//------------------------------// // Ch 5 - Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? // Story: A Flurry of Problems // by MelodyMori //------------------------------// Thankfully, my dumbass blank staring at Sweetie Belle was interrupted by the door to Nurse Redheart’s office swinging open. The nurse herself poked her head out and smiled at me before waving me in with one hoof. I set the stuffed bear that I’d been stuck carrying around down in the chair I was sitting on before walking inside. It probably was because of the fact I was now in a body over half my age, but I was seriously enjoying actually walking around versus being stuck in a bed for several days. “So, Princess Flurry Heart, please take a seat” Nurse Redheart started as soon as she closed the door. “Princess Twilight already signed your discharge documents, so we just have to go over some quick instructions to make sure your transition to living back at home is as smooth as possible.” I took a second to look around the small office before nodding and taking a seat in front of the surprisingly cluttered desk. In the other seat next to me was Rarity, who was reading a floating piece of paper, her brow creased in concentration. I watched as Nurse Readheart took her seat before pulling two pieces of paper from the largest stack and passing it to me. “Your at-home care will come in two parts. First, for your apparent amnesia, you’ll meet with a counselor once a week here at Ponyville General.” Redheart pointed a hoof at the first paper, which was covered in what I assumed was legalese. If I could read it, I mean, since it was written in strange symbols and glyphs I couldn’t decipher for the life of me. “Second, in case you suffer some pain as you finish recovering from the accident you’ve been prescribed some painkillers. They should have been delivered to the Crystal Castle, but just in case the other page is a prescription.”  “Ooookay.” I looked up from the strange glyphs and smiled at the nurse. “I assume that I’ll be staying with Auntie Twilight since my parents are elsewhere?” “Yes.” Nurse Redheart nodded before waving a hoof at Rarity. “For tonight I believe you’re staying with Rarity, however, as Princess Twilight is out on ‘princess business’. Additionally, there is one more test we have to give today to help examine the extent of your potential amnesia.” “Okay, what is the test?” I asked, tilting my head in confusion.  “Well, it is a literal test.” Nurse Redheart chuckled. “Miss Cheerilee will give you a placement test at the Ponyville Schoolhouse so we can see what you remember. Also, if your aunt desires it, you can be enrolled in the school during your time here.” “Understood, ma’am.” I nodded, smiling at the nurse. Meanwhile, I felt a small part of me die a bit at the thought of going back to school. But, if I was going to be stuck here for a while, some knowledge on ‘Equestria’ would be nice, for better or for worse. “Now then, I think that is all.” Nurse Redheart hopped out of her chair and opened the door for me and Rarity to head on out. “If you ever need anything, please let me know. Hope you have a good day, Princess Flurry Heart.” I nodded to the nurse before heading out of the office with Rarity. I set the stuffed bear on my back as Rarity, Sweetie and I started heading to the hospital exit, passing by several medical staff and various injured ponies. Some of them looked at me with raised eyebrows or shock before they quickly went back to their various duties. “Alright dears, we have a very fun day before us!” Rarity cheered before looking back at Sweetie and myself with a grin. “However, first we need to get you all cleaned up Flurry. Can’t exactly have a Princess running around with that bed mane and lack of fashion. First stop, Carousel Boutique!” I blinked at Rarity before looking at Sweetie Belle, who was rolling her eyes and hiding a smile behind her hoof. Looking back at Rarity I could almost see her looking me over, fitting me for a dress or suit or something. I gave an awkward smile and took the opportunity to finally see the town I had been dropped into by whatever force shoved me into a pony body. The town itself reminded me of an old medieval town in many ways, full of mostly wooden houses with thatch roofs. There were a handful of brick or stone buildings, but they were more localized to what I would hazard was a ‘rich people’s section’ of the town. The ponies themselves were as multicolored as one could imagine, and were all surprisingly friendly, waving and saying hello to the three of us as we passed. Looking up I could see various pegasus managing the weather, somehow moving the clouds with their hooves. “Wow, this place is crazy,” I muttered under my breath as I watched the pegasi at work. “Oh, the weather team? Their work is important, but not the most flashy, don’t worry dear.” Rarity gently chided, a hint of jealousy in her tone as we began to approach a large fancy pink and blue building. “Flurry, I present to you, the Carousel Boutique! Home sweet home.” Rarity magiced a key from somewhere before unlocking the door, revealing a large shop full of dresses and pony mannequins, and other bits of pony fashion. Admittedly I was never a stylish filly but I could tell she had a lot of passion for her work, and a lot of it looked pretty nice if a bit too frilly. Rarity closed the door behind me and Sweetie, setting a ‘closed’ sign on the door before leading the two of us upstairs.  “Sweetie, would you mind setting Flurry up a bed in your room? She’s going to be staying with us for a few days while Twilight is doing, well, whatever experiment she’s lost herself in this time.” Rarity instructed Sweetie, who groaned but went into her room. “Now Flurry, no offense but you need a bath before we go visit Cheerilee. Spending almost two weeks in the hospital is not the best for somepony’s look.” Instinctively I stepped away from the unicorn but she began to nudge me towards the bathroom with a hoof. I sighed and decided I would go, while I was never a bath person I was looking forward to relaxing for a minute. Before we went in, Rarity took the stuffed bear off of my back and left it in the hall before she shuffled me into the bathroom itself.  It was a surprisingly simple bathroom for such a dramatic mare, all things considered. A porcelain sink with a large mirror on one wall next to a pony toilet, radiator, giant claw-foot tub with a fuck ton of beauty products around it. Wait. There were a lot of beauty products. Oh no. Rarity hummed as she used her magic to turn on the hot water and toss flower petals and other nice scents into the water to make it both smell good and be a bit more calming. As we waited for the water she looked me over, poking bits of me that were a bit out of sorts from being in the hospital.  “Do you remember how to preen your wings, Flurry?” She asked as I extended my wings for her to inspect. “Your feathers are a complete mess.” “I don’t remember how to, I’m sorry Ms. Rarity,” I answered, somehow embarrassed despite there being no way I would know how to do that. “It's fine dear, don’t worry about it.” She rubbed her chin with one hoof, muttering to herself a bit. “I can try to preen your wings for you this time, it's been a while since I’ve done it. Hopefully, Dash or Fluttershy can show you how to do it sometime tonight so you don’t have to rely on somepony else to do it.” I nodded and hopped into the bathtub once it became hot enough for Rarity’s approval. Feeling my hooves and coat get wet was a strange feeling, not uncomfortable but certainly different than it did when I was human. I couldn’t help myself but sigh and sit down in the bath, enjoying the relaxing power of the hot water on my muscles. As I closed my eyes and enjoyed the scent of fresh flowers I missed the sounds of Rarity getting into the bath behind me. The feeling of her putting shampoo into my mane with a combo of magic and hooves made me jump a bit. “Oh, I should have mentioned, most foals bathe with an adult.” Rarity chuckled. “Hooves aren’t the most useful in getting clean, after all. Besides, it helps when somepony can reach your back and other spots that are often missed.” While it felt strange to take a bath with someone else, I bit my lip to silence my grumbling and let her put the sweet-smelling shampoo into my mane and tail. She hummed a faint tune as it soaked into my hair, using the time to put soap on my body to wash the filth of the hospital off. Was almost calming despite the fact that I hadn’t had someone else help bathe me since I was a kid. Or well, was calming until... “Gak! Ms. Rarity, please, I will bathe that spot myself.” I pulled away from her, one hoof covering a spot that I still was really uncomfortable about in the best of times, much less wanting someone else touching.  “I am so sorry Flurry! I got a bit carried away and forgot I was helping somepony other than Sweetie.” Rarity sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose for a second. “Wash your, ah, private area while I rinse the shampoo out of your mane. Again, I am sorry.” I grumbled a bit before awkwardly washing down there. Once everything was washed and rinsed I hopped out of the bathtub before I was quickly wrapped and dried by a few towels gripped in Rarity's magic. Meanwhile, I could hear the unicorn herself dry off her hooves, having only stepped in the bath to help me bathe. Freedom from the towels only made me subject to the quick attack of several brushes untangling and styling my mess of a mane and tail, despite my best efforts to wriggle away from them. Rarity put one hoof on my back to stop me, her slight glare strangely scaring me more than I would admit. My manliness could only take so many hits in one day, after all. While my mane and tail were being styled Rarity awkwardly preened my wings, pulling out the few broken feathers and moving a few other feathers back into their proper place with her mouth. She finished the assault of fashion by affixing a bright blue bow to the base of my tail and tying its larger twin to the back of my mane. Once she was done Rarity spun me to the full-length mirror on the other wall so I could see my finished look. While I was loath to admit it, I did look a lot better than the mess I was this morning. Almost...adorable. Bleh. “Well, now that you’re all cleaned up Flurry I do believe we have an appointment with Cheerilee at the Ponyville Schoolhouse.” Rarity grinned, happy with how I looked no doubt. “A proper mare doesn’t keep others waiting, so we better hurry.” Following Rarity out of the carousel of nightmares and fashion, we headed towards the schoolhouse in a hurry that only one with a strict schedule has. Keeping up with her was more effort than I expected, being shorter my legs were a lot smaller so I had to walk a lot faster than her. Oddly despite the added exercise, I wasn’t tired at all as we neared the rustic schoolhouse. “Huh, where are all the kids?” I murmured, looking up at the sun to check the time. Couldn’t have been more than nine o’clock, would have been the second period back home.  “It's the middle of summer vacation, so all the foals are out enjoying themselves and spending a bit more time with friends and family.” Rarity explained. “Admittedly, it might be a good time for you to make some friends, Flurry. While a day out in the park or running around might be a bit beneath a princess, you always need friends.” I couldn’t help but make a small face to myself. I wouldn’t go out and call myself an introvert, but I never was the most social person. The thought of having to go out and make friends was a strange task to be given, especially with children. Hell, I couldn't think of how I would even go about that, after all, I was a bit too old to act like a kid anymore. Being so caught up in my thoughts quickly came to bite me when I ended up power-walking headfirst into the door of the schoolhouse, bouncing back a step. While I grumbled I heard Rarity give a small giggle before clearing her throat and knocking on the door. After a moment the door opened to reveal a raspberry-colored pony with a pink mane and green eyes. She gave me a smile before holding out her hoof for me to shake. “Hello, you must be Flurry Heart. I’m Miss Cheerilee, the teacher here. It's a pleasure to meet you.” The pony introduced herself as I shook her hoof before she waved us into the schoolhouse. “Please come in.” The schoolhouse itself seemed to be a one-room school, with about two dozen small wooden desks in rows in front of a blackboard. Off to the side was a larger wooden desk, probably Cheerilee’s. The teacher herself led me over to one of the wooden desks before setting a sheaf of papers before me. I took a look before raising my eyebrow at the weird symbols and script. “Uh, Miss Cheerilee, I can’t read this,” I complained, earning a look of slight shock from Rarity and Cheerilee. I couldn’t help but flick my ears back, wasn’t the best look for a grown man to admit he can’t read. Well, I guess I wasn’t a grown man at the moment but still! “Oh dear, that’s going to be a problem.” Cheerilee rubbed the back of her head with a hoof before smiling. “Don’t worry Flurry, I can teach you how to read again this summer. That is a Cheerilee promise. But as for the test I can give you it orally, don’t worry.” Trotting over she spun the test around so she could read the questions and fill in the answers. The math questions were easy enough, while I hated math I was good enough at it until I hit precal at school. Thankfully when it came to showing my work she didn’t ask for some of the weirder stuff that my siblings had to deal with when I helped them with their schoolwork. The creative writing was also fun, although throwing the plot of The Alchemist did raise an eyebrow from the two mares. Well, a more sanitized version, no need to mention guns and religion when I didn’t need to. However, I soon regretted my earlier achievements when we hit the history section.... “What year was Equestria founded?” “Uh, 1567.”  “Uh, no. Do you know what date Princesses Luna and Celestia were crowned?” “I am gonna guess January 8th, 1678.” “Unfortunately, no. How about...ah, an easy one. When was the Crystal Empire founded?” “Miss Cheerilee, I appreciate your devotion but you do realize that you’re asking a bunch of history questions to someone who has amnesia, right?” I sighed. “All I can do is offer a bunch of guesses, most of which are probably going to be wrong.” “I guess you are right on that note, Flurry Heart.” Cheerilee frowned at the mess of the test in front of her. “And it is somepony, not someone. It looks like if we were to get you ready for the school year, we have to get you up to speed on history and reading. And grammar, since you keep speaking like a griffon for some reason.” She rubbed her face for a moment before sighing. “It is a tall task, but if you are willing to work with me Flurry I am sure we can do this. While it is a lot to ask, would you be willing to come in for a few hours of tutoring each day? Between me and a few other ponies, we can quickly get you up to scruff while you spend the summer in Ponyville.” I looked to Rarity, who nodded in approval before I turned back and nodded at Cheerilee. While learning how to read random symbols and a random country’s history did not sound at all exciting, it sure beat the alternative. Besides, it would help while I was working on my plan to get back home.  Hopefully, it will be soon. While this strange multicolored hell was oddly more peaceful than back home, I was in no mood to start back over as a kid. Went through that once, not doing it again.