I remember we got some time after freshpony camp to relax. It was, in fact, justified because even if the anointed dust catchers like me enjoyed the regular, long hikes, muscle fever quickly caught up with us. But at the camp, they had literally every program possible! We went up the mountain and down the valley, all around the whole area. I'm a bit unfamiliar in that region, but I can confidently claim we visited all the springs, which had about the same effect on me as the fresh green grass. Even though my throat was burning, I couldn't stop myself from drinking from all of them - and in return, during the last two days of the camp, I could hardly be persuaded to speak, I became so hoarse.

It didn't detract much from the enjoyment value of the whole thing; anyway, there were so much to do, I didn't have time to properly take care of myself. To be honest, we didn't have that much opportunity to get to know each other, the organizers have come up with so many activities for us to participate. In addition to the fine arts occupations and various competitions, to my greatest delight, magic soon came up as a topic. On the second day, we already got our first guest, in the person of a teacher from our new school, and he gave us a couple of hours of interactive lecture on concentration of magical power. Wish, Jasper and I listened to the optional education from the front row and participated in the tasks, even though I actually either already knew them or they weren't challenging. I would have appreciated it better if we could actually cast spells, but thanks to the long explanation, I believed that it makes sense to mess around with something like this. I eagerly balanced the practice pebble on the tip of my horn, I did my best to paint the most orderly spiral line possible on the sheet of paper placed in front of me with the brush in my mouth... and with my tongue extended and squinting hardly, I carried an egg together with Jasper, using only our noses.

They gave us a few concentration exercises like these to practice in our spare time. And even though there were things like those used to train foals, I promised to myself that I would do them all. As they said, if we get the right foundations, our work will be much easier later on. Of course, my enthusiasm waned pretty quickly, and when I got to that point, I preferred to practice the spells I already knew.

On the other days, our invited teachers gave us presentations. I wasn't so impressed when the alchemists came with their vials and flasks, and the telescopes of the astrologers didn't really stick with me either, but I watched them dutifully, and what's more, I even tried out their tools. On the other hoof, when the ponies of the Department of Complex Arcane Sciences arrived, I had to steel myself so that I could sit still. True to their name, they presented us with terribly complex and versatile spells, and I fell from one amazement to another. On a theoretical level, I knew it was possible, but I was speechless when, right in front of my eyes, our instructor fabricated a perfectly functioning boat from a small ball of dirt step by step. Mass, material, and shape changed at the same time, but the mare just wiped her forehead, then continued the explanation as if nothing extraordinary happened before our eyes.

We were allowed to see a lot of magic that I could only read about in books before. The most amazing thing for me was when one of the unicorns was able to walk through a half-magical, half-physical wall without teleporting. They said that this can also be learned, in other words we can even exist without a material form for a short time - although the procedure can consume a tremendous amount of energy and is also fraught with danger. However, the highlight of the performance was when Mr. Poltergeist paid us a visit on the penultimate day. And he showed me a new level of magic that was unimaginable to me before.

The red stallion arrived to us when the first stars appeared in the sky. He stood in front of the campfire and asked who wanted to join him on a wonderful journey. I don't even know if there was anypony who could say no to the offer; I immediately jumped there and settled on the ground, curiously waiting for the continuation. As soon as we had gathered, the stallion begun with his enchantment with a brightly shining horn and pulled us out of the fabric of reality.

First, he took us up into the outer space so that we could admire the planets, stars and other extraordinary beauties of the cosmos up close. Then we descended back to our own world. In amazing detail, from the polar ice caps to the huge deserts on the equator, from the depths of the oceans to the highest mountain peaks, we have travelled through everything. We galloped together with the zebras of the southern regions, flew together with the griffins of the east, swam together with the seaponies of the oceans... Even since then, I can't find words to describe all the experiences we had. And that was just the beginning!

The world turned upside down and we found ourselves in a completely unfamiliar environment. A whole army of ponies stood around us, in armour and weapons. With their bows drawn and stretched, they watched the huge water spread out in front of us and the coal-black sailboats that were fast approaching on the waves. An earth pony with thick fur and a scarred face howled near us. A thousand strings swung, and the arrows whizzed towards the ships like an ominous, dark cloud. I felt the tingle of magic, which within moments became a vibration, and the arrows caught fire in the air, and upon impact turned both canvas and wood into a swirling conflagration.

It dawned on me that I had read about this long-ago battle from the legends of early Equestria, but before I could think about who the scarred hero who led the ponies was, everything changed again. We were standing in a vast meadow covered with flowers, and in the distance could be seen the proud castle of Canterlot. Birds chirped and insects buzzed around us in the summer heat, but despite the clear sky, a huge shadow suddenly fell upon us, and everything immediately fell silent. As I looked up with flattened ears, I could see a disk, rimmed with bluish-purple lightning and swirling like smoke: the gateway to another world. Membranous, hook-tipped wings clung to its inner edge, and then slowly an elongated monster of incredible size, with an insectoid body, pulled itself out through the portal. The creature stretched out its giant, bare spine-like body, spun its head around, then opened its mouth and howled - though its voice could not be heard, only the trees swayed with its silent scream.

After a few moments, the answer arrived. As if the sun itself had shone even brighter, the heat overwhelmed us. I put my hoof in front of my eyes to protect them, but I could still see a burning white dot flying up from the castle with a burning flash. It was approaching with incredible speed, and I soon recognized her as Princess Celestia, although that was not exactly the memory I had of her. Whenever I could see her, she was always gentle and smiling, her multi-coloured mane waving softly. Now, however, her face reflected stone-hard determination even from this distance, and her mane surrounded her head like a wild, flaming halo. As she got closer, the monster lashed out at her with its whole body like a whip, but the alicorn easily dodged it and lowered her head, floating small, colourful crystals in front of it. A bright rainbow shot out of the Princess' horn and hit the alien creature around its chest.

I could still see the massive beam push the bony monster back towards the portal, then everything around us changed again. And again and again. We were allowed to witness epic fights and gigantic battles up close, as if we could have been part of them ourselves. We couldn't see the bloody, frightening details of any of them, but we could still feel the weight of them all, as our history was shaped before our eyes. The figure of Princess Celestia also appeared, as the sublime goddess led her ponies through forgotten ages. The sight of her majestic figure in golden armour filled my heart with pride for being a pony, and this warmth remained in me later, every time I thought of her.

I didn't know all the fight scenes, although they were all distinctive in their own way, but the last one completely surprised me even compared to the others. Giant metal monsters and enormous dragons fought each other amid a sky-high firestorm. I had no idea who was with whom or what was going on. Mountains exploded to pieces around me, the following terrible cracks tore my eardrums, and I tried to figure out if this was also a forgotten slice of our past, or just a vision of the future...

Then everything went dark and I opened my eyes. I was sitting in the same place where it all began: in front of the campfire, but now its light barely flickered compared to the swirling flood of visions before. I couldn't speak for long minutes, I was so under the influence of the "performance", and I must say, neither of us had to be put to sleep that night... I fell into my bed - I was a little sorry that I was given the upper level - like a sack of straw. All I could think about was how lucky I am to be part of such a special company, and the next moment I was frolicking on the pastures of the Dream world.

* * *

There was no foal ever who was waiting for school as excitedly as I was then, I think. It's true, I was worried enough, even though it wasn't at all attributable to my studies or even my teachers. The real problem was the classmates, or to be more precise, their absence. A kind of loose bond developed between all of us in the freshpony camp, but nothing was settled by that point. The task was clear: we had to form classes with a more or less defined number of ponies. It was beyond dispute that Jasper, Wish and I would stay together, but we didn't get much beyond that. Dulcimer and his friend with yellow fur didn't seem terribly annoying in the long run, so I didn't have a hard time accepting them either. However, we were not much ahead with this either. Five ponies are still just five ponies. However, if possible, I wanted to avoid being pushed into a pre-established group. The problems started though exactly with that, as most of them had already decided in the first few days who they wanted to spend their first academic year with.

Of course, there were other potential candidates, for example, that quirky bastard with the raven-black mane who introduced himself to us under the name Scorched Earth and, thanks to his terrifying tale, inevitably became the center of attention for a few days. He played the unapproachable cool guy who is only rarely willing to stoop to our level. And I have to admit, he played it well... As soon as he set foot out of the wooden house, there was almost always somepony jumping next to him to ask questions about him and his story. The lucky thing was that such ponies did not come inside our house, and the red stallion usually shooed those interested away quite quickly.

On the other hoof, we, as his roommates, had the privilege of him sharing a few more details with us - of course only after an adequate amount of "begging". Truth to be said, it was Jasper who forced the whole thing, although I can't say that he completely left me uninterested. However, I wasn't completely persuaded either. Of course, at first, I had a kind of impression about him, and even though it was now possible to have a relatively reasonable conversation with him, he somehow didn't refute it. And I just couldn't place this feeling. I found no fault in his story, and as honestly as he could tell it, I was almost inclined to believe him. I was aware that sometimes the most incredible things turn out to be true, and I didn't have enough information to draw far-reaching conclusions.

But still... something about the foal didn't feel right. Either I just wasn't used to ponies like him, or there really was something strange about him. For example, when we stayed up a little longer on our first night, talking from under the covers and I asked him how he made those cold flames during his story, he immediately answered that he was the only one in all of Equestria who could do that, and he wouldn't reveal the secret. Still, he was willing to show it to me several times to see if I could figure out his trick. And of course, he watched me try with visible joy, and was filled with unabashed pride at my inability to copy it.

So he was able to maintain my interest, and despite all my dislike, I sought his company on a certain level. Just the fact that he knew something I didn't, changed my attitude. Being snooty - although there were no perfectly identifiable signs of it - or being snooty and having some skill to match were two entirely different things; he could even have been somepony uniquely introverted.

Then there was another stallion we got to know through Cavernwind who also looked like a promising candidate. His name was Still Lotus, and he made the first impression of an interesting figure. We didn't spend a lot of time together, and he wasn't the loud type anyway, but when he did speak, it was at least funny enough to make me glad to see him in our class. On the other hoof, there were still worryingly few of us with him, and besides, all but one was colt, which also couldn't have been very lucky. However, as the time for decision approached and I mentioned my problem to Wish, her eyes immediately lit up. I thought that she was even less successful in making acquaintances than we were... after all she spent almost all of her time with us and only went to sleep with her own roommates. Once we even had to wake up the poor girl, because she dozed off on Jasper's bed during the conversation that went on late into the night, and none of us wanted her to get into trouble.

To get to the point, thanks to Wish, another eccentric joined us in the form of a tall filly with huge glasses and white fur, by the name of Stella. Let's say I wasn't as happy with her as I was with Lotus, as I was soon faced with a couple of extremely annoying habits of her, which I immediately realised that I would find difficult to tolerate in the long run. To cite just one example, whoever she was talking to, she would always stare straight into their eyes without blinking, and even if she got the answer for her question, she would stay that way for a few seconds. With her, however, we might have had a slim chance of getting a separate class for ourselves. Unfortunately, we did not receive overly detailed information about how things will work, but we tried to remain hopeful.

That's why I was a little shocked when I found out that they don't start groups under ten ponies. I was standing there at the opening ceremony between Jasper and Wish, my entrance exam results in my hoof, just looking out of my head at complete loss. My thoughts were numb, I couldn't think of anything useful. From where we could get two more ponies? Before that, I looked around a bit to see how well everypony else got on with the task, and sure enough I didn't find insufficient groups or lonely foals. It seemed very much like we would be forced to leave the decision to our fate.

When we were finished with the obligatory formalities, our dean asked the company to leave the hall except for the first-year students and the teachers. With increasing excitement, I waved goodbye to my parents who were waiting in the crowd - or, to be exact, were already preparing to leave - and then together with my friends we wandered a little forward to hear something from Mr. Poltergeist's words. Our friends we met in the camp also gathered around us, and together with the other freshponies we formed a loose ring around the red stallion. Instead of him, however, the mare with the curly mane spoke up, who assisted him during the entrance exam - and who I assumed must have been Professor Tome.

"Alright, then," she began in a stern voice as she looked over us. "I see, we have the groups here, so we can start assigning them to instructors!"

It's now or never - I thought, and with that momentum I raised my hoof high. "Here you go, young colt!" the mare turned to me. I felt the blood rushing to my ears, but there was no turning back now. "Sorry, I have a problem that my team doesn't have ten ponies in it!" I said in a low voice, so that she would definitely hear, but that nopony should feel as if I was shouting.

"Of course, we can arrange to merge your group with another class," the lady replied without batting an eye and turned away from me as if she was done with her job.

"My companions and I discussed that it would be better if this did not happen..." I remarked a little discouraged. I heard that I managed to cause a bit of an uproar among the foals and I wasn't thrilled about it at all.

The mare let out a big sigh and looked into my eyes again. "I'm sorry, young colt, but this is not a make-a-wish foundation," she answered. "Our options are limited; we cannot shape the classes according to anypony's whim."

I lowered my ears in frustration, and the lady was about to go on with her thing when the dean cleared his throat. "Does anypony else has the same concerns?" Nopony answered, only the foals looked at each other in confusion. Mr. Poltergeist gave us a few seconds to think, then spoke again at his usual pace. "I think in this case we could make an exception for once. Because of my busy schedule, it would be more convenient for me to supervise a smaller group anyway, so I'm happy to take them on. On one condition. We also have a foreign student who has been entrusted to my care, and she doesn't have a place yet. If you - he turned to me - are willing to accept her, I shall allow your group to remain like this."It sounded like a fair enough offer, but I didn't want to make the decision alone. However, as I looked around at my peers, they seemed to accept me as an advocate. I didn't like talking in front of so many ponies, but I couldn't let it go. So I swallowed and looked deeply into the dean's eyes. "That would be great, thank you!" I said, though with much less confidence than I intended."Great," said Mr. Poltergeist with just a hint of serenity in his voice. "One less problem. Thank you for your patience, Professor Tome, you may continue.""So, where was I..." the mare continued, sending me a few pointed glances, but I couldn't pay attention to her, as Jasper patted my shoulder pretty hard. "Nice job, pumpkin, ya hear that?" he whispered into my ear from the side, as I refused to turn towards him.I could still feel the eyes of the foals on me, so I tried to keep my expression blank and do nothing interesting. It almost worked: after Jasper got away from me and the classes selected their instructors in a neat order, I gradually got out of the limelight. It wasn't until we finished and Mr. Poltergeist asked us to follow him that I met the reproachful faces of a couple of ponies again. However, I couldn't decide whether they were jealous of us now, for being singled out like this, or they were simply bothered by the fact that I dared to speak at all. But why should I have felt ashamed for presenting our very much legitimate problem?

We left the sports hall, joined our parents for a short time - I quickly told them that we had the dean as head of class - and then we could go on to another facility of the academy. We marched to a large green and white building, which, upon entering, we climbed up at the first turn of stairs at a rather hasty pace dictated by the red pony. We must have climbed two floors before we finally stopped for a moment: Mr. Poltergeist was busy opening a door. He didn't use magic directly, but summoned a key and inserted it into the lock. "This shall be our classroom," he added as an explanation, then with a few waves of his hoof, he ushered us in.

We were going to be pretty cramped, I noticed that right away. The room itself was quite narrow, and looked as if its entire area had been pinched off from the adjoining supply closet. The fact that it was indeed connected to the previously mentioned room by a door at the back half indicated this, and otherwise - as I observed afterwards - their furniture was completely identical. There was only one window on the wall opposite the blackboard, and the benches set up in two columns were pushed to the edge of the room so that at least we could walk between them. True, as small as we were, even that was more than enough. The only thing missing was the thick layer of dust and the cobwebs, otherwise I would have easily believed that we were the first class to be thrown here in years.

At the time, I couldn't have said anything positive about it, but it didn't spoil my mood. All I could think about was that my academic career would finally begin, and I couldn't wait to study. Didn't even waiting for a prompt, Jasper and I started towards the second row at the same time, and then, looking at each other, we decided that we would position ourselves towards the far right. I presciently took the chair closer to the wall - as I had known the colt to be twitchy, I assumed he would be the one jumping up more for whatever reason - and then I watched what the others were doing.

They were a little more unsure than we were, but the two of us were enough to break the ice. Wish eyed the table behind us intently, but didn't have the courage to take it until everypony else was seated. Cavernwind and Dulcimer hesitated the least: they quickly crashed into the adjacent bench, and immediately after that Lotus also slipped behind them. With that, there were only three ponies left, and I watched curiously how they distributed the remaining places among themselves. The first row, for example, was still completely empty...

Finally, much to my surprise, Stella was the first pony settling down in front of us with a completely expressionless face, although fortunately on the part facing the wall, so her long neck and straw-stack mane didn't hide the smallest part of the board's surface from me. After that, I was pretty sure that Wish will sit next to her, after all, Stella got into the class thanks to her. However, the little green mare - after our friend with the black mane also took a seat behind Lotus - only flashed a faint smile at Stella, and then seated herself behind us.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, I don't bite" remarked Mr. Poltergeist cheerfully as he looked over us. "But I shall not interfere, if it's convenient for you, so be it. It's not an issue here that you can't hear from the back rows. Then we can get back to the subject. As I said, this shall be our room, and now I shall explain what I mean by that. It means that the vast majority of the theoretical education will be taught here. The custom is that before specialization, the teachers come to the students, and then gradually, as you become more and more familiar with the Academy's buildings, you shall get used to going to the classes yourself. Of course, there shall be exceptions, which you shall be able to experience already in the first week. However, we keep almost all conventional subjects in this place, by definition, if this is feasible."

"I shall not take up your time any longer than necessary; I still have much on my plate as well. All I can say is that you shall love the first week because it shall be full of punch hours. You can pick up your books on the ground floor on the way down. It doesn't hurt if you peek into one or two a little, even just to get to know them a bit. And we shall meet at the same place on Monday at exactly eight o'clock. Also - he took a meaningful break, as if we didn't pay close attention to him anyway - it's important to mention, I didn't forget what I promised. You shall soon get to know your foreign classmate, but unfortunately you shall have to do without her during the first week. However, I strongly advise everypony to be especially kind and courteous towards her! It would cast a bad light on all of Equestria if we don't receive her as expected. I hope I managed to get the message through."

"Woah, cold..." Jasper said, turning to me but Mr. Poltergeist did not let that without a word.

"Believe it or not, this is very serious! Our guest shall study at our school with the personal consent of Princess Celestia. She came here from a distant land, straight from Saddle-Arabia, and she is a scion of a noble family, so if we take it that way, how you relate to her is a diplomatic matter. I'm not asking for anything special, but you should always remember that when interacting with her. Especially since I allowed the team to remain in this form on this condition."

"Of course, understood!" I answered immediately and my classmates nodded in agreement.

"That's right." A faint smile crossed the red stallion's face. "If you always cooperate like this, we shall easily prosper in the future. So, if there are no questions, I'll let you go for now until I see you again the day after tomorrow... Here you go?"

A white hoof rose slowly from the bench in front of us. "You didn't explain the colored circles, teacher," Stella said in a voice as if everypony should know exactly what she was talking about. It totally confused me, at least, and until the dean answered, I was just straining my brain unnecessarily.

"You're right!" Mr. Poltergeist approached us with barely concealed joy and extended his hoof towards the mare. "If you allow me, I can even demonstrate it on yours." Stella hoofed over the stallion a sheet of paper, in which I now recognized the one that was pressed into our hoof at the opening ceremony, and it contained the results of our entrance exam, including the experiment - in a way that was incomprehensible to us. However, I already had an idea of what the girl was interested in, and what's more, this immediately piqued my interest as well.

"As I have already mentioned previously, I conducted an experiment together with the Department of Complex Arcane Sciences, the purpose of which was to immediately form a kind of image of you, as novice wizards and our fresh students. This was partly the testing of the instrument, and partly it served and serves the purpose of getting to know your weaknesses and strengths, thereby finding out which areas we need to pay attention to on an individual level. As you may know, most unicorns only know and use a few spells, which are by definition necessary for their work and everyday life. However, we, as true and professional practitioners of pony magic, must have extensive knowledge in multiple fields."

"Several of our attributes determine how we relate to our own magical power. There are some that we are born with, some that we acquire during our lives, or that we develop in ourselves through practice. In common parlance, this is called talent, but it is actually much more complex. In that regard, the circle diagram mentioned by the lady is the most informative, although I have to note that our instruments are still quite rudimentary, so we cannot rule out serious errors for the time being. So, if you take a closer look, you can see that each circle is divided into four articles of different colors, and even within that each article fills a varying amount of space, so even the line of the circle is not consistent. These slices show what type of magic you have an affinity for. Green indicates your static, yellow your dynamic style of magic usage, and blue and red your perception and projection skills."

"Although the first two and the last two are almost opposite polarities of the same aspect, it is worth observing them together, as they can enter into very special interactions with each other, which is mostly manifested in synergism," he continued more and more enthusiastically. "For example, if you look at your friend's evaluation sheet" he showed us Stella's paper "it is clear that she is basically a static perceiver, and even the passive type. However, although almost half of her circle is blue, it is not the most prominent in thickness, so she also has plenty of room to develop her greatest strength. Which is really excellent, because we can go far with unripe talents, as that's why we're here!"

Mr. Poltergeist looked at us with as much pride as if he was showing us around the first drawing of his foal. On the other hoof, I, as a stallion, admit that I was completely at loss, and I didn't understand one bit of the point. And it never worked for me to nod insincerely, as if I had successfully processed the information. I had already read somewhere about this static-dynamic thing, but I didn't comprehend it even then, moreover, the dean peppered it all with a few fancy technical terms, which only achieved that I gave up on trying. Instead, I've been digging through my own page to see if I can read something useful from it. Needless to say, I haven't made any progress...

"Excuse me, sir!" Caverwind raised his leg. "Could you repeat it please? I didn't understand the whole thing..."

"Whoah, sorry, kids!" Mr. Poltergeist put a hoof to his temple. "I think I went a little too far ahead! Not to mention that this is primarily Professor Tome's area of expertise, so I won't be usurping it any further. Everything in its time! And this, I think, is the perfect ending for now! Don't forget, Monday morning at eight o'clock in the same place!"

Everypony got up from their seats, so I followed their example. However, before I left the room, I carefully positioned myself so that I could catch the red stallion before he left. I didn't expect much from the conversation, but I didn't want to leave the question hanging either. "Professor!" I called out to him when it was only the two of us left.

"Yes, what was it?" the dean turned to me, even though I could see from this close - which I could hardly get used to later -, that although he was clearly watching my face, he was actually staring between my eyes, and with such a distant focus, as if he was looking straight through me.

"Can I ask... would you take a look at my page too?" I asked a little uncertainly. "I'm not asking you to explain everything, I just want to know the significance of my results from my point of view."

"It is an excellent question, dear..."

"Thread" I helped him out as I gave him my sheet. "Life Thread."

"I shall remember it," said the red stallion in a low voice, then immersed himself in the data. "Well, then... Yes, yours is indeed quite interesting. If you look closely, you're the exact opposite of Miss... the filly who's diagram I analysed as a demonstration. Well... or more specifically you a shall be if I'm right. Based on the numbers, you have promising magical potential, which is special because your larger circle slices are the thinnest. If you compare, based on the area of the slices, you use roughly the same amount of dynamic and static energy, but the dynamic slice is half as thin as its counterpart, so you still have a lot of room for improvement. And if you look at the other two, you can see that they are both very shallow, in fact, your projection is almost not visible, even though that article clearly has the largest angle. I interpret this to mean that you haven't really discovered your own strength yet. In fact, I would hazard a guess that if your talent is in magic, you didn't even get your cutie mark, yet!"

My chin dropped. "How did you know?"

"Maybe we're a little alike, you and I." For a moment, the dean looked directly into my eyes, and his mouth twitched into a sly smile. "Dynamic projection is not something that can be easily learned, but it is an excellent foundation for my field of expertise: mind and illusion magic. I shall be watching with interest as you find your own path. And, if it turns out that way, I'll even be happy to see you in my department in the future." Mr. Poltergeist ruffled my mane, returned my paper, and then left me alone. I knew I would ponder a lot more on what I just heard, but I didn't want to be by myself, so I soon followed. But outside, to my surprise, Jasper and Wish were waiting for me, ears perked curiously. I thought they had already gone down to collect their books...

"Didya get yer desired brain-expansion?" Jasper asked with a wide grin.

"Yeah, kinda," I shrugged. "Oh, while we're at it, may I borrow your paper, Wish?" The little green mare reached into her pocket with a forced smile, and after a little rummaging, she hoofed over her sheet. She folded it carefully, I could hardly unpack it, but when I did, I looked at the pie chart with a pensive expression on my face. True, hers was more like a semicircle, roughly divided into equal parts in green, blue, and red colors. The other half consisted of only a very thin yellow spot, from which I had already drawn my far-reaching conclusions with my newly acquired knowledge. "Yes, yes, exactly what I expected! You'll get your cutie mark when you improve your dynamic magical abilities, like me."

"Wha...? Are you sure?" she was staring at me with huge puppy-eyes.

"Yeah, because, you see here..." I held her paper in front of them. "If this yellow slice is thicker, it will have the largest area."

"And how do I do that?" she inquired as if I suddenly became an expert on the topic.

"Well that is something they are going to teach us here!" I answered with a mysterious smile. "I can't wait to begin!"

"I'll do my best!" said Wish quietly but with newfound determination.

"All righty!" Jasper piped in. "If we stick together, nopony can stop us! Triple hoofbump!" Our legs swung up at the same time so that they collided in the middle. For a few elevated seconds, all the desire to do something that I had been forced to keep in me passed through, and then, having calmed down a bit, we started to pick up our textbooks together.

* * *

Our first week didn't exactly go smoothly. We managed to "introduce" ourselves to both our teachers and fellow students - and not necessarily in a good way. Far be it from me to talk shit of any of my former classmates - especially since I was also heavily involved in almost every case - but I have to admit, we were quite... alive. Fortunately, everypony listened quietly during classes, except for Scorch who was sighing loudly sometimes if he really found the material very boring. On the other hoof, during the breaks and recess hours, I repeatedly ran into situations that, to be honest, I didn't have the faintest idea how to handle. Present me would definitely choose different solutions than past me did.

There was, for example, the case when after classes, during the long break, I went out with Jasper and Wish to the yard to gallop around a bit, to exercise our limbs after sitting a lot. I did not know exactly where the others were wandering; we didn't get along with them as much as we did with each other, the three of us. I just went back into the green and white building to the restroom, but when I tried to get out again, I saw some strange light flickering from one of the secluded corridors. Pricking up my ears, I unsuspectingly turned that way; I simply had to investigate.

But what - or more precisely who - I found there, I didn't know what to think of. In the middle of a relatively narrow passage, there stood, what's more, floated, a stallion with green fur, whom I quickly recognized as Cavernwind. The big colt was snarling with effort and his horn were glowing with yellowish hue, so it wasn't hard for me to identify him as the source of the light. However, I had no idea what he was doing when I found him.

"Hello there!" I greeted him. I didn't have any malicious intent, yet I managed to throw him out of his concentration, which resulted in his spell breaking, and he fell down and hit the marble hard. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" I rushed to him to help. "What are you up to?"

He didn't answer right away, but his ears were burning. He jumped up, placing a hoof on my mouth and he looked around nervously. "Thank Celestia, it's you!" he whispered. "I thought I checked that everypony avoids this part... How the heck did you find me?

As he waited for the answer, he let me go. "You made a little light-show with this here," I softly poke his horn.

"Shut it now, will you?" he plastered a hoof over my muzzle again. "Buck, was it really that easy to spot?"

"Why do we have to be quiet?" I whispered when he freed my mouth. "Are we off limits or what?"

He rolled his eyes. "It depends... You see, I found the mares' bathroom!"

"And... what's so special about that?" I blinked in confusion. The green stallion lifted his leg in response and pointed to a narrow, barred gap in the wall, almost at ceiling height. Since my companion's horn went off, almost all the light in the dim corridor came from there, although it was more than enough for us to see each other. "Please, do explain, I'm clueless!" I sighed.

"Not so long ago a bunch of mares came back from the sports hall. They are a few years older than us," he lifted his eyebrows tellingly.

"Ah, so you were peeping!" I finally felt enlightened. Of course, I knew why I didn't realize it sooner: I simply didn't see the point, since you can see dozens of mares bathing on the beaches, and I told him that much.

"Well, first of all, I was just trying to, and second... if you think about it, why would they wear swimming suit in here?"

He had a point. And I have to admit, it has already sparked my imagination. It's true, I wouldn't even have had the courage to seriously consider lurking about. However, when the opportunity arose, thanks to which I could do it with without consequences, I have to admit, the temptation was big enough. It's not exactly that I would have looked at the girls that much - at that time I was simply too young to be really bothered by such things - but I had not yet seen a mare completely naked, and the mere fact that now I might have a chance to see one, well, it looked extremely tempting.

I had to make a decision, and make it quickly. With every second that passed, the chances of us being spotted increased, and besides, it wouldn't have been fortunate if my friends got suspicious about me disappearing for so long. If I take part of the green stallion's fun, on one hoof, we may fail, but on the other hoof, only by thinking about it, my ears were already burning with shame. Most of the time, my face was hard to read, but just then I had to clench my teeth so they wouldn't chatter from the sheer excitement of planning. Though the fact that I was preparing for something - even if only in imagination - that I obviously shouldn't have done, nevertheless promised me a special experience, attracted me in a very special way.

Obviously, these factors also played an important role in my choice, but my decision was made by a completely different kind of thought. Right now, I can tell Cavernwind to leave me out of this risky little adventure, but then he may probably never see me again as a partner in similar fun...

"So then why didn't you put something under the window?" I looked around, searching for a fitting item. "I see a few small boxes and floor mats or what the heck they are called..."

"Nah, this high up it would be too instable," he waved a hoof. "I can't keep it from falling. You saw me, I couldn't even lift myself up..."

"Yeah, you're right..." I thought aloud. "So, what if we just took two of the small boxes, and then you could stand on my back? And then... we could switch places..." I added with folded ears.

"You think we can reach it that way?" he asked with a sly smile. I nodded in agreement. "Can you hold me?"

"We'll solve it somehow," I replied. "And this way we won't even need magic."

That was enough talking so we got down to work. We quickly pulled two small boxes in front of the small vent-like window, then I climbed onto it and bent over a bit so that Cavernwind could stand on my back. Although it went quite easily at first, I slightly underestimated his weight, but I only realized this when the stallion pushed his hind hooves into my spine and between my shoulder blades, as he only reached the necessary height by rearing up. I took it silently for a while, but then I got bored of missing out on all the good stuff.

"Say something now, will you?" I hissed through gritted teeth. "Do you even see anything?"

"Oh, I do, believe me!" I heard his excited whisper from above. "There's one with gold-coloured fur, she just hanged her towel on the rack. Heh, I'd sooo lick her little birdy cutie mark!"

"Bleh! Where did you learned that from?" I stuck out my tongue in disgust, then I immediately regretted the move as I almost bit it when Cavernwind shifted his weight.

"Trust me on this, she has the finest little flank!" he insisted. "Oh, I'd bite the hock of that one over there! Heh, would you look at that! She has such a short tail, that it doesn't even cover anything...!"

"Okay, get down, it's my turn!" I snapped, maybe a bit more indignantly than necessary.

It was already noticeably more comfortable as he leaned on my back on all fours, and it came as a real relief when he finally got off me carefully. The space was a bit tight, as if we had stacked more stools it would have been too unstable, so Cavernwind really had to jump a bit. After that, when we changed places, my problem was that the foal was about one and a half times as big as I was, and I couldn't hold onto him comfortably. Of course, I didn't give up trying, and I soon succeeded.

Slowly, to not lose my balance, I climbed up and leaned my front hooves against the wall. Even so, I had to stretch quite a bit to reach the small window. Before I could even get there, excitement washed over me again, I swallowed hard and instinctively looked around the deserted corridor again. It was still a strange feeling that in just a few seconds I could actually see a couple of mares naked... it sounded so unreal as I said it in my head; I had to muster up all my courage before I decided to act.

With clenched teeth, I pulled myself even closer to the vent and peered through it with one eye. The hot steam was wafting inside, I could even feel it seeping out, but fortunately the steam was not so thick as to obscure everything beyond recognition, it just stretched like an eerie veil between me and the girls. And indeed - I hardly believed it - I could really see them!

The mare with the golden coat that Cavernwind most likely mentioned disappeared into a side shower stall just then, and soon not even the end of her tail was visible, but a white coated one with a steel blue mane was standing almost directly in front of me, with her back to me, combing her mane in front of a mirror with the help of a brush and her magic. My heart skipped a beat when I realized that she was wearing nothing but a towel draped over her shoulders. She was only two or three years older than me, but that was enough to give the impression of being much more mature than ponies my age, who - let's face it - didn't have really feminine features yet. I grazed my eyes on the mare with undeniable joy, not even paying attention to see if there were others there, but I was soon overcome with guilt for secretly staring. Even if her tail, still dripping with water, was hanging calmly, so I couldn't see anything of her that would have really given me a reason to feel ashamed.

"Enjoying the view, huh?" Cavernwind asked suddenly, scaring the crap out of me.

I ducked to avoid getting noticed. "Why?"

"You were huffin' and puffin' like a steam engine!"

I looked at him in surprise, but then as I swallowed, my throat did feel quite dry. I didn't even notice... and that only made me more embarrassed. "Let's get out of here!"

I took one last look at the mare, then pulled myself together and broke away from the sight. I quickly jumped off my friend's back and already get to packing up.

"Why? Did they see you?" he said, joining me.

"No."

"Then what?" he asked indignantly. "I barely saw anything!"

"Who knows how big of a trouble we get ourselves into if somepony spots us..." I answered "I won't be taking any risks! You shouldn't either, so let's get to hide our traces!"

"Okay, then..." he murmured.

"Look, it's our first week so we really ought to keep it low!" I tried to convince him. "Wouldn't be too much fun if they call in our parent right away, huh?"

The green stallion didn't have a good answer to that, he just helped putting the boxes back their place. When we finished, we cautiously stepped out into the long corridor, swimming in light compared to the previous one. We managed to get out when nopony was watching. Despite this, I constantly felt the eyes of everypony on me, what's more, as I watched, I caught a couple of times that even students I had never met before were actually staring at me. In hindsight, it probably showed how uncomfortable I was, and in the "crossfire" of so many looks, all this only intensified. Especially since, to my utter horror, there was somepony who even specifically asked me what was wrong. For a long time, I didn't even dare to tell anypony about this little adventure, and although I can be sure that if I didn't do it at all, they would never have found out, I didn't dare to visit the secluded little corridor again... only in my imagination.

After that, I was more careful to avoid trouble, but it found me anyway. It also happened during the long break, with our first weekend fast approaching. I could say that by then I was overwhelmed by the amount of new information and the many unknown ponies, but that would be more like an excuse on my part. The fact is, by then I was pretty much at the end of my patience, and it didn't take much to piss me off. By the way, I could never stand it when somepony behaved excessively arrogantly, especially towards me or my friends.

That's why it was more than enough for me to get into the middle of the conversation - and by that, I mean hassle - and I've already decided whose side I'm on. Jasper and I were walking downstairs when I heard Scorch's unmistakable voice from down the hall. The crimson stallion had his hoof propped against the wall, so I couldn't see who he was talking to. Of the pony he was talking to, I could only see her light blue fur, but they both sounded quite irritated. There were only one or two ponies sauntering about, but most of them were probably making their way to the yard, because soon there was almost nopony left in the vicinity.

"You think yourself a big shot, but I can make an educated guess that you're just a loudmouth!" I heard the thin, yet confident voice of the mare.

"And who do you think you are, preaching like that?" Scorch snorted. "A little upstart like you should just shut it!"

In the meantime, my friend and I got there, so I could finally get a good view of my classmate's "opponent". She was a mare with a purple-pink mane, barely taller than a Wish, dressed in elegant-looking clothes. She wore thick, ebony-framed glasses, which otherwise suited her quite well, but her appearance alone showed her to be an intolerable egghead - as was the enormous book that she was levitating beside herself while speaking.

"Mind your tone, you scoundrel!" the mare turned up her nose and sneered at the stallion with the black mane like only a true noble can. "I don't need to tell fairy tales to be interesting in the eyes of others! If you may not know, I come from a very important family. My ancestors have been confidants of Princess Celestia for generations..."

"That's right, little princess!" Scorch almost spitted his words into her face. "Not everypony has a pre-purchased place on the Academy!"

"Huh!" she snorted angrily, though still having much more self-control than my classmate. However, she did not continue, as she noticed that we had been standing behind the red stallion for some time, watching them. Instead, we got a few disdainful looks from her.

"So, what's the argument about?" I made use of a small pause.

"This little lady from Manehattan thinks she's better than everypony else" Scorch explained with irritation clear in his voice. "Even the freshpony camp was too degrading for her refined tastes..."

"But Manehattan is a crappy place," Jasper interjected before the mare had a chance to react.

"Not from Manehattan, but from the castle, which is on our own property next to it," the mare declared defiantly.

Well, that was what she shouldn't have said! If somepony bragged in front of others about how rich they were, especially thanks to their parents, they immediately dug a hole for themselves in my eyes. I have always been happy with what I have, and in a financial sense I never wanted more. However, I saw the conditions that others lived in, even here in Canterlot, and I hated those who were willing to rub it under their noses. Those who could afford it, I expected them to take care of themselves, after all, it also showed respect for the other pony, but that didn't mean one should look down on those who couldn't even wear regular clothes, for example. Bragging about a castle was completely outrageous...

"I wouldn't be so proud of what daddy shoved under my ass!" I said suddenly furious. "Such a spoiled little brat like yourself should just be gracious to be among those who got here thanks to their own abilities!"

"And who asked you anything, smartass?" she turned towards me with scrunched up nose. "Why are you even taking the side of this jerk?"

"Because he's my friend!" I replied without thinking, momentarily forgetting about my reservations towards the crimson stallion. "Say, sweetie, do you even know how does it feel to have friends? Or do you only talk to your payed servants in your little castle?"

The blue mare got around Scorch and with a single step she came up so close to my face that our noses almost touched - even though she had to stretch for that. "I do have real friends! And very influential friends at that. So, you'd better pull your tail between your legs and think twice before getting involved in something that's none of your business! And you should be ashamed of yourself for having such friends, although I can see that you are no different..."

"Oh, so should I be afraid of you telling of me to your very influential friends?"

"Just get out of my mane and leave me alone, or it'll get messy, pal!"

As she talked, the mare with the glasses pressed her nose to mine as if trying to push my head back which was more than enough to stop me from paying attention to what she was saying. This aggressive behavior was all the provocation I needed. My whole body tensed and I pushed back on to the girl with all my strength, and using my leverage I shoved her to the ground.

"You really don't know when to stop, huh?" I asked menacingly.

"Dumb bitch, she doesn't know anything..." Scorch interjected from the side.

"It is you who doesn't know when to stop," the mare moaned with her glasses almost slid down her face. "What's next? You're going to hit a girl?"

"Do you really have the audacity to hide behind this?" I snarled. "Picking at my friend and you try to save your hide in such a pathetic way? Just because you're a mare it doesn't mean you can be disrespectful to those bigger than you."

"What...? I... I..." she stuttered in confusion, but finally there was a glimpse of fear in her eyes.

"That's it! We've heard enough, yeah? We really oughtta lock her in a locker if she can't put a lock on her mouth!" Jasper stated relatively calmly.

I didn't necessarily think it was a good idea, but I didn't have time to ponder. The light blue mare took a scared step back and lowered her head defensively. She pointed her horn at me, which lit up a moment later. However, she couldn't finish the spell she was preparing, because a beam of light burst from one side - maybe from Scorch -, leaving an ugly, scratch-like mark on her face. She staggered, dropped her book, and her glasses slipped off her head.

"He... help...!" she whimpered, but so softly that even we could barely hear her. In the next moment, she grabbed her own throat, but she only managed to gape silently.

"We ain't want her alertin' the teachers..." Jasper said with clear uncertainty but with glowing horn. "An' why the heck didya attack her?" he added, turning to Scorch. "What the everliving horseapples shall we do with her now?"

The red stallion looked around, but the mare tried to take advantage of the fact that we weren't paying attention, and squinting hard so that she could see something even without glasses, she jumped up and made a run for it - or at least she would have if I didn't immediately catch her in the air with my magic. She trashed wildly, so it was terribly difficult to hold her, so we soon got to the point where I was forced to hang her by her tail, her nose pointing down, and even then, I was afraid to drop her, as I had to focus on her movement and fight her magic at the same time. As I turned her upside down, we could have even seen her panties, if she didn't squirm so much, or if she didn't tugged her tail between her legs - although in that moment that was the least of my concerns.

"Nice catch!" Jasper patted my shoulder, meanwhile keeping up his mouth-lock spell. "What now?"

"Throw her in there before somepony sees us!" Scorch pointed to a slightly open door on the other side of the corridor. "She can mope around the mops and brooms all she wants!"

"And then?" I asked with growing distress. I really started to regret being so careless, but we couldn't just leave her here like this.

"We lock her up, what else?" Scorch said as if it was the most natural thing to do in the world. "Let her think about her life choices!"

I liked less and less where we were going. I wanted to come up with some striking idea, but I heard hoofsteps - or just thought I heard them - and at the same time the filly also crouched down with a loud moan. Due to the unexpected maneuver, she broke free of my magic and fell to the ground, but Jasper was quick, he immediately pinned her down with his front hooves so that she did not have the chance to run away.

"Yeah! Pick her up and throw her in!" Scorch was busily giving out instructions. "I'll lock her up so much, nopony shall ever get her out!"

We got that only halfway done. The filly was kicking furiously, so it all ended with her being dragged by her hind legs towards the small, dark room a few meters away. I just followed by and opened the door for them. It wasn't until they threw her in that I turned back and my eye fell on the mare's book and glasses. All traces must be removed - flashed through my mind, and I quickly floated the two objects close to me.

Scorch's eyes flashed as he saw the glasses. "Break them!"

"Oh, come on!" Jasper shook his head, while pulling the handle so she couldn't open it from the other side. "Now yer just bein' mean! She ain't did no harm, so she just gettin' a li'l lecture, right? To stuff her loud mouth..."

"That's right!" I joined as well. "Open it just a crack, I'll give them back to her!"

The foal just rolled his eyes, but then he saw that we were serious, so he sighed in submission. Jasper let it go before the door burst open and the blue mare ended up with her flank in a bucket and fell over. After that, however, she didn't try to run away, she just blinked at the three of us in fear, not knowing what to expect - it seemed that the wooden panel was pretty well insulated, or she just didn't care what we were talking about outside, being busy trying to escape.

I didn't even enter, I just floated in her book and glasses with my horn, and then we quickly closed the door again. I nodded to Scorch as he closed his eyes and began his spell. A bright, red-glowing padlock appeared in the air and slowly floated to the lock. It sunk into the metal and made a dull but hard click, then the glow went out. Jasper tentatively pushed the handle and pushed the door, but nothing happened. We exchanged a not-so-resolute look, then left the filly alone.

My conscience was somewhat troubled that we had done this to her, especially as a stranger, but I tried to reassure myself that we had not hurt her in the end. She just got what she deserved. And next time she'll think twice about hurting my friends... I wasn't really afraid that she'd tell us to the teachers. Even if she recognizes us, she cannot prove that it was really us. I wouldn't say I liked to lie, but I was pretty good at faking complete incomprehension.

However, to my surprise, the whole incident did not have any consequences whatsoever. At least openly. The next time I ran into the filly, I was unsuspectingly sitting on a bench in the yard with Wish and Jasper. We were chatting and laughing merrily until I noticed the light blue mare approaching us. She was looking straight into my eyes, so she was clearly looking for me, which I certainly wasn't happy about. Especially when I noticed that the tall, snow-white stallion next to her was actually following her, so the mare was probably prepared for the reunion...

My first thought was that she might want to make a scene, or even outright beat us up with her friend, but as I looked around, there were quite a few ponies around us, so I thought the latter less likely. I was uncomfortably shifting in place, on which Jasper quickly picked up, and his face paled in seconds when he saw the reason.

"Hi, Thread! Hi, Jasper!" she greeted us loudly as she got to the bench. A suspicious smile played on her face, but she didn't continue even when the white stallion stopped in front of us as well.

"Hi, uhm..." I tried to reciprocate the gesture, although I had to realize that the filly was several steps ahead of me. Like, I had no idea who she could be...

"I see you're having a great time so I won't bother you for long," she said demurely. "I just wanted to introduce my friend, Nimbus Strike. Nimbus, it's them I talked about!"

The stallion nodded with an impassive face, and I instinctively tried to blend into my surroundings.

"We are moving along," she continued with a palpable air of superiority, as if to say that she was indeed different from us, and that she did not resort to such crude means as we do. "Oh, and by the way, thank you for giving me back my book!" she added and I swallowed hard.

"Wow, I didn't know you have such friends!" Wish blinked with true amazement as the two of them made their leave. "I thought you are just familiar with canterlotians!"

"Why? Who were they?" I asked in a ridiculously thin voice. Jasper was seemingly still recovering from his near-death experience.

"Well, the filly was Violet Sign," Wish began though she seemed adequately confused as for why she has to explain anything. "Stella told me about her, I don't actually know her. I think she said, she is the heir to the family estate in Manehattan. The stallion, if he really was the Nimbus Strike, is Princess Celestia's only private student. I understand that she didn't take anypony as her protégé for fifty years or so before him, so the guy must really know something!"

"So much about influence..." Jasper squeaked, getting up from our bench. "Think I'm gonna throw up...!"

"Did I say something wrong?" Wish asked worriedly as Jasper trotted towards the school.

In the end, I somehow managed to explain ourselves without having to tell the filly what it was all about. Wish pretty much calmed down and didn't ask any more questions, and I tried to avoid any kind of confrontation with Violet Sign later on. And since she had a similar attitude towards me, we didn't have anything to do with each other for a long time. However, I promised to myself one thing in relation to the case: if I do not know the full story, I will never intervene in any discussion again. I had a sneaky suspicion, which formed in my mind a little bit later, that maybe it wasn't the filly who provoked Scorch in the corridor after all...

* * *

Our first week was basically over with that; nothing else important happened, apart from the fact that we got a little taste of all the subjects of the semester. The teachers introduced themselves to us, the curriculum was introduced, but we did not "officially" reciprocate this until the first day of the second week, as Mr. Poltergeist wanted to wait for us to gather in full. It didn't bother us, since we already knew each other on some level anyway, and everypony, without exception, was already curious about our foreign student. I was not expecting that anypony of my class - in fact, not only one pony - would still have a surprise at the introduction.

We were told that nopony should be late. We were all already sitting there, in good order, already five minutes before the start of the discussion class, on the other hoof, Mr. Poltergeist made us wait for at least ten minutes. However, when he appeared, he was not alone, as we all expected. A thin, tall, pink-haired filly entered the room with him, wearing such a strange outfit that I couldn't get my head around for a long time. The shape of her head was already quite strange, but even beyond that, my eyes were drawn to the lace-decorated halter, which surrounded her nose and framed her entire face. Her well-groomed, rich, flame-colored mane fell softly on her shoulders, but from then on, not much of the mare was visible, as she hid everything except her chest under a sheet-like white cloak. Also, what was even more striking was that on her back sat a beautifully curved decorative saddle, from which long things hung on both sides. Later, Jasper was kind enough to explain to me that it is called a stirrup, and it's very cool...

"Kiddos, this is Ambrosia, from Saddle-Arabia," Mr. Poltergeist said, then he proceeded very slowly as if explaining something to a toddler. "Please sit anywhere you like!"

Even in the crossfire of so many gazes, the mare didn't seem to be bothered, and just watched in silence with her big, bright green eyes, until she received the expected instruction from the teacher. After that, she walked towards us with graceful steps and took a seat on the first bench next to Stella. I had to restrain myself from expressing my displeasure, because in this position she managed to cover part of the board from me with her luscious mane.

Mr. Poltergeist smiled. "Great! Now that we're all together, let's do some introductions! Whoever hears their name, please stand up and say a few words about themselves so that our new classmate can get to know you a little! You may begin, dear Ambrosia!" he added, slowing down a bit again.

I hated such things beyond words, but I forced myself to listen to the mare's story. She began with a pleasant voice as she turned to face us all. "I am Ambrosia. I come from Saddle-Arabia and am interesting in life in Equestria."

"You mean interested, right?" our teacher tried to help.

"Am interested, yes!" she nodded happily, somewhat brightening our mood as well. "Canterlot is very nice and I wait to know you. I like the cooking and the helping ponies. I think your language interesting but I learn and hope we speaking much good."

Ambrosia flashed her pearl-white teeth in a broad, yet not forced grin, looked at us with a friendly squint, and then sat back down, turning the chair around so that she could still face us. Mr. Poltergeist gave a satisfied hum, then magically floated the diary in front of him and opened it leisurely.

"Thank you, young lady!" he said in the meantime. "I am quite sure that your new classmates shall help you learn the subtleties of our language. And, of course, I am at your service if you need advice in any way. Now let us proceed alphabetically, so at least I might begin to memorize your names! Cavernwind is next in line."

The green-haired stallion with disheveled mane reluctantly got up, and then, with a big sigh, opened his mouth. "I'm Cavern and I'm from Canterlot," he said in a terribly bored voice; he clearly didn't like this whole ordeal either. "I like to go to all kinds of places, preferably with many ponies, and I like fun and funny things..."

He couldn't have presented himself any less enthusiasm, but everypony listened to him in silence. "Well, that's that..." he added a few seconds later. "I can answer questions, but nothing comes into mind now."

"That's quite alright, we shall have much time," Mr. Poltergeist nodded. "So, if you may... Constellation Glory!"

Jasper and I exchanged a surprised look - the name wasn't even familiar. However, as the tall, white mare slowly stretched her legs on the bench in front of us, it slowly dawned on me where her nickname came from...

"What am I supposed to talk about, sir?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"Anything about yourself," the stallion replied. "Just like the others before you. Where did you come from, what do you like, what you don't... things like these."

"My name is Stella and I come from Greenleaf Street. I like to caress large, flat stones and look at the sky, especially during shooting stars. I don't like it when my hair is ruffled backwards, and when water gets into my ears..."

Maybe she would have continued, maybe not, I'll never know, because Jasper whinnied so loudly next to me, he almost fell out from the bench. My other classmates also laughed, and I couldn't contain my laughter any longer either - in fact, it was rather from my friend's reaction on my part. Mr. Poltergeist patiently tapped his hoof on his desk until we regained our composure.

"I suppose nopony likes that," he stated neutrally. "Is there anything else you would like to share?"

Stella shook her head calmly, apparently unfazed by everypony laughing at her, and then took her seat again.

"Let's jump to the next pony then! Miss Death Wish!

"Just Wish, if you please!" the small filly piped up from behind us. "I'm from Canterlot as well and I really enjoy being with my friends, reading, and things like that... What I don't like... well, I really don't think I have any reason to complain in any way."

"Why, that's great to hear that there are ponies here that are content with their lives!" Mr. Poltergeist nodded while he sat behind his table and clasped his hooves together. "We may continue, yes? Dulcimer!"

"I'm Dulcimer, and I live in Caterlot as well, though I'm originally from Vanhoover," the big red stallion began as he carefully tried to stand up from next to Cavernwind. "I come from an old family of musicians, maybe some of you heard of my father, Solo Strings, or Yelling Sound, my grandfather. I myself love playing music and going to concerts; anything from classic to modern is OK in my book, I enjoy everything. I have a dulcimer, but I can also play the flute and the piano a little. If anypony is interested, I'll be happy to show you. But I think that's enough of me! I already did most of the talking..."

"The next one is Jasper Volley," our teacher nodded.

He basically jumped next to me and looked around with a broad smile plastered on his face. "Alrighty then! Jasper Volley is the name, and I come to ya from the noble town of Trottingham. Right now, I am expandin' the large camp of boardin' students at the Starswirl Dormitory. I have been practicin' magic for years, and my favorite hobby is target shootin'. I'm good with the bow and one day I wanna learn to shoot backwards like our ancestors. And before ya think I'm crazy, it can be done without magic! There is written evidence of it, yeah! So, an earth pony can do it as well, but we lost this knowledge a long time ago..."

I cleared my throat softly so that my friend would remember where we are and stop lecturing us about his theories. He did seem to catch up on what I meant as he immediately changed the subject. "So that's all, folks! Just ya wait, when I grow up, one day I'll be the strongest pony in all of Equestria! Now your turn, buddy!" he slapped my shoulder as he fell back down on his chair.

I knew that I was indeed next, but I waited for the teacher to call me. And when he did, I stood up with about the same enthusiasm as Cavernwind did. "I'm Life Thread, I live in Canterlot, and what I don't like is, for example, forced introductions," I tried to cut the topic short, and quickly took a seat before other questions could arise. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't get away with that. Everypony fell suspiciously silent, and Mr. Poltergeist parted his hooves and rested them on the table.

"That is your task now, though," he said with unwavering tranquillity.

"Okay... I like magic..." I added with a resigned sigh. "Talking more won't help you know me better."

"We shall leave it to that, then!" the red stallion smiled, putting his hooves together again. "We shall have plenty of time to get to know each other. So, the next pony is... Mirthwhistle!

I was a little relieved, but then I got a bit staggered at the new unknown name. But before I could look around, Scorch spoke from behind. "I don't use that name anymore, sir!"

"What? Is that your actual name?" snickered Cavernwind.

"I said I don't use it anymore!" growled the stallion, his black mane falling over his eyes. "I have my reasons."

"Oh, so that's yer maiden name?" joined in Jasper as well.

I couldn't take it anymore, as I burst out laughing again, although to be honest, I wasn't the only one. I even hit my head onto the table a bit, so I had to fight the tears that came to my eyes from laughing and from the pain in my horn at the same time. On the other hoof, Scorch - or who knows what I should call him - clearly did not appreciate the joke.

"It's just that it's hard to make it official, but I've left that name behind a long time ago," he hissed angrily. "I am Scorched Earth, and I expect you to call me that! And if somepony brings it up again, I won't take responsibility if something... nasty happens to them!

"Nicely," remarked Mr. Poltergeist. "I suppose it is possible to call you the way you want in the class, but we might have to use your old name on some occasions. You have to accept that, and I don't want to hear any complaints about it. From anypony."

I forced myself to be serious, and so did the others. So even Scorch could skip the introduction, although I didn't particularly mind. I was just waiting for us to finally get over this whole crazy stuff.

"The last one is Still Lotus," our teacher stated.

The tall, bluish-purple stallion stood up slowly, straightened the scarf, which had almost always been wrapped around his neck, and then cleared his throat without any hurry.

"And I am Lotus, Baltimare is my home, and I like to disturb shit..."

Our seriousness lasted exactly until this moment, and after that we didn't even try to maintain appearances. I literally fell under my table, and it didn't even occur to me to climb forward for a long time. Lotus was the one who had the most time to figure out what he was going to say, and with this speech he was a resounding success then and there. After the class calmed down a little, I realized that I would definitely not get bored in such a company for the next couple of years.

Author's Note

Shooting backwards with a bow (from horseback), also known as Parthian shot is a reference to an ancient, characteristic hungarian military tactic.