All her preparation for battle was damped somewhat as Cheerilee stepped out the door. She still didn’t know where to find Crosscut. There was no room for second-guessing, however, and she set off. Luna’s moon was rising as Cheerilee searched the city. She glanced up at it. I’m not going to let you down, Princess. Or you, Note.
The Timber Construction building sat as before. Cheerilee stopped out front, staring at the seemingly vacant windows. This time, she didn’t call for Crosscut or sneak in through a skylight. She kicked the door off its hinges and charged inside.
The warehouse was empty. The security lights illuminated it plainly enough. The rest of the building was dark, however. Cheerilee stepped into the office, senses tuned to respond to anything.
At first glance, the lower floor of the office space looked empty. Cheerilee stepped carefully, alert to everything. The first warning she got was a faint stirring in the air.
The mare sidestepped just before Crosscut buried his horn in her chest. Instead, the stallion slammed into the filing cabinet behind her, sticking through the thin metal. Cheerilee kicked at one of his back legs, hearing bones crunch. She dodged out of the way before he could extricate himself.
A burst of magic nearly disintegrated the filing cabinet. Crosscut whirled around, his mobility restricted by his injured leg, but still deadly fast. His horn glowed and Cheerilee felt something heavy hit her in the back of the head, probably a large finance ledger from a nearby desk. She didn’t have time to wonder if her skull had been fractured, instead going with the impact and using the momentum to launch herself at the stallion. She caught him square in the chest, trying to smack his head against the floor as she knocked him down.
Blood from her head injury began to mat Cheerilee’s mane. She ignored the pain and set up for another attack. Crosscut was fast enough to get off the floor before she could hit him again. He shook his leg out, showing that it was already mostly healed.
Cheerilee dropped low to duck a magic bolt that nearly decapitated her, and braced herself as the unicorn rushed forward. She barely managed to avoid being knocked over, but was forced backwards, her hooves cutting grooves in the floor.
Neither pony seemed to be able to grapple the other into a more favorable position. Crosscut tried to line up to hit the schoolteacher with a blast from his horn. Cheerilee let her rear legs collapse and rolled onto her back, hooves stabbing forward towards Crosscut’s belly. He’d planned for the mare's move, however, and gouged her just as badly.
Cheerilee bit off the tip of her tongue and spat it at Crosscut’s face along with a mouthful of blood. Temporarily blinded, the stallion was easier to buck off. The schoolteacher struggled out of his reach and ran for the stairs to the second floor.
Dodging a jet of powerful magic, Cheerilee took a bite from the inside of her shoulder, where the large arteries ran. Mounting the stairs, her heart pumped hard, squirting blood on the landing. Crosscut was right behind her, and lost traction in the puddle, slamming into the wall. Cheerilee was on him in an instant, biting the back of his neck.
Crosscut managed to get a hold of the leg that Cheerilee had mangled herself and tried to use it to pull her off. She refused to budge, however, holding onto anything she could reach. Weakened by her bite, the shoulder joint reached its limit, and Crosscut tore her leg off.
Fighting through the pain, Cheerilee kicked off the wall with her back legs, sending the two of them tumbling back down the stairs. She managed to adjust her three remaining legs to grip Crosscut’s body tightly. His head whipped around, trying to bash her face in with his horn.
Timing her move carefully, Cheerilee lunged her head forward and locked her jaws on Crosscut’s flailing horn. The stallion felt the pressure, and doubled his efforts to try and get her off him.
Cheerilee could feel her teeth beginning to reach their limit, but clamped down harder, twisting her head for leverage. Crosscut’s horn splintered, snapping the mare’s jaws shut. She spit out pieces of broken teeth and horn while the stallion screamed in pain.
Crosscut managed to throw his assailant off, but there was a different look in his eyes now. He circled, searching for an opening. Cheerilee limped on three legs, turning slowly in place. Her fangs had been reduced to jagged stubs and blood coated her face, but now she had her opponent off balance and wary.
The stallion thought he had found an opening and rushed forwards. Cheerilee crouched on her hind legs, driving her remaining front hoof forwards. Crosscut’s lower jaw took the brunt of the punch.
Crosscut stumbled backwards. Cheerilee took a few steps in his direction, still balancing on two legs alone. Her previous visit to Timber Construction had taught her that she was able to keep the stance for a reasonable period of time. She kept her front leg out, both to guard and to attack.
Crosscut looked as if he’d never seen anypony attempt to fight that way. Cheerilee stepped forward, not giving him time to think about it. As she prepared to step over his broken horn lying on the floor, Crosscut charged.
Cheerilee stomped on the end of the horn, flipping the point up. She met the stallion head-on and let herself go to the floor. Crosscut arched his back in an attempt to avoid impaling himself on his own horn, but Cheerilee kicked with her back leg, driving it into his heart.
The mare didn’t manage to get her eyes closed before the stallion’s entire body violently atomized, splashing everything in the room with blood. Cheerilee blinked, slowly clearing her vision.
She lay at rest for a couple of minutes before crawling over to the stairs to look for her severed limb. It took a few more minutes before the schoolteacher thought she was able to move easily. She’d just taken the worst beating of her life, but had survived.
Cheerilee stumbled out of the building, not bothering to clean up the mess. Now that her task was complete, she felt a little tired. While she didn’t require much sleep, the mare couldn’t remember the last time she’d had any. It startled her to realize that she’d been pushing herself so hard. The schoolteacher hadn’t been aware that her mind was able to make her body do such things.
The mare reflected on the fight she’d just had. She’d had the ability, she just had to find it in herself to use it. Cheerilee decided to write that thought down when she got home. The class would be starting a lesson on self-confidence soon.
▼▼
"You're only going to spend one year with us?" Blossom seemed a little confused. She stood in Cheerilee's classroom. It was the afternoon of the last day of school, and all the students had just departed for summer break.
"I guess Fillydelphia just isn't for me." Cheerilee shrugged. "Maybe I'll be back someday. Until then, I just think another place would be better."
The other teacher nodded. "I suppose I can understand. As soon as you showed up here, two students died. That would leave a bad impression on anypony."
That's putting it mildly. Cheerilee smiled. "Well, a lot of things have gotten better since then. For example, I heard that in the last year, the murder rate in Filly dropped to basically nothing."
Blossom nodded. "I'm grateful, but I don't know how that happened so quickly.”
"Hard work by a few dedicated individuals," replied the lavender mare.
"Their mental resilience must be amazing," said Blossom. "I don't know what it must be like to be a police officer."
Cheerilee nodded, noncommittally. “Well, I should be packing up now.” She opened a few drawers in her desk. One of them contained a gift basket that had been there ever since Blossom had given it to her at the beginning of the school year.
“Is that…? Blossom stared at the rotting fruit. The smell, previously masked by the closed drawer, began to waft around the room.
Cheerilee was embarrassed, and had to force blood into her face in order to simulate a blush. “Sorry, those first few days when Note and Golden Ring left us were a little hectic. I must have forgotten.”
Blossom nodded sympathetically. "It can be difficult to keep our wits when something like that happens."
"You're right," agreed Cheerilee. "I have real respect for the ponies that deal with that kind of thing on a regular basis."
"Well, good luck wherever you end up next." Blossom gave Cheerilee a hug. The two of them had become better friends during the school year. The vampire knew she would never see the other teacher again, but it had been nice to have a friend in the meantime.
"Thanks a lot." Cheerilee tossed the ruined gift basket in the trash and the two of them walked towards the exit.
"Do you know where you're going next?" asked Blossom.
"Not really," admitted Cheerilee. "I've got the summer to find another school."
"I couldn't imagine not having a plan." The other mare frowned. "It must be difficult."
"You have to remain optimistic," advised Cheerilee. "It's all in the mind."
Author note:
That's all folks.
Truthfully, I didn't like this story - it wasn't funny at all. I think it's important, however, because it sets up lots of important foundation for future stories. I'm planning at least two more right now. Check out the whole Vampire Cheerilee Series