"Good morning!" Twilight said in a singsong voice that would usually force a sincere smile out of most people/ponies. But I wasn't most people/ponies.

"Morning, Twilight," I said as I sat down across from her. My bum mood, as usual, didn't faze her.

"Are you ready for today's lesson, Caleb?" Twilight said, her horn glowing magenta as her magic picked up a page of notes off of the table. This was the point where I'd usually just say 'yes' and try to show interest in the lesson. But something stopped me from doing that.

"Hey, Twilight, can I ask you something?"

She was caught off guard. "What? Um, I mean, sure."

"Why are you giving me friendship lessons in the first place?" I asked. Twilight blinked a few times.

"Because that's what Princess Celestia instructed me to do. That and everyone can benefit from friendship and having good friends around them."

"But the only friends I even have are you and Spike," I said. And even that was up in the air. Twilight was forced upon me as an instructor. Spike just lived here and thought of me as his dude friend or something. He was just too upbeat for me to burst his bubble about the whole friendship thing.

"I've been encouraging you for months to go and make some new friends, or even to get out of this castle for something other than our trips to Canterlot."

I nodded, but something was different about me today. Something was stirring deep inside. The next words came out of me without thought.

"Why is Celestia having us go through this?" I asked. There was a hint of anger to my voice that surprised me. Evidently, it surprised Twilight, too.

"Caleb, what do you me-" Twilight started, but I was filled by a sudden wave of irritation and cut her off.

"Why did she assign you to me and trap me in this castle? Every other pony in Equestria gets to live where they want, do what they want, live life to their bells and content, but I'm told exactly where to stay and what to do!"

"You're not a pony, Caleb." Twilight said calmly after I was done venting. "Princess Celestia was just trying to be safe. She's only thinking of Equestria's well-being. And yours, too."

I brought a hand up to my forehead. "I'm sorry, Twilight, I can't do it anymore."

"Do what?" She said. She sounded genuinely concerned. Of course she was.

"This. I can't stay in this lifeless castle and listen to friendship lessons I don't care about anymore. No disrespect to you or Celestia, but I can't. I'm going insane."

Her reaction was careful, thoughtful, and then resolved. As if a solution to my complaints was already present. She pulled a piece of paper from the stack beside with her magic and cleared her throat.

"Well, then I guess it's your lucky day." She said.

"What?"

"Princess Celestia sent me a letter saying that since you've under my guidance for a year now, it would be fine for you to move out of the castle, provided you stay in Ponyville so you can continue studying friendship under me."

I could move out. My mind started racing. Did I want to move out? My first thought was yes, I hated this castle. Then again, would a house be much better? Would I have to pay for it and get a job in town? Would anypony even hire me? Would Twilight or Celestia herself pay for it? There were too many emotions, too many unknowns for me to decide right then.

"Anyways," Twilight said, not missing a beat, "We can talk about that this afternoon." Her teacher's smile returned and I groaned internally. She hovered eight notes in the air from her pile. "Today's lesson is understanding!"

. . . . .

"You're moving out?" Spike asked, surprise clear in his voice.

"Yep. Afraid so, Spike." I was almost done stuffing my clothes in a suitcase. Tonight would be the last night I slept in the castle room. My new home in the residential area of Ponyville was cozy, homey, and warm. The exact opposite of the cold crystal walls and ceiling that encased Spike and I now. Twilight and I had gone house-hunting this afternoon, and as soon as I saw that little hut, I wanted it. No, needed it. Due to my 'relationship' with the high and mighty Princess Celestia, Nopony was going to pay a penny for the house. While Celestia constantly breathing down my neck in the form of her former student was far short of welcome, at least it came with one nice perk.

"But why are you leaving?" Spike asked. "Is it something I did?"

"No, Spike," I said calmly. "I just... need a place to myself. I still have t-... will visit everyday for Twilight's friendship lessons. It's not like we won't see each other anymore."

Spike took a moment to process this, and then nodded. "Well, alright. I... guess I should leave you alone to finish packing."

"That would be much appreciated," I said with a smile. He smiled back.

"Dude, your eyes are really blue," He said. For some reason, he seemed obsessed with my eyes. Even though his were twice as large and every bit as green as mine were blue. But I humored him.

"And yours are really green," I replied. And with that, Spike was gone. After I was done packing, I took my nightly shower and went to bed. It was a long time before I finally fell. Whatever would happen from here, surely it couldn't be worse than how Equestria had been treating me so far.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. Comments appreciated.

The reception of this story will be the defining factor of whether or not I continue it, but it's been fun to write thus far.

Also, congratulations Graduates 2017!