//------------------------------// // The Start of Trouble // Story: Cheerilee's Date for the Grand Galloping Gala // by Blackbelt //------------------------------// 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.