Silent Song

by SonicFan117DASH

Chapters

The Release
The Freshman Fair
The First Day (Part 2)
The First Day (Part 3)
The First Day (Finale)
The Worth
The First Day (Part 1)

The Release

Cold.

Alone.

Isolated.

Miserable.

Starving.

Misunderstood.

What had he done to deserve this?

Within the deepest pits of the dark caverns that served as the palace dungeons, one lone figure took up the only occupied cell. The figure was humanoid in build but that was the only similarity.

He was a creature known as a Zora.

Instead of hair, the back of his head extended into a caudal structure ending with a horizontal tail fin, making his head alone resemble an aquatic mammal. On his elbows and hips, there were small ulnar fins. On the sides of his torso were pairs of gills, signifying that he was a water-breather. He had dark blue scales that covered most of his body with indigo spots on his fins, a snow-white underbelly, and bright green eyes. Unlike human eyes, his eyes were more animalistic and looked like they came from a deadly predator. However, despite that, behind the intimidating exterior, his eyes gave off there was the look of an amiable soul if one were to look deeply enough.

Though the water was calm and gave off a sense of peace, he felt anything but peaceful. He stared down at his hands, the luminescence of the luminous stones and diamonds that made up the pairs of shackles attached to his wrists and ankles gave off an eerie glow that filled the dark cell with an even gloomier atmosphere.

For the last two weeks, he had been down here. Two weeks of rotting in captivity for a crime that he considered was rightly justified. Despite his good intentions, it was still a violation of the law and he had to bear the consequences. Although reluctant, he couldn’t deny the logic behind it. Had he informed a guard or anyone else rather than take matters into his own hands then he wouldn’t be in here, but by the time they would take action, it would have been too late.

It made him think, was it really worth it? Probably. Ugh, the things he did for love...

But sweet merciful Mipha! They could at least provide some decent grub as compensation for his troubles. He swore, if he had to force down one more slimy sneaky river snail, he’d no sooner eat his own flipper-like feet first. He would kill for a voltfin trout right about now.

He shook his head in defeat with an exhausted sigh. The justice system can be so cold sometimes.

Speaking of cold, the familiar sound of keys clinking against each other filled the corridors of the dungeon block. As much as he wanted to deny it, the prisoner knew he had to face his demons someday. And this one was anything but friendly.

“Hey! Get up! It’s time to go, you lazy bass!”

No matter how much he felt he’d rather stay in the cell until plankton inhabited his corpse than go with the guard that had yelled at him, the prisoner knew he had no choice. He rose from the floor and slowly paddled to the bars of the cell, the shackle chains rattling all the while. He lifted his head to glare at the guard on the other side of the bars. The Zora had dark green scales with a grey underbelly. His eyes were a red-orange and had protruding razor-sharp teeth that only made him much more intimidating.

The bars of the cell slid to the side and without warning the guard grabbed the prisoner’s arm and yanked him out and into the corridor.

“MOVE!”

He felt his temper flare but resisted the urge to snap back, lest he makes his situation worse. But by Nayru, if he had his way, that guard, who’s named happens to be Leucas, would be hung from his gills and forced to breathe polluted air from the surface. That thought brought a sinister grin to his lips but was brought out of his daydreaming from a prick from Leucas’ silverscale spear.

“KEEP MOVING!! The king doesn’t tolerate latecomers!”

Now the prisoner wished he would take one of those disgusting snails Leucas fed him a see how HE liked it.

***

Upon exiting the cave leading to the dungeons the two Zoras came out to a small cavern teeming with algae. They ignored the green substance and walked up a small slope leading out of the water. Upon surfacing, the prisoner felt a sudden rush of dizziness and had to take a moment to reorient himself as the transaction from feeling weightless underwater to feeling pulled down by gravity threw him off-guard.

As he placed his hands on his knees and his lungs caught some fresh air, two voices in front of him made him feel embarrassed about how silly he must have looked.

“Heh. No matter how many times it happens he never gets used to it. Always good for a laugh, eh, Isurus?”

“Quite so, Sphyrna. It seems almost every time we see the boy trouble follows him wherever he goes. Makes guard duty that much more eventful.”

The prisoner looked up to see two other Zora guards, one on either side of a tunnel entrance leading away from the dungeons. They both wore standard Zora guard armor on their heads, chests, shoulders, and forearms.

On the right of the tunnel was Sphyrna, a female Zora with pale blue scales and a dull gray underbelly. Although they were currently sheathed, she carried a Zora sword and silver shield. Unlike most Zoras her head was flat and wide with her yellow eyes being on either side of her head, making her have to turn her head in order to see what was directly in front of her. To the prisoner, it was almost comedic, if she wasn’t so tall and muscular.

To the left was a shorter and slimmer Zora, Isurus. He had bright blue scales and a cyan underbelly. He carried in his right hand a standard Zora spear and a silver bow attached to his bandolier, a quiver of bows tied to the back of his waist to go with it. His head was more pointy and every other feature of his body, including each individual scale, gave off a streamlined appearance, indicating that he was a fast mover. Another interesting fact was that his eyes were large and pitch black, with no sign of an iris or pupil to be seen.

“Alright, stow it you two,” Leucas ordered! “His majesty is expecting him as soon as possible so follow behind us to cut off any escape route should the prisoner decide to run!”

The two guards stood to attention and shouted, “YES, SIR!”

Once the prisoner recomposed himself he waited until Leucas walked ahead and then followed him into the tunnel. He heard the other two guards follow behind them as instructed.

The group walked in an uncomfortable silence with the only sounds being their footsteps and the occasional drop of water falling to the ground. Before long, the rocky cavern floor gave way to smooth stone and brickwork. The tunnel as a whole turned into a hallway before leading into a larger hallway ending with a large stone door to the right. Two more Zora guards, each with black scales and wielding silver longswords, awaited them.

The four Zoras walked up to the stone door before Leucas signaled them to halt.

“What is the holdup, sir,” asked Isurus?

“You know what,” Sphyrna replied. “Need to make a good entrance with a prisoner in tow.”

“Precisely,” Leucas confirmed with a toothy grin.

The prisoner internally groaned in despair. They couldn’t possibly mean...?

Isurus holstered his spear and both he and Sphyrna each roughly grasped the prisoners’ arms.

Yep, they did mean that.

At first the prisoner struggled but the two guards were much stronger than him and were able to hold him in place. While that happened, Leucas pulled something out of a satchel he had been holding. Two somethings. The prisoner saw what they were and redoubled his efforts to pull himself away. He knew it was pointless but he wouldn’t let himself look weak in front of his tormentors. Leucas just chuckled.

Isurus and Sphyrna held the prisoner still as Leucas proceeded to attach an additional pair of shackles on him. One shackle was much bigger than the other, for it was meant to clasp around a Zora’s chest while the smaller cuffed their tail fin. Leucas wasn’t finished yet. He then wrapped the prisoner’s face with a muzzle made of leather straps, silver locks, and three large luminous stones covering his mouth. Once Leucas was done he stepped back and took a moment to admire his handiwork, ignoring the hateful glare the prisoner was giving him.

[Artwork Coming Soon]

“Fine piece of work.”

With the prisoner secured Leucas turned around to nod at the guards in front of them and they nodded back. They turned and opened the heavy doors, revealing a courtroom on the other side. The sounds of conversation amongst the roughly three dozen Zoras occupying the room quickly dying down into a tense silence.

Leucas walked into the room and Isurus and Sphyrna followed, dragging the hapless prisoner with them. Though he preferred to keep his head down the prisoner couldn’t help but admire the architecture of the room.

The entire courtroom was made out of a variety of stones and jewels. The silvery stone pillars lining the center aisle and leading to the other side of the room stretched up high into the ceiling. The two rows of seats on either side of the aisle glistening like diamonds. It was big enough to fit the entire population of Zoras at once with room to spare. Today, thankfully for the prisoner, only one-third of the populace was attending. It actually doubled as the throne room, which made sense since the current king was much too big to move on his own to a separate room.

Speaking of whom, the Zora King himself, Carcharodon, sat upon his throne atop a short stairway. He was the biggest Zora the prisoner had ever seen or known. Ten times the size of regular Zoras, his obsidian black scales, silver underbelly, overly muscular arms, and gold eyes gave him the impression of an unstoppable force. Those same eyes were watching the prisoner, as well as every other soul in the room.

On the wall behind him were two small waterfalls on either side of the throne. The water poured into a small moat surrounding the throne, dotted with lily pads and fleet-lotus seeds. The prisoner felt his stomach lurch when he saw a few sneaky river snails slithering around the moat.

As the guards dragged the prisoner towards the throne, he could hear some of the other Zoras whisper to each other.

”That boy is nothing but trouble...”

“How he’s still allowed to live here is a mystery...”

“Quarreling with the royal vizier was bad enough but collaborating himself with those mangy beasts?! Unacceptable!”

“Do you think King Carcharodon will finally banish him?”

“I don’t care if his actions were justified or not, such a crime cannot go unpunished...”

“I say they should just feed him to the squids...”

“What do you suppose his mother thinks?”

That question enraged him and he jerked his head to try and find the one who dared to ask such a question. Any Zora he managed to make eye contact with quickly turned their head away and held their tongue. He honestly couldn’t blame them; this wasn’t the first time he had gotten into trouble with the law. That doesn’t give them the right to disgrace his family...

Speak of the Devil...

There was one Zora who stood out amongst the crowd, one whom the prisoner was not ready to face yet. Pink scales, pale rose underbelly, and baby blue eyes. Her snout-like forehead had a more rounded shape like a porpoise compared to the pointy shapes of sharks on other Zoras. She rose from her seat to get a better look at the prisoner, who looked and felt ashamed when they locked gazes.

I’m so sorry... Mama.

It was his mother, Cirratum.

Cirratum gave her son a half disappointed, half saddened look as the guards dragged him past her and up to the raised pedestal in front of King Carcharodon’s throne. Leucas stepped aside and watched with sadistic mirth as Sphyrna and Isurus roughly tossed the prisoner onto the pedestal. A tiny, nearly inaudible squeak of pain escaped his lips as he landed.

“STAND BEFORE YOUR KING, CRIMINAL,” Leucas shouted!

The prisoner was slow to rise. Two weeks without proper nutrition rendered him weak and the shackles still attached to his wrists made it much more difficult to stand up. Not to mention the pedestal was carved from pure marble which, added to landing on some of his shackles, ensured some fresh bruising. His limbs were shaking the entire time and felt humiliated but he knew he had to stand up. When he did eventually rise to his full height he bowed his head in respect and resignation to his king.

The room was quiet for a few minutes before the crowd began to grow impatient and soon raised their voices, demanding each and every possible punishment upon the accused. Cirratum looked close to tears as she listened to the crowd’s horrible suggestions of what to do to her precious child. Some of the more boundless Zoras even began to bombard her poor boy with fish heads, clamshells, even shards of various minerals. Sphyrna, Isurus, or any other guards in the room made no attempt to calm the crowd for they found the boy’s pain just as enjoyable as Leucas did.

”SILENCE!!!”

That bellowing command, with enough force to shake the earth, caused the palace to rock on its’ foundation and silenced every living creature for miles around. As the echos died down not a single Zora in the courtroom protested and obediently calmed down.

King Carcharodon, who had leaned forward to put more force behind his voice, settled back into his throne and eyed the prisoner in front of him. To the boy’s credit, he didn’t even flinch; he stood as still as a rock. An awkward silence followed the king’s shout, which was soon broken when the severed pincher of a bright-eyed crab slid down off the boy’s head and splashed into the moat below.

The prisoner then raised his head and looked up into the eyes of his king. The old saying goes that the eyes are the windows into the soul. In those eyes, the king could see misery, pain, anger, sorrow, and regret. The king felt a twinge of sympathy for the boy but he knew he had a job to do. He looked down to his left and nodded to a crimson and yellow Zora wearing spectacles. The Zora nodded back and turned towards the boy.

”Mr. Ecco Henrialico Orcinus,” the royal vizier addressed the prisoner, “You stand accused of conspiracy to commit treason against the royal family, attempted thievery of protected, sacred Zora artifacts, and first degree...”

2 1/2 Hours Later...

Outside on the front steps of the palace the prisoner, allegedly named “Ecco”, stood with Leucas, Sphyrna, and Isurus surrounding him. The guards were angry.

“What was his majesty thinking?! Sentencing you to so-called “community service” when you should be out in the badlands shoveling sperm whale manure,” Isurus shouted!

“Yeah,” agreed Sphyrna. “Not to mention that’s just a cover title to the actual punishment. And it’s not even a punishment!” Leucas was no less displeased.

“Being set free out of sympathy would have been bad enough, but having to better our relationship with those humans by attending one of their schools for adolescents? Absolutely outrageous!”

Ecco remained silent and glared daggers at his shackles. He didn’t show it but he was just as upset as his escort/tormentors. It had been two and a half long hours of tedious talking over the severity of his crimes, the many available punishments being offered and denied, the circumstances that would require said punishments being laid out, and too much more. Ecco never understood politics so he couldn’t even remember the first half of the first hour to save his life. He did, however, pay attention when King Carcharodon finally sentenced him: To leave Zora’s Domain and improve the relationship between humans and Zoras.

Ecco found himself longing for his dungeon cell, or possibly being ostracized by his mother, now more than anything else. It was at that moment the royal vizier, Taurus, stepped forth from the palace doors to address the three complaining guards and their charge.

“As much as I personally loathe our King’s decision we have no choice but to comply with his demands.”

“Taurus,” began Leucas, “With all due respect, how does this achieve anything? Our truce with the humans is on edge as it is and they don’t have time to worry about this troublemaker.”

“They won’t have to Lieutenant Leucas, for you and Privates Sphyrna and Isurus are going with them.”

”WHAT?!”
“EXCUSE ME?!”
“SAY WHAT?!”

Leucas recomposed himself and asked, “What do you mean, ‘We’re going with them’? And for that matter, who else is ‘them’?”

Taurus maintained his calm demeanor despite three voices screaming at him at once and replied, “The answer to your first question is quite simple, really. You three have had the most experience in handling delinquents like Mr. Orcinus, and from what I hear from Captain Megalodon he knows better than to pick a fight with any of you.”

Ecco internally shuddered and subconsciously rubbed his left arm, as best as possible to do so with shackles on his wrists, when he heard that. He could remember very well the only time when he tried to fight back against the three guards. From what he could overhear from the healers, at least what snippets he could hear when he was barely conscious, he very nearly required an amputation in order to survive the first night...

“To answer your second question,” Taurus continued, “The king and I have decided that separation from his only remaining family would not work well for Mr. Orcinus’ mental state. So in a matter of coincidence, we have asked Mrs. Cirratum to accompany her son to not only aid in your monitoring over him, but also use her status as a teacher to land a job at the very school he will be attending. The king felt it would be an added bonus to have a knowledgeable Zora teach humans about us to give them a better understanding of our race and hopefully lessen the risk of prejudice and misunderstanding in the future.”

Upon hearing his mother’s name and course of action, Ecco gasped and looked up at Taurus as if he had just given her a death sentence.

“I know what you would have to say-“

“He doesn’t say anything,” muttered Isurus.

“-about the arrangement, young Orcinus, but the king’s words are final. Now, you and your mother have two months before the humans’ school year begins so I suggest you go home and pack your belongings. You two will be gone for a long time.”

Orcinus slumped his head and shoulders in defeat.

“Now,” Taurus concluded, “His Majesty should be just about finished filling your mother in on the arrangements. Once she exits the palace doors you are free to leave.”

Not a moment later and the palace doors swung open and out stepped Cirratum bearing an exhausted yet highly relieved expression on her face. Isurus begrudgingly removed the muzzle and shackles from Ecco, who immediately began rubbing the soreness out of his wrists and other limbs.

Seeing her baby free of his bindings Cirratum wasted no time rushing to her son and embracing him in a tight hug, unknowingly pinning his head to her bosom. Mother and son both squeezed each other and let a few tears loose despite so many pairs of eyes watching them. After a moment they broke from their hug and Cirratum took her son’s hand.

“Come on sweetie, let’s go home.”

Orcinus didn’t show any protest and walked home with his mother hand in hand, three grumbling guards and one stoic royal advisor left in their wake.

Meanwhile, In Canterlot City...

Celestia was anything if not a patient woman. Ever since graduating college she, and eventually, Luna, her younger sister, made it her goal to provide the best means of education for their students and make a name for themselves and their school. As luck would have it, Celestia and Luna have been given the honor of being the principal and vice-principal of Canterlot High School, respectively, which was located close to their homes. After settling in and getting to know all the teachers, the two sisters thought they could take on anything in order to ensure a bright future for each and every one of their students.

So imagine Celestia and Luna’s surprise when they received a message, in the form of an old-fashioned scroll smelling of sea salt, informing them that a new student would be coming to their school, but not just any student. They were to become the first school body to have a Zora enrolled!

When Celestia and Luna first heard of the discovery of another sentient species living on Earth, they had mixed reactions, to say the least. Luna had found herself rather wary of the water-bound humanoids, mainly because their physical appearance made them intimidating and they were considered dangerous if provoked. Celestia, on the other hand, was excited at the news. Humans were not the only self-aware beings in existence after all.

That’s not to say the first contact between both species was pleasant. Long story short: a misunderstanding caused a roughly 3-week war before the leading bodies of either species decided that enough blood had been spilled and agreed to handle the conflict politically. Afterward, after signing a truce to share common grounds in exchange for resources, Zoras were essentially integrated into society, the families of those who were lost in the fighting were compensated, and no conflict between either species arose.

That whole ordeal was more or less than a decade ago and considered old news, but recently rumors began to spread amongst coastal cities that the Zoras hoped to improve their truce by forming settlements inland and allowing young Zoras into local education programs. Some of the more paranoid and tactless superintendents across the nation outright refused the idea out of fear of prejudice or violence from the Zoras. Others declined out of fear for the Zoras because there were people who wouldn’t let bygones be bygones and were sure to give any individual Zora plenty of grief, or worse. The rest were conflicted as they couldn’t find any good reason to accept any Zora students and not suffer an unfortunate consequence.

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna’s supervisors were the first school district so far to fully allow Zora enrollment, and Canterlot High School was to be the first school in the nation to receive one. And best of all, Celestia was beyond ecstatic when she read in the scroll, and again in a letter from her supervisor confirming it, that a Zora teacher would be coming as well! Now, not only would interaction between humans and Zoras be more routine, the humans would finally be able to properly learn about their aquatic neighbors and eventually come to a better understanding of them.

Vice Principal Luna was reluctant and didn’t share her sisters’ enthusiasm. When she voiced her concerns to Celestia, she was told the scroll and letter also mentioned an escort of well-disciplined guards, handpicked by King Carcharodon himself, would guarantee the Zora’s best behavior.

Luna still wasn’t entirely convinced but the mention of a guard escort put her mind at ease and she followed along with the arrangements. The Freshman Fair would commence in two months and preparations needed attending to. If there would be Zoras coming to their school, they were going to be as welcoming as possible.

Author's Note

I know there were only 8 paragraphs containing anything remotely related to Equestria Girls, or MLP as a whole, but this story wouldn’t have been approved by this site if this chapter centered only around the Zoras. At least, I think it wouldn’t.

The Freshman Fair

Two Months Later, Canterlot City

On the edge of Canterlot City stood a brand new single-story house, its roof designed to look like a combination between a sand dollar and a starfish. It was a moonlit night and in the kitchen of the house was Cirratum, wearing an apron woven out of seaweed and kelp, currently sweating over a steamed voltfin trout, her son’s favorite meal.

Tomorrow was Canterlot High’s Freshman Fair, a form of open house for new students to meet and greet their teachers and schoolmates, sign up for the various clubs and after school activity groups, learn your way around the campus, and more.

If Cirratum was perfectly honest with herself, she had been as hesitant, and scared, to leave her ancestral home as her son and their escorts were. She was just as unfamiliar with the unknown beyond the protective walls of Zora’s Domain as the next Zora and feared as much. However, she was determined to not be slowed down by the potential prejudice and backlash she’d receive and stay strong for her people, but more importantly, her son.

Speaking of her offspring, Cirratum looked behind her to see him sitting on a stool in the living room, practicing his harp. It brought a nostalgic smile to her face; he couldn’t be separated from that harp to safe his own life. In her eyes, it was his way of talking since he never spoke a word following...

Cirratum shook her head to banish any resurfacing, unhappy memories. Now was not the time for tears. She turned back to the stove and turned down the heat to hear her son play.

***

In the center of an endless, starry void, Ecco stood. In his left arm was a silver harp, with sapphires embedded on the sides. His eyes were closed as he was caught in a therapeutic trance, lost in the notes his harp made every time he plucked the strings.

As Ecco began the second half of the first verse, the sound of a second harp filled the void. He opened his eyes slowly and looked to his left, the silhouette of an adult Zora standing right next to him. The Zora had indigo scales, snow-white underbelly, and dark green eyes. He, too, held a harp in his hands, a harp bearing a striking resemblance to the one Ecco was playing, and strumming the same tune as him.

As the song reached its climax the adult Zora turned to look at Ecco, a gentle, loving look in his eyes. Ecco felt himself begin to tear up as he stared at the adult. He recognized him.

The duet finished the song with passion and soon the echos settled down, filling the void with absolute silence. The two Zoras remained locked into each other’s gazes for a time, waiting for one or the other to make a sound. Soon though, the stars that filled the void began to simmer down and flickered out one by one. As the void got darker the older Zora’s silhouette started fading. Ecco reached out his right hand to try and grab the adult but it only caused him to phase out entirely, leaving Ecco alone as the final stars snuffed themselves out. Before the darkness could fully engulf him he had enough strength to mutter a single word.

”Dad...”

***

Orcinus’ eyes shot open as he plucked the final string on his harp, concluding the melody.

“Sweetie, dinner’s ready!”

Ecco perked up at her mother’s announcement and began to salivate at the aroma emanating from the kitchen. He stood up and placed his harp on the stool. He took a brief moment to admire the harp before turning his attention to the house. It had a main entrance hall, a living room, a kitchen, a dining room, two bathrooms, and two bedrooms. The best part of the property the house stood on was the large pond out back. It was three acres big and was deep enough to house the guards stationed with them. The guards themselves were currently getting there bearings of the property, drawing themselves a map for good measure.

It was a good house, Ecco had to admit. Smaller than their previous house but he didn’t really care.

“Sweetie, your voltfin trout’s getting cold!”

Ecco snapped out of his sightseeing and walked to the dining room. Once he arrived he was relieved to still see steam coming off the trout. Cirratum had aleady sat down and helped herself to some fried oysters. Ecco took a seat across from Cirratum and began snarfing down the trout like a frenzied shark. He could feel the natural electricity of the trout buzzing in his throat but he didn’t let that slow him down. Then he remembered that his mother was present and calmly swallowed what was still in his mouth and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

Cirratum giggled. “You could never resist a good steamed trout. How your able to withstand the electricity given off by those voltfins are still a mystery to me. Regardless, I’m just glad you like it.”

Ecco blushed a little but smiled nonetheless.

Cirratum then looked at her son with a curious expression. “Are you excited for the Freshman Fair tomorrow?”

Ecco looked down at his plate, deep in thought. He didn’t really know how he felt about attending a human school. Granted, he didn’t know enough about humans to judge, but based on what he heard from the elders at Zora’s Domain, human’s were not a force to be trifled with. But he was going to be enrolling at a school for young humans, teenagers to be precise, most likely around his age. He honestly didn’t know if that made it better or worse. In any case, he best be prepared for the worst of them.

Ecco looked up at Cirratum and shrugged his shoulders.

Cirratum sighed; she expected that answer. “If it makes you feel better, I don’t know how to feel about this either. New environment, new faces, it starts out scary at first.” She then smiled as she continued. “I mean, King Carcharodon could have done worse and banished us, period. I think we should take this opportunity and make the best of it.”

Somehow, seeing his mother enthusiastic about all this saddened Ecco. He wished he could see the best in all things like she did, but given all that’s been happening to them now, and in the past, it was difficult to remain in high spirits. Cirratum seemed to sense her son’s doubt and stood from her chair. She walked around the table and pulled Ecco close to her in a hug.

“I know how you feel about all this,” Cirratum whispered to her son. “But try to let it all go. This is a new beginning for us and we should be happy to be away from all that reminds us about the past. I, too, received as many disapproving glares from all other Zoras as you have. I’ll admit it: things have been horrible for you and me ever since your father...”

Both mother and son held each other tightly. The memory of what happened was equally as painful for the both of them.

“...b-but as long as w-we have each other we can get through anything,” Cirratum concluded while fighting off tears. Ecco brushed his head under his mother’s chin, the salty smell of her apron slightly stinging his nostrils but he didn’t care. He just wished to be as close to her as possible while trying not to think of that fateful night...

30 Minutes Later...

Eventually, after their much-needed heartfelt embrace, Cirratum and Ecco finished dinner and not long after it was time for them to get some sleep. Ecco kindly helped Cirratum clean the kitchen and soon enough they started to feel the need for sleep.

“Well,” yawned Cirratum as she untied her apron, “Time for bed, sweetie.” Ecco followed his mother after she dropped her apron into a pool of water beside the kitchen door. It was to keep the kelp and seaweed from rotting. They exited the dining room and entered the main entrance hall, which served as a central hub linking the rest of the rooms together. Cirratum stopped at the first door on the left from the dining room and held it open for her son to enter. Before he did so, Ecco stopped in front of his mother and looked into her eyes, slightly blushing with a hopeful look on his face.

Cirratum had taught herself for the longest time how to read her son’s facial expressions. Since he wouldn’t talk, Ecco obviously had to learn other ways to communicate with people. Aside from basic “yes” or “no” head movements, one of the ways Ecco “spoke” was by looking at his mother in specific ways as if asking specific questions. The one he was giving her now caught Cirratum off guard.

“Y-you... You want me to sing to you?”

Ecco bashfully nodded.

Cirratum was at a loss for words but before she could overthink anything, she smiled a motherly smile and scooped her son into her arms. Ecco didn’t make any attempt to be let go and just embraced it. Cirratum carried her son into his room, a single chamber with a ramp leading to a nine-foot diameter pool of water in the center. Aquatic by nature, Zoras had no use for mattresses like humans and preferred to sleep in bodies of water.

Cirratum got down on her knees at the edge of the pool and tenderly placed her son into the water. His head remained afloat as the rest of his body sank into the pool. Ecco’s eyes were droopy but showed no signs of closing just yet. He looked up at his mother watching over him. Cirratum cleared her throat, closed her eyes, and sang her son’s favorite lullaby.

[Artwork Coming Soon]

”Far away, across the sea~,

I’m missing you, you’re missing me~,

But no matter how far away you are, know that I’m here to guide you home~.”

The room rang with the echos of Cirratum’s voice, the lullaby working its magic as Ecco fell asleep within moments. Cirratum leaned down and placed a kiss on her son’s forehead. She stared down at him a moment longer before standing up and making her way to the master bedroom, a prideful stride in her step.

“I still got it,” Cirratum smirked to herself in triumph.

The Next Morning...

Cirratum and Ecco stood side-by-side, staring at their reflections in the tall mirror in the master bedroom. They were specifically eying the new clothes they were currently wearing. To say wearing clothes was surreal to them would have been an understatement as Zoras, except for guards and their armor, don’t normally wear clothes.

During the second half of the two month period of moving from Zoras Domain to Canterlot City, Cirratum and Ecco were subject to a series of classes by government officials as a way to more “civilize” them. When Cirratum questioned why these sudden orientation lessons were necessary, her answer came in the form of their new case manager, a Mr. Smooth Progress. He was a middle-aged man with green skin, sand-colored hair, and brown eyes. His explanation was plain and simple: to help blend in with human society and make their way of life on land easier.

Ecco privately thanked Nayru that Smooth Progress was chosen to help because if it had been anyone else who acted remotely like any of the adults back at Zora’s Domain, he would force himself to eat another sneaky river snail.

Through Smooth Progress’ help, Cirratum and Ecco learned how to manage and maintain basic household items, use the bathroom, read and write human language, how to hold a conversation with certain people, and much more.

The more challenging lesson in how to blend in with humans was what Smooth Progress said was one of the most important aspects when maintaining an image: wear clothing.

To make a long story short, Cirratum and Ecco were slow in adapting to clothes. Especially since Zoras had extra bodily appendages to take into account and would make taking them on or off difficult.

Cirratum was currently wearing a navy blue business suit, complete with a jacket and knee-length skirt. She also wore a pearl necklace and magenta lipstick. Ecco wore a plain and simple green jacket and sweatpants. He also had his harp strapped to his back. Thankfully, neither of them wore shoes.

“So, how do I look,” Cirratum asked her son?

Ecco was still new to the concept of wearing clothes and how they made people look, but he couldn’t deny that his mother actually looked pretty good. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

“You really think so? This... uh... What-do-they-call-it? Uh... skirt! This skirt feels a little bit tight, though.” Cirratum pulled on the skirt’s hem for emphasis. “And this so-called “bra” is a little itchy,” she continued as she tugged at said clothing through her shirt. “However, given Mr. Progress’ explanation of why human females wear them, I’m surprised the Zoras didn’t think of something like that before.”

Ecco blushed immensely at that statement. He then shrugged his shoulders and then gestured to himself, wondering what his mother would think of his outfit. Cirratum released her skirt hem and bra and brought her hands together. “Like a handsome young Zora growing into an even more handsome grownup,” she answered.

Ecco blushed again and hugged his mother in gratitude. Cirratum returned the hug and looked into her son’s eyes. She could recall when she first laid her eyes on him, covered in yolk as he broke free from his egg. She held her son tighter and began to sniffle, which made him look up at her with concern.

Cirratum wiped away any tears that began to form and knelt down in front of Ecco. She held his shoulders and looked him dead in the eye. “I want you to know that, despite all that you have done before we left, you will always be my little pup. I don’t care about what they say about you, you are still my son and I love you. And seeing you here today, ready to tackle the first of many trials to come your way, only shows that you have grown up so much. I am so very proud of you. Oh, if only your father could see you now...”

His mother’s heartfelt speech hit Ecco in his very core. He didn’t bother to hold back the stream of tears coming from his eyes and threw his arms around Cirratum’s neck. She returned the hug in full, likewise letting her tears flow as they held each other.

Sadly, their moment didn’t last long as Cirratum heard a knock on the bedroom door. Cirratum looked up and saw the door open and Leucas walk in. He paused for a moment before clearing his throat.

“Please pardon my interruption, Mrs. Cirratum, but it is time to depart for the school. The Freahman Fair should be starting any minute now.”

Nayru damn you to the darkest pits of the Abyss, Leucas, Ecco swore in his head! But as much as he wanted to stay in his mother’s embrace he knew the lieutenant had a point. The two Zoras broke their hug, took each other’s hands, and followed the guard out of the house.

Out front, there was a horse-drawn carriage waiting for them. Another fun fact about Zoras was that they were a conservative, traditional, and yet adaptable race. Although they preferred to travel by water, the first few Zoras who made their way to colonize inland bodies of water in the past often had to improvise by riding horses in order to save time. But that’s another story. Anyway, Canterlot City officials were made aware of this tidbit of information and, being a civilization whose culture apparently heavily revolved around equines, generously donated a horse and carriage to the Zora guards as a means of escorting their charges through the city.

Isurus was seated at the front of the carriage and gripping the horse’s reins. Sphyrna was at the back, setting a stepping stool down for passengers to climb onto the carriage more easily.

Cirratum and Ecco climbed up and took a seat side-by-side on the right side of the carriage. After making themselves comfortable, both mother and son waited patiently as Leucas climbed in and sat down behind the driver’s seat, back-to-back with Isurus. Sphyrna, being the tallest of the five Zoras, effortlessly hopped up into the carriage, reached down to pick up the stepping stool, and finally sat down on the floorboards.

With everyone secure, Isurus got the horse to move out of the yard and onto the public roads.

Meanwhile, at Canterlot High School...

The Freshman Fair was in full swing. Hundreds of teenagers flocked the grounds of the two-story building, eager to start off the new year on a very high note. Rows of booths representing the wide variety of after-school activities were busy handing out fliers detailing what each individual club did. It was a day that many young teenagers would remember for years to come.

The hustle and bustle of excitement nearly died down when a most unexpected sight came into view in front of the building: a horse-drawn carriage with a banner hanging on the sides, bearing a strange symbol on it.

Inside the carriage were strange creatures, the likes of which most of the students have never seen before, or just heard rumors about. Almost every soul at the fair stared at the newcomers in a mixture of awe, curiosity, caution, and fear. There were five in total. Three of them wore pieces of armor while the other two wore regular clothing.

Speaking of the other two, once they stepped down from the carriage, they began to approach the building side by side. One of the creatures was tall and pink while the other creature was short and blue. A majority of the students pretended not to notice them and went back to their business while the rest continued to stare at them. The pink one halted and whispered something to the blue one, then turned to walk into the building itself. The blue one was left alone, staring at the front door where the pink one disappeared behind a moment later. He then looked back to the fair in front of him, seemingly debating with itself before entering.

***

Ecco walked down the first row of booths he saw, ignoring the humans around him as he read the signs. He had been mentally preparing himself for the reactions the humans would give him and how he could avoid trouble should it find him. So far, the humans just stared at him while keeping their distance. Good for them.

That didn’t stop him from overhearing the whispers sent his way.

”Whoa. The rumors were true...”

“A real Zora!”

“Ugh... They’re even uglier up close...”

“That country girl from earlier was more presentable than that thing...”

“Do you think it has sharp teeth like sharks?”

“I don’t think so. Those tail fins are horizontal, like dolphins or whales...”

Orcinus found himself feeling impressed by those last two statements. At least they knew how to distinguish the more dangerous marine creatures from the rest. He saw very few dolphins throughout his life but he heard they were very smart and playful.

“Hey you! Fish dude!”

Ecco jumped in alarm and spun around to face where the voice came from, his arms raised up in a defensive posture.

“Whoops. Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya. Anyway, ‘Tavi here has been eyeing your harp and I thought she’d like to hear you play!”

Ecco took a moment to calm his rapidly beating heart. Once he lowered his arms, he eyed the one who called him with a raised eyebrow. She was a girl with pale yellow skin, lime green hair, and amber eyes. Sitting next to her was another girl, with light gray skin, black hair, and purple eyes.

“Cherry,” the gray-skinned girl said with irritation in her voice, “When I asked you to get his attention I did not mean shout and cause a scene!”

Ecco dared to look around him and saw that she was right. Many other students were looking their way, giving him in particular looks of distrust and tension.

“You’ll have to forgive Cherry Crash, sir.” Ecco turned back to the one called, “Tavi.” “She tends to act on impulse before thinking things through.” Cherry Crash only shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes. “Anyway, my name is Octavia, Octavia Melody, and let me be the first one to welcome you to Canterlot High School.”

Octavia held her hand out towards Ecco, expecting a handshake. Ecco stood motionless. This was not the outright prejudice and backlash he expected to happen. These two human girls were actually quite polite and welcoming to him. A complete contrast to those large, metal monsters out on the streets that kept barking loudly at their carriage. The contraptions that Smooth Progress had said were called, “cars.” Anyway, Ecco couldn’t turn down such a kind gesture and kindly shook Octavia’s hand.

“Now, regarding what Cherry Crash said before,” Octavia stated as she sat back down, “I did happen to catch a glimpse of your gorgeous harp. Are those real sapphires embedded in it?”

Ecco was very flattered that someone would compliment his harp and happily nodded, causing Octavia to smile brightly.

“I’ve never seen such a beautifully crafted instrument! It looks as though it was forged with real silver! If it is not too much trouble could I hear you play it?”

Ecco was humbled that this girl was so polite to him and excited that she wanted to hear him play so he quickly unstrapped his harp and held it in his left hand. He looked to the girls again and, seeing their eager expressions, closed his eyes and played another good melody he knew.

After Ecco plucked the final strings, dead silence followed. He opened his eyes and saw that Cherry Crash, Octavia, and everybody else who heard him, were staring at him with wide eyes. Ecco felt unnerved. Had he done something wrong? Why were they all staring at him?

Ecco then noticed a tear streak down Octavia’s face. He figured that that must be why they were all staring: he made a girl cry.

”Way to make a good first impression, stupid.”

Before he could do anything else, Ecco was surprised to hear Octavia say, “That was beautiful.”

Ecco was taken aback. Did she just say that it was beautiful?

Octavia wiped her eyes and said, “It was at tad bit repetitive but it was absolutely soulful! Magnificent! Glorious! You performed that number divinely despite having to use only one hand! Would you like to sign up for the music club?!”

Ecco was stunned speechless. This had to be a dream, did it? If it’s was, he hoped he’d never wake up. He nodded his head again, took a sign-up sheet, and pulled up an offered pen to fill it out.

“You don’t talk much, do ya,” asked Cherry Crash?

Ecco stopped writing briefly before looking up to the girl and shaking his head. She shrugged her shoulders in return.

“S’alright, we all have secrets.”

More than you know, Ms Crash.

Pretty soon, Ecco finished filling out the sheet and gave it back to Octavia. She accepted it and rose again to shake his hand.

“Welcome to the club, Mr. Orcinus. I have a feeling we’ll get along splendidly.”

Ecco gave the two girls a grateful smile and turned to look at other booths, but suddenly found himself face-to-face with a girl with large poofy hair, blue eyes, and an enormous grin.

”HI!”

Orcinus was so startled that he flung himself backwards, performing a backflip and landing on his feet approximately 30 feet away. He brought his arms up to defend himself like he did before.

“Wow! That was an impressive jump! Are you an athlete? You look strong enough to be one. But then again what will you do with that harp? Athletes don’t play the harp in sports. If you aren’t an athlete then maybe you’re a musician? I thought it might have been you who played that melody a few minutes ago because I don’t see anyone else here carrying a harp. It was so good that I almost began to cry which is rare because I never cry unless it is something super duper heartbreaking. Also, wow! You’re a Zora, aren’t you?! I saw in the news that a Zora would be moving into town and attending school somewhere but I’d never thought it would be here and now I get to host a “Welcome, Zora, to Canterlot” party! Do you like parties? I LOVE parties! If you like parties then I think we’ll make the best of friends and then we’ll get to do fun friend things together! Oh how silly of me, I didn’t introduce myself! My name is Pinkamena Diane Pie, but you can just call me Pinkie Pie. What’s your name?”

If Ecco was at a loss for words at two random girls asking him to play his harp, he was beyond flabbergasted at the speed of which this new girl spoke. He could hardly keep up with her and his ears began to hurt from the very high frequency in her voice. Lowering his arms, he thought of how he could answer the last question she gave him. Silence fell once again and before long the new girl, Pinkie Pie, began speaking again.

“Oh! Oh! Oh! Is this a guessing game? I love guessing games! Okay, is your name Fishy?”

Ecco gave the pink girl a monotone look and shook his head.

“No? Okay. Um... Is it, perhaps, Shark Boy?”

Ecco shook his head again.

“Aquaman?”

And again.

“What about Nemo?”

And again.

“His name is Ecco,” called Cherry Crash while pointing on the sign-up sheet where he wrote his name!

“Ecco,” Pinkie Pie asked?

Ecco nodded.

“Hmmm. That sounds like a boring name. How about ‘Silent Song’? Your very quiet and yet you make sound by playing musical instruments, so it makes sense!”

Ecco was initially offended by having his name considered boring but he stopped himself from glaring at Pinkie and thought for a moment. He didn’t know why but “Silent Song” actually had a nice ring to it. It really did make sense and he remembered his mother telling him before that music was his way of “talking.” He looked back to the pink girl and shrugged his shoulders.

“Great,” exclaimed Pinkie Pie! “Another group photo!”

Another what?!

Pinkie Pie then grabbed Ecco’s hand and dragged the helpless Zora away, dropping his harp in the process. Before long, he was tossed towards a group of four other girls, who were very surprised to suddenly find a Zora land at their feet.

“What in tarnation?”
“Good heavens!”
“What the heck?!”
“Oh... my! A real live Zora!”

Ecco got to his feet and was about to bolt when he was approached by a girl with butter-yellow skin, light pink hair, aquamarine eyes, and wearing a white tank top and pink skirt with a large green butterfly emblem on the side.

“I’ve always wanted to meet a Zora. I heard they are very good swimmers and that their heads alone look like fish or marine mammals. Your head looks like a dolphin...”

So I’ve been told.

“Enough chitchat,” Pinkie Pie shouted again! She then proceeded to pull Ecco closer to the other girls while a fifth girl wearing a black and white dress was readying a small black object on a tripod nearby. Before long, the group of five girls, and a confused, scared, annoyed Zora, were all taken in a new group photograph. Ecco, however, didn’t anticipate the black boxy device to be a camera, or the fact that it had a flash, until it was too late. As a result, his world went white and his eyes suddenly felt they were melting. It was a miracle he didn’t scream.

Later...

Ecco managed to relocate the music club booth so he could begin searching for his harp. The time he wasted with those five girls almost drove him crazy.

I swear, if I had to hear one more of that Rainbow girls arrogant boasting... At least that Rarity girl was tactful and had some… constructive criticism in my appearance… Applejack was nice but a little bit prideful... Fluttershy’s presence wasn’t so bad at all. Her hands were very soft when I let her pet my fins. Who knew someone like her could love animals that much? As for the pink menace... The less said about her, the better.

Ecco was relieved to see that Cherry Crash and Octavia had picked up his harp and kept it in case he came back. He gave them a grateful bow but paused when he turned to leave. There was something he wanted to do first. He turned back to the booth, gestured to the blank sign-up sheets and to himself.

Octavia raised an eyebrow. “You want to see your sign-up sheet again,” she asked?

Ecco nodded. Although confused, Octavia complied and placed it in front of the waiting Zora. He took the pen, and wrote something next to his name. He finished, slid the paper and pen back to Octavia, then walked away. Both girls looked to see what the Zora changed on his sheet, but couldn’t find anything different except for another name written in brackets next to the first one.

The other name read, “Silent Song.”

The First Day (Part 2)

After getting over his humiliatingly harsh reality check Ecco thought it best to just let it go and follow through with the principle’s suggestion. With no solid course of action he decided to simply wander around and find whatever place on his map sounded worth investigating. Along the way he found a multitude of classrooms meant for whatever subject was needed. He found a place known as a “computer lab” and found it full of what looked like advanced human technology that Zoras were woefully behind on and left without further inquiry.

Ecco eventually found himself on the building’s second floor and looking out one of the windows. He had to admit, it wasn’t too high off the ground but it had a good view of the surrounding neighborhood. He saw more of those “car” things whizzing down the streets and frowned.

Those metal monsters are loud and ugly. I prefer swimming or walking to wherever I need to go rather than being crammed into a metal coffin any day.

It was at that moment that the bell rang and Ecco knew he had to quickly backtrack downstairs for his next class. He had to power walk through and around the bunches of students to ensure he didn’t arrive late. As he was about to enter the staircase Ecco suddenly felt his foot get caught on something and he stumbled forward.

Thankfully, Zora reflexes were quick and swift as Ecco immediately bent his other leg and then rocketed himself off the first step before he could fall. He then flipped over in mid air and angled himself so he could plant his feet on the staircase wall to spend off his momentum. Finally he let gravity take over and he landed upright without falling on anyone.

Flawless. Now, WHO DID THAT?!

Ecco spun around fast enough that his tail fin almost smacked a student in the face but he didn’t care about that. He was glaring at the top of the stairs to see if whoever tripped him was still around. Unsurprisingly, no one looked no less than shocked at the display he just put on, nor did anyone step up and claim responsibility for tripping him.

A warning bell forced Ecco to abandon his search for the would-be attacker and race away to make it to class on time. Try as he might to ignore it, the stares he received from those who just witnessed his stunt made him feel uneasy.

So much for subtlety.

***

The next class Ecco attended featured something that he would quickly come to realize was his most despised subject ever.

Math.

Zoras were no strangers to the concept of numbers but their education system, while unique, was relatively primitive and therefore didn’t reach as high a level as the humans’. As a result, poor Ecco would find himself struggling to grasp even the most basic of advanced mathematical equations and formulas. It made his head hurt just trying to put the right signs in place.

The only silver lining Ecco found in this class was in the form of the teacher, Miss Cheerilee. Like her namesake suggested Miss Cheerilee had a, well, cheerful personality and was delighted at the opportunity to teach Ecco alongside the other students. She was an understanding woman who promised Ecco to help him through any problem she could. She had a way of making math a more interesting subject to study and it motivated Ecco to try hard no matter what.

Long story short, Ecco wouldn’t be the best at human math but, Nayru willing, he wasn’t going down without a fight.

***

Two more subjects came and went and Ecco was making his way to the school cafeteria. As he did he passed other students who either backed out of his way, avoided looking at him, whispered lies and rumors with each other, threw hostile glares at him, or just plain ignored him. Honestly he wasn’t too surprised; he expected this to happen. Who could blame them?

Ecco was not only a foreigner but also an entirely different species, a sentient species at that, that humans have never seen up close before. They may know of their existence but that didn’t necessarily mean they knew each other. The few interactions between humans and Zoras prior to Ecco moving to Canterlot were anything but diplomatic and he was pretty sure neither side was going to forget them. After all, he was pretty sure that his people would treat any human the same way if they were in his situation.

It was for that reason Ecco was seriously debating whether going to the cafeteria was a good idea or not. It was a time when most of the student body would be in one place at the same time and he would most likely stand out and draw attention instantly. If he was perfectly honest with himself he’d rather eat outside or even in the library if they allowed him. He hated crowds.

And yet, he felt that doing so would only raise suspicions. Call it being paranoid, but Ecco learned that if one suspected of a wrongdoing was absent at the time or place of the act, people would be under the assumption they were the one who did it. After all, the very thing had happened to him back at Zora’s Domain...

Ecco shook his head and made his way to the cafeteria with a large lunchbox in his hand. He was overthinking things again. He had only been here for half a day; what could he possibly do to earn the ire of teenage humans in such a short timespan? Besides, seven students out of hundreds, plus at least three of the school staff, were more than willing to look past the species barrier and treat him like one of their own kind. Two of those students even praised him for his music. That calls for something, right?

Steeling himself, upon opening the double doors Ecco was greeted to the sight of dozens upon dozens of students sitting at tables with plates of various foods he had never seen before. Good thing he brought his own lunch. He didn’t know if Zoras could stomach human food and rather didn’t want to find out just yet. His nostrils filled up with many unknown smells and aromas he assumed were from the various food, or from the humans. Hard to tell.

At first no one seemed to notice the Zora in the room, but as he began searching for an empty table the noise toned down significantly. Ecco did his absolute best to ignore the stares everyone was giving him but having so many pairs of eyes centered on him all at once made him feel terribly self conscious. Despite that, he persevered and continued his search for an isolated seat.

“Yo! Ecco! Over here!”

Ecco quickly turned to where the voice came from and felt as if a great burden was lifted off his shoulders. There, waving to him, was Cherry Crash sitting with Octavia and five other students, who were currently looking to the green-haired girl with shocked expressions. Ecco assumed they were caught off-guard by one of their new classmates calling over a foreign creature out of the blue. Whatever; he’ll deal with it for now.

Ecco quickly, if a bit awkwardly, strode over to where Cherry Crash and Octavia were. The latter pulled out the empty chair next to her and Ecco gave her a nod in gratitude. He sat down and placed his lunchbox down in front of him, paying no mind to the absolute hateful glare directed toward him by a boy with blue hair and a leather jacket.

“Why is this thing here,” the boy growled?

Charmed.

“What do you mean, Flash,” asked Cherry? “We’re just welcoming the new kid is all.”

“This thing isn’t a kid it’s an animal. Last I checked, animals weren’t allowed on the campus.”

Ecco resisted the urge to clench his fist as he undid the fastens holding his lunchbox closed. The moment he was bracing himself for had finally arrived but he wasn’t in the mood for it. He was hungry and the beautiful aroma of the lunch his mother made for him was overwhelming his nostrils.

Well aren’t you subtle. Oh well, lunchtime!

“Come now, Flash,” Octavia added. “He only just arrived and he has proven to be a kind soul to us at the Freshman Fair. Is it too much to ask for you to give him a chance?”

“A chance to attack us from behind,” Flash asked bitterly?

Okay, it’s official: I hate you too.

“No,” Cherry Crash answered, abhorred. “To prove himself. As Octavia just said, he already proved himself to us. He’s a cool guy. And you should have been there when he started playing that harp he’s carrying. It brought Octy to tears!”

Ecco, oblivious to Octavia’s indignant spluttering at Cherry’s choice of words, blushed at that, once again flattered that these girls would stand up to him so selflessly. He then opened the lid of his lunchbox and pulled out the food. It consisted of some rice balls, grilled fish fillets, noodles, and a small plate of kanafeh for dessert. He sorted his food out in front of him and licked his lips while thinking of what to eat first.

“Wow. That’s quite an exotic selection of delicacies you have, Sir Orcinus.” Octavia commented. “I don’t believe I’ve seen such finely crafted rice balls before.”

“Yeah, you from Neighpon or something?”

Ecco turned his attention to the one who spoke. It was one of the other students, a third girl who, until now, kept quiet. She had two-toned purple hair and was wearing a pink scarf with purple polka dots around her neck. She still looked on edge being around a newcomer such as him but has seemed to pluck up enough courage to talk.

Ecco’s only response to her question was him tilting his head and raising an eye ridge.

Where...?

“Uh... the island nation of Neighpon? Off the coast of Haysia?”

Ecco only shrugged his shoulders while shaking his head. He had never heard of those places before, let alone been to them. Yet, for some strange reason, he felt a very faint sense of familiarity surrounding those names. He mentally shrugged it off. He’d answer the girl’s question with one of his flash cards but he didn’t want to waste time fishing through his bag. Besides, he was hungry.

“Never mind.” The third girl said with a mildly annoyed tone in her voice.

Ecco maintained his stare for a moment before shrugging his shoulders again and turned his attention back to his food. He finally decided to start with the fish fillets while they were still warm. He dug in with a passion and reveled in joy at the flavor. His mother’s cooking never ceases to please him. His passionate eating gradually increased as he got lost in a euphoria of overwhelming deliciousness.

Ecco didn’t know how long it took but when he finally got out of his food craze he realized he had eaten all that he had. He looked at his empty lunchbox in amazement but felt slightly disappointed that there was nothing left to eat. His mother’s cooking was to die for. He really needed to learn to slow down sometimes so that he could enjoy it longer.

“Woah. Someone must’ve been real hungry. That was cool!” Cherry Crash’s voice broke through his trance.

Ecco then suddenly remembered that he wasn’t alone and looked up to see a multitude of faces staring at him from all around. He felt his face blush when he realized that he must have made himself look like a fool from eating so fast. He knew he didn’t have the best table manners but he couldn’t help himself sometimes.

I must have looked like an animal stuffing his face. I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t even chew some of it.

“Hey don’t sweat it, dude. I know how it is. Spending the first half of the day waiting through boring classes for the chance to eat lunch, we all feel the same way.” Cherry Crash continued with a laidback attitude. Ecco felt a little relieved at her reassurance.

“Looks like an animal, eats like an animal. Typical.”

Ecco clenched his fist and shot an annoyed glare at Flash Sentry. He knew he should have expected this type of behavior from some of the students and mentally prepared himself for it, but there was just something about this guy in particular that really put him off. He glared back in full, his arms folded across his chest in what Ecco assumed was some form of display of dominance.

An awkward and intense silence followed until Octavia said, “Flash Sentry, I am surprised at you. You never treated new students like this before. What has he ever done to you to earn such animosity?”

Flash Sentry didn’t answer. He just rolled his eyes and left the table.

“Whatever.”

Good riddance.

“Sheesh.” said the third girl. “What’s gotten him all worked up for?”

“Ida’know, Mystery Mint.” Cherry Crash replied. Then she turned to Ecco. “Sorry about that, man. I swear he’s normally a great guy. Guess he just doesn’t trust you yet so don’t let what he says get to you.”

“Indeed.” agreed Octavia. “I’m sure he will warm up to you in time. Just wait and see.”

Ecco wanted to believe what they were saying but he wasn’t going to let his guard down. This Flash Sentry person didn’t sit well with him in the slightest and he feared that he might try and do something. Whatever it would be, he would be ready for it.

Dropping the issue for the time being Ecco decided to clean up the remains of his lunch and wait for the lunch period to be over. In the meantime, the students at his table began to talk amongst themselves.

Ecco, having nothing to add to whatever conversation the students were having, got lost in his thoughts once more. So far during his stay in this city things have been relatively easy. Almost too easy but he didn’t feel like complaining. Of course, he knew not to get too comfortable for there was always the possibility that something might happen sooner or later to ruin his day. If that Flash Sentry person and his disdain towards him were any indication, plus the incident at the staircase, Ecco again came to the conclusion that he should prepare for the worst.

Placing his hand over his eye, Ecco realized he went down a mental spiral again. It was always same thing; don’t be foolish, expect the worst; be on guard, brace yourself for a trap; they are known for playing with your emotions, keep to your own kind. All these thoughts and more spiraled in his head like a whirlpool as he tried to get his thoughts in order. This was one of the few reasons he didn’t like to think too much: exaggeration. If he got too mixed up in his mangled thought process without slowing down he would start to conclude ridiculous scenarios that didn’t make enough sense or were too inconclusive.

Ecco shook his head to bring himself back to reality. He needed to find something to distract him from his own thoughts and pass the time. He found himself looking around him at the many other students and observing their behavior. One table featured students who, from a distance, looked like one with nature. One of the girls’ clothing was decorated with flowers while another’s hairdo reminded him of a shrub or a patch of grass. There was even a bright green leaf on the front of her shirt. Her clothing in general, while slightly tattered, just seemed to fit her perfectly. Same could be said for the third girl with the twin purple pigtails and ankle-length red skirt.

Another table of students almost made Ecco think a small section of that computer lab place had suddenly appeared. These students looked like they were machines, typing away feverishly at their tiny electronic devices while simultaneously eating their lunch. Two of them were also wearing what Ecco knew were called “spectacles” by Smooth Progress. Ecco quickly lost interest and looked to another table.

“Fashionable” didn’t even come close to how Ecco could describe the next batch of students. Mostly consisting of females and a small number of males, these students looked and radiated majestic beauty. Granted, Ecco lacked enough knowledge of human fashion, or a fashion sense in general, to properly judge their appearance but even he could see that, as far as maintaining public images go, they were some of the best. Especially that one girl with the dark red hair, or even the one with the bright blue hair that flowed off her head like a waterfall... Ecco quickly tore his eyes away before he could be caught staring and looked to the next table.

At first, Ecco thought he’d caught sight of a giant lump of orange curly fluff sitting at another table but a second glance made him realize it was just a girl’s hairdo. To him, it looked like it hasn’t been cut for a long period of time. Two more girls and two boys were sitting there as well. One girl had short, bright green hair and wearing a weird looking hat while the third girl had her short brown hair tied into a bun. All of them looked... preoccupied, like they were lost in their own imaginations. Fantasizing and daydreaming about whatever came to mind. Ecco thought they honestly didn’t seem too bad a group to him for some reason. Maybe he could get along with them if he tried.

Then Ecco suddenly realized that he recognized the girl with the hat; she greeted him at the fair and welcomed him into both the art and book clubs. Truth be told, Ecco didn’t sign up for those clubs willingly like Cirratum had thought earlier in the morning. Rather, that girl insisted he join for some reason. He was honestly surprised that he didn’t remember her until now. All he could solidly remember about their first meeting was him being yanked backwards from her grabbing his free hand and introducing herself in an odd dialogue. She then proceeded to drag him over to her booth and sign him up after he met her offer of joining the club with dumbfounded silence. She must not have registered Ecco’s confusion and was practically beaming with excitement at the prospect of having him join the club. Ecco, too weirded out to do anything else, just nodded in thanks and race-walked away from her before anything else could happen.

Ecco then figured out why he quickly forgot about that girl and the club she was in: she frightened him for some reason and he looked away from her table before she noticed him.

The last group of students quickly became obvious to Ecco as the athletes of the school. They were lean, muscular, and looked quite endurable. Two boys were tossing some kind of brown-colored ball back and forth while two girls were listening to a third boy bragging about only Nayru knew what. Before he could look away something caught Ecco’s eye that caused a chill to run down his spine.

Two girls, one with pure white hair and the other two shades of yellow, more athletes by the looks of it, joined the other students at the table. Their eyesight was currently locked on Ecco in a frightening manner. The piercing glares those two girls gave him promised nothing less than contempt and distrust. If looks could kill Ecco was pretty sure he’d be reduced to a skeleton by now. The sheer ferocity and intense fury in the girls’ eyes akin to those he received before leaving Zora’s Domain.

Ecco made a mental note not to get on their bad side. Better yet, avoid them entirely if possible. He tore his eyes away from those girls and shook his head. For the first time since walking in the school he felt truly afraid. There was something about those girls that warned him to stay away. But then he thought he was overreacting again and his mind was playing tricks on him. He threw a quick glance back at the athlete’s table to see the two girls were looking away from him. Looking like they haven’t even seen him. Ecco released a silent sigh of relief and rested his head on his hand.

A thought brought itself to the front of Ecco’s mind that made him do one final quick scan of the whole cafeteria. All of the students looked... divided to him. Almost as if each and every student contributing specific qualities or characteristics were isolating themselves from others who weren’t like them. This distinct lack of unity and division amongst their own peers made Ecco feel... displeased.

Why were these adolescent humans grouping up into their own factions like this? Zoras were sociable creatures and Ecco thought that humans wouldn’t be any different, seeing as they both share the gift of sentience. Although, that wasn’t to say that division among civilians was an alien ideology to the Zora race, but that was another story.

Maybe it was some form of human social structuring that he was seeing, but what ever it was it felt wrong to Ecco.

”Oh... Em... GEE!!!”

That shrill squeal was so sudden, so loud that it sent Ecco tumbling out of his chair in shock.

“It’s a Zora! A real, living, breathing Zora! Eee~ I’ve always wanted to meet one of you!”

Ecco placed a hand over his rapidly beating heart and took deep breaths to calm himself, hardly listening to whoever was talking to him. Glancing up, he was greeted to a girl he hadn’t noticed before. She had light green skin with yellow eyes, messy white and teal hair, and the second biggest grin Ecco had ever seen.

“You look even more exotic up close! Your eyes look so intimidating! Are your teeth sharp? Can you eat human food? Does your kind lay eggs or give live birth? Is that a harp?! Is it true your kind doesn’t normally wear clothes? If so, how do you guys cover up your-“

”LYRA!”

A pale yellow hand grabbed the girl’s arm and yanked her backward, revealing its owner: yet another girl, this one with soft blue eyes, and curly pink and dark blue hair.

“I’m really sorry about her, mister. She’s always wanted to meet a Zora but I didn’t think she’d act this way. I hope she didn’t scare you too bad. Here.” She extended her hand to help Orcinus up.

Ecco’s ears were slightly ringing from the first girls’ squeal and subsequent questioning but he was still able to hear what the newcomer had to say. He accepted the offer with a slightly shaking hand and stood back up, giving the girl a grateful nod once she let go of his hand.

“Anyway, I’m Bon-Bon. You’ve already met my friend, Lyra. And, again, I’m really sorry about her behavior. Ever since she first read about Zoras she always wondered what it would be like to encounter one. Her antics can be off-putting but she means well.”

Ecco patiently listened to Bon-Bon while cautiously glancing at Lyra, who was slightly bouncing with excitement and ignoring the fact that nearly every soul in the cafeteria was looking their way, no doubt attracted by the commotion. He decided to let it go and waved his hand as a means of saying, “Don’t worry about it.”

Bon-Bon seemed to understand the gesture and let out a small sigh of relief. She looked like she wanted to say something more but was cut off by Lyra.

“Yeah, sorry about that. But seriously, tell me, how did you evolve in order to adapt to life on both land and sea? How do you transact between breathing air and water? Are your scales rough or smooth? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Lyra!”

“What? I’m just asking him a question.”

“Your asking him more than one! I think your overwhelming him!”

“Come to think of it, is it really a ‘him’?”

“Focus, Lyra!”

“Hey, Zora, can you show us if you’re male or female? Like, maybe take your shirt off or maybe your-”

“LYRA!”

Ecco took two nervous steps backward as he tried to comprehend what he was witnessing. His tail fin bumped into something behind him and he looked back to see it was the back of Octavia’s chair. Ecco took this opportunity and jerked a thumb in the direction of the bickering girls. Octavia’s only response was an apologetic smile and shrugging her shoulders. She then stood up from her seat and said, “I’ve known those two since middle school; this is a common sight to me and anyone else who knows them.”

Ecco faced forward as Octavia walked toward Lyra, hoping to calm the energetic girl but was cut off before she could even open her mouth. “Hey! I just realized I don’t even know your name! What can I call you?! Oh, and why are you so quiet?”

A loud but polite cough from Octavia finally diverted Lyra’s attention. “I can answer that for you, Lyra. You see, Mr. Ecco here does not speak.”

“Huh? His name is Ecco? Nice name. Wait a minute, he doesn’t talk?”

“I’m afraid not. It would appear that our new friend prefers to keep quiet. I don’t know if that is because he won’t, or simply cannot, but I think it would be best if you didn’t pry him for information.”

“Yeah,” agreed Bon-Bon. “Especially since it’s his first day here. Give him time to get used to his new surroundings, and if he chooses to speak, he will. Until then, don’t put any pressure on him.”

Lyra looked back at Ecco and, after seeing him nod in confirmation, seemed to finally take the hint. Her stature became more relaxed and now looked inquisitively at Ecco.

“A Zora who doesn’t talk, huh? Oh well, time for a selfie!”

Before anyone could stop her, Lyra pulled out a small rectangular device, placed an arm around Ecco’s shoulders, and pressed her face to his before the device emitted a bright flash of light which blinded the Zora. Poor Ecco jerked backward out of Lyra’s grip before tripping over the legs of Octavia’s chair and fell to the floor, his eyes stinging all the way.

”LYRA!!!”

Author's Note

Any pointing out of any misspellings, grammatical errors or misplacement of commas is appreciated.

The First Day (Part 3)

Rubbing his eyes as he walked down the hall Ecco maintained an annoyed frown on his face. That stupid device not only blinded him, again, but his overall encounter with Lyra resulted in a bad headache. He didn’t bode well with headaches; they weren’t exactly painful, more like a great annoyance to him. Nevertheless, they always distracted him and left him in a bad mood.

Ecco had hoped that his next class would provide him an opportunity to calm down and soothe his head, but was disappointed to discover that the subject following his lunch break happened to be physical education.

Ecco did not consider himself a prideful Zora but he, along with pretty much every other Zora, excelled when it came to fitness. Spending all that time in the water routinely, doing anything and everything on a daily basis does wonders to your body. He wondered if that was the reason some humans liked to go swimming: so that they could learn to swim to the best of their abilities just because they could. Or maybe it was some form of routine exercise to those who liked it so much. Zoras did it all the time. Maybe there was more to it than he thought but Ecco was still willing to bet that, without even trying, he could beat a human in a swimming match.

Ecco stifled a small chuckle at that thought. Him? Trying to prove himself? What a joke. He had no use for personal triumph. At least, not anymore...

Ecco stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath. Now was not the time for brooding over times past. He needed to focus and prepare for whatever his first class of PE would bring. With that thought, he pulled out his map and continued on his trek to find the gymnasium.

At the very least, physical activity would take his mind off of his headache.

Standing as still as possible, Ecco tried his best not to portray his steadily growing anxiety as the fiery-haired girl in front of him shouted in his face.

“I said, ‘Give me your name,’ you minnow!”

All the other students, including the rainbow-haired girl Ecco met, couldn’t help but watch as the aquatic creature stayed silent, the only sign of acknowledgement he gave their teacher was a nervous gulp while beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

“Strong and silent type, are you? Ha! We’ll see about that. I’ll make you squeal in no time. Same goes for the rest of you! You want to make it through this class? Then prepare yourselves for the PE class of a lifetime! Everyone drop and give me twenty! Except for you, fish fry, you give me thirty!”

Why is she treating this as a military drill session?

“Hop to it you mangy mackerel or I’ll have you do fifty!”

Ecco quickly halted his thoughts and dropped to the ground to begin what he supposed was the warmup before the actual lesson. Push-ups were nothing new to him but they do tend to wear him out rather quickly than other exercises. He finished his thirty push-ups not long after the other students were done and returned to the stature of standing at attention. The teacher, whom Ecco realized couldn’t be that much older than the students, regarded him with a raised eyebrow.

“You finished faster than I thought you would. I figured that massive fin attached to your head along with that harp would have weighed you down. No big deal. Don’t think this means anything, guppie, we’ve barely begun.”

You don’t say.

“Now then, here’s the deal: every time you stay silent, you will give me ten laps around the gym. You’re still silent after that, and the entire class will join you for an addition ten. Got it?”

All Ecco could do was nod his head, internally dreading what was to come next.

“All right, get to it! Come on, hustle! I wanna see some sweat dripping down your face in streams!”

At the risk of sounding boastful, prepare to be disappointed.

Ecco wasted no time in sprinting to the wall nearest to him and running the perimeter of the gymnasium. Gradually, his running slowed to a steady and maintained jog. As he jogged, Ecco heard the coach, once she’d stopped shouting at him, turn and address the rest of the class. Her words were drowned out by his breathing and footfalls but he could care less about what she had to say even if he could hear her. All he cared to think about were the repercussions he knew were result from this.

I’d bet the “massive fin attached to my head” the other students won’t take kindly to being punished for my actions.

Sure enough, once he finished his laps, his failing to respond verbally to the coach resulted in him doing ten more laps. Along with a few hateful glares directed at him by the other students.

I probably told myself this already, but this is going to be a long day.

Ecco quickly found himself outran by a majority of the other students. Most of whom shot mean looks or voiced their opinions about his silence in a rude manner. Once or twice a student tried to vent their frustration on him by attempting to trip him if they got close enough. Not only did they not succeed, but it also alerted Ecco to the fact that two of the students were the athlete girls he’d seen in the cafeteria. The ones who he saw glaring at him with dangerous malice.

So I wasn’t imagining them. Great.

Ecco decided to err on the side of caution and would throw quick glances over his shoulder to see if the two girls would pull anything. Thankfully they only seemed content on watching him like a hawk. A fact that Ecco found especially fitting for the one with the white hair. Her eyes reminded him of an eagle or any other predatory bird he had heard of.

The student’s laps done, the coach approached Ecco and stared straight into his eyes with a look of disbelief on her face.

“What the heck?! You may have not finished first but you still ran those laps without breaking a sweat! Whatever. You ready to talk now, flounder?”

...

The coach was now looking thoroughly frustrated with him and for a moment, Ecco feared she might force him to run laps again. Before anything else could happen a voice spoke out.

“Hey, uh, probably shoulda mentioned this earlier, but... he doesn’t talk.”

Ecco and the coach turned to see the one who had spoken was Rainbow Dash, who had finished her laps first before all the other students did. She had a half sheepish, half amused look as she rubbed her neck. The coach looked back at Ecco before saying, “Doesn’t talk, eh? Well that’s to be expected since animals cannot talk!”

Rainbow Dash’s eyebrows arched in alarm.

“No no no no no! I mean he won’t talk at all. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t think like us! Trust me, I’ve met him back at the Freshman Fair and we even share the same home room. He hasn’t spoken a word at either time but he has displayed emotions like we do. I also saw someone trying to get him to talk during lunch, but failed.”

The coach looked Ecco in the eyes once more as if asking him to confirm what Rainbow Dash has been saying. As usual, all Ecco could do was nod. The coach let out a sigh of mild frustration and pinched the bridge of her nose. She then straightened up and said, “If that’s true, then I’d say you have a long ways to go if you want to get ahead in life without a voice. Until then, get ready for a real workout.”

She then ran the whole class through a lecture of things to expect in the months ahead; the requirements to get into whatever sports team was available, upcoming events and games with rival schools, etc. Ecco didn’t really find any of this too interesting as he had no clue as to why this was all necessary. Nevertheless, he would power through it just like any other class in order to make it through one more day.

The remainder of the class was spent getting familiarized with the various equipment and game balls that were going to be used throughout the school year. Ecco found himself secretly amused by the number of different balls for their respective games. So many different kinds and in many shapes and sizes. He didn’t know much about human sports but he had to admire the passion in which the humans treated it.

Something colorful in his peripheral vision prompted Ecco to turn and see that it was Rainbow Dash speaking to the two girls hostile towards him. Surprisingly, they seemed to be having a lighthearted conversation, no trace of the distrust or dark intentions on either of their faces. Was Rainbow Dash friends or acquaintances with them? If so, Ecco thought that, with luck, she could dissuade them from doing anything. As selfish as it sounded, Ecco wanted every advantage against potential bullies as possible.

“Hey.”

Ecco was brought out of his thoughts by the now familiar raspy voice he associated with Rainbow Dash. He looked to see her standing in front of him, the two other girls thankfully absent.

“Look, don’t take this personally but you shouldn’t let people walk over you like that. You’re only gonna make yourself a bigger target for people who’re against you and your kind.”

Ecco arched an eye ridge.

’My kind?’

“That’s not to say that I have anything against Zoras, not at all. It’s just I thought I’d let you know just to keep an eye out in the long run. Y’know, be vigilant.”

Ecco couldn’t help but agree. Although he had already went through this thought process he found it oddly comforting that this girl would show concern for him and go out of her way to give some advice. As a way to express his gratitude, Ecco forced a small smile and nodded his head at Rainbow Dash.

“Don’t sweat it, dude. Just lookin’ out for a fellow student.”

Ecco could hardly believe he just heard her say that. Was this girl really helping him for no reason? Was she showing mercy just because she wanted to? He didn’t know such chivalry like this existed in humans, much less an adolescent. Maybe there was more to it than he was currently thinking but whatever the case, it felt nice knowing that at least one more human showed him some level of civility.

Such loyalty...

“So... you really can’t talk?”

Ecco looked her in the eyes with slight disbelief mixed with bemusement. Had his muteness not been established enough? Had she still not accepted this as fact? Or was it because she just didn’t believe him?

Rainbow Dash continued with, “I mean, I’ve met people before who actually can talk but don’t. I’m just curious if your a similar case. Do you choose not to talk or are you for real, legitimately mute? Or, are you a bit of both?”

Ecco couldn’t blame her for her curiosity, nor could he deny her logic. It was true that he is still physically able to talk, yet he would not. And there was a reason for it. A reason that, for the longest time, has haunted Ecco for the last three years...

“Well... I guess that answers my question,” Rainbow Dash’s voice breaking Ecco out of his inner turmoil once more. “Don’t know what else to say other than what coach Spitfire says is true. You’re gonna have a hard time not being able to speak. I’m not saying you won’t; you look pretty tough but you still need to find a way to communicate. I’m sure you’ll find out how soon enough. In the meantime, good luck to you.”

If Ecco could rank how much his confidence rose from Rainbow Dash’s words, he’d be unable to find the properly phrase for, “beyond measure.” He didn’t know why but somehow her words felt very reassuring. He made it this far without a voice, and it was only half the school day. Sure, he still had a much longer way to go, but that didn’t mean he’d have to do it alone. With that in mind, Ecco felt a small but genuine smile grace his lips as he gave a grateful nod to Rainbow Dash, who just smiled back.

It was at that moment that a cough was heard, causing Ecco and Rainbow Dash to turn their heads to see that it was Spitfire standing a few feet away. She had a neutral expression on her face, bordering on a slight frown as she regarded them.

“As much as I enjoy a good motivational speech,” she began. “You two should get ready to leave. The bell’s gonna ring in a bit and you don’t wanna be late for your next class now, do ya?”

After glancing at a nearby clock, Ecco and Rainbow Dash quickly gathered their school supplies and joined the rest of the students at the gym’s entrance/exit, though Ecco stood a few steps back from the crowd.

“What are you playing at?”

Those five words would echo in the back of his head for weeks to come. Ecco was halfway to his next class when he found himself cornered by none other than the two hostile girls. Up close, they were even more terrifying than from a distance.

“We’re not buying this muteness crap,” the taller girl with the white hair stated rudely. “Cut the act already and answer a question with your voice and not your head. You’re not really mute, are ya?”

Ecco found himself beginning to sweat. No sooner had his confidence been raised barely two minutes ago, it was now plummeting with this sudden confrontation from two students who clearly didn’t like him. Had he been able to respond he wouldn’t anyway; he was too shocked.

“Are you deaf,” the other girl, the one with two-toned yellow hair, added with growing agitation?! “Stop portraying yourself as a standard self-loathing anime protagonist and speak to us! You think you can get away with you making us do extra laps because of some tongue tied BS? Think again!”

By this point a small crowd of students had begun to amass around the petrified Zora and two girls. The majority of them seemed to agree with his interrogators while the rest were either indifferent or indecisive on what to do. Either way, Ecco was now in a situation where he would have to make a choice: fight or flee. He didn’t fancy the idea of trading blows with others, let alone two adolescent human females, but he wouldn’t hesitate to defend himself if he was attacked. On the other hand, he could play it safe and run for it. That would result in him escaping unscathed, being chased for only Nayru knew how long before he ran out of stamina or places to hide, escape for the time being and most likely be attacked again later, or maybe a mixture of all three.

“Talk, dammit!” The white haired girl practically shouted in Ecco’s face. “We won’t let you go until you finally squeak! After that, we’ll see to it that you know exactly where you stand in this school. You get the picture now, you filthy bottom feeder? Huh?! Do ya?!”

”What is the meaning of this?!”

That sudden shout was followed by the two assaulters adopting horrified looks on their faces, and the gathered students scrambling to make way for a livid Vice Principal Luna, whom Ecco quickly realized must have been the one who shouted. She did not look happy.

“Grizelda Razorclaw and Lighting Dust, just what do you think you are doing to Mr. Orcinus,” Vice Principal Luna demanded, her arms crossed over her chest?

“W-we uh… we were just-.” The first girl tried to defend herself but was too stunned to form a solid response.

“It-It-It’s not w-what it looks like…”. The second girl had just as much luck as the first, stumbling over her words as the older woman’s eyes bore holes into her.

“Enough!” Vice Principal Luna’s tone commanding immediate compliance. “I expected a lot better than two freshmen to go out of their way to bully a new student. A student who, I may add, has a communication disability!”

“A uh… a what,” the first girl, Grizelda, if Ecco recalled, asked with a raised eyebrow?

“He cannot speak,” Vice Principal Luna elaborated. “Therefore, you are currently assaulting someone who could very well specify as a special needs student.”

At that thought Ecco couldn’t help but feel a little insulted. Sure, he had a temper and some compulsive tendencies but he wasn’t stupid! He knew how to keep himself in check… most of the time.

“H-how could’ve we possibly known that,” the one called Lightning Dust asked?

“Yeah, it’s not like he could’a told us,” Grizelda added!

“Mr. Orcinus, please make your way to your next class,” Vice Principal Luna ordered without looking away from the girls. “I shall take care of this.”

Ecco didn’t waste another second and speed walked away, taking care to weave around the few students who still lingered after the vice principal’s arrival. As he made his way through the hall he couldn’t help but think to himself.

Well… that happened. Wait, what’s an ‘anime’?

The class Ecco found himself in after narrowly evading an escalation was something that both genuinely interested him, and presented the perfect opportunity to get his mind off of what happened: history.

Zoras were known for being proud of their heritage and beginnings since the dawn of time. As a result, the higher ups in the Zora’s Domain equivalent to a modern day school district took special liberties when teaching the next generation of Zoras the various historical highlights of the Zora race. How they came to be, how their evolution let them excel where others failed, how they combated their enemies, who and what their religious figureheads stand for, their natural talent for music, to name a few.

That being said, Ecco found himself curious as to if he could compare his people’s history to that of the humans’. Maybe he could find something of note and use it as a means to better his opinion on them. If not, at least it would be something to reflect upon when he needed to escape his own thoughts; something new and alien to take his mind away from present troubles.

“The Great and Powerful Trrrixie demands to know why such a lowly flounder is allowed on campus!”

Unfortunately, Ecco’s hopes of this class being a good respite from prior events was quickly disintegrated by someone who would quickly become his least favorite human he’d ever met before or after. Clad in a light purple dress with a thick cyan hem, blue hoodie and knee-length boots, this self-centered nitwit quickly earned herself the same status that Ecco gave to Flash Sentry. The moment she laid eyes on him she made no effort to hold back her animosity towards him. Worse still, the way she spoke in the third person, for some reason, annoyed Ecco even further.

Hello, headache, my old friend…

“Ms Lulamoon, please retake your seat and lower your voice. Class is about to begin.”

“Trixie was under the impression that animals were not allowed on campus. Yet, here one is, attempting to pass off as one of us while trying to establish its nonexistent dominance over us! I won’t stand for it!”

“Ms Lulamoon! That is no way to talk about a fellow student. In case you haven’t noticed, Mr. Orcinus here has been the very definition of obedience and good manners and hasn’t raised any concern for alarm, so I fail to see how you would classify that as him *ahem* ‘establishing dominance’. Now please sit down or I’m going to have to exercise disciplinary action upon you.”

“But Trixie-“

“Now!”

Ecco had his back to her but the sound of Trixie grumbling as she slouched back into her seat eased his headache a little. He could still feel her eyes on him though, no doubt glaring daggers into his tail fin. Despite his effort to make up for lost time he was unable to find a desk at the back of the room and had no option but to take the last one available, right in front of the one named Trixie. He was beginning to wonder if this would be the last uproar caused by his presence.

The First Day (Finale)

Apparently not.

History class thankfully passed with relative peace now that the ‘Arrogant and Boastful Trixie’’, as Ecco had personally dubbed her, ceased any further attempts at prodding him for any type of reaction. The class as a whole followed the same sequence as the rest; a form of orientation, for lack of a better word, in order to mentally prepare the students for the year ahead and what to expect from the class and so on.

Now, with one final period before school was let out, Ecco practically pounced from his seat as soon as the bell rang and made his way to his last class, silently pleading to Nayru that no further confrontations from random angry girls got in his way. Rounding a corner his goal was in sight and he hastened his pace to claim an empty seat before anyone else arrived. He gave a sigh of relief as he was about to reach for the doorknob.

He had made it.

“Ugh! It’s even uglier than I thought!”

He was wrong. Again.

Ecco’s gaze was now locked with who he thought were the two most unbearable girls he had the misfortune of encountering. Brash, pompous, conceited, materialistic and any other relatable term personified these girls in every way. Their stance, their clothes, everything. Speaking of, Ecco found himself thinking that these two had to be the most inappropriately dressed girls in the whole school, especially for their age. Well, actually just one of them more so than the other.

The first girl had light gray skin with dark gray and white hair tied into a braid. A large pair of cyan spectacles sat on her nose and a pearl necklace around her neck, along with a pearl bracelet on her right hand. Her attire consisted of a purple shirt with some decorative designs on the sleeves, and what looked like to Ecco a flat collar on her shoulders held together by a small elegant spoon ornament. She also wore a large magenta skirt, with a thin white stripe above the hem, that reached down just above her knees. She wore knee length boots the same color as her shirt and sported a cyan bow tied on the top of each one.

The second girl had light pink skin and light purple and white hair that was held in place by a small tiara pin. She wore a black shirt covered by a huge, stuffy yellow jacket with a white fur collar. Her skirt was tight, half the length of the first girl’s and looked like that the fabric was a bunch of small white diamonds sewn together. It was pulled up over her midsection, hugging her frame and revealing a pair of black leggings reaching down to her knees. Her boots were yellow with white fur on the top, and sported anklets of what looked like amethysts. Similar looking gems also served as a pair of earrings and a necklace. Finally, she had a small white bracelet on her left hand.

The two girls were talking the entire time Ecco had been analyzing them. They didn’t seem to notice that he wasn’t paying attention to what they were saying. All he could think about was the sudden realization of the consistency of how the the female students dressed. Tops varied from girl to girl but short skirts and knee-length boots were on nearly every one that caught Ecco’s eye. Few girls had skirts that reached below their knees and he remembered seeing at least one who’s skirt reached her ankles. He couldn’t help but wonder why that was.

Ecco’s thoughts came to a screeching halt as one question forced it’s way to the front of his mind: why is he thinking about this? What does it matter how these females dressed? I didn’t affect him in any way and it wasn’t his business either. It’s not like he was feeling alluded to them-

!!!

That was it. He must be reaching that age where he began to see females in a different way. It completely slipped his mind that it was during this time his age group began the process of bodily maturing and start to search for a mate. It made sense now; his observations of the various females in the cafeteria, the odd feeling of awe and fascination he felt when he laid his eyes on Fluttershy, etc. It all felt alluring to simply lay eyes on them. The sense of dread set in when Ecco concluded that one: he was approaching puberty fast, and two: he may very well have found what made him… eager. And the thought that he had to put up with it for the next four years did nothing to ease his worries.

*SnapSnapSnap*

”HEY! Are you listening to me?!”

Ecco jumped as he was broken from his newfound inner turmoil by a shrill voice that demanded undivided attention. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and found that he was still outside his final classroom and the two snobby brats were blocking his way. The shorter of the two, the pink one, was looking thoroughly agitated while snapping her fingers next to his ear fin. Speaking of which, Ecco found that they were just tall enough to reach his chest. So why did he feel intimidated by them?

“Haven’t you heard a word of what I was saying? You were, like, just gazing into space! Pay attention when I’m talking to you, guppy!”

Correction, Ecco wasn’t intimidated by them; he just wondered why they weren’t intimidated by him. Everyone else besides those he met at the fair had simply avoided him. Yet, these two approached him and must have wanted to establish something like what happened with Grizelda and Lightning Dust. Ecco decided he wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of trying to get him under their thumbs and proceeded to walk around them and through the door to the classroom. It wasn’t polite to be late and he had just found himself in another life-changing situation that he needed to find a way to cope with. One that he somehow needed to inform his mom about when they got home.

“What the-?! Don’t ignore us you overgrown mollusk!”

“Yeah, your mom ever teach you good manners?”

The temperature in the room dropped twenty degrees as Ecco slowly turns to stare at the girls. His tail fin and ear fins raised upward, gently waving about as if underwater. If looks could kill, they’d be atoms. Their faces turned pale and they took a step back, trembling. Without another word Ecco faced forward and claimed the first empty seat he saw at the back of the classroom. He didn’t need to see the girls scampering off to know that he’d scared them off for the time being.

Ecco placed his hands over his face and exhaled. He really didn’t want to cause a scene by loosing his temper and he had to will himself significantly to not lash out beyond an aggressive stance. Those two girls nearly made his patience run out and he hesitated to think about what might have happened if he didn’t hold himself in check. To make matters worse, he was pretty sure they would be going to tell someone about this, most likely their rich parents who had enough influence in the city to make his and his mom’s life miserable. He clenched his fists at the thought that he may have sealed both of their fates because of one small loss of composure. How ironic; he did his best to avoid trouble but found it anyway.

Soon enough the class began and Ecco did his best to pay attention to the teacher and stay as inconspicuous from the other students as possible. He knew he stood out and was somewhat pointless to hide but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try. He had already dug himself a deep enough grave.

Ecco felt a tap on his shoulder and at first thought it was his mind playing tricks on him brought on by stress and ignored it. A second tap brought him out of his self loathing and he turned his head slightly to his left and peaked through his thumb and index finger to see who wanted his attention. Ecco jerked his head up in shock as the one who gained his attention made him think he had discovered a human female version of himself sitting in the desk next to him.

This new girl had pure white skin with wild, unkept blue and cyan hair. She was wearing what looked like a white and blue jacket with short sleeves and no hood, and a white skirt (with a black double music note on its side) that looked even shorter, and tighter, than the one on the brat that Ecco scared away, a pair of violet leggings reaching her shins with indigo lightning bolts, bright magenta coverings on her wrists and a pair of blue sneakers. Most mesmerizing of all, however, we’re the enormous black and purple spectacles covering her eyes. Though, Ecco hesitated to call them that as they didn’t appear to have the purpose of assisting the wearer with their eyesight. Rather, they just seemed to shade her eyes for… some reason he couldn’t figure out. There was also some kind of weird device on her head that covered her ears.

This new girl appeared to have been taken aback by the Zora’s reaction but seemed to relax shortly afterward. She smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. Ecco didn’t know how to process what he was seeing. All he could think of was how all that’s happened to him so far had to be a culmination of some sort to test how many unforeseen shenanigans he could handle. If that were the case, he say that he’d breached his limit.

Before he could overthink anything else Ecco then had an afterthought: why hadn’t she said anything? If she wanted to talk to him she could have done the more conventional method and say something directly to him. Yet, she took a subtle route and tapped him on the shoulder. Why was that? The girl seemed to sense his confusion and waved her hand in a way that made Ecco think she wasn’t trying to cause a scene, but to merely greet him. This only served to confuse him further. Why wasn’t she saying anything?

The realization struck Ecco like a bolt of lightning as it became clear to him as soon as he thought up that question: was she deliberately quiet as well? It made sense, seeing as she was using hand gestures to communicate like he was learning to do. He didn’t know why she chose to stay silent but he could tell that she wouldn’t pry him for an explanation. Regardless, Ecco had found recognition from this girl and not just because of their similar colors. Either by fate or an extraordinary series of coincidences, he had found someone who could understand his blight. The music note on her skirt also helped to indicate that she had a passion for music like he did. A common interest in the musical arts. Of what type of music he didn’t know yet but he felt he would find out one day.

Ecco gathered his thoughts back together and forced a small smile towards the girl along with a nod; it was nice to meet her too. The girl smiled back and gave him two thumbs up before holding out a fist. Ecco stared at it for a moment before looking the girl in the eye and raising an eye ridge. She seemed to understand and pointed to his left hand before gently bumping her fists together. This time Ecco understood the gesture. It must be some alternate form of shaking hands. He held out his fist and she tapped it with her own. They both locked eyes one more time before the teacher started taking roll call. After the teacher was done, Ecco glanced back at the girl, “Vinyl Scratch”, as the teacher revealed her name to be, and gave her another smile. She smiled back and Ecco found himself in a much calmer state of mind than when he entered the room.

Turns out that he was not the only music-loving mute in this volatile environment. Ecco could only smile to himself and mentally declare with confidence that he had achieved something he deemed impossible for his first day of school.

He had made a friend.

Classes concluded for the day and a certain Zora now found himself struggling through a sporadic combination of crowded halls and frantic students in order to make it back to his locker. He eventually found it and was met with a less than satisfying sight: Flash Sentry. By unfortunate coincidence his locker was located a few feet left of his own and was currently in the middle of swapping objects in and out. Ecco did his best to ignore him and began the procedure himself. It didn’t take him very long and was looking forward to going home and be with his mom.

Closing the locker door, Ecco was surprised, or perhaps not so surprised, to see that Flash Sentry was hiding behind the open locker door. He was probably trying to catch him off guard. Joke was on him though, he expected another confrontation from him if his behavior during lunch was any indication.

“You’ve made quite a reputation for yourself already, beast. You put on some fancy acrobatics in the stairwell, show off during gym class, frighten off two of the most wealthy girls in town, and rumors say you got on the principals’ good sides. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you have plans to rule this school through flattery through music, and sympathy through your supposed muteness.”

Had Ecco the ability to respond he’d probably cut Flash Sentry off and scolded him for making wild assumptions and taking stuff at face value. Some parts of what he was saying were somewhat true, others were not while the rest were only half truths. It irritated Ecco to no end that these humans were trying their best to make a scene and have him come out as the aggressor for no good reason. He had just finished his last class in high spirits and it was being ruined by some stubborn, headfirst fool. Frankly, he’s had about enough of this nonsense.

Ecco threw an annoyed frown in Flash Sentry’s direction before tightening the straps on his backpack and marched off, leaving him in his wake.

“Where do you think your going? Get back here! I’m not done with you!”

Ecco’s only response was to swing his tail fin behind him in a wide arch in an attempt to ward off his pursuer. The sound of heavy footfalls coming from behind him ceased and Ecco used this opportunity to increase his pace toward the front doors.

At that moment a loud chime-like sound emitted from one of those so-called “speakers” high on the walls, followed by a high pitched whine that hurt Ecco’s ears. It was then that the authoritative voice of Vice Principal Luna blasted out of the speakers, “Silent Song, please report to the principal’s office.”

Ecco froze in his tracks as his scales went pale and his heartbeat increased. That was the last thing he had expected, or wanted, to hear.

“Ha! Try and make your way out of this one, shark bait!”

Ecco didn’t hear him. The world around him muffled out as his mind went into a panic. At least, it would have, if not for him steeling his nerves with tremendous effort and breathing deeply while simultaneously resisting the urge to sprint until his legs fell off. That would only worsen his predicament. With no other option he made his way back towards the offices, students left and right laughing and mocking him all the way.

Upon entering the principal’s office, Ecco was greeted by a very unfriendly looking middle-aged man in what must be a very expensive business suit. He had lightly tanned skin and shiny black hair. His moderate blue eyes bore holes into him as a familiar pink skinned brat and her equally as annoying minion both smirked in what looked like triumph. With a low, melancholic sigh Ecco knew what was going on. His earlier hunch had proved correct: spoiled rich brat ran crying to her even richer daddy and was about to make his and his mom’s life a living nightmare. Which, in turn would mean bad progress in his sentence to improve his race’s relationship with theirs.

Not if I can help it.

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were observing from behind the former’s desk with uncertain, and mildly disappointed looks on their faces, respectively. No one said a word for a time until the man broke the silence.

“So,” he began in a deep unimpressed tone. “This is the creature who caused trouble for my daughter and her friend.”

“That‘s the one, Daddy,” the pink one butted in with a deceptively whining voice! “Me and Silver Spoon were only trying to be nice to him but then he got all angry with us and swung his fist at us!”

Ecco clenched his eyes shut while he refrained himself from tightening his fists.

“Yeah,” the other girl, Silver Spoon, quickly added. “He’s a mean big brute who should be in an aquarium, not attending school!”

“Silver Spoon,” Principal Celestia scolded! “We are not here to make insults, we are here to handle this situation accordingly and justly.”

“Mr. Orcinus, did you, or did you not, do what Diamond Tiara just described,” Vice Principal Luna asked in a calm but stern voice?

Ecco took a deep breath to compose himself and looked Vice Principal Luna in the eye, shaking his head.

“You big liar,” Diamond Tiara yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at Ecco! “You tried to hit us and snapped your disgusting jaws at us!”

“Inside voice, Diamond Tiara! There is no need to shout.”

Ecco pinched the area between his eyes and exhaled. This was downright ridiculous. These two spoiled brats were causing an uproar when they very well knew they had brought this upon themselves. He had to find a way to rectify this mess soon or it’s bad news for him, his mom, and everyone back at Zora’s Domain. Especially with how the man, Filthy Rich, seemed to hold significant influence, as was proven when a quick glance at Principal Celestia showed her to be slightly nervous as the situation was getting out of hand. She knew the man could pull certain strings if he wanted to and had the riches to make it happen.

Ecco reached into his backpack’s side pouch and pulled out his flash cards. After skimming through them for a bit he soon found the one he was looking for. He pulled it out and presented it to Filthy Rich.

“’What do you want from me?’ Is it not obvious? I demand that you apologize for assaulting my daughter and her friend immediately. Or else I will sue you for everything you have. I will not tolerate my little angel being bullied at school.” Filthy Rich didn’t notice said daughter and friend’s faces morph into devilish grins.

“Now, now, Mr. Rich. Don’t you think you might be overreacting about this just a little? How about I bring up the school’s security feed and see what really hap-.” Celestia was cut off when Diamond Tiara interrupted.

“Actually, Daddy, it turns out that Canterlot’s new resident walking sardine can’t talk,” she spoke ominously while eyeing Ecco’s harp, something that did not go unnoticed by Ecco himself. “So he literally cannot apologize for anything he’s done!”

“Is that right,” Filthy Rich asked, crossing his arms as he did so?

“That’s right. So how about we settle on a trade and call it even?” Ecco’s blood pressure began to rise as he was getting a pretty good idea on what the little pink devil was implying.

“T-that is absurd,” Celestia tried to cut in but was again cut off!

“What did you have in mind, sweetheart,” Filthy Rich inquired?

Don’t. You. DARE.

Diamond Tiara had her target dead to rights and pointed directly behind Ecco.

“His harp!”

Ecco spread his knees and adopted a combat stance, holding one arm ready while using the other to shield his precious harp. Vice Principal Luna stood up from her seat and was about to reach behind her back before her sister held her arm in place.

“Why would you want his harp,” Filthy Rich asked, ignoring the Zora’s reaction? “Were you hoping to learn to play an instrument? I would have scheduled some music lessons for you.”

“I don’t want the harp to play it,” Diamond Tiara replied. “I just like how it looks; the silvery sheen along with those lovely gems embedded in it. It would be far more suited to hang from my bedroom wall as a trophy than be in the hands of a beast.”

’Trophy’? Trophy… Trophy!

“Wait just a minute,” Principal Celestia protested! “I had hoped to sort out this little misunderstanding with level heads and swift compromise. Bargaining an apology by forcing him to give up a valuable and irreplaceable possession was not what I had in mind!”

“I concur,” Vice Principal Luna added while lowering her arm. “Mr. Rich, perhaps if we follow through with my sister’s suggestion and review security footage we can work something out without turning this into a-.”She was cut off when Ecco held out his hand and shook his head. Luna felt mildly offended by being silenced mid-sentence, much less by a student, but said nothing.

Ecco put his hands together and forced the most apologetic look could muster. He looked Mr. Rich, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and bowed slightly, a clear sign he was saying sorry without talking. He then reached into his jacket’s front pocket and pulled out something covered in a velvety looking cloth. Reaching out, he gestured for Mr. Rich to take it.

“What is this,” Filthy Rich asked with an impatient voice? He took the object and untied the bow holding the cloth together. When the cloth unraveled, he let out a gasp that was followed in earnest by four others.

In the hands of Filthy Rich was a large, uncut diamond.

Ecco had to wait a minute or two before Mr. Rich shook from his stupor and look the Zora in the eye.

“A-a-re you j-just giving this to us?”

Ecco gave a firm nod.

Celestia and Luna were too stunned to say anything and could only stare at Ecco in bewilderment.

“All is forgiven!”

Everyone turned to see it was Diamond Tiara who made that declaration, and was currently eyeing Ecco with a newfound fascination. She turned to the principals and said, “It’s all right Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, he proved he was sorry and even presented us with a nice gift to show how serious he is about it. There’s no need to get him into trouble for something he didn’t do.” She turned to her father. “Can we go now, Daddy? Isn’t my hair appointment in, like, twenty minutes?”

Filthy Rich quickly glanced at the nearby clock before wrapping the diamond back up in the cloth and placed it in his suit pocket. He then cleared his throat and regarded Ecco for a moment.

“Well… um… Y-you drive a hard bargain, Sir…Orcinus, was it? *Ahem* I suppose I can let this little incident slide. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.” He was silent for a few seconds before he bid the sisters farewell and walked out the door with his daughter and Silver Spoon in tow.

Ecco smiled politely and nodded at Mr. Rich as he left. Utter deafness fell upon the office as no one ushered a sound. Eventually, Vice Principal Luna broke the awkwardness by clearing her throat.

“Well, that could have gone much worse. I don’t suppose you could explain why you were carrying a diamond of all things-.”

*THUD!*

Celestia and Luna jumped as Ecco suddenly and unceremoniously fell face-down on the floor. A muffled, defeated sigh emitting from him.

The exhausted Zora didn’t make any attempt to get up. He thought he had reached his limits with encounters of pointless idiocy but fate had really proved him wrong. So far today he had been confronted and/or harassed by at least five delusional imbeciles, discovered his own distinct fetish and made a fool of himself by scaring away some rich girls, causing one of said rich girls to call in her richer father to get something out of him. And get something out of him they did. Needless to say, poor Ecco was both physically and mentally drained.

The sound of high heels clacking against the floor signaled Ecco that both women were coming to see if he was okay. He honestly couldn’t bring himself to care. All he wanted to do was lie there until some semblance of normality came back to his life. He would have at least acknowledged their presence, had the office door not slammed open with a familiar voice assaulting Ecco’s ears.

“Sweetie?!”

Ecco’s eyes shot open so fast his eyelids practically disconnected from his face. He lifted his head off the floor and was met face to face with the concerned, baby blue eyes of his mother as she dropped to her knees in front of him. He also took note of the fact that Celestia and Luna were in the midst of getting up from the floor. Ecco assumed that they might have been shoved aside as his mom rushed in.

“I heard the announcement but couldn’t come until I had finished tidying up my classroom! Are you alright?! What were you called in for?! Did something happen?! Is it something I can help with?! WHY ARE YOU ON THE FLOOR?!” These questions and more poured out Cirratum’s mouth at an impressive speed while she simultaneously smothered her son in a barrage of look overs and kisses. Ecco found himself feeling both embarrassed and relieved at being so publicly fretted over by his mom and by said mom’s untimely arrival, respectively.

“Mrs. Cirratum,” Principal Celestia almost shouted as she got to her feet. “Everything is all right. We managed to sort out the problem before things could escalate.”

“Indeed,” Vice Principal Luna grumbled as she dusted off her skirt. “Your son managed to bribe his way out of legal trouble with a random diamond he apparently had on his person- er… Zora.”

“‘Bribe?’ What do you mean by that,” Cirratum asked as she and Ecco stood back up? “And with what? A diamond? He couldn’t have had a diamond of any kind unless it was- wait…” She looked at the principals. “Was the diamond in question pure white and uncut, still embedded in rock?” The sisters nodded. “Was it wrapped in a bright blue cloth with a white bow?” The sisters nodded again. Cirratum looked into her son’s eyes with disbelief. “Sweetie, did you give away that diamond you won from the ‘Best Young Swimmer’s’ competition all those years ago?”

Ecco looked sadly at the floor and gave a solemn nod. Cirratum gasped.

“Sweetheart, that diamond was your good luck charm! You told me so yourself when you brought it home that day. You never went anywhere without it. What could have possibly made you want to give it away?”

Ecco felt terrible and was beginning to feel moisture build up in his eyes. He knew why he had done it but he didn’t want his mom to find out this way. If he felt mentally wiped out before, he may as well be brain dead right now. Both mother and son were soon brought back to the present when Principal Celestia cleared her throat loudly.

“That is exactly what we are going to discuss right now. First things first, how about we see if Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s exaggerations held some string of truth to them…”

Soon after, the whole fiasco was made known to Cirratum. She at first felt thoroughly appalled at the concept of her baby boy doing the things he was accused of. It was then that Ecco and Cirratum were introduced to something called “security cameras” and were able to see how well-observed the whole school could be from one small screen. It fascinated them to no end. With this, they were easily able to see that Ecco did throw a nasty look at the two girls, but were unable to know why he did so without sound; the cameras didn’t have audio processors.

“All that leaves,” began Principal Celestia as she turned back to Ecco, who continued to stare at her computer screen, “Is the question of why did you suddenly acted aggressively towards them? You could have walked right past them and not heed a word from them. Did they say something to set you off in some way?”

The two principals and one Zora teacher awaited Ecco’s response. He quickly turned to his flash cards and tried to find one that would provide his answer. Unfortunately, he had underestimated how so far a small stack of flash cards would take him and wasn’t able to find what he was looking for. He fiddled and skimmed his cards with growing anxiety from keeping his mom and the principals waiting until Vice Principal Luna sighed loudly and said, “I’ll be right back.” When she returned a minute later, she held what appeared to be a rectangular, shiny white board along with a small black marker. She handed them to Ecco.

“This should make a much better way of communicating without all those cumbersome flash cards. It is called a dry erase board. Everything you write on it can just as easily come off with a dry piece of cloth or the tiny eraser provided on the cap of the marker. Now then, can you please tell us what Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon said to you for you to frighten them off and cause this silly nonsense to transpire?”

Gulping, Ecco could detect the impatience in the vice principal’s voice, despite how hard she tried to hide it, so he didn’t waste any more time and wrote down his reply.

’They spoke ill of my mama.’

That small written reply was all that was needed. Principal Celestia looked sympathetic while Vice Principal Luna’s stern look softened slightly. Cirratum took her son’s face in her hands and spoke softly to him.

“Baby, you shouldn’t let what other people say about me set you off. You don’t think I don’t know how protective you are of me? I know you want to protect me but you can’t do that by getting yourself in trouble just because one less than satisfactory person happens to say the wrong words. You let people believe what they want; they are just words and they can never hurt you. They should never hurt you.”

“Your mother is right,” Principal Celestia agreed. “Admittedly, this was inevitable. Students, or teenagers in general, will have their own opinions on Zoras and will never hesitate to voice them. Considering the fact that you don’t speak they will undoubtedly take the opportunity to make it especially hard for you.”

Ecco didn’t feel any more reassured from the Principal’s explanation but he suppose that was something he could work with.

“I don’t know how you would have handled this situation back where you came from,” Vice Principal Luna added, “But here any altercation between students is taken very seriously. You are not in trouble but you came very close. In more ways than one, may I add. Do take care to not cause any trouble for us, yourself or anyone else while you attend our school. Understand?”

While Ecco didn’t appreciate the slight scolding tone he was getting he also lacked the will to care right now. He obediently nodded which seemed to satisfy the vice principal.

“Now then,” Cirratum interjected, “Why don’t you make your way to the courtyard, son? I still have some tasks to complete before we can head home so how about you take this chance to unwind a bit? After school clubs won’t start until next week so there shouldn’t be anyone else here who could bother you.”

Ecco wholeheartedly agreed with his mom’s suggestion before kissing her face, waved goodbye to Principal Celestia, and walked out the door.

The rays of the mid-evening sun bared down on Ecco as he laid back against the horse statue in front of the school. He normally didn’t like being outside when there weren’t any clouds but he would take it for the time being.

The overall experience of today’s events was both very enlightening and very overwhelming. He had gained first-hand experience with how teenage humans behaved, learned a mere fraction about how far ahead humans were technologically, and had miraculously made a small number of friends and/or acquaintances. One of which matched both his quiet nature and love for music. At the same time though he discovered that most other people didn’t regard Zoras in a positive way. Grizelda, Lightning Dust, Flash Sentry and Trixie were all proof of that. It didn’t help that they either weren’t going to acknowledge his muteness, or just didn’t care.

Ecco sighed at that thought. Recalling the last few hours he quickly figured that almost all of the mishaps he was involved in could very well have been avoided or rectified more effectively if he had just broken his silence.

If only they knew…

Ecco shook his head. He hated thinking about his past. Sometimes he hated to think at all, but when one lacks a voice your thoughts were all you logically have left to work with. It didn’t make things easy either way.

Speaking of things being easy, it suddenly dawned on Orcinus that he had managed to get out of most of those escapades a little too easily. He had originally thought it might have been sheer luck but he wasn’t as much a believer of luck as he used to be. Maybe it was just mere coincidence that Vice Principal Luna just so happened to have been walking by when Grizelda and Lightning Dust were harassing him. Ecco then wondered, what ever happened to those two anyway? Did they get in trouble for bullying a “special needs” student? If so, they will most likely be out for revenge sooner or later.

That realization made Ecco throw his head back in frustration, his tail fin smacking the surface of the statue for good measure. Just what he needed: some vengeful bullies who wouldn’t be able to see the lack of sense in trying to get something out of him and… and…

Has the concrete on this statue always been this warm?

Ecco turned around to regard the statue more intensely. To the naked eye it was little more than an upright rectangular pillar serving as the base for a statue of a horse rearing up on it’s hind legs. However, to those who were gifted in the arts of powers beyond what can be seen in physical form, particularly mystical powers, there was something about this statue that set off warning bells in Ecco’s head. If there was a source of unknown, most likely untamed, magic located in the middle of a populated area it was a matter of time before things went wrong. And if things involving magic went wrong, everything went wrong.

Ecco closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could. Blocking out as much noise as possible he focused on the statue, trying to pinpoint where this magic was coming from. He felt it directly in front of him, the surface area he was leaning on. He opened his eyes and placed a hand on the statue, the warmth it emitted very comforting. Now that he thought more about it, Ecco swore that this particular section of the statue was much more smooth and refined than concrete; almost like glass. He tapped the surface and sure enough was rewarded with a faint ringing noise that could only come from a glassy surface.

Ecco was beside himself with befuddlement. So much has happened to him in the span of a single day and even then it didn’t seem to be nearly enough for him to handle just a little more crazy stuff. Placing his hands over his eyes, Ecco sighed in resignation to the fact that his life just got that much more complicated.

One thing at a time… please…

If Ecco didn’t find something to distract himself from the ever mounting number of issues he was facing he would surely go nuts. There was only one way that could calm him down right now and while he was hoping to wait until he got home, he would make an exception for today. For good measure he hopped up onto the statue’s base and sat down with one leg dangling over the edge. He reached back and brought forth his beloved harp to rest on his thigh. Holding it in his hands was, to Ecco, the same thing as greeting an old friend, one who has been with him for the longest time and will continue to do so for much longer.

Before he could start, Ecco needed to set the scene in order to play more efficiently. It helped to imagine himself in a place that was fitting specifically for the song he would play. Right now he needed to think of a place where he could let go; be himself and not worry about the world and its woes. The one place where anyone should feel safe and secure after something akin to a long, difficult journey: home. Ecco closed his eyes and played.

It was a picturesque setting that would make most people weep with nostalgia for the simpler times when they were younger. No complications, no complex systems, no worries about the unknown. Just waiting for the next day with too much time on their hands. Happy faces, laughing youngsters, good food, breathtaking scenery, sunny weather, elders reminiscing of days long past, the homey atmosphere that only came with returning to where you once were. The perpetual smell of water, salt or fresh, hanging in the air. A relentless but calm flow of water over smoothed-over stone piercing the otherwise ambient sounds of everyday life. A serendipitous ambiance of love, happiness and peace. Pure paradise.

It ended too soon, as did with most good things, but Ecco felt satisfied with himself. He hadn’t lost his touch even after a stressful day of school. He opened his eyes and just gazed out at nothing in particular. He just wanted to bask in silent pride at his musical prowess. Another job well done. Ecco was so lost in his own little world that he almost didn’t acknowledge the sudden sound of applause coming from below him.

“Bravo! Bravo!”

“Encore! Encore, I say!”

“Bloodeh brilliant!”

“Masterfully done, good sir!”

“That was radical, man!”

“Dude, that was whimsical!”

“Wowie wow WOW!!!”

“My goodness…”

“Well I’ll be.”

“Huh. Not bad.”

Ecco was so startled he almost fell off the statue. Thankfully he regained his balance, and caught his harp with his tail fin before it could fall. He must have been more lost in his own mind than he thought because he could see he had gained a small audience without noticing. Said crowd was comprised entirely of females, including Cherry Crash, Octavia, Fluttershy and her friends, that silent girl he’d met, that girl with the weird red hat (Orcinus gulped nervously upon seeing her), Lyra (a bead of sweat ran down his head), Bon-Bon, and four others whom he either saw during lunch or hasn’t seen before.

“Oh, um… W-we didn’t mean to scare you. You were just so good with your harp we couldn’t help but watch you. P-please don’t be mad at us.”

Ecco waved his hand and shook his head; no harm done. He then dropped down from the statue, strapped his harp on his back, and regarded his impromptu audience. He took out the dry erase board and wrote, ‘How long have you been standing there?’

“Just as you started playing,” replied Rarity. “Your eyes were closed so that’s probably why you didn’t see us.”

Ecco had already figured that last part out but decided not to point that out. He then wrote, ’Why are you all still here? I thought everyone went home?’

“Well,” began Pinkie Pie, “When I heard the announcement of you being called to the office I knew something bad had to have happened to you so I decided to cheer you up by gathering all who were on good terms with you right off the bat while also bringing those who wished to meet you! We were going wait outside the principal’s office to surprise you but you had already left! So I thought if we were quick enough we would catch you before you went home but you managed to surprise US with your music! We hid at first but we wanted to make you and your music feel appreciated so we gathered around the statue and watched you! You looked so peaceful and happy when you played! It almost makes me sad that we had to break you away from that. You were like contempt to the nth degree! Like-like-!”

“PINKIE!”

“Yes, Applejack?”

“Ah think he gets the point.”

“Oh, okay!”

Ecco rubbed his ears a they rang slightly from Pinkie Pie’s barrage of dialogue. Is this how she normally spoke, with this much enthusiasm and speed? Did she even take a breath between sentences? He then noticed one of the new girls step forward. It was one he saw from the cafeteria; the one with light purple hair tied into large pigtails. Now closer up, Ecco could see she also sported a brown vest covering a white shirt and a pair of purple slippers. Finally, a purple star pendant hung from her neck with a gold string. She regarded him with half-lidded eyes and a far away tone of voice.

“Far out, yo. The way you strum your strings reminds me of how a mother caresses her baby. It’s obvious that harp means the world to you ‘cause it’s your baby. Your pride and joy. You’ve got this spiritual aura about you as pure as a freshly blooming sunflower. Love and peace energy flows off of you like pollen. It’s feels so whimsical to be even near you. You’ve got to try some yoga with me sometime. I feel like it would do wonders for ya.”

…

“Don’t mind her, Mister Zora, she means well but she’s not all there all the time.”

Ecco thanked Nayru for the distraction and turned to find the girl with the large green hair to be the one who said that. She wore a bright amber shirt that exposed her left shoulder, a slightly tattered light brown skirt held up by a white belt with a yellow green buckle, light green knee length boots covered in moderate green frills, a small necklace with what looked to be a green-white gem, and finally a large sand colored hat sat atop her head.

“My name is Sweet Leaf and this is Jasmine. I’ve been waiting to meet you all day. I hope I’m not asking too much, but… um… c-could I f-feel your fins?”

Ecco was a little surprised that someone would ask such a question right out of the blue. But then again, he had allowed Fluttershy to do so during the Fair so he didn’t see any harm. He shrugged his shoulders and moved his tail fin in front of Sweet Leaf, who eagerly yet gently held it in her hands.

“So smooth. Though, the purple spots feel strangely harder than the rest of your scales. Wonder why that is?”

There was most definitely a reason for why the purple spots on his fins were more solid but Ecco was yet to feel comfortable enough to provide any explanation. He didn’t realize until too late that someone had moved to grab one of his hip fins protruding from under his jacket, causing him to tense up and stand rigid. The perpetrator turned out to be the overeager Lyra, who proceeded to rub and pinch the fin excessively, much to Ecco’s discomfort.

“Hark! Maiden Lyra Heartstrings, dost thou not see thine pestering is rendering the poor boy vulnerable? Pray, cease thine meaningless prodding at once!”

“Aye. Canny ye see ye’re mortifyin’ th’ lad? Lay aff o’ ‘im afore ye make ‘im mad.”

Lyra didn’t appear to be listening and proceeded to start rubbing her face to the fin. Ecco decided that that was the last straw and aggressively jerked his fin out of Lyra’s grasp, unintentionally yanking his tail fin from Sweet Leaf in the process, barring his teeth at the former when she looked his way. Lyra finally took the hint and scrambled to her feet. She grinned sheepishly and held her hands behind her back.

“Hehe. Err… sorry. Must’ve gotten carried away.”

Ecco raised an eye ridge and held his hands out in exasperation as a means of saying-

“You don’t say,” interjected Bon-Bon!

Yeah, that.

Ecco relaxed his posture and turned to see the last two girls who spoke before he lost his patience. The first was the red hat girl. Other than said hat she wore a black shirt with a similarly colored pair of gloves, a short red skirt with a thick white stripe encompassing the hem and a pair of black and white striped boots. Ecco also noted the treble clef symbol embroidered on the side of the skirt and discovered the same detail on Octavia. Did that make them related somehow or was it just some strange coincidence? Come to think of it, why did it seem that the students and staff at this school, or practically every human he had encountered so far, seem to possess a symbol, emblem or small picture of random things on their clothing? Random things that, for some reason, made Ecco think were special and/or unique to them? He would have ruminated more about this subject if the second girl hadn’t drawn his attention to her.

This girl was the one Ecco saw in the cafeteria with the enormous, curly orange hair. Her skin was a fair shade of peach, with bright blue eyes and pink lipstick. She too wore a black shirt (though with slightly longer sleeves), a cobalt blue skirt that reached halfway down her shins, concealing the true height of her boots that, while also colored black and white, were unmistakably different in design than those on the first girl. A white scarf was tied around the girl’s neck with one end dangling over her front. The emblem on her skirt depicted two faces which were colored white on one half and black on the other. The first face looked as happy as can be while the second looked downright miserable.

“Am hopin’ th’ lass dinny scare ya too bad,” the girl stated. Ecco responded by writing, ‘I’ve had worse’ on his dry erase board. “Anyway, ma name’s Golden Hazel. Ye already met ma friend Watermelody. Pleased tae meet ya.”

Ecco could very barely follow what Golden Hazel was saying due to her heavy accent, but she seemed welcoming enough so he nodded his head and shook hands with her.

“Look at that,” Pinkie Pie shouted joyfully! “You’re making so many new friends already! Betcha thought it wouldn’t be possible on your first day, didja? Well, be glad you were wrong! I feel like the next four years is going to be the best time of your life!”

Ecco froze stiff and his scales paled, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by the others.

“What? Didn’t you know that high school takes four years,” Rainbow Dash asked?

“Honestly, darling, I’d think that would have been made obvious to you when you enrolled,” added Rarity.

“Maybe they don’t have high school where he comes from,” Applejack theorized?

To that, Ecco could only shake his head slowly.

“W-wait, really,” Fluttershy asked in astonishment? “Wow. That’s interesting.”

“Yo,” said Jasmine. “That’s mind blowing.”

“No high school? I so envy you right now,” exclaimed Cherry Crash! “So would everyone else! How does that even work?”

Ecco was feeling dizzy. The weight of the knowledge of the length of the time he will spend at this one building overwhelmed him. His vision started to blur and he stumbled backwards toward the statue. He fell to his hindquarters and he held his head, his breath raising a pitch with every second.

“Whoa there big feller!”

“Ecco?!”

“Heavens above!”

“Are you okay?!”

“Of course he’s not okay, he’s having a panic attack!”

“What should we do?!”

“What can we do?! We don’t know how he functions!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

“What?! We really don’t!”

Ecco’s breathing gradually subsided after a few minutes but he couldn’t help feeling like such a fool. He hadn’t been paying enough attention to exactly how long he and his mom would be away from Zora’s Domain. He knew it’d be more than a year, but four? In hindsight, he probably should have seen something like this coming. Humans and their school districts were already alien to him so it might have been possible that the length of school periods worked in a similar manner. He had already seen and experienced enough human culture to estimate how much he could handle, all in the course of a single day no less, only to find that he’d be doing the exact same thing for the next four years…

Sweet merciful Nayru spare me…

The sensation of a hand patting his shoulder brought Ecco back to the present. His vision began to clear up and he looked to his right to find the final girl, whom he had failed to acknowledge the entire time, was the one who patted him. She was down on her knees and giving him a gentle smile, most likely trying to cheer him up. She was a gray skinned girl with messy, pale yellow hair, misaligned yellow eyes, a pale blue and normal blue shirt with a bright yellow tie, a green skirt, tall socks, and a pair of green sandals. While her eyes were a little off-putting he couldn’t deny they were effective; somehow he was already beginning to feel better just by looking her in the eyes.

Seemingly sensing whatever magic she was using seemed to be working, the girl’s smile grew a bit and she reached into her backpack. From it she revealed what appeared to be a pastry wrapped in plastic. She undid the plastic wrapping and held out the pastry for Ecco. The pastry was simplistic yet unique compared to others he had seen so far. A cylindrical bottom wrapped in decorative paper while the top was more puffed out, sporting little dark spots all around it’s brown surface. The aroma emitting from the pastry promised something sweet and tasty and caused Ecco’s stomach to growl impatiently. Normally Ecco would question why this girl would offer him food out of nowhere but at the same time he wasn’t one to turn down free food. Besides, it looked pretty appetizing for something so small.

Ecco gently took the pastry and observed it one more time before taking a small test bite. The moment his tastebuds registered the explosion of flavor he did what someone might not have expected, but no less welcomed. He shoved the whole thing into his mouth, wrapping paper and all, and lost himself in the euphoria of chocolate chips and buttery bread. It ended too soon but Ecco was satisfied, giving a content sigh after swallowing. He looked the girl in the eyes, placed his hand on her shoulder and nodded his head.

The girl blushed and said, “It’s nothing really, I just don’t like seeing people upset.” Her tone of voice was soft and soulful, almost like Jasmine’s but not by much. “My name is Ditzy Doo by the way, but you can call me Derpy. Everyone else does.”

Ecco was honestly surprised that someone would be comfortable with a nickname such as “Derpy” but he didn’t feel in the mood to judge. This girl had cheered him up and it would be nothing short of blasphemy to call her out on her choice of names. He was about to reach for his dry erase board to say something to her but he suddenly felt his left hand being held by another. Ecco looked to his left and found Fluttershy had taken a similar position as Derpy and was now looking him in the eye with a look of great concern and worry.

“I-I know it’s scary,” she began in a low whisper. “The pressure is unbearable and you feel like the slightest mishap could be your last, especially since all of this is new and unfamiliar to w-what you’re used to.” She gulped and took a deep breath before continuing. “But if-if it m-makes you feel any b-better, a-at least y-you won’t be alone, sh-should the w-worst come to pass.”

Ecco could practically feel the same fear and anxiety he had radiate off of Fluttershy and couldn’t help but nod in both agreement and sympathy. Her words made him realize that for all his fears and woes, there was probably someone who had it worse than him. While it made sense that he was only one of many new students with concerns of the future and burdens of high expectations, one had to consider that he, being a Zora, brought on a whole new level of difficulty that made him think should at least be notified by someone who could do something about it. Selfish as it may sound, Ecco would be lying if he didn’t think he and his mom deserve some form of guarantee of a quick and painless process for what they were in for.

Looking past Fluttershy and Derpy, Ecco swiftly concluded that he might have already found his guarantee of a quick and painless process; in the form of the group of girls still surrounding him. He may have just finished his first day of school but by some miracle these girls unknowingly made sure of it having a favorable conclusion. As had come to terms with many times before now, today was only the beginning, but now he at least knew he wouldn’t be alone during his time at this school. Neither would his mom.

Ecco smiled at that thought and got back to his feet, helping both Derpy and Fluttershy back up as an additional sign of gratitude. A thought suddenly struck him out of nowhere and he was about to address the silent girl-

”SURPRISE HUG!!!”

He had known she was there the whole time. He shouldn’t have been so jumpy when he was just beginning to feel better. He knew he should have expected something like this considering her behavior in the past. But somehow, Ecco failed to keep his calm as Lyra, once again, caught him off guard. With an almighty leap, the frightened-out-of-his-skin Zora propelled himself to the top of the statue, clinging to the horse’s head for dear life. Lyra, in the meantime, was momentarily flung upwards from her still holding onto Orcinus’ torso but soon gravity took hold of her when she lost her grip, and consequently landing roughly on her back.

“Oof!”

The rest of the girls all but groaned and face palmed at the scenario, but Bon-Bon went a step further and dug into her friend. Which, had he been paying attention, would have made Ecco realize was just an alternate way of combining “shouting and lecturing.”

Ecco had to take a few minutes to compose himself. He felt both annoyed and embarrassed. For all the pride that came with being a Zora it was an inevitable fact that, at the end of the day, Ecco was still a teenager. And he had just made himself look ridiculous in front of a bunch of teenage girls. A fact that only solidified itself when he heard more than half of them struggled to stop giggling. How indignant. He eventually maneuvered himself to slide down the horse’s back and land in front of the group, crossing his arms unhappily at Lyra.

Bon-Bon stepped forward. “I’m sorry if Lyra upset you. I hope you can forgive her in time.” Ecco didn’t react and continued to glare at Lyra. “Although,” she added. “If it makes you feel any better I’m just as excited about having to spend high school with a real Zora.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie Pie agreed! “And even when times get tough you can always rely upon your friends to be there for you! And like I said before: You’ve made so many friends already in just one day! This calls for a celebration! How about I throw you that party I promised?!”

Ecco was gobsmacked. A party? Just for something as minuscule as a gathering of companions?

“What?” Pinkie looked puzzled an Ecco’s surprised expression. “Has no one thrown you a party before?” Ecco wrote out, ‘None besides my parents for my birthday.’ He refrained himself from adding, ‘but that was a long time ago…’ Pinkie Pie gasped. “This simply will not do! I’ll see to it that this party shall be one to remember! There’ll be balloons, streamers, music, and lots and lots of cake!”

Ecco was starting to feel overwhelmed again by Pinkie Pie’s seemingly limitless energy. She spoke like making others happy was the only thing that mattered to her. It flattered him a little to hear this one girl talk about throwing a party just for him. He was hesitant, of course. Not just because he was still uncomfortable with crowds, but also considering all that has happened to him so far and he’d hate to see that she received negative reception from the students who disliked him. He would have naturally began to overthink stuff and decline the offer out of fear of both their safety, had he not visibly perked up at the mention of cake, and inadvertently fueled Pinkie Pie’s enthusiasm.

“That’s correct-a-mundo! Word has reached my little Pinkie ear that you like to eat! And based on what I saw during lunch you most certainly do! You must really like that food you brought with you, huh?”

Almost like it had a mind of its own, Ecco’s mouth stretched out in large smile and he eagerly wrote on his board, ‘My mother’s cooking is to die for!’

“Aww, that’s so sweet! Your mom packed your lunch for you! That just goes to show how much she loves you!” Many of the other girls agreed.

Damn straight!

“So, whadaya say?! Will you come to the party?! If you’d like, it doesn’t have to just cake. I can set out a whole buffet for you and you can try to see what kind of foods you can eat! Please, please, pleeeeeaase say you’ll come! Pretty please with an even prettier cherry on top of the already pretty pudding?” Pinkie Pie then proceeded to open her eyes as wide as possible (probably wider than should be possible), put out her bottom lip and stare into Ecco’s very soul.

Well… Ecco certainly wasn’t going to say no to that face. He gave a quiet chuckle and nodded.

“YIPPEE!!! Alrighty then, I need to start making arrangements. Where to set it up, make the invitations, gather ingredients, and so much more! I’ll let you know when it’s ready but in the meantime you be a good boy and try not to get in trouble, okay? Well, BYE!”

*ZOOM!*

With that, Pinkie Pie seemed to fling herself into the air and rocket away in a stream of pink, completely defying the laws of gravity.

I knew already she was an oddball, but sweet loving Nayru…

Author's Note

I won’t lie: this chapter serves as an unintentional self-inserted rant about Equestria Girls’ character designs. Seriously, what the actual heck, Hasbro? Aren’t these movies and shorts supposed to be aimed at children and not preteens?

Anyway, I feel bad for making you wait this long between chapters. I’m not going to make excuses like how hard life has been, time-consuming work, lack of inspiration and/or motivation, etc. To make it up to you, I have devoted as much time as possible into this chapter to give you as much to read as you can. I hope I didn’t overdo it but I’ll take my chances.

Hope you’re enjoying the story so far and as always, any pointed out misspellings, misplaced commas and grammatical errors are greatly appreciated. Have a good day.

The Worth

The trek back home was mercifully uneventful and Orcinus couldn’t thank Nayru enough for that. After the absolute mind-blowing experience he just went through any length of down time was better than none in order to recover his steadily declining sanity.

That wasn’t to say Orcinus’ day wasn’t bad overall, just overwhelming. A fact that Orcinus, yet again, came to acknowledge. Anyway, he had come to learn a good amount about humans and how they operated. Suffice to say, they both intrigued and intimidated him. They had sophisticated technology, advanced education practices, even remarkable architecture. Their modes of transportation were noisy eyesores, yet very effective machines. A noticeable upgrade from their horse drawn carriage. For some reason it made Orcinus wonder what it would have been like if he was born a human but he quickly dismissed that thought. There was no one he’d rather be than himself… right?

“So how was your day, Sweetie? Other than that little incident at the end, of course.”

Orcinus jumped slightly when his mom’s voice cut through his thoughts. How did he forget that she was there? Never mind. He responded by writing down a single word on his dry erase board: ‘Taxing.’

“Oh. Well, I suppose I deserve that answer. I would be lying if I didn’t say the same for myself.”

All five Zoras were currently in their carriage with Leucas steering the horse. While they wouldn’t say it out loud the Zora guards wordlessly agreed that they would like nothing less than make it back to the house. Orcinus honestly felt a little jealous; he and his mom had to endure the bulk of human interaction while the worst they got was an over abundance of boredom while they waited for them by the carriage all day. In other words, between Orcinus and his mom, and the guards, the former fared the worst. It made Orcinus realize that he didn’t have much right to complain, if he ever complained about anything at all, when it came to who’s day was worse than the other. Then again, it’s only been the first day and all that happened in that one day left the remaining one thousand one hundred fifty nine plus days much to be desired.

Orcinus sighed quietly and shook his head. He was overthinking things yet again. He reminded himself that despite all that has happened so far the day had ended on a hopeful note. A surprising amount of people had been so ready to look past species barriers and his muteness to make him feel welcomed. A conclusion he remembered coming to right before lunchtime. Come to think of it, Orcinus realized that he had repeatedly come to the same conclusion multiple times throughout the day. He almost chuckled to himself at his forgetting about his tendency of repetition. ‘Twas the price to pay when you’re focused on one thing at a given time, get distracted by something else, and the cycle shall begin anew in some way.

Orcinus really needed to find something else to think about to pass the time. Perhaps he should ruminate about the inevitable party the Pinkie Pie would be throwing him? Speaking of which, when said girl dashed away following her declaration of throwing Orcinus the party of a lifetime, the remainder of the group found themselves in a rather awkward silence while they tried to process what had transpired. Thankfully the silence was short-lived as Leucas walked up and informed Orcinus that they were ready to leave for home while ignoring the expressions of the girls, who were shocked at the appearance of a tall and armed Zora guard. Orcinus then proceeded to give a departing nod to each of the girls, the last of which being the silent girl. He suddenly remembered that he wanted to ask her something before he was rudely interrupted by Lyra and her surprise hug. Anyway, Orcinus quickly wrote the question, ‘What is your name?’ on his dry erase board, which he quickly wiped clean in order for her to use it. She caught on to what he intended and promptly wrote her name on the board: ‘Vinyl Scratch.’

With that out of the way Orcinus gave the group a final wave goodbye before jogging off to catch up with Leucas. They walked from the school for a time in a tense quiet. Though they couldn’t read each other’s thoughts they were both aware that they wouldn’t have anything to say to each other regardless.

Orcinus began to wonder if Leucas was making them get home on foot until he finally spotted the carriage at the end of the block behind the school. He quickly found out why: his mother and the other guards were staying out of sight so no one would see them traveling together. Wether that was intentional in order to keep his relationship with his mom a secret or otherwise, Orcinus was just glad that nobody else was around to see them. The rest was history.

“We need to improve the arrangements on you two getting to and from the school,” Sphyrna spoke up.

“Yeah,” added Isurus. “I’d rather not have to wait for nearly ten hours to pick you guys up every single day for the next four years.”

Cirratum’s eyes widened. “Oh, I thought you three would have headed home after dropping us off.”

“We thought of that but we’d be neglecting our duties of staying close enough to intervene should anything happen.”

“I understand that but you do realize that constant surveillance isn’t entirely necessary.”

“Be that as it may, ma’am,” interjected Leucas, “We were still assigned by His Majesty to watch over you and your son and insure your safety by any means.”

“Even so, the presence of three armed Zora guards lurking around outside a school campus probably isn’t the best idea. What if someone were to get the wrong idea and cause a turmoil? Would it not be easier to simply return to the house after dropping us off and then come retrieve us in the early afternoon?”

“Not a bad idea,” acknowledged Sphyrna, “But proximity to you two is vital. If the humans have an issue with that they can bring it up with Taurus or that Smooth Progress guy.”

Orcinus breathed out quietly as his mother and the guards continued their debate about possible changes in arrangements, their voices mere mumbles in his ears. He almost immediately fell bored and found himself lost in thought once more. While he agreed that the guards’ means of, well, guarding them could use improvement he couldn’t bring himself to care, given their… shared history with each other.

Orcinus found his thoughts wandering, of all places, back to Little Miss Spoiled Brat, her equally spoiled mindless drone of a minion, and her oblivious, sorry excuse of a father. More specifically, her readiness to accept his diamond without a second thought. He could tell she, her minion, and her dad were wealthy to an extent, but the way they reacted to him giving them the precious gem made him think there was more to human economics than he knew about. A small diamond rendering some well off humans speechless was what he expected, but the speed in which the trade-off worked had honestly caught him off guard. It brought up a question he probably should have considered bringing up to his mom or the guards before they left Zora’s Domain.

How much was Zora rupees worth in human currency?

If Little Miss Spoiled Brat’s reaction was any indication Orcinus concluded that it must be worth quite a lot. Why else, he asked himself, would the Brat and her dad accept the diamond without questioning him further? He wondered if that was either a good thing or a bad thing. Good because it got him out of trouble, or bad because he unknowingly got himself into something much worse. He saw such scenarios happen in books and in real life so he had no reason to think the same thing couldn’t happen with humans. At the very least he was not in any immediate trouble that would impede his progress at the school so he didn’t have any reason to worry, did he?

“So how did you get yourself sent to the office?”

Orcinus furrowed his eye ridges in annoyance. The numbskull Isurus just had to bring that up. He briefly wondered about when exactly they stopped talking about rearranging routines at one point, or had just put it on hold.

Cirratum grimaced. “T-that really isn’t important right now…”

“Is it? From what I hear you were supposed to make a good first impression on the humans to insure their relationship with us remains as stable as possible. Getting into trouble on the first day of school is not what I had in mind.”

“It-it was just one little slip! Besides, Orcinus isn’t in any trouble; the ones who told on him were surprisingly forgiving, all things considered, so nothing is going to be put on his record.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes!”

“How so?”

“W-well…”

“‘Well’ what?” Sphyrna asked somewhat mockingly. “Did he say ‘sorry’ like a good boy?”

Orcinus subconsciously started grinding his teeth.

“Nah,” Isurus answered with a toothy grin. “I’ll bet he made up some poor excuse about how he shouldn’t have to put up with some of the behaviors that he was subjected to!”

“Or maybe he got on the superiors’ good side and was acquitted. And for what? The crime of ogling a female?”

“Ha! Like that will ever happen. Especially considering how things went last time!”

Orcinus slumped his head and groaned internally. The two privates cracked up like hyenas while Leucas maintained his neutral stance, his eyes fixated on the road ahead and not reacting to the complete disregard of discipline his guards were displaying in broad daylight.

*WACK!*

“Oof! What did I do?”

Orcinus, Leucas and Sphyrna looked in shock as Cirratum stood in the middle of the carriage, just after whacking Isurus over the head with her purse. Wait, since when was she carrying around a purse?

“I can take you three humiliating and kicking him while he’s down in the middle of the king’s throne room because I knew you were just doing your jobs to appease the crowd, but your continued verbal abuse towards my son is really testing my patience.” She rounded on Leucas. “And you, Lieutenant, are supposed to be the level head of our group other than me. Instead, you allow, and sometimes encourage, such abysmal behavior. I don’t wish to sound like I am telling you how to perform your duties, but I think my son would benefit greatly from you boys, and girl, leaving me and him to handle any mishaps at school unless either of us asks you for help. Do that, and I won’t feel justified resorting to… brute force as I did just now.”

Orcinus was beside himself with awe. This was what he admired most about his mom: calm, caring, and understanding yet not afraid to put her foot down when it was necessary. She may present herself as a benign being of boundless love and tolerance but when push came to shove… well, the best way Orcinus could word it is she becomes a force of nature not to be trifled with.

“If you must know,” Cirratum continued, “One easily offended student attempted to humiliate my son and take his harp as compensation. However, he was able to abate any hostilities by offering them his lucky diamond.” The guards looked astonished at that statement.

Silence prevailed upon the carriage until Leucas sighed and said, “Point taken, Mrs Cirratum. I’ll see to it that these two,” he gestured to Isurus and Sphyrna, the former of whom rubbing a noticeable bump on his head, “Comply with your request while maintaining a professional and disciplined demeanor.”

Cirratum’s frown morphed into a joyful smile at a speed faster than a mako shark. “Great! Glad we came to an understanding.” She sat back down next to her son and wrapped her tail fin gently around his shoulders. “Now then, back to what we were talking about before… uh, what is it, Sweetie?”

Orcinus was staring at his mother with a mildly surprised look. She eventually caught on to what he must have been thinking about and chuckled.

“Oh come now, you honestly didn’t expect to get all your fighting prowess from your father, did you?”

Orcinus thought hard for a time and finally shrugged his shoulders.

Fair enough.

The carriage pulled up in front of the circular building on the outskirts of the city just as the sun was beginning its descent over the horizon. Sphyrna was the first to exit, jumping out in order to open the gate and place the stepping stool down.

“Home at last,” Cirratum declared with an exhausted tone. “I cannot wait to take off this uniform.”

Orcinus could only agree while letting out a yawn; this stupid jacket and sweatpants were starting to itch.

“Y’know, you could just go out without clothes,” Isurus suggested in a grouchy tone. He must still be sore from him getting smacked in the head. “It’s not like humans aren’t aware we don’t normally wear clothes.”

“Maybe so,” Cirratum replied. “But it is a sign of compliance with the humans’ laws; going out in public nude apparently gets you into trouble.”

“Well that’s stupid,” Sphyrna said. “We’ve worn nothing but our armor since we came here and no one’s complained so far.”

“Can it, you two,” Leucas shouted! “Worry not what the human laws say unless you need to. Now, Isurus, tend to the horse. Sphyrna, start your patrol.”

”YES, SIR!”

As the guards dispersed to perform their duties, Cirratum and Orcinus walked into the house. Once inside Cirratum said, “Take a few minutes to rest, Sweetie, and I will call you when dinner’s ready.” Orcinus nodded and went to his room. He immediately threw off his clothes and dove into his bed pool. The cool water enveloping his body was euphoric beyond words after spending all day on land. There wasn’t much room to swim but Orcinus didn’t mind. As long as he could just float in the water in complete silence, he was content. The stresses of the day soon caught up with him once again and it didn’t take long for Orcinus to feel his eyelids grow exponentially heavy. He didn’t even try to fight it and soon sank to the bottom of the pool in a dreamless slumber.

Cirratum’s humming echoed throughout the kitchen, her work clothes discarded and replaced by her green apron as she tended to a new recipe she had wanted to try. Some form of soup the humans called, “ramen.” Strange name, but Cirratum learned a long time ago that it doesn’t matter what it was called; food was food. And, if the image she saw in that recipe book was anything to go by, very tasty. The instant lunch variant she packed in her son’s lunch this morning wouldn't come close to the real deal.

“Now then, I’ll just leave these to boil while I sauté the garlic and ginger. After that comes the chicken stock, the soy sauce, the green onions, the mushrooms, the-.” She didn’t get to finish her sentence when the doorbell suddenly rang.

“Oh? Who could that be?”

“I’ll get it,” a familiar voice called.

“Lieutenant Leucas? When did you walk in?”

“Five minutes ago. Something smelled good so I thought it was dinner time. Wanted to get my serving before your son ate it all.”

Cirratum resisted the urge to laugh out loud. “You smelled correctly. Now could you please get the door like you said you would? I promise I’ll make enough for all of us.”

“Right. Thanks.”

“It is my pleasure.”

Leucas reached the door and opened it to reveal none other than-

“Mr. Progress?”

“Hello, my dear friends! I’m so glad to see you guys have finally settled in. What a lovely little abode you are all living in. A bit secluded but I suppose it is necessary for the time being. Just wait until you begin to have neighbors coming over for a spell. I can tell these next few years are going to be marvelous!”

‘Hello migraine, my old friend,’ Leucas groaned to himself as he quietly but politely let the man through the door.

“Now where is the lady of the house? Ooh, something smells good. That could only mean one thing: she must be in the kitchen preparing dinner! I do hope my sudden appearance will not prove to be an inconvenience at this time but I have to see how things are going, what with this being Mr. Orcinus’ first day of school after all.”

“You don’t say.”

“Indeed! Random as my showing up here is, it is mandatory for the trials ahead of you.”

Leucas found himself confused at his words. “Wait, ‘us?’ What do mean by ‘ahead of us?’”

Smooth Progress turned to Leucas with a raised eyebrow. “What? You honestly didn’t think the final outcome of your trip inland was solely dependent upon young Orcinus alone, did you?”

“Yes.”

Smooth Progress stood silent for a moment while he processed what Leucas said. “Oh. Well I suppose you would see it that way. You and your Privates only being here to monitor and safeguard your charges and what not. Well, I suppose I can elaborate once everybody has had some food in their bellies and a clear head to go with it. We have much to talk about.”

‘Oh joy.’

Cirratum was more or less surprised to see Smooth Progress but was no less welcoming and happily made a spot for him at the table. Isurus and Sphyrna came inside shortly thereafter and soon everyone was seated and digging in to a warm hearty meal. Well, almost everyone.

“Sweetie! Dinner’s ready!”

A minute or two passed before Cirratum concluded that her son must have fallen asleep. Understandable given the day he must have had. She mentally admitted to herself that she should have seen this coming. No matter. She quietly excused herself from the table and made her way to her son’s room.

Cirratum knocked the door gently at first but then entered the room when she still didn’t receive an answer. She was greeted to an empty room and would have tripped over Orcinus’ discarded clothes and school bag had she, or Zoras in general, did not have the ability to see in the dark. She lowered herself to her knees in front of the bed pool and gently splashed the water.

“Come on, sleepyhead. You don’t want your food to get cold. Besides, we have a guest tonight and it would be rude if you were to keep him waiting.”

Initially, Orcinus found himself in the same starry void he was in when he played his harp the night before the Freshman Fair. He couldn’t recall exactly why he was here or for how long, not even when he first came to be here but that didn’t really matter all that much to him. All he knew was that he felt at ease here, content and peaceful compared to the daily struggles he and him mother put up with. It was also the one place where he often saw… him.

Either by good imagination or he actually did so, Orcinus slowly drew in a long breath of cool air and held it in for a few seconds before letting it out gradually. There was good reason as to why he never liked to think about his past prior to his trial. Not only was it a long and complicated story, but it still felt like a freshly made wound that was still bleeding. Exaggerating as it sounds Orcinus couldn’t think about years long gone by without feeling his tear ducts begin to fill. He wanted to present himself as strong as he can be in order to both move on from the scars of the past, and ensure his mom followed suit.

Speaking of whom, Orcinus could swear he could hear her voice echoing to him. He scanned his surroundings but couldn’t pinpoint the source of he calls. That was when he realized his mom’s voice was sounding both in his head and all around him at once, if that made any sense. Suddenly the entirety of the plane he was in began to ripple like disturbed water, followed by his mother’s voice sounding louder. Orcinus covered his ears in an attempt to block out the sound but—

With a jolt and a brief period of thrashing limbs Orcinus woke with a start. He calmed down a moment later before blinking his eyes in an attempt to prevent falling back asleep.

“Sweetie, don’t make me have to come down there to drag you out.”

That made any lagging feeling of sleepiness in Orcinus’ system disappear as he remembered where he was and what must have been waiting for him. His stomach grumbled impatiently and he propelled himself gently from the bottom of the pool. His head emerged from the water and he found himself staring at the apron-covered legs of his mom.

“There you are, you sleepyhead. There will be plenty of time for you to sleep after you finished the dinner I prepared for all of us. I have a feeling you are going to love it.” She stood back up and wiped down her apron. “Also, Mr. Progress is here. He has come to see how our first day has transpired. I’m sorry to say, but we will have to inform him of what happened between you and those two girls. I’m sure he’ll understand and not put that down on any perceived record or something like that.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, dry yourself off quickly and meet us in the dining room, okay?”

Orcinus was still trying to wake up but he paid attention to his mother’s words and nodded his head. She nodded back and left the room.

Orcinus yawned and crawled out of the water, stretched his limbs and grabbed a nearby towel hanging on a hook on the wall. As he was drying himself off he couldn’t help but take a look around. While he previously concluded that this house was nothing like his old one back at Zora’s domain, Orcinus couldn’t deny that the decorative recreation of his ancestral home was stunningly appealing. It made him feel welcome for once in this house, despite only being here for a short time. It made him feel like he could trust this place to provide him the sense of security and comfort that only home could give.

Something that made Orcinus wonder was the question of how this house was even made possible in two short months. Surely it wasn’t constructed from the ground up only recently, right? Perhaps it was by some strange convenience that their living conditions were thought of beforehand and was made ready at a moment’s notice in order to accommodate them as soon as they arrived in the city, almost as if it had all been planned in advance?

Orcinus shook his head. He was beginning to think like how Pinkie Pie talks. He shuddered and quickly finished drying himself and place the towel back on the hook before exiting the room.

1 Hour Later…

True to Cirratum’s word, Orcinus was overly approving of the meal she crafted. Had he been more awake he most likely would have displayed a less than controlled composure while eating similar to how he portrayed himself during lunchtime earlier in the day. Alas, Orcinus was tuckered out and didn’t have the energy to snarf down the food with his usual gusto. On the bright side, he had more time to actually taste and enjoy his mother’s cooking and was over the moon every time he greedily slurped up the broth and noodles.

Everyone else at the table, on the other hand, were the near perfect representation of mannerisms at dinner. Calmly, and quietly, slurping their own noodles while using spoons for the broth. The guards ignored Orcinus’ antics for the most part but still threw annoyed glances at him whenever a drop of broth or chunk of noodles pelted them. Cirratum, for her part, just took it in stride; the memories of her trying, and failing, to get her son to mind his manners at the table filling her with a sense of nostalgia she had not felt in a while. It brought a smile to her face to know that her son was just enjoying his food, and expressing his approval in a way only he knew how to. ”Some things never change,” she thought to herself.

Orcinus eventually cleared his bowl of the heavenly soup and leaned back in his chair with a contented sigh. He then wiped his face with a napkin while his opposite hand rubbed his stomach. Orcinus held that position for a moment before opening his eyes and seeing that everyone was still halfway through their own ramen. He tried to conceal a glance towards the kitchen…

“You can have only one second serving but that is it, young Zora.”

Orcinus restrained himself from shaking his head in amusement. He should have known better than to think he could slip anything past his mom.

Later…

Bellies full, the group congregated in the living room. Cirratum was presently absent due to her wanting to cleaning up the kitchen before doing anything else. Orcinus wanted to help but for some reason Cirratum insisted he wait with the others. Orcinus wasn’t very pleased about it but he didn’t feel like defying his mother’s wishes. So in the center of a three cushion couch he sat, trying his best to hide his nervousness from being in the same room as the guards. Mr. Smooth Progress, for his part, was scribbling away on some notebook he brought with him. Its purpose unknown to Orcinus or the others.

Eventually Cirratum finished her task and joined her son on the couch, placing a hand over his with a smile. The sight put a smile on Mr. Progress’ face and he put his notebook aside saying, “I can’t help but notice you two look happiest when in each other’s company.” Cirratum giggled in response.

“It certainly seems that way. We have a shoulder to lean on in each other, haven’t we sweetie?” Orcinus smiled lightly and nodded, genuinely amused at that statement.

Smooth Progress’ expression turned slightly remorseful. “As heartwarming as you two comforting each other is, I am afraid that it is time we get down to business.” The Zoras gave him their full attention.

“First and foremost there is this introduction provided by my superiors that I am required to read to you all. Now, where did I put it?” He rummaged through his bag for a moment before pulling out some papers. He then cleared his throat, adjusted his glasses and said, “On behalf of the government of the nation of Equestria I, Smooth Sailing Progress, formally welcome you, members of the Zora race, to the first ever Cultural Exchange Program. This program has been put together in order to provide an efficient and civil indoctrination system for a newly found sentient people in our world. By following a series of guidelines and minor restrictions, for the foreseeable future you will be liable for representing your race as civilized and maintained as our own to ensure no hostility between us in the name of peace, harmony and cultural equality.”

Orcinus listened intently to Mr. Progress’ words. Basically, nothing bad would happen to them or the humans so long as he and the others behaved themselves. He would have considered it easy enough if not for the incident that transpired earlier in the day.

“In exchange for a successful period of civility and good graces, you and any future Zora immigrants shall be granted the same rights and protection as the rest of the nation’s citizens. That said, as a sign of assisting you with your first few weeks as citizens, legal identification paperwork shall be written out for each and every one of you. It will grant you access to everyday necessities including, but not limited to, banking, shopping, the option of learning how to drive, etc.

“Yadda yadda yadda,” Mr. Progress idly set the stapled papers aside. “Now that all makes it sound like a great big convoluted mess of conditions and expectations, I know. But let me reassure you all this program was made relatively easy for you to work with. Let me put it simple for you: you all put on a civil and tolerable show for your human neighbors and everything will be just fine. Now, you shall receive your IDs in a few weeks or so. Until then you should do your best to present yourselves as civil as possible to avoid any confrontation that may lead to… unsavory legal troubles.” He scratched the back of his head. “Lord knows what would happen if you all were prosecuted for being illegal immigrants.”

The Zoras all simultaneously raised an eye ridge.

Mr. Progress cleared his throat. “Anyway, the second subject of my arrival is the account of young Orcinus’ first day. So, young man- er, Zora, on a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your day?” Orcinus seemed to ponder for a few seconds before holding up five fingers. “Neutral, huh? Care to explain? Oh, where are my manners? I mean would you be willing to explain, in your own way, how things turned out neither good nor bad for the first day?” Cirratum cleared her throat.

“I can explain. You see, some rather unsatisfactory students got under my son’s scales and he threw them an aggressive gesture in retaliation.” Orcinus shifted in his seat, unwilling to look at anyone. “They decided to exasperate to the principals in order to cast him off as the offender as a means to spite him. Thankfully, they backed off when my son… for a lack of better terms, bribed his way out with a diamond he was carrying. They seemed to be interested more in money than anything else and just let it go without second thoughts.”

Mr. Progress was very surprised.

“I suppose some form of confrontation on the first day is inevitable, but you managed to get off easily just by giving them a diamond? For that matter, why would you even keep a diamond with you in the first place?”

Cirratum’s expression turned hesitant. She knew exactly why her son was in possession of a diamond of all things and felt it a great necessity to tell Mr. Progress as such. And yet… she glanced at her son, his green eyes looking into hers in a pleading way.

“That’s… a story for another time,” Cirratum finally answered.

“Oh?”

“Forgive me Mr. Progress but that is a rather sensitive topic for me and my son.”

“Oh… I understand. I won’t pry if it makes you two uncomfortable. Even so, I find it surprising that you would just happen to have a random diamond on your person. One might think you were either rich or you stole it. Not that you would ever consider doing such a thing but-“

“Hold up,” Isurus spoke up for the first time. “What do you mean when you said ‘random?’ Diamonds are common where we come from.”

“Wha- r-really?”

“You seem perplexed by that.”

“I am. Begging your pardon but precious gemstones like diamonds isn’t something you see every day unless they’re on jewelry worn by women. You make it sound like you happen to have access to them rather easily.”

“We do.”

“…”

Orcinus didn’t know what got Mr. Progress so surprised. Well, actually, maybe he had a good idea what. The information about his people being in possession of an abundance of a certain mineral must be something that Mr. Progress wasn’t expecting. To be fair, the humans were still relatively new to Zoras so there was bound to be an aspect of their culture that was entirely alien to that of their own. Mr. Progress took a moment to collect his thoughts and cleared his throat.

“Well… that is quite an interesting tidbit of information. If I may, what exactly does your people do with the diamonds you find?”

“Forgive me for answering a question with a question, but why is that important?” Leucas asked with no small amount of suspicion in his voice.

“And what are you talking about; us finding the diamonds?” Sphyrna added. “We excavate them and other gemstones whenever we expand the Domain.” At Mr. Progress’ dumbfounded expression she elaborated, “Our ancestral home, Zora’s Domain, is located within the crater of an extinct volcano surrounded by wetlands. We’re always finding various gems buried beneath the surface.”

“We then use those stones for a variety of purposes such as building, smithing, embroidery, you name it. Most often, though, we exchange them for rupees.” Cirratum stated in a lecturing note in her voice.

“‘Rupees’?” Asked Mr. Progress.

“These things,” Cirratum said as she pulled a tiny red gem out of her apron’s pocket. “Well, technically this is a red rupee; worth twenty green rupees. The worth of a rupee depends on what color it is; the rarer the color, the higher the value. Green, the most common rupee, is worth only one. Blue is worth five, yellow is worth ten, purple is worth fifty, orange is one hundred, silver two hundred and finally gold, the rarest color rupee, is worth three hundred.”

While his mother had been listing off the colors of the rupees and their respective worth, Orcinus had his focus on Mr. Progress’ face gradually morphing from dumbfounded to something even more so than that. Perhaps his initial thought of Mr. Progress being surprised about Zoras possessing an abundance of gemstones might be an understatement?

Silence persisted the room for a few moments, Mr. Progress’ mouth hanging open and eyes wide with great astonishment. He shook his head and put a hand to his chin, a thoughtful look on his face. He seemed to have been pondering about something that the Zoras didn’t know about. Mr. Progress then started to use the fingers on his other hand to count which made Orcinus think that he must have been running numbers through his head. But what were the numbers about? Finally Cirratum broke the silence.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No no,” Mr. Progress replied. “I’m just surprised at how much wealth the Zoras possess.” Leucas was taken slightly aback.

“Wealth?”

“Let me elaborate. You see, precious gemstones like diamonds are considered very valuable in human currency. And if the many different color rupees you mentioned fall under the same category as gems of similar colors, and are in possession of as many you are insinuating, then you all may very well be… uh… Oh how do I put this?”

“What? What is it?”

Mr. Progress scratched his head and averted his eyes for a moment, displaying somewhat nervous behavior about something. He then reached into his bag and pulled out what looked to be a small electronic device covered with buttons and a small screen. A “calculator” Orcinus believed it was called.

“What are you doing?” Asked Sphyrna.

“Running some numbers,” Mr. Progress answered. The tone in his voice made it sound like he was going through some serious pondering. It made Orcinus appreciate him as one who devoted significant time to thought, much like himself. Isurus seemed to lose patience.

“Ugh! You humans are so cumbersome! You make it sound like there is something we should know, and yet you just leave us to tend to something else! You call yourself a professional? Give me a break. I’ve seen better work ethic from a trout climbing a waterfall and all they’re good for is for eating!”

Orcinus noticeably flinched while his mom looked like she was holding back from smacking Isurus a second time. Thankfully Mr. Progress didn’t seem offended and kept his calm demeanor, placing the calculator aside and giving the Zoras a warm smile.

“Apologies. I was only trying to estimate the net worth for each of you.”

“The what now?” Asked Leucas.

“The measure of wealth on an individual. Like I said, if your people have access to as much valuable minerals as you say you do then you might be much more well off than me and my superiors have initially thought.”

“‘Well off’?”

Mr. Progress had to suppress a sigh. It became clear to him that terms and expressions went over the Zora’s heads. No sense in sugarcoating it any longer if it only served to confuse them.

“To make a long explanation short, your having so many jewels on hand could make you the richest residents in the city, quite possibly the country.”

The following silence was so intense that it made the sound of a dropped pin akin to that of a clicking sperm whale. The Zoras, for their part, just stood as motionless as statues. And, although he would never know why, for a moment Mr. Progress could swear all of their eyes morphed into pure white circles before changing back.

…Oh no.

The First Day (Part 1)

Another day, another set of trials to face and overcome. To Ecco, this was an unavoidable fact of life. The Freshman Fair was only the first trial with many more on the way, and each one more treacherous than the last. In other words, he had to be prepared for anything.

With a brand new backpack over his shoulders along with his harp, and a new pair of brown boots, Ecco strode past the statue, across the courtyard, and up to the front steps of the school building, holding his mothers’ hand all the way.

Shortly after returning home after the fair, Cirratum announced to Ecco that walking around barefoot was considered somewhat taboo to humans. Zoras didn’t have any use for footwear except for the guards. So when they got home Cirratum made sure Ecco knew to wear shoes whenever he went to school or anywhere else in town. Luckily, with some help from their guard escorts, she was quickly able to find a pair of boots for her son and some high heeled slippers for herself from a nearby shoe store.

At first the boots were a tight fit, but Ecco soon found himself to liking them. In fact, he thought they made him look good. Besides, the surface grounds were rougher and more susceptible to debris than in the water and Ecco didn’t like the thought of piercing his feet anytime soon.

“I met the principals during the fair,” Cirratum declared, “And they are very polite women. They directed me to my very own classroom, gave me a private tour of the whole school, introduced me to the rest of the staff, and even showed me the teachers’ lounge! I don’t think I’ve ever known such pleasant people. Although the vice principal, Miss Luna, did seem wary of me, but I suppose that’s to be expected. Ms. Granny Smith, the lunch lady, on the other hand, is much more humble and friendly. You would like her.”

It uplifted Ecco’s spirit, somewhat, to hear his mothers’ unshakable enthusiasm. He still had his doubts about attending school among humans, but at least his mother seemed happier to be away from Zora’s Domain and the unwelcome atmosphere it had. As long as she had a reason to smile, it didn’t matter to him.

“I still can’t believe you managed to get into three different clubs at the fair,” Cirratum continued. “The young ones of this town must be a lot more welcoming than we expected. Not to mention I hear you got at least seven new friends right off the bat!”

It was true. After recovering his harp and branding himself a new nickname, Ecco resumed his search for any potential club that he might enjoy. By an extraordinary stroke of luck, he was accepted into the art and book clubs. Back at Zora’s Domain, when he wasn’t landing himself in trouble, he always found the time to dive into literature or create his own pieces of art. Granted, he was still new to either activity but he enjoyed it a great deal. Now, he had the opportunity to put his skills to the test. After the main school day ended, of course.

The two Zoras walked through the front doors and took a moment to admire the school’s interior.

“Well, this is it. The moment of truth,” Cirratum sighed when they reached the center of the room.

They stood in the foyer for a moment before they let go of each other’s hands, hugged, and wished each other good luck on their first day.

“Be good,” said Cirratum before planting a kiss on her son’s forehead. “Make Mommy and your Daddy proud.”

With that, both Zoras walked in opposite directions of each other and down their designated hallway. Privately, Ecco was thankful they arrived early enough and the school was still relatively empty so no one could see the interaction between him and his mom. He couldn’t imagine the amount of teasing he’d suffer because of it.

Pulling a map out of his hoodie pocket, Ecco made his way to his new locker. Once he found it, he memorized the code of the lock, opened it, and began to lighten his load. He looked over his schedule and thought of the best way to manage coming to and from his locker between classes to exchange the necessary supplies. Once he was done, he closed the locker and turned to make his way to home room.

By this time the halls were starting to fill with students, many of whom giving him a wide berth as Ecco walked by. Some of them glared at him distrustfully and made foreign gestures that he didn’t recognize, or just outright cast him the cold shoulder. Try as he might to ignore them, he began to overhear whispering again.

”Why is that thing here?”

“He’d better behave himself, or else...”

“Why is he carrying a harp?”

“He looks more like one of those mythical sirens. I’ll remember to get some earplugs.”

“Do you think that pointy forehead of his is a cephalofoil? If so, watch yourself whenever he’s hungry...”

“I hear they can see in the dark. Better lock your doors at night...”

Seriously?! I’ve heard of never being too careful, but that’s just stupid! And for the record, yes, it is a cephalofoil but I don’t use it for hunting!

If there was one thing Ecco hated, it was rumor mills. They were just like spies; a well-said or carefully-worded sentence could possibly do more damage than physical actions could. It didn’t help that, especially in small communities, they spread as fast and as ruthlessly as wildfires or airborne diseases. He was desperately hoping that Nayru or Mipha keep him safe from such situations, but he had heard a saying from somewhere before: “He who lives on hope will die fasting.” A harsh and unavoidable truth, yes, but one he’ll have to deal with one day.

***

Upon entering the room that would serve as his home room, Ecco found only one soul awaiting him. She was a middle-aged woman with dark orange skin, blonde hair, teal eyes, and wearing a purple business shirt, black trousers, an orchid scarf, and purple slippers. She also had a stern look on her face, one which briefly turned to surprised upon looking at who entered the room before reverting back.

“Am I correct in assuming you are one of the Zoras who will be coming here for the foreseeable future,” the woman asked in a professional tone of voice? Ecco nodded. “Well, pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Miss Harshwhinny and I shall manage your home room for this year. Your name please?”

Instead of giving Miss Harshwhinny his name vocally as she expected, Ecco reached into his right jacket pocket, pulled out a flash card, and handed it to her. Miss Harshwhinny took the flash card and read what it said.

“’Ecco Henrialico Orcinus (Silent Song)’. A rather interesting name, but why did you not just tell me?”

Ecco took back the flash card and handed her a different one, which she took with slight agitation. It was clear to him that Miss Harshwhinny wasn’t very patient.

Forgive me, but I cannot speak. A bad accident from long ago has rendered me mute. I hope this won’t cause you or your colleagues any inconvenience.

Miss Harshwhinny looked the Zora in the eye, unnerving Ecco a little. She then eyed his neck, looking for any physical evidence that could prove his statement. Unfortunately for her, she wouldn’t. Miss Harshwhinny eventually sighed and handed back the flash card. “I suppose some things can’t be avoided. Be sure to inform your other teachers, plus Principal Celestia for good measure, about this and I’m sure they will make arrangements in order to make things easier for you in the future.”

Ecco put his flash cards away and nodded, thankful for the advice.

“Now then, please find an open seat. Once everyone else has arrived we can begin.”

Ecco nodded and looked for a favorable desk to claim. He debated between either the furthest at the back of the room, or the closest to the door. Out of sight of other students or give them a full view for hours on end. That quickly sealed the deal as he decided to avoid drawing attention to himself as much as possible. He reached the desired desk, dislodged his backpack and harp, and sat down. Now with everything gone quiet for the time being, he got lost in his thoughts.

The flash cards were an idea that Cirratum had suggested. Since some people would inevitably ask him more advanced questions that required more than simple “yes” or “no” answers, it would be a good place to start by writing responses down on small slips of paper and have them read by the ones questioning him. It would be a hassle trying to find the right cards to answer specific questions, but Ecco thought it would be worth it unless time taught him otherwise.

Other than the flash cards, Ecco thought about visiting the library later today to search for a book on sign language. It would be a big improvement and less awkward to communicate than with flash cards. He hoped it wouldn’t be too hard to learn; he’d need all the help he needed in order to not make a fool of himself or worse, his mother. And that was another matter.

As far as Ecco knew, no one knew Cirratum was his mother yet. He was hoping it would stay that way. Not just to avoid teasing but also to protect her. If a bully, or anyone who talked too much, caught word of this it could spell trouble for both of them. Call it being overprotective, but Ecco could already imagine it: him being cornered and threatened by bullies to do their bidding lest he risk Cirratum’s safety. That scenario made Ecco clench his fists.

Nayru damn me to the Dark Abyss if I ever let that happen again...

Ecco took a deep breath to calm himself. He couldn’t afford to get worked up on the first day.

“Um... H-hello, Ecco.”

That quiet, timid voice snapped Ecco out of his thoughts and he looked up to find one of the girls he saw from the Freshman Fair, the one he believed was called “Fluttershy”, taking a seat in front of him. He gave her a small smile in greeting.

“It’s um... good to see you again. How are you? That is, if you don’t mind me asking.”

Ecco silently debated wether he should fish out another flash card or use basic body language. Fluttershy didn’t know he couldn’t speak yet and he wanted to avoid coming off as rude for not responding. In the end, he gave the pink-haired girl a simple thumbs-up.

“Oh, that’s good. A-are you nervous? I’m always nervous on my first day of school.”

Ecco nodded. To say he was nervous was an understatement. He was really very scared. In fact, he personally called his triumph in making some friends and entering three different clubs nothing short of a miracle.

“Well, I-I’m sure you’ll do fine. I believe in you.”

That brought a smile to Ecco’s face. He didn’t know why this girl was being so nice to him but he found that he didn’t care either. As long as someone believed in him, that’s all that mattered.

As the minutes rolled by, more students began to fill the room. Unsurprisingly, any initial conversation they were having was quickly halted when they laid eyes on Ecco. Soon they all started talking about him and what they felt about it. Ecco ignored them; their opinions were their own.

Three minute before the late bell, Ecco was given another surprise when the remaining students to fill the classroom were none other than the four other girls who were with Fluttershy at the fair. One by one they showed themselves, the last being the rainbow-haired one mere seconds before the bell rang, and greeted each other as they sat down. Also one by one they acknowledged the Zora in the room.

“Greetings, Sir Orcinus.”
“Howdy, sea critter.”
“HI!”
“‘Sup?”

Ecco’s only response to them was a polite nod of the head to each of them. Rainbow Dash looked at him with a mildly annoyed look.

“You don’t talk very much.”

Ecco only shook his head both in confirming Rainbow Dash’s claim, and in slight amusement. He had a feeling he would have that said to him more times than he could hope to count.

At least she hasn’t asked me to explain it...

“Care to explain?”

Nayru, why must you turn your back on me?

Ecco was really hoping to avoid conversation with anyone, especially that one question that everybody would want answered. He didn’t blame Rainbow Dash for being curious but even if he did want to explain his muteness to her, he just couldn’t. Maybe he should play it safe and pull out his flash cards again.

“That’s a bit straightforward, ain’t it,” the girl wearing a hat and talking in a strange accent asked Rainbow Dash?

“What? I was only asking a question.”

Before anyone could say anything else Ecco was saved by Miss Harshwhinny as she gained everyone’s attention and soon the room fell into relative silence. Ecco felt very relieved from the students now paying more attention to Miss Harshwhinny rather than him. Still, a part of him knew he shouldn’t relax yet, for this was just getting started.

This will be harder than I thought.

***

For the next few hours things seemed to pass by uneventfully for Ecco. He would receive stares and overhear whispers during or between classes but he didn’t let that bother him. Still, some of the things the students would say about him did annoy him at times. Nonetheless, he kept quiet and went about the day.

Ecco then wondered how his mother was getting along?

Soon enough the time came for morning break but Ecco didn’t linger and made his way past the crowds and didn’t stop for anything for he thought he should lay low for now to avoid any attention. Besides, he had a quick errand to run.

Consulting his map, Ecco trekked the halls at a fast pace to find the principle’s office. He decided to follow Miss Harshwhinny’s advice and inform the principal of his muteness to avoid any confusion and awkwardness.

Nayru preserve me if I had to do that with every teacher I meet.

As he walked through the halls Ecco couldn’t help but have hesitant thoughts about meeting the principals so soon. Sure his mom said they were very kind people but that may have just been an act to fool her. What if they were only acting polite because of them maintaining their profession and reputation? What if they were secretly prejudiced against Zoras and were plotting to disrupt his and her mothers’ social standing? What if--

Ecco furiously shook his head, his tail fin flailing madly behind him. His paranoia was making him overthink things. Besides, his mother was a good judge of character and could see through deception any day of the week. She wouldn’t have told him what she said if she didn’t believe it. Still, Ecco kept his guard up just in case it was an act.

Soon enough Ecco found himself in front of a single door with a nameplate on the wall beside it reading “Principals’ Office.” He took a deep breath and knocked the door gently.

“Come in,” a voice called from inside.

Steeling his nerves, Ecco opened the door and walked in. Closing the door behind him, Ecco faced forward... and froze.

Sitting behind a desk cluttered with various anything’s and everything’s foreign to Ecco was a woman with pale pink skin, bright magenta eyes, and huge flowing hair consisting of soft blue, green and pink colors. Her attire consisted of a white and purple shirt under a gold-colored jacket with a sun emblem pinned on the left side of the jacket collar, purple trousers and a pair of shoes that looked like they were made from pure gold. She was currently looking at Ecco with a look of mild shock that quickly morphed into a welcoming smile.

“Good morning. You must be Ecco, correct?”

Ecco stood silent, rooted in place. He couldn’t understand why but the sight of this woman’s sheer beauty stunned him. She radiates, for lack of a better term, an aura about her that told Ecco he could trust her without question. She bore a caring and motherly smile that rivaled that of Cirratum’s. It made Ecco think that this is what she would look like as a human.

“Are you alright?”

Ecco shook his head as he was brought out of his thoughts. After he cleared his mind he looked back to the woman in front of him, who was looking back at him confusedly. Ecco realized he must have zoned out and was staring at her for longer than necessary and most likely offended her somehow. He nodded his head to answer her question while simultaneously rubbing his neck, clearly embarrassed.

To Ecco’s surprise, the woman chuckled.

“There is no cause for worry, young man- er... Zora. I know how nervous new students can get when meeting their principals for the first time. I can assure you I am a very friendly and understanding woman who will help you through your time here at CHS any way I can. I took the liberty of informing your mother, Cirratum, about this as well.”

Ecco’s scales went pale and his eyes widened in terror as his mind registered what the principal had just said.

HOW DID SHE KNOW?!

His panic must have shown clearly on his face because Principal Celestia was quick to raise her hands in reassurance and say, “She told me herself as well as your intentions of keeping that fact a secret. Plus, it wasn’t too hard to tell. Rest assured, no one else in the school staff other than me and my sister know about it. Your secret will be safe with us until you feel it necessary to reveal it.”

Ecco released a breath he didn’t know he was holding, calming down from his initial panic attack. The principal’s kind words of reassurance managed to placate his mind and put him at ease. He also resisted the urge to laugh; he should have seen this coming. His mom must have sensed his worries and acted on them. His mother could read him like a book sometimes. Just then he remembered something else Principal Celestia just said.

Wait, her sister?

It was at that moment when a side door in the room opened and through it came a woman slightly younger than Celestia. Like Celestia she had an enormous flowing hairdo but that’s where the similarities ended. Her hair being colored a dark blue and a very light indigo. Her skin was a pale light blue and her eyes were a dark teal. She was wearing a light purple shirt with a large white collar, a dark blue crescent moon pin holding the collar in place, a navy blue belt with a silver-blue buckle, a similarly colored knee-length skirt and silver-white slippers.

The newcomer was initially taken aback when she laid eyes on Ecco but quickly regained her composure. She looked like she wanted to say something but Principal Celestia spoke first.

“Ah, Luna, perfect timing. I was just getting acquainted with our newest student, who is also our first ever Zora student. Luna, this is Ecco. Ecco, this is Luna, my little sister and the Vice Principal of CHS.”

Ecco was once again taken aback. This woman had an intimidating aura about her that radiated a figure of authority. Her semi-stern look told Ecco that she was not someone to be trifled with. And yet, it was her eyes that mesmerized Orcinus above all else.

The age-old term was that the eyes were the windows into a person’s soul. Vice Principal Luna’s eyes were not only a similar shade of teal like his mothers’ but they spoke of a person who is strong-willed and determined. They were the eyes of an individual who has seen things and experienced a lot in life in spite of how young she looked. Yet, behind that repressed exterior if one were to look deep enough, they could see she was also a passionate soul who could bring a smile to anyone’s face if she wanted to. Ecco was again face to face with someone who reminded him of his mother.

...Then he questioned wether that was overly convenient or just plain weird.

Thankfully Ecco was better prepared to control his stature and quickly regained his composure as to not give the two women a reason to suspect his behavior. After taking a deep breath he faced Vice Principal Luna and nodded politely. To his relief she gave a small smile and nodded back.

“A pleasure to meet you, young one,” Vice Principal Luna greeted in a professional tone of voice. “Now, what brings you by my sister’s office? Do you not wish to use your break time amongst your peers?”

Ecco realized that he almost forgot what he was doing here and quickly pulled out a piece of paper from his hoodie pocket and handed it to Principal Celestia. It was a handwritten note he made to tell them of Miss Harshwhinny’s suggestion to inform the remainder of his teachers of his muteness. After reading the note, Principal Celestia looked to Ecco with a mildly shocked expression.

“You can’t talk,” she asked?

Ecco gave a small exhale through his nostrils and shook his head, frowning.

Suddenly, Vice Principal Luna stepped forward and leaned towards Ecco, staring at him dead in the eyes. This unnerved him a bit and he felt a bead of sweat form behind his ear fin. What was this, some sort of human ritual or something? Whatever she was doing, Ecco found her gaze mesmerizing and it rooted him in place. After about a minute Vice Principal Luna straightened up and took a step back but didn’t take her eyes off of Ecco.

“Post-traumatic vocal disarticulation. A condition in which a person is rendered mute after an extremely stressful or traumatic experience despite receiving no damage to their vocal chords. My guess is that you suffered an event so badly you found yourself unable to speak out of fear of reliving said event, or it probably had something to do with you talking at the wrong time and faced consequences because of it.”

Ecco was... was...

...

...downcast.

Ecco wasn’t a prideful Zora so he didn’t care if he felt heavy moisture gather up around his eyes and trail down his cheek in front of two strangers. He sniffed a small sniff and looked to the floor. He couldn’t fault the vice principal for her words; she just made a well educated guess. However, the fact that she hit it a little too close to home had made him think of that day and put him in a sad state of mind. He never liked to think about it because it only just put him in a sour mood.

Thankfully, as if Nayru herself was watching, Ecco was mercifully yanked out of his thoughts by the sensation of something landing on his shoulder. His gaze shot up and briefly locked onto two big somethings concealed by golden yellow clothing before looking further up and locking onto a pair of bright magenta eyes full of concern and a hint of parental worry.

“Please forgive my sister,” Principal Celestia stated. “She means well but can be a bit blunt sometimes.” She threw a quick frown at her sister, who only folded her arms in response, before turning back to Ecco. “I didn’t say anything because I didn’t wish to pry, but I, too, can see that you must have gone through an awful ordeal. I won’t ask you to explain anything but just so you know, you can trust me and can come to me whenever you need to. You need not suffer in silence.” She then used her other hand to brush away the tears on his face.

Ecco now found himself thunderstruck. This woman, whom he met a few short minutes ago, opened her arms to him without a second thought. She was willing to make him feel better about his problems despite not knowing the full details. He started to wonder if this was a dream because there was no way an individual as caring and as understanding as her could exist, right? These thoughts didn’t last long because Ecco could sense the sincerity behind her words and felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and reverence towards her.

Against his better judgment of keeping his emotions in check and his physical interactions with humans to a minimum, Ecco couldn’t stop himself from smiling and trapping the principal in a big hug.

Principal Celestia froze in place at first before returning the hug. She couldn’t find it in her heart to tell Ecco exactly where he was currently pressing his face while he hugged her. She didn’t want to spoil this moment for him, nor could she fault him for most likely not knowing what they were just yet. To that end, she kept her composure and rubbed his back in spite of her discomfort.

Ecco soon got a hold of himself and broke the hug. He stood back and gave Principal Celestia a grateful bow, to which she giggled.

“Please, there’s no need for that. I am not royalty here, just your principal. Now then, about your request, you need not worry about it. I will personally contact your teachers and a few other necessary staff members of your condition and have them see to your work in a way where talking will not be needed. With that out of the way, I suggest you take the remainder of morning break and learn your way around the rest of the building. We don’t want you getting lost now, do we?”

Ecco got up from his bow and gave Principal Celestial another smile, one which brought forth a warm chuckle from her.

“Well now, it was an absolute pleasure meeting you, Mr. Orcinus. I hope you have a good rest of the day.”

Ecco gave Principal Celestia another grateful smile, which quickly dropped before he glanced at Vice Principal Luna, who hadn’t moved from her spot since she last spoke. Ecco didn’t want to be rude so he gave the younger woman a simple nod before leaving the office with a sense of relief and hope. Along with one other thought.

Her chest was oddly soft... Is that common among humans? Wait a minute, weren’t those the things that Mr. Progress and Mama said were-

The entirety of Orcinus’ face turned bright red. He wouldn’t know the proper term for it just yet, but at that moment he performed his very first, and most painful, facepalm.

How could I have forgotten about that when we were literally discussing it this morning?!