The bell rang loudly throughout the schoolyard, signaling all the fillies and colts to head inside and start the school day.

“Good morning, Scootaloo! Same to you, Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle bounced up to her friends as they entered the building. “How are you guys this morning?”

“Ugh, I swear, you are way too chipper for this early on a school day,” Scootaloo said, wiping some leftover sleep from her eyes.

Sweetie rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Well, maybe if you tried sleeping earlier instead of reading sports magazines all night, you’d feel better. How about you, Apple Bloom?”

“I’m doing alright,” she replied, letting out a deep yawn. “How ‘bout you, Sweetie Belle?”

“I’m doing great! I got a new, hay stuffed mattress yesterday and I slept better than I have in forever last night. I am ready for whatever this day has to offer.

The three fillies strolled into the classroom and after a quick round of hellos to their friends, took their seats next to each other. However, something was off.

“That’s weird,” Scootaloo said, motioning towards the front of the class. “Where’s Cheerilee? Normally she’s already here and has our morning assignments already up on the board.”

Instead of their usual assignments and teacher, before them was simply a blank chalkboard and an empty teacher’s seat.

“That is strange,” Apple Bloom said with a nod.

Before they had any more time to ponder over what was going on, the classroom door flew open.

“Good morning, class!” Cheerilee shouted out. “Or perhaps I should say, bienvenidos y buenos dias!”

The class all shared a brief stare at their teacher before erupting into a small fit of giggles.

“Miss Cheerilee,” Diamond Tiara said. “What are you wearing?”

As opposed to her usual professional standard of appearance, Cheerilee was dressed in a large, colorful dress and had her mane pinned up with some rather exotic looking mane pins.

“Was today dress up day?” Scootaloo asked. “If so, I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t paying attention when you made the announcement.”

Cheerilee shook her head and let out a small chuckle as she took her spot in the front of the classroom. “No, boys and girls, don’t worry. It’s not dress up day. However, today does mark a very special day. Who can tell me what today is?”

Snails rose his hoof. “Umm,Friday? Right? Or is it Tuesday? I forget.”

“Well, yes, it is Friday,” she replied, earning a bright smile from her student. “But, even more specifically, today is Equestrian History Appreciation day!”

Cheerilee’s excitement was followed by a series of questioning glances and shrugs from her students.

“Equestrian History Appreciation day?” Sweetie Belle asked. “What’s that?”

“I’m glad you asked, Sweetie.” Cheerilee walked toward the side of the classroom and pulled down a colorful map of Equestria. “Today is a special day dedicated to the many wonderful different species and cultures that exist across the entire land of Equestria. Besides ponies, this land is home to many other species, each with their own unique culture, history and way of life. As Equestrian citizens, it’s important we learn as much as we can about others and learn to appreciate their customs so we can all continue to see this land as a home, together and united!”

The fillies and colts all looked around at each other with excited glances and smiles. Special events like this usually meant one thing: a fun project!

“Now children,” Cheerilee said. “Even in our small town of Ponyville, we have many different creatures that we call family and friends. Ponies, Donkeys, Zebras and even a Dragon call this town home. So, in an effort to do our part in learning as much as we can about our varied society, I have a fun project planned for all of you.”

The announcement triggered a series of hoof bumps and excited shouts from the classroom.

“What’s the project, Miss Cheerilee?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Is it a group one, maybe?” Sweetie followed up, eyeing her two friends.

“No, it’s not a group project. It’s individual for each one of you.” Cheerilee reached behind her desk and grabbed a small box with her mouth and placed on her desk. “Inside this box, I’ve written a different species’ name on blank sheets of paper, one for each of you. One by one, you’ll come up and choose one at random. Your project will be to spend the weekend doing research on your selected species and deliver a report to the class Monday morning on something you learned and why we should all appreciate it. Everyone understand?”

The class all shook their heads in agreement.

“Now, it is a solo project, so it’s important that you do your own research and find something that you in particular find interesting about your assigned species. My suggestion would be to start at the library, which will have more information than you’ll know what to do with.” Cheerilee stood up and motioned for her class to stand as well. “Now, one at a time, come up and select a slip of paper from the box.”

As per request, each of the students got up and picked their assignment at random and returned to their seats. Instantly, a mess of chatter started amongst the students as they all shared what they got.

“I got Griffins. Cool!” Scootaloo smiled and turned to her friends. “What’d you get Apple Bloom?”

Apple Bloom looked at her paper. “I got… Buffaloes. Hmm, I kind of forgot we even have them around seeing as how they keep to themselves, usually. How about you, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie opened her paper. “I got... dragons?”

Cheerilee, overhearing their conversation, chimed in. “Ooh, that’s a good one, Sweetie Belle. Dragons are probably the most interesting of all the assigned species I selected. Of all the creatures, dragons are actually the most mysterious to ponies given how secretive they are. I very much look forward to your presentation tomorrow in particular.”

Sweetie Belle sighed. “Oh great. I got a hard one.”

“Dragons?” Scootaloo said. “That’s so cool! Actually, if you think about it, that’s gotta be the easiest one.”

“Easy? How do you mean?” Sweetie replied.

“Well, for everything you need to know, you could forget about all the books and just go ask our local town dragon,” Apple Bloom said, joining in.

“That’s right!” Sweetie Belle said. “I bet Spike knows everything that’s anything about dragons and their history and customs. Great thinking, girls.”

“Alright, class,” Cheerilee said. “Did everyone get an assignment?”

The entire class nodded in unison.

“Well then, class, to give you all a bonus head start, school is dismissed for the day. Go out and research your project, and I can’t wait to hear all of your reports first thing Monday morning! Have a great weekend!”

The students in class let out a cheer and shot out the door, ready to begin their projects.

“So, girls, what’s your plan for the project?” Apple Bloom said to her two friends. “Anything in particular?”

“Well, my first order of business is to go back home and catch up on some sleep,” Scootaloo said, trying to hold back a yawn. “I plan to use this extra time off of school to full advantage. What about you, Sweetie? You gonna go see what you can dig up from Spike over at the castle?”

“Yep, I plan on heading there right now, actually! With his help, I should be able to get this done in no time and have a homework free weekend.”

“I’m probably gonna head home to the acres and see if Granny knows anything about Buffaloes. She knows a little of everything, so I imagine she can give me a few ideas for my project.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me, Apple Bloom,” Sweetie said. “Anywho, I’m heading off the castle to get started. I’ll catch up with you all later!”

“See you later, Sweetie,” Scootaloo said. “Have fun!”

“You too!”

Sweetie trotted off in the direction of the castle. With any luck, this would be an easy A and a ticket to a great weekend