To Raise Herself Over Again

by Zoura3025

Chapter 5: The First Day of School

Murky watched as Tinned Syrup and Hastily Writ carefully herded the rest of the foals into the schoolhouse.
There were quite a few; at least a dozen. It was a lot of eyes.
Honey gently poked her with a hoof, "We should probably sit at a desk. I think class is ready to start," She says gently.
Murky shrank slightly, "C-can I sit next to you?" She asked nervously.
Honey Syrup nodded, "Of course! C'mon," She says with a soft giggle, leading Murky over to a pair of desks in the far corner of the room. Murky had to sit a bit awkwardly to sit in front of the cushion at the desk; clearly, these were not built with her in mind.

Honey watched Murky fumble at the desk, trying not to draw attention to her.
This effort would be wasted as Hastily Writ began to speak, "Good morning, my little ponies," She greeted warmly.
"Good morning Ms. Writ!" Replied the class. Murky was the only missing voice. And she froze a bit as the teacher's gaze rested on her.
"Now, I'd like everypony to give a warm welcome to our newest student, Murky. Come on up and introduce yourself, dear," Ms. Writ said gently.
Murky watched in horror as most of the class turned back to look at her. So many eyes, all drilling into her very soul. Murky whimpered and shrank in her seat.
Murky was cowering now, attempting to hide behind her desk. She wanted to ask the other fillies and colts to stop looking at her, but her voice wouldn't come.

Honey Syrup watched as her friend completely crumpled from the sudden attention. She blinked and abruptly commanded, "Everyone close your eyes!"
Most of the class obliged, save for the teachers.
Honey gently walked over to Murky, "Look, Murky. They're not staring at you anymore," She said quietly.
Murky slowly peeked out from her desk. The class was still sort of looking at her, but at least their eyes weren't relentlessly trained on the anxious filly.

With great trepidation, Murky walked up to the front of the class. "I-I'm Murky," She began weakly, watching as some particularly curious fillies and colts opened their eyes, "D-daughter of Tincture, the town alchemist, a-and I, um… L-Like to draw…" She trailed off, fidgeting now that most of the class started looking at her. She thought she saw a few colts whispering to each other.
Ms. Writ gently rubbed Murky's back. "Thank you, dear. You can go back to your desk now," She said gently.
Murky mouthed a small thank you and practically ran back to her desk, taking her seat next to Honey Syrup.
Honey rubbed her back gently.

The class thankfully settled a bit as Ms. Writ began teaching the subject of the morning: Mathematics.
The mathematics being taught were very simple; literally for foals. Basic addition and subtraction. This was another scenario where Murky's inherited memories made things difficult, though for a different reason: She was extremely bored. She quietly crept to the back table, grabbing some paper and a pencil before returning to her desk, beginning to draw. Honey looked over at Murky briefly, but didn't say anything. She'd figured out that Murky was a bit of a weird filly, so she guessed that Murky probably had a good reason to draw while the teacher was talking.

Ms. Writ eventually finished the lesson, having Tinned Syrup pass out worksheets for the lesson.
Tinned Syrup bit her lip as she got to Murky's desk, noticing the drawing on the corner. A page full of scowling eyes, with a very tiny self-portrait of Murky in the corner. Tinned Syrup finished passing out the worksheets and returned to Murky's desk. This drew the eyes of a few curious colts and fillies, but she waved their eyes away, giving them a stern look.
"Are you alright, dear?" Tinned Syrup asked in a whisper.
Murky blinked, "...Too many ponies," She murmured, voice nearly inaudible.

Tinned Syrup sighed gently; not in annoyance, but concern. Tincture had said she'd have trouble with groups, but she'd been trained to recognize a child's distress, and Murky hadn't relaxed since the class was brought in.
"Do you want me to get your mother?" Tinned Syrup asked gently.
Murky tensed visibly. Her mind was filled with fear; no longer of the other ponies, but of failure. Fearful for what Tincture might say if she left school early.
"No," Murky said, voice a bit louder, "I-I need to be strong."
Tinned Syrup nodded gently, "You're a very brave filly, Murky. I'm sure Tincture is very proud of you," She said, gently patting Murky's head with a hoof before she hesitantly walked back up to the front of the class.

Murky looked at the worksheet disinterestedly. It was nothing complicated, but she wanted to be a good student, so she begrudgingly did all twenty questions. Only three of them actually make her think, but she finished the sheet and record time, returning to drawing something less unsettling.
Her drawing, in particular, was of her and Honey Syrup; she was grateful for the one filly who'd shown her kindness. If Honey wasn't there, she probably would have taken Tinned Syrup's offer to leave.

Once math was over, writing came next. Once again, Murky found the assignment easy; it was basic punctuation. Just periods and commas. Murky finished it easily, and went back to drawing. Her muse, however, had escaped her, so she just doodled random, small things on the page.
Then, Ms. Writ spoke up, "Alright, everypony; you get a fifteen minute recess, then it's P.E.," She said.
The class (for the most part) lit up at the mention of P.E., which confused Murky.
"What's P.E.?" Murky asked Honey quietly.
Honey giggled, "It's education outside," She explained, "Today's dodgeball day!" She declared excitedly.
Murky didn't know what dodgeball was, but she nodded, sensing Honey's excitement.

The barn door was opened to allow the students to file out. Murky piled her drawings up so she could put the pencil on them.
"What did you draw?" Honey asked.
Murky leafed through the papers. Her doodle page, another landscape, the picture of her and Honey, and then the eyes.
Honey gulped a little bit. There was a lot of detail on the eyes; too much, even. "Is that what you felt like when you were being introduced?" She asked softly.
Murky simply nodded, setting the paper facedown on the desk under all the others.
Honey pulled her into a hug, "Don't worry. I'll make sure no big, mean, scary eyes look at you," She said softly.
Murky nodded again, "Thank you," She replied quietly as she leaned into Honey's embrace.
Honey eventually let her go, her wings flapping as she hopped over to the door, "C'mon, I'll go show you the beehive!" She says.

Murky smiled a little and walked after Honey. Murky, admittedly, did like the bees. They didn't all gang up on her with intense stares and their mumbled judgements. Thus, Murky liked them. Not as much as Honey Syrup did, though; not by a long shot. A bee was her cutie mark, for crying out loud.
"They're gentle creatures by nature," Honey explains, "They're just protective. Like a bunch of tiny moms," She elaborated with a soft giggle.
Murky nodded, oddly calm as she allowed a couple bees to land in her mane. It was a strange feeling.
Honey, though, she was covered in bees. At least a few dozen had landed on her, crawling along her fur and mane.
"Why do they like you so much?" Murky asked softly.
Honey Syrup giggled, "I roll in the flower bed at home when mom's not looking," She explained.
Murky nodded slowly. That didn't sound very pleasant, really, but Honey seemed content, so Murky didn't bother saying anything, just enjoying the filly's company and the gentle buzzing of curious bees.

Tinned Syrup's voice rang out. "Alright, everypony! Time for P.E.!" She called.
Honey stood up, allowing the bees around her to disperse. Murky followed suit, and allowed Honey to lead her to the line of foals forming in the schoolyard.
As the two fell in line, Tinned Syrup smiled, briefly doing a headcount. "Alright," She says, "Everypony to my left, go to the bushes. Everypony to my right, go to the playground."
The foals dispersed, with Honey leading Murky over to the playground.

"How does this game work?" Murky asked softly.
"Oh, it's easy!" Honey giggled, "If you get hit, you're out. If you catch the ball, one of our out teammates gets back in. If you get hit, but someone catches the ball before it hits the ground, you're still in," She explained.
Murky nodded a little, watching as Tinned Syrup dumped a large bag of inflated rubber balls onto the grass.
"Three, two, one…" Tinned Syrup counted down, "Go!" She called.

The foals on either side made a mad dash for the centerline of the field. Murky didn't run very fast, though she got to what seemed like a good distance, watching as balls were thrown.
The first few foals went out quickly; the initial scramble for the centerline eventually stabilized, teams now throwing from a middle distance.
Murky wasn't very interested in hitting anyone. What if she hit someone too hard and hurt them? She was much bigger than the other fillies and colts, after all.
She was quite good at catching the balls as they came, though, so she played defense. It felt oddly natural to her.

Murky watched, however, as her team was picked off. Even her catching couldn't keep up with the prodigious rate at which her team was knocked out.
Eventually, it came down to just her. With no other options, she did start throwing; she wasn't any good. Her shots always went extremely wide; hard to catch, sure, but they wouldn't hit anyone except by accident.
She watched as the other team lined up. Her eyes widened. They all had dodgeballs, and she had none.
They lined up, and threw (more or less) all at once.
Murky's eyes closed, and she cowered.

She was caught off-guard by the sounds of not dodgeballs hitting fur, but hitting something hard.
Murky felt strange, and the reasoning for that had made itself known to the spectators. A stripe of her mane had lit up a vibrant purple, and a translucent, spherical shield had manifested around her.
She opened her eyes slowly at the odd sounds, looking at the shield. She only had a brief moment to process it, as her eyes locked onto a ball that had bounced high from the shield.
Her mane flickered out as the shield dissipated, and she dove for it.
"That's a catch; Cleats, you're up!" Tinned Syrup ruled.
The other team stared in shock as a brown colt made his way back onto the field.

It was quiet for another moment as the schoolyard processed what happened, before the schoolfoals exploded. Murky's team had properly popped off when they realized what happened; the other team, however, was much less content, accusing Murky of cheating.
Truth be told, Tinned Syrup didn't really know how to call for thaumic interference like that. The town only had one unicorn, and she'd never played dodgeball with the foals before.

The game, however, wasn't over until it was over. Cleats and Murky slowly worked at the enemy team; another couple catches brought Honey and another student back up.
Then, the final filly on the opposing team went down.
"That's a wrap!" Tinned Syrup ruled, "Playground team wins!"
Murky's team broke out into excited shouting. Murky squeaked as they surrounded her, flailing a bit as she was hoisted into the air. She wasn't sure if she was being celebrated or in trouble, but all the attention was a bit too much for her. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping it would end soon.

Tinned Syrup thankfully picked up on the filly's distress. "Alright, alright, that's enough," She said to the group, watching as they settled Murky down.
Honey Syrup hugged the filly tightly, "You were great, Murky! What even was that shield thing? Why didn't you do it sooner?" She asked hyperactively.
Murky just blinked, "I don't know," She admitted, "I was just really scared of being hit all at once, and… Then it happened," She admitted.
Tinned Syrup nodded slowly, "It was very unusual, dear," She admitted, "I think we should take you back to your mother."
Murky nodded a little. Tinned Syrup went and got Ms. Writ to watch the other schoolfoals, as she gently led Murky back to the market.
Honey Syrup would follow, despite her mother telling her not to. Tinned Syrup would make an exception for today; this was Honey's new friend, after all.

Murky looked over at the group, stepping out from behind her start. "Is everything alright?" She asked, voice slightly elevated. She'd been worried sick over Murky, and now the fact that she was being returned early compounded her fears.
"I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure," Tinned Syrup admitted.
"What happened?" Tincture asked.
Tinned Syrup was cut off by Honey Syrup excitedly recounting the events of the dodgeball game.
Tincture looked at Murky, "You casted a shield?" She asked softly.
Murky nodded a little, her ears pinned back.
Tincture gently stroked her head, "Murky, you're not in trouble," She promised gently, "I'm just very surprised, given that you're an earth pony."
Murky nodded a little, ears unpinning, "Alright, mom," She said gently.

Honey blinked a little, "Does this mean she's not allowed to go to school anymore?" She asked with a small frown.
Tincture shook her head, "Of course not," She promised, "Murky just needs a checkup… Magic like that isn't a normal occurrence for earth ponies," She explained.
"Oh," Honey replied softly, "So she's not supposed to be able to do that?"
Tincture hummed and hawed for a second, "There's… A bit more to it than that," She explained.
Tinned Syrup offered the slightest smile, "Please do tell us when you've figured out what's going on. We'd love to have Murky back at school," She expressed.
Tincture nodded, "Of course," She replied curtly.
The two Syrups walked off as Tincture packed up her cart.

Once it was hitched, Tincture looked at Murky. "Come along, little one," She requested softly, walking towards the hospital.
Murky looked sheepish, "A-am I in trouble, mom?" She asked, having been unconvinced by her mother's earlier assurance.
"No, Murky, you aren't," Tincture expressed, "You're a very special filly, and I think this tells me a bit more about where you came from," She explained.
Tincture unhitched her cart as she got to the hospital, where Bottle was standing behind the counter.

"Oh! I didn't expect to see you two here," Bottle expressed, "What's wrong?" She asked.
Tincture smiled awkwardly, "Could you show us to one of the exam rooms?" She requested.
Bottle simply nodded. She had gotten used to Tincture's "action first" sort of attitude. She led the two into a room and locked the door.
"Alright, what's this about?" Bottle asked.
Tincture helped Murky up onto the exam table.
"Murky casted a shield spell at school today," Tincture explained, "And I believe it's your fault."
Bottle blinked, "How would I have influenced it?" She asked.
"You're the only earth pony I know who can properly cast a spell," Tincture said somewhat cryptically.
Bottle nodded slowly.
Murky looked up at Tincture, and Tincture returned the gaze with a soft expression, "Can you try making the shield for me and Bottle?" She asked gently.
Murky blinked, "I don't know how, mom," She said gently.

Tincture sighed softly. This was one of those things that was hard to explain to a child, especially one as sensitive as Murky.
Tincture gently rubbed Murky's back, "You don't, but your body does," She attempted, "You need to control it."
Murky blinked, "How do I do that?" She asked.
Bottle looked at Tincture, "May I?" She interjected.
Tincture nodded, and Bottle took a few steps towards Murky.
"Alright, sweetheart… Just do as I say, okay?" Bottle cooed gently.
Murky nodded trustingly.

"First thing I want you to do is put your front hooves a few inches apart from one another. Then close your eyes," Bottle said gently.
Murky nodded, doing as told. Tincture watched with bated breath.
"Now, take a deep breath, into your belly," Bottle instructed.
Murky did so, and squirmed lightly, "I feel weird…" She whined softly, feeling a tingling building in her stomach.
"That's okay sweetheart. Now, when you breathe out, try to push the weird feelings out to your hooves," Bottle recited gently. These were all practices Tincture had taught her; however, she had more firsthoof experience than the unicorn did.
Murky's mane began to tint a light purple as a small bubble of magic formed between her hooves.
Bottle smiled, "That's it… It's there, can you feel it? Open your eyes slowly…" She said gently.

Murky blinked as she opened her eyes, mane now solid purple as the bubble slowly expanded in her hooves. "Is this it?" She asked meekly.
Bottle nodded, "Yes, yes, that's your magic, sweetheart. Now, let it expand so it covers you," She instructed.
Murky watched in awe as the shield swelled, encircling her body in a shimmering purple sphere. "I did it!" Murky chirped.
Bottle and Tincture both smiled.
"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Bottle asked gently.
Murky shook her head.

Tincture looked at the shield, lightly tapping the shimmering surface with her hoof. Her mind was alight with theories; theories she didn't want to share in Murky's presence. Murky still didn't know exactly how she related to Tincture, after all. Not that Tincture knew exactly, either, but she had a good guess.
"I think you got some of my magic after all, Murky," Tincture said, "I'm very practiced in shield spells, and you seem to have inherited that," She said.
Murky's shield abruptly dropped as she looked at her mom, her mane fizzling out.

Murky squeaked as Tincture hugged her, "I'm very proud of you," Tincture declared softly.
Murky leaned into Tincture, "I love you, mom," She said softly.
"I love you too," Tincture reciprocated, turning to Bottle.
"Thank you for your assistance, Bottle… You would be the casting expert under these circumstances," She admitted with a soft chuckle.
Bottle smiled, "Of course," She replied, "We told you we'd be there to help raise her, didn't we?" She asked.
Tincture sighed softly and nodded, a sheepish smile on her face, "I… I know," She murmured softly. She was grateful that her friends cared enough to help her raise this filly. Her mind briefly thought about what Miasma would've said about such a thing. Her smile widened slightly. The old hag would've hated it.

After a few more minutes, Tincture released her hug on Murky. "We'll meet you back at the house, okay Bottle? I think this one's had enough excitement for today," She said gently as she watched Murky yawn.
Bottled Lightning smiled, "Of course," She replied, "You two get a good rest; I shouldn't be much longer here," She said as she opened the door.
Tincture and Murky left the room, heading home.

Tincture watched as Murky tried to exercise her magic some more. The filly would run ahead, conjure a shield for a few seconds, then catch up with Tincture as she steadily pulled the cart ahead.
"Don't overdo it now, Murky," Tincture cooed gently, "As an earth pony, your body doesn't handle magic the same way mine does; if you overexert yourself, you'll get very sleepy very fast," She warned.
Murky blinked, halting her magic use. "Oh… Okay. Sorry mom," She replied softly.
Tincture smiled gently, "Save up your magic so you can show Angel, okay?" She said gently.
Murky nodded, "Okay!" She replied, somewhat excitedly.

The evening was, thankfully, less eventful than the day prior.
Angel would play with Murky a bit as Tincture read up on pomunculi and their traits. If Murky was formed of her memories, perhaps Murky's magic drew parallels from Bottle's own unique circumstance. That was a theory she'd have to explore later, though, when Murky wasn't around.
After some dinner and more chatter, now filling Hazy in on the events of the day, the two would head to Tincture's bedroom.

"Mom," Murky began as Tincture tucked her into bed, "Can I cast my magic at school tomorrow?" She asked softly.
Tincture smiled, "Of course you can," She answered gently, "Just don't hurt anyone with it, okay? Magic is a very powerful force; it needs to be controlled."
Murky nodded, "What if I only use it to protect other ponies?" She asked further.
Tincture's smile softened a bit. "I'll be a very, very proud mother," She answered confidently, giving Murky a gentle kiss on the side of her head, "Have a good sleep, Murky. I love you," She cooed.
Murky's eyes closed as she settled under the covers, "Good night, mom… I love you too," She murmured softly.
Tincture smiled as she shuttered the magic lamp on the desk, leaving the room so Murky could sleep.
After some time spent with the other adult mares, Tincture would return to bed.

When she awoke, she was surprised to find her daughter already awake; and not even in bed, no less.
Tincture yawned as she stood up, walking to the door. She smiled as she saw her daughter sitting at the table with Angel, eating a cinnamon bun as an early breakfast.
"I'd say someone's excited to go to school today," Tincture commented as she took a seat.
Murky nodded a little, "I want to see Honey Syrup again, she was nice," She expressed gently.
Tincture sighed softly. "I'm very proud of you, Murky; you're much more social than I was at your age," She said gently, nuzzling Murky gently, "We'll have some breakfast and head out a little early so you can spend some time with Honey before school, okay?" She promised.
Murky nodded.

Angel smiled a little. She didn't want to tell Tincture Tincture she told her so, but…
"Told you getting out in the world would be good for her," Angel commented with a small smirk.
Tincture sighed softly, "Yes, you told me so," She commented, "When she inevitably starts bringing friends over, you'll be the chaperone," She teased.
Angel just rolled her eyes and giggled, watching the two get ready for a day out of the house.
Angel was just glad she didn't have to physically push anyone this time.