//------------------------------// // Chapter 30 // Story: Princess Twilight Sparkle's School for Fantastic Foals // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// A few days had passed and tomorrow, on Monday, or Luna’s Day, Sumac hoped to go to school. He was was still having some trouble walking, but he was getting around, even if he was a little slow. He was bored out of his gourd—so much so that he wanted to be back in school. Cinnamon was getting settled in with his aunt and were frequent guests as Cassia didn’t know how to cook, or do much of anything, really. Lemon Hearts and Trixie both were glad to help, and Cassia was an attentive listener who did well when following instructions. Over the past few days, Sumac had taken apart the furnace and had put it back together with no squeaks, no clattering, no thumping, or banging. New rubber washers, seals, tight screws, and well turned nuts and bolts had given the ancient contraption new life. But with the job now done, there was nothing to do, no distractions, nothing to keep Sumac occupied. Which made the knock on the door quite a welcome event… “We’re having a little get together,” Big Mac said as he stood in the doorway, looking down at Trixie. “And y’all are invited. I’ll carry Sumac.” “Oh.” Trixie blinked a few times, looked at Lemon Hearts, and then back up at Big Mac. “Are you sure I won’t be a bother? Is this a family get together?” “You’re Sumac’s mother, that makes you family.” Big Mac chewed on the stalk of hay sticking out of the corner of his mouth for a moment. “And no, you won’t be a bother. Just a gathering of friends for a bit of a break before cider season takes over our lives.” Before Trixie had a chance to say anything, Lemon Hearts said to Big Mac, “We’d love to come. I think Sumac needs to get out of the house for a bit. He’s going stir crazy.” Saying nothing, Big Mac nodded. “Well, I suppose we can go—” “Excellent, Trixie, let’s get moving,” Lemon Hearts said as she gave a sidelong bump to Trixie. “Grab Sumac and we’ll get going right away. I need to be out and doing something. I wonder if it is still warm enough to swim…” “Eeyup.” “Great!” Lemon Hearts flicked her tail against Trixie’s leg to get her attention, as it appeared that Trixie had shut down. When that failed, and Trixie continued to stand and stare wide eyed, Lemon Hearts took a more direct approach and gave her a shove. “Let’s get a move on, Miss Lulamoon, stop gummin’ up the works!” Sweet Apple Acres was an ideal place for a small gathering of friends, as Big Mac had called it. Twilight was there, having a well deserved break, and she had brought Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash had shown up, hoping that cider season had come early. And much to Sumac’s surprise and relief, Pebble was there with Pinkie Pie. Rarity was absent, because as Applejack had pointed out, ‘Rarity was married to her career.’ The words caused quite some confusion for Sumac, who had said nothing about it, but kept thinking and wondering both how and why somepony could be married to their job. Hidden Rose and Ambrosia Apple both played together with Spike, kicking a ball back and forth, while Pebble sat with Sumac under a red and white striped awning. Fluttershy had gone off to check on the bats in the orchard. Granny Smith was indoors with Pinkie Pie, cooking. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were engaged in a heated game of horseshoes. Twilight was forced into being a referee for Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Lemon Hearts and Trixie were sitting under a tree together, talking about something, Sumac couldn’t make out what it was. Boomer was prowling through the grass and hunting for bugs. All in all, it was a pleasant time. Enjoying the breeze, Sumac was starting to feel a little bit drowsy. He yawned, which caused Pebble to yawn, and then, while Pebble was yawning, Big Mac came over and sat down beside him. Craning his head, Sumac looked up at the big pony and then was overcome with curiousity. “Big Mac, what was it like for you, losing your dad?” The big red stallion appeared startled for a moment. He sat there, blinking, looking confused, out of sorts, and somewhat pained. Pebble, sensing that something was wrong, leaned over, wrapped her forelegs around one of Big Mac’s forelegs, and rested her head against him. “In a way, I’ve lost my dad too,” Sumac said in a low voice as he looked over to where Trixie was sitting. “Sometimes, I’m not sure how I’m supposed to be. Or what I’m supposed to do. It’s scary sometimes… how did you get through it?” “I…” Big Mac’s voice faltered, cracked, and he fell silent. He looked down at Pebble, who was clinging to his leg. He tried again. “I… well, I…” After failing again, Big Mac blinked, shook his head, and his ears went limp against the sides of his face. “It’s okay,” Pebble said as she looked up. “It’s okay to cry. I once stepped on my Daddy in a delicate place while he was in the bed and he cried.” Big Mac blinked a few times and stared at Pebble in astonishment before saying to Sumac, “I… I would stand in front of a mirror and try to repeat everything my Pa ever said to me so I’d remember it all and not forget.” The big stallion fell silent and looked thoughtful. “All of his advice, all of his wisdom, all of the things he said were right and wrong, I tried to remember them all. I tried to make them stick. I couldn’t remember everything…” The big stallion’s voice trailed off and cracked. “I really don’t remember too much about my father.” Sumac’s half closed eyes glittered with some inner emotion for a moment before he continued, “I just know that he was bad. Real bad. I don’t even have his words to go by, and even if I did, I doubt that he said anything worth remembering.” Sumac watched as Boomer approached, it seemed that she was done hunting for bugs, and he squirmed when he felt the prickle of her claws as she climbed up his leg. She scurried up his neck, tugging on his mane, and resumed her usual spot, perched on his horn. She felt a bit heavier than usual, perhaps because she had a successful hunt. “Sumac… I have something that you might want to see,” Big Mac said in a voice that was little more than a scratchy whisper. “Something from your father. It’ll help you remember him, and it might give you something to feel good about.” “I’ll help you get up, Sumac,” Pebble offered as Big Mac stood up. “Follow me… Sumac, if you need to be carried…” Big Mac waited. When Sumac didn’t respond, Pebble did it for him, nodding her head. She watched as Big Mac lowered himself down, and then, using her strength, she shoved Sumac onto Big Mac’s back so he could be carried to wherever it was that they were going. The door opened with a faint creak. Rays of sunlight shining through gaps in the boards illuminated motes of dust. The smell of old hay made Sumac want to sneeze. He waited for his glasses to lighten up a bit so he could see. It was dark inside of the old barn and some giant looming shape towered over him, Big Mac, and Pebble. There were pipes… and was that a smokestack? It looked like a locomotive. Part of it was covered in a tarp. Blinking, Sumac wished that his eyes would hurry up and adjust. Big Mac kneeled down and Sumac was pulled off of his back by Pebble, who helped him stand up. He wobbled a bit, but managed to take a few steps forwards, ignoring the ache in his shoulders. Big Mac stood back up and flexed his knees a few times. “The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy Six Thousand,” Big Mac said in a low voice. “It was found abandoned in a barn down near Appleloosa. A lot of it had been stripped off and scrapped. It was recovered during the investigation. It was given to us ‘cause nopony else knew what to do with it.” Wide eyed, and no longer feeling sleepy, Sumac stared. “You father was a genius.” Big Mac stood near the contraption, staring it at it, his eyes darting from detail to detail, and then he looked down at Sumac. “Your father was one of those ponies that could have changed the world for the better, but chose to do wrong and be bad instead.” Lifting his head, he looked up at the old, battered looking machine once more. “I suppose this is yours, if you want it. Pulling it apart might teach you a thing or two. I can’t make heads nor tails of it.” “You could still learn something from your father,” Pebble suggested in her own helpful way. “Aside from learning what not to do.” She looked at the fantastical contraption and held Sumac up as he leaned against her. Overwhelmed, Sumac had no idea how to respond, what to say, what to do, so he just stood there, almost unmoving, staring up at the dilapidated, rusting old hulk. Seeing it fanned the flames of his imagination, it gave him ideas, it filled him with both a sense of wonder and curiousity. There were bits and bobs of brass that stood out in sharp contrast to the half rotten wood and rusted pieces of metal. The wheels had bowed and appeared to be in danger of collapse. Even Boomer was staring up at the old wreck and she made quizzical chirping sounds. “Sumac, Applejack and I have been talking.” Big Mac gave Sumac a gentle nudge to get his attention. “We want you to do good for the sake of doing good, and not for being afraid of being punished. If you do good, if you mind that smart mouth of yours, I’ll help you get tools and we’ll set you up a workshop. You did a fine job of helping me with Trixie’s wagon. You have talent.” Turning his head, Sumac looked up at Big Mac. “You ain’t gotta be perfect, you just have to do your best. You’ll be honest enough to let me and Applejack know when you’ve done your best, won’t you?” Big Mac’s face was stern, but kind. After a moment of thought, Sumac nodded. “Good enough.” Big Mac looked over at the old steam powered contraption, shook his head, and snorted, sending motes of dust flying through the scattered rays of sunlight in a crazy dance. “Let’s get out of here. I think lunch is probably done and I’m hungry.” Lunch was only lunch in the loosest sense of the word. There was pie, apple brown betties could be had, apple turnovers, apple tarts, other apple treats, and Pinkie Pie had made something called confetti ice cream that was a riot of colours and flavours. Sumac didn’t say much while he was eating, he was too busy stuffing his face, but Pebble and Spike had an animated conversation about if it was right to eat rocks because Pebble could make them talk. It was too much for Sumac to keep up with. Perhaps because Sumac was so quiet, Twilight, who was sitting beside him, turned her attention upon him. She wiped her face, turned, leaned over, and then asked, “How are you doing, Sumac? How are you holding up? Feeling a little better?” There was a moment where the conversations around the large table quieted or died completely. Sumac became aware that the others were looking at him, waiting for some kind of reply, hoping for some response. He swallowed and then felt a growing sense of nervousness, not wanting to be the center of attention at the moment. “I’m doing okay,” Sumac replied, hoping that what he said would be enough to appease Twilight’s need to know. To spare himself from further responses, he crammed most of an apple brown betty into his mouth and began chewing. He hoped that Twilight would not start talking about school and Olive. He felt a growing sense of anxiety. School was fine, Sumac could deal with that, but talking about school and Olive together… ugh. “I believe Big Mac showed you something.” Twilight’s voice was hesitant and there was a bit of worry that could be heard by anypony paying attention. She turned and glanced over at Big Mac. “There was some discussion about when it would be right to show you, but it seems that Big Mac went ahead and did it.” A warm smile spread over Twilight’s muzzle and she returned her attention back to Sumac. “Sumac, everypony is curious to see if you’ve inherited your father’s talent. There is something called ancestral memory… certain families of ponies have skillsets and or knowledge that seems to flow through their bloodlines. I for one am very much wanting to know if you inherited your father’s natural mechanical aptitude.” “Because natural mechanical aptitude and a desire to do good could benefit society,” Lemon Hearts said as she butted into the conversation. “You fixed the furnace, which was amazing, and Big Mac says that you were pretty helpful with the wagon.” “And that’s kind of the point of my school.” Twilight’s smile vanished and she became quite serious and studious looking. “How can exceptional ponies with remarkable gifts benefit society as a whole? It is why we focus on integration and friendship. If we all get along, if we can all work together, if we all cooperate, more can be accomplished. If we squabble, bicker, and fight, it creates friction that impedes progress. We do so much that holds us all back.” Still chewing, Sumac just gave Twilight a blank stare, not fully understanding what it was that she was saying. He had a somewhat basic grasp of the idea, but he was certain that there was a lot more too it than he was getting. “The way forward and making progress depends upon figuring out how to make exceptional individuals work together as a satisfying whole, without taking away or otherwise restricting what makes them special. Special ponies tend to be a little eccentric, and sometimes, this disturbs the herd dynamic. Ponies become naturally skittish around those that are different. We really can’t help this, it is part of our psychological foundation, but we can condition ourselves to do better. At least, I believe this and so does Princess Cadance.” Twilight poked her now half melted ice cream with her spoon and then looked around the table, meeting the eyes of any pony that looked back at her. “It’s why you’re trying to fix whatever is wrong with Olive, isn’t it?” Pebble spoke in her mother’s monotone and showed no sign of any emotion or feeling. “There is no arguing that she is exceptional and she probably has a lot to offer society, but in her current state, she is a detriment to everypony around her. Finding a way to allow her to express what makes her special while keeping others feeling safe and secure around her is probably almost impossible.” “Thank you for that astute observation, Pebble,” Twilight replied. “Yeah… it is a problem, I’ll admit. She’s an extreme case, but extreme cases don’t mean that we’re wrong, it just means that were dealing with the exception rather than the standard.” Sumac could not help but notice that the other ponies at the table looked almost as confused as he felt. It was almost as if Pebble and Twilight were speaking a different language. “I’m bored,” Ambrosia announced in a matter-of-fact voice. “I’d rather go outside and play rather than keep eating and listen to this. Booooring.” “Ambrosia Apple, so help me… I’ll…” Applejack’s brows beetled as she stared at her daughter. “You try a mother’s patience something awful, you little scamp.” “I know, don’t care,” Ambrosia let out a giggle and then realised that nopony was laughing. She had gone too far and the expression that appeared upon her face showed it. She slumped down in her chair, her laughter and smile vanishing. “Sorry.” “I’m sorry, Twi,” Applejack said, offering a heartfelt apology. “I don’t know what gets into her sometimes… I just don’t.” Twilight, focusing on her friend, smiled and replied, “Seems to me that she has an honest streak a mile wide and she needs to learn how to express it better. I wonder where she gets that from?” Rolling her eyes, Applejack let out an exasperated sigh of defeat and then laughed.