//------------------------------// // The tale of Supermare // Story: Supermare or how Scootaloo did her math homework // by TwiwnB //------------------------------// This was the worst, most dreadful, incredibly terrible and out of this world ugliest day in Equestria, from all the days that had been as well as all the days that were to come. And yes, the sun may have been shining that day. And yes, I’ll admit that, with some hindsight, it was actually a pretty casual day, even maybe a beautiful one as it happens so often in that magical land. But Scootaloo was certain of it: this day, between all days, was the very worst. Because Cheerilee had given them a new homework to do. … “Okay, we get it, you don’t like doing your homework.” replied Applebloom with a sigh. “So what? Nopony does anyway. You’re not alone sister, after school I’ve got to go help Applejack make Twilight stop drinking so much coffee! Imagine that…” “Well… I like doing my homework.” suddenly said Sweetie Belle, who liked learning new things and testing her abilities. Applebloom turned and looked very deep into Sweetie Belle’s eyes to see if she could find some sort of mental illness or the traces of an alien robot having replaced her dear friend. But having found nothing of the sort, she went back to Scootaloo and corrected herself as follow: “Alright, except for Sweetie Belle here who is probably the only living creature to crave for more work and less play time, nopony in Equestria likes doing her homework.” Cheerilee passed before the trio and Applebloom gave her best smile hoping the teacher hadn’t heard a word from what she had just said. But Cheerilee soon disappeared behind her desk, answering the questions of a foal while all the others were going out as the class was over. “It’s not really that I don’t want to do my homework.” explained Scootaloo, obtaining only a very shocked look from Applebloom and a big smile from Sweetie Belle. “It’s just that it’s mathematics. I just don’t understand numbers at all.” Sweetie Belle, who liked arithmetic, immediately proposed: “Hey, I could help you. Additions are really easy.” “Really?” asked Scootaloo. “It never works for me, my answers are always wrong. How do you do it?” “Well, you add up numbers, that’s how you do it.” replied Sweetie Belle with her best smile. “Right… and how do you add up numbers exactly?” responded Scootaloo, still hoping she could get some help. “By adding them up of course.” explained Sweetie Belle, without understanding why Scootaloo had so much trouble with such an easy concept. The filly pegasus soon gave up, as her friend had absolutely no idea how to explain something that seemed so natural. As for Applebloom, it was clear there was no real help to be awaited there. “Don’t look at me.” the little earth pony told Scootaloo, “I don’t understand mathematics either, I don’t even care about that stuff: it’s useless.” The truth was, Applebloom already mastered the multiplications, the divisions and most of the current geometrics calculus because of her work on the farm, but she just didn’t know there was a relation between what she was using every day and what she was learning in class, at least not yet. “I guess you’ll have to rely on supermare then.” said Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo looked at her with two very big surprised eyes. “Supermare? Who is that?” she asked. “Well, my big sister told me she was originally named Sciremare. I understand why she decided to be named supermare instead.” explained Sweetie Belle, completely out of subject as was to be expected. “Okay, but who is she?” asked Scootaloo once again, as it really was the first time she had heard about such a character. “You really don’t know?” said Applebloom. “Supermare is the mare that comes to help you with your study when you need it, just like how Santapony brings us gifts, well, presents, when the time of Hearth's Warming Eve comes.” “Yeah, Supermare came to help me once. But unlike Santapony, I think it was actually Rarity who had dressed up so that I wouldn’t recognize her.” Sweetie Belle explained. “Unlike Santapony?” replied Applebloom, who couldn’t believe her friend still believed in such a filly tale. The very quiet and rational debate between Applebloom and Sweetie Belle that ensued might eventually have had caught the attention of Cheerilee who might have been force to separate the two fillies and might have scolded them and then might have sent them home after they might have apologized. Who knows? Be that as it may, Scootaloo ended up on her way home after having said goodbye to her two friends. The filly began to think about the idea of a Supermare that would come to help her with her homework… “Come on Scout.” she told herself, “There is no way such a mare exists.” She let her imagination wander off nonetheless and, as her math homework was constantly coming back to her, she added: “But it sure would be great if she existed…”