//------------------------------// // Chapter 46 // Story: Princess Twilight Sparkle's School for Fantastic Foals // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Sumac could feel the eyes of his classmates upon him as he took his seat. He knew he wasn’t supposed to say anything, but he felt that he owed them some sort of explanation. He blinked, not knowing what to do, and then turned to look at Pebble, who was staring at him. He saw her lean over towards him and he braced himself for an interrogation. “Don’t you say a word,” Pebble said in a low voice. “I don’t know what happened, but Aunt Pinkie had a talk with me. You have to keep a secret.” Tilting her head, Pebble looked upwards. “Hi, Boomer.” Casting a sidelong glance, Sumac saw Lemon Hearts. She was watching him, perhaps waiting to see what he might do. The muscles in his neck tensed and his frogs felt sweaty. He wasn’t expecting the pressure to be so strong. He found himself in an awkward situation, keeping something from his friends. How could he explain his absence? “Be calm, take a deep breath, and think about something else,” Pebble suggested. Taking Pebble’s advice, Sumac took a deep breath, crossed his eyes, and looked up at Boomer. The hatchling seemed happy to be back in school, but she also looked sleepy. There was a bulge in her narrow body from breakfast. “Okay, class, listen up. Separate into your groups. By now, you know the routine. Begin your studies…” Lemon Hearts gave the class a warm smile and waited for her students to comply. “Pebble, your study group should focus on math skills today, we still need to get them up to speed.” Brows furrowing, Sumac let out a grunt. He had gone to Castle Midnight, he had faced the horrors within, he had witnessed an army of undead, and he had watched a battle with an undead dragon that was actually a pony. Now, he was back with his most hated enemy, fractions. When faced with the frustration that was headache inducing mathematics, Sumac decided that he would rather face the terror of Castle Midnight again. As his fellow study group gathered around, Sumac wondered if he would do it again. If Twilight asked him to follow along on some expedition to some forgotten, dusty place, would he do it again? His own answer surprised him. Probably. He glanced over at Pebble and wondered what sort of adventures she might have gone on with her parents. If only he could talk with her about this, he could share ideas, exchange information, he might understand how to feel, what to do, how to deal with everything. But he had to remain silent. Bearing the burden of trust, Sumac opened up his math textbook and made ready to do battle with his most hated, contemptible foe. It really was no better or worse than Castle Midnight, what it came down to was being patient and waiting it out. In time, he realised that he would sort this out and everything would be okay. However, between this time and that time, there would be a lot of mane pulling. Moondancer’s private study was a cramped place that kind of smelled. Sumac sniffed and tried to sort out the funk invading his nostrils. There was mildew or something like it, exotic ingredients for alchemy, he caught a whiff of cat food, and there was something worse, much worse. Sumac’s eyes darted around, trying to find the source of the stink. Curled up in a pillow and blanket lined basket, Sumac saw what he thought was a cat. But as Moondancer drew nearer, the creature moved. It was black and white, it yawned, and spread it wings. Sumac recoiled in disgust when he saw what it was—a winged skunk. He backed up and his behind bumped into the door. “Don’t mind Fluttercup, she’s harmless,” Moondancer said as her pet rubbed up against her legs. “Hi, Fluttercup! Did you miss Mommy? Who is Mommy’s little stinker… you are!” It was just an hour out of his day… an hour trapped in a small, cramped study with Moondancer and Fluttercup. Just an hour. He could make it through this if he tried. Sumac swallowed, tried to hold his breath, and then realised the futility of such an act. Instead, he drew in a deep breath, filling his nostrils. He almost gagged. Moondancer sat down in a large, somewhat ratty looking overstuffed chair, and Fluttercup settled in beside her. The winged skunk began preening her wings while rubbing her poofy, fluffy tail against Moondancer. The skunk’s wings were feathered and looked like the wings of a crow, or a raven. “Have a seat, Sumac,” Moondancer said as she gestured to a chair. Doing as he was told, he sat down in the chair. It was low backed, wide, and appeared to be stained with some kind of red jelly of some sort. The stain seemed recent, as it was still a little tacky. The chair was comfortable though, and the arms of the chair were just the right height to sprawl out, rest one’s head, and get comfortable, which Sumac did not do. But he was tempted. Stroking her skunk, Moondancer smiled and asked, “Do you have any questions, Sumac?” Nodding, Sumac replied, “What is the Rainbow of Darkness?” Pursing her lips together, Moondancer reached up, brushed a few stray strands of her forelock out of her face, adjusted her glasses, and then gave Fluttercup a pat upon the head. A thoughtful, contemplative expression crept over Moondancer’s face, and one ear twitched as she thought about how to reply to Sumac’s inquiry. “It is an ancient artifact… a small sack that contains elemental darkness. Some say that it is a gateway to the elemental plane of darkness, but that is unknown and uncertain. What is known is that not much is known. It’s full powers and abilities remain a mystery, but one thing it can do is turn ponies into dragons. Some have even said that the Rainbow of Darkness is the origins of dragonkind in this world.” Silent, Sumac decided that now was a good time to be quiet, listen, and pay attention. “The dragons are obedient to the owner of the Rainbow of Darkness, and will do anything and everything the owner says.” Moondancer’s thick brows furrowed. “The Rainbow of Darkness can be used to create an unstoppable army, and that is the danger it poses. Earth ponies become ground based dragons, pegasi become flying dragons, and unicorns… unicorns become dragons adept at destructive magics. Nopony knows what becomes of alicorns, but I have a hypothesis.” That sounded pretty bad. Sumac’s mind reeled at the implications. An army of dragons swooping down on a city like Ponyville and attacking it seemed as though it would be a very bad thing indeed. Or some terrible evil villain unleashing the Rainbow of Darkness upon a city like Manehattan, which had millions of ponies living there. Instant army of dragons. The little colt felt a cold prickle of fear creeping up his spine and he shivered. He then thought of something much worse. “Moondancer?” “Yes, Sumac?” “I have this idea, and it scares me just a little. I have a question.” “Ask, Sumac.” “What if the Rainbow of Darkness was used on changelings?” Moondancer closed her eyes, let out a sigh, and sank back into her chair. “I asked Twilight that very same question.” She opened her eyes and looked at Sumac. “Would you get a dragon that could look like anything… Twilight was very disturbed.” Sumac nodded, the little colt found it difficult to breathe in his current state, and his brain teased him with all sorts of awful ideas. As bad as this was, he had to know. “Moondancer? What is your hypothesis on alicorns? What becomes of them?” “It is my belief that they become something like a draconequus,” Moondancer replied in a low whisper. “I can’t prove it, of course. It is just an idea, Sumac. I could be wrong.” She used the edge of her hoof to scratch behind Fluttercup’s ears and Moondancer’s stare was now half focused upon a bookshelf. “So, the Rainbow of Darkness takes whatever a pony is and what they do, and twists it into a dragon.” Sumac let that thought sink in and he looked up at Boomer, who was coiled around his horn. “If dragons come from ponies, could it be reversed? What if some magic took a dragon and turned them back into a pony?” “Twilight is investigating that possibility right now. It is one of our many projects. It is why Twilight keeps an army of scholars that study obscure magic.” Moondancer let out a cough, cleared her throat, coughed again, and then horked out a hairy piece of lint, which she held in her magic and examined. “Hmph,” she grunted as she tossed it aside. “Would that mean that dragons would disappear?” Sumac asked. “We don’t know,” Moondancer admitted. “Maybe some of them, if they fit into a specific archetype. Some of the winged dragons might become pegasi, and so on. No doubt, it would be very alarming to the dragon population, which is why Twilight is trying to reassure the Dragon Lady Ember.” “So this is complicated.” “Very much so.” Sumac didn’t know what to say, but he knew that he was in over his head. “Moondancer?” “Yes, curious one?” “About Trixie, my mother… what is her role in all of this?” Sumac asked, not knowing if he would get an answer. “Trixie is a fountain of lore. She knows all kinds of obscure things, locations, events, things of importance. Her travels have allowed her to soak up an encyclopaedic knowledge of obscura. She is a walking book, a wealth of information. She also has experience with evil artifacts, which has been quite helpful. Officially, she is part of city administration, but unofficially, she works for me, in the skunkworks.” “Oh.” Sumac squirmed in his seat, now filled with so many more questions. He was seized with an idea, and he looked into Moondancer’s eyes. He had an opportunity here. He was already Moondancer’s student. He felt his mouth go dry and he took a deep breath, preparing himself for a tough question. “Moondancer…” “Yes, Sumac?” “Since I am already your student, will you be my Master?” Much to Sumac’s horror and consternation, several long seconds passed. The seconds turned into what he was certain was a full minute. Moondancer was just sitting there, silent, and a growing fear of rejection filled Sumac’s mind. The silence felt suffocating. “I would love to do that, Sumac,” Moondancer replied, ending the painful, awkward silence, “but I could not give you the attention that you deserve. I am the department head of the skunkworks. I have far too many duties as it is. It is all I can do just to squeeze out one hour a day for you, when you deserve so much more.” “I understand.” Sumac felt the sharp sting of rejection, but he somehow dealt with it. “I am grateful for the hour that we have together.” “Sumac, you would make a wonderful apprentice.” Moondancer’s voice was solemn, serious, and gentle. “You are going to make somepony ridiculously proud and happy. Don’t get discouraged just because I had to say no. You are worthy… but I can’t be the one to be your Master. I would imagine that it is very complicated for you now that Trixie has become your mother.” “Just a little,” Sumac admitted. “Relationships shift and change over time. Very little remains constant in life.” Moondancer lifted up Fluttercup and held her in the crook of her foreleg. She nuzzled her pet with her muzzle, and her eyes were sad as she looked over at Sumac. “Any more questions before we begin today’s lesson?” At that moment, Sumac hated circumstance. Moondancer asked the same questions that he did. They shared some of the same thoughts. Had similar reactions. Looking at Moondancer in her chair, he saw what he might become as a grown up. He saw a pony with remarkable similarities to himself, it was as if everything was a perfect fit, and circumstance kept it from happening. A bitter sense of disappointment welled up inside of him, and Sumac wished that he knew how to express what he was feeling. His bitterness became anger and Sumac’s mind reminded him of one terrible fact: life wasn’t fair. He wasn’t angry at Moondancer, he realised, he was just angry. At the situation? Perhaps. Maybe he was angry that life wasn’t fair. He thought about the essay he had written for Starlight Glimmer, and then he had the most peculiar reaction. He felt better. There was something almost like a realisation—he became aware of the fact that the essay was a turning point in his life. Starlight had helped him grow up a little. She had done him a favour. “No more questions,” Sumac said to Moondancer, “I’m ready to begin.” “Okay,” Moondancer replied, “for our very first lesson, I am going to explain in detail what hexes, curses, and dark magic are. And you, being a very trustworthy colt, are not going to breathe a word of this to any of your friends, companions, or classmates.” “Honest Apple.” Sumac sat up in his chair and tried to look as grown up as possible. “Very good, my student…”