn knots that had formed since the last time she had brushed it. “Even humans have it better, they don’t have to worry about something like this,” she muttered, letting go of her tail. She flicked it back in forth a few times turning back to the mirror and bringing the brush to her head.
Thankfully, her mane was not nearly as difficult, and she was finished in just a few minutes. Setting her brush down, Melody smiled at her reflection. “To think, just a few months ago I graduated high school, and in less than an hour I’ll be on a train to one of the best academies in the country.”
“Melody!” Her mother called from the base of the stairs. “El desayuno está listo! (Breakfast is ready!)”
“Bajaré en un minuto! (I'll be down in a minute)" she responded, poking her head out the door. Her mother nodded before heading back down the hallway to the kitchen. Turning back to the mirror, Melody gave one last, small smile before grabbing her suitcase and the hamper and heading back downstairs.
“Here’s what needs to be washed, should only need one load,” she said as she reentered the kitchen, dropping the suitcase beside the other two bags and heading into the laundry room. Dropping the hamper on the washing machine, Melody turned around to find her mother giving her a skeptical look. “What?”
“...Is that really what you’re planning on wearing?” she asked after a moments pause.
“Yeah,” Melody replied. “Is there something wrong with it?” She looked down at her choice of clothing. While she had decided to leave the jacket open, it wasn’t much different from what she wore every other day.
Her mother shook her head. “No, just thought you might look better in something a bit more… formal? at least a nice dress.”
Melody sighed as her ears drooped. “Mom, you know I don’t like wearing those kinds of clothes. I mean, they’re fine for a dance or important event, like uncle Antonio’s wedding last year. But, this is pretty much an idea of what I’ll be wearing most of the school year, and most of my dresses are made for warmer weather.” She gestured to the window, the light of the recently risen sun revealing a small number of fallen leaves scattered about the lawn. “It’s Fall, the air’s pretty cool right now, and most of the dresses I have don’t even have sleeves.” She pointed out, before adding in a slightly hushed tone. “Not to mention I only have a handful of them, since it’s such a pain to find a dress maker that can factor in my wings and tail properly around here.”
Her mother hesitated for a moment, trying to find some way to counter her daughter, before giving a resigned sigh. “Fine… Now come in here before your breakfast gets cold,” she said, her expression brightening after a moment. As she turned back to the kitchen, Melody smirked before following her mother, grabbing a plate with a small chicken and vegetable omelette and a bowl of fruit before sitting down at the table. Looking at her parents, she gave a small smile before digging in.
Melody gave a sigh of relief as she managed to get into the train just seconds before the doors closed. “Thank God I live within walking distance of the train station,” she muttered, leaning against one of the windows, her fingers still locked around the handles of her luggage. Looking around, Melody spotted a few somewhat familiar faces scattered within the half-filled Train car, but for the most part they were all strangers from other towns and cities.
“Plenty of humans, a few ponies… doesn’t look like there are any other anthros though,” she muttered, before making her way to one of the empty seats and sitting down, kicking her suitcases under the bench with a hoof. “Not surprised though. Last I checked, there aren’t many anthro my age that live anywhere close to this area.” She dropped her backpack beside her and pulled out her Smartphone and a pair of headphones. “Glad dad got these for me last month. Such a pain using normal ones, and the ones designed for pony ears like these are usually hard to come by on Earth.” She glanced back at the crowd. “Don’t see Marcus anywhere either, maybe he’s in another car,” she muttered in a somewhat solemn tone, leaning back and selecting a song.
As it started playing, Melody closed her eyes and let the world around her dissolve, letting only the sound of the violin remain. Instinctively, her arms and head moved into position, as if playing her own violin along to the the piece. After a few seconds, Melody began humming lightly in tune with the music, smiling as she felt a relaxing warmth envelop her, despite the light chill in the car. As the piece drew to a close, Melody heard someone chuckle before a familiar voice spoke up.
“Well, you certainly know how to make yourself stand out even more so than usual.” Melody’s eyes snapped open, revealing a tall, lean-muscled human male with short, dark brown hair looking down at her with a casual smile. Calmly, Melody removed her headphones and set her phone back into her backpack, before jumping up and wrapping her arms around the human.
The man stumbled slightly but managed to stay upright. “Good to see you too Mel. How’ve you been lately?” he asked, wrapping his around her.
Melody pushed herself from the man and gave him a deadpan stare. “Really, Marcus? That’s all you can say after you completely Vanish for over two months without even so much as a single notice!?” Her deadpan slowly turned into a glare.
Marcus just stared back in confusion. “What? Mel, I wrote like, every week.” Melody’s glare quickly dissolved into a look of confusion as Marcus set her down. “Didn’t you get any of my letters?”
She shook her head. “No. The only information I got was when I asked your parents, and they just said you were visiting family out of state.”
Marcus stared at her with a blank expression for several seconds, before facepalming. “I swear someone in the postal service hates me,” he muttered before dragging his hand off his face and looking back down at Melody. “Sorry Mel, I was staying at my uncle’s farm for past couple months to make some money, as well as get a feel for Agricultural work.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “My uncle hasn’t had a working phone in years, so I pretty much had to write every week to try and keep you up to date. I just got back a few days ago, and I’ve spent the entire time packing.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I guess the letters got lost in transit.”
Melody sighed and glanced up at her childhood friend. “I guess that makes sense, but you could’ve at least tried to find some way to get in contact with me last month.”
“I know,” he replied calmly, reaching into his messanger bag. “I might not have been able to get in touch, but I sure as hell didn’t forget my best friend’s Birthday.” Melody watched as he pulled out a small rectangular box and held it out to her. “I know you don’t really wear this kind of stuff, but I thought you’d like it.”
Curiously, Melody took the box and opened it, her eyes growing wide at what she saw: A small silver chain necklace with a circular gold pendant featuring the image of a violin on the face. Turning it over, Melody found the words “Musica est vita” engraved in the center.
“It’s twenty four carat,” Marcus said, causing Melody’s eyes to widen as she looked between him and the necklace. “I got it from a unicorn jeweler in the town near my uncle’s farm. She’s an old friend of his and even offered to give me a small discount… still had to work my ass off to barely afford it without- Oof!” Marcus grunted as he was knocked back by Melody ramming into him and wrapping her arms around him in a powerful hug.
“Thankyou-thankyou-thankyou-thankyou-thankyou!” She cheered, holding onto Marcus with more force than normal for someone of her size. Marcus smiled and glanced around the car, seeing that several of the other passengers were staring at them.
After a moment someone behind them gave a small cough, earning Marcus’s attention. “Right, sorry dude,” he said to the figure, a man with short, blonde hair. Melody finally released her friend and look at the previously unseen companion.
“Mel, meet Jareth Blake, met him a couple hours ago when the train first arrived,” Marcus said, gesturing to the man. “Jareth, this is Melody, whom I’ve known since elementary school.”
Melody gave a slight smirk. “Jareth, as in-”
“Yes,” Jareth groaned, covering his face with a hand. “Blame my folks, my dad pretty much grew up on Jim Henson, and my mom’s a bit of a David Bowie nut. Labyrinth was one of the few times those two interests met.”
Melody gave a light chuckle as she sat back down, Marcus taking the seat beside her while Jareth sat across from them. “Well it is a pretty good film,” she mused, reopening the box and taking out her new necklace. “So, any particular reason you’re heading to Aurora Academy?” she asked as she began putting the necklace on.
Jareth rubbed his chin in thought. “Well, part of the reason is that I wanted to study computers, hopefully get a job working in computer engineering.” Melody nodded as she finished locking the necklace in place, the gold pendant resting softly on her short fur. “But I also wanted to study all I could about Equestrian culture, hence why I’m going to Aurora instead of… pretty much any other school in the country.”
Melody closed her eyes and gave another nod as she crossed her legs, resting her hands on her knees and leaning her head against the window. The trio remained silent for a few moments before Jareth spoke up once more. “So um, how long have you two been dating?” He asked nervously, unsure of anything else to say.
Both of them stare at him wide eyed for a moment, before bursting out with laughter. Jareth’s nervousness quickly turned to confusion as he stared at the two of them.
“Two things,” Melody said after a moment, managing to get herself under control. “One, that isn’t really something you should just ask people out of the blue like that. Two, we’re not dating.” He opened his mouth to speak, but Melody quickly cut him off. “You’re not the first person to make that mistake, but we’re just friends. We only act like we do because we’ve known each other for so long.” Melody placed a hand on the pendant. “As for this, Marcus has always been pretty generous towards those around him, but really, we’re just close friends.”
“Yeah, can’t really see myself dating Mel. I’ve always thought of her as something like a little sister than anything else.” Marcus added, leaning back in his seat.
“I’m four months older than you,” Melody deadpanned.
“I said little sister, not younger sister,” Marcus said, looking at the anthro with a smirk.
Melody just glared back. “Te odio (I hate you),” she growled.
“No you don’t,” Marcus replied calmly, wrapping an arm around Melody and pulling her close. “Besides, most anthropomorphs are shorter than humans. I think the average for mares was…. five feet, right?” Melody nodded. “And how tall are you?”
“... Four feet ten inches,” she muttered reluctantly. “But of course I’m going to look short next to a six foot giant like you,” she added as she slid out of his grip.
“Six foot three,” Marcus corrected.
Melody’s eye twitched. “Christ you’re tall,” she muttered, before taking her phone back out. “To change the subject, Jareth.” The blonde blinked in surprise at her sudden change in tone.
“Y-yeah?” he stammered.
“Doing you like any particular genres of music? I’ve got a little of everything other than rap, can’t stand that garbage,” Melody asked as she began looking through her music.
“Got any Panic at The Disco?” Jareth asked.
Melody remained silent for a moment as she search for the band. “Yep, got a few of their songs stored on here,” she said as she turned the volume down enough to keep from disturbing other passengers before playing one of the songs and leaning back and closing her eyes, content to simply listen to music for the majority of the remainder of the trip.
Melody stifled a yawn as she looked around at the other students walking along the long brick wall of surrounding the school. “Tired?” Marcus asked.
“Not used to getting up before the sun,” she replied, before glancing the other student once more. “Or being around a lot of people...” she muttered.
“Not surprising,” Jareth commented, not bothering to look up from his phone. “Aurora Academy is one of the best multi-species schools in the country for a reason. Along with a high graduation rate and excellent funding, it has the second highest enrollment of all multi-species schools.”
“Who’s the highest?” Marcus asked.
“The Crystal Empire’s Arcana University, in the northern region of Equestria.”
“Equus.” They both looked over at Melody, who shrugged. “The proper term for the continent is Equus, Equestria is just the primary kingdom of it. The Crystal Empire is considered an independent city-state with it’s own form of government and laws separate from that of Equestria. It’s only really every marked as part of Equestria on certain legal documents used by lazy bureaucrats, most of which are from Earth. On major documents here on Earth, along with with the majority of paperwork in Equus it’s counted as its own kingdom,” she explained, earning confused looks from both of them.
Jareth stared at her silently while Marcus gave a confused look “You know all this how?” he asked.
“My therapist recommend I find something to keep me distracted after… y’know.” Marcus nodded solemnly while Jareth gave a confused look. “She offered to let me borrow one of the spare books she had in her office, ended up going with a book on Equestrian law.
“After the first few months I started to find it all pretty interesting, so I started studying the politics and laws of both worlds in my spare time. When I got accepted to the academy, I decided it might be a good idea to go for a class that would allow me to put this information to good use.” She gave soft sigh. “Not something I really want to do with the rest of my life, but you never know when you might need an understanding of the law.” Marcus gave a nod of understanding as the trio finally reached the front gate of the school. “Whoa,” Melody muttered as she got a look at the campus.
To say the campus was spacious would be an understatement, the entirety of the open landscape scratched on farther than even Melody’s enhanced vision could see. In the distance, she barely make out a large structure she assumed was the main building. On either side, Melody could see a small row of buildings lines up a short walk away from one another.
“Excuse me?” Melody blinked before looking to her side, seeing a pair of older looking students sitting at a table, one a light brown haired caucasian male and the other a dark haired female with tan skin. “Would you mind stepping over here for a moment?” The female said. Melody quickly glanced over at her companions, noting Jareth giving the pair a quizzical look while Marcus held a neutral expression similar to the male. After another second of hesitation, Melody finally stepped over to the table. “New students?” She asked.
“Yup,” Marcus said simply, adjusting the strap of his messenger bag.
“Wonderful!” she exclaimed, earning an mildly confused glance from the male beside her. “My name is Katherine Ramirez, and my friend here is Damien Richter.” Damien raised an eyebrow as the word “friend” but remained silent as Katherine continued speaking. “And we’re part of the student welcoming committee.”
“Melody. A pleasure to meet you,” Melody said as she set one of her bags down and extended a hand to Katherine.
Katherine smiled and gave Melody’s hand a polite shake. “Likewise,” she responded as she released Melody’s hand and picked up the tablet in front of her. Melody glanced over at her friends as they gave their names to Damien, who seemed content to just remain silent while he began typing on his tablet.
“Let’s see… Gonzalez?” Katherine asked, to which Melody nodded.
“I usually go by Sharpe, but yes that would be me,” she said.
“Okay then,” she set the tablet down and pulled out a strip of paper and a key from the box beside her, jotting down several numbers before passing them to Melody. “Here’s your dormitory number: building one, floor four, dorm seven.” She stood up and pointed towards one of the larger buildings Melody had noted before. “Building one is over there, on the right.”
“So I’m guessing two would be the one on the other side?” Marcus asked, pointing to the row behind the table, to which Katherine nodded . Curious, Melody leaned over to glance at the identical strip of paper.
B-2 F-2 D-15
“Looks like we’ve got the same dorm,” Jareth muttered, mimicking Melody’s action.
Katherine quickly cleared her throat to get their attention, offering another polite smile. “Just one last thing we need to do.” She pulled out of a pair of oddly tinted glasses. “Can I see your bags? It’ll just take a second.”
“Um, sure,” Melody said nervously, lifting her suitcases up and placing them on the table. “Though I’d like to know why, I don’t remember reading about needing to present our bags for some kind of inspection in the handbook.”
“It’s just a simple check to make sure you don’t have anything illegal.” Everyone, Katherine included, jumped slightly as Damien spoke up as he began looking over Marcus and Jareth’s bags with his own pair of glasses. “Weapons, drugs, other dangerous items or materials. The school board started requiring these after one too many violent incidents between students in the past. It’s kept out of the handbook because they believe it’ll be easier to catch anyone trying to sneak them in if they don’t entirely know ahead of time.” He gave a silent nod and pushed the bags back to their owners. “Though even if they did know, they also check incoming packages and do surprise inspection on the dorms, these glasses are enchanted to see through normal items and pick up anything that’s been banned on school grounds.”
“Exactly,” Katherine commented as she finished her own check on Melody’s belongings and passed them back. “And the backpack?”
“Oh, right.” Melody quickly shrugged off her pack and dropped it on the table. “There are a few prescription medication bottles in there, though they should be noted either on my file or in some of the paperwork in there.” Katherine nodded and began searching through the contents manually, occasionally tapping at her tablet to check Melody’s information.
“Okay, everything checks out,” she said after a moment, zipping it back up and handing it back to Melody. “The Orientation assembly is in one hour. Thank you for your time Melody, and welcome to Aurora Academy.”
Melody smiled and gave a friendly wave as she followed Marcus and Jareth in the direction of the main building. “Y’know, you don’t need to be so damn enthusiastic when greeting new students,” Damien commented as they got out of earshot, his bored expression never changing.
“How can you say that? How can you not enjoy being allowed to greet them as they take their first few steps onto the campus?” Katherine asked, giving him a confused look.
Damien just rolled his eyes “Simple, I’ve been doing this for the past three years, it gets boring as hell the second time around. Not to mention having to deal with the assholes that you might meet,” he said as he leaned back in his seat, staring up at the cloudy sky. “This is just your first year in the welcoming committee, you’ll see what I’m talking about sooner or later.”
“Were you enthusiastic your first year?” she asked as the next set of students walked over.
Damien paused for a moment, thinking back to the first time he had to take part in the welcoming committee “...No, if anything I was an even bigger jackass than I am now.”
Melody glanced between the two dorm buildings before sighing. “Guess this is where we split up.”
Marcus just smirked and placed a hand on her head. “Not like we’ll be separated that long, we can easily meet up before heading to the assembly.”
“Yeah,” she agreed, her mood brightening. “I just wanted to spend some time to catch up.” Marcus gave a silent nod of agreement as she turned to Jareth. “It was great meeting you Jareth, I hope we can hang out together more often in the future,”.
“Likewise,” he replied, returning the smile and holding out a hand. Melody dropped one of her bags and took his hand with her own, giving it a quick shake before letting go. Giving each other a final nod, the men turned and headed towards their dorm building. Melody stared after them for a moment before picking her bag up and heading towards the other building.
Melody sighed as she scanned the area. Many of the students had spread out throughout the campus, most of them forming small groups with friends, while others simply made their way to the dorm they had been assigned. After a moment, Melody stopped and looked up at the sky, a thin smile forming on her lips.
“First day’s not even done, and I’ve already got one new friend, and one possible friend, guessing I’m off to a good start,” she muttered, dropping her gaze back to the dorm building as she changed her pace to a light jog.
“Let’s see… five… six… seven!” Melody smiled as she stopped in front of the door to her dorm, setting her suitcases down and turning the knob, finding it unlocked. She muttered as she opened the door, “Huh, guess either they left the dorms unlocked, or my roommate is already inside.”
Almost immediately, Melody gave a low whistle at the sight of the spacious living room. In the middle area of the room was a small circular dining table, a couch, and a flat screen tv. To the right was a simple kitchenette covering most of the space with a storage closet in the back corner. While on the left, simple computer desk sat in the corner closest to the entrance, three doors, with the two closest to Melody being open.
“Wow, wasn’t expecting it to look this nice,” Melody whispered, scanning the room once more before grabbing her bags and heading inside, stopping for a moment to close the door.
Taking a quick look inside the middle room, Melody found a simple bathroom, the only noticeable features being the toilet, sink, and a small walk-in shower. “Not bad. A bit cramped but otherwise fine,” she mused before taking a step back and walking over to the other doorway.
Inside was a rather sparsely decorated bedroom, with nothing more than a bed, dresser, and desk adorning the interior. Despite this, Melody couldn’t help but smile at the somewhat spacious area, the furniture taking up less than half of the room, leaving more than enough space for her to move around in.
“I think I’m gonna like it here,” she said as she entered the room, her hooves making an audible “clop” as they landed on the hardwood flooring. Setting her bags aside, Melody quickly shrugged off her jacket, tossing it onto the bed before pulling out her phone and turning to the dresser. Choosing a light, upbeat jazz song, Melody calmly set about moving her clothes from her suitcase to the dresser, occasionally humming along to the beat. Once she had finished, she tossed the cases under the bed before grabbing her phone and turning the music off.
“Hmm, looks like I still have plenty of time before the assembly,” she said as she checked the time on her phone. “I guess a quick nap wouldn’t hurt.” Smiling, Melody set the alarm on her phone before walking over to the bed, placing the phone on the nightstand. Just as she was about to collapse onto the comfortable looking mattress, she stopped as she heard something from the doorway. Turning around, Melody spotted a a brunette woman of average height glaring at her.
“Um, can I help you?” she asked cautiously, her tail giving a slight twitch.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” the woman replied venom obvious in her voice.
Melody blinked before answering in a neutral tone. “Planning on taking a short nap before the assembly. Is there a problem with that? This is technically my room after all.”
The woman scoffed. as she folder her arms “You must be mistaken. There’s no way someone like you could be placed in the same dorm as me.”
“Oh really,” Melody said, a small grin forming on her muzzle. “How do you explain this then?” She pulled out the piece of paper she had been given earlier and showed to the woman.
She took a step forward and stared at the paper for several seconds, her glare hardening. “This has to be some kind of error, there is no way in hell you are supposed to be the one I’m sharing a dorm with.”
“Keep saying that, maybe it’ll come true,” Melody flippantly answered with a shrug. “You could probably take it up with the principal, see if there really are any errors in the placement.” She yawned and turned back to the bed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go ahead and take that nap now.”
However, before she could follow through with her plan, the woman grabbed her arm and began pulling out of the room. “No, you’re coming with me to sort this out.”
Melody’s ears dropped as she was pulled against her will. “I don’t get a say in this, do I?”
“No!” the woman snapped, increasing her pace as they exited the dorm. “This all has to be one big mistake,” she hissed silently.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE’S NO MISTAKE!?!” The woman, who Melody learned was named Cassandra, screamed at the principal.
The principal, for his part, simply waited calmly until Cassandra had finished before speaking. “Just has I have said, Miss Garnett, there is no mistake in assigning you to the same dorm as Miss Gonzalez.” He pulled a stack of papers from his desk and began flipping through them. “Your placement was decided as part of our academy’s inter-species relations program.” His mouth twisted in a slight grimace at the naming choice.
“... What?” Cassandra asked, still glaring at the middle-aged man.
“Inter-species relations program,” Melody said, not taking her eyes off the Newton’s cradle on the shelf behind the principal. “It’s an optional program used by most inter-species schools. Simply put, it’s purpose is to allow students that have had little interactions with a species other than their own to better understand that species by placing them in situations that make it easier to interact and learn about them. From what I’ve heard it’s proven successful for the most part, save for a few mild problems here and there.” She tapped her hoof on the floor absent mindedly before adding, “And, if you wouldn’t mind, I prefer going by my first surname, Sharpe, Principal Richardson.”
“Well then, you are absolutely correct, Miss Sharpe,” he replied, handing her a sheet of paper from the stack before flipping through it once more. “Your placement together was decided through your participation in the program. Judging Miss Sharpe’s history with making friends with both humans and ponies, it was decided she would be a suitable choice with you, Miss Garnett, due to your minimal history with non-humans.” He shrugged and waved his hand dismissively. “That’s the simplest way of putting it anyway.”
Cassandra gave a low growl as her glare increased. “For your information, I never signed up for anything like that, and once my father hears about this, he’ll make sure the funding for this school is cut to the point that you’ll be lucky if you can afford to stay open.”
He stopped and looked at her with a deadpan stare. “First off, Miss Garnett,” he started in a flat tone, “Roughly ninety percent of this schools funding comes from it’s founder, Miss Aurora Star. Secondly, your father, who I might add is actually a friend of mine, is the one that requested you be signed up for the program.” He finished by handing her a paper similar to the one he gave Melody.
“What?!?!” She growled as she looked over the document, her eyes slowly growing wide as she saw her father’s signature at the bottom of the page. “B-but, that can’t be right. I-I never agreed to this!”
“You didn’t have to,” Principal Richardson said with a neutral look, taking the papers back and returning them to the stack. “Despite being nineteen years of age, since you still live with a parent or legal guardian, in this case your father, they are still able to sign certain documents on your behalf. Your father actually came to me personally on the matter. It seems he’s rather concerned about your, for lack of a better term, refusal to interact with ponies or anthros, and felt being signed up for this program would help.”
“Loophole abuse?” Melody guessed with a smirk.
The principal chuckled slightly. “I suppose you could look at it that way,” he said once he calmed down, adjusting his glasses. “But regardless, you have been assigned to the same dorm, and unfortunately I can only reassign either of you if both parties agree, and even then, it’ll take a few weeks.” He gave a low shrug. “You’d surprised how hectic everything is here during the first month, so even if you’d like to opt out of this I’d recommend at least waiting till making the request.”
“I’m fine right where I am,” Melody said, ignoring the death glare from Cassandra. “Wouldn’t want to disappoint her father. After all.” She smiled as Cassandra let out another low growl.
“Anyway...” The principal drifted off as he turned to his computer, typing silently for a moment before reaching over to his printer as two sheets of paper came out. “You should be getting an official copy of this later today by email, but this is your current schedule,” he said as he handed them both a sheet. “Classes you have been placed in together are highlighted.” Melody raised a brow as she looked down and the paper
Class Schedule- Melody Sharpe-Gonzalez
Monday- 8:30 am: Introduction to engineering - Samantha Dimir 1:00 pm: Comparisons of Equestrian and human music- Octavia Philharmonica
Tuesday- Extracurricular
Wednesday- 8:30 am: Drama- Beatrix Lulamoon 1:00 pm- Earth and Equestrian Law- Jacob Heins
Thursday- Extracurricular
Friday- 8:30 am: Magic Theory- Noble Theory 1:00 pm: Track and Field- Gilda Sharptalon
“You mean to tell me,” Cassandra started, nearly tearing the paper in half with how tight her grip was. “That not only do I have to share a dorm with her,” she pointed in horror at Melody. “But I’m also stuck having all but two classes with her as well!?!”
“Actually, for the most part you both signed up for the same classes, and the ones you weren’t signed in were simply filling in open spaces both of you left. All we had to do was arrange you together.” The principal shrugged, before turning to the clock. “As much as I’d love to continue this discussion, I have to prepare for the assembly, so I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” He stood and gestured to the door behind them.
Cassandra opened her mouth to argue further, but was cut short by Melody as she gave a polite goodbye to the principal and made her way to the door. Cassandra stared after her for a moment, her eye twitching slightly, before giving a defeated sigh and exiting the room.
Melody blinked as she felt someone poking her in her side. “Hmm?” She glanced over to find Marcus giving her a confused look.
“You okay? You’ve been drifting in and out of sleep since you sat down.” He gestured to the stage. “You slept through most of the principal’s speech.”
She yawned before rubbing her eyes lazily. “Sorry, tried to take nap earlier but got preoccupied by my roommate dragging me to the principal to… “discuss” the decision to place us together.”
“That bad?” Marcus asked with a slight wince.
“You have no idea,” she grumbled, moving her hands to rub her temples. “Speciesist, acts like she’s better than me, refuses to stop complaining about the fact she’s basically been forced into this situation thanks to a loophole allowing her father to sign her up for a program she wants no part of.” She gave a shrug. “Annoying as all hell, but as long as she doesn’t start to become a major problem that interferes with my studies or sleep schedule, I’ll go about tolerating it just to annoy her a bit.”
“Always the passive-aggressive route,” Marcus mused.
Melody rolled her eyes. “Would you prefer I act with physical aggression? Because honestly I’d like to avoid getting any assault charges in the foreseeable future.”
“Um,” Jareth spoke up, earning their attention. “She does know she can pretty much just leave, right? There’s no rule forcing her to remain here. Wouldn’t even be considered dropping out since she’s only been here for a day now.”
Melody mulled over this for a moment “So, either she leaves, and I get a new roommate, or she stays, and I get to continue annoying her slightly while trying to be her friend?”
“Friend? You actually plan on trying to get on her good side?” Jareth asked with a shocked expression.
“Of course,” Melody answered nonchalantly. “I don't actually intend to be a jerk to her all the time, I honestly intend to be as nice as I can in the future.”
Jareth just stared at her, confusion evident on his face. “Why, exactly?”
“Because friendship is one of the dearest things to ponies and, by extension, anthros. It’s part of our nature. I signed up for the program looking to make a new friend or two, and I swore to myself I would do whatever I could to accomplish that goal, regardless of the hand I’m dealt.” Melody shrugged, leaning back in her seat. “I don’t how long it’ll take, or if can even be done, but I’ll do what I can to make her see me for who I am, not what I am.” She paused for a moment, before muttering to herself. “Stars above, that sounded cheesy…”
“With that done, I’d like to move on to more troubling matter,” The principal said, ending the trio’s conversation as they all turned to the stage. “Due to an unsettling number of inter-species violence in the past few years, it has been decided by the administration, as well as the school founder, Miss Aurora Star,” he paused and turned to nod at a red coated unicorn mare sitting off to the side. She gave a solemn nod in return and gestured for him to continue. “That the school will be enacting a zero tolerance policy regarding violence towards fellow students. While none of us wish to take such actions, this school was founded on the idea of promoting peace between all species, and anyone that would act against it is such ways does not belong in this school.”
He let out a heavy sigh before continuing. “With this in mind, the student council has been tasked with assigning each dormitory two representatives, each of whom will be responsible with keeping order and ensuring no students are harmed.” He cleared his throat before grabbing a sheet of paper from from the pile in front of him. “The representatives are as follow: Building one, Damien Richter and Sable Wind. Building two, Gilded Mind and Samantha Williams. Building three, Noble Shield and Katherine Ramirez. And building four, Sebastian Miles and Zephyra Blackfeather.”
At each name, one of the students-four humans, two ponies, and two anthros- stood up one by one and gave a slight bow to the crowd. Once they were finished, the Principal gave an approving nod before speaking once more. “In closing, I would like to say that, despite these new developments, we hope you will all enjoy your time here at our fair university. Thank you all and welcome to Aurora Academy.”
A few students applauded as the crowd stood, finally alerting Melody to just how many people were around her. Her eyes darted back and forth as she felt her heartbeat quicken, panic beginning to to take hold. Hair stood up on end as she felt her tail curl around her leg tightly.
Snapping her head to the side, she found Marcus giving her a worried look before turning and quickly guiding her out of the building. Marcus' strong hand poured confidence into Melody as she felt her body calm down. A stray thought reminded her that physical contact could be helpful psychologically. Once outside, Melody leaned against the wall, holding a hand to her chest and taking slow, deep breaths as she tried to get her heart to stop racing.
“You gonna be okay?” Marcus asked, worry still evident on his face.
She gave a shallow nod. “Y-yeah. Just need to catch my breath,” she stammered, her heartbeat finally returning to normal after a moment.
After a few minutes, Jareth managed to ease his way out of the crowd and catch up with the duo. “What the hell was that about?” he asked, looking at her in shock.
“Mel’s not exactly… comfortable... in crowded area,” Marcus explained. “Probably wasn’t as noticeable with everyone sitting down and Mel still being a bit tired.”
Jareth nodded slowly. “I read that claustrophobia was somewhat common in pegasi, guessing it affects thestrals as well?”
“Kind of,” Melody replied with a sigh. “Not as common, but from time to time it can come up. Though there are… other reasons, for my problem. Ones I’d rather not talk about.”
Jareth nodded once more, looking away in thought before speaking again. “So, any plans for the rest of the day?”
Melody gave a shrug that turned into a long stretch. Joints popped as the last of her tension eased from her muscles. “Not really. I need to call me parents to let them know where to send my stuff, but otherwise I’ve nothing to do.”
“We could take a look around the city, maybe see if there’s a good place to hang out nearby,” Marcus offered.
“I could go for something sweet,” she said, a smile forming on her muzzle.
After a moment, Jareth spoke up. “There’s a bakery not too far from here that seems to be pretty popular with students.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Marcus commented, earning a somewhat eager nod from Melody. Without another word, the trio set off towards the school’s entrance.
Back in the dorms, Cassandra began pacing her bedroom as she waited for her phone to pick up, a scowl etched on her features. After a moment, an older male voice spoke from the other end. “Cassandra?”
“Hello dad,” she growled. “Mind explaining why I’m signed up to some interspecies program, despite never even hearing anything about it till just a couple hours ago?”
Her father sighed. “Look Cassandra, I’m worried about you. You’ve practically never so much as spoken to anyone that isn’t human since elementary school, even cutting off the few pony friends you had while in kindergarten.”
“And so that just gives you permission to go and force me into some program without even asking me?” she snapped. “Do you have any idea how mom would react to this if she was still around?”
He sighed once more. “As much as I loved your mother, I’ve made it no secret that I never agreed with her rather… negative... opinions concerning non-humans. I’ve never liked how she raised you when it came to other species, but I rarely said anything since I knew it would just cause an argument. When you told me you wanted to attend Aurora Academy, I felt like this might be a good opportunity for you to at least try to interact with some fellow students that aren’t human.”
"Fine," She said, still growling. "I'll try to make some friends with the freaks if it'll get you off my back."
He gave a tired sigh. "Please just give them a chance. That's all I ask."
"Fine," she said once more, finally let some of the anger die down. “Bye dad. I love you.”
“I love you too,” he replied before hanging up. Cassandra remained still for a moment, before setting her phone down on the nightstand and collapsing onto the bed. Turning over, she stared up at the ceiling as her mind tried to wrap itself around the events of the day.
In the darkness of the bedroom, lit only by the small clock sitting on the nightstand, Melody hummed softly in her sleep as she tightened the grip on her pillow, a thin smile crossing her muzzle. Beneath the cover, her wings twitched happily as a peaceful sonata played out in her dreams.
After a moment, Melody began to stir as she felt herself being pulled from her visions. With a sigh, her smiled grew as her sense returned to her, the soft touch of the sheets, the even rhythm of the metronome sitting on the other side of the room, and the sweet jasmine scent filling the room. These were the mornings Melody cherished, the peace of being able awaken slowly rather than-
6:00 am
In an instant, Melody was pulled from the remnants of her slumber as the clock’s alarm activated, filling the previously silent room with it’s incessant beeping. Within seconds of it going off, the alarm was silenced as a hand cover in charcoal fur shot out from under the covers, landing on the off switch.
After a moment, a pair of violet eyes appeared in the darkness, glaring at the clock.
“Peor diez dólares que he gastado (Worst ten dollars I ever spent),” Melody muttered as she tore her gaze from the device, sitting up with a yawn. “Though I guess it’s my fault for choosing to take early morning classes.”
With another yawn she threw off the covers and hopped out of bed, stretching her back till it gave a satisfying ‘pop’. After a moment Melody walked over and flicked on the lamp by the desk, blinking as sudden light filled her eyes.
Once her sight had adjusted, Melody turned her attention to the door. Slowly, she opened it just enough enough for her to poke her head out, scanning the empty room before shrugging. “Guess she’s not much of a morning person either,” she whispered, backing into the room and carefully closing the door.
Minutes later, the door reopened as she stepped out, carrying a bundle of clothes and a small bag as she made her way over to the bathroom door. As soon as the lock on the door clicked, she quickly set about removing her pajamas, tossing them in a small pile before grabbing the bag and making her way into the shower.
Melody couldn’t help but give a relaxed sigh as turned the faucet, allowing a burst of hot water rain down onto her head. ”Might not be as relaxing as soaking in a tub, but it’s definitely far better than having to use public showers,” she mused humming faintly as she stepped out from under the shower head reached into the bag hanging on the wall and pulled out a bottle of fur shampoo. As she set about rubbing the gel into her coat, Melody closed her eyes and began humming a simple, light tune. Once that was finished, she stepped under the shower head, letting the water wash away the suds as her humming slowly died down, thoughts from the days before running through her mind.
“Just how am I going to get Cass to try and be friendly towards me?” she whispered to herself, reaching back into the bag to grab a similar bottle, this time working the gel into her mane and tail. “Suppose the best choice would be to just be nice to her and hope she warms up over time. Trying to find out if we have anything in common might help as well. Though, might be easier to figure out if I knew why she hated what I am, doubt her dad would sign her up for the program if she was always like this...” She trailed off as the faint buzz of magic caught her attention. Turning around, Melody finally noticed the dim glow of the runes etched on the wall. Reaching over, Melody closed her eye and focused her sense on the runes as fingers came into contact with the wall.
“...Sound dampening?” she wondered aloud, glancing around to see similar runes coating the other walls of stall. “Convenient I guess, since it means you don’t have to worry that much about waking up your roommate,” she mused, before giving a simple shrug and returning to her task. Once she finished rinsing the shampoo out, Melody lingered under the water for a moment, letting it wash away any stray patches of shampoo in on her body, before shutting the water off and stepping out of the shower.
Once out of the stall, she grabbed her towel and quickly dried off her mane and tail, before setting about the irritating process of drying off her fur. “I don’t envy normal ponies that have to go through this, especially with their body structure,” she grunted, before adding, “...Except unicorns, but they get to avoid a lot of problems the rest of us have.”
Once that was done, she retrieved the bag from the shower and pulled one last, black bottle and a two-sided brush. Sighing, Melody stretched one of her wings in front of her, pouring a small amount of the concoction from the bottle before slowly working it into her wing, the nerves in it relaxing as the mixture soaked into the skin.
“Note to self: look into finding a mixture that doesn’t smell horrid,” she whispered. “At least the smell fades after a minute, don’t think I could stand having this around me all day.” With one wing down, she let it fold back before stretching the other out and repeating the process, her mind drifting back to the topic of her roommate.
“Guess I’ll just have to go with waiting and hoping that being nice to her will make her change her attitude,” she muttered. “If I knew why she felt this way, I’d at least have an idea how to work with it.”
Once she finished with her wings, she washed her hands before dropping the bottle back into the bag and grabbing the brush, working one side through her fur, removing any knots that had formed.
Once that was done, she flipped the brush over and took to her mane and tail, cursing how troublesome it was to brush the latter. “Would be nice if there was a grooming group on campus,” she mused as she finished getting the last knot out of her tail. With that done, she the brush into the bag and quickly got dressed, looking over herself in the mirror before giving a satisfactory nod before gathering her things had heading back to her room.
Once inside, she returned the bag to it’s spot before turning to the clock.
6:55 am
“Still plenty of time before class starts.” Glancing around the room, Melody’s eyes landed on her copy of the school’s student handbook. “Guess that’s one way to pass the time.” With that, the grabbed her book and headed into the living room to relax.
7:15 am
“Good morning,” Melody said without looking up from her book as she heard Cassandra’s door open, earning a simple grunt from her roommate as she made her way to the coffee pot sitting on the counter. “Sugar’s in the far left shelf, and there’s a bottle of cream in the fridge.” Cassandra glanced towards Melody with a glare, before gathering the items in question, pouring a small amount into her mug and taking a drink.
Immediately an intense, bitter sensation hit her tastes buds, causing her her to rush over to the sink and spit the offending liquid from her mouth. “W-what the hell was that?” she shouted.
“Coffee, at least according to the can it came in,” Melody answered taking a sip from her own mug. “Apparently a gift provided by the previous residents, though how anyone can stand something that strong is beyond me.”
Cassandra frowned. “Then how can you justify drinking it?”
“At least a third of what I’m drinking is cream and sugar,” Melody answered, taking another sip. “... Though even then, it’s only barely drinkable. It’s just the only caffeine we have at the moment.”
Cassandra held her frown for a moment, before sighing and emptying her mug into the sink. “Fine, guess I’ll just have to hope a shower can help wake me up,” she growled under her breath, before heading towards the bathroom, closing the door with a little more force than was needed.
Soon after, Melody’s ears perked up at the sound of knocking at the front door. Raising an eyebrow, Melody jumped up from the couch and strode towards the door. “Hello?” She said as she opened the door, only to find no one standing there. “Okay...” she drifted off as another knock caught her attention. Poking her head out, she saw a thestral mare walking down the hall, before stopping in the front of the dorm two doors down and pulling a sheet of paper out of her saddlebag, then placing it on the door and knocking before continuing down the hall. Blinking, Melody turned to find one such sheet stuck to the door beside her.
Dear Student,
We regret to inform you that due to an small error in the plumbing, water heaters for your floor have been temporarily shut off while maintenance fixes the problem. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and assure you they will have everything fixed in less than an hour.
Sincerely, Damien Richter and Sable Wind, representatives of Dorm Building One.
“Oh shit!” Melody whispered as she snapped her head towards the bathroom. “Cass! Don’t turn on the shower, there’s no-” She was cut off by a sudden high pitched scream, forcing her to pin her ears back as she winced. “...Hot water...”
Within seconds, Cassandra stepped out of the bathroom, a furious expression etched on her features.
Melody flinched under the glare of her roommate. “Um...” She pointed to the note. “Seems the water heater’s been shut off.”
“I just don’t get why you’re still mad,” Melody said for what felt like the fifth time since leaving the dorm.
“You could have warned me,” Cassandra growled, not bothering to look back at her roommate.
Melody’s eye twitched. “I tried, but the notice only arrived a few seconds before you got in!” she said between gritted teeth.
Cassandra opened her mouth to reply, only to stop as she turned and entered the classroom. Seeing her confused expression, Melody poked her head into one of the open spaces in the doorway, quickly copying her roommate at the sight before her.
At the front of the room, sitting a long desk littered with various papers, trinkets, and the like, was a woman with short blonde hair working on some kind of strange piece of machinery. Glancing towards them, she quickly grabbed a small cylindrical object, flicking it out to form a pointer and tapping the whiteboard behind her.
Pay no attention to what I’m working on. Please go find a seat and wait for class to start.
With a shrug, Melody slid through the space between her roommate and the doorway, making her way to the last empty table and sitting down. A moment later Cassandra walked up, scowling. “Couldn’t you find somewhere else to sit?”
“I could,” Melody commented, pulling her student handbook out of her jacket and flipping to the page she had left off on. “But considering we’re paired up in the program, chances are we’ll seated next to each other anyway.”
Cassandra let out a low growl as she set down. “I hate you,” she muttered.
Melody sighed, despite her plan to be kinder to her roommate, this was proving too much today. “I’m not exactly fond of you either, but I actually want to take part in this program.”
“And I don’t, but I’m stuck with you since you refuse to agree to a change in roommates,” Cassandra countered.
“Because you’re not worth the stress it’d be to attempt,” Melody deadpanned, making Cassandra turn to her with a glare. “The majority of the school’s filing system and paperwork is based around the Equestrian method. Which is, to put lightly, completely insane by human standards. The sheer amount of paperwork it would take to approve the switch would take at least two weeks, and that’s only if your lucky. Even then, they have to spend an extra week or two looking for another pair of roommates willing to switch and filling out an extra dozen pages of paperwork for that. And if they can’t find anyone willing to change, which, considering in the success rate for the program in the seven years it’s been in place is,” She paused and glanced at her handbook. “Ninety five percent on average, with the last year hitting ninety nine percent, then they’d have wasted all that time and effort for nothing and we’d still be stuck together anyway.
“And even then,” Melody continued, her tone growing sharp. “You still be placed with a pony or anthro, since judging by how you were acting friday night, I’d say that discussion with your father you were talking about before the assembly didn’t go so well. Hell, even if you were removed from the program, there’s still a fifty percent chance you’d wind up with a pony or anthro as a roommate.”
She stopped and glared at Cassandra, whose own glare had turned to look of surprise at the anthro’s rant. “So no, I’m not going to put the school’s staff through all that trouble because one spoiled brat is so intent on keeping her hatred of non-humans.”
Casandra stared at her roommate as she tried to form a response. Drawing a blank, she gave another growl and snapped her attention away from Melody, grumbling angrily.
Melody sighed as she let her anger die back down, tucking her handbook back into her jacket before laying her head on the table with her arms crossed underneath and closing eyes, opting to simply wait for the class to start.
“Melody?” Her eyes snapped back open as she turned her head to the left, Finding Jareth sitting right across from her, a rust colored unicorn stallion sitting beside him, the soft snoring coming from him indicating that he was asleep.
“Yo,” Melody replied as she sat up, turning to her friend. “Could have told me you’d be in this class.”
“The same could be said of you,” Jareth countered with a small smirk. “The topic of classes never really came up over the weekend though, otherwise we’d have both known that the other would be in this class.”
“... Touché,” she relented. “Still, I thought you were studying computer engineering? Last I checked, this class is more geared towards machines, not computers.” She held up a hand as Jareth opened his mouth. “Yes I am aware computers are machines, you know what I meant.”
Jareth chuckled. “True. The reason I’m taking this class is because I’ve always had an interest with technology in general, so I’m taking a few different classes on different subjects. Plus that way if I can’t get a job in computer engineering I’ve got a few backup options.”
“Not a bad plan,” Melody commented. “Honestly I think I was assigned to this class through the inter-species relations program, pretty sure little miss sunshine over here-” she gestured to Cassandra with her wing, earning a growl in response, “-is the one interested in engineering, though I’m not opposed to studying the subject.”
Jareth opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut off as the students at the front of the class screamed. Turning to the source, Melody and Jareth discovered that the machine the teacher had been working on had burst into flames.
With a sigh, the teacher stood up from her seat as a smoke alarm went off, calmly grabbing the nearby fire extinguisher and doused the flames before turning off the alarm. “Well that was a bust,” she said with another sigh, before clapping her hand together and turning her attention to the class. “Good morning students, my name is Samantha Dimir, I will be your engineering teacher for this year, and I do apologize about the little fire just now, every now and then something will go wrong with one of my projects, thankfully they’ve never hurt anyone before.”
“Now then, before we begin I’d like to-” she stopped as her eyes locked on the sleeping unicorn sitting beside Jareth. Quickly, she strode over to their desk, standing directly in front of the stallion for a moment before pulling a small metal bell out of her coat pocket. Holding it near the stallion’s ear, she rang the bell as loudly as she could.
“AAH!” The stallion yelped as he was forcibly awoken, jumping back in his seat, nearly falling backwards in the process. “Huh, Wha-” he started as he looked around, only to stop as his eye landed on the teacher. “Oh, um, hey teach…” he said nervously.
“Miss Dimir,” she stated, annoyance clear in her voice. “Now then, Mr.… ”
“Um, Tumbler. Brass Tumbler,” he offered.
“Mr. Tumbler,” she corrected. “I have little tolerance for students sleeping in my class. I’ll let you off with a warning since this is only the first day, and I know it can be difficult to adjust to the new environment and schedule so fast.” Her expression lightened. “But please, do try to arrive fully awake from now on, this is not a class you want to be falling asleep in.”
“Y-yes ma’am,” Brass Tumbler stammered, still caught off by the teacher’s tone.
“Good,” she replied, giving the unicorn a small smile before turning around and striding back to the front of the room. “As I was saying, before we begin I’d like to do a quick roll call so I get to know who everyone is, okay?” The class nodded. “Alright, when you hear your name called, just give a quick ‘present’, and if you have any nicknames you prefer to be called by, please let me know.”
Leaning back, she grabbed a folder from her desk and flipped it open. “First on the list… Jareth Blake?”
“Present,” Jareth answered with a faint tone of annoyance, cringing as he heard a few nearby students snickering at his name. Looking over, Melody offered her friend a sympathetic look, earning a weak, but no less thankful smile from him in return.
Miss Dimir nodded and turned her attention back to the list, calling out a few more names, each time getting a response from one of the students in the room. “Cassandra Garnet?” she said after a few moments.
The woman in question blinked as she was pulled from her thoughts, looking around in confusion before noticing the teacher looking at her curiously. “Oh, p-present,” she stammered, her cheeks gaining a faint red tint.
Miss Dimir gave another simple nod and glanced back down at her list. “Melody Bell Sharpe Gonzalez?”
“Present,” Melody responded. “And, if you wouldn’t mind, just ‘Melody Bell Sharpe’ is more than enough.”
“Of course,” she replied, giving Melody the same kind smile she had given the other students.
After a few more minutes Miss Dimir finished the roll call, dropping the folder back onto her desk. “Now that that’s done, welcome everyone, to Introduction to Engineering. In this class, we’ll be studying the basics of each field of engineering, as well as working on small projects to help everyone learn how to use the various tools used in those fields. Now without further ado, please-” she stopped as the machine caught fire again, making the alarm go off once more. Sighing, the teacher hung her head in defeat. “Why does this thing hate me?”
Melody sighed as she made her way towards her second class of the day. “Still not saying anything?” she asked, looking back at her roommate. In response, Cassandra simply scowled and glanced away from her.
Shaking her head, Melody turned her attention back to the path front of her. “Fine, act like a stubborn child, like this is high school.” She whispered. After a few moments, the line of students she was following turned into a classroom, prompting Melody to follow suit.
Taking one of the remaining chairs in the humble auditorium, Melody allowed her gaze to wander as she inspected the room. Chairs scattered about with no real order, various instruments hanging from the walls or on shelves, a podium at the front of the class, and a simple desk a few meters away from her. Seeing nothing of interest, Melody turned back to the desk.
‘Octavia Philharmonica… Why does that name sound familiar?’ Melody pondered. Hearing faint whispers from her fellow students, Melody turned her ears to try and catch what they were saying.
“Do you think it could really be her?” A girl somewhere behind her spoke faintly.
Her neighbor shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, but the name certainly matches.”
“Well who else could it be, it’s not like ponies are known for having the same name. Not sure why she would lower her standards to becoming a teacher.”
“Yeah, but she hasn’t been heard from in like, eight years, why would she be teaching at a school when she was-”
Melody’s attention was drawn away from the conversation as the side door opened, allowing an elegant grey earth mare to step through. Melody stared at the mare for a moment, noting the carefully styled mane, professional gait, and simple pink bow tie, before she finally realized.
‘Oh my god, my music teacher is one of the greatest modern classical artists in Equestria!’ Then her more pessimistic side spoke up. ‘Oh my god, I have to learn under somepony whose standards are probably impossible to reach. She is going to kill us all.’
Octavia trotted calmly over to the podium, her movement carrying with it a subtle air of grace and confidence with each step. Once she reached her destination, the mare rose up and placed her forehooves onto the podium, clearing her throat before addressing the students.
“Good afternoon class. My name is Octavia Philharmonica, and I will be your instructor in the study and practice of various music genres native to both Earth and Equus,” she started, her voice bearing what Melody could only describe as a high class English accent. “Though, before we begin, I would like to take a moment to answer any questions you may have.”
One female, a young blonde haired female, raised her hand. “Um, forgive me if I’m mistaken, but are you the Octavia Philharmonica? The former Equestrian musician?”
She gave a small, almost sad smile. “You are correct. Prior to becoming a teacher, I was a well-known musician in Equestria.” She let out a nostalgic sigh before continuing. “I loved being able to express myself through my music back then, pouring my emotions into elaborate pieces that enticed countless ponies to come and listen.”
The student gave an odd look. “Then... why did you leave? If you enjoyed it so much, what could have possibly made you abandon it for teaching?” Seeing the half-glares she was getting from her fellow students, added, “Sorry, just curious is all. Didn’t mean to come off as rude.”
Octavia waved her hoof dismissively. “No need to apologize. It is perfectly natural to ask questions.” Her smile quickly dropped. “As for why left... I suppose the simplest answer is that the fame became too much to bear.”
“To be loved, envied, and even desired, by countless ponies... Many ponies would joyfully bask in such fame, and, for a time, I did as well.” A small, nostalgic smile graced her features. “For a few years, it was like a dream. I couldn’t so much as leave my house without hearing praises from passing fans.”
“Then what happened?” The words escaped Melody’s mouth before she even realized it, causing her to cringe silently at her question.
Octavia’s expression quickly soured, an uncharacteristic growl escaping her throat. “Some of my more… ‘zealous’ fans discovered my heart, which so many desired, had already been claimed by another. Their previous praises and compliments turned to insults and threats to the pony I loved, some even going so far as threatened death upon her if we did not separate immediately.”
She gave a final, tired sigh. “Eventually, we decided to simply flee. We moved here to Earth and I decided to study so that I could become a teacher.” She shrugged. “I’ve been teaching here for the past five years, and, while I miss being able to take the stage as I once did, I’ve grown to love my current job and wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world.”
Once she finished, the entire class fell into a brief, uncomfortable silence, before Cassandra finally spoke up. “Was anything done about the threats? I don’t know anything about Equestrian law, but I can’t imagine they’d let them get away with something like this.”
“Ponies are traditionally creatures of peace and harmony, and when it comes to threats, especially death threats, the laws have no wiggle room for the one sending them to try and get away through,” Melody answered. “Have a unicorn use magic to track the sender, then send in the guard to arrest him. It’s actually one of the few times the bureaucracy that Equestria is notorious for is pushed to the side in favor of haste and action.” She glanced back at Octavia with a frown. “But something tells me it’s never that easy.”
Octavia gave a solemn nod. “For a time, it was as easy as simply going to the guard and giving them the note. They’d arrest the sender, and that would be that.” Her frown deepened. “But, much like the hydra, for every one that was silenced, two more took its place. I would end up getting several of them each day. Eventually, we finally gave up and left, as I’ve said before.”
Giving a final sigh, Octavia turned her attention to her clipboard. “But enough of that. I believe it’s time we got along with class.”
“Seeing as part of the focus of this class is to learn how to perform music, when I call your name, I’d like you state which instrument you prefer. Understood?” She asked, her previous polite tone having returned. Seeing her student’s give their own forms of affirmation, she nodded and glanced down at her list. “Diana Brewer?”
“Present,” the student in question replied. “As for instruments I’ve wanted to learn how to play the cello for some time now.”
Octavia smiled and nodded once more, jotting down her answer before continuing down the list as she called out each student’s name and writing down their instruments.
“Cassandra Garnet,” she called out after a few minutes, pulling the woman from her thoughts.
“H-here,” she stammered out in mild confusion. “And I play the piano.”
Octavia wrote the response down before glancing back at her list. “Melody Gonzalez?”
‘I refuse to believe this is just an odd coincidence...’ “Present, and I play the Violin,” she answered.
“Wait, seriously?” one of the more well dressed student’s asked. “No offence, but you don’t look like the kind of ‘person’ who’d be skilled at such an instrument.”
Melody gave the man a deadpan look. “I wasn’t aware there was a special dress code you had to adhere to in order to know how to play an instrument,” she replied, mild hostility sneaking it’s way into her tone.
“Sorry,” the man said defensively. “I just didn’t ex-” he was cut off by the soft tapping of Octavia’s hoof on the podium.
“If you two are finished, I believe we were still in the middle of the roll call,” she replied, her calm voice carrying a stern tone boring no room for argument.
“Sorry,” they said in unison, both of them giving an embarrassed look at their interruption.
“No harm done, but let us get back to the matter at hand,” Octavia said politely. “Now, where were we...”