Chapter 1

A flash of pink, that's all I could think about before everything went dark. I remember everything before hand: I remember arriving at the academy, talking with the director and assistant director of the academy, and lastly being guided through the neighborhood by Ms. Blue to this conspicuous looking house... Well it was more like a small mansion, but I digress.

By the time I awoke, I found myself laid out on a couch with a soft weight on my chest. I took a moment to stretch and pluck the crust of sleep from my eyes before glancing down to see what was resting on my torso, only to find that there was a small tortoise sleeping peacefully with what appeared to be a content expression on its face.

"Um...?" I groaned quietly, rubbing my aching head-- which by the way, did I mention it hurt like hell? I must've hit my head on the concrete sidewalk after I was tackled to the ground.

The shelled animal remained undisturbed despite my movements, slept like a rock, and was heavy like one too. I carefully lifted the small tortoise from my chest so I could sit up without disturbing its slumber. I then carefully placed him on the couch pillow I'd been resting my head on before I woke up. Once I was sure the shelled animal wasn't about to wake up anytime soon, I stood up and stretched once more, looking around to orientate myself.

I was in quite the fancy living room, too fancy for my taste in all honesty-- I prefer a humble decor with simple furnishings and necessities, but I guess I'm not really in a position to complain about it; I just feel like whoever scheduled me to live here is being way too generous for a guy who hasn't had legit education since middle school, and I didn't even finish middle school I ran away before I could. I'm not even sure how to describe the looks of the living room, let alone the rest of the house, because half the crap I see I don't even know the name of it.

"Oh, I see somebody's awake?"  came a gruff female voice from the kitchen.

I turned my head to see a rather fit-looking mare standing in the kitchen, only her top-half being visible considering she was peeking out at me through the opening of the kitchen's bar. She's a cyan mare, light blue fur, and same colored wings protruding from her back. She had a bright rainbow-colored mane that was tied up in a bun, she probably did that so she could exercise considering that she was clad in what would best be described as 'yoga apparel'. She gazed at me with a small smirk, sipping from a glass of some sort of health juice, staring at me with her bright rose-hued eyes.

"Um, yeah, I'm awake. What happened?" I responded after a moment of gazing at her blankly, a bit astonished by her beauty-- and the fact that a beautiful mare like herself would allow me anywhere within a hundred feet of her, after all I'm a human, not even a good looking one at that.

She chuckled, her smile growing larger after she finished chugging down her health drink, which from my guess looked like liquidized wheat-grass or some other health food.

"You were attacked by Pinkie Pie, or rather, 'properly greeted' as she would put it. Pinky is one of our roommates, you'll have to get used to her-- it took me a while to do so but I managed" the rainbow-maned pegasus explained before beckoning me into the kitchen.

I gave a small shrug and made my way into the large kitchen, deciding to pour myself a glass of water as I conversated with the mare.

"Pinkie Pie? Attacked? Wait, isn't Pinkie Pie that children's entertainer that works at that bakery?" I spoke, taking a drink from my water glass.

"Yes, that'd be her. She's quite energetic and sometimes she forgets the definition of personal space" the rainbow-maned mare said with a chuckle, sitting up on the counter so she'd be somewhat around my height, if I were to take a guess I'd say she's about five foot seven, which was tiny compared to me.

"So what, she decided to tackle me to the ground as a way of greeting me?" I asked with a small laugh.

"Oh that was a small greeting compared to her usual standards" the mare laughed, smiling up at me.

"I'm kinda surprised she managed to tackle me down, I'm quite the heavy-set fellow" I said while drinking more of my water.

"Oh I'm not too surprised, Pinky has no limits-- and I'm pretty sure logic doesn't apply with her either" she said while swinging her feet absentmindedly.

"Oh, I see. So, is she around right now?" I asked, glancing into the living room briefly before looking back at the mare.

"Oh no, she left a few hours ago for work. The others are also out doing their own thing, it's just me and you here" she said with a smirk.

"A few hours ago? How long was I out?" I asked, blinking a bit in surprise.

"Well she left for work around three, and it's eight now-- so I'd say you've been out for around five hours maybe? You're quite the heavy sleeper" the mare replied, chuckling.

My eyes widened upon hearing her answer. Five hours?! I've been out for that long?! I quickly felt around my pockets before shoving my hand into my cargo shorts back pocket, pulling out a familiar orange bottle. I quickly opened the container and popped two pills into my mouth at once, swallowing them with a gulp of water.

The mare arched a brow, looking at me quizzically as I took my pills. I couldn't tell her what they actually were for, and so I tucked the bottle back in my pocket and gave her a small awkward grin.

"I have an imbalanced thyroid, throws my hormones out of whack" I lied, using the best poker-face I could manage.

"Uh-huh, and is that why you're so freakishly huge?" she replied, arching a brow.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. It makes me look a lot older than I really am" I replied with a small chuckle.

"How old are you?" she inquired, tilting her head.

"I'm eighteen, turning nineteen in April" I responded, making her arch a brow at me in surprise.

"Damn, you're a big boy! Young too, interesting combo" the mare said with a laugh before extending her hand out to me.

"The name's Rainbow Dash, but you can call me Dash or RD for short if you'd like" she spoke as I took her hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet ya Dash, my name's Walter Barnes-- I don't have any nicknames really" I replied, chuckling softly as I offered a friendly smile.

"Ah, don't worry, me or one of the other girls will find one for you soon" she replied, grinning.

"Girls? Aren't there any other boys in this house?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Nope, just us six mares-- you're the only man of the house" she responded with a snicker.

"Why, does being around a lot of beautiful mares make you nervous?" she inquired, causing me to blush.

"What do you think?" I retorted, perking a brow.

"I think that you'll have more than one chances at peeking at our beautiful sexy bodies while we shower, after all, we have quite the big bathroom-- all seven of us could fit inside" she replied, poking my chest.

"Seven? Damn, that must be a big ass tub" I replied, causing her to chortle.

"Yup, you could do a lot of things in that tub" she replied, wiggling her eyebrows, making me blush even darker.

"I'll just have to shower before any of you girls wake up then, either that or wait until all of you are done bathing" I say as I cross my arms, huffing with a dark blush on my cheeks.

"Aw, you're so cute when you blush" she said with a giggle before hopping down from the kitchen counter.

"Anyways, Walter, right? Your stuff is already in your room, all you gotta do is unpack it how you see fit. It's the weekend so classes don't start until Monday. How about me and you get some grub in town? It'll be my treat~" she said, smiling up at me.

"U-Um, sure? But I have to warn you, I'm a major carnivore. I know that meat eaters are pretty rare in these parts, so I'm not really sure if there's a restaurant that sells meat-based products" I explained.

"Ah, no worries then! I have a friend, Gilda, she's a griffin; she's a major meat-eater so we can just go to the restaurant she goes too" Dash said as she took my glass of water and finished it down in one gulp, licking her lips.

"Oh, uh... Sure then! I uh, wouldn't mind I guess" I replied, I felt a bit apprehensive about going with this mare that I'd only just met into the city, but I guess since she's going to be my roommate I better try to get along with her.

"Sweet! Let me go get changed into some clean clothes, I'll meet you in the living room!" she said with a smile as she took off towards the stairs, but stopped and grinned back at me.

"No peaking~" she cooed playfully, making me blush as she then jogged up the stairs, her tail swaying side to side in an excited manner.

"U-Uh, I uh... Didn't plan on it?" I called back up awkwardly, scratching my scruffy beard as I walked over to the couch and sat down, waiting for her to come down.

"She has to be messing with me..." I sighed, looking over at the tortoise that was now awake and looking up at me curiously.

"I mean, I am a bit awkward around people. I'm not really sure how to take certain gestures, I guess she was just being playful and I'm taking this way too seriously" I said, giving a weak laugh at the end of my sentence.

The tortoise just blinked, craning its neck to stare up at me in silence.

"Right, I'm talking to a tortoise... I think, it could be a turtle-- Nah, the shell is too cumbersome and large, a turtle is more flat and disc-shaped" I mumbled to myself, staring up at the ceiling in boredom.

About five minutes later Dash came walking down the stairs dressed in a rather punk-esque type of apparel. She was wearing a black tank top with detached black and white striped sleeves, a denim miniskirt with black thigh-high shorts and pink stockings. Her mane was down and combed rather neatly, hanging down over her shoulder while her bangs hung over her left eye.

"Sorry if I took a while, I was still a bit sweaty" she said with a chuckle.

"No problem, it's fine... Say, do you mind if I ask you something Dash?" I asked, causing her to tilt her head.

"Shoot" she replied, smiling up at me.

"I don't mean to sound rude but, we barely know one another and yet you're being awfully nice to me. Any reason as to why?" I asked, giving an awkward smile once I saw a look of surprise and confusion reach her expression.

"Why am I being so nice to you? Now there's a first, I guess what Twi said about you humans are right" she said with a small chuckle, reaching up and patting me on the shoulder before heading to the door to grab her coat.

"Twi? You mean Twilight Sparkle the librarian lady? She goes to SRA too? What did she say about me?" I asked, growing rather curious.

"She said that the majority of you humans can be quite... How did she say, apprehensive?" Dash replied.

"Ah, if that's the case then I'm a professional when it comes to being apprehensive" I retorted, causing her to giggle a small bit.

"No need to worry too much big guy, I'm always friendly to fresh meat" she said, grinning up at me.

"Fresh meat?" I blinked, arching a brow.

"Oh it's just a term used around here to describe freshmen, I wouldn't worry too much about being picked on considering your size and... Physique" she said, wiggling her eyebrows slightly upon mentioning my build.

"Oh, um.. Right" I replied, scratching my head.

"Anyways, lets get going shall we? It gets quite packed during the evening so if we get there during the afternoon we should be able to find some good seats" Dash said as she beckoned me to follow her out the door, to which I complied.

Me and Dash talked back and forth all the way off campus and into town, discussing simple topics like: music, TV, movies, sports, video games, and so on. She said that she had one of the next-gen consoles developed with a mixture of human and equine technology. It's basically like an XBOX One mixed with virtual reality helmets that're supposed to stimulate your conscious to make you believe you're in an actual video game, although the rest of your body's motor functions are disabled so you don't go wondering around the house randomly running into stuff or punching holes in the walls. It's kinda like like that anime Sword Art Online, only you know, without all that Nightmare on Elm Street-esque nonsense; "If you die in the game, you die in real life".

After convincing me that the console wasn't going to steal my soul, Dash and I agreed to play a few games every now and then. I think she was more eager than I was to show off her toy, especially since I've never seen a game console like hers before.

It took us about a half hour to reach the restaurant. It was called 'The Hunter's Den', quite fitting considering the cunning and thrill-seeking nature of griffins. Upon entering the restaurant, I wasn't surprised to find mostly griffins populating the large room. One thing I noticed was that the griffins were noticeably taller than most ponies I've seen, the average height for a stallion being around five feet eight or so, while the griffins around here ranged in from six foot to six foot four. I was still taller than all of them, don't get me wrong, but they were closer to my range than Dash was.

"Hello and welcome to the Hunter's Den, my name is Arvid how may I help you?" the hostess greeted, offering a friendly smile to me and Dash as she lifted up her clip board.

"Hi, we'd like a table for two, preferably a booth" Dash responded, returning the smile

"Ah yes, you two love birds are lucky, we got one last booth open!" Arvid replied, making me blush a bit darkly.

"U-Uh, we're not a couple, she's a friend, my roommate back at SRA" I quickly spoke up, making Dash giggle, a small blush of her own flushed onto her cheeks.

"Oh, my apologies-- Right this way" Arvid responded after giving an awkward smile, leading us through the restaurant and towards an empty booth, handing us both a menu.

"We also have a vegetarian menu if you'd like?" Arvid said to Dash, holding out a small green menu to her.

"Oh yes, thank you" Dash replied, smiling up at Arvid before taking the small green menu.

"Alright then, a waiter or waitress should be with you two shortly" the hostess said before heading back to the front of the restaurant.

On cue, about five minutes later a waitress arrived with a notepad and a quill.

"Hi I'm Oda, I'll be your guys' waitress for this afternoon. Have you both decided on what you'd like to eat?" the griffin said, smiling as she looked between me and Dash.

"I'll have a cabbage steak burger with a side of hay fries and a wheat-grass shake" Dash said, glancing down at the menu then back up at the waitress.

"Alright-y, and you sir?" Oda said, glancing over at me.

"Hmm, so many good choices... Alright, I'd like to have a garlic-glazed fifteen ounce steak, cooked medium rare, with caramelized unions and a side of fried chicken livers and ranch dip" I answered, glancing up at her with a smile.

"Ah, good choice!" Oda said with a nod, writing down our orders before smiling back up at us.

"Drinks?" Oda said, looking up from her clipboard briefly.

"I'll have a normal cider, thank you" Dash said.

The waitress nodded and wrote it down on her clipboard before looking at me.

"Um, I'll have... Cream soda" I say, and with that the waitress left with our orders.

After the waitress left, Dash leaned her elbows on the table, smiling over at me, a look of deep thought in her eyes. There was a moment of brief silence before Dash cleared her throat, speaking up.

"So, Walt, tell me a little about yourself" Dash says, resting her chin on her palm.

"Hmm? Uh... What would you like to know?" I asked, tilting my head.

"I dunno, surprise me" Dash replied, shrugging.

"Well... Um, before I moved onto the SRA campus I lived alone, I don't really have any family, been an orphan most my life. I ran away from the orphanage when I was fourteen and jumped across the map for quite a while. Once I turned eighteen I moved here to settle down and stuff" I lied, I didn't really feel like telling her the truth.

"Oh? So you were a ward of the state eh? I know the feeling, my folks dropped me off at a house one day when I was just a small filly, telling me that the people inside were relatives and they were gonna keep me for the weekend while they went job hunting. Turns out it was really an orphanage and I'd just been dumped off" Dash said, immediately causing me to regret my choice of lie.

"That sucks..." I said, giving out a small sigh, clearing my throat.

"Yeah, for them-- because they never got to know how awesome I am" Dash replied, grinning.

"I've only known you for about an hour or two and I do have to say you do give me the 'awesomeness' vibe" I chuckled, figuring I'd roll with her attempt to lighten the mood.

"So, any hobbies growing up?" she asked, tilting her head.

"I was a bit of a backwoods brawler growing up-- I'd always fight the older kids at school, I'd pretty much fight anybody who looked at me wrong. The only other time I rose my fists again was to last five minutes with this local powerhouse boxer in Dodge Junction just so I could get reward money" I lied, again.

I never did like fighting when I was little, but I did need the money.

"Oh? So are you a professional fighter or something? I wouldn't be surprised" she said, smirking.

"Nah, fighting really isn't my thing. I prefer music, really. I want to try and become a musician, I've always had an interest with pianos, guitars, and drums" I replied, that part had some truth to it.

"Oh really? That's nice" she said, smiling.

Five minutes later, our drinks came; fifteen minutes later, our meals came. We talked as we ate, we even talked for an hour or so after we finished eating. She talked about bits and pieces of her life story, and I just gave her blanks to draw her further away from my own-- I felt bad, yes, but running away from a perfect family isn't exactly the best story to tell to an orphan now is it? By the time we were done talking, it was night time outside. And so, I split the bill with Dash and then made our way out of the restaurant.

Halfway out of the restaurant, we're approached by a female griffin that seemed to take kindly to Dash, ignoring me and diving straight into a hug with Dash.

"Gilda! So nice to see you!" Dash said with a smile.

"Same here! I never expected to see you here? What's the occasion?" Gilda asked Dash, who simply glanced up and over at me.

"...Him?" Gilda asked, looking up at me as well.

Gilda had to be around six feet two inches at least, she was tall, but not really near my range-- she's about seven and a half inches shorter.

"Yes, him" Dash replied, grinning as Gilda just gazed up at me through narrowed and studios eyes.

"I have a name, ya know" I said, crossing my arms.

"Oh? Spit it out then" Gilda replied, crossing her arms as well.

"Walter" I replied, and very quickly a flash of recognition washes over Gilda's face.

"Walter Barnes?!" she gasped, causing my eyes to widen slightly, a bad feeling sinking into my gut.

"Yes...?" I replied hesitantly.

"You're Helga and Bill's kid, right?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Dash perked a brow, glancing over at me with an accusing stare.

"You must have the wrong guy, I don't know anybody named Bill or Helga" I replied, and quickly began to walk around the griffin and across the street, making my way to a sidewalk where I followed the route we took to get to the restaurant all the way back towards the academy.

"What was that all about?" Gilda asked, only to receive a shrug from Dash.

"I don't know... Say, how do you know Walter?" Dash asked, crossing her arms.

"Well I don't necessarily know him all that well, I mean, my aunt married his dad around six years back. I only met him a few times when he was younger, but it seems like he didn't recognize me" Gilda explained as Dash perked a brow.

"What happened to his parents? Bill and Helga?" Dash inquired, walking alongside Gilda towards SRA.

"Well, nothing really. Last time I checked in they were doing fine, not too sure though since they've been spending the past four years on that search" Gilda explained, only rousing Dash's curiosity further.

"Search? What search?" Dash asked.