Grey

by Zorotokon

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Character
Length: 7293

College and Magic. What could possibly go wrong? Everything. That is what.

Two friends descend onto the Royal Canterlot Magic University seeking fun, friendship, and and maybe an education, if they have time. They are joined by one Manifest Destiny, the first earth pony to attend the prestigious college in history. Together these three will explore their world's, finding a place in life for them. Only time will tell what will happen, but they'll try their best to have some fun along the way!

Published 2012-05-04 15:44:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-05-11 14:33:32 UTC

1 - As Goes Canterlot

Grey Chp. 1 - America

"What about just a LITTLE toxic?”

"No, Alchy, not even a little toxic.”

The first unicorn who had spoken, a dark-blue mare, gazed around the small dorm room, imagining what life would be like for any pony unlucky enough to be assigned it as residence for the coming year at the Royal Canterlot Magic University.

A long podium running along the southern wall would serve as a workbench for Grey and his future roommate, dried splattered ink dotted it like a crime scene. A large ornate window with heavy ironwork and poured glass faced west, a catch that hadn’t been open in decades had been broken, letting in air to the dusty old room. A sliver of sun was barely peeking in from the top of the window, casting web-like shadows of early afternoon over the occupants and floor. The eastern wall consisted of a giant heavy-set oak double door, far too large and complicated with faded patina and complicated inlays to have ever been intended to serve as the portal to a dorm room. It stuck out like a sore hoof, which was exactly the image conjured up by the two slabs of rock that had been cleverly disguised with pillows and linens. To the uninitiated or absent minded they would have been perfectly mistakable for beds. Each of the four old walls wore a bare antiquated stain punctuated by darkened areas where water had seeped in. Each of the walls finally and most greatly showed their age where flecked and peeled paint revealed the ancient blackened brick below. The old wing of the residence halls had been appropriated for the new male dorms. This was the first year RCMU had needed male dorms at all, but equality, as progress, marches on.

The complaining mare flopped onto one of the unoccupied bed-like objects and began pouting as well as her awkward position would allow. The mark on her flank was a bright and shiny chemical jar. Though the label was unreadable, the contents looked remarkably dangerous, even while upside down. "But Greeey,” the unicorn punctuated each word by swishing her long sapphire mane to and fro, letting a whine sneak in just for good measure, “I wanna experiment."

"No buts this time,” the stallion dictated, slamming his hoof down in emphasis, “I'm not drinking anything you make this semester and that is my final decision. Now stop complaining and help me unpack."

The other occupant of the room, a male unicorn with a light charcoal pelt, was carefully unpacking boxes. Or at least he had been until he had put a hoof straight thru the top of one, no doubt crushing the contents within. Alchy tittered as Grey extracted himself. Three white dots connected in a straight vertical line made up his cutie mark. His mane was dirty blonde, and had only recently escaped the tyranny of a bowl cut.

Alchy righted herself, horn glowing as she randomized a stack of books that Grey had just alphabetized. "I just wish that your roommate would get here sometime soon."

Grey took a look around at his newly decorated half of the dorm room. Various constellation maps adorned the walls, with similarly themed linens on his bed, already mussed by Alchy’s interference. Grey's books were stacked nicely on the extra-wide desk that he would share with his future roommate. The unicorn frowned. Why was Marcan's Guide to the Northern Constellations above An Astrologer's Calendar? Did he reverse alphabetize them yet? No, he couldn’t have, above Marcan's was Cancer: An In-Depth Chronicle.

"Bah." Grey's magic enveloped the pile as he organized his books for the second time today.

"I just hope he's some sort of big, strapping stallion." Alchy's gaze turned hazy as she stared into her own personal dream world. "And then he can come and sweep me off my hooves." Her cheeks began to darken as her fantasy unfolded before her. "Imagine it: long flowing mane, glittering eyes, a perfect white coat, and a deep red rose clutched in his teeth.” A sigh escaped her lips as she mused on, falling into full day-dreaming mode. “He would come in here, invite me off to his private retreat in the mountains. We would go off together, hoof in hoof, and we would lie down in his personal boudoir and kiss, and then he would run his-"

"ALCHY. I know you enjoy reading those trashy clopfics in your spare time, but that isn't important right now." Alchy resumed pouting at the interruption of the inception of her latest work. The Mysterious Roommate, she would call it, torrid scenes already fully forming in her mind. Grey ignored her. "What is important right now is that SOMEPONY has reorganized my primers,” on the word “somepony” he cast a particularly accusatory glance at his companion, and ranted on. “And nowtheyareoutoforderANDTHAT. WILL. NOT. STAND."

Grey’s own scowl quickly deteriorated into a fit of guffaws and chuckles, Alchy’s poorly contained grin at her old friend’s expected outburst betrayed her intentions. "Is that supposed to be your innocent face? You look like you're five and your mother just caught you eating the entire box of hay crackers."

"Nyeh," the female stuck her tongue out at him while he finished rearranging the books. "Now work your magic and make the perfect stallion walk through my door!"

"First of all, Alchy, that is my door, as this is my room. Second of all, we are both unicorns. If you want to magic up a prince, do it yourself!"

"Fine! I will!" Faux huffing to herself, Alchy's horn became wrapped in a crimson hue as she concentrated. She had no actual idea what she was doing, but she figured it wouldn't do any harm to throw some magic in the general direction of the door just to annoy Grey. He just rolled his eyes as Alchy finished her 'spell.'

"There," Alchy declared, folded her hooves triumphantly "now all I have to do is wait." The two companions looked expectantly at the door.

"Gah, now you've got me believing too. All I ask for is an hour or two of peace, and then you come in here, rambling on about this and that, messing up my books, and then I have to-"

"SHHH!" Alchy's hooves clamped down on his muzzle, silencing the protester. "He's right outside!"

The voice of their Resident Advisor floated in from the hallway, partially muffled by the closed door. "Fourteen, fifteen... Ah, here we are, three sixteen. You’re sharing your room with Grey Circinus; he's already here. If you have any questions, I'm on the first floor, room one twelve. Don't be a stranger, Mr. Destiny."

Grey was not faint of heart, and prided himself on standing strong in the face of adversity. But when he saw how Alchy's face had been overtaken by two glassy, star filled orbs the size of dinner plates, he knew he was looking directly into the terrible, unending maw of oblivion. Whoever this Mr. Destiny was, he was going to die here, and it would be an utterly horrific end.

Alchy started to panic as she heard the approaching hoofs. Within the next moments, the stallion of her dreams would walk through that portal; she needed this first meeting to be perfect. Magically, she clicked the lock and levitated the unresisting body of Grey out of sight, and behind the bed. The handle jiggled as it was tried, followed expectantly by three short raps. Alchy threw herself onto the bed, arranging the covers around her for maximum enjoyment of the male eye without giving too much away. The three knocks repeated themselves again.

Alchy next did something that she had always wanted to try, but had never gotten the chance. She was going to be seductive. "Come iiin." Grey was still mostly paralyzed in shock, but the trill that Alchy had forced into her normally sandy voice sent spasms down his back as his brain attempted to evacuate by way of his eyes. The crimson hue surrounded the lock once more and twisted it open. With a final click the door swung inwards, allowing the greatest stallion that Alchy had ever seen to enter her vision.

It was a shame that her view was still obscured by a pile of luggage and a small earth pony colt.

"Ah, hm." The brown colt back peddled and looked at the sign above the door. "No, that's right, this is three sixteen, yes?"

Alchy wilted slightly at her carefully planned impression being wasted upon a short earth pony, but recovered magnificently as she realized that this must be his servant! Which meant that he had money! She mentally added a yacht to the wedding photos already filled with large sacks of bits, because all rich ponies kept large sacks of bits around. How else would they remember they were rich?

"Yes, this is three hundred and sixteen. Please show yourself in." Alchy gestured grandly to the cramped, partially decorated room. "My name is Alchy, and please inform Mr. Destiny that I am eagerly awaiting his appearance."

"Dest."

"What?"

"Well, my last name is Destiny, but please call me Manni. Mr. Dest if you must be formal."

Alchy couldn't believe what her ears were telling her. This colt couldn't be older than 14, and HE was saying that he was Grey's roommate? But then, if that was true, there was no Mr. Destiny. And that meant there was no yacht. Which meant that there were no large sacks of bits, which meant that there was no tropical island private vacation spot where she could raise their foals and grow old happily together staring into the sunset on a hanging bench!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Her plans for fame, fortune, and eternal undying love were being torn apart at the seams before her very eyes. The unicorn fell dejectedly from her partially propped position to wallow in the pillows.

"Is something wrong?" The wicked and FALSE Mr. Dest approached her, confusion sounding in his voice.

"Why-hi-hi ME-he-he?" Alchy continued blubbering as Grey picked himself off the floor from his ‘hiding’ place.

"Hey Manni, I'm Grey. This is Alchy, she's melodramatic." As the two males brought their hooves together in a greeting Grey continued, "don't worry about her, she's just over reacting because you're not a big strapping stallion who was coming to take her away."

"Well, that explains things at the least. Charmed to make your acquaintance Grey. I hope this isn't intruding, but why were you on the ground?"

The unicorn huffed and threw a hoof in the direction of the bed.

"Ah." The earth pony nodded, understanding.

"It's nice to meet you and everything, but why are you here?" Grey asked the question only now coming to his mind.
His brown companion smiled and ran a hoof thru his well-kept and cropped mane. "While the university is technically for Unicorns, I showed enough aptitude on magical theory and understanding of concepts that I was able to pass the entrance exam without the practical section. And yes, the dean and higher ups know all about me, it has all been prearranged."

Grey blinked at this wash of information. Apparently it was possible to study magical theory at the Royal Canterlot Magic University, something useful to remember. "So, how'd you get into college so early? Know someone on the top?"

A puzzled look crossed over Manni's face before his brow furrowed in annoyed recognition. "I am nineteen."

Grey was taken aback by not only how old his new roommate was compared to his looks, but how icy his reply had been.
"Wow, sorry I asked."

The earth pony sighed as he deflated, "It's fine. I'm used to people commenting on my stature by now. My parents were both average builds, my mother a bit above actually." Manni swept across his front with a hoof. "And yet, here I am, shorter and less bulky then the average unicorn mare."

"We're not that small." Grey and Manni turned to Alchy, mentally comparing their sizes. She was at least four centimeters taller, and probably a couple in diameter. "Hey, Manni, where's your accent from?"

The earth pony smiled wryly. "Glad you could join us for the conversation, Miss Alchy." The mare stuck her tongue out at him at the slight, but let him continue. "It's from a bit of here and a bit of there. I moved around boarding schools for most of my life, so I've never really had the chance to stand still. Just long enough to pick up some local colloquialisms, then it was time to move on."

Grey perked up at this, "So, your parents were in the military then?"

Manni dropped his gaze at this, "Nah, it wasn't like that. I just wanted to learn, so whenever my current school didn't offer a class I wanted, I transferred to one that did."

"What? Didn't your parents have anything to say about that?"

Manni's frame further drooped as he turned his head, eyes locked on a knot in the plank floor.

Alchy's eyes bulged as realization dawned upon her. Glancing over at Grey she saw that he had gotten it too.

"Soooo, do you want any help moving in?" Alchy's horn glowed as she picked up the Manni's bags, magicking them inside.
Manni brightened up considerably now that the topic had been changed. "Thanks for that, where are you two from anyway?"

Alchy's face exploded in a delighted grin as she prepared to launch into her entire life story (unabridged).

Grey got in first though, blabbing his line out at high speed over her voice. “Alchy and I grew up in Canterlot, other side of town though."

"Me and Grey- Hey! You didn't even let me start!"

"I didn't let you start because it's the first Friday night of college and I want to actually go out and do something fun. And suffering through your rendition of our entire life stories from foalhood thru today as interpreted by Franz Kafka is not only not fun, but it would also probably kill Manni due to boredom induced aneurysm. And a dead roommate is not how I want to start this semester."

"So you would prefer to start it by getting sodding drunk, making an utter foal of yourself, and waking up in a hayloft covered in glitter?"

Had they just heard that right? The two friends met each other’s eyes and then turned as one to gaze at the earth pony interjector.

"So the brain does have a sense of humour." Grey extended a hoof, pulling Manni in for a brohug "That was exactly what I was planning on doing! Great minds think alike, or something. You game?"

"Well, I've only ever done the first two, but might as well go for the full flush this time around! You want to join us, Alchy?" The mare knackered mockingly at the very idea of HER cantering around Canterlot with this pair.

"Yeah, even if that sounded like a good idea, I still have to meet my roommate and get unpacked. Which you should probably do, too." Manni and Grey looked at the small pile of suitcases that represented everything Manni had brought to sustain himself for the next three months of arduous college work.

"Yeah, that can wait, let's do this!" And with that, Manni and Grey charged out of the room with their hearts set on living the high life in town, even for just the night. Alchy was left with only an annoyed look and the echoes of whoops and hollers indicating the two colts' progress.

Her ears flopped to the sides of her head as she ground her teeth, emulating in both vision and sound a very angry beaver taking out vengeance upon cobblestones. "But I don’t WANNA be the responsible one!" She popped her head through the window and watched the procession of the two making their way across the lawn. “Horse feathers,” she grumped.

Continued in Chapter 2, The 59th Street Bridge Song, coming to a source near you, soon!

Chapter 1:
Google docs: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LGyAfG3F4x4cAk2P8FcL53pdtQiVBEOutj9JL3LkCdk/edit
Deviant art: http://gigathrash.deviantart.com/art/Grey-1-As-Goes-Canterlot-299975697
Fim fiction: You’re here!

Chapter 2:
GDocs: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eMcRJ8DSOX5Sol5deT0WfW1xJX8T_PipTlwlFiGm4Vc/edit
Deviant art: http://gigathrash.deviantart.com/art/Grey-2-So-Goes-Canterlot-301412989
Fim fiction: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/24378/2/Grey/2---So-goes-Equestria

If you want to contact the author for any reason, the most efficient way is to simply email him at victorharms@gmail.com. He doesn’t actually check his deviant art messages.

2 - So goes Equestria

Grey Chp.2 - The 59th Street Bridge Song

How had they ended up here? Manni and Grey were opposite each other in an unimaginably loud bar filled with incredibly drunk ponies. The two college colts were only notably drunk by comparison, making them the far-flung exception in the whir and herdy-gerdy of activity that surrounded their table. A half-finished cider sat in front of the unicorn, his partner nursing a strange multi-hued drink that had cost him an entire bag of bits, and had required the bartender to explore his store room for many of the huge list of ingredients that had gone into its creation. Even if he could remember what Manni had called it, Grey couldn’t have pronounced it to save his life.

Not now, especially, considering he was on his fifth cider. His head swerved both side to side and around as he tried to take in the sights and sounds of the dancing fillies and stallions. The shouted conversations at the bar proper, the couples, the pageantry, all running to the tempo of the thunderous blare of music coming from some unseen phonograph that insisted on scratching every fifth beat surrounded him like a delicious wave of pony interaction. Grey’s gaze returned to his companion who had been engaged in similar process. “Having fun yet?”

The earth pony sitting opposite him on, the bench that served as support for ponies for one of the many tables dotted around the bar’s perimeter, didn't seem to hear him.

Grey raised his voice to be heard over the din. “Manni!”

Manni continued to stare off into the middle distance, tapping one hoof on the table in time to the beat of the music.

“MANNI!”

The addressee finally noticed the addresser and turned to him. Manni’s mouth opened and closed, presumably forming words, but all Grey heard was the clomp of hooves and the continued flair of the scratching phonograph as it deafened all other noises with its almighty sound. Grey gestured for Manni to get closer, the two leaning over the table trying in vain to hear the other.

“CAN YOU HEAR ME?” Grey was shouting as loud as he could to make himself intelligible over the cacophony.

Manni shouted back, Grey could almost convince himself that it was either WHAT? or possibly a YES. He wasn’t sure either way so he leaned farther in, his snout nearly in Manni’s ear.

“I SAID,” He began, Manni reeling back from the yell as the music suddenly cut off. A moan of disappointment escaped from the crowd as the bartender began swearing and disappeared into a back room, presumably to fix the phonograph. Manni was pawing at his offended ear as Grey smiled sheepishly.

“That's better, looks like the barkeep is going to fix the music maker.” He could talk normally now that the music had died and the assembled ponies were making their ways to booths or tables for conversation.

“I hope he has as much trouble fixing it as he did making my il’darrañge.” Grey recognized the final syllables as the drink that Manni had ordered, although in what language it had originated, or how a pony could roll their r’s like that without seriously injuring themselves was still a mystery. Grey’s mind wandered as he tried to think of a conversation topic. Their talk had died a swift and fiery death after Manni had been carded for the fifth time, twice by the same pony.

Grey could only assume that the smaller earth pony had dealt with this all his life, and couldn’t really relate. He was on the tall and toned side of stallions; a life time spent running with/towards/away from Alchy’s latest experiment/friend/pony she had angered, had resulted in a more athletic build than what one normally finds in academics. Manni on the other hoof was small, the top of his head barely reached Grey’s chin. He was proportioned like an adult, just his entire scale was reduced to that of a teen.

“Oye, horny, my eyes are up here.” With a jerk Grey realized that he had just been caught looking intensely at his companion. “See something you like, or am I in front of a pretty mare?”

Thinking quickly, Grey gave one final glance over Manni and spotted his salvation. “Nah, I was just looking at your cutie mark. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Well, that was the truth at least. Manni’s cutie mark was three interlocking yellow gears that stood out against his brown fur. “Care to elaborate on how you got that little number?”

Manni poked his “little number” with an absent minded hoof, pretending to spin it. “There’s a story to that, but I can’t be arsed to remember it right now. I know what I can tell you, though. Look at these cogs.” Ah, cogs. Grey nodded sagely as he attempted to pay attention and follow Manni’s choppy, drunken speech patterns.

“The thing about these cogs is that individually they all have a job to do. They can spin free. If you put two together they can reposition force in whatever way you need.” Manni took a quick gulp from his drink and pulled a face before continuing. “But if you put three together they stick, you can’t do anything with them.”

Grey interjected suddenly, “so your special talent is being useless?” Manni found this hilarious and proceeded to laugh himself off his seat until he had fallen onto the ground below the table. Grey peered under the table to check on the condition of his companion, “it wasn’t that funny.”

Manni recovered instantly and was back into his seat before the echoes from his fit had died down. “You’re right, that was a terrible joke; you missed the point entirely. Even though the cogs cannot work together individually when assembled as such, they instead form one much larger piece that can do the work together that none of the three could do alone.”

Grey wasn’t that drunk yet, but perhaps this was the sort of talk that you needed to be more drunk to understand.

“I’ve even given them a nickname, I call them collectively ‘The Wheel of Progress.’” Okay, now maybe Grey WAS too drunk. He had never heard of a pony naming their cutie mark before. It made a sort of sense to his alcohol-dulled mind. The same sort of sense that would one day see him waking up to a griffin chick on one hoof and a minotaur maiden on the other. In the meantime, he was preoccupied with his own mark.

It was very simple compared to Manni’s. Three white dots connected by a navy blue line formed a straight procession down his flank. Manni interrupted his thoughts, although the question was along the same lines: “What’s your special talent then?”
“It’s a constellation. That’s what I’m here for, astronomy.” Grey started to gesture grandly with his hooves now that he was talking about his life’s passion and work, barely missing his cider by centimeters with each swipe. “I just love the sky, have since I was a little colt. I always used to stay up late and just watch the stars and far away planets move. It always enraptured me to just look up at the sky, and know that out there are an uncountable number of points of light. Each may be orbiting around its own planet, with its own life and its own Alicorn. Each dot in the sky could hold uncountable wonders to discover!"

Manni pondered the thought while tapping his snout. "Doesn't Princess Celestia control the stars?" Grey rolled his eyes, time to go over this point, again, to another misguided pony.

"Princess Celestia doesn't control all the stars, she controls one star. She changes the night sky by controlling the rotation and positioning of the earth. There isn't any known force powerful enough to actually create and destroy stars so far away." Grey had intended it to come out as a simple explanation, but this was probably the fiftieth time he had explained away this common misconception; thus, it had come out significantly more forceful than he had originally intended.

"Okay, sorry I asked.” Manni spoke softly, but just an edge of mischief wormed its way forward, “Not all ponies have studied astronomy to death and back." Manni talked around his tongue that had escaped his mouth as if by accident. Grey was almost positive that he was being taunted. "Speaking of Celestia, did you make it to this year's Summer Sun Celebration? It was the nine hundred and sixtieth, big number. Half way through the century." Cupping his glass like a microphone he thrust it into Grey’s face. “So, tell the Hoofington Post, young stallion, what’s it like to live in the future?”

Grey tipped the proffered drink into his mouth, finishing it before speaking. It was a strangely tasteless brew; like drinking air, but a hint of sweetness danced around the edges barely alluding the tongue. “Well, Mr. Dest, I’m glad you brought that up. It’s the new year! Everything is full of bright shining new possibilities! It’s the time of our lives now, and it is what we make it. Speaking of making, we should either find some mares, or were going home alone tonight?” Grey finished his cider with one large gulp as Manni looked around the bar.

“I’m not going to lie, my friend. I think that we are the only two single colts in here, but I haven’t seen a single mare give either of us the eye since we arrived.” Manni rested his head against the table, nudging his now empty glass around, leaving a trail of condensation that might have been intended to spell out a word if a polite cough hadn’t interrupted the delicate process of scooting a cup around.

“Sorry to interrupt, but my friends and I thought you two looked a little lonely and were wondering if you wanted to join us for a nightcap.” Grey and Manni looked up at the mare that had addressed the two of them, in unison they leaned over to see a gaggle of college age mares sitting around a similar table in various states of inebriation and flirtation. A unicorn couple met their gazes and waved their hooves, signaling them to come over. Grey heard cat calls and whistling. One of the drunker mares in the back let out a loud “Woop!” and pounded the table.

Manni and Grey cocked their heads at each other. The inviting mare, now swaying awkwardly from nervousness, this being her first time propositioning two males at once, was aware of the unspoken dialogue between the two, orchestrated entirely through eyebrow twitches, eye rolls, and looks. In unison the two got off their benches and approached the other table, the now overjoyed mare between them.

‘Bright. BRIGHT. I don’t like bright.’

Grey threw a hoof over his eyes, shielding himself from the offending light. ‘Why do mornings always have to be bright? Why can’t sunrises last four or so odd hours so we can adjust into the day?’ Grey tried to open his eyes and face the day.

He failed. ‘I mean, in the east, they don’t start their days until the afternoon. How is Canterlot less civilized than that podunk of a nation?’ With a grunt he ran his other hoof thru his mane while stretching. Parts of it were matted together and the whole thing was in tangles, he probably looked like a mess.

With a herculean effort, he sat up enough to flail ineffectively at the shades. Some bastard of a pony had decided to build the shades outside of his immediate reach, so they remained unflailed. After his first plan failed he remembered he was a unicorn, and simply magicked them shut, his aura matching his coat and name. He let himself flop back down into a sleeping position, on his way however, his left hoof extended hitting something firm. It wasn’t exactly hard, but not as giving as a pillow should be.

Grey’s eyes finally sprung open as memories from last night decided to make themselves all known at once, the result being a jumbled confusion where Grey’s mind should have been. He and Manni had hit it off with those mares, and then they had... Which meant that they must have also taken a chariot to their place. But then where did Manni get that fish? Had they called a stripper or was that just a joke? Why did his mouth taste like flour? When had he gone to bed last night? And why, for the love of Celestia herself, was he wearing socks?

All of these questions and more assaulted him, he decided to begin his investigation with the most easily answered one:
Who had he woken up next to?

Looking over, he saw the face of a mare that he remembered vaguely from last night. She had been one of the more drunken ones and had pinched his bottom multiple times while complementing his cutie mark. Starchaser was her name if he remembered correctly. He levered himself higher on his forehooves and looked at the next occupant. Another mare from the bar.

Unicorn of course. Most of Canterlot was unicorns. Finding a pegasi or earth pony here must have been liking finding a rare and exotic species. That might have been why they were giving Manni so much attention. Or maybe it was because they had seen him drop an entire bag of bits on a single drink that had lasted him through Grey’s own five Ciders. It didn’t really matter to Grey’s fuzzed over mind. Next to Starchaser was Lime, her cutie mark was a tree if his memory served him, another unicorn mare that he couldn’t remember, then Manni, then another mare, all in one now linen-less bed.

The bed in question had been built with at least two ponies in mind, but the six currently occupying it were cramped in. Grey had enough room to himself, but that was only because the mares had drawn to Manni like water droplets to a depression. The only reason he could tell it was Manni in the mess of mares was that he was the only non-pastel pelt of the lot, his brown standing out sharply against the bright blues and soft greens surrounding.

Grey, now mostly awake, fell off the bed, his hang-over choosing to make itself known mid-tumble. He landed hard, barely retaining his balance, and inspected a clock that lay stricken on its side nearby. The victim of an overturned nightstand from last night, no doubt.

The clock read nine A.M.

‘Not bad,’ thought Grey. That would give him and Manni time to wash up a little and get back to the dorms before they were missed. Classes didn’t even start until next week, it was just orientation faff that nopony really cared about.

‘Besides,’ Grey reasoned, ‘I’ve already gotten classes and everything important set up, so I can’t really be faulted for missing out on the first few hours of tedium.’ Satisfied, he let out a yawn and went to wake up his companion. Even if they were fine on time, it just didn’t do to overstay their welcome at such a house.

With a nudge and a whisper from the end of the bed, Manni joined the already wake pony in the realm of the non-dreamer. They made as little noise as possible collecting their things and removing Grey’s socks, it didn’t actually matter though when Manni tripped on the carpeting by the stairs and fell the full flight with a series of resounding crashes. Grey stuck his head in to check on the mares, still fast asleep. He supposed it was probably rude to just leave like this, them having just met and all. He contemplated waking them, but thought better of it. Instead, he conjured up a bit of parchment and a quill with which he hastily jotted out an explanation and left it out in the open, hopefully to be noticed later.

Following Manni, Grey took the stairs significantly more carefully, pulling his companion onto his hooves when he reached the bottom. They found the exit and made their way onto the streets of Canterlot. They were in the boarding district where most of the off-campus housing and starving artist communities resided. The streets were starting to fill in with the bustle of ponies rushing to work or opening their shops, but it was a ghost town compared to what Canterlot’s main thoroughfares would look like at this time.

A yawn and a grumble brought Grey’s attention back to Manni. He had had quite a night apparently, bags under his eyelids and a large bruise on his neck could only whisper about what he had done. Catching his eye, Grey indicated with a friendly prod the state of Manni’s now matted and upturned coat. “You look like I feel.”

“If you feel anything like me, then I must look terrible.” Manni ran his hooves around his face in a circle, trying to rub back in feeling. “Speaking of feeling terrible, I’m absolutely starved. Be a chap and find us someplace to eat.” The earth pony continued to rub his eyes and face with a hoof as he followed the unicorn. The unicorn, however, was following his nose, as his nose was following the scent of fresh pastries and coffee. And one can never go wrong with fresh pastries and coffee early in the late morning.

After a brunch of sugary baked goods and coffee strong enough to strip paint, the two felt significantly refreshed. Grey had even gotten the number of the baker who had recognized him from one of his not quite remembered exploits on the town the previous night. Bellies full and faces happy, the two set out for College.

Their entertaining journey of their first night and morning was only now marred by the disapproving looks they received from nearly everypony they met on the streets. Besides the rare college age mare or stallion that gave them a wink or a smile of recognition, nearly all the passers turned their heads or frowned. Grey learned over to Manni and whispered as a stallion in a posh suit glared at the both of them. “Tough crowd, huh? I guess Canterlot isn’t as progressive as it claims to be.”

Manni nodded back, pretending not to hear the name an older passing mare had just called him under her breath. “It’s actually pretty good compared to some of the places I have been. The attention can be nice, but I’ve heard ‘Get back in the field.’ jokes more often than I’ve heard jokes about my name.” Manni was clearly annoyed at this, and Grey waited for him to go on as he chose his words carefully. “You would think that academia wouldn’t have this problem anymore, but I can tell you from first hoof experiences that we are still not entirely welcome here.”

Grey hadn’t ever gotten it that bad, but he’d always had Alchy, and she was the kind of fire-spitter that you did not want to anger. Maybe he had been a bit sheltered, even. The Equestrian world was a matriarchy all the way up and all the way down, having an excitable unicorn under his belt who’s special talent was mixing, manufacturing, and using chemicals, especially the dangerous kind, had probably given him a leg up in the world. It was only forty or some odd years ago that stallions had even got the vote. His father had been a field laborer, and his mother had been very traditional, the sudden memories coming back to him in the way wandering minds so often do. She was so disappointed when his cutie mark had been for something brainy instead of brawny. She had never told this to his face of course, but he knew. From the pursed lips, to the quiet conversations at parties, he had figured it out on his own just fine. Years later of course, he was too young back then, but he knew now.

He didn’t like it, he didn’t like it one bit. He only stopped his ramble down memory lane when he heard his name. Shaking his head to remove more of last night’s accumulated cobwebs, he noticed Manni batting one of his ears around. “Grey. Grey! Equestria to Grey, come in Grey!”

“What?”

Manni was staring him directly in the face now, challenging him to remember. “You have no idea what I just said, do you?”

“Not a clue.” Replied Grey happily. “Now stop being a sour pony, they’re just todgy, old farts with too much posh in their step for their own good. Now come on! We have a college to take over!”

Grey took off at a gallop, the earth pony trailing behind, both laughing their way through the crowds and streets of Canterlot, neighsayers and prudes be damned!

“WHERE THE BUCK HAVE YOU TWO BEEN ALL NIGHT?!” Alchy’s shouting could have knocked over a house. In fact, Grey was pretty sure the buildings behind him were slowly bending backwards against the onslaught. “You look like you slept in a gutter! And you smell like,” Alchy trailed off, disapprovingly snorted at the air as she tried to identify the unique and pungent aroma that her friends had acquired. “Well, you certainly smell, at least. And you missed opening ceremonies! I’ve been worried about you all night! I should have never let you out of my sight. Oh, I’m such a bad friend, what if you had been killed, or worse! I should have stopped you when I had the chance. My mother was right about you all along, Grey! If I had two bits for each and every time you’ve driven me to insanity I would be the richest mare in all of Equestria, richer than Celestia even! Which reminds me, you missed her speech. AND ANOTHER THING...” Alchy continued to ramble as she flipped sporadically between insulting Grey’s decisions in life and her own, the two now chagrined colts tried to fix themselves up to be at least semi presentable. It wasn’t working. Grey started to interject into Alchy’s stream of guilty consciousness, but Manni cut him off.

“Uh, Alchy, that’s really nice that you were so worried about us and all, but if what you’re saying is true, then the two of us really need a shower. So if you could- wait, did you just say Celestia?” Manni had shown an impressive ability to follow Alchy’s current not common in most colts, and especially not shared by Grey. Or maybe he had just picked up that one word at random, either way the male unicorn had zoned out already and was only awoken by Manni’s self interruption.

“Yes, I said Celestia!” Alchy’s ire had not diminished, but had merely reduced in volume.

“The Princess always gives a speech at the opening of the school year. You managed to miss that too? ARGH.” Alchy slammed her face into the wall outside the college grounds where she had found the two. The three had been walking along the wall since Alchy had found them trying to find an entrance about twenty minutes, and five hundred angry tirades, ago. Grey and Manni winced in unison at the sound the collision had made. They were sure that Alchy had just broken her nose, but when she pulled back, not only was her face fine, there was a perfectly shaped face impression on the wall.

Manni tapped the wall experimentally. Solid marble blocks, all the way up. Grey inserted himself into the conversation, trying to stymie the flow of curses that were now rushing out at them from Alchy, insulting everything from their fashion sense to their mothers. “Look Alchy, we appreciate you filling us in on this, we really do, but we need to get back to our dorms now if we want to attend anything else that’s happening today.”

Alchy suddenly grew quiet and increased her pace along the wall, motioning for them to follow. “Uh, Alchy, was it something I said?” Grey followed his friend, Manni lagging behind. Alchy shook her head. “Are you okay?” Alchy nodded. “Are you going to tell me why you got all quiet?”

“See for yourself.”

The group had arrived at one of the many entrances onto the university grounds. Alchy was pointing a single sullen hoof through it.

“What is it? Is it bad?” Manni jumped up and down nervously from the rear, trying to peer around his taller companions who had blocked the door entirely.

“If Alchy doesn’t want to talk about it, it’s bad, all right.” Grey strode as confidently into the grounds as he could while still being utterly terrified of what awaited him inside. He remembered the path to the dorms. Right at Earth Sciences, Left at the gymnasium, through the quad, under the Cloud Dome, and there it was.

There it should be.

There it wasn’t.

Grey’s ears lay flat to his head as he gazed at the assembled collection of pegasi and unicorns bringing water from various sources in buckets and magic to douse the final still crackling and churning embers of what used to be the dorms. The grand old building that had once housed a royal library and untold knowledge, now lay as a heap of slowly cooling charred wood and ash. Manni had caught up to him, his eyes like sauce pans in disbelief. Alchy gently poked the back of Grey’s head to get his attention.

“It’s not that bad, they said that the university will pay for off-campus housing and loss of valuables. Cheer up! It’s not like anything of value was lost! Right?”

Grey rotated his entire body towards her in a single smooth motion, as if his entire body had been placed on a mechanical dais. “Alchy, I want you to answer the next question I ask you completely truthfully. Did you burn down the dorms?”

“What? I did no such thing!”

“Alchy, you burned down the dorms, didn’t you?”

“I did not burn down the dorms!”

“What?”

“Manni, Alchy burnt down the dorms.”

“WHAT?”

“I DID NOT BURN DOWN THE DORMS!”

“YOU BURNT DOWN THE DORMS, ALCHY!”

“WHAT?!”

Continued next week in Chapter 3, coming to a source near you, soon!

Summary: Throughout all of history there seems to be at least one poorly lit bar in every town. And throughout all of history, protagonists seem to find their way there. Maybe it’s the music, maybe it’s the atmosphere, but somehow, it happens without fail. And so, we go...

Tags: [OC] [Slice of Life]

Author: Gigathrash

Editors:

Story and Cohesiveness: Donut Steele, Funny Bunny, The King of All Lizards

Grammar, Wording, Other: The King of All Lizards, DJ Wintergreen, A Peppered Wheaties Loaf

If you want to contact the author for any reason, the most efficient way is to simply email him at victorharms@gmail.com. He doesn’t actually check his deviant art messages, but he does check his fimfiction account, occasionally.

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