Author's Notes:

Sorry this took a while. Hope you enjoy.

I sighed. “Do you think Ah was too hard on her?”

Rainbow Dash leaned back in her chair. “You were definitely pretty hard on her, but I don’t know about too hard.”

“She did mess up pretty bad,” Jynx said.

“I think it depends on how well this works,” Fluttershy said, coming out of the kitchen with a few plates balanced on her wings. “It’ll be good for her to have a way to help and not be in danger.”

She placed the plates in front of each of us.

"Well, at least Ah have plenty of time to set this whole thing up while Ah heal," I said. "Ah still need to find a few more foals willin' to join up. Ah know Sweetie Belle and Applebloom will, but Ah still need a couple more."

"Miss Cheerly, Whisper, and Notebook are going to make announcements to their classes," Jynx said.

Those were the teachers at Ponyville Primary School. Hopefully, they would be able to get me at least two more.

I already asked Rarity if she would be willing to design the uniforms. All I asked was that they were mostly utilitarian. Though, of course I did ask for a little flair.

I've been working with someone from the main Ranger office in Canterlot to form a curriculum and a set of responsibilities, via mail. At first, they were hesitant about it, but after a better explanation of my goal, they opened up to it.

That only left recruiting and finding a location to run things.

"Did I cook it right?" Fluttershy asked.

"Huh?" I looked up, confused for a second. Then I realized I was staring at my food, not touching it. "Oh! No, I was just lost in thought."

I dug into my food. As expected, it was good.

"Well, you can leave most of it to your friends," Jynx said. "Right now, you should focus on teaching Scootaloo everything she needs to know."

I sighed. "Things are going to be awkward between us."

"Oh-ho yeah," Rainbow agreed with a laugh. "But you'll get over it, eventually."

“Thanks for the encouragement,” I said, sarcastically.

“Would you rather she BS you?” Jynx asked.

I sighed. “No, not really. Ah just wish the truth was a little nicer.”

“Don’t we all,” Jynx said, tapping her forehead with a hoof.

I decided to change the subject. I would figure out things with Scootaloo and the Junior Rangers later. "So, does anyone know what that monster was?"

Not surprisingly, it was Jynx that answered. "It was a scorchpion. An elemental monster found exclusively in the southern desert."

I arched an eyebrow. "Exclusively?"

Jynx nodded. "Yeah, exclusively. Anywhere else is too cold or too wet. There is no conceivable reason that would have come here. It was already dead as soon as it did. There was no way it could have returned in time to save its life. Hell, it was half dead when you fought it."

That sent a shiver down my spine. "If that one was half dead, Ah don't want to see a healthy one."

"If it helps, you probably won't," Jynx said. "They attack from underground and you would be dead long before you see it."

"Well, that's not going to give me nightmares," I said.

"It'll give me plenty," Fluttershy said.

Rainbow scoffed, "Yeah, like you'd have anything to worry about." Rainbow suddenly looked guilty and added, "Y-you know, because your stare."

Fluttershy gave her a surprisingly upset glare. "Rainbow, you know my Stare doesn't work on elemental creatures."

"Yeah, sorry. I forgot," Rainbow apologized, brushing her hoof across the back of her neck.

"Speakin' of which, where's Cedric?" I asked. "He fought the thing and didn't even get singed, didn't he?"

Rainbow perked up. "Oh, yeah, it was totally awesome! He was all, bam, pow, stab, stab, smack!" She even acted out the scene. "I mean, he can barely fly, but he can move."

"That's pretty cool, but you didn't answer mah question," I pointed out.

"Oh, right, last I heard, he's hiding out at Sugarcube Corner," Rainbow said. "Apparently Twilight got a little carried away."

"Remind me to pay him a visit and thank him," I said.

"Why don't we go after we eat?" Jynx suggested. "We can get some dessert."

"Sounds good to me," I agreed.

The door jingled as we walked in, our senses flooded with the smells of delicious pastries.

“Oh, hello,” Mrs. Cake greeted. “I was wondering when you would come.”

“Ah heard Twilight kinda lost herself,” I said.

Mrs. Cake sighed. “Yes, she’s been quite apologetic, but Cedric still doesn’t want to go back.”

“Has he at least left?” Jynx asked.

“Yes, but only after we had Twilight promise to leave him be,” Mrs. Cake said.

I sighed. “Ah’ll talk to him. See if Ah can get the two of them to sit down and work it out. Is he here?"

Mrs. Cake gestured behind her. "He's in the back."

I walked into the back to find Cedric washing dishes while Pinkie baked.

"I'm not sitting down anywhere near her," Cedric said immediately.

"You heard us, then?" I asked. He nodded. "Good, then Ah don't have to explain it. Look, I can guess what Twilight did, and Ah'm not takin' her side. However, Ah am sayin' that she's a good soul. She just has her faults, like the rest of us. And like the rest of us, she's gonna apologize for it.

"Now, are you gonna act like a big boy and talk it out, or sit back here throwing a tantrum?"

Cedric groaned. "Yeah, you're right. Fine. But I'm still not going to let her run any more tests on me."

The actual apology was actually quite painless. We met at Souffle's Cafe, sat down, had lunch and both of them apologized; Twilight for Twilighting on him and Cedric for overreacting.

We even managed to get him to agree to continue the tests under supervision. Luckily, I knew just the pony to ask.

Twilight greeted Lyra with a quick hug. "Glad you could make it."

"Well, someone has to keep your head screwed on straight," Lyra replied. "And who has more experience with that than me?"

Spike cleared his throat, cocking an eyebrow.

"Who has more experience and has a degree?" she amended.

We shared a laugh.

Lyra approached Cedric, "Hey, how've you been settling in?"

Cedric shrugged, "Still getting used to not having thumbs."

Lyra chuckled. "Yeah, that's the worst part for all of us."

Cedric gave me a look of mock jealousy. "Not all of us."

I laughed, "Say that when you're flying around like a freaking eagle."

"I like to think we've all gained more than we've lost," Lyra said.

Cedric sighed. "I guess. I just have to learn how to use what I gained."

"That's the spirit!" Lyra said with a pat on the back.

Jynx laid on top of me, as we laid on a hill just outside of town, basking in the aftermath of our love making.

It was kinda hard, with my legs in casts, but my thighs were mostly untouched, so as long as we were careful it was doable.

Heh... 'doable'.

"You know," Jynx began, still a little winded, "Rainbow was asking when you'd be cool doing this with her again."

I snorted in amusement. "She would."

Jynx swatted my side. "Don't tease. You know we both have a thing for predators, and you're the only decent one in town."

"Rainbow, Fluttershy, and I'm pretty sure Rarity wants a go," I listed. "If Ah didn't know any better, Ah'd say Ah was in some self-insert fanfic."

Jynx chuckled at that. "Well, if you are, you're breaking the fourth wall, and that's Pinkie's schtick."

"True," I replied with a laugh. "Don't wanna take her thing."

"Still, if you were, at least I'm in it," Jynx said.

"Nah, they just replaced you with some generic OC or background pony," I teased.

She gave an amused gasp, smacking my chest. "You asshole!"

I pulled her back down and gave her another kiss. "You're right. You're probably the main character. A story about one strong, willful mare and her quest to care for some nutjob."

Jynx gave me a smirk. "Now that sounds like an interesting story."

We laid there for a few moments, until Celestia lowered her sun.

"So... you hungry?" Jynx asked.

"Ah'm a guy, and we just had sex," I replied.

Jynx laughed. "Yeah, dumb question. Let's go to your place, and I'll cook."

"Sounds good," I said. "Help me to mah chair."

Jynx used her hooves to steady my legs as I lifted myself into my wheelchair.

We slowly made our way through town, heading toward my place. It was a nice afternoon, though, so we weren't in a hurry.

As we approached, we spotted a familiar orange filly waiting by my front door.

"Scootaloo, everythin' alright?" I asked.

"Yep, I finished," she said, holding out a piece of paper.

"Already?" Jynx opened the door and I gestured for Scoots to come inside. "You even went to the farms?" I took the paper and looked it over real quick as I parked myself in my living room, Poe landing on my head and cawing a greeting. The list held about a dozen names, all belonged to school aged ponies.

"Uh-hu," she replied, proudly, jumping up on the couch. "Only four of them even have foals, so the farms weren't much of a problem. So, when's the first meeting?"

I answered while I read. "For the foals on this list? Ah haven't decided. For you, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle? Tomorrow, after school."

Scootaloo gave me a confused look. "Why just us?"

"Because Ah'll need assistants, and it'll be easier to teach you three your unique responsibilities before teachin' you the normal stuff along with everyone else," I explained.

I knew Applebloom and Sweetie Belle would jump on board. Hell, I was counting on it and already had positions ready for them. With how clever and resourceful they were, and how well they worked together, they were perfect candidates for the roles.

"Poe, come get your fish guts," Jynx called from the kitchen, prompting the raven to leap from my head. "Our food is almost ready, too. What do you guys want to drink?"

"What kind of juice do you have?" Scootaloo asked.

"Ah got OJ, berry punch, and apple," I said.

"Can I get some apple juice?" Scootaloo asked.

"Ah'll just take a cider," I said.

"Oh, can I get a cider, instead?" Scootaloo asked, giving me those puppy dog eyes.

I gave her a flat look. "You're eleven."

"I'll be twelve in a couple months," she argued, as if that made a difference. "Mom lets me have half a cider for dinner."

"She does," Jynx confirmed.

I had to remind myself that ponies were biologically very different from humans. Not only was 'almost twelve' for a pony the equivalent of 'almost fourteen' for a human, but ponies took to alcohol much better than humans. They didn't suffer from the long term effects that alcohol has on humans. Thus, it wasn't uncommon for ponies to drink a little at her age.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. You can have half a cider."

"Aww, can't I have a whole one?" she pleaded.

"Not unless your mom or aunt tells me it's okay," I said. "Speakin' of which, Ah'll send them a message, let them know you're eatin' here." I wheeled to my coffee table and pulled a pen and piece of paper from the drawer.

"Cool, you can ask her if I can have a whole one, then!" she added a sweet smile to go with the eyes.

I shook my head but added a line asking. "Poe, Ah need you to fly a letter for me, if you would."

My little bird buddy looked up and cawwed, "Eat."

"Fly it over now and Ah'll give you a pigcicle," I tempted.

He grabbed the letter and was out the window in the blink of an eye.

"What's a 'pigcicle'?" Scootaloo asked.

"Pureed and frozen pig intestines," I answered. "Poe loves 'em."

Scootaloo giggled. "Your bird's weird."

"So are you," I teased.

A few minutes later, Poe returned with a response.

"Alright, they said yes, but you have to drink it slow," I said.

"Awesome! Thanks, Shiro," Scootaloo said.

"Perfect timing," Jynx said as she came out of the kitchen with three plates balanced on her back.

I grabbed the plates and placed them on the coffee table as she went to grab three bottles of cider.

We spent the rest of the afternoon just shooting the breeze. We all enjoyed our meals and our drinks disappeared soon after.

I was actually surprised. It turned out I was wrong. Things didn't seem to be awkward between us at all.

Plus, tipsy Scoots is adorable.