Pony Express: Friendship is Cultural Exchange! Wednesday, period 1

[locointhecoco]

Pinkie wasn't looking nearly as anxious to get to Equestria this week as she usually did. She waited with what even looked like it might be patience (well, on a manic pink pony, anyway, which . . . involved a fair amount of twitching) until everyone seemed to have arrived.

"I just wanted to start today by saying sorry about last week. I didn't realize that the ponies in Appleloosa just moving in the way they did was pretty mean. I'm still happy that everypony worked it all out so they can share that land, but that doesn't make what they did any nicer. Sorry about not thinking about that before we went to visit." Pinkie maintained her very serious and sincerely sorry face for another few beats, then brightened when the portal behind her opened up.

"This week should be much nicer!" she declared, leading the way through onto . . . the road outside Ponyville, where a Twilight Sparkle waited next to a bright purple and pink hot air balloon. "Today we're going to see a very extra special Equestria city, accessible only to pegasuses and other flyers: Cloudsdale!" She threw her hooves excitedly in the air, as was traditional when announcing the name of where they were going. "Now, because Cloudsdale is totally made of clouds, we're going to need some help to be able to tour it, which is what Twilight's here for! She has a special spell she can cast on us to let us walk on the clouds like pegasuses do!"

"That's right, Pinkie," Twilight said. She closed her eyes and concentrated, creating a pink bubble around the students, which burst with glimmering sparkles. "That should do it! You'll be cloud-ready for the duration of class!" Her eyes twitched to one side. "Hopefully."

Pinkie didn't seem to notice Twilight's hesitation. She started waving students into the hot air balloon, which lifted them up to a glimmering, Grecian styled cloud city. "Here it is!" Pinkie announced, hopping out and trotting out a little ways to make room for the students to try out their cloud-walking spell. Thankfully, Twilight's spell seemed to work just as well on humanoids as on ponies; the students might get sore walking on something as fluffy and slightly bouncy as clouds, but they wouldn't go plunging to their dooms.

"Now, Cloudsdale is a unique city in Equestria, not just because it's populated entirely by pegasuses. It's also the only city that actually travels around! It can float anywhere that needs it, which is everywhere, because Cloudsdale's number one industry is weather making!" Pinkie led the way to a complex, open air factory, where she paused, pulling a box of white hard hats out of . . . somewhere. "Safety first! Weather can get pretty exciting, even when it's just being manufactured! There's loads of places in here to explore, so split up if you want and have fun! Just be sure not to touch anything that a pegasus hasn't told you is okay to touch, and whatever you do, don't taste the rainbows!"

Ethics, Wednesday, September 23, 2015, 2nd period

[sith_happened]

Do you have a bad feeling, class? Do you? You should! It's terrifying droid baby week! Hooray!

Anakin was currently holding a particularly cranky baby as it wailed. "Welcome back, class."

"Every semester, we run a class about parental responsibilities," Obi-Wan said smoothly. "Child-rearing is a path that takes great care and commitment, though it is often rewarding. To nurture such a young being into adulthood is to be conscious, always, of the values you choose to pass along, and how to do so."

"As we rediscovered last week, our formative experiences directly contribute to how we see and interact with the world around us," Anakin said, carefully placing the baby back in its carrier, "and while it is natural as humans to make mistakes, the ones we make with small children have lasting, sometimes irrevocable effects. Here in Fandom, surrounded by many people eager to help, abundant food, water, and climate-control, your babies should be off to a good start."

"We have formed pairs," Obi-Wan continued. "Bar one of you. It will be your responsibility to treat these 'children' well, and to attempt to instill in them some manner of basic values. Kindness. Consideration. Affection."

"Not biting people," Anakin added a little dryly. "And that goes for you as well. If you're going to whine about this assignment, do it where I can't hear it."
'
"We will be monitoring your efforts. You may return the babies to us in class next week, unless there are unforseen circumstances." Obi-Wan smiled. "And no, 'I barely get any sleep' is no unforseen circumstance."