//------------------------------// // Attention Class // Story: Stuck // by NickyD //------------------------------// Friday 2:20 P.M. The earlier hours of today were uneventful. Just like the past few days, Twilight has been working bit by bit on that concoction. She has informed me that it is in fact an enhancer. When applied, the magical effects used for any spell are multiplied by thousands. Teleportaton on oneself is fairly simple, if you're a unicorn that is. Teleporting something or someone with said unicorn magic is a tad more difficult. Just sending one thing or living object across dimensions is very difficult. This enhancer makes it all easier for Twilight to send me home. There’s today, tomorrow and then Sunday. Sunday means home. Each hour that passes old father time means I’m getting even closer to going back to my friends and family. Though I honestly can’t wait to get back to South Jersey in the good ol’ United States, I kind of feel sad that I’ll be leaving Equestria behind. But, that’s life. You have to leave some things behind to move on. So, what am I doing now? Well, it’s Friday and Cheerilee asked me the other day to come to the school and speak to her class. I told Twilight about it this morning, and she almost freaked out. Extra emphasis on almost. She asked me a bagillion questions ranging from: am I ready? If I had any sort of spreadsheets set? Making sure I know exactly what I’m saying. I had to reassure her that it’s going to be fine. Though I didn’t plan anything out, they’re just kids for goodness sake, how complex are their questions going to be? So I make it to the door of the schoolhouse and check my watch. It’s now two twenty-five. Good, I’m five minutes early. I give the door a few light knocks and wait for a response. “One second,” I hear muffled response from the other side of the door. It sounds like it’s Cheerilee's voice. “And that’s how you square a number. Now if you can just excuse me to answer the door.” I hear the clip-clop of hooves approach the door. The hinged wood opens only to reveal Cheerilee at the door frame. “Oh! You’re here!” She exclaims somewhat hushed. “Just hang on for a second, I want to introduce you to the class.” I nod and she closes the door once again. I bring my ear close so I can better hear what Cheerilee and the class have to say. “Who was that Miss Cheerilee?” I hear one of the students ask. “Class, we have a special visitor today.” The class ‘ohhs’ at this inquiry. “Some of you might have seen him walking around town this past week. He is even the first of his kind to visit Equestria. Our guest is here today to talk to us about who he is, where he is from, and to answer any sort of questions you may have for him. I’m going to let him now. Are you ready class?” “Yes Miss Cheerilee!” The class says excitedly. This gets me excited too! It’s like their excited energy is being transferred to me.   “Let’s do this,” I mutter to myself. “Alright Nick, you can come in now,” the school teacher calls. I lay my hand on the door knob, take a quick yet deep breath, and open the door. I take a few steps inside then close the door. I look to my left too see the desks all filled with small fillies and colts. Out of the entire class, I am able to identify three students: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Those three are grinning while everyone else has their eyes wide as saucers. That or gaping mouths. I make it to the front center of the classroom and look at everyone. It’s not too big of a class, it’s actually a reasonable size for their age group. I give them a bright, friendly smile. “Hello class,” I start off, “my name is Nick and I’m today's guest. I have to say, I am honored to be here, talking to you guys about where I come from. I’m sure you guys are excited to hear my story and so is Miss Cheerilee, so I’m going to get right to it. But before I do, any questions?” No hooves are raised immediately. I wait a few more seconds and still no hooves up. “Don’t jump in all at once.” The class giggles a little at that comment. I honestly didn’t expect to get a reaction for that. One or two hoofs are raised. I point to one student who is a grey with grayish white hair and has blue glasses resting on the bridge of her nose….muzzle? Eh, tomato toemato. “Yes.” I say pointing to her. “May I ask your name?” “Silver Spoon,” she says. Her voice is a bit high pitched in my opinion. “So, exactly what are you?” “Excellent starter question. Like what your teacher said, I am the first of my kind in Equestria, so I am a new creature to your land. But to be more specific, I’m known as a human.” “Human? Creatures like you were only in the bedtime stories my parents used to tell me.” There are stories about humans? How did I not bother to research that? Maybe Twilight was right about doing some sort of preparation, because that statement took me a bit off guard. Let’s see how I can play this off. “Really? I never heard these stories about humans. I should probably take a look into them later. You know, it’s kind of funny, talking ponies, unicorns and pegasi are in fictional stories where I come from!” The class “oohs” at this inquiry. “So technically speaking,” Miss Cheerilee says, “we don’t exist in your world?” More than non-existent Cheerilee, more like characters on a kids TV show. “From where I come from, yes. And it’s the same with me being in front of you guys. Technically, I don’t exist. However, with me being here, we seemed to have proven each other wrong.” I pause for a moment to the class can absorb what has been said. “Any other questions?” A few more hooves shoot up into the air. All of them are anxious to get picked. I scan the room and see Apple Bloom’s hoof is up. I point to her. Everyone else brings their hooves down. “So exactly, where are ya from?” she asks. “That is what I wanted to start the conversation with. So I’m from a different planet called Earth. But where on Earth exactly? Well, there is this country called The United States of America, and that’s where I’m from. Now, the neat little thing about the USA is that it is separated into fifty states. I live in one of the smaller states on the east coast called New Jersey.” Scootaloo’s hoof shoots up into the air the second I utter the name of my home state. “Yes?” “Why is it called New Jersey. What happened to the old Jersey?” ….Crap! So much for a good answer for this one. “I actually don’t know. I wish I had a proper answer for that, but unfortunately I don’t.” “Can you tell us how your country got started up?” Cheerliee asked. “That I can answer.” Half an hour later So I give Miss Cheerliee and her class a short, abridged lecture on how America was made. I covered the inhabitants of 1770s America wanting independence from the country of England to the revolution that won America's independence. I made sure to go into too much detail because I didn’t want to scare the poor kids. Them learning about such a bloody and deadly revolution that may scar them, no way Jose. After my coverage of the Revolutionary period, I was bombarded with questions about what else happened. I covered topics such as the Civil War and how the Union and Confederacy fought over  slavery. I made sure to be careful with this because I don’t think these fillies and colts are familiar with that subject and I don’t think I want to give them any sort of bad impressions. I did make sure to tell them that slavery was abolished. But after that was the Civil Rights movement. I did tell them about the amazing leaders during that time, such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy and John F. Kennedy. And answering any questions the students had for me in the process. I find it funny that I was able to talk about a country’s upbringing in almost half an hour. I guess I’m that good of a teacher. I have to say, talking to these young fillies about a place they’re not from and wanting to learn about it, it’s quite amazing. I bet they don’t look this interested during math or science. “...and in the end, Civil Rights for African Americans were passed in the 1960s.” I gaze upon the classroom and all of these fillies and colts have the faces of awe and amazement. “I have to say Nick,” Miss Cheerliee says, “your home country sounds very interesting. I mean, America has gone through many social reforms, different laws passing, wars, and as able to come out alright.” Um... “Sure we were able to fix and reform America is still not a perfect country. There are still a whole bunch of things that need to be fixed, but I believe that we’ll become a better country over time.” “It’s good to hear that you have faith in your country.” The maroon teacher looks back to her students. “Alright class, let's thank Nick for being here with us.” “Thank you Mr. Nick!” the class choruses happily. Mr. Nick? Hmm....not a bad title. Has a bit of a ring to it. “Alright everypony, class dismissed. Enjoy your weekend!” The class cheers hearing they don’t have to come back to the rest of the day. Chunk by chunk, the young fillies and colt leave the school building and make their way home or meet up with their parents to take them home. Before I head back myself, I turn to Cheerliee, who's putting some papers in her desk. “Hey Miss Cheerliee?” “Yes?” she says, looking up to me. “I just want to thank you for inviting me to talk to your students about my homeland.” “Thank you for accepting. I have learned so much about your homeland and I am quite intrigued. It’s a shame, we won’t be able to discuss more since you’re leaving Sunday. “ “Yeah...well, how about this? If I ever get zapped here again, I’ll remember to bring some history textbooks and we can have another class discussion.” Cheerliee giggles at my little crack and so do I. Oh how I love humoring people...er, ponies. “Well Nick, if I don’t see you again by the time you leave, I just want to say: take care.” Cheerliee extends her forehoof towards me. I grab her hoof and give it a good shake. “Thank you. Good luck with your classroom. Tell the kids on Monday that it was an honor being here and that I miss them.” “Will do. Take care now.” “You too.” I let go of her hoof and give her one last smile. She does the same. I turn around and head for the door. Opening it up, I turn around once more and see Cheerliee still standing where we were just conversing a few seconds ago. I bring my hand up and do that quick two second good by wave and she does the same with her foreleg. I let myself out the door, closing it behind me and see what is outside the building. Parents picking up their children, kids walking home themselves, the usual after school catch up and such. I do see one familiar face among all these ponies. I see Rarity with the Crusaders. Well, might as well say hi. “Hey Rarity!” I exclaim to the posh unicorn. Upon hearing her name, she lifts her head up from the conversation she was having with the three fillies and looks towards my direction. She smiles as soon as she catches sight of me. “Nick, darling!” she says, happy to see me. “The girls were just telling me about your visit to their classroom and how much they enjoyed it.” I couldn’t help but blush at this statement. “It was so amazing. I liked it when he talked about that Malcolm X guy. Man, he sounded awesome!” Scootaloo exclaims. “Seriously? Robert F. Kennedy was the best out of all those guys!” Sweetie Belle says argumentatively. “Crusaders, crusaders, please!” Apple Bloom intervenes. “Come on, it doesn’t matter which one was best, both pushed for equality and are great in their own way. Sound fair?” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo look at each other, then to Apple Bloom, then back to each other.   “Fair,” the pegasus and unicorn chorused. Points for Apple Bloom for keeping peace. Rarity giggles at their little fiasco about Civil Rights leaders. “Looks like they already found something to debate on,” Rarity points out. Uh oh, Rarity, you shouldn’t have said that. I see those fillies faces brighten up at the same time, all of them sharing the same thought. I cover my ears, getting ready for what’s to come. “CUTIEMARK CRUSADERS DEBATERS!” The three shout out. Even though my ears were covered, I think they still managed to damage my ear drums. I’m not too sure what has more volume: The Crusaders or Vinyl’s wubs. Rarity did not see this coming and didn’t protect her ears. As a result, she starts to rub one ear with a forehoof with the look of annoyance. “I should have seen that one coming,” she says. I find it amazing that I can still hear. I don’t think my ears can take another Cuitemark Crusaders chant. “Girls, would mind waiting for a minute, I would like to speak to Nick for a moment.” The three fillies nod their heads obediently and Rarity walks towards me. “How are you doing today Nick?” “Doing good Rarity, doing good.” “That’s always nice to hear. How are the clothes I made for you?” “Great, I have never meet such an amazing seamstress.” Rarity blushes at my comment. “It’s true! You have done an amazing job with my clothes for the week and I am real grateful for it.” “Oh why thank you darling, anything for a good friend.” Man, she’s awesome. “You know, I have been getting ideas lately off of your clothing apparel?” “Really?” “Oh yes. I have a new fashion line already planned. It’s a little outside what I’m used to, but what’s the harm in trying new things?” “Well what is it?” “As of right now, I call it: ‘Rarity’s Hip-Hop line’!” A hip-hop line! For real?! That’s awesome! “The name is still a work in progress but I already have some ideas just based off of the clothing you like.” Okay, I need to see this. “Rarity, if I may, can I see them?’ “Oh absolutely! I would love to get your opinion on my ideas. Let’s go. Oh girls!” She calls to the three fillies, getting their attention. “Nick is coming back with us to the boutique.” Wait, all three of them? "Yay!” they shout in a way that isn’t obnoxious, but real cute. “How come all of them are coming back?” I say hushed and in a low voice. “Sweetie Belle has been planning a sleepover with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo for weeks. They all decided it would be tonight and fortunately, I’m not busy today so I can keep my eye on them.” “Good. Goodness knows what type of hijinks they’ll get into.” Rarity giggles at my comment and turns her attention to the fillies. “Alright girls, ready to head to the boutique?” Eagerly, the crusaders nod. “Alright, let's go.” As the five of us walk to Rarity’s boutique, the Crusaders discuss topics to debate on while Rarity maintain small talk. Topics ranging from the town, the weather, stuff of that nature. By the time we reach the boutique and Rarity opening the door, the Cutiemark Crusaders rush through the doors cheering. Guess they’re excited for whatever happens this weekend. That and most definitely the new crusading idea Rarity “gave” them earlier, I have a feeling they will be doing much of that later.         “I have a folder with a couple of ideas right here, darling.” She leads me to desk and opens (using her magic of course) a drawer full of files. She picks a folder out of the drawer and levitates it to me. I take hold of the folder and open it up. I take a good look at the outfit I see.          The model on the drawing looks like her typical mannequins, but the clothing she has in mind for it really catches my eye. To start off, Rarity has a hat in mind for this outfit. It is a black baseball like hat that has rhinestones on the forehead. On the body of the model, there is a puffy, windbreaker jacket that is pink, and the inside is a black shirt with a gold necklace. The bottom part of the model is a pair of black yoga pants and there are pink and black basketball shoes on the bottom of the hind legs. You know, I can see Nicki Minaj wearing something like this. That or Salt and Peppa. “I really like this one. The colors really seem to pop out and compliment each other really well.” “That was the first one that popped into my head and I already have a good feeling about it. Take a look the next one!” I don’t even hesitate to pull out the next design. The torso of this model is wearing a varsity jacket. The main torso of the jacket is a light blue and so are the cuffs while the arms are white. The bottom is part from the waist down is a pair of black jeans that have that have those slightly faded thighs. “I like this one too! Totally fits women's hip hop, at least in my opinion.” Just because I enjoy people like Nicki Minaj or Iggy Azalia, doesn’t automatically mean I know anything about women's hip hop clothing. They just look accurate from my perspective. “You have a real good start here Rarity.” “And these are only a couple of ideas. I have so many more in mind that I haven’t gotten them drawn down yet! I just hope these hip-hop outfits will sell.” “You kidding, with your reputation and eye for design, everyone and their mother will be lining up to buy these clothes.” I see Rarity’s cheeks get a little red. Guess I might be embarrassing her a little. “Oh, you make me blush darling,” she says, bashfully. “You really think so?” “I know so.” Since I have like, sixty hours left in this world, might as well leave these ponies on a good note. “Thank you very much darling. You just gave me an extra confidence boost.” “It’s what I’m here for, isn’t it?” “You’re here because Twilight accidentally brought you here.” “I was just playin'.” “Oh.” Rarity giggles at herself for a second. “Right.” “Well,” I start off, “good luck with everything. If I don’t see you Sunday, I just want to say, it was awesome getting to know you. And thanks for everything.” “It was a pleasure getting to know you to Nick.” I open up my arms and the white unicorn complies by giving me a tight embrace. One can question my masculinity as much as they want, I am a huger and I don’t care. There may be times I act tough or look like (or impersonate) a guy that's straight outta’ Compton, but in actuality, I’m just a teddy bear. She and I let go and I head for the door. By the time I reach it, I turn my head to the unicorn. “Rarity, I’ll see you around.” “Have a good evening Nick,” she says, waving. I wave back. “You to.” I open the door, look at Rarity one more time and flash her a smile. She does the same. I step out and close the door. I turn my head and look at the boutique behind me. I look back ahead and promptly walk back to the library, ready to tell Twilight today was a cinch.