Cheerilee's Date for the Grand Galloping Gala

by Blackbelt

Rating: everyone
Tags: Cheerilee, Alternate Universe, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Other, Romance
Length: 10223

Cheerilee doesn't have a very special somepony. A few students in here class will attempt to remedy that. Hilarity ensues.

Due to an accident in class, Cheerilee's class finds out three things: Cheerilee has a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, Cheerilee can bring a guest with her, and she doesn't have a very Special Somepony. Watch what happens when her class tries to fix those last two things.

This story takes place in The Lunaverse

Published 2013-01-20 10:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-03-19 04:43:39 UTC

The Start of Trouble

It was an early morning for Ponyville’s resident teacher. A strange sound (later revealed to be one of her many fish banging itself against the side of its bowl) had woken her up long before her alarm clock would have. So she sat comfortably on her couch in her living room, a copy of Daring Do and the Secret of Shetlan-Da held in her front hooves, her eyes quickly going through the words on the pages, absorbing the story fully without missing a single detail, all while a lantern provided the light that the moon, still in the sky, could not provide.

But soon enough, the sun began to rise, casting light upon Equestria, which ended Cheerilee’s impromptu reading session, and urged to ready for the day that sat ahead of her. She reached a hoof to the coffee table that sat parallel to her couch grabbing her bookmark: her ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala. She briefly laughed at how something most ponies would pay top bits for was being used as something so rudimentary, ever since Cheerilee had dropped her old bookmark in a fishbowl the other day. After sticking the ticket into the book, she laid it on the table, and began to gather the material she would need for her lessons that day.

It was later when Cheerilee, saddlebags full of books of educational nature, prepared to head to the Schoolhouse, when horror struck: she forgot to feed her fish. She quickly set down her saddlebags next to her coffee table and rushed to get the fish food.

What Cheerilee did not notice was that, in her rush, she had lightly bumped against the coffee table. This very minor action was just enough to tip the book, with the ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala in it, and deposit it directly into her saddlebags.

She would soon learn the folly of not paying attention to things that may or may not fall in her bag.

_______________________________________________________________

“Ok class” Cheerilee spoke to her class, the minute hand on the clock inching ever so closely to the glorious time known as the start of the weekend, “Before class let’s out, I have to hand out your homework assignment for the weekend.” there was a collective groan from her students. “Now now, it’s just a short worksheet. It won’t take anymore than half an hour.” Cheerilee said, digging through her saddlebags for the folder which contained the dreaded homework assignment. Seeing it, she grabbed it and pulled.

Only for it to not budge.

She pulled harder, the folder staying firmly in place.

With one final pull, the folder came free. And along with it, Cheerilee’s copy of Daring Do and the Secret of Shetlan-Da, which went flying through the air, it’s pages fluttering open, freeing the trapped bookmark. The book landed with a thump on the floor. The bookmark floated lightly through the air, until landing right onto the desk of one of her students. A student who, unfortunately for Cheerilee, recognized the bookmark for the ticket it really was.

“A ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala!?” Diamond Tiara yelled, her eyes wide with excitement. An excitement that quickly spread through the rest of the students.

Everypony all started talking at once, asking questions, which Cheerilee could barely understand over everypony else asking other questions. Cheerilee, sensing that nothing short of a miracle would calm her students down, drew upon an ancient technique which her teachers had passed down to her.

“EVERYPONY BE QUIET!”

The effect was immediate. The students all sat in their seat, completely silent staring at their teacher. Cheerilee briefly considered just sending her students home, but knew they would want some kind of acknowledgement of what had transpired. Cheerilee walked around the class, passing out the homework assignment, as she spoke. “Now then. Yes, I was invited to the Grand Galloping Gala, and that is indeed my ticket. If anypony has any further questions, they can raise their hoof and be called on.”

As if a switch has been flipped, every student in class raised their hooves in total synchronization. Temporarily freaked out by this, Cheerilee nonetheless held to her word and called on a student. “Yes Sweetie Belle?”

“Are you taking your very special somepony with you to the Gala?”

Cheerilee immediately felt her eye involuntarily twitch as several different thoughts went through her head at the same time. Alas, her chronic need to be honest with her student’s questions rose its ugly head.

“Oh, I don’t have a special somepony right now.” Cheerilee blurted out. The collective stare of disbelief her class gave her bore into her very soul and made Cheerilee very, very uncomfortable.

Luckily, the minute hand finally inched its way to 3 o’clock, signalling the end of the school day and the start of the weekend. Cheerilee chose to make her escape at that point. “I hope you all enjoy your weekend class, don’t forget to do your homework and stay safe, bye!” Cheerilee said quickly, gathering her things and rushing out of the door, leaving her students dumbfounded.

Several seconds of silence ensued as the foals attempted to process what had occurred. Until one brave foal said what many of the foals were thinking. “How could a teacher as great as her not have a very special somepony!?” Apple Bloom yelled.

And with that, the floodgates burst open, a flurry of ideas, questions, suggestions, and motions which were seconded, thirded, rejected, and seconded once again.

Five minutes later, the foals left the schoolhouse in groups of 2 or 3, their REAL homework for the weekend firmly in their minds:

Find a Very Special Somepony for their teacher.

Or at the very least a few of them thought that. A good portion of the class had escaped during the ensuing debate.

Though a few foals with a crazy idea is more than enough to make an afternoon much more hectic than it should be.

Author's Note

Daring Do and the Secret of Shetlan-Da used with permission from Kwakerjak.

Also, each chapter will focus upon a group of foals and their choice for Cheerilee's perfect date. Hilarity WILL ensue.

Troubled History

Big Macintosh was a stallion of few words. Despite this, whenever anypony asked him a question, he would be able to answer in the affirmative or the negative. And he never needed anypony to repeat themselves when they spoke to Big Macintosh, since he was listening intently whenever somepony spoke to him.

And yet here he was, standing in the middle of the eastern orchard, looking down at his littlest sister Applebloom and her friend Twist, the sturdy workstallion found himself saying something he rarely said. “...would y’all mind repeating yerself?”

“We were wondering if you could become Miss Cheerilee’s very special somepony so that she can have a date to take to the Grand Galloping Gala.” Applebloom said quickly, Twist nodding her head, both of them looking up at the stallion with those accursed big puppy dog eyes.

Now Big Mac’s suspicions were confirmed: She had thought that was what her little sister said in the first place, but....no, it was too ridiculous. I mean, the thought of dating Cheerilee was....

Big Mac began to laugh. It started off as barely a chuckle, but quickly grew. Soon, Big Mac was lying on the ground, rolling around in the dirt, laughing a loud, hysterical laugh, as if Big Mac was laughing at the funniest thing in the world.

The two school foals could only stare at the stallion. Any attempts to break him out of his temporary insanity was only met with more laughter. Realizing that their totally foolproof plan of having Big Mac date Cheerilee was going to go nowhere, the two fillies walked off, heads hung low.

“.....why do I get the feeling we’re mithing thomething?” Twist asked, still confused over Big Mac’s reaction to their completely honest question.

“Hmmm.....maybe.....Honestly, ah’ve never heard Big Mac laugh like that...” Applebloom thought....”Maybe AJ knows something!”

The began to walked to the barn, knowing AJ would be there checking on equipment that needed fixing.

___________________________________

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!”

The two fillies once again found themselves staring at an adult, laughing at a joke neither of them understood. Fortunately, AJ was able to get control of herself.

“Now why would you two suggest something like that?” Applejack asked when she was finally able to find her voice again.

“We thought that Big Macintosh and Mith Cheerile would be perfect for each other” Twist said. This gained a few more chuckles from Applejack.

“Now girls, I know both of y’all have the best of intentions -heh- but Big Mac and Cheerilee don’t need your help finding a very special somepony. They’re both adults, and they both know how to find love without any help. Heck, I know Big Mac has to beat back the mares with a stick sometimes, and I bet Cheerilee has stallions courting her everyday. So y’all don’t need to worry.” Applejack said, turning back to the various plows that were sitting against the wall of the barn, inspecting them in case anything of them needed upkeep.

“But sis, why did Big Mac find the idea of dating Miss Cheerilee so funny?” Applebloom asked.

“No reason” Applejack quickly said, her face scrunching up slightly, her eyes suddenly darting around suspiciously. Applebloom and Twist, sensing the incredibly obvious lie, both stared at Applejack until she cracked. This process did not take long.

“Let’s just say some things happened back when Big Mac and Cheerilee were in school. I....can’t say any more than that.” Applejack finally admitted, in a tone that said that this explanation was not to be questioned and she was indeed saying everything she was able to say on the subject.

Unfortunately, Applejack never said anything about the two of them dropping their quest to find a date for Cheerilee.

Author's Note

Rule 1: Eliminate the canon option.

Precipitation

Raindrops stared angrily at the two colts who sat across from her in the living room of her house. For their part, Snips and Snails at least had the decency to look guilty after disrupting Raindrops’s valuable valuable novel reading time.

“At least they burst through my door when they did without knocking” Raindrops thought to herself. “My book was just about to get to the juicy part. If they had shown up five minutes later, they might have-”

Raindrops shook her head, banishing that line of thinking very quickly before finally speaking to her brother and her brother’s friend. “Ok Snails, what was so important that you had to rush right home? I thought you said this morning that you were going to be home late so you and Snips could look at bugs.” And leave me in peace on my day off while mom and dad are at work, so I could actually read a good story or two.

Snails smiles nervously before speaking very carefully. “...We were hoping you could be Miss Cheerilee’s very special somepony.”

The pegasus mare could only stare at her unicorn brother, her mind trying to will the universe itself to make what she had just heard be something else. Realizing that, short of Princess Luna’s direct intervention, such a thing could not happen, she decided to ask the obvious question. “...why?”

Snips answered before his friend had a chance. “Well Miss Cheerilee is a cool teacher, but she doesn’t have a date to take to the Grand Galloping Gala, and in fact she doesn’t even have a very special somepony! I mean, I thought that Trixie would be a better choice, but Snails here thought you were the best option, so here we are! So could you please be Miss Cheerilee’s very special somepony?”

“....no.” Raindrops said flatly after about a millisecond of thought. Snips looked as if he was ready to give up and leave, but Snails met Raindrops with a stare made of pure determination. Raindrops didn’t know why, but the stare filled her with a feeling of foreboding dread.

“I’ll tell mom and dad what actually happened to their Neighponese vase” Snails said simply, with a tone that suggested this was not up for negotiation.

Raindrops eyes widened. “You wouldn’t.” Raindrops said, her voice shaking as she recalled the incident.

Snails only met his sister with the same stare he had been holding since he first brought up the vase.

Brother and sister looked each other in the eye, both unblinking, while Snips could only look on, silently cheering for his friend’s success.
Sighing in defeat, Raindrops announced, “I’ll go brush my mane and get some flowers.” Before walking upstairs to her room.

Snips could only stare surprised at Snails. “...I didn’t think that would actually work!”

Snails nodded solemnly. “That’s how you make deals.”

“.....but hey, whatever happened to when you tried to make a deal with Miss Cheerilee to no longer assign homework?”

“....I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“...does this have to do with that one day you walked out of school with a giant pile of paper and textbooks?”

“...I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Author's Note

Thanks to GrassandClouds2 for helping me with this.

And don't worry, eventually everything will come together....

Legion of Doom

Dust Buster slowly, carefully, opened the conference room door, upon her back sat a tray of the finest treats and tea the Rich Estate could offer. Inside, sitting around the large table, sat four ponies. Three of them were honored guests of the estate, and the young mistress demanded they be treated with the utmost respect. And the fourth pony, was, of course, the young mistress herself. The four were caught up in their conversation, none of them noticing the maid’s entrance.

She cleared her throat, catching the attention of the gathered ponies. “I have brought the treats and drinks you requested, Miss Tiara.” The maid stated simply, lifting the treats and tea cups off the tray with a glow of her horn, and distributed the treats and cups, mentally thinking to herself who got what.

Ok, Sweetie Belle wanted the darjeeling tea and the candied cherimoya, Silver Spoon wanted the Lady Grey tea and the thin mint cookies, Miss Tiara wanted the Jasmine Dragon tea with candied rose petals, and Scootaloo wanted the Chai tea and a rainbow covered candy bar from that local candy shop.

The treats and drinks distributed, three of the fillies, the guests, said a quick thank you. The young mistress spoke more than that. “Very good Dust Buster. You can resume your normal duties. I won’t be needing your services for the rest of the day.”

Dust Buster bowed appreciatively before walking out the room. She thought it was a bit odd that, lately, her charge sent her away more and more often lately.. And it seemed to always happen when that orange pegasus was visiting. The maid briefly considered the implications of this, but thought better of it. Madness lay that way.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Scootaloo took a small bite of her ever so delicious chocolate bar before she spoke. “Ok, so who do you gals think is good enough to be Cheerilee’s special somepony?” She took another bite, investing far more attention into her snack then into the conversation at hand.

Sweetie Belle immediately perked up. “I think Rumble’s big brother would be perfect for Miss Cheerilee!”

Diamond Tiara immediately blew a raspberry. “Oh please, he’s just a layabout. We need to think big if we want to find the perfect special somepony.”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes grew large. “But I AM thinking big! Even Rarity admits he’d be quite a catch.”

“The last time I was being fitted for a dress there, she wouldn’t be quiet about Prince Blueblood, and if half the things I heard about him are true, then I can guarantee that your sister’s choice in stallions is poor.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“I do too!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

Silver Spoon stared at the two arguing fillies, and one filly who seemed more intent upon eating candy instead of the matter at hand. Then again, Silver Spoon had no idea what she was doing here either, or why Diamond Tiara had seemed so keen on helping their teacher in the first place, or why she specifically insisted upon going with Scootaloo on this.

In fact, ever since Silver Spoon came back from visiting her relatives a few months ago, her best friend had been acting strange whenever that stupid pegasus was around, and any attempts to ask her jewelry wearing friend about it resulted in said friend going quiet, as if she was dreaming about something, and then yelling, followed by more dreaming.

Silver Spoon had several ideas on why this was the case, but each one was as silly as the last. All SIlver Spoon knew was she was annoyed that she seemed to be out of the loop.

“....right Silver Spoon?” Diamond Tiara said, breaking Silver Spoon out of here thought process.

“Huh?”

“I said that you obviously think that I’m right and that we shouldn’t be wasting time in Ponyville and we should be setting our sights higher!”

Silver Spoon honestly didn’t care, though usually found herself agreeing with her friend on most things. Not out of some blind loyalty like some foals liked to suggest, but merely because great minds think alike.

Silver Spoon, in a flash of brilliance, was about to disagree. Let’s see how far this fascination with Scootaloo goes.....

“Actually, I think Scootaloo’s dad would be the perfect match.”

Scootaloo spit out her drink, and went into a coughing fit. “WHAT!?!?!?”

Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle could only gasp, theirs eyes wide, their jaws slack.

Silver Spoon tried to push a little harder. “What? They’re already friends, he has a steady job, and she obviously trusts him. I mean, she took him along as a chaperone for that field trip we took to Canterlot. So it seems to me that the basis for a relationship is already there, and we just need to give it a push.” Silver Spoon finished, a smirk coming to her face as she took a sip of her tea.

All eyes went onto Scootaloo, waiting to see how the pegasus would react.

….I need a distraction....

“Hey, I thought Miss Cheerilee was dating Rarity. So why are we wasting our energy trying to find some other pony to be a very special somepony?”

And just like that, all eyes switched to Sweetie Belle. Thank Luna that worked.....

And Sweetie Belle looked very uncomfortable to suddenly be the center of attention. “Um....they went on a few dates, but after the fourth date, Rarity came home with her dress ripped to shreds, mud in her hair, and a giant smile on her face. I tried asking her what happened, but all she said was that her and Cheerilee aren't dating anymore, even though it was fun while it lasted. And she mentioned something about not being able to go back to that fancy Prench restaurant on the edge of town ever again.”

“Is that why that place had a giant hole in it a few weeks ago?” Silver Spoon asked. Sweetie Belle only shrugged.

Diamond Tiara cleared her throat. “As fascinating a conversation as ponies who have lost their shot are, I believe we are overlooking the best choice in Equestria.”

“Who’s that?” Scootaloo asked quickly, thankful for a different suggestion.

“Princess Luna of course.”

“....why?”

“Think about it: Cheerilee saved Princess Luna’s life, and beat back a dangerous foe. And it’d like in the stories: The beautiful maiden falls in love and gets married to the brave knight who rescued her. Cheerilee is that knight! And since the fair maiden has been rescued already, the next logical step is to put them together and let the magic happen!”

Scootaloo, slightly worried at some of the look directed her way during that speech, asked the obvious question. “But there were six Elements of Harmony. Why would Luna single out Cheerilee?”

“She wouldn’t” Diamond Tiara replied, gritting her teeth. “The fact is, we have to make our move before somepony else makes their move.”

“How are we even going to get into contact with Princess Luna to tell her she should date Miss Cheerilee?”

Diamond Tiara thought for a moment. “Excellent question Sweetie Belle.......I know! Scootaloo and I can sneak on board a train, go into Canterlot under the cover of night, and speak to her personally!”

“Or we could write her a letter.” Scootaloo said flatly.

...when did Scootaloo become the voice of reason? Sweetie Belle, Silver Spoon, and Diamond Tiara thought.

...wait, when did I become the voice of reason? “Alright alright alright, here’s the plan: DT, grab the finest scroll you can find and write the most awesome letter you can.”

Anything you want Scootaloo Diamond Tiara thought to herself as she ran off.

“And now we sit back, relax, and get Luna and Miss Cheerilee together.” Scootaloo grabbed a half finished candy bar from the plate in front of her, taking a bite from it.

“But what about Thunderlane!?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“And your dad,” Silver Spoon said coldly, in a tone that suggested it was not a question.

...crud. “Ok, Sweetie Belle, go track down Rumble and get his help tracking down Thunderlane. You can borrow the scooter.”

Sweetie Belle ran out the door, happy to try out the scooter, leaving Silver Spoon and Scootaloo alone in the room.

“And as for your idea to hook up Cheerilee with my dad.....” Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the earth pony. “...It’s not gonna happen.”

Silver Spoon’s stared back, unflinching. “What is your problem, you dodo?”

When I find out what that means, she’s gonna be in so much trouble.... “I should be asking you the same question four eyes.”

They both stared into each others eyes, before blurting out their respective grievances.

“You’re trying to steal my best friend!”

“I don’t need a new mommy!”

Silence hung in the air for a few seconds before Scootaloo quietly stated “You explain first.”

“I don’t know what you did, but I go to visit some relatives in Manehattan for a few weeks, and I come back and all Diamond Tiara can talk about is YOU. I go into her room, and I see a copy of the Foal Free Press, which happened to have a picture of you and her resting together on a pillow spanning across the front page, framed and hanging on the wall. A place on the wall that USED to have a picture of the two of us. A picture that I could no longer find on her wall.... And what’s worse, she keeps looking for excuses to hang out with YOU. And....she won’t tell me why.....I don’t want to be replaced.”

Silver Spoon looked up at her sudden confidant, a look of sadness looming across her face. Scootaloo sighed, took a deep breath, and spoke.

“I love my mom. And so does my dad. And even though she was away alot, whenever she was around, we were a happy family. We did everything together. And even though mommy’s......gone......I don’t want a replacement. Even somepony as amazing as Miss Cheerilee. Cheerilee can’t do what mommy did....There was one time when mom and me went to a carnival. She had just come back from a big mission, and she looked like she was ready to collapse. I told her I would understand if she wanted to go home and get some rest, but she said that...spending time with me was the most important thing she could do....I’m not ready for somepony else to do that.......and I don’t know when I will be......or ever will......”

The two fillies looked at one another, one fearing loss of the present, the other fearing loss of the past.

“I wasn’t serious about hooking up Cheerilee and and your dad. I was just testing how far this thing between you and Diamond Tiara went.”

“I’ll talk to her about this. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for breaking best friends apart. That wouldn’t be cool.”

The two exchanged one more look, but this absent of the rage and sadness that had marred their faces earlier. Their eyes were now filled with happiness. Before either filly could stop themselves, they came together and embraced eachother in a tight hug.

And then reality ensued.

“AAAHHH” They both yelled as they pulled away.

“....that never happened.”

“agreed.”

Author's Note

So because it's now relevant, the story takes place after Foaling Around, but before Eye of the Hurricane.

And yes, I actually have a plan here. For once.

Ponyville Classifieds

A lone pegasus sat outside of the Ponyville Schoolhouse, his back resting against the wall of the building itself. He wore a look of pure undivided focus.

Featherweight carefully studied the newspaper in front of him, his hooves flipping through the pages as fast as he could manage without causing the pages to rip. Local News, World News, Comics (he set that aside to read later) Sports, and Editorials.

“Where are the personal ads in this thing!?” he yelled, frustrated at his inability to locate something so simple in something he read so often.

“ummm....it’s right there”

Featherweight’s laser like attention was suddenly ripped away from the newspapers by a very soft, nervous voice.

Alula flinched away the moment Featherweights gaze was upon her, her wings instantly pinning to her sides, and she immediately, once again, gave more thought to letting her mane grow out so she could hide her horn. That, or a getting a giant hat.

But she was happy when the piercing gaze instead locked onto the scrap of paper that Alula had been pointing at. He immediately grabbed the errant article and focused upon it.

“um....what are you doing?”

“Scanning the personal ads to see if there’s anyone in here that would like to be Miss Cheerilee’s very special somepony.” Featherweight snapped.

Alula hated talking to Featherweight when started reading the newspaper. He always got so.....snippy. “You’re looking at those ads where ponies are trying to get dates?”

Featherweight nodded, his eyes still on the paper. For once, Alula felt uncomfortable because somepony wasn’t staring at her. “...is there anypony in there that looks like they would be good for her?”

Silence. Alula shifted her hooves uneasily as Featherweight his search. She began to walk away. And he said he was gonna take me to take pictures of birds today...why does he have to be so-

“PERFECT!”

Featherweight’s sudden outburst shocked Alula so much that she had to stop herself from tripping over her own hooves as she spun around to face the photo obsessed colt. “huh?”

Featherweight cleared his throat and read. “Single, energetic stallion seeks fun loving companion. Like working out, hard work, and traveling to various locales. Must be willing to get dirty and be willing to try new exciting things. If interested, please send a letter to the following address.” A wide smile came to Featherweight’s face as he looked up at Alula. “And the best part about this is that he’s right here in Ponyville! We could set them up today! Isn’t that great!?”

“That actually sounds...nice.” Alula muttered.

Featherweight stood up. “Now all we gotta do is talk to this” he looked once more at the newspaper. “Caramel guy and then everything will go perfectly.” He began to walk away from the schoolhouse, until he noticed Alula wasn’t coming with him. “Hey Alula, aren’t you coming?”

“Um....” Alula was unsure of how to respond.

“I mean, we’re still on for bird watching right?”

Alula locked eyes with her friend for a moment, before she felt a smile come to her face. “Sure. That sounds fun.”

Author's Note

Don't worry guys. Just one more chapter, and then we see the chaos be unleashed as we get back to Cheerilee.

Delicious Delicious Chaos.

Cheerilee's Day Part 1

“I hope you all enjoy your weekend class, don’t forget to do your homework and stay safe, bye!”

Cheerilee ran out of the schoolhouse as fast as her hooves could carry her. She was vaguely aware of the fact that she probably shouldn’t have left her class alone in the classroom, but she was confident that, since it was a Friday, they wouldn’t hang around too long. And soon she found herself back at her house, quickly opening the door and heading in.

The school teacher breathed in deeply, exhausted from her run. She shrugged her saddlebags off of her back, and grabbed her copy of Daring Do and the Secret of Shetlan-Da from the pack. She grumbled quietly to herself as she flipped through the pages, trying to find her place, since her bookmark had failed in its sacred duty. She finally found her spot, and began to read...

____________________________________________________________________

Cheerilee’s eyes filled with tears as she continued reading “Poor guide colt......why do good ponies always die so young.......” the magenta mare dried her tears, putting the book down, ticket/bookmark put into its rightful place within the book.

She glanced at the clock (made and bought in Trottingham) that sat upon her wall: 5 O’Clock. Feeding time for Cheerilee’s various fish. She got up, walking to the kitchen, and opened her cupboard. She grabbed the box of fish food that lay inside, and noticed it was rather light.

Opening the box confirmed her worry: She was out of fish food.

Which would mean she would have to go buy some out in the town.

And so, the unsuspecting schoolteacher walked out of her nice safe house of solitude, books, and fish. And she wandered into a town full of foals and potential dates.

_______________________________________________________________________

Cheerilee walked along happily, a nice big box of fish food sitting in her saddlebag to feed all her cute little fishies.

She was about to head home, confident she would be able to finish her story and start a nice, relaxing weekend.

“Hey Cheerilee!” A familiar voice rang out. Cheerilee turned and spied the source of the voice across the street.

“Hi Raindrops!” Cheerilee waved. As the two mares walked towards each other so they weren’t constantly yelling across the street, Cheerilee noticed something was...off about her jasmine coated friend. Hey hair was styled into some kinda bulbous bouffant, her fur was freshly cleaned and combed, she was carrying a bouquet of delicious looking violets. And for some reason, her eyes kept shifting upon a bush that was placed just outside a nearby cafe. Cheerilee’s suspicions were only deepened when Raindrops began talking some more.

“Hey, have I ever told you how...” Raindrops eyes began shifting again. “....incredible you are?”

Cheerilee glared at Raindrops, wondering what kind of substance she was imbibing to make her act like this. “Raindrops, do you want to come back to my place and lie down? I think you need some relaxation.”

It occurred both mares what that sentence could mean in different circumstances, causing both of them to blush heavily. And Cheerilee could swear she heard some snickering......

“A-are you sure you wanna move that fast? I mean, w-we could always have a drink first.....” Raindrops stammered, her blush deepening.

“.....Raindrops.” Cheerilee whispered just loud enough for Raindrops to hear, “What are you doing?”

The jasmine mare’s eyes shifted once again. And this time Cheerilee followed them.

Both mares eyes rested upon the snickering bush, which immediately went silent. Cheerilee approached the bush, and a poorly disguised voice sprung from it. “Approach not the bush of might, lest ye be cursed!”

“Snips, what are you doing?” The teacher said sternly.

A slightly different, but equally poorly disguised voice, rang from the bush. “Heed our warning, or suffer the bush of might’s wrath!”

“Snails, you’re not fooling anypony. Now both of you get out of that bush.” Cheerilee stated in a tone of voice she liked to call ‘Do as I say, or you’re getting extra homework.’

And sure enough, two guilty looking colts stepped out of the bush. “....we can explain?” Snips offered weakly. The very frustrated looking teacher could only sigh.

“Just...go home. And don’t forget about your homework.” Cheerilee said tiredly, trying to fight off the headache she knew she would get if she tried to think about this any further. Luckily, the two colts took the chance to makes their escape. Which only left one other thing......

The magenta mare turned to her jasmine coated friend.

“I was blackmailed!”

“....you were blackmailed by your little brother to hit on his teacher?”

“Yes.”

Cheerilee groaned. “We’ll talk more about this tomorrow Raindrops. Right now, I just wanna get home.” And Cheerilee walked off, not in the mood to hear her friend’s response.

________________________________________________________________________

Cheerilee walked down the road right outside the Ponyville market. This road would eventually lead to her house, where she would be free to feed her fish, and read her book, and relax. Thoughts of the perfect way to start a nice, relaxing weekend were broken by a tree.

A tree that seemed to be yelling at her.

“Miss Cheerilee!”

Cheerilee was slightly alarmed at the fact her latent earth pony magic suddenly decided to give her the capability to speak to trees. Also more worrisome was the fact that this tree knew her name. I really hope I never carved something into this tree.

“Up here!”

huh? Cheerilee thought as she directed her gaze upwards, and beheld a sight that was familiar but all the same alien to her.

A filly, stuck in a tree, hanging upside down. Usually Cheerilee would also spy a scooter hanging in a separate tree, though the scooter seemed to be the thing holding the filly in place via a clever looking harness.

Of course, the most obvious thing was the fact that it was not an orange pegasus up in the tree, but rather a white unicorn.

“Sweetie Belle? How did you get up there?”

“I was driving Scootaloo’s scooter and I ended up here.”

“...does Scootaloo know you have her scooter?”

“It was her idea that I use it!”

“Oh.....wait, how did you even go fast enough to end up in a tree in the first place? Doesn’t Scootaloo use her wings to go so fast?”

“I DON’T KNOW!!!......um, could you please get me down now? The blood is rushing to my head.”

Cheerilee quickly studied the tree. The tree was a wee bit too high to just jump to the top, and a bit too slick to climb up without the use of a ladder. That, and it would be difficult to actually get Sweetie Belle down, thanks to Scootaloo’s apparent obsession with proper safety gear ever since she climbed that wall.

Cheerilee looked around for a solution. One was not readily apparent. “Just sit tight Sweetie Belle, I’ll be right back.” And Cheerilee ran off.

“....my head hurts.....” Sweetie lamented.

But thankfully quickly, the teacher came back, with a black furred pegasus in tow. “You know, I thought you were kidding when you said it was someone other than Scootaloo stuck in a tree.” Thunderlane remarked casually before flying up and releasing the trapped filly and her borrowed scooter.

Sweetie was able ignore her headache once she was free. Cheerilee and Thunderlane are here. Together! Now’s my chance.

“Miss Cheerilee, isn’t Thunderlane great? I bet he would be the perfect stallion to take to the gala with you.”

Cheerilee stared at the little filly for a second, then stared at the so called perfect stallion.

Thunderlane opened his mouth to say something, but before he got the chance, Cheerilee uttered one single word.

“No.”

Thunderlane froze for a moment, shrugged, and said “Ok. See you later ladies.” And he took to the skies and flew off. And then the teacher looked at her student.

“Sweetie, why?”

“....I just thought you two would make a cute couple.....”

Cheerilee wanted to argue, but thought better of it. She’s been hanging upside down in a tree for awhile. She’s probably just dizzy....in fact, she did mention the blood was rushing to her head....she probably just needs a drink.

Cheerilee picked up Scootaloo’s scooter, slung it over her back, and then placed a hoof upon Sweetie’s shoulder. “Come on, you were stuck up there for awhile. Let’s get something to drink.”

And Cheerilee found herself heading back into the Ponyville market.
_______________________________________________________________________
A quiet giggle emanated from the large stallion that was in charge of selling the Apple Trust’s wares that afternoon. He stood solemnly at his cart, selling apples and apple products to the fine ponies of Ponyville, all the while trying desperately to suppress the laughter that he found himself afflicted by ever since his sister had suggested something truly insane.

Me and Cheerilee...Big MacIntosh stifled yet another laugh at the thought of it, burying his head into his hoof.

“Hello Big MacIntosh, could we get a bottle of apple juice please?” a very familiar voice, one of the last voices Mac thought he would hear that day, spoke to him.

He looked up, and came face to face with the local teacher, only vaguely aware of the young filly next to her, who looked like she’d been attacked by a wild lamb.

It took all of his immeasurable strength to not laugh, as he very calmly picked up a bottle of juice, very calmly handed to the magenta mare, and then very calmly muttered “On the house” in the hope that it would get the teacher to walk away faster, before his strength gave out.
Cheerilee, instead of taking the juice and walking away, carefully hoofed it to Sweetie Belle and had her drink slowly. And then, to Mac’s horror, Cheerilee began to do the worst possible thing.

Make small talk.

“So has your day been going well?”

“...eeyup.” It’d go better if I could just laugh....

“...say, has anything....strange happened to you today?”

“...eenope.”except for Applebloom trying ta set us up...

“.....nothing like, say, your sister trying to set you up with anypony?”

“...what?” GET OUTTA MY HEAD

“.....I’ve....been noticing a few things today.....”

is.....is she going to suggest what I think she’s going to? “Cheerilee, as nice as it would be to give it another go, I don’t think it would work. There’s.....too much baggage.”

The teacher blinked, a look of confusion coming to her face, before realization hit her face, along with a light blush. “Nonononononono, I-I didn’t mean....no. It’s just that I’ve been set up with two different ponies today by my class, and I was worried that one of them would get to you.”

Honesty is the best policy..unfortunately. “Applebloom and Twist tried, but I...politely said no.”

“I am so sorry Big Mac.”

“Ain’t no problem. Sides, I know it wouldn’t work out.”

‘Well why wouldn’t it?” A high pitched voice chimed in.

Teacher and farmer both turned to the young unicorn filly, empty bottle of apple juice sitting at her hooves. She looked up expectantly at the two grown ups.

Both adults thought back to their school days......

___________________________________________________________________________

Deep in a dark basement, two ponies found themselves chained to a wall. In any other situation, there would be hopelessness and despair. For now, the two were speaking of a touchy subject.

“All I know is that whenever you choose the date, we always find ourselves fighting the mafia, getting shot at, and more often than not we end up stewing in a basement somewhere while some goons figure out what to do with us.” A magena mare, with more then a few piercings, and a wild haircut said to the stallion hanging on the wall next to her.

“Well whenever you choose the date, we end blacking out, having to make apologies to foreign ambassadors, end with our faces on the front page of the paper, and then we can never return to certain restaurants for reasons I don’t remember properly!” A hulking red stallion, a stetson hat sitting upon his head argued back.

“Well at least I don’t put our lives in danger!”

“Least I keep our dignity in check!”

“...this relationship isn’t gonna work out, is it?”

“....eenope.”

“Ah well, fun while it lasted.....”

It was at that moment a stallion, wearing a fedora and a particularly baggy trench coat walked into the room. The moment he closed the door behind him, the two former daters put their plan into motion. The mare casually slipped her hooves out of the chains, as if they had never been locked at all, while the stallion broke the chains as if they were made of paper. Before the goon could react, he found himself knocked out.

“By the way, I want my cart back”

“As soon as you return my scarf.”
___________________________________________________________________________
“We’ll tell you when you’re older.” Cheerilee and Big MacIntosh both answered simultaneously in a totally non suspicious manner.

Author's Note

Yeah. The previous chapters?

Merely setting the stage.

Cheerilee's Day Part 2

Cheerilee walked the familiar streets of Ponyville.

And yet she walked the opposite direction from her home. Her young unicorn student, doing better but still a bit worse for wear, followed her slowly on her friend’s scooter. Cheerilee was the tiniest bit worried that Sweetie Belle might be worse off than she appeared to be, though a quick test (Slightly based on the drunkenness test Cheerilee had been administered so often by various law enforcement back in her youth) revealed the young filly to be fine. Still, in any case, Cheerilee thought it best to escort the young filly. An arrangement the filly did not argue with at all, and in fact had a big smile on her face as she scooted along next to her teacher.

But, like all good things, it had to come to an end as Sweetie Belle’s two-story abode came into view.

What otherwise would have been an otherwise simple act of a respected educational professional escorting one of her students home was immediately complicated when the door was opened revealing two unicorns (or was it one Unicorn and one Earth pony? Cheerilee never saw him without that hat) that Cheerilee recognized as being Sweetie Belle’s parents.

The third (second?) unicorn in the room, whom Cheerilee knew....intimately.....was a pony Cheerilee did not expect to see.

“Oh Cherry, hello!” Rarity exclaimed. “What brings you here today?”

Cheerilee took the somewhat overly enthusiastic greeting in stride. “Sweetie Belle had a little accident in town. I thought it best to get her home safely.” The teacher explained as professionally as she could.

“Oh, well thank you kindly for escorting our daughter home.” the stallion earth (unicorn?) pony said. “We were just about to sit down and have some dinner. Would you like to join us? The wife made a delicious pasta.”

“No thank you. I have work to do. Maybe some other time. See you.” Cheerilee said as she walked out, aware of the somewhat dubious quality of the food that existed in this particular household.

She got no further than ten steps away from the front door when Rarity’s voice called out. “Cherry, wait! I need to ask you something.”

Cheerilee thought back to the previous encounters she’s seemed to be cursed with. She thought about running like mad. But Rarity knew where the teacher lived. “Can I help you with something Rarity?”

“Um....well, it’s rather....embarrassing, but.......” Rarity began, a small blush appearing upon her cheeks.

Ok Cheerilee, if you start running now, you should be able to catch the next train to Canterlot and hide there until this whole thing blows over.

“....I was wondering, what color hats do you usually wear?”

what. “Excuse me?” Cheerilee asked.

“Well darling, I’m working on a fabulous looking magenta dress, and I’m trying to figure out what color hat would go best with it, but I’m drawing a complete blank. I thought maybe you would know?” Rarity asked, putting on her best puppy dog eyes she could.

“Uh....I usually stick with white or black.”

Rarity frowned. “Well, I suppose those colors do go with everything after all. I won’t keep you longer. Until next time Cherry.”

and Rarity returned to her parent’s home.

…...Maybe I’m just being paranoid......... the once thought to be cursed teacher but now thought to be paranoid teacher thought to herself as she turned around, intent on finally getting back home.

But instead of that, she came face to face with Big MacIntosh’s partner in bounty hunting, Caramel.”Hey Cheerilee. Big Mac told me you were headed this way.” The stallion stated.

“Can I....help you?” Cheerilee replied, wondering whether she was paranoid or properly paranoid.

“Well.....”Caramel scratched the back of his head with his hoof, “It wouldn’t work out....You’re a bit intimidating. I’m sorry, but......you’re not really the dating type. I mean, there might be someone out there for you somewhere, but......yeah. See ya!”

And with that, Caramel walked off. Leaving Cheerilee alone with her thoughts.

….that was strange....I wonder what made his say all of that.....wait a minute...WHAT DID HE MEAN BY NOT THE DATING TYPE!?

“CARAMEL!!!!!!!!!!!”

____________________________________________________________________________

Caramel ran. He ran as fast as his hooves could carry him. Always running, never looking back.

If he looked back, she would catch him.

His running eventually lead him to a small, dimly lit alleyway. It was here that his hunter chose to strike. The only thing Caramel could see before he found himself forced against the wall was a flash of magenta that came from seemingly out of nowhere.

“Explain.” Cheerilee ordered.

“I....I...I...” the farm stallion stammered, fearful for his well being, “....I-I-I-I-I-I-”

“Yes Caramel, I is a letter in the alphabet. There are twenty-five more letters you could be using to make words. I suggest you form words quickly”

“I’m the victim here!” Caramel finally shouted. “Some students said you’d be interested in that ad I put in the personal section of the newspaper, but I don’t think it would work out, so I did the responsible thing and told you so! Why are you chasing me!?”

Cheerilee made a mental note to find out which students put him up to this. “Oh, I’m not bothered by all that. What I am bothered about is you saying I’m not the dating type. What’s THAT supposed to mean?”

Caramel’s eyes grew wide, and the thoughts of his head moved quickly. Ok, if I don’t answer, she’ll kill me. If I answer honestly, she’ll kill me. If I lie about it, she’ll know I’m lying about it, and she’ll kill me.......you know, I always figured I’d die in the line of duty, hunting down some dangerous criminal, not in a back alley with my back against the wall at the mercy of a school teacher.

“Uh....” Was all Caramel managed to get out before another pony came onto the scene.

“Cheerilee, what are you doing?”

The schoolteacher looked up, and saw Heavy Roller, father of one of her students (and oddly absent so far, considering insanity followed that filly around wherever she went) and also a good friend.

It was Cheerilee’s turn to begin stammering.

...did I really just corner somepony, who I had no intention of dating, in a dark alley just because they said they didn’t want to date me?.....I miss the days when cornering stallions in dark alleys lead to fun.

“I....was just leaving.” Cheerilee stated. “I’m sorry for the trouble Caramel, I’ve been having a rather stressful day. No hard feelings?” Cheerilee smiled as cheerfully as she could manage given the circumstances.

Caramel stood up, nodded, and then bolted away as fast as he could.

….at least he wasn’t screaming..... Cheerilee thought.

“...does my daughter have anything to do with this?” Heavy Roller asked nervously, a hint of resignation in his voice.

Cheerilee was about to answer, until something else answered: Her stomach growled. “....what time is it?” the teacher asked sheepishly.

“It’s a little after seven. I was actually on the way to get some dinner, and then I saw....that....Would you like to join me?”

Cheerilee was instantly on guard. “Have you been talking to my students?”

What?” the confusion in the repair pony’s voice was obvious. “No, I’ve been working on a special project for the representative all day. Why do you ask?”

“...I’ll explain at the restaurant. It’s been a very strange day, and I’d love to join you for a bite to eat.

______________________________________________________________________________

“...and then you showed up, and all I could do was realize how ridiculous everything had been.” Cheerilee finished her story with a laugh, and for the first time in a while, in good spirits. Heavy Roller, for his part, seemed amused by the whole thing.

The two of them were sitting outside of a small restaurant, which was barely big enough to qualify as one and was more of a big sandwich stand. Nonetheless, the two were sitting across from each other at a table that was just outside the restaurant, the stars above beginning to dot the sky.

“You know” he said, somewhat absentmindedly as he chewed on the salad that lay before him, “I’m kinda surprised you haven’t found yourself a nice pony either.”

“....I find myself wondering the same thing lately. Am I ugly? Weird? Frightening? Are my standards too high? Are everypony else's standards too high? Is it all some kind of evil plot to keep me single in order to take over the world? Is-”

“Cheerilee, you’re rambling. Again.” Heavy Roller gently told her.

“But even my students can tell I should have a very special somepony by now. They’ve been throwing dates at me all afternoon, and I’m convinced that somepony I don’t know is going to walk up any second now and-”

“Madame?” A voice said from right behind Cheerilee, causing her to yell and hide underneath the table she sat at. “Madame, as nice as the ground is, I was just bringing you the check for your meal.”

Cheerilee looked out from under the table to see a well groomed waiter staring down at her. “OH! Oh, right. The check. Right. Of course.” She blushed in embarrassment as she sat back down on the comfortable cushion she was sitting at before her mild overreaction.

The school teacher sighed depressingly, looking down at the table.

“Cheerilee, there’s nothing wrong with you or anypony else.” Heavy Roller answered, his voice suddenly more serious than Cheerilee has ever heard. Cheerilee looked up, and met Heavy Roller’s eyes. “You’re just waiting for the right pony to come along that’ll make your life complete.”

Cheerilee stared for a moment before she found herself laughing. “Ha! Do ponies sound this preachy when trying to give relationship advice?”

Heavy Roller laughed too. “Yeah, they do. Then again, I never had to deal with the whole dating scene, so I’m probably the wrong pony to ask anyway.”

Cheerilee raised an eyebrow at that.

“I never really dated till I met Nocturne, and well....” he sighed wistfully, a look of nostalgia coming to his face. “It was just perfect, you know? So as preachy as it sounds, I really do think you’re just waiting for the right pony to come along.” Heavy Roller flashed the best smile he could.

Cheerilee’s eyes suddenly became half lidded as she leaned forward towards Heavy Roller. “Um....Heavy Roller?” Cheerilee asked in a sultry tone.

“...yes?” Heavy Roller asked nervously. Off in the distance, he swore he could hear romantic music playing.

The two stared into each others eyes for a few seconds, until.....

“You have some lettuce stuck in your teeth.”

“OH COME ON!!!!”

Heavy Roller and Cheerilee were shocked out of the moment (with Heavy Roller running his tongue across his teeth in an attempt to dislodge the errant leaf) and they saw, peeking out from behind a fence, was Silver Spoon, who looked frustrated. Her expression quickly changed when she realized she was in full sight of her teacher, and she snuck back behind the fence.

Cheerilee sighed. “Would you excuse me for a moment Mr. Roller? I have to take care of this.”

Cheerilee stood up and slowly advanced towards the fence as she spoke. “If you don’t come out right now, then you’re getting detention for the rest of the school year!”

Cheerilee was thankful when Silver Spoon came walking to Cheerilee without too much of a fuss.

At the same time, she was horrified when a good portion of her class came out of hiding too.

Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, Snips, Snails, Featherweight, Alula, Applebloom, Twist, Sweetie Belle, and Beebop.

Cheerilee could feel her left eye twitching as the foals lined up in a row in front of her.

“.....Could one of you please explain why you’re spying on me? And also why I’m suddenly the center of a love dodecahedron?”

“What’s a dodecahedron?” Applebloom asked.

“ A dodecahedron is a twelve sided shape.” Cheerilee said, getting straight to the point.

“And what’s a-”

“A love dodecahedron is like a love triangle except with alot more ponies involved, now can somepony PLEASE tell me why I’m in one?”

The foals looked at each other, before one of them stepped forward.

“This is all my fault.” Sweetie Belle began. “I put the idea into everyone’s head that we should get you a very special somepony, and it kinda......I just wanted to make you happy.......”

The rest of the nodded. Except for Beebop, who Cheerilee just noticed was holding a to go bag from the sandwich place. “I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON! I WAS JUST PICKING UP SOME SANDWICHES FOR ME AND VINYL!!!”

All the gathered foals, and their teacher, stared blankly at the living noise machine. “You can go Beebop. Have a nice weekend.”

“THANK YOU!” Beebop yelled as she skipped off into the night. Unbeknownst to Cheerilee, Beebop thought to herself, OK, so getting Vinyl and Cheerilee together would be a bad idea.......

Cheerilee looked back at the line of foals. “My little ponies.....you shouldn’t try to force love. Love is something that happens naturally. And trying to force it does nopony any good. Do you understand?”

The line of foals all nodded and stated words of understanding. Except for Diamond Tiara. She had that same ‘Just get on with it’ look she usually had on her face. Still, she probably got the point. Probably.

“Now run on home everypony. Your families are probably wondering where you are. Have a nice weekend.” Cheerilee said, smiling. And sure enough the foals did disperse. Except for one.

“I’m sorry again Miss Cheerilee.” Sweetie Belle sadly said. “I just wanted you to be happy...”

Cheerilee knelt down so she could face the young filly face to face. “It’s ok Sweetie Belle. I understand. But I’m already happy. I’m at my happiest when I’m doing my job. When I’m in the schoolhouse, teaching you and everypony else. You don’t need to make me happy. I’m already the happiest I could be.”

Sweetie, before she could stop herself, gave Cheerilee a quick hug. “Thank you Miss Cheerilee....oh!” Sweetie quickly broke the hug, a blush coming to her face. “I-I’d better go. I did kinda sneak out. Bye Miss Cheerilee!” And with that, Sweetie ran off.

Cheerilee gave a sigh of relief, confident her love life wouldn’t be meddled with by her students again. As she turned to walk back to return to her half eaten sandwich and dinner date (a word she did not want to use given the circumstances, but she could not think of a different word to use) but then she spied something sitting next to the fence: Scootaloo’s scooter. Cheerilee picked it up and headed back to the table, sitting down comfortably upon her cushion.

“.....now who’s the preachy one?” Heavy Roller teased.

“Oh shush.”

_____________________________________________________________________________

A mare and a stallion walked through Ponyville. They were not a couple. They were not business acquaintances. They were not family. They were good friends.

The mare carried with her a saddlebag with food for her pets. The stallion carried a precious keepsake belonging to his daughter.

And quickly, the two came to the abode of the stallion.

“You know, you didn’t have to walk me home.” Heavy Roller said.

“It’s the least I could do after you payed for dinner.” Cheerilee replied, barely hiding the teasing tone of her voice.

Cheerilee found it odd when, instead of walking to the front door of the house, instead circled around to the back yard. Cheerilee, ever curious, followed.

In the backyard was a ten foot wall. More to the point, it was a rock wall, like the one the Night Guards in Canterlot had.

And sure enough, there was an orange pegasus filly climbing the wall (and Cheerilee was surprised by the fact that Scootaloo was actually using proper safety gear)

“Hey little flyer! How’s the rock climbing going!”

Scootaloo looked down from the rock wall, and a smile came onto her face when she saw her father. “Hey dad! I keep getting better and better! I’ll need a bigger wall pretty soon!”

Scootaloo methodically kicked off the wall and lowered herself to the ground. She unlatched the harness she wore from the catch rope, flung off her helmet, and gave her dad a hug. Cheerilee couldn’t help but smile at how cute the display was.

After the hug ended, Scootaloo noticed her teacher. “Hey Miss Cheerilee, what brings you down here tonight? You came to check out the rock wall? Or do you need a wheel fixed?”

Cheerilee shook her head. “No, I was just stopping by....did your father make this?”

Scootaloo nodded vigorously. “Uh-huh! He’s the best dad ever!”

Cheerilee chuckled. “Well that’s impressive. Maybe I’ll come by sometime later and see you climb. Until then, it’s getting later and I have to get home.”

“I’m not tired! You can watch me climb now!” Scootaloo’s suggestion would have been a bit more believable if she hadn’t just stifled a yawn.

“I’ll come by tomorrow, ok? See you tomorrow you two!”

And the school teacher walked away, a smile on her face.

...Today was a good day.......

___________________________________________________________________________

Cheerilee was lying in her bed, her now finished book sitting upon a small end table. With a yawn, she blew out the candle that sat upon the end table, and closed her eyes so that the sweet embrace of sleep would come.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

and her attempts at sleep were quickly ruined by a knock on her front door. The teacher briefly considered just ignoring it until it went away, but the thought that it might be something important crossed her mind, and so she found herself stumbling in the dark to answer the door.

Cheerilee opened the front door and came face to face with an earth pony mare she did not recognized. Her dark indigo coat blended in with the night around her, though her aquamarine eyes and mane contrasted quite easily.

“...are you here because Ponyville, Canterlot, or Equestria in general is in any sort of danger?” Cheerilee made no effort to keep the sleepiness out of her voice.

“er...no.”

“Then good night.” Cheerilee slammed the door closed.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Cheerilee tore the door open, ready to unleash a torrent of annoyance at the mare that would dare disturb her slumber.

Instead, she came face to face with Princess Luna.

“.....was that mare from earlier you in disguise?” Cheerilee hoped beyond hope that this was not the case.

“Yes.” Luna replied flatly.

Cheerilee instantly bowed. “I’m so sorry! Please don’t banish me! I’m just tired! I didn’t know it was you!”

Luna seemed a bit surprised at that last sentence. “But Cheerilee, you invited me.”

Cheerilee looked up. “What?”

Luna pulled a letter out of what seemed to be thin air. “I received this letter today from you asking that-”

Cheerilee, annoyance beating out proper etiquette, interrupted the princess. “Is it a letter that suggests in any way, shape, or form that we should get together as very special someponies? Because if it is, I didn’t write it. My students tried helping my love life today.”

Luna nodded slowly. “Indeed. I am....familiar with others trying to help along one’s love life. It is an exhausting affair......at least this saves me the trouble of explaining why a relationship would be a bad idea.”

“I’m sorry that my students dragged you away from Canterlot.”

Luna shook her head. “Do not worry yourself Cheerilee, I am still tending to my royal duties in Canterlot. I apologize for disrupting your sleep. Sleep well this night Cheerilee. You dreams shall be happy this night.”

And Cheerilee observed Luna dissipate into smoke and fly off into the night.

Though the cloud of smoke forgot to take the letter with her. Even at a glance, the hoofwriting was recognizable. “Diamond Tiara.....she always did like reaching high........I’ll figure out what to do about this in the morning.” Cheerilee grabbed, walked into her home, and collapsed upon her bed.

Sleep took her quickly. And as promised, her dreams were happy ones.

Author's Note

I had way too much fun writing this.

I have to give so much thanks to GrassandClouds2 for this. He helped so much.