//------------------------------//
// Chapter 21 
// Story: Princess Twilight Sparkle's School for Fantastic Foals: Winter Break 
// by kudzuhaiku 
//------------------------------//

Betrayal was the worst of offenses, and the one that bothered Sumac the most. The scent of flowers was heavy in his nostrils, cloying, and he could feel the sleekness of his own pelt after being slathered down with far too much conditioner. This was the doing of one Trixie Lulamoon, who had scrubbed every single inch of him, sparing nothing, and slaying his dignity in much the same way a knight slew monsters. Even worse, she had laughed, taking amusement in his dolorous despair-driven distress. 

Now, everypony was obsessed with how fluffy he was, and oh how he hated them all. 

Even worse, his sulkiness was considered cute, and he had no adequate means to express his rage, his sense of betrayal, or his piqued vexation. And he had so much vexation to express. A waiting sneeze offered both torment and hope: it tickled something awful, but he hoped that his muzzle would become a mess of snot for some adult to clean up, should his face explode. 

“Sumac, a bird might come by and poop on your lower lip if it sticks out any farther,” Lemon Hearts said to him while she smiled a sweet, somewhat teasing smile. 

“How I despise you all,” he replied, speaking with slow care, drawing out the words as much as possible for dramatic effect. 

Lemon, looking impressed, elbowed Twinkleshine in the ribs. “Check him out, he’s gone evil on us. Better tell Twilight to gather the Elements of Harmony.” Both mares began to snicker together, and when Sumac snorted in contempt, they laughed even harder. 

It was then that things went from bad to worse. Limestone picked up Sumac, cradled him in her forelegs while she sat back on her haunches, and then she began to sniff him. The snuffles tickled, but Sumac was in no mood to laugh, and Limestone made exaggerated faces of sheer bliss. While he was being cuddled, Tarnish cleared his throat, stood up, and announced: 

“We’re going out to a matinee today. That’s what I had planned. There is a showing of Daring Do and the Cultists of Collie Ma starting at twelve minutes after one o’clock. I already have the tickets for most of us, but I didn’t know we’d have extras. I’m sure everything will be fine though.” 

“Tarnish… I hate to be that pony,” Octavia said, “but that has a recommended minimum viewing age of ten. Young adults and older.” 

“Eh, Pebble and Sumac are like little adults trapped in tiny bodies—”

“That may be somewhat true, Tarnish, but still… I have some concerns.” Octavia paused when she realised that the entire room was looking at her, a terrible fate for an introvert to find themselves in. As dreadful as it was, Octavia somehow managed. 

“I ran it by Trixie and she’s okay with it.” Tarnish glanced in Trixie’s direction for a moment, but she was distracted, as she was making a valiant effort to tie up Megara’s mane with a ribbon. “I asked Maud, and she was fine with it. I suppose I should have asked you as well, because you also have a say in what goes on with Pebble.” 

“Why, thank you, Tarnish, that is quite gracious of you.” Octavia blinked, turned to look at Vinyl, who nodded, and then she relented. “I suppose everything will be just fine. They just seem… young, that’s all.” 

“If anything too awful happens, we can cover their eyes.” Cloudy, a practical mare, gave Octavia a nod. “Most of the movie will probably be fine, with just a few scary bits.” 

Her worried expression softening, Octavia seemed to agree, and then voiced her feelings. “Cloudy is right. There are always a few scenes that are there just for shock value, and the rest of the movie is mostly harmless. If somepony’s heart is about to be torn out of their barrel, I want little eyes covered.” 

“Fair enough.” Tarnish bowed his head for a second, and when he lifted it once more, he was smiling. “With Sumac, it’ll be easy. We’ll just take away his glasses.” 

Still being cuddled by an over-affectionate Limestone, Sumac made his feelings known with a raspberry, which was aimed at Tarnish. He was powerless, there was nothing he could do, and it galled him that she seemed to like how he smelled. It was awful, just awful, and if only there was a way he could contact Twilight Velvet, something could be done about this travesty. 

“Somepony is so cute when they’re moody,” Limestone said, and she laid it on thick with the baby-talk. “Plus, you are so snuggly-wuggly soft!” 

“Pebble, help me!” 

“No.” 

The list of betrayers grew ever-longer. This was a terrible position to be stuck in, and when Limestone’s nose pressed in just behind his ear, he made a feeble effort to squirm because of the tickle-tingles running up and down his spine. Even worse, he felt like giggling, and right now, he did not want to giggle. He wanted to be mad, to be sulky, he wanted revenge for having been made to take a bath with his mother. 

“They’re so soft when they’re little,” Limestone murmured, and her words tickled Sumac’s ear. “So small, so soft, and so precious. Little hooves, little legs, cute little button noses, adorable little eyes, and soft, strokable tummies.” 

“Limestone, do you want to have a foal?” Cloudy asked. 

Sumac could feel Limestone’s embrace of him tighten, but nothing painful. Her breathing quickened, and he could feel her heart pounding now. In fact, he could hear it, or maybe he was imagining the sound. Each breath was hard and fast against the back of his ear, and tickled the back of his neck. 

“There’s no shame in it.” It was Igneous who said these words. “Limestone, you’ve proven yourself. With nothing but your own savings, you’ve founded an empire for yourself. You make jobs for others. Your business acumen allowed you to survive this bad spell with Mister Mariner. These are different times, Limestone. Mares can be successful and be mothers. Just look at Maud.” 

“Maybe later.” Limestone sounded hesitant, uncertain. “Maybe someday soon…” 





Looking at Pinny Lane, it was easy to see where Tarnish got his build from, both were tall, lean, and lanky. That said, seeing Pebble with her grandmother, Pinny, there was something similar about the both of them, but Sumac—try as he might—could not figure out what it was. Pebble was short, compact, and solid, very much like the bowling balls that Pinny made her living with. 

There was also the fact that Pebble was a different pony with her grandmothers around. Both of them. She acted one way with Pinny, and another way entirely with Cloudy. It was a complexity that fascinated Sumac, and he watched every move that Pebble made while she interacted with Pinny. 

Pebble was telling Pinny everything she possibly could about Megara, and Pinny hung on every word that came out of her granddaughter’s mouth. Oblivious that others were talking about her, Megara watched as Boomer slept in the fireplace. She sat there, looking forlorn about the fact that her playmate was out of commission and napping. Every so often, she would let heave a sad-sounding sigh. 

Octavia, Vinyl, and Cloudy were making up for time lost over tea, talking to one another in hushed voices. Well, Vinyl was being quiet, but she nodded or shook her head when appropriate. Cloudy kept reaching out to touch Octavia’s stomach, and the prim, grey earth pony did nothing to stop the older mare. 

Igneous, sitting at the table, read the newspaper with an occasional, “Harrumph.” 

“I gotta go, I have to put some hours in at Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie Pie announced, and then, before anypony could reply or respond, she was gone, leaving behind a frosting-scented cloud in her wake.

Without lowering his newspaper, Igneous wickered, and then said, “I’m proud of that one.” 

Sumac was getting ready to say something when a bright red ball bounced up against his leg. It rolled away just a little—but not much—and when he looked up in the direction the ball had come from, he saw Twinkleshine giving him an expectant stare. Most ponies couldn’t resist kicking a ball around, and Sumac was no different. The urge sprang up and he found himself in a playful mood. 

Horn glowing, he made ready to send the ball back in Twinkleshine’s direction, but she stopped him with a grunt and a shake of her head. Lifting a leg, she made a kicking motion, and he understood the purpose of this exercise. When he lifted his own left foreleg, he wobbled a bit, and had to fight to keep himself upright. It felt good though, to fight, to struggle, to have a goal. 

Flexing his leg a few times to get warmed up, he prepared himself for the kick. His leg was stiff from misuse, but the tightness seemed eager to go away. Focused on the ball, he was unaware that many adults had stopped what they were doing to watch him, and Pebble as well. There was also the fact that Sumac was unaware of his own smile. 

When he felt ready, he gave the ball a mighty kick—and it rolled for about a yard and a half. Disheartened, he let out a sigh, shook his head, and then stared at the ball, feeling disappointed with himself. Twinkleshine knew just what to do though. She rose from her cushion, got up, lifted her cushion, marched across the kitchen, plopped her cushion down next to the ball, sat down, and smiled. 

With a light tap, she sent the ball rolling back in Sumac’s direction.

Now, because Twinkleshine had accommodated him without humiliating him, he was invested in this moment. His elbow creaked a bit, but it felt good to move, and when he kicked the ball he felt only a slight pain travel up through his leg. Some unseen force rippled through the herd, and others moved to join the game, compelled by some silent prompting. 

Trixie gave Twinkleshine a rough shove, and then planted herself down on the same cushion as the pearlescent mare. Looking disappointed, Lemon Hearts saw that there was no room for her, so she had to plant her cushion next to theirs and then sit as close as possible. There was something flirty about all three mares, but Sumac failed to notice it. 

When the ball rolled across the floor once more, Megara’s attention was captured. She ceased pining away for her slumbering playmate, and focused her predatory gaze upon the rolling ball instead, her tail swishing behind her. Tarnish too, watched the ball rolling, and his gaze was no less predatory, though nopony seemed to notice or be put off. He put down the book he was reading and watched, his head moving from side to side with the motions of the ball. 

The ball had become a herd-focus, and the need to be doing the same as everypony else was a siren song too powerful to resist, even for Igneous. The newspaper was folded, put down on the table, and he came over to sit down on a cushion that Lemon Hearts had been kind enough to levitate over for him. Now, he too, kicked the ball around. 

Next to her husband, Maud too, was reading a book, and it was titled, Silent Leviathans: The Standing Stones of the Grittish Isles. As interesting and compelling as this book was, she pulled her muzzle out of its pages to watch the goings on the kitchen. For a moment, she glanced at her husband, and then, with a slow turn of her head, she returned her muzzle to where it belonged, buried in the pages of her book. 

The clock on the mantle read ten forty-nine. 

For Sumac, time had lost all meaning, because he never wanted this to end. This group of ponies, all of them, every last one of them, were family, a fact now cemented in his brain. He wasn’t aware that he had reached this conclusion down in the depths of his psyche—all he felt was a manifestation of profound happiness—and even if the moment couldn’t last forever, he wanted the emotions that he felt right now to persist. 

When Twinkleshine leaned over, grabbed Lemon Hearts by the cheeks, and gave her a passionate kiss, the expected embarrassment wasn’t overwhelming, and he just sort of dealt with it. Sure, his cheeks turned red, and he felt kind of squirmy, and his ears grew hot, but none of this mattered because they too—like him—were happy. This was just something that happy ponies did. 

Lemon Hearts, perhaps overtaken by love, ignored the ball when it came rolling close to her. She leaned in closer to Trixie and Twinkleshine, touched them both, and there was adoration in her eyes. Lemon’s love was palpable, and Sumac felt a tightness in his throat as he became caught up in the moment. Whatever was about to happen next, he wanted to see it, to feel it, to experience it to its fullest. 

“Trixie, Twinkle, this isn’t the moment I had planned, but it feels perfect nonetheless.” Lemon hesitated, blinking, and she now looked shy. Reaching out, she took Trixie’s hoof into hers, and then Twinkleshine’s. She gave both a squeeze, a little tug, and pulled them both a little bit closer. “Both of you… marry me, please? The Winter Moon Festival is coming, and I think that would be just perfect. We could spend the rest of our lives together and we could be happy… what do you say? Just three friends… spending our lives together… doing what is right for one another, and for little Sumac too. We stand a better chance together, dontcha say?” 

The sting of tears was overwhelming, and Sumac waited for his mothers to reply…