Starlight Glimmer's First Student: A "Human"?!

by Clockwork2003

Chapter 20: Teacher's Tea Time

I could have sworn that I saw Princess Starlight and her student, along with Twilight and another human, flying overhead. I don’t really know for sure, but I did see two streaks of purple in the heavens. I am trotting very carefully, per my rider’s request of maintaining a slow and steady pace. I’ve thought about this before, but I can see why Starlight enjoys this activity. Besides soothing my muscles, spending time with another creature and learning how to cooperate with one is a learning experience!

Noah’s mother is looking around at the sights of Ponyville, curious about what other points of interest there are. She doesn’t really ask me anything, since she’s mostly taking it all in, but if she changes her mind, I’ll be more than happy to fill her in on what we have to offer. I think we left Sugarcube Corner some ten minutes ago, and my flat is another few minutes away. I wonder if Lyra would mind that I brought home a human for a visit! She’s a nice mare, but she’s not very big on trying new things. I can understand that, but we’re in a new age, now!

Those final few minutes of silence have passed, and I see my apartment in front of me. I sigh, glad that I’m back home, and that the weather cleared up since I left. I turn my head back towards my alien passenger, just to check in on her.

“Noah’s Mom. We’re home. I think this is where your free ride ends. Do you need me to sit down so you can get off, or are you nimble enough to dismount yourself?” I ask her. She takes a minute to think about my question, before nodding.

“I think I can handle getting off on my own. I am forty-five years old, but I am not losing my agility just yet!” She says, slowly but surely moving one of her legs around my body, and carefully climbing down off my back. Remembering that I have a bridle in my mouth, she walks in front of me and gently removes the pieces, and puts them into my saddlebag.

“There you go, Bon Bon! All of your stuff is gone. You said you can handle removing your own saddle, so I didn’t bother taking that off. I hope you don’t mind!” She says. I smile at her, and that reassures the human woman that she was in the right. Her intentions were kind and noble, so I am not upset if she forgot to do something, intentionally or by mistake. I trot forward towards the front door of my apartment, and I knock; Noah’s mom at my side, wondering who’s going to answer.

“Who’s at home, Bon Bon? Is it your friend?” She asks me, unsure of what she’s going to see next. I nod my head and reply. “Yeah, Lyra’s home; at least I think she is!” Affirming my suspicion, the yellow door becomes enveloped in lime green magic, and it slowly opens, revealing my marefriend Lyra!

“Hey, Bon Bon! Long time no see! Is that the human woman you said you’d bring back?” She says, making way for us to enter the apartment. Noah’s mother takes off her shoes and leaves them at the front of the apartment, and she hangs up her coat rather neatly on the saddlerack.

Noah’s mother looks around at our rather quaint living room, and she cracks a smile. “You two seem to know how to build a home. I love the fireplace you have set up in the center of the apartment! I hope one of you knows how to make hot cocoa when the days get colder!” She chuckles, as Lyra is fidgeting in place.

“Don’t ask me, ma’am. Ask Bon Bon. She’s the epicurean specialist. I just make music and bug her unintentionally.” Lyra says, her horn quickly lighting up with magic.

“One minute, Bon Bon, UniPhone. It’s Trixie.” My marefriend says, quickly teleporting away to somewhere quieter. If Trixie is calling her, then it must be something about the school of Friendship! I am surprised that the showmare found herself in such a steady position in the government! I am proud of her. In the meantime, I need to be a good hostpony, so I look at my fellow teacher and ask her what she’d like to do.

“Lyra is a chatterbox. She’ll be on the UniPhone for a while. Is there anything I can get you to drink? You didn’t have anything a Sugarcube Corner, and I assume humans need food and water like ponies! You’re not my prisoner!” I chuckle. Noah’s mom takes a minute to think about my request, before seemingly coming up with a response.

“Do you have tea, Bon Bon? I like to drink tea, and maybe I can tell you a bit more about the students that I work with.” She asks me curiously.

I smile at the human woman and beckon her with my hoof to follow me. She does so, and we walk around the apartment into the kitchenette, where I have a secret stash of teabags! I open the drawer hiding the tea, and I reveal an assortment of flavors! You imagine the flavor, I have it! It’s Lyra’s guilty pleasure. She loves tea, so I always have a few dozen teabags on my pony at all times! Being kind pays off!

“Ooh! I see you have chamomile, do you mind if I have some?” Noah’s mother asks me. I nod, and carefully select one teabag of chamomile tea. I fumble a bit with my hooves to take it out since you have to pull the packets out manually if you’re an Earth Pony. Noah’s mother sees this and uses her nimble little “fingers” to assist me.

I am taken aback by the woman’s kindness, and I smile at her.

“Thank you, Noah’s mom. I really appreciate it!” I say in gratitude, quickly taking out a second bag of chamomile tea. I trot over to my cupboard, and open the door, revealing some teacups.

“The hot water dispenser is the tiny dial next to the sink. You can pick any teacup you want!” I tell Noah’s mom. She walks over next to me and takes out a white porcelain teacup. Slowly walking towards the sink, she places her cup underneath the water dispenser and activates it with her free hand. Once she’s collected her water, she returns to the island in the kitchenette and places the cup on the marble.

“Wait for me before you start sipping away!” I chuckle, quickly repeating the process my new human acquaintance performed so eloquently. Once I am finished with that, the two of us take out teacups back towards the living room, and we sit on the sofa, one cushion apart from each other, so we can look at each other while we drink tea and talk.

Noah’s mother sips the tea and is quite happy with the flavor she selected! While I like all teas, chamomile happens to be one of my favorites, although Lyra won’t drink anything that doesn’t have sugar!

“You honestly drink tea better than Rarity, Noah’s mom; and that’s saying something!” I compliment her. She puts her cup down and looks at me in confusion.

“Who’s Rarity, Bon Bon?” She asks me, unsure of who exactly I am referring to. That’s right! She’s a human who’s never met ponies before. Of course, she wouldn’t know who Rarity is. I am so silly for assuming she does!

“My apologies, dear. Rarity is a unicorn pony who runs a boutique clothing store in Ponyville, and she’s well known for her eloquence and poise. I forgot you’re not from here, but the comparison would have made sense to anypony else.” I chuckle, a bit embarrassed.

“You think that’s a problem? Noah makes references to things I’ve never even conceived of! I don’t know anything about politics, and that’s all the boy talks about! Comparing me to a pony is the least of my worries!”

Well, that makes me feel better. Now, I am quite intrigued to hear about how exactly special education, or even education in general, works on Noah’s planet. While I presume his mother is quite knowledgeable in her field, I am not going to assume that she is the foremost authority on differentiated learning or even basic pedagogy! I just want to know what she thinks, and maybe her ideas could be implemented in Twilight’s school.

“So, Noah’s mom. I have a question for you. Is that alright?”

She nods and gives me her undivided attention. Oh, what I would do to get that from Lyra! She’s always focusing on something else, even when she’s trying to pay attention to me. It doesn’t matter, I love her for who she is!

“Ask away, Bon Bon. You seem like a sensible person, er, a sensible pony, so I think your question will be quite poignant!”

I like this woman. I like her a lot. She is very pragmatic, and even a bit blasé! Maybe Lyra can learn a thing or two from her! Wait, that’s not the point. The question. I need to ask the question!

“Right. My question is this. Can you tell me a bit about some of your students? I assume you have some level of confidentiality in your work, so you don’t have to disclose any names or personal details. I just want to know what your teaching style is, and whether Equestria could use some of it!” I think this is a perfectly fair question to ask. I hope the human in front of me agrees!

“Well, I won’t go into any personal details, as you said, but I can tell you about one of my more inspiring students. Will that be alright with you?” She asks me, just to ensure that we’re both on the same page. I nod and urge her to continue with her tale.

“She’s the sweetest little girl of thirteen years. She looks, acts, and behaves like any other young woman her age. She’s kind, bubbly, and sociable. However, when you look at her IEP, you start to see some troublesome things. She’s not cognitively delayed, but she has a few learning challenges. Have you ever heard of verbal dyspraxia before, Bon Bon?”

I’m sorry, verbal what now? I’ve never heard of such a term before in my life! Heck, I’ve listened to Princess Luna give an address in Ancient Ponish, and even that made more sense to me. Noah’s mother sees my confused and startled muzzle and tries to come up with a different way of explaining it to me.

“Maybe you haven’t discovered it yet?” My fellow teacher says, taking another sip of her tea. Putting the mug down, she seems to have come up with a way to explain this condition to me.

“Put simply, Bon Bon, dyspraxia is a family of conditions that affect coordination and movement. Sometimes, this can cause a person to have poor balance, hearing, etc, but in verbal dyspraxia, the issue is with diction, sound-making, and intonation in speech. More often than not, it’s also tied in with dyslexia, which is a disorder that makes it harder for humans to read.”

I’ve heard of dyslexia before, and I’ve had some firsthoof experience teaching with students who have it! I had to tutor Scootaloo a few times for primary school, and the poor pegasus filly can’t read. She’s thirteen now, and barely reads like a first-grade foal! I really feel bad for the poor filly. I think she has a new tutor now, but I am not sure, I really need to check in on her.

“This student of mine, even though she is thirteen, and acts like any other adolescent, has the reading level of a kindergartener, and is barely making it through school. I was assigned her case when she entered fourth grade, so I’ve seen her progress. She managed to read her first book this year! I am honestly shocked that the administration lets the poor child complete each year. How can an eighth-grader be at a kindergarten reading level?! What I worry about is that once she makes it to ninth grade, her poor academics are going to impact her social life. Already her peers bully her for not speaking properly, and for not being able to read at grade level. I have to sit with the poor girl at lunch, so she’s not by herself!” Noah’s mom says, clearly upset about this youngster’s condition.

“I’m so sorry for that little girl, Noah’s mom. I wish there was something I can do to help?” I say, trotting over to the woman and patting her on the back. I know from experience that teaching is, more often than not, a thankless job. For special education teachers, even more so! They work like draftponies to provide an education for their students, and get paid subpar wages as thanks!

I am quite glad that Noah’s mom isn’t breaking down in tears right now. I know that other ponies assigned this case would be having a mental breakdown on Day 1! I can only imagine what her day is like when she’s working.

“Bon Bon, would you like to know why I got involved with special education?” Noah’s mother asks me, quite eager to lay off her stress. I don’t mind one bit! Teachers have a common bond with each other that allows them to share things that are easily understood. The desire to teach, regardless of ability, transcends age, sex, or as this new program has proven, species!

“Sure, why did you become a special education teacher?” I ask, quite eager to hear what inspired Noah’s mother. I have a feeling that it has something to do with her son, but I am not going to fill in the blanks. That’s her job, not mine! Usually, people only care about issues that directly affect them, so it would make sense for Noah’s mom to become a special ed teacher after having a special needs child.

Noah’s mom sighs and begins to tell me why she got involved in special education.

“Almost nineteen years ago, I had a baby boy. I’ll be honest with you, he was the cutest little thing! Noah is my firstborn child, so I didn’t know what I was getting into. I was very naive, and I thought that raising a child would be a simple task. After all, literally, all of my forebears had to have done the same, or my species wouldn’t exist! The first 18 months of Noah’s life were normal. He met all of his milestones, was in the right percentile for everything, and made me and his father proud.” She says, smiling about the seemingly easier times in the past.

“So, what went wrong, if you don’t mind me asking?” I probe further. I want to know more! This could help with the School of Friendship, right?

“Well, I wouldn’t say anything went wrong, but things didn’t go as planned.” She chuckles, trying to phrase what she’s saying in an accessible manner.

“You said while we were riding that your Princess Twilight Sparkle is autistic too, correct?” She asks me. I nod my head, and she continues.

“So, what do you remember about her? What makes her different from other ponies?”

I take a minute to think about what Noah’s mom asked me, and I can think of a few things off the top of my head. I hope she agrees!

“Well, she’s bad at eye contact. That’s the number one telltale sign, right? She often gets hyper fixated on the seemingly obscure subject matter, and has an intelligence that scares me!”

To be totally honest, I don’t know Princess Twilight all that well. I know whatever Lyra told me from her time at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. I don’t even think Lyra and Twilight have kept in touch all that often, so this information could very well be quite out of date!

“You’re spot on about your autism facts, Bon Bon. Don’t kid yourself. However, since autism is a spectrum, it’s important to note that symptoms manifest in different ways for different people.” My guest says, finishing her tea. I barely touched mine, because I am so infatuated with this alien woman telling me about her schooling methods and her son! I take a sip from my cup and perk my ears up. I want to know more!

“Well, back to Noah, the first thing that seemed out of place was that he was reading before he was toilet trained.” She chuckles. Reading before being toilet trained. How old would a foal be for that to happen? A year and a half? Two years, even?

“H-how old was he?” I ask, startled by this revelation.

“Seventeen months; and he was speaking in full sentences. That is when I realized something was off about him. While my ex-husband and I found Noah’s hyper advancement to be amusing at first, it quickly became something of concern. Imagine if Noah read about a horrific tragedy in the newspaper, and asked me about it?!”

Oh my. I didn’t even think of that. What horrible events could have happened on Earth that a toddler with hyperintelligence could read about in the post? I don’t even want to ask! I think the mere thought is horrifying in of itself!

“The final straw was the eye contact. As a baby, Noah was very alert. He looked around at everyone, followed all of the normal development milestones, and then around his first birthday it just stopped. My son was there, in my arms, uninterested in anything that I was trying to do with him. He just vanished into his own little world. While he did speak to me, he never spoke to me more than he needed to. Even today, he’s rather “out of it” and in his own headspace.”

Noah’s mom sighs and continues. I think this is where the meat of the story is coming in!

“I know I shouldn’t be upset. Noah’s Asperger’s diagnosis wasn’t the end of the world. There are many parents who have special needs children much lower functioning than him. Some are confined to wheelchairs, others are totally non-verbal! Noah is very high functioning and too verbal at times! But, seeing him grow up without anybody to speak to in school and being bullied for being different just completely and utterly broke me.”

Again, I am really surprised that Noah’s mom isn’t bawling like a foal right now. She’s built differently! I respect that, a lot! She sighs, and continues her story, explaining why she became a special education teacher.

“That is why I pivoted from regular teaching to special education. I want to pay it forward. I acknowledge that my son is luckier than most, getting all the therapies and treatments he needed, but there are other kids and young adults who need more help. I feel duty-bound to provide that assistance.”

I finish my tea, and I sit there in silence for a few moments; trying to process what I just heard. How can humans need this Friendship program if they have creatures like Noah’s mom? She’s so selfless and puts others’ needs before her own! I simply don’t get it, not one bit! I get up from my spot on the sofa and trot towards Noah’s mom. I embrace her with every fiber of my being, and she’s quite startled. After a while, she returns the embrace, and the two of us are just hugging on the sofa.

“Noah’s mom, you’re built different, you know that? I know I’ve only met a few humans, but from what I’ve seen, you’re one of the most selfless creatures I’ve ever met, and in Equestria, most ponies are quite selfless! I think that your approaches will work quite well in Twilight’s School of Friendship. In fact, I think we should work together! Wouldn’t that be fun?”

As the two of us quickly separate our bodies, I move back to my spot on the sofa. Noah’s mother thinks about my offer for a few moments, before smiling. I see her bright blue eyes with a single tear exiting each.

“It would be fun, indeed. I think you “ponies” are the missing link in helping kids like my son. I don’t know what it is, but if I can learn your ways, I think I’d be a much wiser, and kinder human being.”Aww! She’s so cute! I think I’d also be a much wiser, kinder pony if I listened to her. We’re going to be a great team!

I finally hear Lyra’s loud clobbering, coming down the stairs from our bedroom, where I assume she was on the phone with Trixie. Why can’t she trot like a normal pony? It’s so loud and she needs to improve her gait! She’ll break a hoof one day if she keeps this up. Why in Celestia’s name am I the only pony who thinks about Lyra Heartstrings? She finally enters our living room and looks at both of us with excitement.

“Guess what?!” Lyra exclaims, clearly happy about something.

“What is it, Lyra?” We both ask in unison.

“Woah, creepy. Don’t ditch me for the human woman, Bon Bon!” She says, sarcastically. Noah’s mother laughs, clearly amused by this demeanor of Lyra’s.

“I’m not into women, or ponies, for that matter. I am not going after Bon Bon. We just bonded over teacher stuff. Nothing serious.” Noah’s mom says, trying to reassure Lyra.

“I figured. I have “fooler-dar” you know. Unicorns can detect all sorts of emotions from all sapient creatures, both pony and otherwise. I’d know if you were into mares, but that’s not the point. I have some good news!”

Good news? I love good news! I think humans would like good news, too!

“So, spill the beans, Heartstrings?!” I say, quite interested to hear what the showpony had to say for herself.

Lyra doesn’t say anything, and instead just teleports the three of us somewhere. I swear, if she tries that schtick again with me, I am not making her dinner for a month! I know her ADHD makes her hyper, but that doesn’t excuse her from teleporting three creatures without asking first! I assume we’re at Twilight’s castle because all of the walls are made of crystal.

The three of us quickly reorient ourselves, as a blue showpony gallops into the room, with a human girl astride her. I’ll take it that’s Noah’s sister? I’ll say this: Whoever this human girl clearly knows how to treat a pony. Trixie and the human were riding as one creature, minds perfectly synced with each other. Nocreature was master over the other!

“Trixie has AMAZING NEWS! We have our first human student. She’s in the castle right now!”

The human girl spurs Trixie back the other way, towards the Cutie Map room. I am a bit tired, so I am not as interested in galloping like an athlete to meet this human pupil. Lyra follows Trixie, quite eagerly at that, and Noah’s mother and I walk leisurely to the aforementioned room.

“A student, huh? That fast?” Noah’s mother asks me, as we finally arrive in the room with the Cutie Map; a good five minutes later than Lyra, Trixie, and her rider. I don’t see a new human anywhere, but I see Noah, Princess Starlight, Princess Twilight, Noah’s sister riding Trixie, and Lyra.

Noah notices his mother and waves, and she waves back.

“Hey, kid. How are you doing?” She asks him, as he shrugs.

“Went for a joyride with my marefriend. Twilight wanted to try riding, so she “borrowed” Rebecca for a riding session. She’s scared of heights, so she’s sticking to the Trixie Express. Our address went swimmingly, and we got a human through the portal!

Starlight moves out of the way, and Noah’s mother gasps. The young girl looks at her and smiles.
“Hi, Miss Weiss!” The teenager says, quite surprised to see her teacher in Equestria. Her green eyes are sparkling with joy, and her pale skin is quite blushed!

Weiss, huh? That’s her surname. Weirdest surname I’ve ever heard!

“Hello, Anastasia!” Noah’s mom, who I’ll now call “Miss Weiss.” for simplicity says to the girl.

This just got weird, but I am glad Miss Weiss has a student she recognizes! I just hope that her reading deficiency doesn't impede her Friendship progress. I think Princess Twilight has gotten this all figured out.

Comments

[Icantthinkofanythinglol]

I like this woman. I like her a lot. She is very pragmatic, and even a bit blasé! Maybe Lyra can learn a thing or two from her! Wait, that’s not the point. The question. I need to ask the question!

Like I said, “a bit blasé” is the understatement of the decade