//------------------------------//
// 103 - Apple for Teacher 
// Story: New Endings, Old Starts 
// by David Silver 
//------------------------------//

"I have 75% good news!"

Screwball's eyes widened, swirling as they were in the habit of. "Wow! What is it?"

Comforting pointed. "You can skip the hospital today, maybe forever if it works out."

Screwball began dancing in place, floating as she was. "Oooo, really? I can go to school with you then?"

"That's the 25% bad news," admitted Comforting. "You're a young filly, so you'll go with the other--"

"You're a young filly," countered Screwball.

The part that stung was that she wasn't wrong. Comforting was a little filly, that was also a chaos spirit, and a reincarnated soul. It was complicated... "You'll get to meet other young fillies and colts and make lots of friends and learn neat stuff."

"As neat as you're learning?" Screwball crossed her arms, trying to give a severe look and failing entirely.

"Your teacher will be Miss Cheerilee." She reached up and yanked down a display panel with the image of Cheerilee projected on it. "She's super nice and she'll help. While you're at school, she's like a second mom."

Screwball blinked slowly. "W-what? I get a second mom?! You didn't say that happens!" She shuddered with excitement. "Wow... Will she let me stay up late? Does she cook good? How are her hugs? Did she tune--" Her words started making less sense, overwhelmed in her excitement.

Comforting gently hugged her sister, petting her until calmness returned. "Like a second mom, not literally. She will do her best to make sure you're a happy student."

"I am so proud." There was Fluttershy, approaching with a box balanced on either wing. "Both of my amazing students get a lunch." She curled the wings forward to put them in reach of her daughters. "You be sure to follow Miss Cheerilee's instructions, alright?"

"Alright!" Screwball grabbed her wrapped lunch and casually shoved it inside herself, in her head. Food was clearly on her mind, if one had to gauge on where she stuffed the box. "Ready!"

"Not quite." Fluttershy dug about and found what she wanted, giving a pencil and pad to Screwball. "So you can take notes on the interesting things you learn."

"OOoo." The day was getting more and more exciting. "I'll do my bestest!" She floated in for a hug with Fluttershy, then darted right out the door.

Fluttershy inclined her head slowly. "Does she know which way the school is?"

Comforting started at a much more sedate walk. "I have a good feeling she'll figure it out."

But the camera didn't stay on Comforting. "Hey!" It left her to follow after Screwball. 

Screwball was zooming through town with a huge smile. "No hospital!" she cried out in a song, the notes briefly manifesting above her and dancing with her joy.

She spotted a little filly about her age and floated over them. "Hi!"

Sweetie blinked up at the floating little filly with the swirling eyes. "Hello... Who are you?"

"I'm Screwball!" She exploded, arrows appearing all around her, pointing at her, but they vanished almost as soon after. She didn't have the chaotic energy to keep them floating there long. "And I think we're going to the same place. Are you going to where Miss Cheerilee is? I wanna go there!"

"Oh! Yep." Sweetie bobbed her head. "Exactly the same place. Come on." She got to leading the chaotic filly forward without any complaining. "I go there almost every day, with my friends."

"Who's your friend?" Scootaloo came scooting up rapidly, kicking off just as she reached Sweetie and the floating Screwball. 

"I think she's Comforting's big little sister." Sweetie pointed up.

Screwball tilted so hard she spun about in place. "Am I little or big? Can you be both at once?!"

Scootaloo snickered. "Sure you can. You're her little sister because she cares for you and protects you. You're her big sister because you're bigger. Must be nice to have both at once."

Sweetie pointed at herself. "I have a big sister."

Scootaloo nodded at that. "So does Apple Bloom. None of us have a little sister. Oh well, I'd show a little sister a good time!"

Screwball clopped her hooves as she floated over the two fillies. "If that's what a little sister is, I can be one!"

Sweetie blinked softly. "But you already have a big sister."

"Who's not here," reasoned Screwball. "You are. You can be my big sisters at school!"

Scootaloo burst into laughter. "Wow, alright, sure. We'll take care of you, sis."

"You're a Crusader ward now," excitedly joined Sweetie Belle. "We'll make sure you have a great time at school."

"Yay!" Screwball was aside herself, not literally, but not for lack of trying. "Alright. Are we going there?" There was a building ahead of them that they were getting closer to. "Is that it?"

"Howdy." There was Apple Bloom, joining the other Crusaders. "Found a new friend?"

"Even better." Scootaloo pointed up at Screwball. "Say hello to the School Little Sister of the Crusaders!"

"Hi!" Screwball waved jubilantly with all four limbs. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, hey there. Ah'm Apple Bloom." She pointed at herself. "And yer my little sister?"

"Yes!" Screwball flew down with some effort. The closer to the ground she got, the more anti-gravity tried to repel her, but she got in close enough to hug Apple Bloom, and they both lifted. The repelling force was enough to carry them both up into the air with Screwball's arms wrapped around her new big sister. Screwball giggled with wild joy at the whole thing.

Apple Bloom was less joyful, squeaking and wriggling with obvious worry. "Um! Could ya... put me down?"

Sweetie's horn glowed as she got a grip on Apple Bloom and tugged, oops. One good pull was enough to dislodge her, which resulted in an Apple Bloom slapping into her, both ending up flat on the ground.

Screwball floated over the two. "Are you alright?"

"Ditto." Scootaloo offered a hoof to help them, getting them back on their own hooves quickly. "Warn a filly before you grab her like that." She looked more amused than appalled though. "I wouldn't mind a little fly... maybe at lunch. It's school time."

All four of them hurried inside. Cheerilee was there, standing at the front of the class. She noticed Screwball right away. "Hold a moment." She met eyes with Screwball, which was a thing she didn't normally get to do with her students without looking down. Still, she was floating. The explained that part, but she was floating, which was odd and raised questions itself... "Screwball, right?"

"Cheerilee!" Screwball giggled with rapture. "Nice to meet you, new mom."

"New... I see." It was not the first time Cheerilee had run into a foal that tried that angle. "We can start there, but I hope we can grow to be partners of a sort. I am here to lead you on a journey of learning and growth."

"Oooo." Screwball pedaled in the air. "That sounds exciting. What do we do first?"

Sweetie raised a hoof. "Miss Cheerilee, the Crusaders have accepted her as their school little sister."

Cheerilee blinked at that. "Have you now? Sounds like you already made some friends." She pointed towards their seats. "Go ahead and take a seat next to them and we can begin shortly."

The Crusaders eagerly led their new sister over to where they normally sat.

But Screwball wasn't sitting. She was hovering over her seat.

Diamond snickered softly. "Wow. That's Comforting's sister, isn't it?"

Silver rolled her eyes. "As if, like, anypony could forget."

Diamond 2 blinked at the floating figure. "Why is everyone alright with this?"

Diamond 1 elbowed her doppelganger. "Welcome to Equestria. This happens sometimes."

But Cheerille was not 'alright' with that. "Screwball, you need to sit in your seat." She pointed to the abandoned desk. "Go on."

"I can't." Screwball swam towards the desk as hard as she could, getting a grip on it, and floating back into the air, the desk dangling from her teeth. "Sorry..."

Cheerilee applied a hoof to her face, but her smile returned as she moved in, detaching Screwball from the desk and setting it down gently. "Can you... not stand normally?"

"Nope." Nice and flat. "I've tried! Promise!"

Cheerilee forced her best smile. "I see... How do you sleep?"

Screwball curled in place and closed her eyes. Little snores began to lift from her with Zs manifesting in a lazy arc of peaceful sleep.

Cheerilee blinked at her suddenly unconscious student. "Screwball?"

"Yes?" She sat up, waking instantly, still floating.

"Ah, good... Alright... If you can't sit there, can you remain still, and take notes, while floating there?" She waved a hoof at the filly's hovering form.

Screwball grabbed out her pencil attached to a hoof and her new notepad in the other hoof. "Ready! I will take good notes!"

Cheerilee returned to her desk. "Well, let us begin then. Class. That is Screwball. She'll be joining us from now on. She has some learning requirements, but she's here for the same reason you all are, so be nice, and let's get started." With a clearing of her throat, she began, going over the various cities and counties of Equestria, pointing to each on a grand map as she went.





"Woah." Snips was looking up at the floating one. "How do you do that?"

Screwball waved down at the colt. "Hi! You look funny."

Apple Bloom snickered. "He looks just fine, but he's a colt instead of a filly."

Screwball blinked. "Oh... What's the difference?"

All the foals there blinked at her. That was a question they were unprepared to answer.

At least except Diamond. "Filly." She pointed at Sweetie, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom. "Colt." She pointed at Snips, Snail, and a few others like Featherweight. "Get it?"

Screwball looked between each foal. "Filly colt, colt filly, filly, colt, colt, filly..." She curled a hoof on  herself. "Which am I?"

Apple Bloom nodded at that. "Yer a filly."

"How did you know?!" Screwball floated over Apple Bloom. "You knew right away!"

"That's easy." Apple Bloom crossed her arms. "If you were a colt, you'd be my little brother, but yer a little sister, so ya gotta be a filly."

Screwball blinked in amazement. That logic held firmly. "Wow... That makes sense. But what if I'm a colt later? Will I be a little brother then?"

Sweetie blinked. "Um... Most ponies are one or the other and don't change..."

Scootaloo shrugged. "But if you did, then yes, you'd be our little brother."

Apple Bloom snickered. "You're a chaos pony. Maybe she could do it. Don't matter none. You'd still be Screwball, and still our little sib at school."

Diamond 1 joined in the snickering. "She probably could, but why would you want to be a colt?"

"Hey!" Snips scowled at Diamond. "Being a colt is cool!"

"Yeah," joined Snails, supporting his friend. "We're big."

Apple Bloom burst into laughter at that. "Snips is not a good example of that."

Screwball tilted her head rapidly left and right. "Is Snips a filly?"

Snips colored brightly. "No! I'm still growing. I'll be huge, eventually..." Rather than face that awkward conversation, he led Snails away from the chat.

Sweetie giggled softly. "Alright, finish your lunch. We have more class to get back to."

"Okay!" She slurped up her food like a vacuum cleaner. "Mmm! Mom makes good lunch." She stuffed the box away and perked up, ready. "Let's learn more stuff!"

Fed and prepared, the foals headed back inside to resume their journey of education.





"I learned where Baltimare is," announced Screwball with great pride. "And that I'm a filly. Are you a filly too?"

"I am." Comforting smiled across at her sister, floating with her. "Sounds like you had a fun day. Did you make any friends?"

"This many!" Screwball threw her arms as wide as they could go. "They like me! I like them. I was worried... but this is a good place, very good, super good!" She babbled to herself in joyful excitement a moment. "Sorry for being mad at you." Like a switch, she went from babble to serious.

Comforting grabbed her sister tightly. "I'm not mad, not even a little. Glad you're having fun."