An Unexpected Friendship

The harsh shriek of the train grinding to a halt made the shy mare sit bolt upright in her seat. Quickly, she stowed her cat plush back inside her saddle bag as she hurried the other passengers, who were already spilling out onto the platform outside. As ever, the passengers were speaking loudly and excitedly, but what caught our mare's attention was when the group's leader, speaking in over the voices of the others, said "Look everyone! There it is! The School of Friendship!" to a chorus of excited ooh's

Our mare glanced in the direction the group leader had indicated. Sure enough, in the distance the School of Friendship could be seen, glittering in all its glory in the bright sunshine. The waterfalls behind it shimmered in the light of day, and even from here, students of all shapes, colors and sizes could be seen gathering outside of it.

Without realizing it, our mare was shaking. Rather reluctantly, she descended the platform steps and began making her way towards the school. Despite the fact every instinct of her being was telling her that coming here was a bad idea, our mare trudged miserably onward. However, as the residents of the town continued to smile and wave at her, she began to feel a bit more relaxed.

This isn't so bad, she thought. At least I haven't had to speak with anyone yet.

"HI THERE!!!"

The sudden shout startled the mare so badly that she jumped three feet in the air, twisting to find the culprit as she came back down to Earth. Before her stood a mare with a wild pink mane, bright pink fur and bright blue eyes. She was smiling brightly.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie! Sorry if I startled you, I've just never met you before! Are you new here? Ooh, are you a new student at the School of Friendship?" she said all this very quickly.

Our mare said nothing. She stood staring at this pink mare, one hoof slightly raised off the ground, as ponies sometimes do when they are considering or not to flee a frightening situation. You see, our mare had never encountered such a loud or chatty individual as dear Pinkie Pie, and the effect was quite terrifying. Then, as Pinkie opened her mouth to say something else, she was stopped in her tracks as the mare turned an ran, disappearing in a cloud of dust as she sprinted at full speed away from Pinkie Pie.

"Wait!" Pinkie yelled, taking off in pursuit. "Wait, come back!"

But it was too late. The mare was gone. Pinkie came to a halt, gazing around in confusion. It was hard to believe, but it seemed that the hyperactive Pink mare had met her match- that is to say, she had met a pony who could move with incredible speed- when properly motivated, of course. Frowning, she turned and trotted away.

Meanwhile, our mare was peering out from around a building, watching Pinkie anxiously. Seeing that Pinkie had turned away, she pressed her back against the wall and gave a sigh of relief. Looking around, she suddenly realized that she had lost all track of where she was. But after a few moments, she realized that she was in the part of the town where ponies ran their shops. For example, the building she was hiding behind happened to be the Ponyville Spa. As she sat there trying to figure out how to find her way to the school from here, her ears twitched at the sounds of conversation that drifted through the air towards her.

"That was such a rejuvenating experience, wasn't it?" came a unicorn's voice.

"It sure was," came the softer voice of a pegasus. "So, we're heading to the school, now?"

"Of course!" the first voice answered. "Our students are waiting!"

"Oh, I can't wait to get started! I have this friendship lesson planned today that involves the students bringing their pets for an activity."

That was all that our mare needed to hear. Quickly she stood up and followed the ponies the voices belonged to- a yellow pegasus with a long pink mane and her companion- a white unicorn with an elegantly styled mane. From the sound of things, these ponies were teachers at the school, so following them might be the safest bet in getting there.

....

After a fair bit of walking, they had reached the School of Friendship. Up close, the students all seemed much louder- and, in some cases, they were much bigger. Quietly our mare slipped in amongst the others, hoping not to be noticed in the crowd.

Again she needn't have worried, for after a few minutes of chattering, the group fell silent as the doors to the school opened, and Princess Twilight Sparkle strode out into the sunlight.

"Hello everyone," she said, smiling as she addressed the group. "Welcome back for another wonderful year at the School of Friendship!"

While Twilight continued addressing the crowd, our mare kept glancing around, feeling uneasy. She didn't know why, but there was a feeling on the back of her neck like someone was watching her. But although she glanced around, she could see that there was no one staring at her. Everyone's focus was on what Princess Twilight was saying.

"Now, if all new students will kindly follow me inside, I'll tell you all which rooms you'll be staying in. Everyone else, please follow the teachers for your next activities and lessons!"

Soon after, the groups dispersed. Realizing that she was mean to follow the princess, our mare swallowed nervously and followed her and a dozen other students inside the school. As they all headed inside, a male hippogriff held the door open for everyone else. Each student thanked him in turn, and as our mare drew close, he smiled at her as well. Nervously, she returned the smile, and walked a bit faster to catch up with the group. As they entered the library, they saw Twilight seated at a small table, handing out papers which she levitated with her magic.

"These are the lists of the students you'll all be sharing dorms with. If you have any complaints, please let me or one of the teachers know so that proper adjustments can't be made. Does everyone understand?" Twilight said with a smile.

"Yes, Princess!"

The mare walked over to the table, and levitated a piece of paper in front of her face. On it was a detailed and organized list of which students would stay in the same room. Scanning the paper, it was a moment before our mare found her own name listed in a group of three in this order: Primrose Dawn, Speckles, and Keanu.

Each name was accompanied by a small picture of the individual, or, in the case of ponies, their Cutie Marks represented them instead. Looking at the pictures, Primrose realized that Speckles was the nice hippogriff who had held the door for everyone. Looking over at him, she saw him and a dark-feathered gryphon who could only be Keanu heading over to her.

"Hi," Speckles said happily. His voice was rather low, but he seemed so friendly that Primrose didn't mind. "Guess we're roommates, huh?"

"Yup," said Keanu.

"So let's get the proper introductions done," Speckles said. "I'm Speckles."

"Charmed," said Keanu. "I'm Keanu."

"So you must be Primrose then, huh?" said Speckles, looking at Primrose.

Primrose nodded silently.

"You don't talk much, do you?" said Speckles.

Primrose shook her head, shrugging.

"Probably just as well," said Keanu. "You wouldn't be able to get a word in edgewise with Speckles. He's a real chatterbox."

"Oh ha ha," Speckles retorted with an amused expression, aiming a playful swipe at Keanu.

"Hey, just telling it like it is, brother." Keanu grinned, his deep green eyes shining.

Primrose smiled, and put a hoof against her mouth to stifle a quiet giggle.

"Hey look at that, I made ya laugh!" Speckles said. "Victory at last!"

"She's not the only one!" snorted Keanu. "You're such a goof!"

.....

Later that evening, after the students had all settled into their rooms, Primrose found herself sitting on their room's balcony, gazing at the sunset as the first stars began appearing in the night sky. It was a beautiful night, and a cool breeze was blowing steadily, carrying with it the scent of distant flowers.

It was hard for Primrose to believe that earlier that same day, she'd been so anxious. But now, as the sun gradually sank lower, she felt no anxiety, but instead excitement. She didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but she couldn't wait to experience it with Speckles and Keanu, both of whom she had quickly taken a liking to.

All would be well- she was sure of it.