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// Prologue - Just When I Thought I Was Out... 
// Story: Lessons From Ponyville Elementary 
// by Blade Star 
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    They say that those who can’t do, teach. I’ve never agreed with that statement in my life. If that’s the reason you’re becoming a teacher, then you’re in the wrong line of work. I’ve been teaching myself for over twenty years now, on and off, and I’ve never felt like that. Teaching is what I am good at, and I enjoy it. 

And as it turns out, teaching is a surprisingly marketable skill, at least it seems to be in the land of Equestria; the odd magical kingdom in which I find myself today. 

I’m getting ahead of myself aren’t I? I suppose a quick explanation is in order.

My name is Margaret. I’m female, five feet tall with faded blonde hair, just shy of sixty, born and bred in Staffordshire, and a graduate of the teacher training college at Bromsgrove. When I left Sixth Form at the age of eighteen, I was determined to become a teacher. And through hard work, and due diligence, I eventually managed to get a job… in a shoe shop.

It was actually a few years down the line that I got my first teaching job, covering a local primary school in Mosley while one of their staff was on maternity leave. Luckily for me, I performed well enough that I was kept on as a supply teacher, and after that teacher decided to make her leave permanent, I got to work there full time.

Over the next few years, my career took off. I stayed at primary school level, elementary school to the Americans. And after many years of service at various schools, and after marrying my husband and raising my own family, I retired from my profession and collected my hard won pension. I figured I was done with teaching, aside from helping out as a school mum from time to time. 

Turns out though, I figured wrong; I wasn’t done teaching just yet. 

None of us remember exactly how it happened, but we found ourselves waking up in a dark forest, in a land that was not our own. As mad as it sounds, my son, a twenty year old university student, recognised it as being from some little girls’ TV show. Apparently he, and quite a few others in his age group, like it. 

If you don’t mind, I prefer we not talk too much about that; it kind of creeps me out. I've seen their conventions. 

Even more oddly though, while we were all knocked about a bit, my son had changed completely. For reasons almost beyond my understanding, my son had changed into a four foot tall unicorn, including an actual magical horn on his head, with a grey coat and a messy dark blue mane. Becoming a mother doesn’t prepare you for literally everything; I found out that in the dark confines of the Everfree.

He seemed to love the sudden turn of events though, and quickly demanded that we head for a nearby town. We trekked through the forest, first coming upon a ruined castle. In a cavern below it, there was a strange crystal tree, which seemed to hold some importance to him. After that, we had to cross a very rickety rope bridge and a wide river, occupied by a bloody great sea serpent.  Eventually, we blundered into a group of ponies sent to investigate our arrival.

We ended up being welcomed into this new world with pretty much open arms, or open hooves as the case may be. The inhabitants of this world, you see, are ponies, multi-coloured, magical, sapient, ponies. There are three kinds; earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi. Each one has their own unique traits and abilities.

We were safe for the time being, although it quickly became clear that we were stranded here in Equestria. The country’s two rulers, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, promised that they would do all they could to get us back, but it would take time. Even as alicorns; a combination of the other three types of ponies, it would take them time, and a lot of work to try and find us a way home. It was a search that, sadly, would prove ultimately fruitless. 

So, with nothing better to do, and in need of money, I paid call on the local schoolhouse. After all, I wasn’t really qualified for anything else, and Ponyville’s job market isn’t exactly booming. The place is small; a red and white wooden building, with an old fashioned bell atop the roof, with only a couple of classes to teach, and only just enough space to do so. But at the time, they only had the one teacher; Cheerilee. While she was initially a bit skeptical, she ultimately agreed to let me cover a few classes. The two of us quickly became good friends, possibly bonding over our time trying to control the small bundles of joy in our charge.

From there, it snowballed, I was steadily given more and more responsibility by Cheerilee, taking classes on my own, planning my own lessons, and even running the end of year exams. And before long, I was up before Equestria’s own education board to get my licence to teach foals here officially. There was a bit of a dust up about my unusual species, mainly from one or two ponies who didn’t care for the fact that I didn’t give their child special treatment because they had money. Luckily, it all turned out right in the end, and I’m fully certified in any case.  

And now, I find myself back in teaching here in Ponyville, while my husband works in Canterlot, my son works on his girlfriend’s farm, and my daughter, who also later got turned into a pony, works as part of something they call the Weather Patrol. 

While my husband brings home stories of political intrigue, I’m much more of a down to earth kind of person. Unlike Roger, I’m still just a schoolteacher. I go in every week, teach the kids, send them off with homework and new knowledge, and then do it all again, all the while balancing parent teacher conferences, the odd troublesome student, exams, inspections, helicopter parents, and all the usual drama you get living in a small town like Ponyville. It’s so much more idyllic that Canterlot though. Heck, based on his stories, you’d have thought that Roger’s work was like one of those Tom Clancy books my son used to read. He even once told me we were all being watched by that map thing in Twilight’s castle.

In any case, I like it here. My life certainly took an odd turn, but ultimately, it proved to be a good one. I’ve got my own home, a good job, friends; everything I could ask for as I edge closer to retirement age.

So here’s a few stories, and a few lessons I learned myself from my time in Ponyville Elementary.