"Butter? Are you okay in there?!" Popcorn called out.

"JUST A SECOND, I'M TRYING TO FIND SOME SNACKS!"

Popcorn sighed and looked to Margarine, who was slouched in her seat on the couch. Her eyelid drooped down slowly and quickly shot up again as she tried not to fall asleep. "It feels like he's taking FOREVER," Margarine whined.

"Yeah, it feels like it's been over seven months since he started his break."

"Eight months AND a day at LEAST."

"I'M BACK! I'M BACK!" Butter called out as he trotted back into the room holding a bag of flavored potato chips in his mouth. He opened the bag and stuck his muzzle in the back, catching a few chips in his mouth before chewing and swallowing. "S-So, where were we again?"

"Right...now that you're all settled..."

I opened my eyes slowly with a ringing in my ears. My head hurt awfully bad as an annoyingly bright light shone in my face, blinding me. I squinted and held a hoof up to block the light as I sat up carefully. I was in an empty doctor's office and sitting on a doctor's table. The seat under me was cushioned and felt pleasant to lay on, so I decided to settle down once more on my back.

It actually felt very pleasant.

And it was very quiet.

I was alone to my thoughts.

I smiled a bit and closed my eyes, about to enjoy a nice rest before–

"HEEEEEEEEEY, POPCORN!"

"GAAAH!" I held onto my chest and rolled off the doctor's table, landing on my back. The force upon hitting the ground caused the wind to get knocked out of me as I gasped for air. "A-Agh..." I groaned while I stared at whoever scared the living crap out of me just then.

Oh, what a surprise. The life-ruiner.

"Oh my gosh! Popcorn, I'm sorry! Here, lemme help ya up!" Banana said as he grabbed both my hooves and pulled me back up to all fours.

I was still wheezing from the blow and trying to gather up enough energy to tell him to shove his t-shirt up his–

"Popcorn! Language!"

"...Sorry, sweetie..."

"B-Banana, what are you doing here?!"

"Well now, I can't just leave one of my new friends alone with a head injury now, could I?"

It'd be nicer if you did... I thought to myself. "Um...thanks, for coming Banana but you probably have more important things to do."

"Nnnnnope! I've made my schedule completely open so that I can spend time with my new friend!"

"...Yaaaaay," I groaned.

"Oh, and that reminds me!" Banana cleared his throat and called out, "MARGARINE! POPCORN'S AWAAAKE~!"

"HE IS?!" I heard Margarine ask enthusiastically from the hallway. She stormed into the room in a blur with a big smile on her face. "YAY, POPPY'S OKAY!" She rushed over and hugged me as my face glowed red from the beautiful pony in front of me.

Yes, I'll be fine if you please hug me for several more minutes~

Unfortunately, her loving embrace subsided when she backed away and put her arms around Banana...

...Good feeling's gone.

"I'm so glad you're alright, Popcorn! What happened? I just went to go to the potty and I find you on the ground with a bruise on your head!" Coming to a realization, he gasped in surprise. "DID SOMEPONY BEAT YOU UP?! NO ONE BEATS UP MY FRIENDS AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"

"No, no! Nopony beat me up! I just slipped and fell is all," I lied, knowing I'd look like an idiot in front of Margarine. I couldn't risk her thinking any lower of me than she did already.

"Are you sure that's what happened?" he put a hoof on my shoulder and whispered at a barely audible volume. "Are those ponies that beat you up listening in on us? One blink for 'yes,' two blinks for 'no.'"

I rolled my eyes and pushed Banana away. "There aren't any ponies, Banana."

"SHHHH! POPCORN! YOU'LL BLOW OUR COVER!"

"Banana, be reasonable now. I simply slipped and fell on my head. I'm clumsy, alright?"

"...Fine. But, if anyone's giving you a hard time, let me know," he said as he wrapped an arm around Margarine and gave her a peck on the cheek.

I opened my mouth to give the name of one certain pegasus who was bothering me, but I felt that it was in better interest to not speak my mind at the moment.

"Whatever you say," I simply answered instead.

Banana and Margarine both gave me a smile as I tried my best to smile back. All of a sudden, Banana turned his head towards the clock, looking at the time. "Oh my gosh, it's almost time for our first class!" Banana reached under his shirt and by somehow breaking the law of conservation of mass pulled out a huge stack of papers and pencils. "SORRY, I CAN'T BE LATE! I NEED TO CHOOSE THE BEST SEATS!" He gave Margarine a quick kiss on the cheek, making her blush and giggle. In a flash, he exited the room, leaving Margarine and me to ourselves.

"Oh my gosh, Popcorn," Margarine gushed. "Banana is just the CUTEST THING!"

"So I hear," I replied, trying to hide my annoyance.

"He's so sweet and funny and kind and he's PERFECT!"

Okay, now you're just rubbing it in! "Uh huh. Fascinating."

"Oh, Popcorn! Have you ever met that one pony that you wish you could spend the rest of your life with? That's what it feels like!"

Ouch. Okay, feeling really bad here. Thank you. "I...uh...I feel ya! I mean...n-not yet but I'm sure she's coming into my life soon!"

Margarine stopped her fantasizing about Banana and frowned at me. "Oh Popcorn, I'm sorry. You'll get that special mare in your life! Just keep trying!"

I'VE BEEN TRYING FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS! I yelled in my head as I clenched my teeth together hard, keeping a smile.

"Popcorn, are you okay? You seem a bit tense."

I kept grinding my teeth together to the point where one of them chipped...painfully. "MFF!" I grimaced, but fought through the pain and gave another smile. "M-Mhhhhhhhmmm," I nodded. "I actually need to go to my first class too, so I guess I'll see you later then!" I said quickly, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. I got off my hospital bed and made my way to the bathroom where I locked the door and held onto my jaw.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH! DAMMIT, THAT HURTS LIKE A MOTHERFU–"

Before I finished my swear I heard a knock on the door and the voice of a random stallion. "Hey buddy, you okay in there? Don't strain yourself, now!"

"I-I'm fine!" I reassured with a giant, uneasy smile. "Thank you for caring about my well-being, sir!"

"Yeah, whatever, weirdo," he said.

I dropped my smile and thought to myself, Okay, Popcorn. Don't focus on her right now. You have your first class in ten minutes and need to FOCUS! I slapped myself across the face to make me more alert. Don't! Mess! UP! I looked at myself in the mirror and pretended my reflection was my opponent and that I was in a boxing ring. I started throwing jabs and hooks through the air, acting like I was giving my mirror image a hell of a beating. I made grunting noises with every fake punch. I felt like a real boxer.

I felt like a winner!

I bucked the toilet hard with my back hoof, making a small dent on the side of it. "YEAAAAAAAH!" I cheered with gusto, screaming into the heavens. "I'M A WINNER!"

I opened the door quickly, meeting eyes with a slightly older stallion.

"Damn, dude. Are you okay? It sounds like that journey ripped you a new one."

"I'M BETTER THAN ALRIGHT! I'M A WINNER!" I exclaimed as I walked down the hallway cheerfully.

The last thing I heard that stallion call out before I left was, "YOU FORGOT TO WASH YOUR HOOVES!"

Author's Note

It's baaaaaaaack~