The day following our arrival, mother and father keep their promise from the previous night and we go out to look at our new town. I am so excided that I was practically jumping as we make our way around the town. Our home is in the eastern area of the town and just a few minutes of walking west bring us to the town center, which is marked with a large and sparkling fountain. I had only heard people talk about fountains, as they were extremely rare and reserved for only the most highly regarded of ponies. The fact that my town has one made me even further in awe of it than I was prevously.
As I look around from where we are near the fountain, I soon realize that the town has a circular layout to it, everything spaning out from the fountain. While looking around, I also notice several ponies carrying buckets filling them up at the fountain. Noticing me staring, my father spoke up, “This fountain serves as the city’s well. They use magic to bring the water up from the ground and circulate it through the fountain to keep it from becoming stagnent. It is quite ingenious, I think.”
My mother supressed a laugh as we continued to stroll through the town. The town center also serves as the market place, and was lined with various stalls selling various wares. Everything from fresh fruit to weaponry was being bought and sold. If I didn’t know better, I would never have known that the world was just getting through a famine.
The town, despite its location under what appeared to be a hallow mountain, was surprisingly large. In patches daylight shone in from the holes created in the top of the mountain and what areas were not lit by the sunlight were lit by magical lanterns. For the most part, the areas in which the sunlight shone through were lush with greenery such as gardens or parks. Only a few buildings were ever under direct sunlight.
There was a fairly large clinic located a few blocks west south of the fountain, and it seemed fairly busy as we passed it, but nothing extremely horrible seemed to be going on. We continue walking, about half way between the mountain wall and the center of the city, along the roads that connected the various parts of the city. It was this road, as opposed to a road leading directly to the fountain and town center, that appeared to be the city’s main road. It was heavily traveled, and many of the shops and necessities ponies need were along it.
As we approach the western wall, I notice the road we had taken to get into the town. I wonder if it is the only enterance and exit the city has, I thought. I would be easily defendable, but also be a double edged sword in times of war. The part of me that was facinated by the Three Great Tragedies couldn’t help but rise to the surface. But it soon fades as we continue walking and taking in all the sights.
Just north of the enterance road we pass the school I would be attending starting tomorrow. It was huge, far larger than the one I attended previously. It rose two floors from the ground and took up almost a whole block. It was then I realize something I had been overlooking. I look around me to confirm my own thoughts. Yep. Just as I thought. A large portion of the ponies we had been passing were around my age, some older and some younger, but a lot of them were school-age ponies. My mother notices me looking at them and speaks up to confirm my own thoughts, “This city has a large population of children. Many families who move here, like us, have children. Their parents must be wanting to try to give them a fresh start, just like us.” She looks at my father and they share a smile.
I roll my eyes and continue walking. A short distance later I notice what appears to be a library and immediately dash inside it. As soon as I am inside, I stop, my mouth hanging open as I look upon the wall-to-wall bookcases filled with books. Not only is the school bigger, but the library is too! I exclaim to myself. I am about to run off into the world of books when my parents show up and stop me. “Come now, you’ll have plenty of time to spend here later. Let’s finish looking around for now.” My father chuckles.
I begin to open my mouth to retort, but settle for a sigh and go with my parents. They are right, I can come here anytime. We exit the library and continue looking around town. For the most part the rest of the town is pretty normal. Houses make up the majority of it and the north is where the city hall and guard barracks are located. One odd thing I noticed, however, is that there are a few tunnels in the cavern walls that don’t have roads leading to them. They appear to be mines, however they are closed off and guarded. Perhaps they do have escape tunnels, in case of seige, I thought.
It isn’t much longer till my parents and I return home, having seen all that the city has to offer. Thinking back to all that I saw today, I was struck by how completely different this town was compared to the town I came from and the towns we passed through to get here. Everypony here seemed upbeat and had a positive outlook and the streets were certainly abuzz with activity. In the other towns, ponies seemed beaten and hopeless, the weight of the Great Tragedies constantly on their minds, uncertainty causing them to have a bleak outlook.
But here in Vanatonem, ponies seem almost unaffected by the Great Tragedies that occurred so few years ago. It was almost as if, inside this mountain, they had never happened. I, for one, was glad of this. I had my fill of the adults in my previous town acting hopeless and being depressed. Here things seem to be so much brighter, despite the lack of sunlight.
The sun had begun to set and the city was becoming extremely dark. My parents and I sit down for supper before we turn in for the night. I eat quickly and prepare myself for bed, anxious for what tomorrow would bring. A new city, a new school, and perhaps, new information about the Great Tragedies! I crawl into my bed and anxiously wait for sleep to overcome me, anticipating the events of the following day.
============~+~============
The following day, I get up early, quickly eat breakfast, and practically sprint to school. I could not contain my excitement and I smiled broadly as I went. My first day of classes! I will get to learn more and more! Perhaps even something new about the Great Tragedies! I rush to school, find my class, and sit expectantly in my desk.
As I was for class to begin, time seems to creep by slowly. I am giddy with anticipation and cannot sit still. I decide to distract myself by looking around at my classmates. They are all around my age and the majority of them are talking to each other in small groups. Moments after I start looking around, a black coated buck walks into the classroom and the students break from their groups and take their seats. This must be my new teacher, I think to myself.
“Good morning, class,” he begins, “today, we have a new student joining us. Feld Grau, if you wouldn’t mind introducing yourself?” I flinch slightly at being put on the spot so soon but get out of my desk and go to the front of the class. “Hello everyone. My name is Feld Grau. I recently moved here with my parents. It is nice to meet all of you.” I look to my teacher, who nods to me. I then go back and take my seat once more.
That was painful, I say to myself. I don’t like dealing with other ponies that much, even less so when I am put up in front of a group of them. I prefer the quiet tranquility that books offer, not to mention the less judgmental air books give off. I sigh to myself as my teacher begins his lecture.
A few hours pass and we take a lunch break. We covered various topics in the morning, such as the government of the Magical Symposium, mathematics, and some grammar. I make my way towards the cafeteria and get my lunch. While deciding where to sit, three ponies wave at me. I look around, and finally decide to go sit with them.
“You’re Feld, our new student, right?” a teal coated mare asks me, “My name is Aurora. It is nice to meet you.” She smiles at me from across the table. I give a nod and reply, “Yea. Nice to meet you as well.” A brown coated buck sitting next to me smiles as he says, “I’m Hem, by the way. Nice ‘ta meet ya.” Next a dull yellow coated buck speaks, “And I’m Lucky. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” I nod again before saying, “Good to meet you both as well. We, uh, aren’t in the same class, are we? I don’t recall seeing any of you. ” The three of them shook their heads and Aurora says, “No, we aren’t. But news about new students travels fast, and the three of us are on the forefront when it comes to news about newcomers.” The three of them were giving me their full attention. “This leads me to ask you the question I ask all the new students here—“
Suddenly I hear hoof steps from behind and my teacher is standing over our table. “Well, well. If it isn’t our three little resident conspiracy theorists, Aurora, Hem, and Lucky. I do hope you are not filling our newest student’s head full of your delusions,” he says. Hem and Lucky avoided his gaze, but Aurora held it firmly. “Of course not, Mr. Hourglass. We are just getting to know him, him being a new student and all, I’m sure you can understand that,” she says to him. Mr. Hourglass closes his eyes and smiles, before opening them and stating simply, “Of course, Aurora. Feld, I’ll see you in class.” He turns from our table and walks away.
“That was close,” Hem says. “What was close?” I ask. “Oh, never mind him,” says Aurora, “Say, if you would like we could show you around a bit after class. Show you all the nooks and crannies of the city, if you’re interested.” I consider this for a moment. I would like to go to the library and do some reading, however I didn’t see everything the city has to see yesterday. It might be beneficial to take her up on her offer. “Sure, that sounds good,” I say. The three of them break into smiles and Aurora exclaims, “Great! Then meet us at the fountain after school.”
The rest of the lunch period was rather uneventful. The four of us engage in some small talk, namely discussing interests. However Aurora never asks me that question she was going to before Mr. Hourglass interrupted.
Once I was back in class Mr. Hourglass was continuing his teachings. A few more hours drag on before he says, “Ok. Now class, let us discuss history.” I immediately perk up, anticipating discussion on the Great Tragedies. Seconds turn to minutes and I realize that the school day is running out. Mr. Hourglass has yet to mention anything about the Great Tragedies yet. In fact, he seems to be glossing over them.
I raise my hoof to ask him about it. “Mr. Hourglass, are we going to be discussing the Great Tragedies?” I inquire. He narrows his eyes as he says, “No, Feld. That is not in our curriculum. We here in Vanatonem, believe that we should not dwell on such matters. They were dark and troubling times, far too recent to warrant teaching. We are still in the process to recovering from them, and as such we are unable to fully go into detail regarding them. It was decided that leaving them out was for the best. Now then, pay attention.”
I slump down in my chair in disbelief. Not in the curriculum? Too recent? My previous teacher had hammered into our minds that they were important to learn from, so we didn’t repeat the same mistakes. Why would things be so radically different here? Surely even a small discussion on them would be good, right?
My mind was ablaze with questions that I wasn’t prepared to ask. Mr. Hourglass seemed…different, when I asked him. Almost intimidating. I spent the rest of the school day deep in thought and barely paid the lessons any attention. It wasn’t long before school was over and I was walking out of the doors, defeated.