//------------------------------// // Part 3: School Days // Story: The Adventures of Kaela Fie and Caelus Storm // by Caelus Storm //------------------------------// The Adventures of Kaela Fie and Caelus Storm Part 3: School Days Kaela Fie looked down, pawing nervously at the ground. She stuck close to Storm's side. She looked up at the white and gold painted schoolhouse. All of yesterday she had been excited. She and Storm had spent the day shopping for school supplies. But now that she was here, all the excitement was gone, leaving only anxiety. She looked up at Storm. He smiled down at her. "Nervous?" he asked. "Mm-hmm," Kaela mumbled. "Don't worry," Storm said, "school is fun. You'll learn lots of new things, and meet new fillies and colts. Now, remember what Princess Celestia told you. Kaela nodded. "My name is Windy Spirit," she said, "I'm a unicorn filly. My dad is in the Royal Guard and my mom works in the palace." "Good. And...?" Kaela sighed. "I can't tell anyone about my wings, or take off my dress." Storm smiled at her. A bell rang within the building. "Come on," he said. "Let's go find your class." Kaela followed Storm hesitantly. They walked down the white hallways, past several doorways where fillies and colts were sitting at desks, listening to their teachers do role call. Storm stopped outside one classroom. Kaela peeked inside. A pink unicorn mare with a strawberry red mane addressed the class. "Good morning, class," she said brightly. "Good morning, Miss Maple Shine," the class responded in unison, with varying levels of enthusiasm. The unicorn mare turned towards the door. "Now class, we have a new student joining us today." Kaela felt butterflies flutter in her stomach. She gulped, trying to hide next to Storm. Storm gave her a gentle push forward. "You'll be fine," he whispered with a kind smile. "Don't be shy," the mare, Miss Maple Shine, said. Her smile was warm and genuine. Kaela took a deep breath and entered the room. She looked over her shoulder at Storm, who smiled at her again. She swallowed her nervousness, and faced the class. There were fourteen other foals, all about her own age. It looked like an ordinary kindergarten class. More than half the class were unicorns, three were earth ponies, and two were pegasi. "Why don't you introduce yourself," Miss Maple Shine said. "Tell us your name, and something interesting about yourself." Kaela cleared her throat lightly. Everypony was staring at her. "Uh, my name is Windy Spirit," she said, "and I, uh..." Kaela wracked her brain for something interesting. "I like to read stories," she said. Miss Maple smiled and told Kaela to pick an empty desk. She chose one to the far right of the room, in the first row. To her right was a pegasus filly with a light brown coat and a vanilla colored mane. Kaela smiled shyly at her neighbor, then pulled a notebook and pencil out of her saddlebag. As Miss Maple began her lesson, Kaela relaxed slightly. It looked like it wasn't going to be a bad day after all. * * * Caelus trotted back toward the castle. He had stayed at the school until Kaela had taken her seat. Now he headed to his own destination: the Canterlot Royal Library. The Library was situated just outside the castle, and was next door to the famed Canterlot University. If you could afford the tuition fees, it was the best school in all of Equestria. The library was always open, so students had 24 hour access to the books they would need for their studies. Caelus pushed open the door. Inside was a breathtaking sight. Hundreds of shelves of dark wood held thousands upon thousands of books. Great chandeliers hung from the ceiling, providing bright but soft illumination. The rows of shelves were broken up by comfortable couches and broad study tables. A few ponies occupied small alcoves, where they could study in relative privacy. Caelus took a deep breath of the familiar smell of old paper and parchment. He set off into the depths of the library, his hoof-steps muffled by the carpet. For a while, he simply wandered among the shelves, browsing over the titles of books. He reminded himself that, as much as he wanted to dilly-dally, he had a mission. He looked at a sign at the end of the shelf, then oriented himself and headed to another wing of the library. He made a mental note where he was, and started scanning the titles on the shelves. Parenthood: A Reference Guide, How to Be a Good Parent, Foals: A Foal's Guide to Raising Kids. Caelus pulled several books off the shelf, balancing the short stack on his back. Walking to the nearest study area, he slid the books onto the table with a wing. He set down his saddlebag and pulled out a notebook and pencil. Opening the notebook to a new page, Caelus flipped to the Table of Contents of Parenthood: A Reference Guide and started skimming. "This looks promising," he said, turning to the indicated section. Gripping the pencil in his mouth, he started to read, taking notes. * * * Kaela finished taking the last of her notes. So far, Miss Maple had given a lecture on the history of Equestria, and a lesson on Equestrian. The lesson on the Equestrian language had been easy for Kaela. She got every question on the worksheet right. Miss Maple dismissed the class for lunch and recess. Kaela sat under a tree with a brown paper bag that held her lunch. She levitated a lettuce, daisy, and rose petal sandwich to her mouth and took a bite. Caelus had insisted on making her lunch today, and it was yummy. Not as yummy as waffles, but Storm had said that was a breakfast food. After the sandwich was an apple, and at the very bottom of the bag were two chocolate chip cookies. Kaela's mouth watered. She licked her lips, then stopped. She heard some voices arguing quietly. She scanned the playground, and saw three colts standing over the pegasus filly she sat next to in class. She couldn't hear the words, the the colts sounded menacing. Kaela walked closer in an effort to hear what was being said. "C'mon, I ain't got all day," the biggest colt said. He was taller than Kaela, with a white coat and a storm-blue mane. His wings, though small and undeveloped, looked like he was already learning the basics of flight. "Here, just leave me alone," the pegasus filly said, passing over a pudding cup. "Pudding again?" the pegasus colt sneered, "You'd thing working in the castle would mean you got better food." "Hey, leave her alone," Kaela said, stepping up next to the filly. The colt glared at Kaela. "You're the new filly, so I'll let you off with a warning this time," he said. "Besides, I got what I came for." The colt left, gesturing to his two friends to follow. Kaela scowled at the colts, sticking her tongue out at their backs. "Meanies," she muttered. She turned to the other filly. "Are you, um, all right?" she asked, suddenly shy. The other filly nodded as she got to her hooves. "Yeah," she said. "Thanks for helping me. No one ever stands up to Overcast." "I couldn't do nothing," Kaela said. "Well, thanks," the filly said, "I'm Wisty, by the way." "My name is Windy Spirit," Kaela replied, hesitating slightly. "You know, my dad packed me two cookies with my lunch. Would you, uh, like one?" Wisty's ears perked up. "Really? You would do that?" she asked. "But we barely know each other." "Well, you can't make friends if you don't start somewhere," Kaela said, then looked down, slightly embarrassed. "We can be friends, right?" "Of course we can," Wisty said. She offered a hoof to Kaela, who gently shook it. * * * Caelus closed the book he was reading with a sigh. So far he had been through nearly a dozen books. While he had found some things, he still wasn't entirely sure about how to raise an alicorn. He looked over his notes, which were more a combination of what he had read and observations he had made over the past few days. -Young foals need to eat a balanced diet to help them grow healthy. -Unicorn and pegasus foals eat more than earth pony foals. -Observation: Kaela Fie eats more than even a pegasus foal. This may be because she has both unicorn and pegasus anatomy. Caelus started to go through his notes. So far he had learned almost nothing concrete. Half the stuff he read dealt with foals under the age of four, and focused on strengthening the parent-foal bond. Kaela was already bonded to him, and was a little old for games like "peek-a-boo". "Studying hard, I see." Caelus nearly jumped to the ceiling at the soft voice from across the table. Princess Luna smiled at him. "Princess," Caelus murmured. "I'm sorry, I didn't..." Luna held up a hoof. "Please, Caelus, call me Luna," she said, "and it is I who is sorry for startling you." "It's all right, Prin- Luna," Caelus said, "I was just about to take a break anyway." "Well, might I suggest something?" Luna said. "Yes," Caelus said. "If I were you, and I wanted to be a good parent, I would be there to pick up Kaela Fie from school in seven minutes," Luna said. "What!" Caelus said, drawing angry looks from several students. He threw his notebook into his saddlebag,, slid it onto his back, and bolted as fast as he could from the library, leaving behind a slightly smiling Luna. * * * Kaela practically skipped out of the schoolhouse when class had been dismissed. She was chatting animatedly with Wisty. "So, this was your first day of school ever?" Wisty said. "Uh-huh," Kaela said. "That's strange," Wisty said, "were you home schooled?" Kaela didn't know what that meant, but she nodded anyway. "Yeah," she said. "Oh, there's Storm." She waved to the blue pegasus, who was talking with another light blue pegasus mare. Storm waved back. "He's talking to my mom," Wisty said. The two fillies trotted over to the two adults. "Hi, mom," Wisty said giving the light blue pegasus a hug. "Hello, sweetie," the pegasus said, nuzzling Wisty affectionately. "Hello, Windy," Storm said. Kaela nuzzled Storm, happy to see him. "Hi, Storm," she said. "Is this your daughter, Caelus?" the light blue mare said. "Yes," Storm replied, "This is Windy Spirit." "Hello," Kaela said to the mare. "Hello, Windy," she said, "I'm Wisty's mom, Summer Breeze. It's nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you too," Kaela said, smiling. "Well, it was nice meeting you Summer Breeze," Storm said, "but we really need to get going." "Bye Wisty," Kaela said with a wave before following Storm off down the street. "So how was school?" Storm asked. "It was great," Fie said, beaming. "Miss Maple started with a lesson on the history of Equestria. Did you know that the Running of the Leaves was started as a contest between two farmers to see who was the faster of the two?" "I did not," Storm replied. Kaela proceded to recount her day, including how she made her new friend, Wisty. So excited was she that she didn't notice Storm's slight frown at the mention of bullies. "I'm glad you made a friend," Storm said, "friends are important." He ruffles her mane with a hoof. Kaela ducked away. "Storm," she said indignantly, still smiling though. Storm just chuckled and kept walking. After a few minutes, they arrived at the apartments used by a majority of the servants and staff in the castle. Celestia had them moved there after there first night in the castle at Storm's insistence. Though it wasn't as large as the apartments in the castle, it was still well decorated. Storm trotted into the kitchen. "Can I get you a snack, Kaela?" Kaela nodded and hopped up onto a chair at the table. Storm made several small sandwiches and set them on a plate on the table. Kaela levitated one of the sandwiches to her mouth and took a bite. Storm took his own sandwich, looking off into space thoughtfully. After they finished their snack, Kaela pulled a workbook out of her saddlebags and started her homework. Storm sat across the table from her, reading from a short pile of books and taking notes. Kaela smiled at the thought of Storm having homework too, then went back to her math. * * * "Storm? Do you know any good stories?" Kaela said as she got comfortable beneath the covers of her bed. Caelus smiled slightly. "As a matter of fact, I do," he said. He made sure to grab some story books when he was at the library. "I'll be right back," he said, trotting out of the room to go get the book from his saddlebag. He returned with a well-worn book. "What's that?" Kaela asked. "Daring Do and the Sapphire Statue," Caelus said, "one of my favorites. I started reading Daring Do books when I was about your age. Would you like me to read a bit of it?" Kaela nodded eagerly. "Yes, please," she said, snuggling deeper into the bed. Caelus sat down next to the bed and opened the book to the first chapter. "As Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle, the wet heat sapped her energy, and slowed her every step," he began. He got through the first chapter, and was about to start the second when he noticed Kaela's eyes had started to droop. "That's enough for tonight," he said, closing the book. Kaela started to mumble a protest, but it was lost when she yawned. Caelus smiled and nuzzled the little filly. "Good night my little Fie," she said softly. "Good night, Storm," Kaela murmured, closing her eyes. Caelus slipped out of the room and into the main living space of the apartment. It wasn't large, but it served its purpose. He sat down at the table, staring at his still open notebook. He looked through his notes on parenting, which were augmented by his own observations of Kaela. He made another note to himself. Note: Kaela shows an interest in reading. Encourage this interest. Caelus also made a note to get groceries for the week tomorrow while Kaeal was at school. The thought of the little filly brought a smile to Storm's lips. She had only been in his care for four days, yet she was already rubbing off on him. I guess that's part of being a Guardian, Caelus thought. He stifled a yawn. I should get to bed too. He turned off the lights and made his way to the second bedroom of the apartment. He climbed into bed, and quickly fell asleep. * * * "What did you think about that quiz?" Kaela said to Wisty as they walked out to the schoolyard for recess. Wisty shrugged. "I thought it was kind of hard," the pegasus replied, "but I'm not good at Equestrian. What did you think?" Kaela also shrugged. "I don't think it was that hard," she said. "So what do you want to do?" Wisty asked. Kaela scanned the playground and spotted an unoccupied swing. "We can push each other on the swing," she said. "Can I swing first?" Wisty said. "Sure," Kaela answered. She positioned herself behind Wisty and concentrated. She felt the magic build up in her horn, and with her mind, pictured what she wanted it to do. she released the spell, which gave Wisty a good, solid push. Wisty cheered with glee as she swung her body to maintain her momentum as she swung back and forth. After a few minutes, Kaela and Wisty changed spots, and Kaela giggled as she swung high in the air. For the rest of recess, they traded spots on the swing. When the bell rang, they followed the rest of their classmates back inside, chatting amicably. * * * "All right class, remember to study for tomorrow's math test," Miss Maple said as the foals packed their bags. Kaela and Wisty walked out of the schoolhouse together. "Do you have any plans after school tomorrow?" Wisty asked. "Uh, I don't think so," Kaela said, "Why?" "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my place after school tomorrow," Wisty said. "I'll have to ask Storm, but yeah, I'd like to," Kaela said. Wisty brightened. "Great, I'll ask my mom," Wisty said. The two fillies met with their respective guardians. "Mom, can Windy come over after school tomorrow?" Wisty asked. "Well, that's up to her dad," Summer Breeze replied. Both Kaela and Wisty looked up at Storm with pleading eyes. Kaela could almost feel Storm weighing the options in his head. Finally, he nodded. "Okay," he said. Kaela and Wisty cheered. * * * That evening, Caelus was helping Kaela study for her math test tomorrow. It wasn't anything complex, but he wanted to encourage good study habits for the future. So far though, he didn't think she would need much study time. She had gotten every question right that he gave her. "Storm," Kaela said. "Yes?" he said, returning his attention to the filly. She tapped the sheet of paper with her work on it. Storm knew it would be right, and was correct in his assumption as he looked over her work. "Good job, Fie," he said. Kaela smiled with pride. That was another thing he had noticed; he had started calling her by a nickname. Caelus looked at the clock. "I think that's enough studying for today," he said. "So what do you want to do?" Kaela thought for a minute, then finally said, "Can we read more of Daring Do?" she asked. "Sure," Caelus said. Kaela ran from the room and returned holding the book in her magic. Caelus sat down on the couch, and Kaela jumped up next to him. Caelus opened the book to where he had left off the night before."'You thought you could evade me and capture the relic for yourself," Ahuizotl said, 'but you were sadly mistaken Miss Do. And now, you will meet your doom!' As Daring Do struggled to get to her feet, Ahuizotl blew into a cat shaped whistle. In an instant, Daring found herself surrounded by Ahuizotl's minions." * * * Kaela sat at her desk drawing in her notebook. The rest of the class was still taking their math tests. She was already finished, and was entertaining herself until recess. Within ten minutes the other fillies and colts had handed in their tests. Miss Maple dismissed them for recess once the last exam was turned in. Wisty and Kaela were talking under a tree when Overcast and his two "sidekicks" approached. Kaela's expression soured, and Wisty gulped. "Well lookit what we have here," Overcast said, "it's the teacher's pet and her little pegasus friend." The other two colts snickered, grinning maliciously. Kaela stood up to her full height, which was still a few inches shorter than Overcast. "Leave us alone,: she said, trying to sound stern. However, her throat went draw and she could feel her wings twitching nervously. "Or what?" Overcast sneered, "you'll go tattle to the teacher?" He gave his hoof a menacing stomp. "I think you won't tell her anything. No one likes a tattle-tale and a teacher's pet." Overcast got closer, his friends moving to the two fillies' sides. Kaela took a step back, fear starting to rise. Her head started to throb, a faint pressure building. As Overcast kept moving forward, Kaela and Wisty kept backing up until they ran into the tree. Overcast smiled wickedly. He raised his hoof in preparation to strike. Kaela closed her eyes, the throbbing in her head getting stronger as the pressure increased. It built in strength until suddenly it was released. There was a flash of light and a shout of surprise and pain. When Kaela opened her eyes, Overcast wasn't there. He had been thrown back several feet, looking scuffed and singed. His friends were helping him to his hooves. Everyone on the playground was looking at them, many in surprise. Kaela tried to hide from their stares. However, there was no hiding from the playground supervisor. The earth pony stallion looked at the two parties. "Take him to the nurses office," he said, gesturing at Overcast and his friends. "As for you," he said, turning to Kaela. Kaela's eyes went wide. "You are on the wall for the remainder of recess," the supervisor said. Kaela spent the rest of recess sitting against the wall of the schoolhouse. Wisty sat next to her, more to keep her company, which Kaela appreciated. She wondered if she would get sent to the principal's office. She didn't mean to hurt Overcast. She hadn't even consciously summoned her magic. She had just been afraid he would hit her. And what would Storm think? She had never seen him angry, which let her mind conjure up all sorts of terrifying images. The bell rang and they all went back to class. Fie kept her eyes on the ground, too ashamed to look anywhere else. Not even getting a perfect score on her math test cheered her up. Overcast shot her a dirty look, but the rest of the class only gave her curious glances when the teacher's back was turned. Kaela shrunk down into her seat, trying hard to simply disappear. * * * Caelus nodded to Summer Breeze when he arrived at the schoolhouse. They struck up small talk while they waited for their fillies to be done with class. What Caelus wasn't expecting was Kaela being escorted out of the schoolhouse by Maple Shine. Fie held her head low. Oh, no, this can't be good, Caelus thought as Maple approached him. "Are you Caelus Storm, Windy's father?" she asked. "Yes, that is me," Caelus answered. "Would you and your daughter come with me please," she said, turning back towards the schoolhouse. Caelus followed, Kaela walking dejectedly beside him. the trio of ponies arrived at the principal's office. Caelus was expecting to see the dark brown stallion he had met when he registered Fie at the school. He wasn't expecting to see the regal form of Princess Celestia. "Princess," Caelus said, bowing. Princess Celestia nodded in acknowledgement. Principal Scrollwork spoke up. "Now that we are all here, we can begin. Caelus Storm, your filly Windy Spirit released a magical discharge at one of her classmates today during recess. Fortunately, the other colt suffered little more than a singeing." "I didn't mean to do it! It was an accident!" Kaela blurted out, then made herself small under the principal's steady gaze. "Be that as it may," Principal Scrollwork said, "this is not a disciplinary meeting." He nodded towards Maple Shin, who levitated a thin folder to the principal. "Mr. Storm, how well is your filly doing in school?" Caelus shifted nervously. "Windy says it's been going well. I know she's been doing very well in Equestrian and math." Principal Scrollwork pulled several sheets of paper out of the folder and laid them on his desk. Caelus looked them over. These were copies of all of Fie's worksheets. Every single one had a perfect score. Even the math test she had taken earlier today. His eyes widened slightly. "As you can see, Windy is an unusually bright filly," Principal Scrollwork said. "As such, we were questioning whether this was the best place for your daughter. Your Majesty, I called you here today to ask if you might consider accepting young Windy Spirit into your school for gifted unicorns?" Princess Celestia thought for a moment. "I will indeed consider it," she said. She glanced at Storm with a faint twinkle of mirth in her eye. "Will that be all, Principal Scrollwork?" Principal Scrollwork bowed his head. "Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you for your time." Princess Celestia turned and left. "Thank you, Mr. Storm, that will be all," Scrollwork said. "Thank you, Principal Scrollwork," Caelus said. He left the office, followed by a relieved looking Kaela. Still, his head churned with all the possibilities and implications. After dropping Fie off at Wisty's place, he sat in his apartment with his notebook. Even after Kaela had been returned home by Summer Breeze, and even after she had been put to bed, Caelus was up well into the night.