“Alright, Rarity, are you all set for your first taste of what the world of maths is like? I asked enthusiastically, clasping my hands together and leaning back in my leather office chair with my textbooks, pencils and other stationery on a brown, oak wood desk in front of me. The white, fluffy bundle of pony nodded her head, her lavish deep and dark purple mane bouncing slightly before resting back on her shoulders.
“Well, I’m going to start off with a question”, I started, “What level of mathematics would you say you utilize most? It’s just to give me a starting point on what I should teach you”
Rarity moved her fleecy hoof to her chin as she thought for a moment. “Ah, well darling I’ve mostly used some forms of geometry as I work at a boutique, therefore, I need to measure my fabrics and cut them out correctly” She answered in her uptight British accent.
“Well, okay then,” I said, nodding whilst thinking of what I should teach first. “Have you by any chance been taught Trigonometry? Actually, I should be asking first whether you’ve had basic level mathematics done with. You know the like, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and the lot”
“Yes darling, I learnt basic levels in filly schooling and then pretty much learnt geometry by myself” Rarity explained, fluttering her eyelids slightly. She did have long eyelashes I must say. No doubt her whole demeanor was overall very glamorous and beautiful. Her luminous purple eyes slowly starting to put me in a trance-like state.
I did snap out of it however and focused more on the job in hand, “So you self-taught yourself geometry? That’s actually pretty impressive” I exclaimed, tapping the end of my pencil against my one crossed leg. “How did you learn about geometry and what sort of methods did you use whilst learning it? I asked, making slight rolling motions with both my arms.
Rarity flicked her mane back slightly, “Well I took a more interesting approach to Textiles in high school, and my obvious love for handmade pieces of clothing art intrigued me. And as you already know I had to study absorbent amounts of geometry. I actually had to take an adventure in advanced mathematics in order to get an understanding of what I had to utilize to do my job. That’s why I’m here with you” she said, ending her sentence with a slight smile as she gazed at me with her head tilted slightly.
“So you’ve already taken a maths course before you asked me for guidance? I queried.
“Advanced maths” she corrected, the gentle smile turning into a slight smirk for a second.
“Right. Then why do you need my help?” I asked, halting the tapping of my pencil against my leg.
“Oh” she chuckled, “I didn’t say I listened to everything did I? I only really paid attention to what I needed to. Only recently I have wanted to try and acquire what I’d missed out on because I thought it would be a great learning adventure, and a curve nevertheless” she joked, still smiling.
“Well, that’s a first” I muttered under my breath, “What subject would you like to try first?
“Well, I don’t know actually. Is there a subject that branches off of geometry? Or has like a tie to it or something” she asked, quite enthusiastically I might add.
“Well, there are subjects like trigonometry which involves triangles and working out the different sides and angles using equations and functions. Or we could try and get you started with other subjects that don’t involve ties with geo. Maybe to expand your knowledge. It’s up to you really, I’m just here to teach” I inquired, throwing my hands up and leaning back into my leather chair. Rarity looked down at the floor for a moment, tapping her chin occasionally with her hoof.
“I think I’d prefer to learn something new than something that I probably already know” Rarity finally answered. “Something easy though”
“Okay then” I started. “Let us start off with, some algebra. Get you into a maths mood”
“Right off that sounds interesting” Rarity exclaimed, a look of inquisitiveness on her sleek face.
“The concept is a tad confusing at first, but that’s what I’m here for. It will eventually get interesting though” I explained, “Basically, the whole idea of algebra is that there is a thing called a pronumeral. It’s pretty much a letter, usually x, which is a number that you don’t know. Now in most worded situations and general number questions, you have to solve for x, aka figuring it out. Let me give you a few examples”
I stood up and walked over to the wall behind my chair. After pulling a latch, a patch of the wall flipped around to reveal a pristine whiteboard complete with different colored markers and an eraser all fixed to the wall with magnetic clips.
“Where did that come from? Rarity asked, looking even more confused.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know it was here until yesterday” I explained, “Anyway, here we have x. On its own, you don’t know what it is or what its value is. However, if I draw a positive 6 in front of it. And let’s make the result, say ten. We get six plus x equals ten. We can now work out what the value of x is” I described, drawing out a simple equation to match. Rarity nodded in understanding, her eyes focused on the equation on the board.
“Now what number best substitutes into x to complete this equation? I asked, pointing the marker tip at Rarity. She peered over the equation a couple times before her pupils widened slightly and her mouth opened in a slight ‘o’ shape.
“Four?” she queried, faintly bouncing in her chair with a look of puzzlement. Her head was tilted slightly. Her look then turned to anticipation as a few moments passed. Really, I was just teasing her.
“Correct Ms. Rarity” I congratulated, grinning warmly back at her. It was nice to see quick progress and understanding from my subject. “Six plus four equals ten, you substitute 4 into x”
Rarity quickly grew a goofy grin and took pride in herself for the three seconds that she had.
“Now let’s try something different. A little more challenging” I said, “Now this sort of idea sticks with other types of equations within the same parameter. For example, this concept can apply to addition, which we just did, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Now try and answer this question, putting into effect what I’ve just told you.”
I wiped off what was on the board and wrote another equation. The marker squeaking occasionally as it ran across the white surface. I stood back and out of the way to let Rarity observe what was on the board.
“Two x plus five equals eleven,” I said, pointing to the equation. I tapped it lightly, but just hard enough to elicit a sound from the polished surface.
Rarity squinted as she looked over the equation, her eyes darting around the numbers and symbols. After a few seconds, she leaned back, blinked, and looked at me.
Rarity gently pointed towards the board, specifically at the two x. “What does the two x stand for?
I smiled, “So I’ll tell you something now. That two in front of the x does count for something relevant to the x. If there’s no space between the number and the letter, it counts as a multiplication. So this would be two times x plus five equals eleven. Now you just need to find out what x is. The easiest way I find of doing these types of equations that are a bit long, is like a process of deduction. Take out the easiest. So what I'd do here is subtract the five from the left side and subtract another five from the right side of the equal sign”
Rarity gave me an even more confused look, “You can do that?
“You sure can, because what I’m doing is essentially taking five from both sides. Getting rid of the five on the left side of the equal sign means I have to subtract five from the other side. Which leaves me with two x equals six” I explained, crossing out the five and replacing the eleven with a six. “You starting to get it now?
“Sort of, it is a bit confusing but I’m starting to grasp it. So you can do this deduction method with any sort of equation? Rarity asked.
I nodded, “yep if it’s on the applicable lines then sure you can”
“Oh okay, just needed to clear that up,” Rarity said, lightly rubbing the side of her head with one of her hooves, making her white fur fluff up slightly.
“Okay, now I’m still left with two x equals six. I still need to find out x, x is the main problem that needs to be solved right now. What do you think I have to do to find x?” I asked, leaning with my back on the wall. My focus on Rarity’s expression.
She eyed the equation over, again her eyes flicked around the numbers. Then, I saw the metaphorical, not legitimate, ‘click’ in her head. She turned to me and asked, “Do you have to divide the left side by two?”
I nodded in approval, “Dividing by two on the left removes the multiplication. But on the other hand, and the other side of the equation sign, we have to divide by two as well. It kind of has to work for both sides otherwise, you would get a wrong answer. We would get a final answer of x equals six if we didn’t divide the right side by two. So we would be pretty much saying that two x equals twelve. And I’m pretty sure, not one hundred percent certain, but pretty sure that twelve does not equal six. Therefore, you need to apply the division to both sides of the equation for it to work out. Got it?” I asked, damn near gasping for breath after the multitude of words that had just spilled out of my mouth.
“Hmm, so does that rule, the one where it applies to both sides of the equals sign, does that apply for everything?” Rarity asked, pointing at the whiteboard with me.
I nodded, “Yep, it pretty much applies to everything. So with subtraction, you minus whatever number you want from both the left and the right side. With multiplication you multiply by whatever term on both sides of that equals sign. Here’s an easy to remember rule” I said whilst walking to the other side of the whiteboard. I began to write the words as I spoke them. “Whatever you do the left side you do to the right”
Rarity looked over the phrase, probably trying to imprint it in her head.
“And vice versa” I added in a small section at the bottom of the text. Just barely squashing it against the edge of the board. Causing Rarity to chuckle slightly.
“So!” I exclaimed, clasping my hands fiercely together for the second time today. “After everything I’ve taught you today. Do you think you’re ready for some homework?”
Rarity shook her head in disagreement as I pulled a few sheets of paper and a stapler out of the first drawer of my desk.
“Thought so,” I said, letting out a soft sigh. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it easy for you”
I sat back down in my chair and started to write out simple equations and questions befitting of Rarity’s skill level. Some involving addition and subtraction of letters, and a minority of multiplication and division questions. I even added a little key at the top of every page in an outlined box which described the working out of each type of question.
“Are you sure you’re making it easy for me? It looks kind of difficult” Rarity queried, leaning over to look at the paper.
“I know,” I said nonchalantly, still writing. “Besides, it’s not that hard”
“It is for me!” Rarity huffed, sitting back down with her cheeks puffed in fake anger.
I paused for a moment before lifting the pen towards Rarity’s nose, just gently touching the tip of it. I leaned forward and looked deep into her shiny lavender eyes. In a sudden change of nature, Rarity’s face slowly turned from an ice white to a light pink. She started to squirm slightly in her chair and lean back away from me. I followed the leaning competition until her chair was nearly at a forty-five-degree angle, making subtle creaking noises on the hardwood floor. We both sat in these positions for a few uncomfortable moments, well for Rarity it was as I was laughing aloud in my head at her expression before I spoke.
“Deal with it” I whispered, trying not to laugh before setting my chair back to zero degrees’ lean and continuing to write out the last of the questions.
“Wait, what?” Rarity sharply uttered as she quickly leaned her chair forward, the front legs slamming down onto the floor.
This caused my laughter to break forth which, as expected, Rarity did not take kindly to. This time, puffing her cheeks out in, what I could presume was, genuine anger.
“Anyway,” I said, waving a pen held hand. “I’ve even added a little key at the top to help you with the questions”
I tapped the top of the page where the aforementioned key was, staring bullets at Rarity. Who finally saw the damn thing after a few moments.
“Oh,sympathized” she exclaimed, rather cutely might I add. “Well, thank you dear”
“No problems. Just look at it when you need some help” I said, again waving my pen held hand.
“Why can’t you help me with it?” asked a confused Rarity.
“What? Do you want me to follow you home?” I joked, tapping the pen against the paper. “Besides, there’s a reason they call it homework”
Rarity puffed up her cheeks again, which were probably stretched to the limit by now, and crossed her forelegs. Letting out a short and sarcastic ‘Humph’ as she did so.
“Again, don’t worry, it’s literally what we’ve been doing" I sympathized, shaking my head and grinning at the paper. “You’ll finish it in no time”
Finally, after a while of silence, I finished the paper. Handing it over to Rarity, I stood up and so did she.
“Well, good luck on the paper and I’ll see you next month,” I said, clasping my hands together for the third time today.
“Here, I’ll get the door for you,” I said, motioning towards the door as I began to walk to it. Rarity smiled warmly at me and walked out the door, which I held open, giving me one last glance.
“You’ve been a great teacher for me,” Rarity said, giving me a nod over her shoulder. “See you next month darling!”
“Yep, see ya!” I shouted, waving her goodbye. After walking into my office and closing the door, I slumped down into my chair let out a long sigh.
‘Today was a good day’ I thought to myself. ‘She’s going to be a diligent student. And an exciting one at that’
I stood up out of my chair, my legs crying in silence from just sitting down, and stretched my arms behind the back of my head.
“Till next week,” I said to the door. “Till next week. I hope she completes that damn homework, I even made it easy and added that key”
