//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Princess Twilight Sparkle's School for Fantastic Foals // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Unable to see very well, Sumac followed after his friend and trusted companion, Pebble. Much to his surprise, his glasses got much darker when he was outside, which was good, because the light was a little painful right now. Applejack was leading them to Sugarcube Corner, where they were to stay until Trixie was done working, and then Pebble would walk him home. Applejack had to be getting back to Sweet Apple Acres. Cider season would be here soon and everything was about to get real busy. Ponyville sounded busy, but Sumac really couldn’t see what was going on. He could smell though, and everything smelled good. Sugarcube Corner wasn’t too far away, he could smell popcorn, he could smell the heady aroma of coffee, the delicate scent of tea, and the smell of fresh baked bread permeated the air. Ponies had a grain rich diet; breads, rolls, and baked goods made up a majority of their meals. Sumac felt his stomach rumble, it had been a long day. He hadn’t quite got everything on his list of things to do done, but that was okay. There was always tomorrow. He began to wonder if he could get something to eat when he went to Sugarcube Corner. He didn’t like having to ask for anything, but he wasn’t about to complain if a free meal came his way. Boomer was curled up around his horn again, and she was currently wide awake. He could hear the sounds of her breathing, smell the faint smell of smoke, and she sometimes made an excited trilling sound. At some point, when he had been seeing the eye doctor, either Applejack or Pebble had fed Boomer her gemstone that Pinkie Pie had given her. As Sumac trotted along after Pebble, he thought about school. He thought about Lemon Hearts and was excited to have her as a teacher. He thought about living in one place, here in Ponyville, an idea that still seemed strange and more than a little weird to him. He was used to moving around, going from place to place, and in his short life, he had walked thousands of miles, traveling from coast to coast, and very likely he had seen more of Equestria than most adults. Sumac worried that living here and seeing the same thing day after day would get boring. Life on the road allowed you to see something new every day. New climates, new terrain, new towns, new cities, there was always something new just over the horizon. Trixie had told him to focus on other things, like making friends, getting to know friends, his schoolwork, getting to know the Apples, and studying magic. She assured him that he would adjust and there would be something new to do every day, but it was up to him to go looking for it. “Sumac…” The little colt was jolted from his thoughts and he almost bumped into Pebble, who had come to a stop. He blinked, peering at her through his new glasses, and tried to make her fuzzy, blurry outline focus. He blinked again and again, but his vision did not clear. Not yet. “Sumac, there is something I must do but I need your help,” Pebble said. “Oh?” Sumac, still blinking, did not realise that he looked very much like an owl with his round glasses, and had he been in the company of any other foal right now, they would very likely be laughing at his bleary eyed blinking. “It’s very personal and private and it’s going to be embarrassing, but I really need you to be there with me ‘cause I’m too scared to go and do it by myself.” Pebble’s voice was low and flat as she spoke, and she glanced over at Applejack, who now stood at the door to Sugarcube Corner. “You know, Pebble, you are a big filly and you can go to the potty all by yourself,” Sumac said in a soft whisper, with no trace of laughter in his voice. Pebble, whose brown cheeks somehow darkened and turned an odd shade of purple, stared wide eyed at Sumac. “No…” She shook her head, squirmed in an almost unnoticeable way, shook her head again, and her tail swished around her hind legs. “Sumac… no… what is wrong with little colts? It’s nothing like that. I need to apologise to Pinkie Pie and I need you there with me.” “Well, why didn’t you say that to begin with?” Sumac asked as Pebble began to walk towards the door. He followed after her, almost stumbled, and Boomer let out a worried swan-like honk. “It sounded like you needed to pee or something.” “Colts,” Pebble deadpanned in a huff. “Well, you talked about being embarrassed—” “Emotional embarrassment…I don’t even know how you… ugh, little colts… how did you… why did you… ugh, you must have applesauce for brains.” Pebble rolled her eyes as she approached the door where Applejack stood. She let out a frustrated sigh and her eyes narrowed. “Maybe.” Sumac assumed that Pebble was just giving him some good natured teasing. It was hard to tell, because she didn’t sound angry or funny, she just sounded like… well, she sounded like she always sounded, like Pebble. But she was his friend, so he just assumed that she was funny and not mean or antagonistic when she said that he had applesauce for brains. “You two are so sweet together,” Applejack said as she pulled Pebble in for a kiss. She pressed her lips against Pebble’s cheek, kissed the filly, and gave her an affectionate pat. Reaching out, she grabbed Sumac and hauled him in. Sumac felt Applejack hug him, and then he felt her kiss him on the side of his muzzle. Lips were almost touching! He squirmed, taking emergency evasive maneuvers. He wiggled, but Applejack was bigger and stronger by far. There was another kiss, this one even more dangerously close than the last, and he heard Applejack chuckle. Remembering his manners, Sumac said something that needed to be said. “Thank you for your help, Applejack. Thank you for the glasses.” “Aw, shucks, it ain’t nothing. Needed to be done. I just hope you like how they look. I think they look good on you and I’m real glad that I found something that makes you look handsome.” Applejack gave Sumac another squeeze. “You know, we need to get you a hat or something. Or maybe a nice bow to put in your mane—” “Aaaaaapplejack…” Sumac wanted to melt into an embarrassed puddle. He glanced over at Pebble, whom he could not see very well, and wondered if she thought this was funny. At least when Applejack teased him it wasn’t hurtful or mean teasing. “Hats make for responsible ponies,” Applejack said in a low voice. “That’s what my Pa said. A hat is something you have to keep track of. You have to care for it. A pony with a hat can be trusted, because the hat shows they can keep track of things.” “But I have Boomer and she likes being on my horn.” Sumac looked up at Applejack and if he squinted just right, he could make out her green eyes looking down at him. “True ‘nuff.” Applejack heaved a sigh and shook her head. “Well, Big Mac and I will just have to find another way to make a responsible pony out of you, Sumac Apple.” Applejack paused and smacked her lips together. “I just remembered something. You ain’t the first pony with the name of Sumac in this family.” “I’m not?” Sumac asked, feeling intrigued. “Eenope.” Applejack smiled. “I did a little digging. There was a Sumac Heartwood and he was married to a Cara Cara Orange. We have a cousin named Holly Heartwood who lives in Manehattan. She’s a firefighter and a big ol’ hero. We write each other letters. I’ve been trying to contact all the extended family and distant cousins cause I’m trying to construct an Apple family tree.” “Huh.” Sumac leaned up against Applejack, no longer caring that she had tried to smooch him on the mouth. For some reason, hearing this made Sumac feel better about his name. He didn’t feel so out of place. It was strange, having a name like Sumac Apple. “Sumac, there is a lot riding on you going to school and doing well. You’re a very grown up little colt, so I’m gonna say this plain. This is a big deal for us Apples. Apple Bloom is getting ready to start taking university classes through some remote school here in Ponyville that gets materials from Canterlot. We Apples made a name for ourselves a long time ago, but to have somepony going to university… or somepony that has the potential to be a super smart wizard someday… that’s a real big deal for us all. We’re all behind you. We want you to succeed and we’ll do anything to help you do that.” “Thank you, Applejack,” Sumac said, feeling very small but also very loved. He wasn’t very magical, or so he thought, but it felt good to have somepony that believed in him. “Sumac is smart, but he doesn’t have an earth pony work ethic when he studies.” Pebble, who stood beside Sumac, looked up at Applejack. “I’ll do my best to help him.” “Well I appreciate that, Pebble,” Applejack replied. “You don’t go easy on him now, ya hear?” “Okay.” Pebble nodded in agreement. “I gots to go,” Applejack said in a voice filled with regret. “I’d like to drop in and say hello to everypony, but if I do that, I’ll be here for another hour. So I’d best be going. I love you, Sumac Apple. You take care and you mind your mother.” “I will,” Sumac replied, “and thank you again for the glasses.” This time, when Applejack kissed Sumac, she scored one right on the lips. There was no sign of Pumpkin or Pound in Sugarcube Corner. It was the afternoon lull and there weren’t very many customers in the lobby. The many ovens made it a little warm inside, but it wasn’t too bad. Sumac sniffed as Pebble led him along and he followed her through the doors out of the customer area and into the living area. Sumac felt a fan blowing on him as he moved though what he guessed was a living room. He heard the sound of hooves and then he heard Pebble take a deep breath. He tensed when he saw a flash of pink. There was a dreadful moment of absolute silence, and then… “Pebble… I’m so sorry—” “No, Aunt Pinkie, I’m sorry—” “No, Pebby Poops, I’m sorrier… your mother wanted me and you to have a special relationship just like she and I have a special relationship… I’m one of the few ponies that gets Maud, who understands her, and I love her so much and I love you so much because you’re a little part of her, but you’re also different than she is, there is a lot of Tarnish in you too, and I didn’t take that into account”—Pinkie sucked in a huge deep breath—“and I made a mess of things because I just assumed that you and I would get along because Maud and I get along and Tarnish is like a brother to me and we get along great and I was just so stupid because I made these assumptions but I didn’t think about you being your own pony and looking back on everything, I can see all the mistakes I made and I feel so bad and I don’t know how to fix things and now I am babbling because I’m so scared and nervous and I’ll totally understand if you don’t want to stay with me because I made such a big mess of things—” “Auntie Pinkie,” Pebble said in a firm voice, cutting off her babbling aunt, “I made mistakes too. I made things very difficult for you. I said bad things. I called you stupid and I shouldn’t have done that and then I talked down to you to belittle you and I made a mess of things too.” Sumac, still tensed, wondered what was about to happen next. He stood there, feeling awkward, but determined to stick this out. Pebble needed him. He was her emotional support. He didn’t know how he was helping her exactly, but he was needed here with her. “Sometimes, I am stupid. I dropped out of school and became a party pony. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in doing what I think is right that I hurt the feelings of others. I make bad assumptions, just like I assumed that you and I would get along because you’re kinda like Maud.” Pinkie Pie sat down on the floor with a thump and her ears drooped. “And sometimes, I’m bossy, mean, and I treat others poorly,” Pebble said, pouring her heart out. “There is more I want to say but I can’t say it without sounding like I am bragging about my intelligence.” The little filly slumped and sat down, looking defeated. “I guess we’re both sorry,” Pinkie Pie said. “You called me ‘Pebby Poops.’ My Daddy calls me that.” Pebble looked up at Pinkie with wide, unblinking eyes. “Are you angry? I can’t tell…” Pinkie gave Pebble a hopeful glance. “No.” Pebble scooted a little closer to her aunt. “I’m not angry.” “Well, that’s a start. We’ve made a mess of things, Pebby Poops.” Pinkie Pie sighed and then a half-hearted giggle escaped, which sounded almost like a hiccup. “Do you know why Tarnish calls you Pebby Poops?” Sumac heard Pebble sigh. “No.” “It’s a funny story. You were a foal. Tarnish was left all alone with you for the very first time, with no help, and no other family members around to guide him. He was so proud. He was certain he was going to do everything just perfect.” Pinkie Pie smiled, wiped her eyes, and then pulled Pebble closer. “But you were like your mother. You didn’t cry as a foal. You just sat there, quiet as a stone, and because of this, Tarnish thought everything was okay. So he left you in your crib as he did his work.” “Daddy gets distracted easily. He lacks focus.” Pebble leaned up against her aunt, glad to be close to Pinkie. “Tarnish lost track of time and you never made a sound. He came back and he found you in quite a state. He was still trying to clean you up when Maud, Marble, and Limestone came home. He was so embarrassed. After everything was cleaned up and you had a bath, he called you his sweet little ‘Pebby Poops’ and everypony had a good laugh about it.” Unable to stop himself, Sumac began to giggle. “Oh sure, laugh about my neglect,” Pebble deadpanned. “He was so in love with you… he carried you around with him everywhere he went, bragging about you, showing you off, he drove everypony nuts. He wanted to show everypony what he had made. He bragged about making the perfect Pie from the finest ingredients. It got to the point where ponies would suddenly find that they had something important to do or somewhere they needed to be when they saw Tarnish coming. He finally calmed down, but it took him a while.” “Mama says that Daddy is a sedimental softie.” Pebble’s words had a perfect flat delivery and there could be no doubt that she had inherited her mother’s sense of humour. “If we’re going to keep talking,” Pinkie Pie said as she wiped her nose with her foreleg, “we should do it over milk and cookies. Come on, follow me, the cookies should still be warm…”