//------------------------------// // Ropes, and the learning of them // Story: After the Bureaus // by Pencil Sketch //------------------------------// Okay, I'm back. Took me a little longer than I expected, but I got all I needed. Now I only have something like ten bits left. Ya, magic stuff can really take your wallet down a few notches, and a couple posters of what I was persuaded into thinking were some major celebrities don't come cheap. Funny how I recognized a couple posters of Vinyl Scratch, Soarin, and Spitfire. Had to get my hooves on those for the sake of them. But really, who the hell are the Wonderbolts, Octavia, or Photo Finish? Besides that, Canterlot's pretty big. I got lost on a few streets, but it's pretty easy getting back. Just head towards the big ol' castle, and right next to it's the school. So this magic thing I got is called a Font. It's supposed to help with channeling spells, but I think I just got ripped out of a lot of bits. Sure, it's pretty, lined with fancy brass and silver, I think, but it's not doing much now that I'm focusing all I got on it. Nope, nothing. I knew I got cheated. Should have went for those suspicious-looking spellbooks. Meh, doesn't matter now. Just means that I gotta find a job sooner than I expected. I'll visit the office tomorrow and ask if they need odd-jobs done, or something. Well, already it's pretty late. I should hop into bed now and get the first full sleep in two weeks. Hey, no spring in the neck, sweet! -=-=- "ATTENTION STUDENTS, TIME TO WAKE UP AND GET READY FOR CLASS" Oh f*beep*, do I HATE mornings... Well, at least they give an hour to crawl out of bed before breakfast is served. That's generous. Though I'm sure most fillies and colts are using that time to clean up, get things together, and be first in line for food. I'm pretty clean already. Passing through a big, magical barrier that disintegrates otherworldly material, like dirt, does that. Looks like it's the front of the food line for me! -=-=- Mmmm... Pancakes with real maple syrup... Haven't had a breakfast like this in ages! My dad used to make it just like this back home. He'd also make this really great French toast, waffles, grilled cheese, all the good stuff to just spoil my sister and I. Those were the good, old days, days that are far behind me now. Bleh, there I go, making myself sad while enjoying a great breakfast. Can't bother with the past, that's over now. At least I got the hang of levitating slightly larger things than a pencil, like a tray of food. It's tiring work though. So much concentration and so many more things to break it. Think fast, where should I sit? Don't want to sit with little foals with their incessant questions, so I guess the more logical choice would be... "Excuse me, but, I don't think I've seen you before. Are you Nora's substitute?" Hehe, ya, right, let's go with that... or not. "No, I'm Kenneth Baxter. I'm a newfoal." "Oh, you're the one the Princess invited to attend?" Hooray, ponies that I suppose are in my age group are paying attention to me! Please ask questions that actually have thought behind them. "Ya." "Aren't you a little old to be a student here?" "That's what I was thinking when I was thrown into the first year class." "Did you not have any education prior to coming here?" "Twelve years through the system, miss..." "Brownie. I teach magic to the third years and so on." "Nice to meet you Miss Brownie. I think learning magic is the only thing I have for me here. That, and maybe language arts." "Then I hope you fair well in your studies then." "Snow Prance, seven o'clock!" Thanks for the heads up, loud-whispering pony. "Hmm? I don't recall any substitutes reporting in for the day?" Well, probably because I'm not a substitute? "He's one of the students, Magistrix Prance." "Hmph, oh, yes, I recall this one. Why is a student sitting at the staff table?" Geez, at least remember my name. "Because the other tables are a tad too small for me to eat comfortably, and I was meaning to ask you a question." "It will have to wait for the lunch hour. I've got papers in my office to attend to at the moment." And she walks off, just like that, not even giving me a chance to really say anything. Bah, lunch then. I'll get her. "Is the always so..." Oh, what's the word I'm looking for? "Impatient?" Thanks you, that works just fine. Just nod your head and levitate that scrap of pancake into your mouth. Gah! Too far! "Don't mind her. She's not one for change. When I first started working here, she gave me the same treatment." Well, that's a relief. Now I just hope she can get over a young stallion running about her school. "Thanks for the information... Can I ask you a question?" "By all means." "Got any Equestrian-English dictionaries laying around?" -=-=- So there's no such thing as an Equestrian to English dictionary. Oh well. Guess I gotta learn languages the old fashion way. By learning every cuss and swear under Celestia's sun. I did that while learning a little German. Now it's time to struggle through magic class. Different teacher this time than Miss Remedy, as we can clearly see walking in. I recognized her sitting at the breakfast table earlier, so she should at least know of me. Different set up here, instead of being forcing into the back of the classroom, the desks are set in a circle. Hey, looks like that font thing I got yesterday in the middle there. Maybe now I can figure out how to actually use the damned thing. "Alright class, settle down now." Uh, teacher, no one was saying anything. "Today's lesson is suspended magic and minor enchantments. Can anyone tell me what this object is? Anyone?" No one raising their hoof? Typical school kids. "It's called a Thaumaturge Well." beschmutzen Sie riechend Ratte... Looks like Moondust's the class pet. "Very good, Moondust. It can also be called a Scholomantic Font, or training cup. It's used by unicorns starting their training in magic. Let me give an example of what it can do." First grade, and I'm already out of my league. There was no way at all I'd be able to have known that, even if I was born as a unicorn. Better be quiet now, teacher's doing something... Mmhmm... Focus magic, alright... Have wavy ball of light in the font, okay... Now what? "Umm, excuse me, but could you explain what you just did?" Like, really, I'm one of those hooves-on learners. "It's fairly easy, Baxter. All you have to do is focus on the space inside the cup, imagine what you would want something to do, then all that magic wells up into whatever you put into it. Let's say, this textbook. Let's make it levitate." Okay, now I see what it does. Hehe, wow, that would take a lot of stress trying to make things levitate around. It's like reverse magnetism or something. -=-=- Let's skip forward past phys-ed and history and explain what happens at lunch, then we can skip some more and do a little homework. Ya, Snow Prance seems a little tiffed, but at least she remembered my name. That's a start. We got talking about possible employment, how I could make some bits to pay for anything I would need, yadda yadda yadda. Then the topic of a night-watchman recently retiring comes up, and I jump on that. So, in the end, you're looking at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorn's new nighttime security. I kinda regret it already, as it means very late nights for me. I used to work late nights at jobs when I was human, and that would always mess with my college schedule. It means I'll have to power-nap whenever I get a chance in class. Bah, that's what math's for. First shift's tonight, so I gotta finish a few things first. Like trying to figure this font thing out. Just gotta focus real hard. Imagine the effect I want, levitation. Think of something levitating in the font... F*beeeeeeeep*, getting a wicked headache... Oh hey, there we go! Yikes, I'm dizzy. I think I should sit down for the rest of this. Okay, next part, what do I want to enchant? Let's see what I have. Floating posters would just be silly, I'm going to be needing books that don't float, and all I have that's small enough to fit are a few bits. Bleh, then let's sacrifice a single, lonely bit. There it goes, into the cup-thing, absorbing all that magic, and it actually looks pretty cool. Now the thing doesn't look like such a huge waste of money now, does it? The magic teacher, whose name I never committed to memory, even said that it could be used to store magic to ease off the lightheaded feeling after larger spells, so that's also pretty nifty. Now, if you excuse me, I have to go to the office and get me schedule for work. I'll talk to you all later.