The Day Before The First Day (Episode 0)
Author's Note
This story is in no way a reflection of the original or the original creatour's vision. All events in this story are non-canon and take place in another universe. All rights belong to their respective owners.
My Little Pony is owned by Hasbro
If you want to learn more about this story, me, or give ideas for writing, follow me @RWBYDragon on Twitter.
The Day Before The First Day (Episode 0)
It was about 8:30 when the bus ferrying people from out of the city finally reached its destination and released its passengers. As the bus pulled away, and the sun began to set, joy seemed to vanish from Roze’s face. Roze Gunn was a somewhat tall man with red hair and red eyes with glasses. He wore a black jacket with red accents on it, a red t-shirt, a pair of black and red fingerless gloves, and plain black trousers. Roze was recently accepted into Canterlot High, the high-school of the renowned capital of Equestria: Canterlot, for his seniour year of high-school education. He wasn’t new to this city, not by any means, but he certainly never had any experience with either the school he would now attend, or the students who also attended.
Roze now stood across the street from the apartment complex in which he would now reside. He stood staring at the beautiful blue roof, the elegant curtained windows, and the grass that glowed in the sunlight with a verdant radiance. All of these promises, however, vanished as he lowered the pamphlet, and its photo, to reveal the chipped paint that covered the roof, and the cars that obscured what would otherwise be a scenic view of the half dead grass.
It had been about a year since he had worked out the renting deal with the previous landlord of this apartment building. ”It certainly looked prettier last time...” Roze thought before making his way across the street. When Roze walked in, he realised that the landlord he would be speaking to this time was different from the one he previously talked to the year before. The landlord wore a suit, but he had not taken care to avoid eating anything that could messy it, like the yellow substance which now stained a lower portion of his coattail. His portly figure bore witness to his insatiable love for the pleasantries of the table, and he had a bit of balding at the top of his head that marked his age to a generation above his uncanny valley-esque facial complexion. The landlord greeted Roze then reminded Roze of the core rules; no pets, no parties, no getting on his bad side. Unlike what was usual, Roze hadn’t made any contracts or anything of the sort, and the rent was prepaid each month.
Roze ascended to his room, room 137, and entered to find a bare room, save for a bed and some obligatory curtains, more for the outside than for the inside. There was a hole in the wall, presumably from a prior water leak, and the carpet next to the wall was covered in pebbles and dust from what was removed from the wall. The room was bleak and depressing compared to the elegance and promise Canterlot held in its advertised image, and once again, Roze felt no source of hope from what was introduced to him as 'the life of the royals.'
“Home, sweet home, I presume?” Roze commented as he put his suitcases on the bed. “’I’ll make sure you get a good room, soldier!’Yeah right... The next time I see that smug, blue haired, tight ass, ash for brains...” he grumbled then sighed sullenly as he looked for a bedside table, which he couldn’t find. He then left and asked the landlord for one, and found out the room was in that state because a pipe leak had, in fact, occurred last week, and the workers hadn’t yet replaced the wall. More accurately, the landlord had fired them due to his short temper, Roze speculated. The furniture, as a result, was removed, and only the bed was later moved back in for the new resident. Roze had to acquire a table himself, as the landlord was 'too busy,' and brought it back to his room. When Roze got back, he dragged the table beside the bed, as per its sole reason and title for existence, and was about to open his suitcase to organise his belongings when he heard a knock at the door. Perplexed, Roze went and opened the door, and as he did, a dark and light blue haired woman who wore a white hoodie; purple shades; red shirt; white, fingerless gloves; and white shorts walked right in, not even awaiting a greeting.
“All right! So this is your place, new kid? We looked all afternoon!” She said nearly loud enough to distract Roze from the other visitour, who cheerfully followed the other.
“Hold on, who are-” Roze began to shout before noticing the other guest was holding out a treat for her host. As Roze stared at her cute, patient smile, he couldn’t help but notice her bright blonde hair and her golden eyes, one of which was looking up, instead of towards Roze. The smile she wore was of one of the friendliest sort Roze had ever seen. The adorable one wore a simple grey sweater and dark grey trousers. After a brief moment of confusion, Roze took the what he just realised was a muffin out of her hand and she bounced happily towards the bed and sat down. “Who are you two?” Roze finally managed to get out, lacking the surprise and anger from his prior attempt.
“We’re your schoolmates, and we decided to give you a big, hearty welcome, you being from outta town and all. Don’t worry about it, you don’t have to thank me.” said the first intruder with a smug grin, eliciting a frown from Roze.
Roze took his time to warily watch every movement of the sudden intruders. The punkster walked to the window, and then started to lazily walk from one location in the room to the next. The other merely smiled and happily swung her legs back and forth while she, as opposed to her accomplice, was merely contented to sit on the simple mattress.
“I meant your names... And how did you get in here? I’m not supposed to have guests tonight.” Roze replied, already exasperated with the noisy guest.
“My name’s Vinyl, and thi~~is is Derpy!” the punkster said, flopping down next to Derpy. ”Derpy? What an odd name...” Roze thought, not daring to say that aloud. “As for how we got in here...” Vinyl pushed her hands into Derpy’s cheeks, squishing Derpy’s face, and continued, “Who can say no to her?”
Roze’s eyes quickly darted down to the now half eaten muffin and back up. “OK, I see your point.” he begrudgingly conceded. “So, this barging into people’s rooms thing, does that happen a lot around here?”
“Pretty much.” Derpy replied. Her adorable voice somewhat startled Roze as he realised she hadn’t yet spoken. Her voice, unlike the harsh scratch of the loud one’s voice, was an adorable and charming squeak that disarmed any ill-prejudices that Roze held in that moment. “We thought we’d get here before Lyra decided to welcome you.” Derpy continued, finally shrugging off the persistent squish assailant.
“Well, alright, just no parties, pets, or... I’d say loud noises, but I can already tell that that’s a reach for you. Look, I just don’t want to get kicked out on the first day.” Roze joked, somewhat relaxing to his intruders and putting his left hand in his pocket. Then he remembered that they were still technically intruders and unsettled once again. ”Wait, why are they here? Welcome me? One hell of a job so far...” Roze pondered.
“All right... I’ll have to remind her...” Vinyl said disinterestedly. “WAIT!” she then yelled, startling the other two, “You never told us your name.”
“Yeah, a~~~and...?” Roze said while raising an eyebrow, still annoyed at his ‘guest’s’ audacity.
Vinyl merely gave him a look of utter irritation, “A~~~and... What is it?” she asked assertively.
Roze sighed, then answered, “My name is Roze, Roze Gunn.”
Despite their... prolonged introduction, the three found little topics to follow up with. The moments after passed tediously as Vinyl invited Roze to various ‘locations of welcoming.’ Roze, of course, denied all of them.
“Wanna go to the club?” Vinyl asked.
“No.” replied Roze.
“The mall?” Vinyl asked.
“No.” replied Roze.
“The bakery?” Vinyl asked.
“No.” replied Roze.
“To school...?” Vinyl asked.
“No. Not really...” replied Roze, this time with a slump and a sigh.
As a consequence, there was silence for a few moments as topics became short in supply. With no conversation now to provide a distraction, Roze looked down at the now two half eaten muffin.
After a briefly silent moment of trying to think of a topic, Derpy spoke up, “It’s a little late, V, maybe we should go...”
Vinyl gave a throaty grunt to the request and tried to coerce her friend into staying. “But, this wasn’t really much of a welcome! I mean, C’mon! We didn’t talk about the city or the school-”
“THE SCHOOL!” Derpy suddenly shouted, interrupting her friend and taking her turn once again in startling Roze. Derpy bounced up off the bed, skipped towards Roze, and bowed toward him, “How about tomorrow we show you around school? You are new.” Derpy proposed, which both proposees then nodded to. Roze then looked over to Vinyl, who was now opening one of his suitcases.
“HEY! Get outta there, damn it!” Roze shouted to the nosy newcomer. ”Wait, aren’t I the newcomer...? So~o... Native?” Roze thought before snapping back to reality and running over to save his privacy. As soon Vinyl had removed an object she deemed of interest, she only had a moment to observe it as Roze instantly snatched it away from the thoughtless thief.
“Is that a picture of your family?” the snoopy sneak inquired about the object she removed, “There are so many relatives!”
“Actually, no. Only one of them is: my sister.” Roze said with audible disdain, “This one is my sister,” he said pointing to a raven haired woman in a long, dark olive coloured jacket; an olive coloured military vest that ended at the midriff; a pair of dark moss green convertible trousers; and a pair of black combat boots. “These three are adopted as my sisters,” he said then pointing to three colourfully and gaudy styled girls next to him and his sister, best described as pop-star punk in genre, within the photo. “And the other four- the guy, girls, and old lady- are the family that took care of me and my sister after our uncle died...” Roze finished, his voice lowering and his face now losing the life it had a moment before as he focused on the photo in his hand.
“Oh...” Vinyl said in a meek attempt at a response. “Wh-What about your parents?” she asked, instantly cringing at her mistake. Roze just turned and then gently put his picture back in his case and closed the lid. Vinyl took the hint and stopped pressing him on the topic, choosing instead to remain silent, for once.
“...It’s getting kinda late...” Derpy repeated, noticing the sudden dour turn in the conversation and urging her fellow intruder to follow her out.
“Yeah, I should get ready for my first day. Where should I meet you tomorrow?” Roze followed up in a half-hearted tone.
“At the cafeteria, I hang out there every morning.” Vinyl responded. Roze nodded, moved over to the door, and got ready to open it for his surprise guests.
With the plans of the following day agreed upon by the three, Vinyl and Derpy bid their farewells and left. Roze then wandered to his bed and opened his suitcase to organise his things. He placed his photo on the bedside table, along with a set of medals held in a small medal presentation case. He went through and organised the textbooks he had for his school classes, which included: Introductory Magistics, Mathematics, Advanced Alchemy, English, Economics, and Cauldrons/Calligraphy; and put them into his backpack. Roze then decided to relax a moment to process the weird and sudden events that had transpired and the, no doubt, weirder ones that awaited him henceforth. As he leaned against the wall, taking one final sigh for the afternoon, he looked down at the yet to be eaten muffin in his hand.
.
.
.
.
Wait... What...
The First Day (Episode 1)
Author's Note
This story is in no way a reflection of the original or the original creatour’s vision. All events in this story are non-canon and take place in another universe. All rights belong to their respective owners.
My Little Pony is owned by Hasbro
Song used: Home, by Aviators(feat. Poni1Kenobi) If you want to purchase this song or more songs by this artist, follow him @Aviators84 or go to his website at music.soundoftheaviators.com.
-I would like to personally thank Tyler Shaw, not just for letting me use his music, but for the music he makes, for inspiring me in my creativity, and for cheering me up through some really rough times in my life. Your music has had serious impact on my life and I don't know if I'd be here doing this if it weren't for you. Seriously, thank you, and keep being awesome.
If you want to learn more about this story, me, or give ideas for writing, follow me @RWBYDragon on Twitter.
- 1. GalOP is a common social media app in this world. It's similar to Twitter. It originally started out as a girl's social media (Gal) and was aimed at gamers, (Therefor the use of the common gamer term 'OP' which means Over Powered) sort of like Discord.
The First Day (Episode 1)
When Roze got to the Canterlot High School premises, he immediately began looking for the cafeteria. He got to the school at about 6:45, an hour and a half before classes start, because he wanted to keep his promise to meet up with the two strangers from the night before: Vinyl and Derpy. Sure they were strange, and you shouldn’t just follow strangers about, but if they wanted to do something, it would have happened last night. At least, that was Roze’s reasoning. If he wanted to make friends in this new school, these two seemed more than happy to oblige.
In Roze’s search, he found a number of students who seemed to somewhat avoid him. These students merely instead chose to talk to each other, particularly a blue and silver haired woman who gave Roze a welcoming smile whenever he looked. Roze didn’t think too long about them because he didn’t really care, and instead continued his search. After learning the whereabouts of the cafeteria, he proceeded to the awaiting friends with a sense of curiosity, more than anything else. However, as he turned a corner on his way, all he saw was a blue mass speeding towards him. Before he could react, he was slammed into and almost knocked over by some speeding stranger who was running down the hall. Roze caught his balance first, and as the wrecking ball stumbled backwards, about to fall over, he caught the woman, letting his glasses fall to the ground and bringing a surprised look to her face.
“Ah! Crap!” Roze said as he let go of the accidental assailant, making sure she had her balance. After he picked up his glasses and put them back on his nose, he noticed the orange haired woman in a blue jacket still rubbing her head. Roze noticed that while her body hit Roze, her head had slammed the wall corner. The injury was evidenced by the growing protrusion on her forehead where she rubbed. The woman wore a simple black shirt and blue jeans, as well as a sky blue jacket with yellow accents to it. She also had flaming orange hair styled into spikes and a prime example as to why ‘speed isn’t always key.’
“Are you alright?” Roze asked, concerned.
“Yeah, it just smarts, but I’ll walk it off. Th-thank you...” she said, crossing her arms, welt expanding on her forehead. She looked Roze up and down, then asked, “Wait, are you a freshman, I know I haven’t seen you before.”
“No, I’m a seniour. I’m just attending here for my seniour year.” replied Roze. “What’s your name?”
“Wait... You don’t know me?” replied the Wonder Crash, completely shocked by this answer.
Roze thoroughly searched his memory, but couldn’t find anything on an ‘orange haired, blue jacket wearing, speed hazard.’ “Uhhh... No. Should I?” Roze asked, completely vexed. When he said that, he noticed annoyance on her face, which was quickly replaced by a spark in her eyes and a gleeful smile.
“Well, my name is Spitfire. Ring any bells now?” she said, grabbing Roze’s shoulders.
“Still no...” Roze replied, now a little fearful, but Spitfire looked somehow ecstatic. “My name is Roze, by the way.” Roze said. Spitfire looked a little shocked and had to prevent herself from slapping herself in the forehead, which was a good decision on her part, as the welt she had obtained was fairly obvious and fairly unavoidable.
“Hmmm... well, Roze, I know this might be sudden... but how about a race?” Spitfire proposed, taking a step back.
“Race? A footrace?” asked Roze, completely bewildered by the challenge that came out of the blue. “I’m sorry, I’m headed off to meet some friends in the cafeteria.”
“Oh... Who?” Spitfire inquired.
“Vinyl and Derpy. They said they’d show me around the school.” Roze said, leaning against the wall, knowing he wasn’t going to be getting away as easily as he had wished.
Spitfire looked at her watch, “But it’s only 7:00. Vinyl doesn’t usually get here ’til about 7:30...” she explained.
“You know Vinyl?” Roze asked, wanting to postpone the odd request she had previously made of him.
Spitfire’s confusion only grew as she continued the conversation. “Yeah... We live together. Do you know about her?” Roze merely shrugged. Roze knew Vinyl, but he did not actually know anything about her. “You... You’re kind of out of the loop on people, aren’t you?” she asked, jokingly. “You really don’t know any of the famous people... Maybe you’re just clueless...” Spitfire said in contemplation before her smile grew to a cocky grin.
Roze made a comedic, histrionic show of disgust. “I am OFFENDED by your complete and total accuracy, madam!” Roze said, eliciting a laugh from Spitfire, who was glad he got the joke. Roze thought for a moment about him wanting to befriend Vinyl and came to the conclusion that it might do well to try and befriend Spitfire as well. “OK, Spitfire, I have time for a race. Don’t expect much of a challenge, though. I’m not a physical performer. I eat shredded cheddar out the bag”
“I won’t get too excited, then.” she said with a laugh. "Just so you know... neither am I."
Thus, Spitfire and Roze then made their way outside to the football field, which had the school track running around it. The track was about 400m long and was the standard brick red you would expect. As they walked towards the field, Roze took a moment to examine the school from the outside. He was a little rushed before and had not yet bothered to examine the prestigious school. The school was most definitely huge, having the two sections on either side of the entrance extend further forward than the wall of the lobby entrance, similar to the shape of a horseshoe. The yard surrounding the school, which was so well kept and crafted they could be considered works of art in their own right, were tactfully sprinkled with beds of flowers of all colours and carefully shaped with perfectly groomed bushes and hedges. A lone, impressive, marble statue of an ever-vigilant stallion stood guard in the middle of its fountain throne in front of the grand, aristocratic, lavender building. The building itself had so many windows that in the bright and intense sunny day it appeared to be made of crystal, and shone and sparkled like a holy beacon. The harsh, cloudless sun bathed the school in an almost blinding haze and added a distorting wave to the scenery, creating an almost ethereal veil over the school's beautiful radiance, and leaving Roze entirely unable to determine anything within the school's facile walls. The yard behind the school remained eternally Spring-locked in its verdant hills and hollow beauty. The yard also held the fields for the various sports that the school facilitated, such as football, baseball, track, and etc. As Roze stared, fixated, on the school, he now understood how the school earned its nickname and motto: 'The Royal Garden, where possibility comes to bloom.'
As Spitfire got into a prime, crouched starter position, Roze observed and attempted to replicate it, poorly. Spitfire then counted down, “Five...four...three...two...one...GO!” and the speedster blitzed off as Roze’s foot slipped when he tried to take off, falling straight onto his face. However, Roze got back up and began racing the orange runner, who was already a good ways ahead. Roze did manage to keep a regular pace, still challenging Spitfire, who obviously wasn’t lying about not being a track and field runner. After Spitfire crossed the end, she patiently waited for her competitour to catch up, smiling as he came. Roze actually managed to come in only a couple moments behind her.
“O~~~okay, that’s one way to wake up.” Roze said, bending down and breathing heavily.
Spitfire looked him over. “You aren’t very... 'competitive,' are you.” she asked in contemplation before giving a grin.
“No, no I’m not, but that was still fun.” Roze said, returning the grin. “It at least woke me up. Nothing’s worse than being tired at school!” Roze joked, giving an intentionally and comically pained grin as he swung his fist in the universal display of 'Alright!' with exaggerated gusto.
“Well, I’m glad! Hmm, here,” Spitfire said while pulling a note and pen from her pocket, “take my number. We’ll have to hang out more some other time.”
“I hope you don’t want me to run more... That was fine, but...” Roze groaned, getting more laughs from his new friend.
“No, no, I just like people who are friendly, like you. Also, a friend of Vinyl’s a friend of mine!” she said, then started jogging off. “Sorry! I have to go! I hope you have a good day! Thanks for being a good sport!”
“You’re welcome! I hope you have a good day, too!” Roze shouted to her. After he shrugged off some guys who seemed both happy for, and upset with, him. He went to the cafeteria, this time unhindered and uninterrupted, and waited for his friends who were, as was told, not there. Although, he didn’t have to wait too long before Vinyl walked in. Roze immediately stood up and greeted his random-found friend, and, after a short conversation, Derpy joined them and the two girls proceeded to show Roze the layout of the school.
Once Roze felt he had gotten the layout of all the classes and rooms he should familiarise himself with, he asked Vinyl and Derpy for a couple of moments to hang out. He told them about his race with Spitfire and how they promised to get together sometime. Vinyl explained that Spitfire was indeed one of her two housemates, the other being some beautiful woman named Octavia Melody, who apparently played various classical instruments. Roze also learned that Derpy worked as a mail carrier, and Vinyl’s profession was being a DJ by the stage name DJ Pon-3. Derpy worked small time, of course, running the routes and delivering packages on her bike and Vinyl kept herself constantly busy with her profession. After their few minutes of conversing, the bell for first period rang, so the three went to their respective classes: Vinyl went to English, Derpy went to Economics, and Roze went to Mathematics.
Roze’s Math teacher was a man by the name of Mr. Arsquerred. Mr. Arsquerred, who preferred to be called Mr. R, was a fairly lax teacher who didn’t really hound students on rules. He just asked that students not break them so he could continue to not worry about it. He didn’t even assign homework, just gave pages and problems as a suggestion and the occasional homework check in class to see if the concepts stuck, but if one listened while he taught and asked when one had a question, one would do fine. All things considered, he was a well liked teacher and was very casual about his job, but he was in no way lazy about his duty as an instructour.
As Roze went to enter the classroom, he noticed a woman in a grey button sweater, button-up white shirt, and grey skirt ensemble had dropped some of her things and was now struggling with her skirt to gather the items. Roze immediately came over and helped her pick up her pens and books, noticing her refined demeanour as she thanked him. Her voice was like a wine among voices, refined and divine. It certainly was not like anyone’s he had met thus far, despite Canterlot’s ‘upper-class’ reputation. Roze noticed she also wore a pink bow-tie and had beautiful raven hair with sparkling violet eyes. Her appearance was entirely enamouring.
As Roze handed her the last fallen object, he asked, “Is that all your things?” completely struck by the difference between his previous acquaintances and this stunning exemplar of high-class culture.
“Yes, that appears to be everything except for... Ah! Here it is!” she exclaimed, pulling a note from in between two of her notebooks. “I am so glad I didn’t lose this.” The woman let out a sigh before gently folding the note and putting it in a folder.
Roze quickly darted a look at his watch. “Uhhh... We really shouldn’t dawdle, class is starting soon, correct?” Roze reminded her.
“Huh? OH! Yes, yes it is. Hmm...” She took a moment to think and offered, “Would you like to sit next to me? I could help you with notes and homework.”
“That would be wonderful!” Roze responded as he followed her to sit towards the front corner of the class. “Wait, I don’t believe I got your name.”
“Hm? Oh, where are my manners? I am Octavia Melody.” said the cultured lady. “Now tell me yours, if you would, please.”
Roze took a moment to respond, however. “Octavia? The one who lives with Vinyl and Spitfire? But... they’re so... and she’s...” Roze thought, completely shocked at the duchess of divinity who apparently lived with the boisterous babbler and the wonder crash.
“Uhh... Sir? You do know it’s rude to not reply, correct?” Octavia asked interrupting Roze’s thought.
“Oh! Sorry! My name is Roze Gunn. Roze, as you please, Miss Melody.” Roze responded as courteously as he could, still blinking in disbelief.
“Roze... So you are the new transfer student I’ve heard so much about. You certainly have that ‘cool’ aura about you I’ve been told about. Though you do seem a little... off guard” Miss Melody analytically observed.
The look on Roze's face said it all, but he responded nonetheless, remembering her priour comment. “It’s just, you truly are elegant...” Roze said, quite honestly and frankly, yet with indifference. However, upon noticing the blush on her face, obviously from being caught off guard herself from such a straightforward compliment, he coolly responded, “I’m from out of town and forgot that this is Canterlot, after all. I believe your housemate, Vinyl, might have been a cause for that.”
Miss Melody gave a roll of the eyes. “Oh, yes... Vinyl... She can be a little...” she began with a vile groan to her voice, completely unlike the beautiful tone she boasted normally, but Roze cut her off.
“Trust me, I’ve spent my fair share of time with her already. I know what you mean. So she told you about me?”
“Ah, yes. Yes she did. She was pretty excited, actually. I'm just glad you didn't actually turn out to be like... her...” Miss Melody replied with disdain.
Roze was incredibly surprised to hear this. ”Excited? About me? What does she...?” he wondered to himself before he was interrupted.
The two would have continued their conversation, but Mr. R shushed the class and began his introductions to everyone before getting to his lessons. “All right, the school board wants me to begin by going over the dress code. So... Does everyone remember the dress code?” After the students gave their nods, Mr. R quickly and dismissively responded, “Great, we went over it!” and proceeded to his lesson. He was a very young and vibrant man. In fact, you could easily mistake him for a student, except that he was far too tall, about 6'4, and had slightly less than a five o'clock shadow, which Roze named the three o'clock shadow. He had a high amount of energy and made the students laugh quite a number of times. Roze could tell that, unlike the math classes he had before, he'd be able to keep consciousness for more than five minutes of this class. The note for the period was left with him getting into a conversation about memes with one of the students and showing the class 'My Heart Will Go On Bad Recorder' which involved a man tearing his shirt off on a cliff and playing the world's worst rendition of the romantic song.
Mr. R’s class passed fairly seamlessly, and Roze then received Miss Melody’s number, getting more cheers and jeers from his classmates. Both Roze and Miss Melody shrugged off their annoyance, and the two bid each other farewell. Roze’s next classes also passed pretty easily, as well. 2nd period, Roze had English, taught by Ms. Cheerilee; 3rd was Economics, taught by Ms. Buckback; and 4th was Cauldrons/Calligraphy taught by a woman who wished to be called Zecora.
As he walked in to the colourful room that was taught by Ms. Cheerilee, he noticed Spitfire sitting in the back row. As he glanced about the room while he made his way to Wonder Crash, he could tell that Ms. Cheer was a fan of motivational posters. The only problem was... these motivational posters were for third graders. There were posters such as:
You Never Fail Until You Stop Trying
Teaching Is A Work Of Heart
Be Who You Are And Say What You Feel Because Those That Mind Don't Matter And Those Who Matter Don't Mind
Roze could tell he wasn't going to like this class already...
As he slumped in the chair next to Spitfire, who appeared to be listening to music and didn't notice him, he looked for the teacher. When he couldn't find her, he chose to greet his friend, for lack of a better term. "Hey Spitfire..."
"..."
"Hey Spitfire." He said in a louder tone.
"..."
He tapped her shoulder and noticed she wasn't listening to music at all. She was actually reading texts. The small glance he gave- he didn't want to be rude and snoop- revealed a blue icon and a black icon speaking with presumably Spitfire's orange icon. The icons were obviously pictures, but Roze didn't look long enough to discern what the images were. What he did observe was that Spitfire was very stern and quiet, and he gave another look at her phone. He wanted to know what had her so focused. He saw that there were a lot of capitalised texts, and, most interestingly, all there icons were greyed out. On GalOP,1 that meant they weren't online.
Roze tapped her again and tried his greeting again. "Hey Spitfire."
This time she was roused from her stupour and noticed that Roze was next to her. In a flash, her expression turned bright as her phone went dark. "Oh! Hey Roze! I didn't realise we had a class together!"
"Neither did I!" Roze paused for a moment and looked around the room for a moment. "What do you make of all the posters?"
She looked around the room and appeared to only just then become aware of their existence. "Huh... They're pretty stupid, huh?"
Roze nodded in agreement, but when the teacher walked in, his attention was immediately drawn to her. She was currently talking to another seniour student as she was trying to push herself into class. She was somewhat short, about 5'1, and was dressed about as formally as one could be dressed. She was wearing a black skirt that ran down below her knees and a button up blouse. She looked in every way a stereotype of a female school teacher. Her eyes were harlequin and her hair was poofy. Her hair was light greyish rose with stripes of light ceriseish grey.
Roze tapped Spitfire once again to get her attention. "Why does she look like the model for business casual? You know, from those slides they show you about business?"
Spitfire gave a tiny chuckle. "She's really trying to fit in with the school image here, huh?"
"You say 'huh' a lot, don't you?" Roze teased.
Spitfire was baffled. "Have I been doing that a lot? I don't normally do that. I'm a little off, today." She joked.
"Watch it, don't start having a meltdown on me." Roze jovially responded. Spitfire gave a small, dismissive chuckle in response. "So... Is she new?"
"Yeah. Apparently, she came from a town south of here. Ponyville, I think it was." Spitfire answered.
"Really? I used to live there, too. Wait, I think I recognise her..." Roze racked his brain, trying to remember who she was. Of course, in a small town like Ponyville, it wasn't hard to know everyone. He didn't really remember most of his teachers too well, especially seeing as he and his sister changed to one mentour early in their lives. Roze just couldn't fight the nagging feeling that she was familiar, but he just couldn't place it. He eventually just chalked it up to her being an early teacher of the school he left. She certainly did have the air of an elementary school teacher.
The bell hadn't rung yet, but all the students had already taken their seats. Ms. Cheerilee walked up to the front of the class, next to the rolling podium teachers usually have in their classrooms. Ms. Cheerilee was young and energetic, which had Roze confused again. She clearly wasn't just new to teaching in Canterlot, she was new to teaching at all. "Good morning, children!" She greeted the class wholeheartedly and with an almost plastered on smile as she did. "I hope you're ready to hit the ground running this year!" The classroom was filled with groans and taunting laughter. Roze and Spitfire just stayed quiet, though Roze was groaning in his head. "Now I know that in your seniour year, it can be difficult to focus. Many of you are just ready to leave, but don't make any mistakes you'll regret. Don't be like me and mess up right before you finish the race..." As she said this, she looked up and to the side while reminiscing, and Roze thought he saw her smile twitch just slightly enough for him to doubt what he saw. Suddenly, her cheer had been doubled and she swung her fist to the side in a rally as she continued. "So my little foals..." She snickered. Roze perked up in irritated confusion, then realised the poster behind her of a horse that said 'Hay! buck up, pal!' and knew what she was referencing. "It's time we ginger up and start learning!"
Roze slammed his head on his desk as he groaned. "Do we have to deal with her all year?" He asked Spitfire.
"Yep, I think so." Spitfire replied, just as annoyed as he was.
"Ugh! Whatever... I don't care what she wants from me, I'm not sticking a ginger up my ass."
Spitfire squinted in confusion, but before she asked what she obviously wanted to ask, she snidely joked, "I don't know whether to be relieved... or insulted..." Roze spastically towards his troublesome friend to dismiss her statement and slumped once more onto his desk. "Also, why did you feel the need to say that?" Spitfire asked with utter confusion.
That's where gingering up originated from." He responded. He raised his hand before Spitfire could interrupt him because he knew what she was going to say. "People would get horses to hold their tails higher by rubbing an irritant- like ginger- on their assholes."
Spitfire neither asked why the practice, nor why Roze knew such a thing. She'd rather the conversation just end there. The class went on, trivial and boring, as Roze expected. Ms. Cheerilee had apparently taught primary school students for about a decade priour to coming to Canterlot High, which startled Roze because she appeared no older than her mid twenties. Either way, class sucked, and her age made no difference. All Roze did was wait in silence for the bell to ring and leave the damnable babysitter for the day.
His Economics class was even more boring than Roze had feared. There was nothing he learned about his teacher, save that she was in her mid twenties, and she had almost no life in her speech. She was one of the teachers that when they spoke, you were instantly fatigued and weary and tired and Roze fell asleep. He slept daintily through his class, but it didn't really matter. He already knew economics and was familiar with the governments systems. This class was merely mandatory, and Roze had to take it. He didn't, however, have to pay attention. He didn't care and his teacher obviously didn't care in the slightest. He was awoken by the bell and eagerly left the class, assignment in tow. She had assigned a work sheet the first day of school. Roze didn't care that he had already finished it, she assigned homework on the first day of school.
His next class was Cauldrons/Calligraphy. He walked into his classroom and was surprised to see the various masks that adorned the walls. They were definitely tribal, he deduced, and noticed the texts below them were in Swahili. Roze continued to spend his time looking at the various antiques in the room when a hand grabbed his shoulder. "Ah! I was- Sorry!" He spun around, freeing himself from the hand.
Roze noticed that the hand belonged to a tall, beautiful black woman. Roze assumed she was the teacher, though the connection between her and the masks wasn't the first thing that clicked in his brain. She looked to be in her thirties, but still and rows of silver in her black hair. He noticed she looked like a zebra, which he once again didn't connect with the masks. She was generously gifted, in both height and in form. She wore a close-fitting grey dress that covered almost her entire body. Her dress was sleeveless, had black borders, and ended above her ankles. It was cut up to her thighs so the wearer could still walk while wearing it. It also had several swirl designs of black on it. She also wore gold as various accessories on her body: gold loop earrings, five gold neck rings, and five similar rings on her right forearm. She wore her hair in a mohawk, which only added to its mane-like appearance. Her eyes were a strong cyan and her lipstick was black, but the most notable feature was her smile. Her smile was minimal, and yet it was one of the most comforting smiles he had ever seen. In that moment, when he saw that smile, he believed with every fiber of his being that she was a mother. He was wrong, but he couldn't believe that he was wrong.
"Worry not, you are not the first to be intrigued by my antiquities, nor will you be the last person to wet their curiousities." She assured.
"Ok. Umm, Ms..."
"Call me Zecora, little one. If you desire another name, I have none."
Roze was now more shocked at her rhyming more than anything else. Everything about this woman was an absolute oddity. Though, he didn't ask because he thought it would be rude. "All right, Zecora, are these masks from your old home?" He inquired.
"Yes they are. Mementos, you could say. To remind me of a place far away." Zecora was wistful in her answer, but Roze didn't want to pry too much as the bell had rung just then. "Well, Roze, why don't you sit down and we begin class. Introductions would be nice, but not right now. Alas..."
Roze did as he was told, and Zecora did as she had promised. The class was outlined and dealt with potion brewing of all kinds as well as tome writing and the history of signs. Signs being the symbols used in runes, of course. Roze was quite excited by this class because he had never studied brewing or tomes or runes at all in his past, so this class was entirely new. Today, however, was just small introductions and discussions., so nothing important really happened. The rhyming definitely made Roze uncomfortable, and he couldn't foresee himself having extended conversations with Zecora. This was when he learned she wasn't actually a mother, and that she had come from a small tribe from a country across the ocean. Where it was, she didn't quite know herself, as she was moved when she was a child with her grandmother at the time. Not much else was learned, but Roze was certainly eager for the year to come.
After Roze was finished with his morning classes, he went to lunch for 5th period. The school was known for not having crappy food, which was a fear Roze had before hearing many students wondering what was for lunch and anticipating a savoury selection of food. Many of the options sounded great to him, such as mac and cheese, Salisbury steak, and, of course, pizza. Seeing as it was the first day of school, the lunchroom staff saw fit to serve pizza, much to Roze’s excitement. He wasn’t a man of intricate tastes.
After Roze had filled his tray with pizza, broccoli, chocolate milk, and a chocolate muffin, he paid for his meal and left to find a seat. Many of the tables seated by what seemed to be the popular kids actually welcomed him, but as he was about to sit down with the various school-time ‘celebrities,’ he saw that at a table by the window sat Derpy, all alone. She didn’t appear to be upset, but Roze was. Frowning at the sad solitude that was his friend’s company, he resolved to go over and sit with her.
Derpy was shocked and smiled at the fortune of having the same lunch as her friend, Roze. Roze, in turn, held out his muffin in offer for Derpy. She was about to decline when she saw Roze’s grin, one of the friendliest sort, and gratefully took the muffin and joyously bit into it.
“Thank you!” the adorable Derpy muffled through her now already half eaten muffin.
“Hey, it’s no problem.” Roze said in a nonchalant manner as he leaned back against the wall. “I saw you were alone and I-”
Before Roze could continue his thought, Derpy looked down and answered, “Yeah... Everybody usually stays away from me ’cause I’m kinda clumsy and my eyes look strange...” Derpy looked at Roze with a hurt expression that somewhat faded when she gazed upon her friend. Roze noticed, again, the two offset eyes staring at him, though this time the other eye was the one looking up. The thought of kids picking on her just because of her eyes or misfortune infuriated Roze. He then turned to the group he was about to sit with, all of whom now scoffed at him, with distaste. Especially a pink and silver haired girl with the tiniest, most infuriating tiara on her head. It was then that, with his friend so sullen right next to him, Roze decided to hug Derpy with one arm, eliciting an adorable, little, shocked gasp.
“Well, they don’t matter, your friends do.” Roze said, adding a boop to her nose to distract himself from the clearly stolen stock phrase. Derpy gave the warmest smile he had seen her wear, even from all his previous encounters. “Wait, I’ve only met her a few times, and yet I already feel like she’s one of my closest friends... If only the others were here. Miss Melody, Vinyl, Spitfire...” At that moment, as if summoned by the thought, Vinyl suddenly added into the hug on the other side of Derpy while the other two friends sat down.
“I couldn’t have put it better myself!” Vinyl happily added, “He’s right! We’re all friends, and we’ll always be here for each other! You got that?”
“This got oddly inspirational, suddenly.” remarked Spitfire.
“Well, I think it’s sweet.” Miss Melody chimed in.
“I didn’t say I didn’t like it. I’m just glad I wasn’t wrong about you, Roze.” Spitfire responded with a smile. Then, Spitfire and Miss Melody joined the hug, as well. After the five released each other, they all enjoyed their time together eating lunch.
“So Roze,” began Vinyl, still curious about the newcomer, “what class do you have next?”
“I have Advanced Alchemy.” Roze replied.
“‘Advanced Alchemy? That’s an honour class, isn’t it?” Vinyl asked, completely shocked.
“Yeah, I have a bit of experience in it already, though. Then I have Introductory Magistics.” he answered, and Spitfire spat out her coffee, which wasn't nearly the shade of black coffee would be. Roze sat, feeling cornered by the other four, as they just continued to look at him, trying to call his bluff.
“So, let me get this straight...” Miss Melody began, surprised herself, “You are in two advanced researches, and one of them is college level!?”
“Yeah, I am a scientist, after all.” Roze responded with indifference. “I’m actually in three, technically: Cauldrons/Calligraphy.” It took a few moments for the four girls to even come up with a response.
“So... Like... actually a scientist, who does all that reading, and gets paid!?” Vinyl asked in utter disbelief. “Why are you in school?”
“Mainly for legal reasons, not having a high school diploma and what not. I wasn’t getting paid in full before because of that.” Roze replied.
After this news settled among his friends, it wasn’t long until Vinyl began joking once again. “I didn’t expect such a ‘cool guy’ to be such a nerd... Sounds pretty la~~ame...” she said, giving visual air quotes.
Roze looked around while he thought of a retort and noticed some of the chairs that sat in the sun. “Oh really?” Roze scoffed. “Look at this.” Roze got up and stood by a window and found a metal part of one of the chairs that was shining towards him. He then turned his head so one of his shadow’s eyes began to glow.
“Whoa... That actually looks kinda awesome...” Vinyl gasped. “How does it work?”
“I believe it works on reflection. See that metal crossbar in that chair” Roze explained, “I’m bouncing the light off of my glasses from the light it’s bouncing off from the sun.”
“That is one neat trick. Is that really how it works?” Spitfire wondered.
“I don’t know, I couldn’t look it up.” Roze said blankly. After everyone got their chuckles out and Vinyl gave up trying to look it up on her own phone, they began their pleasant badinage once again.
“So, what do you study?” Spitfire asked, refusing to let the topic be changed.
“I study a variety of topics, but I’ve made great advances in alchemical medicine. I’ve also done some projects out of country.” Roze simply responded.
“I thought I would’ve heard of someone like you before...” Spitfire added, furrowing her brow.
“You...You’re kind of out of the loop on people, aren’t you?” Roze mockingly joked. Spitfire grumbled, but couldn’t stifle a giggle.
The four girls tried to push Roze more on his profession, but some of their questions unsettled him, so Miss Melody told everyone that he doesn’t have to answer. All they got from him was that he was proficient with alchemy and had taken the class to see if there was anything to learn or refresh on. They also learned that his sister was also a scientist, like him, and the siblings were taught since childhood.
After a while, after their return to joking and conversing, the bell rang for 6th period, which was Roze’s aforementioned Alchemy class. The class was actually taught by Zecora as well, a fact that surprised Roze. As he walked into the class, he greeted his teacher with admiration.
“You teach two different classes, Zecora?” Roze asked.
“Why yes my child, I do, in fact, teach two, but how shocked do you think I am to find that you are in my other, too!” Zecora responded. The rhyming thing had not qui~~ite settled with Roze just yet.
“Yeah, it really is neat, and now I think I’ll... take my seat...” Roze said with a nervous smile.
Zecora stood in front of the class and began drawing a transmutation circle on the board. She then labeled the Base, the large single or double outer circles; the Cores, the single or multiple rigid shapes that took up most of the inside of the Base; and the Artifacts, the other small shapes or writing within the Base; of the example circle. She then wrote beside the notes ‘Some circles also have Axes, lines going from one point of a Core to another, but professionals generally don’t include these because Axes only make the transmutation easier, but are just a bother.’
“Now, I would hope you are familiar with this shape, seeing as you are in my advanced class. However, for this first day, I thought it would be nice to take a second look through the looking glass. Before we begin, you must know that alchemy has its limits and flaws, so who can tell me its most fundamental of laws?”
Roze stood up immediately, “The Law of Equivalent Exchange. In order to receive something, something of equivalent value must be lost.”
“Yes, Roze, you are correct. Thank you.” Zecora commended. “Now, with this law, what is the most inherent taboo?”
“Necro-Human Transmutation” Roze responded.
“Yes, thank you, now you may take your seat once again.” Zecora said. “Now that the basics are rerun, let us begin.”
The class seemed to be easy enough, from what the class outline Zecora described, but that wasn’t surprising in the least to Roze. It was the next class, Introductory Magistics taught by Professor Flintheart, that challenged Roze. Pr. Flintheart was a tall, slender, pale man with long, messy, black hair and spoke with a low, monotone, and condescending voice.
As the students sat down, the Pr. began his introduction. “Greetings, students.” he began with near scorn in his voice. “I understand that many of you might be dazzled with the idea of slinging spells around town... or at your friends...” He snapped looks at several groups who had turned and laughed with each other, striking fear into them as they all fell silent. Roze had taken this time to look at the paper that was in front of him. He noticed that it detailed what he thought would be today’s assignment. Suddenly, Pr. Flintheart slapped the table in front of Roze with his crop, causing Roze to fly back with a quiet squeak and tuck his arms in. “...but I assure you, this is a class for study, hard work, and most of all, Mister Gunn," Pr. Flintheart continued, slowing to a scornful lash at Roze's name, "patience.” This caused several students to let out chuckles before the Pr. silenced them. “I commend your eagerness to learn, however, some of the spells you will learn in this class will require supervision at every step of their casting. You all should understand that this isn’t putting numbers together like math or reading a couple of books and spitting back facts at me like history. You all signed the waivers in order to get into this class, so you all know the risks. If you don't... then I certainly am relieved I'm not the one who will be writing the letters. Well, Mister Gunn, since you are so eager to begin, why don’t you try to demonstrate today's spell first. Up front.” Pr. Flintheart ordered as he gestured to the podium at the front of the class.
Roze nervously picked up his paper and ambled to the front of the class. Roze had a little practice with arcane magick, but the focus it took to cast anything held its taxation on him. To begin, he observed the steps to the spell, it was a levitation spell, and glanced to the block that lie on the podium in front of him. Conjuring an ethereal arcane circle in front of his hand, he put all of his focus into making the cube float. Upon observing Roze's actions, Pr. Flintheart’s disposition changed slightly, though how so was completely indiscernible. After a short moment, Roze found his sweet spot, and the block began to float, now enveloped in a red aura. Roze gently and slowly raised it a few feet, then slowly placed it back on the podium. Pr. Flintheart sent Roze back to sit down and addressed the class.
“Excellent, Mister Gunn,” he said in his same monotone voice, “but can anyone tell me why his demonstration was excellent?” After a couple moments, when no one had answered, he explained, “It was because Mister Gunn did not overestimate his talents and created a focus before himself instead of attempting to use his futile will, alone. I expect you all to be able to do as much by the end of class. And by the end of this year, feats like this should be a simple task for each and every one of you.” he said as he levitated a torrent of blocks, one for each student, from a drawer behind him, all at once. “Before we begin, however, Mister Gunn,” Pr. Flintheart said, causing another stir within Roze, “since you are intelligent enough to make a focus, can you explain the difference between an arcane circle, the ones foci are made of, and alchemic circles?
Roze stood once again and explained nervously, “Alchemic transmutation circles are made of a circle with distinct, rigid shaped cores within, like pentagons and squares, along with the smaller artifacts. but arcane circles are made lacking the structured core within. This distinction allows the arcane circle to channel energy from the Ether directly as opposed to an alchemic one, which uses energy from the Ether that soaks into our world. However, this distinction is also why magick is harder to cast. No Core makes the circle less stable so it has a less defined barrier between this world and the Ether, and with this comes the drawback that a greater amount of focus and control must be maintained in order to control the spell, and, unlike alchemy, you can’t make axes to make it more stable.”
“Exactly correct, Mister Gunn.” Prof. Flintheart commended. “I can tell you are going to be a high scoring student in this class. Don’t disappoint me.” he said with an even more malevolent monotone than usual, which made Roze shudder.
The rest of the period went by in a somewhat grueling and tiring repetition of making the block go up and down, over and over. By the time class was over, Roze was mentally drained and glad he had chosen early release and didn’t have a following class. When he got out of class, he soon ran into Derpy, but before she could ask to join him, he told her he just wanted to head home and ‘work on his focus’ (nap) after his stressful exertion.
As Roze stepped out of the front gate, he noticed the girls’ Physical Education class doing laps on the track field which he remembered with fondness... or exhaustion, he didn’t exactly care right now. He almost skipped them entirely to go home when he saw two familiar faces. It was Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle! Roze, entirely surprised, decided he would go over and catch up with his old friends because they didn’t really seem to be doing anything today. As he got closer, he saw that the two were with a third individual as well.
Apple Bloom was a short, tanned girl with sweet, red hair and a welcoming southern accent. Sweetie Belle was short, as well, and had pale skin and cotton candy purple and pink hair; with a similar floof to the sugary snack; and a gentle, high-pitched voice. The one they were with appeared to be a lightly dark skinned girl and had dark purple hair, so harsh it made Sweetie Belle’s purple look light and faded. For a moment, Roze mistook this third one for a boy, but then he remembered this must be the girls’ class.
“Hey, Roze!” Apple Bloom shouted to Roze. “Why don’tcha come over here!?” she asked. Although, Roze didn’t need to be told, however, he was already on his way.
“Hey Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and-u~~uh...” Roze greeted, but was lost at the third.
“This is Scootaloo, she’s a new friend we made.” Apple Bloom explained.
“Yep! So, this a friend of yours?” Scootaloo asked the other two. Her voice was almost as harsh as her hair’s shade, intensifying that tomboyish feel she exuded just by standing there.
“Yeah, this is Mister Gunn. He’s a close friend of my sister.” Sweetie Belle explained.
“And he’s a family friend to me.” Apple Bloom added. “It’s been so long since I last saw you!”
Roze would have added to the cheerful banter, but he was being bugged by a question that he just needed answered. “OK, Sweetie Belle, I understand how you got here, knowing your sister and all, but Apple Bloom, how did you get here?” Roze asked completely baffled.
“Mister Biceps paid for it.” Apple Bloom answered. “I was upset that Sweetie Belle was going to school out of town, and Mister Biceps decided he would pay for me to go here.”
“Really!? I’ll have to thank the big palooka. So this is your new friend, huh?” Roze continued.
" Yeah, and together we’re...” Apple Bloom said before the other two joined in, “THE CUTE MARCHING CRUSADERS!” they shouted, exacerbating Roze’s painful headache.
“OK, OK, you don’t have to shout... You little Cutie Mark freaks can have your fun, I’m gonna go home and lie down... See ya later.” Roze grumbled, rubbing his forehead.
As he left, Scootaloo turned to Apple Bloom and asked, “What’s a cutie mark?
Moments after Roze left Derpy’s company and she was packing up her stuff from her locker, V met up with Derpy and they began to leave school together. Soon after they left school, Derpy’s phone began to buzz as she got a text.
“Oh, who is it, Derp?” V asked.
“It’s from Lyra...” Derpy answered in confusion.
“Alright! So she’s got a party or somethin’ going on?” V asked, getting really hyped. However, Derpy just turned to V with a grave expression and V’s face shrank into fear. “O~~~oh FUCK!”
Vinyl had forgotten about Lyra.
Roze had finally gotten off the bus and now stood, once again, across the street from his residence. However, this time the sun was high in the sky. As Roze made his way to his apartment, he noticed what appeared to be Spitfire’s car, determined by the flame paint with 'SPITFIRE’ on the side, parking across the street. Even though Roze would have liked to get to know his new friends better, he currently had plans of getting his room in order and just lying down, so he decided he would just turn them away at the door and would see them tomorrow.
As Roze opened his door, he noticed the unknown trio inside, and all time seemed to stop in that moment. As Roze’s face dropped, every moment was perceivable. Vinyl and her company of Spitfire, Derpy, and Miss Melody hadn’t made it to the front of the complex when they heard the noise. As Roze stood in the doorway, he saw the silver haired woman and two guys; one tall and lanky, the other short and fat; in his room who quickly began panicking. The short one was fumbling to turn off a cheap, malfunctioning boombox that they had brought, which was now playing music at max volume, and the tall one was... Roze didn't quite know in the slightest. He was screaming though... As the noise blared, Roze heard stomping footsteps behind him, the sound he dreaded entirely. The horrour was intense; the landlord climbing the steps, the silver haired woman running to the music player, the people who were smashing it and panicking, one landing on top of it with a pillow and the other cursing the broken machine; it all slowed almost to a still before it was finally broken by the landlord.
“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?” boomed the landlord.
“I don’t know! How did they get in here?” Roze quickly responded, almost as furious as the landlord, but mainly terrified of what was to come next.
“We...We sneaked in...” the silver haired one answered. Roze assumed that this must be Lyra. The other two who were inside had finally managed to get the music to end. “We were just here to invite him to come to the club with us.” Roze merely shot her an evil look, which made Lyra wince. Any chance of friendship between the two was almost a myth at that point.
Roze’s friends just watched from outside as the landlord yelled at Roze. Everyone from the welcoming party had left, and Lyra, alone, tried to explain to the landlord about the mistake, begging him not to kick Roze out, to no avail. Lyra just apologised to Roze for having her phone off, having now read a text from Derpy, before shuffling away. Afterwards, Roze just skulked outside with his possessions and sat on the stairs in front of the building. When his friends came console him, he had the urge to shout them away, but instead remained quiet.
“I can not tell you how sorry I am.” Vinyl said, seeing the torment in Roze’s face.
Roze sighed and responded, “It wasn’t your fault, but what am I going to do now? If I can’t attend Canterlot, get my diploma... I’ll lose my job...”
“You can’t afford anywhere else?” Derpy asked.
“It’s Canterlot,” Roze responded bitterly, “this place was prepaid. I'm not exactly... shall we say... well off..."
“OK, so~~o... pay isn’t exactly in your favour...” Miss Melody said.
“I’m sorry, this isn't your problem.” Roze apologised despondently.
Miss Melody sighed and sat down. “but, listen, we're your friends. A problem for you is a problem for all of us.” she said. “I want to know if there’s any way we can help.”
Everyone else also sat down next to Roze when Miss Melody suddenly offered, “Why don’t you stay at my estate?”
“Really? Wouldn’t it be weird for a guy to be staying with a bunch of girls?” Roze responded.
“Hey, I stay there.” Vinyl joked.
“Yeah, point taken.” Roze remarked, with a half chuckle. “Is that truly alright with you, Miss Melody.”
“I don’t see you staying anywhere else. I would love to welcome you. There’s plenty of room.” Miss Melody replied.
Roze looked at his friends and smiled, “Thank you... Thank you.”
“Again, it’s the least we could do to cover for Vinyl.” Spitfire said, immediately getting an elbow to the gut from Vinyl.
Roze laughed and said, “No, seriously, you have no idea what this means to me. If I couldn’t-” he continued, but the other four interrupted by hugging him.
Derpy said goodbye and everyone else went over to Miss Melody’s estate. The Melody Manour was a fancy and lavish mansion fitting the Melody name, with plenty of space within. It was on the edge of Canterlot and spanned several hundred acres, all owned by her family. At least, Roze assumed, but the rest of the Melody family wasn’t anywhere around, although, this topic wasn’t lingered on. Roze was escorted by Miss Melody down the big, purple-carpeted hallways to one of many other bedrooms. Roze assumed these rooms were used for the in-house help, who now lived in a different building nearby.
Roze stepped into his room and organised his things, setting his schoolbag in a corner, organised his books, getting his bed laid out, and placing the various mementos, journals, and medals on the bedside table. He lastly set his family photo on the bedside table and then laid back on his bed. His mind swam with the sudden switch from a small, dingy apartment to a large, fancy mansion. He also thought of the new friends he had made and the old friends he left behind. He also wondered where his sister was at this moment, or how the rest of his family at home was faring. Roze tried to push these thoughts away as he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
Realising after several hours that he wouldn’t be able to get to sleep, Roze decided he would get a sense of this new environment. It was certainly far more than a house, all the wood was carved perfectly, the stones cut to an elegant point, and all too spacious to not still feel alone in this inhabited mansion. As if stuck in the inky black of the woods he remembered from home, Roze clung to his family picture as a child does a memento when in such darkness, stumbling his way down the darkened paths. Eventually, Roze found himself in front of a very ornate, finely crafted, stained glass door. The door was, in a simple word, astounding; the design on the glass, beautiful; the picayune details of the wood, unforgotten; the blend of classical and modern design, impeccable. Roze entered the room and found what he thought must be the ballroom, which seemed to have been turned into a theatre for melodic symphonies. It was certainly more a room for the instruments to play than for the people to dance within. The harsh purples and the free blues that marked the design in this room, on the draperies, and on the stone and glass, were locked in a constant battle for superiourity that culminated into a harmony more beautiful than the spirits that sang of true love itself. The purples shone and sparkled with a cool, crystalline divinity, and the blues sparked and dashed across the surfaces with a desperate and shocking beauty. Upon the marble stage he saw an electric station and a set of drums, left over by one Roze was pretty sure he knew.
It was within the back room behind the stage that Roze had found many instruments, a collection to rival the great collectours of art. All manners of brass and strings and winds carefully filled the store room behind the elegant stage of marble within the priour room. There was even several electronic instruments and stations, presumably added to the collection by none other than Vinyl. Roze was drawn to pick a selection from the world of melody before him, a simple guitar. The guitar seemed simplistic yet ornate in its craftsmanship, and yet, the dust on the instrument held a melancholic air of abandonment. He removed his family photo from its frame and from behind the photo removed an old music sheet of his own, choosing to play this song as opposed to the anthologies that were held on shelves within the cramped closet. He gingerly placed three spare copies of the song on a chair in the corner of the ballroom and sat at the centre of the marble stage, placing a chair beneath him, placing a stand in front of him, and placing the guitar on his lap.
Roze hesitated before strumming the guitar, wondering if he should, but he felt drawn to fill the dark room of drained, shadowed colours with melodies sung from his grieving heart. He wished to spark life and remembrance into the glossed and cold tiles that illustrate the room. As he tuned his guitar and started his part, he heard a sound behind him add to the music. Stopping, Roze turned and saw Miss Melody take her stance to play her violin. He also saw Vinyl sit at the electric station and Spitfire sitting at the drums, responding gently with a smile, urging him to continue.
With this Roze turned and looked at his family photo on the stand before him, and gave a long look to his sister before starting. When he started his guitar, the others followed, in turn, as the song had guided. In the hollow beauty of the music that now echoed brilliantly in the perfectly designed room, Roze forgot about the music, his neglection to ask permission to play, and why his friends were there in the first place. There was but one regret in his chest that weighed on him in this moment, and so the words came out. The words he sang weren’t on the sheets he possessed, and were filled with the melancholic regret of a pure blackguard, and were a complete shock to his fellow musicians.
”I’m sitting here on the edge of the world, so lonely**
Wishing you could be here by my side
I’m thinking about the things I’ve got to face now, but they’re only
Things that will pass with time
(Vinyl’s face darkened in her contemplation, her usually cheerful grin turning to a dour frown. She then turned to the other two and Octavia merely nodded them to play on.)
Took my chances to find the light
Searching for something, to find what’s right
Left to wander, left to roam
Without a friend, without a home
I’m wondering where my life has gone I’m still wondering
What life would be like if I came home
Maybe I never should have run away from everything
Maybe I don’t have to be so alone
(Miss Melody’s eyes slowly lowered as she gave a deep sigh. She then returned her gaze forward and gave a dark, but empathetic grin.)
Took my chances to find the light
Searching for something, to find what’s right
Left to wander, left to roam
Without a friend, without a home
The miles go by and times change
I left, I did it my way
Under the cold and dark sky
I’ll wander the streets tonight
(Spitfire’s own dark expression worked itself into a proud grin, urging Roze to continue, although he couldn’t see her.)
Waiting for something more
I haven’t found what I’m looking for
I’ve grown tired of this endless ride
Emptiness is eating me away inside
So here’s me saying I was wrong
I guess I knew it all along
I’m sitting here all alone
Looks like I’m coming home...”
As Roze and his friends played the final, somber notes of the song and the moon now glowed passionately in the sky, his face lowered and his eyes closed as he stood illuminated in the moon's light. As Roze was lost in remembrance, he felt a gentle hand grab his shoulder. When Roze turned around, he saw Spitfire’s warm grin comforting him. Roze returned the smile and saw Vinyl and Miss Melody walk closer to him, a particularly remiss look on Vinyl’s face.
“So... You’re going home...?” Vinyl asked, somberly, her face melting again.
“No... not for now, at least,” Roze said, tears coming to his eyes. “but, I do need to go back to them... my family... eventually...”
“Well, this can be your home until then.” Miss Melody said. She then looked over Roze’s shoulder to the photo he had confessed to. “That photo means a lot to you. Did you and your family have a falling out?”
“No... Not really... Even so... It’s been almost three years since I last saw my sister.” Roze replied, his mood souring again. “We used to do research together, but..." he gave a deep sigh, "It’s... a complicated story.”
“It’s one that can wait for another time,” Spitfire said, “but have you gone back to the rest of your family since then?” Spitfire asked. Roze, however, just turned back to the photo, picking it up. Spitfire thought for a moment, then consoled Roze, “Well, I know that as much as you missed them, they missed you-” Roze went to interject, but Spitfire held up a finger and stopped him, “but... you needed time, and they’ll understand. I may not know what you and your family went through, but I do know it’s never too late to go home.”
“For now, it’s getting late, and tomorrow is still a school day.” Miss Melody stated, softly. “I think that that time can wait just a little longer, if you need.” she said, this time returning to her comforting tone and giving him a smile.
Tears came to Roze’s eyes once more, and this time he was the one to gather the other three into a hug. After they all released themselves from one another’s grasp, they all made their way back to their rooms. The moon, still bright, lit the hallways and guided Roze back to his room. Once inside, he laid down on his bed and began to think about all the problems that worried him just moments before, when suddenly he got a text from Derpy. When he opened the text, he saw two pictures of the two times when the four had hugged him priour, but most importantly, he noticed the smile that was on his face in the image from that afternoon, as somber as it was. Saving the images, a new, less somber smile came to his face as he turned and slept, readily awaiting what new adventure would await him tomorrow...
