Author's Note

Hey guys, so here's my new story! I hope you enjoy it. Sorry about saying so little, I just don't have much to say.

DISCLAIMER: Some sections are not my own, but are from Wildcard25's FiMfic, "Ladies' Man on Campus." His fic is my inspiration to write this one. The same goes with the setting, and some of the characters. All original content is mine.

UPDATE 11/26/2014: I've changed all of the characters to ponies. Reason being, it still had too much plagiarized content, and I couldn't think of any other way to remove it except to make them all ponies. Tell me what guys think!

UPDATE 03/11/15: After giving it much thought, I've decided to make all of the characters anthropomorphic. This is because there's going to be some parts where human appendages will be needed, but I still want to avoid being pinned for plagiarized content.

A New Beginning

My name is Bright Scales, 19-year-old pony who has been caught up in the ideals of Co-Principals Celestia and Luna Diade to participate in an experiment for their Canterlot University. They had agreed that their campus was ready to break tradition and go from an all-mare university to a normal one. One with mares and stallions alike taking classes.

They advertised the opportunity on Snaptext and Instacam, and what resulted was an absolute frenzy. It is a wonder they never seemed overwhelmed by the mountain of press and headlines both good and bad.

Over 10,000 stallions applied for it, doing their best to follow the given criteria:

They had to be between 18- and 21-years-old, in good academic and financial standing (it was clarified that they were looking spending habits, not simply for stallions with a lot of money), gave letters of recommendations from 3 or more non-family connections, no criminal records of any kind for any reason, and a 1,000+ word essay as to why they wanted to be chosen and why they were uniquely suited for the honor.

Six of us remained by the end of the month-long process, and each of us were judged by the co-principals themselves in a lengthy interview. We shook their hands, greeted them, then spent half a day each in their offices as students went in and out and we were given the opportunity to interact with them to a limited degree.

At the end of the interviews Principal Luna asked us which stallion would be most suited to represent all stallions at this university if they were not chosen.

I chose Onyx Ace.

Everypony else chose me.

What have I gotten myself into…

…

…oh buck it, what do I have left to lose? This may be what I need to get over my fears once and for all. If I cannot get over my fear here, then I may never get another chance and my dream may never come to pass.

A lone colt eyed the massive gates that led into Canterlot University with apprehension. He was a sapphire-blue unicorn with forest green hair and his cutie mark was a dragon mech surrounded by musical notes, all on a sheet of parchment. His name was Bright Scales. He was seriously starting to regret accepting Principal Celestia's request now that he was here. He took a deep breath and talked softly to himself.

"Ok, Bright. This is it. This is what you got yourself into. No turning back. Don't fuck up, now." Bright inhaled deeply, then steeled himself and walked into the building.

As he walked his way to the building, he looked around seeing nothing but mares everywhere, all dressed in the Canterlot Academy uniform. They had pitch-black skirts with a red-and-white stripe across the top, yellow blouses, and large capes that depicted their mascot-- an alicorn-- and the name of their school: The Canterlot Warponies. If he wasn't so nervous, Bright would've snorted at the design; it seemed pretty bland and definitely needed to be changed.

But as it was, Bright was already anxious from his current predicament, and the fact that many of them looked pretty sexy wasn't helping to calm himself down at all. He was acutely aware of them staring in his direction and whispering to their peers about why a colt was in their school. He tried ignoring them, but it was really difficult. He eventually decided to keep focusing on finding his way to the Principal's office, wherever the hell that was.

He finally made it into the building, where he examined a map of the university on a wall. "Ok, so the Principal's office should be over that way." he followed the directions with a brisk, nervous pace. While he was trotting along, he started singing under his breath. Music always had helped to calm his nerves, and his situation definitely warranted it.

In fields where nothing grew but weeds,
I found a flower at my feet.
Bending there in my direction.

I wrapped a hand around its stem.
I pulled until the roots gave in.
Finding now what I've been missing...

As he trekked down the hall, he passed a group of six more mares: two Earth ponies, two unicorns, and two pegasi. He didn't pay much attention except to acknowledge their presence with a sideways glance. When the two parties passed, the group stopped dead and turned to stare at the young stallion who had passed them. The lavender unicorn with purple hair and a pink stripe through it spoke first, "Girls, was that just me, or was that a colt?"

"I don't know." replied an orange, blonde-haired, freckled Earth pony wearing a cowboy hat in a western accent.

"That wasn't just you, Twilight," an alabaster unicorn sporting long, curled, indigo-hued hair answered. "That really was a colt."

"A colt in our school??" the second Earth pony repeated, this one being all pink and her hair like pink cotton-candy. She didn't seem surprised at all. In fact, her expression was one of pure excitement as she continually bounced on her feet.

"Why would a colt be here?" a buttercup-yellow pegasus with long pale-pink hair asked softly.

"I'm not sure," the other pegasus replied, this one cyan-skinned and sporting short, rainbow-colored hair. "But that means we're gonna find out the answer." With that, the six mares started trailing the oblivious Bright Scales.

Meanwhile, Bright was unaware of his six new followers as he stopped to recollect his thoughts, still looking for the principal's office. "Okay, so I'm at the T-junction that was shown on the map...so I should take a left and--"

He turned to his left and came face-to-face with the poofy-haired pony.

"GYUH!" Bright yelped in surprise as he slipped and fell flat onto his rump, making a dull thud as he hit the floor.

The mare confusedly looked at him and asked, "Why did you fall down like that?"

"You're seriously asking me that question?" he shot back. "Ow, that hurt."

"You okay?" another voice called from somewhere behind him.

Bright looked over his shoulder and saw that it was the same mares that he had walked passed before. The one with the purple hair and pink streak through it had spoken. She offered him a hand, and he gratefully took it. When he got back onto his feet, he answered,

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Sorry about that, Pinkie does that with new faces," she explained.

"Oh...ok." Bright said quietly. He looked at the pony named Pinkie, who grinned at him.

The pegasus with the rainbow-colored hair brusquely stepped up to him, "Hey, buddy, don'tcha know this is a school for mares only?"

"Yeah, I know." he said nervously.

"Then why the heck are YOU here?" she demanded. Bright quailed away in fright. Whoever she was, she scared him.

"Now now Rainbow Dash, stop scaring the poor dear," Chided the indigo-haired unicorn. She turned to Bright. "Don't mind Rainbow, darling. She's always so suspicious. Now if I may ask, what is your name?"

"M-My name's Bright. Bright Scales."

"Well Bright, charmed and delighted to meet you," the unicorn began. "My name's Rarity, and these are my friends, Fluttershy..." she gestured to the other pegasus with the long, pale pink hair.

She avoided making eye contact with Bright until softly saying, "Hello."

"...Applejack..."

"Howdy." the orange Earth greeted, tipping her tan Stetson hat.

"...Twilight Sparkle..."

"Nice to meet ya." the other unicorn said.

"...And you already met Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash." Rarity finished. Bright glanced at them, and saw that Pinkie was waving hi wildly to him, that goofy grin still plastered to her face. Rainbow, on the other hand, was giving him a smug smirk.

"Pleasure to meet you all." Bright said politely, as he tried very hard not to stare at them inappropriately.

"You still haven't answered my question though," Rainbow continued impatiently. "Why are you here?"

Before Bright could speak up, an older pony's called out, "Ah, there you are, Bright! I've been looking for you."

The seven of them looked ahead, and there stood an alicorn, her billowing hair a mix of cobalt, pink, green, and blue. Her skin was snow-white, while her cutie mark depicted the sun.

"Principal Celestia!" the girls gasped.

Wait, that's the principal? Bright asked himself, finally meeting the pony--er, alicorn is more appropriate--who had sent that letter.

"Thank you so much for escorting him to my office, girls." Celestia thanked them

"Um, we didn't actually escort him. We just talked, that's it." Fluttershy spoke up.

"I see." Celestia said. "Well then Bright, come into my office and we can talk there."

"Yes ma'am. Bye, um...it was a pleasure meeting you all." Bright waved goodbye as he followed the principal into her office. The six mares just stood there, confused with all that was going on.

"I wonder what the principal wants with him?" Applejack asked.

"I'm not sure. Seems kinda weird, if you ask me." Rainbow answered.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think he's quite cute." Pinkie admitted.

The others stared at her, until Twilight spoke up. "I have to agree with you on that one, Pinkie. Bright does looks like quite the looker."

"Well, we'd better get to class now. Come on everypony." Twilight said, and the six friends turned around and set off to their first-period class.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Inside the principal's office, Celestia stood behind her desk, looking at Bright. Next to her was the Vice Principal, Luna. She had the same kind of weird flowing hair as her older sister, but was dark-blue. She also had purple skin, but with a subtle greyish tint to it. Her cutie mark was one of the crescent moon.

"Now then Bright, my sister and I would like to first welcome you into Canterlot University." Celestia began.

"Thank you, ma'ams. I'm honored that you chose me for such an important undertaking." Bright replied. He felt quite relaxed; this was familiar territory, thanks to a lot of similar talks with his parents and past teachers.

"We know that this is, without a doubt, a completely new experience for you, but all we ask of you is to follow the rules, don't step out of line, and respect our students, and you will receive the same amount in return." Luna stated.

"Yes ma'am. I won't forget."

Celestia reached into a drawer of her desk and pulled out a sheet of parchment, then handed it to Bright. He took it and skimmed through it quickly.

"That is your schedule. When you arrive at your assigned mares' dormitory, speak with the dorm leader; she'll assign you a room." Celestia explained, confirming what Bright had already deduced.

"I understand."

"And by tomorrow morning, your school uniform that you must wear on campus should arrive."

"Yes ma'am." Bright said. "Just out of curiosity, what will I be wearing?"

"You'll find out when you receive, but I can tell you that you should be receiving it around 7:45 or so tomorrow morning." Celestia answered.

He nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"Good. Luna will now escort to your first-period class."

Luna strode over to the boy. "Shall we go?" he nodded.

As they were leaving, Celestia stopped them. "Oh, one more thing Bright...please do exercise some self-control over yourself around my students, would you?"

Bright's face flushed red in embarrassment. "Y-Yes ma'am." he shakily muttered.

Celestia and Luna chuckled as the latter led him out of the office.

As the door closed, the principal stared at the closed door a few more moments. He shows so much promise...but he's so shy too. she thought. Just like Fiernen... When she thought that, her mood immediately dampened. She sighed and turned to look out the window in melancholy. "Fiernen," she mumbled to no one in particular. "Where did you go?"

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Your sister's quite the jokester, huh?" Bright asked Luna as they kept walking.

"Yes she is. Ever since we were fillies, she would never miss a chance to tease me. Thankfully, it wasn't the bad kind, but that doesn't mean it came without the tricks." she explained.

"Seems that's what siblings tend to do." Bright noted.

"Despite all that, we get along well enough like sisters should."

"Well that's nice to hear." he said.

They stopped in front of the first room, "The teacher here is Ms. Arya. She's very nice and will help you in any way she can. I must go now, will you be fine on your own from here?"

"Of course." he answered.

"Well, have a good day." Luna said, as she went back to the office.

Bright looked at the door and knocked on it, "Come in." a voice called from inside.

Bright opened the door and stepped inside seeing the classroom had at least twenty mares there. They looked about a year or two older than Bright was himself. Ms. Arya herself was a middle-aged mare sporting longish, teal hair and green skin.

At the sight of Bright, the mares all stopped whatever they were doing, gaped at him, and started gossiping. "Isn't that the same colt from outside?"

"Yeah, but why's he still here?"

"He actually looks kinda cute."

Bright could feel his face heat up again. With some effort, he ignored their stares and looked at the teacher.

"Ms. Arya?"

"Yes, that's me." she replied. A second later, she realized who he was. "Ah, you must be the new student that Principal Celestia had informed me about earlier."

"NEW STUDENT?!" all of the mares exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, girls. Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna have decided that this school is ready to become a co-ed school. However, they brought in this young stallion to put it to the test. Everypony, this Bright Scales, your newest fellow classmate."

Bright didn't say anything at first, just stared at the ground a little longer. Come on come on, he frantically thought to himself. Don't just stand there and look like an idiot. Do something!. Finally, he lifted his gaze to look at the class, and gave them a weak smile. "Hi there."

Mrs. Arya continued. "Now, you all are expected to treat Mr. Scales with the same level of respect as any other guest if this test is to be successful."

One of the mares, a pegasus, raised her hoof.

"Yes, Cloudchaser?"

"When will Principal Celestia announce whether or not we'll become a co-ed school?"

"If all goes well, then she and her sister will make the final decision by the end of the school year." Ms. Arya said. "Now girls, what do have you all have to say to Mr. Bright?"

All of the mares gazed back at the shaking Bright. The poor colt had never had this many strangers stare at him at all, much less like this. It was all very disconcerting.

"Welcome to Canterlot University, Bright Scales." they brightly exclaimed in unison.

"T-Thanks..." he stammered. I guess...

"Now Bright, please find an empty seat, then we may continue our lesson."

"Y-Yes ma'am." he muttered, then walked past many desks looking for a seat that had yet to be taken. All of the mares' stares of wonder, happiness, and in few cases, lust, were certainly not lost on him. All they did was make his face become redder, if that was even possible.

Finally, Bright spotted a chair to the same alabaster unicorn he met earlier...Rarity, was it? He idly noted as well that the other five he'd met in the hall were here too.

He walked over to her and asked, " 'Scuse me, but is this seat taken?"

"No darling."

"Thanks." he thanked, taking his seat as Ms. Arya began her lesson.

Approximately three hours later, Bright found himself within the academy's cafeteria. He had to admit, it was significantly larger than the one at his old school.

I just hope that the food here isn't as different. he thought. He got in the lunch line, and he received his food: Pepperoni pizza.
"Looks good, at least." he muttered to himself. He filled the rest of his tray, then walked back into the cafeteria, carrying the tray with him. He didn't react when a lot of the mares turned to stare at him...or more specifically, the amount of food he was carrying. It was quite a lot, and he doubted many ponies here, if any, ate this much.

But this time, he didn't care: Bright was always one who had a huge appetite, so he was used to this kind of attention.

He looked around the cafeteria in search of a spot where he could sit. Many of the tables were filled with groups. Should I ask any of them if I could join, or would that be considered intruding? Bright thought. He spied an empty table. He shrugged. Guess I'll be sitting solo for now.

But before he could move to it, a familiar voice called out: "Hey Bright! Come sit here!"

He looked to his right and saw the distinct, poofy-haired visage of Pinkie Pie waving him over. Sitting with her were the rest of her friends. Bright trotted over to the six mares, internally sighing in relief. These were familiar faces, albeit those he'd known for less than 12 hours, but he could relax a little bit.

He took a seat between Applejack and Fluttershy. "Thanks for inviting me to eat with you all. I was just about to eat alone."

"Well, I'm glad I prevented that." Pinkie said with a grin.

"Got enough food there, pal?" noted Rainbow.

"I guess I do, comparatively speaking. I guess it's because I love food." he said lightly. The more time he spent with these mares, the more he relaxed. They seemed friendly enough.

Bright nodded, then took a large bite out of his slice of pizza. He savored the saucy taste. Delicious. he thought.

"So, what do you think of Canterlot University so far, dear?"asked Rarity.

"It's almost nothing like my old school: It's much bigger, definitely cleaner, and obviously a LOT more mares than what I'm used to." he replied.

"Yeah, well get used to it." Rainbow flatly stated. Bright gave her a disapproving look. "I'm sorry, is there something shoved up your ass? I didn't mean anything against you mares."

"So why did the principal and her sister pick YOU for their experiment and not anyone else?" Applejack interjected before Rainbow could retort.

"Well, they were looking for the one best and the brightest colt students in one of the neighboring schools, and I happened to be at the top of the list."

"Did you accept their invitation right away?" Twilight asked.

"Not immediately. In fact, I was just about to turn it down altogether." Bright said. "But the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. Finally, I couldn't bring myself to say no, so I accepted it so I could a least have a roof over my head."

"Oh, ok." Twilight admitted.

"Speaking of which, I hope all of my luggage got here in one piece. There's some stuff in there that are pretty delicate, and they'll be a pain to fix." he added. "Plus I've gotta talk with the dorm leader so she can assign me a room, whoever she may be."

The six grinned when Bright said that, and Twilight proudly replied, "Well look no further, because she's sitting right here."

"You're my dorm leader? Wow, how cool!" Bright exclaimed brightly(no pun intended).

"That it is. I'll help you get settled into your dorm room when school's all done, then give you a tour of the campus if you'd like tomorrow."

"I'd appreciate that a lot. Thanks."

"Not a problem."

"Hey, since we're getting to know each other, how about you all tell me about a bit about yourselves?" Bright suggested.

"That's an awesome idea!" Pinkie said, smiling widely.

"I'll go first. I'm really into flying." Rainbow proudly declared. "I'm the captain of the Pegasus racing team, and I'm training to join the Wonderbolts. I also like to play guitar, and I'm a master at it if I do say so myself."

"Wow you're very active, huh?" Bright whistled, impressed.

"You bet. What about yourself?"

"Well, I haven't done any competitive sports, but I do some physical activities." Bright answered.

"Like what?"

"Well let's see...my hobbies are singing, dancing, martial arts, track, playing guitar & piano, and practicing with my rope dart."

"Wait, hold on a second. What's a rope dart?" Fluttershy asked, curious. The same went with the rest of the mares.

Bright rubbed the back of his head shyly. "Well, I can't say really tell you well, but it's pretty much a spike stuck to a long rope. It'd be easier if I showed you all after school."

"One more thing," he added. "I don't mean to brag, but I'm really good with my guitar too. There's not one song I can't play with it."

"Well then...we'll see how you stack up to me." Rainbow replied with a devilish grin.

"That a challenge?" Bright asked as he mirrored her smile and held out a hand.

"You bet." She grasped his hand. She's got a firm grip, Bright noticed.

"Alright then. You're on." With that, they shook.

"I think that's gonna have to wait, Rainbow." Twilight chimed in. "I'm the smartest mare here. Matter of fact, I'm the top student here. I work at the library as the assistant."

"Yeah, and that's where she is in most of her free time, always buried in a book." Rainbow muttered, to which Twilight glared at her.

Rarity followed Twilight. "I'm a fashion designer. Whenever I've got some extra time, I design and make clothing for both stallions and mares. I've been doing it for a long time now."

"Whoa, that's a lot of hard work." Bright said.

"Yeah, but the pay is more than worth it."

"Ooh-ooh, me next, me next!" Pinkie cheered. "I supervise the preparations for all of the school's special events and parties."

"Huh, sounds pretty cool." Bright said.

Fluttershy spoke up. "I'm very good with taming and caring for animals."

"That goes without saying." Rainbow added. "One time, she managed to tame a dragon that had wandered onto campus and now he even visits from time to time."

"Really?" Bright looked at Fluttershy, impressed. "Incredible..."

"He was just lost and confused, that's all." Fluttershy hastily explained, blushing.

Applejack went next. "I'm from out of town, where my family grows our very own apple farm. We supply the school with apples." She pulled out an apple from her pack and offered it to Bright.

He thanked her, took it and bit a large portion out of it. When the taste hit his taste buds, his eyes widened in delight.

"Dang...talk about juicy. Your family makes some really good apples."

"Thanks a lot, Bright. That really means much to me." she replied with a blush.

"Hey guys!" a familiar voice called out from behind them. Bright looked up and saw a light-orange unicorn trotting over to their table. Bright's eyes lit up when he recognized her.

"Sunset!" he exclaimed eagerly. He stood up and trotted quickly over to her. Sunset looked at him in surprise, then realization dawned on her face, and the two hugged each other tightly. They stayed like that for a long time, then they broke apart.

"It's been so long!" Bright said. "How've you been all these years?"

"I'm doing good, thanks for asking." Sunset replied with just as much enthusiasm. "I heard about the co-ed experiment that Principal Celestia had cooked up for some time, but I never thought that YOU would be chosen. That's so cool!"

He gestured for Sunset to sit down with the others. "Come on. Take a seat. We can continue our little discussion with the rest of yo-- I mean, OUR friends."

She nodded, and the duo walked back to the other six.

"So, I take it you two have known each other for a while?" Rainbow asked, rather unnecessarily.

"You better believe it." Bright eagerly replied. "Sunset and I've been best friends since we were kids. She's practically a sister to me."

Sunset just rolled her eyes. "Still haven't lost your tendency to be melodramatic."

"Hey!" Bright exclaimed, while the others just laughed.

"So, Bright..." Sunset continued. "It's been what... five years since we last met? So that means you're--"

"About 19 and a half." was the quick reply.

"Wow, you've really grown a lot since." she said.

"Heh-heh...never even noticed." he replied.

For the rest of lunchtime, the eight friends chatted animatedly, trading jokes and stories. Then the bell rang, and they parted ways as they all headed for their third-period class.

When school was over, Bright met with the others in front of the building, then set off for the dorms.

Upon entering Bright saw his luggage, boxes, and bags all stacked neatly in the lobby. "There's all my stuff."

"Whaddaya say we help ya get it all in your new room?" Applejack offered.

"Thanks." Bright said. The eight of them each took an item, then followed Twilight through the hall before stopping at one of the rooms.

"This is it," Twilight said, as she opened the door, and they walked into another, smaller lobby. Branching off from it were eight short hallways. Twilight went up to the leftmost door and walked through. Inside, there was a TV, a bathroom, a kitchen, a medium-size bed, a closet, and a desk. Next to the desk was a window that offered a wide view of the outside world. "Welcome to your new room, Bright. Hope you like it."

"Thanks, girls. It's not quite as big as my old place, but it looks roomy enough." Bright said, as he placed the bag he was carrying on his new bed.

"Need any help unpacking?" Sunset offered.

"No thanks, y'all can just drop it my stuff on the floor. I'll take it from here. Thanks anyway."

"Ok, we'll be by later after we've decided on dinner plans." Twilight said.

"Got it." Bright, said before she closed the door. Bright sat up looked around the empty room. Wow, this place needs some SERIOUS remodeling. he thought.

A couple hours later, the seven mares were on their way back to Bright's room to check on him. They were all out of their school uniforms.

"I wonder how Bright's doing right now?" Sunset wondered aloud.

"Aw, he's probably just taking a break, just like everyone is." Rainbow said.

"Wait, what's that?" Applejack interjected. The seven of them huddled together and pressed their ears to Bright's door. They heard music and singing emanating from it.

You promised me the sky,

Then tossed me like a stone.

You wrap me in your arms...

And chill me to the bone.

Cautiously, they pushed open the door, and what they beheld took their collective breaths away.

Bright's walls were covered with intricate drawings and paintings of dragons, pegasi, Earth ponies, strange unicorn-like creatures with fish scales all over its back, and a bunch of other magical creatures. Some were depicted angry or intimidating, others were drawn and colored sleeping, and still others were doing something with joyful expressions. His desk had numerous more drawings of various gadgets, a microscope, a whole mess of precision tools, and a laptop.

Underneath the windowsill, no less than three small speakers were placed around a guitar amp, blaring the music the girls had heard from before.

Then there was Bright Scales himself.

Bright was currently in the center of his room, playing on a guitar that was hanging on a strap around his shoulder and hooked up to the amp and singing along with the music that blared from the speakers.

There's truth in your lies, doubt in your faith, all I've got's what you didn't take.

So I; I won't be the ONE; be the one to leave this...in pieces.

And YOU; you will be aLONE; alone with all your secrets...and regrets.

Don't lie.

At the end of that last line, Bright immediately flew into a very fast guitar solo. It was obvious he'd been playing that instrument for a long time.

So I; I won't be the ONE; be the one to leave this...in pieces.

And YOU; you will be aLONE; alone with all your secrets...and regrets.

Don't lie.

With that, the song continued a little bit longer, then ended altogether.

Bright just stood there, breathing slightly more heavily than usual.

Meanwhile, the seven mares who'd watched him stood rooted where they were, mouths agape in shock and awe.

Neither group said anything for some time. Then he casually took the guitar off his shoulder and gently leaned it against the amp. Rarity broke the silence:

"Whoa..."

Bright whipped around, and beheld the seven mares gaping at him. Their stares brought back that familiar rush of blood to his face as he blushed.

"Umm...hi?" he tentatively ventured.

"That...Was...AWESOME!!" Rainbow cried out, startling everybody else. "That was totally amazing! How long have you been playing the guitar?!"

Bright backed away slowly, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Thanks, but it was nothing really..."

"NOTHING?! How can that be considered 'nothing'??"

Suddenly, Bright found himself mobbed by the seven girls, all hurling questions at him nonstop. There were so many, they all melded together into one, incohesive mess. At first, he tried answering their questions, but that got too difficult. Soon enough, a throbbing pain started to form in his skull while simultaneously he started growing short of breath. The clamor climbed higher, and Bright started hearing a faint tone. It was faint, but was definitely high-pitched. As the noise reached a crescendo, the tone had transformed into a mechanical scream, deafeningly loud, unbroken, and one that the poor young colt was all too familiar with. Instinct took over for a moment, and he seized up in panic.

Finally, he had had enough of this. He roughly shoved aside Pinkie Pie, then dashed over to the window. He batted it open and leaned out of it precariously, covered in sweat and gulping in generous amounts of fresh air.

A ringing silence settled over everypony, while the seven mares stared in shock at Bright.

"B-Bright?" Sunset finally spoke up. "You uh...you okay?" He didn't immediately answer, but instead pulled himself back into the room. He was still panting, but he seemed to have calmed down. "Y-Yeah...I'm good...," he panted out. "Just had a...panic attack." He took a minute to fully catch his breath before he explained.

"I'm sorry about that. That's actually why I'm so anti-social: I'm a little agoraphobic." he explained.

"Agora-whatnow?" Rainbow said, giving him a confused look.

"Agoraphobia." Twilight corrected. "It's a fear of being in situations where it is difficult to escape from, or where help may not be available."

"Yeah that."

"Oh darling, we're so--" Rarity started.

Bright raised a slightly trembling palm, silencing her. "It's alright. None of you never knew."

He inhaled deeply, then blew out that breath. He looked around. "Weren't we going to have dinner?" he asked.

"Oh that's right!" Applejack exclaimed. "We completely forgot about that, huh?"

"Yeah, I'll make sure to lay off those practice sessions of mine until I KNOW that I won't be interrupting anything." Bright joked, eliciting a laugh from everyone present. Then, all eight ponies filed out of his new bedroom. Just before he walked through the doorway, he stopped momentarily.

Ah, I could definitely get used to this.

Then he sighed.

Then again, it might just bring with it more panic attacks. He froze again. Anger and fear welled up inside of him as past memories flashed before his inner eyes.

Three figures singing for numerous little fillies...a large alcove with a wooden ship and many different props all over the place...

"IT'S ME! I'M GONNA GET YA!!" a voice screamed at him with a pirate accent...unimaginable pain in his head--

"Bright, you OK?" Twilight's voice echoed, slicing through his memories like a surgical knife through water. Bright blinked, then shook his head to clear his mind.

"Yeah, I'm good." he replied. She nodded, then turned around walked back into the kitchen. He stayed in place, standing stock-still. Then, unconsciously, a hand rose up and ran through his hair. It stopped when he found a series of depressions in it. But these weren't scattered all around. They were arranged in two 'U's, their ends touching.

It had taken a long time for the hair in that area to grow back, but finally it did. Bright had that scar ever since he was a little kid.

Ever since that incident...