Trying Love

Shining Armor

"Oh, Fleur, you're so wonderful!" I giggled softly as we separated from our kiss.

It was about the middle of lunchtime. The first day of senior year had certainly been interesting so far. I started off my day in Magic class. Magic class always sucked, at least in my opinion. Some weirdo ponies were all into it, but personally, I was just in the class because the school required all unicorns to take it. What else do I need to be part of the Canterlot Royal Guard other than a spell to pick up spears and maybe like, a lighting spell or something, both of which I learned when I was a little foal in grade school.

I sat in the back of class, next to Vance, where we both did nothing but talk about how great our senior year was going to be. We had to try out some spell to "prove" that were meant to be in the class, so I did a spell where I lit Vance's hair on fire without actually burning it, while Vance set my eyes on fire, without actually burning them. As boring as magic class was, there were a few cool things that could be learned. . . granted, we learned them on our own, but still. I looked around the room and saw Octavia with a dreary look on her eyes as Vinyl bounced around, probably on some sort of drug again, like she always was. I never understood how the two of them were best friends.

The bell rang, and Vance and I sprinted out of the classroom. Having a reputation as top wrestlers, nobody stood in our path.

English was a bore. I was one of the last to get there, after having run into Fancypants in the halls. The worst part about all of English? There was one open seat, next to who else, but...

Braeburn.

He gave his silly little western greeting and poked me as I sat down and immediately fell asleep. I thought there could be nothing more pointless than Magic, but this class proved me wrong. I couldn't see the front of the room well, since I was, once again, in the back. But I did notice Octavia, possibly in a worse mood than I was, lying her head on the desk while Vinyl still seemed to be experiencing some lasting effects of her recreational activities.

Braeburn had to push me awake. Not one of those pushes that Vance and sometimes Fancypants would give me, but one of those pushes that your mom would give you when you woke up. I almost beat the living shit out of him before going to third period. No man touches me like a delicate flower.

Third period, Jazz band, was actually surprisingly fun. The only ponies that I knew were, once again, Octavia and Vinyl. The help Octavia gave me over the summer was helpful. Jazz, our jazz band director, actually complimented me on my technique. Granted, I still was a newbie and had a lot to learn. Maybe if I didn't go through with this whole Royal Guard thing, I could be some sort of bass player.

Fourth period, math. Sadly, trends didn't follow the way I thought they would, and Octavia had a different class than I did. However, my friendly neighbor Vinyl jumped through the door right before the late bell rang, and she was the only pony I really knew.

Like, seriously, who made this schedule?

Anyways, she invited me to some party of hers. As much of a druggie as Vinyl was, she always threw great parties, so I was eager to agree. Granted, I was always set as the designated driver for those parties, along with Fancypants, who refused to drink the poor man's beer. Granted, I wouldn't want him to drink, he was the only one who kept me sane when Vance was busy humping every mare on the dance floor, chugging bottle after bottle of beer.

I told Vinyl I'd think about it, and reminded her to not invite my sister. Definitely do not invite my sister. This was her first year in high school, and she was crazy young, having jumped four grades because of her ridiculous study habits, and the LAST thing I'd want for her to do was get hurt at some drunken rave.

Math sucks. I darted out of there as soon as possible, and immediately walked around the lunch area until I found Fleur.

Ah, Fleur. . .

She was possibly the greatest mare I had ever met. We had the same Drama class last year, and we both had lead roles. We had to kiss on stage. We were told to fake kiss, like all actors do. However, on our performance date, she kissed me, like, for real, on the mouth. I almost forgot all of my lines, I kid you not. We went backstage after the play was over, and she just confessed everything, that she loved me and wanted to be with me forever, and then she started making out with me. I felt like the luckiest stallion in the world, just about every guy I'd talked to had confessed being a little hot for her. Especially with her reputation. Still, we've been together for so long, and she (hopefully) hasn't been cheating on me despite my hesitance. She's great! I just wish she weren't so pushy at times, especially about sex.

"Oh, baby, you're more wonderful!" Fleur exclaimed as she smiled at me.

"Give her the D!" Vance screamed from our table, putting Blueblood and Fancypants into a fit of giggling.

Fleur moved closer to me, putting her mouth by my ear. "You can give to me right here, you sexy, sexy, stallion," She whispered softly.

Remember when I said pushy about sex? Yeah.

I nervously shuffled to the table, scurrying to hide my stallionhood. Fleur had such a way with me sometimes...

Blueblood's girlfriend, Trixie, joined us, and our table was set.

I was never an ass about Vance or Fancypants not having girlfriends. I knew that Vance was too busy wanting to become an auctioneer to find a girlfriend. Besides, no mare really found his talent to be attractive. Like, who'd want to marry an auctioneer? Fancypants was just too much of a classy Charles to really be delving into high school romance. "A gentleman always waits for the right mare to approach him. He does not move from one pony to another, but sees the mare that he truly loves, and stays with her," he once told me two years ago, when I had broken up with my second girlfriend, Upper Crust.

"Baby, school is so boring without you!" Fleur whined, laying her head onto my body. "Like, Math is okay, since I have Blueblood, and AP French is easy, I guess, but have you SEEN that new filly?!"

"Oh! I heard about her, but I don't think I've seen her." An Alicorn really going to school with us? I heard she was awkward and had never even gone to public high school before. Someone even told me in Math that she had a crush on Braeburn. Heh, that sure would be nice! It sure would get off the rumors that Braeburn had a crush on me. Those were just ridiculous, neither of us were even gay.

"Ooh, she's right over there, sweetie. Just look at her mane, darling! Atrocious!" She growled, pointing to a small table next to the English buildings. Firstly, I noticed Braeburn, but then I saw her. The Alicorn! She was quite the sight, personally. She seemed like a sweet girl too, hanging out with Braeburn. Or it might just be because she's new. Maybe she'll get some real friends and dump him, putting him back to stalking me. She had three different colors on her mane, and she had a cute little body as well, like I could just hug her if she ever wanted a hu-

What was I thinking? This was the new girl! I have the most popular girl in school on my side! Nobody liked the new girl, but everyone absolutely adored Fleur and her beauty, as well as her. . . openness (which I could live without, personally).

The bell rang, loud and clear.

"Damn, lunch always feels like it's getting shorter!" Vance sighed, hitting his head on the table.

"So, what classes are you all attending next?" Fancypants asked politely.

"Math," Trixie grumbled.

"Speech and Debate!" Blueblood happily announced. Good for him, finally a place where he can complain and debate about everything and not look like a spoiled brat.

"Business!" Vance exclaimed. Of course.

"Government!" Fluer announced. I grinned. "What do you have next, baby?" She asked.

"I have Government, too!" I replied happily, giving a soft peck to Fleur's forehead.

"Fantastic! I have math at the moment, but I should have been placed in Advanced Formulas of Magic, so I shall be heading to the counselor's office! Have a wonderful day, you all!" Fancypants remarked, a slight tone of annoyance closing in as he mentioned his schedule issue.

We all went out separate ways, except me and Fleur. We walked into Government together, snuggling closely as we sat in the back, smiling as we sat together.

"BOOW WUB WUB WUB WUB WEEE-"

I swear to Celestia I will murder the counselor who made my schedule.

Luckily, the seats by us had been taken by other ponies, so Vinyl made her way to the other side of the room, but still. How was I supposed to learn when Weed McPotpants was being. . . well, herself, in every class.

"Hello, class, my name is Mrs. Parla Ment!" Our teacher announced.

That was about all I heard that day. Some nice mare gave Fleur and I our books, and I dazed out in my mind, thinking about a variety of things. First of all, finally! A class with Fleur! We can be lover buddies together! I could do romantic things with her, like help her with homework, or just chat with her when we're bored. Before I could do any of that, though, sleep threatened my attention again, and before I knew it my face was on the desk.

The bell ringing woke me up. Everyone dragged themselves slowly out of the classroom, tired from the hard labor of sitting through five classes. "So, baby, what's your next class?" Fleur asked me as she put away some quill and parchment.

"Oh, Sex Ed," I replied.

She gasped, a smile forming. "Me too, baby!" She giggled.

Why was she even in the class, she's already an expert in that stu-

"Oh, yay!" I giggled, nuzzling her mane as we made our way out of the class. When I walked in, I could not believe what I saw.

"Oh, Shining, you're here too?! This is fantastic!" Fancypants giggled. "It seems that all of our friends are here!"

He was right. Blueblood, Fancypants, Trixie, Vance, Octavia, Vinyl. . . Everyone was there. We all sat down, finding seats together; Fleur sat behind me while Vance sat to the right of me. Fancypants, for some reason, chose to sit behind Fleur. Not that I'm jealous or anything that he gets to stare at her sweet flank during class. I made small talk with Vance before I became completely speechless.

First of all, fucking Braeburn was in the class too. He trotted in, bags under his eyes, probably from trying to ward off all of his enemies.

"Yeah, he's in my Business class. . . let's just say that his book just seemed to grow legs and ran around the entire school!" Vance leaned over and whispered, chuckling. Some ponies were really mean with magic.

Braeburn chose to sit to the empty desk to my left. Please don't talk to me, pl-

"Howdy there, pal! How ya doin'?" He happily inquired, smiling as he wiped the sweat out of his mane.

I didn't hear him, though, because something even more amazing followed him through the door.

She looked like a bus had hit her, hairs on her mane escaping from their loose ponytail and sweat beading her forehead. Obviously, Braeburn didn't get his book back all by himself. She met my eyes and blushed slightly, immediately looking away. She was probably really shy. She looked around the class and noticed that the only desk open was the one in the front row, right in front of me. She stretched her wings and sat down. I could say I was a little jealous. After all, who WOULDN'T want to be able to fly?

She sat down at her desk, and I couldn't help but notice her flank. It was kind of cute, having little hearts on both sides and being round and full without seeming slutty, like a number of mares at the school. I moved my eyes upward, and noticed there was no teacher. The bell rang, and my life pretty much ended as the door opened once again.

My mother walked in, wearing a small pair of glasses and carrying some books entitled "The Female Anatomy: 1st Ed" and "The Male Anatomy: 2nd Ed."

My.

Mother.

Vance couldn't help but laugh, slamming his hoof on the desk. Why didn't mom tell me about this?! She told me she'd gotten a new teaching job, the first since she'd had Twilight, but she never mentioned this!

"Hi kids, my name is Mrs. Velvet!" My mom, whom I shall refer to as Mrs. Velvet for my sanity, announced. She smiled brightly at Fleur and I. Fleur waved happily as I stared at her, stone faced. I took another look at my schedule.

Sex Ed.

Mom, no.

"As you all know, I'm here to teach about Sex Ed. Let me explain what I expect. First of all, this is no place to learn about the best strategies to have sex with your significant other! If you want to do that, the internet is definitely a helpful resource!" Mrs. Velvet exclaimed. The entire class burst out into laughter. I think even Fancypants got his head out of his ass to laugh harder than his usual composed self. Everyone except for the Alicorn and I laughed. She blushed out of nervousness, possibly giving a small giggle, and I just wanted to murder myself. I'm going to spend my senior year sitting in a classroom with all of my friends while having my mom explain how my penis works.

"Now, this class is for learning about your body, how it works, safety if you choose to get involved with sex, and also how to take care of foals after you get married and have them!" Mrs. Velvet calmly stated after the class calmed down. As awkward as this was, mom was very good at not embarrassing me. I knew she wouldn't be like "I have two kids of my own that I made, and one is sitting right here! Say hi, Shining! He's going to be making some grandkids very soon with his lovely girlfriend!" My mom was pretty great. I loved her, generally. This was not one of those times.

"Now, take out your pencils, we're going to start off with basic review." She announced as she turned on the overhead projector to show a diagram. A penis. Just great. Fleur moaned a bit behind me as she saw it. My mother proceeded to explain every single part of this pretty great organ, my nether regions growing incredibly uncomfortable the entire time. I wasn't gay or anything, I just. . . words. . .

She took the slide off and put up another diagram. This time, it was a diagram of the female reproductive system. I could feel every stallion growing uncomfortable as they shifted their nether regions.

"Maybe you could show us what that looks like in person, Mrs. Velvet!" A voice screamed from the back. Someone just asked my mother to show him her vagina. My life is over.

"Maybe I should, since that's the only time you'll ever get to see one!" Mrs. Velvet retorted back, a smug smile on her face. The class boomed with laughter. Even I gave a little chuckle.

The class ended, thank goodness, about ten minutes after that, once she'd finished explaining each of the sexual organs, and what exactly sex was (which I purposely choose not to mention, because I probably would have shoved my head into a box of glass having to remember that experience ever again), the bell rang, and everypony left with enormous blushes on their face.

Vance stared at me, still red faced as he tried to find the composure to say anything. "Dude, that was your mom!" he finally managed.

"Ah, I must say, I might need to actually start wearing pants if I'm subject to this class every day." Fancypants stammered. Now why would he need to wear pa- Oh.

The Alicorn stared at me for a few seconds as I was standing by my mother's desk, waiting for others to leave so that I could speak to her privately about this nice little surprise she'd just sprung.

"See something you like?" Fleur whispered to her. She immediately sprung back to reality and flew out of the room, almost dropping her bags. "Bitch."

"Fleur, that's not nice! She probably hasn't even that many stallions before, after being home schooled!" I snapped.

"Besides, Shining Armor is the best looking stallion in this place!" Mrs. Velvet piped up from her desk. Dammit mom, why were you so cool and so embarrassing.

"Oh! Mom! Yeah, I gotta go sign up for wrestling! I'll be back later!" I exclaimed, grabbing Fancypants and Vance as I sprinted out of the room, the rest of the crew leaving as we left.

Vance, Fancypants, and I all walked to the gym, where the list was located.

"Hmm, Jet's trying out? That loser. He's not gonna make it." I sighed out, looking at the list. I didn't recognize any other pony on the list, probably because they were either freshmen or part of the JV team. I signed the three of us up on the list, knowing that we were going to make it.

"You guys can head off, I gotta go talk to coach!" I told my two friends. They nodded their heads and turned away.

"We shall see you tomorrow, Shining!" Fancypants exclaimed as he walked off with Vance.

Before I had a second to think, I heard urgent clopping. Was the track team already practicing? I looked up and saw who it was.

"Hey there, Shining! Ya tryin' out fer the wrestlin' team!?" Braeburn practically shouted.

"Oh yeah, um, I'm kind of captain." I sighed, faking a smile.

"Shucks! If yer in it, then ah should be in it, too! Momma said ah should join a sport, and this'll be perfect!" Braeburn exclaimed. He pulled out a quill and tried his best to write his name with the quill in his mouth.

"Um, let me get that for you," I said nervously as I took his quill with my magic and wrote his name.

"Ah! Thanks, pal! Ah'll see ya tomorrow!" He said, frantically picking up his books and sprinting off.

Senior year was going to be a long year.