Advising
With the general catalogue under his right wing and everything else under his left, the pony soon arrived back at Rieber Terrace; for some reason it seemed to be the central hub for everything he did so far. Everyone else had different locations for their departmental advising. From what the pony heard at lunch he expected this to be similar to the session after breakfast, but he didn’t have a department so what would this one cover?
Stormy went back up to the ninth floor lounge and stood in shock when he opened the door. He knew how this one would be different. All the chairs had been removed in lieu of sitting pillows of varying colors. Several of the soft looking seats had already been taken up by conversing ponies. Outside of the human who sat behind the table, the room was only ponies.
The Onyx pony he saw when picking up his first room key was talking to a pewter colored stallion, a red cross adorning his flank. The dirt brown stallion walked in behind Stormy and joined the pair. At a set of pillows were the white pegasus mare from the previous day still as serene and talking to another pegasus that almost caused Stormy’s jaw to drop.
Sitting there was another pegasus, but anything like the stallion had ever seen. Atop her orange coated body sat a mane of brown, but when hit by the sun it turned almost golden. Her red eyes met his amber ones. She looked like a midsummer’s sunset over Canterlot. He stood there in a stupor until the white pearly white pegasus waved him over.
Stormy took a light orange pillow across from the two mares, a few other ponies still trickling in. A royal blue unicorn with a cyclone cutie mark joined the two mares.
The white coated pegasus spoke up first. “Nice to meet you. I’m Sunny Skies.” She reached out a hoof to shake both Stormy’s and the unicorn’s. She didn’t get much farther before the human at the front spoke up.
Stormy took the time to look about the room and the eight other ponies sitting in the room. A unicorn sat next to the pewter pony, along with a sienna maned earth pony.
The human stood, grabbing a stack of puce papers to pass out among the ponies. “My name is Chris Barnes in charge of Equestrian Retention and Outreach.” She made a show of professionalism. Brown hair in a bun, black suit similar to Edward’s except for the skirt, controlled expression. “Despite having majors already, you are here because the requirements for ponies are different than that of regular students and to give specific advice to help you adapt to this school.”
Without allowing any questions, Chris continued. “The classes required for anyone from beyond the portal are different than that for those born here.” She passed out a paper to the last pony in the room, the zebra. On it was a list of classes. “Normally students only need to complete two courses of history and what they cover can vary. But you must complete a minimum of three courses on history with at least one being a US history and one being a World History Course. Along with that you must take at least one additional philosophy course. This is so you can better understand humans and because you haven’t had the same basic instruction in these fields as others at this school who covered it throughout twelve years of education.”
“We do not currently have a special history course to bring ponies up to speed and highly suggest you get tutoring if you have any troubles. It is also suggested you not take a history class until your second year due to the stress of adjusting to life on Earth.”
Sunny raised her hoof. “But wouldn’t a grasp of history help us to better understand this world?” Her question was met by nodding from other ponies around the room.
“No.” Chris replied brusquely. “We have found it harder after Equestrians study about human’s past mistakes before understanding people they have twice the risk of dropping out.”
The onyx pony raised her hoof next. “Is this enforced?”
“Yes and no. You must eventually take these classes but when is ultimately your decision. You will also have to take one additional English course for similar reasons, to take whenever you choose.”
“It is also suggested the science you take be related to whatever you studied back in Equestria. If you studied weather you should do the same here. If you studied magic than you should do chemistry.”
“Why?” The onyx mare spoke up. “Because they are easier since we’ve already done them once before?” There was obvious anger in her voice.
“No. Because it can help you understand the differences between our worlds. They aren’t the same and if you jump into something completely foreign it will be a LOT more difficult. These tips are designed to help you succeed.”
Why is that mare so argumentative? Stormy wondered, it was almost adversarial in appearance. Has she been having the same issues with people assuming what she should do as I have?
This answer didn’t seem to appease the unicorn. But it mollified her enough for Chris to continue speaking. “There are also special tutoring programs you can use for most classes. I suggest you use it even if you are doing good. It can be the difference between a B and an A.” She took one last look around at the ponies.
“There are also special regulations as to what you can and cannot do on campus that is different than that of humans.” The onyx mare tried to cut the human off, disdain obvious; however, the human ignored her and kept talking. “Magic needs to be strictly controlled. Any magic use that violates basic rules here at UCLA will be grounds for expulsion. In addition, any use of magic on a test may be considered cheating by your professors and will be treated as such. If you feel the need to use magic for writing, you can go to the OSD for proctoring.”
“Magic isn’t a disability!” The mare practically shouted.
Sunny spoke up quickly behind her. “What I think she means to say is: Why must we go to the Office for Students with Disabilities.” She offered. “I am sure she meant no offense.”
“It is quite alright Miss Skies. The reason is that is the ONLY place on campus with the needed resources to proctor a test, as it is they have to pull a pony from Ashe to monitor you.”
“From the medical center? Are things that much off kilter?” Stormy didn’t catch the voice or where it came from.
“Yes. There are only so many ponies on staff. Almost all are doctors here to care for other Equestrian’s health.” Mrs. Barnes stayed calm and rooted to her spot.
“Pegasi, flying is to be restricted to the field or stadium; there is not enough room for proper takeoff or landing procedures without endangering other students. Be warned there may be other objects flying through the air like balls and Frisbees.”
“You are not allowed to make potions outside of a proper facility with a hood in case of ‘side effects’, and any tampering with UCLA grounds or injuring of students is subject to immediate dismissal. Last year a student was kicked in the sternum by a surprised earth pony. We cannot have that happen again. This is still a pilot program without any guarantees you won’t be the last.”
“Now I suggest you take some time to get to know each other. You are the only new students from Equestria this year.”
Sunny’s smile never seemed to leave her. “I’m Sunny Skies. I work in Canterlot Castle as an aide to Princess Celestia. Guess I should say I worked there.” Followed by a giggle. “I came to study folklore.”
“Why?” Asked the royal blue unicorn.
“Before the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration, did you ever wonder where the old mare’s tale about NightMare Moon came from? What about the Saddle Arabian Nights? There is so much in there and it can progress relations. What impact does religion have? What does their literature say about them as a species? So many of their books cover things we would never think of.”
Stormy thought about the book in his room and how much of an understatement Sunny had made.
“Does that include history?” Another question from the unicorn.
“No, Celestia has other ponies covering history at different places.”
Stormy felt his mouth drop, thinking he saw a pattern. “Are you here by decree?”
Another giggle. “No. Some were given suggestions, but I did have to request a leave. My family has been serving as Celestia’s aides for generations. Dawn, would you like to go next? What you plan to study, what you did and why you came here?”
“Ok.” Her voice was the essence of melodic to Stormy. Her cutie mark a sunrise as radiant as her mane. “I’m Radiant Dawn. I came to study weather. I lived my whole life in Manehatten but never had the chance to travel.” She was demure, hiding an open mouth smile behind her hoof. “I heard stories from my parents about lending aide after the portal opened. How wild the weather was. How it was a new frontier. There was a hurricane over the Atlantic, it never made the news but it was a trial to see how much pegasi could affect weather here. It just sounded like fun. Weather duties are dull, they never change, but this is my chance for some excitement and to see this world and maybe more of my own later.” Every word was soaked with passion.
Stormy couldn’t help but feel rejuvenated towards weather just by listening to her speak. He decided to speak up next. “Stormy Skies. I helped with the weather over Canterlot.” He couldn’t just leave it at that, and he didn’t just want to give the same story, not to these ponies. “I got tired of weather though. I want to try something new. See a new world, maybe rediscover what I saw in weather.”
“Very admirable. That takes a lot of courage.”
Despite Sunny’s words, and his own thoughts, Stormy realized there was a grain of truth in what he said. He hadn’t been enjoying weather, it was always the same thing day after day. His days had blurred together.
“Balance Sheet.” Although the unicorn seemed excited, there was a sadness in his voice. “So we have three weather ponies here.”
Dawn gasped and jumped to all four hooves. “YOU!” She practically screamed then started to prance. “You’re the manager for the Cloudsdale Weather Factory. The first unicorn to attend weather school. We’ve heard so many stories about you in Manehatten!”
Stormy didn’t recognize the name. Nor that a unicorn had ever, or never for that matter, been in charge of weather before.
“Guess my reputation precedes me.” And while the corners of his mouth raised, his eyes stayed flat. “My reasons are pretty similar. I want to learn, see what I can take back home to get better.”
Stormy looked over at the other group, it was going strong. He then looked over at Sunny and Dawn. Dawn was trying to get a conversation going among the three weather ponies. But there was something about Sunny’s eyes, something the pegasus couldn’t identify.
“Has anyone picked out their classes yet?” And just like that, Sunny was back to how she seemed before, calm and serene, almost a royal grace.
Stormy just listened as everypony else talked, only speaking when asked a direct question. It was hard coming to terms with. Had he ever enjoyed weather? He must have, he had the cutie mark for it. Sunny would talk about life in the castle and working for a princess. Sheet talked about his colt friend and their plan to start a farm. Dawn talked ceaselessly about weather, which didn’t bother Stormy as much. But his life had been bland and boring, just like the rest of his time here, he realized he was passive.
Stormy knew from his schedule that he could meet with an NSA anytime between 1:30 and 5:30 for individual advising. With that thought in mind he bid his fellow ponies goodbye and went back to the eight floor.
The door to room 801 was closed, voices could be heard coming from inside. Two female voices were yelling at each other. The voices were muted, the words jumbled. “…ot o…lease!?” “…. own payme…ack.”
Stormy left, not wanting to interrupt. According to his schedule, individual advising would last until 5:30, and it should be 1:30. He deciding to take a nice shower to get cleaned and go to the “Choosing a Major” workshop in Covel at 2:30.
Compared to the rest of his day, the trip back to his room was peaceful; the corridors were empty outside of one or two people, as was his room. He quickly set his papers on the desk under Roderick’s bed, the one that had to be his desk, made of cheap looking wood it would perform its job.
The bathroom was the same as it had been before, the closer door being the shower and the further the toilet. Stormy twisted and pulled the knob and the door opened easily. Inside though was another matter. He had noticed how nothing was made with ponies in mind from the counters to the high toilets, but the shower, as it was only a shower, highlighted this. There was a small area with a towel rack where human most likely got dressed, brown and white tiles without a drain. The shower was closed in by another glass door, this one frosted. Inside was two foot square at best, it would be small even by human standards. There was no way to expand his wings in there.
Stormy considered a cloud shower but the weather was clear as a summer’s day, if he could even reach an Earth cloud. He could go without a shower, but that would be another two days before he could get to one. Thankfully he didn’t sweat like a human, he doubted he could ever emit that much odor, but somehow that one thought he did.
In resignation, Stormy turned the faucet, a torrent of water shot out, only taking a few seconds to become steaming hot. The pony had no choice but to leave the shower door open and doubled checked that the connecting doorway was shut tight.
The warm water cascaded down his back. It sent a shiver up Stormy’s spine before the heat penetrated his fur and relaxed his muscles. He had trouble getting everything wet with part of his body out the glass door. Hooves and teeth working the water throughout his fur and feathers; working any dirt or grime out. There was a surprisingly large amount of grime for the pony, leaving a sour taste in his mouth. His ears folded down as he washed his head and face, the water reminded him of a good strong thunderstorm, relaxing, refreshing and invigorating.
Stormy didn’t bring a towel, he would normally just fly it off and air dry, it solved two clouds with one buck. He stood there debating how best to dry off and was left with only one solution. The shaking started at the pony’s head and moved down his body, removing a large amount of excess water even from his mane and tail. All in all the pegasus estimated the shower took thirty minutes. As he exited the shower room, Stormy saw the door to the other room shut, missing who went with it.
Stormy stood in the middle of his dorm room, keeping his wing outstretch as far as he could and flapped them to help speed up the drying process, the last thing he wanted was to soak his papers just carrying them to his next meeting. The tingling in his wings had subsided to occasional twinges at the very tips, he wouldn’t try to fly though for a while less he crash face first again. But the inability to fly made his wings itch, made him want to fly all the more. With a sigh of resignation, he trotted out of the room like a regular ground pounder.
***
The area from Rieber to Covel wasn’t as empty as inside Rieber. In fact, it was just as packed as the pony had come to expect although inside Covel very few people were milling about. The people were just happy to hang around in groups outside and talk.
Stormy climbed the circular steps behind the double doors he got stopped at last time, people going up with him. He assumed the number worked the same as in the dorms and followed the others to a room at the back with another large set of metal double doors open. Inside were tables scattered about the outside with the middle taken up by rows of plain blue chairs.
The room was rather empty of people, besides the half dozen that came up with him, not even a third of the seats were taken up. The seats people were taking were also spread apart from each other except for the odd groups of two or three people, friends who came or found here, supporting others or seeking help for themselves.
There was a human male on stage, but Stormy stayed near the back so he couldn’t see any detail of his features outside of the suit and his name was a jumble of consonants.
“Pick a field that you like.” That was his opening statement. “Think of what you enjoy. If you are doing what you love you will never work a day in your life.” He just stood at the front, on a platform large enough to hold a dozen people side by side, with his hands in his pockets. “Some of you may not want that though, not enough money or recognition. If that’s the case then pick what you are good at or have the skills to do. Don’t be a doctor if you can’t do chemistry.”
“Scattered about the room are advisors, they help students for a living. They can help you check out different fields or look at what skills you have. Don’t be afraid to pick something hard, if you work at it enough you can pick up the skills, most of the time. For this, think. It is ultimately your call.”
At that students started to stand, most left complaining about it not being any help. Others milled around and yet others talked to the advisors. Stormy was in the latter group and found an advisor near the door.
She was a rather bland person, as were most people it seemed. “You should be a simple one. Do you prefer predicting weather, studying the effects of weather, or some other aspect of it?”
You can also cover environmental science or something similar.” She continued. “Do you have any skills? We can use those to narrow it down. Or we can go over what you want to do.”
Again. Again it came down to weather. He didn’t know what he wanted. But he did know it was at least a break from weather.
“I don’t know. Can I come back later?” The pony asked.
“Of course! And if we aren’t here, just talk to your NSA, they should be able to help you or direct you to someone else.”
On his way back up to Rieber Terrace 801, Stormy thought about the workshops, both the ones he’d gone to and the ones yet to come. Outside of the mandatory ones, there wasn’t much information useful to him. The class advising was useful, but all of that he could have gotten from Chevonne. The “How to Budget” one wouldn’t be useful. What pony living on their own didn’t know how to plan out a budget? To know exactly how far or what they could do on it? The “Financial Aid” workshop would be just as bad, especially since Ai had already walked him through that list, the list which specified down to minutia who could and couldn’t apply for any given scholarship, and all but a few exempted ponies, and he could put that off for two years if he decided to leave, summer allowed an out.
Or maybe I should just learn it on my own. Maybe my friends can help.
Before realizing he was there, the pony faced the partially opened door of his NSA. Inside were two voices talking, a different one from before, a male and female voice.
“You really think he can do it?”
“Yes, give him some credit. How stupid were you as a freshman?”
“I never said he was stupid. Just very innocent. You know what happens to people like that. You can’t be that naïve.”
“Fine.” There was steel in the voice, the male one. A moment of silence. “I will.”
“You are free to help, so long as you actually help. But you can’t stay in here if he doesn’t want you to. There is a sense of privacy that needs to be maintained.”
“Agreed.”
“Now, do you need any help?”
“No, it is all very simple. Find a class, see if it fits, have it ready to register. I set up a schedule before coming here.”
“Did you just want to wait here until he shows up then?”
“Yes.”
A moment’s pause. “Why are you doing this?”
“That is my business. Which means none of yours.”
The sound of confusion by one was followed by the sound of steel.
Stormy recognized the voices, Chevonne and Edward. What he didn’t know is if they were talking about him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of any other ‘he’ than himself. The self-doubt came rushing back in that instant along with his own niggling fears. Very few seemed to have any faith in him. The pegasus took a moment to calm his quivering breathe and rang a hoof against the solid metal door, it rang out hollowly but loud enough to be heard.
“Come in.” Chevonne called.
Stormy metered his steps; he tried to immolate his own normal gait and hoped it worked, he couldn’t keep his wings from drooping but kept his ears up. He would treat this like a test, just a weather test.
Chevonne sat at her desk with her computer open, chair turned to the bed where Edward sat. Her eyes were looking straight at the pony, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes, her legs fidgeted. While the other human grimaced but looked into Stormy’s eyes with his arms resting on crossed legs. Nobody talked.
Stormy forgot why he came and what help he needed, the silence continued.
Edward stood, straightening his clothes. “You are probably here for advisement on classes. I will leave you to it since you most likely want your privacy.”
“NO!” Stormy stepped forward, the response was automatic. But if the two humans had been talking about him, then one would provide better support. He was already alone. He didn’t want to be more so. “I could use another set of eyes.” He tried to smile, it wasn’t coming.
Edward sat back down straightening his back, it reminded the pony of a judge or manager having a ‘talk’ with someone.
“What do you need help with?” Chevonne tried but her voice didn’t reach its earlier tone of cheer.
“I don’t know what to do!” His problems hit the pony like a foal finding a hole in the clouds; his stomach was churning just the same. Despite the words of encouragement from the people here and a certain mare back home. Were those just being nice because they thought I couldn’t handle the truth? Again, he did his best not to let it show. This was no different than back home.
A hand with its five weird fingers fell on the pony’s back, covering both shoulder blades. It was a gentle touch, something that helped to assuage his fears if just a little. It was a sign of support, a physical sign of support and not just some words. Edward removed his hand after they made eye contact, retuning his face to its set neutrality from something kinder.
“What don’t you know? Be specific.”
“What classes to take. What to even study. Everypony…everybody,” Stormy corrected when he saws the human’s quizzical looks of knit eyebrows, one more subtle than the other. “Everybody keeps asking me about weather, assuming I’m a weather pony.”
“But you are one.”
“But I don’t want to be…” He pleaded.
Stormy stopped dead. That can’t be. I’ve always done weather. I have a weather cutie mark. I had decent marks, could eventually be a manager. How could I not want to be? But the words rang true even in his own head, he was tired of it.
“OK, that’s a start.” Edward remained neutral, but there was something else there. “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.” The panic started to return.
Chevonne finally spoke up, voice more cheerful, more what Stormy was used to hearing from her. “That’s perfectly fine. You still have a few years to decide. Why don’t you explore something new? Take some classes that interest you.”
That’s a long list! Stormy had gone through that class schedule, there were so many to choose from. How does someone narrow that down?
“Start by picking some GE’s. Later you can pick more fun classes, but get those others out of the way. That should give you some room to explore.” Chevonne offered, moving back to her computer screen and pulling up the list of classes. “What kind of things do you want to know more about? We can start there.”
Stormy looked about the room. He thought about his time on Earth and his time back home. What could he study to help him learn? “I want to study Earth! About people!”
“That is not very specific. Technically all classes involve people somehow.” Edward countered. “Be more specific.”
“What makes people people.” Stormy replied, he could feel himself rising on his hooves, heart rate increases but in a good way. Panic slowly being forgotten, but still at his periphery, ready to crash in at any moment. The pony thought for a minute about Equestria. If he wanted to learn more about home, what would he study? “History!”
His statement was meant by blank stares by both humans who then looked at each other. “Why not something like anthropology or biology? They each cover a science requirement and talk about what humans are.” Chevonne offered. “History is well…” Her sentence trailed off.
Edward picked it back up quickly. “History is violent.”
The matter of fact tone didn’t deter the pony, but he was left with another question. “What is anthropology?” He had heard that word somewhere before.
“It’s the study of people and their culture. Why they do certain things over others, what traditions they follow as well as what is taboo. It covers language and physical traits.” Chevonne offered. Emotions playing over her face, an attempt to change the topic and her own passion mixing.
“Ok. That’s two classes right?”
“You only need one anthro class though for your GE.”
“No. Anthropology and history. That should cover humans well.” Stormy felt excited on the cusp of a new world, surprised at his own change of moods. Ever since applying though he had been curious about humans. They still seemed nice for the most part, what population didn’t have less desirable people? Canterlot had its fare shares of stuck up ponies, or even egotistical ones.
“Think about your book.” Edward advised. “That is pretty much how human history works.”
That gave the pony a moment of pause, quite a few moments. “Is there a better way to learn about humans?”
Chevonne started to speak, only to be interrupted by Edward. “No. There really isn’t. Just be warned.”
Chevonne shot a sideways glance at the other human who gave a slight nod back. He mouthed something the pony didn’t catch.
“What era and what area did you want to study?” Chevonne asked, slight sputtering in her speech.
“Modern, either US or world history.” Stormy knew he had to take a few history classes, and modern would be best in his mind. It would inform him about how things are currently set up as well as keep myths out of the room. Equestrian history had some problems in anything over a couple hundred years old falling out of memory or becoming “an old mares tale” like the incident with NightMare Moon a few years back.
“That looks like…” Chevonne scrolled through several pages, eyes intently focused. “History 1C. Introduction to Western Civilization 1771 to present. It will cover the entirety of US history.”
“But that’s over 200 years? Isn’t that a long time?”
“Not really.” Chevonne closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “Humans have been around and keeping track of history for over 4000 years in some form or another.”
“Or, we have History 13C. History of the US and its Colonial Origins: 20th Century. That would be just the 1900’s. There are three separate ones, each covering a different century, they would all be useful.”
“That last one.” If the world had over 4000 years of history, he would get a grasp of how it was now and work backwards.
“Let’s see, it’s typically a sequence.” Chevonne scrolled some more. “Normally it is only offered on the Spring. But… you are in luck, for some reason they are offering it in Fall as well as 13A which covers how the United States became a country.”
“The times are… Monday, Wednesday from eleven to twelve twenty-five for lecture and the same time on Friday for discussion.” She hit some more buttons and paper ejected from a device from the small bookshelf at the back of her desk. Chevonne handed the summary to Stormy for registration the next day.
All three sat there for an hour, going through classes and possibilities until he finally had three classes picked. He tried for a mythology class, but it conflicted with history on Fridays so the pony had to decide which he would rather take.
In the end Stormy settled for History 13C, Anthropology 7: Human Evolution, and Geology 1: Intro to Earth and Space Science.
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oh boy if he starts at present day history and works his way back he's going to find out that even just a few hundred years ago most humans were just violent brain dead idiots.
I love the choices Stormy picked.
I'm just a nerd for stuff about Space Science/Astronomy
Oh how I can't wait for his reaction to the 20th century. SOOOO many things to pick!
5110760 Wait,
that's not true of today???
5110795 >> NO! Not when they involve geology. Geology is evil
5110825
It was a time of peace and prosperity, a golden age.
Not sure how to approach it.
5110918
Oops >.< hehe, alright.
5110918 It was a kind of a golden age AFTER two world wars.
School days.
That title brings back terrifying memories, and I already know that it isn't in the same vein as that anime.
Alright, on to the first chapter.
5110976 Feel like I should watch that after how many people have said the same thing. Maybe after "When the Cicadas Cry"
or "Elfin Lied" 
5111001 It's a terrible show. And I don't mean 'OH MY GOD ALL OF THE BLOOD' terrible, although that's there too.
It's eleven and a half episodes of someone being a douchebag in a harem drama and half an episode of brutal murder.
Haven't finished the first chapter yet, but I've got to say: use enter more often! When you've finished a paragraph, don't be content with the 'tab' key, space it out! It's still hard to read. Perhaps not as hard as reading something without tab or space at all, but still just not very easy on the eyes.
The most mind blowing class for me was probably Intro to Philosophy. Realizing that that many things I had taken for granted were potentially very wrong was fascinating.
5112080 That isn't even all the stress.
It isn't just one culture, and you forgot the stress of classes among others. Or the fact he represents a species, a race, not just a country.
Sunny Skies. At least she's not white with a pink mane this time .
5114633 Yeah, cliche. Needed this one for something later. When using certain characters there are things that must be stuck with, like color.
5114633 I was thinking this sounds like celestia in disguise
You know I've got to ask, Equss has more than just Ponies/Zebra living on it. There's Gryphons, Buffalo, Diamond Dogs, even dragons. Don't they deserve a chance in the human world as well?
5119039 Who says there aren't any?
5119105 Maybe he is well insulated?
5119495 Well we've only seen ponies and a Zebra. Stormy said himself that he would have been grateful to see any other creature from Equss, during one of the chapters
5119737 But have yet to say there aren't and have not given reasons why either. Until that moment he doubted even a zebra would be there. But you also have to look at what standards are required, and not just the standardized tests or the whole 'civilized' question. Would a fully grown dragon fit through the portal? Why would these different races want to go? And my personal favorite, the imagining a griffon on a commercial airplane.
5120019 I kind of see Diamond dogs as imigrants looking for a better life for their pups, teenage dragon=human size, Gryphons would probably get along better with humans and would probably have the same prob as storm.
5120090 Nice answer!
For that, you get a legit answer. 
It is not just ponies and zebras, there is at least one other species there. 
But what happens if a dragon goes through a growth spurt or greed growth?
5120160 That's a tricky question, based on what I've read from other fic's, either the dragon can naturally use magic to keep itself at a smaller size, or uses some-sort of magical device. As for greed-growth, most likely the dragon would have to take out an insurance waiver, or sign some documents entailing financial reimbursement do to damages. Most dragons usually have a large hoard and those more interested in knowledge or whatever would make a dragon sign up for college, would hand over some of it.
5120392 That is... a really good idea. May use that at some point.
If you ever have any other ideas I am all ears
5120757 Sure, I got one, what if the other nations on equss wanted their own portals to earth for their nations to use, rather than have Equestria have a monopoly on who gets access? Plus, when things really get into swing, travel going from equss to earth would probably get really congested fast. So, how would they set up new portals, and where would either side be set up at?
5120773 Don't forget nations on Earth
But how did it come about in the first place? That would also be studied.
5121620 True.
Don't you usually need 4-6 classes to hit fulltime hours? I suggest filling out the courseload with Women's Studies or a math.
5127004 3 is typical unless you are talking about fiat lux (freshman seminars) that are only 1 unit. And I know of very few people that could even attempt let alone succeed at 5 classes at UCLA. 4 is even crazy by most standards.
5127185
Ah, looks like it's a vastly different course of study than I'm used to. I'm expecting 120 credit hours for a bacholers, courses being 3-4 each, and a 12-18 (15) credit workload being normal. looks like UCLA gets you out the door with about 48 units. Those classes must be massive to support the 2.5:1 ratio. Something like 3 labs, a homework, and a quiz each class each week.
5127278 You do realize classes are all of ten weeks long, there are three quarters a year. Classes are 4-5 units each (although there was this 15 unit behemoth
) Requires between 180 and 200 units minimum to graduate with a bachelors depending on major. Translates to roughly 15 units a quarter if you ignore summer. And ignoring AP test results for incoming Freshmen and the obvious issues with transfers.
Not sure what you mean with the 2.5:! ratio though.
5127504
Ah, I misread the website. That... well, that explains everything. Thanks!
5127551 No problem.
Yeah, if something sounds off it probably is. And I'm curious what website it from.
The courseload though
I think 20th century history is most effective way to see worst side of humans (WW2) and brighest side (Space race).
5129086
I misread the 48 credit requirement from one of these pages at: UCLA
It's listed a few times in different places, it looks like that's just a GE requirement.
Although now it's stuck in my head that he ends up taking Women's Studies because he forgets that mare = woman, and just thinks it's an Anthropology.
5152115
You've probably seen them. Naruto obsessed, usually heavily overweight, always has something to say bout japan etc.
5152232 You have obviously never passed out durian to dorm mates
weeaboo is a pejorative name (with a fascinating history) with connotations like otaku (or neck beard) but much worse. The body pillow has that kind of reaction even if that wasn't the goal. Some roommates just mess with each other's heads.
My one experience with a "weeaboo" was in ASL and she got her entire knowledge of the country from anime (two of the longer ones), wished she were Japanese and stated fact that were so erroneous (like Kanji, the main Japanese script is not learned until high school when it actually starts in first grade).
5165107 "Helicopters don't really fly. They are so ugly the ground repels them."
Wish it was my joke, but old aviators have a sense of humor.
Glad you liked it.
http://www.airaffair.com/Library/Archive/Part2/heli_humor
5169313 There is an aspect of luck involved in a story being well-liked. The pacing is intentional as it always a better payoff in the end. It being his perspective isn't making it more well received.
The journey to registration is confusing, the first time at a new campus is. You have no clue where you are or where you're going. I got lost for an hour looking for one building while using a map.
As for the bathroom, there were three reasons for that scene ignoring the social awkwardness of using a girl's restroom. The curiosity for how a pony's toilet would work. The fact that Stormy would have considered it unique and made note of it, as things become more familiar scenes like that fade away. And it is a scene that may come back again, it's often the little things that come back and stick out in memories.
And the complaints about slowness have included how Stormy is rather oblivious and has yet to really notice racism (among a few other things).
And glad you are enjoying it.
Didn't notice I was on the most recent chapter.... I so sad now.
5152131
5152560
So a weeaboo is pretty much an insulting term for somebody that is overly zealous towards anime or Japanese culture, often times without actually knowing much of anything about them. Learn something new every day I guess.
5173271 Very nice summation.
It also tends to get attributed to people outside that area. Kinda like how fox news reports on bronies.
And sorry, don't always have time to write but glad you are enjoying it.
5173128 Also chemistry. Without knowing the difference between two competing amino acids is could end badly. So biochem. Maybe some kinesiology for how the body moves and how its supposed to move.
5173939
Thank you greatly, my friends bitch at me for having such an overpowered talent so I've been looking for ways to flesh out a backstory. so far his social life seems non-existent, with most of his focus going towards his schooling and work. Also, due to the large amount of focus he would have to have in order to successfully pull off a self body transmutation (and my belief that it would be very painful), he would have to either use a high grade pain killing spell/drug, or he would have to also learn how to create complex runes.
So far on the class list is:
Biology
Chemistry
Biochemistry
Kinesiology
Spell crafting
Rune casting
5177281 Ok, this is fun.
ouch, sounds painful.
On the self
Seeing visions of Edward Elric
Depends on how you set it up. Are changes made in the brain or blood vessels? How the body responds to that and if he has to decide where everything goes. Pain killers also dull the mind and slow it. Sorry, tend to overthink things
http://www.chem.ucla.edu/dept/Ugrad/Majors/biochem.htm first thing on found on biochem but your world may work differently.
How do you have runes working?
As a person with a History Degree, I approve of this direction
Sadly people forget, that there is no such thing as true History, only Archelogical History or Anthropological History. "Pure" history is a combination of the former.
5289379 Very true. Do you keep up with the freedom of information releases? They gave out new information on WWII, or other little hidden gems that are completely disturbing that get hidden?
Had a weird teacher that made us read about both sides, and then argue them in class.
And thank you
I try. And if you have any suggestions about how to approach it 
5289824 Well, I underwent the UK system- we don't have "Major's" persay. We apply for a course (IE "History" or "Theology") and we're asigned core moduals automaticaly then given a limited options within our school. We don;t get any general studies one.
In regards to both sides arguments, we pretty much had to do that in all of our essays. However, with leaning to whichever side you're trying to support.
In regards to reading- I'm a member of the "Fortress Study Group" (international organisation for the study of fortifiactions). Other than that, I buy whatever academic books that get my interest. Or useful reading for my re-enactment group.
5290160 Can you give some more detail? Core modules? What kind of options? So is it more specialized?
Too many essays and classes here are about towing the party line.
European fortifications? Anything Eastern? Heck, all knowledge is good knowledge.
5290917 In regards to the degree- for the UK we have 6 moduals throughout the entire year (3 per semester). For the first 2 years (out of the three) you have 5/4 preselected moduals. For the finial year, depending on which univerity you're attending you either get to choose all 4 of your moduals or only 2 moduals (out of the six), of course on modual is dedicated to your dissertation. For my uni, you had 1 general modual for the first two years (as ih "how to reference, how to give presentations" ect)
In regards to specialisation, it is very specialised. All your core moduals are related to your degree and the options you are given are from within your own department. So yea, very specialised.
In regards to the Fortress Study Group, it is primarily focused on European fortifcations (due to the bulk of membership being European). However there are articles about non-European fortifications. All the articles in the season journals are submitted by the membership itself (once passed the screening/editing)
I still don't entirely understand how the college system works.
At the University things were very simple. I picked Architecture, applied for this, and started studying. There was a test you had to do beforehand so I new what I wanted to learn.
Information was incomplete so the best course of action was to ask majors. The O-week was mainly party and messing with the students. They made us design a building and enjoyed us totally failing at it.
Oh boy I can't for stormy reaction then there is videogames and anime.(looks at call of duty and every war anime)
I dint think I had any really weird classes. My philosophy class was... Different. I did have a really weird professor though. I had a liberal hippie professor in ... Wait for it ... Fundamentals of materials engineering.