The Elements of Friendship, Thursday, Period 1

[locointhecoco]

Pinkie awaited the class in the Danger Shop once again, but this time, instead of Sugarcube Corner, the class would find themselves in a clearing on the side of a mountain in a dark and spooky woods. Pinkie waited for the class to gather along the narrow, grassy ledge, pointing out rocks and sticks to anyone not minding their steps. When it seemed as though everyone had arrived, she began.

"Hi everypony! I'm so glad to see you all back for another week to learn about friendship!" She started to pace back and forth in front of the class, giving little hops over the rougher patches of the ground. "The most important thing to remember about friendship is that it's not always going to be made up of parties and cupcakes." Yes, Pinkie had totally just said that. Even she was a bit surprised. "Sometimes, it's about facing your fears and helping each other through tight spots. That's why today we're going to go on an adventure here in the . . . Everfree Forest!"

A bolt of lightning flashed obligingly across the sky behind the students.

"The Everfree Forest is a forest on the very edge of Ponyville where everypony fears to tread. It's a dark, wild place, where animals run free and have to live out their lives all alone without anypony to help them make their nests or wake them up when winter's over or even control the weather! You never know what's going to happen in the Everfree Forest, or what kinds of spooky, creepy creatures you might encounter!" Pinkie shivered, clearly spooked out by her own lecture. "But don't worry, because none of you have to face it alone! You have all your friends here to help you! So find at least one friend and get ready. You're all going to travel through the forest to the ruins of the old castle, where a special surprise is waiting for you. Don't worry, you can't get hurt in here. But if anypony gets left behind, then nopony gets a gold star! Good luck!"

And Pinkie bounced firmly backward away from the students, just in time to avoid the sudden collapse of the cliff they were standing on.

Time to team up and see just what horrors Equestria had to offer.

[ooc: OCD is up! And I only paused to watch one PMV before finishing it!]

Tropes and Scope [Class 2, Period Three]

[bookworm-beauty.livejournal.com]

"Hello, class!" Belle called cheerfully, as the students assembled in the Danger Shop. Today, they would find themselves not in last week's nondescript classroom, but in a possibly familiar set of cliffside ruins. Belle herself was perched on a crumbling bit of stone, a group of swords and some strips of cloth laying on the ground beside her. "Now, last week, we talked about what types of stories you all like to read, and one of the most popular answers was action and adventure -- which, to be perfectly honest, is my favorite, too. We're going to spend a couple of weeks running through some of the great patterns you find in each genre before moving onto the next, and I figured...well, what better way to kick off action than with action?"

She hopped off her sword, selecting two cloths -- one black, and one white. "How many of your favorite books, plays, or movies," she was still trying to act like that concept wasn't unfamiliar to her, but it was hard, "feature a great fight between two opposing forces? Sure, our favorite stories might deal with one man against many, or two armies running at each other at full force, but oftentimes, it comes down to one versus one. I borrowed this setting because from what I understand, there's a film with a famous swordfighting scene that takes place here, and while the color scheme is off -- black is usually signifying evil, while white stands for good -- I thought it might work for our purposes today."

She started to move through the class, alternating between passing out white and black cloths, along with a list for each student. "Tie these around your wrist or waist or into your hair -- I don't particularly care. Team White, you stand for the good, the right, the moral high ground. Team Black, you oppose them -- you stand for personal gain, for evil, for selfishness. Remember these things as you fight, because they should influence your choices. I want you to team up, and everyone grab a sword. While the ends are blunt and you won't hurt yourselves, I want you to reenact a classic swordfight using as many of the tropes on that list as possible. Afterwards, I want you to think about how many times in your life you've seen those actually used. It's probably more than you think."

Sensitivity Training, Thursday, September 8th

[onepunchguy.livejournal.com]

Guy looked no happier about teaching Sensitivity Training than he did last week. The key difference, however, was that this time he was armed with a book all about this crap. So, prepare to have sensitivity shoved all up in your face. Indigo Tribe style.

"Apperently, in order for you all to really learn this cr--stuff, you need to be in a trusting environment where you feel at ease." Yeah, he didn't think that was likely either. "So, we're gonna do a few exercises to build up trust."

He glanced down at the book. "Or look like a moron until you don't care anymore."

It might work!

"The first activity is 'mirroring' where you and another person touch fingertips and try to move in sync," Guy said, so far from impressed by this. So, so far. "The other one is more straight forward, being a trust fall. You fall, the other person catches you. Easy enough. Just don't surprise anyone with 'em."

Unless you film it.

"I want everyone to grab a partner and decide which activity you'd rather do."