//------------------------------// // Letter of Resignation (Cheerilee) // Story: Aftermath of a Fallen Star // by Rated Ponystar //------------------------------// Aftermath of A Fallen Star By Rated Ponystar Edited by The Unnamed Pawn Letter of Resignation (Cheerilee's POV) *** Dear Headmaster, First off, I would like to thank you for everything you’ve done for me since I first came to P.S. 134 in Manehatten. Despite having been Ponyville’s elementary school teacher for twelve years, I was always curious about teaching older students at a higher grade level. Imagine my surprise when you sent in a request last year, asking if I could become your new temporary History Teacher for Sophomores. It was hard leaving home, but I was excited at the idea of teaching a different age set of students for a change. I can still remember my first day here. I was so nervous about making mistakes, but I was confident that I could deal with whatever problems I had. Oh how naive I was. Back in Ponyville, most of my little students were eager to learn about anything and we had fun doing it. Here, most of the students couldn’t care less about school and seemed to be more interested in their cliques than anything else. There were some good students, bright ones that I had the pleasure of knowing, but they never came to me personally to talk. Not like my old students did. All they saw was an old teacher, who they only wanted to please so they could pass the class. I wasn’t used to the cold shoulder, and a part of me still isn’t. There were also the usual things that are in every school such as bullies, bad grades, attitude problems, and learning disabilities, but there were also other sorts of problems that I wasn’t used too. Drugs, smoking, teenagers using the classrooms to have sex, violent fights, and so much cursing; even to my face! I thought it couldn’t get any worse. That was until I met Regal. I remember when Regal transferred into the school, and when you told us who this boy was and, more importantly, who he was related to. I don’t know if you know this, but I knew Twilight Sparkle when she was living in Ponyville, and learning of her death tore me up. She was somepony who I admired for her intellect and she would sometimes teach my students with me. We would spend hours talking about various subjects like math, science, and more. She was, to me, a very close friend. To learn that I would be teaching the nephew of one of her killers, was something I never expected. I imagine it wasn't easy for Regal, knowing that his uncle had played a part in the biggest crime in past decade. His family’s fortune lost, their reputation ruined, and most of them driven from Canterlot and trying to find a new home. It may have been years since that awful day, but even now some of us Ponyville raised ponies are still grieving for the loss of one of our greatest heroes. Nevertheless, I was determined to not judge Regal for the actions of uncle, and treat him like any other student I had. I am ashamed to say my students did not share the same mindset as me. Regal’s first day in my class was not perfect. In fact it was a disaster the moment he stepped forward. Everypony in class knew who he was thanks to the rumors spread around the halls. They constantly harassed him, asking him how it felt to be related to traitor. Some of them asked him if he was there when they put his uncle at the stake and burned him alive. And when he was silent, when he tried to ignore them, they acted like he was deaf or stupid and called him (Much to my shame of writing it) “Regal the Retarded.” The worst of them were Boulder Brawler and Flare. Those two had it out for Regal at the very start. I didn’t know it then, but I suspect they were the ones that put “Murderer’s Not Wanted” in graffiti on his locker. I have never given more punishments before in my life then to those two nasty colts, colts that I am ashamed to have taught. Colts that you should have expelled a long time ago after all of my reports. Maybe if you did, things would have been different for him. For all of us. Regal had no friends and was teased maliciously for any number of reasons, from being mocked for what his uncle did to being called weird because he was always alone and quiet. I caught him more than once crying all alone in the halls. I tried to talk to him many times, but he always turned away from me. Regal was always on my mind, more than any student I had at the time, and it seemed no matter what I did nothing worked. I gave punishments to any student that made fun of him or beat him up, mostly Boulder Brawler and Flare. I tried getting the parents involved, and that lessened it somewhat, but many didn’t seem to care or didn’t take the the issues seriously, saying it was just a phase teenagers go through. The worst was Flare’s father. He was actually encouraging his son to keep Regal in check  to “let the brat know that his kind can’t get away with murdering just because somepony doesn’t like what they do.” I never was more disgusted with a parent in my entire life. I tried to get you and my fellow teachers involved, but most of them didn’t like him or thought that it wasn’t important in any case. There were dozens of students who didn’t fit in just like Regal, and each teacher already had their own to take care of. And you of course didn’t listen to me, I was the temporary teacher for the year, the one who would be gone in a few months. And yet I was the only pony on the staff brave enough to care about Regal. One day, I went to Regal’s home under the pretense of a parent teacher conference. I tried talking to Regal’s mother, but she insisted that I stay out of their family’s business, believing that I was part of the trouble that her son was going through by not looking after him. I tried to tell her I was there to help, but she didn’t believe me. I didn’t know what to do, I just stood there and took her verbal abuse without defending myself. I suspect she was letting out her anger on me for all the injustice done to her and her family. Regal actually came to me as I was leaving the house and apologized to me. He believed me when I said that I was trying my best to help him, but he said that nothing was going to change. He felt he was doomed to carry the sin of his uncle on his back forever, no matter how much I told him that it wasn’t true. That’s when I made a plan to prove it to him. Looking back now I feel I made a terrible mistake by doing it. If only I had planned it better. Or maybe not planned it at all. All I know is that I had a chance to fix everything and I blew it. I decided to talk about the history of each of the four alicorns known in the world. Everypony was into it, excited to learn about the most powerful ponies known in history. When I got to Princess Luna, I went into detail about her time as Nightmare Moon, the terror she brought, and how she had to be banished by Celestia herself to pay for her crimes. Yet despite this, she was forgiven after a thousand years and, although she carries this weight, she is still loved and respected by her subjects. Even her Night Guard was composed of the families who battled on her side long ago, and were still respected even now. Boulder Brawler asked why none of the bat ponies were punished for betraying Celestia. I told him that the policy of Equestria was to forgive those that harmed them. That we sought a better path than vengeance. That was why we had an alliance with the griffins, who we had gone to war against many times in past, and why we were trying to establish peace with the changelings now that Queen Chrysalis was no more. I also made sure to point out that such issues with the bat ponies and griffins were long gone due to the fact that the ones who took part in their crimes had been dead for years. It got the class whispering and I knew some of them were looking at Regal. I was doing it, I was making them slowly realize that maybe it was wrong to think Regal had anything to do with Twilight’s death. I even saw hope in Regal’s eyes, as if he knew what I was doing. And then Flare ruined it all. We had just finished Twilight’s history and ended on her ascension. I had planned to stop there. Then Flare said we should talk about her assassination. He made sure to point out that it was carried out by nobles, like Regal’s uncle, who came from families who were greedy, racist, and pompous. I tried to get him to stop, noticing Regal shaking in his seat. He went on, talking about how he was there when they all were executed at the stake and mentioned that the rest of their families should have been burned as well for failing to notice their member’s treason. I ordered him to be quiet. And then he said that Princess Celestia would make sure that none of the families forgot, that they were better of disappearing forever then to live with the shame of their sin. I was ready to drag Flare out of the room, but Regal couldn’t take it anymore. He screamed and attacked Flare with rage in his eyes, kicking as hard has his legs could kick. Flare cried for help as the rest of the students didn’t do anything but stare and gasp. I rushed over and separated Regal from a bleeding Flare. All the while Flare was shouting that Regal had tried to kill him. Regal realized what he had done and began to cry into my shoulder. I held him as tight as I could. While this happened, I heard, and I’m sure Regal did as well, the whispers of my students, believing that Regal was indeed a monster. I had failed. My plan ruined because of that brat! I cancelled class that day, later getting an earful from Flare’s father and mother who wanted me to expel Regal but I had had enough. I told them that if their son had caused anymore disturbances, any more harm to Regal, I was going to make sure he was expelled instead. They were outraged, but didn’t say anymore. You told me to leave Regal alone, sir. That my efforts to help him were only causing public disturbance and damaging the school’s reputation. Sir, with all honestly, I wanted to tell you to go buck yourself for caring more about a school’s public image then a pony in pain. The weekend came and I tried to work up the courage to speak to Regal at his house, but I couldn’t come up with anything to say. Maybe if I had gone I could have prevented what happened that Monday. That Monday that none of us in this school will ever forget. I never told anypony the real details of what happened, sir. Not even the police. Mainly because I couldn’t express it, but now I am. I want to let you know how we all failed Regal, sir. Monday came and I waited for all my students to come in like always. One by one they came, not knowing that their lives were going to be changed forever. I noticed that one student was late, Regal. It wouldn’t be the first time he skipped school after a bad incident and I didn’t blame him at all for what happened. But soon, not five minutes after I started taking names, did Regal come into the class, smiling and carrying his saddlebags. I told him he was late, but then he raised his hoof and said he had an announcement for the class. I didn’t say anything, I should have, but I didn’t. He turned to the class, his eyes focusing on Brawler Boulder and Flare, and apologized to them and everypony in the class. That they were right, he was a monster and the Flare had the right idea about him and his family needing to disappear forever. That’s when he pulled it out with his magic. I couldn’t even believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. I didn’t even know his family had one until we all learned it was one of the few heirlooms his family had left after their fall from grace. I had personally never seen one, but I knew what it was from the pictures I had seen. It was a pistol from the griffin lands. A single shot pistol that he pulled out of from his bags and pointed at the class. None of us made any sound, all of us were staring at Regal with terror in our eyes. My students were as still as statues, seeing the weapon pointed at each of them. I was just as frozen, to my shame. In Ponyville, I had been through Nightmare Moon, Ursa Minors, Parasprites, the invasion of the Everfree Forest, and more. And yet I was terrified of a single pony holding a gun. I was about to tell him to put the gun down, to let us talk about this, but it was too late. We all watched as he pointed the gun at himself. He pulled the trigger. The shot went off. His blood splattered all over the front row students and the chalkboard. And then everypony screamed. I don’t need to tell you what happened afterwards. The press. The accusations. The Princesses and Elements getting involved. The horror of it all. It’s still going on now, and I doubt it will ever end soon. In the end, what has come out of all of this? Twenty students who will be forever traumatized by witnessing somepony of their own age kill himself. Two colts, and their families, who had to move because of the backlash from raising such bullies. A mother who ended her own life after losing her son. And... my spirit broken. I had failed every single one of them, sir. I did everything I could and yet it wasn’t enough. I should have done more, but I didn’t. I failed one colt who only wanted somepony to tell him that he deserved to exist, that he didn’t have to bare any shame. And yet I couldn’t reach him. I am resigning effective immediately from the school, and I don't care what you have say to dissuade me. Quite frankly, sir, this school disgusts me. I’m going back to Ponyville where I can do some real good, but I will never forget what happened here. And I will make sure you never will too, sir. I sent a copy of this letter to the Manehatten Press, and I’m sure you’ll be getting even more reporters asking questions on why you failed to help a student. I’m pretty sure the Equestria Education Council will also want to conduct their own investigation. Thank you for the experience, sir. May you rot in Tartarus. Signed, Cheerilee *** She returned to her roots, with everypony waiting with joy. She taught bright young minds alike for many years. But she never talked about her experience in the city. Nor of the boy she failed to protect.