Chapter 1

A Study in Friendship and Romance
By Lux

You stood in the middle of your new apartment, turning around slow enough so as not to miss a single aspect of your progress. A week ago this space was merely an empty room, devoid of any personality. Now with the space filled with the furniture and items that you were accustomed to seeing for many years felt like home. Sure it was a small apartment, containing a living room, small eat in kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom, but it was enough for you. Everything that you owned seemed to fit perfectly in the space, and no place felt underutilized or crowded. It wasn’t that you minded being home with your parents while at Canterlot College. But you knew it was time to start life on a new hoof, and the new apartment was the first step.

“The place looks great!” you said looking over the last few details, “I didn’t think I’d have it done so quickly with all those boxes I had. Alright, now it’s time to get a sense of my neighborhood.”

You collected your keys and stepped out into the short hallway, pausing for a moment to look back at your apartment. You feared that this was all some illusion, that you would return to find everything magically in their boxes again like some small warehouse. You shook your head and chuckled at the thought as you made your way down the hall and towards the stairs. Finally you reached what was to be a very familiar sight, the front door to the apartment, and after stepping out and locking it behind you, you were now on the street alive with activity. Although you’ve been to this part of Canterlot before a couple of times, this time it was different, more intimate as this was to be where you called home. It was time to start exploring the place, getting to know the locals and the places.

As you stepped into the street with a light breeze blowing through your mane and tail, you looked at the building you just exited from. It was a skinny two-story brick building, wedged between two larger ones like it was some afterthought. Maybe at one time there was an alleyway until somepony decided to build a house there instead. Looking up, you could see the windows of your apartment, a chuckle coming from your mouth at how funny it sounded still calling it your apartment. Technically it wasn’t entirely yours but rented out, but why split hairs? Next door to your apartment was another set of windows, another apartment which you imagined to be the same layout, containing its own staircase and door to the street.

“I wonder who lives in there,” You said as you looked at the neighboring space on the second floor hoping to catch a glimpse of something inside. The space was illuminated inside, although the thick red fabric curtains revealed nothing inside but shadows. For a moment you could have sworn you saw a pony standing there behind the curtain, but before you could confirm it the lights went out in the next door apartment. You shrugged, hoping that you could meet the pony living there, as your attention shifted towards the space that took up the first floor of a building, a cheery looking store consisting of two large plate glass windows and a door in the center. Above the door hung a large sign welcoming ponies passing by: Paper Leaves Bookstore. It was an opportunity that you were very fortunate getting, being able to not only find a place to stay but a job that was literally only a few hoof steps from your door! Granted working retail wasn’t your life goal, but it was a good choice as you decided where to go next for your career. You graduated with a degree in History, but beyond that you didn’t know what to do with it. Did you want to teach, or maybe write about it, or even work at a museum? There were lots of options, and Canterlot was a big city, but it came down to what your heart wanted.

Pondering this fact you were about to turn and head down the street to the right of your apartment door, when suddenly you crossed right into the path on an incoming mare! She doesn’t see you coming as her head was down while struggling to hold onto a few books and a file folder brimming with papers. When she does look up it’s too late. You try to stop and so does she but in the end you plow into each other, causing a shower of books and papers to fly in the air. The two of you topple onto the ground with you on top of her.

“Ugh Ouch!” you heard a muffled yet peeved voice under you, “Can you get off of me?”

“Sorry,” you said as you rolled over, revealing the unicorn you just hit. She was a cute mare with a cream colored coat and a striking mane and tail, yet by all accounts it appeared that the mare made no attempts of showing off who she was. In fact it looked like she was more or less trying to hide behind her old black sweater that was two sizes too big, her baggy light brown pants, and her thick black glasses which hid her eyes and were unceremoniously repaired with a piece of masking tape. It was as if there was potential but the pony was content on not being noticed at all. No wonder you crashed into her.

“You should watch where you’re going,” she said in a perturbed tone as she started to gather up the papers with her magic.

“Sorry about that,” you replied, “Here, let me get those for you.”

You were about to activate your telekinesis to help her clean up when she said sharply, “No thanks, I got it.”

“Are you sure? It’s the least I can do to…”

“I said I got it,” she said as she quickly gathered the books and papers into a haphazard pile. Before you could say anything else to her, the mare turned with a mumble of dissent, got up, and hurried down the street, disappearing in the crowd of ponies, leaving you to pick yourself up off the ground.

“What was that all about?” you said dusting yourself off as best as you could as you tried searching your memory of who this mare could be. She looked familiar, but there was no way to place a name to her face. That was when your eye caught it, a lone piece of paper drifting in the air before touching down on the grey cobblestone sidewalk. You pick it up, happy to see it didn’t get too dirty. The paper outlined some very complex equation, and though you were no mathematician, you could glean that it was about the calculation showing the relationship between the weight and size of an object and the amount of magical force needed for a unicorn to lift said object. It was very fascinating, the likes of which you saw back in the university. It was then that you realized who this paper belonged to.

“It was her, the mare that crashed into me! What if she needs this? But where did she go, and who is she? I should hold onto this, in case I see her later on.”

With the paper folded and safely stowed away in your jeans pocket, you continued on your journey, the thoughts of your strange encounter still on your mind.

Author's Note

And here we go with my new story!

Unlike the other second person romance stories, this one will have limited, if any, mentioning of the Mane Six or Princesses. Instead, I'm going to focus on some minor characters in Canterlot.