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I had drawn the pictures of three Ponies on the board: an Earthpony, a Pegasus and a Unicorn; only to write Pony over the three, then the respective tribe's name under the respective Pony depicted. Naturally, I had added the plural form of each name, by the side of the respective names, in Singular.
This is, how I had been taught; to hold my class in Ponish, before I had been accepted to hold this class.
Of course, this is a new class; a new experience, and not just to me personally.
We never had dedicated teachers before, and we never were teaching Ponish either. Yet, it is interesting and exciting to me. We Changelings thrive on new experiences and new places, in which to test ourselves, for the Hive.
Being a Changeling, means to be able to change and adapt; into whichever form is required to manage a task, in the name of our Queen and Hive. Just because Changelings had been quadruped, does not mean we have to be quadruped to the end of time; we could change to adapt to this Human form, as bipeds just as easily. Of course, I had been hatched in this form; so I guess it is not all that new to me, now as a teacher.
While being a biped, and in my bipedal form; I still retain a few things, from our quadruped origin. I have hooves and a tail; but I have neither a horn, wings or a muzzle. In this semi-human form, I have hair in a fashion similar to the mane of a Pony; largely, in order to blend in better. I like blending in with the crowd, almost to the point where I am losing myself; as opposed, to being the outcast we sometimes are seen as. At least, here; we are accepted, as we are.
We are working hard, for our honoured and distinguished guests; delivering anything and everything, to the limits of our abilities. Just as, if you need anything; we are sure, to find a means to satisfy you. It is after all, what we live for; in the name of the Hive and our Queen, to gain the sustenance we require.
Today, I am the teacher, teaching you Ponish; it is the role I had been given, the purpose I had been selected for.
Now, as the room is prepared; I open the door, in order to invite the class.
I open the door, scanning the room outside my class room; "Fillies, class is about to begin!" I exclaim.
Several Girls, or Fillies are sitting and waiting for me. I notice, how they all brighten up; just as they see the door slide up, before my face appears before them.
"Come, my little fillies, right this way, so we can get the class started.." I offer, taking a step back and to the left, bidding them all to enter the class room.
Each, raising to their hooves; slightly unsure of themselves, and on their hooves. Slowly following me into the room in a measured gait; eager to enter, but worried to trip on their hooves and embarrass themselves before the entire class.
As the last Filly had cleared the threshold, the door quietly slides shut behind her; leaving the room behind quiet, desolate. Of course, a new herd of fillies may gather there, in a few minutes, eager to start their first actual class.
"Whoa.." one girl exclaims; "this is our class room?" she then inquires.
"Of course; neither of these girls have been to school, before" I ponder; "Yes, this is our class room; for the first beginners class, in Ponish!" I explain.
"Ponish?" one girl snickers, nervously; "Where does people speak Ponish, and who?" the next girl inquires.
"Well, we are, of course!" I point out.
By now, I had stepped up to stand behind my desk; standing before the board.
"Ponish is a very old language, spoken by Ponies; and everyone else, who lives in Equestria.." I then explains.
"Since this is the beginners' class, I am teaching you just as much of culture and ideas, as I am teaching you the language of Ponish!" I point out.
They all stand up, looking at me; curious, with confusion still on their faces.
"Oh, and take a seat, one Girl or Filly per desk.." I offer.
Now, the girls slowly orient themselves to the nearest desk, before me.
"Why do my desk look, like the counter in the lobby.." one girl inquires, looking critically at her desk.
Of course, the desks had been arranged in a Crescent Moon formation; giving each of the girls a clear view of me and the board behind me. I do not wish to have girls sitting in the back, hiding behind the bodies of their fellow students.
Each seat, made out of deep blue tinted Sapphire glass; with a squishy crystal-clear silicone cushion on each. Place open for a tail, as well as a sturdy back-rest to lean back against behind.
"Oh, and start from the middle, and fill out to the right and left; one girl to the right and one to the left.." I instruct the girls.
I watch the girls spreading out, right and left, right and left. One girl at a time, until the last girl had taken her seat.
“There, much better..” I pronounce; as I am watching the girls, now comfortably seated before me.
“Since you have all taken your seats, it is time for me to present myself, so that we can start the class!” I point out.
“I am your Teacher, and my name is Cheerilee..” I begin, only for some of the girl to snicker at the unusual name.
“Since I am an Equestrian, I have an Equestrian name; since I know you are not Equestrians, I will just have to get used to your strange and unfamiliar names!” I point out; demonstratively stifling a snicker of my own, just to make the point.
As I am standing by the board at the front of the classroom, with my back up against the board; I turn slightly in order to point at the words I had written onto the board.
“Now; if you all read after me, please..” I pronounce, instructing the girls; “Pony, Ponies; Ponish, the official language of Equestria..” I read; “Pony, Ponies; Ponish, the official language of Equestria..” they chorus, after me.
Some of the girls may stammer or stutter; unsure of themselves and how to pronounce the words even after I had just read it for them.
Since they are new and this is the beginner’s class, I make allowance for the pronunciation. I will be repeating the introduction, with the next and several consecutive classes; until I feel they have a reasonable grasp of pronunciation.
“Pony..” I pronounce, pointing at myself; “Earthpony..” I continue, reiterating and deliberate; “I have no horn, like a Unicorn..” I explain; just as I have no wings, like a Pegasus..” I continue explaining.
I expect them to have a reasonable grasp of what the winged Pegasus and the horned Unicorns; even if I will have to explain the concepts in Equestria society for them later.
Now, as I had introduced myself, to the class; I continue and draw a picture of a Human, “Human” I pronounced
I draw a picture of a Man and a Woman; “Man”and “Woman” I pronounce, pointing at the respective picture as I pronounce the Ponish word for the respective.
“Boy” and "Girl” I write, under the picture of the respective image, pronouncing the words indicating the not fully mature male and female in turn.
While I am at it, I draw an image of a “Stallion/Colt” and a “Mare/Filly” between the Human version and the Pony, pronouncing the words. I point at myself, as I enunciate the word “Mare” and at the girls, as I enunciate the word “Girl” as well.
With the respective pictures lining up, I had explained the relation of gender to the girls; all in the prim and proper Ponish of Equestria, in the process.
“Adult” I write, pointing at myself; “Child” I write, pointing at the girl in the middle of the crescent formation of my students.
A moment later, they all chorus, what I had just explained to them.
“Teacher” I write, pointing at myself; “Student” I write, pointing at the girl in the middle of the group; only for the group of girls to chorus, what I had just pronounced to them.
Word by word, I build up their vocabulary; building up a common frame of reference, for us to understand one-another.
“I am your Teacher!” I write, as I am pronouncing each word while I am writing them, only for the girls to chorus what I had just said.
“I am your Student,” I write; “but” I continue; “We are your students!” I conclude, only for the girls to chorus the latest insertion I had writen.
I had not yet explained the grammar, but apply it into a few simple examples in modern Ponish.
Right now, I want to draw them into the subject; before I alienate them, with boring stuff like Grammar.
By introducing them to the subject, bit by bit; I hope to ease them into the subject, so that they can start to grasp how it works by themselves. I will just be correcting them, if and when they need it. I am waiting, for them to implement what I am teaching them; for them to experience the subject, in order for them to invest in the subject at hoof.(or, at Hand; as you may have said?)
“These children, these girls; are so excited and enthusiastic, it’s fun to teach them..” I ponder.
“If this is school, I wish I had been permitted to go here earlier!” a girl mumbles.
“I heard that..” I snicker, pointing my left hand at my ears standing on top of my head.
“Wait, you heard that..” another girl exclaims, snickering; I heard it, too..” she continues; I guess, this is something I just have to get used to!” she concludes.
“The word ‘Super-Human’ comes to mind, considering the enhanced senses and sensations you are experiencing here..” I point out.
“Super-Human?” the first girl inquires.
“Yes..” I respond; “Superhuman” I write; “referring to something above Human capabilities!” I explain; just as I know you experience more acute hearing, sight and sense of scents right now; than you are used to, from before you arrived at my school!” I point out.
“So you suggest, Ponies have more acute senses than Humans; thus depicting them as having superhuman senses?” a girl inquires.
“Exactly!” I respond; “You will experience this, throughout your stay here; giving you ample time to explore its strengths and weaknesses..” I explain.
“However; I think this is the time, for you to present yourselves!” I point out.
“Cheerilee” I write on the board, while pointing at myself; both in English and Ponish, of course.
Once I had repeated my name, for the purpose of the introduction; I am turning to the first girl on my right, asking; “Your name”
“Marlene Insignia Fisher” the first girl responds, and the name appears in front of her desk; both in English and Ponish underneath.
“Hitomi Takagashi” the second girl continues, as I am pointing at her, in turn.
“Consuela Ramirez” the third fills in.
The respective names appear on the lineup, both on the board and on the screen on the respective desk of each girl in turn.
Tumultuous snickers spread in the room, as they are reading the names of the girls as they present themselves.
On second thought, there is a third line, reading in perfectly crisp Kanji for the names. It had been unexpected; but with Hitomi in mind; this should have been perfectly obvious to me, something I realize in hindsight.
“Anna Sheridan” the fourth girl pronounces, as she is presenting herself.
The girls continue to present themselves, giving their names for the benefit of the entire class. Once the presentation is concluded, I can continue with the class.
Of course, I had a class of girls with various distinct ethnic backgrounds; nothing I pay too much attention to, aside from the aspects that plays into my profession. I do not need to care, beyond who they are. These are the Girls or Fillies that makes up the body of my class.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine students; I count; “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, nine, ten..” I pronounce, counting the numbers for the benefit of my students.
“One plus nine equals ten..” I point out; ” there are ten of us in this class; should be perfectly fine!” I announce.
“Ten minus nine equals one!” I conclude.
“With the presentation out of the way, I guess we can get into the meat of what I have been prepared to teach you.
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