Chapter 61
A ten thousand word essay for having a potty mouth felt a little excessive, but there wasn’t much Sumac could do about it. He scratched away with a dull pencil, distracted, unable to keep track of how many words he had thus far. Only a few hundred, maybe, and he knew he was off to a terrible start. Princess Twilight Sparkle, ruler of Ponyville, had threatened to wash out his mouth with a special poo-flavoured soap made just for potty mouths. How much worse could his life become?
Frustrated and unable to find the words to keep going, Sumac threw down his pencil and shoved his paper away from him. Twilight’s castle didn’t have a dungeon, no, it had a detention wing. Scowling, he looked up at the blackboard where he had written the words, “I am a rotten colt with a rotten potty mouth and I can’t do fractions” one hundred times.
There were no windows in the detention wing, just oversized classrooms with enormous blackboards and overhead lights that burned his eyeballs. This was a miserable experience. Not only did he have detention, but he also had to wear a black leg band with the words, “Detention Dweller” in bright red lettering for all to see.
There was a creak as the door opened and Sumac lifted up his head. Perhaps Headmistress Twilight might have some mercy for him, but he doubted it. He had committed the unforgivable sin, he had used magical curses. Hexes, curses, jinxes, all bad business and forbidden. Of course, Sumac had used magical curses in the form of curse words, thus casting an unforgivable spell, and all of Ponyville had witnessed it. Curses were made by intent, Sumac knew this, he was an apt pupil, and his potty mouth was more than just swearing, he had used curse words, dark magic funneled through his mouth and unleashed upon his enemies.
Two pegasi wearing armor appeared, and Sumac knew them both. Hotspur and future prince Gosling stood just inside of the door, both glaring, and Sumac tried to swallow the dry lump in his throat. Twilight’s detention guards were a bit scary looking, and they were armed with wooden yardsticks. Yardsticks.
“Sumac Apple, you have slacked off on your essay, come with us,” Hotspur commanded.
Fearful, Sumac did as he was told. He slipped out of the desk, down to the floor, and dragging his hooves, he went over to where the pair of pegasi stood. They stepped aside and both extended a wing to point at the door. Doing as he was bid, Sumac went for the door, and as he did so, he felt a yardstick come down right on his plot in a painful, stinging blow.
“$#@&!” Everything around Sumac smoked from his blurted expletive, including the ears of the guardsponies escorting him to his fate. Just as he was about to apologise, the yardstick landed again, crisscrossing the welt left behind by the first blow. “@$$!”
Whimpering, Sumac tried to stop the terrible, curse words from leaving his mouth. Turning his head around, he could see that the tips of Gosling’s ears were on fire, like two burning candles, and the stench of burning hair filled the room. Knowing his backside was in mortal peril, Sumac Apple got moving, not wanting another blow to land. He hurried through the door and bit down on his own tongue to keep his magic from escaping him.
Hotspur’s armored hooves rang out like death knells on the tile floor and his voice was the voice of doom. “Sumac Apple, you have brought this terrible fate upon yourself. May Celestia have mercy upon your soul…”
Sumac Apple had hot crossed buns. Searing welts rose from his flesh and the very fires of Tartarus burned within his lumpy, now lopsided backside. He walked down the hall with his head hung low, and every now and then, he would get another whack across his backside with a yardstick from Hotspur or Gosling. Ahead of him, two double doors opened and Sumac could see into the main hall.
It seemed as though everypony he knew was there, waiting for him. He stood in the doorway, unmoving, and then yelped when he felt a yardstick add a fresh welt to his backside, which was now lumpier than Trixie’s oatmeal. Whimpering, Sumac continued forwards, feeling ashamed, and not wanting to meet the eyes of those whom he had disappointed.
Ahead of him, Pebble awaited. She was wearing a beautiful white dress and a crown of daisies. She looked disappointed too and Sumac could only stare into her eyes for a second before having to look away. As he walked down the aisle, Cloudy brought an enormous wooden spoon down right on his zap apple cutie mark. He lept away, his lower lip quaking, and let out a bleating cry of pain.
“Sumac Apple, you channeled dark magic!” Princess Celestia stood upon the raised dais where Pebble waited. “You knowingly used curses, focusing said dark magic into words of power, and you unleashed a reeking evil into the air of Ponyville! What do you have to say for yourself?”
Taking a deep breath, Sumac prepared to apologise. Or, as Applejack might say, apple-ogise. He stood at the base of the dais, at the foot of the stairs, looking up at the almighty princess who seemed to be a bit peeved with him. He swallowed, fearing for his life and his backside. Luna had spent a thousand years on the moon. Discord had spent a thousand years as a statue. Sumac couldn’t even begin to imagine how his punishment might fit his crime.
Not far away, Princess Luna looked very cross, and she was holding a boat oar. Everypony he knew had brought something to spank him with. Paddles, breadboards, boat oars, spoons, spatulas, Sumac shuddered, blinked, and looked up at Princess Celestia. He licked his lips, glanced at Pebble, and then back at the princess. Twilight stood beside Celestia, and she was holding a big black book titled, ‘DETENTION.’
Opening his mouth, only one word came out, and what a terrible word it was. “&@@&%!”
Everypony present flinched at such a vulgar, reprehensible utterance. Trixie and Lemon Hearts both hissed and shook their heads, disappointed. Igneous hefted his pickaxe handle. There was a stinging blow across his backside and Sumac saw that it was Cloudy who had once more paddled his bum. Nearby, Tarnished Teapot was rubbing his own buns and wincing in sympathy.
“Well, Princess Celestia, what shall we do with the little warlock?” Moondancer asked.
“Arranged marriage,” Princess Celestia replied. “Bring the condemned forwards.”
Before Sumac could protest, a bit was popped into his mouth and a bridle with blinders was slipped over his head. He felt several agonising blows land against his backside, which now felt as hot as the sun. With a yank, he was pulled forwards, up the stairs, towards his bored looking bride. The bit in his mouth had a terrible metallic, somewhat soapy flavor.
As he was made to stand beside Pebble, one more indignity was visited upon him. Pebble pulled a big wooden spoon from out of nowhere, and, without saying a word, she brought it down across his buns in a blow so fierce that Sumac almost chomped through the bit in his mouth.
“Awwanged mawwage,” Celestia said in voice that was quite odd to Sumac’s ears. “Mawwage is wot bwings us togwether, twooday. Awwanged mawwage is a bwessed awwangement, that dweam wifin a dweam—”
There was a pause as the monarch with a speech impediment took a deep breath.
“—and wuv, twoo wuv, will fowwow you fowevwa… so tweasah your wuv—”
“Can we skip to the end and get right down to the paddling?” Granny Smith demanded. “I has me a hankerin’ for some spankerin’! It’s the secret as to how I stay so young and spry! I paddle the dickens right out of Apple Bloom when she’s sassy!” The old green mare let out a riotous laugh.
“Pwebble?” Princess Celestia looked down at the chocolate brown filly wearing a beautiful white wedding dress.
“I’m sorry, I don’t want him.” The entire great hall filled with gasps as Pebble shook her head. “He has a potty mouth. I will not marry Prince Turd Tongue the Terrible.” Rolling her eyes, Pebble gave Sumac a shove to get him away from her. “I will not kiss Lord Latrine Lips.”
Sumac fell over from the forceful shove and then fell right through the floor. He was in the sky again, miles up in the air, and Ponyville was a city of teeny, tiny ants far below him. As he plummeted to his death, he realised that arranged marriage and spanking were preferable to his current fate. Detention was a welcome punishment.
His glowing red buns burned like a second sun, rivaling Celestia’s own miasma of burning plasma. Legs flailing, Sumac fell down to the ground below, screaming through the bit still in his mouth, and wishing that he was back in detention. He was sorry for slacking off on his essay, he was so very sorry, and he wished that he could take it all back.
Blinking, Sumac awoke, sandwiched between two mares. His buns felt fine, but his head didn’t. He tried to recollect everything that had happened and then wished that he didn’t remember anything at all. He had thrown a tantrum in front of Princess Celestia, was carried away, and then had thrown another tantrum when he was thrown into the tub with both Trixie and Lemon Hearts. The little colt only had hazy, half-aware memories of kicking and screaming between the two of them as they scrubbed him.
After the bath, in the new room they shared, Sumac had let go of his temper again when Trixie had pulled him into the bed with her. There were only two beds in this cramped little room and Lemon Hearts, after a moment of shy hesitation, had crawled into the bed with him and Trixie, and then she had tried to help comfort him. Sumac had no memory of even falling asleep, just Lemon Hearts murmuring to him and stroking his ears while whispering for him to calm down.
Sumac took stock of his surroundings. Trixie and Lemon were lying almost snoot to snoot, and he was in between them, caught up in a tangle of legs. He would never, ever, under any circumstances, ever admit to this, but this was nice. Like a fuzzy little parsnip poking up out of the furrowed garden rows, Sumac popped up from between the two mares, and moving with as much care as he could muster, he made good his escape.
Sliding off of the edge of the bed, he landed on the floor and had a look around, using his horn for light. Boomer was wrapped around Lemon’s horn at the moment, and she was sound asleep. His lantern sat on the small wooden table beside the bed. Beside it was Gosling’s guard helmet, which was still a size to fit Sumac. Making almost no noise, Sumac made his way to the door, needing to get out of this stuffy room so he could get some fresh air.
Twilight Sparkle had a big castle and the interior changed to what was needed. With much of Ponyville a ruin, Twilight’s castle had rearranged itself into a shelter for those displaced, forming many rooms, bathrooms, and places to gather. Sumac found himself in a kitchenette, which also had a little dining area. He was not alone during this early morning hour just before the dawn—he found Starlight Glimmer and Olive in the dining area.
“Hi.” Sumac stood in the entryway, uncertain of how to respond to seeing Olive. She was staring at him with tired looking eyes and Sumac looked over at Starlight, as if hoping for some kind of reassurance. “I saw you in the battle, just before I left.”
“Yeah.” Olive wiggled in her seat and her ears folded back. The big, mean and green filly looked over at Starlight, then back at Sumac. “My master and I are in a great deal of trouble because of that, actually.”
“You’re in trouble?” Sumac asked.
“Well,” Olive replied, “Starlight is in trouble, but I have chosen to share her punishment with her.” As Olive spoke, Starlight gave a nod. “She’s in trouble because she allowed me to go into danger with her. Even though everything turned out fine and I helped to make a difference in the fight, she’s still in trouble.”
“Yep.” Starlight’s lips made a popping sound to punctuate her lone word.
“I made a hundred pairs of scissors come to life and then I went after the harpies’ wings,” Olive boasted in a very casual voice, as if she was announcing the time. “I finally got a chance to push my telekinesis to its very limits and nopony did anything to hold me back. It felt good.” Olive shuddered as she said the last word.
“That’s good.” Sumac didn’t know what else to say.
“Sumac…”
Hearing his name and hearing a strange tone in Olive’s voice, the little colt looked at the pony he had once thought his enemy. She looked troubled, fearful even, and she squirmed like she was sitting on a live coal. Starlight, leaning forwards, looked anxious.
“Sumac, I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
“I forgive you.”
Confused, Olive blinked a few times, then shook her head. “Just like that, ‘I forgive you?’ I don’t get it. Aren’t you going to make me work for it? Don’t you hate me? Aren’t you angry?”
Shrugging, Sumac repeated himself. “I forgive you.”
“Why? I hurt you! I said crude, insulting things! I was mean and bossy!”
Nodding, Sumac replied, “Yeah. You did.”
“I don’t understand. Is this a trick?” Olive’s eyes narrowed.
“I told you, Olive. Didn’t I tell you?”
Focused on Sumac, Olive ignored her mentor. “I don’t understand you.”
“I don’t understand you either, but that doesn’t stop me from forgiving you.”
“But why? I was terrible… I want you to hate me! It would make me feel better! I want you to—”
“Olive, that’s enough,” Starlight commanded in a voice that left no room for argument.
Pouting, looking petulant, Olive turned a withering gaze upon her teacher and mentor. Tears glimmered in the filly’s eyes and her ears trembled as her lower lip quivered. Her barrel hitched up and down, but Olive did not burst into tears, she somehow held it all in.
Still stiff and not fully awake, Sumac sat down in the chair across the table from Olive. He needed more sleep, he had only slept a few hours, he couldn’t remember when he had a full night’s sleep last, he had been surviving on short naps. He watched as Olive had a silent contest of wills with Starlight Glimmer.
When Olive looked away, Starlight let out a sigh and said, “Olive, I think if you tried real hard, that Sumac might allow you to be his friend. It would do you a world of good. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, Master, I hear you.” Olive bowed her head, then turned to face Sumac. “I can’t promise I’ll be a very good friend. I’m still trying to sort things out. I made some mistakes, and I’m sorry.”
“I can be your friend, but only on one condition.” As Sumac spoke, he saw Starlight raise an eyebrow in concern, but he ignored her and kept going. “Starlight is my friend. I like her. You respect her and you treat her nice. So long as that happens, you and I will be friends.” Sumac took a moment to allow everything to sink in, then added, “I wanted to have Starlight as my Master, but she had to work to sort you out. So you be nice.”
Olive, her ears drooping and looking very confused, nodded. “I can’t promise that I will, but I can promise that I will try.”
“Well then, I can’t promise that I will be your friend, but I can promise that I will try.” Sumac managed to make something almost like a smile happen upon his muzzle. He heard a hesitant laugh from Olive and he relaxed just a little bit. “If you try hard enough, I might even talk to Pebble about her being nice to you.”
Blushing, her ears perking, Olive managed a sincere smile. “I’d like that…”
School is not in session... or maybe it is. 
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The conversation between Sumac and Olive was nice.
So.... was that dream all Sumac, or was Luna somehow involved in it? Or maybe, was that really Luna with the boat oar just watching to see where this all went?
7629491
Luna is busy in other places, doing other things. She has to hurry, so she can come home and get married. She's on a very tight schedule.
Parsnip, perhaps?
7629491 Jeez, it's only Sumac.
7629495
So, did Olive maimed those arpies with the scissors? and feels good about it?
Because that 's the kind of behaviour Starlight was supposed to correct, if I remember.
7629519
She clipped their wings and grounded them. Harpies on the ground have a hard time launching explosive eggs.
Aaaah spanking nightmares, i still remember mine as a kid. Mean, humpbacked physics teacher was chasing me for what seemed forever.
7628326
But that's not fair! That makes it an ELA question not a math question. Math is about numbers not words.
7629495 A non-denial denial. Very Lunaian.
7629519
Well, yes, but that's why she shuddered when she remembered how good it felt. When a person, or a pony, realizes how good it can feel to do bad, it changes them. Hopefully they begin to realize that their sense of good and bad is not what they thought it was, and that maybe they had been doing bad without seeing it.
7629524
Another thing: Twilight Velvet gave Sumac a list of his potential "sponsors" as a sorcerer. Wouldn´t Grogar be interested in a pony who can grant him UNLIMITED POWAAAHHH, even if only for a short time?
Grogar as Sumac´s mentor... one may write an spin-off from that.
I've been getting the sinking feeling that Sumac may try breaking up with Pebble, on the line of thought he may start thinking he isn't good enough to be her special somepony and that she deserves better than him.
Don't even give us it, ya big trickster, ye!
7629816
You could not be more wrong.
That dream.
I feel bad for laughing though, poor Sumac.
And finally, Olive and Sumac talking. But I suppose that this time inbetween the conflict and this moment was needed, for both to recover both mentally and physically.
I can't believe that Sumac had to endure such horrid nightmare like that.
7629925
Kids have nightmares. It is how they internalise trauma.
Aww, Olive isn't as sour as we thought. Still those poor harpies.
Yeah no, once hush and Gos hit him I figured it out. Still felt really bad for him though.
And damnit! Every time I am reminded how Sumac wanted Starlight as a master it hurts on the inside so much.
7629524
Ah, I love Granny Smith so much right now.
New favorite line for the series.
where
Reminds of the Gauntlet bus scene.
7631281 i know, just had a lapse in memory there.
7631348 they aren't all three of those. They are basically the FBI that can detect malicious intent and darkness in the heart. They have to be authorized to kill you (and it must be pretty bad), and the are merely a police force, princesses jobs to be jury and judge.
Also, considering other fantasy, and even real life authorities, they aren't that low on the morality scale.
7631891
I was aware of that. I think I was on my phone at the time, and only came back to edit in the indention when I got to my computer later.
Regardless, I didn't want my comment to become too long.
D'awwww that ending was just so cute and precious! <3
Now we need MOAR!! <3
7631225 At least Sumac didn't channel dork magic. Or maybe it's unfortunate
Even for Twilight that seems like a harsh essay word count.
Ahh, I see what's going on. Also, "a hankerin’ for some spankerin’", that's just fantastic.
Trouble enough to go around.
Contriteness and forgiveness are very important.
The end quote is missing.
I know he was harnessing dark magic and whatnot, but they seem to be reacting a little harsh... just give the poor boy a few swats and a stern talking to.
7753049
They're not reacting at all.
7753072
Yes, okay. Now that I reread it, it's pretty clear that it was just a nightmare. My mistake.