Pro at Cons: Schoolfed

“Mister Moon Shine!” - Moon spun on his heels as he heard the voice calling out for him; it was Dean Cadance, and she was pretty desperate about something.

“Yes, ma'am – can I help you?” - he inquired curtly upon coming up to the lady.

“I hope so.” - she panted, trying to catch her breath. - “I was dragging this from the basement, and it appears to be stuck. Looks like I need some manpower...” - she halfheartedly kicked the wooden box, that sat in the door case, flicking the stray lock of her colourful hair away.

“Ma'am, you should've asked someone for help; fine ladies like you shan't exert themselves over weight lifting and hauling boxes...” - scolded Moon softly, grabbing at the handle and pulling the box easily away. - “Where do you want it to go?”

“Oh – thank you kindly...” - Cadance blinked, surprised. - “Uh – could you please get it to the main stage? I believe it's out in the school grounds.”

“Main stage... Got it.” - nodded Shine, hauling the crate onto his shoulder, grunting with surprise of how heavy that appeared to be. - “Please, ma'am – proceed, I'll follow you.” - Catching another amused stare from the dean, he explained himself:

“If things go awry, you'd have a room to evade the avalanche”.

“Oh! Sure. Thank you, mister Moon.”

“Please, ma'am. Call me 'Moon' or 'Shine'.” - smirked the man, enjoying the perfect sight of Cadance's swaying hips and slightly bouncing bottom.

Dayum boi, u sure hit the motherlode of them fine ladies here, whistled 'conscience' and Moon couldn't help but agree.

Following the lead of a magnificent derrier in front of his eyes, Moon Shine grinned his way all through the campus and to the main stage, setting the crate down in front of the railing:

“There you go, ma'am; need any help?”

“No, I'll take it from here...” - she gestured to a group of Crystal Prep students, who darted to the crate and pried it open, producing mics and a whole flurry of wires, jacks and connectors. - “Thank you, mis... Moon.” - she nodded gracefully. - “Your help was truly priceless.”

“My pleasure, ma'am.” - he replied with a curt bow, hiding a coy grin. - “You are a true pleasure to be around.” - and that wasn't even a bit of a lie in the statement.

“Okay people, concert is due in two weeks; I trust everyone's got their individual performances straight up and ready?” - blowing through the chanter of a bagpipe in his hands, Moon addressed members of Aurora Borealis, all gathered under a great banner, provided by conjoined effort of Pinkie Pie and Rarity. - “Let's run it again. From the beginning. One, two, three, go, Pinkie!” - the party girl clicked the rhytm with her drumsticks and began drumming. - “Snowflake!” - the hulking albino guy gingerly lifted the bow, looking obscenely small across his large frame, and began playing in short, stabbing motions, eliciting ragged, moaning sounds from his violin. - “Good! Octavia?” - the cellist girl joined flawlessly, adding long, tender tunes to the weaving melody. - “Awesome! Rainbow, Flash – now!” - the guitarists revved up in unison, fingers dancing across the fingerboards, mediators trembling with energy in their fingertips. - “Rarity?” - the keytar chimed in, adding spice to the melody, and Moon braced for his entry. - “Aaand here I come.” - fingers went flying over the holes of the chanter pipe, and a gentle squeeze to the bagpipe completed the melody twining; it was classical Danse Macabre, rearranged perfectly to such diverse orchestra.

Once the first melody was finished and Moon caught his breath, he became painfully aware of the fact that they all were being rewarded with an applauses and cheers; bolting backwards, bagpipe still slung across his frame, he quickly noticed both Celestia and Luna on the spectators' seats, cheering, applauding and whistling joyously at them; he also caught a glimpse of maroon upwards from their position. Cheerilee.

Bowing to the audience, Aurora Borealis proceeded with their next part: a Swan Pond.

“Okay, people. Snowflake, you kick in first. Then, Bon-Bon – you're on a flute. Octavia, Pinkie, Dash, Sentry – brace for entry. Sunset, you're on the rhytm. Applejack, I want some bass backup on that. And one, and two, and three!..” - and the eruption of sound flooded the gym, washing over everything like a thunderous tidewave...

...”And I thought classics were overrated and boring...” - Luna chuckled to her sister, once the rehearsal was over, leaving the gym. - “Now I'm convinced it is not.”

“It's all about the arrangement...” - Celestia smiled knowingly, as Moon dismissed the students.

“Bravo, maestro – bravo!” - smiled Cheerilee, embracing the man softly. - “That was... something...”

“I'm glad you liked it.” - smiled Moon cheerfully. - “We were doing our best. Guys are really putting all they've got in it. Just wait till you see us rocking the audience.”

“I can't wait.” - Moon basked in the glow of her gorgeous green eyes. - “You're done for the day?”

“Yup, I guess. You have something in mind?” - creasing a brow at the strange inquire, Moon speculated.

Cheerilee smiled sheepishly, reaching for Moon's hand and placing it gingerly south of her waist:

“I might have something...”

Boi, u better brace for it, 'conscience' smirked, cuz tis not gunna be pretty.

And boy was it right...

Three days past, Moon suddenly pondered during lunch, sitting in the cafeteria, that he hadn't received any beeps from his mysterious employer, the A.B.; taking another bite of an apple, he reached for the pager, checking the received messages, restarting the device. It seemed to be in perfect working order, and he chuckled silently, toying with the idea that everything might just turn out well; his 'issues' with Cheerilee were straightening themselves, repairs in her burnt house going full-throttle (he even paid the workers a visit), Aurora Borealis running smoothly like a well-oiled mechanism, the Crystal Prep students rehearsing with their choir repertoire, Flitter kept shooting a loving gazes at him, and all the bruises and scratches and bites healing well; it looked like as if his life was finally taking a steady grounds, without swaying back and forth in a random fashion, like a pendulum gone mad.

“I could actually grow to like it.” - he concluded, chewing on the apple core and spitting away the seeds.

“Oh my, someone sure seems hungry...” - a soft voice rang out by his ear, and Moon darted his head towards the source, still chewing thoroughly; Fluttershy blushed hard, her eyes wide with shock:

“I'm – I'm so sorry, mister Moon, sir... I... I just...” - with a startled eep, she obviously made an attempt to flee, if Shine wouldn't have stopped her:

“Fluttershy, wait. Why don't you seat at my table? The place looks pretty crammed, and I doubt you'd find any room for yourself fast enough as to finish the lunch without rushing it. And I can tell that rushing in terms of food ends up in indigestion.” - he smiled encouragingly, inviting the pink-haired scaredy cat to join him.

After some hesitation, the girl accepted his offer, still blushing furiously; she placed her tray on the table and sat stock still, hunching her back and shoulders and cloaking herself in her long hair curtain.

“Hey, don't be like that. I don't bite – I'm full for now...” - chuckled Moon. - “And don't worry about that little comment of yours; I think, in fact, it's pretty sweet – the way you did it. It colors you as a caring and a gentle person. Tis a rare trait.”

“You really think so, sir?..” - whispered the girl, peeking from behind her makeshift cover. - “Umm... thank you... You appear to be a good person, too...”

“Why thank you.” - smiled Shine, picking up his tray. - “Now, I gotta go, sorry. And you better eat, if you don't want to be late for your next class. Buon appetite~”.

“Thank you.” - Fluttershy smiled openly, proceeding to eating and sneaking pieces of vegetables down her backpack every now and then; Moon presumed there was another pet – probably a bunny, and chuckled at the memory of one of rehearsals, when snow-white rodent escaped Fluttershy's backpack and skipped all the way to Pinkie's drum machine, jumping onto the main drum and drumming his foot against the barrel, obviously enjoying himself.

Of course, the rehearsal wasn't stopped and it kept going with an extra drummer. After the rehearsal was done with and Moon dismissed the class, he asked Fluttershy to stay for a second; she obliged, wincing as if he was about to pounce at her madly, hugging the bunny close to her.

“What's your name, little fellow?” - Moon asked, stroking the bunny behind the ears; he was cautious at first, but then relaxed, twitching his long protruding ear slightly.

“The name's Angel, sir... Angel Bunny...” - replied Fluttershy, sporting an uneasy look on her face: she wasn't sure if the Moon was about to penalty her for bringing a pet into a class, or...

“That's a great drummer you are, mister Angel; aye, I say, a natural one!” - praised the man, scratching the furball behind the ears. - “Great job you did here; mayhap, I should offer you to join our little project? I could get you a tumtum...” - of course, the little rodent never responded, and Moon looked at Fluttershy, chuckling. - “That's a nice little one you have here, miss Fluttershy. However, I fear that the school doesn't have a pet friendly policy, so I suggest you to keep a good eye on the little guy; if he gets away again, you might get in trouble, and this would not be nice, would it?”

“You're... not going to punish me for doing so?..” - Fluttershy was dumbstruck, hugging Angel close, as if the Moon was about to rip the bunny of her hands and devour it raw before her very eyes. - “Really?..”

“Of course not. I absolutely love the little fellow, and I just don't want you to get in trouble over such adorable creature.”

“Um...”

“You're free to go, miss Fluttershy – wish you best of luck. And take care there.” - Moon stepped aside, smiling encouragingly. - “And good luck to you, Angel, sir. Hope to see more of you.”

Fluttershy beamed him a smile, quickly grabbed her backpack, putting Angel inside, and rocketed away from the gym.

Chuckling as the memory floated by, Moon dumped the rubbish from his tray into the can, putting the tray to the stand and checked the time: he still had a small breather before the next class, and he intended to use it for a quick smoke.

Said meant done, usually, and so, sneaking around the corners, Moon poked his head from behind the corner to check on the presence of see-all hall monitors or, Gog forbid, Vice Principle Luna. He recalled their first meeting and shuddered at the thought that, even in spite of her amicable attitude, Luna clearly gave out the idea that she's not the type one would like to mess with. Feeling like a junior high student sneaking in the school grounds, hustling behind the bushes for a smoke, he lit the cigarette, pulling in quick and deep, feeling the nicotine seep in treacherously.

As if recalling something, he reached for his pocket, checking the beeper; it was perfectly silent.

“Might be it that the stuff ran out of memory?..” - he murmured, fiddling with the buttons; finally, he managed to display a menu and scrolled through it, locating the entry he needed:

“Memory: 12 slots occupied; 188 slots available” - read the notification. Moon furrowed the brow, pulling another deep drag. Could it be connection failure? No, it seemed perfectly fine – he texted himself, and the message popped up immediately; sighing, he texted once more, relaying his message through the beeper:

“Sent anything? Received none; concerned.” - and hit the 'Send' tile; tisking at the sight, Shine smoked down, stomping the butt down and turning to head away, when the beeper came to life:

“Sent none. The seed is planted, await blossom. Good job. A. Borealis” - the hint on deciphering the riddle of his employer's initials made Shine's jaw drop, pieces of puzzle all putting together:

“F-f-f-fook me...” - he whistled, leaning against the wall.

“Is that an invitation?..” - asked Flitter out of the blue, winking playfully at him, making him start with shock. - “Hey handsome. Sneaking out for a smoke?”

“Y-yeah, kind of... Hello, by the way...” - regaining a slight semblance of self-control, stuttered Moon. - “And you're here for?..”

“Well, I was checking on my students. They look perfectly fine, and then I just ran a couple of exercises for your students.” - fluttering her eyelashes, Flitter put her hands on her hips, enunciating the curves. - “And I might as well be looking for you, naughty boy.”

“Well, good – eh, look at the time, I'd better be going now. Can't miss the class, you know...” - trying to keep the facade, Moon flashed a wide smile at the lady and retreated as fast as etiquette could allow; he certainly felt where the wind was blowing, and, honestly, he also felt he wouldn't make it for round two with this lynx.

Not now, anyway.

The bell rang, indicating the end of the lesson – and the end of the day for Moon Shine; dismissing his students for the umpteenth time this day around, he glanced at the clock, hanging right above the door: four o'clock.

“Almost tea time...” - he chuckled, locking the classroom door and handing the key over to the janitor – junky-looking tall, lanky fellow with an unkempt goatee and mismatching eyes: one was light-blue, like a shard of ice, and the other was of that queer, spooky shade of yellowish-green; Moon recalled knowing a guy with eyes like that, calling it 'feline eyes'; however, he was farsighted, poor fellow, and kept stumbling over various small things like doors, buckets and benches; the alternative of wearing contacts or glasses he despised utterly, not even honoring it with a comment.

“Leavin' already, sir? Care for a cup of tea, maybe?..” - purred the janitor guy – 'Discord' was his nickname, for all Moon'd known; no one actually knew his real name or cared for it; Moon wondered silently if the “Discord” was put in the paychecks he was being given. Or was he being paid in cold cash?..

“No, thanks, mate – I gotta go. I have a meeting to attend to.” - Moon refused politely.

“Ooh, a meeting, you say... One with a lovely lady, if I might say that?..” - the janitor chuckled darkly. - “The very certain green-eyed maroon-haired lady?..”

“Whatever your implications are, my good man, they are wrong, fortunately.” - Moon replied, adding a measured dose of stern in his voice. - “Alas, I should bid you farewell. Best of luck!” - his retreat path, however, was pretty abruptly blocked with an opened door of an appliances room. How it the hell did he moved that fast with that trolley of his?, pondered Moon, recalling only the certain poofy-haired hyperactive girl to be so negligently defying the laws of physics before.

“Oh, I am so, so sorry for my rudeness...” - clucked the janitor, tossing his mops and buckets negligently into the locker. - “How indignyfying of me, to snoop around like a creep...” - he was obviously enjoying himself jeering.

“Uh, my good man – I can't help but notice the... well, a certain disorder in your appliances...” - noted Moon, sneaking a peek into the locker. - “How is it possible to find anything in that mess?”

“Oh, sir, you know – there's a wise saying: 'Only the fool needs an order – genius governs over the chaos',” - chuckled Discord. - “and it kind of tickles my pride to be considered a genius I am!”

“I never even doubted that.” - politely smiled Moon Shine, feeling pretty amused with this harmless guy with a couple of loose screws. - “So, till later, then!”

“Remember me to Miss Cheerilee!” - the janitor shouted out, letting out a cackle; Moon shook off the remark, dialing a number, as he was stepping away from the school's entrance:

“Hey, Rungo, me man! Can you talk?”

“What's it now, cap'n? Break and entering? Kidnapping? Espionage? What do you need me for now?” - his friend sighed.

“Eh, chill, mate – remember the beer I've promised?” - Moon smiled, producing a cigarette. - “So, meet me in thirty at the Berry Punch's pub. And if you're late, first drink's on you.”

“Deal.” - Rungo hung up, and Moon, whistling a cheerful tune, rushed to the bus stop to catch a ride...

...”Naw, maet – here meh out...” - Moon slurred, moving the empty beer mug aside; both men were already pretty tipsy, to be charitable - judging by the amount of empty mugs in front of them – it was easily a dozen. - “Ah maen... mean... duh, see, ah gut dat one from the lady!! U no, the one sizzling hot chick there, eh!”

“Kant see tha problem ere, cap'n...” - hiccuped Rungo, wiping his bald head with his palm. - “Tis might be liek she gut one of them lass' tantrums, like, ahdunno, she mighta saw some other gurl goin out with er man or anyfin...”

“Nay, mate – ahm telling ya, this one is serious! Kinda big, mesay...” - Moon whispered cryptically, trying to chug from an empty mug. - “fook... oi, sweetheart! Repeat for us! Two more!” - he shook the empty mug as is it was a battle banner.

“There, sir...” - the waiter beamed them a smile. - “Can I get you anything else with that?”

“U wunna sumfin, maet? On me.” - Shine turned to Rungo, and the bald man slid his jaw forward quizzically:

“Eh, ahguess... how 'bout smoked kipper, er?”

“Copy! Make it a smokin' kipper, honey – and be a dear to do it fast. Beer's gutta be cold, and chow's gutta be hot...” - Moon winked at the waitress, slapping a handful of bits on the table. - “And this 'ere's a lil' sumfin t' get dat cute booty o'yers move faster, eh?”

“One smoked kipper, coming right up!” - bubbled the waitress, scooping the coins in one fluid motion. - “Be right back, gentlemen!”

“An' make it a bill too, sweetheart!” - roared Rungo, hiccuping.

“So, where wuz ah? Aw, yeah... Kinda big it is, u follow?”

“'f twasn't big, she woulda just toss some toilet paper o'er them houses hersself...” - Rungo muttered wistfully. - “...or just hired some college students ta do so... Cuz we're ain't haul'n th' gogdamn pipifax...” - the plate of smoked kipper landed in the centre of the table, and the small leatherbound folder was placed near Moon:

“There you go, gentlemen...” - chirped the waitress, batting her lashes at the two men; Moon stole a quick glance at the sum in the bill and plopped a generous pouch atop the folder:

“Keep the change, beaut – tis are the tips. Go get yurself an ice cream and whatnot...” - he waved a hand at her generously, but such complicated motion almost knocked him off the balance, to the verge of flying off the tall bar stool; however, Rungo managed to catch the flailing extremity of his former superior and pull him back to the stable stance:

“U saved me lief, mate!!” - exclaimed Moon, eyes wide. - “C'mere, you old fool – I'll fookin kiss ya in yer baldy noggin!”

“Eh, I think ah'll pass on that, cap...” - Rungo waved off, taking a tall drink of beer. - “Beer's getting warm; mesay, u better get to it.”...