(Gideon POV)

After waking up from a good night’s sleep, eating a good breakfast, Twilight and I went to the library, and she told me that she was going to have her friends be teachers of the Friendship school, and she didn’t even say anything about this yesterday, so to say that I was angry would be an understatement. “Are you telling me that you had your friends signed up to teach without telling them?!” I shouted at a now cowering Twilight. “It’s supposed to be a surprise?” Twilight meekly asked. “And they have lives too! Teaching is a full time gig! They have jobs and businesses!” I bellowed. “I know that! They can still their own stuff! The students will be staying in the school for the entire school year, with the exception of the holidays! Also, who else can teach the future generation about the different Elements of Harmony, other than myself and my friends?!” Twilight said with an angry scowl on her face. “I'm talking more about time management than personal effects. Unless you planned for them to have time to both time and energy to handle their personal lives as well as teaching, I'll ease off.” I growled at her. “I did! Do you really think that I’m blind to the ambitions of my friends, when they’d do the exact same for me?” Twilight asked sadly as she started to walk off to her study to recollect herself.

I saw Rarity coming towards me with a frown on her face. ‘She must’ve overheard us arguing.’ I thought to myself as the angry fashionista stopped right in front of me. “Give me one good reason to not slap you for hurting my friend’s feelings.” She said with slight growl. “I was just trying to look out for you, and the others because I assumed that you and the others would have to give up on your passions in lieu of being teachers.” I said hoping that would satisfy the angry mare. “I understand that you were looking out for our interests, but we’ve known Twilight well enough that she’s thought all of this through at least three times before coming to her final decision.” Rarity replied. I lowered my head in shame. “I'm sorry. I overreacted. I made an assumption, and now I'm paying for it by knowing I made a lady or two upset.” I said to her. “I’m not the one you need to apologize to.” Rarity said gesturing her head towards Twilight’s study. “Go to her, and say to her what you said to me. If you need anything just let me know.” She said heading off towards the kitchen to get something to eat.

I did as she asked and knocked on the study door and repeated my apology. Twilight fortunately forgave me and hugged me. I returned the hug, and an idea just hit me. “What’re you thinking about?” She asked. “Flags, specifically, flags from the different time periods of the United States.” I answered. “How many flags did the United States have before the current one?” She asked. “Roughly 28, if memory serves correctly.” I said with a slight questioning look. Twilight’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head. “Why are there so many?!” She asked in utter disbelief. “As more states became part of the nation, the flag changed to match the number of states that were currently part of the Union at the time.” I replied. Twilight was about to ask another question, but then Rarity came into the room with a worried expression. “What’s happened?!” She asked worriedly. “Calm down, Twilight just freaked out that my country had twenty-eight versions of the national flag.” I said.

I asked Rarity to make each of the flags. When she asked what they were for I told her it was help teach my class about my country as it became the international super power it is today. “My goodness Darling, I could only imagine how the flag designers felt when new states became part of the nation.” Rarity said as she wiped some sweat from her brow. “They probably threw a fit or two because more states became part of the nation every few years, that meant the flag had to reflect the amount of states at that current time.” I replied with a chuckle. “So can you tell me what the stripes and the stars mean?” Rarity asked. “Sure, the thirteen stripes represent the thirteen original colonies that were settled by Britain, there were thirteen stars signifying the recently declared independent states, and each state(s) that joined later on became a star in the flag.” I explained.

After several hours we had all twenty-eight United States flags completed and taken to my classroom in the school, I had them hung in chronological order (1776-Present). Applejack and the others came in to see my classroom and their jaws dropped to the floor. “Sweet Celestia! How many flags does one country need?!” Rainbow asked in surprise. I simply laughed at the mare’s question. “It’s because of the country’s history, and growth over time.” I explained. “Start with thirteen territories in a coastal area, add 200+ years and roughly a third of a continent, and that's my country.” I said confidently. “Shoot! I really think that the young’uns will really like your class Gideon.” Applejack said as we left the room to greet the students.

(3rd person POV)

When Gideon and the rest of his fellow teachers arrived at the entrance hall, everyone with the exception of Twilight, were surprised to see the enormous turnout of students. There were Dragons, Griffons, Yaks, Changelings, Ponies, Elves (Altmer, Dunmer, Bosmer, and Orismer), Nords, Bretons, Imperials, Redguards, Argonians, Khajiit, and Hippogriphs all in attendance along with their respective leaders/guardians. “Quite a showing, eh?” Gideon half-asked. “I kinda expected Twi to do something like this. I mean she wants everybody to learn about friendship.” Rainbow said as she walked past him. “Ey Dash, C’mere!” Said a voice that Rainbow recognized. “Oh Hey G! It’s been a long time! How’ve ya been?” Rainbow said as she greeted a Griffoness wearing what looked like the Savior’s HIde from Skyrim. “Things have been great! Griffonstone isn’t a desolate village anymore, and there’s someone I want to introduce you to.” The griffoness said picking up a young Griffon. “Dash, this is Gallus.” The griffoness said. “So you’re Rainbow Dash? I knew that Gilda said you were cool.” Gallus said with a smile.

Pinkie met up with the Yaks, Malacath represented the Orcs, Selfant of Summerset, Arcanul of Morrowind, Sol’quareth of Elsweyr, Gorodal of Highrock, Solovan of Hammerfell, Paelen of Valenwood, Lothintarc of Black Marsh, Balgruuf of Skyrim, and Tulius of Cyrodiil all had their students there too. Twilight gave a small speech about her school and what the students would be learning. She then waved for Gideon to take the stage to introduce himself as a part of the staff since his class was the newest in the curriculum. “My class will be dealing with the history of my world, primarily of my country. As useless of a class it may seem, one can learn to avoid or even fix mistakes among friendships by looking at history, regardless of of how extensive or personal history may be.” He said to the gathered students and representatives. There were murmurs of agreement from the representatives, the students seemed a little confused, but just rolled with it.

Soon after the meet and greet, classes began and the new students gazed in awe of the flags Gideon had hanging on the wall with several dates above them. “So is this Professor Gideon’s national flag?” A young dragon named Smolder asked. “Yes, these are all the different versions of the flag of the United States of America.” Gideon said. “And don't call me a professor. It makes me sound older and smarter than I actually am. Go with Mr. or Brother White...at least while classes are going on.” He added. “Okay. So what’s our first lesson?” The young dragon asked. “That lesson is reserved for after we all know who is who. We go around the room, give our name, favorite hobby, and favorite food or treat. For example: I'm Gideon White. I enjoy working with potted vegetables, and I like lemon bars.” He told the class.

“I’m Althorn. I enjoy learning Illusion magic, and I like sweet rolls.” The young Dunmer boy said. “I’m Olgarth, I enjoy blacksmithing, and I love venison.” The young Orc boy said. “My name’s Meldah, I enjoy learning Destruction magic, and I like grilled leeks.” The young Altmer girl said. “I’m Fabjorn, I enjoy painting, and I love apple pie.” The young Nord boy said earning a few giggles from the the rest of the class. “What’s so funny?!” Fabjorn asked with a touch of anger. “A Nord who likes to paint instead of fight? That’s comedy gold!” Gallus said. “Hey leave him alone!” Smoulder said defending Fabjorn. “I’m Smoulder, I secretly enjoy girly stuff, and I love eating gems.” Smoulder said. “Go ahead laugh, a dragon that likes girly stuff, must be funny huh?!” She said angrily. “Hey! Calm down. Fabjorn, there’s nothing wrong with your interests. Gallus, it’s rude of you to insult someone over something they enjoy doing. Smoulder, while I appreciate that you defended your classmate, don’t try to start a fight you can’t finish.” Gideon said, scolding the three students for their behavior. “Yes Mr. White.” They said.

“Anyway, back to introductions.” Gideons said. “I’m Gallus, I like flying and I like Queen Gilda’s scones.” Gallus said. “I’m Ocellus, I like Alchemy, and my favorite treat is chocolate.” The young Changeling filly said with a smile. “My name Yona, Yona like smashing stuff, and Yona like to eat cupcakes!” The young yak exclaimed with pride. “This One is called Al’rhune, This One enjoys exploring caves, and This One enjoys Moon-Cakes.” The young Khajiit boy said as his tail swished excitedly. “I’m Sandbar, I love making sand sculptures, and I like eating oatmeal cookies.” The young colt said.

“I’m Silver Stream, I love learning new things, and I love fish!” The young hippogriff said with a slight squeal making everybody else wince a bit. “Oops sorry.” Silver Stream said sheepishly. “My name is Valzeera, I pass the time by practicing swordplay, and I enjoy fish as well.” The Argonian girl said. “My name’s Salazar, I enjoy telling stories to my two younger sisters, and I love pasta.” The young Imperial boy said with a smile. “I’m Valzin, I enjoy hunting game with mother and father, and I like eating the spoils of our hunt.” The Bosmer lad said. “I’m Sadia, I enjoy dancing, and I like eating beef stew.” The Red Guard girl said. “I’m Dominik, I really like Conjuration magic, and I like eating my father’s experiments in the culinary arts.” The Breton boy said with a smile.

With a smile and nod, Gideon walked up to the blackboard and began to write. “Now that we are all acquainted, the purpose of this class will be clarified from what I said earlier.” He said after he drew a rough sketch of Europe and a portion of Asia. A star in the region of France had ‘Napoleon, 1812.’ In the Germany region, a star had ‘Hitler, 1941.’ “To visualize the purpose, I’m going to refer to two points in history in a region of my world known as Europe.” He wrote ‘Europe’ above Europe, and wrote ‘Russia/Soviet Union’ in Russia.

“The year 1812 in France, it’s ruler, Napoleon, attacks Russia with roughly 680,000 soldiers against 410,000 Russians...and 70,000 French came back alive.” He said, (seemingly) shocking the class(?). Fabjorn raised his hand. “Excuse me, Mr. White, but how did Napoleon end up with 70,000 troops when he started out with 680,000?” The young Nord asked. “Well if you’re thinking, that it was all from combat, then you’d be wrong because Napoleon was reckless and ill-prepared for the unrelenting cold,rugged landscape of Russia, and many of his troops perished due to hypothermia.” Gideon answered.

“Roughly 100 years later, a dictator in Germany made the same mistake. Huge numbers of troops attacking Russia with little survivors because he disregarded the general who was participating in the assault of the Russian city of Stalingrad, and not to mention that Hitler’s occupation of Europe is failing and his troops are being forced back to Germany.” Gideon explained as he drew lines to help visually explain his points. “Any questions so far?” He asked looking back towards his students. Smoulder raised her hand. “Yes, Smoulder.” He said as he acknowledged the young dragoness. “Why would he divide his army when he was losing ground from his neighboring countries?” She asked.

Gideon sighed and said, “It was because Hitler had ambitions that were bigger than what Germany could handle at the speed he wanted and with how many people were virtually brainwashed into believing in the power of the “Third Reich,” he was pretty much the reason behind Germany’s second fall after a world war.” Smoulder nodded in understanding. The bell rung signaling the end of the class. “Okay students tomorrow we’ll start going over the Revolutionary War, of the War of Independence. Be sure to come prepared. Have a nice day.” Gideon said as the students began to gather their belongings and leave the classroom.

(Twilight POV)

I was sitting in my office waiting for my friends and Gideon to come in and tell me how their classes went for today. “I really should have expected this to be difficult, but I’m sure that the E.E.A. regulations will help iron out the kinks.” I said to myself as Greagithir came into my office with everyone trailing behind him. “Thank you guys so much for coming. I trust that today was a tad rocky with the students?” I asked getting six nods. “Well I actually had a bit easier time because I went with an orientation with the students to help break the ice and I delved into some of history of two ambitious leaders who let their ambitions get out of control and they nearly lost everything.” Gideon said as he rubbed the back of his head. “I think that’s great!” I said with a smile. “However there was a small altercation between Gallus and Smoulder. Gallus made fun of Fabjorn for his passion for painting, despite being a Nord. Smoulder did actually defend him by revealing that as much as she would hate to admit it, Smoulder secretly enjoys dressing up and being I guess you could say “lady-like”.” Gideon said making air quotes. “I see. So Cultural tensions ran kind of high, but otherwise it was fine right?” I asked hoping for more good news. “Indeed.” Gideon said with a nod. “Ok that’s good. How about you Applejack?” I asked as I looked at her.

“Well Twi, they were kinda rowdy, but I did manage to get things under control.” She said tipping her hat. “Yeah it was like that for me too, I mean I had to chase a few students to keep them in their seats!” Rainbow exclaimed in irritation. “Oh dear, so I might need to set up a ward to keep them from flying?” I asked. “I think it should be activated on command, y’know just so the rebels get punished, not the rest of the class.” Rainbow said with a slight shrug. “I’ll talk to Starlight about it, and maybe she can come up with something.” I said, earning a nod from Rainbow.

“Or you can stop trying to force the lessons down their throats,” Gideon said. “The actions of your students make me think of what happens when trying to do such.” This had surprised me. “So you’re saying we should try to get the students to willingly engage in the class, and not just stand up at the front talking, but showing applications where a specific aspect of friendship can be most useful?” I asked arching an eyebrow. “Exactly that, plus how those aspects are not to be used.” Gideon quickly held his hand up. “Hear me out, my country, no, my world have had instances of abusing some of those aspects. Take loyalty, for example. A dictator practically brainwashed his country to be loyal to him and he waged war. When the war was starting to be lost, many soldiers and officers were starting to lose faith in that dictator...but those who were still loyal to the guy ended up turning their weapons on those losing faith. That dictator caused casualties on both sides of that war because of loyalty.”

I was shocked to hear this. “I see, I guess we’re going to have to bend the E.E.A. regulations a bit so we can keep the students interested.” I said as I used my magic to retrieve a small notepad and pencil and began jotting down notes to help me adjust the curriculum to better suit our needs. “Okay. So now I have an idea what we need to do. You guys go ahead and go home for the night.” I said with a smile. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t end up sleep deprived.” Greagithir said with a smirk. I giggled at my steward’s remark. “Y’know if you weren’t so helpful I’d kick you out and pull an all-nighter.” I said as I stood up from my desk, pushed my chair in and walked out of my office with Greagithir following behind. “Today was a very good day.” I said as we went home for the night.

Author's Note

It feels so good to be back! I'm terribly sorry for the wait, but between school, work, life in general I haven't been able to find time to write.

Now Wayward and I are back and ready to keep this story interesting. With For Honor getting a new character known as the Black Prior, we intend to use them as a new enemy for our cast to defeat.
Show Wayward mad love and follow him, fave this story, fave his stories, comment below on how we could make this story flow a bit better.

Thanks for reading and have a nice day!