//------------------------------// // Hesitant // Story: Gilded Sister // by Kind of Brony //------------------------------// “Is it even a possibility?” Ornate asked Doctor Mend as her husband took the twins out of the room, their daughter carried on his back. “I mean, should we even bother? Surely she doesn’t need to go.” “Mmm, well, judging by these results, it might not be such a bad idea, sending her to magic kindergarten.” “But she can’t even use magic.” “Yet she has enough to use.” The doctor looked up from the day’s test results to meet the pink mare’s gaze. “Her reserves have increased by another fair increment, putting her just above where the professors and I believe should be the point at which her magic can start expressing itself. “And her internal leylines have begun to widen, as well. The greatest surprise by far. Before your daughter came along, we’d never have known the inability to cast magic in those afflicted with mageiasthenia was from more than simply lack of mana. To think the very network in which mana circulates through the body could be stunted. Professor Augur is a genius for suggesting the use of an MRI scan to examine her inner leylines. I’d have never thought of it since such procedures are usually reserved for pegasi having trouble with flight, what with their leylines being so expansive as part of aiding flight. Guess being a pegasus himself aided in coming up with the thought. “You know, it’s interesting, seeing the difference between the pony tribes in this regard. In the case of pegasi, the leylines run from the core to the wings and hooves, spread far apart, and easily damaged in the extremities, yet a unicorn’s is much less prone to damage, or at least, damage to the leylines is usually the result of fatal injury, and thus is rarely an issue after the fact. See, the leylines run straight beneath the spinal cord from the core, ball up within the frontal lobe, and wind tightly along the horn. “I’d dare say if it were all laid out, it’d probably be longer than the leylines of an earth pony or-” “Ahem. Doctor, can we please return to the topic of my daughter.” “O-oh, sorry, I got a little distracted. It’s just, what we’ve been learning from your daughter is all so exciting. I really can’t express how grateful I am to your family for allowing me to share Pureblood’s medical results with my acquaintances at Celestia’s School. I know I asked if I could bring them into the study directly, but this arrangement has been working better than expected. We’ve made so much more progress than I’d ever have managed on our own.” Ornate forced a smile and replied, “As long as it helps Pureblood, we’re willing to give you whatever permission you need, but as you were saying earlier about Pure and magic kindergarten.” “Uh, yes, well, as you might remember me mentioning last time, ever since we decided that it was okay to use magic around Pureblood, the rate at which her mana reservoirs have developed increased by nearly twenty percent, and while we cannot be entirely certain without a proper control group to compare with, my acquaintances and I believe the exposure might be serving as a form of therapy. “As such, even if she cannot yet use magic herself, being in a classroom full of foals that can and are actively practicing might help her condition improve further. Plus, since she should have both the mana and pathways to at least channel magic to her horn, it might be a good idea to for her to begin learning the basics of spellcraft.” Doctor Mend returned his focus to the papers in front of him. “With her impressive intellect, I’m sure that your daughter will be able to grasp the concepts where her instincts seem to be failing. It’s an intriguing thought; where most ponies can utilize magic naturally on at least some level, Pureblood is practically unaware of the mana inside of her. I wonder if this lack of instinct is a direct symptom of mageiasthenia, or a side effect of simply not having access to her magic from birth as with uninflicted foals…” When Ornate cleared her throat once again, the stallion jolted and turned to her once more. “Sorry! Sorry,” he quickly said, putting his papers down this time to give his patient’s mother his full attention. “Now, uh, as I was saying, I do believe magic kindergarten will be good for Pureblood, to at least some degree. It’s of course your decision in the end as I can’t tell you to send your daughter to an already voluntary program, but, well, if it helps…” Ornate sighed. “Yes, if it helps… So, is there anything else to discuss before we leave, Doctor Mend?” “Mmm, I don’t believe so. Everything is in order and now all that is left to do is take today’s test results over to the school to go over with the professors. If anything of note comes to light after that, I’ll be sure to contact you right away.” “Of course,” Ornate said with a nod, standing up. “I’ll tell my husband your suggestion, and we’ll talk it over. As always, it was nice seeing you, doctor.” “And you too, Ornate,” the stallion responded. “Pureblood really is a delight on her visits. I wish all my patients behaved so well. Sucker for the road? Pure fell asleep before she could take hers.” The mother smiled and took the proffered candy, one for each of her children, and left the room with one final goodbye. Doctor Mend was an odd one, easily distracted and excited, perhaps a bit too focused on research for its own sake instead of her daughter’s, but he was a kind stallion nonetheless. He didn’t try to pressure them at all when they told him that Pure would not be going to Celestia’s School to have even more tests done on her by even more strangers, and was perfectly happy with merely being able to share his own results with his colleagues instead. Pure was anxious enough with just one doctor poking and prodding her, she didn’t need an entire herd of academics putting her under a magnifying glass. Still, she was maybe a little upset that he had unknowingly taken her husband’s side of their debate about whether Pure should attend magic kindergarten with her brother. Blueblood thought it might help her finally perform some form of magic while she argued being around so much potentially wild magic could end up hurting her. Foals of their age were still prone to magical surges if they were strong enough, after all. It seemed however, that she had lost, her side of the argument would not be victorious and Pure’s vacation away from school would be filled up… “How you feeling, sweetie?” Dad asks as soon as he hears my awakening yawn. Doctor visits have a tendency to wear me out and a nap is usually required once the tests are done. I also usually wait until I get home to do so. Oops. “Fine,” I mumble, rubbing my eyes and looking around. We’re at the start of the front lawn, a good few minutes hike before the house. “Sorry you had to carry me.” Dad chuckles in response. “It’s no trouble, you needed rest.” “And now that you got that out of the way, we can go start playing as soon as we get inside,” Bluey says excitedly, a determined glint in his eye. “I’m gonna catch up today. You're only four wins ahead of me.” “Good luck with that,” I reply smugly. “I’m well rested and ready to rumble.” Over the months, our training has become a sort of competition between him, me, and occasionally Pauly with wrestling being the de facto test of strength and skill, which has had quite the positive effect on Blueblood. Having another colt to pit himself against has pushed my brother’s progress to the point where he and Pauly are almost evenly matched nowadays. Of course, I’m still ahead of them both when it comes to grappling, the proper use of one’s head beating enthusiasm and raw power. “There'll be time for that later, children, right now we have something important to talk about,” Mom says, much to my worry. I don’t remember Doctor Mend giving any indication that anything was wrong after the last test. In fact, he said I was doing much better, so why was mother so serious right now? The questions plague the entire time we are left to wait in the living room, Blueblood trying to spark up conversations I am only half listening to while our parents are talking in the other room. When they finally return after what feels like an eternity, I'm both relieved and anxious. “So, what’s the important thing?” I find myself blurting out, just wanting to know already. “Is… is it about the doctor visit today? Is something wrong?” “Oh, no, sweetie,” Mom says, moving to comfort me, “it’s just the opposite, in fact, though it does have to do with the doctor visit.” “It seems Doctor Mend believes your condition has improved enough that you might actually be ready to start using your magic,” Dad adds, fighting to keep the smile on his face from bursting into a full-on grin. Stunned silent by the revelation, I can only sit slack jawed while Bluey starts hopping on the couch cushion. “Really? Ya here that, Pure? I told’ja the magic practice would work!” “Magic practice? What magic practice?” Mom asks, frowning. “Every night before bed I’ve been helping Pure try to get her to her horn glow,” Bluey answers with a proud grin “She didn’t think it was helping, but I saw sparkles so I knew it was, and now the doctor says you can do magic!” “Wha- But- You could have-” Mom frustratingly tries to find words before clamping her mouth shut and breathing deeply through her nose. “No, there’s no need to be upset, Ornate, Doctor Mend would have noticed if Pure was hurting herself. So what if your daughter was potentially agitating her condition that the medical field barely understands, she’s okay now, so no harm done.” After whispering this to herself and breathing a few more times, Mom directs her words towards her son. “That was very nice of you to try and help your sister get better, dear, but I think it’s for the best that we stop this for now until we discuss it with the doctor.” “But why? It’s helping, you said so.” “It’s okay, Mom, really. I’m pretty sure it isn’t hurting anything,” I interrupted, more understanding of my mother’s worries. Bluey may not have listened or understood what it was our mom was mumbling about, but I got the gist and with hindsight could see where she was coming from. When I was sick… before, the doctors always stressed how important it was for me not to strain myself, that I needed plenty of rest or else I wouldn’t get better, and that’s why I wasn’t allowed to walk up and down the hallways to break up the monotony of hospital life more than once in a great while. It stands to reason then that trying to force magic when you barely have any could cause a problem or two. “But we don’t know for sure-” Mom, began, only to be interrupted by a hoof on her shoulder. “Calm down, Garden, I’m sure it’s fine,” Dad says reassuringly. “The doctor's only seen improvement in our daughter since we've been taking her, so it mustn't have done her any harm, right? And even if it did, which I doubt, well, it’s too late to tell now. Besides, practicing her magic is what we’re supposed to be discussing, so it’s all a moot point.” “But, what if she, I don’t know, stunted her growth or something?” is Mom’s meek reply before sighing. “I guess you’re right, but we’re still going to bring it up at the next doctor’s appointment.” “Of course, but until then,” Dad turns to us, “We’re going to talk about you two attending magic kindergarten during this break…” I freeze up at this, everything suddenly coming together as Blueblood whoops. I’d heard of the voluntary class for young unicorns from my friends, understanding that it's for unicorn foals to start learning the basics of magic, but by that very virtue, I assumed it was something that I would not have to worry about. “Yes! We’re going, and Pure’s coming too!? I can’t wait to tell my friends!” “Yes, yes, I know it’s exciting,” Dad says, chuckling as he tries to calm the bouncing boy. “That’s what we’re here to decide. You, son, are of course more than ready to go if you want, but we wanted to ask your sister for her thoughts.” “Mine? But, I can’t use magic, so why ask?” I cut in, tilting my head in genuine curiosity. “How am I supposed to learn how to use something I don’t even have?” Because you do have it,” supplies Mom as she places a hoof on my back and sits down next to me, Dad taking the spot next to Bluey. “The doctor said so, and he also believes the kindergarten will be the perfect place for you to learn how to draw upon it.” “Okay,” I respond slowly, “but if that’s the case, then why can’t I just stay home and learn from you and Dad?” The idea of failing in front of an entire classroom, not once, but repeatedly as I failed to use the magic I supposedly had is not an appealing one. My parent’s share a look before Mom speaks again. “Do you remember when you were afraid to go to school and asked why I couldn’t be your teacher, and I told you that the school would be able to do a better job than I could? Well, it’s the same now. The kindergarten teacher will know how to help you more than your father or I, so don’t you want to give them a chance?” “Yeah, and you’ll be with me!” adds my brother. “And Moondancer is for sure gonna go, she loves school too much not to. And I bet a lot of your other friends will be there too. Just watch, it’s going to be super fun! We’re learn how to throw fireballs and fly and shoot lasers-” “You’re thinking of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, Blueblood,” Dad says with a chuckle before taking on an air of pride. “You won’t be going there for a while yet.” “You’ll mostly be learning the basics at magic kindergarten. Levitation, control…” adds Mom, getting a small frown from the colt. “I already know that stuff.” “But not all of the other foals will. Don’t worry son, it won’t be a waste of time. You’ll no doubt improve greatly under proper guidance.” Looking at me, Dad continues, “Plus you’ll be able to help your sister more, too… That is, if she decides to go.” All attention once again focused on me, I fidget while they expect an answer. I truly do feel that this will be an embarrassing waste of time, but then again, what would I spend that time on otherwise? Bluey will be gone half of the day, along with most, if not all of the girls, and I honestly can’t imagine returning to such tedium now that I’ve experienced what it’s like to have friends. Pauly might be free, but he already spends a fair amount of time here training with us and probably won’t want to hang out with just me. What would we even do, exercise even more until we collapsed from exhaustion? Slumping, I give the only answer I can. “I’ll go…” Amidst the cheering and assurances that I’ll enjoy the extracurricular class, I can’t help but sit silently and feel a similar nervousness to the first day of preschool. Reminding myself how well things had turned out then, I smile ever so slightly, hoping that perhaps I’ll meet new ponies there and make more friends. Yeah, maybe it really won’t be so bad.