• Published 10th Apr 2017
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Princess Twilight Sparkle's School for Fantastic Foals: Winter Break - kudzuhaiku



School may be out, but the lessons continue for Sumac Apple.

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Chapter 43

A blizzard was a fearful thing, a dreadful thing, and Sumac had experienced quite a few when living with Trixie in their wagon. However, for all the blizzards he had seen, none of them prepared him for what was outside the window right now. It was impossible to tell if it was night or day and the wind made a terrific siren’s wail. How could they possibly reach Canterlot now? The Winter Moon Festival was tonight and Sumac just couldn’t see a way to get there. He was almost absolutely certain that Hearth’s Warming was ruined and this sent him spiraling down into a moody funk.

If only they had taken an earlier train, before the blizzard drew breath and gained life.

Pressing his nose against the cold, frigid glass, Sumac attempted to peer out into the storm, but saw nothing. Behind him, Pinkie Pie was laughing with Pinny and Limestone. Music streamed from the phonograph, something jazzy with a bit of swing; Tarnish and Maud were dancing again, and why not? They were trapped in the house because of this blizzard and didn’t seem bothered by it at all. When left to their own devices, Maud and Tarnish danced. Sumac wondered if there was some kind of important life lesson to be learned from this, but he wasn’t in the mood to think about it right now; he’d rather sulk.

“Igneous, no!” Cloudy’s protest caused Sumac’s ears to perk. “Igneous, no! This is swing music! It’s pure perversion! Stop it, Igneous! Put me down! Right now! This instant!”

“It takes two to tango, saucy mare,” Igneous said in reply. “Now shake your dumplings.”

“You leave my dumplings out of this, cad.”

Leaning against the window sill, Sumac made the painful effort of turning his head. His neck popped a few times, but it wasn’t as bad as he feared it might be. Cloudy was reluctantly dancing with Igneous now and Megara bounced around their hooves, following them. For all of her protest and fuss, Cloudy seemed to be having fun, and Sumac wondered what the big deal was. How could music be bad? Perverted? It was something that needed adult explanation, he felt, but he wasn’t in the mood to ask. No, he wanted to sulk, because reasons.

“Mom’s gonna get her dumplings dumpled! Woohoo!” Pinkie Pie bounced to her hind hooves, lept about, and then pulled Limestone up for a dance. “I have no idea what I just said, but it sure sounded funny!”

“These trombones are deviant!” Cloudy made a sour face, shook her head from side to side, and tried to squirm away from her husband, Igneous.

“Why yes,” Igneous replied, “they put me in a mood. Remember when we were young, Cloudy?”

“Nopony can remember back that far, except for maybe Princess Celestia—”

“Maud! Hush!” Cloudy made a wave of dismissal at her daughter while her ears pinned back in annoyance.

“Send me to my room,” Maud deadpanned while she whirled about with Tarnish. “Go on.”

“See! This music causes otherwise good ponies to sass their parents!” Lips puckered into a tight scowl, Cloudy wore a sour expression of exasperation when Igneous dipped her over.

Before he was even aware of it, Sumac was laughing, which was a problem. He really wanted to sulk, and laughing was counterproductive to that. Trying not to laugh made the problem worse; overcome with the giggles, Sumac gave up on looking out the window and sulking about the blizzard.

“Dance with me?” Twinkleshine asked of Lemon Hearts, who was reading a book.

“Tonight, dear.” Lemon Hearts turned the page of her book, took a calm breath, and smiled. “Any word from your parents? Will they be meeting with us tonight?”

“Yeah, I heard back from them.” Crestfallen, all of Twinkleshine drooped, from her ears, to the corners of her mouth, as well as her neck. She looked like breakfast cereal, left far too long in the bowl, under siege by the soggies.

The mirth in the room seemed to expire; dancers ceased dancing, Pinkie Pie’s laughter quieted, and Cloudy’s expression shifted yet again. Sumac felt cold dread in the pit of his stomach and he knew from Twinkleshine’s reaction that something wasn’t right. Turning and twisting his body around, he almost tumbled from the cushioned bench in front of the window, but somehow saved himself at the last moment.

Limestone, who had become increasingly close to Twinkleshine during their time together asked, “Are your parents miffed about you being gay or something?”

“You just can’t ask that, Limestone!”

Ignoring her mother, Limestone persisted. “What’s the deal? You’re getting married.”

“They don’t like Lulamoons.” Twinkleshine’s voice was difficult to hear over the volume of the music. “I was told in no uncertain terms that if I do this, I’m disowned. No inheritance, nothing. I’m cut off. My mother said I’ve already hurt her social standing considerably and that what I’m doing has impacted both her and my father’s political career.”

“And yet again, little unassuming Lemon Hearts is reminded that she’s a nopony.” After slipping her bookmark into her book to mark her spot, she closed her book and put it down. She sighed, a forlorn huff, and shook her head. “My parents are wintering in Las Pegasus, otherwise, they’d be here. That’s the thing with my parents… they’re always somewhere. Since buying that hunk of junk airship, they just can’t seem to stay in one spot.”

“Don’t let this ruin your big night, dears.” Cloudy pulled herself away from Igneous, dropped down to all fours once more, and approached the sofa where Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts were sitting. “This is how it is, sometimes. There are rivalries and sometimes, sometimes ponies get so caught up in rivalries that they do stupid things.”

At this, Twinkleshine nodded, but had nothing to say.

Just as Sumac was about to add his own two bits, already having a vulgar stream of profanities awaiting escape on his tongue, a bell rang out and Tarnish’s ears pricked. Sumac almost choked on his own words, because they needed to be said, but others were already talking.

Said Tarnish, “Trixie’s back. There might just be a Hearth’s Warming miracle after all!”


Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were covered in snow, but Trixie wasn’t for some reason. The trio brought the cold in with them and Sumac shivered while Lemon Hearts and Trixie rubbed snoots together, happy to see one another. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings to rid them of ice and snow, while Twilight gave herself a full body shake.

“We have ways and means,” Twilight said to Tarnish with a proud, defiant glare in her eye. “Applejack had the sleigh we needed and Rainbow Dash recruited Ponyville’s best, most strongest, most capable fliers. We’ve got other passengers, too, and the sleigh is going to be a bit crowded. Sorry, Tarnish, but I can’t get all of you to Canterlot tonight.”

“It’s fine,” Tarnish replied.

“No!” Trixie pronked away from Lemon Hearts and almost fell over to reach Tarnish. “I need you there! You have to come! I can’t do this without you!”

Lowering his head, Tarnish brought himself down to eye-level with Trixie. “You can do this, Trix. It’s time to let other ponies save you. You’ll be fine.”

“But—”

“You’ll be fine. And when this is over, you’ll come back here, and we’ll all spend Hearth’s Warming together, and you’ll get to have your honeymoon, and even better, you won’t have to worry about getting a foalsitter for Sumac so you can enjoy said honeymoon. There is nothing for you to worry about and every possible thing that might be a problem has been prepared for.”

A single tear rolled down Trixie’s cheek and Lemon Hearts moved to be at her side.

Never one to tolerate a serious mood, Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight and said, “Twilight with your horn so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”

“Rainbow Dash”—Twilight turned a stern expression upon the mare beside her—“it’s daytime, you cloud-brain, and I think you just ruined a beautiful, meaningful moment. Ugh, some ponies.”

Unconcerned about Twilight’s scolding, Rainbow Dash’s face split into a broad grin and she said, “Bundle up, ponies! We’re going for a wild ride!”


The blizzard seemed quite upset that a Hearth’s Warming miracle was in the works and it howled with fury. Bundled up, wrapped in his poncho, and with Boomer tucked in with him for extra warmth, Sumac hoped that he would survive this trip. It seemed like the most insane thing ever, because it was impossible to even see anything.

“Goodbye, Sumac.” These words were followed up by a hug from Silver Lining.

“Come with us?” Sumac asked.

“Oh no!” Silver Lining froze in terror and snowflakes clung to her long eyelashes. “I’ll be staying with Fluttershy, where it’s quiet. You don’t worry, my Mama can fly through anything.”

Sumac was worried. He couldn’t even see Gloomy, though he could hear her voice. She and Wormwood where somewhere in the whiteout nearby, laughing and having fun. If he strained his ears, he could also hear Miss Hooves. More ponies were being packed into the sleigh and it was getting crowded. Pebble piled in beside him and smooshed him right into Silver Lining.

“Twilight, Twilight! This is all wrong!” Rainbow’s voice could be heard over the howling wind and Sumac wondered what the problem was. “We need Derpy out front, with Gloomy! They’re our strongest, most capable pullers!”

“But Miss Hooves can’t see,” Twilight cried in reply. “Regulations prohibit her being out front! She has to be in the back, nearest to the sleigh because of her eyesight! She’s allowed to haul, but not lead!”

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash’s raspy voice strained to be heard. “Nopony can see! We’re all blind! Who do you trust, Twilight? The regulations, or the greatest flier in all of history?”

“Rainbow—”

“Twilight, you need to listen to me or we’re all going to die in this boneheaded attempt!”

Sumac heard gasps from all around him in the sleigh, and Pebble attempted to merge with him somehow. Pebble was scared, of course she was, because she and he had plummeted to their deaths, only to be saved by Rainbow Dash at the last second. Silver Lining wiggled away, lept over the edge of the sleigh, and was gone.

“If Derpy’s eyes hadn’t gone bad, she might have been just as great of a flier as me! Do you have any idea how many trophies she has? How many records she’s broken? Put her out front with Gloomy! If you don’t, I’m calling this off for safety reasons!”

“Fine!” Twilight’s exclamation was almost lost in the wind. “Rainbow Dash… you’d better be right about this. This feels risky—”

“Of course it’s risky, you egghead! But this is your idea! I’m trusting you! Otherwise, I’d never, ever, under any circumstances put my weather crew in danger like this! Gloomy flew through a hurricane, but I’m not totally sure what the others are capable of!” After a moment, she added, “We’re about to find out though, aren’t we?”

Sumac shivered, but it wasn’t because of the cold.

“Wait!” a growly voice hollered over the howling, shrieking wind. “One more! There has to be room for one more! Make way! Important aunt coming through! Make room or get Limestoned!”

A moment later, Limestone was being pulled into the sleigh and it was a tight fit. Sumac found himself crushed in the bodies around him while room was made for Limestone. Somehow, as if by some miracle, Limestone was wedged in with Pebble, and the little earth pony filly cried with relief while clinging to her aunt. Sumac realised that this was about to happen, this crazy, insane act, and it dawned on him that he didn’t want to go to Canterlot. This was nuts.

“We’re all going to die,” an earth pony mare said, giving voice to Sumac’s terror.

“Isn’t it exciting?” Limestone replied.

When the sleigh jerked with movement, Sumac almost tossed his holiday cookies right then and there.


Somehow, buoyed by some incomprehensible miracle, the sleigh flew. Twilight was in the lead, a lone alicorn against the elements, wearing a harness of jingle bells. With her magic, she cast a protective wedge in front of her, shielding herself and those behind her from the worst of the storm. Just behind her, Gloomy August and Derpy Hooves flew side by side, two powerful, capable fliers who bore the brunt of the work.

It was far from a smooth ride and Sumac was certain that at any moment, everybody would go flying out from the sleigh. Whipped about, buffeted from all sides, the demon wind did everything it could to make the trip as miserable as possible. The only pony that seemed to be enjoying herself was Limestone, and Sumac believed her to be a madpony. She was not a safe, responsible adult.

They were circling around the Canterhorn, slowly gaining altitude, and Sumac wished the ride was over. From elsewhere in the sleigh, the sound of retching could be heard and the colt hoped that the frozen vomit comet had been launched over the side. Pebble had screamed herself hoarse and Sumac could feel his mothers clinging to him.

And then, with a suddenness that was disorienting, the storm was gone. Clear skies were overhead and the sun could be seen. The ride smoothed out and Sumac was left blinking in astonishment. His magic sense tingled in the most alarming way, and this, along with his disorientation, left him wanting to blow chunks.

“Twilight!” A clarion voice could be heard over the rush of the wind. “You made it! You are cleared for approach!”

That was Princess Celestia’s voice!

Sumac struggled to see, but there was nothing but blankets, coats, and cloaks around him. He was too short to peer over the ponies packed around him and he longed to see Princess Celestia in majestic flight. He couldn’t even see Canterlot, or much of anything at all, really.

“Welcome to Canterlot,” another voice said, this one smooth and suave. “We apologise for the weather conditions, but a tough decision had to be made. Ponyville and the surrounding regions need the water, come the spring melt. But we cleared the skies up here for your arrival.”

The sleigh banked, turning, and there were a few startled screams.

“Gosling! Stop that! Stop taunting the blizzard! I swear, you and Luna are such a headache! Get back up here above storm level! Cease baiting the blizzard at once! Put down that snowball! Luna! I’ve had just about enough of both of your shenanigans!”

“Cannonball!” another voice cried, this one loud enough to be mistaken for thunder.

“Luna! NO! We have a job to do!”

Though frozen in terror, Sumac had himself a profound realisation and knew who the responsible one was in this relationship. Princess Celestia was Lemon Hearts, and from the sounds of it, the poor princess was at the end of her rope. Having seen this before, having watched this play out with Twinkleshine, Trixie, and Lemon Hearts, Sumac felt some small amount of pity, but not too much, because this was the price one paid for loving somepony else; sometimes, they did things you didn’t agree with.

“Thou art a stodgy earth pony among the company of frollicking pegasi, and a mealy-faced fishwife as well! Huzzah! Our charges will arrive in Canterlot, secure and sound. Who are We that We should not have fun whilst performing Our duties?”

“We begin our final approach,” Twilight called out ahead, and her voice could hardly be heard. “Please ignore the poor example the Royal Family is providing and remember to obey and respect all proper flying safety regulations! Our landing might be a bit bumpy, but we should be fine! Hang on, everypony, here we go!”

Author's Note:

And now, things will move in parallel with Swans. Soon, we will see these events through the eyes of Celestia.