//------------------------------// // Growing Up // Story: Ajin: Demi-Pony // by Pachi //------------------------------// Getting The Sparkles to allow for dual scheduling at such notice was surprisingly easy Apparently, dual scheduling issues like this happened a lot… And suspiciously, Candace and The Sparkles Oldest child, Shining Armour, kept themselves locked in the master bedroom a lot Yeah, that ‘Dual Scheduling’ thing was most likely a ploy to spend more time with her boyfriend They were roughly the same age, and from what I could tell, they truly DID love each other Most of the time though, me and Twilight just laughed at the dumb shit my older brother was doing While you might call it irresponsible, I'm pretty sure Candace used some sort of magic to bab- foalproof the room I let them do what they want, it's not like I care that much Okay okay, that's enough It's the third time this week that she's had ‘Dual Scheduling Issues’ and had to stay over at The Sparkles… Fucking hell… Learn to control yourself! Ugh, teenagers… Huh, I sounded like an old man just now BAHAHAHAHA They got caught! It's been 3 more months, and Candace and Shining Armour were caught in the act! Apparently The Sparkles approve of the relationship, but only if they hold on the more inappropriate activities till they become adults God knows if that's gonna stop them… Okay, it's been a stupidly long time… And I've learned a very… strange piece of information… This world doesn't share the same system of time that my old world used to Instead of 1 year being 365 days, a year is 1000 days And in this world, a month is still 30 days, yet the year is divided into 33 months, and a pseudo-month that only appears once every 3 years These numbers are almost always constant, no matter what But a pony still reaches biological maturity at 15 years of age, and legal maturity at 18 Most numbers stay the same though A filly becomes a foal at 5 years old, so these Ponies seem to develop mentally slower than humans But that may be a good thing, because Ponies seem to have an inherent, higher level of natural emotional maturity… Good info to know I reached the 1 year mark! And holy shit was it a wild ride… My birthday was amazing! There was cake, and Twilight was there, and there was music, and Candace and Shining Armour were there, did I mention the cake? Through this 1 year, many things happened But it was a good year nonetheless I had decided that it would be a good time to say my first words And so, I decided to make it dramatic… … I was sitting in front of a birthday cake. A very big birthday cake Well, average size probably, but I'm a child so it looks massive to me I looked at the cake, before looking at my parents at my side… “Mommy, Daddy? Thank You” I said, before blowing the candles out My parents were utterly starstruck by the fact that I could speak so young Even more so at how good my pronunciation was I giggled to myself as I saw their expressions of shock, turn into that of absolute amazement, and then into pride in their “genius” child It was now the dead of night I always crawled my way around in the mornings, but at night, I had my friend Icarus carry me Icarus is what I named my IBM, it's a good name I think, or maybe not I don't know, I think he likes it though Can he even think? I'm not sure… Well whatever, carrying me up, he moved towards my mother's study Both my mother and father were breadwinners (which is the reason I spend so much time with Candace) but in wildly different fields Whilst my Father owns a small-time bakery, my mother is a worker at the Royal Canterlot Palace. Often meeting important figures like Celestia She was an accountant, and likes reading From the looks of it, you would expect my stern and no-nonsense dad to be the one with the important government Job, and my kind and caring mother to be the Baker, but it's actually the complete opposite Mom and Dad were usually asleep this late at night, so that means I can do whatever I want! (As long as I'm quiet) Picking up a book on the history of Equestrian Magic, I use Icarus to flip through the pages for me Page 97… I've been studying this book for the longest time now… its so fucking hard to translate this thing without a teacher… “Icarus, light a candle for me, and get a few more books” I say and he head off to find a candle and lights it for me so I could have a better vision of the book, as well as bringing down a few books from the shelf, as I read deep into the night Well… the time has finally come… My fifth birthday had come and passed Which means… that it's time for me to go to school Twilight's going to Celestia's School for Gifted Ponies, and me being a “Genius”, it was fair that I would go as well Just… I still can't do magic Neither me nor Twilight could I wonder how we could enter magic school without magic? I knew almost everything about theory, like Twilight Maybe I could use Icarus to fake magic? I mean, no one else should be able to see him, so I should be fine I was incredibly nervous Even though I should be well above 20 years old mentally, I guess I haven't really grown that much Since people grow through new experiences, simply reliving experiences you've already dealt with isn't enough to make you grow mentally I felt a pair of wings wrap around my side as my mother and Ivory give me a sort of hug “You nervous?” I hear my mother ask “Was it that obvious?” I reply “Yes… Yes it was” she says as I look down meekly, a small bit of embarrassed blush on my face “But… mom, I haven't even had a single Magic Surge yet! I don't think I'll ever be able to use magic…” I say with my head hung low This was really getting to me for some reason “You'll be fine…” I hear a voice from my side, as Ivory patted my back with his wing. He was now ten years old, and enlisting into a military school (out of his own choice) in order to join the Wonderbolts… I swear, the amount of info I got stuffed into my head because of this nerd is just… “I've never met anybody as smart as you, and you're only 5! I'm sure they'll see how great you are, even if you can't use magic” “Hehe… Thanks…” I say, nuzzling up to him and my mom, as my dad pats my head with his hoof He doesn't speak much, but he shows his love in more physical ways, like hugs and head pats. He doesn't really like physical touch if it isn't initiated by him Apparently it's a condition called ‘Selective Mutism’ But I love him Next up was Twilight, as she walked into the building where the test was being held, I have her a big hearty smile as she turned to look at me I can confidently say that me and Twilight are best friends, and I need to give my friend as much encouragement as I possibly could