//------------------------------// // Schooling // Story: Back To The Past // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// The wind whipped through the branches of the trees, yet its whistle was drowned out by the laughing of three fillies who raced along a pathway. The three best friends each had a saddle bag on their backs, filled with books, quills and other materials that were needed for class. In their excited state they did their best to ignore the samurai that followed after them from not too far away, making sure that they arrived at their school without taking any "detours". "It is useless to try and escape me. The three of you should accept your punishment that your sisters bestowed upon you," Jack scolded them when he saw one of them start to sneak off to the side. Their faces flashed with guilt for only a second before they went back to their conversations. "Ah know Jack, but it's just that this grounding's so much longer than any of our other ones," Applebloom whined slightly as she hung her head. Jack felt his stern face break down slightly, not wishing to see such looks on such young ponies. He had seen far too many faces like hers. "Well, your grounding will come to an end eventually. How long are you ground for?" Jack asked, trying to be positive. "Till the end of time." "Oh." "Yeah, Applejack was really mad at us," Sweetie chimed in with a small whistle. "I don't think I've ever seen her that mad. Even Rarity and Rainbow Dash seemed afraid of her when she scolded us. I know that we were wrong for "borrowing" your sword, but she didn't need to go off on us like that. We could always get you another one." Jack frowned at Sweetie Belle's words, confirming his thoughts that Applejack hadn't told her family about his quest or why his sword was so important to him. He decided that he would speak with her later to see if she would be alright with them knowing. Young as they were, Jack knew that the fillies would understand the importance of his quest. "Personally, I think the reason she got so mad at us was because it was Jack that we were messing with," Scootaloo said with a coy smile, one that grabbed the attention of both her friends...and the samurai. "What are ya implying?" AB probed with narrowed eyes. "Haven't you two seen it? How when she was scolding us she always mentioned Jack, not the sword. Then there's the way she always seems to be staring at him, not to mention he saved her life more than once. And he's pretty handsome to boot," Scootaloo presented with a smile that had gone from coy to wicked. "I'm telling you AB, your sister has a crush on the samurai. Now the question is, is that feeling mutual?" Jack felt all three sets of eyes whip over in his direction, yet to their amusement the samurai suddenly became very fascinated in the clouds that were floating overhead. He had been staring at the sky with such intensity that he had barely noticed that the three fillies had come to a stop until he had almost run them over. With a start he looked down at the three, finding all of them to be staring up at him with the same smile. "What?" he asked. "So, what is it Jack? Do ya like my sister?" Applebloom asked with a raised eyebrow. "Of course I like her. She is a noble comrade that I-" "Nice try Jack, but you know what we're asking," Scootaloo cut him off, getting a sigh out of the samurai as he turned his attention back to the clouds. Yet his mind was thousands of years in the past. "I...do not think about finding love. Not anymore," Jack finally admitted to the three, turning their smug smiles into looks of confusion. "My quest, the whole reason I am here, is everything to me and I must focus on it with all of my might. I do not have the luxury to think of a happy ending for myself...or the pain I would cause that person if I were to fall in battle. So to answer your question...no, I do not...cannot love your sister. But I do respect and admire her greatly," Jack added with a smile as he walked past the three. "For dealing with the three of you must take far more patience than I could ever muster." The three watched as the samurai walked by them before they formed a huddle, each of them giving each other the same look. "Okay, he's obviously lying," Applebloom said, the other two nodding in agreement with her. "Ah'm mean, nopony could get to know mah sister without falling fer her." "So what do we do then?" Sweetie asked. "The last time we thought we knew two ponies were supposed to be together we destroyed the town." "What's the worse that could happen to us? We're already grounded to the end of time," Scootaloo pointed out. "I say we do our best! And even if we mess up, we can get back at your sister a bit for overreacting." "What are you three planning? We are almost at your school!" Jack found it eerie just how quickly the three separated with the same smile on each of their faces, glaring at them with unsure eyes as they walked by him. He then glared at the area behind them to make sure there was no evil force before he followed after them. The school house came into view after another few minutes of walking, causing a smile to creep across Jack's face as he saw the charming red building into which numerous foals were all walking. From the golden bell to the horseshoe over the front door, everything about the small schoolhouse pleased Jack. The three fillies let out a group laugh before they raced ahead, waving to a mare with flowers on her flank before rushing inside. The mare yelled at them not to run in the school before she let out a sigh and looked back at the school yard...and right at Jack. "Greetings," Jack politely addressed the mare as he bowed to her. She was left somewhat speechless at the pony carrying a sword. When Jack saw where her eyes were glancing, he realized that he needed to explain. "Do not worry, I mean no harm. I am here because Applejack instructed me to make sure that Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom stay out of trouble. "Oh, they're in trouble again, are they?" the mare asked with an understanding expression before she entered the schoolhouse, Jack following right behind her. "No surprise there. Got to admit though, normally she sends her brother or one of her friends to look after them, not a stranger. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Cheerilee. And you are...?" "They call me Jack. And I too am a friend of Applejack's, just not one from around here," Jack explained. Cheerilee gave a nod of understanding before she walked up to the front of the classroom and glanced at all of the foals that were talking with one another, completely oblivious to her presence. "Alright class, let's get started on...class?" Cheerilee asked before letting out a groan, her voice barely audible over the sounds of so many voices. "Class, we need to start...oh for crying out loud-" A loud snapping sound nearly made the entire class jump out of their seats, yet the sound was effective in silencing all of the talking. All startled eyes, including Cheerilee's, looked over at Jack, who had clapped his hooves together with a frown upon his face. "I am ashamed of all of you. Where I come from, teachers and scholars are treated with respect, and when they talk, people-er, ponies listen," Jack scolded the class with a stern gaze that seemed to look at everypony at once. "Your teacher does not have to pass on her knowledge to all of you, but she chose to do so because she wishes for you to learn and grow as ponies. Yet you ignore her words as if what she is saying is irrelevant. Please, show some respect." To the utter bafflement of Cheerilee, after Jack's words all of the students seemed to calm down and faced towards her with apologetic faces, with even the more troublemaking students facing in her direction. She cast bewildered eyes over at the samurai, who smiled at her before bowing and motioning for her to continue. "Er...thank you, Jack," Cheerilee stammered before pulling down on a screen and sending it back up into the ceiling, revealing that she had drawn images onto the chalkboard of different ponies. "Today students, we will be learning more about the magic of Equestria and how different beings use their magic. Now we all know about the three main pony races, Earth, Pegasi, and Unicorn, but how many of you know about the legendary fourth?" Jack glanced at the class to see that all of them wore looks of confusion, save for a very tiny colt in the back who had an eyepatch over one eye and a parrot on his shoulder. He was the only one in the class who raised his hoof, meaning that he was the only one that Cheerilee called upon. "The seahorses, right?" he blurted out the moment she looked in his general direction. "Very good Pipsqueak. Indeed, the fourth group of ponies is the seahorses," Cheerilee praised as she turned back to the board, leaving Jack to ponder what parents would be cruel enough to name their child Pipsqueak. "The seahorses, at least according to legend, use their magic to breathe and move through the water as easily as a Pegasus flies through the sky." "So why are they only a legend? Don't we know whether or not they're real?" Sweetie asked. "Because all we know about them comes from the ancient text. We are not sure whether they exist or not anymore," Cheeilee explained before picking up the chalk and drawing another creature on the board, but this time she drew a dragon with aquatic looks fins and a more serpentlike face. "But we do know that this dragon here exists. He is called Tidalion. The dragon of the seas." She stopped speaking for a moment to allow the class to awe at the dragon before she cracked open the book before her to the page on the serpent. "Tidalion is one of the four great dragons and is the serpent of the seas. It is said that his power is great enough to stop tidal waves and his breath can blow away a typhoon." The foals all shared nervous glances at each other at the description of his power, something that was not lost on their teacher. "Do not worry little foals, Tidalion isn't a cruel or evil dragon. In fact, he's generally very wise and understanding," Cheerilee explained to them. "In fact, he has a similar role to Celestia and Luna in the way that he controls the ocean. Much like how they raise and lower the sun and moon, Tidalion is responsible for controlling the flow of the ocean and making sure that the waters always remain in motion. It is believed that the seahorses saw him as their ruler, but he hasn't said anything about them to confirm whether or not they are or were real." "Ah'm just glad that he's a nice dragon," Applebloom said with a sigh of relief. "Yes, but the other three aren't as nice. In fact," Cheerilee began as she drew another image on the board, one of a spiky dragon with razor like feathers along his neck and back. "Tundrous, the dragon that controls the earth, is one of the most ruthless and powerful of the dragons. He is one you do not want to mess with." "I thought Earth ponies controlled the sky?" Scootaloo asked. "Yes, in Equestria, where Tundrous cares little about us," Cheerilee explained as she turned back to her students. "See, as cruel and evil as he is, Tundrous lives only to do battle. He doesn't care about the earth ponies that move on his land because he doesn't see them as challenges that are worth his time." "I bet if he knew about mah sister he would think different," AB muttered, but Cheerilee shook her head at the filly's words. "It's for the best that he doesn't, for when he believes that he has found a foe worthy of his attention, he will hunt them down. The fact that he hasn't shown up in Equestria in over five hundred years shows that he doesn't see any of us as a threat," Cheerilee further explained. "Why would anypony want to fight a jerk like him anyway?" a foal with massive glasses and a frazzled red mane asked. "He seems like a bully." "Well many creatures have actually challenged him, because of his special power. See, he has the ability to level mountains, make life grow where their is only ruin, and even turn back the sands of time," Cheerilee explained. "And he has stated that any who can best him in battle will be able to ask a-" "This information? Are you certain it is accurate?" Cheerilee nearly jumped out of her skin for the second time that day as Jack seemed to appear next to her from out of nowhere. "This dragon that can turn back time, do you know where his is and how one can get to him?" "Er, according to what we know he lives deep in the planet's core, but there are numerous chasms across the land that should lead to where he sleeps," Cheerilee explained as Jack moved his face in closer, his face barely inches away from hers. "In fact, there's one that is rumored to be located near Stalliongrad, but the princesses...where are you going?" Cheerilee asked as Jack spun and headed for the door. "To find this dragon and challenge him," Jack replied with utter confidence, getting a gasp from every single foal in the room. "B-b-but that's suicide! Nopony has ever been able to stand a chance against him!" Cheerilee called out as Jack began to walk away once more. "Even Celestia and Luna were barely able to beat him back! You shouldn't even think of fighting him!" "I am not planning on fighting him," Jack began, getting a sigh of relief from Cheerilee before Jack looked back at her with hardened eyes. Eyes that for a moment made him seem far older than he was. "I am planning on beating him." His words caused nearly every jaw in the room to drop as Jack turned his gaze to Applebloom. "If your sister asks why I am not with you, tell her that I plan to finally end my quest. She will know what I mean." Jack then turned and raced out of the building, full on sprinting into town as he headed towards the train station. He did not know where Stalliongrad was, but he figured that the conductor of the train might and if not, he would know a pony that would. But the samurai came to a dead stop in the center of town when his eyes rested upon a sight that confused him greatly. A purple pony was standing across from him, both of her eyes narrowed as they fixated upon his blade. Yet this pony was not unicorn or pegasi, but a mixture of the two. Yet as Jack glanced up at the tiara on her head, he began to recognize her from Applejack's descriptions. "You...are who they call Twilight Sparkle, are you not?" Jack asked the pony, who nodded very slowly yet her eyes never left the blade. "You are one of Applejack's friends. I am-" "The warrior that freed the wolf beings that were trapped in dark magic. The pony who bested a temple titan and made a wish on the stars. A pony...that cut down Tirek with a single blow," Twilight said in a voice that conveyed no emotion, making Jack's mane stand on end slightly as his hoof inched closer to his blade. "The pony they call Jack." "Indeed I am. Are you...requiring something of me?" Jack asked with a friendly smile, but as the mare changed her gaze from his sword to his own eyes, Jack realized that things were about to go south quickly. "I do want something from you Jack. I want that sword."