"So who did you guys vote for the Teacher of the Month?" Sandbar asked.
"Yona vote for Professor Fluttershy," Yona said.
"Yeah. She's a very nice teacher," Ocellus said.
"Her class also requires the least amount of effort. Most of the time we're just observing animals," Gallus said.
"I voted for Professor Pinkie. Their always really fun, especially when they involve cupcakes," Silverstream cheered.
"Silverstream, you think everything is fun. You once thought plumbing and learning how sinks work was fun," Smolder said, "Anyway, I voted for Professor Dash. Her classes involve competition."
"I voted for Headmare Twilight. It's always nice to learn about pony history," Sandbar said.
"But you already know a lot about pony history because you are a pony," Gallus said then turned towards me, "What about you Legion. Which teacher got your vote?"
Today was the day the students vote for who they think is the best teacher. It's what you would expect. Take a piece of paper, write the name of the person you thought was the best teacher, then put it in a box. It's as simple as that. I never had this kind of thing back on Earth, and even if I did, I really wouldn't care that much about it. Mainly because, I don't like picking favorites. It just makes me feel...biased I guess? I just don't want others to be mad at me for not picking them.
"Wait, so why did you vote then?"
Because the votes are anonymous, so I don't have to worry about anybody being pissed at me and smacking me like Uzy smacks his-
"Hey! This story is supposed to be teen rated! You can't say anything sexual!"
I wasn't going to say that.
"Okay. Good."
I was gonna say how Uzy smacks his little brother when he becomes too annoying.
"Oh my God."
And also what's the big deal? You say this is teen rated, but I say words like 'fuck' and 'shit.' You do as well.
"No I fucking don't!"
...
"God damnit."
"I voted for Professor Rarity. She really knows how to express yourself and be as creative as you want," I told them, "And also because I was one of students that got a higher grade in my art class from my previous school."
"Speaking of which, where did Legion go to school anyway?" Yona asked.
"Yeah. We don't really know much about you before you came to Ponyville," Sandbar said.
"Oh, somebody's screwed. You don't have a backstory, don't ya?"
Nope. I do. Thanks to Headmare Twilight's class on Equestrian locations.
"I was born and raised in Baltimare. My mom was a nurse, my dad wasn't a doctor or anything, but he still worked at a hospital, and, finally, there's my my older brother. When I turned 15, I decided to leave home and explore Equestria. I figured I needed a little...action in my life," I said.
"Your family sounds amazing," Silverstream said.
"But weren't they worried when you decided to leave home?" Ocellus asked with worry.
"Not at all. They knew I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself. They just told me to write to them and visit them from time to time," I said.
"I bet you got your cutie mark during your travels," Gallus said.
"Yeah. What does your cutie mark represent? I mean, a smile crossed by two swords? It has to be an awesome story to which you got it," Smolder said.
I started to sweat a bit. I didn't know what it was supposed to represent, and I definitely couldn't come up with a story for it. Thankfully, I was saved when Headmare Twilight entered the classroom and began class.
"You better tell us later," Smolder whispered to me.
"Hello students. Today's lesson is gonna be rather special. Today, we are going to learn about teamwork, and what better way to learn about teamwork than a field trip," Headmare Twilight announced, "We will be walking through the woods and doing various activities. You all need to work together in order to succeed."
The last field trip I remember going on was a retreat when I was in...9th grade? 10th grade? One of those two. So we're going to walking through nature eh? Reminds me of the 7th grade field I mentioned a while ago.
Headmare Twilight was now walking us the front of the school. The group consisted of me, Sandbar, Gallus, Yona, Smolder, Silverstream, Ocellus, and even Shimmy Shake and Lighthoof.
"It sure is nice that you got to join our group," I said to the two cheerleaders, "I really enjoy your company."
"O-oh thanks. I-I-we enjoy your company as well," Shimmy stuttered with a bit of a blush.
Ever since I met Shimmy Shake and Lighthoof, I've been hanging out with them quite a lot so I could get to know them. Lighthoof has this sort of sassy, teen girl personality, not trying to be sexist or anything. As for Shimmy Shake, she also as a bit of a sassy personality as well being a shy one, like Ocellus. Actually, Shimmy seems to be a bit shyer, always stuttering and having a hard time to look at me whenever I talk to her.
"I've never been on a field trip before," Ocellus said.
"Yeah, what's the point of this exactly?" Smolder asked.
"Getting out of the classroom. Duh," Gallus said.
"Yeah don't complain. Not that I don't enjoy classes or anything," I whispered to Smolder.
"Yak best at field tripping," Yona said she purposely tripped over onto the grass. Sweet, innocent Yona.
"That's what we're doing? So fun!" Silverstream cheered as she too tripped onto the grass.
"Heh heh. Pretty sure the Headmare has something else in mind," Sandbar said.
"Alright class. Today you'll learn how important working together is to building a strong friendship," Headmare Twilight said as Professor Applejack walked up to her.
"He y'all. Ready to get out there and do some learning the Apple family way?" Professor Applejack asked.
"This is basically gonna be the best field trip in the history of ever! With me in charge that is," Professor Dash said as she flew up. Professor Applejack then pushed her out of the way, making her grunt.
"With us in charge." Professor Applejack said, "Meaning mostly me."
"Yeah, good one," Professor Dash said. I noticed the two of them giving each other stares of sternness.
"And what teamwork activity do you two have planned for today?" Headmare Twilight asked the two professors.
"Shed building/Canoe racing," they both said.
"No way. We get to do both?!" Silverstream asked as she leapt into the air out of excitement.
"I bet that's exactly what your two teachers had in mind," Headmare Twilight said, "Why don't you start with shed building first?"
"Heh, don't mind if I do," Professor Applejack said as Professor Dash gave her a stern glare, "Every creature, follow the leader."
"I'll check in later to see its going. Remember to work together," Headmare Twilight said.
"Now take a good deep breathe. What do you smell?" Professor Applejack asked.
Gallus took a breathe and let out a sound of disgust. "Ew, yak?"
Yona sniffed her own fur...wool...I still don't know and smiled. "Mmhm."
"Nope. Try again."
"Um, Apples?" Ocellus said.
"Aaand? Anyone? Anyone? Nope?" Professor Applejack asked.
SNIIIIIIIIIFF!
Everybody looked at me as I sniffed really loudly. I then let out a huge exhale and looked at Professor Applejack.
"Fresh air?" I asked her calmly.
"Well, yeah. But also, the promise of...teamwork!" she said as she pointed to a small shed next to a pile of planks of wood and tools.
"Should I even ask what that was?" I heard Lighthoof whisper.
"Nope. I'm just weird at times," I said to him. Shimmy started to giggle at my silliness.
"That there's an apple shed, and this here is what we're gonna use to build it. Nothing brings friends together like a little hard work and honest sweat," Professor Applejack said.
"Hahahaha! Sweat?! Seriously?! That's supposed to be part of friendship?" Professor Dash responded.
"Not everypony would know that Rainbow Dash. Just Teacher of the Month kind of ponies," Professor Applejack said.
Wait. What was that last thing she said?
"Whatever. Let's just get this done so we can move on to my activity," Professor Dash said. Now it was Professor Applejack's turn to give a stern glare. Something tells me this field trip isn't off to a great start.
We managed to build the shed. Well, one side at least. Professor Dash decided to use speed to build the rest of it. Hell, she did it all in the air in a cloud of dust. I'm surprised she doesn't have any form of injuries, especially when she decided to kick of bunch of nails with her bare hind hooves. Obviously, Professor Applejack wasn't happy with her, not only how she rushed it, but her recklessness as well.
"just cause it's fast, don't mean it's good," Professor Applejack said to Professor Dash.
If only one of my other friends were here. I know what exactly their response would be.
"Oh sorry. Can't hear you. Too busy practicing my Teacher of the Month pose. Yeah! Gyah! Hoo-wah!" Professor Dash as she did a bunch of poses at that last part.
"Don't count your pictures before their snapped Rainbow Dash!"
"Oh come on! These students are totally gonna vote for a teacher that gets things done!"
Well yes...but actually no.
"No! They're gonna vote for a teacher that gets things done right!"
"Please...stop yelling at each other," I whispered very softly, to the point that nobody heard me.
"Yeeaah...this isn't awkward at all," Smolder said.
We attached the wall that we built to the structure that Professor Dash built. The final piece is the roof. Me, Smolder, and Gallus were flying in the air holding the roof, while Yona held onto the rope that held the roof. Professor Applejack gave me a bit of a headache telling us to move it back and forth.
"Just drop it already!" Professor Dash yelled at Yona suddenly.
Yona ended up letting go of the rope, making the roof a lot heavier to hold. We lost our grips and the roof collapsed onto the shed. Not surprisingly, the side that we built was still standing. Professor Dash nervously chuckled when she noticed Professor Applejack's glare.
"I'll give you guess who's side is still standing."
"Yak's side!" Yona cheered as she held onto the still standing wall, making it fall. Thankfully, there was a hole in it, so Sandbar wasn't harmed when it fell.
We now equipped with life vests, helmets, and canoe sticks. We were asked by Professor Dash if we were ready to smash the all-time Equestrian speed record for river canoeing.
"You really think winning some canoeing record will get ya that Teacher of the Month trophy?" I heard Professor Applejack ask.
"I'm pretty sure every creature's gonna like it a lot better than pounding nails and cutting wood," Professor Dash said, to which Professor Applejack have another glare.
"I'd like teachers that can cooperate," I whispered.
As we got into the boat, I heard Yona say, "Yak not like water."
"Sometimes, when I'm scared to try something new, I whistle," Ocellus said.
"Huh. I usually just either sit it out, or suck it up and deal with it," I said, making Shimmy giggle a bit again.
"Way I see it, Twilight's gonna give that teacher trophy to a teacher, not a racer," Professor Applejack said.
"We'll see about that," Professor Dash said.
The canoeing started with Professor Dash telling one side to stroke as hard and fast as possible, while Professor Applejack was telling the other to stroke slowly and focused.
Again, if only one of my friends was here. I'd like to hear their response.
The funny part...was that we were stroking in completely opposite directions. Smolder eventually got is moving correctly. The canoeing was going pretty smoothly, but honestly it felt like Professor Dash was more focused on breaking the record than teaching us about teamwork. We were eventually approaching a split in the path thanks to a damn rock.
"Stop!" Professor Applejack yelled.
"Go!" Professor Dash yelled.
"Which way do we go?" Ocellus asked.
"Left!" Professor Dash said.
"Right!" Professor Applejack said.
What?
"Ei-ei captains! Wait, what?" Silverstream said confused.
"Left! I can see the finish line from here!" Professor Dash said excited. I looked ahead to left fine and, indeed, there was a finish line. There was also a bunch of these green fish swimming there. One of them jumped, revealing to have sharp teeth. Almost like...
...PIRANHAS?!
"If we go left, we'll be heading straight into the bite-a-cuda fish!"
"Who cares about a few fish?"
"Wait, what?!" Shimmy yelled out of worry.
"Oh heck no!" I screamed as I stated stroking towards the right side.
"Legion! Go left! The finish line is that way!" Professor Dash said to me.
"Keep stroking right Legion," Professor Applejack said then turned towards Professor Dash, "Rainbow Dash! We got students on board. There's no way their gonna vote for a teacher that puts them in danger!"
"They'll be perfectly fine. A teacher that likes to take risks will surely be Teacher of the Month."
"SCREW THE TEACHER OF THE MONTH!" I screamed. I then got out of the boast, and with all my strength, I began pushing it towards the right side. Unfortunately, I wasn't strong enough. The boat ended up crashing into the rock, smashing it and everybody falling into the water.
"Help! Legion!"
I turned and saw Shimmy going towards the left side. Towards the bite-a-cudas.
"Shimmy!" I yelled. I flew over to her and grabbed her hoof. I picked her up and held her in my hooves. I went back and flew over to where the others were, including Headmare Twilight, but I payed her no mind.
"I totally had things under control, until Applejack messed them up!" I heard Professor Dash say.
"Did not!" Professor Applejack yelled.
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE HELL UP RIGHT NOW!" I yelled as I approached. I gently put Shimmy down and gave an angry glare to the two professors.
"Legion! Langua-" Professor Dash said. But I wasn't having any of that bullshit.
"Is the Teacher of the Month really that important to you two?!" I yelled. I wasn't even paying any attention to my friends, who gasped in shock.
"What do you me-" Professor Applejack asked before I inturrupted.
"You two know exactly what I mean! This whole field trip, instead of teaching us about working together, you've been competing with each other and you've ended up putting Shimmy in danger! And for what?! Some stupid trophy?!" I paused, none of them saying anything, as I began to feel my eyes start to water, "I've seen this type of fighting before, during my travels, and I've seen how it ended," I felt my eyes water even more as my voice has gotten shaky, "I-t tore m-my friendships apart, a-and I-I've never s-seen one of my friends again."
I fell to the ground as I found fully crying. Heh. It must sure be a sad and funny sight to see. Hearing the Apex Legion cry. Before I knew, I felt an hoof wrap around me. I looked up and saw Shimmy, her face having a sad expression and on the verge of tears. I cried out and wrapped my hooves around her, my face crying and buried in her neck. Once I felt myself calming down, I let go of Shimmy wiped my eyes, looking at my other friends and professors.
"I-I'm sorry. I don't really like to talk about, but seeing you two argue just brought it to mind and...I guess I just lost control of myself," I said to the professors. They then began to approach me.
"N-no, y-you're right Legion," Professor Dash apologized.
"Yeah, we were acting like rotten apples the whole time," Professor Applejack apologized.
"I hope you two know by now that competition should never get in the way of friendship," Headmare Twilight said to which they nodded and turned to us.
"We're sorry," the professors apologized to all of us.
"As long as you learn from your mistakes, then I can't be too mad," I said with a smile.
Headmare Twilight suggested to the professors that they take us on a nature walk, to which they agreed. It was going smoothly. No fighting from anybody, no arguments, not even any mention about the Teacher of the Month. It was going great.
"Legion...is it true? Did you really...lose a friend over a competition?" Shimmy asked.
Well...mostly anyway.
"I. I. It's something I don't really like to talk about. Can we just...drop it for now?" I asked her to which she nodded.
The rest of the walk was serene. A little navigation troubles, yeah, but other than that, no problems arised. By the time the walk ended, the sun was starting to go down. We made it back to the school, and then were dismissed. I went back to the room, and...reached under my bed for my mask. I stared at it before a memory played back in my head.
"Hah! You totally suck at this game. If you'd like I can give you lesson so you can't humiliate yourself in public matches."
"Sigh. Oh my fucking God."
"Hey, there's no need to cry or anything. After all, there's no shame in losing in a private ma-
BOOM
"Yes! Let's go!"
...
"Calm down. It's just like you said. There's no shame in losing in a-"
"FUCK YOU! YOU TOTALLY CHEATED THERE!"
"How did I cheat?!"
"You used a C4!"
"So?!"
"So that's cheating! I can't believe you would stoop so low as to cheat. God you're such an asshole!"
I let out a sigh before putting my mask back under my bed. I hopped into bed and closed my eyes, ready for another night of dreams.