//------------------------------// // Chapter 116 // Story: Princess Twilight Sparkle's School for Fantastic Foals // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// “Why’d you do it, Applejack?” Lemon Hearts asked as she looked over in the direction of where Tarnish and Flam were. The lemony yellow mare turned her head to look at Applejack, her face was stern, serious, and her eyes held an accusatory glare. “There was no need to beat him like that, Applejack, it just seems heartless.” “She was keeping her word,” Big Mac replied, speaking for his sister as she puffed out in anger. “Her word?” Lemon Hearts’ eyebrow arched as she turned to face Big Mac. “I don’t understand.” “When Flam was tried, Mac and I was there.” An intense scowl formed on Applejack’s face and the green in her eyes seemed to darken a bit with her mood. “I done told Flam that if he ever got out somehow and brought harm to one single hair on Sumac’s head, that I was gonna beat him to within an inch of his life. So I did. I kept my word as an Apple.” “Applejack…”—Lemon paused and took a moment to consider her next words— “Sumac got a bloody nose from magical strain.” For a moment, it seemed as though she might say more, but everything else came out as a sorrowful sigh. “Oh.” Applejack swallowed, her jaw muscles clenched tight as she gritted her teeth, and the muscles in her neck stood out in sharp contrast as she looked over at Sumac, whose nose was bleeding once more as he bawled. “Well then, he hurt Sumac in other ways. I done stand by what I’ve did and I don’t feel bad about it.” “Jackie—” “Shuddup, Mac, now is not the time.” “Fine, we’ll talk later.” “That’ll do me fine, brother.” “I ain’t got a problem with what you did, just with how you’re being right now.” Big Mac’s ears pitched forwards, his nostrils flared, and he looked at his sister with an intense, focused stare. When Applejack slumped over a bit, Big Mac looked off elsewhere, focusing on nothing but the empty sky. “What sort of pony uses his own son as a hostage, anyhow?” Applejack asked of nopony in particular. “All these years later and I still can’t make a lick of sense of that. If I could just somehow wrap my head around that, I think I’d be a lot less angry. As it is, every time I think about it, it just burns me up inside. Makes me feel sick to my stomach.” Ears sagging, Lemon Hearts shook her head. “I don’t know how to answer that, as I don’t understand it either.” “All this mercy is more than Flam deserves,” Applejack spat and her green eyes looked venomous. “The ponies of Ponyville was ready to lynch him for everything he did. It was so awful that we had to send Sumac away so ponies could calm down, cool off, and try to forget what had happened. Because of what he did, Flam robbed me of my cousin… I love the little booger, even if I don’t understand him most of the time. Twilight had to put herself between an angry mob and the courthouse. Sometimes… sometimes I wish—” “Jackie…” “—that Twilight would have just let Flam get lynched right there on the spot.” Applejack’s eyes flooded with tears as she spoke. “Flam made Twilight break her word, she promised the ponies of Ponyville that Flam’s shadow would never darken this town again and that justice would be served. She put her own reputation on the line and it galls me that her promise got broken.” “Keeping your word is important to you, I understand,” Lemon Hearts said to Applejack. “I done broke my word once, and it’s a lesson I’ll never forget,” Applejack replied. “I wasn’t here when Flam was put on trial.” Lemon Hearts reached out one hoof and placed it on Applejack’s side. “So I don’t understand everything that is going on. And I only know a little bit of the Sumac situation. I know there is a reason why he was sent out on the road with Trixie, but I don’t know all of the details.” “We didn’t want him growing up in his father’s shadow, so we sent him away.” Big Mac let heave a wistful sigh. “He was in pretty awful shape, he’d been neglected pretty bad. By Belladonna’s own admission, she named him Sumac because he was an irritating annoyance. Life on the lam wasn’t good for Sumac at all.” “Does Sumac know this?” Lemon Hearts asked in a raspy whisper. “No.” Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “And he don’t need to know how his name came about either.” With a deep breath that she held for several long seconds, all of Applejack’s bluster vanished. “It scares me just how much like his father Sumac is. The same smooth talk, the intelligence, the bad temper, his absolute fearlessness when it comes down to certain things. He’s so much like his dad that it scares me sometimes, and it keeps me awake at night. I have nightmares that something somehow sets Sumac down the bramble-strewn path from which there is no return.” “He’ll turn out better,” Lemon Hearts whispered to Applejack, trying to assuage the earthen mare’s fears. “And what makes you so sure of that?” Applejack asked. “It seems to me that Flam was born bad, and Twilight just got done saying that his cutie mark made him an even worse pony.” “Because, there are ponies who love him and keep him from going astray. I’m one of them. He is very, very dear to me, both him and his mother.” Lemon Hearts looked over at where Trixie and Sumac were with half-open eyes. “I’m not going to give him up without a fight and I refuse to believe that Sumac is a bad pony, like his father.” “So, Lemon, you admit that Flam is a bad pony.” “Why yes, I suppose I did.” Lemon Hearts’ disappointment at this admission manifested in a thin wrinkle just above her eyebrows and below her horn. Reaching up with her foreleg, she wiped at her eyes, sniffled a bit, and then looked at Sumac with a quivering smile. “I won’t let him turn out like his father. He’ll grow up to be good…” “Flam, I don’t know if you remember, but you once sold me some alchemical laced salts,” Tarnish said to Flam in a soft, easy-going voice. “It set me on the path for good and I ended up meeting my wife because of it. Funny how things work out, eh?” There was no response from Flam, who lay in the grass, panting, his breathing heavy, almost sobbing. With a gentle touch, Tarnish placed his hoof on Flam’s neck, trying to comfort the condemned pony. The gathered crowd seemed so very close and yet so very far away all at the same time. “This isn’t going to be so bad, I’d say it’ll be a lot nicer than going back to prison. No more stale bread and water, or whatever they feed ponies in prison. No more violence, no more struggle, no more negativity… doesn’t that sound nice?” Much to Tarnish’s surprise, there was a noticeable nod from Flam, who whimpered as he moved. Tarnish sat down in the grass, kicked out his legs a little, got comfortable, and let out a huff from his exertion. Being a tall pony, there was a lot of him to ease down to the ground. He was aware of the fact that Twilight was staring, but he ignored her. “You’ll be able to see the sunshine, feel the rain, and watch the seasons roll on by, that doesn’t sound so bad, does it?” Tarnish looked down and again, Flam nodded. Taking note that Flam’s lips were moving, Tarnish leaned his head down so that he might hear better if Flam spoke, but he wasn’t so sure that Flam could speak in his condition, as Sumac and Applejack had done quite a number to him. “Flam, the Wardens are going to come and visit you,” Tarnish continued in a soft voice. “Turns out, they can see into the minds of ponies turned into trees. The Wardens tell me that my little collection of trees in the grove are happy sorts, free from need or worry.” Lips quivering, Flam tried to lift his head but couldn’t. Tarnish, sensing Flam’s desire, offered assistance, and lifted Flam’s head in his magic, being gentle and mindful of Flam’s injuries. His ear twitching, he tried to listen to whatever it was that Flam was trying to say. “Fthorry,” Flam said, spitting out a wad of blood-speckled, phlegm flecked saliva as he spoke. “Fthell Fthumac I’m fthorry.” “I’ll do that,” Tarnish promised. “Now, are you ready to do this?” “Tarnish, are you trying to get him to agree to this?” Twilight asked. “Hey, princess, I don’t tell you how to do your job,” Tarnish replied. “Actually, you do. All time. As one of my advisors, you constantly tell me what to do and how to do it.” Twilight’s voice was a flat deadpan that even Maud would appreciate, had she been here to listen. “What’s the hold up?” Groaning, Tarnish rolled his eyes and shook his head. Lowering his head once more, Tarnish tried to look into Flam’s eye, his one somewhat open eye, and he smiled. “I bear you no malice, even with what happened in the past. Are you ready to do this? Do you think you can show your son that you are not a coward, and now that the time has come, can you accept responsibility for what you have done?” A strangled sob slipped out of Flam’s lips and his whole body shuddered. Blood dribbled from his nose and from his ear, which had been split wide open from one of Applejack’s hammering blows. Tarnish, looking doleful and morose, stroked Flam’s neck, trying to offer him a little bit of comfort and compassion in his final moments. “Be brave,” Tarnish whispered, “try to give your son something positive to see in you. This is hard on him, too. He’s really hurting. For the rest of his life, he is going to remember this moment… how do you want to be remembered, Flam Apple?” Whimpering with fear, Flam nodded his head and peered through his swollen eye at Tarnish. Raising his eyebrow, Tarnish nodded back, wondering how much Flam was able to see. The stallion was weeping now, deep body-wracking sobs that made each of his legs twitch. His tail thumped against the cold ground as one of the ravens perched on a nearby headstone. “Ready to do this?” Tarnish asked. Flam nodded in reply and offered no resistance as Tarnish lifted him up. Unable to stand on his own, Flam wobbled a bit until Tarnish steadied him, holding him up in a supportive field of levitation. Flam managed to turn his head a little and he tilted it to one side, until he was able to look at his son. Tears streamed from his swollen eyes and he kept his single open eye on his son, unable to look away. “It’s time,” Tarnish said, his two words filled with a purposeful sense of finality. Again, Sumac’s magic sense went bonkers. He stared at his father, who stared back at him, and the little colt didn’t know how he should feel right now. Something about his father was different—without his mark, his father was so very different, but Sumac could not say why. Seized with a strange need to say something, Sumac broke away from his mother’s embrace and pushed forwards. At his approach, Flam flinched in pain and turned away, which made something in Sumac’s barrel ache. Something moved in Sumac’s peripheral vision and it turned out to be Twinkleshine, who was now sticking to his side as he approached his father. Something was happening, Sumac could feel it, and he felt a growing sense of worry as he wondered how much time he had. His rage was gone, his tantrum had burned itself out, and now, Sumac just felt numb, for the most part, save for the strange ache he was experiencing. He looked up at his father and he could feel all sorts of eyes upon him right now, far too many eyes for an introvert to feel comfortable. “It’s better this way.” Sumac’s voice bubbled with phlegm and his voice was scratchy from bile. “If you couldn’t be a good pony, then you can be a good tree. You won’t be able to get into trouble or be tempted to do bad things this way.” Sumac’s voice sounded strange in his own ears and there was far too much pressure inside of his own head as his magic sense continued to intensify. Some sort of crescendo was fast approaching. Much to everypony’s surprise, Flam nodded, his head bobbing up and down with a weak, feeble effort. “Fthorry.” A long ribbon of blood flecked drool dribbled down from Flam’s swollen lip. “Ftho fthorry.” In the back of his mind, Sumac realised that he could be vindictive right now and say something hurtful, something awful, he could say something that would no doubt hurt his father in his final moments, and that those hurtful words would be the last thing said between them. He glanced over at Twinkleshine, his head throbbing so hard that it caused his vision to fuzz over. Unbeknownst to Sumac, he had reached one of the many forks in the road that he would encounter during his life. The path of good and the path of wrong. The path of wrong beckoned, it would feel good to lash out in these final moments and dish out the hurt, it had certainly felt good to vent his venom on Olive, on Catrina, and on the harpies. Sumac knew that his words would carry magical hurt, the worst sort of hurt, the sort of hurt that was like getting a sliver lodged in one’s brain, as those words would stay there, hurting for a very long time. A part of him, a dreadful part of him that lurked in the deep recesses of his mind, wanted his father to hurt, to ache, to suffer. Another part, a far more noisy part of him, a far more vocal part, reminded him that being a good pony would really impress Pebble right now. That part of his mind was the loudest, and it drowned out the vindictive suggestions that bubbled through Sumac’s subconscious. “I’m sorry too,” Sumac whispered, feeling very awkward and rather queasy. “I have a temper problem, I know it doesn’t excuse what I did, but you said bad things about Trixie. She’s a good pony now, for real, and I just got upset. I love her a lot and she means a lot to me.” After a moment of intense struggle, something that was almost a smile could be seen on Flam’s face, beneath his mustache. It was difficult to see, with the broken jaw and all of the swelling, but Sumac saw it as clear as day. He looked up at his father while Flam looked down at him, and he watched his father’s face contort in pain. After a moment, Flam looked over at Twilight, and something that was almost a pleading, pain-filled expression crept over his face. After a moment, Twilight had a sharp inhale and her wings flapped against her sides. She bowed her head a little so that she might look Sumac in the eye and then she said, “Your father says to be good and don’t let your temper get the best of you. He is also thinking very, very hard about how sorry he is and he doesn’t want you to make the same mistakes that he did.” Flam gibbered a bit and nodded. There was a tug and Sumac allowed himself to be pulled away. As he backed away, his magic sense overloaded and he would have fallen over if Twinkleshine hadn’t grabbed him. The area around Sumac flooded with magic, but Tarnish’s horn wasn’t glowing in the slightest. There was a strange crackle in the air, a whiff of ozone, and the most peculiar smell of apple blossoms. The ravens began cawing and screeching as a few tiny root-like shoots came out of the ground. Growing at an unnatural speed, they began to wrap themselves around Flam’s legs, and everywhere they touched, Flam’s pelt and skin began to turn into bark. It didn’t take long until Flam was held up by the growing, grasping roots and he was lifted away from Tarnish. Now, the growing tendrils began to wrap around his body, and Flam’s features, which had been contorted with agony, started to turn peaceful. The stallion let out a gasp and then a sleepy sounding sigh as more and more of him was transmogrified into wood. His barrel became a trunk, his hind legs merged and formed the base of the tree, and his forelegs began to turn into sturdy branches. A twig and a leaf grew from his horn and his one open eye closed for the last time as Flam lapsed into his peaceful, arboreal slumber. Looking up, it took Sumac a few seconds to realise that his father had become an apple tree. Mystified, the colt stared through his glasses, watching as the last changes took effect. He backed away, feeling torn up inside, and he clung to Twinkleshine’s leg as his father’s face vanished completely, swallowed by wood. Looking disturbed, Twilight shook her head and backed away. “Twilight?” Applejack asked, looking worried. “I stayed with him the entire time,” Twilight said in reply as she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “I had to know that it didn’t hurt because I wanted to reassure Lemon Hearts…” “And?” Applejack moved closer to her friend’s side, looking worried. “It was so peaceful,” Twilight breathed, still shaking her head. “I wanted to be with him, it was such a nice feeling… excuse me, I’m sorry, but it has left me kind of shaken… I wanted to be changed as well.” Tilting his head back, Sumac looked up at the tree that his father had become. It was full, green, untouched by autumn, and appeared as though it was experiencing a vibrant spring. He stumbled forwards a bit, having trouble moving his legs, until at last he stood at the base of the tree. Lifting his foreleg, he placed it upon the trunk, which had a strange sense of warmth. It was over, Flam Apple was no more.