Lesson Plans
I had decided to become a teacher. The flowers symbolize my hope that I could help my future students bloom if I nurtured them with knowledge. The smiles represented the cheer I hoped to bring to my little ponies while they were learning.
~~
It was a wonderful day in Ponyville, the kind of day that could make even the surliest donkey smile. Even though the little town had expanded considerably since Twilight started her own School of Friendship, it never lost its cozy charm. And although creatures from all corners of Equestria gathered and mingled, friendly smiles and conversations were common, particularly when a pink party pony and her cheesy husband were around.
Cheerilee practically skipped as she made her way to the schoolhouse, energized by the feeling that today was going to be a good one. The ponies and creatures she passed seemed to feel it too, each hearty ‘good morning!’ adding an additional pep to her step and the wide smile on her face.
She entered her schoolhouse, the simple building empty and quiet this early in the morning. Soon though, it would be welcoming her students for another day of learning.
Cheerilee began to hum as she walked around her classroom, straightening desks, fixing chairs, and picking up odd bits of trash her students had missed yesterday. The room tidied, she made her way to the front, digging through her desk for the day's lesson plan and going over it once more just to be sure.
Satisfied, she turned to her beloved chalkboard. Using the eraser, she brushed away the remnants of yesterday’s lesson and replaced it with the day’s date and lesson outline.
Her ears perked at the sound of foals talking and laughing and glanced towards the clock. “Oh how wonderful, everyone is here right on time today.”
Cheerilee did one more sweep of the room before heading to the back and up a small ladder to ring the bell and call her class inside. Then she rushed back into the classroom and stood behind her desk as the students filed in. She waited a few minutes to give time for everyone to settle before clearing her throat and greeting them.
“Good morning class!”
A chorus of ‘good morning Miss Cheerilee’ greeted the school teacher and she beamed. She glanced over the desks, pleased to see that most of her class was in their seats. Her smile lessened as she focused on two empty ones, seats that had been empty for a while now. “Hmm, does anyone know where Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are?”
Apple Bloom raised her hoof. “I heard from Applejack that Diamond Tiara was sick, maybe Silver Spoon is sick too.”
“Oh goodness, well I do hope they feel better soon. How about we make them some cards later, so they know we miss them and hope they come back soon.”
Sweetie waved her hoof around. “Ooh, ooh! Maybe we could make them some lesson plans too, so they can get caught up on what they missed.”
Cheerilee’s smile returned with full force and she clapped her hooves together. “What a wonderful idea Sweetie Belle! I’m sure they would love that. Alright, with that settled, let’s start today’s lesson. We will be continuing our discussion of cutie marks and what they mean.”
She turned to the board, her heart full of pride at the quiet rustle of students getting out paper and pencils to take notes. Her class was really such a sweet bunch, and so studious as well. Outwardly, Cheerilee was humble, but secretly she did take credit. After all, a class was only as good as their teacher, and if her class was wonderful, then surely she was a wonderful teacher.
~~
“Alright class, make sure you study your notes for the quiz on Monday and have a wonderful weekend!”
Her class responded with a variety of ‘yes Miss Cheerilee’ and ‘have a good weekend too’. The classroom emptied, Cheerilee walked around the desks and gathered the cards that were made. She then brought the colorful assortment of well wishes to her desk and stacked them neatly on top of the lesson plan she and Sweetie had worked on during the lunch period.
“Sweetie really is such a wonderful girl, maybe I should write a note to Rarity about her sister, I’m sure she would be proud to hear about her ideas and help.”
She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Oh! I’ll have to make time for that later. I better hurry if I want to beat the rush at Sugarcube Corner.”
She carefully placed the cards and papers into her saddlebags before leaving the schoolhouse.
~~
The doorbell chimed cheerfully as Cheerilee walked into the beloved confectionary, though it was lost to the volume of chatter of a packed house. She made her way to the line, feeling a slight bit of worry they would be out of her usual treat.
Despite the crowd, Pinkie was nothing if not efficient and Cheerilee found the line moved rather quickly and was at the front sooner than she expected.
Pinkie beamed at the teacher. “Oh hiya Cheerilee! Here for your usual Friday order?”
“Yes please. Oh, but could we add some raspberry scones as well?”
“Oooh, mixing it up a bit this week huh? Well I had a tickle in my ear that someone would want some and so I made a whole extra batch!”
Cheerilee chuckled and shook her head as she brought out bits. “You are a dear Pinkie, thank you.”
“Daww, thanks Cheerilee, you are really nice too!”
Pinkie hummed as she took the desired pastries out of the display and called over her shoulder for a vanilla chai tea. While waiting on the drink, Pinkie passed over the bag of goodies and leaned on the counter, her voice lowered into a stage whisper. “Hey Cheerilee, is it true they are gonna turn the schoolhouse into a mini museum of Ponyville history?”
Cheerilee froze for a moment but quickly recovered and nodded. “Mmhmm. They offered me a head curator position, but I think I’m going to enjoy my retirement a little longer.”
Pinkie nodded. “That’s good, you were a teacher there for…jeez I don’t even know how long! It’s good to take a break and relax, enjoy other things in life. After all, it’s not like you have to be a teacher for forever.”
There was something in Pinkie’s eyes, but it was gone before Cheerilee could fully appreciate it, making her believe it was just a trick of the light. She nodded and laughed a bit. “Oh of course. Don’t get me wrong, I loved teaching, but you are right, there are other things to enjoy in life.”
The look returned for a moment before Pinkie leaned back with a laugh of her own. “Rightio Cheerio! Oh, here’s your tea. I hope you have a good weekend!”
“You too Pinkie!”
~~
Cheerilee’s walk home was slightly less bouncy due to the treats in her bag and the cup in hoof, but anyone could tell from her smile that the retired teacher was having a good day.
There was a griffon waiting for her at the doorstep of her cottage, wearing a modified version of the mail delivery uniform and holding a clipboard. Gabby perked up as she saw Cheerilee and chirped cheerfully, “Great timing Cheerilee, I need your signature for this package.”
Cheerilee’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be? She was sure that package wasn’t going to arrive for another week. One look at the large box waiting on her doorstep though, and she knew. She blinked and cleared her throat. “Oh, uh, sure thing, let me just set this stuff inside real quick.”
“No problem! Want me to bring the package in?”
“Only if you don’t mind.”
Gabby giggled as she picked up the box and followed Cheerilee inside. “No mind at all, I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself with…whatever is in here. What did you order anyways? It feels like a lot of stuff in here.”
Cheerilee gestured for the box to be put on an island in the kitchen and grabbed the clipboard to sign. “Just some new hobby supplies. I figured it was time to find something else to do.”
“Oooh, what kind of hobby? Wait, don’t tell me, I wanna guess…is it painting? I know a griff who paints these really small little figures and they are so pretty and detailed. Are you going to do landscapes or creatures? Oooh or are you more of an abstract artist, or-” Gabby stopped suddenly, clearing her throat awkwardly as she blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. She grabbed the clipboard and took a step back towards the door. “Er, sorry. I’m trying to be better about just rambling to folks.”
Cheerilee smiled patiently and waved her hoof. “It’s not a problem dear. I don’t get out of my house as much as I should so conversation is always welcome.”
“Aww, thanks. I do have some other deliveries though so I probably should get going, otherwise I might be here all day!”
Cheerilee giggled. “Alright. Oh, would you like a scone before you go? Fresh from Sugarcube Corner.”
Gabby’s eyes lit up and she licked her beak as Cheerilee offered the pastry. “Oh wow thanks!” She grabbed it and walked out, waving a goodbye over her shoulder. “Have a great day, hope the hobby stuff goes well!”
“You too!”
Cheerilee walked over to the door after Gabby closed it and locked it. Then she went around and closed all her blinds. House secured, she wandered back to the kitchen and placed a hoof on the box.
It was time.
~~
Cheerilee hummed as she descended the stairs into her basement, raspberry scones in hoof. The basement was simple, with cold concrete walls and floor and few furnishings.
She made her way to a corner that was sectioned off with a sturdy metal fence and smiled at the two sleeping forms inside. “Diamond, Silver, it’s time to wake up.”
Diamond Tiara stayed stubbornly still while Silver Spoon stirred, mumbling. Cheerilee chuckled and shook her head as she brought her hoof up and violently punched the metal fence. Silver jumped, her hooves flailing in a blind panic at the loud sound. She stumbled towards the opposite corner, backing into it and looking at Cheerilee with wild and unfocused eyes, as if the foal couldn’t determine how many of the smiling magenta mares were there.
“Good morning Silver Spoon! Though, I suppose it’s actually afternoon now. You and Diamond must be very sick if you’ve slept this long. Tell me, how do you feel dear?”
“Mmnot, not Si-Silver…”
Cheerilee tsked and sighed as the foal mumbled. “I see the tea didn’t do anything for your throat if you still can’t talk. Oh well, I’ve got just the thing to get you two feeling better again. Look, raspberry scones! Aren’t those your favorite Diamond?”
Cheerilee’s smile slipped as, again, there was no response. “Diamond Tiara, respond please.”
There was a quiet sob from Silver which Cheerilee ignored as she set down her saddlebags and the bag of scones before undoing the lock and opening the door. She walked over to Diamond and gingerly poked her. Moments passed without any reaction and she leaned in to get a better look at Diamond’s still body.
Understanding then dawned and Cheerilee’s smile returned as excitement bloomed in her chest. “Oh Diamond, why didn’t you say you were feeling better sooner? Come on dear, let’s get you ready to rejoin the class.”
Cheerilee picked her up and carried her out of the cage, kicking the door closed behind her and locking it quickly. She brought Diamond over to an old salon chair set in front of a vanity mirror, an assortment of fur, mane and tail products covering both the vanity and a rolling table next to it.
Cheerilee settled Diamond so she was sitting in the seat and then began to sort through the small boxes and bottles, muttering to herself. “Let’s see, dye, shampoo, conditioner…”
She pushed off the containers she didn’t need, empty and half full bottles and packets alike clattering to the floor. Workspace cleared, she put on a pair of gloves and grabbed a bottle before squeezing its contents into a bowl. She added a packet to it and began to mix, her nose wrinkling at the chemical smell.
“I’m sure glad I’m a teacher, I don’t know if I could handle a hairdressing cutiemark with these smells.”
She giggled at her joke and set the bowl down before grabbing a comb and turning towards Diamond. She began to comb through her mane, humming to herself as she worked out the few knots that had formed. Then she grabbed clips and began to separate the layers, pulling up the lightened sections that would need one more coating to be perfectly colored.
“You must be so excited to finally be able to join the class again. I and the other students have really missed you Diamond.”
“I miss it too. Thanks for taking care of me. I hope Silver gets better soon.”
Cheerilee cooed as she started to brush the goopy dye through a section of hair. “Oh I’m sure she will dear. I know you two are close friends but don’t worry, I have a feeling she’ll come around.”
Cheerilee worked through Diamond’s hair with practiced ease, carefully brushing each layer and adding foil to help the process. Despite her earlier joke about not wanting to be a hairdresser, necessity demanded she do it, and as a result she had gotten pretty good at it. When Diamond’s mane was finished, Cheerilee put the bowl down and took off the gloves. “Alright, while this processes I’m going to check on Silver, let me know if you need anything.”
Cheerilee walked over to her saddlebags in front of the cage and dug through them to find the cards and lesson plans created earlier. She opened the door and placed the papers near the middle of the cage. “Now Silver, I know you are still a bit sick but you have a lot to catch up on. Your classmates made such wonderful cards and Sweetie Belle helped me make some lesson plans for you. You really should at least try to do some homework.”
Silver looked at the papers, trying to focus her eyes on the colorful cards and white papers covered in black squiggles. As she stared at them, the squiggles started to turn into words.
Cheerilee nudged the papers towards her before leaving her, once again closing the door and locking it. The mare glanced over at the foal in the salon chair before turning and heading back upstairs.
‘Silver’ shuddered as she heard the hooves disappear and shook her head to try and clear her thoughts. Fear of the unknown and exhaustion from sporadic bouts of sleep had left her plenty unbalanced, and then last time the mare was down there she gave them a drink and snack that made her head all fuzzy. It also made her fall into a hard sleep at some point it seemed.
She closed her eyes and tried to think. She didn’t know how long she had been in the basement. Had it been days? Weeks? Was her family even looking for her yet or had they already given up?
Her eyes ached with a burning desire to cry but not having enough fluids to produce tears. Her insides ached as well, and despite the meager meal sometime earlier she felt full and heavy.
Just what did that mare want with her anyways? And why did she insist on calling her ‘Silver Spoon’?
The foal groaned and laid down, rubbing a shaky hoof against her head as a headache formed. She didn’t know what would happen, but she could only guess it wasn’t anything good.
She spared a thought at the other foal that had been in the cage with her, a filly who was the same age and had gone quiet sometime while she was asleep.
No, not gone quiet. That other filly had died, a fact the strange mare had seemed excited about.
There were hoofsteps again and the foal peeked an eye open to try and see what was happening now. The mare descended with a large box balanced on her back and headed right over to the filly in the chair.
She opened a piece of foil and nodded. “Wonderful, your mane will be done soon. In the meantime Diamond, let’s go over some of this homework so you can get caught up on what you missed.”
‘Silver’s eyes widened in horror as the mare put her hoof on the filly’s face and moved her head, her voice pitching upwards. “I don’t know Miss Cheerilee, I really want to study with Silver.”
Oh great Twilight, she’s playing with her like a doll!
‘Silver’ felt sick to her stomach as the mare, ‘Miss Cheerilee’ apparently, tsked and reprimanded ‘Diamond’. “I understand dear, but we don’t know when Silver will be joining us again. If you get caught up now, then you can help her later.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea! Okay, let’s do it!”
“Wonderful, that’s what I like to hear! Okay, so last week’s lesson was-”
‘Silver’ tuned out of the mad mare’s ramblings and stared at the papers in her cage. This…this was it wasn’t it? Taken and turned into some crazy teacher’s doll.
She shuddered and rubbed at her head again, only now her eyes were focusing enough to notice something…different about her hoof. Her eyes widened, suddenly realizing that her coat had been darkened from white to a soft gray. Her skin crawled as she realized the mare must have dyed it while she was asleep. She pulled her mane over her shoulder, her stomach turning further when she saw her strawberry blonde hair had been dyed to a beautiful silver.
Silver hair, silver coat…That explains the name I guess. Who was this foal to her, a student? If she wanted to be a teacher so badly, why didn’t she just go teach?
She looked at Cheerilee again, who was still going on and ‘responding’ as the foal as she now dried and styled her mane. “And almost there…Done! Oh your mane looks lovely as ever Diamond. Ah! Can’t forget your tiara.”
The mare leaned over and dug through the box, finally emerging with a fancy wood box. She pulled out a beautiful and sparkling diamond tiara from inside and carefully placed it in the foal's hair. “There we go.”
“Thank you Miss Cheerilee! I feel sooo much better now that my hair is right again.”
“You are very welcome. Just one more step and then you can see your friends.”
Cheerilee dug through the box again and pulled out a series of vials of inks, setting them on the rolling table before heading over to a chest and pulling out a small tattoo machine.
Buzzing soon filled the air as a crude tiara was tattooed onto ‘Diamond’s flanks, a close match to the one in her hair. The sight filled ‘Silver’ with a fresh wave of dread. She hadn’t yet gotten her cutie mark, and she was struck with the harsh reality that she would never have the chance to find it out.
Instead, she would be given one that probably belonged to another pony, tattooed on her dead flank by a psycho mare in her basement so she could play dress up dolls.
A tear managed to well up and slip down her cheek.
Cheerilee stepped back and looked over her work, nodding in satisfaction. “Alright Diamond, you are ready to rejoin the class now! Make sure you give an extra thank you to Sweetie Belle for helping me with the lessons. I’m sure she’ll be able to help if you have any other questions outside of class too.”
“Great! Thanks again so much Miss Cheerilee.”
Cheerilee turned ‘Diamond’s head towards ‘Silver’. “I can’t wait to see you again Silver.”
Cheerilee picked her up and headed over to another door, one ‘Silver’ hadn’t noticed before and one she wished she didn’t see inside. It was a classroom, or rather, a mock up of one, with small desks in neat rows and posters plastering the walls. From what she could see of it, it looked neat, even if the furniture was obviously second hoof and slightly mismatched.
The state of the desks was far from the most disturbing part of the room though, for there were other foals sitting at each desk. ‘Silver’ stared in horror at the dozen or so bodies, each sitting up with perfect posture, perfectly happy faces with frozen smiles and glassy eyes staring forward.
Cheerilee hummed happily as she carried ‘Diamond’ into the classroom and placed her at the front. “Great news everyone, Diamond is feeling better again and is able to rejoin us!”
‘Silver’ found she couldn’t look away as Cheerilee walked all over the classroom, shifting her voice as she shook each foal and pretended to be them. When she seemed to run out of energy bouncing between her ‘students’, the mare brought ‘Diamond’ to her seat and positioned her like the others.
Cheerilee left the classroom, gently closing the door behind her. She went over to Silver and opened the door to place the bag of raspberry scones inside. “I know you must miss your friends, Silver, but don’t worry. These scones have a special ingredient that’ll get you all better by tomorrow.”
‘Silver’ stared at the bag of pastries, wondering what was done to this food. Her ear flicked as she looked up at Cheerilee and croaked. “Why?”
Cheerilee tilted her head at the question, a hint of clarity peeking through the manic tinge in her eyes. She looked back at her flank, at her cutie mark. “Why? Because it’s my purpose. You don’t have a cutie mark yet so you don’t understand, but teaching is my life, it’s what I’m good at and it’s what I’m supposed to do.”
She shrugged and looked back at the foal, but as she continued to talk it seemed she was more talking out loud to herself than to answer the question. “I was at my best when I was teaching my class. But then they grew up and Twilight’s School made my job obsolete, made me unnecessary. She took away my purpose and just…left me. Left me to try and figure out what else I was good at.”
She laughed bitterly. “The worst part is I wasted so much time trying other things but nothing worked. But then, one night, I had the most wondrous dream. One where I was back in my classroom, back with my students. I woke up and knew what I had to do.”
She began to pace. “Of course, it was much easier said than done and there was much to think about and even more to prepare. I started with only a few of my students, those adorably rascally cutie mark crusaders, and for a while it was enough to be back with them. But I found myself missing more, missing my entire class. It’s taken me a long time to get to this point, but I’m almost there.”
She stopped and smiled tenderly at Silver, now addressing her directly. “You are the final piece. Once you eat a scone and let the stoneblossom finish its work, you’ll get to join my class, join your friends, and I will have my purpose back.”
Cheerilee started to leave the cage and ‘Silver’ panicked, desperate to not be left alone just yet. “W-wait!” She shuddered and pushed away her revulsion at addressing the mare like her teacher. “M-Miss Cheerilee, what’s a stoneblossom?”
Cheerilee continued out of the cage and closed the door before sitting and adopting her ‘lecture’ tone. “That’s a great question Silver, I love it when my students express interest in new things.”
She shifted and cleared her throat. “Ahem. Stoneblossom is a unique plant that grows near cockatrice nests in the Everfree. Specifically, it grows in areas of concentrated cockatrice waste. This gives it a unique biology that, when consumed by a pony or other creature, begins to turn them to stone from the inside out. A small dose simply starts to calcify and shut your organs down, usually starting with the stomach.”
‘Silver’ pressed a hoof against her stomach, unsure if the heavy feeling was from the plant or information as Cheerilee continued. “Larger doses however quicken the process and make it irreversible. If dosed just right, your insides will be turned to stone and preserved, but it won’t affect the outside of your body like your fur or mane.”
“Oh nature sure is fascinating isn’t it? I found out about the plant shortly after my forced retirement, when I was trying to find something else to fill my time with. Who would have guessed it would be the perfect thing for me to get my old life back?” Cheerilee giggled and stood up, making sure to lock the door and sparing one more glance at Silver. “Well, I hope you learned something. You still have those homework sheets to do if you are bored and don’t forget the scones as a study snack. I’ll come check on you tomorrow Silver.”
‘Silver’ was frozen, barely registering that the mare had left her.
Slowly, she looked at the bag of scones.