Adventures of a "Schoolteacher"by VashTheStampedeChaptersChapter IChapter IIChapter IIIChapter IVChapter INot much was known about Miss Cheerilee. Well, there was the obvious. She was a dark purple earth pony with a fluffy two-tone pink mane and three smiling flowers for her cutie mark. “Symbolizes the joy I get watching my students grow,” she said with a smile whenever asked about it. She lived with the town drunk, the absurdly well-off Berry Punch, and most ponies assumed they were sisters. There were some nasty rumors that the educational mare was a foalfondler, too. However, not many believed them, and nopony could think of anypony who’d have the nerve to start such slanderous rumors against such a kind pony. She was known to be good friends with Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s personal protégé, and maintained a good friendship with the Element of Honesty’s brother, Big Macintosh, despite the mishap related to a love poison concocted by the red stallion’s little sister and her friends. But all this was merely of her life after arriving in Ponyville only a few weeks prior to the disgruntled purple unicorn who would thrice become the savior of Equestria, and several years after the end of the War. Whenever questioned about her life before Ponyville, or what she had done during the War, she would reply with a stock line about how she’d gotten her education in Canterlot and taught in Manehattan until recently, then quickly change the subject. Several ponies thought of this as suspicious, but none thought beyond that she didn’t really want to talk about her past, assuming some embarrassing memories or war stories she didn’t want to, or perhaps even couldn’t, remember. They were only half right. *** The day began like any other in Equestria. The royal Princess of the Sun brought her celestial orb above the horizon, gently waking any ponies who chose not to use alarm clocks from their slumber. Miss Cheerilee, however, was not one of these ponies. She was up well before dawn, preparing herself for the latest day with the children. Oh, how she loved the little foals that came to her class five days a week. They were all so cute, most of them very eager to learn, and of them, most were far more intelligent than they seemed from the outside. There were a couple, somewhat slower foals, but Cheerilee didn’t mind that. She’d spend time outside of class giving them tutoring sessions, taking time out of her personal life to make sure not one of her students got left behind. She drained the last of her coffee and set the mug on the table, calling out to her sister that she’d be back at the end of the day. The expected inebriated groan of acknowledgement floated in from the living room, and Cheerilee giggled to herself as the front door to her shared home closed behind her. Taking in a breath of the fresh morning air, Cheerilee began to trot down the street, towards the schoolhouse. She greeted her friends along the way – Bon Bon and her marefriend Lyra were opening their candy shop for the day, Roseluck and her sisters were preparing their flower stand, even Davenport of the Quills and Sofas shop. She chuckled to herself. She had always thought it was amusing how specific his special talent was, but then again, cutie marks work in mysterious ways. Her own was rather nice, she thought. It symbolized her love of watching foals learn and blossom into talented and intelligent young ponies. Well, that’s what it looked like to everypony, anyway, and what she told them. She shook her head and sighed. “It’s such a shame I can’t tell them who I really am…” Cheerilee thought aloud. “Whaddya mean, Miss Cheerilee?” Cheerilee’s eyes widened in momentary shock before regaining her composure, and she turned around to locate the source of the voice. It had come from Rumble. The little Pegasus colt was the younger brother of Thunderlane, a rather crass stallion who hit on Cheerilee practically every chance he had. His younger brother, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He was respectful, kind, and genuinely caring towards his fellow students, and unlike his brother, actually kind of cute. She’d always liked the way his dark, gray-blue mane spiked up and rolled back over his head, kind of like the ocean under a storm. He was still a blank flank, but given his writing skill, she wouldn’t be surprised if something related to that turned up sooner or later. At the present though, she was faced with a problem. Cheerilee was a kind and honest mare. Lying did not come easily to her, and when she did force a fib, it was rather obvious. How she had managed to keep this life of hers a secret for two whole years was a mystery and a miracle, and here she was almost blowing it all to a colt younger than the Peace. “I… didn't say anything, Rumble,” Cheerilee stated, her green eyes darting left and right, avoiding eye contact with the colt, and immediately changed the subject. “Would you mind telling me why you’re here so early?” “My brother had to get up extra early for ‘weather duty.’ Or so he said. He never actually goes to that. I think he’s just going to his marefriend’s house again,” Rumble replied, glancing at the ground, “He practically spends more time there than at home. At least her sister is nice and comes over when Thunderlane is spending the night at their house. Cloud Chaser’s so nice. She’s real pretty, too…” he trailed off, a dreamy look in his eyes and a mild blush on his cheeks. “Really,” Cheerilee corrected. “Huh?” Rumble was thrust back into reality. “I think you mean ‘She’s really pretty,’” the teacher said with a giggle. “Oh, yeah, you’re right! Thanks, Miss Cheerilee!” “It’s what I’m here for,” she said with a smile. School-age crushes were always so adorable, so innocent. Looking up, she noticed that some of the other fillies and colts had arrived for the school day, and called for them to head inside. As the class settled into their seats, she noticed three conspicuously empty chairs, and shook her head with a dismissive sigh. She’d have to talk to their siblings again. Well, for Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, at least. She really didn’t know what the situation was with Scootaloo’s home life. “Ok, class, did you all do the reading for today?” A chorus of “Yep’s” and “Mhmm’s” met her ears. “Good. Well, then, as you know, today’s lesson is a history lesson. However, it is much more recent history than we typically learn about. Today, we will be discussing the War of Pony Ascension…” *** The bell rang, and the foals scurried from the room like mice from a lantern. Their eagerness to leave didn’t displease Cheerilee, as it was always matched by their eagerness to return the following day. She decided against visiting the families of the Cutie Mark Crusaders yet again, as they had arrived only a few minutes late and covered in significantly less tree sap than usual. Those fillies… when will they learn? They can’t force a cutie mark to appear. It will only come when naturally revealed, or when necessary to survive… She glanced back at her own flank, frowning at the memories it brought. Oh, right, I forgot I had that covered. It’s a shame, really, that this isn’t what I’m really meant to do. I love teaching so very much… Cheerilee packed her things and put the students’ homework in her saddlebags to grade later. Exiting the schoolhouse, she took another deep breath. She loved the outside air. It was so wonderful when there were no pervading scents of death and horror around her. She banished the thought, and began the walk home. Upon arriving and opening the door, she found the number of empty bottles on the counter an indication that her sister had started surprisingly late today. She placed her saddlebags on the table and drew up a chair. Just as she started to grade the papers, a knock on the door brought her back to her hooves. She opened the door, and was surprised to find the smiling face of Rumble. While she wasn’t opposed to the idea, students rarely visited her at home. “Oh, hello Miss Cheerilee! I… I was writing a story, and I was wondering if you could give me some tips on making it bet…” the young colt trailed off, eyes drawn to a peculiar sight on his teacher’s flank. Cheerilee was about to scold him for his wandering eyes when he spoke up again. “Um, Miss Cheerilee? What’s wrong with your cutie mark?” Cheerilee followed his eyes to her right flank, where she noticed the carefully placed, custom-printed vinyl sticker was beginning to peel off. Oh, horseapples. Chapter IIMiss Cheerilee hastily leaned to the right, pressing her flank against the frame of her door. “Why, whatever do you mean, Rumble? Were you staring at my flank?” Cheerilee felt bad for putting him on the spot like this, but her secret couldn’t get out. “I… I… no! I’m sorry Miss Cheerilee! Please don’t hate me!” Rumble’s mouth hung open, his eyes widened in terror that he’d irreparably damaged his relationship with his teacher. As he began to back away, Cheerilee reached over and pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry Rumble. I just… did you have a question for me?” She released the small colt and stood back up. He merely gulped and nodded, turning and pulling a textbook from his saddlebag. “A question on homework, huh?” He shook his head vigorously, then set the book down, and opened it to a page with a large double-spread image of the heroes of the War of Pony Ascension. Cheerilee swallowed, hoping to Celestia that the slate colt in front of her wasn’t going to do what she thought he was. He did. His hoof slowly traced a line from where it rested to the face of a mare in the picture. “Miss Cheerilee… is… is that you?” he asked, timidly. Cheerilee leaned down to close the book, and in an instant realized her mistake. As she moved, she was no longer pressing the sticker against her flank, and it fell to the ground with a smack. Both ponies stopped moving entirely and stared at the piece of plastic lying on the ground, before Rumble’s young eyes found their way back to his teacher’s flank. Instead of the three smiling flowers that he knew were supposed to be there, he found a black circle with two lines crossing through it, with a red dot at the center. “It… it is you… you’re… you’re the Hero of Equestria! You fought wit-” Cheerilee covered the small colt’s mouth with a hoof, indicating she wanted him to be silent. Cheerilee sighed. For one pony, at least, her cover was blown. “Rumble… why don’t you come inside,” Cheerilee said. It wasn’t a question, it wasn’t a suggestion, it was an instruction. She stepped aside and allowed him entry to her home, immediately feeling shame for her sister’s lifestyle. Picking up the vinyl sticker, she placed it on the counter between a couple of bottles. Feeling no need to hide it any longer, she twisted her neck and removed the sticker from her other flank as well. Rumble stared in horror, as though he’d just seen a pony tear her own flesh off. Cheerilee smiled softly, and hoofed him one of the stickers. “It’s just a piece of plastic designed to cover something up. It’s not actually my real skin or fur or anything,” she giggled, “but I won’t be needing them anymore. Can I get you anything to drink? I’ve got apple juice, milk, and water… well, that’s not all I have but I don’t think my sister would like you drinking any of her stuff, and besides, that wouldn’t be legal.” “Some apple juice sounds delicious, thank you Miss Cheerilee. But why don’t you need these anymore?” Rumble asked. “Because I’ll be leaving now. This is the ninth town in the twelve years since the war. Every time… I’ve tried to hide who I am. I want nothing more than to live a normal life. But every time I’ve been found out… I’ve left. I don’t want everypony to know who I am. I want nothing more than to be ‘Miss Cheerilee the Schoolteacher.’ Every time ponies find out that I was what they all call a ‘war hero,’” Cheerilee said with a sigh. She began to trot away from him, to get some apple juice from the fridge. “Then why don’t you stay? I won’t tell anypony, I promise! See, you can just put these back on and go back to being Miss Cheerilee!” Rumble pressed the sticker he was holding to Cheerilee’s flank. It only half-stuck, and was upside down. Cheerilee laughed, but it was a mirthless laugh, one lacking any of her namesake cheer. “It’s not that simple, Rumble. If even one pony knows… certainly more will find out. It’s just bound to happen. I’m sorry, but maybe Twilight Sparkle can take over as your teacher.” “No! I don’t want her to be my teacher! I want you to be my teacher!” Cheerilee was still pouring the apple juice, but abruptly stopped when she heard the distress in his voice. It almost sounded like… he was crying. She turned around, and sure enough, he was. “I… I love you, Miss Cheerilee! Not… not like Thunderlane loves Flitter, but like… like I’d love my mother…” Cheerilee’s heart was wrenched from her chest as she looked at Rumble, the small colt’s eyes screwed shut, tears falling openly on her floor. “I never… I never knew my mother, did you know that? She died when I was really little… and when… when I started going to school, you were so nice, so happy, so friendly… I thought that you were what I’d want my mother to be like… so… I guess…” Rumble couldn’t keep talking anymore. His irregular breathing broke into ragged sobs, his knees giving out. Before he hit the floor, though, something caught him – the soft, purple forelegs of his teacher. She pulled the small Pegasus into a hug, doing her best to comfort him. “Shh… shh… it’s ok, Rumble. It’s ok… you don’t need to cry. Can you promise me one thing, though?” He nodded. “Don’t tell anypony. If you can keep this a secret, I’ll stay. But it has to stay a secret, ok?” He nodded again, still with his face buried in her chest. Cheerilee smiled at the little colt. She really did like him. However, by the time he’d finished crying, and gone over his story with Cheerilee (which, despite being very well-written, was a rather thinly veiled fantasy about Cheerilee being Rumble’s mother), and then had dinner as well, it was fairly late. The sun had gone down, and Cheerilee didn’t really want to see him go home alone in the dark. Something seemed to be nagging at him, too. Before Cheerilee could offer, Rumble began to speak. “Miss Cheerilee…? Umm… Thunderlane is at Flitter’s house tonight… and Cloud Chaser’s away in Manehattan, visiting family… and… I don’t really want to stay home alone…” “Your brother leaves you alone at night?” “Yeah, pretty often. Cloud Chaser comes over sometimes, but not every time.” “That’s not ok, Rumble. He’s your guardian, since your parents… if you don’t want him to leave you alone, he can’t. But seeing as that’s not an option tonight… do you want to spend the night here? My sister won’t be home until much later, but she won’t mind. Come on, I’ve got an extra bed I can sleep on.” “Oh, no, Miss Cheerilee. I couldn’t impose on you like that. It’s ok.” “No, it isn’t. You can spend the night here. I’ll talk to your brother tomorrow.” What’s this? Am I… I’m already starting to act like a mother. Maybe I should have had a foal years ago… but back then… “Are you sure, Miss Cheerilee? Well then at least let me sleep in the small bed, it wouldn’t be fair.” “No, you’ll sleep in my bed. That’s final,” Cheerilee said, sternly. “And you’ll sleep in your bed,” Rumble said with just as much stubbornness in his voice. “Fine, if you insist, then we can share,” Cheerilee said, after only a moment’s internal debate. He’s eight. It’s innocent enough… this won’t help those rumors but I don’t care. He needs someone who will actually take care of him, unlike his deadbeat brother. Rumble’s eyes lit up and his wings fluffed a little, before settling back down. “Oh thank you so much Miss Cheerilee! You’re the best teacher ever!” The little stallion said, rushing over and hugging the mare. After another half-hour, both ponies had showered and made the other preparations for going to bed, and were lying next to each other under the sheets. Cheerilee lay on her back, unable to decide what the appropriate level of physical contact would be, and wondered if perhaps this hadn’t been the wisest decision. Just as she was about to get out of bed and relocate to the collapsible cot, Rumble rolled over and snuggled up against her foreleg. “Thank you so much, Miss Cheerilee. Goodnight,” he emphasized the genuine quality of his words with a quick squeeze of her leg. Cheerilee smiled. “Goodnight, Rumble. Sleep tight.” *** Cheerilee had always been a light sleeper. This fact, combined with her sister’s lifestyle, meant she rarely got a full night of sleep. As usual, she awoke in the middle of the night when the door downstairs closed. Making the correct assumption it was her sister from the irregular hoofsteps she heard, Cheerilee closed her eyes to go back to sleep. Rumble, shockingly, was in the exact same position he’d put himself hours ago, wrapped around Cheerilee’s foreleg. Just as she was drifting off again, he began to mumble in his sleep. “nnn… love you… mommy…” She couldn’t know the actual content of the small colt’s dreams, but she didn’t need to. Her eyes welled with tears, and she rolled over onto her side to curl around him. Content that the child was adequately and safely enveloped in her legs and tail, Cheerilee fell back asleep. Maybe I can stay here after all… Chapter IIICheerilee awoke as usual, feeling renewed and ready to go. Her foreleg also felt slightly damp. Must have slept on it and… she looked down at her foreleg, momentarily surprised to see the slate form curled around it. Oh, right, and then there’s this adorable little colt, she thought with a smile, delicately extracting her leg from Rumble’s grip, and heading to the bathroom to take a shower. Showers were Cheerilee’s favorite part of the morning. Feeling the warm water wash over her body felt so cleansing and it was as integral to her being awake as her coffee downstairs. She toweled off and exited to bathroom to find Rumble sitting patiently next to the door. “Oh, were you waiting her for me? I’m sorry, I should have told you there’s a bathroom downstairs… then again, that’s my sister’s bathroom. Why don’t we avoid that one? Here, go on in. There’s soap and shampoo on the counter; feel free to use it if you don’t mind smelling a bit like a mare for the day,” Cheerilee said with a giggle, “Clean towels are over there,” she indicated with a hoof, “and I’ve got an unused toothbrush and some toothpaste you can use. I’ll go make us some breakfast.” Cheerilee went downstairs and began making oatmeal and coffee. It was a simple breakfast, but delicious with the right amount of cinnamon and sugar mixed in. Just as she was beginning to wonder what was taking Rumble so long, she heard a blood curdling scream from upstairs and a soaking-wet Rumble rocketed down the stairs and into the kitchen, clinging in terror to one of Cheerilee’s back legs as she stood over her stove. “I-it’s a z-z-ZOMBIE!” the diminutive colt stuttered. “A zombie?” Terror momentarily filled Cheerilee’s heart. She’d had dreams about the zombie apocalypse. It was never pretty, usually ending with the ponies she cared about suffering horrible, gruesome deaths at the maws of the never-ending ho- No, don’t think like that. Think positive. Happy thoughts. After the initial moment of terror, her mind made the connection as to what Rumble had actually seen. “BERRY! What is wrong with you? You’ve scared him half to death!” Cheerilee roared. “Ow, sis, not so loud…” a very hungover wine-colored mare stumbled down the stairs that Rumble had so recently blitzed through, giggling, “I’m sorry, that was mean. You should have seen the look on his face though… oh Celestia that was priceless!” “Berry…” Cheerilee sighed, exasperated. She loved her sister dearly, but her affinity for the bottle left her morning personality… lacking. “Please. He’s eight. He doesn’t need to know about the horrible aftereffects of alcohol yet. In fact, he shouldn’t even know what alcohol is!” “It’s that stuff my brother drank all night for a week after Blossomforth dumped him,” Rumble piped in, “Right?” Cheerilee merely clamped her lips together and glared at her sister while gesturing towards Rumble. Berry Punch guffawed, and promptly stopped and winced as her own laughter hurt her head. Cheerilee facehoofed. “It’s ok, Cheerilee. I woke him up so he’d go to work and got to and from school by myself just fine,” Rumble added. “Ok? ‘That’s ok?’ That’s not ok, Rumble! That’s the very definition of not ok! He’s your brother, your caretaker!” “Caretaker? You took better care of me last night than Thunderlane has every night for the past month put together! I walk home by myself, I do my homework myself, I make dinner myself, I put myself to bed, I wake myself up! Thunderlane doesn’t do anything with me! He spends all his time either at work, watching TV, or doing stuff with Flitter. I can’t even remember the last time we had a meal together… Oh right, I can. We were at Flitter’s house. Cloud Chaser and I worked together to make him dinner. I liked that… Cloud Chaser’s a better big brother than Thunderlane is…” Rumble finished his rant, tears forming in the edge of his eyes. “But… but I love him. He’s my brother, and everything he does should make me hate him… but I don’t, I can't. Is that weird, Miss Cheerilee?” “No, it isn’t, Rumble. It’s not strange at all. Hey, come on, we’ve got to get to school. I’ll talk to Thunderlane after school. That sound good?” Cheerilee asked with a smile. Rumble nodded happily, wiping the tears from his eyes. Cheerilee turned and opened the door to leave for the schoolhouse, hoping for at least one more normal day. “Wait, Miss Cheerilee! The… um… the stickers…” Cheerilee froze in her tracks, half of her body already out the door. She looked back over her shoulder at her flanks, and quickly retreated inside her home. “Rumble… thank you so much… that would have been really bad,” Cheerilee gasped, and grabbed the stickers, years of experience showing as she expertly applied them in seconds. “Want to make a more successful excursion?” He nodded eagerly. “Oh, and Berry? If you would mind… could you wait until we get home to start?” Berry Punch sighed. “When do you think you’ll be back?” Cheerilee smiled. “No later than five thirty.” “Five thirty? Are you insane? I can’t wait until five thirty! You’ll owe me for th-” Cheerilee closed the door behind her. “I know I do, sis, I know I do.” The day passed largely without incident. Snips and Snails were being rowdy, but Cheerilee couldn’t give them detention, not today. Diamond Tiara had failed the test on anatomy, but she was doing well enough in class otherwise to overlook one failed test. Besides, half the class had failed. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant or interesting subject for the little ones, but Celestia made it mandatory. Only she knows why that’s necessary information for ponies so young… She groaned lightly and rubbed at her temples. Class had only just been dismissed, but already the only pony besides herself left in the room was Rumble, though there was some commotion outside. She looked over at him and smiled. He’s so adorable. Wait… why’s he look like he’s about to cry? “Rumble?” “I can’t find my saddlebags!” Cheerilee had to admit, she was confused. “I’m sure they’ll turn up soon enough. Should we go talk to your brother now?” “No, Miss Cheerilee! You don’t understand! My mom… she made them by hoof. Thunderlane gave them to me for my birthday three years ago. They’re… the only thing I have to remember her by. I… I can’t lose them…” Cheerilee rushed over to the little Pegasus and hugged him. “Come on, you’re sure they’re not here?” He shook his head. “Then let’s go outside and talk to your classmates. See if one of them picked up your bags by mistake?” He nodded weakly. “Oh, shh… it’s ok, it’s ok. We’ll get them back, I promise.” Cheerilee smiled, that comfortable, warm, ‘I feel safe as long as you’re smiling’ smile she had. She led the small colt out of the schoolhouse to see what the commotion was. “MY SADDLEBAGS!” Rumble yelled, indicating with a hoof. There, atop a tree, were his saddlebags. How they’d gotten that high in the tree was a mystery to the earth mare – for the age group she taught, flying that high could only be the work of a Cloudsdale-born or very talented Pegasus – neither of which were present in her class. The next option was a unicorn – but again, to her knowledge, none of the foals were skilled enough to do it themselves. This left two options: one of the foals had convinced an older pony to assist them, or one of the foals had climbed up there personally. “Who put those bags up there?” Cheerilee asked, her voice calm, but not without an air of sternness. “We did, Miss Cheerilee,” Snips and Snails said in unison. “We heard about this new spell that would let two unicorns work together with their magic to make it more powerful, and it worked better than we expected it to… we’re sorry.” “That’s… it’s ok, boys. We can get it back. Rumble, if you can wait a few minutes… Rumble?” “Wow, look how high he is!” Cheerilee whirled around. To her horror, Rumble was at least twenty-five feet off the ground, steadily gaining altitude. “Someone, get a Pegasus, not Fluttershy, NOW!” Cheerilee yelled, before turning her attention to the diminutive gray Pegasus. “Rumble, come back down before you hurt yourself! Please!” “I’m sorry Miss Cheerilee, but I have to get my saddlebags back! They’re too important!” He continued his ascent, already well past the point where a fall would cause major injury of not be outright fatal. Cheerilee made a decision. In a flash, she had mounted the swing set and kicked off, reaching the top of the flagpole in seconds. Crouching expertly and perfectly balanced, she coiled her legs before shoving off with all her might, rocketing through the air towards the little colt. Her hooves connected with Rumble and she twisted herself around in midair, curling around his body. She braced herself for the impact with the ground when a pair of hooves wrapped around her sides, slowing her significantly, though not entirely breaking her fall. She landed hard on her back. Her breath escaped her violently and for a few horrifying seconds her diaphragm refused to cooperate. Rumble, thoroughly cushioned by Cheerilee, was furious. “Why did you do that? I was almost there! I could have gotten my bags back! You could have gotten seriously hurt!” he cried, hugging her tightly. “That… that was the point… you could have died, if your wings… if your wings had stopped working… even for a moment… don’t scare me like that again…” Cheerilee panted as her body struggled to start cycling air through it again. “But… I think we have somepony else to thank…” she said as she removed Rumble from her chest and stood shakily, her back popping in the process. As she looked over to meet her savior, she saw her class – every single colt and filly with their jaw on the ground. I guess… I guess I kind of overdid that, huh. Soon she located the pony that had broken her fall: a white Pegasus with a very fluffy yellow mane and matching tale with a cutie mark that looks shockingly similar to Pinkie Pie’s. “Are you ok?” The extremely eager-looking pony asked. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ve had much worse, much, much worse. My name’s Cheerilee, by the way. I’m the schoolteacher,” she said, and received a puzzled look. “Miss, you fly better than a few Pegasi I know, and you say you’re a schoolteacher?” “Yep,” she said, receiving another confused look. Cheerilee decided a subject change was for the best. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before – what’s your name, where are you from?” “My name’s Surprise,” the mare replied, “I’m from Manehattan, but I moved here a week or so ago. It’s a nice change of pace. My special talent is throwing surprise parties and sneaking around undetected!” “I bet I could give you a run for your money…” Cheerilee muttered under her breath. “Huh?” “Oh, nothing. Um, thanks for saving me. I’ve got another request though – would you kindly retrieve my student’s saddlebags from the tree? They’re rather important to him.” “Oh, yeah, sure, just a second,” she replied, zipping to the top of the tree and back in just a few seconds. “Here you go,” she said handing the bags to Cheerilee, who gave them to an expectant Rumble. “Rumble! What in Equestria are you doing? You could have gotten hurt, or worse, you could have hurt your teacher or this fine mare that helped you! All because you couldn’t hold on to mom’s saddlebags!” The crowd turned to look at the source of the voice – a large, dark gray Pegasus with his light blue mane styled in a sad attempt at a Mohawk had just flown in. He stared angrily at the small stallion next to Cheerilee. “Seriously, you can be so useless sometimes…” It was Thunderlane. Chapter IV“Honestly, Rumble, one of these days… ugh. Come on, let’s go home,” Thunderlane said gruffly. He turned to leave, gesturing with a wing for Rumble to join him. “N-no,” Rumble said, trying his best to be firm, despite the noticeable tremble in his voice. “What was that?” Thunderlane turned around again, now facing his little brother, the small stallion standing next to Cheerilee. The large, dark gray pegasus’ voice said he was angry, his eyes told a different story – one of confusion, almost fear. “I said no, Thunderlane. I don’t want to go home with you. Not today. Not ev-ver again!” Rumble nearly shouted, defiance plain in his voice. “You’re an aw-” “Rumble, why don’t you let me handle this?” Cheerilee interrupted, smiling down at the little colt. Rumble nodded, resigning to glare at his older brother. “Now Mr. Thunderlane, as you may or may not be aware, Rumble spent the night at my house last night. During the course of the evening, he told me several things that I, as a responsible citizen, cannot ignore. It has been brought to my attention that you are rather neglectful of your younger brother, and, you being his legal guardian after… after your parents passed on, you are legally bound to look after him. You can’t be getting drunk when a mare dumps you, or staying out all night at your marefriend’s house. If you do not take adequate responsibility, I cannot allow this to continue and I will take legal action against your guardianship of Rumble,” Cheerilee stated firmly, trying not to allow emotion enter her voice, calmly stating the facts as she had received them from Rumble the afternoon and evening prior. “How dare you spe-” Thunderlane started, furious, before cutting himself off. He held a hoof up as he closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath through his nose before exhaling audibly from his mouth. He began to talk again, much more calmly than before, measuring each word carefully as he spoke. “Miss Cheerilee, I must ask you to listen to me, please. You must consider that Rumble is eight and that I may not explain to him every detail of my life. Which, by the way, I don’t. I’m certain he told you about the incident after Blossomforth. For one, that happened two whole years ago. For two… did he tell you why I did that? Because I had already bought an engagement ring. I was going to ask her to marry me. And she broke it off over some fight we had… some stupid fight over… I don’t even remember,” Thunderlane trailed off, his voice shaking a little. He swallowed hard, but even after he regained his composure, his voice threatened to break. “After a week, Flitter and Cloudchaser came to see me. We’ve been friends since… gosh, I don’t know, since before we all moved to Ponyville, some time back while I was still at Flight School. They got me out of that funk, back on my feet, and back into being a helpful pony in society. After a while, Flitter told me how she felt about me, and, while I hadn’t really thought about it before, I realized I felt the same, but not just about her. Cloudchaser, too – it was kind of weird at first, dating two sisters at the same time, but it’s worked out so far. Doctors say it’s called ‘polyamorism’ or something, and while not common, isn’t an issue. Anyways… since we got together, I haven’t had an incident with alcohol like that.” Rumble’s jaw had dropped some time ago, though he had resisted interrupting his brother until now. “You… you’re dating Flitter AND Cloudchaser? That’s not fair at all! Why do you get both of them? That isn’t fair! You… you don’t deserve to have Cloudchaser as your marefriend!” The outburst hit Thunderlane like a ton of bricks – his eyes widened with surprise and his lower lip began to tremble. Ah, man, this sucks – a grown stallion about to break down and cry in public, just from one thing his little brother said. What kind of man am I? Cheerilee decided now was the time to intervene, before the situation escalated further. “Rumble, please, I know you like Cloudchaser, but that’s a discussion you can have with your brother later. Now, though… that’s all well and good, Thunderlane, but there’s still the fact that you leave him alone at night, from what I understand, on a rather regular basis, to spend time with your girlfriends. I respect your so-called ‘polyamorous’ lifestyle, I have friends who live by it, but you need to take care of your brother.” “Spending nights at Flitter’s? No, you’ve got it wrong. Ever since… ever since mum and dad passed away, I’ve had to work two shifts on the weather team every day just to earn enough bits to get by. Even working two shifts a day, supporting day-to-day life and two of the three best things to ever happened to me – Flitter and Cloudchaser – wasn’t feasible. I work another job at night, Miss Cheerilee, as a garbage pony. It doesn’t pay much, but every bit helps. Look, Miss Cheerilee, I just… money is tight right now. I don’t know when or if that will get better. I love my little brother dearly, but right now… Miss Cheerilee, can I talk to you, alone, for a moment?” The sudden change of tone took Cheerilee by surprise, but she nodded, and motioned for Rumble to wait outside as she followed Thunderlane into the schoolhouse. *** “Miss Cheerilee, do you know why I act like I do? Why I’m such a jerk, why ponies think I’m a pervert?” Thunderlane asked abruptly as the door closed behind him. “I… I must admit, Thunderlane, I was beginning to think that was just who you were, but my views have been… changed, this afternoon, shall we say. Why do you act like that?” Cheerilee chose her steps carefully, walking between the desks to get around in front of the dark gray Pegasus. “It’s because I’m terrified of being alone, Miss. When mum and dad died… all I had was Rumble, and he was too young to understand what was going on. Sure, Flitter and Cloudchaser visited, but no one… no one got it, you know? Adults said they were sorry, friends offered assistance, but nopony really understood. I think maybe that’s why I fell so hard for Blossomforth, she understood me, like nopony else. Well, except Flitter and Cloudchaser, but at the time… I just couldn’t think of them as more than friends. Then, when Blossomforth left me, I thought that was it, that I was going to be alone. So I tried to act cool, hit on everyone, so they would think I was someone worth hanging out with. It worked, a little, I had some ‘friends.’ Now I don’t want to be that pony, but I’m so afraid of being alone… I’ve been working a double shift as a garbage pony, too, Miss. I haven’t slept more than three hours a night in months. I want Flitter and Cloudchaser to be a part of my life forever, and they do too, we’ve already talked about it. I just need to get the money together. However… as much as I love them, I don’t want to have Rumble get left out or neglected. I saw you two this morning, when you were going to school. I was on my way back from my morning shift for garbage duty, and was going to try to get a nap in before my first weather duty shift. Anyway… he hasn’t looked that happy in I don’t know how long. You, too, Miss Cheerilee. Ok, that sounded creepy, but probably because it was… you know what I mean. You looked so happy. Miss Cheerilee… do you think… would you mind…” Thunderlane brought scratched the back of his neck with a hoof. “Are you asking me to take care of Rumble for a while, until you can get things together?” Cheerilee supplemented, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. “Uhh, yeah, basically,” Thunderlane said. “So, you…?” “Well, there are the legal proceedings to go through, but… yes, I’d love to. I know it’s not quite the same, and it’s only temporary, but I have always wanted foals…” “I could help with th-” Thunderlane smacked himself across the face. “Sorry, reflex…” Cheerilee giggled. “So, let’s begin working on this. We’ll have to go to Town Hall later, but we can get the basic intent written here…” *** Ten minutes later, the pair reemerged from the schoolhouse, both quite happy. Rumble had been idly kicking a rock around the playground, the other foals long since having left. He perked up at the sight of his teacher and brother walking towards him. “Well, Rumble,” Cheerilee began, “After some discussion with your brother, and with some other considerations that I had not known about earlier, we have come to an agreement.” “Rumble, how do you feel about living with Miss Cheerilee for a while, as her adopted son?” Rumble looked at Cheerilee. “Is he…?” “Yes, Rumble, he’s serious. Your brother is an awful nice pony, there’s just some issues at the moment. It would be temporary, but he’s asked me to take care of you for a while, while he gets some things together and reaches a more stable financial situation. Also…” “Rumble… I know you like Cloudchaser,” Thunderlane picked up, “but we’ve already agreed to get married. Rumble… I hope you believe me when I say that behind you, she and Flitter are the most important ponies in my life. I just need a little time for that life to stabilize, with all of us as a family. Plus… I’ve seen the way that little Scootaloo looks at you. I think she’s pretty cute, don’t you?” Rumble blushed intensely, his wings ruffling slightly. “Would you mind staying with Cheerilee for a while? Maybe a few months?” Rumble was in a state of disbelief. His brother was actively thinking about him, being nice to him, and even offering to let him stay with Miss Cheerilee. “Is that really ok, Miss Cheerilee?” “Of course it is, Rumble.” “Then yes, I’d love to! Oh, thank you Thunderlane! I’m sorry I said those mean things about you! Please don’t be mad!” Rumble rushed over to his brother, little wings carrying him faster than a young pony with his stubby legs could ever hope to run, and hugged Thunderlane’s foreleg tightly. “Hey there champ, it’s all good. I understand I haven’t really been the best brother, but I’m gonna fix that. I just need some time,” Thunderlane said, tousling his brother’s mane. “Take all the time you need, Cheerilee’s the greatest!”
Chapter INot much was known about Miss Cheerilee. Well, there was the obvious. She was a dark purple earth pony with a fluffy two-tone pink mane and three smiling flowers for her cutie mark. “Symbolizes the joy I get watching my students grow,” she said with a smile whenever asked about it. She lived with the town drunk, the absurdly well-off Berry Punch, and most ponies assumed they were sisters. There were some nasty rumors that the educational mare was a foalfondler, too. However, not many believed them, and nopony could think of anypony who’d have the nerve to start such slanderous rumors against such a kind pony. She was known to be good friends with Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s personal protégé, and maintained a good friendship with the Element of Honesty’s brother, Big Macintosh, despite the mishap related to a love poison concocted by the red stallion’s little sister and her friends. But all this was merely of her life after arriving in Ponyville only a few weeks prior to the disgruntled purple unicorn who would thrice become the savior of Equestria, and several years after the end of the War. Whenever questioned about her life before Ponyville, or what she had done during the War, she would reply with a stock line about how she’d gotten her education in Canterlot and taught in Manehattan until recently, then quickly change the subject. Several ponies thought of this as suspicious, but none thought beyond that she didn’t really want to talk about her past, assuming some embarrassing memories or war stories she didn’t want to, or perhaps even couldn’t, remember. They were only half right. *** The day began like any other in Equestria. The royal Princess of the Sun brought her celestial orb above the horizon, gently waking any ponies who chose not to use alarm clocks from their slumber. Miss Cheerilee, however, was not one of these ponies. She was up well before dawn, preparing herself for the latest day with the children. Oh, how she loved the little foals that came to her class five days a week. They were all so cute, most of them very eager to learn, and of them, most were far more intelligent than they seemed from the outside. There were a couple, somewhat slower foals, but Cheerilee didn’t mind that. She’d spend time outside of class giving them tutoring sessions, taking time out of her personal life to make sure not one of her students got left behind. She drained the last of her coffee and set the mug on the table, calling out to her sister that she’d be back at the end of the day. The expected inebriated groan of acknowledgement floated in from the living room, and Cheerilee giggled to herself as the front door to her shared home closed behind her. Taking in a breath of the fresh morning air, Cheerilee began to trot down the street, towards the schoolhouse. She greeted her friends along the way – Bon Bon and her marefriend Lyra were opening their candy shop for the day, Roseluck and her sisters were preparing their flower stand, even Davenport of the Quills and Sofas shop. She chuckled to herself. She had always thought it was amusing how specific his special talent was, but then again, cutie marks work in mysterious ways. Her own was rather nice, she thought. It symbolized her love of watching foals learn and blossom into talented and intelligent young ponies. Well, that’s what it looked like to everypony, anyway, and what she told them. She shook her head and sighed. “It’s such a shame I can’t tell them who I really am…” Cheerilee thought aloud. “Whaddya mean, Miss Cheerilee?” Cheerilee’s eyes widened in momentary shock before regaining her composure, and she turned around to locate the source of the voice. It had come from Rumble. The little Pegasus colt was the younger brother of Thunderlane, a rather crass stallion who hit on Cheerilee practically every chance he had. His younger brother, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He was respectful, kind, and genuinely caring towards his fellow students, and unlike his brother, actually kind of cute. She’d always liked the way his dark, gray-blue mane spiked up and rolled back over his head, kind of like the ocean under a storm. He was still a blank flank, but given his writing skill, she wouldn’t be surprised if something related to that turned up sooner or later. At the present though, she was faced with a problem. Cheerilee was a kind and honest mare. Lying did not come easily to her, and when she did force a fib, it was rather obvious. How she had managed to keep this life of hers a secret for two whole years was a mystery and a miracle, and here she was almost blowing it all to a colt younger than the Peace. “I… didn't say anything, Rumble,” Cheerilee stated, her green eyes darting left and right, avoiding eye contact with the colt, and immediately changed the subject. “Would you mind telling me why you’re here so early?” “My brother had to get up extra early for ‘weather duty.’ Or so he said. He never actually goes to that. I think he’s just going to his marefriend’s house again,” Rumble replied, glancing at the ground, “He practically spends more time there than at home. At least her sister is nice and comes over when Thunderlane is spending the night at their house. Cloud Chaser’s so nice. She’s real pretty, too…” he trailed off, a dreamy look in his eyes and a mild blush on his cheeks. “Really,” Cheerilee corrected. “Huh?” Rumble was thrust back into reality. “I think you mean ‘She’s really pretty,’” the teacher said with a giggle. “Oh, yeah, you’re right! Thanks, Miss Cheerilee!” “It’s what I’m here for,” she said with a smile. School-age crushes were always so adorable, so innocent. Looking up, she noticed that some of the other fillies and colts had arrived for the school day, and called for them to head inside. As the class settled into their seats, she noticed three conspicuously empty chairs, and shook her head with a dismissive sigh. She’d have to talk to their siblings again. Well, for Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, at least. She really didn’t know what the situation was with Scootaloo’s home life. “Ok, class, did you all do the reading for today?” A chorus of “Yep’s” and “Mhmm’s” met her ears. “Good. Well, then, as you know, today’s lesson is a history lesson. However, it is much more recent history than we typically learn about. Today, we will be discussing the War of Pony Ascension…” *** The bell rang, and the foals scurried from the room like mice from a lantern. Their eagerness to leave didn’t displease Cheerilee, as it was always matched by their eagerness to return the following day. She decided against visiting the families of the Cutie Mark Crusaders yet again, as they had arrived only a few minutes late and covered in significantly less tree sap than usual. Those fillies… when will they learn? They can’t force a cutie mark to appear. It will only come when naturally revealed, or when necessary to survive… She glanced back at her own flank, frowning at the memories it brought. Oh, right, I forgot I had that covered. It’s a shame, really, that this isn’t what I’m really meant to do. I love teaching so very much… Cheerilee packed her things and put the students’ homework in her saddlebags to grade later. Exiting the schoolhouse, she took another deep breath. She loved the outside air. It was so wonderful when there were no pervading scents of death and horror around her. She banished the thought, and began the walk home. Upon arriving and opening the door, she found the number of empty bottles on the counter an indication that her sister had started surprisingly late today. She placed her saddlebags on the table and drew up a chair. Just as she started to grade the papers, a knock on the door brought her back to her hooves. She opened the door, and was surprised to find the smiling face of Rumble. While she wasn’t opposed to the idea, students rarely visited her at home. “Oh, hello Miss Cheerilee! I… I was writing a story, and I was wondering if you could give me some tips on making it bet…” the young colt trailed off, eyes drawn to a peculiar sight on his teacher’s flank. Cheerilee was about to scold him for his wandering eyes when he spoke up again. “Um, Miss Cheerilee? What’s wrong with your cutie mark?” Cheerilee followed his eyes to her right flank, where she noticed the carefully placed, custom-printed vinyl sticker was beginning to peel off. Oh, horseapples.
Chapter IIMiss Cheerilee hastily leaned to the right, pressing her flank against the frame of her door. “Why, whatever do you mean, Rumble? Were you staring at my flank?” Cheerilee felt bad for putting him on the spot like this, but her secret couldn’t get out. “I… I… no! I’m sorry Miss Cheerilee! Please don’t hate me!” Rumble’s mouth hung open, his eyes widened in terror that he’d irreparably damaged his relationship with his teacher. As he began to back away, Cheerilee reached over and pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry Rumble. I just… did you have a question for me?” She released the small colt and stood back up. He merely gulped and nodded, turning and pulling a textbook from his saddlebag. “A question on homework, huh?” He shook his head vigorously, then set the book down, and opened it to a page with a large double-spread image of the heroes of the War of Pony Ascension. Cheerilee swallowed, hoping to Celestia that the slate colt in front of her wasn’t going to do what she thought he was. He did. His hoof slowly traced a line from where it rested to the face of a mare in the picture. “Miss Cheerilee… is… is that you?” he asked, timidly. Cheerilee leaned down to close the book, and in an instant realized her mistake. As she moved, she was no longer pressing the sticker against her flank, and it fell to the ground with a smack. Both ponies stopped moving entirely and stared at the piece of plastic lying on the ground, before Rumble’s young eyes found their way back to his teacher’s flank. Instead of the three smiling flowers that he knew were supposed to be there, he found a black circle with two lines crossing through it, with a red dot at the center. “It… it is you… you’re… you’re the Hero of Equestria! You fought wit-” Cheerilee covered the small colt’s mouth with a hoof, indicating she wanted him to be silent. Cheerilee sighed. For one pony, at least, her cover was blown. “Rumble… why don’t you come inside,” Cheerilee said. It wasn’t a question, it wasn’t a suggestion, it was an instruction. She stepped aside and allowed him entry to her home, immediately feeling shame for her sister’s lifestyle. Picking up the vinyl sticker, she placed it on the counter between a couple of bottles. Feeling no need to hide it any longer, she twisted her neck and removed the sticker from her other flank as well. Rumble stared in horror, as though he’d just seen a pony tear her own flesh off. Cheerilee smiled softly, and hoofed him one of the stickers. “It’s just a piece of plastic designed to cover something up. It’s not actually my real skin or fur or anything,” she giggled, “but I won’t be needing them anymore. Can I get you anything to drink? I’ve got apple juice, milk, and water… well, that’s not all I have but I don’t think my sister would like you drinking any of her stuff, and besides, that wouldn’t be legal.” “Some apple juice sounds delicious, thank you Miss Cheerilee. But why don’t you need these anymore?” Rumble asked. “Because I’ll be leaving now. This is the ninth town in the twelve years since the war. Every time… I’ve tried to hide who I am. I want nothing more than to live a normal life. But every time I’ve been found out… I’ve left. I don’t want everypony to know who I am. I want nothing more than to be ‘Miss Cheerilee the Schoolteacher.’ Every time ponies find out that I was what they all call a ‘war hero,’” Cheerilee said with a sigh. She began to trot away from him, to get some apple juice from the fridge. “Then why don’t you stay? I won’t tell anypony, I promise! See, you can just put these back on and go back to being Miss Cheerilee!” Rumble pressed the sticker he was holding to Cheerilee’s flank. It only half-stuck, and was upside down. Cheerilee laughed, but it was a mirthless laugh, one lacking any of her namesake cheer. “It’s not that simple, Rumble. If even one pony knows… certainly more will find out. It’s just bound to happen. I’m sorry, but maybe Twilight Sparkle can take over as your teacher.” “No! I don’t want her to be my teacher! I want you to be my teacher!” Cheerilee was still pouring the apple juice, but abruptly stopped when she heard the distress in his voice. It almost sounded like… he was crying. She turned around, and sure enough, he was. “I… I love you, Miss Cheerilee! Not… not like Thunderlane loves Flitter, but like… like I’d love my mother…” Cheerilee’s heart was wrenched from her chest as she looked at Rumble, the small colt’s eyes screwed shut, tears falling openly on her floor. “I never… I never knew my mother, did you know that? She died when I was really little… and when… when I started going to school, you were so nice, so happy, so friendly… I thought that you were what I’d want my mother to be like… so… I guess…” Rumble couldn’t keep talking anymore. His irregular breathing broke into ragged sobs, his knees giving out. Before he hit the floor, though, something caught him – the soft, purple forelegs of his teacher. She pulled the small Pegasus into a hug, doing her best to comfort him. “Shh… shh… it’s ok, Rumble. It’s ok… you don’t need to cry. Can you promise me one thing, though?” He nodded. “Don’t tell anypony. If you can keep this a secret, I’ll stay. But it has to stay a secret, ok?” He nodded again, still with his face buried in her chest. Cheerilee smiled at the little colt. She really did like him. However, by the time he’d finished crying, and gone over his story with Cheerilee (which, despite being very well-written, was a rather thinly veiled fantasy about Cheerilee being Rumble’s mother), and then had dinner as well, it was fairly late. The sun had gone down, and Cheerilee didn’t really want to see him go home alone in the dark. Something seemed to be nagging at him, too. Before Cheerilee could offer, Rumble began to speak. “Miss Cheerilee…? Umm… Thunderlane is at Flitter’s house tonight… and Cloud Chaser’s away in Manehattan, visiting family… and… I don’t really want to stay home alone…” “Your brother leaves you alone at night?” “Yeah, pretty often. Cloud Chaser comes over sometimes, but not every time.” “That’s not ok, Rumble. He’s your guardian, since your parents… if you don’t want him to leave you alone, he can’t. But seeing as that’s not an option tonight… do you want to spend the night here? My sister won’t be home until much later, but she won’t mind. Come on, I’ve got an extra bed I can sleep on.” “Oh, no, Miss Cheerilee. I couldn’t impose on you like that. It’s ok.” “No, it isn’t. You can spend the night here. I’ll talk to your brother tomorrow.” What’s this? Am I… I’m already starting to act like a mother. Maybe I should have had a foal years ago… but back then… “Are you sure, Miss Cheerilee? Well then at least let me sleep in the small bed, it wouldn’t be fair.” “No, you’ll sleep in my bed. That’s final,” Cheerilee said, sternly. “And you’ll sleep in your bed,” Rumble said with just as much stubbornness in his voice. “Fine, if you insist, then we can share,” Cheerilee said, after only a moment’s internal debate. He’s eight. It’s innocent enough… this won’t help those rumors but I don’t care. He needs someone who will actually take care of him, unlike his deadbeat brother. Rumble’s eyes lit up and his wings fluffed a little, before settling back down. “Oh thank you so much Miss Cheerilee! You’re the best teacher ever!” The little stallion said, rushing over and hugging the mare. After another half-hour, both ponies had showered and made the other preparations for going to bed, and were lying next to each other under the sheets. Cheerilee lay on her back, unable to decide what the appropriate level of physical contact would be, and wondered if perhaps this hadn’t been the wisest decision. Just as she was about to get out of bed and relocate to the collapsible cot, Rumble rolled over and snuggled up against her foreleg. “Thank you so much, Miss Cheerilee. Goodnight,” he emphasized the genuine quality of his words with a quick squeeze of her leg. Cheerilee smiled. “Goodnight, Rumble. Sleep tight.” *** Cheerilee had always been a light sleeper. This fact, combined with her sister’s lifestyle, meant she rarely got a full night of sleep. As usual, she awoke in the middle of the night when the door downstairs closed. Making the correct assumption it was her sister from the irregular hoofsteps she heard, Cheerilee closed her eyes to go back to sleep. Rumble, shockingly, was in the exact same position he’d put himself hours ago, wrapped around Cheerilee’s foreleg. Just as she was drifting off again, he began to mumble in his sleep. “nnn… love you… mommy…” She couldn’t know the actual content of the small colt’s dreams, but she didn’t need to. Her eyes welled with tears, and she rolled over onto her side to curl around him. Content that the child was adequately and safely enveloped in her legs and tail, Cheerilee fell back asleep. Maybe I can stay here after all…
Chapter IIICheerilee awoke as usual, feeling renewed and ready to go. Her foreleg also felt slightly damp. Must have slept on it and… she looked down at her foreleg, momentarily surprised to see the slate form curled around it. Oh, right, and then there’s this adorable little colt, she thought with a smile, delicately extracting her leg from Rumble’s grip, and heading to the bathroom to take a shower. Showers were Cheerilee’s favorite part of the morning. Feeling the warm water wash over her body felt so cleansing and it was as integral to her being awake as her coffee downstairs. She toweled off and exited to bathroom to find Rumble sitting patiently next to the door. “Oh, were you waiting her for me? I’m sorry, I should have told you there’s a bathroom downstairs… then again, that’s my sister’s bathroom. Why don’t we avoid that one? Here, go on in. There’s soap and shampoo on the counter; feel free to use it if you don’t mind smelling a bit like a mare for the day,” Cheerilee said with a giggle, “Clean towels are over there,” she indicated with a hoof, “and I’ve got an unused toothbrush and some toothpaste you can use. I’ll go make us some breakfast.” Cheerilee went downstairs and began making oatmeal and coffee. It was a simple breakfast, but delicious with the right amount of cinnamon and sugar mixed in. Just as she was beginning to wonder what was taking Rumble so long, she heard a blood curdling scream from upstairs and a soaking-wet Rumble rocketed down the stairs and into the kitchen, clinging in terror to one of Cheerilee’s back legs as she stood over her stove. “I-it’s a z-z-ZOMBIE!” the diminutive colt stuttered. “A zombie?” Terror momentarily filled Cheerilee’s heart. She’d had dreams about the zombie apocalypse. It was never pretty, usually ending with the ponies she cared about suffering horrible, gruesome deaths at the maws of the never-ending ho- No, don’t think like that. Think positive. Happy thoughts. After the initial moment of terror, her mind made the connection as to what Rumble had actually seen. “BERRY! What is wrong with you? You’ve scared him half to death!” Cheerilee roared. “Ow, sis, not so loud…” a very hungover wine-colored mare stumbled down the stairs that Rumble had so recently blitzed through, giggling, “I’m sorry, that was mean. You should have seen the look on his face though… oh Celestia that was priceless!” “Berry…” Cheerilee sighed, exasperated. She loved her sister dearly, but her affinity for the bottle left her morning personality… lacking. “Please. He’s eight. He doesn’t need to know about the horrible aftereffects of alcohol yet. In fact, he shouldn’t even know what alcohol is!” “It’s that stuff my brother drank all night for a week after Blossomforth dumped him,” Rumble piped in, “Right?” Cheerilee merely clamped her lips together and glared at her sister while gesturing towards Rumble. Berry Punch guffawed, and promptly stopped and winced as her own laughter hurt her head. Cheerilee facehoofed. “It’s ok, Cheerilee. I woke him up so he’d go to work and got to and from school by myself just fine,” Rumble added. “Ok? ‘That’s ok?’ That’s not ok, Rumble! That’s the very definition of not ok! He’s your brother, your caretaker!” “Caretaker? You took better care of me last night than Thunderlane has every night for the past month put together! I walk home by myself, I do my homework myself, I make dinner myself, I put myself to bed, I wake myself up! Thunderlane doesn’t do anything with me! He spends all his time either at work, watching TV, or doing stuff with Flitter. I can’t even remember the last time we had a meal together… Oh right, I can. We were at Flitter’s house. Cloud Chaser and I worked together to make him dinner. I liked that… Cloud Chaser’s a better big brother than Thunderlane is…” Rumble finished his rant, tears forming in the edge of his eyes. “But… but I love him. He’s my brother, and everything he does should make me hate him… but I don’t, I can't. Is that weird, Miss Cheerilee?” “No, it isn’t, Rumble. It’s not strange at all. Hey, come on, we’ve got to get to school. I’ll talk to Thunderlane after school. That sound good?” Cheerilee asked with a smile. Rumble nodded happily, wiping the tears from his eyes. Cheerilee turned and opened the door to leave for the schoolhouse, hoping for at least one more normal day. “Wait, Miss Cheerilee! The… um… the stickers…” Cheerilee froze in her tracks, half of her body already out the door. She looked back over her shoulder at her flanks, and quickly retreated inside her home. “Rumble… thank you so much… that would have been really bad,” Cheerilee gasped, and grabbed the stickers, years of experience showing as she expertly applied them in seconds. “Want to make a more successful excursion?” He nodded eagerly. “Oh, and Berry? If you would mind… could you wait until we get home to start?” Berry Punch sighed. “When do you think you’ll be back?” Cheerilee smiled. “No later than five thirty.” “Five thirty? Are you insane? I can’t wait until five thirty! You’ll owe me for th-” Cheerilee closed the door behind her. “I know I do, sis, I know I do.” The day passed largely without incident. Snips and Snails were being rowdy, but Cheerilee couldn’t give them detention, not today. Diamond Tiara had failed the test on anatomy, but she was doing well enough in class otherwise to overlook one failed test. Besides, half the class had failed. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant or interesting subject for the little ones, but Celestia made it mandatory. Only she knows why that’s necessary information for ponies so young… She groaned lightly and rubbed at her temples. Class had only just been dismissed, but already the only pony besides herself left in the room was Rumble, though there was some commotion outside. She looked over at him and smiled. He’s so adorable. Wait… why’s he look like he’s about to cry? “Rumble?” “I can’t find my saddlebags!” Cheerilee had to admit, she was confused. “I’m sure they’ll turn up soon enough. Should we go talk to your brother now?” “No, Miss Cheerilee! You don’t understand! My mom… she made them by hoof. Thunderlane gave them to me for my birthday three years ago. They’re… the only thing I have to remember her by. I… I can’t lose them…” Cheerilee rushed over to the little Pegasus and hugged him. “Come on, you’re sure they’re not here?” He shook his head. “Then let’s go outside and talk to your classmates. See if one of them picked up your bags by mistake?” He nodded weakly. “Oh, shh… it’s ok, it’s ok. We’ll get them back, I promise.” Cheerilee smiled, that comfortable, warm, ‘I feel safe as long as you’re smiling’ smile she had. She led the small colt out of the schoolhouse to see what the commotion was. “MY SADDLEBAGS!” Rumble yelled, indicating with a hoof. There, atop a tree, were his saddlebags. How they’d gotten that high in the tree was a mystery to the earth mare – for the age group she taught, flying that high could only be the work of a Cloudsdale-born or very talented Pegasus – neither of which were present in her class. The next option was a unicorn – but again, to her knowledge, none of the foals were skilled enough to do it themselves. This left two options: one of the foals had convinced an older pony to assist them, or one of the foals had climbed up there personally. “Who put those bags up there?” Cheerilee asked, her voice calm, but not without an air of sternness. “We did, Miss Cheerilee,” Snips and Snails said in unison. “We heard about this new spell that would let two unicorns work together with their magic to make it more powerful, and it worked better than we expected it to… we’re sorry.” “That’s… it’s ok, boys. We can get it back. Rumble, if you can wait a few minutes… Rumble?” “Wow, look how high he is!” Cheerilee whirled around. To her horror, Rumble was at least twenty-five feet off the ground, steadily gaining altitude. “Someone, get a Pegasus, not Fluttershy, NOW!” Cheerilee yelled, before turning her attention to the diminutive gray Pegasus. “Rumble, come back down before you hurt yourself! Please!” “I’m sorry Miss Cheerilee, but I have to get my saddlebags back! They’re too important!” He continued his ascent, already well past the point where a fall would cause major injury of not be outright fatal. Cheerilee made a decision. In a flash, she had mounted the swing set and kicked off, reaching the top of the flagpole in seconds. Crouching expertly and perfectly balanced, she coiled her legs before shoving off with all her might, rocketing through the air towards the little colt. Her hooves connected with Rumble and she twisted herself around in midair, curling around his body. She braced herself for the impact with the ground when a pair of hooves wrapped around her sides, slowing her significantly, though not entirely breaking her fall. She landed hard on her back. Her breath escaped her violently and for a few horrifying seconds her diaphragm refused to cooperate. Rumble, thoroughly cushioned by Cheerilee, was furious. “Why did you do that? I was almost there! I could have gotten my bags back! You could have gotten seriously hurt!” he cried, hugging her tightly. “That… that was the point… you could have died, if your wings… if your wings had stopped working… even for a moment… don’t scare me like that again…” Cheerilee panted as her body struggled to start cycling air through it again. “But… I think we have somepony else to thank…” she said as she removed Rumble from her chest and stood shakily, her back popping in the process. As she looked over to meet her savior, she saw her class – every single colt and filly with their jaw on the ground. I guess… I guess I kind of overdid that, huh. Soon she located the pony that had broken her fall: a white Pegasus with a very fluffy yellow mane and matching tale with a cutie mark that looks shockingly similar to Pinkie Pie’s. “Are you ok?” The extremely eager-looking pony asked. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ve had much worse, much, much worse. My name’s Cheerilee, by the way. I’m the schoolteacher,” she said, and received a puzzled look. “Miss, you fly better than a few Pegasi I know, and you say you’re a schoolteacher?” “Yep,” she said, receiving another confused look. Cheerilee decided a subject change was for the best. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before – what’s your name, where are you from?” “My name’s Surprise,” the mare replied, “I’m from Manehattan, but I moved here a week or so ago. It’s a nice change of pace. My special talent is throwing surprise parties and sneaking around undetected!” “I bet I could give you a run for your money…” Cheerilee muttered under her breath. “Huh?” “Oh, nothing. Um, thanks for saving me. I’ve got another request though – would you kindly retrieve my student’s saddlebags from the tree? They’re rather important to him.” “Oh, yeah, sure, just a second,” she replied, zipping to the top of the tree and back in just a few seconds. “Here you go,” she said handing the bags to Cheerilee, who gave them to an expectant Rumble. “Rumble! What in Equestria are you doing? You could have gotten hurt, or worse, you could have hurt your teacher or this fine mare that helped you! All because you couldn’t hold on to mom’s saddlebags!” The crowd turned to look at the source of the voice – a large, dark gray Pegasus with his light blue mane styled in a sad attempt at a Mohawk had just flown in. He stared angrily at the small stallion next to Cheerilee. “Seriously, you can be so useless sometimes…” It was Thunderlane.
Chapter IV“Honestly, Rumble, one of these days… ugh. Come on, let’s go home,” Thunderlane said gruffly. He turned to leave, gesturing with a wing for Rumble to join him. “N-no,” Rumble said, trying his best to be firm, despite the noticeable tremble in his voice. “What was that?” Thunderlane turned around again, now facing his little brother, the small stallion standing next to Cheerilee. The large, dark gray pegasus’ voice said he was angry, his eyes told a different story – one of confusion, almost fear. “I said no, Thunderlane. I don’t want to go home with you. Not today. Not ev-ver again!” Rumble nearly shouted, defiance plain in his voice. “You’re an aw-” “Rumble, why don’t you let me handle this?” Cheerilee interrupted, smiling down at the little colt. Rumble nodded, resigning to glare at his older brother. “Now Mr. Thunderlane, as you may or may not be aware, Rumble spent the night at my house last night. During the course of the evening, he told me several things that I, as a responsible citizen, cannot ignore. It has been brought to my attention that you are rather neglectful of your younger brother, and, you being his legal guardian after… after your parents passed on, you are legally bound to look after him. You can’t be getting drunk when a mare dumps you, or staying out all night at your marefriend’s house. If you do not take adequate responsibility, I cannot allow this to continue and I will take legal action against your guardianship of Rumble,” Cheerilee stated firmly, trying not to allow emotion enter her voice, calmly stating the facts as she had received them from Rumble the afternoon and evening prior. “How dare you spe-” Thunderlane started, furious, before cutting himself off. He held a hoof up as he closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath through his nose before exhaling audibly from his mouth. He began to talk again, much more calmly than before, measuring each word carefully as he spoke. “Miss Cheerilee, I must ask you to listen to me, please. You must consider that Rumble is eight and that I may not explain to him every detail of my life. Which, by the way, I don’t. I’m certain he told you about the incident after Blossomforth. For one, that happened two whole years ago. For two… did he tell you why I did that? Because I had already bought an engagement ring. I was going to ask her to marry me. And she broke it off over some fight we had… some stupid fight over… I don’t even remember,” Thunderlane trailed off, his voice shaking a little. He swallowed hard, but even after he regained his composure, his voice threatened to break. “After a week, Flitter and Cloudchaser came to see me. We’ve been friends since… gosh, I don’t know, since before we all moved to Ponyville, some time back while I was still at Flight School. They got me out of that funk, back on my feet, and back into being a helpful pony in society. After a while, Flitter told me how she felt about me, and, while I hadn’t really thought about it before, I realized I felt the same, but not just about her. Cloudchaser, too – it was kind of weird at first, dating two sisters at the same time, but it’s worked out so far. Doctors say it’s called ‘polyamorism’ or something, and while not common, isn’t an issue. Anyways… since we got together, I haven’t had an incident with alcohol like that.” Rumble’s jaw had dropped some time ago, though he had resisted interrupting his brother until now. “You… you’re dating Flitter AND Cloudchaser? That’s not fair at all! Why do you get both of them? That isn’t fair! You… you don’t deserve to have Cloudchaser as your marefriend!” The outburst hit Thunderlane like a ton of bricks – his eyes widened with surprise and his lower lip began to tremble. Ah, man, this sucks – a grown stallion about to break down and cry in public, just from one thing his little brother said. What kind of man am I? Cheerilee decided now was the time to intervene, before the situation escalated further. “Rumble, please, I know you like Cloudchaser, but that’s a discussion you can have with your brother later. Now, though… that’s all well and good, Thunderlane, but there’s still the fact that you leave him alone at night, from what I understand, on a rather regular basis, to spend time with your girlfriends. I respect your so-called ‘polyamorous’ lifestyle, I have friends who live by it, but you need to take care of your brother.” “Spending nights at Flitter’s? No, you’ve got it wrong. Ever since… ever since mum and dad passed away, I’ve had to work two shifts on the weather team every day just to earn enough bits to get by. Even working two shifts a day, supporting day-to-day life and two of the three best things to ever happened to me – Flitter and Cloudchaser – wasn’t feasible. I work another job at night, Miss Cheerilee, as a garbage pony. It doesn’t pay much, but every bit helps. Look, Miss Cheerilee, I just… money is tight right now. I don’t know when or if that will get better. I love my little brother dearly, but right now… Miss Cheerilee, can I talk to you, alone, for a moment?” The sudden change of tone took Cheerilee by surprise, but she nodded, and motioned for Rumble to wait outside as she followed Thunderlane into the schoolhouse. *** “Miss Cheerilee, do you know why I act like I do? Why I’m such a jerk, why ponies think I’m a pervert?” Thunderlane asked abruptly as the door closed behind him. “I… I must admit, Thunderlane, I was beginning to think that was just who you were, but my views have been… changed, this afternoon, shall we say. Why do you act like that?” Cheerilee chose her steps carefully, walking between the desks to get around in front of the dark gray Pegasus. “It’s because I’m terrified of being alone, Miss. When mum and dad died… all I had was Rumble, and he was too young to understand what was going on. Sure, Flitter and Cloudchaser visited, but no one… no one got it, you know? Adults said they were sorry, friends offered assistance, but nopony really understood. I think maybe that’s why I fell so hard for Blossomforth, she understood me, like nopony else. Well, except Flitter and Cloudchaser, but at the time… I just couldn’t think of them as more than friends. Then, when Blossomforth left me, I thought that was it, that I was going to be alone. So I tried to act cool, hit on everyone, so they would think I was someone worth hanging out with. It worked, a little, I had some ‘friends.’ Now I don’t want to be that pony, but I’m so afraid of being alone… I’ve been working a double shift as a garbage pony, too, Miss. I haven’t slept more than three hours a night in months. I want Flitter and Cloudchaser to be a part of my life forever, and they do too, we’ve already talked about it. I just need to get the money together. However… as much as I love them, I don’t want to have Rumble get left out or neglected. I saw you two this morning, when you were going to school. I was on my way back from my morning shift for garbage duty, and was going to try to get a nap in before my first weather duty shift. Anyway… he hasn’t looked that happy in I don’t know how long. You, too, Miss Cheerilee. Ok, that sounded creepy, but probably because it was… you know what I mean. You looked so happy. Miss Cheerilee… do you think… would you mind…” Thunderlane brought scratched the back of his neck with a hoof. “Are you asking me to take care of Rumble for a while, until you can get things together?” Cheerilee supplemented, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. “Uhh, yeah, basically,” Thunderlane said. “So, you…?” “Well, there are the legal proceedings to go through, but… yes, I’d love to. I know it’s not quite the same, and it’s only temporary, but I have always wanted foals…” “I could help with th-” Thunderlane smacked himself across the face. “Sorry, reflex…” Cheerilee giggled. “So, let’s begin working on this. We’ll have to go to Town Hall later, but we can get the basic intent written here…” *** Ten minutes later, the pair reemerged from the schoolhouse, both quite happy. Rumble had been idly kicking a rock around the playground, the other foals long since having left. He perked up at the sight of his teacher and brother walking towards him. “Well, Rumble,” Cheerilee began, “After some discussion with your brother, and with some other considerations that I had not known about earlier, we have come to an agreement.” “Rumble, how do you feel about living with Miss Cheerilee for a while, as her adopted son?” Rumble looked at Cheerilee. “Is he…?” “Yes, Rumble, he’s serious. Your brother is an awful nice pony, there’s just some issues at the moment. It would be temporary, but he’s asked me to take care of you for a while, while he gets some things together and reaches a more stable financial situation. Also…” “Rumble… I know you like Cloudchaser,” Thunderlane picked up, “but we’ve already agreed to get married. Rumble… I hope you believe me when I say that behind you, she and Flitter are the most important ponies in my life. I just need a little time for that life to stabilize, with all of us as a family. Plus… I’ve seen the way that little Scootaloo looks at you. I think she’s pretty cute, don’t you?” Rumble blushed intensely, his wings ruffling slightly. “Would you mind staying with Cheerilee for a while? Maybe a few months?” Rumble was in a state of disbelief. His brother was actively thinking about him, being nice to him, and even offering to let him stay with Miss Cheerilee. “Is that really ok, Miss Cheerilee?” “Of course it is, Rumble.” “Then yes, I’d love to! Oh, thank you Thunderlane! I’m sorry I said those mean things about you! Please don’t be mad!” Rumble rushed over to his brother, little wings carrying him faster than a young pony with his stubby legs could ever hope to run, and hugged Thunderlane’s foreleg tightly. “Hey there champ, it’s all good. I understand I haven’t really been the best brother, but I’m gonna fix that. I just need some time,” Thunderlane said, tousling his brother’s mane. “Take all the time you need, Cheerilee’s the greatest!”
