//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: Princess Twilight Sparkle's School for Fantastic Foals: Winter Break 
// by kudzuhaiku 
//------------------------------//

	The trip home was all the more pleasant because the snow had eased off a bit and the sun was almost shining. In the distance, an army of pegasus ponies decorated Twilight’s castle, stringing lights all over it, along with beautiful garlands made of varying colours of tinsel. Ponies, both foals and adults, played in the snow together. There was a festive mood that hung over the whole town, and this sense, this feeling that everything was secure. 

Sumac didn’t know if everything was secure, but he was glad for the feeling nonetheless. 

After everything that had happened, Sumac now had some association with security equating to power. Magic kept ponies secure. Powerful magic users, such as Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, and his mother, Trixie, kept ponies and Ponyville secure. In the future, ponies like Olive, she would keep things secure. Though he did not realise it, nor fully understand it, Sumac’s young mind would forever associate security with power, and power would be recognised by the security it offered. 

All the more reason to become a powerful wizard, at least by Sumac’s thinking. 

Sticking his tongue out, Sumac concentrated with all of his might on a ‘come to life’ spell focused on the sled that was beneath him. He wanted it to move under its own power, or at least help Lemon Hearts pull it through the snow, because today, it was her turn to be a draft pony. Come to life spells were complicated—Trixie used them on occasion when she pulled the wagon, but the spell was draining under load and never lasted long, usually it was just enough to get them up a steep hill. 

The magic flowed through Sumac, he felt it, he felt the powerful allure of complex, complicated magic, the most complicated and complex of all magical schools, enchantment. Common unicorns couldn’t even begin to cast these spells, in general. Only special, gifted unicorns, unicorns of advanced, sufficient ability could squeeze off a spell of this complexity. 

Rarity was one such unicorn, and he had observed how she animated objects around her with her telekinesis, making them her puppets. Rarity was far, far more powerful than she realised, and Sumac knew this because of his own magic sense. Rarity had magic enough to give him a headache if he focused too much on it. 

All around Sumac, snowflakes no longer fell, but remained suspended, floating in mid-air. The scent of winter was replaced by the stench of ozone. Sumac could feel some of his consciousness seeping into the wood of the sled, which buzzed and thrummed beneath him. Boomer scurried out from beneath his poncho and the blanket covering them both, ran up his neck, up the back of his head, and then clung to his knitted hat with her claws. 

“No.” Boomer said, shaking her head. “No, no, no, nononononono!” 

Mid ‘no’ there was a lurch from the sled and Sumac felt his magic get away from him. The sled accelerated like a rocket, shooting forward, right into Lemon Hearts, who tumbled into the sled with Sumac, and she made a valiant effort not to harm the fragile colt while falling. Trixie and Twinkleshine both let out a cry of alarm, and then the sled took off. 

Like a bullet, it zoomed forwards, and Ponyville became a blur. Sumac’s cheeks were peeled back away from his teeth, and they flapped like flags in the wind. Somehow, Lemon was behind him now, holding him, and supporting his neck. Boomer was still shouting ‘no’ over and over while clinging to his hat. Everything was a confusing jumble and Sumac’s senses were overwhelmed. 

Lemon Hearts was laughing. 

She laughed like a mad pony, bellowing laughter, and she also squealed with delight while squeezing Sumac. A shield bubble manifested around them, protecting them as the sled picked up speed. And the sled was picking up speed, oh goodness, it was getting faster, and faster, and somehow faster still. Ponies shrieked and screamed as they dove out of the way, trying to dodge the runaway rocket-sled that was shooting through Ponyville, skimming over the snow, accelerating to absurd speeds. 

Protected from the wind, Sumac’s face sagged back into place, but only for a moment, because when he recovered from having his face almost slip-slide to the back of his skull, he began grinning. He was doing magic! Real, serious, honest-to-goodness magic! Already, he could feel the drain on his system, but he didn’t care, not in the slightest. He was going Rainbow Dash-fast through the streets of Ponyville and Lemon Hearts was laughing her head off. 

Sumac’s euphoric elation was dulled by the sudden realisation that he didn’t know how to steer and this straight run couldn’t last forever. He also didn’t know how to stop—a real problem indeed. He blasted past a startled Starlight Glimmer and the rush of his wake peeled off her hat, her scarf, and her earmuffs. She shouted something, but Sumac couldn’t hear it, and the colt wondered if he had broken the sound barrier or something. 

FWOOM! 

He was still accelerating, which concerned him, and Sumac could feel the magical expenditure sucking him dry. Lemon was shaking with laughter—was it terrified laughter? Sumac had no way of knowing. To his left, a pegasus zoomed up and flew at street level beside him. It was Rainbow Dash, of course it was, and she looked as though she wasn’t even trying hard to keep up. She kept pace just outside Lemon’s shield bubble. 

Glancing at Rainbow Dash, Sumac couldn’t help himself. He asked, “Hey, slowpoke, wanna race?” 

To which Rainbow Dash replied, “Wanna be grounded forever?” 

Just as Rainbow Dash had spoken, there was a brilliant, blinding flash of magenta light, and Twilight Sparkle exploded into existence just above the streaking runaway sled, along with two very worried, very concerned looking mares, neither of which were laughing like Lemon was laughing. Twilight Sparkle began to cast a spell, Boomer wailed like a siren, and much to Sumac’s relief, (and his dismay) the sled began to slow. 



 

After the initial shock wore off and a few angry words were uttered, the kisses came. Sumac bore them, stoic, steadfast, there wasn’t much he could do about it. Trixie hadn’t said anything about being proud of him, and Twinkleshine had only made a brief mention about him being a bonehead. He was getting kissed on both sides, which was kind of awful, but also kind of nice, even though he would never, ever admit to this. 

Twilight stood in the snow, staring, a blank expression upon her face. Rainbow Dash hovered beside her, laughing, and trying to get Twilight to smile. Lemon Hearts still had an uncontrollable case of the giggles and she was almost wheezing as she struggled for air. Sumac was drained and his whole body trembled with the need for food, even though he had just eaten some rice pudding. 

Running through the snow, Starlight Glimmer approached, a wide, reckless grin on her face. Twilight turned her head to look at her, and then her serious mien gave way when the corners of her mouth kept tugging upwards. With Rainbow Dash nudging her, Twilight began to chortle while Sumac received more tag-team kisses on both sides. 

With Starlight standing beside her, Twilight exploded into guffaws of braying laughter, and her eyes squeezed shut. One foreleg raised and she pressed her fetlock into her barrel while she threw her head back and howled in an uncontrollable manner. With a sheepish expression, Sumac didn’t know what was so funny. 

“What’s so funny, Twilight?” Trixie asked, saying what Sumac was thinking. 

Gasping, Twilight tried to pull herself together, but failed. With a sob of laughter and tears streaming from her eyes, she fell over into the snow with a wet, slushy squish. Rainbow looked down, laughing herself, and watched as Twilight clutched her sides. Starlight Glimmer began wrapping her scarf back around her neck, shaking her head, and chuckling. 

“Twilight, what is it that is so funny?” Trixie repeated while one foreleg remained around Sumac’s neck and her muzzle hovered close to his fuzzy cheek.

“Sumac has hit that stage of reckless experimentation,” Twilight gasped, and she gulped in as much air as she could so she could keep going while still laughing. “He’s smart enough to try new things... but not wise enough to understand the consequences… all three of you are so horned! The next few years are going to be so interesting! It took Princess Celestia to control my magical outbursts!” 

“Ugh.” Trixie’s whole face sagged as the weight of Twilight’s words bore down upon her. 

“This, from the filly that turned her parents into potted plants.” Twinkleshine’s deadpan did nothing to stop Twilight’s laughter, and she watched through narrowed eyes as the alicorn rolled over in the snow. “I think the three of us will be more than a match for Sumac.” 

“HAH!” Twilight’s outburst startled Starlight, who let out a spooked whinny. “If the three of you survive the next decade whole of mind and body, I’ll give you a medal or a gold star for exceptional parenting!” 

“Not funny, Sparkle,” Twinkleshine said. 

“No, it’s not funny,” Lemon Hearts added, “it’s hilarious!” 

“Lemon!” Twinkleshine turned to look at her lemony yellow companion. 

“We’re so horned.” Trixie now had a dull, almost vacant stare that focused on nothing in particular. “My son will be our undoing. Twilight is right. We’re going to have to step up our game if we hope to survive the next ten years.” With a slow turn of her head, Trixie gave her colt a worried, but loving smooch on his cheek. 

Sumac, realising that he was the source of so much fear, doubt, and worry, began to giggle. 



 

The post-magic jitters were pretty bad this time, but Sumac took them as a sign of something done right. Lemon Hearts was now in the kitchen—still giggling—and fixing a snack. Now, for Sumac himself, he had been unwrapped from his outerwear like a holiday gift and left to sit on the couch with Boomer, who eyed him in a manner most suspicious, as if perhaps he might make the couch go rocketing off at any moment. Boomer did not trust the couch to remain still, not after what Sumac had just done. 

Both Trixie and Twinkleshine gave strange looks at the mop that Lemon Hearts had left by the front door, a subtle hint that the entryway needed cleaning, and it did. Twinkleshine blinked once and then stared at the mop with her head tilted off to one side. Trixie meanwhile, she looked down at the floor, which was both wet and dirty. 

“Who stood my dance partner down on her head?” Twinkleshine asked, and Trixie began to snigger. 

Grinning, Twinkleshine made the mop vanish, reverse-conjuring it back to the closet, and then she cast a spell that cleaned the entire entryway, leaving it spotless. She then puckered up, pointed her lips forwards, and blew away the little curl of smoke from her horn with a barrel-expanding huff. Trixie seemed impressed, and then looked Twinkleshine in the eye. 

“We should teach Sumac how to do that.” 

“Hmm.” Twinkleshine nodded, her head bobbing up and down. “We could make him practice magic and keep the house spotless, barring any disasters.” 

“I’m pretty sure I could mess it up.” Sumac ignored Boomer, who was tugging on her frills and making a big show of her disapproval of his actions. “I’ve got skills.” 

Trixie was just about to respond when there was a knock on the door. Twinkleshine and Trixie exchanged a look with one another, then both turned to the door, horns glowing. Both appeared calm, collected, and it was Trixie who pulled the door open, revealing their visitor who stood just outside. 

“Maud!” Trixie stepped aside to allow Maud to come inside and made a gesture. “How are things? Is your new daughter getting settled in?” 

Now inside, Maud moved away from the door, which was pushed shut. Boomer freaked out, did a backflip, and then began bouncing up and down on the couch cushion. Sumac somehow lifted up his foreleg to wave. Maud turned to face Trixie, blinked once, and then without warning, she embraced the blue unicorn in a warm, affectionate hug. 

“Megara is wonderful,” Maud said in reply to Trixie’s question. “She’s having a little trouble adjusting, but she tries really hard. Tarnish keeps crying and I think he needs his friends. I know that Pebble needs her special somepony.” After a squeeze, Maud pulled away. “We should stick to the plan. Come over, stay with us. I think that Megara will do just fine with a few more ponies around. She might be half-manticore, but she is also half-pony, and that pony half comes from Tarnish.” 

“Are you sure?” Trixie asked. “We don’t mind a little delay and we understand.” 

“I’m absolutely positive.” Maud stood there, expressionless, and her words lacked any sort of engaging enthusiasm. “I came to help you haul everything over.” 

Boomer gave herself a powerful bounce, and at the highest point, she kicked off against the back of the couch. This launched her across the room, and she spread out, stretching her membranes taut. Flattened out, she glided from the couch over to where Maud was, and landed upon the mare’s back. With lightning-quick movements, Boomer scrambled up Maud’s neck and perched upon her head. Maud’s eyes angled upwards, and the sight made everypony who saw it laugh. 

“I rescued your egg,” Maud remarked in her own particular monotone. “Tarnish and I got into a big fight. There was a lot of punching, kicking, smashing, and whipping.” 

While Maud spoke, Boomer pantomimed each one of these actions. 

“One very dumb pony tried to hold your egg hostage,” Maud continued, telling her story in a flat, feelingless voice. “He threatened to smash it on the ground. The things that Tarnish did to that pony can’t be told in a story for foals or dragon hatchlings, but suffice it to say, he did bad things. He did very bad things, and I didn’t tell him to stop. Not right away. I’m not a nice pony after all. I hope I get rocks in my stocking.” 

There was a gulp from Sumac on the couch. Perhaps he was imagining it, but he could almost hear the emphasis in Maud’s voice. Or maybe he had spent enough time around Maud to know the subtle inflections she added to the things she said. Trixie stood there, blinking, and then shivered with enough force to make her ears flop around. Grabbing one of Maud’s ears, Boomer clutched it in her claws and held it close to her thin body. Maud, still looking up, just stood there, looking at the hatchling perched on her head. 

“I think that you and Megara are going to get along. I can’t wait to watch you both play together…”