An Earthling Earth Pony at Celestia's School of Magic: Year One

We got to the cafeteria early the next day for breakfast. The other school leaders were already there, although their table was still off to the side where it had been for the duel the previous day. They were all present, chatting quietly with one another as they ate.

“Wonder if they’ll be by our classes today,” Bright said as he took a bite of cereal.

“Probably at least one,” Hannah replied. “Wouldn’t be shocked if they went by Newnan’s after the duel yesterday.” She took a bite of an apple and then looked at the door. “Although, things look like they are about to get interesting.”

I looked to the door and saw Headmaster strolling in walking with his staff. The cafeteria quieted as he walked through the cafeteria.

Headmaster reached where his normal seat was, stopped and stood, looked around, and gestured with his staff towards his normal table and chair which had been pushed up against the wall. They levitated towards him and returned to their normal place. He then went to the food line which quickly stood aside so he could go to the head of the line. The cafeteria workers hurried to the back kitchen and returned with a plate of bacon and eggs. He accepted it with a brief thanks and took it back to his seat and sat down. A cafeteria worker hurried over and sat a glass if milk down beside him, which he also thanked them for.

“No greeting for us?” the Chinese headmaster loudly asked.

Headmaster looked over at them, chewing on a piece of bacon. “For those of you I like, greetings and welcome. For those of you I don’t, I hope to see you gone soon. It is for you to figure out which is which.”

“I hope I am among those you give welcome,” Gillmore said. “You seem tired. I’m guessing you’ve been busy.”

“Don’t go digging for information; I’ll give you nothing,” Headmaster replied.

“How about a name?” Arcane asked. “We’ve been wondering what we were to address the mysterious human headmaster of Celestia’s School of Magic as.”

“They do deserve a polite answer, sir. It is just common courtesy,” Sweetie Belle said as she stood up from the third year table.

Headmaster took a few more bites of food and leaned back. “A name? I suppose it would be confusing if you addressed me as Headmaster. Let me consider…”

“Your true name would be preferable,” the Chinese headmaster replied.

“We don’t always get what we desire,” Headmaster replied. He took a sip of his milk and set his glass down. “Let’s go with Moonrise Prayer.”

“Did you think that up on the spot?” Gillmore asked.

“Does it matter?” Headmaster asked. “You have a name to address me as. Be happy.”

“Should the students address you as Headmaster Prayer from here on out?” Sweetie Belle asked.

He shook his head. “No, they shall continue to simply address me as Headmaster, as shall the staff and faculty. The name is only to satisfy this bunch.”

“Would that name indicate you consider yourself an heir to Sunset Blessing?” Arcane asked. “It seems the natural follow-up to her.”

“Believe what you wish,” Headmaster said dismissively and resumed eating. “However, perhaps you’re reading too much into it. There is a certain lunar princess that is near enough to here—one with much more progressive views than her sister.”

“So, you claim Luna as a patron?” the island headmaster asked.

Headmaster took another bite of food and washed it down with milk before answering. “I claim nothing, I was only adding another possibility, as I can also add that it could remind me of a song, or it could be my real name. I felt it necessary to point out there were many possibilities given that the headmaster from Skytree seems to have an unhealthy fixation on his former employer. I think it is a deep-rooted feeling of his inadequacy compared to her.”

“Perhaps you’re playing with us is a form of deflection from your own insecurities, human,” Cinch said.

He looked at her flatly. “I did hear about your duel yesterday. If any is questioning their inadequacies after that, it is you, or perhaps you would wish a new duel, with me. I promise to not beat you through strategic outmaneuvering, as you were before. No, I would simply outdo you at your own game, for I do cast spells, and I can do so better than you. Is that your wish, to be beaten in front of the student body a second time, only much more thoroughly this time around?”

Cinch did a dismissive gesture with her foreleg. “I don’t have the stomach for it, and won’t be baited into a second such confrontation aimed at my humiliation. You demonstrated you have magic quickly upon entering, and I have to presume that the princesses put someone of great skill in your seat. I will concede that you could probably defeat me if we dueled. I still question your attitude towards us, and whether it’s a show that you’re not to be trifled with despite being a human in a unicorn’s field—or perhaps it is because of you being a complete unknown or the fact you are so young. I’m not familiar with human ages, but you are what, in your twenties?”

“Thirty-four,” Headmaster said before taking a bite of egg.

“Young to hold such a high position, far younger than any of us,” Cinch countered.

Gillmore coughed. “Not all of us…I’m also thirty-four, and don’t spread that around. It’s hard enough finding a good stallion without them thinking I’m old.”

Cinch rolled her eyes. “Who cares? You are the head of a school. You shouldn’t tie your self-worth up in some romantic idealism.”

“Well, maybe I legitimately want to get married and have foals of my own,” Gillmore countered. She sighed. “But it isn’t relevant to what’s going on right now. If he’s the same age as me, but leading this school, he’s probably very good.”

“You did quite literally pop up out of nowhere with no known history, so forgive us all for being curious,” Headmaster Bob said to Headmaster, speaking up for the first time. “Add to that the fact you are a powerful spellcasting human, which is unheard of. There are plenty of humans with magic, but forgive me for using the phrase that their magic is normally a one-trick pony—it does something specific. I have a human cousin who has phenomenal magical power, far beyond any human I had previously met before today, perhaps stronger than any pony in this room, but her power is restricted to the use of a few specific abilities. She can’t go around levitating things or casting spells that have nothing to do with her specific ability. Your own Professor Newman possesses a simple yet easily underestimated ability, and again, that doesn’t extend to casting spells. You seem to demonstrate the full casting range of a unicorn, and that is quite fascinating. I must wonder…and this is only a theory I am throwing out…about whether we truly are dealing with a human. Sunset Shimmer managed to masquerade undetected as a human for twenty years while on Earth. Is it far-fetched to theorize that a human who has no history or even name is in fact anything but a human?”

Headmaster set his fork down and looked at Bob, frowning.

“Your reputation for your analytical mind is well deserved, that was a well-reasoned question to ask,” Headmaster replied.

Bob bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement of the comment.

Headmaster picked up his fork again. “To end this round of questioning, let us assume that your theory, being very sound, is true. Let us all assume I am a unicorn in disguise, perhaps to further this school’s desire for diversity, or perhaps to hide some deep dark past, or maybe I just get some sort of kink out of being human. Would accepting this theory make our guests all feel better about my status as leader of this school?”

“Well, is it true?” Arcane asked.

Headmaster shrugged. “Think what makes you most comfortable.”

“So,” Gillmore spoke up. “In summary, we have been given a name that is highly unlikely to be your real name, and is likely chosen to give us as many avenues as possible for us to speculate about. We still know nothing of your history. You could be a human, unicorn in disguise, and if we have already opened that second possibility we could add anything else in disguise as well. We can assume the princesses know who you are since it seems highly improbable they just pulled some random person off the street with your capabilities, but they have also not been forthcoming about information about you since it is highly likely there have already been numerous requests to them to reveal information about your identity. The only direct answer you have given us about your identity is that you are thirty-four years of age, and given how little else is confirmed about you, this could well be a lie. Does that cover everything?”

“I think that sums it up well, Headmistress Gillmore,” Headmaster replied.

I could add that we also didn’t know where he resided when not at the school, and that he was eating a lot of bacon if he were a pony in disguise, Any pony would be vomiting on the ground after a single piece since our stomachs couldn’t properly break down meat proteins. However, I doubted they wanted students speaking up. I looked over at Newman, who was at the second-year table to see her reaction, but she was calmly sipping tea. Applebloom was at our table and seemed a bit worried. Inkwell wasn’t present, but that wasn’t uncommon for breakfast.

Headmaster refocused on his food and seemed to take no more interest in the visiting leaders. I refocused on my breakfast as well.

“We should eat fast. We don’t want to be late for class,” I said.

We went through classes normally. The school leaders did stop by Newman’s class briefly, but only observed the lecture before moving on. Inkwell’s class was equally uneventful. It was an Applebloom class day for me, and I was in for a treat.

“Come along, Turnip. Keep up,” Applebloom instructed as we walked towards the castle.

“Do we have to get permission for this?” I asked.

“Yes, ponies can’t normally just go into the princess’s private gardens, but I was given permission to do that,” Applebloom assured me.

We stepped onto the short line. There were two ponies ahead of us, so it would only be a moment or two. Applebloom adjusted her shawl.

“That shawl looks very old and worn. Why don’t you get a new one?” I asked.

She touched it again. “I would never replace this. This was my great aunt Goldie’s. I inherited it from her when she passed on. It marks me as the one who keeps the history and lore of my family.”

The ponies In front if us were waved through, and we as well. We entered the castle.

“Bright was talking about his family…your family. He said his parents didn’t approve of him going to school here,” I said as I followed her down a side hall.

She sighed. “My brother worries a lot about keeping the farm in our family; the Apple orchards and the Pear orchards are a lot to take care of. We need all the hooves we have available. My foals help out the best they can, but it would be best if Bright took over the Pear orchard.”

“You aren’t there. You didn’t choose the life of a farmer. Those Pear orchards could have been yours,” I pointed out quietly.

She stopped and looked at me. “Is my nephew having second thoughts about his promise?”

“I don’t think so,” I answered quickly. “It just seems like he is doing it out of a sense of responsibility, not because it is what he wants. He also talked about his sister, Candy.”

Applebloom sat down. “Maybe him taking on all that responsibility is my fault.” She looked up. “I’d gave up my inheritance to my brother’s foals back when Bright was very young. Nopony thought much of it back then. There were three foals and two farms. Getting me and my foals getting taken out of the equation just made things easier. It only started getting complicated when Candy and my brother had a falling out. Now there were two foals and two farms, and then Bright said he wanted to go to school here and join the guard.”

“Couldn’t you just nominate one of your foals to take over the Pear orchards?” I asked.

“I could, but Mac is set on Bright inheriting. The fight with Candy made him dig his hooves in. My foals grew up understanding they weren’t going to be in line to take either orchard, and while they are helping out for now, they have plans that they’ve made for their futures, ones ah wouldn’t take away from ‘em,” Applebloom said with a sigh. “This is an Apple family issue, not yours. Ah appreciate you lookin’ out for Bright, and you can let Bright know that if he needs to talk, I’m here for him, and I’m in his corner no matter what.”

“I’ll let him know,” I replied, noting her small slip into rural speech.

She stood up. “Let’s be on our way then. There’s plants to observe, and lessons about what they are used for to learn.”