Cheerilee sighed heavily at her desk, feeling unusually dejected. All of her students had already left and she sat all alone inside the schoolhouse, sifting through piles of tests that needed to be graded, a couple doctors notes she never looked at and a mountain of cards. She lazily flicked her green eyes to the cards and a small, but amused, chuckle escaped her throat. Her students really cared for her to leave such a sizable pile of Hearts and Hooves Day cards. Upon remembering it was indeed Hearts and Hooves Day, though, Cheerilee's amusement quickly evaporated like sugar cubes in a downpour.
The magenta mare sighed again and lowered her head onto the desk, clearly upset. She knew why she was, but she chose to ignore it. Deep down, Cheerilee wanted a special somepony. She had always wanted one, but teaching the young fillys and colts used up almost all of her time. There was always something they needed, whether it be tests, projects or just some help, her beloved little students ate up any free time she had. Cheerilee had not actively looked for a stallion in years, telling herself they were just distractions. Last year, three of her students, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, had tried to set up her with Applebloom's big brother, Big Macintosh.
Cheerilee gave a small snort of amusement as she remembered that day. Cheerilee was nervous around the tall and handsome stallion, opting to remain just friends instead of saying what she was thinking. Secretly, she had always hoped Big Mac would notice her, whether it was just to say hello or to take her on a date. On that day, she got her wish in the form of three young fillys and a love potion. While Cheerilee didn't remember all of it, she could remember staring into Big Mac's eyes, feeling warm and fuzzy as he nuzzled her nose with his, and wanting him above everything else. The magenta schoolmare blushed slightly at the memory. It was nice of her students to do that for her, but the effect of the potion had actually made it more difficult to be around Big Mac, something Cheerilee found disheartening.
Pulling her head from the desk, Cheerilee began the task of opening and reading her cards. Each one was cute in its own way. Scootaloo drew a picture of the magenta mare with a large heart, Berry Pinch left a white daisy in her card and even Diamond Tiara's bedazzled and over the top card made Cheerilee smile. One by one, Cheerilee read each card and felt a warm spot in her chest. Her little fillys and colts were so kind to give her cards, but an odd longing crept up again. These were her students, not a handsome stallion like Soarin' or Caramel. Slowly, the pile began to move across the desk as the mare read them, smiling to herself.
Eventually, Cheerilee picked up a card made out to her. The scribbling on the front told her it was probably Applebloom's since it had her trademark apple on top of the I's in Cheerilee's name. The magenta mare gave a soft chuckle again and opened the envelope the card was in. Inside sat a rather plain looking card decorated to the brim with stickers of apples, hearts and a crayon drawing of Cheerilee teaching the class. She opened the card and read the usual scrawl of Applebloom's.
Dear Miss Cheerilee,
Happy Hearts and Hooves Day!
Applebloom
P.S. Sorry about last year!
Cheerilee simply smiled at her student's card. It was rather cute, but the apology seemed to just sour her mood. Yes, she knew she was under a spell when she was with Big Macintosh and yes, whatever they felt was all fake. Still, though, it was actually pretty nice to have a special somepony, at least while it lasted. The magenta schoolmare sighed again and set down the card, her green eyes moving towards the window. She wondered what Big Mac was doing now. He was probably out in the sweet smelling orchards, working hard for his family. He was probably pulling upwards of five overflowing carts of apples without complaining, or probably watching the sun set on a hill with his special somepony.
Cheerilee's thoughts suddenly broke and she shook her head. Why was she wondering what he was doing? He probably couldn't even care less what she was up to, so why worry about him? She turned her thoughts back to the cards, which had nearly depleted and went to toss Applebloom's card on top of the pile of cards she had already read. She was about to throw away the envelope when she felt something odd. The envelope was thicker in one corner and as it fell, she could hear a paper shuffle. Curious, the green eyes of the magenta mare turned to see the envelope sitting on top of the garbage pile.
With a faded piece of parchment sticking out of one corner.
Cheerilee retrieved the envelope and out of curiosity, pulled out the extra paper. It was folded in a rush, so the parchment had a bunch of uneven corners and Cheerilee's face contorted into an unimpressed look. It was probably just another drawing of Applebloom's or something. The schoolmare unfolded it and noticed the parchment had writing on it. The green eyes of the mare narrowed as she examined the writing. It certianly wasn't Applebloom's normal writing. Once she unfolded the parchment fully, Cheerilee smoothed it out on her desk over a couple of rather important papers she would have to do later. Once it was flat enough, she began to read.
Hey there, Cheerilee,
How is your day? I hope the students didn't give you too much trouble. Cheerilee snorted at that, but kept on reading.
I'm not the brightest, best, the most good looking or most literate pony, but I wanted to write this to tell you something. I honestly hadn't thought about you much until last year's incident, and I have to admit, it was pretty embarrassing for your sake. Cheerilee scowled at that part, wondering why whoever wrote this was bringing that up.
I also know that it got me to thinking. I've never really thought about having a pony to myself, especially one like you. I always just focused on working and helping other ponies and thought I was happy. The thing is, though, I can't stop thinking about you now. The magenta mare tilted her head at that part. If this was some prank by her students, this one was not very good.
When I'm out working, I think of you and time flies. I've been told I smile a lot more when I work too. I've had a couple of chances to hang out with you in town, which I remember more vividly than anything else right now. The thing is, I think you're a beautiful mare and a sweet and caring pony. Any stallion would be the luckiest pony to have you as a special somepony.
That get's me thinking too. Why does it have to be any other stallion? After I think that, though, last Hearts and Hooves Day pops into my head and I feel terrible. Of course you wouldn't be interested in anything romantic after that, but still, it kinda hurts to know you're off limits to me. I so badly want to talk to you about this, but I can't bring myself to start the topic when we chat. So, with the small chance you'll actually read this, I'm going to say it here.
Cheerilee, would you please grace me with a second chance?
Cheerilee's eyes widened at that line. She almost didn't think it was possible, but could this be Big Mac's writing?
There, I said it. I know things went bad last year because of my little sister and her friends, but this time I want to try again and without their help. Cheerilee's heart seemed to beat much faster now. This really was Big Mac's letter.
I know you're probably busy today or you have another date, but I just wanted to ask you before I never get the chance to again. So, now I've said what I needed to say. Thank you for reading this, Cheerilee.
Big Macintosh
The magenta mare reread the letter several times before her mind finally started working. Big Mac had written a letter to her, hidden it inside Applebloom's card so it would be delivered on Hearts and Hooves Day and in it confessed he wanted to try once more to go out with her. No romance novel in all the Golden Oaks Library could dream up such a scenario and pretty soon, Cheerilee was smiling ear to ear. Her eyes glanced out the window and saw the sky was a beautiful shade of gold with a slight tinge of red and Cheerilee gasped. She bolted out the door of the schoolhouse and tore off as fast as she could to Sweet Apple Acres.
Cheerilee always believed everypony deserved a second chance.
Author's Note
Happy Hearts and Hooves (Valentines) Day everypony(body)!
