//------------------------------//
// The Human 
// Story: It Can't Be Taught 
// by RunicTreetops 
//------------------------------//

"Goodbye, everypony! And remember to have your reports finished by Monday!"

Cheerilee calls out to her students as they flood out of the door to the schoolhouse, each and every one excited to go home for the weekend. Despite her irritable mood, the tired teacher just smiles and waves as the last few students exit the room. However, shortly after the final student closes the door, she hears a few shrieks coming from just outside. Suddenly at full attention, she jumps to her hooves and throws the door open, ready and willing to do whatever she needs to do to keep those children safe.

What she sees doesn't exactly catch her off guard, but it is a relief. The children are perfectly safe. The shrieks were apparently made out of excitement, as she sees about seven students crowding around two figures. The first figure is Twilight Sparkle, though the students seem to be ignoring her. Instead, their attention is focused entirely on the creature standing next to her. One look is all it takes for Cheerilee to identify the creature as the alien that she is supposed to be mentoring. There was a picture of him in the paper a few days ago, but she didn't expect him to be so tall.

Easily over six feet tall, the creature is a bit hard to ignore. He has no coat, nor does he have a tail. However, he does have a head covered in dark, messy hair. On top of that, he appears to be growing a bit of a beard, though whether that is by choice or due to not having a chance to shave since arriving in Equestria is up in the air. His features appear somewhat hardened, but the most notable part of his face is the way his eyes take everything in. They seem sharp, and for all intents and purposes, they are the eyes of a creature carefully considering everything he sees and hears. All in all, if she were to go off of looks alone, Cheerilee would describe him as rough and imposing. 

His clothes, however, don't quite match that description. He appears to be wearing a very nice suit and tie. The craftsmanship on said suit is immaculate, and it looks as though it was made to compliment his features perfectly. Cheerilee isn't exactly a fashion expert, but even she can tell that this alien's suit was carefully crafted by Rarity, Ponyville's premier fashion designer.

The human has a smile on his face as he kneels down to greet the children. Admittedly, this puts Cheerilee on edge at first, but she breathes a sigh of relief as she sees him start to answer their questions with laughter in his voice. Between that and Twilight's apparent lack of worry, she figures that it's probably okay. As she comes to that conclusion, Twilight looks up from the small crowd and notices Cheerilee in the doorway, giving her a happy wave after she does so. 

"Alright everypony, we have some important stuff we need to do. Be safe getting home, okay?"

Cheerilee smirks to herself. Twilight might say otherwise, but she's a natural at teaching. The children listen to her without arguing, and a few moments later, the crowd has dispersed. Twilight and her companion glance at each other before finally approaching the school house. Twilight happily trots up to Cheerilee, but the teacher's attention is directed towards the new guy in town. She watches him lag behind a little bit, a noticeable hesitation in his slow gait. He stares at the schoolhouse with a scowl on his face, but his expression softens as he catches up to the two mares.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Cheerilee! This," Twilight says as she motions towards her companion, "is Anon. As I stated yesterday, he's a human from... somewhere far away, it seems."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Cheerilee."

The human kneels down a bit and holds out a hand towards his new mentor, a gentle smile on his face that doesn't quite reach his eyes. With the slightest bit of hesitation, Cheerilee shakes his hand. For a moment, she starts to think to herself. Why is she hesitating? He's shown that he's quite polite, and he can be good with kids, too. What reason does she have to distrust this "human?"

"It's nice to make your acquaintance as well, Mr. Anon. I've been told that I am to be your mentor starting today?"

"That's what Twilight told me."

Anon stops kneeling down, and Cheerilee can't help but notice how imposing his presence is when he is standing straight up. She has to crane her neck quite a bit to look him in his piercing eyes.

"Anon, Ms. Cheerilee is an incredible teacher. You'd do well to listen to her!"

"Thank you for the opportunity to learn." Anon glances between Twilight and Cheerilee. "Both of you."

"Oh, it's really no big deal," Cheerilee says with a forced smile. "I'm always happy to help others learn, no matter who they are!"

"Thanks again for this, Ms. Cheerilee. I really owe you one!" Twilight turns back to Anon with a smile on her face. "I'm going to get back to looking into that lead I found. You know the way back to the library, right?"

"I do."

"Great. I'll see you tonight." With a smile and wave, Twilight begins to trot away. "Goodbye, Ms. Cheerilee!"

"Bye, Twilight!" Once Twilight is sufficiently far away, Cheerilee turns back to Anon, still forcing a smile as she does so. "Please, come in!"

"Hm."

Anon's only response is a slight grunt as he slinks into the schoolhouse. Is it just Cheerilee, or did his demeanor suddenly shift? She closes the door behind them as they enter the one-room schoolhouse. Anon stops in place and takes a moment to look around. The look on his face isn't pleasant.

"Well, feel free to take a seat wherever you like!" Anon glances down at the desks, which barely even reach up to his knees, before looking back at Cheerilee with an unimpressed, somewhat angry expression. "Ah. R-right. Hold on, I think I have a larger chair in the corner over here..."

Before Cheerilee can even begin to make her way towards said chair, Anon has already reached it, grabbed it, and sat down in it, being sure to place it mere feet away from Cheerilee's desk. He looks at her with disdain, and when he speaks, his voice is much more gruff than it was mere moments ago.

"Is this the part where you teach me whatever dumb kiddie shit Twilight told you to cover?"

"I... excuse me?!" 

Cheerilee is appalled. Not only is this a complete 180 from how he was just acting, but in all of her years of teaching, she has never been spoken to like that! Not even the rowdiest of students would dare!

"Let me make something clear for you right now." Anon leans forward, his sharp eyes staring daggers into her. "I don't want to be in Equestria. I don't want to learn how Equestria does things. I don't want to be stuck in some little red schoolhouse with a horse that plans to treat me like a baby." Without taking his eyes off of her, Anon reaches into his back pocket and produces a small notebook and a worn-out pencil. "So why don't we get this over with as soon as possible, hm?"

A million thoughts shoot through Cheerilee's mind at once. She feels her eye twitch as she desperately tries to hold on to her last nerve.

So, even after everything she has gone through, not even the alien wants to be here, huh?

She returns Anon's determined stare with an exhausted, dead-inside stare of her own. She reminds herself that she desperately wants... no, needs the money. It's true that this isn't going to be fun. It's true that this is going to take up most of what little free time she had left, and it's true that she really wishes she were anywhere but here right now. And yet... she doesn't really have much of a choice. Just like every other day of her life.

Letting out a sigh, she finally responds to the errant human.

"Just watch the profanity."

"You're not my mom."

"But I am your teacher. And I will be reporting your progress to Twilight."

She was taking a shot in the dark when she said that, but it seems like she hit her target regardless. It's slight, but Anon's determined stare wavers ever-so-slightly when Twilight is mentioned, piquing her curiosity. What kind of influence does Twilight have on Anon, and why?

"...Fine. Just start teaching already."

Cheerilee holds the stare for a moment more before turning away from Anon and beginning to write on the board behind her.

"I'm assuming we don't need to cover reading or writing?"

"Nope, they're the same where I'm from."

"Good, then we're going to start with the most basic of basics concerning how Equestria works by discussing the three ponykinds, starting with earth ponies."

Cheerilee draws a crude outline of an earth pony and begins to describe their role in Equestria. They have physically sturdy bodies and often find themselves caring for the land more than their flying or magical kin. When she finishes describing how earth ponies function, she turns back to face Anon, who appears to be looking in a random direction with a bored expression on his face.

Of course he is.

"Are you paying attention?"

"Eeyup. Earth ponies are farmers, or whatever."

"...Fine."

Choosing to swallow her pride, she continues her lecture. As she speaks, she notices that Anon seems to be losing interest more and more. He never quite falls asleep, but it's very clear that he is bored out of his mind and not paying attention whatsoever. For a moment, she considers exploding on him. After all, if he's an adult, he should be able to take it, right? She doesn't have to hold back on him, right?

...No. No, that's not who she is. No matter how angry she gets, or how much this job frustrates her, Cheerilee will always try to be the best teacher she can be. She will do her utmost to help every student, no matter who they are.

Doing her best to keep her composure, she finishes discussing the ponykinds and transitions into the tale of the first Hearth's Warming, emphasizing the importance of unity between the ponykinds and how the traits that make them unique allow Equestria to thrive. Finally done speaking, she turns to look at Anon once again, who is resting his head in his hands and yawning.

"Did you get all of that?"

"Mmhmm." His voice is unenthusiastic, and he sounds barely conscious.

Cheerilee glances out of a nearby window. The sun has set, and the moon is beginning to rise into the sky.

"Well, that was all I had prepared for today. We'll meet back up again tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is Saturday."

"I am aware. Twilight informed me that this is an every day type of deal."

Anon groans.

"I don't want to do this every damn day."

"Language. And trust me, Anon, neither do I."

She winces, realizing that she's letting her frustration leak out a little bit.

"...Whatever."

Anon rises from his seat and makes no effort to put it away before making his way to the door. He doesn't say another word and throws the door open, disappearing into the darkness and leaving the tired teacher alone yet again. Once the door shuts behind him, Cheerilee immediately lets out a yell of frustration and slams her head onto her desk.

It doesn't matter who the student is. It doesn't matter who the one asking her to teach is. It doesn't matter what she's teaching. It doesn't matter how much effort she puts in. It doesn't matter that nopony knows what she goes through every single day just trying to survive, and it doesn't matter that there is now a literal alien involved in those everyday affairs.

In the end, it's just more of the same.