[}—–{ Lessons of Lost Love }–—{]
School, Questions, and Family Strife
“All right everypony, class dismissed!” Suddenly the room exploded into action as the fillies and colts who had been staring at her with eyes full of anticipation all moved at once. A few of them, like Diamond Tiara and her friend Silver Spoon, were out the door so fast that they became a blur. Others, like Applebloom and her troublemaking crusaders, stuck around and devised their next ‘get cutie-marked quick scheme.’ However, eventually the building was cleared of everypony but Cheerilee, who was stuck behind picking up after her class.
Cheerilee made her way quickly around the room, doing battle with the forces of uncleanliness and disorganization. Even though it was something that most ponies would see as tedious, Cheerilee had somehow managed to make it fun by allowing her imagination fly free. She whirled around the place, righting books and pushing chairs back under their respective desks as well as swiping away the stark white chalk that was scribbled across the board with her tail, smiling all the while as her freed mind took her to a place that she longed to be at right now: a meadow full of flowers.
At least she thought it was, until the flowers turned into paper hearts, and the tree stump she was dancing around turned into a restaurant bench. She bent down to lift up one of the paper balls that a few of her colts had taken to throwing around outside during recess and gasped as the white paper changed into a coffee cup full of the steaming liquid it was named after. Cheerilee’s hoof shook as she gently set the porcelain cup onto the tabletop, as if the slightest error would send the entire vision shattering into oblivion. As soon as the cup clinked on the polished wood of the table, the deep voice of a certain stallion she knew beside her sent a thrill of shock jolting down her body. “Thank you kindly, Miss Cheerilee.”
“Oh my! Big Mac! I didn’t see you there!” Cheerilee, blushing furiously, jumped down from the table behind her that she had somehow gotten on top of in her brief moment of shock. She walked over to where she had set the coffee down and slid into the bench opposite of the silent stallion. “So, what brings you here?”
The farm pony was silent for a moment before looking directly at her, a face of the utmost conviction on his face. “You do, Miss Cheerilee.”
“W-what?”
Cheerilee watched with helplessness as the stallion gently leaned over the table, his eyes glimmering like freshly polished emeralds as he slowly closed the distance between them. Her mind kicked into overdrive as his hot breath washed over her face, noticing all sorts of things that her normal, level-headed self would never have noticed. Then, without warning, everything slowed down until she could practically hear the seconds tick away at one every minute or so. Big Macintosh was too close now, much too close. But he didn’t stop, he only kept getting closer. And closer. And closer.
The image of the café, and the crimson stallion inside of it, dissolved into that of a classroom. Cheerilee looked around to find herself seated at a desk, panting heavily and holding a hoof up to her pounding heart. Despite the heavy weight that had been lifted from her shoulders yesterday, it was only the first of many that were made known to her after she brought up the memories from her past. The teacher sat there for what seemed like hours as she sifted through her emotions.
That is, until a knock at the door shattered the precious silence into thousands of shards. Cheerilee didn’t have time to wonder about who could possibly be visiting the schoolhouse at this time of day before the knock came again, louder than it was before. “Miss Cheerilee? Are you in there?” Recognizing the voice, Cheerilee pulled herself out of her memory-induced stupor and trotted over to the door a little faster than she probably should have.
“Oh, hello Big Mac!” She only had a split second’s notice before a red hoof gently tapped her nose. “Or should I say, Big Mac’s hoof.” Despite the blush that rushed into her face, Cheerilee managed an easy laugh that was shared by the stallion’s uneasy one. The hoof moved away to reveal the good-natured face of Applebloom’s brother which was crimson for other reasons despite his coat’s color. “Um, Big Mac?”
“Eeyup?”
“You do know that school let out an hour ago, right? Applebloom and all of her friends were the last ones out, but they left quite a while ago, saying something about spelunking Cutie Marks.” Cheerilee shook her head and sighed alongside Big Macintosh before waving to the bag that hung on a hook by the door. “I was just about to leave too; I just had to finish cleaning up the schoolhouse for tomorrow.” Cheerilee gestured back to the practically sparkling school room with a sheepish smile. “Do you think I did a good job today?”
Big Macintosh blinked once, staring blankly at the Teacher before shaking himself out of his trance. He leaned around to get a good look into the room, remaining silent as his gaze swept the walls. After a few seconds of his silent observation, the stallion backed up and smiled at the teacher. “Eeyup. Look’s jus’ fine, Miss Cheerilee.”
“Oh that’s good. Yeah, great.” The teacher blushed again and turned away, needlessly straightening a desk and then spending a few more seconds pushing it back and forth. Oh, please just go!
“Uh, Miss Cheerilee?”
Oh horseapples. Cheerilee turned around slowly, regretting every inch of her heavily blushing face that she was revealing. “Yes, Big Mac? What do you need?”
“Well, um, Ah was just thinkin’ that… uh… well, Ah was just…” The stallion pawed his hoof at the floor before looking up and taking a deep breath. “Would ya like t’go with me an’ get some of that coffee again?”
Cheerilee blushed even harder, cursing her filly’s reaction to Tartarus as she stared at the equally embarrassed stallion with confused eyes. “Wh-what?”
Big Macintosh flashed her a nervous smile and shrugged. “Well, Ah figured Ah’d listen to the rest of that story you had to tell. That is,” Big Macintosh kicked at the floorboards again before continuing, “if you want to, Ah can understand if it’s a bit personal for you, Miss Cheerilee.”
Cheerilee tried and failed to banish the heat in her face as she smiled at the stallion. “Oh of course, Big Mac, I did tell you that I would finish it for you one day.” She gestured to the calendar on the wall with an air of helplessness, letting out an unsteady laugh. “I just didn’t expect it to be today.”
Big Macintosh couldn’t help but deflate a little more at those words. “Well, um, Ah guess Ah could jus’… come back later then, if it’s a problem for you.” He turned away from the teacher, his voice filled with disappointment that Cheerilee had to hear all too often from her students. “Sorry to have kept you from any important appointments, Miss Cheerilee.”
Cheerilee shook her head, despite the stallion’s back being turned to her. “Big Mac?” The farm pony stopped dead in his tracks for a moment, waiting for the mare to continue. “You know, I didn’t say that I had anything going on today.” Despite what she had said, Cheerilee crossed off sit inside her home and brood about her past with a bowl of nice mint ice-cream from her mental day planner. “I’m up for some coffee, Big Mac. Well,” she trotted up to the stallion’s side and smiled innocently, “only if you’re paying this time.”
“Eeyup!”
After passing the three fillies from the day before, who let out another series of gasps and shouts containing the word “no” held to lengths of pronunciation that had been unheard of before, Big Macintosh and Cheerilee found themselves outside of the café once again. The front of the building bore the remains of the Hearts and Hooves Day decorations, albeit with a lot of the debris cleared away and stuffed into the unfortunate dumpster that was brightening the alleyway it occupied with its pink contents. The building’s hot-pink lights had been taken down, revealing a much more legible blue-on-black that spelled out the name Café des Fluers.
“Well, they took down those decorations fast.” Cheerilee let out an embarrassed laugh that was mirrored by Big Mac as they both remembered with a blush of the awkward time they had at the hands of Tea Cozy, which was the mare who greeted them just as they both trotted through the door again.
“Look at you two dear lovebi-“ The violently yellow mare stuffed a hoof in her mouth as she worked to repress her Hearts and Hooves Day attitude, blushing at the firm glare that Big Macintosh directed at her. “I shall have you two sweethear- er, ponies, seated right away.” After giving them both a wistful glance over her shoulder, Tea Cozy led them to one of the more populated areas of the café, towards one of the tables that had been recently cleared of any pink paper debris. “All right, here we are.” The waitress was still obviously very much in the air of yesterday’s holiday as she turned around with her sing-song voice. The sight of both of her patrons still standing sent a spike of confusion racing through her mind. “Um, is something wrong?”
“We’d like a more… private table, if you know what Ah mean.” Big Macintosh gestured over to the abandoned and still plastered with gaudy ornaments section of the café, empty save for a few ponies who worked their hooves to the bone to clear the eye-offending decorations away.
The unfortunate waitress practically deflated as she acquiesced to the stallion’s request. “Oh, okay then. Follow me.” Sighing to himself, Big Macintosh followed the devastated mare with Cheerilee close behind. “Here we are, what would you like to order?” The flatness of the waitress’s voice was enough to bring a small amount of shame to Big Macintosh’s face in the form of a blush, but he pushed it away as he sat down across from Cheerilee, who ordered them coffee. “All right, I’ll be back with it soon.” As soon as the downcast waitress left, Big Macintosh rolled her eyes at the purple mare across the table from him, who returned her amusement with a chuckle.
“Thanks, Big Mac.” Cheerilee looked like she was about to say more, but the ever-depressing presence of Tea Cozy returned, depositing their coffee unceremoniously on the table and trotting away without a word.
Big Macintosh huffed and rolled his eyes at Cheerilee again, whose face seemed to mimic how he felt. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with wantin’ a private place t’eat. They sat there for a moment, each of them sipping at their respective drinks and gazing about the shop, averting said gaze when their eyes met. They went on like that for a few minutes, stretching on to seem like hours for the two ponies, until Big Macintosh spoke out against the silence, tearing it like he would a stubborn piece of cloth that was catching on a tree.
“So…” The word hung in the air, awkward and alone, until it was followed by others. “Ah suppose you should continue… if you’re wantin’ to that is, Miss Cheerilee.”
Cheerilee set down her coffee and let out a weary sigh, preparing herself for the dive into the past. “Well, a few days after that, I took Filthy to go meet my parents. Nothing too bad, right? Well, it wouldn’t have been bad, if my parents liked him more.”
“Are you ready, Richy?” Cheerilee glanced back at her love, who was busy struggling to make his way up the walkway to the front door. “You aren’t nervous are you?” She giggled at her coltfriend’s grimace and trotted down to meet him halfway, looping a hoof around one of his and dragging him up to the doorway.
“I’m not nervous; I just think that your parents don’t like me.” The brown stallion slicked back his mane in an attempt to pass himself off as calm and collected, but the façade was ruined by his shaking hoof. “Remember last time I was here, Cheerie? They chucked me out on my rump after you started crying while we were watching that movie.” Filthy Rich snorted angrily before continuing. “They didn’t even let me explain that it was a scary movie, and you were just crying because I poked you during a scary part. No, they just threw me out and told me that if I ever set hoof in there again then your dad would beat me within a few inches of my life.” The stallion seemed to grow angrier at her parents, at the end of his tirade sounding like he would have gladly taken on Cheerilee’s father in a fight.
“Richey, they were only worried about me, especially since I screamed as you did it.” Cheerilee laid a hoof on her coltfriend’s shoulder, bringing him into a hug that he soon broke away from. “After Dad calmed down he asked me what happened, and I told him.” The purple mare gestured to the door that they were both waiting outside of. “And you’re here right now aren’t you? That means that they forgave you, right?”
Filthy Rich moved out from under her comforting hoof, snorting again. “Yeah, for something I didn’t do.”
“Filthy,” Cheerilee’s voice held a hint of warning as she took a step towards the brown stallion, irritation at her coltfriend’s sulky attitude flaring up in defense of her parents. “You know full good and well that my Dad-“
Just then the door to the house opened, throwing a bright, cheerful light over the two ponies who were just about to begin shouting at each other. “Why on earth are you two sitting out here in the dark?” A deep, booming voice that held an inner cheerful tone washed over them, quieting their anger that had been flaring up just a moment ago; extinguishing it like water on top of a fire. “Come inside already, Cheerilee, and Filthy.” The larger stallion seemed to tack on the other’s name as an afterthought. As they trotted inside, Cheerilee flashed Filthy a warning glance that seemed to say Be happy he’s not kicking you out. In response, the brown stallion rolled his eyes and let out another snort.
After a few hours of talking, Cheerilee found herself in the same position that she was when she had settled in to listen to the story that Filthy Rich was finishing with gusto. “And then my dad took over the family business. And after he’s done running it, the Jam Packed Company will fall to me, the pony destined to carry on its legacy.” The room descended into silence as the story ended, remaining so until Cheerilee’s dad grunted and sat up from his slumped position.
“Erm, well, yes, that was quite a nice story, Filthy.” Her father coughed again and popped a slice of cheese pizza into his mouth, wincing at how cold it was from sitting on the table.
“Thanks, I’ve spent a long time trying to get it juuust right.” Filthy mimicked her father’s actions, from the pizza to the wincing at the chilled bread’s taste. “Say, can I go use the bathroom? Talkin’ about the old days takes up a lot of time… and well you kn-“
“Down the hall and to the left, Filthy Rich.” Cheerilee’s mother interjected into whatever vulgar phrase that her daughter’s coltfriend was going to say.
“All right, be back soon!” Cheerilee sighed as she watched the brown stallion pass the corner of the hallway that led deeper into the house. She would have stayed like that until he returned if it had not been for her parents shaking her out of her trance with hushed voices.
“Cherry,” Her mother leaned in closer towards her with the air of a concerned parent, “I don’t think that you should be dating that stallion.”
Despite the love that she held for her mother, Cheerilee couldn’t help but flare up in anger. “What do you mean by that, Mom?” Despite the fact that her parents were urging her to be quiet, Cheerilee found herself getting louder and angrier. “Don’t tell me to be quiet! You just told me that I shouldn’t be with the pony I love! How am I supposed to react?!”
“Cherry, it’s not anything against you, I promise. It’s just that I know stallions like that. I’ve dated a few in my time.” Cheerilee let out a disbelieving snort at her mother’s words, the older mare flinching back as if she’d been slapped.
“You don’t know Richey good enough, then.”
“Now see here, Little Missy. Your mother just wants the bes-“
“Oh, please, don’t give me that ‘I just want what’s best for you’ crap, Dad. We all know that’s just a bunch of horseapples.” Cheerilee paused only for a moment after her parents both gasped aloud at her cursing. “I think it’s just best that we don’t come here again. It’s obvious you’re not going to accept Richey like I do.”
“Cherry!”
“Cheerilee! Don’t say tha-“
“Um, is there something wrong?” Everypony in the living room turned to see Filthy Rich standing against the wall, trying for all the world to blend into the wallpaper and disappear. “Do I need to leave you guys alone for a while?”
“No, Richey, you don’t.” Cheerilee threw a dagger-glare at her parents before getting up and stomping over to him. “We’re leaving.” The mare wrapped a hoof around one of the brown stallion’s, dragging him over to the door the same way she had brought him up to it before.
“But Cheerie, what about your parents?”
Cheerilee paused for a moment before glancing back at her parents, only to turn around with her nose high in the air. “I don’t have any parents anymore.”
“After that day, I never did see much of my parents anymore.” Cheerilee downed the rest of her coffee and sighed. “Well, at least while I was still with Rich.” The teacher shook her head sadly, still enveloped by the cold blanket of the past. She didn’t even notice when Big Macintosh laid one of his heavy-set hooves on her shoulder until he shook her gently. “Oh, sorry Big Mac, I just…” Her hooves gestured helplessly before falling down to her sides.
Big Macintosh nodded and smiled at the mare across from him. “Tha’s all right, Miss Cheerilee, Ah understand completely. Cain’t be pleasant revisitin’ such an unpleasant thing like that.”
“It’s just that, well, when I look back on it… I should have listened to them. My parents, I mean.” Cheerilee sighed wearily before continuing, leaning into the hug that Big Macintosh wrapped her in. “Kind of like my friends, really, I alienated them because they talked bad about Filthy. I thought they were lying.” She wrapped her hooves around the red stallion and let out a shaky breath. They sat there like that for what seemed like hours, Cheerilee silently thanking Celestia for the gift of another pony to share her pain with. The mare took in a breath and pulled away from Big Macintosh, turning away to brush a hoof across her eyes, wiping away the few tears that had made themselves known. “I guess it was just me, being too blind to see Filthy for who he really was.”
Another moment of silence pressed down on the two before Big Macintosh laid a hoof on the teacher’s shoulder. “Y’know,” he faltered for a moment as he chose over his next words with care, “Ah know a thing or two ‘bout your folks not takin’ to who ya love.” Cheerilee remained silent, waiting for him to continue. “Ah know that it hurts, havin’ your folks say somethin’ like that t’ya, and ya don’t want t’believe them because they don’t seem like they’re makin’ any sense. That you want believe what they say about your love bein’ fake ain’t true.” Cheerilee turned around to see the two glimmering emeralds of Big Mac’s eyes tighten with a past pain. “Ah know how it feels, Miss Cheerilee.”
“Wh-who did you love, Big Mac?” Cheerilee lifted up her hoof to lay it on the one that was on her shoulder. “And… what did your parents say about her?”
Big Macintosh stood up with the suddenness and force of an earthquake, breaking away from Cheerilee’s inquisitive stare and turning away abruptly. “Look at the time! Ah’m mighty sorry, Miss Cheerilee, but them chores at the farm ain’t gonna do themselves.” Within a few confusing seconds, Cheerilee found herself staring at the door that her crimson companion exited with the air of never entering through it again, the few bits that had been left on the table still spinning in their circles.
Cheerilee practically leapt out of her chair as the coins suddenly clinked onto the polished surface of the table, turning to see the violent yellow mare holding them down with a hoof and following the teacher’s gaze towards the door. “Now if I’ve ever seen a stallion who didn’t want to talk about something, he’s the worst of the bunch. Looks like you’ve got some sweetheart business to attend to.” Tea Cozy swept the coins off the table and winked at the bewildered teacher before walking away to serve another pair of customers.
Didn’t want to talk? Cheerilee set her used coffee cup aside and stood slowly, enveloped in her confused thoughts. Why doesn’t he want to talk about it?