//------------------------------// // Chapter 100 // Story: Princess Twilight Sparkle's School for Fantastic Foals // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// There seemed to be some kind of commotion at the timeworn house at the edge of town, and Sumac could hear raised voices as he approached. He picked up his pace, kept his eyes peeled, and wondered if there was danger. Ears perking, he tried to hear what was being said, trying to get some sense of what was going on—and then he heard the sounds of laughter. “Bad puppy!” “Tarnish, that is not a puppy.” Coming around the hedge, Sumac saw it, and his mouth dropped open in terror. The biggest timber wolf he had ever seen, it was enormous, and it seemed to have blue poison joke flowers growing inside of him. Right away, his brain began an urgent telegraph to his legs, sending pulses through his nerves, and telling him that it was time to run. “Grrrr, no! Bad puppy!” Tarnish shouted. “BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” When the timber wolf the size of a grizzly bear lunged at him, Sumac scrammed. His legs, though short, moved with incredible speed, and the little colt took off like one of his mother’s rockets that could make things go away. Heart thumping, legs pumping, Sumac ran as though there was a ginormous grizzly bear sized timber wolf just behind him. “Grrrr! How could you!” Pebble cried. There was real panic in Tarnish’s voice as he took off at a gallop after Grrrr. “Princess Celestia is going to have Cloudy work me over with a spoon again and it’ll be your fault, Grrrr! This is why I don’t let you out to play!” Sumac didn’t get very far, he was snatched up in some bright blue magic and wrapped in a shield bubble. He found himself staring at Pinny, who looked a little out of sorts, and who could blame her? There was a elephantanic sized timber wolf on the loose. Pinny’s eyes were narrowed and she looked dangerous as she raised her hoof and pointed. “BAD!” As Pinny barked out the word, Grrrr came to a skidding halt in front of her, trying not to run her over and make things worse on himself. “FOR SHAME!” The words dropped the monstrous plant creature as if he had been poleaxed, and he rolled over to show the dominant mare his belly in supplication. “You done messed up, Grrrr!” Tarnish too, came to a skidding halt on the gravel-strewn road and there was something that was almost a smile upon his face. There was a flash of light, Grrrr vanished, and in his place there was a curious looking ball of roots. With an apologetic nod, Tarnish tried to appease his mother. “Sorry.” “I never get to play with my puppy.” Sighing, Pebble sat down in the sparse grass, which had started turning brown. “Pebble, I’m sorry, baby.” Tarnish slumped and his ears drooped. “He’s a menace—” “Mother, don’t say that.” “Pebble, don’t sass your mother.” “Octavia, my mother sasses me.” “Well, she had to squeeze your big head out of her backside, so she’s earned that right.” “Well, how do I earn the right to sass her back?” “Pebble, squeeze a big Pebble-sized head out of your backside—” “Mother… ugh.” “—when you are older, of course. Otherwise, Daddy and Iggy will have fits.” “Hi, Sumac.” Pinny gave Sumac a little tickle with her magic, and the colt let out an involuntary giggle. Smiling, Pinny put Sumac down, dusted him off, and straightened out his glasses for him. “We were just having a talk about how our family is going to grow in the future and Pebble got a little upset that she doesn’t have a say in things and so Tarnish thought it would be a brilliant idea to let Pebble play with Grrrr to make her feel better.” “I see.” Sumac stood there, trying to still his thumping heart. “We were trying to explain to Pebble about the finer points of the wonder and magic that is the creation of life, and that ponies can love one another without loving one another.” Octavia looked down at Pebble, then up at Tarnish. “And I suppose, in a sense, we were trying to sort out our family situation to make Pebble feel better.” “Did I come at a bad time?” Sumac asked. “I missed you,” Pebble blurted out, and right away she began to blush a darker shade of chocolate. She went silent, aware that every adult present was staring at her, and she began to squirm where she sat. “Stop looking at me, I can feel your eyes.” “You know, sometimes, this family needs to step back and think about just how weird they are.” Pinny shook her head, went forwards, scooped up Pebble, and before Pebble could protest or freak out about being lifted, plopped Pebble down upon her back. She did the same to Sumac, dropping him just behind Pebble, and then turned to face both Tarnish and Maud. “We’re going bowling. Which is normal.” Saying nothing else, the extremely long legged mare strode away with the two foals on her back, whistling as she departed. She moved with an easy grace, having effortless strides, and she did nothing to jostle Sumac or Pebble. Pebble, turning around just a bit, waved goodbye to her parents and Octavia. “I demand that somepony explain to me what normal is.” Maud blinked once, and with a slow turn of her head, she looked at her husband. “Or maybe you can tell me just how weird I am. Pebble is going off with her grandmother. We finally have some time for ourselves. Come on, Tarnish, tell me how weird I am, in detail.” “Well, to start with, you want me to tell you just how weird you are,” Tarnish began. The bowling alley had a bit of a crowd, but it wasn’t too bad. It was dark in here, but also well lit, at least in some spots, it was noisy, but also quiet, and the smell of delicious food teased Sumac’s nose. Much to his surprise, Pinny didn’t have to pay anything, and many ponies waved at her. In the back of his mind, Sumac began to worry just a little tiny bit, because he had never bowled before. “Oh look, bumpers,” Pebble said as they approached a lane. “What?” Sumac looked around, not sure what to expect. “Bumpers. Inflatable bumpers to keep the ball from falling into the gutter.” Oh. Sumac looked at what Pebble was pointing it, the blue tubes along each side of the bowling lane. He was so distracted that he became a little startled when Pinny plopped him down into a shiny, slick plastic chair, and then Pebble was dropped beside him. Saying nothing, Pebble hugged him from the side, and gave him a squeeze. “No score, we’re just bowling for fun. Pebble, show him how it’s done with your own special style.” Pinny sat down and levitated over three bowling balls. She gave Pebble a blue one, kept a green one for herself, and offered a bright pink one to Sumac, which she then plunked down in the ball return. With remarkable enthusiasm, Pebble lept from her chair, bounced around on two legs a bit, and lifted up the bright blue ball from the ball return. Then, much to Sumac’s surprise, she balanced the bowling ball on the top of her muzzle, along her nasal bridge. She pranced forwards, keeping the ball balanced, and then with a toss of her head, she sent the ball rolling down the lane in slow motion with a dramatic, thunderous sound. Sumac waited, filled with anticipation, not knowing what was going to happen next as the ball crept down the lane towards the pins. After several long seconds, there was a crash as the ball collided with the first pin in the triangle and plowed through the rest. When it was all said and done, most of the pins were knocked down, but two pins on the left and one pin on the right remained. “Pebble, you have to be the most consistent bowler I have ever seen,” Pinny said, offering sincere praise. “It’s always the same pins with every shot. Watch, Sumac, those two pins on the left are going down and Pebble always leaves the pin on the right standing up.” The automated return spat out Pebble’s ball, she reared up on two legs, retrieved it, balanced it upon her nose again, and then sent it rolling down the alley, heading towards the two pins in an unerring manner. Once again, Sumac waited, watching, intrigued by what he saw. He also found something appealing about Pebble’s sense of balance, how she moved on two legs or four, and the way she could balance what looked like a heavy bowling ball on her muzzle. Crack! The two pins went down and Pinny began clopping her hooves together. “Your turn, Sumac. You’re allowed to use your magic to send the ball down the lane, but you have to let go. No spells to guide the ball. Play fair. Or I won’t buy you any food.” Pinny smiled and made an encouraging gesture with her hoof for Sumac to get up and bowl. “Don’t be nervous, shy, or scared. Just try it, and Pebble and I will help you get better.” As Sumac hopped down, Pebble climbed up. He went to the automated return, lifted up the bright pink ball with soft pink swirls, and pointed himself at the pins, which were now reset. He was certain that he could send the ball hurling down the lane like a cannonball, but he didn’t think that was a good idea. Not knowing how much force to apply was a fascinating problem, and it engaged his mind, as he realised that this was a good way to fine-tune his telekinesis. With a grunt of effort, he lobbed the ball, which arced a bit too high and made a loud BONK as it crashed into the lane. Sumac cringed, squeezing one eye shut, but squinting out of the other to see what was going to happen next. The ball veered to the right a bit as it thundered down the lane, producing a terrific sound that Sumac found that he liked. Something about it was exciting. It grazed the first pin, causing it to wobble a bit before it tipped over, and then knocked over the pins along the outer edge. He saw five lights flash and filled with a dreadful sense of apprehension, he then turned to face Pinny, so that he might see her reaction. Much to his relief, he saw that she was smiling, there was a merry twinkle in her eye, and she seemed pleased. He stood there, now wide-eyed and jubilant. “Not bad, you knocked down five pins total. One, three, six, ten, and nine.” Pinny’s head bobbed and her smile broadened. “You did just fine, Sumac.” She turned her attention to Pebble and asked, “Didn’t he, Pebble?” Pebble nodded. There was a loud clunk from the automated return and Sumac saw that his bright pink ball was back from its long and fascinating journey to wherever it went beyond the wall behind the pins. Sumac imagined that it had to be a very magical place back there, a hidden land full of wonder and marvellous mechanical contraptions. Grinning, he tried again and this time, aimed a little more to the left. He also didn’t lob his ball in such a high arc, but shoved it more in the direction of where he wanted it to go. There was a delightful crash, then more rolling thunder, the sound of the big, heavy bowling ball on polished wood, and then there was a terrific crash as it slammed into the pins with a solid impact. He knocked down two pins. Feeling a little disappointed, Sumac wondered what he had done wrong. Turning about, he faced Pinny, hoping for some advice. Nervous, he pranced around on his hooves while Pinny studied the situation with a critical eye. Pinny was a bowler pony, so she had to be some kind of an expert, surely she would have something useful to say. “Four and seven down, and somehow you missed number two. Weird stuff happens in bowling. Not a bad first attempt.” Pinny got up so that she could take her turn, and with a gentle nudge, she pushed Sumac out of the way, eager for her own chance. She patted the colt on the rump to hurry him to his chair. Sumac, confused, waited for the explanation on what he had done wrong, and how to fix it, but it didn’t seem forthcoming. Some kind of criticism of some sort, or even a stern critique, but there was nothing. Just a kind pat on the hind end and nothing. This felt wrong, Sumac needed understanding, he needed it explained to him, he needed to know the mechanics of how this worked, just like he needed to understand all of the important stuff about magic so he could be a better wizard. But there was nothing. Confused, he saw that Pebble was holding out her foreleg to help him climb up into his chair. He took it, grateful for the assistance, and she pulled him up with her earth pony strength. There was something about Pebble, something different, something off, and Sumac realised after a detailed analysis of the situation, what it was. Pebble was happy.