//------------------------------// // School Day // Story: Strange Gifts // by Rocinante //------------------------------// Lambert stood in the middle of the kitchen, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. “And here’s your lunch box.” Mary snapped the lid closed, then handed it to him. “The soup should stay hot in the thermos.” “Thank you,” he said, placing it in his saddlebag. “Sure you don’t want to wear your coat?” Lambert shook his head. “It’s not that cold out.” Mary started to say something, but a knock on the door interrupted her. “Applebloom is here. You ready?” There was concern in her voice, and Lambert was pretty sure he could have weaseled out of going to school for another week. The idea was tempting, but Applebloom had gone out of her way to walk him to school. Taking a breath, Lambert nodded his head. “Yeah.” Mary’s warm hand rested on his head. “And you’re sure you don’t want me to be there when you get out?” She snickered to herself as she walked to the door. “I mean... I don’t blame you. I tried to keep my folks as far from my school as possible.” “Rumble said he’d walk with me over to the shop.” “Okay.” Mary opened to door. She winced as the fall wind blew into the house. “Morning, Applebloom. Thanks for coming by.” Applebloom let out a long yawn. “No problem.” Lambert fluffed his down to ward off the cool air before joining Applebloom outside. “You sure you don’t want your coat?” Mary asked. “My down is enough.” Applebloom turned to go, but he paused a moment, not really wanting to walk away. Something felt unfinished. Meeting Mary's eyes, he was surprised to find them a little sad. “Save me some jewelry to polish when I get there?” “Yeah,” Mary laughed, a smile replacing the sad look. “I’ll save a few fun ones for you. I think there’s a bangle to engrave, too.” She reached down and scuffed his head. “Go go on before you two are late,” she said, waving at them to go. “She okay?” Applebloom asked as they walked towards the road. Lambert looked back to see Mary watching them through the living room window. “She’s worried I’ll have a panic attack, again.” “I think you’ll do fine!” She gave him a bright smile. “You already met everypony at the party Pinkie threw.” “Ugh...” Lambert nodded. That had been a long night. Fun, but exhausting. He’d spent most of the next day alone in his room to recover. Applebloom gave him a playful bump with her shoulder, snapping him out of the memory. “Don’t worry. Class is usually pretty quiet, and you can stay inside for recess if you want.” “That’s what Ms. Cheerilee said.” The sound of wheels on dirt drew Lamberts attention to the side, just in time to see Applebloom’s friends join them for the last half of the walk to the school. After a quick greeting, he was happy to let the three of them chatter while he trailed beside them. They were discussing some school event. There was a moment of giggles when Applebloom mentioned Tender Taps, then Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo agreed to go doe together. “Are you coming too?” Sweetie Belle asked. It was only after a moment of silence that Lambert realized the question had been directed at him. “Going to what?” “The fall dance! It’s always the week before Running of the Leaves.” “Oh... No, I don’t think I’d like that.” Scootaloo laughed. “You’re not missing anything. I’m just going because they are.” Grinning, Applebloom said, “Granny is hosting a canning bee that night, you can go there instead, if ya want.” Their conversation faded to static as the Schoolhouse neared. He could see six or seven foals already gathered, talking amongst themselves, putting off going in till the last moment. As they neared, Applebloom and her friends paused to join the conversation, but Lambert continued on inside. Cheerilee gave him a bright smile as he entered the room. “Welcome to class.” She stood from her desk, then fished for something in a drawer. “I’m glad you came in early. I got your packet from Canterlot over the weekend. I need you to fill out a few things.” Cheerilee pointed to a desk that stood out by being far cleaner than the others around it. “Nopony is using that one.” Taking his seat, he watched her pull a few papers from the bundle. “That’s just a questionnaire, you’ve already filled out a few like this,” she said, placing a form that was rather familiar looking in front of him. “I really should have brought these to you and Mary yesterday, but I was swamped with paperwork. I’m sorry.” “It’s okay.” Not waiting for instructions, he pulled a pencil from his saddlebag and began filling in the little bubbles next to questions about his likes, dislikes, and opinions. “And when you’re done with that, fill this out too. It’s just a couple more questions, and a place for you to write a few paragraphs about yourself; anything you like really.” She laid the paper on the corner of the desk. “It’ll be attached to your file in Canterlot, along with that picture we took last week. Anyone looking at your picture will be able to read it. It lets them get a feel for who you are.” “Oh...” “No rush,” she said, sliding the rest of the papers back into the big envelope. “I have an easy day planned for today. You can work on that between lessons or take it home to do.” Ms. Cheerilee sat her chalk down. “Any questions?” she asked the class. When silence answered her, she looked to the clock. “Take the last thirty minutes of class to work on any assignments you haven’t finished.” Sitting at her desk, she pulled a stack of tests in front of her. “Come up to my desk if you need help with anything.” While the other foals busied themselves with assignments from the previous week, Lambert looked down at his books. He had already finished what little work she’d assigned today. With a shrug, he took out the two papers she’d given him that morning. All he had left was the text about himself. Pencil in talon, he sat poised to write, but nothing came. What was he supposed to say to someone he didn’t know, that wanted to take him somewhere he didn’t want to go? Setting pencil to paper, he mindlessly began to write, “My name is Lambert. I’m a griffon. My favorite food is salmon. I like working with wood. I have a pet flying squirrel named Skippy.” With each statement, the next sentence came easier, till he was lost in retelling the story of him, Mary, and Skippy sharing a bag of popcorn while watching a play in the park. The ring of the bell startled Lambert from his writing. He had to focus on his breathing as the room burst into movement, every foal scrambling to leave. The chaos soon passed into a murmur, then was gone. At one point, he’d heard Applebloom say goodbye to him with a cheery “See ya tomorrow.” When he opened his eyes, it was only him, Cheerilee, and Rumble. “You okay?” Rumble asked. “Yeah. The bell surprised me.” Lambert looked down at what he’d been writing. Scribbling down a few more words, he finished the sentence. “I’m done with this,” he said before packing his saddlebag. “You can just leave it there. Cheerilee said, still reading a paper. “I’ll get it before I leave.” She paused as if remembering something, then looked to Lambert with a soft smile. “So what’d you think of your first day of school?” “It was...” Lambert thought back through the day. He’d gotten to see all the foals from the party again. He’d learned a few new things. He’d also been really bored for half the day and utterly overwhelmed for the other half. “Nice,” he finally said. Cheerilee’s smile grew. “I’m glad to hear that. See you tomorrow.” “Okay.” Leaving the papers on his desk, Lambert threw his saddlebag across his back. “Ready when you are,” he told Rumble. Outside, the air had chilled, and Lambert wished he had brought his coat. It wasn’t too bad though, he’d warm up once they started walking. “What did Ms. Cheerilee have you writing?” Rumble asked. “Something for my adoption. For adults to read and see if they like me.” Rumble winced. “Why can’t you just stay with Mary?” “I- I don’t know” Lambert wilted a bit. “Mary says I’ll be better off with a real family.” “Oh.” Rumble was quiet for the rest of the walk, but perked back up once they were near the jewelry store. “You want to fly some this weekend? We could do laps around the park.” “Sure!” The idea perked Lambert up. He liked flying with Rumble, he was patient, and could always think of a fun game to play in the clouds. “Cool.” Rumble stopped just outside the store. “See you at school tomorrow,” he said, holding up his hoof for a bump. Lambert touched his fist to Rumble’s hoof. “Be safe.” With a parting wave, Rumble flew over the trees, back towards his own home. Lambert returned the wave, then opened the door to the store. Inside, he saw Mister Gold standing at the counter talking to a customer, but a showcase blocked his view of seeing who. The bell on the door drew Mister Gold’s attention. “Lambert!” he said with a huge smile. “You have a friend here.” Lambert smiled and stepped forward, expecting to see Spike or maybe Applebloom. He didn’t, however, expect to see Dinky. His face twisted into confusion, then a smile. “Hi,” he managed to say. “Well, I have work to do,” Mister Gold said, then quickly vanished into the shop. Dinky looked back to where the stallion had been, his sudden disappearance confusing her. “I, um...” She looked back at Lambert, then at her hooves. “I was going to eat lunch with you, but you looked like you wanted to be alone.” In truth, he had needed a little quiet time, but he still regretted having missed her company. “Sorry, I-” “No,” she interrupted him with a warm smile. “It’s okay, I just...” Her gaze drifted around the room, landing everywhere but on him. Finally, with obvious effort, she looked him in the eyes. “I’ve never been to the fall dance will you go with me,” she blurted in one breath. Lambert’s wings hung loose, his beak frozen shut. Dinky began to wilt, but he finally managed to nod his head. “Sure. I mean, yes.” he said just as fast. On the other side of the room, Mary and Gold watched to two, both grinning at the scene. “You know, I met my wife at about his age.” “Shh..” Mary batted him on the nose. “He’s way too young to be thinking about that, even with you guys maturing young. It’s just a dance, let them have fun while it’s still simple.”