//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: An Earthling Earth Pony at Celestia's School of Magic: Year One // by Halira //------------------------------// My next class was Mathematics with Professor Raven Inkwell. Of all my classes, this was the one that I was looking forward to the least. I was at a magic school, and here I was, taking a class in the most boring, most mundane subject ever.  I arrived only a minute late to this class, and although it earned me a raised eyebrow from Professor Inkwell, she didn’t comment on it.  The classroom was set up almost exactly like the previous one had been. However, unlike Professor Newman’s classroom, which had been barren of all decoration, Professor Inkwell’s classroom had plenty of decorations…and almost all of them involved Princess Celestia in some way. There were photos of Princess Celestia–a few with a younger Professor Inkwell standing near the princess, paintings of Princess Celestia, marble busts of Princess Celestia’s head, and a large poster that had a stylized version of Princess Celestia made out of triangles with the words Our Great Leader written below. Everything was framed except the bust, and all the frames looked expensive.  If I had to guess how Professor Inkwell stayed on as part of the faculty when everyone else left in shame or dissatisfaction with the direction, it was because she had an overwhelming desire to please and prove herself to the princess. If the princess wanted better results, Professor Inkwell was determined to deliver, no matter how unorthodox the changes to the school might be. Of course, this was just my guess. I’d seen people worship the ground certain ponies they respected walked on before, and the decorations made me think I was seeing it again.  Being late, I was left once again getting the last seat. However, this time, it looked like I would be next to Hannah since Prim had surprisingly moved next to Summer. Maybe she decided that Summer was worth her time if Summer was the only student in our class with more magical potential than Prim. Perhaps Prim thought she had a better chance of rising the class ranks if teaming up with the strongest in class. Prim’s ambition might be stronger than her distaste for kirins…or maybe she was trying to prove she could get along with other students and decided the filthy but powerful kirin was easier to get along with than the filthy earth pony with no power of note. The ways of grade school politics would make any politician’s head spin. Whatever the case, sitting next to Hannah seemed preferable to sitting next to Prim.  Before taking my seat, I went to the front of the room and passed the note excusing my tardiness to the teacher. Professor Inkwell took it with her magic, not seeming concerned that I just had it in my mouth, and read it with a mere glance before putting it on her desk.  “Thank you, Turnip Jones. That seems to be in order. You may take your seat,” Professor Inkwell instructed.  I did as instructed. Hannah gave me a weak smile as I sat down, but her attention focused primarily on Summer and Prim. Jealousy maybe? Professor Inkwell floated a long pointer over to the podium and rapt it against it a few times to get our attention.  “Greetings, students. I am Raven Inkwell,” the professor introduced herself. “You may remember from orientation that I am the last holdover from the old faculty, and I stayed because I was not ready to retire on the note of failure. I don’t do much for formalities. I served the princess faithfully as her personal aid for years before taking this position, and while I am proud of my work, I have had enough formalities to last a lifetime. Since some minor show of respect must be shown to the faculty, you may address me simply as Miss Raven. Again, greetings!” “Greetings, Miss Raven,” several of us said in a disjointed chorus, catching the hint.  Miss Raven smiled and nodded. “While I have a reputation as a stiff bureaucrat in many circles, especially with older nobles who had to deal with me as the princess’s aid, I try to do my best to dispel that notion. I want you all to be at ease in my class, and while learning will always be our primary objective, we can have some fun now and again. I think that learning while having fun helps lessons sink in better.” Her smile slipped. “That being said, that doesn’t mean I don’t hold high standards. When you turn in work to me, I expect to see all your work on how you came to the solution. It isn’t just about getting the right answer; it is about understanding the process. Mathematics is a system of processes, and so is magic. If you can learn and master mathematical processes, you’ll have an easier time learning and mastering spells.” She floated a scroll in front of her and adjusted her glasses. “I can see you all here by mere headcount, but I still want to call roll so that I can put faces to the names. I am familiar with Summer Blaze and Turnip Jones due to their notoriety as non-unicorn students, but the rest of you are only names on a scroll for me at the moment. Let’s change that. Prim Tape, where are you?” Prim raised a hoof. “Here, Miss Raven.” “Good, good,” Miss Raven said as she looked at Prim and returned to the list. “Where is Red Tape?” Red raised a hoof. “I am before you, Miss Raven.” She looked at him and then Prim. “You two are twins, correct? From the Canterlot Prims?” Prim smiled broadly. “That is correct, Miss Raven.” “Indeed it is,” Red said with a nod.  Raven nodded. “I am familiar with your family. They are a rather demanding bunch, but they are at least dedicated to doing their jobs, which is more than I can say of some nobles. I hope you continue the trend.” She looked at her list again. “Bright Pear?” “Right here yonder, ma’am,” Bright said from beside Red.  Miss Raven smiled slightly. “Clearly from the Apple family. Applebloom is an accompanist alchemist, and your other aunts have done much for Equestria, so I hope you do them proud.” She looked at her list again. “Hannah Moonbow?” “Right here!” Hannah announced herself.  “Hmm,” Miss Raven said as she looked at Hannah. “Hannah is a name of Earth origin, but Moonbow seems like a name from somewhere in Equestria. Do you have mixed parentage?” Hannah shook her head. “No. Moonbow is my old human family name. I don’t know the tribe…which I feel ashamed for not knowing for sure…Lakota, I think…but it is from a Native American tribe. It isn’t directly related to Navajo or Pueblo–those are the ones who are naturally immune to ETS.” Miss Raven nodded. “Interesting. I didn’t know there were groups of humans that independently had similar naming conventions to Equestrians. That is something new I learned today.” She looked at her list again. “Lunar Light?” Lunar suddenly jerked his head up. “What? Yes? Can you repeat the question?” Miss Raven arched an eyebrow at him. “I am calling roll. Would I be mistaken if I assumed you were a bit of a night owl?” Lunar sagged in his seat. “Just a little, professor. I tend to stay up late reading.” “Well, do try to get proper sleep. You clearly have been dozing before you even got here if you missed, I said Miss Raven will do,” Miss Raven said.  He hung his head. “Sorry, pro–I mean, Miss Raven.” “Just come to class better rested next time,” she said before reviewing her list again. “Twilight Glow?” she immediately turned her gaze in his direction. “I’m assuming that is you?” He blinked in surprise. “How’d you guess?” “The coloration,” she answered as she adjusted her glasses.  “It’s a dye job!” Prim proclaimed.  “Sister, do not embarrass our fellow student!” Red chided.  Twilight Glow looked ready to cry again.  Miss Raven smiled at him. “Don’t let her get to you. There is nothing wrong with having an idol. You might not believe this, but I have a bit of a thing for Princess Celestia.” We all looked around the room at the numerous displays of the princess in question.  Miss Raven chuckled nervously. “Or…perhaps you easily believe it. Well, to let you know, Twilight Glow, I’m your advisor, and I will be happy to tell you a few tales about Princess Twilight that not even her biographers know about.” Twilight Glow practically squeed.  She looked at the last table. “And, by default, you two must be Rocky Road and Onyx Swirl unless I have random students in my class who don’t belong.” “I’m Rocky,” Rocky said.  “I’m Onyx,” Onyx said.  Raven looked them over. “What a strong-looking pair. I think I recognize your likeness, Onyx Swirl. Would your father have been Onyx Shield of the royal guard, by chance?” Onyx beamed. “Yes, ma’am! That he is, and my grandsire, and his before him.” Raven nodded. “I know your grandsire and met our great grandsire. Your great grandsire was captain of the guard when I first apprenticed at the castle as a filly not much older than you. Excellent guards, all three of them. They were all highly devoted to the princess. I’m sure you’ll continue the tradition. Although, I don’t believe any of them attended magic school. They all went straight to the military academy. It is curious to see you here instead of there.” Onyx shuffled his hooves on the table. “Well, the thing is, and not disrespecting my dad, grandsire, or any of the others, but the guards don’t seem to do much when a legitimate threat attacks Equestria. We always have to rely on the Element Bearers or some other great hero to save the day. I want to be a guard, and I will be, but I want to be a better guard, one that doesn’t need somepony else to come to save the day.” “Hmm, it seems you, like the princess, desire a higher standard than what we have become accustomed to. Perhaps you are the type of youth our nation needs more of,” Miss Raven replied thoughtfully.  “Oh, I could do with a few more colts like him,” Hannah snickered.  I rolled my eyes. She really did have a thing for him.  She looked at Rocky. “And you, Rocky Road. Do you wish to be a guard as well? You and Onyx Swirl look like spears forged from the same metal.” Rocky nodded proudly. “We are. We grew up together and always talked about what Equestria needed. There are powerful ponies in my family–my grandmare can lift more than anypony I have ever seen, and her little sister is none other than Pinkie Pie. I might not be as powerful as them, but I’m the first unicorn in my family since my grandsire, so I want to learn how to utilize what I have to my fullest potential. I can be a guard, but a better breed of guard if I learn all I can about magic.” Miss Raven smiled. “Truly admirable, and both of you come from such distinguished lineages. I hope you both help support and push each other towards your goals.” She looked at me, then at Summer. “Then, finally, we have the true oddballs of the school, venturing where none of their tribe has striven. I admit I’m unsure how to teach either of you beyond this class, and I feel a little intimidated by it. In my youth, I am ashamed to say I thought great magical power was reserved for unicorns. However, I have been privileged to witness ponies such as Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy do wonders. I also watched in amazement the recordings of the great Wild Growth, as well as less notable but still powerful ponies from Earth such as El Capitan, and I have learned the folly of my tribalist thoughts in the face of such displays of might.” She sighed. “Even then, I still subscribed for some time to the idea that it took great power to achieve greatness, but then I was humbled by the likes of Sunburst, Sunset Blessing, and Star Tracker, who are all weaker in magic power than any of the students currently attending this school. Yet, they pushed the boundaries of what we understood possible with magic. I watched a humble pegasus colt, no more than ten years old,  who couldn’t manage the magic to fly, stand, and win against a beast that had pushed the Element Bearers to near defeat. I have encountered one thing after another that has forced me to reconsider my misconceptions. When I say I am intimidated to be teaching you, it is not because I doubt your ability to achieve great things but because I doubt myself, for I am not anywhere near that level of greatness. Still, all I can do is my best, as those I witnessed did.” She went to the front of the class and faced us all. “So I say this, as an old mare who has had her misconceptions dashed and torn apart, I am going to do all I can as your teacher to help you continue to push the boundaries and make this school the greatest magical school there is once again. This school has endured humiliation after humiliation these past few years, but we must learn, grow, and evolve to meet the future. I count those humiliations as a wake-up call and look to the future, knowing we are laying the foundation for something better, and I am proud to be part of it. I hope you join me in that pride.” There was hoove-stomping all around. Not a single one of us abstained.  Well, so far, the dealing with the faculty was going a hundred percent better than I had feared. Miss Raven certainly was friendly. Professor Newman seemed a little more businesslike, and I still thought she was wrong to give me detention, but she also seemed to make no judgments about students who weren’t unicorns, and she had stood up to me to Headmaster. Headmaster was an enigma, and he appeared to have disdain for the students but no more disdain for me and Summer than he did for anyone else. I wondered if he had the same disdain for the faculty–probably not; he remembered their names. Remembering their names was more respect than any student got. He, at least, was willing to make some compromises to help me out. Miss Raven lit her horn, and the blackboard suddenly filled with mathematical equations.  “Now, it is time to get to work, students,” Miss Raven announced. “Pull out your scrolls and quills; it is time to start with pre-algebra. If you haven’t looked at your schedules in detail yet, you shall be having class with me and class with Professor Newman every day because our subjects are critical to establishing a good foundation for your magical education. Your classes with other professors will rotate day by day.” I hadn’t gotten a chance to look at the revised schedule I’d been given. I just kind of went where I was told. I knew everyone had a free period after this class. I’d take a look then.