That Gangly Kid

by Plumage

Maths Class

The bell rings, telling us to go to our next class. The class empties slowly, probably because they don't want to go to Maths. Neither do I, really. It is one of the BORINGEST classes in our timetable.
Dime gets up. "Alrighty! Maths, guys!"
Chrysalis sighs. "Damn,"
"Come on! It's not that bad!" Dime says.
Chrysalis barks a laugh.
"Are you kidding? I ask, getting up to walk with Dime. "Yesterday you were telling us how Maths was the-quote, unquote- 'bane of your life'."
Dime scowls. "So?"
"So, your attitude towards Maths has changed over the course of a day," says Chrysalis as we begin to walk.
"I'm not allowed to....?"
"No," I said firmly.
At Dime's horrified expression, I say, "Bro, I'm kidding."
She grins. "So am I."
We all laugh.
We reach the class. As we walk in, the teacher, a short alicorn we all call Mrs D, says, "Finally! Pair up, everypony. We need to get this done by the end of the hour."
Dime and Chrysalis pair up, leaving me to wander the classroom looking for someone with no partner. I go to Mrs D and she calls out, "Is there anyone without a partner?"
To my horror, a slightly squeaky but still quite motherly voice calls back, "I don't, Miss."
Celestia trots up to Mrs D, her purply-pink eyes aglow with something that looked a bit like amusement but a bit like sadness.
I'm speechless. I should probably explain why.
As Mrs D explains the rules to us, my mind drifts to when we were younger. Only a year ago, her sister Star had asked Dime out. Turns out Star was bi. So Dime said yes, just because Dime didn't want to hurt anypony's feelings. They went out for about three months before Dime broke it off, politely and quietly. And that was that.
Until the last term of last year. Year 14. This year is the last, but last year was probably the one I'm going to remember. I think I will remember the last day the most.
---
"Oh, Celestia, give me a kiss," said the floppy maned colt. "You know you want to."
"I know I don't want to," Celestia replied disrespectfully. "Buck off."
The colt was shocked. "That's no kinda language a pretty filly like you should be using,"
"Just go away, OK? Buck off."
"Clean out your mouth," snarled the colt. He pointed his horn at Celestia and suddenly her mouth was frothing up with soap bubbles. "I won't have a mud-mouth kissing me,"
Celestia was outraged. Yellow magic flared, and sewage flowed out of the colt's mouth. The colt narrowed his eyes, and his sap-green magic encircled Celestia. He was going to do something evil to her.
And suddenly he was in a frilly pink tutu, his colours were bleached now; he apologized to Celestia tearfully and ran away.
Did I just do that? I remember thinking.
"Was that you?" asked Celestia once she had cleared her mouth of soap.
"I...I guess so," I replied, looking down in astonishment at my mismatched hands. "I guess that's what I do," I said with a half smile.
---
Celestia turns to me. "Shall we?"
"Sure," I reply. "What are we doing, exactly?"
She gaped at me incredulously. "You-didn't even-?"
"Nope," I say brightly. "Didn't even hear a word of it."
"But you asked a question...!"
I think for a minute, not saying anything.
"I guess it's just what I do," I say quietly.
She looks at me curiously, and for a wonderful second I think she remembers too.
But no. Of course she doesn't. She probably completely forgot. I sigh.
"What are we doing?"
She sighs back, imitating me. "We have to recite problems to each other and write down the answers, then make a chart of the problems and a graph comparing our scores."
"How interesting," I say sarcastically.
"Hey," she says. "I never made it up. Mrs D did."
"I know. I just wish we did cool stuff in Maths."
"Me too,"

* * *

We talk while we're working on the chart and graphs.
"Did you see that new movie?" I ask.
"What?"
"The Pony Games."
"Yes," she replies.
"It could happen," I say casually.
"It could," she said. "But I would never make my subjects endure that kind of pain. Every year of their lives. Forced to watch their own fillies and colts die for the entertainment of the higher ranks."
We're 'sposed to inherit a world to shape once we get out of this dumb school. One each. I'm hoping for a good one.
"Besides, the book was much better," she adds.
I grin at her. "It was, wasn't it?"
"Mm."

Comments

[Tibbles]

...the book wasn't THAT much better...

[Plumage]

1510047 I know, but I wanted Celestia to say something that made it look like she was defusing the situation.

[IceFire]

Nice. And the book was way better.

[decembuary]

1519077

Well, I actually thought the movie was better until we watched it heaps for film study. Feather and I can pretty much recite scenes word for word!

[Zanpony]

good so far

HAS DA 3 MUSTACHIOS

[The Cake Devil]

Dear Plumage
Two things I must ask, who is star and where is Luna,and two how old are the characters suppose to be?

yours truly thecakedevil.