//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: Ghost vs. The Equestrian Educational System 
// by Jman9877 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 4





3rd Person POV



Cheerilee had Ghost and Applebloom go to the side room, which was pretty much a larger than average broom closet. It was big enough for a desk and 2 chairs, and to Ghost that was perfect. He took a seat, followed by Applebloom who sat across from him. "Alright... we have to carefully open the frogs abdomen and observe and record what we find." Ghost recited, reading the assignment instructions given to him by Cheerilee. "Sounds easy enough. Ready Applebloom?"



She nodded her head, looking down at the preserved frog on the desk. "So... where do we start?" She asked slowly, Ghost noticing the slight shaky tone of her voice. 



"With a light horizontal incision on the neck. You... maybe wanna do the honors?" Ghost offered, holding out the small scalpel with his magic. Applebloom eyed the tool warily, not sure if she really wanted to use it. Ghost saw that she was debating whether or not to use it, so he just took it back. "It's alright. Baby steps."



Applebloom smiled and sighed, not excited to use something like that yet. Ghost took the scalpel and made the first small cut, letting Applebloom see what he did.




Ghost POV



"And... that should do it!" I exclaimed, placing the last of the small organs onto the table. "You write everything down Applebloom?" I looked over at her and saw that she looked a bit pale, but nodded her head. 



"Y-Yup! Got it!" She stammered, still a bit uncomfortable at the sight of the frog we disemboweled in the name of science. "Umm... can we.. can we stop now?"



I looked over what we wrote, and saw that we had recorded all of our findings like Ms. Cheerilee asked, so I didn't see any harm in stopping. "I guess we can. Just give me a sec." I asked, picking up everything on the table and and placing all of it into small disposable bags. Once all of the frog parts were disposed off, Applebloom let out a heavy sigh. "You know, you could have asked me to stop at any time right? You didn't have to sit through all of that if you didn't feel comfortable."



"Ah know... ah just don't wanna act like a foal about this. Ah mean... when we were in the mountain, you were so... what's the word? Ah wanna say brave, but that doesn't even come close to the right word. Ah jus' feel like ah'm-"



I put a hoof up to Applebloom's mouth, causing her to blush at the sudden contact. It made me smile to know that she was trying to be strong for me, but I had to explain something. "Applebloom, ponies take different experiences in different ways. Do you wanna know the truth about 64 and I?" Applebloom nodded at me. "We both used to be really scared of blood too."



Her eyes widened, as if she didn't believe me. "But, ah thought that... But ya didn't..." She continued to stammer, until she just stared. "But ya didn't act scared in the cave. Even when that guard was beatin' ta near death!" 



"Well... that's not entirely true. I was really scared for you..."



Applebloom blushed and looked away, an embarrassed smile on her face. "Shoot, yer jus' makin' me feel even worse. Now ah know you were worryin' about me."



"Are you two done in there? The dismissal bell is about to ring!" Ms. Cheerilee called out, peeking her head into the room. I levitated the contents of the bags to her. 



"Right here Ms. Cheerilee! Got it all put together!" I answered, reverting into a 'childlike' tone of voice. She laughed at my demeanor, taking the bags in her hoof. 



"Well get back to your seats so I can give the homework assignments, then you'll all be free to go."



Applebloom and I quickly exited the side room and got to our seats, everypony in the class giving us strange glances. Once I sat down, I could feel Diamond Tiara's eyes burning into the side of my head. "I wonder why this one gets special treatment..." She muttered, just loud enough for me to hear. 



"I don't think you want to know..." I whispered back, making sure to return her stare with an even more aggressive glare. She recoiled at my look, not expecting me to respond. "Just listen to Cheerilee, if you have something to say, say it after class."



With that, I focused on what Ms Cheerilee was saying. I was barely able to pick up something about a 'Sisterhooves Social' so I would need to ask Applebloom about that later. A few seconds after that, a bell rang out, and many of the children began to pack up.



"Alright my little ponies! I'll see you tomorrow morning!" Cheerilee called out, as the class nearly completely emptied out. Applebloom was still in the room, along with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "Excuse us girls, I need to have a word with Ghost."



"Is he in trouble?" Scootaloo asked. "I swear he wasn't the one who put the whoopie cushion on your seat when you were helping Snips and Snails!" 



"Um... no, he's not in trouble. I just want to ask him how his first day went." Cheerilee specified. I gave Applebloom a sorry look as she walked out of the Schoolhouse, probably to wait outside for me. "Well? How did you like Public School?"



I tugged at the bowtie Applebloom gave me. "It was nice, a bit boring though. I wasn't expecting anything extravagant, but I guess I got overexcited about what might happen. Still pretty cool to cut open that frog though!"



"And, how did Applebloom react to that? Any problems?" 



I sighed a bit. "She feels weak, like she can't take care of herself. I tried to explain that not everypony can be strong, but she didn't really seem to take it well." I looked up at Cheerilee. "The truth is, I was in Smokey Mountain with Applebloom."



Cheerilee's eyes widened, surprised at my admission. "No kidding?"



I shook my head. "I helped her escape. That's the reason I was assigned to watch over her in Ponyville. Whenever she has a 'breakdown', her mind defaults to whatever made her feel the safest in that situation. As fate would have it... that was apparently me." I explained. Cheerilee took a few moments to let that all sink in.



"Wow... that's really something Ghost... You really are years beyond your age. Wait... how old are you anyways?" She asked, as I felt myself freeze up. I honestly didn't know, but 64 always told me that it didn't matter.



"Your ability to shape-shift can make you any age you want. If you want to be 5, go for it. You wanna be 50? Go for it. Just remember that it's not about how old the fighter is, it's about how much experience he has."



"I'm... 13. Yeah, 13." I answered, just giving her Applebloom's age.



"That is really amazing Ghost. I can't imagine how fast you've had to grow up with a job like that... Well, don't let me keep you waiting. You have a job to do don't you?" She said cheekily, motioning towards the door. I grinned and rushed outside.