Firelock by Pan

(01/01/2019)

https://desuarchive.org/mlp/thread/33318733/#q33353121

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>be Firelock
>life is good for a cute filly like you
>only foal
>the joy of your parents' lives
>you try not to be a hooffull
>get good grades
>don't get in with the wrong crowd
>make a mistake every now and then
>since you are a "good filly" you usually get off the hook

>mostly you get in trouble for your big mouth
>talking in school when you aren't supposed to
>swearing
>inventing new swears while peppering in old classics
>this is not quite a conscious decision
>ponies make fun of you, you make fun of them back
>it's self-defense!
>usually bullies and nobodies are the ones doing it
>Miss Cheerilee has bigger stuff to deal with
>She'll say "cut it out, you two", but that's all

>You have only ever had one detention
>it was technically a "food fight" by school rules
>strict and silly school rules, your parents agreed
>all you did was throw your food into the trash from a little far away
>it all made it in
>no biggie
>as punishment you had to write "I will not throw food" 150 times...
>WITH YOUR MOUTH!
>you are a unicorn!
>but all discipline is the same at Cheerilee's school
>no matter what kind of pony you are
>once you grabbed your stack of paper and showed Cheerilee, you spent the rest of the hour cleaning up around the lunch tables outside the school
>it sucked and was boring

>this is what counts as punishment in your mind
>the same smart mouth that gets you into trouble gets you out of it
>your mom and dad are too soft to really give you any consequences
>they threaten to ground you rarely
>other foals are not as lucky
>sometimes they come to school with a spanked rear-end
>ponies in Ponyville don't normally wear clothes
>so the painful red marks are painted onto your friends' haunches, plain as Celestia's day
>Cheerilee does not paddle often, but she leaves the option open
>her paddle hangs on a hook in the back of the classroom
>Screwups and burnouts get it the most
>you would die if that ever happened to you 

>you have to do an end-of-semester project
>a report on the topic of your choice
>some time in school is dedicated to working on it
>"You need to know how to do work like this"
>whatever
>you didn't touch it outside of school
>you chat with your filly friends about it
"It's SO HARD!"
"My brother says it never gets easier. You just get older and older and then you die!"
"How about you, Firelock?"
"Oh, I was going to do that closer to the deadline."
>Shocked looks
>That's what you get for making friends with overachievers
"You can't do it in one night. Miss Cheerilee says and everything."
"Okay, I'll start it earlier. Doesn't mean I have to waste all my time after school on it."

>it's now the night before it's due
>you haven't worked on it at all
>in some way you didn't see this coming
>deeper down, you absolutely did
>Next time you will not procrastinate
>you have your books on flowers from the library
>how hard could it be?

"Pumpkin, time for dinner!"
>It's SO HARD!
>You have been working since after school and you barely made a dent in it!
"I need three whole pages TOMORROW and I don't even know where to start!"
"How long have you had to work on it?"
"Umm... about a month."
"A month?! Young filly, you said you didn't have homework!"
"This is a project."
>your mother rolls her eyes
"Well it's your responsibility. Maybe this will teach you not to put off work just so you can play outside."
"Do you need help?"
"No dad..."
>What would they know about flowers?

>after dinner you are back at it
>your real problem is coming up with topics
>you skim over one of your books for the 30th time
>you need a three page paper
>there are three headings in this part about flowers
>gears are turning...

>your mommy kisses you goodnight and reminds you "don't stay up too late"
"I won't, mom."
>the paper is not hopeless anymore
>you just have to take what your book says and put in stuff from the other books
>parts of flowers
>genetics
>cultural uses
>you get to bed 2 hours later than normal

>your mother wakes you up for school
>you stumble to the kitchen, kicking yourself for punishing your procrastination with lack of sleep
>your dad makes breakfast as usual
"Did you finish your report?"
"Yes daddy"
"That's my muffin."
"Daaaaad-!"
"That's the last blueberry one. It's mine!"
>You and your mom simul-facehoof

>you walk to school
>sun is shining
>the cold isn't too bad
>you have your fur coat
>the semester is almost done

>at school
"Pass your papers forward, please."
>your friends chat with you
"Did you finish in time?"
"Yeah. It sucked but I got it done."
"As long as you get a good grade on it."
>you hope you do well on it
>even using those books as a guide it took a long time

...

>the last few minutes of the semester
>Miss Cheerilee hoofed out report cards and your graded papers
>your report card was sealed
>as always
>but your paper had a "see me" note on it!
>even in Cheerilee's green writing it looked scary
>you stealthily panic
"Happy Hearthswarming, everypony. Class dismissed!"
>thankful that nopony will be paying attention to your meltdown
>Students rush out of the classroom, just slow enough to avoid complaints about "running" indoors
>she has to think you copied
>the paper was well written
>even if it wasn't, what would you get? A "B"?
>You take your paper up to the teacher's desk
>a short walk
>you sit in the front row