An Earthling Earth Pony at Celestia's School of Magic: Year One

by Halira

Chapter 5

It took me a while to find the classroom I was supposed to be in, and when I did, it was not because I’d figured out the room labeling or even where the room labels were but because the door was open, and I heard Professor Newman lecturing.

“Mister Jones, so good of you to join us,” Professor Newman said as I walked in the door. “You are running five minutes late, and that shall be noted. Thankfully, you didn’t miss much more than the beginning of my opening monologue. There are no assigned seats, but they are first come, first serve, and there is now only one seat left. Please, take it. I have left a book out for you on the desk.”

I looked around the classroom. The classroom floor had four tiers of elevation. The room had plenty of space, and it seemed designed for a bigger class. The entire left wall was covered in bookcases, the right with windows. The bottom tier had the teacher’s podium, a blackboard, a teacher’s desk, and Professor Newman–who looked comically large compared to the desk and podium. However, the oversized blackboard looked more normal beside her. The next floor level had three desks, each sitting two students a piece. The next level had two more desks, spaced so they could see between the gaps in the first three.

My ears lowered after I surveyed the seats to find where I was supposed to sit. The only open seat was next to Prim. First come, first serve meant nobody wanted to sit next to who might well be the class bully—even her twin brother, who was sitting at the head of the class near the window with Bright. Prim and I were in the back row away from the window, closest to the door.

“Sit down and stop staring, Mister Jones,” Professor Newman instructed. “You can look around after taking your seat. Your seat has that much going for it. Remember to stay after class. I will give you a note excusing your tardiness for the next.”

I reluctantly went to take my seat next to Prim and had to wait for her to move her saddlebags, which looked like they were made of violet silk with pink ribbons, off my seat and setting them on the edge of the table. I took my seat and set my plain brown saddlebags on the floor. Prim gave me a disgusted look.

“Now that we are all here, we can get to the actual details of how this class will go,” Professor Newman addressed the class. “When I am speaking, or I call upon someone to answer, I expect everyone else to be silent. It is distracting for me, and it can be distracting to your classmates who are trying to pay attention. Not to mention, it is rude. When you are doing individual activities in class, you are free to whisper with your neighbors, but I don’t want anyone shouting across the classroom. There will be assigned reading on most days, along with an occasionally assigned project. However, there will be only one test, the final. That will determine your final grade. I may give you a ten-point bonus on the test if I feel you have a better grasp of the material than you showed on the test and were having a bad day. After all, some students panic on tests. It won’t be more than ten points, so don’t count on me giving you a free pass. You demonstrate you know you understand the material by how you do in class throughout the semester. Oh…and anyone caught cheating on the final will be immediately failed. Don’t think you are too clever for me to catch. I am very good at detecting what you are doing.”

She walked over to her podium, picked up a textbook, and held it up. “These are your textbooks for this class. You are to keep them in good condition and return them at the end of the semester. You will need to visit the library for additional reading during the semester. I have provided the library with the reading list, and our librarian, Moon Dancer, has multiple copies of each book for you to check out. She may be able to direct you to additional reading if you are curious about any of the subjects covered in this class.”

She gestured to the blackboard where many runes had been written. “Much of the early classes will be dedicated to studying runes. Runes are the coding of all magic, whether you are aware of it or not. Another way to look at them is that they are the elements of magic, like the atoms in any matter. While unicorns are most aware of runes, this is not strictly reserved for unicorns. When a pegasus takes flight, they use a spell that allows it, with specific runes. They may do this by instinct, but it is no different than any of the spells you may cast. The same can be said of the power earth ponies put into the soil or into trees when they buck them for fruit–even the muscles in their body are flowing with a passive spell filled with certain runes. You need not be aware of runes to utilize them but to advance to higher levels of magic, you must understand the coding of spells and how runes will interact. To reach the highest levels of magic, you must understand runes on such a fundamental level that you can create new runes, but that last shall be beyond the scope of this class.”

She walked away from the blackboard. “Another important factor in all magic is thaumic energy. Thaumic energy permeates everything, and many things, you included, produce their own thaumic energy. Runes are made up of thaumic energy. Consider runes the processed and ordered forms of thaumic energy, while other thaumic energy is generally raw and unordered. Different spells require different amounts of thaumic energy to work. Your body produces and stores thaumic energy, and your thaumic flows allow you to utilize what you have stored. The most powerful magic users produce at fast rates, store vast amounts, and have thaumic flows that allow them to utilize vast amounts of thaumic energy. Your recovery time from casting spells is determined by how much your body can produce, but your thaumic flows and storage ability determine how far you can naturally reach when casting powerful spells. The most powerful spells are beyond most, for they can never hope to store or utilize the thaumic power required of them. However, just because you can’t cast a spell alone doesn't mean you can’t learn a spell. Casters can pool their thaumic power together in the casting of a spell to accomplish feats that none of them can do alone. Celestia and Luna may be able to move the sun and moon easily, but a strong group of unicorns can do it by pooling their combined power. There is power in cooperation.”

She walked back to the podium and picked up a bracelet. “One of my duties on this staff is assessing the capabilities and potential of each student, along with catching any mechanical problems or blocks a student might have with their magic early on so we can find solutions to overcome them. This is a recent invention. It simulates one of the powers of the Earthling crystal ponies by measuring the power of whoever holds or wears it. You radiate power, even when you aren’t using it. This doesn’t tell you everything about your capabilities, but it gives you a general idea of your power. The more power it detects, the brighter the gems glow.”

I noted that nothing was glowing in the bracelet at the moment, despite the fact Professor Newman was holding it. Did that mean she had no magic?

Professor Newman gently tossed it on the desk that Summer and Hannah were sitting at.

“Each of you shall try that on, see the result, and pass it on to your neighbor. Keep this up until everyone has had a turn. I expect to hear no hazing of students for their results. I don’t expect it will glow brightly for most of you, only faintly. This puts your power in perspective. If one or more of you do get a bright glow, do not think too highly of yourself for it. I know a mare named the Great and Powerful Trixie, whom this bracelet would glow brightly, but her skill and range of spells are minimal. Far weaker unicorns accomplish much more with their magic. Power is one thing, but power without skill means little. Even the weakest caster can accomplish much more than a mighty one if they know more and have mastered more. The weaker’s need to work harder can be seen as an advantage, for they must strive to understand more to do great works while the powerful often foolishly take for granted that their power is all they need.”

Hannah was the first to try slipping on the bracelet. I couldn’t see it from where I was sitting, but I could see her ears and how they sagged as she looked at the results. She then passed it on to Summer. The difference was immediately apparent when she put it on because I could see the glow from where I was sitting, even though I couldn’t see the bracelet.

“Very strong,” Professor Newman commented. “You look like a mid-level four–exceptionally strong for your age or a full-grown adult–stronger than half the faculty. You may reach level five by maturity. As for you, Miss Moonbow, you seem to be a low-level three. That may advance to a mid-level three by the time you mature. Please continue to pass the bracelet on to your neighbors.”

The following table had Red Tape and Bright Pear. Red was the first to try and looked at his result impassively before passing the bracelet to Bright. Bright looked at his result and shrugged.

“Two high-level twos, both of you should settle somewhere in the three range by the time you are grown. Most adult ponies are in the three range, and most foals your age are somewhere in the twos, so do not be discouraged by the result. Remember, with study, what will separate you from average ponies is not your power but your skill. If I had a magical problem, I would take a single well-studied level-three mage over a dozen level-fives who didn’t have a clue what they were doing,” Professor Newman said. “Keep it moving.”

So it continued through the class, with Professor Newman naming off numbers as she watched the results. Over and over again, it was much the same—lots and lots of twos, sometimes a three. It seemed like Summer might have the strongest magic power in the class.

The bracelet was passed to me, and when I put it on, I saw a similar dim glow to the ones I’d seen from Rocky and Onyx, who had both been declared high twos. That wasn’t upsetting. I had no belief that I was anything special when it came to magical power.

Prim practically yanked the bracelet out of my hooves with her magic as I took it off. When she put it on, my heart sank at the sight of the much brighter glow the bracelet gave off.

Professor Newman nodded. “Mister Jones gives us another high-level two, and it seems Miss Prim is a high-level three who may reach four by maturity. Miss Blaze is stronger, but you do slot in solidly as the second-strongest student in this class. For context, while these tests are newer, and we can only speculate about measurements of other ponies when they were young, Princess Twilight Sparkle is believed to have been a high-level four when she was around your age. Starlight Glimmer was believed to have been already a six. I’m glad we have no future Starlight Glimmers in this class; such a student would be such a massive headache that I have no desire to deal with. It is essential to teach them to restrain that kind of power because it is too easy for them to overload spells and inadvertently cause mayhem and destruction.”

The professor turned and looked at Summer. “I’m already expecting some incidents of Miss Blaze accidentally pouring too much power into a spell and causing chaos, but she isn’t so powerful that it should be a regular thing. Miss Blaze, I will schedule some sessions with the counselors. My concern is that any such mishaps might cause you enough distress to go ablaze, complicating the teachers’ efforts to undo any side effects of overloaded spells. While I'm sure you already practice some calming exercises, I want you to be even better prepared to maintain calm, just in case. You will inevitably make mistakes, and mistakes are a valuable growing experience that no one should be ashamed of making while learning magic, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do what we can to limit the damage. Do you understand, young mare?”

“Yes, professor,” Summer answered, not seeming upset about what had been said to her.

Professor Newman smiled at her. “I am also your assigned advisor if you were unaware.” She turned and looked at Lunar. “And yours as well, Mister Light. I will have a special time to meet with each of you one-on-one to get to know you and help you figure out the best ways of achieving your goals.”

She then took the bracelet back from Prim, and even up close, I didn’t see even the faintest glow in the gems as Professor Newman held it. It had started glowing lightly when I had just touched the thing before I put it on, so just having contact with it was enough to indicate someone had magic. Professor Newman had no magic at all. How did the school end up with a professor teaching magic who couldn’t even perform it? It seemed like it should have been an essential qualification.

Professor Newman saw me staring at the bracelet in her hand and quickly stuffed it in her pocket.

“The first of class is an easy day,” she said as she stepped back towards the podium. “For the remainder of our time together today, I wish you all to read the first chapter of the textbook while I draw up some letters for Miss Blaze’s counseling sessions. I will ask a few of you some questions about the content before releasing you. I expect you to read the second chapter before tomorrow and be ready to answer questions about it at the beginning of class.”

I opened my book and flipped past the table of contents, preface, and about the authors sections to find the first chapter.

“Do you have to wave your hoof around all over the table? It’s disgusting,” Prim muttered as she used her magic to open her book and turn the pages.

“I can’t turn the pages without my hooves,” I whispered.

“Sounds like an earth pony problem that shouldn’t have to be mine,” she whispered back. “You’re spreading dirt all over the table with your dirty hooves.”

“My hooves aren’t dirty.”

“What have you been walking on then?” she asked. “I’m pretty sure it’s your hooves. If you are going to share a table with me, you shouldn’t be so disgusting.”

“I didn’t want to share a table with you. It was the only seat available. If you were nicer, maybe someone else would have sat with you, so I didn’t have to sit with the filly that her family doesn’t even like!”

Professor Newman stood up from her desk. “Mister Jones and Miss Prim, Human hearing may be weaker than pony hearing, but that does not mean I am deaf. While I think the concept that everyone can be friends is an absurd one, we are all capable of being civil and avoid deliberately saying hurtful things. You’ll both be serving a one-hour detention with me at the end of the week.”

“What did I do?” Prim and I asked in chorus. Really? She thought I was the one in the wrong here?

Professor Newman sat back down. “You may both consider that question during your detention. For now, please continue reading, and I advise you two to keep silent if all you’re going to do is squabble with one another.”

Great, I was the first student in our class to get detention–well, tied for first. This was not how I wanted to start the school year.

Comments

[AvoidingFever17]

“Each of you shall try that on, see the result, and pass it on to your neighbor. Keep this up until everyone has had a turn. I expect to hear no hazing of students for their results. I don’t expect it will glow brightly for most of you, only faintly. This puts your power in perspective. If one or more of you do get a bright glow, do not think too highly of yourself for it. I know a mare named the Great and Powerful Trixie, whom this bracelet would glow brightly, but her skill and range of spells are minimal. Far weaker unicorns accomplish much more with their magic. Power is one thing, but power without skill means little. Even the weakest caster can accomplish much more than a mighty one if they know more and have mastered more. The weaker’s need to work harder can be seen as an advantage, for they must strive to understand more to do great works while the powerful often foolishly take for granted that their power is all they need.”

puts on bracelet
Oh cool
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
a small supernova like light can be seen from orbit

[Booster Spice]

I honestly suspect that Professor Newmans job back on Earth, was Bomb Disposal.

[harts fire]

a vary interesting chapter.