“Colts! Fillies! Quiet down now! Class in in session!” The teacher’s voice called out to the chattering foals from the front of the room. The noise did not cease immediately, and slowly lowered in volume as one by one the students turned to look at her. “Today we will be learning about the different animals that live outside Equestria. Any questions?” Nopony spoke. “Very well then, can anypony tell me,” The teacher picked up a white card with a picture of an animal sketched onto it. “What this animal is called?” A single orange hoof rose from the rows of desks, waving madly.

“Pick me! Ah know what it is!” A filly in a brown hat piped up impatiently. “Ms. Heart! Pick me!”

“Yes, Applejack?” Ms. Heart replied reluctantly. Berry Punch knew she normally would have chosen a pony who raised their hoof silently, however, nopony else was prepared to answer the question, and Berry certainly did not know the answer.

“It’s a dragon! Mah brother Big Macintosh told me all about em’!” Applejack answered proudly.

“You’re very right, Applejack. A dragon is a species of reptile. There are many types of dragon. Most of them breath fire, while very few do not. When you all think of dragons, you probably think of the kind with wings, like in this picture.” Ms. Heart indicated the card with one hoof. “But not all dragons have wings. Some are more serpentine, and fly without wings, and still others live underwater.” Ms. Heart looked directly at Applejack. “You should be very proud of having such a smart colt as a brother.” She told the small orange filly. “ I used to teach him, and he was one of the best students I ever had.” Applejack seemed to sit taller, soaking up the praise as if she intended later to boast to everyone how she had the smartest brother in all of Equestria, and, knowing Applejack, she probably would.

Berry Punch chuckled silently to herself, but thank Celestia Ms. Heart didn’t notice. Instead she proceeded with the lesson, picking up another card. “Can anypony tell me what this animal is called?” Berry Punch knew immediately, and raised her hoof quickly, but silently waited until Ms. Heart picked her. “Yes, Berry Punch?”

“That’s a griffin!” Berry Punch answered, feeling proud of herself that nopony else knew the answer but her.

“Very good, Berry Punch!” Ms. Heart praised the young pony. Berry remembered the day she had first seen a griffin, when she was younger. She had been in her living room, looking at the clouds when a small dot appeared in the sky. It was little more than a blurry brown and white speck, but looking at it closely, she had just been able to make out beating wings. Her father had noticed and come over to stand next to her.

“ What are you looking at Berry?” He had asked, looking down at her.

“There’s something in the sky, daddy” She squeaked looking at the speck as it soared in the air.

“Hmm…” Her father had looked through the window, trying to pinpoint the alleged speck, finally he had found it and turned to his daughter.

“That’s a griffin, Berry” He told her, looking down at her.

“A griff-um?” Berry had stammered, looking confused. Her father chuckled warmly.

“No, Berry. A griffin.” He had corrected her, smiling at her innocence. She had stared up into the sky, admiring the grace and speed of its flight.

“Will I ever be able to fly like that daddy?” Berry had asked in her tiny voice.

“No, Berry,” He had answered in the soft voice her parents had always used when speaking with her. “ We’re earth ponies. We don’t fly or do magic or anything like that. But,” He had added when she started to look downcast. “Each pony has something that makes them special. Even if you can’t soar in the air, or do magic tricks, you can still be special,” He had leaned down and nuzzled his daughters muzzle with his own. “By being yourself. Do you understand?”

“I think so daddy.”

“Good, now go and play”

A nudge in the side from Amethyst brought her mind back to the present. Not much time had past, and Ms. Heart was in the middle of telling the class about griffins.

“…Has a wingspan of nearly 6 hoof-steps, and sharp talons on either foreleg, much like an eagle. They also have a sharp beak for tearing into their food.”

“Ms. Heart?” A pony named Cheerilee spoke, Berry didn’t know her all that much, just her name, really.

“Yes Cheerilee?” Ms. Heart said.

“What do griffins eat, exactly?”

“Well, Cheerilee,” Ms. Heart explained, obviously uncomfortable. “They eat… Well… Other animals.” The rest of the class gasped in horror, then stayed in stunned silence, glancing wide-eyed at one another. Berry Punch felt her stomach twist in fear. Her father never told her THAT. Bright Shine was the one who broke the silence.

“Like bunnies and squirrels?” She squeaked in terror. “But that hurts them!”

“Yes, it does.” Ms. Heart told the class. “But that is how they keep themselves alive. You see, their stomachs are not built for eating plants and grains like ours. Their bodies were designed for eating the flesh of other living things.” Ms. Heart seemed very uncomfortable talking about this, and with good reason. Ponies NEVER hurt animals, especially not for food. The teacher continued. “ We may not like it, but it is not up to ponies to decide the habits of other things, vulgar though they seem. We must accept that that is how they live, even if we don’t approve.”

Cheerilee, though sickened like the rest of the class, couldn’t suppress a sigh of admiration. She turned to the classmate nearest her, who was still stiff with shock, his mouth gaping, and whispered in his ear.

“ She’s so smart. I think someday I’ll be a teacher just like her!”

The class went on as usual, and most of the students seemed to get over the shock of learning about a griffin's diet. The teacher’s lecture seemed to be sinking in. The bell rang, and class was dismissed. Berry couldn’t wait to get home. She couldn’t wait to tell her parents everything she learned!