Rain tapped on the windowsill of the schoolhouse while the sun hid its face behind a shroud of clouds. Most of the lights were off, save for the lamp set on my desk. I graded homework under the soft light, checking answers and filling in my comments. The students had gone home for the afternoon, leaving me with a pile of their collective work. The amount of effort was consistent and everything seemed normal as I went through. Apple Bloom led the grades with a few others being on par with her. Silver Spoon and Pipsqueak bridged the gaps between the best and the middle of the road students like Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara. Taking up the rear were my more difficult students like Scootaloo. When I got to her paper it was at the bottom of the heap, and glancing at the absence of papers beside me, I realized I would be free after this one. The relief only lasted for a moment, as I remembered that I had promised to hand back their reports on famous ponies throughout Equestrian history.
I looked at Scootaloo’s paper and was tempted to just breeze through it, marking each thing wrong as I went. I gave myself a mental slap and shook my head. I couldn’t let myself be that kind of teacher. With a methodical approach, I wrote in the exact methods to find the answers on Scootaloo’s paper. With this, I asked her to come see me for any after school tutoring in the margin. Satisfied that I had done everything I could for her, I pulled the reports out and got started on them. I wondered if my commentation would be enough for Scootaloo as I started into them. With a basic grading checklist at my side I went through and awarded the points for the assignments. So went the rest of my afternoon.
After I was done I set my red pen down on my desk and began to clean up. I swept the schoolhouse, made sure everything was neat, wiped down all the desks, beat the dust out of the chalkboard erasers and finally washed the chalkboard itself for the next day. Once everything was done I put everything in my desk and locked it before putting the key in my coat. I gave my desk a glance before I turned out my lamp and smiled, noticing an apple from Apple Bloom. On the stem was a small tag reading “For being the best teacher ever”. I chuckled and shut the lamp off at the base, leaving the schoolhouse dark as the sun set behind the clouds. It looked like it was already night outside as I stepped out the door. I pulled my coat close and began my walk home.
The smell of mud and the feeling of humidity followed me on the long walk. Ponyville stood frozen in time as the rain fell, the light from the streetlamps leading me back home. The normally bustling streets stood empty. The only motion felt like the falling of my hooves and the drops of water breaking the mirror surface of the puddles. Water spilled from the drainpipes near town hall as I passed it, the fountain outside standing tall and resolute amidst the downpour. I trotted onwards, turning onto my street. I pulled my keys out as I walked up the steps to my front door, how wet my hooves were making it difficult to get a grip on the right one. I eventually sorted through them, pushing the correct key into the slot and turning counter-clockwise. I walked in and shut my door, taking off my coat and setting my keys on the side table.
I looked on the floor near the mail slot and blinked, having gotten something besides an ad for once. I picked it up, setting it on the side table beside my keys. I turned on the floor lamp next, looking down at the note as the rest of my living room came into view. My two couches arranged around a coffee table on top of the brown carpet was nothing impressive and my teaching certifications on the walls were slightly dusty with how little I cleaned up in there. I looked closer at the mail to see that it was a letter from Town Hall. I opened it along the edge with my keys and dumped the note out onto the side table. I set my keys down again and discarded the letter’s packaging, unfolding the note. It was a notice of transfer for a new student.
I held the note lightly in my mouth as I went into my kitchen, setting it aside while I started to cut lettuce for dinner. Eventually I had a tall sandwich with lots of tomatoes and celery, and sat down at my kitchen table to continue reading the note. I added honey mustard to my meal as I read, chewing and thinking about where to set this new pony’s desk. It was hard to re-arrange in the middle of the year, as I’d have to redo the seating chart entirely. I currently had Scootaloo on her own so she couldn’t distract the others, while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were fine as long as Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon weren’t near them. I put that out of my head and kept reading. To my suprise it was a colt from Canterlot, a unicorn named Circle Limit. He had been transferred there as a result of him moving to Ponyville. He would be living with his older brother and attending my class starting the following Monday. Alongside the notes, I had received a copy of his permanent record.
I curiously went through the transcript as I ate. It seemed that he was a great student when the topics engaged him, to my relief. I wasn’t one to call myself a perfect teacher, but I had more than enough experience finding what actually interested my pupils and building everything from there. With my small classes it was possible for me to tailor things to them individually instead of try and treat them all the same. I noticed that the colt in question did just fine in subjects like math, and he seemed to adore reading when it came to fantasy and stories, as opposed to dry reference texts. Thankfully I didn’t teach many topics that needed a textbook yet, though in a few years it would be necessary. I did see that he had a history of finding trouble. More than once he’d put himself in the middle of a bad situation by using magic to bother others. Sometimes he even purposefully misplaced objects by placing them in hard to reach areas such as on top of bookshelves and on the school rooftop. I took that as him simply not getting any attention, or perhaps him spiting the ponies he had done such a thing to. If he had actually wanted to cause any real grief he’d have caused a confrontation or permanently stole the things without a trace.
I set the record aside, finishing my meal. In all he seemed like a normal colt. A blemish on his record here and there, a few times acting out. It was nothing I’d never seen before. Scootaloo had been a lot like that before I talked to her about it. Most young ponies weren’t just causing problems for the sake of being a nuisance. They either did it because they weren’t entertained, and thus found their entertainment in causing problems, or they were reacting to something. Seldom were the times that foals acted out of pure malice. Those were the times when I actually resorted to true punishments. Instead of redirecting their attention something productive or resolving the issue with the other party, a foal that was just being a problem for the sake of being a thorn in everyone’s side normally couldn’t be reasoned with or talked to. Instead it was better to treat the behaviour for what it was and bring out the more old, but nonetheless effective teaching tools. On a few occassions I had used them on Diamond Tiara. Writing an apology note of no less than five hundred words to me every single day after class had her being much more careful on school grounds when she was up to no good.
I drank a glass of water and went upstairs, figuring that my weekend would go well. I looked forwards to a long soak in the hot tubs at the spa and a good book. I put the thoughts of school and students out of my head for the time being. I wasn’t a teacher on the weekends in my own mind. Instead I was just a normal mare that lived alone in Ponyville. The photos of all the places I’d been in the past may as well have not existed as I walked by them, intent on going to bed. I walked into my bedroom at the end of the hall, pushing the door open and yawning. A mostly made bed greeted me as I walked in, the dark red blankets being pulled up to the pillows, but not to any degree of neatness. I didn’t bother turning on the light or even going to use the bathroom as I trotted in, focused only on getting some sleep. I didn’t care what time it was; I was tired and that was where I stopped my thoughts from venturing any further. I slid beneath the blankets, pushing my head to the cool pillow beneath me and shutting my eyes. It only took me a few seconds to be asleep, warm and content as the rain tapped on the window beside my bed.
Monday morning dawned bright and early for me. I rolled out of bed, barely managing to get my hooves beneath me in time to catch myself. I stumbled my way to the bathroom, looking myself in the mirror. My mane was a total mess, sticking out in all directions while my tail mirrored it. I turned on my shower, got in and stood beneath the cold water before it had heated up. Despite my hopes it didn’t wake me up much. Too many times had I used a similar tactic to shock myself awake, leaving my body seemingly immune to the trick. Still, it felt good once the water turned hot. Either way, I washed my hair and tail in silence. My thoughts weren’t on the day ahead, but the weekend behind me. The peaceful solace of a book and the quiet of my home called to me even as the water ran down my back. I wanted to just stay home and cancel class. Alas, nobody could replace me if I did, leaving me with no choice.
I rinsed and got out, drying myself with a towel before tossing it into the hamper. A quick brush later my mane and tail looked as they normally did, and I walked downstairs. After breakfast I took the file of the colt in my hooves and looked at it once again, reading over the exact details again in case I missed anything. I would hate to have him share lunch with one of the others, then have him sent to the hospital because he was allergic to something. Seeing that I hadn’t missed anything since a few nights ago, I set the file down and went to the door. Putting on my coat, I looked at my living room once again. I had taken the liberty of adding a mirror in the room, as well as dusting everything off. It still looked barren and boring, but there was something to look at. I adjusted my coat in the mirror, using a hoof to correct my mane before taking a deep breath.
“Here we go again.” I sighed, gathering my patience for the day ahead.
The wind hit me like a wall the moment that I opened my front door. The humidity of Friday had been blasted away by what felt like a constant breeze over the weekend. Today the weather had decided to dial things up further. I leaned slightly into the wind as it completely ruined the work I’d put into my mane. Thinking it was probably going to get me a comment from the students, I grumbled my discontent to the wind. As if to respond, it only intensified, and I bowed my head as I walked to keep it from drying my eyes out. Eventually I got onto the path to the schoolhouse, mulling over whether I should assign anything on Monday. I wanted to see if the foals had actually studied like I had told them to, but I didn’t want to be the one to ruin their Monday evening with homework right off the bat. The middle ground would be to have a two or three problem quiz and only have it count for a few points. I settled on that as I walked into the classroom, looking around.
I set up for the day by taking my my papers out, unlocking my desk drawers and setting everything neatly across the surface of my desk. I walked around and handed the papers out to the correct desks, passing back everyone’s work from last week. It took me about ten minutes to do that. By then a few students were coming in, most approaching from town while a few came from other directions. Apple Bloom often had to be reminded by her friends to wipe off her hooves at the door, since the path from her farm would oftentimes stick with her all the way through the woods to the schoolhouse. I sat and watched them all trickle in, looking for Diamond Tiara in particular. I didn’t want her anywhere near the new student in case she got any ideas. If anything I wanted him to stick around the more responsible ones. A young pony’s friends oftentimes molded their behaviour.
All of the others had nearly arrived when I saw a rather lost looking unicorn colt walk into the schoolhouse. I stood up, waving him over so the newcomer didn’t wander too far into the crowd of curious students that currently made up the rest of the classroom. Most of them were staring from their desks while others were a bit more subtle, giving the occassional glance as they whispered with their friends. I reached a hoof out ot him with a smile, wanting to make his first day there bearable even if my day wasn’t exactly going to be the greatest. He was a thin unicorn, being a bit taller than the other foals. His head reached up to my neck, with a thin torso and a a set of small hips that framed his ash gray tail. His face had a soft slope to it, not as sharply defined as most colts. His gray mane was lightly curled at the end, and his powder white coat lended him a neat, handsome visage. Adorning his flanks was a peculiar looking Cutie Mark, one I hadn’t seen the likes of before. The shape looked like a simple, two-dimensional circle. However, a pattern of red hearts was tesselated across the circle, with the pattern getting smaller and fading towards the sides of the circle, making it look more like a sphere than a flat shape. It was a bit hard to look at for more than a few seconds without going cross-eyed.
He looked up at me with ruby red eyes, then glanced back at the class, looking nervous. I understood, and decided to talk to him up there instead of pushing him to introduce himself to the class.
“Hello Circle Limit. I’m Cheerilee, I’m going to be your teacher here from now on. For now, why don’t you have a seat beside Sweetie Belle? She’s the unicorn filly sitting there one row back. You don’t have to take the pop quiz today, and I’ll let you borrow some books so you can catch up. You have to start doing assignments with us on Thursday, but for now just sit down and try to soak everything in.”
He smiled, seeming to have expected much worse from me on his first day. I returned the gesture and turned back to my desk, getting ready to start the day. I looked at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was nearly eight. I straightened out the papers on my desk and took a deep breath.
“Good morning class, I hope you all had a great weekend…” I began.
I let the foals out early that day, having managed to burn through the lessons rather fast. The fact that I couldn’t go too fast because of a new student also contributed. The quiz had gone over as well as I expected it to, with the usual students doing as well as I figured they would. I sat at my desk as they began to file out, the sky looking like it was ripe for another storm. I graded their quizzes, going along the pile. To my slight suprise, I heard a small knock from the other side of my desk. I looked up to see Circle Limit looking up at me, blinking. I looked to the side, then back at him, wondering what he wanted at such a time. I hadn’t really given him anything to do, no assignments for him to turn in. Why was he there?
“Excuse me Miss Cheerilee, but you never showed me where those books were.” He said, seeing my confused expression.
I sighed and silently scolded myself for being so forgetful. I got up, walking over to the cabinet that I stored all of the textbooks in. I took out the book on beginner’s algebra and the novel ‘Of Mice and Ponies’ before shutting the cabinet. I got him a saddlebag from the lost and found, putting the books inside of it so he could carry them home. After that he nodded to me, putting it over his back with a hoof. He looked like he was about to trot out the door, but stopped halfway there, looking back at me with a curious expression. He reversed directions again, walking behind my desk to stand beside my chair.
I had a secret rule that I never told the students; they were never allowed behind my desk for any reason unless it was a dire emergency. I gave him a critical look and then glanced back at my papers, tempted to ask him what he was doing. Circle Limit seemed to mean no disrespect by it, as he asked me a question a moment later.
“Miss Cheerilee, may I please take that quiz from earlier? I just want to give it a shot.”
I blinked, a bit confused by his words. I figured the was no harm in him trying it, though I wondered why. For all I knew his classes back in Canterlot were a fair bit slower than our own, and he had absolutely no idea what he was doing. It would be unfair to not let him try though, so I decided that I may as well give him the chance to show it and give him the quiz. I took out a spare copy and gave it to him before returning my attention back to my grading. He walked back around and sat at his desk, lighting his horn. A rosy aura surrounded the pencil he pulled out, writing his name at the top of the sheet of paper. He seemed to have a decent amount of control over his magic, and his handwriting was neat enough to read. It was a tad scratchy, with no real curves to any of the strokes of the pencil. I watched him from my desk, setting my pencil down as I observed the colt.
He slowly worked his way through the three math questions. The unicorn seemed to not have too much trouble even though I had neglected to give him a calculator. To my suprise he could even do long division manually. I had a hard time believing that he would be made to learn something like that, coming from primary school in Canterlot. He probably had been tutored somewhat during his education. That would explain him knowing such archaic means of solving a problem. He stumbled a bit at the second question, not knowing what to do once one variable was introduced. The rest of the class was only at a pre-algebra level, so it was to be expected that this was a stumbling block. He did his best to work through it, but I could tell that he had gotten it wrong since I could see him writing a fraction from where I was sitting. The third question was a comprehension check that had a graph and a simple equation next to it. To my suprise he seemed to understand the third better than the second, quickly filling in the missing points along the line.
Considering his Cutie Mark it made sense that he dealt best with visualizations instead of just shuffling equations around to get answers. I made a mental note to help him that way if he ever came to me with questions. He’d have an easy enough time next week when we got to graphing simple, single-variable linear equations. He got up and walked back to my desk, turning his quiz in to me. As I had witnessed he had gotten question one and three correct, while missing question two. I gave him a two out of three on the quiz and a warm smile.
“You did alright, all things considered. You’re about where we are, but I think you need to work on solving equations without the help of a graph.”
Circle Limit nodded and returned my smile, looking happy that he could at least hold his own in the subject. I set his paper aside so that I knew not to mark it into the gradebook. He was eager to learn, I could at least award him that. His cute smile didn’t hurt either. I continued to grade the quizzes, the colt still not leaving. I would have sent him away, but he seemed to be looking closely at the other quizzes as I graded them. It wasn’t cheating by any stretch of the imagination, since he would never receive a grade for this assignment, however it still was enough to interest me. I looked at the stack of tests beside me, then back at him, and had an idea. He needed the extra practice, and I wanted to see how quickly he could pick something up.
“Circle Limit could you come around the desk for a moment? If you’re going to be here, I’d like you to help me.”
He gave me a curious look, but did as I’d asked him, coming around to stand beside my chair. I walked him through how to properly solve question two and then gave him a calculator, as well as the rest of the tests I had yet to grade. He went to one of the desks and began to grade them. I had made four different versions of the quiz, so he’d have to solve plenty of problems to grade them all properly. I stood up and went over, looking over his shoulder at the scrap piece of paper he worked on. He kept looking at the ones he had done, double-checking them over and over. He kept looking nervously back at me, like he was afraid of messing up. I stifled a smile behind my hoof. His dedication to trying to impress me was actually rather amusing. First taking the quiz despite being unprepared, now this. I found it cute, but also a bit foolhardy.
I stood behind him and made sure he didn’t grade anything incorrectly. He eventually calmed down, finishing the last dozen quizzes within about fifteen minutes. I picked them up, setting them back on my desk before turning back to him. He had an eager smile on his face, his tail swishing slightly. The colt seemed like he just wanted to impress me. Maybe he wanted something out of it. I decided to wait for a second, to see if he would stick around. He did, staring up at me with large, alert eyes. I sighed; as much as I wanted to keep him around, I couldn’t think of anything else to do with the colt. I’d tried my best to occupy his time when he asked, but I was at a loss. Despite that I felt like I was letting him down slightly by just telling him to get out. He wanted to make himself useful, something that I couldn’t manage to find fault in.
After a few seconds of thinking about my options, I decided that the best course of action for the time being would be to give him something else to do. With that in mind I looked down, gave him my best smile and put my plan forward.
“Circle Limit, did you talk with anyone during recess today, or lunch?” I asked, trying to gauge what general group of students he could make friends with.
He thought for a moment, tapping his chin with a hoof. Eventually he looked up at me and replied with. “Well, there were a few ponies. There was a earth pony filly with an accent, and a really nice filly with a tiara and her friend. They were both nice to me, but not to each other.”
I tried not to let my smile falter, but it was hard not to lose a bit of face at that news. That meant he was probably in the limbo caused by being a new student. Both Apple Bloom and her friends, as well as Diamond Tiara and by near default, Silver Spoon, wanted to have him be part of their group, or at least aquaintences. It was typical, I found, for the Crusaders to accept others as part of their group of friends, but not actually incorperate them into the core trio. There was no harm in it, but it meant that they were friends he had at school, at best. The only one I knew that talked to anyone outside their group was Sweetie Belle, and she burned most of her time with friends she already had like Button Mash. Apple Bloom was busy on her farm, and Scootaloo seemed to always be off doing Celestia knows what.
Diamond Tiara and her friend were a different story. Whereas I was hesitant to suggest that he be friends with the Crusaders because they would mostly ignore him, I didn’t want him around either of them even if they showered him with attention. It wasn’t the kind of attention that anypony like this young, impressionable new student needed. I didn’t want to tell him not to talk with them; telling one of my students not to do something was a surefire way to get them to do exactly what you had told them not to do. I would just not mention it, but it seemed that the duo already had their eyes on the newcomer. Whether because he was a shiny new toy for them, or they actually saw some value in Circle Limit, I couldn’t know for sure. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I had to be nuetral as a teacher, but I also didn’t want to lead him down a path that might dissapoint him at best. By the time he started to pursue a friendship with anyone else, the sinister bullies would already have their proverbial talons in him.
With a sigh, I decided to ignore my nuetrality as a teacher for once and said. “Please don’t talk to Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon. They are both rotten fillies that have caused a lot of trouble, on many occassions.”
He blinked, seeming unsure. I could see that the two bullies had done their best to put on their best innocent act for him. If he knew how they actually acted on a regular basis he wouldn’t have even brought them up to me. The unicorn nodded after a few seconds, mulling over my words. I breathed a small sigh of relief, then looked at the clock. It was well past his time to be home, and my time to be reading in a warm bath. As much as I liked this new student, I turned my attention back to him and made it clear that it was time to call it a day.
“I have to go home now, Circle. You should get going, too.”
He seemed dissapointed, but gave a nod. He bowed his head a bit, then walked towards the door. He stopped and waved back to me, then left. I began my typical ritual of putting everything away, cleaning up the schoolhouse and making sure everything was in order before I locked my desk for the night. While I worked I thought about my new student, mulling over his words and his behavior. I had originally labeled him as an easy read. He had appeared as a normal colt on his record, and at first, he had acted like one. The moment he was alone with me he had changed. He had gone from wanting to be out of the way and away from the center of attention to as helpful as he could be. I figured that it was just a side effect of it being his first day, and cleaned up the rest of the schoolhouse in peace.
Still, the thought of his behaviour and attitude intrigued me. He acted like he trusted me, quite a bit to be actually talking with me. I had seen him during recess, and even though he hadn’t been outwardly wanting to be alone, he didn’t socially mesh well with most of the other students. Others had come up and talked to him about his Cutie Mark, as well as one other unicorn colt that skip pebbles down a hill with him, but for the most part he had been content to be alone if nobody was paying attention. I thought back to him being the far younger of two siblings, figuring that was probably the source of him not seeking out friends with his fellow students. He was probably used to that. Content with that rationalization, I put my coat on, grabbed my keys and walked out the door, locking the school behind me.
Author's Note
I really didn't expect this fic to get as much attention as it did! In order to ~~not dissapoint~~ adjust for this many readers, I humbly ask that you leave a comment below so that I know what you all think of the fic so far.
The sun glanced tentatively through the clouds to rest on Ponyville, as if asking its permission to show its face. It shined down on my desk, brighter than any of the light I’d seen all week. Circle Limit sat in the frontmost desk, helping me grade the math assignments. His pencil made small scratches on the paper as he went along, humming to himself. The saddlebag I had lent him sat against the desk, full of his books and what looked like a notebook or journal. He glanced up at me, a bit of his mane in front of his eyes as he gave a smile. I couldn’t help but smile back at the gesture. He tucked his mane out of his face, then went back to what he was doing. I could spot a bit of a blush on his face even as he looked back down at the papers in front of him.
With a sigh, I shook my head and looked back at my desk, my smile fading. I knew this just couldn’t continue. It was Friday, and he was now officially a part of the class. Keeping him after to grade things with me would only give him answers to questions, making it unfair to the others. My time after school with him was at an end, even if he was doing his best to make himself useful. It pained me to think of never seeing him outside of class. To see him staring up at me from his desk, smiling and trying to act happy even though I had shut the door of our friendship right in his face. I’d grown fond of his help, but more than that I had gotten too attached to him as a pony.
I cleared my head and continued to grade. I couldn’t continue my work with the thought of exiling him from my side looming in the distance. The papers before me needed to be graded even if I had to break his heart. My red pen marked each spelling mistake and grammar error with a lethargic slowness, my mind actively trying to keep thoughts of Circle Limit contained. He was so sweet… I didn’t want to stop seeing him. He just wanted to help me with my work and see me smile. His occassional blush or him brushing his mane out of his eyes was the best part of my day, and I tried as hard as I dared to make it seem accidental when I coaxed a laugh from him, or brushed against him for a moment longer than an accidental touch would last. It made him flustered and I loved to see him apologize for it, looking everywhere but directly at me so I wouldn’t notice. Being so young, it was easy to see that he wasn’t the best at keeping his emotions hidden.
As the last paper passed through my hooves, I dropped my pencil, bowing my head. The game I kept playing with myself was only getting more tiresome as time waxed on. Denying myself of something that I clearly enjoyed wasn’t going to make the never-ending grind of being a teacher any easier. When I looked up, I saw him holding the papers with his magic, concern written across his face. I probably looked nothing short of depressed to him, and I took the papers, trying to force a smile across my face. He didn’t seem to buy it, but still set the papers down in the pile for the assignments I had graded.
“Miss Cheerilee are you feeling alright…?” The colt asked, his eyes wide as he looked up at me.
I couldn’t stand to see him worrying, so I stole back my resolve and replied. “I’m fine Circle. Are all the assignments graded for the day…?”
He gave me a nod and turned, walking back to his bag and retrieving something from it. I couldn’t see what it was from my angle, and looked at him curiously as he returned with whatever he had. He’d tucked whatever he had gotten behind him with magic, so that I couldn’t see it. He wore a wide smile, his expression radiating suspense and a bit of muffled joy as he spoke.
“I got you a suprise… can you close your eyes Miss Cheerilee?” He asked, his hooves tapping on the floor lightly.
This time when I smiled, I gave a very legitimate one. I loved to see him like this; standing on the tips of his hooves, barely able to contain himself. His own happiness was contagious, not that I minded that. I shut my eyes, knowing he wouldn’t have done this for something he believed was not a big deal. I heard something being set on my desk, and I swore I heard him adjust his stance a bit on the wooden floor.
“O-okay, you can open your eyes now.” He stuttered.
A box of chocolates sat squarely in the center of my desk with a flower on it. It was a tulip, the bell shaped petals being a light pink tint as it rested atop the box. The container for the sweets was in the shape of a heart, and the colt in front of my desk wore an expression of pure anxiety as he looked up at me. He looked torn between being hopeful and just falling over from his nerves. I couldn’t help but feel my heart melt at the gesture, my hooves growing heavy. It was the most genuine face I had ever seen on a pony. I couldn’t resist the feeling that he actually setting his heart on my desk, giving it over to the one pony he trusted the most. Before I could say anything he relaxed, his face a bit red beneath his pale white coat.
“You’ve been really nice to me since I got here, and you help a lot with school and everything… I just thought that… you would like it if I got you something. The tulip… u-um… reminded me of you, Miss Cheerilee… it’s really beautiful and pink, like your mane.”
I felt my heart loosen even more. He was so honest that I couldn’t even think of trying to stop our friendship anymore. His eyes showed a trusting adoration in them, the young colt looking up at me like I was the start and end of his whole world. With a long sigh, I got up and walked around the desk to stand in front of him. I had done my best to keep things as normal and consistent between us as I could manage, but I couldn’t find the heart to push this colt away. Circle deserved my affection and attention, if he was so willing to work for it. He was pouring his heart out to me, and to crush it would break my heart at the same time. I took a breath, leaning down so that my face was on relatively the same level as his.
“Circle Limit… from now on, instead of staying after class, would it be alright if you walked home with me?”
The unicorn colt blinked, his face lighting up like I had handed him his diploma. With no hesitation he nodded, his legs quivering as he struggled not to just jump in the air and shout his happiness to the world. I did my best to stifle my own happiness, both with myself and the fact that he had agreed. Still, the subtle hook of my professionalism tugged at the back of my mind. I mentally banished it to the farthest, deepest corner of my head. I wanted this… for the first time in a long time, I had a pony that made me want to come to work, and made me feel wanted. The other students saw me as the mare that assigned them work and used up their weekdays in the classroom. He saw me as a friend and a pony he trusted. I stood up straight, turning to start cleaning up my desk. I purposefully brushed my tail over his face with the movement, secretly wanting to know his reaction.
He watched me with a blush forming on his face as I put the papers away, locking everything up. I returned to stand in front of him after a minute, nodding at his saddlebag and asking.
“Go ahead and get your things… also, can you carry that flower and chocolates? I don’t have a saddlebag on me.”
The colt snapped to attention and quickly levitated the box of chocolates and tulip to his saddlebag, tucking them away and throwing it over his back. He was eager and ready to get going, bouncing slightly from hoof to hoof energetically. I wondered what he saw in me, whether it was a teacher, a mentor, maybe a mother figure, or perhaps a romantic colthood crush? I could easily see it being some combination of all of them. He didn’t even seem to know exactly how he wanted to act around me. He craved my attention like I was his own parent, but he also acted flustered when he received any of it from me. I turned and walked towards the door of the schoolhouse, satisfied with the fact that I wouldn’t see the place again until the following Monday. Circle followed swiftly, trotting after me with joy written across his face.
Once we were both outside I locked the schoolhouse door and began to walk off towards my home. The sun seemed to finally be showing itself as I walked, the colt stepping around puddles that had built up over the long week of rain. I stepped over them as I trotted, my hooves leaving deep prints in the wet soil. As we made our way back into Ponyville I could feel the eyes of the unicorn looking up at me. To say that Circle was a bit tactless was an unfair assumption to go with. He simply didn’t hide his feelings well. Just looking down at him, being an adult, I could read him like a book. His slightly bowed stance, his eyes looking right up at my face, his pace being slightly behind mine even though I was walking slowly; all of it told me that he wanted very much to talk, or at least pay some kind of attention to the situation. While I was content to walk home in the quiet, I knew he had questions for me.
“Circle Limit, when do you have to be home…?” I asked, curious as to whether his brother had set a curfew for him or not.
He brightened at the sound of my voice. “The latest I can be out is eight, Miss Cheerilee.”
I nodded and looked back at him, wishing he’d drop the formal tone with me. If I was going to keep him around outside of school I didn’t need to constantly be reminded of my status over him.
“You can just call me Cheerilee sweetie.” I requested with a soft smile.
He nodded, looking away for a moment, as if he was processing my words. Just looking at him, I could tell what he was probably going through in his mind. He was trying to mull over my last sentence in every possible context, trying to think of what to say back that was best. Circle was trying so hard to be perfect around me, and it was enough to make me sigh. We turned the corner on the street my home was on, and as we approached my home I looked back at him and made a humble request.
“Circle, outside of school I’m just Cheerilee, alright? I’m not your teacher, and you don’t have to worry about bothering me. Relax… you don’t have to worry about speaking your mind. If you need anything or want to ask a question, just speak your mind.”
He looked up at me like I had just performed some sort of grand optical illusion or similar trickery, eyes wide in amazement. The unicorn seemed in awe of the idea, and gave a smile and a nod in response. For a moment he looked like he was thinking over how to treat me, if not as his teacher. After some deliberation, he looked up at me and spoke.
“Mi- I mean, Cheerilee, am I allowed to come by your house sometime that’s not after school? Like the weekends or during vacations?”
I honestly hadn’t seen the question coming as I unlocked the door, pushing it open. I thought about what it would mean, to give him that kind of permission. He would surely come over almost all the time if I let him. He was a foal that had bonded with me more than any other pony his age, and even if I tried to send him away, it only made me feel worse about myself. The colt was putting a lot of faith in me, and I didn’t want to turn it down. He stepped inside after me, and I shut the door. The cool interior of my home was so much less humid than the outside, which was starting to become muggier by the second thanks to the sun coming out. I wiped my hooves clean on the mat, then walked towards the kitchen to fetch something to eat. He seemed in awe of my home, blinking at my teacher’s certification and inspecting himself in the mirror. When he thought I wasn’t looking, he fixed his messy
mane with the help of his reflection.
I chuckled at his self-awareness, starting to make a salad as I replied to him. “You’re welcome here any time Circle… just get permission to be here first from your older brother. Otherwise, the key is behind the loose brick underneath the first step leading up to the door.”
Circle Limit made a face and walked into the kitchen, looking at the tiles at his hooves before he diverted his attention to the mood lights that ran along the floor. The lighting in there was calm, and everything being cast in a warm relief. Two-layered curtains and blinds covered the windows, which let the dim kitchen be seperate from the outside even if it was the middle of the day. I noticed his expression and paused, looking at my student to see why he looked displeased.
“My brother is barely around… he works all the time.” He grumbled, scuffing a hoof.
I immediately saw that bringing up his older sibling wasn’t going to help matters, and decided to change topic swiftly. I began to cut up a head of lettuce while I spoke, trying to take his mind off my previous comment.
“Well that’s all the more reason to stop by. Is there anything you’d like with your salad, Circle? I have plenty to work with.”
My idea seemed to work for the most part, since it diverted his attention back to me. He gave a smile and shrugged his shoulders, indicating he had no real preferences. I took the sign and ran with it, seizing the oppurtunity to make something of my own and seeing if he liked it. I did my best with the salad, putting the lettuce in a bowl and adding some ranch, croutons and some thin cuts of cauliflower. After that I pushed the bowl to him, watching the colt look at it with some curiosity. After a moment he took it with his magic and sat down at the table, starting to eat while I got out more ingredients to us in my own bowl. After a few bites he looked back at me, grateful for the meal.
“This is… really good. Thanks, Cheerilee.” He said, then went back to his dinner, picking up each part and eating it with his magic.
I nodded and sat down beside him, eating my own while I watched the colt. His manners were remarkable, as he was quite neat with himself. He didn’t spill ranch anywhere, or chew with his mouth open. It seemed that his parents, whomever they were, had been strict with table manners. I silently thanked them and then directed my attention back to my food. While I ate he seemed to do just the same thing to me, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. They shone like beautiful red circles in the half-light. I couldn’t help myself but to offer a smile; we were taking turns staring at each other eating at that point. I let him watch me, figuring there was no harm to be done. After a few bites a few strands of my mane hung in front of my face, and I brushed them behind my ear to continue my meal.
After a few more minutes, we were both done. I got up and took his bowl, stacking it into mine and going to the sink to rinse it out. I leaned on the countertop a bit as I took the rag and began to wash them. As I did I snuck a glance at him from the corner of my eye. Circle’s wide eyes looked from my mane, then down my back, tracing over my hips before looking away, probably out of guilt at looking at me like that. Or perhaps he simply didn’t want to get caught looking at his teacher in such a manner. Either way, I noticed the attention… and I would be a liar to say that I didn’t enjoy it. My assumption of him seeing me as a little bit more than just a friend and a mentor was correct. I decided to do nothing about it for now, though I would see how deep the attraction was later. For the time being I finished washing the bowls, and turned back to him, clearing my throat.
“Do you have a favorite dessert sweetie?” I asked in the softest tone I could offer, wanting him to feel welcome to the extra snack.
“Well… back at my old house we couldn’t really have snacks… and my brother eats out all the time, so… I don’t really have any favorites. Do you have ice cream?” He asked, his ears perking up and facing forwards.
I nodded and got out a scoop, pointing towards the freezer with it as I instructed him. “Well then, could you get out your favorite flavor?”
With a joyous hop he got down from his seat, a small bounce in his step as he trotted over to the freezer. He opened it with magic and leaned over the side, looking down into the chest for his preferred type. I leaned against the counter, feeling a sense of guilt stab at the back of my mind as my eyes traced over the colt’s thin hips. My heart and body won out over whatever morals were trying to worm their way in, because the feeling faded to be replaced by a warm satisfaction. His hips were thinly set and had a nice layer of lean muscle, not used to anything but walking to and from school, but naturally being defined as they were by genetics. His long legs helped a lot to bring out how nicely shaped his flanks were. I made it a point to not look away from him even as he retrieved his ice cream and looked back at me. I only looked up at his face once he had very clearly seen my eyes summing up his haunches.
His immediate reaction was a vivid red blush beneath his white coat. I gave him a warm, inviting smile, then motioned him over, glancing at the spot on the counter where I wanted him to put the ice cream. After locking up for nearly ten whole seconds, be went over, setting the ice cream there with his magic and looking away, sneaking small glances up at me every so often. His eyes were wide with disbelief, while his face looked flustered more than I’d ever seen him before. I let him sit with the idea that maybe… I liked the idea of him looking at me in a romantic, or at least sexual, light. I made him a bowl of ice cream while the colt watched, trying not to say anything for fear of tripping over his words. I offered him his dessert, watching the young unicorn take it and turn to walk back to the table. He made sure to sneak a glance back at me, as if he was checking to see if I was looking.
I turned and began to make my own bowl, chuckling to myself. His reaction to me looking over his body made me think that he was insecure for some reason. If I ever got the oppurtunity I would be sure to help him think better of it… he was a handsome, healthy colt. He had no reason to be afraid of his body being seen in a sexual light, especially at his age. He was right at the cusp of when he would really develop, and thoughts of mares would start to really click in his mind. To possibly be his first actual romantic interest was flattering to say the least, especially for a unicorn as beautiful as him. From his ruby red eyes to his soft, snowy coat, I would’ve never thought myself lucky enough to find a stallion like him, let alone seduce him. To think that he was just naturally interested in an older mare like me made me feel nothing short of blessed. Of course, I was getting ahead of myself. He might not be ready for this sort of thing yet. I repeated that to myself as I went to go sit down, mulling over the thought in my mind. I should try to hint it out to him… give him small clues that he had all the ability in the world to love me the way he wanted, if he just let the right moment fall into place.
As I sat down Circle looked away, his face still a bit red as he ate his ice cream. I did my best to ignore it and ate my snack, looking at him when I thought he wouldn’t mind it too much, or his mane had fallen into his eyes. Eventually he finished, leaving me to sit there and eat at my own, leisurely pace. I took the time to let him relax, clear the tension a bit before I ate the last scoop of ice cream from the bowl. He looked up at me with perplexed, shimmering red eyes, his ears folded back a bit as he spoke.
“Cheerilee… I was… w-wondering… do you think that I could….” He trailed off towards the end into such a small mumble I couldn’t even hear him.
“What was that sweetheart? I couldn’t hear.” I asked, blinking at him with a hopeful smile.
“Could I come over tomorrow?” He asked, his hooves digging a bit at the seat he was in.
I let out a sigh, putting a hoof over my heart. “Of course you can Circle, you’re welcome here any time. I’ll be here all day tomorrow anyways.”
He smiled, his blush returning to the tone of my voice. I had been as warm and understanding as I could, wanting to make him feel welcome in my house no matter what the situation was. I stood, getting the bowls and setting them in the sink. I heard him get down from the table and walk out into the living room. Instead of washing the dishes, I turned around and followed him. He was fussing over his mane again, then his horn, then his tail. I felt an involuntary smile spread over my face, unable to supress a certain happiness at how adorable he was when he fussed over his appearance. I knew the only reason that he did it was because I was there, otherwise he wouldn’t care at all about how he looked in front of others. I walked out to him and leaned down, whispering into his ear.
“Circle… you look amazing already… no need to fret.”
He turned red, and I walked in front to him, brushing my tail beneath his chin before I walked over to the door. Looking at the clock, it was nearly time for him to get going. The unicorn knew it too, trotting over to me with his eyes averted, trying not to let me see him in his embarrassed state. I got the chocolates from eariler and the tulip from his saddlebag, then helped him put it on as he stood on the doormat. His hooves scratched along the rough fabric while I observed him, watching him tighten the straps on the bag before looking up at me. I opened the door and stepped out into the cool evening air, taking a deep breath. It smelled like humidity and freshly cut grass, while the sound of frogs and crickets thrummed through the town of Ponyville. He walked out beside me, waving his hoof.
“G-goodbye Cheerilee… I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” He stuttered, smiling up at me.
I leaned down and placed a kiss on his lips, shutting my eyes so that I could enjoy the moment. He recoiled from me for a moment, letting out a small gasp through his nose, but after a moment he relaxed, then leaned into the kiss, his soft lips pushing against mine. I held it a bit longer before I pulled back, keeping my face right in front of his.
“I’m looking forwards to it… sleep well tonight, Circle. Have a good walk home.”
He stood there for a few seconds, eyes wide as they stared deep into mine. They swam with confusion and exhileration, the need for affection and the relief of having his feelings returned all painted across his face. I stood up straight and turned, walking back inside and waving a hoof to him. He waved back, then turned to walk down the steps and set out on his long walk home. I shut the door and sighed, sitting down on the doormat and shaking my head. What I’d just done was so wrong… so taboo. The part of my mind that had been suppressed earlier returned with vengeance, clamoring to remind me of what a horrible teacher I was, to be having such a relationship with my student. The thing my guilt failed to account for was my current level of exhaustion. I was too tired to care, and with the thoughts being but a dull thrum unable to pierce the veil of my tiredness, I made my was upstairs to slip into bed. I hoped that I woke to the knock of Circle Limit’s hoof on my front door.
Author's Note
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