"Alright class," said the teacher, looking over the fillies, colts, and one Tsuki in her classroom. "So why does the sun rise in the morning?"
Hooves went up into the air. She picked a little filly to answer.
"The Princess does it!" she squeaked proudly.
The teacher nodded. "She does. In fact, we're all going to get to see it. In a few weeks, we'll be attending the Summer Sun Festival and watching Princess Celestia raise the sun." She smiled warmly. "She'll also be taking a few questions, so I want you all to think about what you might want to ask her."
The class erupted into chatter as little foals gabbed quite excitedly about what they might ask of the Princess of the Sun.
Toby, on the other paw, tilted his head left and right. "Toby already talk to Sun Butt."
All heads turned towards him.
Toby sat there, confused. Why were all the ponies staring. Oh! "Sun Butt is name Best Princess likes. Toby mean Princess Celestia."
The teacher shook her head a little. "Class, why don't you get into groups of three and plan what you'll ask when you get the chance. Toby, if you would, come with me?"
She walked off to the side as the class began to cluster. Toby squirmed free of his chair then was beside her in a single bound. "Yes, Miss Teacher?"
She reached up with a hoof to adjust her glasses. "You wouldn't fib to me, would you?"
Toby blinked softly. "Never!" He reared up and put a paw over his chest. "Toby not like lying. Lying is bad."
She nodded. "If you are... familiar... with the princesses, why aren't you being mentored by somepony?"
Toby let his head slowly cant to the right. "What you mean? Toby told this right place to learn magic. Is not?"
"It's a fine place," she assured with a slow nod. "But it's meant for young ponies. Are you not frustrated learning with them?"
"No." Toby's reply was simple and honest. "Toby learn other things too. Is good place. Only wish more magic time." He fell back to all fours even as he reached up a pawhand for his horns. "Toby is ready for magic."
She sat down as she regarded him. "You are a curious one. I appreciate your simplicity in this increasingly complicated world." He didn't get it and she could see that, so she just smiled. "Do you want to stay after class?"
Toby looked horrified. "Did Toby do bad?!"
"Not as a punishment," she quickly corrected. "For a private lesson. I'm still not sure if what you're after is even possible... But I'm willing to help you find out."
Toby's rigid frame relaxed as he was told he hadn't gotten into trouble. "Oh, that is different. Toby will stay."
The class was gathered back into their seats and the teaching resumed, wandering around from art time, to play time, to snack time.
During snack time, the filly Toby had originally met sat down next to him. "You didn't say you knew the princess!" Junifer accused him.
Toby lifted an ear limply before it fell back down. "Toby not know that important."
"It is!" She stuck out her tongue at him. "Why isn't she teaching you magic?"
Toby pointed up towards the castle. "Best Princess and Sun Butt busy being princesses. Toby not want to be bother, so Toby come where ponies learn magic."
Her horn glowed dimly and toby felt the slightest pull on his horns towards her. He obliged her and lowered his large face towards her smaller one. She reached up and half-climbed his head, mounting him and swinging around so she was perched just behind his horns. "You have nice horns," she complimented once she was up there. "The very first trick you should learn is making them glow."
Toby raised his head back up into its normal position with his new rider along for the journey. "How Toby do that?"
She stuck out her tongue a little thoughtfully. "All ponies have magic," she started." She tapped his head. "Everywhere. Trick is getting it here." She tapped at his horns. "Picture it like... Like glowing. Glow everywhere, then glow here." She tapped again.
He gave a bobbing before he felt her being shaken around. "Oops, sorry."
She giggled softly. "You're fun." She fell forward between his horns. "Go on! Try it!"
He tried to envision that, that he was glowing nice and bright, like the full moon in the sky that Best Princess cared for. He was a moon, his own moon, so bright and silvery, shedding gentle light across a sleeping world. He was huge, and hard to understand at a glance. He was... difficult to approach... Toby frowned. He shook away those dour thoughts and got back to the glowing.
He was glowing, from his short tail to his floppy ears. He imagined that glow flowing, gathering. He tried to push that glow into his horns, but the glow was like water, and trying to push water was not very effective. But he knew how to drink water! He sucked. He pretended to suck on the tip of his own horns to pull the water up into them, but it was like trying to drink a really cold and solid milkshake, rather than water. The glow didn't want to move.
A sudden clip-clop woke him from his reverie.
The filly on him gave a soft 'aw'. "You barely started and it stopped. I was so excited!" She pet him on the head gently. "But you did it! You glowed, a little... Maybe if you keep trying?"
Toby looked uncertain a moment before a huge grin split his face. "Yes! Toby will keep trying. You are good teacher!"
She looked quite proud of that, puffing out her chest. "You have good taste."
Toby reached up and gently set her down. "Toby will practice lots!"
The filly gave him one more congratulation before she ambled off, a satisfied grin on her little face.
The rest of the school day resulted in Toby learning very little in the way of the class itself, as he was busy trying ever so hard to glow like the moon he loved. So far as he could tell, he hadn't. None of the ponies said anything, and he imagined they would if his horns lit up in the middle of class.
As the little foals ran screaming from the building, giggling and cavorting their way to freedom, Toby remained behind, watching the teacher clean up after the class. He reached for a discarded toy and set it in the bin it had come from. "Toby will help."
The teacher quietly accepted his assistance and soon they had the schoolhouse looking presentable. "Now, I feel we should do proper introductions."
Hadn't they? Toby realized he didn't know the teacher's name at all, besides teacher. He nodded. "Toby is Toby, of the Tsuki, helper of Sombra. Nice to meet you."
She arched a brow. "Helper of Sombra? King Sombra?"
"Uh huh." He quickly bobbed his head. "He leader of Tsuki. Tsuki and ponies now friends for hundred moons."
The teacher made a quiet note to actually crack open a newspaper at some point. "I see. I am Early Start." She dipped her head at him. "It's nice to meet you too." Early sat on her haunches. "Junifer's a darling little filly. I saw she was helping you during snack time."
Toby bobbed his head quickly. "Yes! She told Toby to glow like moon. Said To--"
"I."
Toby blinked. "What?"
"When referring to yourself, use the word, 'I', not your name." She gave a little smile. "I know you're smart enough to learn."
Toby tilted his head a bit, then back the other. "So name for self. T--I... understand?"
Early smiled triumphantly. "There you go. Now, as you were saying?"
"Glow like moon," Toby repeated. "Said have magic all places. Trick is getting magic here." He reached up to tap at the top of one of his right horn. "To--" He stopped and caught himself. "I... try, but it hard!"
"What does it feel like?" Early asked with a patient tone.
Toby sat up. "I try push first, no good, so I try pull, work better, but hard, like straw is small or water too... thick."
Early considered a moment. "That could mean a few things. To start, it could just mean you have to practice more, and that 'straw' will get larger with effort. It could also mean your people have magic, but not enough to do this well." She pointed up at his horns. "The fact that you channeled any at all does mean your horns can do the job, but how well remains to be seen. Do you understand?"
Toby did not, not entirely, but he grasped the part that seemed the most important. "I practice very hard, get better." He grabbed for Early Start, pulling her in for one of his big hugs. "You are good teacher! To--I learn many things in your class." He nuzzled into her cheek, ignorant of her flustered expression. "I practice every day."
Early patted him on the back gently before she slipped free. "That's good, very good, but I do have a rule." She pointed to the vacant school desks. "No practicing while I'm lecturing. You won't learn other things if your head is in the clouds." She could see Toby's expression falling and made a soft shh noise. "Calm down. You're not as bad as many little foals. You can be taught, and want to learn, and that's important. So listen when I'm talking."
Toby's mood quickly rebounded. "I will." He brushed an ear towards her. "Listen."
"Good. For now, practice. I would have given you much the same lesson, but Junifer beat me too it." She smiled softly. "Sharp little filly, that one. I look forward to seeing where she goes in life."
Toby started trying to grasp that vision of glowing like his own furry moon when he felt a poke. Early Start was prodding his chest.
"Go home, Toby." She pat him on the shoulder. "I have to close the schoolhouse. You've learned a lot today. I'll see you on Monday."
"Not tomorrow?"
"You get the next two days off," she informed with a smile. "Me too, and I plan to enjoy it. Practice, and relax. Don't stress yourself with this. These things take time and patience."
"Patience," he repeated as he moved for the door in small hops. "I not good at that, but will try for you. I. You. I. You." He ran a tongue over his furry lips. "Names." He vanished with a tremendous leap once he was past the door, gone.
Early shook her head slowly. "You're no foal, but you may as well be..." She closed the door and locked it. It had been an interesting day, and nopony got their head stuck in random objects. She decided it qualified as a good day. "And now for a weekend..."