The Average Life of Apollo Coronis

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1: A Booming Start
Chapter 3: Student Bully President
Chapter 4: The Rooftop Feast
Chapter 5: The Garden of Hearts
Chapter 6: An Odd Estate Location
Chapter 7: Economy Complaints and Forigivable Mistakes
Chapter 8: The Blizzard
Chapter 9: The Uninvited Cavalry
ENDING
Chapter 2: The Filly From Class Three

Prologue

If anypony had asked me at any point in my life how much candy I offered up to Nightmare Moon on Nightmare Night... I'd call them something like "crazy" or a "nut". I mean, who would seriously believe in an alicorn, a pony that is at the top of the social economy, that comes down once every year to collect sugar from kids? Not a single sane pony, that's who. I guess I'm the type of colt that treats stuff like that with too much realism, but I can't help it.

But I digress; aside from practically ruining the dreams of fillies and colts, I'm a pretty average high-school student. I have average grades and an average amount of average friends. I live about an averagely short distance from an average high-school where I learn an average amount of averagely useful material. I think I've already used the word 'average' enough. But I guess I'm just trying to express that I'm just your average earth pony: Apollo Coronis.

Getting back to the topic at hoof, I'm here to tell you a story that's even more unbelievable than Nightmare Moon taking candy from fillies and colts. And it all started on an ordinary wednesday morning, with an extraordinary mare.

**********

Seven (7) in the morning was when I usually woke up. But on Wednesday the fourth of February I woke up an hour later. Eight in the morning wasn't too late compared to some other ponies who went to the same high-school as me. I shouldn't say the same high-school, as there's only one in Ponyville. I dragged my grey coated self out of bed, as there wasn't anypony else in the house. Like there was ever anypony in the house...

Finally, after trudging down the stairs, I poured some milk into a bowl of cereal and scarfed down my breakfast. In the bathroom I brushed my raven black mane. I didn't go to a private school or anything, but the principle still made all the students wear uniforms. I wasn't a fan of it at all, and neither was half the school. But I forced the uniform onto me and trotted out the door, making sure to lock it behind me.

It was a cloudy, dreary day. It wasn't surprising as the weather was the same yesterday, and the day before, and the day-- well, you get the idea. It shouldn't have stuck out to me in the first place since it was the end of winter. The Winter Wrap Up committee was to arrange the coming of spring the next week, so I wasn't very worried about bad weather for the rest of the month. But nevertheless, I still would have enjoyed even a bit of sunshine.

Getting to school wasn't a problem... If the buses were on time. But today was an exception. The bus was a full twenty (20) minutes late. The bus driver must have realized how late he was, because he was driving at what seemed like the speed of a jaguar. Other ponies with the same uniform as me clenched onto the bus' safety rails for their lives.

After almost hitting almost everypony in Ponyville, the bus stopped at the base of Element Hill. I got hopped off and tried to regain my balance. The world around me stopped spinning, and the feeling of vomit stopped. And then I started my climb up Element Hill.

I should probably explain why I'm hiking up an extremely steep sidewalk going up a hill. You see Six Element High is named after, you guessed it, the Six Element Hill it was built upon. The hill itself was named after the six mares who represented the Elements of Harmony, or so the stories go. To be honest, that story from over one hundred (100) years doesn't really strike me as believable. All my elders say that they knew the six mares themselves, but I'm sure that's just an old mare's tale.

Why somepony decided to build a high-school that ponies have to climb up to everyday still baffles me to this day. Regardless of the unnecessary walking, I still somehow pull myself up that hill and into a dusty classroom. There were a few houses built on the sidewalk of the hill, they probably belonged to the ponies who went to that school. What a bunch of lucky ponies.

About halfway up the hill, I heard a familiar voice calling out to me.

"Yo Popo!" A voice shouted.

Turning around, I saw a light tan scrawny colt with a brown mane galloped towards me from a lower area of the hill. That scrawny pony was my friend. Remember what I said about having average friends? Well, this guy's an exception. His name is Featherweight, he and I both went to Ponyville Schoolhouse when we were younger. The chances of us going to the same high-school was pretty high, since there was only one (1) high-school in Ponyville. Oh and if you couldn't tell, 'Popo' is my nickname. It's not a very clever one, as it's just the second syllable of my name repeated twice.

I waved a hoof at him, before asking him to stop calling me 'Popo'.

"What?! But everypony needs a cool nickname. Besides, it's not like every mare that goes to Six Element High laughs and points at you whenever they see you." Featherweight joked around.

I didn't share his sense of humor, but I knew deep down he was an okay guy. We shared conversations the rest of the way up the hill. Just before the top of the hill, I saw an earth pony on the other side of the street with the same grey coat as me. Her hair was light purple, and she was reading a book that she held in her right hoof. Because one of her legs was being used to read, she walked much slower than us. I couldn't make out the title of the book, but it looked like something academic, maybe a textbook? But that's besides the point, she looked pretty cute. Well, 'pretty cute' is an understatement, this was really cute. She didn't have a Six Element uniform on, but she kept trotting up the hill.

The filly stopped, and slowly turned her head towards me. I didn't know whether or not she noticed me staring at her, or if it was my obnoxious friend talking loudly with me. Nevertheless, the slow turning of her head kind of creeped me out.

Before I could look away, Featherweight started waving his hoof in front of my face, "Hello?! Dude am I talking to the wall or something? Did you see an alien?"

"Uh, sorry." I replied. I didn't think that the filly was Featherweight's type so I didn't have any fear asking him "Do you know who that pony over there is?"

Featherweight turned to her and then back to me, "Oh yeah, she goes to Six Elements. I heard from Pip that she changes into her uniform at school. I think she's in class three (3). From what I heard, all she ever does is read books."

Pip was a colt, white coat and brown mane, and I still wondered how a male like him knew where fillies changed into uniforms. I had to ask him about that later.

"Do you know her name?" I asked Featherweight.

He replied, "Nope. Maybe the teacher of class three (3) knows. Why? She catch your eye or something?

I wasn't very shy when it came to fillies or mares, at least when I was talking with my friends. "I don't know. Maybe. She's kind of cute, and I kinda like shy fillies."

"So you finally have a type huh?" The scrawny tan coat asked.

I rolled my eyes, as we finally reached the top of the hill. The towering white building in front of us was Six Elements High-School. I sent my friend ahead into the main gates, "Make up an excuse for me will ya? My bike got a flat, I was helping a crying baby and I threw up on the sidewalk too."

"You think they'll really believe that?" He asked.

I replied, "Of course. Say it like you're panicked."

The tan pegasus shrugged, and then flew into the school.

I turned around, galloped back to the slanted part of the hill. The filly was nowhere to be found. I was pretty disappointed, but I knew she had to be in the school. The question was, how did she get past us without us noticing?

A loud bell rung and echoed throughout the campus. I was already late for class, could I sneak in before anypony noticed?

Chapter 1: A Booming Start

I was really in for it this time. Last time I was late to class, I got a belting out from my teacher so loud that the whole school could hear it. But could you blame me for lagging behind? It may not have shown it, but I was extremely disappointed due to the lack of a date for the Hearts and Hooves Dance. Normally I wouldn't care about some crappy dance, but at the time I was feeling left out of most social events. The only other pony who would never get invited to parties or dates was Featherweight and Pip, as far as I was concerned. I would always see happy couples strolling around campus or in parks and restaurants. For once, I wanted to feel the comforting grip of a mare.

I snuck around the hallways of the school, but I stopped when I heard a stallion talking from the other side of the hallway, "All clear in the west wing. How about you?".

If you didn't guess it already, Six Elements High is extremely strict when it comes to students being in class when class is in session. Ask anypony who's a student around here and they'll say they get their education from a prison. Anyhow, I needed to get into class without getting spotted. Luckily I've been around the school enough times to know my way around it. The unfortunate part about know the safe hallways around the school is that there are absolutely no safe hallways. The air vents were the only areas of the school that weren't monitored. If you ask me, the students are right when they say we're in a prison.

Luckily, the vents were just large enough for me to fit into. I climbed on top of the lockers, removed the air vent, and crawled into the shaft. I pictured a map of the school in my mind, as I squeezed into the turning points of the ventilation system. I became lightheaded at one point, but I continued through. After a couple minutes of swatting away cobwebs and spiders, I finally came emerged outside my classroom. The sign on the door read "Class Two (2)", and I realized that I was literally one (1) room away from that bookworm filly I saw earlier. The class next to mine was Class Three (3).

I could hear the loud students inside chattering away, talking about the newest pop idol around no doubt. But the oddest part about that moment was that the students were talking. Surely class had already started by the time I arrived. Opening the door just a crack, I saw students throwing paper airplanes at across the room at each other. With not a teacher in sight, I slowly crept into the room. Even though I came into class late, nopony seemed the care all that much. They all continued to talk amongst themselves, as Featherweight approached me.

He shouted, "Hey!" Before rustling my mane jokingly, "Good news! Turns out I didn't need to make up an excuse for you after all!"

I asked him why, and his answer shocked me, "Well turns out that the teach decided to sleep in too! She'll be here in about five (5) minutes, but in the mean time we get to do whatever we want!

Boy was I lucky. I mean, what are the chances a teacher is later than a student who just snuck past the school's security system undetected? Close to none, if not none at all.

I sat down at my seat, which was between Featherweight's seat and another friend of mine: Pip. Speaking of that colt, I wasn't able to find him.

"Where's Pip?" I asked Featherweight.

He replied, "Oh you're gonna love this! He went over to class three (3) next door to return something to a filly he met in the hallway."

I could already guess who said filly was, "No way... You mean--"

"Yup. It's that bookworm we saw earlier on the way to school." The annoying way he finished my sentence bugged me, but I was more concerned about Pip.

As if somepony called his name, a colt a white coat and a brown mane trotted into the classroom. Featherweight excitedly waved at him, while I calmly saluted to him. The pony slowly trotted over to the desk on my left and greeted me.

"Morning Apollo. Meet any cute ponies on the way to school?" He chuckled.

I immediately turned to Featherweight with an unamused look on my face.

"Hey man... You can't expect me to keep that kinda stuff bottled up dude! It ain't healthy for you." The scrawny pegasus frantically tried to nervously laugh away my angry face.

He obviously failed, but I let him off the hook that time since I was in a relatively good mood at the time. I turned back to Pip, "Yeah I did. Look, we both know that Featherweight told everything. So can you help me?"

With an irritatingly cheerful smile he answered, "Of course! Well I think the first thing you'd like to know is her name. It's quite a charming one at that, it's--"

But life wouldn't be that easy if things went smoothly, as the sound of a door sliding open silenced the classroom. The noisy shouts of the students stopped suddenly, as if somepony had punched a chord on a piano only to release it a few seconds later.

A loud shouting mare came bursting through the doorway, "I'm sorry I'm late!" a purple with a pink mane earth pony yelled. She caught her breath, stopped panting, and then calmly addressed the class again after clearing her throat, "I realize that you all must have had a little party while I was absent, but I'm afraid that's come to an end now."

The students all let out an "Aww..." in harmony.

Cheerilee, the teacher slamming books on her podium, was in an abnormally bad mood if you couldn't already tell. She wasn't always like this mind you, she's usually quite cheerful... Usually. But her anger doesn't last very long, it takes about half an hour for it to subside.

The mare began to write on the chalkboard, "Today we'll be learning about the Elements of Harmony. As most of you know, the six ponies who inherited the Elements of Harmony live in Ponyville today."

Now here's the part where most ponies would start to think I'm crazy. For some odd reason, I decided to crack a joke at a teacher who seemed like she was ready to flip the school off the hill, "Hmph, the must be a bunch of geezers by now if they're still living here."

The entire classroom, including Cheerliee, turned to face me. According to Pip, I should really whisper my side-comments or not say them at all. The students gave me a confused look, while the teacher looked like she really was about to tear a building out of the ground.

With a loud booming voice, Mrs. Cheerilee shouted, "APOLLO CORONIS, TO THE PRINCIPLES OFFICE! NOW!"

Chapter 3: Student Bully President

"What where you trying to pull in there?!"

If you're wondering who's yelling at the top of their lungs at me, it principle Alex. Ponies' coats are usually one color, and one color only. But Principle Alex was a rather strange pony. He was a pegasus, his coat colours alternated from black to red. His mane was the same, red and black. His feathers copied the colour pattern as rest of his body.

"I don't see what the big deal is. Geez calm down..." I sarcastically replied.

He shouted again, but this time a little quieter.

"It's enough that you followed us through time and space. But you're being more of a nuisance than we've imagined... That's the last time I let Pip go in the Eyeglass without me..."

That's right, I should have probably mentioned I wasn't exactly from Ponyville... Or the time of Ponyville. But in fear of creating a time paradox, I cannot go into detail about it.

He paused, stood up from his tall leather chair, and turned to face the large window behind his desk. I sat uncomfortably in the half-broken wooden chair. Usually, if it were any other day, I wouldn't be this nervous. But today there was a beautiful young filly outside the principle's office, in the hearing radius of the principle's voice.

The black and red pegasus spoke up again, still facing the outside world through his window, "Look, I know it's been hard since you've been separated from your family... I can relate. But you gotta watch what you say in this dimension okay?"

I silently sat there, and thought a little before talking again, "I... I apologize. I often forget that there are 'new' hosts for the Elements of Harmony in this time."

"Just... Just be careful what you comment on, especially around angry teachers... By the way, who were the original hosts of the Elements of Harmony?"

"I can't tell you. I fear that will create a paradox so large that it could be the end of Equestria as we know it."

The black pegasus turned around to face me, "Hm, you're right. It would be wise not to reveal anything to me, or anypony in this time for that matter. Got it?"

I didn't like being told what to do, but I answered with a simple, "Yes sir."

He dismissed me, and I left the principle's office. Before heading back to my classroom, I tried to find Shika. And sure enough there she was, still sitting outside the office. I couldn't see her face, because it was buried in the book she was reading.

I decided to talk to her before I went back to the classroom, "Hey uh... We're still on for lunch later right?"

She emerged from her book, then stared at me with empty eyes, and then nodded without a word. That simple gesture was enough to satisfy my heart for the rest of the day. I gave her a smile, in which she stared blankly at, and then returned to my classroom.

While trotting through the empty linoleum hallways of the school, I couldn't stop smiling. Finally, I could see my classroom door at the end of the hallway. I didn't want to lose my joy, so I didn't enter. Instead, I remained outside the door until the lunch bell rang. It only took a few minutes for the hallway to be completely filled, wall to wall, with students. Along with the other students, Pip and Featherweight met me outside the classroom.

"So how'd the lecture go?" They asked me.

Naturally I didn't want Featherweight to know I was from a different dimension and time, but Pip was fully aware of it.

"It wasn't too bad." I replied, but I remembered the news I originally wanted to tell them, "I got her name!"

The earth pony and pegasus looked at each other, and then at me.

"Uh... Humor me for a sec alright? Let's say I have no idea what you're talking about..." Featherweight said, as all three of us trotted through the hallways to the cafeteria.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that. Haha..."

"Well get on with it then!" The pegasus shouted again.

"That pony we met on the hill this morning! Her name is Shika, and I met her outside the principle's office." I finally explained.

Before we could proceed any further, Pip pulled me back and began to speak, "Wait, so you actually got her to talk?"

"Of course." I replied, "Why wouldn't I? Well, she didn't talk very much..."

"Well, you know when I left class for a little bit? Well I went to return a pencil case to somepony in class three (3)."

"So it was Shika right?"

Pip nodded, and then continued with us down the hallway, "Yeah well as soon as I put the pencil case on her desk, she simply put it in her bag and returned to her book. Not a single 'thank you', not even a word."

"Huh, that's weird. She seemed to open up to me--"

Before I could continue finish my sentence, I fell backwards onto the linoleum hallway floor. I tried to get up, but a irritating feminine voice began to yell at me. "Ugh! watch where you're, like, going!"

A slightly more academic sounding voice spoke up as well, "You do realize that you have just, like, contaminated the Student Council President. Right?"

I looked up, and a pink pony stood in front of me, as well as a grey with glasses standing behind her. If you recall from earlier, when I was waiting outside the principle's office, I amused myself by playing darts with the Student Council President's paper portrait. And the pony standing in front of me? Yeah that's her: Diamond Tiara. The filly behind her was her secretary: Silver Spoon. Like Pip and Featherweight, these two fillies were also from Ponyville Schoolhouse. They were inseparable as kids, and I'm assuming that's the way it is now. The difference between then and now was that Diamond usually dumped all of her priorities and work on her subordinate Silver. If anything, I think that Silver Spoon should be Student Council President rather than Diamond.

As Pip helped me up, Featherweight stepped up in front of me, "Well S'cuze us princess! Just cuz you're the student prez' doesn't mean you can't blame your 'mess ups' on anypony in shouting range!"

This wasn't abnormal for me to see, as Featherweight was the type of pony who would get loud and angry if his friends were involved. Pip, on the other hoof, was the type who tried to avoid trouble in general. And he lived up to that description, as he stepped in between the angry featherweight and the even angrier Diamond Tiara.

"Now now, how about we try to settle this in a more... Peaceful way?" He said, in an almost too cheerful attitude.

The moment Pip stepped in, the grey earth pony behind Diamond began mutter to herself. The pink earth pony noticed this, and turned around to face her secretary.

"What was that?!" She shouted in an annoying female voice.

The grey filly stuttered quietly for a bit, blushed, and then spoke, "I agree with h-him. We should try to settle this more peacefully."

"What did you just say?!" Diamond shouted.

"I-I mean, it wouldn't look good for you if you... Start shouting at students."

Pip joined in, "Of course. Now shall we let bygones be bygones?"

And with that, Diamond Tiara turned around with a "Harumph" and trotted off. Silver Spoon turned to us, shrugged with a look on her face that said "Sorry about that".

"Hurry up Silver!" The Student Council President shouted.

The grey mare galloped towards her superior, and disappeared around the hallway corner. Pip, Featherweight, and I arrived at the doors of the cafeteria. It was then that I realized that I was going to meet Shika inside.

Chapter 4: The Rooftop Feast

I pushed open the metal double doors in front of me. Behind the doors was a large crowd of Six Element High students. Uniforms flew back and forth across the room with food trays either floating in front of them, resting on wings, or being held in the mouth of an earth pony. Picnic-style tables were spread across the rooms, and fillies and colts sat at said tables. The table occupants consisted mostly of couples feeding each other food. But a few ponies sat around who looked unamused by the unpleasant public displays of affection coming from the couples around them. I couldn't blame them really, as I wasn't the type to go around broadcasting my marefriend to the world.

The cafeteria tables were moved in a pattern that separated the different cliques of students from one another. The athletic ponies, the jocks, set their tables in a way that took up about half of the cafeteria. And the ponies who were considered "popular" were scattered around the athletic tables. Hiding in the darker corner of the cafeteria were what we called the "Discorded". If it wasn't already clear, the Discorded were teenage delinquents. They only had a couple of tables in their little den, but that was because there weren't very many of them. There was a large gap between the other cliques, mainly because they've been known to carry weapons. I know, it's crazy right? But that was the way these punks were. We weren't sure if Discord himself was up to something, or if they were just going through a natural rebellious phase in their teenage years. The remaining part of the cafeteria was filled with tables of either bookworms and nerds, or just normal high school students who weren't in a clique.

"I guess you should start looking for your marefriend huh?" Featherweight shouted over the loud talking students.

I pushed his face away from mine, "A little louder please. Some people in Canterlot might not have heard you!"

Pip stepped into the line for food, "Perhaps we could find the table that she's sitting at, and join you?"

I joined him in the line, and took a food tray with me, "Not a good idea. She didn't open up to you earlier, and she had a hard enough time talking to me before."

"I see." Pip replied, "Then perhaps we'll sit at the table behind her." He said, as he pointed to behind me.

I turned around, and saw a single filly sitting at an empty table. It was Shika, she didn't look very lonely. Her face was still buried in her book, and it looked as if she hadn't touched her food. Behind her was another empty table in the middle of the studious students section of the cafeteria.

"We'll just listen in on your conversations while we're eating." Featherweight said.

"Just be discreet about it, I don't want you to ruin this." I replied, as I moved my tray across the food counter.

An old mare scooped a chunk of the repulsive looking brown stew from a tall iron pot into a bowl, and then place it on my tray. I wasn't a big fan of the food our fair school provided for us, and that was probably the case with all the other students, and even some teachers. Fortunately, the food was free. Unfortunately, free doesn't necessarily mean appetizing. I would have been more than happier to run down the hill to the corner store to buy some drinks, and then walk all the way back up again. Sadly, students weren't allowed off the school grounds during school hours. The cafeteria offered water, milk, and juice at the end of the food counter for free as well. But half of the milk cartons were usually expired, and the water bottles were refilled with tap water and then washed out in the kitchen later. When it all came down to it, the juice was the only thing in this school that was considered appetizing.

We finally got our food and left the food counter. I followed Featherweight and Pip until they sat down at the table adjacent to the one that Shika was reading at. I swallowed in fear, gathered my courage, and sat down to place my tray on the table.

"Uh... I'm sorry, did I make you wait long?"

She lowered her book, and began to talk in the flat voice that I enjoyed so much, "No. I just got here myself."

I couldn't believe it, for once her sentence sounded... Well, not robotic. She sounded like a normal pony.

"That's good... So, are you eating something? Or are you already full on books?" I cringed at my extremely lame joke, and hoped the sound of the students around us had drowned it out.

She stared at me with her beautiful blank stare, and tilted her head adorably, "No. I was waiting for you."

Before I could reply with a "Thank you", she closed her book and stood up from the table.

"Did I offend her?" That's what I was thinking, and that was probably what Pip and Featherweight were thinking behind me too.

"Come. Follow me." She said, again in a flat voice.

I looked to my friends who sat at the table behind mine. They quickly looked back at their food, not wanting to attract attention. I could understand why they did that, it was already clear that Shika knew that they were eavesdropping. I turned to the filly who was already walking towards the cafeteria door. Realizing that she was already leaving, I chased after her.

Finally, I caught up to her.

"So... Where are we going?"

She turned to me, and then spoke in a voice that wasn't as dull or flat as she would usually speak in, "The roof. I hoped we could have more privacy."

For once, she seemed like a normal pony. I thought it was the perfect time to compliment her on one of her features, she looked as if she would blush if she heard me say something nice about her mane or her her hooves. But before I could, she stopped in front of set of lockers. Her horn began to glow a light pink, and one of the lockers began to glow with it. The padlock that kept the locker door shut started to turn left and right, until it finally fell off the lock clamp. The door flew open and a box that was wrapped up in a cloth sheet slowly floated out of it. Assuming it was her lunchbox, I decided not to ask what it was.

We proceeded down the hallway, and then finally ascended up the stairs and onto the roof top. It was a relief to feel the cool breeze through my mane after being stuck in those hot and dusty school halls. The roof was completely bare, not a single pony was up there. A long chain link fence walled off the edge of the roof as a safety protocol. Other than a ladder that led up to a higher section of the roof, it was completely empty.

I followed the mare to the chain link fence, and we both sat down on the wall the fence was stretched over. She placed her lunchbox on the wall between us. I was still wondering why this filly agreed to have lunch with me. Was it because of my looks? Surely not. Maybe she just wanted somepony to have lunch with, or she was tired of being lonely. This was eating away at me, so I decided to ask her.

"So... Why did you agree to have lunch with me? I mean, we only just met."

She untied the knot on her wrapped up lunchbox, and then stared at me with her blank eyes before replying.

"I... I'm not sure why. I just... Wanted to."

That answer was enough for me. Although deep inside, I actually wanted a deeper answer. But before I could complain about it anymore, she spoke up again.

"I think I may have packed... Too much food today, so maybe that was it?"

The unsureness and constant pausing in her speech was making my heart melt, metaphorically. But I was sure that this pony had more to say, but I couldn't force a shy filly like her to come out of her comfort zone. She was already breaking out of her shell as it was, so I decided not to push her any further.

She opened her lunchbox, and I was surprised to see the abundance of food! Fried fish, bread, apple slices, and sauces of all kinds! Sandwichs and fruit were beautifully arranged around the rest of the food, I nearly drooled over the large lunchbox.

Shika gave me a look as if I did drool over her food.

"W-What's wrong?" She stuttered.

"Uh nothing. This is just... Wow. Did you make this yourself?"

"Yes. I live alone, so I have to fend for myself. My part time job pays well, so I have enough for food."

That was the longest I've ever seen her talk before. I was amazed how much she's opened up to me in the short time I've known her. I mean, it was only lunch; and I was already talking with a filly who was known for being anti-social. I was still confused as to why she would be hanging out with somepony like me? A total stranger, a nopony. I wasn't even known around the school much, unlike our famous 'Student Council President'.

"What about your parents?" I asked, while I slowly picked up a sandwich from the lunchbox.

She looked down with a mopey expression on her face, "They're... Not around anymore."

I could already imagine what happened, and I immediately regretted asking the question. I wanted to make her feel better.

"I'm sorry. But if it means anything, I live alone too. My parents aren't around anymore either."

After a short pause, she replied, "Thanks. You're... Really sweet."

A compliment from the filly of my dreams? I felt like I was in a dream.

We both slowly picked at the lunchbox until we completely emptied it. I'm not going to lie, I would have chosen her cooking over the cafeteria food any day of the week. I hadn't had a feast as delicious as that in, literally, months. We still had time to kill before lunch had ended, so we spent the remainder of our break staring at the peaceful Ponyville below us. It was only then that I noticed the grey dull clouds from that morning had floated away, and the blue skies had revealed themselves to us. I would have wondered why it was cloudless, blue sky, day in the middle of winter; but I was enjoying myself too much to care.

*RING* *RING* *RING*

The sound of a high-pitched bell echoed through the campus.

"Well, we better get back to class." I said, as I dusted off my flank before standing up straight.

"This was... Nice..."

She blushed lightly, and then began to talk again.

"Can we... Do this again?"

I nodded, and answered, "Sure. I mean, if you want to. I'd hate to trouble you. I mean, it looked like you worked really hard on that lunch."

"Oh no! It was no trouble at all. It's really easy to make these kinds of things. If you want something specific, I'd be more then happy to make it for you." She said, excitedly.

That was the most excited I've ever seen her. I was glad to see that she was enjoying herself, even if it was for a short while. She packed up her lunchbox, and we both made our way down the stairs. We trotted through the linoleum hallways of the school, and both stopped when we reached our classrooms. Our classes were adjacent to each other, which made finding each other much easier.

Before she trotted into her class room, class two (2), she turned to me. I waved goodbye to her. And to my surprise, she smiled at me; and then waved back.

"I've got a feeling this is gonna be a great year."

Chapter 5: The Garden of Hearts

I waved goodbye to Shika, and entered my classroom in time for class to start. Most of the students in my class were already seated, others were chatting at the back of the room or by the windows. Trying to avoid eye contact with Cheerilee, I trotted over to my seat and desk. Featherweight and Pip were already conversing by my desk.

"Hey!" Featherweight noticed me, "So how'd it go?" He asked, in a mocking manner.

"Just fine." I replied directly.

"I certainly hope you were sensible with your actions." Pip said in a voice that sounded like a politician.

I frowned at Pip, "Do you really think I would do that on a first date?"

"I can never be too sure with you." The earth pony chuckled.

The bell rang again, and we all took our seats in the class. I thought the rest of the day would be extremely slow, as usual. But for some reason class sped by faster than usual. Before I knew it, class was already over. I barely got anything out of the lecture, but I had a liable reason for that. Through the whole class I couldn't stop thinking of Shika. She was everywhere in my mind, but I still didn't know why. Could it be her food, or maybe it was just her that was distracting me. I was surprised Cheerilee didn't bust me for not listening. But after my scene earlier, I couldn't think of any reason why she'd want to have anything to do with me.

Featherweight and Pip followed me out of the class, and we began to converse. We alternated conversation topics from my lunch date with Shika to the Student Council President and her secretary.

"Hey wait, maybe we should stop by Shika's class." I suggested.

"Sure, I wanna meet her myself!" The scrawny pegasus exclaimed.

And coincidentally, as if on cue, a feminine voice began to talk from behind us, "Wow Featherweight, didn't know she was your type." The voice giggled.

All three (3) of us turned around, and a grey mare stood there smiling at us. It was Silver Spoon, and she had somehow snuck away from her annoying superior.

"Hey! So you got time off from the dictator?" I asked as joke, but I spoke in a dull and almost flat voice. I guess Shika was rubbing off on my already.

The grey mane filly chuckled, "No of course not. I'm on my way to meet her now. We're going for coffee to discuss-- Or rather, I'm going to go over the student council papers... By myself. I'd invite you, but... You know how it is with you and Diamond."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure we'd just be imposing on you." Pip said in a suave fashion.

Silver blushed. I could see Featherweight cringing just a bit, and I couldn't blame him. After all, everypony knew about Featherweight and Silver being close friends when Diamond wasn't around. Worried, I decided to change the subject.

"So... You seem to know Shika, do you know her?"

"Oh yes. She's in my class after all."

"You're in class three (3)? I wouldn't have guessed." I replied.

"Yup! Diamond is in class one (1), she was pretty upset with it at first. But after a while, she's gotten used to it."

That didn't surprise me, not one bit. They were famous for being inseparable since elementary. I suppose it was because of their fathers knowing each other.

"You got that right. We were always portrayed as the snobby rich kids, so we only had each other to play with. But that all changed during elementary and high school. I was happy for that change, but Diamond wasn't so keen on it."

Featherweight perked up his voice suddenly, "S-So! Uh... Popo, when are you gonna ask Shika out to the Hearts and Hooves dance?"

I was about to punch him for that.

Silver's eyes lit up, "Wow! So... You actually got her to talk?!"

Was Shika really that famous for being anti-social?

"Well, nopony ever sees her talk. The last time she spoke was at the beginning of the school year, when we all went around introducing ourselves. But even then, it took a while to get her to even say her name. Anyways, I'm glad she finally has somepony to talk to."

I paused for a bit, before replying, "Well... To be honest... I was thinking of taking her to the Garden of Hearts later this afternoon."

"WHAT?!" Featherweight and Silver both shouted in unison, while Pip grinned uncomfortably and scratched his mane.

"What?" I wasn't sure what the problem was, so I thought I'd ask.

"Are you saying you don't know what the Garden of Hearts is?" Pip shouted.

"Uh... Yeah. It's that nice park near Town Hall. I don't get it, it's just a park. Is something wrong?"

Pip stepped forward and explained, "Ahah, I'm sorry for not mentioning it earlier. Allow me to explain, the park isn't just your usual park. It's a place where couples often take each other. The park is most famous for the 'Lovers Drop', a beautiful crimson red flower that only grows in Ponyville. It is said that the flower's aroma is enough to make a couple--"

"AHAHAHA! That's quite enough my good sir!" Featherweight laughed maniacally, before shoving his hoof into Pip's mouth.

Silver Spoon peeked out from behind Featherweight, "Um... You guys should be fine, as long as you stay away from Lovers Drop."

These ponies make that flower sound like a demon that haunts the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It can't that dangerous, can it? Whatever it may be, Silver and Featherweight seem to react strangely the most. I had a slight feeling that something happened between them. After all, they were close during elementary school.

Curious, I decided to ask them, "So did something happen to you two in the park or something?"

The two gasped, quickly glanced at each other, and then shouted in unison, "N-NO WAY! WHERE DID YOU HEAR SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!"

Pip chuckled, and smirked off to the side. I grinned.

Chapter 6: An Odd Estate Location

After an awkward conversation with Silver Spoon, the three of us waved goodbye to our old friend. She trotted off in the direction of the schools front gates, probably to meet her irritating superior for coffee like she said. But before I could proceed over to class three (3), Featherweight stopped me.

"What in the name of Celestia was that?!" He shouted.

I raised my brow at him, "I don't get it."

"Asking me about me and Silver, and with the Lovers Drop no less!"

"So are you saying something happened?" I asked calmly and with a straight face. But in my mind, I was cracking up.

"N-No! Let's just get your marefriend already!" He said, as he stomped off to class three (3).

Pip glanced at me, forced a smirk onto his face, shrugged, and then followed the angry pegasus. I sighed, and then chased after the earth pony. After loudly stomping through the school halls, Featherweight arrived at class three (3); Pip and I arrived soon after.

The earth pony spoke up and asked, "So... Why are Featherweight and myself here? Aren't you the one going on the date with her?"

A shocked face pressed itself onto the face of Featherweight. It was clear that he hadn't thought his little 'master plan' through.

"B-Because... Uh..."

You've got to be kidding me.

"I know! It's because we're here to provide moral support for him on his date!"

I groaned, and covered my face with my hoof.

"So if I'm correct." Pip began to talk, "You plan to eavesdrop on Apollo and Shika while on their date?"

"Well if you say it in front of him like that..."

So that was it, he couldn't get his own marefriend; so he decided to spy on mine. Well, I wasn't sure we were there quite yet.

"If you want companionship that badly, why don't you just go with Silver?"

Apparently comments like that are classified as 'inappropriate', according to Pip. But sadly, I was unbeknownst to that fact at the time. And Featherweight responded embarrassingly.

"D-Dude! You don't just blurt out stuff like that out of the blue!"

"I honestly don't see the issue here. You two were close friends back at Ponyville Schoolhouse." I replied.

Featherweight calmed down, and began to breathe normally again, "Whatever man. You don't want us on your date, fine! It's cool! C'mon Pip!" He said as he stormed off, dragging Pip by the collar behind him. I could see the earth pony blankly grinning, and waving at me.

I sighed, and turned to the classroom door of class three (3). But before I could enter, the door opened by itself. Or rather, a filly behind the door opened it. A white pegasus with a blue mane let out a squeak at the sight of me. I must have startled her somehow, and stepped back to let her pass. She bowed her head, and then left.

"What a strange pony." I said to myself, as I trotted into the classroom.

I scanned the room, and it was almost empty. About four (4) or five (5) students remained in the classroom. And out of that hoof-full of ponies, the beautiful grey filly packing her books into her bag stood out to me. I walked over to her, quietly.

"Need some help, pretty pony?"

She jumped slightly, and turned around to face me, "Oh, it's you. No I'm fine. Thanks though."

What was with all the jumpy ponies? First the filly at the door, now Shika.

"Alright then. I was wondering if you'd like to walk home together."

The filly gave me a small grin, and replied, "That depends... Do you live in the same direction as I do?"

"I live near that Carousal Boutique place." I answered.

"Oh! My house is south of the Carousal Boutique!"

My eye twitched, that statement struck me as... Odd, or impossible rather.

"S-South of Carousal Boutique?!"

She raised an eyebrow at me, "Hm? Is something the matter?"

"W-Well... South of the boutique is... The Everfree Forest."

"I know it's a little odd for the placement of a house, but it's very peaceful and calm. I can also have as much privacy that I want. Other than the woodland creatures, there's also a nice zebra who lives even deeper into the woods than I do."

"I see, then shall we get going?"

She nodded, as she finished packing her bag.

We trotted out of the classroom, then out of the school, and finally off the campus grounds. I talked on and on about frivolous topics, the weather, politics, and even school. I blabbered for what seemed like forever, while Shika walked beside me quietly. Our hooves carried us down Element Hill, and to the bus stop. As we arrived at the stop, I stopped talking. An awkward silence filled the air out of nowhere, and I had exhausted the conversation.

The cloudy dull grey clouds covered the sky once again.

Chapter 7: Economy Complaints and Forigivable Mistakes

The bus arrived in front of us, and came to a screeching halt. I let Shika enter the bus first, and I soon followed after. We both flashed our student IDs at the driver, and he gave us a slight nod. If it weren't for these pieces of plastic that the school provided for us, I'd have to pay full bus fare with the money I didn't have. My weekend job didn't pay very well, and the money Alex had provided for me when I first arrived in Ponyville was running low.

I rode with Shika on the bus, as it violently shook with every speed bump. It was funny really, she smiled through the entire earthquake of a trip. Occasionally, the bus would come to a halt at bus stop after bus stop. Which got me thinking, whose idea was it to put these bus stops ten (10) seconds away from each other? I thought about using that question as a conversation starter with Shika, but I decided it was too trivial to bother her with. After another ten (10) minutes, the bus finally came to my stop.

Shika, a hoof-full of other ponies, and I all got off the rickety worn down bus. I thanked the black coated bus driver, and he gave a slight nod to me.

"No problem." He said cheerfully, as if he hadn't been driving like a maniac in the narrow streets of Ponyville.

I couldn't blame him really. After all, the 'new' mayor decided it would be best if they concentrate their funding towards the more populated areas of Ponyville. Everything in the northern area of Ponyville got all good stuff: Clean streets, better public transport, even the real estate was better. Anything south of the Town Square was left to fend for itself in poverty. Most of our classmates were from the richer sector of our town, while the others were left in the dumps.

If you lived in the wealthier part Ponyville; you either lived with your parents, or you had a job with an excellent pay. You may think I'm exaggerating this topic. But I've been to Northern Ponyville quite a bit for grocery shopping, since the prices are cheaper there, and I hear lots of ponies constantly talking about their luxurious life in the north.

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to talk to Shika about the matter. But before I could even speak a word, we were already standing in front of a beaten path leading into the Everfree Forest.

"Wow. I didn't realize we were here already. I guess my hooves just kinda took me here naturally." I said, turning to Shika.

"Geez, you really spaced out there. Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine. Just thinking. That's all."

"Achoo!" She let out an adorable sneeze.

"Oh I'm sorry! I didn't realize how quickly it got so cold... Ah! Here's an idea."

She tilted her head and looked at me curiously.

"Since your house is way out in the Everfree Forest, it must be a long way from here. So why don't you just hang out at my place for a bit?"

Inviting a teenage filly to my house in which I live alone? If I was a bit older, I could have been arrested!

"Y-Your house?" She asked.

What was I thinking?! Inviting a teenage filly to my house in which I live alone? I didn't have to be older to get suspended from school! After all, if Principle Alex found out...

"I'd love to." She said, in a calm sweet voice that matched her smile.

"Uh... Great! It's just over this wa--"

I was cut off as I turned around. Standing directly in front of me was a white unicorn much taller than me, his mane was almost as black as mine. His green eyes glared at me fiercely, and it was then that I noticed my mouth was hanging open and my hoof had been shoved into his face. My eye twitched for a second, and I froze.

Finally, I spoke up, "I-I'm so terribly sorry sir!"

"It's fine." He replied, as he brushed past me and trotted off in the direction of the town hall.

I could see his cutie mark, and it was quite a strange one. A treble clef turned upside-down was connected to a bass clef to make the shape of a heart. How odd, I felt as if I knew him from somewhere before.

With a sigh of relief, my head turned to Shika. She was staring angrily at the white unicorn.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

She kept on staring, and completely ignored me. I let out a deep sigh, and decided to sit down on a nearby bench. My house was literally a minute's walk away from where we were both standing. Had that unicorn not bumped into us, we might have already been in the warm comfort of my abode. And it was at that moment that I realized something: It was snowing.

You would naturally think this was strange, since Winter Wrap up was coming up soon. And if Winter Wrap up closing in, it means that there would be no more snow coming from the clouds. The snow would have stopped falling, so the Winter Wrap up committee would only need to clean up the snow on the ground and trees.

"What's happening here...?" I thought to myself, as I let out another deep sigh.

I hung my head low and shivered, as my rump was beginning to freeze onto the park bench. As the many snowflakes fell into my mane, a could hear the sound of hoofsteps in the snow. And the silent icy breeze was interrupted by a sweet cold voice.

"Haha. I'm sorry. I kind of blanked out didn't I?"

"No worries." I replied, "I was getting tired anyways, and I needed to sit down."

She giggled, and then sneezed again, "Achoo!"

"Geez. We better get you inside. C'mon now."

We trotted slowly through the snow, shivering and freezing. Eventually, we arrived at the porch of my run-down house. I reached into my saddlebag, and pulled out a key. My hoof shook as I inserted the piece of copper into the door's keyhole and turned it clockwise. I opened a quiet click sound before I opened the door.

"Well, it's not much. But the roof sustains itself. Can I get you something?"

"Some tea would be nice."

I was still astonished about how open she suddenly was. By four (4) O' clock I had erased the anti-social reputation of a filly whom I had just met that morning, and had befriended her within an instant. How I got her to come into my house within a day of meeting her still confused me. As I prepared the tea, more and more questions began to flood my mind. Why did I feel like I knew that white unicorn earlier? And why was it snowing at the end of winter, just before winter wrap up? What exactly was the Lovers Drop? And why are Silver and Featherweight on edge about that flower? It was all just too much to think about at once.

I placed a mug of tea in front of Shika.

"Thanks." She cheerfully said.

Her horn began to glow that light pink, and the cup of tea floated to her lips. Not that I was purposely looking for this, but for some strange reason I noticed how her throat waved back and forth as she drank. I felt like a dirty creep.

The cup placed itself back on the table, or rather, Shika's magic placed it back there.She let out a sigh, as she slowly closed her eyes. I smiled, as I sipped my own tea. The sweet aroma of herbs filled my house, and I certainly felt more peaceful.

After I had emptied my cup, I glanced towards the unicorn sitting across from me at the short table.

"Want some more?" I asked.

She nodded, "Yes please. It's quite chilly outside."

"Yeah." I said, as I got up to walk over to the kitchen counter, "It's strange. It's snowing even though Winter Wrap up is less than a week away."

"I know. But the weather's been really off lately. Haven't you noticed?"

I took the tea kettle into my mouth and mumbled to her, "Well now that you mention it--"

*SPLASH*

A lump in the rug had caught my foreleg, and I tripped forward. You can probably tell what happened next. My face smashed into the rug. And the kettle flew onto, you guessed it, Shika's school uniform skirt.

"N-Nngh..." She cringed.

I already knew what happened, but I was still facing the floor on my stomach. I tilted my head up slowly, I could already see the hot water stains on her skirt.

"I'm so sorry!" I shouted.

"It's... Fine. It's really fine. Really."

"We should probably dry off that skirt. You can take a shower in the bathroom over there. I'll uh..." I paused, and thought my words through carefully, "Dry off your uniform."

Apparently, during some time in the past of this dimension, ponies without clothes were no big deal at all! I find it hard to believe, but that's probably because I've been so accustomed to the standards of the time I was in. At the time, ponies without clothes were considered 'indecent' and even a school uniform would suffice. Which raised another problem: I was in a house alone with an indecent student filly. If Principle Alex somehow walked in on me...

I walked to the bathroom door, and Shika soon followed. Opening the door for her, she nodded, and trotted in. The door closed, and I heard her lock it as well. The door had a relatively wide opening at the top for the steam to escape. I could see her clothes flying over the gap above the door.

"D-Don't try anything funny with those! Or with me for that matter!" She shouted.

She suddenly sounded aggravated, I guess when you spill boiling water over fillies it tends to anger them. I chuckled quietly.

I trotted away from the bathroom, as I heard the sound of running water coming from the door. Steam began to rise from the door's higher gap.

Her clothes needed something to dry on, and I wasn't about to use the rug. I laid out some towels on the living room floor, and placed her uniform parts on the towels. But as I was laying out her clothes out, I noticed...

"P-P-Panties...?"

Shut up, I know what you're thinking. If anypony else were in my situation, they'd probably be shocked by the same thing.

"Maybe... She won't find out if I sneak a peek..."

Geez, I was beginning to sound like a pervert. I don't know what was exactly going through my mind at the time, and I don't want to know. But regardless of all that, I quietly sneaked up to the bathroom door and put my ear up to it. I could hear the running water from the shower head. I could also hear my guest's voice as well.

"Hmmhmm... Oops! I dropped it."

Dropped what? I never found out.

"W-W-Woah!" I could hear her shouting, and I didn't know why. Because before I knew it...

*SLAM*

Somehow, I found myself with my back on the floor looking straight up. And by some mysterious force, Shika found herself on top of me, dripping wet with soap and water. Her chest was laying directly on mine, and she began to breath softly from her lips. She blushed lightly, her eyes widened, and then her voice echoed throughout the house.

"EEEEEK!"

Chapter 8: The Blizzard

Now this was a troubling predicament. An unclothed mare had somehow made her way onto my chest, as I was lying on the floor. Her coat and mane were dripping wet with water. Her deep breaths sailed onto my face. We were both speechless. How could either of us say anything in that situation?

"I-I..." Shika stuttered, I couldn't blame her.

I calmly began to speak slowly, "Alright, let's just... Got off each other, and..."

And without another second she rolled off to the side, off my body. I brought myself to my hooves, and dusted myself off.

"So... What happened?" I asked.

"I um... I dropped the bar of soap, and I slipped on it."

I paused, and began to recall what I heard before she crashed through the door onto me. I believe it was something along the lines of, "Oops. I dropped it." Her claim made sense, and my mind was at ease. Shika blushed, and then rushed back into the shower, shutting the door behind her.

I trotted off back into the living room where her clothes were laid out. It looked as if they were already dry, so I folded them neatly and piled them into a small plastic basket. After throwing the basket onto my back, I returned to the bathroom, and placed it at the foot of the door. Not wanting to repeat the previous scene, my hooves dragged me to the kitchen.

My eyes glanced outside the window from behind the kitchen counter, “This snow isn’t letting up anytime soon. She might have to stay the night.” I thought to myself. Why was I thinking that to myself? Well let’s not go there.

Waiting patiently for a filly to finish using my shower, while drinking coffee on the couch, in front of a snowstorm; wasn’t that occasionally happened in my household. The time passed slowly, as the clock on my wall ticked and ticked for what seemed liked hours. But it turned out to be only about five (5) minutes. Finally, after enduring a long period of boredom, I could hear the door at the end of my hallway creaking open. The sound of the door was followed by something being dragged across the wooden floorboards, one could only assume it was the basket with Shika’s clothes. I sighed, and sipped my hot coffee mug.

The grey unicorn finally dressed herself and trotted into the living room. She sat down on the chair opposite to my couch, placed her hooves on the fronts of her back legs, and then let out a deep sigh.

“Still thirsty?" I asked, "There’s still some coffee in the pot if you are.”

She looked at me with a smile, “Yes please. A hot drink is just what I need after a shower.”

Standing up, I walked into the kitchen to pour her a warm, brown, caffeinated drink.

The snow outside was making it hard for me to hear if she was saying anything, so I raised my voice to speak to her, “Looks like this snow isn’t letting up.” Wow, Déjà vu, “You might have to stay the night.”

It seemed like she was bothered by that, as she gasped just loud enough for me to hear. I didn’t want to make her feel more uncomfortable than she already was, so I gave her the option to leave, “Or would you rather have me walk you home?”

“N-No. It’s fine. I can sleep on the couch.”

This is where my gentlecolt senses kicked in, I couldn’t let a delicate creature like her sleep on the couch. Great, I sounded more like a pervert than a gentlecolt.

“You can sleep in my room—“ But it looked like she saw me as a pervert as well, because she cut me off before I could finish.

“Y-Your room?!”

“Relax. I was going to say that I could sleep on the couch, while you sleep in my bed.” I managed to clear up any misconceptions before things began to worsen.

She let out a loud sigh of relief, and giggled.

“Something funny?” I asked.

“No.” She replied, “I just thought it was strange how I’m in the house of somepony I had just met only this morning. And not to mention the fact that I’m sleeping over with him.”

“I can understand how that’s strange. You won’t believe how much we think alike.” I didn’t think it to be a big coincidence about our thinking. After all, anypony would have thought the same if they were either of us.

“Anyways, it would be normal if it were with another filly. Kind of like a sleep-over you know?”

“You know.” Those two words were what made me realize just how close we were getting over such a short amount of time. She began to speak to me as if I was the friend she went shopping with, or the friend that always went with her to the movies. But this led me to my next question…

“Did we happen to… Know each other? Before today I mean.” I asked, curiously, as I approached her with a steaming hot cup of coffee on a tray in my mouth.

Shika took the coffee, and then stared at it for a while. I knew she was thinking about my question, she did seem so familiar all this time. And yet, I’ve never even noticed her before today. I started to question the situation even more. Why haven’t I seen her before today? How come everypony I was acquainted with knew her before I did? Why did she bother to have lunch with me? Why did she want to walk home with me, an earth pony whom she had just met not too long ago? Why was she in my house? And above all other questions… Why me? Why did she decide to open herself up to somepony like me? I mean, there’s nothing terribly special about me.

I mean, I’m just average Apollo Coronis. I WAS Average Apollo Coronis.

Chapter 9: The Uninvited Cavalry

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

Before I could speculate about Shika anymore, a loud knocking came from my front door.

“Sit tight. I’ll get that.” I said, sounding more casual with my lovely house guest.

She nodded adorably, and then took another large gulp of her coffee.

Slowly, my hooves approached the door. The knocking would occasionally stop for a second, and then continue. I wondered who in Equestria would be at my door in middle of a snowstorm. I peeped through the glass hole in the door, but all I could see was frost covering the lens. I was about to ignore the knocking completely, I thought it was probably some salespony. But I was stopped by a deep voice shouting from behind the sturdy wooden door.

“HEY COME ON Popo! LET US IN! Pleeaasseee?!”

“Oh for the love of…” I tried not to swear in front of Shika, but the morons behind the door were making it hard not to.

My hoof was controlling itself, it threw open the door. And to nopony’s surprise… Featherweight and Pip were standing outside, almost completely frozen.

Pip forced an awkward smile with his chattering teeth, while Featherweight immediately threw himself onto my welcome mat.

“What in Celestia’s name are you two doing here?!” I whispered angrily.

“Same reason you are. To see that Shika filly!”

I couldn’t believe it. My hoof was still controlling itself, and it was about to launch itself at Featherweight’s face. I wasn’t as upset at Pip as I was at the idiotic Pegasus lying on the welcome mat before me. My gut just told me he was dragged along for one of Featherweight’s schemes.

The two of them shook the snow off of their coats on my porch, as I had instructed them too. I didn’t want to get my floor all wet after all. And it wasn’t until after Pip had shaken off all the snow on his back, that I noticed the large grey lump on his back.

“Achoo!” The grey lump sneezed. Wait, what?

“Oh yes, I forgot to mention… Silver Spoon is here too.” Pip informed me, as if he knew what I was thinking.

Silver climbed off of Pip’s back and bowed, “We’re sorry for coming invited Apollo. It was in good intentions... Kind of.” She explained.

I let out a great sigh, and ran my hoof down my face, “Fine. You can stay for the night.” A part of me wishes they weren’t here, so that I could spend more alone time with Shika. And another part of me was grateful that they were here, so that I could keep myself from accidently doing something inappropriate, or even illegal.

“You two (2) are off the hook. Mainly because Featherweight dragged you along.” I looked at Pip and Silver.

“But you on the other hoof.” My head slowly turned to Featherweight.

The scrawny Pegasus tried to frantically apologize, “I know! I’m sorry!” He repeated, and I eventually let him off the hook. With a warning.

We trotted back into the living room. Shika was still in the same spot, but her coffee mug was empty. She looked at the crowd of people following me, and tilted her head.

“Uh, so my friends… Got lost in the blizzard, and now they’re crashing here until tomorrow. This is Featherweight. And you already know Pip and Silver.”

”Hiya! How’s it goin?” Featherweight attempted to greet her. She just gave him a blank and emotionless stare.

“Hello. It’s nice to see you again.” Pip followed, and then Silver after, “Hi! We’re uh… From the same class. If you didn’t already know.”

She smiled at the two, and then gave them a small wave of her hoof. In my head I was laughing, Featherweight wasn’t exactly the best at making first impressions.

“Why don’t you all have a seat, get to know each other… I guess. I’ll brew some more coffee.” I said, as I trotted back into the kitchen.

“I’ll help.” Silver volunteered, as she walked alongside me.

The grey earthpony was most helpful. In fact, she did most of the work. I decided to let her work, and made small chat with her.

“So how’d you get caught up in Featherweight’s little plan?” I asked.

Her hooves worked swiftly and smoothly, “Well, Diamond said she wasn’t feeling well. So I was stuck at the restaurant alone, until I saw Featherweight in the window. He waved to me asked if I wanted to come with him to see you.” She giggled, and then blushed.

“You’re blushing. I’m guessing it’s something to do with Feather huh?”

“Well, I’m not going to deny that we were close back then. But I was just thinking of how many ponies were staring at him because he was shouting from outside to a filly inside a restaurant. He made a fool of himself… Just for me.”

“And what’s with you two being distant lately? I mean, even I can tell you two (2) would be a cute couple.”

She lightly punched my neck as she laughed, “Haha, nice try. But… I think I have feelings... For another…”

“It’s not me I hope.”

“Shut up.” She said, as she punched me again. But this time, the punch was harder.

“Playing hard to get I see.”

“Hah, you may have normal fillies falling for you left and right. But I’m not a normal filly.”

“Well that’s pretty clear. After all, you did fall for Feath—“

*STOMP*

Silver had slammed her right forehoof onto my left backhoof. I cringed, and gritted my teeth, not wanting to make a scene. She trotted past me, with a tray of mugs on her back.

“That’ll teach you.”

I chuckled, and then limped after her.

“Here you go!” She exclaimed, as she placed the tray on my glass coffee table.

It seemed like Pip was getting on well with Shika, while Featherweight was still trying too hard. Each pony took a mug from the tray, including myself. We sipped our drinks, while Featherweight told absurd and farfetched stories.

“Have you guys ever wondered if we’re just characters in some story? Not like spiritually or anything. But what if our actions and thoughts are controlled by an author somewhere?” Featherweight asked.

I replied, “You mean like a God? If it’s an author you’re talking about, then I’ve got a pretty messed up one.”

“Hah, I feel like my author would be somepony who loves adventure. I’ve sure had my share of excitement.” Pip joined in.

Silver followed, “My author probably just wants to set me up with somepony who’s totally not my type, just to shock his readers.”

“I kind of want to hurt this guy now. Making me sound like… A pervert…” I whispered to myself near the end of my sentence.

Featherweight continued, “Oh, and did you hear about these things called… Oh what were they called? Tch… Uhh, Ah! Homans! I think that’s what they were called.”

“Alright. Where exactly did you hear about this?” Pip asked in a serious tone.

“It’s not just a rumor. But some ponies have actually seen them!” Feather exclaimed again.

“Oh yeah? In Ponyville?” Silver asked jokingly.

“Nope. In… Another world!”

Everypony almost dropped their drinks. And those who didn’t sighed. I joined in. After all, who would believe in that nonsense? Well it looked like Shika was interested, regardless of her silence. Her eyes sparkled; she seemed so fascinated with the scrawny pony’s stories. I was glad that she was enjoying herself; I wasn’t doing a very good job of entertaining her before these three (3) arrived.

"In another world? Do you really believe that?" I asked.

He nodded with a stern look on his face.

I sighed, before taking another sip of my drink.

Time passed on again, as snow and frost began to form around the windows. The howling of the blizzard outside added to the feeling of absolute cold around my body. Five (5) of us chattered on and on around the small glass coffee table in the middle of the living room. Eventually, the clock on my wall struck twelve (12) and a strong bell rang and echoed throughout the house.

Silver yawned and stretched her four legs out, "Maybe we should hit the hay now. It's getting late."

"One problem though." I said, "There's only one bed in this whole house, and it's mine."

"That's no big deal. Shika and I can sleep in the your bed. You three (3) can share the couch." Silver giggled.

"Uh, how about no? I'd rather sleep in the bathtub." I replied sarcastically.

"Ditto. Pip can have the couch. I'll just curl up near the fireplace or something." Featherweight agreed.

Shika stuttered, and tried to interrupt us, "U-Um... What do you mean by 'we'll be sleeping in his bed'?"

"Well we can't have a girl sleeping anywhere else, now can we?" Silver raised her chest up high like some sort of inspirational speaker.

"I-I... Um... Alright then..." Shika whimpered.

Pip sat silently on the couch, with small grin on his face while drinking his coffee. The two fillies trotted off to my room at the end of the hall, while the other two colts and I stayed in the living room.

When we finally heard the sound of my bedroom door closing, we immediately huddled around the glass coffee table.

"So how are we gonna spy on them?" Featherweight asked.

"That's what this meeting is? I was just wondering if you guys wanted to watch a movie or something." I replied.

Pip followed in the conversation, "I just came to get my mug."

"Popo! You have two (2) perfectly fine fillies sleeping in your bed. Now what are you gonna do about it?" The scrawny pegasus asked.

I answered, "Uh, let them sleep peacefully?"

"Wrong." He replied.

"I'll just put this in the sink." Pip said, as he took his leave.

"It's tradition for teenage colts to spy on teenage fillies while they sleep!"

"That is beyond creepy Feather. I've never even heard of a tradition like that." I replied by pushing his face away from mine.

"Are you serious? That's like... The most popular tradition among teenage ponies these days!"

"Since when do teenage ponies ever have a situation like this in their own homes?"

"What do you mean?" Featherweight asked, as he stared at the ceiling.

I explained, "There are three (3) colts and two (2) fillies sleeping under the same roof without any adult pony supervision. That's not something that happens very often among students like us."

"Apollo is right." Pip trotted back into the living room, "Spying on sleeping girls would be dishonest and shameful."

Featherweight began to growl, "Grr... Always playing the nice guy huh?"

"Hm? What was that?" I asked, but I already knew what he was snarling about. He was always the type to easily become jealous.

"Nothing." He snapped silently, and then trotted over to sit on the windowsill.

Pip and I looked at each other, and shrugged. The spotted earth pony lazily flopped onto the couch, leaving me with the rug near the fireplace. To be honest, I preferred the rug more than the couch, after all there was more room to move around. Pip once explained to me about how he one day woke up on a couch-like chair in Principle Alex's house, and it was the most comfortable sleep he had ever experienced. That's another reason why I let him sleep on the couch.

Featherweight had fallen asleep on the windowsill, Pip was letting out snores that were barely noticeable, and I was stoking the small fire in the fireplace with a metal poker. The fire grew larger and larger, until the sparks were inches away from my face. The roaring flame cracked and snapped fiercely underneath the marble mantlepiece.

Even though I was against anything perverted that Featherweight tried to force into my mind, tonight I couldn't stop thinking about what he said. Some part of me wanted to go along with his plan, to spy on the fillies in my bedroom. But I just couldn't bring myself to stoop so low. The fire began to die ever so slowly, and the fire pit eventually filled up with ash, nothing else but ash. It seemed like the world had gone into complete silence aside from the sounds in my living room.

I tried to fall asleep on the rug, but the howling blizzard outside kept me from doing so. The ticking of the clock was the only sound in the room aside from the hail clashing on the window. But then, as I faced the ceiling on my back, I noticed something odd. The sound of hail pelting on the window was quite loud, too loud. It sounded almost like... Knocking.

Rolling on my side, I tried to get up, but I stopped. What I saw made me freeze in my tracks, and stop moving completely.

A figure stood in the window.

ENDING

For the first time in a long time, I was scared. The silhouette of a pony stood on the other side of my living room window. I felt like I was in some sort of horror movie, my situation fit the plot line of one perfectly. A bunch of high school students sleeping in a house together in the middle of a snowstorm a few minutes past midnight. But then I realized what had attracted the stranger, and it was the pegasus sleeping soundly on the windowsill. Featherweight was literally inches away from the pony outside.

My friend was in danger, and I wasn't going to hide because I was scared. My body hugged the floor, as I slowly crawled towards the windowsill. My heart was beating heavily and speedily. The shadow remained motionless, almost as if it were a mannequin. But at the same time, I felt like it was ominously staring at me specifically. Featherweight moaned in his sleep as I tried to call out to him silently.

"Silver... Pip..." He groaned.

I felt sympathetic for him, a pony who cares about him can't show it. I felt even worse for poking fun at him earlier, but I was going to make it up to him by saving him from whatever was outside. But before I could get any closer, the figure began to move. It's hoof moved on the glass, then I came to the realization that it was spelling out something on the frost.

"Come home." At least, that's what I thought it read.

Come Home?, what was that supposed to mean? I was too busy thinking about the message, that I didn't even notice that the figure had disappeared. Was he simply there to deliver the message? Or was he some kind of insane pony wandering through town? My mind began to think in the same way as a horror novel author all of a sudden, and I didn't have any idea why. I didn't gained any sleep that night, my body stayed awake and alert until the morning. Pondering that message for countless hours with no conclusions, twitching and shaking at the softest of noises, my sanity was slowly draining. Just a few hours ago I was having a normal, or even an irregular, day. And now I suddenly the target of some house-stalking freak! Time marched on and on, as I kept watch on the window.

My eyes turned blood-shot red by six (6) in the morning. The sun came up, and began to shine it's dim light through the letters etched into the frosted window. The birds outside were chirping cheerfully outside, it felt almost like spring was already here. Letting out a deep sigh, my hooves dragged me to the kitchen and into the refrigerator. A carton of apple cider sat on the bottom shelf of the cold white box.

"Better than nothing I suppose." I said to myself, as I reached for the cartoon.

Drinking straight from the carton wasn't usually part of my routine, but this earth pony was too tired to care.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

The sound of knocking startled me, and I jumped. My eyes could only stare at my front door. After gathering my courage, my hooves slowly trotting forward, as I wondered who could be on my porch?

The knocking stopped as soon as I reached the welcome mat. Did this mysterious guest know where I was? Looking through the peephole, I couldn't see anypony at first. But then I saw something in the snow, a unicorn. The pony was wearing a black vest and a pair of black sunglasses that covered his eyes. He was just standing in the blanket of snow. If it weren't for the early morning sunlight, I most likely wouldn't have noticed his white coat. And it was then that I realized who the unicorn was. It was the pony who we ran into that day before, the one with that Shika was glaring at.

He didn't seem shady, or anything of the sort, he was just standing about twenty (20) metres away from my porch. I opened the door to get a better look at him. An extremely cold chill brushed past me, as a pile of loose snow fell on the porch in front of me.

I looked up, and I realized that the unicorn was staring directly at me. He then began to approach the house.

"U-Uh... Good morning?" I shouted.

He remained silent.

"Are you... Looking for somepony?" I asked, as he slowly trotted towards me.

Still, he remained silent.

"Hey listen here ma--"

Before I could finish my sentence he started to march aggressively towards the house.

"Uh-oh. This guy means business. What do I do?!" I panicked in my head, but remained calm as I slammed the door before the unicorn could get any closer.

Deep breathing, back pressed up against the door, putting both the chain and lock on? Anypony would do the same if an angry looking stranger was stomping up to them, in their own house, only a few hours after midnight. Then, all of a sudden, the one thing I had hoped wouldn't happen was happening.

*SLAM* *SLAM* *SLAM*

The stranger was trying to break in! Scared for my life, I jammed a nearby wooden chair between the handle and the floor.

"Uh... Hey Apollo..." A faint voice called out to me.

I turned to the living room, Pip was sitting up on the couch.

"Pip! Get the girls, and Feather too! Take them out through the back door!" I instructed.

"W-What's happening?! Is somepony trying to break in?" He asked calmly.

"Just go!" I shouted.

He nodded, and began to shake Featherweight back and forth. After Feather awoke, Pip explained the situation to him.

*SLAM* *SLAM* *SLAM*

The door vibrated on my back, this stallion wasn't giving up anytime soon, "Why is this guy even interested in--" I came to a speculated conclusion, "Is this the same pony who drew that message on my window last night?!"

Pip and Featherweight were already in my room, probably waking the girls. I had to get rid of this guy, but what if he was armed? What if he had friends around the house?! It wasn't safe for my friends to leave through the back door, he probably already heard what I had said earlier about their escape route.

*SLAM* *SLAM* *SLAM*

The violent slamming continued, neither pony on the either side of the door were planning to give in.

"Apollo! Everypony's outside, come on!" Pip shouted.

"Alright, just go--"

*CRASH*

The stranger behind the door had finally broken the door down, and I was being crushed underneath the large piece of wood. The white unicorn was pressing his front hooves on the door, downwards onto my back. I shouted in agony, the weight of the door was too much for me to bear.

"P-Pip..." I called out to my friend. But he simply stood their with a fear-stricken look on his face.

The lack of oxygen circulation in my body prevented me from hearing most of what Pip was saying. He slowly backed away from the stallion who was still crushing my body. The pain was unbearable, I couldn't move, speak, or even breath. Just how strong was this pony?!

Suddenly, the pressure of the door on my back disappeared. As soon as I regained my ability to breathe, I moved the broken door off my back. Looking around, the white intruder was nowhere to be found.

I gasped for air, and tried to slowly speak, "W-Where... Is...." My sputtering and coughing prevented me from speaking anymore.

Pip and, to my surprise, Shika came to my aid.

"Easy there mate. I'm not too sure myself what happened. But it looks like he's outside now--" Pip was suddenly cut off by a startling noise.

*BANG* *BANG*

"W-What was that?!" Shika timidly shrieked.

Pip was the first to dash outside through the front door, "N-No!" He shouted.

Shika helped me to my hooves, and we followed him outside. A cold breeze had blown against us again, but the sight before us was too distracting. A black and red pegasus was hovering in the air above the white unicorn.

"A-Alex?!" I shouted.

He completely ignored me, and stayed in the air staring down at the pony below him. Pip had disappeared from the scene, and Shika was peeking out from behind me.

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked.

The unicorn remained silent, and pointed at me.

"Him? What do you want with him?"

I would have liked to know as well, but he never answered. Instead, a revolver flew out from his inside vest pocket! With the barrel pointed at Alex, the black pegasus didn't move from his position in the air.

"Are you really going to shoot me?" He asked.

The unicorn stayed quiet, his gun hovering in the air through his magic. I wasn't sure if he was insane, or if there was some sort of conflict between them. But why was my principle involved with somepony like this? I wanted to intervene, but before I could a loud shout from above me.

"Stop!"

The unicorn, Shika, Alex and I looked up. Pip was on the roof with something in his hoof, it looked like a jar.

"No more!" The spotted earth pony shouted, before he tossed the jar at the unicorn.

The white pony snapped to attention, and his revolver began to fire shots.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

The sound of the gun going off echoed through the area. I could see the jar flying above my head, and I could also see the bullets that shattered the jar. Glass shards rained down in front of us, I shielded Shika by wrapping my arms around her.

"Eep!" She squeaked, "W-What's happening?! I.. I'm scared!"

I tried my best to comfort her, "Hey hey hey. Shush, it's okay. Alright?"

She nodded underneath me, tears soaking her eyes. I looked up and turned around, and saw the unicorn galloping towards me at top speed! Alex was following him, and Pip jumped down from the roof and landed on my right side. And if that wasn't crazy enough, Featherweight had come from the back of the house with Silver Spoon following him.

"Hey! What's going on he--" Silver shouted.

Feather dashed towards us as well.

"Wait Feather! Stay back!" Pip yelled out.

And it was then, that I noticed the grey cloud of smoke above us. The cloud was quickly turning into a twister. Little bolts of lightning bounced around the smoke.

"W-What is that?!" I shouted.

Nopony answered, instead the unicorn tackled me into the freezing snow. And for the first time, I heard him speak.

"Finally... I'll finally end this nightmare. I'll finally end you, and Asclepius."

I had absolutely no clue what this nonsense meant. But I had no time to ponder on it, since the unicorn was busy attempting to suffocate me. The black pegasus finally caught up to us, and tried to pry the unicorn off of myself.

"Get off! Don't you see what you're doing?!" Alex shouted.

The unicorn shouted back, still clinging to my throat, "I'm fixing everything! I'm getting her back!"

My lungs gasped for air, breathing was more of a priority than understanding what they were shouting about. But everypony had already realized what was happening, as did I. The grey cloud had completely enveloped the five (5) other ponies around me. I couldn't even see the pony choking me through all the smoke and bolts of lightning. I started to lose feeling in my body, and everything around me began to blur. And my vision soon faded into nothing but blackness. Afterwards, I was rendered unconscious. As if I were falling into a deep slumber.

A deep, deep slumber.

I'm a pretty average high-school student. I have average grades and an average amount of average friends. I live about an averagely short distance from an average high-school where I learn an average amount of averagely useful material. I think I've already used the word 'average' enough. But I guess I'm just trying to express that I'm just your average earth pony: Apollo Coronis.

That's what I would have normally called myself on a day like that day. But when it all comes down to it, that filly changed my life. Was it for better or for worse? That's something only I can know, but I'm still in the process of finding it out myself.

I am no longer 'Average Apollo Coronis'

To Be Continued

Chapter 2: The Filly From Class Three

After my little 'scene' in class, I found myself casually trotting to the principle's office with my head hanging low. I don't know what drove me to say something that stupid, but I did and it couldn't be helped. Apparently making rude remarks about the ponies our school was named after is considered disorderly conduct. Maybe it was my preadolescent hormones acting up, but I couldn't have been sure either way.

I arrived at the door to the principles office, and took a seat on one of the chairs near the door. I waited silently for the secretary to call me in. The empty hallways were eerily quiet, not even the school guards made a hoofstep that could be heard. Patiently I tried to amuse myself with the smallest of things, trying to hit the student council president's portrait with pencils found on the floor, and balancing erasers on top of my head. Eventually I had exhausted all the somewhat relatively amusing objects around me, and soon found myself bored again.

Then, out of the silent hallways came quiet hoofsteps echoing off the walls. I didn't pay it any attention, until I saw the pony making the noise. A grey coated filly with a light pink mane trotted around the corner, and into my sight. The unicorn walked towards me with a book floating in front of her. It was the pony I saw with Featherweight earlier, but what was she doing here? Barely noticing me, she sat down in the seat directly next to mine.

She was so close to me, I felt warm for some reason. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her face, and it was then that I realized that she was wearing glasses. The lenses were so clear that they could appear invisible if somepony had been looking at them from a long enough distance, and the hinges were as thin as strings. She didn't even acknowledge me sitting there next to her.

I thought to myself, "It's now or never" and asked her, "So is it any good?"

A moment of silence followed after my question, but she replied, "Yes." and then turned the page.

Her voice was so flat and almost boringly monotone, but I found it attractive in a way. She didn't seem to be shy, more like uncaring. I wasn't going to give up though, I gathered up enough courage to ask her more questions.

"So what are you reading?"

"A book."

"Ah, I see... So you're from class three huh?"

"Yes."

"Alright then, so why are you going to the principle's office?"

That was the second question that didn't get an immediate answer. She paused for a bit, and then turned to face me. Her gaze made me feel a little uncomfortable, but her voice erased that feeling as she spoke.

"I was not paying attention to the lesson. I was fixated on this book."

Her voice reminded me of a robot, but she seemed pony enough. But I suddenly remembered, I wanted to ask her something important.

"So... What's your name? I'm Apollo. But my friends call me 'Popo'."

Why did I say something so stupid?! I was nervous I guess, or maybe my hormones again. It wasn't abnormal for something like this to happen to a ninth grader like me. Regardless of my rather stupid introduction, she replied without changing her flat toned voice.

"My name?.... My name is... Shika."

She struggled to even introduce herself, but just made her all the more cute to me. But regardless of all that trouble, I finally had her name... Shika. What a beautiful name, but before I could admire her anymore another female voice called to me.

"Apollo Coronis, the principle will now see you."

A older mare with glasses and a frizzy mane peeked through the open door. Surely this was the secretary of our beloved principle. Before I walked any further into the doorway of the principle's office, I turned to Shika and attempted to tell her one more thing before I left.

"Uh... So, I'll see you at lunch then."

Her eyes were already glued to the book, but she graced me with a slow head turn towards me. Cutely tilting her head, she responded.

"I suppose. If certain conditions are present..."

Another long pause lingered in the air before she replied.

"I may join you for a meal."

I let out a deep sigh, chuckled, and then proceeded into the principle's office. I was sure nothing could ruin my good mood at that time. Not even scolding from principle Alex.