School Conference
Skyla and I sat in Principal Ivory Tower's office, along with mom and dad. She was going to tell mom and dad about how Skyla and I were doing before Hearth's Warming break, and I was bored. I knew I was doing pretty well, so I wasn't worried about anything.
"Princess Cadence, Prince Armor, thanks for arriving," Principal Ivory calmly said as she levitated and opened a folder. "I'll get to the point and start with Skyla.
"Skyla's performance in class is slightly above average. Her teachers have reported that she sometimes thinks about food and what to try next instead of the class topic, and can get easily distracted."
"That sounds about normal," dad said. "Did you implement the wards I showed you?"
"Yes. They worked wonders to keep her out of the kitchen and our budget in order, as you promised. Since they went up, so did her grades."
"I just wanted a snack!" Skyla groused.
"Forty cupcakes is not a snack, Skyla," mom sternly said.
"That's as many as four tens," I added. "And that's bad."
"We have the same wards at home for the same reason," dad said. “They only failed when Skyla got Inova to go past them.” Memories of a hard hoof hitting my flank for that came back and sent a shiver up my spine. Skyla was a lot less quiet than I was when it was her turn.
“Skyla has otherwise shown herself to be quite cheerful and sociable,” Principle Ivory continued. “At this point, she’s on good terms with nearly everypony in each of her classes, and can name something good about each one of them. It’s almost to the point where it’s faster and easier to list those that aren’t in her herd of friends and acquaintances.”
“That’s good to hear,” mom said.
“All I can recommend is to work on her study habits to bring her grades up, which should be easier to focus on since her appetite is mostly under control.”
“We are still working on that,” dad assured. The buffet ban still had a few months left on it, and she still complained about it.
“Of course. That's everything of note for Skyla. As for Inova. . . She’s quite the mixed bag. She’s still struggling in her general fitness, flight, and magic classes and is at the bottom of those three in her year, possibly the whole school. I haven’t compared the scores across that level yet.”
Dad’s face twisted in confusion. “Is it even possible to fail general fitness?”
“She puts in the effort, but keeps tripping over her own hooves. The fact that she keeps getting back up and trying again in spite of that is what’s keeping her from failing it. Flight and magic aren’t quite as simple as that, though.”
“She’s still forgetting about her wings and horn?”
“As often as three times per week on occasion.” I looked down at my hooves in shame, since I’d forgotten about my wings and horn again before the meeting started. “It is an improvement from last year, at least. Her understanding of the paper material is very good in both, and she still tries in magic, but it’s like there’s a block of some kind keeping her from casting properly.”
“I had a thaumic scan done on her, and there’s nothing blocking her magic that way,” mom said.
“Just as Limelight himself reported. How she understands the paper part and intricacies better than 90% of those in her year and the one above, yet has so much trouble casting, that is confusing. Even those with less understanding are performing better than her on the casting portions.”
“And flight?”
“She’s scraping by in that class on an even slimmer margin. Aside from forgetting her wings, she’s still terrified to step onto a cloud, even when it’s a small one mere inches off the ground, and even when Radar is standing right there on it. Anytime she manages to get just a little bit off the ground, fear seems to take over and she goes back down, if her front legs don't give out when she tries. Once again, her understanding of the principles is outstanding, and she does try, but her performance is very lackluster.”
"Wait wait wait," dad urgently said. "What's this about her front legs giving out?"
"I was able to see it myself a few times. When she tries to control her wings, she seems to lose control of her front legs and often falls forward. Radar hasn't been able to figure it out, but she thinks it's a mental issue instead of physical."
He looked at me. "Inova?"
"I keep trying, but I can't!" I said. "It's really difficult for some reason."
“What do you suggest?” Mom asked.
Principal Ivory took a breath. “As much as it pains me to say this, she will need remedial home lessons in those categories, ideally from both of you, possibly even Skyla. Know that I do not make this suggestion lightly.”
“It’s really that bad?” dad asked.
“Yes. In fact, I have one other piece of bad news about Inova: there’s one unicorn filly, Nightshade, that’s been bullying her.”
Mom and dad both looked at me. “Why didn’t you tell us about this?” Mom demanded more than asked.
“She’s only a problem at school,” I said, though I had a feeling that answer wasn’t good enough.
“Nightshade’s bullying plays on all of Inova’s weaknesses. In addition, there’s also teasing and mocking statements around those weaknesses. Skyla has leapt to Inova’s defense, even threatening to bring the Crystal Guard in, but Inova stops her from doing that. At the same time, Inova hasn't done anything to retaliate."
"Can't you step in to do something?" Mom pleaded.
"We've tried talking to both of them, but it hasn't done much, if anything. However, it hasn't escalated to the point where we have to take more drastic measures. If they get into an actual fight, then we can and will take greater action. Until then, and unless Inova comes to us, we’re leaving the matter between them.
“Leaving that behind, Inova is actually excelling in her other classes, with just the occasional curiosity here and there." The change of topic was a relief to me. "We’ve actually moved her two years ahead to the fifth grade math classes, and she’s helping teach some of the students at that level. Are you sure she hasn’t had prior experience with numbers?” The question was in jest, but it also sounded sincerely curious.
“Math just seems natural to her,” dad said. “When she’s out shopping with us, she’s usually within 2 bits of the final total.”
“It’s just simple addition,” I said. “And some multiplication.”
“How do you keep track of all those numbers?” Skyla asked me. “I get lost after a fourth number gets put on before the equal sign.”
“I just do the math as I go.”
Principal Ivory cleared her throat. “Continuing on, Inova’s grasp of Equish is ironclad, with Social Studies close behind. We’ve been giving her fourth grade material and are strongly considering moving her up to that level. The only oddity is her question about there being other languages to learn.”
“Yeah, why aren’t there?” It was something that really bugged me, and I had no idea why.
Mom answered. “It’s because Celestia’s been around for so long as Equestria’s Princess, other languages simply diminished and vanished as foreign relations simply became easier in Equish, then it simply trickled down from there. Practical and political reasons.”
“But. . .” It was the same explanation as before, and it did make sense, but it still didn’t sit quite right with me. I just had a feeling that there had to be more.
“I’ll see if a few books on unique cultural dialects and expressions can resolve her confusion,” Principal Ivory said before writing a note. “While she’s not excelling the same way in history, she’s still a top student there in her year. An odd thing she sometimes does is tap out something that feels like music on occasion, and she has come up with words for some of the tunes. Noble Note’s notes notably note that bringing up certain things brings out these tunes. While there’s no discernible pattern for the topics yet, bringing up the same topic brings up the same tune. For example, the pegasus general that's known for flying higher than anyone else in the skirmishes with the griffons in 359 ANM.”
I tapped the floor a bit to the tune I’d come up with for the Red Baron, and the few words I'd found for it. “Higher, the king of the sky. He’s flying too fast and he’s flying too high.”
“See? It’s actually helping some of her classmates remember the material. I’d like to hear a whole song from her at some point. Unfortunately, we can’t enroll her in any music classes due to her sound sensitivity, which she understood immediately. Finally, there’s one last topic that needs to be addressed: her friends. More accurately, her lack of friends. For all her brilliance, for all that her classmates rely on her for help with their work, she hasn’t been seen casually socializing with anypony."
"She still hasn't made any friends?" Dad asked, sounding exasperated.
"No. We've tried to coax her into making friends, but each attempt only made her distance herself more, so we stopped trying."
"So have we," mom tiredly added.
"That's something she'll have to work on on her own when she's ready."
"Is there anything else, Principal Ivory?"
Principal Ivory looked through her papers. "No, there isn't." She put them back into the folder and let mom take them. "We will keep an eye on Inova's issue with Nightshade. If it does get bad, you will be informed. Have a good day."
We left and I was feeling way less confident than when we arrived. It felt like Skyla got off easier than I did.
On the way home, we split up. Dad and Skyla went to take care of some non-food errands while mom and I went to the market for some groceries. As soon as we entered, some of the ponies behind their stands briefly tensed up, then relaxed.
I overheard a stallion quietly say, "Thank goodness Skyla's not here. I can't take another hit like that." Naturally, I knew what he was talking about. Not the exact case, but it wasn't hard to figure out what happened.
Our first stop was a stall with a variety of fruits and vegetables. While mom picked things out, I started adding up the cost. "2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 14. . ." I called out the total when she went to the counter to buy the stuff. "25 bits."
The pony running the stall double checked his math, then looked at me with a smile. "That's right."
Mom paid the stallion, then levitated the bag in front of me. "Can you handle this, Inova?"
I knew what she wanted me to do, so I tried to reach out with my magic to grab the bag. However, just like in my magic class, I couldn't quite get it to work. No matter how clearly I envisioned the task, no matter how much I wanted to make it happen, I couldn't quite get my magic to hold the bag. "I can't. . ."
"Then we can try again later. Let's go home." She floated the bag up and we left the market.
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Nice Sabaton reference, specifically the red Baron
How is this a slice of life story?
I get why Skyla's a terror at buffets but why are the stall owners worried? Cadance and Shining don't seem the types to tolerate constant "sampling."
Higher, an eye for an eye, the legend will never die. Never expected the Sabaton reference here, nice.
11668251
....because a significant amount of the story is about Inova growing up and living her life?
11668158 11668283 Whether you like it or not, there will be more Sabaton references. You cannot stop me.
11668279 The best excuse I can think of is that Skyla might get up to some shenanigans while she's unsupervised. I haven't written any because I just came up with that excuse while responding.
11668305 And Skyla's appetite, but mostly Inova's time growing up and living her life.
11668344
Hell yeah, can't wait to see more!!
Inova definitely has the Twilight gene.
There must be some creative tutors out there… Sunburst is often described as having the knowledge while having lesser casting skills. Moondancer could be similar. Starlight’s creative. They’re likely quite busy though. Trixie? Maybe there’s a Pinkie-like unicorn OC for that?
The flying is a little more unique, I think. She appears to turn off her legs to use her wings. I have a difficult time imagining an exercise that would utilize her wings and forelegs simultaneously, but that would be the right direction. She might have to do an exchange program with Cloudsdale. Maybe there’s other smaller cloud towns near the empire? Rainbow and Gilda did do “flight camp.” But Cloudsdale is a big enough city that one could conceivably forget you’re on a cloud and not be reminded that there’s an edge somewhere without a guardrail. Small town may not have that. That would be really rough for her but might be the sink-or-swim event that she needs. Not sure her pony parents subscribe to that kind of parenting, though.
I think MC’s dealing with the bully is interesting. The “ignore it” solution sometimes works. Sometimes it fuels the problem. She’s got earth pony strength, so it’s probably good she’s avoiding the direct approach for now.
11668539 The first thing that comes to mind is Inova trying to imitate a wacky waving flailing arm inflatable tube man with her forelegs and wings at the same time. Probably won't happen, but it's fun to imagine.
11668795
… dance class?
…
I am always happy when I find other Sabaton fans here.
I somehow doubt that. Mi Amoré Cadenza.
Try saying that five times really fast!
lmao the reference
11748876
Man and machine and nothing there in between
The flying circus and a man from Prussia
The sky and a plane, this man commands his domain
The western front and all the way to Russia
Death from above, you're under fire
Stained red as blood, he's roaming higher
Born a soldier from the horseback to the skies
That's where the legend will arise
And he's flying
Higher, the king of the sky
He's flying too fast and he's flying too high
Higher, an eye for an eye
The legend will never die
First to the scene, he is a lethal machine
It's bloody April and the tide is turning
Fire at will, it is the thrill of the kill
Four in a day shot down with engines burning
Embrace the fame, red squadron leader
Call out his name: "Rote Kampfflieger"
In the game to win, a gambler rolls the dice
Eighty allies paid the price
And he's flying
Higher, the king of the sky
He's flying too fast and he's flying too high
Higher, an eye for an eye
The legend will never die
Higher
Higher, the king of the sky
He's flying too fast, again, he's flying too high
He's flying higher, an eye for an eye
The legend will never die
Higher
Born a soldier from the horseback to the skies
And the legend never dies
And he's flying
And he's flying
And he's flying
Higher, the king of the sky
He's flying too fast and he's flying too high
Higher, an eye for an eye
The legend will never die
Higher, the king of the sky
He's flying too fast and he's flying too high
Higher, an eye for an eye
The legend will never die