//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Memories // Story: Summer break, with much at stake. // by My little pedagogue //------------------------------// My journey home was uneventful. A quick glance at the clock confirmed I’m home far earlier than usual. Time to get me a much needed powernap, and then line my stomach in anticipation of the inevitable Sharon-induced booze-onslaught. Changing out of my suit brought about an immensely satisfying sense of catharsis. I won’t have to wear the damn thing for another couple of months! I understood the argument for teachers needing to be well dressed. A standardised suit and tie for all not only built up the idea of staff as authority figures, it also made you harder to place into a clique, and therefore it was much more difficult for children to formulate judgements or preconceptions of their teacher. The unknown can be intimidating, and it makes pupils less likely to press their luck if they think they’ve found a soft target. That didn’t stop me from hating to wear a suit any less. I looked absolutely ridiculous suited and booted. Thick shoulder length hair was not a professional look whichever way you cut it. I could teach just as well in a pair of jeans and an AC/DC shirt. After hanging up my suit and writing a post-it note on my desk to get it dry-cleaned, I climbed into bed for a couple hours of shuteye. Sleep took me almost immediately, in spite of my caffeine laced body. ***** It had been becoming more frequent… more vivid… like most dreams, I would forget the events upon waking, but not after the events of today… this time, it was truly terrifying... and this time, I wouldn’t forget… I scanned the classroom for an exit route. What the buck for? I knew this room inside out, there was no way out, and he knew exactly where we were. All I could do was buy time, sell my life for a head start, however paltry… it was all I could do. “Celestia please let it be enough!” I silently begged, knowing she couldn’t hear me. The elements of harmony had been defeated months ago. He’d gone for them straight after Celestia. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had been spared for now, and of course, wherever they went, Scootaloo would follow. It would have been flattering that they’d turned to me for protection if not for the crushing responsibility of their stewardship. That responsibility, combined with the knowledge that I was utterly powerless against him was too much for me to bear. I would buy whatever time I could, and my obligations would end with my life… The utter selfishness of that thought made me sick to my stomach. Was it okay to die and fail them? No. That was unacceptable. Failure was not an option. I would die, but those fillies were going to be safe because of it. I turned from the abominable silhouette in the doorway to my wards. I hold back my tears and force a smile “Ok everyone, today’s the day you all earn your cutie marks! You’re going to be escape artists!” Sweetie belle is still transfixed by his agonisingly slow approach. I move to block her line of sight, straining to maintain my mask of calm. “Miss Cheerilee? Don’t we need a straitjacket or a shark tank for that?” oh buck, that’s adorable. “Nothing so fancy Sweetie, when I say so, I just need you three to run as fast as you can to your clubhouse when I give the word, ok?” the three fillies had been passing the time laying low in my classroom by telling me about their clubhouse, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. With a little luck, they might be safer on the outskirts of Ponyville… it’s a long shot, but I don’t have much else to work with. Scootaloo brightens up “I can do fast!” her wings flutter ineffectually. Any further conversation is cut short by the sound of a gnarled talon digging into my door frame. “Ok. Stay brave for me, close your eyes, and run when I say so…” All three fillies open their mouths to voice their objections, but are silenced before they can make a sound from a glower of mine that allows no room for negotiation… Fluttershy could learn a thing or two from me. I turn to the doorway. “…Discord. What could you possibly want with us?” My words dripped venom, but of course, it was all an act. In reality my question was a plea, an appeal to remind him that I was no threat to him, that we were no threat to him, and we both knew it. The act of false bravado was simply to reassure the three fillies cowering in my shadow. The chimeric horror in the doorway leaned nonchalantly against the frame, regarding his talon after extracting it from the woodwork. “Oh, just a social call to express my gratitude. It was you and those three foals that sprung me from my original prison after all” his eyes were cold and predatory, he knew full well how much that sentence stung. “I owe you an awful lot…” “Don’t you bucking dare put that on them!” I growled, pawing the ground. I had never wanted to harm another sentient as much as I did right now. My mask was quickly crumbling away in place of genuine rage. “Language, Missy!” discord delivers the line in a perfect replication of my own voice, and the sheer absurdity and unexpectedness of that development stops me dead for a moment. “I think you need a long time-out to think about how to properly speak in front of impressionable little fillies” his tone is mocking, but there is genuine threat in his delivery too… he’s not going to waste any time with small talk. This realisation forces me into action. I charge my tormentor to open an exit. Discord arches an eyebrow in amusement… the eyebrow leaves his face entirely as he vanishes moments before my blow can connect. The sudden absence of an anticipated impact sends me face first into the dirt outside the school entrance. The doorway is clear. “Run! Now!” I scramble to my feet and charge again with identical results… it doesn’t matter, the longer he toys with me, the more time I’ve bought. I regain my footing and repeat the process. Slowing my pace to try a more controlled strike with my hind legs rather than simply barrelling through an incorporeal foe. My hooves find nothing but empty space again, but it doesn’t matter. I spotted the cutie mark crusaders making good their exit, and disappearing into the undergrowth. Good, they’re stating off the roads. The next few moments however, were going to squash any optimism I was nurturing. I felt a vicelike talon close around my right hind leg before I could retract it from my blow. I was wrenched from the ground and swung in a wide arc. This would feel fun if it weren’t for the knowledge of who was holding my leg. The grip disappeared, and for the shortest moment I was able to enjoy the feeling of weightlessness and the rush of the wind. And then came the inevitable impact. I collided with the front of the schoolhouse on my right side with a nauseating crunch. There was definitely lasting damage done. I could feel both debilitating pain and numbness down my right flank… I think I dislocated my hip. I attempted to breathe in, but a burning pain lanced across my chest from the right. Broken ribs then, let’s hope I haven’t punctured a lung… I turned my gaze up to the approaching Draconequus, but my vision was obscured, I had lost all depth perception. My right eyelid had swollen shut… or at least I hope so, please let it just be the eyelid, not the eyeball itself. “My, what a mess!” Discord loomed over me, seemingly happy to just drink in my impotent attempts to stand for the moment… Just give him what he wants. The longer you indulge his sadism, the longer Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo have to make it to safety. With that in mind, I made a request that I knew would be denied “Just end it already you freak!” I spat the words out, and convulsed in pain. My sentence collapsing into a reflexive coughing fit, which served only to exacerbate the condition of my ribs. As the coughing subsided, my breathing slowed to a rattling inhalation, frothy blood running from the corner of my mouth. I continued at barely above a whisper. Unsure if I was still delivering an act or a genuine plea now. “Please… just… please… I can’t…” “Oh, end it? There’s no fun in that” discord leered, as he leaned in to my face, I could feel the heat of his breath now. “Death is final, static, unmoving… death is boring… I want to be able to have my fun with you ponies again… and again… and again.” Discord straightens and turns in the direction of Ponyville. Glancing over his shoulder, he leaves me with one final terrifying statement. “You’ll be able to take comfort in that, right? Those three fillies of yours will be kept quite alive when I find them.” With that, my vision fades to white. ***** I was brought back to consciousness by the insistent tone of my alarm. The clock read 19:12. *beep*beep*beep*beep*beep*beep* “Ugh! Do shut up!” I slammed the snooze button, and climbed out of bed. How did I sleep through twelve minutes of that alarm? My bed sheets were drenched in sweat. I would need to hurry if I’m going to shower, change, and meet Sharon on time… it’s not like I can drive into town with the evening she’s got planned. No, I was going to have to catch a bus. I grabbed a towel hung on my door as I made my way to the bathroom. Letting the shower run to warm slightly as I strip down. A quick ‘stick your hand in it’ test reveals the water isn’t warm yet, so I make my way over to the scales. 67kg, not bad at all! Kinda feels like cheating when there’s no heavy clothes to add on… Wait… “What the fuck?” I stepped off the scales and twist to inspect my right butt cheek. Someone’s put a tattoo of three flowers on there! When? How? There’s no discomfort or discharge to indicate a recently inked tattoo… I scratched at it to confirm it wasn’t a transfer. “Nope, that’s my skin.” Where did I put the mirror? I can’t get a proper look at “oh, Fuck’s sake!” the same damn mark was on the side of my left butt cheek too! I make a note to look for a list of chemicals that can stain skin white or yellow… that might be how someone got it to work... Yeah, staining chemicals and a stencil, so it’ll come off when I shed dead skin. I attempt to reassure myself, but I’m aware that this explanation still doesn’t fit. “There’s been no window of opportunity for anypony to put anything this neat and detailed on my butt of all places… Both sides of my butt no less.” I really don’t have time for this right now, so I retreat to the shower and wash myself as quickly as I can manage. I usually take my time in the shower, but I’m too eager to get ‘the tattoos’ covered up as soon as possible. I was in, out, and towelling myself dry in record time. “Ok Brain, this is a pretty weird development… suggestions?” Do what you always do when you come across something you can’t explain. Formulate a null hypothesis, and stick with that until it’s been disproved. “… A wizard did it?” No you pillock! The standard null hypothesis is that you’re tripping balls from lack of sleep! “Oh, of course! Thanks brain!” Happy to help, now get some clothes on, you look ridiculous! The irony of being told by the voice in my head that I’m ‘tripping balls’ is not lost on me, but it’s a welcome distraction from the daisy-butt development. I picked out a pair of jeans, but they felt a little loose on me… “Note to self, Sharon is right. Eat more.” This is my favourite pair of jeans, they should fit like a glove! Oh well, a belt will fix that. I tug on a shirt with a stylised red and blue portrait of Charles Darwin printed on the front and throw on an unbuttoned flannel shirt over the top. “Looking good!” I realised at this point, that my chances of getting lucky tonight were effectively zero. There was no way I’d even consider climbing into bed with anyone so long as I had these new booty adornments. Oh well, let’s see… wallet, keys, phone, all good! Out the door! Actually, I forgot to grab some food, but I’m out of time… and there was that odd dream… scary as hell, and the pain felt so real… Tripping balls, Remember? Oh yeah! Thanks brain!