Kiwe's Journey

by Mocha Star

Introductions

Kiwe trotted into class with a hop in his step. He waved to Jade who waved back, then Kiwe stumbled and landed chest first on the floor. A pair of giggling fillies scampered away but left their mark by winking to Mist. A colt helped a frowning Kiwe to his hooves and they parted, going to their own desks.

Jade leaned closer across the aisle. “Kiwe, what happened? Are you alright?”

Kiwe glanced toward Mist and his frown returned. “She had her friends trip me with magic. It was not nice of them.”

Jade leaned back as a filly walked the aisle to her seat before returning to his position. “Why’re they so mean? Can’t you tell somepony?”

“They don’t help and my parents won’t get involved without good reason.”

Jade frowned. “What is a good reason to them then?”

Kiwe jerked toward Jade slightly with a surprised look, his forehoof moving to the back of his head and returning to his gaze with a spitwad. He growled and turned to look at Mist, who was pretending to whistle nonchalantly. Kiwe dropped the spitwad onto the floor and turned back to Jade.

“I don’t want to talk about it, but I will let you know I will be in trouble if they have to get involved.”

Jade glanced to the bully and narrowed his eyes. “I’ll back you up in anything you do, my friend. Crystal ponies don’t go down without a fight.”

Kiwe blinked and one ear sagged. “But, what about Sombra?”

Jade’s gaze hardened when he met Kiwe’s eyes. “I have no other family in this world because of him, and they are all gone because they fought back.”

Kiwe swallowed hard and nodded. “I will think about it, but fighting should be a last resort. I will talk with Mist at recess.”

Jade relaxed noticeably. “Yeah, sorry about that. I’m kinda defensive,” he sat correctly in his seat and looked sullenly at his desk.

“Don’t be. Your city has been through a lot, and you still look good for over one thousand years old,” Jade snorted a chuckle at Kiwe’s joke, “maybe Princess Celestia or Luna will ask you for your secret?”

Jade smirked and look at Kiwe. “She’s still older than me.”

“Yes, but you’re younger, that means you’re better looking.”

Jade blushed. “R-really?”

“Yeah, you’re like, a totally cool colt.”

They shared a grin and Kiwe rolled his eyes as another spitwad smacked his neck.

“Mist! Come here right now, young mare.” The class fell silent as their attention was drawn to Miss Caramel. “I saw that and you’re going into the corner.”

“B-bu-b-but-”

“No ‘but’s’, corner, now.” The mare pointed a pinion at a corner with a conical hat at it. Mist glared daggers at Kiwe as she got up from her seat and clopped proudly to her punishment.

Kiwe’d had enough for the moment. He clapped his hooves on his desktop. “Why are you so mean to me?! I’ve done nothing to you and you’re a bully, why?!”

Mist snarled and ignored her teacher’s interruption. “You’re a zebra freak and you don’t belong here, that’s why!”

“That doesn’t make sense, I’m a pony, too!”

Miss Caramel quickly flew between the two, landing right before Mist, wings still open to block the arguing. “Stop this at once! Mist, you will-”

“You’re not even part pony, freak! My mom says your kind are evil and don’t belong here and everypony knows it’s true!”

Miss Caramel picked Mist up in her forelegs and flew the filly to the corner and placed her, forcefully, facing it, placing the dunce hat on the filly’s head. She hissed loudly, threateningly at Mist as she stood over the fuming child. “Sit, and don’t you dare turn around,” she turned to address the class and took in what she saw.

All eyes were in her direction, save for a couple, that were looking at Kiwe who was sitting in his seat, head hung with his chin on his chest and forelegs crossed, holding his sides. “Class,” she hesitated, unsure of what to do under this uncommon occurrence, “I’ll be right back. Azikiwe, please come with me into the hall.”

Kiwe trembled, slid from his seat, and his hooves met the floor gently with barely a sound as he walked with his head held low toward the front of the class.

“I don’t think you’re bad, Kiwe, you’re a cool colt!”

Kiwe’s ears stood as his posture fixed itself with the boost of confidence he felt at the words Jade said. Kiwe wasn’t prepared to hear hooves clap together right after that, then more, and more. Kiwe looked back and around the class to the kind and friendly faces of his classmates, even Mist’s friends were smiling at him.

Kiwe’s eyes watered for a better reason as he turned to follow his teacher out with shouts of encouragement following him into the hall, even as the door closed and muffled the sounds.

“Kiwe, I’m sorry that happened, do you need time to rest in the nurse’s office? Would you like me to contact your parents?”

Kiwe sniffled and wiped his eyes with a fetlock, dragging it across his face quickly and matting what little fur he had on his leg in exchange for a dry face. “N-no. Maybe,” he sighed. “Am I a bad zony?”

Miss Caramel’s wings half unfurled at the shocking question, and her maternal instincts took over. Sitting in front of him, she hugged him gently to her body and wrapped her wings around him and nuzzled the top of his head, carefully around his horn. “Kiwe, you’re a great person,” she chuckled at the twitch she felt him make, “yes, I know the world is more than ponykind.”

“What’s important is that you know that you’re great. You’re unique, smart, and even though you don’t see it there are plenty of classmates that like you, they just don’t know how to approach you,” she lifted her head and he looked up into her eyes, “I care about you, just like your family does. I won’t let a bully get the better of you, okay?”

“B-but, I have to do something or she will only get worse. Miss Caramel, what can I do to make a bully a friend?”

She rolled her eyes. “If we knew that then the world would be a better place. Bullies find anything and stick to it for as long as they can to make you feel bad. I don’t know what Mist’s problem is but you can be assured her parents will know of this before school is out, okay?”

Kiwe scrunched his face and she leaned back, knowing the sign of a thinking child, then his expression brightened. “Can you send a letter to her parents about a small party my family is having at the park?”

---

Kiwe and his parents sat under a tree at the park, a cool breeze blew overhead and the trees hushed the world around them, not like anyone cared to do as trees suggested. There was a small grassy area with a bench table, bushes and trees, foil wrapped containers of hot food, a small travel box of cold treats and drinks, and clouds in the sky that begged to be imagined upon, when the time allowed.

“We’re done early,” Nagila said to Kiwe, “you should go play and we will keep the shade company.”

Kiwe, for his part, rolled his eyes. “Mother, I don’t wanna miss Jade arriving. When he gets here he can play with me… also I invited another classmate.”

“Oh?” she questioned.

“Y-yeah.”

Crunch chuckled at his son. “And now the guessing game starts. Let’s skip the question round and get to the answers.”

“It’s, well, Mistandherfamily.”

Both adults looked at him, silence grew all encompassing until Kiwe could hear children on the playground talking about school lunch, or so his imagination conjured in the several seconds that lapsed. Finally, his mother broke the lull.

“That sounds wonderful, certainly she can make friends with you and if not we shall make friends of her parents. It will be a day to celebrate every year as our families become friends,” she clapped her hooves together twice, grinning.

“I hope so. I don’t want to deal with traditionalists, tribalists, or just plain racists on my best days. Or, is it worst days? Either way,” Crunch waved a foreleg dismissively, “I can’t handle them. It’s one thing to hate a monster that wants to eat you. We’re not monsters and shouldn’t be treated as such,” he stomped a forehoof onto the soft ground to emphasize his resolve.

“Such a firm stallion and heart of gold, I will enjoy seeing you when I grow very old.”

Crunch looked between his wife and son, a mischievous smirk forming on the corner of his mouth just before he leapt and tackled the others to the ground. They began to playfully fight, twist, crawl, kiss, and even offer the terrible threat of a lick to the foreleg or face to get free from their father’s embrace, which Kiwe’s mother seemed intent on keeping focused on him, especially when she ducked her head under Kiwe and smoothly extricated herself from the boys to let them play while she watched mirthfully.

“Husband, our son, I think your friend has come,” she pointed to a bend in the road through the park where a green colt with smooth slicked mane walked beside his very full looking saddlebag wearing father, talking as his mother lagged slightly behind with a cooler on her back.

Kiwe ran to the street he shouted and waved a foreleg, to which Jade waved back and cantered ahead of his parents to follow Kiwe to their picnic party.

A short round of general introductions started the adults talking about work and their feelings about their jobs while the colts took their leave and raced to the playground. Several minutes into their game of tag with several others Nagila called Kiwe and Jade back.

“Ugh, see ya soon, mother’s calling me,” Kiwe excused himself and Jade followed back. “Moth-er?” he looked at the crowd of adults and his classmates gathering, spilling out of their area and mingling.

“Kiwe, did you invite your whole class?”

Kiwe looked around and shrugged. “I, didn’t think they’d come. I just mentioned it to a couple classmates that I was having an open party, I didn’t imagine-”

“Kiwe!” a colt called his name and quickly wrapped his foreleg around him and pulled him. “C’mon, we gotta show you this,” he said. Kiwe stumbled but got his hooves under him and was pulled along to a bush. Stay here, just wait for a sec, okay?”

“Uh-”

“Great, just keep looking at the bushes. It’ll only be a minute.”

Kiwe started to turn his head by a hoof met the side of his muzzle turning him back and he relented. Giggling and hushes sounded behind him and he resisted the urge to turn around out of sheer curiosity.

“Okay, turn around... surprise!”

Kiwe gaped at the cloth hoof painted banner held by several of his classmates as adults stomped in approval as Violet approached. “Kiwe, we’re not happy that Mist was mean to you for so long, but what she said in class today was wrong and I’m not her friend anymore,” she hugged him when she got close enough for a second then backed up, blushing a bit. “But, we’d all like to be your friend, if that’s alright.”

Kiwe’s knees felt weak and he swooned slightly. “O-okay… okay! I would like that, a lot. Wait here for a moment, okay?” he asked with a growing grin as he turned and bolted to his parents. “Mother, father, I have friends! Jade, c’mon! Let’s go play,” Kiwe ran to Jade and they laughed as they galloped to the playground with nearly all of his classmates.

Nearly two hours passed before the children became tired enough to notice their thirst and hunger were powerful enough to distract them. Returning to the party the young raided the now three tables full of food and gathered in small groups to talk about whatever crossed their minds.

“Our son, I will not mime,” Nangila shouted, “come here when you have time,” there was a moment of silence before laughter broke out and she happily shouted over the din, “No, my husband, I did not rhyme and I do not do so all the time!”

“Kiwe, your mother rhymes? Like, all the time?” A filly asked him, getting some snickers. “I guess it’s easy to rhyme.”

Kiwe nodded while chewing a carrot. “Yes, it can be easy to rhyme, but it does get old at times.”

“Yeah, he does it so easily,” Jade said with his mouth around a straw, “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.”

A couple more minutes of jovial talk amongst his new friends and Kiwe stood and made his way to the adults. A few children he didn’t know were there as well, both older with cutie marks or younger with obvious need for their parents as seen by their staying near or under their guardians.

“Yes mother, you called me?”

“Kiwe, we have met many of your friends’ parents and agree that you are with the right company. Everypony here,” she announced, “this child is my dear. When I met his father and traveled to this land I had no idea of where we would stand. I am pleased to know our son has friends and believe these friendships will never end. It is with a heart full of joy and smiles all around that I invite you to join us for the next round.”

There was a split second of confusion as the rhymes were made into sensible phrases in the adults’ minds before grins formed and forehooves stomped or clapped together.

“Kiwe,” Nangila said softly, turning to him and lowering her head to his height. “We have met Jade’s parents and approve. You need not a better friend to choose for he will be by your side, win or lose.”

He hugged his mother around her neck. “I love you, thank you so much.”

She hugged him back with one foreleg and nuzzled him. “We love you, too. Go play for the rest of the day,” she patted his flank and he backed up, nodded, then rejoined his friends to finish lunch.

Comments

[Bluecatcinema]

This was a really wonderful chapter. Guess Kiwe isn't as big an outcast as he thought.

[Mocha Star]

8772519
I know, right?!
I was going to go any way when writing this part but it flowed better and makes it SO different than a trope.

Thanks!

[Munro]

that was a real heart worming chapter