Chapter 2

Adjusting and partying

Scroll Pen winced slightly as he moved around the house. His second day at Canterlot High was about to start soon, and his muscles were feeling the aftermath of the extreme strain he put them under yesterday.

I don't think I can handle a rematch, if Rainbow Dash demands one. Damn it.

Opening the balcony and letting the fresh morning air in, he began doing stretches while boiling the kettle. When he finished, the kettle turned off, allowing him to pour two cups of strong black tea - for himself and his father. Then he put some food on two plates and put one in the microwave oven. While the food was warming up, he did his exercises, wincing at each movement that involved his muscles.

"Good morning, son," Thunder Barrel greeted him, and smiled at his facial expression. "Feeling the burn?"

"Ha ha, father," Scroll smiled wryly. "It's gonna take more than that to stop me from morning exercises. Your food is warming up, and the cups are on the table."

"Thanks, Scroll," the older man took his cup and set it on the dinner table. When the microwave dinged, he swapped the plates and took his own, sitting down. Meanwhile, Scroll finished his morning exercises and waited until his food was ready.

As father and son were eating, a conversation started between them.

"So, son," Thunder Barrel said, "what exactly happened yesterday at your P.E. class that has you wincing today?"

Scroll explained shortly to his father about Rainbow Dash, her antics and how she provoked his manly pride to rise and how he struggled not to let her have a reason to be smug.

"So you didn't want to be beat by a girl?" the older man asked.

"Father, she technically already beat me. I merely struggled not to let her have the right to brag that she beat the nerd," he pointed at himself, "by two laps. And I succeeded, but at a cost. If she wants a rematch today, I'm unlikely to be able to do this feat again."

"So this Rainbow Dash has an ego, huh?"

"She does. And, much as I hate to admit it, she has a reason to - she is literally the captain of every CHS sports team. She knows her stuff when it comes to sports. Although this has a cost - apparently, her grades aren't the best around."

"I have told you not to estimate your coevals' intelligence merely on grades, son," Thunder Barrel's voice had a tone of disapproval.

"I know that, father, but she misspelled "rhombos" when Miss Cheerilee gave us a pop quiz!" Scroll raised his tone as incredulity seeped into it. "How is it possible to misspell "rhombos" when they have had geometry for more than one year?"

"Does she suffer from dyslexia?"

"She doesn't. Although if she caught one too many balls with her head..."

"Son," Thinder's tone had dangerous notes within it, "I know how you feel. But you have not known her for too long. Don't be haste in making assumptions."

"Yes, father," Scroll drank the rest of his tea. "I'm going, the lessons start soon. Have a good day."

"You too, Scroll. Love you, son."

"Love you too, Dad."

"Hi, Scroll," Sunset greeted Scroll Pen as he was approaching the school.

"Oh, hi, Sunset," he replied.

"How're you feeling? I saw you racing against Rainbow and Applejack yesterday."

"Sore, but I'll survive. When next P.E. arrives, I'll be good - or I hope so, at least. And technically, it wasn't racing. I merely did not want Rainbow to have too much of an advantage over me."

"How much was too much?"

"Two full laps ahead of me. I brought it down to a little less than one lap... a very little less, though."

"Well, that's still an achievement. No offense, but you don't look very athletic."

"None taken, I am a nerd. Nerds aren't usually athletic. I wouldn't even be as good as I am now if my father, who is military, had not drilled it into my head to do regular exercises, nerd or not."

"Kudos to your father, then."

"Thanks."

"Hey, Scroll!" Rainbow's voice interrupted their conversation. Turning to the source, Scroll intoned.

"Good morning to you too, Rainbow Dash." Gosh, she's pissed. Who crapped into her coffee this morning? he thought, noticing her scowled expression. Fluttershy and Applejack were tailing behind her, slightly worried.

"What is this talk I'm hearing about you beating me, Scroll?!" the prismatic-haired girl jabbed her finger into his chest.

"I beg your pardon?" Scroll raised an eyebrow.

"Goldurn it, Rainbow, could ya just wait a sec?!" Applejack shouted. Turning to Scroll, she said, "Ah'm sorry, Scroll, she musta heard 'bout the video..."

"Wait a second! What video?" Scroll interrupted.

"On MyStable. Do you have an account there?"

"I do, but I'm not really active on social networks..." Scroll took out his PonyDroid phone and started tapping at it, accessing his MyStable app. "Wow, I've got a lot of friend requests... Where's that video you mentioned, Applejack?"

"Just go to mah page or any of ours, it's on our feed."

"OK..."

Scroll went on Applejack's page, and found a video titled "New kid beat Rainbow Dash!", posted by someone called "Trixie". When he tapped "Play", he saw the footage of his "stand-off" with Rainbow Dash when Iron Will fired his starting pistol. The footage was apparently filmed on a mobile phone camera, and whoever did it was standing to the side of the track.

How did I not notice being filmed? Scroll thought, noticing that Rainbow was looking at his mobile phone's screen as well. When the video finished, he scrolled down to the comments section.

Trixie commented 28 minutes ago:

Ha, Rainbow got pwned!

---

Rainbow Dash replied to Trixie 23 minutes ago:

That didn't happen. I beat him by a lap.

---

Trixie replied to Rainbow Dash 20 minutes ago:

This video doesn't show that happening...

---

Indigo Zap replied to Rainbow Dash 17 minutes ago:

Hey Dash, whassup?! You losing your touch?

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Rainbow Dash replied to Indigo Zap 14 minutes ago:

I'm not, and I said - I beat the new kid by a lap!

---

Applejack replied to Trixie and Indigo Zap 10 minutes ago:

It's true. I was there.

---

Trixie replied to Applejack 8 minutes ago:

Sure you were :D

---

Applejack replied to Trixie 3 minutes ago:

Are you saying I'm lying?! >:(

"Oh, piss," Scroll cussed. "That's what the fuss is about?"

"You know that what Trixie claims is not true!" Rainbow got in his face.

"I know," the teen boy put extra stress on the word "know", "and I'm gonna tell the truth to people."

He tapped at his phone, typing:

Scroll Pen replied to Trixie and Indigo Zap just now:

What Rainbow Dash and Applejack are saying is true. Rainbow was almost a full lap ahead of me when the starting pistol fired. She had claimed she would be two full laps ahead of me, and I decided to prevent that. Which resulted in what Trixie just posted.

Speaking of which, @Trixie, don't mislead people and rename the video.

He tapped the "Post" button. Everyone looked at their own phones as notifications popped up about the comment Scroll just posted.

"Thanks," Rainbow said, and went to move past Scroll as he raised a hand, stopping her.

"You could have been more polite, you know," he addressed the rainbow-haired girl quietly, but with a tone of anger. "I am not pleased that this Trixie person twisted the truth, and I get where you're coming from, but you biting my head off over this was like I just kicked your puppy was unwarranted and just outright rude."

With that said, he turned away and left for his class.

When Scroll left his geography class, he looked at his phone to see that he got a private message in MyStable.

Strange. Who is this? he thought. When he opened the MyStable app, he read:

Rainbow Dash wrote 21 minutes ago:

Hey Scroll, sorry I snapped at you. i thought you wanted to brag that you beat me and didn't refute Trixie coz of that.

Wow, didn't see that one coming. Also, damn that language bastardization! Scroll thought as he tapped back:

You wrote just now:

Hello. Apology accepted. As I said, I am not very active on social networks, so in cases like this, please don't assume that if I didn't say something, then the opposite is true. Just for future reference.

He sent the message and got a reply a mere minute later:

Rainbow Dash wrote just now:

k thx :)

"Urgh. Stupid leet-speak, or whatever it is called nowadays," Scroll grumbled.

"Hey, fella," he heard Applejack's voice to the right of him.

"Oh, hi, Applejack. Where're you going to? Geometry?"

"Eeyup. Ah hope we don't get too difficult tasks. Ah'm not that strong in mathematics."

"Not my strongest suit either, especially stereometry."

"Say, did Rainbow apologize to ya?"

"She did. Wait a sec," Scroll studied Applejack's face carefully, "did you... influence her decision somehow?"

"What? No. Nah. Totally didn't," the blonde girl replied, but her body language positively screamed that she was not being truthful.

"Really? I don't believe it."

"Alright, fine, ya caught me," Applejack's Southern drawl became more pronounced. "Yeah, Ah kinda gave 'er a small piece of mah mind."

"You didn't have to... but thanks."

"No prob, pardner. Anything for a friend."

"About that... you and your group started calling me a friend pretty quickly."

"Eeyup, and?"

"Well, I... kinda am not used to calling others friends right off the bat. I told Twilight the same yesterday."

"Yup, Ah know that, Twilight told us."

"She did?" Scroll was surprised.

"Ya didn't ask her to keep that a secret."

"Walked right into that one..." the teen boy muttered, and Applejack continued:

"Ah get where you're comin' from, pardner. You didn't have good friends to rely on, right?"

"Guilty as charged."

"Well, Ah'm not askin' ya to just start trustin' us with your secrets or life or such. That's the level of friendship ya don't start with. But just hangin' out and havin' fun? That's where ya can start, an' then look an' see if that person can be fully trusted or ya'll just leave them in your "fun circle", so to say."

"Hmmm... I'm not used to calling those in, how you put it, "fun circle", as friends... but..." Scroll pondered, falling into silence.

Can I actually do it? Call Applejack and Sunset and Twilight and all other girls friends, just up and like that? I'm not sure I can. I don't even know all of them that well, and Rainbow has already shown some bad habits...

"But..?" Applejack's voice shook him out.

"Let me get to know all of you better first, OK? I need some time."

"Fair enough. Pinkie Pie is plannin' to host a party for ya soon, so you'll have the chance to chat with us soon. That said, we sent friend requests to ya on MyStable..."

"Oh, right, sorry," Scroll took out his phone and opened the MyStable app, accepting friend requests from Applejack and other CHS students.

"Come on, the bell's gonna ring soon..."

After the class, Scroll Pen went for the cafeteria where Sunset Shimmer waved him over to their table again. The teenager was initially hesitant to go there, but then pondered a little.

Eh, what's the harm? They are nice - mostly - and I have not talked much to girls back in Cloudsdale. Gotta rectify this.

As he approached, a more... lecherous side of him surfaced in his mind.

And it doesn't hurt that they are quite good-looking, either, it added.

Scroll chastised himself for letting his brain run amok. Seriously, just because I have not been lucky with the opposite sex for several years does not mean I should start gaping at every girl here.

"Hello, everyone," he greeted the girls, sitting down near the edge of the table. Pinkie Pie, who was to his immediate right this time, immediately drew him into a hug.

"Hi, Scroll!" she exclaimed happily. A bit louder and my ear drums would be in trouble, the boy mused.

"Glad to see you too, Pinkie," he breathed out as the over-energetic girl released him.

"I just remembered I never got to know what you wanted from your welcome party!" Pinkie spoke the words at the speed that was close to turning her words into incomprehensible gibberish for Scroll.

"You really want to throw me a party, Pinkie? Do you do this for every newcomer?"

"Yep-yep! Sci-Twi here also had a party!" Pinkie drew Twilight Sparkle into a hug this time.

"Sci-Twi?"

"Just a small nickname from Pinkie," Twilight smiled, "because... well, I'm reasonably good at science. And she thought it sounded well."

"So how was the party?"

"A bit overwhelming, but it went fine. Just be careful with the punch."

"Why? Did someone spike your punch?"

"No," Rarity interrupted, "it's just that Pinkie's alligator managed to crawl into one of the bowls for it."

"Alligator?!" Scroll had trouble not slipping into the falcet from shock.

"Yep!" Pinkie stuck a hand inside her hair of all things, and after some rustling, she indeed took out an alligator and held it by the tail in front of his face. "Scroll, meet Gummy!"

"HOLY FREAKING PONIES!" the teenager slid closer to the left and nearly fell down, but managed to hold himself onto the table. Rainbow erupted into laughter, Applejack chuckled, and Sunset covered her mouth, but mirth in her eyes was plain. Pinkie kept smiling as if taking an alligator out of one's hair was a common occurrence. Meanwhile, Scroll was struggling to reduce his heartbeat and return heavy breathing under control.

"OK, I didn't see that one coming," he slid back into his seat, looking warily at Gummy. As the latter opened his mouth, Scroll noticed that the exotic pet had no teeth.

"Pinkie, did you pull out his teeth?"

"No, silly, it was done before I got him! He's totally safe, see?"

"OK, OK, I see that. And... did I hallucinate or did you pull Gummy out of your hair?"

"Don't question that," Sunset said. "Pinkie is... well, unique. She manages to defy reality somehow all the time. Trust me, not pondering too much on that will spare you the headache."

"OK..." Scroll muttered, and shook his head. "OK, Pinkie, what did you want to know? One question at a time, please."

"Okie-dokie-lokie!" Pinkie was bouncing in her seat. "Do you like cake?"

"Er, so-and-so. I prefer chocolate cake."

"Would you like to try my punch?"

"As long as Gummy doesn't swim in it."

"Strawberry, cherry, grape, blueberry punch?"

"Grape punch."

"Wanna play games?"

"What kind of games?"

"Party games, like, "pin the tail on the pony", or "truth or dare", or "spin the bottle"..."

"OK, I got it. Sure, go ahead."

"Also, do you play videogames?"

"I sure do!" Scroll beamed. Pinkie emitted a "squee" sound and went on:

"What kind of music would you like?"

"Eh, just look at the track list on my MyStable account, you'll get the general idea."

"Okie-dokie, I think that's all I need!" Pinkie said. "Are you free this Saturday?"

"Yeah. Are you planning to throw the party on Saturday?"

"Yepperoni! Two p.m. at my house! Here's the address," Pinkie dug a paper out of her hair with her address written on it.

"Your house?" Scroll asked. "Won't your parents mind?"

"Nah, they won't be there."

"Noted. Who else will be there?"

"Just you, me and my friends! I... kinda thought you wouldn't want that many people to be there."

"Hmmm, OK, thank you for consideration, Pinkie."

This has to be a dream, Scroll discreetly pinched himself. His nerves replied with a small flare of pain. Nope, not dreaming.

"So, are you coming?" the pink-haired girl looked at him with a hopeful expression. "Pleeeease?"

Scroll noticed that other girls also looked as if they hoped he would answer positively. He felt nervousity rearing its head.

How did this happen to me? I am a social nobody and a nerd, yet my second day here and I am invited to a party with not one or two, but eight girls? That's... unbelievable, he thought. I can't be that lucky. What if this is a prank? But... I can't be a recluse forever. It's why I left Cloudsdale High in first place... oh screw it, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"Yes, I'm coming," he said. Pinkie grinned with a "squee" sound and hugged him again. The teen boy flushed a bit, not used to generous displays of affection, but decided he did not mind.

It's not like she wanted to dig a knife into my back when I could not see it, he thought, returning to his food.

The rest of the day went on without a hitch, and Scroll Pen returned home with a good mood. His father was in the living room, reading a newspaper.

"I'm home," the teenager declared.

"Oh, hello, son," Thunder Barrel said. "How was your day?"

"Good. You won't believe what happened - I got invited to a party!"

"More like you accepted an invitation rather than received one," the elder man replied.

"Father, you know those "parties" I never went to were merely club goings and an excuse to get drunk. I hate that, did you forget?"

"I didn't. And this party is different?"

"Yes. One girl, Pinkie Pie, who is a head of the school's party planning committee, wants to throw me a welcome party at her house."

"Her house? I thought you weren't in favour of so-called "private parties" either. Or is she that attractive?"

"What?" Scroll's brain struggled to process what his father was referring to, and when it did, the boy sputtered in outrage, "Father! Of course it isn't a "private party"! Her group of friends will be there too!"

"And these friends are all girls as well?"

"Yes... oh no, father, don't you say it..."

"I see you decided to work your carefully preserved charm on more than one girl, I see."

"FATHER!"

"Alright, son, forgive your old man for teasing. But seriously, that's some big luck."

"We'll see. The party's on Saturday, two p.m."

"Alright, son, you're free to go. Just be home by ten, or warn me if this turns into a sleep-over."

"Thanks, Dad," Scroll smiled.

"I did not have you transfered here to stifle your social life. Go out and have fun while you're young."

The rest of the week went pleasantly well for Scroll. He made some new acquaintances, namely Micro Chips, Featherweight, Flash Sentry, Sandalwood, Lyra and Sweetie Drops.

On Wednesday, he fully expected Rainbow Dash to challenge him to do some feat that was impossible for him, and since his muscles were still aching, he awaited the next P.E. lesson with trepidation. However, when the time came, the prismatic-haired athlete did not do as he expected. Instead, both of them did the exercises at their usual pace.

The task of the day was a one hundred meters run. Students went by groups of six, and had to run as fast as possible - they were graded depending on time. The groups were selected very randomly - more athletic persons were often mixed with those who were not as physically strong. By some stroke of luck - good or bad, he could not tell, - he found himself in a group with Twilight, Bulk Biceps, Flash Sentry, some athletic guy he did not know and Rainbow Dash. Even more ironic was the fact that he and the rainbow-haired athlete had neighbouring lanes.

Figures Lady Luck would flip me off, Scroll thought. OK, brace yourself. Given how athletic she is, she would definitely outpace you, especially if she has a knack for running short distances very quickly. Just run as fast as you can, Scroll, and don't distract yourself.

At Iron Will's command, they assumed a low starting position. Scroll tensed his muscles like a coiled spring, ready to burst forward.

Blam!

At the sound of the starting pistol, everyone rushed forward at their top speed. As predicted, Rainbow Dash and another athletic guy went forward. Bulk Biceps was not moving his legs very quickly, but his steps were quite big, so he moved relatively quickly. He, Flash Sentry and Scroll turned out to be relatively equal in terms of speed, while Twilight remained an outsider.

Scroll pushed himself despite the flares of pain in his muscles, determined to at least stay in line with Bulk and Flash. He gazed strictly forward, focusing his sight only on the finish line in front of him, keeping everything else in his peripheral vision.

Very soon, he crossed the finish line, and gradually slowed down. Taking half a minute to restore his breath, he approached Coach Iron Will to check his result. As it turned out, he managed to earn a solid "B", which made him glad. He did not like "C" grades or lower.

"Didn't see that one coming," he heard Rainbow Dash mutter beside him.

"Pardon?" he asked her?

"Just thinking out loud, never mind," she replied and left hastily for the girls' lockers room. Scroll shrugged his shoulders and moved along.

Later that day, Scroll went to the cafeteria to grab a quick bite, as the P.E. lessons made him pretty hungry. Since Sunset and her friends were not there and he did not want to sit alone, he went to the table where Flash, Sandalwood and Micro Chips were sitting.

"Mind if I join?" he asked.

"No, sit down," Flash replied.

"Thanks. How's it going?"

"Pretty well," Flash replied. "What about you?"

"Well enough. So far, my time at CHS has been good."

"Glad to hear," Micro Chips said, and checked something on his mobile phone. Scroll looked at the device.

"Hey, Chips, is that a PonyDroid Jockey model?"

"It is."

"Stock or custom build?"

"Custom, Mighty Hoof 3.7.658, if that's saying something."

"It does, the developers of that one have a good reputation, and their builds do not crash the phone like some others. I prefer WarHorse 4.5.120 build myself, and my PonyDroid is a Royal Stud model."

"Royal Stud?" Flash commented. "Isn't that the line with hardened shock-absorbing case and reinforced screen?"

"Yep. Anyway, what were you talking about when I came around, provided it's not your secret?"

"Ah," Flash scratched his head, "I dunno..."

"Dude," Sandalwood said, "relax, he won't laugh."

"Won't laugh at what?" Scroll inquired.

"Well, the three of us play Dungeons & Dragons..."

"Dungeons & Dragons?" Scroll's face brightened. "Awesome! I didn't think anyone at CHS played any tabletop RPGs!"

"You like tabletop RPGs?" Micro Chips asked.

"Sure do! Hey guys, do you have an active campaign going on?"

"Yeah, about that," Flash said, "my elder brother, who was the master, left the city, so we can't start a new adventure. We were thinking on what to do, 'cause it's not fun with just three of us. We thought that either one of us had to be the DM and play at the same time or others would need to control two characters at once."

"I have DM'd on several occasions. Perhaps I could help?"

"Being a DM? Well, I don't see a problem, since none of us are that experienced in the game anyway. Guys?"

Neither Sandalwood nor Micro Chips objected.

"Great," Scroll said, "did you have an adventure you wanted to play?"

"Not really, we wanted to deal with DM's absence first."

"OK, can you drop me the scans of your character lists and the backstories in MyStable? I have a whole folder of PDFs with adventures, and if I know your characters, I can pick up one. And if you played some official published adventures, drop their names as well."

"OK, will do. Thanks, dude," Flash smiled.

"No problem, always happy to have some R&R with D&D."

Flash, Sandalwoods and Micro Chips sent all the materials to Scroll that very evening, so the latter was able to analyze their group's situation pretty quickly. He also asked the other boys about their previous Dungeon Master's playing style, finding out that it was more casual than serious. The previous DM focused on everyone enjoying themselves, sometimes sacrificing the rules or monster's stats and abilities to keep the party alive.

While Scroll was in agreement that the players should have fun, he also found issues with several instances where the DM bent the rules too much to bail the boys' characters out of situations that arised solely because of the party's recklessness, or because the characters did not use their abilities in time. He wrote in the chat on MyStable created for the future D&D session:

You wrote:

While I am not playing the "tyrannical unforgiving DM", especially since you haven't been playing for long, you still need to remember the most important rules from Player's Handbook and your characters' talents. Make talent cards if it'll make it easier for you. Constantly bailing PC's out of trouble of their own doing by bending the rules is not really good for the campaign.

---

Flash Sentry wrote:

OK, will remember that.

---

Micro Chips wrote:

Will do.

---

Sandalwood wrote:

OK dude

Scroll smiled. At least they aren't throwing a hissy fit, he thought and typed his response. The screen displayed:

You wrote:

Thanks for understanding, guys. When do you want to gather?

---

Flash Sentry wrote:

We're free this Sunday. 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Good?

---

You wrote:

OK, see ya :)

Wow, I can't believe my luck, Scroll thought. Not even a week and I found a group of D&D fans!

The rest of the week went along smoothly, with nothing of great importance, and soon, Saturday came - and the time for Pinkie Pie's party.

Scroll Pen was dressed casually in a brightly-coloured fleece and jeans, with a small bag slung over his shoulder. Having learned Pinkie's address, he made sure to learn the way beforehand, but he still checked his mobile phone on occasion, GPS positioning turned on.

Finally, he found himself in front of Pinkie's house, with three minutes to spare. He took a deep breath, and then exhaled.

OK, Scroll, don't mess up, he thought, pushing the ring button.

"Coming!" Pinkie's voice could be easily heard from the inside. The door opened, revealing the pink-haired girl. On seeing Scroll, she immediately "squeed" and enveloped him in a strong hug.

"You came! You came!" she exclaimed happily. "Oh I'm so glad you came!"

"Pinkie... can't... breathe..." Scroll breathed out. Please release me, please release me, I don't think my ribcage or any ribcage is designed to withstand such pressure...

His prayer was answered as Pinkie released him and he breathed heavily. The party girl skipped up and down in excitement.

"Come on in, come on in!" she beckoned the teen boy to enter, and Scroll followed her.

"SURPRISE!!!" the girls' shouting almost scared him - almost. The sudden shot-like blast from... something... that made streamers and confetti fly around did make him jump, however. Lokoing to the left, he saw something resembling...

"A canon?" he asked incredulously.

"A party cannon!" Pinkie corrected him.

"And... what is it for?"

"For parties, of course! Look!" Fast as a lightning, Pinkie dashed to the other side where another canon was located, and pulled a rope. Another blast, and more streamers and confetti flew into the air.

"That's... innovative," he remarked. "How does it work?"

"No idea," Twilight replied, approaching him. "I tried to disassemble one, and it shot streamers into my face even though I was not staring down the barrel."

"Blergh, you two eggheads are gonna party or do science?" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"The two aren't mutually exclusive, you know," Scroll retorted.

Silence reigned as the teen boy and the athletic girl stared down each other. Scroll felt that the atmosphere was changing, and not for the best.

I hate to concede to that tomboy, but the needs of the many outweigh my annoyance at her dismissal of science.

"...but I'm willing to shove my curiousity away for a while. So let's party!"

"Alright!" Pinkie turned on the stereo system, and music filled the room. To Scroll's relief, it was not the blaringly loud club music, but a rather pleasant melody that was more fitting as background music. He looked around and saw another girl with electric blue hair and purple shades.

"This is Vinyl Scratch, she is our school's DJ," Pinkie explained to him. "I'm sorry I forgot to warn you, but she reaaaaallllly knows good music, and I kinda needed her help..."

"Hey, I don't mind," Scroll interrupted, and Pinkie smiled.

"OK, now come on, time to taste the cake!"

Everyone proceeded into the kitchen, where indeed a cake was prepared and cut into slices, and glasses full of grape punch. To Scroll's surprise, it did not look like a stock cake from a shop, and Pinkie explained to him that she worked part time at Sweet Shoppe as a baker.

"Figures," Scroll smiled, "a good party girl baking party cakes is double the party. You should make parties for a living, Pinkie."

"Awww, you're so sweet," Pinkie gave him a smile with a half-lidded look that made him flustered.

"Let's dig in," Applejack offered, and everyone sat down, sampling the cake baked for the occasion.

Scroll found himself really enjoying the treat. He had not tasted good cake for a long time. He did not like stock cakes from supermarkets, and custom-ordered cakes from bakeries cost a lot, and his father was not the type to throw dollars on such things, finding it wasteful. His mother could bake well, and they all loved her cakes... but his Mom, Monsoon Breeze, was still on her tour of duty, and she and Thunder Barrel... did not part on best of terms.

Damn it, Mom, why did you have to spite father?

"Hey, whassup?" Rainbow's voice interrupted his musings. Shaking his head, Scroll replied:

"I haven't tasted a cake this heavenly tasty in a long time. Made me go to la-la land for a moment," he chuckled nervously.

"First time Ah saw someone go to la-la land 'cause of cake," Applejack snickered good-naturedly.

"Hey, you must have eaten dozens of Pinkie's cakes by now, but it's my first one," Scroll remarked with a humorous smile, prompting laughter from the girls.

"Touche," Rarity said, "although I deny the bit about having eaten dozens of cakes. I do have a figure to maintain."

Should have predicted that response, considering that she dresses in a way that accentuates her looks, Scroll thought, but his line of thought got interrupted when Rainbow and Applejack called BS on Rarity's claim, and after a small exchange of banters and ribbing, forced her to admit that she has eaten many Pinkie's cakes by now. The girls chuckled at her expense (Scroll noticed that even Fluttershy was hiding her mouth behind her hand, trying to hide her mirth in vain), and Rarity joined the laugh after several seconds of pouting.

Interesting, the teenaged boy thought, it is obvious they are teasing Rarity and having fun at her expense, but she does not seem to be too offended. Apparently, they are close enough that she knows they have no malice, or at least believes that.

"So, Scroll," Twilight attempted to start up a conversation, "how did you enjoy your first week at CHS?"

"So far, I like it more here than back at Cloudsdale. It's a good relief from all the jocks I had had to endure there."

"What sort of problems did you have with jocks?" Rainbow asked. "I remember having to protect Fluttershy from some bullies. Cloudsdale guys usually do not like what they perceive as weakness."

"Mostly it was them dismissing me as "that nerd" and me dismissing them as "dumb as rocks", and silent antagonism. Before Cloudsdale High, I had some fights with those that tried to bully me; when it was high school, most of them left me alone, except several, but even they left me alone."

"How did that occur?"

"Well, when "that nerd" suddenly snaps and tries to pummel you with a look that promises death, the usual reaction was "leave him alone, who knows if he'll kill you" or that. I am not usually aggressive, so I tended to dismiss their taunting and pranks as them being stupid. But if they crossed the line or tried to attack first, I had no mercy. They decided I was not worth the time."

"These jocks understand only knuckle sandwiches," the prismatic-haired tomboy said. "Should've socked them from the start."

"In retrospect, maybe, but I heavily dislike using violence as a first resort."

"Were there many bullies you had to fight with?"

"Not that much. Only several of them went to Cloudsdale High. However, as years went on, I noticed I was becoming more and more of a lone wolf. I simply did not connect with my classmates."

"Oh, that's not good," Fluttershy spoke up. "I know that feeling. I did not really connect with my coevals either."

"How come, Fluttershy? You're such a sweet girl, I'd think you wouldn't have trouble in that department."

Fluttershy meeped and blushed at the word "sweet", but continued:

"Well, I love animals a lot, but not many people love them like I do. Kids used to tease me as "animal freak". That, and... I'm not sure if you have noticed, but I'm... very shy."

"I did notice, but I'd never think people wouldn't want to be friends with a girl like you... then again, I have been a social cripple for years, so I have definitely assumed wrong."

"Social cripple?" Rarity asked. "Surely it was not that bad?"

"Cloudsdale is a city full of military types, and many kids plan to continue the dynasty of soldiers or officers. I am a guy that has no interest in joining the army, prefers reading to hanging out at gyms, and values brains over brawl in general. Three guesses as to whether I fit in or not."

"...point taken."

"That, and once I started hanging around with Cloudsdale's Dungeons & Dragons fans, my so-called social standing sank even lower. These guys are considered social rejects across the whole city."

"Whoa, wait," Rainbow interrupted him, "you play Dungeons & Dragons?"

"That, and other tabletop role-playing games on occasion."

"Oh my gosh, you're a total nerd."

"That's not nice, Rainbow," Applejack snarled at the tomboyish athlete, and others gave her a disapproving look.

"Pay her no heed, girls," Scroll tried to defuse the situation, "I am used to that. I don't really mind being called a nerd, since I am, well, a nerd."

"Yeah, er..." Rainbow spoke up again, trying to find the right words, "what I meant is - I totally get it why you wanted outta there. Cloudsdale is not known for its love for smart kids."

"Their loss and Canterlot High's gain," Sunset spoke up. "I, for one, am glad you're with us now."

"Hear, hear!" everyone supported her.

"Oh, thanks, girls," Scroll smiled a bit bashfully.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Pinkie took over. "Rarity, do you still have the Wondercolt regalia?"

"Wondercolt?" the boy asked.

"Canterlot High students sometimes refer to themselves as "Canterlot Wondercolts", after our sports team," Sunset explained. "As a sign of unity, students may put on fake pony ears and a tail, along with a blue pullover. It is meant to symbolize school unity. Pinkie, I take it you want Scroll to put those on?"

"Yepperoni! He's a Wondercolt now as well, isn't he?"

"Whoa, that's fast," Scroll said. "I haven't even been here for a month."

"Doesn't matter, pardner," Applejack said. "You're in CHS now, an' that makes ya a Wondercolt. An' if someone says otherwise, tell me an' I'll knock some sense into their heads mahself," Applejack rubbed her fist against the palm.

"I'll join," Rainbow spoke up. "Going against one of our own is not cool."

Damn, these girls mean business, Scroll thought at the girls' aggressive display. And they look like they can deliver on that threat, too. Note to self, don't piss them off... damn it, I really don't like Rainbow's antics sometimes, though... OK, don't piss her off enough to want to beat you. That's a compromise.

"What I would like is for you to put these on," Rarity held up the Wondercolt regalia, "and join us in a photo. We'll put these on as well."

"Oh, OK. Let's try it, then," Scroll agreed.

"I'll get the camera!" Pinkie's voice seemed to fail to catch up with her body as she left.

"Ahem..." the boy turned to the girls. "Anywhere here where I can change in private?"

Once the photo has been made and the cake was eaten, Pinkie called everyone to dance.

Scroll was never much of a dancer, and never bothered to develop any style of his own or learn one, so instead he just swung around and danced however he saw fit.

He had to give credit to Vinyl Scratch's DJ abilities. Pinkie must have informed her of his musical preferences, because all music he had heard was mostly retro, but the selection was still energetic enough for some wild dancing. Vinyl also had a talent in making remixes, as he concluded - he was never a fan of remixes, but when the girls convinced him to listen to several samples, he gave a thumbs up to the DJ. She beamed and returned the gesture.

Gummy participated in dancing, too... if flinging the tail around counted, that is. In Pinkie's opinion, it did, and Scroll decided not to bring up his dissent.

Several hours later, when everyone was tired from dancing, Vinyl turned down the volume to background levels and put some lower-tempo music, and everyone was lazing around. Pinkie ordered some pizza, and they were currently waiting for it to arrive.

Rarity insisted to make a selfie with Scroll, and the boy agreed - however, Twilight's dog, Spike, photobombed it by appearing behind them when they could not see. The indigo-haired fashionista scowled at the canine, while Scroll tried his best not to laugh out loud.

Applejack and Rainbow were going at each other on Pinkie's game console, playing some fighting game. Both were competitive and stubborn as Tartarus, and neither could gain a significant advantage, but some time later, Rainbow managed to beat Applejack, leaving the farm girl to scowl.

"Hey, Scroll," the prismatic-haired girl called him, "wanna play one on one against me?"

"That Power Fists of Magic III?" Scroll checked the title on the plasma TV screen. "Heh, OK. Wouldn't mind."

"Ya sure 'bout that?" Applejack asked. "That gal likes games a lot."

"Well, one of the reasons I was known as a total nerd is because I like videogames. So it remains to see who's at a disadvantage here," the boy smirked.

"Oh you're so on," Rainbow laughed, and they started a 1 vs. 1 match.

The athletic girl learned soon, though, that Scroll Pen was no easy opponent. In thirty seconds, he dropped her character's health bar to fifty percent while his own had ninety. Rainbow scowled, and stepped up her game, using her character's pent up arcana energy on more powerful attacks. To her amazement, Scroll managed to evade or counter almost all of them, and avoid getting splattered, retaining forty percent of maximum health.

"Credit where it's due," the teen boy said, "good combo. Against most people, it would work. But..."

Taking advantage of Rainbow's character's weakened state, he unleashed a stream of punches and kicks. Rainbow blocked and evaded as she could, but Scroll managed to intercept her character mid-air as she pushed the jump button, and after a series of punches dropped her health to ten percent. As the character landed on her back, Scroll pushed several buttons in quick succession, and his character flew upwards, only to land down hard on Rainbow's character. An animation of a bloody fountain played on screen, and Rainbow's health dropped to zero. The cyan-skinned girl gaped at the screen in disbelief, in danger of losing her jaw.

"I am not most people," Scroll finished.

"Well Ah'll be!" Applejack exclaimed in surprise. "How did ya manage that, Scroll?"

"Maybe later? I don't wanna give her ideas."

"Oh, you want this the hard way, nerd? We'll do this the hard way!" Rainbow declared, glaring at the boy.

Wow, what a sore loser. Well, if you want it, you are so gonna get it! Scroll thought.

"Bring it, jockette!" he taunted her.

Brown eyes met the magenta ones, narrowed and throwing metaphorical thunderbolts around.

"Oooohhh, we have a fierce competition here!" Pinkie Pie jumped up and down in excitement. "Vinyl, pump it up!"

The electric blue-haired girl gave a thumbs up and immediately put a medium-tempo music with heavy drums and bass. Meanwhile, Scroll and Rainbow picked up the controllers and started another round.

When the battle began, Vinyl turned up the volume, and the competitors clashed fiercely against each other.

Rainbow pressed the buttons on her controller like a madman, trying to make the notion of approaching her character a mad one, while Scroll was gazing hard into the screen, fingers flying in fluid motions, trying to hit the buttons in precisely set time, without an odd millisecond. The girls gathered around, looking at the screen as Scroll's and Rainbow's avatars clashed. The athletic girl was not going easy on Scroll, but the latter was even less merciful, or willing to budge. The battle was won by Rainbow - but by a very close call: only five percent of her character's health remained.

"Not bad," Scroll said. "As far as I can gauge, we have pretty even chances. Wanna set up a tournament? Best three out of five?"

Ding-dong! the door bell rang, and Vinyl turned down the volume.

"Pizza's here!" Pinkie declared, but nobody moved.

"Er, Pinkie," Scroll started, "shouldn't we..?"

"Get the pizza? Don't worry your pretty head about it, Maud will bring them up here!"

"Maud?"

The door to Pinkie's room opened, revealing a girl with rock-gray skin and violet hair, who was carrying a stack of pizza boxes.

"Hello, everyone," she said in a monotone voice. "Pinkie, your pizza is here."

"Thanks, Maud!" Pinkie took the stack of boxes and set it on the bed, then hugged her sister, who was gazing intently at Scroll.

"Um... Hello?" the boy tried.

"Maud, meet Scroll Pen, the newest guy at CHS!" Pinkie bounced in place. "Scroll, this is my elder sister Maud!"

"Pleasure to meet you," Scroll offered his hand. Maud looked at it, and then shook it. Her grip turned out to be pretty strong.

"The feeling is mutual," she said in a tone that was as dispassionate as rocks near the sea. "Have fun," she said and left.

Wow, is she an autist or adopted or something? She's the polar opposite of Pinkie! the teen boy stared at the door that closed after Maud in disbelief.

"Don't you want pizza?" Pinkie interrupted his musings. He saw the girls digging in the food, and decided to have a slice or several himself.

I wonder if they make good pepperoni here.

As it turned out, they did, and other types of pizza were tasty as well. When he ate several slices, Rainbow said:

"So, Scroll, are you still up for that tournament? Or are you a chicken?"

"Now that we had some pizza, I'm even more than up for it!" the teen boy's competitive streak flared up. Both sat down and picked the controllers again. Sensing the atmosphere, Vinyl pumped up the music again. Scroll set up a best three out of five tournament, and the battle began. Other girls gathered on bed, looking at the TV screen and players as well. Scroll and Rainbow themselves tuned out everything, intent on beating the Tartarus out of each other - metaphorically speaking.

Power Fists of Magic III was based on two cornerstones: brute force and so called arcana-augmented attacks. The latter ones required arcana energy that could be gathered by performing successful attack combos or certain feats; they also could gain some energy if they were hit by the enemy. On occasion, an orb of energy could appear on the battlefield, and the players had to undergo several quick-time events to gain as much arcana energy as possible. Different characters had different stats - some were more fit for brute force playing, and some relied more on arcana-augmented attacks, while others could do both, but with lessened efficiency.

This mechanics allowed for various playing styles, and both Rainbow and Scroll proved that. Rainbow was more of a brute-force player, using her honed reflexes in full, trying to punch and kick Scroll's avatar while blocking his strikes, but she also used arcana energy whenever she could afford to spend it, in order to deal heavy damage. Scroll, on the other hand, favoured arcana-augmented attacks, and utilized his extensive knowledge of them and various combos to unsettle the prismatic-haired girl; he used the energy sparingly, using the less-damaging attacks most of the time and unleashing the full power only when he was certain he could hit Rainbow's avatar. He also utilized his knowledge of tactics used for the game, which allowed him to rattle his opponent's nerves; however, his speed and reflexes were somewhat lower than Rainbow's, and the latter capitalized on that whenever she could.

Scroll managed to win the first battle when he successfully performed an arcana-augmented attack that took eighty percent of his energy reserves, but also dealt horrific damage and could easily drop the opponent's health bar by seventy-five percent. Rainbow tried to block it, but that particular attack was unblockable, which she did not know, and her avatar, which had only sixty percent of HP left, was splattered. Fluttershy closed her eyes with a gasp and Rarity made a face at the gruesome animation of Rainbow's avatar's death.

"Must these games be this... gory?" she complained.

"Hey, it's a fighting game, Rares," Rainbow said, "in real life fighting is not without blood too, you know."

"Maybe, but I don't know how the two of you aren't disgusted with such crude displays."

"Because it's not real life," Scroll said. "I cannot be sure how I would react if I saw this in real life, but this game does not have photo-realistic graphics, and its violence is sorta over-the-top - I treat it as extremely dark visual humour."

"If you say so, but I'd rather stick to Jewels of Fortune."

"Whatever floats your boat."

"Jewels of Fortune, Rarity?" Rainbow asked in disbelief. "You total casual."

"Get through the tournament first, Rainbow, before calling others casuals," Scroll snarked.

"Oh I'll get through alright..." the cyan-skinned girl growled.

During the next round, Rainbow carried out her threat successfully. She chose another character, which was more nimble and maneuvred better around the battlefield, and used the "death from a thousand mosquito bites" tactic on Scroll's avatar. The teen boy did his best to land a strike on his opponent, knowing that that particular character took hits worse than normal, but the speed combined with Rainbow's reflexes did their due, and soon Scroll's character lost all his health.

"Aww yeah!" the tomboyish athlete exclaimed. "What you're gonna say to that one, Scroll?"

"Good game, but we're not finished yet!" the nerdy boy maintained a cool facade as if his manly pride was not wounded at all.

"Aaaaand the tension rises!" Pinkie stood on the bed, holding a toothbrush like a microphone. "Our two cybercontestants, Scroll and Rainbow, are preparing to tear each other a new one! Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen!"

"Pinkie, it's not a casino or something," Applejack said.

"We still can place bets, right?"

"Pinkie, darling, I'd rather not do that," Rarity said. "There's already enough tension."

"Oooh, the contestants have made their choice of characters!" the pink-skinned girl returned her attention to Scroll and Rainbow. "Round three! Begin!"

The characters on screen clashed with force, obeying the game console's controllers. Neither Rainbow nor Scroll were intent on being merciful as their fingers moved over every button and stick. The girl's character was running helter-skelter, dodging and evading attacks while getting in several hits, while Scroll's avatar enacted an attack after attack designed to deal area-of-splash damage.

"Stop with the AOE, damn it!" Rainbow growled as her character's health dropped to thirty-five percent.

"Nope!" Scroll replied, and unleashed an arcana attack that claimed another ten percent from Rainbow's avatar.

"Oh you'll pay for that," the girl growled, and responded with her own attack. Scroll failed to evade in time, and his character got ensnared in a net.

"Oh snap," he cursed, violantly trying to release himself, but before he managed to do that, Rainbow dropped the character's HP to zero.

"Oh yeah! I'm awesome! Take caution! Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be!" she sang, doing a little victory dance.

"Did you come up with that on the spot?" Scroll asked, standing up to stretch.

"No, it's a song I wrote. We girls have our own band, the Rainbooms, and I'm the lead guitarist and the singer!" the athletic girl boasted.

Figures, Scroll thought, that the girl with the biggest ego would hog the frontman's place. Arrogant slike.

"And with Rainbow Dash taking the lead, our newest friend, Scroll Pen, is maintaining his cool facade!" Pinkie suddenly appeared near him, her toothbrush pointing at his mouth like a microphone. "Can our viewers have a comment? How are you planning to stand against the awesome Rainbow Dash?"

The teenager had to fight hard not to laugh. Instead, he craned his neck dramatically and intoned:

"Easily, Miss Pie," he said. "It's time for..."

Pausing for dramatic effect, he smashed his right fist against the left palm.

"...nerd rage!" he finished.

"Oh no, not the nerd rage!" Pinkie shouted, looking scared, but then quietly asked Twilight: "What is nerd rage?"

"I think it means that Scroll is pissed off," Twilight responded in moments before Vinyl Scratch turned on another piece of fast-tempo music and Scroll and Rainbow Dash started having at each other again.

This time, however, fates did not seem to smile on Rainbow. Scroll changed his character for the match to the one he was best familiar with; while his choice might not have been the most effective in countering Rainbow's character, he knew the combos and the necesary tactics by heart. His character also had a slightly higher resistance to enemy hits, and he planned to utilize that fully. As a result, Rainbow's character received hit after hit, and despite all her efforts, her HP bar remained lower than Scroll's. Soon, Scroll performed an arcana attack that left her character with no chance of evasion, and after several hits, she fell down.

"Well that one was quick," Applejack commented. "So it's two versus two now."

"The next battle is the decisive one, right?" Rarity asked.

"Yep-yep!" Pinkie said. "And there can be only one winner!"

"Oh, I hope it does not end badly," Fluttershy said, worried. "They are really agitated."

"I cannot calculate the chances of victory for them," Twilight scratched her head with a pencil, looking at her notebook.

"Well, I've got to say, they both seem to be passionate about these games," Sunset remarked.

"Get rrrrrreeeeeaaaadyyyyy foooooor... THE FINAL ROUND!" Pinkie's voice almost deafened everyone. "Contestants, choose your characters! Vinyl, epic showdown music!"

The DJ nodded, and put on a rock song. The game loaded, and Scroll and Rainbow clashed again. Everyone stared at both the screen and the contestants as intently as if they were watching Equestria Games.

Rainbow's character was running, sliding, jumping, flipping in mid-air, and punching and kicking. However, Scroll's character did not move as much, and merely blocked and evaded Rainbow's attacks, not moving as actively as in previous round.

"What's that fella doin'?" Applejacka asked. "He's gonna get his butt handed to him if he goes on like that.

"I don't know, Applejack," Rarity said, "he is not losing that much health points."

"Neither is Rainbow."

"Oh my," Fluttershy gasped as Scroll's character caught Rainbow's and smashed her back against his knee three times before throwing her away. "That's so cruel..."

"Yeah, well - holy ponies, that is even more cruel," Sunset gasped as Scroll's character received repeated kicks to his crotch and lost fifteen percent of HP at once. Scroll's eyes narrowed.

"OK, git, now you die," he snarled.

However, despite the statement, he did not change his tactic, although he put more effort in evasion than blocking now, and became slightly more active in counter-attacking, leaving everyone confused.

"OK, now I can't understand his tactic," Twilight said. "His arcana bar is ninety-five percent full, why doesn't he use it?"

"Does something happen if the arcana bar is one hundred percent full?" Sunset asked.

"I dunno - but it is now," Twilight said.

"Perfect," Scroll grinned wolfishly.

"Uh?" Rainbow only managed to utter this before Scroll moved his character close to her and pushed several buttons on controller at once.

The screen darkened, leaving only two characters and the ground visible. The picture became black and white, like the old TV.

"Girls, you might want to turn away," Scroll warned everyone. His character dealt severe trauma to Rainbow's avatar - and it was described in gruesome detail as if her body was X-rayed.

After thirty seconds of gratuituous violence, the screen returned to normal, and Rainbow's character retained only zero point one percent of health. Scroll pushed several more buttons.

"Get REKT!" he exclaimed triumphantly as his character bashed Rainbow's out of the arena and raised hands in triumph. Vinyl muted the music, leaving everyone in total silence. Rainbow could only gape as she read the words "PLAYER 1 WINS" on screen, denoting her opponent's victory.

"Tartarus flipping damn it, dude," she said to Scroll as the initial shock wore off. "I almost saw that one coming. Guess that makes you a winner."

"It's been a long time since someone made me sweat for victory," the boy admitted, and raised his fist. "Good game, Rainbow."

The prismatic-haired athlete looked at him for several seconds, and then they bashed their fists together. Scroll slightly winced at Rainbow's strength.

"And today's tournament winner..." Pinkie Pie inhaled deeply, "speaking" into toothbrush, "is SCROLL PEN!"

The rest of the party went with less excitement. As Scroll and Rainbow finished with their little rivalry, everyone dug into the remains of pizza (microwave had to have been used on occasion) and grape punch, followed by some chatting and sometimes dancing to Vinyl's selection of party music.

Scroll greatly enjoyed talking with the girls. While some of the subjects they talked about were not of big appeal to him - fashion and animals, for example - he still listened intently to Rarity and Fluttershy, and asked questions. When he himself was asked why fashion did not appeal much to him, he explained that his father, as a military man, prefered practicality over the razzle-dazzle, and passed this trait to him. As for the animals, he admitted that he just never gave a lot of thought to them, too absorbed in himself. Fluttershy invited him to the animal shelter to see the creatures she took care of, and after some deliberation, he agreed.

Applejack gave him a small gift - several bottles of traditional Apple family cider. He noticed Rainbow glance at the bottles, and Applejack explained that Rainbow was, as she put it, an "Apple cider addict", prompting laughter at the athlete's expense.

Scroll chatted a bit with Twilight and Sunset on some academical topics. Twilight prompted him to join the tutors' club, and he agreed, but asked to delay, since he wanted to gauge where he was in CHS in terms of grades. The girls agreed with his logic.

Finally, Pinkie asked him whether he liked the party, and he enthusiastically said "yes". Pinkie squeed and hugged him tightly, endangering his ribs again.

When the time came to go home, Scroll Pen felt really sorry to leave Pinkie's house. Despite his reservations, he had a good time.

He came home with a smile. He was not fully certain he could call the girls his friends now, but he surely wanted to hang around more with them. Even Rainbow Dash, who sometimes really annoyed him. Since he could not make others abandon her, however, he decided to accept her as a package deal. As far as he could tell, she was not a bad person per se. She could as well be one of those friends that just could drive everyone and everything - even stones - to hysterics, but would never abandon their friends. And he was told that Rainbow was very loyal to those she called friends.

Besides, I had a lot of fun competing against her in videogames. It's been a long time since someone actually gave me a challenge.

Author's Note

Well, that's it. Scroll Pen gets to know the girls more, and to troll Rainbow Dash

Thoughts, comments and criticism are welcome in the comment section. I'll update the story ASAP. Stay tuned!