Fallen Eagle

Chapter 27: Mr. Cougar

Just checking up on the story to find 40K views?! Thank you guys so much! And 125 follows and 104 faves? Just amazing guys. I know a few of you were curious as to what Cougar will teach the class, well he won't actually teach them, but just find out what he tells them. On the surface, this does just look like an intriguing chapter, but this is an extremely important chapter to the story, you'll find out why soon.

Also guys, I do need a smidgen of help. Please give me ideas on what the Mane 6 could be for Nightmare Night. I don't want to be lazy and have them reprise their same costumes from Luna Eclipsed in Season 2.

Sassymouse: I tried my best to make you proud, and I'm glad you loved it. Hoping I can use them again in the future if needed.

mlp brony fifer: Thank you. And it's cool, I understand how awesome it is to spend time with family. Hope you had fun with them.

OBSERVER01: Yeah, and I think Surprise is a canon character, but her personality is Sassymouse's creation so that's why I called her an OC.

KillerWoW: Just wait until he actually needs it... And well, subbing a class can't be that hard, right?

Dixie Darlin: To be honest, I had to re-watch Sonic Rainboom again because I forgot what Cloudsdale looked like. And as for Lullaby, maybe a teeny crush...

Tycser: Good to hear from you again! And Dashing and Soaring is awesome which is why I wanted to use the characters from the fic. As for teaching the kids, he'll tell them an important part of his life.

UpgraderIsAwesome: Thank you!

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(Sweet Apple Acres. Cougar's POV)

Have you ever been sleeping peacefully when all of a sudden it feels like someone is performing CPR on your chest? Or possibly stomping heavy work boots on your chest? That's what I felt a few mornings after my trip to Cloudsdale and the Wonderbolts Academy. Something or somepony was punching my chest, causing me to snap my eyes open and to raise my hands in a defensive position. Upon opening my pale blue orbs however, I was met with a yellow face, orange eyes, red hair and a pink bow. "Wake up Cougar! It's almost time fer school!" Applebloom joyfully and excitedly kept hopping up and down on my chest.

"OOF!" I exclaimed as it felt like she was trying to squeeze food out of my esophagus. "What's going on Applebloom?" I asked as she finally jumped off my chest and landed with a tiny thump on the wood floor of my shack. The filly had a green backpack on her back and a cheesy grin on her face, anticipating something. Looking up at the clock, the time read 7:20 A.M. "Is there something important going on this morning?" I asked, getting up from my cot and stretching. I didn't care that I slept in yesterday's T-Shirt; it didn't smell or anything, so I decided to keep it and just threw on a pair of blue jeans.

"Aw, don't tell me ya forgot Cougar?!" Applebloom asked with a tiny hint of worry riding on her voice. The yellow pony jumped up onto my cot and bounced up and down as if it were a trampoline so she could talk eye to eye as best as she could.

"Forgot what exactly?" I put on my black and red NASCAR cap and headed out to the house for some grub with Applebloom following on my heel. The brisk fall air felt good as I took in a deep breath through my nose. A light breeze flowed by, swirling red and yellow leaves up into the air. "Morning Apple family!" I greeted Granny, Applejack and Big Mac whom were already eating at the table.

"Mornin' Cougar, sleep well there youngin'?" Granny asked, pouring her coffee onto a plate instead of her mug until Big Mac quickly swapped the two pieces of dish ware. I took a seat right next to Applejack, but right as I did, there was a tugging at my pants leg from Applebloom.

"Don't ya remember Cougar?" The filly's orange eyes blinked sadly at me. "Ya promised last night that ya would walk me ta school this mornin'," she sat on her haunches with a pouty look on her face. 'Oh crap, that's right. How could I forget that?' I mentally berated myself. Bending down in my seat, I picked Applebloom up and sat her on her haunches on my lap.

"Sorry Applebloom," I apologized, softly stroking her mane behind her bow, "I went to bed really late last night and it just sort of, slipped my mind," I explained, still petting her mane. Her face lit up as she believed my explanation, which was true by the way, and she hopped back down onto the floor.

"So, does that mean ya still wanna walk me ta school?" She clapped her forehooves together.

"Of course AB," I chuckled, tickling her chin with my index and middle fingers. The filly giggled, ducked away from my tickling and galloped her way over to the kitchen door, holding it open for me to follow her.

"We better hurry up then Cougar," she declared, "school starts right at 8:00; Ah ain't never been late before 'n Ah don't wanna start today!" She urged me to leave now. Double checking the clock in the kitchen, my eyes squinted in confusion as the kitchen clock read 7:26.

"You've still got 34 minutes before school starts Applebloom," I turned back to her. "Do you really want to get there that bad?" I asked.

"Well, usually Sweetie Belle 'n Scootaloo meet up with me halfway ta school 'n we chat on the way ta school," she replied, trotting back over to me. "Then we sit 'n talk with Ms. Cheerilee 'fore school actually starts. Or we chat with a few other ponies like Rumble or Pip," she added. A sly and devious smirk spread across my face as a tease welled up within me that I couldn't refuse.

"Do you chat with Featherweight too Applebloom?" I taunted the poor filly. Big Mac snorted and looked in our direction while Applebloom's cheeks turned from yellow to red in the snap of a finger.

"O-only 'bout his pictures he takes fer the school paper," she looked away from me meekly. I'm mean, yeah I know, but how could I resist the temptation. It's not like I was intentionally trying to hurt her feelings. At least Granny Smith chuckled as well.

"Hold on now Cougar," Applejack spoked out, "Ah don't mind my little sister growin' up, but Ah don't want her that grown up just yet," she warned me. Holding up my hands in defense, I quickly patted the filly's head and scooted my chair out.

"Fine, we'll go," I started, pretending to head to the door before turning to the left, heading for the food on the counter. "After I've eaten breakfast," I stuck out my tongue at Applebloom, causing her entire face to droop in annoyance. Applejack wrapped a foreleg around my shoulder as I stood next to her chair. Unfortunately, she squeezed the one still sore spot on my shoulder where I body-planted the cloud a few days ago at the academy. "Gah," I quietly yelped when her hoof squeezed.

"Oh sorry Cougar," the orange mare apologized and immediately relinquished her hold on me. I had shown Applejack and Applebloom my bruises when I returned back home after my day with Soarin and Rainbow Dash, deciding that it would be best if I told them and didn't try to hide them. Of course, Applebloom was really worried that I was hurt, yet at the same time was impressed I could take such a beating and still be standing. AJ on the other hoof didn't seem too worried since she's seen me take a worse beating from timberwolves. "Anyway," she said after the reverberating pain in my shoulder dissipated, "Ah was just sayin', go on 'n take Bloom ta school; it shouldn't take too long, 'n breakfast will still be here," she grinned.

"Unless 'o course ya eat it all as soon as he leaves," Big Mac said jokingly under his breath. AJ ignored him with a head shake and roll of her emerald orbs before lightly pushing me towards the door.

"Ah'll see ya in few?" She asked me. I replied with a simple smile, nod and a quick hug before setting off with Applebloom for school. "Have a good day at school now ya hear?!" Applejack shouted to us, although we were still right in front of the porch.

"I will mother!" I waved to the mare. Applejack heartily laughed as she backed up into the kitchen and let the screen door shut. In front of me, Applebloom was running in circles, kicking dirt into the air, anxiously and impatiently waiting for me to walk her to school.

"Did you finish your homework AB?" I stuffed my hands into my pockets, sounding like a parent. The yellow filly slowed her pace so I could walk side by side with her as she patted her green backpack.

"You betcha! The math was a lil challengin', but Ah'm sure Ah got at least a B+!" She beamed proudly. I recalled from the previous few days Applejack telling me that Applebloom would start asking me for help now that the new school year had begun, yet the youngest member of the Apple clan hadn't asked me for help on anything.

"What were you learning? Adding, dividing, multiplication, subtraction?" I questioned as we entered the town.

"Square roots 'n fractions," Applebloom shuddered.

"Ooh," I seethed, "math sometimes is a harsh mistress Applebloom, especially once you start getting into fractions and algebra," I shuddered along with her. "I can help you pretty easily on those, but I wasn't too bright with algebra and geometry," I explained. "Frankly, those should be elective math classes."

"Ah know right!?" Applebloom agreed. "The four basics Ah think are good enough. Plus, Ah know Ah need a little advanced math fer my chemistry studies, but Twilight helps me learn without too much complicated math, that's why Ah find it enjoyable 'n easy," she explained.

"You're gonna make a great chemist someday Bloom, or pharmacist," I picked her up and placed her on top of my shoulders just like I did back in the Crystal Empire. A few ponies in town smiled at the display as Applebloom propped her front legs on top of my head. Looking to the side, I saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake waving us over from their bakery window. "Hey Bloom, how about a quick doughnut?" I offered. The filly in question licked her lips and patted my head, urging me to go forth.

"Good morning Applebloom, Cougar," Cup Cake opened the door for us. Applebloom had to jump down from my shoulders so she wouldn't be knocked off from the top of the doorframe. "Taking this one to school I see," the bakery mare cooed, trotting behind the counter while Carrot Cake wiped down a few tables and windows.

"Yeah, Applebloom wanted to spend as much time as she wanted in the morning," I smiled down at the pony whom had her face pressed up against the glass cabinet full of goodies. A little drool dripped from her tongue as her eyes scanned the contents before her.

"Have you been to the school house before Cougar?" Carrot Cake asked from across the room, wringing out his rag before wiping down another table.

"No, but I guess it'll be interesting to see," I replied. "Pick what you want Bloom," I scratched the filly's neck.

"Ah want an apple fritter please!" her yellow hoof tapped the glass in front of the treat she desired. Cup Cake giggled at her enthusiasm and put the doughnut in a white paper bag, giving it to the filly.

"And for you Cougar?" She turned to me. I licked my lips while my mouth started to water at the biggest glazed doughnut in the glass cabinet.

"I'll take that huge glazed doughnut please," I requested politely. Cup Cake put the goodie in a paper bag and set it on the counter while she tallied up the total. My pale blue orbs quickly scanned the array of breakfast foods once again, landing on a lemon muffin. "Cup Cake, could I get three of those Lemon Surprise Muffins please?" I added.

"Well, since you asked so politely," she teased before grabbing three of the muffins and adding them to my giant bag. I thanked her once again when the cash register revealed the total. "Comes to 6 bits please," Cup Cake announced. I dug around my pocket until I found a five bit piece and a single bit.

"Here you go, and here's a little something for you and your adorable kids," I winked, placing another five bit piece in the tip jar.

"Thank you so much Cougar! Enjoy your day at school Applebloom," Carrot Cake waved us goodbye as we exited the store. The yellow pony briskly gobbled down her goodie, tossing the now empty bag into a nearby trash bin.

"Who are them muffins for Cougar?" she curiously asked. Right before I could answer, a shrill voice called us over.

"Applebloom, Cougar!" To our left, Applebloom and I saw the familiar faces of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle trotting over to us with huge smiles on their faces. "Since when did you get a cool ride to school?" Scootaloo craned her neck up at the filly on my shoulders.

"Since he promised me he'd walk me ta school last night," Applebloom leaned her elbow on my head. "Rainbow still up at the academy?" She asked her friend. The orange pegasus nodded sadly, missing her sister, but perked right back up.

"I can go a few days without being flown to school by the coolest flyer of all time," the filly shined her hoof on her chest fur. Sweetie Belle and I rolled our eyes at the same time as the other two bragged about who had the better ride to school.

"Do you girls have any school projects coming up?" I questioned the trio.

"No, not that Ms. Cheerilee has told us anyways," Sweetie Belle replied. "Besides, it's only the beginning of the school year," she added. We rounded a corner and I saw the red schoolhouse at the far end of the road.

"True, but when I was in fifth or sixth grade, my teacher paired my whole class up on like a photo collage or a written report on what we did over the summer, just a fun project to kick off the school year," I mentioned.

"We actually did that last year," Scootaloo exclaimed, "and thanks to Featherweight constantly taking pictures, we had enough photos to fill in our own personal yearbooks!"

"Eeyup," Applebloom agreed, "we had the best project out 'o anypony. Boy were Diamond Tiara 'n Silver Spoon mad!" She giggled at her rival's misfortune. As the schoolhouse grew closer, the playground brought back fond memories of Reaper and myself playing Star Wars, tag, hide 'n seek or soldiers on our old elementary school playground. In fact, for a brief second, I could have sworn I saw little ten year old versions of me and Reaper racing across the monkey bars.

"Well, what do you expect when your whole report is 'What our Butlers did for us over the summer'?" Scootaloo said in a smart aleck tone, crushing my daydream. "Too bad Ms. Cheerilee didn't have a grade for 'most boring report in the world,' or else they would've won it hooves down."

"Hey, why is the door locked?" Sweetie Belle asked when her magic aura glowed over the door but it wouldn't open or even budge. The worrisome unicorn knocked several times, yet no answer was given, nor was the door unlocked.

"The lights aren't on either!" Applebloom stood her hind legs on my head and peered into the window of the darkened schoolhouse. "It's not like Ms. Cheerilee ta be late!" she exclaimed with fear.

"Ms. Cheerilee and late go together as well as Snips and Snails and intelligence," Scootaloo peered into another window.

"Has she ever been late before girls?" I asked as I bent down, allowing Applebloom to join her friends on the ground. I was met with head shakes from the trio as Applebloom bit her lower lip. "Is today an inservice day she forgot to tell you about?" I scratched the back of my neck.

"Ms. Cheerilee ain't forgetful Cougar," Applebloom danced around. Suddenly, a loud sneeze made us jump about three feet in the air. On the opposite road was a maroon earth pony, walking along slowly, and she looked sicker than anypony I had seen before. Her face was completely pale, her eyes were watering and she had a tissue practically glued to her nose.

"Good, morning, ACHOO, girls, Cougar," she weakly greeted us with another powerful sneeze.

"Are you feeling okay Ms. Cheerilee?" Sweetie Belle gasped at her teacher's condition. The earth pony groaned, shielding her eyes from the sun while unlocking the schoolhouse door, allowing the four of us to enter.

"Ma'am?" I asked her with concern riding on my voice. Cheerilee weakly turned on the lights and sat down at her desk, moaning and groaning all the way. Her saddlebags drooped sadly down to the floor; she didn't seem to notice as she laid her head onto her desk.

"I-I'm, ACHOO, fine, just a tiny case of the sniffles," she sneezed and loudly blew her nose.

"A LITTLE!?" Scootaloo exclaimed, causing the maroon teacher to clasp her hooves over hear ears. "Oops, I'm so sorry Ms. Cheerilee!" She apologized. The four of us had surrounded the desk, watching like hawks over the sickened teacher.

"Ya better not let my big brother know yer walkin' around sick like this," Applebloom advised the pony.

"It's just a stuffy nose, nothing to-" Cheerilee tried to brush the accusations aside, but stopped and dove her head into her trash can. "BLEERRGH!" she vomited into the bin. None of us could utter a word as the poor teacher vomited for about three minutes, off and on.

"Okay, you shouldn't make yourself suffer like this," I held her mane so she wouldn't get her bile all over. "Case of the sniffles my white butt, you've got the flu," I broke through her lie.

"B-but, the children need to learn," the teacher defended, "th-they can't afford to miss a day on account of me," she peered up at me before sticking her head back into the trash can.

"Yeah!" Scootaloo agreed, "or else we'll have to waste a day of summer next year to make up for the lost day!" She exclaimed. Sweetie Belle looked over at her friend with perhaps the greatest 'Are you freaking serious?' look of all time.

"Right Scoots, because us missing one day of summer is more important than our teacher's health!" she shouted.

"Calm down you two; I'm trying to think," I growled, shutting up the bickering duo.

"I have a list of substitutes, but it'd be- BLERGH, rude to ask them on such short notice," Cheerilee continued her off and on upchucking. The maroon educator then lifted her head out of the trash can, causing me to almost throw up as the can was nearly full of vomit. "C-Cougar, you're already here, would you mind going to ask Fluttershy if she's available to sub for at least until noon? Then the half day would count as a full day and the children wouldn't have to miss any summer," she explained.

Fluttershy, a sub? I could see Cheerilee's logic with how kind Fluttershy is and how good she can be with kids, but knowing Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, I feared poor Flutters would get eaten alive by those two. "Wait a sec Ms. Cheerilee!" Applebloom burst with an idea. Cheerilee managed to gather the strength to look over at the filly practically jumping up and down. "Why don't we just get Cougar ta sub for ya?" 'What?!' I thought in response.

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Scootaloo's wings fluttered in agreement.

"How the hell is that a great idea?" My hands let go of Cheerilee's mane right as she upchucked again. "I've never taught a class before," I explained.

"So?" Scootaloo jumped on Cheerilee's desk, leaning against me ever so casually. "It can't be that hard to be a sub."

"Besides, we like you," Sweetie Belle smiled, "and you're good with authority and responsibility. Most of the class I'm sure would respect you."

"Not ta mention yer military background. Ah bet ya wouldn't take no crap from certain fillies," Applebloom deviously smiled. I looked down at Cheerilee whom had stood back up on all four legs, albeit still a little woozy.

"I can't argue that, but it's up to you Cougar. I would trust my class with you for half a day," she held her head. 'Oh, unfair!' I mentally complained as the Crusaders fell to their knees, holding their forehooves together, begging me to agree.

"Cheerilee," I began, "I wouldn't be good at explaining a lot of things," I said.

"Oh, no need to, ACHOO, worry," she sneezed again, reaching into her saddle bag on the floor, "just take in homework from last night and set it into my to do pile; I'll get to it when I return. Then just give them these math and writing worksheets, have them read Chapter 3 of their history textbooks and have a short discussion about it. Don't worry, Chapter 3 is only about seven pages long," she assured me. My eyes went over the math worksheet which was only about thirty questions long while the writing worksheet had a prompt about the kids writing about anything they wanted to.

"Are you sure you trust me to do this? What if we can't cover all of Chapter 3 or what if we don't get to it at all?" I asked worriedly, not wanting to mess this up for both the kids and Cheerilee.

"Of course I do Cougar," she weakly smiled at me, "and don't sweat it. As long as you at least get those worksheets done, it'll be fine. As for the writing worksheet, I find that having the kids write about whatever they want gives them room to grow and improve on their writing rather than having to write about a specific topic they do not enjoy. So what do you say?" She asked me. I took one final look at the lesson plan and the kids before turning back to Cheerilee.

"Just call me Mr. Cougar for the day," I smiled at the teacher.

"BEST SUB EVER!" Scootaloo jumped for joy. All three of the Crusaders jumped and hollered before remembering their teacher was in distress. "Sorry," the orange pegasus meekly apologized again.

"Now as for you Cheerilee," I started, "we have to get you home and in bed," I placed a concerned hand on her shoulder.

"But school starts soon, how will we get her home in time?" Sweetie Belle asked. Just then, the school door opened again to reveal Derpy walking in with a purple unicorn filly.

"Good morning- MS. CHEERILEE, YOU LOOK AWFUL!" Derpy exclaimed.

"Shhh!" I advised the grey pegasus, getting her to quiet down. "Yes, Cheerilee is sick, but she's entrusted me to sub the class for half a day," I gave Derpy the play-by-play explanation.

"Oh, that's terrible!" Derpy gasped, "the Ms. Cheerilee is sick part, not you subbing," Derpy reassured me. "Dinky, are you okay with Cougar being your teacher today?" Derpy asked the purple unicorn. The unicorn known as Dinky apparently looked between myself and her mother.

"I haven't actually met him before mommy," the unicorn replied to Derpy.

"Right! Cougar, this is the muffin of my eye, Dinky Doo, my cute little daughter," Derpy proudly announced, shoving Dinky forward. The unicorn studied me for a brief moment, cocking her head from side to side before reaching out with her foreleg.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Cougar," she greeted. Sure, seeing the unicorn daughter of a pegasus was a little strange, but there were two conclusions I drew from the circumstances. Either Dinky was the blood daughter of Derpy and the pegasus had unicorn ancestry, or Dinky was adopted. Which ever one was the correct option I have no clue; it is none of my business.

"Ah can't believe we never introduced ya ta Dinky before Cougar," Applebloom acknowledged our first meeting.

"At least I met your boyfriends," I winked at the Crusaders. The trio froze and hid their faces behind their backpacks. Dinky trotted on over and stood with the Crusaders as Cheerilee slowly put on her saddlebags and tried to head out of the door, but she was walking on jelly-like legs from what little energy she had left. "Hey Derpy, do you have any mail duties this morning?" I asked the mail mare. The dirty blond maned pegasus looked up in my direction and nodded.

"I always take my little muffin to school first!" She took a mail cap out of nowhere it seemed and placed it atop her head.

"Well would you mind helping Cheerilee home?" I asked, "I don't think she has the energy to get back," I said, looking sadly at the maroon earth pony that struggling just to keep her eyes open. Derpy took one glance at Cheerilee and nodded, placing the earth pony's foreleg over her neck to guide her back to her house.

"Come on Cheerilee, Derpy's gotcha!" The grey pegasus began to walk the maroon teacher out of the schoolhouse. "Oops, sorry!" She apologized when Cheerilee's head hit the doorframe. "Now you be good for Cougar Dinky," the cross eyed mare instructed her daughter.

"I will mommy! See you at noon," Dinky took a seat at a desk near the Crusaders as the clock grew ever closer to 8:00 A.M.

"Wait, one more thing Derpy!" I just remembered the treat I had bought for her in case I ran into her on the way back to Sweet Apple Acres. Reaching down, I took the three Lemon Surprise Muffins out of the bag and her eyes grew until I thought they would make her head explode. My action was quickly regretted as the pegasus ditched Ms. Cheerilee against the wall and zoomed up to me, eating all three of the pastries in one bite.

"YOU'RE THE BEST HUMAN I'VE EVER MET!" She shrieked. I was about to correct her on the fact that I was the only human she'll ever meet when she pressed her lips against my cheek and gave me a big slobbery kiss. The Crusaders and Dinky giggled while Cheerilee still groaned in misery.

"Thanks, you're too kind," I wiped the slobber off my face. "Can you let AJ know I won't be back until noon?" I requested Derpy.

"Sure thing Cougar!" She saluted, "and I'll drop by all the parents' houses and let them know the up and up to get their kids at noon!" She reattached Cheerilee's foreleg to her neck, walking her out of the schoolhouse. Sighing from the immense responsibility Cheerilee trusted me with, I softly sat down in her chair and waited for the rest of the student body to arrive. And one by one until 7:59, students began to enter the classroom to sit down, albeit puzzled that I was sitting in place of Cheerilee.

RRIIIIIIINNNNBRRRRNNNNGGGG!

The school bell rang several times, indicating that classes had started. From what I could tell, every student was presently at school given that all of the desks were filled. I took the liberty of writing my name on the chalkboard because I couldn't think of any other reason to use the chalkboard today. Once the bell ceased ringing, I cleared my throat to begin talking. Luckily, all of the colts and fillies sat quietly, albeit some were very confused. "Good morning class, it's good to see all of you this morning," I stood up from the desk and walked in front of it, leaning backwards against he front.

"What've you done with Ms. Cheerilee?" Silver Spoon didn't even bother to raise her hoof, instead glaring at me like a police detective.

"Why do ya gotta assume he did somethin' ta her?" I heard Applebloom mumble.

"Now, now, settle down you two," I politely advised the bickering duo. "Although that is a rather brash assumption, Ms. Cheerilee unfortunately has a nasty case of the flu and asked me to sub for you guys until noon so you would not have to use a summer day to make up," I explained to Silver Spoon. The grey pony seemed to buy the explanation and slumped back into her chair. "And as for formalities, you can either just call me Cougar, or you may call me Mr. Cougar if you prefer, I don't really care which." Pipsqueak courteously raised his hoof in the air, waiting to be called upon. "Yes Pip?" I pointed to the colt.

"So, do we get a free day Mr. Cougar?" he asked me. I couldn't help but grin at the colt's gentleman qualities.

"To answer your question Pip, no," I replied, pushing myself up from the desk. "Cheerilee has asked me to gather up your homework and to leave it on her desk until she can come back and grade it." All of the kids, most of them anyways, shrugged in agreement and got their homework out of their backpacks or saddlebags.

"Ms. Cheerilee made the right decision," Diamond Tiara snickered while I collected the sheets of homework, "you'd probably give automatic A's to your blank flank friends, especially the hillbilly whose sister keeps you as a pet!" the pink earth pony insulted, resulting in a round of giggling from her and her goon. I froze as my hand grasped her homework sheet, nearly crumpling it up. I had to watch my anger; no one is going to insult my fam- friends. "Hey! Watch what those disgusting monkey paws do to my homework. I will NOT get an F because of your bumbling around," she demanded.

"Would you tone it down Diamond, the dude's just trying his best!" Rumble growled at the spoiled bitch. Unfortunately, Silver Spoon continued talking for her boss.

"If you," she pointed a hoof at me while I gathered up Featherweight's homework, "or anypony else think you can just waltz in here and replace Ms. Cheerilee, you are sadly mistaken!" Silver Spoon exclaimed.

"He's not trying to replace anypony!" Scootaloo turned around and shouted at the grey filly.

"Ooh, girl fight!" An extremely slow sounding voice excitedly shouted. Looking up, a dark yellow unicorn colt with a green mane and a snail for a cutie mark was smiling like an idiot. "Featherweight, get your camera!"

"Yeah," a light green unicorn colt agreed. This one had buck teeth and sort of a messy spikey mane and was rather round. "We've gotta document this for future generations to enjoy!"

"These two bicker on a constant bases, imbeciles," Featherweight rubbed his head.

"Shut your trap perverts," I groaned, taking their homework. I paused for a moment from taking in homework to lay a few ground rules. "Okay, before I continue, we need to all be on the same track understand?" The class, or the few that actually cared to listen nodded. "First, if you any of you have a question about your schoolwork or just want to talk to someone about something, I'll listen. Second, no passing notes amongst yourselves during class or interrupting somepony while they're talking. Third, if you have to go to the bathroo- Sweetie Belle, is he paying attention?" I pointed to a brown colt with a propellor hat on his head. His face was looking down at his desk and he didn't even have his homework ready.

Sweetie Belle looked over at the colt and rolled her eyes. "No, Button Mash always gets lost with that stupid JoyBoy of his," she explained. So that's his name huh? A gaming pony, guess I shouldn't be surprised. "Every day, he comes in playing his JoyBoy and forgets when class starts and Ms. Cheerilee takes it away from him." Getting the right idea, I stood next to the colt and placed my hand over the screen. Instead of shrieking or telling me to move, the little brat smacked my hand away!

"You, play time is over," I grabbed the blue portable gaming device and took it from Button Mash.

"HEY! I was about to- you're not Ms. Cheerilee, you're that human thing," he said, eyes growing big. "Is it snack time yet?" He asked, looking up at the clock. A few colts and fillies chuckled, apparently seeing this as a favorite pastime with Cheerilee.

"Yes, I am a human and NO it is not snack time Button Mash," I stuffed the little device in my pocket. "I hate to sound like the cliche teacher, but you'll get this back after class, or I can be an asshole and leave it on all day, draining the batteries until I give it back to you, DEAD," I swung the JoyBoy in front of his face.

"NO! If you do that, the save files will be corrupted! Three weeks will be wasted!" He cried.

"Then I will be a nice guy and give this back," I quickly tossed it back to him, "as long as you promise to keep it off until noon," I added. Naturally, I didn't trust the colt as I heard the click of the on button being flicked upwards.

"Hey! You took the batteries!" He whined. I laughed, tossing the cylindrical objects up and down in my hand. The Crusaders laughed too, as did Rumble, Pip, Featherweight, those two idiot colts and Dinky.

"Gotcha didn't I? Now, back to the rules," the batteries were stuffed into my pocket. As for using the bathroom, just go if you have to since the bathroom is in the same room as the schoolhouse. I understand both colt and filly needs when using the lavatory," I explained. Fourth and FINAL rule: There is to be absolutely NO bullying while I am subbing in this classroom," I said sternly to the class. "You don't want to have to find out what I do to bullies," I cast my evil glare towards Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "Anyway," my attitude switched back to my normal one, "how about roll call?"

"You already took our homework dude," Rumble pointed out, "isn't that enough to know we're here?" Fair point I had to admit.

"Nah, I want to make this official for Cheerilee," I replied, pulling out her attendance sheet and clearing my throat. "I already know the Crusaders, Dinky, Rumble, Pip, Featherweight, Diamond Tiara, Button Mash and Silver Spoon are here," I checked off ten names. "Okay then, Snips?"

"Here!"

"Snails?"

"Duh, is that me?" The dark yellow unicorn colt scratched his head.

"Okay then, well I guess that's good enough," I checked off the rest of the names as I again saw that every desk was filled. "Alright class, your teacher has given me these math and writing worksheets to fill the day along with reading Chapter 3 out of your history textbooks," I announced. "Dinky, would you please be kind enough to pass these around?" I kindly asked the pink unicorn. She nodded, hopping up from her chair and trotting over the big desk at the front of the room. Dinky took the papers in her mouth and passed them around to her fellow classmates. "Yes Featherweight?" I called upon the pegasus that had his hoof up.

"Are you sure we can finish all of this by noon? You're not gonna give us homework are you?" He questioned.

"No," I laughed, "subs shouldn't be allowed to give kids homework. Your teacher said get as much done as you can and she'll do a recap of chapter 3 with you guys tomorrow if she's feeling better." Featherweight wiped his brow and sighed in relief as Dinky placed both worksheets on his desk. "By the way, what time do you guys normally have recess?" I sat down in Cheerilee's big comfy chair.

"10:30 to 11:00 every day," Applebloom's orange eyes peered up from reading her math worksheet.

"An animal telling me what to do, my father will certainly hear about this," Diamond Tiara complained, scribbling down answers on her math worksheet with her mouth. Ignoring her, I stretched out my back, leaning back in the chair and just waited for a kid who wanted help.

(11:00)

The whole day pretty much went like a normal day for a substitute teacher. From 8:00 to 9:00, the kids used the hour to complete their thirty question math worksheet which was actually just a recap of long division and multiplying decimals. And of course, I went out of my way to help kids who asked for help. It didn't take long for me to realize I had to park a chair near Snips and Snails' desks with them asking every thirty seconds for help. After the math portion of class, the 9:00 to 10:00 slot of class time was used for the kid's writing.

It didn't matter to me, and I hope it didn't matter to Cheerilee, how much the kids wrote as long as they had fun and what they had written in the hour was readable. Once most of the kids were done, I had decided to take a few of the stories from a few of the students to read for them while the rest of the class finished. Out of the five stories I took from Dinky, Scootaloo, Rumble, Featherweight and even Diamond Tiara, Rumble's was by far my favorite. He wrote about a Wonderbolt in training that was tasked with saving the whole squadron of Wonderbolts when they went missing somewhere near Saddle Arabia. In short, it was sort of a short pony version of Iron Eagle, but much better. As for Scootaloo, I was intrigued that she wrote her own Daring Do fanfiction, chronicling a new adventure she called: Daring Do and the Demon at Phoenix Peak.

At 10:00, I had the kids read Chapter 3 of their History books, but since it was seven pages long, most finished within five minutes so I allowed them to sit and talk quietly until recess, nothing much really happened in that time either. However, now that it was 11:00, the kids were restless; there was nothing else to do and I couldn't think of anything for fear of ruining something Cheerilee had planned. "Anyone have an idea on what to do?" I asked the class, "I'm sure sitting and talking quietly for another hour would get boring."

"You could let us go home early, if you were smart that is," Diamond Tiara giggled up a storm.

"Tee hee," I rolled my eyes, unimpressed. "Did it take you all day to come up with that?" I shot back. Diamond's eyes shrank down as she hadn't prepared a comeback. "Ignoring that crap, come on, anyone have any ideas to pass the time? And no, a trip to the video game store is not gonna happen," I immediately crushed Button Mash's idea.

"Ooh, can we sing a song?" Dinky suggested, waving her purple hoof around.

"I don't feel like singing and how can one song last an hour?" I questioned the unicorn. She sadly put her hoof down and laid her head on her desk.

"Watch the History of the Wonderbolts Movie?!" Scootaloo practically screamed.

"Didn't Cheerilee's only copy melt on the projector?" Applebloom turned to her friend. The orange pegasus' eyes grew big as a few tears filled up her eyes and she brushed away her idea.

"Hour long recess?" Featherweight suggested.

"You just had recess kid," I shook my head with a chuckle.

"Field trip to Sugar Cube Corner?" Snails exclaimed.

"The last thing I need is a room full of colts and fillies all jacked up on sugar," I rejected the idea, crossing my arms over my chest. When all hope was lost for an idea, Sweetie Belle's hoof slowly raised up and she politely waited for me to call on her. "Yes Sweetie Belle?" I allowed her to speak.

"How about you tell us a story?" She advocated with her usual sweet smile. My arms uncrossed and fell to my sides while thinking about the suggestion. The only story I've really told anypony here was my own version of the original Halloween film. A few of the students nodded and chatted in agreement at the idea.

"Well, I'm not much of a storyteller," I admitted, "besides, what kind of story would you like to hear?" I questioned. That was kind of a mistake; the entire class erupted with ideas.

"An action story with lots of high speed, punches and explosions!" Rumble demanded.

"A crime drama!" Featherweight exclaimed, "like a newspaper reporter who uncovers a diabolical plot and decides to use his reporting skills to bring the bad guys to justice!" Pipsqueak jumped on top of his desk to better grab my attention.

"How about a pirate story where a kind pirate decides to overthrow his evil captain and becomes a pirate for hire and works under the Trottingham Armada?" He wished.

"Ah've got it!" Applebloom declared, "how about a tale of a hardworkin' farm pony that gets involved with the Royal Guard by goin' undercover to thwart a plot to steal millions 'o bits from a Las Pegasus casino?" 'Okay, that's somewhat the plot to Ocean's 11,' I thought.

"Tell us a romance story where a handsome, muscular stallion sweeps a mare off her hooves and fights to defend her from a bad guy or an ex-boyfriend!" Sweetie Belle gushed. The light grey filly's eyes shrank to the size of dimes as she realized what she had requested. "I'm hanging out with Rarity too much," she shivered.

"Okay guys, one at a time please," I wished for the kids to calm down. Finally, the class did quiet down to a hushed murmur as the kids still thought of ideas. "Scootaloo, any ideas?" I asked the purple maned pegasus. Her light purple eyes were back to normal as the memory of her favorite movie being melted disappeared. I chuckled at her face that contorted into many different expressions while she tried to conjure up an idea.

"Well, I've always been curious about how you got the nickname 'Cougar,'" she began, "so, how about you tell us the story of where your nickname Cougar came from?" Scootaloo proposed. A vast majority of the kids ditched their own ideas in favor of hers and pushed for it to go through.

"Oh, great idea Scoots!" Applebloom patted Scootaloo's back. "Ah've been curious 'bout that myself. How does an animal get their name from the name of another animal?" The earth pony filly pondered aloud. A sly smile creeped along the front of my face as that day came back to me. For once, a memory in the Air Force that the ponies brought up wasn't a painful one; it was actually a pretty fun and adventurous memory of my career.

"Funny you girls should mention that," I started to walk around the schoolhouse. "This story has a tiny bit of what you guys wanted," I grasped their attention even more. "This story has your action," Rumble's face lit up like a Christmas Tree, "your wish of some military presence," Pip's muzzle grinned, "and your romance," Sweetie Belle blushed at her Rarity-like wish.

"Huh, this is kind of like when we asked all of the older ponies how they got their Cutie Marks," Scootaloo commented. I walked past her and patted her purple mane.

"Now, a call sign is given to a pilot based on either their last name or a stupid and/or embarrassing moment in their lives during training or when they officially get certified to fly jets," I explained. "And they are given by senior squad members or in rare occasions, like mine for instance, the whole squadron leader can give a pilot their call sign. But I don't think this is quite like your world's Cutie Marks," I laughed. "Some of you don't know, but my friend, Reaper, and I weren't exactly old enough to sign up for the Air Force," I begrudgingly admitted.

"So, you guys lied to get into the Air Force?" Rumble leaned forward in his desk.

"Yes, but we felt like we had to; our country was on the brink of war and we knew we had to do something to help prevent it or protect our country. And for the record, I do NOT condone lying at all," I made sure the kids understood. "Getting back to the story, Reaper had already earned his call sign from the pilots that helped train us. Yes, Dinky?" I saw the unicorn had her hoof in the air.

"Could you guys reject a call sign your squad mates gave you?" She questioned.

"Oh of course, if we were okay with getting one more embarrassing or annoying," I replied. "As for Reaper, he got his call sign when during the training simulator, he would be dead quiet because he didn't want to say something stupid when he shot down a simulated enemy. For that, a senior pilot commented, 'That kid's like the Grim Reaper, silent but kills pretty much everything in site.' "Once his simulation concluded, the same senior pilot congratulated him and called him Reaper for the first time and it stuck."

"Okay, so how did your whole squadron leader come up for your nickname Mr. Cougar?" Pipsqueak propped his hooves onto his desk.

"It all started on a warm summer day…."

*Flashback. June 2016*

"Damn Adam, oops, I mean Reaper," a 17 year old version of me patted my friend on the back as we walked down the halls of our training facility. Reaper, another 17 year old caucasian male grinned at being called his call sign instead of his real name. "You really killed at the simulator, again," I congratulated my friend.

"Come on now, you're the one with the highest score in the history of the academy," Reaper encouraged me, "I may bag a few more bogeys, but you're way more precise, smooth and consistent which is what the simulator measures. We just need to come up with your call sign," Reaper slung his arm over my shoulder. The senior pilots that were overviewing our simulations had given us the rest of the day off, leaving us to rest until tomorrow. Soon, we would be ready to start going up in T-38s to get us ready for our permanent jets.

"Just don't try what all those other recruits did," I looked behind us at another trainee in our squadron. His call sign unfortunately was Twinkle Toes since he originally got the name Klutz for spilling Stinger's coffee all over his uniform. He whined about getting that name, so in turn, Stinger gave him the new name Twinkle Toes, poor guy.

"Reaper, Private!" Speaking of Stinger. The two of us turned around to see a man in his early fifties with his arms crossed and a pair of folders in his arms. And Stinger did not look very pleased with us.

"Something the matter sir?" Reaper and I quickly saluted him.

"Actually, I found something very troubling about your enlistment forms," he showed us what the folders contained. Instantly, our hearts stopped and we both looked at each other as the color drained from our faces. It was true, we had lied about our ages to get approved for the Air Force, but we weren't going anywhere just being stuck in High School. To our honest to God shock, we were accepted in February and had been training ever since. If anything truly surprised us, it was how long it had been that we hadn't been caught.

"And what would be the problem Stinger sir?" I gulped, releasing a shaky hand from Reaper's shoulder. The senior officer stuck the folders under his left arm and motioned with his right arm to have us follow him.

"We'll discuss this over a bite at the Flyer's Club," Stinger turned around and walked away with us in pursuit, albeit scared to death. The Flyer's Club was a local off base restaurant with a bar on the second floor which allowed us to eat below. Most of the pilots and staff members on base actually preferred to eat and drink here over the bar on base; there were better chances of meeting women. "Sit down," he ordered us once we strolled into the restaurant and sat down at a booth. "Order whatever you'd like; it's on me," he gave us a smile.

"Oookay," Reaper cast a worried gaze at Stinger, scooting me closer to the wall so he could sit down as well. The all too familiar clink of a quarter dropping into the jukebox at the back of the restaurant seemed to overpower the small talk going around. Since it was only four in the afternoon, the place wasn't too crowded. Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone began to play over the jukebox right as Stinger was going to deliver his speech.

"What can I get you boys?" A woman's voice asked us. All three of us looked to the side to see a gorgeous 21 year old waitress with the name tag Emma on the left side of her waitress uniform. "Hello Reaper," she greeted my friend in her flirtatious voice. The two had a playful banter they cooked up a few months ago and they seemed to enjoy it.

"Hey Emma," Reaper said ever so casually, "excited for College graduation next week?" He asked.

"Oh you know it, four long years are about to pay off, then I can go on and be a vet!" She contained her excitement. "Anyways, what can I get for you nice gentleman?" She asked, whipping out a pen and pad. The three of us recited our drink and food orders which Emma scribbled down faster than any known doctor could and delivered the ticket to the kitchen.

"Alright boys," Stinger opened up both files and turned them upside down so we could read them. In said folders were pictures of Reaper and myself that were paper clipped to our dossiers containing nearly everything about us. Sweat began to form on our palms as on the front page of both of our dossiers circled in red Sharpie were our birth dates and photocopies of our Alaska State driver's licenses. "Would you two care to tell me what is wrong with this picture?" His fingers softly tapped the pages where the Sharpies had circled.

We gave one final look at each other that read, 'We're screwed. No turning back now.' "Um, those would not be our real driver's licenses sir," I nervously gulped down my root beer that Emma had brought.

"Well, no shit," Stinger's icy glare never left us, nor did his eyelids blink at all. "I would like to see your REAL licenses if you don't mind," his right hand overturned to show an empty palm. Wasting no time, we dug our licenses out of our wallets and tossed them into his awaiting palm. I shamefully held my hands over my eyes, daring not to look at my Commanding Officer's face while he checked over our real licenses. "Just as I suspected boys, you're one year younger than you claimed to be on your enlistment forms," he said sarcastically, already knowing our real ages. "You are aware that it is a federal crime to falsify those forms, correct?" he sat our cards back onto the table top and closed our folders.

"Yes Stinger sir, we are completely aware," Reaper admitted.

"You were aware of the risks, yet you still falsified federal documents, why?" His voice never rose and never sounded angry. Stinger still sounded like a caring grandfather asking his grandkid why he stole a piece of candy.

"Stinger sir," I dropped my hands from my eyes, "Reaper and I have wanted to serve our country in the Air Force or the Navy, and as fast as possible. So we made sure to gather enough High School credits to graduate a year early so we could have a better opportunity to join," I explained. "We did consider dropping out, but Reaper made the point that it would look suspicious that high school dropouts wanted to join the military and that if we did get rejected, having no diploma would hurt us in the long haul."

"We meant no disregard or harm sir," Reaper assured our C.O. "But the reward of serving our country outweighed the risks of getting caught." The elder officer leaned forward in his bench seat, folding his fingers together.

"You two know that if I turn you in for this, you'll be going to federal prison for a long time and you can kiss the military and any good career goodbye?" He asked us. Just as we were about to answer, the front doors of the restaurant slammed open to reveal four bikers, all looking drunk and ready for a brawl.

"Oh God, not these guys again," Emma groaned from behind the counter. The supposed leader of this gang grinned, showing that he had missing teeth and that the remaining teeth were all rotted and nasty. "Look, my manager told you guys that you're not welcome here anymore, not after you smashed that beer mug on the pool table," she gestured to the pool table where a huge chunk of the green felt was missing.

"I haven't been here in awhile," Stinger completely forgot about our current conversation. "These guys common trouble makers?"

"Yeah, but most of the time they just try to look intimidating," Reaper replied, his eyes never leaving Emma as the leader of the gang was eying her up and down several times.

"They're mainly rude and loud," I added for Reaper taking a short sip of my soda. "These four have never really done anything illegal, but I've kept on my toes with their behavior, especially with the number they did on that poor pool table," I explained. One of the other bikers went over to the jukebox and punched it, switching the song from Danger Zone to some death metal song. Reaper's grip on his glass mug tightened as the leader of the biker gang began to trace his finger up and down Emma's arm.

"Hey baby," he said in very creepy voice, "what say you and I ditch this dump and head back to my place?" He tried to purr seductively, but he only began coughing. The waitress uncomfortably sidestepped away.

"You want me to get the manager?" I could hear the cook ask loudly. I suspected he said it loud on purpose to try and scare the bikers away, but it didn't quite work out. The leader kept his hand on Emma's arm, not willing to let go.

"Come on," he gripped her arm, causing a painful squeak to emit from her mouth. In an instant, Reaper and I were on our feet in case anything did go wrong. Stinger on the other hand whipped out his cell phone, ready to call at least the Military Police since the restaurant was literally one hundred feet from the gate. "I haven't had any in months, and you're just fine enough," he growled.

"Sir, please let me go before I call the cops!" She exclaimed. We couldn't see what she had done because of the counter blocking our view, but from I pieced together, she had used her heel to stomp him on his foot.

"YOU DISRESPECTFUL LITTLE!" The creep yelled and slapped her across the face. That finally did it. Reaper burst full speed from our booth at about Mach 15 and was at the counter in an instant. He grabbed the pervert by his collar and yanked him right over the top of the counter while Stinger dialed the MP to come by.

"NEVER LAY YOUR HANDS ON A WOMAN!" Reaper yelled as he threw the guy on the ground, pounding in his face. A few other patrons ran outside to get away from the brawl that was undoubtably going to happen. The cook threw down his hat and exited the kitchen, punching one of the other guys in the face that was about to attack Reaper. Emma screamed so loud that the manager's door opened so fast that the hinges nearly broke off.

"I told you creeps to NEVER come back here!" He pulled the cook off the guy he was beating. Unfortunately, the third biker snuck up from behind the manager and put him in a headlock, yanking him to the ground while the second biker jumped the cook. There was a loud crash as Reaper's struggle with the gang leader rolled into a few tables, bringing them and all the utensils crashing to the ground. Finally deciding I couldn't sit idly by anymore, I leapt into action, literally. Using the downed table as a launching pad, I jumped up and pounced onto the guy beating up the manager, shoving him headfirst into the bottom of the counter and knocking him out cold.

"Thanks kid," I helped the manager to his feet. He briskly grabbed Emma and ran into his office, locking the door to keep her safe. Stinger jogged over to the front of the restaurant and sealed the exit to keep the brawlers contained until the MP force arrived. Pushing myself off the out cold biker, I turned my attention to the cook and his dispute. The biker on top of him had a switchblade and was ferociously swatting at him. Though I had to admit, the cook was doing a damned good job at holding him back. So to help, I kicked the switchblade out his hand, sending it flying to the wall behind him.

"Gotcha!" the cook used his opportunity and gripped the biker's throat with his hands, slamming his head onto the hard floor. Seeing that this was under control, I turned to see the fourth biker just sitting at table, watching his friends get their asses beat. Shrugging it off, I pried Reaper and the other guy off of each other before I began to wail on the pathetic loser. Reaper had a swollen black eye, a bloody lip and was looking like he was about to pass out; thankfully though, the cook steadied him and helped him over to an empty booth near the manager's office.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" I punched the biker in the nose, shattering it until streams of red, oozy blood seeped out of his now crooked nostrils. "You have the audacity to try that with a girl and then you beat up my friend?" I shook the creep like a rag doll.

"Yyyyyour ffffrriiiieend," he slurred his speech, "hit me firrsssst," he groaned. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my head as a pool cue broke against me, sending me and the biker to the ground. The fourth member of the gang cracked his knuckles and neck, ready for a brawl. The leader was on the floor, conscious, but not moving at all.

"Get up, pretty boy," the fourth biker growled. The pool cue was indeed broken, but he still had the blunt bottom end ready to beat me with. Standing up, I readied my fists for a tussle, but I instead grabbed the pool cue as he swung it at my head again. "Hey, let go!" He shrieked, jerking the stick around, trying to get me to give it up. Smirking, I yanked the cue so hard that I lost my grip and sent it careening back into the kitchen, knocking over pots and pans.

"Fists up, a-hole," I cracked my own knuckles. The biker clumsily swung his left fist at my chest which I caught with ease. I squeezed his hand so hard there was a faint crack heard as he fell to his knees, begging for mercy. "This one is for my best friend," I growled, twisting his left arm around and swinging my left fist up and punched his jaw upwards. About three teeth flew from his mouth along with a little spittle and blood.

"FREEZE, MP!" A stern voice announced as the little bell above the front door was ripped from the doorframe. About five Air Force MPs jogged into the restaurant, picking up the four bikers and handcuffing them.

"Good work gentleman," Stinger saluted the men. "My two golden boys are going to need a little medical attention as well, see that sickbay is prepped," Stinger instructed the head MP. He gave a quick nod and radioed back to base. The cook of the restaurant, named Ernie apparently, walked a dazed but otherwise fine Reaper over to me.

"Glad to see you're okay dude," Reaper and I fist-bumped each other. "How the hell did you not black out from getting hit with a pool cue?" he wiped some blood from his lips.

"Adrenaline most likely," I replied, seething as I touched the now growing welt on the back of my head. Emma rushed over from the manager's office and pretty much tackled Reaper onto the back of the seat, hugging him.

"Thank you so much Adam!" She planted a huge, wet kiss on his cheek. My 17 year old friend was visibly shaking, reeling in from the kiss as Emma cleared her throat and let him go. "Pardon me, but I'm so grateful you came to my defense, you too," she pointed to me.

"N-no problem," Reaper touched his cheek. Emma whipped out her pen and pad and scribbled something down before placing it in Reaper's hand.

"Call me sometime, fly boy," she winked at him. Stinger chuckled at what had just occurred and sat down next to us, allowing us to catch our breath and calm down before going to sickbay for a checkup. It was then that I had realized what we originally came here for, completely draining the remainder of my adrenaline. Reaper looked like he remembered too as he couldn't look Stinger in the eye.

"So sir," I groaned, "about our enlistment forms?" I asked. Stinger responded by opening up the folders, taking out the copies with the red circles surrounding our falsified birth dates and tore them to little pieces, chucking them into a half-full beer mug.

"I have no clue what you're talking about, Cougar," he winked at me.

"Cougar? What the hell is that?" My brain couldn't comprehend so many things at once after going threw a brawl like that. Stinger placed his arm around me like a grandfather and pulled me close

"Your new call sign kid. You pounced on those little scums like a cougar pouncing on its prey," he explained. Reaper gave me a weakened thumbs up and a half-smile, encouraging me to accept the call sign that Stinger gave me.

"You like Top Gun, take it dude!" Reaper exclaimed.

*End Flashback*

"So after that, Stinger personally drove us back to sickbay where we were treated and released a day later. In fact, that same night after our release, there was a knock on our barracks door and a package was left in the hallway. The package turned out to contain our freshly painted helmets. Reapers was white, black and red with a scythe on both sides and dripping blood all over. Mine, well, most of you have seen it. And that's how I got my call sign," I concluded my story. Throughout telling said story, I had walked around the room and ended up on my knees in front of Sweetie Belle's desk since she was the one who asked me to tell the story.

I was met with a stunned silence before Silver Spoon raised her hoof. "What happened between Emma and Adam, or Reaper, no Adam. GAH!" She growled angrily. Diamond Tiara tried to get Silver Spoon to stop being interested in my story, but to no avail.

"Actually, those two began dating right after that, got married a few years later and had two kids," I replied. The wooden floors began to hurt my knees; I stood up and was met with applause from the class.

"You totally earned that call sign dude!" Rumble congratulated.

"Somepony should make a movie about your Air Force life and call it Danger Zone or something," Scootaloo exclaimed happily. I smiled, giving her a quick noogie before looking at the clock that told me we only had about two minutes left until the kids could go home. I swirled around when I felt a hoof tapping my hip, only to find Sweetie Belle with another curious look on her cute little face.

"Cougar, remember how you said that your call sign wasn't like a cutie mark?" She asked me. All I could do was nod in response, confused and puzzled to where she was going with this. "Well, you couldn't be more wrong," she stated.

"Sweetie Belle, from what Twilight and Applejack told me, a cutie mark represents who you are, not what you are. And I am no cougar in any way, shape or form. Sorry to burst your bubble," I apologized.

"Just hear me out," she held my hand down with her hoof. "Yes, I know just exactly what a cutie mark means despite not having one," she grumbled and shook her head. "What I'm getting at is a call sign is a representation of who you are. I think what Stinger also meant, but didn't mention, was how a cougar protects its young or territory. And in your case, the young was your friend Reaper, the innocent cook and Emma the innocent waitress. Your friends are also your 'territory,'" she air-quoted with her hooves, "which, from what Ms. Cheerilee has taught us, cougars are very protective of. In other words, like a cougar, you're sort of a protector," she concluded, folding her forelegs.

"Woah, that's deep Sweetie Belle," Applebloom's jaw went slack. I blinked a few times, digesting what Sweetie Belle had just explained to me. Have I completely overlooked exactly what my call sign actually meant for seven years? Looking back at the restaurant incident, the Bermuda Triangle fiasco, the timberwolves adventure and defending Applebloom, it all made sense now. In every single one of those incidents, friends have always been the common denominator, and I was the one trying to protect them. Of course, I'd gladly give up my life to ensure my friends were safe, but I never thought about my call sign like that before.

RRIIIIIIINNNNBRRRRNNNNGGGG!

The school bell brought me back to reality as the kids jumped for joy, grabbed their stuff and trotted out to their waiting parents. "Excuse me, Mr. Cougar is it?" A sweet voice asked me. Cocking my head to the side, I was met with a brown mane and tan fur mare with a heart and milk bottle on her flank. "My son would appreciate his batteries back," she politely requested.

"Ms. Mash I presume?" I handed Button his batteries.

"Yes, and I can't tell you how ingenious that was to give him the JoyBoy and take the batteries. I'll have to use that sometime," she praised my tactics. "Button wasn't too much trouble, was he?"

"Oh no, once I took away his batteries he quieted down and did his work," I shook her hoof. "Have a good day Ms. Mash!" I wished her while she escorted Button out of the schoolhouse. "Are you ready to go home AB?" I asked once the kids all emptied out of the schoolhouse and I locked up for the day.

"Nah, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo 'n Ah are gonna meet up at Sugar Cube Corner 'n talk about our next Crusaders idea," Applebloom replied.

"But before we go," Scootaloo added. The trio ran up and knocked me into the wall of the schoolhouse, hugging me tight around the torso. The hug lasted for about ten seconds before the Crusaders released me and hopped down onto the ground.

"That's for being the best sub ever!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"Thank you girls, that means a lot to me," I replied, but unsure if they heard me as they galloped away. Stuffing my hands in my pocket, I sighed contently, thinking I had done a good job and hopefully pleased Cheerilee for the huge responsibility. My shoe kicked a tiny stone down the dirt road I was slowly walking down, kicking up small trails of dust as I walked along. I felt a small tapping on my back, causing me to turn around to see who wanted to speak with me. It was a red pegasus with a brown mane and tail, and she had blue eyes. "Yes?" I asked.

"Um, excuse me, do you know where Sugar Cube Corner is? I've got a pretty good craving for muffins," she asked me, licking her bottom lip.

"Go down that road, make a right, head straight into town and you'll find it near the market. Just look for a crazy pink earth pony and you've found it," I explained the directions to the mare. She thanked me and took off, nearly slapping me upside the head with her wings. Spinning around on my heels, I began to head back in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres when I saw a particular pony. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I saw Diamond Tiara not far ahead walking down the same road with her father. Instantly, the guilt from what I had done to him washed over me, even though I believed I was over it.

"And so he made us do work that Ms. Cheerilee already made us do!" Diamond Tiara whined, "then he told us a gruesome story on how he got his name by beating up and nearly killing four other humans with his disgusting partner!" She lied to her father. I didn't care that she was lying to her father; it was none of my business and at the moment, I had more urgent matters to take care of. Swallowing my pride and gathering up the courage, I picked up the pace until I was behind Filthy Rich and tapped his shoulder.

"GAH!" He jumped at the sudden tapping. "And what would you want Mr. Cougar?" He cocked an eyebrow, getting in front of Diamond in case it was necessary. "My little girl has just told me an interesting tale about what you did while subbing for her regular teacher," he revealed. Despite gathering up the courage to talk to him, no words could escape my mouth; I honestly didn't believe he'd want to hear whatever I had to say. "Well? I'm a very busy stallion sir and my time is too important to waste," he impatiently looked at the clock tower.

"Mr. Rich," I stuck out my hand, "I would like to offer my sincerest apologies for my behavior and actions a few months back," I declared. Filthy Rich looked as if he'd seen his own birth.

End Chapter 27

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Will Filthy Rich accept Cougar's apology or brush it off as a joke? Find out in a tiny reveal next time on Fallen Eagle where we tackle Nightmare Night and we find out what Cougar is going as...

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! It was a lot of fun writing in more Derpy and adding in Dinky Doo, Button Mash, and some more lines for Featherweight, Pip and Rumble. And the reason why I didn't use a name for Button's mom is because I don't know her name. If anyone can tell me, I'll gladly add it.