The early mornings of Cloudsdale are much like that of every other town or city. Ponies starting their day, waking up and getting ready to head out for work or important events. Today was the same for a young Bow Hothoof. The alarm next to his bed was ringing, its annoying sound startling as it angered the teen.
"Why must I suffer…" Bow groaned in annoyance, moving over and hitting the alarm off.
With a groan he began to move and pull the sheets off himself. Bow was a simple teen really, only wanting sleep and enjoyment. Still, he had to get up. Against his own will, he forced himself up and took in his surroundings. Like most teens, his bedroom was messy. Bits of dirty clothes and trash along the floor.
"Ugh…mom’s gonna complain a lot about this…" The pegasus grumbled, moving around the trash and dirty clothes to get ready for school.
Today was his first day of his junior year at Cloudsdale High School.
A swift series of knocks came from his bedroom door. “Bow, wake up, you’ll be late for school.” His mothers voice called out, a soft but stern tone.
"I know mom!" Bow called out simply.
“Then hurry up, your breakfast is ready and you don’t wanna miss the first day.”
"I know mom!" He called out again, getting dressed in clean enough clothes and putting on some deodorant.
With his hooves on the ground he made his way outside, quickly eating his breakfast and grabbing his saddlebags. Once he made sure all his fresh school supplies were packed he flew out the door and towards the school.
Like most Pegasus buildings, the school was constructed from clouds, with some special unicorn enchantments to allow for things like trees, grass, and even dirt from the ground below to remain atop the clouds and provide an enjoyable atmosphere and pleasantries.
“Yo, Bow!” Turning, Bow spotted a stallion with a white coat, sky blue mane and emerald eyes. His friend, Snow Maker.
"Sup Snow, how are you doin?" Bow asked with a smile.
“Oh, usual. So, how do you think this new school year will turn out? I’m looking forward to the season. We can finally join some teams and try out.”
"Yeah, sports is most definitely what I'm gonna be trying." He nodded. "And hopefully it won't be super boring."
“Hey, if we both make the teams that means we can both hang out and have an excuse to skip classes.” Snow added with a chuckle.
The bell rang and the two friends said their goodbyes, having several different classes this year sadly meant the two would most likely see one another during lunch or when they join the sports teams. Bow sighed as he entered his first class for the day, history.
“Good morning Mr. Hothoof.” The teacher greeted him upon his arrival.
“Heh, hey Mr. Volare…” Bow replied. Mr. Volare was his teacher the prior year, and the school’s coach for Bow’s favorite sport. Hoofball.
“I see you have me again this year. Don’t worry, I’m sure you will do better than last year.” He said. In truth, Mr. Volare liked Bow, and wanted him on the school Hoofball team, but he was strict. The students who joined the team were told not to let their grades slip below a C. Any who did, even for a moment, were suspended until that error was corrected. And Bow was terrible at History.
“I’ll do my best.” Bow said, starting to not like his chances at getting on the team if he had Mr. Volare again. “And I will get into the Hoofball team this time.”
“Well, your grades will tell us that much.” He said with a chuckle.
With a sigh, Bow went to his seat and read over the syllabus for the class.
When Mr. Volare’s class ended, he went to his locker to grab a fresh notebook. He took notice of a mare with a light blue coat and multi orange tone mane at the nearby locker. She gazed at him, looking like she wanted to speak but didn’t, closing her locker and rushing off.
“Wow…” Bow muttered, blinking as he tried processing the beauty he saw run away.
With a shake of his head, he quickly got his items and left for his next class. “I wonder who she was?” He questioned himself.
By the time lunch rolled around, Bow was starving. He quickly gathered his order, a daisy sandwich with sides of creamed corn, a muffin and milk carton, and found his way to his friends. Snow Maker was present, as were two other stallions. One had a chrome colored coat with a jet black mane and yellow eyes, Silver Force. The other, had a brown coat with a dirty blond messy mane covering their eyes, Sky Scraper. “Take your time.” Silver Force said as Bow took his seat with them. “This year sucks. We got like, one class together each so far.”
“Could be worse, we could have no classes together.” Bow pointed out.
“Yeah, but hey, this year, we get to try out for the sports teams, then we will be able to hang out every time we have practice, and a match.” Sky Scraper stated.
“True that. Speaking of, you guys do the physicals yet? I already got mine before school started.”
“Same.” Silver nodded.
“I got mine with the school nurse today. So I’m cleared.”
“I’m gonna need to do it.” Bow shrugged.
“Better get it soon Bow, next month is when they start with tryouts,” Snow Maker stated.
“Best to do that after lunch.” Bow answered. As he ate, he wondered about that mare he saw at the lockers. He did hope to see her again, though for some reason, she seemed vaguely familiar to him.
Windy Whistles
The metal clinks of an old wind up alarm rang, awaking the young mare known as Windy Whistles. She quickly stopped the alarm and awoke with a yawn, tossing the sheets off herself and jumping to the bathroom. She looked herself over and smiled as she brushed her multi orange toned mane. For years, she had thick, heavy and uncomfortable braces, now gone and leaving behind perfect teeth. Her mane was brushed straight and down, rather than her past twin ponytails. And her acne was finally gone and done with. Thanks to constant washing and creams to remove them.
“Gotta look my best for my first day.” Windy Whistles commented with a huge sparkly smile.
She was so happy to start a new school year off without any embarrassing facial blemishes or obscurities. More so, this was the year she finally asked her childhood crush out, Bow Hothoof.
She and him had been through several of the same classes, and grades through most of their school life, but he never noticed her. Something she knew was because of her looks, growing up with a prologues awkward phase did little for her popularity, not that she cared. Once her teeth and mane were brushed and clean she rapidly flew to the kitchen, devouring her breakfast and flew off towards Cloudsdale High. Here, she stopped by one of the magically enchanted trees to gaze at her crush from afar.
Bow was talking to one of his friends, and she blushed, trying to imagine how to approach the stallion.
“He’s going to never notice you~ So long as you keep hiding behind trees, walls and trash cans~ Oooooh~” Windy rolled her eyes, looking to her side and seeing her foalhood best friend, a mare with a jet black coat, neon blue mane and bright orange eyes. Thunder Cloud.
“Oh shut up, Thunder Cloud.” Windy pouted. “I’m gonna talk to him this year, mark my words.”
“Uh-huh, sure.” Her friend said with a chuckle, flying down and standing next to Windy. “He’s not a threstial so he won’t be able to hear you ask him out from all the way over here.”
“Shush you.” Windy said. “I’m still…trying to figure out how to talk to him…”
“Maybe start with ‘Hi, I’m Windy Whistles, nice to meet you’?”
“I know I know…” She grumbled.
“I still don’t get what you see in him though. He’s kinda… plain.”
“He’s not ‘plain’.” Windy huffed.
“If you say so.”
The bell rang and the two mares flew off for class. As she flew through the halls, Windy kept her thoughts on Bow. His wings, the way he did a small jump before starting flight, his cutie mark of a lucky horseshoe over a rainbow on a cloud… his flank.
Windy discovered that soon the hallway was empty, and she was not in class yet. With a panicked yelp, she flew down the hallway, looking for her class and finally finding it. Sadly her first class was not with Bow, nore her friend Thunder Cloud. She had AP Science all by herself.
When that class ended she went to her locker, nearly freezing when she saw that Bow’s locker was a few lockers away.
Her heart skipped a beat when he looked at her.
“Uh…” Windy muttered, staring at the stallion of her dreams barely ten feet away from her.
In the seconds that he was looking at her, Windy felt like it was hours as thousands of thoughts and ideas ran through her head… and only one made its way into action. She grabbed her things, closed her locker and flew off to her next class. Once she was around the corner, she grabbed her books and tried to bury her face into the cover.
“Celestia darn it…” The poor pegasus mare whined.
Eventually, Lunch time came around and Windy got herself a fruit salad, with a side of mashed potatoes and hay fries with a juicebox. She sat sulking at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, a view of Bow amongst his friends on the other end of the large room.
“And just when I think it can’t get any more sad…” Thunder Cloud said as she flew in and sat next to Windy.
“Thunder, I will slap you.” Windy frowned.
“That bad then?”
“My locker is practically right next to his…and…and I could only run…”
“Yeah, that’s what I figured would happen.” Thunder shrugged, taking a bite of her apple. “You know, you probably should try and get him to talk to you.”
“How?” Windy asked. “I may have taken a lot of pain to look this good…but I doubt I look good enough for him to talk to me…”
“You just have to be able to get close enough to him for him to notice you. Did he see you at your locker?”
“Yes, yes he did.” I nodded. “It felt like I was staring at his handsome muzzle for hours…”
Thunder rolled her eyes, but continued. “Well, then if you appear in more places he is, say, at sporting events, then he’ll notice you more and more.”
“Like…being a cheerleader?” She asked, lightly blushing at the thought of Bow seeing her in a Cheerleader’s outfit. “Thunder you're a genius.”
“Are you just noticing?” She chuckled. “The best part, I happen to know the cheer captain this year.” Windy’s smile grew wider, knowing that it was Thunder’s own sister who was the captain of the cheer squad. “And we both know how much of a lovesick romantic she is. She’d be so willing to help your desperate flank out.”
“Thunder, you are a lifesaver.” The lovestruck mare sighed out thankfully. “This year of school is going to be amazing.”
Dinner time was family time at Bow's house. It was a chance for the usually busy family. The dinner table was set, a meal of mushroom stew ready to eat.
Bow took his seat at the table, as did his family around him. In front of him was his father, Cloudfall. He was a typical family stallion. He worked in the Weather Factory cubicle offices processing requests and orders from the various cities and towns within Equestria. It was a tedious but necessary job that paid well enough for the work.
Next to Cloudfall was his wife and Bow's mother, Rainwell. She was a stay at home mother, filling her days with either housework or hobbies as her children grew and got older.
Lastly, seated next to Bow was his younger brother, Speedy Hothoof. The two brothers looked quite alike, save for Speedy's mane only being a two tone blue over multicolored like his brother's.
"So, how was the first day back for you two?" Cloudfall asked his sons.
"I met my friends again and we mostly just talked about the sports seasons. I still need to get my physical so I can compete this year." Bow answered.
"I just caught up with my friends about what we did over the vacation and got a few review sheets for homework." Speedy replied.
"Finish that homework?" Rainwell asked.
"Almost mom."
"No homework for you tonight Bow?" Cloudfall questioned.
"Just a few things from… Mr. Volare…" Bow sighed.
"Ah, got him again this year huh? I know he's strict but he's also fair Bow. Just don't drop below a C and you can keep playing on the sports teams."
"I still say he hates me." Bow huffed.
"That's just tough love Bow. He is your teacher, and the Hoofball coach, he can't play favorites no matter how good you are at the sport." Cloudfall stated. "My coach back in high school was the same way, and sometimes it did feel like he hated me. Truth was he wanted what was best for me. Had to keep my grades up as well as make time for practice and games. It was hard, no question about that, but those skills helped a lot as an adult, managing time between work and fun."
Bow sighed, nodding as he continued to eat his meal. He still didn't like it, but he would just have to learn to best manage his time between work and play.
"So, what happened to that filly you had a crush on?" Cloudfall asked, nearly making Bow spit out his soup.
"Dad!" Bow said, coughing a bit.
"Oh the little cutie with the braces, I wonder if she finally got them off?" Rainwell asked.
"I-I don't know, and I don't even know her name mom. She's a filly I helped a few times when some bullies were being jerks." Bow stated, blushing red.
"And I'm proud you did, but we saw the way you looked at her a few times. You did like her." Cloudfall said with a grin. "My son is a jock into cute little nerdy fillies. Adorable."
"Oh it's just like how we were before. Of course you had the braces back then hun." Rainwell stated.
"And you were the track and field captain. Still amazed you went out with me." Cloudfall said.
"Yes well I had my type and past experiences with other athletes were horrible. You treated me right and made me feel loved. And those smarts of yours got us this amazing home."
"It helped that the housing market was low at the time."
Bow just sighed.
Windy Whistle
Windy's home was a simple, one story, two bedroom house. Made from clouds, like many. Her family was by no means wealthy, but they managed by. Her mother, a part time housewife, part time self defense instructor at the local gym. Her name was Alchemy Arts. Despite all her skills and talents, she prefered motherhood and being there with her family.
Her father was a larger stallion, for a Pegasus, easily about twice the average pegasus stallion's height. He was not a big talker, preferring to let actions speak for him, but his words when used get to the point faster. His name was Cutlery, and he worked in a small restaurant within Cloudsdale proper.
As Windy sat around their small table, her mother and father before her, seated next to her was her younger sister, Windmill Whistle. She was only ten, and she and Windy shared a bedroom.
"So, how was your first day back Windy, Windmill?" Alchemy Arts asked.
"It was fun, I got to see all my old friends!" Windmill said happily.
"I was gonna try out for… cheerleading…" Windy said, a small blush on her face.
"Ah, couldn't talk to the colt then?" Arts asked her eldest daughter.
"... Yeah…" Windy sighed.
"Well, cheerleading is a good way to grab a colt's attention. I know your father enjoyed them back in our youth."
Her husband Cutlery cleared his throat, a blush on his face but gave a simple nod. "Is he playing Hoofball?"
"Yes, and I'm going to use Cheer practice and games as an excuse to finally try and talk to him. I spent years being overlooked and now that I'm finally out of my awkward phase I really want to finally ask him on a date." Windy explained.
"But you can't talk to him, so you're hoping maybe if while on Cheer, he starts a conversation with you or at least you finally get comfortable around him to start one yourself." Arts stated, earning a nod from her daughter.
"Why do you like this colt sis?" Windmill asked.
"A lot of little things really. Back in my awkward phase he was nice to me. He didn't laugh or make jokes about my braces or acne or tease me. He even stood up for me a few times but mostly he's just a good pony. He's a bit like dad, but more talkative." Windy stayed.
"Like me how?" Cutlery asked.
"He's really into sports, he's supportive and kind, he's a bit bigger than most colts in school and he always does what's right."
"Hm, that does sound like a good colt."
"If you do date him, we'll be happy to meet him. I bet your father and him would get along well and if he wants, I can always use a new student at the gym." Arts chuckled.
It was a cool afternoon after school. Bow and his friends were resting for a few minutes from the practice. They entertained themselves watching the Cheerleaders.
"Man, the cheerleaders are looking fine~" SkyScraper said.
Bow didn't say anything, just kept his eyes on that one mare. He saw her around. His locker was near hers and now he saw her at practice. More than once his wandering eye got him tackled, a hoof ball to the face or he ran into something or someone.
“Yeah…she does…” He muttered dreamily.
"And the nerdy filly loving bow finally has eyes on a hottie." SkyScraper said with a chuckle.
“Shut up Sky.” Bow huffed.
*Oh please, you were crushing on that nerdy filly back in middle school and even elementary school for years and never even talked to her. Still don't see how you found those weird pigtails and massive braces adorable."
Bow frowned. “She was adorable, and she still looks adorable…even if she’s…not at this school…”
"Uh, Bow?" Silver spoke up. "You do know that, that is Windy Whistles right?"
"What? No way." Sky said. "That cheerleader is not Windy Whistles."
"Yeah, she is. We have the same science class and that's what she answers to in roll call." Silver replied plainly. "Looks like she grew out of that awkward phase."
“B-but…” Bow blinked, looking at the mare in question, trying to find some comparison between the beautiful cheerleader and the adorable filly he used to know.
"Well, I guess the mane and coat colors are identical…" Sky said with a grumble.
"And the cutie mark." Silver added.
"I never looked at her cutie mark now that I think about it." Sky said with some thought. "Huh… guess puberty was very kind to her once all… that from before finally got wrapped up."
“And she’s mine, so back off.” Bow stated, before putting a hoof in his mouth at openly stating that as he felt his entire face heat up in embarrassment.
“Woah, that is the most assertive I’ve heard you be about… anything.” Sky said.
“Yeah.” Silver agreed.
"S-sorry guys." Bow said nervously. "Just…I guess I'm a little annoyed that I've missed her for so long…in plain sight toosight too."
“Well, looks like you might have finally grown the testes enough to talk to her.” Sky said.
“Shut up.” Bow rolled his eyes. “But…I should go and ask her out though…”
“That would be best. Her being a cheerleader now means someone else might ask her out.” Silver said.
“And that’s not going to happen.” Bow said readily. “I’m going to ask her out…and now.” He said as he started to trot over to the mare of his dreams.
“Don’t chicken out!” Sky called out as Bow began walking over to the cheerleaders.
Once he was in the area, Bow noticed a mare next to Windy elbowed her. She turned and looked at him and he froze a bit. The Windy Whistles he remembered were all grown up and into her looks. But her eyes remained the same.
His throat felt dry as he tried to figure out what to say at that moment…
“Wanna date?” Bow asked, not caring if he was smooth, not caring if it was garbage, his head was empty as he stared into the wonderful depths of Windy’s eyes.
“...Sure…” Windy said.
”Holy cow she actually said yes!!!” Bow mentally screamed, even if he managed to not show it through his body.
“Cool.” Bow said. “When are you free?”
“...Saturday.” She replied.
“The park?”
“It’s a date.”
As Bow walked away, Windy was lost in her own world. Her mind felt the conversation and the rest of the day pass in a haze of blurs and garbled words. Finally, on her walk home, she was brought back to Equestria by a hard, full force slap to the face from a hoof. “Earth to Windy! You’ve been on brain dead autopilot for hours!” Storm yelled, shaking her friend to emphasize her point.
“Bow asked me out on a date, Storm!” Windy said, trying to stop her friend from shaking her. “He asked me out on a date! I’m gonna date the stallion of my dreams!”
“Yeah, I know, I was there. I was also there when you nearly walked off a cloud, nearly walked into several walls, and when you walked over that pile of pega-pup poop.” Storm said, motioning to the small trail of dog poop that Windy made from what was now stuck to her hoof.
“...EWWWWW!” She whined in disgust.
“So what happened, he said ‘let’s date’ and your brain just shut down out of pure joy or because you failed to process that this actually happened?”
“Uh…yeah…” Windy admitted sheepishly.
Storm rolled her eyes. “Well, you got a date in the park with the stallion you’ve been crushing on forever, now comes the hard part.”
“And what’s that?” Windy asked. “Besides…trying to figure out what to wear…”
“If your brain does that when he asks you out, what in Equestria is it gonna do when you two are alone together?”
Storm immediately saw steam billow out of Windy’s head at that. “Uh…”
"Look, he's a Colt, and if anyone knows a colt's brains, or lack thereof, it's my sister. Plus now that he's asked you out I imagine she is dying to get involved directly now."
"He is mine." Windy stated bluntly.
"Involved to help you, dummy." Storm said, giving Windy a light whack to her friend's head with a wing. "Honestly, you can be so dense sometimes."
“Oh hush you.” Windy huffed. “This is a literal dream come true…I don’t want it ruined…”
"Then let's get you home, wash the eww off your hoof then plan this date of yours. Saturday is only two days away and between then and now I expect you to flirt with that Colt. Don't just blush and let your brain shut down."
“Fine fine…” Windy relented.
I said "let's date" and that worked?! Stupid! How the hell did that work?! How bluntly did my brain go?! Bow mentally stressed over his attempt to ask Windy out. It worked, for which he was thankful, but he hated his execution of it with a passion. It sounded so blunt and robotic, like he didn't even care.
"Bro, the deed is done, she said yes, stop having a meltdown." Sky said.
“I literally just said ‘let’s date’, how in Celestia’s flank am I supposed to be a good boyfriend if I can’t be more subtle?” Bow whined.
"I dunno, maybe your zero experience with fillies has a part to play?" Sky offered. "Look, you'll be going to a park. I've taken several fillies on dates through there. It's a good safe place for a first date. All you need to do is try and not sound like a machine giving orders."
“I mean…I’ll try, but honestly it just sucks that…the mare of my dream’s was literally standing right next to me the entire time and I never noticed…”
"We get it, she got hot." Sky said with an eye roll. "Okay, so real talk, how much about her do you really know?"
“Sadly…not much.” Bow sighed. “I got bullies off of her when we were younger a lot but…that’s about it.”
"Right, I remember that. They were making fun of her looks… well, as this date of yours goes on, complement her appearance. Mane, coat, teeth, eyes. Make her feel beautiful cause a filly that spent her foalhood being made fun of for appearance will love hearing she's a looker from a Colt." Sky started. "Make sure to ask her things, learn about her and her interests. Like, future goals, favorite music and songs, foods, all that stuff."
“I’m sure I can talk about how beautiful she is for hours.” Bow said honestly.
"Try not too cause then you will sound obsessed and possibly stalkerish. Just try and get to know her but make sure she is just as interested in getting to know you. Dated a filly once who talked all about herself and didn't seem to care about hearing about me so that ended badly."
“Yes, I remember that.” Bow nodded. “Had to hear you talk my ear’s off for a good portion of our hangout time when that happened.”
"Also try and have some cash for snacks or a meal or something."
“Yeah…and even if I forget, my parents would be super excited to hear I’m finally dating someone…”
"Probably. Your mother will definitely be excited and your dad will definitely wanna meet her when/if you two hit it off."
“Oh yeah…those are gonna be some awkward conversations…” Bow admitted sheepishly.
"Did they know you had a crush on Windy?"
“They knew I had a crush on someone…no, I’m not taking a bet that they knew who she was.” Bow stated bluntly.
“Darn it…” Sky grumbled.
“But…let’s hope for the best I suppose, me and Windy have two days to…figure all this out…”
"That's good. So, how are you going to stop from having your brain go into robot mode?"
“I don’t know.” Bow admitted bitterly.
"I'd recommend coffee but then you might not be able to shut up… plus you handle caffeine crashes horribly. Huh. I might know a pony that can help you gain some experience In talking to her."
“Who’s that?” Bow inquired, wanting any and all help he could get to make this date special for Windy.
"Remember that cousin of mine? The unicorn that was really good with illusions?"
“Oh yeah…hopefully he doesn’t jump into his ‘stage performer’ mode again…” Bow sighed, cause while he did enjoy spending time with Jack Pot, sometimes he could be a little overbearing. “Would be interesting to see what female illusion he can come up with.”
"He's actually made several. He wants to perform in Las Pegasus someday so he's trying to make sure all his illusions look, and even sound real."
“I’m sure he can do it.” Bow said, knowing how good Jack Pot was and how fervent he was to master his craft.
"Cool. I can send him an express letter and he can be here tomorrow morning. I imagine he can probably get a few gigs here easily. Not many unicorns come to Cloudsdale the more he padds out his resume the better his chances of working in Las Pegasus are."
“Sounds like a plan.” Bow nodded. “Wouldn’t be surprised if he just appeared in a puff of his smoke glitter bombs again.”
"Better not. Mom is still vacuuming the glitter out of the carpet from his last entrance."
“Oof, that’s gotta suck.”
We each laughed at the memory. I was looking forward to things to come.
