private Rhapsody in Blue

[lincolnshirepony 527]

"Come on! A group of us are going over and talking to them," Pink Heart said, heading over. The group dissolved around the pink pony, with several mares following her. Blue Note decided to take her chances and join them. She noticed her shoes slipping a little on the floor as she walked over.

 

Pink Heart seemed perfectly at ease around these ponies. "Wow, I'm a psychology major too! We must have some classes together..." Her flirting was very blatant, but the stallion seemed to be enjoying it. In fact, most of the other mares seemed to be chatting up other members of the group. Blue Note's discomfort increased; she didn't know how to flirt!

 

"Hey, name's Cheesy." A yellow pegasus approached her. His mane was rather unruly, but it somehow worked for him.  He was quite unlike the ponies she envisioned meeting, but at least he was nice enough to talk to her. 

 

"Blue Note," she said. 

 

"Blue Note. I like that," he said with a smile. She felt herself blush. "Hey, all of us are about to head back to the pool. You wanna come?" Blue Note nodded. Maybe Pink Heart was onto something. The group of mares and stallions made their way out to the pool from the gym. There were a few ponies already in. Blue Note wasn't one for swimming, but it was a nice night and she certainly didn't mind being away from the music. 

 

"So, how's university treatin' you so far?" he asked. 

 

"It's been okay so far. Nothing eventful." She wasn't quite sure what she should say. 

 

"Yeah, I hear ya. So what's your major? I'm in journalism," he said. Journalism was pretty good, right? That field required a lot of knowledge to succeed in, not to mention a good personality.

 

"That must be interesting, keeping up with current events," Blue Note said. 

 

"Right," he looked at her oddly. Did she say something stupid? "Gotta keep up with who's ahead. Anyway, what's your major, Blue?"

 

She shifted uncomfortably. "It's Blue Note. Not Blue," she said. 

 

"What, seriously? Blue's a nice name." Blue Note felt put off by this. Many ponies didn't get it, but that didn't make it less irksome. 

 

"Blue Note is my name. Not Blue" Perhaps she could change the subject.  "I'm a music major. Composition more specifically."

 

"Music is cool." He nodded at her. "You play anything, Blue?" He emphasized her name very deliberately. Now she was peeved. 

 

She answered his question with gritted teeth. "Clarinet. And a little piano. Of course, clarinet is my primary instrument and—" 

 

Cheesy cut her off. "Woah, woah. What the hay is a clarinet?" Blue Note froze. "He... he doesn't know what a clarinet is?" Perhaps it was years of immersing herself in music, or perhaps it was constantly dealing with the implication that her chosen path in life was foolish, or perhaps it was merely her aggravation with being called Blue that resulted in this response:

 

"Seriously? How ignorant are you?" 

 

"Woah, woah! No need to be such a bitch just because you play a lame instrument nopony has ever heard of. Blue." It felt like the whole world had gone silent. Were the other ponies listening to them? Blue Note hadn't been this mad since the day she decided to come to Manehatten. 

 

"It's Blue Note, you egotistical ignoramus!" she shouted. Certainly everypony was listening now. She started to storm back inside. This party had been a mistake. 

 

For years to come, Blue Note would question why she had stayed with Pink Heart's group for so long. She didn't enjoy their company and there were plenty of other ponies that were alone looking to make friends. Hindsight was twenty-twenty, and she would have given anything to save herself this next mistake. 

 

The ponies in the pool had enjoyed the typical activities. They splashed each other, jumped in the water, and dripped when they got out, creating puddles around the edges. Blue Note, making her dramatic exit, stepped squarely into one such puddle, and lost her footing. She slipped straight into the pool, creating a big splash. 

 

Everypony's eyes were on her as she flailed in the pool. There was silence for a moment. "What a loser!" Cheesy called out, and laughter broke loose. She struggled to get out of the pool, tears forming in her eyes. Her mascara was dripping down her face, and her curls were ruined. She just had to get away from that laughter! 

 

Blue Note could barely see, dodging blurry forms on her way out. She was relieved when she saw the entrance back into the facility, daring to quicken her pace. Right before she could get through the exit, she slipped once more, feeding the laughter. She could barely contain her tears as she made her way out. At least the drops of water blended in. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

Sterling continued to wander around the gym like a lonesome hermit. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't seem to get anypony's attention. All the other ponies of all colours and sizes were talking about topics Sterling had no affinity for. Wrestling, Rock music, rumours about a certain popular mare dating a certain popular stallion. It was just something Sterling had no desire to be a part of. All he could do was notice all the banners that showed University of Manehattan's successes at the prestigious ECAA basketball tournaments. After all, they did yield many successful basketball players like Carneigho Anthony and Neigho Rautins. He was impressed by their banners, especially considering how Manehattan was not a true basketball powerhouse. He did hear from others that this year's basketball team could win March Madness this year as they liked to call it. 

 

His mind was suddenly turned to a decent looking mare. As he looked, he noticed how alone she was when drinking a cup of punch. She had an orange body and a yellow mane that was covered by a smooth, green dress. Her cutie mark contained a syringe, which left Sterling excited. 'Maybe she's a medical student just like me! I might finally be able to acquaint myself with her!'  Uncaring of how Sterling looked towards other mares, he simply walked to her and tried to introduce himself, "Hello there! I'm Sterling Crimson, a freshman medical student here." While he was saying that however, he accidentally knocked the purple punch onto her green dress, leaving a terrible stain on it!

 

The mare cried out screaming as he then shouted back at Sterling in reply, "You klutz! Why did you do that to me?! Now look what you did! You ruined my new green dress! And I was so looking forward to showing it off for my coltfriend! UGH!" Sterling began to quiver and crouch away as all the other ponies inside the gym stopped their chatting and began to look at him very awkwardly. Just as the silence engrossed the whole gym, a buff stallion walked towards Sterling. He had a dark green body, was extremely muscular, had a dumbbell as his cutie mark, and had a brown crew cut as his mane. Needless to say, he did NOT look very pleased. He gave Sterling a tough frown and a glaring eye. He then spoke,

 

"What in the buck were you doing with my marefriend? Were you trying to flirt with her? If so, it was a PATHETIC, I repeat, PATHETIC attempt to do so. Ruining her dress, being a klutz by spilling some juice on her? Man you really suck. That I believe doesn't deserve just making a mockery of yourself, but also a beat down because you clearly ruined my marefriend's new dress!" 

 

Sterling begged for forgiveness and calm, but the green stallion was having none of it. Sterling tried to run away, but he was quickly picked up by the green stallion's hooves, and punched swiftly at the face. He was thrown down the gym into the hallway as all the ponies then began to laugh and point at him. Sterling tried to get up from his position, but he just couldn't. The impact was so hard it gave him a few bruises on his hooves and a large bruise on his eye. He felt so weak from not only the physical impact but from all the laughing and pointing as well. 

 

Sterling's new tuxedo also experienced some rips all around by the impact. Deep down, Sterling knew that he simply had absolutely no luck with anypony and that parties were simply not for him. Maybe even school life simply wasn't for him. Either way, he felt like a complete loser as he slithered away with tears out of the entrance to Manehattan and walked with much pain back home to his apartment...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note locked herself in her dorm room. She was completely sobbing now. There hadn't been anypony on the street, and she hadn't really cared anyway. Her reputation was surely ruined now. This was as bad as being back home! "No, no, at least I still have a chance," she said, chasing those thoughts away. 

 

She looked at herself in her mirror then wanted to scream. No wonder they had all been laughing so hard; she looked absolutely terrible! She needed a hot shower. Luckily she didn't have to war with Pink Heart for the bathroom. "Last time I ever take her advice." The water was cleansing, but it didn't do a thing to make her feel better. She had no idea ponies here would be so mean! And stupid too. "How could he go his whole life with never once encountering a clarinet? Or learning basic respect!" Shouting at her shower drain didn't help either. 

 

She sighed as she got out of the shower. It looked like friends were out of the question for her. Not if everypony was going to be so cruel... At least she still had composing. Perhaps she should throw herself into that, she didn't need those simpletons distracting her from what was really important. She was a pony that was going places! Maybe it was time to start a new piece... 

[Inactive01 5,299]

It was a dreadful hour of pain and suffering, but Sterling was finally back at his apartment. Now the emotions truly seeped in. Sterling trudged slowly upstairs to his bedroom with much struggle. The pain from his hooves and his eye was still apparent, making it very difficult to even walk. As he lay in his bed, he couldn't help but cry at everything that had just happened. He then shouted in clear frustration, 

"WHY DO I HAVE TO BE SO CLUMSY?! WHY DO I HAVE TO BE SO AWKWARD?! WHY MUST I HAVE THIS CONDITION ON ME?!! WHY ME?!!" The defeated Sterling now looked out at the night sky. The moon was standing out there shining its rays into the city. Sterling then turned back and into his crouched position, wondering how he could ever explain the ruined tuxedo... Nonetheless, that was the least of his worries. What would the other ponies do to him as soon as the next day starts? Everypony would be talking about his blunder to the limit. They would have so much fun with his blunder, especially if the stallion was an extremely popular one. 

 

At this point, it was the emotional pain that hurt Sterling the most. Not the bruises. Not the torn tux. Not even the punch. It was the name calling. The same type he experienced in high school. He had thought all that left him as he entered university, but the statement couldn't be farther from the truth for him.

 

As Sterling closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep, he continued to sob tears into his bed sheets. He didn't care. That was all he wanted to do right now. He was just trying to be friendly towards everypony, but everything turned into the worst possibility ever. He just had to wave his hand erratically and cause the punch to spill over. He just had to wander around the gym aimlessly and pick a mare to start a discussion. He just had to come in the first place. All these thoughts Sterling continued to remember into the night as he slept with tears...

Edited July 19, 2013 by Sterling Crimson

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note was still at work on her latest piece, scribbling out dark brass melodies. She started humming an idea for a clarinet solo. It was quite angry and quite perfect for an intro. She was still up when Pink Heart entered the room. 

 

"Blue Note, I—" 

 

"Don't," Blue Note said, not looking up from her piece. "Don't talk to me." 

 

Pink Heart wanted to say something else. Something like "Cheesy is a jerk!" or "Don't let it get to you. Everypony will hate him eventually." But something about Blue Note's tone stopped her usual talkative nature. It was probably best to leave her alone for now...

 

Blue Note continued to write, well after Pink Heart fell asleep. 

Edited July 19, 2013 by lincolnshirepony

[Inactive01 5,299]

It was a hard night for Sterling. As he awoke from his slumber he could still feel the throbbing pain from his eyes and hooves. It was slightly better, but not by so much. Nonetheless, he was very glad he slept much earlier, especially after what happened last night. Last night... it still hurt him like a bee sting, but he had to face the music. He would become the laughingstock of all Manehattan once he arrived for the next day. Unfortunately, Sterling still had 2 classes and a safety lab to worry about that day, so he'd have to face a lot of taunting and pointing until then. Hopefully, there was another pony who made a disgrace of themselves so that the taunting wouldn't be so bad... It wasn't likely, but he was hopeful.

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note blinked her eyes open. The sun was shining through her tiny dorm room window. She felt exhausted and sore, thanks to slipping that last time. The time sleep had finally come for her was uncertain, but it must have been past 3 AM. She buried herself deeper in the covers, as if that could save her from facing the day ahead. Her reputation among her classmates must be in total disarray. "Everypony wouldn't know about last night..." Blue Note thought, trying to get herself out of bed. At least Pink Heart was gone, presumably for an early morning class. 

 

She decided to go for a straight look when it came to styling her mane. Her glasses were sitting in their case, usually not worn until class started. Blue Note put them on, then sighed. At least she could see better. Maybe nopony would recognize her now... 

 

The clock in her dorm read 9 AM. "I have to be in English class by 10... That's enough time to buy a new box of reeds." The box she had brought with her only had one reed left, and who knew how long her current four would last?

Edited July 19, 2013 by lincolnshirepony

[Inactive01 5,299]

Sterling trudged on to class with pain from his hooves. He walked through the streets of Manehattan uncaring for the hustle and bustle that used to get him excited for the day ahead. He didn't care about the sunny sky that didn't leave him wet during the day. He didn't even care about the most recent sports news about the Manehattan Manekees sweeping the Los Pegasus Angels in the baseball series that was reported by Front Page, his father. He just thought about the torture that was upon him once he reached the university. Once he reached the university grounds ponies all over were already rumouring about Sterling. As his head drooped down he could hear ponies chattering about his klutzy encounter with the mare on the green dress, her name apparently being Chemm Blonde.

 

All the chatter about the beat up by her colt-friend left much laughter blaring from the ponies' voices as Sterling entered the Manehattan Science pod. He just wanted to get to his classes and get them done and over with. However, his first class at 9:30 am would not be very kind to him... It was to be biochemistry. A class Sterling liked very much, but he also heard rumours before he entered university that he was a very cruel teacher. One who heard much from rumours around the university and would use them to ferment his negative first impressions of all his students. With that in mind, Sterling knew who his first victim would be as he sighed deeply to enter Room 220...

Edited August 4, 2013 by Sterling Crimson

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Living on a university campus was convenient; Blue Note had to give it that. Getting to a music store in Canterlot had been an ordeal. It was only a ten minute walk in Manehatten. She was glad of this, because music stores were comforting to her; she could spend hours looking through the sheet music and various musical accessories. A bell rang as Blue Note stepped through the door. 

 

Blue Note was home. There were bins of sheet music for any instrument she could name. The clarinet section looked very promising, and the piano section was so large, she didn't know where to start! "Hey, welcome to Manehatten Moods!" A white pegasus greeted her from her behind the counter. Blue Note couldn't help but stare at her mane; it was dyed several neon colors. It was a look she would never be bold enough to pull off, but couldn't help admiring. "Can I help you find something?" Her voice was bubbly, but not grating. 

 

"Clarinet reeds?" Blue Note asked. 

 

"Oh, sure! We've got plenty of brands." The pegasus gestured to a section of the wall that appeared to be devoted entirely to reeds. Blue Note's eyes widened, there were so many! She went over to get her usual Vanhorsens. 

 

"So you play a woodwind too. That's great. I'm a saxophone player myself. My name is Sassy Sax, but call me Sassy." Sassy Sax extended her hoof.

 

"I'm Blue Note," she said, shaking Sassy's hoof. 

 

"Well, it's great to meet you Blue Note! Are you a music major? Or just in the band?"

 

"I'm a music major. Composition, more specifically." Blue Note was a bit surprised at the pony's friendliness. Sassy was obviously not a freshman, or at least not a party goer. 

 

"I'm Music Ed. You must be new to the school, otherwise I'm sure I would have met you before. So welcome to UoM Music School! It's great here; you'll love it. I'm in my third year, and the past two years have been a blast!" Blue Note couldn't quite buy into Sassy's enthusiasm. So far, this school had been awful. 

 

Blue Note took out her bits to pay for the reeds. "It sure was great meeting you! See you again!" Sassy said with a smile as she handed her the bag.

 

"You too," Blue Note said, feeling a little bit better. Not everypony was mean here.

 

That sentiment started to evaporate as she was walking to Freshman Composition. Ponies whispered all around her. She didn't notice at first, but it seemed to follow her. She heard her name several times, and it couldn't be coincidence that ponies looked like they were avoiding her. 

 

Blue Note shrunk down as she walked, hoping that keeping her head low would spare her. She resolved to sit in the back once she entered the building where class was being held. To her horror, that no longer seemed to be an option when she walked in the classroom. There was no possible way she could sit back there now, not with....

[Inactive01 5,299]

It was a terrible class to begin with. Sterling's fears were realized. All the ponies already began to by staying at least one desk away from Sterling just to show how much of an antisocial he was. To compound the misery, the other ponies were laughing at how much their classmate was such a klutz. The predominant thought was the following, "How is it that that red pony... what was his name again? Oh yeah. STERLING. is a medical student who's this clumsy? Heh. He'll get nowhere with that type of move haha." Sterling continued to sigh deeply as he put his head down to the table, hoping to ignore all the voices he heard about him.

 

To compound his misery, the biochemistry class was epitomized by the professor's constant glares at Sterling. It was like he had some sort of vendetta against him. Was his gaffe really that bad? Well it was certainly no surprise for Sterling. Spilling some punch on a popular mare's new dress is never something you want to do. The only consolation was the fact that all the stuff they would be learning for this class was enough to keep Sterling away from the negative attention that was surrounding him. 

 

After the lecturer ended his class, Sterling gave a deep sigh of relief and instantly walked out the steel doors, hoping that he wouldn't have to hear any more chattering about him...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Cheesy. Blue Note recognized him and several of his friends from last night's disaster sitting right in the back. There was no way was she going to sit anywhere near them. Unfortunately, her only option was to sit near the front if she wished to properly distance herself from them. She scanned the room, hoping to find a way to walk to the front without them noticing. 

 

"Hey, it's Blue." Too late, Cheesy had already spotted her. The stallions around him started snickering, and the students around them turned their heads straight towards her. Blue Note felt completely and utterly alone, just like she was back home again. She hadn't done anything wrong, except lose her temper, but Cheesy certainly wasn't a moral paragon. 

 

"It's Blue Note." With every ounce of determination, she straightened her posture and walked past. 

 

"Really, you're going to stick with that?" Cheesy said. Whispers started exploding around the room as Blue Note walked to the front. "What's her deal anyway?" "I can't believe she actually did that!" "Did you see that splash, though." She wanted nothing more than to bury her head in her textbook, and wait for it to stop. Mercifully, the oblivious professor came into the room. 

 

"All right, quiet down. You can talk to your friends later. Today, we're going to..."

 

Blue Note exhaled. "I'm okay for now," she thought as she stared at the damp spot on the first page of her book. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

(OOC: Thanks for helping me learn a new word today! I am currently concerned about our electrical situation right now. We lost power for 5 hours last night. Apparently our whole town lost power because of 3 flash storms that hit all of Southern Ontario. Our power's on again, but I'm still worried the power will turn off at a moment's notice.)

 

Sterling was out of the dreaded Room 220 and finally moving on to his next class! He walked quickly to Room 224, the room for Social Issues in Medicine,  in hopes of avoiding any more hoof pointing, to which he performed successfully. Just when Sterling thought he didn't have to worry about seeing the mare he spilled the juice on, he suddenly heard a voice just as he entered Room 224, 

 

"You! Your name's Sterling Crimson right?!" Sterling jumped in response. The dreaded voice... Was it really her? He couldn't quite believe it, but his mind sank in when he remembered her cutie mark. He remained silent as his head sank towards the white floors. "Well first off, you NEVER spill punch on a mare's dress, if you weren't already aware of that!" She then turned to her friends, "I mean, who spills punch on a mare's dress when trying to chat with them?" The mares around her laughed raucously in reply before Chemm continued, "And just so you know, you NEVER try flirting with a mare who's already got a coltfriend. I hope that bruise on your eye teaches you a lesson!" The other mares then continued to laugh even harder at Sterling's bruise. 

 

Sterling slowly took his seat at the front after Chemm finished speaking. At least her coltfriend wasn't in this class; after all, he looked more like a wrestler than a doctor. The other students entered the room for social discussions on medical studies, but everypony made sure to stay away from Sterling because he clearly had "anti-social" skills and "clumsy hooves". When they entered, Sterling could hear ponies calling him, "Derp-derpity" and "loner". It made him sink his head even further on the table, even if he couldn't sink them any further.

 

The professor who entered was a mare. She was one of those motherly mares. She was a green mare with a cutie mark of a tree. She also had a curly blonde mane that was neatly curled. 

 

The professor then introduced herself, "Hello everypony! And welcome to social discussions on medicine! I'm Clear Green, your professor for this class! Most of these classes will focus on all of you talking actively to each other about social issues dealing with medicine! Now I don't want anypony left behind on these conversations, so I expect some of you to move up near to the front where this stallion is all alone. NOW."

 

Sterling buried his head down at being called to the spot like that, but at least she was forcing the other students to sit by. Nonetheless, Sterling still felt very uncomfortable with the other ponies being so close to him; after all, they would just tease him as the professor introduced the first social topic... 

Edited July 20, 2013 by Sterling Crimson

[lincolnshirepony 527]

(OOC: Yay for vocabulary expansion! Oh, that sounds terrible. Power outages are awful. )

 

Blue Note just had a feeling that Freshman Composition was going to be rough for her. Maybe it was the rude comments that ponies tried to get away with making about her. Maybe it was the professor's lack of awareness for these insults, merely telling the class to "Quiet down." Maybe it was that somepony had managed to land a spitball in her perfectly groomed mane, but she couldn't help feeling that her Tuesdays and Thursdays were going to be a tinged with a sense of dread. 

 

At least fiddling with her stuff had provided a way to waste time. She was one of the last ponies out of the classroom. Thankfully Cheesy and co. didn't seem to care for sticking around class too long. At least she had a clarinet lesson to look forward to.

[Inactive01 5,299]

(OOC: Thankfully the power remained restored. Now come online this afternoon! I'll be available for roleplaying for most of the day today!)

 

Clear Green went through the syllabus, in which there wasn't much to actually go through. After all, this class was mostly discussions on medicine. After she went through the syllabus, she spoke excitedly, 

 

"All right class! Let's head in to our first topic! Today's topic will deal with a condition called Multiple Sclerosis..." As she continued to describe multiple sclerosis, Sterling barely paid any attention; he was too worried about the other ponies who would just leave him out of the conversation and prevent him from giving any input to the discussion. After she was done speaking, some ponies did gather around Sterling, but they had a wicked smile on their faces...

 

"So before we start discussing about this, I just wanted to say that Sterling doesn't have Multiple Sclerosis. He clearly has too fast a reflex to even control them from spilling punch all over Chemm." After the blue stallion with the light blue mane spoke jokingly, the other ponies snickered loudly as Sterling blocked out their voices from his mind. He really didn't want to say anything during this discussion; he knew anything he said would be used against him after all...     
 

[lincolnshirepony 527]

(OOC: All right, I should be available for a decent chunk of today!)

 

The walk back to Blue Note's dorm had been difficult, but bearable for her. There were whispers, and one daring pony shouted "Loser!" at her. She stopped and glared at him. The pony was safely in in her group of friends. They all gave the impression that they thought themselves better than her. Blue Note didn't want to give in, but having a staring contest with these ponies was a waste of her time. It didn't hurt any less when she heard them talk as she walked away. "See, I was right. Nopony likes her!"

 

Seeing Pink Heart and one of her friends in her dorm room was not the most comforting sight. Pink Heart looked like she wanted to say something, but Blue Note was not in the mood for talking. She walked over to her bed, setting down the box of reeds by her clarinet case. There was still time before she had to be anywhere, so working on her biology reading seemed like a good use of her time. It was difficult to concentrate on, though. It had been awhile since she'd done anything science related, and the new vocabulary was intimidating. As she was rereading a paragraph, she heard a crunch. 

 

Looking up, she saw Pink Heart's friend standing over her new box of reeds. The box was crushed. She levitated the box towards her, to check the inside. The reeds were broken. "That was a new box of reeds."

 

"So?" the pony asked impudently.

 

Blue Note grimaced. This was not what she wanted to deal with. "They are expensive. I paid twenty bits for those." 

 

"Twenty bits is expensively? Are you serious? What, you need a new box every hour or something?" 

 

"It adds up," Blue Note said. "Look, I don't care. Just pay me back." Dealing with these ponies was getting old, really quickly. 

 

"Hey, isn't she from Canterlot?" The pony turned to Pink Heart, who looked thoroughly uncomfortable. 

 

"Well..." Pink Heart started to say. 

 

"Seriously, why do you need money if you're from Canterlot? And what's the big deal anyway? I don't even know what those things are." 

 

"Look, not everypony's has rich or even supportive parents, so I would appreciate if you paid me back for the reeds you broke," Blue Note said, on the verge of snapping. She shouldn't have to explain herself. 

 

"Yeah, but a Canterlot pony like you..." The pony seemed to have a moment of realization. "Oh, I get it. You're from the bad part of Canterlot. How can you even afford tuition here?" The judgmental tone was too much for Blue Note.

 

"By actually working a day in my life, unlike you presumptuous brats!" It was true that she was not a rich pony, but that didn't give this pony the right to question it. She didn't ask for her financial situation. "Now either give me the twenty bits you owe me, or get the hay out of my dorm room!"

 

"Touchy." The snobby pony started to walk out. "Coming Pink Heart?" Pink Heart had been uncomfortably watching from the background. She gave what appeared to be an apologetic look to Blue Note. Blue Note just looked down until they were gone.

 

She then buried her head under her pillow, trying to forget her entire life. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

(OOC: Great! I finished my 3rd practice test just now, Got a 32. Not as great as a 36, but still respectable)

 

The end of class felt like an eternity for little Sterling. He just sat there and said nothing as the other ponies kept him out of the conversation for most of the class. The only thing he could say was just a nod or a shake of the head, following up on what everypony else was saying. After all, it wasn't like any of the students were adding anything intelligent to the discussion, at least in his opinion.

 

The end of class couldn't have come any closer as the professor finally waved the students out. She gave everypony a warm smile as each of the students, including Sterling, left the classroom. Now that the ordeal was over, he still had one last class to attend for today. Well, it wasn't really a class. It was a tutorial session on lab safety. He headed there straight away since the session was to occur just before lunch. 

 

When Sterling walked in, he noticed he was the first student to enter. He was amazed at all the equipment in the room. Glass Erlenmeyer flasks, volumetric flasks, graduated pipettes, and test tubes galore! There was even equipment that Sterling had never seen before like the NMR Spectrometer and the Gas Chromatographer as he walked through the aisles to see the machines close up. Needless to say, it brightened Sterling's mood to see all this equipment as he took his seat near the front of the class, hoping that the other ponies would ignore him. Unfortunately, Sterling would get the complete opposite...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

(OOC: Nice!)

 

Eventually Blue Note realized that reality wouldn't stop for her disappointment. She had her first clarinet lesson to attend. At least she had enough playable reeds in her clarinet case, though it looked like she would need to return to the music store sooner than anticipated.

 

The ponies in the music building didn't seem to care much about her incident, as she walked by. They were more concerned with talking to each other. Blue Note noticed that they were slightly older than her. Perhaps everypony magically matured upon entering their sophomore year. "And I'll become more popular than Pink Heart. Yeah, that'll happen." They just didn't know who she was.

 

Blue Note found the office. Dr. Wind. Leafy Wind was perhaps one of the greatest clarinetists in Equestria. She had played in several top-tier ensembles, not to mention being highly sought after for solo clarinet work. She felt slightly intimidated at the prospect of playing for somepony so talented. It was still an amazing opportunity, though. 

 

She opened the office door and stepped in. "Ah, yes. Blue Note, is it?" Blue Note merely nodded. "I'm Dr. Wind. It's lovely to meet you."

 

"Yes, it's great to meet you too." Blue Note was trying to stay professional, but she couldn't help feel a little excitement. She had listened to many a recording featuring Dr. Wind.

 

"So, shall we get started?" 

[Inactive01 5,299]

(OOC: Thanks. Just gotta go over the test and then I can relax for the day.)

 

Once again, all the students dropped in for the lab safety tutorial. There were many medical students present for this class, but one still stodd out to Sterling. Once again, Chemm was going to be his classmate. Even if this class was just a one time thing, it was still torture seeing Chemm as a classmate. She was talking with her other medical student friends about Sterling again. It left Sterling pondering why the topic never got old. Was it really that funny that he got a bruise? Was it really funny that another student was bullied just because he made an honest mistake? It all just seemed unfair to him.

 

Nonetheless, the lab professor looked nice enough. He did however provide what looked like a short temper, and Sterling got worried. What if he made a terrible mistake with the materials? What if he did something really stupid to compound his misery in Manehattan's finest university? All these thoughts enshrouded him as the professor began to explain lab safety.

 

After the professor was finished talking about Bunsen burners, the first topic of the lab safety procedure, the class was told to work individually in setting up a Bunsen burner by the method the professor indicated. With fear, Sterling tried his best to light the fire with his flint, but he just couldn't. He could hear some of the ponies around him start to taunt his fear of fire. After all, the others had already begun their combustion reactions with their Bunsen burners.

 

Sterling did successfully light the fire, but not without a repercussion. You see, Sterling forgot to put out the fire from his match and he placed it on the wooden desk. Unfortunately for him, it started a fire, leaving Sterling screaming for help as the fire started to spread. The professor ran over to Sterling's desk with anger as he shouted for some of the stallions to grab a fire extinguisher. He also turned off the gas supply to Sterling's Bunsen burner to make sure the fire didn't spread any further. Eventually, the fire was put out by the extinguisher once the others gave it to him, but his part of the desk did get burnt... severely.

 

The professor rebuked Sterling greatly and told him to simply move to another table. After that, Stelring could hear all the other ponies taunt him throughout the whole lab, wondering how a medical student could possibly be so clumsy. Even though they were mere whispers, they were becoming jeers and snickers as Sterling struggled to focus for the rest of the lab period. He continually sighed as he wondered why he even joined medical school. Even the high school students called him Derpy and ditzy because of his clumsiness. Nonetheless, Sterling was able to finish the rest of the safety procedures in time...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note was in awe of how much she was able to learn in a one hour lesson. Dr. Wind had corrected some of her technique, which resulted in amazing changes in her sound. She had also shown Blue Note how to optimize her practice time. "I'll be able to get so much more accomplished now!" 

 

She had Music History immediately after her lesson, and that class seemed to go by quickly. Nopony said anything to her, so perhaps things were looking up. She felt better walking out of that class, and back to her dorm. At least she had music to keep her sanity. As long as she was able to compose and play, her goals would not be out of reach. She couldn't start focusing on the ponies that disliked her now, of all the times.

 

These thoughts were erased from her brain when she stopped Pink Heart's friend from earlier in the day. She was standing by a building talking to a group of ponies. The pony was unaware of her presence, but seemed to be recounting the events from earlier. 

 

"And then she just went totally insane. I'm telling you, that pony is crazy! Of course, she must be if she thinks somepony like her can come here and expect to get anywhere." 

 

Blue Note moved past the group unnoticed, keeping distance between herself and them. Though no distance could be enough to separate herself from those words. The pony had hit upon one of her worst insecurities. It was buried inside of her, so deep that sometimes she didn't even realize it was there. However, it was front and center now. Was she kidding herself studying here? 

 

The majority of her classes seemed to be impossible for one reason or another, and hardly anypony liked her. If everypony was against her, could she really hope to get anywhere? But she hadn't done a thing to hurt them, unless standing up for herself was suddenly a horrible thing to do. Why was this school so full of cruel ponies?

[Inactive01 5,299]

 

 

(OOC: First encounter @lincolnshirepony!)

 

 

 

Sterling was finally done that lab. He knew it. Everypony was going to speak about his clumsiness and how bad he was. As he walked out of the university's main entrance for the day, he could hear ponies everywhere talking about the fire he started at the safety lab. He could hear questions like, "How is he a student here at the medical school? He's so clumsy!" and "Wow... he's really got butterhooves doesn't he?! I'll make sure to NEVER partner up with him! Who knows?! I could get my mane burned off!" The questions just pounded his brain like a hammer whacking a nail. It really gave him a huge headache as he lowered his head in shame. How could be possibly be a doctor if he was this clumsy? He was always the clumsy type, but his parents still knew he could be a doctor despite that fact because of his intelligence. Even so, he could feel tears swelling in his eyes as he walked out of the doors. "Maybe I really am not cut out to be a doctor... What exactly am I doing here?" whispered Sterling to himself as he walked sadly out the doors...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note was having a horrible day; she wanted nothing more than to lock herself away from everypony. University was awful, and she was only two days in. Going back to her dorm would be a relief. Unfortunately, ponies around her were making comments that were all too familiar in tone. "I just need to ignore them..." However something seemed a little odd. "He? They can't possible be talking about me." 

 

Blue Note turned her full attention to the ponies now. What was going on? It appeared that their comments were being pointedly directed at somepony, a medical student of some sort? She looked around, and spotted a pony walking dejectedly away. It must be him they were talking about; some of the ponies were glancing his way. She wasn't the only pony receiving terrible treatment from her peers. 

 

The cruelty was just too much. Was it necessary to constantly make comments about somepony's mishap? She was well aware that it could be very damaging. It was enough to make a pony give up. The pony was walking alone, much like Blue Note. No pony had stood up for her; everypony had either joined in or quietly watched. That made her angry. While she couldn't change the actions of others, she could at least do something herself. Nopony stood up for her, but somepony would stand up for him.

 

"Hey, why don't you all shut the hay up?" Blue Note asked. "You'll appear less asinine if you don't talk." She realized that she had probably just tanked her reputation with another group of ponies, but at this point, she didn't care. The pony was ahead of her, so she trotted to catch up with him. 

 

"Don't listen to them. They're imbeciles that don't know anything." Blue Note wanted to at least make somepony feel better about this wretched place. She realized that something looked familiar about this pony. "Hey, weren't you in music theory with me?"

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

Sterling looked up still having some tears in his eyes. Was that a mare standing up for him? He looked around with confusion wondering who exactly it was that shouted such a defense for him. He could also hear some further taunting from the other ponies, about the mare who stood up against a stallion and then proceeded to get herself all wet at the freshman party. He thought with relief, 'so I'm not the only pony who's made a laughingstock of themselves? Wow...' 

 

Sterling turned to see a blue mare approach him. Her words of comfort quelled some of his tears as he turned towards her. Sterling looked at her, wondering why she thought she was with him for music theory. He replied cautiously, "Umm maybe? I might have seen you, but I'm not sure. It's been a terrible day today so I might not have remembered. Sorry about that." Sterling then continued, sniffing up his tears, "If you are from music theory, then... you must like music right? As much as me hopefully?"

Edited July 21, 2013 by Sterling Crimson

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note ignored the ponies in the background. There wasn't that much they could say that she hadn't already heard today. "Oh, I know exactly what you mean. The past day has been absolutely awful for me. I can only imagine you've heard the story by now." Blue Note wondered how far it had really spread. The freshman seemed to be talking about her embarrassing moment wherever she went, but she had been relatively safe in the music building. 

 

"I love music," Blue Note said. "It's actually my major. I'm here to study composition. What about you?"

[Inactive01 5,299]

Sterling was clearly beginning to see his spirits lifted as somepony finally shared his interests and was interested in what he had to say. All this time, the other ponies were tormenting him with taunts of him being an anti-social and him being too different from everyone else. He smiled at her and then replied, "No I haven't heard about your ordeal at all. I only knew about it just now. Well one thing's for sure, anypony who loves music like I do deserves a lot better than what you've gone through. I'm actually a medical student here. Although, I'm not sure why considering how clumsy I am." After he said that, his head drooped down again, clearly bereft of confidence from his latest gaffe.

[lincolnshirepony 527]

"Thanks," she said. At least somepony didn't think she was a crazy loser. "I think I know how you feel," Blue Note said. Being a composer was her dream, and she thought this was the perfect place to really start learning about musical composition.

 

"Honestly, I'm starting to question why I'm here. It seems like I make a new enemy where ever I go, or at least run into somepony that already hates me." She looked down; it was horrible to think about. How did her new start go so wrong, so quickly? "But I know that they're wrong about me. For what it's worth, they're probably wrong about you too. If they would just get over themselves, then they'd see that it's ponies like us that are really going places."