Coppertop sat in class, more than a bit bored. The five other fillies and colts were deep in to their test, while his was already done. “Why do they make me sit through this sort of math when I took it already, and know it cold?” he thought as he tried his best to keep still and quiet, his dark orange tail twitching some in irritation as the others struggled with their tests. A glance at the teacher, Positive Numbers, showed her looking at her desk, apparently working on a lesson plan.
Looking at the clock showed another twenty minutes to wait before the test was over. Idly, he took out a blank sheet of paper and began to sketch. “You don’t need to learn advanced mathematics to be an earth pony healer and farmer.” he muttered as he sat in the back of the room, his hooves drawing a more-than-adequate picture of his pet dog, Vanna. With only a gray lead pencil, he could not sketch in her color, but he managed a fair representation of the pit bull.
A cough from beside him brought his attention back to the classroom, where the teacher had come up beside him without his noticing. “I certainly hope you have turned in a perfect score, Coppertop.” Positive Numbers said quietly as Coppertop had the grace to look embarrassed. “If not, your parents would be most unhappy with you. Which one would be more unhappy, hmm?”
As the teacher gathered up the test papers, Coppertop said quietly, “Dad would try to think as I would. Mom would probably yell some. Hard to answer that, teacher.”
Positive Numbers put another sheet on his desk. “Answer this in the time remaining for bonus points. Double bonus points if you do not use a calculator.”
Coppertop looked at the page. “If a grain field produces five hundred cubic meters of grain in a season, how large a storage space would be required to hold it all, to a depth of two meters. Assume square dimensions on the storage building.”
Coppertop grunted some. He was not used to thinking either in cubic dimensions, nor in meters. “Okay… half five hundred is two hundred fifty. What squared equals two hundred fifty?” he muttered. “Ten by ten is one hundred, twelve by twelve is one forty four, fifteen squared is…” he used some scratch paper to multiply. “…two hundred twenty five, twice is four fifty. A bit small, but sixteen squared is ninety-six plus one sixty, or two fifty six. Just a touch big, but better plan a bit larger than smaller.”
Coppertop looked up when Positive Numbers called time on the test, going around the classroom to gather up the papers. He quickly wrote his answer down on the question page before she got to him. “See me after class, Coppertop. Five minutes, no more.” Coppertop nodded in understanding, his golden eyes looking at the teacher’s violet ones.
The rest of the class proceeded normally, Positive Numbers going over math skills appropriate to the pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies in the class, of various ages. After class, Coppertop reported to the teacher. “You wanted to speak to me?”
“Yes. I realize you must be particularly bored here, being the oldest student in the class. Not knowing how your education was Before, I must assume the worst before striving for better. From now on, I will tailor your lessons to a higher grade level.
“If you find yourself getting bored, say so. Having good math skills can only help you in your future, whether you become a healer, builder or gardener. You never know when a little bit of math will help you.
“You run off now. I’ll call Doctor Pittman and let him know why you’re late.”
“Thank you, Teacher. How did I do on the test?”
The unicorn’s horn lit up and a pink glow covered the papers, extracting Coppertop’s. She held it up and looked it over. “Hmmm…”
Coppertop’s ears swiveled back in worry. “Did I do all right?”
“A perfect score. Just what I expected from you. Also, double bonus points on the question. I watched you working it out, and yes, sixteen meters square is the smallest practical building. Of course, the taller you make it, the smaller the footprint.”
“Mother will be happy to hear that. So will Father, when he gets back home.”
“Rapid Transit’s tunnel system is a very valuable tool. After all, he found me outside of Indianapolis on one if his expeditions. You should be proud of him, despite his absences.”
“Oh, I am, Teacher. I just miss him, is all. I better get running. My healing lesson is next! Until next class!” Coppertop said before heading out, breaking into a full gallop once outside the school. Positive Numbers did call Doctor Pittman, so the teenage colt would not get in trouble for being late.
At the hospital, Doctor Oliver was waiting when Coppertop galloped up. “Positive Numbers called ahead. Finding math a little too easy?” he said gently.
“The math she is teaching the class, the basic stuff, yes.” Coppertop said, not even panting from the run.
“Basic math has its uses everywhere. Specific mathematics apply for special fields, but the basics are the same for everyone.”
“But, what use is basic math here?”
Doctor Oliver led Coppertop to the garden, their usual Friday efforts. “Oh, there are lots of uses. Many of them, you don’t really think about when you use them. Like, here.”
Oliver waved a hoof at his garden, lush and thriving. “Say you have a specific area of land you can use. How close can you put plants together? What plants can tolerate crowding, and which ones need their space? How wide can you make the rows so you can walk between them, yet not waste space?
“In the hospital, how many bandages will you need to cover a wound? How much suture material to properly stitch a wound closed? You may handle the basics easily, but can you do it in your head, or with a pad and paper, without using your phone or computer? Think about it, Coppertop. The more you can rely on yourself, the fewer tools you’ll need to lug about.”
Coppertop nodded at his mentor’s words. “I will have to think more on that, Doctor. Speaking of tools, shall we get started? The garden won’t weed itself!”
Oliver smiled at the show of enthusiasm. “No, that’s where we come in. Let’s go conquer some nasty weeds, shall we?”
“Let’s nip them in the bud!”
“Roots would be better, Coppertop.”
Author's Note
The first part of this came out of my first ever writer's sprint on Discord. Not knowing how things were done, I decided on a totally new idea. Now I know better. Practice makes perfect.
