//------------------------------// // Parent's Evening // Story: Live While we're Young // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// Sky Beak strolled into the main conference suite of the School of Friendship and made his way over to a chair. "Well let's get this over with," he said. Truth be told, he'd rather have done this with Ocean Flow by his side, but unfortunately the School of Friendship parent's evening clashed with the Mount Aris Academy's parent's evening. As a result, Ocean Flow was overseeing Terramar and he got to oversee Silverstream. It could have been worse, however. Ponyville was relatively easy to find by flying, assuming one didn't get lost and fly via Klugetown by mistake. He'd once been scammed there by an anthropomorphic cat, an experience he didn't want to repeat. He sat down to find Silverstream already there. "Hi dad!" she squawked. "How you doing, kiddo?" Sky Beak asked, gently rubbing the top of her head. His attention was suddenly drawn to a red stallion sitting in the chair. He assumed that this was the assigned member of staff. "So, what have you got for me today?" "Eeyup." Sky Beak was confused. "Why did you answer 'yes' to my question?" "Eenope." Sky Beak gave up and consulted his notes. "Let's see. Good grades, some slightly damaged vases, could do with being a little less shouty... What's this?" He saw one word in the list that he didn't quite recognise. "Exu- exuberant?" "It means I'm noisy, full of excitement, and cheerfulness!" Silverstream exclaimed, bouncing up and down as she did so. "And she just quoted the dictionary," Big Mac said, the first time he had said more than one word in a sentence the entire evening. "I'm officially confused," Sky Beak sighed, as he waved his claws about. "One the one hand, you could be telling me she's unfocused and chatty, but on the other you could be telling me that you appreciate her energy and hard work!" "Eeyup." "Well, which is it?" The red pony looked lost for words. "I just want to be certain, that's all. Certain of what you are saying, that is." The red pony seemed to freeze up, and waved over to another pony for some reason. Elsewhere, Grandpa Gruff was sitting at a table with Gallus and a blue pony he'd seen performing magic before. Trixie, was that her name? At the moment, she was droning on and on. "Gallus truly is an amazing student," Trixie told him. "Amongst other things, he's taught me several tricks about the art of napping, which has been really handy for keeping up my energy levels amongst other things." "Is that why you're puttin' me to sleep?" Grandpa Gruff asked. Truth be told, he was very, very bored. He hadn't wanted to come, but Gallus' lack of parents didn't give him a choice in that regard. He also disliked the amount of paperwork and beauraucracy that the ponies had. In Griffonstone, if he said something was so, it was so. Indeed, he had already banned that ridiculous hippogriff who had dared to challenge him over his words from visiting, and it was so! Such were the wonders of being a dictator. "I don't understand why I have to come to these things." "Well, most parents would want to be involved. Perhaps we should find a different representative for Gallus from Griffonstone." "I'm the judge of that, not you, but that'd be great," Gruff gruffed gruffily, and flew off. Gallus rolled his eyes. "Sorry, he's a bit of a dick." "Such profane language would not be the choice of I, but the sentiment is most agreed with," Trixie sighed. Suddenly, Gruff reappeared and continued with his nonsense. "Gallus doesn't need to have me sit here and hear that I'm proud of him. I can tell him that in a telegram if I so wish; it's cheaper and faster too." "Griffonstone doesn't have telegram service because you'll never pay for the wires to be maintained," Gallus pointed out. Gruff ignored him. "It'll also save me a train fare." "Consider yourself-" "Part of the furniture?" Gallus finished. "-Banned from the School of Friendship!" Trixie bellowed. Gruff rolled his eyes. "Fine by me. And in return, you are not permitted to travel to Griffonstone so long as you live. I'd always thought this school was nothing but an indoctrination program anyway." Whilst all that carnage was going on, Ommatidia and Aristate were listening to a very posh grey pony telling them all about Ocellus' achievements. Why did she look familiar? "Ah yes," the grey pony said, looking around at all assembled. "Life at the School of Friendship is rather like playing in an orchestra." A jazz band began playing outside to emphasise the point. "And although Ocellus started her time here playing her part piannisimo, she is now soloing fortissimo." Arisiate and Ommatidia exchanged confused looks. "I'm not sure that metaphor really works," Ommatidia said finally. "A musician needs to follow the dynamics in the score rather than just playing how loud they want. Otherwise, you'd have nothing but a great big mess of noise." "Sounds a normal day at work for me!" Aristate joked. "But I assume she's doing well, right?" "Indeed she is! Exemplary student, and I dare say honour roll material." "Splendid!" Aristate exclaimed. "How about you, Ocellus? Do you feel as though you belong here?" "Yes I do!" Ocellus beamed. "In fact, I have my friends to thank for helping me to fit in here." Finally, a horde of Yaks were sitting around a table with a pony in a bow tie who sounded rather like Tom Baker. "I do say," he said, "that sciences are not easy topics to follow, but Yona has taken to it like a Yak to smashing! Which is to say, very, very well." He produced a bag. "Jelly baby?" One of the big yaks took one. "So, Yona clever?" "Excelsior!" the bow tied pony replied. "In fact, I believe that she could blaze a trail across the stars and enhance scientific understanding far beyong its current reaches!" "Hoorah!" the Yaks cheered, and picked Yona up, and then threw her into the air. She crashed through a bookcase and landed. "Erm, yaks good at smashing?" The bow tied pony facehoofed. "Oh my giddy aunt." "What happened over there?" Silverstream asked a concerned Gallus. "Grandpa Gruff threw a fit and flew off," Gallus replied. "He thinks caring for anygriff is a waste of time. In fact, any sort of responsibility is a waste of time in his opinion. Griffonstone would completely fall apart if he wanted it to." Silverstream's eyes darkened. "Oh no he doesn't," she said, her eyes narrowing and her beak clenching shut. "I'll go give him a piece of my mind." And she flew off before anycreature could say anything. To say the very least, Silverstream was also banned from visiting Griffonstone. But tearing Grandpa Gruff a new one had been worth it.