A Gentleman in Equestria

by Arch Micro

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Comedy
Length: 15119

Brain Hamilton gets a chance at a new dimension.

Nice to meet you, the name's Brian Hamilton. I lived a fairly normal life on Earth for 18 years. Then, one day, home from college, I was given a once in a lifetime chance. And now, I'm surrounded by ponies.

My first fic. A HiE. Comments are helpful and very much appreciated!

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-08-25 12:35:43 UTC

Chapter 1: A choice of dimension

Chapter 1: A choice of dimension

A/N: I've edited this chapter, fleshing it out, hopefully making it less fast paced. Also, writing gets better at chapter 3, so please at least read up to that.

'Ugh,' I thought, 'I should have been asleep hours ago. I'm gonna regret this in the morning'. I looked again at my clock: 2:36am, I've been awake for 3 hours longer than I should. Getting up for college at 7 o'clock is going to kill me.

    'I've only myself to blame.' I told myself, as I stored away the tablet which I had been using to surf the web, 'One more fanfic, great idea Brian. Now you're gonna feel like shit when you wake up'. I walked back acroos the room, lay back down in my bed and closed my eyes. Moments later, the grip of sleep pulled me under.

*Beep! Beep! Beep!* *SMACK!* *Yawn*

'I hate everything!' I thought, not being totally serious, as I dragged myself out of bed 'Way too little sleep!'. I dragged myself to the bathroom, pondering whether 4 and a half hours of sleep was healthy for a 18 year old.

    Ten minutes later, I was pouring myself a cup of coffee. 'Thank goodness for the joys of caffeinated beverages!' I thought, enjoying the brown nectar which I had procured. 'How the blend perfectly compliments itself, with the mixture of the bean and the flavouri-'

  "Shit! I'm late!" I yelled, seeing the time. "Goodbye sweet blend!" I said, already missing the brilliant taste of java. I rushed to the front door.

    "Bye Mum!" I called as I walked out the door "Love you!".

"...so there's an infinite number of universes. And they comprise everything that exists and can exist, every possibility and every idea has its own universe." I finished.

  "You're fucking kidding me Brian, you're not spouting this shit again?"

  "Yeah, we've told you before, we don't believe your fucking theory."

  "All right, all right. But it's so awesome to think that there's everything out there, in different dimensions." I replied.

  "Shut up! You're supposed to be working!"

I had a typical college day: usual lessons, usual teachers. To put it simply: boredom.

    I was walking back home, pondering whether I would need a nap due to my lack of rest, when the heavens opened. 'Typical English weather' I thought, 'raining all the fucking time'. I pulled up my hood, and continued walking.

    After several minutes walking, I had reached my house. I was left soaking from the rain, and my clothes were dripping. I shook my head, as a wet dog would, to throw some excess water off my hair. I also took off the jacket I was wearing, which was by now saturated with rainwater. I removed my shoes, which were also wet through, and headed upstairs.

    'Finally!' I thought, opening my bedroom door, 'time to relax and-'

"WHAT THE HELL!" I shouted.

    What I saw when I opened the door was not my room, it was not the room I left this morning in a horrible state of untidiness. All I saw before me was whiteness. A large expansiveness of nothing. Nothing at all. Nada. Not a thing. You get the picture.

    I could not believe what I was seeing. Where the fuck had my room gone? I took a step back through the door, but on the other side was more whiteness, replacing the hall that lead to my room.

  "Where the heck is my house?!" I said aloud, not comprehending anything that was happening, "am I dreaming or something?". I pinched myself just to make sure I was still experiencing reality.

"Ouch. Yeah, this is definitely real."

    "Brian Hamilton!" came a booming voice that startled me. I looked around for the source of the voice, but I saw nothing but the door to my room, standing there in the vast sea of white nothingness. "Brian!" the voice boomed again "pay attention boy!" I whipped around, to survey my surroundings. I still saw nothing.

  "What the hell is happening?" I asked, thinking aloud.

  "I am the Creator. And I am trying to give you a very special gift!" the voice said, impatiently, "just be quiet!" Confused beyond comprehension, I did the only thing available, and obeyed, ready to listen what 'the Creator' had to say.

"Good." the Creator said, seeming calmer than before "now, Brian, you know of the multiverse theory, don't you?" I nodded, the same theory I told my friends about a few hours earlier, "Well, my boy, it's not a theory. It's true," the Creator said.

  "Ok." was all I had to say, before the words processed, "Wait... True? FUCK YES! In your face Ryan!" (It is a great feeling, knowing you are right.)

    That was one question cleared up in my mind, but there were more.

  "I know I've said I wanted a bigger room but this is ridiculous!" I stated. "I mean, where is this?" I gestured the the expanse of nothing,

  "Well you see, there's an explanation for that." the Creator responded "Right now, you are in a different dimension. It is the same place, at the same time, but in a different dimension."

  "Ok, that seems a legit excuse... for now." I said.

  'That's that cleared up too.' I thought. I then voiced my final question. "So what is this gift you speak of?"

  "Well, you Brian, and select others in your world, believe in the multiverse theory, a theory that many disapprove of. For this enlightenment and faith in this fact, I am allowing each of you to choose a dimension in which to live in." the Creator said.

    I processed this new information for a moment, then:

  "Wait, so you are saying I have the choice to live in ANY dimension I want?" I questioned, clarifying his offer.

  "Yes," the Creator replied "I am allowing you to move to a different dimension and live the rest of your days there, or to stay where you are, and live your life in your home world."

"Shit, man. This is amazing." I said, thinking of places I could go. According to the multiverse theory, I could go anywhere, any idea, any possibility. Then, I landed on a possibility I was completely happy with, a perfect decision, a brilliant world of love and tolerance. "Could you send me to Equestria?" I asked.

  "Yes, I can do that." the Creator responded, "Goodbye, Brian."

"Wait, I'm going now?" I inquired. I was taken aback at how fast this was going.

"Yes." the Creator stated, straight to the point. I scrunched up my eyes, and braced myself, ready for the teleport to a brand new world.

"...and so class, if you divide by si- AHHH! Who are you!" an unfamiliar voice said. I opened my scrunched up eyes to see a pony glaring at me, confused and angry. Wait, A PONY?

  'Holy crap! It worked!' I thought. I looked down and saw that I no longer had feet, but hooves, and my legs were covered with black fur. 'And I'm a pony too!'

"Well? Out with it colt! What's your name?" the pony asked. 'Shit, Brian, think' I said inside my head 'Brian Hamilton is not a name fit for a pony'. I thought, and landed on a name I was happy with.

"Archimedes Micro." I said to the pony.

"Well Archimedes, can you tell me why you interrupted my class?"

A/N: So that's the edited chapter. I hope it's better than what it used to be! I've also edited Chapter 2, so please read on. I've got a lot planned for this.

Chapter 2: 'Amnesia' recovery

Chapter 2: 'Amnesia' recovery

Vinyl Scratch was sitting in Mathematics, not really paying attention to what the teacher was saying. It had been an extremely boring day for her so far; boring lessons coupled with a detention from the Chemistry teacher. It wasn't her fault that it exploded! She had tried to argue with the teacher, but alas, her points came to no avail. At least, now it was her last lesson of the day, and she could soon head off to work on her music for the up-coming dance.

    She had been enduring Maths for half an hour, copying down notes and answering questions from the textbook when the whole lesson changed for the better. As the teacher had been explaining the example of solving quadratic equations, a strange pony she had never seen before had teleported to the front of the room, shocking Vinyl and her classmates.

    "...and so class, if you divide by si- AHHH! Who are you!" the teacher had exclaimed, as the stranger materialised before them. It wasn't only the teacher that was shocked too; Vinyl and her classmates were all startled at the sudden change of atmosphere: from dull to surprising.

    Taking this commotion as an opportunity, Vinyl began to daydream. Lost in her imagination, Vinyl had missed out most of the conversation between the adult and the new arrival. She had only tuned back into the situation to hear the teacher say:

"Well Archimedes, then we better get you to the school nurse." he told the new arrival. "Can someone take him there?" he asked the class. Vinyl's hoof shot straight up, anything to get out of this lesson for a while. "Ah, Miss Scratch, would you kindly take Archimedes, here, to the the nurse?"

  "Yes sir," Vinyl replied.

    Man, this teacher is gullible. I said that I couldn't remember much and he ships me off to the nurse, coming to the conclusion that I had amnesia. He had asked for one of his students to take me to the nurse, and immediately, Vinyl Scratch had put her hand up. Isn't that amazing?! THE Vinyl Scratch. The famous DJ PON-3! Wow, amazing.

    Wait, come to think of it, is she famous? If so, what's she doing in a school? Ok, this cannot be the Equestria from the show. But it's even better! But I've got to find out where I am.

  "Come with me," Vinyl said now next to me. I jumped. Wasn't she sitting at the back of the class a moment ago? I need to start paying more attention.

    Vinyl started walking to the door, I followed. The maths teacher continued teaching his lesson as he probably was before I turned up.

    "So, you can't remember anything?" Vinyl said to me as the door closed behind us. We were now in a large corridor akin to a cathedral corridor, but a LOT larger.

  "Not much, just my name." I lied.

  "Well, I've never seen you before," Vinyl replied "So hi! I'm Vinyl Scratch."

  "Nice to meet you Vinyl," I bowed slightly, "I'm Archimedes Micro. But call me Arch, it doesn't seem as much of a mouthful." This is great! Vinyl was just as fanfics portrayed: laid back and enjoying life.

  "Hey, no need to bow, man," Vinyl laughed, "I'm 17, not 60." Damn, 17? Wait, 17 and in school? Is this pony college?

  "Just showing respect is all." I said to Vinyl in response. "So, where am I?" I asked.

  "Oh, yeah." Vinyl replied, realising I had no clue of my location, "Welcome to Coltbridge High!" 'High' I thought, 'Wait, are they on the Amercian system? So high must mean the equivalent of college. Oh come on! A different dimension and I still can't get away from college?'

    After a couple of minutes of walking, we had arrived at a wooden door, with a glass panel in the upper half allowing you to see through. White text on the the glass read: Infirmary, Nurse Double Dose. Vinyl raised her hoof and knocked. A white stallion answered.

    "Yes?" the pony asked. He was a pegasus, and maybe a little taller than me, judging from the fact that I looked slightly up at him. His mane was long and red, with streaks of white, and styled like Vinyl's but longer. His tail was too long and spiky, with white at the centre surrounded by a border of of red. He had his wings tucked to his side, but they seemed as though they were quite large.

    "Ah, Vinyl. What seems to be the matter?" he asked. Vinyl moved aside to reveal me standing behind her. "Oh. And who might you be?" he questioned.

  "Archimedes Micro," I said "Arch for short."

  "I haven't seen you before." the pony, which I assumed to be Double Dose, said taking a closer look at me, slightly getting in my personal space.

  "He has amnesia." Vinyl said for me, "he might need some time to recover." Dose pulled back.

  "Come in then." he said, he turned and walked into the infirmary.

  "I'll visit you later with some friends," Vinyl said, waving her hoof, she then walked off, probably heading back to her lesson. I turned my attention back to Dose.

  "Sit down Arch," Dose told me, I sat, "now, how much do you remember?"

    Dose had been running tests on me, asking me questions (which I gave false answers to) and toying with the idea of sending me for therapy ever since Vinyl left. Finally, after a couple of hours, Vinyl had returned with Octavia and Derpy, saving me from his flurry of interrogation.

  "How are you?" Vinyl asked as she walked up to my bed.

  "I'm good, but Dose had been grilling me ever since you left." I replied. "Who are your friends?" I asked, acting as if I didn't know them. Vinyl opened her mouth to speak, but then a certain mare interrupted her.

  "Hi! I'm Derpy Hooves! I'm the school's mail mare!" Derpy informed me, very excitedly, her offset eyes  focusing on me, or at least, I thought they were.

  "It's nice to meet you Derpy!" I said, tipping an imaginary hat. I looked to the other pony.

  "Oh! Sorry, I was miles away. I'm Octavia, sorry to hear about your situation." Octavia said.

  "It's not much of a problem, my dear Octavia. I can remember my name and talk can't I?" I assured her, "I'll be just fine."

  "I do hope you recover soon." Octavia replied. Then, something dawned on me. I voiced my thought to the mares.

  "Actually," I told them "come to think of it, I haven't looked at myself in a mirror, I don't even know what I look like. Has anypony got a mirror?"

  "Dose!" Vinyl called, "Can you bring a full size mirror for Arch?" There was a sound of hooves of linoleum from down the corridor, where Dose's office was set. Then, a few moments later, the sound of dragging accompanied the clopping of hooves (get that dirty image of of your head!). Within a minute, Dose had arrived with the mirror, panting.

  "I've... tried... everything," he panted, "hope.. this.. helps..." He walked off, still breathing heavily, damn that mirror must have been heavy.

  "Here!" Vinyl said, as she held the mirror upright with her magic. I hopped off of the bed and landed on all four hooves. I then, for the first time, checked how I looked.

    I was a unicorn (HOLY CRAP I COULD DO MAGIC!) with black fur and a brown and white mane and tail. My mane was styled at the front like I had my hair as a human, a long fringe pushed to the side. The only difference between my mane and my human hair overall were the white streaks that ran though the brown and that my mane was longer at the back, running down my neck. Thankfully, I still had my trusty beard, a thick, soft mustache joined to a luscious goatee. (What can I say? I like my beard.) Something was missing though, and I couldn't put my hoof on it.

  "Wow," I said "I did not know I was a unicorn."

  "Does it help you remember anything?" Derpy asked.

  "Sadly not," I replied with an act of glumness.

  "DAMN IT!" Dose's voice shouted from his office.

A/N: There we have it, Chapter 2. More action coming soon. Feedback is much appreciated.

Chapter 3: End of the first day

Chapter 3: End of the first day

Somehow, Vinyl, Derpy and Octavia had convinced Dose to let me go. I've got to thank them later, who knows how long he would have kept me in care. A while after stepping out of the interrogation room, as I now called it, I realised something. This building was far too big for just classrooms, I bet it had dorms and rooms like a university would.

  "I should probably see someone about getting a room." I said, testing my hypothesis "Can someone show me where to go?" Derpy shrugged, not knowing anything of the matter and Octavia looked at Vinyl, who stated:

  "Well, we could soon, but me and Octavia have to go to our music practice, we're on stage for the dance in a few days."

  "Could I join you?" I asked, wanting to see the musical ponies perform, "Dose tried a lot of things, but he didn't try music." Octavia and Vinyl looked at each other, exchanging expressions to communicate.

  "Alright," Octavia replied, ,"I guess it could help you." She trotted off down the corridor. Vinyl beamed at me, then followed Octavia down the corridor. I turned to Derpy.

  "You coming?" I asked her.

  "No," she responded, "I've got homework to do."

  "Well, I'll see you later, or tomorrow, ok?" I said. She nodded, smiling, and bounced the opposite way from Vinyl and Octavia down the corridor. Realising that I was quite far behind them now, I galloped after the two musical mares.

    I caught up, panting. Shit, I've got to get fitter.

  "How big is this school?" I thought aloud. The corridor stretched out in front of us, as big as a great hall. Every so often, we passed doors with subject names on them: maths, art, magic. Wait- magic? I did a double take at the white text on the door, yeah, that's a magic classroom.

    "We're here!" Vinyl said after a few minutes of walking and idle chatter. We had arrived at a door, similar looking to the others we had passed, with the words: "Music: DJ Room" printed on the glass in white text.

    Octavia sighed.

  "Why must we practice in here?" she complained, "Why not in the auditorium?"

  "You know why," Vinyl retaliated, "because my equipment isn't set up there!" Octavia huffed and trotted forward, opening the door.

  "Is she always like this?" I asked Vinyl.

  "She'll be fine after a jamming session." she replied. She trotted into the room, I followed.

    Inside, there were a few speakers, a piano, Octavia's cello and what I assumed to be Vinyl's DJ setup. The walls looked to be covered in some sort of foam padding, probably used for soundproofing.

  "Nice room." I remarked. Vinyl smiled at my compliment. Octavia sighed, she obviously didn't like to be in here. They went to their respective instruments, ready to practice. I stood on my hind legs and leaned back against the wall, wanting to see the performance.

  "Ready?" Octavia asked Vinyl.

  "Ready." Vinyl confirmed. She levitated a record from behind her equipment and flipped it onto the decks in front of her. Octavia started to glide her bow across the strings of her cello, then Vinyl set the record spinning.

"That was great!" I told the two mares after they had finished their last song.

  "Thanks!" Octavia replied, now in a much better mood. Vinyl took off her headphones, and trotted over to Octavia and me.

  "Yeah, thanks," she said, "it's good to hear feedback from all the work we put into it." I looked over to the piano sitting near the wall. 'I wish I could play that,' I thought, 'but it isn't going to be the same as the ones back home. Also, I don't have fingers.' Vinyl noticed me staring, and saw what I was looking at.

  "Remember something?" she asked.

  "I don't know." I answered. I could always have a crack at playing, I mean, I could play back on Earth.

  "There's no harm in trying." Octavia told me, "Have a go!" She gave me a slight push in the direction of the piano. I trotted towards it, getting a closer look at the keys. 'How do I get hooves on those?' I said in my head as I saw the keys: they were the same as pianos at home, way too small to play with my hooves.

  "Go on, try it!" Vinyl encouraged. I sat down on the stool placed in front of the piano. This cant be so hard, right? I lifted up my right hoof, then brought it down to try and hit B. 'What the hell was that?' I thought, as I felt a strange feeling just before my hoof came into contact with 5 different notes at once. Suprisingly, though, only one note sounded, the B which I intended to hit. 'Huh,' I thought. I went again to hit the B, and again I felt the strange connection. It was as if I had fingers that weren't there, but could come into contact with the piano.

    I placed my hoof a few centimetres above the keys, again I felt the connection, imaginary fingers splayed against keys. 'I guess it is just like back home' I thought to myself. I tested the control of my imaginary fingers by playing a few chords.

    The two mares were still behind me, waiting with bated breath to see me remember something from my past. Of course, it was something I already remembered, my many years of lessons and playing back home, the hundreds of songs I knew off by heart. I brought up my left hoof, again forming the connection, which the only explanation for could be magic, and I started to play the first song I could think of.

    Vinyl and Octavia were mesmerised at my performance until Vinyl recognised the song I was playing, and put a record on her decks, bringing in the bass of the song right in time. She had her headphones on once again, bobbing her head in time to the music. Octavia still stood behind me, impressed at my performance. Then, I began singing:

Take seat youngin'; Stay around for spell

I got a little story that I wanted to tell

Would ya

Please stick around, take a listen and see

Cause back in my day, things were always grand as can be

Now all the

Streets were paved gold and gems; Glimmerin'

Lightin' up the skies at noon; This town is shimmerin'

Waitin' on nobody cause we got stuff to do

Cause we through with the new

We're talking old school, kids, that's just what we do!

Back in the day, it was the prime of the time

Imagine all the greats singing together in rhymes

and listening together on old Gramaphones

and old Radios it was a hell of a time

Let me tell ya youngin', man the old days were grand

You could walk down to the beach and plant your hooves in the sand

You didn't have no worries

All was grand as can be

So everybody take a listen

Open your eyes and see

So trot with me through the autumn leaves

And keep close to stay warm

Soon you'll see how much you mean to me

Feelings I've never felt before

Skippi-do-bop was the name of the game

Swinging like crazy everyone goes insane

It's like a game except everyone wins

Why isn't music like that, anymore?

My god everything is such a bore now

Everything's the same thing over again

With all that hippin' and the hoppin'

and the bippen' and the boppen'

They dunno what the jazz is all about, you see

You'll look back at your days

I'm sure you'll experience it sometime

cause when you grow old

everything seems cold

and new generation will arrive

So trot with me through the autumn leaves

And keep close to stay warm

Soon you'll see how much you mean to me

Feelings I've never felt before

So trot with me through the autumn leaves

And keep close to stay warm

Soon you'll see how much you mean to me

Feelings I've never felt before

  "Wow," Vinyl remarked, "Nice playing!"

  "And singing!" Octavia added. I blushed slightly at the compliments.

  "So I guess that's something you remember then?" Vinyl asked.

  "What?" I asked, lost in the moment. Then I remembered my lie. "Oh! Yes!" I replied, "All my lessons came back to me." I hated lying to the mares, but they wouldn't believe me if I told them the story of what had happened within the last 8 hours.

  "It's good you're getting your memory back." Octavia told me, "Soon you'll be fine!" Vinyl shot her some sort of look. "I mean," Octavia added, "it's not like you are fine, in ways, now but..." she trailed off, unsure of where to direct the end of her sentence.

  "I know what you meant." I told her, "Now, how about getting me a room?" Vinyl gasped.

  "Oh no!" she yelled, "I am so sorry! The office closed about 10 minutes ago and it only opens until morning!"

  "Well," I said, unsure of what to do, "applying is no longer an option." I thought about what I could do to have a decent place to sleep through the night. "I could see if I could stay at the infirmary overnight. Dose might be willing to let me have a bed."

  "No!" Vinyl argued, "I can't let you do that! It's my fault you don't have a room by now, you can stay the night in my dorm."

    'Well,' I thought, 'it has to be better than sleeping on the mattresses in the infirmary, which I'm pretty sure are made of cardboard.'

  "Alright," I said, "but don't you dare offer to sleep on the couch. Your room, your bed, your privilege. I'll sleep on the couch."

  "Whatever, just follow me to my dorm" Vinyl replied.

It took 10 minutes to get from the DJ room to Vinyl's room. Octavia had left us after 5 minutes to go to her own room, and so it was reduced to me and Vinyl chatting about music for 5 minutes until we reached the room.

    Vinyl trotted forward, and manipulated the lock on the door until a soft click was heard and the door swung open. Vinyl walked into her room, I followed close behind. The room I saw was fairly simple; a couch, a coffee table, a couple of wooden chairs, some counters and appliances in the corner in a small kitchen area. There was a door off to the side which I guessed to lead to the bedroom. It was a mostly tidy room, but a few unwashed plates and strewn about cables stopped it being pristine.

  "Nice place." I complimented.

  "Thanks, I try" Vinyl replied, smiling.

  "So," I pointed my hoof to the couch, "I'm sleeping on here?"

  "And why would I let you do that?" Vinyl asked, "It's because of me that you don't have a room of your own. You can sleep in my bed." This was a tempting offer, but I stood by my conditions.

  "No. That was my one condition. I sleep on the couch, you sleep in your bed." I told her.

  "Don't make me beg, Arch!" she argued.

  "You don't need to, just sleep in your own bed tonight." I told her.

  "No, you sleep in the bed" she said.

  "No, you" I retaliated.

  "No, you"

  "No, you"

  "No, you"

  "No- you know what?" I asked.

  "What?" Vinyl asked, inquisitive of what I was about to say.

  "We'll compromise," I told her. A look of realisation dawned on her face.

  "You mean, both sleep on the couch?" she asked, confirming her thoughts.

  "Or both sleep in the bed," I corrected her, "with a pillow partition, of course."

  "Not a bad idea," Vinyl said.

Soon enough, we were both settled into Vinyl's bed, with a pillow partition between us, both of us facing outwards.

  "It's good this worked out," I said, slightly turning my head to see the back of Vinyl's.

  "Yeah," she turned her head to face me, her glasses were off now, showing her dark red irises. They were startling and enticing at the same time.

  "Well, it's nearly midnight, I guess we should get some rest." I told her, gazing into her eyes. They were so encapsulating, the deep red contrasting against her electric blue hair.

  "Yeah, I've got more practice tomorrow, so early rise" she answered. She turned back around facing outwards. "Good night Arch."

  "Good night Vinyl." I replied. I lay there, staring into the dark of Vinyl's bedroom, as I heard Vinyl slowly drift off to sleep.

    I couldn't believe it. I was in Vinyl Scratch's room, in Equestria. I closed my eyes, and let myself drift off to sleep. As my conciousness slipped away, I was left with a final thought:

I am one of the luckiest humans alive.

A/N: I think my writing has improved here from the first two chapters. I hope to make all chapters this long. Feedback is much appreciated.

Chapter 4: Nightmares, coffee and bullies

Chapter 4: Nightmares, coffee and bullies

“AAAHHH!” Vinyl screamed. I woke with a start, reacting to her screams of terror. Sitting up, I saw her sitting on the other side of the pillow partition we had set up the night before, breathing heavily and crying. She'd obviously had a nightmare.

  “Hey, hey, calm down.” I told her in a reassuring tone. I put one of my forelegs around her shoulder, and pulled her close. “Have a bad dream?” I asked. She nodded, still crying. “Well, don’t worry. I’m here. You’re safe.”

    I held her close for a while, letting her calm down. She rested her head on my chest and shoulder, dampening my fur with her tears. I didn’t mind, I was helping out a friend, making her feel safe and secure, and that’s all that mattered. She was genuinely upset, and that was something I did not want to see.

    After a few minutes, Vinyl stopped her sobs long enough to say something.

  “Arch,” she said, “I’m scared.” That must have been one hell of a nightmare; she was still shaking, and there was a tremble in her normally confident voice.

  "Hey now, don't be scared." I told her, "It was just in your head, everything's fine."

    After a few minutes of reassuring Vinyl that everything was going to be fine, she decided that she was calm enough to go to sleep.

  "Vinyl," I told her, "if anything else happens in the night, wake me up. I'm here for you." She nodded to show she understood.

    I looked at the pillow partition we had set up before we fell asleep the first time. It didn't seem to help the situation, setting up a physical and metaphorical barrier between Vinyl and me. I removed it, allowing Vinyl to get closer, staying warm and safe.

  "Good night Vinyl." I said, settling down for the second time that night.

  "Good night Arch." she replied, sounding tired.

  "Sweet dreams." I said, as we both drifted off to sleep.

Fortunately, there were no more interruptions that night and, the next time I woke up, it was morning.

    I slowly opened my eyes, letting my pupils adjust to the difference in light level. My mind started itself up, preparing to be used. Memories of last night came flooding back to me; Vinyl waking from a nightmare, me trying to be a good friend and help her calm down, and removing the pillow partition.

    My mind swiftly moved onto bringing feeling to my body. I felt a hoof draped over me and something at my back. I turned in bed slightly, trying to get a look of the something. I caught a glimpse of white and immediately realised what, or should I say who, it was: Vinyl. She was cuddling me in her sleep, dozing softly, holding me. Her muzzle was pressed against my back, and I could feel her slow, warm breath on me.

    It surprised me, waking up to this kind of affection. Unexpectedly, it felt good, a warm sensation that I quite liked. But, I knew that I couldn’t continue this. Vinyl and I were just friends, right? I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea: that I welcomed this kind of thing. I knew that, as much as I liked the feeling, I couldn’t stay in this position. I slowly and carefully lifted Vinyl’s hoof and placed it down on the mattress in front of her. Now free, I slowly moved myself into a seated position, my hooves dangling off the edge of the bed.

    Sadly, in all my efforts not to wake Vinyl, I was a little too heavy-hoofed, and she was soon rising from her slumber.

  “Good morning.” I said to her. She didn’t reply, seeming too tired to talk. 'I guess she isn't much of a morning pony,' I thought. Really, though, neither was I, yet I felt rejuvenated after the night’s sleep. I guess it helped that I had more than 5 hours sleep. Finally, Vinyl found the energy to muster up a couple of words.

  "Good morning." She practically sighed when saying it. 'She definitely isn't a morning pony.' I thought. Then, I had a brilliant idea.

  "Do you want any coffee?" I asked her. Coffee solves everything. Okay, maybe not everything, but nearly everything.

  "Kitchen." was all Vinyl had to say. Without further cue, I opened the bedroom door and moved across the living room to the kitchen. As Vinyl had said, the coffee was there, sitting atop the counter. I found two mugs in a cupboard, and soon, there were two cups of steaming coffee on the kitchen counter. I left one where it was, and took the other to Vinyl.

    When I reached the bedroom, coffee in hoof, Vinyl was seated at the edge of the bed rubbing her eyes.

  "Here," I said, holding out the cup for her to take. She levitated it out of my hand using her magic (damn, I wish I could do that), and took a large gulp of the hot beverage. She seemed to become less exhausted, but needed a lot more caffeine to become fully awake. I left her drinking her coffee, and went to the kitchen to drink mine.

After 15 minutes, I had finished my coffee and felt wide awake. I was setting down the mug on the counter when Vinyl appeared from the bedroom.

  "That was great!" she said, a lot more upbeat than she was before. She trotted over and put her mug on the counter. "Thanks for making it." she said, "it's usually an hour before I'm this wide awake."

  "No problem!" I replied, "It’s the least I can do for the generosity you've shown me."

  "Hey, I'm repaying you, remember?" Vinyl told me, "It's my fault you don't have a room of your own yet! Stop doing things for me, it's making it harder to repay you." I didn't respond, not wanting to get into this argument again. Instead, I changed the subject.

  "Hey, didn't you say you had music practice this morning?"

  "I do? Oh yeah, I do!" Vinyl looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "And it's in ten minutes!"

  "I suggest you go then," I told her, "I'll take a walk through the halls, explore."

  "If you don't get lost, I'm fine with that." Vinyl said as she put on her glasses, "See you later!" And with that, she opened the door and left.

    I looked at the clock. 'Brian,' I thought, 'do you know what time it is?' The clock read 8:06am, but that's not the time I had in mind. 'Adventure time!'

I had been wandering the corridors for around 10 minutes when I had found the cafeteria. It was a medium sized place. Tables were dotted around, surrounded by chairs. A few ponies were sat around some of the tables; a few others were at a counter, buying breakfast.

  "Arch!" came a voice, "over here!" I looked over in the general direction of the voice, and saw the excitable grey mare from yesterday: Derpy. I trotted over to her table, she was sat there alone.

  "Hi Derpy!" I said, happy to have someone I knew in this vast sea of strangers, "How are you?"

  "I'm good," she replied, "but I'm a little tired from my mail route this morning." 'Of course,' I thought, 'she must have to get up early to deliver mail.'

    Just as I opened my mouth to question Derpy on her mail route, a call came from across the cafeteria that caught my attention.

  "Lesbos!" a voice jeered. I turned in my seat to find the origin of the insult, and saw a few earth ponies calling more insults.

  "Carpet munchers!"

  "Muff divers!"

    They were three stallions, all well built. Two were dark brown, one larger than the other, and the other was a dark orange. All three were hurling insults. I followed their line of sight, to see who their targets were, and saw they were looking at Lyra and Bonbon. Both of the mares looked on the verge of crying, holding each other. I couldn't let this go on, I hated the whole situation. I got up from my seat, and yelled at the bullies.

  "HEY!" I shouted, drawing everypony's attention to me. "Leave them alone!" I demanded. The orange pony laughed.

  "And why should we do that?" he replied, sneering.

  "Because if you don't," I said, "I'll have to stop you." Everypony apart from the bullies gasped.

  "Arch, are you sure you want to do this?" Derpy whispered.

  "Hell yes," I replied, "nopony should be insulted because of sexuality." I turned back to the bullies. "So," I said, "are you going to stop?"

  "Like fuck we will." the larger of the dark brown ponies said. He charged at me. I stepped out of the way, narrowly avoiding him. He crashed into a few tables, sending him into a heap covered by chairs.

    Next, the other brown stallion came up to me. He sent a punch my way, which I dodged by bending down. I came back up quickly, landing a perfect uppercut on his chin. He stumbled back for a moment, dazed, and I advanced, sending an onslaught of punches his way. He was unable to dodge, and took the full force of the flurry of punches. Many hit his face, others his chest.

    He dropped to the floor, unable to fight. I was tiring, but there was now only one pony left to deal with. I looked up from the brown pony to where the orange pony was. He was still standing there, watching me with a smirk on his face. I fucking hated him, the way he could stand there smirking as I beat up his thugs, smirking after calling Lyra and Bonbon those names. I started walking towards him, ready to take him on, but after a few steps somepony grabbed me.

    I was restrained, put in a full-nelson by the pony that had crashed into the tables. If I in any way tried to move, I was held back, the pony keeping me in the same position.

  "Well, well, well." the orange pony said, coming towards me. "It seems our hero wasn't able to save the day." He punched me in the gut, winding me. "Or I'll have to stop you!" he mimicked. He punched me once again, knocking the air out of me for the second time. He leaned in, his mouth next to my ear. "Tell me hero," he whispered, "how did you think it would go? That we would give in?" He leaned out, and punched me a final time, knocking me to my knees. "We never give in." he said, slowly walking away.

    The pony restraining me dropped me, and I fell to the floor, out of breath. I was exhausted, I was breathing heavily. I was beat, unable to continue.

  "Hey, hero!" the orange pony said. I looked up, reacting to the sound. He was standing a few feet away, Bonbon in front of him, crying, restrained by the larger brown pony. I wanted to shout, to tell Bonbon to move, but I couldn't. I didn't have the energy in me.

    The orange pony drew back his hoof. I knew what was going to happen. I wanted to do something, to stop this from happening, but I was still on the floor, panting.

    Time seemed to slow down for the next few moments. The orange pony's hoof came down, aimed at Bonbon's cheek. A few moments later, the hoof made impact.

    Bonbon whimpered, a red mark now on her cheek. That was the last straw.

    I snapped. Something inside me flared up, like a surge of adrenaline, but a thousand times stronger. I no longer felt tired, instead I felt full of power, full of anger. The only thing I wanted was revenge.

    I stood up. The large brown pony, who was laughing at Bonbon, noticed me.

  "He's gettin' up." he said, (Captain Obvious saves the day!) "and he's a freak!" I disregarded his insult. He dropped Bonbon to the ground and charged at me once again.

    This time, I didn't dodge him, I was going to destroy him. A second before he hit me, I grabbed him and used his momentum to throw him to the ground. I kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

    The other brown pony came at me. He threw a punch, which I dodged. I grabbed him by the shoulders and head butted him. He was unconscious before he hit the floor.

    Now the only enemy left was the orange pony. The bastard was going to pay for hitting a mare. I started walking towards him.

  "Back for more?" he asked, sneering. "Come on, hit me, freak."

    I hit him with an uppercut, bringing him up to his hind legs. I used the chance to punch him in the gut, taking the air from his lungs. I span around and bucked him. He fell to the floor.

    I bent down, and put a foreleg over his neck, allowing him enough air to barely stay alive. He struggled below me, trying to hit me any way he could, but to no avail. I leaned into him.

  "Listen to me, bitch." I said, threateningly, "You do not. Hit. Mares." I leaned out and punched him in the face. I heard a snap, and saw blood pouring out of his nostril. I did not stop there. I kept punching him, my rage filled every punch. I heard a voice from behind me say,

"He's going to kill him!" I kept hitting the orange pony, who soon blacked out from the lack of air.

  "WAKE UP MOTHERFUCKER!" I yelled in his face, "WAKE THE FUCK UP!" I drew back my right hoof, pouring every ounce of anger into it, making it my most powerful punch yet.

    But before I could deliver the deadly blow, I felt a sharp blow to my head, and blacked out.

The next time I woke, I found myself staring at a white ceiling.

  "He's awake!" a familiar voice said. I tried to move to find the source of the voice, but found myself restrained by something.

  "Ahh, good." a voice I placed to be Dose, replied. The nurse pony's head appeared above me. "Arch, can you hear me?" he asked.

  "Of course I can." I replied. "But can I ask why I'm tied to the bed?" Dose looked confused.

  "Don't tell me you have amnesia again!" he said, seeming annoyed, "Do you not remember what happened in the cafeteria?" 'Cafeteria, cafeteria...' I thought. Then, I remembered. Seeing Derpy, hearing the bullies’ insults, the fight, nearly killing the orange pony. Everything up until the blow to the head. I guess the restraints were for if I lost it again.

  "I remember." I said. I nearly killed him, what the hell was I thinking? "Can I get these things removed? I don't think I'm going to try and kill anyone here." I asked Dose. He nodded and released me, acknowledging that I wasn't dangerous now. I sat up, and looked around.

    My bed was surrounded by a white curtain. The only pony I could see was Dose, but I knew there was more due to multiple voices that were talking in the background.

  "Who knocked me out?" I asked, wanting to know who prevented me killing that bully.

  "Let me bring him in," Dose replied, before disappearing outside the curtain. A few moments later he returned with another pony. "Here." he said, then he left, leaving us alone.

  "So, you knocked me out." I said to the pony. He was a pegasus, red in colour and quite tall, taller than Dose. On top of his wings were dark gold metallic-looking trimmings. His mane was black and red, and styled the same as Vinyl's, his tail was also red and black. His eyes were a light purple. Strangely, he had no cutie mark.

  "Well, you were about to kill the guy." he replied.

  "Fair point." I said. "So, what's your name?" I asked.

  "Thunder Bass," he responded, "yours?"

  "Archimedes Micro," I told him, "Arch for short."

  “Good to meet you.” Thunder Bass replied.

A/N: This one was a bitch. But here you go, a very long Chapter 4. Again, feedback (including constructive criticism!) is appreciated. Also, a grand hello to Thunder Bass!

Chapter 5: Learning new things

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.

Chapter 6: Thunder and Rainbow, sitting in a tree...

Chapter 6: Thunder and Rainbow, sitting in a tree...

Thunder was watching Rainbow Dash avidly.

'I've got to pay this stallion back.' I thought, 'He did stop me from killing a pony.' I wondered what I could do to repay Thunder. After a while, it came to me.

  'Rainbow Dash!' I thought. I looked to the skies, and came up with my plan as I waited for Rainbow to land.

    When the rainbow maned pony landed several feet away, I walked up to her. I made sure Thunder was out of earshot and then spoke.

  "That's some nice flying you did there." I told her.

  “Heh, thanks,” she replied, stretching out her wings, “Hey, you’re that pony from the cafeteria!”

  ‘Wow news gets around fast in this school.’ I thought.

  “Yeah, yeah I am.” I told her. “It wasn’t my proudest moment.” I laughed, “I wasn’t in the right mind.”

    I checked again to make sure Thunder was far enough away. Luckily, he was still on the edge of the cliff, watching the sky.

  “Listen,” I said quietly, “could you teach my friend over there to fly?” Rainbow gasped, I put a hoof over mouth. “Be quiet, he might hear you.” I said. I took away the hoof.

  “He doesn’t know how to fly?” Rainbow asked in disbelief.

  “Yeah, I don’t know why either.” I concurred. “So can you teach him?” I asked.

  “Nopony should miss out on flying!” Rainbow said, “I’ll teach him now!”

  “Really? That’s great!” I said, glad that she accepted, “Thanks Rainbow.”

  “No problem! Wait, how do you know my name?”

  ‘Oh shit.’ I thought.

  “Well, er, your, uh, mane! I heard the name earlier and guessed it was you because of your mane!”

  ‘Nice save.’ I told myself inside my head.

  “Oh. Okay!” Rainbow replied. She started walking towards Thunder.

    I stood, watching the two converse.

    "I heard you can't fly." Rainbow said, making Thunder jump.

  "Uh... No, I can't." Thunder replied, nervous and blushing.

  "Well, I'll teach you!" Rainbow said, "If you wanna."

  "Um... I mean, yeah, if it's not too much trouble." Thunder replied.

  "Awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed, "So what's your name?" Thunder mumbled a few incoherent words. "What was that?" Rainbow asked.

  "My name is Thunder Bass." Thunder answered, still quiet, but loud enough to be heard.

  "Good to meet you Thunder. The names Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow replied.

     Rainbow spent the next few minutes lecturing Thunder on aerodynamics and sustained flight. Meanwhile Thunder stood there, hanging on Rainbow's every word. After a while it was apparently time to try and fly.

    I stood there and watched as Rainbow easily brought herself up off of the ground and hovered in mid-air.

  "Now you try!" Rainbow said. Thunder spread out his wings.

  'Damn!' I thought, surprised at the massive wingspan of the stallion.

    Thunder brought down his wings gently, causing a gust that displaced the blades of grass below him. But it wasn't strong enough to lift the tall pony off the ground.

  "Come on Thunder!" Rainbow cheered, "You can do it!" Thunder smiled slightly. He again brought his wings down, more forcefully than the last attempt. This time, it was enough to send him into the air.

  "Yeah! Now hover!" Rainbow shouted. Thunder flapped his wings again, keeping him in the air. And again. And he repeated the movement everytime he was descending. I was impressed; he was learning quite fast, and doing well.

    I must have thought too soon, through, as, at that moment, gravity decided it wanted to get to know Thunder a little more.

  "Good try!" Rainbow encouraged, landing next to the heap on the floor that was Thunder Bass. "But try to control every part of your wings."

    Thunder pulled himself up off the ground, a determined look on his face. He again brought himself to a hover, and this time, he didn't fall to the ground after several seconds.

  "Good!" Rainbow said, taking off herself, "now follow me!" She flew higher into the sky. Thunder glanced at me and smiled slightly, then he rose higher and followed Rainbow Dash.

    I stood there and watched the two fly around, chasing each other. It seemed like both were having a lot of fun.

    After around half an hour, the two landed.

  "That was some great flying for a beginner!" Rainbow said.

  "Heh, thanks." Thunder replied, his blush making its appearance once again. I walked over from where I had been practicing levitation for the last 20 minutes.

  "Yeah, good going." I said.

  "Thanks." he replied.

  "HEY GUYS!" a voice shouted, making us jump.

  "Ah! Oh, hey Pinkie." Rainbow said, seeing her friend.

  'Where the hell did she come from?' I thought.

  "Hey Dashie!" Pinkie replied, excited as ever. "Will you come to the party tonight?" she asked.

  "Uh, sure!" Rainbow answered, "Who's it for?"

  "These two of course!" Pinkie said, gesturing to Thunder and myself.

  "Us?" I asked.

  "Duh, silly!" Pinkie said, "it's a welcome party!"

  "Sounds good." Thunder said.

  "So you'll come?" Pinkie asked hopefully. I looked at Thunder.

  "Of course we will!" I said.

  "Great!" Pinkie said, "Room 243, 8 o'clock!"

    And with that she bounded off.

  "Well that was, surprising." Thunder said.

  "I really needed that heart attack she gave me." I said sarcastically.

  "That's Pinkie Pie for you!" Rainbow said. She started flying back towards the school. "I'll see you at 8!" she shouted back to us.

  "See you later!" I shouted. Thunder stayed silent. "You do like her, don't you? I've seen the way you look at her. Admit it." I said. Thunder sighed.

  "Fine." he said, "Yes, I do like her. It's just, I don't know how to talk to her."

  "You'll find out." I said, "I bet you that you'll be chatting at the party tonight."

  "Speaking of liking ponies," Thunder said, smiling, "how about you and Vinyl? I've heard how you two talk."

  "Actually," I said, "we're just friends."

  "Yeah, sure." Thunder replied, grinning.

    There wasn't anything between me and Vinyl, was there? We were just good friends. Right?

It was 7:50 when Vinyl and I left her room for the party.

  "Again, I'm so sorry I couldn't help you get a room." Vinyl said.

  "It's no problem." I laughed, "It's partly my fault anyways, with the cafeteria thing."

  "Well you can stay in my room tonight again." Vinyl replied.

    We kept walking for 10 more minutes, and soon we stood before the door of Room 243. I opened the door, and stepped in. Ponies of all different pastel colours filled the room. Some were dancing to the music, others were stood conversing, drinks in hoof. I spotted Thunder across the room, alone.

  "I'm going to grab a drink, want one?" I asked Vinyl.

  "Nah, I'm going to take over this amateur." she replied, walking towards the DJ setup. I started walking towards the kitchen, where the drinks were. I grabbed two glasses, and spotted a familiar bottle: Tequila.

  'These ponies know how to party!' I thought, mixing two tequila sunrises. I levitated them both, which now came to be naturally to me, and walked over to Thunder.

  "Here, take this." I told him, moving one glass towards him. He looked at me unsuredly. "Take it." I said. He grabbed it in a hoof, and took a sip.

  "Pretty good." he said.

  "Thanks." I replied, appreciating the compliment. "Any luck on talking to Rainbow Dash?"

  "Not really, I have no idea what to say." he told me.

  "Just walk up and ask her if she's enjoying the party." I said.

  "And then what do I say?!" he exclaimed, his level of volume still quietened by the music.

  "Ok, calm down, maybe later." I said.

Tequila count: 2

    We spent the next half an hour working our way through 2 tequila sunrises each and chatting. After this, I saw that Vinyl had finished her set and I walked up to her.

  "That was some good music!" I said, having to shout over the loud music that was now playing.

  "Thanks!" she replied.

  "Are you Arch?" a voice said behind us. I turned to see Lyra and Bonbon standing there.

  "Yeah." I answered.

  "We just wanna thank you for standing up for us!" Lyra said.

  "No problem!" I replied, "I just hope you don't think I'm always like that."

  "Well you don't seem as violent." Bonbon said.

  "I'm Lyra!" Lyra said, "and this is my marefriend Bonbon." Bonbon smiled.

  "Nice to meet you both!" I said.

Tequila count: 4

    Another half an hour and 2 more tequilas later, I was back talking to Thunder.

  "Hey, just go talk to her." I said.

  "I guess I could do it." he replied.

  "That's the spirit!" I encouraged, "Go on!"

    Thunder put his now empty glass down and started walking towards Rainbow. I watched from the same position. I saw Thunder approach Rainbow and strike a conversation. And after a few minutes, the two were happily chatting.

Thunder approached Rainbow Dash, full of confidence (also known as Tequila)

  "Hey Rainbow, you enjoying the party?" he asked.

  "Yeah, it's pretty great!" Rainbow replied, "Pinkie really outdoes herself!"

  "Yeah, I guess she puts a lot of work into them." Thunder remarked. "I was thinking, do you want to do some more practicing tomorrow? I think I could get better!"

  "I guess we could! I don't have any plans for tomorrow." Rainbow said.

  "Awesome!" Thunder said, "I also want to learn the a few tricks.."

Tequila count: 7

    Another half an hour passed, Thunder was still talking to Rainbow, and I was talking to Vinyl.

  "And so now Thunder is talking to her!" I said, finishing my story.

  "That's good Arch. But I think you should stop drinking now." Vinyl said.

  "I'm fine!" I argued, "I know when I'm drunk, and I'm not!"

    That was the last thing I remember from that night.

Chapter 7: What happened last night?

Chapter 7: What happened last night?

I awoke feeling terrible. I mean seriously messed up. My head felt like it had been split in two by a rusty axe. Every part of my body ached, and I'm sure that I felt a deep cut above my right eye.

  'What the hell happened to me?' I thought, 'And why do I feel so shit?' I pulled myself to my feet, groaning and aching like hell, and surveyed my surroundings.

    I seemed to still be in Pinkie's room. For this I was thankful, the last thing I wanted was to wake up somewhere I'd never been before. Looking to the floor, I saw around a dozen passed out ponies room. This took me aback for a moment; I thought something bad had happened, but memories of last night came flooding back, telling me that I needn't be worried. Well, apart from the worry of liver damage.

    I recognised a few of the sleeping ponies as those I had met since I had arrived: Vinyl, Octavia, Lyra, Bonbon, Derpy, and Pinkie. A few others I did not know. Over in the kitchen area, two ponies were slumped at the table, surrounded by shot glasses: Thunder and Rainbow. I walked over, gingerly stepping to avoid ponies, and tapped Thunder on the shoulder. He didn't respond, which I had expected, so I tapped his shoulder again, this time firmer than the last.

  "Wha... No... 5 more minutes...." Thunder said, before snoring loudly.

  'All right, enough of this polite shit.' I thought.

  "WAKE THE FUCK UP!" I shouted, slapping Thunder across the face. Even though I'm not exactly a morning person myself, I can't deal with that "5 more minutes" shit. When you wake up, you wake up.

  "AH! Okay! I'm up! I'm up!" Thunder said, holding his cheek.

  "Thanks for waking me up guys." a voice said, tiredly.

    It was Rainbow, her head was still rested on the table, but she was awake.

  "Really, it's great waking up, with a hangover, to shouting." she said sarcastically.

  "Yeah, thanks you two." another voice said from across the room. A few other voices expressed their sarcasm-filled thanks, each voice signalling another waking pony, and eventually, everypony in the room was awake.

  "Uh.. Sorry for waking everypony up." I apologised, feeling bad. "But now everypony is awake, I was hoping we could discuss a few things." I suggested, as I did want know what happened last night after talking to Vinyl.

  "What things?" Lyra asked.

  "Well, I'd really like to know what the hell happened last night." I said.

  "Hey, I'd like to know what happened as much as the next pony," Thunder started, "but I'm not up for much talking with this hangover."

  "Well, you don't have to talk," a voice said, "I'll tell you." I craned my neck to find the source of the voice, but to no avail.

  "Who are you?" I asked the voice. A pony stepped out from behind the couch in response.

  "Doctor Whooves, at your service." the pony said proudly, striking a pose.

    'Whooves?' I thought, 'Oh yes! I remember! He was in the background of a few episodes of the show!' He looked younger than he did in the show, though, as he looked to be about 18.

    Everypony stood there in awkward silence, waiting for Whooves to say more.

  "Oh, um.. I usually receive applause after that, but never mind." he said. "So, you want to know what happened last night, do you?" he asked.

  "Yeah, we do." I answered.

  "Well, stay a while and listen!" Whooves laughed. "Now, let me tell you what I remember."

Whooves watched from the corner of the room as I chatted to Vinyl.

  "I know when I'm drunk and I'm not!" I said, not wanting to seem like a lightweight. I held myself in pride that I could hold my liquor.

  "Arch, you've had 7 tequilas! Nopony could drink that much and stay sober!" Vinyl argued.

  "Oh yeah? Well how mush have you had?" I said, slurring a little.

  "I've had 3, Arch, I'm sober." Vinyl answered, "Unlike somepony." she added.

  "Yeah, whateffer!" I said, and stormed off in a drunken huff.

    I walked over to where Thunder and Rainbow were sat happily chatting.

  "Hey guysh!" I slurred.

  "Uh.. Hi Arch." Rainbow said. "Are you alright?" she asked.

  "I'm fine! I'm not drunk!" I told her rather loudly.

  "Are you sure?" Thunder questioned.

  "I'll proofe it!" I said defiantly, "Arch Micro ish not drunk!"

    I climbed up onto the table in front of Thunder and Rainbow, with the intent to dance.

  "Vinyl! Play shomething!" I shouted, drawing everypony's attention. I heard a loud sigh and then familiar music started to play from speakers across the room. I stood on the table on my hind legs, ready to dance my heart out. When the lyrics started, I sang along.

Young colt, there's no need to feel down

I said young colt, pick yourself off the ground

I said young colt, 'cause your in a new town

There's no need to be unhappy

Young colt, there's a place you can go

I said young colt, when you're short on your dough

You can stay there and I'm sure you will find

Many ways to have a good time

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A

I made the well known motions to the song as the line was sung. Some of the crowd were dancing too, enjoying the song and my performance.

They have everything for young colts to enjoy

You can hang out with all the stallions

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

You can get yourself clean you can have a good meal

You can do whatever you feel

Young colt, are you listening to me

I said young colt, what do you wanna be

I said young colt, you can make real your dreams

But you've got to know this one thing

Nopony does it all by himself

I said young colt, put your pride on the shelf

And just go there to the Y.M.C.A.

I'm sure they can help you today

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

They have everything for young colts to enjoy

You can hang out with all the stallions

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

You can get yourself clean you can have a good meal

You can do whatever you feel

Young colt, I was once in your shoes

I said I was, down and out with the blues

I felt no colt cared if I were alive

I felt the whole world was so jive

That's when somepony came up to me

And said young colt take a walk up the street

There's a place there called the Y.M.C.A.

They can start you back on your way

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

Young colt, young colt there's no need to feel down

Young colt, young colt pick yourself off the ground

Y.M.C.A. and just go to the Y.M.C.A.

Everypony cheered at my performance as the sing died away.

  "I think I've proved my point!" I said as I stopped dancing on the table.

  "How did that prove a point?" I thought aloud.

  "I don't know." Whooves said, clueless at my drunken reasoning "You thought it did at the time.

  "Why was that song on my system?" Vinyl asked.

  "I dont have an answer for that either," Whooves replied, "May I carry on?" I gestured for him to keep telling his story.

  "All right, jusht need to get down her-AAAAAHHHH!" I shouted as I fell of the table. There was a distinct sound of glass smashing as I found myself acquainting myself with the carpet.

  "Oh my Celestia!" Vinyl said, worried for my health, "Arch are you all right?" she asked.

  "I'm shpectacular!" I said as I brought myself to my feet, "I jusht need another tequila!"

  "No you don't Arch! Sit down, you've got blood all over you!" Vinyl said, pulling me to the floor with her magic.

    She levitated a towel over to where I was sat and started to dab at the fresh wound above my eye.

  "You know.... you're really beautiful Vinyl..." I said. Vinyl blushed.

  "You're drunk Arch." she said, her usual confidence replaced with bashfulness.

  "No... No... I mean it." I said. Then, to ruin the moment, my digestive system decided to reject some tequila, causing me to vomit slightly. Vinyl said nothing, she just sighed and smiled and continued to clean me up.

  "Ok, you're clean now." she said, "don't go falling off anything else." I threw myself forward and put my arms around Vinyl, embracing her in a hug.

  "Thanks Vinyl!" I exclaimed. She laughed and hugged back.

    I stood up and turned to face Thunder and Rainbow, who were arguing about who could hold more liquor.

  "Sorry Rainbow, but as long as I'm around, you're not the best at drinking." Thunder stated.

  "Oh yeah? Prove it!" Rainbow retaliated, friendly competition in her voice.

  "Drinking contesht!" I yelled. There were numerous woops from the crowd. Somepony rushed over with shot glasses and alcohol.

    Thunder and Rainbow were now sat with one shot glass and a bottle of tequila in front of each of them. Pinkie appeared at the front of the crowd surrounding the pair.

  "Ok! Last pony awake wins!" she said, "Go!"

    Thunder and Rainbow both began to pour their first shots. Soon they were downed. The crowd were cheering, betting on who they thought would hold out for the longest. Second shots were poured, and again they were gulped down by the two ponies. This continued for 18 shots until:

  "Ugh..." Rainbow spluttered, and she collapsed onto the table. Pinkie grabbed Thunder's hoof and held in the air.

  "Winner!" she announced. Some of the crowd cheered, others sighed at the loss of their money. But before any bits could exchange hooves, Thunder's eyes rolled back into his head and he too fell unconscious, faceplanting the wooden table audibly. The whole crowd groaned at the tie between the two ponies.

  "Cheer up everypony!" I yelled, "Tequila!" Everypony in the room cheered at the availability of alcohol.

The crowd that surrounded the drinking contest swarmed towards the kitchen, grabbing tequila and glasses. "Let'sh go until morning!" I called. Ponies whooped and drank and danced to Vinyl’s music.

  “Party through ‘till morning!” Pinkie yelled.

  “Yeah! Party!” I shouted. Then I collapsed, unconscious.

  “Lightweight!” a voice I recognised, but could not place, called.

  “Well actually, he did have more tequila than everypony else, apart from Thunder and Rainbow here.” Whooves reasoned.

  “Well, what happened to the rest of us?” Vinyl asked Whooves, wanting him to finish his tale.

  “Not much really.” Whooves replied, “some ponies left, and the rest of you partied until you passed out.”

    We all stood there in silence, not sure how to carry on our conversation. After half a minute, I broke the awkward silence.

  “So why weren’t you drinking Whooves?” I asked. wondering

  “I was drinking!” Whooves replied.

  “So how can you remember last night?” I questioned, wondering how he remembered all this.

  “It’s simple really.” Whooves answered, “I don’t get affected by alcohol. My body just stops it."

  "I'm... not even going to try and work that out." I told him, not wanting to think to hard with the hangover I had.

  "I think we should all go get some rest now." the voice from before called.

  'It sounds so familiar..' I thought, wondering where I had heard the voice before. 'Of course! Twilight!' I thought to myself.

    At Twilight's statement, everypony apart from Pinkie flooded out of the room. Thunder and Rainbow Dash stopped in the corridor outside of the room. They began talking about something, but I couldn't quite hear it.

  "Come on Arch, I'll let you sleep at my room for a few hours." Vinyl said. I nodded in acknowledgement and we both began walking down the corridor.

    For the first few minutes we walked in silence, until Vinyl began to talk.

  "Arch," she began, "did you really mean all that stuff about me being beautiful?" I blushed, embarrassed at my drunken words from last night.

  "Well..." I hesitated for a moment and thought. Did I think she was beautiful? She had dazzling eyes, and she was fun to talk to and be around.

  "I get it..." Vinyl said, looking to the ground. It seemed as if her bubbly energy was gone and she was distraught.

  "No, dont get the wrong idea!" I told her, I couldn't bear to see her like this. "Vinyl." I stopped and held her head up from her chin with a hoof, "I meant every word." I said the last few words looking straight into her eyes. Vinyl began crying and hugged me. I hugged her back, showing the affection I never realised I had for her.

  "Vinyl, will you be my marefriend?" I asked, hopeful.

  "Yes, Arch, I will."

Chapter 8: Again?

Chapter 8:

I had awoken from my nap feeling extremely good. My hangover had mostly disappeared but, more importantly, I was also now in a relationship with Vinyl. This warm feeling of contentment had settled in my stomach and a smile was on my face as I climbed out of bed in search of coffee.

    I whistled a small tune, crossed the sitting room to the kitchen and began to search the cupboards.

  ‘It has to be somewhere around here.’ I thought as I failed to find the coffee in any of the cupboards. I scanned the counter once more to see if I had overlooked it, but there was nothing. There was an absence of java.

    At this point I began worrying. No coffee meant I was going to be tired, and being tired meant I would be in a bad mood, due to crankiness, and being angry didn’t seem a great idea considering the incident yesterday.

    I considered my options, and decided it was best that I walked to the cafeteria and got a coffee there. I would have to do without it for a few minutes, but some coffee is better than none any day. I wrote Vinyl a note (I should say, writing with your mouth is hard), telling her where I went, and left.

After walking the through the halls to the cafeteria, (which took a little longer than expected due to getting lost) I had attained a cup of coffee.

  “Ahhh, sweet java!” I sighed, as the brown beverage made its way down my throat.

  “ARCH OVER HERE!” a shout came, piercing my ears. I winced and cursed under my breath at the pain in my ears and then turned to see Thunder sitting at a table with Rainbow Dash, waving. I levitated the cup and walked over to the table. I sat down opposite the two and sipped my coffee once more.

  “So, uh, what happened with you and Vinyl this morning?” Thunder asked, “You two were talking, then you hugged.”

  “Oh, that. Well, Vinyl and I are in a relationship now.” I told them. It was rather blunt, but I’m not so great at explanations.

  “Really? Good for you guys!” Thunder remarked.

  “Thanks,” I replied, “I’m sure Vinyl will tell you more about it later.”

  "Hey yeah, where is Vinyl anyway?" Thunder asked.

  "Last time I saw her, she was still sleeping off the hangover." I replied. "I'm surprised, I thought she'd have quite a resistance to alcohol, considering she's a DJ and parties all the time."

  "Yeah," Thunder concurred, "after all that she shouldn't be that much of a lightweight."

  "What're you two talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused, "Vinyl isn't a DJ, and she just sits in her room every night, studying."

  "Huh." Thunder said.

  "I would of thought differently." I remarked.

    We sat there for a while idly chatting for a few minutes while I drank the rest of my coffee.

   "And that's why I'm the best flier in Equestria!" Rainbow finished.

  "Yeah, but not for long!" Thunder said, "As soon as I learn a few tricks, you're going down Rainbow Dash!"

  "Yeah right!" Rainbow replied. I laughed at the two of them bickering.

   I was about to interject when a voice called out.

  "YOU!" the voice came. I winced for the second time that morning and turned in my seat to see who was being shouted at. I was surprised when I saw that everypony in the cafeteria was looking at me and one pony in particular was ponting at me with his hoof.

  "What do you want?" I asked the orange pony who was pointing at me. He was one of the bullies that I had beat up the other day.

  "I want revenge!" the pony said, "and a fair fight! I know that you hit me with something metal the last time."

  "Actually, I didn't, it was just my hoof." I told him.

  "Yeah right, liar." he retorted, "You're a freak too, with your weird-ass eyes."

  "Eyes?" I muttered, but quickly remembered that Vinyl had said my eyes had changed in the last fight.

  "Are we going to do this, freak?" the orange pony asked. I stood up and away from the table. I'd had enough of this guy, I was trying to enjoy my I lowered my voice.

  "I came here to kick ass and drink coffee. And I've finished my coffee."

  "Don't do it!" a voice called out as I squared up to my opponent.

  "Bust the freak up!"

  "You'll only get hurt Track!" another said.

     The orange pony, who I now knew as Track, charged at me. I planned to make the same move as last time, to dodge out the way, but I was slammed into with the full force of his weight. I hit the floor with an audible thud, pain coursing through my ribs as I did so. Fortunately, the hit had taken some effect on Track, and I was able to push him off of me before he recovered.

    The pain hindered my ability to stand straight, and I could only just keep myself up. Track was now picking himself up, but before he could stand fully I delivered a quick punch to his face, sending him down again.

    I felt momentarily victorious, triumphing over the thug. I stood back and let the fight be over.

  “Arch, you might want to take a look behind you!” Whooves shouted from the crowd now watching the brawl. I turned. Unluckily, Track’s two friends were behind me, and they didn’t seem like they wanted to have a chat and some biscuits.

    One rushed at me. I knew there was no chance in hell of dodging him, so I tried to stop him in his tracks with magic. I concentrated, and reached out with my telekinetic ability. A black glow formed around the thug, stopping him momentarily. Sadly, I was not strong enough to keep him still for long, and he was released from my magical grasp within seconds. He continued to come towards me and grabbed me before I could react. He moved round to behind me and held my forelegs at my back.

    Track had by now stood up straight, fully recovered from my hit. He walked round to my front.

  “Now, freak. Don’t try anything this time.” he said, staring daggers at me. He threw a punch at my stomach that knocked the breath out of me. I almost staggered, but I was held in place by the thug at my back.

    Then, out of nowhere, a shout came, followed by a raging pony.

  “AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!” Thunder roared as he galloped out of the crowd and tackled the thug that had not yet moved. The thug crashed to the ground under the sheer weight of Thunder, but he quickly pushed Thunder off and kicked him back towards the edge of the crowd.

  “Thunder!” Rainbow yelled, and made her way towards the front of the crowd to make sure Thunder was okay. The thug stayed on the floor, too exhausted to move.

  ‘I could really do with that adrenaline from the other day right now.’ I thought, ‘If this continues I’ll get the shit kicked out of me.’

    Track threw another punch, this time at my face. I felt a warm flow of blood make its way down my muzzle from my nose.

  “Had enough, freak?” he spat. I didn’t respond; he wasn’t going to get the satisfaction of hurting me. “Did you hear me?” He punched me in the gut.

  “Arch!” a familiar voice shouted out from the crowd. A few seconds later, Vinyl had pushed her way to the edge of the crowd. “Arch, what’s happened to you!?” she asked, a look of distress across her face.

  “Vinyl, stay back; I don’t want these guys hurting you.” I warned her. If one of them laid a hoof on her... Blood would be spilt.

  “But-” Vinyl began, but I cut her off.

  “Vinyl, please, I want you safe and- Argh!” I was stopped mid-sentence by an uppercut from Track.

  “Shut up! Or I will hit the bitch too!” he yelled. That made something snap inside me.

  “I’m sorry, I misheard, what will you do?” I said, my eyes narrowing.

  “I will hit the bitch!” Track replied.

  “Wrong answer.” I replied.

    The flood of energy flowed once again round my body. All the pain and exhaustion from the hits I took disappeared. I felt less powerful than I had been before, but this time it seemed like I was in control.

  “He’s doing it again!” Track said to his thugs. He began to back away from me. I yanked my hooves away from the thug behind me and punched Track in the jaw. He stumbled back a few paces, holding the spot where I hit him. I pivoted round just in time to block a strike from the thug behind me and followed up by delivering a swift blow to his gut. He clutched his abdomen in pain. I used the opening to kick the back of his hindleg, taking him from his two-legged stance to the floor.

    I turned back around to Track, who was attempting to force his way through the dense crowd. I quickly closed the distance between us and pulled him away. I pushed him to the floor.

  “Tell me Track,” I said to him, mimicking his words from when he had bested me before, “how did you think this would go? Did you think that you would get away with such disrespect?” Track tried to move, but I held him in place with magic. I leaned down to him and whispered in his ear.  “Next time, I won’t be so merciful.” I stepped off him and he scampered away.

    I began to walk to a nearby table. The crowd parted around me, seemingly scared of me or what I could do. I sat down and rested my head on the table, sighing. Seconds later, I felt a hoof gently touch my back. I turned round to see Vinyl looking at me, smiling slightly. I smiled back, even her presence making me happy.

  “Thank you for that, Arch.” Vinyl said, sitting down next to me.

  “Well, you are my marefriend. I don’t like it when ponies insult you.” I said.

  “You’re such a gentlecolt.” Vinyl replied, kissing me on the cheek.

  “Uh, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’d like to talk to you about something.” A voice said from behind us. We both turned in our seats to see a lavender pony standing next to the table. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, nice to meet you.” Twilight said with a friendly tone in her voice.

  “Hi Twilight, I’m Archimedes. But please, call me Arch.” I replied.

  “I’m Vinyl Scratch. Good to meet you too.” Vinyl said. She nodded at Twilight.

  “Arch, I’d like to ask you about the strange power you seem to be exhibiting.” Twilight stated. ‘Power?’ I thought, ‘Does she mean that adrenaline thing?’

  “I’ve seen both of the fights you’ve gotten into.” Twilight continued, “And I’d like to help you control this energy you seem to possess.”

  “Control it?” I asked, hoping that this meant I wouldn’t go crazy like the first time.

  “Yes, Arch. If you’d let me, I might be able to help you.”