"...Ms. Cheerilee?" Jack asked cautiously, careful not to disturb the already emotionally frazzled mare in front of him. "Do you...really care this much about me?"
Jack asked this because he was so caught off guard about how his history teacher was bawling over him like this. It was more then just feeling bad for hurting someone, it was like she hurt a family member or loved one. Before all of this, Jack thought that his and Cheerilee's relationship was strictly...professional. Teacher and student, nothing more. Sure, she was his favorite teacher, and he was the best in the class, but looking back...
She always seem to brighten up when he asked for after school help.
And she would get royally pissed if someone had even cast a displeasing glance at him.
And...and...
Oh.
'I'm such an idiot' Jack mentally groaned.
Ms. Cheerilee did not respond to Jack's question. At least, verbally. She merely nodded her head in affirmation, a few more droplets of water flying off her face. There was a steady stream of water tricking down her heavy cheeks, dripping down onto the floor forming a puddle. "...I'm so sorry..." She peeped a little above a whisper, just loud enough for Jack to hear.
"H-hey, it alright, see?" Jack lifted up his shirt to reveal his torso. "Everything is okay now. I'm fine. You're gonna be fine." True, there was not a scratch anywhere on his body to be seen. What Jack knew though was that the pain he felt was more then skin deep. The magic that Luna casted on him was taking a slow time to heal him, and although it did not hurt as much as before, it still did. A lot.
Knowing without a shadow of doubt that he had her attention, back breathed out and put a hand on Ms. Cherilee's shoulder, catching her by surprise a bit. "Look, whatever happened at the Library, whatever you or Derpy did, I forgive you."
"Wha...what?" Cheerilee asked, wiping a few tears from her face. "What are you saying?"
"Everything that you did" Jack continued. "Everything that you have done...I forgive you. It doesn't help to stay mad at people forever, does it?"
For a few moments, there was silence. Then, a slight smile started to creep up on Cheerilee's face. "...Thank you, Jack." But before Jack could respond, she got up to her feet and bolted out of the room as fast as she came in, stifling another sob along the way.
"Wait! No, Ms. Cheerilee, I-...Dammit!" Jack swore at himself. "I didn't mean...to drive her away...".
"Jack" Princess Luna injected after being so silent for so long Jack almost forgot she was even in the room. "You have NO idea how much you just helped her."
"What do you mean?" Jack said, slowly getting up back on his feet. His back ached as he used the wall to support himself up. "I said i forgave her and she ran off."
"*Sigh* During the War..." Derpy said, still struggling to roll back off of the floor. her belly was proving to be a formidable adversary, as the grey mass of fur and fat was obstructing her from getting up. "...Cheerilee was one of the 'effective' soldiers in the Royal Equestrian Army. She went on Scorched Earth missions in South America. She was in charge of 'removing' the Favelas from Rio De Janerio."
"...oh my god. That was her?" Jack gaped.
Derpy, after a few more failed attempts, finally rolled over with a grunt, her massive, billowing gut sloshing with enough forward momentum. She took a deep breath to compose herself, and continued. "She never forgave herself for what she did all those years ago. She says that she still has nightmares from that...regrettable night."
"Will she be alright?" Jack asked, concerned for his history teacher. "I mean...right now, at least?"
"Yes, she'll be fine. She just needs some time to herself. Now, if there will not be any more interruptions, i shall leave the two of you alone to better acquaint yourselves." Luna piped in, shuffling away to the exit. "...I'll check in on Cheerilee, don't worry about her. We will arrange for you to start taking the test in a few hours." And with that, she was gone, closing the door behind her shut, leaving Jack alone with Derpy.
"...Soooo." Derpy awkwardly said after a prolonged silence. The both of them were unsure of what to do. They didn't really know each other very well, and what few interaction they had was...rather physical. Thinking through her list of Ice breakers, Derpy chose a simple and safe question ask jack. "Where are you from?"
"I came from a small farming town called Warning. I lived with my mom and dad on small dairy ranch. I guess if you wanted a reference, it loos a lot like Ponyville, if Ponyville was cold, rainy, and less colorful." Jack answered.
"Funny, I can't imagine Ponyville anything then colorful and bouncy." Derpy offered. "I've always been fascinated by Human Civilization, ever since we discovered your world. Everything is so different then what i'm used to."
"I guess that's kinda like with me too." Jack leaned back on his bed, feeling slightly more comfortable with Derpy being in the room with him. "Ever since i was a little kid i wanted to see what a pony looks like. Although none of the stories could have prepared me for my first encounter."
"Let me guess, the first three words that came into your head was 'Pastel Colored Blob'?" Derpy asked with an almost sly tone. Jack looked up and saw that she was indeed smirking at him.
"Well...yeah..." Jack relented. "My parents always said that you would look more...not intimidating but, scary looking. Instead i got ponies who use their fat as lethal weapons."
"We don't use our fat as weapons Jack." Derpy crossed her arms over he saggy breasts. "Their a natural protective shielding for us against weapons such as swords and spheres."
"But not bullets?" Jack lied back on the bed, looking up at the roof of the room aimlessly. He closed his eyes and tried to rest.
Derpy grimaced as the word 'bullet' exited Jack's mouth. "No...human firearms were a new one for us. Most of them have no affect, but...that reminds me, I still have a hard time how you all got the essence of the sun without magic and put it into a bomb. I mean, seriously, Celestia couldn't even do that, ans she is the princess of the sun."
"'is'" Jack opened one eye. "You mean 'was', right?"
"Well, in a way, she still is alive, and she has rather large number of ponies following her, so yes, she technically is still the princess...just not ours." Derpy uncrossed her arms and walked over to Jack's bed, the whole room shaking as she did so. You still did not answer my question.
"Uh..." the question confused the human, why would he know how to build a nuke? "I can't actually. Most humans can't. You have to go to school for years to be able to build a bomb like that, and really, most computers are built by teams of people."
"Really?" Derpy asked in a shocked voice. "...what about cars?"
"Um, no. Most cars are built by machines. Why is it you think I can make cars. I'm not an engineer."
"But, I thought all humans built stuff!" the grey pony said in a confused voice. "We kept seeing pictures of human cities and all the machines you use. I though that humans made their own machines."
"No, only certain humans build machines. Some people design them. Most people aren't involved in manufacturing at all. My whole country's economy is still based around agriculture" It was odd, being typecast as a computer engineer by a pony. He didn't know what he was expecting to find at the secret underground bunker of Princess Luna's...whatever it was, but he knew it wasn't this. He was expecting contempt and suspicion, not fascination and an assumption that he built machines.
"I'm actually studying at the University on how to make a computer. I've been enamored with them since we got here."
"Really?" Jack asked. He could not picture Derpy g anything but...Derpy. A computer engineer was well suited for a serious, focused individual who could see straight. Of course, he just found out that Derpy can form syllables with no trouble at all, so maybe he was wrong.
Jack asked this because he was so caught off guard about how his history teacher was bawling over him like this. It was more then just feeling bad for hurting someone, it was like she hurt a family member or loved one. Before all of this, Jack thought that his and Cheerilee's relationship was strictly...professional. Teacher and student, nothing more. Sure, she was his favorite teacher, and he was the best in the class, but looking back...
She always seem to brighten up when he asked for after school help.
And she would get royally pissed if someone had even cast a displeasing glance at him.
And...and...
Oh.
'I'm such an idiot' Jack mentally groaned.
Ms. Cheerilee did not respond to Jack's question. At least, verbally. She merely nodded her head in affirmation, a few more droplets of water flying off her face. There was a steady stream of water tricking down her heavy cheeks, dripping down onto the floor forming a puddle. "...I'm so sorry..." She peeped a little above a whisper, just loud enough for Jack to hear.
"H-hey, it alright, see?" Jack lifted up his shirt to reveal his torso. "Everything is okay now. I'm fine. You're gonna be fine." True, there was not a scratch anywhere on his body to be seen. What Jack knew though was that the pain he felt was more then skin deep. The magic that Luna casted on him was taking a slow time to heal him, and although it did not hurt as much as before, it still did. A lot.
Knowing without a shadow of doubt that he had her attention, back breathed out and put a hand on Ms. Cherilee's shoulder, catching her by surprise a bit. "Look, whatever happened at the Library, whatever you or Derpy did, I forgive you."
"Wha...what?" Cheerilee asked, wiping a few tears from her face. "What are you saying?"
"Everything that you did" Jack continued. "Everything that you have done...I forgive you. It doesn't help to stay mad at people forever, does it?"
For a few moments, there was silence. Then, a slight smile started to creep up on Cheerilee's face. "...Thank you, Jack." But before Jack could respond, she got up to her feet and bolted out of the room as fast as she came in, stifling another sob along the way.
"Wait! No, Ms. Cheerilee, I-...Dammit!" Jack swore at himself. "I didn't mean...to drive her away...".
"Jack" Princess Luna injected after being so silent for so long Jack almost forgot she was even in the room. "You have NO idea how much you just helped her."
"What do you mean?" Jack said, slowly getting up back on his feet. His back ached as he used the wall to support himself up. "I said i forgave her and she ran off."
"*Sigh* During the War..." Derpy said, still struggling to roll back off of the floor. her belly was proving to be a formidable adversary, as the grey mass of fur and fat was obstructing her from getting up. "...Cheerilee was one of the 'effective' soldiers in the Royal Equestrian Army. She went on Scorched Earth missions in South America. She was in charge of 'removing' the Favelas from Rio De Janerio."
"...oh my god. That was her?" Jack gaped.
Derpy, after a few more failed attempts, finally rolled over with a grunt, her massive, billowing gut sloshing with enough forward momentum. She took a deep breath to compose herself, and continued. "She never forgave herself for what she did all those years ago. She says that she still has nightmares from that...regrettable night."
"Will she be alright?" Jack asked, concerned for his history teacher. "I mean...right now, at least?"
"Yes, she'll be fine. She just needs some time to herself. Now, if there will not be any more interruptions, i shall leave the two of you alone to better acquaint yourselves." Luna piped in, shuffling away to the exit. "...I'll check in on Cheerilee, don't worry about her. We will arrange for you to start taking the test in a few hours." And with that, she was gone, closing the door behind her shut, leaving Jack alone with Derpy.
"...Soooo." Derpy awkwardly said after a prolonged silence. The both of them were unsure of what to do. They didn't really know each other very well, and what few interaction they had was...rather physical. Thinking through her list of Ice breakers, Derpy chose a simple and safe question ask jack. "Where are you from?"
"I came from a small farming town called Warning. I lived with my mom and dad on small dairy ranch. I guess if you wanted a reference, it loos a lot like Ponyville, if Ponyville was cold, rainy, and less colorful." Jack answered.
"Funny, I can't imagine Ponyville anything then colorful and bouncy." Derpy offered. "I've always been fascinated by Human Civilization, ever since we discovered your world. Everything is so different then what i'm used to."
"I guess that's kinda like with me too." Jack leaned back on his bed, feeling slightly more comfortable with Derpy being in the room with him. "Ever since i was a little kid i wanted to see what a pony looks like. Although none of the stories could have prepared me for my first encounter."
"Let me guess, the first three words that came into your head was 'Pastel Colored Blob'?" Derpy asked with an almost sly tone. Jack looked up and saw that she was indeed smirking at him.
"Well...yeah..." Jack relented. "My parents always said that you would look more...not intimidating but, scary looking. Instead i got ponies who use their fat as lethal weapons."
"We don't use our fat as weapons Jack." Derpy crossed her arms over he saggy breasts. "Their a natural protective shielding for us against weapons such as swords and spheres."
"But not bullets?" Jack lied back on the bed, looking up at the roof of the room aimlessly. He closed his eyes and tried to rest.
Derpy grimaced as the word 'bullet' exited Jack's mouth. "No...human firearms were a new one for us. Most of them have no affect, but...that reminds me, I still have a hard time how you all got the essence of the sun without magic and put it into a bomb. I mean, seriously, Celestia couldn't even do that, ans she is the princess of the sun."
"'is'" Jack opened one eye. "You mean 'was', right?"
"Well, in a way, she still is alive, and she has rather large number of ponies following her, so yes, she technically is still the princess...just not ours." Derpy uncrossed her arms and walked over to Jack's bed, the whole room shaking as she did so. You still did not answer my question.
"Uh..." the question confused the human, why would he know how to build a nuke? "I can't actually. Most humans can't. You have to go to school for years to be able to build a bomb like that, and really, most computers are built by teams of people."
"Really?" Derpy asked in a shocked voice. "...what about cars?"
"Um, no. Most cars are built by machines. Why is it you think I can make cars. I'm not an engineer."
"But, I thought all humans built stuff!" the grey pony said in a confused voice. "We kept seeing pictures of human cities and all the machines you use. I though that humans made their own machines."
"No, only certain humans build machines. Some people design them. Most people aren't involved in manufacturing at all. My whole country's economy is still based around agriculture" It was odd, being typecast as a computer engineer by a pony. He didn't know what he was expecting to find at the secret underground bunker of Princess Luna's...whatever it was, but he knew it wasn't this. He was expecting contempt and suspicion, not fascination and an assumption that he built machines.
"I'm actually studying at the University on how to make a computer. I've been enamored with them since we got here."
"Really?" Jack asked. He could not picture Derpy g anything but...Derpy. A computer engineer was well suited for a serious, focused individual who could see straight. Of course, he just found out that Derpy can form syllables with no trouble at all, so maybe he was wrong.
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April 19
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