Turn of Luck

by David Silver

3 - Really Stepping in It

Maya should have returned to her new home, that twinkling tower of a castle that belonged to Twilight.

Surely she had been just told that, to go rest and recover from quite a hectic day.

But she wasn't doing that.

She was walking down the road, aiming for no particular place. Her eyes were locked on her hooves, each step leaving a glimmering pattern of a hoofprint that faded moments later.

The fact that they glowed at all captivated her. "I'm magic..." Was there another possible reason? Surely it wasn't some strange disease or other malady. "I'm magic."

But what did that magic do, besides leave vibrant hoofprints behind? If that was the limit of her power, it was neat, but also mostly useless as those things went.

In the darkness of the evening, she sank to her haunches and turned a hoof to examine the bottom of it. The heart-shaped frog of a pony greeted her, and made her laugh. "Silly thing." Ponies in G5 had literal hearts on their hooves.

Real ponies had hearts on their hooves. They were facing the wrong way, but normal earth horses weren't around to chastise her on having them facing the wrong way.

"I'm not a normal horse. I'm a magical pony." She brushed her hooves together, encouraging that glimmering green magic. "This magic is mine... Ponies in the show, earth ponies, which I am... They could make things grow. They could control plants..."

Maya stared intently at her glowing hooves, a multitude of thoughts and questions swirling through her mind. She knew she should return to Twilight's castle to rest, but curiosity compelled her to explore this startling new development.

Kneeling down, she turned her hoof over, taking in every detail. The heart shape that would be backward on a real horse marked her as something different - something magical.

She swept her hooves together, willing the green glimmer to shine brighter. If the Earth ponies of this world had plant magic, what could she do? Make flowers bloom? Manipulate vines? So many possibilities.

Maya glanced around the quiet dirt road, bordered on both sides by wildflowers and overgrown grass. She focused on a drooping daisy near her knee, brow furrowed in concentration.

"Grow," she whispered. The daisy trembled but remained motionless. Maya gritted her teeth, straining as she repeated the command more forcefully. "Grow!"

The daisy's stem stretched upward by an inch, petals unfurling wider. Maya's eyes went wide, and she broke into an astonished grin. Her heart pounded with excitement. She had done it - used real magic!

Buoyed by success, Maya sought a new test. Spying a wayward vine trailing across the road, she ignited her hooves and swept a beam over it. The vine trembled and snaked slowly across the path, centimeter by centimeter.

Maya panted from the effort, but delight shone in her eyes. Perhaps she could find purpose for this gift. She thought of the CMC's blank flanks - what wondrous things she could make bloom for those fillies.

The thought made her remember something. She turned quickly to have a look at her bottom. Yep. She had a mark.

She had Posey's mark.

This made sense, in a way. She was Posey. Sure, she was also Maya, but she was borrowing Posey's body. Why not share a cutie mark?

It was a circle of flowers, and that could mean many things. "I am a druid, controller of plants." She clopped her hooves. "I am a tender of minds, that they grow tall and powerful at my hooves." She clopped her hooves harder. "I will grow a circle of friends around me to treasure!"

She paused at that last one. "Where did that come from?" She stood up, shaking out her strange pony body. "Let's calm down. I have a power, and it's kind of neat. I won't be taking this as a reason to abandon what I like to do. I want to help people, and I still can. I can do that and also be a magic gardner."

Maya took a deep, centering breath and considered her next steps. The evening sky glimmered with stars and moonlight above the silhouette of Ponyville. Most ponies were likely settling in for the night.

She knew she should do the same in her new quarters at Twilight's castle. But the quiet streets seemed inviting for practicing her blossoming abilities away from prying eyes.

Maya noticed a neglected planter box lined with drooping petunias outside a bakery. She cautiously approached and ignited her hooves, channeling energy into the wilted flowers. They perked up noticeably, growing bushier as their leaves reached for the sky.

Satisfied, Maya moved further down the road, finding other plants to secretly nourish. She repaired a broken trellis for a climbing rose. She revived a vegetable garden flagged by the heat. For one home, she grew a flower box into a burst of colorful dahlias that she hoped would brighten the residents' morning.

By the end, Maya was exhausted but fulfilled. She had cultivated beauty and life around this community, even if they didn't know its source yet. As she finally returned to the castle and collapsed into her bed, Maya felt she had taken the first steps in balancing her old purpose with that new gift.

Drifting to sleep, she wondered what other ways she could put her blossoming magic to use for ponies here. Perhaps this world held possibilities she never imagined - she need only nurture them with an open heart.

"Uh."

Maya snapped awake. "Sp-- Oh." She saw what had made him produce that odd noise. Her room was filled with plants as if her crystal room were more of a green house than anything else. She hadn't been spared.

She was in a cot of vines, dangling from the ceiling. The oddest part was that the vines were comfortable, if not for the fact that she was dangling far over the floor. "Oops."

"Oops?" Spike peered up at her. "Not the response I was expecting, gonna be honest. Uh... So... Have fun with Rarity?"

Maya laughed at the sharp change in topic. "I did, actually. Thank you for asking."

"So... I want to ask more, but first..." He rolled a small hand slowly. "How are you fixing this? Should I get Twilight?"

Clopping softly, Maya sat up with glowing hooves. "I got this. I practiced."

"Practiced wh--oh." Spike gaped as she commanded the plants to withdraw and receed, gently lowering her to the ground and freeing up the room. "Neat. Woah, you're, like... a superhero!" He grabbed for one of his many comics, waving it as her.

"Like the maneiac, but with plants! Um, you're still a good guy, right?" He glanced nervously about, as if that was a very real possibility that Maya had changed sides.

"Silly." Maya nudged him with a hoof. "I'm still the same person. Just with a trick. So... Wait." She hiked a brow. "You know earth ponies, right?"

Spike nodded quickly. "Yep, friends with a lot of them, why?"

"So don't any of them do what I just did?" She waved a dimly glowing green hoof at him.

Spike nudged the hoof away, as if it were a loaded weapon. "Nope, not one of them. Earth ponies don't have magic, silly."

Maya waved the hoof all the more emphatically, glowing brightly with a moment of annoyance. "You're saying that to the earth pony that just did magic."

"True..." He tapped at his chin thoughtfully. "Well, you've clearly got some special kind of magic. But maybe we should keep this between us for now?"

Maya nodded, relieved. "I agree. This is all still so new to me. Let's figure it out before I become some magical pony spectacle."

"Ooh, secrecy! I like it." Spike grinned, making a zipping motion across his mouth. "What are assistant dragon-friends for? But we should totally see what you can do!"

He grabbed a large flower pot and set it before Maya. "Grow something huge in here! Like a beanstalk to the moon or a giant venus flytrap that eats pegasi!"

Maya laughed. "Maybe I'll start smaller." She focused on the soil, her hooves illuminating. A green stem slowly spiraled up, sprouting leaves and colorful petunias.

"Amazing!" Spike clapped. But the exertion exhausted Maya. She wobbled and he supported her.

"I think that's my limit for now," Maya panted. "But with practice..."

Spike squeezed her hoof. "We're gonna have the coolest magical gardening team Ponyville's ever seen!" The future looked bright to him.

At least until he thought about it a little harder. "I mean, that's cool and all... But I want to do more than just grow random plants."

Maya shrugged with a chuckle. Kids. "Well, so do I. I want to talk to people."

"People?" It was like Spike hadn't heard the word before.

Maya blinked and pointed at Spike. "People." She pointed at herself. "People. Twilight people, Rarity people. Octavia people?"

"Ponies." Spike nodded, his order returned. "You want to talk to ponies."

Maya clopped her newly-discovered magic hoof to her face. "Ponies, sure, yes. I trained in how to help people, ponies or not, deal with their issues. I'm working through mine, but working through someone else's would be even more fun."

"Huh, neat." Spike set the comic he had been looking at on Maya's bed for later reading. "Twilight does that too, so do the other girls."

"They do?"

"All the time!" He threw up his hands. "They run into ponies having all kinds of issues and help them work through it. It's, basically, half of their 'thing' if you get down to it. I hear Twilight's building a school so she can help 'growing young minds' right from the start."

Maya smiled at the thought. What luck was it to run into exactly that. "Then I am in the right place. But, if that school isn't finished yet, why don't we start with a school that is?"

"Like?"

Maya arched a brow. "The one you should probably be at, Spike. Where do little children go to school?"

Spike started. "Me? I'm way too advanced." He polished a hand on his chest. "There's Cheerilee's school. She teaches foals. I'm not a foal. I'm a dragon, duh."

Maya and Spike made their way to the quaint Ponyville Schoolhouse. Maya peered through the windows, smiling as she watched the young ponies enthusiastically raise their hooves to answer Cheerilee's questions.

"Looks like class is in session. Let's come back later," Spike said, already turning to leave.

"Wait." Maya stopped him. "Why don't we introduce ourselves to the teacher first? I'd love to observe."

Spike shuffled nervously but followed Maya inside. Cheerilee looked up in surprise. "Oh, hello there! Can I help you?"

Maya waved. "I'm Maya, new in town. I was hoping I could sit in and watch your teaching for a bit. I used to be a counselor back home."

Cheerilee beamed. "Of course! We're always happy to have guests." She turned to the foals. "Everypony, this is Miss Maya. Let's give her a warm welcome!"

The class chorused cheerful greetings. Maya smiled, feeling an instant rapport with the bright-eyed ponies. "It's wonderful to meet you all!"

As Cheerilee's lesson resumed, Maya marveled at her kindness and skill engaging the students. Spike eventually relaxed too, pointing out the cutie mark crusaders to Maya with a grin.

Maya looked to them to find they were looking right back at her just as eagerly. That they remembered her hardly seemed in doubt. She waved back at Cheerilee, lest she keep them distracted.

They pouted in unison, but returned their attention to their teacher.

"Hey." A little round colt was looking up at Maya curiously from his desk near her. "Aren't you a bit large to be in school?" His tone was thick with his doubt and confusion. "This place is for foals, which you ain't."

"Don't be mean, Snips." A lankey and dopey unicorn rubbed his head lightly. "She looks nice."

"I try, but focus on the te--"

"Snips. Snails." Cheerilee was scowling at the two of them. "A guest is no reason to misbehave. Eyes forward."

"Yes ma'am," they sullenly agreed as one, the crowd giggling at their misfortune.

It was at that moment that Maya realized she was distracted. She had eyes more like an herbivore. She could see all around herself, minus directly in front of her nose and behind her tail. Eyes forward?

Eyes to the side felt easier. Inclining her head slowly to the left, she found it so much simpler to focus one eye on Cheerilee as she went on about Equestrian cities.

Maya tried to focus on Cheerilee's geography lesson, but Snips and Snails kept tossing wadded up papers at her to get her attention.

"Is there a problem back there, boys?" Cheerilee asked, frowning.

"No ma'am," they giggled. But as soon as Cheerilee resumed teaching, the paper missiles continued.

Maya stood and quietly moved to a vacant desk at the front, hoping proximity to the teacher would deter them. But the disruptive duo just started making silly faces instead, trying to get a reaction.

Finally Cheerilee had enough. "Snips, Snails - go stand out in the hallway this instant!" she ordered. "I will not have you disrespecting our guest."

The two hung their heads and sulked out as the class tittered. Maya felt bad, but Cheerilee gave her a sympathetic smile and continued on energetically with her lesson.

After class, as ponies filed out, Cheerilee approached Maya. "I'm so sorry about those two. They're rambunctious but mean no real harm."

"It's alright," Maya said. "I appreciate you letting me observe today."

"Of course! It's always wonderful to share knowledge." Cheerilee gestured out the door. "Can I treat you to coffee? I'd love to chat more."

Maya smiled. "I'd really enjoy that."

She fell in alongside Cheerilee. "You are an earth pony."

Cheerilee quirked a brow. "So are you." She paused to close the door and lock it. "What brought that up?"

"N-nothing." Maya choked back her question. "Just funny, how two earth ponies are equally committed to helping."

Cheerilee brightened at that. "I hadn't thought of it like that. Hm, I suppose we are two earth ponies that..." She failed, turning to a little frown. "I'm sorry, but what do you do?" She glanced back at Maya's cutie mark, but the ring of flowers was not immediately obvious. "Flower garden... Kindergarten? Are you a teacher too?!"

Maya almost felt guilty at the excitement she saw growing in Cheerilee. "Not a teacher, specifically, more of a counselor. A therapist?"

Cheerilee let out a loud 'oh!' "Yes, silly me. You do tend to needing minds, just, usually, grown ones. I understand." She nodded as they walked down the Ponyville street. "Spike came with you, and he's following us... Should he be a part of this?"

Maya waved Spike forward to join them, just to jump in surprise. Spike had scrambled right up onto her back.

That was an entirely new sort of sensation, serving as a literal steed. "This is Spike, you know that."

"Hey, Cheerilee." He waved at the teacher mare. "Maya wanted to visit the school, I don't know why."

"To start." Maya leaned in closer to Cheerilee, not that she could escape Spike on her back. "Why is this young child--" She threw her head in Spike's direction. "--not with the other children in school?"

"To be simple." Cheerilee waved at the waving Spike. "Twilight never brought it up. He never brought it up. I assumed they had other arrangements and nopony talked about it, so it was just never a topic. Spike, did you want to join the school?"

"Uh..."

Maya held up a hoof. "Bad question. It's a new, scary, thing. Of course he'll vote against it. But, making friends with peers around his own age, and spending time just dealing with his own development?"

Cheerilee put a hoof to her chin. "You are speaking reasonably enough, but I'm not Spike's parent or guardian. The best I can do is talk to Twilight about it. Now, let's put that aside. This cup of coffee will not drink itself."

Author's Note:

Maya is pushing for thinking of Spike.

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Comments

[Emtu]

At least in G4, earth ponies always had magic, it's just not flashy like unicorns or pegasi. I wonder if non-earth ponies can even see the magic itself, or even if earth ponies can only see their own magic.

[Seven Fates]

At least Maya seems pretty straight-laced. I can only imagine the trouble she could get up to if she just started conjuring up certain plants in the order Rosales or certain mushrooms of the order Agaricales... although I'm sure she'd quickly become Tree Hugger's best friend.

[Status L]

11756003
O wait until she discovers poison joke.

[Chrome Masquerade]

It was a circle of flowers, and that could mean many things. "I am a druid, controller of plants." She clopped her hooves. "I am a tender of minds, that they grow tall and powerful at my hooves." She clopped her hooves harder. "I will grow a circle of friends around me to treasure!"

Druids of that kind more... guide plants. Not so much control.

[Chrome Masquerade]

Spike nudged the hoof away, as if it were a loaded weapon. "Nope, not one of them. Earth ponies don't have magic, silly."

To quote Brock from the Skylanders series, "Wrong answer, pal!"

Of course they have magic. Just look at the Apples in general. When Applejack was acting as Smart Cookie, she picked up a hoof-ful of dirt and almost immediately a flower started growing. Similar things can be done by her family.
Pinkie Pie has magic, for sure.
There are more examples that I could list, but I think you get the gist.

Hey! That rhymes!

[Turquoise pony]

11756208
I'm thinking spike is forgetting the winter wrap up ritual where earth ponies literally sprout seeds immediately after burying them the soil that has been frozen all winter, or how despite how apples would fall randomly to the ground always miraculously land inside the baskets after an earth pony kicks the tree.

[Turquoise pony]

On the the question of why Spike doesn't go to school. I had always a assumed that Twilight Sparkle had homeschool Spike in the same manner as she was homeschooled by Celestia herself. The idea of a structured School experience never occurred to Twilight.

[Chrome Masquerade]

11758214
Considering how strong Applejack is, a full-powered buck ought to snap any apple tree she delivered one to, but almost no apples would fall. Not until the tree crashed to the ground, anyway.

[David Silver]

11758217
Completely valid, and quite likely. The question, would be if this is the healthiest option for Spike.

[CV816]

He grabbed a large flower pot and set it before Maya. "Grow something huge in here! Like a beanstalk to the moon or a giant venus flytrap that eats pegasi!"

Where in Celestia's mane did this come from, Spike? Did Rainbow wreck a few of your comics or something? Jeez...

[David Silver]

11776448
She knows what she did.

[Luckyfanisaac]

Spike nudged the hoof away, as if it were a loaded weapon. "Nope, not one of them. Earth ponies don't have magic, silly."

Racist bitch!!

Spike, did you want to join the school?"

*as sarcastic as possible* Oh I wonder how the board will feel.