Winter had come and gone in the town of Canterlot, and it was an unusually warm February. Although Canterlot High School always had a vacation week in the middle of the month, Crystal Prep Academy did not. Therefore, while all the CHS students were enjoying the nice weather at home or elsewhere, the CPA students were stuck indoors.
On Wednesday afternoon of that week, a boy with long blue and black hair walked slowly out the front door of Crystal Prep. A girl with long bright green hair walked with him and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Come on, Sky, this isn’t as bad as it seems.” the girl said, trying to comfort her friend.
The boy sighed heavily. “Of course it’s as bad as it seems, Lemon! Sure, I got my hat back, but my parents are going to kill me for this! Not to mention where the hell will I go to school now?!”
The boy spotted his mother’s car parked at the end of the parking lot. “Well, goodbye, Lemon.” he said. “I’d better just go and face whatever punishment I get.”
The girl nodded. “See you, Sky.” She turned and walked away.
The boy opened the door of the car and sat in the front passenger seat next to his mother, who’d just gotten off the phone.
“Hey, Mom.” the boy said. “I’m guessing you just got off the phone with Principal Cinch.”
“Yes.” his mother replied. “I’m so disappointed in you.”
“Look, I can explain.” said the boy.
EARLIER THAT MORNING…
Sky Scraper walked into Crystal Prep Academy wearing a bright blue cap with silver lettering. Lemon Zest saw him come in, ran up and hugged him. “What’s up, Sky?” she exclaimed. “Finally get up on time today?”
Sky normally didn’t like being suddenly touched by other people, but he was perfectly fine with a hug from his best and pretty much only friend. He laughed. “Yep! Got up right on time, and remembered my hat!”
The hat in question was the Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso driver cap, that Sky had bought from an F1 store in Manetreal the previous summer. “You know, I’m pretty sure Principal Cinch doesn’t allow hats.” Lemon chuckled, giving him a punch in the arm. “You’re not becoming all anti-establishment on me, are you?”
Sky burst out laughing. “You’re one to talk!” he shot back. “You’re a rocker! You literally can’t get any more anti-establishment than that!”
“Fine, fine, you got me there.” said Lemon. “But seriously, you’d better be careful. You could actually get a detention – or worse.”
Sky gave Lemon a playful shove. “Shut up! You sound like my mom!”
“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Lemon winked at Sky as she entered her first class of the day.
As Sky continued on his way, he was stopped by an all too familiar voice saying, “No hats allowed in school.” He turned around to see Principal Cinch looking just as stern and annoyed as she looked every day.
“Fine.” Sky said. He opened his locker and put his hat on the top shelf. After making sure the textbooks in his locker were stacked perfectly straight, he headed off to his first class. Although Sky usually had great attention to detail, re-locking his locker somehow slipped his mind today.
THAT AFTERNOON…
As everyone filed out of the school at the end of the day, Sky and Lemon walked down the hall together. Sky had had a trying day, and was even grumpier than usual. Today, he’d gotten a ton of homework assignments, and it was just one of those days where everyone seemed to be against him. Then again, that described pretty much every day for him at Crystal Prep. There was a reason Lemon was his only friend. She was the only one who was nice to Sky, so eventually Sky had just stopped trying to be nice to anyone but her.
“I swear, I’m gonna knock out the next motherfucker who pisses me off!” Sky grumbled.
“Oh, cheer up!” said Lemon. “You look more miserable than Cinch.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not my fault everyone seemed to think it was ‘Annoying Sky Scraper Day’ today.” Sky replied.
Sky was almost never in the mood to talk to anyone but Lemon, and he certainly wasn’t in the mood now. But near his locker, he was stopped by Citrus Drops and Mulberry Seed – the two guys he hated more than anyone else.
“Oh, look here, it’s Mr. OCD.” said Citrus. “Clean anything new today?”
Sky rolled his eyes. This was the kind of crap he had to deal with almost every day. “Fuck you, Citrus, I don’t do that.” he replied.
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.” Mulberry laughed. “You’re the guy who freaks out if he doesn’t wash his hands a hundred times a day.”
“Dude, that’s not even possible!” Lemon interjected. “So get your facts straight and leave Sky alone!”
“Fine, have it your way.” said Citrus. “But seriously, your boyfriend needs help.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” Lemon growled.
Mulberry smirked. “You know, this guy’s supposed to be obsessed with keeping everything straight. So why did he leave his locker open all day?”
“Wait, what?” Sky ran to his locker and found that he had indeed left it unlocked. And even worse, when he opened the door, his Pierre Gasly hat was missing.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Sky cried out. He turned to Citrus and Mulberry. “You two shitheads stole it, didn’t you?”
“Nope!” Citrus replied. He and Mulberry showed Sky their empty hands. Then Sky looked down the hall and in the distance, he saw his hat on the head of Amaranth Gray.
“Of course!” Sky muttered. He bolted after Amaranth, making sure to flip Citrus and Mulberry the finger as he left. After re-locking Sky’s locker, Lemon followed.
Amaranth Gray was a friend of Citrus and Mulberry, and another guy that Sky hated immensely. Stealing Sky’s hat was just typical of him. Sky was quite a fast runner, so he pushed past several other students and caught up to Amaranth easily. He blocked Amaranth’s path and simply said, “Give me back my hat.”
Amaranth sneered. “Make me.”
Sky was already nearing his breaking point, and Amaranth’s snide reply was all it took to push him completely over the edge. Just as Lemon arrived on the scene, Sky threw a fast punch and busted Amaranth right in the nose.
“Sky, what the hell are you doing?!” Lemon exclaimed.
Amaranth staggered back, his hand covering his now bloody nose. But he didn’t give Sky the hat. Sky then hit Amaranth again, harder this time, with an uppercut to the jaw. Amaranth fell back, hit his head on the lockers and slumped to the ground, unconscious. Everyone was shocked at what had just happened.
Sky bent down and snatched his hat off of Amaranth’s head. “Thank you very much.” he said dryly.
“Oh, crap!” said Lemon sadly. “You’re gonna get in so much trouble!”
And Sky most certainly did. Principal Cinch and Dean Cadance had heard the commotion and rushed down the hall. “Cadance, call for an ambulance.” Principal Cinch ordered. “Sky Scraper, in my office, now.”
Sky followed Principal Cinch back to her office, where she told him to take a seat across from her desk. “Sky Scraper, do you know what Crystal Prep is known for?” she asked sternly.
“Yes, yes, its reputation, I know.” said a still very angry Sky. “I’ve been going here for two and a half years.”
“Don’t get smart with me, young man.” said Cinch. “It will not help your case. The question is, what happened out there between you and Amaranth Gray?”
“That guy stole my hat.” Sky replied.
“And so you attacked him?” Cinch asked, raising an eyebrow. “It is actions such as the ones you took today that make this school look bad.”
“How?” Sky demanded, trying desperately to think of something to say in his defense. “He stole my hat! He broke into my locker! And I’ve never once been in trouble here! If anyone’s making this school look bad, it’s him!”
“Don’t raise your voice at me!” Cinch snapped. “None of that matters right now. What matters is that what you did was incredibly reckless, juvenile and dangerous. Amaranth has had to go to the hospital for a likely concussion and broken jaw. As a result, I have no choice but to expel you from Crystal Prep Academy. I cannot risk having someone like you ruining the school’s reputation.”
Sky was a loss for words. He finally said, “Fine. I’m happy to be out of this place.” He stood up and left Principal Cinch’s office. As he left, he saw Cinch pick up the phone and dial his mother’s number.
As Sky had predicted, both his parents were very unhappy with him. “Look, dude, even if that kid was a jerk and did steal your hat, that’s still no reason to hit him.” Sky’s father, Air Raider, said over dinner.
“Now we have to worry about his parents suing us.” said Sky’s mother, Evening Shade. “Not to mention what school are we going to send you to, Sky? No private school’s going to take you after this.”
Sky swallowed a mouthful of his mother’s homemade pasta. “I don’t want to go to another private school.” he replied firmly.
“Then where would you go to school?” Evening asked. “Canterlot High is a few blocks away, but it might be too dangerous – I don’t like the idea of you getting caught up in any of the magical stuff that goes on there.”
Of course Sky knew about what had happened at Canterlot High earlier that year, with first a she-demon nearly destroying the school, and then three strange girls trying to brainwash the students. If you lived in Canterlot, it was impossible not to have at least heard about those things. But at this point he didn’t really care. “Yes, I would like to go to Canterlot High.” he said. “The truth is, I’ve been miserable at Crystal Prep these past couple of years. The reason I’ve only got one friend is because Lemon’s the only one there who’s nice to me. Everyone else there is just so distant and well, mean. They make fun of me all the time. It really got to me and I guess today I just snapped. I really don’t want to go through that again.”
Both Evening and Air were very surprised to hear this confession from their son. Sky hardly ever told them anything about his life at school, so they never knew how lonely and miserable he actually was. His report card always had pretty much straight A’s, and he’d never gotten in trouble until now. So they’d assumed that he was doing great and enjoying himself, when in fact that was not the case.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” said Evening sympathetically. “If you’d told us sooner, we’d have transferred you earlier.” Air nodded in agreement.
“It’s just that you guys spent so much money getting this house and getting me into CPA. I thought you’d be disappointed in me if I suddenly wanted out.”
“Oh, no, of course we wouldn’t be.” said Air. “You had a good reason for wanting to leave. We’ll see about registering you for Canterlot High later this week. But just so you know, you’re still going to be punished for what happened today.”
In the end, Amaranth’s parents did not take any legal action. Maybe Sky writing a long letter of apology was enough to satisfy them. Sky’s parents grounded him and took away all his electronic devices for the next month. Sky thought the punishment was fair, because he knew that what he had done was extremely stupid.
That Sunday, Sky went with his parents to meet Celestia, the principal of Canterlot High. Sky’s application was accepted, but due to his previous disciplinary record, he was warned that his first offense at his new school would be his last. Although Sky was glad to be able to start anew, he was worried that the stigma of his expulsion from Crystal Prep might carry over into Canterlot High.
Monday came and vacation was officially over for the students of Canterlot High. That afternoon, Sky was scheduled for a tour of the school. He stood in the main atrium and waited, making sure not to touch anything. If there was one good thing about private schools, it was that they tended to be cleaner than public schools.
After several minutes of waiting and no one showing up, Sky began to get restless and impatient. He began pacing back and forth and cracking his fingers, just as a girl with bright red and yellow hair walked into the atrium. “Excuse me, are you Sky Scraper?” she asked.
Something about this girl looked familiar, but Sky couldn’t quite place it. “Yeah, that’s me.” he replied. “You here to show me around the school?”
“Yep!” the girl replied. “I’m Sunset Shimmer. Nice to meet you.”
Sky hesitated a moment before replying. “It’s, um… nice to meet you too.” He always got a bit nervous talking to people he’d never met before.
“Canterlot High is a great school.” said Sunset as she led Sky down one of the corridors. “You’ll love it here.”
“I hope so.” Sky said quietly. “More than my old school, anyway.”
Sunset suddenly realized something. “Are you the guy who got kicked out of Crystal Prep? That was, like, the talk of the town last week.”
Sky sighed. He had a feeling Sunset would ask him about that sooner or later. “Yes. I am.” he replied sadly. “Let me guess, you probably don’t want anything to do with me now.”
“Actually, I was hoping to get to know you.” said Sunset. “You and I have something in common.”
Sky was confused. He’d always felt like he didn’t really have much in common with anyone his age. “Really?” he asked. “What would that be?”
“Well, you probably heard about the she-demon incident that happened here a few months ago.”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“That she-demon was me.”
Sky was taken aback. He realized why Sunset looked so familiar to him. “That was you?” he exclaimed. “How did you not get expelled? That’s way worse than what I did!”
Sunset chuckled. “Well, I had to rebuild the front of the school all by myself, and I was actually suspended for two weeks while I did that. I was really lucky that I found five friends who were willing to forgive me, even if it took longer for the rest of the school to do the same.”
“Wow!” said Sky. “Here I was thinking that everyone would judge me on my past.”
“Yeah, you really shouldn’t worry about that.” said Sunset with a smile. “Pretty much everyone here will accept you. I mean, there are a few problem people, but they won’t talk to you anyway.”
“Well, that’s good to know.” said Sky. He was feeling a lot better than he had in a long time. “Anyway, is this a five-year high school like Crystal Prep?”
“Yep. We have students here in grades eight through twelve. You’re in tenth grade, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hey, me too! Maybe we’ll be in a few classes together!”
“Yeah, that’d be nice!” said Sky. He liked Sunset already.
Sunset spent the next hour showing Sky around the entire school, and finally showed him his locker. “No one’s using this one, so I guess it’s yours!”
Sky looked at the number plate on the locker. It was number 254, a number whose final digit he despised. “Sorry, but I don’t think this one’s going to work for me.” he said. “Are there any other empty lockers?”
Sunset was confused. She thought for a moment, and then walked across the hall to another locker, numbered 339. “I think this one’s empty.” She opened the door and looked inside. “Yep, this one’s available.”
Sky smiled. This was a much better number. “Yes! Perfect! Thanks so much for showing me around here. I like it better than Crystal Prep already. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” He turned and headed back toward the front door.
“You too!” Sunset smiled as Sky left. To Sunset, this new boy actually seemed pretty friendly, although his thing about the lockers was a bit strange.
To Sky, Canterlot High seemed like a great place. He had a really good feeling about it.
Chapter 2: First Day at Canterlot High
The school day at Canterlot High started an hour later than it did at Crystal Prep. At 8:25 on Tuesday morning, Evening dropped Sky off in front of the school. Sky climbed out of the front passenger seat and pulled his backpack out of the back.
“See you, Mom.” he said as he walked toward the doors of his new school. Right then – a new school, a new chance, he said to himself as he entered. He’d clearly been a bit early, because in another minute or so, a mass of students came pouring into the building. Sky ran over to a bench and sat down so as not to get lost in the crowd. As he sat and waited for the other students to dissipate, he watched them talking with each other and laughing loudly. The students here were clearly a lot more relaxed and friendly than those at Crystal Prep. Sky hoped that he could make some friends here.
Canterlot High would take some getting used to, though. After all, this was Sky’s first time back in a public school after two and a half years at Crystal Prep. He’d gone to public schools in Manebridge, a town many miles north of Canterlot, from kindergarten through seventh grade. Even then, he’d always been somewhat of an outcast. As introverted as Sky was, he hated being lonely all the time, and so was determined to make the most of his time at CHS.
Sky pulled his class schedule out of his backpack. His first class of the day was Algebra II, in room number 128. He put his schedule away and walked down the hall, reading the number on every door. When he found the door numbered 128, it was locked and a sheet of paper was taped to the door. It read:
MR. CRANKY’S CLASSES ARE CANCELED
NO HOMEWORK
Sky was very surprised to see this. At Crystal Prep, whenever a teacher was absent, a substitute would be assigned, and they would usually be incompetent and boring. Sky wasn’t sure where to go now that he was basically free for the time being, so he just wandered around the school for a while. Soon he ended up at his locker, number 339. He didn’t feel like carrying his backpack, so he hung it in his locker and went on his way.
Eventually he reached the cafeteria, where a bunch of students were gathered. Sky figured that many of these people were probably in the same algebra class as him, and decided to stay in the cafeteria until his next class. Not wanting to sit by himself, he found a table where a few guys were gathered and sat down.
Almost immediately one of them noticed him. “Hey, look here, we got oorsels a new lad!” This boy had spiky golden hair and spoke with a Scottish accent. “Name’s Sherbert Music-Guard. Nice tae meet ye!”
“I’m Sky Scraper.” Sky replied. “Nice to meet you too.” Sky noticed that Sherbert was wearing a kilt, which actually made him look like a girl from Crystal Prep. “Speaking of which, nice kilt!”
“Aye, it’s me family tartan.” said Sherbert. “A muived here from Scotland last year. Where dae ye hail from, laddie?”
Sky hesitated for a moment. Then he replied, “This is my first day here. I got kicked out of Crystal Prep last week. I assume you’ve heard about it, seeing as it’s in the same town.”
“Nae, A hivna. A juist dinnae gie a shite aboot Crystal Prep, tae be honest wi’ ye. All this nonsense aboot uphauldin’ their reputation, A dinnae see the point o’ it.”
Sky chuckled. “Yeah, neither do I. That was like, all they ever talked about over there. Anyway, I got expelled for knocking out a student.”
“Why’d ye dae that?”
“The guy stole my hat. I asked him to give it back, he refused, and so I broke his jaw.” Sky didn’t really want to dwell on what he’d done last week. In that respect, it wasn’t so bad if most people knew about it already. He’d have a lot less explaining to do.
Sherbert laughed. “Och, that’s naethin’, laddie! That guy sounds like a richt prick tae me!”
Sky smiled. “That is accurate!”
The other guys at the table had gathered around to listen to Sky. All three of them introduced themselves. “Good tidings, my dear sir!” the boy with purple hair and a green shirt said enthusiastically. “How are you on this fine occasion? My name is Indigo Wreath. A pleasure to make your acquaintance!” He held out his hand for Sky to shake.
“Um… hi.” Sky said, reluctantly shaking Indigo’s hand. “It’s um… nice to meet you too.” He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about Indigo’s unusual way of speaking. Uniqueness or insanity, he couldn’t decide.
Indigo spoke again. “Actually, I do believe we met once, on the sixteenth of April two years ago, at 12:47 PM to be exact!”
Sky was very surprised by Indigo’s incredibly specific memory. “How the hell do you remember that?”
“I’d gone to enjoy lunch at the Italian eatery at the northern end of the city. You were there too, and I remember you because you scrubbed down the table exactly three times with a hand wipe before beginning to consume your recently purchased meal!”
Sky rolled his eyes. He didn’t like it when other people brought up any of his various quirks, his phobia of germs being one of them. Then again, when you compared him to Indigo, he was just about the most normal guy ever. “Um… yeah. Can’t say I remember that – certainly not as well as you seem to.”
“Ah well, the most important thing is that in this present moment, we are now friends. Allies, associates, cohorts, colleagues, compatriots, comrades, consorts, perhaps even brothers!”
“Dude, I just met you.” said Sky. “So I wouldn’t exactly call us brothers, but I guess I see your point.”
“Anyhow, I absolutely love Shakespeare! In addition to the famous Romeo and Juliet, which I’m sure you are familiar with, I’ve also memorized Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing...”
“Indigo…” a boy with long red hair said quietly.
“…A Midsummer Night’s Dream, All’s Well that Ends Well, As You Like It…”
“Indigo.” the red-haired boy said, louder this time.
“…Comedy of Errors, Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night…”
“INDIGO!!!” the red-haired boy shouted. “Just please stop talking for ten seconds!”
Indigo finally stopped rattling off the names of Shakespeare’s plays and sat down without another word.
The red-haired boy introduced himself. “Name’s Nolan North. You know, like the actor – isn’t it obvious?”
“Your parents named you after him?” Sky asked.
“Believe it or not, no. Funny, I was actually born before the other Nolan North was famous.”
“Hmm, interesting!” Sky remarked.
“Don’t worry. I’m, like, a super chill dude. And I definitely don’t talk as much as him.” Nolan said, pointing to Indigo.
“Aye. A dinnae think anyone talks as much as Indigo.” said Sherbert. He turned to Indigo. “Nae offence, o’ coorse.”
Indigo laughed. “None taken, my dear Sherbert!”
The last remaining boy at the table had green hair running halfway down his back. He was sitting a good distance away from Sky and the others, and was staring at something far away as though he was either half-asleep or in a trance.
“Oi! Emerald!” Sherbert shouted. “Wake up an’ introduce yersel! We got a new lad here!”
“What?” the green-haired boy asked, tired and confused. “Oh, sorry, just...” He yawned. “…zoned out a little bit there.”
“I swear, Emerald has probably never gone a single day in his life without daydreaming.” Nolan remarked.
“I’m the new guy, in case you were wondering.” said Sky.
“Oh, right.” said Emerald quietly. “I’m, um… Emerald Leaf. It’s… nice to meet you, I guess. So, uh… yeah. Welcome… to Canterlot High.” As soon as he finished his slow, awkward introduction, Emerald sat back down and began staring off into the distance again.
“He muived here from the Netherlands at the stairt o’ this year.” Sherbert explained. “Sae he’s still a wee bit shy.”
Sky wondered what Emerald could possibly be staring at, if his eyes were even focusing directly on anything at all. He followed Emerald’s eyes as best he could and found that the Dutch boy was staring at a girl three tables away. This girl had blonde hair and was wearing a denim skirt, a green and white shirt, and a Stetson hat. Emerald continued staring dreamily at her until she turned around and looked in his direction. Emerald immediately blushed and pulled his hair over his face to cover his reddened cheeks.
Okay, he obviously has a crush on her, Sky thought to himself.
Given what Sky had just inadvertently learned about Emerald, Sherbert’s next question to him was rather fitting. “Sae, who’s yer lass?”
Sky was confused by the question. “What do you mean?”
“Ye ken. Who d’ye like?”
Sky rolled his eyes. He could tell Sherbert was one of those girl-crazy guys. After all, Sky had gone through a bit of a girl-crazy phase himself, around sixth or seventh grade. “Dude, it’s my first day.” he said. “How can I like anyone yet? Besides, I’ve had crushes before, and none of them ever liked me back.”
Sherbert smiled. “Och, dinnae fash yersel. A’m shair ye’ll find somebody.”
“Maybe.” said Sky. “Who knows, really. Since you asked me, do you have a crush on anyone?”
“Weel, A did hiv ane back in September, but she isnae here anymore.”
“Wow, that sucks. Did you… ever talk to her?”
“Och, A niver got the chance.” said Sherbert sadly. “Ye see, there wis this one lass wi' purple hair that showed up at oor school near the beginning o' this year. Most beautiful lass I've ever seen in me life. But then she juist disappeared after the Fall Formal, an’ A hivnae seen her in this toun since. It was such a shame. She was sae damn fine!”
“Wow, I guess a lot of weird things did happen around the Fall Formal.” Sky remarked. “First Sunset turns into a demon, and then another girl somehow disappears from existence.”
“Ye got that richt, laddie!” Sherbert laughed. Then he paused. “Wait, ye ken Sunset Shimmer?”
“Yeah. She gave me a tour of the school yesterday.”
“Lucky ye! She’s a real hot ane!”
Sky chuckled. “You think every girl’s hot, don’t you?”
Sherbert smiled. “Pretty much, aye. But especially that purple ane. A believe her name wis Twilight Sparkle.”
Sky wastaken aback by the name that Sherbert had just said. “That’s funny. I think there’s a Twilight Sparkle at my old school too. And I think she also has purple hair!”
“Weel, that is weird… an’ awesome! ‘Cause if she’s any bit as fine as the Twilight who wis here…” Sherbert made a purring noise and raised and lowered his eyebrows. Sky wasn’t sure if he liked where this conversation was going.
“Alas, the folly of young love!” Indigo interrupted. “Love is heavy and light, bright and dark, hot and cold, sick and healthy, asleep and awake – it’s everything except what it is!”
“Um… yes.” said Nolan. “Anyway, Sky, what’s CPA actually like? I mean, I know about the rivalry, and the Friendship Games in April, but as Sherbert said, none of us have ever really cared about those kinds of things.”
“Well, then, I’ll explain to you what a miserable place it is.” And Sky proceeded to tell his new friends the full story of his past two and a half years since moving from Manebridge.
Eventually all the other students began getting up from their seats and filing out of the cafeteria. “Well, that’s the end of the period.” said Nolan. “What class do you have?”
Sky looked at his schedule. “Chemistry. Room 213, with Dr. Whooves. Any of you guys have it too?”
“Nae, laddie.” Sherbert replied. “A hiv English juist doun the hall.”
“I too have that same class!” Indigo said in his usual verbose manner. “It is by far my favorite, as that is where we read, quote, analyze and annotate the greatest written works known to mankind!”
Emerald smiled. “I have Art with Miss Treehugger. Hottest teacher in the whole school.”
“And I have Music.” said Nolan. “But I think I have Chemistry the period after. Trust me, you’ll love Dr. Whooves. He’s a really cool guy.”
“Well, that’s great!” said Sky. Chemistry was his favorite and best subject. “Anyway, I guess I’ll see you guys at lunch!”
“Och aye!” Sherbert replied. Then all five boys headed off to their respective destinations.
On the way to Chemistry class, Sky swung by his locker to get his backpack. Then he took the stairs two at a time, found at the correct room, and walked in.
Apparently Sky had gotten there before Dr. Whooves, as had many others, because the seat at the teacher’s desk was empty. The desks were arranged in pairs, and several students were lounging in their seats and chatting with one another. None of them seemed to notice the new kid.
As more students came into the classroom, Sky looked around the room to try and find a place to sit. He noticed an empty desk near the back of the room and went for it. When he got there, he couldn’t believe who he was seated next to.
Right next to him was a girl with minty green hair that was almost the exact same shape as his own. She wore a sleeveless pink dress and frilly blue shorts, and around her neck was a golden lyre pendant. “Lyra!” Sky exclaimed.
“Sky!” Lyra shouted, wrapping him in a brief but tight hug. “I haven’t seen you in, like, forever! How have you been?” She backtracked a bit. “Apart from, well… you know.”
During his first year at Crystal Prep, Sky had been friends with Lyra and her best friend Bon Bon. The three of them along with Lemon Zest had even gone to the amusement park together at the end of that year. But at the start of ninth grade, Lyra and Bon Bon left Crystal Prep and transferred to Canterlot High, and Sky lost touch with them.
Sky Scraper allowed himself a wry smile. “Yes, I know.” And he told Lyra all that had happened since he’d last seen her.
“…and so I applied to transfer here, was accepted in, and Sunset Shimmer gave me a tour of the school yesterday afternoon.” Sky finished.
Lyra smiled warmly. “Well, I’m sorry to hear about everything that happened at Crystal Prep. But you’ll definitely like it here a lot more. I certainly do.”
Sky smiled back. “I like it better here already.”
Just then the door of the classroom opened, and a tall man with spiky brown hair walked in. Clearly, he was the teacher. “Good morning, class.” he said with a smooth English accent. “As most of you know, my name is Doctor Whooves and I am Canterlot High’s main chemistry teacher.” He wrote his name on the chalkboard in large letters, then turned back to face the class. “The reason I’ve introduced myself today is because today we have a new student joining us!” He looked at Sky Scraper. “Mr. Scraper, could you please stand and introduce yourself?”
Sky Scraper sighed. He was not looking forward to standing up and introducing himself to twenty-plus people at the same time. So he figured he’d get it over with as quickly and unawkwardly as possible. He stood up, walked briskly up to the front of the room and faced the class. “Well, Lyra already knows me,” he began, “but for the rest of you, I’m Sky Scraper. I just transferred from Crystal Prep, so this is my first day. You can just call me Sky.”
Dr. Whooves smiled. “Thank you for telling us that, Sky. It’s a pleasure to meet you, and I hope you enjoy your time here at Canterlot High.”
Sky shook Dr. Whooves’ hand and returned to his seat.
Dr. Whooves then began that day’s lesson. “Now then, today we’re beginning stoichiometry.”
At the end of the period, Sky and Lyra walked out of class together. “Stoichiometry is literally so weird.” Lyra remarked.
“Tell me about it.” said Sky in agreement. “I mean, I already learned it at Crystal Prep, but yeah, it can be a real pain in the ass.”
“Totally.” said Lyra. “Say, have you considered trying out for the Friendship Games? You’re, like, really smart.”
“Well, I can’t because I’m grounded. But even I wasn’t, I still wouldn’t do it. This whole thing with the rivalry between CHS and CPA, I just don’t see the point.”
Lyra smiled. “Bon Bon and I are definitely going to try out. We’ve got a good feeling about it, like this is the year that CHS finally wins.”
Sky chuckled. “I just hope CPA loses for once. That place was hell.”
“Facts! Do you have a SnapGab account?”
“Nope. I just don’t really use social media, to be honest. Do you?”
“Yeah!” Lyra pulled out her phone and opened the SnapGab app. “I wanted to show you some pictures that I took in San Franciscolt last summer.”
“Wait, you went to San Franciscolt? Nice! I’ve been there too!”
“Yeah, it’s an awesome city! Even if those hills killed me every time.”
“Definitely agree with you there. I mean, climbing them is just absolute hell, but once you reach the top, you feel great.”
“Yep! And you can get some awesome pictures!” Lyra opened up a selfie she’d taken. “Yes, that is me at the top of the hill, rockin’ them cool shades!”
“Damn, that’s a nice one! You can see the whole city behind you!”
Lyra nodded. “Yeah, this one’s awesome! Speaking of which,” Lyra pulled up another selfie, “here I am on top of the Colt Tower!”
This picture showed Lyra leaning out the window of the 210-foot tower, her phone presumably in her outstretched hand. “Okay, I would not have had the guts to do that.” said Sky.
Lyra laughed. “You know, in hindsight this probably wasn’t the best idea. I mean, I almost dropped my phone when I was taking this one, and that would’ve been bad.”
“I can imagine.” Sky chuckled.
As Lyra showed Sky more pictures from her SnapGab gallery, many of which had Bon Bon in them as well, Sherbert passed by in the opposite direction. Sky gave him a high five, and Sherbert winked at him. Sky wasn’t sure why Sherbert had done that, but he would find out soon enough.
Later that day, Sky finished paying for his lunch and walked out to the cafeteria. He stopped and looked around for Sherbert, Indigo, Nolan and Emerald. He was struggling to find them when he heard a familiar voice. “Good morrow, my dear Sky Scraper! A pleasure to see you again! How has this fine Tuesday morning been treating you?”
Sky turned around to see Indigo Wreath sitting at the table right behind him. Also seated there were Sherbert, Emerald and Nolan. “Hey, guys!” said Sky. “How’s it hanging?”
“Pretty good.” said Nolan. Emerald simply gave Sky a thumbs-up.
“Me morning’s been really guid.” said Sherbert. “Nae hamewurrk fer me! Speakin’ o’ which, congrats, Sky!”
Sky was confused. “What for?”
“It’s yer first day an’ A’ve awready seen ye wi’ a lass!”
Sky rolled his eyes. He should have known Sherbert would say something like that. “Are you talking about Lyra?” he asked.
“O’ coorse! Ye twa seem tae ken each ither sae weel! Ye shair ye dinnae hiv yer ee oan her, if ye ken whit A mean?”
“Well… no. She’s just an old friend of mine from Crystal Prep. That was actually the first time I’d seen her since eighth grade. I mean, I was really happy to see her again, but we were just catching up, you know?”
“A see whit ye’re sayin. Still, ye’re hivin better luck wi’ lassies than A am. A hivnae talkit tae a lass in months.”
Sky noticed that Emerald seemed to be daydreaming again. He followed Emerald’s eyes and saw that he was again staring at that blonde girl. But this time, Emerald’s secret crush was with five other girls, who practically formed a rainbow of different hair colors and different fashion tastes. Sky recognized one of them as Sunset Shimmer. Then his eyes shifted to another girl, and his jaw dropped.
Seated next to Sunset Shimmer was a girl with very long light pink hair and beautiful teal eyes. She wore a white tank top and a light green skirt. Sky was mesmerized by her. There was no doubt in his mind that she was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. He was soon daydreaming and gazing in the same direction as Emerald. Eventually he tapped Emerald on the shoulder. “You’ve got your eye on that blonde girl, haven’t you?” he asked.
Emerald immediately shushed him. “Well…I…Um…No…Maybe…Yes.” he finally whispered in a defeated tone. “But keep your voice down!”
“Okay. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, though. It’s just a crush. Everyone has them from time to time.” Sky felt his face get warm. “I really like that pink-haired one. She’s just so beautiful!”
“Yeah… she’s cute too. Wait, which one? There are two pink-haired girls over there.”
“The one with the green skirt.” Sky replied.
“Yeah, she’s pretty cute. Then again… they all are. Especially Applejack.” Emerald smiled and blushed a deep shade of red.
“You know their names?”
“Not… all of them. I… just know Applejack because she’s in two of my classes.”
“Wait, she’s in two of your classes and you still haven’t talked to her?”
Emerald sighed. “I… wish I was brave enough to.”
Eventually the lunch period ended and everyone got up to leave the cafeteria. As Sky walked out into the hallway, he caught one last glimpse of the pink-haired girl and smiled to himself. He went into the bathroom and washed his hands, then continued on his way.
“Sky, you little bastard!” Lyra laughed. “Give it back!”
Sky giggled to himself as he ran down the hall, with Lyra in hot pursuit. It was now the end of the day, and after meeting up with Lyra at her locker, he’d pulled one of the oldest pranks in the book – he’d stolen her phone when she wasn’t looking, dangled it in front of her, and then ran off. He remembered Lyra doing the exact same thing to him back in eighth grade, and figured it was about time he returned the favor.
Of course, Sky wasn’t running at his full speed. After all, he was a cross-country runner, so if he actually ran as fast as he could, there was no way Lyra would even come close to catching up with him. He figured he’d run for a while, then slow down, wait for Lyra to catch up, and give her back her phone.
However, Sky was so busy thinking this to himself that he forgot to watch where he was going. As he turned a corner and approached the main atrium, he didn’t see a pair of girls walking right in front of him. He bumped into one of them hard, causing her to scream and drop all of her books. Sky nearly tripped himself, but regained his balance and came to a stop, Lyra’s phone still in his hand.
Sky didn’t turn to look at the girl he’d run into right away, simply saying, “Oh, crap! Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” the girl replied in a soft voice. Sky turned around and saw a girl with very long light pink hair looking back at him. She wore a white tank top and a light green skirt. And her eyes shone a beautiful shade of teal. Sky instantly recognized as her as the girl he’d seen in the cafeteria earlier that day. She was even more beautiful close up, and Sky felt his face rapidly getting warm and his heart beating faster and faster. He stood there silently for a moment, then asked, “Do you want me to pick up your books for you?”
“Um… yes, that’d be nice.” the girl replied. Sky felt his face get warmer still. Not only was this girl by far the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, she also had the sweetest, most angelic voice he’d ever heard. He bent down and picked up the books that had been spilled on the floor.
“Fluttershy, darling, are you all right?” asked the other girl. She had long, curled purple hair, and wore a light blue sweater and a purple skirt.
“Don’t worry, Rarity, I’m fine.” Fluttershy replied. Sky got up again and handed the books back to Fluttershy. His eyes met Fluttershy’s again, and for a few precious seconds, he looked into them as though he was in a daze. He finally snapped out of it and said, “So sorry for running into you like that. I was just… being an idiot.” He gave a nervous laugh.
Fluttershy smiled. “Oh, that’s all right. Um… what’s your name? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”
“I’m Sky Scraper. It’s my first day here. It’s… nice to meet you, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy giggled quietly. “You too, Sky.”
“I, um… guess I’ll see you around?”
“Um… sure. That sounds… wonderful. Goodbye for now!” Fluttershy turned, and she and Rarity headed off.
As Sky watched Fluttershy and Rarity depart, Lyra came running up. “I’ve got you now, Sky!” she shouted. She grabbed her phone back and gave Sky a playful punch in the arm. “That’s for stealing my phone!”
“Hey, you did the exact same to me back in eighth grade.” said Sky. “You should have known I’d pay you back sooner or later.”
Lyra laughed. “You’re still the same old Sky, aren’t you? Anyway, I gotta go. I promised Bon Bon I’d meet her at her house after school.”
“Well then, see you tomorrow, Lyra!”
“You too, Sky!” Lyra playfully punched Sky one more time before heading out one of the side doors.
Sky then turned and left the school himself. He’d thoroughly enjoyed his first day at Canterlot High. And as he thought happily about Fluttershy, he couldn’t help but think to himself, I’m going to like it here even more than I thought.
