The leaves outside of the schoolhouse blew with the cool autumn wind, creating golden grounds. The sun shown down on the schoolhouse, and more importantly the schoolteacher herself, Cheerilee.
She walked slower than usual to the schoolhouse. Normally she'd be trotting as fast as she could to prepare the day's lesson: a practice she had long since perfected. Yet today Cheerilee walked slow to the school, taking in all of the outer beauty that Ponyville had to offer.
Cheerilee opened the door with a heavy creek, she then closed the door in an attempt to block the neatly filed papers around the room from the crisp wind. She walked as normal to her front desk to face her class.
Only today there were no students sitting before her, no young minds for her to teach anymore. Her last class had left summer school the month before, which ended her long career as Ponyville's only teacher.
"Today class," Cheerilee smiled at the thoughts of all of the lessons she taught over the years flowed back into her mind; Lessons that ranged from Algebra to English and even lessons on Cutie Marks.
"We will be learning about the word..." Cheerilee broke her sentence as she tried to think of a word to describe what she was doing, "We will learn about the word Gratitude."
Cheerilee arose from her desk as she passed a blank sheet of paper to each desk. She carefully placed them so that they would have no chance of being disturbed before she walked over and took her place behind her desk once again.
"I would like to start this assignment by pretending to write a letter to Princess Celestia about what we think gratitude is." Cheerilee said as she placed her own quill in her mouth.
Dear Princess Celestia,
In all of my years of teaching, I have always held the highest respect for you for allowing me to be and teach and live the life I have lived.
A gust of wind interrupted her thought as it blew the neatly placed papers around the room, as the unlocked window would do on occasion. Many of the papers rolled in the air a few times before coming to a calm, yet abrupt ,stop on the school's wooden floor.
Cheerilee debated for a moment whether or not she should pick up the papers and close the window before she actually rose from her desk. She picked up the papers and stacked them on a front desk that was nearest to hes.She closed the window and hitched the lock that was placed upon it.
She went to her desk and faced the empty classroom. She looked at the pictures of the graduating classes on the walls that surrounded the room, from her class which included Rarity and Berry Punch, to many years later when the "Cutie Mark Crusaders" graduated.
Cheerilee then looked at her own desk to see pictures of her that ranged from when she wore her mane strangely and had braces all the way until last year's retirement part, thrown by Pinkie Pie of course.
"Class is dismissed," Cheerilee said smoothly.
Cheerilee relaxed as she said the sentence, for she would most likely never have to say those words again. She didn't bother to look at the clock that was placed on her desk, she only had to do a few things before she had to leave the schoolhouse, and she wanted them to take as much time as possible.
Cheerilee thought fondly of the year that the CMC had become friends and of the destruction they had caused for the next few years after in an attempt to get their Cutie Marks. She thought of Sweetie belle herself, she ended up being top of the class and going on to be a successful singer, yet Cheerilee couldn't remember much of the other students, even the other CMC.
Cheerilee gave way and looked at her clock;
1:56 p.m.
Cheerilee sighed as she knew she had to have her possessions packed up by the end of the day today. She dipped her quill in the ink and continued writing to the Princess,
Since I was a filly, I always knew that many ponies around me would grow to be great ponies themselves. I never imagined that i would be able to teach some many generations and some many fillies and colts.
A tear escaped Cheerilee's eye and nearly fell onto her piece of special parchment, but she stopped with a hoof. She recalled on more memories as she continued her letter to the Princess. She wrote word after word and paragraph until she finished almost an hour later.
Cheerilee gathered her possessions from around the schoolhouse and placed them in her saddlebags, whether it be a picture or a Hearts and Hooves Day card from one of her students, she kept everything. She filled her bags with everything she had seen of hers in the schoolhouse.
Before Cheerilee walked out of the schoolhouse, she took a look in the mirror that was placed beside a cabinet near the far left corner of the building.
Although a bright, young, and cheerful mare looked into the mirror with a young and pure heart, a mare of different traits looked back from the mirror. The mare looking back reminded Cheerilee of a maroon Granny Smith, but this one looked more accepting and more young at heart. the eyes of the mare had the most effect on Cheerilee, she still dreamed of being the young, energized schoolteacher she once was.
Cheerilee broke her sight with the mirror forever, she refused to accept that she wasn't young anymore. She always would remain in her youth at heart, whether or not her body would was not her own decision. The schoolteacher walked out of the schoolhouse into the yard, she swore she almost heard her former students calling her name.
Cheerilee dropped the letter off at Twilight's library before she went to her own home. Cheerilee laid her head down to rest one last time before she slowly drifted away from life.
And she swore she heard her students calling her name the entire time.
