An Equestrian Education (Open: See OOC thread)

[SteelEagle]

Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath, several months of hard work exhaling as easily as she had taken it in all that time ago. She had done a great many thing since she had become Princess, but nothing filled her with nearly as much satisfaction as what she was doing now. Finally, the same sort of care and attention that had been given to her would be imparted to the masses of less privileged unicorns of Equestria. Maybe not in all of it's purity or directness, but in a way that was maybe more meaningful for the average pony. And by doing so, Twilight was happy to believe she was creating a better Equestria, a better life, for everypony both big and small.

Across the land, camps had been set-up. Usually far and away from any real civilization, each camp was well-stocked with all the basic necessities. There would be no need to leave the camps for anything, allowing them to focus on their important studies. Row after row of special textbooks and papers lined their classrooms and libraries, written or approved by Twilight herself. Contained were not just the basics of magic, but advanced studies and personal lessons from Twilight herself as part of a slow but steady restructuring of the art and majesty of magical studies. Beyond that, the camps varied based on location, but each had an overriding mission statement.

They were going to reach out and teach each and every unicorn with above average ability, regardless of age or financial situation, birth or status. They were going to do so through study, hard work, and the magic of friendship. Twilight's goal was that these camps, which would last a month, would prove to be big hits and could become a staple. Maybe eventually specialized magical instructors could work their way into the education system and give the amazing study of magic a wider lense in Equestria. The same concept as the Pegasi flight camps, but maybe with two of the three species having specialized camps they could move such learning back down to the simpler level of common education. If she could just figure earth ponies out...

Twilight shook her head and laughed, looking ahead to the camp she was visiting. Located at the far western edge of the Nimbusgait Lakes, it was perhaps the most isolated of all. The Everfree stood far off in the horizon, but the fact you could see that long before you could dream of seeing civilization was disconcerting untilm you realized that the Everfree was more than happy to keep itself contained. A small collection of lodges, classrooms, a dock and other random facilities, Nimbusgait West was Twilight's biggest gamble. She had spent much of the budget she had reserved for travel just to get ponies here, whether by airship or boat. And she would have to get them back home, too. The biggest difference was that luckily they couldn't just run off!

As she stepped off at the break of dawn at the landing pad off of her balloon, she brought up the roster. Students, plenty of those and not just unicorns either! The desire to learn more about magic ran deep in all ponies, and so late in the process signups had been extended to everypony. While they couldn't perform spells, perhaps studying some of the basic laws of magic could help them in some manner. It helped that the barrier was lower- a desire to learn and be separate from everything you knew was about it. The counselors were universally talented in some manner, whether that was with magic, teaching, psychology, teambuilding, or more personable skills to keep the campers together in tough times. Twilight believed they all had a chance to do something great, and as she gamely trotted to the lodge and opened the door, she was prepared for anything.

[colour=#4b0082]"Hello everypony!"[/colour]

[Lux]

Lore Weaver was nervous as he left his temporary home. Ever since he was a colt, the purple unicorn studied everything he could get his hooves on, especially magic. Magic was his favorite subject and while he was not all that powerful at it, he never stopped practicing and trying to learn new things. But now came the most important test in this pony's life: teaching.

The young stallion didn't fancy himself as a teacher, not like this. He planned to give some small lectures and host discussions about magic back at his bookstore in Ponyville but teaching a sizable class, especially with different ages and levels of expertise was both a dream and a worry. Still the pony knew if he could help others learn something about magic then he would be happy.

[colour=#800080]"Good morning Miss Sparkle," [/colour]Lore Weaver said although feeling a little weird doing so since she was close to his age, [colour=#800080]"Are you as nervous as I am teaching? This is kind of my first time teaching others about magic." [/colour]

Meanwhile...

Guiding Light sat in the lodge enjoying his breakfast. When he told his parents about the opportunity at going away for a camp to improve his magic, they were a little reluctant. But after some persuasion his parents saw that maybe there were other ponies who could teach him how to improve his light magic and other spells better than they can. So with their blessing, the yellow colt packed and left for the site. It was such an amazing place to be in so far with ponies who were eager to learn and many who were very smart and ready to teach. All of this was the brainchild of Twilight Sparkle who in meeting her Guiding Light knew how smart and helpful she was to him.

[colour=#daa520]"This is going to be great," [/colour]he said between spoonfuls of his oatmeal, [colour=#daa520]"I can't wait to learn some super cool things with my light magic!"[/colour]

[Bellosh]

To say that Counselor Ingrid Marie was only mildly intrigued by Princess Twilight Sparkle’s proposal would be a blatant understatement. Having served on the faculty of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns for a long time now, the beige unicorn typically followed conventional wisdom when it came to the matter of magic instruction. Namely, that only a precious few had a strong gift or interest in magic potent enough to require special instruction on how to control and harness it. The masses... well, a pony would be lucky if they learned one or two tricks beyond their special ability... assuming they were unicorns, that was.

So when Princess Twilight proposed to Counselor Marie an Equestria-wide program of magic camps designed to teach the art and principles of magic to any willing pony, Ingrid was obviously very skeptical. Used to occasionally moonlighting as a magic tutor on the side, the older mare thought it would be pointless to devote so much effort towards what amounted in her initial estimation to an extremely marginal increase in magic proficiency among the participants... if any. It was only thanks to Twilight’s unwavering faith in her project, and of her tenet that magic was much more than mere spellcasting, that Ms. Marie finally became convinced of the worth in these magic camps.

And so Ingrid Marie imparted to the alumna of Celestia’s School various crash courses on how to craft an educational curriculum along with personal suggestions on what textbooks to use. Due to having overseen Twilight’s growth as a student during her earlier years at Celestia’s School, Ingrid didn’t really think anything of advising Equestria’s newest princess on how to best educate students. To further support the lavender alicorn’s endeavors, Counselor Marie even agreed to oversee the magic camp at Nimbusgait West. It was the most isolated spot chosen for a camp, meaning it required the most qualified pony to directly manage it on behalf of Princess Twilight... and that pony just happened to be good ole’ Immie.

Ingrid Marie left Canterlot for the Nimbusgait West camp a week before it was due to accept students, and she had been amazed at how development went towards the facilities. While it was indeed a long ways off from civilization, everypony would more or less enjoy the comforts of home while undergoing their magic studies. Suffice to say, the magic counselor felt especially optimistic as she awaited Her Highness’s arrival, even if last minute adjustments had to be made to accommodate non-unicorns... and even if a number of the instructors and counselors lacked backgrounds in actual teaching. Thus when Twilight entered the lodge, Ingrid eagerly went up to her. [colour=#008080]“Ah, there you are Twilight!”[/colour] announced the beige mare, reaching out with her leg for a hoofshake: [colour=#008080]“I trust these facilities meet your expectations?”[/colour]

The magic teacher couldn't quite say that Mr. Lore Weaver could meet expectations however. As he was just a mere bookstore owner in Ponyville, Ingrid Marie questioned that the stallion had what it took to be a camp counselor. The middle-aged unicorn didn't let her doubts show though as she interjected and warmly assured Mr. Weaver; [colour=#008080]"Don't worry too much about it Mr. Weaver. Follow my advice, mmkay, and you'll do just fine. Right, Twilight?"[/colour]

[River]

River Song

River fidgeted nervously by her sister's side, a hoof constantly going to adjust her saddlebag straps, or to brush back her neatly combed mane. To be honest, she didn't quite want to be here- not for the fear of others no, but more of a fear of failure. Failure could be remedied easily by lots of hard work, she knew, but it didn't make her any less nervous. River's bags were packed and ready, containing all of her necessities and of course, her reed pipe. The older filly never went anywhere without it, for it wasn't just another instrument, it was a way of expressing herself in ways words could not. The beauty of music was unparalleled in River's mind, though magic came a close second. The intricacies of both were astounding. If you practiced hard and did all the right things, the end result would be beautiful. Even if a single note or word was out, the entire thing would be ruined. Also, very much like musicians, every magic user had a different style and type of magic.

River hadn't thought about attending camp in the first place, but Coral Gem- her older sister, had volunteered and wasn't willing to leave River alone in the shop. Not that she didn't trust her, of course, nor feared for her safety. It was just that she didn't want her to feel lonely at night. River understood, although she held back her thoughts that Coral might have been a tad bit smothering, for the two often spent their evenings together. She felt a nudge from her sister, pushing her towards a lodge in the distance- her home for the next month. The filly grinned at Coral before waving and trotting off towards the lodge, eager to see her residence. As she carefully pushed open the door, she was slightly surprised to see only another colt there with several other counselors. Perhaps they were early, there didn't seem to be many around yet. Even though she wasn't hungry, she went and joined the colt at the table, smiling at him as she did so. Just to check, one of her hooves reached back towards her saddle bag and moved about in it to see if her quill and notepad were in it.

Being a mute, it would be easier on her life if she simply brought these two items with her everywhere she went, since not many people seemed to be able to read her body language like Coral could. The quill was spelled by a friend of Coral's so that it would ink itself, saving her the trouble of carrying an ink pot around with her as well. Deftly, River reached behind and drew the two out, before quickly writing something on it in a neat print. Once she was done with that, she turned it around to show the other colt the words: Hey, I'm River. What's your name?

Coral Gem

Coral wasted no time in dropping off her bags where she would be staying, before heading over to the small group of counselors and of course- Princess Twilight Sparkle. She was quite excited to be here, perhaps more excited than River. Back in Trottingham, one of her friends had mentioned this new camp passingly, and it had caught her attention. She was but a jeweler in Trottingham, and adequate in her magic, but she had experience with younger ponies and needed something to do. The last few weeks had been rather slow, and she found herself itching to help around with something. It had seemed to be a blessing, though her only concern was for her sister. Would River want to go to camp? But her fears were unfounded for her younger sister seemed rather agreeable to the idea.

[colour=red]"Good Morning, everypony,"[/colour] Coral greeted amicably, looking around at the small group. The other two counselors weren't familiar faces, though she knew that she would get to know them in time. The mare seemed to be rather serious, but Coral wasn't perturbed by that. After all, someone needed to be able to step in if certain things got out of hand. The stallion seemed slightly nervous, but friendly as well. The young mare could understand that, she was a bit nervous too, though it wasn't in her the show it. [colour=red]"Is anypony else as excited as I am?"[/colour]

[tacobob]

As Twilight entered the lodge, the white coated unicorn bowed, "Many thanks for giving me this opportunity, your Royal Highness.", he spoke in a proper, but friendly tone. What a crazy world they all lived in! While he had never spoken to the mulberry coated unicorn in the past, he did manage to catch a few glances of her during his schooldays as she shuffled to her next class, generally with a large stack of books floating behind her, and a small dragon trying his best to keep up with the mare with his own pile of books in hand as well. Pocket Change and his friends had always assumed the introverted pony would grow up into sort of crazy hedge-mage who lived in the middle of the Everfree with a small horde of cats and a very large NO TRESPASSING sign. But here she was, not only did she and her companions help save the world a dozen or so times during the past few years, she was also now part of Equestria Royalty.

It wasn't that long ago that he caught sight of flyer stapled onto the bulletin board of the Canterlot University bookstore. Not only would this help fulfill an prerequisite for his studies, he would also be representing his guild and wore the rather attractive pin that had designated him as a founding member on his jacket. He did make sure to get a copy of the flyer and staple it onto the recently hung up board in the guild's hall, so he had hoped more than a few members would show up.

He did notice that Ingrid Mare, one of the guild members and good friend and teacher of his very special friend Moondancer was there. He never really had a chance to speak to the older mare, but who could blame him? He had been so distracted by the perfect beauty and grace of his beloved red and magenta haired pony, the others might have been cantering about on the moon. Along with the proper equipment and gear, he also brought along a few flyers for those who might be interested in joining the guild. As he glanced around at the others, he tried to figure out what he would like to teach. The young stallion was rather fond of 'cantrips', which were minor, but rather useful spells. While they did not have the same 'oomph' as an teleportation, astral projection or true seeing spell, they had tended to be incredibly useful for the time came. Rip a hole in your jacket or robe? A simple 'Quick-sew' cantrip would do the trick. About to get a kiss from the prettiest earth pony in all of Equestria, but you smell like a swamp troll's favorite sock? A easy to cast 'Glamour' cantrip would save the day! Pocket Change was also skilled in the ever-useful 'telekinesis' spell and could probably teach a few of the more advanced students on how to refine their skills in the spell.

The badge Pocket Change wears:

[RarityDash]

((ooc: just establishing two characters for now; Dazzle will come later))

[colour=#cccccc]Gray Lexis had an even expression about his face as he looked about the lodge. In his research of her, the recently crowned princess Twilight Sparkle was proving to be quite the interesting study. He had been quite eager for a chance to greet her personally when he had heard word of an opportunity. This clever mare had decided to set up camps with the aim to teach youths about magic. It was an exciting idea, especially for Gray who was very much dedicated to both magic and education. As a former professor of Advanced Magical Theory at Canterlot University, he both knew the importance of teaching magic to the young and how fundamentally prudent the idea of pulling such subjects out of the bloated and lifeless lecture halls and bringing them out into the greater world was. Despite having left his position at the university for a life of eccentricity and adventure, he knew he wanted to get involved in this from the moment he heard about it.[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]It wasn't just him though, he had encouraged all the members of the Magic Guild he was a part of, Spellbound, to become involved as well. He was glad to see that two others from the guild were there to teach as well, and two of the members he was most impressed with as well. Pocket Change seemed a bright unicorn, still burning with some of the spirit of adventure even under all the practical science of his work as an archaeologist. Ingrid Marie on the other hand was a charming and beautiful mare working at a counselor at Celestia's school with whom he had been consulting in regards to the progress of his young charge, Spirit Flame. [/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]All three of them had ended up here in the Nimbusgait Lakes camp. This wasn't too unexpected though; the program was still young and unicorns qualified to teach at the camps were not extraordinarily common. As it were, Gray was sure he'd end up visiting any number of the camps to teach. As his first, and the one where he would be meeting the princess herself, this one was still however most significant. Speaking of which, he found himself unable to resist approaching that very mare as she made her entrance into the lodge. Ingrid and another one of the instructors had already engaged her in conversation.[/colour]

​

[colour=#4B0082]"Hello everypony!"[/colour]

[colour=#800080]"Good morning Miss Sparkle. [/colour][colour=#800080]Are you as nervous as I am teaching? This is kind of my first time teaching others about magic." [/colour]

[colour=#008080]"Don't worry too much about it Mr. Weaver. Follow my advice, mmkay, and you'll do just fine. Right, Twilight?"[/colour]

[colour=#999999]"Oho! Indeed, indeed. You'll find this mare is not only exceedingly good natured and easy on the eye, but that she also happens to largely know what she's talking about!"[/colour] [colour=#cccccc]Gray started, nodding toward Ingrid.[/colour] [colour=#999999]"She's the rare sort who could even teach a thing or two to an old codger like me."[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]He laughed heartily and then looked toward the princess. [/colour][colour=#999999]"So here she is, the latest pony of Equestria to ascend into the pages of both history and legend..." [/colour][colour=#cccccc]he spoke as she sized the mare up.[/colour] [colour=#999999]"I like the look of this one... and not just because she's quite the fetching young mare," [/colour][colour=#cccccc]he said as he continued to examine her.[/colour][colour=#999999] "She has the right confidence about her. She's taken charge and she's ready to make this work. This is a princess determined to reach her subjects and as a result, she's probably more than the ungrateful, upstart youth of this generation deserve."[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]He gave another hard laugh and a nod, before speaking again.[/colour] [colour=#999999]"Keep your wits about you, Princess, and I am confident that you'll blaze a bold trail behind you."[/colour]

​

[colour=#ff9900]"Ugh, useless,"[/colour] [colour=#ffffff]Tourmaline Glass started in frustration as she closed another book on the subject of magic.[/colour]

[colour=#ffffff]The young crystal filly had been immediately curious when she had heard about camps in Equestria teaching youth about magic. Unicorn magic was a point of fixation for the moody youth, to the point where many in her family worried. Her parents had been scrupulous when it came to sending their young child away from home to such a place, especially since the furthest camp north at this point was still so very far from the Crystal Empire. Ultimately, it was the simple fact that Tourmaline was never typically interested in social interaction that won them over. It was a camp for magic, but it was still a camp, after all. Her parents had sent her off on the hope that maybe, somehow, she might make friends.[/colour]

[colour=#ffffff]Tourmaline of course had no intention to do so. Learning the information she sought was all she cared about. Unfortunately, there were a few matters complicating this. For one, another filly from her class had tagged along for some reason. For another, anything related to what she truly wanted to learn about was proving illusive, and while she could probably stand to learn about all manners of magic, it was still proving highly frustrating. She wasn't going to give up just yet though. No, instead she picked up another book, slammed it down in front of her and started to seek through it rapidly.[/colour]

​

[GingerbreadSpy]

Shiny Pebbles had arrived early at the lodge, perhaps a little too early, as she ended up being one of the first students to arrive. The dark rainbow-maned mare had heavy saddlebags filled with pretty much all the necessities she'd need for staying at the camp. She grabbed some breakfast, which consisted of pretty much all the breakfast food she was allowed and she could carry and sat at a random table. The food was piled pretty high. She couldn't help it really. She had the appetite of a full-grown stallion, if not worse than that. All the hard labor she did used up a lot of energy, after all. She chomped into a muffin, devouring it in two bites before starting on another muffin. She glanced around, taking in her surroundings. She munched on an apple from the pile of food she had gotten. She paused a moment in her munching, her eyes widening.

Was that... a Crystal Pony? Sparkly, orange mane, translucent black body... She had heard about them, but she hadn't seen one before. She swallowed a chunk of apple hard and gaped a little before averting her eyes, reminding herself that it was rude to stare, even if the little filly next to her was a real, live Crystal Pony.

And then, Princess Twilight trotted in, and Shiny Pebbles went back to gaping because she had never seen a princess in person before, either. She had finished off her third apple by about this time. Right, rude to stare. She averted her eyes again and ended up looking back at the Crystal Pony. She looked very immersed in her book and seemed to be concentrating quite intensely.

She opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, and returned to devouring the pile of breakfast food in front of her.

[River]

River Song

The filly jumped slightly as something banged down on the table, and River glanced sideways curiously down a couple seats away where a Crystal Pony sat, a book in front of her. The filly was reading through it with a rather fierce determination. She felt her eyes widen slightly- classes hadn't even started yet, and she was already studying so hard. Still, River couldn't help admire her for being so hardworking early on. Still, what was a Crystal Pony doing this far away from home? Not that there was anything wrong with her being here, of course. Next to the Crystal Pony (or Crystal Filly, rather) sat another mare that was looking around excitedly, her gaze sometimes lingering for a bit before she dragged them over to her food. She ate a lot of apples. River stared down at her lone apple and shrugged before eating it slowly. I guess some ponies love food more than others. Her eyes wandered over to the group of counselors that stood in front with the princess, picking out her rose red sister easily. She looked happy enough, and was talking to them rather animatedly.

Growing bored quickly, River studied the other ponies that sat at the table, playing a small game with herself, where she tried to place names to them. More often than not, her guesses were wrong and far off the mark. It was still fun though, and it helped to pass the time. She found herself trying to put a name to the Crystal Pony, but the filly couldn't seem to think of one that suited her. Are Crystal Pony names different from ours? She wondered, before reluctantly moving her eyes to the others. She wasn't staring, per say, but the others might not see it that way.

[Alar]

[colour=#33ccff]Moonstone II[/colour]

Moonstone wasn't exactly late, nor was she precisely early... it was more like she had arrived precisely when she meant to, for she'd been wandering around the area outside the campgrounds for a couple of hours now, after she'd managed to get a nap in underneath a particularly shady tree. The few hours of sleep had been invigorating for the filly who often found herself awake far longer than most, and she took full advantage of the new energy to explore. But explorations always had to end, and she certainly didn't want to miss this camp for the world!

There were other ponies here... even Crystal Ponies, much to her surprise. A part of her felt a tiny bit of sympathy for non-Unicorns in attendance... she hoped none of them believed they could learn Unicorn magic. Certainly they could learn about it, but it would be as fruitless as a Unicorn with a broken horn trying to actually attempt it. That sent shivers through her, her coat standing up on end before she sighed and made herself relax. They likely knew that, and she was just being a silly filly.

Checking that her saddle bags were still secure, she started towards one of the chairs inside the lodge only to freeze, her eyes going wide as she caught sight of a very familiar alicorn.

The Princess! Princess Twilight Sparkle! Moonstone's cheeks flushed, and she found herself staring wide-eyed with admiration and excitement. She'd been at the coronation, in the crowd, but this was so much more... personal. While Twilight might not be her favorite of Equestrian's ruling monarchy, she was still an icon to every young Unicorn out there, especially those who'd grown up in Canterlot.

[colour=#33ccff]"Good... good morning, your Majesty!"[/colour] The filly hurried to find a seat, hoping she would get a chance to talk to the Princess later.

[SteelEagle]

It figured that the first teacher who would introduce himself would also be purple. Of all the ponies in the land, of all the colours in the world, he had to be purple. Her assistant was purple. She was purple. The teacher was purple. It was a bit comical, but she hadn't hired Lore Weaver for his colour scheme or ability to make her comfortable by merely existing. Lore was not uniquely talented and lacked much experience, but his age and knowledge made him an effective teacher who could get across the lesson plans very well and could better understand the viewpoint of his students, both young and old. Still, he was a bit nervous and she couldn't blame him. It was a big job, an important one, and she was almost as nervous as he.

[colour=#4b0082]"Good Morning, Lore. Nice to see things are running smoothly! I'm still a bit nervous, but I'm confident in everypony I selected. You'll see soon enough that you are more than capable of doing this!"[/colour] She gave him a firm smile, a confident nod towards Ingrid Marie who approached next,[colour=#4b0082] "besides, Ingrid is one of the most accomplished proctors in history, and a reliable teacher to boot. Trust in yourself and those around you and there is no limit,"[/colour] She ended energetically before turning to Ingrid.

She had been an important ally. While Twilight could use her leverage to get the project off the ground and hire the best help, the work was being done by everypony else but her. Talent, good worksponyship, and experience were useful but if it was paired with a weak desire or a lack of passion for the project, it would fail. Twilight would see the whole thing turn to dust in her hooves if she didn't inspire or make believers out of the faculty at the camps, months of work gone and a bright future for Equestria denied. So she had approached the one mare who was in the field who wouldn't kowtow to Twilight's demands and ideas at the slightest provocation. Ingrid Marie was the perfect mare for the job of running this camp, and Twilight had hard-sold her on the entire operation from top to bottom and finally convinced her. Once that was done, Twilight had a powerful ally who could spread the word and provided incredibly useful advice when Twilight was coming up with the curriculum. Ingrid Marie was in many ways the foundation of the camp, and Twilight was better for it. Speaking of foundations, the facilities did look rather nice. Comfortable and quiet without any excessive trappings or distractions, safe and secure and the perfect environment for study.

[colour=#4b0082]"The facilities do look very good, Ingrid. It came together as planned, I hope?" [/colour]She asked, her gaze catching Coral Gem. She wasn't the most magically gifted ponies nor did she have any great experience in the field. At first Twilight had planned on denying the application like she had thousands of others, but one thing stood out and it was something important yet overlooked in many ways. Her younger sister had been born mute, and Coral had likewise learned how to deal with disabilities. That was the sort of life experience that could be imparted, and not only when it came to the disabled but as a solid lesson for all teachers and counselors: Patience.

[colour=#4b0082]"Good morning to you as well, Gem. It's a exciting time for us all, isn't it? By the time we're through Equestria will be changed for the better,"[/colour] She spoke confidently, more self-assured than anything. Speaking of self-assured, Gray Lexis approached and was every bit the well-spoken and slightly blunt stallion that she had been told of. Just like Ingrid, he was an academic powerhouse. Unlike Ingrid, who was more of an organizationally focused mare with an affinity for order and testing, Lexis was a peerless professor of magical arts. His talents were in incredibly high demand and he would be making the rounds, but today he was here- somewhat to Twilight's chagrin. His shameless flirtation and bluntness might have been charming outside of academia, but in the camp it was a little disconcerting. She hoped he didn't plan on acting this way across the nation, or any future editions would lack his skill and knowledge.

[colour=#4b0082]"I'm glad I pass your inspection, Lexis,"[/colour] She said firmly and flatly, [colour=#4b0082]"and I agree that the youth of today don't deserve me. They deserve better- I'll just have to do for now,"[/colour] She finished, looking out at the group of students nearby. River Song, Coral's younger sister, ready to learn what she could how she could even if she was there mostly so Twilight could get Coral to join the team. Shiny Pebbles was nearby, momentarily frozen by the Princess' entrance. That was to be expected, whether it was overreaction or fear or admiration.

It was a heartwarming sign that at least Pebbles was young and sweet enough to not feel obligated to prostate herself in front of the Princess. Speaking of, Pocket Change had the bowing down, a certain degree of regal respect either inborn or taught showcasing a certain energy for the whole operation. Very nice. Tourmaline was nearby, a bit of a prickly one if what Twilight had learned was true, but a talent for magic and a drive to learn were two pieces that Twilight was obligated to honor. While the danger was ever present that such a combination could prove terrible should a pony fall from Equestrian ideals so heavily like Sunset Shimmer had, it would be impossible for a pony not to learn about friendship out here. And if they didn't, they wouldn't last long enough in her system to learn anything important anyway. Anther crystal pony acknowledged the Princess, Moonstone offering a belated good morning. Nervous, which was expected and to a certain degree needed. She found that nervousness was a natural part of the Equestrian condition that needed to be taught down and subdued. Those that never showed signs of nervousness were across the board missing out on a terribly important piece of learning.

[colour=#4b0082]"Uh, you may stand, Pocket Change. No need to bow to me, especially here,"[/colour] She spoke softly, beating down the slight discomfort she had at the thought that for as long as she lived ponies would elevate her above them. She was no better than they- if anything, she was lesser. She was the success story of an upper-middle class family in a wealthy city and found who she was in a town that defined Equestrian values. Without their support, she could not have achieved what she had. Without them, she was nothing. Without Equestrians, Twilight Sparkle was a rudderless foal. The little crystal filly scampered off and Twilight could hardly stiffle a giggle at the excited energy on display. Still, something was off- numbers, as usual.

[colour=#4b0082]"I believe we are missing a few ponies. I'd like to speak with them before we head into the first real lesson plan."[/colour]

[Lux]

The beige unicorn mare who appeared next to Lore and Twilight seemed to look him over like a teacher would look over a student. He wondered if she thought of him as somepony capable of teaching the ponies who many of them were fillies and colts. Lore's magic wasn't as glamorous as others, relating to the easy gathering memorization and retrieval of magic, making him essentially a living breathing library. But to his relief she gave a note of confidence to him.

The biggest relief came came when Twilight encouraged him, putting her trust in the stallion as a teacher.

[colour=#800080]"Thank you Twilight and Ingrid. This is something I actually wanted to do for a while, teaching others. It's time to put this magic of mine to use." [/colour]

Twilight then mentioned in response to an eloquent pony named Grey Lexis that the ponies deserved a better teacher.

[colour=#800080]"Nonsense Twilight. You have a better grasp on magic than all of us. I'll tell you what, let's trust each other and ourselves and we'll help to teach these ponies. What do you think/" [/colour]

(OOC Edit: Sorry River, didn't see your character responding to my pony.)

Guiding Light was so engrossed in the scene around him that he at first didn't notice the blue unicorn filly that sat next to him. There were so many ponies his age that were there and many adult ponies to teach him! Why, there was even a Crystal Pony sitting nearby who was studying a book with an in depth focus.

Light happened to turn to see the unicorn holding a notepad with the words Hey, I'm River. What's your name? on it. The colt wondered why the filly was writing her greeting rather than saying hello like other fillies and colts he knew back in Ponyville. Maybe she was shy, something that Light remembered being, or maybe it was some kind of game she played. Whatever the case, the yellow colt decided to greet this new pony.

[colour=#daa520]"Hi River. I'm Guiding Light, but you can just call me Light as everypony does. So where are you from?" [/colour]

[Bellosh]

Counselor Ingrid Marie personally knew that Gray Lexus was a nice pony once you got to see him as something other than a verbally combative academic... or in this case, a blatant flirt too. Normally, the middle-aged unicorn would have been mildly flattered (if not too terribly impressed) by Gray’s flattery, but here and now wasn’t the time for this sort of thing; especially in front of a princess.

Producing a wide grin to keep professional decorum, Ingrid merely ignored Mr. Lexus’s odd behavior as she briefed Twilight Sparkle; [colour=#008080]“Everything went together as planned, Twilight. All the buildings are complete to pristine order, and we got enough supplies to last for two months without resupply if need be. I do believe that we’re right on schedule!”[/colour] Once a few other ponies showed up though, everything could-

[colour=#cc0033]“TWILIGHT!”[/colour]

 

 

Counselor Marie could never mistake that voice as anypony but Moondancer, one of the magic instructor’s prize protégés. Ingrid offered the moon-flanked mare a position as one of the magic camp’s counselors, but Moony declined on account of her wanting to use her free time brushing up on magic. The middle-aged mare then reminded the younger unicorn that the magic camp accepted ponies of all ages as students; that of course was enough to make Miss Dancer sign up instantly.

 

Moondancer knew that a good number of her Spellbound associates, including her very special friend Pocket Change, would be serving as instructors and camp counselors. Being the odd one out in her magic guild didn’t faze the white unicorn one bit however; not only would the student learn some of Twi’s tricks of the trade, but she managed to drag her good friend Dazzle Dawn out here to West Nimbusgait too! This was going to be a fun camp indeed!

 

And now, to greet the ponies she knew with brief hugs, starting with the rookie princess and fellow alumna of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns; “It’s been forever since I’ve seen you, girly! I never thought in a million years that you’d become a princess. We never really talked much to each other back in magic school, but ohhh, I’m just so happy for you anyway!!!” The next pony to earn a hug was Ingrid Marie; “Nice to see you again Immie’! Thanks for getting me to come here.” Last, Moony reserved an extra large smile and extra bone-crushing embrace for her very special friend.

 

“POCKET!!!” the excited girl shouted as she grabbed the stallion with her forelegs and pressed her neck into his own, not minding who else was watching; “Very glad to see you here!”

 

Hearing that one of her classmates was going off to a super-cool magic camp run by Equestria’s newly crowned princess, Flakey Shards found herself somewhat upset. And by that, it actually meant that Flakey fumed with rage that Tourmaline Glass got to go someplace that the spoiled brat couldn’t. The fact that the light blue filly wasn’t really all that interested in magic in the first place didn’t concern her one bit; she’d be cast into Tartarus before her moody classmate could outdo her in something!

After only a couple rounds of incessant whining, Flakey Shards convinced her parents to let her go to the magic camp as well. Reality didn’t sink in for the crystal filly until she arrived at her final destination at the shores of the Great Nimbusgait Lakes; that she’d be stuck for weeks having to learn in classrooms anyway. Even worse, the camp was too isolated for her to sneak off somewhere should Flakey grow tired of it. To pass the time at the moment though, Miss Shards opted to bother her moody classmate; [colour=#99ccff]“Hah! Even when you’re studying magic like you’ve always wanted, you whine. I knew it!”[/colour] Flakey topped her childish reprimand with a pout.....

[aFlatmajor]

[colour=#00FF00]Hocus "Shzaam" Pocus[/colour]


With a small explosion and small few fireworks, Shzaam dramatically entered the building. In the pinkish smoke he stood, poised  elegantly with one hoof raised slightly. Head held high, he waited for the smoke to dissipate before taking a seat in small chair where he would wait. 
He hadn't much to say or do at the moment except wait for further instruction. He could go and meet a few ponies... But, as he was almost positive they'd meet and greet one another in time.
So, he patiently sat. All the while talking to himself, thinking of how he could've made a better entrance.
[colour=#00FF00]<<"Ok... More fireworks... Perhaps lay back on the pink haze a little. Instead of a giant pink cloud make it more of a dense fog. Oh, maybe a different colour?... Some glitter! Definitely, or at least something that sparkles.">>[/colour]

​

[colour=#FF0000]Dawn Sunrise[/colour]

[colour=#FF0000]<<"I'm here I'm here I'm here I'm here I'm here!!">>[/colour]

The filly burst into the building and bounded about, wide eyed and beaming from ear to ear. Normally, she'd be able to keep her head for something like this, but it's been such a long time since she's learned something new about magic. And plus, she heard a princess was to be here. She couldn't recall which of the four was to be present, but any princess is still better than no princess!!
And there were many other ponies to befriend as well! One pony, two ponies, red ponies and blue ponies!! All sorts of ponies!! She probably wasn't to interact with many, but it still nice to see so many others with with an interest in magic. Whether or not they could perform it was irrelevant. You can learn about something you can't perform, and it could still be beneficial. 

She slowed herself down and trotted in place, burning off her excitement and waiting for an announcement.

​

[tacobob]

The unicorn returned to a proper standing position, “Thank you Ma'am." While he felt rather odd referring to a mare around his age as a 'Ma'am', it was proper etiquette to to call a lady of royal peerage as one after properly addressing her as 'Your Royal Highness'. It had been many years since he had taken an proper etiquette class, so he was bound to have forgotten a few things, then again, it was not like he spent his time interacting with Royalty. "If I may be sold bold to ask, what would you prefer to be referred to during this training camp? Would make things a little less awkward for all of us.", he paused for an answer from the mare, and once given one, he continued, "Along with teaching the joys of cantrips to all of those who wish to listen, I have also come here to learn as well. While I wasn't the greatest of students when it came to the magical arts, I have been slowly filling out my spell tomes over the last year or so and I do hope I'll be able to pick up a few more spells while here if time permits."

Once he finished addressing the princess, Pocket Change turned to the others and was about to say something to Gray Lexis when it hit him. It wasn't an new idea that had quickly embraced the stallion, but his very dear friend, Moondancer. "Thank goodness you've arrived.", the stallion could not help but blush a little considering they were surrounded by ponies at the moment. "It's always wonderful to see you my sweet.", he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm guessing it's your doing that I've been invited here.", he added in a much lower tone, "Not sure they would have picked me without recommendation from such a well regarded spellcaster as yourself. Still, I'm looking forward to this!"

[RarityDash]

[colour=#4B0082]"I'm glad I pass your inspection, Lexis, [/colour][colour=#4B0082]and I agree that the youth of today don't deserve me. They deserve better- I'll just have to do for now,"[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Gray smiled a deep smile at the response he received. He nodded. [/colour]

[colour=#999999]"You continue to impress, Princess. Truth, falsehood or merely an attempt at humility, that is exactly the sort of thing you should be saying. Recognizing that you can be better is an important thing to anypony who fancies themselves a leader of hearts or minds," [/colour][colour=#cccccc]Gray said in a low voice.[/colour] [colour=#999999]"Perfection only exists in legends and the minds of the easily convinced. As great as the legacy of Starswirl is, it was only in his shortcomings that you found your own path to greatness after all. It takes a wise pony to realize his own ignorance."[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Gray smiled as he concluded his rambling mini-lecture on the subject of hubris to an Equestrian princess. There was little point in continuing; the princess' time was valuable and she had numerous ponies there with which to exchange words. Quietly he stepped aside, just in time for Moondancer, another pony from his guild, to rush up to greet the alicorn with whom she appeared to be acquainted.[/colour]

​

[colour=#000000]The sound of a familiar voice caught the attention of a certain blue mare with a lime green mane studying nearby. Dazzle Dawn had signed up for the magic camp first thing when she heard about it. As probably the least gifted unicorn to ever somehow manage to graduate from Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, any chance to hone her magical abilities was very much needed. She had been quite excited to attend the event, though she hadn't expected to see familiar faces as well. And yet, lifting her head from a book she found just that! She perked up as her eyes fell upon Moondancer, her good friend from school. She grinned, stood up and without really thinking rushed toward her.[/colour]

[colour=#33cc33]"Dancer!!!!"[/colour] [colour=#000000]Dazzle called out before throwing her forelegs around the other mare.[/colour] [colour=#33cc33]"It's been too long! I didn't know you were coming to this thing to?"[/colour]

[colour=#000000]After saying her words, she looked back to see some other ponies close by, mostly unicorns. One stallion in particular seemed rather focused on Dancer. There was also a purple alicorn mare. This fact took a few moments to settle in, but when it did, Dazzle's eyes lit up.[/colour]

[colour=#33cc33]"Oh my Celestia, are you the princess!?"[/colour] [colour=#000000]she asked with too much excitement as she stepped toward this pony.[/colour] [colour=#33cc33]"I've never been so close to a princess before! This is so cool!"[/colour]

​

[colour=#99CCFF]“Hah! Even when you’re studying magic like you’ve always wanted, you whine. I knew it!”[/colour]

[colour=#ffffff]Tourmaline rolled her eyes at these words. Ah, Flakey Shards, her impertinent little classmate. She considered herself so very clever, but even for all the cynicism she was just as childishly naïve as the rest. [/colour]

[colour=#ff9900]"There's nothing in any of these books about his magic,"[/colour] [colour=#ffffff]Tourmaline complained through a huff.[/colour] [colour=#ff9900]"I'm beginning to wonder if they have any intention of teaching us about real magic here at all."[/colour]

[colour=#ff9900]"I also do wonder why you came this way at all,"[/colour] [colour=#ffffff]the precocious filly added.[/colour] [colour=#ff9900]"Just the thrill of tormenting me, I suppose..."[/colour] [colour=#ffffff]she added gloomily with a small sigh.[/colour]

​

[GingerbreadSpy]

Shiny Pebbles was just finishing off a sizable stack of hay pancakes when she noticed another crystal filly join the first one she spotted. She blinked in surprise. She supposed she shouldn't have been too surprised to see them. This was a rare opportunity, after all. Another pony made a fascinating entrance with pinkish smoke. Shiny Pebbles watched him take a seat across from her and begin muttering to himself something about sparkles. She shot him an odd, incredulous look, not quite understanding the point of the display he had made. She smiled when she noticed that the filly (River) and colt (Guiding Light) next to her were engaged in pleasant conversation.

The crystal fillies, on the other hand...

She heard the dark-coloured crystal filly sigh and glanced over at the lighter-coloured crystal filly. Well, as the closest adult nearby, she supposed it would be a good idea to step in and make peace.

"Now, now, kiddo. I don't think it's all that nice to tell somepony they're whining." She looked back at the darker crystal filly. "And you should try cheering up a little. I don't think they'd let us come all the way out here for nothing. I, for one, would absolutely refuse to be forced to just sit here and be a lazy bum this whole time." She peered over, seemingly interested in the book the crystal filly had. "Looks like you got a bit of a good attitude getting a head start like that. What are you reading?"

[Lux]

Lore Weaver's ears perked up when he heard a familiar voice. Turning to the side he saw Moondancer greeting the ponies in her usually excited way. Her energetic personality as she greeted the other older ponies put a smile on the stallion's face. But then he saw the mare react differently towards a stallion named Pocket Change, like they were more than just friends. The purple stallion felt a little wave of jealousy build up inside him, but he wasn't going to let that ruin what he came to this camp to do and his relationship with Moondancer.

[colour=#800080]"Hello Moon," [/colour]Lore said to the familiar unicorn, [colour=#800080]"Long time no see, eh?" [/colour]

[SteelEagle]

OOC- Sorry for delay. Things and such.

One by one or two by two, the students managed to eek their way in front of the newest Princess of Equestria. Young minds eager for a new journey, whole worlds aching to be revealed to them in the margins of books and in their passion for learning. It warmed Twilight's heart to see that her little initiative was alive and kicking and that these would some of the very first fillies and colts to benefit from a higher understanding of the nature of Magic. The future was boundless, and Twilight felt no shame in the pride she felt at seeing it all come together. If it worked here, it could only grow and Equestria would be all the better for it. She nodded towards the faculty and stepped forward.

"I don't want to distract you from your studied and I know all of you must be eager to get started, so I won't take up much of your time. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and I want to thank you for taking part in this magic camp. You will be one of the first students of a new program to help all of Equestria understanding magic, and not just unicorns. Magic is a topic that is central to understanding Equestria, from how it works to the ponies who call it home. We are all magical, and by completing the camp all of you will have your understanding of magic to levels that most avenues of education couldn't dream of. In order to succeed, there are a few things you must do.

You must work hard. Learning what you are about to learn is not necessarily difficult, but requires an honest commitment to understanding the fundamentals of magic. Secondly, follow the instructions of the staff here. They are your teachers because they understand magic and the lesson plan better than anypony else, and they are in charge of your well being. Listen to the faculty. Work hard. Learn as much as you can and remember tohave fun!" Twilight spoke warmly and evenly, before ending with excitement, nodding towards the faculty.

"Now, you all have much to do. I'll take my leave," She finished, starting to leave before nodding towards Ingrid Maries.

"A word outside, please."

[Bellosh]

 

"Thank goodness you've arrived. It's always wonderful to see you my sweet. I'm guessing it's your doing that I've been invited here. Not sure they would have picked me without recommendation from such a well regarded spellcaster as yourself. Still, I'm looking forward to this!"

 

Moondancer ended up letting go of Pocket Change, but she made sure that the cute stallion got a peck on the cheek too as she pulled away. “Actually,” she hesitated for a moment, waiting until Ingrid Marie winked gave the moon-flanked mare a nod; “It was Immie’s idea to invite you here. She thought it would be a good way for you to earn teaching experience, and so she made the arrangements to make you an instructor. Although,” the young mare added a bit of mischief as she levitated a cord onto her neck, upon which a Spellbound badge just like Pocket's was tied onto; “I may have told Immie a good word about you too here and there…”

 

"Dancer!!!! It's been too long! I didn't know you were coming to this thing to?"

 

The parade of hugs continued unabated as Moondancer wrapped a pair of forelegs around her old friend Dazzle Dawn. “Well Dazzle,” Moony joked; “It’s a small world… get used to it.” That prompted the white unicorn to enter a giggling fit, pressing even closer into the mare for a couple more moments before finally releasing her buddy. Having Dazzle around as a fellow magic camp student would surely bring back cherished memories of the old times indeed.

 

"Hello Moon. Long time no see, eh?"

 

Oh lookie here; another familiar face! Even though Moondancer hadn’t been able to see Lore Weaver since that one day in Ponyville, she regularly corresponded to the stallion via letters. “Oh, hi there Lore!” she warmly greeted the bookstore owner with a wave; “Yeah, I haven’t been around Ponyville too often lately. Didn’t expect you’d be here at all!” Unlike the others she greeted, Moony restrained herself from giving Lore a hug… mainly to make sure he didn’t receive mixed signals after they established the nature of their friendship back in Ponyville.

 

"I also do wonder why you came this way at all. Just the thrill of tormenting me, I suppose..."

“Ugggh, there you go again thinking that everything needs to be about you,” Flakey Shards sharply lectured as if she was one of the big ponies, unaware of the irony of being an utter hypocrite as she prattled on; “You gotta look at the big picture, Tourmaline. You’re not the only crystal pony who deserves a chance to learn magic. If I couldn’t come to the magic camp, then it wouldn’t be fair. And things should always be fair!” Flakey slammed the table to emphasize that last point before concluding; “Don’t be selfish, Tourmaline.” Wow, did she go a good impression of an adult. Clearly that made the light blue filly the more mature of the two crystalline equines.....

"...Now, you all have much to do. I'll take my leave. A word outside, please."

Twilight Sparkle’s welcoming speech didn’t seem that particularly inspiring to Ingrid Marie, but it was short and to-the-point. Certainly a plus when speaking in front of younger audiences with short attention spans. Well… it looked like one light blue crystal filly didn’t look like she was paying attention at all; hopefully she wasn’t one of them troublemakers. Moondancer looked like she enjoyed the speech though; that was good.

As soon as Ms. Marie attached her own Spellbound pin onto her jacket, Twilight came by to take the counselor aside. “Certainly Miss Sparkle,” the middle-aged mare dutifully replied, following the lavender princess outside into the fresh outdoors.....

[tacobob]

"Really?", the unicorn glanced over at Ingrid Marie and back at Moondancer, "That's a rather nice surprise.". He had only spoken to the older mare on a few occasions, and held no actual opinion of her, beyond that he knew she was very serious and quite dedicated to her magic counselor position at ' Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns', and to a lesser degree, he thought she was rather cute for somepony her age. "I'll have to thank her later, but first.", he gave a mare a quick kiss on the cheek and permitted her to be acknowledged by a sea of ponies he may or may not have ever spoken to. These were Moon's smart friends. Ponies he generally never hung around with in the past. He smiled briefly before spotting a familiar pale blue coated filly. "Oh bugger.", he groaned. It was the same pain in the flank that he escorted through a series of mines not that long ago. Back then he had a family friend to be a barrier between the two, but now she was there, and Wind Walker wasn't. He tried to avoid eye contact for the moment.

Once Moondancer was finished with her friends, the stallion asked, "So, what's next?"

[RarityDash]

“Well Dazzle, It’s a small world… get used to it.”

Dazzle giggled cheerfully. "Yep!" she chimed cheerfully, smiling at her dear friend.

"But it's more than that I think. True friends always stay in one another's hearts! They're tied together, even when their apart, so of course they'll always meet again," she said, grinning goofily. "That's what I think at least," she added with an emphatic nod.

She looked around then, noticing the stallions nearby. Tilting her head she glanced at them both and then back at Dancer. "Ooh, are these friends of yours? I love meeting new friends!" she said with all her usual pep.

Stepping toward the other unicorns, still smiling, the green maned mare introduced herself. "Hiya! I'm Dazzle Dawn! I've known Dancer here since like forever! She's an awesome friend!"

​

“Ugggh, there you go again thinking that everything needs to be about you,You gotta look at the big picture, Tourmaline. You’re not the only crystal pony who deserves a chance to learn magic. If I couldn’t come to the magic camp, then it wouldn’t be fair. And things should always be fair! Don’t be selfish, Tourmaline.”

Tourmaline gave a long sigh. Flakey Shards was a frustrating one. She always had been. She had the gall to accuse Tourmaline of being self-centered? This delinquent, always acting out and calling attention to herself, who clearly thought she was a step above everpony else with her cleverness, thought that she was the one who was self-obsessed. It was ridiculous to the point of not even being worth commenting on.

"'Things should always be fair?' Ha! And where does your habit of swindling unsuspecting adults indiscriminately play into that picture?" Tourmaline scoffed. "As it is, things will never be fair. All things are pulled as if by gravity toward those with money, power and intelligence leaving the rest wanting and desperate."

The cynical filly shook her head and sighed. "Though I suppose that's beside the point entirely for I never said you shouldn't be allowed to come here, I merely expressed my surprise that you did. I'm not sure how knowing magical secrets ties into ones ability to defraud and deceive."

​

[Lux]

Lore Weaver nodded in silent agreement after Twilight gave her speech. This was her event, and he was going to let it be so. In reality it was an honor for him to be here teaching magic to others. He was quite comfortable to be an assistant to her like the other teachers, helping the fillies and colts in front of him to learn. With the introduction made, Lore turned his attention to Moondancer. The filly seemed to keep her distance from him, like as much as she was friendly to him there was like a glass wall between the two unicorns. He couldn't blame her after how he acted trying to seek out romance with the mare. He was glad though that at least he could salvage a friendship out of that disastrous encounter. Sometimes a pony had to learn from mistakes, and he was still learning from his.

"Yeah, you're probably busy with being in Canterlot. I've been busy myself working at my store, but I'm happy to sell books. It was a surprise to be here. I'm not the best at magic, but hopefully I can teach other with what i know."

As he waited for his reply, he thought about what he wanted to teach first to the foals. It was best to stick to the basics for those just learning and perhaps she would teach that to others.

[SilverSwirl]

Timid Star crept out from the little lodge he was staying in after a short breakfast. He had come back to the Nimbusgait Lakes to this camp after hearing about it in school. He figured it wouldn't hurt to try, plus it'd probably get those last hiccups taken care of. There wouldn't be any repeats of what had happened at the Cloud Diving competition. At least that was the plan. The skinny looking metallic gold colt entered the group of assembled ponies quietly, seeing a few familiar faces like Guiding Light's. Settling in beside Guiding, he hoped he wouldn't have another mishap like so many times in the past. "H-hey, didn't think I'd see you here....", he whispered to Guiding, silently praying that he wouldn't see a cockatrice like the last time he had paid a visit to the lakes. That wasn't very fun at all!

[Pretzelparty]

Presteza had slept in this day and now she was deeply regretting it. The opening of the new princess' magic camp had to be a historic occasion and she had to see it. Lucky for her she managed to at least catch some of the speech. With Princess Twilight opening her magic camp it was a golden opportunity for the painter, not only would she have a chance to see the princess but she might actually be able to get her permission to paint a portrait of her.

There was another reason she was here though, her main reason for enrolling was because of her own magical problems. Ever since she was a filly she had trouble casting spells, even basic telekinesis was seemingly beyond her capabilities; She would either wind up dropping what she lifted or just crushing it. Even today she could only seem to be able to lift her paintbrushes with telekinesis but nothing else. The unicorn had managed to learn how to channel a bit of wind magic by a unique method which utilized her paintbrushes but deep down she wanted to learn to cast spells normally... not because she remembered how it felt to disappoint her parents who were expert magic users, but because she felt this was something she had to get past to grow as a pony and as an artist.

The golden-tan mare looked around at all the faces... so far none she could recognize, although she wasn't sure why she'd expect to see anypony she knew personally. Her eyes were drawn to some crystal ponies who seemed engaged in a conversation. One pitch black but shiny young filly talking to a somewhat arrogant looking sky blue filly and one young mare who appeared around her age. Thinking it might be best to try and make some friends here she trotted over to Dazzle dawn and Tourmaline Glass and smiled, "'Ello there, sorry ta bother you ponies but did I miss much?"

[Lux]

Guiding Light was excited to get his lessons started that he could barely sit still or hold a thought in his head. His thoughts suddenly were redirected as a silent voice spoke to him. He turned to see who was speaking to him as his face met a rather familiar one from his class.

"Oh hi there Timid. Nice to see you here. I didn't expect you to be here either. Guess I didn't ask others in my class if they were attending this event. Anyway, what do want to learn here?"