It was an unremarkable day here in Ponyville. The schoolhouse was stuffy as usual. My teacher, Lightheart, was giving her usual homework lecture. The thing about Lightheart, she always gave impossible homework and expected us to perfect it. We were twelve year olds in a shed, not adults in a lecture hall.
Nevertheless, she continued moaning on.
“What about you, Ivory Scroll? Did you complete your homework today?” Horseapples. I had hoped she would forget about me at the back of the class.
“No, Miss Lightheart.” I said.
She walked over to my desk, looking displeased. I was sure to be in trouble, she always expected a lot out of me.
She peered down at me. “And why not?”
I gulped. Lightheart was a beautiful sunny coloured mare, but sometimes, well, she was not a lightheart.
“I didn’t really understand the question, miss. I don’t understand why I should sympathise with Romeo.”
“And you didn’t think to argue that you don’t sympathise with him?”
I gulped again and stared up at her with wide eyes. She stomped her hoof on my desk.
“Foals! This is the whole point of English Studies!” She ranted. I listened to her tyranny for so long before I stood up angrily, interrupting her mid-sentence.
“I’M JUST A STUDENT!” I yelled.
“What did you just say?” Lightheart asked threateningly.
Trembling throughout my ivory coat and white wavy mane, I gulped. For the third time?
“What did you just say?” Lightheart asked again, with a little less fervor.
“A-a-p-pologies M-miss Lightheart…” I stammered, nearly in tears now.
Lightheart went back to the front, and wrote a question on the board. She asked the class to do it. Then she asked me up to her desk.
Trembling, I creeped forward. I felt like the floor was going to eat me up. I knew eyes were on me, even though the others would be in trouble if they were caught staring.
When I finally got there, Lightheart pointed to the small seat next to her. I sat fearfully.
“Ivory, what’s wrong?” She enquired softly. “It’s not like you to get so upset.”
I gazed up at Lightheart wordlessly. She seemed to not be mad...
“Go on,” She encouraged.
I took a deep breath. “It’s just… sometimes I feel like you put too much pressure on us all. I have so much work to do at home, being a daughter of farmers, and I just don’t know why you give us so much homework. I don’t understand it most of the time.”
“Ivory,” Lightheart interjected. “You are one of my best students. I push you so hard so that you can reach your full potential.”
I blushed.
“So, does you mom not give you enough time to do your homework?”
“Forget it.” I hung my head and sighed. “You just wouldn’t understand how hard it is. You’re the teacher. I’m just the student.”
“Ivory, you know, there’s always somepony out there with greater knowledge than you.” Lightheart said.
“That doesn’t mean you know what it’s like to be a student.” I sighed.
“But I am a student, Ivory.”
I looked up at her incredulously. “Who is your teacher then?”
She just smiled. “Go back to your desk, Ivory Scroll.”
I trotted back to my desk with a small frown. When I had sat down, Lightheart cleared her throat.
“Fillies and gentlecolts. I would like to make an announcement. You are all my students. Yet I am also a student. Whose student am I?”
Bright, curious eyes, including mine met hers.
“Go on,” She encouraged.
One filly gasped. “You’re HER student!”
Lightheart smiled wryly. “That depends on who you mean by her.”
The filly said excitedly, “You’re Princess Celestia’s student!”
“No.” Lightheart shook her head.
Names after names were called, including famous ponies, fairytale ponies, your ordinary Joe Soap and even a few animals. Lightheart said no to every one of them.
Suddenly, the bell rang. Ponies got on their hooves.
“Your homework is to write at least a page on who you believe is my teacher and why!” Lightheart called at the retreating figures. She winked at me as I stood to go. “Don’t forget what I told you, Ivory Scroll.”
I frowned as I left the schoolhouse. As far as I could tell, she had said nothing of real worth to me. I shrugged and made my way home.
Later that evening, I was sitting at my desk pondering my homework. It was getting late but at least my chores were done. I was getting fed up of staring at the blank scroll, I was sure it had already been half an hour. Ordinarily, I would have left it, but something was nagging at me. I felt sure that she had already given me a clue. If I just could remember what…
Fifteen minutes later and I was still stuck. I was beginning to hate Lighthart just a little. I rubbed my eyes and decided to get a snack downstairs. I noticed my older sister, Golden Harvest, sitting at the table. “What’s up Goldie?” I asked as I took an apple.
“I’m stuck on my homework.” She sighed. “Can you translate it into ordinary language please?”
I smiled as I sat down. “Sure.” I agreed.
I loved helping Goldie with her homework. She had a deal with our aunt that she would commute and graduate from high school in Canterlot. After that, she would be able to go and work with our cousins in Appleoosa. Goldie knew she wanted to be a carrot farmer, but first she wanted to see a bit of the world. So she struck a deal with our aunt. I would never tell her, but I thought she was really lucky. I loved the kind of work she did, English and the likes. But I probably would leave school after graduating from the school house; it was what was expected of me.
“Finished!” I exclaimed. All I did was simplify down her questions, but she always benefitted a lot from it. Even though she was older than me, I could teach her a lot about school, and in return she could teach me a lot about farming.
I gasped as I remembered something.
“Thanks Sis, you’re a star.”
“You’re welcome!” I replied as I galloped back up to my room, apple forgotten. Suddenly I knew what I had to do.
Two days later, Lightheart had our papers corrected. She was beaming from ear to ear. I sat down wearily as I began to doubt myself.
She cleared her throats. “Now then. Fillies and gentlecolts, only one pony in the whole class managed to get that assignment right. I know it was extremely difficult, so I am not disappointed. I am extremely proud of the effort you all put in, but I am especially proud of one pony. I will now read out her answer.”
“The Scholar by Ivory Scroll.”
I gasped. I had gotten it right.
“There is always somepony out there with greater knowledge than you, as a great mare once told me. However, I did not understand it truly until today. Today I realised that my sister can teach me how to be a better farmer. However, I also realised that I can teach her how to be better in school.
“This knowledge has led me to the realisation that Miss Lightheart’s teacher is…. everypony.”
There were gasps as Lightheart revealed this.
“Today I have learned that we all learn from eachother. Of course Miss Lightheart can teach us all lots of things. However, I bet we all have something to teach her. My guess is that she learns something new every day. It might be from a student, from a book, from a friend or neighbour… she still learns. In that sense, she is a student. She is a scholar, always collecting knowledge. Yet she is one of the rare ponies who actually realises this.
“Yes, Miss Lightheart is a student. She is a student in an enlightened sense. Because she accepts that knowledge is everywhere, if she only just takes the chance to listen. Including listening to her students.”
All throughout her speech I had been glowing warmer and warmer. I felt the hot flush of pride running through my veins. I felt strange… like this was what I was meant to be… like this was my… destiny!
There was a flash and I felt burning on my flank. Instinctively I turned to look. I had a cutie mark! It had not been easy being the only filly in the class with a blank flank. And now it had finally come!
It was a scroll tied with a blue ribbon. I felt so happy right then.
“Well well well! Somepony has her cutie mark!” Lightheart exclaimed.
Everypony cheered and clapped their hooves.
“Today, Ivory Scroll has learned a powerful lesson.” Lightheart explained. “She has learned that she can always learn something from her fellow ponies by listening. She is a born scholar but not just of the traditional sense. Ivory, I suspect that some day, you will be some type of a leader. She has shown that she has the humility to always learn from her people, an excellent leadership quality.”
She winked at me.
“Now everypony! Let’s resume our lessons.”
Life continued after that. After getting my cutie mark I began training for my role as a leader and eventually I became the Mayor Mare. But that day, I had learned a lesson I would not forget. And I felt on top of the world.