Love Tap stared out from her desk back at Cheerilee. Things had gone quiet again, but to a sort of still, unsure quiet where it was unclear if things would remain calm or erupt into classroom chaos again.

The kids had mostly settled back into their activities. Apple Bloom had her muzzle buried in a book, Sweetie Belle scribbled at a piece of paper with a box of crayons, and Scootaloo and Button Mash concentrated on their homework.

Love Tap frowned slightly as she looked over the children. I wish I didn’t have to manipulate them so, but I’m sure they’d prefer not to be in detention. Still, all this yelling can’t be good for them. Maybe I should just wait it out…

Love Tap looked outside and caught a glimpse of the clock tower. Her eye twitched. She suddenly looked at Cheerilee with determination in her eyes. Alright Ms. Cheerilee, this may be your classroom, but I bet I have way more experience aggravating teachers than you’ve had dealing with obnoxious students. Love Tap raised a forehoof to her mouth to conceal a smirk. If you’re going to insist on keeping us all here, guess I’ll just have to step up my game.

“Ms. Cheerilee, I’m boooored~!” Love Tap wailed, piercing the silence.

“Well you should have brought something to read or some homework like the res—like the children!” Cheerilee shot back.

Love Tap frowned. “I don’t have any homework!”

“I can assign you some,” Cheerilee said in a warning tone.

Love Tap scowled back at Cheerilee. “No you couldn’t.”

Cheerilee frowned and said nothing.

That’s right. Love Tap thought to herself. Don’t you even think of hanging jail over my head! You and I both know that threat’s wearing paper-thin at this point! Besides, even if you made up something for me to do, it’s not like I’m under any obligation to do it. Love Tap smirked to herself. In fact, I would probably just use it as an opportunity to scribble something unpleasant… Love Tap's eyes went wide. What was that cute thing Rarity says… Oh yes, ‘iiiiideeeeeaaaa’!

“Actually…” Love Tap said as her scowl changed into a smirk. “I think I wouldn’t mind a little task to—”

“That’s quite alright!” Cheerilee said hastily.

Love Tap pursed her lips into a tight frown and stared off into space. Darn it! She figured me out already… She’s pretty sharp for such a young teacher… Oh well, there’s plenty more where that came from.

Love Tap raised a forehoof and shook it about.

Cheerilee sighed. “What is it now?”

“Can I have a drink of water, Ms. Cheerilee?”

Cheerilee smirked. “I don’t know, can you?”

The children giggled.

Love Tap scowled. Gah! I’m out of practice, I should have seen that one coming. “May I have a drink of water, Ms. Cheerilee?” Love Tap growled out.

“Yes you may,” Cheerilee replied. “And stop calling me ‘Ms. Cheerilee’! You’re an adult for crying out loud!”

“An adult who’s serving detention,” Love Tap grumbled out loud enough for everypony to hear as she trotted back up to the bathroom. Love Tap reached for the door.

“And don’t slam it this time!” Cheerilee cried.

Love Tap furrowed her brow and crinkled her muzzle up as she slowly opened the door. Her creased expression softened as she realized the door made a creaking sound as she opened it. She grinned mischievously as she took her time opening the door, drawing out the sounds as long as possible.

‘Crrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeaaaaaak.’

Cheerilee narrowed her eyes slightly, but said nothing as Love Tap opened the door as wide as she could.

Love Tap entered and turned the faucet on full blast, filling the classroom with the sound of running water. She stood up on her back legs and tilted her head, putting her muzzle under the high pressure stream as she began slurping as loudly and audibly as possible and spraying water all over the bathroom.

“Sluuurp-slurp-slurp-sluuuuuurp-sluuuurp-slurp—”

“WOULD YOU JUST DRINK WATER LIKE A NORMAL PONY?!” Cheerilee cried out.

Love Tap turned. “ARE YOU PREJUDICED AGAINST SLURPERS?!” she shot back.

“I JUST WANT A NICE, QUIET CLASSROOM! IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK?!”

“WELL MAYBE SOME PONIES CAN’T HELP HOW NOISY THEY ARE!”

The kids moved their heads back and forth between the two arguing adults, all except Scootaloo who kept diligently writing.

From the desk next to her, Apple Bloom glanced over at Scootaloo’s paper. “Are ya… Are ya taking notes?!”

“Heck yes!” Scootaloo answered. “I’ve got to remember that slurping trick.”

“Wow Button,” Sweetie Belle said, “Your mom sure knows a thing or two about getting under a teacher’s skin.”

“Huh, I guess so,” Button replied.

Scootaloo glanced up from her paper. “How come you never do any of this stuff?”

“This is my first time in detention,” Button explained. “Speaking of which, when do we get locked up in cells?”

The three fillies exchanged confused glances.

Sweetie Belle spoke up, “There’s no cells in detention.”

“Huh, not much of a detention facility, is it?” Button replied.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Button, real life isn’t like video games.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom nodded in agreement.

Button snickered. “Sure Scootaloo, next you’re going to tell me monsters don’t attack Equestria whenever they get the chance.”

The fillies all went quiet for a second.

“Well, he’s got us there,” Apple Bloom said.

At the front of the classroom, Love Tap continued her screaming match with Cheerilee. “…WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO IF AN EXCEPTIONALLY NOISY KID IS IN YOUR CLASSROOM?!”

“I’VE NEVER HAD A FOAL AS DISRUPTIVE AS YOU!” Cheerilee shot back.

“WELL WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO IF ONE SHOWS UP?!”

“I’M PRETTY SURE THEY DON’T EXIST! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU’RE THE ALPHA AND OMEGA OF BEING AN OBNOXIOUS BRAT!”

Love Tap rolled her eyes. “Pffft… You’re just too thin-skinned.”

“Puuuullleeeeaaaase!” Cheerilee huffed out as she trotted up to Love Tap. “How would you act if I showed up to your house and started disrupting you taking care of your kids?!”

Love Tap paused and thought about this. “I’d probably demand that you leave and take anypony who was disrupting my peace and quiet with you.”

“UHG! You know what?! FINE! GO! JUST GO THEN!” Cheerilee cried.

Love Tap grinned wide and nodded. “Alright, then. Oh, Children~? We’re going.”

The kids all giggled from their desks and began to pack up their stuff.

“Huh?!” Ms. Cheerilee uttered. “No, wait!” she cried. “I didn’t mean—”

Without warning the door to the schoolhouse SLAMmed open and a pair of fillies rushed in and collided with Cheerilee and Love Tap. The four soon found themselves in a colorful heap as pony legs stuck out in all directions.

Cheerilee glared out at a pair of blue glasses that were now sitting on her snout. “Can I help you two?” she asked in an irritated tone from the bottom of the pony pile.

“YOU HAVE TO HIDE US!” Diamond Tiara cried.

From the top of the pile, Love Tap chuckled to herself and picked Diamond Tiara’s tiara off her head. She placed it on the young filly's head roughly; the gem-studded tiara fell over Diamond Tiara’s eyes. Love Tap then untangled herself from the mass of ponies.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon also untangled themselves from each other and Cheerilee. Diamond Tiara adjusted her tiara as she stood back on her hooves.

“Whom or what do you two need hiding from?” Cheerilee asked as she stood up and picked Silver Spoon’s glasses off her face with her forehooves. She gently passed them to Silver Spoon, who replaced them on her own face.

Diamond Tiara began to speak, “From Pink— Wait… Who’s that old lady standing next to you?”

One of Love Tap’s eyes began to twitch. “Old… old lady?” she growled out.

Cheerilee softly giggled to herself.

A pink-coated pony with a curly mane poked her head into the schoolhouse. “Hey! Did anypony see a pair of excited fillies running aro—Oh! There you two are! Come on! I’m all setup for us to play ‘Guess what Gummy ate’!”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon put on panicked expressions.

“Uhh… We can’t!” Diamond Tiara cried.

“Right!” Silver Spoon said. “Because we have… uh… detention!”

Cheerilee looked at the girls quizzically. “You girls don’t—”

Pinkie frowned. “Oh no! What did you two do?”

“We picked on Button Mash for being a blank flank!” Diamond Tiara said.

Cheerilee glanced at Love Tap as the tan mare began to growl softly. “Grrrrrrrr…”

Silver Spoon nodded. “Right! And we totally haven’t learned our lesson yet!”

Cheerilee frowned. “But I already talked to you two, and—”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon threw themselves in front of Cheerilee as they lowered themselves to their knees and back legs and pressed their forehooves together.

“Oh please let us stay for detention!” Diamond Tiara pleaded. “Oh please, oh please, oh please, oh please!”

Silver Spoon nodded her head up and down vigorously. “We deserve to be punished more than just a lecture! You should put us in detention for at least a week!”

Diamond Tiara smiled and nodded her head up and down.

The foals in the classroom all giggled to themselves.

Love Tap smiled darkly to herself.

Cheerilee pursed her lips. “Well… if you two are sure… ”

“WE’RE SURE!” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon said in unison as they rushed for a couple of desks in the front row.

Pinkie’s face changed to a pout briefly and then she suddenly smiled. “Oooo! Oooo! Why don’t I stay and keep you company! I mean… I know like… two dozen songs about not being mean to ponies because they’re different than you!”

Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Cheerilee all put on panicked expressions.

“I like songs!” Button said cheerfully.

“Me too!” Sweetie Belle added happily.

“Who doesn’t enjoy a good song?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Eh…” Scootaloo said with a shrug.

“THERE ARE NO ADULTS IN DETENTION!” Cheerilee cried.

Pinkie puffed out her lower lip and made a soft whimper.

“Then why was I in detention?” Love Tap cried in an irritated tone.

“YOU’RE STILL IN DETENTION!” Cheerilee shot back.

Love Tap glared at Cheerilee angrily. “BUT YOU JUST SAID—”

Diamond Tiara suddenly turned to Pinkie. “YOU HEARD MS. CHEERILEE! NO ADULTS IN DETENTION!”

“But best friend time!” Pinkie whined.

Silver Spoon spoke up, “You wouldn’t want to disobey a teacher, would you?”

Pinkie sighed and dug at the hardwood floor with a forehoof. “I guess not…”

Love Tap looked at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, her lips began to slowly drift up revealing a dark, wicked smile as her eyes glinted. With the foals' attention focused on Pinkie Pie, they took no notice.

“Fine!” Scootaloo cried. “They can have detention! Can we go now?”

“Actually, I think it's best we stay,” Love Tap said as she made her way back towards the desks.

The four foals who were already midway through preparing to leave groaned.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked at the other foals with smug smiles.

“You can’t be serious!” Scootaloo cried.

“Now children,” Love Tap began, “I think it’s very important that you all learn that dangerous actions have consequences.”

Button raised a forehoof. “Even if those actions were approved and assisted with by an adult?”

Love Tap sighed as she returned to her desk next to her son and behind Diamond Tiara. “Yes, Button. Even if an adult helped bring about those dangerous actions.” She faced forward and grinned wickedly. “Of course there are consequences for bullying, too.”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s eyes went wide as a shiver ran down their spines.

Cheerilee looked up with a concerned frown, her eyes drifting over the grinning Love Tap before she glanced at the two foals sitting in front of the tan mare. She slowly raised a book in front of her allowing her weary eyes to drift down to the words on the page.

Silver Spoon leaned over to Diamond Tiara. “I think that’s Button’s mom…” she said as quietly as she could.

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes, “Of course it’s Button’s mom! What other adult would be in detention?” she whispered back harshly. “Just be cool, maybe she’s not mad anymore…”

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow. “You mean after you called her an ‘old lady’?”

Diamond Tiara flashed her friend a distressed look. “What do we do?!”

“‘Us’? She’s probably mostly mad at you!”

“You made fun of Button, too!”

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon winced as they noticed the low pitched growl from Love Tap.

“Well we’re all in detention together,” Silver Spoon said. “It’s not like she can do anything here…”

“Never go to sleep alone…” A sinister-sounding voice whispered out in a sharp tone, like a distant predator's cry on the wind.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon unleashed an ear-splitting shriek. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”

The other foals in the class all jumped, along with Cheerilee who stared up from her book.

“Girls! Keep quiet!” Cheerilee said sternly from the front. “This is detention!”

Diamond Tiara leaned close to Silver Spoon again. “Follow my lead…” She turned and stared at Button. “Button Mash? Look we’re really sorry we picked on you.”

Silver Spoon turned around her desk and nodded her head up and down. “Yeah! It wasn’t right for us to make fun of you just because you’re a blank—Ooff”

Diamond Tiara retracted her elbow from her friend’s side.

“I mean…” Silver Spoon continued, “because you don’t have your cutie mark.”

“Uh… thanks?” Button said in a confused tone. “I mean… you already apologized yesterday…”

“Well we doubly, super mean it today!” Diamond Tiara said.

Silver Spoon nodded her head up and down vigorously.

“Oh…” Button Mash smiled. “Gee, thanks!”

Sweetie Belle leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “Hey! How come we never get ‘doubly, super’ apologies?”

Cheerilee simply sighed and buried her face in her book.

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom said in a protesting tone. “Ya make fun of us all the time, and ya only say ye’re sorry when Miss Cheerilee makes you!”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon grimaced and stared towards the front of the class where Cheerilee looked over her book just enough to shoot the pair an angry glare.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon quickly exchanged glances and began uttering a series of “erm..”s, “um…”s, “well…”s, and “That’s because…”s.

Scootaloo snickered. “Maybe they both like Button,” she suggested.

Love Tap began to cough and sputter.

“… Wait, what?” Button uttered in confusion.

Sweetie Belle’s eyes narrowed into tiny slits. “What?!” she squeaked out.

“We don’t like Button Mash!” Silver Spoon said hastily.

Button Mash frowned.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon shot each other panicked looks as Love Tap began to growl behind them once more.

“She means we do like Button Mash!” Diamond Tiara cried.

Button Mash looked over at the two fillies in confusion. “So when you say like…”

A green glow began to emanate from beside Button Mash as Sweetie Belle’s horn lit up, she shot an icy stare out at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

“Oh Celestia, why?!” Silver Spoon cried.

“We like Button Mash, but we don’t like, like him!” Diamond Tiara said.

“NO SHOOTING ANYPONY WITH MAGIC ENERGY BEAMS IN DETENTION!” Cheerilee cried.

“Sorry, Ms. Cheerilee,” Sweetie Belle replied as the glow from her horn faded, eventually ceasing altogether. She glanced at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon briefly, and seemingly satisfied with Diamond Tiara’s previous statement, she returned to drawing.

The threat of being blasted by magical energy apparently avoided, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon seemed to relax visibly.

“I think… I think we’re safe…” Silver Spoon uttered quietly.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s eyes went wide with worry as they looked behind them.

Love Tap pointed her turquoise eyes at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as if trying to bore holes through their heads with her vision.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon grimaced.

Silver Spoon leaned in close to Diamond Tiara. “No good! I think she sensed our apology was disingenuous!”

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Diamond Tiara frowned. “What?”

“It means ‘insincere’,” Silver Spoon replied.

“… What?”

Silver Spoon sighed. “It means ‘dishonest’.”

Diamond Tiara frowned. “Like the opposite of honest?”

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. “Yes, like that.”

“Well you should have said so in the first place!” Diamond Tiara snapped. And it probably doesn’t help that she’s right behind us and is probably listening in on everything we say…” Diamond Tiara replied as she narrowed her eyes.

“Well what do we do?!” Silver Spoon cried.

“Follow my lead…” Diamond Tiara said.

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. “Right, because that worked so well before—”

“GIRLS!” Cheerilee cried. “QUIET DO—”

Diamond Tiara slammed her hooves on her desk as she sat up. “MS. CHEERILEE, SILVER SPOON AND I HAVE ANOTHER ANNOUNCEMENT!”

Cheerilee sighed. “What is it?”

Diamond Tiara continued to speak loudly, her voice monotone. “WE ARE VERY AND TRULY SORRY FOR ALL THE TIMES WE INSULTED AND HARASSED ANY AND ALL PONIES PRESENT!”

“Uhhhh… Yes,” Silver Spoon chimed in. “Please accept our heartfelt repentance.”

Diamond Tiara turned and gave Silver Spoon a blank look.

Silver Spoon sighed. “It means we feel penitent.”

“…”

Silver Spoon narrowed her eyes. “Remorseful…”

Beads of sweat began to form on Diamond Tiara’s face.

“Apologetic!” Silver Spoon growled out.

Diamond Tiara grinned nervously.

“‘SORRY’! OH MY GOSH! IT MEANS WE FEEL SORRY! WAS IT REALLY THAT HARD TO PICK UP FROM CONTEXT?!”

Diamond Tiara frowned. “Alright, now you’re just making up words to make me feel stupid…”

Cheerilee stared out into space with a blank, dead expression on her face.

Apple Bloom chimed in. “Uh, those are all real words,” she assured.

Diamond Tiara scowled at Apple Bloom. “Quiet blank fla—I MEAN THANK YOU APPLE BLOOM FOR YOUR INSIGHT! IT IS MUCH APPRECIATED!”

The other foals present all gave Diamond Tiara a weird look.

Sweetie Belle spoke up. “You kind of sound like a robot when you apologize or thank any of us…”

Button Mash turned to Sweetie Belle. “I was just going to say that!” he said with a grin. “Maybe she’s been replaced!”

Sweetie Belle grinned. “We should get a giant magnet to check…”

Love Tap looked over the chaos of the classroom and held her forehooves over her mouth as she desperately held a sadistic laugh at bay. This is going even better than when I was in school…

One of the windows to the class suddenly opened up as Pinkie appeared. “I have a giant magnet!” she said as she held up a giant, U-shaped magnet. “I always bring it along when I’m going to need to check for robots!”

Upon seeing Pinkie, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon began to shiver uncontrollably.

Button’s expression went blank. “Wait… how would you even know you were going to be checking for ro—?”

Cheerilee turned and shot Pinkie a rageful look. “YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?! HIDING IN THE BUSHES?!”

The corners of Pinkie’s lips slowly fell as her smile began to drown in a deep frown. As soon as the frown hit rock bottom her lips slowly curled up again as she uttered a long, fluctuating “NoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO~?”

Cheerilee smacked a forehoof against her face.

Pinkie slowly leaned sideways, disappearing behind the window frame. “Uh look… if anypony needs me, I’ll be not hiding in the bushes. So… I’ll just get back to not doing that—I mean back to totally doing that! ‘That’ being not hiding in the bushes…” Pinkie quickly darted her eyes back and forth over the classroom before disappearing entirely.

From the open window there was the sound of leaves rustling quickly followed by a quiet “Good job, me! A+!”

Quiet. A confused quiet in place because everypony is not quite sure what just transpired and are trying to figure it out.

The recently resurrected silence was once again brutally murdered as Scootaloo turned to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “So if you’re both repetawhatever, does that mean you like us three, too?”

Diamond Tiara quickly and rapidly nodded her head up and down. “YES! WE DO! WE TOTALLY LIKE YOU THREE!”

“… We do?” Silver Spoon replied.

Diamond Tiara thrust her elbow into Silver Spoon’s side hard. Too hard, in fact. Silver Spoon fell sidewise out of her desk and fell to the floor with a soft ‘Thud!’ and “Oof!”

There was a brief silence before the other four foals present plus one adult in a desk all broke into a fit of laughter. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…!”

Silver Spoon clambered back up, her glasses crooked on her face. “WHAT THE HAY?!”

The other foals gasped.

“NO SWEARING IN DETENTION EITHER!” Cheerilee cried. “AND NO HITTING!”

“But it was an accident!” Diamond Tiara cried. She turned to Silver Spoon. “Look! I’m really sorry, alright!”

Silver Spoon frowned as she adjusted her glasses. “Like… real sorry, or fake sorry?”

Diamond Tiara’s eyes widened. “OH CELESTIA RIDING A FLAMING CHARIOT! WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT OUT LOUD?!”

Cheerilee felt her face go red hot as both her eyes began to twitch uncontrollably. “GIRLS, YOU NEED TO BE—”

Without warning one of the windows opened and Pinkie Pie poked her head back into the room. “Hey, it sounds fun in there!” she announced. “Are you sure I can’t…”

Cheerilee exploded, screaming at the top of her lungs. “EVERYPONY SHUT THE BU— BE QUIET AND SIT STILL UNTIL DETENTION IS OVER!”

Pinkie’s eyes widened in worry and she pursed her lips into a tight frown. “I’ll just go back to hiding in the bushes until detention is over…” She placed a hoof up to her mouth and whispered out, “... But don’t tell anypony that.”

Cheerilee sighed. Not a short relieved sigh or even an exasperated sigh, but a long, drawn out exhale of air almost like a death rattle as if her soul was attempting to escape her body via her mouth.

As soon as she was done exhaling, silence flooded the schoolhouse again. Nopony relaxed. Nopony went back to the tasks they were involved in minutes ago or picked up their books.

Quiet. Everyone knew the quiet was fragile and assuredly shorted lived. There was no calm nor peace in this quiet. The quiet was already dead; it just didn’t know it yet.

Love Tap cleared her throat and went in for the kill. “Do you children know what a ‘shiv’ is?”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon felt a chill run through their bodies as if somepony had just trotted over their graves.

“I don’t!” Sweetie Belle answered cheerfully.

Cheerilee’s eyes went wide. “DETENTION DISMISSED!” she cried in a slightly panicked tone.

“But…!” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon said in a protesting tone.

Cheerilee’s eyes shot open and she focused, red-vein-filled orbs of rage into her classroom. She pointed at the school door with a forehoof. “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

With a speed nopony thought possible, everypony packed up their belongings and galloped outside.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon fearfully scanned their surroundings as they exited the school while a wave of elation rippled from the other ponies leaving the classroom.

Button’s joy was quickly replaced with confusion as he stared at the shrubbery outside the school. “… Why does that bush have a nose and glasses?” He asked as he examined a bush that was indeed sporting a pair of glasses over its nose. He frowned. “And why does it get to wear a mustache while I don’t?”

“Oh Pinkie Pie~” Love Tap called with a catlike smile. “Detention is out early!”

“YAY!” Pinkie cried as she leapt from the bush, suddenly wearing a pair of glasses, a nose over her snoot, and a mustache.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon both let out a terrified shriek as they sprinted off.

“WAAAAAIT!” Pinkie cried as she gleefully bounded after the pair. “WE NEED TO CELEBRATE YOUR FREEDOM! THIS INVOLVES AN HOUR LONG HUG-A-THON!”

Button frowned slightly. “Gee… does anypony else feel a little sorry for those two?”

The three fillies and one mare present all quickly exchanged glances and shook their heads.

“Not really,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Nah,” Scootaloo added.

“Eeenope,” Apple Bloom uttered.

Love Tap smiled. “Don’t worry about it Button. How about I make dinner for everypony again?”

Button’s face lit up. “Can we have hay fries?!” he asked.

Love Tap smiled. “Of course, sweetie!”

Button smiled and stood on his hind legs, waving his forearms about. “YAY!”

The fillies present all smiled and cheered.

‘Crrrreeeeeeeaaaaa…’

The four foals and one adult turned as the schoolhouse door slowly closed. Cheerilee stared out at them, dark bags under her eyes and her usually slightly poofy mane looking wilted. Her ears hung limply around the side of her head and her tail seemed lifeless as she let it drag on the floor. She looked as if she had aged several years in about an hour.

‘…aaaaaaaak.’

The door shut quietly.

Quiet. Not a serene or tranquil quiet, but an uncomfortable one. A silence everyone wished would quickly go away. Banished like the deep pits in their stomachs.

Apple Bloom was the first to speak. “Poor Ms. Cheerilee…”

Sweetie Belle swallowed. “She’s not perfect, but… She really is such a nice teacher…” she said in a remorseful tone.

Scootaloo sighed. “Yeah…” she said in agreement.

Button Mash trotted up to his mom and stared up at her as she simply stared at the door. “Mom?”

Love Tap looked down at her son, knelt down so she was at his eye level and placed a forehoof on his shoulder. “Button, sweetie?”

“Yeah, mom?”

“Can you do something for me?”

Button nodded.

“Just… keep being a good boy in school… Keep getting along with your teacher.” Love Tap shook her head. “School’s not always going to be pleasant, but there’s no reason you have to make it worse for yourself or anypony else.” Love Tap looked deep into her son’s amber eyes with her turquoise ones. “I need you to be a better foal than I was…”

Button smiled. “Sure, mom.”

Love Tap smiled warmly. “Good boy,” she said as she wrapped her arms around her son. “You’re a much better child than I deserve.”

Button chuckled. “What are you talking about, mom? You’re a great mom!”

The three fillies present walked up to Love Tap.

“You really are!” Sweetie Belle said in agreement.

Scootaloo grinned. “You’re the second coolest adult I know!”

“An’ the best mom Ah know,” Apple Bloom said.

Love Tap’s eyes shot open wide as the children’s words ran through her like a shock and she felt something warm and moist pool right in front of her eyes. She slowly broke the embrace on Button. “Thank you… all of you… And what I said for Button goes for you three as well, alright? You be as nice as you can to Ms. Cheerilee.”

“Yes, ma’am!” the three foals responded.

Love Tap nodded. “Alright, all of you can head over to our house. I’ll see you there.”

Button Mash inhaled an enormous amount of air. “Can we play Super Smash Ponies when we get there?!”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo groaned. Sweetie Belle smiled wide.

“Of course, dear!”

“YAY!”

Cheerilee sighed as she stared at her desk. A small droplet of water dripped from her snout onto a small pool below quickly followed by another. “Why does discipline have to be so hard?” she uttered.

‘Knock, knock…’

Cheerilee winced almost as if the door itself was going to strike her. “I’M SORRY YOU TWO, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE HERE!” she shouted. “I’LL SEE YOU TOMORROW, ALRIGHT?!”

‘Knock, knock, knock…’

Cheerilee huffed and glared as the door as she got up from her desk and onto all fours. She trotted up the door and threw it open. “LOOK, I really need some time to…” Cheerilee’s emerald eyes went wide as she stared at the tan mare in front of her.

“I’m sorry,” Love Tap said without any hints of hesitation. “Can I… can I come in?” she asked. “I’ll understand if you say no.”

Cheerilee’s expression remained fixed as she slowly opened the door further and motioned for Love Tap to come inside.

Love Tap trotted in as Cheerilee closed the door behind her. Cheerilee quickly ran a forearm over her eyes before she turned to face Love Tap.

Love Tap nervously shifted her weight between her four legs. “Look… I know it’s not an excuse for how I acted, but… school wasn’t… school was never easy for me.”

Cheerilee said nothing.

Love Tap continued, “I was always getting into trouble. I didn’t mean to… I just…” she sighed and stared at the ground “… I just always had more energy than I knew what to do with and several hours of sitting in place was not a helpful way for me to deal with that… My teachers… well they all hated me, and every kid in class knew it. Some of the other kids would do things… things they knew they could blame on me, and then I’d get in trouble for stuff that had nothing to do with me… That just made things worse. I grew to hate a lot of my classmates, and my teachers too. So I’d be even worse than before… and I’d do my best to make school as hard for my teachers and the kids who took advantage of me as it was for me…” Love tap looked up. “And I carried all that anger, all that hate and I it brought into your class today and unleashed all of it on you, and I’m sorry.”

Cheerilee said nothing, only staring back at Love Tap as she mulled over her words.

Quiet. The kind of quiet where nopony knew what would happen next. Because it felt like anything could happen.

Cheerilee shook her head. “I don’t think your teachers hated you.”

Love Tap frowned. “Could have fooled me…”

“I think your teachers just wanted to see you excel, and maybe they didn’t know how to let you do that. And I’m sure that frustrated them. I know it would have frustrated me.”

It was Love Tap’s turn to be silent.

Cheerilee continued. “I think if your teachers saw you now they’d be proud. Proud at the fine mare you’ve grown up to be and maybe a little proud that they helped guide you there.” Cheerilee smiled. “I know I would be.”

Love Tap felt another shock to ripple through her at Cheerilee’s words. Love Tap felt more hot moisture pool around her eyes once more. “Ms— I mean... Cheerilee?”

“Yes?”

“Can I… would be alright if I hugged you?”

Cheerilee nodded. “Of course.”

Love Tap quickly closed the distance between the two mares and threw her arms around Cheerilee’s neck. She buried her face in Cheerilee’s magenta coat and began weeping openly. Releasing the weight of years’ worth of torment inflicted on and by her in the form of sobs that wracked her body.

Cheerilee wept, too. Her still raw emotions pouring out of her in the form of tears and cries as she wrapped her arms around Love Tap.

“Sniff… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” Love Tap said.

Cheerilee attempted to control her crying. “Hhehhh … It’s alright… I forgive you…”

“You’re… you’re the best teacher I ever had…”

Cheerilee uttered a sound as if she was trying to laugh and cry at the same time. “WHUOAHAHAHEhehe… Thank you… and you’re probably the best mother I’ve ever seen… to your own kids, and to others as well…”

Slowly, the two mares broke their embrace and faced each other, wiping tears away from their eyes.

“Friends?” Love Tap asked as she extended a hoof.

Cheerilee slowly raised her hoof and gently tapped Love Tap’s hoof. “Friends.”

The two mares lowered their legs back the floor.

“Uh… so…” Love Tap began immediately desperate to quell any awkward silence before it had a chance to set in. “The kids and I are going to have dinner at my house. Would you like to join us?”

Cheerilee smiled wide and nodded. “I’d love to,” she trotted to the schoolhouse door and opened it. Love Tap trotted out and Cheerilee followed, closing the door behind her.

The two mares walked down the path from the school as Celestia slowly lowered the sun past the horizon.

“Love Tap?” Cheerilee called out.

“Hmmmm?”

“Next time you disagree with how I handle a situation at school, can you please, please, please just come down to the school and yell at me like every other parent?”

Love Tap chuckled. “Hehehehe… Can I at least bring fireworks to help announce my presence?”

Cheerilee guffawed as she trotted along. “Hahaha… That would be acceptable.”

Love Tap smiled. “Alright, it’s a deal…”

The two mares trotted onward in silence.

Quiet. A calm, peaceful, serene quiet where everything was at ease and everything was as it should be.