//------------------------------//
// The Secret Garden 
// Story: One In A Million 
// by ocalhoun 
//------------------------------//

he nighttime quiet broke. “Wake up!”
I rolled away from the whispered voice, trying to ignore it – and the poke that followed it – and get back to sleep.
“Come on, Thcootaloo, get up!”
I groaned and flopped my pillow over my head. It was much too early to be getting up, especially after being kept up all night by River's incessant snoring.
“Thcootaloo! Until the Headmathter fixeth everything, we thtill have to get River'th thtuff ready.”
I sighed and tossed the pillow off of my head. Night Whisper was right, of course, even if she was living up to her name annoyingly well. Soon, River wouldn't be a problem anymore, but for now, it would be best not to make a scene. “Okay. I'm up.” With a moan, I rolled over and flopped out of the bunk. “Let's get this over with.”





“Hmph. Well, the hoofwriting on my paper is sloppy, and if you ever make a big ink splash on it like that again, you'll wish you never came here!”
I just shook my head at River's tirade. I already wished I had never come here. Soon, though, I knew this would all be over.
“And the sash on my favorite sundress has a wrinkle right through the middle of it!”
Whisper and me shared a look and a tiny invisible smile.
“But you know what? It doesn't matter.”
That focused my attention back on River in a hurry. How could these little faults possibly be unimportant to her?
“Because, you see, she is improving.” She turned to look at Whisper. “See, I told you, Worm. Even a chicken can be trained if you put enough work into it.”
My lips curled into an ugly snarl. “Don't get used to it, River! That's the last thing I'll ever do for you!”
As River's eyes bored into me, Whisper turned to me and said, “What? You can't thay that! The'll punith uth both!”
“The worm's right.” River's eyes cut into me. “So her punishment will be light... relatively speaking. Yours though... I'll have to make something extra special for you.”
Before I could say anything, the piercing ring of the school's bell echoed through the hall. That was the signal for breakfast. My inclination to argue with River dissipated, and I rushed out the door.
I worked my way through the crush of ponies in the hallway and down the stairs. They seemed to be moving slower and closer together than usual today, like something was holding them up.
As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I found out what that was.
Missus Primrose stood at the bottom of the steps, stiffly repeating, “All students to the courtyard. There will be a special announcement before breakfast.” Perhaps it was just my imagination, but her gaze seemed to take an especially waspish glare as she spotted me.
Despite the low-level growling in my belly, my heart leapt at the announcement. The Headmaster must want to clear up the bullying issue as soon as possible, even before breakfast! Sure, the meal would be delayed a bit, but at least I would be able to eat it in peace. Eager to find out what would be done, I followed the herd of students out into the courtyard.
Outside, a crowd of little unicorns already sprawled across the stone yard, and the Headmaster stood facing them all, patiently waiting for the last of them to gather.
I trotted up to the group, full of happy anticipation. I couldn't wait to see my fortunes turn around.
As I settled into a vacant spot at the front left side of the group, the Headmaster cleared his throat loudly. His horn began to glow, and his voice boomed out, “Good morning, students.” He must have been using some kind of voice amplification spell to have spoken so loud.
“Good morning, Headmaster,” the students replied in something almost resembling unison.
“Now, some of you may think that you can abuse your position, that your friends in high places will protect you from the consequences of your actions.”
I smirked. Good, that would show River that she couldn't rely on her daddy's help.
“Some of you may think that you can get away with lying and blaming your misdeeds on others.”
Good! He must have learned the truth about the window incident.
“Well, I'm standing here in front of you today to tell all of you that this kind of thinking is wrong!”
My heart soared. This was all the vindication I could have asked for and more! Sending that letter to Twilight was the best idea I'd had yet. Her influence had just solved my biggest problem here.
“Not even a royal decree will make me tolerate such injustices! Especially not from a new upstart. I take my orders from Princess Celestia herself!”
Wait. What?
“Within these walls is my domain, and nopony, unicorn or other–” he glared straight at me before continuing “–is beyond the reach of my discipline! Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes sir!” came the shout from the crowd.
I stood frozen still, not even able to take the stupid smile off my face. I could barely breathe. The letter had only made him more hostile! How could it have backfired so badly? What had Twilight written to him? As I came down from the shock, I realized I had been a fool to think one little letter would change an old pony as stuck in his ways as the Headmaster was. My hopes crashed, falling even lower for having been so high just a moment ago. What would I do now? Now I had no escape, no plan, and the whole school was coming down on me.
“And I also have one other matter to discuss while you are all here.” The Headmaster seemed more composed now, looking back to the main body of students and stroking his mustache. “During the weekend interlude, there will be a carnival in Canterlot – the Hundred Moon Festival.”
I didn't know what he was talking about, and I was in no state to care, but the excited murmur rising from the crowd said it all.
“I trust you will all enjoy yourselves there. Your teachers and myself will be chaperoning you while you are there to ensure your safety.” He glared directly at me again. “That is, of course, assuming you behave yourselves and don't get grounded to the school's premises for misbehavior.” He turned back to the others, adjusted his glasses, and smiled. “Now, please go on with your day as planned. Good luck, my little unicorns.”
I stumbled along with the crowd toward the dining hall, barely noticing what went on around me. Everything seemed somehow distant and removed from the reality I now faced. There would be no way out for me now. I was stuck in this place, and stuck in the grasp of ponies like River. I barely kept up with the crowd. What was the point, anyway?





As I made my way to exercise class, I realized that my morose thoughts during breakfast had probably been unfounded. Things might still be bad, but they weren't going to get any worse either... probably. I could handle this for just a week, and then I could get out and never come back.
I walked in through the classroom door, almost bumping into River and her friends, Pearl and Ruby. They had all been talking about something, but as soon as they saw me, they hushed up. I stepped past them as gingerly as I could, eying them the whole time.
As soon as I passed them by, they all broke out giggling behind my back.
I dreaded to think what that might mean for my near future, but there was no point in dwelling on it now. I spotted Whisper already sitting next to my usual spot, so I made my way over.
“Wath that your letter that the Headmaster wath talking about?” she asked, before I could even sit down.
“I think so, or at least it was Twilight's letter that he got because of me.”
“But it didn't theem to work.” She looked over at me with her eyes full of concern.
No, it didn't. “I can't believe he's just going to ignore a royal decree. Just who does he think he is?”
“Let's settle down, please!” Miss Honeydown sang out, “We have a very special lesson to get to today.”
Everypony hushed and scrambled off to their seats. As the noise quieted down, I noticed Ruby Shine sitting down next to me on the other side, where River would normally have gone. I didn't worry about it though. All those bully ponies were the same. What did it matter which one sat next to me?
“Today, class, we'll be working on the most special kind of magic – the kind that relates to your cutie mark and your special talent.”
I braced for the angst those words would call up, but instead, I felt uplifted. Of course! I had a cutie mark now, and I knew my special talent. The very idea of that warmed me inside and reminded me that whatever troubles this school might throw at me, I still had that going for me, and it was more than I ever had before.
Miss Honeydown strolled around the ring of chairs. “Now, I want you all to think back to how you first got your cutie marks. What happened?” She turned and started pacing along the other direction. “Most unicorns have magic closely tied to their special talent – you were probably using it when you got your cutie mark.”
So, was mine teleporting?
“Okay. Once you have the special spell you can perform in mind, I want each of you to execute it in the smallest, most controlled manner you can.” She slowly turned around, smiling reassuringly at the students around her. “And don't worry. I'll have shields ready to go, just in case anything gets a little out of control. That's my special talent, after all.”
All around me, little unicorns strained themselves and made their horns glow. More than a few of them were already performing their spells, causing a kaleidoscope of magic to whiz around the room, each spell caught and nullified by one of Miss Honeydown's shields. 
Whatever might happen, I supposed there was no point living in fear of my own special talent. I thought back to the first couple times I had done magic, what that felt like. Closing my eyes against the distracting cacophony of unicorn magic around me, I focused on repeating that teleportation spell.
After a minute or two of trying harder and harder, I realized I was butting up against some kind of wall. For some reason, I just couldn't do it. No! After trying for so long to find my special talent, I was not going to let it just slip away. I redoubled my efforts, flapping my wings so fast I almost lifted off the ground, and making them glow so brightly I could see the glare even through my tightly closed eyes.
“Scootaloo, dear? Are you having some trouble?”
At the sound of my teacher's voice, my eyes popped open in surprise. She was calling for me? As soon as I spotted her, I felt the wall preventing my spell dissipate. A bright purple flash filled my vision. As soon as I could see again, I found myself in the air just above Miss Honeydown. I crashed down on top of her, and both of us crumpled to the floor.
Perhaps because I was more used to crashing, I was the first to recover. “Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean–”
“It's okay, Scootaloo. I've had worse.” The teacher picked herself up off of the dusty wooden floor and rubbed at her shoulder. “But now that I know your special talent is teleporting, I bet I know what your trouble was.” She patted me on the head. Somehow, it felt as if she was patting me like a well-behaved dog. “A teleport spell needs to have a destination before it can work. When you saw me, it took me for the destination.”
I looked away, my cheeks burning. I stood in the middle of the ring, of course, so all the other students had a front-row view of my stupid mistake.
“You just head back to your seat, dear, and keep practicing. I know it's especially hard for you, but on the bright side, you're doing very well at magic by pegasus standards.”
The smattering of laughter that followed me to my seat didn't do a thing to soften the blow of the teacher's double-edged compliment. She probably meant well, but it stung nonetheless.





My wings ached, my stomach growled, and my legs trembled. I had practiced teleportation for hours, but I never made any progress at all. I wasn't more accurate, I couldn't do it quicker or easier, and there was no way I could practice going further within the confines of the room. Why did magic have to be so hard? After a whole day of practice, I'd hardly even–
The peal of the school bell topped my thoughts in their tracks. For a moment, I looked forward to lunchtime, but then I remembered my punishment from the Headmaster. I wouldn't be eating; I'd be helping the kitchen staff.
With a resigned, plodding step, I headed off toward the cafeteria.





I caught Missus Primrose staring at me as I walked into the lunchroom. I was one of the last ponies to arrive.
Her usual look of superiority and slight disgust was nowhere to be seen today though. Now she just gave me a slight smug smile. “Run along now,” she chided, nodding toward the kitchen doors. “You know where you belong.”
I scowled back at her as I made my way to the door at the back of the room. I'd seen a lot here, but for it to be as blatant as that was just ridiculous. I continued on through the doors, shaking my head at the teacher's obvious prejudices.
Inside, gleaming metal appliances and countertops surrounded me. My hooves echoed against the shiny stone floor.
As soon as the sound of my steps died off, a chubby chocolate brown earth pony hurried around the corner from behind what looked like a big refrigerator. His mane was creamy white, and a spatula cutie mark adorned his – rather ample – flank. I recognized him as the same one who gave me double helpings after my place had been taken on the first day.
“Ho dere, you be my new liddle helpa?” Despite his thick accent, his deep voice put me at ease. Somehow, he seemed familiar to me, even though I was sure I'd never seen him before.
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, I could sho as da sun use some help scrubbin' dem pans. Dey's right back in da back o' da kichin.” He disappeared from view again, and I heard the clatter of more dishes. “Help yaself to some soap an' a scrubby. I be servin' trays fo a few mo minutes,” he called back as he disappeared toward the front of the kitchen.
What else was there to do? I wandered back toward the back of the kitchen in search of the sink, taking in the sights as I went along. I passed the big humming refrigerators on my left, and I could hear the muffled din of the students behind them. On the right, I passed a bank of enormous ovens, still going strong, with a couple pegasi busy taking huge pans out of them. As I continued on, I passed a big table with a cutting board countertop, shelves full of the biggest cans I had ever seen, and a can opener that looked like it belonged in a factory instead of a kitchen. It was manned by a huge earth pony mare who scowled at me as I slunk past.
Finally, at the very back of the kitchen, I found the sink. It, too, shone with the dull gleam of polished steel. Three huge basins, each big enough for me to use as a bathtub, shared a single faucet, and a soap dispenser hung on the wall above one of them. I looked in dismay at the huge pile of pots and pans already stacked up next to it, but at least there was a step stool there so I could reach.
I knew what to do, more or less. I had helped Cheerilee clean dishes plenty of times, and this would probably be the same, just bigger. With a sigh, I grabbed the step stool and got to work.





“Ey, good work dere! Ya figgered out da tree sink method, good. One ta soak, one ta wash, an' one ta sanitize.”
It hadn't been hard to figure out, of course. The sinks were already set up that way, complete with dishes already in each phase. I ate up the praise anyway, though. I'd gotten precious few genuine compliments since coming here.
“Da name's Cookie, by da way. Sugar Cookie.” The big stallion slid up next to me and started patiently scrubbing one of the larger pots. He stared at me over the pile of dishes.
I glanced back, but went back to rinsing off plates. I wasn't sure if I wanted a conversation.
“Dey ever done gave you a name, filly?”
Well, it looked like a conversation was going to happen whether I liked it or not. “Scootaloo,” I replied simply.
“Dat's a good name. I like it, but dey done told me dat already. What dey don' tell me is how a nice lil' filly end up workin' in da kichen.”
I shook my head. “It's a long story.”
“Don't ya worry none 'bout dat. We got a whole lotta dishes here, so we got lotsa time.” The warm smile on his face disarmed me. He wasn't making it easy to sulk.
“Well–” I paused. Should I tell him the real story, or what anypony else would tell him? One look at him, still patiently scrubbing his pot, decided it “–I was out in the playground when some bullies came up to me.”
Cookie nodded sagely at the mention of bullies.
“One of 'em kicked a ball through the Headmaster's window and blamed it on me. Of course everypony went along with it, even my best friend here, so the Headmaster believed her.” I tossed my sponge into the dishwater, making a little splash. “And this is my punishment for what I didn't do.”
He just kept staring at me, his hoof making lazy circles around the inside of the pot. His only response was a slightly raised eyebrow.
I knew it might be hard to believe, but it was the truth for pony's sake. Somepony had to believe me! “That's really what happened! I'm not making it up.”
His smile returned. “I believes ya, filly. But why ain't ya gone an' done somehtin' 'bout it yet?”
I groaned and went back to scrubbing, putting all my pent up frustrations into cleaning the limitless pile of dishes. “Like what? Nopony here believes me.” I glanced over at him again. “Well, except for you.”
“Cain't you write somethin' to ya parents?” He finally finished the big pot he had been workng on, only to drop it in the middle sink and pick up another just like it. “Dey could sho do somethin' 'bout it.”
I gave him a sharp glare he couldn't have known he deserved. “My parents died a long time ago.”
“Oh. Ah sorry lil' filly.” That had been enough to break the smile off his face. “If'n it make you feel any better, I knows how ya feel. My ol' ma done passed just last summer, bless 'er.”
I hadn't meant to bring down the mood so badly. Cookie wasn't a bad guy. “It's okay. I don't let it get to me.”
“Well, still, you gotta have somepony back home can help you. Somepony musta sent you here.” He paused for a moment, scrubbing fiercely at some stubborn spot. “Why don' you write to dem?”
“I did!” Stopping my scrubbing for a moment, I threw my head back and growled. “But did you see that assembly they had this morning? That was the Headmaster's way of telling everypony that he's not going to listen to the pony who sent me here!”
“But wait...” He squinted at me. “Ol' Dusty done said somethin' 'bout a royal decree. You got sent here by some royalty?”
“Ol' Dusty?”
Cookie chuckled. “I like to call 'im dat. Still gotta call 'im 'Heral' Dust' to 'is face tho', naturally.”
I chuckled back. “Of course. And yeah, Princess Twilight sent me here. Who else could get a pegasus into magic kindergarten? They only want ponies with magic horns. What am I doing here?”
“It all be da same to me.” He shrugged. “Dere ain't nopony else you could write to?”
I shook my head and ended up staring at the sudsy water below me. “Twilight's the only one with a dragon. Everypony else would take too long to write to. Their responses probably wouldn't even get here before I leave.”
“Well, ain't no harm in tryin'.”
“I guess so,” I conceded with a sigh.
His big smile returned, brighter than ever. “Dat's da spirit. What about ya friends here tho'? Dey can help, cain't dey?”
A derisive little laugh shot out of me before I could even think about it. “I've only got one friend here. She's nice and all, but she's never gonna stand up for me, or even for herself.”
“Huh.” He shook his head. “I'ssa sad, sad thing not havin' any good friends.” His second pot splashed into the water, and he leaned towards me with his eyes full of earnest concern. “You keep an eye out, ya hear? You don' never know when an' where ya might find a new friend who help you out and get you through all dis mess.”
He was right, of course. I couldn't just assume I'd never have any friends here. That would be a self-fulfilling prophecy. “Yeah. I'll keep looking.”
“Dere ya go, lil' filly. You jus' keep dat good attitude up, an' things is gonna be all right.” He glanced off to the side. “Now, thank ya fo ya help, lil' Scootaloo, but I think e'en my ol' bones can handle the res'.” Nodding towards the other side of the kitchen, he grinned widely. “Now I think ya should up an' get a lil' somethin' fo yaself. I done saved ya some on the cuttin' table. Ya run along now and you gonna have jus' 'nuff time to fill yaself up an' still get outside fo' some play.”
I beamed my brightest smile. Despite all this supposedly being punishment, Cookie's affectionate help had made my heart soar. It was the highlight of my day, for sure. “Thank you, Cookie! I'm so glad I got to talk to you.”
“Don' mention it.” He laughed. “Now run along lil' filly, an' don' be wastin' no mo' time with me.” He leaned back and started slowly scrubbing another pot while I hurried off to find my meal.
All the while, I could barely hold back my excitement. I finally found a true friend here, and I had been given some good advice. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.