Chapter 24: Zaps's First Schoolday, Take Two
Zaps Apple
Chapter 24: Zaps’s First School day, Take Two
The endless night sky is so beautiful. I was lying on my back, resting my forelegs behind my head. I was sat up on the wooden platform hanging out of the large zap apple tree watching, mesmerized, as the stars shot by behind the silver glow from the moon. The stars’ twinkle and the silver shine of the full moon made the night sky so amazing to look at. As I gazed, I saw a pony appear from that moon, a familiar face flying towards me. It was Luna.
“Luna!” I called out happily, instantly jumping up on my hooves as, with a few gentle flaps of her wings, she landed on the deck of the Zap Apple Treehouse. “What brings you to Ponyville?” I leapt up to her.
Luna said nothing. Silently she turned to look at the view of Ponyville in the distance. I stepped beside her and together we watched Sweet Apple Acres directly below and - not too far away - the flickering lights of the streets of Ponyville. “Impressive view.”
“Yeah, it sure is!” I beamed in delight. “But how did you appear from the moon like that?”
Luna laugh a little, rubbing my head with her hoof. “Sweet Zaps. This is merely dream, you’re asleep on the train back to Ponyville.”
I blinked a few times. “I am? But this seems so real.” I looked around the treehouse.
Luna lay down beside me, motioning me to sit closer to her. I shuffled towards her. “Yes you are. I thought I’d pay you a visit. I didn't expect your dreams to move from the place you found safe so soon though.”
“I guess I feel at home with Big Mac and the others.” I looked up at the night sky. “Is the night sky always this amazing?”
“Indeed, it is. Living on a farm will give you sight of the beauty of my night.” Luna was also looking at the stars, sparkling in the endless night sky. “But something troubles you?”
She was right, something was troubling me. “It about what happened to the guard...”
“Ah yes. The solar guard Shield Cracker, it is troubling that something like what you experienced could happen to a fellow pony before our own eyes.” Luna said calmly, sheltering me under her wing. “Do not worry my young friend, I will promise to keep you safe.”
I looked up at her calm blue eyes. “Thank you Luna.”
Luna nuzzled me a little. “You do not need to thank me Zaps, We are simply doing what we must to protect ones friends from harm,” she spoke in her royal voice. “We are helping Shield with a speedy recovery as best as our abilities allow it.” She looked up to the sky. “Remember the beauty of something within the night. Even the darkest corners will have a spark of light, you just need to find it.”
“You have family and friends that support you, Zaps,” Luna continued to speak. “They have helped you in so many ways during this week alone. All the memories you have gained from the moment you woke, they gave you your name and your family. They are your life now.” Luna remarked, still staring at the sky. “
I put my head against her side. “You’re right.” I yawned, feeling my eyes grow heavy. “They make me feel... Safe...”
Luna put her head gently on mine. “Thank you for your kind words, my young friend. It’s time for you to wake now. When you do, remember to not be afraid of school, you have friends and family. Enjoy your life, learn new things and find your destiny.”
“I will...” I smiled and the whole land around me lit up in a white light.
I opened my eyes to find myself being carried by Big Macintosh down the road towards the schoolhouse. I raised my head, still feeling a little sleepy and yawned. “Look like somepony finally decided to wake up.” I looked down at Scootaloo who was grinning at me. “Good thing too, we’re almost at school.”
“Big Mac decided to let yer sleep.” Applebloom giggled. “Yer must have been havin' a good dream with that smile on ya face.”
I yawned wiping a foreleg over my eyes getting the sleep out of my eyes. “I did, I was talking to Luna, she was showing me the night sky. It was beautiful.”
“Well, best get your head out of the clouds because this is your first official day!” Scootaloo declared.
“And we get to hear Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon saying sorry to all of us.” Sweetie Belle beamed in delight. I wondered what kind of trouble the girls been through with those two. I really didn't like them much after what they had said and what they had put me through...
Big Mac was pulling a wagon full of our stuff. He came to a stop by the schoolhouse and I got down. “Yer be good ok? Ah’ll see y’all two at home after school. We’ve got work to do with the Zap Apple Jam. We’re goin’ to start sellin’ it this afternoon.”
“Ok Big Mac! We’ll be home after school!” Applebloom replied as Big Mac gave us all our saddlebags from the wagon. He in turn start to leave heading back to Sweet Apple Acres leaving us in front of the schoolhouse as the other students entered the building.
I felt a bit uneasy about this but recalled the dream talking to Luna. “Are ya ok brother?”
Applebloom was concerned, and I guess she had a right to be. “Yeah I think I will be. Just feel a bit uneasy about this, last time I ended up being taken to the hospital to discover that I had some crazy internal magic in me that I still don’t understand.” I turned to my sister Applebloom. “Do you understand anything about what was said back then? Sis...”
“Ah’ll say ah don't, it’s kinda confusin' for me too Zaps.” Applebloom replied. The bell rang a few times and we all stepped into the schoolhouse for my official first day at school.
The girls were already taking their seats in the classroom so I went over and sat down at my own seat too, putting my saddlebag beside the desk. “Hey Zaps! Where were you this weekend?” I turned around to look at Button Mash.
“Erm... At Canterlot...”
“Whoa really?” I nodded in reply. “Sweet! I went to Sweet Apple Acres to find you, I wanted to show you some of my awesome games.” Button Mash showed me the small device he was holding in his hoof. “This is my Joy Boy, I play this every chance I get!”
I tilted my head a little, looking at it. I could hear sounds coming from the device, and bright flashes of light were coming out of the screen on the front. “Joy Boy? What does this thing do?”
“Just look!” I leaned over him to look at the screen. Staring back out at me was an oddly coloured pony wearing a large red hat. Button pressed his hoof against the ‘Joy Boy’ and suddenly the pony moved. He pressed another button and the pony jumped in the air. “What do you think?” Button asked.
I moved back to my desk rubbing my head, trying to understand what I had seen. “I don't know Button Mash, it look like fun, I guess, but I can't get my head around how something like this works.”
“Why don't you give it a try?” Button Mash pushed the toy in front of me. Tentatively, I picked it up and pushed the button once. The screen lit up and the strange pony appeared again, staring up at me. I pressed the controls just as Button had done and the pony moved to the right.
Honestly, I didn’t know what all the fuss was about, it wasn’t even that fun. You just pressed the button and the pony moved. I pressed again and the pony jumped, easy.
Triumphantly, I handed the device back to Button Mash who, though a little confused, dutifully took it off me. “Err… You know you can play more if you want?” he said and offered it back to me.
I shook my head. “No, that’s alright, I don’t think the pony likes me very much.” The character on the screen had gone back to staring at me. “And it’s making my head hurt a little. I don't like it, sorry...” I gave it back to him again.
“At least you tried it.” Scootaloo said stepping over to us. “Right Button?”
“Yeah, at least you tried it.” Button repeated, less enthusiastically than Scootaloo before suddenly perking up again. “Hey, do you wanna be friends?” he said and put his hoof out to me.
I smiled and clopped my hoof against his. “Sure, Button Mash.”
“Alright class. Take your seats.” We turned to see Miss Cheerilee walk into the classroom and went back to our seats. “Before we start our lesson on the Crystal Empire this morning, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would like to say a few words to the rest of the class.” She turned to the door and watched as they entered, followed closely by their parents. I remembered having seen one of them before, I think he was Diamond Tiara's father.
“Filthy Rich, I think Granny called him... Not sure about the other ponies though, I guess they must be Silver Spoon's parents.”
“Diamond Tiara, go on.” Her father Filthy Rich put a hoof on her for support. “It’s the right thing to do.”
Diamond Tiara sighed and stepped up in front of us. She pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her saddlebag. “I, Diamond Tiara would like to apologise for my actions before the weekend. I interrupted school lessons for the sake of my lies and started trouble with Zaps Apple. My actions were selfish and unkind and I want to apologise to anypony who I harmed.” She was reading directly off the paper. I could see that she seemed tense over some of the words she said.
“I would also like to say sorry to everypony here for all the trouble and for violating a pony's personal space to resolve our lies...” Silver Spoon added at the end, stepping up alongside Diamond Tiara.
Finally they both said together. “We’re sorry and we won't let this happen again, we promise.”
Miss Cheerilee smiled at them. “This is a good deed you have done, owning up to your mistakes, of course we forgive you. Take your seats so we can begin our lessons.” Miss Cheerilee turned to the adults. “Is this acceptable?”
Filthy Rich bowed his head slightly. “Of course, Cheerilee, we will take our leave. I have some business to attend to at Sweet Apple Acres anyway. We bid you a good day. I promise my Diamond Tiara won’t cause any more trouble.”
“I will make sure she doesn't, and the same goes for Silver Spoon, have a nice day.” Cheerilee replied and the parents left the classroom. I was a little confused why Silver Spoon's parents didn't say anything. I guess they’d rather let Diamond Tiara's father speak for them.
The girls sat at their desks and Miss Cheerilee got up from behind the desk. She walked over to the large board and flipped over a piece of paper she had stuck there. It was a picture of the Crystal Empire, similar to the one Applebloom had showed me. “Ok class, with that out of the way we can begin our lesson on the Crystal Empire. I am happy to announce that we will have a guest speaker with us who can tell you a lot more about it then I can. Can anypony guess who this pony is?”
Diamond Tiara raised her hoof, Cheerilee nodded to her. “Is it Princess Twilight Sparkle?”
“No it’s not, but you’re very close Diamond Tiara.” Cheerilee replied and pointed to Scootaloo.
“Is it somepony related to Twilight?” Scootaloo asked.
Cheerilee gave a nod. “Yes indeed, but can you guess who?” I thought about it and recalled the pony on the card Applebloom had showed me and I raise my hoof. “Do you know who it is Zaps?”
“Is it Twilight's brother, Shining Armor, Miss Cheerilee?” I asked.
Cheerilee raised her foreleg to the door and announced to us. “Yes Zaps it is, everypony give a warm welcome to Shining Armor, the prince of the Crystal Empire!”
I blinked and turned to Scootaloo. “Prince?”
“Yeah, he’s married to Princess Cadance, we even got to be part of the wedding. The dresses was really sappy but the wedding was awesome! Especially seeing Rainbow Dash do a Sonic Rainboom for them!” Scootaloo explained to me. It reminded me of the flashback of the wedding I’d seen Armour McApple in, I think he was my brother once, but I couldn’t be sure. The memories were fuzzy at best. Still a Sonic Rainboom...
“I wonder what a Sonic Rainboom is? It must another one of Rainbow Dash’s stunts, she is always talking about them. Maybe I could ask her about it later on.”
I snapped out of my thoughts when I saw a white stallion with blue hooves, mane and tail enter the room. He was definitely the same Shining Armor I had seen in the photo, but he didn't look like a prince. “Hello Children, it’s a pleasure to be here today to talk to you about the Crystal Empire.” He warmly greeted us all.
“Wow, Shining Armor!” Another one of the students cried out. He had a dark two toned grey mane and tail but I didn’t know his name.
“We’re getting to hear about the Empire from the prince himself!” Even Silver Spoon sounded excited.
“It’s really Princess Twilight's brother!” Another of the ponies, this one with brown and white patched coat, and a dark brown mane and tail whispered excitedly . “Do you like the Hayburger too Mr Shining Armor!?”
Shining Armor just gave a small laugh to everyponys reaction. “I really can see that everypony is excited about seeing me here for your lesson today and to answer the question from that young colt over there, I’m afraid to say that I have never been to the Hayburger. Has my sister been there?”
“She sure has! The Cutie Mark Crusaders asked her to join them and she did! She even enjoy the food there! We all saw it!” The brown and white colt replied, I was a little lost by what this place called Hayburger was.
I turn to Scootaloo. “What is this Hayburger place?”
“It sells all kinds of food super fast. It’s got loads of tasty treats! We will take ya there Zaps!” Scootaloo told me.
“That’d be cool.” I answered and saw a shadow loom over me, I turned and saw Shining Armor standing in front of me. “H-Hi...” I squeaked.
Shining Armor just stood there, wearing a strange smile. “So you’re the colt that guessed who I am. What is your name, young stallion?”
“Z-Zaps... Za-Zaps Apple... S-s-sir...” I managed to say, shuffling gradually lower into my seat with a gulp.
Shining Armor started laughing and put his hoof on my head rubbing my mane. “Don't worry Zaps, I won't bite.” I replied with a nervous a smile and sat up, though I still felt anxious. “I heard you’re the pony that helped spring that massive tree at Sweet Apple Acres.” I nodded a few times.
“Well, that’s kinda why I am here. My wife Cadance heard of the new Zap Apple Jam that had been made from the zap apples from that very tree and well, I volunteered to come to Ponyville. Not only for the Zap Apple Jam but to finally be able to visit my sister, instead of her being dragged to the empire for some crisis or another.” He chuckled lightly, walking back to the front of the class.
“Is that why you’re here?” Button Mash asked him, looking really surprised. Most of the class was looking over at me and Scootaloo. I went back to trying to force myself into the seat. A sickly feeling was building up in my stomach again.
Shining Armor shrugged as he stood at the front of the class, looking over at us all. “Yes and no. This lesson wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for two troubling little fillies.” He gazed at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, they just smiled obliviously back at him. I sighed, so much for their apology, now they’re going to gloat that trouble they caused me was worth it.
“Which I don't think is right, putting a young colt that is new in that situation is a very wrong way to go about things. You may have your cutie marks but it doesn't give the right to tease others over the fact others haven't got theirs yet and tell tales about family they hardly know.” Both girls looked down in shame. They wouldn’t be gloating anymore.
“Sorry Prince Shining Armor...” They said together.
He seemed to be pleased with them saying sorry, though I wasn’t sure they really meant it. “The other reason is because of the tree that two youngsters here helped to create.” He look directly at me and Scootaloo. “What you two have done is amazing, but remember. Everypony can do something amazing in their own way. Every little thing can create a spark that can grow into something awesome. It’s just finding that right spark that matters the most.”
“We got it Shining Armor!” Scootaloo answered for both of us. “But how did you learn about the tree?” I was wondering about that myself.
Shining Armor pulled a letter out from a bag he was carrying. “From my sister, Twilight Sparkle, she wrote to me about the new prime zap apple jam that will be on sale. So I came today to see if I can get my hooves on a jar, but after this lesson of course.” Shining Armor walked over to the black board picking up a chalk with his magic. “Now for the lesson about the Crystal Empire, are you children ready to learn about the magic of the Crystal Heart and the Crystal Ponies?”
Everypony cheered out in response and so did I. “Then, children, let’s let Shining Armor get started, shall we?” Cheerilee interjected and the class fell silent. “Go ahead Shining Armor.”
Shining Armor picked up the picture of the empire and placed it on the black board before us. He cleared his throat with a cough and circled around the picture with the chalk. “Now, who can tell me about the Crystal Empire?”
Applebloom raised her hoof and he points to her with his. “The empire is full of a different type of crystal ponies! They’re like us in many ways but they’re shiner and sparklin'!”
Wait, did Applebloom just say the crystal ponies sparkled? I guess that was the reason behind the name.
“That right.” Shining Armour confirmed. “They also pony the Crystal Heart with their love, happiness and friendship. It is the source of their power.” Shining Armor brought up another photo showing the Crystal Heart to us. The class collectively let out an 'Awwww!'
Except for me. I was too busy rubbing my head, trying to make sense of what Shining Armour had just said. “The heart is powered by the ponies and the ponies need it to get their spark? Does that mean both the Crystal Heart and Crystal Ponies need each other to exist?” I asked.
Shining Armor looked directly at me with a smirk, using his magic to pull up a set of pictures of the crystal ponies and a photo of their magic flowing into it and returning a blast of energy back to them, making the ponies shine with the kingdom with a magical aura bursting out into the sky.
“That is correct Zaps, in a few weeks time, we will also be hosting the Equestria Games.”
“Equestria Games? What’s that?”
Shining Armor looked surprised when I said that, I was really confused. “It has been talked about around Equestria for quite some time. How can you possibly not know about it?”
I look at the desk feeling sad, I didn't know about it because... “Oh my, I knew I forgot about something.” Miss Cheerilee quickly spoke and turned to Shining Armor. “Zaps doesn't remember much, most of all he only remembers what has happened and what he has learned in the last week.”
“So he doesn't know sports?” She shook her head. “Then there’s something we can do right now.” Shining Armor smirked as he glanced right at me. “Children, how would you all like to compete in our own little version of the Equestria Games right here and outside the schoolhouse?”
Everypony was cheering out at the idea, I was still rather confused over the Equestria Games and sports, but I supposed if the others liked what he had just come up with then I guess I could give it a try as well and see what exactly this sports thing is all about.
Shining Armor opened the door with a hoof out. “Alright children, let the games begin!”
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Nice chapter. I hope Zaps finds a sport he likes.
OH HELL YEAH!!
The fourth last paragraph killed me.
Ahem.
HOW COULD HE NOT HAVE BEEN TOLD BY HIS SISTER THAT ZAPS DOESN'T REMEMBER HIS PAST!?!
7355755 MAYBE BECAUSE SHE FORGOT TO MENTION IT