Career Day
About a month after Twilight and Trixie announced the news of Twilight's pregnancy Pearl came home with a form for Career Day at the school. Naturally both Spike and Macintosh agreed to come and talk about their jobs while Screwball's parents promised the same at their chaotic filly's insistence. Cinnamint however wasn't quite as lucky. His parents would be the only ones not attending.
Lyra had already agreed to take the lunch shift that day at work, and Bon Bon was forced to make a delivery to Horseshoe Bay that day and wouldn't make it back until well after dark. Cinnamint was disappointed, but was understanding. He had been in a remarkably good mood since Trixie had started helping him with his magic after school some days. He was already showing signs of great progress.
That morning Mrs.Meadowlark's whole class met outside on the lawn of the schoolhouse accompanied by their parents. They were each to introduce their parents and let them go from there. Cinnamint listened halfheartedly to the other parent's speeches, though the girls had to pay full attention as their parents were there watching them.
After a colt named Chocolate Bubblegum's mother explained her painfully dull job as an insurance salespony it was finally Screwball's turn to introduce her parents. Just as soon as the unbelievably dull speech ended Chocolate Bubblegum and his mother swapped places with Screwball and Fluttershy in a flash of light, courtesy of the impatient filly.
"Hey everybody! This is my mommy! Her name is Fluttershy and she can talk to animals and always knows what they need." The chaotic filly beamed proudly.
Fluttershy stood before the group and sung a little wordless tune for a moment. Several small birds, bunnies, squirrels, and even a jackelope all gathered around the mare, leaving the audience in awe. She stopped as soon as her little friends had all arrived.
"Just like Screwball said, my name is Fluttershy. My job, and my special talent is communicating with and caring for animals of all shapes and sizes. I've taken care of most of Ponyville's pets since I became the town vet several years ago, but I also take care of larger critters at home. Even bears, manticores, and cockatrices, though they can be just a bit grumpy at times. Does anypony have any questions?" The kindly mare explained as the little animals all played around her hooves.
A little filly raised her hoof. Fluttershy nodded to her, telling her to go ahead.
"U-um... I really like animals, but some of the bigger ones scare me. Can I become an animal doctor without having to see dangerous ones?" The filly asked nervously.
"Oh yes, if you become a vet you probably won't see anything much larger than a dog or cat. But if you ever want to work with larger animals you can get special training for it." Fluttershy replied happily. She was thrilled to find a young filly interested in her line of work.
After fielding a couple more questions Fluttershy took her leave of the front of the crowd. Discord was currently in the metaphorical spotlight, waiting for his wife to take her seat. As soon as she was seated and he saw the audience look worried at his unusual appearance he decided it was time to begin.
"Good morning everypony! My name is Discord, Screwball's proud Pa. While I'm currently unemployed I was once the god of chaos. I ruled the world for awhile, but now I'm a stay at home dad. I occasionally use my powers for things other than being ruggedly handsome and funny though." Discord said as he crafted balloon versions of Celestia and Luna, having pulled the fully inflated balloons from his ear.
Without warning the completed balloon sculptures popped, leaving a Discord balloon sculpture in it's place. Several of the parents looked very worried at what the supposedly reformed draconequus might be implying.
"I'm very good at magic, just like my little girl there. So when something bad happens that involves magic I know about it, sort of like how ponies put alarms in their houses to keep themselves safe. If it's nothing important I fix it with a snap of my fingers, but if it's something really bad I tell the princesses and other important ponies and we stop it." Discord continued.
As he spoke the balloon draconequus shivered, producing an irritating squeaky noise. With a snap of the real Discord's talons a monster that looked like a large angry faced bubble appeared, heading for the inflatable replica. However the replica snapped it's own talons, causing the apparition to pop. In it's place a volley of multicolored streamers fell to the ground.
With another snap the streamers and balloons all vanished, letting Discord continue.
"And lastly, if something happened to the princesses it would fall on me to move the sun and moon around at the right time. Personally I think the current schedule is a bit dull, but I suppose it works." Discord said with a shrug as the real sun and moon shifted from day to night very quickly before settling.
The parents and foals alike all looked up in awe at Discord's power, making the draconequus feel rather good about himself. After taking a few bows he took his seat next to Fluttershy and Screwball once more. Fluttershy pulled her husband's head down and whispered to him.
"That was very conservative of you sweetie, but I think the last bit might get you in trouble." She said somewhat worried.
"I cleared it with Celestia and Luna beforehand, all I had to do was tell them it was for Pearl and Screwball's school chums." Discord said dismissing her fears.
Fluttershy smiled and kissed her husband on the cheek, eliciting a noticeable blush on the old god's face.
After a couple more children's parents went through their presentations it was finally Pearl's turn. She quickly ran up to the front, expecting her fathers to run up with her. To her dismay her fathers arrived at normal speed, leaving her up front by herself until they arrived. Once they were there she began introducing them.
"These are my parents! The pony is my Pa, his name is Macintosh Apple. The dragon is my Daddy, his name is really long so everypony calls him Spike. Pa is gonna go first." She said at an impressive volume for such a little girl.
Pearl and Spike moved off to the side, giving Macintosh the floor. Mac looked around, somewhat nervous. Crowds of unfamiliar ponies had never been his forte. Fortunately he saw both Spike and Pearl giving him a thumbs up and smiling, helping to ease his nerves. Mac gave them a smile and nod and returned his attention to the group in front of him.
"As ya'll already know ah'm Pearl's pa Macintosh, though most ponies that know me call me Big Mac. Me an mah sisters run Sweet Apple Acres, which is just outside Ponyville. It's the biggest orchard in the country, an' the only place in the whole world that grows zap apples." Mac explained.
To give them an idea of what he was talking about he reached into the pocket of his saddle bag and pulled out one of the mysterious rainbow fruits to show everypony. The foals and a couple parents ooed and awed at it, they were rarely seen whole by anypony other than the Apple family because most were turned into jam.
"Mah family has been runnin the orchard ever since Celestia gave us the land around two-hundred years ago. Ever since we've been growing apples with hard work and love alone, an' now we sell apples to everywhere in Equestria!" Mac said practically radiating pride over his bloodline's accomplishments.
After he had finished he waited a moment for questions. A young colt raised his hoof, Macintosh pointed to him giving him permission to speak.
"Why are you the only place that grows rainbow apples? Couldn't somepony plant seeds and grow them on their farm?" He asked.
"Zap apples only grow very close t' the Everfree forest where they come from originally. Our farm's the only one that's close enough for em'. Other farms have tried, but nopony else has managed it even with magic." Macintosh answered.
Several of the other foals whispered to each other in surprise at this. A couple seconds later another foal, this time a filly raised her hoof. Macintosh pointed to her as well.
"Isn't the forest dangerous? I heard all sorts of monsters live there. Mommy won't let me go anywhere near the forest." The filly said seriously. The filly's mother nodded and smiled, proud of her daughter's obedience.
"Normally yes, but Apples are strong folk. Ah've kicked timberwolves into wood chips more times than ah can remember. Sides, Pearl's Daddy's scarier than any a' them." Mac replied with a smile and a sideways glance to his husband.
After a round of clapping Macintosh took his spot back among the group and gave the zap apple to Pearl's teacher who smiled in thanks. Spike, at his condensed size that matched Macintosh's took center stage in front of the foals and parents. He wasn't familiar with very many of the group so he was a little worried what they might think of him.
"Hello everypony, as Pearl said my name is Spike. I'm Equestria's official Knight and Protector, which means if a monster is trying to hurt ponies I go stop it. Sometimes I can just scare them off, but sometimes I have to rough them up a little. I don't approve of violence when you can go about things peacefully, but lots of creatures don't talk or won't listen." Spike said evenly, trying not to make himself sound like a savage.
Even though he wasn't finished yet three foals (two colts one filly) raised their hands as he paused for a breath. He didn't seem to mind much though, he allowed the filly to go first.
"Is it true you're a prince? Don't you have to have magic to be royalty?" The little filly questioned. Spike took notice that she was an earth pony.
"Yes, I am a prince since Princess Celestia is my mom. But you don't actually need magic to be royalty, most were born royalty or adopted because they made Equestria a better place to live." Spike explained.
The filly seemed satisfied with that, or happy about it actually. Spike could see gears turning in her head, trying to come up with something to make the world a better place to get her princess-hood. He chuckled a bit but decided not to deter her, it was good to have a dream. He pointed to the next foal, the first of the colts.
"Do you have super powers like the power ponies? Is that how you beat up monsters?" He asked as he imitated punching motions.
"Not exactly, but I do have all the powers dragons normally do. I can fly, breathe fire, I have armored scales, and I'm pretty strong." Spike said sheepishly. He wasn't one to brag anymore, or at least until he was drunk.
"Daddy! Don't forget about the magic thing!" Pearl shouted from the side. She imitated the turning motion necessary for the M.A.C. as she did so.
"I don't think this is the place for that Pearl, don't wanna scare anypony now do we?" Spike replied back much more softly.
"You can do magic too?" The colt who had yet to ask his question asked aloud.
Spike sighed in defeat, the notion had already been planted in the troupe of toddlers heads. He backed up several feet as to leave a reasonable amount of distance between him and the group. He turned the dial slowly, and as he did so grew at a steady pace. In less than a minute he was his full size again, just over three times the size of his husband Macintosh. The foals were surprisingly unafraid of him, though the parents held them tight.
"This is how big I normally am, it's usually annoying and hard to maneuver with. Sometimes it helps with the bigger monsters though. Anyway, my career as a knight is something I'm proud to do for the ponies of Equestria, and if you'd like to protect and serve in the future there a plenty of options. You could become a police pony, a soldier, a royal guard, or maybe even a Wonderbolt." Spike finished. After quickly turning the dial back down he returned to his normal size and took his place at the back of the group. He was pleased to find that all the children clapped for him with great enthusiasm.
A mare took her place up front, obviously insecure about having to follow Spike's presentation. Pearl took her seat next to Cinnamint and Screwball once more. Screwball was falling asleep at the new mare's description of working at a recycling plant while Cinnamint was practicing his magic by unwrapping and re-wrapping a piece of candy.
"Hey, your magic looks like it's a lot better than before." Pearl said in a whisper.
"Thanks, your aunt has been helping a lot. I can't do any spells but I can lift stuff pretty well." He replied gratefully.
Cinnamint looked from her to the piece of candy he held in his aura. He smiled at her and passed her the sweet treat as thanks for recommending Trixie as his teacher.
Pearl accepted it gladly, she loved the candies Cinnamint's mom made. She unwrapped it with her claws and held it in her palm to examine it. It looked like a peppermint on the edges, but the center was a rosy pink with little flecks of red visible. Pearl popped it in her mouth, unsure of what to make of it.
To her surprise it was cool and refreshing, but at the same time gave you a warm feeling. She was really enjoying it, so much so she forgot about the boring mare at the head of the group entirely.
"Cinnamint these are really good! Did your mom just make these? I haven't seen them in her store before." Pearl whispered to the colt who was already practicing on another one of the candies he pulled from his bag.
"Uh, well actually I made them myself. My moms watched me do it, but I got to do it by myself last night. They said I could since they couldn't come in to talk on Career Day." Cinnamint replied, his face now more red than it's usual pink.
Hmm... If Cinnamint's moms couldn't come then maybe he could talk to everypony? He's already really good at making candies. She thought to herself.
"Cinnamint come with me!" Pearl whisper-yelled at her friend.
"What?" The colt exclaimed as Pearl grabbed him and his backpack full of candies.
She dragged him over to the cushion Mrs.Meadowlark was resting her old bones on to the side of the children and parents. Spike and Macintosh watched the scene with great interest. Pearl dropped Cinnamint and the bag and whispered something to Mrs.Meadowlark that the confused colt couldn't hear. Mrs.Meadowlark looked the colt over and nodded to Pearl.
"Cinnamint, if you'd like you can go up in front of the group and talk about candy making since your parents couldn't make it. You could even pass out those candies you have if you'd like." Mrs.Meadowlark explained.
"Yeah! You totally should Cinnamint, your candy is awesome and everypony will love it!" Pearl said as her wings flapped excitedly.
"D-do you really think I should?" Cinnamint asked as he was very unsure of himself.
"You totally should, your candy is just as good as your mom's so you should be able to talk about it." Pearl reassured the nervous colt.
"O-okay, I'll do it." Cinnamint said as confidently as he could manage.
As soon as the mare had finished her rant about ironing out the wrinkles before attempting to recycle newspapers, Cinnamint took his spot at the front. He nervously glanced around at the ponies he wasn't familiar with, but steeled himself by focusing on his friends and their parents. He knew they were all good ponies, or dragons, or whatever, and it helped him get his courage together.
"My name is Cinnamint, and my parents couldn't come today. But I know what I wanna do when I grow up, I wanna make candy. My mom taught me how, and I can even make it by myself already. I made some last night, if Pearl wouldn't mind passing it around?" Cinnamint announced as loud as he was comfortable doing.
Pearl gave him a thumbs up and grabbed his backpack before taking to the air. She made several passes over the group, dropping one of Cinnamint's cinnamon mints in front of everyone in the audience.
Each member of the audience popped their own piece of candy into their mouths and tasted Cinnamint's masterfully crafted sweets. A chorus of appreciative mmms could be heard not long after. The young confectioner was overjoyed that so many ponies liked his creations.
"That's why I wanna be like my mom Bon Bon! She likes to put smiles on ponies faces, and I wanna be somepony that makes ponies happy too. Everypony likes her treats, but these are all I know how to make by myself right now. Hopefully one day I can make all kinds of treats of all different flavors." Cinnamint said as he explained his goals.
He was surprised when everypony cheered for him, even the mean children from class. He was so happy he couldn't think straight. He hadn't expected everyone to like his first batch of sweets so much, that's why he hadn't asked his mother to sell them in the store. He was broken from his trance of pride by Screwball.
"Cinnamint! Something's wrong with your butt!" She yelled in concern.
Cinnamint looked back in panic to find his rump was lit with white light. It shimmered for a moment before fading, in place of the light was a picture reminiscent of the candies everyone was currently enjoying. The only difference was that the center of the candy was shaped like a heart instead of a circle. Cinnamint had just become the first in his class to earn their cutie mark.
The adults and several of the children including Pearl and Screwball cheered. Many of the other fillies and colts were jealous and pouted instead, but nothing could ruin Cinnamint's moment in the sun. The colt was running in circles and doing the occasional jump. After a few moments of getting the excitement out of his system Mrs.Meadowlark spoke up.
"Well, congratulations Cinnamint. Not everypony figures out their special talent so soon. Now then, I'd like to thank all the parents for taking the time to come and inspire the younger generation, giving them ideas for their own bright futures. We're calling today a half day, so parents please take your children and have a good afternoon everyone." The aged mare told everypony before heading back into the school building.
"Cinnamint, we talked to your parents last night. We'll take care of you till they get home. How about we all go for ice cream to celebrate your cutie mark?" Spike asked the still energetic colt.
"Okay! I can't wait to show them my cutie mark! And I wouldn't have it if Pearl didn't think I could do it!" Cinnamint said before hugging the unsuspecting young dragoness.
"Uh, thanks but I didn't do very much." Pearl said unsure of how to deal with the sudden affection.
Spike decided to separate the two after seeing Pearl's cheeks turn red. He wasn't fond of the idea of his daughter discovering boys anytime soon. He knew first hand that dragons matured faster than ponies, but she could stay a little girl a bit longer if he had his say.
After the group had left to get some ice cream and all the other parents had left with their own children nopony was around to notice a second Mrs.Meadowlark head into the school building.
Stats
Page generated in 0.025 seconds
Total duration
1,026 users online
1,939,387 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Oh boy. That doesn't sound good. I can't wait for the next chapter. Great job.
That's it! I'm going to follow you with your writings from now on!
I liked this chapter
4717240 just think of what happens in high school
Pearl and Cinnamint are just so cute, why when they get older can they have a hybrid baby, so could Spike and Big Mac do the same when going throw the empty nest issues? So good or bad changelings?
It wasn't bad.
It wasn't so amazing my eyes glazed over.
It was perfectly balanced
But I did expect Diamond tiara to be mean about SOMTHING
I AM GETTING RESTLESS
could you umm maybe umm I mean if you don't mind ell... Make a new chapter?
Please for the love of good make a new chapter
I mean unless you're working on it currently or a family thing came up I don't think there is much of a problem
4926368 I haven't had nearly any free time to write lately but you can expect a long chapter within the next day or so. Plus, I find it harder to write happy stories when I'm not happy and life has kind of sucked this month.
Anyway just keep an eye out.
4941403 thank you