Ditty walked through the town reflecting on the day's events.

'What a day.' He thought.

On the train his mind had been focusing on what memories he had of Ponyville. He hoped to meet a few old faces from the past but he doubted anyone would remember him after twenty years being away from town. He doubted he'd recognized anyone or if they would recognize him.

His mind kept going back to Cheerilee. He had a terrible crush on her, even as a very young little colt. When he saw her as a full grown mare seven years ago his thoughts just went wild. But his advances were crushed in a casual wave of the horn from that of a stuck up white unicorn Rarity.

To twist his emotions even more, of all the ponies in Ponyville who could have come to meet him at the station, who else but Cheerilee was the one who showed up. Not only that, but it turns out she was the other teacher at school he was going to work at!

'And you just let your mouth run off about your drinking history, and you call Ponyville a Podunk town of gossipers. I'm glad I'm going to a meeting, the old me would have gone through a whole case of beer over that.'

He walked in to the municipal building in the center of town and made his way to the meeting rooms in the basement. The set up looked familiar though the faces and room was different.

An burgundy colored stallion walked up to him and greeted him.

"Can I help you sir?" He asked kindly.

"Uh yeah, hi. I'm Ditty. I'm a member of six years who just moved in to town. I'm wondering if I can join in the meeting tonight to help get my bearings."

"Of course. That's what the group is here for. I'm the group chair pony by the way. Call my Charley." The stallion shook his hoof and welcomed him in to the meeting area where ponies were getting settled.

Charley stood up and called the meeting to order with the moment of silence and the prayer of serenity.

"Well it looks like we have a new face tonight with us, if you would like to share name and anything about yourself."

Ditty stood up.

"Hello everyone my name is Ditty and I am an alcoholic."

A few ponies gave a hello.

"The last drink I've had was over six years ago."

A few ponies clopped their hooves for support.

"I have moved to Ponyville from Fillydelphia because of a new job. It's been about two months since my last meeting in Filly. I hope that my attending these meetings here the next few weeks will help with my adjustment to a new area and allow me to continue making good decisions and keep me on the path of sobriety."

More ponies clopped their hooves in support as Ditty sat down.

Charley continued the meeting allowing others to go around the room and give their names.

"Well." Charley said after everyone had gone around the circle. "The topic for tonight is how alcohol has effected our families and what we can do to prevent it."

A few ponies went in to their lives talking about their children, spouses, and regrets. A few chimed in with helpful words and encouragement.

The sharing eventually made its way to Ditty.

"Well I'm not married or have any children. My parents were both alcoholics. So I have a predisposed disadvantage of being a child of them. My mother was a pegasus who used to work here in Ponyville as a weather pony, along with any other jobs she could find to support me and her drinking. One day she woke up early still drunk and went on a delivery job. She was pulling a supply cart over town and missed judged a landing." Ditty gave a sad pause. "The police report said the combination of the sudden impact and the weight of the cart that followed behind her was what took her life,"

A few members gasped, while others just shook their heads.

"I had the opportunity, or should I say the misfortune, to track down the man who you can call my father. My uncle and aunt who raised me in Filly after mom died, gave me his address when I became a legal adult. I found the stallion, a rust colored unicorn, who was a land lord in one of the slums in Filly. When I saw him, he didn't recognize me. Honestly how could he? Doubt he even knew I even existed."

Ditty took a moment to take a sip of coffee.

"At the time he was obviously intoxicated, violently throwing out one of his tenants by beating them; a young mare with a small yearling foal. He looked up at me across the street and shouted a warning of trespassing. I left the area quickly before the authorities showed up. I came back the next day and ask the folks what happened to him. They told me he was arrested with a laundry list of assault charges and faced a long jail sentence."

"That day I promised myself I would never allow myself to become like that. Three years later I was hung-over in a hotel room. I caught a glimpse of myself in a bathroom mirror. I saw in my eyes the same look that reminded me of both my mother and father. That was the first time I admitted I had a problem. The next morning I checked myself in to rehab and I haven't had a drink since."

The ponies next to him gave him assuring pats on the shoulder and others clopped their hooves.

The rest of the meeting continued and ended with a the traditional prayer.

Ditty started making his way towards the door when a yellow earth pony trotted up to him.

"Son, mind if I have a word." The yellow stallion with a striped bow tie asked.

"Sure." Ditty responded.

"Your mother, was she Sandy Hooves by any chance?" He asked

"Yes." Ditty said surprised.

"She was a good friend of my wife's. I remember she used to bring you in my shop to buy you a cookie."

Ditty combed his mind, he certainly remembered on good days his mother liked to do that.

"Yeah when I was only a few years old Mom like to treat me. I don't remember you though."

"Carrot Cake." Said the stallion shaking his hoof. "Even if you don't remember me, it is really good to see you again. Look at you, all grown up, back in Ponyville making a better life for yourself."

"Uh, thank you."

"Hey son be sure to stop by Sugar Cube corner sometime and see the Mrs. I'm sure she'd love to see you and share with you some of her memories of you as a little foal."

Ditty walked out of the meeting with Carrot feeling much better. Despite the length he had been away from Ponyville there were still ponies here who remembered him and cared.

Ditty stood in back of the school room watching the young ponies listening to Cheerilee's lesson. He looked through at his seating chart in his hoof and went from desk to desk trying to remember the faces with names.

'Scootaloo.... Silver Spoon.... Apple Bloom..... Snails..... Twist.... Dinky Doo..... Snips....'

"Now my little ponies it is the time for our first music lesson with Mr. Hooves." Cheerilee spoke up looking over at Ditty.

"Ah-hem yes it is." Ditty cleared his throat and moved to the front of the room. "Now fillies and colts if you could move to the sides of your desks, I'm going to move them out of the way to make more room."

Ditty lit up his horn and floated all the desks to the back of the room. A few ponies awed at his magic. The task was a bit grand for most unicorns but it was nothing special for Ditty. He had many years of practice moving instruments, setting up for concerts, and preparing banquets at the hotel.

"All right students please get in to groups of three while I bring out our instruments."

The foals grouped together while Ditty floated a couple of xylophones from the shelves in back of the room. He placed one in front of each group and one in from of himself.

"Now watch me show you the proper way to play your instruments using a mallet in your mouth."

He picked up his mallet and played a simple melody and set it back down.

"OK take the next few minutes to experiment with your own xylophones. Please be sure to take turns in your group."

The room erupted in to the chaotic mishmash of notes as fillies and colts started playing their xylophones.

Ditty walked around the room providing assistance to groups as needed. Cheerilee walked around too letting foals show her their playing abilities. Ditty looked up and smiled at her when she laughed as one of the fillies attempted to play and sing at same time the mallet was still in her mouth.

"Hey let me try!"

"He said to use your mouth, not magic. Your breaking the rules!"

Ditty turned around and saw a group of two unicorns and pegasus arguing.

"I can do it!" A little orchid colored filly exclaimed.

She stuck her horn out, squeezed her eyes together, and started jabbing at the mallet that laid on the xylophone.

The blue colored colt next to her raised his horn smugly. It started to glow with a blue light. The mallet glowed with the same color as his horn and slowly it started to float up.

"I said I can do it!" The little filly protested.

"No you can't. My mom and dad taught me how to use my magic, they're a unicorns. You don't know how because your mom is a stupid pegasus and she doesn't know anything."

The filly looked at him with a hurt expression.

"And what is wrong with someones mother being a pegasus?" Ditty spoke down the colt in a cool, stern voice. "My mother was a pegasus and that didn't make me any less of a pony."

The blue colt lost his magical concentration and the mallet fell on top of the instrument with a musical clunk.

"Hey yeah, what's wrong with pegasuses!" Said the little cyan pegasus sitting in their group.

Ditty placed a hoof on her shoulder to quiet her and looked back at the blue unicorn.

"Starchaser, I think you owe Dinky Doo an apology for saying hurtful things about her mother."

The blue colt looked down at Dinky's hooves.

"Sorry Dinky."

"Good. Also you know the school rules. No magic in the classroom. I'll see you at the end of the day. I think fifty lines of 'I will not use magic during class' written the traditional way will be an acceptable consequence."

"Yes sir." The Starchaser hunched his shoulders.

"Thank you Starchaser. Now would you please pass the mallet to Cyan Skies it is her turn now."

Ditty turned away from the group and saw Cheerilee watching him. She gave him an encouraging smile and walked over to another group. He felt his heart give a little flutter.

Ditty continued with his lesson plan by playing a game of call and response with the class using different rhythms and notes.

The rest of the day went well. Following Cheerilee's instructions, Ditty helped assist students in the classroom on their other subjects.

At the end of the day Starchaser stayed after and with the aid of a footstool he successfully wrote out 'I will not use magic in school' fifty times on the board.

"Am I done Mr. Hooves?" The colt said placing the chalk down and rotating his now stiff jaw.

"Yes you are." Ditty said handing him an envelope. "This is a note to your parents explaining why you had to stay after. Please have them sign it and return it to me. Have a good afternoon Starchaser."

"You too Mr. Hooves." The colt said somberly and trotted out the door.

Cheerilee walked up to Ditty who was sitting desk in the corner and laid a cupcake on it.

"What is this for?" He said looking at the little pink and blue frosting cake in front of him.

"It's a milestone celebration." She said cheerily. "To your first day and first detention."

"May there be many others." Ditty said lifting the cupcake in a gesture like a toast. "Days that is. I can do well without giving more detentions."

The two of them shared a laugh.

"You took care of that problem very well." Cheerilee said proudly.

"That filly he was teasing is your friend's daughter right?" Ditty looked up at her quizzically.

"Yes."

"Does her family give her any basic magic lessons?"

"Uh no." Cheerilee gave a cough. "Ditzy is a single mother. It's just the two of them."

Ditty felt sympathy for the little filly. He knew what it was like, young unicorn no brothers or sisters, single working pegasus mother. Not so different from how he lived before his mother passed away.

Ditty let out a whistle between his teeth.

"Glad I didn't know that this morning. I might have given Starchaser one hundred lines."

"You made Starchaser apologize to Dinky and your punishment was appropriate for the situation with the magic. I think you did just fine." Cheerilee said firmly.

Ditty enjoyed his cupcake, not noticing Cheerilee was staring blankly out the window next to his desk.

"Well I'd love to stay and chat about good punishments for students, but I'm expecting the rest of my things to arrive today."

Ditty picked up his hat and coat and headed for the door.

"You'll lock up right?" He asked Cheerilee

Cheerilee nodded.

"OK then, see you tomorrow."

Ditty walked out the door.

When the door shut behind him he did not see Cheerilee relax the tension she had been holding in her shoulders and give a nervous sigh.