> Sick Day > by Taranasauruso_o > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Miss Pinkie, at your service! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, first, a few tips. You need to forget every single Bias you have up until this point. While this story may have ‘you’ scrawled all over it, ‘you’ are pinkie Pie, and act, think and speak as such. So all of her views, are your views, at least for now. So, uh, enjoy? Sick Day The classroom before you is utter chaos. Chairs are upturned, food flies everywhere, and paper constructs of various sizes make their way around the room at incredible speeds. The foals that take up the center of the room don't seem to notice you. Or, rather, don't care. They laugh, they yell, they play to their heart's content, oblivious to both their surroundings, and the consequences of their actions. Normally, you would jump straight into a chaotic mess like this, laughing and screaming and bouncing like there were no tomorrow. But you know you can't. Not today. Cheerilee is counting on you to teach these students what they need to know in order to become 'honorable citizens of Ponyville', whatever that meant. So you sit back, like you were told, and you wait. One eye focuses on the children, and the other on the clock. Ten past eight, still time to spare yet. As you glance back out over the children, you notice something odd. Three of them have stopped their rough housing, and are looking towards you, their faces blank. Then, two more look up at you, almost jumping out of their fur, and race towards their seats. As if on some kind of cue, each foal glances up, one at a time, to look at you. They jump, and tear away from their previous activities, powering towards their seat as if their lives depend on it. Within a matter of minutes, the entire class is as neat and as orderly as ever, and you feel yourself slightly stunned at the display. But you can't give in yet. Cheerilee's instructions were specific, and you planned to follow them to the letter. However you were supposed to do that. It was something that Twilight had said, 'follow them to the letter.' You had replied with something along the lines of 'oooh, we're going to the post office!?' which had only solicited a sigh from Twilight. Which you were used to. Every single eye looked towards you, each with varying expressions. Boredom, anxiety, happiness, neutralism. And you stared back with what you hoped was the biggest smile in the universe, although the chubby cult in row three was giving you a good run for your money. Silence pounded in the room. It felt tense, as if everyone sat with bated breath, waiting for a word, or a reaction, to start off the proceedings. But you knew better than to just jump in and break the ice. You'd read some books on teaching, and you knew a thing or two about just what to do. Well you'd skimmed a few books. Okay, looked at the pictures in the books and pressed your hoof to your chin and rubbed it, but it's the thought that counts! "Well." The world crashed down around you. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, and a soft murmur began at the back of the class. You could actually feel the beads of sweat on your brow evaporate, and you turned to face the young filly who had spoken. "Are we going to start school, or is this some kind of joke?" She tossed her puffy mane nonchalantly, the small tiara on her head knocking itself askew with the movement. "We have started." You reply, tilting your head and giving the filly your best impression of Mr. Cake when he went to the lecture on advanced mathematics in the town hall. She glares at you, a small scowl forming on her lips. "I'm just waiting for you to start teaching me something." You look up from your internal battle with the small filly in the front row to gaze around the class. When no one moves, you stand from the small chair behind the desk and motion with your front hooves. "Well? Come on!" An orange filly near the back row shoots her hoof up into the air. When you motion to her, she stands, her small wings buzzing softly behind her. "Us teach you?" She seems confused, You're sure that this is what the book said. Well, at least the part you read anyway. "I don't think that's how it works." You point towards her, and raise your voice slightly, so that the pair at the back whispering about the orange filly's flank stop what they're doing and pay attention. "You, what's your name?" "Scootaloo." She puffs out her chest and lifts her head high. "And where are you from?" "Cloudsdale." "There, see? I learned something new." You sit back down and glance around at the faces in the room. They seem to be staring at you with awe, as if they had never heard of such an idea before. Of course, you were lying, you knew who she was, after all, you knew everyone in Ponyville! You jumped your hoof to the filly next to her, a small, white filly with a curly mane, Sweetie Belle. "You, name and origin, now!" She jumped to attention, a hoof appearing at her head in a salute. "Sweetie Belle, Ponyville!" She slammed her hoof to her head again, this time with a little too much force, and sent herself toppling backwards onto the floor. The filly from before elicited a small laugh, her tiara almost toppling backwards off her head. Scootaloo shot her a dirty look, before reaching down to help Sweetie up. You nod, before spinning to the front of the class with as much speed as you can muster. "You," you begin, your face inches away from Tiara filly. "What's your name?" She flusters for only a second, before speaking up. "D-Diamond Tiara, Daughter of Filthy Rich and Blue Bells, heir the the Tiara family and richest pony in this room." "Well Diamond Tiara, Daughter of Filthy Rich and Blue Belle and richest pony in this room, what is your favourite colour?" You ask her, glancing behind you towards a large bookshelf resting at the wall. "Purple." She states, after a few moments of thought. You jump up instantly and race towards the bookshelf, your eyes scanning through the bindings of books located within. After a pause for dramatic effect, you rip your chosen book from the shelf and spin, holding its purple glory up for all to see. The yellow filly with the red bow, Applebloom, leans forward, her eyes squinting as she reads the title printed across the front. "Art?" she asks, after a few moments of concentration. "Art?!" You feel yourself squeal, spinning the book around in your hooves. "Oh my gosh I know so much about art! We could do hoof painting or make statues or-" You mentally scold yourself. You're on a mission remember, to teach these children all you can! "I-I mean, art is a suitable subject." You spin around, letting another unstoppable squeal out as you pull as many purple books out as possible. In a flash you drop a book onto every student's desk and rush to the front, a smile as infectious, at least according to Twilight, as the Pony Pox. You turn, opening your own book, and look down at the page. Words fill your mind, and you feel your smile instantly drop from your face. You flick through the book, a scowl forming on your face. "What?! No pictures?!" You toss the book up in the air, illicitng a gasp from your audience. "What kind of art book has no pictures?!" You turn back around to face the foals, as if waiting for them to answer. After a few seconds of silence, one colt shrugs, before tossing his book upwards with a grunt. "Yeah, screw art books!" In an instant, the entire class is filled with the noise of flying paper as every student tosses their books towards the ceiling with a collective cry. You smile, before running out into the center of the group. "Come on everyone, paper party!" You toss up another book, and a cheer runs through the room. Paper and stationary fly through the air as you and your new found besties party it up. Some music starts up from somewhere, and you feel yourself start to strut to its funky beat. Instantly you're joined by all the others in the center of the tables, each of you dancing in line, as if coordinated. You can feel a bubble start to form in your stomach, and you know what's coming. Slowly, you step forward, glancing to your right to nod at the colt who is handling the music. Out of nowhere, a spotlight shines down on where your standing, and the music drops out. You can hear the noise behind you stop almost instantly, and you know that you have the attention of all the ponies gathered. You look up, let out a loud sigh, before you look back down, a large smile on your face. 'Oh~!' Your voice springs out, accompanied only by a soft array of violins. A slow kick pattern fades in from below the normal range of hearing, its bass carrying both you and the melody forward. When everything is boring and there's no place to be I know where there are whole new worlds to see~! You beam as you leap forward, throwing out your hooves and motioning for everypony to join. Slowly, but certainly, they join in, mumbling the lyrics in their mixture of voices.   You can visit forests with trees great and tall or see gigantic oceans with fishies big and small~! Giggling, you start to swing your way around the room, weaving between the maze of desks. Sweetie Belle leaps forward, and copies your motions, her voice rising above the rest. You drop your voice low, letting the oblivious filly sing her part, her soprano voice ringing like bells. There are golden deserts where the sun is really hot or elegant promenades where important ponies trot~! She stops when she notices that you have, a deep blush forming on her cheeks. She lowers her head, before quickly rushing back to her group of friends. You smile, before raising your voice above the music. “C’mon everypony, let’s go!” You can sneak into a cave where some dragons sleep or go up to the mountains and dance with all the sheep~! You pause for a moment, and the music drops out. Panting, you hold up a hoof, signalling for the others to pause. The silence in the room is deafening, which is silly, because silence doesn’t make noise. But, again, Twilight knew a lot more about this stuff than you do, so it’s probably best if you just listen to what she says. After a few moments, you lift your head up, smiling again, and launch back into song. Well~! You can meet new ponies of any shape and size some with really goofy hair or wearing silly ties You giggle to yourself. You always laugh when you think of ties, not that it makes any sense. They must just be really silly or something. So if you're looking for a way to bring joy to your art open up a book and go into the world of art~! The beat drops out, and you feel both yourself and the rest of the room lie in wait for what was next. Slowly, the melody quickens, then drops out suddenly, leaving silence. You turn, locking eyes with Rumble, and nod. The music comes back in almost as soon as your voice does, and by now everyone, including Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, is singing. 'We all know what it is that we're searching for!' 'The kind of book that we all adore!' 'A type of story, that isn't absurd!' 'Art books, just pictures no words!' The tempo stops, and the drum pattern halves itself, leaving a slightly slower, yet much catchier beat. A light grey colt jumps up onto the table, a microphone suddenly in hoof, and starts swinging his hooves around in front of him. After a few moments, he stops, and lifts the microphone to his mouth. Yeah, uh, yeah, uh. Yo, we got Rumble on the beat and he's bringing it in tight, before it's even over we can tell it's a fun night,- yeah, we gotta keep this beat goin' as we party 'til dawn, yeah, we ain't leavin' this place 'til we're all worn, out -ah 'cause you know us, we don't stop for no one and there ain't no fuss, -oh, with keepin' us goin', all we need is four line's and we're writin' a poem, yeah, and when we're done, Y'all better be ready to just run, Yeah, from the fun police, 'cause they be huntin' For any art book without any drawin' 'cause The music pauses momentarily as you retrieve your jaw from the floor. You give him what you hope is your biggest smile yet, before turning to the rest of the class and starting a round of applause. 'We all know what it is that we're searching for!' 'The kind of book that we all adore!' 'A type of story, that isn't absurd!' 'Art books, just pictures and and-' 'We all know what it is that we're searching for!' 'The kind of book that we all adore!' 'A type of story, that isn't absurd!' 'Art books, just pictures no words!' Cheering fills the air as you slowly stand from where you were kneeling, a massive smile spreading across your face. As you turn, you feel something squeeze you around the waist. Several pairs of large eyes look up at you from below. "Aw," you giggle, before spreading your fore hooves out in front of you. "C'mon everypony, group hug!" The ponies furthest from you are the first to move, slowly sliding their way up to where you and your crowd of huggers stand. Soon, almost everyone in the room is crowding around you, bar Diamond Tiara and her Grey coated friend, who seems to be at an impasse. You squeeze with your hooves, a squeal forcing its way out of you. And yet, you feel that there's something else. Something you forgot. Something that's been nagging at you for the past thirty minutes. Oh. The mission. "Alright everypony, that's enough!" you call, turning towards the front. A chorus of complaints instantly fly forth, and you feel yourself droop slightly. Why did teaching have to be so boring? Why couldn't you have fun? As you pass her desk, you turn towards Diamond Tiara, a smile still playing on your lips. "What are you usually doing about now?" you ask, glancing up at the clock. Twenty past nine, which means you weren't running overly late.  "Mathematics." A simultaneous groan erupted from behind her, and she whirled in her seat, glaring behind her. "What?! She asked!” You mumble as you turn away, returning to the aforementioned bookshelf. Sighing, you scan through every spine of every book. You're not sure why they're called spines, after all, books don't even have backs! But it's what Twilight had said, and, when it comes to books, what Twilight says, goes. You grasp the green coloured book and slide it out, feeling yourself slip even further into depression. "Alright class, please turn to page..." **** Alright, it's time to admit it. You hate math. Numbers are just so... Boring! Who cares if you can add and subtract numbers? You could use that time planning parties, or baking cupcakes! There are more important things in life than the square root of x. "... And then you carry the two over the squiggly line, and put it next to its best buddy x, because two is so awesome that he goes next to everyone. And then you use the spatula we used before to-" Diamond Tiara's hoof shoots straight into the air, and you nod, before waiting for her to start. "Spatula?" she scoffs, and you feel your chest pang. Was this what being hated felt like? Wait, you're pinkie pie, of course not! Everypony loves you, you're Ponyville's premier party planner! "I think you mean formula." You giggle, and she tilts her head, looking at you. "What, you mean that stuff missus Cake feeds the twins?" You wave a hoof at her, laughing behind your other. "No you silly, that's not what I mean!" She sighs, shaking her head. You can hear her mumble under her breath, the words 'stupid' and 'teacher' jumbled up by her aggravated speech. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that." You lean forward, a hoof pressed to your ear in an attempt to hear her better. "I said, What kind of stupid teacher gets the words Formula and Spatula mixed up?!" She spat the last word, and you felt yourself stop. You fall backwards, your rump colliding with the wooden floor with a thump. Your smile lapses momentarily, and the room around you grows darker. You can feel your lower lip tremble, and you fight back the tears that suddenly push at you. You look at her, as she stares towards you, her gaze hard. Behind her, the class is filled with mixed reactions. Some look at you, concern clouding their expressions. Others seem disinterested, as if this couldn't affect them less. This, in a way, hurt more than what Diamond Tiara had said, but only because you knew that you could be a little too sensitive.   "But I-I..." you look from her to the rest of the class, then back to her. "I don't under-" your words are cut off, a loud smash echoing throughout the room. The walls shake, and dust crumbles from the unswept rafters above. You dive forward, ducking under a desk and throwing your hooves over your head. "Earthquake!" Instantly, the rest of the class is down there beside you, a chatter running through their ranks faster than you could count to ten. And you could count to ten really fast. "What was that?" you hear Sweetie Belle whisper, her voice strained and sharp. "Ah don't know," Applebloom shakes her head. "Ah just don't know." Slowly, you reach out from under the table, your hooves shaking as you pull yourself up. Glancing around, the room seems to be fine, at least, the walls have stopped shaking. Turning, you notice splinters littering the floor, and a cloud of smog covers where the bookshelf was. You step forward into the mist, calling to whoever may be in there. "Hello? Is anypony there?" Usually that works. Well, most of the time. Okay it usually doesn't work, but it's the thought that counts. A soft moan returns in reply, and you feel yourself stop in your tracks. It couldn't be. No. Way. You glance down at the strap you have against the midsection of your hoof. A smiling picture of your face awaits, with your mane spinning in odd directions. A 'watch', at least, that's what Rarity called it. Maybe it was something from Fillydelphia, they usually make cool stuff! No, you were sure, today couldn't be the day. When you'd shipped off for it, you could have sworn that they said at least two weeks. But, evidence didn't lie. "Ditzy, is that you?" You hear your voice echo around the silent classroom, and you arch your neck back to face your students, winking. After another few moments of silence, a soft echo returns. "Yeah, it's me." A shadow comes forth from the dust, a lopsided smile etched across her face. "And I should be alright." You leap forth, not wasting a moment, and throw your hooves around her neck , squeezing. "Oh my gosh Ditzy!" you feel her struggle beneath your embrace, but you only pull tighter, and eventually she gives up. "Hehe, hey Pinkie!" You pull back, and she takes in a lungful of air, her face flushed. She glances behind her, her reddened cheeks somehow glowing even darker. "Oops, sorry Pinkie." She turns back to you, an apologetic smile on her face. "I guess I wasn't paying attention." She tilts her head slightly, and her eyes start to cross, giving her an even goofier expression. Behind you, the children giggle, and a quiet murmur starts. You ignore them, nodding towards the pack that's strapped to your friend's flanks. "So, did it come?" You await her answer eagerly, somehow unable to tear your eyes away from her satchel. You see her nod in your peripheral vision, and you clap your hooves, a squeal of glee escaping your lips. She reaches behind her, straining her neck to grab the bag. After a few tense moments of silence, she turns back around, a brown parcel hanging from her teeth. Your heart starts racing as you reach your hooves out in front, groping for the package. She smiles, before swinging her head back. You call out, but it’s too late, and she swings, letting the package fly towards you. Reeling, you leap forward, your hooves colliding with the parcel mid air, and breaking its fall. You land heavily on your stomach, your outstretched hooves nestling the package. “Ditzy!” You turn to her as you pull yourself up, a scowl stretched across your face. “I could’ve dropped it!” You slowly rub the package, cooing to it gently. She flashes you a lopsided grin, her eyes straightening out. “Oops, my bad.” She turns to the class, still smiling, and waves towards Dinky. The filly jumps excitedly, before waving back. Ditzy giggles, before turning towards the door. “Cya Pinkie!” She calls, but you ignore her, and she pushes her way outside. Instantly, discussion breaks out, with a variety of subjects. Ditzy, the crash, and the contents of your package are all mixed into the separate conversations. You make your way up to your desk, and place the package in the centre. Reaching down, you pull open the draw, and grasp the letter opener between your teeth. As you close the draw, a hush falls over the class, as each of the foals turns their attention towards you. You turn your head sideways, and plunge the object downwards, piercing through the fabric of the box. The class stifles a gasp behind you, and you grunt as you tear a strip straight down the centre of the box. You pull back, and drop the opener to the desk, your expression suddenly serious. Around you, the class sits quietly, eager for what you have in store. You reach out, pulling against the corners of the box, and tear open your prize. You feel the grin slowly spread across your face as you lift the object of your attention out of the box, and slowly turn to face the class. You beam out over all the foals, before thrusting your hooves out in front of you. “Look everypony, my super-awesome-mega-wicked party extreme box arrived!” You smile out as you turn the box for all to see. Diamond Tiara rolls her eyes, turning to speak to Silver Spoon. “Pfft, figures it would be something stupid. Pinkie Pie’s almost as dumb as Derpy.” Silver Spoon high-hoof’s her friend, and they chuckle to themselves. “Hey!” Dinky calls from the back row, slowly standing from her chair. “Don’t call my mum that!” Diamond Tiara turns in her chair, her head spinning as if she were an owl. “What did you just say?” she hisses, her voice laced with icy venom. She advances from her chair, her eyes staring daggers towards Dinky. “That... um,” Dinky stumbles, glancing around. “You shouldn’t say... mean things... about my... mum.” She looks down at her hooves. “You.” Diamond Tiara pokes her hoof into Dinky’s chest, her eyes hard. “You, miss I can’t tie my own saddle. Miss ‘mummy makes my lunch’, miss ‘I couldn’t cast a spell if I wanted to’.” She grins, an evil, maniacal grin, before she pushes the grey filly backwards. Dinky lands with a whimper, as she desperately tries to back away. Diamond Tiara stamps down, her hoof locking Dinky’s tail to the floor. “Who do you think you are?” She pushes her face into Dinky’s, her mouth spraying spittle as she yelled. “To tell me what to do?” “And just who do you think you are?” She whirls, her eyes wide, as she searches the class. “To treat another pony with such ferocity?” You step forward, your previous smile now replaced with a scowl. How could she – neigh, how dare she – speak to somepony like that? “You skulk around, insulting others and living off your parents back like the parasite you are. You hate and spite others for what purpose? Money? Friendship?” You stop, your face inches from hers. “No, you do it because you can’t understand why no one likes you. You don’t realise that what you’re doing is the problem, not the solution.” She seems to whimper, sliding backwards onto her rump. You press forth, tearing away her exterior, in an attempt to show others how she was. “Look around you. How many others do you see who torment everypony else?” She glances around, before turning her eyes back up to you. “Exactly. You can’t keep this up forever. Eventually, your facade is going to crumble.” You didn’t actually know what the word ‘facade’ meant, but it sounded like it was fancy, so you just went with it. “And with it, everything else in your miserable excuse for a life. My job, as you well know, is to make others smile.” You point to the badge on your chest, where a giggling insignia of yourself waved back. ”But do you have any idea how hard it is when ponies like you,” you poke her in the chest for effect. “Walk around undoing all my good work?” “But I-“ she starts, but you cut her off. “But nothing. I heard what you said, about me, about Ditzy, and about Dinky. I’ve heard it from the start. And frankly, I’ve had enough.” You step back slightly, and lower yourself to her level, your hoof outstretched. “So, I want to make a deal. This isn’t like a Pinkie Promise. No, there are loopholes in that ideal.” You nod towards your hoof. “This is a deal. You break this, and you lose possibly your last chance for a friend.” You move your hoof to hers, and pick it up, before clasping it tightly. Your voice drops its edge, and your anger subsides, leaving you with only sincerity. “I want you to tell me that you’ll never make fun of another again.” She looks from your hoof, to your face, and then back to your hoof. After a few moments of thought, she nods, and shakes your hoof slowly. You pull her forward, throwing your hooves around her and squeezing. “I’m sorry for those things I said!” You cry, your eyes filling with tears. You hear her sniffle, her words stopped only by sobs. Around you, the rest of the class sits in stunned silence, their reactions mixtures of shock, apathy and amusement. After a few moments, you break apart, and she looks away, skulking back to her seat. You return to the front of the class. And lift the small bell that sits there. You ring it slowly, before dropping the bell, and throwing on your best Applejack impression. “Soup’s on, everypony!” you shout, and the class explodes, disappearing out the door in an instant. As the dust cloud settles, you feel yourself sigh, turning away from the class and sinking into your chair. Cheerilee’s chair. Remember, you’re only here for one day. A short tug on your tail pulls you out of your thoughts, and you face its cause, eyeing the ground cautiously. Dinky stands before you, an unsure smile plastered on her face. Her eyes sat askew, just as her mother’s had only half an hour before. “Um, miss Pie?” she asks uncertainly. “Please, call me Pinkie.” “Alright! Pinkie, I just wanted to say...” she trails off, pawing the floorboards with her hoof. “Thank you. With Diamond Tiara back there.” You wave your hoof, smiling. “Oh it was no problem. It’s not like I had to lie or anything.” You giggle, and she smiles, before turning and walking outside. You sigh again, before reaching for the shiny, slightly dusty, red apple on the edge of your desk. **** “... and that’s why BeetHooven is one of Equestria’s best musicians!” you lower the sheet of music that you had been holding, and glance around the class eagerly. “So, any questions? Slowly, Sweetie Belle’s hand rises. You nod, and she starts, her voice slightly unsteady. “Um, miss Pinkie, are you sure he wrote his first song right as he was born?” “Well-“ “Or.” Rumble cuts you off. “That he defeated Discord with his, er, ‘epic’ Violin solo?” “As I was going to-“ “Twice.” “Um-“ Dinky’s hoof shoots up, and she interjects with a bound. “Or that he solved Equestria’s food problems by writing a song that made an infinite mountain of food?” “Actually-“ “Or that he-“ “Okay I get it!” you shout, raising your hooves up in the air. After a few tense seconds of panting, you lower them, and your signature smile appears on your face. “I may have exaggerated a teensy bit on those parts, but the rest is all true!” “Cool!” the class say in unison, as they all look down at their respective pieces. You lift the pile of paper from your desk and peek at the instructions that Cheerilee had left, double checking and triple checking the wording. “Now class,” you start, turning to face the group. “”Miss Cheerilee has instructed me to tell you that you have an assignment on this subject,” a chorus of simultaneous moans greets your news, and you close your eyes, and shake head. “And that I’m to assign you a topic.” They groan again, and you frown momentarily. “But I think that’s a silly idea!” Every pair of ears in the room perks up instantly as you continue. “That’s right, so instead, I think you can choose any kind of music to write about, as long as it’s fun!” The room explodes into applause as you beam. You hush the class, before pointing towards Featherweight, who’s hoof had been held up for around ten and a half seconds. “Miss, can I still write mine on BeetHooven?” The rest of the class whirls to face him, and he smiles sheepishly. “What? I like his stuff!” They all roll their eyes simultaneously, before turning back to you. “Alright guys, I’m going to give you fifteen minutes now to work on your plans and share ideas.” You motion with your hooves, giggling. “Well? Start sharing!” The classroom explodes with noise as each of the foals spins to the others to start their various discussions. However, you notice that Dinky, sitting by herself in the corner, seems to be shying away from the others. You make your way through the crowd, squeeze out the other side, and flash her a smile. “Heya Dinks, what’s the matter?” She sighs, before sitting up in her chair. “Oh... it’s nothing.” She stares down glumly at the floor. “Hey, now I know that look,” you say, shaking a hoof at her in pretend scolding. “There is definitely something wrong.” You gasp, before looking at her with hurt eyes. “Was it something I said?” She giggles, shaking her head. “No no, nothing you said. I just,” she stops, racking her brains for the right words. “We’ve been having so much fun, and I can’t help but feel that miss Cheerilee is missing out!” You stop, your jaw dropping to the floor. She gives you an odd look, tilting her head and staring at you quizzically. “Dinky, you.” You pause, looking at her with wide eyes. “Are a genius!” She looks at you, her expression a mixture of disbelief and shock. “I am?” “I was having trouble thinking of something that we could do for the last hour of the day.” You explain. “But you,” you pause, ruffling her mane. “Just solved that problem.” You stand as she beams, and turn to the rest of class. “Guys!” you call, and they all turn to look at you. “I have some great news.” “The assignments are cancelled?” Scootaloo called. “Nope, even better.” You look at them all, scanning the room for affect. “We. Are going on a surprise field trip!” “No way!” the class calls in unison. “Yes way. Now everypony grab your stuff, and head towards the door.” You giggle as you continue. “We’ve got a teacher to cheer up!” A cry runs through the room, and the fillies and colts file out, bickering amongst themselves. Both you and Dinky follow in their wake, and as you turn you lock the school house door behind you, before dropping the key into your saddlebags. The class has lined themselves up in two rows, their chatter slowly dying as you approach. “Now class, can any of you guess where we are going?” “Sugarcube Corner?” someone calls out, and you shake your head. “Nope!” “The Ponyville hall, for dancing lessons?” another cries, excitement bursting forth in the crowd. “Still a no!” The class sighs uniformly, before Silver Spoon pipes up. “We give up, miss Pinkie.” “We’re going to cheer up miss Cheerilee!” Dinky calls, stealing your thunder. You flash her a dirty look, and she shrugs sheepishly. “Sorry, I just wanted to tell them.” You smile, and take off in front of the class, followed closely by your newfound companion. “Last one to Cheerilee’s place is a rotten cupcake!” you call, and the class takes off behind you, a cheer erupting. Dust and dirt sprays behind you as you run, like a giant stampeded directly through Ponyville. Ponies in the streets stop to stare as your group tumbles past them, their reactions mixtures of confusion and excitement. A few shook their heads solemnly, mumbling under their collective breaths, but you ignore them, focusing on the task at hand. That chubby colt from row three was running as if his life depended on it, and boy was he fast. He led the back, with both you and Applebloom hot on his heels. As your group rounded the bend that lead on to Mane Street, you grinded almost completely to a halt in shock. Ahead was one of the largest traffic jams you had ever seen, groups of stalls blocked your path, and the ponies that surrounded them created a wall of moving bodies. As you sit back, pondering what to do, Sweetie Belle rushes forward, and twines through the legs of the closest Stallion. She disappears into the maze of bodies instantly, and the rest of the class watches in silence. Her head reappears, and she shouts “Well, are you coming?” You grin, and both you and the rest of the class take off, pushing and weaving through the crowds. Around you, the ponies jumped and skittered out of the way, forming a makeshift path to the other side. You crashed out, gasping for air. Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and the chubby colt from row three had already taken off in the direction of Cheerilee’s house, which was only a few yards ahead. “Oh no you don’t,” you whisper underneath your breath, taking off with a burst of sudden adrenaline. You leaped forth, over the picket fence that surrounded her front yard. Applebloom glanced over towards you as you flew, and her eyes filled with dismay. You crashed down on the porch with a thump, right as the chubby colt pulled open the gate. “I win!” They all stop, panting in the yard. You look out over them, your own breaths coming out in short, sharp gasps. You count them mentally, ten, fifteen, twenty. They were all there. Smiling to yourself, you turn towards the door, motioning for the others to line up behind you. Slowly, you raise your hoof up and rap against the oak door. After a few moments, the dorr is pulled open, and a slightly green Cheerilee greets you. “Oh, hello Pinkie Pie,” she starts, rubbing her eyes. “Is school over already?” She leans over slightly as you step to the side, peering out onto her lawn. The smiling faces of her class beam back at her, and her eyes pop open. “Oh.” “Miss Cheerilee!” they cry, leaping forward and covering her in a pony dogpile. **** Hey Princess, It’s me, Pinkie Pie. And me, Applebloom. And Sweetie Belle. And Rumble. And Scootaloo. And Silver Spoon. An- Guys stop, I don’t think Spike can write that many names at once. Anyway, I’m writing today to tell you about this super-awesome spectacular lesson about friendship I learnt today. So, miss Cheerilee was sick today, so I had to substitute her class for her, which was totally awesome. And we got to sing, and do math, and learn about art and do all this cool stuff that I haven’t done in ages! But the super awesome lesson I learned was that, while being in an environment like a school house can be fun, it is really hard. That much responsibility, piled on with the fact that you’re dealing with nearly twenty foals who want nothing more than to just leave and go home, makes it one tough job. So, I enjoyed today a lot, but I’m glad I won’t have to do it anytime soon. I hope. Are you alright miss Cheerilee? What? Oh my gosh! Quick, somepony get a bucket! Um. Yeah. So, Pinkie just rushed out. So, this is Spike, signing off for Pinki- hey Princess Celestia! My name’s Dinky and I really like to d- Sorry about that. One of them just snatched my quill. Anyway, This is Spike, signing off. Bye.