An Equestrian Education (Open: See OOC thread)

[SteelEagle]

She led Ingrid Marie outside, without the hustle and bustle of the young ones inside to distract them and in to the cold embrace of the elements that surrounded the camp. The Princess had many other camps to visit and her time was short- she was just happy to see that everypony was ready to go. It was not going to be without difficulties, but the Princess trusted the staff she had chosen and the students to prosper. Besides, they were isolated. While that did benefit their studying as there existed pathetically few options for distraction, it also made resupply of the camp slightly more difficult and the time until help would arrive should something happen was equally worrying. That was why they had to follow rules. They had to follow procedures. They had to follow instructions, and that was why Ingrid Marie had been a top choice.

She had assembled quite a team of the fit and finest for her magic camp, but the linchpin of it all was Ingrid Maries. Few ponies were as experienced as she in a scholastic environment where the stakes were high, as competent under pressure in both an administrative and scholastic sense. She was not just a superb teacher- one of the finest in the nation- but a fantastic cornerstone of a strong setting built for learning. She was Twilight's eyes, ears, and hope in the camp. As long as Twilight had her confidence, the camp had Twilight's

"Ingrid, thank you again for agreeing to do this. I know there are probably better opportunities for you, but you know the importance of this to the future. You are doing a great thing here. Without you I am not sure I could have this camp run anywhere near as well. You are an expert in scholastic administration and teaching, and I trust you completely to keep this going effectively. This camp presents many challenges, not least of all the location. You are in charge of this camp and the day to day running of it. If anypony disputes this, you can contact me at any time," She put a hoof on Marie's shoulder, "Good luck," She finished, turning around and trotting to the chariot which had waited for her. She nodded towards Marie and was soon away- many camps in many areas, and only a day to hit them all. She had a lot to do, but not as much as those at a small camp near the Everfree.

-Exit Twilight-

[Lilia]

Shadowe had kept quiet during the proceedings, soaking in the knowledge while he could. He was well aware that anypony that noticed him would notice his dog was not at his side. He smiled inwardly, the white stick he used when Colby couldn't be with him leaning against his flank. His lavender eyes stared ahead, seeing nothing. While he waited for the chance to speak, or be spoken to, he used the time to attempt to conjure up some trinkets to interact with.

The silver glow around his horn grew bright only for a second before Shadowe toppled from his seat with a clatter. He sighed as he rose carefully, shaking his head.

"Sorry! That...didn't go as expected...is anypony hurt?" He asked, groping for his white stick to find his way back to his seat. He didn't know he was right beside it, as far as he knew he was across the room.

[Bellosh]

Ah, good ole Tourmaline; always responding to Flakey’s taunts with dreary talk. And proof of her inherent wishy-washiness as a side bonus. Liney had much to learn yet. “Hah, you never known,” the smirking filly mocked; “Learning about magic can also let you figure out how to be even lamer than before. I mean, it’s kinda hard to get moodier than you already are without learning a new spell or two, right? That is... if they’ll ever let you grow a horn, hahaha.” Flakey Shards made a note to figure out which sort of kids she could swindle over the next few weeks.....

 

 

"Really? That's a rather nice surprise. I'll have to thank her later, but first....." *SMOOCH*

 

Note to self: Pocket Change always wants to have the last kiss. That was very sweet of the stallion, but the blushing Moondancer didn’t exactly want to make the kids think they were at risk of contacting the cootie disease. “You really need to control that smooching habit of yours, Pocket,” the young mare advised, hypocritically nuzzling her coltfriend’s muzzle with her own for a couple seconds before pulling away; “I see some of the little guys look like they’re about to barf.” With that, Moony turned her attention towards other friends.

 

"But it's more than that I think. True friends always stay in one another's hearts! They're tied together, even when they're apart, so of course they'll always meet again. That's what I think at least..."

 

Ah, good ole’ Dazzle Dawn; always responding with the most cheerful things to say. Moondancer grinned just as goofily as her friend, replying with a synchronized nod. No further words needed to be exchanged with Dazzle for Moony to express her positive sentiments about friendship.

 

"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."

 

“You’ll do fine,” Moondancer reassured Lore Weaver; “Immie has faith in you, and so do I! As long as you’re not facing down an army of brats, then nothing can stop you!” Moony pumped her hoof in the air in a display of enthusiasm, but quickly pulled it back out of embarrassment. A shame really; the moon-flanked mare never got many chances to scream something while hoof pumping.

 

"So, what's next?"

 

After finishing up saying hello to everypony, Moondancer answered Pocket’s question; “Well, Immie should be back any minute now-”

 

Right on cue, the doors opened, letting Ingrid Marie trot back into the main lodge. Without missing a beat, she went to where Princess Twilight had previously spoken, signaled for the other faculty to follow her, and announced; “May I have your attention, everypony?” Once the room hushed again, the magic counselor and head instructor continued speaking; “At this time, you will each get an itinerary for the events for the month that you will be here at our Magic Camp. While they’re being passed out, will each instructor please briefly introduce themselves?” Ingrid would properly introduce herself last, using this time instead to pass out camp schedules and other important flyers like rule listings, a map of the camp, and misc. stuff to every student.....

[Lux]

Lore Weaver watched as Twilight Sparkle made her exit along with Ingrid. Shortly after only the unicorn returned, which the stallion guessed meant that Twilight had other places to visit. Now instead of proving himself to the Princess he now had to make sure that he followed the procedures and teaching methods under the watchful eye of Miss Marie. The purple unicorn gave a smile to Moondancer's reply, feeling better about his decision. He watched as the other instructor named Pocket Change gave the white unicorn a kiss, to which he felt embarrased trying to fall in love with a mare that already seemed to have a special somepony. But now was not the time for him to focus on past mistakes as Ingrid began to give out itineraries and asked the instructors to introduce themselves.

"Hello everypony,"he addressed the ponies enjoying their breakfast, "I am Lore Weaver, owner of a bookstore in Ponyville. I will be teaching study skills for learning magic as well as how magic can be used in everyday life. I welcome you all to this camp and hope that we can learn from each other. With teamwork, focus and passion hopefully you can return home with more understanding of this magical world."

[RarityDash]

Dazzle was surprised to suddenly realize that the unicorn stallion she didn't know had just walked up to and kissed Moondancer! Whoa, when did this happen? It was exciting. She giggled and smiled as she looked at her friend.

"You never told me you had a coltfriend now!" the cheerful mare started, patting her friend on the back. "That's really neat, Dancer! How'd you guys meet? I gotta know the details!" she started excitedly, not really paying too close attention to Immie or her her call for the room's attention.

​

"Hah, you never known, Learning about magic can also let you figure out how to be even lamer than before. I mean, it’s kinda hard to get moodier than you already are without learning a new spell or two, right? That is... if they’ll ever let you grow a horn, hahaha.”

Tourmaline just stared blankly at her fellow crystal filly as she gave her a complete non answer and attempted to insult. Flakey really was such a child.

"Your level of maturity really is astounding sometimes, Flakey," she said as if exhausted. She really didn't have more to say to such things.

​

"'Ello there, sorry ta bother you ponies but did I miss much?"

A unicorn mare approached Tourmaline with a question. The crystal filly didn't really have much interest in answering, but she supposed it was common courtesy. She gave a small sigh and then looked up at this unknown pony.

"You missed the princess' brief and ostensibly ceremonial appearance," she said derisively. She had expected to learn from a princess at this camp, but watching how those operating were moving, it seemed the princess' name was on it just to bait ponies in. A series of nameless noponies were the ones who would actually be teaching them. Regrettable.

"However, it appears the actual event is only just getting started," the filly continued in an unenthusiastic drone.

And so it was. A middle aged unicorn mare with a very straight mane brought attention to herself, announcing that the itinerary was being passed out and that the instructors would be introducing themselves. Tourmaline prepared herself to not be impressed. The first to speak was an unremarkable bookstore owner named Lore Weaver. She admired ponies who understood the power of books, but as plain as he was, if he was to set the bar for the instructors Torumaline didn't really expect much.

​

After Lore said his piece, Gray Lexis stepped forward and gave a cough. The aged stallion smiled at his students to be as he stood relaxed before them.

"If you are here today it means a curiosity exists within you. You wish to learn of magic--that all important gift which exists within each of us, within nature, within the sun and moon and even the world itself. Yes, there is magic in everything and under my guidance I hope to see you find the magic that exists in yourself. Your new princess Twilight, who spoke moments prior, has done great things, but everyone in this room has the potential for greatness as well. The magic within you is what will kindle this greatness and make it shine. If you learn and learn well, in capturing your own magic and making smart use of it, ponies centuries from now might still recall your name in legends," Gray began to speak, going off on a somewhat matter-of-fact ramble.

"Yes, I seek to take that spark of curiosity that brought you here today and transform it into passion and knowledge! From me you shall learn about magic, it's history and its future. I will show you things, and I will be interested in the things that you can show me," the stallion added somewhat dramatically. "I am Gray Lexis, Professor Emeritus of Canterlot University and I look forward to working with every one of you."

​

[tacobob]

Note to self: Pocket Change always wants to have the last kiss. That was very sweet of the stallion, but the blushing Moondancer didn’t exactly want to make the kids think they were at risk of contacting the cootie disease. “You really need to control that smooching habit of yours, Pocket,” the young mare advised, hypocritically nuzzling her coltfriend’s muzzle with her own for a couple seconds before pulling away; “I see some of the little guys look like they’re about to barf.” With that, Moony turned her attention towards other friends.

"I tried, oh yes, I've tried.", the stallion whispered, "Thankfully I've been able to control my habit. I only break out into smoochies when I encounter the prettiest mare in all of Equestria.", he grinned ear to ear before Moondancer's attention was snatched up by one of her friends. "Is it me, or did Tw...er, Princess Twilight get a little taller?", he asked before he turned his attention to the group that was also inhabiting the room they were all in. There were a few students here, all bright-eyed and eager to learn magic. There was also Flakey. Maybe she was here simply to be used as a proper target for the more experienced casters so they had something to cast 'Fireballs' at.

The unicorn smiled as Gray Lexis spoke. While a dry sort of a stallion, Pocket Change was rather happy to see his guild-mate at this event. The skilled mage was a true credit to the wizarding world, both In his magical fortitude and skill. The younger stallion had hoped to learn much from the warlock. One spell that had always been out of his grasp was the dreaded teleportation spell! As a young student, Pocket had been mortified to hear stories about the Conjuration spell going badly for its caster. Either the helpless unicorn was transported into a solid wall, sent to hostile lands, or even left behind a body part after doing the spell incorrectly. This was all from mostly stories he had heard. It was usually a story an father's brother's nephew's cousin's former room-mate had heard from her neighbor, or something he had read in one of those silly horror books he enjoyed so much. Still, he knew by now that he could not let his silly foal-hood fears hold him back any further, and thanks to skilled spellcasters like Moondancer and Gray, the unicorn had redoubled his magic practice and even started to attend an magic class back at Canterlot.

Once the elder unicorn was finished, the stallion cleared his throat, "I am Pocket Change of Canterlot, and I'm here to teach those willing to listen and learn of an much under looked school of magic known as the cantrip.", as he spoke, a simple illusion of his name appeared in bright lights, which quickly faded from sight. "While these are basic, and easy to learn spells, I've found out through experience that they can be lifesavers! Need to attend an important meeting or date, but you were up making potions and smell like Stapelia gigantea? Try a 'Glamor' cantrip. Tore your favorite jacket or dress but don't have time to break out a needle and thread? A 'mend' cantrip is your friend. And what's also wonderful about these mighty little spells is that once you are able to cast a certain cantrip, and you decided to advance your skills in that particular spell, say you want to go from a simple 'Dancing Lights' to a full out 'Will-O’-Wisp' spell, you can smile, since you're already halfway there! Studied have shown that spellcasters who learn spells by taking the first step through cantrips, not only master the more advanced spell quicker, but also with far greater ease."

Cantrips weren't the most exciting of spells, Pocket knew that, but he had owned his life to the little spells and he hoped he could get more younger spell-casters to hang around this school before they rushed off to the larger magics.

[Bellosh]

By the time the other instructors finished their introductions, Ingrid Marie had already passed out the last of her schedules. This left her free to get up to the front of the room and make her concluding remarks:

“Thank you for your introductions, camp counselors. My name is Ingrid Marie, and I’ll be in charge of our Magic Camp for the duration of your stay, mmkay. Some of you may already recognize me as the magic counselor for Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. If you’ve peaked at your schedules, you’ll see that your time will be divided between class time with your instructors, and group activities that will build and expand on your lessons. When this month ends, everyone here will have a better understanding of the magic that binds each and every pony together; the very force that Princess Twilight Sparkle has spent the last few years studying.

During free time, I will be available in my office should anypony need one-on-one magic counseling sessions. Now then, be sure to use this moment to read your itinerary and understand the schedule and rules. As of this moment… magic camp is now in session!”

Moondancer politely clapped as Ingrid walked away; Flakey Shards huffed, not extending the same courtesy. Magic Camp better be worth her time.....

OOC: Feel free to wrap things up in your concluding posts. New threads will come along shortly. ^_^