The Chronicles of a Ponyville Teacherby CluelessFillyChaptersScholarshipsLaughter and LessonsHorses, Hoof-Balls and HallwaysScholarshipsJune 8th, 2008 Cheery Blossom eagerly watched as the huge brown stallion with a black mane passed the exams back to each student. To each one, Mr. Picture Perfect, or Mr. Perfect as he preferred, he seemed to give a different mean look. Cheery scooted a bit in her seat. Her magenta flanks itched in anticipation. What did she get on the exam? Mr. Perfect finally approached Cheery, placing the exam face-down on her desk. Cheery stared at it for a moment. Patience. Then, taking a deep breath, she slowly lifted the sheet of paper. Next to the 'Name' section was Cheerilee, which was her preferred name, and below it the date of the exam, June 6th, which had been Wednesday. Next to it was the grade. 100% The final exam in History, and she'd gotten a perfect score, just like the other classes that day. Cheerilee grinned widely, showing off her beautiful blue and green metal braces. She'd passed the tenth grade! Mr Perfect coughed a few times, and Cheerilee's attention averted from her exam to staring intently at the teacher, but it took a few seconds for everypony else to follow her lead. "Class, I have an important announcement to make. Today, there will be a drawing. In five minutes, we'll be in Cafeteria 1 for the Winner Scholarship to Hoofington Northeast College. Class dismissed." Excitement made Cheerilee tingle as she trotted out of the classroom. Hoofington State? Unless her books were unreliable, it was a huge college in northwest Equestria. She wished she could bounce like a tiny filly down the hallway, but that would be too immature for somepony who was about to get free college. The walls were lined with red lockers, and it was the last day of school. I need to grab my textbooks. I can't leave them here or I'll die with boredom! Cheerilee was turning in toward her locker before somepony shoved her facefirst against the lockers. Pain made her nose tingle and loose feeling, and tears were in her eyes when she pushed herself out. Of course, the first pony to put a damper on her day, as mom always said, was Lucky, a gray stallion with a black mane. Cheerilee resisted her urge to tell him in a fit of frustration what he'd just done, but he was with his friends, Phoenix and Baritone. They could be very intimidating, so she bit her tongue and entered her combination. 7, 19, 11. Only to find that it didn't work. "Come on, lock!" she exclaimed. "Please let me in!" 7, 19, 11. Failed. 7, 19, 11. "Come on, little lock! It's me, Cheery! Let me in!" "Not by the hairs of my chinny-chin chin!" it seemed to squeak back. Cheerilee had to groan before forcefully shoving her forehooves against her locker. "Trick lock," Cheerilee sighed before beginning toward Cafeteria 1. It luckily wasn't a long walk, and speeding up, she managed to sit in the front row just after the bell rang. Next to Cheerilee were two pegasi, one blue and one purple, both with matching white manes, styled in a tough but fancy way. Each was adorned with bows, and they were talking about social things that she didn't understand. "Did you, like, hear about Sassaflash's new coltfriend?" the lilac one asked. "Yeah, but Hay Fever is so pimply that Sassaflash is gonna break up with him!" A white stallion with a hay-colored mane and a thermometer in his mouth sighed before galloping away. That's Hay Fever... it's scientifically impossible that he's always sick like that... "Good afternoon, classmates!" Cheerilee brightened and pricked her ears, trying to hear past the excited whispering of the ponies next to her. She saw a somewhat chunky white unicorn mare with a curly blonde mane appeared. "Good afternoon!" the high-schoolers declared, minus Cheerilee, who added 'ma'am' at the end. "I'm Number Two, the headmistress at Hoofington Northeast College. A few of you are getting your diplomas early-" she motioned to Mr. Perfect, who was the principal and History 7th period teacher, with about eight scrolls on his back. "-And coming to Hoofington Northeast, or HNC. At HNC, we learn about whatever subject you want a degree in, from dragon behavior to astronomy. A few of you are going to come to our school." Please me please me please me! Mr. Perfect stepped forth, clearing his throat. "If your name is called, you come up here and you'll get your diploma. Colgate." A somewhat small blue unicorn mare with a toothpaste-colored mane came up, looking very excited and smiling widely as she picked up her scroll. She galloped down after a hoof-shake with Mr. Perfect and trotting backstage, as if by a silent gesture. "Lyra Heartstrings." A minty green unicorn trotted up to the front, hoof-shaking Mr. Perfect, before taking her prize and stalking back to the back of the cafeteria. "Derpy." A cross-eyed Pegasus bounced up to the stage, following suit. I know that mare, Cheerilee thought. That's Derpy, the clumsiest mare in our grade! How'd she get picked? "Cheerilee." The magenta earth pony gasped before holding back a squeal, bouncing up to Mr. Perfect. The stallion gave her a scroll and a firm hoof shake before Cheerilee, trembling from excitement, made her way backstage, which was much darker. "Hello, Cheerilee," Colgate greeted politely. "I'm Colgate. Even though the family business is making toys, I'm gonna be a dentist one day." "Good to meet you," Cheerilee agreed with an awkward nod. She was so used to being flat-out ignored by her peers. "I'm gonna be a teacher, I think." "I'll be an anthropologist," Lyra declared. She smirked. "Which isn't as obvious. My cutie mark is a lyre, not a human. I don't care what anypony else thinks, 'cuz humans exist!" "Why are we talking cutie marks now?" Cheerilee asked. "It's not like I have one." "Uh, yes you do," Lyra retorted. "Huh?" Cheerilee turned and stared at her flank in astonishment. Seemingly glowing on her flank were three white blossoms, smiling. She rubbed her flank tentatively. It didn't come off, so it wasn't another cruel prank. She squealed. She would have bounced in circles if the first eleventh grader, a light blue Pegasus stallion with a navy blue mane, came in. "Hello, Soarin'," Colgate greeted. "I'm Colgate. Even though the family business is making toys. I'm gonna be a dentist one day." Soarin'? Wow, she can pay attention as well as I can! "Me and Soarin' here are studying flight," an orange Pegasus mare responded, trotting in. "I'm Spitfire, by the way." "Spitfire! You won too!" Soarin' declared the obvious, beaming. These guys are cool enough. "I'm Derpy, and i'm studying muffins!" Derpy declared. "Uh, not to steal your saddle, but you don't go to college to learn about muffins," Lyra deadpanned. "Then I'll be a mailmare one day!" Derpy announced happily. "Those aren't really college careers, but who are we to stop you from living the dream?" Soarin' asked. "Our dream of making our Wonderbolts Club great is massive! We have a few members here, but otherwise we still need more." Cheerilee caught Mr. Perfect stating the name "Mary Mare." Just before she was going to tell the group, a light brown mare with a bright pink mane trotted in, glaring out of her deep teal glasses. "Hello, Mary," Cheerilee found herself greeting. "Hello, fellow scholars," Mary replied with a nod. "I'm Colgate," Colgate greeted. "I want to be a dentist some day. What about you?" "I've always been intrigued by politics, so I think I'll be mayor of Ponyville some day." Mary took a seat next to Cheerilee. "That is literally a huge dream! Good luck," Derpy grinned. A brown stallion with a dark brown mane trotted in, seating himself away from the others. The second twelfth grader!! "Hello," Cheerilee welcomed. "I'm Cheerilee; I think I'll be a teacher one day. What's your name?" "Doctor Time Turner Whoof, someday," the brown stallion replied in his rich voice. "I'm studying time." "That's different," Derpy commented. "Goody good luck!" Number Two trotted in, her blonde mane bouncing. "We can't waste any time, scholars! We're already going to be late for our train, and it'll be a humongous tragedy if we miss it!" She nudged the scholars out of the building they used to refer to as 'school.' They were forced to keep a brisk pace when Number Two was jogging, unable to chat. They would bond enough on the train, Cheerilee was sure of that much. And she could make her first friends since Big Mac... Laughter and LessonsJune 8th, 2008 Cheerilee was sitting on the soft green train seat, staring at the solid yellow wall of the train car. Nothing, she lamented, could smash clear through it, then. Sure, there were her new 'friends,' but now that she was on the train, she wasn't so sure. Lyra, at the moment, seemed to be good at one thing: talking. "The college dorms are gonna be exciting! There'll be a bunch of new ponies; maybe even we can find out special someponies at the college." Undoubtedly she was popular and smart, something most mares didn't seem to have. "There is a real diversity at college," Colgate agreed. Colgate was different from Lyra, that was for sure. She seemed to be like Cheerilee in miniature, maybe. Except that she could talk to ponies, a skill Cheerilee didn't seem to have. "I think college will be exciting," Mary agreed. Mary Mare wanted to be a mayor, and it made sense so far, having that commanding aura. Like the bullies... "Even better: we'll be living the dream," the mint-colored unicorn went on. That all it took for Derpy to brighten up. "There'll be courses for everything! I wanna be a mail mare and muffin-ist!" Derpy; funny, naive and eccentric, almost like a little kid. "Uh, muffinists don't exist," the unicorn deadpanned. Lyra also seemed like she was good at sarcasm against the eccentric pegasus, but she had yet to notice anyway. "Um, Cheerilee, are you okay?" asked Time Turner. Cheerilee turned to the brown stallion. Time Turner was two years older than she was, being in the twelfth grade, and he proved already that he was quick to pick up on things. On the way to the train station, he identified four birds she'd never heard of. "Nothing, really," Cheerilee replied. "Just a tad bit intimidated, being surrounded with ponies." Some thing about his intense gaze made her knew that she couldn't lie. "You sure did seem confident greeting me," he began. "You know, I think you'll fit in just fine, as long as you talk. Just me, but... ya know." He gave an indifferent shrug, and Cheerilee inexplicably wanted to try and listen to his command, turning erectly toward the rest of the group. "I think that there'll be a bunch of unique ponies in dentistry," Colgate added to the growing pile of comments. "I don't know about tooth class, but I'll be one heck of a muffin baker by next year!" Derpy responded loudly. Lyra rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Derp." Her chocolate gaze met mine. "Oh, look who's finally back in the conversation!" Sweat began forming on the back of her neck as the ponies in the group stared at her expectantly. What should I say? "I'm hungry!" she declared as a placeholder. Some laughter came from the group, but Cheerilee's eyes became pinpoints. They're laughing at me! Whimpering a bit, she hurried out of the train car and into the next, which belonged to a short, filthy stallion as she found out the hard way. "Hey, kid," he greeted in a growl-like way, his blue eyes training on Cheerilee. Cheerilee didn't know how to reply, so she settled by staring at the adult strangely, her heart thudding. This guy is a creep! The magenta mare stopped her internal argument by simply dashing to the next car, seeing that it was catering, she caught her breath. Those ponies were laughing at me! They aren't my friends! After thirty seconds, she noticed that many of the other ponies were looking at her strangely, as if she'd grown another head, and she was sure that wasn't the case. "Cheerilee?" called out a mature voice. Cheerilee turned around timidly only to see Time Turner. "Why'd you run like that?" "You ponies were laughing at me!" she accused. "You guys aren't my friends, so I'm getting some food and staying here." Cheerilee suddenly realized how whiny she sounded, so she quickly straightened up. "We were laughing with you," Time Turner pointed out, sounding patient. "There's a difference in between laughing with and laughing at, you know. I discovered it's just a part of friendship. Huh? "But it's the same verb, right?" Cheerilee blurted out. "Laughing is making sounds expressing amusement!" "That just supports my point further," Time Turner pointed out flatly. "But, if you can't get out of that mode, 'laughing' is used in different contexts. Being amused at somepony else's expense is laughing at. They here amused by your antics." Cheerilee's face brightened in realization. Oh, contexts fit in with the definition! I get it now! Time Turner coughed lightly. "Now, would you like to pick up that food and head back? Colgate was shifting the focus of the conversation towards square roots when you left." "Would I!" Cheerilee exclaimed. Other ponies batted their ears, already seeming to register that she was crazy. "Oh, and I'm not hungry!" Cheerilee and Time Turner trotted through the strange stallion's car before ending up back with the nerds. "Look who's back," Lyra snickered. Cheerilee batted an ear in irritation before seating herself where she was, reminding herself of square roots. Colgate was scribbling frantically at a piece of paper. "The square root of 15,789 is 125.65428763078480801100930994306," Colgate declared proudly. Mary pulled out a calculator and, on the small screen: 125.65428763078480801100930994306 "Wow." Horses, Hoof-Balls and HallwaysJune 8th, 2008 "The square root of 176,908.4189 is 420. 60482510308889702985775223711," Time Turner answered. Cheerilee had been smiling for the whole seven hours they'd played square roots so far. She pulled out Mary's calculator, the one they'd been using, and began to enter the initial number, but it wasn't working. "The battery died," Cheerilee deadpanned, passing it to the twelfth grader. "Well, we had a lot of fun, didn't we?" Colgate commented. "I wish that Spitfire and Soarin' were here. They'd have enjoyed that." Cheerilee glanced to where the two eleventh graders were; they were seemingly texting each other with their fancy phones. Mary loaded it into a side pocket on her gray backpack. "Well, we can always talk about physics," she shrugged. The scholars were interrupted by a loud whistle, which made Cheerilee's heart skip a beat. Colgate, who was closest to the window, peeked out and gasped. "The college!" she exclaimed. "It's there!" "Really?" Cheerilee involuntarily tossed Colgate out of the way and saw the huge stone building coming closer and closer. Her eyes danced over the dark building as the others joined her. "It looks like something that came out of a horror movie," Lyra commented. "Maybe I'll meet my very special somepony in there... with all of the smarty-ponies that'll be in." The train came to a complete halt, and the scholars eagerly climbed off. Cheerilee grinned a little meekly when Time Turner trotted at her side. He was really nice, as she'd learned a few hours before. She slowed down her bouncy trot on the dirt road to a more tentative walk to match his pace, stopping to adjust her black and white-checkered scarf, which began chafing her neck. "Wow, that's a cool place!" Derpy commented in awe, staring at the school. She walked into part of the barbed wire and galloped nonchalantly past. Once again, Cheerilee wondered how that quaint little mare got a scholarship. "How'd you do that?" Spitfire asked as she ducked down, allowing herself and her fiery mane to get through. "What?" Derpy responded, spinning in place. "How did you get past the fence w-without...?" Lyra took over, making some wild motions with her hooves as Soarin' nosed his way through. "No reason," Derpy shrugged. "I just can't feel it." Cheerilee proceeded to go under when the wire stood up. A brown hoof was carefully holding the wire up so she could get through. Time Turner. She beamed. "Thanks, Time Turner!" she acknowledged. Her scarf chafed her enough, so she pulled it back again. Mary began getting through as she rubbed the back of her head, which felt a little bit numb for some reason. "No problem," Time Turner smiled as Mary trotted out to the other side. For a reason she could explain, she felt a good inch closer to Time Turner than the others. "After you, I insist." The magenta mare trotted through, careful not to add her normal bounce in her step until she came out. Time Turner, unrushed, followed, and they sped up ever so slightly to keep up with the rest of the group. "It looks even bigger up close!" Cheerilee marveled, grinning widely at Colgate, who had taken the lead. "You can lead us for a bit," she invited, smiling brightly. "You're the most passionate about school out of all of us." Cheerilee glanced around slyly, as if she half-expected somepony to sweep her up if she took on this oh-so-important job. "Thanks a lot, Colgate," Cheerilee acknowledged as Colgate changed her course a little and took a slower pace as Cheerilee took over the nose. Colgate was super cool, too. For a fifteen-year-old, she was mature as she was compared to the Stompers, which was just another word for the kids who tackled everypony in tenth grade. As they got closer, Cheerilee had to firmly hold herself back from speeding ahead impolitely. Mr. Perfect would have been proud. "The school is so... big!" Derpy commented. Next to the massive school was a green field with huge stallions in gear out, tossing an oddly-shaped ball around. "What are they doing?" Cheerilee asked. She almost immediately regretted it when Lyra. the closest pony, began giggling. She might be laughing with you, not at you, she reminded herself. "Don't you know what hoof-ball is?" she snickered after a moment. "A bunch of stallions toss that weirdly-shaped ball around and tackle each other." She puffed out her chest proudly. "My brother was a PROFESSIONAL hoof-ball player for the Detrot Rockers!" "Nopony watches sports anymore, Lyra," Colgate pointed out sternly. "You should still know what hoof-ball is," the mint colored unicorn protested. "We're here," Soarin' announced. Cheerilee gazed up, ignoring the two ninth graders' argument. It looked even bigger up close! "Should we go in?" Mary suggested after a moment of awe. There was no response for several awe-filled moments. "Let's go," Colgate replied, opening and holding the door. Cheerilee was overflowed with a sense of accomplishment when she headed in behind Lyra. This college was huge! The content would be a breeze, but who might her roommate be? She shivered at the thought that she'd have to share a room with Lyra. Maybe she was just joking around, but she already hurt her feelings more than once. Mary, she'd noticed on the train, was hyper-organized, even for her standards. Soarin' and Spitfire were still a bit of a mystery, but they almost seemed... lenient! They didn't stay for square roots! Derpy appeared to be quite absent-minded and maybe a little destructive (she broke at least four calculators on the train, but Mary always holds extra) but not mean. Colgate was really nice so far, and so was Time Turner... "Ya okay, Cheers?" Lyra interrupted as a warm sensation reached her cheeks. "You look kind of embarrassed." Sharing a room with Time Turner was in her thoughts, but she shook her head. "I'm fine," she responded, looking away from the unicorn. She half-expected Lyra to turn and ask questions; it was so confusing that she would even enlist her help. "Whatever floats your boat," Lyra answered with a shrug, falling behind. Just when Cheerilee was going to badger her to try harder, a loud, repetitive donging rung through the air. Period change! Out of the brown doors, mares and stallions of all different shapes and sizes poured out. Cheerilee stared around in wonder at the wide variety. But, at the same time, there was no real shoving, save for the occasional shove by a rushing pony. A college student, gold with a green mane decorated with bows, halted in their path. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Some of you look like eighth graders! Are you lost?" "Ninth grade," Lyra corrected under her breath. "Oh..." Colgate cleared her throat. "My name is Colgate. You see, we won a scholarship, and we're kinda lost." "Alright; try heading down the hallway to the main office... I'm headed there anyway, so it's worth my trip!" The yellow mare beamed before adding, "My name is Apple Fritter." Then she led us along quickly; undoubtedly wanting to get to class on time. Cheerilee and Time Turner were taking up the rear, and as Cheerilee quickly learned, he didn't get thrown around like she did. No, he was the iron pony! When his gaze was sliding toward her, Cheerilee quickly turned to the others. Spitfire and Soarin' seemed to be more popular anyway, even clearing the way for a nearby Mary. Lyra was shouting something very crude to a mare that hit her side, but Derpy didn't seem to notice anything. Then she saw Colgate. She was struggling through the hall, bumping painfully into college ponies and then rebounding into the other scholars. But Colagate's so nice! A group of mares hit Cheerilee forward, almost as if she was meant to help Colgate, calculating the exact times, place and force she had to use, unfortunately not being able to compute the individual students. She quickly leaped ahead when she was just rebounding off of Soarin'. Despite her lack of physical strength, Cheerilee beamed at her prize: a dizzy, ruffled Colgate with blue eyes like Derpy's. "Are you alright?" Cheerilee asked. "Thanks," Colgate replied, stupefied by the dizziness. "And I'm fine!" The magenta mare still lent a shoulder and took some of the hits that came that way, but she didn't seem to have the same tendency to bounce around as Colgate, and bluntly got off easily. I spotted Apple Fritter standing in place, causing the main part of the group to bump into each other. "This is the main office," she explained, motioning to the door. "You'll get a map of the school in there, and even schedules and rooms!" Apple Fritter dashed int he direction of one of the two exits, situated down long hallways. Time Turner hurried ahead. "Let's head in before the bell rings," he suggested, opening the door. He's such a gentlecolt! Cheerilee almost giggled out loud to herself, but she just managed to keep back and help a still dizzy Colgate. She grinned. Y'know, it's kind've fun helping another scholar. Cheerilee sat in a chair, bordered by Derpy and Colgate. Ah, whatever: friends. Number Two, the assistant principal, approached from behind the counter. "Can I help you?" Before any of them could respond, she let out a battle screech and attacked the wall.
ScholarshipsJune 8th, 2008 Cheery Blossom eagerly watched as the huge brown stallion with a black mane passed the exams back to each student. To each one, Mr. Picture Perfect, or Mr. Perfect as he preferred, he seemed to give a different mean look. Cheery scooted a bit in her seat. Her magenta flanks itched in anticipation. What did she get on the exam? Mr. Perfect finally approached Cheery, placing the exam face-down on her desk. Cheery stared at it for a moment. Patience. Then, taking a deep breath, she slowly lifted the sheet of paper. Next to the 'Name' section was Cheerilee, which was her preferred name, and below it the date of the exam, June 6th, which had been Wednesday. Next to it was the grade. 100% The final exam in History, and she'd gotten a perfect score, just like the other classes that day. Cheerilee grinned widely, showing off her beautiful blue and green metal braces. She'd passed the tenth grade! Mr Perfect coughed a few times, and Cheerilee's attention averted from her exam to staring intently at the teacher, but it took a few seconds for everypony else to follow her lead. "Class, I have an important announcement to make. Today, there will be a drawing. In five minutes, we'll be in Cafeteria 1 for the Winner Scholarship to Hoofington Northeast College. Class dismissed." Excitement made Cheerilee tingle as she trotted out of the classroom. Hoofington State? Unless her books were unreliable, it was a huge college in northwest Equestria. She wished she could bounce like a tiny filly down the hallway, but that would be too immature for somepony who was about to get free college. The walls were lined with red lockers, and it was the last day of school. I need to grab my textbooks. I can't leave them here or I'll die with boredom! Cheerilee was turning in toward her locker before somepony shoved her facefirst against the lockers. Pain made her nose tingle and loose feeling, and tears were in her eyes when she pushed herself out. Of course, the first pony to put a damper on her day, as mom always said, was Lucky, a gray stallion with a black mane. Cheerilee resisted her urge to tell him in a fit of frustration what he'd just done, but he was with his friends, Phoenix and Baritone. They could be very intimidating, so she bit her tongue and entered her combination. 7, 19, 11. Only to find that it didn't work. "Come on, lock!" she exclaimed. "Please let me in!" 7, 19, 11. Failed. 7, 19, 11. "Come on, little lock! It's me, Cheery! Let me in!" "Not by the hairs of my chinny-chin chin!" it seemed to squeak back. Cheerilee had to groan before forcefully shoving her forehooves against her locker. "Trick lock," Cheerilee sighed before beginning toward Cafeteria 1. It luckily wasn't a long walk, and speeding up, she managed to sit in the front row just after the bell rang. Next to Cheerilee were two pegasi, one blue and one purple, both with matching white manes, styled in a tough but fancy way. Each was adorned with bows, and they were talking about social things that she didn't understand. "Did you, like, hear about Sassaflash's new coltfriend?" the lilac one asked. "Yeah, but Hay Fever is so pimply that Sassaflash is gonna break up with him!" A white stallion with a hay-colored mane and a thermometer in his mouth sighed before galloping away. That's Hay Fever... it's scientifically impossible that he's always sick like that... "Good afternoon, classmates!" Cheerilee brightened and pricked her ears, trying to hear past the excited whispering of the ponies next to her. She saw a somewhat chunky white unicorn mare with a curly blonde mane appeared. "Good afternoon!" the high-schoolers declared, minus Cheerilee, who added 'ma'am' at the end. "I'm Number Two, the headmistress at Hoofington Northeast College. A few of you are getting your diplomas early-" she motioned to Mr. Perfect, who was the principal and History 7th period teacher, with about eight scrolls on his back. "-And coming to Hoofington Northeast, or HNC. At HNC, we learn about whatever subject you want a degree in, from dragon behavior to astronomy. A few of you are going to come to our school." Please me please me please me! Mr. Perfect stepped forth, clearing his throat. "If your name is called, you come up here and you'll get your diploma. Colgate." A somewhat small blue unicorn mare with a toothpaste-colored mane came up, looking very excited and smiling widely as she picked up her scroll. She galloped down after a hoof-shake with Mr. Perfect and trotting backstage, as if by a silent gesture. "Lyra Heartstrings." A minty green unicorn trotted up to the front, hoof-shaking Mr. Perfect, before taking her prize and stalking back to the back of the cafeteria. "Derpy." A cross-eyed Pegasus bounced up to the stage, following suit. I know that mare, Cheerilee thought. That's Derpy, the clumsiest mare in our grade! How'd she get picked? "Cheerilee." The magenta earth pony gasped before holding back a squeal, bouncing up to Mr. Perfect. The stallion gave her a scroll and a firm hoof shake before Cheerilee, trembling from excitement, made her way backstage, which was much darker. "Hello, Cheerilee," Colgate greeted politely. "I'm Colgate. Even though the family business is making toys, I'm gonna be a dentist one day." "Good to meet you," Cheerilee agreed with an awkward nod. She was so used to being flat-out ignored by her peers. "I'm gonna be a teacher, I think." "I'll be an anthropologist," Lyra declared. She smirked. "Which isn't as obvious. My cutie mark is a lyre, not a human. I don't care what anypony else thinks, 'cuz humans exist!" "Why are we talking cutie marks now?" Cheerilee asked. "It's not like I have one." "Uh, yes you do," Lyra retorted. "Huh?" Cheerilee turned and stared at her flank in astonishment. Seemingly glowing on her flank were three white blossoms, smiling. She rubbed her flank tentatively. It didn't come off, so it wasn't another cruel prank. She squealed. She would have bounced in circles if the first eleventh grader, a light blue Pegasus stallion with a navy blue mane, came in. "Hello, Soarin'," Colgate greeted. "I'm Colgate. Even though the family business is making toys. I'm gonna be a dentist one day." Soarin'? Wow, she can pay attention as well as I can! "Me and Soarin' here are studying flight," an orange Pegasus mare responded, trotting in. "I'm Spitfire, by the way." "Spitfire! You won too!" Soarin' declared the obvious, beaming. These guys are cool enough. "I'm Derpy, and i'm studying muffins!" Derpy declared. "Uh, not to steal your saddle, but you don't go to college to learn about muffins," Lyra deadpanned. "Then I'll be a mailmare one day!" Derpy announced happily. "Those aren't really college careers, but who are we to stop you from living the dream?" Soarin' asked. "Our dream of making our Wonderbolts Club great is massive! We have a few members here, but otherwise we still need more." Cheerilee caught Mr. Perfect stating the name "Mary Mare." Just before she was going to tell the group, a light brown mare with a bright pink mane trotted in, glaring out of her deep teal glasses. "Hello, Mary," Cheerilee found herself greeting. "Hello, fellow scholars," Mary replied with a nod. "I'm Colgate," Colgate greeted. "I want to be a dentist some day. What about you?" "I've always been intrigued by politics, so I think I'll be mayor of Ponyville some day." Mary took a seat next to Cheerilee. "That is literally a huge dream! Good luck," Derpy grinned. A brown stallion with a dark brown mane trotted in, seating himself away from the others. The second twelfth grader!! "Hello," Cheerilee welcomed. "I'm Cheerilee; I think I'll be a teacher one day. What's your name?" "Doctor Time Turner Whoof, someday," the brown stallion replied in his rich voice. "I'm studying time." "That's different," Derpy commented. "Goody good luck!" Number Two trotted in, her blonde mane bouncing. "We can't waste any time, scholars! We're already going to be late for our train, and it'll be a humongous tragedy if we miss it!" She nudged the scholars out of the building they used to refer to as 'school.' They were forced to keep a brisk pace when Number Two was jogging, unable to chat. They would bond enough on the train, Cheerilee was sure of that much. And she could make her first friends since Big Mac...
Laughter and LessonsJune 8th, 2008 Cheerilee was sitting on the soft green train seat, staring at the solid yellow wall of the train car. Nothing, she lamented, could smash clear through it, then. Sure, there were her new 'friends,' but now that she was on the train, she wasn't so sure. Lyra, at the moment, seemed to be good at one thing: talking. "The college dorms are gonna be exciting! There'll be a bunch of new ponies; maybe even we can find out special someponies at the college." Undoubtedly she was popular and smart, something most mares didn't seem to have. "There is a real diversity at college," Colgate agreed. Colgate was different from Lyra, that was for sure. She seemed to be like Cheerilee in miniature, maybe. Except that she could talk to ponies, a skill Cheerilee didn't seem to have. "I think college will be exciting," Mary agreed. Mary Mare wanted to be a mayor, and it made sense so far, having that commanding aura. Like the bullies... "Even better: we'll be living the dream," the mint-colored unicorn went on. That all it took for Derpy to brighten up. "There'll be courses for everything! I wanna be a mail mare and muffin-ist!" Derpy; funny, naive and eccentric, almost like a little kid. "Uh, muffinists don't exist," the unicorn deadpanned. Lyra also seemed like she was good at sarcasm against the eccentric pegasus, but she had yet to notice anyway. "Um, Cheerilee, are you okay?" asked Time Turner. Cheerilee turned to the brown stallion. Time Turner was two years older than she was, being in the twelfth grade, and he proved already that he was quick to pick up on things. On the way to the train station, he identified four birds she'd never heard of. "Nothing, really," Cheerilee replied. "Just a tad bit intimidated, being surrounded with ponies." Some thing about his intense gaze made her knew that she couldn't lie. "You sure did seem confident greeting me," he began. "You know, I think you'll fit in just fine, as long as you talk. Just me, but... ya know." He gave an indifferent shrug, and Cheerilee inexplicably wanted to try and listen to his command, turning erectly toward the rest of the group. "I think that there'll be a bunch of unique ponies in dentistry," Colgate added to the growing pile of comments. "I don't know about tooth class, but I'll be one heck of a muffin baker by next year!" Derpy responded loudly. Lyra rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Derp." Her chocolate gaze met mine. "Oh, look who's finally back in the conversation!" Sweat began forming on the back of her neck as the ponies in the group stared at her expectantly. What should I say? "I'm hungry!" she declared as a placeholder. Some laughter came from the group, but Cheerilee's eyes became pinpoints. They're laughing at me! Whimpering a bit, she hurried out of the train car and into the next, which belonged to a short, filthy stallion as she found out the hard way. "Hey, kid," he greeted in a growl-like way, his blue eyes training on Cheerilee. Cheerilee didn't know how to reply, so she settled by staring at the adult strangely, her heart thudding. This guy is a creep! The magenta mare stopped her internal argument by simply dashing to the next car, seeing that it was catering, she caught her breath. Those ponies were laughing at me! They aren't my friends! After thirty seconds, she noticed that many of the other ponies were looking at her strangely, as if she'd grown another head, and she was sure that wasn't the case. "Cheerilee?" called out a mature voice. Cheerilee turned around timidly only to see Time Turner. "Why'd you run like that?" "You ponies were laughing at me!" she accused. "You guys aren't my friends, so I'm getting some food and staying here." Cheerilee suddenly realized how whiny she sounded, so she quickly straightened up. "We were laughing with you," Time Turner pointed out, sounding patient. "There's a difference in between laughing with and laughing at, you know. I discovered it's just a part of friendship. Huh? "But it's the same verb, right?" Cheerilee blurted out. "Laughing is making sounds expressing amusement!" "That just supports my point further," Time Turner pointed out flatly. "But, if you can't get out of that mode, 'laughing' is used in different contexts. Being amused at somepony else's expense is laughing at. They here amused by your antics." Cheerilee's face brightened in realization. Oh, contexts fit in with the definition! I get it now! Time Turner coughed lightly. "Now, would you like to pick up that food and head back? Colgate was shifting the focus of the conversation towards square roots when you left." "Would I!" Cheerilee exclaimed. Other ponies batted their ears, already seeming to register that she was crazy. "Oh, and I'm not hungry!" Cheerilee and Time Turner trotted through the strange stallion's car before ending up back with the nerds. "Look who's back," Lyra snickered. Cheerilee batted an ear in irritation before seating herself where she was, reminding herself of square roots. Colgate was scribbling frantically at a piece of paper. "The square root of 15,789 is 125.65428763078480801100930994306," Colgate declared proudly. Mary pulled out a calculator and, on the small screen: 125.65428763078480801100930994306 "Wow."
Horses, Hoof-Balls and HallwaysJune 8th, 2008 "The square root of 176,908.4189 is 420. 60482510308889702985775223711," Time Turner answered. Cheerilee had been smiling for the whole seven hours they'd played square roots so far. She pulled out Mary's calculator, the one they'd been using, and began to enter the initial number, but it wasn't working. "The battery died," Cheerilee deadpanned, passing it to the twelfth grader. "Well, we had a lot of fun, didn't we?" Colgate commented. "I wish that Spitfire and Soarin' were here. They'd have enjoyed that." Cheerilee glanced to where the two eleventh graders were; they were seemingly texting each other with their fancy phones. Mary loaded it into a side pocket on her gray backpack. "Well, we can always talk about physics," she shrugged. The scholars were interrupted by a loud whistle, which made Cheerilee's heart skip a beat. Colgate, who was closest to the window, peeked out and gasped. "The college!" she exclaimed. "It's there!" "Really?" Cheerilee involuntarily tossed Colgate out of the way and saw the huge stone building coming closer and closer. Her eyes danced over the dark building as the others joined her. "It looks like something that came out of a horror movie," Lyra commented. "Maybe I'll meet my very special somepony in there... with all of the smarty-ponies that'll be in." The train came to a complete halt, and the scholars eagerly climbed off. Cheerilee grinned a little meekly when Time Turner trotted at her side. He was really nice, as she'd learned a few hours before. She slowed down her bouncy trot on the dirt road to a more tentative walk to match his pace, stopping to adjust her black and white-checkered scarf, which began chafing her neck. "Wow, that's a cool place!" Derpy commented in awe, staring at the school. She walked into part of the barbed wire and galloped nonchalantly past. Once again, Cheerilee wondered how that quaint little mare got a scholarship. "How'd you do that?" Spitfire asked as she ducked down, allowing herself and her fiery mane to get through. "What?" Derpy responded, spinning in place. "How did you get past the fence w-without...?" Lyra took over, making some wild motions with her hooves as Soarin' nosed his way through. "No reason," Derpy shrugged. "I just can't feel it." Cheerilee proceeded to go under when the wire stood up. A brown hoof was carefully holding the wire up so she could get through. Time Turner. She beamed. "Thanks, Time Turner!" she acknowledged. Her scarf chafed her enough, so she pulled it back again. Mary began getting through as she rubbed the back of her head, which felt a little bit numb for some reason. "No problem," Time Turner smiled as Mary trotted out to the other side. For a reason she could explain, she felt a good inch closer to Time Turner than the others. "After you, I insist." The magenta mare trotted through, careful not to add her normal bounce in her step until she came out. Time Turner, unrushed, followed, and they sped up ever so slightly to keep up with the rest of the group. "It looks even bigger up close!" Cheerilee marveled, grinning widely at Colgate, who had taken the lead. "You can lead us for a bit," she invited, smiling brightly. "You're the most passionate about school out of all of us." Cheerilee glanced around slyly, as if she half-expected somepony to sweep her up if she took on this oh-so-important job. "Thanks a lot, Colgate," Cheerilee acknowledged as Colgate changed her course a little and took a slower pace as Cheerilee took over the nose. Colgate was super cool, too. For a fifteen-year-old, she was mature as she was compared to the Stompers, which was just another word for the kids who tackled everypony in tenth grade. As they got closer, Cheerilee had to firmly hold herself back from speeding ahead impolitely. Mr. Perfect would have been proud. "The school is so... big!" Derpy commented. Next to the massive school was a green field with huge stallions in gear out, tossing an oddly-shaped ball around. "What are they doing?" Cheerilee asked. She almost immediately regretted it when Lyra. the closest pony, began giggling. She might be laughing with you, not at you, she reminded herself. "Don't you know what hoof-ball is?" she snickered after a moment. "A bunch of stallions toss that weirdly-shaped ball around and tackle each other." She puffed out her chest proudly. "My brother was a PROFESSIONAL hoof-ball player for the Detrot Rockers!" "Nopony watches sports anymore, Lyra," Colgate pointed out sternly. "You should still know what hoof-ball is," the mint colored unicorn protested. "We're here," Soarin' announced. Cheerilee gazed up, ignoring the two ninth graders' argument. It looked even bigger up close! "Should we go in?" Mary suggested after a moment of awe. There was no response for several awe-filled moments. "Let's go," Colgate replied, opening and holding the door. Cheerilee was overflowed with a sense of accomplishment when she headed in behind Lyra. This college was huge! The content would be a breeze, but who might her roommate be? She shivered at the thought that she'd have to share a room with Lyra. Maybe she was just joking around, but she already hurt her feelings more than once. Mary, she'd noticed on the train, was hyper-organized, even for her standards. Soarin' and Spitfire were still a bit of a mystery, but they almost seemed... lenient! They didn't stay for square roots! Derpy appeared to be quite absent-minded and maybe a little destructive (she broke at least four calculators on the train, but Mary always holds extra) but not mean. Colgate was really nice so far, and so was Time Turner... "Ya okay, Cheers?" Lyra interrupted as a warm sensation reached her cheeks. "You look kind of embarrassed." Sharing a room with Time Turner was in her thoughts, but she shook her head. "I'm fine," she responded, looking away from the unicorn. She half-expected Lyra to turn and ask questions; it was so confusing that she would even enlist her help. "Whatever floats your boat," Lyra answered with a shrug, falling behind. Just when Cheerilee was going to badger her to try harder, a loud, repetitive donging rung through the air. Period change! Out of the brown doors, mares and stallions of all different shapes and sizes poured out. Cheerilee stared around in wonder at the wide variety. But, at the same time, there was no real shoving, save for the occasional shove by a rushing pony. A college student, gold with a green mane decorated with bows, halted in their path. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Some of you look like eighth graders! Are you lost?" "Ninth grade," Lyra corrected under her breath. "Oh..." Colgate cleared her throat. "My name is Colgate. You see, we won a scholarship, and we're kinda lost." "Alright; try heading down the hallway to the main office... I'm headed there anyway, so it's worth my trip!" The yellow mare beamed before adding, "My name is Apple Fritter." Then she led us along quickly; undoubtedly wanting to get to class on time. Cheerilee and Time Turner were taking up the rear, and as Cheerilee quickly learned, he didn't get thrown around like she did. No, he was the iron pony! When his gaze was sliding toward her, Cheerilee quickly turned to the others. Spitfire and Soarin' seemed to be more popular anyway, even clearing the way for a nearby Mary. Lyra was shouting something very crude to a mare that hit her side, but Derpy didn't seem to notice anything. Then she saw Colgate. She was struggling through the hall, bumping painfully into college ponies and then rebounding into the other scholars. But Colagate's so nice! A group of mares hit Cheerilee forward, almost as if she was meant to help Colgate, calculating the exact times, place and force she had to use, unfortunately not being able to compute the individual students. She quickly leaped ahead when she was just rebounding off of Soarin'. Despite her lack of physical strength, Cheerilee beamed at her prize: a dizzy, ruffled Colgate with blue eyes like Derpy's. "Are you alright?" Cheerilee asked. "Thanks," Colgate replied, stupefied by the dizziness. "And I'm fine!" The magenta mare still lent a shoulder and took some of the hits that came that way, but she didn't seem to have the same tendency to bounce around as Colgate, and bluntly got off easily. I spotted Apple Fritter standing in place, causing the main part of the group to bump into each other. "This is the main office," she explained, motioning to the door. "You'll get a map of the school in there, and even schedules and rooms!" Apple Fritter dashed int he direction of one of the two exits, situated down long hallways. Time Turner hurried ahead. "Let's head in before the bell rings," he suggested, opening the door. He's such a gentlecolt! Cheerilee almost giggled out loud to herself, but she just managed to keep back and help a still dizzy Colgate. She grinned. Y'know, it's kind've fun helping another scholar. Cheerilee sat in a chair, bordered by Derpy and Colgate. Ah, whatever: friends. Number Two, the assistant principal, approached from behind the counter. "Can I help you?" Before any of them could respond, she let out a battle screech and attacked the wall.
