A Gentleman in Equestria

Chapter 5; Learning new things

Thunder Bass and I chatted for a few minutes, getting to know each other.

    I found that he too liked music, and he mentioned that he played the bass guitar.

  "We should play together sometime." I offered.

  "Uh.. Yeah, sure." Thunder replied.

    Midway through our conversation, I noticed something: Thunder Bass was a blank flank.

  "No cutie mark, huh?" I asked him.

  "I'm not the only one," he replied.

  "Really?" I asked, "Who else?" Thunder facehoofed.

  "You." he simply stated.

  'Really? I don't have a cutie mark?' I thought, 'Well, I guess I haven't exactly found any special talent in myself yet.'

    We continued chatting for a few more minutes, and said our goodbyes when Dose said that I had another visitor.

  "I guess I better be going then." Thunder said.

  "Yeah," I replied, "I'll talk to you some other time, when I have more memory!" We shared a laugh. "I'll see you around Thunder."

  "See you, Arch."

    'There's something about that pony I just can't put my hoof on.' I thought to myself as Thunder left,  'No cutie mark, said he came here yesterday but no explanation how. It just seems, strange.'

    Before I had more time to think on the subject, another visitor came from behind the curtain.

  "Arch! I heard all about the incident in the cafeteria. Are you all right?" asked Vinyl. I was happy to see her, but she seemed worried about something. Me, perhaps?

  "I'm fine." I reassured her, putting on a smile, "There's nothing to worry about." This seemed to calm her slightly.

    She walked closer to the side of my bed.

  "Well, from what I heard, it was something to worry about." Vinyl replied. I was confused.

  "Why, what did you hear?" I questioned.

A few moments and half an explanation later...

  "And then, when he hit Bonbon, you changed." Vinyl said.

  "What do you mean, changed?" I asked, inquisitive of what had been said about me.

  "Well, ponies are saying that your eyes became fully black. Even the whites of your eyes. And that the white in your mane changed to black too." she answered.

  "I think that's a little beyond the truth." I said, not seeing sense in these rumours.

  "Nuh-uh," Vinyl replied, "Derpy says she saw it all happen."

    I was about to further press Vinyl on these "changes", but something interrupted me.

*Rumble*

  "I guess I'm a little hungry," I laughed, after the mini earthquake in my stomach had subsided.

  "When was the last time you ate?" Vinyl asked.

  "Well I haven't eaten since I appeared in your maths class." I replied, "So, a while ago." Vinyl's jaw hung open.

  "We are going to the cafeteria right now to get you some lunch!" Vinyl demanded.

    She started walking towards the curtain that surrounded my bed. She stopped before the parting and turned to me.

  "Come on! Are you hungry or not?" she said. I hopped off the bed and followed Vinyl outside of the curtain.

    When on the other side, I saw the pony I nearly killed in a bed across the room, covered in bandages. He stared at me with hate in his eyes, but he couldn't say anything due to the bandages over his mouth. I looked the other way, and kept walking.

  "Dose!" Vinyl shouted, "Me and Arch are leaving!"

  "Arch and I, you mean." I whispered.

  "Whatever," Vinyl replied.

  "Fine!" Dose called from his office, "Just make sure he doesn't go full rage mode again!"

    Vinyl gestured for me to follow her, and we walked out of the infirmary.

"Here, have some hay fries." Vinyl said. I looked at the foodstuff she had placed in front of me. I didn't like the idea of eating hay, but I was a pony, and I was really hungry. I picked one up, and ate it. It wasn't so bad, actually. It tasted good. So much so that I had finished the whole box of hay fries within a few minutes.

  "Feel better now?" Vinyl said, chewing on one of her own fries. I swallowed my last mouthful.

  "Definitely." I said.

  "Good." she replied, levitating another hay fry with her magic. I then remembered something I wanted to do.

  "Could you teach me that?" I asked.

  "Teach you what?" Vinyl inquired.

  "How to use magic." I answered, "I don't know how."

  "Oh... Because you've forgotten how...." Vinyl said, "Sure. But I can't teach you a ton of things. Just levitation and stuff."

  "No problem, I just want to put this thing to use." I gestured to my horn.

  "Sure thing." Vinyl said, "First thing, don't over think it. Magic is instinct. Now, focus on leviting this hay fry." She placed the fry she was holding onto the table.

    'Don't over think it.' I thought, 'Focus.' I focused on the fry, willing it to move. A black glow encompassed the fry, but it soon faded away.

  "You were nearly there. You're just thinking about it too much." Vinyl said. 'Come on Brian, natural. Instinct.' I focused again, trying to move the fry. Again, the black glow formed around it, but it faded soon after.

  "For fucks sake!" I half-shouted, causing a few ponies at another table to jump.

  "Hey, calm down." Vinyl said in a friendly tone.

  "I can't do it Vinyl! I don't have the power!" I said.

  "You're probably more than capable, but it is unlikely you were going to do it first time."

  "I guess." I replied, "but it's annoying to come that close and fail." I looked back at the fry, still in the same position from when Vinyl put it there.

  "FOOD FIGHT!" yelled a voice from across the cafeteria, making both me and Vinyl jump. 'Shit.' I thought. I knew what that meant in any universe. A cupcake flew past my head and hit a stallion behind me, who retaliated by throwing a muffin.

  "MINE!" Derpy yelled, as she jumped out of her seat on another table and caught the muffin.

    Now, multitudes of food were being tossed around the cafeteria, hitting ponies and objects alike. I spotted a whole cake coming at me. A WHOLE FUCKING CAKE. It was too fast and too close to dodge. I closed my eyes, hoping that the inevitable would not happen, but waiting for the impact anyways. But it didn't come. I opened an eye to see if the cake had missed, but I instead saw that it was encased in a black glow that was holding it in place.

  "Holy fuck! I did it!" I said, overjoyed at the fact that I was using magic.

    I didn't have long to rejoice, though, as more desserts made their way towards me. I managed to stop a few with magic, and Vinyl caught the rest.

  "Got the hang of it?" Vinyl asked.

  "I'd guess." I said, catching a banana-nut muffin.

  "Awesome," she replied, her horn glowing.

    The next thing I saw was a flash of white light and the corridor outside of the cafeteria.

"I had to get us out of that mess." Vinyl said, "Anyways, I've got afternoon practice with Octavia."

"I guess I'll roam the halls again." I stated.

"Or you could check out the gardens," Vinyl suggested "I think that Thunder Bass stallion said he was going to be outside for the rest of the day."

"Really? I'll do just that then. I'll see you soon Vinyl." I said.

"See you later Arch." she replied.

I had been admiring the sights of Coltbridge High's gardens for half an hour when I saw Thunder. He was standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and gazing up at the gloomy sky.

  "It's not the best weather is it?" I asked when I approached.

  "Really?" he answered, "I kind of like it like this."

  "Well, to each his own." I said.

    We both stood there for a while in silence, looking up at the sky. At least, I was. Thunder's eyes seemed to be darting about, as if they were watching something mobile. I scanned the heavens, trying to find what he was watching.

    After a while, I saw it. A stream of colour, contrasting with the greyscale of the clouds. Rainbow Dash was flying up above our heads.

  "Do you think she's good?" I asked, breaking the silence.

  "Wha-? Uh... Yeah." Thunder replied, seemingly caught off guard. "I mean, yeah. She's an amazing flier." He blushed.

  "Why don't you go up there and join her?" I suggested, "She'll appreciated the company."

  "I would if I could fly." Thunder said, he sighed.

  "Wait. What?" I asked, dumbfounded, "You can't fly?"

  "Yeah," Thunder responded, "I've never learnt." 'There's definitely something strange about this stallion.' I thought.

    I returned to watching the sky, and Thunder returned to watching Rainbow Dash. After a while, I asked a question that had been festering at the back of my mind.

  "Do you like her?" I asked, taking Thunder off guard.

  "No!" he said, "I mean, no. I just, uh, enjoy her flying style." He blushed once again.

    'Yeah, he likes her.' I thought.

A/N: This was written within 5 hours, midnight to 5:00am. Feedback and ratings are much appreciated.