Scribble is a young, smart, and (as much as she might hate the word) cute filly, but she has a lot on her plate at the moment. She's beginning to become a young mare rather than the young filly she was before, her mother is entering into a very
Scribble is a young, smart, and (as much as she might hate the word) cute filly, but she has a lot on her plate at the moment. She's beginning to become a young mare rather than the young filly she was before, her mother is entering into a very serious relationship with a very important pony, and her talent isn't very much a talent. Life was never easy for Cute Little Scribble, but messy times are ahead for her.
"Scribble, you should of gotten these packed last night!" Mom chides. I tap my foot and sweep it along the ground. "Well, don't take too long."
I don't like packing up my bags for the school year. Not by a long shot. It's the symbolic end of Summer's last hour. The closing of schools jaws upon the neck of free time, the switch that turned off Summer's-
"Scribble!" Mom tells from the floor below. I tapped the floor twice in annoyance.
Today was my first day of the new school year. Some ponies were surprised I hated the start of school. I guess they think that ponies who skip grades have some weird obsession with school. I've skipped twice, and it's just as boring for me as it is for you. If mom hadn't made me stop, I would've tried to skip grades all the way out of high school. It would've taken a few tries, but I could've done it... eventually... probably.
On top of the new school year, I was also entering a new school while moving into a whole new town. There would be lots of unfamiliar faces everywhere I went, but that wasn't that much different from before I moved.
I know for a fact the reason we moved away from the last place is because I had failed to make any friends, which is why we moved to a small tight knit community, but I guessed that mom chose ponyville because of some mysterious 'special somepony' she had found. She never said there was a pony, much less a 'special somepony', but it was kinda obvious. She had been far too cheerful lately and far too nice. Classic signs of the syndrome known as "in a relationship."
There was also the strange increase in mail on top of her refusal to let me get it from the mailbox. This had been going on for a few months, and thus the special somepony in question had probably been mail dating her for a while. I also knew mom wouldn't move me and her to a new town based on letters, but there had been a period of interviews that never got published a while back, and I suspected that the interviewee was the new marefriend. Afterall, mom never messed up an interview.
My third piece of evidence was mom's long history of dating famous ponies she interviews. It had come to bite her in the flank before, but she wouldn't move us both for just any celebrity.
I finish with my bags and sling them onto my back. Normal Pegasi would wear them on the flanks or tie them around their barrel but- "Scribble, we're gonna be late!" Mom's voice cries out across the house. I trudge my way there silently and submit myself to her brush.
She starts brushing my hair using her hoof to guide the sof yak hair brush. Other unicorns would use their magic or a wrist strap, but my mom could use her hoof to guide the brush. My family is known for their dexterous hooves. It is how I draw. Now this isn't to say she is any good at brushing my hair. She's terrible.
A quarter of an hour later, and my scalp hurts. Mom never seemed to realize how bad she was, and after this long she was giving the Inquisition a run for their money with a naive smile on her face. Then again, that could just as easily be a trolling smile. You can never tell with mom.
The reason mom had to brush it for so long is because my my mane goes down to my hooves. I hate having a absurdly long mane. I find it a hassle, but mom says she loves it, so I keep my mane long. It would probably be faster if my dad could help, but he's dead. Mom never told me how it happened, and I never really cared. I wondered what he was like occasionally, but I only regret his death when mom is depressed. I used to dream that he could have helped her when she got depressed. Then I realized she would have much preferred a mare. Life is funny like that. My exquack worried at my lack of "no father angst," but then I told her about mom's new preferences. Needless to say that didn't help.
She has stopped brushing. My scalp throbs in relief.
"Ready dear?" She is smiling. I shake my head no. Mom said never to lie, and I'm honestly a bit nervous. "What if I got you some more sketch paper." That would be cool, but I would still be scared. I choose truth over paper and shake my head no. "What about a big hug?" I nod vigorously. That would help. Most teens would have faked throwing up, but this is the closest I could ever get to saying "I love you mom", and sometimes I just need to tell her that.
I never understood how ponies with voices took that for granted. Still, how had ponies like Snowdrop felt about seeing? At the end of the day I probably took as much for granted as the next pony.
She smiles down at me. I think she understood. She uses her magic to adjust the bags on my back. I feel a pang of jealousy, and again wish I had magic like my mom. My wings are too small to ever fly with, but I'm just a bad pegasus overall. Mom says my wings are "cute", but this is just one of the reasons I hate my first name. What pony names their child 'Cute'!? It sounds like I was bragging or being rude every time I introduced myself with my first name. That's why I go by Scribble.
"Mind if we take a small detour? There is someone I would like to introduce to you." I nod my head vigorously again. Not only would I get to meet her 'special somepony' I would get to be late to school. "Don't worry about school. I got us up early so we'll be on time." Dang it! She giggles as I stomp in frustration.
At least I won't have to get up so early tomorrow. Wait... Mom always makes breakfast, and we haven't had breakfast yet. That means we would still have to get up just as early to eat. I stomp again. My scalp hurts.
Mom shows me around the town. The streets are full of ponies of every type and color, but it still seems small. It was a sort of overgrown pseudo village/town. She talks to several of the ponies, introducing herself. They all seem fairly nice, and this makes her smile. I like it here a bit more.
We reach a big tree. There is a sign with a book hanging over the door. The tree appears to have been hollowed out into a home. Wouldn't that kill the tree? I looked up to the leaves, they appeared to be thriving and vibrant. I did not hear any musical binding, so this was unicorn magic, rather then earthpony gypsy binding. If it had been more squat I might have considered Zebrican shamanism. I am pretty certain, but magical sciences were my weakest subject.
The door is answered by a lavender unicorn, female. Her eyes were bright yet nervous, and she held a similar smile. It was just like the one mom had been wearing lately. She was probably the pony we were here to meet. Her face was unmarred by frown or glare lines, and it reinforced her friendly demeanor.
She was also the third to fourth best known mare in Equestria. A mare who would be recognized by even the most uninformed of ponies.
"Winter Radiance!" The mare exclaims.
"Twilight Sparkle!" My mom returns. They hug. Mom looks really ecstatic. It takes a second, but the purple maned mare notices me. Mom whispers something to her. She steps up to me slightly nervous.
"Hi, my name is Twilight Sparkle. Me and your mom are friends." She offers me a hoof, and I take it. She seems to be waiting for something. Ahh, she was waiting for me to talk. It looked like she knew my name, and that I couldn't speak, but perhaps didn't quite comprehend the fact I couldn't talk. The sad thing is most ponies can't. Mom looks about ready to talk for me, but I raise up a hoof to stop her.
I reach bag and bite up a card out of my bag. Sir Crisploven had suggested I prepare for situations like this. Hoofing the card over to Miss Sparkle, I let her read the card. She reads it out loud, habit probably.
"Hello, my name is Scribble. I am a mute. It is very nice to meet you." she looked startled. She looked startled at my mom as if seeking confirmation. My mom nods. I opened the pouch and showed her the set I had made. My mom seemed a bit peeved at Miss Sparkle, but the lavender unicorn smiled at me. She looked both happy and surprised. "I can see you are every bit as smart as your mom said you were." She takes a deep breath, and I smile knowing just about what she would say. "I like your mom very much and hope to get to know you as well." I called it! "Would you be okay with that?"
I nod my head without any doubts. I haven't ever seen mom so happy! Of course more of that would be okay. Even if the mare in question knew Princess Celestia personally. Mom smiles, nudges me out, whispers something to Twilight, and then we all head off to the High school.
Not every pony who skipped grades likes school, but we all love Twilight. I personally like Rainbow Dash more, but that was something else entirely. We all looked up to Twilight, the lonelier of us idolized her. She was the best of us. She was the happiest of us. Ponies like me would give up everything to be her. Though... that might be a bit awkward now that she was dating my mom.
Mom and Twilight start chatting over me. I think she is talking about her new job as we walk to the school. She works for a big national newspaper. Admittedly I thought her job was mind numbingly boring, so I kinda tuned it out. I know I shouldn't, but I do. I take the time to look around at Ponyville as we walk. It was so different from the last place we had lived. Espa had been chilly, remote, and isolated. Ponyville on the other hoof was warm, smack dab in the middle of Equestria, and connected to the national rail system. I actually preferred the cold, but I'd gladly given it up for mom. Luckily both towns were full of kind neighborly ponies, and a welcoming and thriving community.
Luckily both towns were better then Manehatten. I try not to think about life in Manehatten. I didn't like it there at all. Mom, being the wonderful mom that only she is, of course realized that quickly and we hadn't lived there long.
The high school was just over the hill. Me and mom were just on time. I could see the other students waiting at the entrance. It appeared to have three rooms and a bell tower. It was smaller then Espa's school, and that was saying something.
Ponies two years older then me, I already being rather small for my age, just lumbered over me. I hated that. Ravenhoof said hate was a bad word, and that I should love, lest some horrible twisted chaos spawn try to take me. I knew she was kidding. Maybe.
Mom nudged me past the crowd to what looked to be a teacher or another mom. She was tall, had flowers on her flank, and was a rather odd shade of pink. It was a very red shade.
"Why hello there! you must be Cute Scribble. I have heard so much about you." Ohh no! She knew my full name. She waited for a response from me, but seeing as how she already said my name so I couldn't use the card now. After looking at me for a while she looked back to my mom and asked. "So she really can't talk?"
Mom just frowned and pulled Miss Cheerilee off to the side. I only heard snippets of what was said, but my mom had had this talk with countless teachers. I had it almost memorized. Mom would say 'as I said in the application, no she really can't talk, and no it is physical not mental". Then the teacher would say 'Can't doctors fix this sort of thing easily?'. My mom would then say 'Doctors can't fix what isn't there, she was born without vocal cords. Then the teacher would say ' I'm sorry but our school just doesn't have a curriculum to deal with this, you would be wise to consider tutoring or-
Wait, Miss Cheerilee and Mom were walking back. That was quicker then usual. Short meant it was tutoring again. Mom was smiling? as was miss Cheerilee... That was new.
"Okay Miss Scribble, I think I understand your situation better now. Do you think you are ready to start?" Wait huh?! Where was the 'just deal with it' or the 'maybe you should do homeschooling'!? The teachers up to now had either had too large of classes to deal with a mute, or were unable to give a student two years younger then the rest any of the extra help.
Miss Cheerilee was just different I guess. She deserved a chance. I am ready. I nod yes.
"Great! follow me. let's go meet your new teacher." Wait... she wasn't my teacher?... Was she in charge? Why had my mother talked to her first?...
I sighed (gasp outwardly) inaudibly in frustration. Guess I will just have to find out.
I take a moment to actually look the school over as I follow Ms. Cheriliee. It was a large single building, with a large porch in the front. The porch had four doors, two of them were marked as bathrooms, and the other two appeared to be the classrooms. Almost everything was made of wood, but there was some concrete showing right at ground level, and I even spotted what might have been windows. On top of all of this was a skinny belltower, It stood mostly over the porch roof, and I could see the end of a large heavy rope hanging down to the porch floor. There was a ladder leading up directly below it, but it looked too steep to climb, and the tower looked too skinny for a pony to fit in. Maybe this tower was like doorknobs and scissors, utterly inexplicable.
Miss Cherilee stopped on the porch, and I was able to look up the ladder and into the tower. The space looked even more claustrophobic from the inside, and I shudder as I imagine somepony trying that ladder. This was a scissor and doorknob set up for sure.
As I waited with Miss Cheerilee on the porch some of the younger students were playing about, but more and more were going back to their abandoned school bags. Some appeared to be rapidly stashing away work of some kind. Some looked panicked as they noticed others putting away homework. I didn't even need the bell to tell me that class was about to begin, but I smiled as ms. Cherilee confirmed my suspicions by taking the bell rope in her mouth and giving it a good pull.
"DING dingding ding dingdinnng dinnnngdinnnng...." The bell sounded lonely as it rang out, but it carried a celebratory tone. Must be second hoof, probably from some sort of cathedral rather than a town hall.
students trot slowly to get to classes. In passing, several fillies and colts my age waved to me. Those ponies and younger all went in the class room on the left. Most of the older ponies went straight for the right classroom. It took a while, but eventually all the students had entered one class or the other. Me and Miss Cheerilee went to the classroom on the right. She peeked in and called out for somepony, but her exact words were muffled by the door. Moments later a rather scrawny unicorn stallion stepped out. His mane was graying, his hooves looked worn, but he had a rather young smile. I had never seen dark black brown tea before, so I really hoped the stain on his coat was coffee. Overall, he looked like a hard worked middle aged unicorn, who probably had weak magic. Strong magic users don't wear down their hooves nearly as much as he had. His cutie mark appeared to be a pony butt made or iron. Was that flankception? I hoped that didnt mean he was a hard-ass.
Facing me she said, "Miss Scribble, this is your new teacher, Mister Iron Bottom." Turning to who I now knew was Mr Iron Bottom she said "Mister Iron Bottom, This is your new student 'Cute Scribble'." Mr Iron Bottom offered his hoof for me to shake. I glanced at it for a second. The bottom of his hooves had ink on them.
All he said in greeting was "Nice to meet you". I took his hoof and decided to pull out my card. The card might not fit properly into the conversation, but Mom wasn't here to explain. He looked a tad surprised when I pulled out on of the cards from my pack, but he didn't waste time levitating it out of my mouth. While he read the card I watched him closely. He, unlike Miss Twilight, did not read out loud. Though his lips moved. Annoyingly, he, just as Miss Twilight had, looked to the other adult for confirmation. What would happen if there were no adults who could confirm I what the card said? Would he not believe me?
It would be best to avoid that.
I did, and still do, realize that the birth of a honest to Fantasi mute hadn't happened in centuries before I came along, at least not incurable muteness. Nearly all ponies who were born mute had damaged vocal cords, or some other fixable issue. But do ponies really have so much trouble accepting that there are those out there who are different. Every time I met somepony for the first time, they acted like I was lying about being mute? It was as if they just couldn't believe that I could exist. Was I so much weirder than a griffon or dragon, or did someponies find the fallibility of magic to be inconcievable?
A nudge from miss Cherilee brings me out of my thoughts.
"Ah, my highly anticipated honor student. Now would you like me to tell the class your name, or do you have some way of announcing it yourself?" I was taken aback slightly by how quickly he went from disbelief at my existence to adapting to my needs. Maybe not everypony was all that bad. I retrieved the note from Mr Iron Bottom, and grabbed a pencil from my pack. Quickly, and in my best hoofscript, I asked 'do you have a blackboard?'.
"I'm afraid not. We do have a whiteboard though." Even better! I HATED the texture of chalk. I wrote again 'I would like to write my name out for the class'. He nodded. "That would be just fine, and it's nice to see somepony who still writes cursive." I gave him a big thankful smile. I was glad that somepony appreciated the work I put into my writing, but for the most part it was just a necessity. It was literally my only means of communication, and legibility was paramount.
Mr. Ironborrom opened the door for me, and I stepped into the classroom. There were... two Earthpony colts, one Unicorn colt and one Pegasus colt... and there were two Earthpony fillies, one Unicorn filly, and wow, FOUR Pegasi fillies. What a strange amount of female Pegasi for such a land based farming town. All of them were taller than me, and older than me. The white board was up at the front of the classroom. Mr Iron Bottom stepped in front of the whiteboard, and almost immediately, all of the other students' eyes were on him.
"Hello class! Today we are getting a new student. As is usual, the standard rules of be respectful and be courteous apply." He smiled back at me. "Now go ahead and introduce yourself." That was my cue. I stepped up the writing board, and in big letters wrote 'Hello my name is Scribble'. When I turned back the brown Earthpony colt had his hoof up. nodding towards him the teacher called out. "Yes skater, what is it?"
"Why didn't she just say her name?" hmm... Strange. most ponies were curios about my age first. I nodded to Mr Iron Bottom as if to say 'you can tell him'.
"Well, Miss Scribble has something we call muteness. Does anyone here know what 'mute' means?" A blue Pegasus filly with white mane and the orange Unicorn with black mane colt raised their hooves. Mr Iron Bottom pointed to the Pegasus, "Yes Cloudchaser?"
"Doesn't it mean to be quiet or silent like on the stereo or Ppod?" Iron Bottom smiled.
"Very good Cloudchaser. Now who can tell me what vocal chords are?" I frowned with a inward sigh. I didn't like to be an anatomy lesson about the pony linguistic organs, but better this then a discussion of my age, or even worse, my size.
This question was answered by a grey coated Pegasus filly. She had a blonde mane and the weirdest golden eyes. Her eyes didn't seem to face the same way, but you could tell quite easily what she was looking at... Not that I had any right to call others weird. "It is what we use for speaking."
"Excellent Ditzy! now the vocal chords are two folds in the trachea. They close when you hold your breath, open when you breath, and vibrate the air as you talk." Mr Iron Bottom had an ever growing grin. He obviously enjoyed teaching a great deal. The filly known as Cloudchaser had her hoof up again.
"So what is wrong with Scribble? I thought doctors could fix stuff like that!" I raised my hoof. Having yet to be seated I was still up by the white board. Taking the opportunity I wrote 'Can I answer this?'. I didn't actually want to answer this, but it would remind them that I am a pony, not a text book example. Mr Iron Bottom nodded in assent.
I got to writing, 'I was born with no vocal chords at all. Thus nothing to repair." Several "Ohhh's" of realization emerged from my fellow students, and question hoof rose up from the Orange Unicorn colt from before.
"If you can't hold your breath, how do you drink water or swim?" Wow he was the first pony to notice that little problem so quickly. I give him a encouraging smile and write 'there are back up systems that fill in for when I drink water, but I cannot swim.' I loved swimming some times, but the foal pools were never fun, and deep water could be deadly with just a splash. I guess I grimaced at the thought, as Ditzy gave me a sympathetic smile. I return the smile with a cheerful one of my own.
Mr. Iron Bottom pointed to another pony while I was looking at the pony named Ditzy, but before that pony could answer, another one interjected itself.
"Isn't she like, wayyyy to young for this class?" I had another grimace as I turned around to see who had rudely interjected that last question. It came from the overly dressed Earthpony filly. She bore a snide little smile that only bullies wore. A little picture of a fancy dress was emblazoned across the flank of her dress. was that dressception? She seemed like the kind of pony I did my best to avoid. Her coat was pink, but her heart looked to be as black as her mane. Or at least as evil as her glare. I looked to Mr Iron Bottom. Seeing as how the question was asked as if I was not in the room, I thought it best if it was answered the same.
"Miss Dress. What have I told you about the number of y's in the word 'way'" It was her turn to grimace as what appeared to be a old nag caught up to her. "What would Mr. Fil-ahem-Mr. Rich say if I told him his daughter couldn't even pronounce the word 'way'?" I gave her a defiant, rather then snide, smile and wrote on the board, ' may I take my seat now Mr. Iron Bottom?'.
"Yes of course Miss Scribble. Take a the empty desk next to Miss Ditzy." Yes! It was across the room from the annoying dress pony. Mr Iron Bottom was one who cared. This was just another reason to like my new home. If I just had apples, friends, and a fresh snowfall, this would be the very best day ever! It would be like, PERFECT! If only there was snow...
I smiled at Ditzy as I took my seat. I would really like to be friends with her. She seemed nice. And honestly? Her eyes might make her easier to befriend. Ponies who were unusual like me made better friends as well. After all, ponies who were teased weren't embarrassed to be friends with ponies who are teased. At least, that was the case in Highschool. In Elementary a different, much harsher, set of rules applied for friendmaking.
The rest of the prelunch class was a continuation of the anatomy lesson my arrival started. I took lots of notes... and doodled all over those notes, and doodled all over the other blankpages. I didn't actually take that many notes having learned most of it from past doctors. A lot of my doodles were of Ditzy's face. Her super focused study face was lots of fun to draw, and she didn't mind me drawing her.
When it was time for lunch, we were all sent outside. Lunch was held right next to the elementary playground. I stop for a quick bathroom break. By the time I come out all of the Pegasi, including Ditzy, were eating lunch up on a cloud. Everypony else was clustered around snide overdressed Earthpony filly from before. Without much choice, I headed for the deserted playground. In the middle of it was a cozy little play castle. It looked like a perfect place to eat.
After raising the little drawbridge; I sequestered myself in one corner of the tiny little tower. After laying out and laying on a sitting quilt I opened my pack. To my delight I discovered two apples, a carton of milk, and a PB&B. Nothing better then apples with a mother's loving magic to keep them cool and fresh. Nothing at all. Thanks Mom!
I really like apples, I really like apples. When I eat them alone I tend to have a big grin across my face, or at least that's what mom says. If that is true then I probably had one while I devoured the apples from my pack.
"Hey why don't you join us on the cloud?" Wahh! How had Ditzy snuck up on me?! I stumbled back from the grey ninja as fast as I could. She just hovered there quieter than a- I looked at her cutie mark again-oooohhhh... That made so much sense now!
To answer her question I stretched out my wings."Wow those are so cute!" I flinch as she uses The Word. "How can you fly with such small wiiii... Oh." She looked apologetic as she finally noticed the second thing that made me "special". grabbing my doodling paper up I wrote.'yes, my wings are too small to fly'. She looked quite crestfallen. Most Pegasi who found out this last bit looked that way, if they were nice ponies that is. I spotted movement behind her. Wait what was... what's her face doing here! The dress pony.
"ohh look what we have here. A 'erd and a 'erp, that almost rhymes." An evil grin spread across her face, and thus began the siege of Fort Scribble...
...The siege of Fort Scribble ended two minutes later. Miss Dress something or another failed to get in before we were saved by the bell. Me and Derpy, she asked me to call her that, had many great huzzahs over our victory. She asked if I would like to eat lunch again tomorrow. I said yes.
Does that make Derpy a friend? I sure hope it does! Besides her eyes are actually really pretty. You can just stare at them all day a- Wait what?... I'm gonna try to not think about what I just thought.
The second half of school was much shorter, and me and Derpy didn't get to talk much. It was kind of boring and I couldn't wait to get home. Mom was there right when it was all over.
Mom and Twilight stood breathlessly on the gravel area in front of the school. They were both sweaty and short of breath as if they had ran to the school, but they both had wide stupid smiles. People who were late didn't have wide stupid smiles. I approached slowly, and look for any other clues as to their activities. Was that drool on their cheeks? Mom looked tired. Perhaps they had been making out, but there was this smell.
I hug them both in an inconspicuous attempt to triangulate the source of the smell. It got stronger near their faces and... Their hooves? I dash around mom to look excited, and attempt to locate the second source. Their was a soft stink in front, weak in their middle, and strong near their... rears...
Eeewww! I desperately fight off the images that swarm my brain as realization strikes. I had just HUGGED them, BOTH of them. Eeewww! This was wrong, so wrong. Yet, it was also a good sign for their relationship. Was it weird that I was thinking that then of all times?
I gave my mind a quick scrub-down, and tapped my snout twice. It was the signal for 'let's go someplace i can write down a message. She didn't bother to ask how my day had been, I would tell her soon enough. After giving them a naive 'I know nothing about what you two did' smile we were on our way to wherever mom had planned. I hoped it had apples.
I was lead to a obnoxiously tasty looking pastry shop. It had no name or sign to identify itself, but the look was unique enough to be unforgettable. It probably relied on word of mouth and just sheer sugary appearance. Stepping inside we found a mare and stallion tangling with what appeared to be two rapidly developing foals. One of the foals were a Pegasus while the other was a unicorn, but the parents were both Earthponies. (I never found out how they managed that.)
One of the parents, the large female, managed to extract herself to the counter. She had these odd pink and purplish colors, and a silly hat on her head.
" Welcome! Twilight, and..." She eyed my mom.
"Winter Radiance at your service, and you are?" My mom gave a slight bow.
"I'm Misses Cake. You wouldn't happen to be the mare Twilight has been mentioning as of late." So the mare knew Twilight personally. Personally enough to know she was dating, but distant enough to not be privy to Twilight's love interests.
"I might be" Mom gave the inquisitive Mrs. Cake a friendly smile. It was at this point that Mrs. Cake noticed me. With a big motherly expression on her face, not quite a smile, she stepped up to me.
"And who might you be?" She asked using the tone of a mother addressing a unknown child. It was safe to assume she had miscalculated my age. It wasn't arrogant or patronizing, yet it was still annoying.
It was time for the card again. Ignoring her surprised look I snatched a fresh card out of my bag and hoofed it to her. She read it much like Mr. Iron Bottom had, with her lips following along silently to the words that her eyes processed. She like the previous two receivers of the cards looked to another adult for confirmation. Dumb adults, I could answer my own questions! I had made those cards not mom or Twilight.
My mom gave the obligatory nod as did Twilight. "She is Winter Radiance's daughter." Okay that was out of the way time to eat!
"Hey Misses Cake! OH MY GOSH NEW PONIES!" Perhaps I thought too soon. "I've been gone for a week and haven't thrown a party for all the new ponies yet! Sorry, about that Twilight, normally I would have thrown a party for your marefriend already, but I can't be in two places at once. Unless I use that mirror again, but I promised not to do that so I couldn't. Unless that version of me that didn't promise that pulled me through again! I should send her a letter again, we have-" This mare was crazy!
"Umm hi, are you pi-" My mom began.
"HI! Who are you silly filly" AHHHHH! How did she get in my bag, how did she even, what, whaa! Must get away! I reared up and stumbled backwards.
Oww..
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I dreamed of mom and Twilight. I didn't remember anything besides that. It was one of those weird dreams you never want twice.
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OOOWWWwwww... My head hurt! Where was I?!... Okay cheap green pain, cheap green sheets, cheap white ceiling material, tacky zebra wood flooring. I can say with a high amount of certainty that I am in the hospital.
Ohh look there is mom, and there is Twilight, and look at that pretty nurse... Wait what?... Nevermind.
"It looks as if somepony is awake now!" That was the nurse. Her voice was soft, considerate. My head hurt. Mom gave me a hug. It helped. Miss Twilight gave me a apologetic smile "Sorry that Pinkie gave you such a fright." Sp that was the name of the pink demon that ambushed me. Miss Twilight floated over a page of paper and a pencil with her magic.
I gave her a nod of thanks. Quickly I wrote 'This is the hospital, yes?' Miss Twilight nodded. I turned the page back around and wrote again. 'My head hurts. I hit it?' I heard hoof-falls from behind, but I was looking at mom and Twilight. Where had the nurse gone?
"Yes you did now look here" That must have been the nur- OWWWW! Ponyfeathers that was bright! " No sign of a concussion, good. Sorry for that. but we must be sure." My eyes cleared after a few seconds. The nurse was right in my face, looking deeply into my eyes. Her eyes were nice. Silence brain! She is looking for signs of head injury. My wings proved their usefulness once again by pressing against the bed. It was funny how they worked in every aspect but the one that was important.
"Hello my name is Nurse Redheart, and you are going home soon." Aww no more nursey, BRAIN SHUT UP! Bad brain. I picked up my paper and wrote 'Hello my name is Scribble, nice to meet you?' She gave me a silly smile. "Ohh I know your name Miss Cute." DARN-IT "Now you get plenty of rest when you get home. Understood?" I nodded weakly. "Good, now if she has anything beside a headache bring her right back."My mom and Twilight nodded solemnly. "I'll go get the check out paperwork." The nurse left the room, closing the door behind her softly.
"You feel ready to go home?" Mom was looking me over checking for further injury. I nodded impatiently. This bed was uncomfortable, but I would rather avoid their food. All hospitals had bad food, it was to help keep patients away, and it worked perfectly. The nurse poked her head into the room with a clipboard full of documents in her hoof.
"Miss Winter, I have the paperwork here for you." Mom nodded and left for the door. When mom was all the way out Miss Twilight leaned over the bed and whispered "I don't think the nurse noticed, but you should be more careful with your wings." She had seen? ohh... my... I covered my blush with my hooves. Miss Twilight giggled a little as my mom came back in, but she didn't tell my mom. I took her advice to heart.
"Time to go!" I looked around for a clock. quickly I wrote 'what time is it?' Mom pulled out a small griffon crafted pocket watch. I had seen that before, but I had never found out where she got it. I looked over at Twilight. She had a grin on her face. So that was where it came from! I should have known.
"It is almost time for dinner. You can tell us all about your day at school when we get home." Tell... us? Was Ms. Twilight coming home with mom? Mom helped me get off of my back and onto my hooves. Miss Twilight was carrying my pack. I guess that means she is.
We checked out of the hospital in short order, and soon enough mom and Twilight were playing 20 questions about my day. Miss Twilight started it off "So I'm guessing from your eagerness to write about it that your day was good." I nodded slowly, not wanting to tempt the headache fairies. Mom nudged me cheerfully.
"Make any friends?" I nodded again. Derpy! I would get to tell her all about Derpy when we got home. She would be so proud of me! I wondered momentarily what Depry is doing. "Good! That means we are gonna have a extra special dinner tonight!" Extra special??... That means... Apples! Lots and lots of apples!
Twilight tussled my mane lightly. I've made my decision, I like mom's new fillyfriend. She was marrying this mare if I could help it! "So what extra special dinner do you make for little Miss Scribble here?"
"Cute loves apples, and apple related dishes. You should see her devour a bag of the things like it was nothing." Mom informed Twilight with a small laugh in her tone.
"Is that so? Well one of my friends just happens to own Sweet Apple Acres.Have you heard of it?" Heard of it?! HEARD OF IT! Those were like the best apples, EVER! Miss Twilight Rocked! I gave her a big hug of approval. If mom didn't marry her I might!
"Well it looks like you have won her over." Mom moved closer and hugged me between her and Twilight.
"What about you? Have I won you over?" Mom leaned over and gave Miss Twilight a kiss in response. It was a sweet little peck, nothing gross at all. Twilight gave mom a peck and we continued our walk homeward. Is this what having a mom and dad felt like? this was awesome. I could live like this.
Ponyville was wonderful! Family, friends, this place had everything! I... I ... I wish I could speak just long enough to shout out in joy. My midnight prayer would be extra special tonight. Hail Fantasi! This was so much better than Manehatten. Sure it had bullies and this mysterious "Pinkie", but mom was so happy. I had friends. Things were great! When we got home mom and Twilight went in as I had predicted. Life is awesome! Mom had brought home a couple Coltfriends and a quite few fillyfriends, but this was just... different. Those had been more private affairs. This was a... family sort of thing.
Ohh and Twilight was one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. That didn't count for anything in my book when it came to dating my mom, but it felt different doing stuff like this with her. When she and mom went into the kitchen I could smell the high grade Sweet Apple Acres product being cooked for me. It would be a feast fit for kings... speaking of royalty I should go doodle up Sir Crisplovin and Ravenhoof and tell them about my day!
with a bright smile on my face I climbed up the stairs to my room one at a time. There were four rooms on the upper floor of my house, one was just a closet, one was my room, and the last one was mom's room. I pinched my nose as I passed mom's door. Better safe than sorry! With a smile I step into my room.
It was white walled, with red trim on almost everything. my curtains were red also, but a lot of my furniture was a soft blue. The red and the white matched my mane and coat, but the blue was way softer than my eyes. My eyes were a bright deep blue, and a bit too intense for a room color.
Dominating one whole side of the room was my drawing supplies. Mostly cheap paper and expensive pencils. There were a few super fine point markers, and one or two shade sticks. The only furniture over here was my desk and chair, both were a combination of red and white.
I drew up the strange bipedal creature I had been inspired to draw on the day I got my cutie mark. He had strange steel armor covering him up from neck to toe. Toes were apparently the digits on the end of his feet. I had never actually seen them, but he said they were there. I had seen his face, it was was partly bald with hair mostly around his mouth and some over his eyes. He had a whole lot more hair on top.
Once I finished my sketch both of them filed in with color on the page. Sir Crisplovin had pale light skin with a blonde mane and grey armor. Ravenhoof was black coated and maned, with deep red eyes. Did I mention the fact that Ravenhoof was a vampony princess? Yeah she is pretty cool.
I made my summary of today's events quick. Ravenhoof laughed when I told them about my mom and Twilight smelling. Before I could discuss it with them mom called from the kitchen.
"Hey Cute dear, Dinner is ready!" Time for awesome dinner time with Twilight and mom. With a promise of talking tomorrow and a hug I sent Crisplovin and Princess Ravenhoof on their way with my eraser.
I trot carefully down the stairs to the living room. The room's walls were a off white that I was still getting used to. In the door between the living room and the dinning room sat a friendly looking Twilight. The sounds of cooking emanated from the kitchen behind her, but there sat two glasses of juice in front of her.
She softly lifted one to me and I accepted it with a friendly smile of my own. Twilight's shields dropped a little as I took a sip of what I found out to be cranberry juice. Underneath her smile was an anxious look. It was obvious now that she was worried. I could see her eyes searching my face for approval or disapproval. She obviously needed a confidence boost from me.
With a small flourish I removed a card from the bag under my wing and a pen from the same. I took my time writing, playing with Twilight's anxiety a little before producing a note for her.
"You seem nice." Twilight read the note softly like the first time. I could see the edges of her lips turn up slightly in a much more confident smile. "Thanks!" She returned, and I could see the note had worked.
At just that moment, mom poked her head out of the kitchen and announced that dinner would be served. It was now that I noticed the soft smell of cooked apple wafting from the kitchen like a gift from the gods. My tastebuds worked overtime as images of apple tarts and apple pie filled my imagination. I could feel the soft euphoria of Granny Smith apples as they delighted my tastebuds.
Had I ever mentioned that my mom could cook? She could cook you pants off, if you were a mare.
She tried to teach me to cook too, but it just didn't work out. As it was, I was happy enough to enjoy the food she cooked.
Twilight Sparkle headed for the kitchen. I took my own way to the dinning way. The table had been layed out, but food hadn't been produced quite yet. The table of seven had been set for three, and three chairs sat close together next to the streets. As soon as my flank hit the chair the door to the kitchen flew open.
Through that doorway walked a cheerful mother levitating a wide selection of apple based dish bearing platters. Behind her was a happy lavender marefriend carrying some more platters and a pitcher of lemonade. Any doubt of the strength of their relationship died in their wide smile bearing faces. I understood for the first time why mother had stopped me from trying to skip more grades. This warmth was unlike any I had experienced. It was a home.
I hadn't ever had a home like this. Mom was a wonderful mother, but she just seemed more complete with Twilight here. The sense of wholeness permeated everything in the room with just the two of them being in it. The next two years might just end up being the best of my life.
I was drawn out of my thoughts as the last platter set on the table. Mom was now smiling at me. It was obvious that she wanted me to pick a slice of one of the many pastries on the table.
I chose a medium slice of one of the less decadent foods. I'm not sure why. Mom looked surprise, but I could see Twilight smile in the corner of my eyes. I mentally noted it, and decided to investigate that later.
Mom offered the same to Twilight, but she somehow she turned it around into a romantic feeding scene with Twilight. It was one of those romantic movie trash scenes, not the sexier kind. My mind was flooded with images of mom and Twilight, and I struggled to not throw up.
Maybe there was something to that whole "17+" thing on those websites.
I gave my head a shake and returned to the food on my plate. Two mind blowing eating experiences later I was reclining softly against my chair.
Mom and Twilight were just about finished with their plates, and it is at this moment that one of the two start talking about my day.
"So Twilight do you know this Derpy Hooves?" Mom started the conversation smoothly,
"Yeah she works for the mail service. Was a rumor about her being Blueblood's illegitimate daughter a while back, but she was just covering for Rarity"a relationship with him." Wasn't Blueblood some noble or another? "It was sad about that not working out. Rarity said he was a charmer, but that he had some personal issues he had to work through." Was this nervous chatter? I had heard of it, but seeing as how I couldn't chatter...
"What about this Earthpony that didn't seem to like Cutey?" I hated it when mom called me Cutey. It was like, so embarrassing.
"Sounds like Platinum Dress. Her younger sister, Diamond Tiara, kind of bullies some of my friend's younger sisters." Twilight retrieved the apple juice and poured a new glass. She was stalling, the glass hadn't been half empty. "Nothing to serious, but Misses Cheerilee is considering giving Tiara stricter punishments.
"Rotten apple from rotten tree?" Twilight frowned for a moment..
"No, her dad was a self made merchant. He owns half the town. You know him as Mr. Rich." Twilight took a sip of her big glass of apple juice.
"That nice man raised two bullies?" Mom grabbed a bowl of freshly sliced apples and spooned a few into her bowl.
"His wife comes from a noble family. She spoils the both of them, strangely enough Diamond Tiara is more of a daddies girl." With this they turned back to me, as did the conversation.
"So Cutey, how are you liking your apples" I gave mom a BIG smile. It was my way of saying these apples are great! I gave Miss Twilight the same smile as a way of saying thanks. I hoped she and mom were more permanent.
"Glad to hear it. Apple Jack would just feel terrible if she heard any of her crop was less then perfect." Twilight lifted the cobbler with her magic and served herself a new slice. grinning she turned her attention back fully to mom. "So Winter, how did you happen upon this house. Celestia herself had to convert a public library into my house, and I still have to keep it open." Mom let a sly smirk slide onto her face.
"Really, I never knew the Princes had such trouble dealing with the housing market." Twilight covered up a light laugh with her hoof.
"She had to make the cliff Canterlot sits on, but you are evading the question."
"If you must know. I got help from Spitfire the Wonderbolt." Twilight's jaw visibly dropped. I was surprised that Twilight even knew who Sptifire was. Do all librarians geek out over female athletes?
"Wow, really? And how did you two meet?" The answer is yes.
"A while back me and Cutey lived in Manehatten. Spitfire happened to in town for a show, and my newspaper got a interview with her." Mom paused as if wondering whether or not to say something, but it seemed she decided not to. "After the article was published she offered to get interviews with the rest. We got to know each other really well. We still write." Wait, Manehatten?! Interveiws? I almost facehooved as I put two and two together and realized that Miss afire was The Spitfire. Miss Fire had been mom's first fillyfr... Ohhhhh...
"You still got that article?" Mom nodded. Twilight was good at stalling, that almost seemed natural, but it was worded in such a way as to prolong the conversation.
"Yeah we can dig it out after dinner."
"I'd be interested in seeing any of the articles you feel comfortable sharing." Twilight finished lamely.
"You know Rainbow Dash, right?" Now it was Twilight's turn to nod. "In her letter Spitfire mentioned that I might want to interview her, also to give her Spitfire's number." Twilight started twiddling her hooves, she seemed nervous like she had earlier.
"Actually I was wondering if you would like to meet all my friends. Pinkie is still throwing a party for you and Scribble, and .. and ..and" So THAT was what she was worrying about earlier! Mom reached across the table to hold Twilight's hoof.
"Twilight...I would love to meet the rest of your friends."Twilight gave mom a joyous grin. "And I'm sure that Cutey would love to go too." Heck no! Parties meant small talk, and small talk meant... i gave that idea a rapid no shake of my head. Twilight gave me a devilish smirk.
"Ohh come on. I bet that Dittzy will be there." Derpy?.. I could go if Derpy was there. I gave a nod of assent. "I thought as much." Mom looked like she wanted to ask what was going on, but instead she asked.
"You mentioned that your friends had some yonder sisters. They wouldn't happen to be Scribble's age would they?"
"No, they are a bit younger, but they are not that much younger. I think they will be there at the party."
"Ohh wonderful! I bet you would love more friends like Dittzy wouldn't you Scribble." I normally hated it when mom did this, but more friends like Derpy would be pretty cool.
"Good, Pinkie was worried that she might have scared you off." Me scared? never! I would have made a adventurous pose to punctuate my bravery, but I was ambushed by the pitiful gasp that my mom knew was a yamn. Mom picked me up onto her back. I tried to resist, but my pitiful attempts at flight or fight were met with my mother's magical cuddling.
"I think it is about time for bed, don't you?" Aww... I was hoping to fit in more Mother-Twilight bonding.
With no way to properly protest I was briskly tucked into bed. This did not not stop me from sneaking out of my room quieter then a Japonyse ninja. I used the secret nin'bitsu that Ravenhoof had taught me to evade mom's bedtime wards on my door and the hall. Ravenhoof had taught me some of the secrets of sneaking she had gained in her immortal life a while back, and mom hadn't caught me since.
Mom and Twilight were in the study talking. Taking the cup I had brought I put my ear against the wall. ahh that was much better, I could hear them now.
"You really bonded well with Cutey today. I'm so proud of you! Awesome I managed to get here just as they started talking. I think that was mom.
"Thanks, she really reminds me of me at her age." Was she calling me smart? She was Celestia's student and all that. It couldn't have been the magic...
I can see that. Hmm... Now I was curious about what Twilight meant by what she said.
Radiance... Was that a kissing sound?
Mmmm! uh-oh, time to split!
I had to run extra fast back to bed before another pitiful yawn/gasp escaped my lips and gave me away. It was a close thing. Maybe I should get some sleep...
I smiled as dawn's first blue rays touched my eyes. It was a pleasant way to wake up, but the bed was far too warm and cozy to wake up. It would be a egregious waste to get up now.
"Come on sleepy head! Get up." Mom ordered quietly. Too softly to be firm. "Come on Scribble. It's morning." Wait, that wasn't my mom. Mom called me cute in the morning. "Scribbllleee." Twilight talked like that. Why was Twilight waking me up?
This was weird enough to catch my attention, and I found sleep to be gone with the wind. Now I turned to Twilight with my eyes squinted against the light.
"Hey sleepy, your mom is making breakfast. She said I should help you brush your mane." Twilight... brush my mane... this could be interesting. With the assistance of Twilight I got out of bed. I then assumed the manebrush submission position, aka sitting on my flank.
"Okay, now I don't have much practice brushing other pony's manes." Uh oh. "But I've read up on it when your mom told me how long your mane was." Insightful, but double uh oh. "Now try not to move." Three strikes! My calm was out!
Sensing the approach of the brush my body tensed itself. My mom had been brushing my mane for years, and she was terrible. There was no way Twilight was any gooo-
To my intense euphoric surprise, I was dead wrong. Twilight's brush passed gently through my mane. It seemed to pull stress and anxiety out with the little tangles in my hair. There wasn't any sharp tugs or scalp scratching. Every pass was soft pleasant and cozy. My front legs even buckled sleepily as I felt a sense of comfort fill my being.
Each perfect moment was followed by another, but right before she was done she stopped.
"Scribble, I didn't think it was that good." She comments teasingly, but with a awkward undertone. Confused and dazed from the brushing, I had no idea what she was talking about, but there was a tugging sensation along my shoulders. My wings itched. Most things were numb.
Confused, I turned around to see what was wrong. Horrified, I discovered I had a wing boner! The darn things were pointing straight up.
Oh Fantasi no! Wings how could you?!
Don't blame us, brain told us to do it! Stupid wings! Is this all you would ever be good for?!
"Uhh Scribble, if you need a moment I can go." Twilight announced awkwardly. Oh Fantasi, I blushed so hard, but nonetheless I nodded. "So you later then."
Thus began my morning.
It was several minutes before I could come downstairs. Mom and breakfast were waiting for me, but Twilight was thankfully absent. I'm not sure I could have faced had at that time. As I skin discovered it was hard enough to look mom in the eye.
"Scribble," she addressed, "do you want to talk about what happened with Twilight?" No, I didn't. I shook my head in an emphatic no. She just sighed tiredly. "Eat your omelette," mom ordered, and I did. It was silent and awkward.
When we finished mom silently put my backpack and we headed out.
Two steps out of the door, mom stopped me with a hoof.
"Scribble... Twilight told me about the incident at the hospital... Was that the first time?" To be honest, it was my first time. I nodded, slowly but honestly. "Scribble... I know you are mature for your age, but from what I've read you are entering early." I was? That... that didn't sound good at all. Mom looked dead serious, and that didn't help. "Scribble, I think you should take the day off today. If you are early, than there might be some... issues coming up. Do you understand?" I thought I did... I nodded. "Okay, I still need to go to work. You know where we keep the phone numbers, don't burn the house down. Twilight will be checking on you soon, roger?"
Mom was acting way off, and I felt a deep dark pit in my stomach just thinking about what that could mean, but I nodded confirmation.
=+=
As much as I loved taking the day off, this wasn't a oppurtunity I couldn't miss. This was the perfect time to work on my plans to take over the world get mom and Twilight to marry! To start off my plotting session I drew up some basic guidelines for my plan.
Secret Plan to Take Over the World Get Mom and Twilight Married.
part 1) involve Twilight in daily activities in my life.
goal 1) make the "parenting me" part of marrying mom more familiar to Twilight and less daunting as a result.
part 2) Make all of Twilight's friend like or at least not dislike me and mom.
goal 2) Eliminate possible sources of outside interference.
part 3) actively show support for Twilight and be really nice to her, especially in front of mom
goal 3) help mom see Twilight less as fillyfriend and more as a partner.
.
Goal 2 would be hard. Tomorrow was Pinkie's welcome to ponyville party, and there was no way that pink... thing wouldn't mess up mom and Twilight's day.
"Aw, don't bee like that." HOW THE BUCK?! I rolled around and my heart stopped. It was Pinkie, she was in my room! SHE WAS IN MY HOME! By Celestia's beard! My hooves flailed around and I made my best to escape. In the end I just flopped off my bed, and onto the painful, painful, floor.
Floors hurt.
"are you okay?" The Pink One spoke. I tried my best to ignore her and gather my poor shattered nerves. When I looked up her head was peeking over my blue sheets and had a bright wide smile. That smile scared me. "I gosh, I totally forgot! You can't talk."
I flinched at there rather direct comment. The smiling one said mean things, big surprise. "silly me, that was mean. I don't try to be mean, but sometimes I just, whoops! Like that time I tried to help my donkey friend. I don't have many donkey friends, but not many donkeys live in Ponyville. I wonder what a donkey oriented town ad would look like? I-"
The Pink One kept rambling and rambling as I slowly recovered from my fall. Gladdened by its distraction, I did not move to awake it from its vocal day dream. Instead, I made a direct B-Line for the door. Mom told me to avoid ponies who were high, and sober ponies didn't jump up and down like a bunny eating a pound of sugar.
"Come now, you don't think it will be that easy to escape being hugged!" She called out, and before I could blink we were a tangled pile of hooves on the other side of the room. Vainly, I tried to escape, but she hugged like a octopus, and I kept seeing five pink legs. Strangely, I didn't begin to panic until she started tickling me.
The second her hooves went for my side I began kicking like a broken steam engine. I wriggled, wrangled, and rattled trying to escape. These were in vain as well.
There was no escape from the tickle monster.
===
I awoke hours later covered in sweat and tears. I had fainted while being tickled.
Embarrassed, exhausted, and annoyed, I nonetheless had an idea. Pinkie was treating me like a kid, Twilight did it too sometimes, why not use it? A properly implemented crayon on a strategic white paper would be perfect! It wouldn't be nearly as effective on mom, but there had been a few subtle hints that Twilight was the pace setter in their relationship anyway.
It couldn't be too childish. Twilight knew I had brains and drawing skills, but it had to have an innocent feel to it. Something would really get the whole "you can marry my mother already," vibe. Sadly, I didn't have the right supplies to make the card, but luckily mom wouldn't mind if I made a quick trip to the local crafts store. Leaving a note, just in case she came back early.
How to do-
"I'VE FOUND ZE ONE!"
I flinched in surprise as the loud interjection was cried out by a pony dowmthe street. It caught me by surprise, and was mysterious enough to catch my attention. Thus intrigued, I turned. Thus horrified, I turned back and ran like Tartarus!
Running at full gallop down the street was some fully clothed mare with goggles! I didn't get a good look at her colors, but she was galloping right at me!
I wasted no time kicking my flank into gear, and her charge became a chase. Except, as I mentioned before, I'm not a fast pony. Moments after I sighted her a large weight slammed into me from behind, and then it grabbed me with the strength of a octopus.
Not that I've ever been grabbed by an octopus... Why do I keep using that analogy?...
I kicked and struggled as I had with pinkie with similar results. This new madmare just wouldn't let go!
"Girls I've caught ze filly!" That was the madmare calling out again. I rolled my eyes at her obvious lost marbles. Seriously, there was no way there were mares going around kidnapping fillies. She had to be some lone but calling out to voices in her hea-
A fifth hoof grabbed me, then another! She wasn't a lone nut. There were a whole bag of pistachios kidnapping me! I tried to bite one, but they just kept coming!
"Hurry, ve must get to ze photo-shoot!" The first maniac called out. Photo shoot probably meant taking me somewhere and shooting me in the head!
"Now Finish, you know that wé can't do that without her mother's permission." Huh? Why would they need my mom's permission to kill me? Why was a Prench mare helping kidnap me?
"Do ve have to?"
"Sí." That was a third voice, sponish or marexican. If never heard of such a ethnically diverse bunch of nutjobs. They sounded like they were about to walk into a bar as part of a joke.
I was tired from this morning's ambush, and these mares weren't acting like I'd thought foalnappers would. With little choice in the matter, I stopped struggling.
=+=
Mom stood in the doorway. It looked like she just got home. In her telekinetic grasp was my note, and on her face was a frown. I think the frown was at me and at the mares.
"So let me get this straight. You snatched my daughter out of the street, so that you could take photos of her in various outfits. Now you want my permission to take those photos." My mom chided. The three maccadamian mares nodded in nonchalant unison. I was somehow caged between two of them, and mom was looking at me not them.
"Ve believe your daughter has just ze magick I need to make ze magicks!" The main mare answered cheerfully. I wasn't sure what she meant by that. Mom looked into my eyes, and then put a hoof to her chin as if thinking.
"Scribble, have you cleaned your room?" I blinked in complete surprise at her question. I hadn't expected that question at all, but I hadn't, so I shook my head no. "She's all yours."
I stared at my mom in open mouthed horror. She just laughed and closed our front door. Moments later she opened it again.
"you said 600 bits, yes?" The germaren mare nodded. "Have fun!" The door slammed shut and so did all hopes of escaping.
The three mares escorted me through town like a prized prisoner. Some ponies stared, some ponies gawked, but everypony noticed our little procession. By the time we stopped I was sure that everpony in town had seen me.
We stopped in front of a big fanciful carousel. Its windows were high, and it's arches went low. Overall, it looked like a somepony had wanted to make a mansion, but ran out of money one room in and decided to just add another floor.
This was no place for fillies like me, but the three mares blocked my escape and in the end I had to enter.
Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic unique and magnifique!" This was no place for me at all! Again I tried to escape, but again they blocked me. I heard hoofsteps, and then a white coated and purple maned mare appeared. "Why Photofinish, how wonderful it is too see you again!" She came and shook the germaren mare's hoof in a friendly but professional fashion. "I assume this adorable little filly is your next model?"
The germaren mare nodded. "Ja, zis one vill make ze magicks with me. I require several dresses and a series of bows. Can you do zis?"
The white one laughed softly as if she had heard a joke. "Why Photo, I'm insulted you even asked. I can do a girl of any age!" She then paused as if in deep thought. "Is she a willing model, or will I need help?" I gave the mare a hard glare. "Good, I like a challenge."
Rarity paced around me like a hungry timberwolf, or desperate shark, or other frightening and dangerous animal. Her eyes traveled over every inch of me, measuring my dimensions and sampling my colors. Palettes were produced, as was a measuring tape. Then, Rarity cleared her throat. I could tell that there wasn't actually anything to be cleared. Rarity was trying to get my attention. I was stalling to be annoying.
"Off with the pack please." It wasn't a question, and I took off the pack in decent time. I admit, now that I had cooled down, I had realized that six-hundred bits was a substantially amount of money. I didn't like this, but they had my mom's permission to do it and lots of money. There wasn't much use struggling now.
I'd save my energy and plot my revenge instead.
I started brainstorming as Rarity began measuring with her tools my size and hue. It had to be something I couldn't be sued for, so spilling stuff on their rich looking clothes was out. It couldn't cost me my bits, and it couldn't really hurt them. With those limitations... I'd need some back up.
No back up beat Ravenhoof, but that meant having to draw her up. That would be impossible with my bags across the room, and me in plain sight. My only chance was to manipulate some stranger into helping me. This looked like a place of business, so there would have to be customers.
Customers would be hard to work with. They might just pass off her behavior as a whiney filly. That left other foals. There just might be some fillys coming with their mothers or fathers. That would be too small of a chance. I didn't operate on chances that small.
Then it hit me.
No really, it hit me. It hurt like Tartarus, but when I looked up I saw a small unicorn filly levitating a baseball bat. It took my stunned mind a moment to process this, but then it hit me, figuratively. That was Rarity's little sister! Umm... Sweetie Belle!
Rarity was my second least favorite element, so it was reasonable to forget about her sister, but now that I remembered she had a sister other things came back too. Things like the great poodle migration, and the soap war. This filly and her friends were disaster incarnate! All three would be dangerous, but on her own. If she was alone she would probably jump right into action.
Rarity left to get ice, and the filly dashed forward to help me. A string of honest but hasty apologies pouring out of her mouth. Just as she gave me a hoof up I looked her in the eye and mouthed, 'help me.' She looked confused for a moment, but then looked up at Photofinish and her minions wide eyed. After that she nodded and dashed out.
Ohh buck. That wasn't supposed to happen! Only to late I realized that that baseball bat meant she was playing baseball with other fillies. That meant what bit me was a baseball, and that meant the deadly trio were together. I was doomed. Not only might I lose the 600 bits, they'd probably kill me in the process. My brain went to defcon 2, and everything tensed.
My mind raced to try and think of every conceivable way they could misunderstand me or mess up. The problem was that I knew so little of them! They could charge in at any time, having misunderstood what I said in any way, and do anything.
In the end Rarity returned with ice, and I resigned myself to whatever uncertain fate I had just given myself unto. A momentary prayer to Fantasi was all I could do, but a goddess of insanity could only do so much. In the end, what happened would.
The pack dulled the pain in my cheek. Rarity turned to Photofinish. "Will the bruise mess up your plans?" Sadly, Photofinish shook her head no.
"Nein, that's what my make up artists are for." Rarity nodded, and the measurements proceeded. The measurement tape and color palettes were cold against my thin coat, and Rarity's magic and innability to ask before she moved my limbs just made things more awkward.
Rarity froze suddenly, and seemed to disconnect from the world as she shouted, "IDEAAAA!" Then she dashed into another room. Then there was silence.
By silence, I mean my ears ringed as they recovered from her bellow. Hidden by that ringing were sounds of singing and cloth being cut. Eventually, the ringing passed and I heard those dark forbidding snips of cloth and snippets of verse. It shook me to my fetlocks.
Then Rarity emerged, dress in magical hoof. It was a soft blue affair with lace and a saddle, but of course there had to be a saddle. Annoying dumb things that they were. Who invented the saddle anyway? What purpose did they serve? It's not like it protected our back from anything.
Doorknobs and bell towers indeed.
Rarity looked down at me and in no uncertain terms said, "wings down and head up dear." 600 bits is a lot of money, so I did. The first thing she affixed was the saddle, next the skirt, and finally she had me add some sandals. The sandals were actually kind of comfy.
She looked down at me as she presented a mirror. I shrugged at what I saw, and she frowned.
"Wunderbar Rarity, simply wunderbar." Photo interjected with her voice along with her hoof.
In the end I was made to pose for several photos. The Crusaders never showed up after all. I late found out that Rarity saw her running out, guessed my intentions, and called in Applejack. She was smarter than I gave her credit for. Mom gave me a lecture about staying home when ordered, and Twilight never came back to our house. All in all I was feeling kind of low.
On top of everything I had to throw out my Elements of Harmony rpg card set. Rarity had a much higher INT than 4
-[]-
Mom made me sit and eat dinner with her. Things were tense. Really tense. "Scribble it's time to talk again." I gulped silently.
She was sitting back in her seat. She was anxious, but didn't expect me to run. That was weird.
"Scribble I went to the doctor. He said that you were growing a bit oddly. He wants to see you for an appointment." I took a bite of my sandwich while I waited for the other shoe to drop. That wasn't anxious news that was nervous news. She was both. "You are going to Cloudsdale." Wait what?! What did she mean I was going to Cloudsdale? What could possibly be happening that would warrant a trip all the way to Cloudsdale? Mom raised a hoof just as I began to write out just that question. "Scribble, that's all I know. Twilight said she had a spell to help you stay in the cloud. She's taking you. That same spell works on her as well." I looked back down at my sandwich suddenly less hungry.
Which was really strange because I loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
-[two days later]-
Twilight smiled brightly as she passed me a jacket. I had missed two days of school now, and mom was upset, but this was the earliest appointment she could make, and mom didn't want me going to school for some reason. Plans changed, and Pinkie's party was delayed indefinitely. As much as I appreciated that, I think everypony was overreacting.
Medical issues aside, this was a great oppurtunity to bond with Twilight without mom. I had only seen her sparingly these past few days, and that inofitself was distressing. They were close, much closer than I had expected, so this distance was definetly a step back. It would be impossible to move things as far as I wanted, but recovering this lost ground was a priority. The first step would be deciphering what exactly caused this divide.
I knew it was me related, but what had I done specifically to cause it? Was it my physical problems? Did mom say something when panicking about my dissapearence? Where and why was the fray in their bond forming?
I had tried to gleam the answer from both at once and from mom on her own, but that hadn't worked. Now it was time to turn up my meager charms to 11. Starting with the ride in the chariot we just boarded.
Had I ever mentioned I love dubstep? I love dubstep! I really liked the ones with a simple set of words. It was like classical in that words didn't have to matter. Also, I hate country western.
The chariot we are on is about to take off when Twilight finds a radio dial. Almost without looking she takes it in her magical grasp and turns it to a station I don't recognize. I expect there to be classical music. I'm not disappointed. It starts with a soft familiar violin. It's a perfect distraction from the bone chilling open chariot ride.
The problem with the open air chariot ride was that it blew away any unsecured paper, and secured paper, and loose clothes that you are wearing only because it's so cold. Ohh, and the pegasi flyers never chatted with my mom, and I'm certain they would ignore me if I ever tried. All in all they were a lonely experience for mute passengers.
That meant that I had to communicate without words. The same thing I had done at any moment I lacked paper and or pens. The normal tactic was to use the environment to convey meaning. Pointing at relevant objects and so on. The cloudfilled sky took that away. That left physical contact.
I wanted her to feel... protective of me. She had to associate motherly feelings with me both for my sake and mom and her's relationship. That meant making myself small and defenseless. To this end I pulled my wings in tight, I hunched my forelegs, and lowered my head. The key would be being as small as possible without causing real alarm in Twilight.
Next I pressed against Twilight, borrowing needed warmth from her and making it appear as if I relied on her. Feeling needed was the major drive to giving help. She would be as protective as I appeared to need to be protected, accounting for perspective.
If she had been a pegasi I would have gone under her wing, but she wasn't. As it was, I had to rely on the biased samples I got from my experiences with mom. That meant that it was smart to nuzzle with forehead high or low. Even today, mom flinched a little if I nuzzled her in a way that would have jabbed her with a horn had I been a unicorn. Ignoring the legs, I nuzzled the barrel exposed between her legs in her sitting position. That was do or die. If she thought me too mature than this would be awkward, but if I looked filly like enough she would find it endearing.
I smiled as Twilight put a foreleg over me. Success! Twilight was body shy in everything I had read, so if she felt awkward she would have gone colder of tender. When her foreleg squeezed me I felt warmer and she loosened. I capitalized on her relaxed mood to lay against her.
She leaned back, and I smiled as I took the oppurtunity to nap. I had heard from trustworthy sources that I was, blegh, cute when I was sleeping.
I awoke with a start. Twilight was getting up, and the chariot had stopped. Surrounding us were clouds and cloud made structures. It didn't take me long to figure out where we were.
Cloudsdale sillies! Without saying anything, Twilight's horn began to glow. I felt tingly all over, and then nothing. Twilight's body glowed magenta too, and then her horn went out.
"There we go Scribble, off the chariot now." Twilight informed and then ordered me. Ordered in the sense that she had no reason to be ignored, not that she was bossy or mean. Kind of like ordering someone to be awesome or pass the cheese.
That isn't to say that I did what she asked. There was no way I was getting off that chariot! Falling from Cloudsdale to my near death once was enough, thank you very much. You don't almost die once and then do it again. That would be crazy. I'm not crazy!
"C'mon scribble, we're going to be late!" Twilight insisted with a nudge that stopped my heart. I shook my head no emphatically, and she frowned. "Scribble, you do realize that I can just levitate you out of that cart?" I did, but I wanted my death to be done by any hoof but my own. So no I shook I again. "You asked for it!"
Then she levitated me out. I flailed a little in her grasp, but I was too busy praying to Fantasi to give the futile struggle her actions deserved. Then she set me on a cloud.
I opened my mouth took a deep breath, and then I tried to scream… at least, I think I tried to scream. It was an involuntary reaction, and I had never screamed before.
But the scream wasn't important. The important part was the cloud I was sitting on. I... I was sitting on a cloud! It was fluffy. Like, crazy fluffy. It was... cold. Not an ouch cold, but a nice cold. Like fresh snow on Hearthswarming cold. I'd have rolled around in it if I wasn't feeling mortal terror.
I didn't notice Twilight's approach till it was too late. By the time I realized she was getting closer she already had me in a hug.
It was a nice hug.
"Is that better?" Twilight asks gently. I nod, because I am. I'm not as scared now. "Then let's go meet the doctor. He said to not let you eat before you attend the appointment." So that's why mom lied about breakfast! I knew that a dog didn't eat it.
Twilight nudges me with a hoof and I follow her. To be honest I wasn't used to trusting other ponies aside from my mom. I mean, she could have led me to a cliff and shoved me off, or she could have removed the spell once we were far from anything solid. She didn't do either of those things, but she could have. This all occurred to me once we had traveled quite a distance. Naturally it frightened me, but Twilight's hug came back with a vengeance. It was just as nice then if not nicer.
That's how my day on Cloudsdale started. Yes I said "on." That's how everypony says it. You could be "in" a land city, but cloud city's were stood on.
-=+=-
We reached the hospital shortly, but almost longly. In front there was a big sign stating the place's name in front of a wing. I couldn't read it because Twilight's mane was in my way. It was too warm to move.
We step inside and it immediately stops being warm. It's like cloud cold but for more than my hooves. I don't mind actually, Epona was far more frigid than this, but it isn't as pleasant as just standing on a cloud. We are greeted by an aging stallion nurse. His name tag reads "Medicinal Alchohol." I feel sorry for him, but just briefly.
Twilight and him step to the side to talk. Everything seems normal at first, but then the nurse glances back at me with an odd look. I knew immediately that I didn't like that look. They keep talking, and then Twilight glances back at me! What the frack is going on?!
I get angry when I'm scared. It's not like aggressive anger, but past a certain pony I can't really conceive of retreating. It got me beat up more than once back in Manehatten, and it was the only thing that kept me from bolting out the door when another nurse was summoned with a tray of needles. Even more awkward when she walked on by.
So it was a strange situation when I was led into a forebodingly clean room. There was a oddly shaped cloud in the middle that probably held a unusual contraption. This wasn't my first time in a specialized hospital. They liked keeping their more serious machines well hidden.
They loved showing the cool mechanisms of all of their less worrying machines. It was a carrot and stick set up, but for people's attention. They'd be distracted by the less important things while the more dangerous or expensive looked boring.
Knowing this, I just about wet myself when I entered the room. Me being me, I got angry. I was lucky that it wasn't a direct ratio or I'd have knocked some poor nurse onto their flank. It was a useful anger instead, distracting me from dark, ominous thoughts.
Both anger and fear quickly dissipated when a familiar friendly voice called out from the doorway. "Miss Scribble! It's good to see you again." I turned around and watched in awe as the pretty nurse entered the room. Not a pretty nurse, the pretty nurse! Immediately I felt my wings twitch. To my horror she noticed. "Ah, I had heard that you were having some developmental oddities, but... I guess I should just take that as a compliment.
If blushing harder was possible at that point then I did so.
The nurse blushed as she trotted across the room to the cloud-covered machine. I couldn't see where, but she tapped the machine twice and it opened up to reveal a table... with mechanical appendages. On the end were odd instruments and crystals. I recognized a few of them from an earlier trip to an Earthpony hospital. They were high-resolution magic and radiation scanners. They were designed for spells too complicated and powerful for a single unicorn. Apparently it was cost effective compared to a platoon of unicorns. How on Equiss could my mom afford this?! I'd heard that even the Wonderbolts could only use it after extreme injuries, otherwise their insurance would dump them. This had to be out of saddlebag expenses.
Twilight was my first guess. It was possible she got a rich stipend, but I'd heard she'd turned it down when she moved out. It really split her fan club for a while. The group that worshiped her as an adopted Princess was upset that she wouldn't be going to balls anymore, while the geeks and nerds loved her new independence from her adoptive mother. Both sides were rectified when one filly struck upon how romantic it would be for a princess to live among her subjects.
So it couldn't be Twilight herself, but she could have asked Celestia to pay for it under the guise of a research into pegasi anatomy. That made total sense! Celestia loved seeing her daughter explore new magic, helping the less advantaged, and just in general... That is, according to what the fan club magazines said.
I was pondering all of this as I was helped into the machine. Nurse Redheart seemed surprised at my willingness, but dropped the unspoken question when I put on an innocent smile. In a moment or two my last limb was strapped in and I was secure.
"Now Scribble, I need you to remain like this for about ten minutes, if you can Do that, look at the ceiling. If you can't then look down.” I looked up, ten minutes were nothing!
Nurse Redheart stepped out, and then a soft whirring sound echoed across the room. It started low, and then got louder, and then louder. Soon the arms started moving about, and I had to shut my eyes to the flashes of light as spell's capacitors were charged and discharged. My whole body tingled from my hooves to my ears, but then the noises plateaued. The lights became rhythmic, and the tingling began to throb rather than increase. The cacophony of light sensation and sound became bearable, and then almost normal. Then it was over, and the appendages ceased moving.
Next the lights came back on. I hadn't even noticed when they'd shut off. The clamps came undone without any prompting, probably set to a timer. I was untied, and all that was left was to wait.
What I think were minutes passed by one after another. About four in total before the door was opened. I had expected Nurse Redheart. What I got was Twilight. She looked... surprised, confused, anxious, and somewhat nervous. She was telegraphing her feelings like a smoking volcano.
She didn't say anything. She didn't cast any spells. All she did was hug me. To be honest it both scared and comforted me. The uncertainty and bad omens just kept piling up, but Twilight was like an anchor. I had never had any real pony. Ravenhoof and Crisploven were physical and real, but at the end of the day they probably were made from my imagination. They were just imaginary friends given bodies. Even if they weren't there was always doubt, and it affected their relationships with me.
Twilight was real. That was beyond a doubt. She was here comforting me. This went beyond using me to get closer to my mother. She really cared.
"Scribble," she spoke after a time had past, "you are a very special filly, but there is a discussion we need to have." This... huh? Just Twilight? Not her, mom and me? "Scribble, I assume you've learned or read about growth hormones?" I knew that growth and development hormones were often made in the brain, so I nodded. "Well, you have a very special brain that learns faster, but other parts of it are going faster, and they affect your body differently. Adversely, some of your brain is going slower or not at all." Twilight wasn't crying, so I couldn't be dying, right? "Now, normal ponies hit puberty on their thirteenth birthday, but your brain decided to release a chemical called adrenarche a little bit early."
I nodded in understanding. "Now this is okay for some ponies, but as you might know, your brain hasn't been producing the right growth hormones for other parts of your body." I nodded again as some understanding formed. Biology was my least favorite study, but I could put together evidence. "Parts of your body are going slow, and other parts are going fast. These could have been side effects of serious problems, but that's what we were here to find out today." That... didn't sound good, but Twilight was smiling. "I can say with great certainty you aren't suffering from a tumor or malignant infection. We still aren't sure why this is happening, but now we only have to worry about symptoms, and keeping an eye out for any other oddities."
I let out, in the sense that I stopped trying to hold in, my breath and gave Twilight a thankful smile, but she raised a hoof and started smiling widely. "I have some very special news as well." I wasn't sure what it could be, but it had to be good news. "The doctors think your wings and magic might finally be coming in!"
What? What?! I gave Twilight my most incredulous look, half expecting to wake up or for this to be revealed as a elaborate cruel trick. "The doctors aren't certain, but they said that, and I quote, they would put money on it happening." My cheeks were wet now. Twilight was smiling so brightly.
"I called your mom and gave her the good news already! They found that out before the testing was done."
Me and Twilight left the hospital after they performed what was basically a Pegasus oriented check up. The very first place we went to was a pay phone. I couldn't use the payphone, but Twilight offered to read my messages to mom. After mom had answered and Twilight had explained what was going on I raised my first card.
"Mom, I love you." That was the first card. It was the most important, but the second one was important too. "But how in the name of Fantasi did you pay for this?" Twilight blinked in confusion as she read the second card. Realizing that I had written my thoughts on paper without filter, I tried to do immediate damage control. I wrote furiously, and produced a third card. "Twilight, that's just something silly I say." Twilight read out loud, probably unintentionally.
I facehooved.
Twilight grinned sheepishly and turned away to talk with mom in private. She sounded upbeat, and there was a definite mention of pizza. Mention of pizza... OH MY GOSH PIZZA!
I love pineapple and haybacon thin crust pizza! If they had a Mama J's in Ponyville, then it would come with a free special seasoning packet! Those things rocked! We could get Big Ride soda, or maybe Sierra Mane? Cloudsdale had the best sodas, but Manehatten... that was my one fond memory of Manehatten... out of everything terrible that happened there I could still remember me and mom grabbing pizzas after seeing my tutor.
Twilight turned away from the phone. "Well now Scribble, what should we do before heading back ? We've got a couple hours to kill." A couple hours? That's odd, why would Twilight leave such a gap in her schedule? I could see one hour, but... then I realize that we just came from a potentially heartbreaking doctor visit. Two hours suddenly makes much more sense.
Twilight looks like she's about to ask again, but I put a hoof to my chin to confirm I was thinking about it. Despite being the cultural center of Pegasi, there wasn't much I wanted to do. After all I couldn't... couldn't...
I-I was going to be able to fly! It didn't seem real till that moment, but I'd be able to fly! Me, in the air, without falling to death or injury! Real FLYING!
Two hooves wrap around my barrel. I guess Twilight had noticed my sudden realization. Her hooves helped the realness, anchoring me. She was warm.
I hugged her back, enjoying the feeling of warm coat against my cloud chilled hooves. This was real all of this was real. My mother was dating the most powerful mortal mare on the face of the planet. I was going to be able to fly. I was going to have friends real friends! Moving to Ponyville had changed so much, of everything! I-I... I wrote a card out furiously with one hoof. This drew a confused smile from Twilight, but she said nothing as I write the most perfectly crafted letter in my entire life. It was four words, fifteen letters total, and a period. What I was writing had the potential to change my entire life.
I tucked it into my mouth, emphasing my oft useless, but now dispenseless small size and, blegh, cuteness. Twilight read the letter once, and then twice. Then she smiled.
"Scribble, we're already engaged. Your mother said yes two months ago, but asked me to ask her again after a year. She was worried about what you'd think of me , and what your health issues might do to our relationship." I-I-I... "I'm confident, that with these developements, your mother and me will be moving that date to sooner, much sooner."
