Little John Renovates the School of Friendship
“Starlight!” Twilight barged into her office. “There’s an emergency. There’s too many students enrolling this year, and there’s not enough room in the School of Friendship to accommodate lodging for all of them!”
“Calm down, Twilight,” Starlight said, placing a hoof over her barrel. “How many creatures have enrolled this year?”
“About five hundred,” Twilight blurted out. “I can’t possibly turn hundreds of creatures down from enrolling, especially those who have traveled moons just to get here!”
“Five hundred?” Starlight raised her eyebrows. “You’re right, there isn’t enough room to accommodate everyone…”
“Exactly! I think we have no choice, but to—”
“...for now,” Starlight noted, leaning back onto her counselor's chair. “We just need to renovate the school to fit everyone.”
“How can we do that?” Twilight asked, incredulous. She paused, looking Starlight in the eye. “Look, Starlight, I know you’re trying to help me feel better, but the school’s capacity is just one hundred. You can’t magically expand the capacity fivefold. Not without a pocket dimension!”
Starlight returned Twilight’s gaze with a twinkle in her eye. “Actually, I knew you’d say that.”
“What?” Twilight furrowed her eyebrows.
“When I was experimenting with the mirror portal in your castle, I chanced upon a man who is an absolute expert in home design. He could transform a miniscule space into a functional room with all the amenities you’d need,” Starlight explained. “I think he’s called Little John, or something.”
“Little…John?” Twilight hesitated. “Is he an interior designer?”
“Yeah, I guess you could call him that, Starlight shrugged nonchalantly, “but I could get him to help.”
“How?” Twilight questioned, bemused.
“I have my ways…” Starlight smirked, eyeing a mysterious black cuboid on the table. “Don’t worry about it…”
“This is the room?” Little John asked, opening the large door to reveal a single room for students that was beautifully furnished. There was more than ample space to walk in, dance or run in circles on the smooth, carpeted floor. There was a voluminous cupboard and chest of drawers on the side, clearly to fit the student’s belongings. The sun shone serenely into the comfort of the bed with a massive window.
Little John was stunned. This was the largest room for one he had ever seen. Twelve square meters. He was almost envious at the luxury of space afforded to a student, when he had to renovate his way to a liveable space that was barely the size of a shoebox at home.
“Uh, yeah, do you think you could…increase its capacity?” Starlight asked nervously, glancing sideways at Twilight.
“This would be easy,” Little John scoffed, confident. “Allow me to show you.”
First, with the help of Twilight and Starlight, he yeeted the furniture into the shadow realm with portals and the power of unicorn magic. Now, he had an unimpeded twelve square meters that he could work with. He could easily dance ballet in this room with his arms wide open if he wanted.
Next, he tore down the windows, smashing the windows brilliantly with a large 4 pound sledgehammer, leaving Starlight and Twilight to clean up the mess of glass shards.
Obtaining some galvanized square steel from Manehattan industries, he made a frame that extended to the outside and used some screws he borrowed from Twilight’s mom, firmly fixing them to the wall for a sturdy finish.
He filled the gaps with steel mesh and an insulating sheet to protect the students from the frigid winters, in case the wendigos ever reappeared from their textbooks. He then poured concrete into the gaps, piped through the portal using a cement truck stationed back in the human world driven by Bulk Biceps over there. The room is now upgraded to a nice fifteen square meters.
He installed big, aluminum-framed windows that ensured the radiance of Celestia’s sun to shine elegantly into the room, providing natural light for students to study conducively for a thousand years. Now there is a breathtaking view of Ponyville and its fountain, increasing the appeal of the room immeasurably.
Realizing that there is too much space for one, he segmented the room into five using soundproof wall partitions for privacy, and a central corridor for easy access. With this, he is able to achieve the fivefold efficiency promised to Twilight and Starlight.
For each partitioned room, he then created an elevated platform made of eco-friendly wood veneer that would make the Everfree Forest jealous extending from the wall. To reinforce the structure, he borrowed screws, now from Starlight’s father all the way in Sire’s Hollow, and built a ladder up towards the platform using more galvanized square steel bars.
He placed a mattress onto each platform, accompanied by a soft blanket and pillow to ensure a good night’s rest. To prevent the students from falling off the bed using their sleep and injuring themselves, he erected guard rails and a cushioned padding surrounding it.
Below the platform, he constructed a cupboard that could store all of the student’s belongings with multiple compartments for various uses. Recycling the glass from the earlier shattered window with the help of the unicorns, he made a set of glass doors to keep everything dust-free—easy to clean. A steel rack enabled the students to store their well-ironed clothes in hangers for a smart appearance.
Finally, a folding table that opened up from inside the cabinet doubled up as an eating space and studying area. Anchored a small rack to fit frequently-reviewed literature and friendship problems for easy reference.
As some creatures prefer to study while standing up, he developed a foldable chair that extended from the side of the partition wall that can be customized to the creature’s proportions with an ergonomic design.
“Now look at this fully functional room for students, equipped with a study and resting area, that can successfully fit five instead of one.” Little John waved his arms over his masterpiece.
Starlight immediately blasted Little John, destroying all his work and sending him back to the human realm.
