Sunset Shimmer slowly paced between the trees of what she had designated the play area, which was considerable, because she wanted her students to have as much room as possible to move around. Aside from the field trip which was quickly approaching, dueling had been the talk of her classes, and they had finally zoned out an area to practice with shields and water-based projectiles; a magic water balloon fight, for lack of a better term.
Izzy had also, at her request, quickly fashioned her a black and white striped 'referee' shirt, so she hopefully wouldn't catch any errant projectiles of students whose horns were quicker than their eyes, and if she did, well, that would be points off for the offending team.
Concerning the upcoming field trip, Sunset wanted to bring as many helping hooves as possible, but was also aware that there was limited room in their vehicle. With the addition of the trailer they would now be pulling, Sprout had been able to make some last minute conversions to the cargo bed of the Scouticus Maximus, increasing the vehicle to a seating capacity of twelve, but only a sleeping capacity of eight. Sunny and Sprout were arriving sometime today with Zipp, so they would be able to take on an additional five passengers at Bridlewood.
Sunset had gotten considerably more than that number of volunteers, even after warning them that the weather was going to be brutally cold, and the rations vastly prioritized nutrition over taste. That didn't deter too many of them, so she had some choices to make. She also figured they would be gone for four days at the absolute minimum, so the headmare also had to figure out if there would be classes or practice sessions while she was gone, and if so, that would mean Izzy would have to stay put here in Bridlewood. She was sure her protege wouldn't mind in the slightest; decreased classes meant more spare time to work on that scooter passion project of hers, which was coming along little by little each and every day so far.
Sunset glanced down at her enchanted 'scoreboard' tablet she held in her magical grasp. It was a small stroke of genius on her part; she was here mainly to observe proper spellcasting; scoring was being handled entirely by the tablet. Anytime a player got a hit with a water projectile, they scored two points. At the same time, whenever a defender successfully blocked a hit with a shield, that took a point away from the attacker. Lastly, if a defender managed to 'capture' an attacker's projectile and shoot it back at them, that was three points if they scored a hit. It was a system that valued agility, aim, and endurance. She was wondering how interesting and intense matches like these would get when more advanced magic started being practiced, like cloaking spells, speed spells, and teleportation. But for now, this was little more than magical projectile dodge ball.
She heard a series of splashes and shield hits from a few dozen feet away on her left, and her tablet gave off an alert that one of the meters had just been filled. Lifting her whistle up to her lips, she gave it a long blow, signifying that the game was over, and all spellcasting was to cease.
"Alright, great job, Red Team. Blue Team, way to put up a good fight. That's the game, and I believe that means it's time for lunch. And before anyone asks, don't worry, I'm still deciding on who to take on the field trip, and what to have the rest of you get up to while we're gone. Class dismissed!"
With that, Sunset set a wicker basket down in front of her, and one by one, her students filed by, depositing the red and blue sashes that had denoted their team placement for the game, before they headed back into Bridlewood for a meal.
If Sunset was honest with herself, the thing that was making who to fill up the Scouticus with was made even trickier by deciding on whether to bring Misty along. She had eagerly volunteered for the trip when it became known that it was going to be artifact-collecting, without a major need for spellcasting. Sunset was truly divided on what to do; try and keep an eye on her up in the Crystal Empire, or have Izzy keep an eye on her down here. She still didn't know what to make of the orphan who had returned out of nowhere, and perhaps Izzy's enthusiasm could help crack that nut a little bit. The headmare was concerned that she herself would try and approach this situation a little too academically, so maybe Izzy's enthusiasm would be the right choice to try and get her to open up a bit.
Sunset picked up the basket of sashes, and made her way back towards Bridlewood as well, when her phone went off in her saddlebags. Digging it out, she magically swiped across the lock screen and saw the incoming text message.
Sunny
We're here! Parking out front!
Sunset picked up her pace to a healthy trot while typing in a reply that she'd be out to meet them in a few moments. She came back to the main road into town, came to the school house, and trotted in just long enough to drop the basket of sashes on her desk, and walked right back out, locking the door behind her and headed back south down the road towards Izzy's house.
Several minutes later, she saw that Sunny, Zipp, and Sprout were talking with Izzy as she was no doubt gushing to them about her new scooter project. The earth mare spotted her first, and greeted her with a wave.
"Hi there, Sunset!" Sunny told her elatedly, coming forward and throwing her hooves around her neck, with Sunset immediately returning the hug. "Izzy's been showing us what she's been working on in her spare time. I can't wait to see your school, and I really have to show you my new magic!"
Zipp snickered, then gave Sprout a nudge with her front leg. He rolled his eyes for a moment before reaching into his saddlebags to pull out a five-bit coin and tossed it to the pegasus.
"We had a bet on how long it would be before she mentioned showing you the new earth pony magic," Zipp said, spinning the coin on her hoof before dropping it into her own saddlebags.
"I figured she'd wait longer than two minutes because she already showed her over a video chat," Sprout said, but smirked at Sunny, taking the lost bet in stride. "Well, she can show you all she wants, because I've had enough portable camp food until we're back in that truck; I'd like some homecooked Bridlewood meals."
With that, Sprout began heading into town, with Zipp right behind him, also looking forward to a change in cuisine.
"I'd recommend Alphabittle's bistro on the west side, you two," Sunset called after him, before returning her attention to Sunny. "Well, I'd say the best place to show me is just outside the treeline, that's where our classes attempt new spells. I'll meet you out there in a moment. I have to have a quick word with my assistant here."
Sunny nodded, and headed back towards the edge of the forest from where they had come, while Sunset turned to Izzy.
"What can I do for you, boss?" Izzy asked, setting down the wrench she was holding as she took a seat next to the in-progress vehicle.
"I'm wondering if I can convince you to stay here in Bridlewood while we make this trip up north. I figure you could keep the classes occupied with things to do, and have plenty of spare time to continue work on this scooter, since I know how much it's meant to you these past few days."
Izzy smiled at her headmare.
"I can certainly do that if you want me to," she answered.
"And... there's something else that I'd like your input on. Misty. I'm wondering whether I should select her for the field trip, or if I should leave her here, and have you try to get closer to her, you know, get her to open up a bit maybe. She's a tough nut to crack, and I'm just afraid if I try too hard, that I'd let it slip that I'm suspicious of her. So, Izzy, what do you think?"