//------------------------------// // Chapter Two - Day To Remember // Story: Just Like Mommy // by Pteri //------------------------------// Sparkler yawned, stretching her mouth wide. Her fang then touched her bottom lip, and she turned to look at the clock, surprised to see it was six o' clock... She rarely woke up this early. She wasn't told what time school started, but she was excited, no doubt. She looked over to see Comet, her pet mouse, looking at her. Ever since the bath, he has been a lot less scared of the young filly. Quickly, she pulled off her pajamas over her head, giggling as she imagined the friends she'd make. She dug through her dresser and pulled out two tiny blue bows with yellow polka-dots. Daddy had gave them to her on her last birthday, and she only wore them for special occasions. She tied each bow around each ear before running towards the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror, giggling excitedly. She held the toothbrush in her hoof, squeezing toothpaste on it with her mouth. Accidentally, she bit two hard, squeezing a large pile onto her toothbrush and floor. This was so funny Sparkler had dropped the toothbrush and tube all together, adding a bit more to the mess. She then dashed out, still laughing her well known high pitched laugh, too excited to clean her teeth. At last, she saw her parents' doors. She burst through the door, making both mommy and daddy sit straight up. Her jaw stretched very wide and she yelled: "I'M GOING TO SCHOOOOL!!" Celestia's wide eyes went back to normal, and she rubbed them while chuckling. "Not for another two hours, sweet heart." Sparkler looked up at mommy with excited eyes before attempting to climb the bed. She made it about half way before falling backwards. Luckily, before hitting her back on the carpeted floor, daddy had caught her with his tail and pulled her onto his cotton candy cloud, where he them pressed his lips against her belly and blew out hard. "Pffffft!!" Sparkler laughed loudly. She was always so ticklish. "No, daddy! Nooooo!" She called out, laughing loudly as she tried to push his face away. Once he ran out of breath, he sat up. Sparkler's mane was now even messier, and she wriggled her tail before pouncing on him. She bit his feathery wing pretty hard, but he flicked her off easily. "Now, now, Sparkler, no biting." He said as he lowered her down to mommy's bed. Celestia laughed, pulling her child close using her wing. She nuzzled her filly behind the ear before flipping herself onto her back. She then raised Sparkler above her. As the young filly looked down, she let her hooves and lizard foot dangle. It felt like she was flying! Both blue wings lifted up and flapped. She haven't flown yet, but this activity with mommy was definitely one of her favorites! Mommy then flopped to one side, planting her filly beside her. Discord's cloud disappeared as he slithered down to join the two on the large bed. Sparkler then hopped on her daddy's back, nibbling his long, gray ear that resembled her own. Celestia gave a final yawn before sitting up. "I'm pretty hungry." She said, wiping her eyes. Discord smiled. "Want me to make something?" Sparkler turned her head to her daddy, and her eyes widened with happiness as she prepared to ask for one of her favorite meals. "Pancakes!! Daddy, daddy! I want pancakes!!" Her wings flew spread out, making her look unusually large. She ruffled them before hopping of the bed, biting Discord's tail and attempting to haul her daddy off the bed. She was too weak to even pull him in the slightest, so Discord just stood up off of the bed just before turning to lift his daughter away from his tail. "Again with the biting?" He held his filly upside down by her tail as she laughed. He pulled her up close to his face before turning to Celestia. "I don't know, Tia. Perhaps she needs her fang taken out." He smirked as his daughter protectively covered her mouth. "No way, daddy! I can't loose my fang! I want to eat pancakes!" Celestia then used her magic to hold her filly upright and pull her away from Discord's paw. "Discord, why don't you make the pancakes without magic this time?" He looked slightly disappointed, and wanted to ask why. Usually, he'd just snap up meals with his magic, and they were quite good. "Well... Fine." "That way," Celestia said while nuzzling her filly. "Sparkler can go down and help once I help her fix up her mane." Both of their eyes brightened at the thought of that. Discord pulled out a chef hat out of no where and placed it upon his head, and repeated the action with an apron. "I'll see you in a little bit, little chef." He said before heading out the door. "Mommy! Can you do my mane all pretty?! I want to be beautiful just like you!" She cheered happily. Celestia laughed, taking out both bows with her magic. A brush levitated out of the drawer and towards the filly. "Oh, Sweetie, you're already beautiful." Sparkler turned her head slightly to get a look at her mother. "Really, mommy? You mean it?" Celestia pulled the brush away, and planted a kiss on Sparkler's cheek. "I mean it." She said before returning to brushing. Knowing this, Sparkler sat comfortably on the bed as her black mane was brushed delicately. It only needed a few strokes before it was silky smooth. Though it held the color of her father's mane, it contained the texture of her mother's, but lacked the magic flow that always amazed the little filly. The bows were then retied, and the two hugged tightly before following the smell of pancakes. Sparkler ran ahead of her mother, speeding through the hall ways. Celestia gasped, but replaced her surprised expression with a content smile. She was fast for a filly her age. "Daddy! DADDY!" She yelled while sliding into the kitchen. Discord turned towards her, smiling his wide, goofy grin. "Hello, there! I just finished making these pancakes... Would you like to add some syrup?" Sparkler only laughed in reply and grasped a syrup bottle that appeared in front of her in her mouth. Discord turned towards the door way, smiling nervously as Celestia walked in. Her eyes contained a suspicious look as she looked at the pancakes that were all perfectly done and currently being drenched in syrup. "That's funny... I didn't know pancakes cooked that fast without magic." He just shrugged before leaning against the counter. "I'm just that goo...." He was interrupted by Celestia, who quickly ran towards her filly. "Sparkler, no!" She called before running over. Her filly was laughing uncontrollably as she turned towards he scared mother. Not only the pancakes now floating in a sticky mess, but she herself was drenched in the sticky sweetness. "Uggh..." Celestia picked up her filly with her magic, staring at her mane. What was just brushed was now sticking out in all directions. How she managed to do this is mere seconds was a mystery. Discord then snatched his filly with his lion paw and eagle claw from the magic aura. He snuggled her to his chest, ignoring the syrup that was now on him. He began to laugh with her. "You are just like I would've been." Sparkler stopped laughing and looked up at her father. His words confused her, but that didn't matter. She'd go to school, and then she could understand everything in the world, like why the sky was blue or what makes chocolate so good. The mysterious world would soon become clear. "Sparkler, you really need to clean up!" Celestia said sternly, pulling her filly back to her side using magic. "I'll start the tub for you, and then you can scrub yourself up... Maybe I should help. This syrup is going to take hours to clea...." A snap caused Celestia's year to flinch slightly, and in less then a second her daughter was clean. "Yay!" Sparkler cheered. She then attempted to reach her syrup-drenched pancake after being lowered to the ground. "Thank you, Discord." Celestia said, letting out a relieved sigh. She sat down at the table, which was soon joined by Discord and Sparkler. Together they ate the most important meal of the day. *** The time had finally arrived. Sparkler was finally going to school! The gold chariot in which she rode in was amazing! She has always loved taking trips into the sky. Celestia sat beside her, smiling forward as her filly looked carefully over the edge. Daddy didn't come along, despite the begging Sparkler had done. She even brought out the puppy eyes, which was almost impossible to resist, but he insisted on staying home. At least mommy rode along with her. Her bows were tightened on her ears, and a small red saddlebag sat on her back. Celestia pulled her filly away from the edge with her hooves and embraced her in a long hug. "Remember, sweetie. Don't be afraid to make some friends. But not during class. Be sure to listen to your teacher." Sparkler nodded, smiling a reply. Celestia felt a pinch of concern as she looked at the fang of her daughter, along with the eyes that didn't match. She quickly shook the feeling. She'd be fine. "Y-You have your lunch?" Celestia asked as the chariot lowered toward the ground. Sparkler ignored her mother as the large building came into view. It was a blue brick building with a bell on top, and was quite huge. However, it was no where near the castle size Sparkler was used to, but it was the most exciting building in existence. "School!" She cheered excitedly, wagging her tail. It was really happening! Sparkler had always wanted to go to school, but it seemed daddy always felt nervous about the idea. It didn't matter though, because she was there now! The chariot which was carried by two strong stallion Pegasus ponies was set carefully on the ground. Sparkler nuzzled her mommy's nose before hoping out. Celestia watched as her filly suddenly slowed down to examine the building. An aching pain in Celestia's heart made her want to run out and hug her filly more then ever, but all she did was wave. The princess had royal duties to attend to, so there was no time to linger by. With a final wave, the chariot rose upward. Sparkler, who was normally quite fast, walked slower then other ponies toward the school. All the excitement seemed to have fall to her hooves (and lizard foot) and was soon replaced by a swarm of butterflies in her tummy. Other ponies stood around her, silencing themselves as she walked by. Before, this wasn't really a problem with Sparkler. She had run through streets countless times before... But seeing tons and tons and millions and millions of ponies her age staring at her with either a look of confusion, shock, or hatred made her knees quiver. However, if there is anything her dad had taught her, its to laugh in any situation and always smile. She wanted to be just like Daddy. Despite the strange looks, Sparkler showed off her toothy smile. She even occasionally waved to several ponies. The stairs came into view, and the polished marble reminded her of her bathroom floor. At least that was comforting. In fact, it was just enough to squeeze a giggle out herself. Sparkler hopped up quickly, laughing obnoxiously loud while doing so. However, there were other ponies at the top she hadn't noticed. Quickly, Sparkler stopped herself before running into them. They let out a gasp at the top of the stairs as Sparkler came close to running into them. "Woooah!" She screamed before tumbling backward. Though she couldn't fly yet, Sparkler was able to lighten her fall using her bright blue feathered wings. Sparkler actually giggled out loud at her clumsiness. "Whoopsies!" Sparkler said. A pony from the top of the stairs trotted down. Her long purple mane was curled slightly, and her blue eyes stood out against the pink fur. "Are you okay?" She asked, holding out a hoof. Sparkler looked up, slightly surprised, but then smiled and reached her hoof out to accept the help. But as she reached up, the pony swapped her hoof away, causing Sparkler to fall again. The mare then turned her head towards a crowd at the top of the stairs, and then all of them laughed in unison. Sparkler's eyebrows raised in shock. What? Suddenly, a dark pink pony with blonde mane galloped quickly down the stairs, actually helping the confused filly up. "Leave her alone, Precious Tiara!" The pony yelled. The pink pony laughed before rolling her eyes. "Its not my fault this pony is messed up!" She said, turning and whipping her tail at the same time. The act made startled Sparkler, and she leaped back. Precious Tiara then hopped up the stairs to meet with her crowd, who then trotted into the school whispering about the odd duo. "Who was she?" Sparkler asked, straightening her bow. "Ah. Some richy snobby pony who's full of herself. You're new here, aren't you?" Sparkler nodded, smiling her wide goofy grin. The pony held in laughter. Sparkler could see it in her green eyes. "Well, my name is Applalee." She said, smiling. "I've been coming here for a while. My mom says education is really important, so I was sent to Canterlot's best school. And you must be Princess Sparkler!" Sparkler shrugged. She didn't really see herself as a princess, but if other ponies saw her that way, she certainly wasn't complaining. "Well, we should be getting to class! This school has lots of teachers! Who do you have?" Applalee cheered loudly. "My mommy said I'd have to go to one of my foal sitters! Twilight!!" She cheered. The name was very similar to her own. It made her giggle slightly. "Oooh!! Me too! Some say she's the best teacher here because she's a princess, just like you!" Sparkler smiled wildly. A princess teacher? That was funny! "Can you show me where she is?" Sparkler asked. Applalee smiled, wagging her blonde tail. "Yeah! Lets go Sparkler!" She said, trotting up the stairs. Sparkler followed. As they passed through the hallways, an old pony with the same coat as Applalee waved. The filly stopped running, hugged her, then continued. "Who's that?!" Sparkler asked. "Oh! She's my granny Cheerilee! She works here at the school!" Applalee smiled. "Cool!" Sparkler commented. They slid into a room which was decorated with large books and educational posters. Her mommy was even on one! The pony who stood behind the desk was purple, who had one horn and two wings, just like mommy! Sparkler was staring at the teacher, smiling widely. Applalee was nervously looking at the whispering students, including Precious Tiara and her gang. "Oh my... You two are late." She said, giving a small wave to Sparkler. "But I suppose since we have a new student..." Applalee quickly wrapped a hoof around Sparkler's shoulder. "I.. I was just telling her a bit about the school, Ms. Sparkle!" Twilight squinted suspiciously at Applalee, but shrugged. "You may take your seat, Applalee. Sparkler, would you come to the front of the class?" Sparkler laughed and ran up to Twilight, embracing her in a hug. She loved when Twilight sat for her. Though Cadence was fun, Twilight watched her much more often. Twilight hugged her back, then turned to the class. Sparkler started digging in her saddlebag as Twilight started talking about Sparkler. The filly already knew about herself, so she didn't feel the need to listen. Sparkler finally found under her books and pencils a shiny red apple. After gripping it by the stem, she set it on the corner of Twilight's desk, interrupting her speech about Sparkler. The act caused several ponies to whisper things like "That's so old" and "They only do that on cartoons". Sparkler ignored them, and smiled up at Twily. Twilight thanked her, then let her sit in an empty desk in front of Precious Tiara. Before running to her seat, Twilight pulled Sparkler to the side. "Listen, Sweetie. Today we're talking about the history of Equestria... I... I just wanted to say your daddy is good now, and that's what's most important... Okay?" Sparkler didn't quite understand, but she smiled and nodded before dashing up to her seat. "Alright everypony!" Twilight called as she levitated a book in front of her face. "Today we will continue our lesson on the history of Equestria!! Please turn to page 112!" She said in a cheery tone. Sparkle quickly turned to the page, smiling as she saw her daddy in the pages! He made history, just like mommy did! "And don't worry, everypony! I have a fun diagram to fill out as we go along! Isn't that exciting?!" Twilight cheered happily as she passed out papers to the students. The class, not including Sparkler, all groaned together. Some colt in the back yelled above the groans: "Ms. Sparkle is the worst!" Sparkler shot back a surprised look. Twilight just rolled her eyes, but kept a smile on her face. Sparkler liked that. This was going to be great! Its time to find out how great her daddy was in the past. Maybe he was a super hero.. Or perhaps a mystery solver or even something better! Mommy and Daddy never really talked about Daddy's past, probably because they knew she'd learn it in school. How exciting! Sparkler hugged the picture with her daddy in it, then lifted her ears to Twilight to hear her Daddy's story.