I awoke the next morning with only the faintest remnants of my skull splitting headache. That isn’t to say I was feeling great by any means; I still felt like someone had run me over with a bus, only to then hastily back up and run me over again. Makes sense considering I only got about four hours of sleep after everything that had happened the previous night.
My eyes burned as if they had been thoroughly washed with vinegar as the sun beamed through the single uncovered window that adorned the wall of my new room. The sun was a natural advisory of mine, and today I was fighting a losing battle. I let out a groan as I looked over to the mechanical clock that had awoken me from my slumber.
8:00 am… great… I thought to myself as I covered my eyes with my fetlock; wishing for nothing more than a moment of silence, or the sweet release of death; whichever came first at this point to be honest. But alas, my solitude was not meant to be.
“Are you up Artemis?” called a hoarse voice from the hallway. It sounded like Maple, but it was hard to tell because of how fatigued she sounded.
Good. That bitch deserves much worse than a rough morning.
“Yeah yeah, I’m up,” I responded in irritation; stretching my legs in an attempt to wake myself up a little; suffice to say, it didn’t work. I was never a morning person, but the prospect of getting up today was particularly daunting.
I know it might be abhorrent to say, but I had always despised children. It’s hard to pinpoint, but I think my hatred of children was mostly derived from my experiences with elementary school. I went to an average run of the mill suburban school district; nothing exceptional, but the education was well versed enough to push kids into university. The one thing I remember from elementary school that would always stick in my mind, was just how slow everything was. Every topic, no matter how obscure, it always seemed like I knew the information before we reached the subject. Sitting there being forced to answer simple questions while not being allowed to move forward just killed me and my patience. The waiting however wasn’t even the worst part; it was the sluggish progress and the nonsensical questions from my peers that really made me want to beat my head against the wall. It was as if the information that was taught to us was blatantly misunderstood by some of the students. I know it’s not their fault; they’re only kids after all, but ignorance of the truth has been and always will be a huge pet peeve of mine.
Things got better in high school, but by that point most people had adopted the nuanced policy of Fuck the World and everybody seemed to think that they knew everything about life. It was as if nobody could look beyond high school and see that they truly had no plans for their future. I was lucky enough to find small pockets of likeminded groups of people during my four years in high school, and because I wanted so badly to go to college, this was the time in my life where I experimented the most.
Despite my already well developed distaste for schooling, everything took a sharp turn when I finally reached university. Finally I had reached a point where the people around me had a genuine interest in what we were studying. I knew that I wanted to break into the tech industry, and because of that I decided to go to school on the west coast. My parents were very supportive of my aspirations, and they helped me in any way they could to get me to where I wanted to be. It took a great deal of hard work, but the day that I got my Masters in Computer Science was one of the best days of my life.
It took a great deal of my willpower, but I eventually was able to extricate myself from bed. After finally getting up I lazily walked over to the dresser with my eyes half-lidded. When I finally brought myself to examine my reflection, I could see how much of a mess I was. My mane was strewn about in all directions, and I’m sure my mother would have made some sort of diatribe about it looking like a bird’s nest. My eyes were completely bloodshot and the light bruises on my face made me look like I had gotten into a fight with a polar bear. It kind of reminded me of finals week, except with more bruises.
“Looking good there Artemio,” I said to myself with a smirk. Again, my lame attempt at humor did little to alleviate my current predicament. After a few more attempts at stretching the knots out of my muscles, I reluctantly gave up and made my way down the hallway to take a shower and get ready for the day. The bathroom was nothing special, just a tiled room with a combination shower and bath tub. I shrugged in indifference as I made my way into the shower.
After finishing my shower, and a fair few minutes of trying to figure out how to get the knots out of my mane, I had made my way downstairs to the kitchen. Maple was standing in front of the stove whistling a harmonious tune while absent mindedly cooking what smelled like eggs on the stovetop. Adagio on the other hand was nowhere to be found; I assumed maybe he was still sleeping. That was fine by me; the less I needed to see of that man the better.
“Look who’s up now,” praised the surprisingly bouncy mare. “I thought you might just fall back asleep up there,” she said with a cheeky smile.
Her cheery mood and attempt at casual conversation did little other than make my blood boil.
“Stop, just stop,” I said dismissively as I made my way towards the stool that rested next to the kitchen island. “You don’t need to pretend like you’re actually my mother or something,” I finished in irritation.
“I know Artemis, I’m no fool,” she replied with a flat expression on her face. “But we need to get used to pretending like we are a real family,” she warned; removing her pan from the hot stovetop with a bit of flare. “The last thing we need is ponies asking more questions than they already are.”
“I understand your concern, but trust me, I’m not planning on drawing any more attention to myself than absolutely necessary,” I replied; resting my head in my hooves as I leaned against the kitchen island. “How are you so awake anyways?” I asked out of curiosity. “You sounded like hell earlier when you came to check if I was awake.”
“Oh yeah, sorry about that,” she responded as she slid the omelet onto a plate. “I’m always a bit cranky when I haven’t had my coffee.”
That last word was like magic to my ears.
“You guys have coffee!?” I said with a hint of excitement in my voice. “You have any left in the pot that I could have?” I asked; trying not to sound too desperate.
“I don’t know…” Maple responded contemplatively. “I’m pretty sure coffee isn’t the best for young colts… especially considering all that extra energy…” she finished with a timid smile.
I was pretty sure at this point that my glare could melt through steel. Maple was clearly expecting such a response from me, and tried her best to explain.
“I know, I know. You’re not actually a child,” she said in an attempt to appease my anger. “But your body certainly is different. We just have no idea how you may react to caffeine.”
“Well then…” I replied with a bit of scorn. “It’s either take that risk, or have everyone wonder why I look like someone beat the shit out of me. Better to have me hyped up than to have me falling asleep in the middle of the day,” I said persuasively.
“Fine, suit yourself,” she said flatly as she poured some of the black magic into a mug for me. “But when you feel like you’re going to have a heart attack, don’t come running to me.” My eyes were glazed over as she set the mug down in front of me. “I hope you like it black; we don’t have any creamer or anything like that yet. We still have a lot of shopping we need to do.” After she dropped off the coffee, Maple walked over and wrote down a few items on what I assumed to be a shopping list. When she finished writing down the personal reminder, she grabbed the omelet plate in her mouth and gingerly set it down in front of me.
“Really? You’re making me breakfast too?” I deadpanned. “What next, do you want to wash me after this?” I shot her a look to communicate my displeasure of her assistance. After blowing on my coffee in an attempt to make it less like lava, I took my first sip of the magic liquid.
Yep. Tastes exactly as I remember it. Bitter and delicious. I guess my taste buds haven’t changed in the same way the rest of my body has.
When I raised my eyes from the rim of the mug I could see Maple staring back at me with a look that conveyed she was expecting a reaction. “What?” I asked in confusion.
“Oh nothing…” Maple responded dejectedly. “I was just kind of expecting you to spit it out or something.”
“Tastes exactly like a remember it tasting,” I replied. “And I drank this stuff everyday so there’s not much of a chance of me not liking it.”
“Well I hope it helps you feel more awake. You are right about the fact that we don’t want ponies to think you aren’t sleeping or something. We can blame your recovery for now, but we won’t be able to use that as a cover forever,” she said; walking over to grab a spiral notebook from the counter.
“What’s that?” I asked out of curiosity as I took my first bite out of the cheesy omelet. It wasn’t great, but I was pretty starving at this point; I guess beggars can’t be choosers.
“This right here is everything you need to know about your life,” she responded cryptically; tossing the notebook on the island in front of me.
The notebook itself was fairly unassuming; it looked a lot like the ones that I used throughout my academic career. The cover was red, and Artemis Starseeker was written in bold letters with a sharpie on the front. The whole package looked neatly done; I could tell that it had been written in, but the notebook itself was well cared for and didn’t show much sign of wear.
After a moment of staring, I set down my fork on the plate and reached for the notebook hoping to learn more about its contents. Unfortunately, before my hooves could grab the object of my attention, Maple swiftly swiped it back off the table with her mouth. I glanced at her with a dumbfounded look and noticed that her eyebrows furrowed inwards as she glared back at me.
“What now?” I asked in annoyance. This mare was really starting to get on my nerves with her constant mood shifts.
“Finish eating first, then we can go over what you need to know,” she stated firmly. “It is extraordinarily important that you perfect this backstory, otherwise some ponies may raise unwanted questions.”
“Fine Maple,” I replied; taking a small sip from my still burning hot mug. “I’d rather finish my coffee before being bombarded with questions anyways. Besides, don’t you need to eat too?” I asked with mock concern.
For some strange reason, Maple seamed blindsided by my seemingly mundane question. “Don’t worry I uh… ate before you came down,” she responded after a moment’s hesitation.
“Okay then?” I studied Maples expression inquisitively, searching desperately for the answer to her queerness. When no response came from the purple mare, I decided to file the suspicious behavior under the Look Into Later folder that was now overflowing in my head
After spending only about thirty minutes with Maple reviewing my ‘backstory’, I felt like I had a pretty good idea of what to say to anyone who asked questions. Maple relentlessly hammered home how important it was that I memorize every detail of their perfectly laid out plot. In response, I told her that I would do my best to avoid questions, but this did little to abate her worries.
“You better try your damndest,” she said with a stern voice. “If we go down you’re coming with us. And trust me, Adagio and I are much more understanding than the ponies you would need to answer to then. We have eyes everywhere Artemis; don’t think you can get away with running off behind our backs,” she finished ominously.
“Don’t worry, you’ve made it abundantly clear what would happen if I try to blow the whistle on your operation,” I responded with a sneer. “And fuck you for reminding me.”
I know it might sound like I was pushing my luck when I shouldn’t have been, but I reasonably figured that they needed my help with their project so badly that I could get away with a little back talk. I mean seriously, the lengths that they had gone to just to bring me here in the first place, not to mention building a story for me and tracking me down, must have meant that they were extraordinarily desperate for my assistance. I mean hell, I got away with stabbing Adagio in the chest with little more than a headache to show for it. Clearly there were greater powers at play here, and I intended to figure out what they were.
After were finished with our quick study session, Maple plopped a small set of saddle bags onto my back. “This should have everything that you should need for school,” Maple explained quickly; we were in a bit of a rush considering how long we had spent recapping my story. “There’s a paper bag in the back-left pouch that has a lunch for you.”
“Alright,” I responded plainly. The coffee was starting to kick in, but I was still exhausted from my lack of sleep and our impromptu studying session.
At this point it was 9:45, and I knew from my discussion with Maple earlier that school started at ten o’clock sharp in this small town. Apparently the school only ran one class section because of the lack of foals that lived in the town. I was told that the school house was really just a building that hosted a single classroom and some offices for administrators. The lack of technology and the relative obscurity of an education system left me less than enthusiastic about my return to academics.
The walk to the school house was rather uneventful, but to be honest I wasn’t paying too much attention to my surroundings during our short journey. We only lived about a ten-minute walk away from the school, and I was a bit preoccupied with the daunting thoughts that plagued my mind at the moment. I already stated earlier how much I hated school, and I was very much not looking forward to reliving that dreadful experience.
I usually considered myself an optimist, but I felt as though that was only because I always had something to look forward to in the future. Even though I hated grammar school, I knew that once I graduated I would have the opportunity to chase after what I had always dreamed of doing. This time however, there was no light at the end of the tunnel— no goal to strive for. I had to relive some of the worst times of my life simply as a consequence of my situation.
For the first time in a long time, I had very little control of my future. I intended to do everything in my power to reseize control of that responsibility.
Before I knew it, the sound of foals laughing assaulted my hazed perception. Upon looking up from the dirt path that currently occupied my focus, I could see the brightly colored schoolhouse that was now bristling with activity.
“Can’t you just bash my skull in again? I’m sure it would be less painful than dealing with this,” I deadpanned while watching two young colts poke at each other with wooden sticks.
“Artemis!” Maple exclaimed in a hushed tone; clearly she wasn’t too happy with my request. “You need to watch the way you speak in public, especially around kids! They’re going to think that we are the worst parents in Equestria if you keep this up.”
“Well they wouldn’t be too far off the mark,” I responded facetiously. I wasn’t really sure why, but I could tell that my comment cut deep into Maple. She recoiled back a bit and took on a more depressed visage as she turned to look away from me. I wasn’t sure how what I had said had gotten to her head, but I honestly didn’t care. I mean really, she could hardly blame me for hating her guts after everything the two of them had subjected me to.
She tried her best to not convey her emotions, but honestly I could read her like a book. “Whatever… just don’t get into any trouble. I’ll be back to pick you up at the end of the day.” She walked away swiftly before I could get another word in.
As I watched the sullen mare recede down the path, I could hear the ringing of the school bell blaring through the courtyard. As much as I wanted to ignore the telltale sign of the start of the school day, I knew that I had no choice but to comply with its demands. After taking a moment to compose myself, I let out an emphatic sigh as I made my way towards the entrance that droves of foals were being herded into.
As I approached the building, most of the foals didn’t notice my presence. However, the few that did graced me with a quick inquisitive glance before continuing into the school house; I assumed that they didn’t get new students often. Their reactions alone were enough to cause my anxiety to resurface; I was not looking forward to the next few hours. Maybe I would get lucky and the class would be taught like a university lecture with little input or interaction with the students; I very much doubted this, but a man can dream.
I made my way reluctantly down the hallway as I walked towards the classroom that the rest of the kids were funneling into. What Maple had told me about the school was pretty spot on; I walked past only two offices before I made my way to the room that occupied most of the building’s space. By the time I had made it to the door I was the last one to enter; this was mostly on purpose as I was futilely doing my best to delay the inevitable.
I took one last deep breath before I took my first steps into my new hell. I’m certain that I now understood how Dante felt standing on the precipice of despair.
I didn’t make it more than a few steps into the room before the class fell deathly silent as they all turned to stare at me; a few looked like they were trying to size me up, but the vast majority just looked genuinely curious in the way that only a child can. The school teacher— whose name I was told is Cheerilee —was doing her best to clear the board of chalk, when she noticed the sudden and intense silence that permeated throughout the room.
“Oh hello there Artemis!” called out the purple mare as she caught my figure out of the corner of her eye; clearly she was expecting me to show up today. I knew it shouldn’t bother me too much, but I didn’t think I would ever get used to being called by a name other than my own. I’m not sure why, but it just felt so wrong to me; like I was somehow disgracing my family by taking another name. At least I had the consolation of my nickname remaining the same.
I could feel the sweat drip down my forehead as the teacher made her quick introduction. She seemed like a nice enough mare, but I could already tell that her tone was codling and degrading to the point where it would swiftly drive me insane.
“Alright class!” the mare called to gain the attention of her pupils. “As you can probably tell, we have a new student that will be joining us today.” Cheerilee turned to look towards me. “Why don’t you introduce yourself Artemis?” She concluded her question with an effectual nod.
In an effort to not make a fool of myself, I did my best to make a normal introduction. “Hi everyone— er— everypony!” I corrected myself as quickly as possible, but that didn’t stop the strange looks that I got from most of the kids.
Already a great start there Arty. I chastised myself for my obvious mistake. Clearly we didn’t spend enough time getting me ready for this encounter if I was already messing up a few words in.
“It’s okay to say everyone if you want Artemis. It may not be commonly used here, but most other cultures use the generic terms for referring to intelligent creatures.” Many of the students looked towards their teacher in disbelief at her assertion. “Don’t worry class, we’ll talk about it more when we start learning about Griffon and Minotaur cultures a few sections from now,” Cheerilee quickly explained to the class. “Makes me wonder where you’ve been to make you talk like that Artemis; it’s a bit strange for a pony to subconsciously speak like that without thinking,” she stated with a curious tone.
There are other sentient creatures on this planet? I thought to myself in disbelief. I guess it theoretically makes sense; I guess I just assumed incorrectly that this planet was like earth and that ponies would be the only intelligent creatures.
Despite my curiosity, Cheerilee had given me an out for my slip up and I needed to make sure that I capitalized on the opportunity. “Yeah, I grew up in Canterlot… and there’s a lot of different cultures there,” I explained; not knowing if this was actually the case. “I guess you kinda just pick up on these things when you’re exposed to so many different types of creatures.” I had little idea if this explanation would be accurate or believable; the only thing that I knew was that Canterlot was the capital of this country; Maple had given me a basic rundown of the city when we were going over my cover story.
By the way that many of the students nodded their heads, it looked to me like my excuse had worked in my favor. Their acceptance of my answer was great, but I really needed Cheerilee to buy my excuse for it to work.
“I’m certain your unique background will add a lot to our classroom discussions.” Cheerilee said with a smile. “You can take a seat in the back next to Scootaloo—” She pointed her hoof in the direction of an orange pegasus filly with a magenta mane. Unlike most of the other students, she seemed utterly bored out of her mind. “—can you wave your hoof for him Scootaloo?” the mare asked politely so that I would have a guide to my new seat.
The irritated filly let out a sigh as she listlessly raised her hoof in the air. Her face was scrunched up a bit as her other hoof was resting against her cheek to stop her chin from collapsing into the table. I wasn’t sure what her deal was, but I was definitely not interested enough to find out.
“Alright then Artemis—” Cheerilee continued once I made my way back to the small wooden desk. As I sat down I noticed that a few indecipherable words were carved into the wooden table that connected directly to the chair. It reminded me a lot of the old desks that they used in my elementary school back in Upstate New York. “Lucky for you we are starting a new section today, so you shouldn’t have too much old content that you need to catch up on. Just try your best to keep up and let me know if you need extra help on anything.”
As I nodded back to Cheerilee in affirmation, I couldn’t help but notice the glare that I was receiving from the orange pegasus sitting next to me. I’m not sure what I did, but she was clearly no fan of mine. I did my best to ignore her staring as Cheerilee began her next lesson.
“So who here can tell me how the sun rises and sets?” she asked as she picked up the chalk in her mouth; I could only imagine how disgusting that must taste, but I guess she didn’t really have any other option for writing on the board. It may have been a simple question, but it was at least a somewhat interesting topic of discussion. Maybe this wouldn’t be as grating as I thought it would be.
A young light blue pegasus colt raised his hand, and Cheerilee smiled graciously as she pointed a hoof at him in recognition. “Yes Rumble?” she said hopefully.
“Princess Celestia raises the sun with her magic in the morning, and then Princess Luna raises the moon in the evening,” he answered confidently.
Yep, just as I expected. These kids are fucking stupid.
“Exactly Rumble!” Cheerilee praised as she turned to write something down on the board.
At this point I was utterly dumbfounded. At first I thought she was just humoring him, but she then proceeded to begin to write down what he said on the board. No wonder nobody knew how to fix my captors equipment, the education system here must be terrible. The way they talk about their princess raising the sun sounds a lot like the bullshit that they would teach in a catholic school back home. I honestly had no idea if this was political propaganda used to garner support for their leader, or if they genuinely believed that she had the power to somehow move the sun.
I knew that I needed to figure out, even if it might put me under scrutiny. My intellectuality often had the power to trump over my sensibility.
“Uh…. Cheerilee?” I interjected hesitantly. I was starting to think that this might be a bad idea, but there was definitely no turning back now.
The perky mare seemed a bit surprised by my sudden question. “Yes Artemis?” she asked; turning away from the board to look at me. I could tell that she was in the process of drawing a visual representation of the sun and moon on the chalkboard.
“Now when you say Celesta and Luna raise and lower the sun…” I started; pausing to consider how to formulate my question without sounding off-putting. “…what do you mean by that exactly?”
“You’ve seriously never heard the story?” asked the orange filly sitting next to me; I could see her head poke up in surprise. “Come on, everyone knows how Celestia and Luna raise and lower the sun. Are you ‘special’ or something kid?” she said rhetorically while making air quotes around the word special with both of her hooves.
I usually don’t let stuff like this get to me; I try my best to stay far away from pointless confrontation. This time however for whatever reason, I just couldn’t hold myself back. I don’t know if it was my anxiety, lack of sleep, or new childlike body that was affecting my emotions— it was most likely a combination of the three —but I just could not let this one go.
Before the teacher could react, I presented my rebuttal. “I’m not one to resort to fairy tales for factual information,” I started; scowling at the filly next to me. “The geocentric model makes no sense in any capacity, and I fail to see how two mortal beings— no matter if they are princesses —would be able to move objects that have masses of— “
“Mr. Starseeker!” demanded Cheerilee. “That’s quite enough of that. We’re only two minutes into our lesson and you’re already proving to be a distraction!” she accused firmly. I could hear Scootaloo chuckling next to me as the teacher railed into me. I wanted so desperately to tell this filly off, but suddenly a thought occurred to me.
Why do I care at all about this? I don’t have anything to gain from being confrontational; I should just keep my mouth shut and deal with whatever false information they believe in.
“Sorry.” I said in a flat tone as I pulled my notebook out of my bag; I didn’t care too much what this mare thought of me as long as she didn’t ask too many questions. Most of the other kids were still giving me strange looks and I could still hear Scootaloo stifling a chuckle next to me
“The same goes for you as well Scootaloo; you should know better,” scolded the mare; I could tell from her inflection that she was used to doing this sort of thing frequently. “Anyways, to get back on track and to answer your question Artemis, yes the princesses are responsible for controlling the change from day to night. Celestia and Luna both have direct connections with the sun and the moon respectively, and are capable of controlling their path as they orbit around the planet.”
I couldn’t believe the garbage that was coming out of this mare’s mouth.
“Does that make sense to you now Artemis? I know it can be a bit hard to wrap your head around,” asked the mare in an attempt to judge my comprehension.
At this point I was grinding my teeth together so harshly that I was sure the students around me could hear my frustration. “Sure…” was all I could bring myself to say in response.
Thankfully as we moved past this topic of discussion, class became more like what I was accustomed to from my grammar school education. After we moved past the topic of celestial movement, we continued on to the study of mathematics. Based on what I observed and my perceived age, I assumed that this class was similar to what I was exposed to in fourth grade back on earth.
The current lesson was focused entirely on simple arithmetic and order of operations. I did my best to feign attentiveness, but my lack of energy and interest was beginning to weigh on me. So far I had written down a grand total of zero notes, and I could feel my head bobbing from fatigue.
“Artemis, are you listening to a single word I’m saying?” Cheerilee questioned; likely noting my inattentiveness.
“Huh? Oh- uh yeah,” I answered after being shocked from my stupor by the sudden question.
“Then you wouldn’t mind answering the question on the board would you?” she asked with a smug tone; holding the chalk out in front of her as a way to beckon me forward. I could tell it was a bluff to get me to admit to not paying attention, but I had no intention of letting her win on this one. I got up from my seat and began walking towards the front of the room. As I made my way up to the board, I glanced at the question I would be working with.
Let’s see 8 x (9 + 11) – 33 / 3… so 149… alright.
When I reached the front of the room, I gently retrieved the chalk from Cheerilee’s hoof and wrote the answer down on the board. I was right by the way; chalk tastes absolutely horrible. After I finished crudely copying down the answer onto the board, I handed the chalk back to the teacher and made my way back to my chair. I noticed the shocked reactions of the students as I made my way to the back of the room.
It look a moment for Cheerilee to resume her lecture, but she eventually did her best to not sound surprised. “Alright then…” she said with a stunned expression. “Just make sure you’re paying attention and taking notes back there,” she finished pleadingly.” I didn’t respond this time; I was in a bit of a cranky mood that day, and to be honest I really wasn’t feeling like myself.
The rest of the lecture went off pretty much without a hitch. After we had finished with the mathematics lesson Cheerilee informed us that it was time for recess, much to the excitement of my classmates. Before I could even react, most of the children had already jumped from their seats and bounded towards the door, desperate for some fresh air. Understandably so, as it was early fall right now so the weather outside was still bright and sunny. After packing away my notebook that held little other than a crude doodle I had made; I started towards the door.
“Can you stay back and talk for just a minute Artemis?” Cheerilee asked politely. Even though it was phrased as a question, I knew that ‘no’ wasn’t really an option.
I wasn’t too thrilled about sitting outside for a half hour so I didn’t mind staying back for a moment to talk with Cheerilee; even if I might be in ‘trouble’, I was honestly too exhausted to care. Rather than responding with words I just walked over to Cheerilee before leaving the room.
“I know we haven’t been together for long Artemis, but you seem a bit out of it today. Are you feeling okay?” she asked with sincere concern. “I heard from the doctor about your injury before you got here; are you still recovering?”
I tried my best to clear my head before I responded; I really didn’t want to start anything with Cheerilee, she seemed like a mare who cared greatly for her profession. “Yeah sorry about that, it’s just been a little rough over the last few days acclimating myself to everything,” I said while rubbing a hoof against my forehead.
“That’s fine sweetie, I understand if you need a few days to get back to normal,” she replied. Even though she didn’t know everything about my situation, she was at least understanding of some of the hardship I was going through. As much as I hated being here, I really couldn’t blame her for that.
“So is there anything you are looking forward to learning this year?” she asked in an attempt to improve my mood.
After thinking for a moment I gave her my response. “Well… I really need to learn how to control my magic. Is that something that you teach here?” I asked curiously.
“Sorry we don’t usually do that here,” she responded with a consoling tone. “Normally the parents are responsible for teaching their kids how to fly— or in your case use magic. If you want to learn how to better control your magic you should stop by and see Twilight Sparkle sometime,” she concluded with a smile.
“Alright then, thanks for the advice, I was planning on stopping by at some point to see her anyways,” I replied.
“Well I’m sure you’re looking forward to getting outside with the rest of the foals; I’m sure they’ll be happy to get to know you better,” Cheerilee said as she walked back behind her desk.
“Yeah… I’m not too sure If I agree with you on that one,” I said honestly. “Especially that orange filly; I’m not sure why, but I’m pretty certain she hates my guts.”
“Oh don’t worry about her, Scootaloo has her moments sometimes. She’s a bit hard on the outside, but once you get to know her you’ll see that deep down she’s a good pony,” she responded reassuringly. “Anyways, I doubt you want to waste your recess time in here with me. You should go out and have a good time.”
“Alright… see you soon Cheerilee,” I responded as I turned to walk out the door.
As much as I hated sitting through class, I was even less enthused about being forced to socialize with these children. I’d try my best to keep to myself, but I doubt that would be very effective considering they must be dying to figure me out. My hesitance was also compounded by the fact that over the course of the day my fatigue had built up to the point where I thought I might just fall over from exhaustion. I paused in front of the door for a second to gain my composure.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire. I thought to myself as I reluctantly pushed open the door.