Back in My Day

"Awww, I can't believe we're stuck here for an hour! Why couldn't you just keep your hooves to yourself, huh 'Bloom?"

"Don't look a' me Scoot, ah was just tryin'a stop Noon from fallin' inta the mud!"

"Applebloom, you shoved him right into it. We all saw what happened."

"Well, maybe he shouldn've said nothin' about my big sister! Ah work hard ta defend my family Sweetie, and if it means gettin' a little dirty in the process ah'm all for it."

The three fillies continued shooting remarks back and forth, placing the blame on Applebloom despite all playing a part in the events of recess. But this isn't the story we're here for, of course, perhaps you'll hear it another day. The reason we're here is the mulberry mare sitting at the front of the class, idly glancing over the top of her novel to make sure the Cutie Mark Crusaders weren't getting too antsy. Her name is Cheerilee, and she's the teacher of Ponyville's elementary school. Nobody knows how old she is, and nobody would dare ask her either, but what they do know is that she's an experienced mare with a past shrouded in a thick haze.

Of course, all it takes is a well-placed wind to clear the air.

"Girls, that's enough. I don't want you playing the blame-game, it's not going to help at all. Just take your lumps for what they are, and deal with the consequences of your actions. Scootaloo, you don't need to say anything." She idly motioned a hoof towards the brightly-colored filly, urging her to slowly sink back into her seat with a wicked frown. "Now, I know this is detention, and while I can't let you go outside and enjoy yourselves I'd be happy to chat with you girls until the hour is up. I know an hour is a long time for you, and I'd rather lessen the blow of punishment than have you wiggling around and blaming each other for what happened at recess. So... how about I tell you about my younger years?"

The response from the Crusaders was immediate. They were a rambunctious bunch, but at the word 'chat' they settled into their seats and patiently waited for their teacher, wide eyes locked on the mulberry mare as she cleared her throat and set down her novel. It seemed that the answer to that question was 'yes', so that meant it was time to think. "Right, well... let's start from day one shall we? Er, day one of college I mean, I can't remember back to the day I was born. I was born and raised in Fillydelphia, but we all knew that the place to be was Manehattan. I can't tell you how many of us left for MUAS, the Manehattan University of Arts and Studies, but I can tell you about one of the girls that came with me..."

"C'moooooon Cheery! If you don't hurry your butt up we're gonna be late for orientation!" The cream-colored mare was absolutely beaming at her mulberry friend, mane tied back in a pair of sloppy pigtails that absolutely screamed 'I woke up a few minutes ago'. Cheerilee, on the other hoof, had spent nigh an hour making sure she was in tip-top shape, mane about as crunchy as a kettle-cooked potato chip due to the amount of hairspray in it. The trademark checker-print bandanna wrapped around the base of her neck, little buttons bouncing about with each step she took. Around her right hoof, a series of brightly-colored bangles, plastic to prevent excess noise. Today, however, she did without the legwarmers... mostly because she couldn't remember where they were packed.

It was day one of their time at MUAS, and the two of them had only just arrived at their dorm the night before. Cheerilee, the goody-two-shoes mare who walked the straight and narrow. Her best friend, Roseluck, who had strayed so far from the straight and narrow that she walked in another direction entirely. The two were complete opposites, and yet entirely inseparable.  While Cheerilee spent her time engrossed in study and scholarly pursuits, Roseluck coasted on near-failing grades and attended wild parties, a trend that had begun around their sophomore year of high school. The school orientation was scheduled for 9 AM, and as the seconds ticked away they drew closer to that point.

Adjusting her bangles a bit, Cheerilee rolled her eyes at Roseluck's excitement before approaching the mare's side with a snerk. "What's the deal? Got a hot date or something?" The party animal wiggled with excitement, suddenly lurching forward and squishing the mulberry mare's cheeks together.

"Do you have any idea how many cute guys we'll be able to find on campus? I wanna get in tight with 'em before the end of the first semester, that way I can have unlimited access to their frat parties, and booze!" Cheerilee scrunched up her muzzle in disdain, swatting her friend's hooves away and rubbing at her cheeks a bit to assuage the ache Roseluck had instilled with her squishing.

"Yes, I'm sure they'd love to get in tight with you too, Rose. Do you still have that piece of paper with all the stallions you've 'courted' since high school? I'm sure the cute guys on campus would love to know about your... promiscuous pursuits." Roseluck blew a raspberry at he friend, nudging the mare playfully before she opened up the door.

"Maybe if you loosened up a bit, you'd have more luck yourself. Remember junior year? A certain stallion by the name of D-"

"Oh hush! You and I both know he just wanted into my pants. He had no interest in me whatsoever, and I'm glad he left that diner." Cheerilee huffed, averting her gaze as she felt her cheeks reddening. Rose ushered her out the door, closing and locking it behind them as she shook her head and clicked her tongue in disapproval.

"Oh Cheerilee, Cheerilee... you don't even wear pants."

"Missus Cheerilee, is this Roseluck the same one who lives right here in Ponyville?" The mulberry mare nodded, idly folding her hooves on the desk as she smiled fondly at Applebloom.

"Yes, the very same. You see, we both moved here after college, but for our own reasons. It was purely coincidental that we both wound up here. And before you ask; I have no idea exactly why Rose came here. But I came here to teach, because I felt this town needed a proper school. Did you know it lacked one before I showed up? All of the little colts and fillies were taught basic values and such from home, and they hardly learned any academics at all!" Cheerilee giggled a bit, but Scootaloo seemed to scowl as she leaned in towards Sweetie Belle, whispering low enough that nobody else could hear.

"Sounds like my kind of life, maybe we could go back to before there was a school." That earned her a nice hoof in the cheek from Sweetie, despite her quiet snickering. Cheerilee cleared her throat to get everyone's attention, waiting until they'd settled and begun paying attention before resuming the story.

"The orientation was a pretty big deal, of course, but Rose and I were pretty distracted by... something else." Looking up to the ceiling with a warm smile, the teacher brushed a few bangs out of her eyes; bangs that had been gone for many years...

"Lookit lookit! He's such a babe! Shwing~" Rose giggled wildly, whispering to her friend as she pointed out stallion after stallion. Cheerilee had trouble focusing on the orientation as a result, and simply wound up abandoning the prospect of figuring out what the old professor up front was saying. Instead, she let her eyes follow her friend's hoof, nodding unconsciously in agreement as she whispered about the attractive qualities of each stallion in the row in front of them. However, as they traveled further down the line... they noticed that the seats had been emptied. There was a small crowd off at the end of the auditorium, shrouded by the lack of overhead lights in the area.

"Rose... hey, Rose! Look at that, they're all huddled around over the-"

"Move over, Train Tracks! I gotta get through here. You too, cutie." A long-haired stallion nudged Rose and Cheerilee out of the way, receiving a swat on the rump from the cream-colored mare in the process, along with a whisper somewhere along the lines of 'whatever you say, stud'. Cheerilee didn't budge much, however, placing her hoof on the back of the chair in front of her to halt his progress.

"What do you think you're doing? And I don't appreciate that nickname, y'know." The stallion scoffed, pushing the mulberry mare's hoof out of the way effortlessly and working his way past her.

"Whatever, brace-face. I'm going to go see The Guru, and you aren't gonna stop me."

"The Guru?" Cheerilee tilted her head to the side, and the stallion responded by pointing to the crowd in the corner of the room. "Oh, I see. What's he doing that's so important? And who is he?" The long-haired student didn't respond, simply working his way along the aisle and leaving Cheerilee there with a frown. "How rude can you get? Are my braces really that noticeable?" Placing her hooves on her lips, the mulberry mare let loose a huff, sinking yet lower into her seat as she looked over at Roseluck. Or rather, where Roseluck was a few seconds ago! The seat was empty, and a quick glance to the right yielded the fact that she was working her way down the aisle as well, chasing after that stallion with a wild grin.

The mulberry mare was alone, now... but not for long. Giving in to her curiosity, she rose from her seat and began slinking along after her friend, hoping to find out exactly what all this 'Guru' ruckus was about. It didn't take her long to get to the crowd, but by this point it was so dense she had no chance of getting in there and laying eyes on the center of attention. She grumbled and tried poking her head through, only to be shoved back to her spot on the outside right next to Roseluck. "What's the deal with this, huh? Looks like he's giving something out... oh!" Roseluck giggled a bit as a piece of paper was thrust into her snout, and she gave it a look over with wide eyes. "It's a party, Cheery! Invitations to a party tonight!"

Rose gave the slip to her friend, then nestling back into the crowd with a snicker. "I'll grab another one, don't worry about me! You hold onto that one; I don't want to hear any complaints! You're coming to The Guru's party tonight whether you like it or not." She had already opened her mouth to object; but it was no use. Roseluck wasn't one to change her mind easily, so it seemed she'd be getting into the thick of college life on her first day. Sticking the note into her bandanna, Cheerilee began to slink away back to her seat, but along the way she found everyone was standing up and vacating the room! The orientation was over, and she'd missed the entire thing thanks to Roseluck and that 'Guru' fellow.

With a huff of disdain, she waited by the exit for Roseluck, only to find that she never showed up. Through word of mouth, she found that the cream-colored mare had wandered off with the long-haired stallion from before. And he apparently went by the name of Dill. So Cheerilee returned to her dorm alone, reading the little slip of paper over and over with a look of intrigue:

The Guru's Genesis Party

Be there or be square, from 7 PM to 7 AM.

Don't bother bringing booze, I've got something better.

~G

"So did you go ta the party, Missus Cheerilee? What was it like?"

"Who is this 'Guru' character? He sounds so mysterious!"

"Did Roseluck ever come back to the dorm?"

Smiling fondly, Cheerilee took a glance at the clock before clambering up into a standing position. "Detention is over, girls, and so is the story for now." The Crusaders groaned in disdain, and Sweetie hopped out of her seat with an excited grin. "Besides, this is the point where my memory gets a bit... fuzzy. College was like one big blur, and there's a few things in there that aren't really suitable for your ears to begin with. I'd rather not get in trouble with your families." The three of them shook their heads vehemently, scrambling out of their seats and coming to their teacher's side to prevent her from leaving the schoolhouse.

"Miss Cheerilee, I promise Rarity won't find out you're telling us the story, and none of us will tell anyone anyway! Right girls?" They all nodded in unison, leaving the teacher to smile at them warmly.

"But you don't have any more detention, girls. When would I be telling you this story?" The three of them looked down for a moment, as if the question had stumped them, but then Applebloom raised her head with a wide grin.

"Can ya stay after school with us tomorrow then? Ah need some help with the math we did today, too. An' I'm sure Scoots needs some help with the science!" The orange filly growled a bit, nudging Applebloom defensively to protest the matter. It didn't take long for her to catch onto the plan, though, and Scootaloo finally nodded in agreement.

"Well... alright, girls. You've twisted my hoof, here. I'll keep telling the story to you, as long as you promise to stay out of trouble and keep it a secret. Alright? Do we have an agreement?" The Cutie Mark Crusaders nodded, first to each other and then to their teacher, before scrambling out of the schoolhouse and giving her a wave. "Goodbye girls! I'll see you bright and early tomorrow, and your homework had better get done!" With a soft huff of defeat, Cheerilee grabbed her saddlebags and locked up the schoolhouse, wandering home with little distraction or pomp and circumstance.

But something was nagging at her, now. She hadn't really thought about her college years much since graduation, leaving those days behind her much like Roseluck had done... but the more she thought about it, the less she actually remembered. There had been so much going on, and she could only really remember bits and pieces! Maybe there was less to this story than she actually thought... or maybe she simply had to think harder to get rid of the smoky haze that seemed to coat her mind. She lowered herself into the couch, burying her muzzle in a novel she failed to actually read. Sure, her eyes scanned over the words and she turned the pages... but her mind was elsewhere.

She had a lot of remembering to do.