Three months into the school year seemed a fair time to do a field trip, so Remedy thought. The students were settled into their daily schedules, and the newest addition seemed to be picking up on basics. It was not the first time a newfoal had been accepted into her classes, but this one was the first of the year.
They were, more or less, the same. Some had held onto lessons from the bureaus a little better, but all came up clueless when they had quizzes and tests put in front of them for the first few months.
She always had this tradition for the first-year students when it came to field trips. They would first do a short lesson on musical instruments, and how one could use magic to play them far easier than they could with their hooves. After every foal had absorbed the lecture, they would attend the Canterlot Concert Hall.
It was always easy to organize, and having a newfoal, somepony that could be classified as an adult, made keeping all the little ones in line a whole lot easier.
They were going to watch a small recital, and then meet some of the performers to learn about their part in the production. They would be able to sit in the balcony and get an amazing view, and after the show, they could go backstage and explore. Most teachers at the school wouldn't be able to set something up like this, but she had her connections.
The staff of the hall knew her quite well from her frequent visits and school trips, so it wasn't odd to see her being followed by anywhere from fifteen to twenty foals and one or two other chaperones. Just hand the nice mares at the door a small pile of tickets to cover the group, buy a snack and drink to keep your appetite sated, then find your seat.
The lights dimmed, and Remedy hushed her students, whom got the message quickly that when the lights go down, so does your voice.
The high note of a lone violin started the show, followed soon by two more violinists, then many more instruments came in in time. The music that was played started slow and sombre, but grew in pace a fair margin.
A cello could be heard rising over a brief pause to continue, catching some preemptive applauders off guard, before raising the hall into a crash of sounds.
And that was that. The music only lasted a fair half-hour before the curtains fell upon the stage. The young foals walked from their balcony quite happy and entertained, so that would chalk up another point to Remedy's teaching record.
"Alright, children. Now we have to be on our very best behaviors," The teacher would start, having each and every one of her students hush on queue, "Good. We're going to be meeting with a very special friend of mine, and I want you to thank her for putting on a wonderful concert for us."
"Yes, Ms. Remedy," The foals said in unison, added with one stallion that kept his distance of a half-meter from his peers.
She would lead them to the backstage as planned, the doorman knowingly opening the door for her party. The students were greeted by the sights and sounds of many performers going about, practicing, preparing for the next set, clamoring and conversing.
"Ah, Remedy, my friend. Another field trip with your first year class?" Announced a gray pony with a black mane and a bow-tie.
"Everypony, this is my friend, Octavia. She's the one that allowed us to come back here. Say thank you."
"Thank you, Octavia," The foals said in choir.
The musician giggled lightly and waved a hoof. She cleared her throat with a cough before speaking. "Good evening, fillys and colts. Did you like the performance?" She was met with a wave of praise that made her pale coat blush just a fraction, "You are all going to get a special look behind the scenes as to what we have to do at the Canterlot Concert Hall.
It was good to see young foals pay such close attention to their elders, and it always made Remedy smile just a little brighter. Morning Meadow seemed to be a lot more attentive. Twister was not running off with Eclipse to play in an unsupervised area. Kenneth was a little more skittish than usual and was wearing his mane in a ponytail. Curious, as she had often seen him with his mane down.
A sudden pressure and weight fell upon the educator, wrapping itself around her neck and pressing against her upper back. A fit of laughter filled her ear, and the force left her body.
"Long time, no see, Rem'!"
Octavia could be heard giggling away before she regained her composure. "Oh, Remedy, I forgot to tell you that, Vinyl came back from her work at the Bureaus in the human world."
She could see that quite clearly at the electric-blue-maned mare took a step back with a wicked grin on her face. It really has been too long since this unicorn was seen in Equestria. "Had enough with those humans after a good year of actual work?" She said as she smiled and grabbed the DJ in a hug.
"Ya, but I'm back in a week or two. Depends when they give me a call. You won't imagine the amount of albums I got my hooves on though. Human's make some pretty good tunes." Vinyl smiled brightly, near giddy with the thought of listening to more of the new music.
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The conversation continued on for some time, broken only for when Remedy would periodically check up on her students, still under the watchful eyes of the chaperones. It was a sigh of relief to know that they were so absorbed in learning from someone outside the school's walls.
"Back on topic, how are you both for a get-together at the market tomorrow?" Octavia started back on after Remedy would return.
"I'm all for it. I've been needing an excuse to hang out with some old friends," Vinyl Scratch said, bringing the other two mares close to her in a tight hug, her hooves wrapping around their necks. "Then maybe Remedy here would tell me how she managed to get her hooves on ol' Kenny? I never would have taken you to fall for another species. Ponies would talk!"
The teacher pulled herself away with her mouth agap, shocked with the odd accusation. "What do you mean? He's not some beast from the forests, and besides, he's a student that I must take with pro-"
"Settle down, Rem'. Didn't mean to get your tail in a knot. I know him from back at the bureau. Shared a room and took his music." Vinyl interrupted with a hearty laugh.
"Ah, a newfoal. You don't often hear about those sorts being in Canterlot." The cellist would add, "I expected them to look different from what I heard about their world."
"Yes, I wasn't expecting full-grown unicorns attending my classes. But you have to give the Princess credit, foals are a much better judge of character than I could ever be. The students just adore having Kenneth around."
"Take my word for it, they were different before they came here. From what I've seen, they're all good in the end, if not, sleepy."
The cellist and the teacher had to share a slight giggle.
"Oh, I feel tired whenever you're around," Remedy would calm her fit, "It takes a lot of effort to keep up with you!"
The disc jockey let out a huff of mock annoyance, lowering her gaze to sneer at her two friends from over her purple shades. "Well, if you two lightweights are finished trying to remember that night where you partied yourself to sleep while I kept going, I'm gonna go say 'hi' to my buddy, Kenny, alright?"
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Author's note: I really need to find a work-process that is NOT counter-productive. Buggering off to play Borderlands is not productive in the least... Anyways, sorry for bull**** chapter. Had an idea to reintroduce older characters while explaining a few things. Didn't go too great in my opinion.