Nerlz was on the train route to Ponyville, sitting in a private area made for two, looking out toward the mountains and hills as they passed by outside the window. He had landed a job at the School of Friendship as a substitute English teacher, but he was also preparing to take the Teacher Certification Trial Exam. Even though he was already an English teacher in Manehattan, he understood why Twilight Sparkle would want him to retake his certifications. She probably wanted to see if he could teach high school-level English effectively.

After being lost in thought for a while, Nerlz glanced outside again, expecting to see more mountains and hills. To his surprise, he had to do a double take—he swore he was still an hour away. Looking back outside, he finally saw the School of Friendship. That meant he was almost at the Ponyville train stop. He quickly fumbled to gather his things, checking his luggage and backpack to ensure he had everything in order.

Sitting back down to calm himself, he heard the announcement from the train operator:

“Attention passengers, we are approaching Ponyville. Please gather your belongings and prepare to disembark. Thank you for riding with us today!”

Once the announcement was completed, a horn blew to signal the stop had been completed. As he walked out of his booth, he noticed a lot of ponies getting off, likely due to the town being an attraction that mares and stallions alike wanted to explore.

Walking through the crowd toward the School of Friendship, he couldn’t help but look around. This was his first time in a new city after moving from Manehattan, and he had expected something grand and fancy. Instead, he found a place that felt familiar, almost like home. He spotted a bakery shop called “Sugarcube Corner,” which looked like a giant gingerbread house. Nerlz couldn’t help but giggle; he had always had a sweet tooth.

As he walked closer, he saw a pink mare waving from inside, saying,

“WELCOME TO PONYVILLE, NERLZ!”

He stood still for a moment, shocked that someone knew his name. Feeling flustered from being called out in front of everyone, he waved back, his cheeks slightly blushing, before hurrying inside.

Approaching the mare, who was whipping up sweets of every kind while taking orders, he said,

“Uh, miss…?”

But he received no response.

“Hello?” he tried again, still no answer. He sighed, looking at the counter and spotting a bell. Just as he was about to ring it, something pink moved impossibly fast in front of him.

“I’m SO SO SORRY! I was making sure our apple pie isn’t burning. What can I get ya?” she exclaimed.

Startled, he yelped and flinched, then blushed again when he realized it was just her. He coughed into his hoof and said,

“Uh, I’ll just have two cookies. That will be all, miss…”

The pink mare, catching on, quickly shook his hoof and said,

“Oh my bad! Can’t believe I forgot to introduce myself! I’m the one and only PINKIE PIE! Nice to meet you, Nerlz!”

He retracted his hoof, rubbing it with his other while leaning against the counter.

“Alrighty then, hello, Pinkie Pie. I would just like to have two cookies,” he replied, giving a nervous smile.

Pinkie Pie quickly placed both cookies into a paper bag and handed it to him.

“That will be two bits, please!”

As he took the bits out of his bag, he glanced at the clock behind her. It read 5:30 PM, and he was shocked that time had passed so quickly. He hurriedly paid, saying,

“Thank you SO MUCH, but I am really late! See you later!”

He quickly walked out, galloping toward the School of Friendship. By the time he arrived, he was gasping for breath. Luckily, he spotted water bottles inside and quickly snatched one, drinking it all in one gulp. Sighing contently, he threw the empty bottle away.

As he looked around, he noticed a little front desk area. He approached the gray mare sitting there and asked,

“Hello! Do you know where the Teacher Certification Trial Exam is taking place?”

The gray mare looked up from her work and responded in a monotone voice,

“Down the hallways, down there.” She pointed with her hoof to the left hall. “Walk down four doors, and it should be the fifth door on the left.”

Nerlz quickly thanked her and excused himself while galloping down the hall, deep in thought. Suddenly, he stumbled into something orange. He fell on his flank, knocking off his glasses. As he scrambled to find them, he spewed apologies.

The orange pony he had bumped into used magic to lift him back to his hooves and put his glasses back on.

His vision was still blurry as he felt a rush of embarrassment, with a tiny tear in his eye.

“I’m so, so sorry for bumping into you! It was my fault. I shouldn’t have been so lost in thought!”

The orange pony, whose vision was coming back to him, was rather handsome, Nerlz thought, feeling a blush creeping up his cheeks. The stallion quickly replied,

“It’s all good! It was an accident, but I really gotta get going. Sorry again!”

He hurried away without giving his name.

Nerlz thought, “Damn, he is a really handsome stallion.”

As he continued toward the classroom where the exam was taking place, he settled down at a long table with a few other ponies. The exam took him two hours to complete. Afterward, he exited quickly, eager to find the exit.

Spotting the cute orange stallion again, Nerlz acted on impulse. He walked up to him and said,

“Hello! I forgot to get your name, but I’m REALLY sorry for bumping into you. I was wondering if I could take you to Sugarcube Bakery as an apology.”

He blushed, feeling a bit like he was asking someone out on a date.

The orange stallion smiled back.

“Forgot to introduce myself! I’m Sunburst! I wouldn’t mind one bit. I have nothing on my schedule, so if you’re open to it, we can go right now?”

“Oh! One more thing, what is your name?” Sunburst asked, looking curious.

Nerlz fidgeted and replied,

“O-oh! My name is Nerlz. Nice to meet you!”

He felt a flush creeping back as he spoke.

“And I’m free as well, so we can go right now.”

“Alright! I’ll lead the way!” Sunburst said, smiling warmly at him.

Author's Note

First Time Writing! Hope i did good

I decided to write this because it's been hard to find the kind of heartfelt, wholesome stories I've been looking for—without them being overly focused on explicit content. So far, this is a cozy and fluffy tale, but I'm considering adding some NSFW elements later on. If I do, those chapters will be clearly marked with warnings. The focus of this story is really on the emotional development and connection between the characters, with plenty of time to let their feelings for each other grow naturally.

• For Correct punctuation, i use Chat-GPT (Due to English not being a native language), due to me not grasping the concept of punctuation... I want to get into NSFW territory, but i have no idea what do for punctuation..

If you're looking for a gay My Little Pony love story with heart and warmth, you're in the right place! Join me as we follow Nerlz and Sunburst on their journey of love and self-discovery. Turn the page and see how their relationship blossoms into something truly special!