"Are they up yet?"
"I don't think so. Could you go wake them?"
"Why me?"
"I'm already sitting!"
Harvest Crop rolled her eyes as Carrot Stem, her husband, snickered and hid behind his newspaper. Harvest strode toward the room of her children, muttering something about lazy husbands. She opened the door and spoke softly. "Tony? Carrot Top?" When she didn't get an answer, she walked farther into the room until she found them. Harvest smiled as she found her children, both 7 years old, sleeping soundly in their respective beds.
"Tony? Golden Harvest? It's time for school." Harvest said, a bit louder.
Golden Harvest stirred before sitting up groggily. "Morning already?"
Harvest giggled before going to Tony and gently shaking him awake. "Tony, it's time for school."
"... just 5 more minutes…"
Carrot Top stood next to her mother and began rapidly shaking Tony.
The small boy sat up, dazed. "Okay! I'm up!"
Carrot Top giggled. "Come on, brother! I want to catch up with my friends!"
"Okay! Okay!" Tony said, practically tripping out of bed.
Golden Harvest made her way to the breakfast table while her mother stayed behind to help Tony get dressed. The boy looked annoyed. "Why doesn't Carrot Top wear clothes?"
"Well, honey, you and her are different. You need clothes to cover yourself and keep warm."
"I guess." The child looked down in sadness.
Harvest Crop smiled sadly before putting a hoof under Tony's chin. "Hey, now. Just because you look different doesn't mean we all don't love you. You could be a big scary dragon and we'd still love you." She reassured him. She snuggled her nose against his, causing the boy to giggle. The boy quickly ran from the room and towards the breakfast table. Carrot Stem read his newspaper until he saw his son out the corner of his eye.
"Whoa! Slow down, sport! Breakfast isn't running away!" He laughed. Tony giggled and sat next to Carrot Top.
The table was set normally, everyone's plates covered in fluffy pancakes and eggs. Carrot Top sped through her meal, anxious to get on her way to school. She proudly looked at her empty plate before looking at Tony. She frowned when she noticed he took his time with his meal. The boy noticed her glare and laughed nervously before speeding up.
As they ate, there was a knock on the door. Harvest quickly made her way to answer it. "Oh, hello Paw Prints!"
The vet mare smiled. "Hello again, Harvest. I'm here for Tony's monthly checkup."
"Oh dear, I'm afraid now isn't a good time. He and Carrot Top were just about to leave for school."
"Don't worry. It's only going to take a few minutes."
As if on cue, Tony ran into the room. "Auntie Paw! I knew I heard your voice!" He hugged the mare tightly. Paw Prints smiled and kneeled.
"Hey, Tony! How's my strong stallion? Do you want to get a quick checkup?"
"Uh…" Tony practically felt the glare Carrot Top behind him. "I have to go to school."
Paw Prints giggled and sighed. "Well, your mother said the same thing, so I guess it can't be helped. You go on and I promise I'll be here after school." Tony and Carrot Top cheered before heading out of the house.
Harvest Crop tapped the vet's shoulder. "Would you like a slice of cake? It would be a great way to pass the time."
"I'd love to. It would be a great opportunity for me to talk to you about a concern I have."
"Concern? Is it about Tony? Is something wrong?"
"Of course not! He's fine! Come, let's sit down."
Harvest led Paw into the dining room before disappearing into the kitchen. She returned moments later with a slice of carrot cake and set it in front of the vet mare. "So, what is this concern you have?"
Paw Prints cleared her throat. "Well, I think you should start taking Tony to a normal doctor."
"W-what? Why?"
"Well, it's just that I'm a veterinarian. I specialize in pet care and, from what I've seen, Tony is more than a pet."
"Of course! He's my son, but do you think we should give it a bit more thought? You're the only pony I know who is remotely familiar with Tony's… characteristics."
"It's been 7 years, Harvest. I've had time to share my findings with colleagues. Trust me, a real doctor would have much greater access to resources for him than I ever could."
Harvest thought for a moment before sighing. "I guess you're right, but don't think you aren't allowed to visit anymore! You're family, you know."
"Don't worry. I'll still be around."
Tony and Carrot Top ran as fast as they could, passing fields of carrots and apple orchards. Carrot Top sped ahead of her brother when her friend came into view. "Hi, Applejack!" She called to the small orange filly.
Applejack turned. "Howdy Carrot Top! Howdy Tony! Are y'all ready for that big quiz today?"
"Yep! Mom and Dad reviewed some flashcards with me. I'm so ready!" Carrot Top held her head high.
Tony smiled. "I just watched Mom and Dad and Carrot Top. I think I'm good."
The group began making their way to the Ponyville schoolhouse, talking and laughing all the way. The fillies soon became engrossed in their conversation, eventually forgetting about the boy. Realizing this, Tony began to lag behind them. This wasn't a new occurrence. The boy knew he couldn't add anything to the conversation, so he just walked behind them.
It wasn't long until the schoolhouse came into view. Carrot Top and Applejack ran ahead, the former yelling back, "Come on, Tony!" The boy quickly hurried after them.
The school day was rather uneventful, the quiz being pushed to after lunch. Tony sat where he always sat: the back of the classroom. There was a good few desks around him that were vacant as some of the other students were a bit uneasy about the unusual boy.
Soon enough, recess came and the class stampeded out the door. The sun was high and the day was warm, a perfect day for playing outside. However, not everyone was playing. Tony went to the recess area, automatically turning right and going to the section he knew all too well. At the edge of the playground, a fort stood. It was a bit taller than Tony and made out of sticks and assorted blankets. The boy cleared his throat and the blanket door opened. "What's the password?"
"Um…"
"Perfect!" A white hoof dragged the boy in. A white mare with an electric blue mane and a brown-gray mare with a dark gray mane smiled at him. "Tony! Welcome back to the super duper cool club!" The former said.
Tony smiled. "Thanks, Vinyl. Hi, Octavia."
"Hello, Tony."
The trio sat in the club, eating lunch and laughing. "So, did anyone get their cutie mark yet?" Vinyl said with a full mouth.
"Vinyl! That's gross! But… no, I have not found it. And you, Tony?" Octavia said.
"No, I don't even know if I'm good at anything." Tony sighed.
Vinyl pat his back. "Don't worry! My ma told me that cutie marks come when we get older. It could be a while before we find our special talent."
Suddenly, the fort began to shake as vicious laughing was heard outside. The trio held onto each other and looked around in fear and confusion. Vinyl grabbed Octavia and Tony. "Abandon ship!"
The children jumped out of the fort as it collapsed. Behind the wreck, a trio of teen colts stood. Octavia rolled her eyes. "Oh, look. It's Filthy Rich and his gang of brutes."
A light brown colt with black hair grinned menacingly. "Look at what we have here, gentlecolts! A group of fillies in their tiny teahouse!"
Tony puffed his chest. "I'm not a filly! I'm a colt!" He said with pride. His hubris soon deflated as the teens laughed.
"Ha! A colt? You really think that? Look at you. You are an ape, just not as good looking." Filthy said.
Tony rubbed his arm and looked down, but Vinyl and Octavia stepped forward. "You leave him alone!"
"Yeah! Go pick on someone your own size!"
Filthy and his grunts snickered. "Aw, look at the freak's little marefriends stick up for him. I must hand it to you, Freak, you are quite the mare's stallion."
"What's a… mare's stallion?" Tony asked. Filthy and his cronies just laughed and left, leaving behind a pile of sticks and 3 angry children.
"Okay, class! I want you to read chapter 2 in our books. Be sure to have a parent supervise to help with those tough words. Dismissed!" The teacher spoke. The classroom emptied out with only Tony in the room. He packed his stuff into his backpack before walking to the door, only to be stopped by his teacher.
"Tony? Is something wrong? You've been awfully quiet" The boy stayed silent, so the teacher knelt down. "You can tell me. What's the matter?"
Tony was silent for a moment before answering. "... Filthy Rich and his friends were mean and destroyed Vinyl and Octavia's fort."
The teacher frowned. "That stallion and his no-good gang. I will have to have a chat with them."
"He called me something, but I don't know what it is. An app? An arp?"
"An ape?"
"Yes! What is that?"
The teacher looked down for a moment before sighing. "It doesn't matter, Tony. You are who you are and that is special. Don't let Filthy Rich or anypony else tell you otherwise, okay?" The boy nodded and smiled, much to the teacher's delight. She was about to walk away when she noticed a drawing on the boy's desk.
"Tony, did you draw this?"
"Um, yes."
The teacher smiled at the picture of a caterpillar turning into a cocoon and then a butterfly. It was a childish drawing, but sweet all the same. "Well, it is very nice."
"I remembered when we talked about how some animals change and I thought it was cool."
"So, you really like things like this? Do you want to be a scientist when you grow up?"
"A… sign-test?"
"No, a scientist. They study many things like nature or chemicals"
"That sounds nice, but Mom, Dad, and Carrot Top all are working on the farm. I should help out, too."
"That's nice, too. Anyway, have a good day. I'll see you in class on Monday!"
Tony walked along towards home. Carrot Top had left with her group of friends well before he left and Vinyl and Octavia often hastily left the schoolhouse for the freedom of outside.
Tony soon realized that it was getting dark. He didn't have time to walk, but felt too emotionally exhausted to care. He decided to sit at a tree and take a break, looking up at the night sky. It was starry out and the moon was bright. Eventually, Tony closed his eyes to keep calm, then he heard a voice.
"... ve my revenge!"
"Who said that!?" The small boy cried, looking around frantically.
There was silence until a voice spoke. "What? Who's there?"
"Wha- who- why are you in my head!?"
"In your head? Child, you are in mine."
The voice answered him. He wasn't going crazy. The boy stayed silent, wracking his 7 year-old brain to find any reason for this. The voice sounded irritated. "Who are you? How have you contacted me?"
"Contacted? Um… what does that mean?"
"... a colt. Just my luck. Of all the telepathic communications I could have been in, I'm with a feeble colt."
"Uh… what's your name? How are you in my head?"
"You don't need to know my name, but you are just a colt, so I doubt you would be able to communicate with me yourself. I guess that explains all of the latent energy I've been force-fed for almost a decade."
"E-energy?"
"Yes. Now that it would seem we can communicate, what is your name?"
"I-I'm… I'm Tony Harvest, ma'am."
