Chapters Chapter 2: Suspicion:
Sweetie Belle was astonished. Ms. Cheerliee had handed back her essay covered in smiles and stars. She looked around the classroom to find that only two other ponies had gotten papers back that were covered with smiles and stars; Applebloom and Scootaloo.
"Thith ith tho weird!" she told them at lunch, her mouth filled with her cheese sandwich.
"But totally awesome!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"We've never gotten a perfect score on an essay before. Maybe writing is our special talent!"
"Well, it mighta been," Applebloom said.
"If we hadn't basically done the exact same essays."
"I guess you're right," Scootaloo sighed.
"I wish getting our cutie marks were that easy."
"But it'd be cheating," Sweetie Belle said swallowing her sandwich.
"And besides, what would a cheating cutie mark even look like?"
"Ah don' think ah wanna know," Applebloom said.
"Cain you imagine how terrible it'd be ta have yer talent be cheatin'?"
The other two nodded in agreement.
"But it seems strange," Sweetie Belle said.
"I mean, no pony else got smiles and stars but us. I feel like something's up."
"Or maybe we're just really good at writing," Scootaloo said
Applebloom glared at her.
"Maybe Ms. Cheerilee's in a good mood?" she added quickly as the glare bore into her face.
"If she was," Applebloom said.
"Other ponies would've gotten smiles an' stars too. But they didn'. Ah think ya might be on ta somethin', Sweetie Belle. Ah'm just not sure what."
At that moment, the bell rang and the other fillies and colts began to trot back into the schoolhouse. The three picked up their lunches and followed suit.
Chapter 4: Inkwell Given Information:
After what only seemed a half-hour, Ms. Cheerilee glanced over at the clock. Was it almost the end of the day already? With a rapid two-taps of her hoof, the three fillies shook out of their states.
"Now," she told them in her teacher voice.
"Be sure to pick up a list of famous fillynappings on your way out. Pick an incident for your essay by tomorrow. That is all."
As the fillies and colts filed out, she remembered what she had to do.
"Hang on. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, would you three come see me for a moment?"
The three fillies held their breaths as they walked to her desk.
"Great. We're in trouble for talking again, aren't we?" Scootaloo asked defeated.
"Not at all," Ms. Cheerilee smiled.
"I wanted to talk to you about your essays."
The three sighed; half of relief and half of impending doom.
"Ms. Cheerilee," Scootaloo spoke.
"It was my idea for us all to use the same essay. We each just changed it a bit--"
"And how very resourceful of you."
The Crusaders were shocked.
"Really?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Of course. But I would like to see your own ideas, which is why I'm having you do an in-class assignment."
Taking the packets, she gave one to each of the three.
"A questionnaire?" Applebloom asked.
"Yes. Just fill it out as honestly as you can and give it back to me when you're finished. Then you may go."
They looked at her puzzled, but sat back down at their desks and began.
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Ms. Cheerilee sat at her desk impatiently. Why weren't they done yet? She was growing quite tired and she needed to get home to read their responses. But she knew it would be worth it.
The questionnaire seemed to drag on, but finally all three of them were back at her desk. She dismissed the girls happily. As soon as they were gone, she rushed back to her house. She locked her bedroom door behind her. Sitting down at her desk, she opened the packets and devoured this new-found information.
Once again, she was not disappointed. Despite not being a unicorn, she did have some magic inside of her. Even the ink she used propelled them to go in-depth into their desires, fears, secrets, and the like. No wonder they took so long. It was part of her talent to have them trust her. A small sampling of each caught her eyes.
Applebloom adored apples dipped in chocolate and peanut butter. She also loved going to hypnotism shows. She'd never been hypnotized, but always wanted to know what it felt like. When she grew up, she wanted to be an artist that crafted using apples and apple seeds. Her biggest fear was getting the wrong cutie mark.
Sweetie Belle loved to sing in the shower and couldn't resist any and all kinds of tasty treats and sweets. She loved the musical "Phantom Pony of the Stage" and wished she could play the leading mare, Cantershine Deary, in the show. She'd been hypnotized once before, but didn't remember what it was like. When she grew up, she wanted to be a performer. Her biggest fears were snakes and failing.
Scootaloo could never get enough of extreme sports. She loved international foods because of the cool tastes and when she was alone, she sometimes pretended to be a chicken. She wasn't sure if she'd ever been hypnotized, but wasn't sure if she wanted to. When she grew up, she wanted to be an Equestria-famous extreme athlete and play in the Equestria Games for either Cloudsdale or Ponyville. Her biggest fear was disappointing her friends.
Oh yes. The packets they filled out would be more than enough information; she could definitely put this to use. And after careful consideration, she knew just who to start with.
Chapter 5: For Whom the Belle Tolls:
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Chapter 6: The Remembering:
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Chapter 7: The Final Phase:
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Chapter 8: Fashion Fatale:
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Chapter 9: Time For Round 2
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Chapter 10: The Second Remembering:
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. View Online
Chapter 11: Never Leave the Crib, Young Filly
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Chapter 12: The Last Bits of Sanity
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Chapter 13: The Lone Crusader
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Another night alone.
The maroon Earth pony sat sadly in her room, grading the essays from her class. The topic; If they could have anything, what would it be and why? A hackneyed topic, but a classic nonetheless.
Answers varied; from all the chocolate in the universe to a high-tech saddlebag or even to join the Wonderbolts.
She envied their free imaginations; no responsibilities, no cares, no worries. Limitless. How she missed the days when she, too, had not a care in all of Equestria. As for what she wanted most in the world, she knew; she wished to have a filly or a colt to call her own. But it was impossible.
For one Cheerliee couldn't find a stallion who thought she was attractive. Even if Big MacIntosh did, he was too busy working at the Apple farm. Another solution was adoption, if she had the resources. A teacher salary was minimal, only enough for basic resources for one pony.
Sighing, she turned her attention back to the essays. Her eyes glanced over until they stopped on three fillies named Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. They all wanted the same thing; their cutie marks.
"No surprise there," she said to herself.
She gave them a read-through. Perhaps their antics could amuse her even on paper. What she read did not disappoint. All three of them wrote that they would do anything for a cutie mark. Sweetie Belle even capitalized and underlined the word "anything" in her essay.
"I wonder if they really mean anything," Cheerliee chuckled.
Slowly her laugh began to trail off. Something clicked inside her mind. Perhaps she could give them what they wanted. And, in exchange, give herself something she wanted.
"I suppose it's worth a try?"
She sounded incredibly uncertain. Wouldn't it be illegal? On one hoof, it wouldn't be sincere. But on the other, they were all going to win.
"And no pony has to know," she said.
Taking a deep breath, Cheerliee commented on the essays. Then she began on an extra assignment for the three special fillies.
Chapter 3: The Perfect Students:
"Maybe we're just overthinking it," Scootaloo whispered to the others over a lecture Ms. Cheerilee was giving on Stockpony Disease seen in victims of past fillynappings in Equestria.
"She could've just really loved our papers."
"The strange thing was that all he wanted was a filly of his own," Ms. Cheerilee said.
"Ah reckon it's a possibility, but ah'm not certain it's the answer," Applebloom whispered back trying to drown out the rest of the lesson along with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
"Forget the papers. Why do we have to learn about fillynappings and Stockpony Disease anyways?" Sweetie Belle whispered.
"What?" the others asked in confusion.
"Hear me out. It's history and history belongs in the past."
"And when the filly accepted her new life--"
"Besides, it's not like it's going to happen to any of us."
"--a cutie mark appeared on her flank--"
"So why should we even care about this?"
"--and it was completely identical to her kidnapper's.--"
"Because the education system is makin' us," Applebloom whispered.
"--Soon she began to think like her new parent,--"
"Can't we just drop out of school?" Scootaloo said.
"--talk like her new parent,--"
"That way we'll have more time to find our cutie marks."
"--act like her new parent,--"
"Uh-uh. Applejack would kill me if ah dropped out."
"--and soon she even looked like her new parent.--"
"She wants me ta be the first in the family to go to a private university."
"Applebloom! Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo!"
Ms. Cheerilee's voice had suddenly changed from her normal teacher voice to a scolding, British nanny voice. Automatically the three fillies sat upright in attention. Their eyes became perfectly focused.
"No talking while I am teaching. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," the three fillies said in perfect unison as they nodded their heads together.
"Good girls," she said.
Throughout the rest of the lesson, she kept looking back at the three. Their eyes were glued to the lesson and their ears were taking in every single word. They were even taking notes!
That's a first, she thought.
Of course she knew exactly why they were acting that way. Ms. Cheerilee prided herself in her secondary talent; filly and colt taming. It may have not made her a good wife, but she could be an excellent nanny. She was always able to turn them into the most proper Jane fillies and Michael colts. It was only a matter of how stubborn they were. For even if it took her a while, even the most headstrong fillies and colts came 'round to her rule in good time.