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Mordecai walked through the halls of Freshwater High, thankful his air suit was providing him the air he needed to go through fish territory. It was never difficult shrinking down to size and going to the pet shop where pet-sized friends lived. Twilight had shown him a special device others had in their possession when others wanted to see Milo and the others.

The thought of Twilight suddenly pained Mordecai as he tightened the collar of his Canterlot shirt; he didn't even feel wet as he walked inside this large school that was actually a fish tank. And his blonde hair felt even smoother as he remained below.

Finally, he neared a familiar classroom, and he peered through the window, tightening his lips as he watched and listen.

"And that is why, class," Mr. Baldwin concluded as he motioned to the board, "the desert is not a nice place for a vacation."

"What the heck?" Mordecai's eyes widened in disbelief as he watched the seahorse go on with his lesson. "Dude, why aren't you talking about Discord? Better yet, why aren't you taking your class out of here and looking for Discord like you did yesterday?" He finally noticed Baldwin wasn't wearing the guardsmen armor he borrowed from Celestia.

Mordecai averted his eyes away from the doorway, running his fingers through his blonde hair which, thankfully, he took the time to comb. He had been horrified as soon as he saw himself in the mirror; he hated having his gorgeous blonde hair messy.

Before he knew it, the door opened, and he found himself face-to-face with Mr. Baldwin, who gazed at him with slight surprise.

"Mordecai?" The seahorse asked as he fully-opened the door for his class to take sight of the bluejay. "What are you doing here?"

Mordecai blinked for a few seconds, then his eyes hardened. "I should be asking you the same question."

"Uh, Mordecai doesn't look happy…" Bea gulped as she and the other kids watched them.

Mr. Baldwin sighed as he pinched the ridge between his eyes before turning back to his class. "I'll be right back, kids. Just turn to chapter 5 in your books while Mordecai and I…" He turned toward the fuming bluejay. "Talk."

He slowly closed the door behind him as he swam beside Mordecai, standing beside the lockers. Rubbing his bulging belly, Mr. Baldwin regarded him, taking a deep breath.

"Look," he began, "I know I promised I would do all I can to help find Twilight"

"And what are you doing now?" Mordecai boomed, startling the pregnant seahorse.

Neither realized that Mr. Baldwin's class had abandoned their books and gathered around the door, gazing through the window to witness the interaction between their teacher and the enraged bluejay.

"Mordecai, I'm a teacher," the seahorse reminded him, trying to keep his voice under control. "It's my job, remember? And I was just teaching my class math."

"Math?" Mordecai shouted, throwing his hands up. "Dude, what happened to teaching those kids about Discord? You know, inform them of stuff like what to expect from chaos and what to do to stop him!"

Mr. Baldwin remained unfazed, holding his pregnant belly. "I can't put that in the way of my lessons. I'm teaching my students mathematics, Mordecai."

"You're suppose to be teaching them about Discord!" The bluejay shouted. "Better yet, look for him!" He glared at the seahorse. "And Twilight…"

Mr. Baldwin swallowed hard, hearing that name paining his heart. "Don't go there…" He warned.

"Don't go where what?" Mordecai challenged. "That I'm telling you that you're wasting your time here when you should be back in Equestria finding a unicorn who's in danger?"

Mr. Baldwin remained still, biting his lip. But the bluejay pushed on.

"You know," Mordecai huffed, placing his hands on his hips, "I get the feeling you probably don't care at all!"

That did it.

The seahorse clenched his teeth, his eyes threatening with tears as he glared at the bluejay that was accusing him of something so wrong.

"YOU THINK I DON'T CARE?" He demanded in a shrill, choked up voice as he shoved his face in front of Mordecai's.

The bluejay was taken aback by his reaction, better yet the tears that were forming in his eyes as the seahorse regarded him in both anger and desperation.

"You think I'm not worried that Discord took Twilight, who's like a daughter to me?" Mr. Baldwin pushed, the tears streaming down his face. "You think I'm not scared of what he might do to her?"

Mordecai remained silent, his eyes widening in pure shock as the sobbing seahorse stood before him, clutching his pregnant belly.

"You ask me again if I don't care!" Mr. Baldwin challenged. "Because I do care! I love Twilight very much and even when I'm doing my job, I know in my heart I have one job that's just as important: finding her and making sure she's safe."

And with that said, the seahorse broke down, placing his face in his hands as he cried quietly, the tears falling to the floor. Mordecai continued watching him, feeling like the biggest jerk in the world.

What was he thinking, accusing Mr. Baldwin of such a thing? He knew the man loved Twilight dearly like his own child, why did Mordecai quickly state he didn't care?

It was the fight from last night at the diner, no doubt.

Mordecai was still tender from what Margaret said to him about the whole situation not concerning them, and he was just pissed. And it seemed he had let some of that steam go on the innocent seahorse simply because he was trying to balance between his job and saving Twilight.

I'm such a douche…Mordecai thought regretfully.

"Hey, man," Mordecai said soothingly as he neared the sobbing seahorse, "look, dude, I'm sorry. I really am. It's just…"

Mr. Baldwin stopped crying and looked up at him with tearful eyes. "Just what?"

"Well," the bluejay rubbed the back of his neck, "see, Margaret wasn't very supportive of our help in Equestria…and I was just super pissed…and when I saw you here with your class"

"You just wanted to let it all out again," Mr. Baldwin concluded, his eyes drying up. He folded his arms. "Seriously, why are you attracted to that robin?"

Mordecai raised an eyebrow at Mr. Baldwin. "So you forgive me that easily?"

"Well, it did hurt that you'd accuse me of not caring," Mr. Baldwin sighed, "but I can't blame you. You really care about Equestria, about Twilight, more than any of us, as I noticed. You just want her safe, and so do I." He gave a gentle smile. "That's the true magic of friendship, my friend."

The corners of Mordecai's mouth turned in a slight, relieved smile. "T-thanks, man…"

"Anytime, Blondecai," the seahorse chuckled, regarding his blonde hair. He took a deep breath. "Well, that's it for class today."

"What?" Mordecai exclaimed. "But I thought you were teaching math!"

"For thirty minutes only!" The seahorse laughed as he swam over to the janitor's closet and opened it.

Mordecai's jaw dropped when he saw the gleaming guardsmen armor inside. Mr. Baldwin smirked as he reached over and placed the helmet on. He turned back to the stunned bluejay.

"I meant what I said about balancing my job and my promise," he winked. "So it's just thirty minutes of class for me, and the rest of the day is finding my pony daughter."

Upvotes at import: 7 | Stars at import: 5
Posted previously at: 2012-07-21T12:48:20 | Posted previously by: apegacine