Learning and Rematch
Isaac was in a white collared shirt, brown jacket and a matching tie as he walked up to the school house where Cherilee was busy organizing her papers. He tapped on the door and the mare waved him in.
"I'm not late am I?" He asked.
"No, we've still got ten minutes till the children get here." she said as he put some books down on the desk. "I can't thank you enough for doing this."
"No problem. Never thought I'd be a teacher."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I was a trouble maker back in school." He chuckled. "Swapped book sleeves, spit balls, giving the teacher a hard time, you name it I've done it." He grinned. "Irony is a funny thing." Cherilee shared the humor and the two continued setting things up. Twilight brought along a projector. Isaac managed to rig it to his laptop so that he could use the slide show he had designed.
Soon, the foals started to gather in the classroom. Most of them were captivated by the projector and odd device it was hooked up to. Twilight was sitting off to the side along with Lyra who had shown up three minutes prior.
"Alright class settle down." Cherilee said. The class mates quieted down and a blue Pegasus colt with a grey mane raised his hand. "Yes, Rumble?"
"What's that thing for?" He asked as he pointed to the alien device.
"Excellent question." The mare smiled. "We have a treat for you all today." Isaac waited outside the room and checked his shirt and tie once more. "We are going to learn about the human race." Several children looked at each other in confusion as the CMC bumped fists.
Cherilee motioned for the human to walk in. Isaac cracked his neck and entered the class. The man saw several surprised faces. Among the crowd were three familiar fillies beaming with delight.
"Morning." He said as he cleared his throat. He grabbed a piece of chalk and made his way up to the board. "My name is Mr-" He paused as he bit his lip. "Since my last name is too tricky to say you can Call me Isaac, Mr. I or if you feel so inclined, Oh Captain my Captain." Several students looked at one another in confusion.
"Any who, your teacher Ms. Cherilee has graciously offered me the chance to teach you all about humans." The children all smiled. "Now I hope to keep this as entertaining as possible. So I've enlisted the help of Twilight Sparkle, the town librarian." He motioned towards the mare who waved. "So without further ado lets get on with it."
The man started up his laptop and luckily the technology was compatible. Isaac started talking about the neanderthals and cave men. Several students chuckled as he did an almost accurate interpretation of their mannerisms. After three hours of the lecture the bell rang and the children went to lunch.
Isaac let out a long sigh and sat back in the chair and loosened his tie. "I gotta tell ya Cherilee, I don't know how you do it everyday." He said as he pulled out his thermos filled with soup. "Here I thought teaching was easy."
"Lots of practice and the fact that it's my special talent helps." Isaac raised an eyebrow as she rolled up her sleeve to show three sunflowers with smiling faces on it.
"Hey, where's the restroom? Wanna wash my hands before I eat."
"Out in the hallway. Third door on the left." Isaac nodded and went off to relieve himself. The teacher was then left alone with the lavender and teal mare. "So what did you two think?"
"The lesson was certainly interesting." Twilight chimed.
"Yeah, I got some awesome notes!" Lyra chimed as she took a bite into her sandwich. Twilight spied the thermos and levitated it over to herself. "What's that?"
"Isaac's lunch." She said as she opened the lid and saw what looked like noodles floating in a brown broth. "Soup." She said as Lyra looked at it. The two looked closer when they saw a brown thing float to the top. "What's that?"
Cherilee took a spoon out and fished the object out of the broth. The teacher gave a sniff and shook her head.
"It has an interesting scent."
"Oi!" The three mares looked back towards the doorway to see the man making his way into the classroom. "Mind not dissecting my food?" He said as he sat back down and took the thermos back.
"Um what was that?" Cherilee asked as the human scooped up some noodles and shoved them in his mouth.
"Ramen noodles with some meat." Cherilee gulped. "What? I said that humans are omnivores in my lecture." He said as he swallowed.
"What kind of meat is it?" Lyra asked.
"Relax, its no one you know." The three mares went pale in the face at the words. The man almost fell out of his chair in laughter. "I'm kidding. Relax, I'd never eat a pony." The mares all let out a sigh as Twilight frowned.
"So what kind of meat is it?" Isaac thought for a moment and sighed.
"Promise you won't freak out?"
"That depends."
"Its manticore." He said as he took another bite. Lyra gave a laugh.
"Ha! You almost had me that time."
"I'm not joking."
"Oh come on." Cherilee said as she rolled her eyes. "Where would you get manticore meat?"
"From the one that I killed two days ago." Twilight's jaw dropped as she remembered the man covered in blood. "It was in self defense and leaving it there to rot just seemed like such a waste." He said as he took another bite.
"Fluttershy is going to be pissed."
"So don't tell her." He said in a flat tone.
"You killed an animal!" Cherilee yelled.
"Yeah so? The thing was gonna make Sweetie Belle and I its lunch if I didn't do something." He shrugged. "Besides, its not like manticores are an endangered species or anything." The group was cut off as Rumble came running inside.
"Um, Ms. Cherilee." The boy said with a gulp.
"Yes, Rumble? Is something wrong?"
"Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara are fighting." The adults immediately look outside to see the foals crowding around a space. The group immediately bolted up and ran outside towards the spectacle. As they drew closer, Isaac could see over the kids' heads and saw the orange and pink fillies on the ground beating each other up. On the far edge of the circle he could make out a white colt crying and Rumble trying to comfort him.
The man frowned and made his way through the crowd until he got to the fight. He reached in and yanked both fillies out of the scuffle by their tails. He set them both down and stood in between them with his arms crossed.
"What is going on here?" He yelled in a tone that could be on par with Luna's royal canterlot voice. The crowd fell silent and the man heard several of the students gulp.
"She started it!" Tiara yelled.
"No, I didn't!" Scootaloo would tackle the filly if Applebloom and Sweetie hadn't held her back. "I'm gonna kick your ass!"
"Enough! Both of you shut the hell up and sit down! If anyones going to kick anyone's ass, its going to be me!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Scootaloo immediately stopped squirming and froze on the spot. The man took a deep breath and calmed himself.
Lyra and Twilight broke up the group and led them back inside. "Sorry for the language Cherilee." He said as he wiped his forehead.
"Oh trust me I've heard far worse come from some of my students." She sighed. The mare then turned her attention to the fillies. "Meet me after class." She said in a flat tone. Cherilee walked Diamond back who stuck her tongue out at the filly.
Scootaloo growled and would have started another fight if the man hadn't put a hand on her shoulder.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said as she dusted herself off.
"Sorry for pulling your tail. Really didn't see another way for me to get in there."
"It's fine. I'm not Sweetie Belle so I don't really care." She shrugged. Isaac shrugged and walked her back inside. The rest of the day was normal. The human continued his lesson and caught the two fillies exchanging dirty looks at one another. The final bell rang and the two fillies remained as the rest went home.
Lyra and Twilight left the room with the other foals. Cherilee sat at her desk and looked at the two.
"Now what happened?" Cherilee asked.
"She started it!" Tiara yelled.
"No I didn't, she-" The orange filly was cut off as Isaac slammed his hand on the desk. The two fillies gulped.
"Shut it!" He said with daggers in his eyes. "The next one of you that talks out of turn is gonna get the belt." Both fillies sat up straight and could feel their blood run cold. Isaac pulled out a bit and placed it on his thumb.
"Scootaloo. Heads or tails?"
"Um..heads." The man flipped the coin in the air and caught it in his palm the man then placed it on the back of his left hand. He removed the hand to show Celestia's face.
"Okay, you go first." Tiara pouted. "Diamond Tiara, wait outside until Scootaloo is finished." He said as he glared at the pink filly. Tiara grunted and walked out the door. Cherilee stood guard by the door to make sure that the pink filly didn't try to run. "Now Scootaloo, in a calm way. Tell us what happened."
"Okay." The filly took a moment to gather her thoughts. "So Applebloom, Sweetie and I were having lunch with Rumble and Pipsqueak."
"Who?"
"The white earth pony colt with the brown spot on his eye." Cherilee stated.
"You mean the kid who was talking with a pirate accent?" The mare nodded. "Okay, then what?"
"We were just talking. The Diamond comes over and starts making fun of him for no reason then he started to cry." She said with a grunt.
"What kind of things was she teasing him about?"
"How his parents don't want him or some stupid made up thing like that." Isaac's jaw dropped.
"He's adopted?"
"No, but I think that Pip's mom died giving birth to him and his dad is in the royal guard." The filly scratched her scalp.
"So his dad isn't around a lot?" The filly nodded. "Don't tell me that he's living on the streets."
"No, he usually stays with Rumble and his family." Isaac gave a sigh of relief.
"Okay, so how does this all tie together?" Scootaloo sighed.
"Well, I think that his dad was supposed to be home a few weeks ago, but he didn't come." Isaac felt an old pain in his chest rising up again. "I think Pip told me he went MIA or something like that. I'm not really sure what that means."
"I see." Isaac said as he folded his hands. "So I'm guessing that's when you attacked Diamond Tiara."
"It was her fault!" She yelled. "Everypony knows how much his dad means to him and then she goes and starts saying crap-"
"Language." Cherilee stated.
"Fine, saying bad things about him! Who does that?" The filly panted and calmed down. "She doesn't have the right to talk to ponies like that."
"You're right, but that doesn't give you the right to punch your classmates." Isaac said with a sigh.
"You're siding with her?" Scootaloo yelled.
"No, I'm not deciding anything until I get the full story." He said with a sigh. "Besides, Ms.Cherilee is your teacher so its up to her."
"Your punishment will be decided tomorrow." The mare said. "Run along home and get some rest."
"Fine." She got to her feet and grabbed her bag before running out.
"What does that term mean? MIA?" Cherilee asked.
"Seriously you don't know?" Isaac said in surprise. Cherilee had a guilty smile on her face. "It means Missing In Action. It's when a soldier goes missing and a search team is mobilized to look for him." Cherilee gulped. The mare then waved Diamond Tiara in and she took a seat in front of the two.
"Now Diamond Tiara, according to Scootaloo's story you said some nasty things to Pip regarding his family." Isaac said as he adjusted his glasses. "That true?"
"So what if it is?" Isaac frowned at the filly.
"Why?"
"Why not?" Her words could give manticore venom a run for their money. "Not my fault he's such a crybaby." Than man saw no remorse or guilt in her eyes.
"That doesn't give you the right to ridicule somebody....somepony like that."
"Um why are we even having this conversation?"
"Pardon?" The human raised an eyebrow.
"I mean why should I be listening to you in class anyway?" She said as she crossed her arms. "Not like there are any other apes walking around."
"Diamond Tiara!" Cherilee yelled.
"Just stating a fact." She said as she got up. "I'm out of here." Isaac could feel his blood boiling as she closed the door behind her.
"I am so sorry about that Isaac." Cherilee said. "This isn't the first time Diamond Tiara has done something like this."
"It's fine." He said as he sighed. "I'm gonna go around and talk to the other students. See if Scootaloo's story checks out."
"I doubt it. You know how kids don't like telling on one another." She sighed.
"I can be very persuasive." He smiled. The man exited the school house and made his way towards the boutique. The man entered to see Rarity asleep at her desk with a pencil behind her ear and her glasses askew on her face. A small pool of drool was present on the desk.
Isaac grinned and gently nudged her shoulder. The mare stirred and saw the man chuckling. "You got something here." He said as he pointed to his cheek.
"Oh I'm terribly sorry dear." She said as she rubbed her cheek. "I must have dozed off. Is there something I can help you with?"
"I'm wondering if Sweetie Belle is in."
"Why?"
"There was a scuffle at the school today and I just need to get a better idea about what happened." Rarity put her hand to her mouth in surprise.
"Was Sweetie in it?"
"No, it was between Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara." Rarity's face turned sour. "I take it you know her?"
"I know of her." She grimaced. "What did she do this time?"
"Shot her mouth off and made fun of Pip."
"You mean that sweet earth pony colt with the pirate accent?" Isaac gave a nod. "I see. She's in her room." The man nodded and made his way up towards the rooms. He gave a soft knock on the far door.
"Who's there?" A familiar voice said.
"Its Isaac. Mind if I come in?" He waited for the door to open revealing the small filly.
"Hey!" She said in her usual high pitched voice.
"Hey Sweetie. Look, I talked to Scootaloo about the fight and I waned to hear what happened."
"Um. What did Scootaloo say?" She asked as she adverted her eyes.
"I'll tell you after I hear your viewpoint." He said as he crossed his arms. Sweetie hung her head and bit her lip. "Is Diamond Tiara really worth protecting?"
"No, but I don't want to get called a tattle tale." She shrugged.
"Who's gonna know?"
"Promise you won't tell anyone?" Isaac went through the Pinkie Promise gestures and smiled. "Okay." The filly then told the precise retelling of the orange filly's story.
"Figured that's what happened. Scootaloo said the same thing." He said as he scratched his chin. "Thanks for the info Sweetie. Oh and before I go, do you know where Pip lives?"
"Yeah, he usually stays with Rumble." She said as she walked over to the window. Isaac stood next to her as she pointed to a light blue house. "There it is."
"Okay. Thanks." He said with a wave. The man gave Rarity a friendly nod as he exited the boutique. Isaac walked up to the house and knocked on the front door. The wooden door swung open to reveal a dark Pegasus stallion with a white mane styled in a mohawk.
"Thunderlane?" The human had met the stallion once or twice and had heard stories from Dash.
"Sup dude?" He asked in his typical laid back attitude.
"What are you doing here?"
"Um, I live here."
"Really?" Isaac thought for a moment. "Oh, you and Rumble must be brothers."
"Bingo. So what's up?" He asked as he leaned on the door frame.
"Not sure if Rumble told you, but there was a small scuffle at school today."
"Yeah Rumble mentioned it." He said as he scratched his head. "He ain't in trouble is he?"
"No, nothing of the sort. I just want to see how Pip is doing." Thunderlane sighed.
"He's okay for the moment. Poor guy was pretty sad." He said as he bit his lip.
"Mind if I talk to him? My dad was in the military so I know what he's going through." The stallion shrugged and led him inside. Isaac spied the two colts sitting on the couch watching TV.
"Yo Rumble." Thunderlane said. The two colts looked towards the stallion and saw the man. "Mind giving me a hand with something?"
"Sure bro." The colt said as he got up and followed the larger Pegasus out of the room. Isaac scratched his head and let out a sigh.
"Look Pip, I know that we don't really know each other at all." He said as he sat down next to him. "But I know what Tiara said and I know how you feel." The colt hung his head. "I get it. My dad was in the military too."
"Did he ever not come home?" Isaac ran a hand through his brown hair and sighed.
"Yeah, once when I was fourteen. Went missing for over three months." Pip looked at him in astonishment.
"Did he come back?" Pip asked.
"Around the fifth month I'd almost given up hope. Then when I came home from school, there he was sitting in the living room." He smiled. "How long has your dad been in the guard?"
"Since before I was born."
"Right so he's got over a decade of experience under his belt." He said as he put a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever gets thrown at him, I'm sure your old man can take it."
"I know. I'm just....scared." He said in a low tone.
"That's good. It's okay to be scared sometimes." The man said with a smile. "Right now you have to be strong for your dad." Pip gave a slow and shaky nod. "Also, don't let Tiara get to you. My opinion, she's a spoiled brat that needs an attitude adjustment." The colt gave a chuckle in agreement.
Isaac got to his feet and cracked his back. "Just remember, you've got Rumble, Thunderlane, their folks and Cherilee to talk to."
"What about you?"
"I'm no psychologist, but sure if you want." The man smiled. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to get going. See you around." He said with a wave. As he exited he gave Thunderlane a friendly nod.
Isaac gave a yawn and made his way home for some well deserved rest. Isaac walked into his home and headed for his kitchen. The human took out some pasta and started boiling some water before taking out the cuts of Manticore meat. He threw them into a pot with some tomato sauce and stirred it. The man perked up when he heard a knock at his door.
The human opened the door to see the lunar Princess standing before him.
"Um, hey Luna." The man was just as surprised as he was confused. "Need something?" The Princess had a glum look on her face.
"May we come in?"
"Sure. Make yourself at home." He led her inside and returned to his cooking. "Sorry, just making myself dinner."
"It is alright." She said in a flat tone. Isaac raised an eyebrow at the Princess.
"Okay Luna, what's up? You're usually never this gloomy."
"Its sort of personal." Isaac then heard her stomach growl and saw the mare's cheeks blush.
"How about we talk over dinner? Or is it breakfast for you?" Luna gave a nod and took a seat at the round table. "I should mention that I use meat in this."
"Oh that is all right. We've had to eat meat when Tia and I visited with the Griffin King." She said as she levitated the plates, forks and knives over on the table. Isaac served them each a plate of pasta and the sauce covered meat. "Pray tell, what kind of meat is this?"
"Manticore." Luna looked at him in surprise. "I'm assuming that you know Sweetie Belle?"
"Is she not Rarity's little sister?" The man nodded. "How does she fit into this?"
"She got cornered by a manticore two days ago. I intervened and the overgrown cat and I had a little game of hide and go shoot. I killed it. Decided that it would be a shame if all that meat went to waste. Hauled it back here, skinned it, gutted it and saved what I could." He said as he took a bite.
"Interesting." She said as she took a bite and smiled. "I didn't know you were such a cook."
"I'm no Chef Boyardee, but I make due." He said as he put his fork down. "Now what did you want to talk about?" Luna sighed and looked at the human.
"We came to apologize."
"For?"
"How we won the competition between us." Isaac raised an eyebrow. "We realized that we should not have used our beauty for an advantage."
"Oh that." He said as he bit his lip.
"We hope that you are still not mad at us." She said with a guilty look on her face.
"I was a bit pissed, but its not like I've never bent the rules oncer or twice in my days." He said as he took another bite. "If you want then we could do a rematch. Just to settle things."
"It will have to be quick. I have to appear in the night court soon."
"Night court?"
"As Princess of the night it is our duty to ensure peace during the night." She said as she finished her plate of food.
"Okay so it'll be first to die loses. Sound fair?" He asked with a grin.
"Prepare to be thrashed!" She yelled as she summoned her controller. "Since the last match's outcome was due to my 'strategy' I'll over look the penalty."
"So I don't have to be your slave for two days?" He asked as he booted up the game.
"No, but if you lose this time then the rule will still apply." She grinned. Isaac booted up a game type and the two Spartans spawned with energy swords with sprint attached. The two avatars kept locking sword blow after sword blow. As Isaac's character charged, Luna's jumped and spun in the air. The blue female Spartan then used the sword to air assassinate Isaac's red Spartan.
"Victory!"
"Hacks I say!" The man grumbled. "All right Princess you beat me. What do you want?"
"We shall have to get back to you about that." She said with a grin. "We must be off."
"See ya." The alicorn then vanished in a flash of bright blue light. Isaac yawned and turned off his X-box. The human heard his phone ring and saw that Twilight was calling him. "Yeah Twilight?"
"Hey are you doing anything tomorrow?"
"Not really. Why?"
"The girls and I are going to the Crystal Empire for a few days. I figured that you'd want to see more of Equestria."
"Crystal Empire? As in it's made entirely out of crystals?"
"Yup."
"Sure. Just need to find my shades."
"Excellent! Meet us at the train by 8:00am."
"See ya then." The human hung up the phone and grabbed a duffle bag. He lazily threw some clothes in a bag and called it a night. Isaac plopped down on his bed and eventually let sleep take him.