The Fillyhood of Sprinklejinx

I am a unicorn named Sprinklejinx. I was born and raised in Fillydelphia, one of the roughest cities in Equestria. There are a lot of poor ponies in Fillydelphia and the crime rates are through the roof. My mother, Lucky Charm and my father, Shoe Shine work in a horse shoe factory. I have an older sister named Clover Mane and an older brother named Dice. Our family is known to spread luck throughout Equestria. We didn’t have very many toys growing up because our parents didn’t make very much money. They worked hard at the factory, but their salaries were still low. My parents were always proud of their work and expected me to work at the horseshoe factory when I got older. I never wanted to let them down or disappoint them, but I had no interest in making shoes. We rarely had the money for good food like apples, carrots, or oats. We just ate the grass.  On my birthday my parents save enough bits to buy me carrots. Carrots are my favorite food in all of Equestria. They’re so crunchy. The ponies at school used to taunt us for eating grass. They call ponies that eat grass “Grasseaters”. It’s sort of like the “Blankflank” discrimination.

For enjoyment my brother and I used to take recycled newspapers from the dumpster. I enjoy solving crossword puzzles and Sudoku puzzles. When I was done solving the puzzles I would give the newspaper to Dice. He likes to make paper airplanes out of the newspapers. As a filly I always idolized the princesses and Daring Do. I admired the princesses because they have wings and a horn. Alicorns are incredibly powerful. I thought Daring Do was cool because she’s brave and independent just like me. Whenever I had free time I would sit in the library and read Daring Do books. I was never special like Daring Do or the princesses, but that was all about to change the day I got my cutie mark.

“Sprinklejinx, wake up! It’s time to get ready for school.” Momma said. nudging me with her nose. I lift my head off the pillow too quickly. My pointy horn cuts through the pillowcase. A bunch of fluffy white feathers cover my mane.

“Oh no! Not again,” I moaned trying to levitate the pillow off my horn. My horn flashed but the pillow only stays afloat for a short time before hitting the ground.

“I see you’ve been practicing your magic,” Momma said removing the feathers from the mane.

“I make a good flashlight,” I said unenthusiastically.

“Someday those sparks from your horn will make something wonderful. You’ll see,” Momma said levitating the brush into my mane and tying it into a bow. I got up on my hooves and smiled. I trotted to the bathroom. Clover Mane was already in there waiting for me. She levitated the tube of tooth paste in front of my tooth brush flawlessly.

“I want to try to do it by myself,” I said.

“Alright then,” Clover Mane said seeming a bit surprised. Her horn stopped glowing as the toothbrush hit the counter. My horn glowed bright pink. The toothbrush and the tube of tooth paste slowly rose into the air. They teetered awkwardly.  I scrunched my forehead and narrowed my magenta eyes. I gained more control of the floating objects. Clover Mane watched me intently. Twisting the cap off of the tooth paste was always the tricky part. I concentrated as hard as I could. I made a quiet grunting noise as the cap came off. I used my magic to put pressure on the tube. A giant blob of tooth paste oozed out of the tube and splattered on my toothbrush and the sink. Clover Mane laughed quietly to herself. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

“Don’t screw it up,” I whispered to myself.

“Keep going. You’re doing awesome!” Clover Mane said putting her hoof in front of the mouth. Feeling slightly discouraged, I put the cap back on the tube. I scrubbed my teeth with the bristles of the toothbrush and rinsed. “I’ll clean up the mess. You need to get ready,” She said.

“Thank you, Clover,” I said.

“No problem, Sprinkles,” Clover Mane said. I always wanted to be more like Clover Mane. She was great at magic and had her mother’s good looks. I on the other hoof look more like my father.

I trotted down the stairs.

Dice and Papa were sitting at the table. “What took you so long? Let’s go before we’re late.,” Dice says.

“Bye. Good luck on your quiz. Don’t talk to strangers and-“ Papa said reading his newspaper.

“I know. I know. Stay away from the forbidden grass” I said putting my saddlebag on and heading out the door. Dice and I ate a little bit of the grass we’re allowed to eat and went to school. Mrs. Luster taught us a lesson about manners. After the lesson, she let us play for a while. I took the Princess Celestia and Luna puzzle out of the box.

“You already put this together before, Sprinklejinx. Don’t you get sick of solving the same puzzles?” Mrs. Luster asked.

“Not really,” I replied.

“Why don’t you try to solve the Hoovix Cube?” Mrs. Luster asked.

“The Hoovix Cube? What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s kind of like a puzzle. You turn the tiles around to make all the colors match on each side. You should give it a try. I tried so hard to solve it, but I couldn’t,” She said taking the colorful cube out of the toy box.

“I think I’m up to the challenge,” I said. The Hoovix Cube was a bit tedious. Sometimes I’d have one side one color and I would have to sacrifice that side to get the other side to match. My best friend, Destiny walked up to me. She is an earth pony with a red coat and a bright pink mane tied in a ponytail. Destiny was obsessed with finding her cutie mark. She wanted to be the first pony in the class to get her cutie mark. That was all she talked about. I didn’t mind though because she stood up for me when the ponies teased me for eating grass. Destiny was fun to be around sometimes. We played hopscotch, hide and seek, and pretend. She hated being called a Blank Flank. I was used to being called names such as Blank Flank, Grass Eater, or even some times The Green Giant. I actually thought The Green Giant was kind of funny because I was the shortest filly in the class and I’m green.

“Hey, Sprinklejinx! Do you wanna play Phoenix, Phoenix, Griffon?” She asked.

“Not right now. In a few minutes,” I said turning the tiles with my magic.

“Okay. I’m going to try to get my cutie mark while I’m waiting,” Destiny said.

“Good luck.” I said.

“I’m going to need it. Finding my cutie mark is taking forever. I want it now,” Destiny complained.

“I only have two colors to go. As soon as I get done I’ll help you find your cutie mark,” I said getting slightly annoyed. She always was a very hasty and competitive pony. Why couldn’t she be patient and wait for her cutie mark like everypony else? Fifteen minutes passed. ‘If I turn the top row of the Hoovix Cube to the left and the bottom row to the right…’ I thought to myself. I did it! Each side was a different color. I levitated the puzzle in the air like it was a trophy. Then I gave it back to the teacher.

“You got your cutie mark,” Mrs. Luster said seeming impressed. I looked at my flank and gasped.

“Can I go to the bathroom please?” I asked covering my flank with my tail.

“Sure you can,” Mrs. Luster said. I galloped to the filly’s bathroom and turned on the bathroom sink. No matter how hard I tried, the soap and water would not wash away the black puzzle piece on my flank.

“What am I going to do?” I asked myself as I paced franticly back and forth. I came up with a not so brilliant plan. I thought I could go back to the classroom and paint my flanks green. Before I even made it half way across the room, Destiny spotted me.

“You got your cutie mark?” Destiny pouted.

“I’m sorry,” I said staring at the ground.

“That’s not fair. I’m supposed to get my cutie mark first,” Destiny said stomping her hoof on the ground.

“But I uh…” I stutter.

“You promised! Now I don’t want to talk to you anymore,” Destiny said rubbing her teary eyes with her hooves.

“Guess what? I don’t care!” I shouted. I never really needed friends. I already had the green paint out so I painted a picture of me as an alicorn until the bell rang. I didn’t even stop to wait for Dice as I left the school and headed home. I couldn’t control my magic, my best friend hated me for something that wasn’t even my fault, and to make matters worse, my horn wouldn’t stop glowing. A stallion who was painting a building accidentally spilled bright red paint on a mare’s dress. A builder fell off his latter and landed flat onto the concrete. A pigeon pooped on a colt’s ice cream cone. I kicked an empty soda can off of the side walk. Somepony appears right in front of me. I walk around her scowling at the ground.

“Hello there,” She said smiling at me.

“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers,” I said bitterly.

“Why the long face little filly?” The mare asked.

“I got my cutie mark,” I grumbled as I tried to avoid her. She paused for a moment and giggled.

“Stop laughing at me,” I said walking past the tall pink figure.

“You look like you need somepony to cheer you up,” She said. “Sunshine, Sunshine! Ladybugs Awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake.” The mare chanted as she danced awkwardly in front of me.

“What are you doing?” I asked backing away.

“I was trying to make you happy, Sprinklejinx,” The mare said. I whirled around and stared at her.

“You know my name? Y- You’re an alicorn? That means you must be… A princess?” I said.

“I’m Princess Cadence,” She said. My confused face faded into a smile. My horn stopped glowing.

“You’re THE Princess Cadence? And you’re here to see ME?” I asked.

“Yes,” She said.

“Oh my gosh! That’s so super amazing. This is the best day ever!” I cheered as I jumped up and down. I realized how much of a fool I looked like freeing out in front of the princess. “But why do you want to see me?” I asked as I bowed down to her.

“Because your magic was spreading bad luck through all of Equestria.” Cadence said.

“How?” I asked.

“It seems like you have some very powerful magic. It seems like your anger triggers misfortune. I could help you control your power,” Princess Cadence said.

“How can you do that?” I asked.

“How would you like to be my first student?” Princess Cadence asked.

“I would love to be your student!” I said pinching myself with my teeth to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

“I’ll have a little talk with your parents and then we could start your training,” Cadence said.