Rocket Ash

I looked in the mirror and sighed in depression. My hair was a mess, I had bags under my eyes, and my fur looked like crap. I grabbed the brush and began to brush out the knots in my mane in a rush. After my red and pink mane was thoroughly brushed, I began brushing my fur.

Today was my first day of flight school in Cloudsdale. I had just moved to the town and was both nervous and excited. I abandoned all of my friends at my old town. Who am I kidding? I didn't have any friends. Maybe I could make friends at this new school.

I checked myself in the mirror, just to make sure. If I went to my first day of flight school looking like a hobo, I would continue having no friends. My fur and mane were silky soft and looked as good as I could get them. I was wearing a red t-shirt (with holes in the back for my wings, of course) and short-shorts.

I did a few warm-up stretches and seized my backpack from the top of a closet. I put it on and made one last check that I looked normal. After assuring myself for what must have been the 6th time that day, I spread my wings and was ready to go.

I floated weightlessly into the air on my way to flight school. Cloudsdale was such a beautiful town with white, fluffy cloud floors and rainbow waterfalls, it was lovely. I felt like sightseeing instead of going to school, but that was a very stupid idea. I knew that there was no need to be nervous, no one could judge me since they didn't even know me.

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I neared the school. There were other kids either flying around, playing, or just talking. I took in a deep breath and walked into the school yard. I wanted to walk up to someone and introduce myself but found myself unable to move. Social anxiety was probably my absolute worst enemy in most situations.

"Hello, are you new?" A sweet voice asked from behind me.

The voice belonged to a girl about my age. Her coat was brown with blue blotches, her mane was short with braids in the back and had a mixture of dark and light purple. I couldn't stop looking into the girl's soft, warm, brown eyes. She was gorgeous.

"Y-Yeah, I'm Rocket Sky." I managed to stammer. I was such a pro back then. "But, um, I prefer to be called Rocket."

"I'm Ashen Cloud, but you can call me Ash." She smiled warmly. "You seem kinda lost, come over to my squAAAd."

"You mean... squad?"

"Nope, it's my squAAAd." Ash grabbed my hoof and lead me to a group of other people.

All but one were girls. They had a wide range of colors and seemed to be in the order of a rainbow. The only male had a blonde coat with a rainbow mane and tail. He appeared to be wearing copious amounts of makeup.

"Hey, guuurl," he said in a mock accent, "welcome to the squAAAd, I'm Cam and this is: nobody gives a shit one, nobody gives a shit two, nobody gives a shit three, nobody gives a sh-" he pointed in order to the girls.

"She gets it, Cam, you can stop now." The one Cam dubbed 'Nobody Gives a Shit Three' interrupted. She had a cyan coat and a deep magenta mane and tail.

"Be quiet, Ella!" Cam snapped. He hovered above the squAAAd and held out his hooves like he was challenging the group to a fist fight. "FIGHT ME!" His voice hit a note higher than even mine could hit.

"He's just weird like that." Ella turned away from Cam and addressed me. "Let me properly introduce you to everyone."

Jade had a pure white coat with a straight mane and tail that looked like they were dyed with oil. She was a downer and really bad at roasts. Em was light brown with a sky blue mane and tail. She was a low-key savage and loved coffee. Cambell was bleach-blonde with a vibrant orange mane and tail. She was scrawny and the butt of many jokes. Abby was dark gray with a bright pink mane and tail. She was critical of everything. Tana was light blue with a dark brown mane and tail. She was hot headed and not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

"So, why is Cam wearing side-hoe amounts of makeup?" I asked.

"We just got done putting it on. He's sexy as fuck." Ash wolf-whistled at Cam.

"That's... nice?" I sounded slightly confused.

"Don't worry about it, newbie," Ella said, "you'll know everythin-" the bell rang.

I rushed to my 1st-period class: in-air skills. The teacher was a dull orange mare with a dark blue mane and tail. She rasped at the class to group up, leaving me stranded in the middle of people trying to get to their preferred groups. I didn't see anyone from the squAAAd around, so I just went up to a group that was short a person.

"H-Hi, I'm the new kid..." I explained softly. Again, I was a pro.

"I'm Danese, how you doin'?" This mare had a particularly heavy Manehatten accent. She was tan with a curly, orange mane and tail.

"I'm Haden and this is Janna." Haden was a pale yellow with a straight, blue and brown mane and tail. Janna was white with brown spots and a faded, multicolored mane and tail. "We identify as triangles."

"W-Wha-"

"What's your name, The New Kid?" Danese asked.

"Rocket Sk-"

"Rocket?" Haden interrupted. "That's a weird name."

"Y-Yeah, I gue-"

"We gotta do flips and shiet in the air," Danese pointed up at the clear, blue sky. "Can ya do that?"

"Yeah, I'm actually pretty good at flying." My wings spread out and flapped into the air. I did a few turns and rolls in the sky before returning next to my new friends.

"Poyfect!" Danese exclaimed. "But not as good as me!" When Danese launched into the air, Janna held an arm out that smacked Danese back to the cloud. "That's what bitches do when they know I'm better than them!"

"Does everyone here swear like a sailor?" I inquired as I looked down at the tan mare.

"Yup." Haden patted me on the back. "You'll get used to it soon."

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The rest of the day was ordinary and I didn't really meet anyone else. I grabbed my backpack and readied myself to take off, but was stopped by a hoof on my shoulder. When I turned my head, it was Ash.

"Oh, h-hey..." I turned to face Ash. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to say I think you and I are gonna be pretty good friends," she winked and then flew away.

I shrugged and took off as well. The sky was almost clear of clouds other than a one or two that floated aimlessly about. Other students were flying away from the school in all directions, some with friends and others alone. My eyes kept shifting from student to student uncontrollably. It was the same curiosity that made my tongue constantly explore the empty space left behind when I lost a tooth.

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I landed on the cloud platform that was the foundation for my house. I opened the door slowly, making sure it would be silent. I definitely did not want anybody to know I was home. My family was the most annoying family that I ever could have had. My older sister, Amberstone, was moody and bitchy. My mother, Clouded Song, was overbearing and would put me to work on chores in an instant. And finally, my father, Demetrius, was a jackass.

Maxy, our hyper, dog-like, white bat, flew excitedly to my feet and squeaked happily. I hushed him and stroked his back lovingly. He rubbed his fuzzy face on my hoof in a way to tell me he was satisfied. He had his own version of body language that I understood almost as well as I could understand a regular conversation.

After my run in with Maxy, I was sure that someone knew I was home. I was pleasantly surprised to neither hear nor see anyone rushing toward me. I crept slowly into the hallway that led to all of the bedrooms. My room was at the opposite end of this hallway. I tip-toed slowly but surely to the door. I passed by the two other bedrooms and opened my door slowly and silently.

After closing the door just as cautiously as I opened it, I jumped onto my bed and laid down. My blankets were silky soft and just as comfortable as a cloud. I nuzzled against my pillow and let out a deep, relieved sigh. My blue eyes opened and landed on the computer desk in the corner of my room. I now had a decision to make: stay in my comfortable bed or do crap on my computer. I stared blankly at my ceiling as I weighed both options.

I decided to get on my computer to check the newest videos on YouDub. I spent about an hour on a spiral of random videos before realizing that my family knew I should be home by now. I tapped my chin thoughtfully and pushed away from my desk.

I left my room and ran straight into my mom. She stared down at me with a stoic face, which probably meant she was mad at me. I had to think of an excuse that would trick her into thinking I wasn't as much of an unloving little shit.

"I thought you were asleep and I didn't want to wake you up," I smiled innocently.

"Do you have homework?"

I rolled my eyes and groaned. "Mooom, you know you don't get homework from flight school!"

"You do get projects that you always do at the last minute!" She said sternly. "Dinner will be ready in an hour."

After she walked away, I turned to go back into my room. She was soo great at holding subjects. This time I was actually glad she didn't hold the subject long enough for me to get in deeper trouble. I stepped back into my room and was greeted by Amberstone sitting at my computer desk.

She had a (guess what color) amber coat with a brown mane and tail that she dyed purple. She looked at me calmly as she leaned back in my office chair.

"What'd you do at school today?" Amberstone asked in an emotionless tone.

"Oh, ya know, blew up a few churches, murdered some babies, and shit on a few graves with my new drug dealer," I replied sarcastically as I closed the door behind myself. "I did regular school shit!"

"You don't have to be such a smart ass about it, Rocket." Amberstone stood up, knocking my chair into the desk in the process. "When are you gonna bring a nice boy home?"

"When I make friends with a nice boy! I'm not a hoe." I crossed my arms and closed my eyes defiantly.

"Whatever, see ya later, cheerful." Amberstone exited my room.

I have such a loving family.