“And that’s how Equestria was founded!” The school teacher finished her lesson, looking at the sea of small faces before her.
Most of the small faces weren't looking back at her however. Scootaloo was dozing in the back row, Sweetie Belle was doodling, and Applebloom was restlessly staring at the clock. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were giggling to each other, and Snips and Snails were whispering behind their hooves. Miss Cheerilee flicked her eyes between the students before realizing that she only knew those seven names. The rest of the foals were just a mass of loud, messy, tiny ponies, that didn’t want to be sitting in the schoolhouse, listening to lectures.
“Alright class, you are dismissed!” Cheerilee’s happy voice called before being drowned out by the scraping of chairs against the floors. She sighed heavily and sat down in the chair behind her desk, letting the pleasant expression melt off her face. In a matter of seconds she was alone in the classroom, except for a particular small face that was staring up expectantly at her.
“Miss Cheerilee?” The filly asked hesitantly, peering at the weary teacher’s face. “Can I ask you something?” Cheerilee leaned back in her chair.
“I believe you just did Scootaloo.” The pink mare forced a smile back on her face, glancing at the orange Pegasus in front of her.
“Well,” Scootaloo scrunched her face up, looking confused. “That didn't count.”
“Why, of course you can ask me something.” Cheerilee restrained herself from rolling her eyes at the filly.
“I just wanted to ask you…” Scootaloo shuffled her hooves on the ground, biting her lip. Cheerilee wanted nothing more than to just be alone, but decided to humour the kid for a little bit longer. “I just wanted to ask you if you knew what the word brontide means.”
“Brontide?” Cheerilee mentally scrolled through her expansive vocabulary, but came up with no results for the particular word. “No Scootaloo, I don't think I know that word.” Scootaloo nodded, looking unfazed.
“I didn't think you did.” She turned, as if to trot away, before being called back.
“Scootaloo, why do you ask? Do you know what it means?” The teacher was curious now, previous thoughts of wanting to be alone vanquished. The orange Pegasus nodded her head, her purple mane flopping in front of her eyes. “Care to elaborate?”
“If you want to know, you have to meet me at the entrance to Whitetail Woods tonight. 6 o'clock.” And with that, Scootaloo turned and cantered out of the door.
Cheerilee was left alone in the empty schoolhouse, the only sound coming from the buzzing of the overhead lights.
She sighed. It's not like she had other plans...
"There's no way I'm going." Cheerilee was perched at her kitchen table, staring through the window. Scootaloo was expecting her in less than ten minutes, and the skies appeared to be throwing a tantrum. The rain pounded on the roof of Cheerilee's roof, and the wind wailed through the trees. "But I feel obligated to..." The pink earth pony lightly banged her forehead against her table, still talking to herself. "I mean, I don't really want to meet her, and why would I? It's not like I even know her, plus she did poison me once..." The wind howled in response, causing Cheerilee's frown to deepen. "And I'm her teacher. Not her friend..."
The school teacher slowly stood up, and began trotting towards the front door. "So why am I doing this?" She grabbed a yellow raincoat off of a hook on the wall and pulled it on. She stuck her hooves into four rainboots and adjusted the hood on her head. Pushing open the door, the sound of the storm raging outside escalated. And with that, Cheerilee was off.
"Whitetail woods is... This way?" Cheerilee squinted her eyes against the sharp pellets of rain, looking around for a sign of where to go. She had moved to Ponyville only a short while ago, and was just realizing she had no idea where her destination was. It just so happened that at that exact moment, the weather-pegasi responsible for the storm were in the process of shifting the clouds. And it just so happened that they were shifting them to right over Whitetail woods.
"Alright Flitter! Cloudchaser! Whitetail Woods is over here!" A familiar voice called from above Cheerilee's head, causing her to look up. "Stop admiring Thunderlane's flank and pay attention!" Two mares that had been giggling to each other snapped to attention as Rainbow Dash directed them.
"Yessir! I mean, ma'am!" The pegasi began pushing clouds towards a line of trees in the distance, unaware of the earth pony who was now tailing them from the ground. Rainbow darted to and fro, shouting over the wind to the weather team. While this was convenient for Cheerilee to find the woods, it was rather unpleasant. She was following the weather team, which involved standing directly under the eye of the storm. Her boots were slowly filling with rainwater, and her mane was drenched.
"Oh Celestia! Why didn't I just stay at home?!" She fell to the ground dramatically, sopping wet.
"Hey Cloudkicker, did you say something?" Rainbow called from above, oblivious to the pink pony lying on the road beneath her.
"No."
Dash shrugged and continued to dart to-and-fro, ordering her team around. Cheerilee crawled to her hooves, knowing being melodramatic would do nothing to improve her mood. She wrung out her mane as best she could, and continued following the mass of clouds grouchily.
"Hmph. Scootaloo better have a good reason for dragging me out here." Cheerilee sulked as the team above her continued prodding the clouds to keep the storm going. "Wait, why would she be out in this weather? What parents would let their... four year-old...No, six year-old?" The teacher struggled to think how old her student might be. "Well, however old she is, she should be at home!" The large expanse of trees grew closer, the boots got fuller, and the pony got grumpier. "And if I don't know what the word brontide means, why does she? Wait, why didn't I just look it up in a dictionary?" Cheerilee mentally berated herself. She could have stayed in her nice cozy home, with a lovely cup of chamomile tea, but she was an idiot and decided to venture outside.
Thunder rumbled from overhead and a small scream sounded. The pink earth pony shook her sopping wet mane from her eyes and peered skywards. A cluster of ponies gathered together, shouting over the sound of the wind.
"Thunderlane, I told you not to get too close to the lightning clouds!" Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves over her chest as she lectured her teammate. "They'll shock you, and they'll hurt!"
"Thunderlane! Are you okay?" Flitter and Cloudchaser clung on the the frazzled stallion's hooves, fretting over his well being.
"I'm fine, let's keep going." The dark pegasus was almost invisible against the stormy clouds. The team started their task again, Cheerilee following from the ground.
As she walked, she began to think. To be specific, she thought about her life.
Cheerilee was born twenty-seven years ago in Manehatten. She lived in Manehatten, attended school in Manehatten, and almost got married in Manehatten. And then she ran from Manehatten, straight to Ponyville. The stallion she had almost got married to went by the name Star Bright. He had been an astronomer, and really a quite lovely pony. But one day, after being in love with him for three years, she fell out of love with him. So she left, and he stayed. Once she got to Ponyville, she became the resident school teacher. She still didn't know how this happened, as she had none of the training required, nor had she even wanted to teach foals. But Ponyville needed a teacher, and here she was, with no friends, no family, and no job. Two years full of chalk dust making her sneeze and breaking up schoolyard brawls, and here she was. A twenty-seven year old mare, who lived alone and barely had friends. The last time she had gone out with anypony she had been poisoned by her own students. One of whom she was on her way to see. All of this thinking made the time go by faster, and before she knew it she was at the edge of the woods.
"Miss Cheerilee!" A voice called to her left. "Miss Cheerilee, over here!" The teacher looked, and spotted the familiar small face peering at her from underneath a large blue rainhat. Cheerilee trotted over, boots sloshing with water and mane dripping into her eyes.
"Scootaloo." She greeted her student, teeth chattering.
"I almost thought you weren't coming!" Scootaloo spoke cheerfully over the storm. "But I'm glad you did!"
"Mhm." Cheerilee gritted her teeth, attempting to smile. "Now, what was the reason for asking me to meet you here?" She wanted to get this over with so she could go back to her nice, quiet house.
"Brontide." The orange filly stated, sitting on the ground. "It might take a couple of minutes, so get comfy." Cheerilee bit her lip in annoyance.
"Alright." She plopped down to the soggy ground, trying to contain her whining. "Couldn't we have done this on a... nicer day?" Scootaloo shook her head. "Of course not..." The rain pelted the ground, the wind roared, and the ponies sat.
"There! Did you hear it?" Scootaloo jumped to her hooves, staring excitedly at her teacher. Cheerilee tilted her head.
"What, the storm?"
"Yeah!"
"Why, yes Scootaloo. But I could have heard it from my house." Cheerilee was now concerned for the filly's hearing. If she had to go right underneath the storm to hear it, then something was wrong.
"Well, try listening more carefully." Scootaloo sat back down. The pink earth pony didn't love the fact that she was being ordered around by a foal a fraction of her age. But she strained her ears against the wind, and listened. And then she heard it.
A low rumble, slowly getting louder and louder.
"Did you hear it this time?"
"Yes. The thunder." Again, Scootaloo shook her head.
"Before that."
"The wind?" Cheerilee was slightly confused. If it wasn't the thunder, than what was it?
"Nope. Listen harder." The storm was getting more ferocious now, lightning beginning to arc across the mass of angry, dark clouds. And then she heard it, for real this time. Silence. It was like the winds paused, and the rain halted just for the smallest millisecond. The rumbling of the thunder returned, hitting Cheerilee's ears with a wave of sound.
"I know you heard it this time." Scootaloo spoke over the noise, making eye contact with her teacher. "I don't even have to ask." Cheerilee slowly nodded.
"Yeah. I heard it." She spoke hesitantly, as if she was confused by what "it" was. "It was... nothing. Pure, silence."
"Follow me." The pegasus began to lead the earth pony back into town, away from the woods. Cheerilee followed. They walked side by side, without saying anything over the racket of the storm. They walked so long that Cheerilee almost began thinking about her life again. But then they arrived. Scootaloo pushed the cafe door open and stepped inside. She took of her large rainhat and coat, and hung them on the empty hooks by the entrance. Cheerilee had no idea where they were, but did the same.
"Ah, good evening Miss Scootaloo!" A friendly voice called. A small unicorn was standing behind a counter, wiping it with a cloth. "And whose your friend?"
"Hey Coffee Cake! This is Miss Cheerilee. She's my teacher." Scootaloo trotted to one of the tables, which were all empty, and sat down.
"Well, good evening Miss Cheerilee." Coffee Cake greeted her warmly. "Let me know if I can be of any assistance." Cheerilee nodded before joining her student at the small wooden table. She looked around, taking in the small cafe. It was full of tables and chairs, a cozy fire cracking happily in a large fireplace by the door.
"So. Brontide?" She asked, sitting down.
"Brontide." Scootaloo confirmed. "But first, drinks. Coffee Cake, the usual."
"Got it!" The unicorn called back. "And for you Miss Cheerilee?"
"Um, I'll have... What she's having." Cheerilee hadn't looked at the menu, and momentarily forgot that she was talking to a child. She could have just ordered a triple chocolate milkshake with extra sugar and whipped cream for all she knew. The unicorn nodded and got to work behind the counter.
"Good choice." Scootaloo looked impressed. This made Cheerilee nervous. "Well, you heard it."
"Heard what?"
"Brontide." The orange filly spoke matter-of-factly. "You heard it."
"When the storm went silent?"
"It didn't go silent. Not really. The brontide was just louder than the rest of it."
"But the brontide was silence?"
"Kind of." Scootaloo scrunched her face. "Ok, let me try to explain this. The dictionary definition is different than mine."
"You can't just make up meanings for words." Cheerilee crossed her hooves across her chest.
"You can if you want to. And I wanted to."
"Continue."
"Well, the dictionary says that brontide is a sound that is sort of like thunder. But I say it's the sound before the thunder. When the wind is howling and the rain is pounding and you're miserable and cold. And then, just as you know thunder is about to come, the fraction of time before you hear it, and it all gets so loud, so deafening, that it's just... Silent." Cheerilee nodded, a pensive look on her face.
"So it's just, noise that turns into not-noise?" She asked.
"Well, the way I see it," Scootaloo clicked her hooves together. "When you're out in the middle of the storm, you know the thunder is coming. You can't see it or anything, you just... know."
"Yeah."
"So, why can't it also relate to life?"
"You've lost me." Cheerilee felt quite embarrassed that her student sounded much smarter than her at the moment.
"So, you're caught in a storm. Maybe it's your job, or your family, or whatever. But it's loud and destructive, and it's scary. And you feel like it's never going to let up, and you're just gonna be stuck forever. Maybe you've felt like this before?"
Cheerilee was silent. She was reminded of her life in Canterlot, before she ran. One minute, she was on her way to being a happy wife, maybe a future mother, with great friends and a bright future. And then life chewed her up, and spat her out in Ponyville.
"And then, just as the storm is the strongest it's ever been... brontide. Something comes out of the blue, makes the storm so loud, and chaotic. Like a flash of bright, beautiful lightning. And things start to seem better." Scootaloo accepted the drink that Coffee Cake had just handed her. "Thanks Cake."
"Anytime Miss Scoots." He smiled and passed a mug to Cheerilee. "I'll leave you two to your conversation." Cheerilee nodded, not breaking her eye contact with the filly sitting across from her.
"And," Scootaloo continued as if she had never paused. "All of a sudden, the storm starts to ease, and the sky begins to get brighter, and your life seems just a bit easier."
Cheerilee nodded, having no answer.
"And that's my definition of brontide." Scootaloo pulled her mug towards her and began chugging the entire thing. The cafe was silent, except for the squeaking of Coffee Cake's rag against the counter. The filly drained her cup and placed it back on the table. "And now I have to get home. I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Cheerilee." The chair scraped against the floor, and Scootaloo trotted to the door. She pulled her raincoat on, and placed the matching hat on her head. The bell over the door chimed, and she was gone. Cheerilee glanced at the counter. Coffee Cake was gone, along with his cleaning cloth. She was alone in the cafe, wondering how a filly could be so wise. She took a sip of her drink, and was pleasantly surprised. Chamomile tea.
"You know," A voice startled her. "She's done that before." Coffee Cake was now over by the window, polishing it with his rag.
"Done what?" Cheerilee asked the small unicorn.
"Explained her definition of brontide. To the last Ponyville Elementary teacher, about two years ago." The cloth squeaked as he spoke. "Last I heard of her, she was moving to Vanhoover. Decided she wasn't happy being a teacher, and went to find her passion." Cheerilee didn't answer. She drank the rest of her tea, the only noise being the squeaking of fabric against glass. She stood, chair scraping behind her, and trotted to the door.
"Thank you." The mare waved to Coffee Cake, and pulled her raincoat on. He nodded, and the bell over the door chimed. Cheerilee stepped into a clear, quiet, still night. The sky was full of stars, and there was not a cloud in sight.
Cheerilee smiled.
"Brontide."
Author's Note
Brontide: Noun. A sound like that of distant thunder, some of which may have seismic origins.
But I decided to make a new meaning.