An Earthling Earth Pony at Celestia's School of Magic: Year One

We caught up to Hannah and her parents about twenty feet from the dorm's entrance. Hannah stood next to them looking annoyed while they paced in tight circles near the building's stone steps, at least until they spotted us. When they did, they rushed across the grass to meet us. I hadn't gotten a good look at them before, but I was a little surprised to see that while her dad was a unicorn, her mom was an earth pony.

"Oh cher, y'all made it out dat fire! Thank de Lord," Hannah's mom exclaimed as she reached us. "We been waitin' on dat fire department to show up. Dey sure are takin' their sweet time, ain't dey?"

"It was out before ya got to the stairs. Ah tried to tell ya, but ya didn't hear," Bright explained.

"I told you!" Hannah protested in frustration.

Hannah's mom looked confused. "But dat fire—"

Summer lowered her head. "There's a top-of-the-line fire suppression system in our room... in case I lose my temper. When kirin lose our tempers, we go nirik, and burn. It isn't a matter of whether it will happen, but when, because we're very emotional. They had to have things prepared for that."

"See, I told you!" Hannah exclaimed, glaring at her parents.

"Summer lost her temper at her dad right after you left, so the fire suppression system actually went off twice," I added.

Summer flicked her tail, which sparked briefly despite being soaked. "You didn't need to tell them that."

Bright took a few steps back, putting himself at arm's length from her. "We're outside. Ya might want to do that thing to dry off. Is this enough space?"

"What's she going to do?" Hannah's dad asked, his ears twitching nervously.

Summer backed away until she was a good thirty feet from both us and the building, positioning herself in an open patch of lawn. "I think we have enough space so nopony will get burned. I'm going to let loose my temper to dry myself off. It will only last a moment, but you don't want to be close to me when I do it. I don't have fine control like my mom, and that means I might burn you if you're too close. Even the steam can hurt you if it hits you. Don't worry, as long as you keep your distance, you'll be fine. This doesn't hurt me, just in case you are worried about that. Kirin are fireproof."

We all retreated another ten feet back, forming a loose semicircle away from where Summer stood. She double-checked the distance to the dorm building before closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, and lifting her face towards the sky.

"WHY'D YOU HAVE TO EMBARRASS ME!" she screamed as her form seemed to go black and flames erupted from her body. It only lasted a moment before she reverted back, with clouds of steam rising from her coat and swirling in the afternoon air.

"Feel better?" Bright asked her.

She kept her eyes closed and nodded. "It feels better getting it out. Give me space for another minute while the steam clears."

Hannah's mom gripped her daughter tightly, pulling her back another step. "She done dis 'round you before, baby?"

Hannah struggled against her mother's grip, but there was no way a unicorn filly could break an adult earth pony's hold. "She's not going to burn me, Mom! Let go!"

I smiled at Hannah and chuckled. "Looks like your mom and my mom would get along great."

Hannah continued to struggle in vain against her mother's grip. "She's not normally like this, but fire freaks her out. Mom, let go! The fire's gone!"

Hannah's dad came up to her and touched a hoof to his wife's leg. "Honey, it's okay. The fire is gone, and Hannah needs to breathe."

"Come on, Mom. I'm fine!" Hannah said, still struggling.

Bright tilted his head. "Yer ma sure talks all funny-like."

"She grew up in a very rural part of Louisiana, the bayou never really left her. I'm honestly surprised none of it rubbed off on Hannah," Hannah's dad said, chuckling slightly. "It's okay, hon, the fire's gone."

Hannah's mother bit her lip, looking at Bright, but finally released her daughter.

Hannah rubbed her shoulder once she got loose, then gave Bright a dirty look. "Don't make fun of how my mom talks, like you have any room to."

Bright stepped back. "Not tryin' to cause a stir. Just noticed she don't talk like ya do."

"Well, I grew up somewhere nobody talks like my mom, but there's nothing wrong with how she speaks," Hannah explained.

"But she didn't talk like that earlier," Bright said.

I thought back to another pony that had speech patterns that shifted.

"She's like your aunt. Professor Applebloom only uses her accent when she gets emotional or when she's back on the farm. This is the same thing," I explained.

Bright blinked. "Oh... mah sis does that too. Ya could confuse her with one of them nobles when she's on guard duty, but soon as she gets home, she's talkin' like she never left the farm. Seems too much work in mah opinion—not too honest neither, hidin' yer roots. Pa don't seem to care when Aunt Applebloom does it, but he gets right hot mad when mah sis does."

Not my business, but they really needed to work that out.

"You didn't answer me earlier. Has she done dis 'round you before?" Hannah's mom asked.

Hannah looked at Summer briefly before looking back at her mother. "Technically... she's lost control once before, but I don't remember it. It was during the rainboom incident I wrote you about—she had nothing to do with me passing out. I passed out because of the surge I had. Summer surged too, which is why she ignited, but it didn't hurt me at all."

"The school thinks she's safe enough to be around other students, and they did put in that fire suppression system, just in case," I pointed out. "What Hannah did during her surge did just as much damage, and might have been more dangerous for all we know."

"But she can ignite at any time," Hannah's mom replied nervously.

"Summer's got more control than that!" Hannah shouted. "She's my friend, the first one I made here. Stop making her feel bad!"

Hannah's mother chewed her lip. "First friend, 'ay? Just be careful."

"And no fussing about the fact they're co-ed dorms! Nobody's going to do anything," Hannah continued.

Hannah's mother's brow narrowed. "Anything else, cher?"

Hannah blinked and looked down. "Um... can I get some spending money for next semester?"

"No, it cost your father an' me most of our savings just to make this trip... such a greedy filly. I don' know where you get it," Hannah's mother said with a snort.

Her dad stepped in. "We aren't broke, don't worry. We just need to tighten the purse strings a little. Not having you around means we're getting less done at the scrapyard, which means less income, but we'll be okay."

"And we had to hire dat help to watch the yard while we're gone. That's an extra cost," Hannah's mother mumbled.

Her dad walked over to her and patted her on her back. "But that's okay! You're going to be making tons of money once you start making your own artifacts, and I'm sure you'll give us a little. I'm sorry about the misunderstanding with your friend. It looks like you've made a few, and I'm overjoyed to see you finally being appreciated."

Summer blinked. "You weren't appreciated back on your world?"

Hannah's mother gave her husband a dirty look and kicked him on the shoulder. He rubbed it briefly but looked chastised.

Hannah's ears sagged. "Let's not talk about that." She then forced a smile. "Hey! How about we all go to Ponyville and see Bright's family farm... once the trains are running again."

"Mah folks won't mind. Friends are just like family, an' family is always welcome," Bright said cheerfully.

"What is going on with the trains?" Hannah's dad asked. "As soon as we got off, they were shutting everything down and telling the people who were waiting to get on that they couldn't board."

Bright waved a hoof. "Everfree Forest is gettin' all aggressive-like. There's always some villain or monster or somethin' every year. This year, them woods decided they don't like that New Eden place none too much and are on the attack."

"How far away is this?" Hannah's dad asked.

Bright gestured off in one direction. "Not that far, really. If ya get up to the edge of the city cliff, ya can actually see Ponyville in the distance, an' the Everfree and New Eden are just past that."

"Ponyville is like the suburbs of Canterlot, and New Eden is like a suburb of Ponyville," Hannah explained.

"Not rightly sure what a suburb is. Lot of folk from Ponyville do work here, an' tourists for Canterlot usually come on out to Ponyville too, but it ain't like Canterlot," Bright said. "New Eden and Ponyville's boundary ain't too clear. Most agree ya go out past the animal sanctuary an' yer gettin' into New Eden, but ain't exactly clear exactly when."

"If it is dat close, are we safe?" Hannah's mom asked worriedly.

"They keep telling us that it isn't anything to worry about," I informed them.

Bright nodded. "Yeah, nothin' to worry abo—"

"CITIZENS OF CANTERLOT! PLEASE EXCUSE THE DISRUPTION, BUT YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY TAKE SHELTER! THE EVERFREE HAS OVERRUN NEW EDEN AND A PORTION OF PONYVILLE, AND IS HEADED IN THIS DIRECTION! FOR YOUR SAFETY, TAKE SHELTER!"

Summer hopped in place. "We have to head to the auditorium. My mom said that if we ever got that alert, that was where students had to shelter!"

Bright just stood still, gaping. "It's headed this way... that means it overran the tracks..."

"Bright, we need to move," I told him.

He just kept staring forward. "Mah sis was guardin' the tracks...."

Hannah's mother growled. "Dat colt ain't moving on his own." She then walked over to Bright and hoisted him on her back. Bright didn't even fight or react.

Her dad looked at us. "It's probably quicker for us to go to your auditorium than try to find our hotel. Can you lead the way?"

"Follow me!" Hannah said as she started galloping towards the main building. The rest of us quickly followed.

"What kind of threat is this forest? How does a forest attack?" Hannah's dad asked as we ran.

Summer shook her head, mane blowing as she ran. "Don't know. Bright would know, but he's in shock."

I tried to remember. "Something about vines... timberwolves, hydras... I heard Princess Luna discussing it before she took off to go help, but I'm not completely familiar with what they were talking about. She mentioned hating plundervines a few times." For me, my biggest fear was trees, and I might not know much about the Everfree Forest, but I knew it had plenty of trees.

"My parents can help deal with timberwolves if they get this far. We get them sometimes out near the Peaks of Peril. Monsters made out of wood are scared of fire. Even I can ward one off," Summer said confidently.

"Let's hope that's unnecessary," Hannah replied.

A quick glance back showed Summer's parents had emerged from the dorms and were trying to shepherd the remaining first-year students who hadn't gone home for the holidays yet. There were four: two I recognized but didn't know well since they weren't in our class, the remaining two were Rocky and Lunar. It kind of made sense those two were still here. Lunar's home was back on Earth, so it was unlikely he'd head home, and Rocky lived in Ponyville, so the trains shutting down had to have stranded him just like it had for Bright.

We reached the main building at the same time several other students from the other years did. A few of the students I recognized as fourth-years were at the door. They looked at us as we got close.

"Turnip Jones and Summer Blaze, you're talked about enough that we don't need to ask your names. Who are the other two?" one of the students asked as he made some notes.

"I'm Hannah. Hannah Moonbow, and that's Bright Pear on my mom's back—these are my parents," Hannah answered.

The student made some notes. "Alright, you're accounted for, and your parents are welcome to shelter here as well." He looked at Bright. "What's wrong with him? Is he sick or injured?"

"His sister was on guard duty at the train tracks near Ponyville. He's worried about her since they've been overrun," I said quietly.

"I see... well, we haven't heard anything about casualties yet, so hopefully she is okay," the student replied. "Any idea how many first-years are still here? You're the first ones we've seen."

"There's four more on their way behind us with Summer's parents. I think everyone else has already left for the holidays," I answered.

He nodded. "Eight out of thirty still here; thanks for the heads up. We know how many second-years are here and how many went home, so we just have to figure out how many thirds. We haven't seen any of those yet... they could have all gone home. Hope somepony shows up soon so we don't have to go looking. Anyway, go inside and head straight to the main auditorium. Professor Inkwell and Professor Dawn are directing things in there and will give you more instructions."

"Headmaster isn't here?" Summer asked.

"We believe he left town earlier today. At least, that's what Professor Inkwell said," the student answered. "Anyway, head inside. Looks like the rest of your classmates are arriving, and we need to record who's here quickly. The forest isn't here yet, but who knows how much time we have. I hope the rest get here soon, but as soon as we get the order from Professor Dawn, we're going to seal the doors."

Was it just the two professors? Had all the rest already gone home? Perhaps some of the others were assisting in city defense. I knew Newman was at the castle, but doubted her abilities would be much help here—how do you strategize against a forest? Neighsay might be aiding the city with its defenses. Glitter Drops had already left town before all this began, so she was out. I suppose the three professors from Ponyville were all assisting with combating the forest already.

Well, it was time to head inside and hunker down. It was like a tornado drill back home. Everything would be fine.