Lunaverse: Galaxy Rangers - Magic School Zord

by Rixizu

Chapter 1

Magic School Zord
Chapter 1
by Rixizu

“So, Hugh Jelly, what do you do for a living?” Cheerilee asked her date.

They were sitting in the Per Hay, the finest restaurant in Ponyville. Cheerilee wore an elegant green dress that sparkled in the dim light, a birthday gift from her sister. Her date was a gray earth pony stallion with a blond mane not unlike her friend and teammate Ditzy Doo. He wore a cheap black suit and his mane was excellently coiffed in a long ponytail. Cheerilee had to admit that he was a handsome stallion. The only problem is that he had a strong fruity scent. An odor the stallion tried to hide in, sigh, Axe body spray giving him a very off-putting scent. Cheerilee tried to not hold this against him.

“I make homemade jelly.” Hugh Jelly explained eager to talk about his profession which was a trait Cheerilee rather liked. “They sell it at the Ponyville market. Jelly is the best.” He took on a dreamy look.

"Okay," Cheerilee said not sure what to say.

“Nothing tops toast better than jelly.” Hugh Jelly declared like he stated a hidden truth of the universe. “It goes with almost anything.”

Hugh Jelly took a jar of grape jelly out of his jacket and topped his pasta alla norma with it. He put some in his salad too. “Want some?” He presented the jar to Cheerilee.

"No thanks," Cheerilee said trying her best to stay polite and respectful. She reminded herself that her friend Trixie had just as odd tastes. Her date shrugged and dug his face into his food.

Cheerilee picked at her meal. At the moment, she didn’t feel like she had much of an appetite. She tried to think of something, anything to save this already disastrous date.

"What do you like to do for a fun?" Cheerilee asked. "I personally love to read and garden. I have a small one I tend to behind my house. I should show it to you sometime. I also like to take care of fish.”

Hugh Jelly stopped eating and gave Cheerilee a conspiratorial look and whispered in her ear. “I love to swim through jelly. I can’t get enough of the way it rubs against my fur.”

Without another word, Cheerilee stood up and left. She had enough. Why did she ever agree to let her sister set her up on a blind date?

“Wait!” Hugh Jelly pleaded as his date left him. He slumped down defeated and miserable and put his hooves in his face.

---

“So how did it go?” Berry Punch asked as Cheerilee approached her house. One glare told her sister just how disastrous the date went. “That bad, huh?”

Cheerilee ignored her sister as she opened the front door with her keys not wanting to even look at her.

“He seemed like a nice stallion!” Berry said defending her recommendation. “I bet you didn’t even give him a chance! As usual, your standards are too high!”

Cheerilee finally turned to address Berry. “He likes to swim in jelly during his free time! What kind of pony does that?”

Berry Punch winced. “You never know, maybe it’s fun if you tried it?” She gave Cheerilee a hopeful look.

"We are not having this conversation," Cheerilee said glaring at Berry.

“You aren't getting any younger," Berry said, "I'm just saying that you spend too much time dedicated to your job and not yourself.”

"I'm a teacher," Cheerilee said coldly, "I don't have that luxury. My students count on me for their future. I don’t really have time for a special somepony.”

Berry sighed. “I know. I’m just worried about you that is all.”

Cheerilee walked up to her sister and gave her a hug. “I’ll be fine. It’ll all work out in the end. Like Lyra likes to say, one does not seek love, it should find you all on its own.”

Berry rolled her eyes. “Just what a love freak like her would say.”

Cheerilee chuckled. “Night, Berry.”

“Night. Just wait Cheer, I will find you the perfect stallion yet! He’s bound to come to my bar, eventually!” With that, Berry took her leave.

Cheerilee let out a deep sigh. “Please don’t do that.” She muttered. Hopefully, the next stallion will be better than the last one.

Cheerilee entered her house and stretched. Part of her was glad the date ended early. It gave her more time to garden after going over tomorrow’s lesson. She felt that she had neglected her precious garden a little too much in these hectic last few months. Having Carrot Top staying at her house for the moment until her new house was built didn’t help matters either. She was a fine guest, but the carrot farmer always seemed on the move and was restless. She was also a loud snorer. As Cheerilee entered her living room she found her guest lying on the couch reading a book.

“That was fast.” Carrot Top said getting up and putting the book down on the couch. “How did it go?”

“Poorly.” Cheerilee sighed again. She didn’t even get a decent meal out of it.

“Did he try something?” Carrot Top growled making the hairs on the back of Cheerilee’s neck stand on end.

Cheerilee waved her hooves trying to placate her friend. “No, we just weren’t a good match!”

“Oh.” Carrot Top went back to reading her book. “That’s a shame.”

"Indeed," Cheerilee said, "Someponies aren't meant to be together."

Cheerilee winced when a crashing sound came from her kitchen and a pony cursed. It was a voice she recognized all too well.

“Trixie.” Cheerilee cried out annoyed. “What are you doing in my kitchen?”

“Oh, hi Cheerilee!” Trixie greeted ignoring the question. She peeked her head in the living room with a carton of milk in her hooves. “Back already from your date?”

"Yes," Cheerilee said with a forced smile on face.

Trixie put the carton on a nearby coffee table and patted Cheerilee on the back with genuine affection. “Don’t worry, you will probably find love, eventually.”

"Thanks," Cheerilee replied in a strained voice. She told herself that Trixie was just trying to be encouraging. Trying being the keyword here.

"It doesn't matter how old you get, love is never off the table," Trixie said like a wise and aged sage.

Cheerilee scrunched her face. She breathed in and out trying to control her anger and reminded herself again that Trixie was just trying to be helpful. Trixie picked up the carton of milk and drank out of it and Cheerilee gave her a look.

“What?” Trixie said defensively. “It was almost empty, anyway.” She drank the rest of the carton and threw in a trash bin.

“You do have food at your own house, right?” Cheerilee asked. “There’s no need for you to raid my fridge.”

Trixie snorted. “We’re friends, aren’t we? I don’t see a problem. Besides, when you come over to my house I let you eat my food.”

“Trixie, we don’t normally come over to your house.” Cheerilee pointed out.

"You’re right," Trixie said, "why is that? “

Cheerilee pondered on this. It’s probably because you keep coming over to our houses first.

“Anyway, what are you even doing here?” Cheerilee asked. “It’s almost 8 o’clock.” She pointed to a clock.

“To keep Carrot Top company of course.” Trixie rolled her eyes. “In case you haven’t noticed, she’s had a rough couple of weeks and needs a friend.”

Cheerilee nodded. She supposed Trixie was a good friend in her own weird way.

“I guess you can stay for an hour at least.” Cheerilee relented.

Trixie brightened. “Good. I was just about to make grilled eggplant with tartar sauce. Sorry about the mess, I can’t control my magic very well yet.” She tapped her horn that, while looking for the most part normal, it still was a few inches shorter than it usually was.

“I’ll clean it up.” Trixie rushed back into the kitchen. Cheerilee winced at the sound of crashing pans and Trixie cursed Night Light’s name. Cheerilee sighed and wondered if she was the real doormat of the group.

---

"Okay, class," Cheerilee said in her most authoritative voice, "today we will start one of my favorite subjects, Astronomy!"

Cheerilee looked on at her class as they gave her bored expressions, except Sweetie Belle who was at full rapt attention as usual.

“Can anypony tell me how far the sun is from the earth?” Cheerilee asked.

Apple Bloom raised a hoof. “Ah light year?” She ventured.

“No, that is how far light goes in a single year.” Cheerilee corrected. “That is about 5.88 trillion miles.”

Her class seemed startled by this revelation. They never expected it to be that far. Five more minutes passed and nopony in the class seemed to have the answer. Cheerilee fought back her eagerness to tell them. She waited for the right moment to reveal all.

“The sun is 92.96 million miles from the earth.” Cheerilee grinned ear to ear. She drew a quick sketch of the solar system on the chalkboard.

"There are 8 planets in our solar system as you may well know," Cheerilee said writing the name of each planet under each drawing, "including Pluto which is a dwarf planet."

Sweetie raised her hoof. “Why is a dwarf planet and not a regular planet?”

“Good question!” Cheerilee praised and Sweetie beamed. “I’m glad you’re always so quick to ask the right questions!”

"Teacher's pet," Scootaloo muttered and rolled her eyes. Sweetie Belle stuck her tongue out at her friend. The rest of the class giggled.

"As I was saying," Cheerilee said trying to get the class’s attention back.

“Pluto is too small to be considered a planet. This might surprise you, but it is only two-thirds the size of the Earth’s moon. It shares many similarities to a planet like the fact that is a nearly round shape, but one of the biggest distinctions is that it doesn’t clear its neighborhood.”

“Cleared the neighborhood means that removed any debris and small objects from the area around its orbit and unfortunately Pluto isn’t big enough to do that.” Cheerilee continued. “It doesn’t have enough mass to have the gravity needed to remove the debris around it like the Earth.”

Cheerilee looked at her class expectantly, but most of the class weren't paying much attention and only about half of them were actually taking notes. Scootaloo, in particular, was totally ignoring her as she tried to balance a pencil on her hoof.

Cheerilee cleared her throat. “This will be on the test.” Those magic words got the rest of the class moving to write what she put on the chalkboard.

"For the following week we will cover each planet including its satellites, also called moons, and there will be a test at the end of the week. I hope you keep good notes!"

“Also, there might be a pop quiz along the way!” Cheerilee winked, and the class looked at her with abject horror.

That will teach them for not paying attention.

Cheerilee went on telling the class about the first two planets, Mercury and Venus. The class, much to Cheerilee’s disappointment, was mostly indifferent to the lesson. She worked hard to keep their attention, but it felt like they mostly ignored her. Oh well, nothing new. No matter, she had plans to spice up the lesson. Making a model of their solar system was one the best ones she thought.

“I want you to read all of chapters one and two of your astronomy textbook and answer every odd question at the end of each chapter. It will be due tomorrow.” Cheerilee said as the class was wrapping up. A few seconds after she got done speaking the school bell rang just as she planned.

Damn, I’m good. Cheerilee thought. No school bells interrupted her during a lecture. She always had the class planned down to the second. The class got their things and flew out of the class. Cheerilee gathered various papers on her deck and put them in a neat pile.

“Miss Cheerilee?” Sweetie Belle said nervously.

“Yes, Sweetie Belle?” Cheerilee asked. “What is it? Do you have some questions about today’s lesson?”

“No, nothing like that.” Sweetie Belle said fidgeting. “I got you something.”

Cheerilee brightened. “Really? What is it?”

“I baked you something.” Sweetie Belle searched through her backpack. “I made you some pudding.”

“That’s wonderful!” Cheerilee said excited. “Thank you!”

“What?” Snails said. “And you didn’t make us any?”

“Yeah!” Snips exclaimed. “That’s no fair at all!” Several of the other foals in the class nodded in angry agreement.

“It isn’t for you.” Sweetie Belle snarled.

“Now now class," Cheerilee said trying to appease them, "if Sweetie Belle wants to make me something special, it is her right. But next time Sweetie you should have made enough for the whole class. After all, eating with friends always makes food taste better."

“Alright.” Sweetie Belle relented. “Found it!”

Sweetie pulled out a Tupperware and opened it when she placed in on Cheerilee’s desk. It contained a blackish green substance. Cheerilee wasn’t sure what she was looking at. It had the structure of gelatin she supposed but it was like no pudding she had ever seen before. The faint odor of burning made her gag.

“Eat up!” Sweetie placed a spoon next to her teacher and looked at her expectantly.

"Thanks," Cheerilee said through clenched teeth.

“Er, on second thought, never mind.” Snips said backing away.

“Yeah.” Snails repeated the gesture along with the rest of the class. Many of her students ran like the building was on the fire.

“Wow, Sweetie Belle. It’s, um, nice.” Scootaloo managed.

Diamond Tiara snickered. "Nice pudding blank flank. Did you make it from stuff you found from your trash?" Her friend Silver Spoon joined in her laughter.

Sweetie gave the two bullies a glare before returning to Cheerilee. “Well?”

Cheerilee’s mind raced on what she should do. It would be rude to refuse the sweet gesture and Sweetie was giving her such a hopeful expectant look. Could she refuse a face like that? A quick smell of the “pudding” made her rethink all that. She dreaded putting this thing in her mouth. Still, Sweetie had tried so hard to create it. She could give the dish a helpful critique like any good teacher should. Sweetie obviously was new to cooking. It was her job to help her students grow after all. Sometimes were harder than others.

Cheerilee tried to resist shaking as she moved to pick up the spoon. The rest of the class watched her wondering if she had the guts to go through this. She put on the best smile and moved the spoon towards the pudding. She took a generous scoop of the dish and moved it towards her mouth closing her eyes hoping she won’t lose her resolve. With a shaky hoof, the concoction entered her mouth.

This was a mistake. Cheerilee could not be any more certain of anything else in her life. It was hard to tell if she should scream in horror or throw up.

“How was it?” Sweetie Belle asked with an innocent smile on her face. “Have some more. There’s plenty more where that came from.”

Cheerilee plastered a smile on her face. It was, well, Cheerilee wasn’t sure exactly what she tasted, but she was certain gargling raw sewage would have been preferable. She made sure not to swallow any of it out of fear of what it might do to her.

“It’s interesting.” Cheerilee managed trying to think of the best way to put this without breaking the filly’s hopes.

“In other words, it’s trash.” Diamond Tiara quipped.

“What?!” Sweetie Belle turned towards Diamond and glared.

When Sweetie Belle turned her back, Cheerilee spat the “pudding” into the trash. The substance burned through whatever it touched creating small billows of smoke.

“It’s what everypony says when something is horrible, but they don’t want to hurt the pony’s feelings.” Diamond Tiara supplied.

“That’s not true, is it Miss Cheerilee?” Sweetie Belle’s looked on the verge of crying breaking Cheerilee’s heart

Okay Cheerilee, you can fix this situation.

“I’ll admit it wasn’t the best.” Cheerilee said and Sweetie Belle became downtrodden, "but it was an admirable first try! Keep at it. With a little practice, you will turn this disappointing dish into something amazing!”

"Thanks, Miss Cheerilee!" Sweetie Belle said brightening. “Next time will be the best darn pudding you have ever had!” With that, she took her backpack and waved as she left. Scootaloo trailed behind her.

“Really, Miss Cheerilee?” Diamond Tiara said in a deadpan voice.

Cheerilee crossed her legs. “It never hurts to be encouraging. Don’t you have some other place to be? Unless, of course, you want to try some of Sweetie Belle’s pudding?”

“No, no!” Diamond Tiara said backing away almost bumping into Silver Spoon. They ran after another glance at Sweetie’s desert.

The class cleared out leaving Cheerilee all alone. She put the lid back on the Tupperware container unsure how she would dispose of it worried it might cause some ecological disaster. She drew a biohazard sign on the lid with a marker and tapped the lid shut for good measure.

“I should contact someponies in Canterlot to make sure this is properly disposed of.” Cheerilee mused.

Cheerilee sat down on her desk and graded papers drinking coffee as she worked. It got some of the horrible aftertaste out of her mouth. She had asked the class to write a short essay pre-Corona history. She went through each one thoroughly making sure the grammar and punctuation were correct then grading the contents of the essay itself. Math and social studies were next, and she blazed through them with no difficulty. She noticed that Scootaloo was struggling in her grades again and promised to have a talk with the filly tomorrow. She wasn’t a stupid foal, just unmotivated.

After that, Cheerilee spent the next hour cleaning up and making sure everything was in proper order for tomorrow. She liked cleaning and keeping things in order. Nodding to herself for a job well done, she picked up her things leaving the rest of the cleaning to the school janitor. She saw that there was only about an hour or so of light left in the day. Cheerilee left knowing she would come back at seven in the morning to do the same thing all over again tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that.

Come on Cheerilee, don’t get depressed. Cheerilee said cheering herself on. You wanted this life, didn’t you? It’s rewarding! And no, that did not sound hollow to her own ears.

“You won’t believe this!” Berry Punch said running up to Cheerilee as she walked home.

“Did something happen?” Cheerilee asked with concern wondering if it was Corona striking back at last.

“I am so excited I can barely speak.” Berry hopped on her hooves.

“What?”

“This day can’t get any better!” Berry grinned ear to ear.

“Are you going to tell me or not?” Cheerilee tapped her hooves on the ground.

“My bar, the Punch Bowl, was voted the third best bar in Canterlot region in Equestria Bar Business Magazine!” Berry replied.

“That’s wonderful!” Cheerilee said overwhelmed with joy for her sister’s fortune.

“You know what this means!” Berry announced.

“I can’t.” Cheerilee replied. “I have to wake up at 5:30 tomorrow morning.” After all, she had to train, prepare for class, and groom herself. She didn't want to add a hangover to that mix.

"Come on." Berry pleaded grabbing Cheerilee's hoof. "I am not asking you to get sloshed. When was the last time you've gone out drinking with your friends?"

Cheerilee started to reply, but couldn't think of an answer. "Okay, so it has been awhile, but it's a temptation I want to avoid."

“So responsible.” Berry rolled her eyes. “You weren’t like this when you were younger.”

"I was a stupid filly," Cheerilee replied.

It was true. She was quite the wild child. If she wasn’t hunting for bounties, she was in the bar drinking without a care in the world. She remembered this one time where she woke up with a tramp stamp on her back after a night of drinking. She had to get it removed with magic which was not a fun process. Dear Luna that felt like another lifetime.

Cheerilee stood up straighter. “I’m happy where I am.”

“Yeah, now you’re boring old responsible Cheerilee.” Berry scoffed.

"I'm a superhero." Cheerilee countered and showed her morpher to prove it.

"Okay, so you're just mostly boring old responsible Cheerilee," Berry said. "I am just saying you don't seem to spend much time for yourself anymore."

“I garden.” Cheerilee huffed.

"Right, alone," Berry said.

"And I spend time with my friends," Cheerilee added.

"It's just, I think you are suffocating yourself with your work," Berry said trying to find the right words.

"I have responsibilities," Cheerilee stated. “My students are counting on me to give them the best education possible.”

“I know, but you do too much," Berry replied. "You teach six different classes. Six.”

“Yes, I do," Cheerilee said beaming with pride.

"You should pressure the school to hire another teacher," Berry suggested, "You're overworked to the extreme. You'll burn yourself out.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Cheerilee scoffed. “I’m doing just fine.”

“You’re always like this.” Berry huffed in frustration. “A complete workaholic.”

“I’m fine.”

“Look Cheer, I own a bar, but I hired several ponies, so the work is distributed in a way that there isn’t too much pressure on any one pony. True, owning a bar is still stressful, but it makes things easier.”

“I’m fine.” Cheerilee turned and trotted off deciding that the conversation was finished.

“You want to bring happiness to others, but what about yourself?” Berry asked as Cheerilee left.

Happiness? Ha! Teaching is my happiness! Cheerilee thought on her way home. True, I am a bit overworked, but I like it that way. It’s a challenge!

Cheerilee smiled to herself happy to resolve the situation. She opened her door and, much to her annoyance, found Trixie sitting on her couch. Carrot Top was nowhere in sight.

“Have a good school day?” Trixie asked.

“Trixie, what are you doing in my house, again?” Cheerilee fought the urge to throw the mare out.

“You looked stressed," Trixie replied, "rough day?"

"No more than usual," Cheerilee answered, “and that doesn't answer my question.”

Trixie waved a dismissive hoof. “What? Is a friend not welcome? Carrot Top doesn’t mind when I come over.”

“Where is Carrot Top, anyway?” Cheerilee asked again fighting the urge to grab Trixie and toss her on her flank on her hard cement doorstep.

Trixie shrugged, "She wasn't here when I got here. I guess she’s out.”

“That means you can leave then," Cheerilee said motioning her head towards the door.

“No way!” Trixie exclaimed. “I can’t!”

“And why not?” Cheerilee’s eye twitched.

"I just came up with the best idea," Trixie said grinning, "remember the charity magic show I wanted to do for Carrot Top? You know, before I was framed for murder and couldn't do it? Well, I thought I could retool it for the grand opening of Carrot Top’s house! It’s only about three weeks away. There is just so much to plan for! I wanted to go over the details with Carrot Top, but she isn’t here so I decided to just wait.”

"That's real nice of you Trixie," Cheerilee said smiling admiring Trixie’s thoughtfulness.

“I know right? And it will be a great tribute to Pokey. If only I could convince the princess to give him a statue already. She hardly even returns my letters anymore. It must be the stress from the Night Court debacle. She’s snappier than usual.” Trixie beamed. “Anyway, it will be a huge event with everypony in town invited. I guess I must talk to Pinkie Pie to help me organize it.”

"No need to do that," Cheerilee said, "I can do it. Carrot Top is my friend too.” Already coming up with several fun games they could provide for foals. Maybe they could even rent a bouncy castle.

“Wonderful, you can handle the boring organization stuff and I can focus on my magic act," Trixie replied.

"Yes, Trixie. I can handle the "boring organization stuff" while you play around with magic." Cheerilee sighed. Trixie loved pushing duties on other ponies and she wanted to be a big-time Night Court noble?

"Exactly," Trixie said. "You were born to do boring stuff nopony else wants to do.”

“You know Trixie, I used to be a bounty hunter.” Cheerilee pointed out. “I’m not as boring as you seem to think I am.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Come on Cheerilee. Nopony actually believes that.”

Cheerilee gritted her teeth. “I’ll have you know I was quite the firecracker in my youth.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure whatever you say.” Trixie said dismissively, "oh hey, it looks like Carrot Top is back.” She left a peeved Cheerilee to talk to Carrot Top who was entering the front door with some groceries.

Cheerilee wanted to say a biting remark, but let it go. Trixie wasn’t worth it. That didn’t make her any less annoyed with her friend though. She considered joining Trixie and Carrot Top in their conversation but decided to do her chores instead, she was too angry at risk talking to Trixie at the moment.

First, she fed all her fish making sure they all got enough food. She owned many of them, so it was a delicate process. Next, she went out to do some gardening since her tomatoes needed pruning. Growing her own vegetables was a good way to save money and Cheerilee never skipped an opportunity to save bits. She got her work boots on and started working on them.

Cheerilee hummed a little tune to herself as she worked. It was one of Lyra’s that she heard during one of the musician’s street performances. It worked wonders on calming her nerves.

Boring, huh? Cheerilee laughed to herself. If only Trixie knew.

Trixie had no clue what she was talking about. Cheerilee knew herself to be the most interesting member of their group and the best fighter. Stallions looked at her when she entered the room. Well, okay, when she was younger they did that, but she could still turn a stallion’s eye. Of course, Trixie was now the one they turned to the most. Somehow, that mare could attract stallions and mares alike despite not wanting their attention even a little and turned them away every time. Her constant rejection only made them want her more. Cheerilee, on the other hoof, was almost invisible and ponies didn’t pay much attention to her. She was just the teacher, nopony to care about.

No, I’m not jealous. Cheerilee told herself. Past my prime? Never.

Cheerilee sighed. If only there was some way to make others see it. It was frustrating. She worked so hard, barely anypony seemed to appreciate her, but she was happy. She put everything into teaching her students, but most the time they would rather be elsewhere and didn't listen to her. The hazards of being a teacher sure, but more praise from them would be nice.

Then, it hit her. She stood up from the revelation. If that was the case, then she would just have to become the best darn teacher ever. She would become somepony that they would never forget to the end of their days. She would make them listen by becoming the most awesome teacher ever.

But, how? Cheerilee scratched her chin. I need to do something amazing, something no teacher has ever done.

Cheerilee noticed that, during her thoughts, it had become dark out. That is what she got for being distracted by her thoughts. She moved to turn on a lamp so she could continue working. She stopped and admired the stars first. It was something she always loved to do ever since she was a filly. There weren’t as many stars due to Conora’s doing, but it was still beautiful. She pointed out every planet in view, and then she stopped when she saw the moon. It was full tonight. She gazed at it and wished that she had her microscope. The lunar maria would be lovely with the moon full like that.

The moon, huh? Cheerilee thought. Wouldn't it be nice to go the moon sometime? I doubt Princess Luna would mind. With my Zord, I could go there with no difficulty at all.

Cheerilee gasped. And so, could my students! That’s it! Cheerilee, you are a genius! You just thought of the best, most spectacular field trip ever!

Comments

[The Bricklayer]

Aside from the cool nostalgia factor, this... cannot end well. (Well, for the characters anyways...) But, all the same...

[Rixizu]

I am changing the name slightly. I made a mistake. I meant Magic School Zord all along. Silly me.

[Prince Leviathan]

I'm surprised.

Cheerilee is an absolute catch. Smh their loss.

Also
"I should've stayed home"