Flurry Heart Goes to Magic Kindergarten
Flurry Heart Goes to Magic Kindergarten
by Present Perfect
"I still think we should cover her wings," Daddy said as he gave Flurry's mane one last, unnecessary tug with the comb.
"Shiny." Mommy was using her Daddy's About to Be in Big Trouble voice. "We've been over this. We've already held her back a year. If we want our daughter to live a normal life, she has to experience it out from under our wings. Hiding will just make her self-conscious, not to mention cramped." Mommy tugged Flurry's nose with her magic. "And my little filly isn't gonna grow up self-conscious, is she?"
"Nuh-uh, Mommy!" Flurry said, giggling and pulling away. "I'm gonna be thuper conthuth!"
"I still don't like it," Daddy grumbled, floating her backpack over and helping her get it on. "My gut tells me she needs at least two escorts at all times."
"That's because you're thinking like a Royal Guard, dear," Mommy said. "You need to think like a father. Flurry, stop playing with your tooth gap. You'll make it raw."
Flurry retracted her tongue and held her hoof up. "I wath jutht adjuthtin' my glatheth, Mommy."
"Uh-huh." Mommy gave her the Mommy Knows You're Fibbing and Will Punish You Later smile. "Let's get going, sweetie, so you're not late for school!"
So it was that Flurry Heart, backpack snug between her wings, glasses polished and mane freshly combed, set off for Crystal Prep Academy with her Mommy and Daddy beside her and her favorite teddy bear, Missus Crystal Beary, snug in her backpack. The route wasn't new: Mommy had shown her the Academy a few weeks ago, but that had been late in the day. In the early morning light, the big central spire of the school, pointed like the big top circus tents in her books, sparkled almost as much as her home, the Crystal Palace, did. The idea of spending all day -- well, most of the day -- there by herself made Flurry's heart skip a beat, but she tried to stay determined. She was a big filly, going to school for the first time, and she wasn't gonna be scared!
"Here we are!" Daddy said. It seemed so sudden. Had it really not taken that long for them to get there?
Her heart skipped another beat as she gazed up at the school. Magic Kindergarten was in its own little tent building set off to one side of the main part of the Academy, but they stood at the main entrance, where hundreds of other fillies and colts were saying goodbye to their parents. The spire stretched above her, immeasurable. She looked around to take her mind off it.
"Look, Mommy!" she shouted, pointing animatedly. "That thign thayth 'Welcome new thtudentth!'"
"Very good, Flurry!" said Mommy, looking down at her. "I'm so proud of you!"
Flurry stilled as Mommy kept looking at her. Daddy was looking at her, too. Out of the blue, Mommy leaned down and gave Flurry a tight hug.
"My little girl! You're so big now!"
Was she crying? That was kind of weird.
Daddy joined in the hug. "C'mon, Cadie, let's not get emotional on Flurry's big day. You... you'll make her c-cry..." Now Daddy's eyes were leaking liquid pride. That was definitely weird.
"Nuh-uh, Mommy," Flurry said, trying to find something to fill the moment, "I'm thtill thmaller'n you an' Daddy."
Mommy and Daddy both laughed and sniffed back their tears. "You'd better get inside," Mommy said.
Flurry nodded and galloped a few steps toward the door. Before she entered, she turned back to wave. For some reason, Mommy and Daddy were still crying. She would just have to be extra strong and determined for them. Parents could be so weird sometimes.
"Fillies and gentlecolts, it is my honor to welcome you all to Crystal Prep Academy!"
The students gathered in the auditorium, from little foals Flurry's age to some that were maybe as old as Mommy and Daddy, stomped and cheered for the end of Principal Cinch's speech. Flurry had decided that, while Principal Cinch seemed nice, she wouldn't want to be in the same room as her. It wasn't nice to think so, but her smile made Flurry feel like milk was going bad in her stomach.
"Now your teachers will lead you to your classrooms, to begin work on your ay-bee-sees, one-two-threes and thaumaturgies!" Principal Cinch let out a prim chuckle. "I hope you all enjoy your school year. Happy learning, students!"
Flurry Heart had found her teacher, Crystal Spyglass, almost immediately upon entering the school, thanks to the signs. Miss Spyglass was warm and friendly, and her smile was like butterflies covered in morning dew. Flurry wouldn't mind being in a room with her all day, learning about "thought emergencies", whatever those were. Flurry might know her ay-bee-sees and one-two-threes, but that one stumped her.
Still, something bothered her as she and her classmates were introduced to their new classroom and each other with some "getting to know you games".
The Crystal Empire was full of crystal ponies because it was the home of the crystal ponies, but Flurry Heart was used to seeing non-crystal ponies all the time. There was Mommy and Daddy, of course, and Auntie Twilight, and some of the palace staff. There were non-crystal ponies who lived and worked and played all over the Empire, and nopony ever said anything about it.
But as she tried her best to remember names and faces of new classmates, a queasy feeling churned inside her. All the other foals had horns, just like she did. They all had bright eyes, eager to learn, just like her. But their coats all sparkled in the sunlight that filtered through the high, narrow classroom windows. Hers didn't. And none of them have wings.
Flurry had to repeat herself a couple of times when they talked about things that made them special or interesting. Now she knew why Mommy always told her to speak up when spoken to.
"All right, children," Miss Spyglass said finally, "let's take a little break for playtime! I'll show you where the toy stations are and how to check toys out and put them away when you're done. After today, it will be your responsibility to keep our classroom nice and tidy! I hope you're big enough ponies to handle that!"
"We are, Miss Spyglass!" replied the other foals with as much gleeful cheer as they could muster.
Flurry Heart said nothing. While Miss Spyglass showed them how to deal with the toys, Flurry sat to one side, looking at the pattern of happy singing ponies on the play rug and sliding her tongue through her tooth gap. She knew it would get raw if she kept doing it, but it just felt so squelchy and weird, she couldn't help it.
"Hi what's your name?"
The voice startled her out of her worrying, and she blinked at a crystal colt with brown mane and a white coat in front of her.
"My name's Crystal Gyro but you can just call me Gyro do you wanna play trains?"
Flurry was certain she'd missed something. She tried to think of something to say, but the colt kept right on talking while pushing a toy train back and forth between them.
"I love trains they go really fast when I'm older I wanna be a train conductor I like your wings can you fly?"
"Uh, n-no," she said, then quickly added, "but my mommy thayth the'll teacth me when I'm bigger."
Crystal Gyro grinned at her. "That's really cool you talk kinda funny you take the black train and I'll be the red one or do you like red better also what kind of ice cream do you like?"
Flurry had no particular opinion on trains. She had ridden in them before, when visiting her grandparents in Canterlot or her aunt in Ponyville. But the trips were usually long enough that she fell asleep in the middle of them. This, she felt, was good, because when she woke up, she would be right where she was going and didn't have to worry about what happened in between.
"Uh, chocolate! With thprinkleth."
This still left her at a loss for what to do with the toys. But, to follow Crystal Gyro's example, playing trains just involved a lot of pushing them from one place to another while he talked and talked and talked about anything and everything that crossed his mind. She didn't mind that so much, because it meant she didn't have to figure out anything to say herself; she could just nod and go "Mm-hmm" now and then, and it seemed to keep Gyro happy. She even found herself smiling.
That was before she noticed what was going on elsewhere in the play area. There were two big foals -- well, one big filly and a slightly smaller one who somehow looked really big -- knocking over block houses and running off, leaving their victims in tears. They would knock over a house, laugh, and dash off to the opposite side of the play rug when Miss Spyglass turned to see what was going on, but she never was fast enough to catch them in the act.
"No running in class, children!" was all she said, before taking a long drink from a clear bottle in her desk drawer.
"We're sorry, Miss Spyglass," said the biggest filly. "We won't do it again!"
When the two fillies started running toward her, Flurry got the sudden idea they might be Bad Ponies. She didn't have enough time to muster up dread or warn Gyro before the pair was on them, snatching up her train and giving her a grin that was a good bit more sour-milk than even Principal Cinch's.
"Hey, Mumblewings," said the biggest filly. "Nice train you got there!"
"H-hey, you can't do that!" Crystal Gyro shouted. "You gotta be nice and share the--"
The smaller filly stuck her hoof in his mouth. "It'd be a shame if something happened to it."
"I-I-I..." Flurry's mouth wasn't working right. She swallowed. "M-my name's not Mumblewingth, it'th Flurry Heart."
It was, perhaps, not the greatest comeback. It didn't, for instance, address the fact that the big filly was still holding her train out of reach, however ambivalent she might have been toward it just moments ago. Nor did it plead for the release of Crystal Gyro from his hoofy prison.
"Flurry Heart?" The big filly snorted. "That's a dumb name. Isn't that a dumb name, Crystal Bitters?"
"Yeah, Crystal Mush, it's a really dumb name," said the other filly. "What should we call her instead?"
"How about..." Crystal Mush snorted again. "How about 'Hurry Fart'?"
She and Crystal Bitters started laughing. Gyro stopped struggling and gave Flurry a very obvious I Am Going to Cry in Two Seconds look that she hadn't realized anyone but Daddy could make. And then something very odd occurred to her.
Hurry Fart.
Hurry Fart?
Hurry Fart.
She snorted, and the two fillies stopped laughing. She grabbed her sides and doubled over, releasing a guffaw loud enough to attract everyone's attention, if only for a moment. Crystal Bitters let Crystal Gyro go, and the three of them just stared at her.
"Hurry Fart!" she said in between laughs. "That'th the funnietht thing I ever heard!"
"Wh-wha?" Crystal Mush took a step back, dropping the train. "You're not s'posed to laugh."
"Wait, wait!" Flurry gained control of her giggles and righted herself. "Gimme a thec, I bet I can..."
She scrunched up her muzzle, lit her horn, and bent over. After a few seconds of concentration, she released a burst of magic, along with a cloud of gas and a loud noise, from her rear.
It was Gyro's turn to start laughing. Crystal Mush and Crystal Bitters both backed away, holding their noses.
"Ew!" cried Crystal Mush. "That's so gross! You are super gross!"
"Oh Celestia, I can taste it!" wailed Crystal Bitters.
Flurry Heart started laughing again, which made the magic release in little pops and puffs, which only made her laugh harder.
"Hey, everypony!" yelled Gyro. "Come see what Flurry Heart can do!"
The other foals, Crystal Mush and Crystal Bitters aside, flocked toward their area of the play rug. Flurry Heart demonstrated her new ability, to a round of cheering, laughter, and groans from her classmates, again and again and again.
Miss Spyglass didn't say anything, only shaking her head and opening desk drawer again. She must have been awfully thirsty.
When the school bell rang in the middle of the day, Flurry Heart and her classmates got to go home. Mommy and Daddy were waiting there for her, and she rushed out to give them both a hug. Crystal Gyro ran past, shouting, "Is your mom the Crystal Princess wow that's so cool I see my mom over there I gotta go Flurry Heart okay bye!" And then he was gone.
"What was that?" Daddy asked, watching him jump into the waiting hooves of a pink mare.
"That'th my new friend, Daddy!" Flurry said.
"So you had a good time on your first day of school?" Mommy smiled at her.
"Uh-huh, I thure did! I learned about thought emergenthieth, and I played with trainth, and I farted a lot, and I made lotth o' new friendth, and I wathn't conthuth at all!"
Mommy and Daddy shared a Look. "I think I misheard something in the middle there," said Daddy.
Miss Spyglass came tottering by, leading a pair of foals to their parents. "Yer daughter hasssome... unique shkill with, with, with magic, yer 'Ighnesses," she croaked.
Mommy and Daddy watched her for a moment, sharing another Look and whispering to each other.
"Ith Mith Thpyglath okay?" Flurry asked, stepping between her parents.
"Never mind her." Mommy smiled, picked Flurry up, and set her on her back. "I think what's important is our little girl had a great time during her first day of school. Isn't that right, sweetheart?"
"Uh-huh!" said Flurry, digging Missus Crystal Beary out of her backpack and giving her a hug. "I hope I get to go back tomorrow!"
Thankfully, she did.