> Equestria Girls : Tale of the Silver Pen > by nicojaller > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The Transfer > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Disclaimer, I do NOT own My Little Pony : FiM, it's the propriety of Lauren Faust and Hasbro * P.S : Yes this is really happening. And yes, this will be in Equestria Girls, I already put a warning. If the name hasn't already stopped you, this a last warning. Alright, there we go. I stand in front of the building, gulping, and my legs shaking, refusing to advance. I hold my books tight against my chest as I stare at the school I will attend this year. The students, all females, all goes in, while I stand frozen and nervous. I feel a hand touching a shoulder to see a guy smiling at me, he's not shaking from nervosity and fear, he's clearly shaking from excitement. I sigh, before taking my courage and taking steps foward. WAIT... Let's go back a bit. My name's Silver Pen, my family is mostly known to have had great writers, philosophers and just, great minds, in the past. Hell, one of my uncle's got one of those memoriums for his contribution for the Nobel Price of who knows what. My father works for the biggest newspaper in Vanhoover, he got the Pulitzer once for an article he wrote. My mom is a teacher in a university. Then you have me, great grades and everything but nothing much more than that. My dream is to become a novelist, I mostly like to write fantasy, I write for fun, but apparently, people think my stuff are enjoyable, so I show them from time to time. As for social life, I don't much to talk about, I'm more of a book type of guy, but there is one person who is important. Solace Wings, my best and only friend, he is different from me in a lot of ways, he tends to be lazy when it comes to class (even though he still do great, I'll never understand how), but when it comes to sport, he is competitive, hard working and determined. What did unite us ? Why were we friends, well, for one, he actually talks to me, that in itself, is a good start, secondly, we love video games, yeah, who would have known, the only thing that can unite jocks and bookworms would be electronical games. Any good or at least not too awful story have at least a description, so let's get that out of the way too. I have a grey-ish skin, dark blue eyes, and messy black hair, I generally wear black turtleneck shirt, with grey jeans. I'm pretty skinny and pale globally. Solace is more bulky, way more muscular than I am, he often wears t-shirts, if not, it's jersey from his favorite sport teams, he wears joggins pants. He has an orange-ish skin, and short blond hair, with brown eyes. Now that's down, let's get back to the narration, shall we ? Like I said, our time in Vanhoover was coming to an end. Let me explain why I says that. At the beginning of the year, there was an... interesting announcement to say the least. From what I understood, Canterlot High School, an all-girl school, decided to try an experiment. They would open an co-ed wing in the school and it would coexist with the rest. Technically, the school wouldn't be a full-on co-ed establishment, the final project project 20 male student at most, in a school that holds between 400 and 500 students per year. The experiment was that two male students would be selected, and would attend the school for a year, at the end of the year, if everything went well, the student could chose to either continue to attend and would be placed in the new wing or could chose to go back to their original school. The direction could also chose to kick-out said student if he broke the directives with the contract signed between both schools. I signed up for this, more for academic reasons, I really liked my school, but Canterlot High School is one of the top rated school in the country ! I can't really let an opportunity like that pass through my hands, I'm thirsty... for knowledge ! This could be chance of a lifetime. I passed all the protocoles, psychological test, academical tests, went through a lot of administration. I had to get so many recommendations, parents, uncles, teachers, my director wrote one himself. Of course, I worked very hard all year, to get the best grades possible to help my cause. I wasn't surprised that Solace signed too, but obviously for different reasons than mine, he never liked our school that much, because there was a huge lack of teams. There was the soccer team, because it was cheap, it only really asked a ball and two nets. I know that pîssed him of, Canterlot High School has a way higher budget for that from what I've heard. And secondly, we'll just say he's a bit of a flirt. We'll leave it at that. You'll understand my surprise when we both got selected at the end of the selection process. You'll understandf that I was a bit incredulous. From what they told me, they were searching for two students with different backgrounds and personality type to see if they both could fit. If their students could interact with all kind of male students and not just one. I guess it makes sense, and it will be pretty cool to have a familiar face to go with me. After my transfer was validated by both directions, the only thing left to do was to find a place in Canterlot. My parents were okay with me going, in fact, they were ecstatic, for the reasons said earlier, for them, going to such a prestigious school was probably the best thing that could ever happen in my life. I agree. From what I gathered, they freed a room, in what willl be the future wing that will host the male students. It's pretty isolated from the rest of the girl's rooms, for obvious reasons. The months that followed were basically just fillings, preparations. They did gave us a list of rules to follow, the ethics of the school, everything you could ever have to know about the school. Mascots, sports team, clubs, achievements, uniforms, history. It was heavy reading, I'll tell you. Even for me it was really heavy, I can't imagine how hard that was for Solace. Finally the day came, and the narrative cycle is complete. Solace is looking way more foward to this than me that's for sure. I try to stabilize my breathing, as I enter the school. I hide myself behind my books as people are staring at us. I don't Solace is noticing it, he's into his zone, as he says it. I see him winking at girls and walking at confidence. But I see them, the students are looking at us with a lot of hostility, like we were intruders. I should have figured that would have to happen. This is what we basically are, I envy my friend to just being able to ignore that and carry on, but I'm not like that. If this is how things are going to be, I should have probably stayed in Vanhoover, at least, there, I was alone, but not antagonized. Better be ignored than hated. Anyway, we have to go to Principal Celestia's office to get our schedule. On the way, I noticed one group of girls from the corner of my eyes. They weren't especially different than the other groups of students, they were still staring at us, but I noticed one major difference, outside of the one with rainbow hair, what was up with that ? They were smiling. I couldn't say for sure, like I said, I only saw it for a second, but they didn't look as hateful so yeah, I'll probably notify Solace. When we will have time to socialize these will probably be the ones to go, we will just have to find the one group with someone with rainbow hair, shouldn't be that hard. - '' Are you alright bro ? We arrived '' The sound of my friend voice gets me out of my inside monologue. - '' Oh yeah, sorry, I was just thinking to myself. '' - '' Okay, so... the usual, right ? '' - '' Yeah...'' We enter the office, to see the woman that would serve as principal, she had a yellow jacket, green eyes, and... by lord ! Rainbow hair, why is there more than one in the same school ! Anyway, let's get on with the rest. She hears the door happening and she looks at us, she smiles and she gets up from her chair. - '' Oh you arrived ! I'm glad you could make it, I want to welcome you warmly to Canterlot High School, I hope you had a warm welcome. '' Solace just smiles and nods. - '' Oh it was ma'am, we had a pretty nice reception. '' I just mumble. - '' No, we didn't '' I say shyly, enough to not be heard. Celestia nods, satisfied. - '' I am happy to here that, I asked you two to come here for some reasons, first of all, we need to go back on the terms and conditions of your presence here, second, I will give you your schedule and the keys to your room. '' I am fine with that, that was I expected to do anyway. I just want to get this over with and get to class. I don't think I'll get a much better reception in class, but at least the lessons will distract me from our predicament. - '' First of all, I think we can all agree that this is still an all-girls school, so if I hear any incidents about you harrasing one of the girls, I still have all my rights to send you back, do I make myself clear ? '' We both nod, I'm more indifferent about that, it's not like I was that much interested in doing any inproper things to a girl or finding a girlfriend in this place anyway. Although for Solace, it seems to be different, I can read on his facial expression, that he seems disappointed but willing to try. I hope for his sake that he doesn't screw this up. I know he's a bit of a goofball, but he's the only friend I have, and in this place, I'll have all friends I can take. - '' Good, now that we agreed, here's your schedule, the first class will start in 20 minutes, it gives you plenty of time to find your first class and to begin to familiarize yourselves with the school. '' We get out of the officem we take a second to look at each other and sigh. - '' Well, this will be a tiny more complicated than what I initially thought. '' Solace says. - '' No, you don't say. '' - '' Anyway, we get on our way, I mean, not that I particuliary care about class, but we should we do a good first impression at the very least. '' - '' The only intelligent thing you've said all day. '' - '' Hey, it may not be as big as yours, but I've still got a brain, you know ? '' We go on our way, our first class was English, not a too shabby start, at least something like Physics. Not that I don't like that course, just that would be a though start. It takes us 15 minutes or so to get a bit familiar with the hallways and spot most of our classes. We share most of our classes for some exception. For exemple, he has one more classes in sports, while I have a classed named Free Writing, can't wait to see how this will work. 3 minutes before the clock, we arrive in the class to see that most of the students were already there. Daaamn, when they said that students here were ponctual they really meant it. By our old school standards, by this time the first students arrived, I see that we will have to up our games. Once again not the best of receptions, I could almost feel the air freeze from the coldness of the room. I take a bit of courage and walk towards one of the free seats at the back, Solace does the same. It's a shame we aren't really next to each other, he's more at the other side of the room. The teacher comes in. She presents herself as Miss Cherilee, she seems sympathetic enough. She was warm and nice, I kinda like her. I started having good feelings about all of this, until the fatidic words are said. - '' I am glad to announce that two new students are joining us today. I will invite them both to present themselves. '' Oh... for god's sake ! > The First Morning > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh for god's sake ! Of course, it had to happen. Of course destiny had to screw us again. I look at my friend from the corner of my eye. Well he doesn't seemed to be as annoyed to this as I am, because he was already standing up with a smile on his face. - '' Hello to you all, my name's Solace Wings, I am very glad to ba able to attend this school, I love sports, which is why I'm so excited to be here, I'm sure we will all go along. '' Good old classic from him, well, he still has way more charisma than me. His presentation was received with a bit more warm than earlier, I can swear than I saw some of the girls smiling and looking with a bit of curiosity. Yeah, I'm sure he will be fine. Now, I realize that all the eyes in the class were turned toward me, oh lord, if I could become invisible, I would do so right now. I'd rather do anything right now. I take a huge breathe before standing up. My legs are made of jelly right now. - ''...My name's Silver Pen, I like to write things, pleasure to meet you all...'' As soon as I said the last world I sat down again and I avoided the eyes of everyone in the room, keeping my head on the desk, embarrassed. There are reasons why I hate oral presentations, I keep embarrasing myself. I lift my head up, to recompose myself. I look around me, to only see Solace grinning at me, with a thumbs up. He must be feeling good about all of this, good for him, because I don't. I look around me to have my eyes meet with the one girl that was on my right. She had a blue skin, purple eyes, blue and white hair. She was kinda cute I will admit that, in her own style at least, she looked like a cosplayer. I don't say a word and turn my head ahead towards the teacher. During the rest of the class, I accidentely look at the girl by the corner of my eye. I don't know why, I guess I'll have to talk with Solace about that during dinner, he'll probably know. He has way more experience with the fairer sex than myself. The class finally ends, I look at the girl exiting the class, I don't even know why I focus so much of my time talking about her. I have to find Sol. I exit the class to see him waiting for me outside, still smiling. He gives me a friendly slap on the back. - '' You see, that wasn't so bad wasn't it ? '' - '' Talk for yourself, dude. You basically won them over. '' - '' You say that because you sheltered yourself, if you watched, you would have noticed that some of the girls seems to have a weakness for shy guys. '' Yeah, he likes to tease me quite a bit, but it's in good fun, I know that he looks over me, so it's all good. - '' Shut up man, anyway, we aren't supposed to interact too much with the girls. '' - '' I think you really misinterpreted the directives, bro, she said no harrasment and things like that. She never said anything about getting a girlfriend or a girl whose also a friend. My point is, let's do the most of this opportunity. We have one year here, let's make it as memorable as possible, don't you agree ? '' He's right, I am probably too gloomy about all of this, it doesn't make our popularity any better right now, but our situation won't get any better if we don't try. I'm not really worried about him, he was always popular anywhere he went, I'm sure he will win the girls of this school by the end of the week. As for I, I'll do what I can, meaning not much, but we'll see how the situation evolves. Oh, I almost forgot why I wanted to speak with him. - '' Oh, by the way, earlier, I may have found a group we could join to eat with. '' He looks at me with surprised, with an raised eyebrow, before grinning again and high-fiving me. - '' Good job dude ! I really didn't expected that from you, who are they? '' - '' I don't know their names, heck, I don't even know if they'll agree, but from my observations, they're the only one who doesn't want us kicked out, they're our best shot. You'll find them pretty easily, they're the gang that has a girl with rainbow hair. I don't know much other than that, but still, shouldn't be that hard. '' He smiles at me and promises me to be on the look for them, I had one last class before lunch and it was Free Writing, so we had to part ways, I don't like the fact that we're separated so soon, but it had to happen, I'm probably more nervous than anything. I never really liked first days, having to know an entire new group of people isn't an easy task to me. I arrive in the class, and huge shocker, it was still miss Cherilee, I swear, this teacher is everywhere. I mean, it makes some sense since she is the English teacher and Free Writing isn't exactly a class in itself, it's more of an option than anything. Thankfully I do not need to present myself a second time, from what I gather from her explanation, this class is basically a showcase of our abilities at writing, the goal isn't to be the best, but to improve throughout the year. I can get behind that. I go back to reality when she announced that the first project would be a team project, teams of two to be more precise. Why ? Why in the world would a WRITING project be in team ? This kinda pisses me of, what was the point then ? Sharing creative styles and perspectives, yeah right. Not like anyone's gonna want to be in team with me. I sit at my desk, watching teams already getting formed, of course, when the word team project comes out, the teams are almost all formed, because friends go with friends, they don't even need to speak to know they're going to do it together. I know that because I did that with Solace a lot back then. A hand on my shoulder makes me jump on surprise, I turn myself to see a girl, her skin looks lavender-ish, she had purple hair with a streak of pink, it looked interesting. She a blue shirt and a purple skirt. She was smiling at me, making me at a loss of words. - '' Euh... d-do you need anything ? '' - '' Yeah, I was wondering if you would be willing to partner up with me ? '' WHAT ?! If I had any water to spill, I would do so right now, I was not expecting that. At all. Wait a minute, stop the press. I think I recognize her, she was in the Rainbow Group ! Yeah, I'm gonna call them that because I still don't know there names. - '' R-really, don't you have friends to team with ? '' Ok, I realize this could of sounded really mean and harsh, oh boy, I should probably think before I speak sometimes. - '' Yes, in fact I do have two friends in this class, they teamed up together and as you know we can only team up in teams of two, and I found you really lonely. '' I looked at the friends she was pointing, there was a procelaine girl with purple hair and a yellow girl with pink hair. Yeah, it really was the group I was thinking about. What luck ! - '' T-thank you very much... So...what's your name ? '' - '' My name is Twilight Sparkle, pleasure to meet you. '' Then of the amazing things ever written in the history of ever happened, I smiled. Okay, I may be exagerating a bit, but really, that random girl that I've just met, who wanted to be nice made me smile, I should put that on a calendar. - '' Same '' The rest of the class isn't so interesting to tell, I can basically sum up what happened during that class. We shared in what aspects we were good, she is good to planify things, I am good to invent things and I think we're both pretty good at writing. So we shared the parts each of us would have to do. The assignment is to write a short story, at maximum 3000 words. My job will be to create the basic plot and characters. Twilight will plan out the story, from beginning to end, then we'll write. To be honest it was quite fun, I got along pretty well with her, she has a pretty organized mind, a really methodid girl. She definitively has my respect. We gave ourselves tips and other things like that. At the end of the period, we had finished the planning for the story and were ready to start on the writing. - '' Thank you a lot, for be whiling to talk to me, by the way, would it bother you if me and my friend eat with your friends at lunch ? '' She nods. - '' No problem, for both things, and anyway, there was a certain someone I know that was very excited at the idea of meeting you both. '' - '' Oh...ok, I guess I'll meet you at the table, I'll see you there. '' She makes a sign of approval. I put my stuff in my backpack and exit the class. This went...surprisingly well. For once, I met someone that I can actually talk to, it's a really great start. I should still stay prudent though, most of the school won't be nice like that to me, so I should take what I can get. If we can get Twilight and her friends, to at least not hate us. Going through the hallway, I still get some hateful stares, but fortunately, most were just indifferent to me, they just tended to ignore me. I guess the initial shock passed for them, but I wonder, weren't they warned that we were coming ? I guess they were aware of it, it probably didn't meant they accepted that fact. I arrive in the cafeteria, go through all of the line to get my food. It looks pretty good, for school standarts at least. Okay, now, let's find the others. If I didn't find Sol before, I'll guess he's already with them. I'll go with the standard I decided earlier, find the one group the features a girl with rainbow hair. Well, I found the girl from earlier in class, she was eating with two other girls, she notices me looking at her, so I continue my search, it takes a few looks left and right to spot them. I go towards them, while avoiding noticing the looks people gave me. Solace that was already at the table, looking tired. There was also a really, really pink girl that noticed me and started waving at me with excitation. I will have to guess she is the one Twilight was talking about. I sit next to Solace, he smiles at me. - '' You seemed to have survived by yourself, how was that class ? '' - '' It was fine, how was yours ? '' - '' Tiring, but cool '' - '' Wait, tired ? You, tired ? Now that is a story I want to hear. '' He laughs and he points at the Rainbow girl, that was laughing herself. - '' Well, since we're still waiting for everyone to arrive, I may as well tell what happened. '' > Through Solace's Eyes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Solace's POV) This school looks pretty dope right now, I mean, the hallways are nice, the girls are pretty and by god, it seems to have so much more budget than my old one. It's such a relief. I mean, I'm not one of these snob kids that only go to these pretty, classy schools, but at least here, the lockers doesn't seem to be falling appart. Yeah, that's how bad it was. That's why I wake up today in a pretty good mood. I never really expected my application to be expected, I didn't really bother to listen to the explanations, because it was mostly administration mumbo-jumbo, and don't even get me started on the things they ''recommended'' us to read. Outside of the things that talked about sports, I didn't even bother, but I wouldn't even be surprised if Silver read all of this. I wasn't surprised he was chosen for this, if there was one guy who was willing to go there for another reasons just to see girls, it was him. Myself, athletics was the main reason, the Wondercolts were a pretty famous team, they are of course a female-only team, but they competed in our category, they won every damn year. They kicked our asses every single game. I'll never forget the soccer or football, however you want to call it, where they destroyed us 17-5. Guess who was the one who scored the 5 goals ? Yeah, me baby ! But they all covered me, and my teammates couldn't achieve much, in offence and in defence. I'm a competitor, losing isn't really my thing. Second of all, the school had nothing. No budget, they barely had enough to have a sports class. That class mostly consisted of fitness and sports that didn't required a lot of equipments. The second reason, was, like you would expect, the girls. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a player. I'm not the type of guy who will go from one girlfriend to another each week, I had an handfull of relationships in the past, but they lasted at least one month each. I know pretty short, but that happens. But yeah, I say that I'm a loyal type of guy, but I didn't say that I can't appreciate good eye-candy. The day started off pretty well, I met up with mister Nervous Shaking (AKA Silver Pen), my best pal. You would wonder how this came to be. Let me just say one thing, playing an afternoon length of Mortal Kombat with a dude is a great way to build up a friendship, let me tell you that. There was some good things that came out of that, I helped him build a bit of confidence, okay, I know that doesn't show too much right now, but I swear he improved ! Him, he helps me study. I admit, I do not work that hard in class, but I succeed, that's what is important. Later, I don't want to work in a office, I want to be on a field and play. That is what I need, so you would understand why I don't enjoy classes that much. We went to the office to get the usual speech, I realize that I'll probably be a bit more cautious than in my usual approach with girls, because I really do not know what they'll account as ''harrasing''. It could be a wink from all I know, but I won't let that little thing distract me, I'll still have fun here. First class was interesting, I look at the girls, not a single smile in the class, well, except from that one pink girl. This could be a challenge, I like that. No problem, if I have to win them over, I'm ready for it. I sit in one of the free desks, I look around to see Silver in the opposite side, looking like he was having one of the worst days of his life. At this moment, I really want to take him by the shoulders, shake him and screaming for him to cheer up. I presented myself, I looked up to see some faces changing, most of them was most of indifference, but I know that I still made an impact. I think I can see some small smiles. Yeah, Silver's presentation was like what I expected, really short and sweet. I look around to see the reaction from the audience. Mostly indifference, but oh ! Interesting, there was this blue girl that was besides him that was giving him looks. Ship detected ! I think I have one more thing to had on my bucketlist, making sure that ship sails ! To be honest, I didn't really pay attention to the rest of the class. When the ring sounded the end, I took my stuff and went outside, I waited for Silver to come out. He finally did, while keeping his head low. I tease him a bit, just to relax him a bit, he looked so tense. He jumped, like if he suddenly remembered something, - '' Oh, by the way, earlier, I may have found a group we could join to eat with. '' I look at him, shocked. That's why I like Silver, he always somehow surprises me, he's so shy and all, then somehow comes up with things like that. I high-five him, maybe someday, I'll make him come out of his shell a little more, maybe one day. He talks about a group featuring a girl with rainbow hair. I say I'll look for them. My next class is sports, so I need to get myself changed. Since there is no real place to change myself, I went back to our room to get changed and hurried to the gymnasium. When I arrive, most of the girls were already there, but for once, it's not them I admire, I take a minute to look around and admire that room. It was at least two or three times bigger than the one in Vanhoover. It was surely a sight to behold, I mean, there was equipments for a lot of different sports. Some of them, I don't even know what they are ! If this scene was a cartoon, I would have stars in my eyes, litteraly. Then a loud voice gets me out of my stargazing. - '' Hey, boy ! Are you to sweat or to admire the scenery ? '' I shake my head to see the one that I can suppose is the coach, she was yellow, with orange hairwith a yellow streak. She was also wearing sunglasses. Even though I couldn't see her eyes, she looked pissed. I can't help but notice the insistance on the word boy, that she spat with animosity. - '' Oh, sorry miss ! It will not happen again ! '' - '' I sure hope so. '' Like that she turned away, I looked at the group, and oh, what a coincidence. There was a girl with rainbow hair, she must be the one Silver was talking about. Now that I look at her, I recognize her, I don't know her name, but I sure do remember that she was the captain of the soccer team that destroyed us last time. I approach her, while she is stretching. I present myself to her. - '' Hey ! My name's Solace Wings ! Do you remember me ? We played against each other in Vanhoover. '' She looked at me. Her facial expression went in a few seconds from annoyed, to curious to a smirk. - '' Oh yeah ! You were in that time we absolutely demolished right ? '' I scratch my head, a bit embarrassed. Yeah, that would be what she all she would remember from that match. I don't know why I expected other things. She saw my embarrasement and smiled. - '' Don't worry dude, you were still pretty good on the field, 5 goals, it's pretty impressive all things considered. It's just the rest of your team that was pretty..well.. '' - '' Yeah, I know, they were bad, as a captain, I never like speaking badly of my teammates, but they hardly knew what they were doing and they lacked severly of motivation. You're team and yourself were pretty awesome. '' - '' Anything I'm in is awesome. '' - '' You seem like a chill girl, does it bother you if I join you at lunch after this class ? '' - '' Yeah, at one condition ? '' I kinda hate when people has conditions, it could be litterally anything in the universe. From the moment she doesn't ask me for a pink elephant or a magical unicorn, I should be fine. - '' Which is ? '' - '' I want to test your awesomness, so what do you say that we have a competition ? '' Oh yeah, that does touch my interest. Since that (in)famous game, I always wanted to see what she was really capable of. - '' Oh, I like the sound of that, you're ON ! '' The first challenge was the 100m sprint, she destroyed me, hard. She was most certainly the fastest athlete I have ever met. This wasn't a good start for me. The second one was the long jump, I won that one, barely. Next, she won the high jump. Unknowingly, a crowd formed around us. I even think some girls started to put bets. Fourth, the push-ups, for the first time in the challenge, I clearly beated her, she looked annoyed. Fifth, it was the endurance run, 2.4km, she won, but once again pretty barely, she was quicker and took a large advance in the beginning, I was catching up to her by the end, because I had a better cardio, in a longer race, I would have probably won. By the end, we were both panting, I was drinking water in the bottle that I bringed. I offered some to her, since she didn't seem to have one. She gladly took it and drank from it. - '' Thanks... I needed that, you're awesome, but still not as awesome as me though. '' - '' Yeah, but it was fun, by the way, I forgot to ask what's your name. '' - '' Rainbow Dash, don't forget it. '' - '' Don't worry, I won't '' Then the class ended, I had won the right to sit with her at lunch, she guided me to her group of friends, she said that they weren't all there yet, but at the table there was a girl with yellow and red hair nammed Sunset Shimmer, the pink girl from earlier whose named is apparently Pinkie Pie, fitting. There was also a blonde girl, a farmer I'll guess from her clothes, she's named Applejack. I started eating when from the corners of my eye I saw Silver entering the cafeteria, he looked a bit confused and lost. I watch him getting his food, he starts looking around, looking for us I guess. I could make a sign to help him, but I won't, watching a confused Silved makes for great entertainement, I know, I'm a great friend. I see him looking in another direction, he's staring at the same blue girl for earlier, for a bit too long. Yes, called it. The first flag has been planted, I don't think I will have to do much. The only thing is to spread the seads and make them grow. He finally notices us and makes his way over here, he sits next to me, I smile at him. - '' You seemed to have survived by yourself, how was that class ? '' - '' It was fine, how was yours ? '' I just think about the events that occured in the past hour. - '' Tiring, but cool '' - '' Wait, tired ? You, tired ? Now that is a story I want to hear. '' I point at Rainbow, who was laughing. - '' Well, since we're still waiting for everyone to arrive, I may as well tell what happened. '' > Friendly and Unfriendly Encounters > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Silver's POV) - '' Okay, so you're telling me that not only did she defied you in athletism, but she bested you ? '' - '' Yeah, she's just that awesome, man ! '' I see him winking at the girl, who grins proudly. I shake my head, for one, I never thought he would recognize defeat, that was an unusual sight, second, that he would take defeat so well. If I remember well, that girl was in the team that destroyed us in soccer. I watched that game, I was in the stand, I was not that much interested in the game itself, I find it pretty boring to watch to be honest, but I wanted to be here to cheer for Solace. It was a painful evening to say the least. Seeing these two getting along so well was a bit weird to me, but oh well, that was expected from him. He gets along with everyone. After that, while we are waiting for Twilight and the other girls, I tell him basically what happened in my class. While I tell the story, I see a grin appearing on his face. - '' Dude, that is a great first step ! You see, it's not that hard to talk to girls ! '' - '' ... I guess ? I mean, it's not like I had any choice in the matter... '' He takes me by the shoulder and shakes me. - '' CHEER UP ! Seriously, don't go emo on me, look at the positives, did you enjoy talking to her ? '' - '' ...Yes...'' The more questions he asked, the closer he gets from my face. He has a serious look on his face, you don't know how rare that is. He seemed seriously exasperated. - '' Did you die spending time with her ? '' - '' No, in fact, it was pretty fun globally. '' - '' You see, not that hard is it ? '' I smile a little. I think I know where he is going. - '' Probably not, sorry, I'm just... more...nervous than usual. '' - '' No problem, anyway, if you have any trouble, don't forget that I'm here. '' It warms my heart to know that I have his support, I don't know why I wouldn't have it, I guess it's just nice to hear him say it. Now, the last girls finally arrive at the table, I smile at Twilight who sits to my left. She look at her other friends. - '' I think you've all met these two ? '' They all noded, Rainbow and Solace looked at each other grinning, a complicity already got established between these two it seems. Good for him, just looking at her, I can really see why he likes her. - '' Great, so let's welcome them properly shall we ? '' She looks at us two, but I think she mostly present herself to Solace, because I already know her. - '' My name is Twilight Sparkle, I really look foward to learn more about you two. '' Then it was the pink girl's turn, she said so much in such a short spend of time, I didn't really got all of it, because she talked so fast, but here what I understood from it. - '' Hello ! My name's Pinkie Pie ! I am the responsible of the party commitee, who consists of me, I and myself ! I am sooo thrilled to meet you both ! I gotta go, I will prepare your Welcome-to-Canterlot-Party ! '' Just like that she speeded out of the cafeteria, bringing her food with her, leaving me and Solace really confused about what just happened. The blonde farmer coughed to get our attention. - '' Don't worry about Pinkie, she's always like that, my name's Applejack, nice to meet yah both. Y'all both look alright in my books from what ah can see. '' We pretty much continue like that, the porcelaine girl's next. - '' My name is Rarity, if you need any advice concerning fashion, don't hesitate. By the way. '' She points at my shirt. - '' I really like yours, it really suits you well. '' - '' Thanks... I guess ? '' Solace is smirking at me, teasing me a bit, I feel the heat coming to my head from embarrasement, so I turn my head towards the next one. It was the yellow one with pink hair. - ''...I'm Fluttershy...'' I nod in understanding, she wasn't one for huge speech, I can understand and respect that. Unfortunately, Solace didn't seemed to get the memo. He made his head closer to her to try to hear her better. - '' What ? What's your name '' - '' ...Fluttershy... '' Before he can ask again, I pull him backward, he looks at me. I just shake my head in disapproval. He understands the meaning and stops, a bit embarrassed. Then we look at Rainbow girl. - '' My name's Rainbow Dash, the most awesome girl in this Academy, I'm pretty sure Solace can attest that. If you want, I could push you into shape, since you look pretty puny. '' I won't take offense to that, since it's true, but I'm not really really interested by that. I don't really imagine myself being any more or any less muscular than I am now. - '' I'll think about it. '' And really Rainbow Dash ? I know I was calling her Rainbow girl all this time, but I didn't expected it to be in her actual name, it must be one of the most litteral name I have ever seen, Pinkie Pie is pretty high on that list too though. Finally was the girl with yellow and red hair, it was pretty unique I must say, in the good sense of it. I liked it a lot. - '' My name's Sunset Shimmer, nice to meet you both of you, you seem like two interesting guys. '' Great, now that the presentations were done, we started to eat, but there was question that was floating in my head, that piqued my curiosity. - '' I had a question, it seems like you girls are pretty nice to us both, why ? '' They look at me surprised, even Solace, who had food in his mouth, looked at me like I was crazy. Twilight, spoke out. - '' What do you mean by that ? '' I take a second to place the ideas in my idea correctly. - '' I mean, most girls in this schools aren't exactly thrilled to have us here, but you all accepted us right away, why is that ? '' They looked at each other, not exactly certain how to respond to that, I feel bad a bit, but I really need to put my mind to rest on this. If not, I would only think about this all day, so I figured I would get it out of the way. This time, it was Sunset who decided to speak out. - '' Well, we do have a reason, but it is kinda a long story. Not really sure if you would believe us even if we told you. Maybe someday, but for now, trust us, we do have an actual reason why. For the rest of the school, sorry, most of them knows it's not your fault. I do not think it's personal. I think most of them are mostly scared of change, like everyone, they have grown customed to the school, so they are mostly scared of it changing. '' I nod, satisfied with answer, I really wonder what their story is, but if they want to keep it to herselves, it's fine. Really, I did not think there would be an actual reason. It makes sense though, most people are afraid of change. They don't really want their confort to be challenged, their routine to be disturbed. I can't blame them, because I'm the same. So, I guess Solace was right in that sense, if I wanted to be accepted, I would have to make the efforts necessary to do so. To make them as confortable with this situation as possible. Which will be a bit though, since I'm not confortable with all of this to begin with. I finish my meal and go to the hallway, waiting for the last class of the day. I heard some noises near the billboard to see that a crowd had formed. I try to stay as far from it as possible, but one voice catch my attention. - '' Students from Canterlot High ! The Great and Powerful Trixie has great news ! Trixie is looking for a Great and Powerful assistant ! '' Oh cool, a magician, pretty neat. Wait, I think it's the girl from earlier, apparently her name is Trixie. Cool, I actually identify her. Even though, it could just be her stage name. I never was that much of a fan of magicians, but it was interesting to see one student being one. Suddenly, at my surprise, they all start booing her and start throwing stuff at her, thankfully, it was nothing harmful, mostly trash and paper, but holy gwakamole ! They know it's most certainly only an act right ? Kayfabe must still be a thing for them. No but really, what would they do if they attended a wrestling show, start throwing stuff at the wrestlers ? At the cinema, throw rocks at the screen when the villain appears ? I don't dare try to do something as I am too stunned by what's happening, Trixie runs off under the wrath of the crowd, that finally calms himself and go their separate ways. I am left standing in the middle of the hallway covered in paper and trash. - '' What just happened ? '' I really feel ambivalent about what occured. On one hand, I feel absolutely terrible for Trixie who got so much heat, I don't think anyone deserves that, on the other, I don't really know if I really want to get involved in that. I should probably have to start of by figuring out how she got hated so much. Of course, the 3rd person speaking doesn't help, but it's part of a character, so for me, it doesn't cause that. So there must be another reason for all of this to happen. I'll have to ask the girls later, and probably Trixie herself. I need both sides of the spectrum to make myself a true idea. Great, first day, and I already feel that I got myself indirectly involved in a conflict. Excellent, start, exactly what I wanted from my first day. There are still time before the final class, so I wander around, still avoiding as much students as possible. I'm taking baby steps, making my first friends here was the most I consider I could do today. I look at the library, it looks pretty good, a lot of different books and different genre. I'll probably spend a lot of the year here to be honest. Shame that I don't have a lot of time today to explore it. The final class today was History, it would be a pretty interesting class, except for these three factors, one, the subject was something that I had already mastered years ago, so not really interesting to listen to. Second, I was way too much distracted by the Trixie situation to be able to concentrate. Three, the teacher was boring as a rock, I didn't even bother to learn his name. By the end, I found myself taking notes on anything but the actual class. I thought about the magician probably more than I would have liked. I don,t even know why I feel so concerned, but I do, I have to find a solution to this. I'll ask Solace for some advice tonight when we get back to our room and I'll ask the girls for help tomorrow at lunch. As the final clock rings, my mind feels in such a mess. I went through so many different emotions today. What ? You don't believe me ? Well I guess I can't blame you, I'm not that expressive, but I guarantee, this is one of my most expressive day. That's why I relate a lot to Fluttershy now that I think about it, even though that she does have this adorable and sweet side that makes her so likeable, that I don't have. I get out of the class, then sigh of relief. This day was finally over, it wasn't easy. It ended better than how it started that's for sure. Now, I take the direction of my room and I started to mentally plan how I am going to survive the next day, then the rest of the week. Hopefully I can. > Between Two Days > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Silver's POV) I arrive in the wing where our room is, only to see Solace staring at the door, with an eyebrow raised in interrogation. He look in my direction, he regains his smile. - '' Oh, I didn't see you, how was your afternoon ? '' I frown a bit at sudden change of mood. - '' A bit boring, but fine, question, why are you staring at the door of our room and not you, you know, actually open it ? '' He cringes a bit, he points at the door, looking like he didn't really know what to make of it. - '' I think you should see for yourself, it's certainly...something. '' Curious, I go towards the door, to see what was written on the door. Hate messages, I think I my face went to a even paler colour reading these. These went from really sympathetic like : '' I wished your moms aborted '' to '' Get out of our school, you two stinking bags of shit ''. There was a like a dozen of those. The only good thing, is there is probably not a dozen writters. There are only two or three different calligraphies, so it's probably just a salty gang. - '' Yes... that is most certainly something. '' I too wasn't really sure what to make of it, sure, I expected something like this to happen seeing the reception, but it's something I would have prefered to avoid having to deal with. Solace and I look at each for a few seconds, looking awkward. He scratches his head, thinking. - '' Ok, so what do we do with that ? '' - '' I don't know, should we talk about it to Principal Celestia ? '' Once again, he takes me by the shoulders. - '' Oh god no, it's the absolute last thing we should do ! '' - '' Why is that ? '' - '' You know we're trying be liked right ? Snitches doesn't tend to be liked. It will only bring trouble to the girls, then to us, so no, sorry, I absolutely reject that idea. '' Ok, so we retire that idea from the list, I think about other ways to deal with that situation. - '' Ok, so what about this, what if I took a photo of this and showed it to the girls tomorrow at lunch time. '' He nods, looking satisfied with that solution. I don't think there's many other things we can actually do in that situation. Of course, the ideal thing to do would be to go to the principal's office, but I can understand he doesn't want us to do that. In the long run, it doesn't help us at all. - '' Yeah, that would be the best way to go about it in my opinion, they should know how to handle this. '' We stare at the messages for a while, I take out my cellphone, take a photo of it. It's really damn annoying and damn, can they be harsh in these messages. But if they resolve to that to scare us, I'll have to guess they bark more than they actually bite so it doesn't worry me that much. What worries me is that some people may try bigger things afterwards, I'll repeat myself, but it's the god damn FIRST day, of a year. If I'm not wrong, we have almost 180 other days to go. We decide to clean the door afterwards, it takes us almost 30 minutes to clean all of it. Then we decided to get a pizza, to celebrate surviving the first day. Just kidding, it's just me that celebrates that. Solace him, decide to dedicate this delicacy for our first friends at Canterlot High School. After that, we play a couple of games of Mortal Kombat, until I remember what I wanted to talk to him about. - '' Hey, Sol, do you know a girl named Trixie ? '' - '' No, who's that ? A girl that caught your eye ? '' - '' No, well maybe, but that's not the point, she's the blue girl with white and blue hair. '' I see his eyes widening, then he fistbump the air, for apparently no reason, I won't question it. I don't really know what he's thinking half the time. - '' Oh yeah, I did see her once or twice today, she's in our class isn't she ? '' - '' Yes, I want to talk to you about her, because of something that I've seen today. '' I start telling him what I saw, about her being some sort of magician and how she got booed and pretty much chased away by the crowd of students. I don't think he's really listening, because he's smirking, amused by my concern. When I finish up telling the story, he shakes his head. - '' I don't think I can do much to help you there, but I must say, I am a bit surprised to see you so concerned for a girl you barely know. '' - '' I don't know why I even bother, but I feel concerned, I thought you may know what I should do. '' - '' I feel bad that I can't really help you, but you should know one thing, I'm 100% confident you will be able to come up with something, you're the most brilliant guy I ever met. If there's one person who can find a solution, it's you. '' It doesn't help me that much, but it does makes me confident, so I'm glad I had that conversation with him. He's a great moral support. I'll talk with the girls about that too. Well, at least we won't lack any subject for conversation, that's for sure, between that and the messages, tomorrow is pretty promising. I also take this opportunity to tease him a bit. - '' Sooo... what's going between you and Skittles ? '' He looks at me surprised, and... is he blushing ? Oh my god, he's blushing ! That's gold ! - '' W-what do you mean, she's my bro. '' - '' Yeah, I'd believe that if you weren't look at her like an especially delicious looking piece of steak. '' If he was a little red before, now he would put a tomato to shame. He was trying to come out with an excuse before just giving up. - '' Okay, I find her hot, what's wrong with that ? '' I shrud. - '' Nothing, I personally think you'd make a pretty awesome couple. '' After that, I stopped teasing, I know that he likes teasing him, so from time to time, I decide to return to favor too. We spend the rest of the evening talking about random stuff, like the new games that would be coming out soon most notably. He talks about football for a bit, the american AND the european one. I pay attention to him even if I don't say much, I know that he's always hyper enthusiastic about those things so I let him talk about it as much as he likes even if I don't even understand half the time he says. After that, it pretty much goes on anything, movies, music or just jokes that we read on the Internet. I needed that after all the stress I had today. I could really use the laughs, for now, I try not to think about what will await us tomorrow. We each had a separate bed, which is pretty nice, I love Solace to death, but I don't think I would stand to sleep in bed with him. Don't take this out of context. Never take what is said here out of context. In bed, I think about everything that happened today. The first class, the reception, meeting Twilight and her friends, Trixie, the messages on the door. This day surely has been one rollercoaster of emotions, eh ? This is one rollercoaster I'd rather not ride that's for sure. I hope that the second day will be a bit less turbulent, even though, my to-do list is pretty full. What is important for me right now, is to be on top of my emotions, stay in control, that's how I'll survive here. If I let my fear or my nervosity get the better of me, it won't lead me anywhere. Great, since I don't seem to be able to sleep right now, I may as well think the way to go with the situation I have on my mind. My biggest problem is that I don't have enough info to make a real judgement. I think my first step will have to be search the Internet for her, to see if she got implicated in any major events. If this leads to nothing, I'll probably have to search forums and sites like that. Not the most neutral sites, but it'll give me a pretty good idea of what the popular opinion is, because I still don't know if this was just a minority or a global anger towards that one girl. I roll on the bed, trying to sleep, I hate nights like that, when it seems that your own mind's keeping you from resting. It turns you crazy. I turn to look at Solace who was sleeping, and snoring, that didn't help the problem either. I guess I should do like him, just relax for a little bit. Even if everything worries me, these are some things that I will deal with tomorrow, now, I have to just shut my brain up. If I don't rest now, I won't have enough energy to deal with… whatever fate will come up tomorrow. The time I realize what's happening, it's already the next morning and I'm waking up. Well, that was easier than expected. I feel refreshed and more energized, a bit more ready to deal with this school than yesterday's morning. I get out of bed to get myself dressed, this time I decide to go with a black and white hoodie. With grey Adidas pants. When I finish up, I see Solace entering, coming back from his early morning jogging. He looks surprised. '' Damn bro, it's rare to see you up on a school day and not looking like shit. No offence. '' '' None taken, I guess I slept better than usual. '' Which was true, even though it took me awhile, usually I always came in and out from sleep. It was one of these nights where it didn't happen, it's a good thing. Most mornings, back in Vanhoover, I would barely be able to wake up at all, and when I did, it always taken me a few hours to get into the rythm. I prepare for the day, making a quick breakfeast mostly composed of cereals, then some eggs. I'm thankful that Solace do know how to cook somewhat, so we decided that we would share the task of cooking. One day it would be me, the other it would be him. At least it insured that we would eat different things. I prepare my things for the first class of the day, I don't feel the nervosity from yesterday, but it has been replaced by a different form of apprehention. I'm not terrified, just nervous, the messages on the door was probably just the beginning of something. I can't say what, but my paranoia tells me that something bad will happens, even if it's today, next week or even next month. I can't let my guard down. Having a sensation of security in this school is the worst possible thing I can do right now. I kinda envy Solace in that sense, even if I think he's probably too trusting, it's probably his most important quality, since I'm not that trusting. The only reason I trust Twilight and her friends is because my guts tells me so. Can I trust the Trixie girl ? That's left to see, I'll do my research today, I'll ask her and the girls, but I sure as hell know that the only one I can really trust in this is my own logic. No information I'll get will be objective, that's for sure. So it will be up to me to take those informations to make the puzzle. I take my backpack, and I look at the door. I take a huge breathe, I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I go outside the room to face my second day as a Canterlot High School student. > Two Paths Taken > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I go through the hallway, I start to wonder if I didn't made a terrible mistake. The ambiance is still hostile, while it's still mostly indifferent, which is better I would say. Thankfully my mind is sufficiently full of other things to think about for me to worry about that for now. I don't know if things will get any better, let's just hope that with them they will. Time heals all wounds as they say. I have my day all planned out, but the lunch break is the focus of my thoughts as I'm starting to plan how I am going to approach this. I guess we will start by showing them the photo of yesterday's incident and then I could bring up Trixie afterwards. We'll start by the most urgent one. The whole morning just seems to go by as quickly as possible, I try to focus on my classes, because we did promised Principal Celestia that we would have good grades so god damn I try my best to focus on my studies. Strangely, it calms me a bit. Thinking about mathematics seems to make me relax. These still are problems, but they are problems that are easily identifiable and easy to solve with logic. There never is any social implications or consequences, it's simple in it's cold logic. But real life don't work like that, most of the time you can't take the most direct solution, because reality is more complex than hypothetic problems. Yesterday's events are perfect exemples of that, logic would ask of us to get tell Principal Celestia and Luna, but on a social scale, it's more complicated than that. There's the consequences and repercussions it would have. God darn it reality, why do you have to make everything much harder than it needs to be. In other context, I would probably not care about the social consequences, it's not like I'm particuliary popular to begin with, but this time, I just feel there's is way more to lose. Being like is maybe not that important for me, but I know it is for Solace and I can't take that from him. I know that he wants get along with the girls here, so the first option is way too risky. Creating more tension is not what we need. Personally, I can't risk our scholarship here , that comes into play too. This may be a bit selfish now that I think about it, but I really want to stay here. All the efforts and hard work bringed me here, to allow me to study here. I can't ruin that to myself. The whole morning was basically that, doing my math problems while thinking about the potential conclusions of the two situations we have on our hand. While Solace could care less about the Trixie thing, we both agree that we will have to show the photos to the girls. Lunch time finally arrives, I meet up with Solace in the hallway, he looks pretty relaxed. - '' Hey, how's it going ? How was the classes ? '' - '' Fine, you know I was thinking... '' - '' Nooooo, you don't say, how unexpected of you ! '' He smirks. I facepalm, of all the moment he could chose. - '' Screw you, anyway, how are we gonna talk to the girls about yesterday's events ? '' - '' You still have the photo right ? '' - '' Yes. '' - '' Great, let me deal with the rest, not that you wouldn't do a good job explaining things, but that's the matter, you would probably over-explain it. '' - '' What do you mean ? I don't over-explain things ! '' - '' Oh yeah, how would you explain this, if I may ask ? '' - '' Well, first of all, we'd probably have to ask them what they know, two, probably try to compare the caligraphy, three, ask for potential suspects, four... '' He puts his hand on my mouth and starts laughing. - '' I stop you right there Columbo, of course we'll search to know who did that, but right now that's not what's important. The only thing we'll do is show them the door, explain the situation and see what happen. This must feel like a conversation, not like an interrogation, they're our friends bro. '' I guess he's right, but it doesn't mean I'm happy about it. He puts his arm around my shoulders. - '' I know that this whole thing's bothering you, that you want things to be alright, just let me deal with that one, okay ? After that, you will be able to talk about your girlfriend. '' I blush, probably way harder than what I would have liked. I raise my two hands in defence. - '' S-she's not... I don't even know here full name ! '' - '' So what ? Anyway, we should probably get going. '' - '' You're right. We shouldn't keep them waiting. '' We made our way towards the cafeteria, taking our food, today was burritos by the way if it interest anyone. They looked pretty good. I don't know, maybe my standards are way lower after my previous school, but it still looked pretty delicious to me. Maybe I have a weakness for Mexican food, I don't know. Wait, I realize I say I don't know a bit too often. Meh, maybe my vocabulary is getting weaker with time, who knows? Not me apparently. Anyway, I'm getting distracted. We sit at the table. As soon as he his is sit, Solace looks at our friends, smiling. - '' Hey girls ! What's up ? '' Generic, but friendly, I guess that would have to do. Who am I to judge his approach, he's way better with people than myself. I'll have to wait and see how this conversation goes to see how he will present our problems. Twilight looked at us and smiled. - '' Nothing much, the girls were thinking about praticing our music after school. '' That bit of information kinda made me curious, I looked at Twilight. - '' What for ? Isn't the Battle of the Bands you were talking about over ? '' - '' Yes, but there's no harm in continuing to play music right ? We don't need a tournament to make us keep playing. '' I nod, satisfied with that answer. - '' Fair enough. '' Solace looks at Rainbow, with a smirk. - '' What about you Dash ? Any ass-kicking to report ? '' - '' How'd you guess ? '' - '' I had a feeling. '' She then goes on about her athletic exploits, while I really didn't gave a single damn about what she was saying. Solace was hunged to her every words. After that, he still mocks me for my interest towards Trixie, huh ? I really should take a photo of this, but I'll let that one pass. I'm not that much of an asshole. She talks for what seems to be forever until she remembers she has food to eat and go back to that. Man, and I thought Pinkie was the more talkative one. She's at last as bad as Solace on the Super Bowl weekend. I was eating, when Solace took my phone. - '' Oh by the way girls, take a look at this. '' He showed them the photo, I'm a bit annoyed he didn't asked me for the phone, but oh well, it still works. I won't complain too much. They at first look at the phone with curiosity, wondering what it was about until horrified expressions appears on their face. - '' Oh my, is that your room ? '' I speak out for the first time in a while. - '' Yep, that's a photo we took of our door from yesterday when we arrived in front of it. '' Nobody spoke for a few seconds, not really sure what to do with that. Sunset looked at us both. - '' Have you showed it to Principal Celestia. '' Before I can respond, Solace looks at me with disapproval, he then coughed and answered with serious. - '' No, and we won't. '' The reaction was pretty simulatenous, they must think we were crazy. Which we kinda are to be honest. He tends spends a few minutes explaining why. Twilight seems to be thinking. - '' Yes, I see your problem, what are you intending to do with this ? '' He shruds. - '' Nothing really, my point was more to make you aware of the situation. If you see any suspicious activity, let us know, so we know who to avoid. Aaaaanyway, on a less sinister tone, Silver had something to ask you all. '' God...damnit...Solace Wings. They all look at me, wondering what I had to ask them. This would have been easier if I could have presented it on my own terms, but he had given me no choice. - '' Well, I was wondering if you were familiar with a girl named Trixie ? '' Once again, the ambiance went from warm to cold in a record time. They looked between themselves, searching for an answer. This time it was Applejack who spoke. - '' Well, we can't say we never encountered her before, why do yah ask ? '' I see Solace preparing himself to speak but this time it's my turn to shut him up. The situation certainly doesn't need teasing, the fact that's in front of other person doesn't help either. - '' Well, I saw her yesterday in the hallways and I was curious to know who she was. Figuring out her name was pretty easy, but I'd figure you'd know a bit more about her than me. '' Once again, they are silent for a few seconds, but it's a different kind of silence. There was anger, I saw it on their facial expressions that they were remembering something bad. Rarity, still the drama-queen as I can see makes ventilate herself, before struggling to recompose herself. - '' She is...simply...awful. '' Rainbow Dash groaned annoyed. - '' She is the more egocentric person I ever met. '' I would laugh at the irony there, but I am too stunned at their hostility to do so. - '' She is nothing but a bag of tricks and sparkles, boasting and making up stories of things she can't actually do. '' I keep a neutral expression, but I can see Solace raising an eyebrow in surprise. He certainly didn't expected that. Finally, it really is a general hatred of this girl. If even our friends despise her. I doubt I'll get an objective story from them. Solace coughs, feeling really awkward saves the day. - '' Okay, let's change the subject shall we ? What are you all planning to do this weekend ? '' The conversation turns to more trivial matters, I would admit that I lost attention at that point and concentrated myself on actually eating. Some would say that this conversation was a waste of time, but I don't think so. At least it helped me determine the size of the problem. Before, I was wondering if that crowd was an isolated bunch of haters or if it was more of a general thing. Now I know, if the only girls who had no trouble with us hates her, I'll have to guess it's more or less the case for everybody else in this school. After finishing up eating I go out of the cafeteria and Solace exits not long after. We join up in our room where we'll know no one will hear our conversation. We both say at the same time. - '' So what's your plan ? '' I know we were probably talking about two different plans, but it was still funny. We laugh a bit. - '' No but seriously, what are you planning to do ? I know you're planning to do something with the mysterious writers. '' Solace scratches his head and smiles nervously like someone being embarrased at being discovered. - '' I should have known you would get that I'm planning something. I know it feels a bit like I'm using them, but I'm more or less setting networks ofspiesI guess you could say. Our friends were of course the easiest to convince to help me. Now I'll try to have ears and eyes a bit everywhere. In every class. My god, I really feel like a manipulative asshole presented like that. '' - '' I see...what if one of these groups are the mysterious writers ? '' - '' It's certainly a possibility, that's why I'll try to get singles individuals and not groups. Of course, I will explain the situation to them so they are willingly in the act. It will take a long time to set up, to befriend one of them and make them agree to that would take two days each I think. '' I'm listening to him, trying to find faults and excuses to why it wouldn't work, but I couldn't. It was a pretty brilliant plan, complex and long to set up, yes, but there's no reason why it wouldn't work. Gossip in this school must travel pretty quickly, so if someone is planning to do something to us, we would be warned rapidly. I'm actually really impressed. - '' Wow... that's actually a really good plan, I can't really take part of it, for obvious reasons, making social networks like that isn't my specialty, but I think you could do it. I don't think I could have made up a better plan. '' He smiles proudly and puts me into a bear hug. - '' Thanks bro, from you it's a huge compliment ! I thought about it all morning ! And you ? What are you going to do now ? '' - '' My plan hasn't changed, I can't let my judgment be clouded by what our friends think of her, right now I have to be as objective as possible. If anything, it only showed the gravity of the problem. It only makes questionning Trixie even more important. If she's really that bad. Getting an idea of what's the problem is essential right now. Now that I think about it, the Internet is not the most reliable source of information either because it will have a bias too. So I guess I will have to judge by myself. '' - '' How will you meet her though ? '' - '' Our next class is English, I will leave her a note to meet up afterwards. If that doesn't work, I guess I'll just ask her directly. '' The ringing sound is heard, it means we will have to guess to our next class. Solace smiles at me. - '' Well, good luck with that. '' - '' Thanks, you too. '' Just like that we were separated once again, I head towards the class, but feeling a bit more confident than last time. I was confident, because I knew that I was one step closer to figuring out the problem, but what I'm still forgetting is that, real life is not maths, real life problems have real consequences. I prayed to all that is holy that I was doing the right choice and that the consequences wouldn't be too harsh. I guess it is only wishful thinking. > The Great and Powerful Trixie > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I sit at my desk, the English class is going to start in a few minutes. I hurry and take a sheet of paper and I write quickly. '' I know we don't exactly know each other, but meet me outside after class, in front of the statue. I would have a few questions to ask you. I'm hoping to see you there. Silver Pen'' I stand up from my chair and make my way towards Trixie's. She's occupîed on her cellphone, probably texting or something. She doesn't notice me, I quickly and quietly depose the message on her desk and return to my place. I notice from the corner of my eyes some girls whispering to each other while giving me the stink eye. Yeah, I may have not won myself points with them, but I did what's necessary. I don't even know if she will come, it's not the end of the world if she doesn't, it would only make my life more complicated than it needs to be. I'd have to find another way to question her, but let's not get into the ''what if '' right now. Let's just assume that she is going to, either by curiosity or because she has nothing better to do, both are fine with me. The lesson went by pretty quickly, mostly grammar stuff. Nothing out of the ordinary, but the teacher was interesting enough for it not to be boring. I took the notes of what I would actually need, planning to study them later, right now, I have other worries. When the bells finally rings, I take my stuff and go outside. I do my best to avoid looking at her, I'll just have to trust that she will go or that she read it at all. I go outside and I take out my phone to see that I had a message from Solace, I open it and read what he sent me. '' Already made a new friend ! I invited her to our room this evening if you don't mind, by the way, I hope you enjoy some good ol' wubs. '' I don't know what wubs are and I don't know how to feel about him bringing a girl in our room, but I suppose if he likes her I should give her a chance. I look up to see if she's here yet, still not, while I wait for a few more minutes I write him back. '' Cool, I'm pretty curious to meet her, I'll trust your judgement. '' '' By the way, your girl's full name is Trixie Lulamoon. '' '' Cool, thanks, but how in the world do you know that. '' '' There's a student list you know ? '' For a few seconds, I feel really stupid to not have thought about that before. Way more simple solution than what I had in mind. I wait for a few minutes, then I see somebody coming, not coming from the front door like I expected but from the side. It was Trixie, she did decided to come after all. She looks at me like she didn't really know what to expect from me. She stops at a few meters in front of me, crossing her arms. She is still wearing the magician outfit, I begin to wonder if that's all she has. I can't really say for sure, but I think I see a bruise on one of her cheeks, but I'm not certain. - '' Sooo, commoner, what questions are you going to ask tothe Great and Powerful Trixie? It better not be a waste of time, Trixie does not have time to waste. '' I raise a eyebrow. What a great start. - '' It's relative, it can only be time wasted if you decide so yourself, only you can decide if the time spent here was worth it. '' - '' Right, so what do you wanted to ask Trixie ? '' I take a few seconds, once again, to reorganize my ideas and to be a bit more confortable, choosing my wording will be essential. - '' Well, it's pretty simple, I may have noticed during my short time here, that your popularity with your peers wasn't... at his highest to say the least. Since you seem like an harmless fellow, I wanted to ask you why that is ? '' - '' What exactly is your question ? '' - '' Yeah, I'll say it more clearly, why do others hate you ? '' She just moves her head in a yeah that would swing her hair. A bit overdramatic, but hey, she's the kind of people I would expect to act overdramatic. - '' Clearly, they are jealous of Trixie's talent ! Surely... There's no other reason for it. '' I noticed that she sounded more sad in the last sentence, like she was remembering something. Bingo, I may have touched something. - '' I would tend to go with that too, but it's way to generalised, it's not just jealousy, it's hate. Then again, what do I know ? I heard some bad things about you from my friends, but I really wanted to meet you face to face, to make my own idea. '' - '' Oh, surely you have realized the greatness of Trixie ? '' - '' Maybe or maybe not, it's too soon to tell. Because, who I really want to talk to is Trixie Lulamoon, notthe Great and Powerful Trixie.'' - '' They are one and the same ! '' Excellent, I found another important information. I am no psychologist, but even I can see a huge problem here. She's hiding her true self behind her act, so there really is something to be dug. Like I said, I'm no expert in the human mind, but it do seem like she hides her own insecurities and fears behind a curtain of confidence. Now that I know what the problem is, it doesn't mean I know how to solve it. - '' We'll see... Anyway, I am sure you must have an interesting story to tell, to have such a generaljealousy,a fabulous exploit that I would really enjoy to hear. '' She seems to cringe for a second, I notice it, then she goes back to her usual confident self. She takes a triumphant pose. - '' Finally, a commoner willing to listen to Trixie's glorious stories, you know what ? Trixie feels generous today, so she will give you a deal. '' Oh god, I pushed myself directly into a trap didn't I ? I almost want to facepalm right now at my sheer stupidity. I can only imagine all of the Admiral Ackbar memes starting in my head yelling the classicIt's a trap ! .I calm the alarms and look at her calmly. - '' Oh, so what do you propose ? '' - '' In exchange of Trixie's great tales, I offer you to raise from your commoner statue to become my newGreat and Powerful Assistant! '' God...fucking...damnit, I really should have seen that coming. The least thing that I want to do is to become the assistant to a magician who's the pariah of the whole school. I frown, I almost want just to loudly decline and go away, but that would be counterproductive. I need to seriously think about this. On one hand, this is a terrible idea, I would be more hated than ever and I seriously don't know what our friends will think about this, on the other hand, this will probably the best opportunity I'll ever get. If I say no, I'll probably never get another opportunity like this. It seems that I have no real better choice to be honest, I may not real like the sound of this but I really commited myself at doing this. Even if honestly, I don't really win anything in the end, it's just something I feel I have to do. If Solace taught me one thing is that sometimes, you have to trust your guts, even if your brain doesn't agree with it. I think about it for a minute for a minute before just shrudding. - '' Sure, why not ? I am sure it will be an interesting experience to say the least. '' I see on her face that she is surprised, she probably didn't expected me to accept apparently so easily and without complaining to much. She retakes her usual self pretty quickly though as she starts to laugh with vanity. - '' Finally ! Someone who accepts to be Trixie's Sidekick ! To be efficient, and since Trixie is generous, she shall gave you her phone number, but she shall request yours, make no mistake though, it is purely for conveniance, so Trixie can request your assistance at any moment for her shows. '' - '' Seems fair. That's what assistants are for.'' To be honest, I was already regretting my decision, but it's too late to back out now. I can't just go and be likeSike ! Just kidding, I'm not your damn assistant, fuck you. It wouldn't help me in any way, and it wouldn't help her even less. If anything, it would make matter worse, because after that, she would have trust issues, if she doesn't already. We share each others numbers. I find it kinda funny, in any other context, I would be glad for something like that to happen. Not that much right now, I mean, kinda ? She's still pretty cute, but I'm not really in the good state of mind right now to appreciate that fact. I feel like a fly trapped in a spider's web, well, if the fly wanted to help the spider that is. Yes, because I really want to help her with, whatever her problem is. Something clearly hurt her in the past and maybe even still to this day. By the end of this, I think I will have to get a PhD to call myself Dr. Silver Pen, because I feel like a psychiatrist right now. I just imagine myself in a office just hearings people talk about their problems all day. Nah, I don't think that's for me. I think this will be my only case. How do I go about this ? Do I tell anyone about my new job ? Solace, of course, he will so want to hear about this, he will probably laugh it up, but he will respect the way I am going about this. The girls, I am not sure, they are going to find out eventually anyway, but I'm not certain how to present that without looking really bad. I mean, they just warned me about Trixie and here am I, barely a few hours later, as her new assistant. Yeah, it's not a good look for me. We go our separate ways, and I see her smirking, I don't what to make of it, but I'll have to guess that she has the impression to have won a new minion or something. I'll leave her with that impression for now. She left me with a lot to think about. Yeah, thinking, that's pretty much what I already do all day. I slowly go back to my room where I lay on my back on the bed for a few minutes, thinking about the events of the day. It went well, globaly, it could have gone way worse, but now this whole situation became really complex. Do I keep pushing further at the risks of losing my new friends, is it worth that risk ? Why do I keep pushing into it ? Is it just the curiosity of what I could discover or am I just just too stubborn to give up ? I think it may be both, there could be more to it too, but I can't put the finger on it. Though, my instinct tells me it should be obvious. Meh, I'll figure it out later. I'm pretty tired. I take out the notes I took earlier in class and I study them while I wait for Solace to come back with his new friends. I am sure it will be an interesting encounter. > The DJ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Solace's POV * Okay, so dinner time hasn't gone so well. Well, Silver's part anyway. But at the very least we know where we stand. I'm also pretty glad that he likes my plan for a change. Usually he likes to shit on every I have to propose so I guess my idea was good enough to him. Now I have to think where to start, there are so many people in this school it will be though to figure out who to talk to first. There are so many different girls in this school. I have to think on how I want to approach this. Do I want to go for the most silent type or the more popular type ? In the end, both can give some good info. I walk around when I start to hear some sounds coming from the music room. It was the room where people went to pratice, if I'm not mistaken, and based on my experience in parties, it sounds like dubstep. Holy moly, I must go to see. I enter the room to see one girl in the room, she had blue and cyan hair, with yellowish white skin. She had DJ station set-up, she was apparently warming up. I enter the room and stand next to the door, she doesn't seem to notice me. She's in the zone, as they say. She plays for a few minutes, by the time she finished, afternoon classes had already started, but I don't care that much. I'll go ask what I missed on tomorrow's lunch break or something. She takes off her headphones and jumps when she finally notices me. I only smile and greet her. - '' Yo. '' Simple enough, I approach her. She smiles too, okay, good start. - '' Yo dude, sorry I didn't noticed you, I was kinda doing my thing. '' - '' No problem, I was hanging here enjoying the show. '' - '' I'll take you liked what you heard. '' - '' Oh yeah, it was awesome, you really got talent for this. '' - '' Thanks man. Vinyl Scratch, or better known as DJ-PON3. '' She presented her hand and I shook it. Holy boy can she shake hands. - '' Solace Wings, do you produce CD's or something ? Because if you do, I want to buy all of them, because you're stuff is lit. '' - '' Nah, not officialy at least, but I do keep my stuff on a USB key. '' - '' Cool, maybe you could hang out in my room later ? I have a roomate but he shouldn't mind too much. '' - '' Yeah, no problem, I always love to show my music to other people. Especially to people who can appreciate some wubs, not like my roomie. She's into all this classical stuff. '' - '' Funny, do you think they knew when you were placed in that room ? '' She shrugs. - '' Probably not, it's just a funny coincidence. '' She was really chill, not as awesome as Rainbow Dash, but she was really cool to talk to. And she never questioned my presence. - '' It's a nice change, you're one of the first girls in that didn't throw me murderous looks as soon as I approached. '' She shrugs, still smiling. - '' Man, I don't really care what you have in your pants, if you like wubs, you're cool with me. That's my philosophy. '' On that we went our separate way, I told her at what hour she could visit and where was our room. That's already one new friend. I just had a flash, Silver was still looking for the full name of his crush didn't he ? I know there was student list on the billboard. I made my way there, searched in our year, then in our group, and yes. Trixie Lulamoon. I think he'll be happy to know that. I take my cell and text him to tell him about what happened. '' Already made a new friend ! I invited her to our room this evening if you don't mind, by the way, I hope you enjoy some good ol' wubs. '' Oh, I remember that I don't actually know if he likes dubstep or not. Guess we're going to have wait and see, huh ? Meh, I'm sure it's going to be fine. '' Cool, I'm pretty curious to meet her, I'll trust your judgement. '' Oh, he trusts me with something again ? Damn, this has been a weird day. He must be in a good mood, I wonder why. I'm not too worried about him, I'm sure he'll be able to pull something off with his girl. Oh, now that I'm on the subject. '' By the way, your girl's full name is Trixie Lulamoon. '' A few seconds later, I got an answer. '' Cool, thanks, but how in the world do you know that? '' I start laughing, typical Silver, I'm sure he had some sort of overcomplicated plan, to get her name. I don't know what's going through his head half the time. '' There's a student list you know ? '' Oh, it's great. I can almost hear him facepalming from here. The rest of the day is not really noteworthy to be told, I didn't had a lot to do, so I studied a bit. I know, that's a shock coming from me. Then, I went running for a bit. Gotta keep that cardio, bro. Then I ate some suchis. I met with Vinyl who was in front of our room, we greeted each other with a smile, she showed me the USB key that she bringed. This will be a cool evening I can feel it. We enter the room and soon enough, Silver arrives too, he looked a bit tired. He looked at me and Vinyl with confusion, before remembering. He greeted her and shaked her hand a bit weakly. - '' So, you're the friend Sol brought huh ? My name is Silver, pleasure to meet you. '' - '' Same for me bro, my name's Vinyl. A friend of Sol's a friend of mine. '' - '' ... I think I see why you like her Sol. '' I roll my eyes and us three starts laughing. - '' I don't see what you mean. '' Silver gets to his bed throw his stuff. I now remember what I wanted to ask him, I smug. - '' So how did your date go ? '' He looks at me annoyed. Vinyl, for some reasons, was now really interested in the conversations, she was eating some chips that we had. - '' One, it wasn't a date, two, to actually answer your question, it went in an unexpected direction, but it was fine. '' - '' Oh what do you mean by interesting direction ? '' He sighs, oh this is gonna be good. - '' Okay, but both of you promise me to not laugh. '' - '' Promised ! '' Vinyl and I said at the same time. But we both had fingers crossed behind our back. He took a time to breathe before speaking again. - '' I ended up as Trixie's assistant. '' There was a moment of silence where we were realizing what was just said, then we bursted in laughter. The offended look on Silver's face makes that moment even more golden. I am rolling on the ground in laughter. Vinyl is hitting her tigh. - '' Oh wow, this is even better than I expected ! '' - '' You guys said you wouldn't laugh. '' - '' Sorry dude, but seriously, how did that happened ? '' Vinyl who had just recovered and was still giggling a bit added. - '' And seriously, Trixie ?TheTrixie ? '' - '' Y-yeah, what about it. '' I could see Silver getting a bit defensive, like a prey getting cornered. Wait, maybe not the best metaphor. Oh, screw it, I suck at those. - '' I mean, it's totally fine if she's type, but damn I didn't expected that. '' Silver just facepalms and look at me. - '' Have you just made a genderbent version of yourself ? Because she definitively sounds like you. '' - '' Meh, you know what they say, great minds thinks alike. '' I brofist Vinyl before facing my friend once again. - '' But more seriously, tell us, how did it come to that ? '' We all sit down, and he starts telling how this all went down. To be honest, I really had to focus to follow what he was saying, he's not exactly the best storyteller. Afterwards I looked at Vinyl who seems really lost. I tried to reconstitute the story in my mind from what I understood. - '' Okay from what I understood, you met with her, and to get to know her backstory better you took the risk of alienating the whole school to you ? '' - '' In a few sentence it is basically that yeah. '' The DJ just smirks looking at my old friend. - '' So you're trying to find a way to get in her pants ? '' Silver got red like a tomato. Oh man, I'm sure we're going to end up killing him by teasing, but it's just so much fun to see a guy like him in denial. It was so obvious he was into her, but let's let him stay in denial for a bit. It makes for great entertainment. - '' N-no ! I don't- I... I just want figures things out ! '' I looked at Vinyl with a smirk. - '' Okay, enough teasing for now, didn't you want to show us some of your work. '' Her expressions lighten up, and I can only guess that her eyes sparkled, she hurried towards our computer and installed her USB key. She smiled at us before pressing play. - '' Keep in mind, this is onlysomeof my stuff. If you want more, you're gonna have to go see me perform. '' The next half an hour was simply awesome. I figured by earlier showing that she was talented, but damn, I don't even have enough word in my vocabulary to describe how epic it is. By the end, all of us could barely hear anything, we could only hear buzzing, but it was worth it, for me at least. I saw Silver moaning in pain on his bed, holding his head. - '' Owww, my ears. '' Vinyl takes off her headphones, showing a proud smile. - '' So what did you boys tought of that ? '' - '' It was awesome ! '' - ''... I think my eardrums may be bleeding... '' We start to laugh for a bit, seeing him putting his head between two pillows, trying to block off sound. - '' I think you're friend would go along well with Octy, that is the exact reaction she had when I showed her my stuff the first time. '' - '' Oh, so maybe you could bring her here someday ? I am sure he will be glad to meet her. Classical's not my type of music, for obvious reasons, but she sounds nice. '' - '' She is, when we're not arguing about music that is. But like I said, I clearly see your friend getting better along with her than you, and possibly me for that matter. '' We talked like that for a bit. I can't praise this girl enough. She's the type of person you can talk about anything. Sports, music, dance, or even dating for that matter. I won't reveal too much about what she said in that matter, but she had enough experiences to have really interesting stories to tell. I shared some of my own and we had a good time. There's no better things to do in an evening that cracking a cold one while sharing sexual experiences with a pal. Honestly, this is the kind of thing that makes me glad to have come here, meeting new people who enjoys the same things as I do. This was clearly the best decision that I ever made. After a while, she went her way back to her room, I greeted her and closed the door. Silver, who had just recovered his hearing arrived. - '' So...did you ask her ? '' - '' Ask her what ? '' He then look at me incredulous. - '' You know, ask her to join your plan, wasn't that the whole damn point ?! '' I scratched the back of my head, smiling embarrassed. To be honest, I had forgotten about all of this. I enjoyed my time with her so much that it slipped in the back of my head, you know ? - '' Oops, sorry I forgot. '' He facepalmed, breathed for a few seconds, then looked at me in the eye. - '' I guess I can forgive you, she was pretty nice, it's just... frustrating, I just want all of these problems to be over as soon as possible. I guess, it's just been a long day, you know ? '' I put an hand on his shoulders. - '' I get that, but don't worry too much about that, eveything will be fine. You know, if anything ever happens, we have each other, and that, nothing can take this from us. '' He nodded silently, but I am sure I saw a smile. - '' Now, let's go to bed, we've got another long day ahead of us. '' I set my alarm, take off my clothes and lay in my bed. I closes my eyes with a smile in my face to finally end the best day I had since we arrived here. I hope there are more like that to come. > Trust > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Silver's POV* Another morning, another day. Yesterday was an interesting day for sure, the lunch break with the girls, Trixie and meeting Sol's new friend. She's a loud one but she seems to be nice. That's at least something. It's one more friend than I managed to make. So good for him, I'm pretty sure my friend's numbers will be nowhere as high as his by the end of this year. I won't complain though, I am perfectly confortable with having a smaller amounts of friends. Now I have to think about how I'll want to explain the situation to the girls, I'm pretty sure they won't be as fine with it like Sol. Even if he's a tease, he's supportive of my idea and has no prejudice on her. That's why it's fine with him to know, the other girl just thought it was funny. From her persona, it's understandable, she doesn't seem to be the type of girl to be judgemental. She just seemed to be the type of person to be chill with everything, which is a good thing. The girls on the other hands, is a totally different matter. They dislike Trixie, some on variant degree, but they all have a negative opinion of her. Telling them I now work for more or less willingly risk to not go too well, but I don't have much of a choice. If I don't do it now, they'll end up discovering it by themselves and they will think I did things behind her back. Which I kinda did, but the main difference is, they'll probably feel a bit less betrayed if I am honest with them.Probablyis the key word in this sentence. I can only guess what they're actual reactions will be. Emotional reactions are unpredictable. It's like predicting the weather, you can predict in some mesure, but you can end up being either on point or way off. My best case scenario is me getting punched in the jaw, probably by Applejack, while, yeah, Sol's girlfriend, Rainbow Dash, has the temper to do that too. Maybe both. Yes, that is my most optimistic prediction. Classes went by way too quick for my taste. Okay, maybe looking at Trixie every like four or five minutes didn't help the matter. But I won't comment much further on that. Once, she caught me looking at her and she smirked. I turned my head away, I'm pretty sure I was blushing. I silently cursed at myself before trying to focus once again on the class. I'll probably have to ask to switch with someone, I just can't focus enough. At the end of the class when the bell rings, I zone for a bit, before noticing most students had already left. I notice one paper on the corner of my desks. ''The Great and Powerful Trixie wants to meet you after school to talk about the specifics of our arrangement. Do NOT make Trixie wait. '' I hit my head on my desk. Great. Just great... I hear my the sounds of my stomach and I know I have to get to the cafeteria eventually. I stand up, take my stuff and get out of the class. Solace was on his phone, texting, probably waiting for me to get out. He looks up when he sees me. - '' Oh thank god, what took you so long ? We're going to eat last. '' - '' I had to prepare myself mentally for what's to come. '' I think he understands what I'm talking about, because he nods. - '' So you're going to talk to them about this ? '' - '' Yeah, I know I have to eventually, so now's a good time as any other. Besides I don't want to hide things from my friends, I don't have many, you know that, so I don't want to lose the few that I have for selfish reasons. '' - '' I know you're not selfish bro, that's why I hang with you, if you feel that it's the good thing to do, I trust you. Are you sure you can do this ? '' - '' Not really, but I got myself into this mess and I entend to deal with it myself. '' On that we went into the cafeteria, as expected most students were already at their tables eating. I spotted the girls, they were all already here. My eyes couldn't keep themselves but to throw a look at Trixie's table for a second. I don't know why I keep doing that and I don't want to know. We fill our plates with food and make our way towards the table, while I sit silently, feeling nervous. Solace greets them all with a smile. They talk for a while, about plans for the weekend. Now that I think about it, I never thought what we would do on weekends. I mean, there's no school and we don't know the town very well. Meh, I guess Sol's going to find a solution to that, I'm not paying that much attention to that conversation really. I was more focused on trying to find a way to explain myself without looking like a complete asshole. They must have realized I was zoning out, because I got a friendly hit on the shoulder, I turn my head to the left to see AJ looking at me with concern. - '' Are you alright sugahcube ? You barely even touched yah food. '' - '' I'm alright.. Just a bit tired. '' Pinkie that until then had been suspiciously calm spoke out. - '' Is it because of Trixie ? She's kinda been staring at you for five whole minutes now. '' - '' Wait, what ? For real ? '' I turn myself around, way too quickly. So much, that I fall out of my chair. I realize the trickery when I see at the table laughing, and people staring at me. I blush a little and go back to my place, feeling embarrased. I looked angrily at my friend. - '' What was that about ? '' Sunset and Twilight looked at Sol with curiosity, because they looked lost with what was happening. - '' Yeah, we would like to know too. What exactly is going on. '' Sol lifts his two hands in the air smiling, then looked at me. - '' Hey ! It was a joke and by the way, I'm not exactly the one you should be asking. I know he hates when I do that, but I'll have to speak for him for a second. This a bit related to what just happened, but he had some things to confess. '' I looked at him even more pissed off than before, but I breathed for a few seconds, before looking at the girls. They were all looking at me, I am fighting against my nervosity. At least everyone arounds us are busy doing their own business to notice, so that's good. - '' Yeah, it really has to do with Trixie. Yesterday, after asking you what you thought about her, I got curious and wanted to see things for myself. So I pretty much did the stupidest thing imaginable, I met with her after class. I wanted to have her own perspective of things to be able to have an objective view of her. When I actually met her though, I noticed something, every time I would get close to a hint or I felt that I was on something, she would push me away, not litteraly, so in the end, I felt like I had no choice but to negociate a deal with her. '' There was a variety of reaction, Rainbow started laughing, Pinkie and Sol joined her. Rarity and Applejack looked at me, waiting for me to repeat thinking they misunderstood. Sunset and Twilight pretty much just facepalmed. - '' So... what was the deal ? '' asked Twilight. - '' In exchange for informations and all I need to know, I had to agree to... *sigh* becomeGreat and Powerfulassistant. '' Now, none of them could hold themselves they all started to laugh like this was the most hilarious thing they had heard all day. I hit my head against the table, feeling embarrassed. Rainbow Dash almost fell out of their chair, it disappointed me that she didn't, because it would have been sweet justice. I guess I can't even have that. - '' Are you serious dude ? Do you know how terrible of an idea this is ? '' - '' Don't you think I know that ? '' They all retaken their composure and were looking for more explanations. - '' On a more serious note, I have several questions about that ? One, why Trixie ? Two, why'd you care so much and three, why are you telling us all of this ? '' - '' Okay... I'll answer them one at the time if it isn't a bother. The first one, it's because she caught my interest somewhat. What's the nature of that interest, I don't really know. Two, I care because I feel like most people her only see her for the act she plays. That's just not fair to me. That's why I care. Three, I tell you all of this, because you are my friends, I know I've only known you girls for a couple of days, but I trust you and I want you to trust me. I've felt that this wasn't something I could do behind your backs, I'm not exactly the most friendly person in the world, but I want to be the best one I can possibly be. I don't have many of friends, so I don't want to lose the few I have over something stupid like that. '' When I finally finished speaking, I realized I was shaking and that tears were forming in the corners of my eyes. I look around us to see that the cafeteria was now empty, I guess that classes had already started. I will have to catch-up eventually. I feel a pair of harms around me. It was Fluttershy, whose tears I could see coming down her cheeks. Pinkie joins in and scream - '' Group hug ! '' Eventually they all join in. I would complain about personal space, but right now, it just feels right. I needed that. I can see from the corner of my eye, Solace standing arms crossed, amused at the sight. I try to describe the moment, but it's impossible my mind goes into a blank state. We just all stay here for a while, the only indication that any time is passing is the occasional sobbing, I don't know if it's from me or anybody else. When we finally let go, I realize that my cheeks were really humid, I dry them with my sleeve. I look at the girls, and smiling a little bit. - '' Thank you... '' Solace arrived behind me and give me a friendly slap in the back. I can't even be mad at him right now. Twilight smiled at me. - '' No, we should be thanking you, it is heartwarming to see that you trust us this much. Even though we can't absolutely understand... '' Rarity just smirked. - '' We can safely assume the reason you do it. '' They all giggled a bit, before Twilight resumes. - '' We will trust you. That's what friends does. '' Rarity once again intervened. - '' And don't hesitate to call me for advice on your first date with her. '' I blushed immensly and hid my face. Why does everybody assume that I have an romantic attraction for Trixie ? - '' It's not like that ! '' I only see Solace's laughing and whispering into Rarity's ear. - ''It's totally like that.'' They all laugh for a bit at my expense, well at least they mean well. I guess I can't get mad at that, at this point I should really get used to that teasing. He looks at his cellphone and thinks. - '' Well, guys, I think this emotional moment took quite a while, we will have to skip the afternoon, so what about a movie. '' Before I or Twilight could object, we were already been dragged outside by Solace and Pinkie respectively. I guess this is my life now, I'll have to get used to this kind of shenanigans. Not like it's a bad thing, I could use the excitement. This went a lot better than expected, no punch in the face...yet. Who knows what can happen when you have friends like these ? > Standing Strong > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Silver's POV * The movie session was interesting, it wasn't as much for the movie. It was alright I guess, it was a romantic-comedy, the other movie was an horror movie. I would have way rather watched the second option, but the girls outnumbered us, even if Rainbow did vote for the horror one too. I never was one huge for love movies, they all pretty much follow that same pattern. There was always one from time to time to go outside of the box, but most of them stayed in it. Sol and I were huge horror fans ourselves. The experience in the cinema was interesting. Keeping Pinkie quiet was a struggle, Twilight kept complaining that it was unrealistic, that made me kinda happy we didn't went to see the other movie, Rainbow slept, Sol did pretty much the same. The only three that actually watched the movie was Sunset, Rarity and I. When we were exiting the cinema, Sunset and Rarity were arguing about the movie. '' It was a classic I tell you ! A new step in the evolution of drama in cinema, a pioneer in romance! '' That was Rarity. Obviously, she loved it. I don't know why, but I figured that this would be her kind of films she would like. '' Don't sugarcoat it, that was pretty awful, I almost pulled a Rainbow Dash and fell asleep. '' Sunset said. I was glad Rainbow wasn't really listening, because I don't know if this could be considered an insult or not. Then both at them looked at me, I felt nervous and stepped backward. '' Wh-why are you looking at me ? '' I don't really know why they were looking at them, but I didn't have a good feeling about it. '' What did you think about the movie Silver ? '' Of course they would ask me that, I hate being the tiebreaker in that kind of situation. What can I say that doesn't hurt one or the other ? Does it really matter what I say ? Is it possible to lose friendship over something like that ? I struggle to find an acceptable answer. '' Um... it was a fine movie for what it was. Not exactly my cup of tea, I wouldn't exactly nominate it for an oscar but it did what a romance movie is supposed to do. Play with your romantic cord for an hour and a half, this movie did it fine. '' Rarity just turned around, visibly upset, muttering '' Stupid friends, can't appreciate good romance''. I don't know what I said that offended her. Sunshet smiles and hits me gently on the shoulder. '' Don't put yourself down, you did fine, that's a way more diplomatic answer that I could have come up with. She never stays angry that long anyway. She's just a bit...dramatic '' I figured. She does seem like the type who would go on a 10 minutes monologue on her suffering and pain after hitting her toe. '' Thanks but why is she angry at me and not at you ? '' Sunset only shrugs. '' She already pretty much what to expect from me, so I don't think she was that disappointed that I didn't like it, maybe she hoped that, well, excuse me for being honest, that since you're not exactly the manliest, you would share her liking for this movie. '' '' Excuses accepted, I would be the first to admit that I'm not exactly manly. I didn't say I disliked it, romance just isn't my top 3 choice when it comes to film. '' '' She'll undersand. Eventually, anyway. '' I nodded before taking out my cellphone to look at the hour, the school would be over soon. I have to meet Trixie after class. Not that I'm really looking foward to it, but it's something I have to do. I search for Sol, I find him hanging with Rainbow. '' Hum Sol, I have to go back to school, I have to meet go see Trixie, just so you know where I am. '' Rainbow looks like me, like I was an idiot. Which isn't really wrong. '' Wait, you were serious about the Trixie's assistant thing ? '' '' Yeah, unfortunately, I'm not one to kid about these kind of things. '' I respond, looking down. I really wish I was kidding about this whole situation. '' Do you want me to go with you bro ? '' said Solace, who looked really worried. I really hate when I make him worried about me. '' No, not really, I'm pretty sure I can handle anything Trixie's throw at me alone. '' I try to look confident, although I really am not. Trixie's difficult to read and even more to predict. I only knew a few things about her, so it'll be hard to predict a patern in her attitude, but I have to be confident in my capabilities. '' Says the guy who got tricked into becoming her assistant. '' says Rainbow on the same tone as earlier. She has a point. '' I kinda dug myself into that hole that one time and in some way, it makes it a bit easier for me to discover what I want to know. So right now, I'll just make the best of this. '' '' Sure...'' says Rainbow, but it's obvious that she doesn't really believe that I can pull this off. I understand where she comes from, but right now, I don't really care if the others don't believe in me, I'm the one who has to be confident. I make my way towards the school the fastest I could, rushing not to get late. Being late would be a really poor start to my (hopefully) short career as an assistant. When I made my way towards our last meet-up point, I started to hear voices. They didn't sound friendly, so I hid myself behind a wall. '' Isn't that the lame and weak Trixie I see here ? '' says an unknown voice. It was definitively female, but a bit more tomboyish. Like Rainbow in a way, but it sounded more agressive. '' It's the Great and Powerful Trixie for you mortal ! '' responded who can safely assume is Trixie. Then the following sound made me almost jump out of my hiding place. A slap. '' Ow, how dare you harm the Great and Powerful Trixie ! '' cried Trixie, very obviously in pain. This isn't good, whoever that person was, she wasn't peaceful and she seemed like she was pretty strong. I didn't want to get out of my hiding place and got involved in this, but something in me tells me that I don't really have a choice. If I don't stop this now, things will get much worse. I slowly stand up and make my way towards them, still listening to the conversation, I look up to see how bad it is. Oh god. Trixie was on the ground, visibly shaken, while the attacker was standing over her. Now that I was closer, I could actually tell what she looked like. She had a tonned beige skin, white hair and golden eyes. She was wearing a brown vest, with grey pants. On her face, I probably saw the most evil expression I've ever seen. She looked at the downed Trixie like a predator would look at a pray. '' Leave Trixie alone ! '' shouted Trixie while she was trying to crawl away from her. The girl put her feet on her back, while smirking. '' There's no one to hear you, even if there was, no one would help you, loser. '' Ok, there was my timing. My whole body and brain tells me to stay down and not get brutally killed. That would be a really unfortunate end to my life, but my heart tells me to get up and help Trixie. My heart is an idiot. '' Not if I have to say something about this. '' I force myself to stand up, my legs are jelly. They barely stand, I make one step at a time to make myself closer to Trixie, but not too close to the Titan that was presently assaulting her. From near she was every bit as terrifying as how I imagined her too be. Her arms were at least five times larger than mine and she was really taller. I had to look up to look at her in the eyes. Saying I was on the verge of passing out from pure fear would be an understatement, but I had to stand strong. '' Who in the world are you ? You're even lamer than her. '' I try to not back out, but man is it hard. She looked at me from up. I heard about the legend of David vs Goliath, but I don't know how David just didn't die from fear when he saw Goliath, because that's I feel like doing right now. '' My name is not important, as Miss Trixie's assistant, I would like if you put yourself off her. '' She looks at me, then at Trixie, then started to laugh. I don't like that laugh, it's not friendly at all. It's that kind of laugh that gives you chills to the bone. '' That's rich ! You mean she actually found someone stupid enough to be her assistant ? What could you push to become Miss Self-Absorbed's little slave ? '' '' That's none of your business and honestly, are you really the best person to call others self-absorbed ? I don't know anything about you, not even your name, but what about a good one? Miss Bully, that seems to be a very fitting one. '' I know, provoking her is an horrible, horrible idea, but it makes me win time. At least until someone notices that a young girl is being beaten on school grounds, you could probably add young boy to that list very soon. Also, it helps me from running away. Why do I risk my skin for Trixie ? I don't even know at this point, it just feels like the right thing to do. At this point, I feel like I would be able to take a bullet for her. Hopefully the girl doesn't have a gun on her, because I really don't want to test that. She looked at me furiously, from my point of view she looked like a giant who was going to step on me, but I had to stand my ground. I would not run away. '' You little, puny, tiny, shit ! '' She said growled, at this point she was pratically furious, ready to strangle me to death. '' A-aren't these three words the same ? You just repeat yourself. '' After the time, before I had the time to react, a giant wave of pain struck me in the face and I ended up in the ground. All I saw was red, I could only assume it was only assume my own blood, considering all I could feel was pain, I couldn't exactly tell where I was bleeding from, but I did. The blood was going into my mouth, I tried to spit it out, but it kept going in and it tasted awful. '' Do you like that ? That's what you get for pissing me off ! '' She said as she gave me a kick in the side. It hurts like hell. It forces me to roll on my back. I swiped the blood that was on my face so I could start to see again, I did not like what I saw. She looked at me with a sadistic smile, she strolled around me like a predator looking to finish off its prey. I don't know if it's her who is really strong or me who is really weak, but her one kick really hurt my side. I'm struggling to breathe. I think my nose is broken, because I can't manage to breathe from there. She looked to continue to beat me down with another kick when a loud voice resounded like thunder. '' KICK HIM ONE MORE TIME AND I'M GONNA PUT MY FIST UPP YOUR ASS ! '' screamed the voice. I struggled to turn my head around towards the direction of the shouting to see Solace starring at my agressor. Needless to say, he looked absolutely furious.