Dawn came as Celestia’s sun rose against the reddish orange and cerulean blue morning sky, and covered by a few white puffy clouds, and more leaves were falling. In the bedroom of Fluttershy’s cottage, Thomas slept adorably underneath the soft and warm bed covers with his head placed on a soft pillow, and holding his teddy bear that Rarity fixed. He was asleep in his pajamas when he came to Equestria, until he started to murmur in his sleep when felt something softly gentle against his shoulder and then heard a soft voice whisper in his ear, “Thomas, it’s time to wake up.” He slowly blinked his eyes open, and yawned softly as he rubbed his eyes for a view, until it revealed the greenish blue eyes and soft, warm smile of his mother, Fluttershy.
“Hi, Momma,” Thomas said softly. Fluttershy then leaned her head over and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead, while she stroked his shoulder with her hoof, “Good morning, Thomas.” After Thomas carefully climbed out of the bed, and gently landed on the floor, he went to her, hugged her neck softly and laid his head against her chest fur, until she held him with one foreleg, and then she placed her head on top of his head. While he nuzzled his cheek on her chest fur, he suddenly heard her heartbeat. After a nice cuddle, Fluttershy looked at him in the eyes, “Are you ready for your first day of school, Thomas?”
Thomas nervously swallowed, then looked back up at her, “I am, b-but... Momma? I’m not really sure. W-Wh-What if the other ponies don’t like me because I’m... d-different?” Fluttershy smiled warmly at him, then nuzzled with him again, “Shhhhhh... It’s okay, sweetie. I’m sure they’ll like you, because you are a very sweet and polite little colt. Plus, You have Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom to look out for you.” She gave Thomas a kiss on the forehead and continued to gently hug him. “That’s nice. I’m glad they’ll be there, but I’m still not sure about the other ponies or the teacher,” Thomas said. Fluttershy smiled warmly at him, “Don’t worry. Ms. Cheerilee is very kind, and a sweet school teacher. I’m sure she and her students will like you.” Thomas nodded, then Fluttershy smiled warmly, “There’s my sweet little colt.” She kissed his forehead, then put him on the floor. “How about if you get dressed while I fix your breakfast and pack your lunch? I bought you your school supplies yesterday.”
“Okay, Momma. Thank you,” Thomas said. Fluttershy smiled warmly at him, and then turned to trot downstairs to the kitchen to cook her son’s breakfast. After that, Thomas went over to the chest and got out the shirt he wore when meeting Rarity and the others, a fire engine red jacket with safety yellow stripes, and his blue jeans. Then walked downstairs to the den and he looked at the animals enjoying their breakfast, then waved at them, “Good morning, guys.” They chittered and chirped and waved back at him with their paws and talons, then Thomas went to sit down on the couch.
Fluttershy walked over to the living room with a plate of haycakes topped with warm apple pie filling and whipped cream on her back, and a glass of milk in a forehoof. She gently lowered herself down next to Thomas, and set up both the plate of haycakes, then the glass of milk in front of him, “Here you go, sweetie. I thought you might like some haycakes for this morning. I took care of the butter and syrup for you, and topped them with some whipped cream and apple pie filling. I hope you like it.” Thomas nodded, then he ate his breakfast. “Thanks, Momma. They’re really good,” Thomas said. “Anytime, sweetheart. I’ll go pack your lunch and then take you over, okay?” Fluttershy said. Thomas nodded, then he continued to eat his haycakes.
After a couple minutes of eating, Fluttershy came back with Thomas’s school supplies and his bagged lunch. Thomas took the bag and looked in it, “Momma, what’s this?”
“I made you a peanut butter sandwich, and packed it with applesauce, some fresh baby carrots and chopped celery pieces, and some grape juice to drink,” Fluttershy said, “Are you ready to got to school, sweetie?” Thomas nodded, “Can I ride on your back so you can take me there?”
“Of course, sweetheart. I’d love to let you ride me this morning,” Fluttershy said, then after she lowered herself, he climbed on her back. “I’m ready, Momma,” Thomas said. “Okay, my pretties. I’m going to take Thomas over to school, and then we’ll have some time together, okay? Now, be good while I’m gone,” Fluttershy said to her animals, who responded with chirps and chitters, then Fluttershy walked over to the schoolhouse.
While they were walking, the pathway to school was very peaceful. Thomas saw the ponies waving at him and giving him warm smiles, and he felt great joy in his heart to know that everypony was finally being nice to him, so he waved back. Until Thomas saw many orange leaves falling from the trees, he then thought of something, “Momma, are there any seasons or traditional holidays here?”
“Hmm? Oh yes, we do have seasons including spring, summer, fall and winter in Equestria,” Fluttershy replied. “And we celebrate a few holidays. Why do you ask?”
“Because in my world, we celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving in the fall, and Christmas during the winter,” Thomas said. “I never got anything for Christmas, except my teddy bear.”
“Aww... It’s okay, baby. We have holidays like those, but in the fall, we celebrate Nightmare Night, and during the winter, we celebrate Hearth’s Warming, but we also have Winter Wrap-Up,” Fluttershy explained.
“What’s Winter Wrap-Up, Momma?” Thomas asked. Fluttershy started to explain, “It takes during the last day of winter, and it’s when we all come together to clean up the snow off the ground, wake up all the animals that are hibernating during the winter, and bring the birds that flew south for the winter back here so they can get ready. Nightmare Night is when we dress up in costumes, play games, and collect candy so that we can give some of it to Nightmare Moon, and Hearth’s Warming is when families and friends get together, give presents, but to celebrate the first appearance of Equestria.”
“Those two almost sound like Halloween and Christmas in my world. We do the same thing, but on Halloween, we keep the candy and eat it after we go trick-or-treating. On Christmas, we do the same thing, but we celebrate the coming of our rightful Lord and Savior,” Thomas said. “But we wait for the snow to melt so that spring can come.”
“I see. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your first Nightmare Night and Hearth’s Warming,” Fluttershy said. “I know, Momma,” Thomas said, when suddenly, they saw a building up ahead that looked like a small schoolhouse painted in a deep pink color with a brick colored roof, a small round bell tower, white wooden designs that were carefully handcrafted on each corner and on the walls, a few sets of windows on each side of the building with pink hearts on top, and there was a sign that had a book on it and two ponies on the top corners.
Thomas also saw a playground with picnic benches outside, and was relieved that he could have time to play outside and somewhere to eat his lunch. As they arrived, Fluttershy stopped and then saw Ms. Cheerilee, the school teacher, standing on the steps and welcoming the fillies and colts inside the school. She was an earth pony with deep dark pink fur, a pale light pink and white colored mane and tail, green eyes, and her flank had a cutie mark of three daisies with smiles. “Oh! Hello, Fluttershy! And how are you doing this morning? Anything new?” Ms. Cheerilee asked. “Oh, nothing. I’m fine. But remember that registration from yesterday?” Fluttershy replied. “Yes, I do,” Ms. Cheerilee said.
Fluttershy turned her head around, and she saw Thomas hiding underneath her mane, “Thomas? Sweetheart, it’s okay. Come on out so you can meet your teacher, Ms. Cheerilee.” Thomas slowly climbed on her back, and then walked towards the teacher. “H-Hi, Ms. Cheerilee,” Thomas said with a light smile.
She smiled back, and then she lowered her head down to look down at the little colt, “My, my. It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Thomas. As your teacher, I promise that me and the students will help you anyway we can and that you will love coming to school here.”
After Thomas shook hands with the teacher by using both his hands to gently shake her hoof, he then turned around and saw Fluttershy lowering herself towards his level, then she placed her hoof on his shoulder, “Thomas, I'm going to go back to the cottage and probably might do some social time with your aunts later, but I promise I’ll come back for you. But if I can’t make it this afternoon, you can hang out with the girls until I come pick you up and take you home. Okay, sweetheart?” Thomas looked up and nodded, “Okay, Momma. Promise me you won’t forget me.” Fluttershy hugged her son one more time, “Shhhhhh... Don’t cry, sweetie. I’ll be back soon. I promise. Now you have a good day and I’ll see you later.” Thomas nodded and then waved back at his mother, until she walked back to the cottage. After she left, Thomas walked inside with Ms. Cheerilee.
As Ms. Cheerilee walked into the classroom, Thomas took a peek and saw the students chatting and laughing, and they were sitting on small wooden desks in three rows. On both sides, there were bookshelves on either side of the room, and a globe sat on top of one shelf.
“Ms. Cheerilee, can I wait here?” Thomas asked softly. “Of course, dear. I’ll announce you in a second,” Ms. Cheerilee said, then she turned her attention towards the students. “Alright class, settle down.” The students then calmed themselves and took their seats, “Good morning, Ms. Cheerilee.”
“Good morning, students,” Ms. Cheerilee replied. “Now, before we begin an exciting lesson for today, I would like for you all to meet a new student who will be joining us for the rest of the year.” She then turned to Thomas, who was standing at the door, with a warm smile on her face. “Thomas, would you be so kind as to stand up right here for the class so they can meet you?” Thomas nodded, and walked into the classroom. “Class, this is Thomas Mercer Shy. He’s going to be here for the rest of the year, so I want you to make him feel welcome,” Ms. Cheerilee said. “Hello, Thomas,” the students said. “Hi,” Thomas said. “Okay, Thomas, go ahead and choose a desk and then we can get started in a few minutes,” Ms. Cheerilee said, then Thomas nodded and went to go pick a seat.
“Hey! Thomas! Over here!” Thomas heard the voice of Apple Bloom, and then saw her with both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. “Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo!” Thomas exclaimed. “We managed to save ya a seat! Ya can sit by me if ya like,” Apple Bloom said, then Thomas nodded as he went over to sit next to Apple Bloom. “I hope you like your time here at our school, Thomas!” Sweetie Belle said, sitting in front of his desk and giving him a warm smile. “But don’t worry, buddy. We’ll look out for you today because we’ve got your back,” Scootaloo said, then she gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Thanks, girls,” Thomas said.
Suddenly, the bell rang and Ms. Cheerilee stood up on all four legs and walked over to the chalkboard. “All right, class. Today’s lesson is on all ponies on Equestria. And after lunch is basic mathematics. So, which one of you can tell me how many types of ponies there are in Equestria and name them, including one example about their ability?” She saw Thomas raise his hand. “Thomas?”
“Uh... there are four of them,” Thomas said. “Unicorns because they have the ability to levitate objects in an aura by using their horns, earth ponies because they have strength by doing hard work, pegasi because they have the ability to fly and walk on clouds, and alicorns because they’re royal and elite and they have the abilities of both a unicorn and a pegasus.”
“Very good, Thomas. Excellent,” Ms. Cheerilee said, then she continued with the lesson, and Thomas wrote a few notes in his notebook. Meanwhile, during the lesson, a earth pony filly was looking at the new colt, but she had a disapprovingly disgusted look. Her fur was light pink, she had a mane and tail with moderate violet and white streaks, sky blue eyes, she wore a two-toned violet tiara on her head, and her flank had a cutie mark of a tiara. Her name was Diamond Tiara, the schoolhouse bully. Next to her was another earth pony filly, but her fur was moderate grey, she had a pale grey and white pigtailed mane and tail with white streaks, light violet eyes, and her attire included big rimmed light blue glasses and a pearl necklace around her neck, and her flank had a cutie mark of a silver spoon with a little pink heart on the handle. Her name was Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara’s BFF and she had a demeanor.
“So, the little twerp thinks he can come into our school and try to steal my spotlight, does he? We’ll see about that,” Diamond Tiara said, with a mean attitude. “What are you thinking about, Diamond?” Silver Spoon asked. Diamond Tiara then thought of an idea until she made a mischievous grin on her face, then made a calm and elegant smile with her eyes closed, “You know what I think, Silver? I think we need to give the new colt a warm welcome to our school, but teach him a lesson about stealing my spotlight, so we’re going to show him who really runs here.” Her grin was more mischievous, and made a confused brow, and Silver Spoon nodded in agreement. “We’ll deal with him after class,” Diamond Tiara said.
Time went by slowly, until a few hours later, the bell rang for both lunch and recess. “Alright, class. We will continue on to mathematics after lunch,” Ms. Cheerilee said, then she dismissed her class, including Thomas. When he went outside, he saw all the fillies and colts playing in the jungle gym, the swings, and their hangout games like hopscotch, kickball, monkey in the middle, and jump rope. When he sat down on a bench, he took out his book and continued to read while he ate his sandwich. When suddenly he saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo come over with their lunches. “Hey, girls,” Thomas said. “Hey, Thomas,” they said in unison, then they sat down with him. “Are you enjoying school?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Mmhmm, it’s going good and thanks for being there for me. Momma was expecting you to look out for me today,” Thomas said. “No problem, pal,” Apple Bloom said. “How about we go play when you’re done?” Scootaloo said. “Okay,” Thomas replied.
Meanwhile, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were talking to themselves about how much they hated Thomas, but lucky for them, nopony was there listening to their little chat. “Ugh... I can’t believe that little twerp just stole my spotlight on purpose! Who invited that... thing anyway?!” Diamond Tiara said with a snobbish attitude. “First, Fluttershy walked him through Ponyville to meet Princess Twilight, and then he had some kind of ‘so-special gigantic party’ at Canterlot that caused everypony to give him more attention than me, and now Ms. Cheerilee invites him to our school and causes him to get real smart in front of all of us, and now those blank-flanked losers are liking him, even though he’s not a pony?”
“I hear you, Diamond. I really do. He’s not really that special,” Silver Spoon said. “What should we do with him?”
Diamond Tiara then thought of a plan, “Never fear, my dear Silver Spoon. We’ll play our part soon, but for now, let’s just wait for for the right moment. Then, we’ll teach him a lesson that he’ll soon regret about messing with the wrong pony, and it’ll cause his life here to be so miserable!” Silver Spoon nodded in agreement, then they did their special handshake by clapping their hooves and bumping their flanks together, “Bump! Bump! Sugar lump! Rump!”
Few minutes later, Sweetie Belle was pushing Thomas on the swing and they were laughing together, and then when he got off, they were off to play ball, until Thomas was stopped by two fillies.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here, Silver Spoon?” Diamond Tiara snobbishly asked. “It looks like the new colt, and he’s already made friends with those blank-flanks,” Silver Spoon said. “Well, isn’t that cute? Not!” Diamond Tiara said, until Thomas started to have tears in his eyes, “What do you two want from me?”
Diamond Tiara walked closer, causing Thomas to walk backwards, “What I want? I’ll tell you what I want.” Until he fell backwards and started crawling, Thomas started to have fear in his eyes until Diamond Tiara pressed her face to Thomas’s face and gave him a death stare, “Listen, you little runt. Did you actually think you can just come into my school and steal My spotlight? MY SPOTLIGHT?! HUH?! DO YOU?!”
Thomas was now more scared than he never was in his life, “N-N-No. I-I-I w-w-was-wasn’t trying t-to...” Diamond Tiara stomped her hoof on the ground, causing him to jump, “SHUT UP! And do you have any idea who you’re dealing with? And did you think that after the big party hosted by some of my idols, including Princess Twilight, THE Princess Twilight, and did you think you could just choose to come here from another distant world and be adopted by some loving family?!”
“I didn’t choose to come here. I was brought here magically,” Thomas said. “But what’s that got to do with...”
“THAT’S RIGHT! So how can you even possibly think that everypony here will even love or care about you? Ha! What a laugh!” Diamond Tiara said rudely. Thomas started to sob, “Why are you doing this? I’ve done nothing to you.”
“You wanna know the truth? Nopony cares about you. Why? Because you’re not a pony, and nopony will ever care for a freak like you. You are nothing but a mistake,” Diamond Tiara said.
“Hey! Leave him alone!” said a voice, until the Crusaders, who had angry faces, surrounded themselves in front of Thomas so they can protect their friend, until he kneeled up and hugged Sweetie Belle’s little hind leg. “Thomas tries to enjoy his first day, but you two break his heart and then call him names?! How dare you pick on a sweet little colt like him?!” Sweetie Belle said. “Plus, you mess with one of us, you mess with all four of us,” Scootaloo said.
Diamond Tiara then growled with frustration. “Come on, Diamond. They’re not worth it,” Silver Spoon said. “Fine, but one more thing, you puny little worm,” Diamond Tiara said, causing the CMC to gasp. “You think everypony will stand up for you? Ha! Don’t push it too far, kid, but you don’t belong here anyways. So stay out of my way if you don’t want trouble.” Thomas nodded, “Good, but if I catch you, you’ll regret it. Later!” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walked off with evil laughs, until Diamond’s words hurt Thomas, causing some part of his heart to break with sadness.
The Crusaders turned around and saw Thomas hugging Sweetie Belle’s right hind leg. “Are you alright, Thomas?” Apple Bloom asked, gently rubbing his back with her forehoof. “Who were those two, and why were they so mean?” Thomas asked. “Those were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and they’re both nothing but troublesome, snobby and prissy little brats that like to pick on other ponies who aren’t wealthy or have cutie marks,” Sweetie Belle said. “Just don’t listen to them. They’re just trying to make your life miserable,” Scootaloo said. “But it still hurts,” Thomas said. “No matter what happens, we’ll be there to protect you, like your mother and her friends, even our sisters!” Apple Bloom said, the she and the other two gave Thomas a warm hug. “Thanks for saving me,” Thomas said. “Anytime, buddy,” Scootaloo said.
The school bell suddenly rang for lunch to end. “Okay, class. Time to come inside for our last lesson!” Ms. Cheerilee said. After they all got inside, they ended the day with mathematics and reading.
Later on that afternoon, the last bell rang. All the fillies and colts went home. When Thomas was finished packing his bag, he was about to exit the school, until Ms. Cheerilee stopped him, “Thomas? Can I talk to you, please?”
Thomas turned around and nervously gulped, “Am I in trouble, Ms. Cheerilee? I promise I didn’t do anything wrong.” Ms. Cheerilee looked down at him with a warm smile, then placed her hoof on his shoulder, “No, no, no. Of course not. You’re not in trouble, sweetie. I just want to talk to you before you go. Your friends can wait, or we can ask your mother to come, or you can walk by yourself.”
“I’d like to walk by myself,” Thomas said. “Very well. Come sit down with me and we’ll talk,” Ms. Cheerilee said.
After Thomas closed the door, he went to his teacher and sat down on a chair next to her. She placed her hoof on his back, “Are you alright, sweetheart?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?” Thomas asked. “Well, during math class, you were a little off. Is there something troubling you?” Ms. Cheerilee asked. “No. Nothing’s wrong. I just had a brain fart,” Thomas said. “Are you sure?” Ms. Cheerilee asked. “Mmhmm, but I try my best to pay attention because I love coming to school and I love to learn,” Thomas said. “Well, okay,” Ms. Cheerilee said. “But just remember. You know that you can always come over and talk to me if something’s bothering you. And as an extra, I was wondering if you would like to perform in the talent show this year,”
“Really? I’ve always wanted to be in a talent show!” Thomas said, hugging Ms. Cheerilee on the foreleg. “I promise I’ll think of a talent and give you some ideas!”
Ms. Cheerilee smiled warmly and hugged him back. “It’s a pleasure, dear. Now, you can go now and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Thomas nodded, then he grabbed his school bag and walked off to Ponyville.
While he was walking, he couldn’t stop thinking about Diamond Tiara’s words, ‘No, they’re wrong. I love my Momma, and I’m never leaving her!’ He then continued to walk home.
Later that night...
After Fluttershy fed Thomas some steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes for dinner and gave him his evening bath, she waited for Thomas to be done in the bathroom changing into his pajamas. When he walked out, he was wearing a moderate royal blue long sleeved pajama set with yellow and white stars and moons all over and dark blue cuffs and crest on the shirt, and they also came with slipper socks.
“Do you like the pajamas Auntie Rarity made for you, sweetheart?” Fluttershy asked. “Yes! I love them!” Thomas said. “Good. Now let’s get you tucked into bed,” Fluttershy said. Thomas saw Fluttershy lower her foreleg underneath him and then she held him as she carried him into his bedroom.
As Thomas laid on his bed, she tucked him under the covers, then leaned her head down towards his head and gave him a hug, then kissed him gently on the forehead. “Momma? I know I’m not a pony like you, but do you still love me, even though I’m... different?” Thomas asked. Fluttershy gasped with shock, then thought for a moment, then smiled warmly and held him in a motherly embrace and patted him on the head gently as she rubbed his back. “Oh, my sweet little colt. Of course I do love you, sweetheart, even if... you are a little different. But, why’d you ask me that question? Are you scared if I would be mad about it?” Fluttershy asked, placing her wings over him. Thomas didn’t want to bring up the hurtful words from Diamond Tiara at school, so he thought up something quick, “There’s no reason, Momma. I was just curious.”
“Okay, sweetheart. I’m glad you asked. But that kinda scared me a little,” Fluttershy said. “Sorry,” Thomas said. “It’s okay, baby. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Fluttershy said, then she gave him one more hug as she nuzzled her cheek on the top of his head, then she lowered him back on her bed, tucked him under the covers again, and gave him one more hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Now, get some sleep. You have school tomorrow.” She got up and walked out of the room after turning the light off. “Goodnight, Momma. I love you,” Thomas said. Fluttershy took one more look at him and smiled warmly at him, “Momma loves you too, sweetheart. Sweet dreams, Thomas.” She then trotted downstairs to feed her animals their dinner.
During the night, Thomas was sleeping in the bed, and he whimpered in his sleep curled up in fetal position holding his teddy bear and he covered himself with her covers because he was haunted by those cruel words of Diamond Tiara out of his head.
Nopony cares about you. Because you’re not a pony, and nopony will ever care for a freak like you. You are nothing but a mistake. A mistake... A mistake (Nopony will ever care for a freak like you)... freak like you, freak like you, freak like you... You don’t belong here anyways...
Of course I do love you, sweetheart, even if... you’re a little different...
He suddenly heard Nightmare Moon’s cackle, which caused him to wake up. While he hugged his teddy bear, he looked around and saw the bedroom, then he looked down in sadness, “No, no, no... It was just a dream, but it felt so real. Maybe Diamond Tiara was right. I don’t belong here. I guess I belong in the orphanage.” While he allowed his tears to fall, he carefully climbed out of bed, and quietly walked over to his mother’s bedroom and took one last look at Fluttershy’s sleeping form as she laid on her bed and smiled warmly in her sleep. “I’m sorry, Momma... that I was a mistake for being a son to you. But I hope you can forgive me. Anyway, Thanks for taking care of me... and letting me stay with you and letting me... be your son. I will always love you, Momma,” Thomas said, then he went to his chest and took out his grey hoodie and then put on his sneakers, and then he went to the kitchen to grab some food and put it in his bag, then he went downstairs and out the door. After he took one more look upstairs, he then closed the door, hugged himself around his small form with his arms around his chest, and then walked down the pathway towards the entrance of the Everfree Forest, then he went into the forest.