//------------------------------//
// It Can't Be Taught 
// Story: It Can't Be Taught 
// by RunicTreetops 
//------------------------------//

"Congratulations, everyone!"

A roar of cheers rings out across Ponyville as dozens of caps fly into the air. Cheerilee, who sits on a makeshift stage that was set up in front of the town hall, is right there with the cheering crowd, a proud smile on her face as she does her best to hold back her tears. Her students have now officially graduated, and the whole town is celebrating their transition into their adult lives. Said lives will take many forms, of course. Some plan to attend Princess Twilight Sparkle's School of Friendship. Some plan to pursue a higher education elsewhere. Some already have jobs lined up, and some are still working on that part. It's a turbulent time in their lives, but also an exciting one. These events always get Cheerilee emotional.

From behind the podium, the class valedictorian steps down. Cheerilee glances to the seat next to her, where the salutatorian sits. Said salutatorian glances right back and gives Cheerilee a warm smile. It's a smile that she's been seeing more of lately, especially since Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo got their cutie marks. Indeed, the student with the second-highest grades in the class was none other than Diamond Tiara. Both glance back at the valedictorian, who smiles at them as she takes her own seat. Ultimately, it was Twist that ended up having the highest grades. Cheerilee quickly scans the crowd, and she notices Spoiled Rich sitting near the back, an uncomfortable look on her face.

Cheerilee withholds a chuckle as she recalls the night of the gala, which was several years ago at this point. Thanks in no small part to her status, Spoiled did not actually end up in jail. However, she did still face criminal charges and had to pay a hefty fine. Not that money really matters to a member of the Rich family, of course. The bigger issue for her was the irreparable damage she did to her own reputation. She lost a lot of respect that day, not to mention her place in the EEA. To this day she still retains her place on the school board, but the other members of said board keep her in check. Really, at this point, she's just a glorified wallet for the board. Not that Cheerilee's complaining, of course.

Meanwhile, without Spoiled breathing down Cheerilee's neck, she was able to intervene whenever she saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon up to their old tricks. It wasn't actually that hard, all things considered. Even the slightest pushback from authority got them to stop. However, she was still unable to do much about their behavior when they weren't on school grounds. Thankfully, on that fateful day when Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo got their cutie marks, she seemed to have a change of heart. Now, bullying is a problem of the past. At least, as far as she can tell.

Chancellor Neighsay himself approaches the podium. He already gave a speech earlier in the ceremony, so all he's doing is giving a few closing thoughts before directing ponies on how to leave in an orderly fashion. Once he finishes his thoughts, Cheerilee and the other prominent ponies seated on stage stand up and quietly make their exit. Diamond Tiara gives her one final hug before rushing off to meet her friends, all of whom appear to be celebrating together. Cheerilee scans the crowd one final time, a content smile on her face all the while. She makes eye contact with Spoiled Rich very briefly, but neither maintain said eye contact for long. Without a daughter to put through school anymore, Cheerilee imagines that Spoiled will likely be stepping down from the school board of her own volition. 

Meaning she won't be her problem anymore. 

Chuckling to no one in particular, Cheerilee excuses herself from the crowd, which is slowly growing louder now that the ceremony itself is over. The smile never leaves her face as she trots down the evening road, illuminated only by the moon and the street lamps. Her house isn't actually that far away, so it doesn't take her long to arrive. When she does, she stops for just a moment before reaching for the door.

Her house is a far cry to what it looked like several years ago. No longer is it dirty and falling apart. The wood looks nice, the ceiling was replaced just a few months ago, and there is even a nice garden growing in the landscaping. Not that she's responsible for any of that, of course. She's awful at taking care of her house, even when she CAN afford it.

It's a good thing she doesn't teach home economics.

Smiling to herself, she takes out her key and opens the door. The lights inside are already on, and a distinct smell hits her nose. She closes and locks the door behind her before taking a few steps towards the kitchen, being careful to make as little noise as possible. The sound of a deep voice gently humming is coming from her kitchen, and she doesn't want to alert the creature it belongs to. However, just as she thinks this, the humming stops. She stands perfectly still until a voice rings out.

"I already heard you close the door, Lee. You're not fooling anyone."

"Ah, darn it!" Cheerilee takes the last few steps she needed to enter the kitchen, where Anon waits for her. He looks a bit older than he did at the gala. He's more muscular now, and his beard is now full and well-groomed. He wears a light-green apron while cooking that goes surprisingly well with his plain white tee. In general, he looks casual and comfortable, and he greets her with a grin. "One of these days I'll get ya!"

"Doubt it. Lucky is better at keeping me on my toes than you are."

"Speaking of, where is-"

"BOO!"

"AAAH!"

Cheerilee jumps directly into the air like a startled cat at the sudden noise that came from right behind her. She lands in Anon's arms unharmed before elbowing him and forcing him to put her down. Now facing the other direction, she can confirm what she had suspected. Sure enough, a young colt is looking up at her with a cocky smile on his face.

"Gotcha!"

"Lucky Leaf, if you do that again, you are in big trouble!"

"But you just tried to scare dad."

Cheerilee stares blankly at the colt for a moment before sighing.

"I suppose I did." 

This spry colt is Lucky Leaf. He's six years old, and he has no cutie mark. His coat is a dark-pinkish color and his short mane is a mixture of light pink and black. His tail is similar to his mane, but its unkempt tip makes it clear that he's not very good at grooming it. He has a chubby face, though he is rapidly growing to be taller than other colts his age. His sparkling green eyes look just like his mother's. In fact, he takes after his mother a lot, much more than he does his father.

Which is to be expected, Cheerilee supposes, seeing as how his father isn't a pony. He is the son of Anon and herself, after all.

"Dad, when's supper gonna be done?"

"It'll still be a while. Is your homework done?"

"W-well..."

"You have more than enough time to finish it before the food is ready. And if it isn't done by the time the food is ready, you won't be getting any."

"Ah!"

Without another word, the colt sprints down the hall and enters his room, slamming the door behind him in the process. Cheerilee just watches on as she withholds her laughter.

"How was graduation?" Anon goes right back to cooking as he asks his question.

"It went perfectly. For once."

"Sorry I couldn't make it."

"Well, one of us had to pick Lucky up from practice. And unless you want to be the one on that stage, then I'd say we ended up where we needed to."

"Careful with the sass, Lee. I'm holding a knife."

"Like you'd cut your wife."

"Eh, she's an old mare anyhow. I doubt anyone would notice."

The two glare at each other, though the grins on their faces make it clear that this banter is both humorous and normal for them.

"Old mare is right." Cheerilee breaks eye contact and walks to Anon's side before leaning on him. "Every graduation makes me feel that much older. Remember when they were small?"

"When they were a bunch of little shits? Yeah, I remember."

Cheerilee elbows Anon again.

"Stop it with that, what if Lucky hears you?"

"Lucky has heard worse from me."

"And you're going to be hearing even worse from me if our son picks up your foul language!"

"Alright, alright. I won't teach him what 'fuck' means."

"You didn't even... ugh. I really can't with you sometimes."

"You never could. And yet!" Anon confidently bends down and places a kiss directly on Cheerilee's lips before gently grabbing the necklace she has around her neck, which prominently displays a ring at its center. Said ring perfectly matches the one Anon has around his finger. "You married me anyway."

"Heh, that was just because you'd be all alone for the rest of your life if I didn't."

"I seem to recall you telling me that being a mother 'isn't gonna happen at your age,' or something along those lines. And yet, here you are."

"I... what does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm saying that'd be true if not for me taking pity on you."

"Oh, you're gonna get it!"

The two continue their playful back-and-forth for quite some time until Anon finishes making dinner. Cheerilee sets the table as he prepares the food and calls for Lucky, and the three enjoy a pleasant, albeit somewhat late, dinner. After finishing up, Lucky decides to retire to bed of his own volition, but his parents know darn well he's going to be reading his Power Ponies comics late into the night while pretending to be asleep. They've seen it all before.

Now alone, Anon and Cheerilee retire to their living room and practically throw themselves onto the sofa. In what seems like a practiced motion, Cheerilee leans over and rests her head on Anon's chest while he holds her tight. Both look to be barely awake, yet they're a whole lot cuddlier than one might expect based on the bickering that was going on not long ago.

"How was work today, Nonny?"

"Busy. For once, Derpy filled out all of the correct information. Unfortunately, she did it all on the wrong form." Not long after his "lessons" with Cheerilee formally ended, Anon got a job as an accountant in the town hall. He works right there with Mayor Mare taking care of the public's information, though he also does some work helping the locals with their taxes and the sort. At first, few ponies wanted anything to do with him. He was, after all, still an alien. However, over time, he slowly began to gain their trust. Now, he's mostly respected as a helpful and friendly face around Ponyville. There are still a few ponies that are cautious around him, but for the most part, he's made a name for himself in town and he couldn't be more satisfied. "You look tired, Lee."

"Yeah, well, talking in front of a crowd is a lot different than talking in front of a classroom full of children. I think I'm allowed to be tired tonight." Anon opens his mouth to respond, but Cheerilee interrupts him before he can say anything. "Don't give me any more sass. I'm all sassed out now."

She buries her head even further into Anon's chest, and he simply chuckles and gently strokes her mane.

"Alright, alright. Though, I wasn't even planning on giving you more sass."

"Hm?"

"I was just gonna say that I can tell you're tired because you get really cuddly when you're exhausted."

"Am I exhausted that often?"

"Well... not anymore."

"Hm. Maybe I should change that."

"What, you want me to put you back into debt?"

"No, I want you to hold me tighter." Cheerilee whines in a playful manner, causing Anon to roll his eyes, grab Cheerilee in her entirety, and pull her into a tight hug. "That's better."

"You sure you're feeling all right?"

"Yeah." Cheerilee lets out a deep, contented sigh. "I've just been reminiscing."

"Oh?"

"...Don't worry about it."

The two sit quietly for a long while, simply enjoying the embrace and relishing the company. Eventually, however, Anon mumbles something into the quiet room.

"I heard you're going to be getting a griffon student next year."

"That's supposed to be confidential, Nonny."

"I had to handle his paperwork, Lee."

"Oh. Right." Cheerilee shifts just a bit in Anon's arms before getting comfortable again. "Well, yes, I am."

"How do you think that's gonna go?"

"Well, the EEA has been revising their 'ponies only' policies ever since the debacle at the School of Friendship, so it shouldn't be an issue."

"Do you think you can teach a griffon?"

"I taught a human, didn't I?" Her words cause Anon to laugh out loud, which he does his best to keep as quiet as possible. 

"Yeah, I'm sure he's gonna be just fine with you in charge."

"Thank you, Nonny."

The couple returns to their comfortable silence, each happily holding the other tight. It took them a while to reach this point, but against all odds, they ended up finding the happiness they were so desperately seeking when they met. The lost, confused, pessimistic human found someone to love, someone who actually understands him. Meanwhile, the exhausted, depressed, financially ruined teacher was able to see justice be done, and the system that broke her changed. These two weary creatures, who will likely continue to face new forms of hardship throughout their lives, can at least rest easy knowing that they have help. They have their family. They have each other.

And that's something that can't be taught.