While Spike was usually considered more of a bookworm than an athlete, even he had to conceded that today was a good time to be out and about. Standing alongside his classmates, in the large sports field adjacent to CHS, he was decked out in the usual gym uniform of the school, simple shorts and shirt. The sun was shining brightly today, and that, coupled with a nice and cool breeze, left this a very pleasant time. Looking to his left and right, Spike looked to his fellow youths, all of whom were looking some combination of either eager to get on with their activities or utterly bored with the whole scenario. For his part, after twiddling his thumbs a bit, he finally broke the silence. "So...what's the gym coach like?"
Scootaloo, who had been standing next to him in the line, leaned over to him. "He's okay, but he's getting a bit old these days. Can't really keep up like he used to, you know?"
Sweetie Belle, who was on the other side of Spike, added her voice to the matter. "But I hear he finally retired. We're getting someone new today."
That caught everyone's interest, and Cozy, who was standing right on the far end of the line-up, rubbed her hands together wickedly. "Interesting...maybe we can convince them that the old teacher just let us play games all hour."
Terramar glanced over to her. "Hm?"
Cozy cleared her throat with a forced cough, putting on her sweeter demeanor. "Um, I was just saying how nice it is to meet somebody new!"
Babs, looking over to Spike herself, smirked a little. "Think you got it in you to go head-to-head with me in a rope-climbing session, Spike?"
The boy in question looked around before answering her. "It's an outdoor session, Babs."
But the girl simply shrugged. "Meh, in or out, I'll cream ya at anything we're told to do."
Spike chuckled. "We'll see. I was no slouch at my old school."
"Ooooh! A challenge!" Silver remarked.
"Pfft! I give him maybe a minute before Babs outdoes him," Diamond added.
Almost as soon as she'd finished saying that, they all heard a slight hissing sound, causing them to turn to see that it was Tender, who was mouthing something while pointing off in another direction. In unison they looked to said direction, and it was here that they all saw an unfamiliar face. A woman, decked out in the usual garb of the gym teacher, namely a maroon or burgundy-ish tracksuit. Her expression was pretty stern, but the real eye-catcher about her was the distinct mohawk-esque hairstyle she wore. Without a word, all the kids could tell that this was the aforementioned new teacher they were getting, and also got the distinct impression that fun and games were not on the menu for today, causing them to stand upright, as if on a military parade. The new woman, finally reaching them, clasped her hands behind her back before pacing up and down the row of children. "As you have no doubt figure out, I am your new gym coach. My name is Tempest Shadow, and I want it known that there will be no silliness on my watch, understood?"
"Yes, Ma'am!" the kids all said together, not really sure what prompted them to do so.
After giving a firm nod, Tempest whipped out a clipboard, her finger trailing down the list of names before her. "Spike Sparkle?"
"Present," Spike answered.
"Apple Bloom?"
"Present."
"Sweetie Belle?"
"Present."
"Scootaloo?"
"Present."
And on and on she went until she'd received confirmation about the presence of all the children that were supposed to be here. So, setting her board on the ground for a moment, she eyed them carefully before speaking up again. "Now, your previous teacher was having you do simple exercises. Light jogging and such. That was the plan for today as well, but..." A slight smirk came to her. "You'll be pleased to know that I've arranged a more...advanced regimen for you." Waiting a moment to hear the collective gulp from the class, Tempest looked to them dead-on. "Behind you, you will find some standard exercise equipment."
The children all turned, and were quite surprised to find a whole plethora of very heavy-looking weights and other such gym items there, with Diamond especially feeling the need to comment on it all. "Um...how did we not notice that there?"
However, when the quasi-aristocrat girl turned back around, it was to see Tempest having approached her, their faces now and inch from one another, with the latter smiling insidiously. "I see we have our first contestant."
Diamond's face turned practically white. "But...but...but...!"
Standing upright again, Tempest pointed to the weights. "We'll start with ten lift-ups. Silver, you can be her spotter." The two girls sighed, walking over to the weights, all while Tempest looked up at the sun, shielding her eyes from it's light briefly before, apparently, deciding that today was just a touch too warm for her, prompting her to slide off her outer jacket. This revealed her white vest underneath, as well as the momentously ripped arms and torso she was sporting, which she took a moment to flex while she was at it. "Keep at your exercises, kids. And one day, you too can look like this."
Spike, folding his arms, nodded to that. "Huh, not a bad inspirational pep talk, I guess."
Then, feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned to see Apple Bloom, who was looking quite amused all of a sudden. "Ah don' think it's inspiration the boys are feelin' right now."
To that, Spike turned to see where she was looking, and sure enough, his friend had been right on the money, as all of the boys in the line-up had responded to that flexing from their teacher with fierce blushes. Chuckling briefly, Spike turned again, looking past Apple Bloom and giving her a nod in that direction. "I can say the same for all of them."
Apple Bloom looked behind her, and found that Spike too was correct, as all the remaining girls had become just as flustered by the sight of Tempest as the boys were, leading to a shrug on her part. "Well, somethin ta be said fer the athletic types, ah guess."
Meanwhile, Diamond was struggling to even lift a single weight, and was panting heavily. "How...many...is...that...Silver?"
But Silver, unfortunately, had herself become too intrigued with the sight of Tempest to really pay attention to her friend. "Uh...yeah, you keep doing that, Diamond. You'll get there."
Looking to that whole situation, Diamond groaned. "I'm...gonna be here all day, aren't I?"