//------------------------------// // Third Period- PE // Story: Assassination Classroom- Pony Time // by Dragonfire2lm //------------------------------// "And that's the bell, please put your math textbooks away everyone. Now, normally you'd all have PE but, since Mister Karasuma won't be taking over that class until tomorrow, we decided to have today's lesson tie into this terms topic for Magic Studies which is all about how magic interacts with nature and biology," the octopus explained. "Let's make sure everyone is up to speed, shall we? Does anyone here know the difference between Innate Magic and Species Magic?" The class was silent, Gallus shrugged, Smolder didn't look she actually cared and Yona looked confused. Scootaloo saw that both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked to be as reluctant to answer as she was while Sandbar looked to be trying but failing to remember the correct answer. Ocellus shyly raised a hoof but Sunburst beat her too it, giving out the answer in a clipped tone before he was addressed. "Innate magic is the magic that everyone is born with, and grows with us. Species magic are the magical properties or abilities someone has based on what they are and is usually learned through their kind's rite of passage into adulthood." "Correct!" their teacher stated, his face turning orange with a large red circle in the middle before returning to its usual shade of yellow. "Innate magic is tied to the individual, who you are whereas species magic is defined by what you are." The octopus tilted his head forward, peering down at Sunburst. "However, that doesn't mean you should jump to answer the question without giving your classmates a chance to prove their own academic ability Sunburst. Even if they answer incorrectly the whole point of school is to learn, to make mistakes and learn from them. I noticed ocellus was attempting to get my attention before you so rudely answered on your own." "I still got it right didn't I? That's what matters." the unicorn argued. "Sometimes the right answer isn't enough, you won't get anywhere in life just reciting from a textbook expecting to get praised for basic memorization, you need to show you understand the material covered,"the octopus chided and turned to the changeling. "Ocellus, did you have anything to add?" Caught on the spot, she blushed and fidgeted with her pencil before she spoke. "Well, innate magic is shaped by your surroundings, your family and who you are as a person and it can change as you grow too." "An excellent point, you see class? Ocellus added onto what we just learned and I'm sure you all have something to contribute if you just try," their strange teacher said encouragingly. "Would anyone else like to add to the discussion?" "Um, a ponies innate magic is tied to their cutie mark?" Sweetie Belle added hopefully. "Another good answer!" The octopus praised. "I guess a dragons species magic is what type of dragon we are?" Smolder suggested. "Another correct answer! Dragons are divided into tribes based on their element as their species magic determine their appearance as opposed to their innate magic, which is the case with most other races, does anyone know why that is?" "Hell if I know." Smolder admitted with a shrug. "Aren't you guys like, super magical or something? That's why the gods are literal dragons right?" Gallus asked. "I though the Dragon Lords were just really strong dragons." Smolder replied. "Actually, you're both right!" their teacher happily explained, his face once more lighting up with the red circle. "The Dragon Lords are dragons so powerful, so in tune with a specific type of magic that they are that type of magic, burdened with the responsibility of maintaining it in the world and keeping it in balance with all the other types." "Let's use what we learned about the Dragon War earlier today as an example, the Dragon Lord of Water, so enraged by the loss of her people lost control of her magic which caused a storm to cover the entire world until she had finally calmed down. Another example is with Torch, the previous Dragon lord of Fire. His death sparked wild fires across the globe as his power escaped his body and was left unchecked until Dragon Lord Ember came into power," explained the octopus. "This is why the selection of a new Dragon Lord is such a momentous occasion, whoever inherits that magic has a duty of care not just to their people, but to the entire world." "Do they have to pick a new one? Like how we vote for a new student president?"Apple Bloom asked. "No, in fact the Dragon Lord of Water has been the only one as far as back as anyone can remember, it's simply a matter of who fits the role best at the time. Some simply get tired of the position while others feel the next generation would do a better job," the teacher replied. "But we're getting off topic. Now, species magic varies by race and in the case of dragons and ponies, by tribe as well. So why don't we go through all the different things each of you can or will be able to do once you're older, shall we?" "Who wants to go first?" the octopus asked brightly. "Nagisa mentioned humans are resistant to magic." Kaede said. "Indeed they are, the death of Dragon King Discord forced many races to change to the sudden shift in magical energy that followed his demise, magic once everywhere, was shrinking in both scale and scope as it lost the focus it needed and the era bought by the Dragon Lords to correct this resulted in the abilities you all have today," the yellow entity stated. "Humans, unable to cast magic, became resistant to it as a defense mechanism, while a race like the Yaks, only hunkered down on the abilities they possessed, owing to their incredible strength and resilience in the harsh mountains they call home." "Yaks smash! Yona good at smashing!" the class' resident yak exclaimed. "Well yeah, you kinda broke a building." Gallus retorted. "That not Yona's fault, school not built for yaks!" Yona protested. Before the griffin could reply, a yellow tentacle prodded him gently. "Gallus, why don't you share with the class what griffins can do?" the owner of said tentacle asked. "I dunno, does liking money count? That's all anyone up in Griffinstone gives a damn about." Gallus huffed. "You mean to say you've never noticed anything about griffins that could e chalked up to them being griffins?" The young griffin scratched the back of his head with a talon. "Uh, not really. All the griffins are money grubbing jerks." "Alright Gallus, from what I've read on your file you were transferred to E Class for pick pocketing another classmate yes? How, exactly did you end up here instead of say, getting expelled?" "Grampa Gruff pulled some strings to keep me in the foreign exchange program or something, ask him." Gallus replied. "Exactly, your guardian either had the connections or the money to convince the principal to keep you enrolled and that is an example of why griffins are some of the most shrewd businessmen in the world." the teacher stated. "Their magic, instead of being something more active and physically present, is a talent more driven by will and personality. Any griffin has the ability to recognize both danger and opportunity more easily than other races due their races' history as hunters and traders but it takes years of practice to fine tune that natural talent into something that could create opportunity or get you out of trouble." "So not every race has species magic that's immediately noticeable?" Nagisa asked, looking a bit more interested in the conversation. "That's right Nagisa and species magic isn't limited to one specific thing either. Let's use Silverstream s an example," the octopus replied. "She is a Hippogriff, a race descended from a group of Pegasus and Griffins that banded together during a particularity dangerous time in the late Discordian era, the danger present from monster attacks forced the two races to work together and eventually, inter species relationships became the norm as the needs changed from surviving to reestablishing themselves as a society." "Silverstream can manipulate weather just like a pegasus but she, like all other Hippogriffs, have the unique ability to fly and live at much higher altitudes than either a griffin or a pegasus, the combined magic of the two morphing into a power that protects her from extreme temperatures and allows her to breathe the thin air found at high mountain peaks," he continued. "They used this in the Discordian Era to protect themselves from monsters by flying higher than their pursuer, followed by diving down to land a killing blow with their beak or talons when the monster either lost interest or passed out from exhaustion." "I didn't know i could do that! I sound awesome!" Silverstream said, her wings opening in surprise. "You need the proper training first, your body will need to get used to such environments before you deiced to try flying up a mountain taller than the one we're on," their teacher advised. "but I'm sure your family will teach you once you graduate." The young hippogriff looked a bit crestfallen as she closed her wings. "I guess, if they're not too busy." "I'm sure they'll find the time, yes Sweetie Belle?" the teacher asked s he noticed the unicorn raise a hoof. "I had a question, I know a unicorn's species magic is the ability to levitate stuff but what about casting spells? what's that classified under?" she asked. "i understand you're confusion Sweetie Belle, most merely assume that a unicorn's ability to cast spells is tied to either their innate magic due to most unicorns learning spells related to their cutie marks, or class it under species magic due to needing to channel their magic through their horn, which is what separates them from the other tribes biologically," the octopus explained. "The answer is actually both." "You see boys and girls, a lot of the time magic isn't as clear cut as to what goes where. Changelings for example can understand any spoken language as well shape shift into another animal or person, however their shape shifting ability is affected by their innate magic as some changelings may find easier to turn into a cat, while others may prefer a lizard or even birds. whereas their ability to understand languages, read emotions and other mental abilities they possess are a trait all changelings share yet both are classified under species magic," he continued. "Both are things only changelings can do, yet they are developed and used differently by every changeling out there and the same if true for unicorns. Unicorns can cast magic, even if the spell isn't related to their special talent they can learn the spell with hard work and dedication." "The same holds true for any skill that can be learned or taught so long as you the capacity to acquire it. humans can't cast magic, but they are still able to brew potions, enchant object and work with magical plants or animals because those skills don't require the ability to cast magic," the octopus added. "A dragon's species magic makes them powerful yes, but there are many other uses the ability to breathe fire, wind or earth could apply to." "So like how earth ponies are good with nature and that lets them be good cooks because they can tell how fresh the ingredients are?" Apple Bloom suggested. "That's certainly one use for a green hoof!" Their teacher replied. "What about sea ponies, what can they do?" Silverstrem asked excitedly. "Why don't I go fetch Miss Pearl and we can ask her ourselves?" the octopus suggested. Scootaloo found herself excitedly curious at what Pearl was capable of as the sea pony in question looked around the classroom, clearly amused by the attention. The octopus slithered up beside his coworker, looking to be just as excited as his students. "Miss Pearl, care to share with the class what your species magic is?" With a smile, still one that wasn't wide enough to show teeth Scootaloo observed, the sea pony picked a piece of chalk and began writing. As a sea pony, I can survive the high pressure found in depths of the ocean and can live their quite comfortably thanks to my mana leylines running throughout my body as opposed to having be squarely located in key areas. "Leylines, as I'm sure many of remember from primary school, are the veins that carry magic from one are of the body to another, able to generate more magic as the body requires and is the source of magical energy in a living creature," their teacher explained. "A unicorn may have most of their leylines around their horn, a pegasus may have more leylines in their wings but sea ponies have an even amount throughout the body, granting them their capacity to reach depths any other creature would surely die from." As Pearl wrote, she seemed distant, lost in thought or in some long forgotten memory. Sea ponies share this trait with water dragons but what separates us from our dragon brethren is out mastery over water magic. Water dragons can heal injuries and exhale powerful blasts of water much like how fire dragons can breathe fire but sea ponies can control and manipulate water, bend it to our will much in the same way The Dragon lord of Water can. "whether you call it water bending, hydrokinesis or something else. a sea pony is a master over all forms of water."the octopus stated and Scootaloo saw Pearl look sadly at her own writing before a calm smile overtook her features as she wrote her next sentence. I can also fly. "You can what?" Scootaloo yelled out in shock. "What the chicken said," Smolder added, earning a glare from the pegasus. "you, can fly? No way!" Pearl smiled cheekily, her body glowed blue, the light from the windows scattering off her form like it was bouncing off of water and with one powerful flick of her tail, was moving through the air as if it were water. "Sea ponies can spread their magic across their body evenly and generate lift by using that magic to alter their physical properties so they are lighter than air. their tails provide forward momentum while the fins on their back allow the sea pony to steer and turn, using their legs for stability as needed." their teacher elaborated as pearl demonstrated by "swimming" around the room. "Now... Normally Miss Pearl would be able to share this experience with us by letting us borrow some of her magic for a time but, due to the mana wound on her neck, is unable as it would too taxing on her body." Scootaloo stopped listening after the octopus mentioned the sea pony could share her magic. "What about just one of us?" Pearl swam back to the front of the class, landed and shook her head as she returned to normal, pointing to the white badge on her bandanna. "Does anyone know what this badge stands for?" their teacher asked and the young pegasus paused in recognition, looked down at her desk and tried not to think about the almost identical badge hidden in the depths of her saddlebags. Fighting a conscious urge to hide her wings, Scootaloo shakily raised a hoof. "Yes, Scootaloo?" "It stands for the World Healers organization, a doctors guild to help patients with special needs and stuff..." she admitted as tried very hard to not sink into her seat in embarrassment. "Yes, this badge means that Pearl requires special care, be it amenities, diet or medication due to her condition. this also means she can no longer use her magic as freely as before," the teacher clarified. "Imagine using magic like a muscle, it's as easy as walking from one end of the room to the other when using it on yourself but to use it on others is like, trying to carry something heavy from one of the room to the other, it takes more energy and do it too often or with too heavy a load and you put yourself in danger. Pearl can no longer use her magic on others, save for some small amounts of hydrokinesis as it puts too much strain on her body as it forces more magic through the mana wound." As Scootaloo and the rest of the class processed the information, the sound of pearl writing on the blackboard once more filled the silence. When Scootaloo looked up, the sea pony was smiling warmly at the entire class despite the heavy topic being discussed. I learned the hard way what my limitations are, make sure you don't follow my example. "Ah yes, to know ones limitations is a valuable skill indeed, both in life and in assassination." the octopus stated. "Oh yeah, kinda forgot we have to kill you." Gallus admitted. "Everything just seems so... normal it's hard to believe the IDF has asked a bunch of kids to kill their teacher, you know?" Nagisa added and the octopus nodded. "I understand completely, what you've all been asked to do is not an easy task but it's not the only avenue you have to go down. Whether you want to kill me or save me, you should play to your strengths, learn of your weaknesses and overcome them to achieve your goal!" "Weaknesses? What kind of dragon worth their scales would call themselves weak?"Smolder debated and their teacher chuckled. "A smart one of course! Though you don't appear to be all that bright Smolder but not to worry, we'll have that sortedby years end." the yellow entity stated with a smug look and green stripes adorning his face. "What about you sir? Do you have any weaknesses?" Nagisa asked. Still with the green stripes on, the octopus nodded. öf course i do! But I'll never-" The rectangular eraser for the blackboard bounced off his head, the green stripes faded as the octopus turned to see that pearl had not only thrown the object at him, but had silently written something on the blackboard. "That;s not fair! You can't go and tell them all my secrets!" he wailed as Pearl smirked. Weakness Number 1: The octopus has a sweet tooth. "Sweets huh, maybe we can use that?" Nagisa wondered as the rest of the class laughed at their teacher's expense. "What/ You should most certainly not use that!" he huffed, red faced and with steam coming out his non existent ears he wrote something else beneath his listed weakness. "Hah! Take that!" he crowed. Pearl's Weakness Number 1: Hoards round objects. "Um no offense sir, but Pearl isn't the one we've been asked to assassinate."Sweetie Belle pointed out. "Aw, but that not fair... She's supposed to be on my side." he pouted. Pearl rolled her eyes, smiling at his antics and patted his side gently. He eered down at her. "I'll only forgive you if... you make the class lunch." their teacher stated, Pearl gave him a tired smile and went over to the board to write her reply. I was already going to do that you doofus. "Well now you have to, won't you?" he replied as the bell rang. "Alright class that's the bell, let's move on to the magic studies portion of this class. please get out your Realm of Magic textbooks and we'll do a brief overview of the history of enchantments before we begin today's lesson on how enchantments affect the body." Scootaloo, along with a few others, waved farewell to Pearl as she left the classroom and everyone settled back down for another hour of learning from their strange new teacher.