//------------------------------// // Chapter 117 // Story: Princess Twilight Sparkle's School for Fantastic Foals // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Sumac Apple awoke to a terrible weight bearing down upon him. After a few blinks, he realised that there was nothing on top of him, but the feeling of being crushed remained. There was no memory of falling asleep, no recollection of drifting off, nothing. The bed was empty and he was alone. He was curled up in a near fetal position, his legs tucked against his body, and the crushing feeling he was experiencing was made worse by a feeling of utter emptiness, a sensation of being hollowed out. With a great deal of effort, Sumac recalled his last memory, and that was being held by Applejack, with Big Mac sitting nearby and looking worried. There were no windows in this room, so Sumac couldn’t tell if it was night or day. He listened for the sounds of Boomer and couldn’t tell if she was near or not. She wasn’t on his horn or in the bed with him. The memory of Applejack wasn’t a good one. When everything was said and done, when they had retreated into one of Twilight’s private rooms to be together, when they were finally away from the public eye, Applejack had broken down and began crying. It was awful for Sumac to see such a strong pony cry, and the little colt remembered feeling as though the world was going to come apart at any minute. The crushing feeling made it difficult to breathe. There was a click from nearby, followed by the clopping of hooves. A soft gasp could be heard, and then Sumac saw Twinkleshine. She looked worried as she stood near the bed, and she lowered her head to look at him. “I was in the bathroom, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you to be alone when you woke up,” she said, the breath from her words causing Sumac’s ears to twitch. When he tried to speak, Sumac realised that his mouth was dry, too dry, and felt like it was full of sand. All that came out was a croak and the bed creaked as Twinkleshine laid down beside him, her weight causing the blankets to smoosh him. He didn’t mind, the sensation was comforting for some reason, like being tucked in, but better. “You got so worked up last night that you started barfing, so we slipped you a sedative and hoped for the best. I bet you feel a little groggy. You woke up in the middle of the night from a really bad nightmare, flooded the room with puke, and wouldn’t stop screaming, so we gave you another sedative.” Twinkleshine sucked in a deep breath and touched her muzzle to Sumac’s head. “It is now a little past four in the afternoon. I’ve been looking after you all day. You look a little out of it. Would you like to have a drink?” Sumac nodded. “Okay, let’s see if we can get something to drink in you, and maybe some saltines or something if you feel like eating.” Twinkleshine, whose lips lingered near Sumac’s ear, gave in and kissed him. Doing so left her looking relieved and she relaxed a little. “Princess Luna came last night in pony to check on you. She was worried and she said that your dreams were troubling, even for her, but she wouldn’t tell us what you were dreaming about.” Try as he might, Sumac could not recall any of his dreams. Maybe it was for the best that he didn’t. He wished that Twinkleshine would kiss him again, as it gave him tingles all over and it felt good. Something inside of his head ached, it wasn’t quite a physical pain, maybe it was more of a mental pain making itself physical, and Sumac wished that his mother was here to snuggle with him. He wouldn’t complain about being snuggled… much. “Be patient with me, Sumac,” Twinkleshine said to the colt. “I’ve done a little foalsitting, but I’ve never done mommy stuff before. All of this is new to me and I’m scared out of my mind that I’m going to mess up and make you hate me. I’ve been worried all day and the craziest thoughts have been going through my head as I stayed here with you. You’ve become the most important male in my life and you and I barely know one another.” Blinking once, Sumac closed his eyes and felt Twinkleshine breathing on him. He thought about what she said and something about it made him feel better. After a few seconds of warm closeness, Twinkleshine pulled away, the blanket was peeled back, and cool, invigourating air hit Sumac’s now exposed body. The sudden temperature change, while it felt really good against his skin, caused a powerful wave of nausea. It also caused a weird feeling of pressure inside of Sumac’s head, a ringing in his ears, and he worried that his head might pop. “Phew, you smell like you’ve been sick,” Twinkleshine whispered as she lifted Sumac up and out of the bed. She hefted the colt around like a sack of potatoes, mindful of his fragile condition, and once out of the bed herself, she headed for the door holding Sumac before her in a comfortable bubble of levitation. Twinkleshine had betrayed him, but Sumac couldn’t find the energy to be upset. After getting a drink, (a box of apple juice and some chocolate milk) and some saltines, Twinkleshine had carried him off. Before he could protest what was happening, she had dropped him into the tub and climbed in with him. He now sat between her legs, leaning up against her stomach, and she held him up with one of her forelegs wrapped around his barrel, as he had trouble sitting up on his own. The water made his achy tummy feel better, the heat worked its way deep into his cramped, fatigued muscles. Sumac wondered just how much puking he had done, as he couldn’t remember any of it, but he sure felt the consequences. Twinkleshine was doing something with his mane, sculpting it with suds, and no doubt making him look very silly. The colt yawned, feeling groggy, and it was difficult to keep his eyes open. The hot bath water, the warm feeling of Twinkleshine against his back as she held him, the relaxing sensation of having his scalp rubbed, it felt as though Twinkleshine was scrubbing away his stress and he felt his eyelids grow heavy. The foreleg wrapped around his middle was reassuring and comforting, but Sumac would never, ever admit to that, even under torture of the worst sort. After humming a few bars, Twinkleshine began to sing as she bathed Sumac. “Take me out of the bathtub, take me out of the suds. I've been here soaking since half past two, I feel so sudsy and wrinkle-y, too! Oh, I washed all over my body, my head, my frogs, my in between… I used one, two, three squirts of soap, take me out... I'm clean!” A half-hearted giggle escaped from Sumac, who then groaned because laughter in any form hurt right now. Going limp, he gave himself into the moment and leaned against Twinkleshine, glad for her comforting embrace. “Take me out of the bathtub, I'm stuck here with my toys… rubber ducks and squirters I think are great, but I better take off my roller skates—” Sumac found this pretty funny, and he laughed as he struggled to keep his eyes open. “—'cause each time I get up, I wobble, I hold on, but it's a pain! I tried once, twice, three times to stand, better get me a crane!” There could no longer be any doubt, Twinkleshine was a silly pony. Wrapped in a toasty-warm blanket, Sumac was plopped down in an overstuffed chair. This was one of Twilight’s private rooms and Spike was here with Boomer. The colt had trouble sitting up and he didn’t feel very good—his magic sense was causing him some pain and discomfort. Twinkleshine stuffed a pillow on either side of him to prop him up and Sumac just sat there like a lump. Spike was teaching Boomer the ancient draconic art of toasting a marshmallow, and it was clear to any observer that Spike took his job seriously. A pile of comics was scattered across the floor, a dangerous thing with the flames being belched out to toast marshmallows into a crispy, crunchy state of perfection. “Any messages from Princess Celestia?” Twinkleshine asked as she sat down on the floor near Spike and picked up one of the comic books. “None yet,” Spike replied as he stabbed one of his claws into a marshmallow. “Hmm.” A look of worry crossed over Twinkleshine’s face for a second, and then was gone with the same suddenness which it had arrived with. She opened the comic book she was holding, peeked inside, then looked over at Spike just as he belched out some fire. “Are you going to teach Boomer how to use the dragonfire network?” “Network?” Spike gobbled down the marshmallow on his claws, smacked his lips, and rubbed his stomach as he licked away the sticky leftovers. “Well, I don’t know what else to call it.” Twinkleshine shrugged. “Dragon mail.” “You know, I don’t know what it is called either,” Spike said as he stopped moving. “But yeah, I planned to teach Boomer how to do it. Seems like it would be useful.” The blanket wrapped around Sumac rumpled a bit as the colt’s head tilted off to one side and came to rest upon one of the pillows propping him up. His eyes were closed, his mouth was opened, and the little unicorn colt looked rather peaceful as he dozed, all things considered. Twinkleshine eyed him for a moment, trying to determine if he was comfortable, and when she was satisfied that he was, she returned her attention to Spike. “So, Boomer can do it?” she asked, her voice now little more than a whisper. “Sure,” Spike replied with a nod. “She’s a wyvern type dragon, but we’re not so different, she and I.” “Wyvern.” Boomer lifted her head up and then stretched out her forelegs to show off her membranes. Her slender body bulged in the middle from eating far too many toasted treats. “Tree dragon.” She pointed at herself with her claw. “Pegasus dragon.” Her eyes glittering, her claws flexing, she tilted her head off to one side and pointed at Spike. “Earth pony dragon.” “Huh?” “Just go with it.” Spike smiled and handed Boomer yet another marshmallow. “It’s how she understands our differences and she’s not far off.” “Unicorn.” Boomer pointed at Twinkleshine, then over at Sumac, who napped in his chair. “Colt.” Her claw pointed at Twinkleshine again and she said, “Filly.” “Close enough,” Twinkleshine agreed. A look of perplexed confusion appeared on Boomer’s face and she pointed at herself. “Filly?” “Filly. Female, yes.” Spike gave the younger, smaller dragon a nod. “Girl.” Blinking, Boomer allowed this new knowledge to settle in. She clutched her marshmallow prize, puffed out a bit, sucked in a little more air, and then let out a ferocious, fiery belch that sounded as though it came from a dragon at least twenty times her size. Sumac snorted in his sleep, but did not wake. The marshmallow turned a dark golden brown with just a few black and crispy bits. Scrabbling over the floor, Boomer came over and held out the still smoking marshmallow to Twinkleshine, and looked up at the mare holding the comic book. She looked a little apprehensive, as if she was worried about something. “Oh, why thank you! It’s perfect!” Twinkleshine took the offered treat and Boomer relaxed a little, looking relieved. The pearlescent white mare popped the toasted marshmallow into her mouth and began chewing, all while nodding and letting Boomer know that she had done a fine job. “Hey, Boomer… read to me…” “Kiddo!” His head heavy, and his eyelids even heavier, Sumac looked up from his bowl of alphabet soup, which was full of hidden messages just for him. Trixie came careening through the door, shoving Lemon Hearts aside as she too, passed through the doorway. A sour look appeared on Lemon’s face, but only for a moment, and her usual sunny smile returned. “I was worried!” Trixie pulled Sumac up out of his chair and lifted him into the air as his spoon clattered to the table. She sat down on the floor, her behind making a muffled plop, and then pulled her colt into a tight embrace, wrapping one foreleg around him. “Mmm, you’ve had a bath and you smell good, just like wildflowers.” Sumac just didn't have it in him to fight back or struggle, so he clung to Trixie as she kissed him and sniffed him. His patience was rewarded and he was put back into his chair after a few precious moments. As he got himself situated, Trixie rose from the floor, took a few steps, and then sat down in the chair on the other side of the table. Lemon Hearts, who had crossed the room, planted a wet tingle-inducing smooch on Sumac’s cheek, then she too, sat down. Twinkleshine, without getting up out of her chair, ladled soup into two bowls and then put them in front of Lemon and Trixie. A box of buttery crackers sat in the middle of the table, and beside it was one napping tree dragon with a curious bulge in her middle. “Feeling better?” One of Sumac’s ears twitched at his mother’s words. He nodded, but didn’t say anything as he picked his spoon back up. His magic was a bit wonky at the moment and it took considerable effort to even hold his spoon, much less feed himself. It was a matter of pride though, and he refused to stick his face down into his bowl. “Well, Twinkleshine, you did it,” Lemon Hearts said to her longtime friend. “You took care of a sick foal. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” “Eh, it wasn’t bad at all. Bathtime was nice.” Sumac’s face darkened and he peered into his soup bowl, looking for the many hidden messages to be found in alphabet soup. He didn’t enjoy bathtime, not in the slightest. Nope. Squirming in his chair, he poked at a few letters with his spoon and watched as a sliver of carrot bobbed up to the surface. The heat of the soup had turned it a bright, vibrant orange. “I got him to laugh with a silly song,” Twinkleshine said, and her words sounded an awful lot like boasting. “Hey, that’s an accomplishment!” Trixie pulled out some crackers, conjured up a jar of peanut butter, and then began spreading said peanut butter over her crackers. She smiled for a moment, then crammed an entire cracker smothered in peanut butter into her mouth. Sumac, preoccupied and thoughtful, looked around the table and thought about family.