//------------------------------// // Schoolhouse Surprise // Story: Three More Things! // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Uncle smiled down at the fillies as he reached the schoolhouse. "This is where you'll be attending school," he told them calmly. "Now, don't give Uncle those faces. Nothing to worry about!" "But...children see truer," Sweetie Belle pointed out, shivering a bit. Uncle nodded, understanding the problem she had. Not long ago, one antique customer had come in with very young children...who saw right through the 'normality field' of the pendants to realize the one coming up to them was a genuine unicorn...and then got rather grabby. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had gotten a tad...overprotective of Sweetie in how they responded. Uncle had lost a customer that day, and it took weeks to convince Sweetie Belle to stop being a hat. "Uncle knows this. That is why Uncle waited to enroll you all in first grade, rather than kindergarten. Trust Uncle, all will be fine." Apple Bloom looked nervously towards the school. "But...without ya, Uncle?" she whimpered. As enthusiastic as the trio had been about the idea of school, that enthusiasm had dwindled rapidly when they realized it meant a protracted amount of time each day away from Uncle. "Uncle will walk in with you today, and introduce to teacher and class," Uncle promised. "But after that, fillies must handle school on their own." "Why can't I bring my cloud in?" Scootaloo grumbled, pawing unpleasantly at the ground. "Must not stretch normal field too far too soon!" Uncle insisted. "Let school adjust to ponies being normal. Then let school adjust to magical ponies being normal. Then can bring pet cloud to school." All three fillies hung their heads, plainly not looking forward to this as much as they had been. Sighing, Uncle knelt down and embraced all three. "Now don't be so down. Uncle is sure fillies will love school! Uncle certainly did!" As the three perked up, Uncle pulled back and held up his hand. "Now remember, do not take off pendants while at school. No knowing what interrupted field effect might be." The three nodded and started to turn towards the school. "One more thing!" Uncle spoke up, causing them to turn back. "No chi or weather magic on school grounds. Teacher does not count as proper supervision for magic." He smiled as they nodded, turning once more to the school. "One more thing!" They again turned to Uncle, looking a bit more frustrated. "Uncle will be by to pick you up when school is out. Do not keep Uncle waiting!" Nodding affirmatively, the three nodded before turning back towards the school. "One more thing!" "What?" Scootaloo demanded in irritation as the three turned back one last time. Uncle pulled the three into another hug. "Uncle loves you all," he said softly. The realization of how quickly and firmly the three had found a place in his heart had shocked Uncle, and had been its own roller coaster of realization when it came to light. He'd made a mental note to properly think it through once he was back at the shop after dropping them off today. Smiling, the three returned the hug. "We love you too, Uncle!" Sweetie Belle squeaked out as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo nodded affirmatively. Standing up, Uncle led the three into the school. Finding the classroom he was looking for, he knocked. Inside, a young woman with very pale red hair and bright green eyes turned away from her class of first graders to smile at him. "Oh, you must be Uncle Chan," she greeted warmly. "I'm Dorothy Cheers." She smiled down at the fillies. "Are these your girls?" Uncle nodded, returning the warm smile. "These are Uncle's girls, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Say hello, girls." Apple Bloom glanced up, nervousness warring with confusion in her face. There was something oddly familiar here. "Uh...hello." "Hi..." Scootaloo added, feeling uncharacteristically awkward. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Cheers!" Sweetie Belle piped up, deciding to try and be a bit more forward despite her own sense of dislocation. "Well aren't you three just the cutest things ever," Miss Cheers praised, reaching down to ruffle each of their manes, plainly not seeing anything unusual about them. "Now, I understand you've been home schooling them until now?" she asked Uncle. "Yes, Uncle is good teacher!" Uncle proclaimed proudly. "And girls are good students!" he added with praise. "Well, we'll see how much they've learned, then," Miss Cheers confirmed. "For now, girls, take those three open seats in the back. We'll see about rearranging things once you're more at home in the classroom." Nodding, the three fillies took the indicated seats. Smiling, Uncle waved goodbye to them. "See you after school!" he called out, turning to leave. The three fillies waved goodbye as well, turning back to see what lessons Miss Cheers would impart. Something about her made the entire situation more comfortable for them, though none of them could quite put her hoof on why. Unfortunately, the lessons proved rather dull for them. Uncle had already covered the basics of reading and writing with them - both in English and Chinese - and the basics of arithmetic had been covered watching Uncle make change in the store. Apple Bloom struggled to maintain her focus, if only to show respect. Sweetie Belle watched to see the different teaching methods, for a large group as opposed to just three. Scootaloo lacked either curiosity or a desire to be respectful, and was quickly starting to nod off, despite Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nudging her from either side. "Girls?" Miss Cheers asked, a slight edge to her voice. "Is there something you want to say about the class?" Apple Bloom gulped, not wanting to get in trouble. Sweetie Belle hesitated, unsure what to say. Scootaloo pulled from a show they'd enjoyed watching with Uncle. "Miss Cheers, can we be excused to save the world?" The entire class burst into laughter, Miss Cheers included. "Not a bad joke, Scootaloo," she offered chidingly. "I'll be passing out workbooks soon. If you feel you are ahead in the lesson, feel free to work ahead. Then you can get extra gold stars for helping any of your fellow students who ask." All three fillies sat up eagerly. 'Gold Stars' sounded like a wonderful idea.